Hermit life****
Xie An (320-385), named Anshi, was born in Yangxia, Chenjun (now Taikang, Henan). The great-grandfather Xie Zuan served as the general of Chang'an Diannong in the Cao Wei Dynasty (according to "Xie Fujun Shen Dao" collected in Luo Zhenyu's "Fourth Collection of Essays from Mangluo Tomb: Supplement"); his grandfather Xie Heng was a famous Confucian scholar in the Western Jin Dynasty. He was "well-informed" and "shown his Confucianism". He served as a civil official such as a doctor offering wine, a prince's young master, and a casual knight. His father, Xie Bao (one of the first to commend him), took his family to the south during the Yongjia Rebellion and held important positions in the Eastern Jin government such as Shizhong and Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel. Xie An was born in such a famous family. He was influenced by his family since childhood and had good cultivation in virtue, knowledge, demeanor and other aspects. When he was four years old, Huan Yi, a famous scholar in Qiao County, admired him greatly when he saw him and said, "This son is as handsome as Wang Donghai (that is, Wang Cheng, a famous scholar in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty)." Wang Dao, the prime minister at that time, was also very good. He held Xie An in high regard, and Xie An already enjoyed a high reputation in the upper class society when he was a teenager. At that time, celebrities such as Liu Zhenchang, Wang Xizhi, Wang Meng, Zhi Dun, etc. all spoke highly of Xie An. Therefore, the society regards Xie An as a figure who brings peace to the people and saves the world. However, Xie An had no intention of becoming an official in his early years. Although the imperial government repeatedly summoned him to serve as an official, he was dismissed on the pretext of poor health. He lived in Dongshan in Kuaiji (today's Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province). He often traveled with Wang Xizhi, Zhi Dun, Xu Xun and others, recited poems and articles, and lived a leisurely life like a hermit. In Xiankangzhong, under the pressure of Yangzhou Governor Yu Bing, he had no choice but to serve as Yu Bing's staff, but he resigned and returned home after only about a month. Later, Fan Wang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, nominated Xie An to be the Minister of Civil Affairs, but Xie An wrote a letter to refuse. The imperial censor Zhongcheng Zhou Min reported that Xie An was summoned. He has not been in office for many years and should be imprisoned for life. It was only after the emperor issued an edict that he was pardoned. Xie An's cousin Xie Shang was appointed as the governor of Yuzhou and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the four states of Yuzhou, Hebei, You, and Bing. He held considerable military and political power. In the first year of Shengping (357), Xie Shang died, and Xie An's brother Xie Yi took over Xie Shang's official position. The following year, Xie Yi also died, and his post was taken over by Xie An's younger brother, Xie Wan. The Xie family had many high-ranking officials, and their family was rich and powerful. Only Xie An retired. Xie An's wife was the sister of the famous scholar Liu Xun and a lady from a well-known family. When she asked Xie An why he didn't become an official, Xie An said contemptuously: "I'm afraid he will inevitably come out." When Xie An lived in seclusion, he often took prostitutes with him whenever he went out to play. Subsequently, Sima Yu (later ascended the throne as Emperor Jian Wen) was the prime minister at the time. After hearing this, he said: "Since Xie An is willing to share happiness with others, he will not share the same worries with others, so I called him out." As expected, Xie An still He is very concerned about national affairs and has wise opinions on the political situation. When he lived in seclusion, he often assisted his brothers in politics. When Xie Wan was appointed as the prefect of Wuxing County, Xie An followed Wan to his post. Xie Wan sometimes fell asleep, so Xie An would go to the bed and knock on the screen to ask him to get up and take charge of the board of directors (Volume 701 of "Taiping Yulan" cited "Sushuo"). In the third year of Shengping, Xie Wan was ordered to attack Qian Yan, and Xie An also went north with the army. Xie Wan was arrogant, so Xie An advised him: "As a marshal, you should always care about your generals and make them work together. How can anyone be as arrogant as you and achieve success?" Xie Wan didn't listen, and instead called him every The generals are "strong soldiers", and the people under his command are very dissatisfied with him. Xie An was very anxious and visited Xie Wan's generals in person. He treated them with kindness and kindness, and was very popular from the commander down to the captain without exception. After Xie Wan was defeated in the battle, his men wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble, but gave up because they were thinking of Xie An.
