Bei Yan 卑衍
| Occupation | RGeneral · General NGeneral · General-in-Chief | Faction | Gongsun Yuan faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R2 |
Profile
Bei Yan was a general of Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong. He has no biography of his own in the Records; his name appears in the account of Gongsun Yuan in the Biographies of the Two Gongsuns, Tao and the Four Zhangs in Records of Wei 8. In the 2nd year of Jingchu (238), when Sima Yi reached Liaodong to attack Gongsun Yuan, Bei Yan and Yang Zuo and others were stationed at Liaosui County with several tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry; on Gongsun Yuan's orders he met the enemy in battle but was defeated by Hu Zun and others. He then fought to the death again at Mount Shou but was heavily defeated. Records, Wei 8 §46–48
Chen Shou's main text does not record what became of Bei Yan afterward. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 106 as the general-in-chief whom Gongsun Yuan made supreme commander, and appears in 1 of its 120 chapters; no chapter has his name in its title. Together with Yang Zuo he decides to hold out at Liaosui without giving battle, but when the Wei army heads for Xiangping he withdraws after it, and at Mount Shou he is cut down by Xiahou Ba's blade. Records, Wei 8 §48Romance, Ch. 106 §5 · 10–13
In the Records
In the 1st year of Jingchu (237), when Guanqiu Jian, Inspector of You Province, and others came bearing a sealed edict to summon Gongsun Yuan, Gongsun Yuan raised troops and met them in battle at Liaosui County, and Guanqiu Jian and the others, faring badly, went back. Gongsun Yuan then made himself King of Yan. In the spring of the following year Wei sent the Grand Commandant Sima Yi to attack Gongsun Yuan, and in the 6th month the Wei army reached Liaodong. Records, Wei 8 §46–47
Gongsun Yuan had his generals Bei Yan, Yang Zuo and others station themselves at Liaosui County with several tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, ringed by trenches more than twenty li long. When Sima Yi's army arrived, Gongsun Yuan ordered Bei Yan to meet it in battle, and Sima Yi sent his general Hu Zun and others, who defeated him. When Sima Yi had his army break through the siege lines, headed southeast and then turned sharply northeast to make straight for Xiangping, Bei Yan and the others, fearing that Xiangping was undefended, fled by night. Records, Wei 8 §47
When the Wei armies reached Mount Shou, Gongsun Yuan again sent Bei Yan and the others to meet them and fight to the death. The Wei army attacked again and defeated them heavily, then advanced to below the walls of Xiangping and dug siege trenches. This is the last place in Chen Shou's main text where Bei Yan's name appears, and what became of him afterward is not recorded. Records, Wei 8 §48
After the rains had fallen for more than thirty days, the Wei army built earthen mounds and watchtowers and shot into the city with stone-throwing engines and repeating crossbows. Gongsun Yuan was driven to desperate straits; the provisions ran out, people ate one another, and his general Yang Zuo and others surrendered. On the renwu day of the 8th month Gongsun Yuan's forces collapsed, and Gongsun Yuan broke through the encirclement with his son Gongsun Xiu and fled but was beheaded; when the city fell, the heads taken, from the Chancellor of State down, numbered in the thousands. Records, Wei 8 §48–49
In the Romance
In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Gongsun Yuan, not content even with the ranks of Grand Marshal and Duke of Lelang, styles himself King of Yan and beheads in the marketplace the Deputy General Jia Fan and the Army Adviser Lun Zhi, who remonstrated with him. He then makes the general-in-chief Bei Yan supreme commander and Yang Zuo the vanguard, raises 150,000 troops of Liaodong and sets out to invade the Central Plains. Romance, Ch. 106 §2–3 · 5
Sima Yi makes Hu Zun his vanguard and has him first pitch camp in Liaodong, while Gongsun Yuan divides off 80,000 men for Bei Yan and Yang Zuo and stations them at Liaosui. They ring the camp with moats for more than twenty li and surround it with abatis, making it very tight. Bei Yan tells Yang Zuo in council that the Wei army has come a thousand li and its grain and fodder will not keep up, so if they do not meet it in battle but wait until it withdraws and then strike with an unexpected force, they can capture Sima Yi. It is the same principle, he says, as when Sima Yi once held fast south of the Wei River and Kongming in the end died in camp. Romance, Ch. 106 §9–10
