18 Facts About Chen Gong

Chen Gong, courtesy name Gongtai, was an adviser to the warlord Lu Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Chen Gong was executed along with Lu Bu and Gao Shun after Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu at the Battle of Xiapi.

Chen Gong was given a positive makeover in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the events before and during the Three Kingdoms period.

Chen Gong was from Wuyang County, Dong Commandery, which is located at the border between present-day Henan and Shandong provinces.

Chen Gong joined Cao Cao around 190, at the time when regional warlords around China formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord who held Emperor Xian hostage in the imperial capital, Luoyang and former imperial capital, Chang'an, respectively.

In 194 while Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Tao Qian in Xu Province, Chen Gong defected to a rival warlord, Lu Bu, along with his colleague, Zhang Miao.

Chen Gong placed two spies in Lu Bu's camp to sow discord between Lu Bu, Liu Bei and Chen Gong.

When Cao Cao's army reached Pengcheng, which was located east of Xiapi, Chen Gong advised Lu Bu to grasp the initiative to strike because he didn't know of Cao Cao's ploy but Lu Bu, heeding his wife's advice, decided to stay put.

When brought to Cao Cao, Chen Gong refused to return to his service and chose death so that the law could be upheld; Cao Cao had maintained a general rule that those who surrendered to him, after rejecting an initial call from him to surrender, would not be spared.

The first incident that illustrates the righteousness of Chen Gong comes in Chapter 4, where Cao Cao was fleeing from Luoyang after a foiled assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo.

At Zhongmu County, where Chen Gong was serving as the county magistrate, Cao Cao was captured.

When Chen Gong interrogated the fugitive, he was so impressed with Cao Cao's loyalty to the Emperor that he decided to abandon his job and join Cao Cao, who planned to return to his home in Chenliu to raise an army against Dong Zhuo.

That night, as Cao Cao slept, Chen Gong considered killing him, but thought it unrighteous to do so.

Chen Gong instead left Cao Cao and travelled to his own hometown in Dong Commandery.

Chen Gong, who was then serving Lu Bu, plotted to lure Cao Cao into the city by having a local send a letter to Cao Cao feigning to collude with the latter.

Chen Gong appears as a character in the Hong Kong manhua The Ravages of Time illustrated by Chan Mou.

Chen Gong has a minor role as a supporter of Lu Bu in the manga Record of Ragnarok, cheering on his lord as he fights against the Norse god Thor to decide humanity's fate.

Chen Gong retains this role in both the anime and stage play adaptations of the series.