Hu Zong

Hu Zong (183–243),[lower-alpha 1] courtesy name Weize, was a government official, writer, poet and military general of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period of China.[1]

Hu Zong
胡綜
Left Upholder of the Law (左執法)
In office
? (?) – 243 (243)
MonarchSun Quan
Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)
In office
? (?) – 243 (243)
MonarchSun Quan
Right Commandant of the Army (右領軍)
In office
229 (229) – ? (?)
MonarchSun Quan
Palace Attendant (侍中)
In office
229 (229) – ? (?)
MonarchSun Quan
General of the Household Who Establishes Might (建武中郎將)
In office
223 (223) – 229 (229)
MonarchSun Quan
Right Commander of the Jiefan
(解煩右部督)
In office
221 (221) – 223 (223)
MonarchSun Quan
Personal details
Born183[1][lower-alpha 1]
Gushi County, Henan
Died243 (aged 60)[1][lower-alpha 1]
ChildrenHu Chong
OccupationOfficial, writer, poet, general
Courtesy nameWeize (偉則)
PeerageMarquis of a Chief District
(都鄉侯)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hu.

Early life

Hu Zong was from Gushi County, Runan Commandery (汝南郡), which is in present-day Henan.[5] He lost his father at a young age. When chaos broke out in central China towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Hu Zong and his mother fled south across the Yangtze to take shelter in the Jiangdong region.[6]

In 196,[3] after the warlord Sun Ce appointed himself as the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery, he recruited a 13-year-old Hu Zong as a household attendant and ordered him to remain in Wu Commandery (around present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu) and serve as a reading mate to his younger brother, Sun Quan.[2][1]

Service under Sun Quan in the Eastern Han dynasty

Following Sun Ce's death in the year 200,[7] Sun Quan succeeded him as the warlord ruling over the Jiangdong territories. After receiving the nominal appointment of General Who Attacks Barbarians (討虜將軍) from the Han central government, Sun Quan appointed Hu Zong as a staff officer in charge of finances.[8][1]

In 208,[9] Hu Zong accompanied Sun Quan on a campaign against Huang Zu, a general under a rival warlord Liu Biao. After defeating Huang Zu and conquering Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Wuhan, Hubei), Sun Quan appointed Hu Zong as the Chief of E County (鄂縣; present-day Ezhou, Hubei).[10][1]

Around early 210,[11] after Sun Quan was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍) by the Han central government, he designated Jing (京; present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) as the capital of his territories and recalled Hu Zong back from E County to serve in Jing. Along with Shi Yi and Xu Xiang (徐詳),[lower-alpha 2] Hu Zong was privy to classified information as they were in charge of Sun Quan's secretariat.[13][1]

Service in Eastern Wu

Sun Quan becoming the King of Wu

On 23 September 221,[14] Sun Quan pledged allegiance to Cao Pi, who usurped the throne from the last Han emperor and established the state of Wei to replace the Eastern Han dynasty. In return, Cao Pi awarded Sun Quan the title of a vassal king, "King of Wu" (吳王). After his coronation, Sun Quan enfeoffed Hu Zong, Shi Yi and Xu Xiang (徐詳) as village marquises.[15]

In November 222, although Sun Quan broke ties with Cao Pi and proclaimed himself the independent ruler of his Eastern Wu state by adopting "Huangwu" (黃武) as the era name of his reign. However, he did not declare himself emperor yet and continued to rule under the title "King of Wu".[14]

Creation of the Jiefan Corps

Just before the Battle of Xiaoting of 221–222,[14] Sun Quan saw that he had too few troops so he ordered Hu Zong to draft men from the various counties into military service. Hu Zong managed to recruit about 6,000 men, who were organised into the two-section Jiefan Corps (解煩兵). Hu Zong and Xu Xiang (徐詳) served as the commanders of the Right and Left sections respectively.[16]

Battle of Qichun
Main article: Battle of Qichun

Jin Zong (晉宗), a Wu military officer, defected to Wei and was appointed as the administrator of the Wei outpost at Qichun. During this time, Jin Zong frequently led Wei forces to raid the Wu border along the Yangtze.[17] In 223,[18] Sun Quan ordered Hu Zong to join the Wu general He Qi and others in leading a group of lightly-armed troops to launch a surprise attack on Qichun. Their attack was a success and they managed to capture Jin Zong alive. Hu Zong was then promoted to General of the Household Who Establishes Might (建武中郎將) for his achievement.[19]

Sun Quan declaring himself emperor

On 23 May 229,[20] after there were reported sightings of the Yellow Dragon at Xiakou (夏口; in present-day Wuhan, Hubei), Sun Quan saw it as a sign that he should declare himself emperor so he did so and changed the era name from "Huangwu" to "Huanglong" (黃龍; literally "Yellow Dragon"). He also created a large banner adorned with the image of the Yellow Dragon and used that as his war flag to direct troop movements in battle. He then ordered Hu Zong to compose a fu to celebrate his ascension to the throne.[21]

