RWon favour through flattery and rose as high as the ranks of the Nine MinistersWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
Cen Hun 岑昏
| Occupation | ROfficial NOther · Regular Palace Attendant | Faction | Wu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R280 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R3 |
Profile
Cen Hun was a favoured minister of Sun Hao, the ruler of Wu. He has no biography of his own in the Records; he appears twice in the Biographies of the Three Successor Rulers in Records of Wu 3. Sinister and flattering, he was prized and favoured by Sun Hao and rose to the ranks of the Nine Ministers, but he was fond of launching construction works and labour levies, and the people suffered from them. In the 3rd month of the 4th year of Tianji (280), while the armies of Jin were attacking Wu, several hundred of the close attendants within the palace knocked their heads on the ground and begged that he be put to death, and Sun Hao, frightened and confused, complied. Records, Wu 3 §72 · 80–82
Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, his origin or the name of his office. In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 120, and his name is not in the chapter title. He appears as a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun Hao and proposes a plan to place iron chains and iron spikes in the river to stop Wang Jun's Jin fleet, and as the Jin army approaches, the ministers, without waiting for Sun Hao's order, crowd into the palace and hack him to pieces. Records, Wu 3 §80 · 82Romance, Ch. 120 §3 · 36–37 · 51–52
In the Records
The Biographies of the Three Successor Rulers record that whenever Sun Hao held a banquet for his ministers he made them all thoroughly drunk, and had ten Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate, who were given no wine, stand beside him to watch for the ministers' faults; for a serious fault he at once imposed a heavy punishment. Though there were several thousand women in the rear palace, he never stopped selecting more; palace women who displeased him were killed and their bodies sent away on the water he had channelled into the palace, and he would also flay people's faces or gouge out their eyes. Records, Wu 3 §79–80
The text goes on to record that Cen Hun, sinister and flattering, was prized and favoured and rose as high as the ranks of the Nine Ministers, but that he was fond of launching construction works and labour levies, from which the people suffered. Chen Shou says that because of this the hearts of high and low alike turned away and no one exerted himself for Sun Hao, for his accumulated wickedness had already reached its extreme and people could no longer bear his commands. Records, Wu 3 §80
In the winter of the 3rd year of Tianji (279), Jin sent Sima Zhou, Wang Hun, Wang Rong, Hu Fen and Du Yu forward by several routes, had Wang Jun and Tang Bin sail east down the Yangtze, and made the Grand Commandant Jia Chong Grand Area Commander. In the spring of the following year, wherever Wang Jun and Tang Bin arrived, resistance collapsed like crumbling earth and no one stood in their way, and Du Yu and Wang Hun too were victorious wherever they fought. Records, Wu 3 §72 · 74 · 78 · 81
On the day bingyin of the 3rd month of the 4th year of Tianji (280), several hundred of the close attendants within the palace knocked their heads on the ground and begged Sun Hao to put Cen Hun to death, and Sun Hao, frightened and confused, complied. Two days later, on the day wuchen, Tao Jun returned from Wuchang and said that with 20,000 soldiers fighting from large ships he could easily defeat the enemy, but on the night before they were to set out the next day, the troops all fled. On the day renshen, Wang Jun arrived first of all and accepted Sun Hao's surrender. Records, Wu 3 §82–83 · 85
In Chen Shou's main text, Cen Hun appears only in these two passages. His courtesy name, his origin and the name of his office are not recorded. The assessment at the end of Records of Wu 3 says that Sun Hao executed those who remonstrated loyally and promoted slanderers and flatterers, but does not name Cen Hun. Records, Wu 3 §80 · 82 · 89
In the Romance
Chapter 120 of the Romance records that Sun Hao, after taking the imperial throne, grew more violent by the day, sank deep into wine and women, and favoured the Regular Palace Attendant Cen Hun. When Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu remonstrated, Sun Hao beheaded the two men and exterminated their families to the third degree, and from then on the court officials kept their mouths shut and dared not remonstrate. Romance, Ch. 120 §3–4
