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 ...
Ziyuan was a Chinese military general of 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'' <
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. His younger sister, Empress Mu, was the empress consort of Shu's founding emperor,
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...
. Wu Yi had a younger relative,
Wu Ban
Wu Ban ( 221–239), courtesy name Yuanxiong, was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Life
Wu Ban was a son of Wu Kuang (吳匡), an official who served under the general He Jin during the r ...
, who also served as a general in Shu.
The
Sanguozhi
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 ...
recorded Wu Yi's name as 吴壹 instead of 吴懿 due to
naming taboo
A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...
(
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 ...
's given name was 懿).
Life
As information about Wu Yi's life was initially lost over the course of history,
Chen Shou
Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...
did not write a biography for Wu Yi in the ''
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'') in the third century. By the fifth century,
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 ...
managed to recover some information about Wu Yi's life and he added it as
annotations
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 ...
to Chen Shou's ''Sanguozhi''.
Wu Yi was from Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡), which is around present-day
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. Wu Yi lost his father while he was still young however his father was a friend of Liu Yan and so him along with his entire family accompanied Liu Yan into
Yi Province
Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...
(covering present-day
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 ...
and
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
) around 188 when the latter was appointed as the Governor of Yi Province by the central government of the
Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.
Following Liu Yan's death in 194, Wu Yi continued serving under Liu Zhang, Liu Yan's son and successor as the Governor of Yi Province. Liu Zhang appointed him as a General of the Household (中郎將). Between 212 and 214, when the warlord
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...
attacked Liu Zhang in an attempt to seize control of Yi Province, Wu Yi fought on Liu Zhang's side and led troops to fight Liu Bei's forces at Fu County (涪縣; in present-day
Mianyang
Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thre ...
,
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 ...
). However, he surrendered to Liu Bei after being defeated.
After completely taking control over Yi Province by 214, Liu Bei appointed Wu Yi as General Who Protects the Army and Attacks Rebels (護軍討逆將軍) and married Wu Yi's sister. In 221 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, after Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established 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'' <
Guanzhong
Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...
(關中都督).
After Liu Bei's death in 223, Wu Yi continued serving under Liu Bei's son and successor,
Liu Shan
Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...
. In 230, he followed the Shu general
Wei Yan
Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dy ...
to attack Nan'an Commandery (南安郡; southeast of present-day
Longxi County
Longxi is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Dingxi in the southeast of Gansu Province, China.
Administration
Longxi has twelve towns and five townships. The county seat is Gongchang.
;Towns:
;Towns upgraded to ...
,
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
), which was under the control of Shu's rival state, Wei. They defeated Wei forces led by
Fei Yao
Fei Yao ( 220–231) was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Life
Little information about Fei Yao is recorded in history; unlike other notable figures of the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three ...
in the battle. In recognition of Wu Yi's contributions, Liu Shan first enfeoffed Wu Yi as a village marquis (亭侯), but promoted him to a district marquis later under the title "Marquis of Gaoyang District" (高陽鄉侯). He also appointed Wu Yi as General of the Left (左將軍).
In 234, when
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...
, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, died, Liu Shan appointed Wu Yi as General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍), granted him imperial authority, and ordered him to oversee military affairs in Hanzhong Commandery. Liu Shan also appointed Wu Yi as the nominal Inspector (刺史) of
Yong Province
Yong Province or Yongzhou was the name of various regions and provinces in ancient China, usually around the Wei River or the imperial capital.
Geographical region
In the '' Book of Documents'', Yongzhou is mentioned as one of the legendary N ...
(because Yong Province was not under Shu control), in addition to promoting him to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Jiyang" (濟陽侯). Wu Yi died in 237.( 興二年，丞相亮卒，以壹督漢中，車騎將軍，假節，領雍州刺史，進封濟陽侯。十五年卒。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.
See also
*
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 ...
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– ...
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 ...
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 ...