Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties · Official and Poet

Xie Hun 謝混

Xiè Hùn

First attested AD 397; died AD 412

Passages: 18
Chapters: 4
Histories: 1

Overview

Xie Hun was an official and Poet.

Life and dates

Death

AD 412 義熙八年
Execution · Cause Partisan of Liu Yi
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 59

Attested activity

AD 397 to AD 412 欣嘗詣領軍將軍謝混，混拂席改服，
Directly stated · Book of Song 62, passage 15
AD 400 to AD 412 為陳郡謝混所知
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 66, passage 115
AD 412 義熙八年
Dated from the passage context · Book of Song 58, passage 59

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Kin of Xie Lingyun (謝靈運)
clansman uncle 族叔
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 56, passages 27, 30
Kin of Xie Zhan (謝瞻)
clansman uncle 族叔
Directly stated · Book of Song 56, passage 27
Kin of Xie Hongwei (謝弘微)
adoptive uncle 所繼叔父 · paternal line
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 27
Parent of Younger daughter of Xie Hun (謝混次女)
daughter 女
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 58, passage 92
Parent of Daughter of Xie Hun (謝混女)
daughter 女
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 58, passages 60, 92
Child of Xie Yan (謝琰)
son 子
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 58, passages 24, 27
Spouse of Princess Jinling (晉陵公主)
wife 妻 · Widowed
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 59
Sibling of Xie Jun (謝峻)
younger brother 叔父 · Full siblings · paternal line
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 58, passages 24, 27

Kinship Role daughters · Count 2
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 60

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Suffered
AD 412 義熙八年 · Executed
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 59

Places and affiliations

Polity Eastern Jin 東晉 · Relation Lived under
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 66, passage 115
At Chen Commandery 陳郡
Directly stated · Book of Song 66, passage 115

Learning and skills

Skill literary composition 文章 · Level rivaled Xie Zhan
Directly stated · Book of Song 56, passage 27

Works and attributed material

pentasyllabic poem on Black Robe gatherings 五言詩
Relation Author
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 37
Poem · Author
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passages 48-53
Speech · Speaker · With Qi Kaizhi (漆凱之)
Directly stated · Book of Song 58, passage 33

Events and relationships

Sought to curb Xie Lingyun's habit of judging people and enlisted Xie Zhan
Social · With Xie Lingyun (謝靈運)
Directly stated · Book of Song 56, passages 30-32
Relation Patron of · Person He Shangzhi (何尚之)
Directly stated · Book of Song 66, passage 115

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

Book of Song, Chapter 56Volume 56 Biographies 16: Xie Zhan, Kong Linzhi · 2 passages

瞻善於文章，辭采之美，與族叔混、族弟靈運相抗。 Zhan was a gifted writer; the brilliance of his style rivaled that of his clansman Hun and his younger kinsman Lingyun.

靈運好臧否人物，混患之，欲加裁折，未有方也。 Lingyun loved to pass judgment on other people's merits and faults; Hun found this troubling and wanted to rein him in, but had not yet found a way.

Book of Song, Chapter 58Volume 58 Biographies 18: Wang Hui, Xie Hongwei, Wang Qiu · 13 passages

所繼叔父混名知人，見而異之，謂思曰：「此兒深中夙敏，方成佳器。 His adoptive uncle Xie Hun, renowned for judging character, was astonished at the sight of him and told Si, "This child is gifted beyond his years and will prove a treasure.

混聞而驚歎，謂國郎中令漆凱之曰：「建昌國祿，本應與北舍共之，國侯既不措意，今可依常分送。」 When Hun heard this he was astonished and told the fief's Director of Retainers, Qi Kaizhi, "The Jianchang revenues ought to be shared with his birth family; since the marquis pays them no mind, distribute them as usual from now on."

弘微重違混言，乃少有所受。 Unwilling to defy Hun outright, Hongwei accepted only a modest share.

混風格高峻，少所交納，唯與族子靈運、瞻、曜、弘微並以文義賞會。 Hun's bearing was lofty and austere; he admitted few companions, and shared literary fellowship only with his kinsmen Lingyun, Zhan, Yao, and Hongwei.

混五言詩所云「昔為烏衣游，戚戚皆親姪」者也。 This is the company Hun meant in his pentasyllabic lines: "Once we roamed Black Robe Lane—close kin, every one a nephew."

瞻等才辭辯富，弘微每以約言服之，混特所敬貴，號曰微子。 Zhan and the others were brilliant and argumentative, yet Hongwei regularly won them over with a few well-chosen words; Hun held him in special esteem and called him Master Wei.

義熙八年，混以劉毅黨見誅，妻晉陵公主改適琅邪王練，公主雖執意不行，而詔其與謝氏離絕，公主以混家事委之弘微。 In the eighth year of Yixi, Hun was executed as a partisan of Liu Yi; his wife, Princess Jinling, was ordered to marry Wang Lian of Langya; though she refused, an edict severed her ties to the Xie clan, and she entrusted the household to Hongwei.

混仍世宰輔，一門兩封，田業十餘處，僮僕千人，唯有二女，年數歲。 The Xie family had produced chief ministers for generations; Hun's household held two enfeoffments, estates in more than ten places, and a thousand servants—yet only two daughters, both still small children.

高祖受命，晉陵公主降為東鄉君，以混得罪前代，東鄉君節義可嘉，聽還謝氏。 When Gaozu took the throne, Princess Jinling was demoted to Lady of Eastern District; because Hun had been condemned under the previous regime, yet her constancy was deemed admirable, she was allowed to rejoin the Xie household.

自混亡，至是九載，而室宇修整，倉廩充盈，門徒業使，不異平日，田疇墾闢，有加於舊。 Nine years had passed since Hun's death, yet the house stood in good repair, the granaries were full, servants and tenants went about their work as on any ordinary day, and the fields under cultivation exceeded what there had been before.

東鄉君歎曰：「僕射平生重此子，可謂知人。 The Lady of Eastern District sighed and said, "The Vice Director valued this boy all his life—he truly knew how to judge men.

僕射為不亡矣。」 The Vice Director lives on in him."

東鄉君葬，混墓開，弘微牽疾臨赴，病遂甚。 At the Lady of Eastern District's funeral Hun's tomb was opened; Hongwei dragged himself there despite his illness, and his condition grew critical.

Book of Song, Chapter 62Volume 62 Biographies 22: Yang Xin, Zhang Fu, Wang Wei · 2 passages

欣嘗詣領軍將軍謝混，混拂席改服，然後見之。 Once when Xin called on General of the Guards Xie Hun, Hun first brushed the seat and changed his garments before receiving him.

時混族子靈運在坐，退告族兄瞻曰：「望蔡見羊欣，遂易衣改席。」 Xie Lingyun, a kinsman of Hun's, was present; afterward he told his elder kinsman Zhan, "When Wangcai received Yang Xin, he changed his clothes and brushed the mat."

Book of Song, Chapter 66Volume 66 Biographies 26: Wang Jinghong, He Shangzhi · 1 passage

為陳郡謝混所知，與之遊處。 He was recognized by Xie Hun of Chen Commandery and became his companion.