Here is the exhaustive biography of King Duosi (朵思大王, Đóa Tư Đại Vương) (? – 225, novel), also called Duosi Dawang, the fictional lord of Tulong Cave (秃龙洞 / 禿龍洞) and “Sage of the Nanman” in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He has no historical existence.
Contents
Historical Status
King Duosi does not appear in the Sanguozhi or other early chronicles. Like Jinhuan Sanjie, Dongtuna, Ahui Nan, King Mulu, and Wutugu, he is a pure invention of Luo Guanzhong’s novel, created to colour Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng)’s southern campaign of 225. Do not confuse him with Dailai Dongzhu (带来洞主, Đái Lai Động Chủ) — a different Nanman cave-lord title/character; Duosi’s Chinese name is 朵思, not 带来.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Ch. 89 — Four Poisonous Springs: After Meng Huo’s (孟获, Mạnh Hoạch) fourth capture and release, his brother Meng You (孟优, Mạnh Ưu) urges refuge with King Duosi of Tulong Cave, a close friend. Duosi boasts that the terrain will destroy any Shu army and describes four deadly springs (Mute / Extinction / Black / Soft) plus snakes, scorpions, and evening miasma on the northwest path. Confident, he and Meng Huo feast. Shu forces, guided by local knowledge (and counsel associated with the hermit Meng Jie (孟节, Mạnh Tiết)), pass the springs unharmed. That night the defected Nanman chief Yang Feng (Nanman) (杨锋, Dương Phong) seizes Meng Huo and Duosi while drunk; Zhuge Liang releases them.
Ch. 90 — Sanjiang City: Meng Huo orders Duosi to hold Sanjiang (三江) as a forward shield. Wei Yan (魏延, Ngụy Diên) and Zhao Yun (赵云, Triệu Vân) attack; Duosi’s men rain poisoned bolts that check the assault. Zhuge Liang has troops pile an earth ramp overnight; at a signal the walls are scaled. Sanjiang falls and King Duosi is killed in the melee (some tellings: crushed by war elephants). His death clears a major Nanman strongpoint before Meng Huo’s later submissions.
History vs novel: Entirely novelistic — no historical Tulong lord, springs, or Sanjiang death.
King Duosi (朵思大王, Đóa Tư Đại Vương) — Literary Timeline
225 AD — Refuge at Tulong Cave
Four Poisonous Springs (Ch.89)
Welcomes Meng Huo and Meng You. Relies on springs and miasma to stop Zhuge Liang. Shu passes unharmed; Yang Feng (Nanman) captures Duosi drunk; Zhuge Liang releases him.
225 AD — Fall of Sanjiang
Death in the melee (Ch.90)
Holds Sanjiang with poisoned crossbows until Zhuge Liang’s earth-ramp assault. Killed when the city falls. No historical counterpart.
Historical Note
King Duosi is pure fiction. No contemporary source mentions a Nanman “Sage” of Tulong Cave or the four poisonous springs. The novel uses him to prolong Zhuge Liang’s southern war with terrain horror, drunken capture, and a final death at Sanjiang — a colourful obstacle, not a recoverable historical chief.
For overview notes, see King Duosi on Wikipedia (stub; treat novel chapters as primary).
Key Relationships
Family
- No father, mother, spouse, or children are named in the novel (fictional Nanman lord). Kin unrecorded — do not invent.
Friends
- Meng You (孟优, Mạnh Ưu): Close friend who recommends Tulong Cave as refuge after Meng Huo’s fourth defeat (Ch.89).
- Meng Huo (孟获, Mạnh Hoạch): Nanman king hosted at Tulong; later orders Duosi to hold Sanjiang (Ch.89–90).
Enemies
- Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng): Directs the southern campaign that bypasses the springs and takes Sanjiang.
- Zhao Yun (赵云, Triệu Vân) and Wei Yan (魏延, Ngụy Diên): Lead the Sanjiang assault in which Duosi dies (Ch.90).
- Yang Feng (Nanman) (杨锋, Dương Phong): Defects to Shu and captures Meng Huo and Duosi while they are drunk (Ch.89). Not the Han-era Yang Feng (杨奉) of the capital wars — use the Nanman slug.
Other
- Meng Jie (孟节, Mạnh Tiết) (Wanan Yinshi): Hermit associated with antidote counsel that lets Shu neutralize the poisonous waters — helper of Zhuge Liang, not Duosi’s battlefield foe.
- Dailai Dongzhu (带来洞主, Đái Lai Động Chủ): Separate Nanman cave-lord. Do not merge with Duosi (朵思); CSV/wiki mix-ups sometimes swap these titles.
- Tulong Cave / Four Springs / Sanjiang: Novel geography of Duosi’s arc (Ch.89–90); keep distinct from later King Mulu / Wutugu episodes.
- History: No attested Nanman king Duosi — all bonds above are novel-only.
In Novel
Chapter 89
- King Duosi (朵思大王, Đóa Tư Đại Vương): Lord of Tulong Cave; hosts Meng Huo (孟获, Mạnh Hoạch) and Meng You (孟优, Mạnh Ưu); relies on four poisonous springs and miasma; captured drunk by Yang Feng (Nanman) (杨锋, Dương Phong) and released by Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng).
Chapter 90
In History
Summary
- King Duosi (朵思大王, Đóa Tư Đại Vương) is entirely fictional; absent from Sanguozhi and early Nanman notices.
Historical Record
- No SGZ / Hou Hanshu entry. Novel Ch.89–90 only. Distinguish from Dailai Dongzhu (带来洞主) — different name and role.
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