#pei songzhi

[k-star-holic]

Cha Tae-hyun, in a sick ⁇ Wife Letter, sobbed, "Thank you for taking care of my children instead of me" ('MongoliaMongolia')

[zl181]

Wu after Sun Quan as told by Chen Shou

Curious to know what happened to the imperial government of Wu after it fell? Chen Shou and Pei Songzhi has got you covered. With translations by me, you can now read what they wrote about Wu. I do not think anyone has translated the entirety of Volume 48, so I consider myself the first. My translations are not perfect, so don't cite this in your school essay. Ask me for anything for clarification and I will try to help you.

I originally wanted to post it as one long Tumblr "essay" but it won't let me so here are the links to where I have them.

Sun Liang

Sun Xiu

Sun Hao

Chen Shou Assessment

I apologize for my hiatus. I don't think I can post content regularly but I felt like this deserved to be shared with you all.

[zgongjin]

A frozen fortress in one night?

Recently, there has been a huge amount of discussion about a particular frozen wall during the Battle of Tong Pass (Tongguan) on the Chinese internet, mainly due to the reconstruction attempt in this video (in Chinese). The video attracted a lot of attention as it was made by a game company to promote their 3k theme game, and because they chose to focus on such seemingly unimportant and negligible detail.

The explicit mention of a 'frozen wall' can be found in Chapter 59 of the Romance, but unlike many other wild ideas, this detail was in an annotation to the Records of the Three Kingdoms as well.

曹瞞傳曰：時公軍每渡渭，輒為超騎所衝突，營不得立，地又多沙，不可築壘。婁子伯說公曰：「今天寒，可起沙為城，以水灌之，可一夜而成。」公從之……比明，城立，由是公軍盡得渡渭。

The Caomanzhuan states: when Duke Cao's army crossed the Wei River, they were always struck by Ma Chao's cavalry and unable to land safely for camp establishment, and because the ground was sandy, no fortifications could be built. Lou Zibo [Lou Gui] suggested to the Duke, "Today the weather is cold, we can build walls with sand and fill them with water, and they will be built overnight [due to freezing]." Cao Cao accepted his suggestion.....by dawn, the walls were erected, and the Duke's army successfully crossed the Wei River.

This detail was of course not without controversy. Pei Songzhi in his annotations noted that some questioned the feasibility of water freezing when it was only the 9th month at that point. Indeed, when checking Tongguan County and Xi'an City climate data records today, their mean daily temperatures in October/November (roughly corresponding to the 9th month) sit well above the freezing point at about 6-15 degrees. Additionally, the Caomanzhuan is known for incorporating exaggerated tales and the ice wall's absence in Chen Shou's main text seems to imply that Chen Shou didn't deem this detail worthy or credible.

Some think otherwise. Pei Songzhi himself commented that at that point the temperatures may be cold enough for freezing, against the backdrop of a mini-cooling period during Chinese history. Caomanzhuan is also known as a piece that frequently paints Cao Cao in a bad light, so such a positive spin on Cao Cao and his advances seemed unlikely to be made up.

Regardless of what one thinks of the validity of this tiny detail, the video creators, with their interpretation of events, attempted and successfully recreated a frozen wall. Undeniably, this is at least partly a marketing gimmick, and a successful one given the responses. But it certainly is still very interesting to see an effort to explore the true history behind famous tales and legends, especially as a mere game studio.

[the-archlich]

In the Romance, Zhuge Jin approaches Guan Yu in Maicheng and says that Sun Quan will spare Guan and treat him munificently if he surrenders; Guan refuses, tries to flee, and is caught by Pan Zhang and ultimately executed along with his son. Did Zhuge Jin really make that offer? And do you think Guan could have lived if he'd surrendered, or would Sun have killed him no matter what?

The closest we get to that is a passage that Pei Songzhi considers dubious in SGZ 36.1.

Shǔjì states: Quán sent his Generals to attack Yǔ, and captured Yǔ and his son Píng. Quán wished to keep Yǔ alive to use against Liú [Bèi] and Cáo [Cāo], but his attendants said: “A wolf cub cannot be raised, or else later it will certainly do harm. Excellency Cáo did not destroy him, bringing on himself great misfortune so that he even discussed moving the capital. Now how can he be left alive?” Therefore they beheaded him. Your Servant Sōngzhī comments that according to Wúshū, Sūn Quán sent his officer Pān Zhāng to cut off Yǔ’s escape route, and when Yǔ arrived he was beheaded. Moreover, Línjǔ is two to three hundred lǐ from Jiānglíng. How could there be enough time to kill Yǔ after discussing on whether to keep him alive or kill him? Also the saying: “Quán wished to keep Yǔ alive to use against Liú [Bèi] and Cáo [Cāo],” this cannot be, and can by no means come from the mouth of the knowledgeable.

[bookofjin]

What was Guo Zhang's relation with Empress Jia and Guo Huai?

He was a relative of Empress Jia's mother, but his father's name is not recorded, so the precise relationship cannot be known for certain.

To start with the simple stuff first, Empress Jia was the daughter of Guo Huai郭槐 and granddaughter of Guo Pei郭配, and Pei was the younger brother of the famous Guo Huai郭淮.

Guo Zhang郭彰 is described in his very short biography in JS040 as “Empress Jia's 從舅,” which I believe should translate to “mother's uncle”. Taken literally, this would make him Guo Huai郭淮's younger brother.

Pei Songzhi has attached a quote from 晉諸公贊 to Guo Huai's biography in SGZ, which gives some brief biographical data on Huai's two younger brothers Pei and Zhen, and their sons (Huai's nephews). However Zhang is not mentioned at all, so either he has been omitted, or the designation of 從舅 in this case should be more loosely understood as “older maternal relative”.

The courtesy names given by 晉諸公贊 could potentially be a clue. Huai and his brothers have seniority courtesy name. Huai淮, Boji伯濟; Pei配, Zhongnan仲南; Zhen, Ji'nan季南. As a rule, bo伯 indicates the older brother, zhong仲 the middle brother, and ji 季, the youngest. Pei and Zhen's sons all have courtesy names starting with tai泰 as a generational marker.

According to JS, Guo Zhang's courtesy name was Shuwu叔武, where shu叔 is also a seniority marker, designating him as the third oldest among his brothers. It's possible therefore that there were four brothers in total, Huai, Pei, Zhang, and Zhen. However I'm not sure if this is possible chronologically since Huai was active during the Jian'an era and Zhen lived into the 290s.

[xiahoumiaocai]

ZZTJ stuff + evaluations

Hey guys, I have a wiki account so I decided to start creating pages for a lot of the figures who aren’t represented, as well as editing as many people’s pages as possible to include a full list of relatives and titles as I can possibly manage. 

I’m using one of my faves, the ZZTJ, as my primary source, since I have a Word doc copy of it at hand, so most things on this will likely be Jin dynasty era, but I am also working on the Han dynasty era too. I will also be referencing heavily from the SGZ , and hopefully even make a “History vs Fiction” tab for the ones who I feel are incorrectly represented. I trust Pei Songzhi’s annotations very much too, so I’ll probably take anything he says to be true if I cannot find any information that suggests otherwise, whereas Chen Shou will be seen with a similar light but with less belief in myself when I’m doing it. I will write no falsehoods and will reference sources as often as I can

I’m also possibly going to do some evaluations on DW9 characters too if anyone cares to read, probably in order that my boredom decrees, but if you want to give a request, I’ll probably do it (unless I hate them)

[psitrend]

A Third Century Chinese Account of the Roman Empire

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2022/05/12/a-third-century-chinese-account-of-the-roman-empire/

A Third Century Chinese Account of the Roman Empire

Roman life is described in translations of The Weilue, a 3rd-century Chinese historical text.

Mutual knowledge of the Chinese and Roman empires was very limited. Only a few attempts at direct communication are witnessed in the documents. In order to preserve control over the lucrative silk trade, intermediate empires such as the Parthians and the Kushans prevented direct contact between the two empires.

The historian Florus recounted the arrival of various envoys to the court of the first Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC – 14 AD), including the “Seres” (possibly the Chinese):

“Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even Scythians and Sarmatians sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the Seres came likewise, and the Indians who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours.” (Florus, as quoted in Yule (1915))

The Chinese commander Ban Chao attempted to send his emissary Gan Ying to Rome in AD 97, but the Parthians forbade him to cross the Persian Gulf. Ancient Chinese historians told of several alleged Roman embassies in China. The first known came in 166 AD, presumably from the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius or his adopted son Marcus Aurelius. Others are said to have arrived between AD 226 and 284, with a notable gap to the first Byzantine embassy in AD 643.

Weilue: The People of the West

The Weilüe (魏 略), or “Short History of Wei”, is a Chinese historical text written by Yu Huan between 239 and 265. Yu Huan was an officer in the state of Cao Wei (220-265) during the period of the Three Kingdoms (220-280). Although he was not a historian, he was highly regarded by Chinese academics. The original content of the book has been lost, but the chapters on the Xirong have been cited by Pei Songzhi, as an annotation to volume 30 of the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (三國 志), the official historical text of the Three Kingdoms period, which collects the chronicles of the rival states, Wei Kingdom, Shu Kingdom, and the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms in a single text, and served as a model for historical novels such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms of the 14th Century, first published in 429. The Weilüe contains material new, unique, and generally reliable, mostly from the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. Most of the new information contained in the volume appears to come from the Eastern Han Dynasty before China was largely cut off from the West by civil wars and unrest along its borders during the late 2nd century.

Yu Huan, who never left China, does not mention in his text the sources from which he received the information. However, land communications with the West apparently continued uninterrupted even after the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty.

Yu Huan collected a great deal of information on Western countries including Parthia, India, and the Roman Empire, and on the various routes to reach these exotic destinations.

Some information was already known before Yu Huan, and can also be found in some sections of the Records of the Grand Historian (史記, Shiji by Sima Qian), the History of the Former Han (Hanshu, 汉书, initiated by Ban Biao, continued from son Ban Gu and terminated by Biao’s youngest daughter Ban Zhao), and the Book of Later Han (Hou Hanshu, 後 漢書, compiled by Fan Ye).

The book describes the routes to the Roman Empire. It is possible that some, if not all of the information contained come from reports by foreign sailors and travelers. One such document that may have been available to Yu Huan is detailed in the Book of Liang by a Roman merchant who arrived in Jiaozhi near modern-day Hanoi in 226 and was sent to the court of Eastern Wu Emperor Sun Quan, who asked him for a report on his native country and its people.

Yu Huan included a brief description of “Zesan”, a vassal state of the Roman Empire, identified by some as Trebizond in modern-day Turkey and by historian John E. Hill with Azania, corresponding to the southeastern coast of Africa.

The complete translation with the translation notes by John E. Hill (September 2004) of the volume in English can be found by following this link. 

Below, are the most significant passages describing a peripheral part of the Roman Empire through the eyes of a third-century Chinese intellectual.

