Historical Record
Historical records on Cen Hun are extremely scarce; in the official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, there is almost no clear biography or detailed account of his deeds. This indicates that Cen Hun's real presence and influence in history may have been very limited, so much so that he left no notable achievements or failures sufficient to be recorded by the historians. The official histories do not mention his official posts, life, or family background, nor do they record any important historical event he took part in or any strategy he proposed. From the standpoint of the sources, then, Cen Hun is an almost blank figure, whose image and deeds were chiefly enriched and transmitted through later literary creation. This absence of sources also provided ample room for literary works to freely shape his image as the plot required, without being overly constrained by historical fact.
In the Novel
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cen Hun is portrayed as a favored courtier of the late Eastern Wu period, his image standing in sharp contrast to the historical record—indeed, one might say he is a character wholly invented by literary fiction. He first appears in Chapter 120 of the novel, just as the Jin army was launching a massive campaign against Wu. When the lord of Wu, Sun Hao, was deeply anxious over the Jin troops pressing upon his borders, Cen Hun, as a Regular Palace Attendant, came forward of his own accord to inquire into the cause. Upon learning that Sun Hao was worried about the Jin naval forces led by Wang Jun, Cen Hun at once presented a "clever scheme." He proposed using the abundant iron resources of the Jiangnan region to forge several hundred chained iron cables, each several hundred zhang long with every link weighing twenty or thirty catties, to be strung across the strategic points along the river. At the same time, he proposed manufacturing tens of thousands of iron spikes, each more than a zhang long, to be sunk into the water. The aim was that when the Jin ships came riding downstream with the wind, they would be wrecked upon striking the iron spikes and unable to pass upon meeting the iron cables, thereby preventing the Jin army from crossing the river. Sun Hao greatly praised this scheme and at once ordered the artisans to make them with all haste through the night. This episode not only displays Cen Hun's identity as a favored courtier but also portrays his image of attempting, through presenting schemes, to consolidate his own position. This scheme, however, in the end failed to stop the Jin army's onslaught and instead became an ironic interlude on the eve of Wu's destruction, highlighting Sun Hao's benighted folly and the tragic atmosphere of Wu's edifice about to topple. In the novel, Cen Hun is the image of a typical sycophantic minister, whose scheme, seemingly ingenious, was in fact divorced from reality and ultimately hastened Wu's destruction.
Key Relationships
* Eastern Wu (serves): In the novel, Cen Hun is a subject of Eastern Wu, specifically a Regular Palace Attendant. He directly serves the lord of Wu, Sun Hao, and presents a scheme to Sun Hao at the moment of the state's peril. This is a typical lord-subject relationship, but because of Cen Hun's status as a favored courtier, the relationship is tinged with more flattery and dependence than loyalty and uprightness. In the historical sources, Cen Hun's relationship with Eastern Wu cannot be verified, since he is not mentioned.
Signature Scenes
* Presenting the scheme of chained iron cables and iron spikes: This is Cen Hun's most signature scene in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When the Jin army launched its massive campaign against Wu and the lord of Wu, Sun Hao, was deeply anxious, Cen Hun, as a Regular Palace Attendant, presented to Sun Hao a scheme to block the Jin naval forces with chained iron cables and iron spikes. He set forth in detail how to use the iron resources of Jiangnan to forge giant iron cables and spikes, in hopes of wrecking the Jin warships and preventing their crossing of the river. Sun Hao was overjoyed at this scheme and immediately put it into effect. This scene is not only Cen Hun's sole key appearance in the novel but also profoundly shapes his image as a sycophantic minister, and indirectly reflects Sun Hao's benighted incompetence and the dead-end straits of the Eastern Wu regime at its close. This scheme ultimately failed to take effect and instead became an interlude in the Jin army's breaking of Wu, carrying a strong ironic flavor. (unique to the novel)
Relationships
1 relationships
Friends1
Lines
- 演 ch.120 §27→ Sun Hao
「臣有一計，令王濬之舟，皆為齏粉矣。」
- 演 ch.120 §27→ Sun Hao
「江南多鐵，可打連環索百餘條，長數百丈，每環重二三十斤，於沿江緊要去處橫截之。再造鐵錐數萬，長丈餘，置於水中。若晉船乘風而來，逢錐則破，豈能渡江也？」
Chapters1 回 ▸
- 演ch.120
Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- When news that the Jin forces were advancing in great strength reached the palace, I saw worry on the face of the Wu rul
Life events1 ▸
- 0280-01-01 · JianyeSun Hao's Accession and the Decline of Wu· Instigator