Ren An (任安) | 24 Histories

Overview

Ren An was an official and Military Officer.

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Shaoqing	少卿	Shaoqing

Life and dates

Death

executed 誅死
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 133

Attested activity

BC 140 to BC 120 任安…衛將軍舍人
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passages 74, 86
BC 91 太子…北軍
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 127
BC 91 少卿
Directly stated · Book of Liang 14, passage 28

Family

Kinship Role parents · Count 0 · Negated true · [object Object]
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 76

Key source chapters

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 104 Biography of Tian Shu 17 passages
Book of Liang, Chapter 14 Volume 14: Jiang Yan; Ren Fang 1 passage

Career and standing

Regional Inspector of Yizhou 益州刺史
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 113
station chief 亭長
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 79
three-hundred-bushel magistrate 三百石長
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 84
Village Elder 三老
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 84
Protector General of the Northern Army 北軍使者護軍
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 127
Entered
Dismissed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 85

Places and affiliations

At Xingyang 滎陽 · Relation Native of
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 75
At Wugong 武功 · Relation Resided in
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 78

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · With Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passage 109

Events and relationships

Accepted Crown Prince tally but shut the gates and did not mobilize
Military · Gate keeper · With Crown Prince (太子)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passages 127-128
Relation Friend of · Person Tian Ren (田仁)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passages 74, 86

Assessments and attributes

Assessment wily old official with divided loyalties · Mode named-person Speaker Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 104, passages 131-132

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

Book of Liang, Chapter 14Volume 14: Jiang Yan; Ren Fang · 1 passage

Open chapter

此少卿所以仰天搥心，泣盡而繼之以血者也。 That is why Sir Shaoqing beat his breast to Heaven, wept his eyes dry, and still shed blood.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 104Biography of Tian Shu · 17 passages

Open chapter

褚先生曰：臣為郎時，聞之曰田仁故與任安相善。 Master Chu says: When I served as a Gentleman of the Palace, I heard that Tian Ren had once been close friends with Ren An.

任安，滎陽人也。 Ren An was a native of Xingyang.

安以為武功小邑，無豪，易高也，安留，代人為求盜亭父。 Ren An reckoned that since Wugong was a small town with no powerful local families, it would be an easy place to distinguish himself. He settled there and took up a post as a thief-catcher at the local station, replacing the previous man.

邑中人民俱出獵，任安常為人分麋鹿雉兔，部署老小當壯劇易處，眾人皆喜，曰：「無傷也，任少卿分別平，有智略。」 Whenever the people of the town went out together to hunt, Ren An would take charge of distributing the game—elk, deer, pheasants, and rabbits—among the hunters. He would assign the elderly and the young to the easier stations and the able-bodied men to the more difficult ones. Everyone was delighted and said: "All is well—Ren Shaoqing apportions things fairly and shows real shrewdness and judgment."

任少卿曰：「某子甲何為不來乎？」 Ren Shaoqing asked: "Why has such-and-such a person not come?"

任安曰：「將軍尚不知人，何乃家監也！」 Ren An replied: "Even the general himself has no eye for talent—why blame the household steward!"

於是趙禹悉召衛將軍舍人百餘人，以次問之，得田仁、任安，曰：「獨此兩人可耳，餘無可用者。」 Zhao Yu then summoned all the general's retainers—over a hundred—and questioned them one after another. He singled out Tian Ren and Ren An, declaring: "Only these two are fit for service. The rest are of no use whatsoever."

「提桴鼓立軍門，使士大夫樂死戰鬬，仁不及任安。」 "When it comes to taking up the drumstick at the camp gate and inspiring officers and soldiers to fight gladly to the death—in this, I am no match for Ren An."

任安對曰：「夫決嫌疑，定是非，辯治官，使百姓無怨心，安不及仁也。」 Ren An replied: "When it comes to resolving doubts, determining right from wrong, evaluating the competence of officials, and ensuring that the common people harbor no resentment—in these things, I am no match for Tian Ren."

使任安護北軍，使田仁護邊田穀於河上。 He assigned Ren An to oversee the Northern Army, and dispatched Tian Ren to supervise the frontier agricultural colonies along the Yellow River.

其後用任安為益州刺史，以田仁為丞相長史。 Subsequently, Ren An was appointed as the Regional Inspector of Yizhou, and Tian Ren was made the Senior Secretary to the Chancellor.

是時任安為北軍使者護軍，太子立車北軍南門外，召任安，與節令發兵。 At that time, Ren An was serving as the Protector General dispatched to the Northern Army. The Crown Prince halted his carriage outside the south gate of the Northern Army camp, summoned Ren An, and presented him with an imperial tally ordering him to mobilize the troops.

安拜受節，入，閉門不出。 Ren An bowed and accepted the tally, then entered the camp, shut the gates behind him, and did not come out.

武帝聞之，以為任安為詳邪，不傅事，何也？ When Emperor Wu heard of this, he suspected Ren An of feigning loyalty: the man had accepted the tally yet taken no action and reported nothing to the throne—why?

任安笞辱北軍錢官小吏，小吏上書言之，以為受太子節，言「幸與我其鮮好者」。 Ren An had previously flogged and humiliated a minor financial clerk of the Northern Army. The aggrieved clerk submitted a memorial denouncing him, testifying that Ren An had accepted the Crown Prince's tally and had demanded to be given "the freshest and finest goods."

安有當死之罪甚眾，吾常活之，今懷詐，有不忠之心。」 Ren An has committed many offenses deserving death, yet I have always spared his life. Now he harbors treachery in his breast and is disloyal at heart."

下安吏，誅死。 Ren An was handed over to the judicial officials and put to death.