Du Lu

Historical Record

Concerning Du Lu, there is no clear record in the official histories. In historical sources such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, no figure named Du Lu is mentioned, nor is there any record of his life or the role he played during the Three Kingdoms period. Therefore, from the standpoint of the sources, Du Lu is not a historically verifiable figure.

In the Novel

Du Lu appears in Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a Shu Han general, with little ink devoted to him, concentrated mainly in the later phase of the Battle of Yiling (Battle of Xiaoting). As Liu Bei's campaign against Wu ended in defeat, Du Lu, together with another Shu general Liu Ning, surrendered to Wu ^c:5737.

Chapter 84 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes in detail the tragic plight of Liu Bei after his defeat at Xiaoting. The Wu army pursued in triumph, and the Shu Han forces collapsed in disarray. In this chaotic situation, although Wu Ban managed to be rescued by Zhao Yun and barely retreated to Baidicheng, more of the Shu generals and soldiers faced the fate of being killed or surrendering. It was against this backdrop that Du Lu and Liu Ning chose to surrender to Eastern Wu, becoming members of the defeated army's generals ^c:5737. The novel does not explain Du Lu's previous office, military achievements, or personal background; his appearance is that of a defeated surrendering general, which leaves his image in the novel rather vague, serving mainly to set off the rout of the Shu Han army and the great victory of Wu. Du Lu's surrender, together with episodes such as Shamoke being killed by Zhou Tai and the total loss of the Shu camp's provisions and equipment, forms the tragic picture of Liu Bei's disastrous defeat at Yiling, further rendering the atmosphere of Shu Han's gravely wounded strength.

Key Relationships

* Eastern Wu (defected_to): After the defeat at the Battle of Yiling, Du Lu surrendered to Eastern Wu together with Liu Ning ^c:5737 (novel only). This act directly changed his factional allegiance and marked his end in the novel.
* Liu Ning: In the novel Du Lu surrendered to Eastern Wu together with Liu Ning ^c:5737 (novel only); the two appear in parallel in the novel, together representing a portion of the Shu Han defeated generals who surrendered to Wu.

Iconic Scenes

* Surrendering after defeat at the Battle of Yiling: Du Lu's sole definite appearance in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is in the later phase of the Battle of Yiling (Battle of Xiaoting), when Shu Han was greatly defeated and he surrendered to Wu together with Liu Ning ^c:5737 (novel only). This scene is his most crucial moment in the novel and the sum of all his deeds. In this chapter, Liu Bei's army was burned out of its linked camps by Lu Xun and suffered heavy losses, and the Wu army pursued in triumph. Against the backdrop of Wu Ban being rescued by Zhao Yun and Shamoke being beheaded by Zhou Tai, the surrender of Du Lu and Liu Ning became an epitome of the total rout of the Shu Han army. This episode not only displays the cruelty of the battlefield but also reflects the choices of defeated generals in a hopeless situation. Du Lu's surrender further aggravated Shu Han's losses and added another stroke to Liu Bei's tragic end in the novel.