Zhao Meng

Historical Record

Historical materials on Zhao Meng are lacking; the standard histories contain no clear record of his life and deeds, his offices, or his connection to the political events of the late Han. Therefore we cannot verify Zhao Meng's specific identity or his actual role in history from the historical sources.

In the Novel

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Meng appears as a commandant of the left army, and his appearance is closely tied to the event of the Han boy emperor Liu Bian fleeing Luoyang after Dong Zhuo's Coup ^c:3761. The novel depicts the scene in which, after the young emperor became separated from the Prince of Chenliu, Liu Xie (later Emperor Xian of Han), at Mount Beimang, the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, the Grand Commandant Yang Biao, and a host of court officials led several hundred horse to come and receive them. Zhao Meng was one of this receiving party, ranked among the commandants alongside Chunyu Qiong, Bao Xin, Yuan Shao, and others ^c:3761.

Through this scene, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms portrays Zhao Meng as one of the court officials who, in the chaotic age of the late Han, remained loyal to the Han house and took part in escorting the emperor. Although he is given little ink in the novel, appearing only at this critical moment, his appearance, together with the other commandants, jointly forms the grand scene of receiving the young emperor back to the capital, symbolizing the support and loyalty of a portion of the court officials toward the Han house at that time. The novel does not deeply depict Zhao Meng's personal character or subsequent development; his image is more that of one figure within a group portrait, serving to display the young emperor's plight and the court officials' response. Zhao Meng is not clearly recorded in history; his appearance in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a need of literary creation, meant to enrich the historical backdrop and to foreshadow the later story of Dong Zhuo's monopoly of power and the rise of the regional lords.

Key Relationships

* Liu Bian (the Han boy emperor): When Zhao Meng appears in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his chief duty is to take part in escorting and receiving the Han boy emperor Liu Bian, who had fled Mount Beimang, back to the capital ^c:3761. This indicates that in the novel he is a subordinate or loyal follower of Liu Bian, and in the young emperor's hour of peril, together with the other court officials, displayed loyalty to the Han house (unique to the novel).

Iconic Scenes

Zhao Meng's iconic scene is concentrated in chapter three of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where he, as a commandant of the right army, together with the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, the Grand Commandant Yang Biao, the commandant of the left army Chunyu Qiong, the commandant of the rear army Bao Xin, the commandant of the central army Yuan Shao, and several hundred horse, jointly went to meet the Han boy emperor Liu Bian and the Prince of Chenliu, Liu Xie, at the foot of Mount Beimang ^c:3761. After the estate master Cui Yi led Min Gong to see the young emperor, Min Gong and the Prince of Chenliu rode together on one horse and left the estate. Within less than three li, they met the receiving party led by Wang Yun and the others. Zhao Meng was among them, jointly attending the young emperor back to the capital. This scene not only displays the young emperor's bedraggled state and the loyalty of the court officials but also presages the further worsening of the late Han's chaotic age. This scene is the only clear appearance of Zhao Meng in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the sole expression of his participation, as a court official, in a major historical event (unique to the novel).