Yu Yi (305 – 16 August 345[1]), courtesy name Zhigong, was a Chinese calligrapher and military general of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was a member of the prestigious Yu clan of Yingchuan as the younger brother of the powerful Jin minister, Yu Liang. After Yu Liang died in 340, Yu Yi inherited his military positions, and with his other brother Yu Bing, who handled court affairs, they became a prominent political force during their time. As a commander, Yu Yi led a northern expedition from 343 to 344 against Later Zhao in the north and briefly fought Cheng-Han in the west before his untimely death in 345. Yu Yi's death allowed his former subordinate, Huan Wen, to take up his military command in Jingzhou from his sons with the help of Yi's court rival, He Chong.
Yu Yi | |
|---|---|
| 庾翼 | |
| General Who Maintains The West (安西將軍) | |
| In office 340–344 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Cheng of Jin/Emperor Kang of Jin |
| Inspector of Jingzhou (荊州刺史) | |
| In office 340–345 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Cheng of Jin/Emperor Kang of Jin/Emperor Mu of Jin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 305 |
| Died | 345 |
| Children | Yu Yuanzhi Yu Fangzhi |
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Calligrapher, military general |
| Courtesy name | Zhigong (稚恭) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Duting (都亭侯) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Su of Duting (都亭肅侯) |
Apart from being a general, Yu Yi was also a very gifted calligrapher. He was considered as one of the greatest calligraphers of the Jin dynasty, standing with the likes of Wang Xizhi.
Early life and career
editSu Jun's rebellion
editYu Yi was described as having an elegant appearance and a deep understanding of statecraft even at a young age.[2] In 327, his brother, the regent Yu Liang, came into conflict with the warlord, Su Jun. To defend himself, Yu Liang had Yu Yi defend Shitou with several hundreds of commoners. After Jiankang fell in early 328, Yu Yi followed Yu Liang in fleeing to Xunyang to seek Wen Jiao's help.
After the rebellion was settled in 329, Yu Yi became Tao Kan's Army Advisor and went on to serve a number of positions, eventually reaching Attendant Officer of the Palace Gentlemen. Later, he was transferred to General Who Establishes Might and Prefect of Xiyang (西陽; west of present-day Guangshan County, Henan). During his tenure, Yu Yi appeased the people which in turn earned him their reverence. Throughout his time in office, Yu Yi was said to be composed and straightforward with his words.[3]
Siege of Shicheng (339)
editIn 339, Yu Liang planned to lead an expedition to reclaim lost territory in northern China from the barbarian state of Later Zhao. Yu Liang had Yu Yi involved as he entrusted Yi to guard Jiangling during the campaign. However, Yu Liang mistakenly provoked Zhao through his troops movement even before the campaign began, which allowed Zhao to launch an attack on Jin first. The Zhao general Kui An made his way south, routing many Jin generals along the way and capturing Zhucheng (邾城, in modern Huanggang, Hubei). He then set his eyes on Shicheng. Yu Yi had set up soldiers to ambush the Zhao army beforehand, and as Kui An besieged Shicheng, Yu Yi stealthily kept the city supplied with grains from Jiangling long enough for the Jin general, Li Yang (李陽) to repel Kui An. For helping in saving Shicheng, Yu Yi was granted the title of Marquis of Duting.[4]
Succeeding Yu Liang
editYu Liang died on February 340, just months after his failed expedition. Yu Yi took up his late brother's role as Chief Controller of Jiangzhou, Jizhou, Sizhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou. Furthermore, he was created the General Who Maintains The West, Inspector of Jingzhou as well as Credential Holder, and he was garrisoned at his brother's former base at Wuchang. Many people expressed scepticism towards Yu Yi due to his young age, but this turned to praise as public and private affairs both flourished within a few years under Yu Yi's strict and attentive administration.[5]
In 342, Yu Yi tried to get the court to move his base from Wuchang to Lexiang (樂鄉; northeast of present-day Songzi, Hubei), citing weird sightings near his base as his reason. One minister, Wang Shu (王述), protested against this to the court, stating that Lexiang was too far away from the northern borders and that Yu Yi, being a prominent commander, should be responsible for holding a strategic hold such as Wuchang. The court agreed with Wang, so Yi dropped his demands.[6]
Yu Yi was generous to many and loved to help people elevate their statuses, although he despised those who were outwardly pretentious. He was close friends with Huan Wen, who he swore a pact of friendship with and was once recommended by Yu Yi to Emperor Cheng to be trusted with more power. However, Yu Yi disliked the likes of Yin Hao and Du Yi (杜乂), who he believed were only useful in times of peace. Yu Yi did try to employ Yin Hao a number of times, however, but Yin refused to accept his offers and remained a hermit.[7] Yu Yi also hated Yin Hao's father, Yin Xian (殷羨), who was the Chancellor of Changsha, due to his corruption and cruelty. In 343, he wrote a letter to his brother, Yu Bing, demanding that he demote Yin Xian.[8]
Northern expedition (343-344)
editDuring Yu Yi's time, northern China was dominated by Later Zhao while the region of Shu was occupied by Cheng-Han. Yu Yi had ambitions to conquer the two, so he sent messengers to Jin's vassals in the north, Murong Huang and Former Liang to coordinate themselves for Yi's grand strategy. Many members of the court believed this to be impossible, and only Yu Bing, Huan Wen and Sima Wuji (司馬無忌) agreed with Yu Yi's plans.
