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These lines are quoted from the Classic of Changes, Hexagram 37, "Tuan
zhuan" [OMITTED] [Commentary on the Decision]. Cf. Wilhelm, I Ching, 570. See
also Wilhelm, Heaven, Earth, and Man in the Book of Changes, 86; Klöpsch,
" `Bird in a Cage,' `Jade in the Mire,' " 238. We discuss "inner and outer"
spheres of activity in Chapter 2 above. A good discussion of the concept as
it existed in later times is Ebrey, The Inner Quarters, 23-29.

Yu is the culture hero Shun, who lived near the stream Gui: "All (giving =)
to the emperor said: There is an unmarried man (below =) in a low position,
called Shun of Yu. The emperor said: Yes, I have heard (of him): what is he
like? (Si) Yue said: He is the son of a blind man; his father was stupid, his
mother was deceitful, (his brother) Xiang was arrogant; he has been able to
be concordant and to be grandly filial; he has controlled himself and has not
come to wickedness. The emperor said: I will try him; I will wive him, and
observe his behaviour towards my two daughters. He (regulated, arranged =)
directed and sent down his two daughters to the nook of the Gui river, to be
wives in the Yu (house). The emperor said: Be reverent!" (Karlgren, "The Book
of Documents," 4). See also Karlgren, "Glosses on the Book of Documents,"
69-71. For more on the lore surrounding Yao's daughters, see note 98 below
and Yuan, Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian, 149. Ji was the surname of
the Zhou ruling house. Ren was the name of the mother of King Wen of Zhou,
and Si was the name of the mother of King Wu of Zhou.

Lu Bi notes that Chunqiu: Bao qian tu [OMITTED] [Apocryphon to the Spring
and Autumn Annals: Schema for Preserving Qian] says that "only the Son of
Heaven takes twelve wives" (Sgz jijie, 5.1b). See also Tjan, Po hu t'ung, 1:251252,
349n. 466. The latter indicates that both the Son of Heaven and the nobles
might take nine wives at a time but also points out that some held the emperor
might take twelve. On the number of wives the Son of Heaven should have,
see Chapter 3, note 40.

That San guo zhi here writes Chunqiu shuo [OMITTED] is something of a

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193

Mengzi [OMITTED] 1B.5 says: "At that time there were neither girls pining for a
husband [yuannü [OMITTED]] nor men without a wife [kuangfu [OMITTED]]" (Lau,
Mencius, 66, brackets ours). The point here is that the huge size of the imperial
harems led both to a shortage of wives for the men of the empire and to
neglected women in the harem wishing for husbands of their own.

This sentence may mean something like "Only in the Taihe period, when he
named a new lady, did he raise her position above that of pure consort," or
"In the Taihe period when he first named a new lady, he raised her position
above that of pure consort." These latter interpretations offer more specificity
about the occasion, but we are not sure which of the three might be right.
The one adopted in the translation reflects our impression that the punctuation
in the Zhonghua shuju text may be misleading.

See Appendix I, Table 2.

The expression zhuhou wang is a generic term that ought simply to be
understood as wang [OMITTED] (king or prince). See, for example, Hucker, A Dictionary
of Official Titles in Imperial China, no. 1384; Loewe, "The Orders of
Aristocratic Rank of Han China," 110; and Lin, Zhongguo lishi da cidian:
Qin Han shi, 374-375.

Kaiyang prefecture in Langye commandery was located just north of modern
Linyi [OMITTED] in Shandong province.

Qiao was in the vicinity of modern Bo [OMITTED] county in Anhui province.

One of the main anti-eunuch voices in the political machinations of 189 was
Yuan Shao. Yuan and General-in-Chief He Jin [OMITTED] (d. 189), half brother of
Empress Dowager He [OMITTED], wanted to exterminate the eunuchs, but she
opposed this. Yuan and others decided to intimidate her by having military
leaders bring their forces to the capital. One such army was lead by Dong Zhuo.

Dong was a seasoned military leader, and his advance caused the empress
dowager to dismiss all the eunuchs except those connected with He Jin. Yuan
Shao urged He to execute them all, but the latter refused. He Jin even demanded
that Dong stop his advance, and soon the eunuchs resumed their posts. But
on 22 September 189, He Jin had an audience with his sister in which he
requested permission to kill the eunuchs. The eunuchs were suspicious of his
visit to court. Having discovered what he was up to, they lured him back as
he was leaving and cut off his head. Anti-eunuch forces then went into action.
Leading eunuchs, taking along the empress dowager, the Young Emperor (Shao
di [OMITTED]; Liu Bian [OMITTED]), the emperor's younger brother Liu Xie [OMITTED], and
others, fled to the Northern Palace. The empress dowager slipped away from
the group en route. Yuan Shao's men are reported to have massacred more
than two thousand people at the palace, but the party leading the Young
Emperor escaped and fled the city. They were caught, and those eunuchs not
killed by the pursuers committed suicide.

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194

While the Young Emperor and Liu Xie were returning to Luoyang, they were
intercepted by Dong Zhuo, who then proceeded to the capital with his royal
charges. He went about solidifying his position, with many former soldiers
of the He brothers joining his army. Worried about an army that was stationed
east of the capital, Dong got its commander's subordinate, Lü Bu, to murder
his superior and bring the force over to Dong's side. Dong now had a
preponderance of military power in the capital region. He forced Empress
Dowager He to depose the ruler and replaced him with Liu Xie (Emperor
Xian), who was just a boy. Dong also killed the empress dowager and the
former emperor (HHs, 69.2249-2253, 72.2322-2324, 74A.2374, 56.1830,
9.367, 369; Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 499-502, 505-506; Sgz, 1.5, 6.172,
6.174, 21.600; de Crespigny, To Establish Peace, 1:1-25; Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao
and the Rise of Wei," 130-131, 135-137, 140-141, 142-147, 152).

Some idea of Dong Zhuo's brutality can be had through the following
account of events after he made Liu Xie emperor:

As soon as Dong began his coup, Yuan Shao quit the capital. Cao Cao
slipped out about the same time and headed east, where he raised an army.
Both men participated in an abortive anti-Dong alliance (HHs, 74A.2374; Sgz,
1.5-6; Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise of Wei," 146-149, 151-152). On
9 April 190, because of the threat posed by the opposition forces—and over
the protests of the court—Dong sent Emperor Xian to Chang'an [OMITTED], forcing
the population of Luoyang to move, too (HHs, 9.369, 62A.2327; Sgz, 1.7).
Luoyang was at the time one of the greatest and most populous cities in the
world. The suffering caused by Dong's decision and the violence with which
he put it into effect can only be imagined, but there are moving descriptions

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195

Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao's half brother, had been involved in the slaughter of the
eunuchs (HHs, 8.358, 69.2252). He emerged as one of eight powerful satraps
of the 190s and even tried, to no avail, to establish his own dynasty in 197
(Mansvelt Beck, "The Fall of Han," 342, 349, 351). He is mentioned several
times in Fascicle 50 on the empresses and consorts of Wu below.

On he ku [OMITTED], translated here as "what misery," see Sgz jiaogu, 39.

Empress Bian herself gave birth to four sons: Cao Pi, Cao Zhang [OMITTED] (d. 223),
Cao Zhi, and Cao Xiong [OMITTED], who died young. These brothers eventually
had at least twenty-one half brothers (Sgz, 20.579). The eldest brother, Cao
Ang [OMITTED], referred to below by his appellative Zixiu [OMITTED], was the son of
Lady Liu [OMITTED] (see also Sgz, 1.14). He was killed in battle in 197, at which time
he must have been at least twenty. Thus he would have been born no later
than 178. Cao Pi, born in 187, was the next eldest, followed by Cao Zhang,
whose birthdate is not known. Cao Zhi may have been the next son born,
but this is not an absolute certainty, for Cao Ang's younger brother Cao Shuo
[OMITTED], who seems to have died in his teens, conceivably was older (Xu, "Cao
Zhi wei Cao Cao diji erzi," 36-38). See also Appendix I, Table 9.

Cao Pi was named Cao Cao's heir in the winter of Jian'an 22 (A.D. 217; see
Sgz, 1.49, 19.557). He was general of the gentlemen-of-the-household for all
purposes (wuguan zhonglang jiang [OMITTED]) at the time. Zhang yu [OMITTED],
here translated as "chief attendants," was the name of a Han office, but it
is not entirely clear that it was a formal term (Sgz cidian, 230). Drawing on
Wei Hong's [OMITTED] (fl. A.D. 25-57) Han jiu yi [OMITTED] [Old Han Ceremonies],
Ru Chun notes that "a female chief attendant (nü zhang yu [OMITTED]) was
comparable to a [male] palace attendant" (Hs, 63.2744).

Qi commandery was in modern Shandong. There seems to be a mistake in
the date given here, for there was no yisi day in that month. Imataka, Inami,
and Kominami, Sangoku shi, 1:149, also question this date. Note that Leban,
"Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise of Wei," 57, reads second month for twelfth month
and thus gives the Western equivalent 4 April 160. Yanxi 3 ran from 27
December 159 to 13 January 161.

Empress Bian's father is referred to by his later title here.

This quotation from the Wei History also appears in the commentary to Shi
shuo xin yu. See Xu, Shishuo xinyu jiao jian, 19.364-365; Mather, Shih-shuo
Hsin-yü, 342. In the Shi shuo xin yu version, the diviner is called Wang Yue
[OMITTED].

In 196, following the advice of Xun Yu [OMITTED] (163-212), Cao Cao took
Emperor Xian under his protection and installed him at Xu [OMITTED] (or Xucheng),

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196

Cao Cao died early in Jian'an 25 (on 15 March 220) in Luoyang. Cao Pi
succeeded him as chancellor and king of Wei and, later, on 10 or 11 December
220, became emperor of the new Wei dynasty (Zhang, San Cao nianpu, 168,
177; Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:10, 38-39; Leban,
"Managing Heaven's Mandate," 322, 325).

See note 58 below.

Zhou Xuan was noted for his skill at dream interpretation. The story related
here by Pei Songzhi is found in Zhou's biography in Sgz, 29.810-811. It has
been translated as follows:

It is unclear what offense is referred to here and difficult to reconcile Empress
Bian's response with the very different one to an event recorded in Cao Zhi's
biography: "In the year Huangchu 2 [221/222], Regent-Receptionist (jianguo
yezhe [OMITTED]) Guan Jun [OMITTED], catering to the emperor's wishes,
memorialized that "While drunk, Cao Zhi was disrespectful and coerced and
intimidated Your envoy." All the officials concerned wanted the emperor to
punish this offense, but because of the empress dowager he only demoted Cao
Zhi to marquis of An district (Anxiang hou [OMITTED])" (Sgz, 19.561). The most
detailed investigation of Cao's demotion to marquis of An district is found in
Xu, "Cao Zhi shengping ba kao," 204-212. Xu pulls the fragmentary evidence
together into a convincing sequence of events. See also Zhang, San Cao nianpu,
189-190.

For another translation of this Wei History entry, see Fang, The Chronicle of
the Three Kingdoms, 1:106, 124-126.

Chen Qun's biography is in Sgz, 22.633-638. He was an important official,
first under Liu Bei, then under Cao Cao and Cao Pi. He is often credited with
establishing the nine-rank system of official recruitment in 220, but is perhaps
better characterized as the person who formalized its use in the government
(Holzman, "Les neuf catégories," 393; Ch'en, "A Confucian Magnate's Idea
of Political Violence," 79; Fairbank, "King and Province in the Western Chin,"
10). For another translation of Chen Qun's memorial and the emperor's
response, see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:11-12, 41.

As Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:41, points out, there is a
pertinent passage in the Record of Rites. In Legge's translation it says, "Hence
while the wife had (herself) no rank, she was held to be of the rank of her
husband, and she took her seat according to the position belonging to him"
(Legge, LîKî, 1:441; Lj, 26.19b).

The term "imperial secretariat" is a reference to the masters of writing (shang
shu). Well before the Wei, the notion that a person who had no rank during
his or her lifetime should not receive a posthumous name was no longer strictly
observed. See Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 78. Although Cao Pi accepted—and
even praised—Chen Qun's argument, ultimately Cao Rui conferred titles on
Empress Bian's parents, and her grandparents as well.

On Empress Bian's family, see Appendix I, Table 3.

Note that Sgz, 3.97 gives the precise date of death as 9 July 230 rather than
the May/June date given here.

This sentence is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:328. Gao Tumulus lay west of Ye; that is, to the west of modern Linzhang
[OMITTED], Hebei. To judge from two surviving orders he composed, Cao Cao seems
to have personally chosen this site, which was visible from the famous Bronze
Bird Terrace (Tong que tai [OMITTED]), for his tomb. He said he wished to have
a thrifty burial there (see Cao Cao ji, 3.51, 57-58; Anhui Boxian, Cao Cao
ji yi zhu, 176-177, 187-188). As early as 205, Cao Cao prohibited lavish
burials (Sgz, 1.27). On lavish versus thrifty burial and the numerous calls for
the latter near the close of the Han, see Poo, "Ideas Concerning Death and
Burial in Pre-Han and Han China."

