 | CHAPTERS II and III The history of the former Han dynasty |  |
THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]
Chapter II
THE SECOND [IMPERIAL ANNALS]
The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao-]Hui[1]
Emperor Hsiao-hui was the Heir-apparent of [Emperor]
Kao-tsu. His mother was called the Empress
[née] Lü.[2]
When Emperor [Hsiao-hui] was in his fifth
second year [the future Emperor Hsiao-hui] was
established as Heir-apparent; in the twelfth year,
the fourth month, Kao-tsu died.
In the fifth month, on [the day] ping-yin,[8]
the Heir-apparent
Empress, entitling her, the Empress Dowager. He
granted to the common people one step in noble rank.[10]
men-of-the-Palace [who had served] six full years
[were granted] three steps in noble rank; [those
who had served] four years [were granted] two steps.
The Gentlemen-outside-the-Household [who had
served] six full years [were granted] two steps.
Gentlemen-of-the-Household who had not [served]
a full year [were granted] one step. Gentlemen-outside-the-Household
who had not [served] two full
years were granted ten thousand cash.[15] Enunchs[16]
and Masters of the Food [were treated] the same
as Gentlemen-of-the-Palace.[17] Palace Internuncios,
Guards, Spear-bearers, Men of War, and Grooms [were
treated] the same as Gentlemen-outside-the-Household.
The Heir-apparent's [Chariot-]driver and his
Chariot-companion were granted the aristocratic rank
of Fifth [Rank] Grandee; the members of his suite
[who had served] five full years were given two steps.
There were granted to those who had provided for the
[imperial] burial ceremonies and [had positions ranking
as] two thousand piculs, twenty thousand cash;
[to those who had positions ranking as] six hundred
piculs and over, ten thousand [cash]; to [those who
had positions ranking as] five hundred piculs, two
Officials, five thousand [cash]. Of those who had
superintended digging [the late Emperor's] grave,[20]
the generals [were granted the equivalent[21] of] forty
[catties] of gold, [those who had the rank of] two
thousand piculs [were granted the equivalent of]
twenty [catties of] gold, [those who had the rank of]
six hundred piculs and above [were granted the
equivalent of] six [catties of] gold, those [who had
the rank of] five hundred piculs and less, down to
the Accessory Officials [were granted the equivalent
of] two [catties of] gold.
[The Emperor] reduced the tax on arable ground
and revived it [at the rate of] one part in fifteen.[23]
Those who had the aristocratic rank of Fifth [Rank]
and above, together with those who had served the
[young] emperor so that he knew their names, if
they had committed crimes, and should justly be
shackled like robbers, they were all to be put in
honorable detention.[26] Those of [the aristocratic
rank of] Superior Accomplished and above,[28] together
with the great-grandsons[29] of marquises or kings
belonging to the imperial house by male or female
descent who had committed crimes and
should justly [suffer] mutilating punishment, together
to [build] the fortifications or [patrol from] the
break of day or pound [rice], were all to have
their whiskers shaved and be made to [cut] firewood
for the spirits or [prepare] pure rice.[32] Common
people who are in their seventieth year or over or
not fully ten years old, who had committed crimes
and should justly [suffer] mutilating punishment,
were not to be mutilated.[33]
[The edict] also said, "Officials [exist] for the sake of
governing the people. If [the officials] are able to fulfil
their [duties in] government, then the people
[can] rely upon them. Hence [We] make their
salaries large, the reason for doing which is [for
the sake of] the people. Now the fathers and mothers,
the wives and children, and the other members
of the families[37] of officials who have [the rank]
of six hundred piculs or above, together with the
former officials who have in the past worn the seal
of a General or of a Chief Commandant[38] and have
led troops, or have worn the seal of an official [with
the rank of] two thousand piculs—their families shall
pay only the military tax and shall not be required
to pay any other [taxes]."
[The Emperor] ordered the commanderies and the
vassal kings to establish temples to Kao-[tsu].[39]
In the first year,[41] in the winter, the twelfth
month, King Yin of Chao, [Liu] Ju-yi, died.[43]
[The Emperor ordered[45] that] when the common
people commit crime, they are to be allowed to purchase
thirty steps in noble rank in order to avoid
capital punishment.[48] He granted to the common
people noble ranks, in each household one step [in
rank].
