Officer Names (CH/EN): Novel Characters

Notes: Some translations depict his name as Ahui Nan.

Notes: Better known as the poetess Cai Wenji. An alternate style, Zhaoji (昭姬), is used in Lie Nu Hou Zhuan, while Wenji (文姬) is most commonly used (including in the Hou Han shu).

Notes: His given name may be either ’揚’ or ’陽’.

Notes: In some Wade-Giles translations of the novel Cai Yong is incorrectly listed as Ch’ai Yung.

Notes: Misrepresented as ‘Cao Amin’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: In Sanguozhi Chen Shou references him with the honorary title, Wu Di (武帝), or ‘Martial Emperor’. Cao Cao appears in other sources under this name. Cao Cao’s infant name was A-Man (阿瞞).

Notes: Originally named Cao Huang (曹璜). An Emperor’s given name was ineffable. As such, it was stricken from use (sometimes changing city names and re-writing literature). Cao Huang changed his name to Huan to lessen the impact of this practice (learn more).

Notes: Sometimes Romanized ‘Cao Can’.

Notes: Occasionally listed as, and once named, Xiahou Song (夏侯嵩).

Notes: Cao Zhen’s original family name was Qin. He was adopted into the Cao clan.

Notes: Chen Jian in To Esablish Peace

Notes: Appears in some sources under the name Chen Xuan (陳鶱).

Notes: Sometimes his style is referenced incorrectly as ‘Zhangwen’.

Notes: Also known as Chen Zuo.

Notes: In Destiny of an Emperor 2 his name is incorrectly mistranslated as Chen Shu.

Notes: ‘Cheng Deshu’ in chapter 43 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms despite being Cheng Bing elsewhere.

Notes: Incorrectly referred to as ‘Chen Pu’ once in some Brewitt-Taylor translations.

Notes: Cheng (程) Li (立) was his original name, he dreamed about the mount Tai Shan when he was young, holding the sun (日) with both hands. Hence Cao Cao changed his name to Yu (昱) [Cheng Yu]. As you can see the word of Yu is composed with the word ‘sun’ (日) and the word ‘stand’ Li (立), together they form the word of Yu (昱).

Notes: ‘Er Chong’ in the Moss Roberts novel translation. ‘Er Chong’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation. “Chong’er” literally translates to ‘Double Ears’, though there is no historic basis pointing out that he had unusual ears.

Notes: The characters of 烏桓 (wuhuan) are the same as those used for the Wuhuan tribe, thus ‘Chu of Wuhuan’ in many respected sources.

Notes: Referenced incorrectly as ‘Sui Yi’ in Brewitt-Taylor’s translation and other sources.

Notes: Referenced incorrectly as ‘Sui Lie’ in Brewitt-Taylor’s translation and other sources.

Notes: Da (大), in this context, translates to ‘Big’, thus ‘Elder’. Rather than refer to her as the ‘Older Qiao’, the name Da Qiao has become a popular alternative. Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were names first used by Koei in Dynasty Warriors 3 when the characters were introduced. Note that Da4 and Xiao3 can still be used in this context in the modern-day family, and usually as the surname.

Notes: Sometimes appears as Chief or King. ‘King Dai Lai’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Mistranslated as ‘Zheng Yu’ in chapter 43 of the online Brewitt-Taylor translation and the Moss Roberts translation.

Notes: Referenced incorrectly as ‘Deng Zong’ in some online historical sources.

Notes: We originally listed Dian Wei’s style as Ziman (子曼). As we are no longer able to locate the source, and a few possible causes for error have turned up, we no longer have reason to believe he had the name.

Notes: Also known as Sable Cicada.

Notes: Called ‘Hex Mark’ in Koei’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Notes: Mistranslated as ‘Ding Fung’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Not to be confused with Ding Yì (丁儀). Sometimes incorrectly translated (perhaps in the name of disambiguation) as Ding Yin.

Notes: Not to be confused with Ding Yí (丁廙).

Notes: Is also known as Dong Zhong in the ZZTJ.

Notes: Appears as Dong Tu Na or Dong Tu Ne in Koei games.

Notes: Shizu (世祖) was his Temple Name. His style name is Wenshu (Wên-shu) (文叔).

Notes: In Chinese the name of the emperor comes before the use of the word emperor hence Huan (the name) Di (emperor).

Notes: In Chinese the name of the emperor comes before the use of the word emperor hence Ling (the name) Di (emperor).

