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 ...
Bohou, was an official who lived in 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 ...
of China. He later served as a high-ranking official in the state of
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. He had the reputation of being a model governor, valiant, loyal and wise. He was the grandfather of
Du Yu
Du Yu (223– January or February 285), courtesy name Yuankai, was a Chinese classicist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty.
Life
Du Yu was from Duling County ( ...
, the author of the most influential '' Zuo Zhuan'' commentary, who gave the work its modern form.
Early career
Du Ji was from Duling County (), Jingzhao Commandery (), which is in present-day southeastern
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
. When he was 19, he served in the convict labour section under the magistrate of Zheng County (鄭縣; present-day
Hua County, Shaanxi
Huazhou District (), formerly Hua County or Huaxian (), is a district of Weinan, Shaanxi province, China. It was upgraded from a county to a district in 2015. The district spans an area of , and has a population of about 324,300 as of 2012.
Hi ...
). He personally saw all of the hundreds of convicts in the county prisons, weighed the severity of their transgressions, and despatched them to their labours accordingly. Following this, he was nominated as a ''
xiaolian
Xiaolian (; literally "filial and incorrupt"), was the standard of nominating civil officers started by Emperor Wu of Han in 134 BC. It lasted until its replacement by the imperial examination system during the Sui Dynasty. In Confucian philosophy ...
'' and appointed as a ''fucheng'' (府丞; an aide) in the
Hanzhong
Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west.
The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...
stores office.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 16.494
Towards the
end of the Han dynasty
The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow ...
, Du Ji abandoned his post and fled south to
Jing Province
Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''.
Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...
(covering present-day
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
and
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
). He returned to the north sometime between 196 and 205, and was recommended to
Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
by
Xun Yu
Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life
Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around pr ...
. Du Ji was appointed as a Director of Justice () to under the Minister of Works (then held by Cao Cao), then sent west to Xiping Commandery (西平郡; present-day
Xining
Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau.
The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...
,
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
) to serve as the commandery's Administrator () and as Colonel Who Protects the Qiang ().
In 205,
Gao Gan
Gao Gan () (died 206), courtesy name Yuancai, was a minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was a maternal nephew and subordinate of the warlord Yuan Shao.
Life
Gao Gan was from an influential family in Yu Count ...
, a northern warlord and adopted nephew of
Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...
, rebelled against Cao Cao, to whom he had surrendered years earlier. Gao Gan convinced Wang Yi (), the Administrator of
Hedong Commandery
Hedong Commandery () was a historical region in the Qin and Han dynasties of ancient China.
Hedong was located to the east of the Yellow River in Shanxi (around present-day Yuncheng).
History
Hedong Commandery was established by the Qin state ...
(), to join him in the rebellion. Two other men from Hedong Commandery, Wei Gu () and Fan Xian (), claimed to have liberated cities for Cao Cao, while conspiring with Gao Gan.
The loss of Hedong Commandery greatly troubled Cao Cao, who saw its strategic location as critical to controlling China, and worried that the rebels could cause serious harm if they were to ally with
Liu Biao
Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...
, the Governor of
Jing Province
Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''.
Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...
, to their south. He asked Xun Yu to recommend him a great general the likes of
Xiao He
Xiao He (257 BC–193 BC) was a Chinese politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the insurrection against the Qin dynasty, and fought on Liu's side in the Chu–Han Co ...
or Kou Xun (), who substantially assisted the careers of the
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 ...
emperors Gaozu and Guangwu respectively. Xun Yu cautiously recommended Du Ji.
As the Administrator of Hedong Commandery
Cao Cao appointed Du Ji as the Administrator of Hedong Commandery, so Wei Gu and Fan Xian sent several thousand soldiers to close the ford of Shanjin (陝津; northeast of present-day
Sanmenxia
Sanmenxia (; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and Sh ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), one of the three major fords across the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
, and only route into Hedong from an area still under Cao Cao's control. Du Ji was unable to cross the river, so Cao Cao sent a large force under
Xiahou Dun
Xiahou Dun () (died 13 June 220), courtesy name Yuanrang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.''Sanguozhi'' vol.9. He served for a few months under Cao Cao ...
to attack the rebel forces.
Rather than waiting for Xiahou Dun's forces to crush the Hedong rebels, Du Ji chose to use subterfuge. At a smaller ford, he crossed the river alone, and granted Wei Gu and Fan Xian high military commands and civil offices in Hedong Commandery's administration. He proceeded to convince them that they had to move slowly in order to win over the people of Hedong, so they kept their forces in check for several weeks. Afterwards, Du Ji proposed that the generals, aides and clerks be permitted to visit their homes to see their families, and Wei Gu and Fan Xian allowed this, for fear of alienating the populace.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 16.495
Thus the rebel forces in Hedong lacked all middle and lower management, and Wei Gu and Fan Xian stayed put, training their troops while rebellion spread in adjacent commanderies. Having hollowed out the effectiveness of the rebel army from inside, Du Ji took his leave, accompanied by a few dozen horsemen. In a few weeks' time, he had mustered a force of over four thousand. Wei Gu's forces, along with Gao Gan and Zhang Sheng (), attacked Du Ji but could not dislodge him.
