Jia Chong (217 – 19 May 282),

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 ...

Gonglü, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late

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 and early Jin dynasty of China. He started his career as an advisor to Sima Shi and

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (; 211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang (子上), 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, whi ...

, the regents 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 ...

in the Three Kingdoms era, and subsequently served as an official in the court of Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), after the establishment of the Jin dynasty.

Early life and career in Cao Wei

Jia Chong's father, Jia Kui, was a military general in Wei and was considered an epitome of faithfulness to the state. He did not have a son until late in his life; when Jia Chong was born, he was very pleased. Jia Chong's mother was Lady Liu (柳氏; 210 - 266). Jia Chong inherited his father's marquis title after the latter's death. He later served under the regent Sima Shi, and then under Sima Shi's younger brother and successor,

. In 257, Sima Zhao sent him to probe the general Zhuge Dan's intentions should he decided to usurp the Wei throne. Zhuge Dan, then stationed at Shouchun, rebuked Jia Chong when the latter incessantly praised Sima Zhao in front of him. After Jia Chong returned to the capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, he warned Sima Zhao that Zhuge Dan would most likely be unwilling to submit to his regency. Sima Zhao therefore summoned Zhuge Dan back to the capital, forcing him to start a

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

that was quickly crushed. After the incident, Jia Chong became even more highly regarded by Sima Zhao. In June 260, the Wei emperor Cao Mao, unable to contain his anger about Sima Zhao's monopolisation of power, attempted a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

to try to take back power from the regent. When forces led by Sima Zhao's brother Sima Zhou quickly collapsed against Cao Mao's forces, it was Jia Chong who was willing to stand against the emperor and who further ordered his subordinate, Cheng Ji (成濟), to take any measure to defeat the emperor and his loyalists. Cheng Ji killed Cao Mao by spearing him to death. In the aftermath of the incident, the people demanded for Cheng Ji and Jia Chong to be executed. Sima Zhao considered the matter for more than 10 days, eventually resolving to kill Cheng Ji (and his clan) but sparing Jia Chong, not wanting to execute someone who had been so loyal to him. From that point on, however, Jia Chong's reputation among the people was one of regicide. Jia Chong also played a key role in Sima Zhao's suppression of Zhong Hui's

in 264. Before the rebellion, Sima Zhao had foreseen that Zhong Hui was likely to rebel against Wei and had made preparations beforehand, including putting Jia Chong in charge of an army to counter any possible attack from Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui was killed by his soldiers who, unwilling to join his rebellion, mutinied against him.

Career under the Jin dynasty

After Sima Zhao's death in September 265, his son Sima Yan forced the last Wei emperor

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (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 regent Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the J ...

to abdicate the throne to him in February 266, thus ending Wei's existence and replacing it with the Jin dynasty. Jia Chong was enfeoffed as the "Duke of Lu" on 9 February 266. As a loyal subject of the Sima family, Jia continued to be an important figure in the Jin government. Emperor Wu commissioned him to draft the laws of the Jin dynasty, initially considered to be far more merciful than the strict laws under the Wei regime. However, uneven enforcement of these laws meant that the main beneficiaries were nobles. For years, Jia Chong had a political rivalry with Ren Kai (任愷) and Yu Chun (庾純); this rivalry intensified after Sima You married Jia Bao. In 271, Ren Kai and Yu Chun were able to persuade Emperor Wu to send Jia Chong to lead Jin forces to guard the

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

region and fend off attacks from Di and Qiang (氐羌) rebels; Jia Chong was appointed overall in charge of military affairs for the provinces of Qinzhou and Liangzhou on 17 September. Jia did not want to fight the rebels at all; he sought advice from Xun Xu (荀勖) on how to avoid being sent into battle. Xun's advice was to arrange a wedding between one of his daughters and the crown prince. Xun Xu then volunteered himself for the task. With his flattery skills and the assistance from Emperor Wu's wife Empress Yang and Xun Yi (荀𫖮), Emperor Wu agreed to the marriage. At the same time, there was heavy snowfall in the capital Luoyang, with the snow reaching the depth of two '' chi''. In addition, Yang Hu worked behind the scenes to help Jia, earning Jia's gratitude. In 272, Jia Chong retaliated against Ren Kai and Yu Chun and succeeded in forcing them out of politics. Between August 272 and 274, while Xiahou He was still Intendant of Henan, Emperor Wu became gravely ill, and the Jin court considered making