When Wu's ally state Shu learnt that Sun Quan had declared himself emperor, they sent an emissary to congratulate him and reaffirm the Wu–Shu alliance against Wei. Under Sun Quan's instruction, Hu Zong produced an elegantly-written oath of covenant for the Wu–Shu alliance.[22][1]

In October 229, after Sun Quan relocated the Wu imperial capital from Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu),[20] he appointed Hu Zong and Xu Xiang as Palace Attendants (侍中) and as the Right and Left Commandants of the Army (左右領軍) respectively. He also increased the rank of their peerages from village marquis (亭侯) to district marquis (鄉侯).[23]

Sowing discord between Wu Zhi and the Wei government

When defectors from Wei reported that the Wei government had suspicions about the loyalty of the Wei general Wu Zhi, Hu Zong decided to use the opportunity to sow greater discord between Wu Zhi and the Wei government. He wrote a three-point letter, falsely attributed it to Wu Zhi, and spread copies of it in Wei territories in the hope of making the Wei government think that Wu Zhi was planning to defect to Wu.[24] However, by the time the letter was widely circulated in Wei, the Wei government had already reassigned Wu Zhi to serve as a palace attendant in the Wei imperial capital.[25]

Yin Fan incident

In 230, after the Wei official Yin Fan (隱蕃) submitted a letter indicating his wish to defect to Wu, Sun Quan interviewed him and felt impressed when Yin Fan analysed current affairs well and provided eloquent responses to his questions.[26] Hu Zong was also present when Sun Quan interviewed Yin Fan, so Sun Quan asked him for his opinion. Hu Zong replied: "Yin Fan's defection letter may resemble the writing style of Dongfang Shuo and his speaking skills may resemble those of Mi Heng, but he isn't as talented as them."[27]

When Sun Quan asked Hu Zong what job was suitable for Yin Fan, Hu Zong said: "He isn't capable of governing the people. We can try giving him a low-level position in the Imperial Capital."[28] Sun Quan considered that Yin Fan seemed knowledgeable about criminal law so he appointed him as a judicial officer. When Yin Fan was serving in Wu, the general Zhu Ju and justice minister Hao Pu (郝普) told Sun Quan that he was capable of holding greater responsibilities. Hao Pu, in particular, got along very well with Yin Fan and often complained that Yin Fan's talent was not put to good use.[29]

In late 230,[20] it turned out that Yin Fan was actually a spy planted in Wu by the Wei emperor Cao Rui, who wanted him to become Wu's justice minister and use his powers to stir up internal conflict in Wu. Yin Fan had, in fact, been plotting against Sun Quan. He was arrested and executed after his plot was uncovered.[30] Sun Quan blamed Hao Pu for Yin Fan's betrayal and forced him to commit suicide;[31] Zhu Ju, who also sang praises of Yin Fan, was implicated in the case and imprisoned for a long time.[32]

Later life and death

Hu Zong was later promoted to Lieutenant-General (偏將軍) and appointed as Left Upholder of the Law (左執法).[33] Since Sun Quan first took control of the Jiangdong territories in the year 200, Hu Zong had effectively served as Sun Quan's essayist-laureate[1] as he drafted all the important official, legal and diplomatic documents for Wu.[34]

When the Wu regime was first established, the government was so overwhelmed by its workload that it had to enact special laws to prevent officials from leaving their posts without approval, even when they needed to perform filial mourning. However, there were still many officials who disregarded the laws.[35] Sun Quan felt that this issue was a cause for concern so he held a discussion with his subjects on how to deal with such offenders. Hu Zong suggested that they make it a capital offence for officials to leave their posts without approval; only the offender would be punished. After this new law was enacted, the Wu government no longer faced the problem of officials leaving their posts without approval, even when they had to perform filial mourning.[36]

In 233, the Liaodong-based warlord Gongsun Yuan pledged allegiance to Sun Quan and expressed willingness to become a vassal of Wu. Sun Quan was delighted as he saw Gongsun Yuan as a potential ally against Wu's rival state, Wei.[37] When Sun Quan wanted to agree to the alliance, his senior adviser Zhang Zhao strongly objected and had a bitter quarrel with him over this issue.[lower-alpha 3] With help from Hu Zong and others, Sun Quan managed to resolve his conflict with Zhang Zhao and be on good terms with him again.[38]

Hu Zong was known for being an alcoholic throughout his life. Whenever he got drunk, he became noisy, rowdy and sometimes violent towards his subordinates. Sun Quan appreciated Hu Zong for his talent so he did not reprimand Hu Zong for his behaviour.[39]

Hu Zong died in 243. His son, Hu Chong (胡冲), inherited his peerage as a Marquis of a Chief District (都鄉侯).[4]