Qian Daxin says that a du xiang was a district near the capital and that a
du xiang hou, or the marquis of such a district, ranked above a regular xiang
hou, or district marquis (Sgz jijie, 5.7a).

Duke of Gaogui District was a title held by Cao Mao, a nephew of Emperor
Ming. In Jingchu [OMITTED] 3(239), Emperor Ming died and was succeeded by his
adopted son Cao Fang, a seven- or eight-year-old. Cao Fang's regents were
Cao Shuang and Sima Yi [OMITTED] (179-251). A decade later, Sima Yi launched
a coup, and the Sima family took control of the Wei dynasty. After Sima Yi's
death, his eldest son Sima Shi [OMITTED], also known as King Jing of the Sima
family (Sima Jing wang [OMITTED]), became the de facto ruler of Wei. In 254,
he and his younger brother Sima Zhao, also known as King Wen [OMITTED], removed
Cao Fang as emperor and replaced him with Cao Mao, who was then fourteen
years old. In 260, Cao Mao attempted to do away with Sima Zhao but was
himself killed. He was replaced by Cao Huang [OMITTED], whose name was changed
to Cao Huan because rulers' personal names were taboo, and Huang was
thought difficult to avoid (Sgz, 4.147; see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 2:354). Cao Huan was a grandson of Cao Cao and son of Cao
Yu [OMITTED] (King Yu of Yan [OMITTED]). Known to history as Emperor Yuan [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] (r. 260-265), or the Young Emperor (Shaodi [OMITTED]), he was just a teenager
at the time (Sgz, 4.117-147; Zhang, San Cao nianpu, 233; Fu, Zhongguo tong
shi, 1:252-254). It is because Cao Mao did serve as emperor, even though he
is not so referred to here, that Bian Long's daughter is called empress.

King of Chenliu refers to Cao Huan, who is also referred to as Duke of
Changdao District (Changdao xianggong [OMITTED]). After a five-year stint
as emperor, he abdicated in 266 to Sima Yan (r. 266-290), the first ruler of
the Jin dynasty. Cao Huan's biography is in Sgz, 4.147-154.

This paragraph is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 2:429-430.

Bielenstein notes that "majors might command entire regiments in exceptional
cases" (Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 120). That seems to be
what is meant here.

Wuqiu Shouwang (ca. 156-110 B.C.) is sometimes referred to as Yuqiu
Shouwang [OMITTED], as in Xiao Tong's [OMITTED] (501-531) "Wen xuan xu" [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] [Preface to Selections of Refined Literature]. During the reign of the Han
Emperor Wu, a bronze tripod cauldron (ding [OMITTED]) was unearthed. All the other
officials saw this object as a numinous Zhou relic, but Wuqiu dissented. When
the emperor asked why, he said it was a gift from Heaven in approbation of
the Han. Emperor Wu was greatly pleased (Hs, 64A.2798). Hs, 30.1747 credits
Wuqiu with fifteen fu, or rhapsodies, all of which are lost (Knechtges, Wen
xuan, 1:95n).

During the reign of the Han Emperor Xuan [OMITTED] (r. 74-49 B.C.), Wang Xiang
[OMITTED], who was inspector of Yi province [OMITTED] (in the region of modern
Sichuan), had Wang Bao [OMITTED] (d. ca. 61 B.C.) compose a eulogy on the virtue
of the Han, which He Wu and others learned to sing. Wang, He, and others
were rewarded by Emperor Xuan (Hs, 86.3481).

The "external difficulties" would have been Wu and Shu. The emperor seems
to have been more interested in the ladies of the palace, as indicated near the
end of Chapter 4 above.

Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:70-71, makes much of some
confusion about the date of birth of Cao Rui (Emperor Ming). However, it
seems likely that he was born later than Fang allows, probably sometime in
206. See Zhang, San Cao nianpu, 94.

Wuji, in the Han kingdom of Zhongshan, was in the vicinity of the modern
county by the same name in Hebei. Zhen Han was the son-in-law of Minister
over the Masses (situ [OMITTED]) Kong Guang [OMITTED], a supporter of Wang Mang.
Both Zhen and Kong played a role in Wang's consolidation of his power, and
Zhen became a member of his circle of advisers and one of his most important
officials. See Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 3:137-138, 140,
142-145, 167, 181, 200, 225, 234, 236-237, 263, 319.

This places Empress Zhen's family in the level just below the highest officials
in the bureaucracy. See Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 4-5;
Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 16.

Shangcai, in the Han commandery of Ru'nan [OMITTED], was located near modern
Shangcai in He'nan. Liu Jun's [OMITTED] (462-521) commentary to A New Account
of Tales of the World quotes the Wei Epitome, which calls her father Zhen
Hui [OMITTED] (Xu, Shishuo xinyu jiao jian, 35.489; Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü,
484). However, the sentence in which Zhen Yi's name is given as Zhen Hui
is missing from the Wei Epitome as that text has been preserved in Pei's
commentary. According to Lu Bi, the Wei Epitome text has probably been
garbled in the commentary to Shi shuo xin yu (Sgz jijie, 5.11a).

This is apparently a reference to the disintegration of the Han in the 190s and
the concomitant rise of various military leaders, rebels, and powerful regional
administrators. See Mansvelt Beck, "The Fall of Han," 349.

This is a proverb found in Zuo zhuan, Huan 10.

Changshan was a Han commandery with its seat located in modern Yuanshi

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199

Quliang was a Han prefecture in the area of modern Yongnian [OMITTED], Hebei.

On hao mu [OMITTED] ("keening and wailing"), see Sgz jiaogu, 40.

See Chapter 3, note 89.

You province was to the northeast, in the region of modern northern Hebei
and Liaoning.

Cf. Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:68. Ye was the seat of Ji
province and was the base of power of Yuan Shao and his son Yuan Shang
[OMITTED] (d.207). Cao Cao captured the city in 204. It was located in Hebei in
the vicinity of modern Yezhen [OMITTED] and Santai cun [OMITTED], in the southwest
of Linzhang county.

See note 19 above for the date Cao Pi became emperor. This actually marked
the beginning of the Huangchu reign period, but the name was applied
retroactively to the whole calendar year.

These two sentences are also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:40. Duke of Shanyang is the title that was bestowed on Emperor
Xian, the last Han emperor, after he abdicated. The abdication took place on
either 19 or 25 November 220 (Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:10, 36-37; Leban, "Managing Heaven's Mandate," 324-325). The new title
was given on 13 December 220 (Sgz, 2.76; Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:10, 39).

Honorable Lady Li was the mother of Cao Pi's son Cao Xie [OMITTED], the
Lamented King of Zan [OMITTED], who died at a relatively young age (Sgz,
20.590).

Empress Zhen's suicide was ordered on 6 August 221 (Fang, The Chronicle
of the Three Kingdoms, 1:48, 71).

See Chapter 5, note 83.

Cf. Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:69; Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü,
484.

Cf. Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 1:69-70; Mather, Shih-shuo
Hsin-yü, 484-485.

Rear palace (hou gong [OMITTED]) is a commonly used term that refers to the section
of a palace complex where the consorts dwell.

Guanzhong (Within the Passes) is the name that was commonly applied to
the area of modern Shaanxi. The campaign mentioned here brought virtually
all of the area under Cao Cao's control (see Sgz, 1.34-36). Both Cao Zhi and
Cao Pi refer to it in rhapsodies. The preface to Cao Zhi's "Li si fu" [OMITTED]
[Rhapsody on Thoughts of Parting] says, "In the sixteenth year of Jian'an, a
great force went west to quell Ma Chao [OMITTED] [176-222]. The heir apparent
stayed behind in the capital while I went along." Cao Pi's preface to his "Gan
li fu" [OMITTED] [Rhapsody on Being Moved by Parting] likewise notes, "In the
sixteenth year of Jian'an, the emperor went on a military expedition west. I
stayed behind in charge. My elderly mother and all my younger brothers went
along" (Zhao, Cao Zhi ji jiao zhu, 1.40; Wei Wendi ji, 1.2b). See also Cutter,
"On Reading Cao Zhi's `Three Good Men,' " 8. Mengjin (Meng Ford) was
south of modern Meng county, He'nan.

This was an expedition against Sun Quan. See Sgz, 1.49.

Palace of Prolonged Autumn (Changqiu gong [OMITTED]) refers to the empress
(Sgz jijie, 5.12b; HHs, 10A.409, commentary). The usage is like that of referring
to Empress Dowager Bian as Palace of Eternal Longevity. Prolonged Autumn
was the title of an official responsible for matters pertaining to the empresses
during the Former Han (Hs, 19A.734). The Palace of Prolonged Autumn was
established during the Later Han and was occupied by the empress (DHhy,
38.405). There are at least two explanations of the name. One holds that
autumn was adopted because it refers to the season when everything begins
to ripen (HHs, 10A.409, commentary). Another says that autumn was used
because an empress is yin (as opposed to yang), and autumn is when yin begins
to wax (Wei Zhao, Bian Shi ming [OMITTED] [Debating Explaining Names], cited
in Sghy, 9.163). See also Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 69.

The term Six Palaces (liu gong [OMITTED]) generally refers to the quarters of the
empress and lesser consorts within the imperial palace. The Rites of Zhou says,
"[The administrator of the interior (nei zai [OMITTED])] teaches the rites of yin to
the Six Palaces." The commentary explains:

The Spring and Autumn Annals, one of the canonical texts of Confucianism,
is said to be by Confucius himself. It is an extremely terse chronicle, but due
to the importance that Confucius and others placed on it, it has traditionally
been held to be made up of carefully nuanced judgments on events of the time.
More recently, however, the existence of such praise and blame messages in
the text has been called into question. See Durrant, "Ching," 313. We follow
Wu Jinhua [OMITTED] in considering the negative bu [OMITTED] in this sentence to be
an interpolation and have omitted it (Sgz jiaogu, 41).

The term translated here as "Wei historians" could be taken as Wei History,
as in Miao, San guo zhi daodu, 22. In any case, it means the Wei shu or those
who wrote it.

See also Sgz, 13.412; Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:234; Ss,
16.444. Wang Lang was an important official and scholar who was close to
Cao Pi. He was the recipient of a famous letter from Cao Pi in which Cao
subordinates literature to "establishing virtue and making a name" as a means
to immortal fame. See Holzman, "Literary Criticism in China in the Early Third
Century A.D.," 121-122; Cutter, "The Incident at the Gate," 249; and Cutter,
"To the Manner Born?"

To be commissioned with a verge (shi chi jie [OMITTED]) conferred great prestige
on the recipient and granted him extraordinary powers over government
agencies. See Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, no.
5223. A Great Sacrifice (tailao [OMITTED]) involved sacrificing an ox, a goat, and

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201

For another translation of Empress Zhen's biography through the preceding
sentence, see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:68-69. See also
Sgz, 3.92; Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:223, 234. Weichang
prefecture in Zhongshan commandery was in the vicinity of modern Wuji
county in Hebei.

A Han cun [OMITTED] (inch) was about 2.3 cm. Three States period cun were a bit
longer—about 2.4 cm. For convenient tables of Han weights and measures,
see Nienhauser, The Grand Scribe's Records, 1:xxxi-xxxiv, and Twitchett and
Loewe, The Cambridge History of China, 1:xxxviii. For more detailed
information, see Qiu, Zhongguo lidai duliangheng kao, 12-69. See especially
pp. 68-69 on the Three States period.

The reburial of Empress Zhen took place on 17 February 231 (Sgz, 3.97; Fang,
The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:320, 333).

Dongxiang probably refers to one of the prefectures of Pei. It was located in
the northeastern part of modern Anhui province. Anxi prefecture was in the
vicinity of modern Ding [OMITTED] county, Hebei.

The memorial is also mentioned in Ss, 16.444.

This is an allusion to the "Ganying" [OMITTED] [Sympathetic Responses] section
of the Xiao jing [OMITTED] [Classic of Filial Piety]. See Xiao jing zhu shu, 8.1a.

The first two groups of poems in the "Airs of the States" section of the Classic
of Poetry are "Zhou nan" [OMITTED] and "Shao nan" [OMITTED], referred to collectively
as the "Er nan" [OMITTED] [Two Nan]. The "Two Nan," as shown by the "Minor
Preface" to the Classic of Poetry, have traditionally and allegorically been read
as depictions of the virtues of rulers' consorts and other women. See Legge,
The Chinese Classics, 4:36-41, and the discussion in Chapter 3 above.

It is unclear whether shi fa [OMITTED] here refers to an actual work. Su Xun's work
of the same title contains virtually the same explanation of zhao, citing the
Eastern Han scholar Liu Xi (Sf, 1.7b). See also Wang, Shi fa yanjiu, 367-368.

