Ji An汲黯

Where the histories differ

In the Records of the Grand Historian, Ji An laments the fickleness of retainers and the coldness of human relationships; in the History of Han, he is placed in a joint biography of four men and honored as a good minister of the restoration.

• histories differThe categorization and evaluation of Ji An's direct remonstrations in official histories

  In the Records of the Grand Historian, 'The Biographies of Ji An and Zheng Dangshi' places Ji An in a joint biography with Zheng Dangshi. The Grand Historian, through the words of Duke Zhai, laments the coldness of human relationships when one loses power: 'The Grand Historian says: With the worthiness of Ji and Zheng, when they had power, their retainers were ten times as many; when they lost power, they were not so. How much more so for ordinary people! Duke Zhai of Xiagui had a saying: When Duke Zhai was Commandant of Justice, his guests filled the gate; when he was dismissed, one could set a sparrow trap outside the gate.' In the History of Han, 'The Biographies of Zhang Shizhi, Feng Tang, Ji An, and Zheng Dangshi' expands this to a joint biography of four ministers: Zhang Shizhi, Feng Tang, Ji An, and Zheng Dangshi. The eulogy defines their political character: 'Zhang Shizhi's upholding of the law, Feng Tang's discussion of generals, Ji An's uprightness, Zheng Dangshi's recommendation of scholars—without these, how could they have become famous?'