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Volume 21: Book of Wei 21 - Biographies of Wang, Wei, and the two Lius

Chapter 21 of 三國志 · Records of the Three Kingdoms
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Chapter 21
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1
Wang Can, Wei Ji, Liu Yi, Liu Shao, and Fu Gu.
2
使
Wang Can, whose courtesy name was Zhongxuan, came from Gaoping in Shanyang. His great-grandfather Gong and his grandfather Chang had both held one of the Three Excellencies under the Han. 〈Zhang Fan's Han Ji records that Gong, courtesy name Bozong, enjoyed a towering reputation across the empire. Under Emperor Shun he rose to Grand Commandant. Long before, when Xue Qin was governor of Shanyang and his wife died, he refused to weep; as she was about to be laid in the coffin he attended the obsequies and said, "At least she was not cut off in youth—what is left to regret?" When Gong's own wife died, he and his sons observed mourning with leaning staffs; contemporaries faulted both men's conduct. Chang, courtesy name Shumao, ranked among the celebrated Eight Heroes. Under Emperor Ling he served as Minister of Works until flood disasters cost him his post; Li Ying was dismissed at the same time and sent home. Both men were squeezed out because their integrity would not bend to the times. The empire treated Chang and Ying as paragons; every outspoken moralist wanted to be seen in their company and scrambled to join their circle. When calamities began to pile up, memorialists insisted the Three Excellencies were unfit and should give way to Chang and Ying if the court wished to see good fortune return. The eunuchs therefore nursed a bitter grudge; after Li Ying was put to death, Chang was left in the cold and lived out his days in retirement.〉 His father Qian had been chief clerk to Grand General He Jin. He Jin, seeing Qian as a scion of an eminent clan, proposed a marriage alliance and called in Qian's two sons so one might be chosen as a son-in-law. Qian declined. He later stepped down on grounds of illness and died at home.
3
西 西 便 西 使
After the Han court withdrew westward, Wang Can followed to Chang'an, where Cai Yong, General of the Household for All Purposes, took one look and knew he was extraordinary. Yong was then at the height of his fame: the court deferred to him, his carriages choked the alleys, and his hall was always packed with visitors. Learning that Wang Can had arrived, he rushed out with his slippers on backwards to greet him. When the boy appeared—still slight in years, small in stature—the entire company was taken aback. Yong said, "Here is the grandson of the Duke of Wang, a prodigy who outclasses me. Everything in my library should pass to him." At seventeen he received a summons from the Minister of Education and an edict naming him Palace Attendant; with Chang'an in chaos he declined both appointments. He therefore withdrew to Jingzhou and placed himself under Liu Biao's protection. Liu Biao, judging Wang Can homely, frail, and a little too casual in manner, never gave him much responsibility. 〈Pei Songzhi explains that "plain looks" means his face belied his true quality. "Easygoing and unconventional" here means open and unaffected.〉 Liu Biao died. Wang Can persuaded Liu Biao's son Cong to surrender to Cao Cao. 〈The Wenshi zhuan preserves Wang Can's appeal to Cong: "I have a humble scheme to lay before you, General—may I speak?" Cong replied, "That is exactly what I want to hear." Wang Can said, "The empire is in chaos and warlords multiply; in the confusion no one yet knows who will prevail, so every leader follows his own calculations. In seasons like this every clan fancies itself imperial and every commander dreams of a noble title. History shows that those who read the moment correctly tend to prosper. Tell me, General—if you weigh yourself against Cao Cao, where do you stand?" Cong had no reply. Wang Can pressed on: "All I have heard marks Cao Cao as the outstanding man of the age. His strategic genius tops his generation, his counsel outclasses every rival: he broke the Yuans at Guandu, pushed Sun Quan back across the great river, chased Liu Bei into the Long marchlands, crushed the Wuhuan at Baideng, and the roll of enemies swept away reads like a tally of miracles. The choice before you is therefore obvious. If you will hear me out—lay down your arms, bow to Heaven's will, and go over to Cao Cao—he will repay your integrity with the highest honors. You will save your person, shield your house, secure lasting favor, and leave a legacy to your sons; it is the one course without risk. I am a refugee who owes everything to you and your father; I would be ashamed not to speak plainly." Cong accepted the advice. Pei Songzhi objects: up to that point Sun Quan had not fought the north at all, so the phrase "drove Sun Quan beyond the river" cannot be right. Cao Cao invaded Jingzhou in the thirteenth year, whereas Liu Bei did not enter Shu until years later and never set foot in the Guan or Long regions at that time. To speak in the same breath of "pursuing Liu Bei west of Long" is therefore a chronological muddle; moreover Baideng sits at Pingcheng, a route Cao Cao never took; his northern campaign against the Wuhuan never intersected Baideng. Zhang Zhi's rhetoric is thus exposed as invention the moment one checks the map. Zhang Zhi's inventions are too numerous to untangle; this is only one sample of his carelessness. Cao Cao appointed him aide to the Chancellor and invested him as a secondary marquis within the passes. At a banquet on the Han shore Wang Can lifted his cup and said, "Yuan Shao dominates Hebei with a massive army and eyes the whole realm, yet though he professes love of talent he cannot use it, so the able drift away. Liu Biao lounged in Jingzhou, watching from the sidelines, fancying himself another King Wen of the west. The scholars who sheltered in Jingzhou were the finest minds in the land; Liu Biao never learned how to deploy them, so his domain tottered without a single pillar. When you, my lord, took Ji Province you immediately refitted the troops, rallied its heroes, and swept across the north; after the Yangtze and Han fell you installed their best men in office, turned every gaze toward legitimate rule, and harnessed civil and military talent as the sage kings of old once did." He was later promoted to Army Libationer for Planning. When the kingdom of Wei was founded he became a Palace Attendant. His erudition was encyclopedic; he could answer any question put to him. With court ritual in disarray, he became the authority who drafted the new regulations. 〈Zhi Yu's Jueyi yaozhu notes that late Han warfare wiped out the old jade pendant regalia. Wang Can, as Wei's Palace Attendant, recovered the ancient designs and revived their manufacture. The court pendants worn today still follow his pattern.
4
使 使 便宿 使
At first, when Can walked with others, they read a stele by the road; someone asked: "Can you recite it from memory?" He said: "I can." They turned away while he recited every line without error. He once watched a game of weiqi; when the pieces were knocked aside he restored the position from memory. The players doubted him, covered the original layout with a cloth, and asked him to reconstruct it on a fresh board. When the two positions were compared, not a single intersection differed. Such was the power of his memory. He excelled at mathematics, wrote treatises on the subject, and explored its principles thoroughly. His essays flowed from the brush without revision, so contemporaries suspected he drafted them in advance; yet even when he polished them with painstaking care he could not improve a line. 〈The Dianlue records: Wang Can's genius was paired with quick repartee in debate. Even senior ministers such as Zhong Yao and Wang Lang set down their brushes at court, unable to match his memorials. His surviving corpus approaches sixty poems, fu, essays, and memorials. In Jian'an 21 he joined the expedition against Wu. He died of illness on the march in the spring of Jian'an 22, at forty-one. His two sons were swept up in Wei Feng's conspiracy and put to death. The Wang Can line therefore ended. 〈The Wenzhang zhi adds that Cao Cao, campaigning in Hanzhong when he heard the news, lamented, "Had I been at home, Zhongxuan would not have been left without descendants."〉
5
Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ruan Yu, Ying Yang, and Liu Zhen.
6
Even when Cao Pi was still General of the Five Offices and his brother Cao Zhi was Marquis of Pingyuan, the two of them were already devoted to letters. Wang Can kept company with Xu Gan of Beihai (Weichang), Chen Lin of Guangling (Kongzhang), Ruan Yu of Chenliu (Yuanyu), and Ying Yang of Runan (Delian), 〈The gloss gives two fanqie readings for the yang in Ying Yang's given name: tu geng fan, or alternatively chang.〉 Liu Zhen of Dongping, whose courtesy name was Gonggan, was welcomed with the same warmth.
