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glassrowboat · 16 days ago

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Im not able to finish Earthly Delights Chapter 2 until later this week, so I'll be sharing deleted scenes or scrapped fics below!

Bleach is a Red Flag. Jing Yuan.

The smell of bleach invaded his nose, causing it to wrinkle with how strong the scent was. Overpowering the lit incense Jing Yuan could see shoved into the burner precariously, tendrils of smoke twisting and turning through the air in its own dance until it disappeared into the otherwise sparkling clean home.

Something was wrong.

The bookshelf was dusted and reorganized (in your way, not his), every single trace of white cat fur gone, and the floor was still wet from being mopped as Jing Yuan left footprints in the mix of water and soap after he had pulled his boots off. Left by the door, like always with one tipped over to rest on the other. Right by another pair of smaller shoes

Kiss Me (Kill me) Chapter 2

Thursday, June 20, 1675.

Your eyes had only fallen on the terminal for a moment before discarding it with ease, choosing not to pay the glowing blue light that flicked, calling you in like a siren's song. Still, the glow lit up your skin, decorating it with a soft hue as your footsteps filled the room.

Unlike the labs, the archives were mainly structured with wood. Shelves climbing high above your head, spelling out how long this collection had come to accrue as each slot that could possibly be filled was stuffed full of a dusty leather book. Crooked pages jutting out like stay hairs of a ponytail you would have to undo and redo again only to huff and say good enough once your patience had been tested enough.

Surely, they contained notes.

That's why you didn't even so much as touch the terminal, the one thing in this room that smelled of disinfectant. People so often forget to include others' notes added in, slipped between leather bound pages, when transferring the written word to nothing more than data. Surely no one would bother to note something as mundane as how Inazumans like to () just as the little postcard in your hand said now; not when their patience was on the line. Book in the other.

Granted, it would be more convenient. You could at least acquiesce to that as you looked down the endless rows. A ladder only a few feet away that you had nearly tripped, no thanks to a certain flickering light bulb, on as you made your way in.

You had gone up that damn thing again and again, pulling it around behind you as you gathered up anything that looked relevant to your search until your arms were straining in protest and you had dropped them down in a not so neat pile on the floor. A certain one titled () slipping off the top of your stack and falling open to a random page you were already dismissing in favor of flicking to the front.

The words: () laid before you as you picked up a sparkly purple pen. It twirled between your fingers as you pulled out the notebook you had brought along from the bottom of the stack. Clean pages just waiting to be stained with ink and your thoughts as you sit down with your research.

That's how Dottore found you. Legs crossed, surrounded by your own books of revelation on both sides (clearly separating which ones you have managed to go through so far and those you have not) and massaging at your aching hand, screaming at you in protest for abusing it for hours on end after clenching your pen far too tightly all as you read over what was before you.

“It is always a pleasant sight to see the faculties meant for convenience going ignored.”

Silken Shadows Chapter 3. Pantalone

Like this, it was easy to believe Pantalone was the imposing man you have heard whispers about from those that scorn his very name. Hushed words coming from people in coats as thin as yours as they sit under a ripped awning for shelter, lacking any other place to return to. They all stood in such sharp contrast to Pantalone it could give anyone whiplash as you left your world and entered his.

Even if just for a night.

A woman you know, Maria, might compare this to the tale of Cinderella, but you knew better as you took in the turtle neck that clung to him in ways you never knew fabric could lay on another's body, the walking stick held between his clasped hand so ornate and covered in jewels the sight of it alone could prove to be blinding, and the shoes that boosted his height by a few inches.

A fact you found yourself snickering over at the realization every pair of shoes you've seen him in in the brief amount of time you two have known eachother were heels as Pantalone tries to skirt by making himself look taller. (At least they weren't lifted. Those things never look right).

Still, in the end, even with the jokes you tell yourself, this was a perfectly crafted appearance to make one thing clear: this was the Regrator, the Ninth, a Harbinger, and what he says goes.

He was no prince charming.

Ill Be Your Home; Ill Be Your Oxygen. Baizhu.

