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Zhang Hong

Zhang Hong

Zhang Hong was a Confucianist and brilliant minister who served Sun Ce and Sun Quan, the leaders of the state of Wu. Originally from Xu province, he and Zhang Zhao were known as the "Two Zhangs." He was a close friend of Sun Ce's family, and when Sun Jian was involved in his campaigns, Zhang Hong took in the Sun family. In the days of Sun Ce, Zhang Hong was often responsible for writing memorials and essays to Emperor Xian and Cao Cao. After Sun Ce's death, he was sent to serve Cao Cao, and then was later sent by Cao Cao to monitor Sun Quan's activities. Zhang Hong, however, remained loyal to Sun Quan, and on his deathbed, petitioned Sun Quan to develop the city of Mo Ling. Thus, Mo Ling became Jian Ye, the capital of Wu. Category:People of the Three Kingdoms ja:張紘

Confucianist

]] Confucianism (Chinese: 儒家, Pinyin Rújiā, lit. "The School of the Scholars"; or, less accurately, 孔教 Kŏng jiào, "The Religion of Confucius") is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought which had tremendous influence on the history of Chinese civilization down to the 21st century. Some have considered it to have been the "state religion" of imperial China. Debated during the Warring States Period and forbidden during the short-lived Qin Dynasty, Confucianism was chosen by Han Wudi for use as a political system to govern the Chinese state. Despite its loss of influence during the Tang Dynasty, Confucianist doctrine remained a mainstream Chinese orthodoxy for two millennia until the 20th century, when it was attacked by radical Chinese thinkers as a vanguard of a feudal system and an obstacle to China's modernization, eventually culminating in its repression and vilification during the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China . After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism has been revived in mainland China, and both interest in and debate about Confucianism have surged. The cultures most strongly influenced by Confucianism include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. This includes various territories, including mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macao), Taiwan, Singapore (settled predominantly by ethnic Chinese), the Korean peninsula, and Vietnam. Confucianism as passed down to the 20th and 21st centuries derives primarily from the school of the Neo-Confucians, led by Zhu Xi, who gave Confucianism renewed vigour in the Song and later dynasties. Neo-Confucianism combined Taoist and Buddhist ideas with existing Confucian ideas to create a more complete metaphysics than had ever existed before. At the same time, many forms of Confucianism have historically declared themselves opposed to the Buddhist and Taoist belief systems.

Development of early Confucianism

Confucius (551–479 BCE) was a famous sage and social philosopher of China whose teachings deeply influenced East Asia for twenty centuries. The relationship between Confucianism and Confucius himself, however, is tenuous. Confucius' ideas were not accepted during his lifetime and he frequently bemoaned the fact that he remained unemployed by any of the feudal lords. As with many other prominent figures such as Siddhartha Gautama, Jesus, or Socrates, we do not have direct access to Confucius' ideas. Instead, we have recollections by his disciples and their students . This factor is further complicated by the "Burning of the Books and Burying of the Scholars", a massive suppression of dissenting thought during the Qin Dynasty, more than two centuries after Confucius' death. What we now know of Confucius' writings and thoughts is therefore somewhat unreliable. However, we can sketch out Confucius' ideas from the fragments that remain. Confucius was a man of letters who worried about the troubled times he lived in. He went from place to place trying to spread his political ideas and influence to the many kings contending for supremacy in China. The disintegration of the Zhou Dynasty in the third century BCE created a power vacuum filled by small states. Deeply persuaded of the need for his mission — "If right principles prevailed through the empire, there would be no need for me to change its state" Analects XVIII, 6 — Confucius tirelessly promoted the virtues of ancient illustrious kings such as the Duke of Zhou. Confucius tried to amass sufficient political power to found a new dynasty, as when he planned to accept an invitation from a rebel to "make a Zhou dynasty in the East" (Analects XV, 5). As the common saying that Confucius was a "king without a crown" indicates, however, he never gained the opportunity to apply his ideas. He was expelled from states many times and eventually returned to his homeland to spend the last part of his life teaching. The Analects of Confucius, the closest we have to a primary source for his thoughts, relates the discussions with his disciples in short sayings. This book contains a compilation of questions and answers, excerpts from conversations, and anecdotes from Confucius' life, but there is no account of a coherent system of thought. Unlike most Western philosophers, Confucius did not rely on deductive reasoning, the law of non-contradiction, logic, or proofs to convince his listeners. Instead, he used figures of rhetoric such as analogy, aphorism and even tautology to explain his ideas. Most of the time these techniques were highly contextualised. For these reasons, Western readers might find his philosophy muddled or unclear. However, Confucius claimed that he sought "a unity all pervading" (Analects XV, 3) and that there was "one single thread binding my way together." (op. cit. IV, 15). The first occurrences of a real Confucian system may have been created by his disciples or by the disciples of his disciples. During the philosophically fertile period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, great early figures of Confucianism such as Mencius and Xun Zi (not to be confused with Sun Zi) developed Confucianism into an ethical and political doctrine. Both had to fight contemporary ideas and gain the ruler's confidence through argumentation and reasoning. Mencius gave Confucianism a fuller explanation of human nature, of what is needed for good government, of what morality is, and founded his idealist doctrine on the claim that human nature is essentially good (性善説). Xun Zi opposed many of Mencius' ideas, and built a structured system upon the idea that human beings were essentially bad (性悪説) and had to be educated and exposed to the rites (li), before being able to express their goodness. Some of Xun Zi's disciples, such as Han Feizi and Li Si, became Legalists (a kind of law-based early totalitarianism, quite distant from virtue-based Confucianism) and conceived the state system that allowed Qin Shi Huang to unify China under the strong state control of every human activity. The culmination of Confucius' dream of unification and peace in China can therefore be argued to have come from Legalism, a school of thought almost diametrically opposed to his reliance on rites and virtue.

The spread of Confucianism

Confucianism survived its suppression during the Qin Dynasty partly thanks to the discovery of a trove of Confucian classics hidden in the walls of a scholar's house. After the Qin, the new Han Dynasty approved of Confucian doctrine and sponsored Confucian scholars, eventually making Confucianism the official state philosophy (see Emperor Wu of Han). Study of the Confucian classics became the basis of the government examination system and the core of the educational curriculum. No serious attempt to replace Confucianism arose until the advent of communism in the 20th century. After its reformulation as Neo-Confucianism by Zhu Xi and the other Neo-Confucians, Confucianism also became accepted as state philosophies in Korea and Japan. Korea of the Yi Dynasty has been termed a "Confucian state." [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-35013] Many sources, including the Baltimore Sun (U.S.), have called Singapore the modern world's "only Confucian state." [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sg_Review/message/435] The Asian values debate of the 1990s stems in large part from the question of the role of Confucian social approaches in modern societies, especially economic development.

Rites

Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously. (Analects II, 3)

The above explains an essential difference between legalism and ritualism and points to a key difference between Western and Eastern societies. Confucius argues that under law, external authorities administer punishments after illegal actions, so people generally behave well without understanding reasons why they should; whereas with ritual, patterns of behaviour are internalised and exert their influence before actions are taken, so people behave properly because they fear shame and want to avoid losing face. "Rite" (禮; Lǐ) stands here for a complex set of ideas that is difficult to render in Western languages. The Chinese character for "rites" previously had the religious meaning of "sacrifice" (the character 禮 is composed of the character 示, which means "altar", to the left of the character 曲 placed over 豆, representing a vase full of flowers and offered as a sacrifice to the gods; cf. Wenlin). Its Confucian meaning ranges from politeness and propriety to the understanding of everybody's correct place in society. Externally, ritual is used to distinguish between people; their usage allows people to know at all times who is the younger and who the elder, who is the guest and who the host and so forth. Internally, they indicate to people their duty amongst others and what to expect from them. Internalisation is the main process in ritual. Formalised behaviour becomes progressively internalised, desires are channelled and personal cultivation becomes the mark of social correctness. Though this idea conflicts with the common saying that "the cowl does not make the monk", in Confucianism sincerity is what enables behaviour to be absorbed by individuals. Obeying ritual with sincerity makes ritual the most powerful way to cultivate oneself. Thus "Respectfulness, without the Rites, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the Rites, becomes timidity; boldness, without the Rites, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the Rites, becomes rudeness" (Analects VIII, 2). Ritual can be seen as a means to find the balance between opposing qualities that might otherwise lead to conflict. Ritual divides people into categories and builds hierarchical relationships through protocols and ceremonies, assigning everyone a place in society and a form of behaviour. Music, which seems to have played a significant role in Confucius' life, is given as an exception as it transcends such boundaries, 'unifying the hearts'. Although the Analects promotes ritual heavily, Confucius himself often behaved otherwise; for example, when he cried at his preferred disciple's death, or when he met a fiendish princess (VI, 28). Later more rigid ritualists who forgot that ritual is "more than presents of jade and silk" (XVII, 12) strayed from their master's position.

