Dong Yun 董允

Dong Yun, courtesy name Xiuzhao, was the son of Dong He, General of the Household Commanding the Army. According to the biography of Fei Yi, Fei Yi, then living in Shu, was as well known as Xu Shulong of Runan and Dong Yun of Nan Commandery. When Xu Jing lost a son and Dong Yun and Fei Yi wished to go to the funeral together, Dong He lent them a small deer cart open at the back. Dong Yun looked reluctant to ride in it, and among the splendid carriages of Zhuge Liang and the other notables gathered there his face was ill at ease, while Fei Yi remained perfectly calm. On learning of this, Dong He told Dong Yun that he had never been able to tell whether he or Wenwei (Fei Yi) was the better man, but now it was clear. Records, Shu 9 §26Records, Shu 14 §20–21

When Liu Bei established his heir, Dong Yun was chosen together with Fei Yi as a Retainer (sheren) to the Heir Apparent, and was transferred to Forerunner (xianma) to the Heir. When the Later Sovereign, Liu Shan, succeeded to the throne, he became Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (huangmen shilang). Records, Shu 9 §26Records, Shu 14 §22

In the 5th year of Jianxing (227), when Zhuge Liang was about to be stationed at Hanzhong for his northern campaign, he worried that the Later Sovereign, still young, would find it hard to tell red from purple, and wished to entrust the affairs of the palace to Dong Yun, whose heart was fair and clear-sighted. In his memorial he said that the Palace Attendants Guo Youzhi and Fei Yi and the Gentleman Dong Yun had been chosen by the late emperor and left to the sovereign, that all affairs of the palace, large or small, should be referred to them, and that if they offered no words to promote virtue, Dong Yun and the others should be put to death to make their negligence known. Records, Shu 5 §24Records, Shu 9 §26–27

Zhuge Liang soon asked for Fei Yi to be made Army Adviser (canjun), and Dong Yun was transferred to Palace Attendant (shizhong), concurrently holding the post of General of the Household Rapid as Tigers and commanding the personal troops of the palace guard. Guo Youzhi was by nature mild and compliant and merely filled his post, so the duty of remonstrating and offering counsel fell entirely to Dong Yun. In handling affairs, Dong Yun worked to prevent and restrain wrongdoing and did his utmost to correct and rescue his sovereign. Records, Shu 9 §27–28

When the Later Sovereign repeatedly wished to select women to fill his harem, Dong Yun said that in ancient times the empress and consorts of the Son of Heaven did not exceed twelve, and that since the consorts were now complete, there should be no more; he refused to the end, and the Later Sovereign regarded him with ever greater awe. When the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Jiang Wan was given the additional post of Inspector of Yi Province, he submitted a memorial offering to yield the post to Fei Yi and Dong Yun, and petitioned that since Dong Yun had served in the palace for many years and assisted the royal house, he should be granted a title and fief; Dong Yun firmly declined and did not accept. Records, Shu 9 §28–29

In the 12th year of Jianxing (234), after Zhuge Liang's death, Wei Yan and Yang Yi each submitted memorials accusing the other of rebellion, and urgent dispatches arrived one after another within a single day; the Later Sovereign asked the Palace Attendant Dong Yun and Jiang Wan, Chief Clerk of the rear headquarters. Both vouched for Yang Yi and suspected Wei Yan. Records, Shu 5 §38Records, Shu 10 §61 · 63

As the Later Sovereign gradually grew up, he came to favour the eunuch Huang Hao. Huang Hao was a skilled flatterer and clever, and sought to worm his way in, but Dong Yun always corrected his sovereign above with a stern countenance and repeatedly rebuked Huang Hao below. Huang Hao feared Dong Yun and dared not do wrong, and as long as Dong Yun lived, Huang Hao's rank never rose above Assistant of the Yellow Gate. Records, Shu 9 §29

Dong Yun once arranged an outing and banquet with the Director of the Imperial Secretariat Fei Yi, the Supervisor of the Central Army Hu Ji and others, and the carriages had already been made ready when Dong Hui of Xiangyang, a Gentleman of the Palace, came to pay his respects. As Dong Hui, being young and of low rank, made to leave, Dong Yun said that he had been going out only to talk with like-minded friends, but since Dong Hui had come in person, it would not be right to abandon this conversation for that banquet; he had the outside horses unhitched, and Fei Yi and the others also stopped their carriages and did not go. Chen Shou wrote that his keeping to the right path and humbling himself before men of worth were generally like this. Records, Shu 9 §30–31

In the 6th year of Yanxi (243) he was given the additional title of General Who Supports the State, and in the 7th year (244), as Palace Attendant acting as Director of the Imperial Secretariat, he became deputy to the General-in-Chief Fei Yi. He died in the 9th year (246). Lü Yi replaced Dong Yun as Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Chen Zhi replaced him as Palace Attendant; Chen Zhi and Huang Hao supported each other inside and out, and only then did Huang Hao begin to take part in government. After Chen Zhi won favour, the Later Sovereign's resentment toward Dong Yun, whom he felt had slighted him, grew deeper by the day, and Huang Hao eventually wielded power until he brought down the state. There was no one in Shu who did not miss Dong Yun. His grandson Dong Hong was Administrator of Baxi under Jin. Records, Shu 9 §31 · 33 · 36–37 · 41

In his assessment Chen Shou named Dong Yun together with Dong He, Liu Ba, Ma Liang and Chen Zhen, saying that 'Dong Yun corrected his sovereign, and his righteousness showed in his countenance', and that all of them were among the finest ministers of Shu. Records, Shu 9 §45