7
祿
Xu Gan held posts as Army Libationer under the Minister of Works and as literary aide to the heir-apparent. 〈The Xianxian xingzhuang describes Xu Gan as a man of quiet integrity, versed in every virtue, widely read, able to compose at will, indifferent to rank and salary, and uninterested in fame. Cao Cao issued him a special summons during the Jian'an years, yet illness kept him at home. He was later named magistrate of Shang'ai but again declined on grounds of ill health.〉
8
簿 使 鹿 使
Chen Lin had once been chief clerk to He Jin. He Jin planned to slaughter the palace eunuchs, but the empress dowager refused; he then called up regional strongmen and aimed their armies at the capital to intimidate her. Chen Lin warned him, "The Classic of Changes speaks of chasing deer without a guide. The proverb adds that only a fool covers his eyes to catch sparrows." If petty things cannot be forced by trickery, no state business can be built on bluff. You hold the emperor's authority and the army's levers; you stride like dragon and tiger, with every option open; yet this scheme is like fanning a furnace to singe your own eyebrows. Strike like lightning, act decisively, bend the letter of ritual to serve the greater good, and Heaven and the people will follow; instead you set aside your sharpest weapon and beg for swords from strangers. When hosts mass together, the toughest warlord wins the day; that is what people mean by turning your weapons backward and putting the grip in someone else's hand; the plan cannot succeed; it merely opens the road to chaos." He Jin brushed the warning aside and reaped disaster. Chen Lin took refuge in Ji Province, where Yuan Shao put him in charge of proclamations and letters. After the Yuan collapse he came over to Cao Cao. Cao Cao told him, "When you wrote Benchu's manifesto against me, vilifying me alone would have sufficed; blame should stick to the man—why rope in my ancestors?" Chen Lin apologized; Cao Cao valued his genius and let the matter drop.
9
使 使 使 西 使使 使
Ruan Yu had studied in his youth under Cai Yong. During Jian'an, Chief Protector Cao Hong tried to appoint him secretary, but Ruan Yu refused to bend. Cao Cao then named both Chen Lin and Ruan Yu Army Libationers under the Minister of Works and put them in charge of the secretariat, 〈The Wenshi zhuan relates that Cao Cao, who had long admired Ruan Yu, summoned him repeatedly; Ruan Yu stayed away until the pressure drove him to hide in the hills. Cao Cao ordered the slopes burned out, seized him, escorted him to headquarters, and called him inside. Once, while Cao Cao was campaigning near Chang'an and hosting a large gathering, he took offense at Ruan Yu's silence and relegated him to the musicians' row. Ruan Yu, who understood music and played the zither, struck up a tune and improvised the lines, "Heaven's gate swings wide; mighty Wei rides the appointed hour. The imperial parasol circles the realm while folk east and west nurse their grievances. A knight dies for his patron; a woman adorns herself for the man who cherishes her. When grace and loyalty run true, who can turn you against one another?" The song came in a flash, the performance was exquisite, and it stole the show; Cao Cao was delighted. Your subject Songzhi checks: Yu's Dianlue and Zhi Yu's Wenzhang zhi both say "In the early Jian'an period Yu declined illness and corvée service and would not yield to Cao Hong. When Cao Cao summoned him personally, he dropped his walking stick and hurried in." There is therefore no truth to the tale of a mountain hideout flushed out by fire. The Dianlue also records that Cao Cao's first Jingzhou expedition produced Ruan Yu's letter to Liu Bei and the Ma Chao campaign produced his letter to Han Sui—both texts still exist. Han Sui was routed before Cao Cao ever reached Chang'an; Cao Cao did not enter the Guanzhong passes until the sixteenth year. Zhang Zhi's claim that Cao Cao was already in Chang'an when Ruan Yu was captured is another flat contradiction. Ruan Yu died in 212 while Cao Cao became Duke of Wei only in 213, so a lyric hailing "Great Wei" on that occasion is sheer invention. The line "how can others sow disorder" is not even idiomatic Chinese. Ruan Yu would never have written such doggerel. Most army and state dispatches were drafted by Chen Lin and Ruan Yu. 〈The Dianlue adds that whenever Chen Lin finished a manifesto he handed it straight to Cao Cao. Cao Cao, who suffered chronic migraines, was bedridden that day until he read Chen Lin's draft, then sprang up saying, "This cures my headache." He showered Chen Lin with rewards. Another time Cao Cao dictated a letter to Han Sui while out riding; Ruan Yu rode along and penned the entire missive from the saddle. Cao Cao picked up his brush to edit a line yet could not change a word. Chen Lin was promoted to gatehouse commandant; Ruan Yu served as an aide in the grain office.
10
Ying Yang and Liu Zhen received Cao Cao's summons and joined the Chancellor's staff. Ying Yang moved from tutor to the Marquis of Pingyuan to literary aide to the heir-apparent. 〈Hua Qiao's Han shu names Ying Yang's grandfather Feng, courtesy Shishu. So quick-witted was he at memorization that people said, "Ying Shishu reads five lines at a glance." He wrote a dozen sequel prefaces and was counted among the leading classicists. During the Yanxi era he reached the post of Colonel Director of Retainers. His son Ying Shao, courtesy Zhongyuan, matched him in erudition and loved nothing better than research. His Fengsu tong and similar works exceed a hundred scrolls; the prose is plain, yet contemporaries marveled at his encyclopedic knowledge. The Xu Han shu adds eleven more titles—136 fascicles—on mid-Han chronology, Han offices, and ritual precedent. Later generations still know Han bureaucracy because Ying Shao wrote it down. His highest post was governor of Taishan. His brother Ying Xun, courtesy Jiyu, served the Minister of Works and was Ying Yang's father. Liu Zhen was sentenced for a breach of etiquette and, after serving his term, was posted as a minor clerk. 〈The Wenshi zhuan gives his father as Liang, courtesy Manshan, also known as Gong. He showed literary gifts early, rose on his writing, and died in office as magistrate of Yewang. The Dianlue records that Cao Pi once gave Liu Zhen an ornate belt; when his tutor died and he wanted a likeness carved, he wrote to borrow it back, jesting, "A treasure is honored by its owner. In humble hands it should not approach the throne. I am borrowing it now—do not sulk if it is slow to return." Liu Zhen answered, "I recall how the Jingshan rough jade became the heirloom of Empress Yuan; how the Marquis of Sui's pearl dazzled every connoisseur; how southern gold crowned a beauty's hair; how sable tails edged a courtier's cap—each treasure began in muck and shadow yet later shone before the throne. What exalted men display is first finished by humble hands; what lords use is prepared by commoners. When a palace roof is raised the chief carpenter stands below it; when the good grain ripens the farmer tastes the first kernels. My belt boasts no extra finery; were it truly rare I would gladly yield it." His ripostes were always this deft, which endeared him to the princes. Later the crown prince feasted his writers; when spirits were high he had Lady Zhen enter and greet the guests. The company knelt; Liu Zhen alone met her eyes. Cao Cao, hearing of the insult, arrested him and spared his life only for hard labor. Each left dozens of poems and fu behind.
11
Ruan Yu died in the seventeenth year of Jian'an. Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ying Yang, and Liu Zhen died in Jian'an 22. Cao Pi wrote to Wu Zhi, magistrate of Yuancheng: "The plague years stole Xu, Chen, Ying, and Liu from me in a single stroke. Writers seldom mind petty morals and rarely build a reputation on austerity. Weichang alone combined substance with polish, lived simply, and aspired to the recluses of Mount Ji—a true gentleman. His Zhong lun runs to more than twenty fascicles of measured, lasting prose. Delian burned to write a major work and had the talent; that the dream died with him is heartbreaking. Kongzhang's memorials crackle with energy, if a shade wordy. Gonggan's verse soars, though it lacks final bite. Yuanyuan's correspondence dances along—pure delight to read. Zhongxuan's fu were unmatched, yet his frail frame could not sustain the labor; in that genre even the ancients scarcely outrank him. Bo Ya smashed his zither when Zhong Ziqi died; the Master dashed the sacrificial hash for Zilu—such is the ache when genius loses its audience. They fell only a step short of the old masters; in their generation they were the brightest stars." 〈The Dianlun ranks Kong Rong, Chen Lin, Wang Can, Xu Gan, Ruan Yu, Ying Yang, and Liu Zhen as the seven talents of the age—each convinced he was a thousand-li steed running neck and neck with the rest. Wang Can's strength lay in fu. Xu Gan had flashes of brilliance but could not match Wang Can. Pieces such as Wang Can's "Initial Expedition" and Xu Gan's "Black Gibbon" rival Zhang Heng and Cai Yong, though not every work of theirs reaches that height. Chen Lin and Ruan Yu still set the standard for state papers. Ying Yang flows smoothly but lacks muscle; Liu Zhen hits hard but sprawls. Kong Rong's genius soars yet his logic unravels; wit outruns sense and slips into mockery; at his best he belongs beside Yang Xiong and Ban Gu.
