| Yàn Yīng | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Died | 500 BC |
Yan Ying (Chinese: 晏嬰; pinyin: yàn yīng; Wade-Giles: Yen Ying) (d. 500 BC) was prime minister of the ancient Chinese state of Qi (Shandong) during the Spring and Autumn Period,
"noted for his thrifty habits of life. At meals, he would not eat of two kinds of meat, neither would he allow his womenfolk to wear silk. A small shoulder of pork sufficed for his ancestral sacrifices, and one fox-skin robe lasted him for thirty years. He is credited with the following ruse, by which he got rid of the three rival Ministers who stood most in the way of his own advancement. He persuaded the Duke of Ch'i to offer two peaches to those of his counsellors who should show that they had the best claims. At first only two of the rivals came forward, and each received and ate one of the coveted peaches. Then the third rival presented himself and soon proved that his merits were really greater, whereupon the two slew themselves from mortification. The survivor, indignant that such men should have been sacrificed for the sake of peaches, promptly committed suicide."[1]
During the Warring States Period (roughly 475-221 BC), a book was published called The Annals of Yan Ying (Chinese: 晏子春秋; pinyin: yàn yīng chūn qiū), with stories of his advice to the Duke of Qi[2]. A chapter of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is devoted to him and Guan Zhong.
Yan Ying is buried in Zibo (Chinese: 淄博; pinyin: Zībó), Shandong province.