RTook part both in the plot to remove Dong Zhuo and in the sash-edict plot to remove Cao CaoWei 10 §52Shu 2 §15
NSaid he would die without regret for the state, and rebuked the man who seemed to side with the traitorCh. 20 §36Ch. 20 §37
Chong Ji 种輯
| Occupation | RNGeneral · Colonel of the Changshui | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | N200 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R3 |
Profile
Chong Ji was an official at the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records; in Chen Shou's main text his name appears once each, in the passage on Xun You in the Biographies of Xun Yu, Xun You and Jia Xu (Records of Wei 10) and in the Biography of the First Sovereign (Records of Shu 2). After Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, he plotted as Palace Attendant with Xun You and others to stab Dong Zhuo to death, and later, as Colonel of the Changshui, he plotted with Dong Cheng, Liu Bei and others to kill Cao Cao. Records, Wei 10 §52Records, Shu 2 §15
Both plots were discovered, but Chen Shou's main text does not record what became of Chong Ji, nor does it give his courtesy name or origin. The Records contain no assessment of him. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 20 as one of the trusted men Dong Cheng names, and appears in 3 of its 120 chapters, but he is not named in any chapter title. His name stands third on Dong Cheng's pledge, and in Chapter 23 the plot is exposed when the servant Qin Qingtong denounces it. Records, Wei 10 §53Records, Shu 2 §15Romance, Ch. 20 §35Romance, Ch. 21 §5Romance, Ch. 23 §39
In the Records
When He Jin held power, he summoned more than twenty renowned scholars from across the realm, Xun You among them. When Dong Zhuo's rebellion broke out and armies rose east of the passes, Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an. Xun You plotted with the Court Gentlemen for Consultation Zheng Tai and He Yong, the Palace Attendant Chong Ji, the Colonel of Elite Cavalry Wu Qiong and others, saying that Dong Zhuo was more lawless than Jie and Zhou, so they should stab him to death at once to make amends to the people, and then hold Mount Xiao and the Hangu Pass, support the royal mandate and command the realm. Records, Wei 10 §52
When the plan was on the verge of success it was discovered, and He Yong and Xun You were seized and imprisoned. He Yong, in anxiety and fear, took his own life, while Xun You was released when Dong Zhuo happened to die. Xun You's biography records only that He Yong and Xun You were imprisoned over this plot, and does not record what became of Chong Ji. Records, Wei 10 §53
According to the Biography of the First Sovereign, Dong Cheng, General of Chariots and Cavalry and maternal uncle of Emperor Xian, said he had received a secret edict hidden in the emperor's sash and that Lord Cao must be killed. Liu Bei did not act at first, but when Lord Cao remarked casually that the only heroes in the realm were 'you, my lord' and himself, Liu Bei dropped his spoon and chopsticks, and he finally joined the plot with Dong Cheng, the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji, and the generals Wu Zilan and Wang Zifu, among others. But Liu Bei happened to be sent out on a mission and could not carry it out. Records, Shu 2 §15
The plot was discovered, and Dong Cheng and the others were all executed. The Annals of Emperor Wu record this as an event of the 1st month of spring in the 5th year of Jian'an (200), saying that the plot of Dong Cheng and the others leaked and all of them were executed. Both accounts name only Dong Cheng among those executed and do not state separately whether Chong Ji was executed. Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 1 §58
These two passages are the only places where Chong Ji appears in Chen Shou's main text. His courtesy name, origin and death are not recorded, and the Records contain no assessment of him. Records, Wei 10 §52–53Records, Shu 2 §15
In the Romance
In Chapter 20 of the Romance, the Attendant Gentleman Wang Zifu enters Dong Cheng's study, sees the edict and decides to join, and the two write their names on white silk. When Wang Zifu suggests the general Wu Zilan, Dong Cheng says that among all the ministers at court only the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji and the Court Gentleman for Consultation Wu Shuo are his trusted men and will surely work with him. Just then Chong Ji and Wu Shuo come to visit, and Dong Cheng receives them with Wang Zifu hidden behind a screen. Chong Ji asks whether Dong Cheng also resents what happened at the hunt at Xutian, and says that if he can rid the state of this harm he will die without regret. Romance, Ch. 20 §33–36
When Wang Zifu comes out from behind the screen and says that the two of them mean to kill Chancellor Cao and that he will denounce them, Chong Ji angrily rebukes him: 'A loyal subject does not fear death! Better that we die and become ghosts of the Han than be like you, fawning on a traitor to the state!' Dong Cheng says that Attendant Gentleman Wang's words were only a joke and takes out the edict to show them, and the two read it and cannot stop weeping. Dong Cheng asks them to sign their names, and after them Wu Zilan and Ma Teng, Grand Administrator of Xiliang, also sign. Romance, Ch. 20 §36–38 · 41–42
The pledge that Dong Cheng shows Liu Bei in Chapter 21 bears six names: first, Dong Cheng, General of Chariots and Cavalry; second, Wang Zifu, Attendant Gentleman of the Ministry of Works; third, Chong Ji, Colonel of the Changshui; fourth, Wu Shuo, Court Gentleman for Consultation; fifth, Wu Zilan, General Who Displays Good Faith; sixth, Ma Teng, Grand Administrator of Xiliang. Liu Bei too writes 'General of the Left Liu Bei' and adds his mark. Romance, Ch. 21 §5–6
