Wei Guan (220 – 25 July 291Although the exact day of Wei Guan's death was not recorded, Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'' recorded that he was killed together with

Sima Liang Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227- 25 July 291), courtesy name Ziyi (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during Jin Dynasty (266–420). He was the first of the ei ...

, who died on 25 July 291. 永平元年)六月，贾后矫诏使楚王玮杀太宰、汝南王亮，太保、菑阳公卫瓘.''Jin Shu'', vol.04),

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 ...

Boyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the

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 Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. He served under the Jin dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period.

Early life and career

Wei Guan was from Anyi County (),

Hedong Commandery Hedong Commandery () was a historical region in the Qin and Han dynasties of ancient China. Hedong was located to the east of the Yellow River in Shanxi (around present-day Yuncheng). History Hedong Commandery was established by the Qin state ...

(), which is located west of present-day

Xia County Xia County or Xiaxian () is a county in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the southeast. It is under the jurisdiction of Yuncheng City. History In ancient China, it served as the previous c ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. His father Wei Ji () was a high-ranking Wei official and marquis, who died in 229. Wei Guan inherited his father's peerage, and when he grew older became an official. Throughout the years, he became known for his capability and was continuously promoted. After

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (245/246–302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the Jin dyn ...

became emperor, he became an Official of Justice (), and was known for his strength in logical thinking. When the Wei regent

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been ...

ordered the generals

Zhong Hui Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...

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 ...

to attack Wei's rival state

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

fall of Shu that year, Zhong Hui planned a rebellion, and the first step of his preparation was to falsely accuse Deng Ai of treason. Sima Zhao, believing Zhong Hui's accusations, ordered Deng Ai arrested, and Zhong Hui in turn ordered Wei Guan to arrest Deng Ai, hoping that Wei Guan would fail and be killed by Deng Ai so that he could further affirm his accusations against Deng Ai. Wei Guan knew this, so he surprised Deng Ai in the middle of the night and arrested him. When Zhong Hui rebelled later, Wei Guan pretended to be seriously ill, so Zhong Hui lowered his guard against Wei Guan. Later, Wei Guan participated in inciting the soldiers to start a mutiny against Zhong Hui and end the rebellion. Fearful that Deng Ai would then retaliate against him, he had Deng Ai tracked down and killed. When

Du Yu Du Yu (223– January or February 285), courtesy name Yuankai, was a Chinese classicist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty. Life Du Yu was from Duling County ( ...

publicly denounced Wei Guan, instead of becoming angry and retaliate against Du Yu, Wei Guan visited him and apologised. He also declined a larger fief that Sima Zhao was ready to bestow on him for his accomplishments.

Career during the Jin dynasty

In 265, Sima Zhao died and was succeeded as regent by his son Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), who later that year usurped the throne from Cao Huan, thus ending the Cao Wei state and establishing 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 ...

. Throughout Emperor Wu's reign, Wei Guan continued to be an important official and general, serving in a variety of roles capably. As a result, one of his brothers and one of his sons were granted marquis titles. Wei Guan attempted to implement a revised civil service system, where the civil service examiner () would have less input on grading officials, and actual job performance would become more important, but while Emperor Wu liked Wei Guan's suggestions, he did not carry them out. Wei Guan was one of the few officials who dared to openly speak to Emperor Wu about his choice of

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, his son

Sima Zhong Emperor Hui of Jin (; 260 - January 8, 307), personal name Sima Zhong (司馬衷), courtesy name Zhengdu (正度), was the second emperor of the Jin dynasty (266–420). Emperor Hui was a developmental disability, developmentally disabled ruler, a ...

, who was

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

. On one occasion, Emperor Wu, after Wei Guan hinted that Sima Zhong should not be crown prince, sent a number of inquiries to Sima Zhong to have answered. When the inquiries were appropriately answered (because Sima Zhong's wife

Jia Nanfeng Jia Nanfeng (257 – 13 May 300), nicknamed Shi (峕), was a Chinese empress consort. She was the daughter of Jia Chong and first wife of Emperor Hui of the Jin dynasty and also the granddaughter of Jia Kui. She is commonly seen as a villaino ...

had someone else answer the inquiries for Sima Zhong), Emperor Wu was happy and publicly showed Wei Guan the answers, embarrassing Wei Guan greatly and making it clear to other officials that Wei Guan had said something. After Emperor Wu's death in 290, Yang Jun, the father of Empress Dowager Yang, assumed the regency for Sima Zhong, who ascended the throne as Emperor Hui. However, in 291, Yang Jun was overthrown and killed in a coup started by Empress Jia. Wei Guan was then made regent, along with Emperor Hui's granduncle

. Wei Guan and Sima Liang tried to get the government on track, but Empress Jia continued to interfere with governmental matters. They also became concerned about the violent temper of Emperor Hui's brother

Sima Wei Sima Wei (司馬瑋) (271 – 26 July 291), courtesy name Yandu (彥度), formally Prince Yin of Chu (楚隱王), was an imperial prince during Jin Dynasty (266–420) and was the second of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of th ...

(who was heavily involved in the coup against Yang Jun) and therefore tried to strip him of his military command, but Sima Wei persuaded Empress Jia to let him keep his military command. Sima Wei's assistants Qi Sheng () and Gongsun Hong () thereafter falsely told Empress Jia that Sima Liang and Wei Guan planned to depose the emperor. Empress Jia, who had already resented Wei Guan for having, during Emperor Wu's reign, suggested that he change his choice of heir apparent, also wanted more direct control over the government, and therefore resolved to undergo a second coup. In summer 291, Empress Jia instructed Emperor Hui to write an imperial edict to Sima Wei, ordering him to have Sima Liang and Wei Guan removed from their offices. His forces thereby surrounded Sima Liang and Wei Guan's mansions, and while both men's subordinates recommended resistance, each declined and was captured. Against what the edict said, both were killed – Sima Liang with his heir Sima Ju () and Wei Guan with nine of his sons and grandsons. After Empress Jia, concerned about Sima Wei's power, then falsely declared that the edict was forged by Sima Wei and had him executed, Wei Guan was posthumously rehabilitated and restored to the status of a duke.

References

* Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

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 X ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Guan 220 births 291 deaths 3rd-century executions Cao Wei politicians Executed Jin dynasty (266–420) people Executed people from Hebei Generals from Hebei Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) politicians Jin dynasty (266–420) regents People executed by the Jin dynasty (266–420) by decapitation Politicians from Handan Political office-holders in Beijing Political office-holders in Jiangsu Political office-holders in Shaanxi Political office-holders in Shandong

Early life and career

Career during the Jin dynasty

See also

References