Kui An

Kui An was originally from Tianzhu (India) but later moved to Liaodong. After Shi Le was freed from slavery in 304, he organised a group of bandit with the help of his friend Ji Sang. One of those who joined him happened to be Kui An, who became one of Shi Le's Eighteen Riders. Following Shi Le's conquest of the commanderies of Julu and Changshan in 309, Shi Le appointed Kui An as one of his "talon and teeth" (爪牙) along with Zhi Xiong, Kong Chang, Tao Bao and Lu Ming (逯明).[1]

Kui An would follow Shi Le in his failed expedition to Jiankang in 312. Half of his army suffered from plague, starvation and floodings while the army of Sima Rui was approaching them, so Shi Le assembled his general and advisors to discuss their next move. One of those who provided suggestion was Kui An, who said that they should move to higher ground to get away from the water. Shi Le replied to him, "General, why are you so cowardly?" In the end, Shi Le decided that the campaign be ditched for a campaign in Yecheng instead.[2]

In 312, Kui An and the others were sent to besiege the city of Yuanxiang (苑鄕, in present-day Hebei and Beijing) against You Lun (游綸) and Zhang Chai (張豺), who had surrendered to the Youzhou warlord Wang Jun. This incited Wang Jun to sent his forces to Shi Le's capital in Xiangguo but Shi repelled them. In the end, You Lun and Zhang Chai surrendered back to Shi Le.[3] According to the biography of Fotudeng in the Book of Jin, during the defense of Xiangguo, Kui An was sent by Shi Le to speak to Fotudeng to reassure him about his prediction that the enemy general Duan Mopei would be capture.[4]

Kui An disappeared from the records between 313 and 329. He would only return in 330 when Shi Le claimed the imperial title after destroying Former Zhao and the Liu family. Shi Le handed out new government positions to his followers including Kui An, who was made one of the Masters of Writing.[5]

Kui An appeared to be a supporter of Shi Hu when he usurped Shi Le's son, Shi Hong's power in 333. He survived the government purging that Shi Hu carried out and instead was appointed his Deputy Director of the Left. he was the General Who Guards the Army during the reign of Shi Le's successor, Shi Hong, but after Shi Hu deposed him, Kui An was made Palace Attendant, Grand Commandant, and acting Prefect of the Masters of Writing. In 337, he was even one of the leading figures pushing for Shi Hu to claim the imperial title of Heavenly King.[6]

In 339, Jin's minister Yu Liang was planning to hold a grand invasion against Later Zhao. He camped his generals Mao Bao and Fan Jun (樊俊) at Zhujun (邾城, in modern Huanggang, Hubei) but this proved to be a fatal mistake. Shi Hu took notice of this maneuver and quickly gathered a group of generals headed by Kui An as Grand Commander against Yu Liang. Kui An led the generals to attack Jingzhou and Zhucheng. Kui An and Li Nong captured Jin's territories south of the Mian River. Kui An then captured Huting (胡亭) and invaded Jiangxia. He besieged Shicheng but the Administrator of Jingling, Li Yang (李陽) finally managed to put a stop to his advances. Kui An retreated east of the Han River, sacking and pillaging the area while relocating thousands of households there to Youzhou and Jizhou.[7]

Kui An's counterattack was devastating enough to convince Yu Liang to call off his invasion, giving Jin a humiliating defeat that costed them parts of their territory. Kui An passed away a year later in 340, holding the office of Prefect of the Masters of Writing.[8]