RNo direct record — only the record of his being attacked and killed by Liu BeiShu 2 §16
NHesitated over whether to welcome them, was drawn out and killedCh. 21 §45
Che Zhou 車胄
| Occupation | ROfficial · Inspector of Xu Province NGeneral · General of Chariots and Cavalry | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R199 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | RXiapi County NXu Province |
| Cause of death | RKilled NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R6 |
Profile
Che Zhou was Inspector of Xu Province at the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records; his name appears in the Biography of the First Sovereign, the Biography of Guan Yu, the Annals of Emperor Wu and elsewhere only in connection with Liu Bei's killing of him. Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, his place of origin or the year of his birth. Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3Records, Wei 1 §56
Liu Bei went out to Xu Province to intercept Yuan Shu, and when Yuan Shu died of illness, Liu Bei reached Xiapi, killed Che Zhou, Inspector of Xu Province, and raised troops in revolt against Cao Cao. The Annals of Emperor Wu record this at the end of the entries for the 4th year of Jian'an (199). Records, Wei 1 §54 · 56Records, Wei 14 §57
In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 20, when Cao Cao, returning after pacifying Lü Bu, places Xu Province temporarily in the charge of Che Zhou, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and he appears in 3 of its 120 chapters. His name is in the title of Chapter 21, 'Lord Guan Tricks Open the City Gate and Slays Che Zhou', and in that chapter he dies by Guan Yu's blade. Romance, Ch. 20 §3Romance, Ch. 21 §44–47
In the Records
According to the Annals of Emperor Wu, after his defeat at Chen, Yuan Shu became increasingly hard-pressed, and Yuan Tan sent men from Qing Province to receive him. When Yuan Shu tried to pass north by way of Xiapi, Cao Cao sent Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to intercept him, and just then Yuan Shu died of illness. When Cheng Yu and Guo Jia said that Liu Bei must not be let go, Cao Cao regretted it and sent men after him, but they could not catch up. Records, Wei 1 §56
Before Liu Bei went east, he had secretly plotted rebellion with Dong Cheng and others; on reaching Xiapi he at last killed Che Zhou, Inspector of Xu Province, raised troops and stationed himself at Pei. The Annals of Emperor Wu record this at the end of the entries for the 4th year of Jian'an (199), before the entry for the first month of the following 5th year, in which Dong Cheng and the others were executed. Records, Wei 1 §54 · 56 · 58
The Biography of the First Sovereign records that the First Sovereign took possession of Xiapi and, as soon as Zhu Ling and the others had gone back, killed Che Zhou, Inspector of Xu Province, then left Guan Yu to hold Xiapi and himself returned to Xiaopei. The Biography of Guan Yu likewise records that after the First Sovereign attacked and killed Che Zhou, Inspector of Xu Province, he had Guan Yu hold the city of Xiapi and act as Administrator. Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3
According to the Biography of Cheng Yu, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia said that if Liu Bei were lent troops he would surely turn disloyal, and when Yuan Shu then died of illness, Liu Bei reached Xu Province, at last killed Che Zhou, and raised troops in revolt against Cao Cao. In the Biography of Dong Zhao, Dong Zhao worried that Liu Bei was brave and ambitious, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as his wings, but Cao Cao said he had already given his consent; Liu Bei reached Xiapi, killed Che Zhou, Inspector of Xu Province, and rebelled. Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei in person and transferred Dong Zhao to be Governor of Xu Province. Records, Wei 14 §15–16 · 57
According to the Biography of Yuan Shao, when Liu Bei killed the Inspector Che Zhou and stationed himself at Pei, Yuan Shao sent cavalry to support him. Liu Dai and Wang Zhong, sent by Cao Cao, could not defeat him, and when Cao Cao came east in person in the 5th year of Jian'an (200) and crushed Liu Bei, Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao. Records, Wei 6 §50
Chen Shou's main text does not record when or how Che Zhou became Inspector of Xu Province, or what he did before that. His name appears only in passages recording Liu Bei's killing of him. Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3Records, Wei 1 §56Records, Wei 6 §50Records, Wei 14 §16 · 57
In the Romance
In Chapter 20 of the Romance, as Cao Cao returns after pacifying Lü Bu, the people of Xu Province burn incense and ask that Liu Bei be left as their Governor; Cao Cao answers that it will not be too late for him to come back after he has seen the Son of Heaven and received a title. He then summons Che Zhou, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and places Xu Province temporarily in his charge. Romance, Ch. 20 §3
In Chapter 21, when Liu Bei's army reaches Xu Province, the Inspector Che Zhou comes out to welcome him. After Yuan Shu's death, Liu Bei sends Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao back to Xudu and keeps the troops and horses; Xun Yu proposes sending a letter to Che Zhou to have him plot against Liu Bei from within, and Cao Cao secretly sends a man to convey his orders to Che Zhou. Che Zhou invites Chen Deng to discuss it, and Chen Deng tells him to lay troops in ambush beside the barbican, pretend to welcome Liu Bei and cut him down with a single stroke, while he himself will hold off the following troops with arrows from the wall. Romance, Ch. 21 §33 · 41–43
