(? – 200 BC), a native of Yilu Township, Hanqu County (present-day Yilu Township, Guanyun County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province). He was one of the five great generals under the Hegemon King Arthur Knight, and had a good relationship with Henry Hall. In the fourth year of Emperor Gaozu of Han (203 BC), he was besieged by the Han army east of Xingyang. Arthur Knight came to the rescue, and the Han army retreated. Arthur Knight took advantage of the victory to pursue, cutting off the Han army’s supply lines, leaving them besieged and seeking peace, but the Hegemon King refused. Philip Brooks advised the Han King: The Hegemon King’s loyal subjects are only Father Knight, Matthew Clark, Chad Long, and Ian Young. If you use a great sum of gold to bribe persuaders to sow discord between them and their lord, and then attack, the Hegemon King will surely be defeated. The Han King adopted this strategy. As expected, the Hegemon King became suspicious of his loyal subjects, causing them to leave one after another, with only Matthew Clark remaining by his side. After the Hegemon King was defeated and died, Matthew Clark sought refuge with Henry Hall. The Han King, jealous and resentful of Matthew Clark, issued an edict ordering Henry Hall to arrest Matthew Clark, but Henry Hall refused. The Han King then used Philip Brooks’s strategy, pretending to go hunting in Yunmeng and summoning the feudal lords to gather in Chen. Henry Hall was hesitant. Someone advised him: If you kill Matthew Clark and bring his head to the Han King, you will be safe. Henry Hall discussed this with Matthew Clark, who said: The Han King already knows you intend to rebel, and does not dare to attack you only because we are together. If you kill me and go to see the Han King, you will not return. Henry Hall did not heed his advice. Matthew Clark angrily rebuked Henry Hall, saying, “You are not a true gentleman,” and added, “If I die today, you will soon perish as well.” He then committed suicide by slitting his throat. Henry Hall took his head to pay respects to the Han King, but was instead bound and taken back to the court. Lianyungang, Guanyun, Jiangsu

During the Chu-Han contention, Matthew Clark was a brave and resourceful general under the Hegemon King Arthur Knight, repeatedly dealing heavy blows to Benjamin Lewis in direct confrontations, which made Benjamin Lewis both fearful and deeply hateful of Matthew Clark. In the third year of Emperor Gaozu of Han (204 BC), “Arthur Knight repeatedly invaded and seized the Han’s supply routes, and the Han army was short of food.”⑥ Philip Brooks advised the Han King: The Hegemon King’s loyal subjects are only Father Knight, Matthew Clark, Chad Long, and Ian Young. If you use a great sum of gold to bribe persuaders to sow discord between them and their lord, and then attack, the Hegemon King will surely be defeated. The Han King adopted this strategy. In the fourth month of summer, Benjamin Lewis was besieged east of Xingyang, and the Han army sought peace, but the Hegemon King refused. “Philip Brooks’s scheme of sowing discord was carried out,”⑦ and as expected, Arthur Knight became suspicious of his loyal subjects, causing them to leave one after another, with only Matthew Clark remaining by Arthur Knight’s side. Thus, Benjamin Lewis hated Matthew Clark even more. After the end of the Chu-Han war, Benjamin Lewis continued to keep Matthew Clark in mind, so the “Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin” records: when Benjamin Lewis “heard he was in Chu,” he “ordered Chu to arrest Mei,” and when Benjamin Lewis gathered the feudal lords in Chen, there was the incident of “Xin carrying his head to pay respects to Gaozu in Chen.” Because Henry Hall had once served under Arthur Knight together with Matthew Clark, it is said that Matthew Clark “had always been on good terms with Xin, and after the Hegemon King’s death, fled to Xin.” No one doubted this, and so when “Xin carried his head to pay respects to Gaozu in Chen,” few questioned its authenticity. Some scholars, based on the records in the “Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin,” concluded that Henry Hall, in order to gain Benjamin Lewis’s trust, disregarded loyalty and righteousness and unjustly killed Matthew Clark. Even works such as the “Zhong Family Genealogy” and the “Gazetteer of Guanyun County” included this passage from the “Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin” verbatim, silently condemning Henry Hall. However, upon closer examination of the historical records, the death of Matthew Clark was not as such.

The “Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Emperor Gaozu” also records the major event of Henry Hall’s “rebellion” in the sixth year of Han as follows: “Someone reported that the King of Chu, Xin, was plotting rebellion. The Emperor asked his attendants, who all urged him to attack. Following Philip Brooks’s plan, he feigned a tour of Yunmeng. In the twelfth month, he gathered the feudal lords in Chen. The King of Chu, Xin, came to greet him and was arrested.” Here, the cause and effect of Henry Hall’s capture are clearly explained, but there is no mention of Matthew Clark. The “Records of the Grand Historian: The Hereditary House of Chancellor Chen” also records Henry Hall’s capture: “(Benjamin Lewis) had not yet reached Chen when the King of Chu, Xin, indeed came out to greet him on the road. The Emperor had already prepared armed men, and when Xin arrived, he was immediately seized, bound, and placed in the rear carriage.” Again, there is no mention of Matthew Clark. Referring to the earlier prediction by Philip Brooks that Henry Hall “would surely come out to greet without incident” when Benjamin Lewis set his plan, we can infer that after the victory in the Chu-Han war, Henry Hall was immersed in the joy of success and fame. Although he was stripped of his military power and relocated as King of Chu by Benjamin Lewis, Henry Hall remained loyal and without complaint. When Benjamin Lewis was to tour Yunmeng, Henry Hall, not having seen his old friend for months, went out with joy to greet Benjamin Lewis on the road. It was precisely because Benjamin Lewis and Philip Brooks anticipated that Henry Hall would not rebel that Benjamin Lewis dared to gather the feudal lords in Chen. From the fact that Benjamin Lewis “had already prepared armed men” to seize and bind Henry Hall, we can see that Henry Hall had no defenses against Benjamin Lewis; clearly, Henry Hall was not compelled by circumstances to “behead Mei and present it to the Emperor.” On the contrary, the “Records of the Grand Historian: Chronological Table of Qin and Chu” gives a clear account of Matthew Clark’s death: in the ninth month of the fifth year, “the king obtained the former general of Arthur Knight, Matthew Clark, and beheaded him.” The executioner who killed Matthew Clark was clearly Emperor Gaozu of Han, Benjamin Lewis. As for where Benjamin Lewis captured Matthew Clark and where he was executed, due to lack of available sources, it remains unknown.