Leaving the mountain and becoming an official****
In the third year of Shengping, Xie An's reputation became more and more popular. Some people even said: "If An Shi refuses to come out, what will happen to the common people!" "Xie Wan was defeated and dismissed from his post, and none of the Xie brothers held high-level positions. In order to avoid the decline of the family, Xie An resolutely decided to become an official. In August of the fourth year of Shengping, Xie An was appointed Sima of Huan Wen, the general who conquered the West. He was already forty at that time. Huan Wen was very happy to have Xie An as his staff. He said to his entourage: "Have you ever seen such a talented person among my staff?" Xie An's official position was not high at first, but he was quite prestigious. He once recommended dozens of disciples to Tian Cao Zhonglang to recruit Zhao Yuezi. Zhao Yuezi reported it to Huan Wen, and Huan Wen allowed him to hire half of them. However, Zhao Yuezi believed: "When Xie An was in Dongshan, government celebrities repeatedly pressed him, fearing that he would not care about the political situation and personnel. Today, he selects scholars from the countryside, so there is no reason why he should not use them." So, they all were hired.
In the fifth year of Shengping, Xie Wan died of illness and Xie An returned to the county for burial. Soon, he was transferred to the post of prefect of Wuxing. During his tenure, he made no major achievements, but his administration was clean and peaceful. Later generations missed him and erected the "Stele of Xie An, Prefect of Wuxing" (see Lu Xinyuan's "Wuxing Jinshiji"). In the first year of Xian'an (371), he was promoted to Shizhong.
In this year, Huan Wen deposed Hai Xigong and appointed Sima Yu as Emperor Jian Wen. Emperor Jian Wen was graceful, fond of Confucianism and metaphysics, and was quite diligent in government affairs. But there is no way to save the world. Xie An regarded him as someone like Emperor Hui who could only talk. In the second year, he was transferred to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Central Protector of the Army. In July, Emperor Jianwen died, and Prince Sima Yao succeeded him as Emperor Xiaowu. Huan Wen originally thought that Emperor Jian Wen would give him the Zen throne before his death, otherwise, he would also let him serve as regent and assist the prince in politics. Emperor Jian Wen originally had this plan, but gave up due to the opposition of Wang Tanzhi, Wang Biaozhi and others. Huan Wen suspected that Xie An and Wang Tanzhi were causing the obstruction, and he held a grudge against them. In February of the first year of Ningkang (373), Huan Wen entered the court from Gushu and stationed himself at Xinting with a large number of soldiers guarding him. He wanted to see Wang Tanzhi and Xie An. At that time, it was said that Huan Wen wanted to kill Wang and Xie and replace them with Sima. Wang Tanzhi was very scared and asked Xie An what to do. Xie An's expression remained unchanged and he said: "The survival of the Jin Dynasty depends on what we do this time." Then he and Wang Tanzhi went to Xinting to see Huan Wen. All the officials of the imperial court lined up on both sides of the road to pay homage to Huan Wen. Wang Tanzhi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and even turned the tablets he used for the meeting upside down. Xie An was calm and collected. Wang Tanzhi's original reputation was on par with Xie An's, but now, people praise Xie An better than Wang Tanzhi.
In the early years of Ningkang, Huan Wen was in great power and was powerful both internally and externally. Emperor Xiaowu was weak and incompetent, and could not manage the government on his own. It was all thanks to the loyal ministers such as Xie An, Wang Tanzhi and other ministers to maintain the political balance and keep Huan Wen always in control. The Sima family cannot be replaced. Huan Wen repeatedly urged the court to grant him the special gift of Jiuxi. Yuan Hong of the reporter's office drafted the ceremony, which was very beautiful. At that time, Huan Wen was seriously ill, so Xie An deliberately slowed down the process. Every time Yuan Hong submitted a draft, he asked him to do so. I revised it several times and still couldn't finalize it. Yuan Hong didn't know what he meant, so he asked his servant to shoot Wang Biaozhi. Biao Zhi said: "You don't understand Xie An's thoughts. You see, Huan Wen's illness is getting worse day by day. He will not last long. The manuscript can be delayed for some time." Sure enough, in July of this year, Huan Wen After he died of illness, the matter of adding Jiuxi was settled.
