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 ...
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.
Life
Wang Jing was born in a peasant family in Qinghe Commandery (), which is around present-day
Linqing
Linqing () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China.
Geography and climate
It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city is situated at the confluenc ...
Cui Lin
Cui Lin (died January or February 245), courtesy name Deru, was a Chinese politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was known for his scruples in good governance, judgment of character, and for being the f ...
, who was also from Qinghe Commandery, to serve in the Wei government. His mother once said that it was not a good sign if he got promoted very fast in his career. However, Wang Jing still rose through the ranks in the civil service quickly. He held office as the Administrator () of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day
Xinzhou District, Wuhan
Xinzhou () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China, covering part of the city's northeastern suburbs and situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River. It is also the ea ...
,
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 ...
) and later as the Inspector () of
Yong Province
Yong Province or Yongzhou was the name of various regions and provinces in ancient China, usually around the Wei River or the imperial capital.
Geographical region
In the '' Book of Documents'', Yongzhou is mentioned as one of the legendary ...
.
In 255, when Jiang Wei, a general from Wei's rival state Shu Han, led the Shu forces to attack Wei's Longxi Commandery (隴西郡; roughly present-day southern and southeastern Gansu), Wang Jing led a Wei army from Didao (狄道; present-day
Lintao County
Lintao County ) is administratively under the control of Dingxi, Gansu province.
History
Until the 20th century, Lintao was known as Didao ().
The Battle of Didao was fought in the area in 255 CE, during the Three Kingdoms era.
In the 8th ce ...
, Gansu) to engage the enemy but was defeated. Wang Jing ended up being besieged by Shu forces in Didao. The siege was lifted when the Wei generals
Chen Tai
Chen Tai (died June 260Chen Tai died soon after Cao Mao's death, which was on 2 June 260. Thus, Chen Tai's death date should be in mid- or late-June 260.), courtesy name Xuanbo, was a military general and official of the state of Cao Wei during ...
and
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 ...
showed up with reinforcements and drove the enemy back. Wang Jing was recalled back from Yong Province to the Wei imperial court 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 ...
and reassigned to be the Colonel-Director of Retainers () and a Master of Writing ().
In 260, the Wei emperor
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 ...
summoned Wang Jing, Wang Chen and Wang Ye to meet him in private and discuss plans to launch a coup to seize back power from the regent Sima Zhao. Cao Mao did not heed Wang Jing's suggestion and proceeded with the coup, but ended up being assassinated by Sima Zhao's men. After Cao Mao's death, Sima Zhao had Wang Jing and his mother arrested and executed.
In 266, after Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) ended the state of Wei and established the Jin dynasty, he issued an imperial decree to express sympathy for Wang Jing and his family. He appointed Wang Jing's grandson as a Gentleman Attendant ().
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...