Biography
Kan Ze was a native of Shanyin, Kuaiji (southeast of present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Although he was born in a peasant family, he was studious and had an interest in reading books. He became a well-known scholar specializing in the field of calendar systems. He was nominated as a xiaolian (孝廉; Filial and Incorrupt) to join the civil service and was appointed as Chief of Qiantang County (錢唐縣長) and Prefect of Chen County (郴縣縣令).
When the warlord Sun Quan was still known as General of Chariots and Cavalry (驃騎將軍), Kan Ze was recruited by him to serve as his West Assistant Officer (西曹掾). After Sun Quan declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229, Kan Ze was appointed as Imperial Secretary (尚書). During the Jiahe era of Sun Quan's reign, Kan Ze served as Chief Imperial Secretary (中書令) and Palace Attendant (侍中), and was promoted to Crown Prince's Tutor (太子太傅) in 242. Kan Ze died in the following year and Sun Quan was so grieved that he skipped meals for days.
Kan Ze was known to be polite, modest, sincere and cautious. He treated all minor officials under him with respect. Some of his notable contributions include the annotations he made to the calendar text Qian Xiang Li (乾象曆) by Liu Hong (劉洪) and his promotion of calendar science in Eastern Wu. For his achievements in Confucian studies, he was also granted the title of a minor marquis. Kan Ze strongly opposed the use of torture. Once, Lü Yi (呂壹) committed a sexual offense and many officials supported the use of torture to punish him to serve as a warning to potential offenders. When Sun Quan asked Kan Ze for his opinion, Kan replied, "Such a punishment should not be used in a civilized age.", and Sun Quan pardoned Lü Yi.
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