RBetrayed Taizu, but when captured invoked filial piety and benevolence and did not yieldWei 1 §29Wei 7 §29
NLeft Cao Cao over the unrighteous killing of Lü Boshe, and was said to have faced death without waveringCh. 4 §43Ch. 19 §55Ch. 19 §57
Chen Gong 陳宮
| Occupation | RNStrategist | Faction | Lü Bu faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Wei |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | Dong Commandery |
| Died | R198 Unverified | Place of death | RNXiapi County |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R31 |
Profile
Chen Gong was a general under Cao Cao stationed in Dong Commandery who, in the 1st year of Xingping (194), while Cao Cao was away attacking Tao Qian, persuaded Zhang Miao to welcome Lü Bu and make him Governor of Yan Province. After that he fought Cao Cao at Lü Bu's side. Records, Wei 7 §12–13Records, Wei 1 §33
When they were besieged at Xiapi in the 3rd year of Jian'an (198), he talked Lü Bu out of surrendering, but at the end of a three-month siege he was bound by Lü Bu's generals and handed over to Cao Cao, and he died together with Lü Bu. Records, Wei 7 §25–27Records, Wei 1 §49
Chen Shou's main text gives neither his courtesy name nor his place of origin; there is only a short passage attached to the end of Lü Bu's record in the Biographies of Lü Bu, Zhang Miao and Zang Hong in Records of Wei 7, and the assessment does not treat him separately. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 4 as the magistrate of Zhongmou County, where his courtesy name is given as Gongtai; he appears in 12 of its 120 chapters (Chapters 4–19), and his name is in no chapter title. He releases Cao Cao and goes with him, then abandons him, and later, as Lü Bu's adviser, repeatedly offers stratagems that go unused. Records, Wei 7 §28–29 · 62Romance, Ch. 4 §34–37Romance, Ch. 5 §1Romance, Ch. 19 §54
In the Records
In the 1st year of Xingping (194), when Cao Cao again went out to attack Tao Qian, Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao plotted to rebel against Cao Cao together with Cao Cao's general Chen Gong and the Attendant Officers of the Household (congshi zhonglang) Xu Si and Wang Kai. Chen Gong said to Zhang Miao that at a time when heroes were rising together and the realm was falling apart, it was surely contemptible for him, with the multitudes of a thousand li at his command, to be controlled by another. He went on to urge that, since the province's army had gone east and left the place empty, they should for the time being welcome Lü Bu, a fine fighter whom no one could stand against, govern Yan Province together with him, and wait for the times to change. Zhang Miao followed his advice. Records, Wei 7 §12–13
Cao Cao had originally had Chen Gong lead troops and remain garrisoned in Dong Commandery, but Chen Gong took those troops east, welcomed Lü Bu, made him Governor of Yan Province and seized Puyang. The commanderies and counties all responded, and only Juancheng, Dong'e and Fan held out for Cao Cao. The Biography of Xun Yu records that many of the commanders and senior officials left on guard had plotted in secret with Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, and that the troops settled down only after Xiahou Dun, Administrator of Dong Commandery, hurried there and that night executed several dozen men who had plotted rebellion. Records, Wei 7 §13Records, Wei 10 §5–6
According to the Biography of Cheng Yu, a man who had come over from Lü Bu's side reported that Chen Gong meant to lead troops himself to take Dong'e and to send Fan Yi to take Fan, and officials and people alike were afraid. Persuading Jin Yun, the magistrate of Fan, Cheng Yu said that 'Chen Gong and the others have merely come together for the moment as circumstances dictate, and will not be able to serve one another as lord.' Jin Yun stabbed Fan Yi to death, and when Cheng Yu sent a separate cavalry force to cut off Cangting Ford, Chen Gong arrived but could not cross. Records, Wei 14 §8 · 10–11
Cao Cao returned and faced Lü Bu at Puyang for more than a hundred days, and in the summer of the 2nd year of Xingping (195) he attacked and beheaded Lü Bu's generals Xue Lan and Li Feng, who were stationed at Juye. Lü Bu came again from Dongmin with Chen Gong and more than 10,000 men to fight, but Cao Cao, whose troops were few, laid an ambush, sent out a surprise force and routed them. Around this time Xun Yu told Cao Cao that, now that Li Feng and Xue Lan had been crushed, if he divided his forces and attacked Chen Gong in the east, Chen Gong would not dare look west, and urged him to subdue Lü Bu first. Records, Wei 7 §14Records, Wei 1 §33Records, Wei 10 §8–10
