Lu Ji (188–219),

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 ...

Gongji, was a Chinese politician and scholar serving under the warlord

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

in 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 also one of the 24 Filial Exemplars.

Life

Lu Ji was from Wu County,

Wu Commandery Wu Commandery was a commandery of imperial China. It covers parts of the contemporary Northern Zhejiang and Southern Jiangsu. The capital of Wu commandery was Wu (today's Suzhou). Major counties of Wu commandery include Wu (county), Yuhang cou ...

, which is in present-day

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

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 ...

. His father, Lu Kang, served as the Administrator of Lujiang Commandery () towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. The Lu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery and also in the Jiangdong region at the time. When Lu Ji was six years old, his father brought him to Jiujiang Commandery () to visit

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 ...

. Yuan Shu treated his guests to

mandarin orange The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-colou ...

s. Lu Ji secretly took three oranges and hid them in his sleeve. When Lu Ji and his father were preparing to leave, the oranges suddenly rolled out of his sleeve. Yuan Shu said: "Young Man Lu, you came as a guest. Why did you hide the oranges?" Lu Ji knelt down and replied: "I want to bring them home for my mother." Yuan Shu was very impressed with Lu Ji. This incident is one of the 24 stories of

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian '' Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the lat ...

in the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

classic '' The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars''. In the late 190s, after the warlord

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when ...

had conquered lands in the

Wu region Wu () refers to a region in China centered on Lake Tai in Jiangnan (the region south of the Yangtze River).非常2+1亲子游中国--迷失烟雨江浙 The Wu region was historically part of the ancient Yang Province in southeastern China. The n ...

and established his domain there, he invited scholars such as

Zhang Zhao Zhang Zhao may refer to: *Zhang Zhao (Eastern Wu) Zhang Zhao (156–236), courtesy name Zibu, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician. He served as an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms ...

, Zhang Hong and

Qin Song Qin Song ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Wenbiao, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother and predecessor. Life Qin Son ...

to discuss with him on how to bring peace to the Han Empire. Lu Ji was among the scholars. As their seating positions were determined by their ages, Lu Ji took the furthest seat because he was the youngest. When they were talking about using military force to bring about peace, Lu Ji raised his voice and said: "In the past, when Guan Yiwu served as a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

under

Duke Huan of Qi Duke Huan of Qi (; died 643 BC), personal name Xiǎobái (小白), was the ruler of the State of Qi from 685 to 643 BC. Living during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period, as the Zhou dynasty's former vassal states fought each other for supremac ...

, the Duke was able to unite the various lords under his control and bring order to the Empire without resorting to military force.

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

once said, 'If remoter people are not submissive, all the influences of civil culture and virtue are to be cultivated to attract them to be so.' Those who are present at this discussion speak of only using military force, and nothing about promoting civil culture and virtue. I, Ji, may be young and ignorant, but I don't feel at ease (after hearing what you said)." Zhang Zhao and the others were very surprised by Lu Ji's response. Lu Ji had a majestic appearance and was known for being very well read in various fields, including astronomy, calendar science and mathematics. He was also a friend of other scholars such as

Yu Fan Yu Fan (, , ; 164–233), courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a Chinese essayist, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Com ...

and

Pang Tong Pang Tong () (179–214), courtesy name Shiyuan, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his youth, Pang Tong was disregarded because he was plain looking, however Sima Hui highly esteemed him calli ...

, who were much older than him. In 200, Sun Ce died and was succeeded by his younger brother,

. After Sun Quan took control of the Wu lands, he recruited Lu Ji to serve as an assistant clerk under him. Lu Ji subsequently served as the Administrator of

Yulin Commandery Yulin Commandery () was a Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty in the modern region of Guangxi. History Yulin Commandery was established as Guilin Commandery (桂林郡) in 214 BC, when the Qin dynasty conquered Lingnan. ...

(; around present-day

Guiping Guiping () is a county-level city in eastern Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guigang City, located at the confluence of the Qian and Yu rivers, which are the Xi River's primary north and south tributaries, respectively. Nam ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

). He was also promoted to Lieutenant-General () and placed in command of 2,000 troops. However, Lu Ji did not aspire to be an official, because he not only had physical disabilities, but also because he was actually interested in scholarly pursuits. Nevertheless, throughout his career, he never gave up on academia even though he was busy with military affairs. He created the ''Hun Tian Tu'' () and annotated the ''

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

'' and '' Taixuanjing'', and his works were spread around later. When Lu Ji sensed that his death was imminent, he wrote: "During the Han dynasty, there lived Lu Ji, a man from

who had lofty ambitions. When he was young, he read the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...