A little mermaid had fallen for a human. Her eyes always looked at him in wonder and curiosity, for she wished to know all he had to offer. His voice so she may listen to it all day, his hand so she may cradle it in her own, his eyes so she may gaze into them, and lastly: his heart so she may know what it's like to have one that beats with warmth rather than the cold that filled her own veins.

He was everything to her.

A sun that walked on land rather than the clouds above.

So she gave up everything to be with this human.

Cast aside her tail even as pain shot through her legs with every step so she could walk beside him. Matching his stride on the cobblestone paths of the human world. Threw her memory of her family aside even as it weighed her down like the weights those humans tie to each other's ankles in the form of a permanent exile. Lastly, she forgot how to breathe the very element that made her.

Water.

All for a human that would never love her back as another came to fill his eyes with love.

But still, even then, on the day the mermaid knew her love would forever be incomplete, and this other human would hold the one she longed for as they bound their soul together through a ceremony of white gowns and holier than thou vows, the mermaid saved him.

You see, he fell in the water as the boat rocked side to side. Accidentally, the young man tripped on some rope and toppled over the side of the boat. Fell into the very home the mermaid forsook in the name of her human.

So what did she do? She went home.

She fell into the water once again, let the scales take over her skin, and her lips met the human’s so she could offer him the one gift she could bestow.

Michi's Character Story

To be like her.

The Warden's Prison. Wriothesley.

“I'm almost certain that is a torture tool.”

“Is it? I never would have guessed.”

As you spoke, tone far too self satisfied, Wriothesley looked back and forth between you, your extended finger, and the silver item hanging off of your crooked knuckle. It shined in the light of your shared home, nearly sparkling as it wedged against your skin with ease. Ironic, considering its purpose was to be anything but easy. Mainly for him.

“And a torture tool?” You asked. “The way you phrase it is so melodramatic.”

Wriothesley felt a bead of sweat sliding down along his back as you rolled your eyes. Clearly, you weren't going to take his nerves seriously, much less pretend to. Not even as you proudly presented the cage between you both with a lax smile. “Worried?”

“Who, me?” Wriothesley shot back, shrugging his shoulders to try and sell the fact he was completely unpreturbed

It's just a shame you weren't buying it.

Outlander. How impersonal. It chilled them all the way down to her core until Michi's bones were aching at the reminder that she was nothing more than an alien to this world ripped from her own. Funnily enough, she could finally relate to the toys in a claw machine as she was left to her machinations.

#writing scraps

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bookofjin · 6 years ago

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Early Life of Liu Yuan, Part 1

Split in two parts due to excessive length.

This post, hopefully the first in a series, covers the life of Liu Yuan, the founder of Han-Zhao from his portentous birth through his time as a hostage son in Luoyang.

The sources

There are four extant accounts of Liu Yuan's life, in the Book of Wei (Weishu魏書, WS) by Wei Shou, finished in 554 during the Northern Qi, in the Book of Jin (Jinshu晉書, JS) by Fang Xuangling et al, finished in 648 during the Tang, in the Imperial Overview from Taping (Taiping Yulan 太平御覽, TPYL) finished in 983 during the Song, and in the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government (Zizhi tongjian資治通鑑, ZZTJ) by Sima Guang, finished 1084 also during the Song.

Even a cursory comparison of these four texts shows that they are very similar, This is almost certainly due to them sharing a common source, the Spring and Autumn of Sixteen States (Shiliuguo chunqiu 十六國春秋, SLGCQ) by Cui Hong of the Northern Wei era (386 – 534). This book, in 100 scrolls, seems to have been written in basically a chronicle style (with some biographical elements), with a separate chronicle for each of the sixteen states. The SLCQ is no longer extant except in excerpts or indirectly through its use as a source by later books.

Of the four extant sources, the WS is the oldest but also the shortest. Originally 131 scrolls long, this is a history of the Northern Wei in the biographic-thematic style, written during succeeding Northern Qi. Though primarily concerned with the Northern Wei and their Tuoba Xianbei ancestors, there are also summary accounts of the rulers of the Sixteen States, the Eastern Jin and the other southern dynasties. These are all treated as barbarian usurpers and pretenders.

