Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Official and Courtier

Xun Boyu 荀伯玉

c. AD 434 - AD 483

Passages: 31
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Xun Boyu was an official and Courtier.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Nongzhang	弄璋	Nòngzhāng

Life and dates

Death

AD 483 永明元年
Executed · Age Value: 50 · Reckoning: Stated · Co Executed With Yuan Chongzu (垣崇祖)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passages 140, 143

Age

Value: 50 · Reckoning: Stated
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 143

Attested activity

AD 474 元徽二年
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 100
AD 479 升明三年
Strongly inferred · Book of Southern Qi 21, passages 13, 16
AD 479 建元元年
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 108
AD 483 永明元年
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 140
AD 471 泰始七年
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 97
AD 465 泰始初
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 82

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Xun Chanzhi (荀闡之)
father 父 · paternal line
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 80

Key source chapters

Career and standing

sold divination / cast lots for a living 賣卜自業
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 83
acting adjutant on Liu Yuanjing's pacifier-army staff 柳元景撫軍板行參軍
Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 81
adjutant for prisons under the champion army 冠軍刑獄參軍
Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 85
Viscount of Nanfeng 南豐縣子
AD 479 建元元年 · Enfeoffed · Households 400
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 108
Marquis of Xinting 新亭侯
AD 465 泰始初 · Enfeoffed
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 82

Places and affiliations

Southern Qi 南齊
Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 108
Polity Id liu-song · Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 81
At Guangling 廣陵
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 79

Learning and skills

Skill divination 卜 · Level practiced
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passages 83, 87

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passages 118-119, 142

Events and relationships

Dream of grass su and nine fives; later wings and dragons dream
AD 471 泰始七年 · Personal · Dreamer
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passages 95, 97-99
Loyal guard at the Grand Ancestor side after founding cause won
Personal · Subject · With Emperor Gao of Qi (齊高帝)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 105
Refused recruitment by Prince Jingsu
Personal · Subject · With Liu Jingsu (劉景素)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 84
Secretly memorialized Zhang Jingzhen's abuses
Political · Denouncer · With Zhang Jingzhen (張景真)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 120
Urged border demonstration and divined that the summons journey would fail
Military · Adviser · With Emperor Gao of Qi (齊高帝)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 87
Relation Associate of · Person Yuan Chongzu (垣崇祖)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 139

Show 1 more source-backed claim

Relation Friend of · Person Sun Chong (孫沖)
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 82

Assessments and attributes

Assessment different arts from Jiang, same ruin · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passages 146, 148
Assessment ten edicts weigh less than one command from Xun Boyu · Mode named-source-report
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 31, passage 132

References in the histories

Search passages

History

31 passages

Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 21Volume 21 Biographies 2: Crown Prince Wenhui · 1 passage

敕荀伯玉曰：「我出行日，城中軍悉受長懋節度。 He instructed Xun Boyu, "On days when I leave the city, every soldier in the capital shall answer to Zhangmao.

Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 31Volume 31 Biographies 12: Jiang Mi, Xun Boyu · 30 passages

江謐荀伯玉 Jiang Mi; Xun Boyu

荀伯玉字弄璋，廣陵人也。 Xun Boyu, styled Nongzhang, came from Guangling.

伯玉少爲柳元景撫軍板行參軍，南徐州祭酒，晉安王子勛鎮軍行參軍。 Young, Boyu served as acting adjutant on Liu Yuanjing's pacifier-army staff, as libationer of southern Xuzhou, and as acting adjutant on the stabilizing army of Prince Zixun of Jin'an.

泰始初，子勛舉事，伯玉友人孫沖爲將帥，伯玉隷其驅使，封新亭侯。 When Taishi opened, Zixun rose in rebellion; Boyu's friend Sun Chong took command, and Boyu rode under him and was enfeoffed Marquis of Xinting.

事敗，伯玉還都賣卜自業。 When the cause collapsed, Boyu went back to the capital and made his living casting lots.

建平王景素聞而招之，伯玉不往。 Prince Jingsu of Jianping heard of him and called him in; Boyu would not go.

太祖鎮淮陰，伯玉歸身結事，爲太祖冠軍刑獄參軍。 While the founding emperor was posted at Huaiyin, Boyu threw himself on his service and became adjutant for prisons under the champion army.