Sima You Sima You (; 246 – 27 April 283), courtesy name Dayou (大猷), posthumously known as Prince Xian of Qi (齐献王), was an imperial prince of the Western Jin dynasty of China. He was the second son of Sima Zhao, a regent of the Cao Wei state ...

the next emperor, rather than Emperor Wu's son and crown prince Sima Zhong. Xiahou told Jia, "Your relations with both sons-in-law are equal. A heir should be chosen based on his virtues." Jia did not comment on the statement; after Emperor Wu heard about the incident, he moved Xiahou to the post of Minister of the Household, and deprived Jia of his military command, while allowing Jia to retain his titles and treatment in court. On 16 September 276, Jia Chong was made Grand Commandant; he was replaced as Minister of Works by Sima You. In 279, Emperor Wu wanted to launch a major invasion against

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

, the last of the Three Kingdoms, as part of his grand plan to reunify China under the Jin dynasty. Jia Chong opposed the emperor's idea and argued that Wu was too difficult to conquer. Emperor Wu not only ignored his advice, but also appointed him as the coordinator of a six-pronged attack on Wu. When Jia Chong declined, Emperor Wu told him to coordinate anyway, or else the emperor himself would personally coordinate. Jia Chong relented, but continued to oppose military action. In early 280, despite some military successes against Wu, Jia Chong continued to press for the invasion to be stopped after Jin forces had conquered the western half of Wu. Soon after he wrote a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

to Emperor Wu arguing against the campaign, the Wu emperor Sun Hao surrendered to the Jin dynasty, thus ending Wu's existence. Jia Chong felt so ashamed that he offered to resign. However, Emperor Wu did not accept the resignation and even rewarded him for what he perceived to be Jia's contributions during the campaign.

Death

When Jia Chong became critically ill in 282, Emperor Wu bestowed upon him a special honour by ordering the crown prince Sima Zhong to pay a special visit to Jia. After Jia Chong died, his second wife Guo Huai (郭槐) wanted Jia Chong's maternal grandson, Han Mi (韓謐), to inherit his ducal title. Emperor Wu approved, even though it was considered inappropriate for a maternal grandson to inherit his maternal grandfather's title. Because of this, the official Qin Xiu (秦秀), who was responsible for selecting important officials'

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

s, initially wanted to select "Huang" (荒; literally "performer of illegal acts") as Jia's posthumous name, but Emperor Wu overrode Qin Xiu's recommendation and chose "Wu" (武; literally "martial") as Jia's posthumous name.

Family

Jia Chong had a younger brother, Jia Hun (賈混), who held the title "Marquis of Yongping" (永平侯). Jia Hun had three sons, Jia Yi (賈彝), Jia Zun (賈遵) and Jia Mo (賈模), who served as officials under the Jin dynasty. Jia Chong's first wife, Li Wan (李婉), was a daughter of Li Feng, who was executed by Sima Shi in 254 for allegedly conspiring with the Wei emperor Cao Fang to unseat Sima Shi from power. By that point in time, Li Wan had already bore Jia Chong two daughters: Jia Bao (賈褒) and Jia Yu (賈裕). As Jia Chong wanted to pledge his loyalty to Sima Shi, he divorced Li Wan, who was sent into exile. Jia Chong then married Guo Huai (郭槐), a niece of the Wei general Guo Huai (郭淮). Guo Huai bore Jia Chong two daughters as well: Jia Nanfeng and Jia Wu (賈午). She also bore him a son, Jia Limin (賈黎民), but her unusual jealousy and cruelty doomed her son. One day, when Jia Limin was still a toddler, Jia Chong returned home and caressed his son, who was being carried by his

