Guan Ying

For the Taiwanese actress, see Terri Kwan.

Guan Ying
Chancellor of the Western Han dynasty
Born	(unknown)
Died	176 BC
Names
Traditional Chinese	灌嬰
Simplified Chinese	灌婴
Pinyin	Guàn Yīng
Wade–Giles	Kuan Ying
Posthumous name	Marquis Yi (Chinese: 懿侯; pinyin: Yì Hóu; Wade–Giles: I Hou)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Guan.

Guan Ying (died 176 BC) was an official and general of the early Western Han dynasty.

Life

Guan Ying was from Suiyang (睢陽; present-day Shangqiu, Henan). He served under Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), the founder of the Han dynasty, and joined him in rebelling against the Qin dynasty. He also fought on Liu Bang's side in the Chu–Han Contention and assisted him in overcoming his rival, Xiang Yu. After the establishment of the Han dynasty, he served as the "General of Chariots and Cavalry" (車騎將軍).

Following Liu Bang's death, Empress Lü Zhi and her clan seized power from the Liu family and controlled the Han government – this event is historically known as the Lü Clan Disturbance. When the prince Liu Xiang rebelled against the Lü clan, Guan Ying was appointed as "General-in-Chief" (大將軍) and ordered to lead an army to suppress the revolt. However, he led his troops elsewhere instead and combined forces with Zhou Bo, Chen Ping and others who were loyal to the Liu family to oust the Lü clan from power and install Liu Heng (Emperor Wen), a son of Liu Bang, on the throne. Emperor Wen appointed Guan Ying as the Grand Marshal (太尉) and subsequently promoted him to the position of Chancellor (丞相). However, Guan Ying died after holding office for about a year. He was given the posthumous name "Marquis Yi" (懿侯).

References

• Sima, Qian. Records of the Grand Historian (Shi Ji) vol. 95.
• Ban, Gu et al. Book of Han (Han Shu) vol. 41.