Gan Ning (simplified: 甘宁, traditional: 甘寧, pinyin: Gān Níng), courtesy name Xingba (兴霸 Xīngbà), was a general of Eastern Wu. He was from Ba commandery (or had Nanyang ancestry and sojourned in Ba). In his youth he led a band of raiders with brocade sails and bells—the “Brocade Sails bandit”—then gave up raiding, read the classics, and served as a clerk and later蜀郡丞 before rebelling against Liu Zhang (with Shen Mi and Lou Fa) and going to Liu Biao and Huang Zu. Huang Zu did not use him; he crossed to Sun Quan with several hundred men. He urged Sun Quan to attack Huang Zu first and then take Jing and Yi; at Jiangxia he fought and after Huang Zu’s fall asked Sun Quan to spare Su Fei. He held Yiling under heavy siege with composure, took Wan as siege commander under Lü Meng, confronted Guan Yu at Yiyang so that Guan did not dare cross, and at Ruxu led a hundred riders in a night raid on Cao Cao’s camp and returned unscathed. Sun Quan said: “Cao Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba—enough to match him.” He was rough and sometimes disobedient, but Lü Meng often asked Sun Quan to tolerate him. He killed Ling Cao (so Ling Tong bore a grudge) and had a feud with Sun Jiao that Sun Quan mediated. His death year is uncertain (sources give 215 or after 219).
Biography
Early life: Brocade Sails and service under Liu Biao and Huang Zu
Gan Ning was from Linjiang in Ba commandery (Wu shu says he was originally from Nanyang and his family sojourned in Ba). He was a clerk and was recommended as计掾 and then served as Assistant to the Administrator of Shu commandery; he left office and went home (possibly after rebelling: the Hero Records say that when Liu Zhang succeeded Liu Yan, the Jing province別駕 Liu He incited Gan Ning with Shen Mi and Lou Fa to revolt; they were defeated and went to Jing). With eight hundred followers he joined Liu Biao but was not employed; he then attached himself to Huang Zu at Xiakou. For three years Huang Zu did not treat him as worth keeping. When Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia, Huang Zu fled and Gan Ning covered the rear and shot the pursuing Wu officer Ling Cao, so Huang Zu escaped; still Huang Zu did not honour him. Su Fei repeatedly recommended him in vain; Gan Ning wanted to leave but saw no safe way. Su Fei invited him to a feast and suggested he ask to be sent as Chief of Zhu so he could slip away. Huang Zu agreed; Gan Ning rallied former followers and a few hundred others and went over to Sun Quan.
Under Sun Quan: Huang Zu, Yiling, Wan, Yiyang, Ruxu
Zhou Yu and Lü Meng both recommended him. Sun Quan treated him like an old retainer. Gan Ning advised that the house of Han was in decline and Cao Cao would become a usurper; they should take Jing first (starting with Huang Zu), then Chu Pass, then Yi. Zhang Zhao objected that a big western campaign would unsettle the land. Gan Ning retorted that the state entrusted Zhang with responsibility like Xiao He and he should think how to stabilise things, not only fear trouble. Sun Quan raised his cup to Gan Ning and said the campaign was decided and he was entrusting it to him. Sun Quan went west, defeated Huang Zu, and took his people. He had prepared two boxes for Huang Zu’s and Su Fei’s heads. Su Fei sent someone to Gan Ning; Gan Ning said even if Su Fei did not ask he would not forget. At a feast Gan Ning kowtowed and begged for Su Fei’s life; Sun Quan spared him.
In 208 Gan Ning followed Zhou Yu at Wulin (Chibi). At Nanjun he proposed taking Yiling first; Zhou Yu sent him and he took the city and held it with a few hundred men (later about a thousand). Cao Ren sent five or six thousand to besiege him; the enemy built towers and shot so many arrows that the defenders were afraid, but Gan Ning talked and laughed as usual and sent to Zhou Yu for help. Zhou Yu followed Lü Meng’s plan and relieved him; Cao Ren lost more than half his men and fled by night. In 214 at the Wan campaign Lü Meng recommended Gan Ning as siege commander; Gan Ning climbed with a rope and led the assault; Lü Meng was judged first in merit and Gan Ning second; Gan Ning was made General Who Charges into Battle. When he and Lu Su faced Guan Yu at Yiyang, Guan Yu picked five thousand elite and said he would cross upstream at night. Gan Ning asked for five hundred more and said that when Guan Yu heard his cough he would not dare cross, and if he did he would capture him. Lu Su gave him a thousand. Gan Ning went by night; Guan Yu did not cross and camped on shore (the place was later called “Guan Yu’s shoal”). Sun Quan made him Administrator of Xiling with Yangxin and Xiazhi. In 215 at Hefei, when Sun Quan’s army was withdrawing and Zhang Liao struck, the drummers were too frightened to beat; Gan Ning drew his bow and shouted why the drums had stopped, and the musicians resumed. In 217 at Ruxu Cao Cao had a huge force at the river. Sun Quan had Gan Ning lead three thousand as vanguard and secretly ordered a night raid. Gan Ning chose over a hundred stalwarts, feasted them, drank two silver bowls himself and made the superintendent drink; at the second watch they removed the deer horns, crossed the stockade, killed several dozen, and withdrew while the enemy raised fire and drums. He returned to camp with drums and “Long live!” Sun Quan said it was enough to startle the old man and rewarded him with a thousand bolts of silk and a hundred blades. After a month or so Cao Cao withdrew.
Death and legacy
Gan Ning died (Jiankang shilu: winter 215; other evidence suggests 219–222). Sun Quan deeply regretted it. His troops were later merged by Pan Zhang. He was buried at Zhidu (e.g. near Gushu/Yangxin). In Song he was worshipped and given the title “Zhaoyi Wuhui Yiai Lingxian Wang.”
