Zhou Xuan

Historical Record

Zhou Xuan, courtesy name Konghe, was a native of Le'an ^c:9189. He once served as a commandery clerk. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Grand Administrator Yang Pei once dreamed that someone told him, "On the first day of the eighth month Lord Cao will arrive, and he will surely give you a staff and have you drink medicinal wine." Yang Pei thereupon ordered Zhou Xuan to divine the dream. At that time the Yellow Turban bandits were in revolt, and Zhou Xuan interpreted the dream thus: "A staff is to aid the weak; medicine is to cure illness. On the first day of the eighth month, the bandits will surely be wiped out." Sure enough, on the appointed day, the Yellow Turban bandits were pacified ^c:9189.

Later, Liu Zhen of Dongping dreamed of a snake that grew four feet and dwelt in a hole within a gate, and likewise asked Zhou Xuan to divine the dream. After hearing it, Zhou Xuan said, "This is a dream of the state, not a matter of your household. There will be a woman who stirs up disorder and is executed." Before long, the female bandits Zheng and Jiang were indeed captured and killed. Zhou Xuan explained that a snake symbolizes a woman, and that since a snake ought not to have feet, it foretold a woman stirring up disorder ^c:9190.

Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, also asked Zhou Xuan about dreams many times. The Emperor once asked Zhou Xuan, "I dreamed that two tiles on the palace roof fell to the ground and turned into a pair of mandarin ducks. What does this mean?" Zhou Xuan answered, "There will be someone in the rear palace who dies a violent death." The Emperor pretended he was merely teasing him, and Zhou Xuan said, "A dream is a thought; if it is expressed in form, then one can divine fortune and misfortune from it." Before he had finished speaking, the Yellow Gate Prefect reported that someone in the palace had been killed ^c:4961. Soon afterward, the Emperor again asked, "Last night I dreamed of a green vapor rising from the ground to the sky." Zhou Xuan answered, "There will be a noble woman in the realm who dies a wrongful death." At that moment, the Emperor had already sent an envoy to bestow a sealed edict upon Empress Zhen; on hearing this he regretted it and sent men to chase after the envoy, but it was too late ^c:4961. The Emperor also once asked, "I dreamed of rubbing a coin's inscription, wishing to wear it away, but instead it grew brighter. What does this mean?" On hearing this, Zhou Xuan fell silent in dismay. When the Emperor pressed him again and again, Zhou Xuan finally answered, "This is Your Majesty's household affair. Though such is your intention, the Empress Dowager will not permit it; therefore the coin's inscription, wishing to be effaced, instead grew brighter." At the time, the Emperor wished to punish his younger brother Cao Zhi for an offense, but because of the Empress Dowager's obstruction, in the end he could only demote his rank. Zhou Xuan was thereupon appointed Gentleman of the Household, subordinate to the Grand Astrologer ^c:4961.

Zhou Xuan's art of interpreting dreams was quite efficacious. Once someone asked him, "Last night I dreamed of a straw dog. What does it portend?" Zhou Xuan answered, "You will obtain fine food." Before long, this man went out and indeed came upon a sumptuous feast. The man asked again, "Last night I again dreamed of a straw dog. What does it mean?" Zhou Xuan said, "You will fall from a carriage and break your leg; you should take care." Before long, it indeed came true. The man asked a third time, "Last night I again dreamed of a straw dog. What does it mean?" Zhou Xuan answered, "Your house will catch fire; you should guard against it well." Before long, a fire indeed broke out. The man told Zhou Xuan, "The previous three times, I had in fact not dreamed at all; I merely wished to test you. Why did they all come true?" Zhou Xuan answered, "This was the spirits moving you to speak, so it was no different from a true dream." The man asked again, "I dreamed of a straw dog three times—why were the divinations all different?" Zhou Xuan explained, "A straw dog is an object used in sacrifice to the spirits. So when you first dreamed of it, you were to obtain the leftover food of the sacrifice. After the sacrifice is finished, the straw dog is run over by carriages, so the second dream foretold falling from a carriage and breaking a leg. After the straw dog has been run over by carriages, it is used as firewood, so the third dream foretold fire." Zhou Xuan's dream interpretations were mostly of this kind, and eight or nine times out of ten they came true; people of the time compared him to the physiognomist of Jianping. In the last years of Emperor Ming, Zhou Xuan died ^c:9195.

In the Novel

Romance of the Three Kingdoms does not include an independent biography of Zhou Xuan or any related episodes, so no analysis of his literary characterization can be made. Zhou Xuan does not appear in the novel; his deeds in the histories—such as interpreting dreams for Yang Pei, Liu Zhen, and Emperor Wen of Wei—are likewise not mentioned or adapted in the novel. Therefore, Zhou Xuan's literary image and story episodes are unrecorded in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Key Relationships

* Cao Wei (serves): Zhou Xuan was a member of the Cao Wei regime; he once interpreted dreams for Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, and finally died during the reign of Emperor Ming, serving Cao Wei ^c:4961.
* Yang Pei (Grand Administrator): Zhou Xuan once served as a commandery clerk and interpreted a dream for the Grand Administrator Yang Pei, predicting that the Yellow Turban bandits would be pacified ^c:9189.
* Liu Zhen (a man of Dongping): Zhou Xuan once interpreted a dream for Liu Zhen, predicting the matter of a woman stirring up disorder and being executed ^c:9190.
* Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi (the sovereign): Zhou Xuan interpreted dreams for Cao Pi many times—the palace tiles turning into mandarin ducks, the green vapor rising to the sky, the rubbing of the coin's inscription, and so on—and the accuracy of his interpretations amazed Cao Pi, who consequently appointed him Gentleman of the Household ^c:4961.

Iconic Scenes

* Interpreting Yang Pei's dream of the Yellow Turbans' pacification: Zhou Xuan interpreted a dream for the Grand Administrator Yang Pei, predicting that the Yellow Turban bandits would be pacified on the first day of the eighth month; the result came true, displaying his budding talent for divination ^c:9189.
* Interpreting the Emperor's dream of a palace attendant being killed: Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, dreamed that palace tiles turned into mandarin ducks, and Zhou Xuan interpreted the dream as "there will be someone in the rear palace who dies a violent death"; before he had finished speaking, a report came that a palace attendant had been killed. This scene highlights the immediacy and accuracy of his dream interpretation ^c:4961.
* Interpreting the Emperor's dream of Empress Zhen's wrongful death: The Emperor dreamed of a green vapor rising to the sky, and Zhou Xuan interpreted it as "there will be a noble woman in the realm who dies a wrongful death." On hearing this, the Emperor was filled with regret and wished to recall the envoy who had borne the sealed edict to Empress Zhen, but it was too late. This scene reveals the connection between Zhou Xuan's dream interpretations and major historical events, and displays the Emperor's inner struggle ^c:4961.
* Three dreams of a straw dog with differing divinations: When someone three times fabricated dreaming of a straw dog, Zhou Xuan was able to predict accurately that he would obtain fine food, fall from a carriage and break his leg, and have a fire in his house, and could explain the principle behind each. This scene fully displays the marvelous nature of Zhou Xuan's dream interpretation and his profound insight into the nature of things ^c:9195.