Empresses and consorts selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's commentary |
 |
 |
Records of the Three States: The Book of Wu |
|
|
|
 | Empresses and consorts |  |
Records of the Three States: The Book of Wu
Fascicle 50: Consorts and Concubines
Sun the Caitiff Smasher's [OMITTED][1] Lady Wu was the mother of the
sovereign of Wu, Sun Quan. Originally a native of Wu, she moved
to Qiantang.[2] She lost her parents very early and lived with her
younger brother [Wu] Jing. Sun Jian heard of her talent and
beauty and wanted to marry her. Her relatives in the Wu family,
detesting Jian's frivolity and craftiness, were going to resist him.
Jian was mortified by this. Lady Wu spoke to her relatives, "Why
court trouble for the sake of one daughter? If I am to be unlucky,
that is my fate."[3] Thereupon they consented to the marriage, and
she bore him four sons and one[4] daughter.[A]
The Record of Searching for Spirits (Sou shen ji [OMITTED]) says: At first
when the lady was pregnant, she dreamed that the moon entered her
bosom. Afterward, she gave birth to Ce. When she became pregnant
with Quan, she dreamed that the sun entered her bosom. She reported
to Jian, "Earlier, when I was pregnant with Ce, I dreamed that the
moon entered my bosom. Now I have dreamed this time that the sun
entered my bosom. What does it mean?" Jian replied, "The sun and
moon are the essences of yin and yang. It is an extremely noble sign.
My descendants will flourish!"[5]
Jing always followed Jian and was meritorious in battle. He was
appointed chief commandant of cavalry.[6] Yuan Shu recommended
Jing to be grand administrator of Danyang [OMITTED].[7] He attacked the
former grand administrator, Zhou Xin [OMITTED], and occupied his
commandery. Sun Ce, Sun He [OMITTED], and Lü Fan entrusted
themselves to Jing.[8] They combined their masses and together
attacked the bandit of Jing [OMITTED] prefecture, Zu Lang [OMITTED].[9] Lang
was defeated and fled. It happened that Jing was being pressed by
Liu Yao [OMITTED], so he returned northward to rely on Yuan Shu.[10]
Shu made him general of the gentlemen-of-the-household for
investigation of the army (dujun zhonglang jiang [OMITTED]).
[OMITTED] at Hengjiang [OMITTED],[11] then struck at Ze Rong [OMITTED] and Xue
Li [OMITTED] at Moling [OMITTED].[12] At the time, Sun Ce was wounded at
Niuzhu [OMITTED].[13] When the bandits who had surrendered rebelled,
Jing attacked and captured them all. Then he attacked Liu Yao,
who fled to Yuzhang [OMITTED].[14] Sun Ce dispatched Jing and Ben to
Shouchun to report to Yuan Shu.[15] Shu forthwith fought with Liu
Bei over Xu province.[16] He appointed Jing grand administrator of
Guangling. Yuan Shu later usurped the throne, and Sun Ce wrote
exhorting him [to desist].[17] Shu refused. [Ce] then cut the ford
across the Yangtze, ending intercourse [with Yuan Shu], and sent
someone to notify Jing. Jing abandoned his commandery and
returned eastward. Ce restored Jing as the grand administrator of
Danyang. The Han sent Gentleman Consultant (yilang [OMITTED])
Wang Pu [OMITTED] under orders to tour the South, and he memorialized,
appointing Jing general displaying martial virtue (yangwu
jiangjun [OMITTED]).[18] Jing remained in charge of the commandery.
When Sun Quan took charge of the affairs of state while still a
youth, Lady Wu assisted in administering the army and state, and
she was a great help.[B] In Jian'an 7 [202/203], as she approached
death, she called to her Zhang Zhao [OMITTED] and some others and
entrusted them with matters after her death.[19] She was buried with
[her husband] at Gao Tumulus[20] (Gaoling).[C]
Standard Record of Guiji (Guiji dianlu [OMITTED]) says: Sun Ce's [head
of the] Bureau of Merit (Gong cao [OMITTED]), Wei Teng [OMITTED], scolded Ce
because he disagreed with him.[21] Ce was going to kill him. All the
officials were worried and frightened but could come up with no plan.
Lady Wu, who was leaning against a large well, said to Ce, "You are
newly established in Jiangnan and matters have not yet been pulled
together. You ought to be treating worthies well and being courteous to
gentlemen, ignoring errors and recording merit. Wei of the Bureau of
Merit enforces the rules completely in office. If you kill him today, then
tomorrow everyone will rebel against you. I could not bear to see such
an extreme error. I should throw myself into this well first." Ce was
greatly frightened and immediately released Teng. Such was Lady Wu's
shrewd advice.[22]
The Forest of Resolve (Zhilin [OMITTED]) says: The recommendation records
for Guiji are blank for Jian'an 12-13 [207-209]. When there were no
recommendees, it meant the commandery administrator was in
mourning. In this case, it was because the queen of Wu died in the
This makes it very clear.