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

. Guo Huai saw this and misinterpreted it as her husband having an affair with the wet nurse, so she killed the wet nurse. Jia Limin was so distressed by his wet nurse's death that he fell sick and died. Guo Huai bore Jia Chong another (unnamed) son later, but the entire tragedy repeated itself when Guo Huai suspected her son's wet nurse of having an affair with her husband. Jia Chong had no son left to succeed him when he died. Among Jia Chong's daughters, Jia Nanfeng married Emperor Wu's crown prince Sima Zhong and eventually became empress after Sima Zhong was enthroned as Emperor Hui. Jia Bao, one of Jia Chong's daughters born to his first wife, married Emperor Wu's younger brother,

, the Prince of Qi. At one point, when Emperor Wu was ill, Sima You was touted as a possible candidate to be the next emperor if Emperor Wu died – instead of Emperor Wu's developmentally disabled son Sima Zhong. One official, Xiahou He, tried to persuade Jia Chong to support Sima You and pointed out that both the crown prince and Sima You were Jia's sons-in-law. However, Jia Chong declined to express support for Sima You. Another of Jia Chong's daughters born to Guo Huai, Jia Wu, married Han Shou (韓壽), and had a son, Han Mi (韓謐). Han Mi inherited his maternal grandfather's ducal title. In February 266, when Emperor Wu ended the Cao Wei state and established the Jin dynasty, he declared a general amnesty for political prisoners under the former regime. Jia Chong's first wife, Li Wan, was thus allowed to return from exile. As Emperor Wu believed that Jia Chong wanted to have his first wife back, he offered to approve of Jia Chong having two formal spouses (both Li Wan and Guo Huai). However, Jia Chong never accepted Li Wan again despite pleas from his two daughters born to Li Wan. Instead, he had a separate residence built for Li Wan but never visited her. Guo Huai, who was jealous of Li Wan, secretly sent spies to carry out surveillance at Li Wan's house for any signs of visit from Jia Chong. Guo Huai herself then went to visit Li Wan once with the intention of humiliating her, but she ended up being humiliated herself when she tripped and landed at Li Wan's feet; she never visited Li Wan again. After Li Wan's death, Jia Nanfeng, who had become Emperor Hui's empress by then, did not allow Li Wan to be buried with Jia Chong. Li Wan was only interred together with Jia Chong in 300 CE after Jia Nanfeng was deposed from her position as empress. Sima You's and Jia Bao's son Sima Jiong was sent by Sima Lun to depose Jia Nanfeng due to the bad blood between the half-sisters. Parents *Father: Jia Kui (賈逵, 174 – 228), Marquis of Yangli Village (陽里亭侯) *Mother: Lady Liu (柳氏) Wives and concubines: *Lady Li, of the Li clan (李氏), personal name Wan (婉), courtesy name Shuwen (淑文),(妇人集曰：“充妻李氏，名婉字淑文。丰诛，徙乐浪。”) ''Fu Ren Ji'' annotation in ''Shishuo Xinyu'', vol.19 daughter of Li Feng (李豐) **Jia Bao (賈褒), first daughter ***married

, Prince Qixian (齊獻王司馬攸), a son of

(司馬昭), had issue **Jia Yu (賈裕), second daughter * Lady Guo, of the Guo clan (郭氏), personal Huai (槐), daughter of Guo Pei (郭配) ** Jia Nanfeng (賈南風), third daughter ***married Sima Zhong and had issues (four daughters) **Jia Wu (賈午), fourth daughter ***married Han Shou (韓壽) and had issues (two sons, including Jia Mi) **Jia Limin (賈黎民), first son **''Second son''

In popular culture

Jia Chong is first introduced as a playable character in the eighth installment of Koei's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'' video game series.

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 ...

'', Volume 28. * Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), 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, ...

'' (''Jin Shu''), Volumes 40, 45. * 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 ...