Liu Yuan's biography is found in WS095. The WS's account is too brief to add much information not found in the longer texts, it is more valuable as an attestation earlier than the JS.

The JS is a history of Western and Eastern Jin in 130 scrolls, also in the biographic-thematic style. Written more than two centuries after the end of Eastern Jin, the JS is essentially a composite text created by selecting from and editing together older texts. The JS throughout treats the Jin rulers as the legitimate rulers, their northern rivals are all false usurpers. Hence those fourteen of the Sixteen States who dared declare themselves kings and emperors in defiance of the Jin are collected in the final 30 scrolls of the book, the Yearly Annals (zaiji 載記).

The life and reign of Liu Yuan is covered in JS101, the first of the zaiji. This is the longest of the four texts covering Liu Yuan's life, and for the part under consideration in this post near comprehensive by itself.

The TPYL is a large encyclopedia in 1 000 scrolls, divided into 55 topics with 5 364 articles. Like other such encyclopedias, the TPYL's articles are made up of quotations from older sources, most are now lost. There are many quotations from the SLGCQ in the TPYL I have found two relevant fragments on the early life of Liu Yuan – it is of course possible that I have missed something.

TPYL119, Regional Rulers 3: Liu Yuan: Biography sourced to Cui Hong's Spring and Autumn of Sixteen States, Records of Former Zhao.

TPYL142, Imperial Relatives 8: Liu Yuan of Former Zhao's mother Consort Huyan. Sourced to Cui Hong's Spring and Autumn of Thirty States, Records of Former Zhao. Largely repeats text also found in TPYL119.

The ZZTJ is a universal history written in the chronicle style. Similarly to the JS, the ZZTJ has been created by abbreviating and editing together older texts. In his notes to his text, Sima Guang names several of the sources he has used, these include the JS and the SLGCQ. Though ZZTJ is a chronicle, a biography of Liu Yuan can be put together the relevant sections. The sections of this post comes from ZZTJ80.

Commentary

(You may want to open a separate tab with the translations in Part 2.)

Yuanhai (JS): Liu Yuan shares his personal name with Li Yuan, Gaozu of Tang. To observe the taboo on the Tang founder's name, in the JS, Liu Yuan is therefore referred to as Liu Yuanhai throughout. There are a few places where the TPYL uses Yuanhai were Yuan seems more natural. Are some of its quotes of the SLGCQ through a Tang intermediary?

Earlier history of the Xiongnu

The founders of the Sixteen States came from many different peoples, and their biographies usually begins with a short recounting of their ancestors, in the case of Liu Yuan, the Xiongnu.

TPYL: His ancestor was an offshoot of the Xia princely clan named Chunwei. This line is a straight copy from opening of the Hanshu's account of the Xiongnu, which again has borrowed it (with some minor changes) from the Shiji.

Modun, by coincidence or not, conquered the steppes as Shanyu of the Xiongnu around the same time that Liu Bang, Gaozu of Han, united the Central States. In 200 BC Modun's Xiongnu inflicted a humiliating defeat on Han army under the personal command of Gaozu at the Battle of Baideng.

The Han then adopted a proposal by Lou Jing, renamed Liu Jing in reward. Han concluded a peace treaty with the Xiongnu which recognized the Han Emperor and the Xiongnu Shanyu as equals. The Han Emperor provided a Princess of the imperial Liu family to the Shanyu and also various gifts as tribute. The idea was to keep the peace with the Xiongnu, but also at the same time connect the Shanyu to the Emperor through family bonds and gradually win the Xiongnu over to the superiority of the Central States' civilization. This was the so-called “Peace and Affinity” system which lasted until Emperor Wu of Han went to war against the Xiongnu in 133 BC.

The Southern Shanyu

Succession from brother to brother is quite common in steppe history and precisely what happened when the Wuzhuliu Shanyu died in 13 AD. His son Bi was passed over in favour of his youngest brother Xian, and when Xian died in 18 AD to a middle brother, Yu. But when Yu died in 46 AD, his son Wudadihou became Shanyu, and when Wudadihou died only a few months later, he was succeeded by another of Yu's sons, Punu.

