Deng Liang

Historical Record

Deng Liang, style unknown, was the son of the Shu Han Grand General Deng Zhi. While alive, Deng Zhi served as Grand General for more than twenty years, renowned for clear rewards and punishments and for treating his soldiers well. He lived frugally and acquired no private property, so that when he died there was no surplus wealth in his household, and his wife and children once faced hunger and cold ^c:3811. Deng Zhi was firm and frugal by nature and gave no thought to outward appearances, so he did not get on well with the literati, yet he held Jiang Wei in high regard. After Deng Zhi's death, Deng Liang inherited his title. In the Jingyao era of Shu Han, Deng Liang served as Gentleman of the Left Selection in the Department of Writing. After the fall of Shu Han, Deng Liang was appointed Grand Administrator of Guanghan under the Jin dynasty ^c:3811.

When the Shu Han Later Sovereign Liu Shan decided to surrender to Cao Wei, Deng Liang, as Commandant of the Imperial Equipage and Imperial Son-in-Law (fuma duwei), was ordered, together with the Palace Attendant Zhang Shao and the Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Qiao Zhou, to go to the Cao Wei camp. Their purpose was to deliver the letter of surrender to Cao Wei and present the seals and cords, conveying Shu Han's submission. In the letter of surrender, Liu Shan called himself "lacking in virtue, benighted and weak, wrongly coveting the legacy passed down," admitting that he had failed to follow the great teaching, and declaring: "Heaven's awe having struck, the count of men and spirits returns to where capability lies; in terror before the royal army, where the divine martial force has reached, how dare I not turn my face and obediently comply with the command!" He ordered his ministers to surrender and ensured that the government storehouses were kept intact and the people at peace, so as to await Cao Wei's grace. In the letter Liu Shan also lavished praise on Cao Wei's virtuous governance, calling its chief minister a Yi Yin and Zhou-gong who "embraces and conceals faults." Deng Liang and the others, on behalf of Shu Han, "respectfully offered their sincere submission to Cao Wei, leaving the matter of survival or destruction, of command and bestowal, entirely to its disposal" ^c:3810.

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Deng Liang's image appears chiefly at the critical moment of Shu Han's fall, when Liu Shan decided to surrender ^c:3812. The novel does not dwell in detail on Deng Liang's origins or early life, which differs from the sources' mention of his father Deng Zhi and his offices, but this does not constitute a direct contradiction—only a different emphasis in literary creation. In the novel, Deng Liang appears as one of the envoys dispatched by Liu Shan, going together with Qiao Zhou and Zhang Shao to the Wei army to sue for surrender. This episode broadly accords with the historical record, but through its detailed depiction of the court deliberations before the surrender the novel lends the event greater dramatic conflict.

Before Liu Shan decided to surrender, opinion at court was sharply divided. Qiao Zhou strongly advocated surrender, while Liu Shan's fifth son, Liu Chen, Prince of Beidi, firmly opposed it, holding that they should fight a last battle with their backs to the city and die for the state. Liu Chen bitterly denounced Qiao Zhou as a "pedantic Confucian clinging to life," and pointed out that Shu Han still had troops, that Jiang Wei's great army was at Jianmen Pass, and that with a pincer attack from within and without victory might yet be won. Liu Shan, however, would not heed Liu Chen's remonstrance and instead rebuked him: "What does a stripling know of Heaven's timing?" In the end, Liu Shan adopted Qiao Zhou's advice and decided to surrender. Against this background, Liu Shan ordered Qiao Zhou to draft the letter of surrender and dispatched the privately appointed Palace Attendant Zhang Shao and the Commandant of the Imperial Equipage and Imperial Son-in-Law Deng Liang, together with Qiao Zhou, to carry the imperial seal to Luocheng and sue for surrender to the Wei army ^c:3812. The novel gives no depiction of Deng Liang's personal attitude or words and deeds in the process of surrendering to Wei; he appears more as a figure carrying out Liu Shan's command, his personal will and feelings played down in the novel—which accords with the sources' record of him as an envoy, but lacks the sources' detailed account of his father-son relationship.

Key Relationships

* Deng Ai (advises_in): In fact, Deng Liang, as one of Shu Han's surrender envoys, sued for surrender to the Wei army commanded by Deng Ai and presented the letter of surrender and the seals and cords, marking the end of the Shu Han regime. Deng Liang played the role of conveying Liu Shan's will to surrender to Deng Ai in this event ^c:3810.
* Deng Zhi (kin_of): Deng Liang was the son of the Shu Han Grand General Deng Zhi. Deng Zhi held high rank and great power in Shu Han, serving as a general for more than twenty years, renowned for his integrity and for treating his soldiers well. Deng Liang inherited his father's title and served as Gentleman of the Left Selection in the Department of Writing during the Jingyao era. Deng Zhi's incorruptible family ethos also indirectly shaped Deng Liang's family background ^c:3811.
* Liu Shan (serves): Deng Liang, as Commandant of the Imperial Equipage and Imperial Son-in-Law of Shu Han, was a subject of Liu Shan. At the fall of Shu Han, he was ordered by Liu Shan, as one of the surrender envoys, to go to the Wei camp and deliver the letter of surrender to Deng Ai, carrying out Liu Shan's command to surrender ^c:3810.

Iconic Scenes

* Suing for surrender to the Wei army on Liu Shan's behalf: This is Deng Liang's most important scene in both the sources and the novel. At the fall of Shu Han, Liu Shan decided to surrender and dispatched Deng Liang (then Commandant of the Imperial Equipage and Imperial Son-in-Law), Zhang Shao, and Qiao Zhou as envoys to carry the imperial seal and the letter of surrender to the Wei camp and sue for surrender to Deng Ai. This scene marks the end of the Shu Han regime, and Deng Liang, as an envoy, witnessed this historic moment in person ^{c:3810 c:3812}.
* Inheriting his father's title and serving as an official under Jin: In fact, Deng Liang inherited the title of his father Deng Zhi and served as Gentleman of the Left Selection in the Department of Writing during the Jingyao era of Shu Han. After the fall of Shu Han, he was appointed Grand Administrator of Guanghan under the Jin dynasty. This shows that Deng Liang held office under both Shu Han and Jin, continuing his family's political influence ^c:3811. This scene is not mentioned in the novel (novel only).
* Liu Chen's earnest remonstrance and Liu Shan's refusal to heed: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, before Liu Shan decided to surrender, his son Liu Chen, Prince of Beidi, earnestly remonstrated, urging Liu Shan to fight a last battle with their backs to the city and die for the state rather than surrender lightly. Liu Shan, however, would not heed Liu Chen's remonstrance and in the end dispatched Deng Liang and the others to sue for surrender. Although Deng Liang himself does not take part directly in the dialogue of this scene, this fierce debate provides the dramatic backdrop for his subsequent surrender mission ^c:3812 (novel only).