RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NAs Zhuge Ke's trusted man, commanded the Imperial Guard together with Zhu EnCh. 108 §26Ch. 108 §27
Zhang Yue 張約
| Occupation | ROfficial · Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary NGeneral | Faction | Wu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | N253 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R3 |
Profile
Zhang Yue was a Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary of Wu. He has no biography of his own in the Records; he appears twice in the passage on Zhuge Ke in the Biographies of Zhuge, Teng, the Two Suns and Puyang (Records of Wu 19), and his courtesy name and origins are not recorded. Records, Wu 19 §51 · 53
In the winter, in the 10th month of the 2nd year of Jianxing (253), when Sun Jun hid soldiers behind the curtains and invited Zhuge Ke to a banquet, Zhang Yue, together with Zhu En and others, secretly sent Zhuge Ke a note warning that the arrangements that day were out of the ordinary. When the blades of Sun Jun's side came down on Zhuge Ke, Zhang Yue struck at Sun Jun from beside him but only wounded his left hand, and had his right arm cut off by Sun Jun's sword. Chen Shou's main text does not say what became of him afterward. Records, Wu 3 §6Records, Wu 19 §48 · 50–53
Chen Shou did not mention him in his assessment in Volume 19. In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 108, and no chapter has his name in its title. He appears as a trusted general to whom Zhuge Ke entrusts the Imperial Guard; he advises Zhuge Ke, on his way to the banquet, not to go in lightly, and, fighting back against Sun Jun, is hacked to death by the armed men. Records, Wu 19 §108Romance, Ch. 108 §26 · 32 · 35
In the Records
In the 2nd year of Jianxing (253) Zhuge Ke attacked Wei and besieged the New City, but failed to take it for months, and more than half of his soldiers fell ill. When the army returned in the 8th month, in autumn, Zhuge Ke governed ever more severely, often charging and rebuking people, and he changed the palace guard, putting men close to him in it. Records, Wu 3 §6Records, Wu 19 §44 · 47
Taking advantage of the people's widespread resentment, Sun Jun falsely accused Zhuge Ke of plotting a revolt, conspired with Sun Liang and invited Zhuge Ke to a banquet. When Zhuge Ke halted his carriage at the palace gate, Sun Jun had already hidden soldiers behind the curtains; worried that the plan would leak if Zhuge Ke did not come in promptly, he came out in person to meet him and sounded him out, saying that if he was unwell it could be put off until later. Zhuge Ke replied that he would make the effort to go in. Records, Wu 19 §48 · 50–51
At this point the Cavalier Attendants-in-Ordinary Zhang Yue, Zhu En and others secretly sent Zhuge Ke a note saying, 'The arrangements today are out of the ordinary; there seems to be some other reason.' Zhuge Ke read the note and withdrew, but before he had gone out through the Inner Gate he met the Minister of Ceremonies Teng Yin and told him that he had suddenly been taken with a stomachache and could not go in. But when Teng Yin, who knew nothing of Sun Jun's secret plot, said that he ought to make the effort to go forward, Zhuge Ke hesitated, turned back, and went up into the hall wearing his sword and shoes. Records, Wu 19 §51–52
After the wine had gone round several times, Sun Liang withdrew inside, and Sun Jun changed into short clothes, came out and cried that there was an edict to arrest Zhuge Ke. Zhuge Ke started up and tried to draw his sword but could not get it out in time, and the blades of Sun Jun's side came down on him. Zhang Yue struck at Sun Jun from beside him but only wounded his left hand, and Sun Jun at once cut at Zhang Yue and severed his right arm. When the soldiers of the Martial Guard all rushed up into the hall, Sun Jun said that the man to be seized was Zhuge Ke and that he was already dead, had them all sheathe their blades, and after the floor had been cleaned went on drinking. Records, Wu 19 §52–53
Afterward Zhuge Ke's nephew Zhang Zhen (張震), Marquis of a Chief District, and the Regular Attendant Zhu En, among others, all had their three sets of kin exterminated. These two passages are the only places where Zhang Yue appears in Chen Shou's main text, and what became of him after his right arm was cut off is not recorded. In his assessment in Volume 19, Chen Shou discussed Zhuge Ke but did not mention Zhang Yue. Records, Wu 19 §55 · 51 · 53 · 108
In the Romance
In Chapter 108 of the Romance, Zhuge Ke, having returned after a great defeat, stays away from court on the pretext of illness while exposing the faults of officials and generals, banishing the lesser offenders to the frontier and beheading the graver ones. He also entrusts the Imperial Guard to his trusted generals Zhang Yue and Zhu En to serve as his hands and feet. Sun Jun, who had commanded the troops of the Imperial Guard since Sun Quan's lifetime, hears of this and is inwardly furious at being stripped of his authority, and when Teng Yin urges him on, he and Teng Yin secretly report to Sun Liang, and they resolve to kill Zhuge Ke at a banquet. Romance, Ch. 108 §26–28
