#cao wei

[city-of-ladies]

"Zhao E, the mother of Pang Yu (Pang Yu Mu Zhao E), fl. 179, also known as Eqin, was the daughter of Zhao An (or Jun An) of Fulu District (present-day Jiuchuan in Gansu Province). She is known by her zi, E, her given name being unknown. Her son, Pang Yu, was appointed Marquis of Guannei (guannei hou) during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Wei dynasty.

According to the biography of Pang Yu in the History of the Wei Dynasty (Wei shu), the Record of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo zhi), and Huangfu Mi’s Biographies of Eminent Women (Lienü zhuan), Zhao E’s father was killed by a man named Li Shou of the same district. Li Shou was so well protected, however, that none of Zhao E’s three younger brothers was able to avenge their father’s death before they themselves died in a plague. Overjoyed at the news of their deaths, Li Shou invited his clansmen to a celebration where he announced:

“All the strong ones of the Zhao clan are now dead and only a weak daughter remains. I need worry no longer.”

He therefore began to let his guard down. Zhao E was enraged when she heard from her son what Li Shou had said and tearfully she vowed:

“Li Shou, don’t you be happy. I will not let you live, for that would bring shame on the three sons of our family. How can you be so sure that Eqin cannot kill you with her own hands? You are not as lucky as you think.”

Harboring vengeance for her father’s death, she secretly bought a famous sword and sharpened it day and night, even as she honed her hatred for Li Shou. Hearing of this, Li Shou resumed his old habit of vigilance, wearing his sword at his belt when he rode out on his horse. He was a vicious man of whom the villagers were terrified. A neighbor of Zhao E, a Madame Xu, tried to dissuade her from her mission, saying:

“Li Shou is a man accustomed to violence. He is also on his guard. No matter how great your determination, you are no match for him and catastrophe will befall you when you find yourself unable to kill him. He will wipe out your entire household, causing untold pain and humiliation. For the sake of your family, I ask you to recon- sider your plan.”

To this Zhao E replied:

“It is wrong to share the same heaven and earth, sun and moon with the murderer of one’s parent; if Li Shou lives, I cannot. Now that all my male siblings are dead, I must seek revenge. If I did as you say, no one would kill Li Shou, and I would not be able to live with myself.”

Her family and neighbors scoffed at these words, but Zhao E continued:

“Well may you laugh at me, a mere woman, vowing to kill Li Shou, but you will see when I stain this blade with the blood of Li Shou’s neck.”

Zhao E became obsessed with Li Shou, abandoning all else to stalk him from a small cart in which she rode. On a fine day early in the second month of 179, she finally confronted him at the metropolitan post-house in Jiuquan. Descending from her cart, she grabbed the bridle of his horse and began to abuse him. When Li Shou tried to yank his horse away, Zhao E lashed out with her sword, wounding both him and the horse. Li Shou was thrown from his horse and landed in the gutter, where Zhao E fell on him, stabbing him repeatedly with her sword. She did not manage to kill him, however, and in her wild haste she broke her sword on a tree. She tried to grab Li Shou’s sword, but he continued to resist, all the while calling loudly for help. He attempted to get up but Zhao E held him down with her left hand, hitting him repeatedly across the throat with her right fist. When he finally stopped struggling she chopped off his head with his sword.

Having killed Li Shou, Zhao E went straight to the district office to give herself up and then started walking toward the jail. The magistrate, however, could not bring himself to sentence her and was ready to hang up his seal and resign from his position, allowing Zhao E to abscond. One version of the story has Zhao E and the magistrate running away together at this point. But Zhao E was determined to pay for her deed.

“Having killed my enemy, I should die. Clearly, this is my lot. As a magistrate, you are responsible for administering the laws and meting out punishment; I dare not treasure my life at the expense of the law.”

