University of Virginia Library

IX. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY

CHAPTER IX

EMPEROR HSIAO-YÜAN

INTRODUCTION

Who wrote this chapter and the next?

Among the textual characteristics of this chapter, the outstanding
feature is the opening sentence in its eulogy (9: 13b), which indicates
plainly that at least the first paragraph of that eulogy was written by
Pan Piao, Pan Ku's father (cf. n. 13.5). Ying Shao says, in a note to
that passage, "The `Annals of Emperors Yüan' and `Ch'eng' were both
composed by Pan Ku's father, Pan Piao." The "Memoir of Pan Piao"
(HHS, Mem. 30 A: 2b) says, "Pan Piao thereupon continued to collect
from matters that had been neglected by the preceding historians, and
from other sources he added different reports, thus composing his Later
Account (Hou-chuan), in several tens of chapters." Ying Shao may have
had access to Pan Piao's work, which is lost today. Pan Ku quotes
large passages from the Historical Memoirs of Szu-ma Ch'ien without
giving any indication that he is quoting; thus if he quoted his father's
composition, he might also have given no apparent sign of doing so.
It is therefore possible that these two chapters were actually composed
by Pan Piao.

Yet the style and characteristics of these two chapters are not different
from those of the preceding and following chapters, except for this one
sentence. (Very occasionally eulogies in other chapters likewise indicate
that they are quotations from Pan Piao's work; cf. n. 13.5 ad finem.) There
is indeed nothing in the whole History of the Former Han Dynasty to
corroborate Ying Shao's statement about these two chapters. Possibly
the first sentences of the eulogy were merely one of the "different reports"
collected by Pan Piao and were simply used by Pan Ku as valuable evidence
for a judgment upon Emperor Yüan's character. Ying Shao may
not have had any further evidence than merely the present text of the
HS, and from this one sentence may have come to the conclusion, that if
Pan Piao wrote anything at all, he must have written at least an account
of the court events in his own time and those of the generation preceding
his. The fact that the HHS does not know how many chapters there
were in Pan Piao's book would seem to indicate that his book did not
circulate. It is not mentioned in the later lists of extant books. Hence

it was probably preserved in Pan Piao's household and was largely incorporated
into the HS, so that there was no reason to desire a copy of
it. The probabilities seem thus to contradict Ying Shao's statement.

The sources of this chapter thus seem to have been largely the same
as those of the preceding ones: a palace annals, the imperial collection
of memorials and edicts, and some events collected by Pan Piao.

The textual loss

There is one sign of injury to the text, namely the broken sentence in
9: 7b. As early as the middle of the third century, Ju Shun noted this
sentence, so that the remainder of the sentence was probably lost almost
at the beginning of the text's history. There does not seem to be any
other such sign of damage to the text in the "Annals."

The probable source of a significant imperial conversation

One further circumstance merits notice from a textual standpoint—
the conversation between Emperor Hsüan and his son reported in 9: 1b.
It does not seem to be in Pan Ku's manner at all and may well have been
one of Pan Piao's "different reports," recounted to him by a relative—
his relatives had the entree into the most intimate imperial circles and
could well have observed this sort of thing (cf. n. 13.5). Or it might have
been stenographically recorded. In 6 A.D., Wang Mang established an
office of court reporters or stenographers, whose duty it was to keep a
record of imperial remarks and deeds for future reference. They were
entitled the Five Clerks at the Foot of the Pillars. Since the emperor
usually decided matters by verbal replies, the courtiers needed a record
of what he said, hence this office was necessary. The title was as old as
the Ch'in and possibly the Chou period (cf. Glossary, sub voce), so that
Wang Mang was probably enacting into law a long established practise.
Many imperial edicts were probably dictations. (There is however, no
evidence in Former Han times of any Right and Left Historiographers,
Tso-shih and Yu-shih, attending the emperor to record his words and
deeds.) The conversation mentioned above contains such a drastic
criticism of Confucianism that sincere Confucians, such as Pan Piao
and his son, would not have fabricated it and would not have included it
in their histories had they not believed they had good evidence for its
genuineness. It sums up very well the difference between Emperors
Hsüan and Yüan. Pan Ku is so careful in his recordings and plainly
depends so much upon written records, that he would hardly have
recorded an imperial conversation for which he had no documentary or
traditional evidence. I think one would be quite safe in holding that

this conversation must have been well attested or else Pan Ku would
have rejected it.

Summary of the reign

Emperor Yüan's reign (49-33 B.C.) was in general a time of peace,
in which began the deterioration that ultimately led to the downfall
of the dynasty. In foreign affairs the most important event
was the brilliant expedition of Ch'en T'ang into Sogdiana; in internal
affairs Confucianism was adopted as the guiding principle of government,
bringing as a consequence administrative economies and a lightening of
the people's burdens. The actual control of the government was, however,
given to imperial maternal relatives and to a favorite eunuch.

Foreign affairs

In foreign affairs, the Huns caused little trouble. Their Shan-yü
Hu-han-hsieh had submitted himself to the Chinese in the preceding reign,
and the Chinese continued to support him with large grants of grain. A
large band of Huns who had been domiciled in Chinese territory escaped
and joined him (9: 3a). The Western Ch'iang in the present Kansu
rebelled when the harvest failed; but they were routed and driven out
of Chinese territory.

Ch'en T'ang's extraordinary expedition into Sogdiana and the treatment
of him by the government

The expedition of Ch'en T'ang against Shan-yü Chih-chih was, next
to the famous march of Li Ling deep into Hun territory, perhaps the
most brilliant Chinese military exploit in the Former Han period after
the time of Hsiang Yü.

Shan-yü Chih-chih was the rival of Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh whom
Emperor Hsüan had aided to establish himself in Mongolia; Chih-chih
consequently fled to the west, fearing a surprise attack. There he made
for himself a kingdom in the region east of Lake Balkash, and defeated
the Wu-sun (in the present Ili valley), who were hereditary Chinese
allies. He held a grudge against the Chinese for protecting his rival,
hence he mistreated and shamed several Chinese envoys sent to him.

The affair of Chih-chih's son deepened the enmity between himself
and the Chinese. His son had been staying at the Chinese court; in
45 B.C., Chih-chih sent an envoy with presents, asking that his son be
returned. The proper thing was for a Chinese envoy to convoy the boy
safely to his father's court, for which purpose Ku Chi was appointed.
Some Chinese officials, however, feared for the safety of a Chinese envoy

and argued that it would be sufficient to escort the boy to the borders.
Ku Chi replied that for the sake of future relations with Chih-chih, the
boy should be convoyed all the way. The matter seems to have been
delayed and debated from 45 to 42 B.C.; perhaps because of this circumstance,
when Ku Chi reached Chih-chih's court with the boy, Chih-chih
killed the Chinese envoy. He knew that he had outraged the Chinese by
this act, and that they would try to take vengenace, so he planned to
flee further west.

Chih-chih's move to Sogdiana was on invitation of the King. The
Greek kingdom in Sogdiana, a state located across the mountains of
central Asia west of the Wu-sun, in the valley of the Jaxartes River,
had collapsed a century previously; at this time the Sogdianans were
much troubled by Wu-sun raids into their territory. Knowing of Chih-chih's
great fame as a victorious fighter and Shan-yü, and remembering
that the Wu-sun had previously been vassals of the Huns, the King of
Sogdiana invited Chih-chih to settle on the eastern borders of Sogdiana,
and serve as a defence against the Wu-sun. An arrangement was made,
and the King of Sogdiana sent some nobles with several thousand camels,
asses, and horses to convoy Chih-chih. Unfortunately for him, a cold
spell caught his troop on the road and only 3,000 people survived the trip
to Sogdiana. Unless Chih-chih was followed by other Huns at other
dates (which does not seem very likely) there was thus in this century no
mass migration of Huns westwards.

The King of Sogdiana and Chih-chih confirmed their alliance by each
marrying the other's daughter. With Sogdianan troops, Chih-chih
attacked and drove away the Wu-sun, penetrating deep into their territory,
so that they left their western borders uninhabited for a thousand li.
Other successes puffed Chih-chih up until he repudiated the King of
Sogdiana as his overlord and killed the King's daughter, setting himself
up as an independent king and building a fortified capital city for himself.
He exacted tribute even from Ferghana and states north of it, which
were Chinese tributaries.

Chih-chih's power was a threat to the Chinese hold on the Tarim basin.
At this time the valley of the Tarim basin (with surrounding regions
west and north) was called by the Chinese "the Western Frontier
Regions." It had been put under the control of a Protector-General with
an Associate. To maintain order, a Chinese military force was established
in a central part of the Tarim basin (usually at Turfan) as an
agricultural colony, under an officer called the Mou-and-Chi Colonel.
(Mou and chi are the central stems and this officer was located in the

center of the Western Frontier Regions.) Each of the cities in the
Western Frontier Regions was also required to contribute a force of levies
at the call of the Emperor. The office of Protector-General had been
established in 67 B.C. and later, in 59 B.C., its rank had been increased
to fully two thousand piculs, a rank the same as that of Grand Administrators
of Commanderies and many court officials. The office of Mouand-Chi
Colonel had been established in 48 B.C.; hence it can be seen
that the Tarim basin did not become an important part of the Chinese
administration until almost the latter half of the first century B.C.

In 38 B.C. Ch'en Tang was sent out to the Tarim basin as Associate
to the new Protector-General, Kan Yen-shou. The former was an ambitious
boy from a poor family, who had been given very minor posts and
had asked for a foreign appointment in order to have an opportunity to
distinguish himself. He showed himself a man of keen insight and paid
much attention to his duties. He soon comprehended the political
situation of central Asia, and saw in Chih-chih a potential source of serious
danger to Chinese interests. Chih-chih was brave and able, and planned
an empire in central Asia athwart the silk route. Although he had
moved out of the regions tributary to the Chinese, his empire would
endanger the western part of the Western Frontier Regions. Hence it
was important to crush him before he had established himself firmly in
Sogdiana.

To attack Chih-chih rapidly required a bold stroke on Ch'en T'ang's
part. Kan Yen-shou agreed with his Associate that Chih-chih must be
crushed, and wanted to follow the usual procedure: memorialize the court
and ask for permission. Ch'en T'ang had, however, gaged the temper of
the Emperor and his court; such a request would bring endless delays,
consultations, and finally a refusal from the pacifistic and narrow-minded
court and ministers. No request was sent. Kan Yen-shou fell ill for a
long period, and Ch'en T'ang seized this opportunity. He boldly forged
an imperial order mobilizing the troops of the cities together with the
garrison of the Mou-and-Chi Colonel. When the troops arrived at the
Protector-General's seat at Wu-lei, in the neighborhood of the present
Chadir, Kan Yen-shou was aghast and rose from his sick bed, intending to
stop the mobilization. Ch'en T'ang, however, intimidated and persuaded
his superior officer to desist. The expeditionary force, numbering
more than 40,000, was organized into six regiments, each with a Colonel.
Following the Chinese practise of having separate columns converge upon
a single objective, three regiments were to take the southern route along
the southern border of the Takla-Makan Desert, cross the Pamirs, and

traverse Ferghana to Sogdiana. The other three regiments, under the
Protector-General himself, with Ch'en T'ang, were to follow the northern
route, north of the desert, gather at Uch-Turfan, cross the mountains
to the Issik Kul, and transverse Wu-sun territory into Sogdiana. Kan
Yen-shou and Ch'en T'ang memorialized the Emperor, accusing themselves
of having forged an imperial order and relating the circumstances,
then set out westwards, where imperial commands to desist could not
reach them for some months.

The column of the Protector-General defeated a Sogdianan raiding
party and arrived in Sogdiana ahead of the other column. The Chinese
troops were kept from robbing the Sogdianans, and a secret arrangement
was made with these people. Then Sogdianan nobles who had grudges
against Chih-chih allowed themselves to be captured, so that the Chinese
were informed of Chih-chih's circumstances. At last the Chinese army
encamped three li from Chih-chih's city.

This city was defended by an earthen wall, outside of which there was
a double wooden palisade and a moat, with towers for archers inside the
city. On the wall several hundred armed men were seen; outside more
than a hundred cavalry rode about; and at both sides of the city gate
there were lined up more than a hundred soldiers arranged "like the
scales of a fish" (probably Roman legionaries from Crassus' army; cf. TP
36, 64-80). When the Hun cavalry rode towards the Chinese, the
disciplined Chinese line awaited the attack with their crossbows ready
cocked, so that the horsemen were repulsed with losses. The Chinese
crossbows outranged the Hun bows, and arrow fire drove the Huns
into their city. Then the Chinese force was marshalled around the city
on all sides; the sound of a drum signalled the attack. They drained the
moat and advanced with great shields in front and lances and crossbows
behind. Some of these crossbows were so heavy that they could only
be cocked by a strong man lying on the ground, with his feet against
the bow and pulling the string with his hands. Such were the bows used
by "skilled soldiers." The Hun archers were outranged, driven from
their towers, and made to take refuge behind the earthen wall. Chih-chih
himself, with his Yen-chih (empress) and several tens of other women,
shot from one of the towers; Chinese arrows hit him in the nose and killed
some of his ladies, so that he too had to descend. Then the Chinese
gathered faggots and set fire to the palisades. During the night, several
hundred Hun cavalry tried to escape, but were shot down by the Chinese.
By midnight the palisade was pierced, and the people within withdrew
inside the earthen wall.

During the night large bands of Sogdianan cavalry surrounded the
Chinese besiegers in response to the call of Chih-chih for succor. They
attacked several times, but unsuccessfully, never pressing their attacks
home. Probably they were only half-hearted, for Chih-chih had offended
the Sogdianans by his high-handed actions. At dawn the Chinese feigned
to attack the Sogdianans, setting fires and making a loud noise with bells,
drums, and shouting, thus frightening the Sogdianan horses and driving
the attackers away. Then the Chinese pushed forward against the city
on all sides under protection of their large shields, and penetrated the
earthen wall. Chih-chih's people, numbering more than a hundred, fled
into his private quarters. The Chinese set fire to this place; in the
fighting, Chih-chih was wounded and killed. The city was looted and
the credentials of Ku Chi and another Chinese envoy were discovered.
Altogether 1518 heads were taken, including those of Chih-chih, his
Yen-chih, his Heir-apparent, and distinguished kings in his following.
One hundred forty-five captives (possibly the Romans) were taken alive,
and more than a thousand persons surrendered. These captives were
distributed among the auxiliaries of the Chinese, while the Romans
were settled at Li-chien in present Kansu. From the above account,
it is possible to estimate the size of Chih-chih's following. There is no
indication in it of any Hun mass migration into Asia west of the central
mountains. In the attack, all Huns were probably killed and those taken
alive were Sogdianans and others who had joined Chih-chih.

The foregoing is the most vivid and detailed account of military
operations to be found in the HS. It is now found in the "Memoir of
Ch'en T'ang," and was probably taken from Ch'en T'ang's report to
Emperor Yüan, together with the maps of his route, adorned with paintings,
which accompanied the report and which delighted the court and
imperial harem. (It is translated by J. J. L. Duyvendak in T'oung Pao,
vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 259-261 and by de Groot in Die Hunnen, pp. 230-7.)
His expedition shows the power of the Chinese governmental organization
at the time, that the Chinese should have been able, without drawing
upon the central government, to make an expedition to such a vast
distance and capture a fortified town, exacting vengeance for a murdered
envoy.