In the 3rd year of Jian'an (198), when Lü Bu again sided with Yuan Shu, Cao Cao set out on campaign in person and arrived beneath the walls of Xiapi. Cao Cao sent a letter setting out where fortune and misfortune lay, and Lü Bu wanted to surrender, but Chen Gong and the others, believing their own guilt to be deep, blocked the plan. The Annals of Emperor Wu records that Chen Gong and the others sought help from Yuan Shu and urged Lü Bu to go out and fight, but that when he fought and was defeated again, he went back and held fast. Records, Wei 7 §25Records, Wei 1 §48
As the fighting dragged on and the soldiers grew weary, Cao Cao wanted to turn back. Xun You and Guo Jia said that 'Lü Bu is brave but has no strategy, and Chen Gong has wisdom but is slow,' and urged an immediate assault now, while Lü Bu's spirit had not recovered and Chen Gong's plans were not yet settled. Cao Cao breached the Yi and Si rivers to flood the city. At the end of a three-month siege, when high and low had become divided in heart, Lü Bu's generals Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu bound Chen Gong and surrendered with their troops. Records, Wei 10 §57Records, Wei 7 §26Records, Wei 1 §49
Cao Cao asked the captured Chen Gong whether he did not wish his old mother and his daughter to live. Chen Gong replied that he had heard that one who governs the realm by filial piety does not cut off another man's parents, and one who spreads benevolence across the four seas does not cut off another man's ancestral sacrifices, and that the matter of his old mother rested with Cao Cao, not with himself. Cao Cao summoned his mother and supported her until her death, and married off his daughter. Records, Wei 7 §29
Chen Gong died together with Lü Bu. Lü Bu was strangled, and Lü Bu, Chen Gong, Gao Shun and the others all had their heads cut off and sent to Xu, where they were displayed before being buried. Records, Wei 7 §27Records, Wei 1 §49
In the assessment of Records of Wei 7, Chen Shou said that Lü Bu had the courage of a roaring tiger but lacked brilliant strategy, was fickle and looked only to profit, and wrote that even Taizu of Wei had been blinded by Zhang Miao. He expressed regret for Chen Deng and Zang Hong, but said nothing separately about Chen Gong. Records, Wei 7 §62
In the Romance
In Chapter 4 of the Romance, when Cao Cao, fleeing after his attempt to stab Dong Zhuo, is caught at Zhongmou County, the magistrate says he recognized him when he was seeking office in Luoyang and has him locked up. At night, after hearing Cao Cao's intentions, he unties his bonds with his own hands and bows to him as 'a truly loyal and righteous man of the realm', reveals that his surname is Chen, his given name Gong and his courtesy name Gongtai, and that his old mother, wife and children are in Dong Commandery, and then gives up his office and follows Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 4 §34–37
At the house of Lü Boshe in Chenggao, hearing the sound of knives being sharpened, he and Cao Cao kill eight members of the household, only to find that what was to be slaughtered was a pig. When Cao Cao then cuts down even Lü Boshe, who is on his way back after buying wine, Chen Gong says that 'to kill knowingly and deliberately is a great unrighteousness', and Cao Cao answers, 'Better that I wrong all the people of the realm than let the people of the realm wrong me.' That night Chen Gong is about to kill the sleeping Cao Cao, but, judging it unrighteous to kill a man he had followed for the sake of the state, he puts his sword back, and at the start of Chapter 5 he leaves alone for Dong Commandery. Romance, Ch. 4 §38–44Romance, Ch. 5 §1
In Chapter 10, as an Attendant Officer of Dong Commandery on close terms with Tao Qian, he goes to Cao Cao to dissuade him from massacring the people of Xu Province but is refused, and he takes refuge with Zhang Miao, Administrator of Chenliu. In Chapter 11 he urges Zhang Miao to take Yan Province together with Lü Bu while Cao Cao has gone east on campaign and left it empty. In Chapter 12 he devises a plan to have Tian, a wealthy man of Puyang, send a false letter offering to act as an inside ally, lure Cao Cao into the city and set fire to its four gates, and Liu Ye on Cao Cao's side warns that 'Lü Bu has no strategy, but Chen Gong has many schemes.' Romance, Ch. 10 §34–36Romance, Ch. 11 §35–36Romance, Ch. 12 §2–4
