Zheng Xuan 鄭玄

At the age of twenty-nine Cui Yan went with Gongsun Fang and others to study under Zheng Xuan. Before he had studied for a full year, the Yellow Turbans of Xu Province attacked and overran Beihai, and Zheng Xuan went with his disciples to Mount Buqi to take refuge from the turmoil. When even the grain that could be bought in the county ran out, Zheng Xuan took leave of his students and sent them home, and Cui Yan wandered for four years, with bandits everywhere and the roads blocked, before returning home. Records, Wei 12 §2–3

Many others also studied under him. Guo Yuan, after taking Zheng Xuan as his teacher, took refuge in Liaodong with Bing Yuan, Guan Ning and others, and later took charge of the agricultural garrisons under Cao Cao. Cheng Bing, after studying under Zheng Xuan, took refuge in Jiao Province, where he discussed the great principles of the classics with Liu Xi, and later became Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent of Wu. Sun Shuran of Le'an studied under Zheng Xuan and was called the great Confucian of the eastern provinces. Xu Ci of Shu took Liu Xi as his teacher and excelled in the learning of the Zheng school. Records, Wei 11 §29Records, Wu 8 §18Records, Wei 13 §96Records, Shu 12 §26

Wang Su of Wei favored the learning of Jia Kui and Ma Rong and disliked that of the Zheng school, and he wrote commentaries on the various classics that were adopted by the official academies. When Wang Su compiled the Evidence from the Sages to disparage Zheng Xuan, Sun Shuran refuted it. When Wang Su, in settling court ritual, altered Zheng Xuan's old interpretations, Wang Ji firmly upheld Zheng Xuan's views and constantly opposed him. Li Zhuan of Shu, in writing commentaries on the classics, took Jia Kui and Ma Rong as his standard and differed from Zheng Xuan. Records, Wei 13 §96–97Records, Wei 27 §52Records, Shu 12 §47

In the 4th month of the 1st year of Ganlu (256), Cao Mao, Duke of Gaoguixiang, visited the Imperial Academy and questioned the scholars. The emperor asked why, if Confucius's not combining the Tuan commentary and the Xiang commentary with the classic text was to be called modesty, Zheng Xuan alone had not been modest, and the Erudite of the Changes Chunyu Jun could not answer in the end. In the lecture on the Book of Documents he asked which was right: Zheng Xuan, who glossed 'jigu' as meaning 'being one with Heaven', or Wang Su, who glossed it as 'following and examining the ancient way'. When the Erudite Yu Jun said Wang Su's reading was better, the emperor countered that Yao's great excellence lay in modeling himself on Heaven. Records, Wei 4 §48 · 60–68