Then a report comes that the Wei army has gone south; Bei Yan, greatly alarmed, says that the Wei army knows Xiangping has few troops and is going to raid their home base, and that if Xiangping is lost there is no use in holding this place, so he breaks camp and follows after it. Hearing of this, Sima Yi says they have fallen into his trap and has Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei lie in ambush on the bank of the Liao River. When the ambushes strike from both sides, Bei Yan and Yang Zuo have no heart to fight and cut their way out and flee. Romance, Ch. 106 §11–12
Arriving at Mount Shou and meeting Gongsun Yuan's troops, the two join forces in one place, turn their horses around and fight the Wei army again. Bei Yan rides out and berates the enemy: 'Enemy general, use no more of your treacherous tricks! Do you dare come out and fight me?' But facing Xiahou Ba, who comes at him swinging his blade, he lasts only a few bouts before being cut down by that blade and falling from his horse. The Liaodong troops fall into great confusion, and Gongsun Yuan leads his defeated men into the city of Xiangping, shuts the gates and holds fast. Romance, Ch. 106 §12–13
Where the Romance differs
Rank and troops: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Bei Yan, as general-in-chief, becomes supreme commander and invades the Central Plains with 150,000 Liaodong troops, and he is stationed at Liaosui with Yang Zuo leading 80,000. In the Records Bei Yan is a general, and Gongsun Yuan gave Bei Yan, Yang Zuo and others several tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry and stationed them at Liaosui County. The account of Gongsun Yuan in the Records only says that Gongsun Yuan lured the Xianbei to harass the north; there is nothing about Bei Yan leading troops to invade the Central Plains. Romance, Ch. 106 §5 · 9Records, Wei 8 §46–47
The battle at Liaosui: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Bei Yan and Yang Zuo decide not to meet the Wei army in battle but to wait for it to withdraw, and Sima Yi too leaves Liaosui alone and heads for Xiangping by a byway. In the Records, when the Wei army arrived Gongsun Yuan had Bei Yan meet it in battle, and it was after the general Hu Zun and others sent by Sima Yi defeated him that Sima Yi headed for Xiangping. Romance, Ch. 106 §9–10Records, Wei 8 §47
How he withdrew: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Bei Yan breaks camp and follows on the report that the Wei army has gone south, and meets the ambush of Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei on the bank of the Liao River. The Records only says that when Sima Yi headed southeast and then turned sharply northeast to make for Xiangping, Bei Yan and the others, fearing that Xiangping was undefended, fled by night; there is no ambush, and the names of Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei do not appear. Romance, Ch. 106 §11–12Records, Wei 8 §47–48
Death: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Bei Yan fights Xiahou Ba for a few bouts at Mount Shou and is cut down. The Records only says that Bei Yan and the others fought to the death at Mount Shou but the Wei army attacked again and defeated them heavily; there is no record that Bei Yan died. Romance, Ch. 106 §13Records, Wei 8 §48
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
- LEA4240−2
- STR4035−5
- INT3338+5
- POL3131±0
- CHA3535±0
- VIR4240−2
- ADP3533−2
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3131±0
- DIS3131±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RHeld Liaosui behind more than twenty li of trenches but was heavily defeated twiceWei 8 §47Wei 8 §48
NLed the Liaodong army as supreme commander but fell into an ambush and was routedCh. 106 §5Ch. 106 §12
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NCut down by Xiahou Ba within a few bouts and fell from his horseCh. 106 §13
RWhen Sima Yi headed for Xiangping, abandoned his position and fled by nightWei 8 §47
NProposed waiting for the enemy's grain to run out, but was drawn in by the lure toward XiangpingCh. 106 §10Ch. 106 §11
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Gongsun Yuan's generalWei 8 §47
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as general-in-chief of LiaodongCh. 106 §9
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Gongsun Yuan faction · Romance · Romance ch. 106 「渊令卑衍，杨祚分八万兵屯于辽隧」 · Q124613590
Related events (2)
- Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign 237~238 · Command
- Gongsun Yuan Defeated and Killed at Xiangping 238 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).