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In this Chinese name, the family name is Xiang.
Xiang Chǒng
向寵
Statue of Xiang Chong in the Zhuge Liang Memorial Temple in Chengdu, Sichuan
Commandant of the Central Army
(中領軍)
In office
? (?)–240 (240)
MonarchLiu Shan
Central Chief Controller
(中都督)
In office
223 (223)–? (?)
MonarchLiu Shan
ChancellorZhuge Liang
Officer of the Standard
(牙門將)
In office
? (?)–223 (223)
MonarchLiu Bei
ChancellorZhuge Liang
Personal details
BornUnknown
Yicheng, Hubei
Died240
Lushan County, Sichuan
Relations
  • Xiang Chōng (brother)
  • Xiang Lang (uncle)
  • Xiang Tiao (cousin)
OccupationMilitary officer
PeerageMarquis of a Chief Village
(都亭侯)

Xiang Chǒng (died 240) was a military officer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In the Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang named Xiang Chong as a capable subject of good character and someone well-versed in military affairs, and urged Liu Shan to put Xiang Chong's talents to good use. He was a nephew of the Shu scholar Xiang Lang.

Life[edit]

Xiang Chong was born in Yicheng, Xiangyang Commandery, which is present-day Yicheng, Hubei. His uncle, Xiang Lang, served under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) in the late Eastern Han dynasty and later under the warlord Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period.[1]

Xiang Chong started his military career in Shu as an Officer of the Standard (牙門將) during Liu Bei's short reign from 221 to 223. During the Battle of Xiaoting of 221–222, while the Shu forces were retreating after their defeat, only Xiang Chong's unit managed to retreat without sustaining any losses along the way. As a result, he received high praise from Liu Bei.[2]

In 223, when Liu Shan became the new emperor of Shu after his father death, he enfeoffed Xiang Chong as a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯) and appointed him as a Central Chief Controller (中都督) among the imperial guards. Around 227 or 228, when Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, was about to launch the first of a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, he wrote the Chu Shi Biao to Liu Shan to explain his reasons for waging war against Wei and giving advice to the emperor on governance.[3]

In the Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang described Xiang Chong as such: "General Xiang Chong is a man that is naturraly inclined toward virtuous acts and fair conduct, he also understands fluently military affairs, in the past he has been tested and answered well to the problem of the time and the Late Emperor praised him as talented therefore in accordance with the desire of the masses he was presented as Commander (督). In my humble view, the military affairs should be first discussed with him then surely the army would be able to move forward coordinate hence we could recolt victory's harvest."[4]

Xiang Chong was later promoted to the position of Commandant of the Central Army (中領軍). In 240, he was killed in action while leading Shu forces to suppress a rebellion by local tribes in Hanjia Commandery (漢嘉郡; around present-day Lushan County, Sichuan).[5]

Xiang Chōng (向充)[edit]

Xiang Chong had a similarly named younger brother, Xiang Chong (向充),[a] who also served as a military officer in Shu. He initially held the appointments of Colonel of Trainee Archers (射聲校尉) and Master of Writing (尚書) in the imperial secretariat.[6]

When Zhuge Liang died in 234, many people wanted the Shu government to build temples/shrines to commemorate him, but the government refused so many people privately built their own temples/shrines. When Xiang Chong, then holding the position of a Palace Gentleman of Writing (中書郎), heard about it, he and Xi Long (習隆; an infantry colonel) wrote to the Shu emperor Liu Shan to advise him to build a temple for Zhuge Liang in Mianyang.[7]

Between 240 and 262, when the Shu general Jiang Wei led Shu forces on a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state Wei, Xiang Chōng and another official, Lai Zhong, served as Jiang Wei's subordinates.[8]

After the Conquest of Shu by Wei in 263, the Wei general Wei Guan found jade ring and seal with the words "Cheng Xin" or "Achieving Faith" etching on them. The people of Wei showed them to the officials and discussed about this before keeping it in the State's office.[9]

Xiang Chong heard about this and commented: "In the past, I heard Qiao Zhou saying that the Former Emperor's name was Bei which means "to prepare" while the Later Ruler's name was Shan which means "to give" and such saying that the Liu were already prepared to give to another. Today the Supporter of the Army is named Yan while Han's last year was "Yánxīng" meaning "Yan rises". Chengdu sent propitious sign and is now stored in the State's office. Surely, this is Heaven's will."[10]

During the same year, Xiang Chong entered the service of the Wei government and was appointed as the Administrator (太守) of Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡; around present-day Mianyang, Sichuan). And as the next year, Sima Yan became Emperor fulfilling the prophecy of "Yán Rising".[11][b]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Note that the Chinese characters for Chong in their names are different.
  2. ^ Sun Sheng noted that in the past Gongsun Shu rose in Chengdu and his state was named Cheng. Those jade's engraving were probably made by him.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ (朗兄子寵，先主時為牙門將。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  2. ^ (秭歸之敗，寵營特完。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  3. ^ (建興元年封都亭侯，後為中部督，典宿衛兵。諸葛亮當北行，) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  4. ^ (表與後主曰：「將軍向寵，性行淑均，曉暢軍事，試用於昔，先帝稱之曰能，是以眾論舉寵為督。愚以為營中之事，悉以咨之，必能使行陳和睦，優劣得所也。」) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  5. ^ (遷中領軍。延熙三年，征漢嘉蠻夷，遇害。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  6. ^ (寵弟充，歷射聲校尉、尚書。) Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  7. ^ (諸葛亮初亡，所在各求為立廟，朝議以禮秩不聽，百姓遂因時節私祭之於道陌上。言事者或以為可聽立廟於成都者，後主不從。向充時為中書郎，與步兵校尉習隆等共上表曰：「臣聞周人懷召伯之德，甘棠為之不伐；越王思范蠡之功，鑄金以存其像。自漢興以來，小善小德而圖形立廟者多矣。況亮德範遐邇，勳蓋季世，王室之不壞，實斯人是賴，而蒸嘗止於私門，廟像闕而莫立，使百姓巷祭，戎夷野祀，非所以存德念功，述追在昔者也。今若盡順民心，則瀆而無典，建之京師，又逼宗廟，此聖懷所以惟疑也。臣愚以為宜因近其墓，立之於沔陽，以時賜祭，凡其親屬、故吏欲奉祠者，皆限至廟。斷其私祀，以崇王禮。」於是始從之。) Xiangyang Ji vol. 02.
  8. ^ (子忠，亦博覽經學，有敏風，與尚書向充等並能協贊大將軍姜維。維善之，以為參軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
  9. ^ (《襄阳记》曰：魏咸熙元年六月，镇西将军卫瓘至於成都，得璧玉印各一枚，文似“成信”字，魏人宣示百官，藏于相国府。) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  10. ^ (充闻之曰：“吾闻谯周之言，先帝讳备，其训具也，后主讳禅，其训授也，如言刘已具矣，当授与人也。今中抚军名炎，而汉年极於炎兴，瑞出成都，而藏之於相国府，此殆天意也。”) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  11. ^ (是岁，拜充为梓潼太守，明年十二月而晋武帝即尊位，炎兴於是乎徵焉。) Xiangyang Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
  12. ^ (孙盛曰：昔公孙自以起成都，号曰成氏，二玉之文，殆述所作乎！) Sun Sheng's annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 41.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Chong_(Three_Kingdoms)

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