In the well-known "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhao Yun was written by Luo Guanzhong into an almost perfect character. Since ancient times, it has been said that "no gold is pure, and no man is perfect." What is strange is that readers of all ages not only accepted Zhao Yun, but also deeply loved such a character. Why does Mr. Luo Guanzhong prefer Zhao Yun in his works? What should Zhao Yun's prototype look like in the history books. What new insights will we gain by re-reading "Three Kingdoms"? Professor Zhou Siyuan from Beijing Language and Culture University came to the Baijia Forum to objectively interpret the Three Kingdoms figure "Zhao Yun" with us.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", two characters are modeled after perfect people. The man of literature is Zhuge Liang, and the man of martial arts is Zhao Yun. Changshan Zhao Zilong is one of the most popular among the hundreds of characters in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Many people say that Zhao Yun is my favorite person. Indeed, Zhao Yun has superb martial arts, noble moral character, stability and resourcefulness. He is shaped as an artistic model and perfect person of a Confucian general. Some people may say, didn't Zhao Yun lose a battle once and be demoted? How can one be considered a perfect person? It is impossible for any person to make mistakes in his life. The so-called perfect person does not mean that he will never make mistakes. It depends on two things: one is nature and the other is attitude. Zhao Yun did lose a battle and was demoted. Which year did that happen? It was the 6th year of Jianxing of the Shu Han Dynasty, which was 228 AD. At that time, it was already Adou, Liu Chan. That was the battle of Lost Street Pavilion. In this battle, Zhuge Liang gave a warning in advance and said that I would take the Xiegu Road. (This Xiegu Road is from Jigu in southwestern Shaanxi to present Mei County in Shaanxi, which is 470 miles long.) Zhuge Liang I deliberately let the wind go: my main force wants to leave the Xiegu Road. He sent two generals, Zhao Yun as the leader and Deng Zhi as his deputy. In fact, he led a small number of troops and pretended that this was the main force to attract Cao Wei's main force to fight. Zhuge Liang himself brought the main force of Shu Han, and he planned to go back behind and outflank Cao Wei's main force. This was his tactic. As a result, because Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi's troops were too small and Cao Wei's troops were too strong, they were outnumbered and Zhao Yun failed to complete the mission. Because it was not easy to open this road for 470 miles, he was unable to get out of the Xiegu. His troops were scattered. After being scattered, he quickly gathered his troops to defend Jigu and defended it. As a result, the entire battle failed because the street pavilion was lost, which led to the failure of the battle. The reason why Zhao Yun was punished was excusable. Because of the huge disparity in military strength, he failed to complete the task of leaving the Xiegu. Therefore, his punishment was sympathetic. On the other hand, it also showed that Zhuge Liang's strict military discipline was admirable. Victory and defeat are common things in military affairs, so this incident is just one of Zhao Yun's recorded defeats, and it does not affect Zhao Yun's overall evaluation as a person. From all aspects, Zhao Yun is still a perfect image.

[Reposted from Jagged Community /post_2222989_1.html/]

Zhao Yun is the character that Luo Guanzhong focused on portraying in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". He can be called the most perfect heroic image in the whole book. Zhao Yun was the first person to follow Liu Bei besides Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. So much so that people almost added him to the sworn brothers in Taoyuan, and in some Beijing operas they simply made him one of the "Four Generals". From ancient times to the present, many commentators have rated Zhao Yun's loyalty even more than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. . So how is the heroic image of Zhao Yunzhong described in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? Will the story played by Luo Guanzhong be very different from the historical facts?

