Kui An

Kui An (died 340) was a military general and minister of Later Zhao during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was one of Shi Le's earliest followers, being one of his Eighteen Riders (十八騎). During the reign of Shi Hu, he grew to be a prominent minister of his and was particularly noted for defeating an attempted invasion by the Jin dynasty (266–420) minister Yu Liang in 339.

Kui An
夔安
General of Central Firmness (中堅將軍)
In office
? – ?
MonarchLiu Cong
Marshal of the Right (左司馬)
In office
? – 330
MonarchShi Le
Master of Writing (尚書)
In office
330 – ?
MonarchShi Le
General Who Guards the Army (鎮軍將軍)
In office
? – 333
MonarchShi Hong
Palace Attendant (侍中)
In office
334 – ?
MonarchShi Hu
Grand Commandant (太尉)
In office
334 – ?
MonarchShi Hu
Grand Commander (大都督)
In office
339–340
MonarchShi Hu
Prefect of the Masters of Writing (尚書令)
In office
? – 340
MonarchShi Hu
Personal details
BornUnknown
Tianzhu, India
Died340
In this Chinese name, the family name is Kui.

Life

Service under Shi Le

Kui An was originally from Tianzhu (India) but later moved to Liaodong. After Shi Le was freed from slavery in 304, he organised a group of bandit with the help of his friend Ji Sang. One of those who joined him happened to be Kui An, who became one of Shi Le's Eighteen Riders. Following Shi Le's conquest of the commanderies of Julu and Changshan in 309, Shi Le appointed Kui An as one of his "talon and teeth" (爪牙) along with Zhi Xiong, Kong Chang, Tao Bao and Lu Ming (逯明).[1]

Kui An would follow Shi Le in his failed expedition to Jiankang in 312. Half of his army suffered from plague, starvation and floodings while the army of Sima Rui was approaching them, so Shi Le assembled his general and advisors to discuss their next move. One of those who provided suggestion was Kui An, who said that they should move to higher ground to get away from the water. Shi Le replied to him, "General, why are you so cowardly?" In the end, Shi Le decided that the campaign be ditched for a campaign in Yecheng instead.[2]

In 312, Kui An and the others were sent to besiege the city of Yuanxiang (苑鄕, in present-day Hebei and Beijing) against You Lun (游綸) and Zhang Chai (張豺), who had surrendered to the Youzhou warlord Wang Jun. This incited Wang Jun to sent his forces to Shi Le's capital in Xiangguo but Shi repelled them. In the end, You Lun and Zhang Chai surrendered back to Shi Le.[3] According to the biography of Fotudeng in the Book of Jin, during the defense of Xiangguo, Kui An was sent by Shi Le to speak to Fotudeng to reassure him about his prediction that the enemy general Duan Mopei would be capture.[4]

Kui An disappeared from the records between 313 and 329. He would only return in 330 when Shi Le claimed the imperial title after destroying Former Zhao and the Liu family. Shi Le handed out new government positions to his followers including Kui An, who was made one of the Masters of Writing.[5]

Service under Shi Hu

Kui An appeared to be a supporter of Shi Hu when he usurped Shi Le's son, Shi Hong's power in 333. He survived the government purging that Shi Hu carried out and instead was appointed his Deputy Director of the Left. he was the General Who Guards the Army during the reign of Shi Le's successor, Shi Hong, but after Shi Hu deposed him, Kui An was made Palace Attendant, Grand Commandant, and acting Prefect of the Masters of Writing. In 337, he was even one of the leading figures pushing for Shi Hu to claim the imperial title of Heavenly King.[6]

In 339, Jin's minister Yu Liang was planning to hold a grand invasion against Later Zhao. He camped his generals Mao Bao and Fan Jun (樊俊) at Zhujun (邾城, in modern Huanggang, Hubei) but this proved to be a fatal mistake. Shi Hu took notice of this maneuver and quickly gathered a group of generals headed by Kui An as Grand Commander against Yu Liang. Kui An led the generals to attack Jingzhou and Zhucheng. Kui An and Li Nong captured Jin's territories south of the Mian River. Kui An then captured Huting (胡亭) and invaded Jiangxia. He besieged Shicheng but the Administrator of Jingling, Li Yang (李陽) finally managed to put a stop to his advances. Kui An retreated east of the Han River, sacking and pillaging the area while relocating thousands of households there to Youzhou and Jizhou.[7]

Kui An's counterattack was devastating enough to convince Yu Liang to call off his invasion, giving Jin a humiliating defeat that costed them parts of their territory. Kui An passed away a year later in 340, holding the office of Prefect of the Masters of Writing.[8]

References
  1. (漢安東大將軍石勒寇鉅鹿、常山，衆至十餘萬，集衣冠人物，別爲君子營。以趙郡張賓爲謀主，刁膺爲股肱，夔安、孔萇、支雄、桃豹、逯明爲爪牙。幷州諸胡羯多從之。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 85
  2. (勒於葛陂繕室宇，課農造舟，將寇建鄴。會霖雨歷三月不止，元帝使諸將率江南之衆大集壽春，勒軍中飢疫死者太半。檄書朝夕繼至，勒會諸將計之。右長史刁膺諫勒先送款於帝，求掃平河朔，待軍退之後徐更計之。勒愀然長嘯。中堅夔安勸勒就高避水，勒曰：「將軍何其怯乎！」) Book of Jin, Volume 104
  3. (廣平游綸、張豺擁衆數萬，受王浚假署，保據苑鄉。勒使夔安、支雄等七將攻之，破其外壘。) Book of Jin 104
  4. (鮮卑段末波攻勒，眾甚盛。勒懼，問澄。澄曰：「昨日寺鈴鳴雲，明旦食時，當擒段末波。」勒登城望末波軍，不見前後，失色曰：「末波如此，豈可獲乎！」更遣夔安問澄。澄曰：「已獲末波矣。」時城北伏兵出，遇末波，執之。澄勸勒宥末波，遣還本國，勒從之，卒獲其用。) Book of Jin, Volume 95
  5. (以左長史郭敖爲尚書左僕射，右長史程遐爲右僕射、領吏部尚書，左司馬夔安、右司馬郭殷、從事中郎李鳳、前郎中令裴憲，皆爲尚書，參軍事徐光爲中書令、領祕書監。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 94
  6. (三年，太保夔安等文武五百九人，上皇帝尊號，安等方入，而庭燎油灌下盤，死者七人。虎大怒，腰斬成公段於閶闔門。即天王位南郊，大赦。親王貶為郡公，藩王為縣侯。) Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Volume 2
  7. (九月，石季龍將夔安、李農陷沔南，張貉陷邾城，因寇江夏、義陽，征虜將軍毛寶、西陽太守樊俊、義陽太守鄭進並死之。夔安等進圍石城，竟陵太守李陽距戰，破之，斬首五千餘級。安乃退，遂略漢東，擁七千餘家遷于幽冀。) Book of Jin, Volume 7
  8. (趙尚書令夔安卒。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 96
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