Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lu.

ter Lu Kangs death because he was older than Lu Ji (Lu

Kangs son),[Sanguozhi 1] even though Lu Ji was one generation older than him.

Lu Xun (183245),[1] courtesy name Boyan, also sometimes referred to as Lu Yi, was a military general and
politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three
Kingdoms period. He started his career as an ocial
under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty, steadily rising through the ranks until 219, when
he assisted Sun Quans general L Meng in an invasion of
Jing Province, which led to the defeat of Liu Bei's general
Guan Yu. In 222, he served as the eld commander of
the Wu armies in the Battle of Xiaoting against the forces
of Liu Bei and scored a decisive victory over the enemy.
Lu Xun reached the pinnacle of his career after this battle
as he was highly regarded by Sun Quan, who promoted
him to even higher positions and bestowed upon him unprecedented honours. Throughout the middle and the
later parts of his career, Lu Xun oversaw and managed
both civil and military aairs in Wu while participating
in some battles against Wus rival state Wei from time to
time. In his nal years, Lu Xun became involved in a succession struggle between Sun Quans sons, and he fell out
of Sun Quans favour. He managed to retain his appointment as Chancellor an oce he assumed in 244 but
died a year later in anger and frustration. Lu Xuns role in
the Wu government was likened to that of a custos morum
as he believed rmly in and upheld Confucian ethics and
values[2] from providing constant and timely advice to
Sun Quan to exercise benevolence and consider the welfare of the people to vehemently objecting to Sun Quans
idea of replacing his legitimate heir apparent in favour of
another son.

2 Early career
2.1 As a county-level ocial
In the early 200s, when Lu Xun was 20 years old, he came
to serve the warlord Sun Quan, who was nominally a subject of the Han imperial court, but had full autonomy in
governing the territories in Jiangdong (covering southeastern China) he inherited from his elder brother Sun
Ce. Lu Xun started his career as a minor ocial in Sun
Quans oce, then as a Foreman Clerk in the East and
West Bureaus (
) and as Agricultural Commandant
(
) of Haichang ( ), before becoming a countylevel ocial. When the county was plagued by consecutive years of drought, Lu Xun opened up the granaries
and distributed food supplies to the people and promoted
agriculture. The people beneted from his policies. At
the time, there were many households in Wu, Kuaiji, and
Danyang ( ) commanderies who were hiding from the
government because they wanted to evade taxes and conscription. Lu Xun had them tracked down, registered and
resettled. Some able-bodied young men were recruited
for military service while others were sent to do agricultural labour.[Sanguozhi 2]

2.2 Eliminating bandit forces

Early in his career, Lu Xun assisted in the elimination of
bandit forces in the Jiangdong territories who had been
terrorising the region for years and posed serious threats
to Sun Quans administration. He rallied a volunteer army
to attack the bandits led by Pan Lin in Kuaiji Commandery, passing through treacherous territory and pacifying those who stood in his way. The number of troops
under his command increased to over 2,000. When another bandit chief, You Tu ( ), was causing trouble in
Poyang ( ), Lu Xun led an army to attack the bandits
and achieved success. He was commissioned as Colonel
Who Establishes Might (
) and ordered to garrison
at Lipu ( ).[Sanguozhi 3]

Family background

Lu Xuns original given name was Yi ( ), and he was

from a family of high social status in Wu County ( ),
Wu Commandery ( ), which is in present-day Suzhou,
Jiangsu. His grandfather Lu Yu ( ) and father Lu Jun
( ) both served as ocials in the government of the
Eastern Han dynasty.[Sanguozhi zhu 1] He was orphaned at a
young age, so he was raised by his granduncle Lu Kang,
who was serving as the Administrator ( ) of Lujiang
Commandery (
). Lu Kang had disagreements with
the Huainan warlord Yuan Shu, so when he heard that
Yuan was planning to attack him, he immediately sent Lu Xun once advised Sun Quan to eliminate local banLu Xun and his relatives back to Wu Commandery for dit forces in Jiangdong rst because they would hinder
their safety. Lu Xun became the head of the family af- him in his aims to achieve supremacy over China. Sun
1

3 INVASION OF JING PROVINCE

Quan heeded Lu Xuns words and appointed the latter as

a Commandant of the Right Section (
) under him.
Fei Zhan ( ), a bandit chief in Danyang, had received
an ocial appointment from Cao Cao a leading warlord who was also the de facto head of the Han government and was instructed to instigate the Shanyue tribes
in Jiangdong to stir up trouble for Sun Quan. In response,
Sun Quan sent Lu Xun to attack Fei Zhan. Lu Xun had a
much smaller army as compared to Fei Zhan, but he deceived the enemy into thinking that he had more troops
he prepared more ags and banners, spread out his war
drums, ordered his men to sneak into the valleys at night
and beat the drums loudly, so as to create an illusion of
an overwhelming army. He emerged victorious over Fei
Zhan.[Sanguozhi 4]
Lu Xun sent his troops into the three commanderies in
eastern Jiangdong, where he recruited many able-bodied
young men for military service while the less physically
t ones were called up for agricultural labour. He drafted
tens of thousands of soldiers in total. He also cleared the
region of opposing forces before returning to a garrison
at Wuhu.[Sanguozhi 5]

2.3

Invasion of Jing Province

Main article: L Mengs invasion of Jing Province

3.1

In 219, L Meng came up with a plan to help Sun Quan

seize control of Liu Beis lands in Jing Province. He pretended to be ill and asked for permission to return to
Jianye ( ; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to seek medical treatment, while Sun Quan played along by agreeing to the request. Lu Xun went to visit L Meng and
he said, Guan Yu is near the border. How can we remain far behind the border and not worry about having
to defend against him?" L Meng replied, What you've
said is true, but I'm seriously ill now. Lu Xun then said,
Guan Yu is proud of his own valour and he scorns others.
He may have made great achievements, but he is overly
conceited. Besides, he is heading north and he has never
regarded us highly. When he hears that you're sick, he'll
denitely lower his defences. If we attack him when he
lowers his guard, we can capture him. I came here to meet
you and discuss a plan to attack him. L Meng replied,
Guan Yu is known for his bravery and ferocity in battle,
and he is a formidable foe. Besides, he is in control of
Jing Province, he governs with virtue and has made great
accomplishments, while the morale of his army is at its
peak. It won't be easy to defeat him.[Sanguozhi 9]