After Huan Wen's death, the Huan family was still very powerful. His younger brothers Huan Chong and Huan Huo, and his nephew Huan Shixiu controlled the important military towns of Yang, Jing, and Jiang. In order to prevent the power of the government from falling into the hands of the Huan family, Xie An asked Empress Dowager Chu of Chongde to come to the court to listen to the government. Empress Dowager Chu is the daughter of Xie An's cousin, and her coming to court will be very beneficial to Xie An. Soon, Xie An was promoted to Minister Pushe, in charge of the staff department, and later to general. He and Shangshu ordered Wang Tanzhi to take charge of the government. In the second year of Ningkang, Zhongshu ordered Wang Tanzhi to serve as the governor of Xu and Yanzhou. Xie An also took charge of Zhongshu Province and became the actual decision-maker. At that time, the powerful ethnic minority regimes in the north, such as the former Qin and the former Yan, continued to invade the borders of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The domestic clan Sima Daozi was in power, and the large clans such as the Wang and Huan clans relied on force to compete. In view of this national situation, Xie An adopted a policy of peace externally and minimized armed conflicts; he implemented virtuous governance internally, served both civil and military affairs, enriched the country and strengthened the army, and at the same time maintained the balance of power among the major families and between the major families and the royal family. For example, the four major towns of Yang, Jing, Xu, and Yan, the first two towns were in the hands of the Huan family, and the latter two towns were controlled by the Wang family of Taiyuan. In the third year of Ningkang, when Wang Tan died, Xie An granted Huan Chong the title of Xuzhou and became the governor of Yangzhou. He first captured the military town that posed the greatest threat to the capital. At that time, Wang Yun of Taiyuan was favored by the emperor because he was the father of the empress. Xie An soon dismissed Huanchong's Xuzhou and granted it to Wang Yun. This not only alienated the relationship between Wang Yun and the emperor, but also weakened the military power of the Huan family, and also made the Wang family of Taiyuan Then hold the military town to achieve a basic balance of power among the major clans. At the same time, he was careful not to harm the vested interests of the wealthy clans too much, so he petitioned the descendants of the founding heroes of the early Jin Dynasty to be named after their rise and fall. During the Yongjia period, a large number of people from the north migrated to the south, and the wealthy families merged the refugees into tribes without establishing household registration. When Huan Wen was in power, there was a civil war, and Sanwu was the first to bear the brunt. Most of the families who were kidnapped fled to the capital. Some people advocated a thorough search, but Xie An refused. He believed that the people should be cared for with virtue, and that the people should not be harassed and harsh. In addition, strong bandits were oppressing the country, and it was not appropriate to disturb the people's hearts. Therefore, he replied: "If the capital cannot tolerate these people, why is it called the capital?" ( In ancient times, Jingyue was called Da, and Shi was called Zhong.) History said that Xie An "promoted the outline" and "did not keep small inspections", which were basically similar to Wang Dao's policy measures. In his later years, Director Wang ceased to be a director and carried out a policy of inaction. After his death, Yu Bing succeeded him, and the policies were strict and the punishments were severe. Yin Xian believed that although Yu Bing's government maintained its outline, it was ultimately a small way and was not as good as Wang's policy. Xie An greatly appreciated and agreed with this evaluation. Because Xie An was tolerant in politics and made things simple. People praised him for being as political as Director Wang and as elegant as Director Wang.
Victory at Feishui ****
In the first year of Taiyuan (376), Xie An became the Supervisor of the Zhongshu and the Minister of Records. In the second year, Situ was added. Xie Anqian gave in and refused to worship. He was also added as Shizhong and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department of Yang, Xu, Yan, Yu and Qing Prefectures.
