Huan Wen, courtesy name Yuanzi, formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery, was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty, as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo.
25 Facts About Huan Wen
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Huan Wen is commonly viewed as one of the greatest generals since Jin's loss of northern China, as he led the campaign that destroyed Cheng-Han and annexed its lands to Jin, and had some successes against the northern states Former Qin and Former Yan.
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Huan Wen's father Huan Yi was a commandery governor.
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Huan Yi, because Wen had a high opinion of the child, thus named his son Wen, after Wen Jiao's family name.
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In 329, after Jiang had already died, Huan Wen killed Jiang's sons to avenge his father, and this was an act that brought him great fame.
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Huan Wen inherited his father's title of "Baron of Wanning", and he gradually rose in rank, eventually becoming the governor of Xu Province.
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Huan Wen released him and escorted him to the Jin capital Jiankang, where Emperor Mu pardoned him and created him a marquess.
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The victory over Cheng-Han brought fear in imperial officials that the ambitious Huan Wen intended to control the government.
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Emperor Mu's granduncle Sima Yu, Prince of Kuaiji, in order to counter Huan Wen, invited a renowned official, Yin Hao, to join in major decision-making with him and Cai Mo.
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The people despised Yin for his military losses, and Huan Wen submitted a petition demanding Yin's ouster.
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Huan Wen was impressed at Wang's knowledge and tactics, and he asked Wang why the people of the Qin lands were not shifting their allegiance to Jin, and Wang pointed out that the people were not sure what Huan Wen's intentions were, given that he hesitated at crossing the Ba River, just east of Chang'an.
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Huan Wen invited Wang to withdraw with him, but Wang declined, apparently believing that Huan was not the right person to follow.
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Huan Wen did not carry out another northern campaign, apparently not willing to face the capable Former Yan general Murong Ke in battle.
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Late in 365, the Jin general Sima Xun, the governor of Liang Province, who had participated in many campaigns, rebelled, and Huan Wen commissioned one of his generals, Zhu Xu, to attack Sima.
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Murong Chui and his brother Murong De engaged Huan Wen, dealing him minor losses.
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Huan Wen began to withdraw, and Murong Chui and Murong De set up a trap for Huan Wen's army, nearly annihilating it.
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Soon, Former Qin forces, from which Former Yan had sought assistance from, arrived, and Huan Wen was dealt another major defeat.
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Huan Wen died in spring 370, and was succeeded by his son Yuan Qin.
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In fall 370, Huan Wen himself arrived at Shouchun and surrounded it.
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Huan Wen then captured Shouchun and slaughtered Yuan's clan, along with the clan of his supporter Zhu Fu.
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Huan Wen had long considered seizing the Jin throne, and his original plan had been that if he had been able to destroy Former Yan, he would then return to Jiankang and force the imperial government to confer the nine bestowments on him, and then he could take the throne.
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Indeed, Emperor Jianwen initially drafted a will that stated, "The Grand Marshal Huan Wen shall be regent under the precedent of the Duke of Zhou," and "If the child can be assisted, assist him; otherwise, take the throne yourself," mirroring language that Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, used when entrusting his son Liu Shan to Zhuge Liang.
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Huan Wen did visit the capital in 373, and there was a rumor that he would execute Wang and Xie and then seize the throne.
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Huan Wen grew ill in fall 373, and, after entrusting matters to his brother Huan Chong, died.
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Huan Wen's domain was divided into three parts, governed by Huan Chong, another brother Huan Huo, and his nephew Huan Shixiu.