'' and ''

Book of Documents The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetoric ...

''. When he reached adulthood, he was already very familiar with the ''

Classic of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Boo ...

'' and ''Yi Jing''. He received orders to lead a military campaign to the south, but was struck by illness. How unfortunate his life was! He died with regrets and sorrow!" He also wrote: "About more than 60 years from now, vehicles will be able to travel on the same roads, and books will be written in the same script. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to witness that." He died at the age of 32 (by

East Asian age reckoning Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...

Family and relatives

Lu Ji was a second cousin once removed of

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

. Although he was born about five years later than Lu Xun, he was actually one generation older than the latter. His father, Lu Kang (Lu Xun's granduncle), raised Lu Xun, who was orphaned at a young age. After Lu Kang's death, Lu Xun became the new head of the family because he was older than Lu Ji in terms of age. Lu Ji had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, Lu Hong (), served as the South Commandant () of

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery (Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present- ...

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

. His younger son, Lu Rui (), was a Changshui Colonel (). Lu Ji's daughter, Lu Yusheng (), was born in Yulin Commandery. Her name was inspired by her place of birth because "Yusheng" means "born in Yu(lin)". She married Zhang Wen's younger brother Zhang Bai (). As Lu Ji died early, his three children – who were still very young when their father died – were adopted and raised by Lu Xun's younger brother Lu Mao.

Appraisal

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 ...

, who wrote Lu Ji's biography in the ''

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''), appraised Lu Ji as follows: "Lu Ji's contributions to Yang Xiong's '' Taixuanjing'' were equivalent to

Zuo Qiuming Zuo Qiuming, Zuoqiu Ming or Qiu Ming (556–451 BCEZhou, Jixu (May 2011"Confucius and Lao Zi" Their Differing Social Foundations and Cultures ''Sino-Platonic Papers'' 211. p. 2 or 502 – 422 BCE) was a Chinese historian who was a contempo ...

's contributions to

's ''

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The '' Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

'' and Zhuangzi's contributions to

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

's '' Daodejing''. When such a great talent like him who was capable of doing better tasks was sent to defend the southern border, his life was ruined!"

once described Lu Ji as "a horse that cannot run fast but has strong willpower". A verse from '' The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars'' in Lu Ji's honour reads:

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Lu Ji appears briefly in Chapter 43 of the 14th-century historical novel ''

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 ...

''. He is one of the Wu scholars who debate with

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

over

's decision to ally with

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

against

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 ...

before the

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history ...

. Lu Ji argues: "Even though Cao Cao controls the Emperor and holds sway over the lords, he is still a descendant of the chancellor Cao Shen. Liu Bei may be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, but there is no proof for this. As far as we see, he is no more than a straw mat weaver and shoe seller. How can he compete with Cao Cao?" Zhuge Liang replies: "Aren't you the 'Young Man Lu' who hid oranges in his sleeve at

's house? Please sit down and listen to me. Since Cao Cao is a descendant of Chancellor Cao, he is therefore a subject of the

Han Empire The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. However, he monopolises state power and bullies the Emperor. This is a disgrace to his ancestor. He is not only a villain of the Han Empire, but also a miscreant of the Cao family! Liu Bei is a member of the imperial clan. His Majesty the Emperor checked the family records and granted him a title. How can you say there is no proof? Although Emperor Gaozu started off as a patrol officer, he became an Emperor eventually. What is so shameful about weaving straw mats and selling shoes? Your opinions are those of a child. You are not fit to speak with learned men!" Lu Ji falls silent.

In popular culture

Yu Rongguang portrayed Lu Ji in '' The Legend of Incorruptible Stone'' (), a 2011 Chinese television series loosely based on Lu Ji's life. It is aimed at promoting anti-corruption in governments.''The Legend of Incorruptible Stone''
on

Sina.com Sina Corporation (, "new wave") is a Chinese technology company. Sina operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, Sina Mobile, Sina Online, and Sinanet. Sina has over 100 million registered users worldwide. Sina was recognized by '' Southe ...

Notes

References

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

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''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:Lu, Ji 188 births 219 deaths Han dynasty politicians from Jiangsu Officials under Sun Quan Politicians from Suzhou Twenty-four Filial Exemplars