Xiahou Ying (; died 172 BC), posthumously known as Marquis Wen of Ruyin, was a Chinese official who served under Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, and two of his successors. A friend of Liu Bang, he first joined Liu in the rebellions against the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

from 209 to 206 BC, and later fought on Liu's side against his rival Xiang Yu during the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC). After the Han dynasty was established, he served as Minister Coachman (). He is also referred to as "Lord Teng" (), a title said to be derived from ''tengling fengche'' (), the position he held when he was serving as the carriage driver of the magistrate of Teng County.

Early life

Xiahou was from Pei County in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

and he started his career as an officer in charge of chariots and carriages in the county office. Whenever he drove past Sishui Village (), one of the villages in Pei County, he would visit his friend

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

, then a patrol officer in the village, and spend a long time chatting with him. On one occasion, Liu Bang pulled a prank on Xiahou, causing him to be injured. The county magistrate found out about the incident and ordered an investigation. Under the law of the

at the time, Liu Bang would be punished more severely than a civilian because he was an officeholder, albeit a low-ranking one. When Liu Bang and Xiahou were both taken in for questioning, they denied each other's involvement in the incident. The case was initially closed but it was reopened when a new magistrate took office and it was discovered that Xiahou had lied. Although Xiahou was arrested, flogged hundreds of times, and imprisoned for over a year, he still continued to cover up for Liu Bang.

Rebelling against the Qin dynasty

In 209 BC, when uprisings broke out throughout China against the

, Liu Bang started a rebellion in Pei County too. Xiahou joined him and assisted him seizing control of the county; Liu Bang then declared himself the "Duke of Pei" (), made Xiahou a seventh-grade official (), and appointed him as his personal carriage driver. When Liu Bang was attacking Huling (; northeast of present-day Longgu Town, Pei County, Jiangsu), Xiahou and

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC – 16 August 193 BC''xinwei'' day of the 7th month of the 2nd year of Emperor Hui's reign, per vol. 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'') was a Chinese calligrapher and politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Emperor Gaozu of ...

managed to persuade the Qin officer guarding Huling to surrender to Liu Bang. For his achievement, Xiahou was promoted to a fifth-grade official (). Between 209 and 206 BC, Xiahou joined Liu Bang's rebel group in attacking Qin forces at various locations: Dang County (), Jiyang () and Yongqiu (), all in present-day eastern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

; Dong'e (; present-day Liaocheng,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

);

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

;

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

;

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 ...

; Nanyang; Lantian; and Zhiyang (; east of present-day

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

). During battle, he was known for driving his chariot at high speed and striking at the enemy with sheer ferocity. In one battle at Kaifeng, he captured 68 enemy soldiers, received the surrender of 850 others, and obtained a box of golden seals. For his achievements, he was consecutively promoted to ''zhibo'' () and later ''zhigui'' (). Liu Bang also gave him the title "Lord Teng" (), which he became commonly referred to as. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown by the rebels in 206 BC, the former Qin Empire was divided into the Eighteen Kingdoms, each ruled by a rebel leader or surrendered Qin general. Liu Bang became the King of Han () and was given a domain in the remote Bashu region (present-day

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

and

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

). He appointed Xiahou as Minister Coachman () and made him the Marquis of Zhaoping ().

Chu–Han Contention

From 206 to 202 BC, Xiahou fought on Liu Bang's side against his rival, Xiang Yu, in a power struggle for supremacy over China historically known as the Chu–Han Contention. Around 206 BC, Han Xin, then a low-ranking supply officer in Liu Bang's forces, was implicated in a capital case involving 13 others and was about to be executed, with Xiahou supervising the executions. When it was his turn to be beheaded, Han Xin looked at Xiahou and asked, "Does the King of Han not want to gain control of the Empire? Why does he execute warriors then?" Xiahou sensed that Han Xin was no ordinary soldier so he pardoned him. After talking to Han Xin, Xiahou recognised his talent and brought him to see

, one of Liu Bang's chief advisers, who in turn recommended Han Xin to Liu Bang. However, Liu Bang was initially unimpressed with Han Xin. When Liu Bang first moved into Bashu, many of his followers lost faith in him and deserted. Disappointed that Liu Bang did not appreciate his talent, Han Xin left as well. Upon hearing of Han Xin's departure, Xiao He rushed off to find him and bring him back. Xiahou followed after them, caught up with them, and, together with Xiao He, managed to convince Han Xin to return to Liu Bang. Finally recognising Han Xin as a valuable asset, Liu Bang appointed him as a general. In 205 BC, when Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu at the Battle of Pengcheng and forced to retreat, he fled with his son and daughter on a carriage driven by Xiahou. During their retreat, they were pursued by the enemy so Liu Bang panicked and attempted to abandon his children in order to lighten the carriage and allow it to move faster. Each time he tried to force his children off the carriage, Xiahou stopped him and picked them up again. Liu Bang was so furious with Xiahou that he threatened to kill him each time he did that, but Xiahou pleaded with him not to abandon the children. Eventually, they managed to escape and Xiahou safely delivered Liu Bang's children to their base in the

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

region.

Service under Liu Bang

In 202 BC, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia and established the

as the ruling dynasty in China with himself as the emperor. To reward Xiahou for his contributions, the emperor made him the Marquis of Ruyin (). Xiahou also continued serving as Minister Coachman () in the Han government. During Liu Bang's reign, Xiahou accompanied the emperor into battle against some vassal kings who had rebelled against the emperor. In 200 BC, he also covered Liu Bang as the emperor retreated after the Han forces were defeated by the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

at the Battle of Baideng.

Later life and death

After Liu Bang's death in 195 BC, Xiahou continued serving as Minister Coachman under Liu Bang's son and successor Liu Ying (Emperor Hui), who was effectively a puppet ruler under the control of his mother Empress Lü and her clan. The period of Empress Lü's regency when the Lüs dominated the Han government is historically known as the Lü Clan Disturbance. In 180 BC, following Empress Lü's death, the Lüs were ousted from power and exterminated. Xiahou, along with others, supported the restoration of the Lius to power and aided Liu Heng (Emperor Wen), another of Liu Bang's sons, in becoming emperor. Xiahou continued serving under Emperor Wen until his death in 172 BC; he was given the posthumous title "Marquis Wen" ().

Descendants

Many of Xiahou's descendants were active towards the

end of the Han dynasty The end of the (Eastern) Han dynasty was the period of History of China, Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian of Han, Emperor Xian. It was followed by the ...

. The most prominent ones were the generals

Xiahou Dun Xiahou Dun () (died 13 June 220), courtesy name Yuanrang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.''Sanguozhi'' vol.9. He served for a few months under Cao Cao ...

and Xiahou Yuan, who served under the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

. Their descendants also served in the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, 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 dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period.

Notes

References

* * Ban, Gu. ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', Volume 41. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiahou, Ying Year of birth unknown 172 BC deaths Chu–Han contention people Han dynasty government officials People from Xuzhou Chinese marquises