Huang Quan
Huang Quan, stylename Gongheng, was from Liangzhong in Baxi. When he was young, he worked as an official in the prefecture. Later, the Imperial Protector of the region, Liu Zhang, summoned him to be Master of Records (zhubu). At the time, the Aide-de-camp (biejia), Zhang Song was proposing the idea of inviting the First Sovereign to attack Zhang Lu. Huang Quan admonished, "The General of the Left has a great reputation for bravery and you are inviting him here. If you treat him as a dependent you can never satisfy his ambition, but if you behave towards him as your guest and equal, it will be difficult for one state to hold two lords. If the guest has a position safe as Mount Tai, the authority fo the ruler is unstable as a pile of eggs. Far better to close your borders and wait until everything is sorted out". Liu Zhang paid no attention and he sent Huang Quan away to be Chief of Guanghan. (RdeC) When the First Sovereign captured Yizhou, the various prefectures and counties saw the change in situation and submitted to him. But Huang Quan closed his gates and continued to guard his city. Only after Liu Zhang had surrendered, did he go and submit to the First Sovereign. The First Sovereign made Huang Quan his Lieutenant-General (pianjiangjun). Xu Zhong comments: Huang Quan had loyally tried to admonish his ruler and later continued to defend his city, thus he was received with dignity by a Sovereign. The Martial King [of Zhou] stepped down from his chariot to confer Bi Gan's tomb, expressing his respect for the Shang. This highlighted loyal and worthy men, and clearly showed that they were considered very highly. When the First Sovereign appointed Huang Quan as a general, it was a good move, but it was too little and was not able to manifest the high value of loyalty and righteousness as well as move, in a dramatic way, the hearts of good men. When Lord Cao defeated Zhang Lu, Lu retreated into Bazhong. Huang Quan said, "If we lose Hanzhong, then the three Ba will not be safe. This will be like cutting off a portion of Shu." Consequently, the First Sovereign made Huang Quan the Protector of the Army (hujun) and sent him to lead various general to welcome Zhang Lu. But Zhang Lu had already returned to Nanzheng in the north to surrender to Lord Cao. Later, the defeat of Du Huo and Po Hu, the killing of Xiahou Yuan, and the seizing of Hanzhong, all were based on Huang Quan's own plans.
The First Sovereign became Prince of Hanzhong as well as acting as Imperial Protector of Yizhou where Huang Quan was made Palace Attendant of the General Staff (shizhong congshi). After ascending the Throne, he proposed an eastward expedtion to against Wu. Huang Quan admonished, "The Wu are stout-hearted fighters; floating downstream we will advance with facility but it will be hard to retreat. I ask permission to lead the vanguard and make contact with the enemy. Your Majesty should stay behind to guard the rear". (AFang) The First Sovereign did not accept the advice and made Quan as General Who Suppresses the North (zhenbei jiangjun), supervising the troops on the north bank of the Yangzi to guard against Wei. The First Sovereign was himself position south of the Yangzi. After the Wu general, Lu Yi (Xun) rode the stream and cut the encampments, the army in the South was defeated and the First Sovereign retreated. Huang Quan could not return because the road was cut off. (AFang). So he led his troops to submit to Wei. The law officials [in Shu] requested that Huang Quan's wife be arrested. But the First Sovereign replied, "It is I that has wronged Huang Quan. Quan has not wronged me." Huang Quan's family was treated as before. Your vassal Pei Songzhi comments that Emperor Wu of Han used deceiving words and exterminated Li Ling's family. The First Sovereign rejected his law officer's advice and forgave Huang Quan's family. The second ruler's attitude on gains and losses far surpassed that of the former. The Odes say: "Joy is merely for gentlemen who protects another's family line", thus the sayings of the Master Liu. (1)