Section 11 – Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)

The kingdom of Da Qin (Rome) is also called Lijian. It is west of Anxi (Parthia) and Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), and west of the Great Sea.

From the city of Angu (Gerrha), on the frontier of Anxi (Parthia), you take a boat and cut directly across to Haixi (‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). With favourable winds it takes two months; if the winds are slow, perhaps a year; if there is no wind, perhaps three years.

The country (that you reach) is west of the sea (haixi), which is why it is called Haixi (literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). There is a river (the Nile) flowing out of the west of this country, and then there is another great sea (the Mediterranean). The city of (Wu) Chisan (Alexandria)7 is in Haixi (Egypt).

From below this country you go north to reach the city of Wudan (Tanis?). You (then) head southwest and cross a river (the Sebannitus branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes a day. You head southwest again, and again cross a river (the Canopis branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes another day. There are, in all, three major cities [that you come to].

Now, if you leave the city of Angu (Gerrha) by the overland route, you go north to Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Babylonia and Jordan), then west to Haixi (Egypt), then turn south to go through the city of Wuchisan (Alexandria). After crossing a river, which takes a day by boat, you circle around the coast (to the region of Apollonia, the port of Cyrene). (From there, i.e. the region of Apollonia) six days is generally enough to cross the (second) great sea (the Mediterranean) to reach that country (Da Qin = Rome).

This country (the Roman Empire) has more than four hundred smaller cities and towns. It extends several thousand li in all directions. The king has his capital (that is, the city of Rome) close to the mouth of a river (the Tiber). The outer walls of the city are made of stone.

This region has pine trees, cypress, sophora, catalpa, bamboo, reeds, poplars, willows, parasol trees, and all sorts of plants. The people cultivate the five grains [traditionally: rice, glutinous and non-glutinous millet, wheat and beans], and they raise horses, mules, donkeys, camels and silkworms. (They have) a tradition of amazing conjuring. They can produce fire from their mouths, bind and then free themselves, and juggle twelve balls with extraordinary skill.

The ruler of this country is not permanent. When disasters result from unusual phenomena, they unceremoniously replace him, installing a virtuous man as king, and release the old king, who does not dare show resentment.

The common people are tall and virtuous like the Chinese, but wear hu (‘Western’) clothes. They say they originally came from China, but left it.

They have always wanted to communicate with China but, Anxi (Parthia), jealous of their profits, would not allow them to pass (through to China).

The common people can write in hu (‘Western’) script. They have multi-storeyed public buildings and private; (they fly) flags, beat drums, (and travel in) small carriages with white roofs, and have a postal service with relay sheds and postal stations, like in the Middle Kingdom (China).

From Anxi (Parthia) you go around Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Babylonia and Jordan) to reach this country.

The people (of these countries) are connected to each other. Every 10 li (4.2 km) there is a ting (relay shed or changing place), and every 30 li (12.5 km) there is a zhi (postal station). There are no bandits or thieves, but there are fierce tigers and lions that kill those travelling on the route. If you are not in a group, you cannot get through.

This country (Rome) has installed dozens of minor kings. The king’s administrative capital (Rome) is more than 100 li (42 km) around. There is an official Department of Archives.

The king has five palaces at 10 li (4.2 km) intervals. He goes out at daybreak to one of the palaces and deals with matters until sunset and then spends the night there. The next day he goes to another palace and, in five days makes a complete tour. They have appointed thirty-six leaders who discuss events frequently. If one leader does not show up, there is no discussion. When the king goes out for a walk, he always orders a man to follow him holding a leather bag. Anyone who has something to say throws his or her petition into the bag. When he returns to the palace, he examines them and determines which are reasonable.

They use glass to make the pillars and table utensils in the palaces. They manufacture bows and arrows.

They divide the various branch principalities of their territory into small countries such as that of the king of Zesan (Azania?), the king of Lüfen (Leucos Limen), the king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), the king of Xiandu (Leukê Komê), the king of Sifu (Petra), (and that of) the king of Yuluo (Karak). There are so many other small kingdoms it is impossible to give details on each one.

Section 12 – Products of Da Qin (Roman territory)

This country produces fine linen. They make gold and silver coins. One gold coin is equal to ten silver coins.

They have fine brocaded cloth that is said to be made from the down of ‘water-sheep’. It is called Haixi (‘Egyptian’) cloth. This country produces the six domestic animals, which are all said to come from the water.

It is said that they not only use sheep’s wool, but also bark from trees, or the silk from wild cocoons, to make brocade, mats, pile rugs, woven cloth and curtains, all of them of good quality, and with brighter colours than those made in the countries of Haidong (“East of the Sea”).

Furthermore, they regularly make a profit by obtaining Chinese silk, unravelling it, and making fine hu (‘Western’) silk damasks. That is why this country trades with Anxi (Parthia) across the middle of the sea. The seawater is bitter and unable to be drunk, which is why it is rare for those who try to make contact to reach China.

The mountains (of this country) produce nine-coloured jewels (fluorite) of inferior quality. They change colour on different occasions from blue-green to red, yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, and dark blue. Nowadays nine-coloured stones of the same type are found in the Yiwu Shan (a mountain range east of Hami).

In the third Yangjia year (CE 134), the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chen Pan [who had been made a hostage at the court of the Kushan emperor, for some period between 114 and 120, and was later placed on the throne of Kashgar by the Kushans], offered a blue (or green) gem and a golden girdle from Haixi (Egypt).

Moreover, the Xiyu Jiutu (‘Ancient Sketch of the Western Regions’) now says that both Jibin (Kapisha-Gandhāra) and Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) produce precious stones approaching the quality of jade.

Product List

Note: The translator has added the numbering in brackets for the convenience of the reader in checking the notes on the various items. For information on any of the items mentioned in the list, please click on the blue superscript No. 12 after “Product List” above, and then scroll down the page of notes until you come to the number you are looking for. For instance, if you want to check the notes on tin, scroll down until you reach note number 12.12 (6).

Da Qin (the Roman Empire) has plenty of:

(1) gold

(2) silver

(3) copper

(4) iron

(5) lead

(6) tin

(7) ‘divine tortoises’ – tortoises used for divination

(8) white horses with red manes

(9) fighting cocks

(10) rhinoceroses

(11) sea turtle shell

(12) black bears

(13) ‘red hornless (or immature) dragons’ (which produced the famous “dragons’ blood” resin)

(14) ‘poison-avoiding rats’ = mongooses

(15) large cowries

(16) mother-of-pearl

(17) carnelian

(18) ‘southern gold’

(19) kingfisher feathers

(20) ivory

(21) coloured veined jade

(22) ‘bright moon’ pearls

(23) luminescent ‘pearls’ or pearl-like jewels (probably large diamonds)

(24) genuine white pearls

(25) yellow amber

(26) (red) coral

(27) ten varieties of glass: red, white, black, green, yellow, blue-green, dark blue, light blue, fiery red, purple

(28) a magnificent jade

(29) white carnelian?

(30) rock crystal or transparent glass

(31) various semi-precious gems

(32) realgar

(33) orpiment

(34) nephrite

(35) multicoloured jade or gemstone

(36) ten sorts of wool rugs: yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, deep red, dark blue, golden yellow, light blue and back to yellow

(37) finely patterned multicoloured wool carpets

(38) nine colours of multicoloured lower quality wool carpets (kilims rather than knotted carpets?)

(39) gold threaded embroidery

(40) polychrome (warp twill) fine silk or chiffon

(41) woven gold cloth

(42) purple chi cloth

(43) falu cloth

(44) purple chiqu cloth

(45) asbestos cloth

(46) fine silk gauze cloth

(47) shot silk, ‘clinging cloth’ or ‘cloth with swirling patterns’?

(48) dudai cloth

(49) cotton-wool cloth?

(50) multicoloured tao cloth

(51) crimson curtains woven with gold

(52) multicoloured ‘spiral curtains’?

(53) yiwei

(54) myrrh

(55) storax

(56) diti

(57) rosemary

(58) probably dhūṇa – an incense made from the resin of the Indian Sal tree.

(59) bai fuzi – lit. ‘white aconite’ – but it is not clear what plant this refers to here. See notes.

(60) frankincense

(61) turmeric, saffron or tulips

(62) rue oil

(63) Oriental lovage – Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance

Altogether (they have) twelve types of aromatic plants.

Section 13 – The Sea Route to Da Qin (Roman territory)

As well as the overland route from Da Qin (Roman territory) through Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Egypt and Parthia), one can also follow the sea south along the seven commanderies of Jiaozhi (stretching down the north Vietnamese coast), which are in contact with foreign countries. Nearby (or ‘North’) is a waterway (the Red River) which leads to Yongchang in Yizhou (a commandery in present-day southern Yunnan). That’s why rare items come from Yongchang.

In early times only the maritime routes (to Da Qin) were discussed because they didn’t know there were overland routes.

Section 14 – Roman Dependencies

Now, (the Roman Empire) can be summed up as follows: the number of people and families cannot be given in detail. It is the biggest country west of the Bai Congling (‘White Pamir Mountains’). They have installed numerous minor kings so only the bigger dependencies are noted here:

Section 15 – The Kingdom of Zesan (Azania)

The king of Zesan (Azania) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). His seat of government is in the middle of the sea. To the north you reach Lüfen (Leukê Komê). It can take half a year to cross the water, but with fast winds it takes a month.

(Zesan) is in close communication with Angu city (Gerrha) in Anxi (Parthia). You can (also) travel (from Zesan) southwest to the capital of Da Qin (Rome), but the number of li is not known.

Section 16 – The Kingdom of Lüfen = Leukê Komê or modern Al Wajh

The king of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). It is 2,000 li (832 km) from his residence to (the nearest) major city (= Daphnae) of Da Qin (the Roman Empire).

From the city of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) going west to Da Qin (alongside the Butic Canal), you cross over the sea by an ‘elevated bridge’ 230 li (96 km) long;3 then you take the sea route southwest, travelling around the sea (coast), and then head west (to reach Da Qin).

Section 17 – The Kingdom of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan)

The king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From the kingdom of Sitao (Istakhr, Stakhr) you go south, cross a river (the Rūd-i Kor), then head west 3,000 li (1,247 km) to go to Qielan (Wadi Sirhan). The route leaves south of the river (the Rūd-i Kor), only then do you head west.

From Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) you again travel west 600 li (250 km) to the kingdom of Sifu (Petra). The Southern Route joins (this east-west route) at Sifu (Petra). Also, (a route) goes southwest to the kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah).

Due south from Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) and Sifu (Petra) is Jishi (‘Rock Piles’). To the south of Jishi (‘Rock Piles’) there is a big sea (the Red Sea) which produces coral and pearls.

North of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), Sifu (Petra), Sibin (Susa) and Aman (Ariana) there is a mountain range (the Taurus mountains)11 running east to west.

East of both Da Qin (Roman territories) and Haixi (= Egypt) there is a mountain range (the Jibāl ash Sharāh Range or Mount Seir) running north to south.

Section 18 – The Kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên)

The king of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence it is 600 li (250 km) northeast to Sifu (Petra).