Governing

"To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays in its place, while the myriad stars wait upon it." (Analects II, 1)

Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. This idea is developed further in the Great Learning and is tightly linked with the Taoist concept of wu wei: the less the king does, the more that is done. By being the "calm centre" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole. This idea may be traced back to early shamanistic beliefs, such as that of the king (wang, 王) being the axle between the sky, human beings and the Earth. (The character itself shows the three levels of the universe, united by a single line.) Another complementary view is that this idea may have been used by ministers and counsellors to deter aristocratic whims that would otherwise be to the detriment of the population.

Meritocracy

"In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes."
(Analects XV, 39)

Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmitting ancient knowledge (see Analects VII, 1), he did produce a number of new ideas. Many western admirers such as Voltaire and H.G. Creel point to the (then) revolutionary idea of replacing the nobility of blood with one of virtue. Jūnzǐ (君子), which had meant "noble man" before Confucius' work, slowly assumed a new connotation in the course of his writings, rather as "gentleman" did in English. A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he allowed students of different classes to be his disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures in Chinese society. Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honour to the whole family. Though the European enthusiasm toward China died away after 1789, China gave Europe one very important practical legacy: the modern civil service. The Chinese examination system seems to have been started in 165 BCE, when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written government examinations. Confucius praised those kings who left their kingdoms to those apparently most qualified rather than to their elder sons. His achievement was the setting up of a school that produced statemen with a strong sense of state and duty, known as Rujia 儒家, the 'School of the Literati'. During the Warring States Period and the early Han dynasty China grew greatly and the need for a solid and centralized corporation of government officers able to read and write administrative papers arose. As a result Confucianism was promoted and the corporation of men it produced became an effective counter to the remaining landowner aristocrats otherwise threatening the unity of the state. Since then Confucianism has been used as a kind of "state religion", with authoritarianism, legitimism, paternalism and submission to authority used as political tools to rule China. In fact most emperors used a mix of legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine, often with the latter embellishing the former. They also often used different varieties of Taoism or Buddhism as their personal philosophy or religion. As with many revered men, Confucius himself would probably have disapproved of much that has been done in his name: the use of ritual is only part of his teachings.

Themes in Confucian thought

A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on varying levels of honesty. In practice, the elements of Confucianism accumulated over time and matured into the following forms:

Ritual

Ritual (lǐ, 禮) originally signified "to sacrifice" in a religious ceremony. In Confucianism the term was soon extended to include secular ceremonial behaviour before being used to refer to the propriety or politeness which colours everyday life. Rituals were codified and treated as an all-embracing system of norms. Confucius himself tried to revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties, but following his death he himself became regarded as the great authority on ritual behaviour. (Cf. contemporary term lǐmào 礼貌, "polite"; mào 礼貌 = "appearance")
Relationships
One theme central to Confucianism is that of relationships, and the differing duties arising from the different status one held in relation to others. Individuals are held to simultaneous stand in different degrees of relationship with different people, namely, as a junior in relation to their parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to their children, younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe strong duties of reverence and service to their seniors, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. This theme consistently manifests itself in many aspects of East Asian culture even to this day, with extensive filial duties on the part of children toward parents and elders, and great concern of parents toward their children.
Filial piety
Filial piety, filiality, or filial devotion (xiào, 孝) is considered among the greatest of virtues and must be shown towards both the living and the dead. The term "filial", meaning "of a child", denotes the respect and obedience that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents, especially to his father. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of five relationships or five cardinal relationships (五伦 Wǔlún): #father and son (父子), #ruler and subject (君臣), #husband and wife (夫婦), #elder and younger brother (兄弟), #between friends (朋友) Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This led to the veneration of ancestors. In time, filial piety was also built into the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent, while fathers exercised enormous power over their children. Much the same was true of other unequal relationships. The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is The Book of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius but almost certainly written in the third century BC. Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the present day.
Loyalty
Loyal (zhōng, 忠) is the equivalent of filial piety on a different plane, between ruler and minister. It was particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service. Like filial piety, however, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic regimes of China. Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the realpolitik of the class relations that existed in his time; he did not propose that "might makes right", but that a superior who had received the "Mandate of Heaven" (see below) should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude. In later ages, however, emphasis was placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled.
Humaneness
Confucius was concerned with people's individual development, which he maintained took place within the context of human relationships. Ritual and filial piety are the ways in which one should act towards others from an underlying attitude of humaneness. Confucius' concept of humaneness (rén, 仁) is probably best expressed in the Confucian version of the Golden Rule phrased in the negative: "Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you". Rén also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks rén, Confucianism holds, it will be difficult if not impossible for his subjects to behave humanely. Rén is the basis of Confucian political theory: it presupposes an autocratic ruler, exhorted to refrain from acting inhumanely towards his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the risk of losing the "Mandate of Heaven", the right to rule. Such a mandateless ruler need not be obeyed. But a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed strictly, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven. Confucius himself had little to say on the will of the people, but his leading follower Mencius did state on one occasion that the people's opinion on certain weighty matters should be polled.
The perfect gentleman
The term "Jūnzǐ" (君子) is a term crucial to classical Confucianism. Literally meaning "son of a ruler", "prince", or "noble", the ideal of a "gentleman," "proper man," or "perfect man" is that for which Confucianism exhorts all people to strive. A succinct description of the "perfect man" is one who "combine[s] the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman" (CE). (In modern times, the masculine bias in Confucianism may have weakened, but the same term is still used; the masculine translation in English is also traditional and still frequently used.) A hereditary elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society. They were to:
- cultivate themselves morally;
- participate in the correct performance of ritual;
- show filial piety and loyalty where these are due; and
- cultivate humaneness. The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of his life was that he was never awarded the high official position which he desired, from which he wished to demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue if humane persons ruled and administered the state. The opposite of the Jūnzǐ was the Xiǎorén (小人), literally "small person" or "petty person." Like English "small", the word in this context in Chinese can mean petty in mind and heart, narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, and materialistic.
Debates

