Wang Su

Biodata

Background / History

Wang Su is the son of Wang Lang, an eminent Cao Wei minister and one of the Three Excellencies. He inherits his father’s political connections, including ties to former protégés and subordinates such as Zheng Mao. His daughter Wang Yuanji’s marriage to Sima Zhao connects his family directly to the Sima clan 9 25.

During Cao Shuang’s ascendancy, Wang Su openly criticized the repeated appointment of He Yan, Deng Yang, and others to important duties. Cao Shuang dismissed him as Grand Minister of Ceremonies on an arbitrary pretext; he was subsequently appointed Court Steward 9.

The Sima clan later selected Wang Su, a staunch ally, to lead the mission welcoming Cao Mao to the throne. Wang Su expected the assignment to be relatively uncomplicated, but Cao Mao’s repeated refusals turned it into a threat to his reputation and his family’s interests 11 15.

In his youth, Wang Su studied the Supreme Mystery, formally Master Yang’s Classic of Supreme Mystery, under the Confucian scholar Song Zhong. His mastery of the work becomes a foundation of his scholarly reputation and his influence on Xuanxue 64 485.

Wang Su long aspires to join the Three Excellencies, encouraged by a physiognomist’s prediction that he is destined for such office. Although his early encounters with Cao Mao derail his career and lead him to withdraw from court, he eventually accepts Cao Mao’s appointment as Minister over the Masses and turns toward supporting the emperor’s government 92 154 241 339.

As Minister over the Masses, he develops a revised form of Wang Learning that reconciles classical scholarship, Xuanxue, and the practical demands of unification. His works attract readers from both great clans and humble families, and Wei’s conquest of Shu further enhances their prestige 469 470 485 529.

Personality

Wang Su appears simple, honest, and somewhat slow to react, but Yang Zong describes him as a man of profound calculation. His outward composure masks a careful assessment of political risks: when the other envoys are astonished by Cao Mao’s first refusal, he remains calm and immediately invokes filial duty 5 9.

Preserving an unblemished reputation is his overriding concern. He avoids compromising business, shields Zheng Mao from difficult encounters, and leaves Hua Biao to handle Cao Mao while he claims illness. His concern extends beyond personal vanity: a respected name helps secure official recommendations for his descendants and protects his clan’s standing 15 30.

His restraint does not prevent ruthlessness. When Shu Wan seeks protection after news of Cao Mao’s demands spreads, Wang Su privately accepts that the magistrate should bear the consequences rather than senior officials like himself 24.

He is markedly warmer toward Sima Yan than toward others. He smiles openly at his grandson and prefers him to Sima You, although he considers Sima Yan’s sincerity and kindness vulnerabilities that Cao Mao might exploit 22.

His pride in his scholarship is intense. Wang Xiang’s appropriation of his ideas provokes lasting fury, and he regards those ideas as the fruit of his life’s work rather than an incidental source of prestige. The court’s refusal to judge the dispute on its merits leaves him deeply embittered and contributes to a serious illness 154 277 339.

Wang Su combines genuine intellectual ability with pronounced political pragmatism. His scholarship serves changing governmental needs, and he freely draws on rival traditions when useful. He also attributes his own arguments to ancient sages, using forged or altered classical writings to lend them authority 466 469 470.

His ambition for high office can overcome even his dislike of Cao Mao. When offered the post of Minister over the Masses, he frames acceptance as a sacrifice of private grievances for the common people. Afterward, he becomes eager to accomplish something substantial and increasingly appreciates the emperor’s patronage 339 343 460.

He condemns the drinking, medicinal-powder use, extravagance, and lack of practical ability of contemporary aristocratic youths, frequently directing these criticisms at Wang Kai. Nevertheless, his commitment to family reputation makes him willing to negotiate protection for that son even after learning of his examination fraud and persecution of an accuser 277 400.

Although reluctant to take disciples, Wang Su believes exceptional classical scholarship depends on innate talent rather than instruction alone. He does not consider even his own sons suitable inheritors of his full learning, but recognizes Kong Chao as a trusted scholarly collaborator and eventually entrusts him with his unfinished work 558 608.