Section 19 – The Kingdom of Sifu (Petra)

The king of Sifu (Petra) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence northeast to Yuluo (Karak), you go 340 li (141 km), and cross over a sea (mistake for ‘river’ = the Wadi al-Ḥesa).

Section 20 – The Kingdom of Yuluo (Karak)

Yuluo (Karak) is subject to of Da Qin (Rome). The seat of government is northeast of Sifu (Petra) across a river (the Wadi al-Ḥesa). From Yuluo (Karak) you go northeast, and again cross over a river (River Arnon).

Featured image: Great Hunt mosaic depicts the capture and transportation of animals, Villa del Casale Sources: Wikipedia 1, 2

#AncientRome, #CaoWei, #RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms, #ThreeKingdoms, #YuHuan

[wanderersoftime]

An examination of Cao Cao’s “I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me”

This is a famous quote popularized by Romance of The Three Kingdoms, and many people came to know Cao Cao because of this quote, along with some of his atrocious deeds, like his killing of Lü Boshe (Hereafter LBS) which ultimately lead to the aforementioned quote. (In the Romance)

Did Cao Cao really say this after killing LBS?

If we are talking about the exact wordings, the answer is a definite no. However, if we are talking about something along that line, then Cao Cao supposedly did say it. I used ‘supposedly’ here because things can get more complicated. I will attempt to touch on that later. 

The quote, in Chinese “寧教我負天下人，休教天下人負我”, is only found in the novel. A quote of a similar fashion, “寧我負人，毋人負我!” is, however, found in Records of The Three Kingdoms (三國志, hereafter SGZ). 

To understand this quote, and to translate it properly, we would need to look at the whole paragraph. 

 太祖聞其食器聲，以為圖己，遂夜殺之。旣而悽愴曰：「寧我負人，毋人負我！」遂行。 

Cao Cao heard the sounds produced by LBS’s utensils, and thought that LBS was planning to kill him, hence Cao Cao killed him at night. He then said sorrowfully, “ I would rather betray others, then let others betray me!”, and left.

Logically, it doesn’t make sense that someone in great sorrow right now would say something about betraying others. Or is it? 

In my opinion, I believe this is Cao Cao’s way of reconciling with his own conscience, to come to terms with what he has done. As we can see from the original quote, he was in great sorrow over the killing of LBS --- perhaps he didn’t want to kill LBS, or that he realized there wasn’t a need to afterwards. 

Regardless of what happened during and before the killing, Cao Cao was definitely regretful after the killing, and stating this quote would make sense as a sort of self-comfort to convince himself that what he did was for the best and in alignment with his beliefs. And with that, then can he continue his travels and future conquests with , hopefully, lesser guilt and regrets. 

It’s not something very noble, but it’s not something very despicable as well. It was perhaps merely a defense mechanism to cope with a traumatic incident. The romance simply took it with extra force and expanded the whole scope to the ‘world’, in order to fit its own storyline ideologies.

Issues with history records

In the original SGZ by Western Jin Historian Chen Shou (陳壽), there were no mentions of LBS, or the incident of Cao Cao killing somebody in that fashion. 

 What I quoted earlier on was the annotations of SGZ by a later Historian Pei Songzhi (裴鬆之). Where did PSZ get his annotations from? He consulted other non-official records, and wrote their versions of this story down as reference. In fact, he found 3 versions of this story, and I will quote them below:

魏書曰：太祖以卓終必覆敗，遂不就拜，逃歸鄉里。從數騎過故人成臯呂伯奢；伯奢不在，其子與賔客共劫太祖，取馬及物，太祖手刃擊殺數人。

世語曰：太祖過伯奢。伯奢出行，五子皆在，備賔主禮。太祖自以背卓命，疑其圖己，手劔夜殺八人而去。

孫盛雜記曰：太祖聞其食器聲，以為圖己，遂夜殺之。旣而悽愴曰：「寧我負人，毋人負我！」遂行。

The last and also the latest chronologically, by Eastern Jin historian Sun Sheng, was what we covered earlier, and had the similar quote we see in the Romance. 

The first one, quoted from 魏書 (Book of Wei), was written by Wei historian Wang Chen. This was the earliest source we had about this incident, and the incident was described as ‘LBS was not at home, his sons and hanger-ons attempted to rob Cao Cao, taking his horses and belonging, Cao Cao then killed a number of them’. 

The second one, quoted from 魏晋世语 (roughly, Stories of Weijin), was written during Western Jin. Here, the incident was described as ‘LBS was not at home, but all 5 of his sons were, they welcomed Cao Cao like a guest. Cao Cao, knowing that he was being pursued, suspected the sons and their hanger-ons were attempting to kill him, hence killed 8 of them at night and left.’ 

Comparing all 3, we see that the last 2 were rather similar in the sense that Cao Cao was depicted as untrusting of LBS’s sons and hence killed them, while the first one was more unique in that we can see it was not Cao Cao’s fault but LBS’s sons’ fault for attempting to rob Cao Cao.

So how credible are these 3 sources? 

Book of Wei was written in Wei so there is the possibility of painting Cao Cao in a better light, though arguably the book was written in the final years of Wei with the major powers in Sima Clan’s hands. So the exact level of that ‘history-writing’ to make Cao Cao seem better is questionable. 

For Stories of Weijin, as the name implies, it was more of a novelish take on history. Not that the information provided cannot be trusted, but that those information would need to be taken with a pinch of salt. PSZ himself had also commented in another section of SGZ that this source is often unreliable and ‘the worst’ (惟頒撰魏晉世語，蹇乏全無宮商，最為鄙劣), so again, credibility is questionable. 

The last account by Sun Sheng, as we can see from the similarity to Stories of Weijin, implied that perhaps he took reference from this source , especially since he was from a later period. And then took some liberty to add in more artistic creations like the supposed quote. 

Chen Shou, when writing SGZ, would possibly have access to Book of Wei, and Stories of Weijin, or the sources that lead to their recording of LBS, yet there was no similar account of LBS or the incident in SGZ. That perhaps implies that he was not confident of their credibility and reliability. 

And to think of it, it does make sense. Even if such incident did happen, probably only Cao Cao or a few of his closer servants would know of this story, of Cao Cao’s feelings (sorrowful or not), or even the private speech he had then. For such relatively confidential and trivial matters, the incident would probably not be recorded in detail in official records, and it is highly unlikely that people later on with no interactions with Cao Cao or these close servants would had a pretty accurate understanding, if at all, of the whole situation. For all we know, this quote in Sun Sheng’s account was made-up too.

So what really happened? 

In all 3 accounts, the outcome is the same — Cao Cao killed LBS’s family. 

If we were to trust anything in these 3 accounts, it would be this, since this outcome was undisputed. 

Looking at the chaos then, it’s not surprising that people like LBS’s family would want to rob somebody. However, it is also not surprising that Cao Cao would kill someone out of suspicions, given his plight then. 

Whichever the case is, the quote in the Romance is definitely an artistic creation, or perhaps, a re-creation likely referencing Sun Sheng’s version of the story. 

It was indeed a successful addition to reinforce the idea of Cao Cao being cold and heartless, willing to sacrifice everything for power and control, as we can see throughout the entire novel. 

However, in reality, Cao Cao was very much a person troubled by emotions, far from being heartless or cold. We could see this in his poems, in his sorrow over the death of his sons, and most definitely in his final words. 

我前後行意，於心未曾有所負也。假令死而有靈，子修若問‘我母所在’，我將何辭以答！ 

Throughout my life, I believe I have not let anyone down. But if there are spirits in afterlife, and Zixiu (Cao Ang) asked me ,“where is my mother”, How should I answer?

[sunfin3k]

Three Kingdom Jstor Article

The bad news guys is that you don’t get a chapter review today. The good news is that instead I’ve compiled a list of all the sources I can find on Jstor that relate to the Later Han/Three Kingdoms. There is some great stuff, with some very well known writers represented so I hope you all enjoy! But remember, you only get six free a month so pick wisely...

·       “Confucian” Values and Practises in Han China by Michael Loewe

·       A History of Court Lyrics in China during Wei-Ch’in Times by Howard L. Goodman

·       Adoption in Han China by Miranda Brown and Rafe De Crespigny

·       Cai Yan and the Poems Attributed to Her by Hans. H Frankel

·       Cao Zhi’s (192-232) Symposium Poems by Robert Joe Cutter

·       Celestial-Master Taoism and the Founding of the Ts’ao-Wei Dynasty: Li Fu Document by Howard L. Goodman

·       Chinese Polymaths, 100-300 AD: The Tung-kuan, Taoist Dissent, and Technical Skills by Howard L. Goodman

·       Chu-ko Liang in The Eyes of His Contemporaries by Eric Henry

·       Confucian Piety and Individualism in Han China by Michael Nylan

·       Divination by Shells, Bones and Stalks during the Han Period by Michael Loewe

·       Han Administrative Documents Recent Finds from the North-West by Michael Loewe

·       Historic Analogies and Evaluative Judgements: Zhuge Liang as Portrayed in Chen Shou’s “Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms” and Pei Songzhi’s Commentary by Hoyt Cleveland Tillman

·       On Reading Cao Zhi’s “Three Good Men”: Yong shi shi or Deng lin shi? by Robert Joe Cutter

·       Politics and Philisophy under the Government of Emperor Huan 159-168 A.D. by Rafe De Crespigny

·       Recent Research in China on Wei-Jin Nanbeichao History by Hou Xudong and Howard L. Goodman

·       Rethinking Chinese Kinship in the Han and the Six Dynasties: A Preliminary Observation by Hou Xudong and Howard L. Goodman

·       Rotten Pendent! The Literary and Historic Afterlife of Qiao Zhao by J. Michael Farmer

·       Some Notes on Han-Time Documents from Tun-huang by Michael Loewe

·       Some Notes On The Western Regions in Later Han by Rafe De Crespigny

·       The Bifurcation of the Yellow Turbans in Later Han by Howard S. Levy

·       The Calligrapher Cheng Yu (ca.163-230) and the Demographic of a Myth by Howard L. Goodman

·       The Cosmological Context of Sovereignty in Han Times by Michael Loewe

·       The Death of Empress Zhen: Fiction and Histography in Early Medieval China by Robert Joe Cutter

·       The Incident at the Gate: Cao Zhi, the Succession and Literary Fame by Robert Joe Cutter

·       The Jewish presence in Imperial China by Michael Loewe

·       The Kingdom of Nanzhong China’s Southwest Border Region Prior to the Eighth Century by John Herman

·       The Life and Legacy of Liu Biao: Governer, Warlord, and Imperial Pretender in Late Han China by Andrew Chittick

·       The Measurement of Grain during the Han Period by Michael Loewe

·       The Organs of Han Imperial Government: Zhongdu guan, duguan, xianguan and xiandao guan by Michael Loewe

·       The Orphan Ts’ao P’i, His Odd Poem, and Its Histotrophic Fame by Howard L. Goodman

·       The Study of Wooden Documents: Recent Developments by Michael Loewe

·       The Three Chaste Ones of Ba: Local Perspectives on the Yellow Turban Rebellion on the Chengdu Plain by J. Michael Farmer

·       Ts’ao Chih and His Immortals by Donald Holzman

·       Two Chapters in the Life of an Empress of the Later Han by Chauncey S. Goodrich

·       What’s in a Name? On the Appellative “Shu” in Early Medieval Chinese Histography by J. Michael Farmer

·       Yellow Turbans Religion and Rebellion at the End of Han by Howard S. Levy

·       “Well how’d you become king, then?” Swords in Early Medieval China by Robert Joe Cutter

[fuyonggu]

SGZ Biography of Zhuge Liang (Until Liu Bei’s Death)

I had a draft of this I was working on earlier. Daolun might appreciate it for his articles.

