How is Zhuge Liang described in Romance of the Three Kingdoms? What are Zhou Yu's personality traits in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the first chapter novel in the history of Chinese literature. It is the pioneering work of historical romance novels and the first long novel written by literati. It was even known as the "first book of talent" in the Ming and Qing dynasties. So, how does the Romance of the Three Kingdoms describe Zhuge Liang? What are the personality traits of Zhou Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network to answer these questions!

Contents of this article

1. How is Zhuge Liang described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

2. Zhou Yu's personality traits in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

3. How did Cao Xiu die in the Three Kingdoms period?

How is Zhuge Liang described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

1. He is eight feet tall, with a face like a jade crown, wearing a silk scarf on his head and a crane cloak on his body, and he looks like a fairy; (Chapter 38)

2. This person always compares himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. In my opinion, Guan and Yue are not as good as him. This person has a talent that can control everything in the world. He is the only one in the world. (Chapter 36)

3. This man is from Yangdu, Langya. His surname is Zhuge, his given name is Liang, and his courtesy name is Kongming. He is a descendant of Zhuge Feng, the lieutenant of the Han Dynasty. His father's name is Gui, and his courtesy name is Zigong. He was the prefect of Taishan County and died early. Liang followed his uncle Xuan. Xuan had an old relationship with Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou, so he went to live with him and settled in Xiangyang. After Xuan died, Liang and his brother Zhuge both worked as farmers in Nanyang. He once liked to compose "Liangfu Yin". There is a hill where he lives, named Wolong Hill, so he called himself Mr. Wolong. This man is a rare genius, and you should go to see him as soon as possible. If this man is willing to assist us, why worry about the unrest in the world? (Chapter 36)

4. Liang’s courtesy name is Kong Ming, and his Taoist name is Mr. Wolong. He has extraordinary talents and extraordinary strategies. He is truly a genius of the time and should not be underestimated; (Chapter 39)

5. It can be compared to Jiang Ziya, who prospered the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years, and Zhang Zifang, who prospered the Han Dynasty for 400 years. (Chapter 37)

The character traits of Zhou Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Zhou Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a narrow-minded, short-sighted person who is jealous of talented people.

In the 44th chapter of the novel, Sun Quan decided to fight against Cao Cao and ordered Zhou Yu to organize a battle against the enemy. But Zhuge Liang told Zhou Yu that Sun Quan still had concerns. Zhou Yu immediately went to see Sun Quan, and it turned out to be just as Zhuge Liang said. So Zhou Yu thought to himself: "Kong Ming has already known the intentions of the Marquis of Wu. His plan is even better than mine. He will be a threat to Jiangdong in the long run. It is better to kill him." It was only because of Lu Su's dissuasion that he did not kill him. This shows that Zhou Yu's vision is indeed short-sighted.

After that, Zhou Yu plotted to kill Zhuge Liang many times, such as sending Zhuge Liang to make 100,000 arrows in ten days in an attempt to kill him by military law; sending Zhuge Liang to Jutie Mountain to cut off Cao Cao's food supply in an attempt to kill him by Cao Cao's hand; Zhuge Liang borrowed the east wind at Qixingtan, and Zhou Yu sent Ding Feng and Xu Sheng to Nanping Mountain with 100 soldiers each by land and water in an attempt to kill him by force, etc. Although the crises were cleverly resolved by Zhuge Liang, it highlighted Zhou Yu's narrow-mindedness and jealousy of talent. In Luo's writing, another character trait of Zhou Yu is that he is easily impulsive and acts on impulse.

For example, when Zhuge Liang came to Soochow to discuss the plan of jointly resisting Cao, Zhou Yu deliberately said that he was ready to surrender to Cao, intending to use this to blackmail Zhuge Liang and ask him to help Liu Bei defeat Cao. However, Zhuge Liang said, "Gongjin's idea of ​​surrendering to Cao is very reasonable." After hearing Zhuge Liang's words, Zhou Yu flew into a rage and cursed, "The old thief has bullied me too much!" He also said, "I hope Kongming can lend a hand to defeat Cao together." His impulsive characteristics were fully revealed. Another example is that Zhou Yu wanted to kill Zhuge Liang with the help of Cao Cao, and sent Zhuge to Tieju Mountain to cut off Cao Cao's food supply. Kong Ming knew Zhou Yu's intention very well, but instead of shirking his responsibility, he took the opportunity to mock him, saying, "I heard a rumor spread by children in Jiangnan: 'Rao Zijing is good at ambushing on the road, while Zhou Yu is good at naval battles on the river.' You and your colleagues can only ambush on the road and guard on land; Zhou Yu can only fight on water, not on land." When Zhou Yu heard this, he said angrily, "Why do you lie to me that I can't fight on land? Without him, I will lead 10,000 cavalry to Tieju Mountain to cut off Cao's food supply!" For a ridicule, he actually ignored his responsibilities as a commander, which shows that he is easily impulsive and acts on impulse.

How did Cao Xiu die in the Three Kingdoms period?

Cao Xiu, whose courtesy name was Wenlie, was a nephew of Cao Cao and was treated like Cao Cao's own son. Cao Xiu often followed Cao Cao in his expeditions and once led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry as a guard. When Liu Bei sent General Wu Lan to tuck in at Xiabian, Cao Xiu followed Cao Hong into the expedition. He was nominally a military officer but was actually the commander-in-chief. Under his suggestion, the Shu army was greatly defeated. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Xiu was promoted to General Leading the Army and later General Zhennan, replacing Xiahou Dun to garrison the east side of Wei. He fought with the Wu State many times and once defeated the Wu general Lü Fan at Dongpu. Due to his merits, he was promoted to General Zhengdong, General Zhengdong Grand General, and Grand Marshal. He was always in charge of the military affairs of Yangzhou. Later, Wu general Zhou Cang pretended to surrender to Cao Xiu and lured him into an extensive attack on Wu. As a result, Cao Xiu was defeated by Wu general Lu Xun and died of an abscess on his back soon after.