An opportunity came for Yu Yi in autumn of 343 when Zhao's Administrator of Runan, Dai Kai (戴開) brought thousands of families under him and surrendered to Yu Yi. This along with Murong Huang's previous successes against Zhao prompted an imperial edict to be published discussing the subject of retaking the Central Plains. Yu Yi petitioned for the general Huan Xuan to be made commander in Sizhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou and four commanderies in Jingzhou and have him attack Danshui. In preparation, Yu Yi made Huan Wen his Subcommander, recruited new soldiers and assembled the animals and carriages. However, this burdened and upset the people living in his provinces.[9]
Yu Yi wanted to move his base to Xiangyang, but fearing that the court would not allow it, he sent a petition asking to move his base to Anlu instead. After Emperor Kang of Jin sent messengers to Yi ordering Yu Yi to halt, Yu Yi ignored him and marched to Xiakou. Once there, he asked the court to garrison him at Xiangyang. Yu Yi had 40,000 men under his command, so Emperor Kang granted his wish and make him Commander of the expeditionary force. The emperor also had Yu Bing transferred from Jiankang to Wuchang to support his brother.
After moving his troops to Xiangyang, Yu Yi summoned his assistants, displayed his flags and armours and personally handed out bows and arrows to his men. Yu Yi's soldiers were supposedly inspired by the hardships and progress that Yi went through, which kept morale high in the army. The court further promoted Yu Yi to Colonel of the Nanman and General Who Attacks the West. Around the same time, 500 or 600 Zhao cavalries marched out of Fancheng. Yu Yi ordered his Champion General Cao Ju (曹據) to attack them, and after killing the cavalry general, Cao Ju seized around a hundred of their horses.[10]
Many of the Han Chinese in Zhao fled to Yu Yi, and Yi treated them kindly while recruiting the ones he saw talented into his ranks. In August 344, Yu Yi sent Huan Xuan to attack the Zhao general Li Pi (李羆) at Danshui, but Xuan was badly defeated. Yi had Xuan demoted, which caused Xuan to die out of shame shortly after. Because of this, Yu Yi had his eldest son, Yu Fangzhi (庾方之), take up Huan Xuan's position. Yi also appointed his Marshal Ying Dan (應誕) as Administrator of Xiangyang and his Army Advisor Sima Xun as Inspector of Liangzhou.[11]
Final years
editEmperor Kang fell deathly ill in November 344. The reason Yu Yi and Yu Bing were able to hold a considerable amount of power was because Emperor Kang and Emperor Cheng before him were both sons of the brothers' sister, Yu Wenjun. The two feared that if their nephew's son were to succeed, their ties to the emperor will become distant and a family closer to the emperor will take their place. Thus, the brothers pushed for another nephew of theirs to the throne, Sima Yu. However, the Jin minister, He Chong, successfully convinced Emperor Kang to choose his infant son, Sima Dan, as his heir. Following Kang's death, the brothers were left angered with He Chong as Sima Dan ascended the throne to be known as Emperor Mu.[12]
Just a month later, Yu Bing would also die of illness. With much responsibility at hand, Yu Yi left Yu Fangzhi to guard Xiangyang while Yi garrisoned himself at Xiakou to become Commander of Jiangzhou. He was supposed to be acting Inspector of Yuzhou as well, but he turned the office down. Afterwards, he made another attempt to move his base to Lexiang, but the court once again denied him. He thus went back to training and preparing his army for future campaigns against the barbarian states. Later, Yu Yi ordered Cao Ju and the Inspector of Yizhou Zhou Fu to attack Cheng-Han, and the two routed the Cheng general Li Huan (李桓) at Jiangyang.[13]
Death and posthumous events
editIn 345, Yu Yi was suffering from an ulcer on his back. He was unable to perform his tasks, so he entrusted them to his son, Yu Yuanzhi (庾爰之) and his marshal Zhu Dao (朱燾). He died on August 16, and was posthumously named as Marquis Su of Duting (都亭肅侯).[14] After his death, there was a mutiny among his soldiers led by Gan Zan (干瓚) which killed Cao Ju, but it was put down by Yu Yi's staff members Zhu Dao, Mao Muzhi, Yuan Zhen and Jiang Bin (江虨). Yu Yuanzhi was supposed to succeed his father to his positions in Jingzhou, but He Chong persuaded the court to have Huan Wen take up Yu Yi's offices instead. When Yu Yi's appointments were given to Huan Wen, Yu Yuanzhi did not protest. He and his brother Yu Fangzhi were moved to Yuzhang (豫章郡; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi).
