He Shao

Historical Record

He Shao, courtesy name Xingbo, was a man of Shanyin in Kuaiji, the grandson of He Qi and the son of He Jing ^c:6382. During Sun Xiu's reign, He Shao rose from Gentleman of the Household to Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, and later went out to serve as Grand Administrator of Wu Commandery. After Sun Hao succeeded to the throne, He Shao was summoned to court to serve as Commander of the Left, and was then promoted to Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, concurrently holding the post of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent ^c:6382.

During Sun Hao's rule, his nature was cruel and arrogant, and the governance of the state grew daily more corrupt. He Shao, deeply troubled by this, submitted a memorial of frank remonstrance, setting forth the ills of the time ^c:6382. Sun Hao, however, was deeply displeased with He Shao's remonstrance and bore a grudge against him. He Shao was devoted to public duty and upright and steadfast; his blunt rectitude made even those close to him wary of him ^c:3643.

Later, someone falsely accused He Shao of joining with Lou Xuan in slandering the affairs of state, and the two were jointly called to account. Lou Xuan was banished to Nanzhou, while He Shao was pardoned and restored to his former office ^c:3643. Soon afterward, He Shao suffered a stroke and lost the power of speech, and was forced to leave office for several months. Sun Hao, suspecting He Shao of feigning illness, had him arrested and confined in the wine cellar, where he was subjected to more than a thousand strokes of torture. Under this cruel punishment, He Shao never uttered a single word, and was finally put to death. His family too were banished to Linhai. That same year, the first year of Tiance, Sun Hao further issued an edict to execute the descendants of Lou Xuan. He Shao was but forty-nine when he was killed ^c:3643.

He Shao's son He Xun, courtesy name Yanxian, was banished to the seacoast after the family's calamity. After the state of Wu was pacified, He Xun was able to return home. His integrity was lofty, and from childhood he had been set apart from others, his words and conduct all conforming to ritual propriety. He Xun was fond of learning and broadly read, especially well-versed in the Three Rituals. He was once recommended as a Cultivated Talent, and successively served as Magistrate of Yangxian and Wukang Counties. Gu Rong, Lu Ji, Lu Yun, and others jointly submitted a memorial recommending He Xun, praising his profound capacity and virtue, his clear and far-reaching learning and insight, and his weighty conduct, noting that wherever he held office he could make punishments and government solemn and orderly. They held that He Xun had long served in minor counties without being given important employment by the court, a thing the worthy and the foolish alike in his province and district lamented. He Xun was later summoned to be Retainer of the Heir Apparent. When Shi Bing rose in rebellion in Yangzhou, He Xun also organized the populace to resist. After the affair was settled, he shut his door and stayed in seclusion. When Chen Min rose in rebellion, he appointed He Xun Interior Minister of Danyang, but He Xun firmly declined on grounds of illness, and Chen Min did not dare to compel him. At the time many powerful clans of the Jiangdong region accepted office from Chen Min; only He Xun and Zhu Dan of the same commandery never yielded. Later He Xun was appointed Interior Minister of the state of Wu, but he did not take up the post. When Emperor Yuan held the post of General Who Guards the East, he requested He Xun as Army Major. After Emperor Yuan was advanced to Prince of Jin, he further appointed He Xun Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, but He Xun firmly declined, and was later transferred to Grand Master of Ceremonies, concurrently holding the post of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent. At the time the court was newly established and many of its institutions were in doubt; the institutions of the ancestral temple were largely settled by He Xun, and he became the one whom court and country alike consulted, honored as the foremost Confucian master of his age. He Xun died at the age of sixty, in the second year of Taixing. He was posthumously honored as Minister of Works, with the posthumous title Mu. He Xun's writings were transmitted to the world. His son He Xi served as Grand Administrator of Linhai ^c:3643.

In the Novel

At present, He Shao receives no clear literary shaping in the principal works of historical fiction such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His image therefore rests chiefly on the descriptions of the historical sources, with no additional embellishment or invention of his life, deeds, character traits, or key relationships in the novel. He Shao lacks any independent plotline or notable literary image in the novel, and neither his character of being "devoted to public duty and upright, so that even those close to him were wary of him" nor his tragic end of being cruelly killed by Sun Hao is given further dramatization in the novel.

Key Relationships

* Eastern Wu (serves): He Shao served the Eastern Wu regime all his life, holding office from Sun Xiu's reign onward, and rising under Sun Hao to Prefect of the Palace Secretariat and Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent—an important court minister of the later years of Eastern Wu ^c:6382.
* Sun Hao (enemy_of): Sun Hao was the direct author of He Shao's tragic fate. He Shao, for frankly remonstrating against Sun Hao's tyranny, drew his resentment, and was finally falsely accused and tortured to death. Sun Hao's cruelty stands in sharp contrast to He Shao's uprightness ^c:3643.
* Lou Xuan (colleague/victim): Lou Xuan and He Shao were both court ministers in Sun Hao's reign, and the two were jointly accused of "slandering the affairs of state"; Lou Xuan was banished, and He Shao, though restored to office for a time, in the end could not escape his doom. Both were victims of Sun Hao's tyranny ^c:3643.
* He Xun (son): He Xun was He Shao's son, who endured the hardship of banishment after his father's murder. He inherited his father's lofty integrity and became a leading Confucian master in the Western Jin period; his deeds are recorded in detail in the sources, a continuation of the spirit of the He family ^c:3643.

Signature Scenes

* Submitting a memorial of frank remonstrance to Sun Hao: Facing Sun Hao's being "cruel and arrogant, with the affairs of government daily worsening," He Shao, heedless of his own safety, resolutely submitted a memorial of frank remonstrance pointing out the ills of the time. This act fully displays his character of being "devoted to public duty and upright" and his loyalty to the state ^c:6382. Though it finally brought about his death, his courage and sense of responsibility became the most striking mark of his life.
* Steadfast and unyielding under torture: After He Shao suffered a stroke, Sun Hao suspected him of feigning illness, confined him in the wine cellar, and subjected him to more than a thousand strokes of torture. Under such cruel torment, He Shao "in the end uttered not a single word," and was finally killed. This scene is the ultimate embodiment of He Shao's "lofty resolve" and unyielding spirit, and the climax of his tragic fate ^c:3643. His silence was the strongest protest against tyranny and made his image all the more tragically grand.
* The family's banishment and the rise of his descendants: After He Shao's murder, his family were banished to Linhai. Yet his son He Xun grew up amid adversity and finally became a renowned Confucian master of the Western Jin period, posthumously honored as Minister of Works with the posthumous title Mu. He Xun's achievements were not only an inheritance of He Shao's upright character but also a sign that the He family, after enduring tribulation, could still bring honor to their house—lending He Shao's sacrifice a deeper significance ^c:3643.