Abilities & Skills

Political Judgment

• Recognizes that Cao Mao’s selection reflects negotiations between the Guo and Sima families, rather than a decision he can reverse personally 11.
• Understands that enthroning the older-generation Prince of Pengcheng would undermine Empress Dowager Guo’s basis for authority and the Guo family’s control of the inner palace 11.
• Reconsiders Cao Mao’s likely fate after Zheng Mao explains how court resentment over clan exterminations could constrain Sima Shi 25.
• Correctly infers that Cao Mao has assumed personal rule from Wang Xun’s deference, the close surveillance of his family, and the emperor’s freedom to welcome him outside Luoyang 277.
• Recognizes that Zhong Hui’s threatened arrest of Wang Kai is intended to secure his political cooperation rather than merely punish his son 400.
• Understands that his appointment reassures former Sima supporters while providing Cao Mao with a counterweight to other great-clan factions. He also recognizes his own limitations and does not assume he can replace Wang Chang in managing the Imperial Secretariat 458.
• Gives the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers shared credit for Wang Learning, making them beneficiaries of a doctrine that supports unification and reducing their incentive to oppose its policies 469 504.

Moral and Ceremonial Argument

• Uses filial piety to characterize refusal of the empress dowager’s gift as unfilial conduct 5.
• On his third visit, compares Cao Mao’s refusals to Emperor Wen’s three refusals, praising his virtue while implicitly pressuring him not to refuse again 23.
• Invokes experienced ministers and frontier commanders as support for a young ruler who claims to lack governing ability 23.
• His arguments repeatedly fail to secure Cao Mao’s acceptance on the delegation’s terms 5 11 23.
• Later fulfills Cao Mao’s instructions by presenting Cao Fang’s deposition and Cao Mao’s accession as the empress dowager’s actions rather than Sima Shi’s. His account separates the succession from Xiahou Xuan’s case and emphasizes affection between Cao Mao’s father and Cao Rui to support the emperor’s legitimacy 320.

Information Gathering and Personal Networks

• Uses his friendship with Shu Hun to put Shu Wan at ease before questioning him about Cao Mao’s conduct 12.
• Sends reports to Luoyang about Cao Mao’s local reputation and the Guo family’s apparent lack of urgency over the succession 12 19.
• Is acknowledged by Cao Mao as a scholar of classical studies, though Cao Mao invokes that reputation while maneuvering him into a public political commitment 30.
• Brings Kong Chao, a former Doctor of Classical Studies, into his establishment after becoming Minister over the Masses 466.
• Accepts Liu Yuan as a disciple partly to accommodate Pei Xiu, whose assistance with promoting his scholarship gives the relationship practical value 471.

Classical Scholarship and Wang Learning

Wang Su is one of the foremost classical scholars of his age and the founder of Wang Learning, supported by figures including Kong Chao and Zhong Yu. He is associated with Old Text Studies and opposes Zheng Xuan’s scholarship, but his actual methods draw broadly from Old Text and New Text traditions, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism 466 470.

His scholarship is distinguished by extensive command of classical sources and the ability to make them serve a coherent contemporary argument. During his Imperial Academy lecture, even accomplished Erudites struggle to identify and absorb the references he uses, leaving the expected debate almost entirely replaced by attentive listening 485.