12
Handan Chun and others
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宿使 簿 使 禿 忿
The list opens with Handan Chun of Yingchuan, 〈The Wei lue records his alternate name Zhu and courtesy Zishu. He was a polymath in letters and paleography, mastering the old primers and Xu Shen's character analysis. During Chuping he followed refugees from the capital region to Jingzhou. After the province surrendered, Cao Cao, who had long admired him, received him with uncommon respect. The heir-apparent was recruiting literati and asked to have Chun added to his literary bureau. Cao Zhi wanted him too, so Cao Cao sent Chun to the prince of Linzi. Cao Zhi welcomed him eagerly, seated him, and held his tongue. It was a broiling day; Cao Zhi called for water, washed, and powdered his face. Then, bareheaded and bare-chested, he danced the five-beat Hu step, juggled and fenced, recited reams of vaudeville, and challenged, "Well, Master Handan? Only then did he dress, compose himself, and lecture Chun on cosmology, taxonomy, the heroes of history, belles-lettres, statecraft, and the art of war. He then called for a banquet; course after course arrived while the guests sat in stunned silence—none could hold his own against him. That evening Chun told friends he had met a "man sent from Heaven" in Cao Zhi. The crown prince had still not been chosen. Cao Cao began to favor Cao Zhi, and Chun's praise reinforced the tilt. Cao Pi, the heir-apparent in all but title, took deep offense. Early in the Huangchu era Cao Pi named him a court erudite with palace access. His thousand-word "Rhapsody on Pitch-Pot" so impressed Cao Pi that the emperor awarded him a thousand rolls of silk. Fan Qin, 〈The surname Fan is read with the po initial. The Dianlue identifies him as Fan Qin, courtesy Xiubo, who made his reputation in Runan and Yingchuan through wit and prose. He excelled at secretarial writing and at poetry. His correspondence with the crown prince sparkled with ingenious, polished lines. He rose to chief clerk under the Chancellor. He died in Jian'an 218. Lu Cui of Chenliu, 〈The Dianlue gives his courtesy name as Wenwei and records his early study with Cai Yong. During Chuping he accompanied the court west to the capital region. Early in Jian'an he and Yan Xiang of Jingzhao, both noted for brilliance, were named Gentlemen of the Masters of Writing. Yan Xiang, deemed fit for command as well as counsel, was posted inspector of Yang Province. Lu Cui later joined the secretariat alongside Chen Lin and Ruan Yu as Army Libationer. When Kong Rong fell from grace, Cao Cao ordered Lu Cui to draft the indictment; it charged that in Beihai Kong had raised troops and hinted at rebellion, boasting, "I am heir to the sage-kings, though Song destroyed my line. Does the Son of Heaven have to bear the surname Liu?" It also said: "Rong as one of the nine columns did not observe court ceremony; with bare head he went in disguise and intruded into the palace apartments. With the commoner Mi Heng he traded scandalous praise. Mi Heng told him, "Confucius never died." Kong Rong answered, "Then Yan Hui lives again." The memorial heaped such charges on Kong Rong in exhaustive detail. After Kong Rong's death everyone who read Lu Cui's draft admired his skill—and dreaded his pen. In the nineteenth year he became palace librarian, accompanied the army to Hanzhong, and was executed for an illicit plea involving a donkey. The crown prince, who had been close to Lu Cui, mourned his execution. On taking the throne he singled out Lu Cui's son for the post of chief clerk. Yu Huan compares them to Lu Zhong and Zou Yang, masters of the persuasive memorial. Reading Wang Can, Fan Qin, Ruan Yu, Chen Lin, and Lu Cui, who would call them lesser stylists? They are passed over only because fashions had changed. I asked Grand Herald Wei Dan why such men were underused. Wei Dan replied: "Wang Can grew fat and slow; Fan Qin had no self-control; Ruan Yu was frail; Chen Lin was rough; Lu Cui was choleric. They burned themselves out like candles—small wonder they never reached the heights. Still, a gentleman does not ask perfection of one man: they were like red lacquer—frameless yet dazzling."〉" Ding Yi, Ding Ying, Yang Xiu, Xun Wei, and others also wrote well yet were not counted among the seven. 〈Accounts of Ding Yi, Ding Ying, and Yang Xiu appear in 〈the biography of Prince Si of Chen (Cao Zhi).〉 Xun Xu's literary catalogue names Xun Wei, courtesy Gonggao. He loved belles-lettres from boyhood. During Jian'an he entered service as an army planner and tutor to the Wei heir, eventually reaching palace attendant and colonel of agile cavalry. He died at forty-two in Huangchu 4.
14
祿 使 西
Ruan Yu's son Ji wrote with gorgeous abandon, lived recklessly, kept few desires, and modeled himself on Zhuangzi. His highest rank was colonel of the infantry guard. 〈His courtesy name was Sizong. The Wei shi chunqiu describes him as free-spirited and contemptuous of convention. He was fiercely filial; though his mourning rites were irregular, grief nearly consumed him. Wang Chang of Yan Province asked for an audience and spent a day without getting a word from him—then marveled that he could not plumb the man. Jiang Ji summoned him; he later served as a masters-of-writing gentleman and aide to Cao Shuang, then retired ill to the countryside. A year after Cao Shuang's purge Sima Yi and Sima Shi named him staff supervisor. When the court tried to promote him he cited the times and clung to a minor post: learning that the infantry colonel's kitchen held superb wine, he took that job and drank his way out of politics. From Guangwu he gazed on the Xiang–Liu battleground and cried, "With no true heroes, ciphers stole the fame!" He would drive at random until the road ended, then weep and turn back. As a youth he climbed Mount Sumen to visit a nameless hermit who owned only bamboo seeds and a mortar. He lectured the hermit on non-action and sage kings; the man sat indifferently, barely listening. Ruan Ji answered with a long, piercing whistle; the hermit smiled. As Ji left, the hermit whistled back in notes like phoenix song. Ruan Ji later framed his feelings as the teaching of "Master Sumen." His poem runs, "Sunset beyond Mount Buzhou, moonrise from the scarlet deep—the yang orb hides while yin light steals the sky. It towers a moment, then sinks, only to swell again. Fortune flickers in the blink of an eye; need poverty last forever?" He sighed too, "When heaven and earth split open and the luminaries fall, what is left to cling to if I ascend?" He never gossiped, yet his aloofness infuriated moralists like He Zeng. Sima Zhao shielded him until he died a natural death. His son Ruan Hun bore the courtesy name Zhangcheng. The Shiyu says Ruan Hun was known in Luoyang for calm and modest wants. He became junior tutor to the crown prince. He died young.
