Zhong Hui 鍾會

Zhong Hui 鍾會 (225-264), courtesy name Shiji 士季, also called Zifang 子房, was a high minister of the state of Wei 曹魏 (220-265) during the Three Kingdoms period 三國 (220-280).

He hailed from Changshe 長社 in the commandery of Yingchuan 穎川 (today's Changge 長葛, Henan) and was a son of the statesman and calligrapher Zhong Yao 鍾繇 (151-230). During the reign of Emperor Cao Fang 曹芳 (r. 239-254) he was appointed assistant in the Palace Library (bishulang 祕書郎) and then gentleman attendant in the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu zhongshu shilang 尚書中書侍郎). Emperor Cao Mao 曹髦 (r. 254-260 CE) granted him the title of a Marquis within the Passes (guanneihou 關內侯). The next step in his career was attendant gentleman of the Yellow Gate (huangmen shilang 黃門侍郎), and the title of Neighbourhood Marquis of Dongwu 東武亭侯.

His victory against the defector Zhuge Dan 諸葛誕 (d. 258) brought him the post of Metropolitan Commandant (sili xiaowei). Zhong Hui was a supporter of the regent Sima Zhao 司馬昭 (211-265). In 263 he was given the title of General Suppressing the West (zhanxi jiangjun 鎮西將軍) and was commissioned with a warrant (jiajie 假節) entrusted with the military affairs of the Guanzhong region 關中. Zhong Hui took over the supreme command of an invasion army attacking the state of Shu in the southwest. Together with Deng Ai 鄧艾 (197-264) he forced Shu into the knees and annihilated this empire. The Sichuan Basin was a well-protected area, and Zhong Hui planned to use it as his basis for a rebellion against the Wei empire, but he was defeated and died in battle.

Zhong Hui had written a book called Daolun 道論, which belonged to the philosophical realm of the school of dialecticians (mingjia 名家). It has not survived.