Conict with Chunyu Shi

Chunyu Shi (
), the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery, once accused Lu Xun of oppressing and disturbing the common people. When Lu Xun travelled to
Wu (the capital of Sun Quans territories) to explain himself, he praised Chunyu Shi for being an excellent civil
ocial. Sun Quan was puzzled so he asked Lu Xun,
Chunyu Shi made accusations against you, but yet you
praise him. Why?" Lu Xun replied, Chunyu Shi was
concerned about the peoples welfare when he made accusations against me. If I were to rebuke him, I would violate ethical norms, which is something I will not do. Sun
Quan said, This is something that a person with good
morals will do and something which ordinary people are
not capable of doing.[Sanguozhi 6]

southern Jing Province were guarded by Guan Yu while

L Meng was in charge of Sun Quans.[Sanguozhi 8]

Planning for the invasion

Around 215, about six years after the Battle of Red

Clis, Sun Quan and his ally Liu Bei had territorial
disputes over southern Jing Province and tensions between them nearly escalated to the point of armed conict, but eventually both sides agreed to divide the
province between their respective domains along the
Xiang River.[lower-alpha 1][Sanguozhi 7] Liu Beis territories in

3.2 Succeeding L Meng

When L Meng arrived in Jianye, Sun Quan asked him,
Who can replace you?" L Meng responded, Lu Xun
is careful and thoughtful. He has the ability to shoulder this important responsibility. Based on my observations of him, I feel that he is capable of taking up great
appointments in the future. Besides, he is relatively unknown, so Guan Yu will not be wary of him. This cannot
be better. If he is appointed, our enemies will be unaware of our intentions, while we can assess our forces
better and seek an opportunity to launch the attack. Sun
Quan followed L Mengs suggestion and commissioned
Lu Xun as Lieutenant-General (
) and Inspector
of the Right Section (
) to take up L Mengs post in
Jing Province.[Sanguozhi 10]
When Lu Xun arrived at Lukou ( ) to assume his new
oce, he wrote to Guan Yu: Previously, I had the privilege of witnessing you in action. You uphold good discipline in your army and achieved success with minimal
eort. That is praiseworthy! Our enemy has been defeated, it is to our mutual benet that we strengthen our
alliance. Having received this piece of good news, I intend to pack up all my belongings and join you in striving
to accomplish our lords common goals. I am unintelligent, but I have received orders to take up this appointment in the west. I hope to catch a glimpse of your glory
and obtain your good advice to bear in mind. Later, after
Guan Yus triumph over Yu Jin at the Battle of Fancheng,
he wrote to Guan again: Now that Yu Jin and others
have been captured, everyone far and near rejoices, and
your feat shall live in praise for generations. Neither can

3.4

Aftermath

Duke Wen of Jin's victory at Chengpu nor the Marquis

of Huaiyin's strategy in conquering Zhao be compared to
your achievement. I heard that Xu Huang and his forces
are approaching and preparing for an oensive. Cao Cao
is very cunning and his intentions are dicult to predict. I
am afraid he might secretly increase the number of troops
(in Xu Huangs army) to achieve his aim. Even though
the enemy is weary, they still have some ghting spirit in
them. Every time after scoring a victory, there is a tendency for us to underestimate the enemy. The best military leaders in ancient times maintained their defences
even after they won battles. I hope that you can make
grander plans to secure a total victory. I am but a scholar,
negligent and slow, and unworthy in many aspects. I am
pleased to have a majestic and virtuous neighbour like
you, and my joy cannot be contained. Even though we
have not worked together yet, I always hope for such an
opportunity. If close attention is required, I will pay my
fullest attention.[Sanguozhi 11]

3.3

Invasion of Jing Province

Upon receiving Lu Xuns letters, Guan Yu felt that Lu

showed humility and was expressing his desire to rely on
him, so he felt at ease and lowered his guard against Lu.
When Lu Xun heard about that, he reported the situation
to Sun Quan and provided crucial details on how to defeat Guan. Sun Quan secretly led an army towards Jing
Province, with L Meng and Lu Xun serving as the vanguard commanders. L Meng employed inltration tactics to disable the watchtowers set up by Guan Yu along
the Yangtze River, rendering them unable to warn Guan
about Sun Quans advances, and then swiftly conquered
Guan Yus key bases in Jing Province Gong'an ( )
and Nan Commandery ( ). For his role in the conquest
of Jing Province, Lu Xun was appointed as the Administrator ( ) of Yidu ( ), promoted to General Who
Pacies the Border (
), and received the title Marquis of Hua Village (
). Fan You ( ), the previous
Administrator of Yidu under Guan Yu, abandoned his
post and ed, while the ocials and tribal chiefs in the
commandery surrendered to Lu Xun. Lu Xun had ocial seals carved from gold, silver or bronze and given to
these ocials and tribal chiefs. This took place in around
January 220.[Sanguozhi 12]
Even after the annexation of Jing Province, there were
still some areas which were still controlled by Liu Bei's
forces or other hostile parties, so Lu Xun had to pacify
those regions. He sent his subordinates Li Yi ( ), Xie
Jing, and others to lead 3,000 troops to attack Liu Beis
generals Zhan Yan ( ) and Chen Feng ( ). Li Yi
led the naval forces while Xie Jing commanded the land
army. They sealed the critical routes and defeated Zhan
Yan and captured Chen Feng. They then attacked Deng
Fu ( ) and Guo Mu ( ), the Administrators of Fangling ( ) and Nan District ( ) respectively, and defeated the enemy. Wen Bu ( ) and Deng Kai ( ), two

3
inuential men in Zigui ( ), rallied thousands of local
tribesmen to form an army to attack Lu Xun in the west.
In response, Lu Xun sent Xie Jing to attack them. Wen
Bu and Deng Kai were defeated and they ed to Shu Han
(a state in western China founded by Liu Bei), where they
became Shu ocers. Lu Xun successfully induced Wen
Bu into defecting to Sun Quans side.[Sanguozhi 13]

3.4 Aftermath
Throughout these campaigns in Jing Province, Lu Xun
had killed, captured or recruited tens of thousands of
enemies. In recognition of Lu Xuns eorts, Sun Quan
promoted him to Right Protector of the Army (
),
General Who Guards the West (
), and awarded
him the title of Marquis of Lou ( ).[Sanguozhi 14] Sun
Quan was very pleased with Lu Xuns achievements and
wanted to give special honour to him. However, even
though Lu Xun already held the rank of a general and
a marquis title, he still had to pass through the standard protocol of receiving a recommendation by the
chief administrating ocer in his home province (Yang
Province). Hence, Sun Quan ordered L Fan, the Governor of Yang Province, to employ Lu Xun as an AttendantAssistant Ocer (
) and recommend him as a maocai ( ).[Sanguozhi zhu 2]
At the time, there were many educated men in Jing
Province who had either obtained positions in the civil
service or were unemployed, so Lu Xun wrote to Sun
Quan: In the past, Emperor Gao recruited people with
extraordinary abilities, talents ocked to join Emperor
Guangwu when he was reviving the Han dynasty. We
should attract all Confucian-educated men into the civil
service, regardless of how far away they are. Now, Jing
Province has just been pacied and there are still many
people and things yet to be in place. I humbly urge you to
employ these potential talents and groom them, so that all
within the Empire will be attracted by our great culture.
Sun Quan accepted Lu Xuns proposal.[Sanguozhi 15]

