Han Xin (simplified Chinese: 韩信; traditional Chinese: 韓信; pinyin: Hán Xìn; Wade–Giles: Han2Hsin4; 231/230 – early 196 BCE[1]) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the early Han dynasty" (Chinese: 漢初三傑), along with Zhang Liang and Xiao He.
Han Xin is best remembered as a brilliant military leader for the strategies and tactics he employed in warfare, some of which became the origins of certain Chinese idioms, he was undefeated in battle and for his accomplishments he was considered the "God of War". In recognition of Han Xin's contributions, Liu Bang conferred the titles of "King of Qi" on him in 203 BCE and "King of Chu" in the following year. However, Liu Bang feared Han Xin's growing influence and gradually reduced his authority, demoting him to "Marquis of Huaiyin" in late 202 BCE. In early 196 BCE, Han Xin was accused of participating in a rebellion, lured into a trap and executed on Empress Lü Zhi's orders.
Han Xin receiving food from an elderly lady, depicted in a 1503 painting by Guo Xu
Service during the Western Han dynasty[edit]
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Demotion[edit]
When Xiang Yu died in 202 BCE, Zhongli Mo (one of Xiang Yu's generals) came to Han Xin and requested refuge. On account of their past friendship, Han Xin protected Zhongli Mo and let him stay with him. When Emperor Gaozu heard that Zhongli Mo was hiding in Han Xin's territory, he ordered Han to arrest Zhongli Mo, but Han Xin refused.[2]
A year later, Gaozu heard rumours that Han Xin was plotting a rebellion. By this time, Zhang Liang had already retreated from political affairs, so Chen Ping was Gaozu's most trusted advisor. After discussion, they came to the conclusion that Gaozu could not best Han Xin in battle, so it would be most ideal to strike Han Xin when he was unprepared. Chen Ping proposed to lure Han Xin into meeting, on a pretext of Liu Bang touring the Yunmeng Marshes (present-day Jianghan Plains, Hubei Province). He sent this message out to all warlords across the land. When Han Xin heard that Gaozu was heading towards the land of Chu, his first instinct was to rebel, but he decided he had committed no crime and stayed put.[3] At this time, someone told Han Xin that if he were to present Zhongli Mo's head to Gaozu, than he would be happy and spare him. Han Xin then met Zhongli Mo to decide their next course of action, and brought up this idea. Zhongli Mo then promptly slit his own throat, but not before claiming Han Xin would follow soon after.[4] Han Xin brought Zhongli Mo's severed head to Gaozu and explained his innocence, but Gaozu ordered Han to be arrested.[5] Han Xin exclaimed, "It is true when people say: The hunting dog becomes food as well after it is used to hunt game; a good bow is discarded when there are no birds left for shooting; an advisor dies after he helps his lord conquer a rival kingdom. Now that the empire is in place, I no longer serve any purpose!"[6] Liu Bang's only response was: "Someone claimed you had rebelled", and proceeded to cuff Han Xin and bring him back to Luoyang. Although Gaozu pardoned Han Xin and released him later, he still demoted Han from "King of Chu" to "Marquis of Huaiyin".[7]
Downfall and Dispute over death[edit]
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After his demotion, Han Xin knew that Gaozu was beginning to distrust him and had become wary of his talent. Hence, Han Xin claimed to be ill and stayed at home most of the time to reduce Gaozu's suspicions. Around 197 BCE, Chen Xi (Marquis of Yangxia) met Han Xin before leaving for Julu, where Han Xin promptly pulled him aside, dismissing all nearby servants. He promised to aid Chen Xi from inside the capital if Chen Xi were to start an uprising against the Han Dynasty. Not long after, Chen Xi rebelled and Gaozu personally led an army to suppress the rebellion, while Han Xin claimed sickness and stayed behind.[8]
While Gaozu was away, one of Han Xin's household servants offended him, so Han Xin locked him up as punishment. The servant's young brother gave news of Han Xin's desire to rebel to Empress Lü Zhi, who then plotted with Xiao He to lure Han Xin into a trap. They pretended Gaozu had returned from suppressing the rebellion and that there would be a feast to commemorate the success. Xiao He managed to persuade Han Xin into coming to Changle Palace, where the Empress lived, and he was bound and executed as soon as he stepped through the doors. Han Xin's clan was exterminated on the Empress's orders as well.[9] Upon return from his campaign, Gaozu expressed both relief and regret when he learnt of Han Xin's death. He asked the Empress for Han Xin's last words, which were, "I regret not listening to Kuai Che's advice, and now I have been deceived by such vile people. This is the heaven's will!"[10]
In another section of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, The Hereditary House of Chancellor Xiao, the events of the Chu-Han Contention are told from Xiao He's point of view, and puts a different narrative on the death of Han Xin. In this autobiography, Liu Bang was immediately notified of Han Xin's rebellion and execution, rather than waiting until after his return.[11]
Throughout history, historians and scholars alike have debated over the plausibility of Han Xin's rebellion. Although the Records of the Grand Historian have it written in black and white, many believe that Han Xin was loyal until his death. They believe that Lü Zhi and Xiao He framed Han Xin of treason, under the knowledge of Liu Bang, because Han Xin's reputation amongst the military was too high, and combined with his talents, became a threat to the throne. Although historians have always looked to Sima Qian's records for facts, some believe it is possible that as a citizen of the Han Dynasty, he could not go against the government acknowledged version of events. A Tang Dynasty poet, Xu Hun, once wrote a poem titled "The Shrine of Han Xin", in which it states that it is unlikely for Han Xin to stay loyal when he held military power, yet rebel when he had not a single soldier.[12]
Legacy[edit]
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Ukiyo-e print of Han Xin crawling under a hooligan's crotch
Some Chinese idioms and sayings originating from the events in Han Xin's life are listed as follows:
- Shame of crawling through between someone's legs (胯下之辱): Used to describe a humiliating incident. This idiom originated from the incident when Han Xin was bullied by a hooligan.
