Duan Gui 段珪
| Occupation | RNOther · Regular Palace Attendant | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R189 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | RYellow River |
| Cause of death | RSuicide NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R3 |
Profile
Duan Gui was a Regular Palace Attendant at the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records; in Chen Shou's main text his name appears in the passages on Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao in the Biographies of Dong, the Two Yuans and Liu (Records of Wei 6). After Emperor Ling died, when the General-in-Chief He Jin plotted with Yuan Shao to kill the eunuchs, the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others falsely invoked the empress dowager's command to summon He Jin into the palace and killed him. Records, Wei 6 §6 · 34–35
When Yuan Shu burned the Qingsuo Gate of the Jiade Hall in the Southern Palace, Duan Gui and the others abducted the emperor and the emperor's younger brother, the Prince of Chenliu, and fled to Xiaoping Ford; when hotly pursued, they all threw themselves into the Yellow River and died. Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name or origin. Records, Wei 6 §35–36
Duan Gui does not appear in the assessment in Records of Wei 6. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 1 as one of the 'Ten Regular Attendants' and appears in 3 of its 120 chapters, but he is not named in any chapter title. In Chapter 3, together with Zhang Rang, he flees to Mount Beimang holding the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu, and is caught and killed by Min Gong, who has come in pursuit. Records, Wei 6 §96Romance, Ch. 1 §6Romance, Ch. 3 §17 · 21
In the Records
After Emperor Ling died and Emperor Shao took the throne, the General-in-Chief He Jin plotted with the Colonel-Director of Retainers Yuan Shao to kill the eunuchs, but the empress dowager would not agree. He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops to the capital and also had him secretly submit a letter; Chen Shou records that this was meant to intimidate the empress dowager. According to the Biography of Yuan Shao, when the Regular Attendants and the Yellow Gate eunuchs heard of this, they all came to He Jin to apologize and placed themselves at his disposal, and Yuan Shao urged him two or three times to settle the matter then and there, but He Jin would not consent. This passage does not name the Regular Attendants who came to apologize. Records, Wei 6 §5–6 · 34
He Jin had Yuan Shao use the military officers in charge of strategy in Luoyang to keep watch on the eunuchs, and had Yuan Shao's younger brother Yuan Shu, General of the Household Rapid as Tigers, choose two hundred mild-tempered Rapid as Tigers guards and send them into the palace to replace the Yellow Gate eunuchs who bore arms and guarded the steps and doors. Thereupon the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others falsely invoked the empress dowager's command to summon He Jin into the palace, pretended to consult him and finally killed him, and the palace fell into turmoil. Records, Wei 6 §34–35
Yuan Shu led the Rapid as Tigers guards and burned the Qingsuo Gate of the Jiade Hall in the Southern Palace to drive out Duan Gui and the others. Duan Gui and the others did not come out, but abducted the emperor and the emperor's younger brother, the Prince of Chenliu, and fled to Xiaoping Ford. Yuan Shao beheaded Xu Xiang, the Colonel-Director of Retainers appointed by the eunuchs, then marshalled his troops, seized the eunuchs and killed them all, old and young alike. Some men were killed by mistake because they had no beards, and more than two thousand died. Records, Wei 6 §35–36
Duan Gui and the others were hotly pursued and all threw themselves into the Yellow River and died, and the emperor was able to return to the palace. The Biography of Dong Zhuo records the same events: before Dong Zhuo arrived He Jin had fallen, and when the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others abducted the emperor and fled to Xiaoping Ford, Dong Zhuo led his troops to meet the emperor at Beimang and returned with him to the palace. Records, Wei 6 §36 · 6
The Annals of Emperor Wu record, among the events of the 6th year of Zhongping (189), that He Jin was killed before Dong Zhuo arrived and that Dong Zhuo, on arriving, deposed the emperor, made him Prince of Hongnong and set up Emperor Xian, but do not name Duan Gui. Chen Shou's main text does not record Duan Gui's courtesy name, his origin, or any office other than Regular Palace Attendant. Records, Wei 1 §5–6Records, Wei 6 §6 · 35–36
In his assessment in Records of Wei 6, Chen Shou said that Dong Zhuo was fierce as a wolf, cruel, tyrannical and inhumane. Duan Gui does not appear in the assessment. Records, Wei 6 §96
In the Romance
Chapter 1 of the Romance relates that after the Court Gentleman for Consultation Cai Yong was banished for memorializing that the calamities and portents were caused by women and eunuchs meddling in government, ten men—Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun and Guo Sheng—banded together and committed every kind of evil, and people called them the 'Ten Regular Attendants'. Romance, Ch. 1 §5–6
