Zhuge Jing (fl. 257-284),

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 ...

Zhongsi, was a Chinese military general and politician 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. Though originally from

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

, he was sent to Wu as a hostage during the rebellion of his father,

Zhuge Dan Zhuge Dan (died 10 April 258), courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, h ...

, in 257. After his father's death in 258, Zhuge Jing continued to stay in Wu where he served as a general until the state's demise in 280 which ended the Three Kingdoms.

Life

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion

Not much is known of Zhuge Jing's early life apart from his family being from Yangdu County (present-day Yishui,

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

Langya Commandery Langya Commandery ( zh, , ) was a commandery in historical China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day southeast Shandong and northeast Jiangsu. The commandery was established in Qin dynasty on the former territories of Qi. Fro ...

. His father, Zhuge Dan, held important appointments in the Wei government and was involved in putting down major rebellions against Wei in 251 and 255. However, as his close associates were purged by the paramount Sima clan, he became fearful of his position and

rebelled Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

Shouchun 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 po ...

in 257. To ensure an alliance with Wei's rival, Eastern Wu, Dan sent Jing to Wu's capital at Jianye as a hostage. Dan's rebellion came to an end in 258 when he was slain by the general

Hu Fen HU or Hu may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hu Sanniang, a fictional character in the ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature * Tian Hu, one of the antagonists in the ''Water Margin'' * Hollywood Unde ...

. Zhuge Jing's family was exterminated as punishment for Dan's insurrection, although one of his sisters was spared due to her marriage with one of the Sima clan's member,

Sima Zhou Sima Zhou (227 – 12 June 283), courtesy name Zijiang, was an imperial prince and military general of the Jin dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. Life in Cao ...

. Zhuge Jing did not return to Wei and instead remained in Wu where he served as an officer in his new state. There, he grew to the position General of the Right (右将军) and Grand Marshal (大司馬).

Shi Dan's revolt

In 264,

Sun Hao Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...

ascended the throne in Wu, and by 266, 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'' <

Jin Dynasty. In 265, Sun Hao moved the capital from Jianye to

Wuchang Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...

. As Sun Hao moved to Wuchang, he left Zhuge Jing and another general, Ding Gu (丁固), to defend Jianye. In November to December 266, seeing Sun Hao's absent from Jianye, a bandit named Shi Dan (施但) took the opportunity to kidnap Sun Hao's brother Sun Qian (孫謙), hoping to install him as the new emperor. He then rebelled and gathered 10,000 men under his wing before making his way to Jianye. When Shi Dan arrived at the old capital, he sent an envoy to Zhuge Jing inviting him to join his revolt. However, Jing beheaded the envoy, and together with Ding Gu, went out to battle Shi Dan at Niutun (牛屯; southeast of present-day

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

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 ...

). Shi Dan's men were poorly armoured, so they were easily defeated and scattered. Sun Qian was rescued by the generals, but Sun Hao executed him as he thought Qian was a willing conspirator in the revolt.

Battle of Hefei (268)

In 268, Zhuge Jing and Wu's Grand Marshal Ding Feng marched from Que Slope (芍陂; south of 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 A prefectur ...

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 ...

) and attacked Jin at

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 ( ...

, which was defended by Shi Bao. However, they were defeated by reinforcements led by Sima Jun. Ding Feng exchanged letters with Shi Bao regarding trivial matters, and after compromising, both sides retreated.

Conquest of Wu

At the end of 279,

Emperor Wu of Jin 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, ...

launched a full-scaled invasion on Wu. As Jin forces advanced towards the capital in Jianye, Zhuge Jing with Shen Ying (沈瑩) and Sun Zhen (孫震), under the command of the Wu Chancellor

Zhang Ti Zhang Ti (?–280), courtesy name Juxian, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He was the last Imperial Chancellor of Wu. In 280, when the Jin dynasty invaded Wu as part of it ...

headed out with 30,000 men to repel the Jin commander, Wang Hun. They besieged Wang Hun's subordinate, Zhang Qiao (張喬), at Yanghe (杨荷; north of present-day

He County He County or Hexian () is a CPRC, county in the east of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Ma'anshan. It has a population of 650,000 and an area of . The government of He County is located in Liyang Town. Histor ...

