Shen Qingzhi
An illiterate famed general who left the saying "for farming, ask the farmhand; for weaving, ask the maid," and was killed at eighty.
Life
Veteran general in service
Shen Qingzhi came from the Shen clan of Wuxing. Strong and brave in his youth, he did not join the army until after forty, and repeatedly crushed revolts by the Man tribes.
For farming, ask the farmhand
In 450, when Emperor Wen of Song planned a northern expedition and asked his advice, he objected: "Governing a state is like running a household: for farming, ask the farmhand; for weaving, ask the maid." Your Majesty wants to attack a state yet consults pale-faced scholars; how can you succeed? Emperor Wen did not listen, and the northern expedition did indeed fail.
Killed at 80
He served Emperor Wen of Song, Emperor Xiaowu and the Former Deposed Emperor in turn, repeatedly crushing revolts and rising to Grand Commandant. In 465, when the Former Deposed Emperor Liu Ziye was ruling with wanton cruelty, Shen Qingzhi remonstrated with him and was ordered to kill himself, at the age of eighty.
Legacy
Shen Qingzhi was a pillar of the state in the middle period of the Liu Song, and his saying "For farming, ask the farmhand; for weaving, ask the maid" became a famous maxim about respecting expert advice.
Major works & achievements
- Repeatedly crushed revolts
Did you know? He was illiterate, yet he could dictate verses, and a poem he composed at an imperial banquet won praise.
Key dates
- 450Opposed the northern expedition, leaving a famous saying
- 453Helped Emperor Xiaowu take the throne
- 459Suppressed the rebellion of Liu Dan, Prince of Jingling
- 465Ordered to commit suicide by the Former Deposed Emperor