Qin and Han · Named Individual

Ju Meng 劇孟

Attested BC 157 - BC 141

Passages: 29
Chapters: 7
Histories: 3

Overview

The translated histories identify Ju Meng as a named individual. This record brings together 29 passages from 7 chapters across 3 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Ju Meng	劇孟	Ju Meng
Surname	Ju	劇	Ju
Personal	Ju Meng	劇孟	Jù Mèng
Personal name	Ju Meng	劇孟	Jù Mèng
Personal	Ju Meng	劇孟
Given	Meng	孟	Meng
Personal name	Meng	孟	Mèng

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Strongly inferred · hanshu:058:s0109, shiji:124:s0041
Sex: male
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0041
Value: male
Explicit · hanshu:093:s0111
Value: male
Strongly inferred · shiji:101:s0133

Roles

Named Individual

Life and dates

Death

Statement: died leaving less than ten gold pieces / 家無餘十金之財
Explicit · shiji:124:s0047

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 劇孟 · Western Year: BC 154
Strongly inferred · songshu:062:s0101
Source Date: Text: 吳楚反時 · Western Year: BC 154
Explicit · shiji:124:s0043
Source Date: Text: 孝景世七國反 · Western Year: BC 154
Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:093:s0111
Source Date: Text: 景帝時 · Western Interval: Start: BC 157 · End: BC 141
Explicit event contextual date · shiji:101:s0133

Family

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

Child of Mother of Ju Meng (劇孟母)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: mother
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: mother · Object Role: son

Places and affiliations

Luoyang / 雒陽
Explicit · hanshu:058:s0109
Place: Luoyang / 洛陽
Explicit · hanshu:104:s0041
Place: Luoyang / 雒陽
Explicit · shiji:101:s0133, shiji:124:s0041

Events and relationships

Kind: military · Role: recruited-asset · Action: secured by Marquis of Tiao in Wu-Chu rebellion · Other Person Id: Zhou Yafu (周亞夫)
Explicit · shiji:124:s0043

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: conduct resembled Zhu Jia; fond of gambling · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)
Explicit · shiji:124:s0045

References in the histories

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

Book of Han, Chapter 44Volume 35: Princes of Jing, Yan and Wu · 3 passages

至雒陽，見劇孟，喜曰：「 When he reached Luoyang and saw Ju Meng, he said with delight, “

又以為諸侯已得劇孟。 I feared the rebels had already won Ju Meng over.

孟今無動，吾據滎陽，滎陽以東無足憂者。」 Since he has not stirred, Xingyang is mine, and east of it we have little to fear.”

Book of Han, Chapter 58Volume 49: Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo · 4 passages

雒陽劇孟嘗過盎，盎善待之。 Ju Meng of Luoyang called on him once, and Yuan Ang received him as an honored guest.

安陵富人有謂盎曰：「吾聞劇孟博徒，將軍何自通之？」 A wealthy Anling burgher asked him, "Ju Meng is nothing but a gamester—why should a man of your rank seek him out?"

盎曰：「劇孟雖博徒，然母死，客送喪車千餘乘，此亦有過人者。 Yuan Ang replied, "Ju Meng may haunt the gaming houses, but when his mother died over a thousand carriages followed her bier—there was greatness in him.

夫一旦叩門，不以親為解，不以在亡為辭，天下所望者，獨季心、劇孟。 When disaster strikes your gate, you will want men who ask no questions about kinship or whether you are at home—the names the empire trusts are Ji Xin and Ju Meng alone.

Book of Han, Chapter 93Volume 82: Wang Shang, Shi Dan and Fu Xi · 2 passages

前孝景世七國反，將軍周亞夫以爲即得雒陽劇孟，關東非漢之有。 In Emperor Jing's reign the seven states rebelled. General Zhou Yafu said that with Ju Meng of Luoyang on their side, the rebels could take everything east of the Pass from Han.

今商宗族權勢，合貲巨萬計，私奴以千數，非特劇孟匹夫之徒也。 Today Wang Shang's clan commands wealth beyond counting and keeps thousands of private slaves—they are far more dangerous than a lone adventurer like Ju Meng.

