Jia Chong

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Jia Chong came from the Jia clan of Pingyang. His father Jia Kui was Governor of Yu Province under Cao Wei and Marquis of Yangli Village. Jia Kui had Jia Chong late in life and regarded the birth as a “joy that filled the gate,” so he named him Chong and gave him the courtesy name Gonglu. In 228, the second year of the Taihe era, Jia Kui died when Jia Chong was only eleven. Jia already acquired a reputation for filial conduct while observing mourning. After inheriting his father's noble title, he entered Cao Wei service as Gentleman of the Masters of Writing, handling the determination of laws and regulations and concurrently working on fiscal evaluation. He was later promoted to Gentleman Attendant at the Yellow Gate and Agricultural General of the Household of Ji Commandery. In 255, the second year of the Zhengyuan era, he joined the staff of General-in-Chief Sima Shi and took part in the campaign against the revolt of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin. When Sima Shi became gravely ill and returned to Xuchang, Jia was left to supervise the armies. After Sima Shi died, Sima Zhao returned to Luoyang to take power through arrangements made by Fu Gu and Zhong Hui, while Jia remained at Xuchang to oversee military affairs. His fief was increased by 350 households.

Service under Sima Zhao

After Sima Zhao took control, he appointed Jia Chong Army Major to the General-in-Chief and then transferred him to Right Chief Clerk. Newly in command of the government and worried that regional commanders might oppose him, Sima Zhao sent Jia to test Zhuge Dan's attitude. Jia raised the question of transferring the throne, and Zhuge Dan angrily rebuked him. Jia reported that Zhuge Dan would certainly rebel and advised an early campaign. In 257, the second year of the Ganlu era, Zhuge Dan did rebel. Jia accompanied the expedition and proposed the strategy of digging deep moats and building high ramparts. After Shouchun fell, he was promoted to Marquis of Yiyang Township. He was later transferred to the Court of Judicial Review and became known for his understanding of law. In 260, the fifth year of the Ganlu era, Emperor Cao Mao of Wei led troops toward Sima Zhao's residence. Jia led men to block him and ordered the crown prince's retainer Cheng Ji to kill the emperor. After Cao Mao's death, Chen Tai urged that Jia be executed to answer to the realm, but Sima Zhao refused and only had Cheng Ji and his brother put to death. Jia was rewarded by promotion to Marquis of Anyang Township, placed in command of troops outside the city, and additionally appointed Regular Mounted Attendant. In 264, the fifth year of the Jingyuan era, Zhong Hui rebelled in Shu. Jia, serving as Central Army Protector and Acting with the Imperial Tally, was appointed to command military affairs in Guanzhong and Longyou and was sent toward Hanzhong to guard against him, but Zhong Hui had already been defeated before Jia arrived. Jia then returned to court and took part in confidential affairs. Together with Pei Xiu, Wang Shen, Yang Hu, Xun Xu, and others, he enjoyed Sima Zhao's trust and was ordered to draft a new legal code. After the establishment of the five-rank nobility, he was enfeoffed Marquis of Linyi.

Assisting Emperor Wu of Jin

In 265, the second year of the Xianxi era, Sima Zhao became gravely ill and before his death told his heir Sima Yan that Jia Chong could assist him. After Sima Yan succeeded as Prince of Jin, he appointed Jia General of the Guards of the Jin state, with the rank of State Finance Commission and as Palace Provisioner, and changed his title to Marquis of Linying. Later that same year Sima Yan became emperor and appointed Jia General of Chariots and Cavalry, Regular Mounted Attendant, and Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, while enfeoffing him Duke of Lu Commandery. After the Taishi Lü that Jia had helped formulate was promulgated, the people were said to find it convenient. Sima Yan issued an edict praising him and granted one of Jia's sons or younger relatives the title Marquis within the Passes. Jia later succeeded Pei Xiu as Prefect of the Masters of Writing and was subsequently made Palace Attendant. He left office when his mother died but returned to duty within sixty days. In 271, the seventh year of the Taishi era, Palace Attendant Ren Kai and Secretariat Director Yu Chun, who disliked Jia Chong, took advantage of raids in Qin and Yong by the Xianbei leader Tufa Shujineng to recommend sending Jia to Chang'an. Jia deeply resented Ren Kai. Following Xun Xu's advice, he arranged the marriage of his daughter Jia Nanfeng to Crown Prince Sima Zhong and was thereby able to remain in the capital. He later became Minister over the Masses and Defender-in-chief and concurrently acted as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Recorder of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing. In 277, the third year of the Xianning era, he requested retirement after a solar eclipse. Sima Yan refused and instead enlarged Jia's fief, while his favor increased further.

