Historical Record
Regarding the person Lou Gui, there is no clear record in the official historical documents such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms. His life, deeds, native place, and even his very existence are not found in the historiographical material. Therefore, from the standpoint of historical record, Lou Gui is a figure who cannot be verified. The lack of historical material leaves us unable to give any fact-based description or analysis of him.
In the Novel
In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lou Gui appears as a recluse figure who provides Cao Cao with a strategy. He first appears in Chapter 59 of the novel, described as an old man with "the bones of a crane and the bearing of a pine, of ancient and venerable countenance." In the novel, Lou Gui calls himself a man of Jingzhao, dwelling in seclusion on Mount Zhongnan, with the Daoist sobriquet of the Recluse Mengmei. He sought an audience with Cao Cao of his own accord and was treated as a guest. At the time, Cao Cao was troubled over encamping at the Wei River, since the sandy ground made it hard to build ramparts. Lou Gui, discerning the season, pointed out, "For days the dark clouds have gathered; once the north wind rises, there will surely be a great freeze. After the wind rises, drive the soldiers to carry earth and douse it with water, and by daybreak the earthen wall will be complete." He advised Cao Cao to make use of the coming severe cold and rapidly raise an earthen wall by dousing it with water to form ice. This stratagem embodies Lou Gui's profound understanding of natural law and his original insight into military strategy. His appearance solved a pressing difficulty for Cao Cao and also displays the literary device, common in the novel, of a lofty recluse lending aid. Lou Gui's role in the novel is more that of an instrumental character to advance the plot and display Cao Cao's readiness to accept counsel, rather than a protagonist with a complex character arc. After offering his advice, he appears no more, and his subsequent whereabouts are not mentioned in the novel. This is similar to many advisers or recluse figures in the novel, whose appearances are often meant to resolve a specific predicament rather than to take part in the historical process over the long term.
Key Relationships
Lou Gui's key relationship in Romance of the Three Kingdoms centers on Cao Cao. He is Cao Cao's adviser (advises_in), though this relationship is brief and one-time. Lou Gui sought an audience with Cao Cao of his own accord and offered him a strategy, and Cao Cao treated him with courtesy and adopted his advice. This relationship embodies Cao Cao's thirst for talent and his unconventional manner of employing men, and also displays Lou Gui's image as a lofty recluse who, at a critical moment, offers counsel to an enlightened lord of the age. In the historiographical material, since Lou Gui is not recorded, there exists no historical relationship between him and Cao Cao. This adviser-lord relationship is a literary creation unique to the novel, meant to enrich the image of Cao Cao and add legendary color to the story.
Signature Scenes
Lou Gui's signature scene is concentrated in the moment when he offers Cao Cao the plan to build the wall. In Chapter 59 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, just as Cao Cao was "vexed" because the sandy ground of the Wei River made it hard to build ramparts, Lou Gui appeared of his own accord. He appeared before Cao Cao in the guise of one with "the bones of a crane and the bearing of a pine, of ancient and venerable countenance," and bluntly pointed out that Cao Cao "uses troops like a god—how can he not know the season?" He then proposed the stratagem of making use of the coming severe cold and "driving the soldiers to carry earth and douse it with water" to rapidly form an earthen wall. This scene not only displays Lou Gui's wisdom and his insight into the season but also highlights Cao Cao's predicament and his ultimate wisdom in adopting the advice. This scene is Lou Gui's only important appearance in the novel and the concentrated embodiment of his recluse image as the "Recluse Mengmei." This episode is not recorded in the histories and is entirely a literary creation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms to display Cao Cao's military talent and the presence of remarkable men around him (novel only).
Relationships
1 relationships
Other1
Chapters1 回 ▸
- 演ch.59
Relationship timeline1 条 ▸
演 ch.59
- Cao Cao§2
advises_in
献泼水筑冰城之策
Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- My surname was Lou, and my given name was Zibo; my courtesy name is unknown. I was from Jingzhao, lived in seclusion on