Ju Shou (died 200) was an adviser serving under 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 ...

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.

Life

Ju Shou was from Guangping County (),

Julu Commandery Julu Commandery () was a historical commandery of China, located in modern-day southern Hebei. The commandery was established by Qin after it annexed Zhao in 222 BC. In early Western Han dynasty, it was part of the Zhao Kingdom. After the failed ...

(), which is in present-day

Quzhou County Quzhou is a county (China), county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan, in the south of Hebei Province, China. It has a population of 400,000 residing in an area of . Administrative divisions There are 5 towns and 5 to ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

. He was allegedly a descendant of Ju Song (), who served as a historian under the mythical

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

. Known for being ambitious since he was a child, he was particularly interested in strategy. He started his career as an Attendant Officer () under Han Fu, the Governor of

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 (� ...

, probably sometime in the reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189). During this time, he was nominated as a ''maocai'' (茂才; outstanding civil service candidate) and held office as the Prefect () of two counties in Ji Province. Han Fu later recommended him to be a Cavalry Commandant (). In 191, Ju Shou came to serve the warlord

after Han Fu relinquished his governorship of Ji Province to Yuan Shao. He proposed to Yuan Shao a grand plan: conquer Ji,

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, You and

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

provinces in northern China, recruit all the talents in these four provinces, and bring the figurehead Emperor Xian ( 189–220) to Ji Province. Yuan Shao was so pleased that he appointed Ju Shou as an Army Supervisor () and General of Vehement Might (). In 195, when Emperor Xian was in

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 ...

, Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to welcome the emperor to Ye city, the capital of Ji Province, and use him as a "trump card" against rival warlords. Just when Yuan Shao was about to follow Ju Shou's advice, some of his other advisers (e.g.

Guo Tu Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was an official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around presen ...

) argued that the emperor would be a "burden" rather than a "trump card" because they would have to directly take orders from him and have less autonomy. Yuan Shao thus decided not to bring Emperor Xian to Ji Province. In the following year, Yuan Shao's rival

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 ...

brought Emperor Xian to his base in Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

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 a ...

) and established the new imperial capital there. In the late 190s, Yuan Shao wanted to divide his territories among his three sons by putting each son in charge of one province and assess their capabilities. However, Ju Shou strongly objected to this idea and argued that it would sow the seeds for internal conflict later. Yuan Shao ignored him and went ahead by putting his eldest son

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 ...

in charge of

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

, his second son

Yuan Xi Yuan Xi (died December 20711th month of the 12th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per Emperor Xian's biography in ''Book of the Later Han''. The month corresponds to 7 Dec 207 to 5 Jan 208 in the Julian calendar.), courtesy name Xianyi or Xianyong ...

in charge of

You Province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture ('' zhou'') in northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces ...

, his maternal nephew Gao Gan in charge of Bing Province, while his third son

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 ...

would succeed him as the Governor of

. Ju Shou's prediction came true as conflict broke out between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang almost immediately after Yuan Shao's death in 202. In 199, after Yuan Shao eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan and gained complete control over the four provinces in northern China, he planned to attack Cao Cao in the south. Ju Shou and Tian Feng, another of Yuan Shao's advisers, urged him to adopt a slow, steady and step-by-step approach towards attacking Cao Cao because it was to their advantage. However, Yuan Shao did not heed Ju Shou and Tian Feng's advice and prepared for an all-out invasion, which led to the

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 ...

in 200. Before Yuan Shao embarked on his campaign against Cao Cao, Ju Shou gathered all his family members and relatives and told them to divide the family fortune and disperse, because he knew that the Ju family would be in trouble if Yuan Shao lost the battle. Ju Shou's younger brother, Ju Zong (), disagreed that Yuan Shao would lose, but Ju Shou insisted that he was right. In 200, before the

Battle of Boma The Battle of Boma or Battle of Baima was the first of a series of battles that led to the decisive Battle of Guandu between the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in northern China in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although Cao Cao won the ...

(a prelude to the Battle of Guandu), Ju Shou warned Yuan Shao not to put

Yan Liang Yan Liang () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was slain by Guan Yu at the Battle of Boma. Life Little is known about Yan Liang's life. The only historic ...

in charge of leading the attack on Cao Cao's garrison at Boma (白馬; near present-day Hua County, Henan) because Yan Liang was petty and narrow-minded. Yuan Shao ignored him and sent Yan Liang anyway. Yan Liang was killed in action. Before Yuan Shao's main army crossed the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

, Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to remain at Yan Ford () and send detachments to attack Cao Cao's camp at Guandu () instead of going all-out to attack Guandu. When Yuan Shao did not heed his advice, Ju Shou sighed, claimed that he was ill and refused to meet anyone. Yuan Shao became very unhappy with Ju Shou and he gave command of Ju Shou's units to

instead. After Yuan Shao lost the

Battle of Yan Ford The Battle of Yan Ford took place along the southern banks of the Yellow River in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was closely preceded by the Battle of Boma, and was part of a series of engagements leading to the decisive confrontatio ...

(a follow-up to the Battle of Boma), Ju Shou urged him to change strategy and fight a long-term war with Cao Cao so as to gradually wear down Cao Cao's forces over time. However, Yuan Shao refused to listen and insisted on sending his troops on an all-out confrontation with Cao Cao. In the initial stages of the Battle of Guandu, after Cao Cao's forces attacked one of Yuan Shao's supply convoys, Yuan Shao ordered his general Chunyu Qiong to take charge of transporting supplies and defend the supply depot at Wuchao (). When Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to send Jiang Qi () to lead a unit to escort the supply convoy, Yuan Shao ignored him again. Yuan Shao ultimately lost the Battle of Guandu against Cao Cao when the latter led a successful raid on Wuchao and destroyed all of Yuan Shao's supplies. Ju Shou was captured by Cao Cao's men while Yuan Shao's forces were retreating after their defeat. When he was brought before Cao Cao, he remained stubborn and refused to surrender. Cao Cao not only did not harm him, but also treated him well even though he was a prisoner-of-war. Ju Shou was later killed by Cao Cao's men while attempting to escape and return to Yuan Shao.

Family

Ju Shou had a son, Ju Hu (), who served under

after the latter succeeded his father as the Governor of

. Ju Hu was killed in action 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 ...

in 204 against Cao Cao's forces.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi'') vol. 6. * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu'') vol. 74 (Part 1). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ju, Shou 2nd-century births 200 deaths Generals under Yuan Shao Officials under Yuan Shao Politicians from Handan Han dynasty politicians from Hebei Han dynasty generals from Hebei Han dynasty people killed in battle

Life

Family

See also

References