15
宿 便 便
About the same time Ji Kang of Qiao wrote splendid prose, preached Daoism, and cultivated a knight-errant's daring. In the Jingyuan era he was implicated and put to death. 〈Ji Kang's courtesy name was Shuye. The record follows 〈the Ji clan genealogy:〉 his father Ji Zhao, courtesy Ziyuan, supervised army grain as an attendant censor. His brother Ji Xi, courtesy Gongmu, later served Jin as Yang inspector and director of the imperial clan. Xi composed Kang's biography, saying: "The family for generations practiced Confucian learning; in his youth he had outstanding talent, was broad and untrammeled, not of the herd, lofty and bright and following his nature, not cultivating reputation, tolerant and simple with great capacity. He was self-taught, widely read, and in maturity devoted himself to Laozi and Zhuangzi in quiet detachment. He experimented with longevity drugs and gathered the finest medicinals. Essays, zither, and poetry satisfied him inwardly. He held that immortals are born, not made by study. Nourishing life along natural principles might yet yield spans like Anqi or Pengzu; He set down his regimen in an essay called "On Nourishing Life. Knowing that greed costs life and ambition costs authenticity, he turned his back on the world and lived above the dust. He anthologized 119 sages and hermits from chaos to Guan Ning, drawing the forgotten from oblivion. Contemporaries found him impossible to classify." Yu Yu's Jin shu states that the Jis were originally surnamed Xi from Kuaiji. They moved to Zhi in Qiao, took the upper part of the character ji (mountain) as a new surname, and thus marked their origins. Another tale says they settled by Mount Ji in Zhi and adopted the place name. The Wei shi chunqiu adds that while living in Shanyang, Henei, his companions never saw him smile or scowl. He befriended Ruan Ji, Shan Tao, Xiang Xiu, Ruan Ji's nephew Ruan Xian, Wang Rong, and Liu Ling; together they haunted the bamboo grove and were dubbed the Seven Sages. Zhong Hui, the Grand General's favorite, called on Ji Kang after hearing his fame. The pampered scion arrived in silks and fine horses with a cloud of retainers. Ji Kang sat sprawled at his forge and ignored the niceties. Ji Kang asked, "What did you hear that brought you here? What have you seen that sends you away?" Zhong Hui replied, "I came on what I heard; I leave on what I saw." Zhong Hui nursed a bitter grudge from the snub. Sima Zhao once tried to recruit Ji Kang into service. Ji Kang was already notorious for defiant speech, and the scandal between Lü An and Lü Xun drew him east of the river—some mistook it for total withdrawal from public life. When Shan Tao offered him the personnel post, Ji Kang’s famous break letter insisted he could not stomach the crowd—without meaning to insult the ancient founders. Sima Zhao took the refusal as a personal insult. Ji Kang had long been friends with Lü Xun of Dongping—son of Lü Zhao—and Lü Xun’s younger brother Lü An. Lü Xun seduced Lü An’s wife, then accused his brother of unfilial conduct and had him jailed. Lü An called Ji Kang to testify; Kang cleared him out of honor, while Lü An himself burned to set the world right. Zhong Hui talked Sima Zhao into eliminating them both; Lü An and Ji Kang died together. Facing the headsman’s block, Ji Kang tuned his zither and sighed that the "Guangling san" would die with him. Everyone who heard of it wept. While gathering herbs in the hills north of Gong in Ji commandery, he met the hermit Sun Deng. Ji Kang tried to draw him out; Sun Deng would not speak. As he prepared to leave, Ji Kang asked, "Will you really send me away in silence?" Sun Deng replied, "You are brilliant but unworldly—survival in this age will not be easy." When he encountered the Lü An affair, he wrote a poem blaming himself: "I wished to lessen my faults, yet slander seethed. He insisted he had injured no one, yet hatred found him again and again. Once he had thought himself less steadfast than Liuxia Hu. Now he felt he had failed Sun Deng’s warning. He had betrayed his own ideals and shamed his true friends." His essays, some seventy thousand graphs in all, became classics people memorized. A separate life records Sun Deng’s warning: "You are fierce and gifted—do you think you can stay safe?" The same source quotes his last words: "Yuan Zhun once begged to learn my Guangling san, and I always refused. The Guangling san ends tonight!" That version disagrees with Sun Sheng’s account. The Jinyang Qiu says Sun Deng replied only with a long whistle and prolonged silence. Kang took leave to return and said: "Sir, do you truly have nothing to say?" Sun Deng answered simply, "Alas." Sun Sheng authored both traditions, yet he contradicts himself. Ji Kang’s bibliography identifies Sun Deng, courtesy Gonghe, as a cave-dwelling hermit north of Ji with no kin. He wore woven grass in summer and his own hair for a blanket in winter. He read the Classic of Changes and played the zither, and visitors found him irresistible. Every host fed and clothed him, and he accepted without fuss. The Shiyu says: When Guanqiu Jian rebelled, Kang had strength and wished to raise troops to respond; he asked Shan Tao; Tao said: "You cannot." By then Guanqiu Jian had already lost. Pei Songzhi notes that the standard text dates the execution to Jingyuan, whereas Gan Bao, Sun Sheng, and Xi Zuochi place it in Zhengyuan 2 when Sima Zhao returned from Lejia. The confusion stems from the Shiyu rumor linking Ji Kang to Guanqiu Jian. That linkage is simply wrong. Shan Tao’s later nomination and Ji Kang’s severance letter are well attested facts. Shan Tao’s vita shows he became personnel gentleman only in Jingyuan 2. Jingyuan lies seven or eight years after Zhengyuan, so the main biography’s date holds. Moreover, 〈the biography of Zhong Hui〉 also states that Zhong Hui had Ji Kang killed while serving as metropolitan commandant; that post belongs to the Jingyuan years. Gan Bao adds that Lü Xun, who was close to Zhong Hui and favored by Sima Zhao, framed his brother. Sima Zhao became chancellor only in Jingyuan 4, after Zhong Hui and Deng Ai conquered Shu; so Lü Xun could not have been a chancellor’s aide when Guanqiu Jian fell—another reason the early date fails. Gan Bao’s story collapses under its own contradictions. Ji Kang’s son Ji Shao, courtesy Yanzu, was famous while young. Shan Tao recommended him for the palace library, praising his poise, prose, and musicianship as state timber. The emperor replied, "A man of that caliber should be a vice-minister, not a petty court clerk." Ji Shao rose through the highest offices. The Jin zhugong zan says Ji Shao, Shan Jian, and Yang Huai were inseparable, but Ji Shao was the most upright. As palace attendant he shielded Emperor Hui during the rout at Dangyi and died beside the throne. The court heaped honors on him, posthumously naming him Grand Commandant with the epithet Zhongmu.
16
輿
During Jingchu, Huan Wei of Xiapi—born obscure—wrote the Hunyu jing at eighteen to expound the Dao. He rose from clerk in Qi to a posting as magistrate of Ancheng.
