Jiang Wei

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Illustration of a Qing edition of the story of the Three Kingdoms .

Jiang Wei ( Chinese  姜維 , Pinyin Jiāng Wéi , W.-G. Chiang Wei ; * 202 in Tianshui , Gansu ; † 264 in Ba Shu ), came of age Boyue ( Chinese  伯 約 ), was a general of the Chinese state Shu Han zur Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China . He originally served as a middle-ranking officer in the Wei Dynasty army in the north, but joined the Shu regent Zhuge Liang on the first of his northern expeditions in 228 . Zhuge Liang was so impressed by his talent that he was soon appointed commander of an army. Under Zhuge Liang's successors, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi , Jiang Wei rose steadily until he finally became Fei Yi's main assistant. He succeeded Fei Yi in his position after Fei Yi's death in 253, but the military threats from the north made him insufficiently powerful to influence Emperor Liu Shan . Therefore his role as regent of the Shu Han can be questioned.

Jiang Wei resumed Zhuge Liang's campaigns against Wei, which Jiang Wan and Fei Yi had largely given up. He led some expeditions north, including one in coordination with Zhuge Ke , the regent of the eastern Wu dynasty , but he always had to give up because of poor supplies. In 263 Wei generals Deng Ai and Zhong Hui led an expedition to conquer Shu. After his early defeat, Jiang Wei tried to restore the Shu empire by inciting Zhong Hui to rebel against the Wei regent Sima Zhao . But Zhong Hui's soldiers revolted against him, and Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei perished.

Early life and career under Zhuge Liang

Jiang Wei was born in 202 in the Tianshui Headquarters (about today's Tianshui , Gansu ). His father, officer Jiang Jiong ( Chinese  姜 冏 ), was killed in a Qiang uprising when Jiang Wei was very young. Jiang Wei later decided to become an officer as well. He served the successor state of the Han dynasty under Cao Pi .

When Zhuge Liang began his first Northern Expedition against Wei in 228, Jiang Wei was suspected by his commanding officer of joining Zhuge Liang. When Jiang Wei and his troops left the city, he closed the city gates and refused to allow Jiang Wei to return. Jiang Wei was forced to fall away to Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was impressed by Jiang Wei's military talent and named him one of his senior officers the next year.

Under Jiang Wan and Fei Yi

After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wan succeeded him as regent. He also held Jiang Wei in high esteem for his military skills and appointed him governor of Liang Province (in today's Gansu), which, however, was outside of Shu's sphere of influence. However, this gave Jiang Wei authority over the north-western border of the empire. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, he was succeeded by Fei Yi, who made Jiang Wei his main assistant.

Jiang Wei wanted to continue Zhuge Liang's offensive policy against the Wei Empire, but Fei Yi had concerns. He only made a small contingent of troops available to Jiang Wei, with which he could raid the Wei positions in the border area, but not lead any real campaigns. Jiang Wei's only notable achievement was that he persuaded some non- Han peoples to join Shu Han.

As regent

Jiang Wei succeeded him in his position after Fei Yi's assassination in 253, but his influence over the emperor soon proved limited. The emperor was directed at court by the corrupt eunuch Huang Hao , who determined the empire's domestic policy. Jiang Wei only maintained complete control in the military sphere, but with Shu Han's effectiveness and internal security dwindling, he was unable to conduct a successful military operation.

Campaigns against Wei

Jiang Wei quickly resumed Zhuge Liang's offensive policy against the Wei Empire. That same year he prepared an attack coordinated with the Wu regent Zhuge Ke. Jiang Wei attacked the important border town of Didao ( Chinese  狄道 , in today's Dingxi , Gansu), while Zhuge Ke led his massive force against the city of Hefei ( Chinese  合肥 , in today's Hefei , Anhui ). The Wei regent Sima Shi correctly assessed Zhuge Ke as the greater threat and personally led most of the Wei troops to Hefei to meet him. He only sent a small relief force to Didao. Jiang Wei struggled with supplying his troops during his siege and eventually had to withdraw. Zhuge Ke suffered a devastating defeat at Hefei and had to flee. He died that same year.

In 254 Jiang Wei ventured a second expedition to Didao because the district administrator Li Jian ( Chinese  李 簡 ) had agreed to join him. However, Wei general Xu Zhi ( Chinese  徐 質 ) intercepted his march and inflicted a severe defeat on him that forced Jiang Wei to retreat.

Although officer Zhang Yi advised against it, Jiang Wei attacked Didao again in the summer of 255. His first operations against Wang Jing ( Chinese  王 經 ), the governor of Yong Province (雍州, today's Shaanxi ), were extremely successful. When he was almost completely defeated, Zhang Yi again advised that the attack be stopped. But Jiang Wei did not listen to him, and he was forced to break off the siege of Didao when Wei reinforcements arrived under the command of Chen Tai ( Chinese  陳泰 ). Shu and Wei's armies were stalemated throughout the winter. In the summer, Jiang Wei changed his strategy and wanted to move against the city of Shanggui ( Chinese  上 邽 , in today's Tianshui, Gansu), but Wei general Deng Ai stepped in his way and defeated Jiang Wei's army. After this defeat, the people of the Shu Empire lost their trust in Jiang Wei.

