Quick Answer: Who Was Xie An?
Xie An (谢安, Xiè Ān, 320–385) was a senior statesman of the Eastern Jin (东晋, Dōng Jìn). He helped direct the government’s response to the Former Qin (前秦, Qián Qín) invasion, which culminated in the Battle of Fei River (淝水, Féishuǐ) in 383.[1][2][3]
- At court: He rose to oversee central affairs after a period outside regular office.
- In the campaign: He oversaw the defense while Xie Shi commanded the expedition and other generals led troops at the river.
- In later memory: Stories about retirement and composure became as familiar as his official career.
Reading the accounts of the court and the crossing together makes the division of responsibility visible.
Xie An is often remembered over a Go (围棋, wéiqí) board. To understand the statesman behind that scene, start with a different question. Who prepared the defense, who led the army at the river, and how did the news of victory become a story about character?
From East Mountain to the Eastern Jin Court
The Jin dynasty had a southern court during Xie An’s lifetime. The biography in the Book of Jin portrays him living for years at East Mountain (东山, Dōngshān) and declining several appointments. His standing among educated elites and his contact with prominent contemporaries continued while he lived away from court. Retirement from office could coexist with a visible social life among people close to the court.[1][2]
He accepted a staff appointment under Huan Wen (桓温, Huán Wēn), a powerful general, and went on to hold court offices. After the death of Emperor Jianwen, the young Emperor Xiaowu inherited a court in which Huan could press for extraordinary honors. Xie An’s biography credits him with revising and delaying the documents for the nine bestowments that Huan sought. Huan died before the honors were granted. The episode illustrates how a court official could use control over procedure as political leverage.[2]
What Xie An Did at the Fei River Crisis
Former Qin, a fourth-century northern state, mounted the invasion. The Book of Jin credits Xie An with assigning duties to generals and overseeing the defense from the political center at Jiankang, present-day Nanjing. The Comprehensive Mirror specifies the commanders of the dispatched force. Xie Shi, Xie An’s brother, was in overall command of the expedition, and Xie Xuan (谢玄, Xiè Xuán), his nephew, commanded the vanguard. The precise scope matters because the translated titles can sound similar.[2][3]
The narrative puts Xie Xuan at the river asking the opposing force to draw back to permit a crossing. The withdrawal became a rout as Jin troops crossed and attacked. The account names Xie Xuan, Xie Yan and Huan Yi among those leading troops across. The failure of the invasion preserved the Eastern Jin court and opened a period of renewed military initiative. The appointments and the river crossing show how the court’s preparations and the army’s decisions contributed in different ways.[2][3]
What the Go Story Tells Us
The Book of Jin relates two scenes involving Go. Before the battle, Xie Xuan asks for guidance. The biography has Xie An spend part of the day playing Go with him at an estate before assigning the generals their duties that evening. Later, while playing with a guest, he reads the dispatch reporting victory and continues the game. After the game, he goes inside and breaks a projection on his wooden clog at the threshold without noticing. The biography interprets that detail as a sign of excitement held in check while others were watching.[2]
These are scenes in a dynastic history compiled centuries after Xie An. The Comprehensive Mirror, itself a later compilation, also gives the dispatch episode. Read it as evidence of how historians presented leadership. The report of a military victory is followed by a small domestic action. That detail lets the reader infer how much effort it took to appear calm.[2][3]
How Later Readers Remembered Xie An
The expression “rising again from East Mountain” (东山再起, dōngshān zàiqǐ) is now used for a comeback. The story behind it concerns a man who took office after years of declining appointments. The current expression can also describe a return after defeat or retirement. That range of meanings makes it useful among the fixed expressions used in Chinese.[4]
The late thirteenth-century hanging scroll Xie An at East Mountain, attributed to Lou Guan and held by Asia Society Museum, gives a different episode center stage. It depicts Xie An visiting a recluse in a mountain setting. Its towering landscape reduces the visitors to small figures. That choice places the East Mountain episode within a tradition of landscape painting that outlived the dynasty by centuries.[5]
FAQs About Xie An
Did Xie An personally lead troops at Fei River?
He held overall responsibility for the defense. The campaign narrative names Xie Shi as expedition commander and Xie Xuan among those who led troops across the river.
What does the East Mountain idiom mean today?
It means making a comeback. The older story is associated with Xie An taking office after living away from court.
Was Xie An the same person as Xie Xuan?
They were uncle and nephew. Xie An worked at the center of government, while Xie Xuan held the vanguard command during the Fei River campaign.
Sources
[1] Taiwan Ministry of Education, Education Encyclopedia. Xie An
[2] Book of Jin. Chapter 79: Biography of Xie An
[3] Sima Guang, Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government. Chapter 105: Eastern Jin, 383 and after
[4] Taiwan Ministry of Education, Dictionary of Idioms. Dongshan zaiqi
[5] Asia Society Museum. Xie An at East Mountain