 | THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty |  |
XCIX. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY
CHAPTER XCIX
WANG MANG
INTRODUCTION
Reason for presentation of this chapter here
The "Annals" in the History of the Former Han Dynasty recount events
only until the death of Emperor P'ing on Feb. 3, A.D. 6. There was no
legal Han emperor from that date until Aug. 5, A.D. 25, when Emperor
Kuang-wu of the Later Han dynasty took the throne. During the first
three of these years, Wang Mang, a maternal first cousin of Emperor
Ch'eng (the latter of whom was Emperor P'ing's adoptive father), ruled
as Regent and Acting Emperor, with Liu Ying, a descendant of Emperor
Hsüan, as Heir-apparent and Young Prince, (Ju-tzu, an ancient title,
given to King Ch'eng of the Chou dynasty). On Jan. 10, A.D. 9, Wang
Mang took the throne as actual Emperor, and ruled until his death on
Oct. 6, A.D. 23. Seven months previously, a scion of the House of Han
had been set up as Emperor by a group of generals (called, from his
reign-period, the Keng-shih Emperor), and, between that time and until
Emperor Kuang-wu was seated firmly on the throne, about a dozen other
persons were set up or set themselves up as Emperor (cf. Glossary, sub
Kuang-wu, Emperor). The events in the first part of this period, from
A.D. 6 to A.D. 23, are related fully only in this chapter of the History
of the Former Han Dynasty. These seventeen years belong properly to
the Former Han period.
The period of Wang Mang's reign is extremely interesting. Its events
result from the tendencies that had previously been operating. The
"Annals" in the HS constitute a summary of the history during the
reigns of the Han emperors; in order to continue that account until the
beginning of the Later Han period, there is presented here a translation
of the "Memoir of Wang Mang," which is the only extensive primary
source for that period. It really constitutes an appendix to the "Annals
of Emperor P'ing."
The form of this Memoir
In its form, the "Memoir of Wang Mang" is that of a sequent memoir
(chuan); its latter portion, since it is the only extensive account in the HS
of these seventeen years, is also an annals for those years.
A typical memoir states first the given name and courtesy name of the
notice of those ancestors who were important. If, however, his father
or some antecedent relative has been given a separate memoir, the notice
of his native place and ancestry is omitted in such a sequent memoir.
This section is followed by an account of his education, how he secured
office, what offices he held, his distinguished deeds, his titles, etc. Samples
of his writings are quoted, if they were important or interesting. Somewhere
in the account there is a description of his character (and possibly
of his appearance), preceded by the words, "As a man, ...". The notice
of his death is followed by a similar account of his descendants, if they
were important, and sometimes of other relatives. In general, events are
related chronologically, but there are occasional deviations from that
chronological order, as when an earlier event is recounted in order to
explain or lead up to a later one. (Sometimes in the text there is no
indication of a deviation from the chronological order; it is surprising how
often a proper understanding of the chronology requires the use of the
pluperfect tense).
The account is thoroughly objective; the historian's feelings are rarely
allowed to appear until the end of the chapter, where there is appended a
"eulogy (tsan)", giving the historian's judgment upon the person or
persons considered in the chapter. This eulogy is usually a highly
polished statement, sententious and pregnant. (Later historians, such
as Hsün Yüeh, have not been content with exercising so much self-restraint,
and, while keeping the objective form of the account, they
have introduced at various places in the text a "discussion (lun)" of the
events, criticizing or approving the person or deed under consideration,
sometimes at considerable length. The term "eulogy" is then reserved
for a final polished literary summary.)
A typical annals opens with a brief introductory section, in which are
discussed matters concerning the ruler's childhood and the way he came
to be selected for the throne. The chapter then relates the events during
his reign, by years and months. These recordings are confined to matters
of governmental concern; circumstances concerning the private life of
even the ruler are relegated to the memoirs of the non-imperial individuals
most concerned. Only rarely is there mentioned a matter not of governmental
concern, and then only when it is of great importance. Thus
Pan Ku did not even mention in his "Annals" the famous poet, Szu-ma
Hsiang-ju, although he greatly admired this genius. Matters concerning
legal developments are usually summarized briefly, sometimes with a
reference to the "Treatise on Punishments and Laws." Matters that can
be discussed better in other treatises (chih) or memoirs are similarly dealt
with. Typical and important imperial edicts are quoted. After recounting
that in a memoir.
The "Memoir of Wang Mang" is preceded by that of his aunt, the
Grand Empress Dowager nee Wang (ch. 98), in which there is given an
extended account of the Wang clan's ancestry and of the other members
of that important clan. (An abstract of that memoir will be found in the
Glossary.) Consequently, matters concerning Wang Mang's ancestry
and predecessors are to be found in that memoir. His memoir is thus a
sequent one, and omits the features with which a typical memoir begins.
Since it is a memoir, not an annals, Pan Ku does not confine himself to
governmental concerns, and introduces memorials written by Wang Mang
and others. He also relates fully the antecedents of events. The part
of this memoir devoted to the reign of Emperor P'ing is more than twice
as long as the "Annals" of that Emperor.
Pan Ku's problem was how to include properly an account of Wang
Mang's reign in a history of the Han period. Before he wrote the Han-shu,
Pan Ku had prepared an annals for the first of the Later Han emperors,
so that he knew where a history of the Later Han dynasty must
begin. He did not wish to leave unrecorded the two decades between
these two periods. If Wang Mang had been a legitimate emperor, Pan
Ku could have written an annals for his reign, with additional memoirs
treating of his important officials. Since Wang Mang was a usurper,
Pan Ku could not do so. But Wang Mang was a minister to the last
emperor of the Former Han line. So Pan Ku could legitimately write a
memoir for him and could continue this account down to the beginning
of the Later Han period. Thus he cleverly included this interregnal
period in his History of the Former Han Dynasty.
Since this chapter is a memoir, the accounts of Wang Mang's officials
are also included in it and they are not given separate accounts. Thus
this chapter contains almost all the information in the History about
Wang Mang. In addition to what we have here, there is elsewhere material
about this usurper in the "Annals of Emperor P'ing" (with brief
mentions in those of Emperors Ch'eng and Ai), an important section concerning
Wang Mang's economic policies in the "Treatise on Food and
Goods" (translated in Appendix I), and a very short notice of his religious
activities in the "Treatise on the Suburban and Other Sacrifices." The
rebellion of Chai Yi is furthermore treated in detail in this person's
memoir (abstracted in the glossary). Thus this account of Wang Mang
is more rounded than that in other memoirs, in dealing with which it is
necessary, in order to obtain a complete account, to read also the memoirs
of the several participants in the series of events, and supplement them
by the chronology to be found in the imperial annals and the tables,
Hence this chapter dealing with Wang Mang is much longer than an
annals or an ordinary memoir would be—and also much more satisfying.
Because there is no annals for the reign of Wang Mang, the later portion
of this chapter is both an annals and a memoir. A memoir regularly
proceeds chronologically, so that Pan Ku could easily combine these
two forms.
Since this chapter also contains the only account of Wang Mang's
officials, Pan Ku found that he could not end it with the death of the
usurper, for he needed to relate the fate of those officials. Then he also
summarized the subsequent history down to the accession of Emperor
Kuang-wu. This chapter is complicated in its form.
Its division into three parts was probably the work of either Ying Shao
or Yen Shih-ku, who made the divisions in the chapters of the HS. This
division is logical and deserves to stand. Part A deals with the rise of
Wang Mang down to his assumption of the throne in A.D. 9. Part B
pictures him at the height of his power. It relates his extensive changes
in rites and titles and the beginning of his decline. Part C deals with
the collapse of his rule, from A.D. 17 to the end. The chapter is so long
that these divisions have proved useful as well as logical.
Its sources
Concerning the sources of this and other chapters, I shall have something
to say in the volume of "Prolegomena" to this series. In the main,
the sources here are the same as elsewhere: imperial messages and edicts,
stenographical reports of imperial conversations (cf. 99 A: 27a), some
official annals kept at the palace, memorials to the throne, with their very
varied contents, such as even testimony at trials and the reports given by
informers. In addition, Pan Ku used the political pamphlets of the day,
which probably also formed part of the memorials to the throne, sometimes
being presented to the throne by the author of the pamphlet, and
sometimes (in the case of those attacking Wang Mang) forming part of
the evidence memorialized to justify a condemnation. The material that
might have come from the above sources may well account for practically
the whole of this chapter.
In this chapter, the amount of direct and extended quotation from
primary sources is noteworthy. In Part A, these explicit quotations form
68% of the whole; in Part B, 53%; and in Part C, 41% (exclusive of the
eulogy); an average of 55% for the chapter. Pan Ku was himself a poet
and literary artist of the first rank, and plainly admired the Confucian
literary products of Wang Mang's time, including Wang Mang's own
edicts, hence was led to quote them as examples of the age's literary
27b-29a) alone account for 27% of the direct quotations in Part A.
In addition to the direct quotations, there is a very large amount of
information that must have come from written documents, such as official
appointments, enfeoffments, summaries of official orders concerning economic
matters, concerning the redistricting of territory, concerning military
expeditions, etc. Much of this material is probably fragmentary
direct quotation. Since there is no difference in Chinese style between
direct and indirect discourse (except for the personal pronouns, the phrase
"your servant," and a few such phrases), a clever compiler, such as Pan
Ku shows himself to be, could more easily piece together phrases from
earlier documents to produce his own account than himself compose the
whole account anew. The peculiar description of the bandits in 99 C:
14b, which makes them out to be beggars going about asking for food,
blaming the fighting upon the government officials who come out and get
hurt, was very likely part of the report sent in by the Higher Subordinate
Official of the Commander-in-chief mentioned immediately afterwards,
who was captured by the bandits and freed, probably because he promised
to plead for them. Pan Ku used it as his own account of the bandits
(without mention of his source), since it came from a man who could
speak at first hand about them.
Another noteworthy feature of the age was the number of extensive
political documents, chiefly propaganda, that are mentioned in this
chapter. Evidently it was an age when there was a large reading public,
who eagerly perused such documents and passed them from hand to hand.
In A.D. 5, 487,572 persons (probably by groups) turned in memorials at
the capital concerning Wang Mang (99 A: 19b). We hear of a work on
filial piety written by Wang Mang in eight fascicles (99 A: 17a), of a
report by the eight commissioners concerning the people's customs,
praising Wang Mang, in 30,000 words (99 A: 23b), of a piece of propaganda,
entitled "The Mandate of Heaven Given Through Portents," in
42 fascicles (99 B: 9a), of a remonstrance to Wang Mang written by his
general, Chuang Yu, in three fascicles (99 C: 5b), of a book of revelations
written by Wang K'uang4b attacking Wang Mang, in over 100,000 words
(99 C: 12b), and of Wang Mang's own apologia, in more than a thousand
words (99 C: 25a). In addition there are mentioned other political
documents that must have been extensive, but about whose length we
are given no information: Chai Yi's message attacking Wang Mang, sent
about the country at the outset of his rebellion (99 A: 30a; 84: 11a);
Liu Yin4a Po-sheng's messages (99 C: 20a), and Wei Hsiao's message
(HHS, Mem. 3: 2a-4a), all attacking Wang Mang. There must have
been many more, in addition to the government documents and constant
(quoted in HS 100 A: 7b-11b) was probably a pamphlet passed about
the country in support of Emperor Kuang-wu.
Stange (in Die Monographie über Wang Mang, p. xxiv) states that this
chapter contains many matters which could only have come from oral
tradition or court gossip. There are, of course, some matters that did
come from oral tradition, such as the opinion about Wang Mang's music
(99 C: 4b), which might indeed have come from Pan Chih, Pan Ku's
grandfather. But such matters that are traceable to no written sources
are very much fewer than one might think, and Stange's own examples
are all chosen unfortunately.
Whenever a capital sentence was imposed, the facts upon which that
sentence was based were summarized in the form of a memorial and sent
to the emperor for his approval before the sentence was carried out.
These memorials then formed part of the government records, were
preserved, and were available to Pan Ku for the compilation of his History.
The government archives from Former Han times must have been
very extensive. The most surprising case is that in a memorial of A.D. 9
(99 A: 34b), Wang Mang mentions a book of revelation by Kan Chung-k'o
as being extant and stored in the Orchid Terrace (the imperial archives).
Now this remarkable work (in twelve rolls) had been written some time
in the reign of Emperor Ch'eng. It contained a prophecy that the Han
dynasty had come to the end of its period and must receive a renewed
mandate from Heaven. The famous Liu Hsiang had memorialized that
the matter was a fabrication to impose upon the vulgar, and Kan Chung-k'o
died in prison. In 5 B.C., a disciple, Hsia Ho-liang, memorialized
this book to Emperor Ai, who was impressed by it and changed his own
title and year-period in order to conform with this prophecy. (It was
evidently this copy that Wang Mang read.) A few months later, when
his illness did not improve, Emperor Ai abrogated his change and turned
Hsia Ho-liang over to his officials, who decided that he had maliciously
deceived the Emperor, which was an inhuman crime; he and his associates
were executed. Now if this repudiated prophetic book, forming part of a
memorial from a man who was executed for one of the most serious crimes
in the code, was preserved in the imperial archives for a period of fourteen
years, during three reigns, it is likely that memorials to the throne were
generally preserved. Such memorials contained information and advice
about all sorts of matters; they must have been an extensive source of
information for anyone who had access to them. Pan Ku occasionally
quotes such memorials, for example, Chuang Yu's advice about the
expedition against the Huns, which advice was rejected (found in 94 B:
19a-b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, pp. 273-275).
Now let us examine the examples of supposedly oral tradition mentioned
by Stange. The first one, the intrigue of Wang Mang against
Shun-yu Chang (99 A: 2a), resulted in the death of Shun-yu Chang, the
execution of his family and several dozen other persons, including a
former Empress, and the promotion of Wang Mang, so that there must
have been official documents recounting the testimony of those examined,
requesting the execution of these persons, detailing the culprit's crimes,
and indicating the person who reported them (cf. Glossary sub Shun-yu
Chang). Pan Ku's information about this incident was very likely based
upon these written documents.
The account of Wang Mang's wife's economy (99 A: 2a, b) also probably
came from a documentary source; some among the hundreds of
thousands of memorials praising Wang Mang probably contained this
detail, as well as many other details of Wang Mang's early life. A similar
memorial was probably the source for his interview with K'ung Hsiu
(99 A: 3b-4a). It is even more probable that the statement made by
Liu Ch'ung to his Chancellor, Chang Shao (99 A: 27a, b), was taken from
a documentary source, either from the report of the magistrate about
this rebellion or from a memorial to Wang Mang by Chang Shao's cousin,
Chang Sung, excusing himself. In the case of Chao Ming's message to
Chai Yi (99 A: 30b), it is quite possible that this message might have
been found in Chai Yi's camp after his defeat or in the city of Yü, to
which he fled and which was taken by storm.
It is not asserted that these conversations actually occurred, any more
than that the Higher Subordinate Official's account of the bandits was
true; it is merely pointed out that these conversations, etc., found in the
HS, could in most cases have been found by Pan Ku in some documentary
source, and that he used them as representing what very likely had happened.
There are many cases, especially in the HS memoirs, in which a
conversation would have enlivened the account and in which no conversations
are recounted. Hence it is most probable that Pan Ku did not
invent the conversations he recounts. He may be criticized for using
other people's invented conversations, but it seems rarely the case
that he himself invented matters which were not found in documents.
We have considered each of the cases Stange brings forward as supposed
instances of oral tradition, and note that, as Pan Ku used them,
they were all probably found by him in written form. The accounts of
conversations, etc., found in the HS are different in their nature from
the ones in the SC that have been so correctly suspected of having been
fabricated by Szu-ma Ch'ien. The latter writer has been known for his
lively accounts of events. Pan Ku's History has been criticized as being
inferior in its literary character—the difference is probably that Pan Ku
he found them in his sources. Hence the reliability of each case must be
judged upon its own merits and any general suspicion of Pan Ku's reliability
must be laid aside.
The sources for the account of Wang Mang's last days
The account of Wang Mang's death is extremely interesting because
of the abundant details recounted and their vividness. The number of
intimate details are so extraordinary that this account must have come
from an eye-witness who had close access to the Emperor. It tells what
happened on each day of the siege; how Wang Mang changed the guard
at the city gates; how Chang2 Han was killed as he was making the
rounds of the gates; how Wang Mang was robed and where he sat in the
throne-room, in the direction of the handle to the Great Dipper, performing
divination while the Palace was burning (99 C: 27a). We are told
by what steps he left the throne-room building—a staircase seemingly not
mentioned elsewhere in ancient literature (a detail that would hardly have
been invented by a forger)—and that his driver on his final journey was
Wang Yi6, a person only mentioned here and among the list of those who
died with Wang Mang. At the tower where Wang Mang's followers
made their last stand, we are told how Wang Mu, the son of Wang Mang's
Heir-apparent, Wang Yi5, was taking off his court robes, preparing to
flee, when his father arrived, who made him don them again and stay to
die with Wang Mang. Thus part of the account plainly comes from an
intimate companion of Wang Mang.
Other features are written from the viewpoint of the attackers. We
are told in some detail how Teng Yi and Yü K'uang arose, whom they
first attacked, how they effected entrance through the Wu Pass, how
Teng Yi marched around the Han-ku Pass—by an obscure path not
mentioned elsewhere by Chinese geographers—and how he defeated the
Nine Tiger Generals, bottled the remainder of them up in the Capital
Granary, left them, and began preparing siege implements.
Then we are told by what gate the attackers entered the palace, what
important courtiers died defending the entrance to the Tower Bathed by
Water, and which ones died with Wang Mang in the room on top of the
Tower; exactly who killed Wang Mang and took his imperial seals and
cords; who recognized the cords, evidently by their distinctive color,
identified the corpse and took its head; and how Wang Hsien4 lived like
an emperor after the death of Wang Mang.
Where did all these details come from? They are too circumstantial
to have been invented by a romancer. The "Memoir" gives us two details
that seem to solve the problem. In the first place, it says that after
Tz'u4b, the Lieutenant Chancellor of the Keng-shih Emperor, to have
Ts'ui Fa beheaded, because the latter had written an account of Wang
Mang (99 C: 28b). Liu Tz'u4b came to Ch'ang-an before the Keng-shih
Emperor arrived, to look over the situation and prepare a residence for
the new Emperor, at which time this sentence was probably passed.
Ts'ui Fa was an important personage, one of Wang Mang's advisors; a
request for his execution would very probably have been prepared in
accordance with the regular court procedure—a dossier of the evidence
accompanied the request. In this case, most of the evidence was probably
Ts'ui Fa's written account. The Keng-shih Emperor made Ch'ang-an
his capital, so that the whole document found its way into the imperial
archives. Thus we can trace back to Ts'ui Fa an important part of the
material concerning the death of Wang Mang.
Ts'ui Fa was in a position to know these events, for he belonged to
the innermost circle about Wang Mang. Ts'ui Fa appears again and
again in the account of Wang Mang's reign, giving successful advice upon
various superstitious practises, such as the very interesting wailing at the
Altar to Heaven and the wailing in the city of Ch'ang-an to keep off
invaders.
Ts'ui Fa seems, after his surrender to Shen-t'u Ch'ien, to have written
an apologia, recounting his influence over Wang Mang and relating the
details of the last days in his master's life. Perhaps he was with Wang
Mang in the Tower and, as Wang Mu began to do, he took off his court
robes, mixed with the ignorant soldiers who did not even recognize Wang
Mang, and escaped. Ts'ui Fa seems to have been the sort of man who
would do such a thing, and afterwards attempt to gain glory by writing
an account of what had transpired. We know that this apologia was
preserved, for it is stated that Emperor Kuang-wu had Yin Min rebut
"a comparison written in behalf of Wang Mang by Ts'ui Fa" (HHS,
Mem. 69 A: 10a), which contained prophecies and revelations.
Other features of Pan Ku's account came from separate sources.
Someone undoubtedly wrote an account of the capture of Ch'ang-an as a
report to the Keng-shih Emperor. We are not told who it was; the account
did not come from Wang Hsien4; it is too unfavorable to him. I suspect
that Teng Yi was the author of this account, if there were not many such
accounts—many of the details in the HS are connected with Teng Yi's
expedition. Kung-pin Chiu, who secured Wang Mang's head, moreover
carried this trophy to the Keng-shih Emperor at Yüan and received a
marquisate for his deed. He undoubtedly had someone prepare an
account of his exploit for presentation to the Emperor—possibly he wrote
it himself. This account might naturally contain a list stating where
the court and could identify them.
The curious literary addition that several tens of soldiers killed each
other in hacking Wang Mang's body to pieces may also come from his
account. This incident is strikingly like the occurrence at the death of
Hsiang Yü, when several tens of soldiers killed each other in the struggle
for his body (Mh II, 320); indeed, exactly the same Chinese words are
used. In that case, a reward was given to each person who finally
secured a member; in the case of Wang Mang, we hear of nothing except
the reward to Kung-pin Chiu; indeed, no reward seems actually to have
previously been offered for Wang Mang's head, although everyone
doubtless expected a reward. This incident looks like a literary embellishment
to the account of Wang Mang's death, and might very likely
have been added by Kung-pin Chiu in order to make an impression. If
it was found in the written report of an eye-witness, we can hardly blame
Pan Ku for utilizing it.
The foregoing analysis may indicate something of the nature of the
sources used by Pan Ku. Of course, this analysis is wholly hypothetical;
Pan Ku left no detailed account of the sources he used. But we know
that he had free access to the imperial archives, and we can determine,
from a knowledge of Han practises, about what sort of material must
have been in those archives. Since Pan Ku spent twenty years working
on his History while he was an official of the imperial private library
and had access to the archives, he would naturally have culled out the
material we find in this chapter. Then it is almost entirely a skilful
piecing together of documentary material.
Pan Piao's part in this chapter
It is difficult to determine whether most of this chapter was written
by Pan Ku or by his father, Pan Piao. Stange (ibid., xii) thinks that a
large part came from the experiences of Pan Piao. But Pan Piao was
born in A.D. 3 (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 5a), so that he was only twenty years
of age when Wang Mang was killed. His father, Pan Chih, was living
in retirement as a Gentleman at the tomb of Emperor Ch'eng, because
of his tacit opposition to Wang Mang, so that Pan Piao would hardly
have been acquainted in court circles. It would thus seem that only a
negligible part of this chapter could have come from Pan Piao's own experiences.
In a work made up largely of piecemeal quotations from
documentary sources, we would hardly expect any differences in style
between father and son. Pan Piao became later only a minor official in
some of the capital offices; he was sent out to hold office in a city of the
to the numerous sources available to Pan Ku. The HHS says that Pan
Ku considered his father's account not to have been sufficiently detailed
(HHS, Mem. 30 A: 7b), and, in his own preface, Pan Ku does not mention
his father's work. I suspect that Pan Piao did not have much to do with
the "Memoir of Wang Mang," although it is impossible to prove such a
statement.
The reliability of this account
Pan Ku has often been suspected of bias against Wang Mang. He
indeed condemns Wang Mang in the severest terms—his eulogy (99 C:
29a-30a) could hardly have been more drastic. His family, too, suffered
from Wang Mang. In the reign of Emperor Ch'eng (during ca. 32-18
B.C.), Pan Ku's clan had for a time been very close to the throne, enjoying
an eminence that was said to have shaken the empire (100 A: 6a).
About 1 B.C., however, Pan Ku's grandfather had been accused of a
capital crime by Wang Mang's associates and compelled to retire from
official life (100 A: 5b). Hence the Pan clan was not in sympathy with
Wang Mang, although it took no part in the rebellions against him. In
the disorder after the death of Wang Mang, Pan Piao fled to the present
Kansu, where he finally joined Emperor Kuang-wu's forces, and later
returned to the capital with them. Pan Ku was moreover a loyal adherent
of the Later Han dynasty; he was highly honored by and intimate
with its second emperor (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 8b). He thus had ample
reason to be prejudiced against Wang Mang.
There is, however, little or no evidence that he actually distorted his
History because of any such prejudice. In the first place, his method of
writing history by extensively quoting sources was itself a safeguard. If
there had been any considerable distortion of the facts on his part, the
large amount of quotation from contemporary documents would enable
us to discover such distortion.
The high literary quality of Wang Mang's edicts and of his courtiers'
memorials indeed probably caused Pan Ku to admire them greatly and
to quote them extensively. He was actually attracted to this age, because
of its Confucian spirit. Yin Min, with whom Pan Ku worked
on "The Fundamental Annals of the Epochal Exemplar, [Emperor
Kuang-wu]," (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 8a), found it impossible to rebut Ts'ui
Fa's apologia for Wang Mang, probably because it was so thoroughly
Confucian in its spirit and sayings. All he could say was that the sages
had written no prophetic writings and that the dissection of characters
to derive meanings from them was almost the same as vulgarity (HHS,
Mem. 69 A: 10a). Wang Mang's portents were so Confucian and were
refutation was that offered tacitly by Pan Ku—that they were
fabrications.
In the second place, Pan Ku seems personally to have cherished a high
ideal of historical accuracy. He does not tell good stories for their own
sake, as did Szu-ma Ch'ien. His literary style may have suffered thereby;
the ambitious Szu-ma Ch'ien seems to have told dramatic stories, whereas
Pan Ku clung to what he conceived to be the truth. Pan Ku's spirit
was that of the fifty-odd Confucians whom Emperor Wu asked (ca.
110 B.C.) to determine the ancient ceremonies for the imperial sacrifices
feng and shan, which that Emperor proposed to reestablish. Failing to
discover any detailed account of these rites, they replied that they could
not determine them, and the Emperor himself fixed these rites (HS 58:
12a, b).
This spirit of historical accuracy was nourished by the famous story
in the Tso-chuan (Dk. Hsiang, XXV; Legge, p. 514), concerning the
historiographers in the state of Ch'i. When, in 548 B.C., Ts'ui Chu's
followers killed Duke Chuang, who had illegally entered the former's
house, the Grand Clerk is said to have written on his records, "Ts'ui Chu
assassinated his prince." Ts'ui Chu had the clerk put to death, but his
younger brother, who succeeded to the position, made the same record.
(Official posts were hereditary in the clans of their occupants.) Ts'ui Chu
had this brother in turn put to death, but the third brother, on succeeding
to the position, made the same record. So Ts'ui Chu forgave the last
brother and let the record stand. Meanwhile the Clerk For the South,
hearing that the clan of the Grand Clerk had been extinguished, had taken
his writing tablets and started for the court, evidently intending to make
the same record when he would succeed to the post of Grand Clerk. Upon
hearing that the record had been made, he however returned home. This
story, whether true or not, must have been a powerful stimulus in ancient
times to a correct recording of history, since it was the picture of the
ideal clerk.
One of the accusations made against Liu Hsin1a was that he had "done
away with the traditions about the classics handed down from generation
to generation by his teachers"—he seems to have merely changed the
principles of portent-interpretation (Cf. 99 C: 14b & n. 14.6). There was
thus in certain strains of Confucianism a strong tradition of fidelity to
the facts of history. Pan Ku, a thorough-going Confucian, had this
strong incentive to give an unprejudiced picture of even a ruler whom he
reprobated deeply.
In the third place, the Pan clan had not actually been harmed by Wang
Mang, and had good reason to be attached to his aunt, the Grand Empress
Emperor Ch'eng and came to be entitled the Favorite Beauty nee Pan.
She retired from the imperial court in 18 B.C., when she became unwillingly
involved in an intrigue. She then devoted herself to the care of the
Grand Empress Dowager, who became fond of her (100 A: 5b). Wang
Mang belonged to the same social group as Pan Ku's grandfather and
great-uncles. Wang Mang indeed treated them as his own brothers and
wore mourning for Pan Ku's great-uncle (before 1 B.C.; 100 A: 5b).
Pan Ku's grandfather, Pan Chih, who was a commandery official during
the reign of Emperor P'ing, was impeached by Wang Mang's associates
for having failed to forward to the throne a laudatory report, which he
probably knew was false. Through the intercession of the Grand Empress
Dowager, he was not punished, and retired from active life with his former
salary to the funerary park of Emperor Ch'eng. Thus Pan Ku's clan
was able to remain unmolested in safe obscurity during the reign of
Wang Mang and had no reason for any active animosity towards Wang
Mang. The family income came from Wang Mang's treasury.
In the fourth place, the popular reaction against Wang Mang was so
thorough that the Later Han dynasty did not need to encourage propaganda
against him, so that a prejudiced account was not expected. Pan
Ku was moreover born nine years after Wang Mang died, so that he came
of a generation which was able to view Wang Mang dispassionately. He
wrote half a century after Wang Mang's age, when active resentment had
had time to die down.
In the fifth place, Pan Ku seems to have clung to a historian's objective
valuation of events, and refused to over-value events in order to make
an impression. For example, he did not record all the early revolts on
the part of the Liu clan against Wang Mang, which he might have done
in order to exalt the Han dynasty. He tells merely of Liu Ch'ung (99 A:
27a) and of Liu K'uai (99 B: 7b, 8a); it is only through an incidental
mention in a memorial by Sun Chien that we learn of Liu Ts'eng and Liu
Kuei, who also revolted (99 B: 13b). Probably these latter two revolts
were so ineffective that Pan Ku did not consider them worth recounting.
He even gives an outline of Wang Mang's book of propaganda and quotes
its conclusion at length (99 B: 9a-11a), without attempting any rebuttal.
The coincidences and analogies he quotes are quite adequate to convince
a superstitiously inclined person of Wang Mang's legitimacy. Pan Ku
does thus seem to try to give a fair view of Wang Mang and to be objective
in his presentation of the evidence. I began my study of this chapter
with a decided prejudice against Pan Ku (expecting him to be prejudiced)
and in favor of Wang Mang, but the weight of the primary sources quoted
by Pan Ku and the facts he recounts forced me to reverse my opinion
evidence that Pan Ku really tried and largely succeeded in giving an
objective and reliable account of Wang Mang.
The literary quality of this chapter
The "Memoir of Wang Mang" is a literary masterpiece, in which the
author largely succeeds in giving the reader the impression that Wang
Mang left upon his contemporaries. Upon first reading it, Wang Mang
appears at the outset as an unusually able and upright person, ambitious
perhaps, but of uncommon high-mindedness. He outdoes his age in
scrupulous morality, and his few off-color deeds, such as his purchase of a
slave-girl and the supplanting of Shun-yü Chang, appear as quite excusable
in such an unusual person. Even the execution of his son, Huo,
appears as sheer uprightness, not ruthlessness. His handling of the
crisis at the death of Emperor Ai is magnificent, and the clever way he
afterwards disposed of those who might thwart him brings applause.
His steady humility and princely generosity fill one with admiration, just
as they did the public of his time. As clever intrigues, one after another,
bring success and he is praised, rewarded, and raised to heights never
before known in Chinese history, a casual reader may well feel approval
of this hero, although the approval may not be so whole-hearted when
one remembers his ruthless crushing of his oldest son, of the Wei clan,
and their associates, and the cruel way he secured settlers for the new
Hsi-hai Commandery. (It is not until one has read through the whole
account to the end and recognizes Wang Mang's character in its full
depth of ruthless self-centeredness and shrewd deception, that these early
events take on a sinister, not a benignant aspect. This masterly effect is
achieved by the simple expedient of relating facts objectively and leaving
their interpretation for the most part to the reader. [Exceptions to this
entire objectivity are confined to adjectives and phrases, the condemnatory
nature of which are deliberately hightened in the translation, in
order to indicate the author's inner attitude. Cf. 99 A: 1b, 4b, 6b, 8b.]
It is not, for example, until Wang Mang's last legitimate son has died
that we are informed of the four children he begat in his three years of
retirement at his estate, just as his public did not know of this fact until
that time. Then we realize that he was no high-minded monogamist, but
an iron-willed hypocrite, ready to conceal anything from the public.)
As portent follows portent with ever increasing impressiveness, and as
rebellions are crushed, we are filled with admiration for this able statesman,
and realize that his public approved of his taking the throne. When
he attains the height of his power and ascends the throne with seeming
reluctance, we feel that he has secured his just deserts. He appears as
ancient sage-kings, determined to perfect his state in all particulars.
Then, as unwise and oppressive measures follow one after another, as
he crushes ruthlessly his old followers, Chen Feng and his party, we
realize the tremendous force for evil that he incarnated, and we begin
to guess something of the tortures in store for the country. When the
people are driven to banditry, when his own grandson and his son plot
against his life, and when finally even his three highest officials plot to
abduct him, we feel that he is getting only his just deserts. When however
the collapse comes, and Wang Mang appears as a tired old man,
sleeping only on his stool (99 C: 24a), wearing himself out to the end
in an iron determination to vanquish even hopeless circumstances, using
every means except the right ones, our indignation turns to pity, and the
final massacre becomes not merely the inevitable result of his deeds, but a
real tragedy, for the whole account constitutes a masterly portrayal of
overweening ambition and its inevitable result.