In the spring, the first month, the city wall of
In the second year, in the winter, the tenth month,
pay his respects]. He presented the Ch'eng-yang
Commandery to be added to the estate of the Princess
Yüan of Lu, and honored the Princess, appointing
In the spring, the first month, on [the day] kuei-yu,
there were two dragons seen at Lan-ling in the well
of a common citizen.[60] On the evening of [the day]
yi-hai, they disappeared. In the Lung-hsi [Commandery]
there was an earthquake.[63] In the summer
there was a drought.
The Marquis of Ho-yang, [Liu] Chung, died. In
the autumn, the seventh month, on [the day] hsin-wei,
In the third year, in the spring, there were sent
146,000 [persons], male and female, to build the city
wall of Ch'ang-an. In thirty days they were dismissed.[70]
A girl of the imperial house was made a Princess
and given in marriage to the Shan-yü of the Huns.
In the summer, the fifth month, [the Emperor]
of Tung-hai.[72]
In the sixth month, from the [states of] the vassal
were sent to build the city wall of Ch'ang-an.[75]
In the autumn, the seventh month, there was a
capital.[77]
The King of Nan-yüeh, Chao T'o, pronounced
himself a subject [of the Emperor] and presented
tribute.[78]
In the fourth year, in the winter, the tenth month,
Empress nee Chang [as Empress].[84]
In the spring, the first month, common people
who were filially pious, fraternally respectful and
[diligent] cultivators of the fields were recommended
and their persons exempted [from taxes and forced
service].
In the third month, on [the day] chia-tzu, the
Emperor was capped and [an amnesty was granted]
to the world.[87] In reducing the laws and orders which
annoyed the officials and people, there was abrogated
the criminal law against possessing books.[88]
There was a visitation [of fire] in the Wild Goose
Terrace in the Ch'ang-lo Palace. In Yi-yang it rained
day] yi-hai,[92] there was a visitation [of fire] in the
Ice Chamber of the Wei-yang Palace. On [the day]
ping-tzu, there was a visitation [of fire] in the Weaving
Chamber.
In the fifth year, in the winter, the tenth month,
and the jujubes [produced] fruit.[98]
In the spring, the first month, there were again
Ch'ang-an 145,000 men and women to build the city
wall of Ch'ang-an. In thirty days they were dismissed.
In the summer there was a great drought.[101]
In
the Chancellor of State, [Ts'ao] Ts'an, died.[104]
In the ninth month, the city wall of Ch'ang-an
ranks to the people, to each household one step.[106]
In the sixth year, in the winter, the tenth month,
Fei2, died.
It was ordered that the people were to be allowed
to sell[111]
noble ranks. Girls who were in their fifteenth
were not married were [ordered to pay as a tax] five
[times the] poll-tax.[117]
In the summer, the sixth month, the Marquis of
Wu-yang, [Fan] K'uai, died.[120]
The Western Market of Ch'ang-an was built and
the Ao Granary was repaired.
In the seventh year, in the winter, the tenth
month, chariots, cavalry,[123] and skilled soldiers were
sent to go to Jung-yang, led by the Grand Commandant,[125]
Kuan Ying.
In the spring, the first month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou,
eclipse of the sun.[129] In the summer, the fifth month,
on [the day] ting-mao, there was an eclipse of the sun
and it was total.[132] In the autumn, the eighth month,
on [the day] mou-yin, the Emperor died in the Wei-yang
Palace. In the ninth month, on [the day]
hsin-ch'ou, he was buried at the An Tomb.
In eulogy we say:[135]
[Emperor] Hsiao-hui, in his
state, he honored his Ruling Chancellors. He loved
[King] Tao-[hui] of Ch'i, [Liu Fei2], and [King] Yin
of Chao, [Liu Ju-yi], most dearly.[137] His kindness
and his sense of respect were both deep indeed.
When he heard the admonition of Shu-sun T'ung,
he was greatly dismayed.[138] When he accepted the
was glad at heart.[140] He may be called a [most] generous
and kindly ruler. He happened [upon a time
when the state was ruled by] the Empress Dowager
virtue.[142] It was sad indeed.
The SC includes the events of this emperor's reign in its chapter devoted to the
Empress Lü, whereas the HS pursues the more logical course of giving each emperor
a separate chapter. Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768), referring to this difference, says of the
HS, "In rectitude and in [its] principles it is most correct."
