Yu Yi

Yu Yi, courtesy name Zhigong, was a general and calligrapher of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was the younger brother of the powerful Jin minister Yu Liang, and was thus a member of the prestigious Yu clan of Yingchuan. After Yu Liang died in 340, Yu Yi inherited his positions, and together with his other brother Yu Bing, they held a firm control over the state and the emperor, the latter due to their statuses as imperial uncles. Yi inherited his brother's border commands and commanded a northern expedition in 343 against Later Zhao which ended with defeat. After Yi's death in 345, his sons, Yu Yuanzhi (庾爰之) and Yu Fangzhi (庾方之) were quickly replaced by the powerful general Huan Wen, weakening their family's power before they were completely exterminated in 371 by Huan himself.

Yu Yi
庾翼
General Who Maintains The West (安西將軍)
In office
340 (340) – 344 (344)
MonarchEmperor Cheng of Jin/Emperor Kang of Jin
Inspector of Jingzhou (荊州刺史)
In office
340 (340) – 345 (345)
MonarchEmperor Cheng of Jin/Emperor Kang of Jin/Emperor Mu of Jin
Personal details
Born305
Died345
ChildrenYu Yuanzhi
Yu Fangzhi
FatherYu Chen
Courtesy nameZhigong (稚恭)
Posthumous nameMarquis Su of Duting (都亭肅侯)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Yu.

Life

Su Jun's rebellion

Yu Yi was described as handsome and full of tact in his youth. He first appeared in history during Su Jun's rebellion in early 328, when Su was encroaching Yi's brother Yu Liang in Jiankang. Liang sent Yi to Shitou where he was tasked in defending the city from the rebel forces. It was said that Yi fought the rebels bravely, but after Jiankang fell, he had to flee with his brother to Xunyang. After the rebellion was put down in 329, Yu Yi was awarded Marquis of Duting and served as an Army Advisor and Attendant Officer of the Palace Gentlemen. He later became General Who Establishes Might and Prefect of Xiyang. During his tenure, he managed to calm the people which garnered him their appreciation.[1]

Succeeding Yu Liang

In 339, as a part of Yu Liang's plans to lead a northern expedition against Later Zhao, Yi was made Colonel of Southern Man Tribes and acting Administrator of Nan commandery, and was based at Jiangling. The campaign never took off however, as Zhao detected his preparations and sent Kui An to defeat Yu Liang. Yu Liang cancelled the expedition after Zhao had done the damage, and he later died in disgrace on the first month of 340. Yu Yi succeeded to his brother's offices and held command over Jiangzhou, Jizhou, Sizhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou. Many were skeptical of Yu Yi's capability as he was still young to hold that much responsibility. He proved his critics wrong as Yi governed his provinces with strictness and dedication, allowing them to prosper in only a few years. With Yi commanding the borders and his brother, Yu Bing controlling state affairs, the brothers continued their family's authority over the state.[2]

In 342, Yu Yi tried to get the court to move his base from Wuchang to Lexiang (樂鄉; northeast of present-day Songzi, Hubei), claiming that he had been witnessing some bizarre sightings near his base. One minister, Wang Shu (王述), protested to the court that Lexiang is too far away from the northern borders and that Yu Yi, being a prominent commander should be responsible in holding a strategic hold such as Wuchang. The court agreed with Wang, so Yi retracted his demands.[3]

Yu Yi was generous to many and loved to help them elevate their statuses, although he despised those who were outwardly pretentious. He once made a pact of friendship with a certain Huan Wen. He would constantly recommend him to the emperor, selling Huan Wen as a hero and that he should be given high positions. However, he disliked the likes of Yin Hao and Du Yi (杜乂), who believed that they only have their use during time of peace. Yu Yi did try to employ Yin Hao a number of times, however, but Yin refused to accept his offers.[4] Yu Yi also disliked Yin Hao's father, Yin Xian (殷羨), who was the Chancellor of Changsha, due to his corruption and cruelty. In 343, he wrote a letter to Yu Bing demanding that he demote him.

