《三国志》 / Sanguozhi

Overview

《三国志》 / Sanguozhi is a classical Three Kingdoms source tradition used in the wiki for attribution, literary-memory correction, and front-four-history orientation.

Current Profile

The current synthesis treats Sanguozhi as concise but consequential. Hanji 591-2 introduces it as part of the front-four histories while noting its special structure: it is short and lacks several tables and treatises common in fuller official histories. Hanji 971 uses it for the version that makes 陶谦 directly responsible for sending cavalry against 曹嵩. Hanji 1041 uses it to correct the novelized “关公约三事” memory, presenting 关羽 as captured, appointed, generously treated, and still loyal to 刘备 rather than bound by a formal three-condition surrender pact.

Key Characteristics

• Serves as a source tradition for politically consequential attribution claims.
• Helps separate event evidence from later literary memory around Three Kingdoms figures.
• Is introduced as concise and structurally unusual within the front-four-history group.
• Can sharpen moral judgment by changing who acted, under what status, and with what recorded wording.

Evidence

• Front-four-history orientation: Hanji 591-2 introduces Sanguozhi as composed of Wei, Shu, and Wu books and notes its concise structure and missing tables/treatises.
• Cao Song attribution: Hanji 971 presents the Sanguozhi line as assigning direct agency to Tao Qian in the killing of Cao Song and Cao De.
• Guan Yu source boundary: Hanji 1041 invokes Sanguozhi for Guan Yu’s capture, 偏将军 appointment, generous treatment by Cao Cao, and stated refusal to betray Liu Bei.

Qualifications

The wiki currently records Sanguozhi as mediated through podcast source notes. It should not treat the pages as a comprehensive source study of Chen Shou’s text or Pei Songzhi’s commentary. Hanji 971 preserves a genuine attribution split with 《后汉书》, and Hanji 1041 uses Sanguozhi mainly to reject the historical status of “关公约三事.”

What Changed

• Added Hanji 591-2’s front-four-history and form-awareness layer while preserving the earlier Cao Song and Guan Yu source-critical uses.

Relationships

• 二十四史 - broader official-history corpus in which Sanguozhi is placed by Hanji 591-2.
• 《后汉书》 - contrasting source tradition in the Cao Song branch.
• 曹嵩遇害 - attribution case where Sanguozhi changes Tao Qian’s agency.
• 关羽 - figure whose capture and loyalty statement are separated from Romance embellishment through Sanguozhi.
• 《三国演义》 - literary tradition contrasted with Sanguozhi in the Guan Yu branch.
• 史书体例意识 / Chronicle and Biographical History Forms - concept explaining why Sanguozhi’s concise form matters for reading.
• 史书异文政治重量 - source-reading concept for politically consequential variations.