One important reason for this success was that the Chinese enjoyed a
decided material advantage over the barbarians. Many years later, in
the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, another Protector-General of the Western
Frontier Regions was besieged by the Wu-sun. When he sent for help,
Ch'en T'ang was summoned from private life to advise the Emperor. On

his expedition he had suffered from cold, so that he was not able to
straighten his arms, hence he was specially exempted from the usual
prostrations when he entered the imperial presence. Ch'en T'ang said
that the barbarians' swords had been blunt and their bows and
crossbows were not good, so that one Chinese soldier had been equal to
five barbarian soldiers; that by this time the barbarians had secured some
of the Chinese skill, but even yet one Chinese was worth three barbarians.
Mr. C. W. Bishop suggested that perhaps these barbarians, like the
Germans conquered by Julius Caesar, did not know how to temper iron,
with the result that their weapons were soft. Probably the barbarians'
crossbows did not have the efficient Han crossbow trigger mechanism,
the secret of which, (a triple compound lever) was closely guarded and
not permitted to leave China, so that it did not reach even medieval
Europe. Without such a mechanism, strong crossbows would not be
practical. Chinese crossbow bolts could drive defenders from a city
wall. Chinese mechanical skill undoubtedly played a large part in their
military conquests.

How did the central government treat its servants who had achieved a
notable victory? Similarly to the way governments in Europe have
sometimes treated those who conquered colonial territory for them.
Emperor Yüan was inwardly elated and proud of Ch'en T'ang's achievement,
the most brilliant in several reigns. But Shih Hsien, Emperor
Yüan's favorite eunuch, who controlled the government, bore a grudge
against Kan Yen-shou. Shih Hsien had wanted to marry his elder sister
to Kan Yen-shou, but the latter had refused. The meticulous Confucian
Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang Heng, and the Confucian Grandee
Secretary, P'an Yen-shou, were mortally offended because the imperial
order summoning the expedition had been forged. Thus the influential
ministers were united against Ch'en T'ang. In the spring of 35 B.C.,
the head of Shan-yü Chih-chih arrived in Ch'ang-an, with the suggestion
that it be hung up at the gate of the Lodge in Ch'ang-an for Barbarian
Princes, in order to show them that even if a person who had outraged
the Chinese should fly to the most distant parts, he would be pursued
and executed. But the ministers memorialized that, according to the
Confucian rules for the seasons, winter was the time for executions and
spring was the time to cover skeletons and bury carcases, so that the
head should not be hung up. The generals at the Chinese court, however,
replied that it should be hung up for ten days and then buried. Ch'en
T'ang was accused of avarice and of having sent into China illegally-obtained
wealth. The Colonel Director of the Retainers, whose duty

it was to investigate imperial officials in the capital and neighboring
commandaries, ordered that Ch'en T'ang's conduct should be investigated.
Normally Ch'en T'ang would have been arrested and imprisoned;
Ch'en T'ang replied, asking if the Colonel was avenging the death of
Chih-chih. Emperor Yüan was shocked and immediately sent out
officers and soldiers, ordering the cities to feast Ch'en T'ang's troops.
Shih Hsien and K'uang Heng, however, told the Emperor at a banquet
that since Kan Yen-shou and Ch'en T'ang had raised their army by
forging an imperial order, they would be fortunate not to be executed,
and, if they were rewarded by being given noble ranks and estates, their
illegal acts would be repeated by later envoys, thus causing trouble
for the government. Although Emperor Yüan was delighted at the great
military victory achieved in his reign, he did not want to go contrary to
the advice of his favorite eunuch and Lieutenant Chancellor, so the
matter dragged along for a long time. In 33 B.C., Kan Yen-shou was
at last given a full marquisate with a small estate, and Ch'en T'ang was
made a Kuan-nei Marquis. They were each given a grant of a hundred
catties of actual gold and official promotion. That same year the Hun
Shan-yu Hu-han-hsieh came to pay court to Emperor Yüan to thank him
for having annihilated his rival.

When, a month later, Emperor Ch'eng came to the throne, K'uang
Heng memorialized that Ch'en T'ang had not acted correctly towards
the barbarians; he had stolen the treasures he secured in Sogdiana, and
although he had done these things before a general amnesty had been
declared, yet it was not proper that he should occupy an official position.
So he was tried and dismissed. Later he was accused and condemned
on a capital charge; Emperor Ch'eng freed him from punishment, but
took away his noble rank and made him a common soldier. The imperial
ministers had long memories for an offence against their pride.

The complete victory of Confucianism

Perhaps the most important circumstance in Emperor Yüan's rule
was his complete and whole-hearted acceptance of Han Confucianism.
The reason for this adherence is to be found in the circumstance that his
teachers had been Confucians. Since Confucian scholarship had made
Confucians the masters of knowledge, they became the teachers of youth,
and in due time became the counsellors of emperors. The criticism of
Emperor Hsüan's rule by his Heir-apparent and of Confucianism by
Emperor Hsüan in the conversation at the beginning of this chapter is
highly significant.

In accordance with his convictions, Emperor Yüan selected Confucians
to head his government. His Lieutenant Chancellors were Yu Ting-kuo,
who had been appointed by Emperor Hsüan, Wei Hsüan-ch'eng, and
K'uang Heng. Wei Hsüan-ch'eng had participated in the discussions in
the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion as an authority on the Book of Odes. K'uang
Heng was also an authority on the Book of Odes; he had been recommended
to Emperor Hsüan, but that Emperor did not care for scholarship
in government, and had sent him back to his post in P'ing-yüan Commandery.
The future Emperor Yüan had an interview with him at this
time and liked him. Perhaps this interview led to the conversation
recounted at the beginning of this "Annals."

Because capable officials were first tried out in various ministerial
positions and regularly occupied the post of Grandee Secretary before
becoming Lieutenant Chancellor, some prominent Confucians died in
office or retired because of age before the position of Lieutenant Chancellor
became vacant. Hence Pan Ku includes Kung Yü and Hsieh Kuang-tê
in his list of influential and distinguished Confucian ministers (9: 14a).
The other Grandee Secretaries were of such negligible importance that
they are not even mentioned in the "Annals." Hsieh Kuang-tê had also
participated in the discussions of the classics in the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion
as an authority on the Book of Odes. Perhaps the most influential of
these Confucians was Kung Yü, who suggested a number of reforms,
some of which were put into effect after his death by K'uang Heng.

Visitations and calamities

During this reign, calamities were numerous, especially at the beginning
of the period. In the "Annals" for the reign, calamities are recorded in
almost every year. There does seem to have been a succession of favorable
seasons in Emperor Hsüan's reign and a succession of droughts at
the beginning of Emperor Yüan's reign. It is, moreover, likely that
many of these calamities are recorded because the Confucians emphasized
them as a means of expressing a veiled criticism of the reign, especially
of the power exercised by Shih Hsien, and as a means of pointing
out the need for governmental reform. Tung Chung-shu had taught
that when something is wrong in the government, Heaven sends a visitation
(tsai); if matters are not corrected, Heaven then sends a prodigy
(yi) to terrify the culprit. In themselves, these droughts, floods, fires,
frosts, comets, eclipses, and earthquakes are not improbable; the unusual
number recorded in this reign is very likely due to the fact that such
events were usually somewhat neglected and were emphasized chiefly

when people, because of their dissatisfaction with the government,
expected them. Conversely, in a good and prosperous reign, such as
those of Emperors Hsüan and Chang, people expected auspicious visitations,
hence saw and reported supernatural birds, sweet dew, etc. These
visitations were thus probably all natural events, some of which (e.g.
the supernatural birds) were merely misinterpretations of what had
actually been seen. What made them visitations was merely the interpretation
put upon them in accordance with Confucian teaching.

Because of the Confucian doctrine that Heaven sends warnings to the
ruler by means of portents, Emperor Yüan in his edicts (probably drafted
for him by his Confucian ministers) asked for explanations of these
events, seeking to know where the fault lay, and intelligent Confucians
took the opportunity to suggest changes in the government. Some
blamed the portents upon the machinations of Shih Hsien, but Emperor
Yüan would not accept such interpretations. In accordance with
Confucian doctrine, these natural events became the occasion for governmental
reforms.

Governmental reforms and economies

The Confucians who succeeded in gaining Emperor Yüan's ear showed
themselves, like the Confucians in the Discourse on Salt and Iron, interested
in what would benefit the common people. Kung Yü pointed out
to Emperor Yüan the expense and luxury of the court, contrasting it with
the simplicity of ancient times and the restraint in Han times before
Emperor Wu, when the imperial harem did not have more than ten-odd
women and the imperial stable had only a hundred-odd horses. Since
that time, he said, luxury had been the rule and the courtiers had vied
with each other in luxuriousness. In Ch'i (the present Shantung),
several thousands of workmen were kept busy preparing fine silks and
garments in the imperial ateliers, at a cost of several hundred million
cash per year. In Shu and Kuang-han Commanderies (the present
Szechuan), over fifty million cash were expended yearly at the imperial
workshops for gold and silver vessels. The common people were suffering
from famine and even practising cannibalism, while the horses in
the imperial stables were fed and suffered from obesity, the imperial
harem was overflowing with women, and the imperial musicians were too
numerous. Kung Yü urged that this expense be reduced as much as
two-thirds, that only twenty-odd women should be retained in the
harem; the imperial concubines of deceased emperors who were being
kept at the imperial tombs should be sent home to be married (except

for the several hundred women at the tomb of Emperor Hsüan), only
several tens of horses should be retained in the imperial stables, and many
of the imperial parks should be given to the people for cultivation. With
the encouragement of Shih Hsien, Emperor Yüan accepted most of this
advice and reduced the imperial expenses.

After Kung Yü became Grandee Secretary, he continued making suggestions
for economy in the government. He pointed out that the annual
head tax upon children, beginning in their third year, called the
poll-money, led to much infanticide, and suggested that the poll-money
be not required until a child was in its seventh year. The Emperor
approved. He pointed out that the practise established by Emperor Wu
of allowing money commutation for crimes encouraged crime and disorder.
In accordance with the Confucian policy of esteeming ancient
practises, Kung Yü also pointed out that the free use of money in Han
times, different from the ancient payments in kind, allowed persons to
live without farming, and the advantages of trade led many to leave
agriculture, reducing the supply of food. The government monopoly
of copper mining and coinage and of iron production employed a hundred
thousand convicts. Since each farmer feeds seven persons, Kung Yü
argued that 700,000 persons a year go hungry because these persons were
diverted from agriculture. Merchants charged 20% interest and did
not pay the land tax or the tax on produce, whereas farmers paid both,
with the result that less than half of the common people were farmers.
He urged that the offices for the manufacture of objects using jewels,
gold, and silver, and those for coinage be abolished; the use of money be
done away with; merchants should not be allowed to buy or sell; only the
land should be taxed; and that taxes, salaries, and imperial grants should
all be in cloth or grain, in order that the people should be compelled to
return to agriculture and obtain the advantages of ancient times. The
conservative Confucians' opposition to a growing money economy is
well exemplified in the above memorial. Fortunately Emperor Yüan
did not adopt this proposal; when Wang Mang attempted to put Confucian
reforms into effect, disorder and calamity followed.

As a result of the foregoing and other suggestions, Emperor Yüan
effected many economies. He disestablished the palaces and lodges in
Shang-lin Park that were rarely used. He did away with the guard at
Chien-chang and Kan-ch'üan Palaces, and reduced by half the guard at
the temples to vassal kings. The number of imperial musicians was
lessened, the expense of the imperial table was diminished, the imperial
stables, kennels, and menagerie were reduced, and imperial gardens,

parks, ponds, and fields were given to the common people. The competitive
games, the imperial ateliers in Ch'i, and the government granaries
which purchased grain with tax money, instead of having grain transported
to the capital, were abolished. Even the government monopoly of
salt and iron was abolished, although four years later the need for income
compelled its reestablishment. Thus real economies were made in
governmental expenditures and a beginning was made in the direction of
the economic reforms so extensively attempted by Wang Mang.

Emperor Yüan also relieved his people of other burdens. Capital
punishment was lightened in seventy matters. Guarantors for their
relatives (except in the case of high officials) were no longer to be punished
along with those persons whom they had guaranteed. Witnesses were
not to be called up at times when they had to work their fields. Arrangement
was made that the grandparents, parents, and brothers of those in
the imperial palaces could be registered at the palace gates, enter the
palace, and visit their relatives within. No funerary town was established
at Emperor Yüan's tomb. Grants of tax remission, amnesties,
ranks, silk, etc. were made at times of drought and calamity and at other
occasions. When the aborigines in the southern part of the island of
Hainan revolted, the commandery of Chu-yai was abolished rather than
burden the people with a struggle to reconquer such a barbarian region.

Enactment of fundamental features in the imperial ancestral cult

Among the most expensive features of the government were the
imperial ancestral temples. Emperor Kao had ordered his vassal kings
each to establish a Temple of the Grand Emperor (his father) at
their capitals. The commanderies and kingdoms which Emperor Kao
(entitled the Eminent Founder), Emperor Hsiao-wen (entitled the Grand
Exemplar), and Emperor Hsiao-wu (entitled the Epochal Exemplar)
had visited, each established temples to those emperors, so that there
were 167 imperial ancestral temples in the commanderies and kingdoms.
In the capital commanderies, nine emperors (including the Grand
Emperor and the Deceased Imperial Father Tao, the father of Emperor
Hsüan) were worshipped. Each one had his funerary chamber (in which
food was offered four times a day), his temple (in which sacrifices were
made 25 times a year), and his side-hall (in which sacrifices were made
at each of the four seasons). There were also thirty other places of
worship for imperial personages, such as the Kao-tsu's mother, his eldest
brother and elder sister, the Empress Dowagers, the grandfather of
Emperor Hsüan, etc. The cost of the food used in this worship was

24,455 cash per year; 45,129 guards were employed in addition to 12,417
intercessors, butchers, and musicians, without counting those who
reared and cared for prospective sacrificial victims. Kung Yü memorialized
that anciently the Son of Heaven maintained only seven shrines:
those of the six immediately preceding ancestors and of the founder of
the house. The tablets of other remote ancestors were removed to the
temple of the founder of the house and worshipped along with his tablet.
Kung Yü also said that the imperial ancestral temples in the commanderies
and kingdoms were not in accordance with ancient ritual
practises. He proposed disestablishing them, discontinuing the separate
sacrifices to Emperors Hsiao-hui and Hsiao-ching at the imperial
capital, and combining these sacrifices with those to Emperor Kao.
Thus the Confucian exaltation of ancient practises meant a great simplification
and economy in Han times.

Emperor Yüan agreed with the suggestion, but Kung Yü died in 43
B.C., before the matter could be discussed and enacted. In 40 B.C.,
Emperor Yüan ordered a discussion by Wei Hsüan-ch'eng and sixty-nine
other eminent Confucians. They approved Kung Yü's suggestions, and
the changes were made. Thereafter only the five immediately preceding
generations of imperial ancestors were worshipped separately, except
that the separate worship of the Founder and the two Exemplars was
continued.

Such drastic abolition of almost two hundred ancestral shrines could
not but arouse doubt in an age when even Confucians were superstitious.
After the death of Wei Hsüan-ch'eng in 36 B.C., Emperor Yüan was
seriously ill and dreamed that his ancestors blamed him for having abolished
their temples in the commanderies and kingdoms. When his
younger brother dreamed the same thing, Emperor Yüan asked his
Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang Heng, whether the temples
had not better be restored. K'uang Heng, true to the Confucian
exaltation of ancient practises, replied that they should not. But when
Emperor Yüan had been ill for a long time and did not recover, K'uang
Heng became afraid, took the blame upon himself, and prayed to the
emperors whose temples had been abolished. In 34 B.C., after Emperor
Yüan had been ill for successive years, the abolished temples were
restored. Immediately after Emperor Yüan's death in 33 B.C., K'uang
Heng, however, memorialized that these temples should be again abolished,
and it was done. The custom of worshipping only the five immediately
preceding ancestors began its popularity at this time. Thus

the Confucian veneration of ancient practises proved a great boon to
the people and government.