Pan Ku has moreover achieved this wonderful effect, not by a free
composition, but by piecing together documents in the right order, clinging
to the facts as he found them—a work of extraordinary artistry. Sometimes
the machinery does creak, as when we are given the long list of
appointments and enactments made when Wang Mang ascended the
throne, but such things are inevitable in a history that attempts to be
complete. When the edicts and memorials drag out their weary length
and the flowery parallels are repeated again and again, we begin to get
weary, until we realize that we are being treated to samples of the age's
literature. It is rather surprising that the whole account is not dull and
long-winded from beginning to end. A lesser artist would have made it so.
Pan Ku saw his opportunity for producing an unusually artistic history
out of dry-as-dust materials and solved the problem of doing so. Such
an achievement is nothing less than a work of genius.
Historical problems connected with Wang Mang
Because this chapter is not accompanied by memoirs that elaborate
the dry facts given in its chronological outline, as was the case with the
"Imperial Annals," but is itself a historical unit, it is not necessary in
this introduction to present matters omitted from this chapter, as was
done previously. The only important matters not presented fully in this
chapter are the economic measures adopted by Wang Mang, and they
are discussed fully in the appendices.
The important problems concerning Wang Mang up to the time of
Emperor P'ing's death have been discussed in the introduction to that
Emperor's "Annals." It remains here to discuss two further matters:
and, What were the reasons for his fall?
How Wang Mang secured general approval for his usurpation
As was pointed out previously, Wang Mang gained his honors by
espousing thoroughly the Confucian faith and utilizing its traditions.
After Emperor P'ing's death, Confucian principles were used to exalt
Wang Mang by persons who believed they would be benefited by his
elevation. Thereby they raised him to the throne.
Confucianism has had a curiously ambivalent attitude towards existing
rulers. Confucius was himself a legitimist; he tried to strengthen the
power of the ruler in his own state of Lu against the noble clans who were
usurping that power. The Spring and Autumn has been interpreted,
from ancient times, as indicating an attempt on the part of Confucius
to exalt the position of the Son of Heaven (the Chou King) against the
feudal nobles who were usurping that power. Thus Confucianism has
stood for loyalty to the titular ruler of the state and the exaltation of his
power against other claimants for power. This fact is, I think, the
ultimate reason that China has never had any successful line of nobles,
such as the Shoguns, who ruled for a succession of faineant emperors.
On the other hand, Confucianism has included the splendid doctrine
of Heaven's Mandate, by virtue of whose possession a dynasty rules, but
which may be lost by wicked or incapable rulers. This doctrine has been
of inestimable ethical benefit to China and has probably been responsible
for the generally good character of Chinese rule. The teaching that
"Heaven's mandate is not constant" (Book of Odes, III, i, i, 5; Legge,
p. 430) was dinned into the ears of Chinese heir-apparents by their Confucian
tutors and ministers, so that rulers were induced to attempt being
models for the empire, for the sake of keeping themselves on the throne
and of perpetuating their dynastic lines. In Former Han times at least,
the character of the emperors was generally higher than that of their
brothers and cousins, who were petty kings. Confucianism has both
supported existing dynasties and also, when a dynasty has shown itself
feeble, has helped to bring about its fall.
By the end of Former Han times, Confucianism had absorbed and
modified the teachings of the Yin-and-Yang school and the school of the
Five Powers. The latter school asserted that the coming of each dynasty
had been heralded by portents. This belief was accepted by Han Confucianism.
The heralding of great rulers by supernatural portents is a
widespread ancient belief; it could be justified in Han China by many
ancient myths concerning the founders of the Chou dynasty and others,
which myths were accordingly incorporated into the Confucian tradition.
In Chou times, divination and magical practises were part of the state
religion, and many examples of both are to be found in the Tso-chuan,
so that the acceptance of magical performances of many sorts became
part of the Confucian imitation of ancient practises. The famous Hsün-tzu,
whose interpretation of Confucian theory dominated Han Confucianism,
had indeed attacked superstition of all sorts, even denying the
existence of any spirits whatever, but the anti-superstitious phase of his
teaching was not adopted by Han thinkers. Wang Mang's extensive use
of magic, especially in the closing phase of his reign, was quite Confucian.
His use of the divining-board when the Palace was being attacked (99 C:
27a) was copied directly from the account of the Grand Astrologer in the
Chou-li. The magical sacrifices, by which he expected to attain immortality,
were probably also considered to be Confucian. They were
suggested by Su Yo, who is entitled a magician (fang-shih; 25 B: 22b).
Magic was then probably considered a Confucian practise, for the
Chou-li includes among the imperial officials such magical offices as the
Grand Augur (Biot, II, 69), the Master of Augury (Pu-shih; ibid. 74),
Diviners (Chan-jen; ibid. 78), the Interpreter of Dreams (Chan-meng;
ibid. 82), the Grand Intercessor (T'ai-chu; ibid. 85), the Imprecator
(Tsu-chu; ibid. 101), the Chief of the Shamans (Szu-wu; ibid. 102), the
Male and Female Shamans (Nan-, Nü-wu; ibid. 103, 104), the Hereditary
Magical Chancellor (Fang-hsiang-shih; ibid. 225), and the Shaman for
Horses (Wu-ma; ibid. 259). Indeed, many practises which later became
specifically Taoist seem to have been considered Confucian in Former
Han times; Liu Hsiang4a, one of the outstanding Confucians, spent much
time and money, in his younger days, in attempting to make alchemistic
gold. Since Confucianism stressed the imitation of ancient practises,
magic, alchemy, and superstition entered this stream of thought with
little hindrance. They seem only later to have been cast out, especially
in Sung times.
Wang Mang was such a convinced Confucian that he accepted its
superstition and magic, and may never have doubted, even in his last
hours, that the careful use of Confucian magic would eventually bring
success—at least that is Ts'ui Fa's picture of him. Yet he was so worried
during the last few days that he could not eat (99 C: 27a). Confucians
could later explain the failure of this magic in the case of Wang Mang by
alleging that magic does not work for a usurper.
Literary noble titles
The use of literary titles for nobles, rather than titles drawn from their
fiefs, seems also to have been a specifically Confucian practise. Emperor
such as that of Baronet Enlarging Our Territory, given to Li Yi-chi.
Li Yi-chi was the first Confucian whom Emperor Kao was able to endure.
When this emperor later took the throne, with characteristic common
sense, he gave only titles taken from some fief. There were a few other
literary titles, all of which were similarly unimportant. The first important
and permanent literary title in Han times was Emperor Wu's title
for the noble he enfeoffed to carry on the sacrifices to the Chou dynasty,
the Baronet Baron Descendant of the Chou Dynasty. The practise of
enfeoffing a descendant of a supplanted dynasty to carry on the ancestral
sacrifices of that dynasty is itself Confucian and this practise is recorded
in the Confucian Classics as having been performed by the founders of
the Chou dynasty. In the course of time, as Confucian influence became
stronger, more and more literary titles appeared. When Emperor Yüan
took the throne, he appointed K'ung Pa, a descendant of Confucius who
had been this Emperor's teacher, as Baronet in Recompense for [Confucius']
Perfection (81: 15a). He also raised the title for the descendant
of the Chou dynasty to be that of marquis. Emperor Ch'eng furthermore
appointed a Marquis Continuing and Honoring the Ancestral
Sacrifices of the Yin Dynasty, and then raised both these last two marquises
to the rank of duke.
Wang Mang at first continued this practise of giving literary titles
only to those nobles continuing ancient lines. In A.D. 1, Confucius was
posthumously made Duke Hsüan-ni as Recompense for Perfection. As
time went on, the Confucian literary flavor of such titles attracted him
more and more, and the magical properties of such names made them
important. Confucius was said to have emphasized the "rectification of
names". That statement was now taken to imply the giving of magically
effective titles. After he came to the throne, Wang Mang used almost
none but literary titles for his nobles, his officials, and his generals. I
have attempted the difficult and dubious task of translating them, in
order to indicate their literary and magical flavor.
Wang Mang changed the titles of his officials to phrases found in the
Confucian classics. These titles are sometimes curious, but always
literary. Since it takes at least two words to make an unmistakable
title, and since, in a speech of Shun, the Book of History contains the
phrase "my forester," Wang Mang entitled one of his officials, the My
Forester. The Chinese phrase, because of the cryptic nature of Chinese
words, does not openly convey the nonsensical connotation of the
English, but the meaning is exactly as I have translated it. In the titles
of his generals, magical connotations seem to have overbalanced purely
literary ones; Wang Mang seems indeed to have relied largely upon his
from the strain of Confucianism he had imbibed.
Towards the end of his reign, the grandiose tendency of literary titles
resulted in the multiplication of generalissimos and commanders-in-chief,
a tendency continued in the early days of the Later Han dynasty. Indeed,
Wang Mang's literary titles made such an impression on his age
that the rebels against him imitated his titles. They were in good Confucian
tradition.
The doctrine of the Five Powers
Two historical circumstances were responsible for convincing intelligent
people that Wang Mang should take the throne. These were the philosophical
doctrine of the five elements and certain historical events that
led people to believe the Han dynasty must inevitably end. This philosophical
theory was not the creation of a single person or age, but changed
radically during Han times. Its various forms each influenced history,
so it deserves careful study.
A cyclical theory of history is natural in any early philosophy. Greece
too, in the philosophies of Empedocles and others, possessed such cyclical
theories. The five Chinese elements, earth, wood, metal, fire, and water,
seem to have come from popular thought. Tsou Yen, in the first half
of the third century B.C., made them into a cyclical succession which
constituted a philsophy of history. As one element or power becomes
victorious over another, the dynasty upheld by that power conquers its
predecessor dynasty. Each power has its color, its appropriate month
for its New Year's day, its number, its note, etc. The victory of a new
power exhibits itself by supernatural portents, so that the dominant
power can be determined by historical events. Hsün-tzu had interpreted
the Confucian supreme deity, Heaven, as an impersonal Nature; the
succession of the elements came to be considered a law of Nature. It
explained the succession of dynasties and, like natural laws today, was
thought to enable the prediction of future events—in this case, the next
dynasty. This doctrine soon became popular and was taught instead of
the earlier Confucian doctrine that a dynasty falls because of its moral
inadequacies. In a period of constant civil war, this earlier Confucian
theory had little empirical confirmation. In Han times, Tsou Yen's
theory was taken into Confucian thought and secured wide acceptance.
The Chou dynasty, because of the red crow that appeared to King Wu
(Book of History, Legge, II, 298) was considered to have had the virtue
of fire, hence the Ch'in First Emperor adopted the virtue of water, for
water conquers (quenches) fire. He adopted the corresponding month
for his New Year's. But the Ch'in dynasty ruled China for only fifteen
period is taken as typical. The Han dynasty located its capital near the
destroyed Ch'in capital; the last Ch'in ruler surrendered his insignia and
authority to the Eminent Founder of the Han dynasty; the latter accordingly
assumed that he took over the Ch'in dynasty's power of water,
whose color is black. He established a temple to the Black Lord, thus
increasing the number of Lords on High to five (25 A: 17b). Down to
the end of the Former Han period, Palace Attendants wore black sables
(98: 15a). Until the time of Emperor Wen, this theory held the field.
It was championed by Emperor Kao's paladin, who became Emperor
Wen's learned Lieutenant Chancellor, Chang Ts'ang.
Some other learned men were not however satisfied. A change in the
dynasty indicates a change in the ruling power; earth conquers (dykes)
water just as the Han dynasty conquered the Ch'in. Hence the Han
dynasty should change its New Year's day, the colors of court robes,
etc., to those corresponding to earth. So reasoned Chia Yi. Kung-sun
Ch'en even predicted that a yellow dragon would appear to manifest
what was the dynasty's virtue. Earth is yellow. In 165 B.C., a yellow
dragon did appear—Chang Ts'ang was accordingly dismissed and Kung-sun
Ch'en was made an Erudit. He however fell into disgrace through
being connected with the charlatan, Hsin-yüan P'ing, and his proposed
change in the dynastic institutions was dropped. Only in 104 B.C. did
Emperor Wu officially adopt the color yellow and the power earth as Han
imperial institutions (6:31b).
Meanwhile there had been other developments in this cyclical philosophy
of history. Tung Chung-shu (ca. 175 – ca. 105 B.C.) proposed a
tripartite succession (san-t'ung) of red, black, and white, which three were
supposed to succeed each other concomitantly with the five powers.
Emperor Wu's New Year's day was fixed in the first month in accordance
with this theory.
During the peaceful decades in the early part of the Han period, Confucians
moreover came to give more attention to the ancient legendary
lords, Fu-hsi, Sheng-nung, the Yellow Lord, Chuan-hsü, K'u Yao, and
Shun. These lords did not succeed each other by conquest. Each one
was said to have resigned the throne to his successor. A cyclical theory
that the powers conquer each other does not fit a history which includes
such peaceful changes of dynasties. Tung Chung-shu accordingly suggested
a theory by which the five powers each produces its successor:
wood produces fire, that produces earth (ashes), that produces (mines)
metal, that produces (melts into) water (liquid), that produces (nourishes)
wood (vegetation), and so on. His Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu contains both this
theory and the earlier one that each power conquers its predecessor, but
influence it came to be accepted widely. It found a place in the "Explanation
of the Trigrams (Shuo-kua)" (Legge, Yi King, App. V), which
was "discovered" during 73-49 B.C. Thus it was given classical confirmation.
Liu Hsiang4a developed it and gave it the weight of his great
influence, so that it came to be the only one given serious consideration
during the latter part of the Former Han period. The Han dynasty
was now given the virtue of fire, which was supported by the story of
the Eminent Founder being the son of the Red Lord (1 A: 7a). Down
to 91 B.C., the imperial credentials were pure red (66: 3b), possibly because
Liu Chi, when he first arose, anointed his drums with blood (1 A:
9b). Since the Ch'in dynasty had ruled for such a short period, this
dynasty was considered to have achieved its conquest without securing
the Mandate of Heaven and without the assistance of a power in the
regular cycle. The Ch'in dynasty then constituted an intercalary period.
The Han dynasty was considered to have succeeded the Chou dynasty,
to the latter of which was now given the virtue of wood. The ancient
lords and the three ancient dynasties were each given their appropriate
power in the cyclical succession and ancient history was explained thereby.
In this way, the succession of dynasties was made to appear as inevitable
and natural as the succession of the seasons (cf. Ku Chieh-kang, Ku-shih-pien,
V, 404-617).
Liu Hsiang4a was a loyal member of the imperial clan. He opposed
the influence of the Wang clan so strongly that he was never given high
office. This theory of dynastic succession was then not originally intended
to aid Wang Mang. It however aided mightily in bringing him
to the throne.
This theory made intelligent people think that a change in the dynasty
was inevitable. The succession of the powers moreover made them think
it would be possible to predict the next dynasty. Fire produces earth.
The Wang clan claimed descent from the Yellow Lord, who had the
virtue of earth. This genealogy almost certainly antedated Wang Mang;
it seems to have been merely a noble clan's attempt to exalt itself by
claiming divine descent. There were other clans also claiming descent
from this mythical ruler. The Wang clan however dominated the government
for over three decades, so that it became only natural for people
to point to this clan when they talked about the next dynasty.
Astrology and prognostication also played a part in this speculation.
Generations before the Wang clan ever appeared at court, Lu Wen-shu's
(fl. 73 B.C.) great-uncle had calculated by astrology that after a period
of three times seven decades of years, the Han dynasty would end
(cf. 99 A: n. 34.5). During the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, Ku Yung, a
revived this prediction. This period of 210 years would end in A.D. 4.
When, in 12 B.C., there was an eclipse of the sun on New Year's day,
followed by thunder without clouds in May and the appearance of Halley's
comet in the autumn, the court became greatly exercised. Shun-yü
Chang, an imperial maternal relative, was sent to secure Ku Yung's
interpretation. The latter replied that the number of portents during
the last twenty years was greater than in the Spring and Autumn period
or during the regins of all the preceding Han emperors; the period of
three sevens of decades was coming to an end; and the lot indicated by
the hexagram wu-wang (then meaning "hopelessness") was coming up.
He went on to intimate that the essence of the power earth was being
born (85: 15b-16b). His memorial made a deep impression in the court.
Thus in 12 B.C., there was already a general belief among intelligent
persons that the Han dynasty's period was coming to an end.
When moreover Emperors Ch'eng, Ai, and P'ing died without natural
heirs, people naturally saw in this extraordinary circumstance Heaven's
plain intention to end the dynasty. There could indeed be hardly any
surer manifestation that the supernatural powers intended to end a
dynasty than that three of its rulers should in succession all have left
no heir. The death of Emperor P'ing at the end of the Chinese year
beginning in A.D. 5 was naturally interpreted as a confirmation of Lu
Wen-shu's great-uncle's prophecy. The count of years in Emperor Kao's
reign had been begun before he had even become a king (1 A: 26b); it
could easily be maintained that he began one year too early. If so,
Emperor P'ing died at precisely the end of the dynasty's two hundred
and tenth year. People naturally concluded that the virtue of fire had
expired and the virtue of earth was arising by the inexorable operation
of Heaven's cyclical natural law.
Yao and Shun had each resigned the throne to his greatest minister.
Wang Mang came from a clan that had now controlled the government
for many decades; he himself had been raised to previously unprecedented
honors. He was descended from the Yellow Lord and possessed the
virtue of earth. He had done all he could to maintain the Han dynasty
on the throne, but nevertheless all these events had happened. He had
not been responsible for the succession of coincidences that had occurred
or the philosophical theory by which they were interpreted. History
runs in cycles. The laws of Heaven cannot be evaded. People naturally
drew the conclusion that history was repeating itself and that Heaven
had destined Wang Mang to inaugurate a new dynasty under the rule
of the power earth.
The depth and sincerity of this political consequence drawn from
philosophical principles is shown by the fact that it was shared by members
of the Liu imperial clan itself, especially after Wang Mang's victory
over Chai Yi's formidable rebellion had given apparent empirical confirmation
to the belief that Wang Mang possessed the mandate of
Heaven. The famous Liu Hsin1a, who was a descendant of Liu Chiao,
Emperor Kao's younger brother, actively assisted Wang Mang to take
the throne. Liu Ching4b, a descendant of Emperor Wu, presented one
of the crucial portents, urging Wang Mang to take the throne (99 A:
34a, b). Liu Kung2, a first cousin of Liu Hsin1a, also presented a portent
(99 B: 14a). When Liu K'uai rebelled against Wang Mang, his brother,
Liu Yin2, a descendant of Emperor Ching, resisted and defeated the
insurrection (99 B: 7b, 8a). Altogether some thirty-two members of the
Han imperial clan either presented portents to Wang Mang, offered
congratulatory sayings, or arrested and informed on rebels against him.
These persons and their families were granted the new imperial surname,
Wang, so that they were continued in their nobilities (99 B: 14a). Some
of these persons were, of course, mere sycophants, seeking continued
enjoyment of their fiefs, but there were honest persons among them. If
then even members of the Han imperial clan were convinced, it is not
surprising that intelligent persons generally accepted Wang Mang's
legitimacy. The famous writers of the day all accepted Wang Mang.
Huan T'an assisted Wang Mang at the time of Chai Yi's rebellion, by
publishing abroad Wang Mang's apologia, and in reward was enfeoffed
as a Vassal (84: 17a). The philosopher, Yang Hsiung2, who cared not
for fame or disciples and spent his energy solely in elaborating his philosophy,
wrote mandates through portents for Wang Mang (87 B: 22b).
Most of the Confucians seem to have approved of Wang Mang's succession,
for this seemed to be Heaven's will.
Once there was such a general expectation of Wang Mang's succession
to the throne and once portents of that event were expected, it was only
natural that those individuals who were bolder than others should have
manufactured what was required. The first portent came in the same
month that Emperor P'ing died and was offered by an official ranking
next to the high ministers (99 A: 25a). After Chai Yi had been defeated,
portents began to appear more frequently, until at last there were more
than a dozen (99 B: 9a-10b), whereupon Wang Mang finally ascended
the throne.
I do not think that Wang Mang instigated any of these portents in
even as indirect a manner as he instigated the coming of the white
pheasant in A.D. 1. My chief reason is that it would have been quite
unnecessary for him to have done so. He had carefully weeded out of
to his feelings. They knew he was intensely ambitious and they had
helped him by indirect means to secure his unusual honors, being amply
rewarded for doing so. After he controlled the government and had
attained his unusual titles, there was only one honor really greater than
those he had received, so that when the opportunity offered itself, his
courtiers, as previously, spontaneously continued to flatter his ambition.
It is furthermore worthy of note that Ai Chang's portent, which was
the decisive one, upset Wang Mang's plans considerably. On Jan. 6,
A.D. 9, upon the receipt of some portents, he memorialized the Grand
Empress Dowager, asking to be entitled Acting Emperor and to change
the year-period to Ch'u-shih, saying that he would rear the Young Prince
of the Han dynasty, Liu Ying, and return the government to him when
he was grown (99 A: 34a-35a). Two days later, on Jan. 8, Ai Chang's
portent arrived, and it was accepted on Jan. 9 or 10 (99 A: 35b & n. 35.12),
whereupon Wang Mang took the throne. Ai Chang's portent completely
upset the whole situation, so that it can hardly have been planned by
Wang Mang.
We have no means of knowing Wang Mang's own attitude to these
portents, whether he actively welcomed them or whether he was surprised.
At least he was not displeased. If he had been a doggedly faithful servant
of the Han dynasty, he would have arrested and executed Hsieh Hsiao
and Meng T'ung, who presented the first portent (99 A: 25a), as he had
treated Tung Hung (99 A: 2b), and there would have been no more
portents. When, instead, he had the portent reported to the Grand
Empress Dowager, probably without any comment of his own, he let
it be known to the court that he was not displeased and gave his courtiers
time to make up their minds about such matters. The general opinion
in the court undoubtedly became favorable to Wang Mang's advancement,
so that other persons were naturally stimulated to present their
portents. They knew they had nothing to lose by so doing, and might
secure boundless rewards.
It is quite possible that Wang Mang did not at first really want to
take the throne. He waited three full years from the time of the first
portent until he finally accepted the post those portents declared was his.
Confucian sentiment honored the capable minister far more than the
prince; Wang Mang had been promoted to the status of a Duke of Chou,
the person whom Confucius had taken as his ideal character. If Wang
Mang had finally refused the throne and maintained his position as a
minister, he might well have come down in history as the greatest of
ancient statesman, a man who outshone even Kao-yao, Yi Yin, and the
Duke of Chou. But he loved power and knew what it was to have that
the provinces, with no prospects of further advancement. His lack of
honors in his youth had made him intensely ambitious. And so, when
his courtiers kept urging him, by renewed portents, to take the throne,
he at last yielded to their proddings and accepted the dangerous honor.
Thus his delay of three years in accepting the throne may have represented,
not merely the proper Confucian modesty, but a real hesitation
on his own part. Pan Ku says that in the autumn of A.D. 8 he at last
plotted to secure the throne; that judgment may well be correct. Ts'ao
Ts'ao (155-220 A.D.), in similar circumstances, benefited by Wang
Mang's experience and never actually took the throne, although he
wielded the imperial power. Wang Mang was a Confucian minister who
put his minions into office and allowed them to persuade him, when the
opportunity patently offered itself, to take the throne.
Reasons for Wang Mang's fall
It remains to discuss the reasons for Wang Mang's fall. Undoubtedly
the most important cause was the weather. Wang Mang seems to have
come upon a period of severe droughts, which were quite as bad as those
in 1876-9. The resultant social confusion, brought to fruition by failure
in government, caused widespread unrest, rebellion, and his fall.
(1) Wang Mang's whole reign seems to have been a time of poor
harvests. In an edict of A.D. 20, he says that since he ascended the
throne, there had several times been withering droughts, plagues of
locusts and caterpillars, and the harvests of grain had been sparse and
lacking, so that the people had suffered from famine (C: 8a). In A.D. 11,
there was a famine at the northwestern borders (94 B: 19a). In A.D. 14,
there was another famine at the borders, so severe that people took to
cannibalism (99 B: 26a). The most severe droughts occurred in the
years A.D. 18-22, the years immediately preceding Wang Mang's fall.
In A.D. 18, there was a famine in Lang-yeh Commandery (southeastern
Shantung), at which time the Red Eyebrows arose (99 C: 4b). This
famine continued for several years. By A.D. 20, there was already considerable
vagabondage: "In Ch'ing and Hsü Provinces [present Shantung
and Kiangsu], many of the common people left their villages and hamlets
and wandered about as vagabonds. The aged and weak died on the
roads and paths, and the vigorous entered the robber bands" (99 C: 5b).
In that year, there was a prolonged rain for sixty days at the capital
(99 C: 9b), but in A.D. 21, there was a great famine in Honan and east
China (99 C: 12b). In that year, east of Lo-yang, grain was 2000 cash
per picul, about twenty-five times its normal price (99 C: 16a). In the
spring of A.D. 22, east of Shensi, there was cannibalism (99 C: 17a). In
about the palaces (99 C: 18a). Several hundred thousand refugges came
to Shensi from the east, but famine relief in Shensi itself was inadequate
and mismanaged, so that 70% to 80% of these refugees starved (99 C:
18a). At the same time, there was a famine in the middle Yangtze valley
(Nan-yang Commandery; HHS, An. 1 A: 2a). Thus the climatic
cycle made Wang Mang's later years a period of extreme stress and
strain. Had there been consistently good seasons in Wang Mang's
reign, as there were during the reign of Emperor Hsüan, he might have
kept his throne and successfully founded another dynasty.
At the same time there was famine in the capital region itself (Kuan-chung,
central Shensi). The plain in central Shensi north of the Wei
River had been irrigated by some famous canals, the first of which was
dug by the engineer Cheng Kuo in 237 B.C. This first canal had its
intake in the ancient Ku-k'ou prefecture, not far from the place where the
Ching River emerges from the mountains. North of that place, the
river runs through a gorge cut in limestone; south of it the river runs
through soft deep loess. This canal was planned to irrigate a region of
40,000 ch'ing (186,000 acres, 300 sq. miles), but it is doubtful if the canal
was originally built on as large a scale. In 111 B.C., six subsidiary canals
were dug, and in 95 B.C. at the suggestion of a Mr. Po (or Pai [OMITTED]),
another canal was dug nearly 200 li in length. This canal irrigated an
additional 4500-odd ch'ing (20,925 acres).[1]
These canals were responsible
for the strength of the Ch'in state and for the economic importance
of Ch'ang-an in Former Han times. It was the one region in northern
China where there were no droughts or famines. The grain in the Great
Granary at Ch'ang-an was untouched for over a century, so that it became
rotten and could not be eaten (HS 24 A: 15b).
The Ching River, after it leaves the mountains, flows through soft
loess to the place where it joins the Wei River. It has a considerable
gradient. Erosion dug the bed of this River deeper and deeper, until
the intake of these canals finally drew less and less. At first, they drew
an inadequate amount of water or none at all except in times of flood,
and finally they drew no water at all. At present the original intake of
the canal of 95 B.C. was placed somewhat higher up the river than the
original intake. But continued erosion caused this intake, too, to become
useless.
We are not told when these canals ceased operating. Li Tao-yüan
(vi cent.), in his Shui-ching-chu, says they were then dry. In all probability,
they ceased to draw an adequate supply of water in Wang Mang's
time. On June 2, A.D. 16, the banks of the Ching River collapsed at
the Ch'ang-p'ing Lodge (99 B: 29b), which was located about half-way
between the intake of the canals and the Wei River. (In 35 B.C., an
earthquake had previously caused these banks to collapse [9: 12a], and
on May 7, 25 B.C., the high bank of this River had collapsed in Ch'ang-ling
Prefecture [10: 6a], not far from the junction of this River with the
Wei.) At this time, erosion had already dug the bed of the River so
deep that its sides caved in—in all probability, the canals were then already
useless except when there was a flood on the Ching River. Only
forty miles from its junction with the Wei, the Ching River flows through
the mountains in a deep gorge cut into the rock, so that the intake of any
irrigation canals could not be moved further upstream with the means of
digging then available.
The result was bound to be famine in the capital area itself. Hence
the Ch'ang-an area became economically less important than the Yellow
River area in northern Honan, and Wang Mang talked of moving his
capital to Lo-yang (where Emperor Kuang-wu later actually located his
capital). Already at the time of Chai Yi's rebellion (A.D. 7), there were
robbers in Kuan-chung; in A.D. 21 there was so much trouble in that
region that special officers had to be appointed to deal with the robbers
(99 C: 12b), and in the summer of A.D. 22, there was famine even in
Ch'ang-an itself (99 C: 18a). The failure of this canal, and the impossibility
of relocating it, was another cause for Wang Mang's fall.
In A.D. 11, the Yellow River caused a great flood and changed its
course; because it seemed to have found an easier outlet to the ocean, no
attempt was made to check it (99 B: 18a), especially because Wang
Mang's own ancestral area was thus protected from further floods. The
climatic cycle and failure in irrigation was the most important factor in
Wang Mang's fall.
H. Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, pp. 145-153, argues
that Wang Mang's fall was ultimately caused by this change in the course
of the Yellow River. He has established the importance of this factor.
But other factors were equally and more important.
(2) North China is a region of recurrent droughts; it was recognized
in ancient times that a drought was to be expected every six or seven
years on an average, and the government maintained granaries for such
occurrences. Hence ordinary famines would not cause widespread suffering
unless at the same time the government was inefficient. A famine
year was really a time when the competence of the government was tested.
The real cause for Wang Mang's fall was the failure of his government
to meet the strains put upon it.
It should not be thought that Wang Mang's time was a period of general
decay. There are signs that just the opposite was the case. Indeed,
some circumstances seem to indicate that the period of cultural advance
during Former Han times was coming to flower in an age of unusual
progress. We are told that the study of anatomy was being pushed to
the extent of human dissection (99 B: 30b), and that geometrical proportion
was used in architectural design (99 C: 9a). Most interesting
of all is the brief and cryptic account of an attempt at aviation in A.D. 19
—the earliest account in human history of an actual flight that was not
mythology (99 C: 5a). The carriage with flowery baldachins (99 C:
13b, 14a) was an outstanding mechanical achievement. It may well be
the case that Wang Mang's Nine Ancestral Temples were more magnificent
than anything previously erected (99 C: 9b).
But Wang Mang's government exhibited many signs of widespread
corruption. During the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, when his uncles controlled
the government, corruption was rife. Wang Mang came to the
throne by fraudulent portents, and so needed officials who would countenance
fraud, with the result that they countenanced fraudulent reports
on the part of their subordinates (99 C: 15b), and the government became
permeated with corruption (99 B: 27a). Wang Mang himself
publicly confessed that some officials would extort ransoms from innocent
persons by illegally condemning them as slaves and removing the sentence
upon payment of a bribe. Yet he was powerless to stop this practise
(99 B: 17b). That the outrageous T'ang Tsun should have become his
minister is only natural.
(3) Wang Mang enacted some very unwise administrative measures.
Emperor Wu had established Inspectors of Regional Divisions, ranking
at only 600 piculs, who were really spies of the central government,
traveling about the commanderies, reporting upon the rule of the Administrators
for those commanderies (who ranked at 2000 piculs). The
Confucians did not like this unhierarchical arrangement, by which a
lower-ranking official supervised a higher-ranking one; in 7 B.C., when
were changed to that of Provincial Shepherd (an ancient name), so that
names should correspond to reality. Emperor Ai changed these officials'
titles back again to Inspector; in 1 B.C., Wang Mang again entitled them
Shepherds, ranking them the same as the highest ministers. But now
these Shepherds lost much of their incentive for careful supervision of
their provinces. Inspectors had previously hoped that they might be
promoted to the post of Administrator, if they did careful and honest
work; the Shepherds could now be promoted only to one of the ministerial
offices, among which there were very few openings. The result was that
they were content to do little and merely held their positions (99 C: 10b).
Consequently, in A.D. 21, Wang Mang was driven by the inefficiency of
the provincial governments to appoint Shepherd's Superintendents and
Associate Shepherds, who were to do the work previously done by the
Inspectors. But it was now too late to reform a corrupt government.
Wang Mang knew how subordinates could thwart their superior, he
had detailed ideas about what should be done in government, and he was
suspicious of his associates. Consequently he did not give his ministers
the power to decide matters themselves, but had every decision referred
to himself. Since the ministers thus found themselves merely executive
officers, they ceased to feel any responsibility for their offices and merely
transmitted business to Wang Mang, awaiting his orders.
He was especially suspicious of his private secretaries, the Masters of
Writing, who could control the government by withholding the information
which came to the throne in the form of memorials. Hence he permitted
eunuchs and members of his entourage to open and read memorials
to the throne, with the result that memorials sometimes never
even reached the Masters of Writing and were not dealt with in proper
fashion.
The most important feature in government, according to Confucius'
supposed teaching, was the rectification of names; if that were done, all
governmental difficulties would automatically be solved. Wang Mang
hence deliberated long and profoundly on geographical arrangements,
rites, and music, endeavoring to make them accord with classical precedents.