At that time, the former Qin Dynasty repeatedly harassed the Jin territory, and the imperial court ordered the recruitment of good civil and military generals who could guard the northern defense line. Xie An recommended his nephew Xie Xuan. Some people ridiculed Xie An for employing nepotism. Although Zhongshu Lang Xichao had a quarrel with Xie An, he sighed after hearing this: "Xie An is really wise to recommend his relatives without fear of others' ridicule. Xie Xuan is a talented person and will live up to Xie An's expectations." "Sure enough, after Xie Xuan was appointed governor of Yanzhou, he formed the "Beifu Soldiers" in Jingkou, which were extremely elite and became the most powerful force in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the fourth year of Taiyuan, he left the town of Guangling and ordered his son Xie Yan to attack Pengcheng and returned victorious. In the fifth year of Taiyuan, he became the general of Wei and opened the mansion with the third division. In the eighth year of Taiyuan, Fu Jian of the former Qin Dynasty personally led an army of 600,000 to invade the south, advancing both by land and water, approaching Feishui River, which shocked the capital. Xie An appointed his younger brother Xie Shi as the commander-in-chief of the expedition, his nephew Xie Xuan as the forward commander, and his son Xie Yan, general of the Fuguo, and general Huan Yi of Xizhonglang, led 80,000 elite troops to resist the enemy. The disparity in strength between the enemy and ours made people panic. Before the war, Xie Xuan came to ask about strategy and tactics. Xie An said, "The imperial court has other arrangements." Xie Xuan did not dare to ask further. Xie An had an uneventful day, driving on trips, gathering with relatives and friends, and playing chess and villas with Xie Xuan. Xie An's chess skills are usually not as good as Xie Xuan's, but this day Xie Xuan was so flustered that he lost to Xie An. After playing chess, we visited the mountains and rivers near the villa and didn't come back until night. Huan Chong on the western front was very worried and sent 3,000 elite soldiers from Jingzhou to help defend the capital. Xie An refused to accept it and said: "The imperial court has a plan to retreat from the enemy. There is no need to replenish troops. The western defense line is also very important. It is not appropriate to randomly mobilize troops." Huan Chong sighed to his men and said: "Today the enemy is facing us, and the prime minister only cares about Traveling around the mountains and rivers, and sending young and ignorant generals to the front line, the enemy is outnumbered, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty is undoubtedly destroyed." Unexpectedly, Xie An had already made up his mind, and in order to stabilize the people's hearts, he deliberately pretended to be nonchalant and used the game to show off. But secretly strategizing. On the eve of the decisive battle in October, the generals were summoned and given face-to-face instructions. In the Battle of Feishui, the Jin army defeated the Qin army. When the news came, Xie An was playing chess with his guests. After reading the letter, he put it aside and continued to play chess as usual. When the guest asked what happened, Xie An slowly replied: "My nephews have defeated the Qin army." After playing chess and returning home, he was so happy that he even broke a tooth when he crossed the threshold. This kind of demeanor of winning or losing in talking and laughing and the cultivation of being indifferent to emotions and anger are widely praised in society.
In his later years****
When Huan Chong learned that Xie's generals had defeated the Qin army, he was jealous of Xie's victory and regretted his mistake, plus he was guarding the Western Front. , defeated by Hou Yan's army over the years, he was ashamed and angry, fell ill and died in February of the ninth year of Taiyuan. The governors of Jing and Jiang provinces were absent, and Xie Xuan had made great achievements. Everyone in the court believed that these two important military positions should be awarded to Xie Xuan. But when Xie An came, he felt that his family's fame was too great. After the war, Xie Shi was promoted to Shangshu Ling, and in the ninth year of Taiyuan, Xie An was promoted to Taibao. If Xie Xuan were to serve as an important town on the Western Front again, his family would take over all the military and political power in the country, and they would easily become the target of public criticism; Secondly, they were worried that the Huan family, which still had a certain amount of power, would become resentful and revolt if they lost their important official positions. Therefore, Jingzhou was awarded to Huan Chong's nephew Huan Shimin, Shimin's younger brother Huan Shiqian was appointed as the governor of Yuzhou, and Huan Chong's grandson Huan Yi was appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. Xie An has always paid attention to maintaining the balance of power among the major clans, neither overly weakening nor overexpanding it, even for his own family. Therefore, when Xie An was in power, the political situation was relatively stable and national power developed rapidly. It was during this period that the confrontation between the north and the south was formed.
