Huan Jie ( 190s–220s),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period.

Family background

Huan Jie was from Linxiang County (), Changsha Commandery (), which is present-day Linxiang, Hunan. His grandfather Huan Chao () and father Huan Sheng () both served as

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

administrators in the Eastern Han dynasty. Huan Sheng was also a Master of Writing () in the imperial secretariat and was famous in southern China.

Early career

Huan Jie started his career as an Officer of Merit () in Changsha Commandery, his home commandery. Sometime between 187 and 190, when Sun Jian was the Administrator () of Changsha Commandery, he nominated Huan Jie as a ''

xiaolian Xiaolian (; literally "filial and incorrupt"), was the standard of nominating civil officers started by Emperor Wu of Han in 134 BC. It lasted until its replacement by the imperial examination system during the Sui Dynasty. In Confucian philosophy ...

'', so the Han central government summoned Huan Jie to the imperial capital,

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

, to serve as a Gentleman of Writing (). When his father died, Huan Jie resigned and went home to perform

filial mourning Filial mourning () refers to a bureaucratic norm, practiced since the Han dynasty, whereby officials of the imperial government of China were obliged to resign their posts and return to their home upon the death of a parent or grandparent. Descri ...

. In 191, after Sun Jian was killed in action at the Battle of Xiangyang against

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

, the Governor of Jing Province, Huan Jie braved the odds and travelled to

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

to plead with Liu Biao to give him Sun Jian's body so that he could hold a proper funeral for Sun Jian. Liu Biao was so impressed by Huan Jie's sense of righteousness that he agreed. Huan Jie later returned Sun Jian's body to his family, who buried him in Qu'e County (曲阿縣; in present-day Danyang, Jiangsu).

Service under Zhang Xian and Liu Biao

In 200, when the warlords Cao Cao and

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred t ...

clashed at the

Battle of Guandu The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victo ...

, Liu Biao wanted to rally troops from the commanderies throughout Jing Province (covering present-day

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

) and send them to attack Cao Cao and assist Yuan Shao. When Huan Jie heard about it, he went to see Zhang Xian (), the Administrator of Changsha Commandery, and told him: When Zhang Xian asked him what he should do, Huan Jie replied: Zhang Xian heeded Huan Jie's advice and succeeded in convincing the Administrators of three neighbouring commanderies – Wuling (武陵; around present-day

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongt ...

), Lingling (零陵; around present-day

Yongzhou Yongzhou, formerly known as Lingling, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and b ...

, Hunan) and Guiyang (桂陽; around present-day

Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...

, Hunan) – to break ties with Liu Biao and pledge allegiance to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very pleased when he heard about it. At the time, as Cao Cao was still at war with Yuan Shao, he could not lead his forces to Jing Province to attack Liu Biao. Liu Biao took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Zhang Xian in Changsha Commandery. Zhang Xian died of illness during the siege; Changsha Commandery fell to Liu Biao's forces after Zhang Xian’s death. Huan Jie went into hiding after the fall of Changsha. Some time later, Liu Biao pardoned Huan Jie for inciting Zhang Xian and the other three administrators to rebel against him, and recruited him to serve as an Assistant Officer and Libationer () under him. He also wanted to arrange for Huan Jie to marry a younger sister of his wife, Lady Cai (). However, Huan Jie rejected the offer and said that he was already married. He also claimed that he was ill and refused to serve under Liu Biao.

Service under Cao Cao

In late 208, after Cao Cao received the surrender of Liu Cong,

's son and successor as the Governor of Jing Province, he heard about Huan Jie's earlier advice to Zhang Xian and thought that Huan Jie was an extraordinary talent. He then recruited Huan Jie to be his Registrar () and later promoted him to the position of Administrator () of

Zhao Commandery Zhao Kingdom or Zhao Principality ( zh, 趙國) was a kingdom or principality in early Imperial China, located in present-day North China. The kingdom was created in 203 BC and granted to Zhang Er (張耳), a follower of Emperor Gaozu of Han ...

(趙郡; around present-day Handan,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

Supporting Cao Pi in the succession rivalry

In 213, after

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a so ...

enfeoffed Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei () and granted him a dukedom based in

Wei Commandery Wei Commandery ( zh, 魏郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in modern southern Hebei and northern Henan. The commandery was created during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign, with its seat at Ye. In late Western Han, it administered 18 ...

(魏郡; around present-day Handan,

), Cao Cao appointed Huan Jie as a Palace Attendant () and General of the Household () in the ''huben'' () division of the imperial guards. At the time, Cao Cao wanted to designate an

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to his dukedom (later

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

kingdom) but had difficulty choosing between two of his sons,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest ...

and

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...

. Although he favoured Cao Zhi, he knew that by custom Cao Pi should be the heir apparent because he was the older one. Huan Jie often praised Cao Pi in front of Cao Cao, saying that Cao Pi was virtuous and the eldest among Cao Cao's living sons, so he satisfied all the criteria for being the heir apparent. Whenever he talked about the succession issue, be it in a private or public setting, he always stood by Cao Pi and spoke sincerely. Cao Cao saw Huan Jie as a faithful and loyal subject so he highly respected him. Two of Huan Jie's colleagues, Mao Jie and Xu Yi, were known for being outspoken, upright and non-partisan. Ding Yi, an official who supported Cao Zhi, disliked them and often spoke ill of them in front of Cao Cao. When Huan Jie found out, he spoke up for Mao Jie and Xu Yi and defended them from Ding Yi's accusations. Throughout his career under Cao Cao, he did the same for many colleagues who were unjustly accused of wrongdoing. Some time later, he was promoted to the position of a Master of Writing () and put in charge of examining and selecting civil service candidates.

