Shou Liang was born in Chengdu, Shu Commandery (蜀郡), which is present-day
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 ...
, Sichuan. His father and grandfather served as Administrator of Qianwei (犍為太守). In his youth, Shou Liang was well known alongside Zhang Wei (張微) and Fei Ji (費緝) with both of them born in Wuyang, Qianwei Commandery (犍為郡), which is present-day
Pengshan County
Pengshan District () is a district of the city of Meishan, Sichuan Province
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" b ...
, Sichuan. Shou Liang specialized in the study of the '' Spring and Autumn Annals'' and had a complete understanding of '' Five Classics''. Furthermore, he was a man of righteousness and integrity. He served as a junior official, a Cavalier Attendant (散騎) then Gentleman at the Yellow Gates (黃門侍郎) in 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'' <
Conquest of Shu by Wei
The Conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the dynastic state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in late 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu Han and the tripartite equi ...
, he was appointed as a county's Registrar (主簿) then as Official in Charge of Historical Records (上計吏). Although, he was nominated as '' xiaolian'' (civil service candidate), he refused the appointment. Thereafter, he was reallocated as Registrar (主簿) of the Yi province, as Attendant Clerk (治中) then as ''Bieja'' (別駕; important assistant to the governor of the province) where he was recognized for his talent and good behavior.
Huang Fuyan (皇甫晏), the Inspector of Yi Province (益州刺史) recommended him to serve at the
Three Departments
The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) a ...
as a ''Dazai'' (太宰; high ranking official). Following this, he was appointed as Prefect of Bacheng (霸城令) and Administrator of Xingping (始平太守) where his governance was highly praised. He was reallocated as Inner Clerk (內史) of Fufeng (扶風) and Qin state (秦國).
In 279, After the death of Wen Li. the Prefect of Wen County (溫縣令), Li Mi sent a memorial to the Emperor that said: "The officials and scholars of Liang and Yi provinces are fews, those with talent not yet blooming and others living to look after their personal comfort. Shou Liang should be given this opportunity to join the imperial court, he is the hope of the two provinces. And fitting to meet the expectation of this promotion while carrying on Wen Li's legacy."
Therefore, Sima Yan employed as Gentleman at the Yellow Gates (黃門侍郎), simultaneously appointed as ''jishìzhong'' (給事中; "Serving within the Palace") and Inspector of Liang Province (梁州刺史). Later, he was relocated to the imperial court to serve as Cavalier Gentleman-in-Attendance (散騎侍郎). He died while serving as Grand Prolonger of Autumn (大長秋; "Empress chamberlain"). He was buried in the Mangshan (芒山) Mountains in Luobei (洛北).
Appraisal and anecdote
Chang Qu, who wrote Shou Liang's biography in the '' Chronicles of Huayang'' (''Huayang Guo Zhi''), appraised Shou Liang as follows: "Loyal and sincere, clearly wise and devoted to honesty." Shou Liang was among the descendants of former Shu officials recommended by
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 ...
to Sima Yan to be employed. At the time, each of them were renowned.
According to the ''Jin Shu'', Chen Shou collected and compiled the writings of Zhuge Liang during his early career under the Jin dynasty. The compiled text was called ''Shu Xiang Zhuge Liang Ji'' (蜀相諸葛亮集; ''Collection of the Shu Chancellor Zhuge Liang''). The ''Huayang Guozhi'' mentioned that later on, Zhang Hua proposed to Emperor Wu to have the text reorganized and composed as a 24-volumes. At the time, Shou Liang was also doing his own research on Zhuge Liang's works, with his outcome quite different from Chen Shou's original version. In the end, the text was rewritten, and became the ''Zhuge Liang Gushi'' (諸葛亮故事; ''Stories of Zhuge Liang'').
Zhang Wei
Zhang Wei (張微), whose courtesy name, was Jianxing (建興), was the son of Zhang Yi. He was earnest in his studies with good knowledge. He served as the Administrator (太守) of Guanghan (廣漢; around present-day Guanghan, Sichuan) during the Jin dynasty.
Fei Ji
Fei Ji (費緝), whose courtesy name, was Wenping (文平), was known for his integrity and conscientiousness in his duties. He was recommended as a ''xiucai'' (秀才; person who passed the county level imperial exam). Then appointed as Prefect of Licheng (歷城令), Administrator of Fuling (涪陵太守) and transferred as Inner Clerk (內史) of Qiao State (譙国).(緝字文平，清檢有治幹，舉秀才，歷城令，涪陵太守。遷譙內史。) ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' vol. 11. 13.
See also
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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 ...
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 ...