Northern expedition (343-344)

Yu Yi always had an ambition to conquer the region of Shu so that he could launch a northern expedition. He sent messengers to Murong Huang and Former Liang to coordinate their moves in Yi's grand strategy. Many of the court officials believed this to be impossible, and only Yu Bing, Huan Wen and Sima Wuji (司馬無忌) agreed with Yu Yi's plans. Opportunity came for Yu Yi in autumn when Zhao's Administrator of Runan, Dai Kai (戴開) defected to Jin with thousands of families under him. An imperial edict was published discussing to retake the Central Plains. Yu Yi petitioned that the veteran general Huan Xuan be made commander in Sizhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou and four commanderies in Jingzhou before ordering him to rendevouz with Dai Kai. Yu Yi made Huan Wen his Subcommander, and he mobilized soldiers and transportation within his provinces, although this greatly upsetted the general populace.[5]

Yu Yi wanted to move to Xiangyang, but fearing that the court would not allow it, he sent a petition asking to move his base to Anlu instead. The court told him to stop his advances but Yu Yi continued on to Xiakou. He attempted to ask the court to move him to Xiangyang from there, and the court permitted it. Yu Yi became Commander of the expeditionary force. However, the expedition only saw its first and only encounter in 344. When 500 cavalries marched out of Fancheng, Yu Yi sent his Champion General Cao Ju to pursue them. Cao killed their commander and seized their horses. Meanwhile, many of the Han Chinese fled to Yu Yi from the north, and Yi treated them kindly while recruiting talented ones under his ranks. He then sent Huan Xuan to attack the Zhao general Li Pi (李羆) at Danshui. Xuan was defeated, and Yu Yi had him demoted. Xuan died of shame shortly after, so Yu Yi had his son, Yu Fangzhi to take his place. He later made his Marshal Ying Dan (應誕) as Administrator of Xiangyang and his Army Advisor Sima Xun as Inspector of Liangzhou.[6]

Decline of the Yu clan

The defeat of Yi's expedition was only the first of the major setbacks that struck the Yu clan in 344. Emperor Kang, who was related to Yu Yi as a nephew, fell deathly ill that year. Thus, Yu Yi and Yu Bing were both pushing for another nephew to the throne, this time Sima Yu. However, the Jin minister He Chong advocated for the emperor's child, Sima Dan, and the emperor chose to listen to Chong. Yi and Bing were left disgusted by He Chong's interference as Emperor Kang's son, Sima Dan ascended the throne as Emperor Mu following Kang's death.[7]

Later that year, Yu Bing would also pass away. He left for Xiakou where he was made Commander of Jiangzhou. He was supposed to be acting Inspector of Yuzhou as well but he personally turned that down. He made another attempt demanding that he be positioned at Lexiang but the court once again denied him. He thus went back to training and preparing his army for a future campaign on the barbarian states.[8]

In 345, Yu Yi was suffering from an ulcer on his back. He was unable to perform his tasks, so he entrusted them to Yu Yuanzhi and his marshal Zhu Dao (朱燾). He passed away on August 16, and was posthumously named as Marquis Su of Duting.[9] After his death, there was a revolt among his staff led by Gan Zan (干瓚) who killed Yi's Champion General Cao Ju (曹據), but he was put down by the likes of Zhu Dao, Mao Muzhi, Yuan Zhen and Jiang Bin (江虨). His son, Yuanzhi was supposed to succeed him his positions in Jingzhou, but He Chong convinced the court to send in Huan Wen to take his place. Yuanzhi gave up without a fight, surrendering his positions to Huan Wen. He and his brother Yu Fangzhi were exiled to Yuzhang (豫章郡; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi). Although the Yu clan had lost most of its power through this event, the clan remained relevant until 371, when Huan Wen had the family exterminated for being a potential threat.

Works

Yu Yi was famous for being a calligrapher, so much so that his fame equalled to that of his contemporary, Wang Xizhi. Yi excelled at the "chancery script (隸書)" and "grass script (草書)". Two of his works survive today as copies, the first being the "Buzheng tie (步征貼)" and "Shengshi tie (盛事貼)".[10] Apart from calligraphy, he was also a good writer, and has made at least 22 volumes of essays during his lifetime according to the "Quan Jinwen (全晉文)".[11]

