Historical Record
Wang Qi, courtesy name Kongshuo, was a native of Donglai; his grandson was Wang Mi, the great bandit of the Yongjia era of the Jin. c:5960 In the Cao Wei period, Wang Qi once served as Grand Administrator of Xuantu. In the sixth year of Zhengshi (245), the Wei general Guanqiu Jian campaigned against Goguryeo for the second time; after the Goguryeo king Gong (Wei) was defeated in battle, he fled to Maigou. At this point Guanqiu Jian dispatched Wang Qi to lead troops in pursuit of the Goguryeo king Gong. c:5960 Wang Qi's pursuit penetrated deep into enemy territory; he led his forces across Woju and marched more than a thousand li, reaching the southern frontier of the Sushen people. In the course of this, Wang Qi engraved stone to record his merit, inscribing his achievements on Mount Wandu and commemorating the city of Bunai. This military action achieved notable results, killing and inducing the surrender of more than eight thousand persons in all, and in the awarding of merit more than a hundred men were enfeoffed as marquises. In addition, Wang Qi once dispatched troops to pursue and punish the Goguryeo king Gong as far as his eastern frontier. During the pursuit, Wang Qi asked the local elders whether there were still people dwelling beyond the eastern sea. The elders recounted many strange tales—for example, that men of their country sailing out to fish had met a storm and drifted to an island whose inhabitants spoke an unintelligible tongue and had the custom of sinking a maiden into the sea in the seventh month; they also told of a land of women only, with no men; and of finding cloth garments floating up from the sea, shaped like the clothes of men of the Central Plains, but with two sleeves three zhang long; and of a man found on a wrecked vessel who had another face at the nape of his neck, who though taken alive could not speak, and in the end refused food and died. All these wonders occurred in the great sea east of Woju. c:12783
In the Novel
In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Wang Qi's portrayal appears chiefly in the later campaigns of Cao Wei's conquest of Shu, in the capacity of Grand Administrator of Tianshui. c:2828 He was under the command of Deng Ai and took part in the military action against Shu Han. In the fourth year of Jingyuan (263), Deng Ai, by imperial order, campaigned against Shu, and dispatched Wang Qi to lead fifteen thousand troops to attack Dazhong from the left, to pin down the Shu Han general Jiang Wei. c:2828 Wang Qi clashed head-on with Jiang Wei at Dazhong. When he came forth to give battle, he loudly threatened Jiang Wei, declaring that the Wei army numbered a million with a thousand high generals, that they had already advanced in twenty columns and reached Chengdu, and urging Jiang Wei to surrender early. Enraged at these words, Jiang Wei leveled his spear, spurred his horse, and made straight for Wang Qi. The two had fought fewer than three bouts when Wang Qi was utterly defeated and fled. c:12782 Jiang Wei then led his troops in pursuit but was blocked by the ambushes and reinforcements of Wei generals such as Qian Hong and Deng Ai. In a subsequent campaign, Wang Qi appears again. When Zhuge Zhan was confronting Deng Ai at Mianzhu, Deng Ai adopted Qiu Ben's suggestion and used a stratagem of surprise troops. He ordered Wang Qi and the Grand Administrator of Longxi, Qian Hong, each to lay an ambush to the rear, while he himself led troops to lure the enemy. Zhuge Zhan duly fell for the ruse; pursuing Deng Ai, he ran into the ambush of Wang Qi and the others, and the Shu troops were utterly defeated and retreated to hold Mianzhu. c:2829 The novel's Wang Qi is shaped more into a general of mediocre, even exaggerated, battlefield performance, in stark contrast to his historical achievement of the distant campaign against Goguryeo.
Key Relationships
* Cao Wei (serves): In both the histories and the novel, Wang Qi served the Cao Wei regime. c:5960 In history, as Grand Administrator of Xuantu, he was an important general in Guanqiu Jian's distant campaign against Goguryeo; in the novel, as Grand Administrator of Tianshui, he took part in Deng Ai's campaign against Shu.
* Deng Ai (serves): In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Wang Qi was a general under Deng Ai, obeying his orders and taking part in the attacks on Dazhong and Mianzhu. c:2828 In history, Wang Qi and Deng Ai had no direct connection, since Wang Qi was active in the time of Guanqiu Jian's campaign against Goguryeo, while Deng Ai was active chiefly in the later Cao Wei period.
* Guanqiu Jian (superior): In history, Wang Qi was an important subordinate general of Guanqiu Jian during his campaign against Goguryeo, commanded to pursue the Goguryeo king Gong, and achieved notable military success. c:5960
* Jiang Wei (opponent): In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Wang Qi once clashed with Jiang Wei at Dazhong, but fled defeated after only three bouts. c:12782 (unique to the novel)
Iconic Scenes
* Distant campaign against Goguryeo, engraving stone to record merit: Wang Qi's most iconic scene in history is his leading troops deep into the heart of Goguryeo, pursuing the Goguryeo king Gong as far as the southern frontier of the Sushen. He engraved stone to record his merit on Mount Wandu and commemorated the city of Bunai, manifesting his outstanding military talent and the martial glory of Cao Wei. c:5960 This distant campaign not only achieved military victory but also, through exchanges with the local elders, recorded many strange tales of the lands beyond the eastern sea, displaying his spirit of exploration. c:12783
* Loudly threatening Jiang Wei, fleeing defeated before three bouts: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Wang Qi's iconic scene is his facing Jiang Wei at Dazhong, riding out and shouting loudly, trying to intimidate Jiang Wei with the might of a million-strong Wei army. Jiang Wei, however, in fury leveled his spear straight at Wang Qi, and after only three bouts Wang Qi was utterly defeated and fled. c:12782 (unique to the novel) This scene vividly depicts Wang Qi's image in the novel as a man of mediocre prowess and boastful words, and indirectly sets off Jiang Wei's valor. This flight also laid the groundwork for Deng Ai's subsequent stratagem of surprise troops, in which Wang Qi appears again as an ambusher in the Battle of Mianzhu, taking part in the encirclement of Zhuge Zhan. c:2829 (unique to the novel)
Relationships
1 relationships
Lord & vassal1
Lines
- 史 ch.30 §44
「海東復有人不」
- 演 ch.116 §16→ Jiang Wei
「吾今大兵百萬，上將千員，分二十路而進，已到成都。汝不思早降，猶欲抗拒，何不知天命耶！」
Chapters4 回 ▸
- 史ch.28ch.30
- 演ch.116ch.117
Relationship timeline2 条 ▸
Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- I am Wang Qi, courtesy name Kongshuo, from Donglai. Looking back now, what comes to mind first is neither my ennoblement
Life events1 ▸
- 0245-01-01 · Wandu Mountain CityGuanqiu Jian's Eastern Campaign Against Goguryeo· Commander