Bi was angry at being cut out of the succession, and offered alliance to Han. The offer was accepted and winter 48/49 Bi declared himself Shanyu. Bi however only gained the allegiance of a minority of the Xiongnu and stood little chance of prevailing against Punu. In 50 AD he did formal obeisance as a vassal ruler to the Han Emperor and entered Han territory with his people. From winter 50 AD he made his court at Meiji in Xihe commandery.

For the rest of Eastern Han, the Southern Shanyu at Meiji remained a Han vassal, acting as a buffer against the Northern Xiongnu and receiving quite considerable gifts in return. His adherents were allowed to settle in the commanderies of Bing province. At the same time Eastern Han's presence and power in the north-western provinces was in decline. The Treatise of Geography in the Houhanshu reveal a drastic drop in registered population in Bing province since the end of Western Han.

The Xiongnu from the end of Han to Western Jin

Qiangqu became Southern Shanyu in 179 AD. In 184 AD he sent his son Yufuluo with a force of Xiongnu to assist the Han against the Yellow Turbans. In 188 AD Emperor Ling ordered Qiangqu to raise troops against a former Han officials, Zhang Chun, who was using Xianbei to attack the frontier. The Xiongnu worried such conscriptions would become common, and killed Qiangqu.

Yufuluo was forced to flee the Xiongnu lands and came to Luoyang with his remaining followers. When Emperor Ling died in 189 AD, nobody had time for Xiongnu affairs any more, so he became a bandit lord, first based in Henei, and then at Pingyang in Hedong. Over the next years Yufuluo remained a minor players among the warlords at the end of Han until his death in 195 AD.

Yufuluo was succeeded as Shanyu by his brother Huchuquan, Yufuluo's son Bao became Worthy King of the Left, usually title of the Shanyu's designated heir. Huchuquan also failed to gain recognition among his father's people and set up a court-in-exile at Pingyang, his followers mostly lived along the Fen river. By this time Cao Cao (posthumously Emperor Wu of Wei) was in ascendancy, and in 216 AD Huchuquan came to his court at Ye submit.

Cao Cao kept Huchuquan as an honoured prisoner at Ye. When Huchuquan died some time after 220 AD, no new Shanyu was appointed. To govern the Xiongnu, Cao Cao instead divided the Xiongnu into Five Sections, each under a Leader. No doubt the purpose of this was to tighten Wei control of the Xiongnu in Bing province.

While there was no longer a Shanyu, the positions of Leaders of the Five Sections apparently remained hereditary within the old royal clan. The aristocracy of the Bingzhou Xiongnu was in any case becoming increasingly Sinicized. The royal clan adopted the Liu surname, which they justified by the old marriages to the Western Han princesses.

At an unspecified year during Western Jin's Taikang era (280 – 289 AD), the title of Leader was further changed to Chief Commandant. My guess is this was part of a policy of further integrating the Xiongnu leaders into the regular Western Jin administration.

The Five Sections of the Xiongnu

The account of the Xiongnu in JS097 lists the location each Chief Commandant of the Five Sections, and the strength of each section in the number of “encampments” (luo落):

Chief Commandant of the Left Section: Old Zishi county, with 10 000 encampments.

Chief Commandant of the Right Section: Qi county, 6 000 encampments.

Chief Commandant of the Southern Section: Puzi county, 3 000 encampments.

Chief Commandant of the Northern Section: Xinxing commandery, 4 000 encampments.

Chief Commandant of the Middle Section: Daling county, 6 000 encampments.

Bingzhou during Western Jin

The map shows that three out of five Chief Commandants were clustered together, representing 76% of the encampments reported by JS097.

Liu Bao

The sources state that Liu Yuan was the son of Liu Bao, Leader of the Left Section, Worthy King of the Left, and son of Yufuluo. This would make Liu Yuan the direct successor of the great Shanyus. However de Crespigny writes in A Biographical Dictionary (“Bao”, p. 10): “The modern scholar Tang Changru, however, has argued that this was no more than a propaganda attempt to identify Liu Yuan with the great imperial lineages of the past.”