Although the Yu clan had lost most of its power after the Yu brothers' deaths, the clan did retain some relevance, and one of its members, Yu Daolian, a daughter of Yu Bing, would become empress in 365 through her husband, Emperor Fei of Jin, thus restoring the clan's former prominence. However, after Huan Wen took over the government in 371, he had the family purged for posing as a potential threat.
Calligraphy and writings
edit
Outside the government and military, Yu Yi was a very talented calligrapher, being a master of the cursive script and clerical script. In his book, The Calligraphy Manual of Xuanhe Era (宣和書譜), Emperor Huizong of Song considered Yu Yi's calligraphy to be equal to that of his contemporary, Wang Xizhi,[15] who is often said by many to be China's greatest calligrapher. One of Yu Yi's works, "Guli tie (故吏帖)", contains seven rows and sixty characters. It was compiled during the Song dynasty in the Model Calligraphy from the Chunhua Pavilion (淳化閣帖), which also includes the inscriptions of other works from past calligraphers. Two works of his that survive today as copies are the "Buzheng tie (步徵帖)" and "Shengshi tie (盛事帖)", both which he wrote in cursive.[16]
Apart from calligraphy, he was also a notable writer, and has made at least 22 volumes of essays during his lifetime which were compiled in the Quan Jinwen (全晉文).[17]
References
edit- ^ According to Sima Dan's biography in Book of Jin, Yu Yi died on the gengwu day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Yonghe era of his reign. This corresponds to 16 Aug 345 on the Julian calendar. [(永和元年)秋七月庚午，持节、都尉江荆司梁雍益宁七州诸军事、江州刺史、征西将军、都亭侯庾翼卒。] Jin Shu, vol.08
- ^ (翼字稚恭。風儀秀偉，少有經綸大略。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ (蘇峻作逆，翼時年二十二，兄亮使白衣領數百人，備石頭。高敗，與翼俱奔。事平，始辟太尉陶侃府，轉參軍，累遷從事中郎。在公府，雍容諷議。頃之，除振威將軍、鄱陽太守。轉建威將軍、西陽太守。撫和百姓，甚得歡心。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ (遷南蠻校尉，領南郡太守，加輔國將軍、假節。及邾城失守，石城被圍，翼屢設奇兵，潛致糧杖。石城得全，翼之勳也。賜爵都亭侯。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ (春，正月，庚子朔，都亭文康侯庾亮薨。以護軍將軍、錄尚書何充為中書令。庾戌，以南郡太守庾翼為都督江、荊、司、雍、梁、益六州諸軍事、安西將軍、荊州刺史，假節，代亮鎮武昌。時人疑翼年少，不能繼其兄。翼悉心為治，戎政嚴明，數年之間，公私充實，人皆稱其才。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 96