Lord Millet was a legendary ancestor of the Zhou ruling house, and Jiang Yuan
was his mother (see also Chapter 2, note 4 above). She was the wife of Di
Ku, said to be a great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, and she became
pregnant by treading on the footprint of a giant. See Sj, 4.111-112; Chavannes,
Mémoires historiques, 1:209-210; and Nienhauser, The Grand Scribe's
Records, 1:55.

These are the same terms used by the Hallowed Documents in describing Yao.
Cf. the opening of "Yao dian" [OMITTED] [Canons of Yao] of the Hallowed
Documents. See Legge, The Chinese Classics, 3:15.

This memorial also appears, with some textual differences, in Ss, 16.444.

The "Wang zhi" [OMITTED] [Ruler's Institutions] section of the Record of Rites says
that the emperor has seven miao [OMITTED] (temples) for seven generations of ancestors
(Lj, 12.13b). See also Zhongguo wenhuashi gongju shu, 222, and the
subcommentary in Zlzy, 42.19b.

Gaoxin shi is another name for Di Ku (see note 71 above). Gaoxin is said
to have been a toponym, perhaps the name of his benefice. Di Ku divined that
his four sons would become rulers. The four sons were: Di Zhi, who succeeded

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202

See Zlzy, 42.19b. Yize [OMITTED] and zhonglü (called by its name xiaolu [OMITTED] in
the Rites of Zhou) are two of the notes of the classical Chinese scale of twelve
notes (Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, 4.1:165-176; Zhongguo
wenhuashi gongju shu, 175-176). The grand huo [OMITTED] was music from the time
of the Shang founder Tang. See Zlzy, 42.8a. The ancestral mother is Jiang Yuan
(see note 71 above).

Karlgren, The Book of Odes, 263. See Mao shi 245.

Karlgren, The Book of Odes, 259-261. See Mao shi 300.

Youyu shi [OMITTED] is the legendary sage-ruler Shun. The main point here is
that, like Cao Pi, Shun became emperor through the abdication of his
predecessor. On other references to this similarity, see Leban, "Managing
Heaven's Mandate," 330, 333-334.

This refers to the three generations of the Wei: Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao
Rui.

This is an allusion to the poem "Weiyang" [North of the Wei] in the Classic
of Poetry (Mao shi 134). The traditional interpretation says it is about Duke
Kang of Qin's [OMITTED] longing for his mother. See Legge, The Chinese Classics,
4:58, 203.

This section on the death of Cao Shu and the subsequent designation of Guo
De as her posthumous offspring is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of
the Three Kingdoms, 1:388. See also Sgz, 22.636, 25.707; Fang, The Chronicle
of the Three Kingdoms, 1:373-374, 388-390.

Pingyuan is the name of a commandery that had its seat in the modern county
by the same name in northwest Shandong.

This sentence is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:665. King of Qi here refers to Cao Fang. She became empress on 29 May
243, while Cao Fang was still titular emperor (Sgz, 4.120; Fang, The Chronicle
of the Three Kingdoms, 1:655, 665).

Yang Fu has a biography in Sgz, 25.700-708. See also Zhuo, San guo renwu
lun xu ji, 77-80. Zhuo deems him one of the few people to offer honest
criticisms to Emperor Wen.

Mao shi 191. The translation is from Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:309. This
poem is traditionally read as a criticism of the reign of King You of Zhou and
of his minister Yin [OMITTED], who did not take steps to improve the situation. See
Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:67. On King You, see Chapter 2 above.

The author of Encomia on the Dukes of Jin is Fu Chang [OMITTED]. See Zhao,
Nianer shi zhaji, 6.106.

General-in-chief who supports the state was an honorific designation used but
occasionally (Hong, San guo zhiguan biao 57).

The office of general-in-chief of the subduing army originated under Emperor
Wen (Lü, Zhongguo lidai guanzhi da cidian, 848; Rogers, The Chronicle of
Fu Chien, 215n).

The reign title was retroactively changed from Xianxi to Taishi in the twelfth
month of the year (January/February 266). See also note 32 above.

Shizu [OMITTED] (Succedent Progenitor) refers to Sima Yan, the first emperor of the
Jin dynasty.

You, King of Qi, was noted for his virtue. At the advice of ministers who
disliked You, Emperor Wu ordered him to leave the capital and proceed to
his fief. As it says here, this was protested by Zhen De, Wang Ji, and others
(Zztj, 81.2581-2582). Yuan Bo [OMITTED] misconstrues these two sentences, taking
them to mean Sima Yan (the Succedent Progenitor) was pleased by Zhen De's
actions (Cao, Baihua San guo zhi, 1:206). But, as Hu Sanxing [OMITTED] (1230-1287)
points out, Zhen's new offices involved a shift out of the inner court,
with its proximity to the throne, to the outer court, or general bureaucracy
(Zztj, 81.2582). See also Js, 42.1205.

In 188, a special defense force of eight units was organized, partly to protect
the capital and the emperor and partly to offset the power of General-in-Chief
He Jin. The force was led by the eight commandants of the West Garden
(Xiyuan ba xiaowei [OMITTED]; see Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles
in Imperial China, nos. 2285, 4368, 6568; Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise
of Wei," 124-127; Mansvelt Beck, "The Fall of Han," 326). When first
organized, its head was the eunuch Jian Shi [OMITTED], who was in command of
the Upper Army (Shang jun [OMITTED]). The other seven commandants included
Yuan Shao, who commanded the Middle Army (Zhong jun [OMITTED]), and Cao
Cao, commandant of the Control Army (Dian jun xiaowei [OMITTED]; see
HHs, 8.356 n, 69.2247, 74A.2374; Sgz, 1.5; Leban, "Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise
of Wei," 126; Ch'ü, Han Social Structure, 495-496.)

This sentence refers to two of the kings involved in the turbulent events of
290-306, especially that segment known to history as the Ba wang zhi luan
[OMITTED] (Eight Kings Insurrection; 300-306). Brief accounts of this period
appear, for instance, in Zhao, Nianer shi zhaji, 8.125-126, and Fu, Zhongguo
tong shi, 1:260-264. Much more thorough is Fairbank, "Kingdom and
Province in the Western Chin." The following summary is based on these
sources.

Kings were very powerful in early Jin times, in contrast to the case under
the Wei. Not long after Emperor Wu (Sima Yan) took the throne in 266, he
made twenty-seven male relatives kings, some of them with very large incomes
and considerable military power. At first these kings resided in the capital. In
277, they were sent to their benefices. Some were placed in charge of the
military affairs of the provinces (zhou [OMITTED]) into which Jin territory was divided.
That same year, Emperor Wu further reduced the military apparatus of the
provinces and commanderies. This resulted in virtually all military power
residing in the kingdoms.

In 290, Emperor Wu died, and the heir apparent Sima Zhong, known to
history as Emperor Hui, ascended the throne at nine years of age. During
Emperor Hui's reign, the empire suffered from factionalism at court, incursions
by non-Chinese peoples in the North and West, armed struggle among
members of the imperial family, as well as famine and local rebellion.

In the 290s, Sima Zhong's consort Empress Jia and her faction held sway
at court. The heir apparent was Sima Yu [OMITTED], who was not her own son.
In 297, when Sima Yu was twenty, the empress and her adherents hatched
a plot to get rid of him and the threat he posed to their hold on power. The

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204

Sima Lun and his senior advisor Sun Xiu [OMITTED] were not popular among
the Jin elite, and their program of increasing Sima Lun's authority led to the
Eight Kings Insurrection. An initial attempt to overthrow Sima Lun was made
by Sima Yun [OMITTED] in September of the year 300 and failed, at the cost of
many lives. Early in 301, Sima Lun forced the abdication of Emperor Hui,
assumed the throne himself, and changed the reign title to Jianshi [OMITTED]. Sima
Jiong and others then rose up and defeated and killed Sima Lun and his
supporters. Although Sima Jiong then became the dominant figure in Jin
government, it was not long before he drew the criticism of other kings. He
was overthrown and killed in 303.

Guangzong prefecture in Anping commandery was east of modern Wei [OMITTED]
county, Hebei.

Tongdi was a prefecture with its seat south of that of modern Qin [OMITTED] county,
Shanxi.

Eastern Palace (Dong gong [OMITTED]) is the term for the residence of an heir
apparent.

Leizu [OMITTED], the daughter of Xiling shi [OMITTED], is said to have been the
principal wife of the Yellow Emperor, as well as the first sericulturalist. See
Yuan, Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian, 423-424. Gui is another name
for the legendary sage-ruler Shun, whose wives Ehuang [OMITTED] and Nüying [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] were the daughters of Shun's benefactor Yao. Sj, 6.248 says of the First
Emperor of Qin: "Traveling in a southwesterly direction be crossed over the
R[iver] Huai and came at length to Hengshan. At Nanjun [[OMITTED]] he took
boat and was sailing down the river to the Xiangshan shrine when a great
wind arose and nearly prevented his getting to land. The emperor inquired
of his wise men who Xiangjun was. They replied, `According to our
information, Xiangjun are the daughters of Yao and the wives of Shun who
are buried in this place' " (Hawkes, "The Quest of the Goddess," 56). See also
Karlgren, "Legends and Cults in Ancient China," 296; O'Hara, The Position
of Woman in Early China, 13-17.

Jie was the last ruler of the Xia dynasty, banished by the Shang founder Cheng
Tang [OMITTED] to Nanchao (modern Chao [OMITTED] county, Anhui). Moxi, Jie's consort,
is mentioned in a variety of books and is traditionally treated as a beautiful
but utterly depraved woman who contributed to the downfall of the dynasty.
See Gy, 7.255; Legge, The Chinese Classics, 3:177; Sj, 2.88-89, 19.1967; Yuan,
Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian, 259.

On Daji, see Chapter 3, "Texts Devoted to Women" above.

Yi jing, Hexagram 37, "Tuan zhuan." Cf. Wilhelm, I Ching, 570. This is a
part of the same passage that Chen Shou used to open this juan.

Cf. Zuo zhuan, Ai 24.

Mengzi, 6B.7.

This is an allusion to Zuo zhuan, Zhao 18. For another translation of Empress
Guo's biography through the following sentence, see Fang, The Chronicle of

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205

References are to Yao's daughters, Ehuang and Nüying, who married the lowly
Shun, and Tai Jiang [OMITTED] and Tai Ren [OMITTED], grandmother and mother of King
Wen of Zhou.

In the year A.D. 77, then Empress Dowager Ma issued a long edict in which
she decried, and claimed to eschew, an unduly extravagant way of life. The
statement was possibly part of a piece of special pleading in which she was
hoping to deflect criticism from herself and her family. She claimed that her
thrift was intended to set a good example and to bring moral pressure to bear
where it was most needed (Loewe, "The Conduct of Government and the Issues
at Stake [A.D. 57-167]," 295). See also Chapters 2 and 3 above.

On the pepper rooms (jiao fang [OMITTED]), where the empresses lived, see
Knechtges, Wen xuan, 1:122n.

The expedition in question was an abortive move against Wu and seems to
have begun in the seventh month (August of 224). See Zhang, San Cao nianpu,
205-206. The Terrace of Perpetual Beginning (Yongshi tai [OMITTED]) is
mentioned as a feature of Xuchang in He Yan's [OMITTED] (d. 249) "Jingfu dian
fu" [OMITTED] [Rhapsody on the Hall of Great Blessings], a work ordered by
Emperor Ming. See Wx, 11.31b; Knechtges, Wen xuan, 2:294 n, 295.

See O'Hara, The Position of Woman in Early China, 116-117.

Guangling commandery had its seat in the vicinity of modern Yangzhou [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. Cao Pi set out from Xuchang in the third month (March/April 225) and
reached Qiao in the fifth month (June/July). He reached Guangling in the tenth
month (November/December), but cold weather forced him to withdraw. See
Sgz, 2.84-85; Zhang, San Cao nianpu, 209.

Probably this is a reference to the Guo River [OMITTED].

This sentence and the next one are also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of
the Three Kingdoms, 1:485. Empress Guo apparently died on 14 March 235.
See Sgz, 3.104; Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:465, 483, 484485.

This refers to Empress Zhen's having been buried hastily and without proper
ceremony. Neither was her body properly clothed and coffined for burial nor
was her hair appropriately coiffed. On burial preparations in general, see
volume 1 of de Groot, The Religious System of China. Da lian [OMITTED] refers
to the coffining of the deceased, including the final stage in the dressing of the
corpse (de Groot, The Religious System of China, 1:36, 331-342).

The passage is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:483-484. Emperor Ming was born in Jian'an 11 (206), so he would have
been about sixteen or seventeen by the time of Empress Zhen's death in
Huangchu 2 (221). As Lu Bi notes, it seems odd that he was so much in the
dark as to the circumstances of her death and burial, if these were, in fact,
as they are reported by Wei lüe (Sgz jijie, 5.21a).

