Zhu Ran

Historical Record

Zhu Ran, styled Yifeng, was originally surnamed Shi and was the son of Zhu Zhi's elder sister. When Zhu Zhi was without a son and Zhu Ran was only thirteen, Zhu Zhi requested Sun Ce to take Zhu Ran as his heir. Sun Ce took the matter seriously, specially ordering Danyang Commandery to summon Zhu Ran with lamb and wine and to congratulate him with grand ceremony. ^c:2400 Zhu Ran had once studied together with Sun Quan, and the two thereby formed a deep bond. After Sun Quan took power, he appointed the nineteen-year-old Zhu Ran Chief of Yuyao, later promoting him to Magistrate of Shanyin with the added rank of Colonel Who Breaks the Enemy, supervising five counties. Sun Quan esteemed his talent greatly, carved Linchuan Commandery out of Danyang Commandery, appointed Zhu Ran its Grand Administrator, and allotted him two thousand troops. At a time when mountain bandits ran rampant, Zhu Ran put down the revolt in just one month. ^c:2401

During the Jian'an era, when Cao Cao sent troops to Ruxu, Zhu Ran was charged with defending the great barricade and the three frontier garrisons, and was appointed Auxiliary General. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, Zhu Ran joined the campaign against Guan Yu, and together with Pan Zhang captured Guan Yu at Linju, and was thereby promoted to General Who Manifests Valor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Xi'an Village. ^c:2401 When Lü Meng was gravely ill, Sun Quan once asked who could succeed to his post, and Lü Meng recommended Zhu Ran, saying "his daring and steadfastness are more than sufficient; in my humble view he can be entrusted." ^c:2403 After Lü Meng died, Sun Quan granted Zhu Ran a staff of authority and ordered him to guard Jiangling. In the first year of Huangwu, when Liu Bei mounted a great attack on Yidu, Zhu Ran led five thousand men to resist him together with Lu Xun. Zhu Ran on his own broke Liu Bei's vanguard and cut off his line of retreat, and Liu Bei was thereby greatly defeated and fled. Zhu Ran was thus appointed General Who Conquers the North and enfeoffed as Marquis of Yongan. ^c:2403

Wei sent a great army under Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Zhang He, and others to besiege Jiangling, and the Wei emperor Cao Pi personally garrisoned Wancheng as the rearguard. Sun Quan sent Sun Sheng with ten thousand men to garrison the islet and build a fortified barricade to support Zhu Ran. Zhang He crossed the river to attack Sun Sheng; Sun Sheng could not withstand him and wished to withdraw, and Zhang He then occupied the islet barricade, so that Zhu Ran was cut off from within and without. Pan Zhang, Yang Can, and other generals came to break the siege but failed. At the time, inside Jiangling many of Zhu Ran's troops suffered from swelling sickness, and those able to fight numbered only five thousand. Cao Zhen and the others built earthen hills, dug tunnels, and erected siege towers, with arrows falling like rain into the city, and the officers and men all wore looks of fear—only Zhu Ran was calm and unafraid, instead rallying his troops and seizing the chance to break two of the Wei camps. The Wei army besieged Zhu Ran for as long as six months yet could not take the city. The Magistrate of Jiangling, Yao Tai, seeing the foe strong outside and the city short of troops and out of grain, colluded with the enemy and plotted to act as an inside agent. After the matter was exposed, Zhu Ran executed Yao Tai. Xiahou Shang and the others in the end could not take Jiangling and had to withdraw their troops. By this battle Zhu Ran's name shook the enemy state, and he was re-enfeoffed as Marquis of Dangyang. ^c:2404

In the first year of Huanglong, Zhu Ran was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry, Right Protector of the Army, and Governor of Yanzhou. Later, because Yanzhou lay within Shu's territory, Zhu Ran was relieved of the governorship. In the third year of Jiahe, Sun Quan and Shu agreed on a great joint attack, and Sun Quan personally led a great army to attack Xincheng, with Zhu Ran and Quan Cong charged as left and right supervisors. However, because of an epidemic spreading through the army, they withdrew without attacking the city. ^c:2407 In the fifth year of Chiwu, Zhu Ran campaigned against Zhazhong, where the Wei generals Pu Zhong and Hu Zhi each led several thousand men—Pu Zhong attempting to cut off Zhu Ran's retreat at a stronghold, with Hu Zhi serving as reinforcement. At the time Zhu Ran's troops had already gone out in advance in four directions and could not be gathered in time, so he led the eight hundred men of his own headquarters to meet the enemy. Pu Zhong fared poorly in the fighting, and Hu Zhi and the others all withdrew. ^c:2399 Nine years later, Zhu Ran again campaigned against Zhazhong, and the Wei general Li Xing and others, learning that Zhu Ran had penetrated deep, led six thousand infantry and cavalry to cut off his retreat; Zhu Ran sallied out at night to meet them in battle and finally won. Sun Quan had once been deeply embittered by the rebellion of Ma Mao, and before setting out Zhu Ran submitted a memorial declaring he would "line up boats to block the river, making a spectacle worth seeing, to relieve the resentment above and below." After Zhu Ran presented his victory report, Sun Quan, when his officials offered congratulations, produced Zhu Ran's memorial and praised him as "clear-sighted in perceiving affairs." Thereupon Zhu Ran was appointed Left Grand Marshal and Right Army Counselor. ^c:2408

