Jiang Gan ( 209),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Ziyi, was a debater and scholar who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China. He is best known for his attempt to persuade

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Qua ...

, a general serving under the warlord

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, to defect to Sun Quan's rival

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

''after'' the

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in China that took place during the winter of AD 208–209. It was fought on the Yangtze River between the forces of warlords controlling different parts ...

in the winter of 208–209. In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', the entire incident not only takes place ''before'' the battle, but is also heavily dramatised and exaggerated.

In historical records

The only extant historical source about Jiang Gan's life is the ''Jiang Biao Zhuan'' (江表傳). In the fifth century,

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanizati ...

added excerpts from the ''Jiang Biao Zhuan'' in his annotated version of the third-century historical text ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi'') by

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

. Jiang Gan was from Jiujiang Commandery (九江郡; covering parts of present-day

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

around the

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

region), which is not to be confused with the modern city of

Jiujiang Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang and Kew-Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level ...

Jiangxi Province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

. He was good-looking and was known for being an excellent debater in the

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

and Huai River regions. In 209, after the

heard of

's talent and hoped to recruit Zhou Yu to serve under him, so he secretly travelled to

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origi ...

and sent Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou Yu to join him. Jiang Gan dressed simply and carried his luggage by himself when he went to meet Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu personally welcomed Jiang Gan and told him: "Ziyi, you tried hard. You travelled all the way here just to be a spokesman for (Cao) Cao?" Jiang Gan replied: "I am an old friend of yours but we have not been in contact for years. When I heard you have become famous now, I travelled here to visit you and reminisce our past days, as well as to tour the region. Are you questioning my intentions when you called me a 'spokesman'?" Zhou Yu said: "I may not be as good as the musicians of ancient times, but I still know how to appreciate a beautiful piece of music." Zhou Yu then invited Jiang Gan to dine with him. After the meal, before he left, Zhou Yu told Jiang Gan: "I have something confidential to attend to, and I need to leave now. I will treat you to another meal again after I am done." Three days later, Zhou Yu brought Jiang Gan on a tour of his camp, including his granaries and armouries. After that, Zhou Yu invited Jiang Gan to a feast. He instructed the servants to bring out some expensive items to show Jiang Gan. He told Jiang Gan: "In his life, when a man meets a lord who truly appreciates him, he should fulfil his duty as a subject and forge a close relationship with his lord. He should follow his lord's orders faithfully and share weal and woe together with his lord. Even if Su Qin, Zhang Yi and Li Yiji were to return from the dead, they won't be able to affect his loyalty towards his lord. So, how can you ever hope to make someone switch his allegiance?" Jiang Gan laughed but did not respond to what Zhou Yu said. When Jiang Gan returned from his trip, he praised Zhou Yu in front of Cao Cao and said that Zhou Yu's magnanimity was too great to be described in words.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Jiang Gan appears as a minor character in the 14th-century historical novel ''

'', which romanticises the historical events before and during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period. He appears in chapters 45 and 47 during the events leading to the

and commits two major blunders which are instrumental to

's defeat in the battle. In Chapter 45, Jiang Gan volunteers to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender to Cao Cao and travels to Zhou Yu's camp. Zhou Yu knows Jiang Gan's true purpose of the visit, so he tricks Jiang Gan into believing that two of Cao Cao's naval commanders ( Cai Mao and Zhang Yun) are planning to assassinate their lord and defect to his side. Jiang Gan also gets hold of a letter apparently written by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to Zhou Yu, in which they claimed that they will kill Cao Cao soon and present his head to Zhou Yu. He then steals the letter while Zhou Yu is asleep, returns to Cao Cao's camp, and shows Cao Cao the letter. The letter is actually a fake letter written by Zhou Yu. Cao Cao falls for the ruse and orders Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to be executed. He realises his folly later but it is too late already.''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 45. Later, in Chapter 47, Cao Cao sends Jiang Gan to spy on Zhou Yu again. When Jiang Gan shows up, Zhou Yu pretends to be angry at him for stealing the letter earlier and orders his men to deny Jiang Gan entry into his camp. Jiang Gan wanders around and meets

Pang Tong Pang Tong () (179–214), courtesy name Shiyuan, was a Chinese politician who served as a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his youth, Pang Tong was disregarded because he was plain-looking. The herm ...

in a nearby temple by chance, without knowing that Pang Tong has been expecting him. He escapes and brings Pang Tong back with him to meet Cao Cao. Pang Tong gives fake advice to Cao Cao by suggesting that he uses metal chains to link his warships together to reduce the chances of his troops falling seasick. The chained-linked ships later become vulnerable to the fire attack during the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jiang, Gan Government officials under Cao Cao

In historical records

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

Notes

References