Chen Ji (129 – July 199According to the "Stele of Master Chen, Minister Herald of Later Han" by Handan Chun (recorded in volume 19 of ''Gu Wen Yuan''), Chen Ji died of illness, aged 71 (by East Asian reckoning), in the 6th month of the 4th year of the ''Jian'an'' era of Liu Xie's reign. This corresponds to 11 July to 9 August 199 on the Julian calendar. (《古文苑卷十九·後漢鴻臚陳君碑》邯鄲淳撰：不幸寢疾，年七十有一，建安四年六月卒。)),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Yuanfang, was an official and scholar who lived during the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China.

Life

Chen Ji was from Xu County (),

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 ...

(), which is present-day

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. His father Chen Shi was a notable official who served from the reign of Emperor Huan ( 146–168) well into the early reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189). Due to the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions in 166 and 169, Chen Ji did not enter government service and instead spent his time reading and writing. In 184, when the

Yellow Turban Rebellion The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. The uprising broke out in 184 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although t ...

broke out, Emperor Ling issued a general amnesty to everyone affected by the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions. Chen Ji then received invitations from the four highest-ranked officials in the central government – General-in-Chief, Minister Over the Masses, Minister of Works and Grand Commandant – to join their administrative staff. However, he declined all of them. In 189, the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 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 ...

took advantage of the political chaos in the aftermath of Emperor Ling's death to lead his troops into the imperial capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

and seize control of the central government. He also deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with

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 of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

, who remained a figurehead ruler under his control. Dong Zhuo then sent an invitation to Chen Ji, requesting him to come to Luoyang to serve as General of the Household for All Purposes (). Fearing that he would be killed if he refused, Chen Ji accepted the invitation. He was later reassigned to be a Palace Attendant (). In 190, Dong Zhuo appointed Chen Ji as the Chancellor () of

Pingyuan State Pingyuan Commandery ( zh, 平原郡) was a historical commandery of China, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around present-day northwestern Shandong province. The commandery was carved out of the Jibei Kingdom during Emp ...

(). Before Chen Ji left to assume his new office, Dong Zhuo sought his opinion on relocating the imperial capital from Luoyang to

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, in the light of an invasion by a coalition of warlords from the east of

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan was a fortified gateway that commanded the strategic mountain pass between the Yellow River and Qinling Mountains, forming the main choke point on the only land corridor between the Central Plain and the Guanzhong reg ...

. Chen Ji objected to this idea. Dong Zhuo was very displeased but he did not harm Chen Ji because of Chen Ji's high standing in the imperial court. Some officials suggested appointing Chen Ji as Minister Over the Masses. When Chen Ji heard about it, he quickly left Luoyang for Pingyuan State to avoid getting caught up in politics. In 196, when Emperor Xian appointed

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 tow ...

as Grand Commandant, Yuan Shao refused to accept the appointment because Grand Commandant ranked lower than General-in-Chief, the appointment held by his rival

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

. Yuan Shao then offered the appointment of Grand Commandant to Chen Ji instead, but Chen Ji declined. Emperor Xian then appointed Chen Ji as Minister Herald (). Chen Ji died in office in 199 at the age of 71 (by

East Asian age reckoning Traditional East Asian age reckoning covers a group of related methods for reckoning human ages practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere, where age is the number of calendar years in which a person has been alive; it starts at 1 at birth and i ...

). His son, Chen Qun, served in the Han central government under the premiership of the warlord

throughout the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty and later served in the

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

state during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the 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 Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated 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 the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Ji 129 births 199 deaths Government officials under Cao Cao Politicians from Xuchang Han dynasty essayists Writers from Xuchang Political office-holders in Shandong

Life

See also

References