Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253),

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 ...

Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

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 of China. He was the eldest son of

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 ...

, a military general who served under Wu's founding emperor,

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 ...

. After Sun Quan's death in 252, Zhuge Ke served as regent for Sun Quan's son and successor,

Sun Liang Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...

, but the regency proved to be militarily disastrous due to Zhuge Ke's aggressive foreign policy towards Wu's rival state,

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

. In 253, he was ousted from power in a ''coup d'état'' and killed along with his family.

Early life and career

In 221, when the Wu king

designated his son Sun Deng as crown prince, he set up a staff for the crown prince composed of the sons of key officials in his government or other well-known younger members of the administration. The four most prominent ones were Zhuge Ke (

's son), Zhang Xiu ( Zhang Zhao's son),

Gu Tan Gu Tan ( 205–246), courtesy name Zimo, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Gu Tan's ancestral home was in Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangs ...

(

Gu Yong Gu Yong (168 – November or December 243), courtesy name Yuantan, was a minister and the second Imperial Chancellor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty in the Jiangdong ...

's grandson) and

Chen Biao Chen Biao (204 - 237), courtesy name Wen'ao, was an official and military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Chen Biao was a son of Chen Wu, a general who served under the warlord Su ...

( Chen Wu's son). Sun Deng treated the four of them as his close friends and they served as his advisers. When he ordered his secretary

Hu Zong Hu Zong (183–243), courtesy name Weize, was a government official, writer, poet and military general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Hu Zong was from Gushi County, Runan Commandery (), which is in ...

() to write a commentary on four of his advisers in 229, Hu Zong wrote that Zhuge Ke was the most skillful and intelligent of his generation. While this might have been true, Zhuge Ke was also known for being reckless – a negative trait that his father Zhuge Jin repeatedly chided him for. On one occasion, Zhuge Jin observed, "This child will either bring great honour to my household or destroy it." After Sun Quan declared himself emperor in 229 and again designated Sun Deng as his

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, the four attendants were promoted to commandants under various titles; Zhuge Ke continued playing a supporting role to Sun Deng. Among his four attendants, Sun Deng favoured and trusted Zhuge Ke and Gu Tan the most, and he regarded them more highly than others such as Fan Shen (范慎), Xie Jing (謝景) and Yang Hui (羊徽). After Hu Zong made his commentary public, Yang Dao (羊衜) commented to Hu in private on the four's shortcomings; Yang's criticism of Zhuge Ke was that "Yuanxun (Zhuge's courtesy name) is talented but neglectful." Later, Yang's criticism of the four became known to them, estranging them from Yang. However, eventually all four failed at politics, causing the people of Wu to comment that Yang's criticisms were valid.

Pacifying the Shanyue

Around 234, Zhuge Ke submitted a plan to Sun Quan to suppress the indigenous Shanyue tribes and recruit about 40,000 locals to serve as soldiers in Danyang Commandery (丹陽郡; around present-day

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

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 ...

). Most of Sun Quan's senior officials, including Zhuge Ke's father Zhuge Jin, considered the plan reckless and costly; Zhuge Jin was recorded to have commented, "If Ke does not bring great fortune to our clan, he'll bring great disaster instead.". However, after Zhuge Ke insisted that his plan would be successful, Sun Quan appointed him as the Administrator () of Danyang Commandery and General Who Pacifies the Yue (), effectively giving him full authority to implement his plan. Once Zhuge Ke arrived in Danyang Commandery, he requested the Administrators of the four neighbouring commanderies to seal their borders and refrain from using military force against the Shanyue. When it was the harvesting season, he gave orders to quickly harvest the grain and stockpile them far away from the Shanyue. The Shanyue, deprived of food supplies, had no choice but to surrender to Zhuge Ke, who treated them kindly and earned their respect. By 237, Danyang Commandery was completely under the Wu government's control and had become a highly productive commandery for manpower and supplies. Zhuge Ke was also able to easily fulfil his quota of conscripting 40,000 local men to serve as soldiers. Sun Quan was so impressed with Zhuge Ke that he promoted him to General Who Awes the North () and awarded him the title of a Marquis of a Chief District ().

Planned attack on Shouchun

In 243, Zhuge Ke planned to launch a major attack on Shouchun (壽春; around present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its p ...