The "Ordinances for the Months"

During this reign the ordinances for the months, a Confucian superstition,
began to be popular. It seems to have first received government
recognition through the efforts of Wei Hsiang in the preceding reign.
This belief is based upon the ancient conceit that there is a sympathy
between the stars, the four seasons, the five directions, the five Lords on
High, the yin and yang, the weather, etc., and certain human activities,
so that if the wrong activities are performed in any month, calamities of
unseasonable weather, poor crops, pestilence, or something of the sort
will follow. This doctrine probably arose out of the demand for an
explanation of unseasonable weather, earthquakes, droughts, etc.
Already in 197 B.C. there had been drafted a set of rules for the
colors of imperial robes in the various seasons (the weather depended
upon the imperial actions). Grants and favors were bestowed in
the spring; executions and military expeditions were performed in
winter, etc. Under Wei Hsiang's influence, four Confucian scholars
had been appointed, one to be an authority on each season, to advise
the emperor what were the proper activities for that season. This sort
of study developed into the "Ordinances for the Months (Yüeh-ling)",
Chapter IV of the Book of Rites. (This chapter is also found, with
slight modifications, in the Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu, but the latter book was
worked over in the iii cent. A.D., so that the repetition of this chapter
in both books may mean little.) Thus Confucian scholarship was
turned to the direction of pseudo-science.

A second civil service test added

The civil service examination system was developed in this period
by an enactment that the Superintendant of the Imperial Household
should rank the imperial retinue yearly according to a set of Confucian
virtues (9: 7a & n. 7.5). Since the commonest way of entering the
bureaucracy was for prospective officials to spend a term as members of
the imperial retinue (cf. 5: n. 9.9), in order that the emperor might become
acquainted with them, and since the Superintendant of the Imperial
Household was in charge of such persons at the imperial court, this
development was logical. The bureaucracy had grown to such a size
that even an industrious emperor could no longer know individually all
the prospective officials. Hence this second and moral test was added
after the first and literary examination.

Imperial adoption of the Confucian principle that one's relatives
should be favored

Emperor Yüan thus whole-heartedly adopted Confucianism and allowed
its tenets markedly to influence his government, choosing distinguished
Confucian scholars for his highest civil officials;—the army
was, however, kept under the control of his maternal relatives. The day
before he died, Emperor Hsüan had appointed Shih Kao as Commanderin-chief.
This man was a maternal first cousin of Emperor Hsüan's
father and the head of the Shih clan (that of Emperor Hsüan's paternal
grandmother), who had reared Emperor Hsüan. When Shih Kao
retired because of age in 43 B.C., this position was given to Wang Chieh5,
a maternal first cousin of Emperor Hsüan, and after Wang Chieh5's death
in 41 B.C., it was given to Hsü Chia, a paternal first cousin of Emperor
Yüan's mother, who held it until 30 B.C. Thus the control of the
army was given to the clans of Emperor Yüan's great-grandmother,
grandmother, and mother, successively.

This practise of giving high position and great power to the maternal
relatives of the emperor is justified by Confucian teaching. The Book of
History, in its second paragraph, declares that as one of the essential
acts in his rule, Yao (who was admired extravagantly by Confucius
[cf. Analects VIII, xix]) favored his nine sets of relatives. Mencius
declares that the favoring of one's relatives (ch'in-ch'in) constitutes
benevolence (jen) (VI, B, iii, 2). In the Doctrine of the Mean (XX,
13, 14), which probably represents Later Han conceptions, Confucius
is represented as advocating this virtue as fundamental and as saying,
"To exalt their positions, to make their emoluments large, and to share
their likes and dislikes is the way in which to encourage [people in the
virtue of] favoring their relatives."

The Chinese phrase, ch'in-ch'in, may be interpreted "love one's
relatives" as well as "favor one's relatives." An idealist like Tung Chung-shu
might maintain, "A true king continually takes as his ideal the loving
and benefiting of all under Heaven," but this statement must not be
interpreted to mean the equal love of all people. Confucius had set
bounds to the sage's regard for others when he rejected the principle
of love for one's enemies. In practice, the principle of loving one's
relatives and others becomes the loving of one's relatives more than others,
which slips, by imperceptible degrees, into favoring one's relatives.
Probably Mencius, with his high moral ideals, meant only the first of
these interpretations. Thus favoring one's relatives is a cardinal Confucian
virtue.

Successive rebellions had led the Han dynasty to the set practise of
keeping its paternal relatives, the members of the Liu clan, at a distance
from the imperial capital, giving them small kingdoms or marquisates,
but depriving them of any power in the imperial government. Members
of the imperial house and people from kingdoms ruled by members of
the imperial house were not supposed even to hold high office in the
imperial capital or in neighboring commanderies. This rule was, however,
not always enforced. An exception was regularly made for the
Superintendant of the Imperial House, who was always a member of
the imperial house. Membership in the imperial house lapsed after
a certain number of generations (nowhere definitely specified). The
attempted seizure of the throne by the Lü clan after the death of the
Empress Dowager née Lü in 180 B.C. led the next two rulers, who were
not wholeheartedly Confucian, to restrict the powers of their maternal
relatives. Emperor Wu, however, broke with this wise policy. Dynastic
custom had kept the Han emperors from giving governmental power
into the hands of their paternal relatives; consequently the Confucian
virtue of "favoring one's relatives" was turned to be applied specifically
to relatives on the distaff side, especially those of the Empresses Dowager,
of the Empresses, and of favorite concubines. Emperor Wu appointed
the relatives of his favorite women to high position. His most successful
generals, Wei Ch'ing and Ho Ch'ü-ping, were a half-brother and a
nephew, respectively, of his favorite concubine, whom he made his
Empress. Ho Kuang, the man whom he selected to be virtual regent
for his successor, and who actually ruled the country for nineteen years,
was a half-brother of Wei Ch'ing. When Ho Kuang died, Emperor
Hsüan at first pursued the policy of continuing in high office Ho Kuang's
clan and those of Ho Kuang's group who had assisted him in bringing
Emperor Hsüan to the throne. But the rebellion of the Ho clan made
him look to other persons for support. Emperor Hsüan, when young,
had been reared in the family of his maternal grandmother, the Shih
clan; when the disloyalty of the Ho clan was discovered, Emperor Hsüan
of course turned for support to this clan and to his wife's relatives, the
Hsü clan, for their interests were naturally bound up with his own.
The Liu clan, his paternal relatives, were potential rivals for the throne.
Thus the necessity of finding some group in the court whose unswerving
loyalty could be counted upon because their interests were bound up
with those of the occupant of the throne led to the exaltation of the
imperial relatives on the distaff side. Emperor Yüan, under the combined
influence of his father's precedent and of Confucian teaching,

continued this practise of giving the highest positions to his relatives.
Emperor Ch'eng also continued it, and finally, when later a child emperor
had kept one particular clan in power for a long period, this clan,
in the person of Wang Mang, overthrew the dynasty.

The practise of favoring the ruler's maternal relatives and relatives
by marriage has of course sometimes been influential in non-Confucian
lands, often with similar results, so that Confucianism cannot be charged
with initiating such a practise. What Confucianism did in China was
to afford a philosophical and ethical justification for this practise, with
the result that criticism of the practise could be stifled and the practise
could be urged as a duty by interested parties upon rulers who might not
otherwise desire to trust their relatives too much. Thus Confucianism
encouraged nepotism and removed the bulwark afforded by common
sense against the abuse of imperial relationships. The inevitable result
was the eventual downfall of the dynasty. Confucian idealism was thus
the most important contributory factor in the downfall of the Former
Han dynasty as well as that of the Later Han dynasty.

Eunuch control of the government; Confucian attacks upon and eventual
victory over the eunuchs

The actual control of governmental business during this reign was
neither in the hands of the Confucian scholars in high civil position nor
of the imperial maternal relatives in control of the army, but in the
hands of Emperor Yüan's favorite eunuch, Shih Hsien. The custom
of employing eunuchs as imperial private secretaries was begun by
Emperor Wu. He spent much of his leisure in the imperial harem, to
which ordinary persons were not admitted; hence he needed eunuchs
for his private secretaries. They were entitled Palace Writers, and
should be distinguished from the Masters of Writing, who were noneunuch
imperial private secretaries.

At the end of the previous reign, when Emperor Hsüan was dying,
he selected his maternal cousin, Shih Kao, together with the two learned
Confucians who were the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor to the Heir-apparent,
Hsiao Wang-chih and Chou K'an, to be the persons who should
guide the Heir. The two Confucians were concurrently made Intendants
of Affairs of the Masters of Writing, usually the key position in
the government.

Hsiao Wang-chih was perhaps the most learned and famous Confucian
scholar of the time. He had been highly honored and influential under
Emperor Hsüan and, while he had been the future Emperor's Tutor, had

secured the deep respect of Emperor Yüan. Now that this thoroughly
Confucian Emperor was on the throne, Hsiao Wang-chih thought that
the opportunity had come for introducing Confucian reforms into the
government. His clique included the famous Confucian, Liu Hsiang4,
who was Superintendant of the Imperial House.

The rise of the eunuch Shih Hsien to a position of influence came about
when Shih Kao found his power checked by that of Hsiao Wang-chih, who
had been made General of the Van. Shih Kao was jealous of the favor
shown by Emperor Yüan to these Confucians and found two influential
Palace Writers, Hung Kung and Shih Hsien (the latter was no relative of
Shih Kao), who were glad to league with him. They were both men
who in their youth had fallen foul of the numerous and involved laws
enacted by Emperor Wu, had been made eunuchs, and had been selected,
first as members of the eunuch Yellow Gate, and later as Palace Writers.
Hung Kung proved capable in the law, knew historical precedents, and
was skilled in preparing memorials, so was made Chief Palace Writer.
Shih Hsien was made a Supervisor, and, when Hung Kung died several
years after Emperor Yüan came to the throne, Shih Hsien was promoted
to be Chief Palace Writer.

Emperor Yüan was quite ignorant concerning the mechanics of running
a government, whereas Hung Kung and Shih Hsien had long occupied
their positions, knew how to handle affairs, and were well acquainted
with the laws. Hence Emperor Yüan soon found them indispensable.
He was ill and did not attend to government business, giving his time to
music. Shih Hsien had no outside connections, was attentive and
reliable, and was able to anticipate Emperor Yüan's wishes, so Emperor
Yüan entrusted him with making decisions in great and small affairs.
Shih Kao in the court and Shih Hsien in the imperial private chambers
were thus quite able to check and defeat for a time the Confucian influence
(later they made terms with it).

Hsiao Wang-chih recognized the source of his opposition, and proposed
to Emperor Yüan that eunuchs should not be employed in such a confidential
and important capacity as imperial private secretaries, for
which only unmutilated persons should be used. He urged that the
employment of eunuchs in such a capacity was not an old constitutional
practise, and that it was contrary to the Confucian principle (now found
in the Book of Rites, I, i, iv, 52; Legge, I, 90) that a person who had been
punished should not be allowed to be by the side of a prince.

Hsiao Wang-chih, Chou K'an, and Liu Hsiang4 went so far as to discuss
the proposal of asking the Emperor to dismiss his imperial maternal

relatives. This proposal leaked out, and, before they had said anything
to the Emperor, the imperial relatives had a Confucian (whom Hsiao
Wang-chih had failed to promote) slander the Confucian clique. The
matter was brought to Emperor Yüan's attention on a day when Hsiao
Wang-chih was on leave from the court; Hung Kung was appointed to
investigate the charge. He reported that Hsiao Wang-chih, Chou K'an,
and Liu Hsiang4 had formed a cabal to promote one another, slander
high officials, and degrade the imperial maternal relatives, in order to
seize the power themselves, which constituted disloyalty and inhumanity,
and he begged that they be given in charge of the Commandant of
Justice. Emperor Yüan had just come to the throne and did not know
that a summons to the Commandant of Justice meant imprisonment,
so he approved the request. When he later asked for Chou K'an and
Liu Hsiang4, he was astounded to be told that they were in prison,
whereupon he had them immediately released. Hsiao Wang-chih,
because he was General of the Van, seems not to have been imprisoned
at this time. Hung Kung and Shih Hsien now had Shih Kao memorialize
that since these persons had been in prison, they should be pardoned and
dismissed from their offices. In 47 B.C., Emperor Yüan accordingly
dismissed the Confucians from their posts.

Several months later he recalled Hsiao Wang-chih and ennobled him,
intending eventually to make him the Lieutenant Chancellor. Hung
Kung and Shih Hsien, however, reminded Emperor Yüan that Hsiao
Wang-chih was proud and that he believed he would never be brought
to task for what he did, so that it was necessary to send him to prison in
order to humble his pride. Emperor Yüan feared that Hsiao Wang-chih's
pride would never allow him to be taken to prison, but they replied
that if he were sent to prison on a petty charge, he would have nothing to
fear. So Emperor Yüan agreed to their plan. Shih Hsien and the
others thereupon ordered the police to surround Hsiao Wang-chih's
residence, and a messenger gave him the warrant for his arrest. He
wanted to commit suicide, but his wife stopped him, telling him that the
Emperor did not want his death. A disciple, who loved resolution,
however encouraged his master to be firm and to avoid disgrace by
ending his life. Hsiao Wang-chih sighed that for him, a former General,
to go to prison in order to save his life would be shameful, so he drank
poison. Emperor Yüan was shocked at what he had done. He wept
and would not eat. He wanted to punish Shih Hsien and the others
because they had not advised him concerning the consequences of his
act. They begged his pardon and explained at length, and the matter
blew over. Thus they disposed of their most dangerous enemy.

Whenever there was a calamity, Emperor Yüan would ask his subjects
to explain to him what was to blame, and several good Confucians blamed
the anger of Heaven upon Shih Hsien's machinations. Each time,
Shih Hsien heard about it and managed to have the complainant caught
up and punished on some crime, so that this eunuch came to be feared
greatly by the officials in the capital. A famous Confucian authority on
the Book of Changes, Ching Fang, secured Emperor Yüan's ear and
pointed out to him that the ancient rulers who had wicked ministers had
been warned by a succession of calamities such as those that occurred in
the reign of Emperor Yüan. Then he drew the conclusion that the person
at fault was the Emperor's most intimate and confidential advisor, whom
Emperor Yüan confessed was Shih Hsien. Nevertheless, Emperor Yüan
could not spare his favorite eunuch. Shih Hsien soon had Ching Fang
promoted to a position away from the capital. He discovered that
Ching Fang had repeated to others what the Emperor had once said to
him in the imperial private apartments, which was a capital crime.
Thereupon he had Ching Fang executed.

Shih Hsien was afraid that Emperor Yüan would eventually listen
to criticism of him, so he kept searching out his critics relentlessly
and had them executed for one crime or another. People generally
said that he had killed Hsiao Wang-chih. When the famous Confucian,
Kung Yü, came to the court, Shih Hsien hence purposely sent someone
to tell him that he wished him well and wanted to aid him, and recommended
him to Emperor Yüan. Thus Kung Yü eventually became
Grandee Secretary and was able to bring about many reforms. Then
people ceased to believe that Shih Hsien had killed Hsiao Wang-chih.

