Liu Ji (185–233),

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 ...

Jingyu, was an official of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

in the

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 was a descendant of the imperial clan 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 ...

and the eldest son of the minor warlord

Liu Yao Liu Yao (died 329), courtesy name Yongming, was the final emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han Zhao dynasty of China. He became emperor in 318 after most other members of the imperial Liu clan were massacred by Jin Zhun in a coup. However, the empir ...

Life

Liu Ji was of noble descent. His ancestor was Liu Fei, the eldest son of the

's founder, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao). His father,

, was a minor warlord who served as the Governor of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of the ...

from 194 to 198. When Liu Yao died in 198 in Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡; around present-day

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

), Liu Ji, then 13 years old, presided over his father's funeral. He received many condolence gifts from those who attended the funeral but he declined all of them. A year later, when the warlord

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...

passed by Yuzhang Commandery, he collected Liu Yao's remains, arranged a proper memorial service for Liu Yao, and treated Liu Yao's family kindly.

Wang Lang Wang Lang may refer to: *Wang Lang (Xin dynasty) (died 24), warlord during the Xin-Eastern Han transition *Wang Lang (Cao Wei) (died 228), minor warlord during the late Han period who became an official of Cao Wei *Wang Lang Market, in Bangkok Noi, ...

also advised Sun Ce to treat Liu Ji well: " ..The eldest son of Zhengli (Liu Yao) has great ambition. I believe there is something extraordinary about him. ..Wouldn't it be good to treat him with kindness?" Liu Ji grew up in poverty and hardship with his two younger brothers, Liu Shuo (劉鑠) and Liu Shang (劉尚). The environment trained him to be sensible and empathetic. He often slept late and woke up early. Even his wife and concubine(s) hardly saw him. His brothers respected and feared him, and treated him like their father. He also refrained from having a wide social network, and rarely hosted guests at home. Liu Ji had a good-looking appearance. Sun Ce's younger brother and successor,

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 ...

, highly respected and favoured him. In 219, when Sun Quan was appointed General of Agile Cavalry (驃騎將軍) by the Han imperial court, he recruited Liu Ji to serve as an Assistant in the East Bureau (東曹掾) and subsequently promoted him to Colonel Who Upholds Righteousness (輔義校尉) and Palace Gentleman Who Builds Loyalty (建忠中郎). In 221, after Sun Quan received the nominal

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

title "King of Wu" (吳王) from the Wei emperor

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 ...

, he appointed Liu Ji as Grand Prefect of Agriculture (大農令). He threw a feast to celebrate with his subjects. During the feast,

Yu Fan Yu Fan (, , ; 164–233), courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a Chinese essayist, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Com ...

, an official under Sun Quan, showed disrespect towards his lord. When an enraged Sun Quan drew his sword and wanted to kill Yu Fan, Liu Ji stood up, grabbed Sun Quan and pleaded with him to spare Yu Fan. He told Sun Quan, "If Your Majesty kills a good man when you're drunk, even if Yu Fan is in the wrong, who would understand the truth? Your Majesty is famous and respected because you showed acceptance and tolerance towards virtuous and talented people over the years. Is it worth ruining your good reputation in just one day?" Sun Quan said, "If Cao Mengde can kill Kong Wenju, why can't I do the same to Yu Fan?" Liu Ji replied, "Mengde killed virtuous people recklessly, hence he didn't win over people's hearts. Your Majesty promotes moral values and righteousness, and wishes to be compared to Yao and

Shun Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group * Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (� ...

. Why are you comparing yourself to him?" Sun Quan then spared Yu Fan and instructed his men to ignore his orders in the future if he was not sober when he ordered someone to be executed. On one hot summer day, when Sun Quan was feasting on board a ship, a thunderstorm suddenly broke out. After his servants came to shelter him from the downpour, Sun Quan ordered them to do the same for Liu Ji too, but not any other subject. This incident showed how much Sun Quan favoured Liu Ji. Liu Ji later became the Prefect of the Gentlemen of the Palace (郎中令). In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

, he appointed Liu Ji as Minister of the Household (光祿勳; or Superintendent of the Imperial Court), in addition to giving him some duties of a Master of Writing (尚書). Liu Ji died in 233 at the age of 49 (by

East Asian age reckoning Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...

). Liu Ji's daughter married

Sun Ba Sun Ba (before 235 - September or October 250), courtesy name Ziwei, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the fourth son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Eastern Wu. Life Sun Ba ...

, one of Sun Quan's sons. She lived in a first-class residence and received gifts from Sun Quan all year round. Sun Quan's treatment of her was equivalent to that of two of his other daughters-in-law –

Quan Huijie Empress Quan (244 – 300s), also known as Quan Huijie, was an empress of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was married to Sun Liang, the second emperor of Wu. Life Lady Quan was the daughter of Quan Shan ...

(

Sun Liang Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...

's wife) and Consort Zhang (

Sun He Sun He (224 – November or December 253), courtesy name Zixiao, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the third son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. In 242, he became the cro ...

's wife).(後權為子霸納基女，賜第一區，四時寵賜，與全、張比。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 49.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

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– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

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 ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Ji 185 births 233 deaths * Eastern Wu politicians

Life

See also

Notes

References