In Jian'an 8 [203/204], Jing died in office. His son Fen [OMITTED] was
given his troops, made a general, and appointed marquis of Xin
commune (Xin ting hou [OMITTED]).[24] He died[D] and his son An [OMITTED]
succeeded him. An was sentenced to death for belonging to the
faction of the King of Lu [OMITTED], [Sun] Ba [OMITTED].[25] Fen's younger
brother Qi [OMITTED] succeeded him[E] and was appointed capital commune
marquis.[26] He died. His son Zuan [OMITTED] succeeded him. Zuan's wife
was Teng Yin's [OMITTED] daughter.[27] When Yin was executed, they
suffered the same fate.
Lady Xie of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan had her home of
record in Shanyin [OMITTED] in Guiji. Her father Jiong [OMITTED] was a
gentleman of the masters of writing and prefect of Xu under the
Han.[F] Sun Quan's mother arranged on Quan's behalf for her to be
his wife, and she was loved and greatly favored. Later, Quan took
in his aunt's granddaughter, Miss Xu, and wished to put Xie
beneath her. Xie was unwilling, and as a result she became
depressed and died early. Ten years later, her younger brother
Cheng [OMITTED] was appointed gentleman-of-the-household for all
purposes (wuguan langzhong [OMITTED]). Shortly thereafter he was
transferred to become chief commandant of the Eastern Region of
Changsha and grand administrator of Wuling [OMITTED].[28] He wrote a
Hou Han shu [OMITTED] [Later Han History][29] in one hundred
fascicles.[G]
Jiong's son, Cheng, wrote a Later Han History. Jiong was praised as a
youngster for making benevolence and filial piety his modes of conduct.
He was perspicacious and had excellent talent. Jiong's brother Zhen [OMITTED]
strictly observed the standards of behavior. He was diligent in study
and esteemed righteousness and was recommended as filially pious and
incorrupt. He became prefect of Jianchang [OMITTED] and died in office.[30]
The Standard Record of Guiji says: Cheng's appellative was Weiping
[OMITTED]. He studied widely and was knowledgeable. Once he had learned
[OMITTED] was a general displaying majesty (yangwei jiangjun [OMITTED]).
Chong's younger brother Xu [OMITTED] was administrator of Wu commandery.
Both were well known.
Lady Xu of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan had her home of
record in Fuchun [OMITTED] in Wu commandery.[31] Her grandfather,
Zhen, and Quan's father, Jian, were very close. Jian married his
younger sister to Zhen, and she gave birth to Kun. When Kun was
young, he served in commandery and provincial administrations.
During the chaos at the end of the Han, he left office. He
followed Jian into battle, was meritorious, and was appointed
lieutenant general (pian jiangjun [OMITTED]). When Jian died, Kun
followed Sun Ce in attacking Fan Neng, Yu Mi, and others at
Hengjiang. He struck at Zhang Ying [OMITTED] at Danglikou [OMITTED],
but there were few boats, so he was going to bivouac his troops
and seek more.[32] At the time, Kun's mother was with the army,
and she said to him, "I fear that the senior provincial officials will
launch waterborne troops to oppose you.[33] That would be
disastrous! How can you encamp? You should cut reeds to make
rafts.[H] These could supplement the boats to ferry your troops."
Kun reported the plan to Sun Ce, who immediately carried it
out. The entire body forded the rivers and devastated Ying. They
drove off Ze Rong and Liu Yao, and the task was settled. Ce
memorialized to have Kun made commandery administrator of
Danyang.[I]
It happened that Wu Jing abandoned Guangling to come east
and was restored as administrator of Danyang. Kun took
command of the troops as leader of the gentlemen-of-the-household
for investigating the army. He joined in destroying
Grand Administrator Li Shu [OMITTED] of Lujiang and was appointed
marquis of Guangde [OMITTED] and transferred to be general for the
pacification of brigands (pinglu jiangjun [OMITTED]).[34] Later, he
participated in attacking Huang Zu [OMITTED] and was struck by an
arrow and killed.[35]
Fú [OMITTED] is pronounced fu [OMITTED] [phjuo].[36] Guo Pu's commentary to the
Dialects [Fang yan [OMITTED]] says, "A [OMITTED] is a raft (pai [OMITTED]) in the water."
Biographies from beyond the Yangtze says: At first Yuan Shu sent his
cousin [Yuan] Yin [OMITTED] to take charge of Danyang. Sun Ce ordered Kun
to attack and replace him. It happened that Jing returned. When he
had formerly served in Danyang, Jing had been generous and
people longed for him. Moreover, Kun had many soldiers under his
command, and Ce was envious of his great importance. Ce was about
to launch an attack and could use Kun's troops, so he again appointed
Jing and ordered Kun to return to Wu.
