Yuan Hong, Military Adviser of the Western Headquarters, came from humble origins. His family had been poor in his youth, and he had once worked as a hired laborer, transporting grain rent along the Huai River. Xie An's elder paternal cousin Xie Shang had then been General Who Guards the West, stationed at Shouyang. One night, while traveling by boat on the Huai River, he heard someone reciting poetry aboard a passenger boat by the bank. The verses were full of feeling, and the five-character poems were all ones Xie Shang had never read. Greatly impressed, he stopped his boat to inquire and found Yuan Hong. On learning that the poems Yuan Hong had just recited were his own "Ode to History" compositions, Xie Shang developed a deep appreciation for his talent. Taking no exception to Yuan Hong's humble birth or lowly occupation, he recruited him as a secretary at the General's Residence. After Xie Shang died, Huan Wen appointed Yuan Hong Military Adviser of the Western Headquarters, where he ranked among the finest literary talents-
Seen in this light, the Chen Commandery Xie Clan had a family tradition of deep feeling and refined sensibility. Was Xie Daoyun's journey of six hundred li to hear a humble young man play the flute not an echo of the graceful legacy of her great-uncle Xie Shang?
Although Yuan Hong served at Huan Wen's Military Headquarters, his gratitude for Xie Shang's recognition all those years ago kept him close to the Chen Commandery Xie Clan. Before traveling north on this mission, when he entered Jiankang to receive the imperial edict, he made a special visit to Wuyi Lane to see the brothers Xie An and Xie Wan. Xie An earnestly charged him to find a way to bring Chen Caozhi safely back south,