Guan Lu

Historical Record

Guan Lu, styled Gongming, was a native of Pingyuan and a famous diviner of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. Clever from childhood, he had an extraordinary grasp of the Book of Changes, astronomy, and the arts of divination. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Lu's father once served as magistrate of Licao County, where three brothers of the Guo En family all suffered from lameness. Divining for them, Guan Lu pointed out that it was the work of a female ghost in their tomb: during a famine someone had pushed a woman into a well for a few sheng of rice and smashed her head with a great stone, leaving her lonely spirit in bitter pain. On hearing this, Guo En wept and confessed, confirming that this had indeed happened^[1]. Guan Lu's divinatory art was not limited to this; he once predicted for the wife of Liu Fenglin of Guangping the day of her death, exact to noon on the xinmao day of the eighth month, and after recovering from her illness Liu's wife indeed died on schedule^[2].

Guan Lu's predictive power was repeatedly confirmed. Wang Ji, the Grand Administrator of Anping, once asked him to divine, and Guan Lu foretold three strange events: a base woman would bear a child that would fall to the ground and into the stove and die, a great snake would hold a brush in its mouth, and a crow and a swallow would fight. Wang Ji was terrified, but Guan Lu explained that these were merely the doings of goblins and sprites in a long-occupied guest lodge and posed no real harm—and indeed no calamity followed^[3]. He also divined the alarming illness in the household of the magistrate of Xindu, pointing out that the bones of two men—one holding a spear, one a bow and arrows—were buried at the west end of the north hall and were causing it; once the bones were dug out, the household's illnesses were all cured^[4]. When Wang Jing of Qinghe gave up office and returned home, Guan Lu divined for him and predicted he would be promoted, and before long Wang Jing was appointed Grand Administrator of Jiangxia^[5].

Guan Lu was skilled not only at divining human affairs but also at discerning omens in the cries of animals and in natural phenomena. At Guo En's home he once predicted that the cooing of a flying dove foretold the arrival of a guest bringing pork and wine, with some minor mishap to follow; the next day it came true, and because a chicken was shot to make food, a girl was wounded by the arrow^[6]. At the home of Liu Changren, magistrate of Ande, through the cry of a magpie he predicted that to the northeast a woman had killed her husband and shifted the blame onto a neighbor to the west, and before long the accuser arrived^[7]. At the place of the agricultural director Wang Hongzhi, through a whirlwind he predicted that a mounted official would come from the east and that there would be a calamity of a father weeping for his son; the next day Wang Hongzhi's son indeed died. Through a cock pheasant alighting on a pillar he also predicted that Wang Hongzhi would be promoted in the fifth month, and Wang Hongzhi indeed rose to Grand Administrator of Bohai^[8].

Guan Lu's talent was recognized by many notables of the time. When Zhuge Yuan, magistrate of Guantao, was promoted to Grand Administrator of Xinxing, Guan Lu held a farewell feast for him and, before the company, guessed hidden objects, accurately naming three things—a swallow's egg, a wasp's nest, and a spider^[9]. His clansman elder Xiaoguo once asked him to divine the fates of two guests, and Guan Lu predicted both would die together; before long the two, drunk, drove a cart into the Zhang River and drowned^[10].

Guan Lu was once summoned by the provincial office and went with his younger brother Guan Chen to Wucheng. On the way he divined his own fortune and predicted he would see three wildcats in the old city; sure enough, at the corner of the old city west of the river he saw three wildcats, at which the brothers rejoiced. In the ninth year of Zhengshi, Guan Lu was recommended as a "flourishing talent" (xiucai)^[11]. He Yan, Director of the Imperial Secretariat, once asked Guan Lu to divine whether he could rise to the Three Dukes and inquired about the omen of a dream of green flies gathering on his nose. Guan Lu told him plainly that few cherished his virtue while many feared his power, and urged him to be humble, lest "those in lofty positions topple," predicting that He Yan and Deng Yang would meet a fatal end. Guan Lu's uncle reproached him for speaking too bluntly, but Guan Lu replied, "Speaking with dead men, what is there to fear?" Before long, He Yan and Deng Yang were indeed executed^[12].

Zhong Yu, Grand Administrator of Wei Commandery, once discussed the Changes with Guan Lu, and Guan Lu could even divine the day of Zhong Yu's death, which astonished Zhong Yu greatly^[13]. Liu Bin, Grand Administrator of Pingyuan, also had Guan Lu guess hidden objects, and Guan Lu accurately named a seal-pouch and a mountain pheasant's feather. When Liu Bin further asked about strange disturbances in the government residence, Guan Lu explained they were caused by the blood of slain soldiers during the wars at the end of the Han^[14]. Xu Jilong, magistrate of Qinghe, once asked Guan Lu to divine what a hunt would yield, and Guan Lu predicted they would catch a small beast—not an edible fowl, named a wildcat—and it came true. Xu Jilong then placed thirteen kinds of objects in a box, and Guan Lu guessed each one, only naming a comb as a "loquat"^[15].