He also offers stratagems during the Xu Province years. In Chapter 14 he urges seizing Xu Province while Zhang Fei is drunk; in Chapter 16 he has the marriage alliance with Yuan Shu hurried along so that the daughter is sent to Shouchun, and says that if Liu Bei is not killed now, harm will come of it later. In Chapter 18, rebuked by Lü Bu after telling him to beware of Chen Gui and his son, he sighs that 'loyal counsel is not accepted, and we will surely meet with disaster,' and on a hunting trip he catches a messenger carrying Liu Bei's secret letter to Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 14 §56Romance, Ch. 16 §24–26 · 35Romance, Ch. 18 §20–22
At Xiapi in Chapter 19, Chen Gong proposes attacking Cao Cao's army before it can set up its camps, and from the city wall he denounces Cao Cao as a traitor and hits his parasol with an arrow. Lü Bu approves both his plan to station troops outside the city so that the two forces support each other like the horns and legs of a deer and his plan to cut Cao Cao's supply route, but gives them up when his wife Lady Yan tearfully stops him and Diaochan too tells him not to go out in person, and Chen Gong sighs, 'We shall die without even a place to be buried.' When the city falls, Chen Gong flees through the south gate and is captured by Xu Huang. Romance, Ch. 19 §25–31 · 51
At the Baimen Tower, when Cao Cao says, 'Gongtai, have you been well since we parted?', Chen Gong answers, 'Your heart is not upright, and that is why I abandoned you,' adding that Lü Bu has no strategy but is not as treacherous as he is. He laments that Lü Bu did not follow his advice, says that the life or death of his old mother, wife and children rests with the illustrious lord, asks to be put to death at once, and walks down from the tower of his own accord. Cao Cao weeps as he sees him off, sends his family to Xudu to be cared for the rest of their lives, and has his body placed in an inner and outer coffin and buried at Xudu. Romance, Ch. 19 §53–56
Where the Romance differs
Zhongmou: In Chapter 4 of the Romance, Chen Gong, magistrate of Zhongmou County, recognizes the captured Cao Cao yet releases him, gives up his office and flees with him. The Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records says only that Cao Cao, passing through Zhongmou, was seized by a local post head and taken to the county seat, and was released after someone in the town who secretly recognized him interceded for him; Chen Gong does not appear. Romance, Ch. 4 §34–37Records, Wei 1 §6
Lü Boshe: In Chapter 4 of the Romance, Chen Gong kills Lü Boshe's household together with Cao Cao, and abandons Cao Cao after hearing what he says when he cuts down Lü Boshe. Neither the record of Chen Gong in Chen Shou's main text nor the Annals of Emperor Wu contains this incident. Romance, Ch. 4 §40–44Records, Wei 7 §28–29Records, Wei 1 §6
Parting from Cao Cao: In Chapter 5 of the Romance he leaves Cao Cao before Cao Cao raises his army, and in Chapter 10, as an Attendant Officer of Dong Commandery, he tries to dissuade Cao Cao on Tao Qian's behalf, is refused and goes to Zhang Miao. In the Records, Chen Gong was stationed in Dong Commandery as Cao Cao's general until the 1st year of Xingping (194), and rebelled while Cao Cao was away attacking Tao Qian. Romance, Ch. 5 §1Romance, Ch. 10 §34–36Records, Wei 7 §12–13
Who welcomed Lü Bu: In Chapter 11 of the Romance, Zhang Miao, on Chen Gong's advice, has Lü Bu make a surprise attack on Yan Province. In the Records, after persuading Zhang Miao, Chen Gong himself led his troops east, welcomed Lü Bu and made him Governor of Yan Province. Romance, Ch. 11 §35–36Records, Wei 7 §13
The fire at Puyang: In Chapter 12 of the Romance, Chen Gong devises the plan of having the wealthy Tian lure Cao Cao into the city and then setting fires. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Lü Bu's cavalry charged the Qingzhou troops and threw Cao Cao's formation into disorder, and Cao Cao, breaking out through the flames, fell from his horse and burned the palm of his left hand; neither Tian nor any plan of Chen Gong's appears. Romance, Ch. 12 §2–3Records, Wei 1 §30
