RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NPersuaded Yu Jin to petition the King of Wei to replace the vanguardCh. 74 §2
Dong Heng 董衡
Profile
Dong Heng was a general on Cao Cao's side who fought alongside Pang De when Guan Yu attacked Fan in the 24th year of Jian'an (219). He has no biography of his own in the Records; he appears once, as 'General Dong Heng', in the account of Pang De in the Biographies of the Two Lis, Zang, Wen, Lü, Xu, Dian, the Two Pangs and Yan in Records of Wei 18. When the Han River overflowed and Pang De and the other generals took refuge from the water on an embankment, and Guan Yu attacked them, he tried to surrender together with the Divisional Commander Dong Chao and others, and Pang De seized them all and beheaded them. Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name or origin. Records, Wei 17 §38Records, Wei 18 §72
In his assessment of Records of Wei 18, Chen Shou only praised the integrity of Pang De, who gave his life and reviled the enemy, and did not deal with Dong Heng. In the Romance he appears in Chapter 74 as one of the two officers commanding the seven armies; this is the only one of the 120 chapters in which he appears, and no chapter title bears his name. He tells Yu Jin that using Pang De as vanguard will ruin the enterprise, and on the embankment cut off by the flood he urges Pang De to surrender and is beheaded by Pang De. Records, Wei 18 §92Romance, Ch. 74 §2 · 31
In the Records
In the 24th year of Jian'an (219), Taizu, who was at Chang'an, had Cao Ren attack Guan Yu at Fan, and also sent Yu Jin to help Cao Ren. Pang De had earlier attacked and taken Wan together with Cao Ren and then stationed himself to the south at Fan; when Guan Yu was to be attacked, the generals below the walls of Fancheng rather suspected him because his elder brother was in Hanzhong. Records, Wei 17 §38Records, Wei 18 §71
Cao Ren had Pang De camp ten li north of Fan. As it happened, heavy rain fell for more than ten days and the Han River suddenly overflowed, so that the water on the level ground below Fan was five or six zhang deep. Pang De and the other generals climbed onto the embankment to escape the water, and Guan Yu came to attack by boat, having arrows shot at the embankment from large ships on all four sides. Pang De put on his armor and shot with his bow, and not one of his arrows was wasted. At this point the general Dong Heng, the Divisional Commander Dong Chao and others were about to surrender, and Pang De had them all seized and beheaded. Records, Wei 18 §72
Pang De fought hard from dawn until past midday, and when his arrows ran out he fought hand to hand with short weapons; as the water rose ever higher, his officers and men all surrendered. Pang De tried to return to Cao Ren's camp in a small boat, but the boat overturned and he was captured by Guan Yu, and he was put to death for reviling Guan Yu, who had called on him to surrender. This is the only passage in Chen Shou's main text in which Dong Heng's name appears, and in his assessment of Records of Wei 18 Chen Shou discussed only Pang De and did not deal with Dong Heng. Records, Wei 18 §72–74 · 92
In the Romance
In Chapter 74 of the Romance, Cao Cao promotes Yu Jin to General Who Conquers the South and Pang De to Chief Vanguard of the Western Expedition, and raises a great force of seven armies. The Romance says that these seven armies were all strong, sturdy soldiers of the north, and that the officers commanding the troops were two men, Dong Heng and Dong Chao. That day the two of them lead the unit chiefs to pay their respects to Yu Jin, and Dong Heng says that Pang De was originally a lieutenant under Ma Chao who surrendered to Wei only because he had no choice, that his former lord now holds the rank of one of the Five Tiger Generals in Shu, and that his own elder brother Pang Rou also holds office in Xichuan; making him vanguard, he says, would be like pouring oil on a fire to put it out, and he urges Yu Jin to report to the King of Wei and have someone else put in his place. Romance, Ch. 74 §1–2