Does Confucianism promote corruption?
Different from many other political philosophies, Confucianism is reluctant to employ laws. In a society where relationships are considered more important than the laws themselves, if no other power forces government officers to take the common interest into consideration, corruption and nepotism will arise. As government officers' salary was often far lower than the minimum required to raise a family, Chinese society has frequently been affected by those problems, and still is. Even if some means to control and reduce corruption and nepotism have been successfully used in China, Confucianism is criticized for not providing such a means itself. One major argument against this criticism is that the so-called Confucian East Asian societies such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and China have exhibited the most extrordinary growth rates in economic history. Singapore has also consistently been noted as one of the most corruption-free states on earth. If Confucianism promotes corruption, how can such rapid growth be possible? Critics point to continuing problems with nepotism and corruption in those countries and slowing economic growth in the past decade, not only in Japan, but also, to a lesser extent, in the others. Furthermore, Singapore may be classed as an example of a Western, Kantian system of rule by law, or perhaps a Legalist system, rather than Confucian.
Was there a Confucianism?
One of the many problems in discussing the history of Confucianism is the question of what Confucianism is. In this article, Confucianism can be understood roughly as largely "the stream of individuals, claiming Master Kong to be the Greatest Master" while it also means "the social group following moral, political, and philosophical doctrine of what was considered, at a given time, as the orthodox understanding of Confucius". In this meaning, this "group" can be identified, during periods of discussions with others doctrines, like Han and Tang dynasty, with a kind of political party. During periods of Confucian hegemony, such as during the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, it can be identified roughly with the social class of government officials. But the reality of such a grouping is debated. In his book, Manufacturing Confucianism, Lionel Jensen claims that our modern image of Confucius and Confucianism, which is that of a wise symbol of learning and a state-sponsored quasi-religion, did not exist in China from time immemorial, but was manufactured by European Jesuits, as a "translation" of the ancient indigenous traditions, known as "Ru Jia", in order to portray Chinese society to Europeans. The notion of Confucianism was then borrowed back by the Chinese, who used it for their own purposes. Therefore, we could define Confucianism as "any system of thinking that has, at its foundations, the works that are regarded as the 'Confucian classics', which was the corpus used in the Imperial examination system". Even this definition runs into problems because this corpus was subject to changes and additions. Neo-Confucianism, for instance, valorized the Great Learning and the Zhong Yong in this corpus, because their themes are close to those of Taoism and Buddhism.
The Script controversy
The origin of this problem lies with the attempt of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, to burn all of the books. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown by the Han, there was the monumental task of recreating all of the knowledge that was destroyed. The method undertaken was to find all of the remaining scholars and have them reconstruct, from memory, the texts that were lost. This produced the "New Script" texts. Afterwards, people began finding fragments of books that had escaped the burning. Piecing those together produced the "Old Script" texts. One problem that has plagued Confucianism, through the ages, is the question of which set of texts is the more authentic; the "Old Script" texts tend to have greater acceptance. In actuality, the verification and comparison for authenticity between the 'old scripts' and 'new scripts' text has remained the works of Confucian scholars for 2000 years up to the twentieth century. Their work also involved interpretation and derivation of meanings from the text under a field of study was known as Jingxue 經學 ("the study of classics").
Is Confucianism a religion?
It is debatable whether Confucianism should be called a religion. While it prescribes a great deal of ritual, little of it could be construed as worship or meditation in a formal sense. Confucius occasionally made statements about the existence of other-worldly beings that sound distinctly agnostic and humanistic to Western ears. Thus, Confucianism is often considered an ethical tradition and not a religion. Its effect on Chinese and other East Asian societies and cultures has been immense and parallels the effects of religious movements, seen in other cultures. Those who follow the teachings of Confucius are comforted by it; it makes their lives more complete and their sufferings bearable. It includes a great deal of ritual and (in its Neo-Confucian formulation) gives a comprehensive explanation of the world, of human nature, etc. Moreover, religions in Chinese culture are not mutually exclusive entities — each tradition is free to find its specific niche, its field of specialisation. One can be a Taoist, Christian, Muslim, Shintoist or Buddhist and still profess Confucianist beliefs. Although Confucianism may include ancestor worship, sacrifice to ancestral spirits and an abstract celestial deity, and the deification of ancient kings and even Confucius himself, all these features can be traced back to non-Confucian Chinese beliefs established long before Confucius and, in this respect, make it difficult to claim that such rituals make Confucianism a religion. Generally speaking, Confucianism is not considered a religion by Chinese or other East Asian people. Part of this attitude may be explained by the stigma placed on many "religions" as being superstitious, illogical, or unable to deal with modernity. Many Buddhists state that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy, and this is partially a reaction to negative popular views of religion. Similarly, Confucians maintain that Confucianism is not a religion, but rather a moral code or philosophic world view. The question of whether Confucianism is a religion, or otherwise, is ultimately a definitional problem. If the definition used is worship of supernatural entities, the answer may be that Confucianism is not a religion, but then this definition could also be used to argue that many traditions commonly held to be religious (Buddhism, some forms of Islam, etc.) are also not, in fact, religions. If, on the other hand, a religion is defined as (for example) a belief system that includes moral stances, guides for daily life, systematic views of humanity and its place in the universe, etc., then Confucianism most definitely qualifies. As with many such important concepts, the definition of religion is quite contentious. Herbert Fingarette's Confucius: The Secular as Sacred is a good treatment of this issue.
Names for Confucianism
Several names for Confucianism exist in .
- "School of the Scholars" (pinyin Rújiā)
- 儒家 (Traditional and Simplified Chinese)
- "Teaching of the Scholars" (pinyin: Rujiao)
- 儒教 (Traditional and Simplified)
- "Scholarly study" or "Scholar studies" (pinyin: Ruxue)
- 儒學 (Traditional)
- 儒学 (Simplified)
- "Teaching of Confucius" or "Religion of Confucius" (pinyin: Kongjiao)
- 孔教 (Traditional and Simplified) Three of these four (namely Rujia, Rujiao, Ruxue) use the Chinese term Ru, meaning a scholar. These names do not use the name "Confucius" (Kong Zi) at all, but instead central on the central figure/ideal of the Confucian scholar. Rujia, in addition to "School of the Scholars" also literally means "Scholar house" or "Scholar family." Rujiao and Kongjiao contain the Chinese term jiao, the noun "teaching", used in such as terms as "education" or "educator", but also, notably, the term most frequently used for constructing the names of religions in Chinese. The terms for Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and other religions in Chinese all end with jiao: Jidujiao (Christianity: literally, the Teaching or Religion —jiao—of Christ—Jidu), Youtaijiao (Judaism: the Youtai—from Judah or Yehuda, Hebrew for "Jew"—religion) and Yisilanjiao (Islam). Ruxue contains xue, meaning literally "study" or "studies", but parallel to the suffix "-ology" or "-ics", used in the Chinese term for most sciences and academic fields (e.g. Huaxue 化学, "chemistry"; xinlixue 心理学, "psychology").
Confucianism and other schools of thought
Inter-religious or inter-philosophical dialogue has occurred in the modern period between scholars of Confucianism and scholars of several religions, including Islam and Christianity.
Confucianism and Catholicism
Representing a relatively traditionalist-humanist viewpoint of Catholic thought, the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia declares: "In Confucianism there is much to admire." The Encyclopedia praises its "noble conception of the supreme Heaven-god" as well as the high standard of morality, and the "refining influence of literary education and of polite conduct" it holds Confucianism to have brought about. The Encylopedia goes on to say, however, that Confucianism is nonetheless "encumbered" with serious defects deriving from what it calls the "imperfect civilization of its early development." The work has criticized Confucianism's association of the Supreme Being or Heavenly Being (Tian or Tien) with nature spirits, its "superstitious" use of divination, and sacrifices to spirits and ancestors. It suggests that Confucianism cannot "answer fully to the religious needs of the heart" since it deemphasizes active participation in worship of the deity, has "little use of prayer," recognizes no concept of grace, and has "no definite teaching" regarding the afterlife. The social system promoted by traditional Confucianism, it claims, "has lifted the Chinese to an intermediate grade of culture, but has blocked for ages all further progress." The Encyclopedia cites "rigid" customs, a "patriarchal system with its attendant evils of polygamy and divorce," repression of women, little emphasis on individual freedom as features for concern.
Quotations

- The Master said, "I have been the whole day without eating, and the whole night without sleeping — occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The better plan is to learn." (Analects XV. 30. tr. Legge)
- Zilu (an impetuous disciple of Confucius) asked how one should serve ghosts and spirits. The Master said, "Till you have learnt to serve men, how can you serve ghosts?" Zilu then ventured upon a question about the dead. The Master said, "Till you know about the living, how are you to know about the dead?" (Analects XI. 11. tr. Waley)
- "Show respect to the spirits and deities, then keep away from them." (Confucius is held to have refused to discuss the subject of magic, devils, and Heaven).
See also

- List of Confucianists
- Traditional Chinese religion
- Eastern philosophy
External links

Translations

- [http://www.comparative-religion.com/confucianism/ Confucianism and Confucian texts]
- [http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=Lunyu The Analects of Confucius] in Chinese with English translations of James Legge and D.C. Lau
Articles and books

- [http://www.mti.gov.sg/public/NWS/frm_NWS_Default.asp?sid=39&cid=223 Chinese Culture and Politics] by George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, at The Golden Jubilee Anniversary Of New Asia College, Hong Kong
- Fingarette, Herbert. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1577660102/103-3648291-0906232?v=glance Confucius: The Secular as Sacred]. ISBN 1577660102.
- [http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~yuenck/c De-Mystifying Confucius] Category:Secularism Category:Chinese traditional religion ko:유교 ja:儒教

Sun Quan

Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: Sūn Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zhongmou (仲謀), formally Emperor Da of (Eastern) Wu (東吳大帝, literally "the grand emperor") was the the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. He ruled from 200 to 222 as Wu Wang (King/Prince of Wu) and from 222 to 252 as Emperor of the Wu Dynasty. His temple name is Taizu (太祖). In his youth Sun Quan spent time in his home county of Fuchun, and after his father's death in the early 190s, at various cities on the Lower Yangtze River. His elder brother Sun Ce carved out a warlord state in the region, based on his own followers and a number of local clan allegiances. When Sun Ce was assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong, whom Sun Ce had killed in battle several years prior, in 200, the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan inherited the lands southeast of the Yangtze River from his brother. It was an achievement that his administration proved to be relatively stable in those early years. Sun Jian and Sun Ce's most senior officers, such as Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Cheng Pu remained loyal; in fact it was mentioned in the novel that Sun Ce had at his deathbed reminded Sun Quan that "in internal matters, consult Zhang Zhao, in external matters, consult Zhou Yu." Thus throughout the 200s Sun Quan under the tutelage of his able advisors continued to build up his strength along the Yangtze River. In early 207, his forces finally won complete victory over Huang Zu, a military leader under Liu Biao, who dominated the Middle Yangtze. In winter of that year, the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 200,000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China. Two distinct factions emerged at his court on how to handle the situation. One, led by Zhang Zhao, urged surrender whilst the other, led by Zhou Yu and the young diplomat Lu Su, opposed capitulation. In the finality, Sun Quan decided to oppose Cao Cao in the Middle Yangtze with his superior riverine forces. Allied with the refugee warlord Liu Bei and employing the combined strategies of Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and Pang Tong, they defeated Cao Cao decisively at the Battle of Red Cliffs. In 220, Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, seized the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of China, ending the nominal rule of the Han dynasty. At first Sun Quan wanted to be a king serving the Wei dynasty under Cao Pi, but he failed to make a deal, and so in 222, he declared himself independent by changing era name. It was not until the year 229 that he formally declared himself to be emperor. Because of his skill in gathering important, honourable men to his cause, Sun Quan was able to delegate authority to capable figures. This primary strength served him well in gaining the support of the common people and surrounding himself with capable generals. Sun Quan died in 252 at the age of 71. He enjoyed the longest reign among all the founders of the Three Kingdoms. He was succeeded as Emperor of Wu by his son Sun Liang.

