Guan Ying

Guan Ying (died 176 BC), posthumously known as Marquis Yi of Yingyin, was a Chinese general and chancellor of the early Han.

Life

Guan Ying was from Suiyang (睢陽; present-day Shangqiu, Henan). He served under Liu Bang (posthumously known as 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). He assisted Liu Bang in putting down Chen Xi's rebellion, killing Chen's general Hou Chang (侯敞, Hóu Chǎng) near Quni (曲逆, Qūnì; around 20 miles or 32 kilometers west of present-day Baoding, Hebei) in 196 BC.^[1]

Following Liu Bang's death, Empress Lü 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). He died in office after about a year. He was given the posthumous name "Marquis Yi" (懿侯).

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