Kun begat Lady Xu, and initially she was married to Lu Shang
[OMITTED] of the same commandery. Shang died, and Quan was serving
as brigand-punishing general (taolu jiangjun [OMITTED]) in Wu. He
took her to be his concubine and had her raise his son Deng.
Later, when Quan was transferred, because she was jealous, he
abandoned her in Wu. After ten years or so, when Quan was king
of Wu and assumed the title of respect, Deng was made heir
apparent.[37] All the ministers requested that the lady be established
as empress. Quan, however, having settled on Lady Bu, did not
assent.[38] Later, she died of illness. Her elder brother Jiao [OMITTED]
succeeded his father Kun as marquis and attacked and pacified the
Mountain Yue. He was appointed lieutenant general. He preceded
[OMITTED] succeeded to his appointment, and he, too, because of glory in
battle, advanced to be supervisor of Wuhu [OMITTED] and general who
pacifies Wei (ping Wei jiangjun [OMITTED]).
Lady Bu of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan, whose home of
record was Huaiyin [OMITTED] in Linhuai [OMITTED] commandery,[39] belonged
to the same lineage as chancellor [Bu] Zhi.[40] At the end of the
Han, her mother was about to take her to Lujiang. But Lujiang
was destroyed by Sun Ce, so they crossed the Yangtze to the
south. Because of her beauty, she obtained Quan's favor, and he
made her the favorite of the rear apartments. She bore two
daughters. The eldest was called Luban, appellative "Big Tiger"
(Dahu [OMITTED]). Initially, she was betrothed to Zhou Yu's son Xun;
later she was betrothed to Quan Cong.[41] The younger daughter
was Luyu [OMITTED], appellative "Little Tiger" (Xiaohu [OMITTED]). At first
she was betrothed to Zhu Ju [OMITTED];[42] later she was betrothed to
Liu Zuan [OMITTED].[J]
Consort Bu was not by nature jealous, and because many were
promoted by her, she was long the object of fond treatment. When
Quan was king and emperor, he desired to make her his principal
for more than ten years, though within the palace everyone called
her "empress," and relatives who sent up communications to
her addressed her as "Within the Palace." When she died, subordinates,
in accordance with Quan's intent, requested that her
title be posthumously rectified and that she be given a seal and
ribbon, and they ordered:
On wuzi [OMITTED] in the intercalary month of Chiwu 1 [24
November 238],[43] the emperor said, "Alas, my empress! It was
she who assisted with the mandate, and together we shouldered
Heaven and Earth. Devout and respectful morning and night, she
shared my labors. In the wifely teachings she was well educated,
and in righteousness and propriety she did not stray. Expansive
and kind, she had tender virtue. The people and ministers looked
up to her, and she was in the hearts of those far and near.
Because the difficulties of the time were as yet unsettled and
unification of the country was still incomplete, I followed her
fine intentions and cherished her modesty and humility. For this
reason, at the time I never bestowed the title. Furthermore, I was
sure that her Heaven-granted years would be long and that with
me she would respond to and spread Heaven's blessings.
Suddenly, before I realized it, her life recently came to an end. I
regret that my original intention was not made manifest earlier
and am grief-stricken that she has died and not fulfilled her
Heaven-sent blessings. In the extremity of my grief, the pain
stabs my heart. Now I charge Chancellor Commissioned with a
Verge [Gu] Yong [OMITTED], marquis of Liling [OMITTED], to carry
respectfully the patent, bestow the title, and offer a sacrifice to
the former empress.[44] If her soul is still able to apprehend, may
she rejoice in this favor and glory. Alas, my grief!"
She was buried at Jiang Tumulus (Jiangling [OMITTED]).[45]
Lady Wang of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan[46] had her home of
record in Langye.[K] The lady was selected to enter the palace, and
during the Huangwu [OMITTED] period [222-229] she was favored and
gave birth to Sun He.[47] She was the favorite after Madam Bu.