4 Battle of Xiaoting
Main article: Battle of Xiaoting

4.1 Historical background

In late 220, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate the
throne in his favour and ended the Han dynasty. He declared himself emperor and founded the state of Cao Wei,
marking the start of the Three Kingdoms period. Two
years later, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor and established the state of Shu Han. By then, Sun Quan had
agreed to become a vassal under Wei, and was granted

BATTLE OF XIAOTING

the title of King of Wu" by Cao Pi. He declared inde- must win. Liu Bei dees Heavens will, leaves his bases
pendence from Wei in late 222 but retained his title King unguarded, and dares to thrust himself into our hands. I
of Wu.[3]
may not be very talented, but I've received grand support
to attack the enemy, and their destruction is near. Liu
Bei has more defeats than victories throughout his mil4.2 Early stages
itary career, so, based on this assessment, I feel that he
is not much of a threat. Initially, I thought he would adIn early 222, Liu Bei personally led an army towards the vance from both land and water, but to my surprise, he
western borders of the Wu territories. Sun Quan ap- abandoned his boats and chose the land route. He has
pointed Lu Xun as Chief Controller (
) and put him been constructing camps everywhere and I do not think
in command of 50,000 troops to resist the Shu forces, he will make any further changes to the current layout of
with Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, Song Qian, Han Dang, Xu his camps. I hope that you, my Lord, can be at ease and
Sheng, Xianyu Dan (
), Sun Huan and others serv- have no worries.[Sanguozhi 18]
ing as his subordinates. The Shu army passed through
Wu Gorge ( ), Jianping ( ) and Lianping ( ) until
they arrived on the outskirts of Yiling ( ; present-day
Yichang, Hubei), where they laid siege and built several 4.3 Burning of the Shu camps
camps. Liu Bei bribed the local tribes in Yiling with gold
and silk to support him. He appointed Feng Xi as his The Wu generals said, We should have attacked Liu Bei
Chief Controller, Zhang Nan ( ) as the vanguard, and in the initial stages. Now, he has advanced further in by
Fu Kuang ( ), Zhao Rong ( ), Liao Chun ( ) and 500-600 li and we have been locked in a stalemate for
Fu Rong as the Controllers of the various divisions. He seven to eight months. He has reinforced all his crucial
also sent Wu Ban to lead a few thousand men to construct positions, so even if we attack them it will yield nothcamps on at ground and provoke the Wu forces into at- ing. Lu Xun replied, Liu Bei is cunning and experitacking them.[Sanguozhi 16]
enced. In the initial stage, his army was very focused and
When the Wu generals wanted to respond to the enemys its morale was very high, so we could not defeat them
taunts, Lu Xun said, This must be a trick. We should ob- then. Now, however, since it has been quite some time,
serve rst.[Sanguozhi 17] Earlier on, when the Shu army rst they are already weary, low on morale, and out of ideas.
time for us to launch a multi-pronged assault
arrived at Yiling, the Wu generals wanted to attack the en- Now is the[Sanguozhi
19]
on
them.
emy, but Lu Xun objected and said, Liu Bei is leading an
army east to attack us and his armys morale is very high.
Besides, his forces are based in high and mountainous terrain, so its dicult for us to attack them. Even if we manage to win them, we cannot completely defeat them. If we
suer any setback, our morale will be largely aected and
this isn't a small issue. Now, we should raise our troops
morale and make plans while waiting for changes in the
situation. If we're on plains and at ground, we should
be worrying about sustaining heavy losses in skirmishes
and charges. However, since the enemy is on mountainous terrain, they cannot conduct an all-out assault because
they are sandwiched between wood and rocks. We should
take advantage of this weakness of theirs. The Wu generals did not understand Lu Xuns reasoning and thought
that he feared the enemy so they were very disgruntled
with him.[Sanguozhi zhu 3]
When Liu Bei realised that his plan to lure Wu forces
into attacking him had failed, he led the 8,000 troops
out of the valley, where they had been waiting in ambush earlier. When Lu Xun heard about it, he told his
subordinates, The reason why I did not follow your suggestions to attack the enemy is because I suspected there
was something shy about it. He then wrote a memorial
to Sun Quan, Yiling is a strategic location on the border of our domain. It can be easily conquered but it is
also easily lost (to the enemy). If we lose Yiling, we lose
not only one commandery, but also put the entire Jing
Province in peril. Today, we're ghting over it and we

Lu Xun then targeted one enemy camp and attacked it

but failed to capture it. The Wu ocers complained,
We're sacricing our soldiers lives for nothing. Lu
Xun replied, I have devised a strategy for defeating
the enemy. He then ordered his men to carry a pile
of straw each and launch a re attack on the enemy.
Upon the commencement of the re attack, Lu Xun
led all the Wu units on an all-out assault on the Shu
forces. The Shu generals Zhang Nan and Feng Xi, and
the tribal king Shamoke (Liu Beis ally) were killed in
battle, while over 40 Shu camps were destroyed by the
Wu forces.[Sanguozhi 20]
The Shu ocers Du Lu ( ), Liu Ning ( ) and others
surrendered when they saw they had no chance of escaping. Liu Bei and his remaining troops retreated to the
Ma'an Hills (
), where they continued to be ercely
assaulted by Wu forces from all directions. At the same
time, landslides occurred at the Ma'an Hills and caused
the Shu forces to sustain thousands of casualties. Liu
Bei ed at night and ordered his men to pile up their armour and set them on re to create barriers for the pursuing enemy. By the time Liu Bei reached the safety of
Baidicheng, all his boats, military equipment and supplies
had been captured by Wu forces. The dead bodies of Shu
soldiers oated in the river and obstructed its ow. Liu
Bei was extremely upset and furious with his defeat. He
exclaimed, Is it not the will of Heaven that I must be
humiliated by Lu Xun?"[Sanguozhi 21]

