Person
Lu Dai
The man to whom Sun Quan gave Quang Chau when he split the province after Si Nhiep’s death; he killed Si Huy and his brothers, six men. The Tam quoc chi tells this in two different ways, and both the commentary quoting Sun Sheng and Ngo Si Lien rebuke him.
At a glance
- Dates
- Given Quang Chau after Si Nhiep died in 226; the memorial Tiet Tong sent up when he was recalled is placed by the Complete Annals in the year Tan Hoi, that is, 23112
Life
The old chronicles say
According to the biography of Si Nhiep, after Si Nhiep died Sun Quan split the province in two: the northern part, Quang Chau, he gave to Lu Dai; the southern part, Giao Chau, to Dai Luong; and he sent Tran Thi to replace Si Nhiep as governor of Giao Chi. Si Nhiep’s son, Si Huy, declared himself governor of Giao Chi and sent out his clan’s troops to resist. An official whom Si Nhiep himself had promoted, Hoan Lan, knocked his head on the ground to remonstrate, and Huy had him flogged to death.1
By the same biography, Lu Dai made use of a man of the Si clan: Si Khuong, the son of Si Nhat, an old friend of Dai’s, was sent to persuade Huy to accept punishment — he would lose his office, but he was guaranteed to have nothing else to fear. Huy and his brothers, six men, came out stripped to the waist to meet him; Dai told them to put their clothes back on. The next morning Dai set up curtains and a tent and invited them in one after another; then he rose, holding his staff of authority, and read out an edict listing their crimes. His attendants bound them and dragged them out, and all were killed, their heads sent to Wuchang.1
The biography of Lu Dai, in the same book, differs in two places: Sun Quan does not simply strip Huy of office but makes him General Who Brings Peace to Distant Lands, governing Cuu Chan, which is to say moves him to another commandery; and there is no Si Khuong and no promise — when Huy hears that Dai is coming he is afraid and does not know what to do, leads his brothers, six men, out stripped to the waist to meet him, and Dai beheads them all. This biography also records why he struck so fast: if Huy had time to hold the citadel, the seven commanderies and the hundred Man tribes would answer him like gathering clouds. The records read give no grounds for saying which account is right.4
Pei Songzhi’s commentary quotes Sun Sheng, a man of the fourth century, rebuking Lu Dai outright: Huy and his brothers had given themselves over wholeheartedly to his command; Dai took the chance to destroy them for the sake of merit, and from this the gentleman knows that Sun Quan had no far-sighted plans. Ngo Si Lien, in the Complete Annals, divides the blame in two: he rebukes Huy for killing the man who remonstrated, then rebukes Lu Dai for coaxing them to surrender and then killing them, because good faith is the treasure of a state.56
Mentioned in
- Episode 1Ma Yuan's bronze pillars and the policy of assimilation16 min
- Episode 3Si Nhiep holds Giao Chau amid the turmoil of the Three Kingdoms17 min
Sources for this page
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