Gou An

Historical Record

Regarding Gou An, there is no clear record in the surviving historical biographical materials. The official histories, such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in recording the major events and important figures of the regimes of Shu Han, Cao Wei, and others, make no mention of an individual named Gou An or his related deeds. Therefore, from the standpoint of the historical record, Gou An was not a real-life historical figure, or at least one who was never recorded by the historians.

In the Novel

In Luo Guanzhong's literary narrative of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gou An, as a commandant (duwei) under Li Yan, is cast as a base man who, out of personal desire, betrayed Shu Han and defected to Cao Wei. He first appears during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, when, on Li Yan's orders, he escorted grain and fodder to the main camp at Mount Qi^[1]. However, Gou An was by nature fond of drink, and on the way he delayed for as long as ten days, gravely violating military law. Zhuge Liang was greatly enraged at this and wished to have him executed. At the persuasion of the Chief Clerk Yang Yi, and considering that Gou An was a trusted man of Li Yan and that the Shu army's grain and fodder came mostly from western Shu (Xichuan), so as to avoid affecting the subsequent grain supply, Zhuge Liang ultimately spared his life and instead had him given eighty strokes of the rod^[1].

Gou An thereby harbored resentment against Zhuge Liang, and that very night he took his personal retainers and went over to the Wei camp, denouncing the affair to Sima Yi. Sima Yi, well aware of Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness, was somewhat skeptical of Gou An's words, but still made use of his disaffection, directing Gou An to return to Chengdu and spread rumors, falsely accusing Zhuge Liang of "harboring intent to resent his sovereign, and meaning sooner or later to proclaim himself emperor"^[1]. This scheme aimed to sow discord between the ruler and ministers of Shu Han and force the second sovereign Liu Shan to recall Zhuge Liang, thereby weakening the Shu army's military operations. Gou An gladly accepted the order, returned to Chengdu and spread the rumors, and sure enough caused the second sovereign Liu Shan to believe the slander and issue an edict recalling Zhuge Liang, who was then at the Mount Qi front^[2].

After Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu, he was puzzled by the second sovereign's sudden recall of him and keenly perceived that some treacherous minister must be at work. In conversation with the second sovereign, Zhuge Liang learned that it was the eunuchs who, believing the rumors, had caused the sovereign to recall him. When Zhuge Liang traced the source of the rumors, he discovered that it was precisely Gou An's doing. By this time, however, Gou An had already fled again to Wei. Zhuge Liang then executed those eunuchs who had presented the false reports and dismissed the rest from the palace, while severely rebuking Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and others for failing to detect the treachery in time and remonstrate with the sovereign^[2]. Gou An's appearance in the novel, though small in part, created a real obstacle to Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, highlighting the negative impact of internal conflict on military operations and further shaping the image of Zhuge Liang as a man of surpassing wisdom able to discern treachery.

Key Relationships

* Li Yan (serves): In the novel, Gou An is a commandant under Li Yan, ordered to escort grain and fodder, showing a superior-subordinate relationship between him and Li Yan^[1] (novel only).
* Shu Han (serves, then defected_from): Gou An was at first an official of Shu Han, but out of personal grievance and considerations of self-interest, he ultimately betrayed Shu Han^[1] (novel only).
* Cao Wei (defected_to): After being flogged by Zhuge Liang, Gou An, harboring resentment, turned and went over to Cao Wei, and was made use of by Sima Yi^[1] (novel only).
* Zhuge Liang (antagonist): Gou An, flogged by Zhuge Liang for violating military law, harbored resentment, and was later used by Sima Yi to spread rumors, obstructing Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions^[1],^[2] (novel only).
* Sima Yi (manipulator): Sima Yi made use of Gou An's resentment of Zhuge Liang, directing him to spread rumors and sow discord between the ruler and ministers of Shu Han, thereby achieving his strategic aim^[1] (novel only).

Signature Scene

* Delaying the grain escort and being punished: Gou An, on Li Yan's orders escorting grain and fodder, delayed for ten days because of his fondness for drink, and was sentenced by Zhuge Liang to eighty strokes of the rod, which became the direct fuse for his betrayal of Shu Han^[1] (novel only).
* Defecting to Cao Wei and offering a scheme to sow discord: After being flogged, Gou An went over to the Wei camp that very night and denounced the earlier affair to Sima Yi. Sima Yi made use of his resentment, directing him to return to Chengdu and spread the rumor that Zhuge Liang "harbored intent to resent his sovereign and meant sooner or later to proclaim himself emperor"^[1] (novel only).
* The rumor successfully obstructs the Northern Expedition: The rumor Gou An spread successfully deceived the second sovereign Liu Shan, causing Zhuge Liang to be recalled to Chengdu at a critical moment of the Northern Expedition, setting back Shu Han's military operations^[2] (novel only).
* His identity exposed, he flees again: After Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu and ascertained that it was Gou An who had spread the rumors, he wished to arrest him, but Gou An had already fled again to Wei, escaping the fate of punishment^[2] (novel only).