Later Years and the Campaign against Wu

In the winter of 279, the fifth year of the Xianning era, Sima Yan launched the campaign to destroy Eastern Wu and appointed Jia Chong Bearer of Credentials, granted him the Yellow Battle-Axe, and made him Grand Commander over the six armies. Jia feared the campaign and submitted a memorial arguing that war should not be begun. Sima Yan threatened to lead the army personally if Jia refused, so Jia accepted and led the central army south to Xiangyang. The following year, commanders in Jing Province belonging to Wu surrendered. Jia moved to Xiang County and again memorialized for an end to the campaign, arguing that Wu could not be destroyed quickly and that epidemics were a danger. Xun Xu submitted the same advice, but Sima Yan did not accept it. By the time Jia's messenger reached Huanyuan, Sun Hao had already surrendered. After Wu was pacified, Jia was deeply ashamed and fearful and wished to request punishment, but Sima Yan merely reassured him and took no action. Jia's fief was increased by eight thousand households, and collateral descendants received separate enfeoffments. In 282, the third year of the Taikang era, Jia became gravely ill, returned his seals and ribbons, and retired. Sima Yan sent attendants to inquire after him and imperial physicians to treat him, while the crown prince and members of the imperial clan all came to visit. Jia died on the gengwu day of the fourth lunar month (May 19) of that year, stated in the source to have been sixty-six. While ill he feared receiving a bad posthumous name. His nephew Jia Mo said, “Right and wrong will reveal themselves over time and cannot be concealed.” The Erudite Qin Xiu proposed the posthumous name Huang, but Sima Yan rejected it and changed the name to Wu. Jia was posthumously appointed Grand Preceptor, and his funeral followed the precedents of Huo Guang and Sima Fu.

Jia Chong was born in 217, his father Jia Kui being inspector of Yuzhou under the Wei and marquis of Yangli pavilion. Jia Kui had his son late and said that in after days there would be the joy of a filled gateway, whence the son's name Chong and his style Gonglü. Jia Kui died in 228, and Jia Chong, not yet grown, was known for his mourning, inheriting his father's marquisate. He then entered the service of Wei as a gentleman of the secretariat, charged with settling the statutes and with the treasury and the assessment of officials; skilled at distinguishing the articles and weighing cases, he had most of what he proposed carried out, and rose to be an attendant of the yellow gate, a supervisor of agriculture at Jijun and a counsellor in the general's staff.

In 255 he went with Sima Shi to Lejia against the rising of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin. Sima Shi, gravely ill, returned to Xuchang and left Jia Chong in command of the armies; after Sima Shi's death Sima Zhao came back to Luoyang to take the power, Jia Chong remaining at Xuchang to oversee military affairs, where for his service he was given three hundred and fifty more households.

Sima Zhao then made him marshal of his staff. Wishing to test the loyalty of the provincial commanders, he sent Jia Chong to Zhuge Dan in Huainan. Jia Chong asked him whether the worthy men of Luoyang did not all wish for the change of dynasty, and Zhuge Dan rebuked him fiercely, asking whether he were not Jia Kui's son, whether his family had not enjoyed the Wei's favour for generations and how he could betray the state and give away its realm, and saying that should the emperor in Luoyang be in danger he would fight to the death for him. Jia Chong said nothing, and on his return told Sima Zhao that Zhuge Dan had long been famous in Yangzhou and could command men's loyalty, and that his preparations showed he would surely rebel; that a campaign now was a small matter but delay would bring disaster. Zhuge Dan rose as he had said, and when Sima Zhao marched against him Jia Chong advised meeting his best troops with deep trenches and high walls, which Sima Zhao adopted; after Shouchun fell Sima Zhao mounted the rampart to praise him and left him to settle the south, and Jia Chong was advanced to marquis of Yiyang district for his merit.