Notes: ‘Emperor Bian’ at times in the Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Born Yao Chonghua (姚重華). Other names include Youyu-shi (有虞氏), the Great Shun (大舜) and Yu Shun (虞舜).

Notes: Called by the name ‘Prince of Chenliu’ frequently in novel translations. In Chinese the name of the emperor comes before the use of the word emperor hence Xian (the name) Di (emperor). In this case, Emperor Xian also has a style name attached to his normal name, therefore if you were addressing him as emperor you would say Xian Di, if you knew his name and were close you may use Liu Xie, or if you wanted his style name you’d call him Liu Bohe.

Notes: Called ‘Bian Shi’ in Koei’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI.

Notes: Commonly referenced simply as ‘Empress Fu’.

Notes: Guo Shi in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI.

Notes: Empress Mu (穆皇后) is her traditional name. Informally, you will find her referenced as Empress Wu (吳皇后).

Notes: ‘Empress Zhang’ or ‘Lady Zhang’ in the novel and other historic sources, she has been given a fictional personality by Koei under the name ‘Zhang Xingcai’ or simply ‘Xing Cai’. Both names refer to the same person, but the story given her in Koei games is fictional. I’ve recorded this as the English translation presents itself (so, Huanghou Zhang (empress Zhang) and Xing1cai3 as her given name)

Notes: Empress Zhen is frequently called Zhen Ji, as she is named by Koei. Referenced elsewhere as Zhen Luo (甄洛) or Empress Wenzhao (文昭皇后). I’ve recorded this as Huang2hou4 Zhen1 (Empress Zhen), with Ji1 as her given name. To say her name as Koei suggests, use Zhen (surname) and Ji1 (given name) together.

Notes: ‘Peng Ji’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation. ‘Pang Ji’ in the ZZTJ.

Notes: Just known as Shi Ren in ZZTJ and Generals of the South.

Notes: Called Fu Rong by SGZ.

Notes: Incorrectly Romanized as ‘Fu Xuan’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Gan Ji frequently referenced as ‘Yu Ji’, especially in games. Historically, ‘Gan Ji’ (干吉) is correct, and it is thought Luo Guanzhong may have confused the character for his family name and thus entered him as ‘Yu Ji’ (于吉). Notice the similarity between Gan ‘干’ and Yu ‘于’. Our recording features both “Gan4 Ji2” and “Yu2 Ji2.”

Notes: Gan written as 干 in HHS.

Notes: ‘Guan Neng’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Mention of Guan Yinping, outside games, would likely be under the name Lady Guan.

Notes: Originally styled Changsheng (長生). He is frequently referenced by the honorary title, Guan Gong (關公), or ‘Lord Guan’. Guan Yu appears as Guan Gong or Lord Guan in most novel translations, many historic texts, and modern conversation outside the Three Kingdoms community, and on most merchandise. In religion he is called Saintly Emperor Guan (關聖帝君) or in Buddhism, Sangharama Bodhisattva (伽藍菩薩) (more).

Notes: Sometimes mistranslated in Koei games as Wuqiu Jian.

Notes: In the notes section of To Esablish Peace he is referenced with two names from different sources: 1) HHJ25 as Guo Mai; 2) Jiuzhou chunqiu as Lang Sheng.

Notes: Guo Si is sometimes called Guo Duo, a name that is listed as an alternate personal name in a few different sources.

Notes: ‘Han Qu’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation (to differentiate from the historic Han Fu), and in some Koei games.

Notes: ‘Han Juzi’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Was born Zhu Miao.

Notes: Also known as He Qia. Appears as He He in the Brewitt-Taylor edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Notes: Known name is He Yu (何禺) in SGYY.

Notes: Hu Che’er is frequently confused with Hu Juer of Zhang Xiu, but they are, indeed, separate people. Hu Che’er’s name is sometimes typed with or without an apostrophe (Che’er or Cheer), and at times with a hypen instead (Che-er). To complicate matters further, sometimes his name is mistranslated as ‘Chi’er’, with all the according grammatical variations.

Notes: Also appears sometimes as Hu Zhong.

Notes: Ju1 is the former pronunciation of 車, which is now pronounced Che1. We hold true to the standard set by Moss Roberts and others, using the old pronunciation for an old historical figure. Besides, it helps to alleviate confusion between him and Hu Che’er of Niu Fu.

Notes: Incorrectly translated in the Brewitt-Taylor edition as Hua Jiao.

Notes: Usually Hua is pronounced Hua2, but in the case of a Surname, is pronounced Hua4, hence Hua4 in the audio file.

