Guanqiu Jian was from Wenxi County (),
Hedong Commandery, which is present-day
Wenxi County,
Shanxi. His father, Guanqiu Xing (; 210-220s), served as the Administrator of Anding Commandery under
Cao Cao, and of Wuwei Commandery () during
Cao Pi's reign; he eventually held the peerage "Marquis of Gaoyang District" (). After his father's death, Guanqiu Jian inherited his father's peerage and served as a clerk to the Marquis of Pingyuan (). In the second half of 226, after
Cao Rui, the second emperor of Wei, ascended the throne, he appointed Guanqiu Jian as a Gentleman of Writing () and supervisor of the Imperial Guards. As Guanqiu Jian was previously an assistant official serving under Cao Rui when the latter was still
crown prince, Cao Rui treated him exceptionally well. Guanqiu Jian later rose to the position of Agricultural Officer of
Luoyang (). During this time, he wrote to Cao Rui, advising the emperor to scale down on his extravagant palace building projects. Later, he was promoted to Inspector () of
Jing Province. During the
Qinglong era (233-237) of Cao Rui's reign, Cao Rui planned to conquer
Liaodong. As Guanqiu Jian had a strategy in mind, he was appointed Inspector of You Province, General Who Crosses into Liao and Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan. In 237, Guanqiu Jian led an army to Liaodong to attack the warlord
Gongsun Yuan, who had been previously a vassal of the Cao Wei state but decided to rebel against Wei rule. However, the campaign had to be aborted due to heavy flooding. In the following year, Guanqiu Jian and
Sima Yi led another
campaign against Gongsun Yuan, defeated him, and restored stability in Liaodong. In recognition of his efforts during the campaign, Cao Rui promoted Guanqiu Jian from a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Anyi" (). In 244, during the reign of Cao Rui's successor
Cao Fang, Guanqiu Jian led a
punitive expedition to
Goguryeo, leading to the
Goguryeo–Wei Wars. He defeated the Goguryeo army led by
King Dongcheon near the
Tongjia River and then captured the Goguryeo capital
Hwando. During the follow-up campaign in the next year, he conquered Hwando again and forced King Dongcheon to flee southeast. A subsection of the army reached the eastern coast of the peninsula and another reached northern
Manchuria, but soon retreated. A stone carving was created to commemorate Guanqiu Jian's victory in the campaign. In 1905, a fragment of the monument was discovered. It is called the Stele of Guanqiu Jian's Inscribed Achievements (). In 255, Guanqiu Jian and
Wen Qin started a
rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; around present-day
Shou County,
Anhui) against the Wei regent
Sima Shi, who came to power in 251 after the death of his father
Sima Yi and monopolised state power, effectively rendering the Wei emperor a puppet ruler. In Guanqiu Jian's biography in
Sanguozhi,
Chen Shou recorded that Guanqiu Jian rebelled because he remained loyal to the Wei emperor,
Cao Mao, and was displeased that Sima Shi was controlling the Wei government behind the scenes. Chen also recorded that Guanqiu was close to
Xiahou Xuan and
Li Feng, who had been purged by Sima Shi in 254 around the time Sima Shi deposed the third Wei emperor
Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao; Guanqiu Jian, fearing that he would end up like Xiahou Xuan, decided to rebel against Sima Shi. The rebellion was effectively suppressed within months and Guanqiu Jian was slain by one Zhang Shu () after escaping from Shouchun to Shen County (慎縣; present-day
Feidong County,
Anhui). Most of Guanqiu Jian's family members were killed while the survivors escaped and defected to Wei's rival state,
Eastern Wu. ==Name==