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西 輿 使 輿 使 使 使 使 便
Wu Zhi of Jiyin won Emperor Wen’s favor with his pen, ending as a general with staff commanding Hebei and a full marquisate. 〈The Wei lue identifies him as Wu Zhi, courtesy Jizhong, a scholar beloved of Cao Pi and the princes; who navigated princely circles as smoothly as Lou Hu once courted the Han marquises. When the north was quiet and Cao Pi became heir, Wu Zhi sat with Liu Zhen and the rest. When Liu Zhen was humiliated at court, Wu Zhi was packed off as magistrate of Chao’ge, then Yuancheng. Later, while Sima Yi marched west, the crown prince waited at Mengjin and wrote, "Jizhong, I trust you are well? Duty pins us both, yet I cannot contain what I feel. Your distant post means rare letters, which only deepens my ache. I still dream of our Nanpi outings. We debated the classics, sampled every school, played weiqi and chess, talked late into the night, and let music wash over us. We raced horses in the north field, feasted in the south lodge, chilled melons in spring water and plums in ice. Sunset yielded to moonlight as we rode the rear garden in silence, wind rising, reeds sighing, joy turning to ache. I warned that such joy could not last, and you all agreed. Now we are scattered to the winds. Ruan Yu is gone; whenever I remember, words fail me. It is midsummer again: warm breezes, fruit hanging heavy on every branch. I mean to ride the river road with escort and scholars as of old, yet the company is gone—what grief is mine! I am sending couriers to Ye and bidding them swing by your yamen. Travel safely, and keep well!" In the twenty-third year he wrote again: "Four years have slipped by since we parted. The ancients grieved at three years apart; we have doubled that—how can longing be borne? Letters cannot unknot this weariness. The plague took Xu, Chen, Ying, and Liu together—what words can hold such pain? We once rode and lodged as one, never out of sight. Wine and music would loosen our tongues until we improvised verse. In those moments we forgot ourselves in delight. We assumed we would grow old together; within a few years nearly all were dust—how it wounds to say it. I have gathered their remains into one anthology. Their names belong to the dead now, yet memory is vivid—ashes where friends once stood. Writers seldom mind petty morals or build fame on austerity. Weichang alone united gifts with integrity and aspired to the sages of Mount Ji. His Zhong lun is a lasting monument—more than twenty chapters of classical prose that will outlive us all. Delian meant to write a great book and had the learning; that the work never came is bitter. Reading their pages I weep for them and for myself. Kongzhang’s memorials are vigorous, if a bit lush. Gonggan’s poetry soars though it lacks final weight; his pentasyllabics were the best of the age. Yuanyuan’s correspondence remains a joy to read. Zhongxuan’s fu were supreme, though frail health checked his output; in that genre the ancients barely surpass him. Bo Ya smashed his zither for Zhong Ziqi; the Master dashed the sacrificial hash for Zilu—such is the pain of losing kindred minds. They stood a step below the ancients yet towered over their own generation; even the best alive now cannot match them. Youth will judge us, though neither of us will be here to hear it. I am older now, my cares multiply, and some nights I never close my eyes. When will we ever live those days again? I am an old man now, though my hair has not yet turned white. Guangwu once said that by thirty he had spent a decade in the field and seen every hardship; I am no match for his virtue, but I have reached the same age. A dog or sheep dressed in tiger skins, no star myself yet borrowing imperial radiance—every step is watched; when will the masquerade end? I fear we shall never wander as we once did. Strike while you are young; once the years slip past, no hand can haul them back. The ancients spoke of night walks by candlelight—they knew how short the day is. How have you been passing the time lately? Have you written anything new worth sharing? I look toward you with a full heart and send this letter in place of a visit." Pei Songzhi notes that the standard biography quotes the crown prince’s letter only in part; he restores the fuller version from the Wei lue. After Cao Pi became king he wrote again: "Only three of us remain from the Nanpi days; when my father rose to power, the rest of our circle became generals or marquises. You alone still molder in a low post—you were my companion then, yet you alone never entered the gate of high rank. As the ode says, the great jar is shamed when the little cup runs dry—I blush for you on my own account. The distance is nothing; let us keep writing." Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu had been part of that Bohai circle too; both rose as imperial in-laws to generalships, while Wu Zhi stayed a clerk. Cao Pi named the two precisely to cheer Wu Zhi up. Wu Zhi came from no great clan and spent his youth among the mighty, never courting local opinion. Even after he took office, his home county refused him a place on the scholar rolls. After Wei was founded, Cao Pi summoned him to an audience in Luoyang. He was named General of the Northern Center, enfeoffed as a full marquis, given staff to command the north, and posted to Xindu. During Taihe he came to the capital. Smarting from his county’s snub, he told Dong Zhao he meant to "piss on his hometown." The eighty-year-old Dong Zhao answered, "I am too old to help you collect that insult." The Shiyu relates that Cao Cao once marched out while Cao Pi and Cao Zhi saw him off. Cao Zhi delivered a polished panegyric that held every eye and pleased his father. Cao Pi looked crushed until Wu Zhi hissed, "Cry when father leaves." Cao Pi’s tears won the moment; everyone decided Cao Zhi’s speech was pretty but insincere. Wu Zhi’s alternate life records a banquet where Cao Rui had Empress Guo shown to Wu Zhi and Cao Xiu. The emperor told them, "Look up and study her face." Such was the emperor’s trust in him. In Huangchu 5 the court ordered every general from full general downward to feast at Wu Zhi’s house at state expense. When spirits were high Wu Zhi pushed for one more round. He set comic actors to spoof the fat Cao Zhen and the thin Zhu Shuo. Zhen, bearing on his nobility, was ashamed to be mocked; angrily he said to Zhi: "Do you intend to treat me as a camp commander?" General Who Charges Cao Hong and General of Light Chariots Wang Zhong said: "If the general insists on making the upper general submit to fat, then you yourself ought to be lean." Zhen grew more furious, drew his sword, glared with eyes, and said: "If actors dare be so flippant, I will behead you." He cursed the whole table. Zhi pressed his hand on his sword and said: "Cao Dan, you are not meat on a butcher's block—Wu Zhi would swallow you without shifting his throat, chew you without shifting his teeth—how dare you rely on power and act arrogant?" Shuo thereupon rose and said: "His Majesty sent us to enjoy ourselves with you—has it come to this?" Zhi turned and shouted at him: "Zhu Shuo—dare you ruin the seating!" The generals sheepishly resumed their places. Zhu Shuo, hot-tempered, slashed the floor with his blade. The party broke up in disorder. After Cao Pi’s death Wu Zhi wrote, "Grief piles on grief—I cannot live inside it. He could not sit still; he paced the courtyard. He remembered a favor and a title above the common run. He had assumed he would serve out his days in honored ease. Instead the sovereign was torn away and he was left for the grave. Utterly alone, he wept string after string of tears. Death profits nothing; the body rots and the name may fade. Yet he vowed to brace himself like a true man." In Taihe 4 he became a palace attendant. At the time Minister of Works Chen Qun handled Masters of Writing affairs; the Emperor had begun personally to attend to the myriad threads; Zhi, as a supporting great minister—the root of safety and peril—said forcefully to the Emperor: "General Who Charges Cavalry Sima Yi is loyal, wise, and utmostly fair—a minister of the altars. Chen Qun was smooth but lazy—unfit to bear the chief burden of government." The emperor took the hint to heart. Next day an edict rebuked Chen Qun, though many thought Wu Zhi’s slur on Chen Qun unfair. Wu Zhi died that same summer. His first posthumous name was the ugly "Chou" marquis. His son Wu Ying kept petitioning until the epithet was softened to "Mighty Marquis" in the Zhengyuan era. Wu Ying, courtesy Wenshu, rose to Jin’s Masters of Writing. Wu Ying’s son Wu Kang, courtesy Zizhong, also rose high.
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使 使巿 使
Wei Ji, courtesy Boru, came from Anyi in Hedong. He was precocious and famed for scholarship. Cao Cao appointed him aide under the Minister of Works, then magistrate of Maoling and a masters-of-writing gentleman. While Cao Cao fought Yuan Shao, Liu Biao backed Shao and the western generals stayed neutral. Liu Zhang of Yizhou feuded with Liu Biao; Wei Ji was sent as document censor to urge Liu Zhang to march east and pin Liu Biao. Blocked at Chang’an, he stayed to stabilize the west. At the time in the four directions there were many returned people; the Guanzhong generals for the most part recruited them as retainers; Ji wrote to Xun Yu: "Guanzhong is fat land; recently it suffered wasteland chaos; people who flowed into Jingzhou number more than ten thousand households; hearing the homeland is peaceful, they all crane their necks and long to return. Yet they had no livelihood; every warlord pressed them into private armies. Weak counties could not resist, so the generals grew stronger. Any upheaval would cost the court dearly. He proposed restoring the state salt monopoly and spending the revenue on plows and oxen. Refugees could be settled with those funds. Hard farming would refill Guanzhong’s granaries. Word of the policy would draw the exiles home. Posting a metropolitan commandant to oversee the west would shrink private armies and swell loyal subjects—that strengthens the trunk and prunes the branches." Xun Yu forwarded the plan to Cao Cao. Cao Cao adopted it: salt inspectors returned, and a colonel governed Hongnong. Once the west was pacified, Wei Ji was recalled and promoted to the Masters of Writing.
