Luo Xian (died 270),

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 ...

Lingze, was a Chinese military general and politician 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. After the fall of Shu in 263, he continued serving under the

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 ...

state, then the succeeding

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

in 266. He is best known for defending his position at Yong'an (present-day Fengjie County,

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 ...

) for about six months against attacks from Shu's former ally state Wu after the fall of Shu.

Historical sources

Despite his prominence, Luo Xian is only mentioned in the biographies of others as

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

did not write a exclusive biography for him in the ''

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'').

historian,

Xi Zuochi Xi Zuochi (after 316 – 384), courtesy name Yanwei, was a Jin dynasty historian native to Xiangyang, Hubei. He is principally remembered for being the first historian to regard the Wei dynasty as an illegitimate successor to the Han dynasty. ...

wrote his biography in the ''Records of the Elders of Xiangyang'' (). In the 5th century,

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanizati ...

annotated Luo Xian's biography to Huo Yi's. His later biography in volume 57 of ''

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'') is nearly identical to the one wrote earlier.

Early life

Luo Xian'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 ...

(and birthplace) was in

Xiangyang Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River (Hanshui), Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city n ...

in present-day

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 ...

. His father, Luo Meng (羅蒙), left Xiangyang and took shelter in Shu (蜀; 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

) during the chaos towards the

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

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 ...

. Luo Meng later served as the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery in the state of Shu during the

period. At a young age, Luo Xian was known for being talented in scholarly arts. He could already write essays when he was just 12 years old. He also studied under the tutelage of

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 ...

and his fellow students compared him to

Zigong Zigong ( zh, s=自贡 , ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, Southwestern China. Demo ...

, protege of

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 ...

. When Liu Xuan was designated as the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Shu in 238, Luo Xian was appointed as a ''taizi sheren'' (太子舍人; an attendant to the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

). And was later reassigned to serve in the personnel department of the imperial secretariat. Some time later, he was commissioned as a Colonel (校尉) and sent on a diplomatic mission to Shu's ally state Wu. He received high praise from the Wu officials.

Fall of Shu

When the eunuch

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 ...

rose to power in the Shu government around the 250s, many officials fawned on him in the hope of receiving favours from him. Luo Xian was one of the officials who refused to have any dealings with Huang Hao. As a result, Huang Hao resented him and found an excuse to send him out of

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 ...

, the Shu capital. In 258, to serve as the Administrator of Badong Commandery (巴東郡; around present-day Fengjie County,

) near the border between Shu and its ally state Wu. At the time, the Shu Han general Yan Yu (閻宇) was Area Commander of Badong (巴東都督). Since Yan Yu respected Luo Xian, he reassigned him to be an Army Commandant (領軍) and second him as his deputy. Between September and November 263, when Shu's rival state Wei launched a large-scale invasion of Shu, Yan Yu received orders to lead troops from Badong Commandery to defend Shu from the Wei invaders. Luo Xian remained behind in Yong'an (永安; present-day Fengjie County,

) with only 2,000 troops. When news of the fall of Chengdu reached Yong'an, there was much unrest and panic among the people. Some of the officials at Yong'an even abandoned their posts and fled. Luo Xian managed to restore order and stability in Yong'an after executing one of the men who spread the news that Chengdu had fallen. After receiving news of

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 ...

's surrender, Luo Xian gathered all his troops and mourned the end of Shu for three days.

Defence of Yong'an

In the meantime, when Shu's ally state Wu learnt that Shu had fallen to Wei, they prepared to invade and capture Badong Commandery under the pretext of sending reinforcements to Shu. Upon receiving news of the impending Wu invasion, Luo Xian told his men: "Our dynasty has collapsed. Wu was supposed to be our ally but now, instead of helping us, they break our alliance and seek to seize our territories. As Shu has fallen, Wu won't last long too. Who would want to surrender to Wu?" He then rallied his troops, reminded them of their allegiance to Shu, and strengthened their defences. In March 264, the Wei general

Zhong Hui Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Ya ...

, who took charge of

following Liu Shan's surrender, started a rebellion against the Wei regent

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 ...

. However, the rebellion failed and Zhong Hui was killed by his officers who refused to join him. Upon learning of Zhong Hui's death, the Wu emperor

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

thought that no one was in charge of Shu, so he sent his troops to seize control of the Shu territories. However, the Wu forces led by Bu Xie encountered strong resistance from Luo Xian and his men at Badong Commandery and could not advance further west into the heartland of Shu. As the Wu forces rained arrows on Luo Xian's position along the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

, Luo Xian feared that he might not be able to hold out for long so he ordered his subordinate Yang Zong (楊宗) to break out of the siege and head north to seek help from the Wei general Chen Qian. He also surrendered his tallies and sent his son as a hostage to the Wei regent

to prove his sincerity in seeking help from Wei to counter the Wu invasion. When the Wu forces under Bu Xie's command attacked Yong'an, Luo Xian led his men out of the city to strike back and greatly defeated the enemy's army. Enraged at the Wu defeat, the Wu emperor Sun Xiu ordered his general Lu Kang to lead an additional 30,000 troops to reinforce Bu Xie and besiege Yong'an. During the following six months, the city was under constant attack by the Wu forces. However there was no sign of Wei reinforcements arriving and more than half of Yong'an's population had fallen sick. When someone suggested that he break out of the siege and head south towards Zangke Commandery (牂柯郡; covering parts of present-day

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

) or head north to Shangyong Commandery (上庸郡; covering parts of present-day northwestern

), Luo Xian replied: "If you are a leader of people, the masses will look up to you. A ''

junzi The word junzi ( or "Son of the Vassal, or Monarch") is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as "gentleman", "superior person",Sometimes "exemplary person". Paul R. Goldin translates it "noble man" in an attempt to capture both its earl ...

