Qin and Han · Knight-errant

Guo Xie 郭解

Attested BC 180 - BC 121

Passages: 83
Chapters: 2
Histories: 2

Overview

The translated histories identify Guo Xie as a named individual. This record brings together 83 passages from 2 chapters across 2 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Guo Xie	郭解	Guo Xie
Surname	Guo	郭	Guo
Personal name	Guo Jie	郭解	Guō Jiě
Personal name	Jie	解	Jiě
Courtesy	Wengbo	翁伯	Wengbo
Courtesy name	Wengbo	翁伯	Wēngbó
Given	Xie	解	Xie

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0052
Sex: male
Strongly inferred · shiji:124:s0051

Roles

Named Individual

Life and dates

Death

Manner: clan-extermination · Label: entire clan of Guo Jie Wengbo exterminated / 族郭解翁伯
Explicit · shiji:124:s0119
Text: clan exterminated / 遂族解
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0110

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 徙豪富茂陵也 · Western Year: BC 127
Explicit · shiji:124:s0092
Source Date: Text: 御史大夫公孫弘議曰 · Western Interval: Start: BC 124 · End: BC 121
Explicit · shiji:124:s0117, shiji:124:s0119
Source Date: Text: 解父以任俠，孝文時誅死 · Western Interval: Start: BC 180 · End: BC 157
Explicit · shiji:124:s0052

Family

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

Descendant of Xu Fu (許負)
Kinship Term: maternal grandson / 外孫 · Line: maternal · Generation Distance: 2
Kin of Sister's son of Guo Jie (郭解姊子)
Kinship Term: maternal uncle / 舅 · Subject Role: maternal-uncle · Object Role: sister's-son · Intermediary Person Ids: Sister of Guo Jie (郭解姊)
Kin of Brother's son of Guo Jie (郭解兄子)
Kinship Term: paternal uncle / 伯叔 · Subject Role: paternal-uncle · Object Role: brother's-son · Intermediary Person Ids: Brother of Guo Jie (郭解兄)
Sibling of Sister of Guo Jie (郭解姊)
Kinship Term: brother / 兄 · Shared Parentage: full
Kinship Term: sister / 姊 · Shared Parentage: full
Sibling of Brother of Guo Jie (郭解兄)
Kinship Term: brother / 兄 · Shared Parentage: full
Kinship Term: brother / 兄 · Shared Parentage: full
Child of Father of Guo Jie (郭解父)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: father
Kinship Term: father / 父 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son
Child of Mother of Guo Jie (郭解母)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: mother · Line: maternal
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: mother · Object Role: son

Career and standing

Status: execution · Action: clan-exterminated · Authority Person Id: Gongsun Hong (公孫弘)
Explicit · shiji:124:s0117, shiji:124:s0118, shiji:124:s0119
Status: arrest · Action: ordered-arrest · Authority Person Id: Che (徹)
Explicit · shiji:124:s0104

Places and affiliations

Place: Zhi in Henei / 河內軹
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0052
Place: Zhi / 軹
Explicit · shiji:124:s0051
Place: Guanzhong / 關中 · Relation: entered
Explicit · shiji:124:s0100
Place: Linjin / 臨晉 · Relation: fled-to
Explicit · shiji:124:s0105
Place: Maoling / 茂陵 · Relation: relocated-to
Explicit · shiji:124:s0092, shiji:124:s0095
Place: Taiyuan / 太原 · Relation: fled-to
Explicit · shiji:124:s0107
Place: Xiayang / 夏陽 · Relation: family-placed-during-flight
Explicit · shiji:124:s0105

Works and attributed material

Kind: speech · Role: speaker
Explicit · shiji:124:s0068, shiji:124:s0074, shiji:124:s0083, shiji:124:s0084, shiji:124:s0085

Events and relationships

Kind: mediation · Role: mediator · Action: mediated Luoyang feud then deferred to local worthies
Explicit · shiji:124:s0081, shiji:124:s0082, shiji:124:s0083, shiji:124:s0084, shiji:124:s0085
Kind: legal · Role: judge · Action: released nephew's killer and buried nephew
Explicit · shiji:124:s0066, shiji:124:s0067, shiji:124:s0068, shiji:124:s0069
Kind: political · Role: subject · Action: relocated to Maoling despite poverty
Explicit · shiji:124:s0092, shiji:124:s0093, shiji:124:s0094, shiji:124:s0095
Type: maternal-grandson-of · Person Id: Xu Fu (許負)
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0052

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: private honor and modesty praiseworthy though clashed with laws · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)
Explicit · shiji:124:s0027, shiji:124:s0030
Kind: physical-description · Statement: short and slight; tough; did not drink
Explicit · shiji:124:s0053, shiji:124:s0101

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Book of Han, Chapter 104Volume 92: Youxias · 42 passages

外戚大臣魏其、武安之屬競逐於京師，布衣遊俠劇孟、郭解之徒馳騖於閭閻，權行州域，力折公侯。 Inside Chang'an the Dou and Tian factions jostled for power, while in the alleys bare-chested swordsmen like Ju Meng and Guo Xie built reputations that cowed nobles and bent whole commanderies.