Early life

Sun Quan was born in 182, while his father Sun Jian was still an Eastern Han general. After his father's death in 191, he became the charge of his brother Sun Ce. As he grew up, he became an officer under his brother during his brother's conquest of the region south of the Yangtze River. He was made a county magistrate in 196, at age 14, and continued to rise through the ranks as his brother gave him more and more important tasks. The Sanguo Zhi records that Sun Quan's father Sun Jian was a descendant of Sun Tzu, the great military strategist of the Warring States period. According to later tradition, Sun Quan was born on Sunzhou ("Sun Island", later Wangzhou - "King's Island"), an islet at the intersection of the Fuchun River and one of its tributaries. Local folklore relates a story about how Sun Quan's grandfather Sun Zhong was originally a melon farmer on the islet.

As warlord after Sun Ce's death

Prior to the Battle of Chibi

Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 during a hunt. On his deathbed, he knew that his son was still too young to be considered a realistic heir, so he entrusted the 18-year-old Sun Quan to his faithful subordinates. Initially, Sun Quan mourned so greatly that he could do nothing, but at Zhang Zhao's behest, he changed into a general's clothing and set out to visit the commanderies under his brother's control. Many of Sun Ce's subordinates thought that Sun Quan was too young to sustain Sun Ce's domain and wanted to leave, but Zhang and Zhou Yu saw special qualities in the young man and chose to stay to serve Sun Quan. Zhang Hong, whom Sun Ce had earlier sent as a liaison to the paramount warlord Cao Cao, also returned from Cao's domain to assist Sun Quan. (At Zhang Hong's request, Cao, in the name of Emperor Xian, commissioned Sun Quan as General Taolu (討虜將軍), a title that he would be known for for a long time.) He listened carefully to his mother Lady Wu's encouraging words, and greatly trusted Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong with regard to civilian affairs and Zhou, Cheng Pu, and Lü Fan with regard to military matters. He also sought out talented young men to serve as his personal advisors, and it was around this time that he befriended Lu Su and Zhuge Jin, who would later play prominent roles in his administration. Throughout this period and decades to come, Sun's leadership would be characterized by his ability to find men of character and entrust important matters to him, and his ability to react swiftly to events. For the next several years, Sun was largely interested in first defending his realm against potential enemies, but he gradually sought to harass and weaken Liu Biao's key subordinate, Huang Zu (who controlled the northeastern region of Liu's domain) -- particularly because Huang had killed his father Sun Jian in battle. In 208, he was finally able to defeat Huang and kill him in battle. Soon after, Liu Biao himself died while Cao Cao was preparing a major campaign to subjugate both Liu and Sun under his control, precipitating a major confrontation.

Battle of Chibi

After Liu Biao's death, a succession struggle for his domain came into being, between his sons Liu Qi (劉琦) and younger son Liu Cong (劉琮), whom Liu Biao's second wife Lady Cai favored (because he had married her niece). After Huang's death, Liu Qi was therefore given Huang's post as the governor of Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei). Liu Cong therefore succeeded Liu Biao after his death, and Liu Qi was displeased and considered, but did not carry out, an attack against his brother. Nevertheless, Liu Cong, in fear of having to fight Cao and his brother on two fronts, surrendered to Cao against the advice of Liu Biao's key ally Liu Bei. Liu Bei, unwilling to submit to Cao, fled south. Cao caught up to him and crushed his forces, but Liu Bei escaped with his life; he fled to Dangyang (當陽, in modern Yichang, Hubei). Cao took over most of Jing Province, and appeared set on finally unifying the empire. Sun was well aware of Cao's intentions, and he quickly entered into an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi to prepare for a Cao assault. Cao wrote Sun with a letter intending to intimidate, and in face of Cao's overwhelming force (estimated to be about 220,000 men, although Cao claimed 800,000, against Sun's own 30,000 and the Lius' combined force of 10,000), many of Sun's subordinates, even including the highly capable Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender. Sun refused, under advise from Zhou Yu and Lu Su (that Cao would surely not tolerate him even if he surrendered). Sun put Zhou in charge of his 30,000 men, largely stationed on naval ships, and Zhou set up in a defense position in conjunction with Liu Bei, whose army was stationed on land. About this time, there was a plague developing in Cao's forces which significantly weakened it. Zhou set up a trap where he pretended to be punishing his subordinate Huang Gai, and Huang pretended to be in such fear that he was willing to surrender to Cao. Zhou then sent ships under Huang's command to pretend to surrender and, as Huang's ships approached Cao's fleet, they were lit on fire to assault Cao's fleet, and Cao's fleet was largely destroyed by fire. Cao led his forces to escape on land, but much of the force was destroyed by Sun's and Liu Bei's land forces. The death rate was said to be over 50%.

Uneasy alliance with Liu Bei

Immediately, after Cao withdrew, Sun took over the northern half of Jing Province. Liu Bei marched south and took over the southern half. The Sun-Liu alliance was further cemented by a marriage of Sun's sister to Liu. Zhou was suspicious of Liu's intentions, however, and suggested to Sun that Liu be seized and put under house arrest (albeit be very well-treated) and his forces be merged into Sun's; Sun, believing that Liu's forces would rebel if he did that, declined. Sun did agree to Zhou's plans to consider attacking Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu (who controlled the modern southern Shaanxi) to try to take over their territories, but after Zhou died in 210, the plans were abandoned. However, Sun was able to persuade the warlords in modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam to submit to him, and they became part of his domain. He then yielded northern Jing to Liu as well, agreeing with Liu that southern Jing was insufficient to supply his troops. In 215, the Sun-Liu alliance appeared on the verge of break-up, because Sun demanded that Liu return Jing Province and Liu refused. Sun made an initial attack against Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who was left in charge of Jing Province by Liu, and most of the eastern Jing Province (east of the Xiang River) quickly surrendered. However, after a face-to-face summit between Guan and Lu, the sides renewed their alliance, dividing Jing Province at the Xiang.

Breaking of alliance with Liu Bei

In 219, Guan Yu advanced north, attacking Fancheng (樊城, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), scoring a major victory over Cao's nephew Cao Ren . While Fancheng did not fall at this time, Guan put it under siege, and the situation was severe enough that Cao Cao considered moving the capital away from Xu. However, Sun, resentful of Guan's prior constant instigation of hostilities (including seizing Sun's food supplies to use for his campaign north), took the opportunity to attack Guan from the rear, and Guan's forces collapsed. Guan was captured and killed by Sun's general Lü Meng (呂蒙); Jing Province became Sun's once more, and the Sun-Liu alliance was over. Sun instead nominally submitted to Cao and, indeed, urged him to take the throne. Cao declined, but prepared for his son Cao Pi to do so. After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Pi did indeed force Emperor Xian to yield the throne to him, ending the Han Dynasty and establishing Cao Wei. Sun did not immediately declare himself a Cao Wei subject or declare independence after Cao Pi's enthronement, but took a wait-and-see attitude; by contrast, in early 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor, establishing Shu Han. Immediately, Liu planned a campaign against Sun to avenge Guan. After attempting to negotiate peace and receiving no positive response from Liu, fearing attack on both sides, Sun declared himself a Cao Wei subject. Cao's strategist Liu Ye (劉曄) suggested that Cao decline -- and in fact attack Sun on a second front, effectively partitioning Sun's domain with Shu Han, and then eventually seek to destroy Shu Han as well. Cao declined, in a fateful choice that most historians believe doomed his empire to ruling only the northern and central China -- and this chance would not come again. Indeed, against Liu Ye's advice, he created Sun the Prince of Wu and granted him the nine bestowments. In 222, at the Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭, also known as the Battle of Yiling), Sun's general Lu Xun dealt Liu a major defeat, stopping the Shu Han offensive. Shu Han would not again pose a threat to Sun from that point on. Later that year, when Cao Pi demanded that Sun send his crown prince Sun Deng (孫登) to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang as a hostage (to guarantee his loyalty), Sun refused and declared independence (by changing era name), thus establishing Eastern Wu as an independent state. Cao Pi therefore launched a major attack on Eastern Wu, but after Cao Wei defeats in early 223, it became clear that Eastern Wu was secure. After Liu Bei's death later that year, Zhuge Jin's brother Zhuge Liang, the regent for Liu Bei's son and successor Liu Shan, reestablished the alliance with Sun Quan, and the two states would remain allies until Shu Han's eventual destruction in 263.

