Zhang Yi 張裔

Zhang Yi, courtesy name Junsi, was a man of Chengdu in Shu Commandery. He studied the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals and read widely in the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han. When Xu Wenxiu (Xu Jing) of Runan came into Shu, he said of Zhang Yi that he handled affairs with quickness and was of the same class as Zhong Yuanchang (Zhong Yao) of the Central Plains. Under Liu Zhang he was nominated as Filial and Incorrupt and became Chief of Yufu County; returning to the province, he was appointed Attendant Officer and concurrently Major of the Headquarters Guard. Records, Shu 11 §20

When Zhang Fei came in from Jing Province by way of Dianjiang, Liu Zhang gave Zhang Yi troops to resist him at Moxia in Deyang, but the army was defeated and he returned to Chengdu. Zhang Yi went to Liu Bei as Liu Zhang's envoy, and Liu Bei promised to treat his lord with courtesy and keep his people safe. Only when Zhang Yi returned were the city gates opened. Liu Bei made Zhang Yi Administrator of Ba Commandery, and he returned to become General of the Household in Charge of Metals, in charge of making farming tools and weapons. In the 25th year of Jian'an (220), after Emperor Wen of Wei had taken the imperial title, the Lieutenant General Zhang Yi was also among those who submitted a petition asking Liu Bei to take the imperial throne. Records, Shu 11 §20–21Records, Shu 2 §55

Before this, Yizhou Commandery had killed its Administrator Zheng Ang, and Yong Kai, chief of the local powerful clans there, whose kindness and good faith were well known in the southern lands, was in distant contact with Sun Quan. Liu Bei made Zhang Yi Administrator of Yizhou Commandery and had him go straight to his post. Yong Kai hesitated and would not submit, and, pretending to pass on the teaching of spirits, said, 'Lord Zhang is like a gourd jug: glossy outside but coarse inside, not even worth killing. Tie him up and hand him over to Wu,' and sent Zhang Yi to Sun Quan. Records, Shu 11 §21–22Records, Shu 3 §4

When Liu Bei died, Zhuge Liang sent Deng Zhi as envoy to Wu and had him ask Sun Quan, in the course of his talks, to return Zhang Yi. Since Zhang Yi had spent several years in Wu wandering and in hiding, Sun Quan did not know of him and granted the request. When Zhang Yi was about to leave, Sun Quan summoned him and asked why the customs of his country were such that a widowed daughter of the Zhuo family in Shu had run off with Sima Xiangru; Zhang Yi replied that the Zhuo family's widowed daughter was still better than the wife of Zhu Maichen. Records, Shu 11 §23

When Sun Quan further asked how Zhang Yi would repay him, since on his return he would surely hold office at the western court, Zhang Yi replied that he was going back laden with guilt and would entrust his life to the officials in charge, and that if by good fortune he kept his head, his years up to fifty-eight were the gift of his parents and those after the gift of the Great King. Sun Quan laughed with pleasure and looked as though he thought highly of Zhang Yi. As soon as he left the hall, Zhang Yi deeply regretted not having feigned stupidity, and he boarded his boat at once and pressed on day and night. Sun Quan did indeed send men after him, but Zhang Yi had already gone tens of li into the territory of Yong'an. Records, Shu 11 §24

When he reached Shu, Zhuge Liang made him Army Adviser (canjun) in charge of the Chancellor's office, with the concurrent post of Headquarters Attendant Officer of Yi Province. In the 5th year of Jianxing (227), when Zhuge Liang was stationed at Hanzhong and asked Yang Hong about employing Zhang Yi as Chief Clerk of the rear headquarters, Yang Hong said that Zhang Yi was naturally clear-sighted and good at handling complicated affairs, so his ability was certainly equal to it, but that his character was not impartial and he could not be given sole charge; it would be better to leave Xiang Lang. Zhang Yi, as Colonel of Archers Who Shoot at a Sound, concurrently served as Chief Clerk of the rear headquarters and took charge of its affairs together with Jiang Wan. Records, Shu 11 §25 · 32Records, Shu 14 §4

Zhang Yi and Yang Hong had been close when young, but while Zhang Yi was in Wu, Yang Hong, who governed Zhang Yi's commandery, had not pardoned a minor fault of Zhang Yi's son Zhang Yu, who was serving as a commandery clerk, and their friendship had been damaged. When Yang Hong told Zhang Yi everything he had said to Zhuge Liang, Zhang Yi answered that since the Duke had decided to leave him, the matter was settled, and even Yang Hong as Administrator could not stop it. Later, when Zhang Yi fell out with the Colonel in Charge of Salt Cen Shu and came to bear a grudge, Zhuge Liang wrote to him that when his camp was broken at Moxia and when he was wandering in the Southern Sea, he had been anxious and sorrowful for him, and that on his return he had entrusted him with great responsibilities; he asked whether Zhang Yi could not bear it when all Zhuge Liang had done was to place his trust in Yuanjian (Cen Shu). Records, Shu 11 §32–34

Zhang Yi always praised Zhuge Liang, saying that in rewarding he did not overlook those far away and in punishing he did not favour those close to him, that titles could not be gained without merit and punishments could not be escaped through rank or power, and that this was why the worthy and the foolish alike forgot themselves in their efforts. The following year, when he went north to consult Zhuge Liang on affairs, several hundred people saw him off and their carriages filled the road; he wrote to a friend that people were showing respect to the Chief Clerk of the Chancellor, and the fellow Zhang Junsi was merely attached to it, so that he was tired to death. Chen Shou wrote that his witty way with words was always like this. Zhuge Liang also wrote from Hanzhong to the Chief Clerk of the rear headquarters Zhang Yi and the Army Adviser Jiang Wan praising Jiang Wei. Records, Shu 11 §25–26Records, Shu 14 §31

When young, Zhang Yi had been friends with Yang Gong of Qianwei; when Yang Gong died early, leaving a child of only a few years, Zhang Yi took the child in, shared his house with him, and served Yang Gong's mother as his own mother. When the child grew up, Zhang Yi found him a wife and bought him fields and a house so that he could establish his own household, and he looked after old friends and relieved declining kinsmen. He was given the additional title of General Who Supports the Han, continuing as Chief Clerk as before, and died in the 8th year of Jianxing (230). His son Zhang Mu succeeded him and served as Administrator of three commanderies and as Army Supervisor, and Zhang Mu's younger brother Zhang Yu became Palace Companion to the Heir Apparent. Records, Shu 11 §26

In his assessment Chen Shou named him together with Huo Jun, Wang Lian, Xiang Lang, Yang Hong and Fei Shi, saying that 'Zhang Yi responded with quickness and dealt with matters supremely well', and that all of them had something worth recording. The Eulogies of the Ministers of Ji-Han, written by Yang Xi in the 4th year of Yanxi (241), praised him: 'The General Who Supports the Han was intelligent, both quick-witted and kind.' Records, Shu 11 §50Records, Shu 15 §33 · 57