The Scholarly Emperor of Wei (Cao Pi) spoke to Huang Quan, "You have left the rebels to submit yourself to us. Do you intend to follow in the footsteps of Chen [Ping] and Han [Xin]?" Huang Quan replied, "I have abundantly received cordial treatment from my Sovereign Liu [Bei]. I could not surrender to Wu, nor was there a road for me to take and return to Shu, hence I surrendered to You. Being a general of the defeated army, I deem it my good fortune to have escaped from death. How can I pretend to emulate the ancients?" The Scholarly Emperor commended him for this. (AFang). He appointed Huang Quan as General Who Suppresses the South (zhennan jiangjun) and conferred as Marquis of Yuyang, promoted as Palace Attendant and gave him a seat in his carriage. Some Shu troops who had surrendered said that Huang Quan's family was punished but Quan knew that these were false rumours and did not hold mourning. Han-Jin Chunqiu: The Scholarly Emperor ordered Quan to hold mourning, but Quan replied, "The relationship between me, Liu [Bei], and [Zhu]Ge [Liang] is based on sincerity and trust; they clearly understand my mind. This news I presume to suspect as untrue, and request to wait. (AFang) After more detailed news had come, it had just been what Huang Quan said. When news of the First Sovereign's death had arrived, crowds of Wei officials all celebrated except for Huang Quan alone. The Scholarly Emperor observed that Huang Quan knew how to deal with situations effectively. He decided to test him by sending his attendants to summon Huang Quan. During the time before [Quan] arrived, he kept urging his attendants to hurry. The horses galloped quickly and being rushed, they often went in the wrong direction. Many court officials were frightened by the hurry and disorder, but Huang Quan later appeared with a calm complexion. Later he was appointed as Inspector (cishi) of Yizhou stationed in Henan. The General-in-Chief, Sima Xuanwang (Sima Yi) thought very highly of him and asked Huang Quan, "In Shu, how many are there that are like you?" Huang Quan laughed and replied, "Sir, I never knew you look upon me so highly!". Sima Xuanwang wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang which said, "Huang Gongheng is a very quick officer. Each time he sits or rises, he talks about you and never leaves room for gossip." In the third year of Jingchu or second year of Yanxi [CE 239] in Shu, Huang Quan was made General of the Cavalry and Chariots (cheqi jiangjun) with the same rites as the three Si (Situ, Sima, Sikong). Shu Ji: The Enlightened Emperor of Wei (Cao Rui) asked Huang Quan, "With the world setup as a tripod, where is the legitimacy?" Huang Quan replied, "Legitimacy is to be determined by the stars. Since the past, there was the 'Ying Huo Shou Xin' (2) and the Scholarly Emperor then passed away, while in Wu and Shu, the two rulers are safe and sound, henceforth here is your proof". (3) The next year, he died and was conferred the title "Bright Marquis" (jing hou). His son, Huang Yong inherited his title. But Huang Yong had no sons and so the family line was broken.
Huang Quan left a son, Huang Chong in Shu who worked as Gentleman of the Masters of Writing (shangshulang). He followed the General of the Guards (weijiangjun), Zhuge Zhan, to resist Deng Ai. Arriving at Fu county, Zhuge Zhan decided to wait and not advance. Huang Chong persistantly advised Zhuge Zhan that they should rush to seize the strategic positions and not let the enemy enter the flat terrain. But Zhuge Zhan did not accept the plan and Huang Chong was brought to tears. Deng Ai had driven deep [into Shu] and Zhuge Zhan fought with him at Mianzhu. Huang Chong commanded his soldiers very harshly. Seeing that they were certain to die anyway, they turned on him and killed him.
Translator notes
(RdeC) This passage came from R. de Crespigny, To Establish Peace, Vol. 2, ANU, 1996.
(AFang) This passage came from A. Fang, Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1, Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1956.
(1) Many thanks to Lucy Zhang and Franz Wong for their assistance in the translation of this commentary, esp. the translating of the poem from Shi Jing which was found to come from "nanshan you tai".
(2) Yin Hou is the name of Mars. Many thanks to Lucy Zhang who explained the meaning of "ying hou shou xin": "...ancient name for Mars.
Because of the distance of Mars from Earth, sometimes it seems dark and sometimes it is bright to the people
on Earth. When it is bright, ancient people think something bad is going to happen.....Ying Hou Shou Xin. Throughout Chinese history, this was known as the most unlucky view of astronomy. This is known as the
heaven's warning for punishment of the emperor because he did not do a good job. During Han dynasty, one
prime minister even commited suicide after viewing this incident. However, this is completely all superstition because Ying Hou Shou Xin simply means that Mars is in a specific constellation."
(3) Also many thanks to Franz Wong for putting it into context as well as assisting in the translation of this passage.