Yu Jin reports to Cao Cao that very night, and Cao Cao summons Pang De to the foot of the steps and has him hand back the seal of the vanguard. When Pang De takes off his cap and knocks his head on the ground until his face is covered in blood, declaring that the bond with his brother has been severed and that his duty to his former lord Ma Chao has also come to an end, Cao Cao raises him up and comforts him, saying that what he said before was only to set the minds of the others at ease. Pang De goes home and has a wooden coffin made, and when he sets out he has the coffin carried along with him. Romance, Ch. 74 §3–5 · 7
After the great flood strikes, the seven armies scatter in confusion and Yu Jin surrenders, Pang De, together with the two men Dong Heng and Dong Chao, with Cheng He and with 500 foot soldiers, all without armor, stands on the embankment and fights Guan Yu. When Guan Yu surrounds them on all sides with boats and has his men loose arrows all at once, shooting dead more than half of the Wei soldiers, Dong Heng and Dong Chao tell Pang De that more than half of the troops have been killed or wounded and there is no way out on any side, so they had better surrender. Pang De, in a great rage, says that having received the deep favor of the King of Wei he will never bend his integrity to another, beheads the two men himself before everyone, and shouts that anyone who speaks of surrender again will end up like these two. This is the last point at which Dong Heng appears in the Romance. Romance, Ch. 74 §29–31
Where the Romance differs
His standing: Chapter 74 of the Romance introduces Dong Heng, together with Dong Chao, as the two officers commanding the seven armies. The account of Pang De in the Records calls him 'General Dong Heng' and Dong Chao 'Divisional Commander Dong Chao'. Romance, Ch. 74 §2Records, Wei 18 §72
Suspicion of Pang De: In Chapter 74 of the Romance, Dong Heng tells Yu Jin that Pang De's former lord Ma Chao and his own elder brother Pang Rou are in Shu and asks that the vanguard be replaced, and Cao Cao, hearing of this, has Pang De hand back the seal of the vanguard. The Records only say that the generals below the walls of Fancheng rather suspected Pang De because his elder brother was in Hanzhong; they do not name the generals who suspected him, and there is no taking back of the vanguard's seal. As for where the brother was, the Romance says Xichuan and the Records say Hanzhong. Romance, Ch. 74 §2–3Records, Wei 18 §71
His death: In Chapter 74 of the Romance, Dong Heng and Dong Chao urge Pang De to surrender and are beheaded on the spot by Pang De's own hand. The Records only say that when Dong Heng, Dong Chao and others were about to surrender, Pang De had them all seized and beheaded; there is no mention of their urging Pang De to surrender. Romance, Ch. 74 §31Records, Wei 18 §72
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 total349 / 1000Rank 907 of 996 · Top 92%Romance total368 / 1000Rank 749 of 1,113 · Top 68%
Romance adaptation index+19Romance total − Records total
- LEA4548+3
- STR4038−2
- INT3848+10
- POL3131±0
- CHA3535±0
- VIR2525±0
- ADP3832−6
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3350+17
- DIS3330−3
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NPointed out that Pang De was Ma Chao's former lieutenant and that his brother was in ShuCh. 74 §2
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NAn officer commanding the seven armiesCh. 74 §2
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an officer of the seven armiesCh. 74 §2
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an officer of the seven armiesCh. 74 §2
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an officer of the seven armiesCh. 74 §2
RTried to surrender in the battle at Fancheng and was beheaded by Pang DeWei 18 §72
NUrged surrender when the battle turned against them and was beheaded by Pang DeCh. 74 §31
RTried to surrender when the situation grew perilousWei 18 §72
NArgued for surrender when every way out was blockedCh. 74 §31
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an officer of the seven armiesCh. 74 §2
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a general of WeiWei 18 §72
NSuspected Pang De, but Pang De kept his integrity to the endCh. 74 §2Ch. 74 §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 (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Related events (2)
- Pang De Brings His Coffin to Fight to the Death 219 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Guan Yu Floods the Seven Armies 219 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).