In Chapter 2, when Zhang Rang and Duan Gui see that Empress Dong's faction has collapsed, they win over He Jin's younger brother He Miao and his mother Wuyangjun with gold, silver and rare treasures, so that the two go in to Empress He morning and evening and speak well of the eunuchs to shield them. In this way the Ten Regular Attendants regain favour. After He Jin has Empress Dong poisoned, the Colonel-Director of Retainers Yuan Shao urges He Jin to take this opportunity to kill the eunuchs, saying that Zhang Rang, Duan Gui and others are spreading rumours outside that he poisoned Empress Dong and is plotting a great undertaking. Romance, Ch. 2 §49–50
In Chapter 3, when He Jin, summoned by an edict of Empress He, enters the palace and reaches the gate of the Jiade Hall, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui come out to meet him and attendants surround him. After Zhang Rang berates He Jin, assassins lying in wait cut him in two. When Yuan Shu leads his troops into the palace and kills every eunuch in sight, Zhang Rang, Duan Gui, Cao Jie and Hou Lan seize the empress dowager, the crown prince and the Prince of Chenliu, drag them into the inner palace and flee by the back way toward the Northern Palace. Romance, Ch. 3 §7–8 · 10–11 · 14
Lu Zhi, who had resigned his office but had not yet left, sees Duan Gui forcibly dragging Empress He along and shouts, 'Duan Gui, you traitor, how dare you abduct the empress dowager!' Duan Gui turns and flees, and the empress dowager jumps out through a window and escapes harm with Lu Zhi's help. Romance, Ch. 3 §15
Zhang Rang and Duan Gui, holding the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu, break through smoke and flames and flee all night until they reach Mount Beimang, but at about the second watch Min Gong, Clerk of the Central Division of Henan, comes in pursuit, and Zhang Rang throws himself into the river and dies. Min Gong chases down and seizes Duan Gui and asks where the Son of Heaven is; when Duan Gui says that he lost him on the way and does not know where he has gone, Min Gong kills him and hangs his head from his horse's neck. After finding the emperor at Cui Yi's farmstead, Min Gong first has someone take Duan Gui's head to the capital to be displayed. Romance, Ch. 3 §17 · 21 · 23
Where the Romance differs
Ten Regular Attendants: Chapter 1 of the Romance introduces Duan Gui as one of the ten men called the 'Ten Regular Attendants'. The term 'Ten Regular Attendants' does not appear in Chen Shou's main text, where Duan Gui appears only as 'the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others'. Romance, Ch. 1 §6Records, Wei 6 §6 · 35
Winning over He Miao: In Chapter 2 of the Romance, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui win over He Miao and Wuyangjun with gold, silver and treasures so that they will shield the eunuchs before Empress He. The passages on Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao in Chen Shou's main text do not contain this episode; they record that when He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, the Regular Attendants and the Yellow Gate eunuchs all came to He Jin to apologize. Romance, Ch. 2 §49Records, Wei 6 §5–6 · 34–36
The summons to He Jin: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Empress He, at the request of Zhang Rang and the others, herself issues an edict summoning He Jin. In the Biography of Yuan Shao in the Records, the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others falsely invoked the empress dowager's command to summon He Jin. Romance, Ch. 3 §6–7Records, Wei 6 §35
How He Jin was killed: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui meet He Jin at the gate of the Jiade Hall, and after Zhang Rang berates him, assassins lying in wait cut him down. In the Records, Duan Gui and the others summoned He Jin, pretended to consult him and finally killed him. Romance, Ch. 3 §10–11Records, Wei 6 §35
Lu Zhi: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Lu Zhi rebukes Duan Gui as he drags Empress He away, drives him off and rescues the empress dowager. Lu Zhi does not appear in the passages on Duan Gui in Chen Shou's main text. Romance, Ch. 3 §15Records, Wei 6 §34–36
Where they fled: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui flee as far as Mount Beimang holding the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu. In the Records, Duan Gui and the others abducted the emperor and the Prince of Chenliu and fled to Xiaoping Ford, and Dong Zhuo met the emperor at Beimang and returned with him to the palace. Romance, Ch. 3 §17Records, Wei 6 §35 · 6
Death: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Duan Gui is caught by Min Gong, answers that he does not know where the Son of Heaven is and is killed, and his head is sent to the capital and displayed. In the Records, Duan Gui and the others, hotly pursued, all threw themselves into the Yellow River and died, and Min Gong does not appear in Chen Shou's main text. Romance, Ch. 3 §21 · 23Records, Wei 6 §36
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 total316 / 1000Rank 972 of 996 · Top 98%Romance total316 / 1000Rank 1,051 of 1,113 · Top 95%
Romance adaptation index±0Romance total − Records total
- LEA3131±0
- STR3128−3
- INT4545±0
- POL3520−15
- CHA3230−2
- VIR1510−5
- ADP3040+10
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3550+15
- DIS3131±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
7 similar abilities — show evidence
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)
- Dong Zhuo Enters the Capital 189 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).