In 260 the Wei emperor Cao Mao, unwilling to wait to be deposed, came out of the palace with several hundred servants against Sima Zhao. Meeting his troops at the southern gate towers, Jia Chong's men dared not strike, and when the prince's attendant Cheng Ji asked him what to do Jia Chong said that the duke of Jin kept them precisely for a day like this and that there was nothing to ask; and Cheng Ji went forward and killed Cao Mao. Afterward Sima Zhao asked Chen Tai how the matter should be handled, and Chen Tai said that only by beheading Jia Chong could the realm be answered in some degree; Sima Zhao would not, and put to death only Cheng Ji and his clan. Jia Chong's part in the transfer of power to the Simas has been known chiefly through this deed.

When the Western Jin was founded Jia Chong long stood at the centre, taking part in the revision of the Jin statutes and in the settling of the laws, and serving as general of chariots and cavalry, vice-president of the secretariat, grand commandant and supervisor of the department of state affairs. His daughter Jia Nanfeng became empress to Emperor Hui, and the Jia family had great influence in the earlier Western Jin. He opposed the great campaign against Wu, differing from Yang Hu and Zhang Hua, and died in 282 at sixty-six, being given posthumously the office of grand steward and the name Wu. Later judgment of him has been bound up with the killing of his sovereign, his abilities and his services commonly overshadowed by that stain, which has made him one of the more disputed figures among the ministers of the turn from Wei to Jin.

Around the founding of the Western Jin Jia Chong's part in institution-building was notable. With Yang Hu, Du Yu and others he took part in revising the Jin statutes, a code that long remained in force under the Jin and continued to be applied in the Eastern Jin and the Southern Dynasties; he also directed the settling of the laws and the fixing of their form, laying the base of Western Jin legislation. He long served as vice-president of the secretariat and as a palace attendant, taking part in daily government.

At court he was on bad terms with Ren Kai, Yu Chun and others, quarrelling with them repeatedly over appointments, and he differed from Yang Hu over the campaign against Wu. To ease the tension at court the emperor brought about a marriage between the Jia family and the throne: Jia Chong's second daughter, Jia Nanfeng, was made consort to the heir apparent Sima Zhong and afterward empress, a thing of great consequence for the politics of the later Western Jin. He himself opposed the campaign against Wu as premature; yet when the emperor resolved on it he was made grand commander and went out with the army, and after Wu was subdued he was rewarded for it.

At his death the dispute over his posthumous name was sharp. The court scholar Qin Xiu, holding that he had violated propriety, indulged his passions and confounded human relations, proposed the name Huang; the emperor would not have it and settled on Wu. The dispute shows how divided the court's judgment of him already was: his services in institutions and government were allowed, yet the killing of his sovereign was not forgotten.

Discussion of him after his death has never ceased: some condemn him for the murder of his sovereign, others allow his contribution to institutions and government. His biography in the Jin History is fairly even-handed, recording both his ability and his services and his part in the killing of the emperor and his courting of the powerful; and later discussion of Jia Chong is usually bound up with his daughter Jia Nanfeng and the troubles of the eight princes that followed.

His family and marriage are worth noting too. His father Jia Kui was a famous minister of Wei, known for his uprightness, while Jia Chong took the opposite road, and the contrast of father and son is often discussed. His wife, née Guo, was famed for jealousy, and the quarrels of his household are recorded in the histories; his daughter Jia Nanfeng became empress, and her monopolising of power and her violence directly touched off the disorders at the Western Jin court. The Jin statutes he helped revise ran to twenty sections and six hundred and twenty articles, and their arrangement had considerable influence on later codes, the Tang code referring to the Jin laws in tracing its sources. He served Wei and then Jin through three generations of the Sima family, his career almost coterminous with their taking of the throne; in the histories his life appears in the Jin History, and together with the doings of his sons it makes up the picture of the consort kin of the Western Jin. Later discussion of the brevity of the Western Jin commonly traces it back to the emperor's making Sima Zhong heir and Jia Nanfeng empress, and Jia Chong's part in that is debated again and again.

