Zhong Yao (鍾繇, 151 – April or May 230), also referred to as Zhong You, courtesy name Yuanchang (元常), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His calligraphy was highly regarded as he was known as one of the Four Worthies of Calligraphy () in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
Life Service under Cao Cao In 202, when Cao Cao led his forces to attack Yuan Shang and his brother Yuan Tan at the Battle of Liyang, Yuan Shang ordered Gao Gan, Guo Yuan and Huchuquan to lead troops to attack Hedong Commandery (河東郡; around present-day Xia County, Shanxi), which was guarded by Jia Kui, an official under Cao Cao. Jia Kui could not hold up against the attack, so the people in Hedong Commandery offered to surrender to Guo Yuan on the condition that he would not harm Jia Kui. Guo Yuan agreed and captured Hedong Commandery, after which Yuan Shang appointed him as the commandery's Administrator (太守). When Jia Kui refused to surrender to Guo Yuan, the latter wanted to kill him but the people of Hedong Commandery helped Jia Kui escape.Zizhi Tongjan, vol.64
In the meantime, Cao Cao ordered Zhong Yao to recruit forces from Liang Province to deal with Guo Yuan and Gao Gan. Ma Teng, a warlord in Liang Province, responded to Zhong Yao's call and sent his son Ma Chao and an officer Pang De to assist Zhong Yao in attacking Guo Yuan and Gao Gan at Pingyang County (平陽縣; west of present-day Linfen, Shanxi). Pang De led the vanguard, slew Guo Yuan in the midst of battle and took his head, without knowing that the man he killed was Guo Yuan. After the battle, when Zhong Yao's men searched the battlefield, they found Guo Yuan's headless body. Shortly after, Pang De went to meet Zhong Yao and he threw Guo Yuan's head in front of him. Zhong Yao cried when he recognised Guo Yuan's head because Guo Yuan was his maternal nephew. Pang De immediately apologised to Zhong Yao, who replied, "Even though Guo Yuan was my nephew, he was an enemy of the state. Why do you apologise?"(魏略曰：德手斬一級，不知是援。戰罷之後，眾人皆言援死而不得其首。援，鍾繇之甥。德晚後於鞬中出一頭，繇見之而哭。德謝繇，繇曰：「援雖我甥，乃國賊也。卿何謝之？」) Weilue annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 18.
Service under Cao Wei Following Cao Pi's death and Cao Rui taking the throne, Zhong Yao was appointed as the Grand Tutor () of Wei in 226. As a student of Cai Yong, a famous calligrapher and intellectual, he also contributed to the development of standard script (kaishu), and is known as the "father of standard script". His famous works include the Xuanshi Biao (), Jianjizhi Biao (), and Liming Biao (), which survive through handwritten copies, including by Wang Xizhi. Qiu Xigui (2000, p. 143) describes the script in Zhong's Xuanshi Biao as:
According to Hu Zhao's biography in Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, Zhong Yao's calligraphy was widely emulated by contemporaries, alongside those of Hu, Handan Chun, Wei Ji (卫觊), and Wei Dan (韦诞).(昭善史书，与锺繇、邯郸淳、卫觊、韦诞并有名，尺牍之迹，动见模楷焉。) Sanguozhi, vol.11
Anecdotes After Zhu Jianping became friends with Zhong Yao and Xun You, the pair asked Zhu for a reading together. The prediction warned that though Xun You was younger, Zhong Yao would be the one left caring for Xun You's household. Zhong Yao joked that all he would do was to arrange a marriage for Xun You's concubine, but after Xun You died in 214,(攸從征孫權, 道薨) Sanguozhi vol. 10. Zhong Yao was left reflecting on the joke as he indeed looked for a marriage for the concubine. Zhong Yao wrote that Zhu Jianping's skill was greater than figures of the past like the Warring States physiognomist Tang Ju and former Han diviner Xu Fu.(追思建平之妙, 雖唐舉、許負何以復加也) Sanguozhi vol.29.
Zhong Yao also once said of Xun You, "Every time I plan something, I'll carefully think through it again and again until I'm certain that I can't make any more changes. However, after consulting Gongda, he always has new insights to offer." Xun You created 12 strategies for Zhong Yao. Zhong Yao died before he managed to finish writing a book about the 12 strategies, hence some of them were lost.(攸與鍾繇善，繇言：「我每有所行，反覆思惟，自謂無以易；以咨公達，輒復過人意。」公達前後凡畫奇策十二，唯繇知之。繇撰集未就，會薨，故世不得盡聞也。) Sanguozhi vol. 10. The historian Pei Songzhi thought it was a huge pity that Xun You's strategies were lost because Zhong Yao died at the age of 79 – some 16 years after Xun You's death – so he probably should have had ample time to finish writing the book.(臣松之案：攸亡後十六年，鍾繇乃卒，撰攸奇策，亦有何難？而年造八十，猶云未就，遂使攸從征機策之謀不傳於世，惜哉！) Pei Songzhi's annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 10.
