Jiang Gan

Historical Record

According to the surviving materials, Jiang Gan has no clear record in the histories; his deeds are found chiefly in literary works such as *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. It is therefore impossible to give an objective account of his life based on biographical sources.

In the Novel

Jiang Gan, courtesy name Ziyi, is portrayed in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* as a strategist who prided himself on his eloquence yet was repeatedly toyed with by Zhou Yu. He first appears at the time of the standoff between Cao Cao and Zhou Yu^[1]. Cao Cao, having suffered setbacks in the war and seen his edge blunted, was offered the services of Jiang Gan, who volunteered, claiming a fellow-student bond with Zhou Yu and a willingness to use his glib tongue to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender to Jiangdong. Cao Cao was delighted and held a banquet to see Jiang Gan off. Clad in a hempen kerchief and cloth gown, with only one page and two servants, Jiang Gan took a small boat to Zhou Yu's camp^[1].

Hearing that Jiang Gan had come, Zhou Yu knew at once that he was an envoy of persuasion, but feigned ignorance and received him with lavish hospitality. He first led Jiang Gan to meet the heroes of Jiangdong, and had Taishi Ci sit at the feast with his hand on his sword, to display the army's might^[2]. Next, Zhou Yu pretended to be heavily drunk and took Jiang Gan on a tour of the camp, showing off his elite soldiers and his mountains of grain, his words full of contempt for Cao Cao and confidence in his own strength, until Jiang Gan's face turned ashen^[3]. That night, Zhou Yu invited Jiang Gan to share his bed and pretended to vomit in drunkenness, while secretly observing him. Jiang Gan duly fell into the trap: while Zhou Yu slept soundly, he stole a look at the documents in the tent and found a secret letter purportedly written by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to Zhou Yu, in which the two declared their willingness to act as inside agents and seize a chance to present Cao Cao's head^[4]. Jiang Gan took it for true, hid the letter in his clothes, and fled back to the Cao camp by night. He reported the matter to Cao Cao, leading Cao Cao in his fury to behead Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, only realizing afterward that he had been duped^[5].

Jiang Gan's second mission to Jiangdong came after Cao Cao received the feigned-surrender letters of Gan Ning and Huang Gai and, beset by doubts, again sent Jiang Gan to probe the truth^[6]. This time Zhou Yu treated Jiang Gan more harshly, blaming him for stealing the private letter last time and so causing the deaths of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and declaring he would cut Jiang Gan in two^[7]. Zhou Yu then lodged Jiang Gan in a hermitage on the Western Hills and set men to watch him. Brooding in the hermitage, Jiang Gan one night followed a sound and discovered Pang Tong reciting military texts in a thatched hut. Learning that this was "Fledgling Phoenix" Pang Tong, Jiang Gan urged him to defect to Cao Cao, and Pang Tong went along with the flow, feigning agreement and accompanying Jiang Gan back to the Cao camp^[8]. Neither of Jiang Gan's two missions succeeded in persuading Zhou Yu; instead, through one mishap after another, he helped Zhou Yu complete the crucial steps of the "Bitter-Flesh Stratagem" and the "Chained-Ships Stratagem," ultimately bringing about victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Key Relationships

* Zhou Yu (friend_of): Jiang Gan and Zhou Yu were former fellow students, but in the novel this bond was cleverly exploited by Zhou Yu as a tool for his schemes. Knowing Jiang Gan's character well, Zhou Yu repeatedly played on his vanity and his urge to probe for intelligence, making him a "courier" of false information^[9].
* Cao Wei (serves): Jiang Gan was a retainer under Cao Cao and served Cao Wei. Twice he was sent to Jiangdong to gather intelligence for Cao Cao or to persuade Zhou Yu, but both attempts ended in failure and instead indirectly aided Eastern Wu^[1].
* Cao Cao (advises_in): Jiang Gan advised Cao Cao, recommending himself to go to Jiangdong to persuade Zhou Yu, and reported to Cao Cao the false intelligence he had "gleaned" from Zhou Yu, directly leading Cao Cao to mistakenly kill Cai Mao and Zhang Yun^[5].
* Pang Tong (friend_of) (novel only): On his second mission to Jiangdong, Jiang Gan unwittingly discovered the reclusive Pang Tong and recommended him to Cao Cao, helping bring about the crucial step of Pang Tong's "Chained-Ships Stratagem"^[8].

Iconic Scenes

* Outtalked by Zhou Yu and made a fool of (novel only): Jiang Gan, priding himself on his glib tongue, went to Jiangdong to persuade Zhou Yu. But Zhou Yu had already seen through his intent, set the "Gathering of Heroes" banquet to entertain Jiang Gan, and feigning drunkenness took him on a tour of the camp, his words full of contempt for Cao Cao, so that Jiang Gan could find no opening to speak and his face turned ashen^[3].
* Eavesdropping from his pillow and stealing the false letter (novel only): By Zhou Yu's careful design, Jiang Gan, while Zhou Yu lay "drunk" and asleep, stole a look at the documents in the tent and found the forged secret letter between Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and Zhou Yu. Believing it true, he hid the letter in his clothes and fled back to the Cao camp by night, directly leading Cao Cao to mistakenly kill the naval commanders Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, laying the groundwork for victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs^[4].
* Visiting Pang Tong on the Western Hills and recommending him to Cao Cao (novel only): On his second mission to Jiangdong, Jiang Gan was lodged by Zhou Yu in a hermitage on the Western Hills. There he chanced upon and befriended "Fledgling Phoenix" Pang Tong and recommended him to Cao Cao. This act indirectly brought about Pang Tong's presentation of the "Chained-Ships Stratagem" to Cao Cao, further compounding the Cao army's defeat^[10].