Xiang Chǒng | |
|---|---|
| 向寵 | |
 | |
| Commandant of the Central Army (中領軍) | |
| In office ? – 240 (240) | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Central Chief Controller (中都督) | |
| In office 223 (223) – ? | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Officer of the Standard (牙門將) | |
| In office ? – 223 (223) | |
| Monarch | Liu Bei |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 240 |
| Relations |
|
| Occupation | Military officer |
| Peerage | Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯) |
Xiang Chǒng (died 240) was a military officer of the state ofShu Han during theThree Kingdoms period of China. In theChu Shi Biao,Zhuge Liang named Xiang Chong as a capable subject of good character and someone well-versed in military affairs, and urgedLiu Shan to put Xiang Chong's talents to good use. He was a nephew of the Shu scholarXiang Lang.
Xiang Chong was born in Yicheng,XiangyangCommandery, which is present-dayYicheng,Hubei. His uncle,Xiang Lang, served underLiu Biao, the Governor ofJing Province (covering present-day Hubei andHunan) in the lateEastern Han dynasty and later under the warlordLiu Bei, the founding emperor of theShu Han state in theThree 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 theBattle 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, whenLiu 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, whenZhuge Liang, theImperial Chancellor of Shu, was about to launch the first ofa series of military campaigns against Shu's rival stateWei, he wrote theChu Shi Biao to Liu Shan to explain his reasons for waging war against Wei and giving advice to the emperor on governance.[3]
In theChu 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-dayLushan County,Sichuan).[5]
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]
WhenZhuge 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 emperorLiu Shan to advise him to build a temple for Zhuge Liang inMianyang.[7]
Between 240 and 262, when the Shu generalJiang Wei led Shu forces ona series of military campaigns against Shu's rival stateWei, Xiang Chōng and another official,Lai Zhong, served as Jiang Wei's subordinates.[8]
After theConquest of Shu by Wei in 263, the Wei generalWei 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 heardQiao 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-dayMianyang,Sichuan). And as the next year,Sima Yan became Emperor fulfilling the prophecy of "Yán Rising".[11][b]
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