Zhuge Jin 諸葛瑾

Zhuge Jin, courtesy name Ziyu, was a man of Yangdu County in Langya. At the end of the Han he fled the disorder to Jiangdong. When Sun Ce died, Hong Zi of Qu'e, the husband of Sun Quan's elder sister, met him, thought him remarkable and recommended him to Sun Quan, and Zhuge Jin was treated as a guest together with Lu Su and others. The Biography of the Lord of Wu likewise records that when Sun Quan gathered renowned scholars, Lu Su, Zhuge Jin and others first became his guests. He later became Sun Quan's Chief Clerk and was transferred to Central Major. Records, Wu 7 §51Records, Wu 2 §5

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215) Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin to Shu to establish friendly relations with Liu Bei. Zhuge Jin met his younger brother Zhuge Liang only at official gatherings and did not see him privately after withdrawing. According to the Biography of the Lord of Wu, when Liu Bei had taken Yi Province, Sun Quan had Zhuge Jin ask for the return of the commanderies of Jing Province, but Liu Bei refused, saying that he would give all of Jing Province once he had pacified Liang Province (Liangzhou). Later, when Cao Cao entered Hanzhong and Liu Bei sued for peace, Sun Quan again had Zhuge Jin reply, and Jing Province was divided: the land east of Changsha, Jiangxia and Guiyang belonged to Sun Quan, and the land west of Nan Commandery, Lingling and Wuling to Liu Bei. Records, Wu 7 §51Records, Wu 2 §19 · 21

When Zhuge Jin remonstrated with Sun Quan, he never pressed him sharply but only hinted at the general drift of his meaning; if they did not agree, he moved on to another subject and then returned to the point by drawing on some similar matter, so that Sun Quan's mind was often eased. Sun Quan bore a grudge against Zhu Zhi, the Administrator of Wu Commandery who had recommended him, but because he had always respected him he could not bring himself to reproach him. Zhuge Jin wrote a letter in Sun Quan's presence discussing the principles of things at large and conveying his reading of Zhu Zhi's heart, and Sun Quan laughed with pleasure and said, 'My mind is eased.' Records, Wu 7 §52–53

When the Colonel Yin Mo was charged with an unfathomable crime and Sun Quan's anger grew the more the ministers spoke for him, Zhuge Jin alone kept silent. When Sun Quan asked why, he rose from his seat and answered that he, together with Yin Mo and others, had come to submit to the sage's transforming rule after their home province was overturned, and that because he had failed to supervise and encourage Yin Mo and so let him fall into crime, he had no time even to apologise for his own fault and dared not say anything. Sun Quan was moved and pardoned Yin Mo for his sake. Records, Wu 7 §53–54

He later took part in the campaign against Guan Yu and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xuancheng, and as General Who Pacifies the South he replaced Lü Meng as acting Administrator of Nan Commandery and was stationed at Gong'an. When Liu Bei attacked Wu in the east and the King of Wu sought peace, Zhuge Jin sent Liu Bei a letter asking how his bond with Guan Yu compared with that with the late emperor, how the size of Jing Province compared with all the land within the seas, and, if both were enemies, which should come first. At that time someone said that Zhuge Jin had separately sent a trusted man to exchange messages with Liu Bei, but Sun Quan said, 'Ziyu and I have sworn an oath that neither death nor life will change,' and that he would not betray him. Records, Wu 7 §55–56

In the 1st year of Huangwu (222) he was promoted to General of the Left, supervised Gong'an, was granted the tally, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wanling. In the 9th month of that year, when Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang and others of Wei besieged Nan Commandery, Zhuge Jin went to its relief together with Pan Zhang and Yang Can. According to the Biography of Xiahou Shang, Zhuge Jin crossed to a sandbar in the middle of the river and divided his naval forces there, but Xiahou Shang secretly crossed downstream at night with many oil-soaked boats and more than ten thousand infantry and cavalry, burned those boats, and attacked by land and water and defeated him. The city did not fall, and when a great epidemic broke out the Wei army returned. Records, Wu 7 §56Records, Wu 2 §41–42Records, Wei 9 §94–95

According to the Annals of Emperor Ming of Wei, in the 8th month of the 7th year of Huangchu (226) Zhuge Jin, Zhang Ba and others raided Xiangyang but were defeated by Sima Yi, and Zhang Ba was beheaded. Zhuge Jin had a fine bearing, thoughtfulness and magnanimity, and the people of his time admired his generosity and elegance; Sun Quan consulted him whenever there was a major matter. After Cao Pi died, regarding a memorial from Lu Xun saying that Wei was instead quiet, Sun Quan separately revealed his thoughts to Zhuge Jin: Cao Rui was not the equal of Cao Pi, and if men such as Chen Changwen and Cao Zidan shared power they would quarrel with one another, so on this one matter Lu Xun seemed to fall a little short. Records, Wei 3 §3–4Records, Wu 7 §58–62

When Yu Fan was banished for his wild frankness, Zhuge Jin alone spoke up for him many times. Yu Fan wrote to a close friend that 'Lord Zhuge is sincere and benevolent, taking Heaven as his model and giving life to all things,' and that thanks to his fair counsel he had been able to keep his lot. Records, Wu 7 §57

When Sun Quan assumed the imperial title, Zhuge Jin became General-in-Chief and Left Protector-General and concurrently Governor of Yu Province. In the 5th month of the 3rd year of Jiahe (234) he was stationed at Jiangxia and Miankou together with Lu Xun. In the 5th year of Jiahe (236), when Sun Quan campaigned north, he attacked Xiangyang together with Lu Xun, and when Han Bian, sent by Lu Xun, was captured by the enemy, Zhuge Jin was greatly alarmed and wrote that they must leave at once. When Lu Xun did not reply but had turnips and beans planted and played weiqi as usual, Zhuge Jin said, 'Boyan is rich in stratagems; there must be a reason,' and went to see him in person. The two secretly laid a plan: Zhuge Jin commanded the boats while Lu Xun made as if to advance on the city of Xiangyang and then withdrew to the boats, and the enemy did not dare to attack. Records, Wu 7 §63Records, Wu 2 §77Records, Wu 13 §43–45

After Lü Yi was executed, Sun Quan issued an edict reproaching Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, Lü Dai and others for leaving it to others to offer their views on the grounds that they did not handle affairs of the people; Zhuge Jin each time answered according to the matter, and his words were courteous and his reasoning sound. His son Zhuge Ke enjoyed a great reputation in his day and was highly valued by Sun Quan, but Zhuge Jin always disapproved of him and worried that he was not a son who would preserve the family. Records, Wu 2 §88Records, Wu 7 §63

In the 4th month of the 4th year of Chiwu (241) the General-in-Chief Zhuge Jin took Zhazhong, and he died in the intercalary month of that year at the age of sixty-eight. He left instructions that he be laid in a plain coffin in his everyday clothes and that the funeral be kept simple. Because Zhuge Ke had already been enfeoffed as a marquis in his own right, Zhuge Ke's younger brother Zhuge Rong inherited the title and was stationed at Gong'an. Records, Wu 2 §95–96Records, Wu 7 §63 · 65

In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi were both valued in their time for their virtue, magnanimity, propriety and restraint. Records, Wu 7 §100