Major Activities

Planning the Replacement of Wei

Jia Chong was a key figure in the Sima family's replacement of Cao Wei. In 260, the fifth year of the Ganlu era, Emperor Cao Mao led troops against Sima Zhao's residence. Jia led men to block him and ordered Cheng Ji to kill the emperor, removing a major obstacle for Sima Zhao. After Cao Mao's death, Chen Tai demanded Jia's execution to answer to the realm, but Sima Zhao protected him. Jia subsequently took an active part in planning the transfer of the throne, and before his death Sima Zhao specifically told Sima Yan that Jia could assist him. After Sima Yan became emperor, Jia was rewarded for his contribution to “establishing and clarifying the great mandate” with appointment as General of Chariots and Cavalry and Vice Director of the Masters of Writing and enfeoffment as Duke of Lu Commandery.

Formulation of the Taishi Lü

Jia Chong was ordered by Sima Zhao to formulate a new legal code. In 268, the fourth year of the Taishi era, the Taishi Lü was promulgated throughout the empire and was said to be convenient for the people. Sima Yan issued an edict praising it as having “lenient punishments and simplified prohibitions, fully carrying out the former intention,” and granted one of Jia Chong's sons or younger relatives the title Marquis within the Passes together with five hundred bolts of silk. The compilation of the new code was an important achievement in Western Jin legal construction, and Jia Chong played a leading role in it.

Campaign against Wu

In 279, the fifth year of the Xianning era, Sima Yan launched the campaign to destroy Eastern Wu and made Jia Chong Grand Commander over the six armies. Jia had not supported a southern campaign and repeatedly argued against it, but his advice was rejected and he was compelled to accept command. After Wu was pacified, Jia felt deep shame and fear, but Sima Yan did not punish him. The episode reflects Jia's military conservatism and contrasts him with advocates of war such as Yang Hu and Zhang Hua.

Factionalism and Exclusion of Rivals

Jia Chong exercised power in an autocratic manner and clashed with upright officials such as Ren Kai and Yu Chun. Ren Kai, Yu Chun, and others disliked him and tried to remove him from the capital by arranging an assignment in Qin and Liang. Following Xun Xu's advice, Jia married his daughter to the crown prince and remained in the capital. He later maneuvered to exclude Ren Kai, causing Ren to lose office repeatedly. Jia was fond of recommending men and continued to support those he promoted, so many scholars and officials attached themselves to him. This also fostered accusations of factional self-interest and drew suspicion from other court officials.

Personal Relations

• Father: Jia Kui, Governor of Yu Province under Cao Wei and Marquis of Yangli Village
• Mother: Lady Liu, enfeoffed Grand Lady of the State of Lu
• Wives: Lady Li (Li Wan), exiled after her father Li Feng was executed and later pardoned; Guo Huai, whom Jia married later and who was described as jealous
• Daughters: Jia Bao, also named Quan, married Sima You, Prince of Qi; Jia Nanfeng married Crown Prince Sima Zhong, later Emperor Hui of Jin
• Collateral grandnephews: Jia Chang, enfeoffed Marquis of Xincheng Village; Jia Zhong, enfeoffed Marquis within the Passes
• Nephew: Jia Mo, who said, “Right and wrong will reveal themselves over time and cannot be concealed”
• Sima Zhao: ruler Jia Chong served and who trusted him deeply
• Xun Xu: political ally who proposed the marriage strategy that kept Jia in the capital
• Pei Xiu, Wang Shen, and Yang Hu: trusted by Sima Zhao alongside Jia and involved in drafting laws
• Cheng Ji: subordinate ordered by Jia to kill the emperor
• Sima Yan: Emperor Wu of Jin; relied on Jia Chong, whom Sima Zhao had recommended before his death
• Cao Mao: Wei emperor killed by Cheng Ji at Jia Chong's direction
• Cao Huan: Emperor Yuan of Cao Wei; during his reign Jia was promoted to Marquis of Anyang Township
• Zhuge Dan: condemned Jia for betraying Wei and later rebelled and was defeated
• Ren Kai: Palace Attendant who, together with Yu Chun and others, tried to remove Jia but was later repeatedly pushed out of office through Jia's maneuvering
• Yu Chun: Secretariat Director who publicly denounced Jia, saying, “Jia Chong! All under Heaven is in turmoil because of you alone!”
• Sun Hao: Emperor Mo of Eastern Wu, who mocked Jia by referring to the punishment appropriate for a minister who kills his ruler