Reign as the monarch of Eastern Wu

Early reign

Early in Sun Quan's reign, the Eastern Wu administration was known for its efficiency, as Sun showed a knack for listening to correct advice and for delegating authorities to the proper individuals. For example, he correctly trusted the faithful Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, so much so that he made a duplicate imperial seal and left it with Lu; whenever he would correspond with Shu Han's emperor Liu Shan or regent Zhuge Liang, he would deliver the letter to Lu first (as Lu's post was near the Shu Han border), and then if, in Lu's opinion, changes were needed, he would revise the letter and then restamp it with Sun's imperial seal. Further, Lu and Zhuge Jin were authorized to coordinate their actions with Shu Han without prior imperial approval. Sun treated his high level officials as friends and addressed them accordingly (with courtesy names), and in accordance they dedicated all effort to Eastern Wu's preservation. He also knew what were the proper roles for officials that he trusted; for example, in 225, when selecting a prime minister, while the key officials all respected Zhang Zhao greatly and wanted him to be prime minister, Sun declined -- reasoning that while he respected Zhang greatly, a prime minister needed to handle all affairs of state, and Zhang, while capable, had such strong opinions that he would surely be in conflict with Sun and other officials at all times. He also repeatedly promoted his official Lü Fan even though, while he was young, Lü had informed to Sun Ce about his improper spending habits, understanding that Lü did so only out of loyalty to Sun Ce. In 224 and 225, Cao Pi again made attacks on Eastern Wu, but each time the Eastern Wu forces were able to repel Cao Wei's with fair ease -- so easily that Cao made the comment, "Heaven created the Yangtze to divide the north and south." However, Sun was himself equally unsuccessful in efforts to make major attacks on Cao Wei. After Cao Pi's death in 226, for example, Sun launched an attack on Cao Wei's Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Xiaogan, Hubei) but was forced to withdraw as soon as Cao Wei relief forces arrived despite Cao Pi's recent death. However, later that year, he was able to increase his effective control over Jiao Province (交州, modern northern Vietnam) when his general Lü Dai (呂岱) was able to defeat the warlord Shi Hui (士徽) and end the effective independence that the Shi clan had. In addition, the several indepedent kingdoms in modern Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam all became Eastern Wu vassals as well. The one major victory that Eastern Wu would have over Cao Wei during this period came in 228, when, with Sun's approval, his general Zhou Fang pretended to be surrendering to Cao Wei after pretending to have been punished repeatedly by Sun. This tricked the Cao Wei general Cao Xiu, who led a large army south to support Zhou. He walked into the trap set by Zhou and Lu Xun and suffered major losses, but was saved from total annihilation by Jia Kui. In 229, Sun declared himself emperor, which almost damaged the alliance with Shu Han, as many Shu Han officials saw this as a sign of betrayal of the Han Dynasty -- which Shu Han claimed to be the legitimate successor to. However, Zhuge Liang opposed ending the alliance and in fact confirmed it with a formal treaty later that year, in which the two states pledged to support each other and divide Cao Wei equally if they could conquer it. Later that year, he moved his capital from Wuchang (武昌, in modern Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye (建業, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), leaving his crown prince Sun Deng, assisted by Lu Xun, in charge of the western empire.

Middle reign

In 230, however, the first sign of the deterioration of Sun Quan's reign occurred. That year, he sent his generals Wei Wun (衛溫) and Zhuge Zhi (諸葛直) with a navy of 10,000 into the East China Sea to seek the legendary islands of Yizhou (夷洲, may be modern Ryukyu Islands) and Danzhou (亶洲, may be modern Japan) to seek to conquer them, despite strenous opposition of Lu Xun and Quan Cong (全琮). The navy was not able to locate Danzhou but located Yizhou, and returned in 231 after capturing several thousand men -- but only after 80-90% of the navy had died of illnesses. Instead of seeing his own fault in this venture, Sun simply executed Wen and Zhuge. Perhaps concerned about this deterioration in Sun Quan's judgment, Sun Deng left the western empire in Lu's hands in 232 and returned in Jianye, and would remain at Jianye until his own death in 241. In 232, Sun had another misadventure involving his navy -- as he sent his generals Zhou He (周賀) and Pei Qian (裴濳) to the nominal Cao Wei vassal Gongsun Yuan, in control of Liaodong Commandery (modern central Liaoning), to purchase horses, against the advice of Yu Fan (虞翻) -- and indeed, he exiled Yu to the desolate Cangwu Commandery (roughly modern Wuzhou, Guangxi) as punishment. Just as Yu predicted, however, the venture would end in failure -- as Zhou and Pei, on their way back, were intercepted by Cao Wei forces and killed. Regretting his actions, Sun tried to recall Yu back to Jianye, only to learn that Yu had died in exile. The next year, however, Sun would have yet another misadventure in his dealings with Gongsun, as Gongsun sent messengers to him, offering to be his subject. Sun was ecstatic, and created Gongsun the Prince of Yan and granted him the nine bestowments, and further sent a detachment of 10,000 men by sea north to assist Gongsun in his campaign against Cao Wei, against the advice of nearly every single one of his high level officials, particularly Zhang Zhao. Once the army arrived, however, Gongsun betrayed them, killing Sun's officials Zhang Mi (張彌) and Xu Yan (許晏), whom Sun had sent to grant the bestowments and seized their troops. Once that happened, the enraged Sun wanted to personally head north with a fleet to attack Gongsun, and initially, not even Lu's opposition was able to stop him, although he eventually calmed down and did not follow through. To his credit, he also personally went to Zhang's house and apologized to Zhang. Further, despite the detrioration in his previous clear thinking, he was still capable of making proper decisions at times. For example, in 235, when, as a sign of contempt, Cao Wei's emperor Cao Rui offered horses to him in exchange for pearls, jade, and tortoise shells, Sun ignored the implicit insult and made the exchange, reasoning that his empire needed horses much more than pearls, jade, or tortoise shells. In 234, in coordination with Zhuge Liang's final northern expedition against Cao Wei, Sun personally led a major attack against Cao Wei's border city Hefei (合肥, in modern Hefei, Anhui), while having Lu and Zhuge Jin attack Xiangyang (襄陽, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), with the strategy of trying to attract Cao Wei relief forces and then attacking them. However, Cao Wei's generals correctly saw the situation and simply let Sun siege Hefei. Only after Sun's food supplies ran low did Cao Rui personally arrive with relief forces, and Sun withdrew, as did Lu and Zhuge. (This would prove to be the first of only two coordinated efforts made by allies Eastern Wu and Shu Han against Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.) In 238, when Gongsun was under attack by Cao Wei's general Sima Yi, Sun, despite his prior rage against Gongsun, correctly judged the situation as one where he might be able to take advantage if Sima were initially unsuccessful, did not immediately refuse Gongsun's request for help. However, as Sima was able to conquer Gongsun quickly, Sun never launched the major attack that he considered if Sima got stuck in a stalemate with Gongsun. That year, he also recognized how his head secretary Lü Yi (呂壹) had been falsely accusing his officials, and had Lü executed; he then further confirmed his trust in the high level officials by personally writing an emotional letter to Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi (步騭), Zhu Ran (朱然), and Lü Dai, blaming himself for the recent problems with his administration while urging them to speak out honestly whenever they saw faults in him. In 241, Sun would launch the last major assault against Cao Wei of his reign, in light of Cao Rui's death in 239, but he rejected a strategy offered by Yin Zha (殷札) to attack Cao Wei in coordinated effort with Shu Han on four different fronts, and the campaign ended in failure as well.

