The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms

[Jordan]

Yeah I know that Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms is not ZZTJ. I just meant that the particular section of that translated is called that, tis why I said section. But I guess what I said was confusing. Anyways this is very awesome Liang Shuo. Thank you for performing this great service to the community! I hope this does not infringe on any copyright but maybe it would help to try to get permission by Achilles Fang in some way just in case.

[Wo Long]

The ZZTJ is not Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. The name ZZTJ literally means "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government", and covers the entire Chinese history from the very beginning to Sima Guang's time. It is a really long chronological timeline history. Fang chose to translate the portion of it from 220 to the end of the 3K period. He then had to give his translation a name. ZZTJ doesn't have a convenient name for that chunk, so Fang decided to call his work "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms."

SGZ, on the other hand, is just a record of the three kingdoms. The name 三國志 contains the words 三 "Three", 國 "Kingdom, State, Country", and 志 "Records, Chronicles, Annals". Thus SGZ can be translated as all three phrases in that Wiki.

Ah, ok. That clears things up. Thanks Lady Wu(and SlickSlicer).

Also, aslong as Liang Shuo gives credit to Achilles Fang(which he did), there shouldn't be any copyright issues. Especially since this is on a chat forum, rather than posting it on a website as actual content. So I don't think there is any reason to worry about copyright issues. Even if there was, what are the odds that anyone would find this post on this forum out of the 100,000's of posts already made?

[Gabriel]

Yeah. Anyway, I left out 7 cause it was so long. I'll have to write as it's own. So, here you go....

7. Your Servant Sima Guang observes: - -
Heaven gave birth to the multitude of the people, but it was not in the nature of things that they could govern themselves; they were obliged to have a sovereign above them as their ruler. Any one who is able to suppress the unruly and eliminate the harmful, thus preserving the people's lives, and to reward the good and punish the wicked, thus restraining them from causing disorder, may be called a sovereign. To illustrate the point, the number of fuedal lords during the time before the Three dynasties [Xia, Yin, Zhou] was not exhausted by the "ten thousand states." All those who ruled over the people and possessed an Alter of Earth and Agriculture passed as "sovereigns." But the one who united these ten thousand states under his single rule, giving laws and issuing commands, against which on one in the empire raised his voice, was called "King". The kingly influence having declinded, the sovereigns of powerful states who were able to command the feudal lords, and who paid respect to the Son of Heaven, were "hegemons". Since ancient times, there have been instances when the empire fell into disorder and feudal lords contended against each other, so that for many generations there was no King at all.

After the Qin had burned it's books and buried alive Confusian scholars, there arose Han, whose scholars began to propound the theory of mutual engendering and mutual destruction of the Five Elements. Arguing that Qin had occupied an intercalated position between the elements of Wood [Zhou] and of Fire [Han], they considered it as the dynasty of a hegemon, and would not accredit it as that of a King. In this manner arose the theory of the orthodox and the intercalated positions in the succession of dynasties.

After the house of Han was overthrown, the Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, and Wu) stood like three tegs of a tripod. When the Jin lost control of the empire, the Five Barbarian Tribes overran it. From Song and [Hou-]Wei on, South and North were divided politically. Each had it's own dynastic history, in which it reviled the other- -the South calling the north "So-lu" ("slaves with hair bound") and the North calling the South "Tao-i" ("insular barbarians"). After Chu [Ch'uan-Chung] [of Hou-Liang] succeeded to the T'ang, the four quarters of the empire were rent to pieces. The Chu-Yeh clan, when they entered Pien, compared the Hou-Liang dynasty with the Ch-iung of Prince I and with the Hsin of Wang Mang. The Hou-Liang Emperor threw overboard the succession and chronology of the late dynasty. His phraseology, calculated to further his personal interests, was not one embodying enlightenment and supreme equity.

Your servant Sima Guang, being stupid, cannot claim to know anything about the orthodox and intercalated positions of the foregoing dynasties. He would presume to observe, however, that even though the name "Son of Heaven" was held by some who were unable to unify the Nine Provinces [i.e., the empire] under their sole rule, all these lacked the reality to substantiate it. There were, to be sure, occasional distinctions- -some were of Chinese stock, others from barbarian tribes; some were benevolent and others cruel, some great and others small, some powerful and others weak. But essentially they were not different from the various fuedal states of antiquity. How can we honor one of these states as being in the orthodox line, and call the others usurpers and pretenders?

