Ren Jun
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Ren Jun (died 204),
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 Theobald ...
Boda, was a military officer serving under the warlord
Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
in the late
Eastern Han dynasty 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 ...
of China.


Life

Ren Jun was from Zhongmu County (),
Henan Commandery Henan Commandery ( zh, 河南郡) was a Jun (country subdivision), commandery in China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern northern Henan province. During the reign of King Xuanhui of Han, Sanchuan Commandery (三川郡) was establ ...
() which is present-day
Zhongmu County Zhongmu County (; postal: Chungmow) is a county of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan. It has an area of and a population of 680,000. Located in the ...
, Henan. He was probably born sometime in the mid or late
Eastern Han dynasty 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 ...
. In 189, the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the power vacuum, created in the aftermath of the conflict between the regent
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 ...
and the eunuch faction, to seize control of the Han central government and hold the figurehead Emperor Xian hostage in the imperial capital, Luoyang.''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 59. Yang Yuan (), the Prefect of Zhongmu County, started panicking and wanted to abandon his post and leave. Ren Jun advised him to stay and urged him to take the lead in calling for everyone to rise up against Dong Zhuo and overthrow him. When Yang Yuan asked him what he should do, Ren Jun advised him to assume the position of acting Intendant of Henan (), bring all the counties in Henan Commandery under his leadership, and rally as many men as possible to form an army to fight Dong Zhuo's forces. Yang Yuan appointed Ren Jun as his Registrar () and proceeded to implement his suggestions. Around the time (late 189 to early 190), the warlord
Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
had raised an army to join a coalition of warlords on a campaign against Dong Zhuo. When he entered Zhongmu County, the various officials in Henan Commandery could not decide on whether they should follow Cao Cao. After discussing with Zhang Fen (), Ren Jun decided that they should all follow Cao Cao, so he led all the soldiers recruited in Henan Commandery to join Cao Cao's army. He also gathered all his family members, relatives, servants and retainers, numbering a few hundred people in total, and brought them along to join Cao Cao. Cao Cao was so pleased to gain such support from Ren Jun that he appointed him as a Cavalry Commandant (). He also arranged for Ren Jun to marry one of his
second cousins Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
and treated Ren Jun as a close aide. Since then, whenever Cao Cao went on military campaigns against rival warlords, he put Ren Jun in charge of logistics and the provision of supplies for his troops at the frontline. In 196, he received Emperor Xian and brought him to his base in Xu County (許縣; present-day Xuchang, Henan), which became the new imperial capital. Cao Cao effectively gained control over the Han central government and the figurehead emperor. Around the time, when a famine broke out and there were insufficient food supplies, an official
Zao Zhi Zao may refer to: * Mayor Zao, a character in the video game ''Freedom Planet'' * Zao (American band), a metalcore band from West Virginia * Zao (French band) * Mount Zaō, a mountain in northern Japan * Zaō, Miyagi, a town in Japan * 5751 Zao, ...
() suggested implementing the '' tuntian'' system of agriculture to produce a sustainable supply of grain for Cao Cao's growing army. Cao Cao heeded Zao Zhi's suggestion and appointed Ren Jun as Agriculture General of the Household () to supervise the implementation of the ''tuntian'' system. Within years, the ''tuntian'' system turned out to be a success as the granaries became fully stocked with grain. In 200, during the Battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and his rival Yuan Shao, Ren Jun was in charge of logistics and transportation of weapons, equipment, supplies, etc., to the frontline. After Yuan Shao's forces attacked Cao Cao's supply trains on a number of occasions, Ren Jun organised the supply trains into groups of 1,000 wagons and arranged for them to travel along several different routes heavily protected by camps and pickets. Yuan Shao's forces did not dare to attack Cao Cao's supply trains after that. Although Zao Zhi was the one who came up with the idea of the ''tuntian'' system, Cao Cao thought that Ren Jun deserved the highest credit for the success of the system because he was the one who supervised its implementation. He thus proposed to the Han imperial court to commend Ren Jun for his achievement by enfeoffing him as a Marquis of a Chief Village () with a marquisate of 300 taxable households. Later, he promoted Ren Jun to the position of a Changshui Colonel (). Ren Jun died in 204. Cao Cao shed tears when he learnt of Ren Jun's death.


Family

Ren Jun's eldest son, Ren Xian (), inherited his father's peerage and marquisate. As he had no son to succeed him, his marquisate was abolished after his death. In late 220, Cao Cao's son and successor Cao Pi usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, ended the
Eastern Han dynasty 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 ...
, and established the state of Cao Wei with himself as the new emperor. After his coronation, Cao Pi awarded Ren Jun the posthumous title "Marquis Cheng" () to honour him for his contributions. He also enfeoffed Ren Lan (), another of Ren Jun's sons, as a Secondary Marquis ().


Appraisal

Ren Jun was known for being generous, understanding and magnanimous. Cao Cao highly regarded him and often heeded his advice and suggestions. During times of famine, Ren Jun provided much assistance to his friends, acquaintances and distant relatives and did not hesitate to use his personal wealth to help the needy and poor. He gained much respect and admiration from the people for his kindness.(峻寬厚有度而見事理,每有所陳,太祖多善之。於饑荒之際,收卹朋友孤遺,中外貧宗,周急繼乏,信義見稱。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 16.


See also

*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order. Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...


Notes


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''). * * Sima, Guang (1084). '' Zizhi Tongjian''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ren, Jun Year of birth unknown 204 deaths Generals under Cao Cao Han dynasty politicians from Henan Politicians from Zhengzhou