RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NBound the mengchong warships fast with cables and set more than a thousand bows and crossbows on each shipCh. 38 §48
Chen Jiu 陳就
| Occupation | RGeneral · Area Commander NGeneral | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R208 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RKilled in battle NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R2 |
Profile
Chen Jiu was an Area Commander (dudu) under Huang Zu. He has no biography of his own in the Records, and his name appears in the biography of Lü Meng. When Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu, he led the navy out on Huang Zu's orders to give battle, but was beheaded by Lü Meng, who led the vanguard. Records, Wu 9 §58–59
On hearing that Chen Jiu was dead, Huang Zu abandoned his city and fled, but was captured by the soldiers who pursued him, and Sun Quan said, 'That the affair succeeded was because Chen Jiu was taken first.' The Biography of the Lord of Wu dates this campaign to the spring of the 13th year of Jian'an (208). Records, Wu 9 §59Records, Wu 2 §11
In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 38, 1 of its 120 chapters, and no chapter has his name in its title. The Romance portrays him, together with Deng Long, as the vanguard of Huang Zu's army; after blocking Miankou with mengchong warships, he abandons his ship and flees, and just as he tries to get ashore he is cut down by Lü Meng's sword. Romance, Ch. 38 §48–50
In the Records
Chen Jiu has no biography of his own in the Records and appears in the biography of Lü Meng in Records of Wu 9. When Lü Meng, then Commandant Who Pacifies the North and concurrently Chief of Guangde County, followed Sun Quan on the campaign against Huang Zu, Huang Zu had his Area Commander Chen Jiu lead the navy out to meet them in battle. Records, Wu 9 §58
Lü Meng led the vanguard and personally cut off Chen Jiu's head, and the officers and men, riding on their victory, advanced and attacked the city. On hearing that Chen Jiu was dead, Huang Zu abandoned the city and fled, but the soldiers pursued and captured him. Sun Quan said, 'That the affair succeeded was because Chen Jiu was taken first,' and made Lü Meng General of the Household Who Sweeps the Plains, granting him ten million cash. The biography of Lü Meng goes on to record that in the same year Lü Meng, together with Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and others, defeated Lord Cao at Wulin. Records, Wu 9 §59–60
The Biography of the Lord of Wu dates this campaign to the spring of the 13th year of Jian'an (208). Huang Zu first sent a fleet to block the army, but the Commandant Lü Meng broke its vanguard, and Ling Tong, Dong Xi and others attacked with all their best troops and at last massacred the city. Huang Zu escaped with nothing but his life, but the cavalryman Feng Ze pursued him, cut off his head and displayed it. Chen Jiu's name does not appear in the Biography of the Lord of Wu. Records, Wu 2 §11
According to the Biography of Dong Xi, which records the same battle, Huang Zu set two mengchong ships across the river to guard Miankou from either side, anchoring them with great cables of twisted palm fiber tied to stones, and a thousand men on board shot crossbows in crossing volleys so that Sun Quan's army could not advance. Dong Xi and Ling Tong formed the vanguard, each leading a hundred men sworn to die, and charged in among the mengchong in large boats; Dong Xi personally cut the two cables with his sword, so that the main army could advance. The Biography of Dong Xi does not name the commander who guarded the mengchong. Records, Wu 10 §49
In the Romance
In Chapter 38 of the Romance, after his mother Lady Wu falls gravely ill and dies in the 10th month, winter, of the 12th year of Jian'an (207), Sun Quan discusses an attack on Huang Zu the following spring. Hearing from Gan Ning, who has come over to surrender, the plan of taking Huang Zu first, Sun Quan makes Zhou Yu Grand Commander, Lü Meng vanguard of the forward division, and Dong Xi and Gan Ning lieutenant generals, and sets out in person at the head of a great army of 100,000. Romance, Ch. 38 §39 · 41–42 · 46–47
When spies learn of this and report it to Jiangxia, Huang Zu makes Su Fei his senior commander and Chen Jiu and Deng Long his vanguard, and raises every soldier in Jiangxia to meet the enemy. Chen Jiu and Deng Long each lead a squadron of mengchong warships to block Miankou, mounting more than a thousand strong bows and stout crossbows on each mengchong and binding the ships fast on the water with thick cables. When the Eastern Wu troops arrive, drums sound on the mengchong and bows and crossbows loose all at once, and the Eastern Wu troops dare not advance and fall back several li. Romance, Ch. 38 §48