On news that Wang Jun and Tang Bin of Jin have launched their ships and are coming down the river eastward, Sun Hao sends out his generals but remains anxious even after withdrawing to the rear palace, and his favoured minister, the Regular Palace Attendant Cen Hun, asks the reason. To Sun Hao, who says he is worried that Wang Jun is coming downstream with tens of thousands of troops and a full fleet of warships, Cen Hun says he has a plan to grind all of Wang Jun's ships to powder. Romance, Ch. 120 §34–36
Cen Hun's plan is that, since there is plenty of iron south of the Yangtze, they should make more than a hundred interlinked iron chains, several hundred zhang long with each link weighing twenty or thirty jin, and stretch them across every key point of the river, and plant tens of thousands of iron spikes more than a zhang long in the water, so that the Jin ships will strike the spikes and break apart. Sun Hao is delighted and sends craftsmen to the riverbank to make and set up the chains and spikes, working through the night. But Wang Jun floats down dozens of large rafts with straw men standing on them, which carry the spikes away, and burns the chains with great torches soaked in sesame oil, cutting them all through in a moment. Romance, Ch. 120 §37 · 44–45
As the Jin army draws near and the people of Wu surrender at the mere sight of its banners, the ministers tell Sun Hao that today's disaster is all Cen Hun's crime, and that if he is put to death they will go out of the city and fight to the death. When Sun Hao asks how a mere eunuch could ruin the state, the ministers cry out, 'Has Your Majesty not seen Huang Hao of Shu?', and without even waiting for the order of the ruler of Wu, they crowd into the palace, hack Cen Hun to pieces and eat his flesh raw. Romance, Ch. 120 §51–52
Where the Romance differs
Status: In Chapter 120 of the Romance, Cen Hun appears as a Regular Palace Attendant, and Sun Hao too calls him a mere eunuch. The Biographies of the Three Successor Rulers in the Records say only that, sinister and flattering, he won favour and rose to the ranks of the Nine Ministers; they give neither the name of his office nor any word that he was a eunuch. Romance, Ch. 120 §3 · 52Records, Wu 3 §80
The iron-chain plan: In Chapter 120 of the Romance, Cen Hun proposes placing iron chains and iron spikes in the river, and Wang Jun defeats this with rafts and torches. This plan is not in the Biographies of the Three Successor Rulers in the Records; all that Chen Shou's main text records of Cen Hun's doings is that he was fond of launching construction works and labour levies, from which the people suffered, and his death. Romance, Ch. 120 §37 · 44–45Records, Wu 3 §80–82
His death: In Chapter 120 of the Romance, Sun Hao shields him, asking how a mere eunuch could ruin the state, and the ministers, citing Huang Hao of Shu, crowd into the palace without waiting for the order of the ruler of Wu, hack Cen Hun to pieces and eat his flesh raw. In the Records, several hundred close attendants within the palace knocked their heads on the ground and begged that Cen Hun be put to death, and Sun Hao, frightened and confused, complied. Romance, Ch. 120 §51–52Records, Wu 3 §82
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.
Records total300 / 1000Rank 986 of 996 · Top 99%Romance total295 / 1000Rank 1,075 of 1,113 · Top 97%
Romance adaptation index−5Romance total − Records total
- LEA3131±0
- STR3131±0
- INT4042+2
- POL2230+8
- CHA1512−3
- VIR1012+2
- ADP4535−10
- SCH3531−4
- DIP4040±0
- DIS3131±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NProposed blocking the river with iron chains and spikes, but the spikes were carried off by rafts and the chains were burned throughCh. 120 §37Ch. 120 §56
RFond of launching construction works and labour levies, from which the people sufferedWu 3 §80
NThe ministers declared that the day's disaster was all Cen Hun's crimeCh. 120 §51
RSeveral hundred close attendants in the palace begged for his deathWu 3 §82
NThe ministers crowded into the palace and hacked him to piecesCh. 120 §52
RSinister and flattering, won favour and rose to the Nine MinistersWu 3 §80
NA Regular Palace Attendant favoured amid Sun Hao's brutality, named as the one who ruined the stateCh. 120 §3Ch. 120 §51
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was Sun Hao's favouriteWu 3 §80
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that he was a Regular Palace Attendant favoured by Sun HaoCh. 120 §3
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
- Wu · Romance · Romance ch. 120 「遂不待吴主之命，一齐拥入宫中，碎割岑昏」 · Q124735880