courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Jiran, was a military officer of the state of
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of China. He previously served under the warlord Liu Zhang during the late
Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.
Service under Liu Zhang
Cheng Ji was from Langzhong County (閬中縣), Baxi Commandery (巴西郡), which is in present-day
Langzhong
Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a county-level city in northeastern Sichuan province, China, located on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong. Langzhong has a total ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
. He served as the Chief of Hanchang County (漢昌縣; in present-day
Bazhong
Bazhong () is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Sichuan province, China. Its population was 2,712,894 at the 2020 census whom 1,064,766 lived in Bazhou and Enyang urban districts.
History
Bazhong became a prefecture-level city in 1993. Its ...
, Sichuan) under the warlord Liu Zhang, who controlled
Yi Province
Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...
(covering present-day Sichuan and
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
) during the late Eastern Han dynasty. An ethnic minority group, the Cong (賨), lived in Hanchang County. They were known for being fierce and warlike; Emperor Gao, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, recruited Cong warriors to serve in his army when he conquered the
Three Qins
The Three Qins () refer to three of the Eighteen Kingdoms, the short-lived power-sharing arrangement formed in 206 BC after the collapse of the Qin Dynasty. The three kingdoms were located in Guanzhong Plain (in present-day central Shaanxi), the ...
in 206–205 BCE. Cheng Ji's immediate superior was
Pang Xi
Pang Xi ( 190s–210s) was an official serving under the warlords Liu Yan, Liu Zhang (Liu Yan's son) and Liu Bei during the Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Life
Pang Xi was from Henan County (), Henan Yin (), which is in present-day Luoyang, H ...
, the Administrator of Baxi Commandery, because Hanchang County was under Baxi Commandery's jurisdiction, and Baxi Commandery was administered by Yi Province.
As chaos broke out throughout China towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Pang Xi wanted to improve security within Baxi Commandery, so he recruited more men to serve as soldiers. Around the time, Liu Zhang heard rumours that Pang Xi was planning to rebel against him and became more suspicious of Pang Xi. When Pang Xi heard about it, he became fearful and started making preparations to increase the strength of his military forces. He also sent Cheng Yu (程郁), Cheng Ji's son, who was serving in the commandery office, to persuade Cheng Ji to support him in rebelling against Liu Zhang. Cheng Ji wrote to Pang Xi: "Your original intention in recruiting more soldiers was not to start a rebellion. There might have been some misunderstanding, but what is more important is you are performing your duties. If you are fearful and start thinking of rebelling, I will not listen to you." He also wrote to Cheng Yu: "I received grace from the provincial government, so I am obliged to do my best to serve the Governor. You are serving in the commandery office, so you should do your best to serve the Administrator. You should not be thinking of rebelling." Pang Xi sent a message to Cheng Ji: "Your son is serving in the commandery office. Your family will be in trouble if you do not obey the Administrator!" Cheng Ji replied: "Yue Yang (樂羊) ate his son's flesh not because he did not love his son, but because he was doing so for the sake of upholding righteousness. If you were to make me do the same thing, I will do it." Pang Xi realised that Cheng Ji would never support him, so he abandoned the idea of rebelling against Liu Zhang; instead, he apologised to Liu Zhang and was pardoned. When Liu Zhang heard about Cheng Ji's loyalty towards him, he promoted Cheng Ji to serve as the Administrator of Jiangyang Commandery (江陽郡; around present-day
Luzhou
Luzhou (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Luzhou dialect: ), formerly transliterated as Lu-chou or Luchow, is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, China. The city, named Jiangyang until the Southern and Northern Dyna ...
, Sichuan).
Service under Liu Bei
Cheng Ji came to serve under the warlord
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...
Yi Province
Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...
from Liu Zhang. Liu Bei appointed him as an Assistant Officer and Libationer (從事祭酒).
In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established the state of
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
, his former ally, and started the
Battle of Xiaoting
The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China ...
. After about six months of stalemate since the beginning of 222, Sun Quan's forces, led by
Lu Xun
Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...
, suddenly launched a counterattack, burnt down several Shu camps in a fire attack, and forced the remaining Shu forces to retreat. Cheng Ji remained behind to cover the retreat. As the enemy approached, someone urged him to abandon his boat and escape, but he replied: "I have never fled from battle throughout my career. Besides, the Emperor is currently in a dangerous situation." When the enemy showed up, Cheng Ji wielded a '' ji'', fought fiercely and managed to sink some enemy boats before he was eventually overwhelmed by the enemy and killed.
Family
Apart from Cheng Yu (程郁), Cheng Ji had another son, Cheng Qi (程祁), whose
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
was Gonghong (公弘). Cheng Qi was noted for his brilliance, but he died at the age of 19.
Appraisal
In his ''Ji Han Fuchen Zan'', the Shu official Yang Xi praised Cheng Ji for displaying steadfast loyalty and exemplary courage during the
Battle of Xiaoting
The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China ...
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...