Wang Ji (190 – 9 June 261),

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 ...

Boyu, was a military general of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

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 started his career as a low-ranking official under Wang Ling, the governor 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 '' Tribut ...

. During this time, he was noted for exemplary performance and was later transferred to the central government 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, Nanyang ...

. He was subsequently promoted to the position of a

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

administrator, but was briefly removed from office when the Wei regent Sima Yi ousted his co-regent

Cao Shuang Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Wei. He initially hel ...

in a ''coup d'état'' in 249. However, he was quickly recalled to government service, promoted to the position of governor of Jing Province and appointed as a military general. From 251 until his death in 261, Wang Ji maintained close but professional working relationships with the Wei regents

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, al ...

and Sima Zhao. During this time, he supervised military operations in Jing, Yu and

Yang Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration ...

provinces, and defended Wei's eastern and southern borders against attacks by Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu. He also assisted Sima Shi and Sima Zhao in suppressing two of the three Shouchun rebellions in 255 and 257–258 respectively. In 261, in the months just before his death, he correctly pointed out that two Eastern Wu military officers were pretending to defect to Wei, and managed to stop the Wei forces from falling into a trap.

Early life

Wang Ji was from Qucheng County (),

Donglai Commandery Donglai Commandery ( zh, 東萊郡) was a historical Chinese commandery on the Jiaodong Peninsula, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Donglai Commandery was likely established during Emperor Jing of Han's reign on the lands of Jiaodong Co ...

(), which is located northwest of present-day Zhaoyuan, Shandong. He was born in 190 towards the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

of the Eastern Han dynasty. As he lost his father at a young age, he was raised by his uncle Wang Weng (), who treated him well. In return, Wang Ji was very filial towards his uncle. When Wang Ji turned 16, the local commandery office recruited him to serve as an assistant official. He quit later after realising that he was not interested in the job. He then went to

Langya Commandery Langya Commandery ( zh, , ) was a commandery in historical China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day southeast Shandong and northeast Jiangsu. The commandery was established in Qin dynasty on the former territories of Qi. F ...

(琅邪郡; around present-day

Linyi Linyi () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo t ...

, Shandong) for further studies under the Confucian scholar

Zheng Xuan Zheng Xuan (127– July 200), courtesy name Kangcheng (), was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was born in Gaomi, Beihai Commandery (modern Weifang, Shandong), and was a student of Ma R ...

As Wang Ling's subordinate

Sometime between 220 and 226, the administrative office of Donglai Commandery nominated Wang Ji as a ''

xiaolian Xiaolian (; literally "filial and incorrupt"), was the standard of nominating civil officers started by Emperor Wu of Han in 134 BC. It lasted until its replacement by the imperial examination system during the Sui Dynasty. In Confucian philosophy ...

'' (civil service candidate) to the central government of the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Wang Ling, who had recently assumed office as the Inspector () of

, recruited Wang Ji to serve as an attendant officer () under him. Later, when Wang Ji was summoned to the imperial capital

to serve as a librarian (), Wang Ling successfully sought permission from the central government to let Wang Ji remain in Qing Province. Wang Lang, the

Minister over the Masses Situ was one of the highest ranking government offices in ancient China. Established in the Western Zhou dynasty, it was originally written as (), meaning Administrator of Land. During the Han dynasty, the title became written with the different c ...

, once asked Wang Ling to transfer Wang Ji to his office in Luoyang. When Wang Ling refused, Wang Lang wrote to the imperial court to accuse Wang Ling of holding back talents: "Street-level officials who have performed exceptionally well should be promoted to commandery level. Commandery-level officials who have shown good performance should be recommended to the central government. This practice originated from the ancient custom of nobles presenting local talents to their rulers. I have never heard of any regional official refusing to allow his subordinates to serve in the central government." Despite Wang Lang's accusation, Wang Ling refused to allow Wang Ji to leave. Throughout his tenure in Qing Province, much of Wang Ling's achievements were actually due to Wang Ji's efforts.

