Chen Qun 陳羣

His grandfather Chen Shi, his father Chen Ji and his uncle Chen Chen all enjoyed great renown. Chen Shi regarded the young Chen Qun as exceptional and said that this child would surely make the family flourish. Kong Rong of Lu at first was a friend of Chen Ji, but after he came to know Chen Qun he changed his manner and bowed to Chen Ji as to an elder, and through this Chen Qun's name became known. When Liu Bei governed Yu Province, he summoned him and made him Attendant Officer. Records, Wei 22 §11

When Tao Qian died of illness and Xu Province invited Liu Bei to take it over, Chen Qun tried to dissuade him, saying that Yuan Shu was still strong, that if Liu Bei went east he would surely have to fight him, and that Lü Bu would strike at his rear. Liu Bei went east after all and fought Yuan Shu, and when Lü Bu did indeed seize Xiapi and crushed Liu Bei's army, Liu Bei regretted not having followed Chen Qun's advice. Chen Qun was recommended as Abundant Talent (maocai) and appointed Magistrate of Zhe, but he did not take up the post and instead followed his father to Xu Province to escape the disorder. Records, Wei 22 §12

When Lü Bu was defeated, Cao Cao summoned Chen Qun and made him a clerk of the Western Bureau under the Minister of Works. Chen Qun said that Wang Mo and Zhou Kui, whom Cao Cao intended to summon, were of corrupt character and would come to grief in the end, and when the two were later executed for wicked deeds, Cao Cao apologized to him. Chen Jiao, whom he recommended, became a famous minister, and Dai Qian died holding to loyalty during a revolt by men of Wu, so the world held that he knew how to judge men. He also repeatedly denounced Guo Jia at court for not restraining his conduct; Cao Cao valued Guo Jia all the more, but also liked Chen Qun for upholding what was right. Records, Wei 22 §13Records, Wei 14 §43

After serving as magistrate of several counties, he left office on his father's death, and later, after serving as Attendant Secretary Who Handles Documents and as Military Adviser to the Chancellor, he became Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk when the state of Wei was established. When Cao Cao had the restoration of mutilating punishments discussed, Chen Qun set forth his father's argument that Han had abolished mutilation and increased flogging, so that punishments were light in name but in fact killed even more people, and proposed that some capital crimes be punished by mutilation instead. Zhong Yao was of the same opinion, but Wang Lang and others said it could not yet be put into effect, and Cao Cao, since the wars were not over and there were various opinions, set the matter aside for the time being. Records, Wei 22 §14–18

He became Palace Attendant and concurrently Clerk of the Eastern and Western Bureaus of the Chancellor. At court he showed neither special favor nor special disfavor to anyone and held to name and principle. Emperor Wen, when Crown Prince, treated him with the courtesy due to a friend and exclaimed, 'Since I gained my Yan Hui, my disciples have grown closer day by day.' When Emperor Wen became King of Wei, Chen Qun was enfeoffed as Marquis of Changwu Village and became Master of Writing; the Nine-Rank System was his proposal. Records, Wei 22 §19

When Emperor Wen became emperor, Chen Qun passed through the post of Deputy Director of the Imperial Secretariat to become Director of the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu ling), and was promoted to Marquis of Ying Village. When Emperor Wen wished to enfeoff the parents of the Empress Dowager posthumously, Chen Qun stopped him, saying that the classics provided no institution for granting land and rank to women, and Emperor Wen agreed. In the 4th year of Huangchu (223), together with Sima Xuanwang, he recommended Bao Xun as Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk. When Emperor Wen went to Guangling to attack Sun Quan, Chen Qun concurrently served as Commander of the Central Guard and took overall command of the navy, and on their return he became General-in-Chief Who Guards the Army, Central Protector of the Army and Intendant of the Affairs of the Imperial Secretariat. Records, Wei 22 §20Records, Wei 5 §12Records, Wei 12 §72

In the 5th month of the 7th year of Huangchu (226), when Emperor Wen fell gravely ill, Chen Qun, together with Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and Sima Xuanwang, received the deathbed edict to assist the succeeding sovereign. When Emperor Ming ascended the throne, Chen Qun was promoted to Marquis of Yingyin with a fief of 1,300 households and opened his own office, and in the 12th month of that year (early 227 CE) he became Minister of Works. When Emperor Ming first took charge of the government, Chen Qun submitted a memorial saying that ministers echoing one another and obscuring right and wrong was a great calamity for the state, and that its source must be cut off. Records, Wei 2 §52Records, Wei 22 §20–22Records, Wei 3 §4

In the Taihe era, when Cao Zhen wished to attack Shu by way of the Xie Valley, Chen Qun objected that even when Taizu attacked Zhang Lu provisions had run short, and that the Xie Valley was so rugged that the transport of provisions would be cut off; the emperor followed him. When Cao Zhen then proposed going by the Ziwu Road, Chen Qun pointed out its disadvantages, and when the heavy rains continued he proposed recalling Cao Zhen, and the emperor followed his advice. Records, Wei 22 §23–24

When the imperial daughter Shu died before she was a year old, and Emperor Ming had her buried with the rites for an adult, had the whole court wear mourning and intended to attend the funeral in person, Chen Qun asked him to stop, saying there had been no such thing since antiquity, and remonstrated that moving to Xuchang would also bring no benefit, but the emperor did not listen. In the Qinglong era, when palace construction made the people miss the farming season, he remonstrated that the present population was no more than that of a single large commandery in the time of Emperors Wen and Jing of Han and that Wu and Shu still remained, and the emperor reduced the construction somewhat. Records, Wei 22 §25–35

In Cao Cao's time, Liu Yi was implicated in his younger brother's plot to rebel and faced execution, but was pardoned thanks to Chen Qun's words. When Liu Yi thanked him deeply, Chen Qun said that deliberating on punishments had been for the sake of the state, not a private matter. He died as Minister of Works on the guisi day of the 12th month of the 4th year of Qinglong (early 237 CE); his posthumous title was Marquis Jing, and his son Chen Tai succeeded him. In the 4th year of Zhengshi (243) the court had him enshrined and sacrificed to in the temple court of Taizu. Records, Wei 22 §36Records, Wei 3 §48Records, Wei 4 §14

In his assessment Chen Shou said that Chen Qun acted in reliance on name and principle and had the refined reputation of the pure current. In the assessment of the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts, too, Chen Shou wrote of Chen Qun's argument against granting land and rank to the families of empresses and consorts that it was fit to serve as a rule for a hundred kings. Records, Wei 22 §108Records, Wei 5 §53