How the Novel Tells It #
Chapter 2 describes Zhang Fei tying the Inspector to a horse-hitching post and whipping him until Liu Bei arrives and orders him to stop.
What the Historical Records Preserve #
The main Biography of the Former Lord names Liu Bei as the actor and records two hundred blows. Dianlüe quoted in the annotations describes more than a hundred and a different set of reasons.
What Cannot Be Inferred #
Main text and quoted annotation differ in numbers and plot. The novel's assignment of the action to Zhang Fei cannot in turn change the person in the historical record.
How Shiji Sanguo Tells It #
Specific chapters and excerpts will be checked after final-manuscript QA; no content is invented here. Start with the Work Page to understand the book's identity.
Cite This Page
Shiji Sanguo website, “Inspector Incident: Liu Bei, Number of Blows, and Differing Accounts,” data version 2026-09-29.13, updated 2026-09-29.
https://shijisanguo.com/history-vs-romance/inspector/
When citing a specific claim, also identify its original source, whether it comes from the main text or a quoted annotation, and your access date. The # beside each section heading links to that passage. This site's synthesis is not the original text of an ancient work.