If we call orthodox those dynasties which received the throne from their immediate predecessors, then questions arise. On whom did the Chen confer the throne? From whom did the T'o-Pa [i.e., the Hou-Wei of Northern Wei] receive the throne? We might then call orthodox those dynasties which had their seats of government in China proper. But the Liu, the Shih, the Mu-Jung, the Fu, the Yao, and the Ho-Lien all had within their territories the former capital of the Five Emperors and the Three Kings.

Shall we, finally, call orthodox those that were virtuous and beneficent? Even the tiniest state must have had one sovereign of good name; could there not have been, during the last days of the Three Dynasties [I.e., Xia, Shang, and Zhou] an excellent King who ruled some out-of-the-way domain?

Hence, from antiquity to the present, the theory of orthodox and intercalated position is never sufficiently convincing to compel us to adhere to it.

In the present book, Your Servant has limited himself to setting forth the rise and decline of different states, recording men's ups and downs and leaving it to the readers themselves to draw lessons as to which is good and which bad, which wise and which in error, and to draw encouragement or warning therefrom. His intention is quite unlike that of the Ch'un-ch'iu, which set up for the norm for praise and blame with the object of rectifying a disorderly age.

Your Servant does not presume to know anything about the orthodox and intercalated positions. But to judge from their actual individual accomplishments, the Zhou, Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, and T'ang each in their time unified the Nine Provinces under their rule and transmitted the throne to their posterity. Their descendants eventually grew weak and had to wander from their original seats of government; nevertheless they took up the task of their ancestors and could hope for restoration. Those in the four quarters who contended with them for power and supremacy were all their former subjects. Therefore they are here accorded the full consideration due the Son of Heaven.

As for the rest- -those more or less equal to each other in territory and virtue, hence unable to unify the others under one rule; who, having similar appellations, did not originally stand in the relationship of sovereign and subjects- -these are here given the treatment proper to feudal states. All the different parties are treated equally and fairly, as to avoid misrepresenting the facts and attain ultimate justice.

Nevertheless, we cannot do without some framework of chronology for recording the sequence of events during those times of disunion and turbulence in the empire. The Han transmitted the throne to the Wei, from whom the Jin in turn received it. The Jin transmitted it to the Song, and so down to the Chen, from whom the Sui eventually took it. The T'ang transmitted to the [Huo-]Liang, and so down to the [Huo-]Zhou, to whom the Great Song succeeded. So we have no choice but to adopt the reign-titles of Wei, Jin, Qi, Liang, Chen, Hou-Liang, Hou-T'ang, Hou-Jin, Hou-Han, and Hou-Zhou, in order to chronicle the events that took place in various states. In doing so we are not hording one and treating another with contempt, nor making the distiction of the orthodox and intecalary postions.

As for the relation between Liu Bei and the Han, it is of course asserted that he was decended from Prince Ching of Chung-shan, but they were so far apart in time that the number of generations between them could not be reckoned, let alone the names of all the intermediate progenitors. The claim is like that of the Emperor Kao-Tsu of [the Liu-] Song that he was a descendant of Prince Yuan of Qu [of the imperial Liu clan of the Han]; or like that of the Emperor Lieh-Tsu of Nan-T'ang that he was a descendant of Li K'o [of the T'ang imperial house], Prince of Wu. The truth in these matters cannot be ascertained. Therefore we dare not equate Liu Bei's case with those of the Han Emperor Guang-Wu and [Chin] Yuan-Di, and make him the rightful successor to the Han line.

[Liu Yuante]

Thank you for performing this great service to the community! I hope this does not infringe on any copyright but maybe it would help to try to get permission by Achilles Fang in some way just in case.

Well, we'd have to find a medium and perform a seance to do that.

In any case, the copyright is held by the Harvard-Yenching Institute, not by Achilles Fang. To the best of my knowledge the work was published only twice. I'm pretty sure it's not in the public domain but the fact that it hasn't been republished in over 30 years is a good argument for them probably not caring a whole lot. Any money anyone pays for it goes to a used bookseller and not the publisher, so - probably not an issue, though technically I think it does infringe on the copyright. I'd consider it some form of printed media abandonware or some such.