), who surrendered due to being outnumbered. Zhuge Jing advised Zhang Ti to execute Zhang Qiao and his men, as he believed that Zhang was only waiting for Jin reinforcements to arrive. Zhang Ti ignored his warnings and continued towards Wang Hun. The Wu forces then fought against the Jin Provisional Governor of

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

, Zhou Jun (周浚), but this time, they were repelled. As they retreated, the Jin generals pursued and attacked them. As Jing had predicted, Zhang Qiao then rebelled, and the Jin forces decimated Wu at Banqiao (版橋; south of present-day

). Zhuge Jing broke out with a few hundred men before returning to find Zhang Ti. Once finding him, Jing tried convincing Zhang Ti to flee, but he was determined to stay and die fighting. Jing attempted to pull him away from the scene, but without success. In the end, he wept and left without Zhang Ti. It was said that after moving a hundred pace, he looked back and saw that Jin soldiers had already killed Zhang Ti.

Life after the fall of Wu

After Wu capitulated in 280, Sun Hao and some former Wu officials, including Zhuge Jing, were relocated to

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

. Emperor Wu was a childhood friend of Zhuge Jing and wanted to get in touch with him. However, Zhuge Jing still bore a grudge against the Sima for the death of his family members and refused to meet him. According to a story from the ''

Shishuo Xinyu ''A New Account of the Tales of the World'', also known as ''Shishuo Xinyu'' (), was compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (Liu I-ching; 劉義慶; 403–444) during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) of the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589 ...

'', the emperor, knowing that his uncle Sima Zhou was married to Jing's elder sister, decided to visit their home to find Jing. When Jing heard of the emperor's arrival, he attempted to hide in the lavatory but was eventually discovered by Emperor Wu. The emperor spoke to him, "Today, we finally meet each other again," to which Jing replied tearfully, "I regret not being able to cover my body in paint and remove the skin from my face before I meet Your Majesty again!", alluding to the stories of

Yu Rang Yu Rang (traditional 豫讓; simplified 豫让, ?-453 BC) was a famous Chinese assassin in the Spring and Autumn period. Life according to the legend Yu Rang was an assassin in the early days of the Warring States period The Warring Sta ...

and Nie Zheng. Emperor Wu then left the home in shame. Emperor Wu offered Zhuge Jing the appointment of Grand Marshal and later Palace Attendant (侍中), but on both occasions, Jing refused. He returned to his hometown to live the rest of his life as a commoner. Until his death, it is said that he never sat facing the direction of Luoyang due to his grudge. He had at least two sons,

Zhuge Hui Zhuge in Chinese, Jegal in Korean, Gia Cát in Vietnamese or Morokuzu in Japanese is a compound surname in East Asia. It is ranked 314th in ''Hundred Family Surnames'' in China. The surname has often been synonymous with wisdom in Chinese culture ...

(诸葛恢) and Zhuge Yi (諸葛頤), who both served in the Jin government.

Anecdote

Conversation with Sun Hao

Sun Hao once asked Zhuge Jing in court, "Gracious minister Zhongsi, what are you thinking about?" Zhuge Jing told him, "When at home I think about filial piety; when at work I think of devotion; when I'm with friends I think of trust; that's all there is to think about."(諸葛靚在吳，於朝堂大會。孫皓問：「卿字仲思，為何所思？」對曰：「在家思孝，事君思忠，朋友思信，如斯而已。」) ''A New Account of the Tales of the World,'' Volume 2.21

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Zhuge Jing appears as a minor character in

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

's 14th century historical novel, ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', which romanticizes the events before and during the

period. He appears in the final chapter of the novel, Chapter 120, which covers the Conquest of Wu by Jin. He and Shen Ying followed Zhang Ti to resist the invading Jin forces at Niuzhu (牛渚; in present day,

Ma'anshan Ma'anshan (), also colloquially written as Maanshan, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of Anhui province in Eastern China. An industrial city stretching across the Yangtze River, Ma'anshan borders Hefei to the west, Wuhu to the south ...

). As Jin marched into Wu with little difficulty, Zhang Ti sent the two generals to check on the enemy advances. When reports of a strong Jin army arriving reached the generals, the two rushed in a panic to inform Zhang Ti about the situation. Jing was convinced that Wu was lost and urged Zhang Ti to flee. After his proposal was rejected, he wept and left Zhang Ti and Shen Ying to their fate.

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''). * Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Liu, Yiqing (ed.) ( 5th century). ''

A New Account of the Tales of the World ''A New Account of the Tales of the World'', also known as ''Shishuo Xinyu'' (), was compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (Liu I-ching; 劉義慶; 403–444) during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) of the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–58 ...

'' (''Shishuo Xinyu'' / ''Shiyu''). * 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, Jing Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Eastern Wu generals Eastern Wu politicians Generals from Shandong Politicians from Linyi