References
  1. (江州刺史庾冰有疾；太后征冰輔政，冰辭，十一月，庚辰，卒。庾翼以家國情事，留子方之為建武將軍，戍襄陽。方之年少，以參軍毛穆之為建武司馬以輔之。穆之，寶之子也。翼還鎮夏口，詔翼復督江州，又領豫州刺史。翼辭豫州，復欲移鎮樂鄉，詔不許。翼仍繕修軍器，大佃積穀，以圖後舉。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
  2. (及亮卒，授都督江荊司雍梁益六州諸軍事、安西將軍、荊州刺史、假節，代亮鎮武昌。翼以帝舅，年少超居大任，遐邇屬目，慮其不稱。翼每竭志能，勞謙匪懈，戎政嚴明，經略深遠，數年之中，公私充實，人情翕然，稱其才幹。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
  3. (庾翼在武昌，數有妖怪，欲移鎭樂鄕。征虜長史王述與庾冰牋曰：「樂鄕去武昌千有餘里；數萬之衆，一旦移徙，興立城壁，公私勞擾。又江州當泝流數千里供給軍府，力役增倍。且武昌實江東鎭戍之中，非但扞禦上流而已；緩急赴告，駿奔不難。若移樂鄕，遠在西陲，一朝江渚有虞，不相接救。方嶽重將，固當居要害之地，爲內外形勢，使闚X之心不知所向。昔秦忌亡胡之讖，卒爲劉、項之資；周惡檿弧之謠，而成褒姒之亂。是以達人君子，直道而行，禳避之道，皆所不取；正當擇人事之勝理，思社稷之長計耳。」朝議亦以爲然。翼乃止。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
  4. (庾翼為人慷慨，喜功名，不尚浮華。琅邪內史桓溫，彝之子也，尚南康公主，豪爽有風概。翼與之友善，相期以寧濟海內。翼嘗薦溫於成帝曰：「桓溫有英雄之才，願陛下勿以常人遇之，常婿畜之。宜委以方、邵之任，必有弘濟艱難之勳」。時杜乂、殷浩並才名冠世，冀獨弗之重也，曰：「此輩宜束之高閣，俟天下太平，然後徐議其任耳。」... 翼請浩為司馬；詔除侍中、安西軍司，浩不應。翼遺浩書曰：「王夷甫立名非真，雖雲談道，實長華競。明德君子，遇會處際，寧可然乎！」浩猶不起。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
  5. (秋，七月，趙汝南太守戴開帥數千人詣翼降。丁巳，下詔議經略中原。翼欲悉所部之眾北伐，表桓宣為都督司、雍、梁三州、荊州之四郡諸軍事、梁州刺史，前趣丹水；桓溫為前鋒小督、假節，帥眾入臨淮；並發所統六州奴及車牛驢馬，百姓嗟怒。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
  6. (翼時有眾四萬，詔加都督征討軍事。師次襄陽，大會僚佐，陳旌甲，親授弧矢，曰：「我之行也，若此射矣。」遂三起三疊，徒眾屬目，其氣十倍。初，翼遷襄陽，舉朝謂之不可，議者或謂避衰，唯兄冰意同，桓溫及譙王無忌贊成其計。至是，冰求鎮武昌，為翼繼援。朝議謂冰不宜出，冰乃止。又進翼征西將軍，領南蠻校尉。胡賊五六百騎出樊城，翼遣冠軍將軍曹據追擊於撓溝北，破之，死者近半，獲馬百匹。翼綏來荒遠，務盡招納之宜，立客館，置典賓參軍。桓宣卒，翼以長子方之為義成太守，代領宣眾，司馬應誕為龍驤將軍、襄陽太守，參軍司勳為建威將軍、梁州刺史，戍西城。) Book of Jin, Volume 73
  7. (帝疾篤，庾冰、庾翼欲立會稽王昱為嗣；中書監何充建議立皇子聃，帝從之。九月，丙申，立聃為皇太子。戊戌，帝崩於式乾殿。己亥，何充以遺旨奉太子即位，大赦。由是冰、翼深恨充。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
  8. (江州刺史庾冰有疾；太后征冰輔政，冰辭，十一月，庚辰，卒。庾翼以家國情事，留子方之為建武將軍，戍襄陽。方之年少，以參軍毛穆之為建武司馬以輔之。穆之，寶之子也。翼還鎮夏口，詔翼復督江州，又領豫州刺史。翼辭豫州，復欲移鎮樂鄉，詔不許。翼仍繕修軍器，大佃積穀，以圖後舉。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 97
  9. (秋七月庚午，持節、都尉江荊司梁雍益寧七州諸軍事、江州刺史、征西將軍、都亭侯庾翼卒。) Book of Jin, Volume 97
  10. "宣和书谱 - 维基文库，自由的图书馆". zh.m.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  11. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%85%A8%E6%99%89%E6%96%87/%E5%8D%B7%E4%B8%89%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%83
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