News of Zhao E’s integrity attracted a crowd of awed onlookers and even her guards were moved, to the extent that they intimated to her that they would look the other way were she to run away. An emotional Zhao E told them:

“It is not my wish to escape death at the cost of contravening the law. Now that I have wrought vengeance it is right that I die. I beg you to let me bear the full force of the law so that good government will not be jeopardized. I would rather give my life ten thousand times than destabilize the law.”

When the guards still would not listen, she said:

“I may be just a humble woman, but I do understand the law, and I know that the crime of murder is not pardonable. I do not want to run away, I want to receive the punishment due for my crime and be executed in the marketplace in order to uphold the emperor’s law.”

She showed no sign of fear but grew increasingly fervent, so the guards stopped arguing and simply bundled her into a carriage and took her home. Another version is that she did go to jail but was granted amnesty and was able to go home.

Several people, including Zhou Hong, the regional inspector of Liangzhou, and Liu Ban, the governor of Jiuquan, memorialized the emperor about Zhao E’s integrity, and her story was inscribed on a stone stele so that her family might be glorified. Zhang Huan, who held the position of chamberlain for ceremonies (taichang), presented her with twenty bolts of silk out of admiration for her actions. Zhao E’s act of revenge was recorded in official histories and spread far and wide by word of mouth, while men of letters of later ages immortalized her in biographies and poetry. Liang Kuan of late Eastern Han, for instance, wrote her biography, and Zuo Yannian of the Three Kingdoms period praised her integrity in his ballad Qinnü xiu xing. Qinnü xiu xing is also the title of a poem written by Fu Xuan of Western Jin telling of a woman who braved the powerful to avenge her father, and then gave herself up. In this latter poem the woman is called Pang’s wife and one line runs, “One good daughter is worth one hundred sons.”"

Shen Lidong, "Zhao E", in: Xiao Hong Lee Lily, Stefanowska A. D. (eds.), Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui 1600 B.C.E.–618 C.E.

[acquired-stardust]

Warriors Orochi Playstation 2 2007

[ni3hao3t]

Three Kingdoms character: Zhu Bajie

Zhu Bajie was actually derived from a figure living in the ①Three Kingdoms period.The historical prototype refers to ②Zhu Shixing, an eminent Buddhist monk of the ③Cao Wei regime during the Three Kingdoms era. His religious dharma title was Bajie. He once traveled westward to seek authentic Buddhist scriptures, and to a certain extent, his life experience shaped the characterization of Zhu Bajie in the classic novel ④Journey to the West.

① Three Kingdoms period[三国时期|Sānguó Shíqī]：a turbulent separatist era in Chinese history roughly spanning 220 AD to 280 AD, featuring three rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu

② Zhu Shixing[朱士行|Zhū Shìxíng]：the earliest recorded Chinese monk to formally receive full Buddhist ordination and embark on a westbound scripture-seeking pilgrimage in Chinese Buddhist history

③ Cao Wei regime[曹魏政权|Cáo Wèi Zhèngquán]：one of the three major kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms Period, founded by Cao Pi and dominating northern China

④ Journey to the West[西游记|Xīyóu Jì]：one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, a famous Ming Dynasty mythological novel centered on a monk's pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures

[art-from-within]

Fengqian’s Sorrow

A redraw of an old art! Look at them!

[fineillsignup]

Clouds and Rain: a (snarky) Character Index

I lured @math-is-magic​ into trying to read Clouds and Rain despite no prior knowledge of the Three Kingdoms era generally and she professed being impressed at how, long long ago when I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the first time, I made my own character glossary to keep track of who is who.

CAVEAT LECTOR: Historically accurate only to the degree that it pleases my pedantry. Departs from Dynasty Warriors in some key areas. Limited to characters that have (so far) appeared in the story directly.