伯玉勸太祖遣數十騎入虜界，安置標榜，於是虜游騎數百履行界上，太祖以聞，猶懼不得留，令伯玉卜，伯玉斷卦不成行，而明帝詔果復太祖本任，由是見親待。 Boyu urged him to send a few dozen riders into the northern marches and set up boundary markers; soon hundreds of enemy patrols were riding the line. The founding emperor reported it, yet still feared the court would recall him and had Boyu cast the hexagrams; Boyu read that the journey would not succeed, and Emperor Ming's edict in fact restored him to his old command. From that day he was held close.

從太祖還都，除奉朝請。 When the founding emperor returned to the capital, Boyu was made a palace scholar.

世祖罷廣興還，立別宅，遣人於大宅掘樹數株，伯玉不與，馳以聞。 When Shizu left Guangxing and came back he built a separate house and sent men to dig up several trees from the main estate; Boyu refused and rode at once to report it.

太祖爲南兖州，伯玉轉爲上鎮軍中兵參軍，帶廣陵令。 When the founding emperor took southern Yanzhou, Boyu became adjutant of the upper camp and served concurrently as magistrate of Guangling.

初，太祖在淮南，伯玉假還廣陵，夢上廣陵城南樓上，有二青衣小兒語伯玉云：「草中肅，九五相追逐。」 Early on, while the founding emperor was in Huainan, Boyu went home on leave to Guangling and dreamed he stood on the city's south tower; two boys in blue called to him, "Amid the grass, su—nine-fives in pursuit."

伯玉問何當舒，上曰：「却後三年。」 Boyu asked when they would open; the emperor said, "Three years hence."

伯玉夢中自謂是呪師，向上唾呪之，凡六呪，有六龍出，兩掖下翅皆舒，還而復斂。 In the dream Boyu thought himself a curse-master, spat six curses upward, six dragons rose, the wings under both arms opened, then folded shut again.

太祖謂伯玉曰：「卿時乘之夢，今且效矣。」 The Grand Ancestor told Boyu: "That dream of yours about riding—see how it is being fulfilled."

霸業旣建，伯玉忠勤盡心，常衞左右。 When the founding cause was won, Boyu gave himself over in loyal, tireless service and never left the Grand Ancestor's side.

隨太祖太尉府轉中兵，將軍、太守如故。 With the Grand Ancestor's transfer to the Grand Commandant's office, Boyu moved to the central troops; his general's title and prefecture stayed the same.

建元元年，封南豐縣子，四百戶。 In Jianyuan's first year he was enfeoffed Viscount of Nanfeng, with four hundred households.

伯玉謂親人曰：「太子所爲，官終不知，豈得顧死蔽官耳目。 Boyu told his family: "The crown prince is doing what the throne will never hear of in the end—who dies to blind the court to it?

上嘉伯玉盡心，愈見親信，軍國密事，多委使之。 The throne prized Boyu's wholehearted service and drew him closer still; military and state secrets went largely through his hands.

時人爲之語曰：「十敕五令，不如荀伯玉命。」 A saying ran: "Ten throne edicts and five orders weigh less than one word from Xun Boyu."

世祖深怨伯玉。 Shizu hated Boyu to the bone.

上臨崩，指伯玉謂世祖曰：「此人事我忠，我身後，人必爲其作口過，汝勿信也。 On his deathbed the throne pointed at Boyu and told Shizu: "This man was loyal to me; after I am gone men will surely slander him—do not heed them.

伯玉遭父憂，除冠軍將軍、南濮陽太守，未拜，除黃門郎，本官如故。 In mourning for his father Boyu was named Champion General and southern Puyang; before he took up the post he was named Gentleman at the Yellow Gate, his other titles unchanged.

伯玉憂懼無計，上聞之，以其與垣崇祖善，慮相扇爲亂，加意撫之，伯玉乃安。 Boyu was trapped in fear. The throne heard of it; knowing his tie to Yuan Chongzu, he feared the two would rouse each other to revolt and soothed him with special care—only then did Boyu grow calm.

永明元年，垣崇祖誅，伯玉并伏法。 In Yongming's first year Yuan Chongzu was killed, and Boyu died by the same sentence.

初，善相墓者見伯玉家墓，謂其父曰：「當出暴貴而不久也。」 Earlier a tomb-reader saw the Boyu family burial and told his father: "This house will rise to sudden glory—and not keep it long."

伯玉後聞之，曰：「朝聞道，夕死可矣。」 When Boyu heard it later he said: "Hear the Way at dawn, and dusk is time enough to die."

察江、荀之行也，雖異術而同亡。 Weigh Jiang's path and Xun's: different arts, the same fall.

贊曰：謐口禍門，荀言亟盡。 The encomium runs: Mi's mouth opened the gate of ruin; Xun's counsel ran out too soon.