| Occupation | RNGeneral · General of Chariots and Cavalry | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R200 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R20 |
Dong Cheng was the maternal uncle of Emperor Xian and rose to General of Chariots and Cavalry. The Records has no separate biography of him; he appears scattered through the Biography of Dong Zhuo, the Annals of Emperor Wu, the Biography of the First Sovereign and elsewhere. When Li Jue and Guo Si fought each other in Chang'an, he escorted the Son of Heaven back to Luoyang together with Yang Feng and Han Xian, and at Anyi he held the reins of government together with Yang Feng and others. Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 6 §24–28
After Cao Cao received the Son of Heaven and made Xu the capital, Dong Cheng said he had received a secret edict hidden in the emperor's sash and plotted with Liu Bei and others to kill Lord Cao. In the 1st month of spring in the 5th year of Jian'an (200) the plot leaked, and Dong Cheng and the others were all executed. Records, Wei 6 §30Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 1 §58
As he has no biography in the Records, there is no assessment of him by Chen Shou. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 13 as 'Dong Cheng, kinsman of the imperial house', and appears in 12 of its 120 chapters; his name is in the titles of Chapter 13, 'Yang Feng and Dong Cheng Together Rescue the Imperial Carriage', and Chapter 20, 'Imperial Uncle Dong Receives an Edict in the Inner Palace'. In Chapters 20 to 24 he receives the emperor's edict written in blood and tries to do away with Cao Cao, but is executed together with his entire household. Romance, Ch. 13 §43Romance, Ch. 20 §19–21 · 30Romance, Ch. 24 §1–2
When Li Jue and Guo Si grew suspicious of each other and fought within Chang'an, Li Jue's general Yang Feng turned against Li Jue. Zhang Ji reconciled the two and the Son of Heaven was able to leave Chang'an, but when Guo Si again tried to coerce the Son of Heaven into going to Mei, the Son of Heaven fled to Yang Feng's camp. After Yang Feng defeated Guo Si, Yang Feng and General Dong Cheng escorted the Son of Heaven toward Luoyang. Records, Wei 6 §24–25
Regretting that they had let the Son of Heaven go, Li Jue and Guo Si joined forces again and caught up with him at Caoyang in Hongnong. Yang Feng called in the former White Wave leaders of Hedong, Han Xian, Hu Cai and Li Le, and fought, but was defeated, and the Son of Heaven crossed the Yellow River and made Anyi his capital. Han Xian was made General Who Conquers the East, Hu Cai General Who Conquers the West and Li Le General Who Conquers the North, and they were made to hold the reins of government together with Yang Feng and Dong Cheng. Records, Wei 6 §26–27
As the generals could not keep one another in line, high and low fell into disorder and the provisions ran out, so Yang Feng, Han Xian and Dong Cheng escorted the Son of Heaven back to Luoyang. Zhang Yang met them on the road with provisions, and the Biography of Zhang Yang records this as an event of the 1st year of Jian'an (196). The palaces of Luoyang had all been burned, and the hunger was such that officials from Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat down went out themselves to gather firewood and pick wild greens. Records, Wei 6 §28Records, Wei 8 §33
The Annals of Emperor Wu records, as an event of the 1st year of Jian'an, that Taizu sent Cao Hong west with troops to receive the Son of Heaven, but the General of the Guards Dong Cheng, together with Yuan Shu's general Chang Nu, held the passes against him, and Cao Hong could not advance. Records, Wei 1 §36–37
At Luoyang, Han Xian, Yang Feng, Dong Cheng and Zhang Yang each went their own way and could not get along, and the Biography of Xu Huang records that Han Xian and Dong Cheng quarreled every day. Dong Zhao judged that Yang Feng's troops and horses were the strongest but that he had few allies, and sent Yang Feng a letter in Taizu's name. Taizu at last received the Son of Heaven and made Xu County the capital. Records, Wei 14 §50Records, Wei 17 §57Records, Wei 6 §30
