Jia Sidao

Life

As a young man, he was fond of gambling and was described as lacking proper conduct. His entry into office is presented in two forms: a generic record places him among the jinshi, while the biographical accounts say that he entered through his father's privilege as warehouse controller at Jiaxing. After his sister entered the palace and gained Emperor Lizong's favor, he was summoned to a court examination, promoted to Taichang cheng and Junqi jian, and later appointed prefect of Lizhou.

In 1241, he became Huguang general fiscal commissioner and was additionally made Vice Minister of Revenue. In 1245 he served as deputy military commissioner along the river and as prefect of Jiangzhou with responsibility for pacification in Jiangxi; he then became military commissioner for Jinghu and prefect of Jiangling. In 1249 he was appointed grand military commissioner for the Jinghu region, and in 1250 he moved to command in the Huainan region. In 1254 he was made Associate Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, in 1256 a participant in policy deliberations, in 1257 Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and in 1258 grand pacification commissioner for the two Huai regions; in 1259 he became Right Chancellor. In 1260 he received the honorific rank of Junior Preceptor and in 1261 that of Grand Tutor; in 1265 he became Grand Preceptor, and in 1267 Pingzhang jun guo shi, receiving a residence at Ge Ridge and attending court once every three days. His other titles included Hanlin-affiliated academic posts, Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Grand Preceptor, and Pingzhang jun guo shi, as well as the titles Duke of Lu and Duke of Wei.

At the beginning of the Kaiqing era, Yuan forces attacked Ezhou and Jia Sidao led troops to its relief. The accounts differ over the negotiations: one says that he personally acknowledged submission to the Yuan and sent tribute, while another says that he sent envoys to offer territory and tribute and seek peace; after returning, he reported that the siege of Ezhou had been lifted, with one account adding that he falsely proclaimed a great victory. Soon afterward he entered the court as Right Chancellor, acquired power throughout the government, and excluded his opponents.

He implemented the public-fields and tuipai measures—described variously as instituting or purchasing public fields—and the biographical accounts say that many households were ruined; he also excluded political opponents. After Emperor Duzong's accession, he became Grand Preceptor and Pingzhang jun guo shi, tightened his control of the government, expelled officials who opposed him, and exercised power arbitrarily.

The date of Ezhou's fall and his expedition is disputed in the accounts: one gives Xianchun 10 (1274), another gives Deyou 1 (1275). After his defeat, one version has him dismissed from office, placed on sacrificial-retirement service, and fleeing by a single boat to Yangzhou; another has him stripped of office and transferred to Wuzhou and Xunzhou, while a further version assigns him the rank of military commissioner of Gaozhou and placement in Xunzhou. He was then killed by Zheng Huchen at Zhangzhou—or, in another version, while en route—by an escorting official or prison overseer, at the age of sixty-three.

Works

His attributed works include *The Classic of Cricket Fighting* and *Yuesheng suichao*. *The Classic of Cricket Fighting* consisted of two juan; his poems were arranged in two volumes, the first compiled from that work and the second from other books.