Fa Xiong
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Fa Xiong (died 110s),
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 ...
Wenjiang, was a Chinese politician who lived in 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 ...
and served during the reign of Emperor An. He is best known for suppressing rebellions in present-day eastern
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
and the
Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...
from 109 to 111 and for serving as the Administrator of
Nan Commandery Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing. The sea ...
(around present-day
Jingzhou Jingzhou ( zh, s=, c=荆州, t=, p=Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the Seventh National Population Censu ...
,
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
) in the 110s. He was the great-grandfather of
Fa Zheng Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan ...
, a chief adviser to 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 ...
, who founded 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 ...
era.


Family background

Fa Xiong's
ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
was in Mei County (),
Fufeng Commandery Fufeng ( zh, 扶風), also known as You Fufeng ( zh, 右扶風), was a historical region located in modern western Shaanxi. In early Han dynasty, the administrator of the capital Chang'an and its vicinities was known as ''You Neishi'' (右內史) ...
(), which is in present-day
Mei County Mei County or Meixian () is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Baoji, in the west of Shaanxi province, China. It is one of the birthplaces of the Western Zhou culture, during which it was known as Taiguo (邰国). ...
,
Baoji Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
. His ancestor was Tian Fazhang, who was formally known as King Xiang of the Qi state in the
Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
. Tian Fazhang's descendants changed their family name from "Tian" to "Fa" after the fall of Qi in 221 BCE. During the reign of Emperor Xuan in the
Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an 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) and a warring in ...
, Tian Fazhang's descendants were relocated to the capital province and granted a hereditary official position with an income of 2,000 ''dan'' () of grain.


Early career

Fa Xiong started his career as a minor officer in the commandery office and was later recruited to serve in the office of Zhang Yu (), the
Grand Tutor The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...
() in the Han imperial court. He was later nominated for promotion and was appointed as the Chief () of Pingshi County (). During his tenure, he governed the county well, maintained high standards of security in the area, and earned the admiration and respect of his subordinates and the people. Bao De (), the Administrator () of
Nanyang Commandery Nanyang Commandery ( zh, 南陽郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was centered in present-day Nanyang, Henan. History Nanyang Commandery was established by Qin in the 35th year of King Z ...
(), reported Fa Xiong's achievements to the imperial court. Fa Xiong was then reassigned to be the Prefect () of Wanling County ().


Suppressing rebellions

In 109, during the reign of Emperor An, the pirate Zhang Bolu () donned military attire, declared himself 'General' (), and led some 3,000 followers to raid the regions near the coast in present-day eastern
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
and kill the officials there. The Han imperial court ordered Pang Xiong () to lead government forces to attack the pirates. Zhang Bolu surrendered initially, but returned to cause trouble again a year later. This time, he allied with Liu Wenhe () from Pingyuan County () and Liu's some 300 followers. They called themselves 'Emissaries' (). They attacked Yanci County () and killed its officials, and then headed to Gaotang County (), where they burnt down official buildings and freed prisoners from their cells. Bandits and outlaws in the area came to join Zhang Bolu, who donned official garments and declared himself 'General'. The imperial court commissioned Wang Zong () to mobilise thousands of government troops in
You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...
and Ji provinces to counter Zhang Bolu's rebel army. Fa Xiong was appointed as the Inspector () of
Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to  BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...
and was ordered to assist Wang Zong in suppressing the revolt. The Han forces defeated the rebels, killed hundreds of them, captured their equipment and caused the others to disperse. Around the time, Emperor An issued a decree offering amnesty to the remaining rebels, but they were hesitant in surrendering because they saw that the government troops were still active. Wang Zong summoned all the Inspectors and Administrators to discuss his plan to attack the remaining rebels and eliminate them. Fa Xiong said, "No. Military force is a deadly weapon; war is dangerous. We cannot rely solely on courage; victory is not certain. If the rebels head towards the sea and sail to distant islands, it will be much harder to eliminate them. Now that the amnesty decree has arrived, it is better to withdraw our troops, so as to make the rebels feel at ease and put them off guard. They will definitely disperse later, and then we can subdue them without using much force." Wang Zong heeded Fa Xiong's suggestion and withdrew his troops. The rebels were delighted and they surrendered. However, the government forces in
Donglai Commandery Donglai Commandery ( zh, 東萊郡) was a historical Chinese commandery (China), commandery on the Jiaodong Peninsula, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Donglai Commandery was likely established during Emperor Jing of Han's reign on the la ...
() did not withdraw as ordered, so the rebels there became fearful and they escaped to an island near the
Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...
. In the spring of 111, the rebels raided Donglai again when they ran out of food supplies. Fa Xiong led Donglai's armed forces to attack the rebels and defeated them, driving them back to Liaodong again. In Liaodong, Li Jiu () led a militia to assist Fa Xiong's army and they eliminated the remaining rebels. Peace was restored in the area.


Later career and death

Fa Xiong was known for his wisdom in reviewing criminal cases and detecting corruption in his administration. For example, he closely observed a prisoner's facial expression and used that to assess whether the person was guilty or not. He succeeded in separating truth and deception on several occasions. He also caught his subordinates who abused their power and had them dismissed from office. Fa Xiong served in
Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to  BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...
for four years before he was reassigned to be the Administrator of
Nan Commandery Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing. The sea ...
(南郡; around present-day
Jingzhou Jingzhou ( zh, s=, c=荆州, t=, p=Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the Seventh National Population Censu ...
,
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
), which covered Yunmeng Lake () and part of the Han River. When he was in office, he managed criminal cases efficiently and maintained high standards of security. During his tenure, Nan Commandery not only experienced many bountiful harvests, but also saw an increase in its population. During the Yongchu era (107–114) in the reign of Emperor An, there were numerous incidents of people in Nan Commandery being attacked by predatory animals such as tigers and wolves. The previous Administrator had offered rewards to hunters to eliminate this threat, but these hunters ended up being killed by the animals instead. Fa Xiong believed that the animals would not disturb the people as long as they were allowed to roam free in the wild, so he instructed the people to stop hunting animals in the wild and destroy their hunting equipment. He was proven right because the frequency of such attacks decreased significantly after his suggestion was implemented. Fa Xiong died in office during the Yuanchu era (114–120) in the reign of Emperor An.(在州四年,遷南郡太守,斷獄省少,戶口益增。郡濵帶江沔,又有雲夢藪澤,永初中,多虎狼之暴,前太守賞募張捕,反為所害者甚衆。雄乃移書屬縣曰:「凡虎狼之在山林,猶人之居城市。古者至化之世,猛獸不擾,皆由恩信寬澤,仁及飛走。太守雖不德,敢忘斯義。記到,其毀壞檻穽,不得妄捕山林。」是後虎害稍息,人以獲安。在郡數歲,歲常豐稔。元初中卒官。) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 38.


See also

*
Fa Zhen Fa Zhen (100–188), courtesy name – Gaoqing, art name – Xuande Xiansheng, was a reclusive scholar who lived in the Eastern Han dynasty. He was the grandfather of Fa Zheng – a chief adviser to the warlord Liu Bei, who founded the state ...
, Fa Xiong's son. *
Fa Zheng Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan ...
, Fa Xiong's great-grandson.


References

* Fan, Ye. ''
Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...
'' (''Houhanshu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fa, Xiong Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 2nd-century deaths Han dynasty government officials Politicians from Baoji