Yet I Remember An Shi's Elegance

Xie An, a renowned statesman of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born into an aristocratic family. Distinguished from childhood, he became famous throughout the land. He spent more than twenty years living in seclusion on Mount Dong, leaving behind an enduring legend of composing poetry and songs amid the mountains, as elegant as orchids and jade trees. In the end, however, for the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of his family, he resolutely chose to leave seclusion and enter government service. He outmaneuvered powerful ministers, balanced the court, and led the Xie clan to victory against overwhelming odds in the Battle of Fei River. He gave the dying Eastern Jin Dynasty a faint glimmer of hope, and later generations hailed him as the most dashing chancellor south of the Yangtze.