Three Kingdoms Character Popularization: Zhou Shan and the "Lady Sun Returns to Wu" Incident

Brief Introduction

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Shan is a general under Sun Quan of Eastern Wu. Although not a top-tier famous general, he plays a significant role in the key plot of "Lady Sun Returns to Wu". He is one of the specific executors sent by Sun Quan to Jingzhou to retrieve his sister, Lady Sun (Sun Quan's sister and Liu Bei's wife), primarily responsible for the water route support. This event is one of the climaxes in the game of wits between Liu Bei's group and Sun Quan's group. Zhou Shan's actions directly triggered Zhuge Liang's chain strategy.

Core Knowledge Points

* Character Identity: A trusted subordinate of Sun Quan of Eastern Wu, responsible for military support tasks.
* Main Mission: Ordered by Sun Quan to lead troops and boats to Jingzhou to forcibly bring Lady Sun back.
* Event Outcome: Mission failed. Under Zhuge Liang's planning, Lady Sun used "paying homage at the riverside" as an excuse, but actually took a boat to escape back to Jingzhou. Zhou Shan failed to complete the mission of retrieving her.
Historical Prototype: There is no such person as Zhou Shan in the official history Records of the Three Kingdoms. This is a fictional or artistically processed character from Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, mainly used to drive the plot forward.

Connection to Book Content

Zhou Shan's story is mainly concentrated in Chapter 53 "Zhuge Liang Stages the Empty Fort Strategy, Liu Bei's Army Mistakenly Enters Baidi City" of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Note: Chapter titles vary slightly across different versions; usually related to the "Lady Sun Returns to Wu" chapters, i.e., Chapter 53 "Zhuge Liang Wisely Stimulates Lady Sun").

1. Sun Quan's Scheme

After Liu Bei entered Sichuan, Sun Quan worried that Liu Bei's power would grow too large. He used the excuse of picking up his sister to send Zhou Tai with five hundred soldiers secretly, and ordered Zhou Shan to wait with two boats at the river mouth. The aim was to forcibly bring Lady Sun back to Jiangdong while Liu Bei was unprepared, using this to coerce Liu Bei into returning Jingzhou.

2. Zhuge Liang's Countermeasure

After seeing through Sun Quan's conspiracy, Zhuge Liang did not engage in direct conflict. Instead, he designed a plan for Lady Sun to pretend to agree to return to Wu, while actually preparing to escape. When Zhou Shan waited with boats at the river mouth, Zhuge Liang had already arranged for Zhao Yun and others to provide support on land. After Lady Sun boarded the boat, Zhuge Liang falsely transmitted an imperial decree, ordering Zhou Shan and others not to obstruct, successfully bringing Lady Sun and Liu Bei's son, Ah Dou, safely back to Jingzhou.

3. Literary Significance

Zhou Shan's appearance highlights Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness and wisdom. His failure marks the collapse of Sun Quan's plan to regain Jingzhou through hostage kidnapping tactics, further exacerbating the rift in the Sun-Liu alliance. It lays the groundwork for subsequent events like "Single-Blade Meeting" and the Jingzhou contention battles.

Conclusion

Although Zhou Shan has little ink dedicated to him in the book, as the specific executor for Sun Quan to retrieve Lady Sun, he is an important clue figure for understanding the intensification of contradictions in the later period of the "Sun-Liu Alliance". Through the failure of Zhou Shan's mission, readers can clearly see how Zhuge Liang maintained the core interests of Liu Bei's group through psychological warfare amidst the cracks of diplomacy and military pressure.