Zhao Yun in historical data and interpretation

Zhao Yun rescued Adou in Dangyang, which is indeed true in history. At that time, Liu Bei was slow to move because he had more than 100,000 people with him. Later, the entire team was broken up, leaving only a hundred or so of the more than 3,000 troops and horses (one man and one horse per rider). There were more than a hundred cavalry left. At that time, it was written in "Three Kingdoms" that "someone said that Yun had gone north." But who said it was not written? Someone said to Liu Bei: "I saw Zhao Yun going north." Going north. If you go, you will go to Cao Cao and surrender. When Liu Bei heard that he was angry, he picked up the halberd in his hand and hit the man. He said, "Zilong will not abandon me." (Zhao Zilong will never abandon me.) After a while, Zhao Yun came, so from this We can see two things from the details: First, Liu Bei trusts Zhao Yun very much, and Zhao Yun is worthy of trust. Another thing is that Liu Bei in history was also quite impatient. Didn't we say before that it was actually Liu Bei who whipped the postal supervisor, not Zhang? Fei, this is also the case. As soon as he heard something bad about Zhao Yun, he picked up his halberd and beat him. After this detail was moved to "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", some changes were made, and Liu Bei no longer beat people. So who said this at that time? It was Mi Fang. Mi Fang was seriously injured and staggered over. He reported to Liu Bei: "Zhao Zilong has defected to Cao Cao." He had already defected to Cao Cao and went to Cao Cao's place. Liu Bei said, "Zilong and I are old friends. We are old friends. How could he betray me? As a result, Zhang Fei was simple-minded. Zhang Fei said, "Now that he sees us, we are weak and weak, he may surrender to Cao Cao. In order to If he surrenders to Cao Cao because he wants wealth and honor, he will definitely gain wealth and be promoted and make a fortune. "Liu Bei said: "Zilong came to me when I was in trouble. He came to me when I was in trouble, not when I was prosperous or when I was in a high position. So he said: "Zilong has a heart as solid as stone." . "He is very steadfast to me, loyal, and his heart is as solid as stone. "No wealth can shake it." Wasn't Mi Fang injured? He said, "I saw him defecting to the northwest with my own eyes." The northwest is full of Cao Cao's army, I saw him go there with my own eyes.

Zhang Fei said: "When I went to look for him personally, I saw him and stabbed him to death with a shot." Liu Bei said, "You wrongly blamed Zhao Yun." It can be seen from this place that Liu Bei is indeed a good man. But Zhang Fei didn't listen, so Zhang Fei took more than 20 cavalry and went to find Zhao Yun. When they saw Zhao Yun, they wanted to kill him. Where did it go? Arrive at Nagasaka Bridge. In fact, after Zhao Yun's army was dispersed, he could not find Mrs. Gan and Adou. He said: "I am determined to find the mistress and the young master no matter what. Even if I die on the battlefield, I will find him." Therefore, Zhao Yun, a loyal man, is the most popular among readers. Respect his place. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" writes this story very carefully, which shows the level of this writer. His plot arrangement is very reasonable. We think that Zhao Yun was riding alone at that time, with an Adou on his chest. No matter how powerful you are, among tens of thousands of Cao soldiers, how could you kill five famous generals of Cao army in a row? More than ten people. Luo Guanzhong wrote a very detailed explanation in this place. When Zhao Yun was charging everywhere, someone told Cao Cao: "This is Changshan Zhao Zilong."

