Is “Capturing Guan Yu and being assassinated by Zhao Yun” true?
Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Biography of Zhu Ran records that Zhu Ran captured Guan Yu, defeated Liu Bei, and held Jiangling steadfastly, dying of illness in the twelfth year of Chiwu; Romance of the Three Kingdoms, to showcase Zhao Yun's bravery, fabricates the plot where Zhu Ran is killed by Zhao Yun's spear. The original text says, 「建安二十四年，从讨关羽，别与潘璋到临沮禽羽，迁昭武将军，封西安乡侯。」 It also says, 「黄武元年，刘备举兵攻宜都。然督五千人与陆逊并力拒备。然别攻破备前锋，断其后道，备遂破走。」 (Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Biographies of Zhu, Lü, and Fan)
In official history, he participated in capturing Guan Yu, decisively defeated Liu Bei, and died of illness. In the novel, it is fictionalized that he was killed by a single spear thrust from Zhao Yun while pursuing Liu Bei.
This page was extracted from classical texts with AI assistance and revised; errors remain possible. Spotted a mistake? Tell us →