• Supreme Mystery interpretation — Develops the explanation that the Supreme Mystery derives from the Book of Changes, transforming a binary division into a ternary one. These teachings become a central subject of his dispute with Wang Xiang 154.
• Synthesis of the Three Ages and Nine Eulogies — Combines the Gongyang Commentary’s Three Ages with the Supreme Mystery’s account of development, flourishing, decline, and renewal. The resulting framework calls for policies suited to the realm’s current stage rather than a single timeless governing method 469.
• Unification doctrine — Argues that a divided realm must prioritize unification to improve ordinary people’s lives and advance toward an age of peace. This supplies a classical justification for Cao Mao’s wars of unification 469 475 485.
• People-centered governance — Incorporates Mencian principles to judge benevolent government by benefits to the people rather than by the outward mildness of its methods. Under this interpretation, strict laws can constitute benevolent governance if they improve people’s lives 470 485.
• Classical fabrication — Produces writings attributed to ancient sages, including purported Confucius’s Admonitions, to support his contemporary proposals. The narrative explicitly presents this as fabrication rather than genuine recovery of ancient texts 466 469 470.
• Intellectual reconciliation — Uses his revised teachings to address the collapse of Han, the apparent failure of inherited moral principles, and the contradiction between classical ideals and contemporary political practice 475 485.

Teaching

• Temporarily teaches Cao Mao in the Western Hall, choosing the Supreme Mystery rather than the Book of Documents. Cao Mao’s rapid comprehension and ability to extend his arguments astonish him and lead him to bring additional books 64.
• Gives a two-hour internal lecture at the Imperial Academy introducing his revised annotations and the broader principles of Wang Learning 485.
• Accepts Liu Yuan as a disciple; his later circle of young pupils also includes Sima You, Cao Qi, and Guo Ping, with Kong Chao assisting in evaluating their studies 471 558.

Martial Experience

• Recalls riding out to hunt with friends in his youth and traveling a hundred li without fatigue 277.
• Had an interest in swordsmanship when young, although he declines Cao Mao’s later invitation to spar and describes his own skills as unworthy of comparison 459.

Equipment / Official Regalia

• Son of Heaven’s Processional Standard — Carried during his mission to receive Cao Mao. Its authority requires formal obeisance even from Sima Shi 4 23.
• Ceremonial Staff — Carried when entering Cao Mao’s residence for the second invitation 11.
• Empress dowager’s decree — The delegation’s authority for announcing Cao Fang’s deposition and summoning Cao Mao to succeed him; Hua Biao reads it aloud 4 23.
• Scholarly manuscripts and annotated classics — Prepares substantial collections of annotations and purported ancient writings for presentation to Cao Mao. These manuscripts form the basis of his revised Wang Learning and its subsequent promotion 469 471 485.