Because Cao Cao asked who this is? So powerful "Changshan Zhao Zilong". Cao Cao immediately ordered: "Send the order, Zhao Yun is not allowed to be killed, and he must be captured alive." Okay, now you can't shoot arrows. If you fight one against one or several against one, no one can beat Zhao Yun. So they were all stabbed to death by Zhao Yun. If Cao Cao hadn't ordered that arrows be fired and they had to be captured alive, not to mention one Zhao Yun, ten or a hundred would have been shot through by random arrows. So this place shows why "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is one of the four great masterpieces. These details are arranged very reasonably and have the rationality of the plot, so Zhao Yun was able to come out alive. Mao Zonggang has a very interesting comment about this place, "It is better not to save the useless Liu Chan than to save the heroic Zhao Yun, but heroes never meet their timing." Heroes often fail to catch up with the good times and the good social environment. "Mediocre people have great blessings." This Adou was mediocre in his early years and mediocre in his later years. He was blessed, Mao Zonggang said. Look at his father Liu Bei. Liu Bei's ability and intelligence were much better than Adou's, but he died not long after he became emperor, while Adou remained emperor for forty-two years. After enjoying all the blessings, Mao Zonggang said, it would be better if Zhao Yun didn't save him.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Zhao Yun was never as arrogant as Guan Yu, nor was he as reckless and careless as Zhang Fei. He was always bold, careful and conscientious. This characteristic is consistent with his unrivaled bravery, loyalty and uprightness. The combination of modesty and other virtues makes Zhao Yun the most perfect character in the military general image series in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". How did Luo Guanzhong make Zhao Yun, a nearly perfect character, stand up and be stable?

Luo Guanzhong’s wonderful writing brings forth Zhao Yun

[Reposted from Iron Blood Community/]

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" writes about Zhao Yun. If we pay attention, we will find a very interesting Phenomenon. As long as Zhao Yun fights with others, if he is an enemy general, he will definitely die under Zhao Yun's gun or flee; if he is on his own side, no matter how capable he is, he will always be inferior to Zhao Yun in one way. For example, Guan Yu, Guan Yu did not have any major scenes with Zhao Yun. Guan Yu made a big mistake. He lost Jingzhou because he was proud and complacent and could not unite his subordinates. Take Huang Zhong, for example. Huang Zhong, a veteran, is indeed very extraordinary. However, after Huang Zhong won several times in a row, in the seventy-first chapter of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he became a little complacent and lost his vigilance. As a result, he fell into trouble. , it was Zhao Yun who brought a very small number of soldiers and horses to rescue Huang Zhong who was in dire straits. As for the generals of Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan, they were no match for Zhao Yun as long as they fought against him. And what's interesting is that Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang hand over all the most important tasks to Zhao Yun. For example, Liu Bei's recruitment in Ganlu Temple is a risky move. You can't do it if you don't go, and you can't do it if you don't recruit. This is a very good opportunity. Once this is done, the Sun and Liu families will become relatives. The risk of being killed or taken hostage if the Japanese fight against Cao is huge. Therefore, Zhuge Liang said: "This must be done by Zilong." He sent Zhao Yun to escort him and gave him three tips. In the end, Zhao Yun fulfilled his mission and completed the task well. It can be seen that Zhuge Liang has great trust in Zhao Yun and uses Zhao Yun at critical moments. Liu Bei also trusted Zhao Yun very much. After taking Jingzhou, Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou and guarded against Cao Cao in the north. Zhang Fei sometimes led troops on expeditions, and Liu Bei made Zhao Yun the commander of the camp. What does this Liuying Sima mean? He is equivalent to the commander of the Capital Garrison Headquarters and the director of public security. Our base camp cannot be in chaos. There was a situation at that time. After Liu Bei recruited his wife, Mrs. Sun brought some officials and soldiers from Soochow. They were her personal soldiers and her guards. They must have been brought from Soochow and they were familiar to her. According to the records in "Three Kingdoms", Mrs. Sun is the younger among the brothers and sisters. She is Sun Quan's sister. She may have been spoiled since she was a child, and she is an old husband and a young wife. It seems that Liu Bei is a little afraid of his wife. The officers and soldiers under Mrs. Sun were acting illegally in Jingzhou because they were Mrs. Sun's cronies. Liu Bei couldn't afford to offend his wife. What's more, her brother (Liu Bei), his brother-in-law, was the monarch of Soochow. If they were not handled well, it would not only affect the relationship between the husband and wife, but also the relationship between the husband and wife. It also affects diplomatic relations, but if we don’t deal with it, it won’t work. What should we do? Liu Bei handed over this dilemma to Zhao Yun, letting him not only manage the city but also the affairs in the palace. Because he knew that Zhao Yun was strict in running the army.

