He Jin 何進/HHS translation

= 《History of the Later Han》 fascicle 69 = = 竇何　列傳　第五十九 = Biographies of Dou [Wu], He [Jin]

Biography of He Jin
He Jin, style name Suigao, was a man from Nanyang commandery [in Jing Province]. He had a sister, via a stepmother [the Lady Xing], and she was selected to enter the imperial harem of Ye Palace, as a concubine for the Emperor. She spoiled him. He Jin became a government official, then a military official, and later he further advanced to Grand Administrator of Yingchuan commandery [in Yu Province]. In the second year of Guanghe, He Jin’s half-sister was made Empress, and He Jin [as her senior male relative], was appointed Palace Attendant and Court Architect (Bàishì zhōng, jiāngzuò dàjiàng 拜侍中、將作大匠), and then Intendant of Henan commandery (Hénán yǐn 河南尹).

In Zhongping year one the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out and He Jin was named General-in-Chief (dà jiàngjūn 大將軍). He took command of the guards of the divisions of the Right and of the Left and of the Feathered Forest troops, together with the five regiments [of the Northern Army] and led them to camp at the Capital Hostel.

Ma Yuanyi, assistant to Yellow Turban leader Zhang Jue, planned and conspired for an uprising in Luoyang [, the capital city]. He Jin discovered the plot and was made Marquis of Shen.undefined



In the fourth year, month two, several thousand Rongyang rebels were causing havoc in the county and killed the Prefect of Zhongmou county. In the third month, the Intendant of Henan commandery He Miao attacked the bandits and defeated them. Returning succesfully he received a triumphal welcome. The army was greeted by a government representative in Rongyang, there [He] Miao was brought to the Senior General, and he was appointed as General of Chariots and Cavalry.

In the fifth year, those who studied the ethers considered that the capital district would have great military affairs, and that the two palaces would flow in blood. The General-in-Chief's Major Xu Liang and Major Wu Dang said to [He] Jin, “[according to] Taigong's Six Secret Teachings if the Emperor personally controls the army, everything will be alright.” [He] Jin was pleased with this and then told the Emperor.

A great platform was set up, twelve ceremonial umbrellas were put on top of it, with each umbrella a 30 meters high [100 feet]. Northeast of it there was a smaller platform, again with nine ceremonial umbrellas, each about 27,5 meters high [90 feet]. Several tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry were drawn up, they made defended camps and formed a battle-line. On 22 November the Emperor himself came out to the army and halted below the great umbrellas, while the General-in-Chief took his stand below the smaller umbrellas. The Emperor wore armour and rode a mailed horse, and he was hailed as “General Supreme”. Three times he went about the army, then returned and handed over the soldiers to He Jin.

At this time the Emperor appointed eight colonels. Jian Shi, Junior Attendant at the Yellow Gates, was made Colonel of the First Army. General of the Gentlemen Rapid as Tigers (hǔbēn zhōngláng jiāng 虎賁中郎將) Yuan Shao was made Colonel of the Centre Army. Gentleman Consultant (yìláng 議郎) Cao Cao was made Colonel Who Arranges the Army. Zhao Rong was made Colonel of the Left Assisting the Army. Chunyu Qiong was appointed as Colonel of the Left. There was also a Colonel of the Right.

The Emperor considered Jian Shi to be a strong, active, warlike person, so he promoted him to Colonel. Even the General-in-Chief was now under his command.



Even though Jian Shi now held much military might, he feared He Jin. He, with all the Regular Attendants, urged the Emperor to send He Jin west to attack Han Sui. The Emperor agreed and sent out hundreds of soldiers. He Jin learnt privately of the plot and sent a memorial that Yuan Shao should be sent to collect the soldiers of the two provinces Xu and Yan. In this way he delayed action [because Yuan Shao had to come back before he himself went to the west].

Currently, Empress He gave birth to Prince Bian, while the Beauty Wang gave birth to Prince Xie. The officials held a princes’ establishment ceremony. The Emperor thought that the Prince Bian was frivolous and without dignity, but being the Queens pet, he had not yet made a decision.



In the sixth year the Emperor became very ill and he entrusted the care of Liu Xie to Jian Shi. When the Emperor died, Jian Shi had plans to kill He Jin and set Liu Xie upon the throne. However, his assistant the Major Pan Yin and He Jin knew each other, and Pan Yin signalled a warning with his eyes. He Jin took fright and galloped straight back to his quarters. He led out his troops to camp at the Commandery Residences and from there he announced that he was ill and could not come to the palace. The plot [of Jian Shi] was thus not successful and Prince Bian was installed as the new Emperor. The Empress He was honoured as Empress-Dowager and held court, while Yuan Wei was made Grand Tutor, sharing control of the Imperial Secretariat [with the General-in-Chief He Jin].