Service in the central government

Sometime between 230 and 235, Sima Yi, the General-in-Chief () of Wei, summoned Wang Ji to serve under him. Wang Ling had no choice but to let Wang Ji leave. Before Wang Ji reached Sima Yi's office, however, he was quickly reassigned to be a Palace Writer Gentleman (). During his reign from 226 to 239, the Wei emperor

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 ...

started lavish and extravagant palace-building projects. As these projects were labour intensive, they took a heavy toll on the common people, who were recruited as labourers for the projects. Wang Ji wrote a memorial to Cao Rui to advise him to stop the projects: Wang Su was known for writing commentaries and annotations on Confucian texts, as well as for expressing his opinions on imperial protocol, etiquette and customs. His views deviated largely from those of the Confucian scholar

. As Wang Ji studied and followed Zheng Xuan's teachings, he often challenged and disagreed with Wang Su. Wang Ji was subsequently promoted to the position of Administrator () of

Anping Commandery Xindu Commandery () was a historical commandery of China, located in modern southern Hebei. The commandery was created in early Western Han dynasty. In 155 BC, the territory was granted to Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), son of the Emperor Jing, as the P ...

(安平郡; around present-day

Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...

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 ...

). He resigned later because of official reasons.

As the Administrator of Anfeng

Sometime between 239 and 249,

, the General-in-Chief () of Wei, summoned Wang Ji to serve as an Assistant Gentleman () under him. Wang Ji was later promoted to the position of Administrator () of Anfeng Commandery (安豐郡; around present-day

Lu'an Lu'an (), is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, it had a total population of 4,393,699 inhabitants whom 1,752,537 liv ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

). During his tenure, Wang Ji governed his jurisdiction strictly but fairly. He also performed some acts of kindness from time to time to win popular support from the masses. As Anfeng Commandery was located near the border between Wei and its rival state Eastern Wu, Wang Ji also set up and strengthened its defences to deter the enemy. He was subsequently given an additional appointment as General Who Attacks Rebels (). Sometime between 245 and 252, there were reports of Eastern Wu forces mobilising and gathering at the Wu imperial capital, Jianye (present-day

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

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 its ca ...

). The Wu forces also publicly revealed that they were preparing to attack Wei territories in

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of t ...

Zhuge Dan Zhuge Dan (died 10 April 258), courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, h ...

, the Wei governor of Yang Province, sought Wang Ji's opinion on how to counter a Wu invasion. Wang Ji replied: As Wang Ji analysed correctly, Sun Quan did not launch any attack on Wei during this time. When

was regent of Wei from 239 to 249, he monopolised power and practised cronyism, which resulted in political corruption and cultural decadence. Wang Ji wrote a text, "Shi Yao Lun" (時要論; "Essay on the Needs of the Time"), to express his views on contemporary politics. He then resigned from his post as the Administrator of Anfeng Commandery, using poor health as an excuse. He was soon recalled by the Wei government to serve as the

Intendant of Henan Henan Commandery ( zh, 河南郡) was a 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 established. It was named Sanchu ...

(). However, before he assumed office, Cao Shuang was ousted from power in a ''coup d'état'' by his co-regent, Sima Yi, and executed along with the rest of his family and associates. As Wang Ji used to be a subordinate of Cao Shuang, he was implicated in the purge and removed from office.

As the Inspector of Jing Province

Within the same year (249) after his removal from office, Wang Ji was summoned back to serve as a Master of Writing () in the imperial secretariat. In the following year, he was promoted to Inspector () of Jing Province and appointed as General Who Spreads Vehemence (). Shortly after he assumed office, the Wei government ordered him to join the Wei general Wang Chang on a campaign against Eastern Wu. During the battle, Wang Ji led an army to attack Wu forces led by Bu Xie at Yiling County (夷陵縣; in present-day

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

). Bu Xie and his men retreated behind the city walls, shut the gates and refused to engage Wang Ji in battle. Wang Ji then ordered his troops to pretend to prepare to attack the city, while secretly sending them to capture the Wu army's granary at Xiongfu (). They managed to seize over 300,000 ''hu'' of grain and capture a Wu general, Tan Zheng (). Thousands of Wu civilians surrendered to the Wei forces; Wang Ji made arrangements for them to be resettled in Yiling County. The Wei government awarded Wang Ji the title of a Secondary Marquis () to honour him for his achievements. Wang Ji wrote to Wang Chang and managed to convince him to relocate his base of operations to Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day

Yunmeng County Yunmeng County () is a county in eastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is administered by Xiaogan City and is located just outside Xiaogan's urban area. History During the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (770-476 B ...