Following the death of Madam Bu, Sun He was made heir
apparent. Sun Quan was going to make her his empress, but
Princess Quan [Sun Luban] had always hated the consort and
slandered her little by little. When Sun Quan became bedridden,
she said that the lady looked happy. Consequently, he became
He's son Hao was established as sovereign, he gave Lady Wang
the posthumous title Empress of Great Exemplarity (Da yi
huanghou [OMITTED]) and appointed her three younger brothers
full marquises.[49]
Lady Wang of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan had her home of
record in Nanyang. She was chosen to enter the palace, and
during the Jiahe [OMITTED] period [232-238][51] she gained favor and
gave birth to Sun Xiu.[52] When Sun He became heir apparent, his
mother was honored and esteemed, and all the concubines who
had been favored were exiled from the palace. Lady Wang was
sent to Gongan [OMITTED],[53] where she died and was buried. When Xiu
ascended the throne, he dispatched a commissioner to bestow the
posthumous title of Empress of Attentive Recollection (Jinghuai
huanghou [OMITTED]), and she was reinterred at Jing Tumulus
(Jingling [OMITTED]).[54] The Wangs had no descendants, so Xiu
appointed her uterine younger half brother a commune marquis.
Lady Pan of the Sovereign of Wu [Sun] Quan had her home of
record in Juzhang [OMITTED] in Guiji.[55] Her father was a clerk and had
been convicted and sentenced to death. The lady and her elder
sister were both brought to the Weaving Chamber (Zhi shi [OMITTED]),[56]
where Quan saw her and, being struck by her, summoned her to
occupy the rear palace. She was favored and became pregnant. She
dreamed that she was presented with a dragon's head and that she
received it with an apron.[57] Subsequently, she gave birth to Sun
Liang. In Chiwu 13 [250/251], Liang was made heir apparent,[58]
and he asked to release Lady Pan's elder sister [from the Weaving
Chamber] and marry her off, which Quan permitted. The
following year he established Lady Pan as empress.
Lady Pan was by nature wickedly jealous of other charmers.
From beginning to end, she slandered a great many, including
Lady Yuan and others.[L] When Sun Quan was not well, Lady Pan
sent someone to enquire of Prefect of the Palace Writers Sun Hong
the precedent of Empress Lü's assumption of power.[59] She was
exhausted from attending to Quan's illness and as a result became
emaciated. A number of courtiers, taking advantage of her being in
a deep sleep, strangled her and attributed her death to a sudden
illness.[60] Later, the matter leaked out and six or seven persons were
buried together at Jiang Tumulus. Sun Liang ascended the throne
and made Lady Pan's elder sister's son-in-law Tan Shao [OMITTED] chief
commandant of cavalry and gave him troops. When Liang was
deposed, Shao and his family returned to their home commandery
of Luling [OMITTED].[61]
The Record of Wu says: Lady Yuan was the daughter of Yuan Shu. She
was unpretentious and had no children. On numerous occasions Quan
took the children of his concubines and gave them to her to raise, but
she alone did not bear any children. When Lady Bu died, Quan wished
to establish her. Because she had no children herself, Lady Yuan
adamantly declined and did not accept.[62]
Sun Liang's Lady Quan was Quan Shang's daughter. Her father's
paternal aunt Princess [Quan; i.e., Sun Luban] was fond of her,
and whenever she went in for an audience, Lady Quan would be
in her company.[63] When Lady Pan and her son were favored [by
Sun Quan], Princess Quan, as the result of a falling out with Sun
He's mother, advised Sun Quan to make [Lady Quan] wife to
Lady Pan's son Liang. Liang subsequently became successor to the
throne, and the lady was made empress. Quan Shang was made
colonel of the capital gates and appointed marquis of a capital
commune. He replaced Teng Yin as grand master of ceremonies
and general of the guards. He advanced to be appointed marquis
of Yongping [OMITTED] and to become intendant of the masters of
writing.[64] At the time, five members of the Quan family were
marquises who also controlled infantry and cavalry. Others were
gentlemen in attendance, chief commandants of the cavalry, and
imperial bodyguards and attendants. Not since the rise of Wu had
the honor and prosperity of any of the affinal families equaled
theirs.
