During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a statesman named Xie An.
Xie An gained some fame in his youth, and Yu Bing, the governor of Yangzhou at the time, repeatedly urged him to take an official post. Unable to refuse, Xie An reluctantly accepted. But once he entered officialdom, he witnessed all kinds of ugly realities and lost all faith in a political career.
A month later, Xie An resigned from his post and retreated to seclusion on the Eastern Mountain near Shangyu County in Kuaiji Commandery, spending his days roaming the hills and waters, completely detached from court affairs.
By the time Xie An reached his forties, he finally emerged from his reclusive life on the Eastern Mountains, accepting a court appointment and rising to become a high-ranking official. During Emperor Xiaowu's reign, he ascended to the position of prime minister.
At that time, Former Qin was the most powerful state, having successively conquered Liang, Yi, Fan, and Deng. Xie An appointed his younger brother Xie Shi and his nephew Xie Xuan as generals to strengthen defenses.
In 383 AD, the Former Qin army marched south, prompting Xie An to dispatch Xie Shi and Xie Xuan to mount a full defense, securing a victory at the Battle of the Fei River; as commander of military affairs across 15 provinces, Xie An then led his forces to reclaim Luoyang and the provinces of Qing, Yan, Xu, and Yu.
After the victory at the Battle of the Fei River, the Eastern Jin ruling faction fractured into bitter infighting. Prince Sima Daozi of Kuaiji seized power and began sidelining the Xie clan. In this treacherous political climate, Xie An found court life increasingly perilous. Though he remained in office, his longing to retreat to the Eastern Mountains never wavered, often revealing itself in his words and actions.
In 385 AD, the renowned statesman Xie An returned to the capital from Guangling, only to fall ill and pass away shortly after at the age of 65.
Later, people used the idiom "unchanging from start to finish" to describe unwavering determination.
Source: *Book of Jin*, "Biography of Xie An"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "始终不渝" came to describe how unwavering determination.