Before Emperor Yüan died, Shih Hsien, who was afraid of punishment
after his patron's death, resigned his office as Palace Writer and took a
low position in the harem. Nevertheless, he was still highly favored by
the Emperor and was given large grants. He was active in bringing
Emperor Ch'eng to the throne, and was rewarded by the latter with
a high official position. The Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang
Heng, and the Grandee Secretary, Chang T'an, now dared to bring
Shih Hsien's evil deeds to the attention of Emperor Ch'eng. Shih
Hsien was dismissed, exiled, and sent back to his home with his wife and
son. On the way he would not eat because of worry, became ill, and died.
The office of Palace Writer was abolished in order to keep eunuchs out
of government affairs. Thereafter, eunuchs had little influence in the
government until Later Han times.

An emperor with such a pitifully inadequate knowledge of human
nature and of the governmental machinery as that displayed by Emperor

Yüan can hardly be expected to have been an active force in government.
He could only be pulled about by the various personalities who managed
to get his attention. Emperor Yüan's reforms were accordingly not his
own deeds, but the creations of the persons by whom he was surrounded,
and even those achieved by Kung Yü were only enacted because Emperor
Yüan's eunuch, Shih Hsien, for selfish reasons, assisted Kung Yü.
Emperor Hsüan had disliked his Heir-apparent and had failed to train
him in the business of government. Before his death, Emperor Hsüan
had wanted to change his Heir, but was dissuaded. The untrained
Emperor Yüan was little more than a dignified puppet in the hands of
those around him.

Confucianism was thus a predisposing cause of the favoritism shown
to imperial maternal relatives and of the very sordid influence wielded
by eunuchs, and was both hampered and aided by that influence. Some
Confucians dared to attack this eunuch influence and suffered death;
other Confucians made peace with it as long as it was unassailable, but
overthrew it as soon as the coming of another Emperor made successful
attack feasible.

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]

[Chapter] IX
THE NINTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Yüan

Emperor Hsiao-yüan was the Heir-apparent of
Emperor Hsüan. His mother was entitled Empress
Kung-ai [née] Hsü. At the time when Emperor
Hsüan was [still] an unimportant person, [the future
Emperor Yüan] was born as a commoner. When

he was in his second year, Emperor Hsüan ascended
the throne [and began his own reign],[3] and when
[the future Emperor Yüan] was in his eighth year,
he was made Heir-apparent.

When he had grown up, he was condescending and
kind and liked Confucian scholars. He saw that
there were many written statutes among those employed
by Emperor Hsüan; that his [father's] officials
ruled their subjects in accordance with [the

principle of] circumstances and names;[6] and that
[his father's] great courtiers, Yang Yün, Kai[8] K'uan-jao
and others, had been sentenced for critical and
derogatory sayings, which were made crimes, so
that they were executed. [Hence] once when he was
waiting upon [Emperor Hsüan] at a banquet, he
said, with a deferential bearing, "Your Majesty is
too severe in applying the laws. It would be proper
to employ Confucian masters [in your government]."

Emperor Hsüan changed color and said, "The
Han dynasty has its own institutes and laws, which
are variously [taken from] the ways of the Lords
Protector and the [ideal] Kings.[10] How could I
trust[11] purely to moral instruction and use [the kind
of] government [exercised by] the Chou [dynasty]?
The vulgar Confucians moreover do not understand
what is appropriate to the time; they love to approve
the ancient and disapprove the present, making
people to be confused about names and realities, so
that they do not know what they should cherish.
How could they be capable of being entrusted with
responsibility?" Thereupon he sighed and said,
"The one who will confound my dynasty will be my
Heir-apparent."

From this [time on], he became distant to his
Heir-apparent and loved [another son], the King of
Huai-yang, [Liu Ch'in]. He said, "The King of
Huai-yang is intelligent concerning, has examined
minutely, and loves the laws. He is worthy to be
my son." Since, moreover, the King's mother, the
Favorite Beauty [née] Chang, was favored the most,
the Emperor had the intention of making the King
of Huai-yang [his heir] in place of the Heir-apparent.
But when [the Emperor] had been young, he had
depended upon the Hsü clan, [that of the Heir-apparent's
maternal grandfather], together with
whom [the Emperor] had arisen from an unimportant
station, hence in the end he was not [willing] to turn
his back on it [by changing his Heir-apparent].

In [the year-period] Huang-lung, the first year,
in the twelfth month, Emperor Hsüan died; on [the
day] kuei-szu, the Heir-apparent ascended the imperial
throne and was announced in the Temple of
[Emperor] Kao. He honored the Empress Dowager
[née Shang-kuan] with the title, Grand Empress
Dowager, and the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Empress [née
Wang] with the title, Empress Dowager.[19]

In [the year-period] Ch'u-yüan, the first year, in
the spring, the first month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou,
Emperor Hsiao-hsüan was buried in the Tu Tomb,[22]
and there were granted: to the vassal kings, the
princesses, and the full marquises, actual gold;[23] and
to officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs and
under, cash and silk; to each proportionately. A
general amnesty [was granted] to the empire.

In the third month, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the
older brother of the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Empress Dowager
[née Wang], the Palace Attendant and General
of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Wang Shun4a, as
Marquis of An-p'ing, and on [the day] ping-wu he
established the Empress née Wang [as Empress].
The public [plowed] fields, together with the parks
which could be dispensed with in [the districts of] the
Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies
and in the commanderies and kingdoms, were used
to assist the poor people in their occupations; to
those whose property did not amount to fully one
thousand cash there were given loans of seed and
food. [The Emperor] enfeoffed as the Marquis of
P'ing-en the Regular Palace Attendant Hsü Chia,
the son of the full brother to [the Emperor's deceased]
maternal grandfather, Marquis Tai of P'ing-en,
[Hsü Kuang-han], to uphold the [ancestral sacrifices
that should be performed by] the posterity of
Marquis Tai.

In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial

edict said, "We have received [the opportunity to
continue] the sage succession of [Our] deceased [ancestors],
the emperors, and have obtained [the
opportunity] to uphold [the sacrifices in the imperial]
ancestral temples, [in doing which We have been]
fearful and circumspect. [But] recently the Earth
has shaken several times and has not been quiet.
[We] are dismayed by the warnings of Heaven and
Earth, not knowing for what reason [they have
come]. It was just at the time for cultivating the
fields, and We are solicitous lest the multitude of
ordinary people should lose [the results of] their
work. [Hence We] in person send the Imperial
Household Grandee Pao1a and others, twelve persons
[in all], to travel about and inspect the empire, to
visit and inquire about the common people who are
aged, widowers, widows, orphans, childless, in suffering,
indigent, or unemployed, to invite and present
[to the throne] capable and distinguished [persons],
to summon and make appear [worthy persons in]
poor or mean [conditions],[32] and to use the opportunity
to observe the development of [the people's]
customs. If the Chancellors [of kingdoms], the Administrators
[of commanderies, and the officials ranking
at] two thousand piculs can in truth make themselves
upright and toil to make known clearly [Our]
instruction and transforming influence, in order that
[We] may come close to all the people, then within
the six directions[34] [all will live in] peace and friend-
ship, almost without any worries. Does not the
Book of History say, [Let] this be published and made known to the
empire, to cause Our intentions to be made clearly
known."

It also said, "East of the [Han-ku] Pass, the grain
has not ripened this year and many of the common
people are suffering or indigent. Let it be ordered
that those kingdoms and commanderies which have
been injured severely by this calamity shall not pay
the land or capitation taxes, and that [the revenues
of] the rivers, the Ocean, the reservoirs, the lakes,
the gardens, and the ponds which are under the
supervision of the Privy Treasurer shall be used to
lend to poor people and [they shall] not pay the land
or capitation taxes. [We] grant: to those enregistered
as belonging to the imperial house, [from] one
horse to two quadrigae of [horses to each]; to the
Thrice Venerable and the Filially Pious, five bolts of
silk; to the Fraternally Respectful and the [Diligent]
Cultivators of the Fields, three bolts; to widowers,
widows, orphans, and childless, two bolts; and to
the officials and common people of fifty households,
an ox and wine."

In the sixth month, because the common people
were [suffering from] sickness and pestilence, [the
Emperor] ordered the Grand Provisioner to diminish
the [imperial] food, [ordered the regular number of]
persons in the Bureau of Music reduced, and dispensed
with the horses of the pastures,[38] in order to
assist the suffering and indigent.

In the autumn, the eighth month, more than ten

thousand surrendered northwestern barbarians (Hu),
[who had been under the supervision of the Chief
Commandant] of Dependent States in Shang Commandery,
escaped and entered Hun [territory].

In the ninth month, in eleven commanderies and

kingdoms east of [Han-ku] Pass, there was high
water and famine so that there were cases of people
eating one another. Cash and grain from neighboring
commanderies were transported to succor
them. An imperial edict said, "Recently the Yin
and Yang have not been in accord, so that the many
people have [suffered] famine and cold, and there
has been no means of safeguarding peace and good
order. Verily, [Our] virtue is shallow and thin, insufficient
to fill or enter into the old [imperial] dwellings.[44]
Let it be ordered that the palaces and lodges
which the emperor rarely favors [with a visit] shall
not be repaired or prepared, that the Grand Coachman
shall reduce the grain for feeding his horses, and
that [the Chief Commandant of] Waters and Parks
shall dispense entirely with[45] the flesh for feeding the
animals [in the Shang-lin Park menagerie and elsewhere]."

In the second year, in the spring, the first month,

[the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan
[Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban
sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One].
He granted to the common people of Yün-yang
[Commandery] one step in noble rank and to the
women of a hundred households an ox and wine.

[In the second month],[52] he established his
younger brother, [Liu] Ching4, as King of Ch'ing-ho.
In the third month, he established [Liu] Pa, the
Heir-apparent of King Li of Kuang-ling, [Liu Hsü],
as King [of Kuang-ling].

An imperial edict [ordered] the disestablishment
of the chariots, carriages, dogs, and horses [under
control of] the Yellow Gate, of the [imperial] private
gardens under [the supervision of the Chief Commandant]
of Waters and Parks, of the Lower Park
at Yi-ch'unb, of the outer ponds of the Sharpshooters
[who were under the supervision of] the

Privy Treasurer, and of the hiding-places in the
preserves, the ponds, and the fields [in the imperial
parks].[55] They were lent to the poor people.

An imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard
that when a capable and sage [ruler] is on the throne,
the Yin and Yang are harmonious, the wind and
rain are timely, the sun and moon are brilliant [without
eclipses], the stars and zodiacal signs are in
repose, and the many people are prosperous and
peaceable and end in old age [the days allotted to

them by] their fate. Now that We have respect-
fully succeeded to [the care of] Heaven and Earth
and have been confided with [a place] above that of
the highest nobles, [Our] understanding has not been
able to light up [the universe and Our] virtue has
not been able to tranquillize [it, so that] visitations
and prodigies have arrived simultaneously and have
not ceased for successive years. Moreover, in the
second month, on [the day] mou-wu, there was an
earthquake in Lung-hsi Commandery,[59] which destroyed
and made the wooden decorations on the
wall of the [great] hall in the Temple of the Grand
Emperor fall,[60] ruined and demolished the inner and
outer city walls and the official buildings of Huan-tao
Prefecture,[61] together with the houses and buildings
of the common people, and crushed to death
a multitude of people.

"Mountains have fallen down and the earth has
been rent, streams and springs have gushed[62] forth.
Heaven has in truth sent down visitations to terrify
and frighten Us and [Our] multitude. [Our] rule
must be greatly deficient for the calamities [sent by
Heaven] to have reached such [a magnitude]. Morning
and night, [We] have been circumspect and fearful,
[but] have not comprehended these great

[unfortunate] vicissitudes. [We] have pondered
deeply, [but] have been baffled and chagrined [that
We] have not understood the [proper] order [of
things].[65] Recently for several years, there has been
no good harvest, so that the great multitude are
suffering and indigent, are unable to endure [the
extremes of] famine and cold, and hence have become
involved in punishments and chastisements. We
pity them very much.

"[Let] those commanderies and kingdoms which
have suffered severe visitations of earthquakes not
pay the land or capitation taxes. [Let] an amnesty
[be granted] to the empire. If there is anything [in
the laws and ordinances] that can be suppressed,
abolished, reduced, or dispensed with for the benefit
of all people, [let] it be memorialized in detail, and
let nothing be kept hidden.[67] [Let] the Lieutenant
Chancellor, [Yü Ting-kuo], the [Grandee] Secretary,
[Ch'en Wan-nien], and [officials ranking at]
fully two thousand piculs recommend [persons who
are] Accomplished Talents of Unusual Degree,
gentlemen who [are able] to speak frankly and admonish
unflinchingly, and We shall Ourself interview
them."

In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day]

ting-szu, [the Emperor] appointed his Imperial Heir-apparent,
[Liu Ao], and granted: to the Grandee
Secretary, [Ch'en Wan-nien], the noble rank of
Kuan-nei Marquis; to [officials ranking at] fully two
thousand piculs, [the noble rank of] Senior Chief of
the Multitude; to those in the empire who would be
the successors of their fathers, one step in noble rank;
to each full marquis, two hundred thousand cash;
and to Fifth [Rank] Grandees, one hundred thousand
[cash].

In the sixth month, there was famine east of
[Han-ku] Pass and in the region of Ch'i people ate
each other. In the autumn, the seventh month, an
imperial edict said, "For successive years there have
been visitations and disasters, so that the common
people are anaemic.[73] [We] are suffering and saddened
in heart and have already [issued] an imperial
edict [ordering] the officials to empty the storehouses
and granaries, to open the warehouses and depots,
to aid and rescue [the people], and to make grants of
clothes to those who are cold.

"This autumn the grain and wheat have been
considerably injured; within one year the Earth has
twice shaken;[74] in Po-hai [Commandery] streams
have overflowed and carried away and killed people.
The Yin and Yang are not harmonious. Wherein
lies the blame for these [circumstances]? In what
way should the ministers be solicitous for this [situation]?
Let them do their utmost to make known
Our faults and not be silent about anything."

In the winter, an imperial edict said, "If a state is

to prosper, [its ruler must] reverence his teachers
and esteem his tutors. The former General of the
Van, [Hsiao] Wang-chih, tutored [Us] to the eighth
year, guiding [Us] by the Classics. His achievements
are abundant. Let him be granted the noble
rank of Kuan-nei Marquis with the income of an
estate of eight hundred households; he shall pay
court on the first and fifteenth of the month."[76]
[But] in the twelfth month, the Chief Palace Writer,
Hung Kung, [together with] Shih Hsien and others,
slandered [Hsiao] Wang-chih [to the Emperor] and
caused [Hsiao Wang-chih] to commit suicide.

In the third year, in the spring, [the Emperor]
ordered that Chancellors of vassal [kings] should be
ranked below [Grand] Administrators of commanderies.

[Because] the prefectures south of the mountains[83]
in Chu-yai Commandery had rebelled, [the Emperor
asked] the various officials generally for plans [to
deal with this rebellion]; the Expectant Appointee,
Chia Chüan-chih, considered that it would be proper
to abandon Chu-yai [Commandery], in order to aid
the common people [of northeastern China] in their
famine of grain and vegetables. Thereupon Chu-yai
[Commandery] was abolished.

