Traditional Chinese 顧譚 Name Gu Tan Wade–Giles Ku Tan | Pinyin Simplified Chinese 顾谭 | |
Courtesy name Zimo (Chinese: 子默; pinyin: Zimo; Wade–Giles: Tzu-mo) | ||
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Gu Tan (birth and death dates unknown), courtesy name Zimo, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Contents
Life
Gu Tan was from Wu County (吳縣), Wu Commandery (吳郡), which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. He was born in the Gu family, one of four elite families in Wu Commandery. His father Gu Shao served as the Administrator (太守) of Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡) while his grandfather Gu Yong was the second Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu. On the maternal side of his family, Gu Tan's maternal grandfather was Sun Ce, the elder brother and predecessor of Eastern Wu's founding emperor Sun Quan. Gu Tan was also related to Lu Xun, the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu, because his mother was a sister of Lu Xun's wife.
In his youth, Gu Tan served as one of four key attendants under Sun Deng, Sun Quan's heir apparent and the crown prince of Eastern Wu. He was appointed as a Commandant Who Upholds Righteousness (輔正都尉).
During the Chiwu era (238–251) of Sun Quan's reign, Gu Tan replaced Zhuge Ke as Left Regional Governor (左節度). Whenever he browsed through documents and records, he could easily spot mistakes simply by browsing through; his subordinates were very impressed with him. Gu Tan was later promoted to a Commandant of Equipage (奉車都尉). Xue Zong even gave up his position as a Master of Writing in the Selection Bureau (選曹尚書) to Gu Tan and wrote in his recommendation, "(Gu) Tan is focused and meticulous, familiar with affairs and skilful in details. He is talented and highly regarded. I am unable to perform better than him."
After the Battle of Quebei in 241, Quan Ji (全寄) and his father Quan Cong were unhappy that Zhang Xiu and others received higher rewards than them, so they slandered Zhang Xiu in front of Sun Quan. As Gu Tan was a close friend of Zhang Xiu, the Quans used the opportunity to slander him as well.
Months after Gu Yong's death in 243, Gu Tan was appointed Minister of Ceremonies (太常) and he took over part of his grandfather's responsibilities in the Imperial Secretariat. Around the time, there was a power struggle between two of Sun Quan's sons over the succession to their father's throne, with each of them having a faction to support him. On one hand, there was Sun He, the Crown Prince (Sun Deng died in 241); on the other hand, there was Sun Ba, the Prince of Lu. Sun Quan favoured Sun Ba and had the intention of replacing Sun He with Sun Ba as crown prince, but Gu Tan openly objected to the emperor's decision and criticised him. Sun Quan turned furious and wanted to execute Gu Tan for showing disrespect towards him, but he did not pursue the matter further after considering the past meritorious service rendered by Gu Tan's grandfather.
In 245, Sun Quan removed Gu Tan from office and exiled him to the remote Jiao Province in southern China. While he was in Jiao Province, Gu Tan wrote a 20-volume book, Xin Yan (新言; New Ideas), to express his frustration. He died in the following year at the age of 42 (by East Asian age reckoning).