Xiang Chong (Three Kingdoms)
Xiang Chǒng (died 240) was a military officer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In the Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang named Xiang Chǒng as a capable subject "of good character" and someone "well-versed in military affairs", and urged Liu Shan to put Xiang Chǒng's talents to good use. He was a nephew of the Shu scholar Xiang Lang.
Xiang Chǒng | |
|---|---|
向寵 | |
 | |
| Commandant of the Central Army (中領軍) | |
| In office ? – 240 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Central Chief Controller (中都督) | |
| In office 223 – ? | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Officer of the Standard (牙門將) | |
| In office ? – 223 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Yicheng, Hubei |
| Died | 240 Lushan County, Sichuan |
| Relations |
|
| Occupation | Military officer |
| Peerage | Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯) |
Life
Xiang Chǒng was from Yicheng County (宜城縣), Xiangyang Commandery (襄陽郡), which is around present-day Yicheng, Hubei. His uncle, Xiang Lang, served under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) in the late Eastern Han dynasty and later under the warlord Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period.[1]
Xiang Chǒng started his military career in Shu as an Officer of the Standard (牙門將) during Liu Bei's short reign from 221 to 223. During the Battle of Xiaoting of 222–223, while the Shu forces were retreating after their defeat, only Xiang Chǒng's unit managed to retreat without sustaining any losses along the way. As a result, he received high praise from Liu Bei.[2]
In 223, when Liu Shan became the new emperor of Shu after his father Liu Bei's death, he enfeoffed Xiang Chǒng as a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯) and appointed him as a Central Chief Controller (中都督) among the imperial guards. Around 227 or 228, when Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, was about to launch the first of a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, he wrote the Chu Shi Biao to Liu Shan to explain his reasons for waging war against Wei and giving advice to the emperor on governance.[3]
In the Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang describes Xiang Chǒng as such
"General Xiang Chǒng is a man that is naturraly inclined toward virtuous acts and fair conduct, he also understands fluently military affairs, in the past he has been tested and answered well to the problem of the time and the Late Emperor praised him as talented therefore in accordance with the desire of the masses he was presented as Commander. In my humble view, the military affairs should be first discussed with him then surely the army would be able to move forward coordinate hence we could recolt victory's harvest."[4]
Xiang Chǒng was later promoted to the position of Commandant of the Central Army (中領軍). In 240, he was killed in action while leading Shu forces to suppress a rebellion by local tribes in Hanjia Commandery (漢嘉郡; around present-day Lushan County, Sichuan).[5]
Xiang Chōng (向充)
Xiang Chǒng had a similarly named younger brother, Xiang Chōng (向充), who also served as a military officer in Shu. He initially held the appointments of Colonel of Trainee Archers (射聲校尉) and Master of Writing (尚書) in the imperial secretariat.[6]
When Zhuge Liang died in 234, many people wanted the Shu government to build temples/shrines to commemorate him, but the government refused so many people privately built their own temples/shrines. When Xiang Chōng, then holding the position of a Palace Gentleman of Writing (中書郎), heard about it, he and Xi Long (習隆; an infantry colonel) wrote to the Shu emperor Liu Shan to advise him to build a temple for Zhuge Liang in Mianyang.
Between 240 and 262, when the Shu general Jiang Wei led Shu forces on a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, Xiang Chōng and another official, Lai Zhong, served as Jiang Wei's subordinates.
After the fall of Shu in 263, the Wei general Wei Guan found jade ring and seal with the words “Chéng Xìn” or “Achieving Faith" etching on them. The people of Wei showed them to the officials and discussed about this before keeping it in the State's office.[7]
Xiang Chōng heard about this and declared
"In the past, I heard Qiao Zhou saying that the Former Emperor's name was Bei which means "to prepare" while the Later Ruler's name was Shan which means "to give" and such saying that Liu were already prepared to give to another. Today the Supporter of the Army is named Yan while Han's last year was "Yánxīng" meaning "Yan rises". Chengdu sent propitious sign and is now stored in the State's office. Surely, this is heaven's will."[8]
During the same year, Xiang Chōng entered the service of the Wei government and was appointed as the Administrator (太守) of Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡; around present-day Mianyang, Sichuan). And the next year, Sima Yan became Emperor fulfilling the prophecy of “Yán Rising”.[9] Sun Sheng noted that in the past Gongsun Shu rose in Chengdu and his state was named Cheng. Those jade's engraving were probably made by him.[10]
References
- (朗兄子寵，先主時為牙門將。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (秭歸之敗，寵營特完。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (建興元年封都亭侯，後為中部督，典宿衛兵。諸葛亮當北行，) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (表與後主曰：「將軍向寵，性行淑均，曉暢軍事，試用於昔，先帝稱之曰能，是以眾論舉寵為督。愚以為營中之事，悉以咨之，必能使行陳和睦，優劣得所也。」。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (遷中領軍。延熙三年，征漢嘉蠻夷，遇害。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (寵弟充，歷射聲校尉尚書。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (襄陽記曰：魏咸熙元年六月，鎮西將軍衛瓘至於成都，得璧玉印各一枚，文似「成信」字，魏人宣示百官，藏于相國府。) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (充聞之曰：「吾聞譙周之言，先帝諱備，其訓具也，後主諱禪，其訓授也，如言劉已具矣，當授與人也。今中撫軍名炎，而漢年極於炎興，瑞出成都，而藏之於相國府，此殆天意也。」) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (是歲，拜充為梓潼太守，明年十二月而晉武帝即尊位，炎興於是乎徵焉。) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- (孫盛曰：昔公孫自以起成都，號曰成氏，二玉之文，殆述所作乎！) Sun Sheng's annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).