), a strategic location in Eastern Wu's rival state,

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

. After he positioned his forces in preparation for the attack, the Wei general

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 ...

showed up with his troops to defend Shouchun and counterattack Zhuge Ke. Instead of allowing Zhuge Ke to engage Sima Yi, Sun Quan ordered him to retreat back to Wu. Despite his withdrawal, Zhuge Ke became famous among the Wu people for willing to stand up to Sima Yi, who had a huge reputation in Wei. The Wu general

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

was concerned about Zhuge Ke's recklessness so he wrote a letter to him, urging him to be more cautious in the future. Zhuge Ke decided to defer to Lu Xun, who was much more senior than him, so he wrote back and apologised for his attitude. After Lu Xun's death in 245, Sun Quan appointed Zhuge Ke as General-in-Chief () and ordered him to assume Lu Xun's role at Wuchang (武昌; present-day

Ezhou Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home ...

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 ...

) to supervise military affairs in Jing Province.

Appointment as regent

In 251, when Sun Quan became critically ill, he sought a regent for his young son and heir apparent,

. One of his close aides, Sun Jun, recommended Zhuge Ke. Although Sun Quan had second thoughts about Zhuge Ke, particularly his arrogance, he eventually heeded Sun Jun's advice and recalled Zhuge Ke back from Wuchang to the Wu imperial capital, Jianye. Before Zhuge Ke left Wuchang, the senior Wu general

Lü Dai Lü Dai (161 – 21 October 256), courtesy name Dinggong, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Lü Dai started his career as a minor official in his h ...

told him, "What you will be doing is a difficult task. Before you do anything, you should reconsider ten times." Zhuge Ke responded in a disrespectful manner: "When Ji Wenzi (季文子) reconsidered thrice before acting,

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

told him, 'Only reconsider twice.' You, Sir, are telling me to reconsider ten times. Are you not saying that I am stupid?" Lü Dai did not respond. Historians interpreted this incident as a sign of Zhuge Ke's growing arrogance and recklessness. Indeed, Zhuge Ke became more arrogant after his appointment as regent, and especially after a dying Sun Quan instructed his subjects to let Zhuge Ke review all important policy decisions first.

As regent to Sun Liang

Sun Quan died in 252 and was succeeded by

, who became the second emperor of Eastern Wu. After his coronation, Sun Liang appointed Zhuge Ke as

Grand Tutor The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...

(). During his short tenure as regent, Zhuge Ke relaxed some of the strict laws enacted in Sun Quan's reign and reduced tax rates. The people of Wu were very pleased with him; wherever he went, there were massive crowds jostling to get a better view of him.

Battle of Dongxing

In late 252, Zhuge Ke gave orders to rebuild the dam at Dongxing (東興; in present-day

Chaohu Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Ch ...

), which was constructed earlier in 230 but had been destroyed in 241. His plan was to create a reservoir near the Chao Lake and use it as a defensive structure against potential invasions from Wei, as well as to construct two castles nearby to serve as forward attack mechanisms for Wu ships. In response, the Wei regent

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, all ...

sent three separate forces to attack Wu, with the main one focusing on the Dongxing dam. Zhuge Ke, along with the veteran Wu general Ding Feng and others, caught the enemy off guard by pretending to lower their guard, and inflicted a devastating defeat on them and forced them to withdraw from Dongxing.

Battle of Hefei

In 253, Zhuge Ke prepared for another invasion of Wei and said that he wanted to take advantage of

's "youth and inexperience" (even though Sima Shi was 45 years old then). Despite strong opposition from some Wu officials, Zhuge Ke rallied an army from among all able-bodied men in Wu for the invasion. He also coordinated the invasion with

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 ...

, a general from 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'' <

a series of campaigns against Wei at Wei's western border.) However, Zhuge Ke's strategy turned out to be flawed when he switched his target from Shouchun (壽春; around present-day

) to

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

, even though Hefei's defences were much stronger and built to withstand enemy attacks. After a long siege, the Wu forces failed to breach Hefei's walls. When a plague broke out in the Wu army, Zhuge Ke ignored it and continued to press on the siege. He only withdrew after hearing that Wei reinforcements had arrived. Instead of returning to the Wu imperial capital Jianye to apologise for his mistakes, he stayed away from Jianye for some time and refused to take responsibility for the Wu defeat.