況於郭解之倫，以匹夫之細，竊殺生之權，其罪已不容於誅矣。 How much less pardonable are commoners like Guo Xie who arrogate the power of life and death—no punishment could be enough.

郭解，河內軹人也，溫善相人許負外孫也。 Guo Xie of Zhi in Henei was the maternal grandson of Xu Fu, the famous face-reader from Wen.

解父任俠，孝文時誅死。 His father had lived by the sword and died on the execution ground under Emperor Wen.

解為人靜悍，不飲酒。 Guo Xie was soft-spoken and deadly sober.

及解年長，更折節為儉，以德報怨，厚施而薄望。 In middle age he curbed his temper, paid good for evil, gave liberally, and asked nothing back.

解姊子負解之勢，與人飲，使之釂，非其任，強灌之。 Guo Xie's nephew traded on his name, forced a drinking partner to empty his cup, and when the man faltered, held him down and poured liquor down his throat.

解姊怒曰：「以翁伯時人殺吾子，賊不得！」 Guo Xie's sister raged, "When you still answered to the name Wengbo, no killer of my boy would have lived an hour!"

棄其屍道旁，弗葬，欲以辱解。 His sister left the body in the ditch unburied to shame her brother into action.

解使人微知賊處。 Guo Xie quietly traced the killer's hideout.

賊窘自歸，具以實告解。 Cornered, the man gave himself up and confessed everything to Guo Xie.

解曰：「公殺之當，吾兒不直。」 Guo Xie said, "You were right to kill him; my nephew was in the wrong."

諸公聞之，皆多解之義，益附焉。 The local notables praised his fairness and clung to him tighter than ever.

解出，人皆避，有一人獨箕踞視之。 When Guo Xie walked abroad, crowds parted—except one lounger who sat sprawled and stared him down.

解問其姓名，客欲殺之。 Guo Xie asked his name; his followers drew steel.

解曰：「居邑屋不見敬，是吾德不修也，彼何罪！」 Guo Xie stopped them: "If folk in my own town do not respect me, the fault is mine—what has he done!"

怪之，問其故，解使脫之。 Puzzled, he pressed for an answer and learned Guo Xie had bought him free.

少年聞之，愈益慕解之行。 The young blades heard the story and idolized him more than ever.

客乃見解。 Finally they sent for Guo Xie.

解夜見仇家，仇家曲聽。 Guo Xie called by night, and even the bitterest foe bent his ear.

解謂仇家：「吾聞洛陽諸公在間，多不聽。 He told them, "Your Luoyang elders have pleaded with you for months and you ignored them.

今子幸而聽解，解奈何從它縣奪人邑賢大夫權乎！」 Now you honor me by yielding—how could I steal the credit that belongs to your own town worthies!"

解為人短小，恭儉，出未嘗有騎，不敢乘車入其縣庭。 Guo Xie was a slight, humble man who walked everywhere and would not drive a cart onto the magistrate's yard.

邑中少年及旁近縣豪夜半過門，常十餘車，請得解客舍養之。 Local youths and county bravos would roll up in a dozen carts after midnight, begging to put his guests up at their expense.

及徙豪茂陵也，解貧，不中訾。 When the court ordered rich families moved to Maoling, Guo Xie was too poor on paper to qualify.

衛將軍為言：「郭解家貧，不中徙。」 General Wei Qing pleaded, "Guo Xie is too poor to be on the removal list."

上曰：「解布衣，權至使將軍，此其家不貧！」 The emperor snapped, "A commoner who can move my general is not poor!"

解徙，諸公送者出千餘萬。 When he was forced west, well-wishers showered him with more than ten million cash in parting gifts.

軹人楊季主子為縣掾，隔之，解兄子斷楊掾頭。 Yang Jizhu's son, a county clerk, blocked the convoy, so Guo Xie's nephew took the man's head.

