| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 庞柔, 龐柔, Páng Róu |
| Nickname | Pang De’s elder cousin in Shu |
| Other name | Bàng Nhu |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Nan'an, Huandao (Longxi, Gansu) |
| Death Reason | Unrecorded. Not present at Fan Castle; only named as the Shu kinsman who made Wei doubt Pang De. |
| FAMILY | |
| Relatives | |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Shu Han (named in Shu while Pang De served Wei) |
| Battles | Not a combatant at Fan Castle (219 / ROTK Ch.74). Named only in the loyalty debate. |
Biography & Historical Record
Pang Rou (庞柔, Bàng Nhu) of Nan’an, Huandao (南安狟道; today’s Wushan area, Gansu) was the elder cousin (从兄) of Pang De (庞德, Bàng Đức), courtesy Lingming (令明, Lệnh Minh). Pei Songzhi’s note on Pang De’s Sanguozhi biography quotes the Weilue: “De’s elder cousin was named Rou; at that time he was in Shu.” That single clause is the entire solid historical notice. He is not given a courtesy name, office list, or death year. Later popular sketches that make him a named Ya-men general under Liu Bei after Fan Castle, or that invent a Huayang-guozhi sentence not in the received text, go beyond what Chen Shou and Pei preserve.
The notice matters because it explains Wei suspicion in 219. Pang De had served Ma Chao, then Zhang Lu, then Cao Cao. When he was sent toward Fan Castle against Guan Yu (关羽, Quan Vũ), colleagues pointed to Ma Chao in Shu and to Pang Rou in Shu as reasons not to trust him. Pang De answered that he had received the state’s grace and would kill Guan Yu or be killed. He later shot Guan Yu in the forehead, was captured in the Han flood, and died refusing surrender.
Chapter 74 of the novel turns that suspicion into dialogue. Dong Heng (董衡, Đổng Hành) tells Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm) that Pang De’s old lord Ma Chao and his own elder brother Pang Rou both hold office in the Riverlands. Yu Jin wakes Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo) at night. Cao Cao recalls the pioneer seal. Pang De knocks his head until his face bleeds and offers a family story the histories do not tell: in their home commandery he lived with his elder brother; the sister-in-law was vicious; drunk, he killed her; the brother hated him to the marrow and swore never to meet again — “grace is already cut.” He adds that he and Ma Chao now serve different lords. Cao Cao restores him. Pang De orders a wooden coffin and marches to Fan. Pang Rou himself never walks on stage.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 74 (Pang Lingming Takes the Coffin into Battle; Guan Yunchang Floods the Seven Armies): Pang Rou (庞柔, Bàng Nhu) is named only as the Shu-side kinsman who makes Wei officers doubt Pang De. Dong Heng’s warning, Yu Jin’s night report, Cao Cao’s questioning, and Pang De’s “I killed my sister-in-law drunk” speech are the whole scene. The chapter then follows the white-horse duels, the autumn flood, and Guan Yu’s capture of Yu Jin and Pang De. Pang Rou does not fight at Fan and does not answer the speech.
Pang Rou (庞柔, Bàng Nhu) — Historical & Literary Timeline
In Shu while Pang De serves Wei
Weilue: the elder cousin Rou is already in Shu when Pang De is sent against Guan Yu — the fact that poisons Wei trust.
Named in the Fan Castle loyalty test
Dong Heng and Yu Jin cite Ma Chao and Pang Rou in the Riverlands. Pang De tells Cao Cao the (novel-only) sister-in-law story and takes a coffin to the front.
Fan Castle aftermath
Pang De dies refusing Guan Yu. History does not say what office Pang Rou held in Shu or whether he reacted to his cousin’s death.
Key Relationships
Family
- Elder cousin of Pang De (庞德, Bàng Đức) (history: 从兄). Novel sometimes says “elder brother.” Nan’an Huandao origin is shared in the Pang De tradition.
- Novel only: a wife whom Pang De claims to have killed while drunk — unnamed, unconfirmed in Chen Shou or Pei.
- No parents or children recorded.
Friends
- No sworn patrons are named. If he held Shu office, his lord would have been Liu Bei (刘备, Lưu Bị) after Hanzhong, but that appointment is not in the Weilue sentence.
Enemies
- Novel: Pang De claims the brothers’ grace is cut after the sister-in-law killing — a literary explanation for serving opposite camps, not a historical feud.
- Wei officers who treat Pang Rou’s Shu service as proof that Pang De will betray Cao Cao at Fan.
Other
- Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo), Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm), Cao Ren (曹仁, Tào Nhân): The Fan Castle command that hears Pang Rou’s name as a loyalty problem.
- Guan Yu (关羽, Quan Vũ): Opponent at Fan; in some retellings he uses the Shu cousin to urge Pang De to surrender — the standard novel text gives that pressure to the Wei side’s own doubts.
- Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu): Named in the same breath as Pang Rou as a Shu reason to distrust Pang De.
In Novel
Chapter 74
- Pang Rou (庞柔, Bàng Nhu): Does not appear in person. Dong Heng (董衡, Đổng Hành) warns Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm) that Pang De (庞德, Bàng Đức) once served Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu) and that his own elder brother Pang Rou holds office in the Riverlands — so making Pang De vanguard is “pouring oil on a fire.” Yu Jin wakes Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo). Pang De kowtows, blood on his face, and says that in their home commandery he killed a vicious sister-in-law while drunk; Pang Rou therefore hates him and grace is already cut; he and Ma Chao now serve different masters. Cao Cao restores the pioneer seal. Pang De orders a coffin and rides to Fan Castle against Guan Yu (关羽, Quan Vũ). Pang Rou never answers this speech on the page.
In History
Summary
- Pang Rou (庞柔, Bàng Nhu) is Pang De’s elder cousin, already in Shu when Pang De fought Guan Yu in 219. That is the full Weilue notice.
Year: 219 AD
- Wei officers distrust Pang De because Ma Chao and Pang Rou serve Liu Bei. Pang De vows to kill Guan Yu or die. He is captured in the Han flood and executed for refusing surrender. Pang Rou’s Shu office and later life are unrecorded.
Historical Record
- Sanguozhi 18 (庞德传) and Pei’s note citing Weilue: “德从兄名柔，时在蜀.” The novel Ch.74 family feud (drunk killing of a sister-in-law) is literary, not in Chen Shou or Pei. Do not treat later encyclopedia expansions as primary text.
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