Chen Gui and his son, and the marriage: In Chapters 16 to 18 of the Romance, Chen Gong has the marriage alliance with Yuan Shu hurried along, and tells Lü Bu to behead Chen Gui and his son and send their heads to Yuan Shu, or to be on guard against them. In the Biography of Lü Bu in the Records, it was Chen Gui who had the marriage broken off, and Chen Gong does not appear in the affairs of Chen Gui and Chen Deng. Romance, Ch. 16 §23–26Romance, Ch. 17 §6Romance, Ch. 18 §20Records, Wei 7 §19–24
The stratagem at Xiapi: In Chapter 19 of the Romance, Chen Gong's plan to station troops outside the city so that the two forces support each other like the horns and legs of a deer goes unused because Lady Yan dissuades Lü Bu. The Records has no such plan; it records that Chen Gong and the others blocked Lü Bu when he wanted to surrender, sought help from Yuan Shu and urged him to go out and fight, but that he fought and was defeated again. Romance, Ch. 19 §27–29Records, Wei 7 §25Records, Wei 1 §48
How he was captured: In Chapter 19 of the Romance, after the city falls, Xu Huang captures Chen Gong as he flees through the south gate. In the Records, at the end of a three-month siege, Lü Bu's generals Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu bound Chen Gong and surrendered with their troops. Romance, Ch. 19 §51Records, Wei 7 §26Records, Wei 1 §49
Death and family: In Chapter 19 of the Romance, after denouncing Cao Cao, Chen Gong walks down from the tower of his own accord to be executed, and Cao Cao weeps as he sees him off, sends his family to Xudu and buries his body at Xudu. In the Records, after the exchange about his mother and daughter, Cao Cao supported his mother until her death and married off his daughter, and Chen Gong's head, along with those of Lü Bu, Gao Shun and others, was sent to Xu and displayed before being buried. Romance, Ch. 19 §53–56Records, Wei 7 §27 · 29
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 total464 / 1000Rank 329 of 996 · Top 34%Romance total539 / 1000Rank 58 of 1,113 · Top 6%
Romance adaptation index+75Romance total − Records total
- LEA4850+2
- STR3232±0
- INT6882+14
- POL3845+7
- CHA5845−13
- VIR4580+35
- ADP3045+15
- SCH4238−4
- DIP6860−8
- DIS3562+27
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RTook Lü Bu as his lord, though Lü Bu was called a hero among common menWei 7 §13Wei 14 §10
NSaw through Cao Cao's wolfish heart and Chen Deng's schemingCh. 4 §44Ch. 19 §17
RBlocked Lü Bu's surrender believing their guilt deep; said to have joined him only for the moment as circumstances dictatedWei 7 §25Wei 14 §10
NLeft Cao Cao for Lü Bu, and when captured asked only for deathCh. 4 §44Ch. 19 §54
RPlanned to welcome Lü Bu into empty Yan Province; the enemy judged him wise but slowWei 7 §12Wei 10 §57
NTrapped Cao Cao with Tian's false surrender, was said to have many schemes, but his loyal counsel went unheededCh. 12 §2Ch. 19 §29Ch. 19 §57
RMany commanders and officials plotted with him, and a hundred cities respondedWei 10 §6Wei 14 §10
NNo direct record — estimated from Cao Cao's wish to spare himCh. 19 §55
5 similar abilities — show evidence
RTaizu entrusted him with the Dong Commandery garrison, and he threatened three cities of Yan Province with a large armyWei 7 §13Wei 14 §9
NHeld the city with Gao Shun and proposed dividing the defense between inside and outside the cityCh. 12 §41Ch. 19 §27
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as an adviserWei 7 §13
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an adviserCh. 19 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his reply quoting classical phrasesWei 7 §29
NNo direct record — estimated from his reply quoting classical phrasesCh. 19 §54
RPersuaded Zhang Miao to rebel against Taizu and welcome Lü BuWei 7 §12
NPersuaded Han Yin and Lü Bu to hasten the marriage, but never got his plan to sally from the city acceptedCh. 16 §23Ch. 19 §31
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 (12)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history Changed allegiance 1 times
Related events (9)
- Chen Gong arrests and releases Cao Cao 189 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Cao Cao Battles Lü Bu 194~195 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Lü Bu Defeats Cao Cao at Puyang 194 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Battle of Puyang 194 · Command
- Battle of Dingtao 195 · Command
- Lü Bu Seizes Xu Province by Night 196 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Battle of Xiapi 198 · Command
- Lü Bu Dies at the White Gate Tower 198 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Cao Cao Besieges Xiapi 198 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).