Gui Lan

Historical Record

Gui Lan once served as a commanding officer of Danyang during the Three Kingdoms period. His life is recorded mainly in connection with the murder of Sun Yi. Sun Yi, styled Shubi, was a younger brother of Sun Quan and once served as Grand Administrator of Danyang. According to the Wuli, Gui Lan was close to Dai Yuan, Bian Hong, and others, and often harbored rebellious intent because of Sun Yi's suppression of him ^c:1162. While Sun Quan was away on campaign, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan seized the opportunity to carry out their plot. At the time, the magistrates of the various counties had gathered at Danyang, and Sun Yi hosted a banquet for them. After the banquet ended, Bian Hong seized the chance to assassinate Sun Yi. After the deed, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan pushed the blame onto Bian Hong and put him to death, in order to conceal their true intent ^c:1162.

After Sun Yi was killed, another of Sun Quan's kinsmen, Sun He, hurried to Wanling and sternly rebuked Gui Lan and Dai Yuan for failing to protect Sun Yi and allowing the villains to succeed. Gui Lan and Dai Yuan therefore grew fearful, reckoning that if even Sun He, who was distantly related to Sun Yi, treated them thus, then should Sun Quan himself arrive, they would surely be left with nothing. So the two conspired to kill Sun He ^c:1162. They then sent men north to welcome Liu Fu, the Inspector of Yang Province, intending to have him station himself at Liyang while they responded from Danyang. However, their plan did not fully succeed. Sun Yi's trusted retainers Xu Yuan, Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and others finally joined forces to kill Gui Lan and Dai Yuan ^c:1162.

The Wuli further supplements the details of Gui Lan's death: after Sun Yi was killed, Gui Lan moved into the military headquarters and forcibly took Sun Yi's concubines and attendants. He also tried to forcibly take Sun Yi's wife, the Lady Xu. To preserve herself, the Lady Xu pretended to agree, and on the pretext of holding a sacrifice and removing her mourning garb on the last day of the month, she stalled. During this time, the Lady Xu secretly contacted Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and other old retainers of Sun Yi, told them of Gui Lan's misdeeds, and requested their help. Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and the others, mindful of Sun Yi's kindness, resolved to avenge the Lady Xu and Sun Yi. After the sacrifice on the last day of the month, the Lady Xu bathed and changed her garments, putting on an appearance of joy to deceive Gui Lan. Seeing this, Gui Lan assumed the Lady Xu no longer harbored any disloyalty, and with eager intent entered the Lady Xu's chamber. Catching him off guard, the Lady Xu gave a signal, whereupon Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and the others rushed out and together killed Gui Lan. At the same time, others killed Dai Yuan outside. The Lady Xu then put on mourning garb and offered the heads of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan at Sun Yi's grave ^c:1162. When Sun Quan learned of this, he exterminated the remaining partisans of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, and promoted Sun Gao and Fu Ying to Yamen officers, bestowing gold and silk on the other participants.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gui Lan's image is further given literary form, and his motives of betrayal and greed are depicted more concretely and dramatically. In the novel, Gui Lan (a commanding officer of Danyang) and the commandery aide Dai Yuan are both portrayed as rebels who harbored discontent toward Sun Yi. Exploiting Sun Yi's fierce temperament, his fondness for wine, and his habit of flogging soldiers when drunk, they conspired with Sun Yi's attendant Bian Hong to plot Sun Yi's assassination ^c:1163.

The novel describes the assassination in detail: Sun Yi hosted a banquet for the generals and county magistrates; his wife, the Lady Xu, who was skilled at divination, divined a hexagram of great misfortune and urged Sun Yi not to go out, but Sun Yi would not heed her. After the banquet broke up, Bian Hong seized the chance to cut down Sun Yi with a blade ^c:1163. Consistent with historical fact, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan then pushed the blame onto Bian Hong and beheaded him publicly to conceal their crime. In the novel, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan not only plundered Sun Yi's family wealth but also forcibly took his concubines. Gui Lan, moreover, set his eyes on the Lady Xu's beauty and directly demanded of her, "I avenged your husband; you ought to follow me; if you do not comply, you die." The Lady Xu stalled on the grounds that "my husband has been dead but a short while; I cannot bear to follow you at once. Wait until the last day of the month, when I will hold a sacrifice and remove my mourning garb, and then our marriage will not be too late"—which accords with the Lady Xu's resourcefulness as recorded in history but is presented more directly and with greater conflict in the novel ^c:1164.

