Lu Ji (Gongji)

Lu Ji (188–219), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese politician and scholar serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was also one of the 24 Filial Exemplars.[1]

Lu Ji
陸績
Lu Ji hiding oranges for his parents. Jin dynasty (1115–1234) ceramic model of The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars in the Shanxi Museum.
Administrator of Yulin (鬱林太守)
(under Sun Quan)
In office
? (?) – 219 (219)
MonarchEmperor Xian of Han
Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)
(under Sun Quan)
In office
? (?) – 219 (219)
MonarchEmperor Xian of Han
Personal details
Born188[1]
Suzhou, Jiangsu
Died219 (aged 31)[1][2]
Guiping, Guangxi
Children
  • Lu Hong
  • Lu Rui
  • Lu Yusheng
FatherLu Kang
Relatives
  • Lu Xun (second cousin once removed)
  • Lu Mao (second cousin once removed)
  • Gu Cheng's mother (second cousin once removed)
OccupationScholar, politician
Courtesy nameGongji (公紀)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lu.

Life

Lu Ji was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. His father, Lu Kang, served as the Administrator of Lujiang Commandery (廬江郡) towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty.[3] The Lu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery and also in the Jiangdong region at the time.[lower-alpha 1]

When Lu Ji was six years old,[lower-alpha 2] his father brought him to Jiujiang Commandery (九江郡) to visit Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu treated his guests to mandarin oranges. Lu Ji secretly took three oranges and hid them in his sleeve. When Lu Ji and his father were preparing to leave, the oranges suddenly rolled out of his sleeve. Yuan Shu said: "Young Man Lu, you came as a guest. Why did you hide the oranges?" Lu Ji knelt down and replied: "I want to bring them home for my mother." Yuan Shu was very impressed with Lu Ji.[4] This incident is one of the 24 stories of filial piety in the Confucian classic The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars.

In the late 190s, after the warlord Sun Ce had conquered lands in the Wu region and established his domain there, he invited scholars such as Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong and Qin Song to discuss with him on how to bring peace to the Han Empire. Lu Ji was among the scholars. As their seating positions were determined by their ages, Lu Ji took the furthest seat because he was the youngest. When they were talking about using military force to bring about peace, Lu Ji raised his voice and said: "In the past, when Guan Yiwu served as a chancellor under Duke Huan of Qi, the Duke was able to unite the various lords under his control and bring order to the Empire without resorting to military force. Confucius once said, 'If remoter people are not submissive, all the influences of civil culture and virtue are to be cultivated to attract them to be so.'[lower-alpha 3] Those who are present at this discussion speak of only using military force, and nothing about promoting civil culture and virtue. I, Ji, may be young and ignorant, but I don't feel at ease (after hearing what you said)." Zhang Zhao and the others were very surprised by Lu Ji's response.[5]

Lu Ji had a majestic appearance and was known for being very well read in various fields, including astronomy, calendar science and mathematics. He was also a friend of other scholars such as Yu Fan and Pang Tong, who were much older than him.[6]

In 200, Sun Ce died and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sun Quan. After Sun Quan took control of the Wu lands, he recruited Lu Ji to serve as an assistant clerk under him. Lu Ji subsequently served as the Administrator of Yulin Commandery (鬱林郡; around present-day Guiping, Guangxi). He was also promoted to Lieutenant-General (偏將軍) and placed in command of 2,000 troops. However, Lu Ji did not aspire to be an official, because he not only had physical disabilities, but also because he was actually interested in scholarly pursuits. Nevertheless, throughout his career, he never gave up on academia even though he was busy with military affairs. He created the Hun Tian Tu (渾天圖) and annotated the Yijing and Taixuanjing, and his works were spread around later.[7]

When Lu Ji sensed that his death was imminent, he wrote: "During the Han dynasty, there lived Lu Ji, a man from Wu Commandery who had lofty ambitions. When he was young, he read the Classic of Poetry and Book of Documents. When he reached adulthood, he was already very familiar with the Classic of Rites and Yi Jing. He received orders to lead a military campaign to the south, but was struck by illness. How unfortunate his life was! He died with regrets and sorrow!" He also wrote: "About more than 60 years from now, vehicles will be able to travel on the same roads, and books will be written in the same script. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to witness that." He died at the age of 32 (by East Asian age reckoning).[8]

Family and relatives

Lu Ji was a second cousin once removed of Lu Xun. Although he was born about five years later than Lu Xun, he was actually one generation older than the latter. His father, Lu Kang (Lu Xun's granduncle), raised Lu Xun, who was orphaned at a young age. After Lu Kang's death, Lu Xun became the new head of the family because he was older than Lu Ji in terms of age.[9][10]

Lu Ji had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, Lu Hong (陸宏), served as the South Commandant (南部都尉) of Kuaiji Commandery in Eastern Wu. His younger son, Lu Rui (陸叡), was a Changshui Colonel (長水校尉).[11] Lu Ji's daughter, Lu Yusheng (陸鬱生), was born in Yulin Commandery. Her name was inspired by her place of birth because "Yusheng" means "born in Yu(lin)". She married Zhang Wen's younger brother Zhang Bai (張白).[12] As Lu Ji died early, his three children – who were still very young when their father died – were adopted and raised by Lu Xun's younger brother Lu Mao.[13]

Appraisal

Chen Shou, who wrote Lu Ji's biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), appraised Lu Ji as follows: "Lu Ji's contributions to Yang Xiong's Taixuanjing were equivalent to Zuo Qiuming's contributions to Confucius's Spring and Autumn Annals and Zhuangzi's contributions to Laozi's Daodejing. When such a great talent like him who was capable of doing better tasks was sent to defend the southern border, his life was ruined!"[14]

Pang Tong once described Lu Ji as "a horse that cannot run fast but has strong willpower".[15]

A verse from The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars in Lu Ji's honour reads:

"Filial piety is in human nature,
Most rare in a six-year-old boy.
He hid three oranges in his sleeve, as a gift for his Mother,
Just a token to repay her kindness without end." [lower-alpha 4]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
See also: List of fictitious stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms § Zhuge Liang's diplomatic mission to Jiangdong

Lu Ji appears briefly in Chapter 43 of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is one of the Wu scholars who debate with Zhuge Liang over Sun Quan's decision to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao before the Battle of Red Cliffs. Lu Ji argues: "Even though Cao Cao controls the Emperor and holds sway over the lords, he is still a descendant of the chancellor Cao Shen. Liu Bei may be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, but there is no proof for this. As far as we see, he is no more than a straw mat weaver and shoe seller. How can he compete with Cao Cao?" Zhuge Liang replies: "Aren't you the 'Young Man Lu' who hid oranges in his sleeve at Yuan Shu's house? Please sit down and listen to me. Since Cao Cao is a descendant of Chancellor Cao, he is therefore a subject of the Han Empire. However, he monopolises state power and bullies the Emperor. This is a disgrace to his ancestor. He is not only a villain of the Han Empire, but also a miscreant of the Cao family! Liu Bei is a member of the imperial clan. His Majesty the Emperor checked the family records and granted him a title. How can you say there is no proof? Although Emperor Gaozu started off as a patrol officer, he became an Emperor eventually. What is so shameful about weaving straw mats and selling shoes? Your opinions are those of a child. You are not fit to speak with learned men!" Lu Ji falls silent.[16]

Yu Rongguang portrayed Lu Ji in The Legend of Incorruptible Stone (廉石传奇), a 2011 Chinese television series loosely based on Lu Ji's life. It is aimed at promoting anti-corruption in governments.[17]

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See also

Notes
  1. The four great clans of Wu Commandery were the Gu (顧), Lu (陸), Zhu (朱) and Zhang (張) clans. The four great clans of the Jiangdong region were the Gu (顧), Lu (陸), Yu (虞) and Wei (魏) clans. Some notable members from each clan were: Gu Yong, Gu Shao and Gu Tan of the Gu clan; Lu Xun, Lu Ji and Lu Kai of the Lu clan; Zhu Huan and Zhu Ju of the Zhu clan; Zhang Wen of the Zhang clan; Yu Fan of the Yu clan; and Wei Teng (魏騰) of the Wei clan.
  2. Lu Ji was actually about five years old then. In East Asian tradition, a person is considered one year old in his/her first year of life. See East Asian age reckoning for details.
  3. Lu Ji quoted from chapter 16 of the Analects. See the English translation for this line here.
  4. The original text in Chinese is [孝順皆天性，人間六歲兒。袖中懷綠桔，遺母事堪奇。]. The translated text is adapted from this English translation.

References
  1. de Crespigny (2007), p. 617.
  2. (年三十二卒。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  3. (陸績字公紀，吳郡吳人也。父康，漢末為廬江太守。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  4. (績年六歲，於九江見袁術。術出橘，績懷三枚，去，拜辭墮地，術謂曰：「陸郎作賔客而懷橘乎？」績跪荅曰：「欲歸遺母。」術大奇之。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  5. (孫策在吳，張昭、張紘、秦松為上賔，共論四海未泰，須當用武治而平之，績年少末坐，遙大聲言曰：「昔管夷吾相齊桓公，九合諸侯，一匡天下，不用兵車。孔子曰：『遠人不服，則脩文德以來之。』今論者不務道德懷取之術，而惟尚武，績雖童蒙，竊所未安也。」昭等異焉。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  6. (績容貌雄壯，博學多識，星歷筭數無不該覽。虞翻舊齒名盛，龐統荊州令士，年亦差長，皆與績友善。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  7. (孫權統事，辟為奏曹掾，以直道見憚，出為鬱林太守，加偏將軍，給兵二千人。績旣有躄疾，又意在儒雅，非其志也。雖有軍事，著述不廢，作渾天圖，注易釋玄，皆傳於世。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  8. (豫自知亡日，乃為辭曰：「有漢志士吳郡陸績，幼敦詩、書，長玩禮、易，受命南征，遘疾遇厄，遭命不幸，嗚呼悲隔！」又曰：「從今已去，六十年之外，車同軌，書同文，恨不及見也。」年三十二卒。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  9. (陸氏世頌曰：遜祖紆，字叔盤，敏淑有思學，守城門校尉。父駿，字季才，淳懿信厚，為邦族所懷，官至九江都尉。) Lu Shi Shisong annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.
  10. (陸遜字伯言，吳郡吳人也。本名議，世江東大族。 ... 遜少孤，隨從祖廬江太守康在官。袁術與康有隙，將攻康，康遣遜及親戚還吳。遜年長於康子績數歲，為之綱紀門戶。) Sanguozhi vol. 58.
  11. (長子宏，會稽南部都尉，次子叡，長水校尉。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  12. (績於鬱林所生女，名曰鬱生，適張溫弟白。) Annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  13. (又瑁從父績早亡，二男一女，皆數歲以還，瑁迎攝養，至長乃別。) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  14. (評曰： ... 陸績之於楊玄，是仲尼之左丘明，老聃之嚴周矣；以瑚璉之器，而作守南越，不亦賊夫人歟！ ...) Sanguozhi vol. 57.
  15. (統曰：「陸子可謂駑馬有逸足之力， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 37.
  16. Sanguo Yanyi ch. 43.
  17. (in Chinese) The Legend of Incorruptible Stone on Sina.com
  • 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 978-90-04-15605-0.
  • Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
  • Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
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