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Han Qi
Leading Northern Song statesman who defended the northwest against Western Xia with Fan Zhongyan and served as chief minister under three emperors.
In a council hall, a long table holds an unrolled map scroll, a brass-cornered chest and a brush pot, with tall-backed chairs around it and a bronze lamp at the left; a figure stands with their back turned on the balcony at the right, with palace roofs beyond.
Also known as Zi Zhigui · Han Weigong · Han Zhongxian Gong
Han Qi, courtesy name Zhigui, came from Anyang in Xiangzhou and passed the jinshi examination in 1027. During the war with Western Xia he and Fan Zhongyan served together as deputy commissioners for Shaanxi, and the pair became known as 'Han and Fan'; he later backed the Qingli reforms. Appointed Commissioner of Military Affairs in 1056 and chief minister in 1058, he served three emperors and steered the successions of Yingzong and Shenzong, being made Duke of Wei and posthumously named Zhongxian. Su Zhe's 'Letter to Grand Commandant Han' was addressed to him while he headed the Bureau of Military Affairs.
Life and times
Dates 1008–1075 CE