Downfall, death and posthumous rehabilitation

When Zhuge Ke returned to Jianye later in 253, he attempted to wipe out all dissent against him by punishing those who disagreed with him. He also made plans for another invasion of Wei, despite much resentment from the people over the heavy losses incurred from the previous campaign. Sun Jun, a Wu general distantly related to the Wu emperor

, decided to launch a ''coup d'état'' against Zhuge Ke to oust him from power. He lied to Sun Liang that Zhuge Ke was secretly plotting to usurp the throne and then set up a trap for Zhuge Ke. (The extent of Sun Liang's involvement in the ''coup d'état'' is unclear. However, historians traditionally consider him to have understood and approved Sun Jun's actions even though he was only about 10 years old then.) Zhuge Ke met his end at the hands of Sun Jun's assassins when he unsuspectingly attended a banquet hosted by Sun Liang in the imperial palace. After Zhuge Ke's death, Sun Jun used the opportunity to send his troops to capture and execute Zhuge Ke's family members. Sun Jun became the new Wu regent after Zhuge Ke's death and he monopolised state power until his death in 256, after which his cousin Sun Chen succeeded him and continued to rule as regent. In 258, Sun Chen deposed Sun Liang and replaced him with his brother

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

as the new Wu emperor. Sun Xiu staged a coup against Sun Chen shortly after his accession to the throne and succeeded in eliminating him. Sun Xiu posthumously rehabilitated Zhuge Ke and ordered him to be reburied with full honours. However, he refused to have a monument built to commemorate Zhuge Ke when someone suggested doing so, because he felt that Zhuge Ke's recklessness and the losses he caused to Wu made him unworthy of such commemoration.

Anecdotes and legends

An anecdote goes that sometime in Zhuge Ke's childhood or adolescence, he attended a banquet hosted by the Wu emperor

. Among the Wu officials, there was a joke that

(Zhuge Ke's father) had a very long face like a donkey's. Sun Quan played along by ordering a donkey to be brought to the banquet, bearing a sign which said "Zhuge Ziyu". ("Ziyu" was Zhuge Jin's

.) He then turned to Zhuge Ke and asked him to add any two

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

to the sign. Zhuge Ke added ''zhi lü'' (之驢; "the donkey of"), causing those present to roar with laughter. Sun Quan was impressed with the young Zhuge Ke's wit, and gifted the donkey to him. In another anecdote, also in a banquet setting, Sun Quan once asked Zhuge Ke whether he thought that his father Zhuge Jin was better compared to his uncle

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 ...

, the Imperial Chancellor of 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'' <

Zhang Zhao, the latter refused to drink and said, "This isn't the proper form for a ceremony to pay respect to an elder." After learning of Zhang Zhao's refusal, Sun Quan told Zhuge Ke, "Get Zhang Zhao to drink for me." Zhuge Ke then returned to Zhang Zhao and said, "Long ago, the great strategist

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve ...

, at the age of 90, went to battle holding a signal flag and carrying a battleaxe; he never considered himself old. In days of trial by arms, you are always in the rear; in days of feasting, you are always in the front. What do you mean when you say this is not a proper ceremony to pay respect to an elder?" At a loss for words, Zhang Zhao consented and accepted the wine offered by Zhuge Ke. After this incident, Sun Quan regarded Zhuge Ke even more highly and consequently appointed him as a close aide to his then-heir apparent, Sun Deng. On another occasion, an ambassador from Wu's ally state, Shu, showed up with a gift of horses for Sun Quan. Knowing that Zhuge Ke was a good rider, Sun Quan summoned him with the intention of giving him one of the horses. When Zhuge Ke arrived, he immediately knelt down and thanked Sun Quan for the gift. Sun Quan was surprised at how Zhuge Ke already knew why he was summoned there, so he asked him. Zhuge Ke replied, "Shu is only capable of serving as Your Majesty's stable. That is why I am certain that the ambassador came here to offer a tribute of fine steeds." Sun Quan was impressed.

Physical Appearance

In the ''

Record of Wu A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

'' (《吴录》), Chinese author Zhang Bo noted that Zhuge Ke was a loud spoken man and was about 182–184 cm tall, and that he had a crooked nose, wide forehead, large mouth, with little facial hair and eyebrows.(《吴录》曰：恪长七尺六寸，少须眉，折頞广额，大口高声。) ''Wu Lu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.64

Notes

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''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

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 ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhuge, Ke 203 births 253 deaths 3rd-century executions Eastern Wu generals Eastern Wu regents Executed Eastern Wu people People from East China Political office-holders in Anhui Political office-holders in Hubei People executed by Eastern Wu People executed by stabbing