During this period, when Sun Quan took advantage of Liu Bei's western expedition to attack Yizhou, he sent someone to write a letter asking his sister to go back, saying that her mother was ill. At that time, "Three Kingdoms" recorded this incident, and Mrs. Sun took Adou away privately. As a result, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei caught up with her in a boat and intercepted her. (Adou) took it back. This record in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" made an important change in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which was to change the image of Mrs. Sun. It's that Mrs. Sun in "Three Kingdoms" is a bit arrogant, and it was her own idea to take Adou away privately. In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", these shortcomings of hers and her selfishness in taking away (Adou) privately were downplayed. It was Sun Quan who said that "the queen of the country is critically ill" so Mrs. Sun came forward as a filial daughter. Of course, when Zhao Yun wanted to take back Adou, Mrs. Sun was determined not to do it. That description is very exciting. Write about how Zhao Yun chased after him. He first chased on the shore, then found a fishing boat, jumped on the fishing boat, and asked the boatman to catch up with him in a small boat. When he got to the big boat, Zhao Yun put his spear on the boat, and took a green (metalworking) sword with him. Jump on that boat. At that time, Sun Shangxiang asked her maids, who were all skilled in martial arts, to seize Adou and push him away. Zhao Yun has a very good grasp of the policy. He can't kill, he can only push. The details, etc., are all worthy of consideration. Zhao Yun was written as a very smart person. In this case, he also considered the policy and considered not to harm the relationship between the Sun and Liu families. And he knew very well in his mind that this is the mistress, Liu Bei's wife. We cannot offend her casually, but Adou must not let her take her away. He wrote it very carefully.

Zhao Yun is brave and resourceful. He can not only consider issues from the long-term interests of the Liu Bei Group but also pay attention to winning the hearts and minds of the people. Throughout the history of the Shu Han Group, among the many military generals, no one else has ever bluntly advised Liu Bei on the fundamental plan like Zhao Yun. This is where Zhao Yun is so knowledgeable. Although Zhao Yun in history cannot be crowned among the heroes in terms of achievements. , but has virtues that no one can match. In what ways is Zhao Yun's generosity and kindness shown?

