Pei Songzhi (裴松之)

Overview

Pei Songzhi was a historian and Commentator.

PeriodThree Kingdoms and Six Dynasties

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Life and dates

Death

died before finishing History of Song
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 38

Attested activity

AD 430 to AD 450 宋元嘉中
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 38
AD 372 to AD 451 Commentary on Xi Zuochi and the banquet
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 93
AD 424 to AD 465 Song dynasty before Pei Zhaoming's Taishi career
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 53, passage 121
AD 424 to AD 453 元嘉
Directly stated · Book of Song 55, passage 222
AD 429 臣松之以為
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 120; Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 255; Records of the Three Kingdoms 50, passage 170
AD 429 臣松之以為
Strongly inferred · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 185

Show 5 more source-backed claims

AD 429 臣松之以為
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 101
AD 429 臣松之案
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 61; Records of the Three Kingdoms 63, passage 79
AD 429 臣松之案
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 208-210
AD 429 裴松之注三國志
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 61, passages 145, 148
AD 429 裴注
Strongly inferred · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 3

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Ancestor of Pei Zhaoming (裴昭明)
grandson 孫 · paternal line · 2 generations · Through Pei Yin (裴)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 53, passage 121
Ancestor of Pei Ziye (裴子野)
great-grandfather 曾祖 · paternal line · 3 generations
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 5
Parent of Pei Yin (裴)
Strongly inferred · Book of Southern Qi 53, passages 121-122

Key source chapters

Career and standing

commentator 注者
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 208; Records of the Three Kingdoms 50, passage 170
Held
Appointments Grandee of Palace Attendants 太中大夫
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 53, passage 121
Grand Master of the Palace 太中大夫
Held
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 5

Places and affiliations

Polity Id liu-song · Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 5
Polity Id liu-song · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 61, 101, 208, 255; Records of the Three Kingdoms 61, passage 145

Works and attributed material

Jiang Ji essay 蔣濟之論
Relation Cited
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 188
Commentary on the Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志注
Relation Commentator
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 255
Records of the Three Kingdoms commentary 三國志注
Relation Commentator
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 208; Records of the Three Kingdoms 63, passage 79
Commentary · Author · Direct quotation · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 185-195, 216-221
Commentary · Author · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 120; Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 93-95
Commentary · Author · Paraphrased
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 61, 208-210

Show 2 more source-backed claims

Commentary · Author · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 101-102; Records of the Three Kingdoms 61, passages 145-148
Commentary · Author
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 3; Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 255-257; Records of the Three Kingdoms 50, passages 170-171; Records of the Three Kingdoms 63, passages 79, 145, 189

Events and relationships

Continued history of song
Scholarly · Compiler · With He Chengtian (何承天)
Directly stated · Book of Liang 30, passage 38

Assessments and attributes

Assessment brotherhood discord blamed on Xu Shao rather than Xu Jing · With Xu Jing (許靖) · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 188
Assessment Cao Cao remark is bitter leftover from shame, not measured fact · With Cao Cao (魏武) · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 220-221
Assessment Fa Zheng Xu Jing-Guo Wei analogy not improper · With Fa Zheng (法正) · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 186
Assessment Ma Liang called Zhuge Liang honored elder brother because Zhuge was older, perhaps from sworn brotherhood or kinship · Mode commentator-judgment Source Person Id Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passages 101-102
Assessment rejected the report that Liu Xiang nominated Liu Yan as Filial and Incorrupt as chronologically impossible · With Liu Xiang (祥) · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 61
Assessment Sun Sheng's main point echoes the official appraisal; other barbs unreasonable · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 63, passages 145-146

Show 3 more source-backed claims

Assessment Sun Xiu marrying niece paralleled Emperor Hui; Xun Yue censure already apt · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 50, passages 170-171
Assessment suspects Xi Zuochi's account is imprecise · With Xi Zuochi (習鑿齒) · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 210
Assessment Wu lu anachronistically calls Sun Quan 'Your Majesty' before emperorship · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Pei Songzhi (裴松之)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 63, passage 79

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 185; Records of the Three Kingdoms 39, passage 208

References in the histories

Search passages

History

23 passages

Book of Liang, Chapter 30Volume 30: Pei Ziye; Gu Xie; Xu Chi; Bao Quan · 2 passages

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曾祖松之，宋太中大夫。 His great-grandfather Pei Songzhi had been a Grand Master of the Palace under the Song.

初，子野曾祖松之，宋元嘉中受詔續修何承天《宋史》，未及成而卒，子野常欲繼成先業。 Earlier, Ziye's great-grandfather Pei Songzhi, in the Yuanjia era of Song, had received an edict to continue He Chengtian's History of Song, but died before finishing it; Ziye had long wished to complete his ancestor's work.

Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 53Volume 53 Biographies 34: Virtuous Officials · 1 passage

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裴昭明，河東聞喜人，宋太中大夫松之孫也。 Pei Zhaoming was a native of Wenxi in Hedong commandery and a grandson of the Song dynasty grandee of palace attendants Pei Songzhi.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 31Volume 31: Book of Shu 1: Biographies of the Two Governor Lius · 4 passages

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〈臣松之案：祝公，司徒祝恬也。〉〈Pei Songzhi remarks: “Duke Zhu was Zhu Tian, who served as minister of education.”〉

臣松之按：靈帝崩後，義軍起，孫堅殺荊州刺史王叡，然後劉表為荊州，不與焉同時也。 Pei Songzhi remarks: After Emperor Ling died and the loyalist armies rose, Sun Jian killed Jing inspector Wang Rui; Liu Biao’s appointment to Jing came only afterward and was not contemporaneous with Liu Yan’s.