Adrian

[Gabriel]

14. Shamed by Guan Yu's ignominious end, the Sovereign of Han was about to attack Sun Quan. The i-chun chiang-chun Zhao Yun said, "Cao Cao was the enemy of the state, not Sun Quan. If we first destroy Wei, Sun Quan will of himself submit to us. Now, Cao Cao is indeed dead, but his son Cao Pi has usurped the throne. We ought to comply with the wishes of the multitudes and plan against Kuan-chung at this early time; if we occupy the upper courses of the Ho (Yellow River) and the Wei and launch our attack on the iniquitous rebels, men of loyal heart in Kuan-tung [east of the Han-ku pass] will be certain to join our royalist army, bringing their own provisions and urging their horses. We ought not to leave Wei alone in order to fight with the Wu first. Once we cross arms with them, it will not be in our power to disengage ourselves. This is not the best of plans."

A large number of the officials remonstrated, but the Sovereign of Han listened to none of them.

15. Qin Mi, a private citizan of Kuang-han, discoursed on the "oppurtunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven" and asserted that there would not be any profit in the proposed campaign; he was sent to prison, but was eventually pardoned and released.

16. The chu-chi chiang-chun Zhang Fei was brave and martial, second only to Guan Yu. The counselling ministers of Wei, such as Cheng Yu, all said that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were each the match of ten thousand men. Guan Yu treated his rank and file well but was arrogant towards the gentry; Zhang Fei loved and respected superior men but was harsh towards his troops. The Sovereign of Han always admonished Zhang Fei, "You are extraordinarily severe in sentencing your men to death; futhermore, you daily whip and beat soldiers and order these very men to wait upon you. This is simply courting disaster." Still Zhang Fei did not mend his conduct. When the Sovereign of Han was about to attack Sun Quan, Zhang Fei was to lead ten thousand men from Lang-chung and join him at Jiang-zhou. On the eve of his setting out, Zhang Da and Fan Jiang, who were his subordinate generals, killed Zhang Fei; carrying his severed head, they sailed down the river and fled to Sun Quan. Hearing that Zhang Fei's ying-tu-tu had sent a memorial to him, the Sovereign of Han said, "Alas, Zhang Fei is dead."

17. Chen Shou in his commentary says:
"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, each of them known as the match of ten thousand men, served their Sovereign as bravely as tigers. Guan Yu repaid Duke Cao Cao for the favors he received and Zhang Fei magnamimously gave back freedom to Yan Yan; in these they showed that they were first gentlemen of the land. But Guan Yu was uncompromising and obdurate, overproud of himself; Zhang Fei was unbridled in his temper, never making others attached to him. Because of these defects, they met their sad ends; theirs was a lot that could not be prevented."

18. Autumn, seventh month (Aug. 6 - Spet. 4). The Sovereign of Han in person led his various troops forth to attack Sun Quan; Sun Quan sent an envoy to seek peace with the Han.

19. The Prefect of Nan-jun in Wu, Zhuge Jin, sent a letter to the Sovereign of Han: "I am informed of your sudden arrival at Po-ti with your troops. I fear that your advising ministers might tell you to reject our peace proposal on the grounds that the King of Wu has seized this prefecture (i.e. Jing-zhou) and killed Guan Yu, by which action he has incurred your greatest and profoundest hatred. Such a view, however, shows that they are attending to petty matters, not thinking of more important considerations. Permit me to weigh the situation for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty can hold back your prowess, suppress your anger, and reflect on my words, you will come to a decision immediately and will not consult your myriad Lords. As for your relationship with Guan Yu, does Your Majesty hold it more intimate than that with the late Emperor of Han? Do you consider Jing-zhou more important than the whold empire? If there are two enemies, which one must you deal with first? If you reflect from this point of view, it will be as easy as turing the palm for you to accept our peace proposal." The Sovereign of Han did not listen to this.

20. It was at this time that some one said Zhuge Jin had sent an emissary to the Sovereign of Han in his behalf. Sun Quan said, "I and Ziyu [i.e., Zhuge Jin] swore an oath of mutual loyalty through life and death. As little as I would betray Ziyu, so little will Ziyu betray me."