From dawn to dark, he discussed these matters with his
ministers. He himself was a learned Confucian, the first such literatus
to be on the throne; he surrounded himself with the best scholars he
could find. But the classical precedents were by no means unambiguous,
many matters were treated only implicitly in the Classics, and there were
good arguments both for and against most decisions. Wang Mang was
not like Emperor Wu, a dilettante who could blithely decide out of his
own consciousness such a weighty matter as the proper rites for the important
conscientious man, who felt the importance of properly determining each
matter. Hence his discussions with his ministers and advisors were
interminable. Since no one else could make the final decision about
precisely how classical precedents should be applied, Wang Mang had
to decide these matters himself. After he had decided, he would change
his mind again and again. In the case of some place-names, in his
anxiety to get them exactly right, he changed them as much as five times,
finally returning to the original name! (99 B: 25a, b) In addition, he
had himself to decide on the multifarious details of an autocratic government.
He worked all night at his documents, but even then he was
unable to keep up with the government business.
The result was, as Pan Ku says (99 B: 26b-27b), that, since Wang
Mang had little leisure to examine matters conscientiously, and yet was
determined to do so, law-cases were not decided for years, prisoners were
not released from prison except when there was an amnesty, vacancies
in the government were not filled with permanent occupants for years,
and the government in general could do little except routine work. Corruption
could not be checked and things went from bad to worse. The
ruler was too conscientious and too suspicious to delegate power and the
governmental duties were too multifarious for him to manage.
As a result of such an eager concern about general principles, Wang
Mang was led to make serious mistakes in particular matters. When the
famine in the east was at its hight and the bandits were even capturing
cities, Wang Mang decided that they must be put down at all costs.
The man he had put over the Shepherds of that region protested (99 C:
16a), but nevertheless, in A.D. 22, Wang Mang sent 100,000 troops into
the famine regions. The granaries were empty and could not feed them,
so the troops foraged among the people, with dire results. It is not surprising
that the people found the troops a greater calamity than the
bandits, for the soldiers, under the guise of protecting the people, took
what little food was left. The curious verse quoted in 99 C: 17b probably
represents a mild version of what the people felt.
Wang Mang furthermore enacted into a systematized law the procedure,
begun by Emperor Hsüan, of reducing official salaries at a time
of drought or calamity. He made the various officials of the central
court and the provinces each guarantors for a certain region. At the end
of the year, when the yearly reports from the commanderies were presented,
the amount of damage to the crops in each part of the empire
was to be reported in percentages, and the number of dishes on the imperial
table was to be reduced in proportion. At the same time, the
officials guaranteeing the various sections in which there were calamities
region (99 B: 28a-29b). It was an idealistic proposal, but the result
was that officials could not anticipate the amount of their salaries and
income, so that they exacted fees and presents to support themselves.
So bribery and corruption became general.
Wang Mang furthermore imitated a practise of Chou times, when
official positions were largely hereditary. In A.D. 14, he made all his
important provincial offices hereditary in the clans of his nobles (99 B:
24a). Thus he eliminated the incentive to efficient government that had
been introduced by the Ch'in dynasty and continued by the Han dynasty,
which regimes gave office for merit, not for family connections. Wang
Mang probably thought he was doing away with another of the corruptions
inherited from the Ch'in regime (6: 39a), but a more unwise measure
could hardly have been conceived. As a result, he had to dismiss a noble
from his title in order to get rid of a corrupt provincial official, and promotions
for merit from one grade to another in the provincial government
were made impossible. Wang Mang seems to have removed most of the
stimuli to good government that the Ch'in and Han dynasties had
laboriously set up. It is not surprising that the government in the
provinces degenerated badly.
He furthermore exhibited the conceit that sometimes comes to self-made
men. He did not like to listen to admonitions, and became angry
when his proposals were opposed, even for the wisest reasons. Hence
the people who had the best interests of the country at heart came to
avoid him and he failed to learn the truth about things. He dismissed
those who explained that undue taxation had produced banditry (99 C:
2b). He removed Feng Ch'ang, his Communicator (the state treasurer),
because the latter protested against the state monopolies (99 C: 2a), and
he dismissed a newly appointed Shepherd of the central Yangtze region,
Fei Hsing, who had plans for reducing banditry by lightening the pressure
of these monopolies upon his people (99 C: 3a). He even removed his
best general, Chuang Yu, when the latter remonstrated against his unwise
plans (99 C: 5b). As a consequence, the eunuchs, such as Wang Yeh,
merely flattered Wang Mang and deceived him about the condition of
the people (99 C: 18b).
(4) Wang Mang seems to have been personally stingy and publicly
extravagant with government funds. He hoarded the gold he secured,
and would not expend it even in an emergency (99 C: 25b). He liked
to give noble titles, and at first did not give fiefs to his nobles, on the
pretext that the country's geographical arrangements had not yet been
settled, with the result that some of his nobles had to work for a living
(99 B: 19b). Within noble estates he set up "reserved fields," nominally
paid to the nobles and to reward or punish them by decreasing or increasing
these reserved areas (99 B: 25a).
Wang Mang seems to have furthermore established quite a number of
sinecure positions in the court. The Han dynasty had three highest
ministers (kung) and nine high ministers (ch'ing); Wang Mang established
four Coadjutors, three highest ministers, and four generals, making eleven
officials who ranked as highest ministers (kung). The number of important
subordinates to the high ministers (ch'ing) was also increased.
The Han dynasty had only a few such, depending on the amount of
business in each office. Such an unsymmetrical arrangement did not however
suit literary Confucian ideals; Wang Mang appointed three grandees
and nine Officers of the First Rank to each one of the nine highest ministers,
making 27 and 81 respectively of these two grades. He also instituted
seven grandees whose duty it was to admonish the emperor (99 B:
4a), Directors of Mandates from the Five Majestic Principles, whose
duty it was to spread propaganda, and four Masters, four Companions
and nine Libation Officers to the Heir-apparent, all of whom ranked the
same as the highest of the high ministers. These additional salaries must
have been quite expensive.
Outside the capital, Wang Mang increased the number of commanderies
from 103 to 125 and the number of prefectures from 1314 to 2203 (28 Bii:
48b; 99 B: 25a), with a corresponding increase in the number of administrative
officials and in the cost of administration. He frequently sent
out commissioners and others to supervise the administration. In A.D.
11, he sent out 55 Generals of the Gentlemen-at-the Palace and 55 Administrators
of the Laws Clad in Embroidered Garments to control the
large commanderies along the border (99 B: 17a). His commissioners
followed each other on the roads, one after another, sometimes ten
chariots-full a day; when the public granaries and post-stations could no
longer supply their needs, these commissioners forcibly took horses, carriages,
and supplies from the people along the road (99 C: 7a).
Wang Mang also greatly expanded his nobility. In the time of Emperor
Wu, before the great purge, there had been some twenty kings and
about two hundred marquises (HFHD, ch. vi, app. III); in A.D. 12,
Wang Mang had already appointed 796 nobles of the first five ranks (who
corresponded to the kings and marquises of Han times). In addition
there were Baronesses and Vassals (99 B: 19b). Thus Wang Mang's
nobility must have been a great drain upon the empire, even though he
did not give his nobles the full amount of their allowances.
(5) Perhaps Wang Mang's greatest extravagance was his military
expeditions. Emperor Wu had flailed the Huns until, after his death,
the barbarians in all directions, so that eventually the border
peoples recognized the might of the Chinese and kept the peace. Wang
Mang upset this peace in the interests of a Confucian imitation of ancient
practises. The Han rulers followed the Ch'in practise of calling themselves
emperors, consequently they could entitle the rulers of neighboring
vassal states kings, just as their own greatest vassals were entitled kings.
But, at the beginning of the Chou period, the ruler had entitled himself
king and his greatest nobles were only dukes, so Wang Mang followed the
Confucian precept, "Heaven has not two suns nor has Earth two kings"
(Mencius V, i, iv, 1 attributes this saying to Confucius), and degraded
all his highest nobles to be dukes. They accepted the change of title
without a murmur, for they knew it was a change in name only. When
however Wang Mang came to change similarly the titles of his barbarian
vassals, trouble ensued. They did not understand the necessity of conforming
to Confucian principles, became suspicious, and felt insulted.
Eventually the Huns, the Kao-chü-li in the present Manchuria, the petty
states in the Western Frontier Regions, and those in Szechuan and
Yünnan all revolted, and Wang Mang had to face border raids and war
in all directions.
The worst trouble was with the Huns. When Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh
had come to submit to Emperor Hsüan, the latter had treated him as a
guest, had ranked him above all the Chinese nobles, and had given him
an imperial seal as his sign of office, with the word hsi (denoting an imperial
seal) in its inscription. Emperor Hsüan was not Confucian enough
to esteem correct terminology above the establishment of friendly relations
with a neighboring state. Wang Mang's envoys carried to the
Shan-yü a new seal bearing the Hsin dynasty's name, with the word
chang (which was used for a noble or official seal) in its inscription. The
Shan-yü unsuspectingly made the exchange; afterwards, when the seal
was read to him, he thought the Emperor's intention was to degrade him
to be a mere noble, ranking below the Chinese vassal kings, and asked
to have his old seal back. But the senior Lieutenant to the Chinese
envoy had thoughtfully smashed the old seal. As a result of this deed
and some other disagreements, the Huns raided the Chinese borders,
capturing countless prisoners (to be sold as slaves) and animals, welcomed
and shielded Chinese rebels against Wang Mang, and the Shan-yü announced
that he owed allegiance to the Han dynasty, not to the Hsin
dynasty.
Wang Mang now declared war and planned a grandiose attack, which
would send twelve armies by different routes simultaneously into Hun
territory, numbering altogether 300,000 men, carrying provisions for
among fifteen Shan-yü. But General Chuang Yu replied, with the carefulness
of a staff officer, that 300 days' provisions would require 18 hu
(10 bushels or 36 liters) of grain per man, which amount could only be
transported by oxen; that the border commanderies could not furnish so
much grain, so that it would take more than a year to collect and transport
it from the parts of the empire from which it could be secured; that
an ox would need 20 hu more grain; that, since Hun territory was lacking
in water and grass, experience had shown that within 100 days all the
oxen would be dead, while the balance of the provision could not be carried
by men, so that it would be best to send a light expedition in order
to come up with the rapidly moving Huns.
Wang Mang would not heed, and in A.D. 10, he ordered the expedition
to be formed. The result was that large numbers of men collected at
the borders, where they waited for their provisions. Having inadequate
shelter and provisions, they foraged among the Chinese of those regions.
But there had been a famine and scarcity in the northwestern borders
(94 B: 19a); the result was that the farmers of the borders left their
homes and scattered. The armies never started out and the men merely
encamped at the border. Wang Mang had to maintain some 200,000
guards at the borders, who tyrannized over the people, with the result
that the farmers turned robbers and raided neighboring commanderies.
It took more than a year to put down these robbers and by that time the
border commanderies were practically empty (99 B: 27b). In A.D. 19,
he summoned an army and levied taxes for another expedition against the
Huns, planning to put Hsü-pu Tang on the Hun throne. Chuang Yu's
sound arguments led to the army not being sent out, and Wang Mang
had to content himself with dismissing Chuang Yu (99 C: 4b-5b). In
A.D. 21, Wang Mang had grain and currency worth millions of cash
transported to the borders to prepare for an expedition against the Huns.
But the expedition never started out (99 C: 12b). Wang Mang squandered
his people's livelihood and lives in an attempt to secure an empty
fame.
A similar result eventuated on the southwestern borders, with even
greater wastage of men and wealth. By A.D. 16, all the border dependencies
had broken from their allegiance to the Chinese. Wang Mang
showed the typical learned Confucian's inability to understand peoples
who possess a different cultural tradition and he was not sufficiently
teachable to learn how to employ military force efficiently.
(6) Like all rulers who think of themselves as great, Wang Mang entertained
grandiose plans of various sorts. In A.D. 12, he planned a grand
tour to the east, and an order was dispatched that 450,000 rolls of silk
so the expedition was put off (99 B: 21b). Wang Mang believed he had
succeeded to the throne by virtue of the power earth, which was equated,
not with one of the four directions, but with the center, so he concluded
that he should make his capital at the center of the earth, and fixed upon
Lo-yang, the ancient capital of the Chou dynasty. In A.D. 14, he
proposed to make four less expensive tours in the four directions, and
afterwards go to Lo-yang (99 B: 22a, b). He was again dissuaded from
making these tours, and put off the change of the capital to a date seven
years later. Meanwhile he sent two ministers to build palaces, temples,
and altars at Lo-yang. In A.D. 20, he also spent some ten billions of
cash in building his Nine Ancestral Temples near Ch'ang-an (99 C: 10a).
In A.D. 23, when rebellion became serious, he exhibited his nonchalance
by marrying a second time, sending the bride's family as betrothal
presents the sum of 30,000 catties of actual gold (235,347 troy oz. or
7,320,000 g.; 99 C: 20a).
(7) With such heavy and unusual expenses, it is not surprising that
Wang Mang should have resorted to depreciating the currency, making
government monopolies out of especially profitable enterprises, and increasing
the taxes. These and other economic measures are discussed
elsewhere (cf. App. II). In so far as they were not soon rescinded, they
represented increased burdens upon the people. Wang Mang seems to
have drained the country's wealth. The suffering drove great hordes of
people to banditry and rebellion, until even the people of the capital
hated him so much that they were anxious to kill him and restore the
Han dynasty to the throne.
(8) Wang Mang mistreated his own relatives and followers, so that he
did not secure the permanent and unchallengeable loyalty of any group.
He did not execute his Lieutenant Chancellors, as Emperor Wu had done,
but he remained severe towards all, so that no one could permanently
count on his favor and he could trust no one completely.
In his own family, he seems to have been the stern and strict father,
who sacrifices his family to his own ambition. He executed three of his
four legitimate sons: his eldest, Yü, because of an intrigue that opposed
his own plans (99 A: 16b); his second, Huo, because he murdered a slave
(99 A: 3b); and the third, Lin1, because an unfortunate liaison had put
him in the position where the son was afraid he would be executed if he
did not first assassinate his father (99 C: 11a, b). The fourth son, An,
was not quite right in his mind and died before his father (99 C: 11b).
People naturally thought this series of deaths was Heaven's judgment
upon Wang Mang.
Wang Mang was equally severe upon his relatives. He executed his
murder (99 A: 33b). He also executed a grandson and a grand-daughter
Tsung and Fang, because the first had in a silly fashion anticipated
coming to the throne, by having a picture painted of himself in imperial
garb and preparing other imperial paraphernalia (99 C: 3a, b), and the
latter had performed black magical ceremonies against her mother-in-law
and had murdered a slave to hide the matter (99 C: 3b).
In his younger days, Wang Mang, in his intrigues for power, had not
spared his relatives. Shun-yü Chang was his first cousin, and seemed
likely to inherit the power Wang Mang wanted; the latter thereupon had
no scruples about informing on his cousin's crimes and getting him
executed (99 A: 2a). Wang Mang sent away from the court and later
executed his own uncle and another first cousin, Wang Li5 and Wang Jen,
because he feared their influence with the Grand Empress Dowager
(99 A: 4b, 16b).
Chen Han and his son, Feng, were Wang Mang's closest intimates,
and had assisted most actively in securing for Wang Mang his unusual
honors as a minister. When however Wang Mang advanced to the
throne, they were not entirely pleased and were a little frightened at the
prospect, for they were not overweeningly ambitious. Chen Han died
in office; when Chen Feng's son, Hsün, ambitiously presented a portent
ordering him to marry Wang Mang's daughter, the latter decided it was
time to show his power and overawe the court. He executed Chen Feng
and Chen Hsün, together with their associates, who included two sons
of the famous Liu Hsin1a and his own first cousin, Wang Ch'i, a brother
of the Wang Yi5 whom he later made his Heir-apparent (99 B: 16a). A
daughter of Liu Hsin1a, Yin3, who was the wife of Wang Mang's third son,
was executed with her husband. Thus Wang Mang executed three of
Liu Hsin's children.
Wang Mang in this way antagonized his own clan. While he gave
them wealth and high noble rank, yet none felt secure, for they knew not
when the imperial power might uproot and destroy them. His closest
officials felt equally insecure. Consequently he could trust no one and
was constantly suspicious, which made matters worse. Because he
feared a revolt, he would not allow even his provincial Shepherds to maintain
armies for bandit suppression. When he sent his generals to gather
troops for use against the bandits he would not allow them to make a
move without first consulting the throne. Thus the bandits and rebels
could gain a firm foothold before the imperial forces were allowed to
attack them.
It is hence not so surprising that in A.D. 23 another imperial first
cousin, Wang Shê, should have been persuaded by astrology that Wang
remove the Hsin Emperor and put the Han dynasty back on the throne.
He secured the cooperation of Wang Mang's Commander-in-chief and of
Liu Hsin1a. Only the fortunate disclosure of the plot and the pusillanimity
of the Commander-in-chief prevented its success. Wang Shê had
gone to the extreme of making out that Wang Mang was a bastard (99 C:
22b-23b). The plotters were all executed without trouble, but this plot
was a severe shock to Wang Mang. Thereafter he could not eat properly
nor sleep comfortably. His severity had recoiled upon his own head.
The greatest suffering of the country came, not directly from Wang
Mang, but from the robber bands that came into being as an indirect
result of the famine and of his rule. They went through the country,
looting, pillaging, and burning. The Red Eyebrows were merely the
largest of these many illiterate robber armies. They swept over North
China, defeating imperial armies and capturing cities by storm, destroying
as they went. At the death of Wang Mang, only the Wei-yang
Palace was burnt; the rest of Ch'ang-an was undamaged. In A.D. 25,
after the Keng-shih Emperor had established himself in Ch'ang-an, the
Red Eyebrows arrived, plundering along their route. They had set up
another Emperor; they defeated the Keng-shih Emperor's general, captured
Ch'ang-an, and plundered it. The people fled the city; the Red
Eyebrows had to leave when the food in the city was exhausted. Then
they burnt the remainder of the city, went west and north, digging into
the imperial tombs and pillaging the cities. The snow drove them back to
Ch'ang-an, where at last they were defeated by a ruse. A great famine
now raged in the capital region; Ch'ang-an was itself empty and waste.
No one dared to show himself alone for fear of being robbed; honest men
gathered in camps and cities, which they defended desperately, so that
the Red Eyebrows could secure little. In the winter of 26/27, famine
drove them eastwards out of Kuang-chung. Meanwhile, Emperor
Kuang-wu had been putting down robbers and rebels in eastern China.
He met the remnants of the Red Eyebrows with his great army, overawing
them, and they meekly surrendered, transmitting to him the Han
dynastic imperial seals. Pan Ku states that the population of the empire
had been reduced by half (24 B: 27a). So terrible were the forces that
Wang Mang let loose upon his land.
Cf. SC 29: 6-8 - Mh III, 523-525; Bodde, China's First Unifier, 59-60; Ch'ao-ting
Chi, Key Economic Areas in Chinese History, 75-77, 83-84, 87-89; HS 29: 11b-12b; M.S.
Bates, "Problems of Rivers and Canals," JAOS, 55 (1935): 304-305; S. Eliassen and O.
J. Todd, "The Wei Irrigation Project in Shensi Province", China Journal, 17(1932):
170-180; Shui-ching-chu 16: 32b-33a; 19: 30a-31a, 46a; W.C. Lowdermilk & D.R. Wickes,
"Ancient Irrigation in China Brought Up to Date", Scientific Monthly, 55 (Sept., 1942),
209-225.
THE HISTORY OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]
[Chapter] XCIX
THE SIXTY-NINTH [MEMOIR]
The Memoir of Wang Mang
A. PART A
Wang Mang, whose courtesy given name was Chü-chün,
was the son of [Wang Wan], a younger [half]brother
of the Empress [nee Wang of Emperor]
Hsiao-yüan. The father, [Wang Chin], and the
[nee Wang of Emperor] Yüan were all enfeoffed as
marquises during the reigns of [Emperors] Yüan and
Ch'eng. They occupied [high] positions and had
important influence in the government. In the
clan there were nine marquises and five Commanders-in-chief.[2]
A discussion is in the "Memoir of the
Empress [nee Wang of Emperor] Yüan."
Only [Wang] Mang's father, [Wang] Wan, who
had died young, was not made a marquis. The various
elder and younger cousins of [Wang] Mang were
all the sons of Generals or of the Five Marquises,[4]
so they took advantage of their opportunities and
were extravagant. In their equipages and horses,
music and women, idleness and gadding[5]
they competed
with one another.
[Wang] Mang alone was an orphan and in humble
circumstances, hence he humbled himself and made
himself courteous and temperate.[6]
In studying the
Ts'an, [a man] from P'ei Commandery,[8] the services
due to a teacher. [Wang Mang] fatigued himself
and studied extensively, wearing garments like the
Confucian masters. He served his mother and the
widow of his elder brother, [Wang Yung], and reared
[Wang Kuang], the orphaned son of his elder brother.
Thus his conduct was quite perfect. Moreover, outside
[his clan] he associated with eminent persons,
proper conduct.
During [the period] Yang-so, when his paternal
uncle who was the heir of his grandfather, the
Mang waited upon him in his illness, himself tasting
the medicine [before administering it]. For successive
months, [Wang Mang's] hair was disordered, his
face uncleansed, and he did not [even] loosen the
girdle to his garments. When [Wang] Feng was
the Empress Dowager [nee Wang] and Emperor
[Ch'eng]. He was installed as a Gentleman of the
Yellow Gate and was promoted to be Colonel of the
Archers Who Shoot By Sound.
After a long time, his paternal uncle who was
younger than [Wang Mang's] father, the Marquis of
Ch'eng-tub, [Wang] Shang1b, memorialized that he
to enfeoff [Wang Mang]. Moreover, the Privy
Treasurer of the Ch'ang-lo [Palace], Tai Ch'ung, the
Palace Attendant, Chin Shê, the Colonel of Northern
Barbarian Cavalry, Chi Hung, the Chief Commandant
of Shang-ku [Commandery], Yang Ping,
and the Gentleman-of-the-Household, Ch'en T'ang,
who were all gentlemen well-known in that age, all
spoke in behalf of [Wang] Mang. Because of that,
the Emperor esteemed [Wang] Mang. In the first
year of [the period] Yung-shih, he enfeoffed [Wang]
Mang as Marquis of Hsin-tuc with an estate of fifteen
[County] in Nan-yang [Commandery]. He was
promoted to be Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Imperial
Household Grandee, and Palace Attendant,
and was careful as [an imperial] guard.
As his noble rank and position became more and
humble. He distributed equipages and horses,
clothes, and fur garments, and bestowed them upon
his guests, so that in his household there was no
surplus [wealth]. He received and succored well-known
gentlemen. He associated with a very large
number of generals, chancellors, ministers, and
grandees, hence those who occupied official positions
in turn recommended him. Travelers talked about
him; his empty fame flourished and spread, so that it
overwhelmed that of his various uncles. He dared
to do affected deeds which created a stir and performed
them without shame.
[Wang] Mang's elder brother, [Wang] Yung3, had
had had a son, [Wang] Kuang1. [Wang] Mang sent
him to study at the gates of the Erudits. When
[Wang] Mang took his leave, [usually once each five
men and brought sheep and wine to recompense and
offer to [Wang Kuang1's] teachers; his favor was [also]
shown to all of [Wang Kuang1's] fellow-students, so
that the masters all stared at him and the elders
admired him.
[Altho Wang] Kuang1 was younger than [Wang]
[both] married on the same day. [At the wedding
feast], when the guests had filled his halls, in a
moment a man told him that his Lady Dowager
[mother] was suffering from a certain pain and must
drink a certain medicine. Up to [the time] when the
guests left, he had [thus] arisen several times.
He once[32] privately purchased a waiting-maid.
Some of his cousins came to know something about it.
Because of that, [Wang] Mang said, "The General
of the Rear, Chu [Po] Tzu-yüan, has no sons. I,
Mang, heard that this girl's line is fruitful in bearing
sons, so I purchased her for him." The same day
he presented the slave-girl to [Chu Po] Tzu-yüan.
In the foregoing manner he hid his desires and sought
for fame.
At this time, Shun-yü Chang, the son of an elder
[half]-sister of the Empress Dowager [nee Wang],
had, because of his ability, become one of the nine
high ministers. He was senior to and ahead of
[Wang] Mang. [Wang] Mang secretly[35] sought out
[Shun-yü Chang's] crimes. [Wang Mang] took advantage
of [this information and informed] the Commander-in-chief,
the Marquis of Ch'ü-yang, [Wang]
Ken, who had him speak [to the Empress Dowager
nee Wang and the Emperor. Thereupon, Shun-yü]
ness. A discussion is in the "Memoir of [Shun-yü]
Chang." [Wang] Ken then begged to retire and
recommended [Wang] Mang to take his place. The
Emperor thereupon selected him to be the Commander-in-chief.
This year was the first year of [the
thirty-eighth year.[45]
When [Wang] Mang had surpassed his equals and
succeeded his four uncles, [Wang Feng, Wang
Shang1a, Wang Yin, and Wang Ken], as chief assistant
in the government, he wished to make his
fame and reputation surpass that of his predecessors,
hence he denied himself[47] tirelessly and invited[48]
the Capable and Good [to come to him], making them
Division Head Clerks. He bestowed upon [other]
gentlemen all of his grants [from the Emperor] and
the income from his estate, being even more economical
[in his personal expenses].
When his mother was ill, the ministers and full
When [Wang] Mang's wife received them, her clothes
did not trail on the ground [and she wore] a linen
apron.[51] Those who saw her, thought she was a
When they learned that she was the Lady, they were
all astonished.
[Wang Mang] had been chief assistant in the
Ch'eng died. When Emperor Ai ascended the
and made her the Grand Empress Dowager. The
[Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] issued an
imperial edict to [Wang] Mang, [ordering him] to go
to his residence and leave [his position vacant for
some of] the Emperor's maternal relatives.[60] [Wang]
Mang [hence] presented to the Emperor a request
begging to retire. Emperor Ai [however] sent his
Prefect of the Masters of Writing, [T'ang Lin], with
an imperial edict to [Wang] Mang, saying,
"The late Emperor entrusted the government to
We have obtained [the opportunity] to uphold the
[imperial] ancestral temples and will in truth consider
[Ourself] fortunate to be of the same mind and
similar opinions with you, sir. Now you, sir, have
sent [Us a letter saying that you] are ill and ask to
retire. Thereby you make known that We are not
able to uphold or follow the intentions of the late
Emperor. We are greatly saddened. [We] have
already issued an imperial edict to the Masters of
Writing to await your memorials, sir, about [government]
business."
[The Emperor] also sent the Lieutenant Chancellor,
K'ung Kuang, the Grand Minister of Works,
Ho Wu, the General of the Left, Shih1 Tan, and the
Commandant of the Palace Guard, Fu Hsi, to speak
to the [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang], saying,
"The Emperor has heard of the Empress Dowager's
imperial edict and is much saddened. If the Commander-in-chief
[Wang Mang] does not arise, the
Emperor will then not presume to attend to the
government." The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee
Wang thereupon] again ordered [Wang] Mang to
attend to the [government] business.
At that time, the grandmother of Emperor Ai, the
mother, the Concubine nee Ting [of the deceased
King of Ting-t'ao], were alive, so the Marquis of
Kao-ch'ang, Tung Hung, presented to the throne a
letter saying, "According to the principles of the
Spring and Autumn [in the Kung-yang Commentary],
a mother becomes honorable because of her son, so
that the Concubine [nee] Ting should be presented
with the imperial title [of Empress Dowager]."[65]
[Wang] Mang together with Shih1 Tan impeached
[Tung] Hung for misleading the court, which constituted
of [Shih1] Tan."
At a later date, there was a banquet in Wei-yang
Palace. The Prefect of the Flunkies spread the
canopy and seat for the Queen Dowager [nee] Fu at
the side of the seat for the Grand Empress Dowager
[nee Wang. Wang] Mang investigated and reproached
the Prefect of the Flunkies, saying, "The
Queen Dowager of [the kingdom of] Ting-t'ao is a
concubine from a tributary [kingdom]. How could
she he permitted to be honored equally with the most
honorable [lady in the palace]? Take it away and
put the seat [of the Queen Dowager of Ting-t'ao]
at a different [place]."
When the Queen Dowager [nee] Fu heard of it,
she was furious and refused to attend [the banquet.
She thereupon held] a great hatred against [Wang]
Mang. [Hence Wang] Mang again begged to retire.
catties of actual gold, a comfortable carriage and a
quadriga of horses, dismissed him [from his position],
and sent him to his residence. Most of the ministers
and grandees praised him, so the Emperor added his
grace and favor, and established, as [regular] messenger
to his home, a Palace [Attendant Within] the
Yellow Gate to grant him a meal [from the imperial
cuisine] once every ten days. [The Emperor] sent
"The Marquis of Hsin-tuc, [Wang] Mang, has
worried and toiled for the state and has firmly held
to his fealty. We hoped with him to produce a good
government, [but] the Grand Empress Dowager [nee
Wang] has issued an imperial edict that [Wang]
Mang should go to his residence, for which We are
very sorry. Let [Wang Mang][80]
be additionally
enfeoffed with three hundred fifty households in
Huang-yu Village; let his position be Specially Advanced,
let him [be given the rank of] Serving in the
Palace, [be required] to come to court [only] on the
first and fifteenth days of the month, and present
himself with formalities like those of the three highest
ministers. When [the Emperor rides] his chariot of
cortege] riding a green chariot.[82]
The second year afterwards, when the Queen Dowager
Empress Dowager and the Emperor's Empress Dowager,
respectively], the Lieutenant Chancellor Chu Po
memorialized,
"[Wang] Mang has not previously applied broadly
[enough] the principle of honoring those [deserving
of] honor[88]
but has humbled and degraded those who
should be honored with an imperial title, [thereby]
injuring the doctrine of filial piety, so that he ought
has received [the advantage of a general] ordinance
of amnesty, [yet] it is not proper that he should
possess a noble title or land. I beg that he be dismissed
[from his titles] and made a commoner."
The Emperor said, "Because [Wang] Mang is related
to the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang],
let him not be dismissed [from his noble titles], but
be sent away to his estate."
keeping to himself, [Wang] Huob,[96] his son who was
neither his eldest nor his youngest, murdered a slave.
[Wang] Mang bitterly reproached [Wang] Huob
and caused him to commit suicide.
While he had been at his estate to the third year,
officials[99] by the hundreds sent letters to the Emperor
grieving and pleading for [Wang] Mang. In the first
year of [the period] Yüan-shou, when there was an
eclipse of the sun, [some persons who had been recommended
as] Capable and Good, Chou Huo, Sung
Ch'ung, and others, in their written replies to the
examination, praised highly [Wang] Mang's achievements
and virtue. The Emperor therefore summoned
[Wang] Mang [to come to court].
When [Wang] Mang had first gone to his estate,
because [Wang] Mang was an honorable and important
[personage], the Grand Administrator of
Nan-yang [Commandery] selected a Division Head
from his office, K'ung Hsiu, [a man of] Yüan, to be
the acting Chancellor of Hsin-tuc, [Wang Mang's
marquisate. When K'ung] Hsiu went to pay a
Hsiu] with all possible formalities and in person
welcomed him [at the door]. [K'ung] Hsiu had
also heard of [Wang Mang's] fame and responded to
him in like manner.
Later, when [Wang] Mang was ill, [K'ung] Hsiu
attended upon him. Because of his gracious intent,
[Wang] Mang presented him with his [own] precious
sword having jade furnishings, desiring to make
[K'ung Hsiu] a good friend. [But K'ung] Hsiu refused
to receive it. [Wang] Mang said therefore, "I verily
see that on your face, sir, there is a scar. A fine jade
can extinguish a scar. I merely wanted to present
you with the ring on the hilt of the sword."[104]
He
immediately loosed its [jade] sword-ring.
When [K'ung] Hsiu again excused himself and
refused, [Wang] Mang said, "Do you, sir, dislike
[to receive it] because of its [high] value?" Then
he pounded it to pieces, himself tied it up, and thereupon
then received it.
When [Wang] Mang was summoned [to the court
and was about to] leave, he wanted to see [K'ung]
Hsiu, [but K'ung] Hsiu pronounced himself ill and
did not present himself.
More than a year after [Wang] Mang returned to
children and both the [August Grand] Empress
Dowager [nee Fu] and the [Emperor's] Empress
Dowager [nee] Ting had died previously. On the
same day [as the death], the Grand August Empress
Dowager [nee Wang] rode a quadriga to the Wei-yang
Palace, where she secured the imperial seals
with their seal-cords.[112] She sent a messenger galloping
to summon [Wang] Mang. She issued an imperial
edict to the Masters of Writing, [declaring] that the
various insignia and credentials for mobilizing troops,
the matters memorialized by the various officials, and
the troops of the Palace Attendants Within the
Yellow Gate and of the Attendants at the Gates
should all be under the control of [Wang] Mang.
