Yan Ying

Years of birth and death unknown. A politician from the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period in China. His courtesy name was Ping Zhong. He was respectfully referred to as Yan Zi. Renowned for his frugality and strong actions, he served three generations of Dukes Ling, Zhuang, and Jing, and was a great prime minister who admonished the emperors and governed the country. As a great minister of Qi, he is considered to be on a par with Guan Zhong from about 100 years earlier. There are two anecdotes about him in the Records of the Grand Historian. The first is the story of the sage Yue Shifu. When Yan Zi was out traveling, he redeemed Shifu, who had been taken prisoner, and the two returned home together. Shifu reproached Yan Zi for entering the room without a word, and advised him to treat his acquaintances with courtesy. Realizing his mistake, Yan Zi treated Shifu as an honored guest. The second is the story of a coachman. When his wife saw the charioteer driving enthusiastically around Yan Zi's chariot, she asked for a divorce. The reason for this was that Yan Zi, a small man less than 6 feet (about 140 cm) tall, was a prime minister but always calm and humble, while her husband, who was 8 feet tall, was a charioteer and always looked smug. The charioteer realized his mistake and exercised self-restraint. Yan Zi is said to have recommended him to the rank of nobleman. In the "Gongye Chang Pian" chapter of the Analects, Confucius is quoted as saying, "Yan Pingzhong interacts well with people. After a long time, people have come to respect him."

[Michihiro Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。中国、春秋時代の斉(せい)の政治家。字(あざな)は平仲(へいちゅう)。尊んで晏子(あんし)と称される。節倹力行をもって鳴り、霊公、荘公、景公の3代に仕えて、君をいさめ国を治めた名宰相。斉の名臣として、約100年前の管仲(かんちゅう)と並び称される。『史記』に二つの逸話が載っている。第一は賢者越石父(えつせきほ)の話。晏子が出遊した際、囚(とら)われの身の石父を贖(あがな)い、ともに帰った。石父は、ことばもなく部屋に入ってしまった晏子の態度をとがめ、知己には礼遇すべき旨を説いた。非を悟った彼は石父を上客としてもてなした。第二は御者の話。晏子の車を意気揚々と走らせている御者の姿を一見したその妻が離縁を申し出た。身長6尺（約140センチメートル）に満たない小男の晏子は宰相でありながらも、沈着でいつも謙虚であるのに対し、身長8尺の夫は御者の身でありながら得意満面というのが、その理由であった。御者は非を悟り自重する。晏子はこれを大夫(たいふ)に推薦したという。『論語』の「公冶長篇(こうやちょうへん)」に、孔子のことばとして、「晏平仲は善(よ)く人と交わる。久しくして人これを敬す」との評がみえる。

［伊東倫厚］

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