21. Nevertheless, slanderous rumors about him spread though the land. Lu Xun sent a letter to Sun Quan in which he maintained that Zhuge Jin could not have done such a thing and that something ought to be done to put his mind at ease. Sun Quan replied to him, "I have been aquainted with Ziyu for years; we are as intimate with one another as if we were relatives of the blood, and understand one another clearly and profoundly. His sort of man would not act contrary to the correct principle, nor would he speak what is not righteous. Formerly when Xuande sent Kongming as his envoy, I said to Ziyu, 'You and Kongming are brothers from the same parents and such brothers should not live seperately; furthermore, a younger brother ought to follow his elder brother. This is only meet and just. Why do you not detain Kongming? Should Kongming be willing to follow you, I, of course, shall send a letter to Xuande to explain the matter. There is nothing that should deter him from joining the service of any one he pleases.' Ziyu replied to this proposal of mine, 'My younger brother Zhuge Liang has already pledged his honor to another person, to whom he has commited his loyalty; it is impossible in the nature of things that he should change his allegiance. My younger brother will as little stay here as I would go to his sovereign.' His words can move even the spirits. Now, can he do such a thing as the rumor would have it? All the written communications with such wanton rumor that came to me I sealed up and sent to Ziyu; at the same time I sent a letter in my own hand. I then received his reply, in which he discoursed on the constant principle of the great relationship of sovereign and subject in the empire. My friendship with Ziyu can be called spiritual; we are not to be estranged through what others may say. Convinced of your best intention, I have sealed up your letter and sent it to Ziyu, so he may be aquainted with your intention."

[Gabriel]

22. The Sovereign of Han sent the chiang-chun Wu Pan and Feng Xi to attack Sun Quan's generals Li Yi and Liu O, etc.; they defeated them at Wu and the army advanced to Tzu-kuei. The number of troops employed amounted to more than forty thousand. The Man barbarians of Wu-ling all sent envoys to request him to sent troops to them.

23. Sun Quan appointed the chen-hsi chiang-chun Lu Xun to be Commander-in-chief, with the Tally; in this capacity he was to command the Generals Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, Song Qian, Han Dang, Xu Sheng, Hsien-Yu Tan, Sun Huan, etc.; with fifty thousand troops, in resistance to him [the Sovereign of Han].

24. The Emperor's younger brothers, Lord of Yen-ling Cao Zhang, Lord of Wan Cao Ju, Lord of Lu-yang Cao Yu, Lord of Ch'iao Cao Lin, Lord of Tsan Cao Kan, Lord of Shou-chun Cao Piao, Lord of Li-ch'eng Cao Hui, Lord of P'ing-yu Cao Mao were all advanced in their rank to be Dukes. The Lord of An-hsiang Cao Zhi was reeneoffed as Lord of Chuan-ch'eng.

25. The terrace Ling-yun-t'ai was constructed.

26. Some time ago the Emepror had commanded his body of officials to hazard a conjecture as to whether Liu Bei would issue from his domain and avenge Guan Yu on Sun Quan. The consensus was, "Shu is but a petty state and has had only one general of renown, Guan Yu. Now that Guan Yu is dead the army is overthrown, the whole country is possessed by worry and fear; Liu Bei has no chance of issuing from his domain." The shih-chung Liu Ye alone said, "Narrow and weak though Shu may be, Liu Bei has set his heart on consolidating his position by martial prowess. Therefore he is certain to conduct a campaign to demonstrate that he still has plenty of strength. Furthermore, the relation between Guan Yu and Liu Bei was indeed that of sovereign and subject, but their affection was comparable with that of father and son. If he cannot, after Guan Yu's death, raise his troops and take revenge on the enemy, he will not be fulfilling his part!"