See also Sgz, 3.91 (Wei lüe); Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:211-212.

The passage is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms,
1:483.

Some texts have the Wei shu say Qinglong 2, a mistake. See Sgz pangzheng,
7.6a; Sgz jijie, 5.21b.

The day renshen [OMITTED] was actually in the second month of Qinglong 3, making
the date 29 March 235 (Sgz pangzheng, 7.6a; Sgz jijie, 5.21b). The interment
of Empress Guo took place on 16 April.

The Three Luminaries (san guang [OMITTED]) are the sun, moon, and stars.

The Yellow Earth (huang lu [OMITTED]) is another name for the Yellow Springs
(huang quan [OMITTED]), that is, the subterranean abode of the dead. See, for
example, Loewe, Chinese Ideas of Life and Death, 34.

See notes 2 and 98 above.

The three mothers (san mu [OMITTED]) are the women referred to as Tai Jiang, Tai
Ren, and Tai Si; that is, the mothers of Hou Ji and kings Wen and Wu,
respectively.

The Purple Bourne (zi ji [OMITTED]) refers to imperial status.

Henei [OMITTED] was a Han commandery roughly encompassing the area along both
banks of the Yellow River within modern Henan. Dao [OMITTED] ("Mourned") was
a posthumous name given to royal personages who died young, but it could
also imply an inability to cultivate virtue. See Sf, 3b-4.4a; LXSf, B.6b-7a.

Empress Mao was made empress in the eleventh month (27 November/25
December 227; Sgz, 3.92).

Boping [OMITTED] was a prefecture northeast of modern Liaocheng [OMITTED] county,
Shandong.

We are not certain just what Mao Jia did. Dianyu [OMITTED] seems to be an
abbreviation for shuiheng dianyu [OMITTED], which in turn is equivalent to
shuiheng duwei [OMITTED] (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial
China, nos. 5496, 5497; Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 82-83).
Among other responsibilities, this office oversaw the manufacture of various
items. Perhaps vehicles were among them.

A symposium, of course, was originally a drinking party, and that is the sense
of the word here. On the Han-Wei penchant for such activities and its effect
on literature, see, for example, Cutter, "Cao Zhi's Symposium Poems."

For another translation of Empress Mao's biography through the following
sentence, see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:229, 240-241.
As Fang Beichen [OMITTED] notes, a noble of the time would not refer to himself
in such an overblown way. See Fang, San guo zhi zhu yi, 301 n. 8.

According to the traditional interpretation as represented by the "Minor
Preface," "Guan ju" (Mao shi 1, see Chapter 3 above, in the "Han
Philosophers" section) and "Lin zhi" [OMITTED] (Mao shi 11) are related. The topic
of the latter, said to be the ruler's good offspring and family, is seen as a natural
outcome of the topic of the former, said to be the acquisition of a virtuous
mate (or mates) and the moral transforming influence exerted on the world
thereby. See Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:36-37, 38-39.

Illustrious Ancestor (Liezu [OMITTED]) refers to Emperor Ming.

The lines are from Mao shi 27, a poem traditionally interpreted as the
complaint of a neglected wife, a woman who has been replaced by a concubine
and herself demoted. See Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:41 (prolegomena),
42.

The dates of Empress Mao's death and interment, 22 September and 25
October 237, are given in Sgz, 3.110. Fang notes that the word zu [OMITTED] ("died")
is used at Sgz 3.110 instead of the hong [OMITTED] one would normally expect for
one of her rank, and speculates that Chen Shou's intention may have been to
indicate "that she died under an infamous circumstance" (Fang, The Chronicle
of the Three Kingdoms, 1:549).

For another translation of the paragraph to this point, see Fang, The Chronicle
of the Three Kingdoms, 1:518-519, 549-550.

Zeng, must have been a diannong xiaowei [OMITTED], or colonel director of
agriculture, in charge of one of the agricultural garrisons established by the
government at the direction of Cao Cao. The agricultural garrison at Yuanwu
[OMITTED] prefecture was in the vicinity of modern Yuanyang [OMITTED], He'nan. The
rank of colonel director of agriculture was equivalent to a commandery
administrator. See Crowell, "Government Land Policies and Systems in Early
Imperial China," 158-162; Tan, Zhongguo lishi dituji, vol. 3, map 5-6.

Xiping was a commandery in the vicinity of modern Xining [OMITTED] county,
Gansu.

Heyou refers to the region to the "right" (west) of the Yellow River, as the
name implies. It roughly corresponds to modern Gansu and the Ningxia Hui
Autonomous Region.

Empress Guo was made empress on 16 January 239 (Sgz, 3.113; Fang, The
Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:580, 606).

These two sentences are also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 2:44.

Guanqiu Jian has a biography in Sgz, 28.761-768. See also Zhuo, San guo
renwu lun xu ji, 121-127. Guanqiu was a loyal Wei official who had some
success as a military leader. However, when he tried to use his military power
to oppose the Simas, he ultimately failed.

Zhong Hui (225-264) has a biography in Sgz, 28.784-795. He was a Wei
general and a leading supporter of the Sima family in their struggles against
Cao Shuang and his followers for control of the Wei government. After Sima
Zhao gained control of the government, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai [OMITTED] led
the Wei campaign against Shu in 263-264. They defeated Shu, and Zhong
was rewarded with the position of minister over the masses. He apparently
had more grandiose ambitions, however, and mounted a rebellion in Shu in
an attempt to overthrow Sima Zhao. He failed and was killed (Sgz, 4.149,
28.787-793; Wan, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi lungao, 90-91; Fu, Zhongguo tong
shi, 1:251-252).

Xiao Pei or "Lesser Pei" was another name for Pei prefecture, administrative
seat of the kingdom of Pei, located at the modern city of Pei in the northern
part of modern Jiangsu. Liu Bei, the Former Sovereign (Xian zhu [OMITTED]), was
at this time (194-195) shepherd (mu [OMITTED]) of Yu province. The Shi yi ji [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] [Record of Collected Remnants] contains the following tale about Empress
Gan:

Empress Gan of the Former Sovereign was a native of Pei. She was
born of lowly origins in a small village. A physiognomist said of her,

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208

"This girl shall occupy a high place in the side apartments of the
ultimate palace (ji gong [OMITTED])." When the empress was grown, her
appearance was especially striking. When she reached eighteen, she
had a beautiful body and soft flesh, and she was seductive and
bewitching. The Former Sovereign summoned her within the silken
curtains. To anyone who gazed upon her from outside the window,
she was like drifted snow beneath the moon.

He'nan presented a jade figure that was three feet tall. The Former
Sovereign placed the jade figure in the empress's side apartments.
During the day he discussed military strategy and at night he
embraced the empress and amused himself with the jade figure. He
often exclaimed, "The nobility and virtue of jade is equal to that of
a gentleman (junzi [OMITTED]). How could it be made into the shape of
a person and one not amuse oneself with it?" The empress and the
jade figure were equally white and sleek, and people looking at them
nearly confused them. The favorites were not only envious of Empress
Gan but also of the jade figure. The empress often wanted to grind
it up and destroy it. She admonished the Former Sovereign, "In the
past, Zihan [OMITTED] did not consider jade precious, and the Spring and
Autumn Annuals praised him. Now, Wu and Wei have not yet been
exterminated; how can you continue to cherish a bewitching trifle?
Infatuation always gives rise to suspicion. Do not repeatedly fall into
it."

The Former Sovereign thereupon got rid of the jade figure. The
favorites all withdrew and remained distant from her. At the time
superior men spoke of Empress Gan as though she were a woman
of supernatural understanding.

(Syj, 8.7b-8a; cf. Foster, "The Shih-i
chi and Its Relationship to the Genre Known as Chih-kuai hsiao-shuo,"
263-264)

The reference to Zihan comes from Zuo zhuan, Xian 15: "A man of Song
found a gem, and presented it to Zihan, who would not receive it. The man
said, `I showed it to a lapidary, who considered it to be valuable, and therefore
I ventured to offer it to you.' Zihan said, `What I consider valuable is not to
be covetous; what you consider valuable is your gem. If you give it to me,
we shall both lose what we consider to be valuable; we had better each keep
his own' " (Legge, The Chinese Classics, 5:470).

Being married to Liu Bei seems to have been a risky proposition. On two
occasions his wife of the moment was captured, once by Lü Bu and another
time by Cao Cao, and on this third occasion he was forced to abandon his
wife while fleeing Cao Cao's armies (Sgz, 9.277, 32.874, 875, 878, 38.969;
Hygz, 6.511-512, 515, 519). See also Chapter 4 above, in the section
"Marriage Patterns." Readers of this passage almost inevitably recall Xiang
Yu's [OMITTED] capture of Liu Bang's family. See Sj, 8.371; Watson, Records of the
Grand Historian: Han Dynasty, 1:68.

Dangyang was in the vicinity of the county by the same name in modern Hubei.
Changban has been identified as a site northeast of the modern county seat,
perhaps Mount Tianzhu [OMITTED]. See Su, San guo zhi jin zhu jin yi, 2:1861; Sgz
cidian, 230.

Zhao Yun originally served Gongsun Zan [OMITTED]. When Gongsun ordered
Liu Bei to help Tian Kai [OMITTED] stop Yuan Shao, Zhao Yun accompanied him

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209

Nanjun refers to the administrative seat of Nan commandery, also the seat
of Jing province. It was located on the Yangtze in the vicinity of modern
Jiangling [OMITTED], just south of where Liu abandoned Empress Gan. During his
struggles with Cao Cao and Sun Quan, Liu's activities were often centered in
this region.

See Wang, Shi fa yanjiu, 370-371; cf. Sf, 2.9a.

Cf. Lj, 47.10b, which has mu [OMITTED] ("harmony") rather than the xiao [OMITTED] ("filial
piety") that appears here. Furthermore, the redaction in Shisan appears to have
an error here—jiao [OMITTED] ("teach") instead of the orthograpically similar jing [OMITTED]
("respect"). For another translation of the passage, see Legge, Lî Kî, 2:217.

The quotation is from the Gongyang Commentary under the year Yin 1. See
Chunqiu jingzhuan yinde, 1.

In fact it was not Emperor Gao who bestowed this title on his mother, but
Empress Lü. Emperor Gao posthumously gave her the title Lady of Illustrious
Spirit after he became emperor. Empress Lü added the title "empress" in the
seventh year of her reign (Hs, 1B.52, 3.99-100; Sgz jijie, 34.2a).

See HHs, 4.184. It is interesting that Zhuge Liang uses this example, for Lady
Liang had recently been stripped of the title empress, in 190, by Emperor Xian.
See Chapter 3, note 50.

Emperor Min refers to Emperor Xian (Liu Xie) of the Later Han. Min, which
means something like "beleaguered," was a posthumous title bestowed by Liu
Bei on Liu Xie after he was deposed by Cao Pi. Liu Bei adopted mourning
and treated the event as though the emperor had actually died (Sgz, 32.887;
Wang, Shi fa yanjiu, 53, 430-431). Following his death in 234, the Wei
bestowed on Liu Xie the title of Emperor Xian the Filial (HHs, 9.391), by
which title he was subsequently known. Zhuge Liang uses Min here in order
to deny the legitimacy of the Wei regime (Qian, San guo zhi bianyi, 2.2b). After
the title of Empress of Spiritual Recollection was bestowed, the empress was
reburied at Wenzhao Tumulus (Wenzhao ling [OMITTED]) with Emperor Ling
(HHs, 9.375, 10B.450).

"Cold springs" (han quan [OMITTED]) comes from the Classic of Poetry (Mao shi
32), a poem that is traditionally interpreted as having to do with the
appreciation due a mother. See Legge, The Chinese Classics, 4:42 (prole-gomena),
50-51.

Liu Bei's posthumous title was Emperor of Illustrious Achievements.

Mao shi 73.

See Lj, 6.4a. Ji Wuzi [OMITTED] of Lu [OMITTED] permitted a joint burial, but he pointed
out that it had not been the practice in high antiquity and this had not changed
since the Duke of Zhou.

Empress Wu's biography is also translated in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:67. Chenliu occupied a portion of modern He'nan province.

Wu Yi, originally from Chenliu, went with Liu Yan to Shu, and he served as
leader of the gentlemen-of-the-household under Liu Zhang. He commanded
troops against Liu Bei at Fu [OMITTED] and surrendered to him. Once Liu Bei had
pacified Yi province, he made Wu Yi commissioner over the army (hu jun [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]) and general for punishing rebels (tao ni jiangjun [OMITTED]). Subsequently,

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210

Fa Zheng's home was in Fufeng [OMITTED], but at the beginning of the Jian'an period
he went to Shu to escape famine. He held several minor positions under Liu
Zhang, who sent him as an emissary to Liu Bei to persuade him to join in
attacking the religious rebel Zhang Lu in order to forestall Cao Cao's launching
a campaign into Yi province against Zhang. After Fa Zheng delivered the
message, he secretly advised Liu on how to displace Liu Zhang and take control
of Yi province. Subsequently, Fa became one of Liu Bei's supporters and
strategists in the struggle against Cao Cao. After Liu Bei became king of
Hanzhong [OMITTED], he made Fa Zheng his prefect of the masters of writing and
commissioner of the army.