Representative Works

• Collected Works in Five Fascicles: the histories record that Jia Chong "had a collection in five fascicles"; the two sources examined do not list the titles of the individual pieces or any surviving edition.

Anecdotes

After the state of Wu was destroyed, Sun Hao was moved to Luoyang. Received tradition records that at a banquet Jia Chong asked Sun Hao about the punishments of gouging out eyes and peeling off faces with which he was said to have punished his ministers in Wu, and that Sun Hao answered that such punishments were for ministers who murdered their rulers or were treacherous and disloyal, thus mocking Jia Chong for his part in the killing of Cao Mao. The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government and another account include this exchange; it belongs to the banquet narratives of the histories and is retold here as received tradition without expanding the details of the scene.

Historical Assessment

Western Jin and Contemporary Assessments

• Sima Yan: “General of Chariots and Cavalry Jia Chong understands and promotes the sagely intention and consults on the proper way.” (Book of Jin, Biography 10)
• Zhuge Dan: “Are you not the son of Jia, Governor of Yu Province? Your family has received the favor of Wei for generations. How can you betray the state and wish to hand the Wei house over to another?” (Book of Jin)
• Sun Hao: “A minister who kills his ruler, or is treacherous and disloyal.” (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, juan 77)
• Yu Chun: “Jia Chong! All under Heaven is in turmoil because of you alone!” (Book of Jin, Biography 20)
• Qin Xiu: “Chong violated ritual and drowned himself in private affection, thereby disordering the great human bonds.” (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, juan 81)

Northern and Southern Dynasties through Sui and Tang

• Fu Chang, Praise of the Lords of Jin: “In the crisis of the Duke of Gaogui District, King Wen of Sima survived through Jia Chong.” (Pei Songzhi's annotation to Records of the Three Kingdoms, “Biography of Jia Kui”)
• Fang Xuanling, Book of Jin: “Jia Chong, of base quality and given to flattery, was but a routine clerk with the brush and knife. Fortunate to meet a flourishing age, he occupied positions beyond his due. He drew a weapon in defiance of his ruler without a trace of hesitation... He was not only a rebel against the Wei court but also a criminal of the Jin house.”
• Li Shimin: “Thus Jia Chong, that vicious fellow, harbored treacherous intentions and seized power.” (Book of Jin, Imperial Annals 3)
• Li Deyu: “The Jin house overturned and seized the state of Wei... the confidant on whom it relied was Jia Chong alone. Yet Chong himself was not loyal to his ruler.” (“Essay on Yang Hu's Retention of Jia Chong”)

Song and Yuan Periods

• Su Shi: “In the past, when Jia Chong held power, all under Heaven was fearful... and thus the disorder of the Jin house was formed from this.” (Collected Writings of Su Shi)
• Wang Yinglin: “Jin usurped Wei through Jia Chong, and it also perished through Chong.” (Kunxue Jiwen, “Historical Studies”)
• Hao Jing: “Wang Shen and Jia Chong both for generations enjoyed Wei stipends, joined together to foment usurpation, personally took part in regicide, and first advocated the transfer of the throne.” (Continuation of the Book of the Later Han)

Modern Assessments

• Lü Simian, in History of the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, treated Jia Chong as one of the representative figures of political corruption in the early Western Jin.
• Tian Yuqing, in Aristocratic Politics of the Eastern Jin, discussed Jia Chong's role in the transition from Wei to Jin and regarded him as a key supporter of the Sima family's replacement of Wei.
• Modern scholars generally hold that although Jia Chong contributed to dynastic planning and possessed skill in legal codification, his involvement in regicide, flattery, factionalism, and pursuit of private interest had a negative influence on the political climate of Western Jin.