Jian Yong ( 180s–210s),
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 ...
Xianhe, was a Chinese politician serving under 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 ...
in the late
Eastern Han dynasty of China. He started working under Liu Bei since the very beginning of Liu Bei's career; he originally served as his lord's personal secretary and later as a messenger, minister or emissary for his lord. He was also known for being persuasive and broad-minded and for his carefree personality. Along with
Mi Zhu,
Sun Qian, and later
Yi Ji, Jian's ideas were widely circulated in Liu's territories, which featured
Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
values and Han loyalist arguments, he greatly helped Liu Bei's image gaining creditably to the later's populist movement. Jian is thought to have died shortly after 214.
Life
Jian Yong was born in
Zhuo Commandery (), which is in present-day
Zhuozhou,
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
. His original family name was
''Geng'' (耿), but in his native
You Province (Zhuo Commandery was in You Province), ''Geng'' had the same pronunciation as ''Jian'', so he changed his family name to ''Jian''. He was a childhood friend of
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 ...
and later he became one of his subordinates following him on his travels. When Liu Bei was taking shelter in
Jing Province
Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in early Chinese texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'', and ''Rites of Zhou''.
Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of E ...
, Jian Yong, along with
Mi Zhu and
Sun Qian, served as Assistant Officer of the Household () under him. They acted as his political activists outside of usually being sent as messengers or emissaries for their lord.
In 211, when Liu Bei entered
Yi Province (covering present-day
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 ...
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 ...
) under the pretext of helping its governor
Liu Zhang defend his jurisdiction against a rival warlord
Zhang Lu, he sent Jian Yong as an emissary to meet Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang greatly favoured Jian Yong. Later, when
war broke out between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang, and Liu Bei had gained the upper hand against his rival and had besieged Yi Province's capital
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 ...
, Jian Yong was sent to persuade Liu Zhang to give up resistance. Liu Zhang agreed, and, with Jian Yong by his side, he rode out of the city in a chariot to surrender. After occupying Yi Province and setting up his new base in Chengdu in 214, Liu Bei promoted Jian Yong to the position of General of Illustrious Virtue ().
Jian Yong was known for being an excellent debater and speaker. In his writing and speech he was far more extreme in
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
philosophy than most of Liu Bei's other subjects. He was carefree in his ways and showed little regard for formalities. When he sat down beside Liu Bei, which was odd because even Liu's longterm subjects like
Zhang Fei and
Mi Zhu always were formal, Jian behaved boldly, ignored proper etiquette, and sat in a manner to make himself feel comfortable. When he attended banquets hosted by
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 ...
, he would occupy an entire couch, recline on a pillow, and speak to others in a relaxed position. He did not condescend to anyone.
Once, there was a drought in Yi Province and a law prohibiting alcohol went into effect. People who brewed alcoholic drinks would be punished. Over-zealous officials seized brewing utensils from families and suggested to punish the owners of the utensils as if the owners were as guilty as brewers. When Jian Yong and Liu Bei was inspecting the land, they saw a couple walking past, and Jian said to his lord: "They're planning to commit an indecent act. Why not arrest them?" Liu Bei asked, "How do you know?" Jian Yong replied, "They're equipped with the tools to do so, just as the owners of brewing utensils have the tools to brew alcoholic drinks." Liu Bei laughed and pardoned the families who owned brewing utensils. Such was Jian Yong's wit.
Appraisal
Chen Shou, who wrote Jian Yong's biography in ''
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 ...
'', commented on Jian as follows: "
Mi Zhu,
Sun Qian, Jian Yong and
Yi Ji were refined and cultured persons whose ideas were widely circulated. They were well known for their good observation of the proprieties."
[(麋笁、孫乾、簡雍、伊籍,皆雍容風議,見禮於世。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 38.]
See also
*
Lists of people 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'').
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jian, Yong
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Government officials under Liu Bei
Politicians from Baoding