 | THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty |  |
INTRODUCTION
The sources and nature of this and the remaining "Annals"
Concerning the authorship and sources of this and the remaining
chapters in the "Annals," there is little to be said. These chapters have
the same characteristics as the preceding chapter—they are a chronological
summary listing the important events of the reign, summarizing
briefly the history to be found elsewhere in this voluminous work. The
sources used by Pan Ku seem also to be the same as for the previous
chapter, with the difference that Szu-ma Ch'ien died some time about
the end of Emperor Wu's reign or the beginning of Emperor Chao's
reign, so that the SC was not available as a source for this chapter, except
for the supplementary accounts that had later been introduced into its
text.
The virtual regency of Ho Kuang
This short period of only thirteen years (87-74 B.C.) was primarily a
time of recuperation from the excessive drains made upon the country
during the reign of Emperor Wu. The chief events of the period were
the virtual regency of Ho Kuang, the attempt to overthrow him led by
the Shang-kuan clan, and his relief of the people from many of the exactions
made by Emperor Wu.
Emperor Wu, moreover, was an excellent judge of character; when
his death was approaching, he selected his youngest son as his heir
and picked Ho Kuang to control the government. There was no constitutional
provision for a regency, except for one by the close relatives
of an infant ruler. Precedents for such a form of regency were to be
found in the acts of the ideal rulers and ministers recounted in ancient
and recent history, especially in the Book of History, and in the deeds of
Confucius' hero, the Duke of Chou. These precedents found in ancient
and recent history composed the virtual constitution of the Chinese state,
and the Erudits (together with the graduates of the Imperial University
entitled Authorities upon Ancient Matters) were expected to be able to
advise the ruler or the officials, concerning these constitutional precedents.
The First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty had proscribed and burned the
Book of History because he, an autocrat, would not follow ancient
members from any power in the imperial government; one of Ho Kuang's
first deeds, after he came to power, was to appoint members of the
imperial clan to government positions. Emperor Wu had made Ho
Kuang Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief (one of the three highest
ministers) and gave him a testamentary edict directing him to assist the
young emperor. He was not made regent, but merely assistant to the
young ruler. A regent not only controlled the government, but also
performed many of the rites permitted to a Son of Heaven. Ho Kuang
remained, in rank, merely a minister, for he was not even distantly related
to the throne. [When previously there had been virtual regency, the
Empress of the Kao-tsu had seated herself upon the throne and ruled, but
she was not entitled a regent. As a woman, she could not take the place
of a man. She was merely ruling for the Emperor in the capacity of his
mother. The first titular regent in Han times was Wang Mang, who in
February, A.D. 6, was given an edict allowing him to perform the rites
allowed to a Son of Heaven (99 A: 25b).]
Ho Kuang was a legitimate son of Ho Ch'ü-ping's father, and had
probably been a close attendant upon Emperor Wu for more than twenty
years. He was the ideal person for the position—quiet, steady, careful,
methodical, and reliable. He is said to have had a particular place in
which to stand in court and not to have varied one foot from his usual
position. In addition to his other titles, he became Intendant of Affairs
of the Masters of Writing, and controlled the government through
this latter office.
The control exercised by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of
Writing
The Masters of Writing (Shang-shu) were the private secretaries of the
emperor. Government business came to the emperor in the form of
memorials; the Masters of Writing received these memorials and brought
them to the attention of the emperor. They then prepared his replies or
sent the memorials to the appropriate officials for action. The emperor
naturally consulted with his Masters of Writing, so that this position
became an important one.
This office had been inherited by the Han from the Ch'in dynasty.
Before the time of Emperor Wu, these Masters of Writing do not seem
to have been important, since government business came first to the
ministers, especially the Lieutenant Chancellor or Grandee Secretary,
who presented their recommendations to the emperor for enactment.
Emperor Wu however took to himself the actual control of the government,
so that governmental affairs were brought directly to him. Hence
part of his time in the harem, where the Masters of Writing, who were not
eunuchs, could not go. Consequently he established a new office, that
of Palace Writer (Chung-shu), a eunuch position, in order that his private
secretaries could be with him even in the imperial harem. (Szu-ma
Ch'ien was made a Palace Writer after his punishment; possibly one
of Emperor Wu's reasons for allowing Szu-ma Ch'ien to be thus punished
was to have a capable person in that office.) Because of court
opposition to eunuchs, the office of Palace Writer was abolished in 29
B.C. It did not have any importance during the reign of Emperor Chao.
When matters were brought to the attention of the government,
duplicates or abstracts had to be presented along with all memorials.