In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day]

yi-wei,[85] there was a visitation [of fire] in White
Crane Lodge at the Mou Tomb. The imperial edict
said, "Recently a visitation of fire descended upon
a Lodge in the [funerary park of Emperor] Hsiao-wu.
We tremble with respectful awe, being afraid and
fearful and not comprehending [this] grievous vicissitude
and prodigy. The blame [must lie] upon Us
Ourself. The many high officials have, moreover,
not yet been willing to tell Us [Our] faults to the end,
so that [things] have been brought to this [pass].
How can they be awakened [to the situation]? The
people have continued to meet with baneful distresses,
so that there is no means of helping them.
They have furthermore been molested and troubled
by exacting officials and by being held down and
tied to the details of written [laws],[88] so that they
are not allowed to prolong their lives to a [natural]
end. We pity them greatly. Let an amnesty [be
granted] to the empire."

In the summer, there was a drought.

[The Emperor] established [Liu] Tsung, the
younger brother of King Yang of Ch'ang-sha, [Liu
Tan4b], as King [of Ch'ang-sha], and enfeoffed [Liu]

Tai-tsung, a son of the deceased Marquis of Hai-hun,
[Liu] Ho4b, as Marquis [of Hai-hun].

In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "Verily,

[We] have heard that the way to tranquillize the
people has its source in [tranquillizing] the Yin and
Yang. [But] recently the Yin and Yang have been
disordered and are in disaccord, so that the wind
and rain have not been timely. We are not virtuous
and hoped that among the highest ministers some
would have the daring to speak to Us of [Our] faults.
But now it has been otherwise. They have frivolously
agreed [with Our ideas], have negligently followed
[Our wishes], and have not been able to speak
unflinchingly.[94] We pity them greatly.

"[We] have long[95] pondered that when the multitude
of people are in famine and cold [some] have
been sent far away from their fathers and mothers,
their wives and children, to toil at unnecessary work
or to act as guards in uninhabited palaces. [We]
fear that this is not a way of aiding the Yin and
Yang [to attain their harmony].

"Let the guards at Kan-ch'üan and Chien-chang
Palaces be disestablished and [let each[96] person] be
ordered to go to [his home and devote himself to]
agriculture. [Let] all the officials each reduce their
expenses. [Let matters] be memorialized in detail
without keeping silent about anything. [Let] the
high officials exert themselves and not violate the
prohibitions for the four seasons. [Let] the Lieutenant
Chancellor, [Yü Ting-Kuo], and the [Grandee]
Secretary, [Ch'en Wan-nien], each present the three
[best] persons in the empire who understand the visitations
and prodigies [caused by] the Yin and
Yang."[97] Thereupon a multitude [of so-called experts]

discussed these matters; some were advanced
and promoted and summoned to an [imperial] audience,
and [each][100] considered that he had divined
the Emperor's opinion.

In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month,

[the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan
[Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban
sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One].
In the third month, he [again] traveled and favored
Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed
to Sovereign Earth. He granted an amnesty
to the convicts in Fen-yin and granted: to the common
people, one step in noble rank; to the women
of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to
widowers, widows, and aged, silk. The places
through which he passed were not to pay the land
tax or capitation taxes.[106]

In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month,

[the Emperor] made the Baronet Baron Descendant
of the Chou [Dynasty, Chi Yen-nien], the Marquis
Who Succeeds to the Greatness of the Chou [Dynasty],
with a rank next to that of the vassal kings.

In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and

favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at
the altars to the Five [Lords on High].

In the summer, the fourth month, a comet appeared

in [the constellation] Shen,[112] and an imperial
edict said, "Since We are inadequate [to Our position],
the ranking [of persons] in their positions is
not carefully scrutinized, and many offices have long
been unoccupied and have not been filled with the
[proper] persons, so that the great multitude has
lost its hope [of good rulers. This situation] has
affected August Heaven above, so that the Yin and
Yang have produced grievous vicissitudes, hence
[Our] fault has spread to the many common people.
We are greatly dismayed at [this situation].

"Recently, for successive [years], east of [Han-ku]
Pass there have occurred visitations and disasters
of famine, cold, sickness, and epidemics, so that premature
death has not [permitted the people] to live
out their lives. Does not the Book of Odes say,

"Let it be ordered that the Grand Provisioner
shall not butcher daily and that each of his provisions
be reduced by half. [Let] the imperial equipages
and the horses that are fed be merely sufficient so
that they do not fail in their proper business.[117]

"Let there be abolished: the competitive games,[118]
the Palaces and Lodges in Shang-lin Park that are
rarely favored with an imperial [visit], the Three
Offices for Garments in Ch'i [Commandery], the

offices for [public] fields in Po-chia,[120] the offices
of the Salt and Iron [Government Monopoly],[121]
and the Constantly Equalizing Granaries. Let
no [restricted] number be established for the Dis-
ciples of the Erudits, in order to increase [the
number of] students [in the Imperial University.[124]

"Let] there be granted: to the members of the
imperial house who are enregistered, [from] one horse
to two quadrigae of [horses to each]; to the Thrice
Venerable and the Filially Pious, five bolts of silk per
person; to the Fraternally Respectful and the [Diligent]
Cultivators of the Fields, three bolts; to widowers,
widows, orphans, and childless, two bolts; and
to the officials and common people of fifty households,
an ox and wine.

"Let the punishments be reduced" in more than
seventy matters.[125]

"Let there be expunged, for Imperial Household
Grandees and under, down to Gentlemen-of-the-Palace,

the ordinance [requiring punishment for
those] who had made themselves responsible for
their fathers, mothers, or own brothers or sisters.[128]

"Let it be ordered that the Retinue and those who
serve within the Majors' [Gates] to the palaces shall
be permitted [to secure] for their grandfathers, grandmothers,
fathers, mothers, and older and younger
brothers, registration [permitting them] to enter

[the palaces]."[130]

In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day]
ting-wei, the Grandee Secretary, Kung Yü, died.[133]

A Major of the [Palace] Guard, Ku Chi, [was sent]
as an envoy to the Huns, [but] did not return.[136]

In [the period] Yung-kuang, the first year, in the

spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled and
favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he
performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the
Supreme [One], and [granted] pardon to the convicts
in Yün-yang [Commandery]. He granted: to the
common people, one step in the noble rank; to the
women of a hundred households, an ox and wine;
and to the aged, silk. [Those places] through which
he had passed in traveling were not[139] to pay the
land-tax or capitation taxes.[140]

In the second month, an imperial edict [ordered]

the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Yü Ting-kuo], and the
[Grandee] Secretary, [Hsieh Kuang-tê], to recommend
persons who were simple and straightforward, sincere
and honest, humble and yielding to others, and who
showed good behavior. The [Superintendent of] the
Imperial Household should yearly examine and rank
the Gentlemen and [Imperial] Retinue according to
these [four qualities].[142]

In the third month, an imperial edict said, "The
Five Lords and the Three Kings gave office to the
capable and employed the able in order to attain to
extreme tranquility. Yet how could the misgovernment
of today [come from the fact that] these common
people are different [from those of ancient
times]?[147] The blame lies in Our lack of intelligence
and lack of means in becoming acquainted with
capable [persons]. For this reason flatterers are in
office and `admirable gentlemen'[148] are prevented
[from securing office] and hide themselves. [These
evils] are aggravated by the corruption[149] [coming
from] the Chou and Ch'in [periods], so that the
common people are being permeated with despicable
customs. They depart from the rules of proper conduct
and right principles, and [as a result] bring
upon themselves the punishments of the law. Is not
this indeed sad? Looking at it in this way, what
guilt has the great multitude?

"Let an amnesty be granted to the empire and

[let] it be ordered that [the people to whom amnesty
has been granted] shall improve their personalities,
renew themselves, and each pay attention to cultivating
his acres. [Let] those [amnestied people] who
have no cultivated fields all be loaned [fields] and be
made loans of seed and food the same as for [ordinary]
poor people. [Let] there be made grants: to
officials [ranking at] six hundred piculs and above,
the noble rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee; to officials
who are diligent in doing their duty, two steps [in
noble rank]; to the common people,[152] one step; to
the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine;
to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged,
silk."

In this month it snowed and there was a fall of
frost which injured the wheat harvest.[153]

In the autumn, it was abolished.[154]

In the second year, in the spring, the second
month, an imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have
heard that when T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun employed]
punishments [which merely portrayed] the
likenesses [of the mutilating punishments in criminals'
clothing],[161] the common people did not transgress,
and when the Yin and Chou [dynastic] laws
were put into practise,[162] evil-doers and traitors submitted.[163]
Now We have had the opportunity of
succeeding to the great[164] patrimony of the Eminent
Founder, [Emperor Kao], and have been entrusted
with a position above that of the highest nobles.
Morning and night [We] have trembled with respectful
awe, pondering long on the necessities of the
people, which [We] do not allow to leave [Our] mind.
But the Yin and Yang have not yet accorded [with
each other], the three luminaries have been veiled
and indistinct,[165] the great multitude have suffered
greatly, have wandered, and have been scattered on
the highways and paths. Robbers and brigands
have arisen simultaneously. The high officials are,
moreover, habitually injurious and hard [upon the
people] and have been defective in the art of shepherding
the common people. The foregoing is all
[because of] Our lack of insight and [because Our]
government shows a deficiency. [Since Our] faults
have produced such [a situation], We are very much
ashamed of Ourself. If [We], the father and mother
of the common people, have been so incapable, what
[can We] say to [Our] subjects?

"Let a general amnesty [be granted] to the empire,
and [let there be] granted: to the common people,
one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred
households, an ox and wine; to widowers, widows,
orphans, childless, aged, the Thrice Venerable, the
Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the
[Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, silk. [Let there]
also be granted: to the vassal kings, the princesses,
and the full marquises, actual gold; to the [officials
ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and those of
lower [rank] down to the chief officials in the offices

at the imperial capital, [money], to each proportionately;
to the officials [ranking at] six hundred
piculs and above, the noble rank of Fifth [Rank]
Grandee; to each official who is diligent in doing his
duty, two steps [in noble rank]."

In the third month, on [the day] jen-hsü, the first

day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun.[170]
The imperial edict said, "We have been trembling
and in respectful awe, day and night thinking of
[Our] faults and defects, and have not dared to be
negligent or at peace. [We] have pondered that
the Yin and Yang have not been harmonized and
[We] have not yet [secured] enlightenment [concerning
what is] to blame. [We] have frequently ordered
the ministers [to find where the fault lies] and have
daily hoped that [Our efforts] would bring results.

"Down to the present, the [high] officials who
control the government have not yet attained to the
mean [in their government]. In their grants and
gifts [of favor] and in their prohibitions and sentences,
they have not yet accorded with the opinions
of the common people. Violent and cruel customs
increase more and more, and ways of peace and
friendliness are daily enfeebled, so that the people
are sad and suffering, with no place to rest themselves.

"For this reason evil emanations have yearly increased
and have encroached upon and violated the
great Yang [being, the sun], so that good emanations
have been submerged and arrested, and the sun for
a long time has been robbed of his light. Recently,
on [the day] jen-hsü, there was an eclipse of the sun—
Heaven made a great prodigy appear in order to
forewarn Us Ourself. We are very much saddened.
Let it be ordered that the inner[173] commanderies and
kingdoms should each recommend one gentleman
who is an Accomplished Talent of Unusual Degree
[or] who is capable, good, and [able to] speak
frankly."

In the summer, the sixth month, an imperial edict
said, "Recently for consecutive years, [the harvest]
has not been gathered and the four quarters [of the
empire] are all suffering. The great multitude of
common people work hard at plowing and weeding,
but it does not produce any results, so that they
suffer from a famine of grain and vegetables, and
there is no means by which they can be saved. We
are the father and mother of the people, [but Our]
virtue is not able to protect them. Yet [We must
at times] punish them, which hurts Ourself greatly.[175]
Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire."

In the autumn, the seventh month, the Western
Ch'iang rebelled, and [the Emperor] sent the General
of the Right, Feng Feng-shih, to attack them. In
the eighth month, the Grand Master of Ceremonies,
Jen Ch'ien-ch'iu, was made the General Displaying
his Majesty,[181] with a separate command over five
colonels. He advanced together with [Feng Feng-shih].[182]

In the third year, in the spring, the Western

Ch'iang were pacified and the armies were demobilized.

In the third month, [the Emperor] set up his Imperial

Son [Liu] K'ang as King of Chi4-yang.

In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day]
kuei-wei, the Commander-in-chief and General of

Chariots and Cavalry, [Wang] Chieh5, died.

In the winter, the eleventh month, an imperial

edict said, "Recently, in the second [month] of
winter [i.e., the eleventh month],[189] on [the day]
chi-ch'ou, there was an earthquake and a rain of
water and a great fog. Robbers and brigands have
arisen simultaneously; why do not the officials conform
to the prohibitions for the seasons?[191] Let each
one express his whole mind in reply."

In the winter,[193] there were reestablished the
offices of the Salt and Iron [Government Monopoly]
and a [restricted] number for the Disciples of the
Erudits, because the [government] income was insufficient
and too many of the common people had
been exempted, so that there were not [enough persons]
to furnish the required labor and required
military service in the central [states] and at the
borders.[196]

In the fourth year, in the spring, the second
month, an imperial edict said, "We have succeeded
to the cares of the most honorable [station, yet We]
have not been able to enlighten or direct the people
aright. Baneful calamities have frequently occurred,
added to which the border regions have not
been at peace and the armies [have had to be sent]
out of [the border, so that, because of] taxes and
transportation [of supplies], the great multitude
have been troubled and agitated, are exhausted and
suffering without any assistance, and have violated
the laws and fallen into crime. Verily, their superiors
have failed in their duty and have drawn their
inferiors deeply into punishment. We are greatly
afflicted by this [situation]. Let an amnesty [be
granted] to the empire. [Let] their debts not be
collected from the poor people to whom loans were
made."

In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and
favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at
the altars to the Five [Lords on High].

In the summer, the sixth month, on [the day] chia-hsü,

there was a visitation [of fire] to the Eastern
Portal of the Funerary Park of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan,[204]
and on [the day] mou-yin, the last day of
the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. The
imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that
when an intelligent king is in control and faithful
and capable [subordinates] display [a proper attention
to] their duties, the many living things are in
harmony and rejoice, and [even those] outside the
[empire at the four] quarters receive benefits.

"[But] now We are ignorant about the Way of
[true] kings. Day and night [We] have solicitously
toiled, [yet We] have not penetrated to its principles.
There is nothing that [We] have looked at which
has not been confused and nothing that [We] have
heard that has not been misleading. For this reason
many of the governmental ordinances have been
returned,[206] the affections of the common people
have not been secured, erroneous explanations have
been vainly presented, and nothing has been
achieved. The foregoing is what [everyone in] the
empire has heard openly.

"The ministers and grandees are not alike in their
likes and dislikes; some associate with the wicked
and act corruptly, encroaching upon and extorting
from the uninfluential common people—how can the

great multitude find refuge for their lives? There-
upon, on the last day of the sixth month, there was
an eclipse of the sun. Does not the Book of Odes
say,

"From this time and henceforth, let the ministers
and grandees exert themselves and think upon
Heaven's warning. [Let] them be careful of themselves
and cultivate far-reaching [thoughts],[210] in
order to support [Us because of] Our inadequacies,
speaking frankly their entire meaning and not keeping
silent about anything."