On Ziyu and Duke Wen (Chong'er [OMITTED]), see note 24 below. Cf. Hygz, 6.524.

The Palace of Enduring Joy (Changle gong [OMITTED]) was occupied by the
empresses dowager, who were commonly referred to by the name of the palace
as a means of respect.

Wu Yi was made marquis of Jiyang [OMITTED], whose location is uncertain (Sgz,
45.1083).

The location of Hui Tumulus is unknown.

Lady Sun was Sun Quan's younger sister, whom he gave in marriage to Liu
Bei when Liu was shepherd of Jing province, and who was apparently very
formidable (see also the discussion and note 3 in Chapter 4 above). She is said
to have been tough and to have had over a hundred female attendants who
went about armed. Every time Liu Bei saw her, "his heart turned cold." So
daunting was she that Fa Zheng advised Liu Bei to send her back, and Zhuge
Liang considered her capable of instigating an uprising in support of her
brother. When Sun Quan learned of Liu Bei's western campaign in 211, he
sent a boat to fetch her back. She tried to take Liu Shan with her but was
stopped by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei (Yun biezhuan [OMITTED] [Alternative
Biography of Zhao Yun], quoted in Sgz, 36.949, commentary; Sgz, 37.960;
Hygz, 6.520, 525; Zztj, 66.2099, 2111; de Crespigny, To Establish Peace,
2:407, 431, 475; de Crespigny, Generals of the South, 294, 294-295n, 371).
Significantly, neither Chen Shou nor Chang Qu, author of Hygz, wrote a
biography for her.

This is a reference to an incident in the seventh century B.C. When the heir
apparent to the Jin throne, Ziyu, went to Qin as a hostage, the earl of Qin
gave him a wife named Ying [OMITTED]. Five years later, Ziyu fled to Jin, leaving the
wife behind. The following year, his father Duke Hui of Jin [OMITTED] died, and
Ziyu succeeded him as Duke Huai [OMITTED]. Chong'er, who was Ziyu's uncle (he
was a half brother of Duke Hui, his mother being a sister of Duke Hui's mother)
and a rival for the throne, fled to Qin. There the earl presented him with five
women, one of whom was this very Ying, who had been Ziyu's wife. Chong'er
was reluctant to accept her because he and Ziyu were of the same lineage.
One of his followers said to him, "You are going to attack his state. Why worry
about his former wife? If you accept her in order to cement relations with Qin,
then you can ask [Qin's help] in entering [Jin]. Would you insist on adhering
to a minor point of etiquette and forgetting a major shame?!" (Sj, 39.1660;

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211

A non-Chinese of Cong [OMITTED] origins, Li Xiong was the ruler of a petty state,
Cheng Han [OMITTED], in what is now modern Sichuan. He declared himself
emperor in 304 and ruled for thirty years (Js, 121.3035-3040; Hygz, 9.661701;
Wang, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, 1:224-228).

See Chapter 4, note 21 above.

The location of Nan Tumulus is unknown. Sgz, 33.897 gives the date of the
death of the Attentive and Lamented Empress Zhang as summer, the sixth
month (10 July-7 August) of Jianxing 15. For another rendering of her
biography, see Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:548.

These were sacrifices normally offered by the Han emperors. The sacrifices at
the suburban altars (jiao [OMITTED]) were performed seasonally. Originally offered
to the Five Di, following the reforms of 31 B.C., they were done in honor of
Heaven and Earth. The Later Han continued to offer the sacrifices based on
the reforms. After the breakup of the Han into the Three States, each of the
three instituted its own altars for conducting suburban sacrifices. Altars to Soil
and Millet could be established not only at the national level but also in
kingdoms and marquisates. It was not necessary to set up both types of altars,
and the altar to Soil appears to have been more common, especially outside
the capital. The term "altars to Soil and Millet" was sometimes synonymous
with the state (Xu, Xi Han huigao 10:81-86, 11:92-93; DHhy, 3:27, 4:33,
5:41; Sghy, 11.202-206, 209; Yang, Han Wei zhidu congkao, 394-395;
Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China, 167, 170, 174-175, 179, 183).

Xiang Lang was a prefectural magistrate in Jing province under Liu Biao.
Following Liu Biao's death, Xiang became one of Liu Bei's supporters, and
after Liu gained control of Shu, Xiang was successively administrator of several
commanderies. After Liu Bei died, Xiang held several offices under the Latter
Sovereign until he had a falling out with Zhuge Liang, after which he was
dismissed for a time. Following the death of Zhuge Liang, he was made general
of the left and appointed marquis of Xianming commune (Xianming tinghou
[OMITTED]). He died in Yanxi 10 (247/248; see Sgz, 41.1010).

Sgz, 33.897 says, "In spring, the fifth month of Yanxi 1 (February 238), [the
Latter Sovereign] made Madam Zhang empress. He declared a general amnesty
and changed the reign title. He made his son Xuan [OMITTED] heir apparent and his
son Yao [OMITTED] king of Anding [OMITTED]." Cf. Fang, The Chronicle of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:571, 588.

Following the Wei conquest of Shu, Liu Shan, his sons, and many of his
supporters were moved to Luoyang, where they were given sinecures (Sgz,
33.901-902).

Nothing else is known of Brilliant Companion Li.

Xu Jing, a native of Ru'nan, held office under Dong Zhuo when the latter
took control of the government following the death of Emperor Ling. Xu was
involved in recommending a number of persons for office, and once they had
assumed their posts, they began to oppose Dong. Xu was forced to flee for
his life. Because of Xu's ability, Liu Zhang invited him to Shu and appointed
him administrator of Ba and Guanghan. After Liu Bei conquered Shu, he
appointed Xu to a series of offices culminating, after Liu assumed the imperial
title, in grand tutor (Sgz, 38.963-967).

Green was the color associated with the East, where Lu was located. At the
time, the region was under control of the Wei. By nominally appointing Liu
Yong to a benefice there, Liu Bei was asserting his legitimacy over all the empire.
Sun Quan also followed this practice (Js, 14.414; Zztj, 69.2189).

Mt. Gui and Mt. Meng were synonymous with the Lu state. Mt. Gui is in
northeastern Sishui [OMITTED] county and Mt. Meng is in southern Mengyin [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] county, both in Shandong province. Both are part of the Mengshan range.
This line is an allusion to the Classic of Poetry (Mao shi 300).

This, too, is an allusion to Mao shi 300. Our rendering of the sentence follows
Imataka, Inami, and Kominami, Sangoku shi, 2:351 n. 5.

Ganling straddled the border between present-day Shandong and Hebei, and
at the time was under the control of Wei.

Huang Hao was a eunuch who became a favorite of Liu Shan. His baleful
influence over Liu and the government from about 258 on is credited with
contributing to Shu's decline (Sgz, 33.899, 39.987, 44.1066; Wang, Wei Jin
Nanbeichao shi, 1:96).

This is another case of appointing a scion of the Liu house to a kingdom that
was under the control of the Wei. Liang was in modern eastern He'nan near
Shangqiu [OMITTED] city.

Anping was in eastern Hebei in the vicinity of modern Anping, Hengshui [OMITTED]
[OMITTED], and neighboring counties. It, too, was under Wei control.

On Zhong Hui, see Fascicle 5, note 140 above. Liu Xuan's biography is also
in Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, 1:589.

Li Shi became ruler of the Cheng Han in 338, following the death of his father
Li Shou [OMITTED], who had emerged as ruler of the Cheng Han after the struggles
over the throne following the death of Li Xiong in 334. In 346/347, Huan
Wen [OMITTED] (312-373), then commander-in-chief and provincial inspector of
Jing province, took advantage of the internal political struggle and chaos in
Cheng Han and launched an expedition into Southwest China, destroying the
Cheng Han and forcing Li Shi to surrender (Js, 8.191, 98.2569, 121.30473048;
Wang, Wei Jin Nanbeichao shigang, 1:227-228). Sun says that Li
"spuriously appointed" Xuan because he did not consider Li to be the
legitimate ruler.

See Chapter 3 above, in the section "Women in Pre-Qin Thought."

Sun Jian is thus referred to because he held the post of caitiff-smashing general
(po lu jiangjun [OMITTED]).

Wu, capital of Wu commandery, was near present-day Suzhou [OMITTED]. Qiantang,
also in Wu commandery, was near modern Hangzhou [OMITTED].

On buyu [OMITTED], translated as "unlucky" here, see Sgz jiaogu, 244. The motif
of the woman who sacrifices herself for the good of the family by marrying
a powerful but uncouth man is found elsewhere in Records of the Three States.
Lü Fan [OMITTED], a minor prefectural official, sought to marry a beautiful young
woman named Liu [OMITTED], who came from a very wealthy family. Her mother
was adamantly opposed, but the young woman replied that Lü did not look
like someone who would remain poor for long, and she married him.
Subsequently he became one of Sun Ce's most trusted supporters and rose to
grand minister of war under Sun Quan (Sgz, 56.1309-1311).

Sun Jian apparently had more than a single daughter, since Records of the Three
States refers separately to three sisters of Sun Quan. One was the younger sister
whom Sun Quan married off to Liu Bei (see Fascicle 34, note 23 above). A
second was an elder sister married to one Hong Zi [OMITTED] of Qu'e [OMITTED], a man
who is otherwise virtually unknown (Sgz, 52.1231; Wu lu cited in Sgz,
48.1165). The daughter of another elder sister, surnamed Chen [OMITTED], was
married off by Sun Quan to Pan Mi [OMITTED], who was the son of Pan Jun [OMITTED]
[OMITTED], one of Quan's loyal and high-ranking officials; Pan Jun's daughter was
married to Sun Lu [OMITTED], Quan's second son (Wu shu cited in Sgz, 61.1399).
De Crespigny assumes that this last sister was actually a half sister born of
a mother surnamed Chen (de Crespigny, Generals of the South, 86 n. 18), but
Chen was the woman's married name (Sgz cidian, 467). Given that Lady Wu
bore but one daughter, two of the three must have been half sisters. De
Crespigny is probably correct in concluding that the youngest of the three was
Sun Quan's full sister. Chen Shou describes her as being like "all her brothers"
(Sgz, 37.960). The elder sisters were married to relative unknowns, while the
youngest was used by Sun in an effort to cement an alliance against the Wei.

See Gan, Sou shen ji, 122. The incident is found in a number of other works.
Unusual dreams presaging the birth of an important person are a common
motif in Chinese literature. See, for example, the accounts of the pregnancies
of Bo, mother of Emperor Wen, and Wang Zang'er [OMITTED], empress to
Emperor Jing and mother of Emperor Wu of the Han (Sj, 49.1971, 1975;
Watson, Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty, 1:326, 330), and the
account of the birth of Sun Liang in the biography of Lady Pan later in this
fascicle. Sometimes such dreams could presage unhappy results. See Js, 9.242;
Lü, "Heaven's Mandate and Man's Destiny in Early Medieval China," 35.
Concerning Sun Jian's own birth, the Record of Collected Remnants offers the
following account:

This motif was not limited to the birth of great men. The Han History records
that when Madam Li was pregnant with Wang Zhengjun, she dreamed that

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214

During the Later Han, this office could be a sinecure and the holder did not
necessarily command troops. See Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times,
29.

Danyang commandery lay along the southern bank of the Yangtze River,
extending roughly from just west of present-day Zhenjiang [OMITTED] westward to
modern Anqing [OMITTED]. It was an extremely important commandery and had
its capital at Jianye [OMITTED] (modern Nanjing [OMITTED]), the city that later became
the Wu capital.

Zhou Xin had been appointed administrator of Danyang commandery and
was an early supporter of Cao Cao in his battles with Yuan Shao. As
administrator of Danyang, he aided Cao in raising soldiers. Wu Jing attacked
Zhou on Yuan Shu's orders but failed to capture him. Wu summoned all the
peasants who had dared to follow Zhou and put them to death. Zhou
thereupon disbanded his army and returned to his home commandery (Sgz,
1.8; Xiandi chunqiu [OMITTED] [Spring and Autumn Annals of Emperor Xian],
quoted in Sgz, 51.1206, commentary).

Sun Ce was Wu Jing's nephew. Intensely disliked by Tao Qian [OMITTED],
shepherd of Xu [OMITTED] province, he took his mother and moved to Qu'e. With
Lü Fan and Sun He, he joined Wu Jing, then administrator of Danyang, and
raised several hundred soldiers (Sgz, 46.1101).

