Puyang Xing | |
|---|---|
| 濮陽興 | |
| Imperial Chancellor (丞相) | |
| In office October or November 262 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu /Sun Hao |
| Preceded by | Sun Chen |
| Succeeded by | Lu Kai andWan Yu |
| Governor ofQing Province (青州牧) (nominal) | |
| In office 3 September 264 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Hao |
| Palace Attendant (侍中) | |
| In office 3 September 264 – 6 December 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Hao |
| General of the Guards (衞將軍) | |
| In office December 258 – 3 September 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu |
| Minister of Ceremonies (太常) | |
| In office December 258 – 3 September 264 | |
| Monarch | Sun Xiu |
| Administrator of Kuaiji (會稽太守) | |
| In office ? – December 258 | |
| Monarch | Sun Quan /Sun Liang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | c. December 264 |
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
| Courtesy name | Ziyuan (子元) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Waihuang (外黃侯) |
Puyang Xing (diedc. December 264),courtesy nameZiyuan, was a Chinese politician of the state ofEastern Wu during theThree Kingdoms period of China. He was the eighthImperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.
Puyang Xing'sancestral home was in Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡), which is around present-dayKaifeng,Henan. His father, Puyang Yi (濮陽逸), came from a humble background but had great ambitions. Puyang Yi befriendedLu Mao, who shared his wealth with him and other friends.[1]
When chaos broke out in central China towards theend of theEastern Han dynasty, Puyang Yi fled south to theJiangdong (orWu) region for shelter. He served underSun Quan, the founding emperor ofEastern Wu, and became the Administrator (太守) ofChangsha Commandery.[2] Puyang Xing was presumably born in the Jiangdong region after his father migrated there.
Puyang Xing was known for his scholarly talents since he was young. DuringSun Quan's reign, he started his career as the Prefect of Shangyu County (上虞縣; present-dayShangyu District,Shaoxing,Zhejiang) before being promoted to serve in the imperial secretariat. Later, Sun Quan appointed him as General of the Household for All Purposes (五官中郎將) and sent him as an ambassador to Wu's ally state,Shu Han. After Puyang Xing returned from his diplomatic mission, Sun Quan reassigned him to be the Administrator ofKuaiji Commandery (around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang).[3] During this time, Puyang Xing met and befriendedSun Xiu, Sun Quan's sixth son who was living in Kuaiji Commandery at the time.[4]
In 258, afterSun Xiu succeeded his younger brotherSun Liang as the emperor ofWu, he appointed Puyang Xing as Minister of Ceremonies (太常) and General of the Guards (衞將軍) and put him in charge of overseeing military affairs in Wu. He also enfeoffed Puyang Xing as the Marquis of Waihuang (外黃侯).[5]
In 260, a commandant Yan Mi (嚴密) proposed building embankments near present-dayXuancheng,Anhui to create an artificial lake for irrigation purposes. Many Wu officials strongly opposed the idea as they believed that it was too costly and there was no guarantee of success. Puyang Xing was the only person who supported the project, and he recruited all available manpower to start building the embankments. However, he incurred much resentment from the masses when many labourers lost their lives in accidents because of the dangers and difficulties of constructing the embankments.[6]
In October or November 262,[7] Sun Xiu appointed Puyang Xing asImperial Chancellor (丞相). During his tenure, Puyang Xing and the generalZhang Bu, Sun Xiu trusting their mutual friendship to ensure they cooperated, backed each other as they monopolised power in the Wu government.[8] Their power grabbing behaviour caused both the government officials and the common people to feel very disappointed with them.[9]
When Sun Xiu became critically ill in 264, he summoned Puyang Xing into the palace, where he ordered his eldest son andheir apparent, Sun Wan (孫𩅦), to pay respects to Puyang Xing. At the same time, he held Puyang Xing's arm and entrusted Sun Wan to him.[10]
FollowingSun Xiu's death on 3 September 264, Puyang Xing did not install Sun Wan (孫𩅦) on the throne as he promised. Instead, he and Zhang Bu pledged their support to Sun Wan's cousinSun Hao afterWan Yu persuaded them to do so. Sun Hao thus became the new emperor ofWu. After his coronation, Sun Hao granted Puyang Xing the additional appointment of a Palace Attendant (侍中) and made him the nominal Governor ofQing Province (which was not Wu territory).[11]
When Sun Hao turned out to be a cruel, superstitious and self-indulgent tyrant instead of the wise ruler they hoped he would be, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu expressed regret over their earlier decision to put Sun Hao on the throne. Wan Yu heard about it and secretly reported them to Sun Hao. On 6 December 264,[12] Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu were arrested as soon as they showed up in Sun Hao's imperial court. Sun Hao then stripped them of their appointments and exiled them to the distant Guang Province (廣州; covering present-dayGuangdong andGuangxi). He changed his mind later and sent assassins to kill them while they were en route to Guang Province, and ordered the execution of their families as well.[13][14]
The third-century historianChen Shou, who wrote Puyang Xing's biography in theSanguozhi, commented that Puyang Xing deserved his downfall for not properly playing his role asImperial Chancellor, for monopolising power alongsideZhang Bu, and for heedingWan Yu's suggestion to installSun Hao on the throne.[15]