Chen Deng tells his father Chen Gui everything, and at Chen Gui's command rides off to warn Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Following Guan Yu's plan, Guan Yu's and Zhang Fei's troops disguise themselves as Cao Cao's soldiers, reach the foot of the wall at the third watch of the night and shout for the gate to be opened, claiming to be the men of Zhang Wenyuan sent by Chancellor Cao. Che Zhou fears that if he does not welcome them he will be suspected, and that if he goes out there may be a trick, and he proposes to meet them at daybreak; but when those outside all shout together for the gate to be opened, he has no choice but to lead a thousand men out of the city. Romance, Ch. 21 §43–46
When Guan Yu charges at him with his blade in the firelight, Che Zhou flees after only a few bouts, and at the drawbridge Chen Deng showers arrows on him from the wall, so he flees around the city. Guan Yu pursues him and brings his blade down once, and Che Zhou falls from his horse; Guan Yu cuts off his head, holds it up and shouts toward the wall that he has killed the rebel Che Zhou, and the soldiers surrender. Romance, Ch. 21 §46–47
Liu Bei, greatly alarmed, asks what they will do if Cao Cao attacks, and when he enters Xu Province he finds that Zhang Fei has already killed Che Zhou's entire household. In Chapter 22, Liu Bei explains to the captured generals of Cao Cao that he killed Che Zhou only because he had no choice, since Che Zhou had earlier tried to harm him. Romance, Ch. 21 §47–48Romance, Ch. 22 §47
Where the Romance differs
How he came to hold Xu Province: In Chapter 20 of the Romance, Cao Cao, returning after pacifying Lü Bu, places Xu Province temporarily in the charge of Che Zhou, General of Chariots and Cavalry. The Records call him only Inspector of Xu Province and do not say when or how he became Inspector. In the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records, the man who appears as General of Chariots and Cavalry at this time is Dong Cheng, Emperor Xian's maternal relative (jiu). Romance, Ch. 20 §3Records, Shu 2 §15–16Records, Wei 1 §56
Why he was killed: In Chapter 21 of the Romance, Che Zhou, acting on Cao Cao's orders, tries with Chen Deng to kill Liu Bei and is killed instead. In the Records, Liu Bei had already plotted rebellion in secret with Dong Cheng and others before going east, and on reaching Xiapi he killed Che Zhou, raised troops and revolted against Cao Cao. Nothing is said of Che Zhou trying to harm Liu Bei. Romance, Ch. 21 §42–43Records, Wei 1 §56Records, Wei 14 §57
Who killed him: In the Romance, Guan Yu, disguised as Cao Cao's troops, lures Che Zhou out of the city and cuts him down. The Biography of the First Sovereign and the Biography of Guan Yu in the Records say only that the First Sovereign killed Che Zhou (the Biography of Guan Yu says he 'attacked and killed' him), and Guan Yu afterwards held Xiapi and acted as Administrator. Romance, Ch. 21 §44–47Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3
Chen Deng: In the Romance, Chen Deng pretends to make plans with Che Zhou while informing Liu Bei's side, and shoots arrows from the wall to keep Che Zhou from getting back into the city. Chen Deng does not appear in any of the six passages of the Records that record Che Zhou's death. Romance, Ch. 21 §43 · 46Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3Records, Wei 1 §56Records, Wei 6 §50Records, Wei 14 §16 · 57
Where he died: In the Romance he dies outside the walls of Xu Province, and Liu Bei then enters Xu Province. The Annals of Emperor Wu and the Biography of Dong Zhao in the Records say that Liu Bei reached Xiapi and killed Che Zhou. Romance, Ch. 21 §46–48Records, Wei 1 §56Records, Wei 14 §57
His family: In Chapter 21 of the Romance, Zhang Fei kills Che Zhou's entire household. The Records contain no record of Che Zhou's family. Romance, Ch. 21 §48Records, Shu 2 §16Records, Shu 6 §3Records, Wei 1 §56Records, Wei 6 §50Records, Wei 14 §16 · 57
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 total378 / 1000Rank 742 of 996 · Top 75%Romance total322 / 1000Rank 1,041 of 1,113 · Top 94%
Romance adaptation index−56Romance total − Records total
- LEA4035−5
- STR3535±0
- INT3525−10
- POL4240−2
- CHA3838±0
- VIR4540−5
- ADP3820−18
- SCH3531−4
- DIP3533−2
- DIS3525−10
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct recordWei 1 §56
NFollowed Chen Deng's plan as it stood and failed to see through the fake Cao armyCh. 21 §43Ch. 21 §45
RNo direct recordWei 1 §56
NTrusted and consulted Chen Deng, but Chen Deng leaked the planCh. 21 §42
7 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Xu ProvinceShu 6 §3
NLed a thousand men out of the city but soon broke and fledCh. 21 §46
RNo direct recordShu 2 §16
NFled after only a few bouts with Guan Yu and was cut downCh. 21 §46
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Xu ProvinceWei 14 §57
NNo direct record — estimated from his temporary charge of Xu ProvinceCh. 20 §3
RNo direct recordShu 6 §3
NNo direct recordCh. 21 §47
RNo direct recordWei 1 §56
NOn Cao Cao's secret orders, tried to kill Liu Bei in an ambushCh. 21 §42
RNo direct recordShu 6 §3
NNo direct recordCh. 21 §45
RNo direct recordWei 14 §57
NNo direct recordCh. 21 §45
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 (3)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Related events (1)
- Guan Yu Takes the City and Slays Che Zhou 199 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).