Shi Ji (died May 270), also known as Zhu Ji,

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 ...

Gongxu, was a Chinese military general of the state of

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

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 Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. He was the son of

Zhu Ran Zhu Ran (182 – March or April 249), born Shi Ran, courtesy name Yifeng, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Despite being a childhood friend of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, h ...

, a general who served 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 ...

Family background

Shi Ji was the son of

, a general who served under Wu's founding emperor

. Zhu Ran's family name was actually

Shi Shi or SHI may refer to: Language * ''Shi'', a Japanese titles#Shi, Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun * ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun * Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries * Shi language * ''Shī'', transliteration of ...

(施), but he changed his family name to Zhu (朱) as he was adopted by his maternal uncle

Zhu Zhi Zhu Zhi (156–224), courtesy name Junli, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was from Guzhang County (), Danyang Comm ...

. Shi Ji initially took on the family name of Zhu, but sometime between 254 and 256 he received permission from the second Wu emperor

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 ...

to change his family name to Shi.

Service under Sun Quan

With help from his father, Shi Ji started his career as a Gentleman (郎) serving the Wu imperial palace. Later, as he grew older, he was commissioned as a commandant under the title "Commandant Who Establishes Loyalty" (建忠都尉). After his uncle Zhu Cai (朱才) died, Shi Ji was put in charge of the troops who used to be under Zhu Cai's command. In 231, he followed

Pan Jun Pan Jun (died 239), courtesy name Chengming, was a minister and military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a minor official serving under the warlords Liu Biao and later Liu Bei in Jing Pro ...

on a campaign against rebellious local tribes in Wuling Commandery (武陵郡; around present-day

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi City, Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

), and became famous for his courage and strength in battle. Shi Ji subsequently served as a supervising officer in charge of dealing with bandits and robbers, and was known for sternly upholding the law. Through his actions, Shi Ji attracted the attention of Sun Ba, the Prince of Lu, Sun Quan's fourth son. When Sun Ba visited Shi Ji in his office and offered to start a friendship with him, Shi Ji knew his place so he remained humble (e.g. remained standing when Sun Ba sat down) and politely declined. Sometime in the 240s, a power struggle broke out between Sun Ba and his third brother Sun He, the Crown Prince, as the former wanted to seize the position of heir apparent from the latter. Two opposing factions also emerged from among Sun Quan's subjects: On one side, Shi Ji, along with

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 ...

Zhuge Ke Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military gene ...

Gu Tan Gu Tan ( 205–246), courtesy name Zimo, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Gu Tan's ancestral home was in Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. Th ...

Zhu Ju Zhu Ju (194–250), courtesy name Zifan, was an official and military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A son-in-law of Wu's founding emperor Sun Quan, Zhu Ju served briefly as the fifth Imperial Cha ...

Teng Yin Teng Yin (died 8 November 256), courtesy name Chengsi, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Teng Yin plotted the assassination of regent Sun Chen. However, Sun Chen discovered the plot, acc ...

, Ding Mi (丁密) and

Wu Can Wu Can (died 245), courtesy name Kongxiu, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life and service under Sun Ce Wu Can was from Wucheng County (烏程縣), Wu Commandery (吳郡), which is part ...

, believed that Sun He was the rightful heir apparent so they supported him. On the other side,

Bu Zhi Bu Zhi (died June or July 247), courtesy name Zishan, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a scholar of humble background, he became a subordinate of the wa ...

Lü Dai Lü Dai (161 – 21 October 256), courtesy name Dinggong, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Lü Dai started his career as a minor official in his h ...

Quan Cong Quan Cong (196–247 or 198–249), courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in present-day Hangzhou towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Quan Cong ...

Lü Ju Lü Ju (died 12 November 256), courtesy name Shiyi, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Lü Fan, a general who served under Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu ...

, Sun Hong (孫弘), Quan Ji (全寄), Yang Zhu (楊笁), Wu An (吳安) and Sun Qi (孫奇) supported Sun Ba. The power struggle ended in 250 when Sun Quan deposed Sun He and replaced him with

, and forced Sun Ba to commit suicide. When his father Zhu Ran died in 249, Shi Ji inherited his father's peerage as the Marquis of Dangyang (當陽侯) and was subsequently promoted to General Who Pacifies Wei (平魏將軍) and appointed as the Area Commander of Le District (樂鄉; east of present-day

Songzi Songzi () is a city in the southwest of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located in the middle reach and southern bank of the Yangtze River. It is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jingzho ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

). In 250, Wang Chang, a senior general from Wu's rival state Wei, led the Wei forces to attack the Wu-controlled Jiangling County (江陵縣; in present-day

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

). When Wang Chang was withdrawing his troops after failing to breach Jiangling County's walls, Shi Ji wrote to the Wu general

Zhuge Rong Zhuge Rong (after 204 - 253), courtesy name Shuchang, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the third son of Zhuge Jin, a military general who served under Wu's founding emperor Sun Q ...