When General-in-Chief Zhuge Dan [OMITTED] of Wei came to
surrender Shouchun, Quan Yi [OMITTED], Quan Duan [OMITTED], Quan Yi
[OMITTED], and Quan Yi [OMITTED] all took the opportunity to surrender to
Wei.[65] When Quan Xi's [OMITTED] plot leaked out and he was killed,
the entire Quan family went into decline.[66] And when Sun Lin
deposed Sun Liang and made him king of Guiji, and later, when
he was further demoted to marquis of Houguan [OMITTED], Lady Quan
accompanied him to his fief and dwelled at Houguan.[67] Quan
Shang moved his family to Lingling [OMITTED],[68] was pursued there,
and killed.[M]
Sun Xiu's Lady Zhu [OMITTED] was the daughter of Zhu Ju and was born
to Xiu's elder sister, the Princess Zhu [OMITTED] [Sun Luyu].[N] At the end
of the Chiwu period [238-251], Sun Quan brought her in to be
Xiu's consort. When Xiu became king of Langye, she accompanied
him to live at Danyang. During the Jianxing period [252-254],
Sun Jun [OMITTED] controlled the government, and the royal family
were all apprehensive about him. Quan Shang's wife was Jun's
elder sister, so only Princess Quan [Sun Luban] sided with him.[69]
I, Songzhi, presume that Xiu married his niece; this case is similar to
that of Emperor Hui of the Han. Since Xun Yue's [OMITTED] criticism was
entirely appropriate, I shall not expand on the matter further.[70]
Formerly, when Sun He was heir apparent, Princess Quan [Sun
Luban] slandered Lady Wang [Sun He's mother] and wanted to set
aside the heir apparent and establish the king of Lu, Sun Ba.[71]
Princess Zhu did not agree, and from that time they had a falling
out. During the Wufeng [OMITTED] reign period [254-256], Sun Yi [OMITTED]
plotted the murder of Sun Jun, but the affair was discovered and
he was executed.[72] Princess Quan took advantage of this to say
that Princess Zhu had been one of Yi's co-conspirators. Jun
unjustly killed Princess Zhu. Sun Xiu was frightened and sent Lady
Zhu back to Jianye. Clutching hands, they parted tearfully. When
reign period [256-258], Sun Liang learned that Princess Zhu had
been brought to harm by Princess Quan, and he inquired into the
reasons behind Princess Zhu's death. Frightened, Princess Quan
replied, "I really don't know. Zhu Ju's two sons Xiong [OMITTED] and Sun
[OMITTED] know all about it."[73] Liang killed Xiong and Sun. Sun's wife
was Jun's younger sister.
Sun Lin increasingly hated Liang, and subsequently he deposed
Liang and installed Xiu.[74] In Yongan [OMITTED] 5 (262/263), he
established Lady Zhu as empress. When Xiu died, all the ministers
honored her as empress dowager. Sun Hao had been on the throne
a little more than a month when he demoted her to be Empress
Jing [OMITTED], referring to her as the Palace of Peace and Stability [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. In the seventh month of Ganlu [OMITTED] 1 (July/August 265), she
was driven[75] to suicide and was buried with [Sun Xiu] at Ding
Tumulus (Dingling [OMITTED]).[O]
The Record of Searching for Spirits says: Sun Jun murdered Princess
Zhu [Sun Luyu], and she was buried at Shizi gang [OMITTED]. When [the
Marquis] Guiming [OMITTED] [Sun Hao] acceded to the throne, he wanted
to rebury her.[76] The grave sites were adjoining and could not be
distinguished. But the palace rather well knew what the princess had
been wearing when she died. So they dispatched two shamans, one to
each grave site, to remain in a particular spot to watch for her spirit.
Inspectors were also sent to watch them so they could not come close
to each other. Sometime later, the shamans reported they had seen a
woman who could have been thirty or more. Her head was bound with
blue brocade, and she wore a purple- and white-lined garment and
vermilion slippers of silk and pongee. She came from the upper half of
the hill at Shizi gang. Placing her hands on her knees, she gave a long
and heavy sigh. Tarrying for a bit, she entered a small rest house atop
the grave, and after lingering there for some time, she suddenly
disappeared. The descriptions of the two shamans—without
collusion—were the same. Thereupon the grave was opened and the
clothing was as they had said.
Sun He's Dame He [OMITTED] had her home of record in Jurong [OMITTED] in
Danyang.[77] Her father Sui was originally a cavalryman. Sun Quan
once toured the various encampments, and she was watching him
en route. Quan saw her and was smitten by her. He ordered the
eunuchs to summon her into [the palace] and bestowed her on his
son He. When she gave birth to a son, Quan was overjoyed and
called him "Peng Zu" [OMITTED].[78] This was Sun Hao.
The heir apparent Sun He was set aside and later made king of
Nanyang, residing at Changsha. Sun Liang acceded to the throne,
and Sun Jun assisted in the government. Jun formerly had toadied
to Princess Quan, and when Princess Quan and Sun He's mother
had a falling out, she encouraged Jun to relocate He to Xindu [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] and to send a messenger to bestow death. Sun He's principal
consort Zhang [OMITTED] also committed suicide.[79] Dame He said,
"If all are to follow in death, who will care for the orphans?"
Subsequently, she lovingly raised Hao and his three younger
brothers. When Hao acceded to the throne, he venerated Sun He
as the Illustrious and Worthy Emperor (Zhao xian huangdi [OMITTED]
[OMITTED])[P] and Dame He as the Illustrious and Worthy Empress, placing
her in the Palace of Ascendant Peace [OMITTED].[80] In a little over a
month he advanced her to be empress dowager. He appointed her
younger brothers Hong [OMITTED], Jiang [OMITTED], and Zhi [OMITTED] as marquises
When Hong died, his son Miao [OMITTED] succeeded him and was made
Jin. Zhi held offices and attained the post of grand minister over
the masses.