The duplicate was opened by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters
of Writing; unless he approved the memorial, the matter was not brought
to the attention of the emperor. The Intendant of Affairs could thus
control the government by the simple expedient of controlling the
emperor's sources of information. A vigorous emperor might break
through these limitations, but the government business was so voluminous
that some sifting out of unimportant matters was unavoidable and the
person who did so inevitably obtained considerable control over the
government. Hence the attempt to make the emperor an absolute
autocrat resulted in making him dependent upon his entourage. When
he was Emperor, Wang Mang worked night and day, attempting to deal
in person with all government documents, but was unable to keep up
with his work. Thus Emperor Wu, in making the emperor an absolute
autocrat, virtually subverted the fundamental constitution of the state
for himself and his successors, by taking most of the governmental power
away from the Lieutenant Chancellor and the Grandee Secretary, who
were supposed to head the government. The result was that this power
came into the hands of whatever clique had the emperor's ear or had
entrenched itself with the imperial private secretaries. After the time
of Emperor Wu, the control of the government was usually held by the
Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing or by the Chief Palace
Writer. Since these titles did not carry any high rank in the court, the
Intendant of Affairs was usually made concurrently the Commander-inchief.
In his capacity as virtual regent, Ho Kuang showed himself faithful
and reliable. Emperor Chao was only in his eighth year when he came
to the throne in 87 B.C.; when he was in his eighteenth year, he was
capped, thereby being entitled to rule in person. Ho Kuang had had
the Emperor's entire confidence and the young Emperor had defended
in control of the government to the end of his reign.
The abortive intrigue against Ho Kuang
The only serious difficulty Ho Kuang had to face was a palace intrigue
which threatened his life and the throne itself. Emperor Chao was
Emperor Wu's youngest son. After Emperor Wu's first Heir-apparent,
Liu Chü, had been killed, his next eldest living son was Liu Tan4a, King
of Yen. Liu Tan naturally expected to be made the Heir, and asked to
resign his kingdom and come to the capital to attend upon Emperor Wu.
The latter however resented the suggestion, executed the messenger who
brought it, and later, on a legal pretext, deprived Liu Tan4a of some
territory.
When Emperor Chao had been enthroned, Liu Tan4a naturally felt
he had been cheated. To pacify him, Ho Kuang had him granted thirty
million cash and the income of thirteen thousand families. But Liu Tan4a
continued to be dissatisfied, and caused an ugly rumor to be circulated
that Emperor Chao was not an actual son of Emperor Wu. He also
made military preparations, executing those of his officials who remonstrated.
Ho Kuang heard of the matter and executed Liu Tan4a's agent,
who had circulated the rumor.
The marriage of the youthful Emperor fanned the opposition to Ho
Kuang. Closely associated with Ho Kuang in the government were Shang-kuan
Chieh and Chin Mi-ti. Ho Kuang had married two of his daughters
to the eldest sons of these two men. Chin Mi-ti died a year after Emperor
Chao came to the throne. The new Emperor's elder half-sister,
the Elder Princess of O-yi, was made the boy Emperor's nurse to care for
him in the palace. She was a widow, and fell in love with a commoner,
Ting Wai-jen. To please her, Ting Wai-jen was made her personal
attendant. Shang-kuan Chieh and his son, Shang-kuan An, were
ambitious; to secure their power, they planned to make Shang-kuan An's
young daughter, who was Ho Kuang's granddaughter, the Empress.
The Elder Princess had already taken a girl into the Palace to be Emperor
Chao's future mate; therefore Shang-kuan Chieh and his son promised
Ting Wai-jen a marquisate if he would induce the Elder Princess to have
Shang-kuan An's daughter married to the Emperor. If he were a
marquis, Ting Wai-jen would be able to marry the Elder Princess. Ho
Kuang disapproved, thinking that the girl was too young. But the Elder
Princess, being the titular mother of the Emperor, decided the matter.
The girl was summoned to the Palace and married a month later. The
Emperor was then in his twelfth year and the Empress in her sixth year.
ministers for lack of education and the courtiers for failing to protest
against permitting a marriage before the boy was capped.
Ho Kuang now refused to make Ting Wai-jen a marquis or even to
promote him. So Shang-kuan Chieh, his son, and the Elder Princess all
came to have grudges against Ho Kuang. The Grandee Secretary, Sang
Hung-yang, who was proud of the fiscal arrangements and government
monopolies he had founded, was smarting under the criticisms made
against him, with Ho Kuang's permission, by the common people recommended
to office, and he joined the clique opposing Ho Kuang. They
communicated with Liu Tan4a, who sent them large presents and, at their
direction, made an accusation against Ho Kuang to the Emperor. When
this accusation had no effect, the clique planned to have the Elder
Princess invite Ho Kuang to a feast at which he would be assassinated.
Thereafter Emperor Chao would be degraded and Liu Tan4a would
become emperor; or, as Shang-kuan An planned it, Liu Tan4a would be
lured to the capital, killed, and Shang-kuan Chieh would become emperor.
