Puyang Xing (died December 264),

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 ...

Ziyuan, was a Chinese politician of the state 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 ...

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. He was the eighth Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.

Family background

Puyang Xing's ancestral home was in Chenliu Commandery (), which is around present-day

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

. His father, Puyang Yi (), came from a humble background but had great ambitions. Puyang Yi befriended Lu Mao, who shared his wealth with him and other friends. When chaos broke out in central China towards 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 ...

, Puyang Yi fled south to the Jiangdong (or Wu) region for shelter. He served under

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, the founding emperor of

, and became the Administrator () of Changsha Commandery. Puyang Xing was presumably born in the Jiangdong region after his father migrated there.

Service under Sun Quan and Sun Liang

Puyang Xing was known for his scholarly talents since he was young. During

's reign, he started his career as the Prefect of Shangyu County (上虞縣; present-day Shangyu District,

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

) before being promoted to serve in the imperial secretariat. Later, Sun Quan appointed him as General of the Household for All Purposes () and sent him as an ambassador to Wu's ally state,

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 ...

. After Puyang Xing returned from his diplomatic mission, Sun Quan reassigned him to be the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery (around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). During this time, Puyang Xing met and befriended Sun Xiu, Sun Quan's sixth son who was living in Kuaiji Commandery at the time.

Service under Sun Xiu

In 258, after Sun Xiu succeeded his younger brother Sun Liang as the emperor of Wu, he appointed Puyang Xing as Minister of Ceremonies () and General of the Guards () and put him in charge of overseeing military affairs in Wu. He also enfeoffed Puyang Xing as the Marquis of Waihuang (). In 260, a commandant Yan Mi () proposed building embankments near present-day Xuancheng,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

to create an artificial lake for irrigation purposes. Many Wu officials strongly opposed the idea as they believed that it was too costly and there was no guarantee of success. Puyang Xing was the only person who supported the project, and he recruited all available manpower to start building the embankments. However, he incurred much resentment from the masses when many labourers lost their lives in accidents because of the dangers and difficulties of constructing the embankments. In October or November 262, Sun Xiu appointed Puyang Xing as Imperial Chancellor (). During his tenure, Puyang Xing and the general Zhang Bu, Sun Xiu trusting their mutual friendship to ensure they cooperated, backed each other as they monopolised power in the Wu government. Their power grabbing behaviour caused both the government officials and the common people to feel very disappointed with them. When Sun Xiu became critically ill in 264, he summoned Puyang Xing into the palace, where he ordered his eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

, Sun Wan (孫𩅦), to pay respects to Puyang Xing. At the same time, he held Puyang Xing's arm and entrusted Sun Wan to him.

Service under Sun Hao

Following Sun Xiu's death on 3 September 264, Puyang Xing did not install Sun Wan (孫𩅦) on the throne as he promised. Instead, he and Zhang Bu pledged their support to Sun Wan's cousin Sun Hao after Wan Yu persuaded them to do so. Sun Hao thus became the new emperor of Wu. After his coronation, Sun Hao granted Puyang Xing the additional appointment of a Palace Attendant () and made him the nominal Governor of Qing Province (which was not Wu territory). When Sun Hao turned out to be a cruel, superstitious and self-indulgent tyrant instead of the wise ruler they hoped he would be, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu expressed regret over their earlier decision to put Sun Hao on the throne. Wan Yu heard about it and secretly reported them to Sun Hao. On 6 December 264, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu were arrested as soon as they showed up in Sun Hao's imperial court. Sun Hao then stripped them of their appointments and exiled them to the distant Guang Province (廣州; covering present-day

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

). He changed his mind later and sent assassins to kill them while they were en route to Guang Province, and ordered the execution of their families as well.

Appraisal

The third-century historian

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 ...

, who wrote Puyang Xing's biography in the '' Sanguozhi'', commented that Puyang Xing deserved his downfall for not properly playing his role as Imperial Chancellor, for monopolising power alongside Zhang Bu, and for heeding Wan Yu's suggestion to install Sun Hao on the throne.(濮陽興身居宰輔，慮不經國，協張布之邪，納萬彧之說，誅夷其宜矣。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 64.

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''). * 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 ...