According to the Biography of the First Sovereign, Dong Cheng, General of Chariots and Cavalry and maternal uncle of Emperor Xian, said he had received a secret edict hidden in the emperor's sash and that Lord Cao must be killed. Liu Bei did not act at first. At that time Lord Cao remarked casually, 'The only heroes in the realm today are you, my lord, and I, Cao Cao,' and Liu Bei dropped his spoon and chopsticks; he finally joined the plot with Dong Cheng, the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji, and the generals Wu Zilan and Wang Zifu, among others. But he happened to be sent out on a mission and could not carry it out. The Annals of Emperor Wu also records that before Liu Bei went east he secretly plotted rebellion with Dong Cheng and others. Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 1 §56
In the 1st month of spring in the 5th year of Jian'an (200), the plot of Dong Cheng and the others leaked, and they were all executed. Cao Cao then personally marched east against Liu Bei. The Biography of Dong Zhuo records that Dong Cheng was put to death a little over a year after he began following Taizu. Records, Wei 1 §58Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 6 §30
The affair was recorded again even after his death. In the 11th month of the 19th year of Jian'an (214) it came to light that Empress Fu had once written in a letter to her father Fu Wan that the emperor resented Lord Cao over the execution of Dong Cheng; the empress was deposed and died, and her brothers were also executed. In the memorial the officials presented to the Han emperor when they proclaimed Liu Bei King of Hanzhong, and in the document Liu Bei himself submitted, it was said that Liu Bei had sought to attack Cao Cao together with the General of Chariots and Cavalry Dong Cheng, but that the secret leaked and Dong Cheng came to harm. Records, Wei 1 §136 · 142Records, Shu 2 §40 · 42 · 48–49
In Chapter 13 of the Romance, when Guo Si's great army surrounds the Son of Heaven and Yang Feng and they are in danger, the general who comes charging in with troops from the southeast and routs the enemy is 'Dong Cheng, kinsman of the imperial house'. Dong Cheng swears to the emperor that he and General Yang will behead the two traitors, and he fights to the death against Li Jue and Guo Si at Dongjian, barely managing to bring out only the carriages of the emperor and empress. Together with Yang Feng he secretly summons Han Xian, Li Le and Hu Cai of Hedong, and at Anyi he tries to persuade Li Le that they must return to Luoyang; when Li Le will not agree, he and Yang Feng escort the imperial carriage and set out. Romance, Ch. 13 §43–44 · 46 · 48 · 56
In Chapter 14, when word comes that Li Jue and Guo Si are approaching again, Dong Cheng says that the city walls are not strong and the troops are few, and proposes escorting the imperial carriage to Shandong to take refuge; the emperor follows his advice. After Cao Cao receives the imperial carriage at Xudu, Dong Cheng and twelve others, thirteen in all, are made full marquises. Romance, Ch. 14 §7 · 34
In Chapter 20, after the hunt at Xutian, Fu Wan recommends to the emperor 'General of Chariots and Cavalry Dong Cheng, the Imperial Uncle', and proposes the plan of bestowing a robe and a jade belt with a secret edict sewn into the belt's lining. The emperor bites his finger, writes an edict in blood, and has Empress Fu sew it into the lining of the jade belt, then bestows the robe and belt on Dong Cheng in the Pavilion of Meritorious Officials. Leaving the palace gate, Dong Cheng runs into Cao Cao and has to take off the robe and belt to show him, but Cao Cao returns them, saying he was only joking. That night a spark from the lamp wick falls on the belt and burns the lining, revealing the blood edict dated 'the 3rd month of spring in the 4th year of Jian'an'. Romance, Ch. 20 §19–21 · 24–28 · 30–31
Attendant Gentleman Wang Zifu, who sees the edict in the study, agrees to join, and the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji, the Court Gentleman Wu Shuo, the general Wu Zilan and the Grand Administrator of Xiliang Ma Teng write their names one after another on a piece of white silk. In Chapter 21, at Ma Teng's urging, Dong Cheng visits Liu Bei's residence at night and shows him the edict hidden in the sash, and Liu Bei too signs his name as 'General of the Left Liu Bei'. When Liu Bei leaves with his troops, Dong Cheng comes out as far as the ten-li pavilion to see him off. Romance, Ch. 20 §33–35 · 38 · 41–42Romance, Ch. 21 §1–6 · 27
