He Yan
He Yan | |
|---|---|
| Gì yến | |
| Secretary of Personnel ( Lại Bộ thượng thư ) | |
| In office c.240s– 5 February 249 | |
| Monarch | Cao Fang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c.195 Nanyang,Henan |
| Died | 9 February 249[a] Luoyang,Henan |
| Spouse | Princess Jinxiang |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives |
|
| Occupation | Philosopher, politician |
| Courtesy name | Pingshu ( bình thúc ) |
He Yan(c.195 – 9 February 249),[a]courtesy namePingshu,was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the state ofCao Weiin theThree Kingdomsperiod of China. He was a grandson ofHe Jin,a general and regent of theEastern Han dynasty.His father, He Xian, died early, so his mother, Lady Yin, remarried the warlordCao Cao.He Yan thus grew up as Cao Cao's stepson. He gained a reputation for intelligence and scholarship at an early age, but he was unpopular and criticised for being arrogant and dissolute. He was rejected for government positions by both emperorsCao PiandCao Rui,but became a minister during the rule ofCao Shuang.Whenthe Sima familytook control of the government inacoup d'étatin 249, he was executed along with all the other officials loyal to Cao Shuang.
He Yan was, along withWang Bi,one of the founders of the Daoist school ofXuanxue.He synthesised the philosophical schools ofDaoismandConfucianism,believing that the two schools complemented each other. He wrote a famous commentary on theDaode Jingthat was influential in his time, but no copies have survived. His commentary on theAnalectswas considered standard and authoritative for nearly 1000 years, until his interpretation was displaced by the commentary ofZhu Xiin the 14th century.
Life[edit]
He Yan was born inNanyang,Henan.[2]His great-grandfather was a butcher, and his grandfather,He Jin,was a general and regent of theEastern Han dynasty.His grandaunt wasEmpress He,the wife ofEmperor Lingof the Eastern Han dynasty.[3][4]He Yan's father, He Xian (Gì hàm), died at an early age.[2]The He family's political power was destroyed when a warlord,Dong Zhuo,occupied the Han capital ofLuoyang.He Yan's mother escaped and gave birth to He Yan in exile.[5]
When He Yan was about six, his mother was taken as a concubine by the warlordCao Cao,after which she became known as "Lady Yin". After being adopted by Cao Cao, He was raised with the other princes ofWei,including Cao Cao's eventual successor,Cao Pi(r. 220-226). Cao Pi resented He for acting as if he were a crown prince, and referred to him by the name "false son" rather than his real name. He later married one of Cao Cao's daughters, Princess Jinxiang, who may have been one of He's half-sisters.[6]As a result of his adoption, He Yan spent a considerable amount of time with Cao Cao during his childhood.[7]
At a young age, He Yan gained a reputation of being extremely gifted: "bright and intelligent as a god".[8]He had a passion for reading and study. Cao Cao consulted with him when he was confused about how to interpretSun Tzu'sThe Art of War,and was impressed with He Yan's interpretation.[7]He Yan's contemporaries (both in Cao Wei and theJin dynasty) disliked him, and wrote that he was effeminate, fond of makeup, dissolute and egotistical. The second Wei emperorCao Rui(r. 226-239) refused to employ him because he believed that He was a "floating flower": well known for a life of flamboyance and dissipation. He was reportedly fond of "five-mineral powder",a hallucinatory drug.[8]
He Yan was not able to achieve political prominence either under Cao Pi or Cao Rui. When Cao Rui died in 239, he left his adopted son,Cao Fang,then still a child, on the throne.Cao Shuang,a relative of the Cao family, took control of the government as regent. He Yan ingratiated himself into Cao Shuang's inner circle, eventually being promoted to Secretary of Personnel (Lại Bộ thượng thư) and bringing many of his friends and acquaintances into important positions. One of He Yan's friends promoted into office during this period was the influential philosopherWang Bi.[8]
Death[edit]
He Yan retained control of most official appointments until 249, when theSima familytook control of the government inacoup d'état.After taking control of the government, the Sima family executed Cao Shuang and all members of his faction, including He Yan.[8]
According to theChronicles of the Clans of Wei,Sima Yi assigned He Yan the task of presiding as a judge in the trial of Cao Shuang. He Yan, who wanted to be acquitted, judged Cao Shuang very harshly in order to gain Sima Yi's favour, but Sima Yi added He Yan's name to the list of criminals to be executed at the last moment.
At the time of He Yan's death, he had a five-year-old son whom Sima Yi dispatched soldiers to arrest. Before the soldiers arrived, He Yan's mother, Lady Yin, who was still alive, hid her grandson and threw herself at Sima Yi's mercy at the palace. She eventually convinced Sima Yi to pardon her grandson, and He Yan's son survived.
