Du Qiong

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV portrait

Du Qiong (杜瓊, onyomi: To kei), was an official who served under Liu Zhang and Liu Bei during the Han Dynasty and later Liu Shan during the Three Kingdoms. He was well-known by many as a famous astronomer and diviner.

Roles in Games

Romance of the Three Kingdoms first presents Du Qiong as a civil officer under Liu Zhang in the early scenarios and later Liu Bei later. His intelligence is his best trait, sitting at 63 with his politics and charisma ranging at around the high 50s to low 60s. His military stats are worse-off, fluctuating between the high 30s to low 50s. Du Qiong is a lackluster and below-average politician who is ok for handling domestic tasks, but terrible in battle.

Historical Information

Du Qiong, style name: Boyu (伯瑜), was born in Chengdu, Shu commandery in the 160s. Whe he was young, he studied the "Yijing" (Book of Changes) under the mentorship of Ren An (任安), a famous scholar. He was particularly talented in astronomy and divination. Between 194 and 214, when Liu Zhang became the governor of Yi province, he appointed Du Qiong as an Assistant Officer (從事) in the government.

In the year 214, after Liu Bei won control of Yi province from Liu Zhang. He recuited Du Qiong to serve under him and appointed him as an Assistant Officer in the Consultation Bureau (議曹從事). When the Han Dynasty ended in 220 and was replaced by Wei, Du Qiong along with others advised Liu Bei to declare himself Emperor, using works of divination to further his stance. Liu Bei followed through and established the state of Shu to oppose Wei. After Liu Bei's defeat at Yiling and death in 223, Du Qiong would continue serving under Liu Bei's son Liu Shan and was appointed to more positions, including Counsellor Remonstrant (諫議大夫), Left General of the Household (左中郎將), Minister Herald (大鴻臚) and Minister of Ceremonies (太常). After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Du Qiong was tasked by Liu Shan to read an imperial edict or mourning at the latter's tomb and funeral.

Known for being a silent man who only spoke up when necessary as well as maintaining a low profile. Du Qiong did not interact with others much outside of work and mostly remained in his residence during his leisure time. Jiang Wan and Fei Yi who were both regents of the Shu government highly admired him and respected him greatly.

Du Qiong was skilled in astronomy, but initially not many knew he had ample knowledge of the subject, until he interacted with Qiao Zhou, who wished to gain Du Qiong's insight. Du Qiong told him "It's not easy to understand astronomy. You should observe the heavens and identify the characteristics of the different types of astronomical phenomena on your own, instead of believing what others tell you. It'll take a lot of effort and time to study astronomy before you can truly understand astronomy. Once you've understood it, however, you'll start to worry about spilling the secrets of the future. I thought it's best to not know, so that's why I stopped observing the heavens."

Qiao Zhou then asked "Zhou Shu once said that the 'something tall on the road' [in the popular saying 'something tall on the road will replace the Han (dynasty)'] refers to the state of Wei. Why do you think it is so?" Du Qiong's reply was "Wei (魏) also refers to either of the two viewing towers at each gate of the imperial palace. It faces the road and stands out as a very tall structure from a distance away. (Because Wei was also the name of an ancient state,) the sages decided to use it as a double entendre." Qiao Zhou asked for a further explanation, with Du Qiong saying "The term cao (曹) was never used to refer to the positions held by government officials in ancient times. This practice only started in the Han dynasty: clerks are called shu cao (屬曹) and guards are called shi cao (侍曹). This is probably Heaven's will."

Du Qiong passed away in the 250s, he was in his 80s at the time. Throughout most of his life. He wrote over 100,000 Chinese characters in the Han Shi Zhangju (韓詩章句) as a detailed commentary to Han Ying's version of the Classic of Poetry. Despite this, he accepted no students or apprentices to continue and maintain his work.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Du Qiong's first mention in the novel is in chapter 80 where he is listed as one of the many trusted court officials urging Liu Bei to become Emperor. Later, he makes an appearance in chapter 85 in which he is sent with Dong Yun by Liu Shan to find Zhuge Liang and inform him of Cao Pi's invasion of Shu. The two were informed that Zhuge Liang was ill and would recover the next day. The following day, when many officials along with Liu Shan waited outside of Zhuge Liang's house, Du Qiong suggested that Liu Shan go in person to consult Zhuge Liang on how to stop the invasion. Later in Chapter 91, he is mentioned to have been appointed as an "Imperial Censor" by Zhuge Liang. In chapter 100 during the 3rd Northern expedition, a military officer named "Du Qiong" is mentioned to have accompanied Wei Yan, Chen Shi, and Zhang Ni during the march against Sima Yi. The novel did not make it clear whether this Du Qiong was the same person or a separate figure, nor whether he was fictional or real in the case that he was a different person. However, it would be extremely unikely for the two to be one and the same, since Du Qiong historically was only a civil official and had nothing to do with military affairs.

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