Pan Yue (; 247–300),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

"Anren" (安仁), was a prominent Chinese '' fu'' poet in the

Western Jin dynasty Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

. He is popularly referred to as Pan An (潘安) and was well known for his good looks from a young age. "Pan An" has become the Chinese byword for handsome men. Pan's family was from Zhongmou (modern

Zhongmu County Zhongmu County (; postal: Chungmow) is a county of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan. It has an area of and a population of 680,000. Located in the ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). His grandfather Pan Jin () was a governor of Anping (modern Jizhou,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

) during the Eastern Han dynasty, and his father Pan Pi () served as governor of Langye (near modern

Linyi Linyi () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the east, Weifang to the northeast, Zibo t ...

, Shandong). Pan was known as somewhat of a child prodigy in his youth and was known throughout their village in Gong County, Henan for his keen mind and talent. In late 266, around age 19, Pan moved to the imperial capital at

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

and served as an assistant in the Ministry of Works. Despite Pan's ability and handsome appearance, he was unable to advance his career for the next decade. In the early 270s, Pan worked as an aide to Jia Chong, a high-ranking official under

Emperor Wu of Jin Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

. By late 278, Pan had become completely disillusioned with official service and retired to the Pan family home in Gong county. Pan came out of retirement around 282 to serve as magistrate of Meng county (modern

Mengzhou Mengzhou () is a County-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting ...

) north of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

from Luoyang. He returned to Luoyang in 287 to serve in official positions before being dismissed in 290 for an unknown offense. Around 295 Pan returned to the capital for a final time to serve under official Jia Mi (). Jia was assassinated in a coup in 300, and Pan was falsely accused of plotting in a related rebellion against the throne. Pan and his entire family were subsequently arrested and executed. ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...

'' had this to write about Pan Yue's looks: His most famous works are his three poems to his dead wife.The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry, 2005. p. 74

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pan Yue Jin dynasty (266–420) poets 247 births 300 deaths 3rd-century Chinese poets