Liang Mao () ( 190s – 210s),
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 ...
Bofang, was a scholar and official serving under the warlord
Cao Cao in the late
Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life and career
Liang Mao was born in Changyi County (),
Shanyang Commandery
Shanyang Commandery ( zh, 山陽郡) was a historical commandery in China, located in present-day southern Shandong province.
In early Han dynasty, Shanyang was part of the Liang Kingdom. In 144 BC, Liang was split into five kingdoms among the s ...
(), which is located northwest of present-day
Jinxiang County
Jinxiang County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangsu province to the southeast. It is under the administration of Jining
Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong p ...
,
Shandong sometime in the late
Eastern Han dynasty. Studious since childhood, he was known for being well-versed in
Confucian classics
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
as he often quoted lines from the classics to support his points during debates.
Sometime between 196 and 208, when the warlord
Cao Cao held the appointment of
Minister of Works () in the Han imperial court, he recruited Liang Mao to serve as an assistant in his office. Later, he nominated Liang Mao as a ''gaodi'' (高第; an outstanding civil servant) and promoted him to the position of an Imperial Clerk (). At the time, as bandits were rampant in
Taishan Commandery Taishan Commandery ( zh, 泰山郡) was a historical commandery of China in present-day Shandong province, existing from Han dynasty to Sui dynasty.
Taishan Commandery was created in 122 BC, when the king of Jibei offered the land surrounding Moun ...
(泰山郡; around present-day
Tai'an
Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...
,
Shandong), the Han central government appointed Liang Mao as the Administrator () of Taishan Commandery. Within a month after he assumed office, thousands of families – many with young children – moved into Taishan Commandery and settled there.
Life in Liaodong Commandery
The Han central government later reassigned Liang Mao to be the Administrator of
Lelang Commandery
The Lelang Commandery was a commandery of the Han dynasty established after it had conquered Wiman Joseon in 108 BC and lasted until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. The Lelang Commandery extended the rule of the Four Commanderies of Han as far so ...
(樂浪郡; around present-day
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...
,
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
). At the time, the warlord
Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du () (150? – 2049th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per vol. 08 of ''Sanguozhi''), courtesy name Shengji, was a
Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was not able ...
controlled the nearby
Liaodong Commandery
Liaodong Commandery ( zh, 遼東郡) was a commandery in imperial China that existed from the Warring States period to the Northern dynasties. It was located in modern Liaoning, to the east of the Liao River.
The commandery was created by the st ...
(遼東郡; around present-day
Liaoyang
Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...
,
Liaoning). While Liang Mao passed by Liaodong en route to Lelang, Gongsun Du detained him in Liaodong and refused to let him go to Lelang. Liang Mao was unfazed by Gongsun Du's bold and illegal action.
Sometime in the mid 200s, Gongsun Du gathered all his subordinates and asked them, "I heard that
Lord Cao is away on a campaign.
Ye (around present-day
Handan,
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 0 ...
) is unguarded. If I lead 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry to attack Ye, can anyone stop me?" All of them agreed that Gongsun Du would succeed if he did so. After Gongsun Du sought his opinion, Liang Mao replied, "The Han Empire is in a state of chaos and on the brink of collapse. General, you command thousands of troops, yet you sit here and watch others attack and destroy each other. As a subject of the Han Empire, is this what you should be doing? Lord Cao is concerned about the Han Empire's future and the people's welfare, which is why he leads an army of righteousness to eliminate tyrants and villains. He has made immense contributions and his virtues are well-known. There is none other like him in the Han Empire. As peace and stability has just recently been restored, it is only a matter of time before everyone starts pointing fingers at you, General, for not doing anything to save the Han Empire. Now, General, you want to lead your forces west to attack Ye? All it takes is one morning to find out the result of this test of survival and destruction. General, I hope you know what is good for you." Gongsun Du's subordinates were shocked when they heard what Liang Mao said. After a long pause, Gongsun Du said, "What Administrator Liang said is correct."
The historian
Pei Songzhi points out a discrepancy between the biographies of Liang Mao and Gongsun Du in the ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms''. According to Liang Mao's biography, the conversation between him and Gongsun Du took place when Cao Cao was "away on a campaign", which Pei Songzhi assumed to be referring to the
Battle of White Wolf Mountain
The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao ...
in 207. However, Gongsun Du's biography mentions that Gongsun Du died in 204, so this conversation could not have taken place if there is no error with Gongsun Du's year of death. Kenneth H. J. Gardiner dismisses the story as Wei propaganda while
Rafe de Crespigny suggests the advice may have been given to
Gongsun Kang
Gongsun Kang () ( 200s to 210s) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He became a vassal of the state of Cao Wei in the early Three Kingdoms periodMore specifically, as mentioned b ...
instead.
Later life and career
Liang Mao later left Liaodong Commandery and after that he consecutively served as the Administrator of
Wei Commandery
Wei Commandery ( zh, 魏郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in modern southern Hebei and northern Henan.
The commandery was created during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign, with its seat at Ye. In late Western Han, it administered 18 ...
(魏郡; around present-day
Ci County
Ci County or Cixian () is a county of Hebei, China. It is under the administration of Handan City.
Administrative Divisions
Towns:
* Cizhou (), Xiguanglu (), Gaoyu (), Yuecheng (), Guantai (), Lintan (), Huangsha (), Baitu (), Jiangwucheng ...
,
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 0 ...
) and then as the Chancellor () of Ganling State (甘陵國; around present-day
Linqing,
Shandong). He gained quite a reputation for his achievements during his tenures.
In 211,
[''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 66.] after Cao Cao's son
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 ...
was appointed as General of the Household for All Purposes () in the Han central government, Liang Mao first served as his Chief Clerk () and later as his Left Military Adviser (). In 213,
when
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 ...
, the figurehead Han emperor, wanted to enfeoff Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei (), Cao Cao initially declined but relented after Liang Mao and several others urged him to accept. Liang Mao served as Supervisor of the Masters of Writing () and later as ''zhongwei fengchang'' () in Cao Cao's dukedom. In 216, Emperor Xian elevated Cao Cao from the status of a duke to a
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
king under the title "King of Wei" (). A year later, after Cao Cao designated Cao Pi as the heir apparent to his vassal kingdom, he appointed Liang Mao as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor (). Cao Pi treated Liang Mao respectfully and courteously. Liang Mao died in office in an unknown year, but most probably before 220.
Post-mortem events
In 220, some months after Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the