Hou Ba

Hou Ba (侯覇, ? – 37) was an official from the late Former Han to the early Later Han period of China. His courtesy name was Junfang (君房), and he was a native of Mi County (密縣) in Henan Commandery. His clan uncle Hou Yuan (侯淵) was a eunuch who, because of his eloquence, held sway over the Central Secretariat together with Shi Xian during the reign of Emperor Yuan, and was called the Grand Attendant (大常侍).

Life

During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, he served as a Grand Attendant of the Heir Apparent (太子舍人). Hou Ba was handsome and possessed wealth worth a thousand gold pieces, but he loved learning and studied the ''Guliang Commentary'' of the Spring and Autumn Annals under Fang Feng, Grand Administrator of Jiujiang, serving as Fang Feng's lecturer in the classroom (都講; a teaching assistant). During the Xin dynasty, he served as a local official in Sui County (隨縣) of Nanyang Commandery, and later became Grand Administrator (大尹) of Huaiping, where he governed the commandery well. Even when Wang Mang was defeated and the Xin dynasty fell, Hou Ba firmly defended Huaiping on his own.

In the 4th year of Jianwu (28), he was appointed Minister of the Secretariat (尙書令). At that time the Later Han had no established precedents, and few old officials remained at court; Hou Ba contributed to building the state's institutions by learning past precedents and recording surviving ancient texts. The following year, he replaced Fu Dan as Grand Minister (大司徒) and was enfeoffed as a Marquis of Guannei (關內侯).

In the 13th year of Jianwu (37), he died, and Emperor Guangwu grieved deeply and personally paid his respects; his son Hou Yu (侯昱) succeeded to the family line.

In 551, when Hou Jing founded the Later Han, he was posthumously honored as its founding ancestor (始祖), and his tablet was enshrined in the . In 552, when the Hou Han fell, the shrine honoring him as its founding ancestor was also demolished.