Qin Lang ( 227–238),

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 Theo ...

Yuanming, was a military general of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China.

Family background

Qin Lang was born in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

and his ancestral home was in Xinxing Commandery (新興郡; around present-day Xinzhou,

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...

). His father was

Qin Yilu Qin Yilu (died 199) was a military officer who served under the general and warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Allowing for variant writing in the records, Qin Yilu was probably the same person as two others named Qin Yi ...

, a former subordinate of

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betr ...

, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. His mother was Qin Yilu's ex-wife, Lady Du (杜氏), who was taken by the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

as a concubine after Lü Bu's defeat and death at the Battle of Xiapi in 198. At a young age, Qin Lang accompanied his mother and joined Cao Cao's household. Cao Cao adopted Qin Lang as a son and doted on him. Once, during a banquet, Cao Cao told his guests, "Would someone love his foster son (referring to Qin Lang) in the same way as I do?"

During Cao Rui's reign

When Qin Lang grew up, he travelled around China and did not take up any appointments in the civil service or in the military. After Cao Cao's death in 220 CE, he remained in the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < 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 s ...

– during 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period. In 227, after Cao Rui, Cao Pi's son, ascended the Wei throne upon the death of his father, Qin Lang was appointed General of Valiant Cavalry (驍騎將軍) and Official Who Concurrently Serves in the Palace (給事中), and he constantly accompanied Cao Rui on his tours. During his reign, Cao Rui liked to pick on people's wrongdoings, and many people who committed minor offences were executed by him. Qin Lang never advised Cao Rui against his ways, nor did he recommend any talents to the Wei imperial court, but he was still nonetheless deeply favoured by the emperor, who often consulted him and called him by his childhood name "Ah-su" (阿穌). Cao Rui also showered gifts on Qin Lang and even had a large residence constructed in the capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyan ...

for the latter. Other officials were aware that Qin Lang was not much of a capable and talented person, but they knew that he was close to the emperor Cao Rui, so they often bribed him and attempted to curry favour with him. In return, Qin Lang used his status and close relationship with Cao Rui to help these officials get promotions and even titles of nobility. In the autumn of 233, the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

chieftain

Budugen Budugen (died 233) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He retained his independence by pledging allegiance to the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period and sending t ...

, who had previously surrendered to Wei, rebelled and collaborated with another Xianbei leader

Kebineng Kebineng (died 235) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He rose to power during the late Eastern Han dynasty after the warlord Cao Cao defeated the Wuhuan tribes in northern Chi ...

. Bi Gui, the Inspector of Bing Province in Wei, led an army from his province to attack the Xianbei but was defeated. Budugen and Kebineng became more united after that and they constantly raided Wei's northeastern borders. Cao Rui ordered Qin Lang to lead another army from the capital to attack the Xianbei, and Qin succeeded in driving the enemy far into the deserts in the north. By winter, Budugen's subordinates had surrendered to Qin Lang in Bing Province, so Qin and his army returned to Luoyang. In late 238, Cao Rui became seriously ill, and he wanted to appoint

Cao Yu Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 — December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important of the 20th century. His best-known works are '' Thunderstorm'' (1933), '' Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man'' (1940) ...

, Xiahou Xian (夏侯獻), Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao (曹肇) and Qin Lang to help him administer state affairs in his absence. Xiahou Xian and others had disagreements with the ministers

Liu Fang Liu Fang 1974) is a Chinese–Canadian musician who is one of the most prominent ''pipa'' players in the world. Described in the media as the "empress of pipa" (''L'actualité''), "divine mediator" (World), "the greatest ambassadress of ...

(劉放) and

Sun Zi The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrare ...

(孫資), so Liu Fang and Sun Zi managed to persuade Cao Rui to change his decision. Cao Rui then appointed Cao Shuang and

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

as the regents instead, while Qin Lang and the others were dismissed from office.

Descendants

Qin Lang's son, Qin Xiu (秦秀), was known for being a sturdy, strict and outspoken person. He served as an Academician (博士) in the Imperial University (太學) during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period.(世語曰：朗子秀，勁厲能直言，為晉武帝博士。) ''Shiyu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 3.

References

Sources

* 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''). * 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''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', Volume 72. {{DEFAULTSORT:Qin, Lang Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Cao Wei generals Family of Cao Cao

Family background

During Cao Rui's reign

Descendants

See also

References

Sources