In the chaos at the end of the Wu period, the He family became
arrogant and usurpatious, and the younger members of the family
were unconstrained and caused the people great distress. Thus
there arose a popular falsehood—"Hao is long dead. The one on
the throne is a scion of the He."[Q]
Biographies from beyond the Yangtze says: Hao considered Zhang Bu's
daughter to be a beauty and he favored her. Hao asked her, "Where is
your father?" She replied, "A bandit killed him."[83] Hao was infuriated
and clubbed her to death. Later, he thought of her countenance and
ordered a craftsman to carve a likeness of her beauty, which he always
kept at his side. He asked his attendants, "Didn't Bu have another
daughter?" They replied, "Bu's eldest daughter is married to Chun [OMITTED],
son of former Commandant of the Guards Feng Chao [OMITTED]."[84]
Forthwith, he seized Chun's wife and brought her into the palace,
where he greatly favored her and honored her with the position of
senior (zuo [OMITTED]) lady. Day and night he amused himself with her in the
apartments and ignored the affairs of state. He had the masters of
techniques make several thousand ornamental specula, "step-shaker"
hair ornaments,[85] and false braids. He ordered the courtiers to wrestle
fully dressed. Things that were completed in the morning were broken
by evening, and he would forthwith send out to have them made again.
The artisans took advantage of this to steal, and the storehouses and
treasuries became empty.
When the lady died, Hao grieved and pined for her. He buried her
in a park and constructed a great tomb. He had the artisans carve men
from cypress and place them in the tomb as sentries, and he used
immeasurable numbers of objects made of precious metals and stones.
After she had been interred, Hao observed mourning in the inner
apartments and did not go out for half a year. The people considered
the burial extremely extravagant, and everyone said that Hao had died
and that he was the one who had been buried.[86] Hao's maternal uncle
He Du [OMITTED] was very similar to Hao in appearance, and it was said
that Du had replaced him. The commandery administrator of Linhai
[OMITTED], Xi Xi [OMITTED], believed the falsehoods and raised troops to return
and execute Du. Du's paternal uncle Zhi at the time was inspector for
executed his family to three degrees.[87] The falsehoods ceased, but
people remained doubtful.
Sun Hao's Lady Teng was a third cousin of former Grand Master
of Ceremonies Teng Yin. When Yin's family was exterminated,
Lady Teng's father Mu was exiled to a frontier commandery
because he was a distant relative.[88] When Sun Xiu acceded to the
throne, there was a general amnesty and he was allowed to return.
Sun made Mu gentleman-of-the-household for all purposes. When
Hao was appointed marquis of Wucheng, he arranged to take
Mu's daughter in marriage as his consort. Once Hao had acceded
to the throne, he established her as empress, and he appointed Mu
marquis of Gaomi[89] and designated him general of the guards and
intendant of the masters of writing. Later, because Mu was a
venerated relative [i.e., had gained his position by virtue of his
daughter's position], the officers of the court frequently
remonstrated through him. Lady Teng gradually fell out of favor,
and Hao grew increasingly displeased, but Hao's mother Dame He
constantly supported her. Moreover, the grand astrologer said that
according to astrological operations the empress could not be
changed. Since Sun Hao believed in shamanesses and shamans, she
was able to avoid being dismissed and was permanently supported
in the Palace of Ascendant Peace. Mu was sent to live in Cangwu
[OMITTED] commandery, and though his noble rank was not taken
away, in fact he had been disgraced.[90] Subsequently, he died of
melancholy en route.
The officials of the Palace of Prolonged Autumn were simply
reserve officials. They received New Year's congratulatory messages
to the court, as in the past. But with regard to the various concubines
that Hao favored, many wore the seals and ribbons of an
empress at their waists. In Tianji 4 (280/281), they were moved to
Luoyang along with Hao.[R]
Biographies from beyond the Yangtze says: Hao further sent keepers of
the Yellow Gates[91] to travel throughout the provinces and commanderies
and to rank and select girls from the households of military and civil
officials. Those who were the offspring of ministers and officials with
ranks of two thousand bushels of grain should yearly state their names.
Those aged fifteen or sixteen were uniformly examined, and those who
did not pass the examination were permitted to marry. The women in
did not cease.[92]
The evaluation states: The Classic of Changes declares, "When
the family is put in order, the world will be in order."[93] The
Classic of Poetry says, "And his example acted on his wife,
extended to his brethren, and was felt by all the clans and
states."[94] How true, these words! When we look at Duke Huan
of Qi in the distant past[95] and examine Sun Quan more recently,
they possessed the brilliance of knowledgeable scholars and the
determination of heroes. But they did not distinguish between their
primary and secondary wives. The women's apartments were in
confusion, making them laughingstocks of history and bringing
misfortune to their descendants. If we evaluate the matter from this
point of view, only he who makes morality and righteousness his
frame of mind, and impartiality and consistency his primary
principle, can avoid these entanglements.
