Zhou Bi (

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''Zhōu Bì''; 周毖, or 周珌; died 2 April 190) was an official 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 ...

. He was the son of Zhou Shen (). He was mentioned in the biographies of

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a so ...

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

and

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...

in the''

Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

'', and the biographies of

and Xu Jing 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– ...

''.

Life

His place of birth is uncertain; it was recorded as Hanyang () in Xu Jing's biography in the ''

'', and Wuwei () in

's biography in the ''

''.(“珌”作“毖”，字仲远，武威人。琼字德瑜。珌音秘。) ''Yingxiong Ji'' annotation in ''Houhanshu'', vol. 72 When

seized the power in September 189, Zhou Bi had Dong Zhuo's full confidence. Shortly after, Yuan Shao left the capital, laying down his public office. Zhou Bi, then Palace Attendant, joined the Colonel of the City Gates Wu Qiong and He Yong in jointly advising Dong Zhuo to appease the rage of Yuan Shao by appointing Yuan Shao as the Administrator of

Bohai Commandery Bohai Commandery (勃海郡 or 渤海郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around modern southern Hebei province. The commandery was established during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign. In Western Han, it ad ...

). In fact, Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong were secretly in league with Yuan Shao. Afterwards, he was made Minister of Civil Service Affairs (), and he, along with Wu Qiong, He Yong, Zheng Tai and Xu Jing took part in the personnel policy division of the

's administration by Dong Zhuo's orders, and they appointed Xun Shuang, Han Rong, Han Fu,

Kong Zhou Kong Zhou (died 190), courtesy name Gongxu, was an official and minor warlord who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Little is recorded about Kong Zhou in history. He was from Chenliu Commandery (), which is around present-da ...

Zhang Miao Zhang Miao (died 195), courtesy name Mengzhuo, was a Chinese politician and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early life and career Zhang Miao was from Shouzhang County (), Dongping Commandery (), which is in present- ...

Liu Dai Liu Dai (died 192), courtesy name Gongshan, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Liu Dai was from Mouping County (牟平縣), Donglai Commandery (東萊郡), which is in present-day Muping Distri ...

and Chen Ji, Zhang Zi and others to public offices. In January 190, as Yuan Shao and Zhang Mao raised an army and began a

campaign against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the ...

, Dong Zhuo thought out a plan to move the capital to Changan. Zhou Bi, then titled Colonel Who Inspects the Army (), along with Wu Qiong, Huang Wanand Yang Biao, opposed the Dong Zhuo's plan. In April 190, Dong Zhuo executed Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong, citing the reason that most figures who were appointed by them defected to the anti-Dong Zhuo forces.

References

190 deaths Executed Han dynasty people People executed by the Han dynasty by decapitation Han dynasty politicians from Gansu People from Wuwei Executed people from Gansu 2nd-century executions Year of birth unknown {{china-hist-stub