Relationships

• Wang Lang — Father; Wang Su inherits his political legacy and connections 9 25.
• Wang Yuanji — Daughter; her marriage to Sima Zhao links the Wang and Sima families. In his final illness, Wang Su calls her the most outstanding of his children, promises to protect her family, and leaves her his farmland and houses in Luoyang 9 608 609.
• Wang Xun — Second son, initially administrator of Henan Commandery. Wang Su values his honest, frugal, and fair conduct, and welcomes Cao Mao’s later appointment of him to govern Jiangling under Wang Ji as an opportunity to secure his career 277 460.
• Wang Kai — Youngest son and a frequent target of his criticism for extravagance, drinking, medicinal-powder use, and lack of learning. Wang Su keeps him nearby to educate him, but later discovers that he obtained office through examination fraud and bribed the Censorate to persecute his accuser 277 400.
• Sima Zhao — Son-in-law and former political ally. Their family connection becomes a basis for Guo-family fears that Wang Su intends to replace them as imperial relatives. Sima Zhao later forces Wang Su to teach Cao Mao; Wang Su ultimately supports the emperor instead of helping restore Sima Zhao and admits that he sold his son-in-law out to preserve himself and his clan 9 18 19 64 459 608.
• Sima Yan — Favored grandson. Wang Su warns him to avoid Cao Mao and keep their private conversation secret. Their affection remains strong after Wang Su returns to Luoyang, and during his final illness Wang Su distinguishes him from the older Sima men and asks him to watch over his younger brother 22 154 278 609.
• Sima You — Grandson, less favored by Wang Su than Sima Yan. He later studies among Wang Su’s young pupils and performs well when questioned by Kong Chao 22 558.
• Sima Shi — Political patron whose orders Wang Su awaits during the succession dispute; Wang Su fears the consequences of his response to Cao Mao’s demands. A later leak controversy places Wang Su under Sima Shi’s suspicion and effectively ends his prospects for further advancement within the Sima faction 15 24 69 92.
• Zheng Mao — Trusted colleague, treated like a younger brother. He advises Wang Su and volunteers to sound out Cao Mao 25.
• Hua Biao — Fellow envoy who is left to manage difficult encounters while Wang Su withdraws from direct contact 15.
• Cao Mao — Intended sovereign and initially an increasingly distrusted political opponent. Cao Mao exploits Wang Su’s reputation to force concessions and foster suspicion of him. Their relationship later becomes that of teacher and student, then emperor and senior minister: Wang Su accepts high office, develops scholarship supporting Cao Mao’s policies, and receives the emperor’s concern during his final illness 22 30 41 64 339 469 609.
• Guo Jian — Rival within the succession mission. Cao Mao persuades him that Wang Su’s delays reflect hostility toward the Guo family 17 18.
• Shu Hun — Close friend whom Wang Lang recommended to the imperial court 12.
• Shu Wan — Local magistrate and source of accusations against Cao Mao; Wang Su later rejects his plea for protection 12 24.
• Song Zhong — Teacher under whom Wang Su studied the Supreme Mystery in his youth 64.
• Wang Xiang — Scholarly rival who appropriates Wang Su’s teachings to advance his own reputation and official career. Wang Su pursues the matter publicly and through the Minister of Justice before accepting Cao Mao’s invitation to put the feud aside 154 278 288 306 339.
• Zhong Hui — Repeatedly pressures Wang Su, first over his supposed neglect of Cao Mao and a proposed assignment to Yongliang, and later through evidence against Wang Kai. Their dealings remain politically transactional, although Zhong Hui listens enthusiastically to his scholarship 92 400 485.
• Kong Chao — Subordinate, disciple, scholarly collaborator, and friend. He supports Wang Learning and is entrusted with completing Wang Su’s unfinished work 466 608.
• Zhong Yu — Supporter of Wang Learning and Grand Minister of Ceremonies who offers practical educational proposals and oversees Wang Su’s Imperial Academy lecture 466 469 485.
• Pei Xiu — Charged by Cao Mao with promoting Wang Su’s revised annotations. He also arranges the introduction that leads Wang Su to accept Liu Yuan as a disciple 471 485.
• Liu Yuan — Young disciple accepted after Pei Xiu brings him and his father Liu Bao to Wang Su’s residence. He later stands out for diligence and strong answers during examinations of the pupils 471 558.
• Sima Gan — Seeks Wang Su’s help on Sima Zhao’s behalf. Wang Su rejects his treasonous appeals, questions him about his contacts, and reports the visit to Cao Mao 458 459.
• Huangfu Mi — Physician assigned to examine Wang Su during his declining health. Wang Su respects his classical learning but dismisses his warning that an absence of pain during acupuncture is a serious sign 558 608.

Story Role / Major Arcs

The Three Invitations

Wang Su arrives in Yuan City with Hua Biao and Zheng Mao to receive Cao Mao under Empress Dowager Guo’s decree. After Cao Mao refuses the throne, Wang Su’s appeal to filial obedience fails, and he orders Shu Wan to find lodging for the delegation 4 5.

On the second visit, Cao Mao recommends the Prince of Pengcheng instead. Wang Su cannot accept the substitution himself and leaves after another unsuccessful attempt at persuasion. He subsequently claims illness and avoids meeting Cao Mao while awaiting Sima Shi’s instructions 11 15.

Guo Jian’s arrival initially reassures him, but Cao Mao convinces Guo Jian to wait for Wang Su to invite them personally. The resulting delay produces conflicting reports to Luoyang and deepens suspicion between the Guo and Sima families 17 19.

At the third invitation, Cao Mao demands rehabilitation of Xiahou Xuan, Li Feng, and the other accused ministers, release of their enslaved clansmen, and posthumous honors before he will accept the throne. Wang Su is visibly terrified. Once the controversy spreads, he fears Cao Mao will be killed and that history will blame him for driving a virtuous heir to his death 23 24.