Gan Ning tells Dong Xi that, matters having come to this, they have no choice but to advance; he puts fifty picked soldiers in each of more than a hundred small boats, and, heedless of arrows and stones, they close in beside the mengchong and cut the thick cables, so that the mengchong swing sideways. When Gan Ning leaps up onto a mengchong as if flying and cuts Deng Long down, Chen Jiu abandons his ship and flees. Romance, Ch. 38 §49
Seeing this, Lü Meng leaps down into a small boat, rows it himself straight into the fleet and sets fire to the ships. As Chen Jiu hurries to get ashore, Lü Meng chases him down at the risk of his own life and fells him with a single sword stroke to the chest. By the time Su Fei comes to the rescue on the riverbank, the Eastern Wu commanders have all landed together, Huang Zu's army is badly defeated, and Su Fei is captured by Pan Zhang. Romance, Ch. 38 §50
Sun Quan urges on his three armies to attack Xiakou day and night, and in Chapter 39 Huang Zu, his troops defeated and his generals lost, realizes he cannot hold out and abandons Jiangxia and flees. In the Romance, Chen Jiu's name appears only in this battle passage of Chapter 38. Romance, Ch. 38 §51Romance, Ch. 39 §1
Where the Romance differs
His post: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Chen Jiu becomes the vanguard together with Deng Long under the senior commander Su Fei. In the biography of Lü Meng in the Records, Huang Zu had his Area Commander Chen Jiu lead the navy out to give battle. Su Fei and Deng Long do not appear in the biographies of Lü Meng and Dong Xi or in the Biography of the Lord of Wu in Chen Shou's main text, which record this battle. Romance, Ch. 38 §48Records, Wu 9 §58Records, Wu 2 §11Records, Wu 10 §49
The mengchong at Miankou: In the Romance, Chen Jiu and Deng Long each lead a squadron of mengchong warships to block Miankou, and Eastern Wu troops in more than a hundred small boats cut the thick cables. The Biography of Dong Xi in the Records says only that Huang Zu set two mengchong ships across the river to guard Miankou, without naming the commander who guarded them, and it was Dong Xi who personally cut the two cables with his sword. Romance, Ch. 38 §48–49Records, Wu 10 §49
Chen Jiu's death: In the Romance, Chen Jiu abandons his ship and flees, and as he tries to get ashore he is cut across the chest by Lü Meng's sword. The Records say only that Lü Meng led the vanguard and personally cut off Chen Jiu's head, and say nothing of Chen Jiu abandoning his ship and fleeing. Romance, Ch. 38 §49–50Records, Wu 9 §59
After Chen Jiu's death: In the Records, Huang Zu abandoned his city and fled on hearing that Chen Jiu was dead, and Sun Quan said that the affair had succeeded because Chen Jiu was taken first. In the Romance, after Chen Jiu's death Su Fei is captured and Sun Quan attacks Xiakou day and night, and in Chapter 39 Huang Zu, his troops defeated and his generals lost, abandons Jiangxia and flees. Sun Quan's remark about Chen Jiu does not appear in the Romance. Records, Wu 9 §59Romance, Ch. 38 §50–51Romance, Ch. 39 §1
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 total391 / 1000Rank 669 of 996 · Top 68%Romance total392 / 1000Rank 576 of 1,113 · Top 52%
Romance adaptation index+1Romance total − Records total
- LEA5255+3
- STR4540−5
- INT4050+10
- POL3533−2
- CHA4040±0
- VIR4040±0
- ADP3835−3
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3533−2
- DIS3535±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RAs Huang Zu's Area Commander, led the navy out to give battleWu 9 §58
NLed a squadron of mengchong warships to block Miankou and drove back the Wu armyCh. 38 §48
RBeheaded by Lü Meng, who came leading the vanguardWu 9 §59
NFelled by a single stroke of Lü Meng's sword as he tried to get ashoreCh. 38 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NAbandoned his ship and fled when the mengchong were cut looseCh. 38 §49Ch. 38 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as Huang Zu's Area CommanderWu 9 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as vanguard of JiangxiaCh. 38 §48
Special — talents Records +10 · Romance +10
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Naval warfare
RNSkilled +10 Led the navy and a fleet of mengchong warships against the enemyWu 9 §58Ch. 38 §48
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 →
Related events (2)
- Battle of Jiangxia 208 · Command
- The Sun Family Takes Revenge on the Yangtze 208 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).