Wu aka Sun Wu - Jiangdong - The Southlands

Colour Scheme? Red Animal Motif? Tiger Part of China? Southeast third, from the Yangtze (more or less) down, west about halfway. Heat, rivers, pirates, rice, fish. Motivation? Bonds Hearts? ON FIRE Enemy Camps? ALSO ON FIRE

Sun Quan, ruler of Wu, style name Zhongmou: Wow, who died and left this loser to rule? Well, that’s the problem, everybody died and left this loser to rule. Ever so slightly neurotic. *coughs* Kind of my problematic fave. Thinks everybody in Shu is out to get him. (Everybody in Shu IS out to get him.) Lianshi: Technically she ought to be Lady Bu but since Dynasty Warriors didn’t bother neither did I. Former lady-in-waiting to Sun Quan’s sister, nicest woman you’ll ever meet, Sun Quan is her problematic fave. Big ol’ tiddies. Lu Xun, Wu chancellor, style name Boyan: OUR HERO. 92.3% perfect gentleman and Confucian af. Gan Ning, Wu officer: Adorable kitten thinks of nothing but murder all day. Former pirate, semi-reformed psychopath. WEARS BELLS, it’s his thing. Used to be in the employ of another army, during which time he kinda sorta killed the father of... Ling Tong, Wu officer: Rich kid who made good in his own right. Wanted to kill Gan Ning for a long time (in revenge for his father’s death) but has mostly gotten over it and now they are best frenemies. (Note to history buffs: just GET OUT of here with your FACTS.) Shield of laziness and apathy. “I don’t care,” says Ling Tong, caringly, as he cares deeply. Zhou Tai, Wu officer: Sun Quan’s personal bodyguard. Former pirate. Tall, dark, and... scarred. Well, two out of three isn’t bad. The strong silent type. Zhu Ran, Wu officer: Lu Xun used to be Wu’s pyromaniac character. Then they introduced Zhu Ran to be the pyromaniac and actually made Lu Xun well-rounded, and Zhu Ran is slightly bitter about it. Also a Rich Kid. (Is Wu’s army all rich kids and pirates???? MAYBE.) Ding Feng, Wu officer: One-note character who looks like Frankenstein’s monster and writes poetry. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Han Dang, Wu officer: One-note character who doesn’t want to be forgotten. Forget about him. Sun Shangxiang: Sun Quan’s younger sister, famous/infamous for being wild about martial arts and just generally wild. Arranged married to... (hold this thought...)

Shu aka Shu Han

Colour scheme? Green Animal motif? Dragon Part of China? At this point, the west-southwest. Smallest/least prosperous. Motivation? BENEVOLENCE Really? YES OF COURSE, BENEVOLENCE AND ONLY BENEVOLENCE. Pay no attention to the man behind the crane fan. What’s benevolence? 仁 Ren. Confucius says... no, come back, this isn’t a joke! Confucius really does say! Confucius says: Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others. What’s that guy doing over there behind the crane fan? NOTHING!!

