RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16
NSaid to have been promoted to Gentleman of the Secretariat for his outstanding talentCh. 23 §10
Yan Xiang 嚴象
| Occupation | ROfficial · Inspector of Yang Province NOfficial · Gentleman of the Secretariat | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R163 Unverified | Native place | Jingzhao Commandery |
| Died | R200 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Yan Xiang was one of the men whom Xun Yu recommended for office, and he served as Inspector of Yang Province. The Biography of Xun Yu records that the men Xun Yu recommended all proved equal to their posts, except that Yan Xiang, who took charge of Yang Province, and Wei Kang, who took charge of Liang Province, later came to ruin. Records, Wei 10 §16
While Inspector of Yang Province, on Cao Cao's orders, he recommended Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Quan as Flourishing Talent. Later Li Shu, the Administrator of Lujiang appointed by Sun Ce, attacked and killed him. Records, Wu 1 §35Records, Wei 15 §2
The Records has no separate biography of him; he appears once each in the Biography of Xun Yu, the Biography of Liu Fu and the Biography of Sun Ce, General Who Destroys Barbarians, and Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, origin or the year of his death. In the Romance only his name appears, in Kong Rong's memorial recommending Mi Heng in Chapter 23, so that he appears in 1 of its 120 chapters; no chapter title bears his name. Records, Wei 10 §16Records, Wei 15 §2Records, Wu 1 §35Romance, Ch. 23 §10
In the Records
According to the Biography of Xun Yu, when Taizu asked Xun Yu who could take his place in making plans for him, Xun Yu named Xun You and Zhong Yao. Before this, Xun Yu had recommended Xi Zhicai as a man capable of devising strategy, and when Xi Zhicai died he recommended Guo Jia in his place. Taizu regarded Xun Yu as a good judge of men, and those whom he recommended all proved equal to their posts. Only Yan Xiang, who took charge of Yang Province, and Wei Kang, who took charge of Liang Province, later came to ruin. Records, Wei 10 §16
According to the Biography of Sun Ce, General Who Destroys Barbarians, when Sun Ce was bringing the region east of the Yangtze under his control, Yuan Shao was at the height of his power, so Lord Cao, not yet able to use his strength as he wished, sought for the time being to placate Sun Ce. He therefore married his younger brother's daughter to Sun Ce's youngest brother Sun Kuang, took Sun Ben's daughter as wife for his son Cao Zhang, and summoned Sun Ce's younger brothers Sun Quan and Sun Yi with full courtesy. He also ordered Yan Xiang, Inspector of Yang Province, to recommend Sun Quan as Flourishing Talent. Chen Shou records this before Sun Ce's plan to make a surprise attack on Xu in the 5th year of Jian'an (200). Records, Wu 1 §35–36
According to the Biography of Liu Fu, after Liu Fu became a clerk in the office of the Minister over the Masses at the beginning of the Jian'an era, Li Shu, the Administrator of Lujiang appointed by Sun Ce, attacked and killed Yan Xiang, Inspector of Yang Province. Mei Qian, Lei Xu, Chen Lan and others of Lujiang also gathered followings of tens of thousands and established themselves between the Yangtze and the Huai, so that the commanderies and counties were laid waste. Cao Cao, then engaged in his war with Yuan Shao, judged that Liu Fu could be entrusted with affairs in the southeast and memorialized to make him Inspector of Yang Province. Records, Wei 15 §2–3
Chen Shou's main text does not state Yan Xiang's courtesy name, origin or the year of his death. Chen Shou's assessments at the end of Records of Wei 10 and Records of Wei 15 do not deal with him separately either. Records, Wei 10 §16 · 90Records, Wei 15 §2 · 89Records, Wu 1 §35
In the Romance
In Chapter 23 of the Romance, when Cao Cao looks for a man of letters to send to win over Liu Biao, Xun You recommends Kong Rong. Kong Rong says that his friend Mi Heng is ten times more talented than himself and should be at the emperor's side rather than serve merely as an envoy, and he submits a memorial recommending him to the Son of Heaven. Romance, Ch. 23 §6–7
The memorial sets out the talent and integrity of Mi Heng, a twenty-four-year-old gentleman without office from Pingyuan, and then says that recently Lu Cui and Yan Xiang too were promoted for their outstanding talent and appointed Gentlemen of the Secretariat (tailang), so that Mi Heng is worthy to stand alongside them. The emperor reads the memorial and passes it to Cao Cao, who sends a man to summon Mi Heng. In the Romance, Yan Xiang is only named in this memorial and does not appear in person. Romance, Ch. 23 §8–11
Where the Romance differs
How the Romance portrays him: Chapter 23 of the Romance merely names Yan Xiang, in Kong Rong's memorial, together with Lu Cui as men promoted to Gentleman of the Secretariat for their outstanding talent. In Chen Shou's main text, Yan Xiang is a man whom Xun Yu recommended, recorded as an example of one who took charge of Yang Province and came to ruin. Romance, Ch. 23 §10Records, Wei 10 §16
Inspector of Yang Province and the recommendation of Sun Quan: In the Biography of Sun Ce, General Who Destroys Barbarians, in the Records, Yan Xiang, Inspector of Yang Province, recommends Sun Quan as Flourishing Talent on Cao Cao's orders. The Romance has no passage in which Yan Xiang becomes Inspector of Yang Province or recommends Sun Quan. Records, Wu 1 §35Romance, Ch. 23 §10
Death: Yan Xiang's death does not appear in the Romance. In the Biography of Liu Fu in the Records, Li Shu, the Administrator of Lujiang appointed by Sun Ce, attacked and killed him. Romance, Ch. 23 §10Records, Wei 15 §2
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 total407 / 1000Rank 569 of 996 · Top 58%Romance total414 / 1000Rank 413 of 1,113 · Top 38%
Romance adaptation index+7Romance total − Records total
- LEA3540+5
- STR3333±0
- INT4842−6
- POL4042+2
- CHA4040±0
- VIR4545±0
- ADP4242±0
- SCH4050+10
- DIP4242±0
- DIS4238−4
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RWas attacked and killed by Li Shu while Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16Wei 15 §2
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his being an inspector from a civil backgroundWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his being a civil officialCh. 23 §10
RRecommended by Xun Yu, but came to ruin in the province he governedWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RRecorded as an exception among Xun Yu's recommendations who did not prove equal to his postWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Inspector of Yang ProvinceWei 10 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his recommending Sun Quan as Flourishing Talent on the court's ordersWu 1 §35
NNo direct record — estimated from his promotion to Gentleman of the SecretariatCh. 23 §10
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)
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