| Qiao Zhou | |
| Native Name: | 譙周 |
| Office: | Regular Mounted Attendant (散騎常侍) |
| Office1: | Cavalry Commandant (騎都尉) |
| Monarch1: | Cao Huan / Emperor Wu of Jin |
| Office2: | Household Counsellor (光祿大夫) |
| Monarch2: | Liu Shan |
| Office3: | Attendant Counsellor (中散大夫) |
| Monarch3: | Liu Shan |
| Birth Date: | 199 |
| Birth Place: | Langzhong, Sichuan |
| Death Date: | 270[1] |
| Father: | Qiao Pin |
| Occupation: | Astronomer, historian, politician, writer |
| Blank1: | Courtesy name |
| Data1: | Yunnan (允南) |
| Blank2: | Peerage |
| Data2: | Marquis of Yangcheng Village (陽城亭侯) |
Qiao Zhou (199[2] - 270), courtesy name Yunnan, Chinese astronomer, historian, politician, and writer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in the late Eastern Han dynasty before becoming a subject of the warlord Liu Bei, who established the Shu Han regime in 221. He is particularly notable for being the teacher of many Shu Han officials. Among them are Chen Shou, Luo Xian, Du Zhen, Wen Li and Li Mi.
During his lifetime, Qiao Zhou was regarded as lacking talent and was not respected by many of his peers. Only Yang Xi regarded Qiao Zhou highly. Yang Xi even once said: "Like us, the later generations can never be as good as this great man." Because of this, Yang Xi earned praise from those individuals who also recognised Qiao Zhou for his talent.[3]
Qiao Zhou served in the Shu Han government from the time when Liu Bei ascended the throne (in 221) to the fall of Shu in 263. He is remembered for persuading the Shu emperor Liu Shan to surrender to Wei in 263.
In the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), the historian Chen Shou praised Qiao's proposal to Liu Shan for preserving the Liu ex-royal family and helping Shu Han. It can be argued that Chen's views reflect his position as a subordinate of the Western Jin dynasty and also because Qiao was Chen's teacher. Historians with different viewpoints, such as Sun Sheng, heavily criticized Qiao Zhou's stance of surrender, calling Qiao a "traitor".[4]
Yi Zhongtian commented that Qiao's "treachery" was not due to his personality (Qiao was well known for his good moral conduct) but because of a difference in political stance. Qiao Zhou was the representative of the local Shu intelligentsia (士族) who had long been at odds with Shu Han's government due to:[5]
As a result, it is argued by critics of Qiao Zhou that by betraying the Shu Han state and surrendering to Cao Wei, Qiao Zhou's actions were beneficial for the local Shu nobility, who welcomed Cao Wei's invasion.
In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qiao Zhou is depicted as an astrologer whose studies greatly aided Zhuge Liang during the Northern Expeditions against Shu's rival state Cao Wei.