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 ...
Shaoxian, was a military general 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. His father,
Huo Jun
Huo Jun ( 178–217), courtesy name Zhongmiao, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Liu Bei thought very highly of Huo Jun and in a letter to Zhuge Liang praised him as a great warrio ...
, served under
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 ...
, the founding emperor of Shu. During his service under the Shu emperor
Liu Shan
Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...
, Huo Yi suppressed tribal rebellions in the restive Nanzhong region and maintained peace in the area. After Shu was conquered by its rival state
in 263, Huo Yi surrendered to the Wei regime and was permitted to remain in charge of keeping the peace in Nanzhong. In return, Huo Yi became a Wei subject and presumably continued serving under the Jin dynasty, which replaced the Wei regime in 265.
Early life and career
Huo Yi's father was
Huo Jun
Huo Jun ( 178–217), courtesy name Zhongmiao, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Liu Bei thought very highly of Huo Jun and in a letter to Zhuge Liang praised him as a great warrio ...
, a general who served 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 ...
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 ...
and died sometime in the late 210s. 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'' <
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
). Liu Bei died in 223 and was succeeded by his son
Liu Shan
Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...
, who appointed Huo Yi as an Internuncio (謁者) after his enthronement.
Between 227 and 234, when Shu's
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
-regent
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...
was stationed in
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 ...
Commandery
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
, he requested for Huo Yi to be transferred to his office. Huo Yi worked together with Zhuge Liang's adoptive son Zhuge Qiao during this period of time.
Huo Yi was appointed as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (黃門侍郎) after Zhuge Liang died in 234. Later, when Liu Shan designated his son Liu Xuan as his heir apparent, he appointed Huo Yi as a ''zhongshuzi'' (中庶子; an aide) to Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan enjoyed horse-riding and archery and used to behave recklessly, but Huo Yi managed to use teachings from ancient classics to persuade Liu Xuan to improve his behaviour and he succeeded in doing so.
Service in the South
He was later reassigned to be in charge of military affairs in the Nanzhong region in the southern part of Shu. When the tribal peoples in Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡) caused trouble, Huo Yi was appointed as the Administrator of Yongchang and was ordered to lead troops to attack the tribes. Huo Yi achieved victory as he killed the tribal chiefs, destroyed their bases and restored peace at the borders of Yongchang. For his contributions, he was promoted to General Who Inspects the Army (監軍將軍) and appointed as the Administrator of Jianning Commandery (建寧郡), effectively being in charge of affairs in Nanzhong.
According to the ''
Huayang Guo Zhi
The ''Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' () is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during the Jin Dynasty. It contains roughly 110,000 characters. Its contents comprise history, geography and ...
'', Yan Yu (閻宇) of Nan commandery (南郡) was put in charge of governing the south after Zhang Biao's death during Shu Han early Jingyao (景耀; 258–261). To help him, Huo Yi born from the same commandery as Yan Yu served under him as his deputy. As his assistant, Huo Yi demonstrated exceptional aptitude therefore he succeeded Yan Yu in 263 as General Who Diriges The Army (監軍) and General Who Stabilises the South (安南將軍).
During his tenure, Huo Yi worked to pacify foreign customs, promoted fair legislation and educated the common people. Soon the region was prosperous and the resources whether they were rare or common became plentiful. The foreigners and Han citizens safe from danger. When the Jin dynasty succeeded Shu Han, Huo Yi was confirmed in his position. At the same time, the province of Jiaozhi was not yet conquered however Huo Yi received the rank of Inspector of Jiaozhi Province (交州刺史) to administrate it from afar and could nominate and appoint his own chief officials.
At the end of the year 263, the state of
launched a campaign against Shu with the aim of vanquishing its rival state. Huo Yi along with the newly appointed commander of the Badong Commandery (巴東郡)
Luo Xian
Luo Xian (died 270), courtesy name Lingze, was a military general of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period. He is best known for defending his position at Yong'an (present-day Fengj ...
did well in keeping order in their respective regions and led their officials to yield when they learned that Liu Shan surrender. Thanks to this reasonable conduct, both of them remained in their previous positions and received gifts and high praises from the capital.
When Huo Yi received news of the invasion, he wanted to lead troops from Nanzhong to assist in the defence of the Shu capital
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
, but Liu Shan already made his mind and rejected Huo Yi's suggestion then surrendered to the Wei general Deng Ai, bringing an end to the Shu regime. Huo Yi donned mourning garments and lamented greatly the fall of Shu for three days, after which his subordinates urged him to follow in his lord's footsteps by surrendering to Wei as well. Huo Yi refused to surrender and stated that he would fight to the death unless he was assured that Liu Shan was safe and was treated well after submitting to Wei.
He declared to them :
Upon receiving news that Liu Shan was not harmed and had moved from Chengdu to the Wei capital
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 ...
, he officially surrendered to Wei, leading all the defensers of the six commanderies to dispatch a Memorial :"I your Servant, long I have head that the occurrences of the State take prominence over a man's life, that when a difficulty arose a loyal man should offer his life. However now that the State of your Servant is overwhelmed and his ruler submitted. I believe that a defence to the death would be pointless therefore we entrust and pledge to the new State to commit to his service with full resolution."
The Wei regent
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been ...
was very pleased so he appointed Huo Yi as the Area Commander (都督) of Nanzhong and allowed the latter to remain in charge of Nanzhong. Huo Yi later sent troops to rescue Lü Xing (呂興) and successfully pacified the three commanderies of Jiaozhi (交阯), Rinan (日南) and Jiuzhen (九真). For his contributions, he received a marquis title and other rewards from the Wei imperial court. Huo Yi's grandson, Huo Biao (霍彪), served as the Administrator of Yuexi/Yuesui Commandery (越嶲郡) during the Jin dynasty.
Legacy
At the time the ''
Huayang Guo Zhi
The ''Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' () is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during the Jin Dynasty. It contains roughly 110,000 characters. Its contents comprise history, geography and ...
'' is written (mid of the 4th century), the local officials still follow Huo Yi's example by being respectful of the traditions of the foreign tribes and merciful when judging them. After Huo Yi's death, his son Huo Zai (霍在) inherited the command of his soldiers and led them to establish peace with the leading clans of the south.(今官和解夷人及適（謫）罰之，皆依弋故事。弋卒，子在襲領其兵，和諸姓。) ''Huayang Guozhi'' vol. 4.
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 ...
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 ...