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 Theob ...
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 ...
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 Xinxing Commandery (新興郡; around present-day
Xinzhou
Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest ...
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 as a concubine after Lü Bu's defeat and death at the
Battle of Xiapi
The Battle of Xiapi was fought between the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei from the winter of 198 to 7 February 199 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. The battle concluded with victory for C ...
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 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 ...
– 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 Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later rem ...
, 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, Nanyang ...
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, 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 C ...
.
Bi Gui
Bi Gui (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaoxian, was an official serving in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Life
Bi Gui's father, Bi Zili (), served as a Colonel of Agriculture () in the late Eastern Han dyn ...
, the Inspector of
Bing Province
Bingzhou, or Bing Province, was a location in ancient China. According to legend, when Yu the Great (c. 2200 BC-2100 BC) tamed the flood, he divided the land of China into the Nine Provinces. Historical texts such as the ''Rites of Zhou'', and "Tr ...
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 Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Wei. He initially hel ...
, 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 (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 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.
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...