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 ...
Shuzi, was Chinese military general and politician who lived during the Jin dynasty of China. His advocacy for plans to conquer the rival state of
finally persuaded Emperor Wu to carry them out, but he did not live to see the plans implemented. He was known for his humility and foresight.
Chen Shou
Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...
, who wrote 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– ...
'', described him as a man of medium height with fine eyebrows and a beautiful beard. Yang Hu is depicted in the
Wu Shuang Pu
''Wu Shuang Pu'' () is a book of woodcut prints, first printed in 1694, early on in the Qing dynasty. This book contains the biographies and imagined portraits of 40 notable heroes and heroines from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, all acco ...
(無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.
Life
Both Yang Hu's grandfather Yang Xu () and father Yang Dao () were commandery administrators (of Nanyang and Shangdang respectively), and his mother was a daughter of the
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 ...
historian and musician
Cai Yong
Cai Yong (Chinese: ; 132–192), courtesy name Bojie, was Chinese astronomer, calligrapher, historian, mathematician, musician, politician, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was well-versed in calligraphy, music, mathematics and astrono ...
.(祜，蔡邕外孙，景献皇后同产弟。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.34 His full elder sister
Yang Huiyu
Yang Huiyu (214 – July 278), formally known as Empress Jingxian, semi-formally known as Empress Dowager Hongxun (弘訓太后), was an empress dowager of the Jin dynasty of China. She was the third wife of Sima Shi, a regent of the Cao Wei s ...
was
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, al ...
's third wife, subsequently honoured as an empress dowager after Emperor Wu established the Jin dynasty in 266.
Yang Hu lost his father at age 11. He was raised by his uncle Yang Chen () and served his uncle faithfully. As he matured, he became known for his intelligence, knowledge, and physical beauty. The general
Xiahou Wei
Xiahou Wei ( third century), courtesy name Jiquan, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the fourth son of Xiahou Yuan and a maternal great-grandfather of Emperor ...
became impressed with him and married his niece (
Xiahou Ba
Xiahou Ba (died 255–259), courtesy name Zhongquan, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Xiahou Yuan, a prominent general who served under Cao Cao, the warlord ...
's daughter) to Yang Hu. After his father-in-law defected to
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
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 ...
's coup against
Cao Shuang
Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Wei. He initially hel ...
, Yang Hu was one of the few who were related by marriage who still dared to associate with the Xiahou clan. He served as a low level official during the reigns of the
Cao Mao
Cao Mao () (241 – 2 June 260), courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious ...
Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...
's intentions, Sima Zhao trusted his judgment greatly after Zhong Hui rebelled (as he predicted) in 264. After this, he went on to serve as an executive secretary for Sima Zhao.
After Sima Zhao's death in 265, his son Sima Yan succeeded him, and in the following year forced Cao Huan to abdicate in favour of him, ending Cao Wei and establishing the Jin dynasty (as Emperor Wu). Emperor Wu wanted to make Yang Hu a duke, but the latter declined.
Throughout the early part of Emperor Wu's reign, Yang Hu was one of the few key officials who strenuously advocated for the conquest of the rival state Eastern Wu. Emperor Wu, who liked the strategies that Yang Hu submitted, had him take charge of the western border with Eastern Wu and stationed him at
Xiangyang
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
. In 272, Yang Hu participated in a failed mission to rescue the Eastern Wu defector Bu Chan from Xiling (西陵; in present-day
Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
,
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 ...
), and was temporarily demoted, but was soon restored to his rank. After that defea,t he set up a ''
détente
Détente (, French: "relaxation") is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The term, in diplomacy, originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsuccessfully to reduce ...
'' with the Eastern Wu general Lu Kang and treated the Eastern Wu border residents with kindness, with intent to win over their loyalty. His efforts succeeded, though Lu Kang attempted to counter with his own gestures of goodwill. After Lu Kang's death in 274, the Eastern Wu border residents became increasingly impressed with the Jin dynasty in light of Yang Hu's kindness.
By 277, Yang Hu had fallen ill. While his plans of conquest had already been submitted and accepted by Emperor Wu, they were not ready for implementation. He performed his final act in the service of the empire – by recommending the capable Du Yu to succeed him. Du Yu would eventually go on to be a major part of the campaign against Eastern Wu. He died in December 278, just a few months after his elder sister Yang Huiyu. The people of Xiangyang built a monument for Yang Hu on Mount Xian (), and ever after Yang Hu's death, visitors to the monument often wept in memory of his benevolent governance, and so the monument became known as the "Monument of Tears" (). After the Jin dynasty conquered Eastern Wu in 280, Emperor Wu had the declaration of victory read at Yang Hu's shrine, and awarded his wife, Lady Xiahou, an estate of over 5,000 taxable households in appreciation.
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– ...
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 ...
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 ...