Yang Xiu
Encyclopedia
Yang Xiu was an advisor to the warlord Cao Cao
during the late Han Dynasty
period of Chinese history
.
. Yang Xiu was executed in 219 for informing his friend Cao Zhi of a council's agenda so that he could prepare beforehand.
He was a close friend of Cao Zhi and became involved in the fight between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi for succession. Yang Xiu's close links with Cao Zhi caused him misfortune during Cao Zhi's occasional misbehavior such as the incident in Ye city, where Cao Zhi drunkenly rode through the gate reserved for only the emperor. But the final blow was when Yang Xiu was discovered to have leaked the council's discussion agenda to Cao Zhi so that his friend could prepare beforehand and impress Cao Cao. Because of this and remembering his connection with Yuan Shu, Cao Cao had Yang Xiu was executed.
After his death, Cao Cao reproached Yang Xiu's father Yang Biao, who had previously retired from politics, for showing sorrow at the death of his son, but Yang Biao refused to show remorse for his grief and continued to acknowledge his sadness.
's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
, Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu because he was too clever and boastful, as described in the following passages:
In 219, Cao Cao led his army to Hanzhong
in order to avenge the death of general Xiahou Yuan
. The battle between Cao and Liu Bei
eventually reached a stalemate as Cao's son Cao Zhang
joined the fight (Cao was losing at the start). It was written in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
that one night he was pondering about whether or not to retreat, as if they stay any longer they might run out of supplies, but if they retreat they might be perceived as losers and cowards by the opposing army, which would lower army morale and then make them vulnerable to pursuit attacks. He was then brought some soup with a set of chicken bones in it. He then muttered the word "chicken bone" a few times (鸡肋) thoughtlessly, but right before that moment general Xiahou Dun
entered his tent and asked for the night's signal phrase. Thinking that "chicken bone" was the night's signal phrase, Xiahou then spread that signal to all officers. Upon hearing of the signal, Yang immediately thought he knew what Cao wanted his army to do. He explained to others that "chicken bone" is a metaphor for "retreat", as a chicken bone "is worthless if eaten (advance), but grants flavour if discarded (thrown into the soup, ie. retreat)" (食之无肉，弃之有味). He then told all generals to tell the soldiers to pack their bags and get ready for the signal to retreat. When Cao was alerted that Yang had given a false camp-wide signal without his permission, he was immensely angered and executed Yang. It was described in the book that Yang had offended Cao "accidentally" with his creative interpretations multiple times before (see below), causing himself to be disliked, which led to his death during this event. After his death, the stubborn Cao Cao told his army to get ready for battle, but eventually suffered a major defeat by Liu Bei's forces. He then remembered about Yang's interpretation and wished he had listened to and didn't kill him. Yang was then given a proper burial.
Yang Xiu is described by Mi Heng
as one of the two sole "talented" officials under Cao Cao; the other was Kong Rong
, a descendant of Confucius
.
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
during the late Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
.
Biography
Yang Xiu was the son of the esteemed official Yang Biao and the grandson of Yang Ci. His mother, Lady Yuan, was Yuan Shu's sister. Yang Xiu served as Registrar to Cao CaoCao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
. Yang Xiu was executed in 219 for informing his friend Cao Zhi of a council's agenda so that he could prepare beforehand.
Career
Sometime during the 200's, Yang Xiu was nominated as Filial and Incorrupt was became Registrar to Cao Cao, the Imperial Chancellor. He was said to have been skilled in both civil and military affairs and understood Cao Cao well. Because of this, Yang Xiu became an influential figure in the government.He was a close friend of Cao Zhi and became involved in the fight between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi for succession. Yang Xiu's close links with Cao Zhi caused him misfortune during Cao Zhi's occasional misbehavior such as the incident in Ye city, where Cao Zhi drunkenly rode through the gate reserved for only the emperor. But the final blow was when Yang Xiu was discovered to have leaked the council's discussion agenda to Cao Zhi so that his friend could prepare beforehand and impress Cao Cao. Because of this and remembering his connection with Yuan Shu, Cao Cao had Yang Xiu was executed.
After his death, Cao Cao reproached Yang Xiu's father Yang Biao, who had previously retired from politics, for showing sorrow at the death of his son, but Yang Biao refused to show remorse for his grief and continued to acknowledge his sadness.
In fiction
In Luo GuanzhongLuo Guanzhong
Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...
's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
, Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu because he was too clever and boastful, as described in the following passages:
In 219, Cao Cao led his army to Hanzhong
Hanzhong
Hanzhong is a municipality in southwest Shaanxi Province, China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin...
in order to avenge the death of general Xiahou Yuan
Xiahou Yuan
Xiahou Yuan was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was killed in the Battle of Mount Dingjun against Liu Bei's general Huang Zhong in 219, and was given the posthumous title of Marquis Min , literally meaning "sympathetic...