When an envoy of the Son of Heaven delivers the summons to the banquet, Zhuge Ke sets out from his mansion by carriage, and before he has gone a few steps a white rainbow rises from the ground in front of the carriage and shoots up into the sky. As Zhuge Ke is greatly startled and puzzled, his trusted general Zhang Yue comes up to the carriage and secretly tells him that there is no knowing whether the banquet being held in the palace today bodes good or ill, so that his lord should not go in lightly. Zhuge Ke at once has the carriage turned back, but at the urging of Sun Jun and Teng Yin, who come after him, he enters the palace after all, and Zhang Yue follows him in. Romance, Ch. 108 §31–33
At the banquet, when Sun Liang rises first on the pretext of some business, Sun Jun comes up in short clothes with ring armor, sword in hand, and cries that the Son of Heaven has issued an edict to kill the traitor, and the head of Zhuge Ke, who tries to draw his sword to meet him, falls to the ground. Seeing Sun Jun cut down Zhuge Ke, Zhang Yue swings his sword and comes at him, and as Sun Jun hastily dodges, the point of the blade wounds the fingers of his left hand. Struck on the right arm by the sword Sun Jun brings down as he turns, Zhang Yue is cut down by the armed men who rush out all together and is hacked to a pulp. Romance, Ch. 108 §34–35
Sun Jun has the bodies of Zhang Yue and Zhuge Ke wrapped in reed mats, carried out on a small cart and thrown into a pit among the abandoned graves at Shizigang outside the south gate of the city. The Romance records that this was in the winter, in the 10th month of the 2nd year of Jianxing (253) of Wu. Romance, Ch. 108 §35 · 37
Where the Romance differs
His position: In Chapter 108 of the Romance, Zhang Yue is a trusted general to whom Zhuge Ke entrusts the Imperial Guard. In the Biography of Zhuge Ke in the Records, Zhang Yue appears as a Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, and although it says that Zhuge Ke changed the palace guard and put men close to him in it, it does not say who they were. Romance, Ch. 108 §26 · 32Records, Wu 19 §47 · 51
The warning: In Chapter 108 of the Romance, Zhang Yue alone comes up to the carriage of Zhuge Ke as he sets out from his mansion and secretly advises him not to go in lightly. In the Records, after Zhuge Ke had already halted his carriage at the palace gate, Zhang Yue, Zhu En and others secretly sent a note saying that the arrangements that day were out of the ordinary. Romance, Ch. 108 §32Records, Wu 19 §50–51
Where Sun Jun was wounded: In Chapter 108 of the Romance, the point of Zhang Yue's blade wounds the fingers of Sun Jun's left hand. In the Records, Zhang Yue struck at Sun Jun from beside him and wounded his left hand. Romance, Ch. 108 §35Records, Wu 19 §53
Zhang Yue's end: In Chapter 108 of the Romance, Zhang Yue, struck on the right arm, is hacked to death by the armed men, and his body is thrown away at Shizigang together with Zhuge Ke's. The Records state only that after Sun Jun cut off Zhang Yue's right arm, he had the soldiers of the Martial Guard who rushed up sheathe their blades and went on drinking, and do not record Zhang Yue's death. In the Records, the one thrown away at Shizigang is Zhuge Ke. Romance, Ch. 108 §35Records, Wu 19 §53–54
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 total445 / 1000Rank 386 of 996 · Top 39%Romance total453 / 1000Rank 232 of 1,113 · Top 21%
Romance adaptation index+8Romance total − Records total
- LEA3850+12
- STR5055+5
- INT5555±0
- POL4033−7
- CHA4038−2
- VIR7080+10
- ADP4038−2
- SCH3633−3
- DIP4038−2
- DIS3633−3
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RSecretly warned Zhuge Ke, and when Zhuge Ke was killed he struck Sun Jun, wounding his left hand, but lost his own armWu 19 §51Wu 19 §53
NWarned his master of the danger and died fighting sword in hand to the lastCh. 108 §32Ch. 108 §35
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RStruck at Sun Jun from beside him and wounded his left handWu 19 §53
NSwung his sword and wounded Sun Jun's fingersCh. 108 §35
RNoticed that the banquet arrangements were out of the ordinary and warned Zhuge KeWu 19 §51
NWarned that there was no knowing whether the banquet boded well and advised against going in lightlyCh. 108 §32
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 108 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his being Zhuge Ke's trusted generalCh. 108 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his being Zhuge Ke's trusted generalCh. 108 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 108 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his being Zhuge Ke's trusted generalCh. 108 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWu 19 §51
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a generalCh. 108 §26
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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