Wang Ye (Three Kingdoms)

Life

Wang Ye was from Wuling Commandery (武陵郡), which is around present-day Changde, Hunan. He started his career as an official in the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period and served as a Regular Mounted Attendant (散騎常侍). In 260, the Wei emperor Cao Mao secretly summoned Wang Chen, Wang Jing and Wang Ye to discuss a plan to remove the regent Sima Zhao from power. However, Wang Chen and Wang Ye refused to participate in the plot and instead secretly reported it to Sima Zhao. Cao Mao failed in his coup against Sima Zhao and ended up being killed in June.

Wang Ye continued serving under the Western Jin, which replaced the Cao Wei state after Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, usurped the throne from the last Wei emperor Cao Huan. In the early years of Sima Yan's reign, Wang Ye was promoted to Central Protector of the Army (中護軍). On 10 April 271, Sima Yan appointed him and Sima Gui (司馬珪; son of Sima Fu) as the Left and Right Supervisors of the Masters of Writing respectively.

References

• Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).

References

1. In Emperor Wu's annals in ''Book of Jin'', after Wang Ye, the next known Left Supervisor was Lu Qin, grandson of [[Lu Zhi (Han dynasty). Lu Zhi]], who died while holding the post in April 278. Thus, Wang Ye must have left the post some time in the 270s.
2. Wang Hong's and [[Wang Bi]]'s father was another person with the same name. Per a ''Bowu Ji'' annotation in vol.28 of ''Sanguozhi'', this Wang Ye's courtesy name was Zhangxu (长绪), a clansman of [[Wang Can]] (and his eventual heir), and a maternal grandson of [[Liu Biao]].
3. (〈《世语》曰：业，武陵人，后为晋中护军。) ''Shiyu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.04.
4. ''Sanguozhi'', vol.04
5. This post is significant to the Sima clan as [[Sima Shi]] held this post during the [[Incident at the Gaoping Tombs]].
6. ''gui'si'' day of the 3rd month of the 7th year of the ''Tai'shi'' era, per Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Jin''
7. ''Jin Shu'', vol.37. Vol.211 of ''[[Taiping Yulan]]'' and vol.48 of ''[[Yiwen Leiju]]'', citing ''Jin Zhu Gong Zan'', recorded that Sima Gui was 37 (by East Asian reckoning) when he was appointed.