Cai Xun

Historical Record

Regarding Cai Xun, there is no clear record in the official histories. In sources such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the name Cai Xun never appears, and his life and official career cannot be verified. This indicates that Cai Xun was not an important historical figure, or that his deeds went unrecorded by the historians. We therefore cannot obtain any reliable information about Cai Xun from the historical materials.

In the Novel

In the literary world of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cai Xun is shaped as a subordinate general of Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province. His first and only appearance is in Chapter 34, when Liu Bei was temporarily residing in Jing Province and Cai Mao and others wished to be rid of him. Cai Xun played the role of a gate-guarding general in this plot against Liu Bei ^c:3227.

According to the novel's account, when Cai Mao and Kuai Yue conspired to do away with Liu Bei, Cai Mao laid out the defense of the city gates in detail. He sent his younger brother Cai He to guard the main road of Mount Xianshan at the east gate, Cai Zhong to guard outside the south gate, and Cai Xun was assigned to the defense outside the north gate ^c:3227. This arrangement shows that Cai Xun held a certain position in Cai Mao's military system—at least as a general able to hold his own and take charge of one of the city gates. However, the novel does not further depict Cai Xun's character, martial skill, or wit; his image is limited to that of a tool carrying out Cai Mao's orders. In this attempt to assassinate Liu Bei, owing to Liu Bei's alertness and the aid of the Dilu horse, Liu Bei ultimately escaped, and the plan of Cai Mao and the others failed. Cai Xun's defense at the north gate therefore played no real role, and his subsequent fate is never again mentioned in the novel, as if he vanished without a trace upon the failure of this event. This accords with his absence from the historical record: the novel merely shaped such a character for the needs of the plot, his existence wholly serving the dramatic conflict of Liu Bei's escape.

Key Relationships

* Cai Mao (serves): In the novel, Cai Xun is a subordinate of Cai Mao, obeying Cai Mao's deployment and orders ^c:3227. Cai Mao was the brother-in-law of Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province, and held great power there. When Cai Mao plotted to assassinate Liu Bei, he stationed Cai Xun to guard the north gate, showing Cai Xun's subordination and loyalty to Cai Mao (novel only).

Iconic Scenes

* Setting an ambush at the north gate to block Liu Bei (novel only): In Chapter 34 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue conspired to do away with Liu Bei. To prevent Liu Bei from escaping, Cai Mao specially deployed the defense of the city gates. He stationed Cai Xun outside the north gate to guard it, intending to block Liu Bei from fleeing in that direction ^c:3227. Although Liu Bei ultimately escaped in the direction of the Tan Stream by the west gate, and Cai Xun's mission did not succeed, this is the only explicit depiction of his action in the novel and the entirety of his characterization. This scene highlights Cai Xun as a member of Cai Mao's clique, taking part in the political plot against Liu Bei.