Yuan An 袁安 was a prominent scholar, administrator and statesman at the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 courts of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He. He is regarded as the founder of the powerful Yuan clan of Ru'nan, one the leading aristocratic families of the Eastern Han.

Early life and career

Born in Ruyang

Ruyang County

Ruyang County is a county in the Henan province of central China, under the jurisdiction of the city of Luoyang.Ruyang County has been the site of several major discoveries of fossilized dinosaur bones, including Huanghetitan ruyangensis, which was first described in 2007.-External links:****...

 (汝陽), Ru'nan (汝南) commandery (near modern Shangshui

Shangshui

Shangshui County is a county of Henan, China. It is under the administration of Zhoukou city....

, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

 province) to a gentry family, Yuan An inherited knowledge in the Book of Changes

I Ching

The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...

from his grandfather Yuan Liang (袁良), who had reached the position of magistrate around 25. With this learning, Yuan An established a reputation for himself in his native commandery. After some minor clerical experience, he was recommended as "Filially Pious and Incorrupt"

Xiaolian

Xiaolian , 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....

 by the Magistrate of Ruyang in 60 and travelled to Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

 to serve at the imperial court. In 62, he left the capital and for the next eight years he held the relatively insignificant positions of Chief and then Magistrate in the eastern provinces. Then in 70, Yuan An received his first major assignment as Grand Administrator of Chu commandery, to investigate the Liu Ying

Liu Ying

Liu Ying was a son of Emperor Guangwu of Han, and half-brother of Emperor Ming. After becoming Prince of Chu, he was a known supporter of many religions...

, the King of Chu, who was accused of heresy and treason. The subsequent administrative and judicial proceedings were regarded with satisfaction by the Emperor and in 74, Yuan was recalled to the capital to serve as Intendant of He'nan, with executive responsibilities in the territory surrounding Luoyang. In this role, the Hou Han Shu states that "the masters of the capital respected him and his name weighed heavily at the imperial court."

Politics at the capital and the northern frontier

In the sixth month of 83, Yuan An was promoted to become Grand Coachman, with the rank of one of the Nine Ministers. In the succeeding years, Yuan played an active role in discussions at court regarding the stance of the Han Empire toward the Xiongnu

Xiongnu

The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...

 peoples of the northern frontier. In a conference in 85, Yuan argued in favour of a more diplomatic policy toward the Xiongnu opposed by Grand Commandant Zheng Hong (鄭弘) and Minister of Works Diwu Lun (第五倫). In particular, Yuan An spoke encouragingly about the practice of marriage alliances

Heqin

Heqin was a term used in ancient China for an alliance by marriage. It usually referred to the Chinese Emperor marrying off a "princess" to an aggressive "barbarian" chieftain or ruler. The theory was that in exchange for the marriage, the chieftain would cease all aggressive actions toward China...

 and the keeping of hostage

Hostage

A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...

s. The next year he replaced Diwu Lun as Minister of Works and in 87 was promoted again to become Minister over the Masses

Minister over the Masses

Minister over the Masses was one of the three most important official posts during the Han Dynasty, called the Three Excellencies. The nominal salary attached was 20,000 dàn of grain. The position and title had existed since the Warring States, but was only standardised during the Qin Dynasty....

.

The death of Emperor Zhang in 88 and the succession of his ten-year-old son Emperor He brought significant changes to the political landscape. The regents of the young emperor, Empress Dowager Dou

Empress Dou (Zhang)

Empress Dou , formally Empress Zhangde , was an empress during Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Zhang. She was already influential during her husband's reign, but became particularly powerful as empress dowager regent for her adoptive son Emperor He after Emperor Zhang's death...

 and her brother Dou Xian

Dou Xian

Dou Xian was a prominent Chinese general and statesman of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan which dominated court politics during his tenure. However, his father Dou Xun fell into disgrace and died in 70, leaving Dou...

, favoured a more militaristic policy to the Northern Xiongnu problem. Both their regional background and position at court encouraged them to seek the expansion of central authority through war. With the Grand Commandant Su You, Minister of Works Ren Wei (任隗) and the Nine Ministers, Yuan An marched on the court hall and submitted memorials condemning a campaign in the north. He argued that since the Northern Xiongnu had not invaded the frontier, there was no reason to waste resources on a distant expedition. Despite his strong opposition and that of other conservative advisors, Lady Dou ordered the dispatch of an expeditionary force. In the summer of 89 a Chinese-led force advanced in three columns with minimal opposition and defeated the Northern Shanyu at Jiluo Mountain and pursued him westwards into the Altai ranges. A final offensive in 91 destroyed the Northern Xiongnu, creating a political vacuum in its former territories which the Han empire would struggle to contain in the next two centuries.

Yuan An died in 92 and a few months later the Dou clan fell in coup d'état staged by Emperor He. Yuan was posthumously honoured by the Emperor and his eldest son Yuan Shang (袁賞) was given a post at the capital. Yuan An's two younger sons, Yuan Jing (袁京) and Yuan Chang 袁敞, reached the positions of Grand Administrator and Minister of Works respectively. For three generations after this, Yuan An's descendants became the leaders of the powerful Yuan clan of Ru'nan, holding the highest positions in the Han bureaucracy and holding enormous influence among the gentry. After the collapse of the Han empire in 189, his great-great-grandsons Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...

 and Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the imperial court in 189. He was said to be a younger cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao, but was actually Yuan Shao's younger half-brother...

 formed their own warlord fiefdoms in north China.

Yuan An stele

In 1929 a commemorative stele

Stele

A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...

recording landmarks in Yuan An's life was uncovered at Yanshi (偃師) county, Henan province. It had been erected around 117, several decades after his death. The stele, 137.5cm tall and 71.5cm wide, is now held at Henan Provincial Museum. It provides dates of his appointments and death not found in his official biography in Hou Han Shu and is the earliest known example of a monumental stele in China. It matches a similar stele found in 1923, that of his son Yuan Chang. The two may have originally been erected at the same location.