Chen Lin (陳琳 ; ; died 217),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

Kongzhang (孔璋), was an official, scholar and poet who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

of China. He was one of the "

Seven Scholars of Jian'an Seven scholars of Jian'an (), also translated as the "seven philosophers of Jian'an", or the "seven masters of Jian'an", were a group of seven Chinese intellectuals of the Eastern Han dynasty. The name was coined by Cao Pi. "Jian'an" refers to the ...

". He later served as Military Advisor to

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

Life

Chen Lin was from Sheyang County (),

Guangling Commandery Guangling Commandery ( zh, 廣陵郡) was a historical commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day central Jiangsu province in central coastal China. It was named after Guangling, a historical name of Yangzhou. In e ...

(), which is located east of present-day

Baoying County Baoying County () is under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of 919,900 (2004) and a land area of . The northernmost county-level division of Yangzhou City, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Yan ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

He Jin

He started his career during the reign of Emperor Ling (168–189) as a Registrar () under

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He, the emp ...

, the General-in-Chief. In 189, He Jin wanted to summon military forces from outside the imperial capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

to pressure Empress Dowager He into agreeing to exterminate the eunuch faction. Chen Lin strongly objected to this idea and argued that "to act in this manner is no difference from lighting a furnace to burn a strand of hair". He Jin did not listen to him and ended up being assassinated by the eunuch faction, while the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

took advantage of the power vacuum to enter Luoyang and seize control of the central government.

Yuan Shao

Chen Lin escaped from Luoyang and travelled to

Ji Province Ji Province, also known by its Chinese name Jizhou, was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. It is referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Rites of Zhou,Offices of Summer (� ...

, where he became a secretary of the warlord

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred t ...

, who became the Governor of Ji Province in 191. Chen helped Yuan write official documents. Around 199 or 200, Yuan asked Chen Lin to write a "declaration of war" against his rival,

, who then controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian (89–220). The piece of writing, called "Proclamation to Yu Province on Behalf of Yuan Shao" ( 為袁紹檄豫州), contained a list of Cao Cao's "crimes", insults directed at Cao Cao's ancestors, and calls for the people in Yu Province to rise up against Cao Cao (among other things). In 200, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at the decisive

Battle of Guandu The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victo ...

Cao Cao

After Yuan Shao's death in 202, internal conflict broke out between his sons

Yuan Tan Yuan Tan (died 205), courtesy name Xiansi, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who was the eldest son of Yuan Shao, a warlord who occupied much of northern China during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Yuan Shao's death, Y ...

and

Yuan Shang Yuan Shang (died December 207), courtesy name Xianfu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the third son and successor of the warlord Yuan Shao. In the 14th-centu ...

over control of their father's territories in northern China.

Cui Yan Cui Yan (165–216), courtesy name Jigui, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his early life, he served briefly in the local district office before leaving home to study und ...

, whom both Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang wanted on their side, refused to help either of them and was thrown into prison. Chen Lin and Yin Kui () saved Cui Yan.(及紹卒，二子交爭，爭欲得琰。琰稱疾固辭，由是獲罪，幽於囹圄，賴陰夔、陳琳營救得免。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 12. In 204, during the

Battle of Ye The Battle of Ye or Battle of Yecheng took place in 204 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and Yuan Shang, son and successor of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao, in the Yuan clan's headquarters Ye (in present ...

between Cao Cao and Yuan Shang, Cao Cao sent a messenger to meet Chen Lin and ask him to surrender, but Chen Lin refused and was taken prisoner after Ye city fell to Cao Cao. Many people feared for Chen Lin as they thought that Cao Cao would execute him for writing the "Proclamation to Yu Province on Behalf of Yuan Shao". However, Cao Cao not only spared Chen Lin because he appreciated his literary talent, but also recruited him to serve as a Libationer and Military Adviser () under the Minister of Works (). Chen Lin served under Cao Cao since then and helped him write official documents. He died in a great plague which rampaged through China in 217.

Works

His surviving writings include literary

yuefu ''Yuefu'' are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. The term originally literally meant "Music Bureau", a reference to the imperial Chinese governmental organization(s) originally charged with collecting or writing the lyrics, later the ...

written in imitation of current folk ballads, and he is considered one of the major exponents of this typical

Jian'an poetry Jian'an poetry, or Chien'an poetry (), refers to the styles of Chinese poetry particularly associated with the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Six Dynasties era of China. This poetry category is particularly important because, in ...

style, along with Cao Cao and others. Cao Cao's son and successor,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest s ...

, ranked Chen Lin as what he termed the "Seven Scholars (子 ''zi'') of Jian'an". The other six members of the "Seven Scholars of Jian'an" were

Wang Can Wang Can (177 – 17 February 217), courtesy name Zhongxuan, was a Chinese politician and poet who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He contributed greatly to the establishment of laws and standards during the founding days o ...

Ruan Yu Ruan may refer to: Buildings *Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa *John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Places *Ruan, County Clare, Ireland *Ruan, Loiret, France *Mont Ruan, Switzerland *Ruan Major and Ru ...

(), Liu Zhen (), Xu Gan, () and

Kong Rong Kong Rong () (153 – 26 September 208), courtesy name Wenju, was a Chinese poet, politician, and minor warlord. who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was a 20th generation descendant of Confucius. As he was once the Chance ...

. In 218, the year following the plague, Cao Pi wrote a letter to a friend lamenting that Chen Lin and three other members of the "Seven Scholars of Jian'an" had died in the previous year. One of Chen Lin's ''

'' poems was translated by Wai-lim Yip as "Water the Horses at a Breach in the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

Life

He Jin

Yuan Shao

Cao Cao

Works

See also

Notes

References

Further reading