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Han Anguo 韓安國

Sep 9, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

Han Anguo 韓安國 (d. 127 BCE), courtesy name Changru 長孺, was a high minister of the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE).

He hailed from Cheng'an 成安 (modern Linru 臨汝, Henan) and was a court official of Liu Wu 劉武, Prince of Liang 梁.

When the rebellion of the Seven Princes broke out, he participated in the suppression, at the side of general Zhang Yu 張羽 (former counsellor [xiangguo 相國] to the Prince of Chu 楚).

During the early years of Emperor Wu's reign he was appointed Defender-in-chief (duwei 都尉) of the region of the north and later occupied the offices of Chamberlain for the national treasury (dasinong 大司農) and Censor-in-chief (yushi dafu 御史大夫).

His plan to undertake a campaign against the steppe federation of the Xiongnu 匈奴 in 133 failed. Only in 127 he was ordered to fortify the city of Yuyang 漁陽 (near modern Beijing). When he captured a small contingent of Xiongnu, he sent an overhasty memorial to the throne reporting his success and asking to dissolve the camp. At that moment a large Xiongnu army invaded the northwest of the empire and defeated the Han army. Han Anguo was sent to the border garrison of Youbeiping 右北平 (area of modern Beijing), where he died soon.

Source:
Cang Xiuliang 倉修良, ed. (1996). Hanshu cidian 漢書辭典 (Jinan: Shandong jiaoyu chubanshe), 1049.