[Wang] Mang advised [the Grand Empress Dowager]
that the Commander-in-chief, the Marquis of
Kao-an, Tung Hsien2a, was too young and [that his
opinion, [so that she should] take [away] his [official
and noble] seals and cords. On the same day,
[Tung] Hsien2a committed suicide.
The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] in an
imperial edict ordered the ministers to recommend
persons who might become the Commander-in-chief.
The Grand Minister Over the Masses, K'ung Kuang,
and the Grand Minister of Works, P'eng Hsüan,
recommended [Wang] Mang. The General of the
sun Lu, recommended each other. The [Grand]
Empress Dowager installed [Wang] Mang as Commander-in-chief
of an heir [to the throne].
The Marquis of An-yang, Wang Shun4b, was a
self-controlled[124] in his person, and was trusted and
beloved by the [Grand] Empress Dowager. [Wang]
Mang advised her to make [Wang] Shun4b the General
of Chariots and Cavalry and send him to invite
the King of Chung-shan, [Liu Chi-tzu], to carry on
the posterity of Emperor Ch'eng. This was Emperor
Hsiao-p'ing.
The Emperor was in his ninth year, so the [Grand]
Empress Dowager attended court and pronounced
[that she issued the imperial] decrees.[126]
She entrusted
the government to [Wang] Mang.
[Wang] Mang advised her that [the lady] nee
Chao had previously killed some imperial sons[127]
and
that [the lady] nee Fu had been proud and arrogant,
so she thereupon dismissed the Empress [nee] Chao
of [Emperor] Hsiao-ch'eng and the Empress [nee] Fu
of [Emperor] Hsiao-ai [from their titles]. Both were
"Memoir of the [Imperial] Relatives by Marriage."
Because the Grand Minister Over the Masses,
chancellor to three lords [of men], was respected by
the [Grand] Empress Dowager, and the whole empire
trusted him, [Wang] Mang therefore honored
[K'ung] Kuang greatly and served him. [Wang
in-law, Chen Han, and made him a Palace Attendant
and the Chief Commandant of the Imperial Equipages.
[Wang] Mang attributed crimes to all the various
maternal relatives of Emperor Ai, together with
[those of] his great officials and those who held office
whom [Wang] Mang had disliked, and prepared
[unsigned] memorials begging [that they be
punished]. He had [Chen] Han take them to
[K'ung] Kuang. [K'ung] Kuang was habitually
timid and cautious, so did not dare to refuse to send
in these memorials [as his own]. Each time [they
were received, Wang] Mang advised the [Grand]
Empress Dowager to assent to these memorials. In
this way, the General of the Van, Ho Wu, and the
General of the Rear, Kung-sun Lu, were sentenced for
having recommended each other and were dismissed.
The relatives of the Ting and Fu [clans], together
with [those of] Tung Hsien2a were all dismissed from
their positions and from their noble titles and were
exiled to distant regions.
The Marquis of Hung-yang, [Wang] Li5a, was a
younger [half]-brother of the [Grand] Empress
Dowager. Although he did not occupy any [official]
position, yet because he was one of his uncles who
was respected within [the Palace, Wang Mang]
dreaded him. He feared [Wang] Li5a might casually
say something to the [Grand] Empress Dowager
which would bring it about that [Wang Mang] would
not be permitted to follow his own intentions. So
[Wang Mang] had [K'ung] Kuang also memorialize
[Wang] Li5a's former evil deeds: that he had previously
known that the Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-yü
Chang, had committed the crime of rebellion and he
had [nevertheless] received from him a large bribe and
court. Later he had advised that a secret son of a
government woman, Yang Chi, [allegedly by Emperor
Ch'eng], should be made an Imperial Son, [a
possible heir to the throne. But] the common opinion
[in the court was, "It is a case of] the reappearance
of the Young Emperor of the Lü clan.[143] It is most
disturbing. It would be suspicious to the empire, so
that it would be difficult to establish [such a babe's
legitimacy] to later generations or to achieve anything
creditable in behalf of [such a babe] in swaddling
clothes." [The memorial] begged that [Wang] Li5a
should be sent back to his state.
When the [Grand] Empress Dowager would not
listen to it, [Wang] Mang said to her, "Now the
Han dynasty has decayed and has been without
[natural] heirs [to the throne] for successive generations.
You alone, [Grand] Empress Dowager, can
take the place of the young lord in directing the
government. It is sincerely to be dreaded that, even
leading the empire, it is yet to be feared that [the
empire] will not follow [you. But] now if for the
sake of your private affection you go contrary to the
advice of your highest officials, in this way your
many subordinates will become dangerous and evil;
proper to approve [this petition], temporarily send
[Wang Li5a] to his state, and, after the situation has
become more tranquil, to summon him back." The
[Grand] Empress Dowager had no alternative, so sent
[Wang] Li5a to his state. The [methods] by which
[Wang] Mang compelled and controlled his superiors
and inferiors were all of the foregoing sort.
In this way, those who attached themselves to him
and accorded with him were promoted and those who
opposed or disliked him were exterminated. Wang
Shun4b and Wang Yi5 became his intimate advisers.
Chen Feng and Chen Han had charge of making
decisions[149] , P'ing Yen had charge of delicate matters[150]
, Liu Hsin1a[151] took care of [classical] literature,
Sun Chien was his military assistant.[152] [Chen]
Feng's son, [Chen] Hsün, [Liu] Hsin1a's son, [Liu]
Fen, Ts'ui Fa from Cho Commandery, and Ch'en
Ch'ung from Nan-yang [Commandery] were all
favored by [Wang] Mang because of their ability.
[Wang] Mang's appearance was severe and his
speech was blunt.[155] When he wanted to have something
clique took up his intentions and manifested them in a
memorial, [whereupon Wang] Mang bent his head
to the earth with tears in his eyes, and firmly declined.
On the one hand, he thereby misled the [Grand]
Empress Dowager, and on the other, he thereby
exhibited faithfulness to the mass of commoners.
First, he had hinted that [the Governor of] Yi
Province should induce the barbarians outside the
barrier to present a white pheasant,[158]
and, in the
[Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager
to issue an imperial edict that the white pheasant
should be offered in the [imperial] ancestral temples.
The many courtiers therefore memorialized, saying,
"The [Grand] Empress Dowager entrusted to the
Commander-in-chief, [Wang] Mang, the duty of planning
the imperial enthronement that gave peace to
the [imperial] ancestral temples. When the former
[similarly] having given peace to the [imperial] ancestral
temples, his enfeoffment was increased by
thirty thousand households, the noble title and estate
[of his posterity was ordered] to be the same [as
that of the founder of their house,[165] and he was
ranked] the same as the [former] Chancellor of
State Hsiao [Ho]. It would be proper for [Wang]
Mang to be [treated] as [Ho] Kuang was formerly
[treated]."[166]
The [Grand] Empress Dowager questioned[167]
the
ministers, saying, "Is it really that, because the
Commander-in-chief, [Wang Mang], has achieved
it is because he is of [Our] flesh and blood that
you have wanted to distinguish him?"
Thereupon various courtiers produced long expositions,
[saying, "Wang] Mang's achievements and
presage of a white pheasant [as at the time the Duke
of] Chou [was minister to King] Ch'eng. That in a
thousand years there are similarities is a law of the
sage-kings.[172] When a subject has great achievements,
in his lifetime he should have a laudable title.
Hence the Duke of Chou, during his lifetime, was
given[173] a title with [the name of] the Chou [dynasty
in it. Wang] Mang has the great achievement of
having given stability to the state and of having given
tranquillity to the Han dynasty, so that it is proper
that he should be granted the title, `The Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han [Dynasty],' that the [number
of] households [in his noble estate] should be increased,
and [his posterity should be given] the same
noble title and estate [as the founder of their house].
On the one hand, [this appointment] will be in
accordance with ancient principles, and on the other
hand, it will take as its model past situations.
Thereby it will accord with the mind of Heaven."
When the [Grand] Empress Dowager, in an imperial
edict, ordered a Master of Writing to prepare
[an edict for] this matter, [Wang] Mang presented a
letter which said, "Your servant planned the enthronement
[of Emperor P'ing] together with K'ung
Kuang, Wang Shun4b, Chen Feng, and Chen Han.
Now I wish that the achievements and rewards of
and that [any rewards for] your servant, Mang,
should be abandoned and set aside. Do not list me
with them."
Chen Han advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager
to issue an imperial edict, which said,
" `Without deflection and without partiality,
Great is the way of [true] Kings.'[178]
not be partial to him. [But] you, sir, have achieved
the merit of having given tranquillity to the [imperial]
ancestral temples. [We] cannot set aside [your
merits] and not exalt them just because you are of
[Our] flesh and blood. You, sir, must not refuse."
When [Wang] Mang again presented a letter excusing
himself, the [Grand] Empress Dowager by an
imperial edict ordered an Internuncio to lead [Wang]
Mang to await [investiture] in the Eastern Wing of
the [Palace] Hall. [But Wang] Mang pronounced
the Grand] Empress Dowager sent the Prefect of the
Masters of Writing, [Yao] Hsün, with an imperial
edict to [Wang Mang], saying, "Because you, sir,
are humble,[182] you have refused on account of illness.
Your position, sir, is important, and may not be left
vacant. Arise promptly at this time."
When [Wang] Mang completely and firmly refused,
the [Grand] Empress Dowager again sent the Grand
Coachman at the Ch'ang-hsin [Palace, Wang] Hung,
with an imperial decree summoning [Wang] Mang.
[Wang] Mang [however] insistently pronounced himself
ill. Her entourage advised the [Grand] Empress
Dowager that it was proper not to force [Wang]
Mang's will, and merely to list K'ung Kuang and the
arise.
to her subordinates an imperial edict, saying, "The
Grand Tutor, the Marquis of Po-shan, [K'ung]
Kuang, has guarded [the throne] for four reigns and
from reign to reign has been tutor or chancellor. He
is loyal, filial, benevolent, and sincere; his conduct
and his fealty have been outstanding. He made
the proposal and planned the imperial enthronement.
He shall be additionally enfeoffed with [the income of]
ten thousand households. [K'ung] Kuang shall become
the Grand Master, participating in a government
by Four Coadjutors.
"The General of Chariots and Cavalry, the Marquis
of An-yang, [Wang] Shun4b, has repeatedly and
continually been benevolent and filial; he was sent to
invite the King of Chung-shan, [Liu Chi-tzu, to
ascend the throne] and he has `repulsed [by diplomacy]
the attacks of [the enemy at a distance of]
ten thousand li.'[188]
His achievements and virtuous
conduct are abundant and brilliant. He shall be
additionally enfeoffed with [the income of] ten
thousand households. [Wang] Shun4b shall become
the Grand Guardian.
"The General of the Left and Superintendent of
the Imperial Household, [Chen] Feng, has guarded
[the throne] for three reigns. He is loyal, trustworthy,
invite the King of Chung-shan [to ascend the throne]
and has assisted and guided him and supplied his
needs, thereby giving tranquillity to the [imperial]
ancestral temples. [Chen] Feng shall be enfeoffed
as Marquis of Kuang-yang with the income of a
state of 5000 households. [Chen] Feng shall become
the Junior Tutor.
"Upon all [these persons] there shall be conferred
the position [of being included among] the Four
Coadjutors. Their noble ranks and estates shall be
the same [for their descendants as for the founders
of their houses] and to each shall be given one
residence.
"The Palace Attendant and Chief Commandant
of Imperial Equipages, [Chen] Han, has guarded the
throne and toiled diligently. He made the proposal
and planned the imperial enthronement. [Chen]
Han shall be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Ch'eng-yang
four hundred households."
When these four persons had received rewards and
[Wang] Mang had not even yet arisen, various
courtiers again presented [a memorial to the Grand
Empress Dowager nee Wang], saying, "Although
[Wang] Mang is able to yield [to others,[194]
yet] he
is one whom the court should properly make illustrious
and to whom should be given at [this appropriate]
time [suitable] rewards, [thereby] making well-known
and important one who has achieved great
merits and [thereby] not causing the hopes of the
many officials or of the great multitude to be disappointed."[196]
The [Grand] Empress Dowager thereupon issued
an imperial edict, saying, "The Commander-in-chief,
of the three highest ministers for three reigns and
has performed the [same] duties [as those performed
by] the Duke of Chou. He has established the plan
[for the succession to the throne that is to endure for]
ten thousand generations. In achievements and
virtuous conduct[200] he has been a model to palace
officials.[201] His influence has spread over [all] within
the [four] seas, so that people of distant [regions]
have thought with affection of right principles; a potentate
of the Yüeh-shang,[202] [whose speech must be]
repeatedly interpreted [from one interpreter to another],
presented a white pheasant as tribute.
"Let [Wang] Mang be additionally enfeoffed with
[the income of] the twenty-eight thousand households
in the two counties of Shao-ling and Hsin-hsi.
His heirs who succeed him shall be exempted
[from taxes and service] and their noble rank and
estate shall be the same [as his].[203]
His achievements[204]
shall be [ranked] the same as those of the
[former] Chancellor of State, Hsiao [Ho. Wang]
business of the Four Coadjutors. His title shall be
the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty.
The first residence, that of the former Chancellor of
State, Hsiao [Ho], shall become the residence of the
Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty. Let
[this ordinance] be established and published as a
without end."
Thereupon [Wang] Mang hypocritically[208]
feared
his charter [of appointment]. The charter said,
"The Han [dynasty] was in danger because there
was no heir, and your excellency stabilized it. As to
the positions of the Four Coadjutors and the responsibilities
of the three highest ministers, your excellency
controls them. As to the various officials and the
many positions, your excellency rules them. Your
merits and virtue are abundant and brilliant.
Thereby the [imperial] ancestral temples are tranquil.
Verily, the auspicious presage of the white pheasant
is symbolical of [the way the Duke of] Chou [acted
as minister to King] Ch'eng. Hence [We] grant you
the auspicious title of the Duke Giving Tranquillity
and protector of the Emperor, do you aim at bringing
about [a condition of the utmost] tranquillity. Do
not disappoint Our intentions."
[Wang] Mang received the titles of Grand Tutor
[but] he yielded up and returned the matter of his
increase in enfeoffment and his noble rank and estate
being the same [for his descendants as for himself],
saying, "I wish to wait until the people[212] have a
I be given any rewards." The other highest ministers
again argued with him. The [Grand] Empress
Dowager's imperial edict said, "You, Duke, of your
own accord aim at the people having a sufficiency
in their households, because of which [We] listen to
you. Let it be ordered that your salary, Duke, and
the rewards granted to the members of your suite[216]
shall all be double what they were previously, and
when the people have a sufficiency in their households
so that personally they have enough, the Grand
Minister over the Multitude, [K'ung Kuang], and
the Grand Minister of Works, [Wang Ch'ung], shall
report [the fact] in order that [you may thereupon
be granted the full amount of your reward]."
[Wang] Mang again refused and would not receive
[these honors] and proposed that it would be proper
to set up descendants of the vassal kings [as kings]
and to enfeoff the descendants of the more important
of the meritorious courtiers of the Eminent Founder,
[Emperor Kao], and his successors, as marquises or
to grant them the noble rank of Marquis of the Imperial
Domain with the income of estates; and thereafter
those in office should each have his [full] rank,
[so that there may be] a government making grants to
every one, in which on the one hand, the [imperial] ancestral
temples are honored[219] , by augmenting the
hand, gentlemen and commoners are shown kindness
and widowers and widows [are given] grace
and bounty. A discussion is in the "Annals of
[Emperor Hsiao]-p'ing."
When [Wang] Mang had pleased the mass of commoners,[225]
on his own authority. He knew that the [Grand]
Empress Dowager had no taste for governing, so he
gave a hint to the ministers. They memorialized her,
saying, "In the past, officials have been promoted in
accordance with the order of their merits to [positions
ranking as] two thousand piculs. They, together
with minor officials who have been recommended
from the provincial divisions as being Abundant Talents
of Unusual Degree, are for the most part not
worthy [of their positions, so that] it would be proper
that they should all interview the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang].
It is also not proper that the [Grand] Empress
Dowager should in person supervise unimportant
matters."
[Thus they] caused the [Grand] Empress Dowager
to issue an imperial edict which said, "Since the Emperor
is young in years, We are temporarily directing
Now most matters are complicated and detailed,
while Our years are many and [Our] bodily
vigor is insufficient. [If We attend to these matters],
there is danger that [We] may not have the means of
keeping [Our] body in health or of caring for the
Emperor. Hence [We] have selected loyal and capable
persons and have set up the Four Coadjutors,
their duty and there should perpetually be prosperity
and peace.
"Confucius `said, "How sublime the way Shun and
Yü held possession of the country and yet remained
indifferent to [the details of government]!" '[232]
From this time and henceforth, except[233] for enfeoffments
of noble titles, which shall nevertheless be reported
[to Us], in all other matters, the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty and the Four
Coadjutors shall judge and decide. As to Provincial
Shepherds, [officials ranking at] two thousand piculs,
together with minor officials [who are recommended
as being] Abundant Talents, when they are [considered]
for their first appointment [to office] and
when they memorialize matters, they shall each time
be led into an office near [the palace] to answer
questions; the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty, [Wang Mang], shall examine into their
former offices and ask about their new duties, in
order that he may know whether they are worthy
or not."
Thereupon [Wang] Mang received and questioned
each one [of the officials], conveyed to them his
secret gracious intentions, and bestowed upon them
rich parting gifts, while he brought out memorials
concerning those who did not suit his purposes and
of the lord of men.
[Wang] Mang wanted to delight the [Grand] Empress
Dowager with vain reputation, so advised
her in conversation that since she had herself succeeded
to the extravagance of the Ting and Fu [clans
most of the people did not have enough [to live
on],[237] it would be proper for the [Grand] Empress
Dowager temporarily to wear coarse plain silk,[238] and
to reduce considerably [the expense of] her cuisine,
in order to show [her economical spirit] to the empire.
[Wang] Mang thereupon presented a letter, stating
ch'ing[243] of cultivated fields, to be paid to the Grand
Minister of Agriculture, for assistance and gifts to
the poor people.[245] Thereupon the ministers all
admired and imitated him.
[Wang] Mang led the various courtiers in a memorial,
age, [yet] you have for a long time worn heavy plain
white silk and have reduced your imperial cuisine,
which verily is not the way to sustain your bodily
vigor, to care for the Emperor, or to give tranquillity
to the [imperial] ancestral temples. Your subject,
Mang, has several times knocked his head to the
ground at the door to your Inner Apartments and
has advised and argued with you [concerning this
practise, but my request that this practise be discontinued]
has not yet been approved. Now, thanks
to your Majesty's virtue and beneficence, the wind
and rain have recently been timely, sweet dew has
descended, the supernatural fungus of immortality
has grown, the calendar plant and the red herb,[248]
auspicious cereals and [other] favorable signs have
all appeared simultaneously.
"Your servant Mang and the others are not cap-
able of overcoming their great hopes: we wish that
your Majesty would have compassion upon your
energy, rest your spirit, relax your thoughts, conform
to the regular imperial robes, and restore the
legal cuisine of the Grand[252] Provisioner, thereby
causing each of your subjects and children to be
completely content in his heart and to supply
your needs perfectly. We hope that you will sympathetically
scrutinize [our request]."
[Wang] Mang also caused the [Grand] Empress
Dowager to issue an imperial edict which said,
"Verily, [We] have heard that [according to] the
moral principles for the mother of a ruler, her
thoughts should not go outside the threshold of the
door.[254] Since the state has not received [Heaven's]
blessing and the Emperor is of the age when he is in
swaddling-clothes and is not yet capable of governing
in person, [We] have trembled with apprehension
and [guarded Ourself] for fear that the [imperial]
ancestral temples would not be tranquil. Except
for Us, who can control the general policies of the
state?
"It was for such reasons that Confucius interviewed
Nan-tzu and that the Duke of Chou acted
as regent, which was probably an expedient suited
to the time.[257]
[We] have fatigued [Ourself] and
have pondered to the utmost [degree], have toiled
and worried, and have not yet become tranquil.
Hence `if the state is prodigal, then [a sage] gives it
an example of economy,'[258]
and `in straightening a
bent backwards] beyond a straight [line,'[261] so We
may have gone too far in economizing], yet if We
do not personally lead [the empire back to correctness],
what will [We be able] to say to the empire?
"[We] have hoped morning and night that the five
[kinds of] grains should be harvested in abundance
and the peoples' households should have a sufficiency.
When the Emperor dons the cap of virility, [We]
shall entrust the government to him and transfer it
to him.
"[We] now verily have had no leisure for light and
delicate [clothing] or for perfectly flavored [food]
and hope that together with the many officials [We]
may achieve [a good government]. Let [us all] make
[great] efforts towards this [end]."
Every time there was a flood or drought, [Wang]
advised her of it, the [Grand] Empress Dowager
sent a messenger with an imperial edict to [Wang]
Mang, saying, "[We] have heard that you, Duke,
have been eating [only] vegetables. Your solicitude
for the common people is indeed deep. Since in this
autumn there has fortunately been a good harvest,
and you, Duke, are so diligent in your duties, at this
time you should eat meat and care for your body for
the sake of the state."
[Wang] Mang pondered that the Middle States
four [quarters] were still the same as [before]. So
he sent an envoy to give actual gold and valuable
silks, as heavy bribes, to the Hun Shan-yü, in order
to have him send a letter to the Emperor, which
said, "I have heard that in the Middle States a
personal name has been Nang-chih-ya-szu. Now
I change my personal name to Chih, in admiration
of and conformity to the regulations of the sages."
He also sent [Lüan-ti Yün], the Hun Princess [who
had married] Hsü-pu [Tang] and who was the
daughter of Wang [Ch'iang] Chao-chün, to enter
[the court] and wait upon [the Grand Empress
Dowager. Wang Mang thus used] myriads of methods
and stratagems to dazzle deceptively and serve
flatteringly the [Grand] Empress Dowager and her
inferiors down to her Chief Chamberlain who was at
her side.
When [Wang] Mang had become an important
personage, he wanted to mate his daughter to the
Emperor, making her the Empress, in order to make
his power secure. [So] he memorialized, saying, "The
Emperor has been on the throne to the third year,
[yet the occupant of] the Ch'ang-ch'iu Palace, [the
Empress], has not yet been established and [the
positions of] concubines in the Lateral[271] Courts
have not yet been filled. Recently, the difficulties
of the dynasty have originated from heirs being
lacking and from [imperial] marriages and takings
[of concubines] having been incorrect. I beg that
the Five Classics be investigated and discussed in
order to establish rites for [the imperial] marriage
women,[275] in order to increase his posterity, and that
there be a wide selection [for his harem] from the
daughters of the principal wives of the descendants
from the two [immediately preceding dynasties of
true] kings, [the Shang and Chou dynasties], the
posterity of the Duke of Chou and of Confucius, and
the marquises in Ch'ang-an."
The matter was referred to the high officials and
names of a multitude of girls. The girls of the Wang
clan were the most numerous of those selected [as
candidates for becoming the Empress. Wang] Mang
feared that they would compete with his own daughter,[279]
so he immediately presented [a letter] saying,
abilities are of a low [order], so that it would not be
proper for her to be put with the multitude of girls
[from whom the Empress] is to be chosen."
The [Grand] Empress Dowager thought that he
was completely sincere, so issued an imperial edict
[for the Emperor], saying, "The girls of the Wang
clan are Our maternal relatives. Let them not be
selected [for the imperial harem]."
The many common people, the [Confucian] masters,
the Gentlemen, the lower officials, and [those
holding] higher positions, who [thereupon came to]
wait at the [Palace] Portals to present letters [to
the Grand Empress Dowager, numbered] more than
a thousand daily; some of the ministers and grandees
went to the middle of the [principal] court and some
prostrated themselves outside the doors of the Inner
[Apartments]. All said, "The sage virtue of your
enlightened edict is as sublime as" that, [or] "The
abundant and glorious services of the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty are as magnificent
as" this, [or], "Now that an Empress is to be established,
why should the daughter of the Duke be
specially excluded? Where would the destiny of
the empire be [better] placed? We wish to secure
the daughter of the Duke as the mother of the
empire."
[Wang] Mang sent his Chief Clerk and subordinates
by divisions to instruct and stop the ministers
and the [Confucian] masters, but those who presented
letters [to the Grand Empress Dowager]
were even greater [in number than before, so the
Grand] Empress Dowager had no alternative but to
listen to the ministers and select the daughter of
Wang] Mang [to be the Empress].
[When Wang] Mang again himself advised her
the host of [suitable] girls, the ministers contested
with him, saying, "It is not proper to select other
girls and thereby alter the proper line of succession,
[which can only come through the daughter of the
Duke]."
[Wang] Mang [accordingly] advised [the Grand
sent the Privy Treasurer of Ch'ang-lo [Palace,
Hsia-hou Fan[291] ], the Superintendent of the Imperial
House, [Liu Hung3b], and the Prefect of the Masters
of Writing, [P'ing Yen[292] ], to present the proposal
[of marriage][293] and to interview the girl. They
returned and memorialized, saying, "The daughter
of the Duke has been imbued with virtue and culture
and has a beautiful and fascinating appearance, so
heavenly[297] succession and uphold the [imperial]
sacrifices."
There was an imperial edict sending the Grand
Master Over the Masses, [Ma Kung], and the Grand
Minister of Works, [Chen Feng], to inform in an
official document [the imperial ancestors in the imperial]
ancestral temples and in various ways to
perform divination by the tortoise-shell and by the
stalks. They reported unanimously, "The cracks
upon the tortoise-shell which occurred were [a prognostic]
that metal and water will flourish and assist.
The diagram formed by the stalks which occurred was
that the father and mother will occupy [their due]
positions,[298]
which may be said to be a response
[presaging] prosperity and security, a portent of
great good fortune."
The Marquis of Hsin-hsiang, [Liu] T'ung2b, pre- sented [to the throne a memorial], saying, "[According
to] the Spring and Autumn, when the Son of
Heaven was about to take [a bride from the state of]
Chi6, he rewarded the Viscount of Chi with the title
of Marquis.[303] The estate of the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], is not
yet conformable to [this] ancient regulation."
The matter was referred to the high officials, and
all advised, "Anciently, the Son of Heaven enfeoffed
the father of his Empress [with a fief] a hundred li
[square]; he honored [his father-in-law] and did not
treat him as his subject, in order to give importance
to his ancestral temple. It was the extreme of filial
piety. [Liu] T'ung's advice is in conformity with
the rites and may be approved. We beg that [Wang]
ch'ing of cultivated fields in [the county of] Hsin-yeh,
[in order that he may have] a full hundred
li."[307]
[Wang] Mang excused himself, saying, "Your subject
Mang's daughter is really not fit to be mated to
the most honorable person [i.e., the Emperor]. I
furthermore have heard about the discussions of the
feoffment. I, your subject Mang, myself humbly
meditate that I have been permitted to rely upon
[the fact that I am] a distant relative [of the
throne][311] and have [thus] attained noble rank and
lands. If my daughter is really capable of supporting
and according with your sage virtue, the estate
of your subject Mang is [yet] sufficient to make offerings
for the tribute at the court; it is not necessary
again to give me the favor of added territory. I
wish to return what was to be added." The [Grand]
Empress Dowager approved it.
The high officials memorialized that, [according to]
ancient practises, an empress was betrothed [with a
gift of] twenty thousand catties of actual gold,[315]
which would be two hundred million cash. [Wang]
Mang declined it and asked strongly that it be given
to others, [but] received forty million [cash] and gave
Money
Among the
Families of
the Imperial
Concubines-elect.
He is
Given
Additional
Sums.
Chang
of [the Emperor's] eleven concubines, [who were
to accompany the Empress].
Various courtiers again said, "Now the betrothal
presents received for the Empress barely surpass
those for the various concubines." [So] there was
an imperial edict again increasing [the gift to Wang
Mang] by twenty-three million [cash, making it]
altogether thirty million [cash. Wang] Mang again
used ten million [cash] of that [sum] to divide among
the poor persons in his nine [sets of] relatives.
Ch'en Ch'ung was at that time Director of Justice
to the Grand Minister over the Masses, [Ma Kung],
and was good friends with Chang Ch'ang's grandson,
wide learning, and drafted for [Ch'en] Ch'ung a memorial
praising the achievements and virtuous conduct
of [Wang] Mang, which [Ch'en] Ch'ung memorialized.
It said,
"[According to] the opinion of your unworthy
servant, from the time that the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty first `brought his bundle
of dried flesh [and began studying],'[321]
he has been
placed in an age when customs have been highly
of being allied in flesh and blood to [the occupants of]
two palaces, [Emperor Ch'eng and the Grand Empress
Dowager nee Wang], and has been covered
with the illustrious brilliance of his various uncles.
His wealth has been great and his power abundant,
so that his will was unopposed.
"Yet he has humbled himself, lived a life of kindness
and goodness, vanquished his desires, and walked
in the path of proper conduct, resisting the age and
correcting its customs, standing firmly alone, [wearing]
poor clothes and [eating] poor food, with a
shabby carriage and sorry horses, with one consort
and no other [woman]. No one of the multitude has
the doors of his inner apartments and of his virtues
of filial piety and friendliness. He is quiescent,
rejoicing in the Way, gentle and good, and associating
with worthy inferiors. He is kindly to his old
friends and servitors and faithful to his teachers and
associates. Confucius said, `No [one] is as good as
the man who is poor and yet happy, rich and yet
loves the rules of proper conduct,'[326] which indeed
applies to the Duke.
"When he was a Palace Attendant and the former
the crime of treason, the Duke did not presume to
keep it to himself [but] advocated that [his cousin]
should be punished. The Duke of Chou executed
[the King's Uncles] of Kuan and of Ts'ai and Master
Chi [Yu] poisoned Shu Ya,[332] which [precedent]
indeed denotes that the Duke [is like these sages].
"For this reason, Emperor Hsiao-ch'eng gave the
Duke a mandate to be his Commander-in-chief, entrusting
him with the government of the state.
Sung's
Laudatory
Memorial.
(3) His
Opposition
to the
Advancement
of Natural
Imperial
Maternal
Relatives.
desires [of the Concubine nee Ting] and sought for
her approbation [by suggesting that the Emperor's
natural mother, this Concubine nee Ting, should be
given the title belonging to his imperial mother,
instead of recognizing that Emperor Ai was the
adopted son of his predecessor, hence his natural
mother could not be his imperial mother. Tung
Hung thus actually proposed] creating two lines of
[imperial] descent. [But] the Duke in person impeached
[Tung Hung] and thereby established a
fundamental principle [of government]. He advocated
that it was not proper for the Queen Dowager
[nee Fu] of Ting-t'ao to have [her canopy and seat
beside] the imperial[336] canopy and seat [of the Grand
Empress Dowager],[337] in order to make plain the
constitution of the state. The Book of Odes says,
And the powerful he did not eject;
He did not insult widowers or widows
Nor fear the strong or resistful,'[338]
"He firmly held to humility and expressed his
sincerity in yielding his position. When the Queen
Dowager [nee Fu] of Ting-t'ao wanted to secure for
herself the usurped title [of Empress Dowager], she
feared his sense of duty which [made him] rebuke her
to her face [for placing] her canopy and seat [next
to that of the Grand Empress Dowager]. Flattering
sort, were restrained by the other fact that [Wang
Mang] had in person impeached [Shun-yü] Chang
and [Tung] Hung. [Hence] superiors and inferiors
were united in calumniating, injuring, and causing
confusion, so that they violated and perverted the
regulations, and [the Queen Dowager] succeeded in
usurping the title [of Grand Empress Dowager].
They drove away [men of] stable benevolence and
executed [the imperial] relatives by marriage [who
were related to the preceding emperor, so that]
the Duke suffered the calumny [undergone by
Wu Yüan Tzu]-hsü and [Ch'ü] Yüan, and was
caused to go far away to his state [of Hsin-tuc]. The
court and the government were collapsing in ruins,
the main and subordinate [dynastic] principles were
going to pieces, and the calamity of the overthrow
[of the dynasty] remained suspended by no more
than a hair. The Book of Odes says,
"At this time, [when Emperor Ai had died], there
occupied the most important [position], added to
which the Fu clan had the assistance of their daughter,
[who was the Empress]. They all themselves
knew that they had offended the country and had a
feud with [the royal family in the kingdom of]
Chung-shan, so that it would have been necessary
for [the Fu and Ting clans] to be `one in' their worries,
protect each other by [the power which enables a
person] to `shatter metal [bars]',[348] utilize a forged
use of rewards and punishments, first eliminate those
whom they dreaded and hastily introduce [to office]
those who were attached [to them], then make false
accusations against [those against whom they had]
long standing grudges, [i.e., the clan of Emperor
P'ing], and furthermore repress [even] distant [imperial]
relatives. If the circumstances had developed
and occurred [after this manner], it would not have
been difficult [for the Fu and Ting clans to seize the
power of the government].[352]
"Thanks to the Duke, who at once entered [the
court, Tung] Hsien2a was immediately made to retire,
together with his clique and relatives. At this time,
the Duke acted by his own brilliant insight and
eyebrows with a stern air and disseminated a martial
ardor. Taking advantage of the fact that [Tung
Hsien2a] was not secure [in his position], he crushed
him before he could move. Like a thunderbolt he
set in motion the mechanism [of government] and
his enemies were broken. Even if [Meng] Pen or
[Hsia] Yü had been [there], they would not have
[had time] to take up [their weapons] and touch him;
even if Shu-li [Chi] had been [there], he would not
have had time to use his wits; even if [the Master of]
the Demon Valley had been [there], he would have
been unequal to such rapid [action]. For this reason
Tung Hsien2a lost his spirit and committed suicide
by strangling. People did not [have time] to turn
around, the sun did not [have time to] move on the
sun-dial, when suddenly on all [sides, the conspirators]
were eliminated, [things were] changed and it
became a peaceful court.