This date was June 23, 195 B.C., 22 days after his predecessor's death, the same
day as that on which his predecessor was buried.
At the accession of an emperor, favors were generously bestowed. This was not
the first time, as Shen Ch'in-han thought, that aristocratic ranks were given to the
common people, for they had previously been bestowed in 206 B.C. Cf. 1A: 30b.
These ranks were probably awarded to the heads of families. In 262 B.C., when
Chao Shêng received his territory, according to the Chan-kuo Ts`e (iii cent. B.C.),
section on Chao, chap. 21, he granted to all the officials an increase of three steps in
rank and to the common people who could gather together, to each family he granted
six catties of gold. (But SC 43: 35a, in repeating this story, tells that he granted
to the officials and people three steps in rank and to the officials and people who were
able to maintain peace among themselves six catties of gold. Cf. Mh V, 118.) Kao-tsu
had given to all his soldiers at least the fifth rank (cf. 1B: 5a). The first rank
was Official Patrician [OMITTED], cf. Mh II, 528, 1°; Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang,
p. 62.
Very possibly the edict went on to award proportionate
advancements in rank for other periods of service. At this
time, according to this edict, 10,000 cash is counted as worth
less than one step in rank, whereas in 18 B.C. a step in rank
could be purchased for 1000 cash. Cf. HS 10: 10a.
Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) says that these eunuchs [OMITTED]
were hun-szu [OMITTED], door-keepers and eunuchs. The Chou-li
(Biot. trans. I, 150-153) tells that the hun-jen [OMITTED] were doorkeepers
and the szu-jen were eunuchs in charge of the imperial
women. Cf. 19A: 16b, 17a.
In view of the high dignity of these two officials and of the
fact that they served in the inner apartments, Su Yü (fl. 1913)
suggests that the words, "Gentlemen-of-the-Palace, lang-chung"
should be interchanged and we should read, "Gentlemen-of-theHousehold,
chung-lang."
Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) and Ju Shun (fl. dur. 221-265)
say that [OMITTED] means to open up the earth for a tomb.
The Official ed. (1739) emends shang [OMITTED] to t'u [OMITTED]; but
Chang Chao (d. 1745) says that the Academy ed. (1124) and
Sung Ch'i's ed. (xi or xii cent.) read shang. He says that Fu
Ch'ien's and Ju Shun's comments show that the text originally
read t'u. Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) however argues that
probably at that time there was a current expression using shang.
Mr. Cheng (fl. dur. 265-317) says that [OMITTED] means
[OMITTED]. Cf. p. 111, n. 3. Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) remarks,
"This speaks of . . . the equivalent of gold. In later [passages],
whenever it says huang-chin [OMITTED], [it means] actual gold.
When it does not say huang, it means cash. HS ch. 24 says
that a catty of actual gold was worth 10,000 cash." Then a
gift of huang-chin means actual gold, whereas a gift of chin
means so many times 10,000 cash. Yen Shih-ku (581-645)
agrees with the foregoing interpretation, but Liu Pin (10221088)
says, "I say that whenever any book says so much chin,
one chin is 10,000 cash; when there is [made] a grant of so
many catties of chin, it is entirely of [actual] gold." We have
adopted the earlier interpretation.
Teng Chan (fl. ca. 208) writes, "In the beginning, the Han
dynasty taxed [at the rate of] one-fifteenth [cf. 24A: 9b], less
than the Chou [dynasty's] tax of one-tenth; in the mean time
[the land tax] had been abolished, now it was revived."
The shackles [OMITTED] were boards which held together the hands and feet of prisoners.
Ju Shun says, "[OMITTED] means that they should be treated leniently and should be
merely made to live in the residences of Division Heads and not enter the goal."
Shen Ch'in-han however says, "This `honorable detention' is the T'ang [dynastic]
Code's [OMITTED], it does not mean that they do not have to go to prison." According
to 23: 19b, in 145 B. C., Emperor Ching ordered that people over the eightieth and
under the eighth year of age, together with pregnant women, blind musicians, and
dwarfs, who must be held for criminal examination, should also be given "honorable
detention." In 97 A. D. Emperor Ho established a special office for the criminal
examination of Lieutenant Chancellors and high ministers. In a note to 23: 19b,
Yen Shih-ku interprets "honorable detention" as "without the boards that hold
together [a criminal's] hands and his feet [OMITTED]."