Zhao Yun, a man of noble character

Zhao Yun has another very good thing. Compared with many other famous generals in the Three Kingdoms, this is simply unique. It means that he has the people in his heart and will never compete with the people for profit. After Liu Bei captured Jingzhou, he occupied Chengdu. At that time (Liu Bei) discussed and prepared to distribute a lot of land and houses in Chengdu to the generals. You think that with Zhao Yun's high status, he would definitely be allocated a very large house and a lot of the best land. However, Zhao Yun objected, saying that this would be detrimental to the people. Moreover, when he elected Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the famous saying of General Huo Qubing, "The Huns are not destroyed, there is no use for family affairs." Even if the Huns haven't been wiped out yet, how can we possibly go home? We want to build a beautiful and big house, but what’s the use? Today’s national thieves are not the Xiongnu. “Today’s national thieves are not only the Xiongnu who cannot seek peace.” They are Cao thieves. "The world must be settled." When the world is at peace, "everyone returns to his mulberry harvest." We all disarm and return to the fields. Everyone goes back to his hometown. There is no need to fight anymore. "Return to the land of our hometown" and return to the land of our hometown to cultivate the land to support ourselves. "It's just what's appropriate for your ears" is only appropriate. Then he also said "people of Yizhou" at the bottom because haven't we just captured Yizhou and are still fighting? The "First Military Revolution" had just suffered from the war, "all the land and houses can be returned, so that people can live in peace and resume their work." They should resume their original occupations, farm the land where they should, and do business if they should do business. He said that only then can they recruit troops and levy taxes. It can be done. He said something at the bottom, it is very important to "win their favor" so as to gain the support of the people of Yizhou. Zhao Yun does not compete with the people for profit, so he would offend people by raising this opinion. There are many ministers and military generals who don't want to be given a big house and hundreds of hectares of land. Zhao Yun tried his best to resist the opinions of everyone. The most important thing is to win the people's hearts and not to compete with the people for profit. As a result, Liu Bei adopted Zhao Yun's suggestion. Zhao Yun was strict in running the army, taking the lead and killing the enemy bravely. He always considered the country, the army and the people, and did not follow personal interests. Didn’t we mention before that Zhao Yun lost the battle? Didn't leave the Xiegu, didn't complete this task, wasn't the street pavilion also lost at that time? After the entire battle failed, in conclusion, after returning to Chengdu, Zhuge Liang discovered a phenomenon, and he asked him: "The street pavilion was lost, and the army was in a mess. The generals could not find the soldiers, the soldiers could not find the generals, and military supplies were also lost." Countless. He asked why in the battle at Jigu, although Jigu was defended, there was basically no loss of troops and supplies. What happened? "As a result, Lieutenant General Deng Zhi said," When the battle failed, Zhao Yun personally cut off the throne. In our current words, it means giving the hope of life to others and leaving the danger of death to himself. Zhao Yun is so respectable as a general. Because Zhao Yun personally cut off the rear, the dispersed army quickly regrouped. The army basically suffered no losses, and the military supplies basically did not suffer any losses. Zhuge Liang was very moved when he heard this and ordered a reward. Of course Zhao Yun was demoted, but wasn't there no loss of military supplies? Okay, I will reward you based on your merits and give some to everyone. As a result, Zhao Yun objected again. Ordinarily, at this time, the rewards for military supplies were nothing more than clothes and food. Zhao Yun said, "The battle was not fought well and there should be no reward for the defeat. Not to mention that the country is still in difficulty. Therefore, all these military supplies should be turned over to the national treasury until October, which is winter, because every winter the government has to reward people with clothes, food, etc." Save these for reward in October.

"So it can be seen from these places that Zhao Yun does not seek personal gain and is dedicated to the public. Therefore, Zhao Yun's approach has been praised by many people. In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", this detail is amplified, and a sentence from Zhuge Liang is added to it. "The late emperor was in Japan" because Liu Bei had been dead for five years at that time. "He often said that Zilong's virtue is true now." Now it turns out that it is indeed true that the most valuable thing about Zhao Yun is not his superior martial arts, but his martial arts. Noble moral character.

Zhao Yun is modest and prudent. Among the Shuhan group, his qualifications are second only to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. He also saved Liu Chan, but he never takes credit and is arrogant, never strives for fame and fortune, and treats those who come after him. They can also get along well with each other, which is something that the headstrong Guan Yu and the self-righteous Wei Yan cannot match. And what is the fundamental difference between Zhao Yun and those fierce generals?

The far-sighted Zhao Yun

How to write characters with similar identities into different vivid artistic images. This is a problem faced by Luo Guanzhong, a novelist. The same is true. But we can distinguish that the famous generals in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are like stars. There are many generals with superior martial arts, the most famous ones are Lu Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and many others, but they are all inferior to Zhao Yun. Lu Bu is capricious and forgets his righteousness. So in terms of martial arts, among the dozens of famous generals in the Three Kingdoms, there may be three to five or five or seven people who can compete with Zhao Yun. No one is better than him in terms of morality. The most valuable thing about Zhao Yun is that he is open-minded, far-sighted, clear about right and wrong, and has a strategic vision. This is the biggest difference between him and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc. Due to Guan Yu's mistakes, Jingzhou was lost (Guan Yu was killed). , Liu Bei was motivated and prepared to launch an army to attack Wu. Who was the most determined and clear person in "Three Kingdoms" who advised Liu Bei not to attack Wu? And he said it very well. The national traitor is Cao Cao, not Sun Quan." In our current terms, you can distinguish who is the main enemy and who is the secondary enemy. "Destroy Wei first, and then Wu will submit." If you destroy Wei, Wu will automatically submit. , he has another sentence at the bottom, which is even better, "should be based on the will of the people", which means in our current words, we should conform to the people's will, "make plans for Guanzhong early" because now the people all over the country hope to defeat Cao Cao and defeat Cao Cao. Cao Cao's first step is to occupy Guanzhong, and then go out of Tongguan and capture the Henan area of ??the Central Plains, which is Cao Cao's home base. In this way, he will unify the world. Therefore, in order to comply with the people's will, "Wei should not be left behind" and Wei should not be conquered first. Putting it aside and "fighting Wu first" means that you have to distinguish the primary and secondary conflicts, which one should be resolved first, which one is the most dangerous, and which battle is most in line with the people's will.