"Without your Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager],
and given [office] to the Duke; without the Duke no
one could have vanquished this calamity.
The Book of Odes says,
He was an eagle, a hawk,
Assisting King Wu;[358]
success;'[360] which indeed apply to the Duke.
"Hence the Duke thereupon advised [the Grand
Empress Dowager] to receive the former Chancellor
Prefect of T'ai, [Chen] Han, together with the
Grand Minister over the Masses, [K'ung] Kuang, and
the General of Chariots and Cavalry, [Wang] Shun4b,
[and have them] propose and plan [the enthronement
of the Emperor who should care for the dynasty's]
altars to the gods of the soils and grains, go eastwards,
bearing credentials, and invite [the present
Emperor to ascend the throne]. All of them received
enfeoffment or additional territory because of their
achievements and virtuous conduct and became famous
officials of the state. The Book of History says,
`One who knows people is wise,'[363] which applies to
the Duke.
"The ministers all sighed after the Duke's virtue
that] they were equal to those of the Duke of Chou,
so that it would be proper to grant him the title of
the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty
and to increase his enfeoffment by two counties, [but]
the Duke would not accept any of them. A book
having preserved [the state of] Ch'u,'[369] and `Yen
[Ying] P'ing-chung would not receive the enfeoffment
for having acted as [chief] assistant [in the
government of the state of] Ch'i.'[371] Confucius said,
`If [a prince] is able to rule his state in accordance
with the rules of proper conduct and yielding [to
others], what [difficulty] will he have?',[372] which
apply to the Duke.
"When they were about to determine upon and
establish an Empress-consort for the Emperor, the
high officials sent up [to the Grand Empress Dowager]
the names [of suitable girls], the first of whom
was the daughter of the Duke, [and] the Duke declined
it strongly and asked that it be given to others.
He was constrained and had no resource, and then
only did he accept the imperial edict [ordering his
daughter to be Empress]. The love between father
and child is a Heaven-[endowed quality of human]
nature and spontaneous; [a father] desires glory and
honor for his [child] much more than for himself.
The honor of being Empress is equal to that of being
the Son of Heaven. The opportunity [offered to his
daughter] at that time is rare [even] in a thousand
years. Yet the Duke thought of the great principles
of the state and yielded up the favor of the greatest
blessing. In all matters he was humble, and, [whatever
of History says, `Shun [wished to] yield to someone
more virtuous, and was not delighted [at the prospect
of taking the throne],'[378] which applies indeed to
the Duke.
"From the time that the Duke received his
charter[379]
down to the present, he has been indefatigable
and orderly, daily renewing his virtue. He
he might issue the [proper] commands to the nobles;
he has followed[382] economy and exalted moderation,
so that he might correct the customs of the age. He
has diminished his wealth and disparaged his family,
so that he might lead his many subordinates; he has
humbled himself and held firmly to equity, so that
he might influence the ministers. He has taught
children and has honored scholarship, so that he
slaves have worn plain cloth[387] and his horses have
not been fed grain, and the expense for his food and
drink has not surpassed that of ordinary people.
The Book of Odes says,
for satiety and in his dwelling he should not seek for
comfort;'[390] which indeed apply to the Duke.
"He has denied his person and was himself frugal,
buying food [only] to the point of what has been
necessary. For all articles he has depended upon the
market-place, daily emptying [his bins] and keeping
no stores.[392] He furthermore sent a letter to the
throne [asking to be permitted] to return the estate
with which Emperor Hsiao-ai had additionally enfeoffed
him and to pay[393] cash [to the government]
and to offer his cultivated fields. He entirely exhausted
his former possessions in order to lead the
many [officials in making contributions]. Thereupon
harmony, accepting his influence and following his
example; outside [the court], kings, the highest
ministers,[397] and the full marquises, and within
[the court, the occupants of the imperial] canopies
and the imperial attendants, harmoniously and at
the same time, each exhausted his possessions. Some
paid gold and cash and some offered cultivated fields
and acres to assist the impoverished and exhausted
and to provide for and support those who had not
sufficient [to live on]. Anciently, what the Chief
Governor [Tou] Tzu-wen had in the morning did not
last until night,[398] and Master Kung-yi [Hsiu] of Lu
would not eat mallow from his garden [in order not
to deprive gardeners of their profit], which indeed
applies to the Duke.
"He opened his gates and invited in gentlemen and
plain houses.[401] He has frequently inspected court
affairs, has controlled all the administration, and has
himself interviewed the [Provincial] Governors and
[Commandery] Administrators and those of lower
[rank], investigating their whole life, until he had
Book of Odes says,
all day is active and vigilant, and in the evening still
careful and apprehensive of evil,'[407] which indeed
apply to the Duke.
"During three successive reigns he has been [one
of] the three highest ministers and has twice been in
charge of accompanying the imperial funeral cortege.
He has held the position of prime minister and has
pacified and tranquillized the state. The radii of
[all within] the four seas have converged[409] [in him]
and nothing has failed to be given its [proper] place.
The Book of History says, `[Shun] was received as
the chief director [of the administration], and, amidst
violent wind, thunder, and rain, he did not go
astray,'[410] which indeed refers to the Duke.
"All the foregoing have been rare in very ancient
times and would be difficult, [even] for Yü and
`containing the one pervading principle.'[412]
He may indeed be said to be perfect.
"For this reason, in the course of [these] three
years, his influence has affected [people] like that of
ceeded [each other]. Is this not the result of your
Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager], being able to
know people and having obtained a most capable
[person]? Hence not only has the prince received
the mandate [of Heaven, but] also the lives of your
courtiers have indeed not been in vain.[421] For such
a [reason] Prince `Yü was presented a dark-colored
jade tablet'[422] and the Duke of Chou received [the
privilege of] being sacrificed to [after his death] with
the suburban sacrifice.[423] Verily, since [these rulers]
reported [to Heaven the great deeds of those] sent
by Heaven, they did not presume to arrogate to
themselves the merit [that came from] Heaven.
"When we estimate the upright character of the
Duke, it is a model for the empire, and when we look
at the achievements of the Duke, they are a foundation
for ten thousand generations. If a foundation
has been laid and the reward is not appropriate to it,
and if a model has been established and the recompense
is not in accord, [such a condition] is verily not
the way to help the state or to obey the will of
Heaven.
"Emperor Kao rewarded and recompensed [those
His Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, both [was given]
twice [as many] households for his estate [as others
had] and also received special ritual privileges: of
not [needing to use] his personal name in memorializing
matters and of not [being required to] hasten
his relatives by marriage were enfeoffed. Since
[Emperor Kao] rejoiced without satiation in goodness,
the recompenses he made were not parsimonious.
If [a person propounded] one [good] plan,
[Emperor Kao] invariably [gave that person] noble
rank. For this reason, [although] the position of
Kung-sun Jung was [merely] that of a Gentleman,
he was selected from [among] the standard-bearers
when he had once explained [the conduct] of Fan
K'uai, and was enfeoffed [with the income of] two
thousand households.[432]
"Emperor Hsiao-wen rewarded the Marquis of
Chiang, [Chou P'o], by adding to his enfeoffment
[the income of] ten thousand households and granting
him five thousand catties of actual gold. Emperor
Hsiao-wu favored and recorded military achievements,
so allocated thirty thousand households
wherewith to enfeoff Wei Ch'ing; [Wei] Ch'ing's
three sons, some of whom were in swaddling clothes,
all became full marquises. Emperor Hsiao-hsüan
made Ho Kuang distinguished and brilliant, adding
to the households [of his estate] and commanding
[that his descendants should have] the same [rank
and estate as the founder of the house]; three persons
[in his clan] were enfeoffed, [enfeoffments] being
extended to the grandsons of his elder [half]-brother
[Ho Ch'ü-ping].[437]
"Now at the time of the Marquis of Chiang, [Chou
P'o], because of the firmness of the Han [dynasty's]
[Marquis of] Chu-hsü, [Liu Chang1a,] by the support
of the various generals who surrounded [the Empress
Dowager nee Lü], and by the aid of the power of
mutual assistance [of these persons], altho the project
[of the Lü clan] was detestable, they were not able to
progress.
"When Ho Kuang entered his position [as Commander-in-chief],
the authority of having long held
[Different from Wang Mang], he never happened
upon a situation that he could not handle and that
caused him to fall into disfavor[444] and [to be compelled]
to leave the court. None of those in charge
of matters in the court failed to be of the same [mind
as he]; when the break [in the imperial line occurred
at the death of Emperor Chao, Ho Kuang had controlled
the government] for a long period and his
direction of the government had brilliantly illuminated
the age. Altho it may be said that he distinguished
himself, he had [those circumstances] to
rely upon, so that [his achievement] was moreover
[comparatively] easy. Yet he suffered the embarrassment
of not being discerning in making his plans
by erroneously summoning [the King of Ch'ang-yi,
Liu Ho, to the throne].
"As to [Wei] Ch'ing and [Kung-sun] Jung, [the
one gained distinction] at the point of his sword,[447]
word, yet both received a hill-[high] recompense.
"Examining the merits [of the Duke along] with
those of [the Marquis of] Chiang, [Chou P'o], and of
Ho [Kuang, the first shows] creativeness and [the
others] were followers, when compared with [those
of Wei] Ch'ing and [Kung-sun] Jung, [the Duke's
merits are as different] as earth is from heaven.
The Duke, moreover, also performed the service of
elevated to be equal in greatness and glory with
Prince Yü and the Duke of Chou, and should receive
the [same] reward and recompense that they did.
Why should he be only discussed at the same time
as those others just mentioned, [the Marquis of
Chiang, Ho Kuang, Wei Ch'ing, and Kung-sun Jung]?
Yet he has not yet obtained nor received the generosity
[received by Wei] Ch'ing and the others.
Your servant is verily mystified by this [circumstance].
"Your servant has heard that, when services are
measureless, the recompense should be boundless,
should be unrestrained. This is the reason for King
Ch'eng's [treatment] of[453] the Duke of Chou, which
passed beyond the limits of a hundred li [of territory]
and overpassed the restrictions of the nine distinctions,[454]
creating a territory of seven hundred li
[in extent], including both the people of [the states
of] Shang and Yen3a, and granting him to have as his
vassals the six clans from [the state of the] Yin
[dynasty],[455] `the great chariot,[456] the great banner,
semi-circular jade tablet [used by] the Sovereign of
the Hsia [dynasty, Yü], a [Grand] Intercessor, a
[Master of the Ducal] Clan, a [Grand] Augur, a
[Grand] Astrologer, the appendages [of state, a ducal]
code and institutes, officials, high and low, vases for
offering liquors [in the ancestral temple, and other]
utensils,'[461] with a white bull as his sacrificial victim,[462]
and the rites of the suburban [kingly] sacrifices
and the sacrifice from a distance. `King
[Ch'eng] said, "My uncle, I will establish your eldest
son [as Duke of Lu]." '[463] Son and father were both
installed in order, and received their [fiefs], which
may indeed be called an unrestrained [reward for]
measureless [services. But his honors] did not stop
merely with these; his six sons were all enfeoffed.[465]
The Book of Odes says,
not accord, it is not a reward.
"When we consider matters done in more recent
[Emperor Kao], that except for [members of] the Liu
clan, no [one] should be made a king. Yet the
Baronet of P'o, [Wu Jui], was permitted to be King
of Ch'ang-sha and [Emperor Kao] promulgated an
imperial edict praising him as loyal, establishing and
publishing [his position as a permanent] ordinance,[469]
exists, [the Emperor] should not be held by the
regulation [restricting vassal kings to the imperial
clan].
"[According to] the Spring and Autumn [in Mr.
Tso's Commentary], Duke Tao of Chin employed the
plan of Wei Chiang and all of China served and followed
him; when the prince of Cheng presented [to
Duke Tao] musical [instruments and musicians],
Duke Tao thereupon granted half of them to [Wei
Chiang. Wei] Chiang declined strongly and asked
that they be given to others, [but] the noble [ruler]
of Chin said, `But for you, sir, I, your humble servant,
Verily, rewarding is in the code of the state and cannot
be annulled. Do you, sir, receive these [things].'
Wei Chiang thereupon possessed musical instruments
of metal and stone.[474] The Spring and Autumn
[in Mr. Tso's Commentary] praises him. It approves
[the fact that] he, a subject, was entirely devoted [to
his prince] and therefore refused [a reward for] his
services, [but] the prince knew his subject, and accordingly
rewarded him.
"Now since your Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager],
already knows that the Duke has the achievements
and virtuous conduct of the Duke of Chou,[477]
if you do not put into effect the rewards and recompenses
[granted by] King Ch'eng, and consequently
accept the Duke's firm refusals, not considering the
plain meaning of the Spring and Autumn, then how
can the common people and your courtiers praise
[your deeds], and how can they be recounted to ten
thousand generations? In truth, this is not [the
way] the state should be governed.
"Your stupid subject considers that it would be
appropriate to enlarge the Duke's state, causing it
to be like that of the Duke of Chou, and to set up
and establish the Duke's [eldest] son [as a noble],
causing him to be like Po-ch'in. The articles that
are granted to him should also be like those [granted
to the son of the Duke or Chou]. The enfeoffments
of [the Duke's] various sons should all be like those
of the six sons [of the Duke of Chou]. Then your
many subordinates will openly offer[482] their devotion,
and the many people will be brilliantly moved
by your virtue. If your courtiers really offer[483]
their devotion and if the common people are really
moved by your virtue, then which of the deeds of an
[ideal] King would be [lacking]?
"I hope that your Majesty will ponder deeply the
weighty [deeds] of your [imperial] ancestors, respect
and fear the warnings of High Heaven, imitate[485]
the gloriousness of Yü [Shun] and of the Chou
[dynasty, follow] completely and entirely [the example
of] the grants [made] to Po-ch'in, and not be
parsimonious [in granting to the Duke] a recompense
[similar to that made to] the Duke of Chou, in order
that[486]
this law of Heaven may be established and a
model may be [set] for later generations. The whole
world would [thus] be favored."
The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] thereupon
showed [the memorial] to the various highest
ministers. [But] just when the various highest
that the affair of Lü K'uan arose.
Previously, [Wang] Mang had wanted to arrogate
[Grand] Empress Dowager, "Previously, when Emperor
Ai was set up [as Emperor] and went contrary
to the favor and beneficence [shown him by you,
Grand Empress Dowager, the Emperor] himself raised
his maternal relatives, the Ting and Fu [clans], to
high rank, who troubled the state, so that they almost
destroyed the [dynasty's] gods of the soils and grains,
[almost overthrowing the dynasty]. Now, since the
Emperor is young and is again upholding the main
line [of the dynasty] as the [adopted] child of Emperor
Ch'eng, it is proper to make plain the principle of
[only] a single line of [imperial] descent, in order to
ward off [such a] situation as had previously [arisen]
and to make [the new arrangement] a model for later
generations."
Thereupon she had sent Chen Feng, bearing a
mother, the Concubine [nee] Wei, had installed her
as the Queen of King Hsiao of Chung-shan, [the deceased
Liu Hsing], and had granted to the Emperor's
maternal uncles, Wei Pao and [Wei] Pao's younger
brother, [Wei] Hsüan, the noble rank of Marquises
of the Imperial Domain. All of them were detained
in [the kingdom of] Chung-shan and were not permitted
to go the imperial capital.
[Wang] Mang's son, [Wang] Yü3, disapproved [of
the fact] that [Wang] Mang had separated the Wei
clan [from the Emperor] and feared that when the
Emperor grew up, enmity would later appear [between
the Wei and Wang clans. Wang] Yü3 hence
sent a man privately to give letters to [Wei] Pao and
the others, instructing the Emperor's mother to send
a letter to the throne, asking [that she be permitted]
to enter [the imperial palace]. A discussion is in the
"Memoir of the Queen [nee] Wei."
[Wang] Mang did not listen [to this request, so
Wang] Yü3 and his teacher, Wu Chang, together with
his own wife's elder brother, Lü K'uan, discussed the
circumstances. [Wu] Chang considered that [Wang]
Mang could not be admonished, but, since he was
fond of spiritual beings, they should make some
grevious vicissitudes or portentous happenings,[504] in
order to terrify him. [Wu] Chang would thereupon
explain them by citing parallel [instances from history]
and so would cause him to give the government
to the Wei clan. [Wang] Yü3 then had [Lü] K'uan
carry blood at night and sprinkle it at the door of
[Wang] Mang's residence. When the officials discovered
the [plot], [Wang] Mang had [Wang] Yü3
seized and sent to prison, where he drank poison and
died. [Wang] Yü3's wife, [Lü] Yen, who was with
child, was held in prison until she gave birth to the
child; when it had been [born], she was killed.
[Wang] Mang memorialized, saying, "[Wang] Yü3
has been led into error by Lü K'uan and others, who
spread groundless rumors to mislead the crowd, which
Kuan and of Ts'ai. Your servant does not dare to
hide [the fact that] he has been executed."
Chen Han and others advised the [Grand] Empress
"Verily, T'ang Yao had, [as his son], Tan-chu and
King Wen of the Chou [dynasty] had, [as sons, Hsien
and Tu, who were known as the King's Uncles of]
Kuan and of Ts'ai. These [two rulers] were both
sages of the highest [degree], yet they could not
of stupidity. Why? Because their own [good]
natures could not be transplanted [into the hearts
of these others]. You, Duke, occupy the position of
the Duke of Chou and assist your lord [as he assisted]
King Ch'eng. You have also executed [your son as
he executed the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai,
and have not [allowed] your love for your relatives
to injure the honor [due to] those who are honorable,
[i.e., the imperial family]. We approve of it most
highly.
"Anciently, after the Duke of Chou had executed
the descendants of the four states,[513]
his grand transformation
[of the country] was perfected, until
even the multilating punishments [could be] established
but not employed.[514]
Do you, Duke, concentrate
on attending to the state and aim at bringing
about the [utmost] transquillity."
Taking advantage of this [edict, Wang] Mang
exterminated the Wei clan and examined exhaustively
the case of Lü K'uan. [Wang Mang] involved [in
this case] the prominent persons of the commanderies
and kingdoms who had in the past criticized him in
memorials, and within [the imperial court] even [implicated]
the Princess of Ching-wu, the King of Liang,
[Liu] Li5a, the Marquis of Hung-yang, [Wang] Li5a,
and the Marquis of P'ing-o, [Wang] Jen. Messengers
tortured or guarded them, and they all committed
suicide. Those who died were numbered by the
hundreds, so that [all] within [the four] seas trembled
at it.
The Commissioner Over the Army [subordinate to]
ing, "The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty, [Wang Mang], has suffered from the fact
that his son, [Wang] Yü3, has fallen into the [same]
crimes [as the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai;
his love for his son was very deep, [but], for the sake
of the imperial house, [Wang Mang] has not presumed
to consider his private [interests. Since], however,
[Wang] Yü3 has suffered for his crime, [Wang
Mang] has sighed and has been deeply moved, so he
has composed a writing in eight fascicles, in order to
warn posterity. It would be proper to publish it in
the commanderies and kingdoms and order the school
officials to teach it."
The matter was referred to the various highest
ministers, who begged that it should be ordered that
the officials of the empire who were able to recite and
explain the Duke's warning should therefore be
recorded on the official registers [of meritorious
persons preferred for official positions], just as those
[who recite and explain] the Classic of Filial Piety.[522]
In the fourth year, in the spring, the suburban
Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], making him the
exemplar (tsung) was performed to Emperor Hsiao-wen,
making him the coadjutor of the Lords on
High.[528]
In the second[531] month, on [the day] ting-wei,
the daughter of [Wang] Mang was established as
Empress. A general amnesty [was granted] to the
empire and the Director of Justice to the Grand
Minister over the Masses, Ch'en Ch'ung, and others,
eight persons [in all], were sent to travel separately
about the empire, to observe and see [the people's]
customs.[534]
The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun4b, and others
memorialized, saying, "[According to] the principles
of grading achievements and meritorious conduct in
the Spring and Autumn [in Mr. Tso's Commentary],
`The highest [degree of celebrity] is to establish [an
example of] meritorious conduct, the next [degree] is
to establish [a name for] successful achievements, and
the next [degree] is to establish [wise] sayings.[537]
Verily, those of extreme meritorious conduct or of
great excellence are alone able to do this. Such
persons, if they were courtiers, thereupon [during]
their lifetime received great recompenses and [after]
their death became [known as] exemplary subjects;[538]
Yi Yin in the Yin [dynasty] and the Duke
The common people who presented [similar] letters
to the Emperor moreover [numbered] more than
eight thousand persons. They all said, "Yi Yin
became the Supporting Governor and the Duke of
Chou became the Grand Ruler. The Duke of Chou
enjoyed [the honor of] having his seven sons enfeoffed
and had recompenses greater than the highest rank
of the highest ministers. It is proper that [it should
be done] as Ch'en Ch'ung has said."
Their memorials were referred to the high officials,
returned the two counties [of Shao-ling and Hsin-hsi,
with which his enfeoffment] had previously been
increased, [and which he had returned to the government],
together with Huang-yu Village and the
cultivated fields in Hsin-yeh [County, which he
had previously held]; that there be selected [a term]
from [each of] the titles of Yi Yin, [Supporting
Governor], and the Duke of Chou, [Grand Ruler],
so that the Duke should be given the title of Ruling
Governor, with his rank in the highest rank of the
highest ministers; his division head clerks should be
ranked at six hundred piculs; the three highest ministers,
when speaking to him of [government] business,
should say that they `presume to speak of it;'[543] the
various [lower] officials should not be permitted to
have the same personal name as the Duke; when he
goes out he should be followed by twenty Attendants
at the Gates, thirty [members of] the Winged Forest,
and that before and after him there should be ten
great chariots. The Duke's Lady Dowager, [his
mother], should be granted the title, the Baronetess
of Apparent Merits, with the income of an estate of
seal-ribbon; the Duke's two sons should be enfeoffed:
[Wang] An1a as Marquis in Recompense to [the
Marquis of] Hsin-[tu], (Pao-hsin), and [Wang] Lin1a
as Marquis in Reward to [the Marquis of Hsin]-tu
(Shang-tu); and thirty seven million [cash] should be
added to the betrothal present of the Empress,
[making it] altogether a hundred million [cash],[548]
in order to glorify the great rites [of imperial marriage].
Hall [of the Palace] in person to enfeoff [the Duke
and his sons]. The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the
Han Dynasty was first installed, and his two sons
were later installed, as [had happened] in the former
case of the Duke of Chou. [But Wang] Mang repeatedly
bent his head to the ground, declining and
asking that [these honors] be given to others. When
he had gone out, he memorialized [the Empress
Dowager] concerning these enfeoffments, [declaring
that] he wished only to accept the title for his mother
and [wished] to return the seals and [ceremonial]
aprons of [Wang] An1a and [Wang] Lin1a, together
with their titles, positions, and the households in
their estates.
The matter was referred to the Grand Master,
[K'ung] Kuang, and others, who all said, "These
rewards are not adequate for the achievements [of
him to whom they have been given]. Humility,
self-restraint, retiringness, and yielding are the constant
moderation of the Duke. [His request] should
not be eventually accepted."
[Wang] Mang asked for an audience and firmly
declined [these honors, so the Grand] Empress Dowager
that the Duke has an audience, he kowtows with
tears falling, as he firmly refuses [his honors]. Now
he has sent [Us] a communication [informing Us]
that he is ill. Should [We] indeed accede to his
yielding so that [We] may order him to attend to his
business? Or should [We] indeed put into effect his
recompenses and send him home to his residence?"[554]
[K'ung] Kuang and the others replied, "[Wang]
An and [Wang] Lin1 have in person received their
seals and aprons, their charters and titles, and it has
been communicated to Heaven, so that the justice
[of their appointments] is patent. The cultivated
fields of Huang-yu, Shao-ling, and Hsin-yeh are
extraordinarily great in their income. [Their disposal]
altogether rests with the Duke. If the Duke
wishes to diminish himself in order to bring about a
[moral] transformation in the state, it is proper that
[his request to yield up these fields] be approved and
acceded to, and it is to be expected that the [moral]
transformation [which will bring about a condition
of] good government and peace will accordingly be
achieved in [due] time.
"[But] the office of Ruling Governor cannot be
attained by [his heirs in the next] generation, [so that
he should not be permitted to refuse it]. The cash
[used] in the betrothal presents[557]
[of his daughter]
was moreover to honor her as the [future] Empress,
and not for the Duke's sake. The households [in
lapse with her [death] and not be transmitted [to her
descendants]. The two estates of Pao-hsin and
Shang-tu together [amount only to] three thousand
to] the conduct of a loyal official, it is moreover
proper that he should humble his own [will] in order
to show his fealty to his lord.
"It would be proper to send the Grand Minister
over the Masses, [Ma Kung], and the Grand Minister
of Works, [Chen Feng], with credentials, bearing
your edict of decree that the Duke must quickly
enter [the court] and attend to business, and give
an edict to the Masters of Writing not again to
receive a memorial from the Duke which yields up
[his honors]." The memorial was approved. [Wang]
He presented a letter saying, "Your servant, as the
the second year, the sixth month, on [the day]
mou-wu, in a night of haste and confusion, as Marquis
of Hsin-tuc, was led into the Wei-yang Palace. On
[the day] keng-shen, I was installed as Commander-in-chief
and occupied the position of [one of] the three
highest ministers. In [the year-period] Yüan-shih,
the first year, the second[568] month, on [the day]
ping-ch'en, I was installed as Grand Tutor, granted
the title of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty, and merely acted as [one of] the Four Coadjutors.
In the present year, the fourth month, on
[the day] chia-tzu, I was again installed as Ruling
Governor, being ranked in the highest class of the
highest ministers. I, your servant Mang, myself
think humbly that my noble rank is Marquis of
Hsin-tuc, my title is Duke Giving Tranquillity to the
Han Dynasty, my offices are those of Ruling Governor,
Grand Tutor, and Commander-in-chief, so that
able, and my offices are [too] weighty for a single
person. That I should have received [these] five
great favors, is indeed beyond your humble servant's
merits.
"Since in the third year of [the period] Yüan-shih,
official subordinate positions which have been abolished
should all be [now] reestablished.
"The Ku-liang Commentary says, `The [Grand]
[all within] the four seas.'[578] Your servant stupidly
considers that the office of Ruling Governor has for
its duties the correcting of all the officials and the
tranquillizing of [all] within [the four] seas. Yet it
has no seal or sign, so that its name does not correspond
to its reality. [Although] your servant Mang
does not have the ability to [hold many] offices concurrently,
since now you, the sage court, have through
an error and mistake employed me, your servant begs
that the Attendant Secretaries should have a seal
engraved for the Ruling Governor with the inscription,
`Ruling Governor, Grand Tutor, and Commander-in-chief,'
and, when the seal is completed,
transmit it to your servant Mang, who will [then]
return the seals of the Grand Tutor and of the Commander-in-chief."
The [Grand] Empress Dowager's
imperial edict said, "It is approved. His [ceremonial]
apron[581] shall be like that of the Chancellor
of State. We will Ourself attend [court] to transmit
it to him."
[Wang] Mang thereupon again took ten million
cash of what had been added to the betrothal present
[for his daughter] and left it with the Chief Chamberlain
at the Ch'ang-lo [Palace], who had charge of
providing for [the Grand Empress Dowager].
The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun4b, memorialized,
saying, "The empire has heard that the Duke
would not accept a territory [that would furnish] a
thousand chariots, has refused a present of [the
equivalent of] ten thousand [catties of] gold,[586] has
ten-millions, so that no one fails to reform himself.
A man of Shu Commandery, Lu Chien, and others
have stopped their litigation, blushing for shame, and
retired. Although King Wen [of the Chou dynasty
caused the rulers of the states of] Yü2a and Jui to
cease [their quarrels],[589] how could it be more than
[what Wang Mang has accomplished]? It would be
proper to inform the empire [of the foregoing facts]."
The memorial was approved.
When the Ruling Governor, [Wang Mang], went
chariots, with a Specially Serving Master of Writing,
Gentlemen, Attending Secretaries, Internuncios, Palace
Attendants Within the Yellow Gate, Attendants
at the Gates, and [members of] the Winged Forest.
The Ruling Governor regularily bore his credentials.
When he stopped [anywhere], an Internuncio held
them for him. The division head clerks of the Ruling
Governor were ranked at six hundred piculs. The
three highest ministers, [in speaking to him] said
that they "presumed to speak of [their business]."[592]
In this year, [Wang] Mang memorialized [the
plans for] and built a Ming-t'ang, a Pi-yung, and a
University] he erected ten thousand houses and had
made a Market and a Regularly Full Granary.[595]
His institutions were very grand. He established
the Classic of Music[599] [as an imperially approved
classic], and increased the regular number of the
Erudits, having five for each Classic. He summoned
those from the empire who were versed in one classic
and were teaching eleven persons or more,[601] together
with those who possessed the lost [chapters of]
the Rites, the ancient [text of] the Book of History,[602]
[the Chou-li],[606] the Erh-ya, [books on] astronomy,
divinations and revelations, the musical tubes, the
"Ordinances for the Months,"[607] military methods,[608]
the written characters in Shih [Chou's]
Fascicles,[609] and who were versed in and understood
in Charge of] Official Carriages, [so that Wang Mang]
ensnared and collected [all] the gentlemen of uncommon
ability in the empire. Those who came, at
former and later [times], were numbered by the
thousands. All were ordered to write out their explanations
[of the Classics] in his courts, with the
intention of making them correct their discrepancies
and errors and unify differing explanations.
Various courtiers memorialized, saying, "Anciently,
when the Duke of Chou upheld the heir who
succeeded his father, although he possessed the honor
of being in the highest rank of the highest ministers,
yet only in the seventh year were the institutions
fixed.[612]
Verily, the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung have
fallen into ruins and have been abolished for a
thousand years and no one has been able to revive
them. Now the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the
Han Dynasty has arisen from a great family and has
assisted and protected your Majesty for four years
down to the present. His achievements and virtuous
conduct are brilliant.
"The Duke, in the eighth month, when the moon
the purposes of the court,[620] and he himself attended
to the required service and the work of construction.
And on the next day, [the day] hsin-ch'ou, the various
masters and common people assembled in great
harmony; a great crowd of a hundred thousand
[persons] joined together, working with vigor[623] for
twenty [days], when the great work was all completed.
When T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun] did
[great] things or when at Ch'eng-chou [the Duke of
Chou] founded the dynasty's [capital], they verily
did no better.
"It is proper that the rank of the Ruling Governor
should be above that of the vassal kings, that he
should be granted bundles of silk to which are affixed
jade circlets, one chariot of state [like that for] a
large kingdom, one comfortable carriage, and two
quadrigae of black horses." The imperial edict said,
"It is approved. Let rules for the nine distinctions
be discussed."
In the winter, a great wind blew off almost all the
roof-tiles on [the buildings at] the eastern gates of
the city wall of Ch'ang-an.[626]
In the fifth year, in the first month, the hsia ancestral
sacrifice to all the ancestors together was
performed in the Ming-t'ang; twenty-eight vassal
kings, one hundred twenty full marquises, and more
than nine hundred scions of the imperial house were
rites were ended, thirty-six great-grandsons of [Emperor]
Hsiao-hsüan, [Liu] Hsin4g and others, were
enfeoffed as full marquises.[633] The other [persons
who assisted in the sacrifices] all had households
added [to their estates] or were granted noble ranks
and rewards of money and silk, to each a definite
amount.
At this time, because [Wang] Mang had not accepted
and common people who sent letters to the Emperor,
[including] previous and later [times, numbered]
487,572 persons. Moreover, the vassal kings, the
highest ministers, the full marquises, and [the members
of] the imperial house, when they had audience,
all kowtowed, saying that it would be proper immediately
to give rewards to the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty.
Thereupon [Wang] Mang presented a letter to
maternal relative, I have overleaped my [due] sequence
and occupy my [present] post, [but] I have
not yet been able to be worthy of my position. I
humbly reflect that your sage virtue is pure and
abundant, you have received [the mandate] of
Heaven and have followed ancient [practises], you
have instituted rites in order to govern the common
people, and you have composed music[639] in order to
seas have run and hastened to obey you, [even] the
many barbarians have all come to you, and on the
days when they had to take leave and go, none have
failed to drop tears. If they had not been sincere,
how could this [situation] have been gratuitously
brought about?
