RSaid to have been bold and resolute, with the manner of his father Yue JinWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from the record of his taking part in the charge into the Eight Trigrams FormationCh. 100 §39
Yue Chen 樂綝
| Occupation | ROfficial · Inspector of Yang Province NGeneral · Deputy Vanguard | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | Dong Commandery Wei County Unverified |
| Died | R257 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RKilled NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Yue Chen was the son of the Wei general Yue Jin and succeeded his father. He has no separate biography in the Records and is briefly appended at the end of the Biography of Yue Jin, which says that he was bold and resolute, with his father's manner, and rose in office to Inspector of Yang Province. Records, Wei 17 §24–25
In the 5th month of the 2nd year of Ganlu (257), when Zhuge Dan, General-in-Chief Who Conquers the East, was summoned to become Minister of Works, he rebelled and went out in person to attack and kill Yue Chen, Inspector of Yang Province. The court mourned him in an edict, posthumously made him Minister of the Guards, and gave him the posthumous name Marquis Min. Records, Wei 4 §80 · 81–82Records, Wei 28 §35Records, Wei 17 §25
In his assessment Chen Shou said that Yue Jin made his name through his valor and boldness, but Yue Chen does not appear in the assessment. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 98 as 'Yue Chen, son of Yue Jin', and he appears in 6 of its 120 chapters, though his name is in no chapter title. Paired with Zhang Liao's son Zhang Hu, he takes part in the fighting against Zhuge Liang and Gongsun Yuan, and in Chapter 111 he is killed by Zhuge Dan. Records, Wei 17 §74Romance, Ch. 98 §7Romance, Ch. 100 §39Romance, Ch. 106 §25Romance, Ch. 111 §30
In the Records
His father Yue Jin, courtesy name Wenqian, was a man of Weiguo County in Yangping Commandery. He won merit in many battles following Taizu and was later stationed at Hefei together with Zhang Liao and Li Dian. Because he had won merit many times, 500 households were split off from his fief to enfeoff one of his sons as a full marquis, and Yue Jin was transferred to General of the Right. He died in the 23rd year of Jian'an (218), and his posthumous name was Marquis Wei. Records, Wei 17 §20 · 24
His son Yue Chen succeeded him. Chen Shou wrote that Yue Chen was bold and resolute, with his father's manner, and rose in office to Inspector of Yang Province. The main text of the Records records neither Yue Chen's courtesy name nor the offices he held before becoming Inspector of Yang Province. Records, Wei 17 §25
At that time Zhuge Dan, who commanded Yang Province, had long been in Huainan, and having served as General-in-Chief Who Guards the East with honors equal to the Three Excellencies, he was transferred to General-in-Chief Who Conquers the East. He had been very close to Xiahou Xuan, Deng Yang and others, and when Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian were exterminated with their clans one after the other, he grew afraid; he gave out the wealth of his storehouses to bind men's hearts to him and raised several thousand of the reckless swashbucklers of Yang Province as men sworn to die. In the winter of the 1st year of Ganlu (256), saying that he was guarding against Wu, he asked for a hundred thousand more men to hold Shouchun and proposed to build a fortress on the Huai River, but inwardly he meant to seize and hold Huainan. Records, Wei 28 §33–34
The court had an inkling that Zhuge Dan harbored suspicions of his own position, and in the 5th month of the 2nd year of Ganlu (257) it summoned him and made him Minister of Works. On receiving the edict Zhuge Dan grew even more afraid and at last rebelled; after calling his generals together, he went out in person to attack and kill Yue Chen, Inspector of Yang Province. The Annals of the Three Young Emperors record this as an event of the day yihai in the 5th month, and record that on the following day, bingzi, an amnesty was granted to the generals, officials, gentry and commoners of Huainan who had been deceived and implicated by Zhuge Dan. Records, Wei 28 §35Records, Wei 4 §78 · 81–82
The Biography of Yue Jin records that Zhuge Dan killed Yue Chen in a surprise attack. An edict was issued mourning and lamenting him; he was posthumously made Minister of the Guards and given the posthumous name Marquis Min, and his son Yue Zhao succeeded him. Records, Wei 17 §25