In the ninth month, on [the day] mou-tzu, [the
Emperor] abolished the funerary park of the Empress
Szu [née] Wei, together with the funerary park of
[Heir-apparent] Li, [Liu Chü].[213] In the winter,
the tenth month, on [the day] yi-ch'ou, [the Emperor]
disestablished the temples in the commanderies and
kingdoms to the [Eminent] Founder, [Emperor Kao],
and the [Great and Epochal] Successors, [Emperors
Hsiao-wen and Hsiao-wu]. The various [imperial]
tomb-[towns] were divided and put under the charge
of the Three Adjuncts.[217]

On the [northern][218] plain in the Shou-ling Commune
section of Wei-ch'eng [prefecture] there was
being made the Emperor's tomb,[219] and an imperial
edict said, "It is the nature of the many common
people to be contented with their locality and to
consider transportation [to a different locality] as a
serious matter. To have one's flesh and blood attached
to [and near] oneself is what human affections
desire. A short time ago, some high officials
memorialized that, according to the principles [involved
in the relationship of] a subject [to his ruler],
common people from the commanderies and kingdoms
should be transported [to Our tomb] to uphold
[the sacrifices at Our] funerary park and tomb, [thus]
causing the people to leave and abandon the tombs
and mounds of their deceased ancestors, ruining
their patrimonies and losing their property, [making]
relatives to be divided and separated from each
other, people [to be tormented by] thoughts of longing
and affection, and families to have feelings of
dissatisfaction.[220] In this way the eastern extremities
of the empire would suffer the injury of being
depopulated and ruined and Kuan-chung would
possess common people who have no resources, which
is not an expedient [for one who plans] far ahead.
Does not the Book of Odes say,

"Let those who are now making the emperor's
tomb not be [compelled to remain there and let them
not be] established as [inhabitants of] the prefecture
or estate [supporting this tomb, thus] causing all the
empire to be satisfied with their localities, rejoice in
their patrimonies, and have no feeling of being
troubled or disturbed. [Let this edict] be published
and announced to the empire, to cause it to be clearly

understood." [The Emperor] also abolished the
estate supporting [the tomb of] the father and
mother, [Hsü Kuang-han and his wife], of the deceased
Empress [Kuang-ai née Hsü].[225]

In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month,
[the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan
[Palace with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altar
to the Supreme [One]. In the third month, the
Emperor favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a
visit, where he] sacrificed at the altar to Sovereign
Earth.

In the autumn, in Ying-ch'uan [Commandery],
the streams overflowed, carrying away and killing
people.[231] The officials and [imperial] retinue whose
[native] prefectures had suffered injury were given
a vacation,[232] and the officers and soldiers [among
the drafted men who came from those prefectures]
were sent home.

In the winter, the Emperor favored [with a visit]

the Lodge for Shooting Bears in Ch'ang-yang [Palace]
and arrayed his chariots and horsemen for a
great hunt.

In the twelfth month, on [the day] yi-yu, the

funerary chambers, the temples, and the funerary
parks of the Grand Emperor and of Emperor Hsiao-hui
were done away with.[238]

In [the period] Chien-chao, the first year, in the

spring,[240] the third month, the Emperor favored
Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars
to the Five [Lords on High].

In the autumn, the eighth month, from Tung-tu

Gate to Chih-tao there were white butterflies flying
in swarms that hid the sun.[243]

In the winter, the King of Ho-chien, [Liu] Yüan2b,

who had committed crimes, was dismissed and exiled
to Fang-ling.[246]

The funerary chambers and funerary parks of the
Empress Dowager [née Po of Emperor] Hsiao-wen
and of the Empress Dowager [née Chao of Emperor]
Hsiao-chao were abolished.[247]

In the second year, in the spring, the first month,
[the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan
[Palace with a visit, were he performed] the suburban
sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the
third month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored
Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed
to Sovereign Earth.

[The Emperor] increased the rank of the Grand
Administrators of the three Ho Commanderies [and
of large] commanderies [to that of fully two thousand
piculs.[254] Commanderies with] 120,000 households
were made `large commanderies'. In the summer,

the fourth month, an amnesty [was granted]
to the empire.

In the sixth month, [the Emperor] set up his Imperial
Son [Liu] Hsing[257] as the King of Hsin-tua.

In the intercalary month, on [the day] ting-yu,
the Grand Empress Dowager née Shan-kuan died.

In the winter, the eleventh month, there was an
earthquake and a great fall of snow in [the kingdoms
of] Ch'i and Ch'u.[261] Trees were broken and houses
fell in ruin. Chang Po, the maternal uncle of the
King of Huai-yang, [Liu Ch'in], and the Grand Administrator
of the Wei Commandery, Ching Fang,
were sentenced for having led astray a vassal king
by perverse notions, and having divulged [imperial]
conversations [that occurred] in the inner palace
apartments, [respectively. Chang] Po was executed
by being cut in two at the waist and [Ching] Fang
was publicly executed.[264]

In the third year, in the summer, [the Emperor]

ordered that the Chief[266] Commandants to the
Three Adjuncts and the Chief Commandants in
large commanderies[268] should be all ranked at two
thousand piculs.[269]

In the sixth month, on [the day] chia-ch'en, the

Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei] Hsüan-ch'eng, died.

In the autumn, the Chief Commandant of Cavalry

who had been sent out as Protector-[general] of the
Western Frontier Regions, Kan Yen-shou, and his
Associate, Colonel Ch'en T'ang, by fraud mobilized
the officials and troops of the agricultural garrison
under the Mou-and-Chi Colonel, together with the
northwestern barbarian (Hu) troops of the Western
Frontier Regions, and attacked Shan-yü Chih-chih.
In the winter, they cut off his head and sent it to the
[imperial] capital, where it was hung on the gate of
the Lodge for Barbarian Princes.[274]

In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month,

because Shan-yü Chih-chih had been executed, information
was made [to the Lords on High] in the
Suburban Sacrifice and in the sacrifices [to the imperial
ancestors in their] Temples, and an amnesty
was granted to the empire. The courtiers [wished]
the Emperor long life. A feast was held [by the
Emperor] and the documents and charts concerning
[Shan-yü Chih-chih] were shown [even] to the honored
ladies in the [imperial] harem.[280]

In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial
edict said, "We have succeeded to the glorious
achievements of our imperial predecessors. Morning
and night [We] have been respectfully attentive,
fearing lest [We may] not be capable in [Our] duties.
Recently the Yin and Yang have not[282] accorded
[with each other], and the five elements have lost
their order, so that the people have been famished.
[We] have been pondering that the multitude [of
people] have lost their occupations and [We] have
visited and sent the Grandee-remonstrant and Erudit
Ch'ang and others, twenty-one persons [in all], to
travel about and examine the empire, to visit and
inquire about the aged, widowers, widows, orphans,
childless, and the people who are indigent, suffering,
or have lost their work, and to recommend gentlemen
who are Accomplished Talents and have especial eminence.
[Let] the chancellors, generals, and nine high
ministers apply themselves with all their minds[283]
and be not negligent, so that We shall be able to
observe the propagation of [Our] instruction and
civilizing efforts."

In the sixth month, on [the day] chia-shen, the

King of Chung-shan, [Liu] Ching, died.

In Lan-t'ien [prefecture], there was an earth[quake
and a mountain collapsed],[288] and gravel and
stones blocked the Pa River. At the An Tomb, the
[river] bank collapsed and blocked the Ching River,
so that its water flowed backwards.

In the fifth year, in the spring, the third month, an

imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that
when an intelligent king rules the country, he makes
plain what to like and dislike and fixes what should
be rejected and accepted; he exalts respectfulness
and yielding [to others], and then the common people
cultivate their conduct. Hence when his laws are
instituted, the common people do not violate them,
and when his ordinances are promulgated, the common
people follow them.

"Now that We have secured [the opportunity to]
protect the [Imperial] ancestral temples, [We] have
been careful and fearful, and have not dared to be
lax or negligent. [But Our] virtue has been slight
and [Our] intelligence has been obscured, so that
[Our] teaching and civilizing influence has been shallow
and slight. Does not the Memoir say, `When
the people commit faults, [the blame] rests upon
Us'?[292] Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire
and let there be granted: to the common people,
one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred
households, an ox and wine; and to the Thrice Venerable,

the Filially Pious, the Brotherly Respectful,
and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, silk."

[The edict] also said, "Just now it is spring, the
time when farmers and cultivators of silkworms
begin their work, when the people unite[295] their
forces and use their energies to the utmost. Hence
in this month [We] encourage the farmers and exhort
the common people not to permit themselves [to
leave their work undone until] after [the proper] time.

"[But] now evil[296] officials, in reconsidering law-cases
involving small crimes, in calling and summoning
witnesses in [such] cases, take up matters that

are not pressing and so trouble the people. By
making [the people] lose the one time [when their]
work [can be done, the officials cause them] to bring
to naught a whole year's labor. Let the ministers
examine and investigate [such cases] and inform and
warn the [officials about this matter]."

In the summer, the sixth month, on [the day[

keng-shen, the Funerary Park of [Heir-apparent] Li,
[Liu Chü], was reestablished. On [the day] jen-shen,
the last day of the month, there was an eclipse
of the sun. In the autumn, the seventh month, on
[the day] keng-tzu, the Funerary Chamber, the
Temple, and the Funerary Park of the Grand Emperor,
the Second Temple [of Emperor Kao], and the
Funerary Parks of Empress Chao-ling, King Wu-ai,
Queen Chao-ai, and Empress Szu [née] Wei were
reestablished.[304]

In the period Ching-ning,[306] the first year, in the
spring, the first month, the Hun Shan-yü Hu-han-
hsieh came to pay court. The imperial edict said,
"The Hun Shan-yü Chih-chih abandoned and rebelled
against the rules of proper conduct and principles
of fealty and so has already suffered for his
crimes, [whereas] Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh has not
forgotten [Our] favors and benefits. He has turned
toward and striven to follow the rules of proper conduct
and principles of fealty, [and now] has again
renewed the rites of [presenting his] congratulations
at the [great annual] court. He wishes to guarantee
the [border] barriers and to continue [this practise]
endlessly, so that the borders and frontiers will
eternally be without any warlike affairs. Let the
year-period be changed to be Ching-ning and [let]
the [Lady] Awaiting an Imperial Edict in the Lateral
Courts, Wang Ch'iang, be granted to the Shan-yü
to be his Yen-chih."

The Imperial Heir-apparent, [Liu Ao], was capped;
heirs of full marquises were granted the noble rank
of Fifth [Rank] Grandee and those in the empire
who would be the successors to their fathers [were
granted] one step in noble rank.

In the second month, the Grandee Secretary,

P'an][313] Yen-shou, died.

[In the third month, on [the day] kuei-wei, there

were reestablished the Funerary Chamber, the
Temple, and the Funerary Park of Emperor Hsiao-hui,
and the Funerary Chambers and Funerary
Parks of the Empress Dowager [née Po of Emperor]
Hsiao-wen and of the Empress Dowager [née Chao
of Emperor] Hsiao-chao.[317]

In the summer, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the Chief
Commandant of Cavalry, Kan Yen-shou, as a full
marquis and granted to his Associate [Protector-General
of the Western Frontier Regions], Colonel
Ch'en T'ang, the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis
and a hundred catties of actual gold.

In the fifth month, on [the day] jen-ch'en, the
Emperor died at the Wei-yang Palace.

The Temples of the Grand Emperor and of Emperors
Hsiao-hui and Hsiao-ching were done away
with and the Funerary Chambers and Funerary
Parks of the Empresses Dowager [née Po and née
Chao of Emperors] Hsiao-wen and Hsiao-chao
[respectively], of Empress Chao-ling, of King Wu-ai,
and of Queen Chao-ai were abolished.[320]

In the autumn, the seventh month, on [the day]

ping-hsü, [the Emperor] was buried in the Wei
Tomb.[322]

In eulogy we say: The elder and younger brothers
of your servant, [Pan Piao's], maternal grandfather,
were Emperor Yüan's Palace Attendants,[324] and
spoke to your servant, saying, "Emperor Hsüan had
much ability in polite arts and was good at the clerkly
[style of] writing,[326] at playing the guitar and lute,
and at blowing the open flute.[327] He himself composed
new songs, clothed them with melodies for
singing,[328] distinguished and indicated the cadences
[of the verses and music],[330] and understood to the
utmost the delicacies [of poetry and music]."

When he was young, he liked the Confucians, and
when he ascended the throne, he summoned and
gave office to Confucian masters, entrusting the
government to them. Kung [Yü], Hsieh [Kuang-tê],

Wei [Hsüan-ch'eng], and K'uang [Heng] were suc-
cessively his ruling chancellors.[332]
The Emperor,
however, tied and controlled himself by written
principles,[333] so that he hesitated to settle matters,
and thus the achievements of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan
decayed. Yet he was broad-minded and had
his inferiors express themselves completely.[334] He
was outstanding in respectfulness and self-restraint.
His proclamations and ordinances are polished and
elegant, and have the spirit and fire of the
ancients.[335]

APPENDIX I

THE NATURE OF THE "CLERKLY WRITING"

In a note to HS 9: 13b, where Emperor Yüan is said to have been "good
at the clerkly [style of] writing," Ying Shao says, "[The clerkly writing
(shih-shu [OMITTED])] is the greater seal [character] created by the Grand
Astrologer of King Hsüan of the Chou [dynasty], Shih Chou," who is
said to have invented the greater seal of writing about 800 B.C. Li Hsien
(fl. 674-676) repeats this statement in a note to HHS, An. 5: 1a and
elsewhere.

Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804), however, replies, "Ying [Shao's] explanation
is mistaken. [According to] the Han [dynastic] code, `The Grand
Astrologer examines the youths who have studied, [to determine whether]
they are able to recite and write more than nine thousand characters;
if so, they are allowed to become clerks,' [a quotation from HS 30: 24b].
HS 72: [14b, 15a says], In the time of `Emperor Wu, . . . robbers and
brigands arose, . . . and [the officials in] the commanderies and kingdoms
. . . selected those who were skilled and clever at the clerkly writing
(shih-shu) . . . and made them senior officials . . . . The vulgar people
all said, . . . "Why should we employ the rules of proper conduct and
moral principles? If we can write the clerkly writing, we can be officials." '
HS 90: [16b says that] Chuang Yen-nien `was good at the clerkly writing.
Memorials [concerning] those whom he wished to punish with death
were completed in his own hand. His Master of the Records and the
officials near his person were not allowed to hear or know [the contents
of these memorials].'

"Probably the `clerkly writing' was the style of writing which the
Clerks to Prefects were accustomed [to use], namely the [ancient] official
style (li-shu). `Good at the clerkly writing' meant merely that [a person]
was able to recognize characters and write the official style. How could
all [these people] have completely understood the fifteen chapters of
Shih Chou's [book]? HS 97: [B: 1b, 2a] says that the Empress [née] Hsü
was perspicacious and wise and good at the clerkly writing. HS 96:
[B: 8a] says that an Attendant of the King of Ch'u, Feng Liao, was
capable in the clerkly writing. HS 76: [19b] says that when Wang
Tsun was young, he was good at the clerkly writing. HHS, Annals 5:
[1a] says that when Emperor An was in his tenth year, he loved to study
the clerkly writing. HHS, Annals 10 A: [14b] says that when the Empress
[née] Teng was in her sixth year, she was capable in the clerkly
writing and [ibid., B: 3a] that the Empress [nee] Liang when young

loved the clerkly writing. HHS, Mem 45: [4b says that] the mother who
bore Emperor An, the Concubine [née] Tso, was good at the clerkly
writing. HHS, Mem. 4: [7a] says that King Ching of Po-hai, [Liu] Mu,
was good at the clerkly writing, and that his age considered [his writing]
a model. HHS, Mem. 40: [4b] says that King Ching of Lo-ch'eng, [Liu]
Tang, was good at the clerkly writing and like to correct written words.