Liu Bei, ruler of Shu: He was arranged married to Sun Shangxiang! (I hope you didn’t hurt yourself holding that thought.) Tenuously related to the imperial family but grew up poor af. Charismatic as hell. Wants to tell you the Good News about Benevolence. Liu Shan, crown prince, aka A-Dou: Unspecified, serious intellectual disability. Bears zero resemblance to the Dynasty Warriors version. Affectionate, gentle young man. Gets along really well with Zhao Yun and Sun Shangxiang. Zhuge Liang, prime minister of Shu, chief strategist, style name Kongming, Taoist name Crouching Dragon: The smuggest of snakes. He has a crane fan and he isn’t afraid to use it. Likes: his wife, his lord, his plans, sex magic, being an asshole. "I meant to do that,” he whispers, calmly, while falling at terminal velocity into a pit of vipers. Yueying aka Lady Huang, inventor: Zhuge Liang’s wife. Unspecified not neurotypical. Likes: machines, her husband. Dislikes: people, distractions, social cues. Very little resemblance to Dynasty Warriors character. Zhang Fei, Shu officer: Liu Bei’s sworn brother dating back to when they all weren’t shit, along with the dead Guan Yu. Designated youngest brothers because in Chinese culture it is Absolutely Vital We Know Who Is Older. Big, burly, loveable drunk. (Again, do NOT confuse me with the facts.) Zhang Bao, Shu officer: Zhang Fei’s son. Young and unproven and determined.  Grew up with Guan Yu’s children as pseudo-cousins. Xingcai aka Lady Zhang, Shu officer: Zhang Fei’s younger child. Xingcai is not here to make friends or play games. Xingcai is here to win. Unfortunately for Xingcai, her society dictates that ladylike behaviour means making friends and playing (diplomatic) games, not winning (on the battlefield). Guan Xing, Shu officer: The oldest natural child of Guan Yu. Honour, righteousness, honour, honour, rules, benevolence, honour, rules, and honour. Guan Suo, Shu officer: Youngest son of Guan Yu. In the wake of his father’s death, passive and disheartened. Guan Yinping: Youngest child of Guan Yu. Our heroine! Strong, sweet, determined, and genuine. Zhao Yun, Shu officer: One of Liu Bei’s first and best recruits to his cause. Famous for having single-handedly rescued Liu Shan as a baby while they were fleeing Cao Cao, fighting with the infant on his back. Madam Zhao aka Yunlu aka Lulu: Zhao Yun’s much younger wife, the sister of another officer in Shu, for some mysterious reason her identity is a (badly kept) secret, WHO could she POSSIBLY be? (People who know the answer: shhhhh.) Ma Chao, “the Splendid”: A multi-ethnic officer of Shu who joined because of wanting revenge against Cao Cao for the massacre of his clan. Yes, Ma Chao is Shu’s Sasuke. Catchphrase: JUSTICE. Ma Dai, “the guy who hangs out with Ma Chao”: Ma Chao’s cousin, trails along after Ma Chao trying to keep him from getting himself justiced to death. Wears the only non-stupid hat in Dynasty Warriors. An artist and a joker. Wei Yan, Shu officer: Speaks... like... this... why?... Unclear... maybe... head... injury...

Wei aka Cao Wei

Colour scheme? Blue Animal motif? Phoenix Part of China? The entire north, from the coast to the west, including the cities with the strongest claim to be imperial capital in that time. Motivation? Ambition and power Isn’t that slightly evil? I mean, not necessarily, but they’re the antagonists so in fact yes. So they don’t get the same revisionism deal as the other two kingdoms? Nope. Is that fair? Nope! Show me on the map where I store my fucks.

Cao Pi, ruler and self-proclaimed emperor: I genuinely have a grievance against the historical guy but he was no worse than most of the rest of the people here. But in this story, the fictional Cao Pi is a supreme douchebag. Zhenji, empress: Too good for Cao Pi and this world. Don’t mistake my meaning; also kind of a bitch. A perfect bitch whom I would die for. Sima Yi, Wei prime minister: Genius strategist. Did not even originally want to join the Ambition Kingdom, but has caught the spirit in a big way now. Zhang Chunhua: Sima Yi’s wife, pulls the strings, literally. Thinks all problems can be solved with enough murders. Don’t think I’m saying she’s a bitch and I don’t like her. She’s a bitch, and I like her so much. Zhang He, Wei officer: Could host Queer Eye for the Third Century Guy. Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee. Came to Wei from the same place as Zhenji and they are besties. Li Dian, Wei officer: Has a gut sense about things which is always right, unfortunately doesn’t stop things from happening, poor babe. A nice guy. Yue Jin, Wei officer: Smol and insecure about it, despite the fact that he could fuck you up. He can fuck anyone up. He can fuck himself up. BFF with Li Dian. Also a nice guy. Wang Yi, Wei officer: Hey remember how Cao Cao killed Ma Chao’s entire clan? Well while Ma Chao was attempting to get his revenge against Cao Cao, he whoopsy-doodle massacred Wang Yi’s entire clan. Now Wang Yi dreams of dancing with Ma Chao’s severed head in the moonlight. Xu Shu, Wei officer: Sad man who got tricked into leaving Shu because he loves his mama. Tries his best and deserved none of this. Jia Xu, Wei strategist: Loyal only to himself and shrewd, was an enemy strategist who came very near to killing Cao Cao at one time, but accepted being hired by him when he was captured. Does believe in doing his best.