4.5

4.4

Aftermath

Incidents during the battle

During the preliminary stages of the Battle of Xiaoting,

Sun Huan had led a separate force to attack the Shu vanguard force at Yidao ( ) but ended up being besieged by
the enemy. He requested for reinforcements from Lu Xun
but was denied. The other Wu ocers said, General Sun
is a relative of our lord. He is under siege, so shouldn't
we help him?" Lu Xun replied, He has the support of
his men, his base is well defended, and he has sucient
supplies. There is nothing to worry. When my plans are
in motion, even if we don't go to his aid, the siege on him
will automatically be lifted. After the Wu victory, Sun
Huan came to see Lu Xun and said, Earlier on, I was
indeed very resentful when you refused to help me. But
now, after the victory, I see that you have your own way
of doing things.[Sanguozhi 22]
Many of the Wu ocers who participated in the battle
had either served in Wu since Sun Ce's time or were relatives of the Sun family, so they viewed themselves highly
and were unwilling to follow Lu Xuns orders. Lu Xun
placed his sword on the desk and said, Liu Bei is well
known throughout the Empire, and even Cao Cao feared
him. Now, he is at our borders and we have a tough ght
ahead. All of you gentlemen have received grace from
the State, so you should cooperate harmoniously and work
together to defeat the enemy in order to repay the States
kindness. You should not be behaving as you are now. I
may be a mere scholar, but I have received orders from
our Lord. The reason why the State asks you to lower
yourselves and submit to my command is because I have
a modicum of value and I can endure humiliation for the
sake of fullling a greater task. Each of you has your
own duties so you cannot excuse yourselves from them!
Military rules are long established. You shouldn't break
them. The Wu ocers began to show greater respect towards Lu Xun after the Wu victory, which was largely
due to his strategies. When Sun Quan heard about this
incident, he asked Lu Xun, Why didn't you report to
me about the generals refusing to follow your orders?"
Lu Xun replied, I have received much grace from the
state and have been appointed to a position beyond my
capability. All the generals are either trustworthy men,
capable military leaders, or men who have rendered meritorious service, so they are important people whom the
state can rely on in order to achieve its goals. I may be
weak and cowardly, but I would still like to learn from the
virtues Xiangru[lower-alpha 2][4] and Kou Xun[lower-alpha 3][5]
when they put up with disagreements they had with their
colleagues and worked together for the common good of
their states. Sun Quan laughed and praised Lu Xun. Lu
Xun was promoted to General Who Assists the State
(
), appointed as Governor ( ) of Jing Province, and
had his marquis title changed to Marquis of Jiangling
(
).[Sanguozhi 23]

4.5 Aftermath
After Liu Bei had retreated to Baidicheng, Xu Sheng, Pan
Zhang, Song Qian and other Wu generals suggested to attack Baidicheng and capture Liu Bei. When Sun Quan
asked Lu Xun for his opinion, Lu, along with Zhu Ran
and Luo Tong, said that when Cao Pi amassed his forces
and seemed like he was going to help Wu attack Shu, he
was actually harbouring sinister intentions, so they should
be cautious, abandon their pursuit of Liu Bei, and return
to Wu. Not long later, Cao Pi did indeed lead the Wei
armies to invade Wu from three directions.[Sanguozhi 24]
When Liu Bei heard of the Wei invasion of Wu, he wrote
to Lu Xun: The enemy (Wei) is at Jiangling now. If I
launch another attack again, in your opinion, do you think
I will succeed?" Lu Xun replied, I am afraid your army
has recently suered defeats and has yet to recover. Now
is the time for you to make reconciliations, rest and recuperate. This is not the time for you to launch another
assault on us again. However, if you do not consider carefully and plan to despatch all your remaining forces on
another attack, I assure you none of those you send here
will return alive.[Sanguozhi zhu 4]
Liu Bei died in 223 and was succeeded by his son, Liu
Shan, as the emperor of Shu. Zhuge Liang became Shus
head of government and he made peace with Wu and reestablished the WuShu alliance against Wei. Sun Quan
granted permission to Lu Xun to reply to Zhuge Liang
on his behalf, and had a duplicate of his own ocial seal
made and sent to Lus oce. Whenever Sun Quan wrote
to Liu Shan and Zhuge Liang, he would allow Lu Xun
to read the letters, make the appropriate modications,
stamp his ocial seal on them and have them delivered
to Shu.[Sanguozhi 25]

5 Battle of Shiting
Main article: Battle of Shiting
In 228, Sun Quan instructed Zhou Fang, the Administrator ( ) of Poyang ( ), to pretend to defect to Cao
Xiu, the Grand Marshal (
) of Wei, and lure Wei
forces to attack Wu. Cao Xiu fell for the ruse and led his
armies to attack the Wu garrison at Huan ( ). Sun Quan
granted Lu Xun a yellow ceremonial axe, appointed him
as Chief Controller (
) again, and put him in command of six Wu armies and the imperial guards to resist
the Wei invaders.[Sanguozhi 26] Lu Xun was hence granted
the authority to act on Sun Quans behalf. Sun Quan even
waved a ceremonial whip and ordered all his subjects to
pay respect to Lu Xun.[Sanguozhi zhu 5][Sanguozhi zhu 6]
When Cao Xiu realised that he had been deceived by
Zhou Fang, he felt humiliated but decided to continue
the campaign anyway because he had superiority in numbers and his troops were well trained. During the Battle

6 MID CAREER

of Shiting, Lu Xun remained in the central command,

with Zhu Huan and Quan Cong leading the armies on his
left and right anks respectively. Their three armies advanced together and defeated Cao Xius forces lying in
ambush and drove them further northward until Jiashi
( ). They killed and captured thousands of enemies
and obtained much of the enemys livestock, equipment
and supplies. Cao Xiu died of illness after returning to
Wei. Lu Xun and the victorious Wu forces returned to
Wuchang ( ; present-day Ezhou, Hubei), where they
were received by Sun Quan. Sun Quan instructed his servants to shield Lu Xun with his imperial parasol when the
latter was entering or leaving the palace, and rewarded
Lu Xun with many gifts. The honour received by Lu Xun
was unprecedented in his time. He moved to Xiling ( )
after that.[Sanguozhi 27]

Mid career

6.2 Memorial on current aairs

Even though Lu Xun was stationed far away from the Wu
capital, he was still very concerned about his state. He
once wrote a memorial on current aairs to Sun Quan: I
feel that if the laws are too strict and harsh, there will be
more oenders. In recent years, many military and civil
ocers have committed transgressions and they ought
to be punished for their negligence. However, the Empire has yet to be unied, so we should focus more on
achieving progress and pardon those who commit minor
oences, so that Your Majesty can empathise with and
build emotional ties with your subjects. Besides, there are
more aairs to attend to as days pass by, so our top priority should be to tap into the abilities of talented people.
If they did not commit any malicious crimes or unforgivable oences, they should be pardoned and provided
with opportunities to display their skills again. This is
what a wise ruler should do forget his subjects misdoings but remember their contributions, so they will
do their best to help him achieve his aims. In the past,
Emperor Gao ignored Chen Ping's aws and employed
his strategies, resulting in the accomplishment of a great
task (the founding of the Han dynasty) which left a mark
in history. Strict and harsh laws do not make an Empire more prosperous; justice not tempered with mercy
does not serve as a cornerstone of the grand empire we
envision.[Sanguozhi 30]

