Sun Qian


Sun Qian, courtesy name Gongyou, was an official, adviser and diplomat serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His talent was noted by the scholar Zheng Xuan, so Liu Bei gave Sun Qian a position on his staff after he took Xu. Along with Jian Yong and Mi Zhu, Sun Qian frequently served as an ambassador for Liu Bei - most notably to Yuan Shao and Liu Biao. After Liu Bei took Yi Province, Sun Qian was promoted and held rank equal to Jian Yong.

Life

Sun Qian was from Beihai Commandery. He was recommended by Zheng Xuan to serve under Liu Bei as an Assistant Officer when Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as the Governor of Xu Province in 194. He remained as a subordinate of Liu Bei since then.
In 198, when Liu Bei was planning to break free of Cao Cao's control by leaving the imperial capital Xu, he sent Sun Qian and Mi Zhu to secretly contact Cao's rivals Yuan Shao and Liu Biao and form alliances with them. After Yuan Shao's death in 202, Liu Biao once wrote to Yuan Shao's third son and successor, Yuan Shang, and mentioned the rivalry between Yuan Shang and his eldest brother Yuan Tan. Liu Biao wrote: "Whenever I discussed this issue with General Liu and Sun Gongyou, I feel very upset and heartbroken." Both Liu Bei and Liu Biao highly regarded Sun Qian.
In the 210s, after Liu Bei had successfully seized control of Yi Province from its governor Liu Zhang and established his new base in Chengdu, he promoted Sun Qian to General Who Upholds Loyalty. Liu Bei's treatment towards Sun Qian was second to that of Mi Zhu, but equal to that of Jian Yong and others. Sun Qian died not long later. Sun Qian's year of death was not specified, but the Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny estimated that he died around 214.

Appraisal

, who wrote Sun Qian's biography, commented as follows: "Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and Yi Ji were refined and cultured persons whose ideas were widely circulated. They were well known for their good observation of the proprieties."