 * (廣雅曰：「儳，疾也. 」音仕鑒反. )

He Jin now held the government of the court. He was angry at Jian Shi for plotting against him, and made secret plans to kill him. Yuan Shao, through He Jin’s trusted client Zhang Jin urged him to kill all the eunuch officials. “黃門常侍權重日久，又與長樂太后專通姦利，[1]將軍宜更清選賢良，整齊天下，為國家除患. ” Since the Yuan clan had been honoured for generations, while Yuan Shao and his younger cousin Yuan Shu, who was General of the Gentlemen of the Household Rapid as Tigers, were respected by the great families, He Jin trusted them and gave them appointment. He Jin also sought widely for men who were wise and able in planning, and he recruited more than twenty, such as Pang Ji, He Yong, Xun You, and others.


 * (袁安為司徒、司空，孫湯為司徒、太尉，湯子成五官中郎將，成生紹，故云「累代寵貴」也. )
 * (袁安為司徒、司空，孫湯為司徒、太尉，湯子成五官中郎將，成生紹，故云「累代寵貴」也. )

Jian Shi was suspicious and uneasy. He wrote to the Regular Palace Attendants Zhao Zhong and others: “The General-in-Chief and his relatives control the state and try to usurp authority at court. Now with the men of Faction in the empire, they plan to kill the attendants of the late Emperor and destroy our people. The only reason he is delaying is because I control the guard. You must get together, bar the doors of the palace apartments, take him quickly and slay him.” The Regular Palace Attendant Guo Sheng, came from the same commandery as He Jin and had been involved in the fortunes and favour of the Empress-Dowager [He] and He Jin, and was loyally close to the He-clan. He joined the discussion with Zhao Zhong and the others. They decided not to join the Junior Attendant of the Yellow Gates’ plan [Jian Shi], and Guo Sheng then showed the letter to He Jin. He Jin sent the Prefect of the Yellow Gates to arrest Jian Shi and execute him, and he took over his troops in camp.

Yuan Shao said, “Previously Dou Wu Yuju was spoiled and was a victim, his words were leaked to the outside world. The hundreds of officials in the Five Camps respected him. Now the General played a heavy role, and his brothers were leading great soldiers, their names appeared in the hall of fame. They worked their lives, grasping all the events, and they were sent from up above. General Yiyat tidied up the country, and was remembered by the generations. The Sin Ba case is not to be mentioned. [1] Now the big walk was in the front palace, [2] General Yisau Sau lead the forbidden soldiers, in and out of the palaces.” He Jin implied this, he was unwell and did not want to go to the funeral ceremony, and did not go to the mountain burying ceremony. Instead, he worked with Chao to do some planning, against the queen mother.

Yuan Shao urged: “In the past [the General-in-Chief] Dou Wu planned to kill the palace favourites, the only reason he came to grief was because he allowed the news to leak out. The men of the five regiments [of the Northern Army] feared the eunuchs and were prepared to obey them, but Dou Wu had counted on those troops, thus he brought misfortune upon himself [...「前竇武欲誅內寵而反為所害者，以其言語漏泄，而五營百官服畏中人故也. 今將軍既有元舅之重，而兄弟並領勁兵，部曲將吏皆英俊名士，樂盡力命，事在掌握，此天贊之時也. 將軍宜一為天下除患，名垂後世. 雖周之申伯，何足道哉！〔1〕今大行在前殿，〔2〕將軍宜受詔領禁兵，不宜輕出入宮省. 」...]. ” Then He Jin spoke to the Empress-Dowager, asking to dismiss all the Regular Palace Attendants and those of lower rank, and to appoint Gentlemen of the Household to fill their places. The Empress-Dowager would not agree. “Since ancient times,” she said, “it has been a custom of the house of Han that eunuchs control the forbidden apartments. You cannot do away with that. Moreover, when the late Emperor has only just left the world, how can I act so brazenly as to deal with men face to face?” He Jin found it difficult to disregard the Empress-Dowager's feelings, but he still wanted to punish the evil-doers. Yuan Shao argued further that the eunuchs were close to the Emperor, sending out and taking in orders: unless this system was halted completely and immediately, it would certainly cause trouble later. He Miao, however, and the Lady of Wuyang who was mother to the Empress-Dowager, had often received bribes and gifts from the eunuchs. They realised that He Jin wanted to kill the attendants, and they spoke several times to the Empress-Dowager so she would give them protection. They also said, “If the General-in-Chief kills eunuchs on his own authority, he will be abusing his power and will weaken the national altars [and the imperial state].” The Empress-Dowager suspected this might be true. He Jin had only lately come to high position, and he had always been in awe of the eunuchs. Though outwardly he seemed to be in pursuit of a great name, inwardly he lacked decision, and so the matter long remained unsettled.


 * (申伯，周申后父也. 詩大雅曰：「維申及甫，維周之翰. 」)
 * (人主崩未有謚，故稱大行也. 前書音義曰：「大行者，不反之辭也. 」)
 * (楚詞曰「楚楚」，鮮明貌也. 詩曰：「衣裳楚楚. 」)