In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself Emperor of

Wu" in Wuchang ( ; present-day Ezhou, Hubei), he
appointed Lu Xun as General-in-Chief (
) and
Right Defender of the Capital (
). That year, Sun
Quan embarked on an inspection tour of Jianye ( ;
present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) in the east, leaving behind his crown prince Sun Deng, his other sons, and
some high-ranking ocials in charge of Wuchang. Lu
Xun was instructed to assist Sun Deng and oversee all
civil and military aairs in Jing Province and three other
6.3
commanderies.[Sanguozhi 28]

6.1

Treatment of Sun L and Sun Song

At the time, Sun L ( ; one of Sun Quans sons), the

Marquis of Jianchang (
), had a small shed built in
front of his hall for the purpose of staging duck ghts.
When Lu Xun heard about it, he reprimanded Sun L
sternly, Marquis, you should be spending time reading the classics and enriching yourself with knowledge.
Why are you doing this?" Sun L immediately had the
shed torn down. Sun Song ( ; Sun Yi's son), the
Colonel of Trainee Archers (
), who was one of
Sun Quans favourite relatives, allowed his men to fool
around in camp and did not maintain good military discipline. Lu Xun punished Sun Songs subordinates by
having their heads shaved. There was one Xie Jing ( )
from Nanyang who admired Liu Yi ( )'s discourse on
punishment before civility. Lu Xun chided Xie Jing,
The idea of civility before punishment has been long
promulgated and espoused. Liu Yi is wrong when he
distorted the teachings of ancient sages through his sly
manipulation of words. You're serving in the Crown
Princes residence, so you should advocate the principles
of benevolence and righteousness in order to promote
moral virtues. Ideas (like Liu Yis) should never be discussed again.[Sanguozhi 29]

Advising Sun Quan against the Yizhou

and Zhuya campaigns

When Sun Quan was planning to send armies to conquer Yizhou ( ; present-day Taiwan) and Zhuya ( ;
present-day Hainan), he asked Lu Xun for his opinion.
Lu Xun wrote a memorial to Sun Quan, advising the latter against the campaigns: In my humble opinion, I feel
that the Empire has yet to be pacied, so we should conserve manpower for future plans. We have been ghting
battles for consecutive years and our forces are already
weary. Your Majesty is already occupied with state affairs and has been sacricing sleep and meal times, and
now you are planning to conquer Yizhou? After serious
consideration, I feel that there are no visible gains from
this campaign. Besides, our troops will be travelling over
long distances for the campaigns and the conditions ahead
are unclear. They may not be well adjusted to changes in
the climate and will fall sick. If Your Majesty proceeds
with the campaign, our troops will be venturing into uncharted lands and we are likely to make more losses than
gains. Zhuya is a dangerous place, its people are barbaric, so even if we force them to submit, they will be
of no use to us and we cannot replenish our losses by recruiting soldiers from among them. As of now, Jiangdong
has sucient manpower and resources to sustain itself, so
we should conserve our strengths and wait for opportunities to strike later. When Prince Huan (Sun Ce's posthu-

7
mous title) built the foundation of our state, he did not
have enough soldiers to form even one brigade, but yet
he managed to accomplish this great task. Your Majesty
established our state with blessings from Heaven. I heard
that in order to pacify chaos and defeat enemies, military
force is essential. The basic needs of the people are agriculture, food and clothing, but armed conicts have yet
to subside and the people are suering from hunger and
cold. In my humble opinion, I feel that we should nurture
and educate the people, reduce taxes, maintain peace, and
promote moral values and courage. In this way, the areas
around the rivers can be pacied and we can unite the
Nine Provinces. Sun Quan ignored Lu Xuns advice and
launched the campaigns. Lu Xuns predictions were right
as the losses incurred by Wu in the conquests outweighed
the gains.[Sanguozhi 31]

6.4

Advising Sun Quan

Liaodong campaign

against

the

In 237, the Liaodong warlord Gongsun Yuan rebelled

against Wus rival state Wei and allied with Wu, but broke
the alliance later. Sun Quan was angered and he wanted
to personally lead an army to attack Liaodong. Lu Xun
wrote another memorial to dissuade Sun Quan from the
campaign: Gongsun Yuan thinks that he is safe behind
Liaodongs natural barriers, so he dares to detain our ambassador and refuse to send us ne steeds. His actions are
indeed antagonising. These barbarians are cunning and
uncivilised, they are like animals in the wild, and they still
dare to defy our imperial might. Your Majesty is furious
and intends to sail a long distance across the sea to attack them without considering the perils which lie ahead.
Currently, the Empire is in a state of chaos, contending
warlords ght each other, heroes glare and yell at each
other. Your Majesty possesses divine martial might and
has received Heavens grace when you defeated Cao Cao
at Wulin ( ), thwarted Liu Bei's forces at Xiling ( ),
and captured Guan Yu in Jing Province. All three of them
were heroes of their time but they still lost to you. Your
Majestys might has pacied many people, lands within
thousands of li submit to you, but we still need a great
plan to conquer the whole of China. Your Majesty does
not tolerate this minor infringement on your authority,
displays overwhelming rage, dees wise sayings by people in the past, and intends to thrust yourself into danger?
This is something I cannot understand. I heard that those
who want to travel thousands of li will not stop midway;
one who intends to conquer the Empire will not be affected by a small setback. Powerful enemies are at our
borders while barbarians have yet to submit to our rule.
If Your Majesty departs on a long expedition, our enemies will take advantage of your absence to attack us,
and it will be too late to regret by then. If we succeed in
unifying the Empire, Gongsun Yuan will surrender to us
without having to be coerced. Your Majesty may desire
the military forces and ne steeds of Liaodong, but are

you willing to forsake this stable foundation in Jiangdong

in order to acquire those? I humbly urge you to allow our
armies to relax and strike fear in our great enemies, so
that we can conquer the Central Plains soon and achieve
eternal glory. Sun Quan heeded his advice.[Sanguozhi 32]

