Hou Andu 侯安都

Hou Andu 侯安都 (520-563), courtesy name Chengshi 成師, from Qujiang 曲江 in the commandery of Shixing 始興 (in today's Guangdong province), was a general of the Liang dynasty 梁 (502-557), one of the Southern Dynasties.

He was known for his excellence in the zither play and mastery of calligraphy. Hou was only a minor employee in the local administration when Chen Baxian 陳霸先 (the eventual Emperor Wu 陳武帝, r. 557-559, of the Chen dynasty 陳, 557-589) fought against the rebellion of Hou Jing 侯景 (503-552). Hou Andu decided to join the fight with 3,000 men, successfully attacked Cai Luyang 蔡路養, defeated Li Qianshi 李遷仕 (d. 551), and helped to crush Hou Jing's rebellion. Hou Andu also assisted Chen Baxian in defeating Wang Sengbian 王僧辯 (d. 555) and Xu Sihui 徐嗣徽 (d. 556). In 555, due to his merits, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief (dudu 都督) of Nan-Xuzhou 南徐州 and General of Compassionate Authority (renwei jiangjun 仁威將軍). He repeatedly repelled invasions by Northern Qi forces 北齊 (550-577).

In 557, after Chen Baxian declared himself emperor, Hou Andu was tasked with suppressing rebellions by former Liang generals. In 559, after Chen Baxian's death, Hou Andu supported the enthronement of Chen Qian 陳蒨 (Emperor Wen 陳文帝, r. 559-566). For this, he was promoted to the post of Minister of Works (sikong 司空) and invested as Commandery Duke Qingyuan 清遠郡公. He was later appointed palace attendant (shizhong 侍中), earning great prestige.

However, relying on his achievements, he became arrogant and overbearing. Many officers under his command disobeyed laws and regulations, which incurred Emperor Wen's displeasure. In 563, he was arrested and shortly thereafter was ordered to commit suicide.