Although Xie An handles things carefully, due to his high reputation and power, it is inevitable that some people will be jealous. Xie An's son-in-law Wang Guobao was the son of Wang Tanzhi of Taiyuan. He was uneducated and incompetent. Xie An hated him very much and only appointed him as a minister. Wang Guobao believed that he was born in a famous family and should be appointed to an important official position in the Qing Dynasty. He did not want to be appointed as minister, so he resigned and grudged against Xie An. Wang Guobao's cousin was Sima Daozi's princess. Daozi and Emperor Xiaowu were speculative drunkards. Therefore, Wang Guobao flattered Sima Daozi and asked him to alienate Xie An in front of the emperor. Emperor Xiaowu gradually distrusted Xie An and instead favored Sima Daozi. After the Feishui War, Xie An became famous and became famous. Emperor Xiaowu was wary of this, so he alienated him with Taoist disciples, thus alienating him. In March of the ninth year, Xie An was promoted to Taibao, further eclipsing him. Xie An also understood the current affairs and placed Jing and Jiang states under the control of the Huan family to maintain the balance of power among the powerful clans. On the one hand, he avoided Sima Daozi and did not compete with him. On the other hand, he tried every means to regain military and political power and maintain his family's power. In September, he wrote a letter requesting to lead the troops in the Northern Expedition, so Xie An was granted the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Fifteen Prefectures of Yang, Xu, Jiang, Jing, Si, Yu, Yan, Qing, Ji, You, Bing, Liang, Yi, Yong, and Liang. , add Huang Yue.
Ten years ago, a rebellion broke out in the former Qin Dynasty, and Fu Jian asked for help from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Xie Anzheng wanted to avoid Sima Daozi, so he asked to personally lead his troops to rescue him. In April, he left the town of Buqiu in Guangling (today's Shaobo Town of Yangzhou) and built a castle to live in, called "New City". Although Xie An achieved great success in his later years and became famous all over the world, he still misses him endlessly when he recalls the leisurely life he lived in seclusion in Dongshan in the past. After being rejected by Sima Daozi, he even wanted to retire. He built and cut boats in Xincheng and made great preparations for sailing. Once the opportunity was right, he wanted to go down to Sanwu along the Yangtze River, retire and return to his hometown, and live a life among the mountains and rivers again. But in July of that year, Xie An fell ill and had to request to return to the capital. Before leaving, You made arrangements for the Northern Expedition, ordering Longxiang General Zhu Xu to station in Luoyang; forward commander Xie Xuan to station in Pengpei. They were the horns of each other. When the water rose during the flood season next year, the east and west routes could cross the river together and go on the northern expedition. After the ministry was completed, he returned to Jiankang with his son Xie Yan and submitted a letter requesting to resign. On August 22, Xie An died of illness in Jiankang at the age of sixty-six. The imperial court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty held a grand ceremony to commemorate Xie An. Emperor Xiaowu visited the mourning hall in person for three days and gave him the posthumous title of Taifu, Wen Jing (posthumous title: Rou De An Zhong Yue Jing). In October, he was granted the title of Duke of Luling County. Xie An has two sons. The eldest son Xie Yao was granted the title of nobility, and his official position reached the rank of King You of Langya, but he died early. The second son, Xie Yan, was a talented general. He followed Xie An in
politics and was promoted to general of Wei, governor of Xuzhou, and Jiejie. He was later killed in Sun En's Rebellion.
Elegance and education ****
Xie An was not only an outstanding politician in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but also erudite and elegant, ranking among the celebrities of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Jiangzuo was an important figure, and his scholarly education was highly valued by scholars. Xie An showed excellent qualities in these aspects. Metaphysics, as a cultural symbol of the overseas Chinese gentry, plays an important role in the entire social life. The mastery of metaphysics and the skills of discussing it have become an important value standard. Xie An was proficient in Xuan Dao. When he was in his twenties, he visited the famous scholar Wang Meng and had a long chat with him, which was greatly appreciated. Zeng, Xu Xun, Zhi Daolin and others gathered at Wang Meng's house. Xie An suggested that everyone sing and express their feelings together, so he interpreted "The Fisherman". Xie An looked at the topic and asked everyone to explain it. Zhi Daolin explained it first. He spoke more than 700 words, and the explanation was exquisite and brilliant. Everyone praised it. After everyone expressed their opinions, Xie An talked about his own opinions in more than ten thousand words. He was so talented and so proud that everyone present was impressed. Xu, Wang, and Zhi were all famous talkers in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and they all obeyed Xie An, which shows Xie An's profound knowledge of metaphysics and refinement of his speech.