7 Xiangyang campaign
In 236, Sun Quan launched a campaign against Wei and
he ordered Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to lead an army to
attack the Wei-controlled Xiangyang Commandery. Lu
Xun sent a close aide, Han Bian ( ), to deliver a report to Sun Quan, but on the return journey, Han encountered the enemy at Mianzhong ( ) and was captured. When Zhuge Jin received news of Han Bians capture, he became fearful and he wrote to Lu Xun: His
Majesty has withdrawn his forces. The enemy has captured Han Bian and they know our situation. The rivers
have dried up so we should make a hasty retreat. Lu
Xun did not respond, and he instructed his men to plant
turnips and peas, while he played weiqi and other games
with his ocers as though nothing had happened. Zhuge
Jin said, Boyan possesses intelligence and strategy, he
knows what hes doing. He came to see Lu Xun, who
told him, The enemy knows that His Majesty has withdrawn his forces, so they have no worries and will concentrate their attacks on us. Besides, they have already stationed troops at critical positions and are poised to strike.
Hence, we should remain composed and calm our men,
after which we will have a change of plans and prepare to
withdraw. If we display signs of retreat now, the enemy
will think that we are afraid and will denitely attack us,
resulting in defeat for us.[Sanguozhi 33]
Lu Xun then secretly conveyed his plan to Zhuge Jin and
ordered the latter to supervise the eet of vessels on which
they would sail back to Wu, while he gathered his troops
and headed towards Xiangyang. The Wei forces had been
wary of Lu Xun all this while so they immediately retreated back into the city when they saw Lu Xuns army
approaching. Lu Xun organised his men in an orderly
manner and instructed them to pretend to prepare for an
attack on Xiangyang. By then, Zhuge Jin and the eet
had shown up, so Lu Xun and his forces progressively
retreated to the vessels and left. The Wei forces in Xiangyang did not dare to make any move.[Sanguozhi 34]

7.1 Raid in Shiyang

On their journey back to Wu, the eet passed by Baiwei
( ), where Lu Xun announced that they would be getting o their vessels to go ashore for a hunting expedition.
However, he actually gave secret orders to his subordinates Zhou Jun ( ) and Zhang Liang ( ) to lead their
men to attack the counties of Xinshi ( ), Anlu ( ) and
Shiyang ( ) in Jiangxia Commandery (
). Outside

the city of Shiyang, the common people were doing their

daily activities in the marketplace when Zhou Jun and his
army appeared, so the people immediately packed their
items and attempted to rush back into the city. The Wei
soldiers in Shiyang wanted to close the city gates but the
civilians were blocking the way, so they killed some people for the gates to be shut. Zhou Juns army killed and
captured over 1,000 civilians in Shiyang. The captives
were resettled in Wu. Lu Xun gave orders to his men,
forbidding them from harassing the people. Those captives who had their families with them were given due
attention and care while those who lost their loved ones
during the raid were provided with food and clothing and
treated well before they were sent home. Many people
were so touched by Lu Xuns acts of kindness that they
decided to move to Wu. When news of Lu Xuns kindness spread to the neighbouring regions, two Wei ocers,
Zhao Zhuo ( ) and Fei Sheng ( ), and a tribal king,
Meiyi ( ), led their followers to join Lu Xun. Lu Xun
distributed rewards to them generously.[Sanguozhi 35]

7.2

Criticism

The historian Pei Songzhi, who annotated Lu Xuns biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, condemned
the raid on Shiyang and deemed it unwarranted. He commented: When Lu Xun heard that Sun Quan had retreated and knew that the Wei forces were going to concentrate their attacks on him, he put on a fake oensive
stance, which successfully deterred the enemy from advancing. After that, he retreated safely and could sail
back to Wu without having any worries. Why must he
order his subordinates to raid a small county, cause the
people in a busy marketplace to scurry in fear and panic,
and inict so much harm on a civilian population? The
loss of 1,000 civilians may have had a negligible eect
on Wei, but the slaughter of innocent people only demonstrated sheer brutality and cruelty. This was a stark contrast to what Zhuge Liang and the Shu forces did during the battles around the Wei River. The rules of war
had been violated, and such crimes will not go unpunished. Eastern Wu did not last beyond three generations
and ended up being conquered in Sun Hao's time. Is this
not retribution?"[Sanguozhi zhu 7]
In response to Lu Xuns acts of kindness after the
raid, Pei Songzhi remarked, This is akin to saving one
edgling after destroying all the bird nests in a forest.
How can such simple acts of kindness ever compensate
for the losses in a brutal massacre?"[Sanguozhi zhu 8]

Later career

LATER CAREER

8.1 Eliminating Lu Shi

Lu Shi ( ), the Administrator ( ) of the Weicontrolled Jiangxia Commandery (
), often led his
men to cause trouble at the border between Wu and Wei.
When Lu Xun heard that Lu Shi could not get along with
Wen Xiu ( ), a son of the veteran Wei general Wen
Ping, he came up with a plan to stop Lu Shi. He pretended to have received a letter from Lu Shi and wrote
a reply as such: I can sense your sincerity and sorrow when you told me you have disagreements with Wen
Xiu. You said both of you cannot exist together and you
intend to defect to my side. I have delivered your letter to my lord and will gather my men to welcome you.
You should make preparations soon and inform us of the
date of your defection. He then left the reply letter at
the border, and it was picked up by Lu Shis men. When
Lu Shi heard about it, he became afraid and immediately
sent his family to the Wei capital Luoyang. His subordinates became distrustful of him and eventually he was
dismissed from oce.[Sanguozhi 36]

8.1.1 Criticism
Commenting on this incident, the historian Pei Songzhi
wrote: It is normal for military commanders stationed
at borders to create problems in the area for their enemies on the other side. Even though Lu Xun had successfully framed and eliminated Lu Shi, the person who
replaces Lu will still continue to cause trouble at the border. Lu Shis actions were not done with malicious intent, nor would they pose a serious threat to Wu. Lu
Xun should not even bother about this, much less resort to using such a cunning trick. I do not agree (with
Chen Shou) when he wrote about this incident as if it was
praiseworthy.[Sanguozhi zhu 9]

8.2 Suppressing rebellions in Wu

In 237, Zhou Zhi ( ), a General of the Household
(
), wanted to recruit soldiers from Poyang ( ) so
he sought Lu Xuns opinion. Lu Xun felt that the people
in Poyang were very restless and should not be recruited
for military service because they might rebel. Zhou Zhi
ignored Lu Xuns advice and persisted. True to Lu Xuns
expectations, the people in Poyang started a rebellion under the leadership of Wu Ju ( ) and they killed Zhou Zhi
and seized control of many counties. The people nearby
in Yuzhang ( ) and Luling ( ) had a history of being
rebellious, so they responded to Wu Jus call and joined
in the revolt. Lu Xun led his forces to suppress the rebellion and succeeded in forcing Wu Ju and the rebels to
surrender. He recruited over 8,000 men into his army and
pacied the three commanderies.[Sanguozhi 37]