In Chapter 23, at the New Year's court audience on the first day of the 5th year of Jian'an, Dong Cheng sees that Cao Cao has grown even more arrogant and falls ill from indignation, and the emperor sends the Imperial Physician Ji Ping. On the night of the Lantern Festival Ji Ping hears Dong Cheng cry out 'Cao Cao, you traitor!' as he cuts down Cao Cao in a dream, and Ji Ping bites off a finger as an oath and offers to kill Cao Cao with poison. But when Dong Cheng has his servant Qin Qingtong and his concubine Yunying, who were whispering in a dark corner, given forty strokes of the cane each and locks Qin Qingtong up, Qin Qingtong breaks his chain, escapes and denounces him to Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 23 §31 · 33–39
Ji Ping's attempt at poisoning fails, and Cao Cao, after imprisoning Wang Zifu and three others, comes to Dong Cheng's house on a sick visit and confronts him with the tortured Ji Ping and Qin Qingtong. Cao Cao's men find the edict hidden in the sash and the pledge in Dong Cheng's bedchamber. In Chapter 24, on Cheng Yu's remonstrance, Cao Cao gives up deposing the emperor, but he has Dong Cheng and the four others, five in all, together with their entire households, dragged to the city gates and beheaded, and more than 700 people die. He then has Dong Cheng's younger sister, the imperial consort Dong Guifei, five months pregnant, strangled outside the palace gate. Romance, Ch. 23 §41–42 · 50–52 · 56–57Romance, Ch. 24 §1–2 · 5 · 8
In Chapter 78, the blood-soaked ghost of Dong Cheng appears before the dying Cao Cao together with Empress Fu, Noble Lady Dong and others. In Chapter 109, the Wei emperor Cao Fang, when issuing an edict in blood, warns that 'the Martial Emperor's killing of Dong Cheng came about because the affair was not kept secret'. Romance, Ch. 78 §26Romance, Ch. 109 §28
The rescue of the imperial carriage: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, when Guo Si's great army surrounds the Son of Heaven and Yang Feng, Dong Cheng comes charging in with troops and breaks the encirclement. In the Biography of Dong Zhuo in the Records, the Son of Heaven fled to Yang Feng's camp and Yang Feng defeated Guo Si, and Dong Cheng appears only afterward, as the general who escorted the Son of Heaven toward Luoyang together with Yang Feng. Romance, Ch. 13 §43Records, Wei 6 §25
His stance toward Cao Cao's reception: In Chapter 14 of the Romance, Dong Cheng proposes taking refuge in Shandong, and the imperial carriage is escorted by Xiahou Dun and others sent by Cao Cao. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, when Taizu sent Cao Hong to receive the Son of Heaven, the General of the Guards Dong Cheng, together with Yuan Shu's general Chang Nu, held the passes against him, and Cao Hong could not advance. Romance, Ch. 14 §7–9Records, Wei 1 §37
The secret edict: In Chapter 20 of the Romance, on Fu Wan's plan, Empress Fu sews the edict Emperor Xian wrote in blood into the lining of a jade belt, and the emperor bestows it on Dong Cheng in the Pavilion of Meritorious Officials. The Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records records only that Dong Cheng said he had received a secret edict hidden in the emperor's sash, and does not say who made the edict or how it was handed over. Romance, Ch. 20 §20–21 · 24Records, Shu 2 §15
The fellow conspirators: On the pledge in Chapter 21 of the Romance, six men, Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu, Chong Ji, Wu Shuo, Wu Zilan and Ma Teng, write their names, and Liu Bei is added. The men named in the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records are Liu Bei, Dong Cheng, the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji, and the generals Wu Zilan and Wang Zifu, among others; Wu Shuo and Ma Teng do not appear in these passages of the Biography of the First Sovereign or the Annals of Emperor Wu. Romance, Ch. 21 §5–6Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 1 §56 · 58