Superior Accomplished [OMITTED] was the second rank in the honorary hierarchy,
next to the lowest; the fifteenth rank (from the bottom) was called the Somewhat
Superior Accomplished [OMITTED] and the sixteenth the Greatly Superior Accomplished
[OMITTED]; Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) thinks the sixteenth rank is meant here; Yen
Shih-ku (581-645) thinks the second rank is meant.
Chang Yen says that [OMITTED] are descendants of marquises or kings of the imperial
house. [OMITTED] is pronounced, according to Yen Shih-ku, jen1-sun, the first word being
pronounced jen2 [OMITTED]. Chin Shao (fl. 275) says that it is the great-grandson of the greatgreat-grandson,
i.e., the eighth generation of descent (counting the person from whom
descent is counted as the first generation). In HS 12: 10a, however, Liu Yin is said
to have been made King of Liang because he was a jen1-sun of a great-great-grandson
of King Hsiao of Liang whereas 14: 12a and 47: 11a both say he was a great-grandson of
a great-great-grandson of King Hsiao. HS 12:2b speaks of the appointment of Emperor
Hsüan's jen1-sun and 99 A: 19b says plainly that they were his great-grandsons.
The ancestry of Liu Hsin in 15 A: 5a confirms this statement. Yen Shih-ku says
that in every instance the HS means great-grandson by jen-sun. The term is also
used in HS 94 A: 32b. According to the Erh-ya (written before Han times, added to
in Han times), the jen2-sun is however the eighth generation in descent. Yen Shih-ku
thinks that because the pronunciation of these two words jen is similar, the two phrases
jen-sun mean the same. But others disagree. Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) says that jen1-sun
is the sixth generation. Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) says it was the fourth generation.
The five "mutilating punishments" were: tatooing on the face, amputation of the
nose, amputation of the feet, castration, and capital punishment.
The punishment of [building] the fortifications or [patrolling from] the break of day
[OMITTED] consisted, according to Ying Shao, in "rising early in the morning and patrolling
or building the fortifications. . . . It was a four year punishment." Cf. Chavannes,
Documents chinois decouverts, p. 63.
According to Ying Shao, "Females were not employed in outside work, but were
made to pound [OMITTED] [the husks off of] rice. It was a four year punishment." Cf.
Chavannes, ibid.
For the punishment of shaving the whiskers, cf. p. 118, n. 1.
Ying Shao tells that the punishment of "spiritual firewood" [OMITTED] consisted in
"gathering firewood for the ancestral temple. . . . It was a three year punishment."
Ying Shao also says, "Sitting and selecting rice to make it pure white [for use in
offerings at the ancestral temple] is [preparing] pure rice [OMITTED]. It is a three
year punishment." Evidently it was for women, just as "spiritual firewood" was for
men.
The Han-chiu-yi, written by Wei Hung (fl. 25-57) B: 9b contains the following: "All
who have committed crimes, if male, have their heads shaved, wear an iron collar,
and are made to [work on] the fortifications in the morning—to [work on] the fortifications
or [patrol] from the break of day is to build the fortifications. Females are
made to pound—to pound is to prepare [unhulled] rice; both serve for five years;
those who are not mutilated [serve] four years. [Cutting] firewood for the spirits is
for three years. Of those who [are sentenced to cut] firewood for the spirits, the
males cut down the firewood and twigs on the mountains for the sacrifices to the
spirits and divinities; the females who are [sentenced] to [make] pure rice, pick over
the rice for the sacrifices; both serve for three years. When the punishment is to
work as a robber guard, the robber guard, if male, stands on guard; if female, she works.
As a robber guard, both serve for two years. Males are [also] made to serve in frontier
garrisons at hard labor and females are made to do labor in the official buildings; both
serve for one year."
Mutilating punishments (cf. above) all involved some bodily mutilation; the aged
and children were not to be punished thus. Cheng Chung (ca. 5 B.C. to A.D. 83) in a
note on the Chou-li 35: 33a, Autumn, Chang-lu, says, "Not to be mutilated [OMITTED] says
nevertheless that they should be held and work for three years, [but] not to have
their bodies damaged." The Han-chi (ii cent.) misunderstands the text and says they
should "escape" punishment. Stein found in the desert tablets indicating that certain
persons were sentenced to forced labor and escaped mutilation. Cf. Chavannes, Documents
chinois, p. 63.
