Sun Ce - Dispute Over Cause of Death

Dispute Over Cause of Death

Sun Sheng (孫盛) in his Exposition on Disparities and Similarities (異同評) discounted the theory that Sun Ce made plans to attack Xuchang. He believed that although Sun Ce was a rising power, he was threatened in the west by Huang Zu, who was defeated but not eliminated, in the north by Chen Deng, governor of Guangling (廣陵; present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), and in the south by indigenous tribes yet to be assimilated. These prevented Sun Ce from striking far out at Xuchang and moving the emperor to southeastern China. He further argued that Sun Ce died on the fifth day in the fourth month of 200, before the Battle of Guandu even took place.

Pei Songzhi, annotator of the Records of Three Kingdoms, rebutted Sun Sheng, arguing that Huang Zu was newly broken and had yet to recollect his forces while the indigenous tribes were scattered and not much of a threat. Pei Songzhi believed that the first objective of Sun Ce's planned northward excursion was to attack Chen Deng, which would provide a platform for capturing Xuchang. On the other hand, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had been engaging in skirmishes and small-scale battles before Sun Ce's death. Thus there was in fact no discrepancy in timing.

A historically implausible legend regarding Sun Ce's death involves a popular Taoist priest of his time named Gan Ji (干吉), whom he regarded as a sorcerer. Despite petitions from his subjects and his own mother, Sun Ce ordered Gan Ji's execution. According to In Search of the Supernatural (搜神記) by Gan Bao (干竇), a compilation largely based on legends and hearsay, Sun Ce began to see apparitions of Gan Ji ever since the execution of the latter. After he was injured by assassins, Sun Ce was told by the physician to rest still to allow the wound to heal. However, he looked into the mirror one day and saw Gan Ji's face, whereupon he let out a cry and slammed the mirror. His wound broke and he died shortly. This version was adopted and further dramatized by Luo Guanzhong in his historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which Gan Ji's name was taken to be "Yu Ji" (于吉).