Xie An is also familiar with Confucian classics. In the third year of Ningkang (375), Emperor Xiaowu was going to lecture on the Classic of Filial Piety. Xie An, his younger brother Xie Wan and others were attending the reading in the palace. Zhongshu Lang Cheyin excerpted some sentences and asked Brother Xie An if he didn't understand something. Again and again, feeling deeply uneasy, he said to Yuan Hong: "If you don't ask, your virtue will be lost. If you ask more, you will have to work hard." Yuan Hong advised him not to worry, because "a bright mirror never tires of shining on it again and again." Meaning. That is to say, Xie An is knowledgeable and familiar with classics, and he will have no difficulty in answering people's questions.
In terms of literature, Xie An is also very cultivated. A person who is good at poetry and writing has a talent for being gorgeous. In his early years in Dongshan, "When I came out, I was fishing for the mountains and rivers, and when I came in, I was chanting and chanting." There are more than ten poems by Xie An collected in "Poems of the Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Southern and Northern Dynasties". He once wrote a brief essay on the emperor's posthumous title. He was profound in literature and science and was adopted by the imperial court. After Huan Wen read it, he handed it to others present to see and said, "This is stone and gold." When he was living in leisure time, he often wrote essays and poems with his nephews, which became a good job in the literary world at that time.
Xie An was good at music and was proficient in music theory. He once discussed Qin Shu with Dai Kui. After the death of his brother Xie Wan, he stopped listening to music for ten years. Even when you are on stage, you will not lose your joy because of mourning. Wang Tanzhi wrote many times to dissuade him, saying that it was a great Confucian ritual to live in mourning and abandon pleasure, and he hoped that Xie An could maintain the rule of etiquette. But Xie An wrote back and said: "What I pursue is rhythm, which can be called emotion, so there is nothing I can't do. Just talk and enjoy myself. If you want to respect the world's teachings and behave purely, not only cannot it be promoted, but also It's not disdainful." He once said to Wang Xizhi: "Middle age is full of sorrow and joy. Every time I leave my relatives, I always feel unhappy for a few days." Wang Xizhi comforted him and said: "It's natural for me to rely on music to support me. Cultivation of character. "Xie An lived in mourning and enjoyed himself in his later years, so there must be some sustenance for him. People in the society regarded it as an elegant behavior and imitated it, and it became a fashion at that time.
In addition to music, Xie An is also "good at calligraphy and painting." He liked Gu Kaizhi's paintings very much and praised his paintings as "unprecedented since he was born." This shows that he has a certain hobby and appreciation of painting. I once learned cursive calligraphy from Wang Xizhi, who praised him as a "calligrapher", indicating that he not only knew calligraphy, but also understood calligraphy theory, and also had his own appreciation ability. Xie An's running script and official script are all very good.
The Southern Dynasty Yang Xin's "Able to Call People's Names in Ancient Times" and Wang Sengqian's "On Calligraphy" compiled by Yang Xin both regard Xie An as a calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
When Huan Wen was in power, Xi Chao was favored and all officials in the court respected him. Xie An once went to visit Xi Chao with Wang Tanzhi. After waiting for a long time, he could not be received. Wang Tanzhi was about to leave. Xie An said, "Can't you be patient for a while for the sake of your wealth and life?" The same is true for the lower class. Xie An once took a boat to the east. The servants guided the boat, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes stopped, and sometimes let the boat drift, touching the shore, causing people on board to collide. But Xie An never scolded his servants, and people praised him for not being moody. But one time, Xie An came back from attending the funeral of his brother Xie Yi. It was already dusk and it was raining heavily. The driver was too drunk to control the cart. Xie An was sitting in the car, feeling sad for his brother's death and couldn't bear it. He took the carriage pillar with his hand and hit the coachman with a fierce voice and sound, which made the coachman sober. People say that Xie An's character is like a deep river, which usually flows quietly and slowly, but at the pass, it flows straight down.