"From the vassal kings on down to the lower officials
and common people, all know that your servant
Mang on the one hand and your Majesty on the
other are related as closely as the pellicle inside a
reed is to the reed. Moreover, [now] that I have
been permitted to exercise an [important] charge,
those who attribute merits and rank virtuous conduct
always have some superfluous words about me,
your servant Mang, so that when I, your servant,
have an audience and the nobles of the imperial
house themselves speak of business before me, I never
fail to break out in perspiration and be mortified.
Although my nature is stupid and rustic, I myself
know most sincerely that while my virtue is small
and my position honorable, my strength is too little
and my duties are too great. Day and night I am
fearful and circumspect, continually being afraid that
"Now the empire is well-governed and at peace,
the [people's] customs are uniform, the many barbarians
[comes] from your Majesty's sage virtue and what
you yourself [have done]. The Grand Master,
[K'ung] Kuang, and the Grand Guardian, [Wang]
Shun4b, and others assist you in the government and
aid in ruling. None of the various ministers and
grandees have failed to be sincere and good, hence
it has been possible, in the time of five years, to
attain this extreme achievement.
"I, your servant Mang, have really had no wonderful
plans or extraordinary projects. When I have received
the sage edicts of the [Grand] Empress Dowager
and have promulgated them to your subjects, I
have not been able to attain one-tenth [of the sageness
contained therein]; when I received plans from
various capable [persons] and reported them to the
throne, I have not been able to attain five-tenths [of
the virtue contained therein], so that I ought to suffer
for the crime of being of no benefit [to the empire].
The reason that I temporarily presume to protect my
head and neck for the moment is in reality because
on the one hand I have reposed upon your Majesty's
superabundant glory and [because] on the other hand
I have relied upon my old friends, the highest
ministers.
"Your Majesty could not bear [to refuse] the
referred to [the officials] for discussion. Your servant
Mang previously sought immediately to memorialize
and stop [their proposals], but I feared
that you thereupon would not be willing to stop the
matter.
"Now that the great rites have already been performed
and the assistants at the sacrifices have all
left, I cannot repress my greatest wish. It is my
wish that the various writings which have been referred
to those who are to discuss [these matters]
should all be laid aside and not reported to the
throne, [thereby] causing your servant Mang to be
of instituting [Confucian] rites and composing [Confucian]
music.[651] When these matters are completed,
I will then transmit and show them to the
empire and give them to [all] within the [four] seas
to criticize. Supposing that they contain anything
traitorous[652] or evil, your servant Mang ought accordingly
to suffer for the crime of having misled the
Emperor and of having deceived the court. If I
do not undergo any other impeachments, to be permitted
to preserve my life, to be granted to ransom
my person and return home, and to make way for a
worthier person will be the private wish of your
servant. I only hope that your Majesty would have
compassion and pity and favor me somewhat."[653]
Chen Han and others advised the [Grand] Empress
Dowager to issue an imperial edict saying, "It
is permitted. Verily, Duke, your achievements and
virtuous conduct are [the most] brilliant in the empire.
For this reason the vassal kings, the highest
ministers, the full marquises, [the members of] the
imperial house, the various masters, the lower officials,
and the common people were of one accord and
the gate towers and the great court, hence their writings
were referred [by the throne to the proper officials].
On the day when the nobles and the members
of the imperial house took their leave and left, they
again presented their previously emphasized proposals.[656]
Although they were plainly instructed to be
dismissed and sent off, [yet they acted] as if they were
unwilling to leave. When [we] informed them that
in the first month of summer your rewards would be
put into effect, no one failed to rejoice and be pleased.
They called out, `Long life,' and left.
"Now every time that you, Duke, have an audience,
you always drop tears and kowtow, saying that
you wish not to receive a reward and that if a reward
is given you, you will not presume to occupy your
position. Just now [the rites and music] that are
being instituted and composed have not yet been
fixed upon, so that those matters need you, Duke,
to decide upon them, hence for the time being [We]
accede to you, Duke. When what is being instituted
and composed is all completed, the highest ministers
[of the nobles, etc.]. Let the ceremonial for
the nine distinctions be promptly memorialized
[to Us]."
Thereupon the ministers, grandees, erudits, gentlement-consultants,
gether], all said, "When the sage lords and glorious
kings beckoned to the capable and urged the able [to
come to them], those whose virtuous conduct was
abundant [were given] high positions and those
whose achievements were great [were given] rich
rewards. Hence when an exemplary subject possessed
the honor of being a `high duke with the nine
conferments,'[664] he [also] possessed the favor of having
the nine distinctions.
"Now `the nine [classes of the imperial] kindred
are affectionately harmonius' and `the official class'
is already `honored,' `the myriad states' are `harmonized
and united,' and `the many people have then
become harmonious.'[668]
The auspicious presages of
sageness have all arrived and the great peace has
become universal. Of the greatest lords, none were
greater than T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun], yet your
Majesty is worthy [of occupying their positions].
Of loyal ministers who had abundant achievements,
none were more outstanding than Yi [Yin and the
Duke of] Chou, yet the Ruling Governor, [Wang
Mang], is equal to them. It is what might be called
a revival [of ancient glories] at a different time, `[and
is as similar to those great days] as the matching of
[the two halves] of a tally.'[669]
"We have carefully taken the universal principles
of the six canons and what is found in the text of the
Classics, [especially] in the Chou Offices and the Record
of Proprieties (Li-chi), and is suitable to the present
[time], and have made the distinctions for the nine
conferments. Your servants beg [your approval of]
the distinctions for the conferments." The memorial
was approved.
[Wang Mang's] charter said, "Verily, in the fifth
year of [the period] Yüan-shih, the fifth month, on
[the day] keng-yin, the Grand Empress Dowager
[nee Wang] came to the Front Hall [of the Palace,
had Wang Mang] conducted and [ordered to] mount
[the steps to the throne], and in person[676] commanded
him by this imperial edict, which said,
" `Let the Duke approach, empty himself,[677]
and
guarded the throne [from the time of] Emperor
Hsiao-ch'eng [now] to the sixteenth year. You have
presented your plans and have been completely loyal.
You advised [the Emperor] to execute the former
Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-yü Chang, in order to
repress his rebellion and reveal the evil-doers. You
mounted to [the position of] Commander-in-chief
and your duties were to assist [the Emperor] at the
court.
" `When Emperor Hsiao-ai ascended the throne,
while the proud concubine, [the Queen Dowager nee
Fu] watched him furtively [for a chance] to work her
will and while his wicked courtiers hatched rebellion,
ch'ang, Tung Hung, and [at an imperial banquet]
changed and corrected the usurped seat of the now
deceased [Queen Dowager nee Fu], the mother of
King Kung of Ting-t'ao, [Liu K'ang]. From that
time on, when the officials of the court discussed
[matters], no one failed to accord with the Classics.
" `When you had resigned your position on account
of illness and returned to your great house, you were
endangered by brigand-like officials, [but] after you
had gone to your estate, Emperor Hsiao-ai awakened
[to a comprehension of his error] and again returned
you, Duke, to Ch'ang-an. When he became ill and
[his illness] became increasingly severe, he still did
not forget you, Duke, and again especially advanced
your rank.
" `That night, in [a time of] haste and confusion,
the state was without a presumptive heir and wicked
great. We reflected that no one was more fitting
than you, Duke, [to make] a plan for giving tranquillity
to the state, [so We] had you inducted into
the court. That same day [We] dismissed the Marquis
of Kao-an, Tung Hsien2a, and within the interval
of a turn of the clepsydra, your loyal plans were
immediately established and the main and subordinate
[dynastic] principles were all set forth in detail.
" `[During the year-periods] Sui-ho and Yüan-shou,
an emperor, you carried out all things perfectly, so
that civil disturbances did not take place. You have
assisted Us to the fifth year, [during which time] you
have corrected fundamental matters of human relationships
and have fixed the altars of Heaven and
Earth.[685] You have carefully served the gods in
heaven and earth and have disposed of [matters in
all] the four seasons. You have restored what had
been abolished for a thousand years and straightened
out the mistakes of a hundred generations.[689]
[People from all over] the empire have met in harmony
and a great crowd has collected together. The
Spiritual Tower [spoken of] in the Book of Odes,[690]
the building of [the city of] Lo in the Book of History,[692]
the institutes of the capital at Hao and the
regulations of the Shang [dynasty's] capital[693] have
been revived by you in the present [age]. You have
made glorious and illustrious the supreme achievements
of the deceased deified rulers and have made
brilliant and manifest the `excellent virtue'[696] of the
founder and exemplars [of the imperial line]. You
have exalted and made apparent the principle that
respect for the father [of a dynasty] consists in
[making him] the coadjutor of Heaven. You have
restored and established the rites for the suburban
sacrifice to the most prominent ancestor of the line
anterior to the founder of the house (chiao), the
sacrifice to the most ancient ancestor of the line (ti),
and for the sacrifice to the greatest exemplar of the
house (tsung),[697] in order to make glorious the great
the four seas are concordant, all countries incline
towards correct principles, and the barbarians, who
have different customs [from the Chinese], have of
their own accord come [to the imperial court] without
being summoned and are gradually progressing
[in civilization] and have corrected their ceremonial
bonnets and bring their treasures to assist at the
[imperial] sacrifices.
" `You have searched for old [precedents and have
based [yourself] on the [correct] Way [of action], you
have obeyed the [Confucian] canons and honored
ancient [practices, so that] whenever you acted, you
have been successful, and in everything you have
attained the mean. Your extreme virtue and essential
principles have become known to the gods; the
imperial ancestors have esteemed you and rejoiced,
so that lights have shone brightly and happy portents
from Heaven have arrived repeatedly. The
grand [cosmological] principles are universally concordant
[and there have been] more than seven hundred
auspicious presages of unicorns, phoenixes,
tortoises, and dragons.[701]
You are accordingly instituting
rites and composing music, so that you will
have the great merit of having restored peace to the
[imperial] ancestral temples and the [imperial] gods
of the soils and grains. All [persons] under Heaven
rely upon you alone, Duke. Your office is that of
Ruling Governor and your rank is[705] in the highest
class of the highest ministers.
" `[We] now add [to your honors] the distinctions
for the nine conferments. Let them be used in assisting
at the [imperial] sacrifices and in performing
your civil and military duties. [Their favor] shall
moreover be conferred upon your [deceased] ancestors.
Thereupon [Wang] Mang bent his head to the
ground, and, bowing repeatedly, received [1] a green
apron,[709] a tunic embroidered with dragons and other
figures and a mortar-board hat, a short tunic and
robe, a fine gold mouth for a scabbard and a fine
gold tip for a scabbard,[711] and ornamented shoes,[712]
horses,[716] with the dragon banner with nine tails and
the spotted deerskin cap and white silk pleated robe,
a war-chariot with a quadriga of horses, [3] a red bow
and arrows and a black bow and arrows,[717] [4 a] vermillion
axe of authority to be held on his left and a
metal (copper) battle-axe to be held on his right, one
set of armor and a helmet, [5] two flagons of black
millet herb-flavored liquor[718] and two jade tablet
ferments,[723] [7] vermillion doors, [8] inside staircases,[724]
and [9] the insignia of having an Office of
[Superintendancy over] his Clan, an Office of Praying,
an Office of Augury, an Office of Recording, three
hundred men of [the Gentlemen] as Rapid as Tigers,
one Household Steward and one Assistant [Household
Steward]. In each of the Offices over his Clan,
of Praying, of Divination, and of Recording there
were established Bailiffs and Accessory [Officials].
When the Duke Giving Tranquility to the Han Dynasty
was in his yamen inside [the Palace] or in his
residence outside [the Palace, the Gentlemen] as
Rapid as Tigers were to act as the guard at his gates,
and those who were qualified to come out or in were
to have their names inscribed on a register [at his
gates]. From the Four Coadjutors and the three
highest ministers [on down, if anyone] had business
at his yamen or residence, they were all to use passports.
The Prince's Lodge of the Kings of Ch'u was
made the residence of the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty. It was grandly repaired and
the guard. The temples and funerary chambers of
his [deceased] grandfather and father were all given
vermillion doors and inside staircases.[730]
Ch'en Ch'ung also memorialized, "When the Duke
Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty goes outside
of the city gate for the purpose of sacrificing to his
[deceased] grandfather or father, it would be proper
for the Colonel of the City Gate to accompany [the
Duke] at the head of his cavalrymen. Then when
[the Duke] enters [the city] he will have the guards
of [the city] he will have cavalrymen [following him,
by all of which] his state would be made more honorable."
His memorial was approved.
That autumn, because of the auspicious presage
that the Empress [nee Wang] would have descendants,[735]
[Wang] Mang cut the Tzu-wu Road. The
Tzu-wu Road cuts straight across the Southern
Mountains from Tu-ling and passes [into] Han-chung
[Commandery].
The eight messengers[737]
[who had been sent to
observe and influence the people's] customs had returned
and had said that the customs of the empire
and unaccompanied songs from the commanderies
and kingdoms to praise [Wang Mang's]
achievements and virtuous conduct, in altogether
thirty thousand words. [Wang] Mang memorialized
that [their report] should be established and published
as a [permanent] ordinance.[740] He also memorialized
that [because] there existed such [perfect]
institutions, in the market-places there were not two
prices, the offices were without law-cases or litigation,
towns were without thieves or robbers, the countryside
was without famished people, things dropped on
the roads were not picked up, and males and females
took separate paths,[742] [hence] those who violated
[which portrayed] the likeness [of the mutilating
punishments in the criminal's clothing].[745]
Liu Hsin1a, Ch'en Ch'ung, and others, twelve persons
because they had built the Ming-t'ang or had spread
the [imperial] teaching and influence.[748]
Since [in the empire, Wang] Mang had brought
that to the north he had influenced the Huns, to the
east he had caused [people] to come [from] beyond
the ocean, and to the south he had attracted the
Huang-chih, [but] only in the western quarter he had
not yet produced [any effects], he therefore sent a
General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, P'ing Hsien,
and others, bearing much money and silk, to tempt
the Ch'iang outside the barriers and have them present
their territory [to the throne and to express] a
desire to be received by and to be subordinate [to
Chinese rule.
Upon his return, P'ing] Hsien and the others memorialized,
saying, "The leaders of the Ch'iang
tribes, Liang Yüan, and others, whose number might
to be your subjects. They offer the Hsien-shui Sea,
the Yün Gorge, and the Salt Lake. The level land
with fine grass is all given to the Chinese people,
and [the Ch'iang] will themselves dwell in the narrow
and difficult places and act as guards at the frontiers.
"When I asked Liang Yüan the reason for his submitting,
he replied, saying, `The Grand Empress
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty is most benevolent,
and the world is completely peaceful, so that the five
[kinds of] cereals ripen and there are good harvests.
Some stalks of grain are ten feet or more tall, sometimes
one spikelet has three kernels, sometimes,
without being sown, [grain] springs up of itself,
sometimes [silk] cocoons form themselves without
any worms having been fed, sweet dew comes down
from Heaven and wine springs come out of the
earth,[754] "male and female phoenixes have come
and arrived,"[755] supernatural birds have descended
and perched, so that for the [last] four years the
Ch'iang people have had nothing to suffer [from the
government]. Hence "oh! how pleasant"[756] to be
admitted [to the Chinese empire] and to become
your subordinates.'
"It would be proper at this time to settle them in
[stationary] occupations and to establish a [Chief
Commandant] of a Dependent State to direct and
protect them."
The matter was referred to [Wang] Mang. [Wang]
Mang memorialized in reply, saying, "You, [Grand]
Empress Dowager, have controlled the rule for several
years; your grace and bounty have inundated
and overflowed, so that a filial attitude of submission
[has spread over] the four quarters and not even the
most distant regions with different customs have
potentate, [whose speech must be] successively
interpreted, presented a white pheasant; the Huang-chih
[came] from [a distance of] thirty thousand li
Eastern Barbarians crossed the Great Ocean to offer
the treasures of their states; the Hun Shan-yü conformed
to [Confucian] institutions and did away with
his double personal name. Now at the western
boundary, Liang Yüan and the others in turn present
their land and [desire to] become your menials.
Anciently T'ang Yao's [virtue] `filled[761] and covered
[all within] the four extremities of the empire,' but
it could not surpass your [virtue].
"Now I have carefully examined that there are
already a Tung-hai (Eastern Sea), a Nan-hai (Southern
Sea), and a Po-hai (Northern Sea) Commandery,
[but] there is not yet a Hsi-hai (Western Sea) Commandery.
I beg that you will accept the territory
which Liang Yüan and the others are offering and
make it the commandery of Hsi-hai.
"Your servant has also heard that when the Sage-kings
stars], and fixed the principles of geographical [arrangements],
they took the mountains, streams, and
customs of the common people as the principles for
the boundaries of their provinces. The territory of
the Han dynasty is broader than that of the two
[sage-]lords and three [dynasties of] kings,[764] having
altogether thirteen provinces. Many of the names
of the provinces together with their boundaries do
not correspond to those in the Classics. The `Canon
of Yao' [speaks of] twelve provinces;[766] later they
the Han dynasty is far-extending. When the Provincial
Shepherds go to inspect their divisions, the
most distant ones are more than thirty thousand li
[away], so that there cannot be [only] nine [provinces].
I would respectfully employ the ideas of the
Classics in correcting the names of the twelve provinces
and make boundaries for them to correspond to
the correct original [boundaries]." The memorial
was approved.
He also added fifty items to the laws. Offenders
were transported to Hsi-hai [Commandery]. Those
who were transported were counted by the thousands
and ten-thousands, so that the common people for
the first [time] held grudges [against Wang Mang].
The Marquis of Ch'üan-ling, Liu Ch'ing4i, sent
Ch'eng of the Chou [dynasty] was a minor, he was
called the Young Prince, and the Duke of Chou acted
as Regent. Now that the Emperor is rich in youthfulness,
it would be proper to order the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty to perform the
duties of the Son of Heaven like the Duke of Chou."
The various courtiers all said, "it would be proper
[to do] as [Liu] Ch'ing4i has said."
In the winter, when [the planet] Mars was occulted
by the moon,[774] Emperor P'ing became ill.
[Wang] Mang made a written declaration [to
Heaven] in which he begged for [the Emperor's] life
at the altar to the Supreme [One]. He had a jade
circlet hung on his person, carried jade insignia, and
[declared] that he was willing in person to take the
place [of the dying Emperor]. The declaration was
stored in a "metal-bound coffer"[776] and placed in the
highest ministers not to presume to speak [to him
about government business, in order that he might
concentrate on caring for the Emperor's illness].[779]
In the twelfth month, Emperor P'ing died. A
rites, Tsung-po Feng and others. With them,
[Wang Mang] determined that the officials of the
empire [ranking at] six hundred piculs and above
should all wear mourning to the third year. [Wang
Mang] memorialized, that the Temple of [Emperor]
Hsiao-ch'eng should be honored with the title of
[the Temple of] the Controlling Exemplar and the
Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-p'ing with the title of
[the Temple of] the Primary Exemplar.
At that time, the line of descent from Emperor
Yüan had been ended, but of the great-grandsons of
Emperor Hsüan there were living: five kings and
Kuang-chi, [Liu] Hsien3c.[785] [Wang] Mang hated it
permitted to be the successor [to his cousin of the
same generation]." So he selected the very youngest
among [Emperor Hsüan's] great-great-grandsons,
[Liu] Ying1a, the son of the Marquis of Kuang-chi,
[Liu] Hsien3c. He was in the second year of his age.
[Wang Mang] took as a pretext that when he was
divined about and physiognomized, he was the most
auspicious [of all].
In this month, the Displayer of Splendor in the
Wu-kung [prefecture], Meng T'ung, while a well was
being dug, had secured a white stone, round above
the square below, with red writing on the stone.
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang] Mang,
that he should become the Emperor." The coming
of mandates [from Heaven] through portents began
indeed with this one.
[Wang] Mang had the various highest ministers
of it. The [Grand] Empress Dowager said, "This
[thing] is trumped up to deceive the empire. [Its
message] cannot be put into practise." The Grand
Guardian, [Wang] Shun4b, said to the [Grand] Empress
Dowager that when matters have already
reached such [a condition as they had], there was
nothing that could be done [about it], that if she
wished to check it, she did not have the strength to
stop it; and also that [Wang] Mang would not presume
to have any other [intentions], but merely desired
to be entitled[798] the Regent, in order to make
his power greater and to settle the empire and make
it obedient. The [Grand] Empress Dowager listened
to him and promised [to do so].
[Wang] Shun4b and others thereupon together had
the [Grand] Empress Dowager issue an imperial
edict which said, "Verily, [We] have heard that when
`Heaven gave birth to' the crowd of `common people,'
they were unable to govern themselves, so `He set
up princes for them',[799]
in order to control them.
When a prince is young, there must be someone
whom he can rely upon, who should then act as
regent. Then only will [the prince] be able to carry
out [the duties] given him by Heaven and complete
the transforming influence of Earth, so that the
various living beings will flourish and be nurtured.
Does not the Book of History say, `The work is
Heaven's—let men take the place of [Heaven]'?[800]
"Because Emperor Hsiao-p'ing was young, We
temporarily took charge of the government of the
state. [We] hoped to put upon him the cap of maturity
and to entrust the government to him and
hand it over. But now his life has been cut short
and he is dead. Alas! How sad!
"[We] have already had the high officials summon
twenty-three great-great-grandsons of Emperor
Hsiao-hsüan, to choose an appropriate person to be
the heir and successor of Emperor Hsiao-p'ing. This
great-great-grandson is of the age when he is in
swaddling-clothes; if [We] are not able to secure [to
be his regent] a princely man who has reached the
very heart of virtue, who can give tranquillity to
[the empire]?
"The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty, [Wang] Mang, has assisted in the government
for three reigns, has repeatedly met with critical
times, has tranquillized and made brilliant the House
of Han, and has thereupon made [people] of customs
differing [from those of the Chinese become] like
[the Chinese even] in their institutions, [so that] he
age by the Duke of Chou. Now the Displayer of
Splendor in the South, [Hsieh] Hsiao, and the Chief
of Wu-kung [prefecture, Meng] T'ung, have presented
[a memorial] speaking of a red stone portent.
We have thought profoundly that its meaning, which
said, `[Wang Mang] should become Emperor,' is
however that as Regent he should perform the duties
of the Emperor. Verily if there is a model, accomplishment
is easy; [but] if there is no sage, there is no
model.[805]
"Let it be ordered that the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty should occupy [the
the eastern [master's] steps [at the altar to Heaven],
as in the former case [was done by] the Duke of Chou.
Let the prefecture of Wu-kung become the territory
whose revenue is allocated to the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty, and let its name be the
town of Han-kuang (the Han [dynasty's] brilliance).
Let there be prepared a memorial concerning the
ceremonial [for the above]."
Thereupon the various courtiers memorialized,
saying, "The sage virtue of the [Grand] Empress
intentions of Heaven and have issued an imperial
order that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty should act as Regent. Your subjects have
heard that when King Ch'eng of the Chou [dynasty]
was a minor and the practises of the Chou [dynasty]
had not yet been completed, so that King Ch'eng was
unable to perform his duties to Heaven and Earth
and to renew the illustrious services [performed by
Kings] Wen and Wu, the Duke of Chou temporarily
acted as Regent and the practises of the Chou [dynasty]
were therefore completed and its kingly house
was at peace. If he had not acted as Regent, then
it is to be feared that the Chou [dynasty] would have
lost the mandate of Heaven.
"The Book of History [quotes the Duke of Chou as]
saying [to Prince Shih, the Duke of Shao], `If the
son or grandson who becomes the heir to and serves
our [lord, King Wu], should be altogether incapable
of reverencing [the deities] above and below,
[Heaven, Earth, the ancestors, and gods], and lose
the glory of his predecessors, if we [were retired,
living] at home, we would remain ignorant of it.[812]
the assistance of Heaven is not sure, so that His
mandate may be lost.'[815] The explanation says,
`The Duke of Chou wore the tasselled mortar-board
bonnet of the Son of Heaven, faced south and held
audience for the courtiers, and made proclamations
and gave ordinances, constantly calling them the
mandates of the King. The Duke of Shao was a
worthy person, [but] did not understand the intentions
of the sage, [the Duke of Chou], hence was not
pleased.'[817] The [Record of] Proprieties (Li[chi]), in
`Record of the Ming-t'ang,' says, `When the Duke of
Chou held court for the nobles in the Ming-t'ang,
[like] the Son of Heaven, he turned his back to the
axe-embroidered screen, faced south, and stood
up.'[819] It means that the Duke of Chou occupied
the throne of the Son of Heaven to the sixth year,
held court for the nobles, established the rites, and
composed the music, so that the empire submitted
widely. [But] the Duke of Shao was not pleased.
At that time, King Wu had [just] died and the coarse
mourning garments had not yet been put off. If we
consider it in this way, when the Duke of Chou first
became Regent, he then occupied the Son of Heaven's
throne and it was not [that he waited] until the sixth
year [before] he mounted the eastern steps.[821]
"The lost chapter of the Book of History, `Auspi-
cious Grain,'[824] says, `When the Duke of Chou offered
the herb-flavored millet liquor, he stood upon the
steps of the eastern staircase and was conducted to
mount them, and the presentation speech [at the
offering] said, "The Acting King is ruling over the
government and diligently harmonizing the world." '
The [foregoing] is how the Duke of Chou was entitled
by the person [who read] the presentation
speech when [the Duke of Chou] was regent in the
government.
"When King Ch'eng put on his cap of maturity,
the Duke of Chou thereupon presented the government
to him. The Book of History [quotes the Duke
of Chou] as saying, `We return [the government to
Our] nephew, the intelligent prince.'[825]
The Duke
of Chou constantly called [his orders] the mandates
of the King, and acted on his own authority without
reporting [matters to the King], hence he said, `I
return [the government] to my nephew, the intelligent
prince.'
"Your subjects beg that the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty should act as Regent,
mount the eastern steps,[826]
wear the apron and tasselled
mortar-board hat of the Son of Heaven, turn
his back to the axe-embroidered screen[827]
between
the door and window, and face south as he holds
government. When he goes in or out [of the Palace]
in his chariot and robes, [the people] should be
warned and [the streets] cleared. The common people
and courtiers should call themselves his `subjects'
or `female servants.'[832] In all [these matters, he
should be treated] as in the regulations for the Son of
Heaven.
"When he makes the suburban sacrifices to Heaven
and to Earth, makes the sacrifice to the greatest exemplar
of the house in the Ming-t'ang, makes offerings
and sacrifices in the [imperial] ancestral temples, and
performs worship and makes sacrifices to the many
gods, in his presentation speech he should be called,
`the Acting Emperor.' The common people and
courtiers should speak of him as `the Regent-Emperor';
he should call himself `I'.[833]
In judging and
deciding matters [when holding] court, he should
regularily employ the imperial edicts of the Emperor
and pronounce [that he issues imperial] decrees,[834]
thereby upholding and obeying the will of August
Heaven, assisting and protecting the House of Han,
and guarding and tranquillizing the young heir to
Emperor Hsiao-p'ing, [thus] carrying out the principle
of entrusting [a Regent with the rule] and exalting
the development of good government and
peace.
"When he pays court at an audience of either the
Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang] or the Empress
of a subject. He should in his own person [as a
noble] exercise the government and issue `instructions'
to his own palace, his family, his [marquis's]
estate, and his special territory [of Han-kuang], as in
of a noble. Your subjects, risking death, make
this request." The edict of the [Grand] Empress
Dowager said, "It is approved."
The next year, [Wang Mang] changed the year-period
and called it Chü-shê (the Regency).
In [the year-period] Chü-shê, the first year, the
High at the Southern [Altar for] the suburban sacrifice,
welcomed the spring at the Eastern [Altar for]
the suburban sacrifice, performed the rites of the
great archery contest in the Ming-t'ang, and served
food to Thrice Venerable and Fivefold Experienced.
He completed the rites, then left.[841]
He established the Five Clerks At the Foot of the
Secretaries. When he attended to government business,
they attended at his side and recorded and made
detailed accounts of his words and acts.
In the third month, on [the day] chi-ch'ou, [Liu]
was set up as the Imperial Heir-apparent and was
given the title, Young Prince (Ju-tzu). Wang Shun4b
was made Grand Tutor Assisting on the Left, Chen
Feng was made Grand Support Aiding on the Right,
and Chen Han was made Grand Guardian Serving
at the Rear. There were also established four Junior
[Coadjutors] whose ranks were all two thousand
piculs.[847]
In the fourth month, the Marquis of An-chung,
Han Dynasty, [Wang] Mang, acts on his own authority
in holding court and exercizing the government,
which will inevitably endanger the Liu clan. No
one of those in the empire who disapprove of it has
however dared to be the first to make a move. This
is a shame to the [imperial] house. I will give an
example to the [imperial] house and clan and be the
first [to attack. All] within [the four] seas will
certainly respond." [Chang] Shao and others, who
followed him, [to the number of] more than a hundred
persons, thereupon made an assault upon [the city of]
Yüan, [but] did not succeed in entering it and were
defeated.
[Chang] Shao was a cousin of Chang Sung.
[Chang] Sung, with [Liu] Ch'ung's father's cousin,
Liu Chia1s, went to [the palace] portals and surrendered
of their own accord, [so that Wang] Mang
pardoned them and did not condemn them. Thereupon
[Chang] Sung composed a memorial for [Liu]
Chia1s, which said,
"During [the year-periods] Chien-p'ing and Yüan-shou,
when the main line [of the Han Dynasty] was
in imminent danger of being cut short and the [imperial]
house was in imminent danger of being overthrown,
thanks to your Majesty [Wang Mang's] sage
virtue, you `crawled on your knees to rescue and
save it,'[857] you protected and defended, succored[858]
and guarded it, so that the [heavenly] mandate of
the [Han] state was again prolonged and the imperial
house opened its eyes [again].
"When you attended court, controlled the government,
put out proclamations, and put forth ordinances,
house the first [and most important consideration]
and the promotion and employment of the nine [sets
of imperial] relatives as the primary matter. You
have had included with them and recorded [upon the
registers of the imperial house] cadet branches [of
that house] and have established kings and marquises
[from among these cadet branches], so that those
who face south [in holding court and call themselves
by the designation a noble uses for himself], ku,[862]
are numbered by the hundreds. You gathered in
and restored those members whose [registration in
the imperial house] had been broken off, you preserved
those [whose lines of descent as nobles] had
died out, and you continued [those lines whose heads]
had been dismissed [from their noble ranks], so that
they form a numerous company who are able to be
shoulder to shoulder and head to head [with the other
nobles] and have been restored in their persons. You
have thereby defended the Han [dynasty's] state
and supported the Han clan.
"You have established the Pi-yung and set up the
Ming-t'ang to propagate the law of Heaven and to
spread the influence of the sages. You have held
court for the various princes in order to render your
`culture and virtue'[863]
manifest. You have added to
the lands and territory of all the nobles in the imperial
house, so that all under Heaven lift up their
and the sound of their praises is `magnificent and ear'-filling,[867]
and enters [the sense of hearing]. The
reason that the state has gained this beauty, has
obtained this fame, has enjoyed these blessings, and
has received this glory—is it not [the result of the
fact that] the Grand Empress Dowager considers
[that she must be diligent until] `sundown'[870] and
that `in the evening' your Majesty is still `carefully'
contemplating [your duties]?[871] How [otherwise
could it be] explained?
"When there has been disorder, you have controlled
it; when there has been danger, you have
turned it to tranquillity; when there has been calamity,
descent] have been cut off, you have continued their
succession, when [the Emperor] is young, you have
taken his place and borne his burdens. Day and
night, you have performed detailed labor; in cold and
in heat, you have been diligent, without any time for
relaxation, with unending unwearied effort. All was
for the sake of the empire and to favor the Liu clan.
"The courtiers, whether stupid or wise, and the
common people, whether male or female, have all
understood your high intentions. But the Marquis
of An-chung, [Liu] Ch'ung2c, alone entertained perverse
illusions in his heart and held rebellious
thoughts, so that he raised his troops and moved the
multitude, intending to endanger the imperial [ancestral]
temples. Of his wickedness one cannot endure
to hear and for his crime one cannot be patient
with [mere] execution. Verily, he was an enemy of
[loyal] subjects and [filial] sons,[873]
a foe of the imperial
to the country.
"For this reason, his clan and relatives by marriage
quaked, became distant to him and gave information
of his crimes; the common people dispersed,
rebelled against him, and threw away their
arms, so that in advancing he could not [take] a
step and when he retired he suffered the calamity
[visited upon] him [by Heaven]. His mother, who
was near the end of her life, and his smiling babes,
carried in [their nurses'] arms,[877]
were beheaded at
the ends of poles with their pearl earrings [still] in
their ears and their hair ornaments still on [their
heads]. How can it not be perverse to make a plan
such as this?
