Hu Yan

Hu Yan (715–629BC) was a Di tribesman who served as a minister and general of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Hu Yan assisted Prince Chong'er (posthumously the "Wen Duke") during his long exile, his usurpation of his nephew Yu, and his rise to hegemonic status over the other states of the Zhou Kingdom. The Legalist Han Fei considered Hu Yan one of the best advisors of ancient China, and the historian Sima Qian listed him with Sun Tzu as the greatest tacticians of the age. Names Hu Yan is a Chinese name: Hu is the surname and Yan is the given name. His courtesy name was Zifan ("Master" or "Viscount Fan"). Classical sources also refer to him as Jiu Ji and Jiu Fan ("Uncle Fan"), in reference to his relationship to Chong'er through his mother's line. He is also sometimes known as Sikong Jizi ("Minister of Works"). Life Hu Yan was born in 715BC into the leadership of one of the "barbarian" Di tribes who lived north of China during the Zhou. His father was Hu Tu, his brother Hu Mao, and his sister Hu Ji. The family was closely tied to the branch of the House of Ji who ruled Jin in present-day Shanxi. Some sources even make the Hu descendants of Shu Yu and thus distant cousins of the dukes of Jin and the kings of Zhou. Hu Tu served as the charioteer for the Jin prince Shensheng against the Red Di tribes of Gaoluo. Hu Ji became one of the wives of Jin's Duke Guizhu (posthumously, the "Xian Duke"). When the machinations of the concubine Li Ji led to the ritual suicide of Shensheng in 656BC, Hu Tu retired from public service and ceased to leave his home. Hu Ji's son Chong'er replaced him as crown prince. Hu Yan was counted among his 5 Worthies. When Li Ji successfully framed him for an attempted rebellion, he was compelled to flee from his seat in Pu to his mother's tribe in the north. Hu Yan either fled with him from his court at Pu or joined his retinue among the Di. After the Jin minister Li Ke had Li Ji, her son, and her nephew killed in 651BC, he offered the throne to Chong'er but was declined. Another of Chong'er's younger half-brothers, Yiwu (posthumously, the "Hui Duke"), then took his place. Yiwu was captured in battle by Duke Renhao of Qin (posthumously, the "Mu Duke"); upon his liberation and return to Jin, he found that many of his ministers supported his replacement by his half-brother Chong'er.