Wei Guan

Wei Guan ( Chinese  衛 瓘 , Pinyin Wèi Guàn ; * 220 ; † 291 ), stylized Boyu ( 伯玉 , Bóyù ), formally Prince Cheng of Lanling ( 蘭陵 成 公 , Lánlíng chénggōng ) was an official of the Wei and Jin Dynasty .

Career among the Wei

Wei Guan came from the Hedong headquarters (in today's Yuncheng , Shanxi ). His father Wèi Jì ( 衛 覬 ) was a senior Wei official and marquis who died in 229. Wei Wan inherited his title and later began a civil servant career. Over the years he became known for his skills and was promoted again and again. When Cao Huan ascended the imperial throne (260), Wei Guan became Minister of Justice.

When Wei regent Sima Zhao sent generals Zhong Hui and Deng Ai in 263 to conquer the Shu Empire , Wei Guan served as Deng Ai's deputy. After Shu's fall, Zhong Hui planned a riot and wrongly accused Deng Ai. Sima Zhao therefore ordered Deng Ai's arrest, which Zhong Hui Wei Guan assigned. Zhong Hui hoped that Wei Guan would fail and be killed to reinforce his allegations against Deng Ai. But Wei Guan managed to arrest Deng Ai that night. When Zhong Hui started his uprising, Wei Guan faked a serious illness to distract him. He later gathered Deng Ai's troops and led them against Zhong Hui, ending his uprising. Because he feared Deng Ai's retribution, he killed him.

The Wei officer Dù Yù ( 杜預 ) revealed everything to the regent, but instead of paying him back, Wèi Guàn visited him and apologized. He received a large mark from the regent Sima Zhao .

Career among the Jin

After Sima Zhao's death, his heir Sima Yan deposed the Emperor Cao Huan and established the Jin Dynasty . He became their first emperor as Jin Wudi . Even under him, Wei Guan proved himself as an official and as a general. That is why his brother and sons were given the title of Marquis.

Wei Guan was one of the few officials who dared to speak openly to the emperor on the Crown Prince question. The Crown Prince Sima Zhong was in fact disturbed in his spiritual development. Once, when Wei Guan again advised the emperor against keeping Sima Zhong as crown prince, Sima Zhong wordlessly sent several inquiries to Sima Zhong and soon got them back correctly processed. Sima Zhong's wife, Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng , had an officer at her disposal who secretly did the Crown Prince's work. But the emperor knew nothing about it and thought his son would be able to inherit him one day and rebuked Wei Guan.

After the death of Emperor Wu (290), Yang Yun (the father of Empress Mother Yang Zhi ) took over the reign of Emperor Hui, but he was overthrown by Empress Jia in 291. The reign was passed to Wei Guan and Sima Liang (the great-uncle of Emperor Hui). They tried to run the government strictly, but Empress Jia repeatedly interfered in state affairs. Another problem was the temperament of Sima Wei (the then Prince of Chu), the emperor's brother. Wei Guan tried to withdraw him from the military, but Sima Wei pulled Empress Jia to his side and retained his command.

The regents made Sima Wei uncomfortable. Therefore, he had his assistants Qí Shèng ( 岐 盛 ) and Gōngsūn Hóng ( 公孫 宏 ) report to Empress Jia that Wei Guan and Sima Liang were planning an overthrow. Empress Jia, who wanted to expand her influence in the government, immediately took action.

In the summer of 291, she had Emperor Hui draft an edict to Sima Wei, which ordered him to remove Wei Guan and Sima Liang from their posts. Sima Wei surrounded their property with his troops and took them both prisoner, but against the edict he killed Sima Liang and his heir Sīmǎ Jǔ ( 司馬 矩 ), and Wei Guan with his nine sons and grandchildren. Because Empress Jia was concerned about Sima Wei's increase in power, she had him executed by edict. Wei Guan was posthumously honored and made prince.