Xue Xu (died 271) was an official and military general of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China.

Life

Xue Xu'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 Zhuyi County (竹邑縣),

Pei Commandery Pei Commandery ( zh, 沛郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Northern Qi dynasty. Its territory was located in present-day northern Anhui and northwestern Jiangsu, as well as part of Shandong and Henan. Pei was established in ear ...

(沛郡), which is around present-day

Suzhou, Anhui Suzhou () formerly romanized as Suchow is a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui province. It borders the prefectural cities of Huaibei and Bengbu to the southwest and south respectively, the provinces of Jiangsu to the east, Shandong to t ...

. He was the eldest son of

Xue Zong Xue Zong (died 243), courtesy name Jingwen, was a Chinese poet and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was known for his quick wit. On one occasion, when the Shu envoy Zhang Feng () made fun of t ...

, a notable official and scholar of the

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu o ...

state. During the reign of the third 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 ...

( 258–264), Xue Xu held the position of General of the Household for All Purposes (五官中郎將) in the Wu government. Sun Xiu once 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 (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was one of the three major states that compet ...

. After observing the conditions in Shu, he predicted that Shu would fall soon. His prediction came true in 263 when Shu was conquered by Wei, the rival state of both Wu and Shu. In 267, during the reign of the fourth and last Wu emperor

Sun Hao Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...

, Xue Xu was appointed as Court Architect (將作大匠) and tasked with overseeing the construction of the mausoleum and memorial temple of

Sun He Sun He (224 – November or December 253), courtesy name Zixiao, was an imperial prince of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the third son of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. In 242, he became the cro ...

, the emperor's father. In December 269, when a rebellion broke out in

Jiao Province Jiaozhou (; Wade–Giles: Chiao1-Cho1; vi, Giao Châu) was an imperial Chinese province under the Han and Jin dynasties. Under the Han, the area included Liangguang and northern Vietnam but Guangdong was later separated to form the provinc ...

, Sun Hao ordered Xue Xu, who then held the appointment of General Who Awes the South (威南將軍), to lead troops from

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Emp ...

to meet up with another army led by Li Xu (李勖) and Xu Cun (徐存) at Hepu Commandery (合浦郡; northeast of present-day

Hepu County Hepu (), alternately romanized as Hoppo, Hopu or Hop'u, is a county under the administration of Beihai City in southeastern Guangxi, China. It borders Lianjiang (Guangdong) to the southeast, Bobai County to the northeast, the Gulf of Tonkin to ...

, Guangxi) and attack the rebels together.

Yu Si Yu Si (218 - 271), courtesy name Shihong, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Yu Si was the fourth son of Yu Fan, an official who served under Sun Quan, the f ...

, an army supervisor, and Tao Huang, the Administrator of

Cangwu Commandery Cangwu Commandery ( zh, 蒼梧郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Cangwu's territory was located in the modern provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong, with its capital at Guangxin (廣信), present-day Wuzhou. ...

(蒼梧郡), served as Xue Xu's subordinates. However, the army led by Li Xu and Xu Cun never reached their destination because their path was obstructed, so only the army led by Xue Xu was available to fight the rebels. Wu Yan, then a low-ranking official, was taken aback by the sight of Xue Xu's army marching towards

Jiaozhi Commandery Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or Giao Chỉ (Vietnamese), was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi C ...

. Xue Xu heeded a suggestion from Tao Huang to send troops to attack Jiaozhi Commandery via a water route, and bribe Liang Qi (梁奇) and other local elites in Jiaozhi to win them over. In 271, Xue Xu's army conquered Jiaozhi Commandery and retook Jiuzhen (九真) and Rinan (日南) commanderies as well. After the campaign in Jiao Province, Sun Hao appointed Yu Si as the Inspector (刺史) of Jiao Province, but Yu Si died of illness not long later, so Tao Huang succeeded him. Xue Xu also died on the journey back to the Wu imperial capital, Jianye.(子珝，官至威南将军，征交阯还，道病死。) ''Sanguozhi'', vol.53

References

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

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to 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 leaving his native land, P ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Xue, Xu Year of birth unknown 3rd-century deaths Eastern Wu generals Eastern Wu politicians

Life

See also

References