"Those who were called `good at the clerkly writing' were simply the
kings, empresses, concubines, and attendants, who, when they knew
something about the ancient official style, were already considered good
[enough] to make a name for themselves. They were not really excellent
and versed in the greater seal character."

For a discussion of the development in ancient Chinese systems of
writing, cf. D. Bodde, China's First Unifier, ch. VIII.

APPENDIX II

THE VICTORY OF HAN CONFUCIANISM

Since the victory of Confucianism as the official government teaching
was completed in the reign of Emperor Yüan, it may be worth while
here to summarize that development, although this matter has been
discussed in detail in the introductions to various preceding chapters.

During the Former Han period, Confucianism developed from being
the teaching of a few pedants in semi-retirement, as it was at the end
of the Chou period, to become the official philosophy of the government,
which had to be adopted by anyone who hoped to enter public life.
This victory set Confucianism on its way to be the dominating feature of
Chinese culture and to affect profoundly a large portion of humanity.
It is consequently interesting to determine just how and why this victory
came about.

It is sometimes supposed that this victory came about at the beginning
of Emperor Wu's reign. HS 56: 20b, 21a says, "When Emperor Wu had
newly ascended [the throne], the Marquises of Wei-ch'i [Tou Ying]
and of Wu-an [T'ien Fen] became his [Lieutenant] Chancellors, and
made Confucianism flourish. When moreover [Tung] Chung-shu wrote
[his famous] replies to the [examination] questions [set by Emperor Wu,
he advocated] promoting and making glorious [the teaching of] Confucius
and of repressing and degrading [the advocates of] the hundred [other
schools of] philosophy. The establishment of offices for a [government]
university and schools and the recommendation of [persons with] Abundant
Talents and of Filially Pious and Incorrupt [persons to the imperial
government] by the provinces and commanderies all arose from
the proposal of [Tung] Chung-shu." The Confucian victory cannot
however be fixed at any one particular date, nor did it occur in the reign
of Emperor Wu. Rather it was a slow process of increasing completeness,
which began with Emperor Kao and was not complete until the
time of Emperor Yüan, more than a century and a half later. The
History of the Former Han Dynasty, with its detailed reports concerning
the intellectual and political life of the period, gives us a fairly complete
account of the way this victory was achieved.

Emperor Kao began with a violent prejudice against Confucians. Yet
he had an intimate younger half-brother who had had a thorough Confucian
education. The Confucians had opposed and critized the First
Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty, and the latter had repressed them violently,
burning the Books of Odes and of History and driving outstanding

Confucians into flight or retirement. Because of the Ch'in dynasty's
attitude, Confucians naturally assisted Emperor Kao. The Ch'in
dynasty maintained seventy learned men at court, giving them the title
of Erudits. One of them, Shu-sun T'ung, was captured and surrendered
in turn to Hsiang Yü and to Emperor Kao. He later arranged Emperor
Kao's court ceremonies. In his conflict with Hsiang Yü, Emperor
Kao received valuable advice from Confucians, who pointed out to him
the great advantage of employing the Confucian doctrine of Heaven's
Mandate against the tyranny of the Ch'in ruler. Emperor Kao, at the
instance of his Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, seems to have been the first
to ask his Administrators in the provinces to recommend persons with excellent
reputations and manifest virtue to the imperial government for
positions in the bureaucracy, which procedure initiated the examination
system, so influential in promoting Confucianism.

Li Yi-chi and Lu Chia, two of Emperor Kao's paladins, were sincere
Confucians. The latter wrote a thoroughly Confucian book at the
Emperor's request, and was highly praised and rewarded for it. Thus
Emperor Kao, beginning with an antipathy to Confucians, ended by
giving them high position and favoring them.

Under the next two rulers, Emperor Kao's son and wife, Emperor
Hui and the Empress Dowager nee Lü, Confucianism suffered a set-back.
Ts'ao Ts'an, the outstanding Lieutenant Chancellor during this period,
was a Taoist; the Confucians opposed the Empress Dowager's usurpation
of the imperial power and went into retirement.

With the Empress Dowager's death and the accession of Emperor Wen,
Confucians again became influential. Lu Chia played an important
part in enthroning this Emperor. The new Emperor encouraged learning
and continued many Confucian practises. But he felt that he must be
impartial towards all the various philosophies current at the time, hence
he established Erudits to be specialists upon these various philosophies,
until he is said to have had seventy Erudits. Yet Emperor Wen was
probably more influenced by Confucianism than by any other single
teaching. Later Confucians have considered him a saint. Chia Yi,
who was more a Confucian than a Taoist, influenced Emperor Wen
greatly. Emperor Wen moreover extended the examination system by
having the commanderies send capable persons to the imperial court,
among whom the Emperor selected officials by setting examinations for
them at the capital. In his questions, the Emperor invited the candidates
to give him advice upon governmental policies. Thus Confucianism
was nerely one of the most influential of the many tendencies in
Emperor Wen's government.

In the imperial examination of 165 B.C., Ch'ao Ts'o, a favorite of
the Heir-apparent, the future Emperor Ching, took the first place.
Ch'ao Ts'o had become his Household Steward, and was known as the
"bag of wisdom." In his youth he had studied the legalist philosophy
and that of names and circumstances; when someone was needed to
receive from the aged Master Fu the Confucian tradition concerning
the Book of History, Ch'ao Ts'o was sent. Like Chia Yi, he was thus
conversant with several philosophies, in this respect perhaps typical of
the age. The future Emperor Ching favored Ch'ao Ts'o greatly, and,
when he came to the throne, gave Ch'ao Ts'o high office. As a whole,
Emperor Ching, however, was not as favorable to Confucianism as his
father had been.

In 141 B.C., the youthful Emperor Wu came to the throne. He was
only in his sixteenth year, and had been given a good classical education,
which had naturally included a study of Chinese literature, the Confucian
classics. His Junior Tutor had been Wang Tsang, a disciple of Shen
P'ei, the famous Confucian authority on the Book of Odes. The Emperor
was greatly interested in learning, literature, and poetry; he himself later
wrote some very creditable poetry. He was somewhat imperious and
very ambitious. After having been given such an education, he was
naturally much impressed by Confucianism, so much so that at first,
at the suggestion of Tung Chung-shu, he seems to have wanted to make
Confucianism the sole philosophy of the government. In this resolve,
he was probably swayed very largely by his advisors, especially by
Wang Tsang, for in later years the Emperor altered his attitude to
Confucianism greatly. The most serious obstacle to this plan was the
fact that the Emperor's grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager nee
Tou, was a devotee of Lao-tzu. Because of the current exaltation of
filial piety, her influence at the court was quite as strong as that of the
Emperor. The Confucian party hence compromised by attacking
only the philosophy they considered most dangerous and most opposed
to the Confucian tradition, namely the Legalist school, which had been
that espoused by the Ch'in dynasty, from whose institutions the Han
dynasty had taken its governmental organization. Hence they induced
the aged and faithful but incompetent Lieutenant Chancellor, Wei
Wan, to memorialize the throne that all those officials and candidates
should be dismissed who had specialized in the lore of Shen Pu-hai,
Shang Yang, Han Fei, Su Ch'in, and Chang Yi, who were mostly Legalists.
Emperor Wu naturally ratified and enacted this proposal.[1] Pan

Ku says that the intention of this edict was to eliminate all non-Confucians
from the government service.[2]

Half a year later, Emperor Wu dismissed Wei Wan for incompetence
and appointed in his place Tou Ying, a son of a first cousin of the Grand
Empress Dowager, who had distinguished himself by putting down a
serious rebellion in the preceding reign, but had not previously been
given high civil office because of his outspokenness and pride. The
Emperor's maternal half-uncle, T'ien Fen, was made Grand Commandant,
a position only inferior in power to that of the Lieutenant Chancellor.
The Grand Empress Dowager was induced to suggest this arrangement.[3]

Tou Ying favored Confucianism highly; T'ien Fen had in his youth
studied the works of a certain P'an Yü, an eclectic philosopher who
combined the doctrines of the Confucians, the Mohists, Legalists, and
the school of names. The greatest ministers thus all favored Confucianism.
They made a clean sweep of the previous officials, and selected for
the third most influential court position, that of Grandee Secretary,
Chao Wan, another disciple of the Confucian authority Shen P'ei.
Wang Tsang was a Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, a position
that enabled him to come into intimate contact with Emperor Wu.
Thus Confucians controlled the government.

They proceeded to introduce Confucian practises, and proposed the
establishment of a Ming-t'ang, a ceremonial building said to have been
used in Chou times for sacrifices and court receptions. Emperor Wu
liked ceremonies and pomp; Confucianism emphasized such ceremonials.
Chao Wan and Wang Tsang needed expert aid in this project, so they
persuaded Emperor Wu to send for their teacher, Shen P'ei. A messenger
was sent with presents of silk and jade circlets (pi), and with a
comfortable carriage with seats, with its wheels bound with rushes,
and a quadriga of horses, to invite the eighty-odd year old Confucian
authority to court. His two outstanding disciples followed him in
one-horse carriages. When he arrived at court, Emperor Wu asked him
to state the source of good and bad government. The old man replied,
"The person who governs well should not speak much, and should merely
pay attention and strive hard at what he does." The young emperor
thought highly of his own literary ability, so that he was much displeased
by the old man's reproof. The Emperor had however summoned
Shen P'ei, so made him a Grand Palace Grandee, a high honorary

position, and installed him in the Lodge at the capital for the King of
Lu, then ordered the discussion of a Ming-t'ang.

Meanwhile the Confucian clique at the court had found itself hampered
by the influence of the nobles at the capital. The Confucians
accordingly revived a law enacted by Emperor Wen under Confucian
influence to the effect that nobles, especially marquises, should reside at
their estates in order to guide and care for their people. Most of the
nobles had however established themselves at the center of civilization
and luxury in the imperial capital, did not wish to leave it, and concerned
themselves only with receiving the taxes from their estates. On account
of fear of rebellion, the administrators of noble estates were all appointed
by the imperial government, so that nobles could have little
contact with their people. Emperor Ching had consequently rescinded
Emperor Wen's law. Many of the marquises had moreover married
imperial princesses, hence they took their cause to their relative, the
Grand Empress Dowager nee Tou, and slandered Tou Ying to her. Tou
Ying also offended his own clan by discriminating among its members,
erasing from the family record the names of those who were not upright.

In order to check the influence of the Grand Empress Dowager, the
Confucians now asked for the enactment of a law to the effect that
government affairs should not be brought to the attention of an Empress
Dowager, i.e., that female influence should be excluded from the government.
Thus the issue was joined. Tou Ying and his party were
trying to exalt Confucianism and suppress Taoism as well as Legalism;
the Grand Empress Dowager was an ardent Taoist. When the Grand
Empress Dowager heard of the Confucians' request, she was furious;
Emperor Wu, who had probably become somewhat tired of the Confucians,
sent Wang Tsang and Chao Wan to jail, where they were compelled
to commit suicide; Tou Ying and T'ien Fen were dismissed. The
Confucians would not withstand the Emperor's grandmother.[4]

A few months after her death in 135 B.C., Emperor Wu, possibly at the
suggestion of T'ien Fen, who had again become influential, established
Erudits who specialized in each of the five Confucian classics. The same
year, T'ien Fen became Lieutenant Chancellor. He appointed several
hundred Confucians to office and degraded Taoists.[5] Yet there continued
to be Taoists in the court, for there had been no ban put upon
them—Chi Yen, a Taoist, was promoted by Emperor Wu to the position
of Chief Commandant in Charge of Noble Ranks, one of the high ministers

(50: 9b), and continued by his frank criticism to inspire the Emperor with
respect and even with fear. Szu-ma T'an and his son, the historian
Szu-ma Ch'ien, were both Taoists and kept their post as the successive
Grand Astrologers. The Mohist school seems to have exercised little
influence, if it still existed, which is doubtful, for no adherent of this
school is mentioned among Emperor Wu's officials, although it is mentioned
by Szu-ma T'an in his survey and comparison of the six
philosophical schools.[6]

Through his liking for scholarship and literary men, Emperor Wu came
into touch with the Confucian Kung-sun Hung1. The latter was a poor
boy who had studied the various commentaries on the Spring and
Autumn, and was recommended to the imperial court by his native state.
His examination paper was placed in the lowest class by the Grand
Master of Ceremonies; when Emperor Wu reread the papers, he was much
struck by the literary quality of Kung-sun Hung's paper, promoted it to
the first paper of the first class, and summoned him to an audience. He
proved to be a Confucian who knew how to clothe displeasing speech
in tactful language, hence secured Emperor Wu's favor. Tung Chung-shu
called him a flatterer. He was gradually advanced until Emperor
Wu made him a marquis and Lieutenant Chancellor.

Tung Chung-shu had previously suggested to Emperor Wu the establishment
of a government university; in the summer of 124 B.C.,
while Kung-sun Hung1 was Lieutenant Chancellor (6: 11b), the latter
renewed the suggestion and drafted the memorial which was approved
by the Emperor and became the charter of the Imperial University
(HS 88: 3b-6a). This institution was located seven li northwest of
the capital. The masters were the Erudits; they or their Disciples did
the teaching.[7] The Grand Master of Ceremonies was ordered to select
fifty persons who were in their eighteenth year or over, in good health
and upright in character. They were entitled the Disciples of the
Erudits and were exempted from taxes and service. The Administrators

of Commanderies and Chancellors of Kingdoms were ordered to
select suitable students who showed a love of learning and good character
and to send them to the Grand Master of Ceremonies at the imperial
capital with the persons who brought the yearly accounts to the capital;
these students were to study at the Imperial University for one year with
the Disciples, whereupon they were to be examined. Those who thereupon
showed themselves expert in one classic or more were entitled
Literary Scholars or Authorities upon Ancient Matters. Those who did
not attain such a high rank might be made Gentlemen-of-the-Palace,
who were imperial attendants and might be selected for office. The name
of a person who was graded as an Accomplished Talent of Unusual Degree
might be reported to the throne for a substantial office. Those who had
not applied themselves to studying or had shown themselves of such
small ability that they could not even become expert in one Classic were
immediately dismissed. Literary Scholars or Authorities upon Ancient
Matters might be given minor positions in the official bureaucracy.[8]

There was thus established in the capital an institution for the training
of officials, capable graduates of which automatically entered the government
service. The curriculum and teachers of this institution were all
Confucians, so that, as Szu-ma Ch'ien says, "From this time on, most of
the minor officials in the offices of the ministers and officials at the capital
were Literary Scholars." Confucian learning thus became the means
whereby most of the lower positions in the bureaucracy were filled, and
so in time permeated the government.

Emperor Wu was far from being a thoroughgoing Confucian. Indeed,
in many respects he acted contrary to Confucian ideals. His widespread
military expeditions were un-Confucian. His heavy taxes and legal
oppression of the people were un-Confucian. His establishment of the
salt and iron government monopolies, the monopoly on fermented liquors,
and the Bureau of Equalization and Standards, whereby the government
speculated in goods, were specifically Legalist measures. His cultivation
of magicians, his seeking for supernatural beings, his erection of buildings
for magical purposes, such as Fei-lien Lodge, Yi-yen-shou Lodge, and
T'ung-t'ien T'ai (the Terrace that Communicates with Heaven) and
his indulgence in superstitious sacrifices were Taoist measures.[9] His

elaborate development of laws was a measure stressed by the school of
names and circumstances. In many ways, in his conquest, in his tours
of the empire, in his ascent of Mt. T'ai, and in his severe government,
he seems deliberately to have imitated the First Emperor of the Ch'in
dynasty, who was a legalist. In 110 B.C., when the fifty-odd Confucians
he had summoned could not agree on what should be the ceremonies and
utensils for the sacrifices feng and shan, chiefly because these Confucians
restrained themselves by historical principles and were unwilling to go
beyond what ancient texts declared, Emperor Wu dismissed them all
and himself fixed the rites for these sacrifices.[10] Thus Emperor Wu was
in reality influenced by all the current doctrines, and did not hesitate
to depart from Confucian principles. While his reign marks the beginning
of strong Confucian influence in the government, that influence
was far from being victorious at this time.