諸葛亮字孔明，琅邪陽都人也。漢司隸校尉諸葛豐後也。父圭，字君貢，漢末為太山郡丞。亮早孤，從父玄為袁術所署豫章太守，玄將亮及亮弟均之官。會漢朝更選朱皓代玄。玄素與荊州牧劉表有舊，往依之。玄卒，亮躬畊隴畝，好為《梁父吟》。身長八尺，每自比於管仲、樂毅，時人莫之許也。惟博陵崔州平、潁川徐庶元直與亮友善，謂為信然。

Zhuge Liang, styled Kongming, was a native of Yangdu county in Langye commandary. He was a descendant of the Han dynasty's Colonel-Director of Retainers, Zhuge Feng. 

Zhuge Liang’s father was Zhuge Gui, styled Jungong, who served as a Minister of Taishan commandary during the final years of the Han dynasty. But Zhuge Gui passed away while Zhuge Liang was still young. Zhuge Liang thus went to live with his uncle, Zhuge Xuan, when Zhuge Xuan was appointed by Yuan Shu as Administrator of Yuzhang. Not long afterwards, the Han court appointed Zhu Hao to replace Zhuge Xuan as Administrator. So since Zhuge Xuan had an existing relationship with the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, he and his nephews went to stay with Liu Biao instead. 

By the time Zhuge Xuan passed away, Zhuge Liang had taken up farming, and he was fond of the Song of Liangfu. He grew to be eight chi tall. He was always comparing himself to the ancients Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. Hardly anyone agreed with such an assessment; only Cui Zhouping of Boling commandary and Xu Shu of Yingchuan commandary (styled Yuanzhi), who were his good friends, said he was right to think so.

〈《獻帝春秋》曰：初，豫章太守周術病卒，劉表上諸葛玄為豫章太守，治南昌。漢朝聞周術死，遣朱皓代玄。皓從揚州刺史劉繇求兵擊玄，玄退屯西城，皓入南昌。建安二年正月，西城民反，殺玄，送首詣繇。此書所云，與本傳不同。〉〈《漢晉春秋》曰：亮家于南陽之鄧縣，在襄陽城西二十里，號曰隆中。〉〈按《崔氏譜》：州平，太尉烈子，均之弟也。《魏略》曰：亮在荊州，以建安初與潁川石廣元、徐元直、汝南孟公威等俱游學，三人務於精熟，而亮獨觀其大略。每晨夜從容，常抱膝長嘯，而謂三人曰：「卿三人仕進可至刺史郡守也。」三人問其所至，亮但笑而不言。後公威思鄉里，欲北歸，亮謂之曰：「中國饒士大夫，遨遊何必故鄉邪！」臣松之以為《魏略》此言，謂諸葛亮為公威計者可也，若謂兼為己言，可謂未達其心矣。老氏稱知人者智，自知者明，凡在賢達之流，固必兼而有焉。以諸葛亮之鑒識，豈不能自審其分乎？夫其高吟俟時，情見乎言，志氣所存，既已定於其始矣。若使游步中華，騁其龍光，豈夫多士所能沈翳哉！委質魏氏，展其器能，誠非陳長文、司馬仲達所能頡頏，而況於餘哉！苟不患功業不就，道之不行，雖志恢宇宙而終不北向者，蓋以權御已移，漢祚將傾，方將翊贊宗傑，以興微繼絕克復為己任故也。豈其區區利在邊鄙而已乎！此相如所謂「鵾鵬已翔於遼廓，而羅者猶視於藪澤」者矣。公威名建，在魏亦貴達。〉

(The Annals of Emperor Xian states, "When the Administrator of Yuzhang, Zhou Shu, passed away of illness, Liu Biao originally sent up a petition stating that he had appointed Zhuge Xuan as the new Administrator, with his headquarters at Nanchang. But when the Han court heard that Zhou Shu had died, they sent Zhu Hao to take over the post from Zhuge Xuan. Zhu Hao asked the Inspector of Yangzhou, Liu Yao, for troops and then attacked Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Xuan withdrew to camp at Xicheng, while Zhu Hao entered Nanchang. In the second year of Jian'an (197), the first month, the people of Xicheng rebelled; they killed Zhuge Xuan and brought his head to Liu Yao." This account naturally conflicts with the base biography.

Xi Zuochi's Annals of Han and Jin states, "Zhuge Liang's family lived in Deng county in Nanyang commandary, twenty li west from the city of Xiangyang, at a place called Longzhong."

According to the Registry of the Cui Clan, this Cui Zhouping was "the son of the Grand Commandant, Cui Lie, and the younger brother of Cui Jun".

The Weilue states, "During the days that Zhuge Liang lived in Jingzhou at the beginning of the Jian'an reign era (after 196), he spent his time wandering and learning in the company of such people as Shi Guangyuan and Xu Yuanzhi (Xu Shu) of Yingchuan commandary and Meng Gongwei of Runan commandary. Now these three fellows each had their talents, but Zhuge Liang still saw himself as greater than them. Whenever they were enjoying a moment of respite during the mornings or evenings, Zhuge Liang would often rub his knees and make a long sigh. He would say to the other three, 'Perhaps you gentlemen will rise high enough to become Inspectors or Administrators.' When they asked him what fate he saw for himself, he would only laugh without answering. Later, when Shi Guangyuan grew homesick and wished to return north, Zhuge Liang said to him, 'The Middle Kingdom is full of great leaders and gentlemen. Wander if you like, but can you really be sure of getting home again?'"

This Meng Gongwei was named Meng Jian; he also enjoyed honor and success in Wei.

In my (Pei Songzhi's) view, both Zhuge Liang's comments to Shi Guangyuan and his earlier words were indications that Zhuge Liang felt that he was not yet able to fulfill his desires. Laozi commended those who could recognize the value of others as knowledgeable and those who could appreciate their own worth as wise, and truly worthy and successful were those who displayed both these talents. Could a man of Zhuge Liang's perception and intellect have failed to recognize his own worth? He may have been indulging in songs and playing for time, but judging by his words and his feelings, his great ambitions and passions were already formed by this time.

Suppose Zhuge Liang had decided to wander through the heartlands of the dynasty and display his magnificence. Even a deluge of talents would not have been enough to obscure him! He might have given himself over to Wei, and there developed his potential and his abilities. Had he done so, he truly would have outshone even Chen Changwen (Chen Qun) and Sima Zhongda (Sima Yi), much less anyone else! No deed or endeavor would have been impossible for him; no path would have been closed to him. Yet despite being a man of such boundless ambition, in the end, he did not go north. He must have done so because he perceived that the dynasty's authority was already gone and it was on the brink of collapse, and so he wished to serve and assist some worthy relative of the dynasty to restore what had fallen, continue what had been broken, and revive what had been ended. Would he have ever limited himself to merely eking out a meager living in some border region? The proverb sums it up: "the great birds soar across the wide world, but even a bound one will still glance longingly towards the lakes and ponds."

時先主屯新野。徐庶見先主，先主器之，謂先主曰：「諸葛孔明者，臥龍也，將軍豈願見之乎？」先主曰：「君與俱來。」庶曰：「此人可就見，不可屈致也。將軍宜枉駕顧之。」由是先主遂詣亮，凡三往，乃見。因屏人曰：「漢室傾頹，姦臣竊命，主上蒙塵。孤不度德量力，欲信大義於天下，而智術淺短，遂用猖（獗）〔蹶〕，至于今日。然志猶未已，君謂計將安出？」亮答曰：自董卓已來，豪傑并起，跨州連郡者不可勝數。曹操比於袁紹，則名微而眾寡，然操遂能克紹，以弱為強者，非惟天時，抑亦人謀也。今操已擁百萬之眾，挾天子而令諸侯，此誠不可與爭鋒。孫權據有江東，已歷三世，國險而民附，賢能為之用，此可以為援而不可圖也。荊州北據漢、沔，利盡南海，東連吳會，西通巴、蜀，此用武之國，而其主不能守，此殆天所以資將軍，將軍豈有意乎？益州險塞，沃野千里，天府之土，高祖因之以成帝業。劉璋闇弱，張魯在北，民殷國富而不知存恤，智能之士思得明君。將軍既帝室之冑，信義著於四海，總攬英雄，思賢如渴，若跨有荊、益，保其巖阻，西和諸戎，南撫夷越，外結好孫權，內修政理﹔天下有變，則命一上將將荊州之軍以向宛、洛，將軍身率益州之眾出於秦川，百姓孰敢不簞食壺漿以迎將軍者乎？誠如是，則霸業可成，漢室可興矣。先主曰：「善！」於是與亮情好日密。關羽、張飛等不悅，先主解之曰：「孤之有孔明，猶魚之有水也。願諸君勿復言。」羽、飛乃止。

At this time, Liu Bei was camped at Xinye. Xu Shu came to see him, and Liu Bei appreciated him. Xu Shu told Liu Bei, "Zhuge Kongming (Zhuge Liang) is known as Sleeping Dragon. General, would you be willing to meet him?" 

Liu Bei said, "Sir, let him come with you to see me." 

Xu Shu replied, "He is the sort of man whom you may visit, but he will not deign to come to you. I hope you will condescend to visit him." 

So Liu Bei went to meet Zhuge Liang, finally seeing him on his third visit. Liu Bei privately said to him, "The house of Han is in dire straights; a wicked (or perverse) minister is eyeing the Mandate for himself, while our sovereign suffers in exile. Though I am not possessed of virtue or blessed with strength, still I wish to restore what is right to the realm. My cunning and my skills are shallow and lacking, which has caused me to suffer several terrible stumbles. But even so, I have not given up on my ambition. Sir, what do you propose that I should do?"

Zhuge Liang replied, "Ever since Dong Zhuo's day, countless heroes have risen up to stand astride the provinces and control the commandaries. Consider Cao Cao: if we compare him to Yuan Shao, his reputation was not as great, and his army was not as numerous. Yet in the end, he was able to overcome Yuan Shao. This was an instance of the weak defeating the strong. Even if you say that Heaven had willed it to be so, it still required the planning of mortals to see it through. By now, Cao Cao has already assembled an army of a million soldiers, and he keeps the Son of Heaven in his power so that he may 'command the feudal lords' to heed his will. He cannot be confronted directly. There is also Sun Quan to consider: he wields control over the Southland, where his family has enjoyed power for three generations. His domain enjoys good natural defenses, his people are bonded to him, and he employs the worthy and able. You would be able to gain support from him, but he too cannot be conquered.

