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Hou Ying
Gentleman of the Palace under Emperor Yuan of Han who knew border affairs, and in 33 BCE listed ten objections when Huhanye Shanyu asked to withdraw frontier garrisons; the emperor decided against withdrawal.
Inside a tent at dusk, a low table holds a board of faint map-like lines with scattered black and white stones beside a feather fan, a lit lantern, an iron teapot and rolled bamboo slips, while one person sits with their back turned at the open flap, facing a river valley at sunset.
Also known as Gentleman Hou Ying
- Roles
- Strategists
Hou Ying served as a Gentleman of the Palace under Emperor Yuan of Han and knew border affairs. In 33 BCE, when Huhanye Shanyu came to court and offered to guard the frontier himself if the Han withdrew its garrisons, the emperor sent the question to his ministers. Hou Ying opposed it with ten objections, arguing that the steppe peoples submit when weak and defy when strong, that the frontier had been won over a long effort and that withdrawing would invite raids and desertions. His speech is in the Xiongnu chapter of the Han History, and the emperor ruled that the garrisons stay. His dates are unknown.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in 33 BCE