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:
When Sun's mother was pregnant, she dreamed that her intestines
came out and wrapped themselves about her waist. A virgin carried
her around outside the Chang Gate of Wu and gave her a stalk of
alang. The virgin spoke, "This is very propitious. You will certainly
bear a talented and heroic son. Today I bestow on the mother the
land whereby to be king over the alloted fields of the Yi and Zhen
houses of the zodiac. The empire will be divided into three parts.
Within a hundred years there will be a resonance and he will bestow
an extraordinary treasure [i.e., the seal of state] on others." She
finished speaking and Sun's mother awoke. In the morning she went
to have the meaning divined. The diviner said, "The dream about
the virgin carrying the mother around the Chang Gate: this is the
spirit of Taibai [Grand White, or Venus, the star that governs generals
and military affairs], whose influence has brought this dream. The
rise of an emperor or prince must have a divine sign." The
manifestation of a white aura is the color of metal. When Wu was
destroyed and Jin succeeded, it was the confirmation of the dream.
Genre Known as Chih-kuai hsiao-shuo," 256)
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
to Emperor Yuan and a major presence through the reigns of four emperors
(Hs, 98.4015). Earlier, when Wang Zhengjun's father, Wang Wengru [OMITTED], had
moved to the town of Yuancheng [OMITTED] in Wei commandery [OMITTED], someone
said,
In the past during the Spring and Autumn period, when Shalu [OMITTED]
[OMITTED] mountain collapsed, a scribe of Jin divined the import and said,
"Yin is assuming the virility of yang, and Earth is succeeding Fire.
That is the reason Shalu collapsed. Six hundred forty-five years from
now, there should be a woman sage arising. . . . Now Wang Wengru
has moved here, and he has rectified the land, and the sun and moon
are in conjunction with it. East of the town of Yuancheng there is
Wulu [OMITTED] hill, which is the location of Shalu. Eighty years from now
there will be a noble woman who will make the empire flourish."
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
appointed Zu to his Bureau of Banditry (Menxia zeicao [OMITTED]; Sgz,
51.1211, Pei quoting Jiang biao zhuan [OMITTED] [Biographies from beyond the
Yangtze]). A variation of this story says that it was Chen Yu [OMITTED], administrator
of Wu commandery and general pacifying the East, who planned
to attack Sun Ce and sent an agent to present seals to Zu Lang and some other
local strongmen (Jiang biao zhuan, quoted in Sgz, 46.1107, commentary).
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.
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).
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).
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:
Jian'an 12. Grand Lady Wu passed away. She was buried together
[with Sun Jian] at Gao Tumulus. Her home of record was Qiantang
in Wu commandery. Losing her mother and father early, she lived
with her younger brother Jing. Sun Jian learned of her talent and
beauty, and he sought after and married her. The lady was first
pregnant with Sun Ce, and she dreamed that the moon entered her
bosom. When she was pregnant with Sun Quan, she dreamed that
the sun entered her bosom, and she told Jian. Jian said, "The sun
and moon are the essence of yin and yang. This is a sign of extreme
nobility. May my sons and grandsons flourish!" Later Jian died, and
the lady made her home at Shu [OMITTED]. She cared for and raised the
orphaned and young, and she was severe in her maternal instruction.
When Ce took charge of the masses, the lady aided in directing
military and state affairs, and she was a great help.
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
a faction around Sun Ba and the recriminations grew. Sun He was set aside
and replaced by Sun Liang, Sun Quan's youngest son. Sun He was made king
of Nanyang [OMITTED] and exiled to Changsha [OMITTED]. Ba was permitted to commit
suicide, and the members of his faction were executed (Sgz, 47.1148, 59.13691372;
Yin Ji [OMITTED], Tong yu [OMITTED] [Comprehensive Discourses], quoted in Sgz,
59.1369-1370 commentary).
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.
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
47.1117; Dian lüe [OMITTED] [Institutional Epitome], quoted in Sgz, 46.110011011,
commentary). It was in this last campaign that Kun was killed. Huang
Zu is also known to history as the man who ordered the death of Mi Heng
[OMITTED] (ca. 173-198), the audacious young wit best known for goading Cao
Cao and as the author of "Yingwu fu" [OMITTED] [Rhapsody on a Parrot]. See
HHs, 80B.2657-2658. See also Graham, "Mi Heng's Rhapsody on a Parrot"
and Cutter, "Mi Heng."
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:
Deng was born of a base mother. Lady Xu deserved his gratitude for
having raised him as though she were his mother when he was young.