When Guan Lu went west with the army and passed the tomb of Guanqiu Jian, he leaned against a tree and chanted mournfully, predicting that Guanqiu Jian's family would be wiped out within two years; it came to pass as he said^[16]. In the second year of Zhengyuan, Guan Lu's younger brother Guan Chen asked whether he could attain wealth and rank. Guan Lu sighed deeply, saying that though he had talent and insight, he lacked length of years, and feared he would not live past forty-seven or forty-eight, when he would not see his daughter married nor his son take a wife. He knew he bore the marks of a short life—no bone of life on his brow, no guarding essence in his eyes—and that his fated branch was yin, compounded by being born on a night of lunar eclipse; the decree of Heaven was hard to defy. In the second month of the next year, Guan Lu died, aged forty-eight^[17].

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Lu's image is further deified and dramatized, his divinatory art reaching transcendent heights. In the novel, Guan Lu first appears already famed as a "prodigy"; Dan Zichun, Grand Administrator of Langya (in fact, historically, Bao Zichun, magistrate of Lieren^[2]), summoned him, and Guan Lu first demanded three sheng of fine wine, then discussed the Changes with Dan Zichun in words so subtle and profound that all the hundred-odd guests present marveled^[18].

One of the novel's most celebrated episodes is Guan Lu prolonging Zhao Yan's life. Strolling in the outskirts, he saw the youth Zhao Yan with the aura of death between his brows and predicted he would die within three days. At the desperate pleading of Zhao Yan and his father, Guan Lu instructed Zhao Yan to carry wine and meat to the South Mountain and beg for longevity from two immortals (the Southern Dipper and the Northern Dipper) who were playing a game of go. Zhao Yan followed the plan and was at last granted an additional cycle (twelve years) of life—an episode found nowhere in the histories^[19].

In the novel, Cao Cao too summoned Guan Lu. When Cao Cao's migraine flared and he dreamed of three horses at one trough, his mind was uneasy, so he summoned Guan Lu to divine. Guan Lu explained that the dream was mere illusion and posed no harm, setting Cao Cao's mind at rest. Cao Cao then had Guan Lu divine the affairs of the realm, and Guan Lu predicted: "Three-eight crisscrossing; the yellow boar meets the tiger; south of Dingjun, a limb shall be lost," and that for Cao Wei "in the palace of the Lion, the spirit-tablet shall rest; the kingly way renewed, the descendants supremely noble," foretelling the line of succession^[20]. When Cao Cao wished to appoint Guan Lu Grand Astrologer, Guan Lu declined on the grounds that his "fate is thin and physiognomy poor, unfit for the post," recounting his own marks of a short life—no master bone on his brow, no guarding pupils in his eyes—saying he "could only govern ghosts at Mount Tai, not govern the living," consistent with the historical record of his own account of his short-lived physiognomy^[21].

Guan Lu also divined for Cao Cao the campaigns of Eastern Wu and Western Shu, predicting that "the lord of Eastern Wu will lose a great general, and Western Shu will have troops violating the border." Before long, word came from Hefei of Lu Su's death, and in Hanzhong Zhang Fei and Ma Chao were encamped at Xiabian to take Guan. Cao Cao was greatly alarmed and only then realized that Guan Lu's predictions—"three-eight crisscrossing" (the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an), "the yellow boar meets the tiger" (the first month of the jihai year), and "south of Dingjun, a limb shall be lost" (Xiahou Yuan beheaded at Mount Dingjun, brotherly in affection with Cao Cao)—had all come true^[22][23]. In the novel, after predicting a fire at Xudu, Guan Lu vanished without a trace, deepening his air of mystery.

The episode of He Yan and Deng Yang in the novel is largely the same as in history: Guan Lu plainly foretold their ominous physiognomy and predicted they would meet a fatal end. When his uncle scolded him as reckless, Guan Lu calmly replied, "Speaking with dead men, what is there to fear?"^[24] This exchange is rendered more dramatically in the novel, highlighting Guan Lu's wild pride and self-assurance.

