Zhu Jianping 朱建平 (www.chinaknowledge.de)

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History > Three Empires > Persons > Zhu Jianping

Feb 15, 2024 © Ulrich Theobald

Zhu Jianping 朱建平 (d. early 220s) was a prosopomancer of the very late Eastern Han period 東漢 (25-220 CE).

He hailed from the princedom of Pei 沛 (today's Peixian 沛縣, Anhui) and was employed at the court of the warlord Cao Cao 曹操 (155-220). He was good at rating the fortune of individual persons from their appearance (xiang shu 相術).

When Cao Cao's son Cao Pi 曹丕 (187-226) was still a military commander, he had Zhu Jianping rated the future of important persons of his entourage like Xiahou Wei 夏侯威, Ying Ju 應璩, Cao Biao 曹彪 or Xu You 荀攸.

Zhu Jianping was also famous for his expertise in inspecting horses (xiang ma 相馬), which shows that he had also knowledge of medicine. His expertise was highly admired by Zhong Yao 鐘繇 (151-230), who said that Zhu was even better than the famous diviners Tang Ju 唐舉 and Fu Fu 許負.

Sources:

Chen Yongzheng 陳永正, ed. (1991). Zhongguo fangshu da cidian 中國方術大辭典 (Guangzhou: Zhongshan daxue chubanshe), 618.

Huang Huixian 黃惠賢, ed. (1997). Ershiwushi renming da cidian 二十五史人名大辭典 (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou guji chubanshe), Vol. 1, 120.

Zhang Huizhi 張撝之, Shen Qiwei 沈起煒, Liu Dezhong 劉德重, eds. (1999). Zhongguo lidai renming da cidian 中國歷代人名大辭典 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe), Vol. 1, 566.