Du Qiong (Three Kingdoms)
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Du Qiong ( 160s – 250),
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 ...
Boyu, was an official, astronomer and diviner of the state of
Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...
in 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.


Life

Du Qiong was from Chengdu, Shu Commandery (蜀郡), which is present-day
Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...
,
Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
. In his youth, he studied the ''
Book of Changes The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'' together with He Zong (何宗) under the tutelage of Ren An (任安). He specialised in astronomy and divination. Sometime between 194 and 214, Liu Zhang, the Governor of
Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a ''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong Commandery, Han ...
(covering present-day Sichuan and
Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
), recruited Du Qiong to serve under him as an Assistant Officer (從事). In 214, after the warlord
Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...
seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang, he appointed Du Qiong as an Assistant Officer in the Consultation Bureau (議曹從事) of his administration. Following the end of the
Eastern 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 ...
in 220, Du Qiong cited works of divination to urge Liu Bei to declare himself emperor, which Liu Bei did in 221 and established the state of
Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...
of 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. After Liu Bei died in 223, Du Qiong continued serving under Liu Bei's son and successor,
Liu Shan Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang ...
. During Liu Shan's reign ( 223–263), Du Qiong held a number of positions, including Counsellor Remonstrant (諫議大夫), Left General of the Household (左中郎將), Minister Herald (大鴻臚) and Minister of Ceremonies (太常). When
Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...
, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, died in 234, Liu Shan ordered Du Qiong to bring an imperial edict of mourning to Zhuge Liang's tomb and read it out. Du Qiong was known for being a man of few words and for maintaining a low profile throughout his career. He hardly interacted with his colleagues outside the workplace and stayed in his residence most of the time during non-working hours.
Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (died November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially se ...
and
Fei Yi Fei Yi (died 16 February 253), courtesy name Wenwei, was a Chinese diplomat, military general, politician, and regent of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Fei Yi started his career ...
, who consecutively served as the heads of the Shu central government between 234 and 253, respected and regarded him highly. Although Du Qiong was well-versed in astronomy, he was initially not known for his knowledge of astronomy until he met his colleague
Qiao Zhou Qiao Zhou (199 - 270), courtesy name Yunnan, was a Chinese astronomer, historian, politician, and writer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (cove ...
, who constantly sought his views on astronomy. Du Qiong told him, "It's not easy to understand astronomy. You should observe the heavens and identify the characteristics of the different types of astronomical phenomena on your own, instead of believing what others tell you. It'll take a lot of effort and time to study astronomy before you can truly understand astronomy. Once you've understood it, however, you'll start to worry about spilling the secrets of the future. I thought it's best to not know, so that's why I stopped observing the heavens." Qiao Zhou asked Du Qiong, " Zhou Shu once said that the 'something tall on the road' n the popular saying 'something tall on the road will replace the Han (dynasty)'refers to the state of Wei. Why do you think it is so?" Du Qiong replied, "''Wei'' (魏) also refers to either of the two viewing towers at each gate of the imperial palace. It faces the road and stands out as a very tall structure from a distance away. (Because ''Wei'' was also the name of an ancient state,) the sages decided to use it as a
double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...
." When Qiao Zhou sought clarification, Du Qiong further explained, "The term ''cao'' (曹) was never used to refer to the positions held by government officials in ancient times. This practice only started 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 ...
: clerks are called ''shu cao'' (屬曹) and guards are called ''shi cao'' (侍曹). This is probably Heaven's will." Du Qiong died in 250 in his 80s.(瓊年八十餘,延熈十三年卒。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 42. Throughout his life, he wrote over 100,000 Chinese characters in the ''Han Shi Zhangju'' (韓詩章句) as a detailed commentary to Han Ying's version of the ''
Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
''. However, he never accepted any student/apprentice(s) so he had no one to inherit his legacy.


Post-mortem events

Qiao Zhou Qiao Zhou (199 - 270), courtesy name Yunnan, was a Chinese astronomer, historian, politician, and writer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (cove ...
used what he learnt from his exchanges with Du Qiong and came up with his own ideas of divination. He once made a prophecy based on Du Qiong's style: In 262, when the
eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
Huang Hao Huang Hao ( 220s–263) was a Chinese eunuch and politician serving under Liu Shan (), the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He gained the favour of Liu Shan and became highly inf ...
was in power in Shu, a big tree in the imperial palace suddenly collapsed. Qiao Zhou became worried but he could not find someone to talk to, so he wrote a 12-character mantra on a pillar which foreshadowed the
conquest of Shu by Wei The Conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the dynastic state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in late 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu Han and the tripartite equil ...
a year later. After the fall of Shu, when people praised Qiao Zhou for making an accurate prediction, he said, "I may have thought about this myself, but I only came up with it after expanding and deriving from the sayings of Du Qiong. I didn't use any special power or ability to predict the future."(後宦人黃皓弄權於內,景耀五年,宮中大樹無故自折,周深憂之,無所與言,乃書柱曰:「衆而大,期之會,具而授,若何復?」言曹者衆也,魏者大也,衆而大,天下其當會也。具而授,如何復有立者乎?蜀旣亡,咸以周言為驗。周曰:「此雖己所推尋,然有所因,由杜君之辭而廣之耳,殊無神思獨至之異也。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 42.


See also

*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order. Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel '' Romance o ...


Notes


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''). * * Sima, Guang (1084). ''
Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Du, Qiong 2nd-century births 250 deaths Government officials under Liu Zhang Government officials under Liu Bei Shu Han government officials 3rd-century Chinese astronomers Politicians from Chengdu Scientists from Sichuan