), so that it was nearer to the Wei–Wu border at Xiakou (夏口; in present-day

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...

, Hubei). After that, the Wu forces did not dare to readily cross the river to attack Wei territory as they did before. During his tenure as the Inspector of Jing Province, Wang Jing governed his jurisdiction justly and fairly, maintained good discipline within the army and agricultural sector, and built many schools to promote education. He earned much praise from the residents of Jing Province. Around the time, the Wei government wanted to launch a military campaign against Eastern Wu, so they ordered Wang Ji to come up with a strategy. Wang Ji said: The campaign was thus aborted. When

succeeded his father Sima Yi as the regent of Wei in 251, Wang Ji wrote to him: Sima Shi accepted Wang Ji's advice. In 254, after Sima Shi deposed the Wei emperor

Cao Fang Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor be ...

and replaced him with

Cao Mao Cao Mao () (241 – 2 June 260), courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious ...

, Wang Ji was elevated from the status of a secondary marquis to a village marquis under the title "Marquis of Changle Village" ().

Suppressing Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's rebellion

In 255, the Wei generals

Guanqiu Jian Guanqiu Jian (died 16 March 255), courtesy name Zhonggong, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Guanqiu Jian was from Wenxi County (), Hedong Commandery, which i ...

and

Wen Qin Wen Qin (died February or March 258), courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served as the Inspector of Yang Province during the reign of t ...

started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; around present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its p ...

), the capital of Huainan Commandery (), which was called the Chu State () at the time. Wang Ji was appointed as acting Army Supervisor (), granted acting imperial authority, and put in command of the Wei forces stationed in

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 ...

, the Wei regent, led troops from

, the Wei imperial capital, to suppress the rebellion and met Wang Ji at Xuchang. When Sima Shi asked him what he thought of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's actions, Wang Ji replied: "The local officials in Huainan aren't responsible for starting the rebellion. Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin forced them to rebel by threatening to kill them if they didn't. They will collapse when imperial forces show up. It won't be long before we see Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's dead bodies being hung at the gates." Sima Shi agreed. Sima Shi put Wang Ji in command of the vanguard force. At the time, many Wei officials believed that Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin were powerful and difficult to defeat, so the Wei imperial court ordered Wang Ji to hold his position and refrain from engaging the rebels in battle. Wang Ji disagreed: Wang Ji then repeatedly sought permission to attack the rebels. When approval was finally granted, Wang Ji led his troops towards the Yin River (), where he sought permission to attack the rebels: Sima Shi wanted to wait until all the mobilised Wei forces had arrived before launching an attack on Shouchun, so he denied Wang Ji permission to attack first. Wang Ji then said: "When a general is out in the field, he doesn't always have to follow his lord's orders. If the rebels occupy territory, they make a gain. If we occupy territory, we make a gain. This is what it means to seize territory. I am referring to Nandun." Sima Shi approved and sent Wang Ji to occupy Nandun (南頓; west of present-day Xiangcheng,

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 ...

). When Guanqiu Jian heard about it, he also led his forces towards Nandun. After travelling about 10 ''li'', he heard that Wang Ji had already beat him to it and occupied Nandun, so he retreated back to Xiang County (項縣; present-day

Shenqiu County Shenqiu County () is a county in the east of Henan province, China, bordering Anhui province to the south and east. It is under the administration of Zhoukou City. The county seat is the town of Shenqiu, which is situated on the Ying River, a trib ...

, Henan). Around the time,

Deng Ai Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...

, the Inspector of

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...