"Now consider Jingzhou: it is flanked by the Han and Mian Rivers to the north while enjoying all the bounty of the southern sea, and it borders Wu and Kuaiji to the east and Ba and Shu to the west. It is well suited for supporting military endeavors. Yet the lord of Jingzhou is unable to defend it. General, it is almost as though Heaven has furnished Jingzhou in order to deliver it right into your own hands; can you have no desire for it? Not only that, there is Yizhou: blessed with both sturdy natural defenses and a thousand li of fertile fields for harvest, it is a storehouse of Heaven's produce. It was for that reason that Gaozu (Liu Bang), using this region as his base, was able to achieve his ambition of becoming Emperor. But the current lord of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, is blind and weak, and Zhang Lu is to his north. Yizhou is a rich land and filled with people, yet he cannot (or, does not know how to) bring them comfort, and people of ability and intellect long to be ruled by a wise sovereign.

"General, you yourself are a descendant of the royal lineage, and your trustworthy and righteous reputation has spread all throughout the Four Seas; you gather and command bold heroes, and you seek worthy people like one thirsts for water. So I propose that you take control of Jingzhou and Yizhou for yourself. Then guard their defensive points (or mountain ranges), while you achieve peace with the Rong tribes in the west, bring comfort to the Yi tribes of Yue in the south, form ties with Sun Quan without, and reform and perfect your government within. Eventually, once some great opportunity presents itself, you may appoint a supreme general to lead the armies of Jingzhou towards Wan and Luoyang, while you lead the armies of Yizhou out into Qinzhou. At that time, who will dare not to come to welcome you and present you with food and drink? By doing these things, you may achieve your design as a hegemon, and the Han royal family may flourish once more."

Liu Bei said, "Excellent!" And he became close to Zhuge Liang and spent days together with him. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others were not pleased, but Liu Bei explained to them, "Now that I have found Kongming, I am like a fish that has found water. Gentlemen, please say nothing further about this." So Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stopped.

〈《襄陽記》曰：劉備訪世事於司馬德操。德操曰：「儒生俗士，豈識時務？識時務者在乎俊傑。此間自有伏龍、鳳雛。」備問為誰，曰：「諸葛孔明、龐士元也。」〉〈《魏略》曰：劉備屯於樊城。是時曹公方定河北，亮知荊州次當受敵，而劉表性緩，不曉軍事。亮乃北行見備，備與亮非舊，又以其年少，以諸生意待之。坐集既畢，眾賓皆去，而亮獨留，備亦不問其所欲言。備性好結毦，時適有人以髦牛尾與備者，備因手自結之。亮乃進曰：「明將軍當復有遠志，但結毦而已邪！」備知亮非常人也，乃投毦而答曰：「是何言與！我聊以忘憂耳。」亮遂言曰：「將軍度劉鎮南孰與曹公邪？」備曰：「不及。」亮又曰：「將軍自度何如也？」備曰：「亦不如。」曰：「今皆不及，而將軍之眾不過數千人，以此待敵，得無非計乎！」備曰：「我亦愁之，當若之何？」亮曰：「今荊州非少人也，而著籍者寡，平居發調，則人心不悅；可語鎮南，令國中凡有游戶，皆使自實，因錄以益眾可也。」備從其計，故眾遂強。備由此知亮有英略，乃以上客禮之。九州春秋所言亦如之。臣松之以為亮表云「先帝不以臣卑鄙，猥自枉屈，三顧臣於草廬之中，諮臣以當世之事」，則非亮先詣備，明矣。雖聞見異辭，各生彼此，然乖背至是，亦良為可怪。〉

(Xi Zuochi's Records of Xiangyang states, "Liu Bei discussed the affairs of the day with Sima Decao (Sima Hui). Sima Decao told him, 'What could mere scholars or common fellows understand of modern circumstances? It is those who are knowledgeable of such things that are the real talents. And among this sort are Crouching Dragon and Fledging Phoenix.' Liu Bei asked him who these two were, and Sima Decao replied, 'Zhuge Kongming and Xu Shiyuan.'"

The Weilue states, "During the time that Cao Cao was pacifying the region north of the Yellow River, Liu Bei was camped at Fancheng. Zhuge Liang knew that Jingzhou would be Cao Cao's next target. Yet Liu Biao had a complacent nature and did not grasp military matters. So Zhuge Liang went north to see Liu Bei. 

“Since Zhuge Liang was a young man and had no prior relationship with Liu Bei, Liu Bei received him in the company of several other people. After the meeting had ended and the other guests all left, Zhuge Liang remained behind. However, Liu Bei did not ask him what he wanted to say. Instead, since Liu Bei had a habit of braiding bits of hair together and someone had given him some tail-hairs from horses and oxen, he was braiding them together. Zhuge Liang stepped forward and declared, 'A wise general ought to be considering long-term plans, not merely braid together some hairs!' 

“Liu Bei realized that Zhuge Liang was no ordinary fellow. He tossed the hairs aside and laughed, saying, 'Why say such a thing? I was merely amusing myself to forget my concerns.' 

“Zhuge Liang then said, 'General, do you think General Liu (Liu Biao) is any match for Lord Cao (Cao Cao)?' 

“Liu Bei replied, 'He is not.' 

“Zhuge Liang said, 'And how do you yourself compare?' 

“Liu Bei replied, 'I am not his equal either.'

“Zhuge Liang said, 'So you recognize that neither of you is a match for him. Yet General, your army is no more than a few thousand soldiers. You intend to meet the enemy with such an army? What sort of plan is that?' 

“Liu Bei replied, 'That is just what concerns me. But what am I to do about it?' 

“Zhuge Liang said, 'Jingzhou currently has a considerable population. Yet the official population registries are quite meager. If you attempted to draft soldiers from among those who are already registered and have settled lives here, they will not be happy to suffer such disturbances. But you might tell General Liu to command all refugee households in the province to register themselves, and once they do so, you can further your numbers by drafting from among them instead.' 

“Liu Bei followed his advice, and his army was thus strengthened. So Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Liang had heroic cunning, and he treated him as a guest of honor." 

The Annals of the Nine Provinces has the same account. 

Now regarding these two accounts, your servant Pei Songzhi notes that Zhuge Liang later wrote in his first petition to Liu Shan that "The First Sovereign (Liu Bei) overlooked my obscurity and humbled himself to come three times to my thatched cottage seeking me, in order to discuss the affairs of the age with me". So it seems clear that it cannot have been the case that Zhuge Liang was the one who approached Liu Bei first. Yet it does seem remarkable that two other texts would have an account of their meeting both so similar to one another and so different from Chen Shou's version.)

劉表長子琦，亦深器亮。表受後妻之言，愛少子琮，不悅於琦。琦每欲與亮謀自安之術，亮輒拒塞，未與處畫。琦乃將亮游觀後園，共上高樓，飲宴之間，令人去梯，因謂亮曰：「今日上不至天，下不至地，言出子口，入於吾耳，可以言不？」亮答曰：「君不見申生在內而危，重耳在外而安乎？」琦意感悟，陰規出計。會黃祖死，得出，遂為江夏太守。俄而表卒，琮聞曹公來征，遣使請降。先主在樊聞之，率其眾南行，亮與徐庶并從，為曹公所追破，獲庶母。庶辭先主而指其心曰：「本欲與將軍共圖王霸之業者，以此方寸之地也。今已失老母，方寸亂矣，無益於事，請從此別。」遂詣曹公。

Liu Biao's eldest son Liu Qi also highly esteemed Zhuge Liang. Now Liu Biao had heeded the words of his second wife and began to favor his younger son Liu Cong, and was no longer pleased with Liu Qi. Liu Qi thus kept asking Zhuge Liang for a plan to help secure his position. However, Zhuge Liang kept putting him off, not wanting to be compelled to make a plan for him. 

Thus, during an occasion when Liu Qi had brought Zhuge Liang to walk through and observe the rear gardens and they went up into a tall tower together, Liu Qi ordered someone to take the ladder away. He then said to Zhuge Liang, "Today we are cut off from both Heaven above and the earth below, so the words you speak shall be heard by my ears alone. Will you not say something?" 

Zhuge Liang replied, "Sir, you are perhaps familiar with the ancient Duke Xian of Jin, whose wife Li Ji turned him against his sons Shensheng and Chong'er. Do you recall that Shensheng remained with his family and thus met his doom, while Chong'er fled the state and thus saved his life and became Duke Wen of Jin in the end?" 

Liu Qi realized what Zhuge Liang was suggesting, so he secretly developed a plan to make his own escape. Not long afterwards, the border general Huang Zu was killed, and thus offered an opportunity to leave Xiangyang, Liu Qi had himself appointed as Administrator of Jiangxia to succeed Huang Zu. 

Soon afterwards, Liu Biao passed away. When Liu Cong heard that Cao Cao was coming to campaign against Jingzhou, he sent envoys to him asking to surrender. Liu Bei was still at Fan, but when he learned that Liu Cong was surrendering, he led his forces south. Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu both accompanied him. But Liu Bei's forces were pursued and routed by Cao Cao, and Xu Shu's mother was captured. Xu Shu then took his leave of Liu Bei; pointing to his heart, he said, "This little heart of mine dearly wished to help you achieve your conquest, General. But now my old mother is lost, and my heart is in such turmoil that I would be of no use to you. Please allow us to part ways." And he went to visit Cao Cao.

〈《魏略》曰：庶先名福，本單家子，少好任俠擊劍。中平末，嘗為人報讎，白堊突面，被髪而走，為吏所得，問其姓字，閉口不言。吏乃於車上立柱維磔之，擊鼓以令於市鄽，莫敢識者，而其黨伍共篡解之，得脫。於是感激，棄其刀戟，更疏巾單衣，折節學問。始詣精舍，諸生聞其前作賊，不肯與共止。福乃卑躬早起，常獨掃除，動靜先意，聽習經業，義理精熟。遂與同郡石韜相親愛。初平中，中州兵起，乃與韜南客荊州，到，又與諸葛亮特相善。及荊州內附，孔明與劉備相隨去，福與韜俱來北。至黃初中，韜仕歷郡守、典農校尉，福至右中郎將、御史中丞。逮大和中，諸葛亮出隴右，聞元直、廣元仕財如此，嘆曰：「魏殊多士邪！何彼二人不見用乎？」庶後數年病卒，有碑在彭城，今猶存焉。〉

(The Weilue states, "Xu Shu was originally named Shan Fu. As a young man, he enjoyed being a wandering tough and fighting people with his sword. 

“On one occasion during the Zhongping reign era (184-189), he took revenge on behalf of someone else. Then, marking his face with chalk and letting down his hair, he tried to flee, but was caught by the officials. They asked him to identify himself, but he refused to say anything. The officials then tied him to a post atop a cart and beat the drums as they paraded him through the marketplace, but no one dared to recognize him. However, his fellows were able to break his bonds and let him escape. 