Having killed Yue Chen, Zhuge Dan gathered more than a hundred thousand soldiers from the military colonies of Huainan and Huaibei and forty or fifty thousand troops newly attached to him in Yang Province, shut the city gates and held out. Wang Ji, General Who Guards the South, began to surround Shouchun, and in the 6th month the General-in-Chief Sima Zhao led 260,000 troops from the capital and the provinces to the Huai River to attack him. Records, Wei 28 §35–37
In his assessment Chen Shou said that of the five outstanding generals of Taizu's time, Yue Jin made his name through his valor and boldness, but that, looking at his deeds, they fell short of his reputation, so that something seemed to have been left out of the records. Yue Chen does not appear in this assessment. Records, Wei 17 §74
In the Romance
In Chapter 98 of the Romance, Cao Zhen makes Zhang Liao's son Zhang Hu the vanguard and Yue Jin's son Yue Chen the deputy vanguard, telling them to hold the forward camp and not go out to fight. In step with Sun Li's plan to lure the Shu troops with grain carts, when flames rise on the west side of the hill Yue Chen charges into the Shu camp with Zhang Hu, but the camp is empty. With their way back cut off by Wu Ban and Wu Yi, they break through the layers of encirclement and return, only to find that their own camp has already been taken by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao. Romance, Ch. 98 §7 · 13 · 16
In Chapter 100, to attack Kongming's Eight Trigrams Formation, Sima Yi gives Dai Ling, Zhang Hu and Yue Chen thirty horsemen each and has them enter by the Gate of Life. The three lose their way inside the formation and are bound and brought before Kongming together with ninety soldiers; telling them to inform Sima Yi that he should go back and read his books on war again, Kongming makes them leave their weapons and horses behind, strips them of their clothes, smears their faces with ink and sends them back on foot. Romance, Ch. 100 §37 · 39 · 41–42
In Chapter 102, with Zhang Hu, he leads two thousand archers and crossbowmen to lie in ambush on the north bank by the floating bridge over the Wei River and holds off with arrows Wu Ban, who comes on rafts to burn the floating bridge. Wu Ban is hit by an arrow, falls into the water and dies. Then, on Sima Yi's orders, he and Zhang Hu each disguise five hundred troops as Shu soldiers and lie in ambush on a byway in the Ye Valley, and seize several of the wooden oxen and gliding horses that Gao Xiang is driving. Sima Yi has them taken apart and copied exactly, making more than two thousand. Romance, Ch. 102 §15 · 19 · 51–53
In Chapter 103, as Sima Yi goes to attack the Shangfang Valley, he gives Zhang Hu and Yue Chen five thousand troops each to come to his aid from the rear. When a downpour puts out the fire in the valley and Sima Yi breaks out, the two also charge in to support him and return with Sima Yi and his sons to the camp south of the Wei. In Chapter 106, together with Hu Zun, Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei, they surround Gongsun Yuan and his son, who are fleeing by night, on all sides and make them surrender. Romance, Ch. 103 §26 · 31–32Romance, Ch. 106 §24–25
In Chapter 111, Sima Zhao secretly sends a letter to Yue Chen, Inspector of Yang Province, and at the same time summons Zhuge Dan to court as Minister of Works. Zhuge Dan, who has tortured the envoy and heard him say, 'Yue Chen knows of this matter,' comes to Yang Province with a thousand troops, and Yue Chen shuts the city gates and gives no answer. When Zhuge Dan's swift horsemen scale the wall, open the gates, set fires and break through to Yue Chen's house, Yue Chen takes refuge in a tower. Zhuge Dan climbs the tower sword in hand and berates him: 'Your father Yue Jin once received great favor from Wei! Instead of thinking to repay it, would you side with Sima Zhao?' Before Yue Chen can answer, he is killed by him. Romance, Ch. 111 §28–30
Where the Romance differs
When he appears: In Chapters 98 to 106 of the Romance, Yue Chen, paired with Zhang Liao's son Zhang Hu, fights Zhuge Liang and Gongsun Yuan under Cao Zhen and Sima Yi. The Biography of Yue Jin in the Records says only that Yue Chen succeeded his father and rose to Inspector of Yang Province, and does not record his earlier deeds. Romance, Ch. 98 §7Romance, Ch. 102 §51Romance, Ch. 106 §25Records, Wei 17 §25
The Eight Trigrams Formation: In Chapter 100 of the Romance, Yue Chen enters Kongming's Eight Trigrams Formation, is captured, and goes back on foot with his face smeared with ink. This episode is not in the Biography of Yue Jin in the Records, and the Biography of Zhuge Liang says only that Zhuge Liang developed the art of war and made the Eight Formations Diagram. Romance, Ch. 100 §41–42Records, Wei 17 §25Records, Shu 5 §42