Late reign

Later in 241, Crown Prince Deng died -- an event that left open the issue of succession and appeared to mark the start of a precipitous decline in Sun Quan's mental health. In 242, he created his son Sun He (孫和), by Consort Wang, crown prince. However, he also favored another son by Consort Wang, Sun Ba (孫霸) the Prince of Lu, and permitted Sun Ba to have the same staffing level as the crown prince -- a move that was objected to by a number of officials as encouraging Prince Ba to compete with Prince He, but Sun Quan did not listen to them. After 245, when Crown Prince He and Prince Ba began to have separate residences, their relationship detriorated further, and Prince Ba began to scheme at how to seize heir status from Prince He. Fanned by gossip from his daughter Sun Dahu (孫大虎), Sun Quan blamed the princes' mother Consort Wang for this -- and she died in fear. He also cut off Crown Prince He and Prince Ba's access to the officials who supported them in hopes of receiving future favors, but this could not stop Prince Ba's machinations. Indeed, when Lu Xun tried to intervene to protect Crown Prince He, Prince Ba falsely accused him of many crimes, and Sun Quan became provoked so much that he repeatedly rebuked Lu -- causing Lu to die in anger. In 250, fed up with Prince Ba's constant attacks against Crown Prince He, Sun Quan carried out an inexplicable combination of actions -- he forced Prince Ba to commit suicide, while deposing Crown Prince He (who had not been shown to have committed any crimes), and instead creating his youngest son, Sun Liang, crown prince to replace Prince He. This move was opposed by his son-in-law Zhu Ju (朱據, the husband of Princess Xiaohu), but Zhu's pleas not only did not help Prince He, but also resulted in his own death, as Sun forced him to commit suicide. Many other officials who also opposed the move, as well as officials who had supported Prince Ba, were executed. Around this time, Sun also had his generals destroy a number of levees near the border with Cao Wei, creating large areas of flooding, in order to obstruct potential attacks from Cao Wei. In 251, Sun created the first empress of his reign -- Crown Prince Liang's mother Consort Pan. (Previously, he had a succession of wives, but never created any of them empresses, except that his favorite, Lady Bu, was created empress posthumously after her death in 238.) Later that year, however, he realized that Prince He was blameless and wanted to recall him from his exile, but was persuaded not to do so by his daughter Princess Dahu and Sun Jun, who had supported Crown Prince Liang's ascension. He realized that he was getting very old (69 by this point) and, at Sun Jun's recommendation, commissioned Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke as the future regent for Crown Prince Liang -- even though he correctly had misgivings about how Zhuge Ke was arrogant and had overly high opinion of his own abilities -- because at that time, virtually the entire empire, awed by Zhuge's prior military victories, was convinced that Zhuge would be the correct choice for regent. In 252, as Sun Quan neared death, Empress Pan was murdered -- but how she was murdered remains a controversy. Eastern Wu officials claimed that her servants, unable to stand her temper, strangled her while she was asleep, while a number of historians, including Hu Sansheng (胡三省), the commentator to Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian, believed that top Eastern Wu officials were complicit, as they feared that she would seize power as empress dowager after Sun's death. Later that year, Sun died at the age of 70, and Crown Prince Liang succeeded him.

Era names

- Huangwu (黃武 huáng wǔ) 222-229
- Huanglong (黃龍 huáng lóng) 229-231
- Jiahe (嘉禾 jiā hé) 232-238
- Chiwu (赤烏 chì wū) 238-251
- Taiyuan (太元 taì yuán) 251-252
- Shenfeng (神鳳 shén fèng) 252

Personal information

- Father
- Sun Jian
- Mother
- Lady Wu (吳夫人) (d. 202)
- Wives
- Lady Xie
- Lady Xu, adoptive mother of Crown Prince Deng
- Lady Bu (d. 238), posthumously honored as empress
- Empress Pan (created 251, d. 252), mother of Crown Prince Liang
- Major Concubines
- Consort Wang, mother of Crown Prince He and grandmother of Sun Hao, posthumously honored as Empress Dayi
- Consort Wang, mother of Sun Xiu (Emperor Jing), posthumously honored as Empress Jinghuai
- Consort Zhong, mother of Prince Fen
- Consort Yuan, daughter of Yuan Shu
- Children
- Sun Deng (孫登), the Crown Prince (created 221, d. 241)
- Sun Lü (孫慮), the Marquess of Jianchang (created 228, d. 232)
- Sun He (孫和), initially the Crown Prince (created 242, deposed 250), later the Prince of Nanyang (created 252, forced to commit suicide 253)
- Sun Ba (孫霸), the Prince of Lu (created 242, forced to commit suicide 250)
- Sun Fen (孫奮), the Prince of Qi (created 252, deposed 253), later the Marquess of Zhang'an (created 258, executed 270)
- Sun Xiu (孫休), the Prince of Langye (created 252), later Emperor Jing
- Sun Liang (孫亮), the Crown Prince (created 252), later emperor
- Sun Dahu (孫大虎), also known as Princess Quan
- Sun Xiaohu (孫小虎), also known as Princess Zhu

Kingdom of Wu

Eastern Wu (Chinese: 東吳, pinyin: dōng wú), also known as Sun Wu (Traditional Chinese: 孫吳, pinyin: sūn wú) and (misleadingly) in English as the Kingdom of Wu, refers to a historical state in a region of China. During its existence, its capital was largely at Jianye (建業, modern Nanjing), but at times was at Gong'an (公安, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei) or Wuchang (武昌, in modern Ezhou, Hubei -- not Wuhan, as the name might suggest). Wuhan From 222 to 280, Eastern Wu was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. During the decline of the Han dynasty, the region of Wu - a region in the south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), surrounding Nanjing - was under the control of the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan succeeded his brother Sun Ce as the lord over the Wu region paying nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian of Han (who was, at that point, under the control of Cao Cao). Unlike his competitors, he did not really have the ambition to be Emperor of China. However, after Cao Pi of the Kingdom of Wei and Liu Bei of the Kingdom of Shu each declared themselves to be the Emperor, Sun Quan decided to follow suit in 222, claiming to have founded the Wu Dynasty. Under the rule of Eastern Wu, southern China, regarded in early history as a barbaric "jungle" developed into one of the commercial, cultural, and political centers of China. Within five centuries, during the Five Dynasties and Ten States, the development of Southern China had surpassed that of the north. The achievements of Wu marked the beginning of the cultural and political division between Northern and Southern China that would repeatedly appear in Chinese history well into modernity. The term Southern China as used here does not include Guangdong and other provinces in the far south, which were not incorporated into China proper until the Tang Dynasty and remained for the most part economically and culturally backward until the late 19th century. The island of Taiwan may have been first reached by the Chinese during the Three Kingdoms period. Contacts with the native population and the dispatch of officials to an island named "Yizhou" (夷州) by the Eastern Wu navy might have been to Taiwan, but what Yizhou was is open to dispute; some historians believe it was Taiwan, while others believe it was the Ryukyu Islands. Eastern Wu was finally conquered by the first Jin emperor, Sima Yan, in 280. It was the longest-lived of the three kingdoms. Important figures:
- Sun Jian (孫堅)
- Sun Ce (孫策),
- Sun Quan (孫權)
- Huang Gai (黃蓋)
- Gan Ning (甘寧)
- Taishi Ci (太史慈)
- Zhou Yu (周瑜)
- Zhou Tai (周泰)
- Ling Tong (凌統)
- Lu Su (魯肅)
- Lü Meng (呂蒙)
- Lu Yi (Xun) (陸遜)
- Zhang Zhao (張昭)
- Zhang Hong (張紘)
- Zhuge Jin (諸葛謹)
- Dong Xi (董袭)
- Xu Sheng (徐盛)
- Chen Wu (陈武)

List of sovereigns

Eastern Wu 222-280
Posthumous Names ( Shi Hao 諡號)	Personal names	Year(s) of Reigns	Era Names (Nian Hao 年號) and their range of years
Convention: use personal name
Da Di (大帝 dà dì)	Sun Quan (孫權 sūn quán)	222-252	Huangwu (黃武 huáng wǔ) 222-229 Huanglong (黃龍 huáng lóng) 229-231 Jiahe (嘉禾 jiā hé) 232-238 Chiwu (赤烏 chì wū) 238-251 Taiyuan (太元 taì yuán) 251-252 Shenfeng (神鳳 shén2 fèng) 252
Kuaiji Wang (會稽王 kuaì jī wáng)	Sun Liang (孫亮 sūn liàng)	252-258	Jianxing (建興 jiàn xīng) 252-253 Wufeng (五鳳 wǔ fèng) 254-256 Taiping (太平 taì píng) 256-258
Jing Di (景帝 jǐng dì)	Sun Xiu (孫休 sūn xiū)	258-264	Yong'an (永安 yǒng ān) 258-264
Wucheng Hou (烏程侯 wū chéng hóu) or Guiming Hou (歸命侯; gūi mìng hóu)	Sun Hao (孫皓 sūn haò)	264-280	Yuanxing (元興 yuán xīng) 264-265 Ganlu (甘露 gān lù) 265-266 Baoding (寶鼎 baǒ dǐng) 266-269 Jianheng (建衡 jiàn héng) 269-271 Fenghuang (鳳凰 fèng huáng) 272-274 Tiance (天冊 tiān cè) 275-276 Tianxi (天璽 tiān xǐ) 276 Tianji (天紀 tiān jì) 277-280

Category:History of China ko:오나라 (삼국) ja:呉 (三国)

Sun Jian

Sun Jian (155 – 191) was a military general and minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a coalition to oust Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord who held the puppet Emperor Xian in his power. Although he controlled neither many troops nor much land, Sun Jian's personal bravery and resourcefulness were feared by Dong Zhuo, who placed him among Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao, the most influential men at that time. After the coalition disbanded in the next year, China fell into massive civil war. In 191, Sun Jian was killed in battle during an offensive campaign against Liu Biao. Sun Jian was also the father of Sun Quan, one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms era who eventually established the Kingdom of Wu and declared himself its first emperor in 222, whereupon Sun Jian was given the posthumous title of Emperor Wulie (武烈皇帝).

