He Yan

He Yan
He Yan's commentary on the Analects of Confucius
Born	c.195 Nanyang, Henan
Died	249 A.D.
Nationality	Wei
Occupation	Scholar, philosopher, imperial minister of personnel
Notable work	Collected Explanations of the Analects (Lunyu Jijie); Commentary on the Daode Jing (Daode Lun)

He Yan (Chinese: 何晏; pinyin: Hé Yàn) (c. 195–249), courtesy name Pingshu (Chinese: 平叔; pinyin: Píng Shū), was a politician and prominent philosopher of Wei (220–265), one of the Three Kingdoms. He was the grandson of the Han general He Jin and, after his mother was taken as a concubine by Cao Cao, was raised with the Wei royal family. He gained a reputation for intelligence and scholarship at an early age, but he was unpopular and criticized for being arrogant and dissolute. He was rejected for government positions by both Emperors Cao Pi and Cao Rui, but became a powerful minister during the rule of Cao Shuang. When the Sima family took control of the government in a coup d'état in 249, he was executed along with all the other officials loyal to Cao.

He was, along with Wang Bi, one of the founders of the Daoist school of Xuanxue. He synthesized the philosophical schools of Daoism and Confucianism, believing that the two schools complimented each other. He wrote a famous commentary on the Daode Jing that was influential in his time, but no copies have survived. His commentary on the Analects was considered standard and authoritative for nearly 1000 years, until his interpretation was displaced by the commentary of Zhu Xi in the fourteenth century.

He Yan was born in Nanyang, Henan. His great-grandfather was a butcher, and his grandfather, He Jin, was the general-in-chief of the Han Dynasty. His grand aunt was Empress He, the wife of Emperor Ling. He Yan's father, (), died at an early age. The He Family's political power was destroyed when a warlord, Dong Zhuo, occupied the Han capital of Luoyang. He Yan's mother escaped and gave birth to He in exile.