解入關，關中賢豪知與不知，聞聲爭交歡。 Once inside the pass every Guanzhong notable, stranger or friend, rushed to win his smile at the mere mention of his name.

上聞，乃下吏捕解。 The emperor heard and ordered Guo Xie's arrest.

解亡，置其母家室夏陽，身至臨晉。 Guo Xie ran, stashed his mother and kin in Xiayang, and slipped on alone to Linjin.

臨晉籍少翁素不知解，因出關。 Ji Shao'weng of Linjin, a stranger to Guo Xie, smuggled him through the barrier.

籍少翁已出解，解傳太原，所過輒告主人處。 Once Ji Shao'weng had passed him through the barrier, Guo Xie sent word ahead through Taiyuan, telling every host where he would lodge.

久之得解，窮治所犯為，而解所殺，皆在赦前。 Eventually they took Guo Xie and combed his record—yet every homicide dated to before a general amnesty.

軹有儒生侍使者坐，客譽郭解，生曰：「解專以奸犯公法，何謂賢？」 At Zhi a pedant sitting with the imperial envoy heard a guest praise Guo Xie and snapped, "Guo Xie lives by breaking the law—what is worthy about that?"

解客聞之，殺此生，斷舌。 One of Guo Xie's followers cut him down and took his tongue.

吏以責解，解實不知殺者，殺者亦竟莫知為誰。 Magistrates blamed Guo Xie, who swore he knew nothing, and no informer ever named the blade.

吏奏解無罪。 The local report cleared him.

御史大夫公孫弘議曰：「解布衣為任俠行權，以睚眥殺人，解不知，此罪甚於解知殺之。 Imperial Counselor Gongsun Hong argued, "A commoner who wields a lord's power so that men kill over a dirty look—even if he never gave the order—has committed a worse crime than murder itself.

遂族解。 The court wiped out his whole lineage.

涉性略似郭解，外溫仁謙遜，而內隱好殺。 Like Guo Xie he smiled in public and nursed killers within.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 124Biographies of Knight-errants · 41 passages

以余所聞，漢興有朱家、田仲、王公、劇孟、郭解之徒，雖時捍當世之文罔，然其私義廉絜退讓，有足稱者。 From what I have heard, since the founding of the Han there have been men like Zhu Jia, Tian Zhong, Wang Gong, Ju Meng, and Guo Jie. Though they sometimes clashed with the laws of their day, their personal honor, integrity, and modesty were deserving of the highest praise.

余悲世俗不察其意，而猥以朱家、郭解等令與暴豪之徒同類而共笑之也。 It grieves me that the world fails to understand their true motives and carelessly lumps men like Zhu Jia and Guo Jie together with violent strongmen, deriding them all as one.

郭解，軹人也，字翁伯，善相人者許負外孫也。 Guo Jie was a native of Zhi, with the courtesy name Wengbo. He was the maternal grandson of the famous physiognomist Xu Fu.

解為人短小精悍，不飲酒。 Guo Jie was short and slight in build, but tough and sharp, and he did not drink.

及解年長，更折節為儉，以德報怨，厚施而薄望。 As Guo Jie grew older, he reformed himself and became frugal. He repaid grudges with kindness, gave generously, and expected little in return.

解姊怒曰：「以翁伯之義，人殺吾子，賊不得。」 Guo Jie's sister was furious and cried: "With all of Wengbo's vaunted sense of justice, someone has killed my son, yet the murderer has not been caught!"

棄其尸於道，弗葬，欲以辱解。 She left her son's corpse lying in the road and refused to bury him, hoping to shame Guo Jie into action.

解使人微知賊處。 Guo Jie sent agents to quietly discover the killer's whereabouts.

賊窘自歸，具以實告解。 The killer, finding himself cornered, came and surrendered to Guo Jie of his own accord, telling him the whole truth.

解曰：「公殺之固當，吾兒不直。」 Guo Jie said: "You were right to kill him. My nephew was in the wrong."

諸公聞之，皆多解之義，益附焉。 When people heard this story, they all praised Guo Jie's sense of justice, and even more men rallied to his side.

解出入，人皆避之。 Whenever Guo Jie passed through the streets, everyone made way for him.

有一人獨箕倨視之，解遣人問其名姓。 One man alone sat sprawled with his legs outstretched and stared at him. Guo Jie sent someone to ask the man's name.

解曰：「居邑屋至不見敬，是吾德不修也，彼何罪！」 Guo Jie said: "When I live in my own town and go about yet am shown no respect, it is because my own virtue is lacking. What crime has the man committed?"