Personality and traits
Gan Ning was rough and fond of killing and sometimes displeasing; he often disagreed with Lü Meng and broke Sun Quan’s orders, so Sun Quan was angry, but Lü Meng always said that with the realm unsettled a fighter like Gan Ning was hard to find and he should be tolerated, and Sun Quan treated him well. He was open and had stratagems, cared little for wealth, and respected men of worth; he fed and nurtured strong followers and they were glad to die for him. He killed Ling Cao when with Huang Zu, so Ling Tong hated him; at a party at Lü Meng’s, Ling Tong danced with a blade and Gan Ning with double halberds until Lü Meng parted them. He once quarrelled drunk with Sun Jiao; he said ministers were equal and Sun Jiao should not insult him; Sun Quan had Sun Jiao apologise and they became friends. He broke a promise to Lü Meng by killing the kitchen boy after taking him back, which angered Lü Meng until Lü Meng’s mother intervened.
Military achievements
Gan Ning shot Ling Cao to save Huang Zu; urged and took part in the defeat of Huang Zu; held Yiling under siege with calm; led the assault at Wan (second in merit); deterred Guan Yu from crossing at Yiyang; at Hefei helped restore the drums when Zhang Liao attacked; and led the hundred-ride night raid at Ruxu. Chen Shou ranked him among the “tiger ministers of the Jiangbiao.”
Relationships
He served Liu Biao and Huang Zu (saved Huang Zu by killing Ling Cao but was still not valued); Su Fei helped him leave and he later begged Sun Quan to spare Su Fei. Under Sun Quan he was recommended by Zhou Yu and Lü Meng; he worked with Lü Meng at Wan and with Lu Su at Yiyang. Lü Meng tolerated his breaches and reconciled with him after the kitchen-boy incident. Ling Tong hated him for killing Ling Cao; Sun Quan forbade Ling Tong to take revenge and later moved Gan Ning to Banzhou. Sun Jiao quarrelled with him until Sun Quan mediated.
Anecdotes and allusions
Brocade Sails
锦帆贼 (Jǐnfān Zéi)
In his youth Gan Ning led a band that used brocade for sails and wore bells; when people heard the bells they knew it was Gan Ning. He was called the “Brocade Sails bandit.”
Source: Wu shu (in SGZ)
Type: Historical
Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba
孟德有张辽，孤有兴霸 (Mèngdé yǒu Zhāng Liáo, gū yǒu Xīngbà)
After the hundred-ride raid at Ruxu, Sun Quan said: “Cao Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba—enough to match him.”
Source: Jiangbiao zhuan
Type: Historical
Guan Yu’s shoal
关羽濑 (Guān Yǔ Lài)
At Yiyang, Guan Yu planned to cross at night; when Gan Ning brought troops to oppose him, Guan Yu did not cross and camped on the bank. The spot was later called “Guan Yu’s shoal.”
Source: SGZ (Gan Ning zhuan)
Type: Historical
Achievements
- Military: Broke Huang Zu’s position; held Yiling; took Wan (siege commander); deterred Guan Yu at Yiyang; hundred-ride raid at Ruxu; helped at Hefei.
- Legacy: One of the Jiangbiao “tiger ministers”; saying “Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba”; Song cult title; Romance has him die at Yiling from Shamoke’s arrow.
Behind the scenes
Gan Ning appears in SGZ Wu 55 (with Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and other虎臣). Death year is disputed: Jiankang shilu gives winter 215; Pan Zhang “merged his army” after Guan Yu’s capture (219), so some place his death between 219 and the start of Yiling. The Romance moves his death to the Yiling campaign and has him die from an arrow by Shamoke under a tree, with crows about—historically he had already died (or died later of illness).
Historical evaluations
- Sun Quan: “Gan Xingba is rough and sometimes unsatisfactory, but in outline he is a true man”; “Cao Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba—enough to match him.”
- Lü Meng: “With the realm unsettled, a fighter like Gan Ning is hard to find; he should be tolerated.”
- Chen Shou: “Gan Ning was rough and fierce and fond of killing, but he was open and had stratagems, cared little for wealth, and respected men of worth; he could nurture strong followers and they would die for him… These generals were all tiger ministers of the Jiangbiao, and the Sun house treated them with great favour.”
Legacy
Gan Ning is remembered as the former outlaw who became a bold general, the man who dared the hundred-ride raid and whom Sun Quan paired with Zhang Liao. His “Brocade Sails” youth, his defence of Yiling, and his stand against Guan Yu at Yiyang are often cited. In Song he was enfeoffed as a spirit (Zhaoyi Wuhui Yiai Lingxian Wang) and worshipped; his temple crows were called “divine crows.”
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| ? | Born in Ba (or Nanyang sojourner in Ba); youth as “Brocade Sails” bandit; then study, clerk, Shu jun cheng |
| c. 194+ | Rebels with Shen Mi, Lou Fa (per Hero Records); goes to Liu Biao, then Huang Zu |
| c. 203–208 | Under Huang Zu at Xiakou; not valued; shoots Ling Cao when Sun Quan attacks; Su Fei helps him leave |
| 208 | Joins Sun Quan; urges attack on Huang Zu; Huang Zu defeated; begs Su Fei’s life; Chibi; Yiling besieged, relieved |
| 214 | Wan: siege commander, second merit; General Who Charges into Battle |
| 215 | Yiyang vs Guan Yu; “Guan Yu’s shoal”; Xiling Taishou; Hefei (drums); winter—death per Jiankang shilu (disputed) |
| 217 | Ruxu: hundred-ride night raid; “Cao has Zhang Liao, I have Xingba” |
| 219+? | Some sources place death after Guan Yu’s capture when Pan Zhang “merged his army” |