Life

Early life and career

Born in the Fuchun Prefecture of the Wu Commandery (吳郡富春, present day Fuyang, Zhejiang), Sun Jian was said to be a descendant of the renowned military strategist Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. He was a civil officer in his prefecture during his youth. When he was sixteen, Sun Jian travelled with his father to Qiantang (錢唐, present day Hanzhou, Zhejiang), where they came upon a band of pirates dividing up their spoils on land. Sun Jian jumped on shore with a sabre in hand and pointed in different directions as if he was commmanding a detachment of soldiers to surround the pirates. Seeing this, the pirates were deceived and fled. Sun Jian pursued, and only after taking the head of a pirate did he return. His name henceforth spread. In 184, the Yellow Turban Rebellion led by Zhang Jiao broke out across the country. Sun Jian joined the general Zhu Jun to quell the rebellion in Yuzhou (豫州, present day southern Henan and norther Anhui) area. The soldiers fought hard, forcing the rebels to retreat to Wancheng (宛城, present day Nanyang, Henan). Sun Jian placed himself in the forefront and climbed onto the city walls alone. The rest then swarmed in and defeated the rebels. Around this time, Bian Zhang (邊章) and Han Sui colluded with the Qiang tribes and rebelled in Liangzhou (涼州, present day western Gansu). After Dong Zhuo failed to put down the rebellion, the central government sent in his place the Minister of Works Zhang Wen (張溫), who invited Sun Jian along as an advisor. When Zhang Wen summoned Dong Zhuo to the encampment at Chang'an, Dong Zhuo procrastinated and took a long time to arrive. When he did, he showed little respect for Zhang Wen. Sun Jian then advised Zhang Wen to execute Dong Zhuo, but Zhang Wen declined as Dong Zhuo held high reputation in the west. Hearing that a mass army had arrived, the rebels promptly surrendered. When Zhang Wen and the rest returned to the capital Luoyang, however, the court held that the army did not engage the enemy and thus no honor was accorded. Meanwhile, another local-scale rebellion broke out near Changsha and the rebels besieged the city. Sun Jian was then made governor of Changsha. Within a month upon taking up office, Sun Jian had quelled the rebellion. Meanwhile, rebellions also broke out in the neighboring commanderies of Lingling (零陵, present day Yongzhou, Hunan) and Guiyang (桂陽). Both were put down by Sun Jian, who was then enfeoffed as Marquis of Wucheng (烏程侯).

Coalition against Dong Zhuo

In 189, Emperor Ling died, leaving his young son in the care of regents Empress Dowager He and General-in-Chief He Jin. He Jin then summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the capital to assist in a plot to eliminate the powerful eunuch faction. Before Dong Zhuo arrived, however, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang fell into chaos following a clash between supporters of both sides. Dong Zhuo then seized military control of the capital and deposed the young emperor for the puppet Emperor Xian. However, his tyrannical ways incurred the wrath of many and in the following year, warlords from eastern China formed a coalition against him. Sun Jian also raised an army with ten-thousands of troops and joined Yuan Shu, one of the leaders of the coalition at Luyang (魯陽, present day Lushan County, Henan). Yuan Shu made Sun Jian the General Who Quells Rebels (破虜將軍) and governor of Yuzhou. Sun Jian then began training and preparing his troops at Luyang. A force sent by Dong Zhuo was so impressed with the strict discipline of Sun Jian's troops that they gave up the plan to attack Luyang. When Sun Jian moved out to Liangdong (梁東, east of present day Linru County, Henan), he was outnumbered by Dong Zhuo's forces. With several dozen horsemen, Sun Jian broke out of the encirclement. He took off the red felt scarf he had always been wearing and handed it to his trusted aide Zu Mao (祖茂), whom Dong Zhuo's soldiers then chased after while Sun Jian escaped. Unable to shake off his pursuers, Zu Mao then dismounted, hanged the scarf onto a half-burnt pillar, and hid himself in the tall grasses nearby. The enemies surrounded the pillar and approached cautiously till they realized they had been fooled, whereupon they retreated. (In the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, however, Zu Mao was killed by the enemy commander Hua Xiong as he dashed out of his hideout to challenge the latter.) After regrouping his troops, Sun Jian pressed forward against the capital and engaged in battle against Dong Zhuo's forces at Yangren (陽人, northwest of Linru County). He scored a brilliant victory and killed the enemy commander-in-chief Hua Xiong in battle. (In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hua Xiong was said to be killed by Guan Yu.) At this time, someone told Yuan Shu that if Sun Jian defeated Dong Zhuo and took over the capital, he would not be controllable anymore. The doubtful Yuan Shu then ceased the food supply to Sun Jian. Sun Jian rode the hundred odd li from Yangren to Luyang in the night to see Yuan Shu, whereupon he said to the latter, "I put myself to danger in battle, first to remove the rebel (Dong Zhuo) for the country and second to avenge the deaths of your kinsmen (Yuan Shu's uncle was killed by Dong Zhuo). I have no personal grudge against Dong Zhuo. Yet you could believe slanderous talks and suspect me!" The words put Yuan Shu to shame and he immediately ordered the food supply to be delivered. Fearing Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo then sent his general Li Jue as an emissary to seek peace and propose a marriage to cement the alliance. However, Sun Jian rejected the proposals with harsh words and carried on his campaign towards Luoyang. In late 190, his force was merely ninety li away from the capital when Dong Zhuo retreated west to Chang'an after burning Luoyang to the ground. Entering Luoyang, Sun Jian ordered his men to reseal the tombs of former emperors that were excavated by Dong Zhuo, after which he returned to Luyang. It was said in the Book of Wu (吳書) by Wei Yao (韋曜) that Sun Jian found one of the emperor's jade seals in a well south of Luoyang and kept it. Later, when Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, he held Sun Jian's wife Lady Wu hostage in exchange for the seal.

Late life

In 191, Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao in Jingzhou (荆州, present day Hubei and Hunan). The defense force led by Liu Biao's subject Huang Zu (黃祖) was defeated by Sun Jian, who pursued the enemy across the Han River to Xiangyang. During a solo ride on the Xian Hill (峴山), Sun Jian was ambushed by Huang Zhu's troops, who shot him to death with arrows. (The Record of Heroes (英雄記) by Wang Can claimed that Sun Jian died in 193 and that he was crushed to death by boulders instead of killed by arrows while pursuing the enemy commander Lü Gong (呂公).) His nephew Sun Ben (孫賁) collected his troops and returned to Yuan Shu, who then made Sun Ben the governor of Yuzhou. Sun Jian was buried in Qu'e (曲阿, present day Situ Town, Jiangsu). He was survived by four sons: Sun Ce, Sun Quan, Sun Xiang (孫翊) and Sun Kuang (孫匡). His legacy was first inherited by the first-born Sun Ce, who unfortunately died early at twenty-four. Sun Ce was then succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan, who eventually established the Kingdom of Wu and declared himself its first emperor in 222. Sun Jian was then given the posthumous title of Emperor Wulie (武烈皇帝).

Reference

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External links

- [http://www.kongming.net/novel/sgz/sunjian.php Translation of the biography of Sun Jian in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms at Kongming's Archives] Sun Jian Sun Jian Category:People of the Three Kingdoms ja:孫堅

Cao Cao

Cao Cao (155 – 220), whose name is also often transliterated and should be correctly pronounced as Ts'ao Ts'ao, was a regional warlord and the last Chancellor of Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid down foundations for what was to become Cao Wei and was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei (魏武帝). Although generally characterized as a cruel and suspicious character in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other folk cultures, the historic Cao Cao was a brilliant ruler, military strategist and poet.

Life

Early life

Cao Cao was born in the county of Qiao (譙, present day Bozhou, Anhui) in 155. His father Cao Song (曹嵩) was a foster son of Cao Teng (曹騰), who in turn was one of the favorite eunuchs of Emperor Huan. Some historical records, including Biography of Cao Man, claim that Cao Song was originally surnamed Xiahou (thus making Cao Cao a cousin of Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, two of his most prominent generals). Cao Cao was known for his craftiness as a young man. Cao Cao's uncle often complained to Cao Song regarding Cao Cao's childhood indulgence in hunting and music. To counter this, Cao Cao one day feigned a fit before his uncle, who hurriedly informed Cao Song. Cao Song rushed out to see his son, who was by then back to normal. When asked, Cao Cao replied, "I have never had such illness, but I lost the love of my uncle, and therefore he had deceived you." Henceforth, Cao Song ceased to believe the words of his brother regarding Cao Cao, and thus Cao Cao became even more blatant in his wayward pursuits. At that time, there was a man living in Runan (汝南) named Xu Shao (許劭) who was famed for his ability to identify hidden talents of others. Cao Cao paid him a visit. Under persistent questioning, Xu Shao finally said, "You would be a capable minister in peaceful times and an unscrupulous hero in chaotic ones." Cao Cao took this as a compliment and was very pleased. At twenty, Cao Cao was recommended to be a district captain of Luoyang. Upon taking up the post, Cao Cao placed rows of multicolored staffs outside his office and ordered his deputies to flog those who violated the law, regardless of their status. An uncle of Jian Shuo, an influential eunuch under Emperor Ling, was once caught walking in the city beyond the curfew hour by Cao Cao and given his fair share of flogging. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184 Cao Cao was promoted to a captain of the cavalry (騎都尉) and sent to Yingchuan (潁川) to put down the rebels there. He was successful in his military exploits and was further promoted to Governor of Dong Commandery (東郡).