19
Under Emperor Ming he was advanced to marquis of Wenxiang with three hundred households. 〈The fief name Wen is read like "hear."〉 Ji memorialized: "The statutes in nine sections, transmitted from antiquity, determine punishments and crimes; their meaning is subtle and fine. Every county magistrate should know the law. The state treasures penal law; gossip dismisses it; clerks hold lives in their hands, yet personnel officers despise the post. Much of bad government starts there. He asked for professors of law to train officials in rotation." The court approved and acted on it. With the people exhausted and labor levies heavy, he submitted this memorial:
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Changing human nature and demanding the impossible is hard on ministers and harder on rulers. Men love riches and rank and fear want and death—yet the throne controls all four rewards and terrors. Obedience wins favor; defiance invites ruin. Hence courtiers flatter unless they are ready to die for honest counsel. Watch closely and you will read every heart below you. Memorialists flatter you as Yao and Shun and mock the enemy as mice. I believe otherwise. When Han Wendi faced powerful princes, Jia Yi warned of mortal danger. Today the realm is split in three and every talent serves a rival throne. Defectors always plead desperation, not conscience—no better than the Warring States shifting allegiance. The land lies empty for a thousand li and the people are desperate; unless you act, the realm will waste beyond recovery. Rite prescribes splendor in peace and austerity in famine. Court luxury must track whether the times are fat or lean. Emperor Wu of Wei kept the harem frugal—plain food, undyed cloth, unlacquered ware—and so conquered the north and left his heirs a surplus. You have seen that example with your own eyes. Now court and camp must tally stores, match revenue to spending, and plan together. Study Goujian’s policy of enriching the people while your workshops pile up gold trinkets, labor never stops, and the treasury bleeds. Han Wudi chased immortality, built bronze palms to catch dew for elixirs, and wasted the treasury. You already mock such superstition. Wudi was faulted for his dew towers; you have no use for dew yet keep the workshops busy; pure waste that wise rule should abolish.
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Wei Ji served two dynasties with counsel of just this frank kind.
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使使 使 使 使 使
Liu Yi, courtesy Gongsi, came from Anzhong in Nanyang. At age ten he was playing on the lecture hall; Sima Decao of Yingchuan patted his head and said: "Boy, boy—'yellow center penetrating pattern'—do you yourself not know?" His brother Liu Wangzhi was famous; Liu Biao made him an aide. Two of Wangzhi’s friends were slandered to death by Liu Biao. Wangzhi resigned when his honest advice angered Biao. Liu Yi warned him, "When Zhao executed the worthy ministers, Confucius turned his chariot around. 〈Liu Xiang’s tale has Zhao Jianzi plot to murder three sages so he could rule all under Heaven. He called them in for counsel, then had them killed. He invited Confucius to Jin with a gift of beef at the ford. The envoy told the ferryman to drown Confucius midstream. When Confucius reached the bank, the envoy delivered the order and the meat. Confucius gazed at the river and cried that fate alone could keep him from crossing. Zilu pressed him to explain. Confucius said Jianzi had used the two ministers while climbing to power, then murdered them once secure. No true dragon stays in a dry pool; no phoenix tolerates a snare. Rip the pregnant doe and burn the woods, and the qilin will not come; smash nests and eggs, and the phoenix will not fly; fish a dry pond, and the dragon tortoise hides. Even beasts flee cruelty—should I do less? Creation answers spirit: wind follows the tiger’s roar, cloud follows the dragon, bells resonate in tune. Kind calls to kind; the gentleman shuns those who destroy their own. They have murdered my peers—why should I walk into their trap?" So he turned his chariot and never crossed the river."〉 If you cannot soften your edges at court like Liuxia Hui, then withdraw like Fan Li before it is too late. To sit still and cut yourself off from the world is suicide!" Wangzhi refused—and soon paid with his life. Liu Yi fled in terror toward the lower Yangzi. 〈His flight memorial thanks Liu Biao: "I have received honors beyond my deserts yet matched neither Guan Zhong nor the hegemons; my virtue failed and my loyal purpose came to nothing. My brother once enjoyed your favor yet lacked discretion and died a felon. We call it Heaven’s judgment, not yours alone. Regret comes too late for tears. I am clumsy and often give offense—I fear whisperers will strike thrice. Your love ebbs while my brother’s crime still stains me—our house may perish and wise men will laugh. So I flee to Xunyang in Lujiang this very day. As Zhong Yi played his southern tunes and Jiao Ju spread brambles for an old friend, distance cannot erase your kindness to me." The Fuzi adds that after Wangzhi’s death every scholar in Jingzhou feared for his skin. Liu Biao did not hate Wangzhi, yet he lacked the breadth to bear blunt truth, so calumny won. His failure to unify Chu may stem from that pettiness. Bo Yi and Shu Qi defied King Wu of Zhou and won fame; Ding Gong bent to Han Gaozu and was executed—their lords’ temperaments were worlds apart. A petty lord cannot hold many followers. Liu Yi then went over to Cao Cao. Cao Cao made him a Chancellor’s aide, then literary aide to the heir-apparent. Cao Pi prized him and asked him to master cursive calligraphy. Yi answered in a letter: "At first I thought noble and base had a hierarchy—this is the constant allotment of ritual. So I clung to small scruples and refused to draft running script. Your command shows you prize plain talent as Qi prized the nine-times table—then worthies will flock as to Duke Huan. 〈The Zhanguo ce tells how a commoner offered Duke Huan "nine-times" arithmetic and was first refused. The man said, "If you heed a trifling skill, will you not heed greater ones?" Huan then received him with full court ritual. Soon Xi Peng arrived, and Qi rose to hegemony."〉 To bend one man’s fussiness for a great king’s work—how dare I refuse?" When Wei was founded he became Palace Attendant.
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From Chang’an, Cao Cao planned a personal expedition to Shu; Liu Yi remonstrated:
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殿 殿
Sages do not scorn common opinion; kings do not silence counsel because of the speaker’s rank. Lasting success needs farsighted counsel and humble listening. Even mute objects like bowstring and girdle-pendant teach restraint—the sages heeded them. I am dull, yet I offer myself as your bowstring. Yue Yi crushed Qi with a weak Yan yet could not crack Jimo while the city resolved to hold—resolve makes the weak strong, despair makes the strong fall. Thirty years of campaigning have broken every foe you faced. Yet even your full host cannot dislodge Sun Quan in the south or Liu Bei in the west. Sun Quan’s and Liu Bei’s hosts cannot match a Ji army on paper, yet Yuan Shao fell while they endure—they fight for their lives, not like a collapsing house of cards. Defenders fight harder than men who have given up hope. King Wen failed thrice against Chong, went home to build virtue, and won in the end. Qin conquered as a marcher state yet lost the empire to a peasant revolt once it exhausted the people. It spent its strength abroad and broke within. Our enemies are tougher than the Warring States, and talent can shift sides—beware a landslide. Some wars are worth the cost; others are wasted effort. Hold the choke points, rotate fresh troops, and wear the enemy down. You may rest in peace while plotting good government; promote farming, practice thrift for ten years, and the realm will prosper.
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使西
Cao Cao answered, "Rulers must know ministers—and ministers must know rulers. You ask me to play King Wen at home—I am not built for that."