I don't know specifics of Tang Changru's argument, but we can make our own analysis of the chronology:

Yufuluo died in 195, so Bao must have been born at that time at the very latest.

Liu Yuan was born in the early 250s.

Liu Bao died around 280 or a few years later.

It is not exactly humanely impossible that Bao was born around 195, became the father of Liu Yuan in his mid-late fifties, and died in his mid eighties, but it seems a bit unlikely.

Cai Wenji's biography in the HSS states that after the fall of Chang'an in 194 she was taken by the Southern Xiongnu's Worthy King of Left, and lived among the Xiongnu for 12 year to become the mother of two. I left this out because the Xiongnu king is not explicitly identified either as Bao or Yufuluo's son.

I might be mistaken here, but as far as I can tell no son of Yufuluo is ever mentioned in SGZ.

The simplest conclusion seems to be that Liu Bao might well be the name of Liu Yuan's father, but that this Bao was Yufuluo's son seems questionable.

Liu Yuan's portentous birth

The story is told in near identical detail in JS and TPYL. Judging by the number of such stories preserved in the zaiji section of the JS, the SLGCQ must have included a lot of supernatural and portentous stories. Sima Guang leaves them out of his ZZTJ, because he is a boring old Song era Confucian who hates fun. Prophetic dreams and other miraculous events surrounding the birth of the dynastic founder is in fact pretty much standard for the genre, and the lack of such stories for the Wei and Jin more an exception.

As the story is told, Liu Bao's wife, one Ms. Huyan, was praying for a son at Longmen when a large white fish jumped out to the amazement of the shamans (巫覡) present. On top of the large fish were two horns. I suppose the reader is the two horns to refer to Liu Cong and Liu Yao. My guess is that this detail has been added later after the fall of Former Zhao to a story originally intended to legitimize Liu Yuan's rule.

Later Ms. Huyan dreamed she saw the fish turned into a person. In his left hand he held the shining essence of the sun, and by swallowing she would give birth to an honoured child.

When she wakes up Liu Bao in the JS version offers his own prophecy: I formerly followed Zhang Jiong of Handan. His mother, Ms Situ assessed [me], etc. I did not really understand this sentence and my translation is just tentative. Maybe the TPYL editors did not either since they left it out. Zhang Jiong, I don't know who that its. Probably not relevant, but during the Warring States Handan was the capital of Zhao. Situ司徒 is a high official, the Minister Masses, but can I believe also be used as a family name (similarly to sima). Three generations: Liu Yuan, Liu Cong, Liu Yao.

Liu Yuan was then born after a miraculous 13 month pregnancy, in his left hand was written yuanhai 淵海 (according to TPYL). Because of that he received the name Yuan淵 (“vortex” or “abyssal sea”) and courtesy name Yuanhai元海(“Primordial Ocean”).

JS: In his left hand there was written his name. Thereupon they used it to name him. JS has to try getting the point across without actually writing the taboo 淵 character.

Liu Yuan's education

Finished with the portents, the texts then move on to establish Liu Yuan's credentials to rule in more mundane ways.

JS that Liu Yuan lost his mother at the age of seven sui, and mourned her deeply, it is all pretty generic. The Minister of Works, Wang Chang was impressed and offered condolences. Wang Chang also came from Bing province, from Jinyang in Taiyuan. His clan, Taiyuan Wang were among the absolute leading clans of the whole empire.

Liu Yuan studied the Classics under Cui You of Shangdang, among his schoolmates were Zhu Ji of Shangdang and Fan Long of Yanmen, all three northerners. Cui You and Fan Long have short biographies in JS091. Cui You had been a Wei official, but retired due to illness. He lived to decline appointment to Liu Yuan's government and died at the age of 93. Fan Long also became a scholarf and wrote on the Spring and Autumn and the Rites. He avoided government service during the chaotic reign of Emperor Hui, but when he and his friend Zhu Ji met an old man during a mountain hike, they joined Liu Yuan's government.