Notes: ‘Huan Jie’ 桓階 in novel chapters 7 and 8; ‘Huan Ji’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor edition chapters 7 and 8. ‘Huan Jie’ (桓楷) in chapters 79 and 80. We recognize them as the same person; see ‘Fact vs. Fiction’ for more information.

Notes: Incorrectly referenced as Huang Chenyan (承 [Cheng2] as ‘Chen’) in many sites, biographies, and in some Brewitt-Taylor translations.

Notes: In the novel, Sanguo yanyi, the Chinese characters used for Huang Shao’s name are huang2 shao4 黃劭. In Sanguozhi, the Chinese characters are huang2 shao4 黃邵. We have chosen to use the historic rendering.

Notes: Ji Miao sometimes appears as Ji Mao. The correct translation of 邈 is Miao.

Notes: Also referenced by the name Chi T’ai in the Brewitt-Taylor translation. Called Ji Ben in SGZ and ZZTJ.

Notes: Jia Xu is pronounced Jia2 Xu3 because of the 3rd tone preceeding the second in his normal given name. His name and style name should be pronounced and said as “Jia3 Wen2 He2”, not “Jia2 Wen2 He2”

Notes: The character 碩 can also be translated as Shi and in some academic sources this is considered to be the standard translation (e.g. anything by Rafe de Crespigny). We are using Jian Shuo because that is the most commonly used Romanization.

Notes: Jian Yong’s family name may have originally been ‘Geng’ (耿), but in the Youzhou dialect ‘Geng’ it was pronounced ‘Jian’, so he changed it.

Notes: Known as Drunkard Jiang in his early days. Also known as Master Jiang for the works he wrote.

Notes: Lü Wang is most commonly referred to as ‘Jiang Ziya’ a combination of his ancestral name, Jiang (姓), and his style name, Ziya (子牙). ‘Lü Wang’ in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. ‘Jiang Ziya’ in Warriors Orochi 2.

Notes: ‘Yi Ji’ in novel translations and games. ’伊’, Romanized, is Yin, as is the case in Rafe de Crespigny’s works and is the standard Romanization of other instances in names. As such, Yin Ji instead of Ji Yi [Wade-Giles: I Chi].

Notes: Called Jin Shun in Liu Bei’s SGZ.

Notes: May also have been Jin Wei, son of Jin Shang.

Notes: ‘Jinhua Sanjie’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: Appears in some Koei games, and a few other sources, as Ju Hu.

Notes: Frequently written ‘King Cheli Ji’.

Notes: You may also see him as Kebinang, Ke Binang, Kebe Neng, Kebe Nang, etc.

Notes: In pronunciation, Meng is his surname, Huo his given name. Da means “big/large” and Wang means King, for your information, Wang2 is only one word for King, Emperors have different titles, usually Huang2 Di4.

Notes: Also known as Kong Yi (Yi4 翊). Styled Shiyuan or Yuanshi (Yuan4shi4 元世).

Notes: Sometimes you can find his name incorrectly translated as Kong You2.

Notes: Appears as ‘Li Shi’ in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI.

Notes: Sun Shangxiang is Lady Sun’s name in most Koei Games. ‘Sun Ren’ (孫仁) in the seventh chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (learn more; not a duplicate mention of Sun Lang). Also appears as Sun Li at times. Both Sun Ren and Sun Li are incorrect and have no bearing on her true name, which is unknown.

Notes: ‘Lady Tang’ in various translations of the novel.

Notes: Lady Wang of Langya. Not to be confused with Lady Wang of Nanyang.

Notes: Yang Shi in Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI.

Notes: Zhu4rong2 is her name, but Fei1 means literally “imperial concubine”

Notes: Appears as ‘Lady Zhou’ in Koei games, and in the Brewitt-Taylor translation. Lady Zou’s name is strange in meaning. Zou1 is a surname as expected, but Shi4 is a clan or maiden name.

Notes: Called Liu Min in poisonpie’s novel listing.

Notes: Also known as Lei Pu and possibly the same as Lei Xu.

Notes: Sometimes erroneously referred to as Ling Bao.

Notes: Also styled Anguo

Notes: ‘Li Deng’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: ‘Li Fang’ in the online Brewitt-Taylor translation.

Notes: ‘Li Mu’ in chapter 32 and ‘Li Qu’ in chapters 79 and 80, and ‘Li Zu’ in chapter 97 of the online Brewitt-Taylor translation to distinguish from others named Li Fu.