. The battle between Cao and Liu Bei
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
eventually reached a stalemate as Cao's son Cao Zhang
Cao Zhang
Cao Zhang was the third son of the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Cao Zhang was said to have wrestled and killed wild animals with his bare hands...
joined the fight (Cao was losing at the start). It was written in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
that one night he was pondering about whether or not to retreat, as if they stay any longer they might run out of supplies, but if they retreat they might be perceived as losers and cowards by the opposing army, which would lower army morale and then make them vulnerable to pursuit attacks. He was then brought some soup with a set of chicken bones in it. He then muttered the word "chicken bone" a few times (鸡肋) thoughtlessly, but right before that moment general Xiahou Dun
Xiahou Dun
Xiahou Dun was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Cao Cao's original family name was Xiahou, but his father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng, so Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao share blood relations...
entered his tent and asked for the night's signal phrase. Thinking that "chicken bone" was the night's signal phrase, Xiahou then spread that signal to all officers. Upon hearing of the signal, Yang immediately thought he knew what Cao wanted his army to do. He explained to others that "chicken bone" is a metaphor for "retreat", as a chicken bone "is worthless if eaten (advance), but grants flavour if discarded (thrown into the soup, ie. retreat)" (食之无肉，弃之有味). He then told all generals to tell the soldiers to pack their bags and get ready for the signal to retreat. When Cao was alerted that Yang had given a false camp-wide signal without his permission, he was immensely angered and executed Yang. It was described in the book that Yang had offended Cao "accidentally" with his creative interpretations multiple times before (see below), causing himself to be disliked, which led to his death during this event. After his death, the stubborn Cao Cao told his army to get ready for battle, but eventually suffered a major defeat by Liu Bei's forces. He then remembered about Yang's interpretation and wished he had listened to and didn't kill him. Yang was then given a proper burial.
Yang Xiu is described by Mi Heng
Mi Heng
Mi Heng was a scholar who lived during the late Han Dynasty of China.Mi was a close friend of Kong Rong, who recommended Mi Heng to Cao Cao. Cao Cao summoned Mi Heng to the capital of Xuchang but did not offer Mi Heng a seat...
as one of the two sole "talented" officials under Cao Cao; the other was Kong Rong
Kong Rong
Kong Rong was a politician, scholar, and minor warlord of the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also a 20th generation descendant of Kong Qiu . As he was once the chancellor of Beihai Commandery , he was also known as Kong Beihai. He was defeated by Yuan Tan in 196 and escaped to...
, a descendant of Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
.
"Once, a garden door was built by some servants of Cao Cao. When he arrived, he did not talk to his servants about their work but instead wrote a character, "活", meaning "alive", on the door. Nobody could understand what Cao Cao meant by this, except Yang Xiu, who explained that, since, in Chinese, "門" means door, writing the character "活" inside a door forms the character "闊", which means "wide". Thus Cao Cao was indicating that he thought the door was too wide. The servants of Cao Cao then altered the garden door, and when Cao Cao heard that it was Yang Xiu alone who had understood his meaning, he became alerted of his talent.
Once, a nomadic tribe sent a box of cake to Cao Cao as a gift, who wrote the words "一合酥" on the box, which in English, means "a box of cake". However, when Yang Xiu saw it, he took out a spoon and shared the cake with the other followers of Cao Cao. Cao Cao, mystified, asked why, to which he replied, "My lord, you wrote the words 'A mouthful of cake for every man' on the box. How can we disobey your orders?" Since, in Chinese, the words "一合酥" can be separated into "一人一口酥", which translates thus. Cao Cao then became dissatisfied with Yang Xiu.
Another time, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu were riding on their horses and passed by the grave of Cáo É (unrelated to Cao Cao). On the gravestone were four sets of words, "huang juan (yellow silk fabric), you fu (young woman), wai sun (grandson), and ji jiu (powdering mortar)" (黄绢、幼妇、外孙、齑臼). Cao then asked Yang if he knew what those four sets of words meant, and Yang immediately began to answer. However Cao interrupted him and told him to wait until he has obtained the answer and then they can compare. After riding for another 30 liLi (unit)The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
(approximately 15km), Cao finally understood the hidden meaning behind those words and asked Yang to share his insights and see if he got it correct. Yang then explained that "'huang juan (黄绢)' is a synonym for 'se si (色丝)' (which meant "coloured silk"). If you combine the character 'si 丝 (silk)' with 'se 色 (colour)', you get 'jue 绝 (absolute)'. 'You fu (幼妇)' is a synonym for 'shao nü 少女 (young woman)'. If you combine the character 'nü 女 (woman)' with 'shao 少 (young)', you get 'miao 妙 (wonderful)'. 'Wai sun (外孙)' is equivalent to 'nü er de er zi (女儿的儿子) (the son of the daughter)', if you combine take the two major characters out and combine 'nü 女 (woman, in this case means daughter)' with 'zi 子 (son)', you get 'hao 好 (good)'. 'Ji jiu (齑臼)' is basically 'shou wu xin zhi qi (受五辛之器) (a device which receives and grinds the five Chinese spices)'. If you take the two major characters out and combine 'shou 受 (takes, receives)' with 'xin 辛 (spice)', you get 'ci 辤 (refined), or in simplified Chinese the character 辞'. Combine the four characters and you get 'jue miao hao ci (绝妙好辞) (absolute, wonderful, good, refined)', which were used to praise Cáo É." This greatly impressed Cao Cao and he exclaimed that Yang was "30 li smarter than him".