Key Relationships

* Guo En: A commoner of Licao, Guan Lu's enlightener and an important witness. Guan Lu divined the cause of the lameness of his three brothers, revealing the truth of the female ghost in the tomb, so that Guo En wept and confessed^[1]. Guo En also sought instruction from Guan Lu and witnessed his prediction, through the cooing of a flying dove, of a guest's arrival and a minor mishap to follow^[6].
* Wang Ji: Grand Administrator of Anping. Guan Lu divined three strange events for him, explaining them as the doings of goblins and sprites posing no harm, and indeed no calamity followed^[3]. Wang Ji marveled at Guan Lu's divinatory art and once studied the Book of Changes and astronomy with him^[3].
* Cao Wei: The regime Guan Lu served. He was once recommended by the provincial office as a "flourishing talent"^[11] and later served as Assistant of the Privy Treasury^[17]. In the novel, he divined for Cao Cao the great trends of the realm and his personal fate, predicting major events such as Lu Su's death, Xiahou Yuan's beheading, and the fire at Xudu^[22].
* He Yan: Director of the Imperial Secretariat, who asked Guan Lu to divine whether he could rise to the Three Dukes and inquired about the omen of a dream of green flies gathering on his nose. Guan Lu plainly foretold his ominous physiognomy and predicted he would meet a fatal end, and He Yan was indeed executed^[12].
* Deng Yang: Together with He Yan, predicted by Guan Lu to meet a fatal end, and likewise executed^[12]. In the novel, Deng Yang once challenged Guan Lu for "being skilled in the Changes yet not speaking of the Changes' terms and meanings," and Guan Lu replied, "One truly skilled in the Changes does not speak of the Changes"^[24].
* Liu Fenglin: A man of Guangping. Guan Lu divined the date of his wife's death, exact to the day and hour, which later came true^[2].
* Zhuge Yuan: Magistrate of Guantao, promoted to Grand Administrator of Xinxing. At his farewell feast, Guan Lu guessed hidden objects before the company, accurately naming three things—a swallow's egg, a wasp's nest, and a spider^[9].
* Zhong Yu: Grand Administrator of Wei Commandery, who once discussed the Changes with Guan Lu; Guan Lu could even divine the day of his death^[13].
* Liu Bin: Grand Administrator of Pingyuan, who once had Guan Lu guess hidden objects and inquired about strange disturbances in the government residence^[14].
* Xu Jilong: Magistrate of Qinghe, who once had Guan Lu divine a hunt's yield and guess hidden objects, all of which Guan Lu predicted accurately^[15].
* Zhao Yan: A youth whose life Guan Lu prolonged by twelve years (novel only)^[19].
* Dan Zichun: Grand Administrator of Langya, who summoned Guan Lu and discussed the Changes with him, marveling at his talent (novel only; historically Bao Zichun, magistrate of Lieren)^[18].

Iconic Scenes

* Divining the Guo En Lameness: Guan Lu divined the cause of the lameness of Guo En's three brothers, revealing the truth of the female ghost in the tomb, displaying his power to see into the past and discern cause and effect^[1].
* Predicting Wang Ji's Three Strange Events: Guan Lu predicted three strange events at Wang Ji's guest lodge and explained that they were harmless, embodying his wisdom in dispelling fear and settling minds^[3].
* Foretelling the Deaths of He Yan and Deng Yang: Guan Lu plainly foretold the ominous physiognomy of He Yan and Deng Yang and predicted they would meet a fatal end, which came true, showing his boldness and ability to speak frankly and see into the future^[12].
* Prolonging Zhao Yan's Life: Guan Lu guided the youth Zhao Yan, enabling him to beg for longevity from the Southern and Northern Dipper deities and gain an additional cycle of life. This scene greatly deifies Guan Lu's image in the novel, making him a "living immortal" able to reverse fate against Heaven^[19] (novel only).
* Divining the Realm for Cao Cao: Guan Lu predicted for Cao Cao the great trends of the realm—"three-eight crisscrossing, the yellow boar meets the tiger; south of Dingjun, a limb shall be lost"—and the line of Cao Wei's succession, predictions that all came true one by one in the novel, further establishing Guan Lu's standing as a "divine reckoner"^[20][22].
* Knowing His Own Short Life: In conversation with his brother Guan Chen, Guan Lu described in detail the marks of his own short life and predicted he would not live past forty-eight, which came true. This shows both his insight into his own fate and a sense of fatalistic tragedy^[17].
* Guessing the Thirteen Objects: Xu Jilong, magistrate of Qinghe, placed thirteen kinds of objects in a box, and Guan Lu guessed each one, only naming a comb as a "loquat." This scene displays Guan Lu's precision and exceptional skill in the fine details of divination^[15].
* Mournful Chanting Before Guanqiu Jian's Tomb: Passing Guanqiu Jian's tomb, Guan Lu leaned against a tree and chanted mournfully, predicting his family would be wiped out within two years, which came true. This scene shows both Guan Lu's insight into political upheaval and his compassionate feeling^[16].
* "Speaking with dead men, what is there to fear?": After predicting the deaths of He Yan and Deng Yang, faced with his uncle's reproach, Guan Lu calmly replied, "Speaking with dead men, what is there to fear?" This line became the signature of Guan Lu's unbridled pride, his insight into life and death, and his fearlessness^[12].