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 ...
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.
Life
Yan Jun was from Pengcheng (), which is present-day
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
. He was known for being very studious since he was young and was well versed in
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
classics. When chaos broke out in central China towards the
end of the Han dynasty
The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow ...
, he migrated to the Jiangdong region in southern China, where he met and befriended other famous scholars such as
Zhuge Jin
Zhuge Jin (174 – July or August 241), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Zhuge Jin started his career in ...
and
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 ...
. He was known for being sincere, honest and committed to everything he did.
Sometime in the third century, Zhang Zhao recommended Yan Jun to serve under the warlord
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 ...
, who controlled the territories in Jiangdong. Sun Quan appointed him as a Cavalry Commandant () and Assistant Officer (). When Sun Quan's general
Lu Su
Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Zho ...
died in 217, Sun Quan wanted to let Yan Jun replace Lu and take charge of the military garrison at Lukou (陸口; around present-day
Jiayu County
Jiayu County () is a county of southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located on the southeast (right) bank of the Yangtze River. It is under the administration of Xianning
Xianning () is a prefecture-level city in southeaste ...
,
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 ...
). The other officials congratulated Yan Jun on his new appointment, but Yan Jun firmly declined and said: "I am only a simple scholar and I am unfamiliar with military affairs. If I take up this appointment which I am not suited for, there will be regrets later." He spoke very sincerely – to the point of breaking down in tears. Sun Quan then asked him to try riding on a horse, but he fell off after getting onto horseback, so Sun Quan decided to not let him replace Lu Su. Yan Jun received praise for being candid about his abilities.
In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of
, he appointed Yan Jun as Minister of the Guards () and sent him as an emissary to Wu's ally state,
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
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
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of Shu. He was known for being generous as he did not keep the gifts and rewards he received from others and instead distributed them among his relatives and close friends.
Sun Quan once asked Yan Jun to recite something he memorised in his childhood. Yan Jun thus recited "The Scope and Meaning of the Treatise", the opening paragraph of the ''
Classic of Filial Piety
The ''Classic of Filial Piety'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Xiaojing'', is a Confucian classic treatise giving advice on filial piety: that is, how to behave towards a senior such as a father, an elder brother, or a ruler.
The tex ...
''. Zhang Zhao, who was also present, remarked: "Yan Jun is a mediocre scholar. I humbly seek permission to recite for Your Majesty." After Sun Quan approved, Zhang Zhao recited "The Service of the Ruler", another paragraph in the ''Classic of Filial Piety''. Sun Quan's other subjects agreed that Zhang Zhao had a good understanding of what he should recite in front of the emperor.
Liu Ying (), a scholar from
Guangling Commandery Guangling Commandery ( zh, 廣陵郡) was a historical commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day central Jiangsu province in central coastal China. It was named after Guangling, a historical name of Yangzhou.
In e ...
(around present-day
Huai'an
Huai'an (), formerly called Huaiyin () until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Huai'an is situated almost directly south of Lianyungang, southeast of Suqian, northwest of Yancheng, almos ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), was an old friend of Yan Jun. Sun Quan heard about Liu Ying's talent and wanted to recruit him but Liu Ying claimed that he was sick and declined the offer. Not long later, Liu Ying's younger brother, Liu Lue (), died in office while serving as the Administrator of Lingling Commandery (零陵郡; around present-day
Yongzhou
Yongzhou, formerly known as Lingling, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and b ...
,
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 ...
), so Liu Ying travelled to Lingling to attend the funeral. Sun Quan concluded that Liu Ying lied about his illness so he ordered Liu Ying's arrest. When Yan Jun heard about it, he rushed to Lingling to inform Liu Ying and brought Liu Ying along to meet Sun Quan and apologise. Sun Quan was so furious that he dismissed Yan Jun from office. He spared Liu Ying, however.
After some time, Sun Quan recalled Yan Jun back to service and appointed him as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing (). It is not known when Yan Jun died, but the ''Wu Shu'' (吳書; ''Book of Wu'') recorded that he died at the age of 78 (by
East Asian age reckoning
Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...
). He was survived by two sons: Yan Kai () and Yan Shuang (). Yan Kai also served in the Wu government and his highest appointment was Minister Steward ().
Yan Jun wrote two books – ''Xiao Jing Zhuan'' () and ''Chao Shui Lun'' (). His discussions with Pei Xuan () and Zhang Cheng on the historical figures
Guan Zhong
Guan Zhong (; c. 720–645 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and politician. He served as chancellor and was a reformer of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. His given name was Yiwu (). ''Zhong'' was his court ...
and Ji Lu were also spread around.(畯著孝經傳、潮水論，又與裴玄、張承論管仲、季路，皆傳於世。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 53.
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 ...