Xiang Chǒng (died 240) was a military officer 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. In the ''Chu Shi Biao'',

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 ...

named Xiang Chǒng as a capable subject of good character and someone well-versed in military affairs, and urged Liu Shan to put Xiang Chǒng's talents to good use. He was a nephew of the Shu scholar

Xiang Lang Xiang Lang (died 247), courtesy name Juda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Biao and Liu Bei (later the founding emperor of Shu Han) in th ...

Life

Xiang Chǒng was from Yicheng County (宜城縣), Xiangyang Commandery (襄陽郡), which is around present-day Yicheng,

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 ...

. His uncle,

, served under

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

, the Governor of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

(covering present-day Hubei and

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 ...

) in the late

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 ...

and later under 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 ...

, the founding emperor of the

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

period. Xiang Chǒng started his military career in Shu as an Officer of the Standard (牙門將) during Liu Bei's short reign from 221 to 223. During the

Battle of Xiaoting The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China ...

of 221–222, while the Shu forces were retreating after their defeat, only Xiang Chǒng's unit managed to retreat without sustaining any losses along the way. As a result, he received high praise from Liu Bei. In 223, when

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 ...

became the new emperor of Shu after his father Liu Bei's death, he enfeoffed Xiang Chǒng as a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯) and appointed him as a Central Chief Controller (中都督) among the imperial guards. Around 227 or 228, when

, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, was about to launch the first of a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, he wrote the ''

Chu Shi Biao The ''Chu Shi Biao'' refers to either of two memorials written by Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He presented them to Liu Shan, the second emperor of Shu. The first ''Chu Sh ...

'' to Liu Shan to explain his reasons for waging war against Wei and giving advice to the emperor on governance. In the ''Chu Shi Biao'', Zhuge Liang describes Xiang Chǒng as such Xiang Chǒng was later promoted to the position of Commandant of the Central Army (中領軍). In 240, he was killed in action while leading Shu forces to suppress a rebellion by local tribes in Hanjia Commandery (漢嘉郡; around present-day Lushan County,

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 ...

Xiang Chōng (向充)

Xiang Chǒng had a similarly named younger brother, Xiang Chōng (向充), who also served as a military officer in Shu. He initially held the appointments of Colonel of Trainee Archers (射聲校尉) and Master of Writing (尚書) in the imperial secretariat. When

died in 234, many people wanted the Shu government to build temples/shrines to commemorate him, but the government refused so many people privately built their own temples/shrines. When Xiang Chōng, then holding the position of a Palace Gentleman of Writing (中書郎), heard about it, he and Xi Long (習隆; an infantry colonel) wrote to the Shu emperor

to advise him to build a temple for Zhuge Liang in

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 ...

. Between 240 and 262, when the Shu general

Jiang Wei Jiang Wei (202 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Boyue, was a military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Gansu), Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer ...

led Shu forces on a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, Xiang Chōng and another official, Lai Zhong, served as Jiang Wei's subordinates. After the fall of Shu in 263, the Wei general

Wei Guan Wei Guan (220 – 25 July 291Although the exact day of Wei Guan's death was not recorded, Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'' recorded that he was killed together with Sima Liang, who died on 25 July 291. 永平元年)六月，贾后矫 ...

found jade ring and seal with the words "Chéng Xìn" or "Achieving Faith" etching on them. The people of Wei showed them to the officials and discussed about this before keeping it in the State's office. Xiang Chōng heard about this and declared During the same year, Xiang Chōng entered the service of the Wei government and was appointed as the Administrator (太守) of Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡; around present-day

). And the next year,

Sima Yan Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

became Emperor fulfilling the prophecy of "Yán Rising". Sun Sheng noted that in the past

Gongsun Shu Gongsun Shu (, died 24 December 36 AD) was the founder and only emperor of Chengjia, a state that controlled China's Sichuan Basin from 25 to 36. A successful official of the Western Han dynasty, Western Han and short-lived Xin dynasty, Xin dyna ...

rose in Chengdu and his state was named Cheng. Those jade's engraving were probably made by him.(孫盛曰：昔公孫自以起成都，號曰成氏，二玉之文，殆述所作乎！) Sun Sheng's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41.

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 ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiang, Chong Year of birth unknown 240 deaths People of Shu Han Three Kingdoms people killed in battle

Life

Xiang Chōng (向充)

See also

References