8.3

Incident of L Yi

At that time, L Yi ( ), the Chief Keeper of the Central

Secretariat (
), was abusing his authority and behaving wantonly. Lu Xun and the Minister of Ceremonies
( ), Pan Jun, expressed their worries about L Yis behaviour to Sun Quan, to the point of shedding tears. L
Yis crimes were exposed later and he was executed by
Sun Quan, after which Sun deeply regretted not listening
to Lu Xun and Pan Jun.[Sanguozhi 38]

8.4

moral virtues, make achievements worthy of esteem, respect and follow imperial orders, and pacify the Empire.
You are now overall-in-charge of the Three Excellencies's
aairs, so you should maintain discipline among the ocials and command respect from them! You will still continue to hold the following oces concurrently: Governor of Jing Province; Right Defender of the Capital; chief
overseer of aairs in Wuchang ( ; present-day Ezhou,
Hubei).[Sanguozhi 40]

Advice to Sun Quan on governance

Two ocials, Xie Yuan ( ) and Xie Gong ( ), proposed implementing changes to policies to increase government revenue, so Sun Quan asked Lu Xun for his opinion on this issue. Lu Xun said, The people form the
foundation of a state. A states prosperity is due to its
peoples eorts and its revenue comes from the people as
well. There has never been a case where the people are
wealthy but the state is weak, nor a situation where the
people are weak but the state is powerful. Those who run
a state need the support of their people in order to have a
good administration, and if they lose the peoples support
there will be chaos. It is dicult to make people strive
their best if they cannot even see the potential benets
of their labour. This is exactly as described in this line
from the Classic of Poetry: 'One who helps the commoners and the people shall receive grace from Heaven.' I
urge Your Majesty to show benevolence towards the people and help them. We should implement these changes
only after the imperial treasurys revenue inow has increased. This will happen some years later.[Sanguozhi 39]

10 Role in the succession struggle

Once, there were vacancies in the appointments available

in the residences (or oces) of two of Sun Quans sons:
Sun He, the Crown Prince; Sun Ba ( ), the Prince of
Lu ( ). Many ocials then sent their relatives to ll up
these positions in the hope of getting acquainted with the
princes. When Quan Cong informed Lu Xun about this,
the latter felt that many of those candidates were actually
not up to standard. He argued that those ocials were
actually promoting nepotism and pursuing their personal
interests. Besides, if their relatives turned out to be incompetent, it could lead to serious problems. Lu Xun also
foresaw that conict was bound to break out between the
two princes because they were equally matched in terms
of power and inuence, and such situations were detrimental to a states well being. Quan Congs son Quan Ji
( ) became a close aide to Sun Ba, helping the latter in
the succession struggle against Sun He. Lu Xun wrote to
Quan Cong to warn the latter: If you don't learn from
Ma Midi and choose to let (Quan) Ji have his way, you'll
bring disaster upon yourself and your family. Quan Cong
9 Chancellorship
ignored Lu Xuns advice and their relationship became
[Sanguozhi 41]
In 244, Lu Xun succeeded Gu Yong as the Chancellor strained.
( ) of Wu. Sun Quans imperial edict read: I may When there were rumours that Sun He could no longer sebe lacking in virtue, but by Heavens grace I managed cure his position as Crown Prince, Lu Xun wrote a memoto ascend the throne. The Empire has yet to be unied, rial to Sun Quan: The Crown Prince is the legitimate
evil villains line the paths. I am lled with anxiety and heir apparent so he should have a foundation as solid as
I cannot rest well at night. You are endowed with great hard rock. The Prince of Lu is a vassal and a subject
intelligence and wisdom, and your brilliance and moral of the state, so he should receive less favours than the
virtues are clearly apparent. You have taken up mili- Crown Prince. If both of them know their places, Your
tary appointments and have defended the state well in Majesty and all the subjects will have peace. I humbly
times of peril. Those who have achieved unprecedented kowtow and beg Your Majesty, to the point of bleeding
glory shall receive betting honours and favours; those (from my forehead), to consider this issue carefully. He
who possess talents in civil and military arts will certainly sent several memorials to Sun Quan and even requested
have to shoulder the responsibilities of administering a to leave Wuchang ( ; present-day Ezhou, Hubei) and
state. In the past, Yi Yin and L Shang assisted King go to the capital to speak up on this problem. Sun Quan
Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou respectively. You denied him permission. Lu Xuns maternal nephews Gu
are in charge of both internal and external aairs. To- Tan, Gu Cheng ( ) and Yao Xin ( ), who supported
day, I appoint you as Chancellor and authorise Fu Chang Sun He during the succession struggle, were sent into ex), who had
( ), acting-Minister of Ceremonies and Bearer of the ile. Wu Can, the Crown Princes Tutor (
Imperial Scepter (
), to bestow upon you the of- been exchanging letters with Lu Xun, was imprisoned and
cial seal of the Chancellor. You are expected to promote later executed.[Sanguozhi 42]

10

10.1

16 NOTES

Death and aftermath

Wu during the reign of the last Wu emperor Sun Hao. Lu

Kang had six sons: Lu Yan ( ), Lu Jing ( ), Lu Xuan
Sun Quan repeatedly sent emissaries to Wuchang ( ; ( ), Lu Ji ( ), Lu Yun ( )[Sanguozhi 48] and Lu Dan
present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to reprimand Lu Xun for his ( ).[Sanguozhi zhu 10][lower-alpha 4]
involvement in the succession struggle. Lu Xun died in Lu Xuns younger brother, Lu Mao, also served as an ofanger and frustration at the age of 63 (by East Asian age cial in Eastern Wu.[Sanguozhi 49]
reckoning). His family did not own much property when
he died. He was later granted the posthumous title of Lu Ji, a son of Lu Xuns granduncle Lu Kang ( ), was
Marquis Zhao ( ; literally illustrious marquis) by one of the 24 Filial Exemplars and served as an ocial
under Sun Quan.[Sanguozhi 50] Lu Ji was actually a cousin
Sun Xiu, the third emperor of Wu.[Sanguozhi 43]
of Lu Xuns father, but he was born about ve years later
The succession struggle concluded in 250 (ve years after than Lu Xun.
Lu Xuns death) with Sun Quan deposing Sun He and replacing him with Sun Liang, and forcing Sun Ba to com- Lu Kai, a distant nephew of Lu Xun, also served as a
[Sanguozhi 51]
mit suicide. Many ocials who were involved in the con- politician in Eastern Wu.
ict (i.e. supported either Sun He or Sun Ba) met with
unhappy ends.[Sanguozhi 44]

