Ancient China · Statesman

Guan Zhong 管仲

Attested BC 720 - BC 643

Passages
60
Chapters
30
Histories
10

Overview

The translated histories identify Guan Zhong as a merchant, named individual, official, and statesman. This record brings together 60 passages from 30 chapters across 10 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

TypeEnglishChinesePinyin
Personal Guan Zhong 管仲 Guan Zhong
Surname Guan 管 Guan
Personal name Guan 管
Personal name Guan 管 Guan
Clan Guan clan 管氏 Guan shi
Alternate Guan Yiwu 管夷吾 Guǎn Yíwú
Personal name Guan Yiwu 管夷吾 Guan Yiwu
Personal Guan Yiwu 管夷吾 Guan Yiwu
Personal name Guan Zhong 管仲 Guǎn Zhòng
Personal Guan Zhong 管子 Guanzi
Personal Guan Zhong 管 Guan Zhong
Personal name Guan Zhong 管仲
Personal name Guan Zhong 管
Personal name Guan Zhong 夷吾 Yiwu
Alternate name Guan Zhong
Personal name Guan Zhong 管仲 Guan Zhong
Personal Guan Zhong 管仲 Guǎn Zhòng
Courtesy name Guan Zhong 管子 Guan Zi
Alternate name Guan Zhong 管 Guan Zhong
Personal Guan Zhong 管仲
Personal Guan Zhong 管夷吾 Guǎn Zhòng / Guǎn Yíwú
Personal Guan Zhong 管 Guǎn Zhòng
Alternate Guanzi 管氏 Guan shi
Alternate Guanzi 管子 Guanzi
Title Lord Chancellor 相君
Epithet Wei Guan 微管
Alternate name Wei Guan 微管
Given Yi Wu 夷吾 Yíwú
Courtesy name Yiwu 夷吾
Courtesy Yiwu 夷吾 Yiwu
Given Yiwu 夷吾 Yiwu
Courtesy name 夷吾 Yiwu

Identity

Historicity
Historical
Identification
Named
Sex
Male

Roles

  • Merchant
  • Named Individual
  • Official
  • Statesman
  • Strategist

Life and dates

Death

Attested activity

  • Source Date: Text: BC 685-645 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Strongly inferred · houhanshu:032:s0116
  • Source Date: Text: 元嘉三年後庭誥引述 · Western Interval: Start: AD 426 · End: AD 433
    Explicit event contextual date · songshu:073:s0041, songshu:073:s0062, songshu:073:s0124
  • Source Date: Text: 其四事曰…管仲霸齊之由 · Western Interval: Start: AD 542 · End: AD 547
    Explicit event contextual date · liangshu:038:s0190, liangshu:038:s0193
  • Source Date: Text: 周衰…管仲之家 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Strongly inferred · shiji:023:s0014
  • Source Date: Text: 大統十年 · Western Year: AD 544
    Explicit event contextual date · zhoushu:023:s0042, zhoushu:023:s0169
  • Source Date: Text: 夷吾桎梏 · Western Interval: Start: BC 700 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:124:s0009
  • Source Date: Text: 小白立為桓公 · Western Year: BC 685
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:062:s0005
  • Source Date: Text: 建武三十年二月 · Western Year: AD 54
    Explicit · houhanshu:108:s0095
  • Source Date: Text: 御史大夫 · Western Year: BC 126
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:068:s0094, hanshu:068:s0105
  • Source Date: Text: 微管 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · songshu:003:s0040
  • Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645 · Source Date: Text: 惠王怪之，以讓客曰：「子之稱淳于先生，管、晏不及，及見寡人，寡人未有得也。
    Strongly inferred · shiji:074:s0052
  • Source Date: Text: 春秋 · Western Year: BC 645
    Explicit · nanqishu:047:s0026
  • Source Date: Text: 春秋齊管仲 · Western Year: BC 650
    Strongly inferred · zhoushu:023:s0406
  • Source Date: Text: 楊、墨、釋、老 · Western Interval: Start: BC 720 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · mingshi:298:s0095
  • Source Date: Text: 管仲 · Western Interval: Start: BC 680 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · jinshu:108:s0153
  • Source Date: Text: 管仲 · Western Interval: Start: BC 720 · End: BC 645
    Explicit · beiqishu:025:s0182
  • Source Date: Text: 管仲 · Western Interval: Start: BC 720 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:037:s0147
  • Source Date: Text: 管仲卒 · Western Year: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:062:s0033
  • Source Date: Text: 管仲既任政相齊 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:062:s0018
  • Source Date: Text: 管夷吾相桓公 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Explicit · shiji:083:s0125, shiji:083:s0131
  • Source Date: Text: 談者皆擬於阿衡 · Western Year: BC 700
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:099:s0067
  • Source Date: Text: 齊桓公之世 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 643
    Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:031:s0143
  • Source Date: Text: 齊桓公任用管仲 · Western Year: BC 650
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:025:s0042
  • Source Date: Text: 齊桓公時 · Western Interval: Start: BC 685 · End: BC 645
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:022:s0017

Family

Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.

