Xiang Lang (died 247), courtesy name Juda, was an official and scholar of 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'' <

Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Biao and Liu Bei (later the founding emperor of Shu Han) in the late

Eastern 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 ...

. In 243, Xiang Lang resigned and spent the remaining years of his life reading, writing, proofreading and editing various classical texts. By the time of his death in 247, he was one of the foremost book collectors of his time and a major source of influence for many later scholars. He was an uncle of the Shu general Xiang Chong.

Early career

Xiang Lang was from Xiangyang Commandery,

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

and was born in Yicheng, Hubei. In his youth, Xiang Lang was a student of

Sima Hui Sima Hui (died 208), courtesy name Decao and pseudonym Shuijing, was a hermit who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Sima Hui was from Yangzhai County (), Yingchuan Commandery (), which is around present-day Yuzhou, Henan ...

alongside Han Song, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang. Among them, all were close and friendly. Known for his intelligence, he was appointed as the Chief of Linju County by Liu Biao. Upon Liu Biao's death, Xiang Lang went to serve under Liu Bei.

Service under Liu Bei

After Liu Bei conquered the lands south of the Yangtze River, he put Xiang Lang in charge of all military and civil affairs of Mushan, Yidao, Yiling and Zigui counties. After Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

) from Liu Zhang in 214, he appointed Xiang Lang as the Administrator of Baxi Commandery. Later, Xiang Lang was reassigned to serve as the Administrator of Zangke Commandery and then as the Administrator of Fangling Commandery.

Service under Liu Shan

In 223, after Liu Shan succeeded his father Liu Bei as the emperor of Shu, he appointed Xiang Lang as a Colonel of Infantry and as Chief Clerk to the Imperial Chancellor, Zhuge Liang. In 225, when Zhuge Liang led the Shu forces on a campaign to pacify rebellions in the Nanzhong region, he left Xiang Lang in charge of domestic affairs at Shu's imperial capital,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. In 228, when Zhuge Liang led Shu forces on the first of a series of campaigns against Shu's rival state, Cao Wei, he brought Xiang Lang along and left him in charge of the Shu base at

Hanzhong Commandery Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...

. The Shu vanguard, led by Ma Su, suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Jieting against Wei forces led by Zhang He. Xiang Lang received news that Ma Su fled his post after the defeat, but due to his friendship with Ma Su, he did not report it to Zhuge Liang. Later, after Zhuge Liang found out, he was so furious that he dismissed Xiang Lang and sent him back to Chengdu. Some years later, Xiang Lang returned to serve in the Shu government as Minister of the Household. In 234, after Zhuge Liang's death, Liu Shan promoted Xiang Lang to the position of General of the Left and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Xianming Village in recognition of his past contributions. When he was young, even if he didn't study the fundamentals Xiang Lang did study diligently through literature and for his ability as an official received many praises. From the moment he was dismissed from his office as Chief Clerk, he observed, traveled and reflected without personal affairs for almost thirty years. He concentrated his mind and heart on the collection of records working assiduously and never slacking. When he was more than eighty years old, still he would check personally each documents and would correct and check any errors from his own hands. He collected many books, volumes and scrolls and at the time disposed of the largest library. He would welcome any guests and would teach and receive many of the later generations but only to debate over ancient principles and not speaking about the current affairs. For this, he was respected from those still in office to those not yet scholars. Whatever the status, all honored him. He died in 247.

Xiàng Tiáo

Xiang Lang's son, Xiàng Tiáo (向條) succeeded him and during Shu Han Jingyao (景耀; 258–263) became Censorate Central Deputy. The Xiangyang Ji records that Xiang Lang last words to his son were : It also states that Xiàng Tiáo courtesy name was Wenbao (文豹) was famous for his wide study and tallented, he later joined the Jin government as the Administrator of Jiangyang and Major of the South Central Army.(襄陽記曰：條字文豹，亦博學多識，入晉為江陽太守、南中軍司馬。) ''Xiangyang Ji'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41.

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 ...