〈臣松之案：魏台訪「物故」之義，高堂隆答曰：「聞之先師：物，無也；〈Pei Songzhi cites the Wei court’s query on the term wu gu (“passed away”). Gao Tanglong replied: “My teacher explained: wu means ‘nothing’;

臣松之以為今東人呼母為負，衍以許負為婦人，如為有似，然漢高祖時封皆列侯，未有鄉亭之爵，疑此封為不然。〉 Pei Songzhi notes that eastern dialects used fu for “mother,” which may explain Kong Yan’s treating Xu Fu as a woman—yet Gaozu’s reign ennobled only full marquises, never mere village titles, so that fief is almost certainly wrong.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 37Volume 37: Book of Shu 7: Biographies of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng · 3 passages

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臣松之以為謀襲劉璋，計雖出於統，然違義成功，本由詭道，心既內疚，則歡情自戢，故聞備稱樂之言，不覺率爾而對也。 Pei Songzhi argues: The stratagem against Liu Zhang did stem from Tong, but triumph bought through deceit leaves a guilty heart—joy cannot run free; hearing Liu Bei boast of mirth, Tong answered rashly.

臣松之以為郭隗非賢，猶以權計蒙寵，況文休名聲夙著，天下謂之英偉，雖末年有瑕，而事不彰徹，若不加禮，何以釋遠近之惑乎？ Pei Songzhi answers: Guo Wei was mediocre yet duped a throne; Xu Jing’s name towered—ignore courtesy and you fuel rumor.

〈臣松之以為蜀與漢中，其由脣齒也。〈Pei Songzhi notes that Shu and Hanzhong fit together like lip and teeth.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 39Volume 39: Book of Shu 9: Biographies of Dong, Liu, Ma, Chen, Dong, and Lü · 4 passages

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臣松之案：劉焉在漢靈帝時已經宗正太常，出為益州牧，祥始以孫堅作長沙時為江夏太守，不得舉焉為孝廉，明也。〉 Pei Songzhi notes: Liu Yan had already served as director of the imperial clan and grand master of ceremonies under Emperor Ling before he became Yi governor, whereas Liu Xiang became Jiangxia administrator only during Sun Jian’s tenure at Changsha—so he could not have nominated Liu Yan as filial and incorrupt; the anecdote cannot stand.〉

〈臣松之以為良蓋與亮結為兄弟，或相與有親；〈Pei Songzhi thinks Ma Liang may have sworn brotherhood with Zhuge Liang or been related by kinship;

臣松之案：《漢晉春秋》亦載此語，不云董恢所教，辭亦小異，此二書俱出習氏而不同若此。 Pei Songzhi notes that the Han Jin chunqiu quotes the same exchange without crediting Dong Hui’s coaching and with slightly different wording—odd for two texts both drawn from Xi Zuochi.

臣松之以為陳群子泰，陸遜子抗，傳皆以子系父，不別載姓，及王肅、杜恕、張承、顧劭之流，莫不皆然，惟董允獨否，未詳其意，當以允名位優重，事蹟逾父故邪？ Pei Songzhi notes that for Chen Qun's son Tai, Lu Xun's son Kang, and others, the biographies all attach sons under fathers without separately recording the surname; Wang Su, Du Shu, Zhang Cheng, Gu Shao, and the like all follow this pattern—only Dong Yun does not. The reason is unclear; perhaps because Yun's name and rank were exalted and his achievements surpassed his father's?

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 50Volume 50: Book of Wu 5: Biographies of Concubines and Ladies · 1 passage

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臣松之以為休妻其甥，事同漢惠。 Pei Songzhi notes that Sun Xiu married his niece—parallel to Emperor Hui of Han.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 61Volume 61: Book of Wu 16: Biographies of Pan Jun and Lu Kai · 1 passage

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予連從荊、揚來者得凱所諫皓二十事，博問吳人，多雲不聞凱有此表。 I, Pei Songzhi, gathered from travelers out of Jing and Yang, Lu Kai's twenty remonstrances to Sun Hao, yet when I asked Wu natives most said they had never seen such a memorial.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 63Volume 63: Book of Wu 18: Biographies of Wu Fan, Liu Dun, and Zhao Da · 6 passages

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臣松之案，范死时，权未称帝，此云陛下，非也。〉 Pei Songzhi observes Sun Quan was not yet emperor when Wu Fan died—“Your Majesty” is anachronistic.〉

臣松之以为盛云“君子志其大者，无所取诸”，故评家之旨，非新声也。 Pei Songzhi notes Sun Sheng echoes the official appraisal.

其餘所讥，则皆为非理。 Pei rejects Sun Sheng’s other barbs.

然则鹅死亦有鬼也。 Pei wonders whether geese have ghosts.

臣松之以为葛洪所记，近为惑众，其书文颇行世，故撮取数事，载之篇末也。 Pei cites Ge Hong to show wonder-tales entertained readers—not sober history.

神仙之术，讵可测量，臣之臆断，以为惑众，所谓夏虫不知冷冰耳。〉 Pei dismisses miracle lore as summer worms denying winter—closing the gloss.

Book of Song, Chapter 55Volume 55 Biographies 15: Zang Dao, Xu Guang, F Long · 1 passage

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臧燾、徐廣、傅隆、裴松之、何承天、雷次宗，並服膺聖哲，不為雅俗推移，立名於世，宜矣。 Zang Dao, Xu Guang, Fu Long, Pei Songzhi, He Chengtian, and Lei Cizong all devoted themselves to the sages, were not swayed by fashion, and won renown in their age — as was only fitting.