Yen Shih-ku says "The [OMITTED] are, besides father, mother, and wives, [those persons]
like older and younger brothers, together with the older and younger brothers'
children."
According to HS 5: 6a, only in 148 B.C. was the title of Chief Commandant
used for the previous Commandery Commandant. In the SC, Chief Commandant is
found used of a Ch'in dynasty high military official as early as 207 B.C. (cf. Mh II,
273), and it is used in the HS under the date of 167 B.C. (cf. 4: 15a) as well as here.
Possibly these early uses are anachronisms. Cf. Mh II, 524, xxv. More probably
Chief Commandant was the title of an army officer lower than a General and higher
than a Colonel, as well as being the title of a regular official in the commandery
hierarchy.
Previously the vassal kings had been ordered to establish temples to Kao-tsu's
father (1B: 15b). Now the Han dynasty was attempting to unify the empire by
giving it a common religion. The commanderies and kingdoms likewise established
temples for the other emperors of the dynasty; we hear of a temple to the Emperor
Wen in Lin-chiang; cf. 5: 6a.
Years are counted from the first New Year's day after the emperor takes his
throne. The remainder of the preceding year is counted as still belonging to his predecessor.
Cf. 9: n. 1.1.
He was poisoned by his step-mother. The HS relegates this story to the "Memoir
of the Imperial Relatives by Marriage," 97 A: 4a, and is here content to chronicle the
bare fact of his death. Cf. Mh II, 409 f. The HS does not seem to have any fixed
practise about referring to persons by their names or by their posthumous titles,
sometimes using one and sometimes the other. In this translation, a posthumous name
(such as Yin) will be preceded by the title of the person's rank (such as King); a
personal name (such as Ju-yi) will be preceded by the person's surname.
Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) argues that this sentence should be preceded by the
word ling [OMITTED], just as in the similar passage in 1B: 12a. For the meaning of ling,
cf. 8: n. 11.2. Yen Shih-ku's comment contains this word, showing that it was in his
text. The T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983), "Feng-chien," section 1, quotes this imperial
order but without the ling. The old ed. (prob. Sung period) of the Pei-t'ang Shu-ts'ao
(ca. 618), "Feng-chio," last section, quotes this order with the ling, although Ch'en
Yü-mo's ed. (1600) deletes it.
Ying Shao writes, "Each step cost 2000 cash, [so that capital punishment could
be ransomed by paying] altogether 60,000 cash, like the present ransoming of crime
by paying 30 bolts of fine close-woven silk." Possibly this value for noble ranks
was only for the purpose of ransoming crime, for in the previous year a single step
was worth more than 10,000 cash. Cf. p. 174, n. 1; also 10: n. 10. 2. Or else Ying
Shao is guessing. This order does not allow the actual purchase of aristocratic ranks,
but merely the commutation of capital punishment for a large money payment.
Hu San-hsing (1230-1287) says, "The Han [dynasty] made its capital at Ch'ang-an.
Altho Hsiao Ho had built the palaces and halls there, there had not yet been leisure
to build a city wall. Emperor [Hui] began building it, and it was only finished in his
fifth year [190 B.C.]." The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) says, "At first the northeast
quarter of the wall was built." It is interesting that the edict allowing the building
of city walls was issued in 202 B.C. (cf. 1B: 7b), but the city wall of the capital
was not begun until 194 B.C. HS 16: 62a says that the Privy Treasurer Yang-ch'eng
Yen built the Ch'ang-lo and Wei-yang palaces and the Ch'ang-an city wall.
She was the step-sister of King Tao-hui, and was older than he. The Empress
Dowager Lü had tried to poison her step-son, King Tao-hui. His Prefect of the Capital
had advised him to placate her by presenting some territory and this title to her
daughter, the Princess Yüan. Since a Dowager practically controls her son, King
Tao-hui was thus putting himself and his property largely under the control of the
Empress Dowager Lü's daughter as well as flattering her. According to 32: 9a, b, "In
187 B.C., the Dowager Queen Yüan of Lu died and the sixth year after the Marquis of
Hsüan-p'ing, [Chang] Ao, [her husband], also died. The Empress Dowager [nee] Lü
made the son of [Chang] Ao, [Chang] Yen, the King of Lu, [instead of merely making
him a marquis], because his mother had been a Dowager Queen [of Ch'i]."
