Wú Càn appellation Kǒngxiū was a Wú-jùn Wūchéng man. (1)

吾粲字孔休，吳郡烏程人也。〔一〕

• Wúlù states: Càn was born and a few years old. An old woman in the city saw him, and said to his mother: “This child has the bones of a high-ranking official.”

〔一〕　吳錄曰：粲生數歲，孤城嫗見之，謂其母曰：「是兒有卿相之骨。」

When Sūn Hé was county Chief, Càn was his Assistant Clerk, and Hé was very impressed with him. When Hé later became a General and could select his own Chief Clerk, he recommended Càn as Deputy of Qū’ā, who later transferred as Chief Clerk, and had famous reputation for his government. Though he began fatherless and from humble origins, his fame was comparable to men of his same prefecture Lù Xùn, Bǔ Jìng, and others. When Sūn Quán became General of Chariots and Cavalry, he was summoned to serve as Registrar, transferred out to Magistrate of Shānyīn, and returned as Colonel Advising the Army.

孫河為縣長，粲為小吏，河深奇之。河後為將軍，得自選長吏，表粲為曲阿丞，遷為長史，治有名跡。雖起孤微，與同郡陸遜、卜靜等比肩齊聲矣。孫權為車騎將軍，召為主簿，出為山陰令，還為參軍校尉。

Huángwǔ first year [222], he with Lǚ Fàn, Hè Qí, and others together led ships to resist Wèi General Cáo Xiū at Dòngkǒu.

黃武元年，與呂範、賀齊等俱以舟師拒魏將曹休於洞口。

It happened that there was a great gale. The ship’s ropes and harnesses all snapped, and the ships floated and crashed on the shore, and were all captured by the Wèi army or else capsized and sunk. The surviving men in the water all grabbed hold on the remaining intact large ships and shouted. The officials and soldiers aboard were afraid the ships would capsize, and so grabbed spears and lances to strike at them and would not accept them.

值天大風，諸船綆紲斷絕，漂沒著岸，為魏軍所獲，或覆沒沈溺，其大船尚存者，水中生人皆攀緣號呼，他吏士恐船傾沒，皆以戈矛撞擊不受。

Càn and Huáng Yuān alone ordered the men on the ships to help raise up and rescue them. His attendants thought the ship would be weighed down and suffer disaster. Càn said: “If the ship suffers disaster, then we will all die together and that is all! If men are in trouble, how can we abandon them?” Càn and Yuān saved the lives of over a hundred men.

粲與黃淵獨令船人以承取之，左右以為船重必敗，粲曰：「船敗，當俱死耳！人窮，奈何棄之。」粲、淵所活者百餘人。

He returned and was appointed Administrator of Kuàijī, and summoned the local scholar Xiè Tán to serve as his merit officer. Tán plead illness and would not accept. Càn told him: “You are remarkable that dragons bend to you and noble that phoenixes call in praise of you. Why hide away in obscurity and be as secretive as a deep abyss?”

還，遷會稽太守，召處士謝譚為功曹，譚以疾不詣，粲教曰：「夫應龍以屈伸為神，鳳皇以嘉鳴為貴，何必隱形於天外，潛鱗於重淵者哉？」

Càn raised and gathered many men, was appointed Internal Gentleman-General Manifesting Justice, and with Lǚ Dài attacked and pacified the mountain peoples. He joined the Court as Colonel of Garrisoned Riders, Minister Treasurer, and was transferred to Grand Tutor to the Heir-Apparent.

粲募合人眾，拜昭義中郎將，與呂岱討平山越，入為屯騎校尉、少府，遷太子太傅。

During the Heir-Apparent Factional Strife, he firmly argued for establishing standards, clearly distinguishing between the principal son and other sons, and requested that the King of Lǔ [Sūn] Bà be sent out to station at Xiàkǒu, and that Yáng Zhú [of Bà’s faction] not govern the capital area. He also often sent news to Lù Xùn. Xùn was at the time stationed at Wǔchāng, and often sent memorials of criticism. Because of this [Wú Càn] was slandered by Bà and Zhú and others, and was arrested and put to death.

遭二宮之變，抗言執正，明嫡庶之分，欲使魯王霸出駐夏口，遣楊竺不得令在都邑。又數以消息語陸遜，遜時駐武昌，連表諫爭。由此為霸、竺等所譖害，下獄誅。