Xie Cheng

Xie Cheng (182–254),[1] courtesy name Weiping. An in-law to the warlord then Emperor of Eastern Wu Sun Quan, he served in Jing province after Sun Quan's conquests there and was a noted historian whose work is still used.[2][3]

Xie Cheng
謝承
Administrator of Wuling Commandery (武陵郡太守)
In office
219 or after (219 or after) – ? (?)
Commandant of East Changsha (長沙東部都尉)
In office
215 or After (215 or After) – 219 (219)
Gentleman for All Purposes (五官郎中)
In office
c.210 (c.210)–? (?)
Personal details
Born182
Shaoxing, Zhejiang
Died254
Parent
  • Xie Jiong (father)
OccupationOfficial
Courtesy nameWeiping (偉平)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Xie.

Life

From Shanyin County (山陰縣), Kuaiji Commandery, which is in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang. It would take more than a decade after the death of his sister Lady Xie to be appointed at court, when he was made a Gentleman for All Purposes (五官郎中) around 210.[2] After the Sun-Liu territorial dispute in Jing was settled in 215, Xie Cheng was promoted to the positions of Commandant of East Changsha (長沙東部都尉)[2] then after Lü Meng's 219 conquest of Jing, became the Administrator (太守) of Wuling Commandery (武陵郡).[2] Xie Cheng was known for being very well read and for his excellent memory and became a historian, his work including a notable example of the trend in the era for regional histories with his Kuaiji xianxian zhuan (會稽先賢傳 Biographies of the Former Worthies of Kuaiji).[1][4] As part of Wu's claim to being successor of the Han[1] and perhaps drawing on the material collected by his father,[5] he also wrote over 100 volumes of the Hou Han Shu (後漢書),[lower-alpha 1] which documented the history of the Eastern Han dynasty, though only fragments survive it is considered by Rafe de Crespigny as an important source on the Later Han.[6][7][8]

Family

Cheng's father, Xie Jiong (謝煚) sometimes called Xie Ying (謝嬰)[5] served as a Gentleman of Writing (尚書郎) and the Prefect (令) of Xu County (徐縣) in the Eastern Han dynasty.[9] Xie Jiong was known for his good moral conduct and brilliance since he was young.[10] The material he collected from the imperial archives when serving at the Secretariat in the Han capital may have been used by Cheng for his history on the Han.[5] Cheng's uncle Xie Zhen (謝貞), was known for being very law-abiding, studious, and morally upright in conduct. He was nominated as a xiaolian (civil service candidate) and later served as the Chief (長) of Jianchang County (建昌縣). He died in office.[11][12]

Xie Cheng's older sister Lady Xie became wife of Sun Quan, the future founding Emperor of Eastern Wu and was initially greatly favoured but when he wished to have a new wife as her superior, she refused and she died young. Despite her death, her family would continue to serve the Sun regime.[3][13]

Cheng's eldest son Xie Chong (謝崇), served as General Who Spreads Might (揚威將軍) and his youngest son, Xie Xu (謝勗), served as the Administrator (太守) of Wu Commandery with both gaining renown.[14]

See also

Notes
  1. Note that this Hou Han Shu written by Xie Cheng was not the same as the Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han) by Fan Ye. There were 130 volumes in Xie Cheng's Hou Han Shu, but all except eight had been lost over the course of history.

References
  1. Tian, Xiaofei (2016). "Remaking History: The Shu and Wu Perspectives in the Three Kingdoms Period". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 136 (4): 705–731 – via jstor.
  2. De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Boston: Brill. p. 892. ISBN 9789004156050.
  3. Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  4. De Crespigny, Rafe (1997). Generals Of The South: The Foundation And Early History Of The Three Kingdoms State Of Wu (2018 ed.). pp. 439–440. ISBN 9780731509010.
  5. De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Boston: Brill. p. 893. ISBN 9789004156050.
  6. (後十餘年，弟承拜五官郎中，稍遷長沙東部都尉、武陵太守，撰後漢書百餘卷。) Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  7. De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Boston: Brill. pp. xiii (introduction). ISBN 9789004156050.
  8. (會稽典錄曰：承字偉平，博學洽聞，嘗所知見，終身不忘。) Kuaiji Dianlu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  9. (父煚，漢尚書郎、徐令。) Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  10. (煚子承撰後漢書，稱煚幼以仁孝為行，明達有令才。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  11. De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Boston: Brill. p. 895. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
  12. (煚弟貞，履蹈法度，篤學尚義，舉孝廉，建昌長，卒官。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 50.
  13. De Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. p. 891. ISBN 9789004156050.
  14. (子崇揚威將軍，崇弟勗吳郡太守，並知名。) Kuaiji Dianlu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 50.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.