When Xiahou Dun's army arrived, Gao Gan and Zhang Sheng fled, while Wei Gu and Fan Xian were executed. Du Ji pardoned their assistants and conspirators, and sent them back to their old occupations. Thus it was that in the chaotic collapse of the Han dynasty, Hedong was one of the first commanderies stabilised under Cao Cao's rule, and with the least wasted effort and resources.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 16.496
As the commandery's Administrator, Du Ji promoted lenience and mercy, and aided the populace by exerting as little control over them as possible. When someone impeached him or spoke out against him, Du Ji would have the person summoned and explain to them his plans, with the command to think them over thoroughly. If there was something the person still did not understand, Du Ji would summon them again to explain more clearly. The local elders were greatly amenable to this policy, and quickly accepted Du Ji as a model governor. He would exempt particularly filial sons and dutiful wives from state labour, and taught improved farming methods to increase harvests. This achieved, he began teaching martial arts in the winters, and had the people keep their weaponry in good order. He opened a school where he personally taught from the
Chinese classics
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
.
In 211,
Han Sui
Han Sui () (140s - June or July 215According to Cao Cao's biography in ''Sanguozhi'', Han Sui was killed in the 5th month of the 20th year of the ''Jian'an'' era of Liu Xie's reign. This corresponds to 15 June to 13 July 215 on the Julian calend ...
and
Ma Chao
Ma Chao () (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma ...
drew up armies against Cao Cao in response to a suspected invasion of their lands. Cities throughout Hongnong and Fengyi commanderies rose in support, while Hedong Commandery remained firmly loyal, despite adjacency to the rebels. When Cao Cao marched west to confront them, his army was fed entirely by grain from Hedong, and after defeating Han Sui and Ma Chao there were still in excess of 4,000 hectolitres of grain left over. Cao Cao increased Du Ji's salary after this.
When Cao Cao was enfeoffed as the Duke of Wei by
Emperor Xian
Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
in 213, he appointed Du Ji as a Master of Writing (). Two years later, Cao Cao invaded Hanzhong Commandery and Du Ji sent 5,000 men to join Cao Cao's army in the campaign. According to the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', his soldiers were so loyal that not a single person from the Hedong battalion fled from combat.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 16.497 Cao Cao again compared Du Ji to Xiao He and Kou Xun, and said Hedong was like a limb to him.
Throughout the 16 years Du Ji governed Hedong Commandery, it was the most stable among all the commanderies in China at the time.
Service under Cao Pi
In 220, after Cao Cao's death, his son and successor
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...
, summoned Du Ji to
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
to serve as a Master of Writing (), in addition to enfeoffing him as a Secondary Marquis (). Later that year, Cao Pi usurped the throne from
Emperor Xian
Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
and ended the Han dynasty, after which he declared himself emperor of the state of Wei. After ascending the throne, Cao Pi promoted Du Ji from a Secondary Marquis to a village marquis under the title "Marquis of Fengle Village" (), with a marquisate comprising 100 taxable households. More substantially, Du Ji was appointed Colonel-Director of Retainers (), the executive officer in charge of the area surrounding the imperial capital and one of the most powerful positions in the civil bureaucracy.
In 222, Cao Pi led the Wei armies to invade Wei's rival state,
, in 222. He also promoted Du Ji to the position of Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (), entrusting him with administrating state affairs during the expedition. Two years later, when Cao Pi travelled to
Xuchang
Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...
, he left matters in Luoyang in Du Ji's hands again.
In 224, Cao Pi ordered Du Ji to assist in building his fleet for attacking Eastern Wu. Du Ji was in charge of the imperial
tower ship
Louchuan (traditional Chinese: , simplified: , pinyin: ''lóuchuán'', lit. ''tower ships'') were a type of Chinese naval vessels, primarily a floating fortress, which have seen use since the Han dynasty. Meant to be a central vessel in the fleet ...
, the fleet's central flagship. While testing the ship on the Tao River (), Du Ji's crew encountered heavy winds and the ship sank. Du Ji drowned in the river. Cao Pi is said to have wept upon hearing news of Du Ji's death, and wrote that he "epitomised loyalty". Du Ji was posthumously granted the office of Minister Coachman (), which his son Du Shu () inherited.
Historiography
The only surviving source for Du Ji's biographical information is the ''
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– ...
'', in which his life history is related unusually hagiographically. Conversations with no possible recorders are presented, and Du Ji is portrayed as a perfect, sagely governor who taught his subjects industry, culture and loyalty to the death. This is perhaps one of the faults of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' inherited from the ''Book of Wei'',Qu, 252 whose authors would have been sensitive to the fact that Du Ji's grandson was the emperor's uncle.
See also
*
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 ...