The account of these intrigues is given in the SC (cf. Mh II, 411) and in HS 38: 1b,
hence the HS does not feel it necessary to do more here than merely mention its
administrative result. According to later Chinese conceptions, it was quite improper
for a king to make his half-sister his Queen Dowager, for that meant he was treating
her as his mother, whereas she was of the same generation as he. Emperor Hsiao-hui
was married by his mother to the daughter of his own full sister (cf. 2: 5a), which
is also improper, according to those conceptions, for this girl was also of a different
generation (cf. Mh II, 413, n. 1). But in ancient times, while a man normally married
only girls of the same generation as himself, it was the custom among the highest
classes of the nobility to marry also one niece, who was the daughter of one's oldest
maternal first cousin, and hence was of the generation following that of her husband.
Cf. Granet, Chinese Civilization, p. 339. The rule of generations was regularly disregarded
in the Han period; Emperors Hsüan and Ch'eng both married cousins of a
different generation than they, so that King Tao-hui's appointment of his older half-sister
as his mother may have also been in accord with the conceptions of his time,
altho it was out of accord with conceptions current later.
The text writes [OMITTED]; Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) says the words should be
interchanged, to read as they are written in the Han-chi (ii cent.). HS 27 Ca: 16a
writes, "There were two dragons seen at Lan-ling, in the T'ing-tung hamlet, in the
[family] well of Wan Ling."
Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) remarks, "The distances of the
vassal kingdoms [from the capital] were different, hence beforehand
in the sixth month, these [people] were mobilized, causing
each [group] to arrive at the [appointed] time. The building
of the city wall was done in the spring, the first month, as
previously."
The text uses [OMITTED]. The Shuo-wen (ca. 100) defines it as
[OMITTED], "a fire [started by] Heaven." HS 27A: 6b writes, "A fire
[started by] human agencies is called a fire; a fire [started by]
natural [or spiritual] means is called a visitation. [OMITTED],
[OMITTED]." Fires, floods, droughts, and sickness are now all
called visitations [OMITTED]. Etymologically this word means "fire."
The San-fu Huang-t'u (iii to vi cent.) says, "The stables at
the capital were the places where the emperor's carriages and
horses [were kept]."
He had been enfeoffed by Kao-tsu; now that Kao-tsu was
dead, he renewed his allegiance to the new emperor. He revolted
soon after the death of Hsiao-hui. Cf. 95: 10a, b.
Hsiao-hui was then in his twentieth year. Capping was a ceremony performed
when a youth came of age. Wang Ming-sheng (1722-1797) notes that in 141 B.C. the
boy who became Emperor Wu was capped in his 16th year; in 77 B.C. Emperor Chao
was capped in his 18th year; HS 11: 1b records that Emperor Ai was capped in
his 17th year; according to 12: 10a Emperor P'ing died in his 14th year and was capped
when being dressed for burial. Wang Ming-sheng adds, "In ancient times emperors
and nobles were all capped in their 12th year. After they had been capped they begot
children. At the beginning of the Han [period] the classics were lost and incomplete,
and there was no plain passage about the rites for the capping of the Son of Heaven,
hence [that ceremony] had no definite time." However, after the classics were recovered,
the Han emperors seem to have been just as irregular as formerly in performing
this ceremony. Probably in Han times there was no definite age for capping the heirs
apparent.
The criminal law now abrogated was the famous decree of the Ch'in First Emperor
which ordered that anyone concealing books should be executed together with his three
sets of relatives.
This date is Aug. 10, 191 B.C., but 27 A: 10b, in narrating this event, dates it in
the tenth month, which is impossible because there was no yi-hai day in that month;
the Han-chi (ii cent.) puts it in the third month.
HS 27: Bb 1a says that laxity is punished by an unseasonably long warm spell
at which time there may be plant anomalies.
HS 27 Ba: 23b says that the water in the Yangtze and Yellow rivers was low
and the gorges and valleys were dry.
There was no chi-ch'ou day in that month. There was such a day in the 8th
month of the preceding year and in the 7th and 9th months of the same year. His
biographies in SC ch. 54 and HS ch. 39 do not date his death. HS 39: 12b says,
"[Ts'ao] Ts'an was Chancellor of State to the third year and died." Hsiao Ho, the previous
Chancellor of State, died in Hsiao-hui's second year (2: 4b), whereupon Ts'ao
Ts'an was installed; three years later would be the fifth year; so that the year is corroborated.
