Sun Sheng (ca. 302–373),

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 Theobal ...

Anguo, was a Jin dynasty historian. He was a native of

Pingyao County Pingyao County is a county in Jinzhong in central Shanxi Province, China. It is home to Pingyao Ancient City, a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction, preserving a great deal of architecture from the Ming & Qing dynasties. It spans an area of , and, a ...

Jinzhong Jinzhong, formerly Yuci, is a prefecture-level city in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei province to the east. As of the 2020 census, its total population was 3,379,498 inhabitants whom 1,226,617 ...

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-level ...

. He was described to be very studious, and was never seen without holding a book in his hand from his youth to his old age.

Life

Sun Sheng's father Sun Xun (孫恂) was Grand Administrator of

Yingchuan Yingchuan Commandery ( zh, 潁川郡) was a Chinese commandery from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty, located in modern central Henan province. The name referred to the Ying River, which flowed through its territory. The commandery was e ...

(潁川), in present-day Henan and

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

. He was killed by bandits when Sun Sheng was nine, and the rest of the family fled to safety across the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

. In his young adulthood, Sun Sheng achieved fame as a serious scholar of the '' I Ching'', composing an essay which some of the leading luminaries of the time, including

Yin Hao Yin Hao (殷浩) (died 356), courtesy name Yuanyuan (渊源), was a Chinese politician of the Jin dynasty. Yin Hao was from an aristocratic family, and when he was young, he became known for intelligence and metaphysical discussions. He temporar ...

, Wang Meng, and

Xie Shang Xie Shang (308– 14 June 357), courtesy name Renzu, was a military general, musician and writer of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was a member of the Xie clan of Chen Commandery and was the elder cousin to the Jin prime minister Xie An. In ...

were unable to debate with him. Parts of the essay, "''The Symbols of the Book of Changes are More Subtle than the Visible Shapes of Nature''", survive and have been translated by Richard B. Mather. After entering politics, Sun Sheng served under

Tao Kan Tao Kan () (259 – 30 July 334According to Emperor Cheng's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Tao Kan died on the ''yimao'' day of the 6th month of the 9th year of the ''Xianhe'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 30 Jul 334 on the Julian calendar.� ...

Yu Liang Yu Liang (庾亮; 289 – 14 February 340), courtesy name Yuangui (元規), formally Marquess Wenkang of Duting (都亭文康侯), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Jin dynasty who impressed many with his knowledge but whose inab ...

, and

Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓� ...

, accompanying the latter into

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. On campaign, Huan Wen had taken his infantry to attack, and Sun Sheng was in charge of the weak, the elderly, and the baggage train, when they were suddenly set upon by thousands of bandits. The rearguard managed to rise to the occasion and drive them away. Huan Wen appointed Sun Sheng Marquis of Anhuai, in present-day

Pingnan County, Guangxi Pingnan (; za, Bingznanz) is a county in the east of Guangxi, China. It is both the easternmost and northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative divisio ...

, and he was attached to Huan Wen's household as a travelling secretary. Following Huan Wen's first two northern campaigns, Sun Sheng was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuchang (in present-day

Pingjiang County Pingjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Hunan province, China. It is the easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Yueyang. The county is located on the eastern margin of the province, the Miluo River runs th ...

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 appointed Grand Administrator of

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and th ...

. The poverty of his family drove him to engage secretly in trade; but although this breach of etiquette was discovered, he was not impeached, because of the great esteem in which he was held.''Book of Jin'', chapter 82, p 2148 He left Huan Wen's service under strained conditions, and ended his life in the position of Supervising Censor.

Works

Sun Sheng wrote the ''Wei Shi Chunqiu'' (; ''Chronicles of the Clans of Wei'') and ''Jin Yangqiu'' (; ''Annals of Jin''). A number of other works quoted by

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region later. He i ...

in his

annotation An annotation is extra information associated with a particular point in a document or other piece of information. It can be a note that includes a comment or explanation. Annotations are sometimes presented in the margin of book pages. For anno ...

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– ...

'' are attributed to Sun Sheng, including ''Yitong Zaji'' (; ''Miscellaneous Records of Similarities and Differences''), ''Shu Shi Pu'' (; ''Genealogy of Shu''), and ''Wei Shiji'' (; ''Records of the House of Wei''). All of his works have been lost, and survive now only in quotations.

Titles and Appointments Held

* Adjutant () * Marquess of Anhuai County () * Marquess of Wuchang County () * Grand Administrator of Changsha () * Supervising Censor ()

Family

:::*Great-great-grandfather: Sun Zi (d 251) ::*Great-grandfather: Sun Hong () :*Grandfather: Sun Chu () (d 293) *Father: Sun Xun () (d 311) *Children: **Sun Qian () **Sun Fang ()

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Sheng 4th-century Chinese historians 302 births 373 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) historians Jin dynasty (266–420) politicians