Shi Yi ( 190s – 240s), courtesy name Ziyu. After local service that saw him bullied into name change, he fled south during the civil war and became a trusted officer to Sun Quan the future Emperor of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A frugal man, he would become a tutor to Princes, diplomat, he rejected military rank and rewards he felt he was undeserving of.
Life under the Eastern Han dynasty
Shi Yi was from Yingling County (), Beihai State (), Qing Province, which is located southeast of present-day Changle County, Shandong. He started his career as an assistant official in the county office before progressing in the early 190's to serve on the staff of Kong Rong, the Chancellor of Beihai State. Shi Yi's original family name was Shi () and when Kong Rong heard about it, he made fun of Shi Yi's family name, saying that the character shi () had one stroke less than the character min (), indicating the common people, so suggested that Shi Yi change his family name to the similar sounding Shi () instead. Shi Yi heeded Kong Rong's suggestion. The Eastern Jin dynasty historian Xu Zhong (), among others, criticised both of them for Shi Yi's changing of his family name and said that it was disrespectful to Shi's ancestors.
Around the mid-190s, when chaos broke out in Qing Province and perhaps after 193 when Kong Rong was driven away by Yuan Tan, Shi Yi travelled south to the Jiangdong region, where he took shelter under Liu Yao, the Governor of Yang Province. After Liu Yao was defeated by the warlord Sun Ce in 195, Shi Yi left him and settled down in Kuaiji Commandery (around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). In the year 200, after Sun Ce's death, his younger brother Sun Quan succeeded him and became the new warlord ruling over the Jiangdong territories. Around this time, Sun Quan sent Shi Yi an elegantly written letter, asking Shi Yi to join him. Shi Yi agreed and joined Sun Quan's staff, increasingly gaining trust with classified documents and around 211 became a Cavalry Commandant ().
In 219, when Sun Quan's general Lü Meng proposed a plan to defeat Liu Bei's officer Guan Yu and seize control of southern Jing Province, Sun Quan sought Shi Yi's opinion. Shi Yi agreed with Lü Meng's plan so Shi Yi was made Colonel of Loyalty and Righteousness () and ordered to accompany Lü Meng on the campaign. When Shi Yi protested at appointment due to lack of expirence, Sun Quan said, "I may not be a Viscount Jian of Zhao, but does that mean you can't be a Zhou She?"
Life in Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period
After the successful conquest of southern Jing Province, Sun Quan relocated the capital of his territories to Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei), which was in southern Jing Province. In the same year, Sun Quan pledged nominal allegiance to Cao Pi, the emperor of the Cao Wei state, which had replaced the Eastern Han dynasty. In return, Cao Pi made Sun Quan a vassal king under the title "King of (Eastern) Wu" (). Sun Quan then promoted Shi Yi to Major-General (), appointed him as a Palace Attendant (). When Sun Quan became King, he enoffed his three confidential clerks Hu Zong, Xiang Xu and Shi Yi with the latter made a Marquis of a Chief Village (). Later, when Sun Quan wanted to put Shi Yi in command of more troops, Shi Yi firmly declined as he knew that he was not suitable to be a military commander.
In 222, Sun Quan broke ties with Cao Pi and declared independence in his Eastern Wu kingdom. In 228, he sent Shi Yi to Wan County (皖縣; present-day Qianshan County, Anhui) to join the general Liu Shao () at Lujiang, luring the Wei general Cao Xiu and his troops into a trap and defeated them. After the battle, Sun Quan promoted Shi Yi to Lieutenant-General () and recalled him to Wuchang to serve in the imperial secretariat, one of the key organs of the central government, managing court cases and supervising the officials. Later, he put Shi Yi in charge of his sons' education.
In 229, Sun Quan declared himself emperor of the Eastern Wu state. In October that year, he moved the imperial capital from Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) and left the crown prince Sun Deng in charge of Wuchang. Shi Yi remained in Wuchang as an adviser to Sun Deng, who highly respected him and frequently consulted him on policy matters. He was also elevated from the status of a village marquis to a Marquis of a Chief District (). Later, he accompanied Sun Deng when Sun Quan summoned them to Jianye, where Shi Yi was appointed as a Palace Attendant () and Central Upholder of the Law (). Shi Yi served in the imperial secretariat and performed duties similar to those when he was in Wuchang before 229.