The wooden oxen and gliding horses: In Chapter 102 of the Romance, Yue Chen and Zhang Hu seize wooden oxen and gliding horses, and Sima Yi has them copied. The Records only record that Zhuge Liang transported grain with wooden oxen in the 9th year of Jianxing (231) and with gliding horses in the 12th year (234); there is no record of the Wei army seizing and copying them. Romance, Ch. 102 §51–53Records, Shu 5 §37–38Records, Shu 3 §12 · 15
Gongsun Yuan's end: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Yue Chen, together with Zhang Hu, Xiahou Ba and others, surrounds Gongsun Yuan and his son and makes them surrender. In the Biography of Gongsun Yuan in the Records, Gongsun Yuan and his son broke through the encirclement with a few hundred horsemen and fled southeast, and were beheaded at the very spot where a shooting star had fallen. Yue Chen does not appear in this fighting. Romance, Ch. 106 §25Records, Wei 8 §47–49
How he died: In Chapter 111 of the Romance, Sima Zhao's secret letter to Yue Chen comes to light, Zhuge Dan attacks Yang Province, and in a tower he berates Yue Chen, invoking the favor his father Yue Jin received, before killing him. In the Records, Zhuge Dan, summoned to become Minister of Works, grew afraid on receiving the edict and rebelled, and went out in person to attack and kill Yue Chen, Inspector of Yang Province. The Biography of Yue Jin says that he killed him in a surprise attack, and the secret letter and the words in the tower do not appear. Romance, Ch. 111 §28 · 30Records, Wei 28 §35Records, Wei 17 §25
After his death: In the Records, Yue Chen was mourned in an edict, posthumously made Minister of the Guards and given the posthumous name Marquis Min, and his son Yue Zhao succeeded him. Chapter 111 of the Romance does not record how he was treated after his death, and Yue Chen does not appear again thereafter. Romance, Ch. 111 §30Records, Wei 17 §25
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 total409 / 1000Rank 551 of 996 · Top 56%Romance total397 / 1000Rank 540 of 1,113 · Top 49%
Romance adaptation index−12Romance total − Records total
- LEA4852+4
- STR5545−10
- INT3640+4
- POL4535−10
- CHA4038−2
- VIR5052+2
- ADP3842+4
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3331−2
- DIS3331−2
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct record — estimated from his having served as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Inspector of Yang ProvinceCh. 111 §28
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his having served as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 17 §25
NHeld off Wu Ban with archers in ambush and seized wooden oxen and gliding horses, but his camp was raidedCh. 102 §19Ch. 102 §52Ch. 98 §16
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his being killed in Zhuge Dan's attackWei 28 §35
NEntered an empty camp and lost his way back, and was captured in the Eight Trigrams FormationCh. 98 §16Ch. 100 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as InspectorWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a deputy commanderCh. 100 §41
RNo record of his conduct, but he was mourned in an edict and given the posthumous name Marquis MinWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from the record of his receiving Sima Zhao's secret letterCh. 111 §30
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his being killed in a surprise attackWei 17 §25Wei 4 §82
NShut the city gates, but when the city was breached he fled to a tower and diedCh. 111 §29
RNo direct record — estimated from his career in a military familyWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 98 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as InspectorWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 98 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as InspectorWei 17 §25
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 98 §7
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 (6)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Wei · Romance · Romance ch. 100 「唤戴陵、张虎、乐綝三将」 · Q124493447
Family
| Parents | Yue Jin Novel & History |
|---|
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (2)
- Wang Shuang Slain Pursuing the Han Army 228 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Zhuge Liang Shames Sima Yi in Battle Formation Romance ch. 100 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).