Yin Mo
Yin Mo (fl. 200s–234), courtesy name Siqian, was a Confucian scholar and official of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Yin Mo | |
|---|---|
尹默 | |
| Palace Counsellor (太中大夫) | |
| In office 234 – ? | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Army Libationer (軍祭酒) | |
| In office 227 – 234 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Counsellor Remonstrant (諫議大夫) | |
| In office 223 – 227 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Crown Prince's Coachman (太子僕) | |
| In office 221 – 223 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Chancellor | Zhuge Liang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Mianyang, Sichuan |
| Died | Unknown |
| Children | Yin Zong |
| Occupation | Official, scholar |
| Courtesy name | Siqian (思潛) |
Life
Yin Mo was from Fu County (涪縣), Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡), which is located east of present-day Mianyang, Sichuan. At the time, many people in Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) preferred contemporary writing over ancient prose, which they were very unfamiliar with. Yin Mo travelled east to Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) with Li Ren, who was from the same hometown as him,[1] to learn ancient prose from Sima Hui and Song Zhong (宋忠; also known as Song Zhongzi 宋仲子). He became well versed in Confucian classics and history and specialised in the Zuo Zhuan. He followed in the footsteps of earlier scholars such as Liu Xin, who used the Zuo Zhuan to explain the Spring and Autumn Annals, and Zheng Zhong (鄭眾) and Jia Kui, who annotated the Zuo Zhuan. Yin Mo's works became so popular that readers did not need to refer to the original version after reading his annotated works.[2]
In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from its governor Liu Zhang, he appointed Yin Mo as an Assistant Officer of Education (勸學從事). In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and founded the state of Shu Han, after which he designated his son Liu Shan as the Crown Prince. Yin Mo, who was appointed as the Crown Prince's Coachman (太子僕), tutored Liu Shan in the Zuo Zhuan and Confucian classics. Liu Bei died in 223 and was succeeded by Liu Shan, who appointed Yin Mo as a Counsellor Remonstrant (諫議大夫) in the Shu imperial court. Around 227, when the Shu chancellor-regent Zhuge Liang garrisoned military forces in Hanzhong in preparation for a series of campaigns against Shu's rival state Cao Wei, Yin Mo was appointed as an Army Libationer (軍祭酒) under Zhuge Liang. In 234, after Zhuge Liang's death, Yin Mo returned to the Shu capital Chengdu and held the position of a Palace Counsellor (太中大夫). He died on an unspecified date. His son, Yin Zong (尹宗), inherited his legacy and became an Academician (博士) in the Shu court.[3]
Appraisal
Chen Shou, who wrote Yin Mo's biography in the Sanguozhi, commented on Yin Mo as follows: "Yin Mo was versed in the Zuo Zhuan. Even though he did not have a reputation for being virtuous, he was still a scholar of his time."[4]
References
- (父仁，字德賢，與同縣尹默懼遊荊州，從司馬徽、宋忠等學。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
- (尹默字思潛，梓潼涪人也。益部多貴今文而不崇章句，默知其不博，乃遠游荊州，從司馬德操、宋仲子等受古學。皆通諸經史，又專精於左氏春秋，自劉歆條例，鄭衆、賈逵父子、陳元方、服虔注說，咸略誦述，不復桉本。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
- (先主定益州，領牧，以為勸學從事，及立太子，以默為僕射，以左氏傳授後主。後主踐阼，拜諫議大夫。丞相亮住漢中，請為軍祭酒。亮卒，還成都，拜太中大夫，卒。子宗傳其業，為博士。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
- (尹默精於左氏，雖不以德業為稱，信皆一時之學士。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).