Qiao Zhou

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Qiao Zhou (died 270), courtesy name Yunnan, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in the late Eastern Han dynasty before becoming a subject of the warlord Liu Bei, who established the Shu Han regime in 221.

Around the time, many people said Qiao Zhou lacked talent and did not respect him much. Only Yang Xi regarded Qiao Zhou highly. Yang Xi even once said: "Like us, the later generations can never be as good as this great man." Because of this, Yang Xi earned praise from others who also recognised Qiao Zhou for his talent.^[2]

Qiao Zhou served in the Shu government from the time when Liu Bei ascended the throne (in 221) to the fall of Shu in 263. He is also known for persuading the Shu emperor Liu Shan to surrender to Wei in 263.

He has a grandson Qiao Xiu (譙秀), a hermit.

Assessments of Qiao Zhou's surrender stance[]

In Sanguozhi, the historian Chen Shou praised that Qiao's proposal "preserved" the Liu ex-royal family and "help" Shu Han. Such praise was due to Chen's position as the subordinate of Western Jin dysnasty and also because Qiao was Chen's teacher. Historians with different viewpoints, such as Sun Sheng, heavily criticized Qiao Zhou's stance of surrender, called Qiao as "traitor".^[3]

Yi Zhongtian commented that Qiao's "treachery" was not due to his personality (Qiao was well-known for his good moral conduct) but because of difference in political stance. Qiao Zhou was the representative of the local Shu intelligentsia nobility (士族) who had long been at odd with Shu Han's governmentd due to:^[4]

1. Shu government had long been mainly made up of "foreign" magistrates who competed against the local nobility in governmental posts and political power. Liu Yan, Liu Zhang, Liu Bei and their close associates were mostly not the local Shu nobility. Zhuge Liang later enacted a "fair" talent enrollment, employed many local Shu intelligentsia and managed to earn their respect, however he failed to completely solve the conflict.
2. Zhuge Liang's fair and transparent rule of law were harmful for the nobility because it restrict their social privileges and prevented them from manipulating the politics. Meanwhile, the nine-rank system of Cao Wei and later Western Jin enable the nobility to recommend and promote their own scions, which was beneficial for the local Shu clans.
3. Shu Han government relentlessly launched the northern expeditions against Cao Wei, resulted in heavy expenditure. Such expenditure was not only the burden of the common people, but also was harmful for the Shu nobility since taxes were imposed on them.

As a result, "betrayed" the Shu Han and "surrendered" to Cao Wei was beneficial for the local Shu's nobility - represented by Qiao Zhou and others, and they were eager to welcome Cao Wei's invasion.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qiao Zhou is depicted as an astrologer whose studies greatly aided Zhuge Liang during the Northern Expeditions against Shu's rival state Cao Wei.

See also[]

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

References[]

• Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).

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