Su Lin 蘇林

Records Wei Courtesy name 孝友 Xiaoyou소림효우苏林

Profile
OccupationRScholar · Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryFactionWei
AppearsRBiography inBook of Wei
BornNative placeChenliu Commandery
ExistenceHistoricalMentionsR12

Profile

Su Lin was a man of Chenliu and a Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary of Wei. The Records give him no biography of his own; his name appears in a single line among the men of letters appended at the end of the Biography of Liu Shao, and in Emperor Ming's edict quoted in the Biography of Gaotang Long. Chen Shou recorded him, together with Wei Dan, Xiahou Hui, Sun Gai, Du Zhi and others, as one who wrote essays and rhapsodies that were fairly widely transmitted in the world. Records, Wei 21 §78–79Records, Wei 25 §107–108

During the Jingchu era Emperor Ming, worried that Su Lin, Qin Jing and others were all old and that there might be no one to carry on their learning, had thirty talented gentlemen-clerks selected to study the Four Classics and the Three Rites in separate groups under the Superintendent of the Imperial Household Gaotang Long, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Su Lin and the Erudite Qin Jing. His name does not appear in Chen Shou's assessment, and he does not appear in the Romance. Records, Wei 25 §107–108Records, Wei 21 §99

In the Records

Appending men of letters of the same era at the end of the Biography of Liu Shao, Chen Shou wrote that the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Su Lin of Chenliu, the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Wei Dan of Jingzhao, the Administrator of Le'an Xiahou Hui of Qiao, the Administrator of Chen Commandery Sun Gai of Rencheng, the Prefect of the Palace Gentlemen Du Zhi of Hedong and others also wrote essays and rhapsodies that were fairly widely transmitted in the world. Records, Wei 21 §78–79

During the Jingchu era Emperor Ming, worried that since Su Lin, Qin Jing and others were all old there might be no one to carry on their learning, issued an edict. Among the texts of the Six Arts, the edict said, the rites are the most urgent and cannot be departed from even for a moment, yet now the venerable teachers and great Confucian scholars are all advanced in years—who will carry on the way of teaching? Records, Wei 25 §107–108

The edict went on to order that thirty gentlemen-clerks of high talent who understood the meaning of the classics be selected to study the Four Classics and the Three Rites in separate groups under the Superintendent of the Imperial Household Gaotang Long, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Su Lin and the Erudite Qin Jing, and that the officials in charge draw up a full system of courses and examinations. It also encouraged them, saying that if any student thoroughly mastered the way of the classics, rank, salary, honour and favour would come to him unbidden. A few years later, when Gaotang Long and the others had all died, this learning finally came to an end. Records, Wei 25 §108–109

Chen Shou's main text does not record Su Lin's courtesy name, any other offices he held, or the year of his death. In the assessment at the end of the volume Chen Shou evaluated only Wang Can, Xu Gan, Wei Ji, Liu Shao, Liu Yi and Fu Gu, and gave no separate assessment of Su Lin. Records, Wei 21 §78–79 · 99Records, Wei 25 §107–109

Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.

Abilities

This person does not appear in the Romance, so only the Records score (Chen Shou’s main text) is given.

LEASTRINTPOLCHAVIRADPSCHDIPDIS
Records
  • LEA31
  • STR31
  • INT42
  • POL40
  • CHA42
  • VIR45
  • ADP45
  • SCH74
  • DIP40
  • DIS40
Each ability out of 100

Evidence by ability

  • LeadershipR31Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimated as a man of lettersWei 21 §79

  • StrengthR31Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimated as a man of lettersWei 21 §79

  • IntelligenceR42Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimatedWei 25 §107

  • PoliticsR40Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimated from his post of Cavalier Attendant-in-OrdinaryWei 21 §79

  • CharismaR42Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimated from his standing as a senior Confucian scholarWei 25 §107

  • VirtueR45Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimatedWei 25 §107

  • AdaptabilityR45Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimatedWei 25 §107

  • ScholarshipR74

    RHis essays and rhapsodies were transmitted, and as a senior classicist he was named to teach the Four Classics and Three RitesWei 21 §79Wei 25 §107Wei 25 §108

  • DiplomacyR40Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimatedWei 21 §79

  • DiscernmentR40Unverified

    RNo direct record — estimatedWei 25 §108

Records Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)

3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.

Allegiance history

  1. Wei · Records · Records vol. 21 「散騎常侍陳留蘇林」