Later, when Lady Xu was abandoned in Wu because of jealousy, Lady
Bu was favored most. Whenever Lady Bu gave him something, [Deng]
dared not refuse but simply accepted it respectfully. A messenger came
from Lady Xu and told him that any clothing that he might be given
he must wash before wearing. When Deng was made heir apparent,
he declined, saying, " `When the foundation is established, the Way
is born.' If you wish to install an heir apparent, you must first establish
the empress." Quan enquired, "Where is your mother?" "In Wu."
Quan was silent.
1:600-601)
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
(zuo hu jun [OMITTED]), and shepherd of Xu province. He married a princess"
(Sgz, 60.1382; cf. Fang, The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, 1:690).
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,
Huan of Changsha (Changsha Huan wang miao [OMITTED]). King Huan
of Changsha is the posthumous title bestowed on Sun Ce by Sun Quan when
he assumed the imperial title in 229 (Sgz, 47.1134).
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.
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
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.
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).
"Her understanding of portents is divine" is an allusion to the Classic of
Changes:
The Master said: "To know the seeds [i.e., the portents], that is divine
indeed. In his association with those above him, the superior man
does not flatter. In his association with those beneath him, he is not
arrogant. For he knows the seeds. The seeds are the first imperceptible
beginning of movement, the first trace of good fortune (or misfortune)
that shows itself. The superior man perceives the seeds and
immediately takes action. He does not wait even a whole day."
Lady Pan is being credited with having foreseen her fate.
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.
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]:
The daughter of Director of Retainers (sili [OMITTED]) Feng Fang [OMITTED]
was a beauty of the empire. She took refuge in Yang province from
the disorder. Yuan Shu ascended the city wall, where he saw and was
smitten with her. Presently, he took her into his harem and was
extremely fond of her. The other wives were jealous of the favor
shown her and told her, "The general esteems those who have
aspirations and integrity. You should frequently weep and be
melancholy. Then you will surely be long honored." Madam Feng
believed them, and afterward, when she saw Yuan Shu, she let her
tears fall. Yuan Shu took this as a sign of her will, and he increasingly
pitied her. The other wives then strangled her and hung her from the
roof beam of the privy. Yuan Shu truly believed that she had died
because she was unable to achieve her aspirations, so he gave her
an elaborate funeral.
Sun Liang's biography offers the following background: "Sun Quan was
advanced in years, and Liang being his youngest son, Sun was especially
apparent Sun He and his mother and was apprehensive. So she took advantage
of Sun Quan's inclinations to secure her position in advance and repeatedly
praised Quan Shang's daughter, urging that she be wed to Sun Liang. In Chiwu
13 [250], Sun He was deposed, and Sun Quan appointed Liang heir apparent,
with Lady Quan as his consort" (Sgz, 48.1151; cf. Fang, The Chronicles of
the Three Kingdoms, 2:74). Quan Shang was a nephew of Quan Cong, Princess
Quan's husband.
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).
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
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,
In autumn, the seventh month [of Ganlu 1; i.e., August of 265], Sun
Hao forced Madam Zhu, the Empress Jing, to commit suicide. She
did not die in the main hall, and the funeral was held in a small
building in the garden. Everyone knew she had not been ill, and there
was none who did not grieve. He further sent Sun Xiu's four sons
to a small town in Wu. Shortly thereafter he had the two eldest of
them tracked down and killed.
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
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.
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:
Eighth month, guiwei, the emperor fell ill and was unable to speak.
He wrote by hand, summoning Chancellor Puyang Xing [OMITTED] to
enter, and ordered the heir apparent Wan [OMITTED] to come out and do
obeisance to the chancellor. The emperor held Xing's shoulder and,
pointing at Wan, entrusted him [to Xing]. On bingxu the emperor
died in the inner hall. In the twelfth month he was buried at Dingling.
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
the Western Jin capital of Luoyang, where he was treated fairly leniently. He
was given the title Marquis Guiming (Marquis Who Has Submitted to the
Mandate; (see Sgz, 48.1177; Js, 3.71).
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,
"Ji" was originally the surname of the Zhou. [Zhou women] were
more noble than the women of the many states, so in order to give
the [Zhou] wives an attractive appellation, they were addressed as
ji by them. . . . Later, one came to refer generally to all concubines
(qie [OMITTED]) as ji. The Grand Scribe's Records' statement, "When Gaozu
dwelled in Shandong, he was fond of beautiful concubines (ji)," is
an example of this. If "dame" were a title of office, then one ought
not say "favored concubine (ji) Lady Qi." Moreover, the "Wai qi
zhuan" in setting forth the various offices pertaining to empresses and
consorts does not include a position of ji.
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).
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).
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.
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).
| Empresses and consorts | |