Xu Shao () (150–195),

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 Theob ...

Zijiang, was a Chinese philosopher and politician who lived in the Eastern Han dynasty.

Early life and career

Xu Shao was from Pingyu County (平輿縣),

Runan Commandery Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into th ...

(汝南郡), which is present-day

Pingyu County Pingyu County () is a county of Henan province, China, bordering Anhui province to the east. It is under the administration of Zhumadian city. Notable people It is the hometown of the following people: * Chen Fan and Xi Zhong, who were famous C ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. As a youth, he maintained a good reputation and had a keen interest in the study of human relations. He was known for appraising people. His fame put him on par with others such as Fan Zizhao (樊子昭) and He Yangshi (和陽士). Xu Shao and Guo Tai (郭泰) were famous character evaluators at the time and their appraisals were highly valued among

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

s. Xu Shao started his civil career as an Officer of Merit (功曹) in his home commandery. Xu Qiu (徐璆), the commandery administrator, treated him very respectfully. The other officials in the commandery office became more cautious and conservative in their manners when they heard that Xu Shao was going to be their colleague. When

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 t ...

was on his way home to

Runan County Runan County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian, in the southeast of Henan Province, China. History In ancient times, this area was called "the middle of the world" (), since it was the center of ...

after resigning from his post of Prefect (令) of

Puyang County Puyang County () is a county in the northeast of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Puyang. Administrative divisions As 2012, this county is divided to 8 towns and 12 townships. ;Towns ;Townships ...

, he rode in a carriage and was surrounded by many guards and attendants. Before entering Runan, he ordered his men to leave, saying, "How can I let Xu Zijiang see me like this?" He then travelled home in a single carriage.

Appraisal of Liu Ye

While Xu Shao was at Yangzhou, he praised Liu Ye as someone with the ability to help a sovereign govern his realm.

Appraisals of Chen Shi and Chen Fan

When a teenage Xu Shao went to

Yingchuan Commandery Yingchuan Commandery ( zh, 潁川郡) was a Chinese commandery from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty, located in modern central Henan province. The name referred to the Ying River, which flowed through its territory. The commandery was es ...

(潁川郡; covering present-day southern and central Henan), he visited and mingled with many reputable men in the region, except for Chen Shi. Later, when

Chen Fan Chen Fan (90s- 25 October 168), courtesy name Zhongju (), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Han dynasty. A native of Pingyu, Runan (north of present-day Pingyu County, Henan), Chen served as Grand Commandant () during the reign of Empe ...

's wife died, many people attended her funeral but Xu Shao did not show up. When asked, Xu Shao replied, "Taiqiu is too well-acquainted, it's difficult for him to be thorough; Zhongju (Chen Fan's courtesy name) is a serious person who hardly makes compromises. These are the reasons why I didn't visit them."

Appraisal of Cao Cao

When Cao Cao was still relatively unknown, he prepared expensive gifts and behaved humbly when he visited Xu Shao in the hope of receiving an appraisal. Xu Shao viewed Cao Cao with contempt and refused to evaluate him, but Cao later found an opportunity to threaten and coerce Xu into giving comments about him. Xu Shao said, "You're a treacherous villain in times of peace and a hero in times of chaos." Cao Cao was very pleased and he left. However, Sun Sheng's ''Yitong Zayu'' (異同雜語) recorded a different quote from Xu Shao. It mentioned that when Cao Cao asked Xu Shao to give him an appraisal, Xu initially refused but eventually relented and said, "You'll be a capable minister in times of peace, and a ''jianxiong'' in times of chaos." Cao Cao laughed when he heard that.

Relationships with others

Xu Shao's granduncle was Xu Jing (許敬). Xu Jing's son was Xu Xun (許訓). Xu Xun's son, Xu Xiang (許相), became one of the

Three Ducal Ministers 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 ...

by flattering the court

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

s. Xu Xiang invited Xu Shao to meet him numerous times, but Xu Shao despised him for being a sycophant towards the eunuchs and refused to see him. Xu Shao was initially on good terms with Li Kui (李逵), who was from the same hometown as him and was known for his good moral conduct, but relations between them soured later. Xu Shao also could not get along with his cousin Xu Jing (許靖). These two incidents caused some damage to Xu Shao's reputation. Before falling out with each other, Xu Shao and his cousin Xu Jing were famous commentators and they would give comments on certain persons or topics on the first day of every month.

Later life and death

Yang Biao Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration p ...

(楊彪), the Excellency of Works (司空; one of the

), once attempted to recruit Xu Shao to serve in his office but the latter refused. Later, when the Han imperial court wanted to recruit Xu Shao again, he declined, "Villains are rampant. The political scene is about to become chaotic. I intend to seek refuge in Huaihai (淮海) and keep my family safe." He then moved south to Guangling (廣陵; around present-day

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 ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

). Tao Qian, the Inspector (刺史) of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

, treated Xu Shao generously, but Xu felt uneasy and he told others, "Tao Gongzu (Tao Qian) appears to enjoy a good reputation but he is actually not sincere and faithful on the inside. He may treat me very well but his attitude towards me will worsen later. I'd better leave." He then headed further south to Qu'e County (曲阿縣; present-day Danyang,

), where he joined Liu Yao, the Inspector of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of t ...

. Later, as Xu Shao predicted, Tao Qian arrested all his reputable guests. When Sun Ce was on a series of conquests in the Wu region, Xu Shao and Liu Yao fled south to Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡; around present-day

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

). At the time, Zhou Shu (周術), the previous Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery, had died of illness so his office was vacant.

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, supported

Zhuge Xuan Zhuge Xuan () (died February 197) was a government official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for briefly serving as the Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery (around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi) in t ...

to be the new Administrator, but that became a problem because the Han imperial court had appointed Zhu Hao (son of Zhu Jun) to succeed Zhou Shu. While waiting at Pengze County (彭澤縣; east of present-day Hukou County, Jiangxi), Liu Yao sent

Ze Rong Ze Rong () (died 195 C.E.) was a minor warlord and Buddhist leader who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was active in Xu Province and was nominally a subordinate of the provincial governor, Tao Qian. When the warlord Cao C ...

to lead troops to attack Zhuge Xuan. Xu Shao cautioned Liu Yao, "Ze Rong doesn't care about how others see him. Zhu Wenming (Zhu Hao) is too trusting of people. You should warn him to be wary (of Ze Rong)." After driving Zhuge Xuan away, as Xu Shao foresaw, Ze Rong killed Zhu Hao and took control of Yuzhang Commandery. Later, Xu Shao died at Yuzhang the age of 46 (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 ...

).(及孫策平吳，劭與繇南奔豫章而卒，時年四十六。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 68.

Notes

References

* Fan, Ye (5th century). '' Book of the Later Han'' (''Houhanshu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Shao 150 births 195 deaths People during the end of the Han dynasty Han dynasty philosophers Han dynasty politicians from Henan