Guan Xun

Background

Xun Guan was born in 303, but there is no information about the place of her birth. She was the daughter of Xun Song. Her father and grandfather were not military men but, according to her father’s biography, were scholar-officials who immersed themselves in Confucian studies. Members of her family appear to have been loyal courtiers for generations.

Career

In 316 Xun Guan was with her father in Yuan when a force of 2,000 men under the command of the insurgent Du Zeng attacked the city. Du Zeng was known for his martial prowess, yet after defeating several other local officials he surrendered to Xun Song, who, because his own army was very small, wanted Du Zeng as an ally. While defending the city, provisions declined to a point where more reinforcement was required to stave off the attack. As the city was surrounded the only option was for a party to break through enemy lines and travel to the nearby city of Pingnan to request help. With nobody willing to take the task, the 13-year-old Xun Guan who was skilled in martial arts volunteered for the role much to the hesitation of her father. With a small group of soldiers Xun Guan waited till night and penetrated a hole in the enemy encampments to force her way through enemy lines.

Enemy soldiers pursued the group but she urged her men forward, fighting as they went, until they managed to escape to Luyang Mountain, leaving their pursuers behind. Xun Guan made her way alone to Shi Lan and begged him for troops to rescue her father. She also wrote a letter on her father’s behalf to Leader of Court Gentlemen of the South Zhou Fang, pleading for reinforcements and asking him to become her father’s blood brother. Zhou Fang responded to her plea by sending his son Zhou Fu with 3,000 men. Together with Shi Lan they went to rescue Xun Song, but Du Zeng had got wind of this and his forces had already disbanded by the time the reinforcements arrived.

Achievements

• Xun Guan was one of the famous characters in Chinese history. She was a warrior who famously led a group of soldiers into battle at the age of thirteen. Xun Guan was an example of a woman’s heroism in extreme circumstances.

Connections

Xun Guan was not married and had no children.

Father:

Xun Song

Xun Song was an official during Western Jin.

References

• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. - 618 C.E This new volume of the "Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women" spans more than 2,000 years from antiquity to the early seventh century. It recovers the stories of more than 200 women, nearly all of them unknown in the West.
  1998