Chen Jiao 陳矯

Chen Jiao, courtesy name Jibi, was a man of Dongyang County in Guangling Commandery. Fleeing the disorders, he stayed in Jiangdong and Dongcheng, but declined summonses from Sun Ce and Yuan Shu and returned to his home commandery. The Administrator Chen Deng invited him to be his Officer of Merit and sent him to Xu, saying that opinion in the capital did not treat him fairly and asking Chen Jiao to look into it and come back to instruct him. On his return Chen Jiao reported that people near and far said the Administrator was arrogant and conceited. Chen Deng replied that he respected Chen Yuanfang and his brother, Hua Ziyu, Zhao Yuanda, Kong Wenju and Liu Xuande each for their virtue and talent, so how could he be called arrogant? Yet this same Chen Deng deeply respected Chen Jiao and made him his friend. Records, Wei 22 §58

According to the Biography of Xu Xuan, Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan both held key posts in the commandery and were equally renowned, but privately they were not on good terms; both were valued by Chen Deng, and together with Chen Deng they set their hearts on Taizu (Cao Cao). When Guangling Commandery was besieged by Sun Quan at Kuangqi, Chen Deng sent Chen Jiao to ask Taizu for relief. Chen Jiao persuaded him that Guangling, though small, was a place of strategic advantage, and that if it were relieved and made an outer bulwark, the schemes of the men of Wu would be thwarted and Xu Province would be lastingly secure. When Taizu, marveling at him, wished to keep him by his side, Chen Jiao declined, saying that he had hurried there because his home state was in dire peril, as if hanging upside down: 'Even if I lack the merit of Shen Xu, how could I dare forget the righteousness of Hong Yan?' Taizu sent troops, the Wu army withdrew, and Chen Deng set many ambushes, pursued them and inflicted a great defeat. Records, Wei 22 §68 · 59–60

Taizu summoned Chen Jiao and made him a clerk on the staff of the Minister of Works. According to the Biography of Chen Qun, Chen Qun recommended Chen Jiao of Guangling and Dai Qian of Danyang, and Taizu employed both; Chen Jiao eventually became a renowned minister, and the world held that Chen Qun knew how to judge men. Chen Jiao served as Prefect of Xiang County, Chief Clerk to the General Who Conquers the South, Administrator of Pengcheng and of Leling, and Commandant of the Western Division of Wei Commandery. Records, Wei 22 §61 · 13

According to the Biography of Cao Ren, after Jing Province was pacified, Cao Ren remained at Jiangling as acting General Who Conquers the South to resist Zhou Yu, and when 300 men under the company commander Niu Jin were surrounded by Zhou Yu's vanguard, Cao Ren called for his horse. The Chief Clerk Chen Jiao and others with him on the wall urged him not to plunge in himself, saying that the enemy was strong and there would be no harm in abandoning a few hundred men. Cao Ren did not answer, but sallied out with a few dozen horsemen, charged the enemy ranks twice and brought back Niu Jin's soldiers, and Chen Jiao and the others sighed, 'The general is truly a man sent down from Heaven.' Records, Wei 9 §36–38

When a man of Quzhou whose father fell ill sacrificed an ox in prayer, the county convicted him and he was to be executed in the marketplace. Chen Jiao said, 'This man is a filial son,' and submitted a petition to have him pardoned. When he was transferred to Administrator of Wei Commandery, the prisoners held there numbered in the thousands, some for years; holding it wrong to weigh only the severity of punishments while neglecting the harm of long detention, he personally examined all their cases and decided them at once. When the great army campaigned east, he entered the court as Chief Clerk to the Chancellor, and when the army returned he again became Administrator of Wei Commandery, then was transferred to Officer of the Western Bureau. He accompanied the campaign against Hanzhong and on his return became Master of Writing. Records, Wei 22 §61–62

Chen Jiao had gone ahead and not yet reached Ye when, in the 1st month of the 25th year of Jian'an (220), Taizu died at Luoyang. The ministers, bound by precedent, held that the Crown Prince's accession required an imperial decree from the Son of Heaven. Chen Jiao said that the King had died away from home and the realm was in fear, so the Crown Prince should suppress his grief and take the throne; moreover, the King's beloved son was at his side, and if trouble arose on either side, the state would be in danger. He at once assembled the officials and prepared the rites, settling everything in a single day, and the next morning, by order of the Queen, the Crown Prince was enthroned by written mandate and a general amnesty was proclaimed. Emperor Wen (Cao Pi) said, 'Chen Jibi, facing a great crisis, showed clear strategy surpassing others; he is truly an outstanding man of his age.' Records, Wei 22 §62–63Records, Wei 1 §171–172

When Emperor Wen became emperor, Chen Jiao was put in charge of personnel and enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoling Village, and was promoted to Prefect of the Masters of Writing. When Emperor Ming took the throne, his rank was raised to Marquis of Dongxiang with a fief of 600 households. Once, when Emperor Ming's carriage suddenly arrived at the gate of the Masters of Writing, Chen Jiao knelt and said that examining documents was properly his own duty, and that if he was not equal to it, he should be dismissed; he asked the emperor to go back, and Emperor Ming, ashamed, turned his carriage around. The Biography of Du Shu relates that when the Gentleman of the Masters of Writing Lian Zhao impeached the Left Assistant Cao Fan and said he would separately report those who should be implicated, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing Chen Jiao himself memorialized that he would not decline punishment, but would not make a show of humility by asking for a heavy one either. Records, Wei 22 §63–64Records, Wei 16 §54

He was given the additional titles of Palace Attendant and Household Counselor, and was promoted to Minister over the Masses. According to the Annals of Emperor Ming, he became Minister over the Masses from Prefect of the Masters of Writing in the 6th month of the 1st year of Jingchu (237) and died in the 7th month of that year. He was given the posthumous title Marquis Zhen. His son Chen Ben succeeded him, held posts as commandery administrator and one of the Nine Ministers, and as General Who Guards the North was in command of the armies north of the Yellow River; Chen Ben's younger brother Chen Qian became General of Chariots and Cavalry in the Xianxi era. Also, when Chen Jiao, as Officer of Merit, passed through Taishan on a mission, the Administrator of Taishan Xue Ti thought him remarkable and made him a close friend; Xue Ti later became Administrator of Wei Commandery and Prefect of the Masters of Writing, in both cases succeeding Chen Jiao. Records, Wei 22 §64–66Records, Wei 3 §51 · 53

In his assessment Chen Shou said that in the Wei era the affairs of government were concentrated in the Imperial Secretariat, and the Eight Seats and Masters of Writing held the duties of the Six Ministers of old; Chen Jiao, Xu Xuan, Wei Zhen and Lu Yu long held these posts. He wrote that Chen Jiao and Xu Xuan were firm, decisive and upright, while Wei Zhen and Lu Yu governed with clarity through their standards and discernment, and that none of them disgraced their posts. Records, Wei 22 §108