13 In ction

11

Appraisal

When Ji Yan ( ) proposed introducing drastic reforms

in the Wu administration (which included the dismissal of
many ocials he deemed incompetent), Lu Xun cautioned Sun Quan against that and accurately predicted that
it would lead to problems. Lu Xun once told Zhuge Ke, I
respect those who are superior to me in position; I assist
those subordinate to me. I see that you behave arrogantly
in front of those superior to you, and you belittle those
subordinate to you. This is not the way to build a stable career. In another incident, one Yang Zhu ( ) from
Guangling ( ) became famous in his youth, but Lu Xun
predicted that he was doomed to failure, so he advised
Yang Zhus elder brother, Yang Mu ( ), to break ties
with Yang Zhu. Lu Xuns prediction came true as Yang
Zhu later got into trouble during the Sun He-Sun Ba succession struggle.[Sanguozhi 45]

Lu Xun appeared as a character in the historical novel

Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong,
which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. His most signicant
moment in the novel, apart from his role in the Battle
of Xiaoting, is a ctional encounter he had after the
battle.[6][lower-alpha 5]

14 Modern references
Lu Xun is featured as a playable character in Koei's
Dynasty Warriors video game series, as well as Warriors
Orochi, a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and
Samurai Warriors. He also appears in Koeis strategy
game series Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, there is a

card called Lu Xun, Scholar General in the Portal Three
The historian Chen Shou, who wrote Lu Xuns biography Kingdoms set.
in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, commented on Lu
Xun as such: "Liu Bei was a hero of his time and he was
feared by many. Lu Xun, then in his prime years and be15 See also
ing relatively unknown, succeeded in defeating Liu Bei.
Lu Xuns brilliant strategies, when combined with Sun
List of people of the Three Kingdoms
Quans recognition of his talent, resulted in the accomplishment of a great task. Lu Xun was loyal, honest and
sincere, he died worrying about his state, and was perhaps
16 Notes
an important pillar of his state.[Sanguozhi 46]
[1] See Lu Su#Sun-Liu territorial dispute for details.

12

Family and relatives

Sometime in the early 200s, under Sun Quan's arrangement, Lu Xun married the daughter of Sun Quans late
elder brother and predecessor Sun Ce.[Sanguozhi 47]
Lu Xuns eldest son, Lu Yan ( ), died at a young age. Lu
Xuns marquis title was inherited by his second son, Lu
Kang ( ), who became a prominent general in Eastern

[2] Lin Xiangru was a minister in the Zhao state during the
Warring States period. He once successfully settled a
diplomatic crisis between Zhao and a rival state Qin. Lian
Po, a senior Zhao general, was unhappy because Lin was
appointed to a higher position in the Zhao court than him,
so he attempted to nd trouble with the latter but Lin
avoided him. Lin later told others that the subjects of a
state should maintain harmonious relations and cooperate
for the benets of the state. His speech reached Lian, who

11

felt ashamed of his own behaviour and came to apologise

to Lin. They became close friends and colleagues after
that.
[3] Kou Xun ( ) was a general who contributed greatly to
Emperor Guangwu's restoration of the Han dynasty in the
20s CE. He was later appointed as the Administrator of
Yingchuan ( ). Once, a soldier under another general,
Jia Fu ( ), killed an innocent civilian in Yingchuan and
was executed by Kou. This incident brought great embarrassment to Jia, who swore to kill Kou if he met the
latter, so Kou avoided him. Their conict was eventually
resolved with Emperor Guangwus help.
[4] See Lu Kang (Three Kingdoms)#Descendants for details.
[5] See Stone Sentinel Maze#Lu Xuns encounter for details.

17

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References

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) Sanguozhi vol. 61.

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[4] Shi Ji vol. 81.

[5] Houhanshu vol. 16.
[6] Sanguo Yanyi ch. 84.

Citations from annotations in the Sanguozhi

[1] (
:
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Lu Shi Shisong annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.

[3] ([
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Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).

Fan Ye. Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).

)

Luo Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms

(Sanguo Yanyi).

Sima Guang. Zizhi Tongjian.

,

[4] (
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Wu Lu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.

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[Han dynasty
Lu Xun] Enduring humiliation for the sake of
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(yiyuanyi.org/guoxue).
Retrieved 7 May 2013.
,
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(Translation: As a member of the traditional Confucianist
Lu family in Wu Commandery, Lu Xun had, throughout
his life, maintained his beliefs in the Confucian style of
governance [...])

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[50] (

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[1] Sun Quans biography in the Sanguozhi stated that Lu Xun

, died in the second lunar, month, in the eighth
, year of the,
Chiwu era during Sun Quans reign. This date corresponds
to sometime in early 245. Quote from Sanguozhi vol.
47: (
,
) Lu Xuns biography stated that
he was 63 years old (by East Asian age reckoning) at the
time of his death. Quote from Sanguozhi vol. 58: (...
,
, ...) By calculation, Lu Xuns birth year
should be around 183.

:
,

...

...

[46] ( :
,
,
Sanguozhi vol. 58.

, ,

Pei Songzhi. Annotations to Records of the Three

Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).

,
,
) Sanguozhi vol. 58.

[45] ( ,
,
,
Sanguozhi vol. 58.

[49] (

[44] (
,
,
Sanguozhi vol. 59.

[47] (

, (... )
[10]
,
...
,
, ...
Yun Biezhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.

Other sources
,

[42] (
,
:
Sanguozhi vol. 58.
,

?) Pei
, Songzhis ,

,,
[9] ( ,
,
,
, ,
,
Pei Songzhis annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.
,

[41] ( ,
,
Sanguozhi vol. 58.

[40] (
,
, :
Sanguozhi vol. 58.

[43] (

[8]: (
,
,
,[],
, ,
annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.

,
,

REFERENCES

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji).

:

,
,

) Wu Lu annotation in San-

[7] (
,
,
,
,
Pei Songzhis annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 58.

13

18
18.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun_(Three_Kingdoms)?oldid=720806529 Contributors:

Kowloonese, Olivier, Michael Hardy, Jusjih, Bkell, Jiejie, Xanzzibar, Everyking, SWAdair, Confuzion, LiDaobing, Paul August, Bennylin, Flxmghvgvk, Cmdrjameson, TonySapphire, Rintojiang, Chochopk, Tsunade, Miwasatoshi, Quale, Plastictv, Nandesuka, Eubot,
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Jia Xiange and Anonymous: 67

18.2

Images

File:LuXun.jpg Source:
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Public domain Contributors:
http://members.shaw.ca/jiuwan4/LuXun.jpg Original artist:
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18.3

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