Xie Cheng

Xie Cheng (182–254), courtesy name Weiping, was an in-law to the warlord, then Emperor of Eastern Wu, Sun Quan. Xie served in Jing province after Sun Quan's conquests there and was a noted historian whose work is still used.

Life Xie Cheng was from Shanyin County (山陰縣), Kuaiji Commandery, which is in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang. It would take more than a decade after the death of his sister Lady Xie to be appointed at court, when he was made a Gentleman for All Purposes (五官郎中) around 210.

Historian Xie Cheng became a historian; his works include a notable example of the trend in the era for regional histories with his "Kuaiji xianxian zhuan" (会稽先贤传, "Biographies of the Former Worthies of Kuaiji").

As part of Wu's claim to being successor of the Han

His works are used by Pei Songzhi as part of the annotations to the Sanguozhi, providing accounts of Humu Ban's fate at the hands of Wang Kuang, an account of Wang Kuang, Zhao Yu's life, Wu Fu's failed assassination of Dong Zhuo, a mini biography of Lu Kang among other details, including accounts of fathers or male ancestors of famous officials like Lu Ji, Zang Hong. It is also used by Fan Ye's Hou Han Shu, Sima Guang in the Zizhi Tongjian, Han Bielenstein in Lo-yang and the Bureaucracy of Han Times, regularly cited in Rafe De Crespigny's commentary on the Tongjian and as a source by Richard B.Mather.

However, not all his work is undisputed. De Crespigny raises questions about coverage of Wang Kuang's death and account of Humu Ban. His account of Cai Yong and Wang Yun's conversation before Cai Yong's death, though accepted by Sima Guang was dismissed by Pei Songzhi as absurd and false while De Crespigny noted it as strange.

Family

Cheng's father, Xie Jiong (謝煚) (sometimes written as "Xie Ying" (謝嬰)) served as a Gentleman of Writing (尚書郎) and the Prefect (令) of Xu County (徐縣) in the Eastern Han dynasty. Xie Jiong was known for his good moral conduct and brilliance since he was young. The material he collected from the imperial archives when serving at the Secretariat in the Han capital may have been used by Cheng for his history on the Han.

Xie Cheng's older sister Lady Xie became wife of Sun Quan, the future founding Emperor of Eastern Wu and was initially greatly favoured. But when he wished to have a new wife as her superior, she refused and she died young. Despite her death, her family would continue to serve the Sun regime.

Cheng's eldest son Xie Chong (謝崇), served as General Who Spreads Might (揚威將軍) and his youngest son, Xie Xu (謝勗), served as the Administrator (太守) of Wu Commandery with both gaining renown.