“Shan Fu was so moved by this experience that he gave up the life of the blade, and putting on a thin scarf and plain clothes, he began applying himself to his studies. When he first came to the house of refinement, the other students ostracized him because they had heard about his past misdeeds. But Shan Fu remained humble, rose early, often swept the place alone, thought before he acted, remained diligent in his studies, and perfected his morals and his reasoning. He became good friends with a man from the same commandary as him, Shi Tao.

“At the beginning of the Chuping reign era (~190), when civil strife in the Central Provinces began, Shan Fu and Shi Tao went south to live as refugees in Jingzhou, and upon arriving there Shan Fu became especially close to Zhuge Liang. After Jingzhou fell under the control of Cao Cao, Kongming left along with Liu Bei, while Shan Fu and Shi Tao returned home to the north. 

“By the time of the Huangchu reign era (220-226), Shi Tao had served as an Administrator and as Colonel of Agriculture, while Shan Fu had served as General of the Household Gentlemen of the Right and Middle Assistant to the Imperial Secretary. During the Dahe [Taihe] reign era (226-233), when Zhuge Liang came to Longyou on his northern campaign, when he heard that Yuanzhi and Guangyuan had been given such meager ranks and salaries, he lamented, 'How many talents Wei must have! Why did they not make greater use of those two gentlemen?' 

“Shan Fu passed away of illness several years later. A stele was erected for him at Pengcheng, and even today (~265) it is still there.")

[Due to the uncertainties of the end of quotes, it’s possible that Pei Songzhi was saying that this stele still existed in his own time, ie ~429.]

先主至於夏口，亮曰：「事急矣，請奉命求救於孫將軍。」時權擁軍在柴桑，觀望成敗，亮說權曰：「海內大亂，將軍起兵據有江東，劉豫州亦收眾漢南，與曹操并爭天下。今操芟夷大難，略已平矣，遂破荊州，威震四海。英雄無所用武，故豫州遁逃至此。將軍量力而處之：若能以吳、越之眾與中國抗衡，不如早與之絕﹔若不能當，何不案兵束甲，北面而事之！今將軍外託服從之名，而內懷猶豫之計，事急而不斷，禍至無日矣！」權曰：「苟如君言，劉豫州何不遂事之乎？」亮曰：「田橫，齊之壯士耳，猶守義不辱，況劉豫州王室之冑，英才蓋世，眾士仰慕，若水之歸海，若事之不濟，此乃天也，安能復為之下乎！」權勃然曰：「吾不能舉全吳之地，十萬之眾，受制於人。吾計決矣！非劉豫州莫可以當曹操者，然豫州新敗之後，安能抗此難乎？」亮曰：「豫州軍雖敗於長阪，今戰士還者及關羽水軍精甲萬人，劉琦合江夏戰士亦不下萬人。曹操之眾，遠來疲弊，聞追豫州，輕騎一日一夜行三百餘里，此所謂『彊弩之末，勢不能穿魯縞』者也。故兵法忌之，曰『必蹶上將軍』。且北方之人，不習水戰﹔又荊州之民附操者，逼兵勢耳，非心服也。今將軍誠能命猛將統兵數萬，與豫州��規同力，破操軍必矣。操軍破，必北還，如此則荊、吳之勢彊，鼎足之形成矣。成敗之機，在於今日。」權大悅，即遣周瑜、程普、魯肅等水軍三萬，隨亮詣先主，并力拒曹公。曹公敗於赤壁，引軍歸鄴。先主遂收江南，以亮為軍師中郎將，使督零陵、桂陽、長沙三郡，調其賦稅，以充軍實。

When Liu Bei arrived at Xiakou, Zhuge Liang said to him, "The situation is serious. Please grant me your authority to ask for aid from General Sun Quan." 

At that time, Sun Quan was keeping his army held back at Chaisang, watching and waiting to see who was going to triumph. Zhuge Liang advised him, "General, you see for yourself how all the land within the seas is in great turmoil. You have risen up with troops and occupied the Southland as your own, while the Inspector of Yuzhou (Liu Bei) has gathered an army from those people living south of the Han River. Currently, both of you are contending with Cao Cao for control of the realm. However, Cao Cao has nearly already rooted out and vanquished the major internal threats to his rule, and now that he has routed General Liu, his authority shakes the Four Seas. Even heroes have not been able to stand against him, and thus General Liu has been compelled to flee here. 

“As for you, General, you have considerable strength of your own at your command. Yet you remain waiting here. If you truly believe that the armies of the Wu and Yue regions are strong enough to oppose those of the Middle Kingdom, then you ought to break off relations with Cao Cao at once. And if you do not believe that you are a match for Cao Cao, then why haven't you disbanded your army, laid aside your armor, and faced north in submission to him? General, you give off an appearance of one who is about to submit, yet you continue to harbor uncertain plans as well. The situation is critical, yet you have made no decision. Disaster is at hand!" 

Sun Quan said, "Sir, if my own situation is as serious as you say, then why hasn't General Liu submitted already?" 

Zhuge Liang replied, "In ancient times, when the state of Qi was nearly conquered, Tian Heng still held fast to righteousness and refused to disgrace himself by surrendering to the enemy, and in the end he was able to restore Qi to its former glory. Now Tian Heng had no more personal attachment to Qi than that he was one of its generals. Could General Liu, who is a descendant of the royal family of the Han dynasty, fail to match Tian Heng's example and serve the dynasty to the end? He is a hero whose talents surpass the age, and both the great men and the people bow to and respect him like various rivers all flowing into the great sea. If he is defeated in the end, that will be one thing; it would have been the will of Heaven. But how could he possibly submit to another?" 

Sun Quan then became agitated and declared, "I shall not give up my full possession of the Wu region or my army of a hundred thousand and submit to someone else. My plan is decided! None but General Liu can oppose Cao Cao. However, wasn't General Liu recently defeated? How then can he face such a threat?"

Zhuge Liang replied, "It's true that General Liu's army was defeated at Chang Slope. However, he still has personal command of an army of ten thousand elite soldiers counting those warriors who have returned to him and the reinforcements from Guan Yu's naval forces. And Liu Qi at Jiangxia also commands no less than another ten thousand warriors. 

“As for Cao Cao, his army is far from home and suffering from exhaustion and illness. I heard that when he was pursuing General Liu, he made his light cavalry ride more than three hundred li in a single day and night. As the saying goes, 'when it's at the end of its flight, even a crossbow bolt cannot pierce the silk of Lu'. Even the Art of War argues against such a headlong march, warning that the army that does so 'will surely lose its vanguard commanders'. You should also consider that of the soldiers of Cao Cao's army, the northerners are unfamiliar with naval warfare, while the people of Jingzhou who are now serving Cao Cao have only been compelled by force to do so, and their hearts have not truly submitted to him. 

“General, if you will only give the command for your fierce generals to lead a few tens of thousands of your soldiers to join forces with General Liu, you will surely rout Cao Cao's army. Having been defeated, Cao Cao will then return north. Power will split between the regions of Wu and Jing, and the realm will thus settle into a tripartite division. This is the very moment which will determine your triumph or your doom."

Sun Quan was greatly pleased with this advice. He thus sent Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su, and others with a naval force of thirty thousand to go with Zhuge Liang and join Liu Bei, so that with their combined strength they could oppose Cao Cao. Cao Cao was then defeated at Chibi, and he led his army back to Ye. 

Liu Bei then occupied the region south of the Yangzi. He appointed Zhuge Liang as his Directing Instructor and General of the Household Gentlemen and had him administer the commandaries of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha, where Zhuge Liang collected taxes and rent in order to supply the army.

〈袁子曰：張子布薦亮於孫權，亮不肯留。人問其故，曰：「孫將軍可謂人主，然觀其度，能賢亮而不能盡亮，吾是以不留。」臣松之以為袁孝尼著文立論，甚重諸葛之為人，至如此言則失之殊遠。觀亮君臣相遇，可謂希世一時，終始以分，誰能間之？寧有中違斷金，甫懷擇主，設使權盡其量，便當翻然去就乎？葛生行己，豈其然哉！關羽為曹公所獲，遇之甚厚，可謂能盡其用矣，猶義不背本，曾謂孔明之不若雲長乎！〉〈《零陵先賢傳》云：亮時住臨烝。〉

(Yuan Zhun's Yuanzi states, "Zhang Zibu (Zhang Zhao) recommended to Sun Quan that he should employ Zhuge Liang as one of his own officers. However, Zhuge Liang declined to remain in his service. When people asked him why he left, Zhuge Liang told them, 'One could indeed call General Sun a leader of men. But when I judge his character, I recognize that although he would respect me, he would not make full use of me. That is why I could not stay with him.'"

Your servant Pei Songzhi notes that Yuan Xiaoni (Yuan Zhun) was very fond of Zhuge Liang as a person in all his collections of writings and recordings of discussions. But in this account he really goes too far. We have already seen that following their meeting with one another, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei developed such a rare relationship. Who could have possibly come between them? In what situation would Zhuge Liang have gone so far as break off his relationship with Liu Bei to serve Sun Quan? And would it have made a difference whether Sun Quan really would have used Zhuge Liang to his full potential? Could Zhuge Liang possibly have been that kind of person, to then abandon his lord? Remember that when Guan Yu was captured by Cao Cao, Cao Cao treated him with great favor, and surely it could be said that he made full use of Guan Yu. Yet Guan Yu still remained righteous and would not abandon his former lord. How then could one claim that Kongming would have proved himself inferior to Yunchang?

The Records of the Past Worthies of Lingling states, "During the time of this appointment, Zhuge Liang had his base at Linzheng county (probably in Changsha commandary).")

建安十六年，益州牧劉璋遣法正迎先主，使擊張魯。亮與關羽鎮荊州。先主自葭萌還攻璋，亮與張飛、趙雲等率眾泝江，分定郡縣，與先主共圍成都。成都平，以亮為軍師將軍，署左將軍府事。先主外出，亮常鎮守成都，足食足兵。二十六年，群下勸先主稱尊號，先主未許，亮說曰：「昔吳漢、耿弇等初勸世祖即帝位，世祖辭讓，前後數四，耿純進言曰：『天下英雄喁喁，冀有所望。如不從議者，士大夫各歸求主，無為從公也。』世祖感純言深至，遂然諾之。今曹氏篡漢，天下無主，大王劉氏苗族，紹世而起，今即帝位，乃其宜也。士大夫隨大王久勤苦者，亦欲望尺寸之功如純言耳。」先主於是即帝位，策亮為丞相曰：「朕遭家不造，奉承大統，兢兢業業，不敢康寧，思靖百姓，懼未能綏。於戲！丞相亮其悉朕意，無怠輔朕之闕，助宣重光，以照明天下，君其勖哉！」亮以丞相錄尚書事，假節。張飛卒後，領司隸校尉。

In the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211), the Governor of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, sent Fa Zheng to bring Liu Bei to Yizhou and ordered him to attack Zhang Lu. Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu remained behind to defend Jingzhou. When Liu Bei marched back from Jiameng to attack Liu Zhang, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and others led an army up the Yangzi to assist him. They split up to settle various commandaries and counties, then joined Liu Bei's army to besiege Chengdu together. After Chengdu was taken, Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as Directing Instructor and Chief of Staff of the General of the Left (Liu Bei's title). Whenever Liu Bei went away on campaign, Zhuge Liang often remained behind to guard Chengdu and ensure a steady supply of troops and provisions. 