27. Eighth month (Sept. 5 - Oct. 3). Sun Quan sent an envoy to declare himself the subject of the Wei, his memorial being couched in humble language; he also sent back Yu Jin and others who were prisoners of war in Wu. All the court officials congratulated the Emperor, but Liu Ye alone said, "Sun Quan is asking to surrender without due reason; there certainly must be some difficulty in his state. Some time ago, Sun Quan surprised Guan Yu by assualt and killed him, taking the four prefectures of Jing-zhou. Liu Bei is certain to raise a large army and attack him. There being the threat of this powerful invader, the minds of the Wu multitudes are perturbed. He is also afraid that we of China might come and take advantage of this oppurtunity. It is for these reasons that he renounces his territory and asks to surrender. By this means, he may first prevent any attack from China, then obtain support from China, so that he may strengthen the hearts of his multitudes and make his enemy hesitate. Sun Quan is a skillful general, in discovering good plans and anticipating favorable turns; but as far as I can see, his plan cannot be anything but this. Now, the empire is divided into three parts; China has eight tenths, while Wu and Shu occupy one province each. It is in their own interests that these smaller states, blockaded by mountains and protected by waters, come to each other's aid in times of emergency. But they are now attacking one another; Heaven wills their destruction. We therefore ought to raise a large army and cross the Jiang without delay to assualt him. With Shu attacking the exterior and us attacking the interior, Wu will perish in a month at most. After Wu has parished, the Shu will stand alone without support. We may cede half of Wu and give it to Shu. Shu cannot subsist long; how much more certainly so when Shu gets the exterior portion of Wu and we the interior!"

The Emperor said, "If we attack one who has called himself out vassal and surrendered to us, we will only be causing doubt in the hearts of those of the empire who intended to come to us; they will be certain to be fearful. This will not do at all. It is better to accept Wu's surrender first and then assualt Shu from their back."

Liu Ye, however, replied, "We are distant from Shu and near to Wu. Furthermore, hearing that China is attacking them, the Shu troops will return and we will not be able to stop them. Now, Liu Bei is so vexed that he has raised his army to strike at Wu; hearing of our attack on Wu and knowing well that Wu will perish, he will rejoice and advance with his army to contend with us in the partitioning of the Wu territory. He certainly will not alter his plan and suppress his anger to rescue Wu." The Emperor did not listen to him, but accepted Wu's surrender.

28. Yu Jin's moustache and hair were white and he looked haggard and worn out. Received in audience by the Emperor, he wept and knocked his forehead on the ground. The Emperor consoled him by mentioning the cases of Hsun Lin-Fu and Meng-Ming Shih and appointed him to be an-yuan chiang-chun. He ordered him to go northwards to Ye and visit the mausolem of Kao-ling. Meanwhile, the Emperor had pictures of Guan Yu's victory, Pang De's rage, and Yu Jin's capitulation painted on the walls of the mausolem. Seeing them, Yu Jin was filled with shame, grew ill and died.

29. Your Servant Sima Guang observes: --
"Commander of tens of thousands of troops, Yu Jin could not make up his mind to die when he was defeated, but surrendered alive to the enemy. Now that he returned Wen-Di might have dismissed him or might have killed him. Instead, he had pictures painted on the walls of the mausolem and insulted him; his act was not worthy of a sovereign."

[Sun Gongli]

22. The Sovereign of Han sent the chiang-chun23. Sun Quan appointed the chen-hsi chiang-chun Lu Xun to be Commander-in-chief, with the Tally; in this capacity he was to command the Generals Chu Jan, Pan Zhang, Song Qian, Han Dang, Xu Sheng, Hsien-Yu Tan, Sun Huan, etc.; with fifty thousand troops, in resistance to him [the Sovereign of Han].

Is this Song Qian the same Song Qian who supposedly was slain by Li Dian at He Fei?

I had a hard time deciphering the romanization, but I'll try my best: Chu Jan is Zhu Ran and Hsien-Yu Tan is Chunyu Dan?

[Gabriel]

I would assume it is, though I don't recall reading of his death in Li Dian's SGZ bio.