Alliance against Dong Zhuo

In 189, Emperor Ling died and was succeeded by his eldest son, though it was the empress dowager and the eunuchs who held true power. The two most powerful generals of that time, He Jin and Yuan Shao, plotted to eliminate the clan of influential eunuchs. He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, governor of Liangzhou (凉州), to lead his army into the capital Luoyang to lay pressure on the empress dowager. Before Dong Zhuo arrived, however, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang fell into chaos. After his force ridded the palace ground of opposition, Dong Zhuo deposed the emperor and placed in the throne the puppet Emperor Xian. Not seeing eye to eye with Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao left Luoyang for Chenliu (陳留, southeast of present day Kaifeng, Henan), where he raised his own troops. The next year, regional warlords combined their forces under Yuan Shao against Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao joined their cause. When Dong Zhuo was eventually killed in 192 by his own foster son, mighty warrior Lü Bu, China fell into civil war. Through short-term and regional-scale wars, Cao Cao continued to expand his power. In 196, Cao Cao convinced Emperor Xian to move the capital to Xuchang, into the warlord's custody. Henceforth, the last emperor of Han remained mostly a figurehead in the hands of Cao Cao. Cao Cao was then instated as the General-in-Chief (大將軍) and Marquis of Wuping (武平侯), though both titles had little practical implication. In 200, Yuan Shao amassed more than 100,000 troops and marched southwards on Xuchang in the name of rescuing the emperor. Cao Cao gathered 20,000 men in Guandu, a strategic point on the shore of the Yellow River. With his craft, brilliant military maneuvers and the help of a defector from Yuan Shao's camp, Cao Cao won a decisive and seemingly impossible victory. Yuan Shao fell ill and died shortly after returning from the defeat, leaving his legacy to two of his sons – the eldest son, Yuan Tan and the youngest son, Yuan Shang (袁尚). As he had designated the youngest son, Yuan Shang, as his successor, rather than the eldest as tradition dictated, the two brothers consistently feuded against each other, as they fought Cao Cao. Because of their internal divisions, Cao Cao was easily able to defeat them by using their differences to his advantage. Henceforth Cao Cao assumed effective rule over all of northern China. He sent armies further out and extended his control past the Great Wall into northern Korea, and southward to the Han River. However, Cao Cao's attempt to extend his domination south of the Yangtze River was dashed as his forces were defeated by the first coalition of his archrivals Liu Bei and Sun Quan (who later founded the kingdoms of Shu and Wu respectively) at the Red Cliffs in 208.

The three kingdoms

In 213, Cao Cao was titled Duke of Wei (魏公), given the Nine Dignities and given a fief of ten cities under his domain, known as the State of Wei. In 216, Cao Cao was promoted to Prince/King of Wei (魏王). Over the years, Cao Cao, as well as Liu Bei and Sun Quan, continued to consolidate their power in their respective regions. Through many wars, China became divided into three powers – Wei, Shu and Wu, which fought sporadic battles among themselves without the balance tipping significantly in anyone's favor. In 220, Cao Cao passed away in Luoyang at the age of 66, without realizing his ambition to unify China. His will instructed that he be buried in everyday clothes and without burial artifacts, and that his subjects on duty at the frontier to stay in their posts and not attend the funeral as, in his own words, "the country is still unstable". His eldest surviving son Cao Pi succeeded him. Within a year, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Cao was then posthumously titled Emperor Wu.

Major battles

Battle of Yanzhou

In 193, China fell into a state of full-fledged civil war. Meanwhile, remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels still plagued the country. A wandering throng of the rebels from the Qingzhou (青州) numbering a million invaded the Yanzhou (兗州). Bao Xin (鮑信), a subject of Yanzhou governor Liu Dai (劉岱), advised the latter to fortify the city and wait for the enemies to disperse. Liu Dai refused and was subsequently killed in battle. Bao Xin then offered Cao Cao the governor's seat in exchange for his help. In the initial encounter, Cao Cao suffered minor losses but eventually subdued the rebel force. He also took in more than 300,000 surrendered troops under his own flag. This force, which came to be known as the Qingzhou Army, was to be an important foundation for Cao Cao's subsequent rise to power.

Battle of Guandu

In the spring of 200, Yuan Shao, the most powerful warlord of that time, amassed more than 100,000 troops and marched from Ye on Xuchang. To defend against the invasion, Cao Cao placed 20,000 men at Guandu (官渡), a strategic landing point on the shore of the Yellow River which Yuan Shao's troops had to secure en route Xuchang. With a few diversionary tactics, Cao Cao managed to disorient Yuan Shao's troops as well as kill two of Yuan Shao's most capable generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou. The morale of Yuan Shao's troops suffered a further blow when Cao Cao launced a stealth attack on the former's food store. Many more of Yuan Shao's men surrendered or deserted than were killed during the ensuing battle. When Yuan Shao eventually retreated back to Ye in the winter of 201, he did so with little more than 800 horsemen. The Battle of Guandu shifted the balance of power in northern China. Yuan Shao died shortly after his return and his two sons were soon defeated by Cao Cao. Henceforth, Cao Cao's dominance in the entirety of northern China was never seriously challenged. The battle has also been studied by military strategists ever since as a classic example of winning against an enemy with far superior numbers. 201]]

Battle of Red Cliffs

The Battle of Chibi (literally, "Red Cliffs") was another classic battle where the vastly outnumbered emerged as victor through strategy. In this battle, however, Cao Cao was on the losing end. In the winter of 208, Liu Bei and Sun Quan – two warlords who later founded the kingdoms of Shu and Wu respectively – formed their first coalition against the southward expansion of Cao Cao. The two sides clashed at the Red Cliffs (northwest of present day Puqi, Hubei). Cao Cao boasted 830,000 men (historians believe the realistic number was around 220,000), while the Liu-Sun coalition at best had 50,000 troops. However, Cao Cao's men, mostly from the north, were ill-suited to the southern climate and naval warfare, and thus entered the battle with a disadvantage. Furthermore, a plague that broke out undermined the strength of Cao Cao's army. The decision by Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, military advisors to Liu and Sun, to use fire also worked effectively against Cao Cao's vessels, which were chained together and thus allowed the fires to quickly spread. A majority of Cao Cao's troops were either burnt to death or drowned. Those who tried to retreat to the near bank were ambushed and annihilated by enemy skirmishers. Cao Cao himself barely escaped the encounter.

Other contributions

Agriculture and education

While waging military campaigns against his enemies, Cao Cao did not forget the basis of society – agriculture and education. In 194, a locust plague caused a major famine across China. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the people ate each other out of desperation. Without food, many armies were defeated even without fighting. From this experience, Cao Cao saw the importance of an ample food supply in building a strong military. He began a series of agricultural programs in cities such as Xuchang and Chenliu. Refugees were recruited and given wastelands to cultivate. Later, encampments not faced with imminent danger of war were also made to farm. This system was continued and spread to all regions under Cao Cao as his realm expanded. Although Cao Cao's primary intention was to build a powerful army, the agricultural program also improved the living standards of the people, especially war refugees. By 203, Cao Cao had eliminated most of Yuan Shao's force. This afforded him more attention on the constructional works within his realm. In autumn of that year, Cao Cao passed an order decreeing the promotion of education throughout the counties and cities within his jurisdiction. An official in charge of education matters was assigned to each county with at least 500 households. Youngsters with potential and talents were selected to undergo schooling. This prevented a lapse in the output of intellectuals in those warring years and, in Cao Cao's words, would benefit the people.

Poetry

Cao Cao was also an established poet. Although few of his works remain today, his verses, unpretentious yet profound, contributed to reshaping the poetry style of his time. Together with his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, they are collectively known as the "Three Cao" in poetry. Along with several other poets of the time, their poems formed the backbone of what was to be known as the jian'an style (建安风骨; jian'an is the era name for the period from 196 to 220). The civil strife towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty gave the jian'an poems their characteristic solemn yet heart-stirring tone, which frequently lament over the ephemerality of life. In the history of Chinese literature, the jian'an poems were a transition from the early folksongs into scholarly poetry. One of Cao Cao's most celebrated poems, written in the late years of his life, is Though the Tortoise Lives Long (龟虽寿).

《龟虽寿》	Though the Tortoise Lives Long
神龟虽寿，猷有竟时。	Though the tortoise blessed with magic powers lives long, Its days have their allotted span;