Ji Kang
As the Duke of Zhou was later "revered as paragon of wisdom and humility" and respected as "great example" by Confucius, the revolt against his regency was consequently vilified. The Three Guards were considered as "evil men of old", over whom Duke Dan's virtue had triumphed. This interpretation dominated moralistic renditions of the civil war for centuries. Despite the generally negative view towards the rebels, there have been scholars who attempted a reassessment of the Three Guards. Ji Kang, a famous author of the Three Kingdoms period, wrote an essay about Guanshu and Caishu, in which he argued that the rebellious brothers had "sincere reasons to doubt the wisdom" of Duke Dan's regency. As Cao loyalist he linked the Rebellion of the Three Guards with the Three Rebellions in Shouchun, regarding the rebels as dutiful men fighting against usurping regents (the Duke of Zhou and Sima Yi, respectively).