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 Theob ...
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period of China. He was known for his austere lifestyle.
Early life
He Qia was born in Xiping County (),
Runan Commandery
Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into th ...
Xiping County
Xiping County () is a county in the southeast-central part of Henan province in the People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian. Xiping covers an area of and has 840,000 inhab ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. In the 190s, 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 ...
sent ambassadors to Runan Commandery inviting the gentry and nobility to join his cause. Yu Province was an area of contention between Yuan Shao and his half-brother
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
, so He Qia feared staying, but he did not want to serve under a man such as Yuan Shao, whose ambition He Qia felt exceeded his capability.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 23.655
Instead, He Qia brought his family south to Jing Province to serve the provincial governor
Liu Biao
Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...
, whom He Qia considered to be a kind lord without higher ambition. Crossing the
Yangtze river
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
, he settled in at Wuling Commandery () in present-day
Changde
Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongt ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
.
Service under Cao Cao
In the late 190s, Cao Cao gained control over parts of Jing Province, and He Qia found employment in his administration. In this early stage of his career, he spoke out against the elevation of officers based on their following an ascetic, deliberately impoverished lifestyle, and against seeing these men as more pure than officers who displayed their salary outwardly.
In 213, after
Emperor Xian
Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
enfeoffed Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei (), He Qia served as a Palace Attendant ()''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', 23.656 in Cao Cao's dukedom. He unsuccessfully defended
Mao Jie
Mao Jie (died 216), courtesy name Xiaoxian, was an official serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was from Pingqiu County, Chenliu Commandery, which is located east of present-day Fengqiu County, H ...
against rumours that Mao slandered Cao Cao. Correspondence on the matter between He Qia and Cao Cao has survived until the present-day and has been preserved in the '' Records of the Three Kingdoms''. Due to these rumours, Mao Jie was forced to commit suicide in 216.
Later career
He Qia received successive promotions under Cao Cao and
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 ...
, rising to the position of Minister of the Household (), the most important personnel manager of the Wei court. Under
Cao Rui
Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later rem ...
, he was granted 200 taxable households in his marquisate as the Marquis of Xiling District ().
Late in life, He Qia reversed his position on asceticism and began living a greatly curtailed lifestyle. After he was promoted to the prestigious position of Minister of Ceremonies () under Cao Rui, he gave so freely of his salary that he was forced to liquidate his real estate in order to support himself. Cao Rui granted him grain and silk so He Qia could avoid total insolvency. His modest lifestyle is reflected in his posthumous name, Marquis Jian (簡侯; literally "modest marquis").
Family
*He Li (), He Qia's elder son and successor
*He You (), He Qia's younger son, served as Minister of Justice () and Secretary of Personnel () in Wei
**He Qiao (和嶠; died 292), He You's son, served as Junior Protector of the Crown Prince () for
Sima Yu
Sima or SIMA may refer to:
People
* Sima (Chinese surname)
* Sima (given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey
* Sima (surname)
Places
* Sima, Comoros, on the island of Anjouan, near Madagascar
* Sima de los Huesos, a caver ...
of the
Eastern Jin dynasty
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
; son-in-law of
Xiahou Xuan
Xiahou Xuan (209 – March 254), courtesy name Taichu, was a Chinese essayist, historian, military general, philosopher, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Family background
Xiahou Xuan was the so ...
**He Yu (), He You's son, served as Prefect of the Masters of Writing () under the Eastern Jin dynasty
***He Ji (), He Yu's son, served as a Palace Writer Attendant () under the Eastern Jin dynasty''Book of Jin'', 45.1284
Chen Shou
Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...