SC 22: 5a (Mh III, 189) notes the death of Ts'ao Ts'an in the 8th month
on the day yi-ch'ou, which would give a date possible in the 8th month, viz. Sept.
24, 190 B.C. Chavannes (T'oung Pao, vol. 7, p. 525) approves this reading. The error
of transcription involved in writing [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] is quite likely.
There was no hsin-ch'ou day in that month; SC 22: 5a (Mh III, 189) notes this
death in the seventh month of the sixth year, the hsin-ch'ou day of which was Aug.
25, 189 B.C. I find no evidence that this was anything but a natural death. His son
succeeded him; the Empress Dowager after his death merely took away some of his
territory.
Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) writes, "The Kuo-yü (iii cent. B.C.) [says], `The King
of Yüeh, Kou-chien, ordered that if in his state a girl was in her seventeenth year and
unmarried, her parents had committed a crime, for he wished that his people would
multiply abundantly.' According to the Han Code, each person paid one poll-tax—a
poll-tax was 120 cash; only merchants with male or female slaves [paid] two poll-taxes.
Now they were caused [to pay] five [times] the poll-tax, it was a punishment
for crime." Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) however says, "A poll-tax is 127 [cash]." Liu
Pin (1022-1088) remarks, "I say that `girls [being taxed] five [times] the poll-tax'
does not however [imply] that they were punished all at once with this [amount].
From 15 to 30 there are five stages [of five years each]. Each stage added one poll-tax."
The amount of the poll-tax in the above statements, about 120 cash, seems to have
been the amount to which this tax was stabilized at the close of the Former Han and
during the Later Han period; S. Kato, "A Study on the Suan-fu, the Poll-tax of the
Han Dynasty," in Mem. of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko, No. 1 (1926),
51-68, comes to the conclusion that this poll-tax was 190 cash under Emperor Wu; the
evidence that it was 40 cash under Emperor Wen is not of the best.
The death of a mere noble is not usually mentioned in the Imperial Annals. But
Fan K'uai's wife was the younger sister of the Empress Dowager, and he belonged to
her faction, that of the Lü family. Hence his death was a piece of good fortune for
the Liu family.
Yen Shih-ku (581-645) says, "Chariots are usually those who have been sentenced
to military service and take arms, like the present frontier garrison chariots [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. Cavalry are usually horses which have been kept,
together with the persons [who have kept them], who have been ordered to be sent
[away] and sentenced to cavalry service, like the present horses for war and their [former]
owners who care for them. [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]."
According to ch. 19 and his biography, he did not secure this title until the time
of Emperor Wen.
According to Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1831), the Hsi-Ching Tsa-chi (prob. vi cent.)
says, "In the seventh year of Emperor Hui, in the summer, it thundered and there
was an earthquake. Several thousand of the great trees on the Southern Mountains
[near the capital] were all on fire, but [the fire] did not reach below them; on several
tens of mou of land the grass was all scorched and yellow. More than a hundred
days afterwards, people went there and got one set of dragon bones and two sets of
alligator bones [fossils?]."
Emperor Hui was in his twenty-third year when he died and he was buried 23 days
after his death.
These two boys were his half-brothers. He tried to protect the second by always
keeping him with himself; the Empress Dowager had to wait to kill Ju-yi until Hsiao-hui
was out shooting and Ju-yi was sleeping alone. When the Empress Dowager tried
to poison Liu Fei by giving him two cups of poison at a feast, Hsiao-hui took one
cup; the Empress Dowager upset it and thus revealed her plan. These stories are told
in the SC and in HS 97A: 4a; 38: 1b. Cf. Mh II, 409 ff.