Sun He, who hailed from Wu, originally had the surname Wu. Being very
fond of him, Sun Ce bestowed the Sun surname on him and had him included
in the Sun household register (Sgz, 51.1214).

Lü Fan was a native of Ru'nan commandery, and during the turmoil at the
end of the Han he took refuge at Shouchun [OMITTED]. Sun Ce spotted him there
and was impressed by him. Lü joined Sun with a band of followers. He became
one of Sun's strongest supporters, and Sun treated him as a member of the
family (Sgz, 56.1309).

Zu Lang was the leader of a clan militia (zong shuai [OMITTED]) in Danyang
commandery. According to one account, Yuan Shu, who deeply disliked Sun
Ce, sent an agent to present Zu with a seal and to encourage him to stir up
hill bandits and attack Sun. Sun learned of the plot and personally led an attack
on Zu, managing to capture him alive. Sun told him that although Zu had
previously attacked him and cut his saddle, now he was building an army and

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215

Liu Yao was appointed inspector of Yang province by the Han emperor. When
Yuan Shu rebelled, Liu sought to crush Yuan and his followers, including Wu
Jing. He was unsuccessful, and Yuan appointed his own inspector of Yang
province (Sgz, 49.1183-1184).

Hengjiang was on the northern bank of the Yangtze, about midway between
Dangtu [OMITTED] and Ma'an shan [OMITTED], near modern Ma'an shan southwest
of Nanjing. Fan Neng and Yu Mi were subordinates of Liu Yao.

Moling, located at modern Nanjing, had its name changed to Jianye by Sun
Quan in Jian'an 17 (212/213) and became the Wu capital. Ze Rong, a man
of questionable reliability, was administrator of Xiapei and attached himself
to Liu Yao. When Liu's troops were defeated by Yuan's followers, Ze turned
on Liu but was defeated by him and fled into the mountains, where he was
killed by the inhabitants (Sgz, 49.1184; 1185; 46.1103, Pei quoting Jiang biao
zhuan). Xue Li was administrator of Pengcheng [OMITTED], and like Ze, he became
one of Liu's followers. He was killed by Ze, apparently in error. See Sgz,
46.1103, 49.1185.

Niuzhu was across the Yangtze from Hengjiang.

Yuzhang commandery was in modern northwestern Jiangxi province and had
its capital near modern Nanchang [OMITTED].

Shouchun, near Shouxian [OMITTED], Anhui on the Huai River, was an area of great
strategic significance because of its location on the main route from the Central
Plain to the South and because it was a very productive agricultural area.

Liu Bei had just assumed control of Xu province, thereby denying it to Yuan
Shu. Yuan attacked Liu, but Liu managed to stop him (Sgz, 32.873).

This was in 197. Yuan's support quickly dissipated, and his army met with
a series of reverses. He died a couple of years later, after trying to turn his
imperial title over to his brother, Yuan Shao. See Sgz, 6.209-210, and Chen,
Hsün Yüeh, 52-54.

In the summer of Jian'an 2 (197), the Han dispatched Wang Pu with a decree
praising Sun Ce and appointing him chief commandant of the cavalry, granting
him the hereditary title of marquis of Wucheng [OMITTED] (the seat of Wuxing
commandery), and concomitantly making him administrator of Guiji. Ce
considered the position of chief commandant beneath him because he
commanded both infantry and cavalry. He sent someone to ridicule Wang, who
had happened to receive a command bestowing on Ce the title of general who
makes brilliant the Han (ming Han jiangjun [OMITTED]; Sgz, 46.1107, Pei
quoting Jiang biao zhuan).

Zhang Zhao had been a trusted follower of Sun Ce. On his deathbed, Sun
Ce entrusted the young Sun Quan to Zhang's guidance and told Zhang that
if Quan failed to fulfill his duties, Zhang should remove him (Sgz, 52.1220;
Wu li [OMITTED] [Progress of Wu], quoted in Sgz, 52.1221, commentary).

Gao Tumulus lay west of Danyang in modern Jiangsu province.

Wei Teng was noted for being firm and upright and eschewing improper
conduct. He was apparently well respected, for once, when he seriously
offended Sun Quan, Wu Fan [OMITTED], himself noted for his uprightness, risked
death to intercede on Wei's behalf (Sgz, 63.1422-1423; Guiji dianlu, quoted
in Sgz, 63.1423, commentary).

Cf. Jksl(a), 1.9.

The Jiankang shi lu [OMITTED] [True Record of Jiankang] also gives Jian'an
12 as the year of Lady Wu's death (Jksl[a], 1.9). Liang Zhangju [OMITTED] (1775-1849)
agrees and says the erroneous Jian'an 7 date derives from the subsequent
line, which states that Wu Jing died in Jian'an 8 (Sgz pangzheng, 28.6b).
Presumably Liang thought that a later copyist had "corrected" Jian'an 12 to
Jian'an 7. Since the True Record of Jiankang is a Tang text, it may simply
have been following the Forest of Resolve, which was written in the fourth
century and is known to have been consulted by the work's author. Sun Quan's
biography also gives the date as Jian'an 7 (Sgz, 7.1116). Cf. Sgz jijie, 50.2b-3a.
The True Record of Jiankang contains the following about Lady Wu:

Shu prefecture was in modern Anhui not far from Lujiang. Note that in the
last sentence, where the text says she was of great help to Sun Ce, in Sgz it
is Sun Quan.

It was common under the Wu for sons to inherit command of their fathers'
troops. When the son was a minor, it was recognized that he would assume
command upon attaining majority. See He, "Sun Wu bing zhi."

Sun Ba was Sun Quan's fourth son. Ba and Quan's third son, He [OMITTED], were
very close and treated each other as equals, though He was the heir apparent.
This elicited considerable criticism from those who considered it a violation
of etiquette. When Sun Quan heard of this, he prohibited the two from seeing
each other. Later, when Sun Quan fell ill and was bedridden, Sun He went
to offer sacrifices in the ancestral temple. Zhang Xiu [OMITTED], uncle of Sun He's
concubine, lived near the temple and invited He to stay with him. Princess
Quan [OMITTED] sent someone to spy on him, and she reported that Sun He was
not in the temple but was plotting with his concubine's family. She also said
that He's mother, Lady Wang, had looked happy when Sun Quan became ill.
Sun Quan became angry, causing He's mother to "die of anguish." Sun He
lost favor, and Sun Ba began to covet the position of heir apparent. Although

---

217

See Fascicle 5, note 30. See also Sgz cidian, 398.

Teng Yin's uncle and father had served under Sun Quan and both had died
early. Because of his regard for them, Sun appointed Teng Yin to a commune
marquisate. Subsequently, Teng became administrator of Danyang. When Sun
Quan died, he was made one of the regents with Zhuge Ke [OMITTED]. Teng
became involved in a factional struggle with Sun Lin [OMITTED], which he lost, and
he and his family were executed (Sgz, 48.1153; 64.1443-1444).

Wuling commandery straddled the borders of present-day Hunan, Guizhou,
and Sichuan and had its capital near Changde [OMITTED].

Xie Cheng's work now exists only in fragments first collected by Wang Wentai
[OMITTED] in Qijia Hou Han shu [OMITTED] (1882). Now see Zhou, Ba jia Hou
Han shu ji zhu, 1:1-284.

Jianchang was in Yuzhang commandery, west of present-day Nanchang.

Lady Xu's biography is excerpted in Fang, The Chronicles of the Three
Kingdoms, 1:600.

Danglikou was downstream from Hengjiang. Like Fan Neng and Yu Mi (see
Fascicle 50.1195 above), Zhang Ying was a subordinate of Liu Yao. At
the time, Yuan Shu was active in Huainan and was plotting rebellion. Liu
sent Fan, Yu, and Zhang to bivouac along the Yangtze to block him. Yuan
thereupon set up a puppet inspector of Yang province and combined forces
with Wu Jing and Sun Ben to attack them. For over a year Fan and the others
held out, and it was not until Sun Ce crossed the Yangtze and attacked them
that they were defeated and Liu Yao had to flee (Sgz, 46.1102; 48.1184).

Zhou jia [OMITTED], which we have translated as "senior provincial officials," must
refer to Liu Yao and his subordinates. See Sgz jijie, 50.4a.

Li Shu, who was from Ru'nan, was appointed administrator of Lujiang
commandery (in modern Anhui just north of Anqing) in Jian'an 5 (200/201).
Following Ce's death, Li was unwilling to serve Sun Quan, and he took in
many of those who had rebelled against Quan. When Quan wrote to ask the
reason, Li replied, "Those with virtue have people submit to them, while those
without virtue experience rebellion. I shall not submit." Quan was incensed
and sent a report to Cao Cao in which he was extremely critical of Li. He
attacked Li at Wan [OMITTED] (northeast of modern Anqing). Li fortified the city and
defended himself, seeking assistance from Cao Cao. Cao, however, did not
respond. When the supplies of grain in the city were exhausted, some of the
women made pellets from mud and ingested these. In the end, Quan was
victorious, and he slaughtered those in the city, displayed Li's decapitated head,
and exiled over thirty thousand of his personal troops (buqu [OMITTED]; see Sgz,
10.312; 46.1108; 47.1116, Pei quoting Jiang biao zhuan; 51.1214, Pei quoting
Wu shu).

Huang Zu served under Liu Biao in the fighting with the Sun family. In 193.
Sun Jian was killed by Huang's troops in an ambush. Huang in turn was killed

---

218

The reconstruction is based on Ting, Chinese Phonology of the Wei-Chin
Period. Cf. Coblin, A Handbook of Eastern Han Sound Glosses, 101, 162.

Sun Quan was appointed king of Wu in the second month of Huangchu 18
(September/October 221) by Cao Pi (Emperor Wen of the Wei), and Deng
was made his heir apparent. Then in Huanglong [OMITTED] 1 (229, a Wu reign date),
Quan declared himself emperor and made Deng heir apparent to the imperial
throne (Sgz, 2.78, 47.1121-1123, 48.1133-1135).

Sgz, 59.1365 has the following:

In this exchange, Deng employs an allusion to the Conversations: "Master You
said, `It is rare that there is someone who is filial toward his parents and
fraternal toward his brothers but disposed to be disobedient toward his ruler.
And never has there been a person ill-disposed to disobey his ruler who was
disposed to rebellion. The gentleman devotes himself to the foundation. When
the foundation is established, the Way is born. Filial piety and fraternal feeling
are the foundation of benevolence' " (Lun yu, 1.2).

Linhuai commandery was in modern Anhui, north of the Yangtze, during the
Former Han. During the Later Han, this commandery became the kingdom
of Xiapei. The use of Linhuai here and in Sgz, 52.1236 seems to be
anachronistic. Cf. Sgz jijie, 52.29a. Another translation of the entry on Lady
Bu can be pieced together from Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms,
1:601-602, 690.

Bu Zhi was one of Sun Quan's closest supporters. He was made chancellor
in Chiwu [OMITTED] 9 (246/247; see Sgz, 52.1240).

Zhou Xun was a commandant of the cavalry and died young. Quan Cong
was one of Sun Quan's closest and brightest military commanders. His father
had been commandant of the Eastern Region of Guiji (Guiji dongbu jiangjun
[OMITTED]) and was the first to submit to Sun Ce when Sun took Wu
(Sgz, 60.1381-1382). Quan Cong's biography states, "In Huanglong 1, Quan

---

219

Zhu Ju was appointed to office by Sun Quan because he combined literary
and martial talent. During the struggle between Lady Wang and Princess Quan,
he sided with Sun He. Sun Hong [OMITTED] slandered him and, taking advantage
of Sun Quan's illness, had a decree fabricated and sent to Zhu ordering him
to commit suicide (Sgz, 57.1340).

Sgz, 47.1142 says, under Chiwu 1, "Lady Bu died. She was posthumously
granted the title of empress." Cf. Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms,
1:600.

Gu Yong was one of Quan's most trusted officials; he served as chancellor for
nineteen years. Characteristically, he did not say much, so that when he did
speak, Quan attached great weight to his words. He also did not drink, and
during banquets and celebrations those about Quan were afraid that if they
drank too much and lost control, Gu would see them. This prompted Sun Quan
to comment, "When Duke Gu is present, people are unable to enjoy
themselves" (Sgz, 52.1225-1228).

The Jiankang shi lu says: "In the second month [of Chiwu 1 (March 238),
Sun Quan] posthumously made Lady Bu empress. The empress's taboo name
was Lianshi [OMITTED], and her home of record was Huaiyin prefecture in Linhuai
commandery. She accompanied her mother to Lujiang. Lujiang was overrun
by King Huan [OMITTED] [Sun Ce], so they crossed to south [of the Yangtze]. Because
of her beauty she obtained the emperor's favor and bore two daughters, Luban
and Luyu. By nature she was not jealous and she often advanced others. As
a result she was long beloved and he made her the favorite of the rear
apartments. When the emperor acceded to the throne, on numerous occasions
he wanted to establish her as empress, but his senior ministers had their minds
set on the mother of the heir apparent, Madam Xu. So the emperor had no
choice but to put it off for more than ten years. She passed away, and he
mourned her. It was in this year that he posthumously made her empress. Later
they were buried together at Jiang Tumulus" (Jksl[a], 2.32-33). Sun Quan
was also buried at Jiang Tumulus, as were Lady Pan (see below) and Quan's
eldest son Sun Deng.