"Your servant has heard that anciently, when [the
head of] a rebellious state had already been punished,
then[880]
they made a pool out of his palace-buildings,
making them a stagnant pond, and put filth into it,
calling its name, `The baleful waste,' so that, although
it might grow vegetables, yet people would
not eat them.[881]
They put four walls [around] its
mound to the gods of the soils, covered it above, and
the earth could not communicate [with those of
heaven.[886] The soil of] its mound was distributed
to the nobles' [altars for the gods of the soils], so that
when they went out of their gates and saw it, it would
be visible to them as a warning.
"Just now, when the empire heard that [Liu]
Ch'ung2c rebelled, all wanted to raise up [the skirts
of] their robes, [take] a two-edged sword in their
hand, and rail at him. Those who first reached him,
cut[887]
his throat, struck his breast, pierced his
body,[888]
and hacked his flesh. Those who came
walls, raze his houses, and burn his utensils. [As
rapidly as] an echo follows a sound, [their blood]
stained the earth, so immediately was a wound created
perial house moreover [felt it] especially keenly, so
that, when they spoke of him, they inevitably gnashed
their teeth. Why so? Because he had gone contrary
to and rebelled against your favor and beneficence
and did not recognize where the greatest
virtue lay.
"The [members of] the imperial house, for the
most part, live at places distant [from Yüan]; I, Chia,
have been fortunate to have been able to hear of
[his rebellion] first and have not [been able] to resist
my indignant desire. I wish to take the lead of the
imperial house, myself, [with] my sons and my elder
and younger brothers, to carry baskets on our shoulders
and to bear mattocks,[895]
gallop to Nan-yang
[Commandery], and make a pond of [Liu] Ch'ung2c's
palace-buildings, in order to cause them to be according
to the ancient institutions. They, together with
the mound to the gods of the soils belonging to [Liu]
Ch'ung2c, should be like the mound to the gods of the
soils at Po5,[896]
and should be used to grant to the
nobles, in order that it may be an eternal lesson and
warning. I wish that [this matter] may be referred
to the Four Coadjutors, the ministers, and the
grandees, for discussion, in order to make plain its
right and wrong and to show it [as an example] to the
four quarters [of the empire]."
[Wang] Mang was thereupon very much pleased.
as [Liu] Chia1s says," [so Wang] Mang advised the
[Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict,
and his sons, his elder and younger brothers, are related
to [Liu] Ch'ung2c, they did not presume to show
partiality to him. Whenever they saw some sprouts
[of evil], they led each other in giving information
[about it]. Now that this calamity [of rebellion] has
come to pass, they unanimously and together [want
to] take vengeance upon him. [Their act is] a response
to ancient institutions, so that their loyalty
and filial devotion is apparent.
"Let [Liu] Chia1s be enfeoffed with a thousand
households of [the prefecture] of Tu-yen, as the
Marquis Leading[902]
by the Rules of Proper Conduct,
and [let Liu] Chia1s's seven sons be all granted the
noble rank of Marquises of the Imperial Domain."
Later [Chang] Sung was also enfeoffed as the
Marquis of Pure Virtue. In Ch'ang-an there was a
saying about him, which said,
Go to Chang [Sung] Po-sung.
Strength in fighting
Is not as good as cleverness in preparing memorials."
[Wang] Mang also enfeoffed more than a hundred
officials and common people of Nan-yang [Commandery]
who had distinguished themselves. He
made a stagnant pond of Liu Ch'ung2c's residence.
ponds [made out of their residences].[905]
The various courtiers furthermore advised [the
Grand Empress Dowager] that Liu Ch'ung2c and the
others had plotted treason because [Wang] Mang's
power was too light, and that it would be proper to
honor and make him more powerful in order that he
might control [all] within [the four] seas.
In the fifth month, on [the day] chia-ch'en, the
that when [Wang] Mang comes to a court audience
of the [Grand] Empress Dowager, he should be called
the Acting Emperor.
In the winter, the tenth month, on [the day] ping-
of the sun.[912]
In the twelfth month, various courtiers memorialized,
and in the home of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to
the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], to establish a
Chief Leader of Conscripts, Chiefs and Assistants in
his Temple, Stable, and Kitchen, Palace Bodyguards,
[Gentlemen] As Rapid as Tigers, and those of lower
[rank, to the number of] more than a hundred persons,
and also establish Guards [for him to the
number of] three hundred persons. The rooms, [in
the imperial palace], of the Duke Giving Tranquillity
to the Han Dynasty should be [called] the Regent's
Apartments; his yamen should be [called the Regent's
Hall; and his residence should be [called] the Regent's
Palace.[916] The memorial was approved.
[Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager
to issue an imperial edict which said, "Verily
when the late Grand Master, [K'ung] Kuang, died
known. The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun4b, the
Grand Minister of Works, [Chen] Feng, the General
of Light Chariots, [Chen] Han, and the General of
Foot-soldiers, [Sun] Chien, all formed plans for inducing
the Shan-yü [to adopt Chinese customs].
They also had charge of the Spiritual Tower, the
Ming-t'ang, the Pi-yung, and the four [altars for]
the suburban sacrifices, and fixed their institutions
and regulations. They opened up the Tzu-wu Road,
were of the same mind with the Ruling Governor in
delighting in virtue, and were in accord with his ideas
and of mutual assistance to him, so that their achievements
and virtuous conduct are abundant and apparent.
[We] enfeoff the sons of [Wang] Shun:
[Wang] K'uang1a as the Marquis of the Same Mind
[with the Ruling Governor] and [Wang] Lin2 as the
Marquis Delighting in Virtue; [K'ung] Kuang's
grandson, [K'ung] Shou, as the Marquis of Accordance
of Ideas; [Chen] Feng's grandson, [Chen]
K'uang, as the Marquis of Mutual Assistance; and
add [to the enfeoffments of Chen] Han and of [Sun]
Chien, to each [the income of] three thousand households."
In this year, P'ang T'ien, Fu Fan, and others of
the Western Ch'iang, who had held a grudge [because
Wang] Mang had taken away their land and
made of it the commandery of Hsi-hai, rebelled and
attacked the Grand Administrator of Hsi-hai [Commandery],
Ch'eng Yung. [Ch'eng] Yung fled hastily,
[so Wang] Mang executed [Ch'eng] Yung and
sent the Colonel Commissioner for the Ch'iang, Tou
K'uang, to attack [the Ch'iang].
In the second year, in the spring, Tou K'uang and
others attacked and routed the Western Ch'iang.
In the fifth month, [Wang Mang] changed [the
coinage] and created as [objects of] exchange, [gold]
inlaid knife [coins] (ts'o-tao), one of which was worth
five thousand [cash], graving knife [coins] (ch'i-tao),
large cash (ta-ch'ien), one of which was worth fifty
[cash]. Together with the [previous] five-shu
cash,[930] [all of them were to] circulate together.
Many common people cast counterfeit [money].
Full marquises and those of lower [rank] were not
permitted to possess actual gold; they were to transport
it to the Imperial Wardrobe, to receive its value
[in money]. Yet in the end he did not give them
its value.
In the ninth month, the Grand Administrator of
general [military review and] examinations,[934] led
[out] his chariots and cavalry, and made use of this
occasion to mobilize emergency troops. He set up
the Marquis of Yen-hsiang, Liu Hsin4g, as the Son
of Heaven, and sent a call-to-arms to the commanderies
and kingdoms, saying, "[Wang] Mang murdered
Emperor P'ing by poison and, as Regent, [has taken
to himself] the throne of the Son of Heaven, intending
Now we should respectfully[937] inflict the punishment of
Heaven and execute [Wang] Mang."
In the commanderies and kingdoms he caused a
crowd of more than a hundred thousand [persons] to
doubt and suspect [Wang Mang.[939] Wang] Mang
was frightened and afraid and could not eat. Day
and night he held the Young Prince, [Liu Ying], in
his arms. He gave information [to the gods] in
prayers at [the altars for] the suburban sacrifices and
at [the imperial ancestral] temples. He made a
document after the model of the "Great Announcement,"[941]
and sent the Grandee-remonstrant Huan
T'an and others to publish it in the empire and to
proclaim the idea that, since [Wang Mang] had [only]
the post of regent, he would be obliged to return the
government [in due time] to the Young Prince.
[Wang Mang] sent Wang Yi5, Sun Chien, and
others, eight generals [in all], to attack [Chai] Yi,
and distributed [others] to garrison the various
passes and guard the barriers in the defiles.
Some men of Huai-li, Chao Ming, Ho Hung, and
others, raised troops in response to Chai Yi, and
plotted with them, saying, "The generals and picked
troops have all gone to the east, so that the imperial
capital is empty [of troops] and it is possible to
attack Ch'ang-an." Their bands were quite large,
reaching almost a hundred thousand persons.
[Wang] Mang was afraid and sent the generals,
Wang Ch'i and Wang Chi6, leading troops, to resist
them. He made the Grand Guardian, Chen Han,
the General-in-chief. [Chen Han] received his axe
was ordered] to lead the empire's troops. In his left
[hand] he held his credentials and in his right [hand]
he grasped his axe of authority. He encamped outside
the city walls. Wang Shun4b and Chen Feng
day and night patrolled in the [Palace] Halls.
In the twelfth month, Wang Yi5 and the others
The Director of Majesty, Ch'en Ch'ung, who had
Mang] a letter, saying,
"Your Majesty has upheld the great plan[950]
of
[the prognostications from] the precious tortoise.[952]
You have received the great mandate [of Heaven, so
that] you know beforehand [what will] succeed [and
what will] fail, and you were influenced by and responded
to the auguries by the tortoise-shell and the
lots. This means that you are the associate of
Heaven. When a lord who is the associate of
Heaven reflects, he changes the emanations; when he
speaks, he moves [the many] beings and things; when
he acts, he brings his transforming influence to success.
"Your subject Ch'ung humbly read of the date
when your written imperial edict was issued, and
your humble servant compared it with the time [of
the victory]. When your sage reflections were first
begun, the rebellious caitiffs were then routed; when
the words of your edict were first written, the rebellious
caitiffs were seriously defeated, and when your
written imperial decree was first issued, the rebellious
caitiffs were completely beheaded. Before the many
troops], and before I, your subject Ch'ung, had time to
complete my foolish thoughts, the matter had been
already settled." [Wang] Mang was greatly pleased.
In the third year, in the spring, there was an earthquake,
and a general amnesty [was granted] to the
empire.
Wang Yi5 and the others returned to the imperial
capital and went west to join with Wang Chi6 and
the others to attack [Chao] Ming and [Ho] Hung,
in the "Memoir of Chai Yi."
[Wang] Mang held a great banquet in the White
Tiger Hall of the Wei-yang Palace to make grants to
the generals and leaders for their toil. In an imperial
edict, [he ordered] Ch'en Ch'ung to examine
and estimate the military achievements [of the
leaders] and rank them as high or low.
[Wang] Mang then sent [to the Grand Empress
Dowager] a memorial which said, "In an age of brilliant
sages, there are many capable persons in the
state, hence at the time of T'ang [Yao] and Yü
[Shun], in every house [someone] was capable of being
enfeoffed and when their meritorious services had
been performed and their work had been done, rewards
were given. At the time of the assembly
[called by] the Sovereign of the Hsia [dynasty, Yü,]
at T'u-shan, those who held jade and silk [at the
ceremonies, belonged to] ten thousand states.[963]
(The nobles held jade and their sub-vassals held silk.)
[In the time of] King Wu of the Chou [dynasty, at
eight hundred nobles. When the Duke of Chou occupied
[the post] of Regent, he performed the suburban
sacrifice to Prince Millet as the coadjutor of
Heaven and performed in the Ming-t'ang the ancestral
sacrifice to the greatest exemplar, to King Wen,
as the coadjutor of the Lord on High. For this
reason, when, within the four seas, each person came
to [assist in] the sacrifice in accordance with his duty,
there were indeed probably 1800 nobles. The Record
of Proprieties (Li-chi), [in the chapter,] `The Royal
Regulations,' [speaks of] more than seventeen hundred
states.[966] For this reason, when Confucius
composed the Classic of Filial Piety, he said, `[anciently,
the brilliant kings] did not presume to neglect
the ministers of [even] small states—then how much
more dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons!
Hence they brought it about that the myriad states
rejoiced in heart and therefore served [the King's]
deceased predecessors.'[968] The foregoing [was the
result of] the Son of Heaven's filial piety.
"The Ch'in [dynasty] acted contrary to the [right]
way, killing the nobles and exterminating their clans,
making [their territories] into commanderies and prefectures,
with the intention of arrogating to itself [all]
the benefits of the whole country. Hence [in the
reign of] the Second Emperor, it fell and Emperor
Kao received the mandate [of Heaven] to do away
with [the Ch'in dynasty's] oppression. He examined
[his subjects'] merits, distributed rewards, and established
several hundred [kings' and marquises']
states. Later they declined considerably [in number]
and the remainder have barely preserved [their noble
"You, Grand Empress Dowager, have yourself controlled
the great fundamental [features of the government]
and have extensively enfeoffed meritorious and
virtuous [persons] in order to stimulate [people] to
goodness. You have revived destroyed [nobilities],
and continued [noble houses] that had been ended,
your great transforming influence has spread abroad
and will be completely effective in a short time.
"It happened that, when the Ch'iang malefactors
injured Hsi-hai Commandery, when rebellious caitiffs
treasonable robbers misled the crowd [even] in the
land west [of the imperial capital], no loyal subjects
or filial sons failed to become angry, so that those
against whom they made expeditions have been extirpated
and have all suffered[973] for their crimes, with
the result that the empire is altogether peaceful.
"I[974]
have been instituting rites and composing
music, and have verified by investigation that there
is an explicit written statement [to the effect that]
the noble ranks of the Chou [period] were of five
grades and that their lands were of four grades,[975]
and
that there is the saying but no written statement that
the noble ranks of the Yin [period] were of three
grades.[976]
Confucius said, `The Chou [dynasty]
was its culture! I follow the Chou [dynasty].'[980]
Your subject begs that the various leaders who ought
to receive noble ranks and estates should [be granted]
noble ranks of five grades and lands of four grades."
The memorial was approved.
Thereupon the highest of those who were enfeoffed
were made marquises and earls; the next were made
viscounts and barons; those who would have been
granted the noble rank of Marquis of the Imperial
Domain [had their nobilities] changed and were entitled
Sub-vassals. Altogether there were several
[the rebels in] Hsi-hai [Commandery] had [the
word] Ch'iang used in their titles, [those who had attacked
the rebels in] Huai-li had [the word] Wu (military)
used in their titles; [those who had attacked]
Chai Yi [had the word] caitiff (lu) used in their titles.
The courtiers again memorialized, saying, "Of the
has embellished and whose virtue she has recorded,
the greatest ones [will be remembered for] a thousand
years, and the lesser ones for the present generation.
Some were enfeoffed for civil [deeds] and some received
noble ranks for military [acts]. None,
or small, have failed to be presented [for rewards].
"Now the Regent-Emperor, [Wang Mang], turns
his back to the screen and mounts the eastern steps,
so that it is proper that he should be [treated] differently
from at the time when he was [merely] the
chief minister of the state. Although his instituting
[of regulations] and composing [of music and dances]
has not yet been all completed, it is proper that the
noble ranks of his two sons should be advanced and
that both should be made dukes.
"[According to the principle of] the Spring and
Autumn [in the Kung-yang Commentary], that `treating
well the good should be extended to their sons
and grandsons and [treating well] the worthy to' their
descendants,[985]
it is proper that [these persons]
should possess lands and territory. King Ch'eng
Chou by concubines, so that all his six sons had soil
enveloped in quitch-grass [as a token of their enfeoffment].
So the relatives of the famous Chancellor
[of State] and of [the famous] General-in-chief of the
Han dynasty, Hsiao [Ho] and Ho [Kuang, respectively,]
were all [enfeoffed] together with their relatives
and connections. [Wang Mang's] elder brother's
son, [Wang] Kuang1, might first be enfeoffed as
a full marquis. When the institutions and regulations
are all completed, the Grand Minister over the
Masses and the Grand Minister of Works should
present the names of [Wang Mang's various grandsons]
to the throne in accordance with the previous
written imperial edict."
The [Grand] Empress Dowager's imperial edict
said, "[We] promote the sons of the Regent-Emperor:
the Marquis in Recompense to [the Marquis of]
Hsin-[tu], [Wang] An1a, to be the Duke Recommended
Marquis in Reward to [the Marquis of Hsin-] tu,
[Wang] Lin1a, to be the Duke in Recompense to [the
Marquis of] Hsin [-tu]; and enfeoff [Wang] Kuang1
as the Marquis of Vast Merit."
At this time, [Wang] Mang returned his state of
Hsin-tuc, so various courtiers again advised [the
Grand Empress Dowager] and she enfeoffed [Wang]
Mang's grandson, [Wang] Tsung, as the Marquis
of Hsin-tuc.
Since [Wang] Mang had annihilated Chai Yi, he
increasing daily and that he had secured the assistance
of Heaven and of men, so he plotted to ascend
[the throne] as the actual [Emperor].
In the ninth month, [Wang] Mang's mother, the
Mang's] mind was not upon mourning, so he had the
[Grand] Empress Dowager issue an imperial edict
[ordering] the discussion of [what] mourning garments
[should be worn]. The Junior Supporter, the
Hsi-and-Ho, Liu Hsin1a, with the Erudits and Confucians
[to the number of] 78 persons [altogether],
all said,
"The principle of acting as Regent is to direct the
performance of the duties established by Heaven,
to promote the reverencing of the way of [the ancient
and regulations, and to make tranquil and concordant
[all] within [the four] seas. Anciently, when
T'ang the Victorious of the Yin [dynasty] had died
and his Heir-apparent had died in his youth, his son
T'ai-chia was a minor and unintelligent, so Yi Yin
banished him to the T'ung Palace and acted as
Regent in order to promote the course of the Yin
had died, the ways of the Chou [dynasty] had not yet
been completed and `King Ch'eng was young' and a
minor, `so the Duke of Chou protected King
Ch'eng'[999] and acted as Regent in order to perfect the ways of the Chou [dynasty]. For this reason the
Yin [dynasty] had the development of being `orderly'[1001]
and the Chou [dynasty] had the merit of
establishing but not employing the mutilating punishments.[1002]
"Now the Grand Empress Dowager has frequently
`happened upon untoward circumstances in
the state,'[1003]
and has commissioned the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty to rule and control
the various officials, and to govern[1004]
the empire
justly. It has happened that since the Young Prince
is a minor and has not yet been able to be diligently
respectful[1005]
to [the gods] above and below, August
Heaven has sent down auspicious presages and has
produced the portent of the red stone. For this
reason, the Grand Empress Dowager followed the
plain mandate of Heaven and issued an imperial edict
that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han
Dynasty should act as Regent and mount the eastern
steps in order that he might perform the duties of
the sage Han [dynasty] and make it equally eminent
with that of T'ang [Yao], Yü [Shun], and the three
dynasties.
"The Regent-Emperor thereupon opened his pri-
vate yamen[1008] and met with various Confucians to
institute rites and compose [the proper] music, to
assist in fixing the [titles of] the many offices, and to
complete beautifully the work of Heaven. His sage
mind is in all respects complete, and eminent are his
individual insights. The Chou Rites (the Chou-li)
was discovered and secured,[1010] so that it was made
plain what should be `followed' and `surveyed'.[1011]
He took Heaven as his model and searched out ancient
ways, yet modified them. It was just as when
[K'ung Ch'iu] Chung-ni heard [the music] Shao,[1012]
and [just as] `the sun and moon' `cannot [be climbed
up to by any] stairs.'[1014] If [Wang Mang] had not
the utmost of sage wisdom, how could he have been
able to perform these [deeds]? The fundamental and
subordinate principles [of government] are all displayed
and completed [except for] one basketful.[1016]
These [matters] are the means by which he has devoted
himself to protecting and assisting the sage
Han [dynasty] and giving tranquillity to the great
multitude.
"Now the Baronetess of Apparent Merits has died.
The [Ceremonies and] Rites [Yi]-li [says], `The son of a
concubine who becomes the heir [of his father] wears
the three-month's szu mourning for his own mother,'
and the explanation says, `He is in the same position
as the most honorable person [in the family, i.e., his
father, and so] should not presume to wear [deep]
mourning for his own mother.'[1019] The Regent-Emperor
has, through his sage virtue, obtained the mandate
of August Heaven, received the imperial edict
of the [Grand] Empress Dowager that he should act
as Regent and mount the eastern steps,[1021] and support
the descendant of the great Han imperial family.
On the one hand, he has his weighty [duties] to
Heaven, Earth, and the gods of the soils and the
grains, and on the other hand, he has the care of the
great multitude and the multifarious matters [of the
government],[1022] so that he is not permitted to consider
his own relatives. Hence the Grand Empress
Dowager has established his eldest grandson [as a
noble], causing him to be the marquis at Hsin-tuc
and the successor to Marquis Ai, [Wang Wan], making
plain that the Regent-Emperor is in the same
position as the most honorable person, [the Emperor],
upholds the sacrifices at [imperial] ancestral temples,
is in charge of supplying the needs of the Grand
Empress Dowager, and is not permitted to wear
mourning for his own parents.
"The Chou Rites (Chou-li) says, `A king, . . . [in
wearing mourning] for his nobles, [wears] the hemp
ring of `hemp banding.'[1025] If [the nobles] are of the
ments] are of hemp (Cannabis); if they are of a different
surname, then they are of ke hemp (Pueraria).
The Regent-Emperor ought to wear the hemp mourning
badge for the Baronetess of Apparent Merits and
a cap to which there has been added a hemp ring of
banding, like the mourning garments of the Son of
Heaven in condoling his nobles, in order to respond to
the institutions of the sages."
[Wang] Mang therefore acted [accordingly]. Altogether
he paid one mourning [visit] and a second
[time] assembled [the mourners] and ordered the
Marquis of Hsin-tuc, [Wang] Tsung, to be in charge
[of the ceremonies] and wear mourning to the
third year.
The Director of Majesty, Ch'en Ch'ung, memorialized
had secretly sent a message to the Bearer of the
Gilded Mace, Tou K'uang, and had ordered him to
kill a man,[1029] and that for this reason [Tou] K'uang
had arrested and bound [this person] and had applied
the law to him. [Wang] Mang was furious and
bitterly reproached [Wang] Kuang1. [Wang]
Kuang1's mother said [to her son], "Do you yourself
consider in what way [you are any different from
Wang Yü] Chang-sun or [Wang Huob] Chung-sun,
[Wang Mang's dead sons]?" Thereupon [both of
them], mother and son, committed suicide; together
with [Tou] K'uang they all died.
Previously, because [Wang] Mang had served his
had raised his elder brother's son, [Wang Kuang1],
he had made a name [for himself]. Then later, his
perversity and cruelty were again used to show [that
he was actuated by] public spirit and sense of duty.
He ordered [Wang] Kuang1's son, [Wang] Chia1b, to
inherit [his father's] noble rank and become the
Marquis [of Vast Merits].
[Wang] Mang issued a written message,[1034]
which
said, "The principle of `stopping and hushing [instruments'
end with the last month of [this] winter. In the
first month [of the next year], at the suburban
sacrifices, the eight [kinds of] musical instruments
should be played. Altogether how many grades of
music [should be played by their own musicians]
for the kings, ministers, and gentlemen? For each
of the several ranks, what should be the number of
the five [kinds of] notes and the eight [kinds of]
musical instruments? Let [the proper officials] with
the Confucian Masters under their control each
employ their spirits and minds to the utmost and set
forth their ideas completely."
In this year, Liu Ching1a, the Marquis of Kuang-jao,
and Cavalry, and Tsang Hung, a subordinate of the
Grand Guardian, memorialized mandates [from
Heaven through] portents. [Liu] Ching1a spoke of
the new well in Ch'i Commandery, [Hu] Yün spoke
of the stone ox in Pa Commandery and [Tsang] Hung
spoke of the stone at Yung in the [Yu]-fu-feng
[Commandery. Wang] Mang welcomed and accepted
all [of them],[1041] and in the eleventh month,
on [the day] chia-tzu, [Wang] Mang presented a
memorial to the [Grand] Empress Dowager, which
said,
"When your Majesty with your extreme sagacity
state,'[1046] and met with the dangers [at the end of]
the twelve reigns of the Han [dynasty, at the end of]
the three [times] seven [decades of years],[1047] you
issued an imperial mandate that I, your servant
Mang, should act as Regent, should receive the care
of the Young Prince, and should be entrusted with
the charge of the empire. Your servant Mang was
careful and vigilant, fearing lest I would be unworthy.
"[A member of] the imperial house, the Marquis
of Kuang-jao, Liu Ching1a, has sent to the throne a
letter saying,
" `During the seventh month, Hsin Tang, the
Chief of the Ch'ang-hsing Commune in the county
of Lin-tzu in Ch'i Commandery, in one night had a
dream several times, which said,
" ` "I am a messenger from his excellency Heaven.
His excellency Heaven sent me to inform you, Chief
of the Commune, saying, `The Regent-Emperor is
due to be the actual [Emperor].' If you do not believe
me, in this commune there is due to be a
new well."
" `The Chief of the Commune arose at dawn and
looked, and in the Commune there actually was a
new well, which entered into the earth for almost a
hundred feet.'
"In the eleventh month, on [the day] jen-tzu,
[which was a day] for establishing,[1056] and was the
winter solstice, the stone ox from the Pa Commandery
inscription on the stone at Yung arrived at the Front
Hall of the Wei-yang Palace. When your servant,
with the Grand Guardian, the Marquis of An-yang,
[Wang] Shun4b, and others were looking at them, a
wind arose from Heaven and dust obscured things.
When the wind ceased, we obtained a copper portent
and a silk design from in front of the stone. Its
text reads,
The person who presents it should be enfeoffed as a marquis.
Accept the mandate of Heaven
And obey the command of the gods.'
others looked at it and explained it.
"Moreover previously, in [the reign of] Emperor
Hsiao-ai, in [the year-period] Chien-p'ing, the second
Emperor] issued a written imperial edict changing
[the year-period] and making it the first year of [the
period] T'ai-ch'u-yüan-chiang. When the source of
this [matter] is examined, [it is found to be] the
books of revelation by Kan Chung-k'o and Hsia
Ho-liang, which have been stored in the Orchid
Terrace. Your servant Mang considers that the
words, `the first year of [T'ai-ch'u]-yüan-chiang
(great general)' [mean that] when `the General
(Chiang)-in-chief acts as Regent, he will change the
year-period (yüan),' which is a testimony for the
present [time].
"The Book of History, [in the chapter], `The
Announcement to the King's Uncle of K'ang,' [says],
`[The Acting] King, [the Duke of Chou], speaks in
the following fashion, "The chief of the nobles, Our
younger brother, my little one, Feng, [the King's
that] the Duke of Chou, when acting as Regent, was
entitled King. In the Spring and Autumn, it is not
said that Duke Yin ascended the throne, because he
was Regent.[1069] These two Classics were those fixed
by the Duke of Chou and Confucius, indeed to be a
model for later [generations]. Confucius said, `[The
superior man] fears the Mandate of Heaven, fears
the great, and fears the precepts of the Sages.'[1070]
[How can] your servant Mang presume not to obey?
"Your servant begs that in respectfully serving
the gods in heaven and earth, in the [imperial] ancestral
Empress Dowager and the Empress [nee Wang] of
[Emperor] Hsiao-p'ing, he may call himself `the
Acting Emperor,' [but that] when he gives proclamations
or ordinances to the empire or when [anyone in]
the empire memorializes him about matters, they
should not use [the words] `Regent' [i.e., should
merely say, `Emperor']; that the third year of [the
period] Chü-shê should become the first year of [the
period] Ch'u-shih,[1073] and that 120 gradations on the
clepsydra [in a day] should be the rule,[1074] which
"Your servant Mang will day and night rear and
raise the Young Prince and bring it about that he will
be equal in virtue with King Ch'eng of the Chou
[dynasty] and [thus] spread abroad the majesty and
virtue of the Grand Empress Dowager to all quarters,
hoping to `enrich and then teach [the people].'[1077]
When the Young Prince is capped, I will `return [the
government] to the intelligent prince,'[1078]
as in the
former circumstance the Duke of Chou did." The
memorial was approved.
The mass of commoners knew [what was Wang
Mang's] motive in receiving respectfully the mandate
[given through] the portents. The courtiers discussed
it extensively and memorialized separately in
order to indicate the gradual [steps] by which he
should take [the throne as] the actual [Emperor].
A Gentleman Attendant at the Gate,[1079]
Chang
to abduct [Wang] Mang and set up the King
of Ch'u, [Liu Yü1a, as Emperor, but the plot] became
known and they were executed and died.
Ai Chang, a man of Tzu3a-t'ung, had been doing
had no distinction but loved to boast. When he saw
that [Wang] Mang was acting as Regent, he immediately
made a bronze casket with two envelop
covers.[1082] He wrote on one of them, "The design
Heaven's Act." On the other he wrote, "The written
metal charter [with] the Seal of the Red Lord's
Act,[1087] which a certain person transmits to the
Yellow Emperor, [Wang Mang." (Instead of]
"certain person" [there was written Pang], the
personal name of Emperor Kao). The writing said
that Wang Mang should be the actual Son of Heaven
and the [Grand] Empress Dowager [should act] according
to the mandate of Heaven. Both on the
design and the writing were written [the names of]
eight persons who were [Wang] Mang's high officials.
It also named two fine names, Wang Hsing (Wang
Rises) and Wang Sheng (Wang Prospers); [Ai]
Chang, taking advantage [of this opportunity, also]
inserted his own surname and personal name amongst
[them, so that] altogether there were eleven persons.
For all of them there were written official [titles] and
noble ranks as [Wang Mang's] coadjutors and assistants.
When [Ai] Chang heard that the matters of the
well in Ch'i [Commandery] and of the stone ox had
dusk, he put on yellow clothes, took the casket, went
to the Temple of [Emperor] Kao, and thereupon
delivered it to the Supervisor [of the Temple].[1091]
On [the day] mou-ch'en,[1094]
[Wang] Mang went to
the metal casket and the resignation [of the Han
dynasty, which] the gods had [commanded]. Wearing
the royal hat,[1097] he visited the [Grand] Empress
Dowager, returned, seated himself in the Front Hall
of the Wei-yang Palace, and issued a written message,
which said:
"I possess no virtue, [but] I rely upon [the fact
that] I am a descendant of my august deceased
original ancestor, the Yellow Lord, and a distant
descendant of my august deceased first ancestor,
the Lord of Yü, [Shun], and the least of the Grand
Empress Dowager's relatives. August Heaven and
the Lords on High have made abundantly apparent
their great assistance, so that the mandate [of
Heaven] has been completed and the succession [to
the imperial rule] has been set in order. By portents
and credentials, designs and writings, a metal casket
and a written charter, the gods have proclaimed
that they entrust me with the myriad common people
of the empire.
"The Red Lord is the genius of Emperor Kao of
the Han dynasty. He has received a mandate from
Heaven and has transmitted the state [to me by] a
reverent and awed—[how could I] presume not to
receive it respectfully? On [the day] mou-ch'en,
which is a day for founding,[1102] I wear the royal hat
the empire shall be Hsin.[1107]
"Let there be a change in the first day of the first
month, an alternation in the colors of the [court]
robes, a variation in the sacrifical victims, a difference
in the standards and pennons, and a diversity in the
utensils and institutions. Let the first day of the
twelfth month, [the day] kuei-yu, become the first
day of the first month in the first year of [the year-period
Shih]-chien-kuo,[1111] and let the crowing of the
cock be the hour.[1113] The colors of robes shall match
the virtue [of the ruling element, earth, so that]
yellow shall be esteemed. The sacrificial victims
shall correspond to the first month, and so shall be
credentials shall all be made pure yellow.
The writing on them shall be, `Credentials of the
Five Majestic [Principles] for Commissioners of the
Hsin [Dynasty],' to accord with the majestic mandate
of August Heaven and the Lords on High."
HS 98: 15b says "ten marquises," but that passage includes Shun-yü Chang in its
enumeration. He was merely a relative of the Wang clan on the distaff side.
For these Five Marquises (Wang T'an2b, Wang Shang1a Wang Li5, Wang Ken, and
Wang Feng-shih) and similar terms, cf. Glossary sub vocibus.
HS 88: 25b states that Ch'en Ts'an's younger brother, Ch'en Ch'in, taught Wang
Mang the Tso-chuan (cf. also HHS, Mem. 26: 9b); Hsü Hsüan taught him the Book of
Changes, cf. HHS, Mem. 34: 4b. (From Yang Shu-ta.) The Classic of Rites (Li-Ching)
is listed in HS 30: 10a.
Bold-face type numbers indicate the paging in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's Han-shu Pu-chu,
as in previous volumes.
Light upright numbers indicate the paging in the Ching-yu ed., reprinted in the
"Po-na" Series, pub. by the Commercial Press.
