| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 舜帝, 舜帝, Shùn Dì |
| Nickname | Sage-king of the Yao-Shun-Yu succession (尧舜禹) |
| Other name | Thuấn Đấy |
| INFORMATION | |
| Born | ? (legendary) |
| Birth Place | Zhufeng, modern Zhucheng, Shandong (legendary tradition) |
| Died | ? (legendary) |
| Death Reason | Died on a southern tour; abdicated to Yu (legendary tradition) |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Legendary Xia predecessor states (anachronistic in ROTK) |
| Battles |
|
Biography & Historical Record
Emperor Shun (舜帝, Thuấn Đế) was one of the legendary sage-kings of high antiquity, said to have received the mandate from Emperor Yao (尧, Nghiêu) and in turn passed rule to Yu the Great (禹, Vũ). Confucian tradition celebrates Shun for filial piety despite family persecution, for moral governance, and for punishing the criminal Gun (鲧, Cẩn) while elevating Gun’s son Yu to control the floods. He is a mythical-historical figure, not a participant in Han or Three Kingdoms politics.
In the novel, Shun appears only as a moral exemplar when Ma Su (马谡, Mã Túc), facing execution for losing Jieting, asks Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng) to emulate Shun’s justice: execute Gun but employ Yu (愿丞相思舜帝殛鲧用禹之义).
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 96 (Facing the Star Altar, Zhuge Liang Prays for Life; Falling from a Saddle, Wang Shuang Meets Death): After Ma Su (马谡, Mã Túc) loses Jieting (街亭) and the Shu army retreats, Zhuge Liang binds him for execution according to military law. Ma Su weeps that Zhuge Liang treated him like a son and begs: though his crime deserves death, he hopes the Chancellor will remember how Emperor Shun (舜帝, Thuấn Đế) executed Gun (鲧, Cẩn) but employed Yu (禹, Vũ) — sparing Ma Su’s family as Shun spared Yu’s line. Zhuge Liang weeps, promises to support Ma Su’s household, and still orders the execution; Jiang Wan (蒋琬, Tưởng Uyệt) arrives too late to intervene.
Emperor Shun (舜帝) — Mythical & Literary Timeline
Legendary antiquity
Yao-Shun-Yu succession
Received abdication from Emperor Yao; ruled as a sage-king before passing the throne to Yu the Great — core of Confucian political mythology.
Legendary antiquity
Executed Gun, employed Yu
Punished Gun for failing to control floods but raised Gun’s son Yu to succeed at the task — the precedent Ma Su cites in Chapter 96.
Throughout ROTK
Recurring sage reference
Yao and Shun appear elsewhere as rhetorical models for abdication and virtue — e.g., Dong Zhuo’s flatterers compare him to Shun receiving Yao’s throne (Chapter 4); Cao Pi’s abdication ceremony quotes Shun-Yu succession (later chapters).
Chapter 96
Ma Su’s plea
Ma Su invokes Shun’s justice when asking Zhuge Liang to punish him but spare his family — the novel’s most specific Shun scene tied to a named Three Kingdoms figure.
For classical background, explore Emperor Shun on Wikipedia and the Shiji “Annals of the Five Emperors.”
Key Relationships
Family
- Gun (鲧, Cẩn): Father of Yu whom Shun punished — legendary, cited in Ma Su’s Chapter 96 plea.
- Yu the Great (禹, Vũ): Successor whom Shun employed after Gun’s failure — model for sparing a condemned man’s descendants.
Friends
- Emperor Yao (尧帝, Nghiêu Đế): Predecessor who abdicated to Shun in sage-king mythology.
- Eight Able Ministers (八元八恺): Legendary aides of Shun’s golden age in classical texts — not named in ROTK Chapter 96.
Enemies
- Four Evildoers (四凶): Legendary criminals Shun banished — classical context, not ROTK scenes.
Other
- Ma Su (马谡, Mã Túc): Invokes Shun’s Gun-Yu precedent when facing execution in Chapter 96.
- Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng): Ma Su asks him to imitate Shun’s justice; Zhuge Liang spares the family but executes Ma Su.
- Jiang Wan (蒋琬, Tưởng Uyệt): Arrives pleading for Ma Su’s life in the same chapter after Shun is cited.
- Dong Zhuo (董卓, Đổng Trác): Flatterers compare him to Shun receiving Yao’s throne in Chapter 4 — cynical political misuse of the sage-king trope.
In Novel
Chapter 96
- Emperor Shun (舜帝, Thuấn Đế): Ma Su (马谡, Mã Túc) cites how Shun executed Gun (鲧, Cẩn) but employed Yu (禹, Vũ), asking Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng) to punish him yet spare his family — mythical anachronism, not a living character.
Other chapters (rhetorical)
- Emperor Shun (舜帝, Thuấn Đế): Referenced in abdication and virtue speeches (e.g., Dong Zhuo's flatterers, Cao Pi's abdication ritual) as the classical model of legitimate succession — name-drops only.
In History
Summary
- Emperor Shun (舜帝, Thuấn Đế) is a legendary sage-king of the Yao-Shun-Yu succession. He is not a historical Three Kingdoms figure; ROTK cites him as moral precedent.
Legendary reign
- Received rule from Yao; praised for filial piety and righteous punishment of Gun while elevating Yu to control floods.
Historical Record
- Shiji, "Annals of the Five Emperors" (五帝本纪).
- Shangshu (Book of Documents) — Shun canon traditions.
- ROTK Chapter 96: Ma Su's execution scene; elsewhere Yao-Shun cited in abdication rhetoric — always anachronistic.
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