'' will try to restore stability in a crisis and not flee in the face of danger. I am prepared to end my life here." After Chen Qian relayed Luo Xian's call for help to Sima Zhao, the Wei regent ordered the general

Hu Lie Hu Lie (; died 9 July 270), courtesy name Xuanwu () or Wuxuan (), was a Chinese official of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China, and its successor state, Western Jin. Serving under Sima Zhao and his son Sima Yan, Hu was b ...

to lead troops from

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 ...

to help Luo Xian and lift the siege on Yong'an. The Wu forces retreated after seeing that Wei reinforcements had arrived.

Service under the Cao Wei and Jin dynasty

The Wei regent

accepted Luo Xian's surrender and ordered him to remain there and continue guarding Yong'an (永安; present-day Fengjie County,

). He also appointed Luo Xian as General Who Rises Above the River (淩江將軍), and awarded him the peerage of the Marquis of Wannian Village (萬年亭侯). When four counties in Wuling Commandery (武陵郡; around present-day

Changde Changde (; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 常德區 ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. Changde, known as "Wuling" in ancient times, is located on the west side of Do ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

) rebelled against Wu rule, the Wei government appointed Luo Xian as the nominal Administrator of Wuling (武陵太守) and Army Supervisor of Badong (巴東監軍). In 265, after Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) usurped the Wei throne and established the

to replace Wei, he promoted Luo Xian from the status of a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Xi'e County" (西鄂縣侯). The emperor also issued an imperial decree as follows: "(Luo) Xian is loyal, courageous, decisive and resolute. He is talented and capable. He should have a ceremonial guard to accompany him." He also awarded Luo Xian a ceremonial sword made of ''shanxuan''

jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

. After Luo Xian's family moved to

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 ...

, the Jin imperial capital, Emperor Wu appointed Luo Xian's son Luo Xi (羅襲) as an Official Who Concurrently Serves in the Palace (給事中). In the winter of 267, Emperor Wu summoned Luo Xian to his imperial court in Luoyang, appointed him as Champion General (冠軍將軍) and granted him acting imperial authority. In April 268, when Luo Xian attended a banquet hosted by Emperor Wu in Hualin Gardens, the emperor asked him to recommend some talents from among the descendants of former Shu officials. Luo Xian then recommended Chang Ji, Du Zhen, Shou Liang,

, Gao Gui (高軌), Lü Ya, Xu Guo (許國), Fei Gong, Zhuge Jing and Chen Yu. Emperor Wu recruited all of them to serve in the Jin government; these men all put their talents to good use. After Luo Xian returned to his post at Yong'an, he led his troops to attack and occupy Wu County (巫縣; present-day

Wushan County, Chongqing Wushan County () is a County (People's Republic of China), county located in Chongqing municipality. It occupies roughly and has a population of about 600,000. The county seat is located at the western entrance to the Wu Gorge in the Three Gorge ...

), which was under the control of

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 ...

. He then presented a plan to Emperor Wu for the Jin dynasty to conquer Eastern Wu. Throughout his life, Luo Xian was known for holding himself to high moral standards and being respectful towards

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

s. Although he did not own any private property or enterprises, he was generous with his wealth and did not hesitate to use it to help the poor. He died in 270 and was awarded the posthumous appointment of General Who Stabilises the South (安南將軍) and the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

"Marquis Lie" (烈侯; literally "vehement marquis").

Family

Luo Xian's elder brother Luo Shi (羅式) was Administrator of Zangke. Luo Xian's son, Luo Xi (羅襲), served as General Who Rises Above the River (淩江將軍) and inherited command of his father's troops. He died early, however, and was awarded the posthumous appointment of Administrator of Guanghan Commandery. Luo Xi's son, Luo Hui (羅徽), served as a clerk under the Prince of Shunyang (順陽王) and was killed by the rebel leader Wang Ru (王如) in 311.(襲子徽，順陽內史，永嘉五年為王如所殺。) ''Xiangyang Ji'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41. The Prince of Shunyang he served under should be Sima Chang, son of Sima Jun; Chang was made Prince of Shunyang in Dec 289. Luo Xian's nephew, Luo Shang (羅尚), also served as a general under the

Notes

References

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

'' (''Sanguozhi''). *

Chang Qu Chang Qu (291–361), courtesy name Daojiang, was a Chinese historian of the Cheng-Han dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period and the Jin dynasty (266–420). Chang Qu is best known for his magnum opus, the '' Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Re ...

(4th century). ''

Chronicles of Huayang The ''Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' ( zh, t=華陽國志, s=华阳国志, first=t, l=Records of the Lands South of Mt. Hua) is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during the Jin dynast ...

'' (''Huayang Guo Zhi''). * * Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to 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:Luo, Xian Year of birth unknown 270 deaths Generals from Hubei Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) government officials Political office-holders in Chongqing Politicians from Xiangyang Shu Han generals Shu Han government officials Three Kingdoms diplomats