Forced Support for Xiahou Xuan

Zheng Mao explains that resentment over the Sima family’s extermination of prominent clans may give Cao Mao’s demands political support. Wang Su agrees to have Cao Mao approached, while maintaining the appearance of reluctance to expose Zheng Mao to danger 25.

After the staged attack on Cao Mao’s residence, Wang Su rushes there and checks Cao Mao’s safety before his own grandson’s. He orders a city search and leaves twenty men to protect the duke. Cao Mao then uses praise and pointed questions about Wang Su’s avoidance to force him to publicly declare support for clearing Xiahou Xuan’s name 29 30.

Accusations at Court

Near Luoyang, Wang Su tries to limit Cao Mao’s contact with the assembled ministers. Cao Mao nevertheless describes the assassination attempt and privately tells Gao Rou that Wang Su wanted to kill him 39 40.

Gao Rou rejects the accusation as an attempt to sow discord, reasoning that Cao Mao’s death would destroy the reputation Wang Su had spent his life cultivating. The narrative also establishes that Cao Mao ordered the staged attack himself; Wang Su’s involvement in that particular attack is an accusation, not a demonstrated fact 29 41.

Cao Mao later repeats and expands the charge before Empress Dowager Guo and her relatives, alleging that Wang Su intended to kill him and frame the Guo family. This serves Cao Mao’s effort to keep the Guos close by exploiting their fear of being displaced 41 46.

Much later, Wang Su admits that he and Sima Zhao did plot to kill and replace the emperor. This confession establishes a broader conspiracy but does not overturn the account that the earlier Yuan City attack was staged by Cao Mao himself 29 608.

Cao Mao’s Teacher and Political Withdrawal

Wang Su resigns as Grand Minister of Ceremonies in an effort to escape further dealings with Cao Mao. Sima Zhao nevertheless forces him to become the emperor’s temporary teacher, placing the lessons in the Western Hall as part of the effort to keep Cao Mao confined and supervised 64.

Cao Mao welcomes him enthusiastically and formally acknowledges him as teacher before Wang Su can limit the arrangement. Wang Su begins teaching the Supreme Mystery and is astonished by the emperor’s rapid understanding and probing responses. Over several days, he invests more effort in the lessons and brings additional books 64.

The arrangement also worsens his political exposure. When Sima Shi questions him over leaked information concerning the General Who Conquers the South, Wang Su angrily denies knowledge and immediately suspects the Guo family. The controversy involving Jia Chong leaves him on Sima Shi’s blacklist, despite Sima Zhao’s assurances that he still trusts the Wang family 69 70 92.

Wang Su withdraws to his residence, again claiming grave illness. Zhong Hui subsequently blames him for neglecting Cao Mao and proposes sending him to Yongliang to assist Inspector Chen. Wang Su complains to Sima Zhao while Wang Yuanji listens, but his ambition for advancement appears to have been frustrated 92 154.

Return to Luoyang and the Wang Xiang Dispute

As Wang Su prepares to depart Luoyang, he again warns Sima Yan against trusting Cao Mao. Wang Kai then reports that Wang Xiang has been credited with the emperor’s knowledge of the Supreme Mystery, including arguments Wang Su himself developed. Wang Su reacts furiously and demands to confront the man he regards as a scholarly thief 154.

While away from court, he continues to insist that he can become one of the Three Excellencies. A letter from Wang Yuanji strengthens his determination to return, despite Wang Kai’s warnings that involvement in Luoyang’s politics could endanger the family 241.

On the journey back, Wang Su repeatedly scolds Wang Kai for his dissipated habits. Wang Xun meets them under imperial orders, accompanied by armored guards whose vigilance alarms Wang Su. Cao Mao personally welcomes him, and Wang Xun’s fearful respect allows Wang Su to deduce that the emperor now rules in his own right. He immediately recognizes how vulnerable the Wang family has become 277.