Xie An pays attention to his manners when dealing with others. In the aristocratic society of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there were strict social standards, and scholars did not interact with each other, but Xie An was good at greeting scholars politely. Wang Xianzhi of the famous Langya clan came to visit Xie An, and Xi Zhuozhi happened to be at Xie An's home. Wang Xianzhi despised Xi Zhuozhi for coming from a poor family and refused to sit with him, so he stood instead of sitting down. Xie An hurriedly arranged for Wang Xianzhi to sit in his opposite. After Xianzhi left, Xie An said to his nephew: "Although Xianzhi is noble, he is too reserved, which will damage his nature." When Hu Zhi, the famous king of Langya clan, lived in Dongshan, he was once relatively poor. Tao Fan, who was of low family status, happened to be the magistrate of Wucheng County at that time, so he sent someone to send a boatload of rice to Wang Huzhi, but Wang Huzhi refused to accept it and said: "I will naturally go to Xie Shang if I don't have anything to eat." Xie An's cousin) takes it from home, and you don't need Tao Fan's rice." This made Tao Fan very embarrassed. After Xie An heard about it, he thought that what Wang Huzhi had done was too much. It can be seen that Xie An does not agree with the strict family status.
Xie An also advocated moral education in the education of his children. Xie An's wife Liu once asked Xie An why he didn't see him educating his children. Xie An said, "I often tell them what they should do with my words and deeds." In other words, Xie An is based on leading by example. In education, we pay great attention to methods and methods, never being abrupt and hurting the children's body and mind. When his nephew Xie Xuan was a child, he had a flashy nature and often wore a purple sachet with a handkerchief hanging down his waist. Xie An wanted to change his habit but did not want to hurt his self-esteem, so he tried to bet him on the sachet and won. Then burn it. Xie An's second brother, Xie Ju, was ignorant when he was a child. He once climbed to the roof to smoke rats, which was widely circulated as a joke. Xie Zhi's son Xie Lang didn't know that his father had done it, so he often joked about it with others. Xie An therefore said to Xie Lang: "The world uses this matter to slander the second brother, and some people say that I did it." Xie Lang was very upset after hearing this, and never dared to mention this matter again. People think that Xie An can deliberately describe this stupid thing as his own fault to enlighten his nephew, which can be called a moral education. Because Xie An practiced hard and taught his children well, most of his children became talented. For example, Xie Xuan and Xie Yan were famous generals in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and they were granted the title of (Xie Shao), Hu (Xie Lang), (Xie Xuan), and at the end of the period (Xie Yuan), and they became outstanding figures in the literary world. The Xie family is full of talents, both civil and military.
Xie An has always been known as ambitious. When we were in Dongshan, we were swimming across the sea with Sun Chuo and others. Suddenly the wind and waves came up. Everyone on the boat panicked and advocated returning to the sea. Only Xie An's expression remained unchanged and he could sing and whistle freely. Everyone admired him and said, "Look at it." The amount is enough to calm the government and the public." In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, appearance and appearance were often used to measure talents. This special value standard originated from the evaluation of characters in the Han Dynasty. It is believed that a person's talent can be reflected in his appearance and appearance, which is called Peugeot or romantic. It directly affects the character's reputation and status, and also has a potential impact on social fashion. Xie An had a nose disease, and his voice was thick and thick when he sang the chants of scholars in Luoxia. Scholars loved his chants but couldn't get enough of them. Some even covered their noses with their hands to imitate the dull sounds. Xie An is known as the romantic leader of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His every move influenced the social atmosphere at that time. There was a fellow countryman in Xie'an who came back from being a local official and brought 50,000 cattail fans back to the capital for sale. Xie An used his type of cattail fan, and as a result, both scholars and common people in the capital rushed to imitate it, doubling the price of the fan. In less than a month, 50,000 cattail fans were sold out. Pei Qi, a native of Hedong, wrote "Yulin" which was untrue, and was denounced by Xie An as "Pei's school", so "people despised his work, and "Yulin" was abandoned." It is said in history that "Xie Xiang's words can destroy beauty over a thousand years; and what he wants to achieve, it can be valued at a price of a hundred gold."
"Xie An not only has outstanding military and political talents, but he is also elegant and versatile. He is known as "Xie An with many talents". This is very rare for a powerful minister whose status is second only to the emperor. No wonder later generations think " The romantic prime minister of Jiangzuo is only grateful to An'er."