JS states that Liu Yuan studied and could recite Mr. Mao's Poetry, Jing Fang's Changes, Mr. Ma's Book of Documents, the Mr. Zuo's Traditions on the Spring and Autumn (Zuozhuan chunqiu), and Sun and Wu's Principles of War (Sun Wu bingfa 孫吳兵法). He had an overview of and could summarize Sima Xian's Historical Records, Ban Gu's Book of Han, and the various masters literature.

Mao Heng and Mao Chang's old text version of the Poetry became dominant during Eastern Han, to the point of displacing the others. The Mao Poetry is the only extant version today.

Jing Fang lived during the late Western Han. He was a specialist on the Changes which he interpreted mainly as a divination manual. Jing Fang influenced many later writers on divination, and his commentary on the Changes is still extant.

The Mr. Ma's Documents I assume refer to the commentary written by the Eastern Han scholar Ma Rong. Ma Rong was a proponent of the Old Text version of the Documents, and wrote his commentary based on the works of the earlier Eastern Han writers Jia Kui and Zheng Zhong.

The Zuo Traditions had originally been of secondary importance compared to the Gongyang and Guliang Traditions, but gained in prominence from Eastern Han onwards. During Western Jin, Du Yu wrote a very influential commentary, and created the modern arrangement where the Zuozhuan and Chunqiu are combined into one text.

The two classic military treatises of Master Sun and Master Wu were often paired together. Master Sun's Principles of War is probably the most famous Ancient Chinese text in the west today, but its supposed author, Sun Wu, who served King Helü of Wu (r. 514 – 496 BC) is rather an obscure figure. The Master Wu is attributed to the general Wu Qi (d. 381 BC) who served as a general and minister in the states of Lu, Wei and Chu during the Warring States era.

The Historical Records and the Book of Han basically founded the historiography of imperial China, there were no other histories (except the Chunqiu) of similar status.

Having thoroughly established that Liu Yuan was a civilized and literate man, educated in the Confucian, military, and historical classics, the next step is to legitimize Liu Yuan as a ruler in more physical terms.

It is told how Liu Yuan once, drawing on his knowledge of the histories, criticized two pairs of old Han officials. Sui He and Lu Jia who served Emperor Gao only had civil abilities. Zhou Bo, the Marquis of Jiang, and General Guan Ying who served Taizong, Emperor Wen of Han, only had military. Neither of the four were able to establish a lasting legacy.

Liu Yuan hence studied military affairs. He became strong and tall, good in archery and imposing in manners. His height is recorded at 8 chi, 4 cun (c. 200 cm), his beard was 3 chi long (c. 70 cm) and within the beard were three prominent hairs 3 chi 6 cun long (c. 85 cm). The zaiji in the JS records the height of quite a lot of people, more than all the rest of the JS combined. Liu Yuan's 8 chi, 4 cun makes him the fifth tallest man in the JS (jointly with two other people).

JS records that Cui Yizhi, from Tunliu in Shangdang, and Gongshi Yu, from Xiangling in Pingyang, assessed Liu Yuan as being an extraordinary person. Such assessments from physiognomist and judges of character are a pretty standard feature.

It is also said that Wang Hun of Taiyuan befriended him, and instructed his son, Wang Ji, to do obeisance to him. Wang Hun the famous Western Jin general and minister was in fact the son of Wang Chang, the Minister of Works which the JS records as sending his condolences to Liu Yuan's mother's funeral. Curiously the JS makes no mention of this connection, but it is hard to believe this is a coincidence. There seems to have some effort to connect Liu Yuan with the Taiyuan Wang.

Overall this and the previous section ticks off all the boxes to show that Liu Yuan was destined for greatness. He is born among miraculous portents, grows up tall and strong, and is recognized as an extraordinary person by judges of characters and famous people from the region. He is also filially pious and well educated, clearly, despite his Xiongnu ancestry, this is a civilized man and no barbarian. We can contrast this with Shi Le who, though he grew up in Shangdang, only took a Chinese name as an adult man, and was reportedly illiterate and had to have someone read the Hanshu to him.

