He Yan

He Yan
He Yan's commentary on the Analects of Confucius
Born	c.195 Nanyang, Henan
Died	249 A.D.
Nationality	Wei
Occupation	Scholar, philosopher, imperial minister of personnel
Notable work	Collected Explanations of the Analects (Lunyu Jijie); Commentary on the Daode Jing (Daode Lun)

He Yan (Chinese: 何晏; pinyin: Hé Yàn) (c. 195–249), courtesy name Pingshu (Chinese: 平叔; pinyin: Píng Shū), was a politician and prominent philosopher of Wei (220–265), one of the Three Kingdoms. He was the grandson of the Han general He Jin and, after his mother was taken as a concubine by Cao Cao, was raised with the Wei royal family. He gained a reputation for intelligence and scholarship at an early age, but he was unpopular and criticized for being arrogant and dissolute. He was rejected for government positions by both Emperors Cao Pi and Cao Rui, but became a powerful minister during the rule of Cao Shuang. When the Sima family took control of the government in a coup d'etat in 249, he was executed along with all the other officials loyal to Cao.

He was, along with Wang Bi, one of the founders of the Daoist school of Xuanxue. He synthesized the philosophical schools of Daoism and Confucianism, believing that the two schools complimented each other. He wrote a famous commentary on the Daode Jing that was influential in his time, but no copies have survived. His commentary on the Analects was considered standard and authoritative for nearly 1000 years, until his interpretation was displaced by the commentary of Zhu Xi in the fourteenth century.

Biography

He Yan was born in Nanyang, Henan.^[1] His great-grandfather was a butcher, and his grandfather, He Jin, was the general-in-chief of the Han Dynasty. His grand aunt was Empress He, the wife of Emperor Ling.^[2][3] He Yan's father, (He Xian), died at an early age.^[1] The He Family's political power was destroyed when a warlord, Dong Zhuo, occupied the Han capital of Luoyang. He Yan's mother escaped and gave birth to He in exile.^[4]

When He was about six, his mother was taken as a concubine by the warlord Cao Cao, after which she became known as "Lady Yin". After being adopted by Cao Cao, He was raised with the other princes of Wei, 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 the palace princesses, the Princess of Jinxiang, who may have been one of He's half-sisters.^[5] As a result of his adoption He spent a considerable amount of time with Cao Cao during his childhood.^[6] k

At a young age He gained a reputation of being extremely gifted: "bright and intelligent as a god".^[7] He had a passion for reading and study. Cao Cao consulted with him when he was confused about how to interpret the Art of War, and was impressed with He's interpretation.^[6] He's contemporaries (both in Wei and Jin) disliked him, and wrote that he was effeminate, fond of makeup, dissolute, and egotistical. Emperor Cao 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.^[7]

He was not able to achieve political prominence either under Cao Pi or Cao Rui. When Cao Rui died in 239, he left a child emperor on the throne, and Cao Shuang took control of the government as regent. He ingratiated himself into Cao's inner circle, eventually being promoted to minister of personnel and bringing many of his friends and acquaintances into important positions. One of He's friends promoted into office during this period was the influential philosopher Wang Bi.^[7]

Death

He retained control of most official appointments until 249, when the Sima family took control of the government in a coup d'etat. After taking control of the government, the Sima family executed Cao Shuang and all members of his faction, including He Yan.^[7]

According to the Chronicles 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's favour, but Sima added He Yan's name to the list of criminals to be executed at the last moment.

At the time of He's death he had a 5 year old son who Sima Yi dispatched soldiers to arrest. Before the soldiers arrived, He Yan's mother, Lady Yan, 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's son survived.

Philosophy

According to the Wei dynastic history, He Yan enjoyed and had a great insight into the works of the Daoist philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi, and into the Book of Changes, from an early age. He wrote a famous commentary that was influential in his own time, the Commentary on the Daode Jing (Daode Lun), but no copies have survived. He was planning on writing a more detailed, interlinear commentary on the Daode Jing; but, after comparing his draft with a similar draft by a younger Wang Bi, He decided that his interpretation was inferior, and the Commentary that he eventually produced was more general and broad.^[8]

He was a member of a committee that produced an influential and authoritative commentary on Confucian theory, the Collected Explanations of the Analects (Lunyu Jijie), which collected, selected, summarized, and rationalized the most insightful of all preceding commentaries on the Analects that 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 the Tang period (618-907) He's name was the sole author associated with the Collected Explanations. Modern scholars are unsure of what evidence led medieval Chinese scholars to believe that He was the sole author, or if he wrote the Collected Explanations out of interest or because he was ordered to by the Wei court, but continue to credit He as the principal author out of convention. After He presented it to court, the Collected Explanations was quickly recognized as authoritative and remained the principal text used by Chinese readers to interpret the Analects for nearly 1000 years, until it was displaced by Zhu Xi's commentary in the fourteenth century.^[9]

He believed that Daoism and Confucianism complimented 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).^[10] By promoting the synthesis of Daoist and Confucian concepts, He became a principle advocate of the neo-Daoist school of Xuanxue (along with his friend and contemporary, Wang Bi).^[11] As a scholar of Xuanxue, He was notable for exploring the theory of wuwei.^[12] He was a prolific writer of poetry and wrote numerous miscellaneous essays on philosophy, politics, literature, and history, some of which still survive.^[13]

References

Bibliography

• Gardner, Daniel K. Zhu Xi's Reading of the Analects: Canon, Commentary, and the Classical Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press. 2003. ISBN 978-0-231-12865-0