The next step towards the Confucian victory occurred in the reign of
Emperor Hsüan, who came to the throne almost by accident in 74 B.C.,
thirteen years after Emperor Wu died. This boy had been disinherited
because of his grandfather's rebellion against Emperor Wu, and had
been brought up by some faithful officials. He had been given a good
education, which naturally included a study of Chinese literature, so that
he had studied the Analects, the Classic of Filial Piety, and the Book of
Odes. Thus he had been indoctrinated with Confucianism, because
Confucians had taken to themselves the exposition of the best Chinese
literary treasures and had made those treasures into Confucian books.
After he began to rule, he chose Confucians for his officials and advisors.
Each of his Lieutenant Chancellors had made a special study of some
Classic, although they were not primarily scholars. When calamities,
such as earthquakes, occurred, he did the typically Confucian thing of
sending for those Confucians who professed to be able to interpret
such visitations as indicating the will of Heaven. Because his grandfather
had been interested in the Ku-liang Commentary on the Spring
and Autumn, Emperor Hsüan revived its study and summoned its
teachers to the Imperial Palace, where he ordered ten of his gentlemen
to study it, which they did consecutively for more than ten years. Comparison
of it with the then authoritative Kung-yang Commentary (the
Tso-chuan had not yet become popular), led to a realization of the discrepancies
between different interpretations of the various classics.
Emperor Hsüan accordingly summoned to the capital all the outstanding
authorities upon the Confucian classics to discuss the meaning of these

classics in the imperial presence. The discussions began in the Palace
Hall and were transferred to the Shih-ch'ü Pavillion, under the presidency
of the Grand Tutor to the Heir-Apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih, who
was famous for his scholarship in all five classics. The discussions lasted
three years; twenty-two persons are mentioned in various places as having
participated as authorities in this famous discussion. In cases of otherwise
irreconcilable disputes, Emperor Hsüan seems himself to have
decided upon the correct interpretation. The decisions of this Confucian
council were memorialized to the Emperor and were ratified by him in
51 B.C. They are listed among the books in Imperial Private Library.
In this way an official interpretation for the classics was reached. Other
interpretations were not proscribed, but the official interpretation was
doubtless taught in the Imperial University and learned by all candidates
for official position, for use in the examinations. Consequently it monopolized
men's minds in the same way that Chu Hsi's interpretation became
dominant in the medieval period. At the same time, the number of
Erudits and Disciples, i.e. the teachers in the Imperial University,
was doubled and Erudits were established for special interpretations of
certain classics.[11]

Thus at the end of Emperor Hsüan's reign, the occupants of the
high government posts had all had a Confucian training, the Imperial
University was continuing to fill the bureaucracy with Confucian scholars,
and a Confucian council had fixed the official interpretation of the Classics
which became authoritative for the government. Yet Emperor Hsüan
was not a thoroughgoing Confucian and did not wholeheartedly approve
of this doctrine. He was primarily a practical man who had
lived among the common people before he came to the throne, and
knew the danger of idealistic impracticality inherent in Confucian
teaching. Hence he took as his own ideal of government, not merely
Confucian principles, but also the conduct of the very un-Confucian
practical statesmen during Spring and Autumn times. He was interested
in the penological terminology discussed by the legalist school of
names and circumstances, and most of his high officials used these
legalist principles as well as Confucian principles in their government.
Pan Ku represents him as telling his Heir-apparent that the institutes
and laws of the Han dynasty had been taken from both non-Confucian
and Confucian teachings and that the Confucian principle of using
merely moral suasion to bring about conformity to right principles is
utterly impracticable; the Confucian love of the ancient and disapproval

of the present results in confusion.[12] This drastic criticism of Confucianism,
found today in the writings of a Confucian historian, indicates
well the attitude practical men then took towards Confucianism.

Yet Emperor Hsüan had so well prepared the way for the victory of
of Confucianism that this victory could hardly have been avoided. He
had given his son and Heir Confucian tutors. This Emperor Yüan
had been brought up in the Palace and had had little contact with the
outer world, so that Confucianism did not appear impractical to him.
When he came to the throne, he proposed immediately to make Confucian
reforms. The influence of the Emperor's maternal relatives,
who were in control of the army, and of the Emperor's favorite eunuch
was able to check the Confucian influence for a time. Emperor Yüan
knew little of government, so depended upon this eunuch to decide
government matters, and spent most of his time enjoying himself in the
imperial harem. This eunuch was even able to trick the Emperor into
sending the outstanding Confucian, Hsiao Wang-chih, to his death.
The criticism that resulted however led this eunuch to favor other
famous Confucians, and so, during most of Emperor Yüan's reign,
Confucian influence was allowed to make important reforms in the
government. In this period it became the practise for the Superintendant
of the Imperial Household yearly to rank the various members
of the imperial retinue according to a set of four Confucian virtues.
Since the commonest way of entering government service was by spending
a period as a member of the large imperial retinue, in order that the
emperor might have a personal acquaintance with his officials, it was
natural, when the bureaucracy and consequently the imperial retinue
became so large that an emperor could not know individually all the
prospective candidates (it included as many as a thousand persons)
that a second and moral test should have been added after the first
and literary examination.[13] In the next reign, that of Emperor Ch'eng,
Confucian influence was equally important. His cousin, Wang Mang,
who sought to usurp the throne, found it advisable to adopt all sorts of
Confucian practises. He indeed endeavored to secure public approval
by being more Confucian than even the Han emperors had been, and
kept reforming the imperial administration to give it more and more
Confucian features. His outstanding reforms were merely Confucian
ideals translated into governmental practises. In thus attracting the
approval of educated men, Wang Mang was so successful that the

leaders of the Later Han dynasty largely followed his example. The
rulers of that dynasty were even more Confucian than the last emperors
of the Former Han dynasty and Confucian influence dominated the whole
Later Han period.

Thus the victory of Confucianism was a gradual process. It began
when Emperor Kao found Confucians assisting him in overthrowing the
anti-Confucian Ch'in dynasty. The early Han emperors encouraged
all the various philosophies of the time. Emperor Wu had a Confucian
education, and, in a fit of youthful enthusiasm, endeavored to make
Confucianism the philosophy of the government. This attempt was
however frustrated by the Emperor's grandmother, while the Emperor
himself lost his first enthusiasm for Confucianism and became influenced
by various other doctrines. His love for literature and literary men
however continued to attract him to Confucians, and Kung-sun Hung
induced the Emperor to establish a Confucian Imperial University,
which gradually distributed Confucian literati among the minor offices
in the government. Emperor Hsüan likewise had a Confucian education;
he favored Confucianism highly, enlarged the Imperial University, and
fixed upon an official interpretation to the Confucian Classics. But he
considered Confucian principles as impractical for government, so checked
their influence by legalist principles. The final victory of Confucianism
did not come until the reign of his son, Emperor Yüan. Thereafter
Confucian doctrines became the sole guide for princes, except during
the brief reign of Emperor Ai. The usurper Wang Mang and the
revived Later Han Dynasty both honored these doctrines, and they continued
to dominate the government until the end of that dynasty.

We can now see the causes that brought about the victory of Confucianism.
In the first place, Confucianism was admirably adapted
to be the official philosophy of an imperial government. Confucius was
himself a government official and his pupils were people whose future lay
mostly in official life. Consequently he stressed and taught ideals of
good government. His ethics were aristocratic, that of the ruler who
should be kind (jen) to his people, and of the subject who should be filial
(hsiao), loyal (chung), and decorous (li) to his ruler.

In the second place, Confucius, as a good teacher, was himself a
learned man, and those of his disciples who did not enter political life
became the teachers of China. Confucius taught the literature of his
people; the Confucians made themselves the scholarly authorities and
teachers of that literature. Thus ancient Chinese literature, especially
the best of it, became the literature of Confucianism, and was interpreted
to teach Confucian lessons. Hence anyone who became interested in

literature or scholarship naturally gravitated to the Confucians, for they
possessed the scholarly traditions of the country, and anyone who acquired
a scholarly education was inevitably given a Confucian indoctrination.
In times of warfare, such as that towards the end of the period
of Contending States, scholarship was unimportant, and Confucianism
declined; but when peace was restored, so that scholarship became useful,
Confucianism revived. Because Confucians inevitably became the
tutors of the Heirs to the throne, rulers became indoctrinated in Confucian
ideals. Even though a particular ruler might not be altogether
Confucian, his son, who was affected by both his father's example and
the influence of his Confucian tutor, was likely to be more Confucian,
until the dynasty became wholly Confucian.

In the third place, certain governmental institutions put a premium
upon Confucianism. In the time of Emperor Wen, it became the practise
for the Emperor periodically to invite the provinces to send to him
able persons; he selected among them by requiring to write essays on
various subjects connected with government. The examination system,
even in this early form, thus put a high premium upon literary ability,
and hence upon a Confucian training. It was thus natural that the
government should have been led to establish schools, in particular the
Imperial University, graduates from which filled the bureaucracy with
learned Confucians. Since Confucians were learned men, they naturally
graded the examinations, hence kept non-Confucians out of the bureaucracy,
not by any proscription, but by the simple device of ploughing
non-Confucians.

In the fourth place, after its advantages were recognized, the advantage
of unifying the country intellectually by making one system
of thought current among all educated men led to the elevation of
Confucianism. Shortly after Emperor Wu ascended the throne, in 141
B.C., Tung Chung-shu, in his reply to the imperial examination, presented
his famous memorials concerning statecraft. One of the principles
he therein advocated was that there should be an intellectual
unification of the country by destroying all the non-Confucian philosophies.[14]
These memorials seem to have made a deep impression upon
Emperor Wu, for he immediately acted upon them, proscribing Legalism
and elevating Confucians to be his highest officials. An intellectual
unification had been previously attempted by Li Szu, the famous minister
of the First Emperor, when in 213 B.C. he recommended the burning

of the books and punishment of any one who criticized the Ch'in regime.
The Confucians had roundly condemned this procedure. Emperor Wu
was ambitious to equal the First Emperor in greatness; he was probably
not loath similarly to unify the thought of his own time. While
Emperor Wu later became lukewarm towards Confucianism, Emperor
Hsüan was undoubtedly reminded of Tung Chung-shu's proposal and
certainly recognized the advantages of this policy.

These four factors first demonstrated their effectiveness in Former Han
times. They have undoubtedly continued to operate throughout
Chinese history. At the end of the Later Han period, there seems to
have been a collapse of Confucianism because sincere and long-continued
attempts to put it into practise had failed to prevent the collapse of the
dynasty; the ensuing long period of disorder naturally also brought about
decay of Confucianism. When peace was restored in the T'ang period,
these four factors again brought Confucianism to the front, although
the dynasty's supposed descent from Lao-tzu kept it from becoming
Confucian. In the next great dynasty, the Sung, there was naturally
another peak of Confucian influence. That ascendency continued as
long as peace enabled scholarship to be prized. Only in the modern
period, when literature and learning have ceased to be synonymous with
Confucian teaching and China has ceased to be an empire, has there been
a marked break in the influence of Confucianism. In China, as in Europe,
not until the advent of modern science put into man's hands another tool
for reaching truth, has the power of the ancient authoritarian world-view
been broken. (Reproduced, with permission and with modifications,
from JOAS, Sept. 1938, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 435-449.)

APPENDIX III

ECLIPSES DURING THE REIGN OF EMPEROR YÜAN

i. HS 9: 8b says, In Yung-kuang II, "iii (the third month), on [the
day] jen-hsü, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the
sun." Han-chi 22: 6b repeats this statement. HS 27 Cb: 15a adds,
"It was eight degrees in [the constellation] Lou."

Hoang equates this date with Mar. 28, 42 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates
his solar eclipse no. 2777 for Mar. 27, 42 B.C. at 23th 45m Greenwich
Civil Time (which was Mar. 28 at 7:00 a.m., local time at Ch'ang-an),
and charts the path of totality as passing through Japan and Kamchatka.
He calculates the sun at conjunction as in long. 4° = 4° R.A. The principal
star of the constellation Lou, β Arietis, was then in 2° R.A.

In the 12 years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, four
solar eclipses were visible in China: Oct. 21, 53, Aug. 21, 50, Aug. 9, 49,
and June 19, 47 B.C.

ii. HS 9: 9b says, In Yuan-Kuang IV, vi "on mou-yin, the last day
of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun." Han-chi 22: 9b repeats
the statement. HS 27 Cb: 15a adds, "It was 7 degrees in [the constellation]
Chang."

Hoang equates this date with July 31, 40 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates
his solar eclipse no. 2784 for that date and charts the path of totality
as passing through the present northern Manchuria and Hondo, Japan.
He calculates the sun as being in long. 124° = 127° R.A.; the first star
in Chang, k Hydrae, was then in 121° R.A. There is thus a very close
correspondence between the record and calculation. In the 2 years between
this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were
visible in China.

iii. In Chien-chao V, vi, on jen-shen, the last day of the month, an
eclipse is listed (9: 12b; Han-chi 23: 6b repeats this statement). HS
27 Cb: 15a adds, "It was partial, like a hook, then it set." Hoang gives
this date as Aug. 23, 34 B.C., but there was no eclipse on that date.

In the eleven years from the last correctly recorded eclipse to the
next correctly recorded one in 29 B.C., there were 25 solar eclipses, of
which four were visible in China:[1]

(1) The eclipse of July 20, 39 B.C. reached a magnitude (sun's diameter
= 1.00) of only 0.07 at 2:43 p.m. local time at Ch'ang-an, so that it
could easily be missed. (2) The eclipse of Jan. 14, 38 B.C. (2 days
before a jen-shen day), reached only a magnitude of 0.02 at sunset at
Ch'ang-an, so that it would be very likely missed. Visibility was better
at points north and east. At lat. 40° and the long. of Ch'ang-an, this
eclipse-reached a magnitude of 0.15. (3) The eclipse of Nov. 12, 36
B.C. (the day after a jen-wu day) reached a magnitude of 0.29 at Ch'ang-an
at sunrise. (4) The eclipse of Nov. 1, 35 B.C. reached a magnitude
of 0.66 when the sun set at Ch'ang-an. In view of the statement in the
"Treatise" regarding the eclipse and its character, this must have been
the eclipse concerned.

It occurred in IV, ix, on ting-ch'ou, the last day of the month. Since
ting-ch'ou may be easily misread as jen-shen, the reliability of Hoang's
calendar and of the HS record is confirmed. This eclipse must have been
misdated before that chapter was written, for the "Annals" lists it among
materials belonging in the wrong year.

It is noteworthy that during this period of a quarter century, seven
out of the ten eclipses that might have been visible, if the weather
permitted it, were missed. Evidently the court astronomers were not
looking for solar eclipses, or else they could have seen at least some of
these seven. This period was not one during which portents were overlooked;
the misgovernment of Shih Hsien induced the annalists to
record many portents. It seems as if the astronomers were satisfied
with the calendar, and hence did not bother to look for solar eclipses.