Wang Can

Wang Can (onyomi: Ō San) is an official of the Han dynasty known for his calligraphy and a skilled scholar. Later, he joined Liu Biao and persuaded Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao after Liu Biao died. He was known as one off the seven scholars of Jian'an. His peers praised him for his eidetic memory and writing the Records of Heroes which was a primary source for Pei Songzhi's Annotations of the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

Role in Games
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he is a person with good intelligence and good political but not good at duels and leading the army.

He was a minor officer in Dynasty Warriors 9.

Historical Information
Wang Can was born in Gaoping County, Shanyang Commandery to Wang Qian. Qian served as a secretary for He Jin, his family having spent generations holding high-ranking positions. Wang Can began his career in Chang'an under Cai Yong. At this point, the court now operated under the control of Dong Zhuo and his puppet child emperor, Emperor Xian. Cai Yong thought highly of Wang Can, believing he could go far if he accepted any government appointment.

When Cai Yong was killed, Wang Can fled south, entering into the service of Liu Biao in Jing Province. In light of his talent, Liu Biao considered elevating Wang Can in his court through a marriage to his daughter. However, Liu Biao chose not favor Wang Can because of his pallid and sickly appearance. When Liu Biao passed away, Liu Cong took his father's place in 208, heeding Wang Can's advice to surrender to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao rewarded Wang Can with a position as a palace attendant. Can was one of the nobles who proposed that Emperor Xian appoint Cao Cao as Duke of Wei. With his new appointment, Cao Cao set Wang Can to the task of rewriting the laws for his lands, reestablishing order to his domain. In late the year 216, he accompanied Cao Cao on his fourth campaign against Sun Quan, but grew sick during the campaign, succumbing ​to the illness in the spring of 217.

Wang Can wrote much poetry and other historical writings in his time. One of his most famous works was the Records of Heroes, more commonly known today as Records of the Later Han Heroes, which did not survive to today, but helped Pei Songzhi comment upon the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Two anecdotes are recorded about Wang Can. The first claims that Cai Yong once gave the greatest honor of his house party to Wang Can when he was only a teenager. The second says that when Wang Can observing a game of Go, the board was accidentally knocked over. Wang Can was able to reassemble the game exactly as it had been previously.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Wang Can first appears in Chapter 40 of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, advising Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao. The novel notes that Wang Can was a man of exceptional knowledge and memory. Alongside the anecdotes contained within the Records, he is also credited with the ability to remember everything he saw on a roadside monument while passing it on horseback. He convinces his new lord to surrender to Cao Cao, much to the dismay of Liu Bei.

For his efforts, Wang Can is brought into and rewarded as part of Cao Cao's regime. In Chapter 56, Wang Can is numbered among the scholars who present poems in praise of Cao Cao's character. In his last appearance, chapter 66, Wang Can is one of the four officers who approached Cao Cao with the idea to promote Cao Cao to Prince over his current position as Duke.