Liu Yuan in Luoyang

The next major section deals with Liu Yuan's stay in Luoyang as a hostage, which is mainly told as through direct speech in a series of brief dialogues. Liu Yuan's friends and supporters generally praise his abilities and civilized behaviour, while his opponents warns that he remains a dangerous foreigner.

As usual, the longest account is found in the JS version. The second longest is the ZZTJ version. There are some differences between these two here that I am not sure is just further abbreviation in the ZZTJ. After being almost as detailed as the JS version up to this point, the TPYL version skips this part almost entirely, as if the editors realized their Liu Yuan article was getting far too long.

Liu Yuan came to Luoyang as a hostage son during the Xianxi era (264 -265) AD, the final years of Wei. He was welcomed by Sima Zhao, King Wen of Jin. At that time Liu Yuan was still a teenager, so I guess he grew the full length of his beard only later.

TPYL seems to say that Liu Yuan helped his friends, like Wang Mi from Donglai, to establish friendship with Wang Hun? More on Wang Mi later. In any case, personal connections certainly mattered a great deal for anyone seeking a career in government. JS, ZZTJ and TPYL all mention that Wang Hun recommended Liu Yuan to Emperor Wu. Sima Yan, Emperor Wu, formally replaced Wei as the first Emperor of Western Jin in February 266.

Thanks to Wang Hun, Liu Yuan gains a personal audience with the Emperor, and afterwards Emperor Wu is so impressed that afterwards, in a conversation with Wang Ji, he compares Liu Yuan favourably to Youyu and Jin Midi.

Youyu and Jin Midi were historical examples of foreigners who became civilized and served Chinese rulers. In the 7th Century BC, Yuyou was sent by his master, the King of the Rong, to the court of Duke Mu of Qin. Yuyou was impressed by Duke Mu, and Duke Mu managed to convince Youyu to change his loyalty to Qin. In 623 BC, Duke Mu defeated the Rong thanks to plans made by Youyu.

Jin Midi (134 – 86 BC) was a Xiongnu prince. As a result of intrigues and power struggles within the Xiongnu realm, he became a servant at the household of Emperor Wu of Han. There he so impressed Emperor Wu with his ability and personal quality that at the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC, Jin Midi was named a junior regent of Emperor Zhao.

Wang Ji, Wang Hun's son, was a personal friend of Emperor Wu, and also his relative by marriage. He held the rank of Palace Attendant, as did Kong Xun and Yang Yao. In this capacity they were the Emperor's personal advisors and confidants, and could offer informal advise on various matters.

Wang Ji then praises Liu Yuan's civil and military abilities and suggests he could be employed in the south west where “Wu and Kuai are not sufficiently pacified” - I assume 會 is short for Kuaiji會稽 commandery. This of course refers to Sun Hao's state of Wu, the last obstacle to the reunification of the old empire.

Kong Xun and Yang Yao then step forward to protest in unison.The JS and the ZZTJ versions here seems to differ in substance and not just detail. In the JS version, Kong Xun and Yang Yao seems to argue that if they give Liu Yuan too few forces he will not accomplish anything, if they give him enough, Liu Yuan might just set himself up as the new lord of Wu. For he is of a different kin than them and not to be trusted.

In the shorter ZZTJ version, Kong Xun and Yang Yao just say that Liu Yuan is of a different kin etc. etc., and he is not capable enough for such a task anyway.

It is not entirely clear but especially JS version seems to imply that Wang Ji had proposed Liu Yuan for overall command in a war against Wu, but that just seem incredible, if nothing because Liu Yuan had no command experience at that point.

JS + TPYL: He is not of our type of kin, and his heart is surely different. This is a quote from the Zuo zhuan where it is part of an argument against Lu allying with semi-barbarous Chu against Jin.

The external setting of the next episode is the war against Tufa Shujineng. Shujineng was a leader among the western Xianbei who fought against the Jin for several years. The height of his successes seems to have come in spring 279 when JS003 says that “the miscreant leader Shujineng attacked and captured Liang province”. The Jin court dispatched Ma Long who by the end of the year had defeated and killed Shujineng.

