Bao Xun (died 9 June 226),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Shuye, was a Chinese politician of the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China. He was appointed as a minister by

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

in recognition of his father

Bao Xin Bao Xin (152–192) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Bao Xin was from Pingyang County (), Taishan Commandery (), which is present-day Xintai County, Shandong. ...

, who was killed in action against the Yellow Turban rebels. Bao Xun was known to be an outspoken minister who would not hesitate to criticise anyone for their mistakes, including his lord. The Wei emperor

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

was frustrated and angry with Bao Xun for his outspoken nature that he demoted Bao several times during his reign. Eventually, Cao Pi grew tired of Bao Xun and ordered his execution.

Family

Born in Pingyang, Taishan, Bao Xun was the ninth generation from a capital general in the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

named Bao Xuan, some of whose offspring moved from

Shangdang Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or prefectu ...

to Taishan and settled thereafter. Bao Xun's father,

, was killed in a battle with Yellow Turban Army in the Province of Yan but saved

's life with his sacrifice. Earlier, his uncle Bao Tao (Bao Xin's younger brother) was killed during the Battle of Xingyang. Bao Xun's elder brother, Bao Shao, was anointed ''the Marquis of Xinduting'' by Cao Cao in the seventeenth year of

Jian'an (Eastern Han) Jian'an (February 196 – March 220) was the fifth era name of Emperor Xian of China's Eastern Han dynasty. It was used for a total of 25 years.Li Chongzhi (李崇智). ''Zhongguo lidai nianhao kao'' (中國歷代年號考), p. 14. Jian'an was the ...

(212 CE) as remembrance of his father's contribution.

Service under
Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

In the twenty-second year of Jian'an, when Cao Pi was appointed as the heir to Cao Cao, Bao Xun became an educator to Cao Pi. That Bao did not yield to Cao Pi's power and performed his duty fairly agitated Cao Pi throughout his reign. An incident triggered the distaste of Cao Pi when his brother-in-law, a petty official of ''Qu Zhou,'' was found stealing some cloths from official inventory. Regardless of Cao Pi's couple of letters to beg for pardon on behalf of his brother-in-law, Bao did not conceal the crime which should have sentenced whom to death, by which Cao Pi was further agitated, to an extent that he secretly ordered other civil servants to report Bao and caused Bao to lose his governmental post. After Cao Pi's succession to Cao Cao's lordship and subsequently the empire from the

, Bao Xun repeatedly emphasized the priority of army, agriculture and benevolence rule over palace constructions. Throughout Cao Pi's reign, Bao Xun had twice confronted severely with Cao Pi. The first one was on hunting as imperial leisure and the second one on military expedition. In both cases, Bao held a remarkable opposition against his monarch. At one time, Cao Pi went for gaming while Bao halted Cao's vehicle for protest, stating the importance of virtuous rule over hunting. Cao nevertheless went after destroying Bao's protest letter with his bare hands. In the midst of this hunting, Cao asked his subordinates to compare the joy of music with that of hunting. While Liu Ye replied that hunting was more joyful than music, Bao protested with his statement that music had the peaceful and educational nature; in contrary, hunting brought harm to lives and danger to the monarch. Thus, he accused Liu for flattery, requesting an appraisal of his wrongdoing, by which Cao felt deeply annoyed to a point that he immediately returned and lowered Bao's rank to a minor official. (因奏：『劉曄佞諛不忠，阿順陛下過戲之言。昔梁丘據取媚於遄臺，曄之謂也。請有司議罪以清皇廟。』帝怒作色，罷還，即出勛爲右中郎將。) ''Biography of Bao Xun, Fascicle 12, Records of the Three Kingdoms''

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bao, Xun 226 deaths 3rd-century executions Year of birth unknown Cao Wei government officials Executed people from Shandong Government officials under Cao Cao People executed by Cao Wei Politicians from Tai'an

Family

Service under Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

See also

References

Service under
Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...