In the twenty-sixth year of Jian'an (221), Liu Bei's subordinates urged him to declare himself Emperor, but Liu Bei would not agree to do so. Then Zhuge Liang advised him, "In former times, Wu Han, Geng Yan, and others urged Shizu (Emperor Guangwu of Han) to do the same as we now urge you to do. Shizu, too, tried to decline, four times in all. But then Geng Yan stepped forward and told him, 'The heroes of the realm are flailing, seeking someone they can place their hopes in. If you do not follow our counsel, then every man will turn towards his own master, and no one will follow you.' Shizu appreciated the truth of this advice, and he did as Geng Yan proposed. Now the Cao family has usurped the throne from the Han dynasty, and the realm is without a ruler. Great Prince, you are of the lineage of the Liu clan and you have risen to this height already, so you must follow Shizu's example and take up the title of Emperor. Those people who have followed you and worked hard on your behalf also wish to have a chance to gain merits for themselves, just as Geng Yan once said."

Liu Bei thus declared himself Emperor. He wrote an edict appointing Zhuge Liang as Prime Minister, stating, "Due to the tragedy that has befallen my family, I am compelled to inherit the grand role. 'I am full of terror and feel the peril', and I dare not be complacent; I ponder how to bring peace to the people, yet fear that I shall not be able to achieve tranquility. Alas! May Prime Minister Zhuge Liang realize my intentions, never fail to help make up for my shortcomings, help to expand and magnify my glory and make it bright and clear to all the realm. Sir, be thus encouraged!" Zhuge Liang was appointed as Prime Minister, Chief of Affairs of the Masters of Writing, and Credential Holder. 

After Zhang Fei passed away, Zhuge Liang was appointed as acting Colonel-Director of Retainers.

〈《蜀記》曰：晉初扶風王駿鎮關中，司馬高平劉寶、長史滎陽桓隰諸官屬士大夫共論諸葛亮，于時譚者多譏亮託身非所，勞困蜀民，力小謀大，不能度德量力。金城郭沖以為亮權智英略，有踰管、晏，功業未濟，論者惑焉，條亮五事隱沒不聞於世者，寶等亦不能復難。扶風王慨然善沖之言。臣松之以為亮之異美，誠所願聞，然沖之所說，實皆可疑，謹隨事難之如左：其《一事》曰：亮刑法峻急，刻剝百姓，自君子小人咸懷怨歎，法正諫曰：「昔高祖入關，約法三章，秦民知德，今君假借威力，跨據一州，初有其國，未垂惠撫；且客主之義，宜相降下，願緩刑弛禁，以慰其望。」亮答曰；「君知其一，未知其二。秦以無道，政苛民怨，匹夫大呼，天下土崩，高祖因之，可以弘濟。劉璋暗弱，自焉已來有累世之恩，文法羈縻，互相承奉，德政不舉，威刑不肅。蜀土人士，專權自恣，君臣之道，漸以陵替；寵之以位，位極則賤，順之以恩，恩竭則慢。所以致弊，實由於此。吾今威之以法，法行則知恩，限之以爵，爵加則知榮；榮恩並濟，上下有節。為治之要，於斯而著。」◇難曰：案法正在劉主前死，今稱法正諫，則劉主在也。諸葛職為股肱，事歸元首，劉主之世，亮又未領益州，慶賞刑政，不出於己。尋沖所述亮答，專自有其能，有違人臣自處之宜。以亮謙順之體，殆必不然。又云亮刑法峻急，刻剝百姓，未聞善政以刻剝為稱。

(The Records of Shu states, "At the beginning of the Jin dynasty (~265), the Prince of Fufeng, Sima Jun, was stationed in Guanzhong. He was discussing the affairs of Zhuge Liang together with his Marshal, Liu Bao of Gaoping commandary, his Chief Clerk, Huan Xi of Xingyang commandary, and his other ministers and officials. During the discussion, most of the people present felt that Zhuge Liang had both pushed himself past his limit and exhausted the people of the Shu region. They felt that his meager power had been insufficient to carry out his grand plans, and that he had not taken proper measure either of his virtue or of his strength. But there was present a certain Guo Chong of Jincheng commandary, who put forth the view that Zhuge Liang had been a man of authority and intellect, heroic and cunning, and that he had surpassed even the ancient chancellors Guan Zhong and Yan Ying. It was only because he had been unsuccessful in the end that people did not properly appreciate him. Guo Chong then related five untold stories about Zhuge Liang, previously unknown. Having heard these stories, Liu Bao and the others could no longer offer any objections, and the Prince of Fufeng was deeply moved by Guo Chong's words."

Your servant Pei Songzhi interjects here to note that, naturally, I am most inclined to hear tales of Zhuge Liang's excellence. However, we have good reason to be suspicious of these five stories that Guo Chong reported. I will continue to relate his accounts one at a time, but with my own objections following each tale.

This was Guo Chong's first tale: "Zhuge Liang administered the laws and punishments severely, laying a heavy hand upon the people, such that everyone from gentlemen to commoners were moved to anger and indignation against him. Fa Zheng remonstrated with him, saying, 'In former times, when Gaozu (Liu Bang) occupied the Qin dynasty's stronghold at Guanzhong, he charged the people only to keep his Three Precepts. Even so, the people of Qin knew virtue. Now you, Sir, have been granted power and authority and you stand astride this province. Having just come into control of the state, you rather ought to show leniency and demonstrate kindness and comfort. Besides, by the principles of host and guests, both should demonstrate humility to one another. Therefore, I ask you to slacken your restrictions and loosen your regulations, in order to reassure the people.'

"Zhuge Liang replied, 'Sir, you understand part of the situation, but you do not grasp the whole. The Qin dynasty ruled without principle, and their oppression roused the anger of the people against them. At that time, all it took was the great shout of some mere common fellow (Chen Sheng), and the whole realm came crashing down. Those were the circumstances under which Gaozu found success by demonstrating magnanimity and mercy. 

“‘But it has been different with our recent past. Liu Zhang was a blind and weak ruler, and the people of the Shu region had enjoyed generous treatment even since the time of his predecessors. The law codes were such that everyone did whatever they saw best; the virtues of the administration were not upheld, nor was the authority of its punishments respected. All the people of the Shu region, from the gentry down to the commoners, claimed power for themselves and became arrogant, and the proper relationship between sovereign and subjects slowly decayed. If they were favored with offices, they looked upon even the highest of offices as cheap; if they were shown grace, they were slow to be grateful for even the most bountiful mercies. It was for those reasons that Liu Zhang's domain came to ruin. 

“‘That is why I now overawe these people through laws. When the laws can be carried out, that is when the people will appreciate grace. And for the same reason, I am stingy with granting offices. For when such is the case, then when people are promoted, they will understand the honor in it. Once grace and honor are properly understood, then everyone will uphold their duty. That is the reason I govern them so." 

Objections: According to the Biography of Fa Zheng, Fa Zheng passed away before Liu Bei did. So since Fa Zheng appears in this story, Liu Bei must have still been alive at the time. Yet Zhuge Liang always acted like one of the limbs of the state, which is to say, he referred all such matters to the head, that being Liu Bei. Furthermore, Zhuge Liang was never directly in charge of Yizhou itself while Liu Bei was still alive, and he did not make decisions on such matters as honors, rewards, punishments, or administration. I also note that Guo Chong's main point in his account of Zhuge Liang's response was to play up his talents and abilities. But at the same time, such a response would have demonstrated a violation of a subject's proper place. And considering how modest and submissive Zhuge Liang was, it is almost impossible that he would have done such a thing. Lastly, the tale states that "Zhuge Liang administered the laws and punishments severely, laying a heavy hand upon the people". I have never heard of good government coming about as a result of oppression.

其《二事》曰：曹公遣刺客見劉備，方得交接，開論伐魏形勢，甚合備計。稍欲親近，刺者尚未得便會，既而亮入，魏客神色失措。亮因而察之，亦知非常人。須臾，客如廁，備謂亮曰；「向得奇士，足以助君補益。」亮問所在，備曰：「起者其人也。」亮徐歎曰：「觀客色動而神懼，視低而忤數，姦形外漏，邪心內藏，必曹氏刺客也。」追之，已越牆而走。◇難曰：凡為刺客，皆暴虎馮河，死而無悔者也。劉主有知人之鑒，而惑於此客，則此客必一時之奇士也。又語諸葛云「足以助君補益」，則亦諸葛之流亞也。凡如諸葛之儔，鮮有為人作刺客者矣，時主亦當惜其器用，必不投之死地也。且此人不死，要應顯達為魏，竟是誰乎？何其寂蔑而無聞！〉

The second tale: "Cao Cao sent an assassin to visit Liu Bei. Having met, the two of them began discussing strategies for how best to campaign against Wei, and the man's proposals neatly accorded with Liu Bei's own ideas. During this time, the assassin slowly moved closer, and was about to have an opportunity to carry out his mission. But just then, Zhuge Liang entered the room, causing the assassin to lose his previously calm composure. Zhuge Liang thus scrutinized him, and discerned that he was no ordinary man. 

“A short time later, the man left to go to the lavatory. Liu Bei mentioned to Zhuge Liang, ‘I have just obtained an exceptional fellow. He'll be well-suited to assist you, Sir, and cover your weak points.' When Zhuge Liang asked to whom he was referring, Liu Bei replied, 'I mean that man who just got up.' 

“Zhuge Liang slowly sighed and replied, 'Did you not witness his strange movements and fearful trembling, how he looked down and mumbled so? A perverse exterior hides a wicked heart within. He is surely some assassin sent by the Cao clan.' 

“Liu Bei sent someone after the man, but he had already climbed over the wall and fled."

Objections: The kind of person who would be an assassin is someone who would cast themselves into the tiger's maw or fling themselves into the roaring river, and die without any regrets. And Liu Bei was the kind of man who could appreciate someone's character. Yet he was enticed by this guest? If that were the case, the man must have been an exceptional talent of that era. Especially considering that Liu Bei comments that he could "cover Zhuge Liang's weak points"; in that case, he would have been nearly on par with Zhuge Liang himself. Would someone who was a match for Zhuge Liang ever play the part of an assassin? And even if so, any ruler of that time would have greatly lamented the loss of such a man, obviously of great use and potential, and would never have sent him on a suicide mission. And if the man really did not die, then he must have gone on to have an illustrious career in Wei. But who, indeed, was he? How could he have ever remained obscure, a mere nobody?)