HS 43: 17a, b, 18a says, "When they were building the double passageways [which
seem to have been elevated roofed passageways, cf. p. 113, n. 2] just south of the arsenal
[which was near the Wei-yang Palace], as [Shu-sun] T'ung was reporting to [the Emperor]
on business, he took the opportunity to ask for a word in private and said,
`Why does your Majesty yourself build this double passageway? The robes and hat
of Emperor Kao-[tsu, which are preserved in] the funerary chamber [at his tomb], are
carried monthly [in procession] to the Temple of Kao-[tsu]. Why should his descendants
climb up and travel above the [sacred] road of the ancestral temple?' Emperor Hui
was dismayed and replied, `I shall quickly destroy it.' [But Shu-sun] T'ung said,
`The lord of men can manifest no faults. Now it is already made and the people all
know about it. I hope that your Majesty will make the Second Temple [OMITTED] north
of the Wei [River, by the tomb of Kao-tsu], and that [Kao-tsu's]
robes and hat will be carried monthly [in procession] to it,
thus increasing and broadening the fundamental [conception]
of filial piety [underlying] the ancestral temple.' Then the
Emperor promulgated an imperial edict that the [high] officials
should erect the Second Temple." The point was that a
gallery of the "double passageways" (q. v. in Glossary) was
carried above the sacred road.
When the famous Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, died,
he recommended Ts'ao Ts'an as his successor, even though there
had been jealousy between the two. HS 39: 11b ff. says,
"When [Ts'ao] Ts'an took the place of [Hsiao] Ho as Chancellor
of State, in all matters there was no change or alteration; he
entirely followed the agreements and regulations of [Hsiao] Ho."
But he gave himself to drinking day and night. When anyone
would come to talk with him, he would give them to drink
before they could get started, and give them more drink whenever
they showed any signs of re-opening the subject, so that
they went away drunk without having had a chance to speak.
His subordinates in the office behind his residence likewise fell
to drinking and singing and shouting daily. Someone invited
him to visit this office, but when he visited it, he too took
wine, sat down, and drank, singing and shouting louder than
they! He shielded those who had committed small crimes, so
that there was no business done in his office. Emperor Hui
was much younger than Ts'ao Ts'an, so when he wondered at
his Chancellor's behavior, he sent Ts'ao Ts'an's son to remonstrate
with him. But Ts'ao Ts'an became angry and had his
son beaten 200 stripes for doing so. "When the time came [for
him to go] to court, [the Emperor] reproved [Ts'ao] Ts'an, saying,
`What sort of treatment have you given [your son], K'u?
Formerly I sent him to remonstrate with you, sir.' [Ts'ao]
Ts'an doffed his hat, begged [the Emperor's] pardon, and said,
`When your Majesty yourself considers the deeds of the Sage
Hero [Kao-tsu], how do you compare with Emperor Kao-[tsu]?'
Emperor [Hsiao-hui] replied, `But how would We dare to hope
[to compare Ourself with] the late Emperor?' [Ts'ao] Ts'an
said, `When your Majesty considers me, [Ts'ao] Ts'an, which
[of us] is the more capable, I or Hsiao Ho?' The Emperor
replied, `You, sir, do not appear to be his equal.' [Ts'ao] Ts'an
replied, `What your Majesty says is right. [Since] moreover
Emperor Kao-[tsu] and Hsiao Ho have subjugated the world
and the laws and ordinances have all been made plain, is it not
right that your Majesty [sits] with unruffled garments and with
folded hands while I, [Ts'ao] Ts'an, and my colleagues [merely]
guard our charges, following in the way [of Kao-tsu and Hsiao
Ho, taking care that we] make no slips?' Emperor Hui replied,
`Good. You, sir, need not say anything more about it.' "
Ts'ao Ts'an was a devotee of Lao-tzu's doctrine that the best
government is the one that governs least (cf. Tao-te-ching,
ch. 60, 80); he tried to give the people a relief from the overexacting
government that characterized the Ch`in dynasty with
its numerous laws and the period of Kao-tsu with its continual
wars.
The historian is thinking of the murder of the Emperor's
beloved half-brother, Liu Ju-yi, and the terrible revenge wreaked
upon Ju-yi's mother, the Lady née Ch'i, by the Dowager Empress
née Lü. When the Emperor's mother called him to see his
mutilated step-mother, he did not recognize her; when he was
informed who she was, he wept abundantly and became ill for
more than a year (possibly he had a "nervous breakdown"),
and sent people to say to his mother, the Empress Dowager,
"This is an inhuman deed. I am your son, [but, because of
you] I am not able to rule the empire [rightly]." Then he gave
himself up to drinking and debauchery and did not pay any
attention to government. Cf. Mh II, 410. This story is told
in 97A: 4b; it was perhaps the worst deed of the Empress
Dowager.
| CHAPTERS II and III The history of the former Han dynasty | |