, was stationed with his troops at Yuejia (樂嘉; present-day Xiangcheng, Henan). When Wang Ji learnt that Guanqiu Jian had sent Wen Qin to lead a force to attack Deng Ai at Yuejia, he took advantage of the situation to attack and seize Xiang County from the rebels. After the rebellion was suppressed, Wang Ji was promoted to General Who Guards the South () and put in charge of supervising military operations in Yu Province. He was also appointed as acting Inspector of Yu Province and promoted from a village marquis to a district marquis under the title "Marquis of Anle District" (). He wrote a memorial to the Wei imperial court, requesting to give away 200 taxable households from his marquisate to his cousin, Wang Qiao (), as an expression of gratitude to his late uncle Wang Weng (王翁; Wang Qiao's father) for raising him when he was young. The imperial court approved his special request and enfeoffed Wang Qiao as a Secondary Marquis ().

Suppressing Zhuge Dan's rebellion

When the Wei general

started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; around present-day

) in 257, Wang Ji was appointed acting General Who Guards the East () in addition to his existing appointment as General Who Guards the South (). He was also put in charge of military operations in

and Yu provinces. At the time, the Wei imperial forces stationed at Xiang County (項縣; present-day

) did not dare to attack the rebels because they knew the rebels were seasoned soldiers. The Wei imperial court ordered Wang Ji to supervise the construction of defences and fortifications, and ignored his requests to attack the rebels. Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu, sent Zhu Yi to lead Wu forces to Shouchun to support Zhuge Dan. The Wu forces made camp at Ancheng County (安城縣; southwest of present-day

Pingyu County Pingyu County () is a county of Henan province, China, bordering Anhui province to the east. It is under the administration of Zhumadian city. Notable people It is the hometown of the following people: * Chen Fan and Xi Zhong, who were famous C ...

, Henan). Wang Ji followed orders and led his troops to occupy the hills in the north. He told his officers: "The fortifications are already very solid and the troops have assembled here. We only need to maintain our defences and wait for the enemy to show up. If we continue to deploy our troops to guard strategic locations, we will only become even more scattered. When that happens, even the most intelligent people can't think of any solution to the problem." He then wrote a report to the Wei imperial court: The imperial court approved. Sima Zhao, the General-in-Chief () of Wei, led imperial forces to Qiutou (丘頭; southeast of present-day

) and deployed them around the city to form a defence perimeter. At the time, Wang Ji commanded the 26 units stationed at the southeast of the city. Sima Zhao sent a messenger to meet Wang Ji and order him to hold his position and refrain from engaging the rebels in battle. Before long, the city ran out of supplies while the rebels increased the intensity of their attacks. Wang Ji continued to put up a firm defence and hold his ground. When the opportunity came, he launched a counterattack and defeated the rebels. After suppressing Zhuge Dan's rebellion, Wang Ji wrote a letter to Sima Zhao: Sima Zhao wanted to ask

Tang Zi Tang Zi ( 225–262) was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. In 258, he defected to Wu's rival state, Cao Wei, and became a general under Wei. Life Tang Zi was from Licheng Comman ...

and the Wu defectors to serve as guides in leading Wei forces deep into Wu territory to launch an attack. However, Wang Ji advised him against it: Sima Zhao thus called off the attack on Wu. After pacifying the Huainan region, Wang Ji was reassigned from his position as General Who Guards the South () to General Who Attacks the East (), and put in charge of military affairs in

. He was also elevated from the status of a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Dongwu" (). He wrote a memorial to the imperial court to decline the promotion, and gave the credit for suppressing the rebellion to all his subordinates. Seven chief clerks and army majors under him were thus awarded marquis titles. When Wang Ji's mother died in 258, the Wei imperial court issued an edict ordering news of her death to be kept secret. The remains of Wang Ji's father, Wang Bao (), were excavated and transferred to

for reburial together with Wang Ji's mother. The imperial court also posthumously appointed Wang Bao as the Administrator of Beihai Commandery.

