Gu Ti | |
|---|---|
| 顧悌 | |
| Lieutenant-General (偏將軍) | |
| In office ?–? | |
| Monarch | Sun Quan |
| Palace Gentleman (郎中) | |
| In office ?–? | |
| Monarch | Sun Quan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Suzhou,Jiangsu |
| Died | Unknown |
| Relations |
|
| Children |
|
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Official |
| Courtesy name | Zitong (子通) |
Gu Ti (fl. third century),courtesy nameZitong, was an official of the state ofEastern Wu in theThree Kingdoms period of China. He was a relative ofGu Yong, the secondImperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Gu Ti was fromWu County,Wu Commandery, which is present-daySuzhou,Jiangsu.[1] He was from the same clan asGu Yong. In his youth, he became famous among his fellow townsfolk after he was nominated as axiaolian (civil service candidate).[2] When he was 14 years old, he started serving as a low-level official in the local commandery office. As he grew older, he rose to the position of a Palace Gentleman (郎中) and was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant-General (偏將軍).[3]
WhenSun Quan, the founding emperor ofEastern Wu, was in his twilight years, a power struggle broke out between his sonsSun He andSun Ba over the succession to their father's throne. The cause of the conflict was Sun Quan's failure to make a clear distinction between the statuses of the two princes. Although he already designated Sun He as the crown prince, he favoured Sun Ba and treated him exceptionally well. Gu Ti, along with the generalZhu Ju, often urged Sun Quan to followConfucian rules of propriety and ensure that Sun He, as the legitimate heir apparent, received greater honours and privileges as compared to Sun Ba. They spoke in a very sincere and candid manner. Their colleagues in the imperial court were rather taken aback by their response.[4]
Gu Ti was known for being very respectful towards his wife even though he spent little time with her. He often got home very late at night after work, and left home for work very early in the morning. On one occasion, when he fell sick at work, his wife came to visit him. He immediately instructed his subordinates to help him get dressed in proper attire and support him as he went out to meet his wife and ask her to go home. He earned much praise for his faithfulness towards his wife.[5]
Gu Ti's father, Gu Xiang (顧向), consecutively served as the prefect of four counties throughout his career and still held office even in his old age. Whenever Gu Ti received a letter from his father, he washed up, dressed properly, laid out a straw mat and knelt on it as he read the letter. After reading every line, he responded as if he was attentively listening to his father speaking. After he finished reading the letter, hekowtowed as if his father was there for him to pay his respects to.[6] When he received news that his father was ill, he shed tears and started sobbing.[7]
After his father died of old age, Gu Ti was so upset that he did not eat and drink for five days. He refused to change out of his mourning attire until Sun Quan forced him to wear a linen robe without padding as a replacement for his mourning attire.[8] Although Gu Ti had to restrain his grief so that he could continue with his career, he missed his father so much that he often drew images of a coffin on walls, set up altars, and started crying in front of them. He eventually died of grief before completing three years offilial mourning.[9]
Gu Ti had four sons: Gu Yan (顧彥), Gu Li (顧禮), Gu Qian (顧謙) and Gu Mi (顧祕). Gu Mi served as the governor ofJiao Province during theJin dynasty, succeedingWu Yan. Gu Mi's son, Gu Zhong (顧衆), served as a Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (尚書僕射) in the Jin government.[10]