[Gabriel]

30. On the day Sept. 23, the Emperor dispatched the t'ai-chang Hsing Cheng to carry an imperial edict appointing Sun Quan King of Wu and conferring on him the Nine Gifts. Liu Ye said, "I disapprove of this. There late Emperor [i.e., Cao Cao] in his campaigns throughout the empire, conquered eight tenths, his prowess shaking the land within the seas. Your Majesty received the throne and ascended it; your virtue is comparable of Heaven and Earth, your rule extends to the four distant quarters. This is really so in actuality, not idle encomium on my part. Man of great talents though he is, Sun Quan was no more then a p'iao-chi chiang-chun and Lord of Nan-zhang under the defunct Han dynasty; his official position is insignificant and his power is small. Moreover, his people are in their hearts afraid of China. You ought not to compel them to exert themselves in unison with him to accomplish his design. If you cannot help accepting his surrender, you can advance his title to chiang-chun and eneoff him as lord of a hundred thousand households; you ought not to make him a King so lightly. For the rank of a King is only a grade lower then that of the Son of Heaven; ceremonies pertaining to him and carriages and insignia used by him can be confused with those of the Son of Heaven. Until now he has been a mere lord; there never has been in Jiang-nan the relationship of sovereign and subjects between him and his people. For you now to credit this false surrender and raise his eneoffment, thus giving him lofty title and fixing the relationship of sovereign and subjects between him and his people--this is nothing short of adding wings to a tiger. Sun Quan, once he receives the rank of King and repulses the Shu troops, will make a show of humility in serving China, not omitting to aquaint his people with this, but privately will act in a haughty and arrogant manner, thus contriving to drive Your Majesty to anger. Then when Your Majesty, in austere anger, raises an army to punish him, he will say to his people in all composure, 'We have served China with our whole heart, without sparing rare merchandise and valuable treasures. We have never dared to lose sight of all ceremonies due from subjects to their sovereign; yet they are making a campaign against us without an provocation. They are bent on demolishing our state and enslaving our people.' The people of Wu cannot help believing his words; believing his words, they will be moved to anger and, high and low united in heart, will fight with tenfold strength." The Emperor again did not listen to him.

31. The Wu having surrendered, the various generals of Wei became easy-going and lax. Only the cheng-nan ta chiang-chun Xiahou Shang paid all the more attention to military preparations, offensive and defensive.

32. Cao Wei of Shang-yong was reputed to be a man of talent. Hearing that the Wu had called themselves vassals of Wei, he, a mere private person, exchanged letters with the King of Wu, soliciting largesse from him, his intention being to enlist friends for him in the capital. Informed of this, the Emperor put him to death.

33. The Wu walled Wu-chang.

34. Previously the Emperor had desired to install Yang Piao as t'ai-yu. Yang Piao declined the offer and said, "I once was one of the Three Ducal Ministers of the Han dynasty. In a time of decline and disorder, I was not able to effect anything good. Were I to become an official of the Wei, I should not be bringing any luster to the officialdom of the land." So the Emperor refrained from the appointment.

35. Winter, tenth month. On the dat Nov. 4, ducal and other ministers paid homage to the Emperor, it being the first day of the month. He also received in audience Yang Piao, treating him as a guest; he conferred on him a Cane of Longevity and a desk at which to recline, and allowed him to appear at court wearing a hempen garment and a leather cap. He appointed him kuang-lu ta-fu, with the rank of chung erh-ch'ien-shih, his position in court reception being inferior only to those of the Three Ducal Ministers; furthermore, he ordered a barricade erected on the gate of Yang Piao's residence and appointed subordinate officials for him, in order to show him honor and distinction. Yang Piao died at the age of eighty-four.

36. Grain prices being high, the wu-shu coins were put out of circulation.

[Gabriel]

37. In Liang-zhou, the Hu barbarians at Lu-shui, led by I-Ch'ien's concubine Chih-Yuan-To and others, rebelled, so that the Ho-hsi region fell into great disorder. The Emperor summoned Tsou Ch'i to return to his office and reassigned the Governor of Jing-zhao Zhang Ji as Governor of Liang-zhou. The Emperor's order addressed him: "Of old, when Jia Fu petitioned to attack the rebels in Yen, the Emperor Guang-Wu of the later Han laughed and said, 'With the chih-chin-wu striking at Yen, need I worry?' You surpass others in your stratagems. You are authorized to take adequate measures on your own authority; I shall not expect you to report and request my instruction before acting." He sent the hu-chun Xiahou Ju and the chiang-chun Fei Yao, etc. to reinforce him.