The result is what Zhao Yun said at the beginning. Liu Bei was moved. Liu Bei hesitated and wanted to reconsider. He felt that it made sense. At this time, Zhang Fei was a simple-minded man who failed to succeed and failed. Zhang Fei said, he blamed Liu Bei for forgetting Taoyuan Three. You have forgotten the covenant we made at that time. If Your Majesty doesn't go, if you don't go, I will lead my troops to fight Sun Quan myself. This further stirred up Liu Bei's desire to avenge Guan Yu. At that time, there were some ministers, such as Qin Mi and Zhuge Liang, etc. They all advised Liu Bei, but Liu Bei couldn't listen, and Liu Bei almost killed Qin Mi. So in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Luo Guanzhong further clarified Zhao Yun's words. Zhao Yun advised Liu Bei to distinguish between public enmity and private enmity. That is, the enmity between us and Cao Wei is public enmity, and the enmity between you and Sun Quan is The grudge between you is a personal grudge, and you are here to avenge your brother. What Qin Mi said next to Zhao Yun was also that you should not be partial to petty righteousness. The loyalty between brothers is petty righteousness, and the interests of the country are great righteousness. As a result, Liu Bei didn't listen, so Liu Bei used small righteousness to harm great righteousness. The reason why the Shu Han failed to unify the world later was that the failure in the Battle of Yiling was the biggest turning point. The Shu Han's career failed because of this small righteousness. Zhao Yung, on the other hand, had a clear distinction between public and private affairs. He saw small righteousness and big righteousness clearly, explained the truth very thoroughly, and gave warnings. All of this proves that Zhao Yun is not an ordinary general, but a strategist with great political wisdom and far-sighted vision.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Luo Guanzhong created a dazzling image of Zhao Yun. For a perfect character that the author was full of passion for, how did Luo Guanzhong structure Zhao Yun's glorious life in the novel?

Zhao Yun has a glorious life

Speaking of Zhao Yun, there is another phenomenon that is very noteworthy, that is, Zhao Yun has a glorious life from his appearance to his ending. You see, when Liu Bei appeared on the scene, he had been reduced to selling straw sandals and making mats. In our current words, he was a small handicraftsman and a working people. Zhang Fei was a small business owner with some land and opened a tavern to kill pigs. Zhao Yun didn't explain much else about him, but when he appeared on the stage, he saved Gongsun Zan and fought against Wen Chou. What a beautiful appearance. In addition, from the ending (judging from the ending), Guan Yu was killed and his head was dislocated. He could not be buried after he died. Together, Zhang Fei was killed by his subordinates, Liu Bei lost the battle and died of hatred, Ma Chao died of illness, and Huang Zhong's death was related to his injury from an arrow. Only Zhao Yun's ending was the best. In two years, he also killed five generals with great military exploits. From these points, it can be seen that the author has carefully arranged the life of Zhao Yun. Therefore, the way Zhao Yun is represented in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" reflects the special love for him among readers and author Luo Guanzhong. Zhao Yun's character and martial arts were unparalleled throughout the Three Kingdoms period.