For another translation of this paragraph, see Fang, The Chronicles of the
Three Kingdoms, 1:690-691.

The Huangwu reign title was actually adopted in the tenth month of the year
(November/December 222), and was changed to Huanglong in the fourth
month of the year (May/June 229). The biography of the unfortunate Sun
He appears in Sgz, 59.1367-1371.

Sun He's biography says: "After this, Lady Wang and Princess Quan harbored
ill feelings toward each other. Sun Quan was bedridden with illness, and Sun
He offered sacrifices at the temple. Zhang Xiu, the younger paternal uncle of
He's concubine, dwelled near the temple, and he invited He to stay with him.
Princess Quan sent someone to spy. Consequently, she said that the heir
apparent was not in the temple but had gone solely to plot with the concubine's
family. She further said that when Lady Wang had seen the emperor in bed,
she had looked happy. Sun Quan was furious about this. The lady died of
anxiety, while Sun He's favor declined, and he feared demotion and dismissal"
(Sgz, 59.1369; cf. Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 1:683-684,

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220

Hao ascended the throne in 264, and despite the display of filial piety at the
beginning of his reign, he proved an arrogant and cruel ruler.

Nothing else is known about Lady Wang's father, and there is nothing to
suggest that he may have been one of the Langye Wangs who were to become
so prominent in the South during a somewhat later period.

The reign title was changed to Chiwu in the ninth month of the latter year
(August/September 238).

Sun Xiu was born in 235 or 236. He acceded to the throne in 258, when Sun
Liang was set aside. Xiu's reign was somewhat rocky, and there were attempts
to topple him. He died in 265 at the age of thirty (Sgz, 48.1155-1163).

Gongan was a remote town of some strategic importance on the Yangtze in
Jing Province, not far from the city of the same name in present-day southern
Hunan.

The location of Jing Tumulus is unknown.

Cf. Zztj, 75.2385-2387; Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 2:114.
Juzhang was near present-day Ningbo [OMITTED].

The Weaving Chamber was within the palace and supplied woven goods for
imperial needs, including the imperial ancestral temple (Hs, 27A. 1330-1331).
The Qin created an Eastern Weaving Chamber and a Western Weaving
Chamber. In 28 B.C., the Former Han abolished the Eastern Weaving Chamber
and called the Western Weaving Chamber simply the Weaving Chamber (Hs,
19A.732). Women could be sent to the Weaving Chamber as a form of
punishment. For example, Bo Ji [OMITTED] (Dame Bo), a member of the harem of
Wei Bao [OMITTED], king of Wei [OMITTED], was sent to the Weaving Chamber following
Bao's capture by Cao Shen [OMITTED] during the fighting that attended the fall of
the Qin and the rise of the Han. She was discovered by the then king of Han,
Liu Bang, who had her transferred to the Inner Palace, where she was
eventually favored and became the mother of the future Emperor Wen (Hs,
4.105, 97A.3941).

Lady Pan was sent to the Weaving Chamber because of her father's crime,
and her discovery there is described here in terms similar to those used to
describe the fate of Bo Ji. Wang Jia's Record of Collected Remnants contains
a somewhat embellished description of this incident:

The father of Lady Pan, wife of the Sovereign of Wu, had been
convicted, and she had been brought to the Weaving Chamber. Her
appearance was uncommon, and in the region east of the Yangtze
her beauty was unsurpassed. More than a hundred of those who were
confined with her referred to the lady as a goddess. They showed
her respect and maintained their distance from her. Some officers
reported this to the lord of Wu, who ordered that a portrait be drawn
of her. The consort was melancholy and would not eat. She grew thin,
altering her appearance. The artist drew her as she was and submitted
it. The Sovereign of Wu saw it and was pleased. Rubbing an agate
scepter (ruyi [OMITTED]) until it broke, he sighed, "This is a goddess! If
a sorrowful appearance can so move men, how more so if she were

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221

happy!" He ordered an engraved carriage to go to the Weaving
Chamber to take her to the rear palace. In the end, because of her
ability she was favored.

Whenever he took the lady strolling through the Terrace of Brilliant
Proclamation, he was happy and content. When they were completely
intoxicated, she would spit into a jade vase. She would have the
serving girls pour this on the ground beneath the terrace and it would
burn.

She hung all her rings on a pomegranate branch, so [the Sovereign
of Wu] had built on that spot a terrace, which he named the Ringed
Pomegranate Terrace (Huanliu tai [OMITTED]). At the time there were
remonstrators who said, "Now Wu and Shu are struggling for
supremacy. The name `huan Liu' will become an omen!" Sun Quan
then reversed the name to "Pomegranate Ring Terrace" (Liuhuan tai).

Another time he went strolling with the consort at the Angling
Terrace (Diao tai [OMITTED]) and caught a large fish. The sovereign of Wu
was greatly pleased. Lady Pan said, "In the past I have heard of `crying
over a fish.' Now it makes you happy. If there is happiness, certainly
it will make the sadness deeper."

In later years, others slandered her, and they gradually withdrew
from her. People at the time said of the consort, "Her understanding
of portents is divine." The sovereign of Wu presently ended the feasts,
and the consort was finally sent away.

(Syj, 8.3b-4a; cf. Foster, "The
Shih-i chi and Its Relationship to the Genre Known as Chih-kuai
hsiao-shuo," 258-259)

This account is obviously fictionalized. It does not agree with the account of
the relationship between Sun Quan and Lady Pan in Records of the Three
States, and Lu Bi has pointed out its unreliability (Sgz jijie, 50.7b). The anecdote
about the Ringed Pomegranate Terrace involves a pun. Liu [OMITTED] was the surname
of the ruling family of the Han dynasty, of which the ruler of Shu, Liu Bei,
was a distant member (the putative descendant of one of the sons of Emperor
Jing of the Former Han [r. 156-141 B.C.]). Huan liu (ringed pomegranate) is
nearly homophonous with "huan Liu" [OMITTED] ("bring back the Liu").

"Crying over a fish" is a reference to a story in the Zhan guo ce [OMITTED]
[Intrigues of the Warring States]: The king of Wei was fishing with his lover,
the Lord of Longyang (Longyang jun [OMITTED]). When the Lord of Longyang
had caught ten or more fish, tears began streaming down his cheeks. The king
asked why he was crying. The lord replied that when he had caught the first
fish, he had been extremely happy. But then he caught others that were even
larger, and he wanted to get rid of those he had caught earlier. This made him
think: If he displeased the king, the king would no longer sleep with him. There
were lots of pretty boys in the world, and when they heard that he had been
favored by the king, they too would pick up their skirts and come running.
The Lord of Longyang compared himself to the first fish, saying that he too
would be abandoned, so he could not help but cry (Zhan guo ce, 25.917; cf.
Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve, 32-33). It is interesting that in Wang Jia's
story Madam Pan sees nothing amiss in comparing her situation with that of
the homosexual lover of an ancient ruler. By this time Lord Longyang was
already an "icon" of homosexual love (Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve,
71).

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222

"Her understanding of portents is divine" is an allusion to the Classic of
Changes:

Lady Pan is being credited with having foreseen her fate.

The dragon is, of course, a symbol of imperial rule.

Sun Liang replaced Sun He, who was set aside.

From Guiji, Sun Hong apparently was unrelated to the ruling family. He was
instrumental in eliminating some of Sun He's supporters through false decrees
that he was able to issue because of Quan's illness. He was appointed junior
tutor of the heir apparent (taizi shaofu [OMITTED]) by the dying Sun Quan.
Hong was on poor terms with Zhuge Ke, whom Quan had appointed grand
tutor (taizi dafu [OMITTED]) to the heir apparent and made regent to Sun Liang.
Sun Hong arranged to be notified the moment Quan expired so that he could
issue a forged decree eliminating Zhuge Ke. Ke learned of this, interrogated
Hong, and had him executed (Sgz, 52.1225, 57.1340, 59.1369, 1370, 61.1402,
64.1433, 1434).

Sima Guang [OMITTED] (1019-1086) says that Lady Pan was killed by her
attendants, who could not bear her tyrannical manner. Hu Sanxing [OMITTED]
(1230-1287), however, thinks this ludicrous. He writes that such people would
have encouraged her for their own benefit and believes that it was high-ranking
officials who did her in. Hu suggests that Sima Guang was misled by
embellished histories of Wu. See Zztj, 75.2394-2395; Fang, The Chronicles
of the Three Kingdoms, 2:104, 114.

Luling was in southeastern Jiangxi province near Ji'an [OMITTED] city. The account
in the True Record of Jiankang says,

[Taiyuan [OMITTED] 1], fifth month [June/July 251], Madam Pan was
established as empress. . . . [Taiyuan 2], second month [February/
March 253], a great amnesty was granted throughout the empire,
and the year was changed to Shenfeng [OMITTED] 1. Empress Pan died
violently in the inner halls.

The empress was respectful and virtuous, and she had her home
of record in Juzhang in Guiji commandery. She was summoned into
the palace from the Weaving Room and obtained favor. She often
said she dreamed that she was presented with a dragon's head and
that she received it with an apron. Subsequently she bore the Young
Emperor. The empress by nature was secretly jealous and was skilled
at charm. From beginning to end, she slandered without cease. When
she became ill, the people of the palace attended to her illness and
could not bear the fatigue. Taking advantage of her being in a deep
sleep, they together strangled her and said she died of a sudden illness.

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223

There was an investigation and the matter leaked. Six or seven
persons were sentenced to death.

(Jksl[a], 2.45)

The accounts in the Records of the Three States and the True Record of Jiankang
diverge significantly, and it is likely the latter is corrupt. Cf. Jksl (b), 2.68
nn. 67 and 68.

The connections between the Suns and the Yuan family, whose members had
held high office since the reign of Emperor Zhang, were close. Sun Jian had
commanded an army under Yuan Shu in the wars against Dong Zhuo and
Liu Biao. Following Sun Jian's death, his nephew Sun Ben took command of
his troops and was appointed inspector of Yu province by Yuan Shu. A couple
of years later, Sun Jian's son Sun Ce entered Yuan Shu's service and took
command of his father's troops, Sun Ben having returned south. Relations
between Sun Ce and Yuan Shu do not appear to have been particularly warm,
and in 197, when Yuan Shu declared himself emperor of the Zhong [OMITTED] dynasty,
Sun Ce broke with him. Yuan found himself opposed from all sides, and when
he died in 199, his power had been greatly reduced. His wife and children
took refuge with Liu Xun [OMITTED], administrator of Lujiang commandery and
a former official under Yuan. Sun Ce defeated Liu Xun, and Yuan Shu's
daughter was taken into Sun Quan's harem. Yuan's son Yuan Yao [OMITTED] was
made gentleman-of-the-palace, and his daughter was wed to Sun Quan's son
Sun Fen [OMITTED] (HHs, 75.2439-2444; Sgz 6.207-210; de Crespigny, Generals of
the South, 146-180, 189).

Since Sun Quan did not attempt to make Lady Yuan principal wife until
after the death of Lady Bu in 238, Lady Yuan must have been at least forty
years of age and may have been much older. Sun's desire to elevate her to
principal wife may have been motivated by a desire to bring order to his harem,
and her reasons for declining—aside from the fact that she had no children—
may have stemmed from a desire to remain aloof from harem machinations.
She may have understood the impact of such machinations. In his commentary,
Pei Songzhi includes the following excerpt from the Jiu zhou chunqiu [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] [Spring and Autumn Annals of the Nine Provinces]:

Sun Liang's biography offers the following background: "Sun Quan was
advanced in years, and Liang being his youngest son, Sun was especially

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224

Yongping was southwest of the capital near present-day Yixing [OMITTED].

Zhuge Dan was commander of the Wei garrison at Shouchun. In 257, he
rebelled and tried to surrender the garrison to Wu. Several members of the
Quan family, led by Quan Yi [OMITTED], were sent to assist Zhuge Dan. Two members
of the family, Quan Hui [OMITTED] and Quan Yi [OMITTED], remained in the capital at Jianye,
and because of the conflict and suits within the family, they took their mother
and several tens of families of their personal retainers, crossed the Yangtze,
and surrendered to the Wei general Sima Zhao. At the suggestion of his
advisers, Sima Zhao had Quan Hui and Quan Yi [OMITTED] write a letter to Quan
Yi [OMITTED] stating that Wu was angry with Yi [OMITTED] for being unable to take Shouchun
and planned to execute his entire family. They had, therefore, fled for their
lives. Quan Yi [OMITTED] and his followers were frightened into submitting to Sima
Zhao. They were all richly rewarded, which caused discord among the Wei
rebels, who subsequently also surrendered (Sgz, 28.786-787, 48.1154-1155,
64.1447; Js, 2.33-35; Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 2:285-286).