In Chapter 23, the servant Qin Qingtong, punished by Dong Cheng, flees to Cao Cao's chancellery and reports that five men—Wang Zifu, Wu Zilan, Chong Ji, Wu Shuo and Ma Teng—discussed a secret matter at his master's house, and that he also saw Ji Ping bite his finger to swear an oath. The day after seizing and torturing Ji Ping, Cao Cao invites the ministers to a banquet, and when it breaks up he keeps back only Wang Zifu and the three others and presses them about what they discussed with Dong Cheng. When all four conceal it, Cao Cao confronts them with Qin Qingtong and then has them seized and imprisoned. Romance, Ch. 23 §39 · 45 · 47–50
In the 1st month of the 5th year of Jian'an, when Ji Ping dies, Cao Cao finds the edict from the sash and the pledge in Dong Cheng's bedroom. In Chapter 24, Cao Cao has Dong Cheng and the four others, together with their entire households, old and young, taken to the city gates and beheaded; over seven hundred people die in all. The Romance does not name these five men again. Romance, Ch. 23 §54 · 57Romance, Ch. 24 §1–2
Where the Romance differs
The plot against Dong Zhuo: In the Biography of Xun You in the Records, after Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, the Palace Attendant Chong Ji plotted with Xun You, Zheng Tai, He Yong, Wu Qiong and others to stab Dong Zhuo to death. In the Romance, Chong Ji appears only in Dong Cheng's plot in Chapters 20 to 23, and not in any plot to kill Dong Zhuo. Records, Wei 10 §52Romance, Ch. 20 §35Romance, Ch. 21 §5Romance, Ch. 23 §39
Office: In Chapters 20 and 21 of the Romance, Chong Ji appears only as Colonel of the Changshui. In the Records he was Palace Attendant around the time Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, and Colonel of the Changshui at the time of Dong Cheng's plot. Romance, Ch. 20 §35Romance, Ch. 21 §5Records, Wei 10 §52Records, Shu 2 §15
How he joined: In Chapter 20 of the Romance, Dong Cheng calls Chong Ji and Wu Shuo his trusted men, and Chong Ji, tested by Wang Zifu, rebukes him with 'A loyal subject does not fear death' and then signs the pledge. The Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records says only that Liu Bei plotted with Dong Cheng, the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji and others; it has neither the pledge nor this scene. Romance, Ch. 20 §35–37Romance, Ch. 21 §5Records, Shu 2 §15
Fellow plotters: On the pledge in Chapter 21 of the Romance, six men—Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu, Chong Ji, Wu Shuo, Wu Zilan and Ma Teng—sign their names, and Liu Bei is added. The men named in the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records are Liu Bei, Dong Cheng, the Colonel of the Changshui Chong Ji, and the generals Wu Zilan and Wang Zifu, among others; Wu Shuo and Ma Teng do not appear in this passage. Romance, Ch. 21 §5–6Records, Shu 2 §15
How the plot came to light: In Chapter 23 of the Romance, the names of Chong Ji and the others come to light when the servant Qin Qingtong denounces them to Cao Cao. In the Records, the Annals of Emperor Wu say only that 'the plot leaked' and the Biography of the First Sovereign only that 'the matter was discovered', without recording how. Romance, Ch. 23 §39Records, Wei 1 §58Records, Shu 2 §15
Fate: In Chapters 23 and 24 of the Romance, Wang Zifu and the three others are imprisoned, and Dong Cheng and the four others are beheaded at the city gates together with their entire households. The Biography of the First Sovereign and the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records say only that Dong Cheng and the others were all executed, and do not name Chong Ji separately or record his end. Romance, Ch. 23 §50Romance, Ch. 24 §1Records, Shu 2 §15Records, Wei 1 §58
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 total410 / 1000Rank 439 of 1,113 · Top 40%
Romance adaptation index+3Romance total − Records total
- LEA3533−2
- STR3535±0
- INT4238−4
- POL4035−5
- CHA3840+2
- VIR6885+17
- ADP3838±0
- SCH3833−5
- DIP3840+2
- DIS3533−2
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Colonel of the ChangshuiShu 2 §15
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Colonel of the ChangshuiCh. 20 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a colonelShu 2 §15
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as a colonelCh. 20 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from his part in the plotsWei 10 §52
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 20 §36
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Palace AttendantWei 10 §52
NNo direct record — estimated from his officeCh. 20 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsShu 2 §15
NDong Cheng named him one of his trusted men who would surely work with himCh. 20 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from his conduct after the plot was discoveredShu 2 §15
NNo direct record — estimated from the discovery of the plotCh. 23 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Palace AttendantWei 10 §52
NNo direct record — estimated from his deedsCh. 21 §5
RNo direct record — estimated from his deedsWei 10 §52
NDid not yield to the threat of denunciation and rebuked the speaker in returnCh. 20 §37
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 (3)
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