Ying Chang

Biography & Historical Record

Ying Chang, courtesy name Delian (historically transliterated as Ying Chang / Ứng Sướng or Ứng Tràng in Vietnamese due to the dual pronunciations of the character 瑒), was a celebrated Eastern Han dynasty scholar, political philosopher, poet, calligrapher, and high-ranking secretarial advisor serving the warlord and Han Chancellor Cao Cao and his heir Cao Pi. Hailing from Nandun County in Runan Commandery (modern-day Xiangcheng City, Henan Province), Ying Chang belonged to an elite intellectual dynasty, being the son of Ying Shao, the supreme legal authority and grand scholar of the late Eastern Han dynasty. Acclaimed across China as one of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an (Jian’an Qizi), Ying Chang was widely revered for his deep classical erudition, serene moral discipline, and profound political treatises that helped formulate the institutional and constitutional foundations of the early Cao Wei state. Documented in Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi – Book of Wei, Biography of Wang Can) and Fan Ye’s Book of Later Han (Hou Han Shu), Ying Chang lived a life dedicated to scholarly rigor, serving as an irreplaceable intellectual advisor to Cao Pi and Cao Zhi at Ye.

Inheriting a vast family library and legal tradition from his father Ying Shao, Ying Chang spent his youth mastering Confucian classics, Han court rituals, administrative law, and five-character poetry. As Cao Cao unified northern China and established his imperial court at Ye, he actively sought out the finest minds in the realm to build a new administrative order. Recognizing Ying Chang’s deep understanding of statecraft and ritual precedent, Cao Cao recruited him into the Chancellor’s Secretariat as a Military Libationer (Junmou Jijiu) and Master of Writing (Shangshu Lang). When Cao Pi was appointed Five Guan General of the Household (Wuguan Zhonglang Jiang) in preparation for the succession, Ying Chang and Liu Zhen were appointed as Literary Officers (Wenbiao) in Cao Pi’s residence, forming an elite intellectual circle that guided the young prince.

At the court of Ye, Ying Chang formed a famous intellectual partnership with Liu Zhen. While Liu Zhen was fierce, proud, and uncompromising, Ying Chang was serene, composed, and deeply philosophical. He constantly used Confucian statecraft and ethical philosophy to advise Cao Pi on moral cultivation, court decorum, and judicial fairness. Both Cao Pi and Cao Zhi held Ying Chang in supreme artistic and personal reverence, competing to win his counsel during the early succession rivalry. When Cao Pi was formally designated Heir Apparent of Wei, he immediately promoted Ying Chang to Senior Tutor to the Crown Prince (Taizi Cizi), a prestigious court position tasked with drafting imperial speeches, state ceremonial rites, and statecraft decrees for the future emperor. In his classic literary criticism Dianlun, Cao Pi lavishly praised Ying Chang’s prose as harmonious, fluent, elegant, and possessing the noble demeanor of a true imperial statesman.

Beyond his secretarial and tutoring duties, Ying Chang made monumental contributions to political philosophy and realistic poetry. He authored influential political treatises including Zheng Lun (Treatise on Governance) and Bian Huo Lun (Treatise on Dispelling Doubts), advocating for strict, impartial rule of law tempered by Confucian moral education. His poetic works, compiled in Ying Delian Ji, included masterpieces such as Yiju Fu and Poetry Attending the Banquet of the Five Guan General, which blended deep philosophical reflections on human mortality with delicate descriptions of court life. In the twenty-second year of Jian’an (217 AD), a catastrophic plague swept across northern China. Ying Chang, along with fellow Seven Scholars members Chen Lin, Wang Can, and Liu Zhen, contracted the contagion and perished in the same tragic year. His untimely death was mourned deeply by Prince Cao Zhi, who composed a heartbreaking eulogy praising Ying Chang as a gem of flawless virtue whose passing impoverished the literary world.

Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In Luo Guanzhong’s classic historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ying Chang is featured as a revered member of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an serving as a high-ranking secretarial advisor and senior tutor in Cao Cao’s imperial administration. Renowned for his deep Confucian scholarship, harmonious literary style, and profound understanding of statecraft, Ying Chang appears alongside Chen Lin, Wang Can, and Liu Zhen, representing the elite intellectual advisors whose moral authority and administrative competence elevated Cao Cao’s court at Ye. While the novel focuses heavily on grand military campaigns and political struggles, Ying Chang’s presence highlights the sophisticated civil governance, institutional law, and vibrant intellectual atmosphere that laid the foundation for the Cao Wei state.

Ying Chang (應瑒) — Historical & Literary Timeline

For detailed historical records, archives, and official chronicles, explore Ying Chang on Wikipedia.

Key Relationships

Family

• Ying Shao (应劭, Ứng Thiệu): Father, the renowned late Eastern Han dynasty legal scholar, Grand Administrator of Taishan, and author of Fengsu Tongyi, who passed down his extensive classical library and legal expertise to Ying Chang.
• Ying Qu (应璩, Ứng Cừ): Younger brother, an accomplished poet and high-ranking court official who maintained the Ying family’s literary prominence in Cao Wei.

Friends

• Liu Zhen (刘桢, Lưu Trinh): Fellow member of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an and close intellectual companion who served alongside Ying Chang as a Literary Officer under Cao Pi; both died in the plague of 217 AD.
• Cao Zhi (曹植, Tào Thực): Prince of Wei and literary associate who held Ying Chang in high artistic and personal esteem, composing a touching eulogy honoring his virtue upon his death in 217 AD.
• Wang Can (王粲, Vương Xán): Leading literary figure of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an who served Cao Cao at Ye and shared high standing in the court’s intellectual circle.
• Chen Lin (陈琳, Trần Lâm): Fellow secretarial advisor and member of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an who collaborated in Cao Cao’s administration and succumbed to the plague of 217 AD.
• Xu Gan (徐干, Từ Cán): Peer among the Seven Scholars of Jian’an who contributed to the flourishing of Jian’an literature at Ye before perishing in the 217 AD epidemic.
• Ruan Yu (阮瑀, Nguyễn Vũ): Fellow member of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an and key administrative scribe serving Cao Cao’s secretariat.
• Kong Rong (孔融, Khổng Dung): Senior intellectual and member of the Seven Scholars of Jian’an whose cultural reputation influenced the literary circle at the Han court.

Enemies

• No information

Other

• Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo): Han Chancellor and King of Wei who recruited Ying Chang into his secretariat as a Military Libationer and Master of Writing to help build the civil and ritual foundations of the Cao Wei state.
• Cao Pi (曹丕, Tào Phi): Heir Apparent and future Emperor Wen of Wei, whom Ying Chang served as a Literary Officer and Senior Tutor (Taizi Cizi); Cao Pi highly praised Ying Chang’s refined prose in his critical treatise Dianlun.

Comrades

• The Seven Scholars of Jian An