Jia Yi
| Jia Yi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 賈誼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 贾谊 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 賈生 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 贾生 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Scholar Jia" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Jiǎ Yì |
| Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Jea Yih |
| Wade–Giles | Chia3 I4 |
| IPA | [tɕi̯à î] |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Gáa Yih |
| Jyutping | Gaa2 Ji6 |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | Ká Gī |
| Middle Chinese | |
| Middle Chinese | Kǽ Ngje |
| Old Chinese | |
| Baxter-Sagart | *C.qˤ<r>aʔ ŋ(r)aj |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Jiǎ shēng |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Gáa sāang |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | Ká sing |
| Old Chinese | |
| Baxter-Sagart | *C.qˤ<r>aʔ sreŋ |
Jia Yi (Chinese: 賈誼; Wade–Giles: Chia I; c. 200 – 169 BCE) was an early Chinese writer, scholar, and official during the Han dynasty, best known as one of the earliest known writers of fu rhapsody and for his essay "Disquisition Finding Fault with Qin" (Guò Qín Lùn 過秦論), which criticises the Qin dynasty and describes Jia's opinions on the reasons for its collapse. In particular, he is famous for his two fu, On the Owl (鵩鳥賦) and his Lament for Quyuan (吊屈原賦). He is also the author of the treatise Xinshu (新書), containing political and educational insights.
Jia Yi was born about 200 BCE in Luoyang, though some sources suggest his birth may have been a year earlier in about 201 BCE. As a youth Jia became well known in his home county for his literary skills and ability to recite the Chinese Classics. His precociousness caught the attention of "Venerable Wu" (Wu gong 吳公), the local governor and a prominent Legalist scholar who had been a student of the Qin dynasty official Li Si. Wu brought Jia onto his staff, and when he became Commandant of Justice in 179 BCE he recommended Jia to Emperor Wen of Han as a scholar of the Classics. Emperor Wen made Jia a "professor" (bóshì 博士), and within one year had promoted him to Grand Master of the Palace (tàizhōng dàfū 太中大夫), a relatively high-ranking position at the imperial court.
Upon assuming his new position, Jia began submitting proposals for institutional reforms—including a proposal to require vassal lords to actually reside in their fiefs and not at the capital—but was frequently opposed by a group of older officials who had been early supporters of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, and who continued to hold important positions under Emperor Wen. This old-guard faction, probably feeling that Jia was a threat to their own positions, protested when Emperor Wen was considering promoting Jia to a ministerial post, saying that Jia was "young and just beginning his studies, yet he concentrates all his desires on arrogating authority to himself, and has brought chaos and confusion to everything." The emperor, bowing to the faction's pressure, gradually stopped seeking Jia's advice, and in 176 BCE exiled Jia to the southern kingdom of Changsha (roughly corresponding to modern Hunan Province) to serve as Grand Tutor to its young king Wu Chan (吳產; r. 178 – 157 BCE).
...
Wikipedia