Zhong Yu 鍾毓

Zhong Yu, courtesy name Zhishu, was the son of the Grand Tutor Zhong Yao. At fourteen he became Cavalier Attendant Gentleman; quick-witted and good at conversation, he had his father's manner. When Zhong Yao died in the 4th year of Taihe (230), he succeeded him. Before this, Emperor Wen (Cao Pi) had divided Zhong Yu's fief to enfeoff Zhong Yao's younger brother, son and grandson as full marquises. Records, Wei 13 §18 · 20

Early in the Taihe era, when Zhuge Liang, Chancellor of Shu, besieged Mount Qi, Emperor Ming wished to lead a campaign west in person. Zhong Yu submitted a memorial saying that in strategy what is prized is victory won in the ancestral temple, so the imperial carriage should stay to guard the central lands as a support for all four quarters; that if the great army went west, the costs in Guanzhong would bring more than one kind of loss; and that the heat of midsummer was no time for the Most Revered to set his carriage in motion. He was later transferred to Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. Records, Wei 13 §20–21

At that time the palaces of Luoyang were being built on a grand scale, so the imperial carriage went to Xuchang and the whole realm was to attend the New Year court at Xuchang. As Xuchang was cramped, halls of felt were set up south of the city and fish-dragon and manyan spectacles were prepared, and the people were exhausted by corvée labor. Zhong Yu remonstrated that floods and droughts came out of season and the treasuries were empty, so such things should wait for a good harvest; he also proposed reopening the wasteland within the passes so that the people could devote their strength to farming, and this was carried out. Records, Wei 13 §21–22

In the Zhengshi era he became Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. The General-in-Chief Cao Shuang raised an army in midsummer to attack Shu, but Shu held firm and the army could not advance. When Cao Shuang wanted to add more troops, Zhong Yu sent him a letter saying that a strategy that wins in the ancestral temple does not face arrows and stones, that a true king's army makes punitive expeditions but does not fight battles, and that to advance when it is possible and withdraw when one knows it is difficult has been the right way since ancient times. Cao Shuang returned without achievement, and Zhong Yu, having later displeased Cao Shuang, was moved to Palace Attendant and then sent out as Administrator of Wei Commandery. In the Zhengshi era he also recommended the recluse Hu Zhao together with Zhao Yan, Xun Yi and others. Records, Wei 13 §22–23Records, Wei 11 §107

While he was Administrator of Wei Commandery, Guan Lu called on him and they discussed the meaning of the Book of Changes together. When Guan Lu said that by divination he could tell the day a person would die, Zhong Yu had him divine the day of his own birth, and it was not off in the least. Zhong Yu was greatly startled and said, 'You are a fearsome man. I will leave my death to Heaven, not to you,' and did not have him divine again. Zhong Yu did not understand the meaning of Guan Lu's answer when asked whether the realm would become peaceful, and only realized it when, shortly afterward, Cao Shuang and the others were executed. Records, Wei 29 §78

After Cao Shuang was executed, he entered the court as Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk, Palace Attendant and Commandant of Justice. Allowing a subject or son to refute slanders against his lord or father once the latter had died, and forbidding the remarriage of the wife of a soldier who had become a marquis, were rules first created by Zhong Yu. As Commandant of Justice, Zhong Yu asked that Li Feng and others be judged according to law as guilty of high treason, for plotting to coerce the Most Revered and to kill the chief minister on their own authority; when the ministers and court officials deliberated and found that what Zhong Yu had determined was all in accordance with the statutes, Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan and others had their three sets of kin exterminated. Records, Wei 13 §23Records, Wei 9 §125–126

In the Zhengyuan era, when Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin rebelled, Zhong Yu carried the staff of authority to Yang and Yu provinces to proclaim the amnesty and instruct the gentry and common people, and on his return he became Master of Writing. When Zhuge Dan rebelled, it was debated whether the General-in-Chief Sima Wenwang (Sima Zhao) should go to Shouchun in person; just then the Wu general Sun Yi (孫壹) came to surrender, and some argued that Wu would not send out troops again. Zhong Yu said that in assessing the enemy one should measure others by oneself; Sun Yi had brought fewer than a thousand people and no more than 300 soldiers, so if the siege of Shouchun remained unresolved and Wu settled down, there was no guarantee that it would not send out troops. The General-in-Chief said, 'Good,' and took Zhong Yu with him. Records, Wei 13 §24–25

After Huainan was pacified he became Inspector of Qing Province with the added title of General of the Rear, was transferred to Commander of All Military Affairs of Xu Province with the staff of authority, and then became Commander of Jing Province. When he died in the 4th year of Jingyuan (263), he was posthumously made General of Chariots and Cavalry and given the posthumous name Marquis Hui, and his son Zhong Jun (駿) succeeded him. Records, Wei 13 §25–26

According to the Biography of Zhong Hui, Zhong Yu died in the winter of the 4th year of Jingyuan, but Zhong Hui never learned of it. After Zhong Hui rebelled and died, Sima Wenwang submitted a memorial stating that Zhong Yu had held posts at court and in the provinces and had handled affairs with merit, and had Zhong Yu's sons Zhong Jun (峻) and Zhong Chan specially pardoned and allowed to keep their offices and titles. Some said this was because Zhong Yu had once secretly warned Sima Wenwang that Zhong Hui relied on cunning and was hard to trust, so he should not be given sole command. Records, Wei 28 §129–130

In the assessment at the end of the volume, Chen Shou said that Zhong Yao was broad-minded and capable in handling affairs, and called him, together with Hua Xin and Wang Lang, outstanding men of their age who rose to the Three Excellencies when Wei first founded its state. There is no separate assessment of Zhong Yu. Records, Wei 13 §99