Xun Yue

Life Xun Yue's ancestral home was in Yingchuan Commandery (; around present-day Xuchang, Henan). His grandfather, Xun Shu , was an official who served as the Prefect of Langling County and as the Chancellor to the Marquis of Langling County. Xun Shu had eight sons, who were nicknamed the "Eight Dragons of the Xun Family" . Xun Yue's father, Xun Jian , was the eldest among Xun Shu's eight sons. He died early.

Xun Yue was known for being studious and academically inclined since childhood. When he was just 11, he could already recite and discuss the Spring and Autumn Annals. As his family was poor and could not afford books, he borrowed books from others to read and memorised them after reading through once. Although he had a good-looking appearance, he was also known for his quiet and introverted character.

When the eunuch faction came to power during Emperor Ling's reign (168–189), many scholar-officials decided to leave the political arena to avoid getting into trouble. Xun Yue claimed that he was in poor health and led a life of seclusion. Many people did not know about his talent. Only his younger cousin, Xun Yu, treated him respectfully and regarded him highly.

In the 190s, the warlord Cao Cao came to power and took control of the Han central government, while paying nominal allegiance to Emperor Xian. At the time, Cao Cao held the appointment of General Who Guards the East . He initially recruited Xun Yue as his subordinate. Xun Yue was later promoted to a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate . As Emperor Xian was fond of studying literature, he ordered Xun Yue, Xun Yu and Kong Rong, who were known for their expertise in literature, to mentor and guide him. Xun Yue was further promoted to Custodian of the Private Library and Palace Attendant . More generally, he sought to defend the Han dynasty's traditions by arguing for the preservation and striving for ideals of government, in spite of the realities of human failing. The Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny pointed out that when Xun Yue advocated for the need to rely on good officials rather than the vagaries of individual rulers, he could almost be seen as approaching a view of constitutional monarchy. Ch'en Ch'i-yün, who translated the into English in 1980, described Xun Yue as "Confucianist in his approach to scholarship, Taoist in his relativistic view of reality, and Legalist in his pragmatic approach towards politics."

Xun Yue also wrote numerous chapters in other books such as and . He died in 209 at the age of 62 (by East Asian age reckoning).