Cao Mao’s questions revive the quarrel over Wang Xiang. Wang Su declares that his former colleague has stolen his scholarship and challenges him to a debate. The narrative independently confirms that Wang Xiang had claimed Wang Su’s achievements as his own in pursuit of office, expecting that later compensation would prevent an open breach 277 278.

At the East Hall banquet, Wang Su confronts Wang Xiang, but senior ministers oppose Wang Su’s return to prominence and side with his rival. Younger scholars support the principle that no individual can monopolize the study of the classics. Cao Mao leaves the dispute to Zhong Hui, who declines to decide it and tells the two scholars to settle it privately 287 288 293.

At Sima Yan’s suggestion, Wang Su takes his case to the Minister of Justice. Chen Qian supports him, but Wang Xiang challenges the court’s authority before the Censorate, turning the plagiarism case into an institutional struggle. Wang Su increasingly suspects that Cao Mao is deliberately making his ministers fight one another 306.

Minister over the Masses

Repeated political disappointments and the unresolved dispute with Wang Xiang drive Wang Su into serious illness. Although he has produced substantial evidence of plagiarism, the ministers continue to take positions according to factional advantage rather than the merits of his case 339.

Cao Mao visits and urges him to seek lasting achievements for the realm instead of devoting his remaining strength to the feud. The emperor offers him the post of Minister over the Masses, fulfilling his longstanding ambition to join the Three Excellencies. Wang Su accepts, presenting his decision as a willingness to set aside personal grievances for the common people 339.

Reinvigorated by the appointment, he puts the Wang Xiang affair behind him and resolves to prove his ability in government. He comes to believe that Cao Mao’s willingness to hear advice offers the possibility of an unprecedented flourishing age 343.

His new position does not free him from political leverage. Zhong Hui discovers that Wang Kai hired a substitute to take his examination, obtained an official position fraudulently, bribed the Censorate, and had his accuser framed and expelled from Luoyang. Wang Su is furious at the academic fraud but seeks to keep the scandal private, remove his son from office, and compensate the injured scholar 400.

Recognizing that Zhong Hui wants cooperation, Wang Su agrees to join Zhuge Dan and Sima Zhao in petitioning Cao Mao for harsh measures against corrupt officials. Their support gives Zhong Hui senior political cover for the campaign 400.

Breaking with the Sima Cause

Wang Su recognizes that Cao Mao has used his appointment both to reassure former Sima adherents and to oppose other aristocratic factions. He remains concerned about the treatment and usefulness of veteran ministers, but no longer views restoring Sima Zhao as compatible with his own position 458 459.

When Sima Gan seeks his help, Wang Su condemns his treasonous language and says that concern for his grandson is the reason he does not immediately have him arrested. He questions Sima Gan about the people he has approached and then reports the visit to Cao Mao, fearing that another Sima conspiracy could implicate his own family 459.

Cao Mao subsequently offers Wang Xun the governorship of Jiangling under Wang Ji. Wang Su understands this as a reward directed toward his descendants now that he himself can rise no higher. His gratitude marks a further change in his attitude toward the emperor 460.

Reshaping Wang Learning

Questions from Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, and other celebrated scholars about the contradiction between Cao Mao’s studies and his harsh punishments inspire Wang Su to develop a larger intellectual defense of the government. He approaches Zhuge Dan, gathers his books, and works with Kong Chao on a new synthesis 465 466.

Wang Su prepares annotated classics and purported writings of Confucius, then convenes the ministers to discuss governance. Although most proposals are vague, Zhong Yu contributes useful educational ideas. Wang Su records their remarks and shares credit for the undertaking rather than presenting it solely as his own achievement 469.

Before Cao Mao, he combines the Gongyang Three Ages with the Supreme Mystery’s Nine Eulogies. He argues that the divided realm’s present stage requires policies that achieve unification as rapidly as possible, while later stages will call for different methods. When Guo Ze questions how Confucius could have commented on the Supreme Mystery, Wang Su answers that the Sage understood its underlying mystery even without knowing the later book 469.

