Biography
Other info : Bibliography
Jia Yi (賈誼, pinyin: Jiǎ Yí; Chia I, Wade-Giles; 200 BCE – 169 BCE) was a Chinese poet and statesman of the Han Dynasty. Jia Yi is known both for his general contributions in the history of fu poetry as well as for several of his surviving works. In particular, he is famous for his two fu, On the Owl and his Lament for Quyuan.
Jia Yi was born in 200 BCE in Luoyang.
When he reached the age of 18, he was already well known in his county for his ability in poems and essay-writing, and was referred to as "Jia sheng", that is, "Student Jia". Soon, he was recommended by Wu Gong (吳公) to Emperor Wen of Han. He soon achieved a high status but was repulsed by older, high-ranking officials at the time such as Zhou Bo (周勃) and Guan Ying (灌嬰).
Jia Yi made many suggestions to Emperor Wen about governing his empire. As an advocate of Confucian reforms, attacking Xiongnu and lessening the power of local governors, he made enemies at court and lost his position. He became the tutor to the King of Changsha, a place he disliked as he feared its humid climate would lead to an early death. When passing the Xiang river, he wrote several poems grieving for his sad fate and compared himself with Qu Yuan, who was sent into exile to Changsha, in an earlier age (that of King Huai of Chu). Thus, Changsha was known as "The home of Qu [Yuan] and Jia [Yi]" (屈賈之鄉) because of their influence.
In 173 BC, he was recalled by the emperor to the capital Luoyang, allegedly to be asked about matters of mysticism by Emperor Wen, and was later made a tutor of his youngest son, Prince Huai of Liang (梁懷王), true name Liu Yi (劉揖).
In 169 BC, Prince Huai of Liang, whom he tutored, fell off a horse and died. The following year Jia committed suicide, allegedly out of feelings of responsibility for the incident.