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhu Ran's image revolves mainly around his military actions, especially the important roles he plays in the death of Guan Yu and the Battle of Xiaoting. In the capture of Guan Yu, Zhu Ran together with Pan Zhang obeyed Lü Meng's order to set an ambush twenty li north of Maicheng to intercept Guan Yu. When Guan Yu, leading the remnants of his beaten troops, broke out and reached this place, Zhu Ran appeared with his army, fought Guan Yu, and feigned defeat and flight to lure Guan Yu deep into the ambush. ^c:2409 Then Pan Zhang appeared, and finally Guan Yu was captured alive by Pan Zhang's subordinate Ma Zhong. This plot highlights Zhu Ran's executive capacity in strategic deployment; though his martial prowess is no match for Guan Yu, he played a key role in the stratagem encircling Guan Yu.

In the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhu Ran together with Sun Huan was appointed by Sun Quan as left and right commanders, leading fifty thousand land and naval troops to resist Liu Bei's attack. ^c:5667 He and Sun Huan jointly guarded Yidu against the menacing Shu Han army. In the novel, when Zhu Ran learned that Sun Huan had lost troops and officers, he was about to go to the rescue but was deceived by Feng Xi's feigned-surrender stratagem. His subordinate Cui Yu went out to fight in his stead, and Cui Yu was slain by Guan Xing. ^c:12190 When Liu Bei was utterly defeated and fled, Zhu Ran led his army in pursuit but encountered Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun "with one spear-thrust felled Zhu Ran from his horse" and rescued Liu Bei. ^c:2410 This plot differs markedly from the historical fact; in history, Zhu Ran remained active for a long time after the Battle of Xiaoting and repeatedly earned merit, dying only in the twelfth year of Chiwu. This depiction in the novel is clearly meant to highlight Zhao Yun's valor and Liu Bei's peril, at the expense of Zhu Ran's true historical end.

Key Relationships

* Zhu Zhi: Zhu Ran's maternal uncle and also his adoptive father. Zhu Ran was originally surnamed Shi, and was adopted by Zhu Zhi because Zhu Zhi had no son, changing his surname to Zhu. ^c:2400
* Sun Quan: Zhu Ran's fellow student and friend; Sun Quan esteemed his talent greatly, repeatedly entrusting him with heavy responsibilities, and praised him as "clear-sighted in perceiving affairs." ^c:2408
* Lü Meng: Before his death, recommended Zhu Ran to Sun Quan to succeed to his post, deeming that Zhu Ran's "daring and steadfastness were more than sufficient." ^c:2403
* Hu Zhi: A Wei general who, together with Pu Zhong, fought Zhu Ran at Zhazhong and was finally repulsed by Zhu Ran. ^c:2399
* Pan Zhang: Set an ambush together with Zhu Ran in the capture of Guan Yu ^c:2401; in the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhu Ran also broke the siege of Jiangling together with Pan Zhang ^c:2404 (unique to the novel).
* Sun Huan: In the Battle of Xiaoting, appointed together with Zhu Ran as left and right commanders, jointly resisting Liu Bei ^c:5667 (unique to the novel).
* Zhao Yun: In the later stage of the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhao Yun "with one spear-thrust felled Zhu Ran from his horse" and rescued Liu Bei ^c:2410 (unique to the novel).

Signature Scenes

* Capturing Guan Yu at Linju: Zhu Ran together with Pan Zhang set an ambush at Linju and successfully captured Guan Yu, earning great merit for Sun-Wu; Zhu Ran was thereby promoted to General Who Manifests Valor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Xi'an Village. ^c:2401 In the novel, Zhu Ran personally took the field, clashed with Guan Yu, and feigned defeat to flee, creating the conditions for Pan Zhang to capture Guan Yu. ^c:2409
* The defense of Jiangling: Facing the siege of the great Wei army under Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, and others, Zhu Ran—with insufficient troops in the city and many officers and men sick—remained calm and composed, rallied his soldiers, and held out for as long as six months, finally forcing the Wei army to withdraw. This battle made Zhu Ran's name shake the enemy state, and he was re-enfeoffed as Marquis of Dangyang. ^c:2404 This scene fully displays Zhu Ran's character of "steady daring in crisis."
* Campaigning against Zhazhong: Zhu Ran repeatedly led troops to campaign against the Wei region of Zhazhong, repeatedly repulsing the Wei generals Pu Zhong, Hu Zhi, Li Xing, and others, displaying his outstanding military talent and his aggressiveness in operations against Wei. ^c:2408
* The Battle of Xiaoting (unique to the novel): In the novel, Zhu Ran, as a great Sun-Wu general, resisted Liu Bei's attack together with Sun Huan. Although in the historical record Zhu Ran performed outstandingly in this battle, in the novel he is finally slain by Zhao Yun, serving as a foil to Zhao Yun's valor. ^c:2410
* Lü Meng recommending talent: When Lü Meng was gravely ill, he recommended Zhu Ran to Sun Quan to succeed to his post, praising him for "daring and steadfastness more than sufficient," reflecting Zhu Ran's important standing and ability among the Eastern Wu generals. ^c:2403