Zhang Hong (Han dynasty)

Zhang Hong
張紘
Chief Clerk (長史)
(under Sun Quan)
In office
208 (208)–212 (212)
Commandant of the East District of Kuaiji (會稽東部都尉)
In office
c. 200s (c. 200s)–208 (208)
Attendant Imperial Secretary (侍御史)
In office
199 (199) – c. 200s (c. 200s)
MonarchEmperor Xian of Han
Personal details
Born153[1]
Yangzhou, Jiangsu
Died212 (aged 59)[1] or 229?
ChildrenZhang Xuan
OccupationPolitician, scholar
Courtesy nameZigang (子綱)

Zhang Hong (153–212[2]), courtesy name Zigang, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.[1]

Originally from Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡; around present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao were known as the "Two Zhangs" and they were recruited by Sun Jian to be his advisers. He was a close friend of the Sun family, and when Sun Jian was involved in his campaigns, Zhang Hong served him as a privy adviser. In the days of Sun Ce, Zhang Hong was often responsible for writing official memorials and essays to Emperor Xian and Cao Cao. After Sun Ce's death, he was sent to serve Cao Cao, and then was later sent by Cao Cao to monitor Sun Quan's activities. Zhang Hong, however, remained loyal to Sun Quan, and on his deathbed, petitioned Sun Quan to develop the city of Moling (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), which ultimately became the imperial capital of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.

  1. ^ a b c de Crespigny (2007), p. 1051.
  2. ^ Zhang Hong's birth and death dates here were based on his biography in Sanguozhi, which indicated that he died at the age of 60 (by East Asian reckoning) and that he was made maocai during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. In Zizhi Tongjian and Jiankang Shilu, Zhang Hong was recorded to have died in 229 (3rd year of the Taihe era of Cao Rui's reign in Tongjian and 11th month of the 8th year of the Huang'wu era of Sun Quan's reign in Shilu). There is a possibility that either Sanguozhi wrongly recorded his age when he died, or both Tongjian and Shilu wrongly recorded the year of his death.