In 257 Wei had to contend with an uprising by General Zhuge Dan , who rebelled against the high position of the Sima family at the Imperial court of Wei. Jiang Wei used this opportunity for a new attack, this time against Mangshui ( Chinese  芒 水 , today's Xi'an , Shaanxi). However, he could not meet the Wei troops under Deng Ai and Sima Wang (司馬 望) in battle and withdrew after Zhuge Dan's defeat ( 258 ).

In 262 Jiang Wei started his last expedition against the Wei Empire, albeit against the resistance of General Liao Hua . His goal was Taoyang ( Chinese  洮陽 , today's Gannan , Gansu), but he suffered another defeat against Deng Ai. He withdrew to Tazhong ( Chinese  沓 中 , also in Gannan) because he feared he would be sidelined by Huang Hao on his return to the capital Chengdu . Perhaps he intended to use a strategy from Zhuge Liang: wait for autumn and let the soldiers harvest the grain. Jiang Wei's fear of Huang Hao stemmed from his unsuccessful summoning the emperor to execute Huang Hao that same year. Since then, Huang Hao has been looking for an opportunity to replace Jiang Wei with his friend Yan Yu ( Chinese  閻 宇 ).

Case of Shu Han

China on the eve of the Wei invasion of Sichuan (262).

As early as 258, Jiang Wei had developed a plan of what to do in the event of a Wei attack on the Shu empire. The border towns should not offer any resistance and the Shu troops should withdraw into the mountains. When the Wei troops are exhausted, the Shu troops should attack them. This contingency plan was approved and approved by Emperor Liu Shan.

Sima Zhao eventually grew tired of Jiang Wei's attacks. So he decided in 262 to hire assassins to kill Jiang Wei. Instead, on the advice of his strategists, he resolved to destroy Shu Han once and for all. He gave the command of the invading force to Deng Ai and Zhong Hui. Jiang Wei realized early on what the Wei Army was up to and asked the emperor to release all available troops to occupy the important passes on the northern border. Huang Hao consulted with soothsayers and advised the emperor not to do anything and not to respond to Jiang Wei's requests.

When the Wei attack began in 263, Jiang Wei was still in Tazhong. The Kaiser ordered him to put his 258 emergency plan into action. But much to Jiang Wei's amazement, the Wei Army ignored the border stations and went straight to the important passes. Jiang Wei quickly withdrew and tried to face the onslaught. After a few failures, he was finally able to stop Zhong Hui's army at Jiange ( Chinese  劍閣 , in today's Guangyuan , Sichuan ). Zhong Hui was already considering retreating, but Deng Ai led a small contingent of troops over dangerous mountain paths to Jiangyou ( Chinese  江油 , in today's Mianyang , Sichuan), defeated the Shu general Zhuge Zhan there and then moved to the capital Chengdu. Liu Shan thought the city was lost and surrendered to Zhong Hui, who treated Jiang Wei with respect and made his adviser.

Attempt to rebuild the empire and death

Jiang Wei soon realized that Zhong Hui felt superior to all Wei generals and even Sima Zhao. So he encouraged him to overthrow Sima Zhao, and Zhong Hui prepared his uprising. He sent a report to Sima Zhao falsely accusing Deng Ai of treason. He also added fake letters from and to Deng Ai. In 264, Sima Zhao ordered Zhong Hui to arrest Deng Ai and take command of his troops. He himself left the capital Luoyang for Chengdu with a force . Zhong Hui recognized the threat. He took over Deng Ai's troops and started the uprising.

Jiang Wei's plan was to persuade Zhong Hui to kill all of the Wei senior officers. After that, Jiang Wei wanted to kill him and his soldiers and declare the Shu Empire independent. He sent letters to Liu Shan explaining his actions. Zhong Hui was willing to kill the Wei officers, but hesitated to carry out this plan. However, when the soldiers found out about this, they revolted against Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei, who posted Zhong Hui's bodyguard against them. But they could not stop the soldiers, and in the confusion, not only Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei, but also Jiang Wei's wife and children were killed.

Source studies

The most important source for the life of Jiang Wei are the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms of Chen Shou (233-297), who served as an officer of the Shu Han until 263 and later under the Jin Dynasty as a historian his views and experiences about the time of the three Rich put down in writing.

In the 11th century, the historian Sima Guang created an extensive history work for the time from 403 BC with his summarized Zeitspiegel to aid the government . Chr. To 959 AD. For the time of the three kingdoms he made particular use of the chronicles of Chen Shou.

Historical evaluation

Jiang Wei is one of the most controversial figures in Chinese history . For example, in his Modern Chinese Edition of Sima Guang's work Zizhi Tongjian , contemporary historian Bo Yang cites seven sources, all of which judge Jiang Wei differently. Opinions diverge as widely as one can imagine: Pei Songzhi ( Chinese  裴 松 之 ) praises his sincerity and devotion to Shu, Chen Shou criticizes his costly campaigns, Sun Sheng ( Chinese  amm ) condemns him completely. But all of their views may constitute a correct analysis of Jiang Wei's complex character. Bo Yang himself abstains from commenting, but in a letter to a reader he later stated that all seven opinions were correct. Jiang Wei's campaigns drained the people of his strength, but he was indeed sincere and loyal, and risked his life in a vain attempt to rebuild the Shu Empire.

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This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 5, 2006 .