章武三年春，先主於永安病篤，召亮於成都，屬以後事，謂亮曰：「君才十倍曹丕，必能安國，終定大事。若嗣子可輔，輔之；如其不才，君可自取。」亮涕泣曰：「臣敢竭股肱之力，效忠貞之節，繼之以死！」先主又為詔敕後主曰：「汝與丞相從事，事之如父。」

In the third year of Zhangwu (223), Liu Bei was bedridden with illness at Yong'an. He summoned Zhuge Liang from Chengdu and instructed him on what to do after his death. He told Zhuge Liang, "Sir, your talents are ten times greater than those of Cao Pi, so you will surely be able to restore peace to the state and bring our grand endeavor to its conclusion. If my heir can be supported, then support him. But if he lacks talents, take his place for yourself." 

Zhuge Liang wept as he replied, "I have always done my utmost to support you as one of your own limbs and fully uphold my loyalty and faithfulness to you, and I shall continue to do so until the death!" 

Liu Bei also arranged an edict instructing Liu Shan, "You must follow the Prime Minister's commands, and treat him as a father."

〈孫盛曰：夫杖道扶義，體存信順，然後能匡主濟功，終定大業。語曰弈者舉釭不定猶不勝其偶，況量君之才否而二三其節，可以摧服強鄰囊括四海者乎？備之命亮，亂孰甚焉！世或有謂備欲以固委付之誠，且以一蜀人之志。君子曰，不然；苟所寄忠賢，則不須若斯之誨，如非其人，不宜啟篡逆之塗。是以古之顧命，必貽話言；詭偽之辭，非託孤之謂。幸值劉禪闇弱，無猜險之性，諸葛威略，足以檢衛異端，故使異同之心無由自起耳。不然，殆生疑隙不逞之釁。謂之為權，不亦惑哉！〉

(Sun Sheng remarked, "It is when one wields propriety and holds fast to righteousness, and in their own person encourage trust and submission, that they may indeed assist their ruler to achieve success and bring about the fulfillment of the grand design. Even a weiqi player cannot expect to overcome their opponent if their formation is unorganized. How much less can a ruler expect to compel the submission of powerful neighbors and embrace all the realm within the Four Seas by first attempting to split power into two or three camps? Liu Bei's instructions to Zhuge Liang posed the potential for immense instability! 

“There are some who claim that Liu Bei's instructions on his deathbed were only a ploy to stiffen the loyalty of the one he intended to entrust his heir to and ensure that the wishes of the people of Shu were all of one accord. But the superior fellow can dismiss this idea. It is quite useless to instruct anyone in such a manner, for if the minister is loyal and worthy they will never heed it, while if they are not, it is only further indulging their traitorous desires. And ever since ancient times, it has been critical that a ruler speaks the truth when they are on their deathbed; when it is time to entrust one's heir to another, deceit and falsehood have no place. 

“It was fortunate indeed that Liu Shan was so blind and unassuming that he had no paranoia or suspicion, while Zhuge Liang's power and authority were just sufficient to guard against the divergent plans of anyone else. It was merely for those reasons that no cause ever arose for divisions between them. If it had not been so, then surely suspicions and grudges between them would have given way to an open confrontation. 

“Thus, to say that Liu Bei's instructions were to support Zhuge Liang's authority is nonsense!")

[k-star-holic]

Cha Tae-hyun, Mongolia I can not think of my wife and cry ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ (Mongolia Mongolia)

[romance-of-three-memes]

Kudos to Pei Songzhi, who annotated and commentated on The Record of the Three Kingdoms to the point where he increased its length by two or three times, and also ribbed the writer Chen Sou for things like praising certain strategists in the same sentence instead of separate sentences. I think he was a bigger, more nitpicky nerd about this sort of thing than anyone else could ever hope to be.

[the-archlich]

Is there anything to know about Dong Zhuo's henchman Liu Ao?

Possibly.

I'll also note that this translation renders the name as Liú Xiāo and I can't comment on which is correct or why one is more likely than the other.

There are annotations in Dong Zhuo's biography (linked above) that are framed in such a way as to indicate that these two are the same person, but this may be a mistaken assumption on Pei Songzhi's part.

[bookofjin]

Oh not so sure of his characters but he’s the one that was married to Princess Jingzhao, daughter of Sima Zhao. I can’t find any information on him other than he changed names when he was adopted.

Hopefully you saw the previous reblog, but to repeat, the only real source on Zhen De is found in SGZ05 at the end of Empress Zhen's biography, especially in a quotation appended by Pei Songzhi. You can read Jack Anderson's translation of it here.

The Jinshu adds a couple of minor things. First of all, JS030 confirms that the Princess of Jingzhao was Sima Zhao's daughter with Wang Yuanji. Secondly, Zhen De appears at a couple of places as well, though neither are very informative.

According to JS042, when Emperor Wu had decided to send Sima You back to his fief, Wang Ji sent his wife, the Princess of Changshan, and Zhen De's wife, the Princess of Changguang to plead for him to stay, after which the Emperor complained that Wang Ji and Zhen De kept sending their wives to weep before him. Here Zhen De's wife is given a different title. I don't think the sources ever give a comprehensive list of all the Princesses, but the male members of the imperial clans had their titles shuffled around a couple of time, so I'm not sure it means anything.

In JS050 Zhen De in his role as Attendant-at-Centre侍中, is found arguing in favour of pardoning Yu Chun against arguments he consider born out of personal rivalries.

[gurguliare]

blurds replied to your post: Talk to me I’m bored and self-sabotaging

let’s have some positive stuff about bao-chai

In the Three Kingdoms VR special episode Daiyu and Xiangyun jointly compel her to pick Liu Bei as her fighter, and she spends the whole time paralyzed by embarrassment as Daiyu (piloting Zhang Fei) and Baoyu (piloting Lord Guan) tear up provinces in their efforts to impress her, but then at the end when they discover that the maids have hotwired the VR cell as a joke, she’s the only one who realizes they can break the game from within by quoting anachronistic annals to final boss Pei Songzhi

... ...

I love Baochai very much I have hardly ever felt worse about girl-slowly-box-watermeloned-by-her-marriage plot. I guess because in western litfic that usually isn’t such a fluent continuation of the priors. thing that unsettles me is how substantial and also, worthless, her observant vigilance is, not to speak of paranoia: favorite example would be Baochai moving out of the garden after Lady Wang’s midnight raids, because this ship is sinking, and two weeks later she’s engaged to Baoyu! congrats! Where is my May Welland anon, they should read and get really into precious hairpin

[sunfin3k]

Chinese Polymaths, 100 – 300 AD: the Tung-kuan, Taoist Dissent, and Technical Skills by Howard L. Goodman

Themes: Luoyang; Objects

Overview:

           This essay is on polymathy. Goodman says that at the time this essay was written it was a new field of study. He defines the term, initially in an ancient western context, as a new kind of knowledge. This is contrasted with polydidactics which is conventional knowledge, the set texts for a given context. To cover the topic, he is going to study some well-known early scholars of China to see what skills and teachings feature in their writings. Goodman holds up Pei Songzhi up as an example of one doing this, after he rewrote a conventional history in a new way. His study will focus on three areas; cultural history, synergy among skills and the impact upon our historical methods.

           Goodman begins with the Dong guan [Tung-kuan], the court institution of learning for Eastern Han. It was a building within the palace that some very limited few scholars were allowed access to. It became the centre for polymathy as debates started about textual and ritual authorities which allowed for developing new ideas and approaches. The first important scholar linked with this was Pan Gu the historian. Initially the Dong guan was just a centre for historical record keeping but gradually became a centre for other areas too. For example, before Pan Gu was arrested there was evidence he was working on mathematical astrology.

          Next Goodman takes a side step away from his primary topic to look at the impact the Dong guan had on politics. While few male scholars had access, eunuchs and the Emperor’s harem did and this may have led to the struggles between the two factions. This is because the scholars who did have access were those who had deigned to take a low paid job and position within the court – there was no formal role; however, it was deemed worth it because of the rare selection of books that were kept within.  

           When Goodman gets to the reign of Emperor Huan, he says that Daoism and Daoist rites became increasingly used by the Court. The Dong guan as a result became known as a centre for the study of Daoist texts. Goodman is keen to make a distinction between the mainstream Daoism and the Neo-Daoism of various rebel groups that arose around the same time. Suggesting that the Daoism of the scholars was more academic and was probably not practised in their private religion Scholars wished to be appointed to the Dong guan as it allowed them to be paid to further their studies without having to engage in factional strife, and Goodman gives an overview and examples of scholars who were executed for speaking out against the eunuchs, including a long section on Cai Yong who headed up the Dong guan until his death.

          Goodman turns to astrology and court music. However, he points out that both of these were tied to rites and therefore legitimacy and so during the days of a falling dynasty these were perilous things to be studying as implications of disloyalty were never far away. Cai Yong led an attempt to try and rediscover a style of court music. The success (or lack) of the attempt itself is unimportant to Goodman’s study what he is interested in is the presence of a research program which “pushed the polymath envelope.”

           The Dong guan and most of its material was destroyed in the fire in Luoyang set by Dong Zhuo so there was a period where it didn’t exist. Many years later the Imperial Library of Wei filled the gap, while in Wu and Shu some sort of Dong guan was established – Chen Shou was appointed to Shu’s. Western Jin created a formalised role called a Gentleman drafter, a change from the unofficial role in the Han. They were placed under the direction of the Imperial Library.

           Between the burning of Luoyang and the Imperial Library assuming the role originally filled by the Dong guan, polymathy occurred more in local “schools”. Guan Lu, described as an outsider, is used as a case study to examine how this happened. After studying what he believed, Goodman contrasts him with Cai Yong. The later searched for knowledge in historical texts and ceremonial rites whereas Guan Lu used divination.  

           Goodman turns to study a third polymath. This one is Xun Xu. He spends some time describing the Xun clan. Goodman notes that Xun’s writings didn’t talk about Daoist or Confucian ideas, which was different to his direct contemporaries, and also different to the Dong guan school. However, Goodman argues that his polymathy grew out of the Dong guan school, this is because of the way he was informed by ancient devices and crossed bureaucratic lines, just as Cai Yong did. He was in charge of the Imperial library until he fell foul of politics.

          The conclusion contrasts Roman polymaths with Ancient Chinese ones. One of the big differences he picks up on is how in the East the opportunities to make their mark as a polymath was inside the court. What made them worthy of study though, in this field was the way they approached science and rites with attitudes and methods that had no pedigree, developing techniques that later Tang polymaths built upon.

Analysis:

           This is an incredibly technical essay. For those who are interested in the development of thought in the Han dynasty it is a truly great piece. It also provides an insight into the world of Cai Yong and the prominent Xun clan. Its discussion of the Dong guan school also provides another angle into the Eunuch vs scholar struggle. However, political history is not the primary aim of this study and if that is your area of interest you have to wade through a lot of other detail to find nuggets.