Book of Han, Chapter 104Volume 92: Youxias · 8 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.

田仲死後，有劇孟。 After Tian Zhong died, Ju Meng came to the fore.

劇孟者，洛陽人也。 Ju Meng came from Luoyang.

周人以商賈為資，劇孟以俠顯。 Where Zhou folk prided themselves on trade, Ju Meng made his name with a sword.

吳、楚反時，條侯為太尉，乘傳東，將至河南，得劇孟，喜曰：「吳、楚舉大事而不求劇孟，吾知其無能為已。」 During the Rebellion of Seven States, Zhou Yafu rode east as Grand Commandant, picked up Ju Meng in Henan, and laughed with relief: "If Wu and Chu forgot to recruit Ju Meng, they have already lost."

天下騷動，大將軍得之若一敵國雲。 In an empire in turmoil, securing Ju Meng was like gaining an enemy state.

劇孟行大類硃家，而好博，多少年之戲。 Ju Meng lived like Zhu Jia but loved dice and the games of the young.

及孟死，家無十金之財。 When he died, his heirs could not scrape together ten catties of gold.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 101Biographies of Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo · 4 passages

雒陽劇孟嘗過袁盎，盎善待之。 Ju Meng of Luoyang once paid Yuan Ang a visit, and Ang received him warmly.

安陵富人有謂盎曰：「吾聞劇孟博徒，將軍何自通之？」 A wealthy man of Anling said to Ang, 'I hear that Ju Meng is a gambler. Why do you associate with such a man, General?'

盎曰：「劇孟雖博徒，然母死，客送葬車千餘乘，此亦有過人者。 Ang replied, 'Though Ju Meng is a gambler, when his mother died, over a thousand carriages of guests attended the funeral. A man who commands such loyalty has qualities that surpass the ordinary.

夫一旦有急叩門，不以親為解，不以存亡為辭，天下所望者，獨季心、劇孟耳。 When a crisis comes knocking, men who will not hide behind family ties or plead for their own lives—men whom all under heaven look to—are only Ji Xin and Ju Meng.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 124Biographies of Knight-errants · 7 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.

田仲已死，而雒陽有劇孟。 After Tian Zhong passed away, there arose in Luoyang a man named Ju Meng.

周人以商賈為資，而劇孟以任俠顯諸侯。 The people of the Zhou region made their living by trade, but Ju Meng won his fame among the lords through knight-errantry.

吳楚反時，條侯為太尉，乘傳車將至河南，得劇孟，喜曰：「吳楚舉大事而不求孟，吾知其無能為已矣。」 When the kingdoms of Wu and Chu rose in rebellion, the Marquis of Tiao was serving as Grand Commandant. On his way to Henan by relay carriage, he secured the allegiance of Ju Meng and exclaimed with delight: "Wu and Chu have launched their great revolt without enlisting Meng — I know they cannot accomplish anything for themselves."

天下騷動，宰相得之若得一敵國云。 When the empire was in turmoil, winning Ju Meng to one's side was said to be worth as much as conquering an enemy state.

劇孟行大類朱家，而好博，多少年之戲。 In conduct, Ju Meng closely resembled Zhu Jia, though he had a fondness for gambling and the diversions of young men.

及劇孟死，家無餘十金之財。 When Ju Meng himself died, his household had not so much as ten pieces of gold to its name.

Book of Song, Chapter 62Volume 62 Biographies 22: Yang Xin, Zhang Fu, Wang Wei · 1 passage

今雖王道鴻鬯，或有激朗於天表，必欲探援潛寶，傾海求珠，自可卜肆巫祠之間，馬棧牛口之下，賞劇孟於博徒，拔卜式於芻牧。 Though the royal way now flourishes, men of brilliance may still appear from on high; if you wish to seek hidden talent and pearls from the deep, you may find them between the fortune-teller's stall and the shaman's shrine, in the stable and the cattle pen—as when Ju Meng was valued among gamblers or Bu Shi was drawn up from the pasture.