Lan Khâm

Background Lan Qin and his family were initially from Zhongchang County (中昌; in present-day Daming County, Hebei), Wei Commandery in the Northern Wei. According to the Book of Liang, he was born in 502, but the History of the Southern Dynasties indicate that he may have been born earlier. At the end of the Liu Song dynasty, he and his father, Lan Ziyun (蘭子雲), moved to the Northern Wei city of Luoyang, where they often swindled camels for a living. Later, the two went to join the southern dynasties, and during the Tianjian era (502–519) under Emperor Wu of Liang, Lan Ziyun distinguished himself in the military and rose to the rank of Inspector of Ji province.

Lan Qin was described as quick-witted and decisive from a young age. The History of the Southern Dynasties also states that he was remarkably agile, claiming that he can walk up to 200 li a day.

Service under the Liang dynasty

The Northern Expedition of 527 In 527, Emperor Wu, taking advantage of the internal strife in the Northern Wei, sent an army up north to capture more territory. Lan Qin took part in the campaign, and early on, he captured the Northern Wei city of Xiaocheng and defeated the general, Jiao Zhong (郊仲) at Pengcheng. He then attacked Nishan city (擬山城), where the Book of Liang claimed that he defeated the area's Grand Chief Controller, Liu Shu (劉屬) and his "200,000 troops."

Soon after, Emperor Wu assigned Lan Qin to Chief Controller of military affairs of Heng and Gui provinces and Inspector of Heng province. Before he could return to the court, the Western Wei dispatched Dong Shao (董紹) and Zhang Xian (張獻) to lay siege on Nanzheng. The Liang Inspector of Liang province, Du Huaibao (杜懷寶), requested for assistance, so Lan Qin led his troops back to attack Gaoqiao (高橋; north of present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi) and defeated Dong Shao and Zhang Xian, killing 3,000 of their troops. Dong and Zhang retreated, and Lan Qin pursued them to Xie Valley (斜谷; in present-day Mei County, Shaanxi), where he nearly annihilated the Wei army. The paramount leader of Western Wei, Yuwen Tai sued for peace with the Liang and gifted Lan Qin 2,000 horses. Lan Qin had defeated the Wei army twice within a hundred days, which the Book of Liang reported that as a result, he "shook the neighbouring states with his prowess." Emperor Wu commended his achievements, appointing him as Regular Mounted Attendant and promoting him to General of Compassionate Authority before ordering him to return to court to report his deeds.

Lan Qin had two sons; Lan Xiali (蘭夏禮) and Lan Jing (蘭京). During Hou Jing's rebellion, Lan Xiali led troops to fight Hou Jing at Liyang in 548, but was killed in battle. Lan Jing, also known as Lan Gucheng (蘭固成), was captured by the Eastern Wei in an unknown year. His father offered to pay a large sum of ransom money for him but was refused, and he eventually ended up as a personal cook for the regent, Gao Cheng. During a meeting in 549, Lan Jing assassinated Gao Cheng and his advisor, Chen Yuankang, before he was caught and executed.

Anecdotes

Apology to Yang Kan While Lan Qin was serving as General of the Left Guard, he befriended the powerful minister, Zhu Yi and a favourite of the Crown Prince Xiao Gang, Wei Can (韋粲). On the other hand, he did not get along well with the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, He Jingrong (何敬容), whom he rarely visited despite serving in the same department. Lan Qin and He Jingrong attended a banquet together, but their conversation was very sparse. The Director of the Justice Department of the Imperial Secretariat, Yang Kan, noticed Lan Qin's behaviour and, despite Zhu Yi also being in attendance, shouted, "Boy! You used a bronze drum to buy Zhu Yi as your father and Wei Can as your brother! How dare you be impolite!"

Lan Qin later attended a ceremony at Hualin Garden (華林園), where he bowed and apologized to Yang Kan for his previous conduct. The minister, Wang Quan (王銓), said to Lan, "Your ability to bow to the honest and fair (Yang Kan) shows your ideal virtue. However, Lord Yang is still not impressed. Could you please bow down to him again?" Lan Qin then complied.