Pei Wei (Jin dynasty)

Pei Wei (267 – 7 May 300^[1]), courtesy name Yimin, was a Chinese essayist, philosopher, physician, and politician^[2] of the Western Jin dynasty. He was the cousin of Jia Nanfeng and rose to prominence during the reign of her husband, the Emperor Hui of Jin. Pei Wei was seen by traditional historian as one of Empress Jia's exemplary supporters along with Zhang Hua and Jia Mo. He pushed for a number of significant reforms during his tenure which met with mixed success before his execution by the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun, in 300 following Sima Lun's coup.

Pei Wei placed great importance in conventional Confucianist teachings, and was taken aback by the growing popularity of Xuanxue in the court during the 290s. His essay, the Chongyoulun (崇有論), was a response to the works of He Yan and Wang Bi, particularly on their idea that the universe emerged from the concept of "non-being" (wu, 無).