Liu Ning 劉寧
| Occupation | RNGeneral | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R1 |
Profile
Liu Ning was a general of Liu Bei. He has no biography of his own in the Records, and in Chen Shou's main text he appears once, in the Biography of Lu Xun in Records of Wu 13. In the 1st year of Huangwu (222), when Liu Bei's army, which had come to Wu's western border with a great host, had more than forty of its encampments destroyed by Lu Xun, Liu Bei's generals Du Lu, Liu Ning and others, driven into a corner, asked to surrender. Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, origin, offices or what happened to him after his surrender. Records, Wu 13 §17 · 21
He does not appear in Chen Shou's assessment in Records of Wu 13. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 82, alongside Du Lu, as a Han general of Dongxi who joins the First Sovereign's campaign against Wu, and he appears in 2 of its 120 chapters; no chapter title bears his name. In Chapter 84, when the Shu army suffers a crushing defeat, he surrenders to Wu together with Du Lu. Records, Wu 13 §91Romance, Ch. 82 §18Romance, Ch. 84 §39
In the Records
In the 1st year of Huangwu (222), when Liu Bei came toward the western border at the head of a great host, Sun Quan made Lu Xun Grand Commander, granted him the tally of authority, and had him lead Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang and others, 50,000 men in all, to resist him. From the Wu Gorge and Jianping as far as the border of Yiling, Liu Bei set up dozens of encampments in a continuous chain, and enticed the various tribes into action with gold, brocade, titles and rewards. He made General Feng Xi Grand Superintendent and Zhang Nan commander of the vanguard. Records, Wu 13 §17
After the two sides had held each other at bay for seven or eight months, Lu Xun first attacked a single encampment, without success. He then had each of his soldiers carry a bundle of thatch, took the encampments by fire attack, and leading all his armies in a simultaneous assault, beheaded Zhang Nan, Feng Xi, the Hu king Shamoke and others, and broke more than forty encampments. Liu Bei's generals Du Lu, Liu Ning and others, driven into a corner, asked to surrender. Liu Bei climbed Mount Ma'an and arrayed his troops around himself. Records, Wu 13 §20–21
Lu Xun urged his armies to close in from all sides, and Liu Bei's army collapsed, with the dead numbering in the tens of thousands. Liu Bei fled under cover of night and barely managed to enter Baidicheng. Records, Wu 13 §22
In Chen Shou's main text this single passage is the only place Liu Ning appears. His courtesy name, origin, offices, what happened to him after his surrender and his death are not recorded, nor does he appear in Chen Shou's assessment in Records of Wu 13. Records, Wu 13 §21 · 91
In the Romance
In Chapter 82 of the Romance, around the time Sun Quan accepts his enfeoffment from Wei and sends his thanks, spies report that the Lord of Shu is advancing by land and water with the great army of his own state and tens of thousands of foreign troops under the barbarian king Shamoke, together with the two columns of the Han generals of Dongxi, Du Lu and Liu Ning, and that the din of their might shakes the heavens. Romance, Ch. 82 §18
In Chapter 84, on a night when a southeast wind suddenly rises, fires break out one after another in the left and right camps of the Shu imperial encampment, and the First Sovereign, pursued again and again, enters Baidicheng with barely a hundred or so men left. Wu Ban breaks through the encirclement and is rescued by Zhao Yun, and the barbarian king Shamoke, fleeing on a lone horse, fights Zhou Tai for more than twenty bouts and is killed. The Shu generals Du Lu and Liu Ning both surrender to Wu, and not an inch of the grain, fodder and weapons of the Shu camps remains. Romance, Ch. 84 §23 · 31 · 39
Where the Romance differs
The troops he led: In Chapter 82 of the Romance, Du Lu and Liu Ning are Han generals of Dongxi, each leading a column of troops that advances alongside the great army of the First Sovereign. The Biography of Lu Xun in the Records calls Liu Ning only a general of Liu Bei, and records neither Dongxi nor the troops he led. Romance, Ch. 82 §18Records, Wu 13 §21
When he surrendered: Chapter 84 of the Romance says that the Shu generals Du Lu and Liu Ning both surrendered to Wu after the First Sovereign had entered Baidicheng and Shamoke had died. In the Biography of Lu Xun in the Records, Du Lu, Liu Ning and others, driven into a corner, asked to surrender when Lu Xun broke more than forty encampments, and only after that did Liu Bei climb Mount Ma'an and then flee to Baidicheng under cover of night. Romance, Ch. 84 §31 · 39Records, Wu 13 §21–22
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.
- LEA4242±0
- STR4040±0
- INT3535±0
- POL3131±0
- CHA3535±0
- VIR3532−3
- ADP4240−2
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3131±0
- DIS3131±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a general under Liu BeiWu 13 §21
NLed a column of troops from Dongxi together with Du LuCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 82 §18
RDriven into a corner, asked Lu Xun to accept his surrenderWu 13 §21
NSurrendered to Wu together with Du Lu after the defeat at XiaotingCh. 84 §39
RChose surrender amid defeatWu 13 §21
NChose surrender amid defeatCh. 84 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 82 §18
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsWu 13 §21
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 82 §18
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 (2)
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