Cao Mao enthusiastically praises him as a great worthy. Their further discussion develops a people-centered justification of government: policies are benevolent when they benefit ordinary people, even if they employ strict laws. Wang Su also recognizes this principle as a powerful answer to the claims of rival Zheng scholars about the sanctity of the monarch 469 470.

Pei Xiu is assigned to promote the annotations. Wang Su’s decision to attribute the work to the collective study of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers helps bind senior officials to its unification doctrine, a maneuver Cao Mao considers especially valuable and rewards through Wang Su’s descendants 471 504.

Imperial Academy Lecture and Scholarly Influence

As interest in the revised Wang Learning grows, Pei Xiu arranges an internal lecture at the Imperial Academy. Wang Su’s former oversight of the academy and his scholarly standing ensure a respectful reception. Sima Yan avoids greeting him too warmly out of concern that their family relationship might cast doubt on the anticipated debate 485.

Wang Su lectures for two hours, expounding the Supreme Mystery and supporting his annotations with extensive classical references. The Erudites become absorbed in understanding his synthesis rather than challenging it, while the students begin to see how his teachings connect inherited scholarship with their own age 485.

His account explains Han’s collapse through declining popular welfare and treats unification as the means of escaping an age of decay. It helps resolve the contradiction between reverence for the classics and the reality that warfare, severe laws, and broken loyalties have accompanied the founding of new regimes 485.

His books subsequently become highly sought after across social backgrounds. The conquest of Shu is widely taken as confirmation of his teachings, further increasing his reputation 529.

Declining Health and Final Arrangements

Despite his continued intellectual energy, Wang Su’s health deteriorates. Cao Mao orders him to rest, while Zhang Hua suggests that fear of implication in Sima Zhao’s crimes may also be weighing on him 529.

At home, he suffers stabbing pains in his temples, poor appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Huangfu Mi examines him and warns that his failure to feel acupuncture needles is a serious sign, but Wang Su interprets his outwardly sturdy appearance as evidence that he can endure. His young pupils continue visiting, and Kong Chao oversees their studies 558.

His condition eventually becomes critical. He has withdrawn from government, and some ministers mistake his absence for a tactic to avoid responsibility for the Sima family’s crimes. In fact, his weakness continues to worsen despite recuperation, and Huangfu Mi concludes that his remaining lifespan is beyond medical help 608.

Surrounded by family and disciples, Wang Su entrusts his unfinished scholarship to Kong Chao. He then keeps Wang Yuanji and Sima Yan with him, reassures his daughter that he can still protect her family, and makes a frank admission of the older generation’s wrongdoing. He condemns Sima Yi’s broken faith, Sima Shi’s slaughter of innocents, and his own and Sima Zhao’s plot to kill and replace the emperor. He acknowledges that he changed allegiance and sold Sima Zhao out to preserve himself and his clan 608.

Wang Su tells Sima Yan that he trusts him to be different from his father and uncle, asks him to watch over Sima You, and leaves Wang Yuanji his farmland and houses in Luoyang. He advises her to live there with her children and avoid outside affairs 609.

Cao Mao arrives personally, takes Wang Su’s hand, and expresses genuine concern. Wang Su welcomes the visit both as a great honor and as an opportunity to make final requests; the available account does not establish his subsequent death 609.

Notable Quotes

“Your Majesty, I have heard that a younger person must not refuse what an elder bestows upon him. To do otherwise is unfilial.” 5

“The affairs of the realm rest neither with the empress dowager nor with the Grand General, but with Your Majesty!” 11

“Lord Zheng, I fear the good name I've built over a lifetime is about to be ruined in a single stroke.” 24

“This is the fruit of my life's work! How can I disregard it?!” 339

“Your subject accepts the appointment!!” 339

“Only what benefits the people may be called benevolent governance!” 470

“I still have some unfinished work. I shall leave it to you. I hope you can complete it for me.” 608

“Not only your father, but your elder uncle, your grandfather, and I... we were all evil men.” 608

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