University of Virginia Library

How Wang Mang established himself securely and obtained a following

Wang Mang's gradual rise in power and popularity is so well recounted
in his "Memoir" that it is unnecessary to repeat it here. It will be
sufficient to point out the steps he took and the general principles upon
which he operated, stressing nuances that may not be so clear to a casual
reader and mentioning facts not found in these two chapters.

When Wang Mang was first put into power, he took care to surround
himself with people whom he could influence. The pliant K'ung Kuang, a
descendant of Confucius, had been Grand Minister Over the Masses
and had recommended Wang Mang to the Grand Empress Dowager.
Wang Mang treated him respectfully, retained him in office, and promoted
his son-in-law, Chen Han, who later became one of Wang Mang's intimate
followers. Wang Mang also attached Wang Shun4b to himself,
because the latter was loved and trusted by the Grand Empress Dowager.
This man was a son of the Grand Empress Dowager's first cousin who
had been the Commander-in-chief, Wang Yin. Then Wang Mang proceeded
to get rid of his possible opponents.

The person whose influence with the Grand Empress Dowager Wang
Mang most feared was Wang Li5a, who was own half-brother to her and
her closest living relative. There was also her nephew, Wang Jen, a son
of Wang T'an2b, another half-brother of the Grand Empress Dowager.
Wang Jen bore the same relationship to her that Wang Mang did. Both
Wang Li5a and Wang Jen were courageous and plain-speaking; as close
relatives they had access to her, so that Wang Mang needed to remove
them in order to establish his own power securely. Wang Li5a was perhaps
the worst reprobate in the Wang clan, so much so that he had been
passed over when, in the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, the post of Commander-in-chief
had been passed about among the brothers of the Grand
Empress Dowager. Wang Mang prepared a petition to the Grand
Empress Dowager, enumerating the crimes of Wang Li5a and Wang Jen,
and had Chen Han take it to K'ung Kuang, with the request that he
memorialize those matters in his own name. K'ung Kuang was timid
and did not like to refuse, so did as he was told. Wang Mang liked to
act by indirection; he would hint to his followers what he wanted done
and allow them to propose these matters for action. Then he could

approve or disapprove as the circumstances dictated and yet not seem
to have been taking the initiative.

When the petition regarding Wang Li5a and Wang Jen reached the
Grand Empress Dowager, Wang Mang advised her to assent to it. When
she did not want to part with her last independent sources of information,
Wang Mang insisted, putting her in the position of either having to
reject K'ung Kuang and himself or send away her brother and nephew.
She yielded, and thus gave herself into the control of Wang Mang. Three
years later, Wang Mang involved Wang Li5a and Wang Jen in the affair
of Wang Yü, and compelled them both to commit suicide.

Thus Wang Mang, partly by persuasion and partly by a relentless use
of the governmental power, eliminated any possible rivals. He filled the
court with his own followers, eliminating all who would oppose him.
Most of the bureaucracy willingly followed Wang Mang. He was the
legal deputy of the imperial power; the custom of delegating the imperial
power to the outstanding imperial maternal relative had regularly been
practised for half a century, consequently it may be said to have become
part of the (unwritten) constitution. The people had been trained to
follow the imperial authority, so that any reforms, short of a rebellion,
had to be authenticated by the emperor. Power and wealth lay in the
giving of Wang Mang, hence few officials were willing to refuse his
leadership. Only a very few of the more squeamish officials, in particular
the Grand Minister of Works, P'eng Hsün, and his successor, Wang
Ch'ung2b, were willing to sacrifice their careers because of their dislike
for the way Wang Mang was doing things. These two in succession asked
to resign. They had not actually opposed Wang Mang and were respected
by intelligent people, so he had to allow them to go. But he
disliked their leaving and refused to bestow upon them the parting gifts
customarily given at the resignation of an honored official. They could
merely retire from the court to their homes and keep quiet about their
opinions. Wang Mang distributed noble titles and positions liberally to
his loyal followers and was praised on all sides.