| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 甘述, 甘述, Gān Shù |
| Nickname | Senior Secretariat Minister (尚书, Thượng thư) |
| Other name | Cam Thuật |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Linjiang, Ba Commandery (巴郡临江; Ba Quận Lâm Giang) |
| Death Reason | Unknown — not recorded in surviving chronicles |
| FAMILY | |
| Father | |
| Children | |
| Relatives | |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Eastern Wu (东吴, Đông Ngô) |
| Battles |
|
Biography & Historical Record
Gan Shu (甘述, Cam Thuật) was the younger son of Gan Ning (甘宁, Cam Ninh), Wu’s legendary pirate-general. Where his father had terrorized the Yangtze with a hundred armored raiders and his elder brother Gan Gu (甘瑰, Cam Côi) squandered the family name through violence and exile, Gan Shu chose the civil path — quiet scholarship, refined etiquette, and administrative integrity. He rose through Eastern Wu’s civilian bureaucracy to become Senior Secretariat Minister (尚书, Thượng thư), one of the empire’s highest clerical offices.
Gan Shu’s descendants extended the Gan lineage into the Jin dynasty: his son Gan Chang (甘昌, Cam Xương) continued the line, and great-grandson Gan Zhuo (甘卓, Cam Trác) became a famed Grand Marshal under Eastern Jin — a martial restoration of the family name two generations after Gan Shu’s scholarly peak. The contrast between Gan Ning’s bell, Gan Gu’s disgrace, and Gan Shu’s ministerial probity makes the Gan household one of Wu’s most narratively rich clans.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapters 67–68, 115: Gan Ning (甘宁, Cam Ninh) dominates the novel’s Wu martial scenes — Xiaoyao Ford, serving Sun Quan, dying before Yiling. Gan Shu is not named; his scholarly career belongs entirely to Sanguozhi civil registers and the historical contrast with exiled brother Gan Gu.
Gan Shu (甘述) — Historical & Literary Timeline
Younger son of Gan Ning
Raised in Wu after Gan Ning entered Sun Quan’s service — chose books over the raiding life.
Brother exiled
Elder brother Gan Gu disgraced and sent to Kuaiji — Gan Shu becomes the family’s respectable line.
Senior Secretariat Minister
Appointed 尚书 in Wu’s central administration — peak civil honor for the Gan clan.
Descendant Gan Zhuo
Great-grandson Gan Zhuo becomes Eastern Jin Grand Marshal — martial fame restored.
Key Relationships
Family
- Gan Ning (甘宁, Cam Ninh): Father — Wu general and former Yangtze pirate lord.
- Gan Gu (甘瑰, Cam Côi): Elder brother — exiled to Kuaiji for military misconduct.
- Gan Chang (甘昌, Cam Xương): Son — attested heir continuing the civil line.
- Gan Zhuo (甘卓, Cam Trác): Great-grandson — Eastern Jin Grand Marshal.
Friends
- Sun Quan (孙权, Tôn Quyền): Patron of the Gan house — employed Gan Shu in civil office despite his brother’s disgrace.
- Wu scholar-officials who valued Gan Shu’s erudition and ceremonial propriety.
Enemies
- None individually recorded — civil minister who avoided the factional violence of late Wu.
Other
- Lü Meng (吕蒙, Lã Mông): Wu commander who fought alongside Gan Ning — the martial world Gan Shu deliberately did not enter.
- Lu Xun (陆逊, Lục Tốn): Wu’s great strategist — contemporary of Gan Shu’s ministerial generation.
In Novel
Chapters 67–68, 115
- Gan Shu (甘述, Cam Thuật): Not named — Gan Ning (甘宁, Cam Ninh) dominates the novel's Wu martial episodes at Xiaoyao Ford and dies before Yiling; Gan Shu's scholarly ministry belongs to historical registers contrasting with exiled brother Gan Gu (甘瑰, Cam Côi).
In History
Summary
- Gan Shu (甘述, Cam Thuật), younger son of Gan Ning, served Eastern Wu as Senior Secretariat Minister (尚书); ancestor of Jin general Gan Zhuo.
Year: c. 240 AD
- Appointed Senior Secretariat Minister — highest civil clerkship in Wu's central government.
Later generations
- Son Gan Chang; great-grandson Gan Zhuo becomes Eastern Jin Grand Marshal.
Historical Record
- Sanguozhi, Wu 55 (甘宁传): Pei Songzhi notes on Gan Gu's exile and Gan Shu's civil career.
- Jin Shu notices on Gan Zhuo preserve the Gan lineage from Gan Ning through Gan Shu.
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