| Occupation | RNOfficial · Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | Native place | Wuling Commandery | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R14 |
Wang Ye was a Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary in the time of Cao Mao, emperor of Wei. He has no biography of his own in the Records and appears in the Empress Dowager's decree recorded in the Annals of the Three Young Emperors of the Records of Wei. Records, Wei 4 §100
According to the decree the Empress Dowager issued after Cao Mao's death in the 5th month of the 5th year of Ganlu (260), before raising troops Cao Mao summoned the Palace Attendant Wang Chen, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye and the Master of Writing Wang Jing, showed them an edict on yellow silk from his bosom and said he would carry it out that very day. Wang Chen and Wang Ye immediately ran to inform the General-in-Chief. Records, Wei 4 §97–98 · 100–101
Chen Shou's main text does not record where Wang Ye was from or what became of him afterwards. In the Romance he appears in Chapter 114 as one of the three ministers whom Cao Mao summons for consultation, and he appears in 1 of its 120 chapters; no chapter title bears his name. Records, Wei 4 §100–101Romance, Ch. 114 §7
In the 4th month, in summer, of the 5th year of Ganlu (260), an edict ordered the officials concerned to raise the General-in-Chief Sima Wenwang in rank, making him Chancellor of State, enfeoffing him as Duke of Jin and adding the Nine Bestowments. On the day jichou of the 5th month, the Duke of Gaogui Village died. He was twenty years old. Records, Wei 4 §97–98
The Empress Dowager then issued a decree setting out the crimes of the Duke of Gaogui Village. According to the decree, when his scheme to bribe the people around the Empress Dowager into secretly poisoning her came to light, the Duke of Gaogui Village sought to seize the moment, raise troops, enter the Western Palace to kill the Empress Dowager, and then go out and seize the General-in-Chief. He summoned the Palace Attendant Wang Chen, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye and the Master of Writing Wang Jing, took from his bosom an edict written on yellow silk and showed it to them, saying he would carry it out that very day. Records, Wei 4 §98 · 100
The decree went on to say, 'Thanks to the spirits of the ancestral temple, Wang Chen and Wang Ye immediately ran to inform the General-in-Chief, so that strict precautions could be taken in advance.' The Duke of Gaogui Village led his attendants out through the Yunlong Gate, beat the war drums, drew his blade in person and entered among the battle lines, where he was killed by the vanguard. As for the Master of Writing Wang Jing, who had been summoned with them, the decree called him vicious and treasonous and ordered that he and his family be arrested and all handed over to the Commandant of Justice. Records, Wei 4 §101–102
Chen Shou's main text records nothing about Wang Ye beyond what appears in this decree. It does not say where he was from or what became of him afterwards either. Records, Wei 4 §100–101
Chapter 114 of the Romance sets these events in the 4th month, in summer, of the 5th year of Ganlu in Wei. When the ministers memorialize that the General-in-Chief should be made Duke of Jin and given the Nine Bestowments, Sima Zhao, who has come up into the hall wearing his sword, presses Cao Mao and demands an explanation of the poem 'Hidden Dragon', and Cao Mao cannot answer. Cao Mao returns to the rear palace and calls in three men, the Palace Attendant Wang Chen, the Master of Writing Wang Jing and the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye, to consult with them. Romance, Ch. 114 §6–7
When Cao Mao, weeping, proposes to attack Sima Zhao, Wang Jing tries to dissuade him by citing the old affair of Duke Zhao of Lu, but Cao Mao says his mind is already made up and goes in to inform the Empress Dowager. Thereupon Wang Chen and Wang Ye tell Wang Jing that they must not bring the extermination of their clans upon themselves, and that they should go to the residence of Lord Sima and inform on the plot to escape death. When Wang Jing flies into a rage, saying, 'When the sovereign is disgraced, his subjects die,' the two, seeing that Wang Jing will not go along, go straight to inform Sima Zhao. Romance, Ch. 114 §8–10
Cao Mao sets out leading some three hundred palace guards, servants and others, meets the imperial troops led by Jia Chong near the Yunlong Gate and is stabbed to death by Cheng Ji's halberd, and Wang Jing, who comes after him and rebukes Jia Chong, is bound. After this the Romance does not depict Wang Ye again. Romance, Ch. 114 §10–14
How they informed on him: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, while Cao Mao has gone to inform the Empress Dowager, Wang Chen and Wang Ye try to talk Wang Jing into informing Lord Sima on the plot so as to escape the extermination of their clans, and when Wang Jing refuses, the two go to inform on their own. The Empress Dowager's decree in Chen Shou's main text in the Records says only that 'Wang Chen and Wang Ye immediately ran to inform the General-in-Chief', and has nothing of what the two said to Wang Jing. Romance, Ch. 114 §9–10Records, Wei 4 §101
What was said when they were summoned: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, Cao Mao says that everyone knows of Sima Zhao's intention to usurp and asks for their help, and Wang Jing tries to dissuade him by citing the case of Duke Zhao of Lu. The decree in Chen Shou's main text in the Records says only that the Duke of Gaogui Village summoned the three, showed them the edict on yellow silk and said he would carry it out that very day. Romance, Ch. 114 §8Records, Wei 4 §100
When they were summoned: The Romance depicts Cao Mao returning to the rear palace and summoning the three on the day in the 4th month, in summer, of the 5th year of Ganlu when Sima Zhao came up into the hall wearing his sword. The Records record only the edict of the 4th month of that year enfeoffing Sima Wenwang as Duke of Jin and the death of the Duke of Gaogui Village on the day jichou of the 5th month, and do not separately state the day on which the three were summoned. Romance, Ch. 114 §6–7Records, Wei 4 §97–98 · 100
The death of the Duke of Gaogui Village: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, Jia Chong tells Cheng Ji that it is Lord Sima's order and that he wants only a dead man, and Cao Mao is stabbed to death by Cheng Ji's halberd. The decree in Chen Shou's main text in the Records says only that the Duke of Gaogui Village entered among the battle lines and was killed by the vanguard. Romance, Ch. 114 §12–13Records, Wei 4 §101
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.
RThe Empress Dowager's decree says that, thanks to the spirits of the ancestral temple, the alarm was raised in time; but he left the meeting where the emperor showed his secret edict and informed on himWei 4 §100
NInformed Sima Zhao of his sovereign's uprising to avoid the extermination of his clan, and was rebuked by Wang Jing for being of two mindsCh. 114 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil official serving as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil official serving as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryCh. 114 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil official serving as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil official serving as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryCh. 114 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his position as a close attendant summoned by the emperor for consultationWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his weighing of the danger of the uprisingCh. 114 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his office as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his office as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryCh. 114 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as one of the close attendantsWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a close attendantCh. 114 §10
ROn seeing the edict for the uprising, ran at once to inform the General-in-Chief and escaped disasterWei 4 §101
NWhen matters grew urgent, ran straight to Sima Zhao's side to save his own lifeCh. 114 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his office as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his office as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryCh. 114 §7
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a close attendantWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a close attendantCh. 114 §9
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a close attendantWei 4 §100
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a close attendantCh. 114 §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.
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Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).