Xie An

Statue of Xie An, Zhangzhou, Fujian

Xie An (謝安) (320[1] – 12 October 385[2]), courtesy name Anshi (安石), formally Duke Wenjing of Luling (廬陵文靖公), also known as "Xie Dongshan" (谢东山, "dongshan" literally 'East Mountain'), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Jin dynasty who, despite his lack of military ability and skill, led Jin through a major crisis—attacks by Former Qin. In part due to his actions, his clan—the Xie clan of Chen—became one of the two most honored during the subsequent Southern Dynasties, alongside Wang Dao's Wang clan of Langya, and in the minds of the people no less honored than imperial clans. Xie An is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.

  1. ^ Xie An's biography in Book of Jin indicated that he was 66 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 320.
  2. ^ dingyou day of the 8th month of the 10th year of the Taiyuan era, per Emperor Xiaowu's biography in Book of Jin