Hua Yi (died late July 311),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Yanxia, was an official of the

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

. He was the Inspector of Jiang province and an early adversary to the Prince of Langya and future

Emperor Yuan of Jin Emperor Yuan of Jin (; 276 – 3 January 323), personal name Sima Rui (), courtesy name Jingwen (), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. He was the great-grandson of Sima Yi, the grandson of Sima Zhou an ...

, Sima Rui. Maintaining his loyalty to the imperial court in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, Hua Yi refused to take any orders from Sima Rui, prompting the prince to send an army to defeat and kill him in 311.

Life

Early career

Hua Yi was a member of the Hua clan of

Pingyuan Commandery Pingyuan Commandery ( zh, 平原郡) was a historical commandery of China, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around present-day northwestern Shandong province. The commandery was carved out of the Jibei Kingdom during Em ...

. His great-grandfather,

Hua Xin Hua Xin (157 – 30 January 232), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He initially served directly under the central government of the Eastern Han dynast ...

, was a high-ranking minister under the

Cao Wei dynasty Wei () was one of the major dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dynasty. Its capital was initia ...

, while his grandfather, Hua Biao, was a Palace Counsellor and his father, Hua Tan (華澹) was the Intendant of Henan. He was famous for his talents from his young age, and praised for his generosity and maganimity. He was first appointed as an Academician before being promoted to a Regular Mounted Attendant. When the Prince of Donghai,

Sima Yue Sima Yue (司馬越) (died 23 April 311), courtesy name Yuanchao (元超), formally Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai (東海孝獻王), was a Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin imperial prince and regent for Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor Hui and Emper ...

became Governor of

Yan province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China, a list of regions compiled by Yu the Great when he toured the land after stopping the Great Flood and succeeding Emperor Yao. Description In the Shang Shu, translated b ...

in 308, Hua Tan was invited to serve as a Chief Clerk of the Detached Staff. Afterwards, he was appointed as the General Who Inspires Might and Inspector of Jiang province. When the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( zh, t=八王之亂, s=八王之乱, p=bā wáng zhī luàn, w=pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: '' ...

(291–307) was happening, Hua Yi remained strongly adherent to

Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

ritual etiquette and manners. He proposed the creation of the Scholar Libationer office to further promote Confucianism.

Administration of Jiang province

In Jiang province, Hua Yi governed the region with benevolence and prestige and was on friendly terms with the local nobility. Thus, many exiles displaced by the ongoing chaos in the empire flocked to join him. When Sima Yue requested him for reinforcements to fight against bandits, Hua Yi sent

Tao Kan Tao Kan () (259 – 30 July 334), courtesy name Shixing (), formally Duke Huan of Changsha (), was a Chinese military general and politician during the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty. He was the great-grandfather of the Jin Dynasty poet Tao ...

as the General Who Spreads Martial Might to station at Xiakou (夏口; present-day

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

) with 3,000 soldiers to act as reinforcements. While Jin authority in the north was collapsing day by day, Hua Yi remained loyal to the imperial court and diligently sent tribute to the capital,

every year as proof of his vassalhood. If the roads to Luoyang were blocked, he delivered the tribute to the Prince of Langya,

Sima Rui Emperor Yuan of Jin (; 276 – 3 January 323), personal name Sima Rui (), courtesy name Jingwen (), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. He was the great-grandson of Sima Yi, the grandson of Sima Zhou an ...

at Jianye instead, acting on behalf of the Sima clan. Although he was expected to answer to whoever controlled

Shouchun Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its p ...

, Hua Yi retained a keen sense of loyalty to Luoyang, as he had previously been appointed through their envoy, and refused to take orders from Sima Rui. Many people from his counties and commanderies tried to dissuade him, but Hua Yi refused to listen and only replied, "I only want to see the imperial edict." Likewise, Sima Rui was suspicious of Hua Yi and sent his general, Zhou Fang to camp at Pengze with 1,200 soldiers in anticipation of his attack. However, Zhou Fang respected Hua Yi's efforts in helping the people of his province, so he only moved to Eling County (鄂陵; in present-day

Caishan Caishan () is a town under the administration of Huangmei County, Hubei, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list ...

) in Xunyang (尋陽; southwest of present-day

Huangmei County Huangmei County () falls under the administration of Huanggang City in eastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and borders Anhui to the east and Jiangxi to the south across the Yangtze. It also administers Shanjia Islet () in the Yang ...

, Hubei) to prevent further military escalation.

Death

After Luoyang fell in the

Disaster of Yongjia The Disaster of Yongjia (simplified Chinese: 永嘉之乱; traditional Chinese: 永嘉之亂) occurred in 311 CE, when forces of the Han-Zhao dynasty captured and sacked Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin dynasty. The Han's army committed a m ...

on 14 July 311, the Jin provisional government under Xun Fan issued a call to arms and appointed Sima Rui to lead their alliance. Rui exercised his new imperial authority by changing around the chief officials, but Hua Yi, along with the Inspector of Yu province, Pei Xian (裴宪; son of Pei Kai), still refused to obey. The prince thus ordered his general,

Wang Dun Wang Dun ( zh, c=王敦) (266 – early August 324), courtesy name Chuzhong (處仲), nickname Ahei (阿黑), was a Chinese military general and warlord during the Jin dynasty. Having brought Emperor Yuan (Sima Rui) to submission with his mili ...

to lead

Gan Zhuo Gan Zhuo (died 23 June 322), courtesy name Jisi, was a military general of the Jin dynasty (266–420). The great-grandson of the famed general, Gan Ning, he was involved in the suppression of Shi Bing's rebellion, but later allied himself with ...

, Zhou Fang, Song Dian (宋典), Zhao You and others to attack him. Hua Yi sent his Attendant Officer, Chen Xiong (陳雄) to defend Pengze while he organized a navy to provide support. The administrator of Wuchang, Feng Yi (馮逸), sided with Hua Yi and garrisoned himself at Penkou (湓口, in modern

Jiujiang Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang and Kew-Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

), but was defeated by Zhou Fang. Wei Zhan (衞展), the former Inspector of Jiang province, hated Hua Yi as he was not respected by him. Hearing of Hua Yi's situation, Wei Zhan colluded with the administrator of Yuzhang, Zhou Guang (周廣), and the two secretly raised troops to attack Hua Yi from behind. The Jin forces defeated Hua Yi, forcing him to flee to Ancheng (安成, in modern

Ji'an Ji'an ( zh, c=吉安 , p=Jí'ān) is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China and bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a popu ...

). Zhou Yi pursued him there and had him executed alongside his five sons. His head was then sent to Jianye while Pei Xian fled to

You province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'') in North China, northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient so ...

. Before his death, a native of Guangling, Gao Kui (高悝) was staying in Jiang province, where Hua Yi invited him to serve as an Assistant Officer in the West Bureau and showed him preferential treatment. After he was killed, Gao Kui secretly hid Hua Yi's wife and two of his kids for many years. Once some time had passed and a general amnesty was granted, only then did Gao Kui brought them before the court. Sima Rui praised them and decided to have them all pardoned.(初，廣陵高悝寓居江州，軼避為西曹掾，尋而軼敗，悝藏匿軼二子及妻，崎嶇經年。既而遇赦，悝攜之出首，帝嘉而宥之。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.61

References

* Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hua, Yi 311 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) government officials People executed by the Jin dynasty (266–420) by decapitation