  • Ancestor of Yin Xiu (陰修)
    Kinship Term: ancestor / 七世孫之祖
    Kinship Term: seventh-generation descendant / 七世孫 · Generation Distance: 7
  • Child of Mother of Guan Zhong (管仲之母)
    Kinship Term: aged mother / 老母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: mother
  • Ancestor of Yin Shi (陰識)
    Kinship Term: ancestor / 先

Career and standing

Places and affiliations

Works and attributed material

Events and relationships

Assessments and attributes

  • Assessment: ability to turn calamity into fortune · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
    Explicit · shiji:062:s0025
  • Assessment: compared as inferior to Chunyu Kun in guest's praise · Provenance: Mode: quotation · Speaker Person Id: King Hui of Liang (梁惠王)
    Explicit · shiji:074:s0052
  • Assessment: extravagant ritual overstep (three gui) · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)
    Explicit · shiji:023:s0014
  • Assessment: treated as small / belittled · Provenance: Mode: named-person-judgment · Source Person Id: Confucius (孔子)
    Explicit · shiji:062:s0067
  • Assessment: worthy minister · Provenance: Mode: named-source-report
    Explicit · shiji:062:s0067
  • Kind: wealth · Statement: wealth equaled the ducal house
    Explicit · shiji:062:s0032
  • Item: three wives' quarters and return stands / 三歸、反坫 · Relation: possessed
    Explicit · shiji:062:s0032