Battle of Fancheng

In 219, when

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei � ...

was besieged by

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

in Fancheng (樊城; present-day

Fancheng District Fancheng is a District (PRC), district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China. History Fancheng, or Fan City, was an ancient city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River (Hanshui), Han River, opposite Xia ...

), Cao Cao ordered

Xu Huang Xu Huang () (died 227), courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first ...

to lead reinforcements to assist Cao Ren. When Xu Huang initially failed to lift the siege on Fancheng, Cao Cao contemplated personally leading his forces to save Cao Ren, and he sought his advisers' opinions on this matter. Most of the advisers told Cao Cao: "Your Highness should make haste to Fancheng, or else (Cao Ren) will be defeated." Huan Jie asked Cao Cao: "Your Highness, do you not think that Cao Ren and the others are capable of assessing and dealing with the situation on their own?" Cao Cao replied: "(They are) capable." Huan Jie then asked again: "Is Your Highness worried that (Cao Ren and Xu Huang) won't put in their best effort?" Cao Cao replied: "No." Huan Jie asked: "Then why do you want to personally lead your forces there?" Cao Cao replied: "I am worried that the enemy has superiority in numbers and that Xu Huang will be outnumbered and overwhelmed." Huan Jie said: "The reason why Cao Ren, despite being under siege, continues to fight with his life to defend Fancheng is because he knows that Your Highness is too far away to save him. When people are thrown into a desperate situation, they will fight for their lives. Now, they are all prepared to fight to the death, and they have strong external support (from Xu Huang). If Your Highness doesn't send more reinforcements to Fancheng, you are actually sending a message to the enemy that you are confident that Cao Ren and Xu Huang are competent enough to deal with the enemy. Why then do you need to worry that they will be defeated? Why then do you need to go there to help them?" Cao Cao agreed and stationed his forces at Mobei (摩陂; southeast of present-day

Jia County, Henan Jia County or Jiaxian () is a county under the administration of Pingdingshan City, in south-central Henan Province, China. Jia county is famous for Heluo noodles, the Three-Su Temple and Linfeng village. Three-Su Temple is the place where the f ...

) while observing the situation at Fancheng. Later, as Huan Jie foresaw, Cao Ren managed to defend Fancheng while Xu Huang succeeded in breaking the siege.

Service under Cao Pi

In late 220, some months after Cao Cao's death,

usurped the throne from

, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

"Marquis Zhen" ().

Family

Huan Jie's younger brother, Huan Zuan (), served as a Regular Mounted Attendant () in Wei and held the peerage of a Secondary Marquis (). Huan Jie had another younger brother, Huan Yi (), who served as a Master of Writing () in Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu. He was executed by the Wu regent Sun Chen in 258 when he refused to support Sun Chen in deposing the Wu emperor

Sun Liang Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...

. Later, during the Jin dynasty, when Emperor Wu asked

Xue Ying Xue Ying (died 282), courtesy name Daoyan, was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. After the fall of Wu, he continued serving under the Jin dynasty (266– ...

to name some famous officials in Wu, Xue Ying named Huan Yi and said he was "a loyal and faithful subject". Huan Jie's son, Huan Jia (), inherited his father's peerage as the Marquis of Anle District (). He also married a Wei noble lady, the Princess of Shengqian Village (). During the Jiaping era (249–254) of

Cao Fang Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor be ...

's reign, Huan Jia served as the Administrator of

Le'an Commandery Le'an Commandery ( zh, 樂安郡) was a historical commandery in China, located in present-day central and northern Shandong. The commandery was established as Qiansheng Commandery (千乘郡) during Emperor Wu of Han's reign from part of Qi Com ...

(樂安郡; around present-day

Zibo Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the ...

, Shandong). In 252, he led Wei forces from Le'an Commandery to participate in the

Battle of Dongxing The Battle of Dongxing, also known as the Battle of Dongguan, was fought from January to February 253 between the states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle concluded with a tactical victory for Wu. ...

against Eastern Wu and was killed in action. The Wei government honoured him with the

"Marquis Zhuang" (). Huan Jia's son, Huan Yi (), succeeded his father as the next Marquis of Anle District. The ''Shiyu'' recorded that Huan Jie had another grandson, Huan Ling (), whose

was Yuanhui (). Huan Ling served under the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

and rose to the position of Administrator of Xingyang Commandery (滎陽郡; around present-day

Xingyang Xingyang (), is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It is situated 15 kilometers to the west of Zhengzhou city proper. The population of Xingyang i ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

).(世說曰：階孫陵，字元徽，有名於晉武帝世，至熒陽太守，卒。) ''Shiyu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 22.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Huan, Jie Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Officials under Cao Cao Han dynasty politicians from Hunan Cao Wei politicians Politicians from Changsha Political office-holders in Hebei