Battle of An
Encyclopedia
The Battle of An was fought during the Spring and Autumn Period in 589 B.C.E. at Hua Hill
in the area of the present-day city of Jinan
, Shandong
between the states of Qi and Jin. It ended in a victory for the state of Jin and eventually resulted in an alliance between the two states.
Two of the three surviving commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals
, the Zuo Zhuan
and the Guliang Zhuan
describe the event that led to
the battle as an insult that an emissary of Jin suffered at the court of Qi But the two accounts differ on the nature of the insult. According to the
Zuo Zhuan
, the King of Qi allowed women to watch the emissary's visit from behind a screen who insulted the emissary with their
laughter. The Guliang Zhuan
claims that the King of Qi insulted the emissaries of four visiting states by assigning each of them a server who shared their respective physical defects.
Hua Hill
Hua Hill is a solitary cone-shaped hill in the lower Yellow River valley, located at the northeastern edge of the city of Jinan, Shandong Province, China. The hill is...
in the area of the present-day city of Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
between the states of Qi and Jin. It ended in a victory for the state of Jin and eventually resulted in an alliance between the two states.
Two of the three surviving commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals
Spring and Autumn Annals
The Spring and Autumn Annals is the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged on annalistic principles. The text is extremely concise and, if all the commentaries are excluded, about 16,000...
, the Zuo Zhuan
Zuo Zhuan
The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...
and the Guliang Zhuan
Guliang Zhuan
The Gǔliáng Zhuàn is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zi-xia , but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text...
describe the event that led to
the battle as an insult that an emissary of Jin suffered at the court of Qi But the two accounts differ on the nature of the insult. According to the
Zuo Zhuan
Zuo Zhuan
The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...
, the King of Qi allowed women to watch the emissary's visit from behind a screen who insulted the emissary with their
laughter. The Guliang Zhuan
Guliang Zhuan
The Gǔliáng Zhuàn is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zi-xia , but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way to date the text...
claims that the King of Qi insulted the emissaries of four visiting states by assigning each of them a server who shared their respective physical defects.