The novel's depiction of Gui Lan's death largely accords with historical fact but lays greater emphasis on the Lady Xu's wisdom and valor and the tragic grandeur of her revenge. During the delay, the Lady Xu secretly contacted Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and others, and finally, after the sacrifice on the last day of the month, took the chance to lure Gui Lan into her chamber, where Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and the others killed him. Through these details, the novel reinforces Gui Lan's treachery and the Lady Xu's steadfastness, making the characters more vivid. It is worth noting that the novel does not mention the episode of Sun He being killed by Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, which differs markedly from the historical record—a choice the novel makes to highlight the main conflict.

Key Relationships

* Sun Yi: The target whom Gui Lan betrayed and ultimately conspired to kill. In historical fact, Gui Lan harbored rebellious intent out of discontent with Sun Yi's suppression of him ^c:1162. In the novel, Sun Yi's fierce temperament, fondness for wine, and habit of flogging soldiers are depicted as the inducement for Gui Lan's plot against him ^c:1163.
* Sun He: In historical fact, Sun He, because he rebuked Gui Lan and Dai Yuan for failing to protect Sun Yi, was conspired against and killed by the two ^c:1162. This episode is not mentioned in the novel.
* Bian Hong: In historical fact, Bian Hong was a confidant of Gui Lan who directly carried out the assassination of Sun Yi and was later blamed and put to death by Gui Lan and Dai Yuan ^c:1162. In the novel, Bian Hong is described as having joined Gui Lan and Dai Yuan as their confidant, together plotting Sun Yi's murder ^c:1163.
* Lady Xu: Sun Yi's wife, the target whom Gui Lan tried to seize by force. In both history and the novel, the Lady Xu displays exceptional wisdom and courage, finally devising a plan to turn the tables and kill Gui Lan, avenging her husband ^c:1162, ^c:1164.
* Dai Yuan: Gui Lan's accomplice, who in both history and the novel jointly plotted and carried out the murder of Sun Yi with Gui Lan, and in the end was killed together with Gui Lan ^c:1162.
* Sun Gao, Fu Ying: Old retainers of Sun Yi who, in both history and the novel, were moved by the Lady Xu and helped her kill Gui Lan and Dai Yuan to avenge Sun Yi ^c:1162.

Signature Scenes

* Murdering Sun Yi at Danyang: Gui Lan conspired with Dai Yuan and Bian Hong, and after Sun Yi hosted a banquet for his guests, had Bian Hong assassinate Sun Yi. This was the beginning of Gui Lan's crimes and an embodiment of his lust for power ^c:1162, ^c:1163.
* Killing Sun He: After Sun Yi was murdered, Sun He came to call them to account, and Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, fearing Sun Quan, conspired to kill Sun He, further exposing their cruel and unscrupulous nature ^c:1162.
* Failed attempt to seize the Lady Xu: After murdering Sun Yi, Gui Lan tried to forcibly take his wife, the Lady Xu. The Lady Xu maneuvered with her wits, feigning consent while secretly plotting revenge. This scene not only displays Gui Lan's greed and lust but also highlights the Lady Xu's resilience and resourcefulness ^c:1162, ^c:1164.
* Killed in the Lady Xu's counter-scheme: After the sacrifice on the last day of the month, the Lady Xu pretended to comply and lured Gui Lan into her chamber. Then, with the help of Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and others, she had Gui Lan killed on the spot, avenging Sun Yi. This scene is the end of Gui Lan's misdeeds and the climax of the Lady Xu's revenge, regarded by both the Wuli and the novel as an event of great drama and legendary color ^c:1162.