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 ...
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 younger brother of
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 ...
, a prominent politician and general who served as the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Life
Lu Mao was a younger brother of
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 ...
. His
ancestral home
An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
was in
Wu County
Wu County or Wuxian (; 221 B.C. – December 2000) is a former county and city located in modern Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Its name refers to its former status as the capital of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period.
Histo ...
,
Wu Commandery
Wu Commandery was a commandery of imperial China. It covers parts of the contemporary Northern Zhejiang and Southern Jiangsu. The capital of Wu commandery was Wu (today's Suzhou). Major counties of Wu commandery include Wu (county), Yuhang county ...
, which is in present-day
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
. At a young age, he was already known for being a keen learner and for valuing righteousness. Some of his friends – Chen Rong (), Puyang Yi, Jiang Zuan () and Yuan Di () – were from humble backgrounds but had great ambitions. Lu Mao, who was from a more affluent family, often shared his wealth with them. Xu Yuan (), who was also from Wu Commandery, moved to
Kuaiji Commandery
Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present- ...
. He had never met Lu Mao before, but before his death, he wrote to Lu Mao and requested Lu to help him take care of his young son. Lu Mao obliged, had a proper tomb constructed for Xu Yuan, and adopted Xu Yuan's son. Lu Mao's second cousin-uncle, Lu Ji, died early, leaving behind two sons and one daughter who were still very young then. Lu Mao adopted Lu Ji's children and raised them. They left him only after they reached adulthood. The commandery officials wanted to recruit Lu Mao to join the civil service but he refused.
Ji Yan, one of Lu Mao's colleagues, was notorious for being very critical of others. When he was serving as a Master of Writing in the Selection Bureau (選曹尚書; i.e., the equivalent of a present-day
human resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
officer), he often went around spreading news of scandalous incidents involving his colleagues just to show how harsh he could be in criticising others. Lu Mao advised him to forgive others for their past transgressions and focus on praising them for their virtues and contributions instead. He also urged Ji Yan to promote and strengthen a civil culture that might be beneficial to Wu's future developments. Ji Yan ignored Lu Mao's advice and eventually met his downfall.
In 232, Lu Mao was summoned to the Wu imperial court and was appointed as a Consultant () and Master of Writing in the Selection Bureau. The Wu emperor
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 ...
hated the warlord
Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan () (died September 238Cao Rui's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' indicated that Sima Yi laid siege to Xiangping on the ''bingyin'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jing'chu'' era. However, there is no ''bingyin'' day in that ...
for breaking his promise to ally with him against Wu's rival state,
. He planned to personally lead an army to attack Gongsun Yuan. Lu Mao wrote a
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
to Sun Quan to dissuade him from launching the campaign, in which he explained the perils of travelling far to attack a distant enemy and pointed out some negative consequences that may result from the campaign, such as the Shanyue tribes taking advantage of Sun Quan's absence to cause trouble in the Wu region. Sun Quan disagreed with Lu Mao. Lu Mao then wrote another memorial to Sun Quan, advising him to refrain from attacking Gongsun Yuan, and focus on maintaining stability in Wu and making long term defence preparations instead. Sun Quan felt that Lu Mao was very sincere when he wrote the memorial so he abandoned the idea of attacking Gongsun Yuan.
Wen Renmin (), a man from the same hometown as Lu Mao, once visited the Wu capital. He received a grand reception that was even better than that normally received by nobles. Lu Mao thought that this was inappropriate according to Confucian rules of propriety because he believed the level of the reception should be based on the person's social status. He was proven right later. He died in 239.
Family and relatives
Lu Mao's elder brother,
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 ...
. He held office for about a year as the third Imperial Chancellor of Wu before his death in 245. As Lu Xun and Lu Mao were orphaned when they were young, they were raised by their granduncle Lu Kang, who served as the Administrator () of Lujiang Commandery () 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 ...
. Lu Kang's son, Lu Ji, was a scholar who served as an official under Wu's founding emperor,
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 ...
. Lu Ji was also one of the 24 Filial Exemplars.
Lu Mao had at least three sons. There are no details about his first son in historical records. His second son was
Lu Xi
Lu Xie (盧攜) (died January 8, 881 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 254.), courtesy name Zisheng (子升), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving two terms as a chancellor duri ...
(), 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 Gongzhong () or Wenzhong (). Lu Xi was known for being studious and sociable. He served as a Master of Writing in the Selection Bureau () and later in the
Ministry of Personnel
The Ministry of Personnel was one of the Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam.
Functions
Under the Ming, the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of civil appointments, merit ratings, promotio ...
during the reign of the last Wu emperor,
Sun Hao
Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...
. After Wu was conquered by the Jin dynasty in 280, Lu Xi served in the Jin government as a Regular Mounted Attendant ().(吳錄曰：喜字文仲，瑁第二子也，入晉為散騎常侍。瑁孫曄，字士光，至車騎將車、儀同三司。曄弟玩，字士瑤。晉陽秋稱玩器量淹雅，位至司空，追贈太尉。) ''Wu Lu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 57.(陸曄，字士光，吳郡吳人也。伯父喜，吳吏部尚書。父英，高平相，員外散騎常侍，) ''Jin Shu'' vol. 77.
Lu Mao's third son, Lu Ying (), served as a Regular Mounted Attendant and as the Chancellor of Gaoping () in the Jin dynasty. Lu Ying's son, Lu Ye (), whose courtesy name was Shiguang (), also served in the Jin government and rose to the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry (). Lu Ye's younger brother Lu Wan (), whose courtesy name was Shiyao (), was known for being magnanimous. Lu Wan also served in the Jin government and held office as the Minister of Works. He was posthumously granted the position of Grand Commandant.
Appraisal
Chen Shou
Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...
, who wrote Lu Mao's official biography in 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– ...
'' (''Sanguozhi''), appraised Lu Mao as follows: "Lu Mao valued righteousness and gave pertinent advice. He may be regarded as a ''
junzi
A junzi ( or "Son of the Monarch") is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as "gentleman," "superior person",Sometimes "exemplary person". Paul R. Goldin translates it "noble man" in an attempt to capture both its early political and la ...
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– ...
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...