Puyang Xing
Puyang Xing | |
|---|---|
| 濮陽興 | |
| Imperial Chancellor (丞相) | |
| In office October or November 262 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu / Sun Hao |
| Preceded by | Sun Chen |
| Succeeded by | Lu Kai and Wan Yu |
| Governor of Qing Province (青州牧) (nominal) | |
| In office 3 September 264 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Hao |
| Palace Attendant (侍中) | |
| In office 3 September 264 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Hao |
| General of the Guards (衞將軍) | |
| In office December 258 – 3 September 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu |
| Minister of Ceremonies (太常) | |
| In office December 258 – 3 September 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu |
| Administrator of Kuaiji (會稽太守) | |
| In office ? – December 258 | |
| Monarch | Sun Quan / Sun Liang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | c. December 264 |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
| Courtesy name | Ziyuan (子元) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Waihuang (外黃侯) |
Puyang Xing (died c. December 264), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a Chinese politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eighth Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Family background[]
Puyang Xing's ancestral home was in Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡), which is around present-day Kaifeng, Henan. His father, Puyang Yi (濮陽逸), came from a humble background but had great ambitions. Puyang Yi befriended Lu Mao, who shared his wealth with him and other friends.[1]
When chaos broke out in central China towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Puyang Yi fled south to the Jiangdong (or Wu) region for shelter. He served under Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Eastern Wu, and became the Administrator (太守) of Changsha Commandery.[2] 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 Sun Quan's reign, he started his career as the Prefect of Shangyu County (上虞縣; present-day Shangyu District, Shaoxing, Zhejiang) before being promoted to serve in the imperial secretariat. Later, Sun Quan appointed him as General of the Household for All Purposes (五官中郎將) and sent him as an ambassador to Wu's ally state, Shu Han. After Puyang Xing returned from his diplomatic mission, Sun Quan reassigned him to be the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery (around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang).[3] During this time, Puyang Xing met and befriended Sun Xiu, Sun Quan's sixth son who was living in Kuaiji Commandery at the time.[4]
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 (太常) and General of the Guards (衞將軍) and put him in charge of overseeing military affairs in Wu. He also enfeoffed Puyang Xing as the Marquis of Waihuang (外黃侯).[5]
In 260, a commandant Yan Mi (嚴密) proposed building embankments near present-day Xuancheng, Anhui 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.[6]
In October or November 262,[7] Sun Xiu appointed Puyang Xing as Imperial Chancellor (丞相). During his tenure, Puyang Xing and the general Zhang Bu 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.[8]
When Sun Xiu became critically ill in 264, he summoned Puyang Xing into the palace, where he ordered his eldest son and heir apparent, Sun Wan (孫