Xu Gong () (died 200) was a Chinese politician and minor warlord who lived during the late

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 ...

of China.

Life

Xu Gong started his career sometime between 190 and 193 as the Commandant () of Wu Commandery (around present-day

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

). He was a close friend of Xu Jing, who fled to the Jiangdong territories in the early 190s to evade the chaos in central China. Xu Gong accepted Xu Jing and treated him like an honoured guest. At the time, Xu Gong's direct superior was Sheng Xian, the Administrator () of Wu Commandery. Around the early 190s, the warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He decla ...

occupied parts of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origi ...

and defeated the brothers Zhou Ang, Zhou Xin and Zhou Yu (Renming), who used to control the territories there. Xu Gong killed Zhou Yu (Renming) while the latter was on his way home to

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present-d ...

. As Yuan Shu also killed the Inspector () of Yang Province, the Han central government appointed Liu Yao to be the new Inspector. Since Yuan Shu already seized control of Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County,

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 ...

), the administrative centre of Yang Province, Liu Yao had no choice but to set up a new administrative centre at Qu'e County (曲阿縣; around present-day Danyang, Jiangsu). In 194, Sheng Xian resigned because he was ill, so Xu Gong replaced him as the Administrator of Wu Commandery. Xu Gong, in turn, was succeeded by

Zhu Zhi Zhu Zhi (156–224), courtesy name Junli, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was from Guzhang County (), Danyang Com ...

as the Commandant of Wu Commandery. After assuming office, Xu Gong attempted to murder his predecessor Sheng Xian. However, Gao Dai () helped Sheng Xian by hiding him in the home of Xu Zhao (), one of Xu Gong's subordinates. Xu Gong then arrested Gao Dai's mother to try to lure Gao Dai out and then kill them, but Gao Dai managed to escape with the help of his friends. In 195,

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175 – 5 May 200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xian ...

, a military officer under Yuan Shu, pretended to offer to help Yuan Shu conquer the territories in the Jiangdong region and was given some troops to carry out his task. After leaving Yuan Shu, Sun Ce embarked on a series of conquests in Jiangdong and became a warlord in his own right. He defeated Liu Yao and occupied Danyang Commandery (丹陽郡; around present-day

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

), and then turned his attention towards Wu Commandery. Sun Ce defeated Xu Gong at Youquan (由拳縣; south of present-day

Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the p ...

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 ...

) and seized control of Wu Commandery. Xu Gong fled to Wucheng County (烏程縣; south of present-day

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

, Zhejiang) after his defeat and took shelter under

Yan Baihu Yan Baihu (), also known as White Tiger Yan, was a bandit leader active in the Wu or Jiangdong region during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. While he did not have his own biography in ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' by Chen Shou, he ...

, a bandit chief. Sun Ce caught up with Xu Gong and Yan Baihu and defeated them later, so they fled to Yuhang County (餘杭縣; in present-day

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, Zhejiang) to take shelter under Xu Zhao (). Sun Ce respected Xu Zhao for his righteousness (when he allowed Sheng Xian to hide in his home to avoid Xu Gong's persecution) and for his kindness towards an old friend (when he provided shelter to Yan Baihu), so he did not follow-up and attack Yuhang County. After losing control over Wu Commandery, Xu Gong felt bitter and harboured the intention of seizing it back from Sun Ce, so in 200 CE he wrote a letter to the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

. In the letter, Xu Gong noted that Sun Ce was very much like

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

, and he urged Cao Cao to summon Sun Ce to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

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 ...

) in the name of the Emperor and keep him in the imperial capital lest he became a threat in the future. However, unluckily for Xu Gong, Sun Ce's men intercepted his messenger, found the letter and gave it to Sun Ce. Sun Ce then came to confront Xu Gong about the letter. When Xu Gong denied writing the letter, Sun Ce ordered his men to strangle Xu Gong to death. Some time later, within the same year, Xu Gong's former subordinates ambushed Sun Ce while he was out on a hunting trip and assassinated him.

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 ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Gong 200 deaths 2nd-century births 2nd-century executions Executed Han dynasty people Government officials during the end of the Han dynasty People executed by the Han dynasty People executed by strangulation Political office-holders in Jiangsu

Life

See also

References