: "(Wang) Chang has come a long way; he and his men are weary and their horses have no more fodder. Heaven is on our side. I don't have enough men to attack them so I hope you can lead your troops to support me. I will attack them from the front while you can mop them up from the rear. The glory won't be only mine; this is an opportunity for us to work together." After Zhuge Rong promised to help him, Shi Ji then led his troops to attack Wang Chang and his men at Jinan (紀南), which was located about 30 ''li'' away from Jiangling County. Although Shi Ji initially had the upper hand, he ultimately lost the battle when Zhuge Rong broke his promise and did not show up to help him. After the battle, the Wu emperor

praised Shi Ji, but severely reprimanded Zhuge Rong and wanted to relieve him of his appointment. However, he eventually pardoned Zhuge Rong as he had to " give face" to Zhuge Rong's brother

, whom he favoured and heavily relied on. As Shi Ji was initially already not on good terms with Zhuge Ke and Zhuge Rong, this incident further deepened the rift between him and the Zhuge brothers.

Service under Sun Liang

After

died in 252, his youngest son

became the next Wu emperor, with

serving as regent. In the same year, Sun Liang appointed Shi Ji as General Who Guards the East (鎮東將軍). In the spring of 253, when Zhuge Ke was away leading Wu forces to attack the Wei fortress of Xincheng at

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

, he requested support from Shi Ji's units but did not bring Shi Ji along and instead ordered him to remain at Banzhou (半州). He then granted his brother

acting imperial authority and ordered him to take command of Shi Ji's units and lead them towards the

Mian River Mian may refer to: People and languages *Mian (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Mian (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Mian family of Baghbanpura, a noble Arain family of Lahore, Pakistan *Mian ...

to attack Wei reinforcements coming from the west to reinforce Xincheng. In the winter of 253, Sun Jun, a distant cousin of Sun Quan, overthrew and assassinated Zhuge Ke in a ''coup d'état''. He then ordered Shi Kuan (施寬), Shi Ji, Sun Yi (孫壹) and Quan Xi (全熈) to lead their troops to

Gong'an County Gong'an County () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hunan to the south. It is under the administration of Jingzhou City. History During the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era, Gong'an County was k ...

to arrest Zhuge Rong. Zhuge Rong ultimately committed suicide while his three sons and Zhuge Ke's extended family were rounded up and executed. After the ''coup d'état'', Sun Jun became the new regent and he granted acting imperial authority to Shi Ji and ordered him to revert to his previous appointment as the Area Commander of Le District (樂鄉; east of present-day

). In 257, Shi Ji was promoted to General of Agile Cavalry (驃騎將軍), one of the top positions in the Wu military. In the previous year, following Sun Jun's death, his cousin Sun Chen succeeded him as the regent of Wu. When Sun Chen was in power, he caused fear and panic among the Wu officials when he started purging his political opponents. Shi Ji worried that Sun Chen's actions would lead to a civil war in Wu, and feared that Wu's rival state Wei would take advantage of the internal conflict to attack Wu. He then secretly contacted Wu's ally state Shu and requested their support. In response, the Shu government sent a general Yan Yu to lead 5,000 troops to stand by at

Baidicheng Baidicheng or Baidi Fortress is an ancient fortress and temple complex on a hill on the northern shore of the Yangtze River in China, 8 km east of the present day Fengjie County seat in Chongqing municipality. Overview The name ''Baidichen ...

near the Wu–Shu border and assist Shi Ji when necessary.

Service under Sun Xiu and Sun Hao

In 258, Sun Chen deposed the Wu emperor

, whom he had a falling-out with, and replaced him with his brother

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

. Later that year, with assistance from the generals Zhang Bu and Ding Feng, Sun Xiu ousted Sun Chen from power and executed him. At the beginning of his short reign, Sun Xiu appointed Shi Ji as Upper General-in-Chief (上大將軍) and Protector-General Controller (都護督), and ordered him to relocate his headquarters from Baqiu (巴丘; present-day

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...

) to Xiling (西陵; present-day

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

). Shi Ji continued serving under Sun Xiu's successor,

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 Sun Xiu died in 264. In the same year, Sun Hao appointed Shi Ji as Left Grand Marshal (左大司馬). Shi Ji died in 270. The '' Zhen'gao'' recorded that Shi Ji had a daughter, Shi Shunü (施淑女).(施淑女，山陽人，施績女也。 ��績，吳興人，孫皓時為驃騎將軍，守西陵，今雲山陽，恐女或出適，取夫家郡，不爾則乖。 ''Zhen'gao'' vol. 12.

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''). * * 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 ...