- ^ (庾翼在武昌，數有妖怪，欲移鎭樂鄕。征虜長史王述與庾冰牋曰：「樂鄕去武昌千有餘里；數萬之衆，一旦移徙，興立城壁，公私勞擾。又江州當泝流數千里供給軍府，力役增倍。且武昌實江東鎭戍之中，非但扞禦上流而已；緩急赴告，駿奔不難。若移樂鄕，遠在西陲，一朝江渚有虞，不相接救。方嶽重將，固當居要害之地，爲內外形勢，使闚X之心不知所向。昔秦忌亡胡之讖，卒爲劉、項之資；周惡檿弧之謠，而成褒姒之亂。是以達人君子，直道而行，禳避之道，皆所不取；正當擇人事之勝理，思社稷之長計耳。」朝議亦以爲然。翼乃止。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
- ^ (庾翼為人慷慨，喜功名，不尚浮華。琅邪內史桓溫，彝之子也，尚南康公主，豪爽有風概。翼與之友善，相期以寧濟海內。翼嘗薦溫於成帝曰：「桓溫有英雄之才，願陛下勿以常人遇之，常婿畜之。宜委以方、邵之任，必有弘濟艱難之勳」。時杜乂、殷浩並才名冠世，冀獨弗之重也，曰：「此輩宜束之高閣，俟天下太平，然後徐議其任耳。」... 翼請浩為司馬；詔除侍中、安西軍司，浩不應。翼遺浩書曰：「王夷甫立名非真，雖雲談道，實長華競。明德君子，遇會處際，寧可然乎！」浩猶不起。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
- ^ (殷羨為長沙相，在郡貪殘，庾冰與翼書屬之。翼報曰：「殷君驕豪，亦似由有佳兒，弟故小令物情容之。大較江東之政，以嫗煦豪強，常為民蠹；時有行法，輒施之寒劣。如往年偷石頭倉米一百萬斛，皆是豪將輩，而直殺倉督監以塞責。山遐為餘姚長，為官出豪強所藏二千戶，而眾共驅之，令遐不得安席。雖皆前宰之惛謬，江東事去，實此之由。兄弟不幸，橫陷此中，自不能拔足於風塵之外，當共明目而治之。荊州所統二十餘郡，唯長沙最惡；惡而不黜，與殺督監者復何異邪！」遐，簡之子也。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
- ^ (秋，七月，趙汝南太守戴開帥數千人詣翼降。丁巳，下詔議經略中原。翼欲悉所部之眾北伐，表桓宣為都督司、雍、梁三州、荊州之四郡諸軍事、梁州刺史，前趣丹水；桓溫為前鋒小督、假節，帥眾入臨淮；並發所統六州奴及車牛驢馬，百姓嗟怒。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
- ^ (翼時有眾四萬，詔加都督征討軍事。師次襄陽，大會僚佐，陳旌甲，親授弧矢，曰：「我之行也，若此射矣。」遂三起三疊，徒眾屬目，其氣十倍。初，翼遷襄陽，舉朝謂之不可，議者或謂避衰，唯兄冰意同，桓溫及譙王無忌贊成其計。至是，冰求鎮武昌，為翼繼援。朝議謂冰不宜出，冰乃止。又進翼征西將軍，領南蠻校尉。胡賊五六百騎出樊城，翼遣冠軍將軍曹據追擊於撓溝北，破之，死者近半，獲馬百匹。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ (翼時有眾四萬，詔加都督征討軍事。師次襄陽，大會僚佐，陳旌甲，親授弧矢，曰：「我之行也，若此射矣。」遂三起三疊，徒眾屬目，其氣十倍。初，翼遷襄陽，舉朝謂之不可，議者或謂避衰，唯兄冰意同，桓溫及譙王無忌贊成其計。至是，冰求鎮武昌，為翼繼援。朝議謂冰不宜出，冰乃止。又進翼征西將軍，領南蠻校尉。胡賊五六百騎出樊城，翼遣冠軍將軍曹據追擊於撓溝北，破之，死者近半，獲馬百匹。翼綏來荒遠，務盡招納之宜，立客館，置典賓參軍。桓宣卒，翼以長子方之為義成太守，代領宣眾，司馬應誕為龍驤將軍、襄陽太守，參軍司勳為建威將軍、梁州刺史，戍西城。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ (帝疾篤，庾冰、庾翼欲立會稽王昱為嗣；中書監何充建議立皇子聃，帝從之。[建元二年]九月，丙申，立聃為皇太子。戊戌，帝崩於式乾殿。己亥，何充以遺旨奉太子即位，大赦。由是冰、翼深恨充。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
- ^ (詔使翼還督江州，又領豫州刺史，辭豫州。復欲移鎮樂鄉，詔不許。繕修軍器，大佃積穀，欲圖後舉。遣益州刺史周撫、西陽太守曹據伐蜀，破蜀將李桓于江陽。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
- ^ ([永和元年]秋七月庚午，持節、都尉江荊司梁雍益寧七州諸軍事、江州刺史、征西將軍、都亭侯庾翼卒。) Book of Jin, Volume 97
- ^ (庾翼字稚恭，潁川人，官至安西將軍、荊州刺史。善草隸，與王羲之並馳爭先。) Calligraphy Manual of Xuanhe Era, Volume 15
- ^ "宣和书谱 - 维基文库，自由的图书馆". zh.m.wikisource.org. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "全晋文/卷三十七 - 维基文库，自由的图书馆". zh.m.wikisource.org. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
- Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.