Chen Shou (; 233 to 297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian and official of Shu Han and the Western Jin dynasty. He studied under the scholar Qiao Zhou and held offices in Shu before entering Jin service after Shu's conquest in 263.
Chen Shou compiled the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), a 65-volume history of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu organized mainly as biographies. He drew on earlier histories of Wei and Wu and collected materials for Shu, which had no comparable official history. The work later became part of the Twenty-Four Histories.
Historical sources on Chen Shou's life There are two biographies of Chen Shou. The first one is in the Chronicles of Huayang, which was written by Chang Qu in the fourth century during the Eastern Jin dynasty. The second one is in the Book of Jin, which was written by Fang Xuanling and others in the seventh century during the Tang dynasty.
Life He started his career as an official in the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era but was demoted and sent out of the capital for his refusal to fawn on Huang Hao, an influential court eunuch in Shu in its twilight years. After the fall of Shu in 263, Chen Shou's career entered a period of stagnation before Zhang Hua recommended him to serve in the Jin government. He held mainly scribal and secretarial positions under the Jin government before dying from illness in 297. He had over 200 writings – about 30 of which he co-wrote with his relatives – attributed to him.
Early life and career in Shu Han Chen Shou was from Anhan County (), Baxi Commandery (), which is in present-day Nanchong, Sichuan. He was known for being studious since he was young and was described as intelligent, insightful and knowledgeable. He was mentored by the Shu official Qiao Zhou, who was also from Baxi Commandery. Under Qiao Zhou's tutelage, he read the Classic of History and Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals. He was very well versed in the Records of the Grand Historian and Book of Han.() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08.
According to the Jin Shu, Chen Shou served as a (; a clerk) in Shu. However, the Huayang Guozhi mentioned that he held the following appointments consecutively: Registrar () of the General of the Guards (); donguan mishu lang (; an official librarian); Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (); and Gentleman of the Yellow Gate ().() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08. In the final years of Shu ( 250s–263), many officials fawned on Huang Hao, an influential court eunuch, in their bid to win his favour. Chen Shou's refusal to engage in such flattering and obsequious behaviour took a toll on his career: He was demoted on several occasions and sent out of the Shu capital, Chengdu.() Jin Shu vol. 82.
Career in Jin dynasty After the fall of Shu in 263, Chen Shou's career entered a period of stagnation until Zhang Hua recommended him to serve in the government of the Jin dynasty. Zhang Hua appreciated Chen Shou's talent and felt that even though Chen did not have an untarnished reputation, he did not deserve to be demoted and dismissed while he was in Shu. Chen Shou was recommended as a xiaolian (civil service candidate), and appointed as a zuo zhuzuo lang (; an assistant scribe) and the acting Prefect () of Yangping County (). In 274, he collected and compiled the writings of Zhuge Liang, the first chancellor of Shu,Roberts 1991, p. 946. and submitted them to the Jin imperial court. He was promoted to zhuzuo lang (; a scribe) and appointed as the zhongzheng () of Baxi Commandery.() Jin Shu vol. 82. The Huayang Guozhi mentioned that he also served as the Chancellor () to the Marquis of Pingyang ().() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08.
When Zhang Hua recommended Chen Shou to serve as a Gentleman Palace Writer (), the Ministry of Personnel appointed Chen Shou as the Administrator () of Changguang Commandery () instead on the recommendation of Xun Xu. The Jin Shu mentioned that Xun Xu detested Zhang Hua and disliked Chen Shou for his association with Zhang Hua, so he urged the Ministry of Personnel to reassign Chen Shou to another position. Chen Shou declined the appointment on the grounds that he had to look after his elderly mother.() Jin Shu vol. 82. The Huayang Guozhi gave a different account of Chen Shou's relationship with Xun Xu. It stated that Xun Xu and Zhang Hua were very pleased with Chen Shou's Sanguozhi and they remarked that Chen Shou surpassed Ban Gu and Sima Qian. However, later, Xun Xu was displeased by the Wei Shu – one of the three sections in the Sanguozhi – and did not want Chen Shou to work in the same office as him, so he had Chen Shou reassigned to be the Administrator of Changguang.()
In 278,Zizhi Tongjian vol. 80. before the general Du Yu assumed his appointment as the commander of the Jin military forces in Jing Province, he recommended Chen Shou to Emperor Wu and stated that Chen Shou was capable of serving as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate () or Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (). Emperor Wu accepted Du Yu's suggestion and appointed Chen Shou as a yushi zhishu (; an auditor).() Jin Shu vol. 82.() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08.
The Jin Shu mentioned that Chen Shou took a leave of absence when his mother died, and he fulfilled her dying wish to be buried in Luoyang. However, he ended up being castigated and demoted because his act of burying his mother in Luoyang – instead of in his hometown in Anhan County – was a violation of the proprieties of his time.() Jin Shu vol. 82. The Huayang Guozhi gave a varying account of the events: It was Chen Shou's stepmother (not his biological mother) who died. She did not want to be buried together with his father (in Anhan County),() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08. so Chen Shou buried her in Luoyang.
Later years According to the Jin Shu, many years after his demotion, Chen Shou was appointed as a zhongshuzi (; an aide) to the crown prince Sima Yu, but he did not assume his role.() Jin Shu vol. 82. He died of illness at the age of 65 (by East Asian age reckoning) in 297 during the reign of Emperor Hui.() Jin Shu vol. 82.
