was a Chinese military general and musician of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was a very popular administrator among the people of Yuzhou, from his early days of Prefect of Huainan to Inspector of the province. He participated in the famous Battle of Fei River in 383, fighting alongside Xie Xuan as they repel
forces. Apart from his involvement in the government, what Huan Yi was most known for was his contribution in music. It is believed that he was the original composer of the popular guqin composition "Mei Hua Sannong (3 Variations on the Plum Blossom)".
Administrative and military career
Huan Yi was from Zhi County (銍縣, in present-day Anhui province) as a clansman to the general Huan Xuan (not to be confused with the Huan Chu emperor, Huan Xuan). He was appreciated by the likes of Wang Meng and Liu Tan and went on to handle various military affairs before serving Jin's Grand Marshal Huan Wen. Huan Yi was chosen to become Prefect of Huainan to protect Jin's borders from the growing Former Qin power. Huan Yi managed his responsibilities well, so the court extended his control over parts of Yuzhou and Yangzhou and made him General Who Establishes Might.
Huan Yi fought during Yuan Zhen's Rebellion in 370. He and Huan Shiqian were tasked in preventing Qin forces from reaching Shouchun. The two of them routed Zhang Ci and Wang Jian (王堅) at Shiqiao (石橋, around present-day Lu'an, Anhui), allowing Huan Wen to quell the rebellion in 371. In 374, Huan Yi was made Chief Controller of Yuzhou and also Inspector of Yuzhou. Huan Yi administered the province for ten years, being well-respected by its populace for his fair and competent treatment of them.
In 383, the Heavenly King of Qin, Fu Jian held a major invasion against Jin. Huan Yi was working together with Xie Xuan when the numerically superior Qin army met with Jin's. Through Xie Xuan and Xie An's deception, the Qin army was tricked into a disorganized retreat. Huan Yi and Xie Xuan charged at the retreating Qin forces, leaving thousands of them dead. The battle sealed the fate of Qin, as many of Fu Jian's generals would betray him and established their own state.
After the battle, Huan Yi would collect a total of 600 armours of the fallen Qin soldiers throughout the rest of his life. He then made a list of people to present themselves in court and be gifted with the armours he collected. Huan Yi believed that this would help in Jin's unification process in case he dies before he lived to see the day.
The following year in 384, Huan Wen's brother, Huan Chong passed away. The court decided to have Huan Yi succeed his position of Inspector of Jiangzhou. Upon inspection of the towns in Jiangzhou, Huan Yi noticed that it required reforms since Qin no longer posed a threat. He informed the court that Jiangzhou was suffering from a famine. He proposed that the small counties be merged, rice debts be exempted and that Jiangzhou's prefectural government office be moved to Yuzhang (豫章, in present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi). The people of Jiangzhou deeply loved Huan Yi for clearing their famine issues.
Late into his life, Huan Yi became General Who Protects the Army, and he received 2,000 men from the General of the Right to serve among his staff. Huan Yi passed away in 391 while in office. He posthumously appointed as General of the Right and given the posthumous title of 'Lie (烈)'. His tomb is located on Shima Street (石馬街), Caijiafang (蔡家坊) in Nanchang.
Music
Huan Yi was very talented in music with the flute being his forte. Huan Yi's bamboo flute was said to be the "Ke Ting Di (柯亭笛)", a famous flute made by the Han dynasty intellectual Cai Yong. He was also said to be the composer of "Mei Hua Sannong (梅花三弄)". As the story goes, the calligrapher Wang Huizhi was travelling to the capital when he met Huan Yi along the way. Wang asked him to play his flute, so Huan Yi performed the song with his flute before leaving without a word. The original scores for the flute does not exist today but was supposedly later adapted for the guqin by Yan Shigu during the Tang dynasty.
Another anecdote that highlights his musical talents was said to have taken place in 383. Xie An hated his son-in-law Wang Guobao who was greedy and abusive in power, so he had his daughter divorce him. However, Wang was a friend of Emperor Xiaowu, so Xie An's actions made him disliked by the emperor, much to Xie An's disappointment. At a banquet, Huan Yi was sitting next to Xie An when the emperor called him up to perform his flute. Huan Yi first asked the emperor to have his jester perform the flute for him. However, the jester could not play, so Huan Yi asked for the court singer instead. She could not play either so Huan Yi asked the emperor to call for the jester's servant, who was skilled at the flute. Once he had all three of them, Huan Yi performed the "Poem of Complaint (怨詩)" by Cao Zhi from the period of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms. The poem was Cao Zhi's way of expressing his frustrations towards the emperor, his brother Cao Pi. It focuses on the hardships of a minister, making allusions to King Wu of Zhou and his brother, the Duke of Zhou. Xie An realized that he was the subject of Huan Yi's chosen poem and began to cry. He got up and praised Huan Yi while the emperor could only look on in shame.
Huan Yi (died 391), courtesy name Shuxia was a Chinese military general and musician of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was a very popular administrator among the people of Yuzhou, from his early days of Prefect of Huainan to Inspector of the province. He participated in the famous Battle of Fei River in 383, fighting alongside Xie Xuan as they repel Former Qin forces. Apart from his involvement in the government, what Huan Yi was most known for was his contribution in music. It is believed that he was the original composer of the popular guqin composition "Mei Hua Sannong (3 Variations on the Plum Blossom)".