- When Han Xin selects his troops, the more the better (韓信點兵,多多益善): Originated from a conversation between Han Xin and Liu Bang. Liu asked Han, "How many men do you think I can command?", to which Han Xin replied, "A maximum of 100,000." Liu Bang asked, "What about you?", and Han Xin replied, "The more the better." Liu Bang said, "So that means I cannot defeat you?" Han Xin explained, "No, my lord, you command generals while I command soldiers."
- Both success and failure are due to Xiao He, life and death are due to two women (成也蕭何, 敗也蕭何): Xiao He helped Han Xin become a general, which enabled Han to put his talent to good use. However, Han Xin's downfall was also due to Xiao He. In his early days, Han Xin was given "life" by the old woman, who provided him with food. His death was due to Empress Lü Zhi.
While Han Xin was under house arrest, he did a mass organization of military books together with Zhang Liang. They put together one hundred and eighty-two books, removed certain parts and chose the reliable bits, and came out with thirty-five books.[13] Han Xin himself also wrote three essays regarding military strategy.[14]
His descendants are said to have fled to the area of modern Guangdong and Guangxi and changed their name to Wéi (韋).[15]
Evaluation[edit]
At the end of Han Xin's biography in Shiji, Sima Qian commented on Han as follows:
I've been to Huaiyin (present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu), and the locals told me that when Han Xin was still a commoner, his ambition was very different from ordinary people's. When his mother died, he was too poor to give her a proper funeral. However, he found a scenic area, on high and flat ground and capable of housing thousands, and buried her there. I've personally been to his mother's grave and it was exactly like what the locals described to me. If Han Xin was more modest and unassuming, did not boast about his achievements, and not been so egoistic, he would have attained fame, glory and wealth. In that case, his contributions to the Han dynasty would be comparable to those of the Duke of Zhou, Duke of Shao, and Jiang Ziya, and his descendants would be proud of him. However, Han Xin did not change himself for the better. Instead, when peace and stability had been restored in the empire (China), he plotted a rebellion and caused his clan to be implicated and exterminated. Is this not Heaven's will?[16]
In volume 12 of Zizhi Tongjian, after the entry on Han Xin's death, Sima Guang commented on Han as follows:
Many people would think that Han Xin was the first person to propose the grand plan for unifying China: he started his plan together with (Emperor) Gaozu in Hanzhong, conquered the Three Qins, led a northern campaign to attack the kingdoms of Wei, Dai, Zhao, Yan and Qi, moved south to destroy Chu in Gaixia. As such, he is seen to have contributed greatly to the founding of the Han Dynasty. When we look at how he rejected Kuai Che's suggestion to declare independence, and how he received Gaozu at Chen (present-day Huaiyang, Henan), how can we say he had the intention of rebelling? The reason for his rebellion was that he felt unhappy about losing his noble title. Lu Wan was merely Gaozu's neighbour, yet he was appointed King of Yan, while Han Xin only received the title of a marquis and could only have audiences with Gaozu. Is this not an example of how Gaozu treated Han Xin unfairly? I think that Gaozu did treat Han Xin unfairly when he lured Han into a trap and captured him, but Han was also at fault, which led to his downfall. When Gaozu was at war with Xiang Yu in Xingyang, Han Xin had just conquered the Qi kingdom and did not turn back to support Gaozu because he saw more danger of losing more soldiers if he went for saving lives of people at Pengcheng. The appointment as acting King of Qi was proposed later after many months of war defeats for Liu Bang. Besides, during the Battle of Guling, Han Xin did not keep his promise to help Gaozu, and caused Gaozu to lose the battle. Since then, Gaozu had the intention of killing Han Xin but did not do so as he was not yet powerful enough. When Gaozu's empire came into place, Han Xin no longer served any purpose.[17]