The order in which Liu Bei joined: In Chapter 21 of the Romance, Liu Bei first sees the edict hidden in the sash from Dong Cheng and signs his name, and only afterward, while drinking with Cao Cao and discussing heroes, drops his spoon and chopsticks. In the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records, Liu Bei, who had not acted even after hearing Dong Cheng out, finally joined the plot with Dong Cheng and others only after dropping his spoon and chopsticks at Lord Cao's talk of heroes. Romance, Ch. 21 §5–6 · 16Records, Shu 2 §15
How the plot came to light: In Chapter 23 of the Romance, the Imperial Physician Ji Ping's attempt at poisoning fails, and the servant Qin Qingtong denounces the plot to Cao Cao, exposing it. In the Records, the Annals of Emperor Wu says only that 'the plot leaked' and the Biography of the First Sovereign only that 'the affair was discovered', without recording how. The Chief Imperial Physician Ji Ben who appears in the Annals of Emperor Wu is the man who, in the 1st month of spring in the 23rd year of Jian'an (218), rose in rebellion together with the Privy Treasurer Geng Ji and others and attacked Xu. Romance, Ch. 23 §39 · 41–42Records, Wei 1 §58 · 159Records, Shu 2 §15
The executions: In Chapter 24 of the Romance, Dong Cheng and the four others, five in all, together with their entire households, young and old, are dragged to the city gates and beheaded, and more than 700 people die. The Records states only that Dong Cheng and the others were all executed, and does not give the number of the dead. Romance, Ch. 24 §1–2Records, Wei 1 §58Records, Shu 2 §15
Dong Guifei: In Chapter 24 of the Romance, Dong Cheng's younger sister Dong Guifei is strangled by Cao Cao while pregnant. Dong Guifei does not appear in Chen Shou's main text. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, the person who suffers on account of Dong Cheng's affair is Empress Fu; in the 19th year of Jian'an (214) a letter she had written to her father, saying the emperor resented the execution of Dong Cheng, came to light, and she was deposed and died. Romance, Ch. 24 §5 · 8Records, Wei 1 §136 · 142
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.
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.
RClaimed to have received a secret edict and plotted to kill Lord Cao, and quarreled daily with Han XianShu 2 §15Shu 2 §42Wei 17 §57
NRescued the imperial carriage and upheld the edict hidden in the sash, and a poem says his loyalty will last a thousand agesCh. 13 §44Ch. 24 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his drawing the First Sovereign into the plotShu 2 §15
NWang Zifu, Chong Ji, Wu Zilan, Ma Teng and Xuande wrote their names on the pledgeCh. 20 §35Ch. 21 §6
RTold the First Sovereign of the secret edict and drew him in, but quarreled with Han XianShu 2 §15Wei 17 §57
NVisited Xuande at night, persuaded him to sign, and swore a blood oath with Ma TengCh. 21 §3Ch. 20 §40
RNo direct record — estimated from his overall conductShu 2 §15
NPicked out and brought together Xuande, Ma Teng and others, but could not manage his own household servantsCh. 21 §1Ch. 23 §40
RHeld the reins of government with Yang Feng and Han Xian, but high and low fell into disorder and provisions ran outWei 6 §27
NHad the palace in Luoyang repaired and escorted the imperial carriage to the eastern capitalCh. 13 §56
RCould not get along with the other generals, and his plot leakedWei 1 §58Wei 14 §50
NDid not even search for his runaway servant, was denounced, and the edict hidden in the sash and the pledge were discoveredCh. 23 §40Ch. 23 §57
RHeld the passes to stop Cao Hong's advance, and escorted the Son of Heaven to LuoyangWei 1 §37Wei 6 §28
NRescued the imperial carriage with Yang Feng and fought a great battle with Li Jue and Guo Si at DongjianCh. 13 §44Ch. 13 §46
RNo direct record — estimated from his rank of generalWei 1 §37
NNo direct record — estimated from his escort of the imperial carriageCh. 13 §46
RHis plot to kill Taizu leaked, and all the conspirators were executedWei 1 §58
NSaw through Li Le's scheme, but after receiving the edict could find no plan to carry it outCh. 20 §32Ch. 23 §31Ch. 13 §57
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as an imperial in-law and military officerShu 2 §15
NNo direct record — estimated from the account of his reading the edict in his studyCh. 20 §32
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.
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