Qin Lang

Historical Record

Qin Lang, after Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, took the throne, had his deeds closely tied to the border conflicts involving Tian Yu, Colonel of the Wuhuan, the Xianbei chieftain Budugen, and Kebineng. During Emperor Wen's reign, Tian Yu was appointed Colonel of the Wuhuan, holding the staff of authority and overseeing the Xianbei, garrisoned at Changping. Budugen once presented horses to Emperor Wen of Wei and was enfeoffed as a king. However, conflict often arose between Budugen and Kebineng, causing Budugen's forces gradually to weaken, until he finally led more than ten thousand of his tribes to take refuge in Taiyuan and Yanmen commanderies. Budugen once persuaded Xiegunni to return to him, pointing out that his father had been killed by Kebineng and that he should not attach himself to his enemy, and stressing the bond of flesh and blood; Xiegunni therefore led his troops to submit to Budugen. In the fifth year of Huangchu, Budugen personally went to the Wei court to pay tribute and received generous rewards; thereafter he devoted himself to guarding the border and no longer raided. Yet Kebineng's power grew ever stronger.

By the time Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, took the throne, the court devoted itself to pacifying the frontier peoples to quell warfare, adopting a policy of loose rein toward both the Budugen and Kebineng factions. In the first year of Qinglong (233), Kebineng enticed Budugen into an alliance, whereupon Budugen brought his forces and Xiegunni alike to submit to Kebineng, and together they invaded Bingzhou, killing and plundering officials and common folk. Facing the turmoil on the border, Emperor Ming of Wei dispatched Qin Lang, General of the Resolute Cavalry, to lead an army in punitive campaign. In this campaign, Xiegunni betrayed Kebineng and led his forces to surrender to Qin Lang. Emperor Ming of Wei therefore enfeoffed Xiegunni as the King Who Returns to Righteousness, bestowing on him banners, a canopy, and ceremonial drums and pipes, and let him continue to dwell in Bingzhou. Soon after, Budugen was killed by Kebineng^[1]. The historical record of Qin Lang is relatively brief, focusing mainly on this military action to pacify the border troubles, and showing his role in the frontier military affairs of Cao Wei.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qin Lang's image differs greatly from the historical record, his appearance and end both bearing a strong color of literary fiction. He appears chiefly during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, as a general under Sima Yi. In the novel, Qin Lang first appears during the standoff between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. At that time the Wei general Zheng Wen came to feign surrender to Shu Han, claiming that he and Qin Lang were both under Sima Yi's command, but that Sima Yi favored Qin Lang, promoting him to General of the Van, while treating Zheng Wen as worthless—and so, resentful, he had come to surrender. Zhuge Liang, knowing this perfectly well, turned the scheme to his own use. When Qin Lang led troops to challenge to battle, calling out by name to fight Zheng Wen, Zhuge Liang had Zheng Wen go out to fight. Before the lines, Zheng Wen cursed Qin Lang for stealing his warhorse, and Qin Lang leveled his spear and charged straight at Zheng Wen. The two fought only a single bout before Zheng Wen cut Qin Lang down from his horse^[2].

However, Qin Lang's death in the novel occurs not only here, reflecting the complexity of the novel's plot and its repeated shaping of the character's fate. In another episode, Sima Yi wished to lead the main army in person to raid the Shu camp; his eldest son Sima Shi remonstrated, advising that a subordinate general be sent first. Sima Yi adopted this advice and ordered Qin Lang to lead ten thousand troops to raid the camp, while he himself led troops in support. Qin Lang led his army by night into the Shu camp, only to find it empty, and realized he had fallen into a trap. At once the Shu army poured out from all sides, and the generals Wang Ping, Zhang Ni, Ma Dai, and Ma Zhong surrounded and attacked Qin Lang. Qin Lang fought desperately but could not break out. Seeing the flames soaring over the Shu camp, Sima Yi assumed Qin Lang had succeeded and led troops to come in support, only to run into an ambush by Wei Yan and Jiang Wei, and the Wei army was badly defeated. The ten thousand troops Qin Lang led were surrounded layer upon layer by the Shu army, and he finally died amid the chaos of battle^[3]. This clearly conflicts with the earlier episode in which he is slain by Zheng Wen; it is a differing arrangement of the same figure's fate in the novel, and reflects the novel's sacrificial shaping of Wei generals to set off Zhuge Liang's wisdom and the Shu army's fighting power.

Key Relationships

* Budugen (fights_in): In history, Qin Lang was once ordered to campaign against Budugen, who had allied with Kebineng and invaded Bingzhou. In this military action, Budugen's subordinate Xiegunni surrendered to Qin Lang, while Budugen was finally killed by Kebineng^[1]. Qin Lang played a key role in pacifying the border troubles in this affair.
* Cao Wei (serves): In both history and the novel, Qin Lang served the Cao Wei regime. In history, as General of the Resolute Cavalry, he was ordered to campaign against border troubles^[1]; in the novel, he was a general under Sima Yi, taking part in the warfare against Shu Han^[3].
* Sima Yi (dies_in): In the novel, both of Qin Lang's deaths are connected to Sima Yi's military actions. One time, as Sima Yi's subordinate, he was slain by Zheng Wen, who was part of Sima Yi's feigned-surrender scheme^[2] (Novel only). The other time, under Sima Yi's orders, he raided the camp and finally died amid the Shu army's encirclement, with Sima Yi failing to rescue him in time^[3] (Novel only).

Signature Scenes

* Pacifying the Border Troubles of Bingzhou: In the first year of Qinglong, Qin Lang, on the orders of Emperor Ming of Wei, led an army to campaign against the combined forces of Budugen and Kebineng who were invading Bingzhou. In this campaign, Qin Lang successfully induced Xiegunni to defect from Kebineng and surrender to Cao Wei, finally stabilizing the situation on the Bingzhou border. This is Qin Lang's most clearly recorded and important military achievement in the histories^[1].
* Slain by Zheng Wen: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qin Lang, in single combat with Zheng Wen, was cut down from his horse in just a single bout. This scene embodies Zhuge Liang's seeing through Zheng Wen's feigned-surrender scheme and using Zheng Wen's hand to eliminate Qin Lang, greatly displaying Zhuge Liang's wisdom^[2] (Novel only).
* Raiding the Camp, Surrounded and Killed Amid the Chaos: In the novel, Qin Lang, on Sima Yi's orders, led an army to raid the Shu camp but fell into Zhuge Liang's ambush. Under the Shu army's layered encirclement, he finally died amid the chaos of battle. This scene not only displays the Shu army's formidable fighting power but further sets off Zhuge Liang's miraculous strategy, while also depicting Qin Lang's tragic end as a Wei general^[3] (Novel only).