Xun Yue (148–209), courtesy name Zhongyu, was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician of the Eastern Han dynasty of China.
[11] When the eunuch faction came to power during Emperor Ling's reign (168–189), many scholar-officials decided to leave the political arena to avoid getting into trouble.
As such, he wrote the five-chapter Shenjian (申鑒; Extended Reflections), in which he discussed, among other things, the importance of education and customs, of the balance of rewards and punishments, and the requirements of social justice – including a proposal for restoring the well-field system and opposing the excesses of the landed gentry.
[15] More generally, he sought to defend the Han dynasty's traditions by arguing for the preservation and striving for ideals of government, in spite of the realities of human failing.
The Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny pointed out that when Xun Yue advocated for the need to rely on good officials rather than the vagaries of individual rulers, he could almost be seen as approaching a view of constitutional monarchy.
He thus ordered Xun Yue to write another version of the Book of Han in the style of the Zuo Zhuan, a commentary on the historical text Spring and Autumn Annals.
[3] In recognition of his contributions, Xun Yue was promoted to a Master of Writing (尚書) and awarded an ink brush and a scroll.