Your humble servant compiled this biography using quotes from different sources: Sanguozhi, "To Establish Peace", etc. When several sources contained more or less the same information about the same event I chose the one with a fuller depiction. In case of conflicting sources or complementary data I put them into parallel columns. At the end of each quote the source is specified in []. All sources are listed at the bottom of the page. Cursive text - my commentaries.
Xún Yōu 荀攸, styled Gōngdá 公達, was [Xún] Yù’s second cousin’s son. His grandfather [Xun] Tán was Administrator of Guǎnglíng. [1]
The Xun family tree can be found here
[Xun] Yōu’s father [Xún] Yí was a Provincial Advisor. [Xún] Yí and [Xún] Yù 彧 were second cousins. [1]
Wèishū states: At the time of Jiàn'ān nineteenth year [214], [Xun] Yōu was aged fifty-eight. One can can calculate he was older than Yù by six years. [1]
[Xun] Yōu was orphaned when young. [1]
Wèishū states: When Yōu was aged seven to eight years, [Xún] Qú became very intoxicated and accidentally injured Yōu’s ear. When Yōu went out and played, he hid it so Qú would not be discovered. Later Qú heard of this, and so was astonished he was early matured like this.[1]
Xun Qu - Xun You's uncle
When Tán died, his former clerk Zhāng Quán asked to guard his tomb. Yōu was aged thirteen, doubted him, and said to his father’s younger brother [Xún] Qú: “This clerk has an unusual countenance, and is probably planning some treachery.” [Xún] Qú in the night woke and interrogated him, and indeed found he had killed someone and was fleeing in exile. From this people saw [Xún Yōu] was special. [1]