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使 使 便 使使
When Wei Feng plotted revolt, Liu Yi’s brother Liu Wei was swept up and faced kin punishment. The Grand Progenitor ordered: "Shuxiang did not sit for his younger brother Hu—this is the system of antiquity." He spared Liu Yi entirely. 〈Liu Yi had warned his brother against Wei Feng: "Choose friends for virtue, not numbers. Mobbing the mediocre breaks the sages’ teaching on friendship. Wei Feng courts a crowd, flashes style, and chases fame—have nothing to do with him. Break with him, I beg you." Liu Wei ignored the warning and fell with the plot. Liu Yi was moved to the Chancellor’s granary office. He thanked Cao Cao: "My kin deserved extinction. You ladled off the boiling pot before it boiled over; you rekindled cold ash and bloomed a dead stump. No words can match such grace—only death could repay it, and ink cannot say enough." 〈Liu Yi’s papers include a memorial on governance: Zhou’s “ten ministers” included a woman—nine men—and Confucius sighed that true talent is rare. Worthy men are simply hard to find. After rebellion and ruin the people are spent; few scholars survive. Senior posts, provincial inspectors, and frontier commands may be filled yet lack the right occupants. The fault is not careless selection but an empty talent pool. Still less can every petty clerk be a paragon. The remedy is strict legal oversight. Constant rotation wastes endless effort on farewells and welcomes. Short-term magistrates play games, shirk real work, chase rumor-born fame, and neglect the people—far from true government. Promotions now ride on local gossip and travelers’ tales. Does anyone verify facts or test competence? A good magistrate enforces law, serves the state, and cares for the people. Those three goals may irk local magnates and traveling busybodies. Persevere and governance wins but rumor turns sour; pander and policy fails while praise piles up. Knowing careers hang on gossip, who would choose substance over spin? Let magistrates serve long enough to show what they can do. Grade them yearly, sum three years, then promote or demote. Judge deeds, not reputations. Count reclaimed fields, bandit outbreaks, and flight against registered households. Then hacks cannot buy fame; while able men need no PR. Clear rules expose slander and puffery without extra inspectors." Cao Cao approved the memorial. He wrote dozens of essays and debated penal law and ritual with Ding Yi; both circulated widely. When Cao Pi became king, Liu Yi became palace attendant and a secondary marquis. He died in Huangchu 2. 〈He was forty-two at death. He left no son. Cao Pi made his nephew Liu Fu heir. 〈The Liu genealogy names Liu Fu, courtesy Boling, governor of Chenliu. Liu Fu’s son Liu Qiao bore the courtesy Zhongyan. The Jinyang Qiu praises Liu Qiao’s ambition to serve the times. Late under Emperor Hui he governed Yu Province. His line stayed eminent for generations.
27
Liu Shao, courtesy Kongcai, came from Handan in Guangping. During Jian'an he was a clerk on mission to Xu. The Grand Clerk upward reported: "On New Year's morning there ought to be a solar eclipse." At Xun Yu’s office some urged canceling court, others postponing the levee. Shao said: "Zishen and Bizao, good scribes of antiquity, still in divining water and fire missed the timing of Heaven. The Liji lists an eclipse among reasons to curtail court ritual. Yet sages did not always cancel court—either the omen failed or math was wrong." Xun Yu accepted his argument. Court met on schedule; no eclipse appeared.
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滿 便 退
When Wu besieged Hefei, eastern troops were on leave; Man Chong asked for central reinforcements and for Cao Xiu’s furloughed soldiers to be recalled before striking. Shao debated, thinking "the bandits have newly arrived; their hearts are focused and their vigor sharp. Man Chong was outnumbered on home ground; a rash attack might fail. Waiting for reinforcements cost nothing. He proposed marching five thousand foot and three thousand horse ahead with fanfare. They should parade at Hefei, feint along the walls, then swing behind Wu to cut retreat and supplies. Wu would flee at the rumor of envelopment without a pitched battle." Cao Rui adopted the plan. Reinforcements arrived as Wu was already retreating.
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退 使 退
An edict called for talent nationwide. Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry Xia Hou Hui recommended Shao: "I have seen Attendant Liu Shao—deeply loyal and thoughtful in reflection, his person comprehensive in calculation; whatever he arrays and weaves, source and flow are broad and far—therefore talents great and small all take what they share with him and weigh it. Hui listed how every type of scholar found something to admire in Liu Shao. Hui said long acquaintance convinced him the court needed Liu Shao’s counsel. Such a man belonged in the inner council, not the common run. Grant him audience and leisure to advise, and fresh wisdom will reach the throne." 〈Pei Songzhi notes that recommendation letters usually exaggerate. Calling Liu Shao “mystical” and “subtle” overshoots the mark."〉
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祿
In Jingchu he was ordered to draft the official performance code. Shao submitted a memorial: "Appraisal of the hundred officials is the great reckoning of kingly government, yet successive ages have not practiced it; therefore governing canons are lacking and not repaired, competence and incompetence mingle and cloak each other. He praised Cao Rui’s edict to restore evaluation. He submitted seventy-two appraisal articles plus a summary. He apologized for his limited learning." He also wrote fourteen essays on music reform but did not present them. Emperor Ming died before enactment. During the Zhengshi era, he lectured on the classics and received a secondary marquisate. His collected works run to more than a hundred items, including legal treatises and the Renwu zhi. He was posthumously named supernumerary chamberlain. His son Liu Lin inherited the title.
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祿 祿
His contemporary Miao Xi of Donghai was equally learned and rose to Masters of Writing. 〈The Xianxian xingzhuang names Miao Fei, courtesy Wenya. He mastered the classics and honored his parents. He was offered a doctorate and six senior posts. When the court was in Chang’an, ministers nominated great scholars. They named Fei palace attendant; he declined all. This was Miao Xi’s father. The Wenzhang zhi gives Xi as courtesy Xibo. He served the censorate and four Wei rulers. He died at sixty in Zhengshi 6. His son Miao Yue, courtesy Kongyi, became Jin’s supernumerary chamberlain. Descendants named Shao, Bo, Zheng, and Yin all rose high.
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Zhong Changtong
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Miao Xi’s friend Zhong Changtong of Shanyang served as a masters-of-writing gentleman at the end of Han and died young. His Changyan is well written and still worth reading. 〈Miao Xi’s memorial for him gives his courtesy as Gongli and praises his learning. In his twenties he studied across the north; companions found him odd. Gao Gan of Bing was famous for hosting wandering scholars. Zhong Changtong called on Gao Gan, who treated him well and asked his opinion. Zhong Changtong told him, "You crave greatness but lack the means; you collect men but cannot judge them—beware." Gao Gan dismissed the warning. Zhong Changtong left; soon Gao Gan fell. The north then respected his foresight. Chang Lin, who had lived with Zhong Changtong in Shangdang, told Pei Songzhi’s informants that Zhong was blunt, scorned petty office, and habitually feigned illness to avoid summons. His moods seemed madcap to some. In Xu, Xun Yu heard his fame and named him masters-of-writing gentleman. He later advised Cao Cao’s staff, then returned to the gentleman post. He died in 220, in his forties. Whenever he discussed how the world worked, he poured his anger into essays collected as the Changyan in twenty-four chapters.
34
Su Lin and others
35
Fu Gu, courtesy Lanshi, came from Niyang in Beidi and claimed descent from Fu Jiezi. His uncle Fu Xun served as palace attendant and Masters of Writing under Huangchu. 〈The Fu zi names his grandfather Fu Rui, governor of Dai. His father Fu Chong was a Palace Attendant. Fu Gu was famous before he turned twenty, 〈the Fu zi relates that He Yan dazzled the great houses with debate, Deng Yang built cliques and traded on fame, and Xiahou Xuan led them as patron—all courted Fu Gu, who refused them coldly. His friend Xun Can, though clear-sighted, wondered at the snub. Xun Can warned him, "Xiahou Xuan is a leading man of the day; he offers sincere friendship—accept and you thrive, refuse and you make an enemy. Two good men at odds hurt the realm—think of Xiangru yielding to Lian Po." Gu answered him: "Taichu's ambition outruns his capacity; he can combine empty reputation but lacks solid talent. He Yan talks high ideals while chasing profit—a glib man who could ruin a kingdom. Deng Yang starts projects he never finishes, craves attention, envies rivals, and hates dissent; babble breeds trouble, and jealousy leaves you friendless. All three are corruptors of public life. Even distance may not shield you from their fall—why embrace them?"〉" Chen Qun named him an aide in the Ministry of Works.
