| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 杜叡, 杜叡, Dù Ruì |
| Nickname | Wooden-ox supervisor (木牛流馬) — fictional Shu lieutenant |
| Other name | Đỗ Duệ |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Unknown — novel-only character |
| Death Reason | Unknown — not recorded after Chapter 102 |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Shu Han |
| Battles |
|
Biography & Historical Record
Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ) is a fictional Shu lieutenant in Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms who appears only in the wooden ox and flowing horse (木牛流馬) episode of Chapter 102. Chen Shou’s Sanguozhi credits Zhuge Liang’s northern-expedition logistics in general terms but names no officer 杜叡; modern indexes list Du Rui as a novel-only Shu staff officer whose entire role is to help supervise a secret valley workshop while the Chancellor campaigns against Sima Yi (司马懿, Tư Mã Ý) at the Qi Mountains (祁山).
His one scene is deliberately low-profile: Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng) whispers orders to Du Rui and Hu Zhong (胡忠, Hồ Trung), seals Gourd Valley (葫芦谷) with Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại) guarding the entrance, and visits daily while artisans build the transport machines that will move grain from Jiange (剑阁) to the front. Du Rui has no quoted dialogue — the novel names him only as a trusted lieutenant chosen for confidentiality, not as a battlefield commander.
Do not confuse this 杜叡 (叡) with the appendix roster name 杜睿 (睿, Đỗ Nhuệ) on Du Rui (Shu), with the Jin general Du Yu (杜预, Đỗ Dự), or with the Wei emperor Cao Rui (曹叡, Tào Duệ) — all share similar pinyin in English.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 102 (Sima Yi Occupies the Gorges; Zhuge Liang Constructs the Wooden Transport Oxen) — grain crisis: With Shu forces at Qishan, Yang Yi (杨仪, Dương Nghi) warns that hauling supplies from Jiange will exhaust the army. Zhuge Liang rides out, finds Gourd Valley’s narrow mouth and wide interior (defensible by a single rider), and returns to camp.
Chapter 102 (same arc) — secret orders: Zhuge Liang summons Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ) and Hu Zhong (胡忠, Hồ Trung), whispers instructions, and sends more than a thousand camp craftsmen into the valley. Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại) blocks the entrance with five hundred troops; no one may enter or leave while the project runs.
Chapter 102 (same arc) — completion and deployment: After several days the wooden oxen and flowing horses are finished. Zhuge Liang writes the specifications for his officers; Gao Xiang (高翔, Cao Tường) later leads a thousand troops driving the machines from Jiange toward Qishan. The narrative then shifts to Sima Yi’s alarm and Zhang Hu (张虎, Trương Hổ) proposing an ambush on the transport route — Du Rui is not named again.
Du Rui (杜叡) — Literary Timeline
Summoned with Hu Zhong
Zhuge Liang calls Du Rui and Hu Zhong aside for whispered orders before the Gourd Valley project — their only explicit introduction.
Supervising Gourd Valley
Du Rui and Hu Zhong oversee artisans building wooden oxen and flowing horses inside 葫芦谷 while Ma Dai seals the mouth — daily visits from Zhuge Liang.
Machines sent to Qishan
Project complete; Gao Xiang drives the convoy toward the front — Du Rui’s supervisory role ends without further lines.
No further appearances
Story follows Wei reaction (Sima Yi, Zhang Hu’s ambush plan); Du Rui is never named again in the novel.
For novel context, see List of fictional ROTK people and Kongming.net — Du Rui.
Key Relationships
Family
- No family recorded — novel-only officer with a single logistical scene.
Friends
- Hu Zhong (胡忠, Hồ Trung): Partner lieutenant who receives the same secret orders and supervises craftsmen alongside Du Rui in Gourd Valley.
- Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng): Chancellor who selects Du Rui for the confidential wooden-ox build and inspects the valley daily.
Enemies
- Sima Yi (司马懿, Tư Mã Ý): Wei commander at Qishan whose blockade the wooden-ox convoys are meant to outlast — Du Rui never meets him in combat.
Other
- Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại): Posts five hundred troops to seal Gourd Valley while Du Rui works inside.
- Yang Yi (杨仪, Dương Nghi): Chief of Staff who raises the Jiange grain-supply problem that prompts Zhuge Liang’s valley project.
- Gao Xiang (高翔, Cao Tường): Right General who drives the finished wooden-ox convoy toward Qishan after Du Rui’s supervision phase.
- Zhang Hu (张虎, Trương Hổ): Wei officer who proposes ambushing the transport route immediately after the machines are deployed — same chapter, separate thread.
- Du Rui (杜睿, Đỗ Nhuệ): Appendix/catalog homograph — Du Rui (Shu); not the same person as this 杜叡.
- Du Yu (杜预, Đỗ Dự) and Cao Rui (曹叡, Tào Duệ): Unrelated historical figures with similar romanization.
In Novel
Chapter 102 — secret orders
- Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ): Zhuge Liang summons him with Hu Zhong (胡忠, Hồ Trung), whispers instructions, and sends them with over a thousand camp craftsmen into Gourd Valley (葫芦谷) — no quoted speech; named only as a trusted lieutenant.
Chapter 102 — valley supervision
- Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ): Supervises artisans building wooden oxen and flowing horses (木牛流馬) inside the sealed valley while Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại) guards the entrance and Zhuge Liang visits daily to direct construction.
Chapter 102 — after completion
- Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ): Role ends once the machines are finished and Gao Xiang (高翔, Cao Tường) drives the convoy toward Qishan; the narrative turns to Sima Yi and Zhang Hu — Du Rui is not named again.
In History
Summary
- Du Rui (杜叡, Đỗ Duệ) is a novel-only Shu lieutenant. No matching biography exists in Chen Shou's Sanguozhi or Pei Songzhi's commentary.
Historical kernel
- Zhuge Liang's wooden ox transport is discussed in historical sources as a logistics innovation during the Qi Mountains campaigns, but the named supervisors Du Rui and Hu Zhong are Luo Guanzhong's inventions for Chapter 102.
Historical Record
- Listed in Wikipedia's List of fictional people of the Three Kingdoms (Chapter 102).
- Do not confuse with Du Yu (杜预, Đỗ Dự), Cao Rui (曹叡, Tào Duệ), or appendix name Du Rui (杜睿, Đỗ Nhuệ) — see Du Rui (Shu).
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