And (I think) that’s everybody! Whee! I hope all three of you who read this enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

[incorrectdynastywarriors]

Cao Cao: merry crimmus

Liu Bei: it's chrisminth

Sun Jian: merry crisis

Sima Yi: happy chrysler

[neobrogrippa]

RIP Dian Wei

 Every Dynasty Warriors game people speak about how sad they are to lose this person again, or this person again. Yet no one speaks of how sad it is to see Dian Wei die again. He was a great bodyguard and sacrificed his life for Cao Cao. Dian Wei’s death was truly tragic.

[ttoca]

Alignment of Sanguo Legends

My adaptation of the Three Kingdoms will focus on conflicting ideologies and motivations. There won't be a good side or an evil side, only good and evil actions. There are genuinely 'villainous' characters but they don't actually lead the Three Kingdoms.

Here's how it stands.

Shu- Monarchism Liu Bei is staunchly focussed on restoring the Emperor, his (Very distantly-related) nephew. Why? He claims it is simply the right thing to do. In truth, he's very disclosed about his real motivations, declaring he acts as any man of honour would do. He states that he acts in the Emperor's stead and hopes to demonstrate courage and valour in battle in the Han's name but over time, he's forced to commit actions that stain that honour as his zealotry against the Han's hidden enemies takes him down a dark path. Those who support him do so for various reasons. Taking only a handful of men from Xu, he's grown close to them and is seen as a guide through the war to come. After Jing, his opposition of Cao Cao and his social-climbing allies in the Cai family endear him to the fiercely traditionalist supporters of Liu Biao. And at Yi, his government, though not having a lot to do with him, runs the province a great deal better than the previous ruler so its a matter of loyalty and favour. Main Traits of Shu: Honour, Loyalty, Traditionalism

Wei- Meritocracy Cao Cao is a peerless political and military mastermind. He looks at the land and prepares to make big changes. His swift reforms and ruthless efficiency demonstrate his power to those around him, impressing some but threatening others. Whether he's doing this out of a genuine wish to do good or simply for his own gain is ambiguous. Those who support him are largely one voice and one mind. They want the land to improve and they think Cao Cao's the best man for the job. Cao Cao is very close to those around him and makes huge shows of friendship and courtesy to those who serve him well, as well as opening the borders to foreign culture, fascinated by the outside world. Through every province he travels to, he endears himself to the people by slaying the corrupt and rewarding the virtuous, making sure everyone sees of course. He measures people solely on merit and worth, filling his ranks with the best and brightest, almost obsessively. Above all, he ensures those around him see him as the rightful ruler of China, just in case the day may come to take the throne himself. Main Traits of Wei: Reason, Ambition, Reformism

Wu- Independence Sun Jian fought against any who would do his province and people harm, whether they were rebel or government figures. It is this uncompromising devotion that led to his death whereupon forces from the capital have the Eastern Provinces divided among its figures, forcing the locals under semi-slavery as lawlessness and corruption grip the land. It is this that Sun Ce fights against and the sense of betrayal by the Han causes those in Wu to take action, declaring their Province will be independent from the Empire that spits on them. Sun Shangxiang is boldly committed to this cause while Sun Quan is conflicted but nonetheless hopes to keep his land and people safe as his father did. Somewhat nationalist in their practices, Wu refuse to have anything to do with the Han unless it directly affects them, which is largely debatable in their eyes. Though their kingdom is open to outsiders, Sun Ce gladly taking in those who surrender, quick to forgive and forget, the people of Wu look down on those who cater to an Emperor who can't fight for himself and believe a true ruler always fights beside his people, a trait the Sun follow always. Main Traits of Wu: Familial Piety, Liberty, Individualism