Lü Yi (Shu Han)
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Lü Yi (died 251),
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 ...
Jiyang, was an official 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 ...
during 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

Lü Yi'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
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 ...
(南陽郡), which is around present-day
Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the n ...
. His father, Lü Chang (呂常), escorted Liu Yan into
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 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 ...
) around 188 when Liu Yan was appointed as the Governor of Yi Province by the central government 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 ...
. After completing his mission, Lü Chang could not return to Nanyang Commandery because the road was obstructed, so he had no choice but to remain in Yi Province and settle down there. Lü Yi was most probably born in Yi Province. Lü Yi became orphaned at a young age. He was fond of reading, calligraphy, and playing drums and the
guqin The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...
. It is not known whether he served as an official under Liu Yan or Liu Yan's son and successor, Liu Zhang, when they were the Governors of Yi Province. 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 set up a Salt Office (鹽府) in his administration to oversee and regulate the production and trade of salt. During this time, Lü Yi served in the Salt Office as an assistant official tasked with keeping track of profits from the trading of salt and iron. When
Wang Lian Wang Lian (died 223), courtesy name Wenyi, was an official of the Yi province warlord Liu Zhang. After refusing to submit to invasion, rose to become a senior officer of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Trusted with the salt mono ...
was serving as Colonel of the Salt Office (鹽府校尉), he promoted Lü Yi, Du Qi (杜祺)and Liu Gan (劉幹) to the position of ''diancao duwei'' (典曹都尉) under him. After 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, Lü Yi served in 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 ...
, founded by
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 221, during 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. Following Liu Bei's death in 223, he continued serving under
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 ...
, Liu Bei's son and successor. Lü Yi rose through the ranks and consecutively served as the Prefect (令) of Xindu County (新都縣; present-day
Xindu District Xindu District () is a suburban district of the City of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It covers part of the city's northern suburbs. Overview The Xindu District borders the prefecture-level city of Deyang Deyang ( zh, s=德阳 , t=德陽 , p=Dé ...
,
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 ...
) and Mianzhu County (緜竹縣; southeast of present-day
Mianzhu Mianzhu ( zh, s=绵竹, t=綿竹, w=Mienchu, p=Miánzhú) is a county-level city of Deyang, Sichuan province in Southwest China. It has an area of and a population of 439,958 in 2020 census. Administrative divisions Mianzhu has 2 subdistricts ...
, Sichuan), which were under Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡). During his tenures, he gained a reputation for being benevolent and compassionate towards the common people. He received the highest praise among all the county prefects in Guanghan Commandery. He was later promoted to serve as the Administrator (太守) of Baxi Commandery (巴西郡; around present-day
Langzhong Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a county-level city in northeastern Sichuan province, China, located on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong. Langzhong has a total ...
, Sichuan). Between 228 and 234,
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, led the Shu armies on a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state, Wei. During the campaigns, Zhuge Liang had to frequently ask the various commanderies in Shu to recruit manpower and gather resources, and send them to the frontline. While many commandery administrators failed to meet the deadlines for sending troops and supplies to the frontline, Lü Yi managed to recruit 5,000 troops in Baxi Commandery and send them to Zhuge Liang in time. As he had explained to those 5,000 soldiers why they were going to war and instilled a strong sense of discipline in them, none of them deserted along the way. Due to Lü Yi's good track record, the Shu government reassigned him to be the Administrator of
Hanzhong Commandery Hanzhong Commandery (漢中郡) was an imperial Chinese commandery located in what is now southern Shaanxi Province, centered on the upper reaches of the Han River (Hubei and Shaanxi), Han River in the Hanzhong Basin. Established during the late ...
and put him in charge of overseeing agricultural production and the transportation of food supplies to the frontline. Following Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Lü Yi was first reassigned to be the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡; around present-day
Guanghan Guanghan ( zh, s=广汉, t=廣漢, p=Guǎnghàn; formerly known as Hanchow) is a county-level city under the administration of Deyang in Sichuan province, southwest China, and only from Chengdu. The predominant industries are tourism, pharmaceut ...
,
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 later as the Administrator of Shu Commandery (蜀郡; around 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). As Shu Commandery was centred around the imperial capital, Chengdu, it had the largest population among all the commanderies. In the six or seven years of relative peace after Zhuge Liang's death, the Shu government decided to give out compensation to war veterans. During this time, many people attempted to cheat the system by impersonating dead soldiers or pretending to have fought in the campaigns, so that they could claim the compensation. When Lü Yi found out, he immediately imposed stricter regulations to prevent such abuses of the system. At the same time, he also counselled the people and explained to them the benefits of serving in the military. His efforts proved successful as within a few years, over 10,000 men voluntarily joined the army. Lü Yi was later reassigned to be a Master of Writing (尚書) in the central government. In 246, following
Dong Yun Dong Yun (died December 246), courtesy name Xiuzhao, was a Chinese general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. His father, Dong He, also served as an official in Shu. Dong Yun was one of four person ...
's death, Lü Yi replaced him as Prefect of the Masters of Writing (尚書令; i.e., the director of the imperial secretariat). During his tenure, he gained a reputation for efficiency: he dealt with important matters without delay, and quickly cleared the queues of officials with issues waiting to be heard. He died in 251.(延熈十四年卒。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 39.


Family

Lü Yi had at least two sons: Lü Chen (呂辰) and Lü Ya (呂雅). Lü Chen also served as an official in Shu and rose to the position of Prefect of Chengdu (成都令) sometime between 258 and 263. Lü Ya, who was known for his literary talent, served as an Internuncio (謁者) and wrote the 15-chapter ''Ge Lun'' (格論).


Appraisal

Throughout his service in Shu in both the central government and regional administrations, Lü Yi was known for being highly competent, professional and efficient in his working style. On a personal level, he led a simple and frugal lifestyle, and was known for being humble, modest and reserved in speech. However, he was also criticised for being inflexible and overly strict in applying the laws, and for his preference for bureaucracy over talent. Towards the end of his career, even though he made it to one of the highest offices – Prefect of the Masters of Writing (尚書令) – in the central government, he remained a very unpopular figure at the commandery and county levels.
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 ...
, the historian who wrote Lü Yi's biography 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 ...
'', pointed out that Lü Yi gained a good reputation when he was serving as a county prefect or commandery administrator, but became highly unpopular after he started serving in the central government. He remarked that Lü Yi was of a lower calibre as compared to Huang Ba (黃霸) and Xue Xuan (薛宣), two famous officials who served as
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
s 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 ...
.(評曰: ... 呂乂臨郡則垂稱,處朝則被損,亦黃、薛之流亞矣。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 39.


In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Lü Yi's name is rendered as 呂義 (
traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
) / 吕义 ( simplified) in the 14th-century historical novel ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...
''.


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''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...
'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * 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:Lü, Yi Year of birth unknown 251 deaths Shu Han government officials Government officials under Liu Bei