Philosophy[edit]
| Part ofa serieson |
| Taoism |
|---|
 |
According to the Wei dynastic histories, He Yan enjoyed and had a great insight into the works of the Daoist philosophersLaoziandZhuangzi,and into theBook of Changes,from an early age. He wrote a famous commentary that was influential in his own time, theCommentary on theDaode Jing(Daode Lun), but no copies have survived. He was planning on writing a more detailed, interlinear commentary on theDaode Jing;but, after comparing his draft with a similar draft by a younger Wang Bi, He decided that his interpretation was inferior, and theCommentarythat he eventually produced was more general and broad.[9]
He Yan was a member of a committee that produced an influential and authoritative commentary onConfuciantheory, theCollected Explanations of theAnalects(Lunyu Jijie), which collected, selected, summarised and rationalised the most insightful of all preceding commentaries on theAnalectsthat had been written by his time. He produced the commentary as a member of a five-member committee (the other four members of the committee were Sun Yong, Zheng Chong, Cao Xi and Sun Yi), but was given almost sole credit as the principal writer by subsequent Chinese scholars, and by theTang dynasty(618-907) He Yan's name was the sole author associated with theCollected Explanations.Modern scholars are unsure of what evidence led medieval Chinese scholars to believe that He was the sole author, or if he wrote theCollected Explanationsout of interest or because he was ordered to by the Wei court, but continue to credit He Yan as the principal author out of convention. After He Yan presented it to the imperial court, theCollected Explanationswas quickly recognised as authoritative and remained the principal text used by Chinese readers to interpret theAnalectsfor nearly 1,000 years, until it was displaced byZhu Xi's commentary in the 14th century.[10]
He Yan believed thatDaoismandConfucianismcomplimented each other so that by studying them both in a correct manner a scholar could arrive at a single, unified truth. Arguing for the ultimate compatibility of Daoist and Confucian teachings, He argued that "Laozi [in fact] was in agreement with the Sage" (sic).[11]By promoting the synthesis of Daoist and Confucian concepts, He became a principal advocate of the neo-Daoist school ofXuanxue(along with his friend and contemporary, Wang Bi).[12]As a scholar of Xuanxue, He was notable for exploring the theory ofwuwei.[13]He was a prolific writer of poetry and wrote numerous miscellaneous essays on philosophy, politics, literature, and history, some of which still survive.[14]
Notes[edit]
- ^abCao Fang's biography in theSanguozhirecorded thatCao Shuangand his associates – Ding Mi ( đinh mịch ),Deng Yang,He Yan,Bi Gui,Li ShengandHuan Fan– were executed along with their extended families on thewuxuday of the 1st month of the 1st year of the Jiaping era of Cao Fang's reign.[1]This date corresponds to 9 February 249 in the Gregorian calendar.
References[edit]
- ^([ Gia bình nguyên niên xuân tháng giêng ] Mậu Tuất, có tư tấu thâu hoàng môn trương đương phó đình úy, khảo thật này từ, sảng cùng mưu gây rối. Lại thượng thư đinh mịch, Đặng dương, gì yến, tư lệ giáo úy tất quỹ, Kinh Châu thứ sử Lý thắng, đại tư nông Hoàn phạm toàn cùng sảng thông dâm mưu, di tam tộc. )Sanguozhivol. 4.
- ^abTam Quốc Chí mộtTấn trần thọ lật bình phu võ chương dịch Trung Hoa thư cục P2-52Ngụy đế kỷ đệ nhất,Tam quốc sổ tayDật an Trung Quốc sách cổ nhà xuất bản P186-191,Tào Tháo đại sự niên biểu
- ^Gardner 10
- ^Nhàn vân dã hạcVương định chương Tứ Xuyên giáo dục nhà xuất bản P129
- ^Ngụy mạt truyền“Yến phụ Kim Hương công chúa, tức yến cùng mẫu muội.”
- ^Gardner 10-11
- ^abFang Shiming, (2006).Phương thơ minh luận tam quốc nhân vậtThượng Hải sách cổ nhà xuất bản P225-226ISBN7-5325-4485-0
- ^abcdGardner 11
- ^Gardner 13
- ^Gardner 8-10, 15, 17
- ^Gardner 13-14
- ^Nhàn vân dã hạcVương định chương Tứ Xuyên giáo dục nhà xuất bản P129-130
- ^Nhàn vân dã hạcVương định chương Tứ Xuyên giáo dục nhà xuất bản P130-133,Ngụy Tấn huyền học tân luậnTừ bân Thượng Hải sách cổ nhà xuất bản P122-124,128-135
- ^Gì yến thuật khảoCao hoa bình,Văn hiến ( tập san quý )2003 năm 10 nguyệt đệ 4 kỳ, Page69-80
Bibliography[edit]
- Chen, Shou(3rd century).Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi).
- Gardner, Daniel K (2003).Zhu Xi's Reading of the Analects: Canon, Commentary, and the Classical Tradition.New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-12865-0.
- Pei, Songzhi(5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi zhu).
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