References in the histories

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Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 25Volume 25 Biographies 17: Zhang Zuan; Zhang Liang; Zhang Yao; Zhang Qi; Xu Yuan; Wang Jun; Wang Hong · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 20Table of Ancient and Modern Persons · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 22Volume 20: Prominent People from the Past Until the Present · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 25Volume 23: Treatise on Punishment and Law · 2 passages
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Book of Han, Chapter 27Volume 24b: Treatise on Trade 2 · 2 passages
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Book of Han, Chapter 58Volume 49: Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo · 1 passage
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平陽侯臣窋、汝陰侯臣灶、潁陰侯臣何、廷尉臣宜昌、隴西太守臣昆邪所選賢良太子家令臣錯昧死再拜言：臣竊聞古之賢主莫不求賢以為輔翼，故黃帝得力牧而為五帝先，大禹得咎繇而為三王祖，齊桓得管子而為五伯長。 The men who recommended me as Worthy and Good were your servants the Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Zhu; the Marquis of Ruyin, Xiahou Zao; the Marquis of Yingyin, Guan He; the Commandant of Justice, Yichang; and the Administrator of Longxi, Kunxie. Your servant Chao Cuo bows twice and, risking death, states: I have heard that every worthy ruler of antiquity sought worthy men as his wings and helpers. Thus the Yellow Emperor obtained Limu and became foremost of the Five Thearchs; Great Yu obtained Gao Yao and became progenitor of the Three Kings; and Duke Huan of Qi obtained Guan Zhong and became leader of the Five Hegemons.
Book of Han, Chapter 65Volume 56: Dong Zhongshu · 3 passages
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Book of Han, Chapter 68Volume 58: Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 76Volume 65: Dongfang Shuo · 1 passage
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譬若以周、邵為丞相，孔丘為御史大夫，太公為將軍，畢公高拾遺於後，弁嚴子為衛尉，皋陶為大理，後稷為司農，伊尹為少府，子贛使外國，顏、閔為博士，子夏為太常，益為右扶風，季路為執金吾，契為鴻臚，龍逢為宗正，伯夷為京兆，管仲為馮翊，魯般為將作，仲山甫為光祿，申伯為太僕，延陵季子為水衡，百里奚為典屬國，柳下惠為大長秋，史魚為司直，蘧伯玉為太傅，孔父為詹事，孫叔敖為諸侯相，子產為郡守，王慶忌為期門，夏育為鼎官，羿為旄頭，宋萬為式道候。」 Imagine the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao as your chancellors; Confucius as chief censor; the Grand Duke as commander; Duke Bi Gao as court remonstrant; Bian Zhuangzi as captain of the guard; Gao Yao as chief judge; Hou Ji as minister of agriculture; Yi Yin as palace treasurer; Zigong as foreign envoy; Yan Hui and Min Ziqian as court scholars; Zixia as master of rites; Yi as western capital intendant; Zilu as capital commandant; Xie as master of guest ceremonies; Guan Longpeng as keeper of the imperial genealogy; the minister Boyi as metropolitan governor; Guan Zhong as northern capital intendant; Lu Ban as chief engineer; Zhong Shanfu as palace chamberlain; the Earl of Shen as master of the horse; Prince Jizi of Yanling as keeper of parks and waters; Baili Xi as commissioner for dependent peoples; Liuxia Hui as chamberlain to the empress; Shi Yu as censor of conduct; Qu Boyu as grand tutor; Kong Fu as supervisor of the heir apparent's household; Sunshu Ao as chancellor to the feudal lords; Zichan as commandery governor; Prince Qingji as a palace gate guard; Xia Yu as cauldron officer; Yi the Archer as vanguard officer; and Song Wan as road-clearing scout."
Book of Han, Chapter 89Volume 78: Xiao Wangzhi · 2 passages
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Book of Han, Chapter 96Volume 85: Gu Yong and Du Ye · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 99Volume 87b: Yang Xiong 2 · 1 passage
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天下之士，雷動雲合，魚鱗雜襲，鹹營於八區，家家自以為稷、契，人人自以為咎繇，戴縰垂纓而談者皆擬於阿衡，五尺童子羞比晏嬰與夷吾，當塗者入青雲，失路者委溝渠，旦握權則為卿相，夕失勢則為匹夫； Scholars swarm like thunderheads—layer on layer they crowd the eight circuits, every house fancying itself the line of Ji and Xie, every man a second Gao Yao; anyone in cap and ribbons plays at being Yi Yin, and boys barely five feet tall scorn to mention Yan Ying or Guan Zhong. Catch favor and you ride the clouds; miss your footing and you lie in the gutter—minister at dawn, nobody at dusk.
Book of Han, Chapter 117Volume 100a: Afterword and Family History 1 · 1 passage
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Book of Later Han, Chapter 31Volume 28a: Biographies of Huan Tan; Feng Yan · 1 passage
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Book of Later Han, Chapter 32Volume 28b: Biography of Feng Yan · 1 passage
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Book of Later Han, Chapter 37Volume 32: Biographies of Fan Hong; Yin Shi · 2 passages
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Book of Later Han, Chapter 108Volume 97: Rituals and Worship Part One · 1 passage
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Book of Jin, Chapter 108Volume 108 Records 8: Murong Hui · 1 passage
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Book of Liang, Chapter 38Volume 38: Zhu Yi; He Chen · 1 passage
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History of Ming, Chapter 298Volume 298 Biographies 186: Recluses · 1 passage
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Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 47Volume 47 Biographies 28: Wang Rong, Xie Tiao · 1 passage
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Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 23Treatise on Ritual · 1 passage
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Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 62Biographies of Guan and Yan · 19 passages
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Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 74Biographies of Mengzi and Xun Qing · 1 passage
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Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 83Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Zou Yang · 5 passages
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笔管子不恥身在縲紲之中而恥天下之不治，不恥不死公子糾而恥威之不信於諸侯，故兼三行之過而為五霸首，名高天下而光燭鄰國。 But Guan Zhong felt no shame at being in chains—his shame was that the realm was not in order. He felt no shame at failing to die for Prince Jiu—his shame was that his lord's authority was not trusted by the feudal lords. And so, despite bearing the blame of all three transgressions, he rose to become foremost among the Five Hegemons, his name towering over the realm and his glory illuminating the neighboring states.
今夫天下布衣窮居之士，身在貧賤，雖蒙堯、舜之術，挾伊、管之辯，懷龍逢、比干之意，欲盡忠當世之君，而素無根柢之容，雖竭精思，欲開忠信，輔人主之治，則人主必有按劍相眄之跡，是使布衣不得為枯木朽株之資也。 Now consider the scholars of the realm who dwell in poverty and low estate. Though they may possess the arts of Yao and Shun, wield the eloquence of Yi Yin and Guan Zhong, and harbor the devotion of Long Pang and Bi Gan, wishing to devote their utmost loyalty to the ruler of their age—yet lacking anyone to introduce them or vouch for their worth—no matter how they exhaust their minds and seek to offer their faithfulness, the ruler will inevitably greet them with a hand on his sword and a suspicious glare. This is what prevents men of humble birth from gaining even the advantage of the gnarled log and the rotten stump.
Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 124Biographies of Knight-errants · 1 passage
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太史公曰：昔者虞舜窘於井廩，伊尹負於鼎俎，傅說匿於傅險，呂尚困於棘津，夷吾桎梏，百里飯牛，仲尼畏匡，菜色陳、蔡。 The Grand Historian remarks: In the old days, Emperor Shun was nearly killed in a well and a granary. Yi Yin labored among the pots and cutting boards. Fu Yue hid himself at the cliffs of Fu. Lu Shang was reduced to desperate straits at Jijin. Guan Zhong wore fetters. Baili Xi fed cattle for a living. Confucius was besieged at Kuang and went hungry until his face turned sallow between Chen and Cai.
Book of Song, Chapter 3Volume 3 Annals 3: Emperor Wu 3 · 1 passage
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Book of Song, Chapter 69Volume 69 Biographies 29: Liu Zhan, Fan Ye · 1 passage
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Book of Song, Chapter 73Volume 73 Biographies 33: Yan Yanzhi · 1 passage
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Book of Zhou, Chapter 23Volume 23 Biographies 15: Su Chuo · 3 passages
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