Ji Miao

史载（Historical Record）

Regarding the historical record of Ji Miao (styled Wenran), there is no clear mention in the *Records of the Three Kingdoms* or other official histories. Therefore, from the standpoint of the historical record, Ji Miao is not a figure who can be traced in the histories. His life and deeds, family background, and participation in historical events have no support in the sources.

演中（In the Novel）

Ji Miao, styled Wenran, is portrayed in Luo Guanzhong's *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* as the eldest son of the court physician Ji Ping, his younger brother being Ji Mu (styled Siran). Ji Miao's appearance is closely tied to Cao Cao's killing of his father Ji Ping, which gave him a deep grudge against Cao Cao for the killing of his father^[1].

In Chapter 69 of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Ji Miao and his younger brother Ji Mu were introduced by Jin Yi to Geng Ji, Wei Huang, and others, planning together to rise in Xu and kill Cao Cao. Jin Yi explained to Geng Ji and the others that the Ji brothers, because Cao Cao had killed their father Ji Ping when handling the Girdle Edict affair carried by Dong Cheng, had fled to a distant place and so escaped harm, and had now slipped back to Xu. Jin Yi was convinced that if the Ji brothers could be persuaded to help in the campaign against the traitor, they would surely consider it their bounden duty^[1].

When Jin Yi explained the plan to the Ji brothers, the two wept with indignation, their resentment soaring to heaven, swearing to kill the traitor to the state, Cao Cao. They were arranged to act on the night of the fifteenth of the first month, the Lantern Festival. The specific division of labor was that the Ji brothers would charge in from outside the city, set fires as a signal, and shout loudly to rouse the people to kill the traitor to the state, while cutting off the relief troops within the city. Their action would form a pincer attack, inside and out, with the assault by Geng Ji, Wei Huang, Jin Yi, and others within the city upon Wang Bi's camp. In this plot, the five swore an oath to Heaven and smeared blood in covenant, agreeing to rise together at the second watch^[1].

Ji Miao's image in the novel is that of a righteous man who threw himself into the anti-Cao camp because of his family's blood feud, his characterization full of grief, indignation, and the color of revenge. The appearance of him and his brother Ji Mu added strength to this plot against Cao Cao, and also embodied the novel's resistance to Cao Cao's act of "holding the Son of Heaven hostage to command the lords."

关键关系

* Ji Mu (sibling_of): Ji Miao's younger brother, styled Siran. Both were sons of the court physician Ji Ping, and because their father was killed by Cao Cao, they took part together in the plot to rise against Cao Cao (novel-only)^[1].
* Ji Tai (parent_of): Ji Miao's father, that is, the court physician Ji Ping. Ji Ping was killed by Cao Cao for his part in the Girdle Edict affair carried by Dong Cheng, becoming the direct cause of the Ji brothers' opposition to Cao (novel-only)^[1].
* Jin Yi (associate_of): Jin Yi was the key figure who introduced the Ji brothers into the anti-Cao plot. Knowing well that the Ji brothers bore a grudge against Cao Cao for the killing of their father, he recruited them as wings in the campaign against the traitor (novel-only)^[1].
* Geng Ji, Wei Huang (associate_of): Allies who took part with the Ji brothers in the plot, planning together to rise in Xu and kill Cao Cao (novel-only)^[1].

标志性场景

* Plotting against Cao: Ji Miao's most signature scene is his being introduced by Jin Yi, together with his younger brother Ji Mu, to plot against Cao in Xu with Geng Ji, Wei Huang, and others. In this scene, the Ji brothers, because of the grudge over their father's killing, displayed tremendous indignation and resolve for revenge, and actively took part in the division of labor for the uprising, agreeing to charge in from outside the city on the night of the Lantern Festival, set fires as a signal, and coordinate with the action within the city, intending to overthrow Cao Cao. This scene fully displays Ji Miao's image as a righteous man opposing Cao, and is also his sole important appearance in the novel^[1].