Nothing more is known about this plot.

Houguan was at present-day Fuzhou [OMITTED].

Lingling commandery was in present-day southwestern Hunan, in the region
now covered by Lingling county. The Quans were involved in a plot to
eliminate Sun Lin, whose arrogance and usurpation of authority had angered
Sun Liang. Sun Liang ordered Quan Ji [OMITTED] to kill Sun Lin. Quan Ji discussed
the plot with Quan Shang, who unthinkingly mentioned it to Quan Ji's mother.
She informed Sun Lin (another version says Lin was informed by a niece who
was one of Liang's concubines), who struck at the plotters, defeated them, and
then deposed Sun Liang. Quan Ji committed suicide (Sgz, 64.1448, and Pei
quoting Jiangbiao zhuan). See also Zztj, 77.2445-2447; Fang, The Chronicles
of the Three Kingdoms, 2:295-297.

Sun Jun was the great grandson of Sun Jian's younger brother Jing [OMITTED]. He
apparently had an affair with Sun Luban, Sun Luyu's elder sister and his own
lineage member. Following the death of Sun Quan, he became one of the
regents and was responsible for the death of Zhuge Ke. A number of people
tried unsuccessfully to eliminate him (Sgz, 64.1444-1445; cf. Fang, The
Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 2:313-314).

Emperor Hui married the daughter of his eldest sister (Hs, 97A.3940; Ch'ü,
Han Social Structure, 263-264). In commenting on Emperor Hui's marriage,
Xun Yue (148-209) wrote:

The match between husband and wife is a major relationship of the
way of humankind. The [Classic of] Poetry says, "His example
influenced his wife, extended to his brothers, and thereby exercised

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225

control over his family and the state." The Changes says, "When the
family is put in order, the world will all be in order." To make one's
sister's child a queen brings confusion to propriety and defilement to
human emotion. It is not the way to show the entire world the
principles of being people. None of the ministers dared to criticize
[the emperor's] faults.

(Hj, 5.4b)

Although Sun He and Sun Ba were on excellent terms and treated each other
as equals, parties grew up supporting one or the other for heir apparent. The
result was a bitter factionalism that threatened to divide the state. It was to
avoid such a disaster that Sun Quan changed the succession (Sgz, 59.13691370,
Pei quoting Tong yu).

This occurred in the autumn of 255. The conspirators included Sun Yi, Zhang
Yi [OMITTED], and Lin Xun [OMITTED]. Several versions say that when the plot was
discovered, Sun Yi committed suicide and the others confessed. A large number
("several tens") of conspirators lost their lives (Sgz, 48.1152, 52.1208,
64.1444-1445; Zztj, 76.2426).

Zhu Xiong and Zhu Sun were the sons of Zhu Ju, who was a follower of
Sun Quan and remained a supporter of Sun He against Sun Liang. When Sun
Quan was ill, Sun Hong fabricated a decree ordering Zhu to kill himself.
Princess Quan's accusation was false, though this was discovered too late.
Xiong and Sun were posthumously recognized for their meritorious service,
and Xiong's son succeeded his father as marquis of Yunyang [OMITTED] (Sgz,
57.1340).

Sun Jun died in 256, when he was thirty-eight, and Sun Lin came to dominate
the court in much the same way Jun had. When Sun Xiu overthrew Sun Lin
and asserted his authority, he had Jun's body exhumed and stripped of its
official seals because of his role in the death of Princess Zhu (Sgz, 64.1451).

Following Sgz pangzheng, 28.8a, we read [OMITTED] (po "to force.") for [OMITTED] (zhui "to
pursue"). Cf. Sgz jijie, 50.9b, which has [OMITTED]. Ding Tumulus was in Yu province,
south of modern Xuchang in He'nan. Sun Xiu was buried there in 265 (Sgz,
48.1163). Sgz, 48.1164 says,

Cf. Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 2:510. The True Record
of Jiankang has:

In Yongan 7, seventh month [July/August 264] Emperor Jing [Sun
Xiu] died. . . . General of the Left (zuo jiangiun [OMITTED]) Wan Yu [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] formerly had been prefect of Wucheng and got on well with [Sun]
Hao. . . . He subsequently spoke with the Empress Dowager Zhu,
and he wished to make the Latter Sovereign [Sun Hao] successor. The
empress said, "I am a widow. How would I know the concerns of
state? So long as the state of Wu does not perish and the ancestral

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226

temples are cared for, it is all right." Subsequently, it was decided to
welcome the Latter Sovereign. On a gengyin [OMITTED] day [July 26], he
acceded to the throne as emperor and changed the year to Yuanxing
[OMITTED] 1. . . . In autumn, the ninth month [October/November], [Sun
Hao] demoted the empress dowager to Empress Jing, referring to her
as the Palace of Peace and Stability. He posthumously bestowed on
his father, He, the title of Emperor Wen and reinterred him at Ming
Tumulus (Mingling [OMITTED]). He set up a park benefice of two hundred
households [to care for the tomb]. His great-grandmother Madam
Wang he made Empress of Great Virtue (da yi huanghou [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]), his mother Madam He [OMITTED] he made Empress Wen, and he
established the lady Madam Teng [OMITTED] as empress.

The empress's taboo name was Fanglan [OMITTED]. She was a third
cousin of Grand Master of Ceremonies Teng Yin. Her father was Mu
[OMITTED], who was general-of-the-household for all purposes. When the
emperor was marquis of Wucheng, he brought her in as concubine.
At this point, he named her empress and appointed [her father]
marquis of Gaomi [OMITTED]. Later she fell out of favor. Empress He
protected her and she was permanently supported in the Palace of
Ascendant Peace. In Tianji [OMITTED] 4 [280], she accompanied the
emperor when he moved northward, and she passed away at
Luoyang.

(Jksl[a], 4.63-64)

The True Record of Jiankang says that Sun Xiu died in the eighth month, falling
sick on a guiwei [OMITTED] day and expiring on a bingxu [OMITTED] day:

For a similar scene, in which the dying Emperor Ming of Wei entrusts Cao
Fang to Sima Yi, see the Wei Epitome and Sun Sheng's Wei shi chunqiu [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] [Spring and Autumn Annals of the House of Wei], quoted in Sgz, 3.114,
commentary. Both Chen Shou and Sima Guang say that Sun Xiu died on a
guiwei day, and the latter indicates that this occurred in the seventh month
(Jksl[a], 4.63; Sgz, 48.1162; Zztj, 78.2487). Since there was neither a guiwei
nor a bingxu day in the eighth month, Sun must have died in the seventh month.
If, as the True Record has it, he fell ill on guiwei and passed away on bingxu,
that would have been the twenty-fifth and twenty-eighth days respectively of
the seventh month (3 and 6 September 264; cf. Jksl[b], 3.88 nn. 30, 31; 4.115
n. 2). Sun Xiu's trust proved to have been misplaced, for Puyang Xing, believing
that circumstances called for a strong ruler, joined several other high officials
in deposing Wan in favor of Sun Hao. Subsequently, Xing was himself killed
on Sun Hao's orders (Sgz, 64.1451-1452).

The location of Gaomi is uncertain. There was a prefecture by this name
located not far from the modern city of the same name in Shandong province,
but it seems doubtful that this is the place referred to here.

The use of the title here is anachronistic. Following his surrender to the Jin

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227

For another translation of the biography of dame He, see Fang, The Chronicles
of the Three Kingdoms, 2:160, 502. The word we have translated as "dame"
here is ji [OMITTED] (EH kjǝh in Coblin, A Handbook of Eastern Han Sound Glosses,
201). The commentator identified simply as Chen Zan [OMITTED] ("Your subject
Zan") cites two Han texts (now lost) that give the term as one of the ranks
of the harem, coming after favorite beauty and ahead of eighth rank lady. But
it is not found among the ranks given for consorts and concubines in the Han
History (Hs, 97A.3935), and in fact there are three other ranks between favorite
beauty and eighth rank lady. Yan Shigu rejects the Chen Zan explanation,
saying,

Ru Chun says that the word was pronounced like [OMITTED] (EH rjǝï in Coblin, A
Handbook of Eastern Han Sound Glosses, 224) and was a general term to
refer to concubines. This would seem to be correct. See Hanyu da zidian, 1049.
Cf. Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, 1:221 n. 1. We have
another example in Records of the Three States of the term's being employed
to refer to several of Cao Cao's secondary wives (see Sgz, 20.579). Jurong was
near the modern place by the same name southeast of Nanjing.

Peng Zu was China's Methuselah, who supposedly lived seven hundred years.
See, for example, Yuan, Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian, 378-379.

Sun Jun availed himself of the opportunity presented by the death of Zhuge
Ke to take the royal seal from Sun He and send him to Xindu. Sun He's consort
Zhang was Zhang Cheng's daughter and Zhuge Ke's niece. When Sun He was
ordered to commit suicide, Zhang told him, "We should share bad fortune
as well as good; I'll not live out my life alone!" and killed herself (Sgz, 59.1370;
Zztj, 76.2412).

Aside from this reference and one below, nothing is known about the Palace
of Ascendant Peace, which appears to have been a home for consorts who
were no longer in favor.

Liyang was almost directly south of the capital on the present-day Anhui-Jiangsu
border near Gucheng [OMITTED] lake; Xuancheng was farther south and
to the west of the present-day city of the same name. All seem to have been
of some strategic importance, judging by their locations and by references to
the last two as having been garrisoned.

Lu Bi says Wuling should be Hulin [OMITTED] (Sgz jijie, 50.10b). Liang Zhangju
says it should be Wulin [OMITTED] (Sgz pangzheng, 28.8b).

Zhang Bu was instrumental in putting Sun Hao on the throne following the
death of Sun Xiu, and he was honored for his efforts. Once Hao was on the
throne, however, he became arrogant, violent, and debauched, and Bu
surreptitiously expressed his dissatisfaction and was slandered to Hao. For this
Hao had him executed (Sgz, 48.1163).

Feng Chao Served as commandant of the guards under Sun Liang, who was
deposed in 258. In 256, Feng was appointed commissioner for inspection of
the army (jianjun shizhe [OMITTED]) to oversee military affairs in Xu province
(Sgz, 48.1152-1153).

"Step-shaker" hair ornaments were so called because they shook when the
wearer walked.

A similar story involving Sun Hao and one of his ladies is found in Sgz,
59.1375.

Sgz, 48.1170 gives supervisor of the three commanderies (sanjun du [OMITTED])
as Zhi's title. The three commanderies were Guiji, Linhai, and Jian'an, all of
which were along the coast of Yang province.

Teng Yin was a member of a faction that opposed Sun Lin after the latter
replaced Sun Jun as the dominant power at court. An effort to oust Sun Lin
failed, Teng's army was defeated by one of Sun's supporters, and Teng's family
was exterminated (Sgz, 48.1153).

This was in the twelfth month of Yuanxing 1 (265).

Cangwu commandery was on the border between modern Guangdong and
Guangxi and was the place of exile for a great many officials.

The Yellow Gates were those to the imperial quarters. During the Han there
were several positions—including prefect of the Yellow Gates, assistant of the
Yellow Gates, and palace attendant of the Yellow Gates—that were held by
eunuchs. See Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times, 53, and Bielenstein,
"Lo-yang in Later Han Times," 24.

This number may be an understatement. Following his conquest of Wu,
Emperor Wu of Jin ordered selection of five thousand of Sun Hao's courtesans
and concubines to be taken into the palace (Js, 3.73). Presumably not all of
these were the daughters of high officials.

The sentence comes from the Classic of Changes, Hexagram 37, "Commentary
on the Decision." Cf. Wilhelm, I Ching, 570. Thus, just as Chen Shou began
his section on the Wei empresses and consorts with a quote from this passage,
so he returns to it in his judgment of the Wu arrangements concerning consorts
and concubines.

Mao shi 240/2.

Duke Huan gathered about himself several talented ministers, including Guan
Zhong, Baoshu Ya [OMITTED], and Xi Peng [OMITTED]. The duke had three consorts,
none of whom produced a son. But he also had six women in the inner
apartments whom be "treated as wives," and each of these produced a son.
One son was given to Duke Xiang of Song [OMITTED] to be his heir apparent.
When Duke Huan was on his deathbed, the other sons formed factions and
began to fight over the succession. After the duke died, the struggle broke into
open conflict. The palace was left with no one to encoffin the duke's corpse,
which was left unattended for over two months until "the maggots spilled out
the doorway" (Sj, 32.1493-1494; Chavannes, Mémoires historiques, 2:39-40).