Family

Hu Zong's son, Hu Chong (胡冲), was known for his literary talent and peaceful temperament. Like his father, he served as an official in Wu and rose to the position of Prefect of the Palace Writers (中書令) in the late 270s during the reign of Sun Hao, the last Wu emperor.[40] After the fall of Wu, he served as an imperial secretary in the government of the Jin dynasty and was later appointed as the Administrator of Wu Commandery.[41]

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See also

Notes
  1. Hu Zong's biography in the Sanguozhi recorded that he was 14 (by East Asian age reckoning) when Sun Ce became the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery[2] in 196.[3] By calculation, Hu Zong was born in 183. Hu Zong's biography also recorded that he died in the 6th year of the Chiwu era (238–251) of Sun Quan's reign.[4] Since he was born in 183, he was probably about 60 years old when he died in 243.
  2. Xu Xiang (徐詳), whose courtesy name was Ziming (子明), was from Wucheng County, Wu Commandery, which is in present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang. He died before Hu Zong.[12]
  3. See Zhang Zhao#Quarrel with Sun Quan over the Liaodong issue for details.

References
  1. de Crespigny (2007), p. 331.
  2. (孫策領會稽太守，綜年十四，為門下循行，留吳與孫權共讀書。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  3. Sima (1084), vol. 62.
  4. (赤烏六年卒，子冲嗣。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  5. (胡綜字偉則，汝南固始人也。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  6. (少孤，母將避難江東。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  7. Sima (1084), vol. 63.
  8. (策薨，權為討虜將軍，以綜為金曹從事， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  9. Sima (1084), vol. 65.
  10. (... 從討黃祖，拜鄂長。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  11. Sima (1084), vol. 66.
  12. (徐詳者字子明，吳郡烏程人也，先綜死。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  13. (權為車騎將軍，都京，召綜還，為書部，與是儀、徐詳俱典軍國密事。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  14. Sima (1084), vol. 69.
  15. (魏拜權為吳王，封綜、儀、詳皆為亭侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  16. (劉備下白帝，權以見兵少，使綜料諸縣，得六千人，立解煩兩部，詳領左部、綜領右部督。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  17. (吳將晉宗叛歸魏，魏以宗為蘄春太守，去江數百里，數為寇害。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  18. Sima (1084), vol. 70.
  19. (權使綜與賀齊輕行掩襲，生虜得宗，加建武中郎將。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  20. Sima (1084), vol. 71.
  21. (黃武八年夏，黃龍見夏口，於是權稱尊號，因瑞改元。又作黃龍大牙，常在中軍，諸軍進退，視其所向，命綜作賦曰： ...) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  22. (蜀聞權踐阼，遣使重申前好。綜為盟文，文義甚美，語在權傳。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  23. (權下都建業，詳、綜並為侍中，進封鄉侯，兼左右領軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  24. (時魏降人或云魏都督河北振威將軍吳質，頗見猜疑，綜乃偽為質作降文三條： ...) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  25. (此文旣流行，而質已入為侍中矣。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  26. (二年，青州人隱蕃歸吳，上書曰：「臣聞紂為無道， ... 乞蒙引見。」權即召入。蕃謝荅問，及陳時務，甚有辭觀。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  27. (綜時侍坐，權問何如，綜對曰：「蕃上書，大語有似東方朔，巧捷詭辯有似禰衡，而才皆不及。」) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  28. (權又問可堪何官，綜對曰：「未可以治民，且試以都輦小職。」) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  29. (權以蕃盛論刑獄，用為廷尉監。左將軍朱據、廷尉郝普稱蕃有王佐之才，普尤與之親善，常怨歎其屈。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  30. (吳錄曰：蕃有口才，魏明帝使詐叛如吳，令求作廷尉職，重案大臣以離間之。 ... 遂閉口而死。) Wu Lu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  31. (吳歷曰：權問普：「卿前盛稱蕃，又為之怨望朝廷，使蕃反叛，皆卿之由。」) Wu Li annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  32. (後蕃謀叛，事覺伏誅，普見責自殺。據禁止，歷時乃解。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  33. (拜綜偏將軍，兼左執法，領辭訟。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  34. (凡自權統事，諸文誥策命，鄰國書符，略皆綜之所造也。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  35. (初以內外多事，特立科，長吏遭喪，皆不得去，而數有犯者。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  36. (權患之，使朝臣下議。綜議以為宜定科文，示以大辟，行之一人，其後必絕。遂用綜言，由是奔喪乃斷。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  37. Sima (1084), vol. 72.
  38. (遼東之事，輔吳將軍張昭以諫權言辭切至，權亦大怒，其和協彼此，使之無隙，綜有力焉。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  39. (性嗜酒，酒後歡呼極意，或推引杯觴，搏擊左右。權愛其才，弗之責也。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  40. (冲平和有文幹，天紀中為中書令。) Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  41. (吳錄曰：冲後仕晉尚書郎、吳郡太守。) Wu Lu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 62.
  • Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
  • de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms 23-220 AD. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004156050.
  • Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
  • Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.
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