怪之，問其故，乃解使脫之。 The man found this puzzling and asked why, only to discover that Guo Jie had arranged his exemption.

箕踞者乃肉袒謝罪。 The man who had sat sprawling came to Guo Jie, bared his shoulders, and begged forgiveness.

少年聞之，愈益慕解之行。 When the young men heard this story, their admiration for Guo Jie's conduct only grew.

客乃見郭解。 At last someone went to Guo Jie for help.

解夜見仇家，仇家曲聽解。 Guo Jie visited the feuding party by night, and the man yielded and agreed to accept his mediation.

解乃謂仇家曰：「吾聞雒陽諸公在此閒，多不聽者。 Guo Jie then said to the man: "I hear that many of the Luoyang worthies have tried to settle this dispute, and you have refused them all.

解執恭敬，不敢乘車入其縣廷。 Guo Jie was scrupulously respectful and never presumed to ride in a carriage when visiting the county offices.

及徙豪富茂陵也，解家貧，不中訾，吏恐，不敢不徙。 When the government ordered the relocation of wealthy and powerful families to Maoling, Guo Jie's family was too poor to meet the property threshold, but the officials were afraid of him and did not dare leave him behind.

衛將軍為言：「郭解家貧不中徙。」 General Wei Qing spoke to the emperor on his behalf, saying: "The Guo Jie household is poor and does not qualify for relocation."

解家遂徙。 And so the Guo Jie household was relocated after all.

軹人楊季主子為縣掾，舉徙解。 It was the son of Yang Jizhu, a fellow native of Zhi who served as a county clerk, who had nominated Guo Jie for the relocation.

解入關，關中賢豪知與不知，聞其聲，爭交驩解。 When Guo Jie arrived in the Guanzhong region, the local worthies and strongmen — whether they knew him personally or not — had all heard his name and competed to befriend him.

解為人短小，不飲酒，出未嘗有騎。 Guo Jie was short in stature and did not drink. When he went out, he never rode with a mounted escort.

上聞，乃下吏捕解。 When the emperor heard of this, he ordered the authorities to arrest Guo Jie.

解亡，置其母家室夏陽，身至臨晉。 Guo Jie fled, settling his mother and household at Xiayang while he himself made for Linjin.

臨晉籍少公素不知解，解冒，因求出關。 Ji Shaogong of Linjin had never met Guo Jie. Guo Jie approached him under a false name and through him arranged to slip past the border checkpoint.

籍少公已出解，解轉入太原，所過輒告主人家。 After Ji Shaogong had helped him through the checkpoint, Guo Jie traveled on into Taiyuan, revealing his identity to his hosts at each stop along the way.

久之，乃得解。 After a long search, Guo Jie was finally captured.

窮治所犯，為解所殺，皆在赦前。 When the authorities exhaustively investigated his crimes, they found that all the killings attributed to Guo Jie had occurred before the most recent amnesty.

軹有儒生侍使者坐，客譽郭解，生曰：「郭解專以姦犯公法，何謂賢！」 In Zhi, a Confucian scholar was seated in the company of the imperial envoy. When a guest began praising Guo Jie, the scholar spoke up: "Guo Jie does nothing but use wickedness to break the law — what is worthy about that!"

解客聞，殺此生，斷其舌。 When Guo Jie's followers heard what the scholar had said, they killed him and cut out his tongue.

吏以此責解，解實不知殺者。 The authorities charged Guo Jie with the crime, but in truth he did not know who had done the killing.

吏奏解無罪。 The officials submitted their finding that Guo Jie was not guilty.

御史大夫公孫弘議曰：「解布衣為任俠行權，以睚眥殺人，解雖弗知，此罪甚於解殺之。 The Imperial Counselor Gongsun Hong argued: "Guo Jie is a commoner who practices knight-errantry and wields unauthorized power. Men are killed over the slightest grudge on his account. Even if he did not know of it, this crime is greater than if he had killed them with his own hand.

遂族郭解翁伯。 And so the entire clan of Guo Jie was exterminated.

太史公曰：吾視郭解，狀貌不及中人，言語不足採者。 The Grand Historian remarks: I have looked upon Guo Jie myself. In appearance, he was less than ordinary, and in speech there was nothing remarkable about him.

然天下無賢與不肖，知與不知，皆慕其聲，言俠者皆引以為名。 Yet throughout the empire, whether worthy or base, whether they had met him or not, all people admired his name, and whenever anyone spoke of knight-errantry, they invoked Guo Jie as the standard.