As Jin Subject
As powerful Xiongnu nobles were usually encouraged or pressured by Cao Wei and Jin authorities to send their sons to the capital Luoyang (both to encourage them to further sinicization and as collateral for their loyalty), Liu Yuan was sent to Luoyang to reside and to study traditional Chinese literature. He became well known for his studies, particularly of the Zou version of Confucius' Spring and Autumn Annals and of the military strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. The key Jin official Wang Hun (王渾) (one of the lead generals who later participated in conquering Eastern Wu) became impressed with him, and Wang Hun's son Wang Ji (王濟) became a close friend of Liu Yuan's. Wang Hun believed Liu to be general material and repeatedly recommended Liu Yuan to Emperor Wu, but Kong Xun (孔恂) and Empress Yang Zhi's uncle Yang Ji (楊濟) suspected Liu for his Xiongnu ancestry and persuaded Emperor Wu against giving Liu military commands during campaigns against Eastern Wu and the Xianbei rebel Tufa Shujineng (禿髮樹機能). Eventually, even Emperor Wu's brother Sima You the Prince of Qi, impressed and fearful of Liu's abilities, encouraged Emperor Wu to have Liu executed, but Wang Hun persuaded Emperor Wu that it would be wrong. When Liu Bao died, Emperor Wu permitted Liu Yuan to take over command of the Left Tribe.
As the commander of the Left Tribe, Liu became known for his fair administration of laws and willingness to listen to ideas, and also for his willingness to spread his wealth. Therefore, the ambitious people in his region, not only of the five Xiongnu tribes but of many Han clans, flocked to him. After Emperor Wu's death and succession by Emperor Hui, the regent Yang Jun made Liu the commander of all five tribes, but toward the end of the subsequent regency of Emperor Hui's wife Empress Jia Nanfeng, Liu was removed from that position due to his inability to stop one of his countrymen's rebellions. Later, when Sima Ying the Prince of Chengdu became the military commander at Yecheng, he invited Liu to be one of his subordinate military commanders, and Liu accepted the invitation.
Read more about this topic: Liu Yuan (Han Zhao)
Famous quotes containing the word subject:
“In my experience, persons, when they are made the subject of conversation, though with a Friend, are commonly the most prosaic and trivial of facts. The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the character of individuals. Our discourse all runs to slander, and our limits grow narrower as we advance. How is it that we are impelled to treat our old Friends so ill when we obtain new ones?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)