JS and ZZTJ opens the story with Qin and Liang provinces “overturned and lost”, and Emperor Wu asking about suitable generals to send after Shujineng. Li Xi proposes Liu Yuan. If they give a General's title to Liu Yuan, says Li Xi, and send him with the Five Sections of the Xiongnu against Shujineng, the matter will soon be settled with Shujineng's head on display. It is again Kong Xun who comes out against Liu Yuan when he judges Li Xi's proposal less than perfect. When Li Xi protests that the Xiongnu are fierce and strong and Liu Yuan an able general, Kong Xun retorts that this is is precisely the problem. If they let loose the Xiongnu, then once Shujineng is defeated Liang province will be in even bigger trouble.

Li was a native of Tongdi in Shangdang, so we can add him to the list of Bingzhou people who recognized Liu Yuan's worth. I have posted a translation of his biography in JS041 earlier (http://bookofjin.tumblr.com/js041). Li Xi had earlier been Grand Tutor to the Heir-Apparent and then Supervisor of the Masters of Writing, before retiring in old age to the essentially honorary position of Brilliantly Blessed Grandee.

Li Xi's biography says that earlier when he was Supervisor, he had advised sending an army to Liang province, however the court decided the size of the border troubles did not the cost of sending an army there, and therefore did nothing. Later when Li Xi was proven right, the Imperial Court regretted not accepting his advise.

JS: When Jianlong obtained the rain cloud, he did not return to the pond. I am not familiar with the story Kong Xun refers to here, but Jianlong should be some kind of scaly dragon monster.

The first two stories about Liu Yuan in Luoyang are overall pretty similar. Someone from Bingzhou proposes to send Liu Yuan and the Xiongnu against the enemies of Jin. Kong Xun replies that the Xiongnu are too alien and dangerous, and the proposal is dropped. The third and last repeats many of the same arguments made in the previous two, but the setting is a bit different.

In this story, JS and ZZTJ differs the least, the ZZTJ versions is just more abbreviated. Liu Yuan was friends with Wang Mi from Donglai on the eastern coast. Wang Mi's grandfather and father had both been commandery wardens both Wang Mi is not recorded as holding any public office. We are not told why he had come to Luoyang. Maybe he had ambitions of career in the capital, as the TPYL seems to indicate he sought connections with Wang Hun.

Anyway, the story starts with Wang Mi about to go home east to Donglai and Liu Yuan comes to bid farewell. Liu Yuan complains that Wang Hun and Li Xi recognizes him, but every time they recommend him, slanderers claim he is a menace. Now that Wang Mi is leaving, death awaits him in Luoyang. As Liu Yuan attempts to drown his sorrows, his great wails are overheard by Sima You, the King of Qi. Sima You straight-away seeks out the Emperor to tell him that Liu Yuan must be eliminated or there is sure to be trouble in Bing later on. However Wang Hun, conveniently present, steps forward to say to kill a hostage on mere suspicions would hardly enhance the Jin government's outward image of trust and virtue. The Emperor agrees with Wang Hun.

During the breakup of Western Jin, Wang Mi first became a rebel and bandit lord, but later joined Liu Yuan and become one of his most important generals. Sima You (d. 283) was Emperor Wu's younger brother, and generally is portrayed very positively in the JS. He loses the argument here, but of course Liu Yuan did turn out to cause trouble in the end. From the beginning of Jin, Wang Hun held a succession of provincial and military posts, he was only recalled to the capital in 285, after Sima You had died. It is of course possible he happened to be visiting Luoyang when this incident took place.

As for the historicity of all of these stories, the answer I guess is maybe? I don't think we need to doubt that Liu Yuan spent several years in Luoyang as a hostage for his father's good behaviour. The rest is all quotations of direct speech, I don't think there is any way today to disprove these conversations took place. But I guess it all seems a bit too neat for me, and the foreshadowing a bit too heavy.

At some point after 279, but before the mid 280s when the Leaders of the Five Sections were made Chief Commandants, Liu Yuan's father Bao died, and Liu Yuan left Luoyang to replace him as Leader of the Left Section. But that will have to wait for a later post.

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