But a member of the Elder Princess' suite heard of the plot and Ho Kuang
was informed. Shang-kuan Chieh, his son, Sang Hung-yang, and
the other conspirators were executed; the Elder Princess and Liu Tan4a
were allowed to commit suicide. Liu Tan4a's sons were merely pardoned
and made commoners; six years later, when Emperor Hsüan came to
the throne, Ho Kuang had Liu Tan4a's two younger sons made marquises
and the elder son made a King. Henceforth Ho Kuang's power was
unchallenged.
Ho Kuang's lightening of the people's burdens
Although Ho Kuang spent almost all of his life, from his teens on, at
the court, first as Palace Attendant and finally as the actual ruler, he
came from the common people and knew their sufferings. He had been
trained by Emperor Wu and continued that Emperor's type of government.
But the impoverished and depopulated condition of the country
caused him, at the suggestion of Tu Yen-niena, to make one change after
another, each in the direction of returning to the practises customary
before the time of Emperor Wu, so that the collapse of the country, which
must have been impending, was averted and recuperation was possible.
The economic reforms of Ho Kuang covered a wide range. Loans
were made to poor people, payment of which was remitted; taxes
were remitted in bad years; payment of taxes in kind was permitted
when the price of grain became low. The forced contribution of horses
was stopped. Unnecessary commanderies, unnecessary government
The amount of grain transported to the capital was decreased; imperial
lands were distributed to the people. The poll-tax on children was
lightened. Most remarkable of all was the debate held in 81 B.C. when
outstanding persons from various parts of the empire were recommended
for office and sent to the capital. In their civil service examination,
they were asked about what the people suffered from and what the
government should do, and all replied that the government monopoly of
salt and iron, the monopoly of fermented liquors, and the bureau of
equalization and standards (through which the government speculated
in goods) should be abolished and the government should set an example
of economy (24 B: 20b). The Grandee Secretary, Sang Hung-yang,
who had previously established these monopolies, replied to their criticisms
in a series of court discussions. A generation later Huan K'uan
wrote a lively report of these discussions, the Discourses on Salt and Iron
(the name of the chief monopolies), which may very likely represent, to a
large extent, the principal arguments actually used, although his account
makes much of literary effects. The monopolies on salt and iron were
too productive of revenue to be eliminated, but the monopoly on fermented
liquor was abolished and brewing was permitted to private
persons upon the payment of a tax.
His conduct of foreign affairs
In foreign affairs, Ho Kuang likewise pursued the policies of Emperors
Wen and Ching, that of merely defending the frontiers, instead of sending
expeditions deep into enemy territory. The Huns had been worn out
by Emperor Wu's many military expeditions and were glad to ask for
peace with the Chinese, so that the northern borders had a chance to
recuperate. In dealing with other tribes, Ho Kuang was not so happy.
He manifested the same blindness and carelessness towards weak foreign
tribes as that witnessed in many other excellent administrators.
Unnecessary trouble with the Wu-huan and with Lou-lan resulted. In
78 B.C., Fan Ming-yu was sent out of the northeast border to assist the
Wu-huan against the Huns; when he found the Huns had withdrawn,
he remembered that his orders were not to make the expedition in vain,
so he attacked the friendly Wu-huan, taking more than 6200 heads,
including those of three chieftains. Fan Ming-yu was made a marquis
for this exploit and the Wu-huan thereafter raided the Chinese border.
In the northwest, the subject state of Lou-lan, located around the
present Lop-nor, athwart the road south of the desert, had several times
harassed and killed Chinese envoys. Threatened by both Chinese and
the son who was at the Chinese court had been sentenced to castration
for a crime, so that the Chinese did not dare to send him back, and
another son was made King. This king likewise sent sons as hostages to
the Chinese and Hun courts. When this king died, the son who had been
at the Hun court returned home first and became King. The new King
continued to harass Chinese envoys, and the King's younger brother at
the Chinese court, who was pro-Chinese, reported these matters. Ho
Kuang sent an envoy, Fu Chieh-tzu, with a small following, to assassinate
this King. Fu Chieh-tzu lured the suspicious King to his camp by
exhibiting rich presents, made him drunk, and took him to his tent by a
ruse, where two soldiers stabbed him. The King's followers fled and his
younger brother was brought from China and made King. The new King
was given a lady of the Chinese imperial harem for his wife, and asked
for a Chinese guard to protect him, so that a major with forty soldiers
was sent to encamp in his capital and his state's name was changed to
Shan-shan. Fu Chieh-tzu was given a small marquisate for this exploit.
Two centuries later, Pan Ch'ao successfully imitated his example. In
this way, although Ho Kuang was careful to treat his own people kindly,
he was careless of the means for success outside the border.
| THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty | |