Xu Ci
Xu Ci | |
|---|---|
| Hứa từ | |
| Empress's Chamberlain ( đại trường thu ) | |
| In office ?–? | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Nanyang, Henan |
| Died | Unknown |
| Children | Xu Xun |
| Occupation | Official, scholar |
| Courtesy name | Rendu ( nhân đốc ) |
Xu Ci(fl.third century),courtesy nameRendu,was an official and scholar of the state ofShu Hanin theThree Kingdomsperiod of China.[1][2]An outsider to the province, he and Hu Qian's disorderly conduct would hamper a scholarly project and see his superior put on a play mocking the poor conduct of those involved.
Life
[edit]Xu Ci was fromNanyang Commandery( nam dương quận ), which is around present-dayNanyang, Henan.He was born sometime in the lateEastern Han dynastyand had studied under the tutelage of Liu Xi ( lưu 熈). He specialised in the teachings of theConfucianscholarZheng Xuan,theYijing,Book of Documents,Etiquette and Ceremonial,Book of Rites,Rites of Zhou,Mao CommentaryandAnalects of Confucius.Sometime between 196 and 220, he metXu Jingand others inJiao Province(covering parts of present-dayGuangxi,Guangdongand northernVietnam) and later accompanied them toYi Province(covering present-daySichuanandChongqing).[3]
At the time, among the non-native scholars living in Yi Province, there was one Hu Qian ( hồ tiềm ), whosecourtesy namewas Gongxing ( công hưng ). Nobody knew why he left his home inWei Commandery( ngụy quận; around present-dayHandan,Hebei) and travelled all the way to Yi Province. While Hu Qian was not as well-read and knowledgeable as the others, he was intelligent and had a very good memory. He memorised and knew by heart everything about Confucian rites, rituals, procedures, protocol, etc., ranging from ancestral worship to the five types of mourning attire.[4][a]
In 214,[6]after the warlordLiu Beiseized controlof Yi Province from its governor,Liu Zhang,he saw that Confucian customs and education in the province were very disorderly due to years of neglect. He wanted to revive Confucianism in Yi Province and establish a set of rituals and procedures for the region, so he set up an education office to oversee this project. Apart from building up a library of Confucian texts, Liu Bei also appointed Xu Ci and Hu Qian as academicians ( bác sĩ ), serving at the academy,[7]and ordered them to work with other scholars such asMeng GuangandLai Minon this project.[8]
While the project was still in its initial stage of development, bitter disagreements and quarrels broke out among the scholars due to differences in opinion. Xu Ci and Hu Qian started making accusations and taking petty revenge against each other including withholding books. They bickered among themselves and constantly sought opportunities to provoke each other. They also praised themselves and scorned their colleagues.[9]When Liu Bei heard about it, he came up with an idea to urge them to put aside their differences and cooperate with each other. He gathered all the officials for a feast and had actors put on a skit parodying the conflict between Xu Ci and Hu Qian, showing how a war of words between them led to them using weapons to attack each other.[10]Despite Liu Bei's efforts, the project ultimately turned out to be a failure.[1]
Hu Qian died before Xu Ci in an unknown year. Following the end of theEastern Han dynastyin 220, Xu Ci was consulted by officials on the proper rites for establishing an Emperor,[11]served in the state ofShu Han,founded by Liu Bei in 221, during theThree Kingdomsperiod. After Liu Bei's death in 223,[12]Xu Ci continued serving underLiu Shan,Liu Bei's son and successor. During Liu Shan's reign, he held the appointment of Empress's Chamberlain ( đại trường thu ). He died in an unknown year.[13]
Xu Ci's son, Xu Xun ( hứa huân ), inherited his father's legacy and served as an academician ( bác sĩ ) in Shu.[14]
Appraisal
[edit]Chen Shounoted Xu Ci had broad knowledge and experience, a learned man of his age[15]while the Jin historian and criticSun Shengremarked, such men being hired by Liu Bei reflected the lack of scholars in Shu-Han.[16]J. Michael Farmer notes Chen Shou focused on their characters rather than their intellectual contributions, using a humorous story to highlight their pettiness. Chen Shou also used Xu Ci and Hu Qian to assert the supremacy of his local intellectual tradition over that of outside scholars from the Central Plains. He also used Xu Ci and Hu Qian to show the poor state of intellectual affairs in the early years of Shu Han with the concern of Liu Bei about it.[17]In the debate on the way Zheng Xuan's work gained influence in theChengduarea, Yoshikawa Tadao argues Xu Ci played a key role in bringing its influence to the province.[7]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^The historianSun Shengpointed out thatChen Shouembedded Hu Qian's biography in Xu Ci's biography in theRecords of the Three Kingdomsbecause there were too few notable scholars in Shu (and too little information about them),[5]so it did not make sense to have individual biographies for all of them.
References
[edit]- ^abde Crespigny (2007),p. 902.
- ^Farmer, J. Michael.The Talent of Shu: Qiao Zhou and the Intellectual World of Earl Medieval Sichuan.Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 26.ISBN978-0-7914-7163-0.
- ^( hứa từ tự nhân đốc, nam dương nhân dã. Sư sự lưu 熈, thiện trịnh thị học, trị dịch, thượng thư, tam lễ, mao thi, luận ngữ. Kiến an trung, dữ hứa tĩnh đẳng câu tự giao châu nhập thục. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^( thời hựu hữu ngụy quận hồ tiềm, tự công hưng, bất tri kỳ sở dĩ tại ích thổ. Tiềm tuy học bất triêm hiệp, nhiên trác lạc cường thức, tổ tông chế độ chi nghi, tang kỷ ngũ phục chi sổ, giai chỉ chưởng họa địa, cử thủ khả thải. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^( tôn thịnh viết: Thục thiếu nhân sĩ, cố từ, tiềm đẳng tịnh kiến tái thuật. ) Sun Sheng's annotation inSanguozhivol. 42.
- ^Zizhi Tongjianvol. 67.
- ^abFarmer, J. Michael.The Talent of Shu: Qiao Zhou and the Intellectual World of Earl Medieval Sichuan.Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 78.ISBN978-0-7914-7163-0.
- ^( tiên chủ định thục, thừa tang loạn lịch kỷ, học nghiệp suy phế, nãi cưu hợp điển tịch, sa thái chúng học, từ, tiềm tịnh vi bác sĩ, dữ mạnh quang, lai mẫn đẳng điển chưởng cựu văn. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^( trị thứ sự thảo sang, động đa nghi nghị, từ, tiềm canh tương khắc phạt, báng độc phẫn tranh, hình ô thanh sắc; thư tịch hữu vô, bất tương thông tá, thời tầm sở thát, dĩ tương chấn 攇. Kỳ căng kỷ đố bỉ, nãi chí ô thử. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^( tiên chủ mẫn kỳ nhược tư, quần liêu đại hội, sử xướng gia giả vi nhị tử chi dung. Hiệu kỳ tụng 䦧 chi trạng, tửu hàm nhạc tác, dĩ vi hi hí, sơ dĩ từ nghĩa tương nan, chung dĩ đao trượng tương khuất, dụng cảm thiết chi. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^Sanguozhivol.32.
- ^Zizhi Tongjianvols. 69–70.
- ^( tiềm tiên một, từ hậu chủ thế sảo thiên chí đại trường thu, tốt. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^( tử huân truyện kỳ nghiệp, phục vi bác sĩ. )Sanguozhivol. 42.
- ^Hứa, mạnh, lai, lý, bác thiệp đa văn, doãn mặc tinh vu tả thị, tuy bất dĩ đức nghiệp vi xưng, tín giai nhất thời chi học sĩ Sanguozhivol.42.
- ^Thục thiếu nhân sĩ, cố từ, tiềm đẳng tịnh kiến tái thuật. Annotation in Sanguozhivol.42
- ^Farmer, J. Michael.The Talent of Shu: Qiao Zhou and the Intellectual World of Earl Medieval Sichuan.Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 25–27.ISBN978-0-7914-7163-0.
- 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.ISBN9789004156050.
- Pei, Songzhi(5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi zhu).
- Sima, Guang(1084).Zizhi Tongjian.