Having arrived at Chin-ch'eng, he wanted to cross the Ho (Yellow River); his generals maintained that their troops being few and the road being steep, they should not penetrate too far. Zhang Ji said, "The road is indeed steep, but not as steep as Ching-hsing; the rebels, a bunch of rabble, lack the counsel of a Li Tso-Chu. Now Wu-wei is in danger, and we ought to proceed to this place speedily." In the end he crossed the Ho.

More then seven thousand mounted troops of the Hu barbarians encountered and resisted Zhang Ji at the mouth of the Chan-yin river. Zhang Ji proclaimed loudly that his army would march along the Chan-yin. But he led them secretly by way of Chu-tz'u to Wu-wei. Taken by surprise the Hu barbarians thought he was a god; they retreated to Hsien-mei.

It was only after Zhang Ji had occupied Wu-wei that Fei Yao arrived, while Xiahou Ju and his men still had not come. Zhang Ji rewarded and thanked his generals and troops. He wanted to advance and strike at the Hu barbarians, the various generals all said, "Our rank and file are fatigued, while the barbarian hordes are still high-spirited; it will be difficult for us to do battle with them." Zhang Ji said, "At present there is no ready food for our army, hence we have to live upon the enemy. Discovering that our various forces are united, the enemy will retreat to high mountains: if we retreat, they will make sallies and plunder us. In that case our troops will be at their mercy. This is what is meant by the saying, 'The enemy let loose for one day will cause trouble for several generations.'" He then advanced with his army to Hsien-mei.

Eleventh month (Dec. 2-31). Several thousand mounted troops of the Hu barbarians, taking advantage of strong wind, were about to set fire to the encampments of Wei. The generals and troops were all seized by fear. During the night, Zhang Ji placed in ambush three thousand troops and had his ts'an-chun Ch'eng Kung-Yin command more then a thousand mounted troops to challenge the enemy to a battle. He ordered him to pretend to retreat; the Hu barbarians, as he expected, rushed forward eagerly, whereupon he had his troops rise from their ambush and intercept them from the rear. They advanced and struck both from head and tail, and inflicted a heavy defeat, slaughtering and capturing the Hu by tens of thousands. The entire region of Ho-hsi was conquered.

38. Later, Ch'u Kuang of Xi-ping rebelled and killed the Prefect. The various generals wanted to strike at him, but Zhang Ji said, "It is only Ch'u Kuang and his men who have rebelled; it cannot be that all the people of the prefecture have joined them. Were we to proceed there at once with our troops, then the under-officials, the people, and the Ch'iang-hu (Tibetans) will be certain to think that the State does not discriminate the good and the bad; they will all the more stick to each other. In this way we will only be adding wings to a tiger. Ch'u Kuang and his men want to find support in the Ch'iang-hu. We shall first let the Ch'iang-hu attack and plunder them; we shall promise the Ch'iang-hu high rewards and all the booty they may take. In this way we shall limit their strength externally and effect their disunion internally, and thus conquer them without fighting."

Thereupon he sent a proclamation to the various Ch'iang tribes, that all those who had been led astray by Ch'u Kuang were pardoned, and that any one who could kill the rebel leader and send him the severed head would be rewarded and eneoffed. Thereupon Ch'u Kuang's own followers killed him and sent his severed head to Zhang Ji; the rest went back to their peaceful lives of former days.

39. Hsing Chen arrived at the capital of Wu. The Wu maintained that Sun Quan ought to proclaim himself Generalissimo and Cheif of one of the Nine Provinces and should not accept the eneoffment from the Wei. The King of Wu said, "I have never heard that there was such a title as Lord of one of the Nine Provinces. Of old, the Duke of P'ei [Liu Bang] also accepted Xiang Yu's enoeffment of him as King of Han; this was no more then a temporary but necessary compromise. What indignity can I suffer thereby?" In the end he accpeted it.

40. The King of Wu went out to the post-house in the suburbs of the capital to wait for the arrival of Hsing Chen. Entering through the gate, Hsing Chen did not alight from his carriage. Zhang Zhao said to him, "No rule of propriety is to go unrespected, hence there in no law that is not to be enforced. Nevertheless, you, sir, presume to be arrogant. Is it because you think we south of the Jiang are so unimportant as to possess not even an inch of swordblade?" Thereupon Hsing Chen at once alighted from his carriage.