Family Zhong Yao's grandfather/(皓孙繇，建安中为司隶校尉。) Houhanshu, vol.62 (biography of Zhong Hao) great-grandfather,Zizhi Tongjian, vol.60 Zhong Hao (), was a prominent scholar in the Eastern Han dynasty; the mother of Zhong Hao's paternal nephew Zhong Jin (; son of an elder brother of Zhong Hao) was a paternal aunt of Li Ying.(皓兄子瑾母，膺之姑也。) Houhanshu, vol.62 Zhong Yao's father/grandfather,Xianxian Xingzhuang annotation in Sanguozhi, vol.13 Zhong Di (), refused to enter politics because of the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions. Zhong Yao had two known siblings: a brother, Zhong Yan (), who received a marquis title, and a sister, who was the mother of Guo Yuan.
Zhong Yao had at least three spouses. The first, Lady Sun (), was known for being jealous of his other concubines and for seeking to harm them or make them fall out of his favour. Zhong Yao divorced her after he discovered that she tried to poison Zhang Changpu, a then-pregnant concubine. The royal family of Cao Wei tried to intervene the divorce but failed as Zhong Yao attempted to harm himself as an action of protest. He married Lady Jia (), the second spouse, as his formal wife after he divorced Lady Sun. Zhang Changpu maintained her status as a concubine up to her death.(貴妾孫氏，攝嫡專家，心害其賢，數讒毀无所不至。孫氏辨博有智巧，言足以飾非成過，然竟不能傷也。及姙娠，愈更嫉妬，乃置藥食中，夫人中食，覺而吐之，瞑眩者數日。或曰：『何不向公言之？』荅曰：『嫡庶相害，破家危國，古今以為鑒誡。假如公信我，衆誰能明其事？彼以心度我，謂我必言，固將先我；事由彼發，顧不快耶！』遂稱疾不見。孫氏果謂成侯曰：『妾欲其得男，故飲以得男之藥，反謂毒之！』成侯曰：『得男藥佳事，闇於食中與人，非人情也。』遂訊侍者具服，孫氏由是得罪出。成侯問夫人何能不言，夫人言其故，成侯大驚，益以此賢之。黃初六年，生會，恩寵愈隆。成侯旣出孫氏，更納正嫡賈氏。」...魏氏春秋曰：會母見寵於繇，繇為之出其夫人。卞太后以為言，文帝詔繇復之。繇恚憤，將引鴆，弗獲，餐椒致噤，帝乃止。) Annotation about Zhong Hui's mother in Sanguozhi vol. 28.
Zhong Yao had at least two sons. The elder one, Zhong Yu (), served as the Minister of Justice () and General of Chariots and Cavalry () in the Wei government. The younger one, Zhong Hui, was born to Zhang Changpu. He also served as a general in the Wei government and is best known for his role in the Wei conquest of Shu Han, one of Wei's rival states, in 263. However, he launched a rebellion in 264 against the Wei regent Sima Zhao, but failed and was killed by his soldiers, who started a mutiny against him.
Zhong Yu had four sons: Zhong Jun (), Zhong Yong (), Zhong Yi () and Zhong Chan (). Zhong Yi was raised as Zhong Hui's adoptive son because Zhong Hui was single and had no children. Zhong Yong was killed along with his uncle Zhong Hui during the mutiny and his family members were executed. In the aftermath of Zhong Hui's failed rebellion, Zhong Jun, Zhong Yi and Zhong Chan were implicated, arrested and placed on death row for their relations to Zhong Hui. However, Sima Zhao took into consideration that Zhong Yao and Zhong Yu had rendered meritorious service to Wei, hence he decided to let them preserve their posterity. He made the Wei emperor Cao Huan issue an imperial decree, which pardoned Zhong Jun and Zhong Chan and restored them to their original official positions and titles. Zhong Yi, however, was executed(會兄毓，以四年冬薨，會竟未知問。會兄子邕，隨會與俱死，會所養兄子毅及峻、辿。等下獄，當伏誅。司馬文王表天子下詔曰：「峻等祖父繇，三祖之世，極位台司，佐命立勳，饗食廟庭。父毓，歷職內外，幹事有績。昔楚思子文之治，不滅鬪氏之祀。晉錄成宣之忠，用存趙氏之後。以會、邕之罪，而絕繇、毓之類，吾有愍然！峻、辿兄弟特原，有官爵者如故。惟毅及邕息伏法。」) Sanguozhi vol. 28. because he was Zhong Hui's adoptive son and was hence not eligible for the pardon.
Wang Hun's wife Zhong Yan was either Yao's granddaughterTaiping Yulan, vol.517, citing Jin Shu, and Wang Shi Pu annotation in vol.19 of Shishuo Xinyu. or great-granddaughter.Jin Shu, vol.96
See also Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
Notes
References
Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu). Qiu, Xigui (2000). Chinese Writing. Translation of 文字學概論 by Mattos and Norman. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. . Wang, Yuchi. "Zhong Yao". Encyclopedia of China (Arts Edition), 1st ed.