Jia Chong (217 – 19 May 282), courtesy name Gonglü, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty of China. He started his career as an advisor to Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, the regents of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms era, and subsequently served as an official in the court of Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), after the establishment of the Jin dynasty.
Early life and career in Cao Wei
Jia Chong's father, Jia Kui, was a military general in Wei and was considered an epitome of faithfulness to the state. He did not have a son until late in his life; when Jia Chong was born, he was very pleased. Jia Chong's mother was Lady Liu (柳氏). Jia Chong inherited his father's marquis title after the latter's death. He later served under the regent Sima Shi, and then under Sima Shi's younger brother and successor, Sima Zhao. In 257, Sima Zhao sent him to probe the general Zhuge Dan's intentions should he decided to usurp the Wei throne. Zhuge Dan rebuked Jia Chong when the latter incessantly praised Sima Zhao in front of him. After Jia Chong returned to the capital Luoyang, he warned Sima Zhao that Zhuge Dan would most likely be unwilling to submit to his regency. Sima Zhao therefore summoned Zhuge Dan back to the capital, forcing him to start a rebellion that was quickly crushed. After the incident, Jia Chong became even more highly regarded by Sima Zhao.
In 260, the Wei emperor Cao Mao, unable to contain his anger about Sima Zhao's monopolisation of power, attempted a coup d'état to try to take back power from the regent. When forces led by Sima Zhao's brother Sima Zhou quickly collapsed against Cao Mao's forces, it was Jia Chong who was willing to stand against the emperor and who further ordered his subordinate, Cheng Ji (成濟), to take any measure to defeat the emperor and his loyalists. Cheng Ji killed Cao Mao by spearing him to death. In the aftermath of the incident, the people demanded for Cheng Ji and Jia Chong to be executed. Sima Zhao considered the matter for more than 10 days, eventually resolving to kill Cheng Ji (and his clan) but sparing Jia Chong, not wanting to execute someone who had been so loyal to him. From that point on, however, Jia Chong's reputation among the people was one of regicide.
Jia Chong also played a key role in Sima Zhao's suppression of Zhong Hui's rebellion in 264. Before the rebellion, Sima Zhao had foreseen that Zhong Hui was likely to rebel against Wei and had made preparations beforehand, including putting Jia Chong in charge of an army to counter any possible attack from Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui was killed by his soldiers who, unwilling to join his rebellion, mutinied against him.
Career under the Jin dynasty
After Sima Zhao's death in September 265, his son Sima Yan forced the last Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate the throne to him in February 266, thus ending Wei's existence and replacing it with the Jin dynasty; Sima Yan himself ascended the throne as Emperor Wu of Jin. Jia Chong, as a loyal subject of the Sima family, continued to be an important figure in the Jin government. Emperor Wu commissioned him to draft the laws of the Jin dynasty, initially considered to be far more merciful than the strict laws under the Wei regime. However, uneven enforcement of these laws meant that the main beneficiaries were nobles. The emperor also enfeoffed Jia Chong as the "Duke of Lu".
For years, Jia Chong had engaged his political rivalry with Ren Kai (任愷) and Yu Chun (庾純). In 271, Ren Kai and Yu Chun were able to persuade Emperor Wu to send Jia Chong to lead Jin forces to attack Xianbei rebels led by Tufa Shujineng (禿髮樹機能). Jia Chong did not want to fight the rebels at all. He was able to avoid being sent into battle by getting his wife to flatter and convince Emperor Wu's wife, Empress Yang, to recommend his daughter, Jia Nanfeng, to marry Emperor Wu's developmentally disabled crown prince, Sima Zhong. In 272, Jia Chong retaliated against Ren Kai and Yu Chun and succeeded in forcing them out of politics.