The Huayang Guozhi gave a different account of the events before Chen Shou's death. It stated that Chen Shou was appointed as a zhongshuzi to Sima Yu, but was reassigned to be a Regular Mounted Attendant () again after the crown prince was deposed in 299.Zizhi Tongjian vol. 83. Emperor Hui told Zhang Hua, "(Chen) Shou possesses genuine talent. He should not remain in his current appointment for long." Zhang Hua wanted to nominate Chen Shou to take up one of the posts of the Nine Ministers, but lost his life in 300 CE during the War of the Eight Princes. Chen Shou died in Luoyang later. His talents and achievements were not reflected in his status at the time of his death and many people felt that it was an injustice to him.() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08. The Huayang Guozhi account apparently suggests that Chen Shou died in 300 CE or after, which did not match his year of death mentioned in the Jin Shu account.
Sanguozhi
Sometime in the third century after 280,() Huayang Guozhi vol. 11. 08. Chen Shou wrote his magnum opus: the 65-volume Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms), which records the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The text was divided into three sections – Book of Wei (), Book of Shu () and Book of Wu () – and was composed of mainly biographies of notable persons in those eras.
Chen Shou received acclaim from his contemporaries for his work and was praised as an excellent historian. Around the time, another historian, Xiahou Zhan (), was writing his own Book of Wei (; Wei Shu), which recorded the history of Wei in the Three Kingdoms era. He destroyed his work after reading Chen Shou's Sanguozhi. Zhang Hua was so deeply impressed with the Sanguozhi that he told Chen Shou, "We should entrust the responsibility of writing the Book of Jin to you." Chen Shou was highly regarded as such after he wrote the Sanguozhi.() Jin Shu vol. 82.
Controversies Despite his achievements, Chen Shou faced accusations and other controversies. The Jin Shu mentioned two controversies surrounding Chen Shou and his writing of the Sanguozhi, which his critics used to disparage him.() Jin Shu vol. 82. Tang Geng (), a scholar from the Song dynasty, in his work called the Three Kingdoms Miscellaneous Cases (; Sanguo Zashi) also criticised Chen Shou as a historian for two reasons.
Extorting grain The first one was about Chen Shou attempting to extort 1,000 hu of grain from the sons of Ding Yi () and his younger brother Ding Yi () – two officials in Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He promised them that he would write biographies for their fathers in the Sanguozhi if they gave him the grain, but they refused, so he did not write the biographies. However, the Jin Shu prefaced the anecdote with the term huoyun (), which meant "rumours".() Jin Shu vol. 82.
The Qing dynasty writer Pan Mei () rebutted the Jin Shu'''s account about Chen Shou attempting to extort from the Dings and called it "uninformed". He disproved the claim that the Ding brothers were very famous officials in Wei by pointing out that they had neither held important appointments nor made any significant achievements. Pan also felt that a historian was clearly justified if he decided to not write biographies for the Ding brothers, because, in his opinion, the Dings had committed grievous sins – instigating sibling rivalry and causing instability in the Wei imperial clan – which made them unworthy of having biographies in historical records. Pan further noted that there were also other notable persons in Wei (e.g. Chen Lin, Wu Zhi and Yang Xiu) who did not have biographies in the Sanguozhi, so being notable did not mean that a person should have a biography written for him. His concluding remarks on this issue were that the Jin Shu made a malicious claim (about Chen Shou).) Sanguozhi Kaozheng vol. 5.
Bias The second one suggested that Chen Shou held personal grudges against the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang and his son Zhuge Zhan, hence he wrote negative comments about them in the Sanguozhi. Chen Shou's father was a military adviser to the Shu general Ma Su. When Ma Su was executed by Zhuge Liang after his failure at the Battle of Jieting in 228, Chen Shou's father was implicated and sentenced to kun (), a punishment involving the shaving of a person's head. Zhuge Zhan belittled Chen Shou before. When Chen Shou wrote the biographies of Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Zhan in the Sanguozhi, he commented on them as follows: Military leadership was not Zhuge Liang's forte, and he lacked the resourcefulness of a brilliant military leader; Zhuge Zhan excelled only in literary arts, and he had an exaggerated reputation.() Jin Shu vol. 82.
The Qing dynasty writer Zhao Yi refuted the Jin Shu claim that Chen Shou was prejudiced against Zhuge Liang in the Sanguozhi, and remarked that the claim was "an uninformed statement". He commented that military leadership did not necessarily have to be regarded as Zhuge Liang's forte because Zhuge also made outstanding achievements in other fields. Zhao also pointed out two pieces of evidence which contradict the Jin Shu claim: Chen Shou gave highly positive comments about Zhuge Liang's ability as a politician in the Zhuge Liang Collection and in his personal commentary at the end of Zhuge's biography in the Sanguozhi. Zhao Yi's concluding remarks on this issue were that Chen Shou had clearly identified Zhuge Liang's strengths and weaknesses in his appraisal of Zhuge Liang in the Sanguozhi.() Ershi'er Shi Zhaji (), vol. 6.
Claim that Shu Han lacked a historical bureau