As General Who Attacks the South

In 259, Wang Ji was reassigned from his position as General Who Attacks the East () to General Who Attacks the South (), and put in charge of supervising military operations in Jing Province. In the following year, the Wei government added 1,000 taxable households to his marquisate, bringing the total number up to 5,700. Two of Wang Ji's sons were enfeoffed as a village marquis and a secondary marquis respectively. Sometime between 17 April and 16 May 261, Hu Lie (), the Administrator of

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

, reported that the Eastern Wu military officers Deng You () and Li Guang () were planning to lead 18 units to defect to Wei, and had already sent their subordinates Zhang Wu () and Deng Sheng () across the border.(司馬彪戰畧載基此事，詳於本傳。曰：「景元二年春三月，襄陽太守胡烈表上『吳賊鄧由、李光等，同謀十八屯，欲來歸化，遣將張吳、鄧生，并送質任。克期欲令郡軍臨江迎拔』。) Sima Biao's ''Zhanlue'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 27. Upon receiving the news, Sima Zhao and the Wei imperial court ordered Wang Ji to mobilise the military units in all of Jing Province's commanderies, including Xiangyang, in preparation for a large-scale invasion of Eastern Wu with the aid of the defectors. When Wang Ji heard about it, he suspected that Deng You and Li Guang were pretending to defect to Wei, so he wrote an urgent report to the central government: "We should check and confirm first. We should not rush into mobilising troops and sending them deep into enemy territory." He then wrote a follow-up report: Sima Zhao also found Deng You and Li Guang suspicious after receiving Wang Ji's two reports within such a short span of time. He immediately ordered the mobilised troops to stop at their current positions and await further orders. Wang Ji wrote again to Sima Zhao: Sima Zhao immediately put the troops on high alert. He then wrote a letter to Wang Ji: "Many of those who work with me are simply sycophants hoping to gain my favour through flattery. Only a few dare to speak up and be candid towards me. You are known for your loyalty and love. You have often given me good advice. I shall heed your advice again." As Wang Ji suspected, Deng You and Li Guang were indeed pretending to defect to Wei as they did not show up as promised.

Death

Wang Ji died on 9 June 261 at the age of 72 (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 ...

). The Wei government posthumously appointed him as Minister of Works () and awarded him the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

"Marquis Jing" () along with the peerage "Marquis of Dongwu" (), which he declined in 258. Fragments of Wang Ji's tombstone were discovered in

during the Qianlong era (1735–1795) of the

Qing dynasty 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-spea ...

. The inscriptions are recorded in volume 56 of the ''Quan Sanguo Wen'' () compiled by Yan Kejun () in the 19th century.

Family

Wang Ji's son, Wang Hui (), inherited his father's peerage and became the next Marquis of Dongwu (), but died early. Sometime between 264 and 265, just before the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

replaced the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

was Nüyi (). She married Sima Rong () in 264, became his princess consort in 266 when he was enfeoffed as the Prince of Liang () by the Jin dynasty, and died in 284. A tombstone was erected for her in 288 near Suiyang County (睢陽縣; present-day Suiyang District,

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...

).(蠡臺直東，又有一臺，世謂之雀臺也。城內東西道北，有晉梁王妃王氏陵表，竝列二碑，碑云：妃諱粲，字女儀，東萊曲城人也。齊北海府君之孫，司空東武景侯之季女，咸熙元年嬪於司馬氏，泰始二年妃於國，太康五年薨，營陵於新蒙之，太康九年立碑。) ''Shui Jing Zhu'' vol. 24. In 266, after the Jin dynasty replaced the Cao Wei state, the Jin imperial court issued an edict as follows:

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Li, Daoyuan (6th century). ''

Commentary on the Water Classic The ''Commentary on the Water Classic'' (), or ''Commentaries on the Water Classic'', commonly known as ''Shui Jing Zhu'', is a work on the Chinese geography in ancient times, describing the traditional understanding of its waterways and ancie ...

'' (''Shui Jing Zhu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * * Yan, Kejun (19th century). ''Quan Sanguo Wen'' (). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Ji 190 births 261 deaths Cao Wei generals Cao Wei politicians Politicians from Yantai Political office-holders in Hebei Political office-holders in Anhui Political office-holders in Henan Political office-holders in Hubei Generals from Shandong Three Rebellions in Shouchun

Early life

As Wang Ling's subordinate

Service in the central government

As the Administrator of Anfeng

As the Inspector of Jing Province

Suppressing Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's rebellion

Suppressing Zhuge Dan's rebellion

As General Who Attacks the South

Death

Family

See also

Notes

References