Liang Kuan

Biography & Historical Record

Liang Kuan (梁宽, Lương Khoan) of Anding was a Liang Province officer who helped throw Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu) out of Jicheng (冀城, Ký Thành) and later served Cao Wei (曹魏, Tào Ngụy) as a Gentleman Attendant at the Yellow Gates. He is not a random Wei name in Chapter 64: he is one of the two men Yang Fu (杨阜, Dương Phụ) leaves inside the city as an inside man. When Ma Chao rides out to crush the Lucheng rising, Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu (赵衢, Triệu Cù) shut the gates, kill Ma Chao’s wife and children, and fling the bodies from the wall. That is the same circle as Zhao Ang (赵昂, Triệu Áng) and Jiang Xu (姜叙, Khương Tự) — the officials who avenged Wei Kang (韦康, Vi Khang). Liang Kuan’s blade falls on Ma Chao’s household, not on Zhao Ang’s; the catalog phrase “killed Zhao Ang’s circle” reverses the sides.

History and novel agree on the betrayal and the corpses. They differ on how warmly Ma Chao had trusted him. In the novel Yang Fu, feigning service after Wei Kang’s murder, recommends Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu as officers; Ma Chao takes them. In Chen Shou and the Zizhi Tongjian, Liang Kuan is already among the Liang men Yang Fu can count on when Jiang Xu rises at Lucheng in 213–214. After Ma Chao flees to Zhang Lu (张鲁, Trương Lỗ), Liang Kuan appears in Wei as a court gentleman and is credited with a life of Zhao E (赵娥), the avenging mother of Pang Yu — a literary notice, not a second military career. Birth and death years are unknown.

Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 64 (Plan for the Capture of Zhang Ren; Borrowing Soldiers to Destroy Ma Chao): Two years after his first defeat, Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu) has taken much of Longxi. Jicheng holds out under Wei Kang (韦康, Vi Khang), then opens; Ma Chao kills Wei Kang’s household and still keeps Yang Fu (杨阜, Dương Phụ) as a scholar-officer because Yang Fu had argued against surrender. Yang Fu recommends Liang Kuan (梁宽, Lương Khoan) and Zhao Qu; Ma Chao employs them. Yang Fu then asks leave to seek his wife, rides to Jiang Xu (姜叙, Khương Tự) at Licheng, and raises the revolt with Zhao Ang (赵昂, Triệu Áng) and Yin Feng. Zhao Qu lures Ma Chao out. When Ma Chao, Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại), and Pang De (庞德, Bàng Đức) are driven off by the three-sided attack — rebels plus Xiahou Yuan (夏侯渊, Hạ Hầu Uyên) — they race back to Jicheng. Arrows answer the hail. Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu appear on the wall, drag up Lady Yang and Ma Chao’s young sons and kin, murder more than ten in his sight, and throw the bodies down. Ma Chao cannot take the city and flees toward Zhang Lu. The chapter’s other half is Liu Bei’s war on Zhang Ren in Yi; Liang Kuan never crosses into that plot.

Liang Kuan (梁宽) — Historical & Literary Timeline

For the 213 revolt, see Battle of Lucheng.

Key Relationships

Family

• No father, mother, spouse, or children are named. He is an Anding officer in Yang Fu’s friendship group, not a recorded household.

Friends

• Yang Fu (杨阜, Dương Phụ): The man who (novel) recommends him to Ma Chao and (history) counts him as the inside officer at Jicheng. The revolt is Yang Fu’s revenge for Wei Kang.
• Zhao Qu (赵衢, Triệu Cù): Co-keeper of Jicheng; they shut the gates and kill Ma Chao’s family together. No dedicated site post — plain text only.
• Zhao Ang (赵昂, Triệu Áng) and Jiang Xu (姜叙, Khương Tự): Fellow anti-Ma Chao rebels at Lucheng / Licheng. Liang Kuan did not kill their circle; he fought on their side.

Enemies

• Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu): The lord who employed him and whose wife, sons, and kin he helped slaughter on Jicheng’s wall. Novel and history agree on the corpses; Ma Chao then flees to Zhang Lu.

Other

• Wei Kang (韦康, Vi Khang): The murdered inspector whose death starts the plot. Ma Dai (马岱, Mã Đại), Pang De (庞德, Bàng Đức), and Xiahou Yuan (夏侯渊, Hạ Hầu Uyên) fight the same week’s field action. Zhang Lu (张鲁, Trương Lỗ) is Ma Chao’s refuge after the wall.