Zhang Yu (Nanhe)

Zhang Yu (died 219), courtesy name Nanhe, was an official, diviner and physiognomist who served under the warlords Liu Zhang and Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Life

Zhang Yu was from Shu Commandery (蜀郡), which is based in present-day Chengdu, Sichuan, but he might not necessarily be from Chengdu since there were other counties in Shu Commandery. He started his career as an Assistant Officer (從事) under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing).

In late 211, Liu Zhang invited the warlord Liu Bei, who was based in southern Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), to lead his troops into Yi Province to help him counter the threat of another warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. Zhang Yu accompanied Liu Zhang when he met Liu Bei for a reception banquet in Fu County (涪縣; present-day Mianyang, Sichuan). During the banquet, Liu Bei saw that Zhang Yu had a thick beard, so he came up with a joke to make fun of Zhang Yu: "When I was in Zhuo County (涿縣), there were many people with the family name ''Mao''. They were everywhere, be it north, south, east or west. The Prefect even remarked, 'Zhuo County is surrounded by ''Mao''s!'"(初，先主與劉璋會涪時，裕為璋從事，侍坐。其人饒鬚，先主嘲之曰：「昔吾居涿縣，特多毛姓，東西南北皆諸毛也，涿令稱曰『諸毛繞涿居乎』！」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 42. Zhang Yu also cracked a joke to get back at Liu Bei: "Once upon a time, there was a certain Prefect of Lu County (潞縣) who was later reassigned to Zhuo County. After he retired, someone wanted to write him a letter but didn't know how to address him in a way that reflected the two appointments he held, so he thought of the term 'Gentleman of Lu-Zhuo' (潞涿君). Zhang Yu's joke was meant to mock Liu Bei, who had no beard.

In 214,''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 67. after Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang, he appointed Zhang Yu as a Major of the Rear Section (後部司馬) in his new administration. Around 217, when Liu Bei planned to launch a campaign to seize the strategic Hanzhong Commandery from his rival Cao Cao, he consulted Zhou Qun and asked him to predict the outcome. Zhou Qun told him that he would gain the territories in Hanzhong Commandery but not its people, and advised him to not send a detachment of his main army to attack the enemy. At the time, Zhang Yu, who was known for being better than Zhou Qun in divining the future, advised Liu Bei against launching the Hanzhong Campaign.(時州後部司馬蜀郡張裕亦曉占候，而天才過羣，諫先主曰：「不可爭漢中，軍必不利。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 42. Liu Bei ignored their advice and went ahead anyway. As Zhou Qun predicted, Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and captured the territories in Hanzhong Commandery but not its people because they had already migrated elsewhere. During the campaign, Liu Bei also ordered Wu Lan (吳蘭) and Lei Tong (雷銅) to lead a detachment of troops from his main army to attack Wudu Commandery (武都郡; around present-day Longnan, Gansu), but, as Zhou Qun warned him, this detachment ended up being completely destroyed by Cao Cao's forces. After the successful conquest of Hanzhong, Liu Bei nominated Zhou Qun as a ''maocai'' (茂才; a cultivated talent recommended for a government post), probably to commend him for his earlier advice, but did not do the same for Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu once privately made a prediction: "In the ''gengzi'' year, the ruling dynasty will change and the Liu clan's reign will come to an end. Our lord (Liu Bei) may have conquered Yi Province, but nine years later he will lose it between the ''yin'' and ''mao'' years." Someone secretly informed Liu Bei about his prediction.

Liu Bei had been holding a grudge against Zhang Yu since the incident in Fu County, so he became angrier when he heard that Zhang Yu was predicting his downfall, and decided to take revenge against Zhang Yu. He accused Zhang Yu of making an inaccurate prediction about the Hanzhong Campaign, imprisoned him, and wanted to execute him. When Zhuge Liang pleaded with Liu Bei to spare Zhang Yu, Liu Bei said, "When something blocks your doorway, even if it were pretty flowers, you'll have to get rid of it." As Zhang Yu was well-versed in physiognomy, every time he saw his reflection in the mirror he hurled it onto the floor, because he knew he would die by execution. Zhang Yu was subsequently executed by beheading and his body was dumped into the street.(先主常銜其不遜，加忿其漏言，乃顯裕諫爭漢中不驗，下獄，將誅之。諸葛亮表請其罪，先主荅曰：「芳蘭生門，不得不鉏。」裕遂弃市。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 42.

Zhang Yu's prediction about the end of the Liu clan's reign came true in the year 220 (a ''gengzi'' year in the sexagenary cycle) when the Cao Wei. Liu Bei also died on 10 June 223, about nine years after he seized Yi Province from Liu Zhang in June 214; his year of death (223) was also a ''(gui)mao'' year in the sexagenary cycle and the year before (222) was a ''(ren)yin'' year.

Zhang Yu once foretold Deng Zhi's future by telling him that he would rise to the position of General-in-Chief (大將軍) and gain a marquis title after he turned 70.(時益州從事張裕善相，芝往從之，裕謂芝曰：「君年過七十，位至大將軍，封侯。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.

See also

* Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
* Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
* Sima, Guang (1084). ''Zizhi Tongjian''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yu
Year of birth unknown
219 deaths
Liu Zhang and associates
Officials under Liu Bei
Politicians from Sichuan
Han dynasty politicians from Sichuan
Executed Han dynasty people
People executed by the Han dynasty