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使使 殿
When Liu Shao drafted the performance-evaluation code, the draft went to the three senior bureaus. Gu challenged Shao's thesis, saying: "I have heard that imperial regulation is vast and deep, and the sage way remote and subtle—if it is not that talent, then the way does not travel empty; to make it spirit-bright lies in the person. As royal order decayed, the classics fell into neglect. Why? The Way reaches far beyond ordinary talent. Liu Shao’s draft hunts ancient precedents that no longer survive intact. Zhou had clear feudal ranks, fixed offices, and separate estates—so evaluation worked. Wei inherits Qin–Han chaos, not Zhou’s neat system. From Jian'an to Qinglong the state fought constantly to survive. Civil and military posts merged; expediency ruled every appointment. Ancient forms cannot be pasted onto this world. Long-term blueprints miss urgent needs; stopgap rules do not age well. Sound offices and orderly people are the root; name–reality checks are the twigs. Testing clerks before rebuilding government confuses ends and means. Ancient kings judged men in village schools, not on ledgers alone. They promoted proven local leaders into office—that was true selection. Today there is no Zhou-style village review—only the personnel ministry decides. File ratings miss real ability; reputation cannot sort virtue. To codify the whole constitution is vaster than any appraisal form."
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Early in Zhengshi he became a masters-of-writing gentleman, then Palace Attendant. At the time Cao Shuang held power, He Yan was Minister of Personnel; Gu said to Shuang's younger brother Xi: "He Pingyu is outwardly still but inwardly sharp and crafty, loves profit, and does not think of tending the root. He will seduce your clan while worthies flee and the court rots." He Yan’s faction ousted him on a trifle. He was named governor of Yingyang but declined to go. Sima Yi then hired him as staff supervisor. After Shuang’s purge he became Intendant of Henan, 〈the Fu zi explains that the Henan intendant ruled both Luoyang and the inner capital region like the old Zhou rural officers. The commandery mixed migrants, magnates, and foreign traders—breeding ground for crime. Sima Zhi had been too loose, Liu Jing too tight, Li Sheng broke law for applause. Fu Gu blended their styles and restored broken statutes. He replaced half of seven hundred yamen clerks. He ended the rule that only locals picked locals and chose able men regardless of origin. He ruled by moral suasion and steady law, settling suits without casual torture. He took no credit for promotions or reforms that helped the people. He won no flashy reputation, yet over time the capital trusted him. He rose to Masters of Writing. Gu constantly thought that "when the First Emperor of Qin abolished marquis and set governors, establishing offices and dividing duties, he did not match antiquity. and Han and Wei simply inherited it. Retrofitting Zhou ritual onto Qin–Han bureaucracy misnames reality and blocks real reform. He dreamed of a classical overhaul but court crises prevented it."
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滿 滿 退 使 退 便 ·
Court factions wanted to invade Wu; the three frontier generals offered rival plans. An edict consulted Gu; Gu answered: "In the past Fuchai humbled Qi and defeated Jin, his might ran through the central states, yet ended in disaster at Gusu; King Min of Qi expanded recklessly and was destroyed. Bright beginnings often end badly—that is history’s lesson. After Guan Yu’s death Sun Quan grew cruel and arrogant until Sima Yi planned the great strike. Sun Quan is dead, leaving the realm to Zhuge Ke. If Ke eases Sun Quan’s tyranny, Wu may unite in fear and cling to the south for years. Some urge a fleet to sweep the river; others a four-pronged assault on the walls; others border garrisons and wait—all standard options. Our troops have trained three years—they are no longer a raiding party. Wu has cohered for sixty years; with Sun Quan gone they will guard fords and narrows—swift victory is unlikely. Frontier garrison farming is the safest course. Soldiers camp beyond peasant fields so bandits cannot raid them; they eat stored grain and spare long supply lines; then strike when a crack opens—that is the urgent priority. Fan Kuai once boasted of crushing the Xiongnu; Ji Bu silenced him. Crossing the Yangtze to storm Wu is the same kind of brag. Better to drill the army, plan for assured victory, and grind Wu down over time." 〈Pei Songzhi quotes Sima Biao’s fuller version of the memorial. Sima Biao dates Sun Quan’s death to Jiaping 4 (252), fourth month. Wang Chang, Hu Zun, and Guanqiu Jian asked to attack. The court, because the three expeditions' plans differed, issued an edict consultation of Masters of Writing Fu Gu; Gu answered: "In the past Fuchai defeated Qi and humbled Jin, his might ran through the central states, yet could not avoid the disaster of Gusu; He repeated King Min’s fall as proof that strong starts need not end well. After crushing Shu’s power and seizing Jingzhou, Sun Quan grew arrogant, executed loyal men, and even struck at heirs—his cruelty peaked. Sima Yi then saw the moment to strike a tottering foe. Sun Quan is gone; Zhuge Ke holds the regency. If Ke reforms, Wu may cling to the south for years despite fear. Wang Chang’s faction wanted a river crossing and living off the land; others wanted four thrusts with psychological warfare; others urged garrison farming—all familiar strategies. Each works only if timed right; mistimed, it invites disaster. Three years of mobilization means surprise is impossible. Wu will strip the countryside and block the fords—no easy raid. If Ke fixes abuses, Wu might unravel—but not overnight. We lack intelligence on the south. Blind invasion is gambling, not strategy. Garrison farming remains the safest option. Order the generals to seize choke points and press forward together. Take their fertile fields and drive them onto poor soil—that is the first step; Second, camps beyond the farms keep raiders off the peasantry; third, pacify the approaches and defections flow in daily; fourth, deep picket lines block enemy spies; fifth, when they pull back, their screen thins and our tillage advances easily; sixth, troops eat stored grain without long convoys; seventh, when openings appear we strike fast—these seven are the urgent priorities of war. Cede those advantages and the enemy profits; take them and the state gains—think it through. Once camps close, wit and courage tell; probe them and the enemy has nowhere to hide. Small against large exhausts the army; poor against rich drains the treasury. That is what Sunzi meant by wearing a strong foe down. Then mass troops to overawe them, lavish rewards to win waverers, and feint on many axes to confuse them. Strike where they do not expect; within three years Wu will crack without a desperate pitched battle. Han forever debated Xiongnu policy—generals demanded war, scholars peace, hotheads glory. Fan Kuai’s hundred-thousand boast met Ji Bu’s scorn, as before. Li Xin’s two hundred thousand against Chu shamed Qin. Generals who vow to cross the Yangtze alone repeat those old blunders. Under a sage ruler, loyal ministers, clear law, and trained troops, Wu’s fall becomes a matter of time. Sunzi says subdue the enemy without battle; take his cities without storming walls." To ignore sure counsel for a desperate gamble is what I fear. Frontier farming and slow pressure is the best long game." The court ignored Fu Gu. That winter it ordered the expedition anyway. In the first month of 253 Zhuge Ke smashed Wei at Dongguan. After Dongguan, Ke boasted of marching on Qingzhou and Xuzhou; Wei braced for invasion. Gu debated, thinking "the Huai sea is not a road for the bandits to march lightly; moreover in the past Sun Quan sent troops into the sea—they drifted on waves and drowned, almost none surviving—would Ke dare exhaust root and tip, entrust his life to the vast currents, to seek a reckless gamble? 〈The Han shu says Zhang Tang as a clerk practiced gan mo—speculation—with rich merchants. Fu Qian glossed gan mo as betting on outcomes. Ru Chun said profit is gan, loss is mo. Pei Songzhi finds Fu Qian’s gloss incomplete. Ru Chun’s “gain is gan” is also unclear. Pei reads gan as “dry” (qián). Gan mo means chasing profit whether you end high and dry or drowned."〉 Ke would not exceed dispatching deputy commanders and minor generals long practiced in naval warfare, riding the sea up the Huai, showing movement toward Qing and Xu, while Ke himself combines troops and comes toward Huainan." Ke did attack Xincheng and withdrew in failure.
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Appraisal
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The historian says Cao Pi and Cao Zhi drew forth the Seven Masters, of whom Wang Can was foremost in name. Wang Can shaped court ritual, yet in quiet integrity he fell short of Xu Gan. Wei Ji matched the times with encyclopedic knowledge of precedent. Liu Shao mastered the canon, balancing substance and polish. Liu Yi was famed for discernment; Fu Gu for deploying talent—the standard verdict says. 〈Pei Songzhi counters that Fu Gu’s judgment and stature ranked among the greatest of his day. Calling him merely “good with talent” sells him short."〉
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