Italic numbers indicate the paging in the Palace ed. or Wu-ying Tien ed., pub. in the
"Szu-pu Pei-yao Collecteana."
For [OMITTED], the Ching-yu ed. (1035) reads [OMITTED]. Wang Hsien-ch'ien (1842-1918) states
that the Official edition (1739) and the Southern Academy ed. (1531) also read thus.
The Official ed. erroneously reads [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED] read by the Ching-yu and other
editions.
HS 10: 15b = HFHD II, 416 dates Shun-yü Chang's death in the eleventh month,
which began on Dec. 3. Pan Ku is anticipating events. Wang Mang was appointed
Commander-in-chief before Shun-yü Chang died.
HS 19 B: 48a dates this event in the xi month, on the day ping-yin. This day did
not occur in that month; no other cyclical characters seem plausible. Probably the date
should be x, ping-yin, November 28 (julian). Wang Ken resigned on Nov. 16; the office
of Commander-in-chief would not have been left vacant for long.
The Sung Ch'i ed. (ca. xii cent.) said that after [OMITTED], for [OMITTED], there should be read [OMITTED].
The Fang-yen (attributed to Yang Hsiung2, 53 B.C.-A.D. 18; annotated, possibly
restored by Kuo P'o, 276-324) 4: 1b, 2a says, "The pi1-hsi [OMITTED] [translated `apron', lit.,
`covering for the knees'], in the region of the Yangtze and Huai [Rivers], is called hui [OMITTED].
Some call it fu [OMITTED] [more exactly [OMITTED]]; in the region of Weih, Sung, and Southern Ch'u, it
is called the large napkin [OMITTED]; from [the region] east of the [Han-ku] Pass and westwards
it is called pi-hsi. In the countryside of Ch'i and Lu it is called jan [OMITTED]." The
Erh-ya (before and during the Han period) 5: 7a says, "Clothes that cover (pi) the front
are called ch'an [OMITTED] (aprons)," and Kuo P'o glosses, "They are the present pi-hsi." The
Shih-ming (ca. iii cent. A.D.; attributed to Liu Hsi [fl. dur. Han period]) ch. 16, 5: 1b,
2a says, "The pi2 [OMITTED] is a cover (pi1); it is the means whereby one covers his knees (pi1-hsi)
and front. Women's pi1-hsi are also of this sort. The people of Ch'i call them great
napkins [OMITTED]. When the wives and daughters of people who work in the fields go out
to the fields and wilds, they use them to cover their heads. Hence because of that they
give them their name. They are also called kneeling aprons [OMITTED]. When they kneel
down, [this apron] covers them and is spread out." A discussion of this garment is to be
found in Nieh Ch'ung-yi's San-li-t'u (presented 962) 8: 10a, b, also in Ch'en Hsiang-tao's
(1053-1093) Li-shu 23: 1a-6b, in which it is pointed out that this article was used in ceremonial
dress, even by the Son of Heaven. (References from Shen Ch'in-han.) Legge,
Li Ki, II, SBE, XXVIII, p. 14, n. 1, reproduces pictures of it, but the Chinese phrase
pi1-hsi led him and Couvreur to translate it as "knee-covers." The dimensions given in
the text should have warned them that this translation is inappropriate.
The date of Emperor Ch'eng's death is from 10: 16a. It was only four and a
half months after Wang Mang had been made Commander-in-chief. Pan Ku seems to
have been careless about this date—he did not compile the "Table" from which the date
of Wang Mang's appointment was taken.
A willingness to retire from office at the proper moment exhibited, on Wang Mang's
part, the Confucian virtue of "declining and yielding". Such a virtuous act should
properly be met by a similar "declining and yielding," i.e., a refusal of the resignation.
The Grand Empress Dowager's edict was very likely instigated by Wang Mang himself,
for the purpose of securing from the new Emperor a confirmation of his position as the
dominant minister. Ho Kuang had similarly resigned (8: 4a = HFHD II, 207).
HS 19 B: 48b says, sub the year Sui-ho II, "In month xi, ting-mao, the Commander-in-chief,
[Wang] Mang, was granted gold, a comfortable chariot, a quadriga of horses,
and was dismissed. On keng-wu, the General of the Left, Shih1 Tan, became Commander-in-chief.
In iv, he was moved [to another office]." On the same page, it says, "In month
x, kuei-yu [Dec. 30, 7 B.C.], the Commander-in-chief, [Shih1] Tan, became the Grand
Minister of Works. Within the year, he was dismissed."
Now there were no ting-mao or keng-wu days in Sui-ho II, xi. If Shih Tan's appointment
as Grand Minister of Works happened in month x and in the fourth month before
Wang Mang was dismissed, the dismissal could not have happened in month xi. Szu-ma
Kuang suggests that "month xi" is an error for "month vii" ([OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were written
almost alike in the li style), hence Wang Mang's dismissal occurred on Aug. 27 and Shih1
Tan's appointment as Commander-in-chief on Aug. 30.
The Sung Ch'i ed. reports that other editions and the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) lack
the word for "Mang." The Ching-yu ed. lacks this word.
Chin Shao, in a note to 68: 21b, says, "[According to] a Han commentator, `Green
chariot [OMITTED]' designated the chariot of an Imperial Grandson; if the Heir-apparent has a
son, [the son] rides in this [sort of a chariot] when following [in the train of the emperor]."
This equipage is described in HHS, Tr. 29: 10a. Yen Shih-ku explains, "When the Son of
Heaven rode out, he ordered that [Wang] Mang [should be permitted] to ride this [sort
of a chariot] in following him, thereby [granting him] his favor."
Chu Po was Lieutenant Chancellor from May 9 to Sept. 21, 5 B.C., so that Wang
Mang's dismissal from the court occurred between those dates; cf. 19 B: 49a.
Yen Shih-ku (581-645) states that some texts write this given name as [OMITTED], which
he says is "a vulgar change."
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that after the word [OMITTED] there should be the word [OMITTED]. The
Ching-yu ed. does not read this character.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that [OMITTED] should be excised. The Ching-yu ed. does not
read it.
Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) states that chuan [OMITTED] is pronounced the same as wei [OMITTED]. Su
Lin (ca. 160-ca. 240) states that it is the ring at the end of the hilt on a two-edged sword.
Yen Shih-ku hence infers that the text originally read chih [OMITTED] (which has also the pronunciation
wei and, with another meaning, is pronounced chuan) and that it was later
mistakenly altered, for chuan means merely "engraved (with raised figures)." Shuo-wen
1 A: 4b says that chih means the jade ring at the end of the hilt on a sword, using the
same words as Su Lin. Cf. Chavannes, Documents chinois decouverts, p. 19, no. 39.
It is still believed that a fine jade made into powder and put upon a scar will extinguish
the scar.
Emperor Ai had given his imperial seals and authority to Tung Hsien2a before he
died; Wang Hung took them away from Tung Hsien2a and gave them to the Grand Empress
Dowager. Cf. Glossary sub Wang Hung.
HS 19 B: 51a records Tung Hsien2a's dismissal on Yüan-shou III (an error for
Yüan-shou II), vi, yi-wei, which is impossible. Emperor Ai died on vi, mou-wu, a day
before the day chi-wei, so that Tung Hsien's dismissal occurred on vi, chi-wei, Aug. 16;
cf. 99 A: 21b. Chi [OMITTED] and yi [OMITTED] are frequently mistaken for each other. This emendation
is confirmed by the date for Wang Mang's appointment to succeed Tung Hsien, which
is vi, keng-shen, the day after chi-wei.
HS 19 B: 49b (under the date 4 B.C.) and 86: 4b (in recounting the same incident)
list Kung-sun Lu as General of the Left, so that "Rear" is probably an error. (Noted by
Ch'ien Ta-hsin.)
Yen Shih-ku remarks that [OMITTED] should be read the same as [OMITTED], which means [OMITTED].
Li Tz'u-ming (1829-1894), Han-shu Cha-chi 7: 14b, says that [OMITTED] should be read
as [OMITTED].
The "Young Emperor" was Lü Hung; cf. HS 3: 3b, 8a; HFHD, I, 198, 209. Prof.
Duyvendak interprets differently, inserting [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED], noting that the succession of
King Ch'eng, as an infant, to King Wu, and his being presented by the Duke of Chou to
the feudal lords is the classical and often mentioned case of a child on the throne, which
is later on frequently cited in this Memoir. He translates: "Later he had proposed that
a private son of a government slave, Yang Chi, be set up as an Imperial son. The unanimous
opinion [of the Ministers] was that a recurrence of the case of the young Emperor
from the Lü clan would in a most disturbing way arouse the suspicion of the empire so
that it would be difficult to show to later generations the [same] good results [which had
been obtained by setting up King] Ch'eng in swaddling-clothes. They begged therefore
that [Wang] Li be sent back to his state."
Han-chi 30: 1a writes chüeh-tuan [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED]-tuan. I have followed its
reading.
Li Tz'u-ming, ibid., remarks that, in A.D. 6, Liu Hsin1a had changed his personal
name to Hsiu (cf. Glossary, sub voce); but Pan Ku still used Hsin to avoid the taboo on
the personal name of Emperor Kuang-wu, which was also Hsiu.
The phrase in the text, "talons and teeth, chao-ya [OMITTED]," is used in Book of Odes,
no. 185; II, iv, i, 1 (Legge, p. 298) as a figure for the king's soldiers. This phrase came
to have various meanings. Ku Yung writes (HS 70: 14a, b), "A general who is victorious
in battle is the talons and teeth of the state [OMITTED]." Sun Chien served
Wang Mang as a general. This phrase also signified the subordinates who execute their
superior's plans. HS 90: 7b states that Wang Wen-shu controlled the commandery of
Kuang-p'ing by selecting some ten-odd braves as his "talons and teeth," hiding their
crimes, and sending them to search out the commandery's thieves and robbers. Prof.
Duyvendak suggests that "talons and teeth" denoted the secret police. H. O. H. Stange,
Die Monographie über Wang Mang, p. 15, 1.5, translates this phrase as "Leibgardist," but
the technical term for body-guard was su-wei [OMITTED] (HS 38: 3b12).
The Official ed. reads chih [OMITTED] for fang [OMITTED], and quotes the Sung Ch'i ed. as saying
that chih should be fang. Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Southern Academy ed.
(1531) reads fang. The Ching-yu ed. reads likewise.
The "law" is found in Mencius IV, ii, i, 3 (Legge, p. 316). Cf. HS 12: n. 2.3. These
Yüeh-shang are also mentioned in Lu Chia's Hsin-yü (196 B.C.), cf. MSOS v. 33, p. 32.
The Han-shih Wai-chuan 5: 7a declares that their language must be translated by "nine
[successive interpreters]."
The Official ed. has [OMITTED] for the t'o [OMITTED] of Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text; he notes that
the Southern Academy ed. has t'o. The Ching-yu ed. reads likewise.
A quotation from Book of History V, iv, 14 (Legge, p. 331); but cf. Karlgren in
BMFEA 20, p. 237, Gl. 1539.
Li Tz'u-ming, ibid., 7: 15a, says that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED], with which it was
anciently interchanged.
HS 19 B: 51b supplies this date for the appointing of three Coadjutors, including
Wang Mang. The latter declares (99 A: 18a) that on this date he was appointed Grand
Tutor, but 99 A: 6a states that when the others had been appointed, Wang Mang had
not yet arisen to receive his appointment. Wang Mang hence received his appointment
later on in the same day as the others—court was held early in the morning.
A quotation from a saying of Confucius in Han-shih Wai-chuan 8: 11b, sect. 18,
"Without leaving the sacrifical vases or tables, Yen-tzu repulsed the attack [of the enemy]
at a distance of a thousand li," denoting a diplomatic victory. This saying is in turn taken
from Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu 5: 14a, sect. 16. A comparison of these two sources shows, in
an illuminating fashion, how certain sayings attributed to Confucius arose.
The Official ed. misprints [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. The latter reading is confirmed in 18: 28a.
A phrase from Book of History, I, i, 1 (Legge, p. 15), where Yao is said to have been
"able to yield to others."
For [OMITTED], the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED].
I adopt the latter reading.
Li Tz'u-ming, ibid., asserts that [OMITTED] is an error for [OMITTED]; and I follow him. Cf. HHS,
Mem. 17: 15a, sub Chao Wen, where a similar reading is found.
The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Hsi-ning Academy ed. (1069) and the Yüeh ed.
(xi-xii cent.) lack the word [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. also lacks it.
Liu Ch'ang (1019-1068) remarks that feng [OMITTED] is an interpolation. The Sung Ch'i
ed. notes that the Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) reads [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED] gung. I have followed
Liu Ch'ang.
H. O. H. Stange, Die Monographie über Wang Mang, 22, n. 1 follows the Tz'u-yüan
in interpreting po-hsing [OMITTED] as denoting the families of officials, stating that this term
was first democratized gradually in Han times. I believe that this process had already
been completed. The meaning here is explained later (7a), when Wang Mang says that
"benefits should be granted to gentlemen and common people and to widowers and
widows . . . to everyone." That the "families of officials" should be favored moreover
implies an aristocratic age, in which descent, rather than ability, brought official position.
This was the fact in Spring and Autumn times, but the Han dynasty ushered in a period
when not family, but ability was supposed to bring position; the founder of this dynasty
and his paladins were commoners; their advent marks the final breakdown of a true
hereditary aristocracy (cf. HFHD, I, 13-15). Han Confucianism, with the examination
system opening even the highest positions to able persons, regardless of their descent,
took an attitude to aristocracy quite different from that of Chou times, when, until its
last centuries, official positions were hereditary in certain families. The Tz'u-hai, sub
po-hsing, shows that this phrase, even when referring to the most ancient times, in addition
to the meaning, "the officials," also meant "the common people." Stange himself
is sometimes forced to translate po-hsing as "Volk" (p. 25, 1. 4).
Yen Shih-ku remarks, "The members of his suite were the regularly authorized
number of officials in his own yamen [OMITTED]."
Ho Ch'uo states that the honoring of an imperial ancestral temple refers to the
giving to the Temple of Emperor Yüan the name of the Temple of the Eminent Exemplar;
cf. 12: 8a. But this title was not given until A.D. 4, so that Ho Ch'uo is very likely
mistaken.
Ch'ien Ta-chao states that the Southern Academy ed. (1531) and the Fukien ed.
(1549) read [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]; the Official ed. reads likewise. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter
word. I follow it.
The Sung Ch'i ed. said that after the word [OMITTED] there should be the word [OMITTED]. The
Ching-yu ed. does not have it.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that fei [OMITTED] is a mistake; the Official ed. and the Southern
Academy ed. (1531) emend it to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads fei, and I prefer not to alter
the text. We cannot always expect perfect Chinese style, even in imperial edicts.
The calendar plant [OMITTED] grew in Yao's courts, a new leaf growing each of the
fifteen days in the first half of a month and a leaf dropping each of the remaining days
in a month. In the Ta-Tai Li, "Ming-t'ang," 8: 12a, ch. 67 (not in Wilhelm's trans.) the
red herb [OMITTED] is described in the same terms as the calendar plant is described elsewhere.
Liu Hsiang4's Lieh-nü Chuan 1: 17a says, Women "should have their cares inside
the women's apartments and should have no thoughts outside that region." (Reference
from Shen Ch'in-han.) He is probably quoting from the Meng-tzu Wai-shu 1: 5b.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Academy ed. (1005) does not have the word [OMITTED].
For Nan-tzu, cf. Analects VI, xxvi; Tso-chuan, Dk. Ting, XV (Legge, 788). Both
she and the Duke of Chou controlled the government.
The Grand Empress Dowager's edict shows that "su-shih, [OMITTED], plain food," in
Han times, meant vegetables without meat. Cf. also HS 68: 7a.
For this incident, cf. HS 94 B: 16a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 264.
Kung-yang Commentary 26: 1a, Dk. Ting VI, says, "They criticized a double personal
name. A double personal name is contrary to the rites." Ho Hsiu (129-182) explains,
"Because it is difficult to taboo." (Reference from Shen Ch'in-han.) From late Chou
times onwards, double personal names were unpopular, especially among rulers, whom
names had to be tabooed. But in the V cent. and later, double personal names, even
for rulers, appear again. Emperor Kao, the Grand Founder of the Southern Ch'i dynasty,
had the given name [OMITTED], but his successors took single personal names. Cf. Ch'en
Yuan's Shih-hui Chü-li, 48b, 49a.
Yen Shih-ku remarks that [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] have the same pronunciation and were
interchanged.
In a comment to Chou-li 7: 7a, sub the Nei-tsai, Cheng Chung [ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83]
says, "The consorts (fei [OMITTED]) of the king [numbered] 120 persons. There was one queen
(hou [OMITTED]), three ladies (fu-jen [OMITTED]), nine spouses (p'in [OMITTED]), 27 women destined to provide
descendants (shih-fu [OMITTED]) and 81 female attendants (nü-yü [OMITTED])." These same titles
are found in the Book of Rites, I, ii, ii, 1 (Legge, I, 109; Couvreur, I, 86 f); ibid. XLI, 11
(Legge, II, 432; Couvreur II, 648). When Wang Mang married a second time, his
concubines were of this number; cf. 99 C: 20a, b. In a comment to Li-chi 7: 1b, 2a (to
Legge's verse 29 in II, i, i), Cheng Hsüan (127-200) says, "The Lord, K'u, established
four consorts [for himself], which typify the four stars of the Empress and Consorts
[a constellation in Scorpio and another in Ursa Minor], of which the brightest one is the
principal consort, and the other three small ones are the secondary consorts. The Lord,
Yao, followed [his example]. Shun did not inform [his parents] when he married, so did
not establish a principal consort, and merely had three consorts, calling them the three
Ladies. . . . The Sovereign of the Hsia dynasty, [Yü], increased them by three threes,
which is nine, so that altogether there were twelve women. The explanation in the
Spring and Autumn [unidentified] says, `The Son of Heaven marries twelve [women]',
which [speaks of] the regulations of the Hsia [dynasty]. . . . Then the members of the
Yin [dynasty] again increased them by three nines, which is twenty-seven, altogether
39 women. The members of the Chou [dynasty] imitated the Lord, K'u, and established
a principal spouse and also increased [the King's concubines] by three twenty-sevens,
making eighty-one women, altogether 121 women." Shen Ch'in-han remarks that,
according to the Lieh-nü Chuan, the Son of Heaven had twelve [concubines], nobles
had nine, grandees had three, and gentlemen had two. Cf. also T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 135: 1b
ff. Po-hu-t'ung 9: 5b explains that "twelve women" is "to imitate Heaven, who has
twelve months [in a year]." Cf. M. Granet, La Polygnie Sororale, p. 67, n. 1.
HS 97 B: 23a states that Wang Mang wanted, like Ho Kuang, to have his daughter
become the Empress, but "the [Grand] Empress Dowager did not wish it."
Na-ts'ai [OMITTED] was the first of the five preliminary rites in a marriage. It was the
ancient technical term for proposing an engagement, from Yi-li 4: 1a (Steele, I, 18),
"When the [prospective] bride's [parents] have made known [their willingness], in presenting
(na) [the announcement that the girl] had been chosen (ts'ai), a wild goose is employed."
Cheng Hsüan comments, "After the girl's family has agreed, [the boy's parents]
send a person to present (na) the rites of her choosing and selection (ts'ai-tse [OMITTED]), using
a wild goose as an offering." Chia Kung-yen (fl. 640-655) adds, "Na (to present) means
that the person who is doing the presenting, [the representative of the boy's parents],
fears that the girl's family will not accept [the announcement], similar to the principle of
nei [OMITTED] and na [to present a lady to a noble's harem] in the Spring and Autumn, when, if
[the noble] approves, she is presented. Ts'ai (to select) means that the person who is
doing the presenting, because [the girl] is newly chosen and selected (ts'ai-tse), fears that
the girl's family will not agree to [the engagement]. Hence he calls it a na (presentation)."
The five preliminary rites in marriage were: (1) "the presentation of the choice [to
the girl's parents] (na-ts'ai), (2) the request for the [girl's] given name (ch'ing-ming),
(3) the presentation of the lucky [divination concerning the marriage] (na-chi), (4) the
presentation of the betrothal presents (na-cheng), and (5) the request to fix a date [for
the marriage] (ch'ing-ch'i)" Legge, Li Ki, II, 428; Couvreur, Li Ki, II, 641-42. The
sixth and final rite was "the [groom] in person fetching [the bride, bringing her to his
ancestral home] (ch'in-ying)," cf. Steele, op. cit., I, 18ff; Po-hu-t'ung 9: 2b-3b.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that the Official ed. is correct in emending [OMITTED] to [OMITTED].
The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Fu Ch'ien says, "[According to] the rules for the cracks upon the tortoise-shell,
crosswise ones are earth; vertical ones are wood; slanting ones in the direction of the
grain are metal; [slanting ones] across [the grain] are fire; those that accomodate themselves
to the tortoise-shell and are slightly curved are water." (Quoted by Ch'ien
Ta-chao).
Wang2 [OMITTED] should here be read as wang4 [OMITTED]; these words were interchanged. In his
comment on Mencius II, ii, i, 1, (Legge, p. 208), "Heaven's times are not as good as
Earth's advantages," Chao Ch'i (108-201 A.D.) says, " `Heaven's times' means the
time and the day when the branches and stems and five elements wang-hsiang [OMITTED]
(flourish and assist), or are absent in that ten-day week or are the two middle days of a
ten-day week." (The phrase wang-hsiang is also found in Lun-heng 1: 12b, ch. 3 [Forke, I,
148] where it is applied to people. For an explanation of ku-hsü [OMITTED], cf. P'ei Yin's
comment on these words in SC 128: 29.)
The Meng-tzu Cheng-yi (quoted in Meng-tzu Chu-su 4 A: 1b), attributed to Sun Shih
(compiled before the xii cent.) explains that the element metal flourishes (wang4) for
the branches szu, wu, wei, shen, and yu and the element water flourishes (wang4) for the
branches shen, yu, hsü, hai, and tzu. Hence the prognostication was shen and yu, for
these branches are in both lists. Yet the marriage was performed on the day
(A: 17a), so that there must have been a separate divination to determine the day of
marriage.
Chang Yen says, " `Father and mother' means hexagram [no. 11], t'ai ([OMITTED]), [which
has the trigram] ch'ien [male, heaven, etc.] below and [the hexagram] k'un [female, earth,
etc.] above. Heaven is lower than Earth—this is the hexagram for mating and enjoying."
Lin Pin however ridicules this interpretation, "I say that it nevertheless means
`[Her] father and mother [shall] obtain [high] position.' How could he know that this
was the hexagram t'ai?" Perhaps Chang Yen understood divination better than Liu
Pin did.
In the Spring and Autumn, Dk. Yin, II (721 B.C.), (Legge, p. 8), there is mentioned
a "Tzu-po of Chi6 [OMITTED]." In a note to Tso-chuan 2: 17a, Tu Yü (221-284) declares,
"Tzu-po is the style of Lieh-hsü [OMITTED] [a grandee of Chi6, mentioned in the same chapter
of the Tso-chuan]." But the Kung-yang Commentary (iii cent. B.C.) 2: 3b, commenting
upon the same passage, says, "Who was Tzu-po of Chi6? It has not been reported."
According to the Ku-liang Commentary 1: 6b, the phrase in the Spring and Autumn, "Chi
Tzu-po," was sometimes interpreted as "The Viscount of Chi treated [the Viscount of Lü]
as his elder." This latter interpretation underlies the passage in the HS. The Spring
and Autumn, Dk. Huan II, vii, (710 B.C.), (Legge, p. 39) mentions "the Marquis of Chi,"
and Ying Shao, in a note to HS 18: 1b, explains, "[The ruler of the state of] Chi had
originally the title of Viscount, hence [the Son of Heaven] previously rewarded him and
made him a marquis. It means that [true] kings do not take a bride from small states."
In a note to the Kung-yang Commentary 4: 5a, explaining the latter passage of the Spring
and Autumn, Ho Hsiu (129-182) glosses, "That he is entitled a marquis is [because], when
the Son of Heaven was about to take [a bride from the state of] Chi, he gave [this title
to its Viscount] since with her he would uphold his ancestral temple [sacrifices] and transmit
them without end, than which nothing is greater. Hence he was enfeoffed [with a
territory] of a hundred li [square]." There were thus two interpretations of the phase
Chi Tzu-po.
HS 24 A: 2b declares that six feet made a pu [OMITTED] (double pace) and a hundred pu
made a mou [OMITTED], i.e., an area 1 pu wide and 100 pu long. This was probably the ancient
mou and the Han pu. Teng Chang (fl. ca. 208), in a note to HS 24 A: 18a remarks,
"Anciently [cf. also Li Hsien's note to HHS, Mem. 39: 17a], a hundred pu made a mou,
[but] in Han times 240 pu made a mou. 1200 ancient mou then made five present [Han]
ch'ing [OMITTED]," i.e., if the ancient and Han foot were of the same length, 1200 ancient mou were
equal to 500 Han mou, since the Han ch'ing contained 100 mou.
Since the Han foot was 9.09 in. (Eng. meas.) long, and the Han mou was one Han pu
wide and 240 Han pu long, a Han mou contained 0.114 acre or 4.61 ar. A ch'ing was then
11.4 acres or 4.61 hectares.
The fields of Hsin-yeh, 25,600 ch'ing, were then 291,840 acres or 118,016 ha. "A full
hundred li [square]" thus refers to the whole of his holdings.
The Han li [OMITTED] does not seem to have been based on the Han mou, but on the pu.
Anciently, the li was the length of one side of a ching [OMITTED], i.e., 300 pu; the Han li was 300
Han pu long. HS 24 A: 2b states that an [ancient] ching was one li square and contained
900 [ancient] mou. The same passage states that a mou was one pu wide and a hundred pu
long, so that a ching was 300 pu square. Li-chi III, v, 19 (Legge, I, 244; Couvreur I, 320)
and Han-shih Wai-chuan 4: 7b (from which HS 24 A: 2b probably took its information)
declare directly that a ching was 300 pu square. The latter and the HS assert that a pu
was six feet long. Since the Han foot was 9.094 inches (Eng. measure) long (cf. HFHD, I,
ch. IV, app. II, p. 279), the li was 1364 feet Eng. measure or 415.8 meters long. This
length can be confirmed from a study by Ch'ou Tsai-lu in the Chinese Historical Geography
Magazine (Yü-kung), Sept. 16, 1935, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 12, in which he points out
that the HS states the distance from Yarkhand (Sha-ch'ê) to Guma (P'i-shan) to be
380 li, while it is measured at 155 km.; from Guma to Yotkan (Yü-tien) is 380 li, which
is 150 km., so that a li must have been 408 or 400 m. Thus our deduction from HS 24 A
concerning the li is confirmed; that conclusion also confirms our figure for the size of a mou.
Cf. W. Eberhard, "Zur Landwirtschaft der Han-Zeit," MSOS, v. 35 (1932), p. 98, and
his "Bemerkungen zu statistischen Angaben der Han-Zeit," T'oung Pao, 36 (1940), 2-4.
This conclusion concerning the size of the mou and li applies only to Han times, more
exactly, to Wang Mang's time. According to Li-chi III, v, 21 (Legge I, 246; Couvreur, I,
323), in Chou times the pu contained eight feet, so that writers, assuming a foot of the
Han length, calculated the Chou mou and li to have been larger than in Han times;
but such need not actually to have been the case.
Wang Nien-sun, in a note to HS 36: 17a, states that both the words fei1-fu1 [OMITTED]
mean bark (or shavings, splinters). Shuo-wen 6 A: 3b defines p'o [OMITTED] as bark (or shavings)
[OMITTED], and ibid. 7b defines fei2 [OMITTED] as a scraped wooden writing block. Wang Nien-sun
asserts that fei1 is borrowed for fei2 (giving examples); that [OMITTED], fu2 [OMITTED] and p'o (also
pronounced pu), all of which are used as the second word of this phrase, are close in
pronunciation; and that fu1 is used for fu2. The phrase fei-fu "means that he considered
himself as an unimportant relative of the imperial house, just as bark is a part of a tree
(or the shavings were part of a wooden writing block)." Liu Hsiang uses this phrase of
himself in 36: 17a; in 36: 29b he speaks of himself as "having fortunately been permitted
to attach himself as one of the least of [the imperial] relatives," which passage is parallel
to this expression. This phrase fei-fu is also used in ch. 52: 5a and SC 107: 10 sub T'ien
Fen; HS ch. 53 sub King Ching of Chung-shan; ch. 55 sub Wei Ch'ing; ch. 80; ch. 86 sub
Shih1 Tan; SC 19: 3 (MH III, 148); HHS, Mem. 2 sub Lu Fang. The foregoing interpretation
follows that of Szu-ma Cheng in SC 19: 3, who takes it from Yen Chih-t'ui's
(531-ca. 591) Yen-shih Chia-hsün B: 23a, b; ch. 17 (q.v.).
It is strongly attacked by Chang Shou-chieh in a note to SC 107: 10, where he follows
an ancient interpretation quoted by Yen Shih-ku in HS 36: 17a and 52: 5a, which states,
" `Fei1-fu1' means that the liver and lungs are close to each other, as if one said, `heart
and spine'. " He quotes Ku Yeh-wang (519-581) "Fei1-fu1 [means the same as] belly
and heart." In a note to SC 19: 3, Takigawa states that it was an expression peculiar
to Han times, not seen in the Books of Odes, of History, the Tso-chuan or the Kuo-yü,
and was used to denote close relatives. Cf. Tz'u-tung, I, 1313-1314.
But this latter interpretation, which makes Wang Mang boast that he is a close relative,
is not at all humble. According to Han Confucian theory, close imperial relatives
ought to be given high office (HFHD, II, 292). Wang Mang is not claiming a right,
but humbly mentioning the favors granted him. Wang Nien-sun must be correct in
this case.
Han-chiu-yi B: 2a declares, "The Emperor bethroths his Empress with ten thousand
catties of actual gold." HHS, An, 10 B: 6a says, "Thereupon altogether according to
the former practice of the presents for an Empress [in the case of] the Empress [nee Chang
of Emperor] Hsiao-hui, she was betrothed with twenty thousand catties of actual gold."
Sung-shu 14: 4a states that in A.D. 287, a Master of Writing, Chu Cheng, asserted "According
to the regulation of the Empress of [Emperor] Kao of the Han dynasty, an empress
is betrothed with two hundred catties of actual gold and twelve horses and Ladies
with fifty catties of gold and four horses." Shen Ch'in-han notes this statement and adds
that the Sung-shu is correct.
Ts'ai Yung, in his Tu-tuan, A: 2b, explains that sheng-yü [OMITTED] and ch'e-chia [OMITTED]
came to mean merely "imperial" or "Emperor."
Book of Odes, [OMITTED] 260; III, iii, vi, 5 (Legge, p. 544). The Mao text reads [OMITTED] for the HS's [OMITTED]. Two other variations are merely substitute characters. The Sung Ch'i ed. remarks that the Academy ed. (1005) and the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) omit the third line.
Book of Odes, #264; III, iii, x, 5 (Legge, p. 563). One character there is written differently from in the Mao text.
Phrases from the Book of Changes, App. III, Sect. 1, ch. 8, 43 (Legge, p. 362),
Their power shatters metal [bars]."
The Sung Ch'i ed. asserted that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED], after [OMITTED] there should be the
word [OMITTED], and the [OMITTED] should be excised. The Ching-yu ed. has the first of these changes.
For this event, cf. Tso-chuan, Dk. Ting, V, (Legge, p. 760). We have not been
able to find this quotation.
Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu 6: 17b, sect. 19, states that when the Duke of Ch'i wanted to
enfeoff Master Yen, the latter replied, " `From [the time of the Foreseen] Grand Duke,
[Lü Shang], to your own [time], Duke, there have been several tens of Dukes. If people
were able to obtain [noble] estates [merely] by delighting their princes, they would not
have waited until your [time], Duke, to hasten to Ch'i and strive [with each other] in
seeking promotion and lands [in such great numbers that] it would have been impossible
for them to get a foothold or lodging there.' . . . Thereupon he did not accept [the enfeoffment]."
Perhaps the foregoing is the passage that is loosely quoted here.
Book of History, II, i, iii, 3 (Legge, 32). Wang Nien-sun declares that the text
should read yi2 [OMITTED] or [OMITTED] instead of szu [OMITTED]. Yen Shih-ku explains szu. The ancient
text of the Book of History read szu and the modern text read yi2. The HS regularly
quotes the modern text. SC 1:32 (Mh I, 56) quotes this verse from the Book of History
with the word yi5 [OMITTED] (which means the same as yi2), and Hsü Kuang (ca. 352-425)
glosses, "The modern text Book of History reads yi2. Yi2 is yi5." Szu-ma Cheng (fl.
713-742) adds, "The ancient text reads szu; the modern text reads yi2." SC 130: 30 also
quotes this passage with yi2. HHS, Mem. 30 B: 11a and the Wen-hsüan 48: 24b, in
Pan Ku's "Tien-yin," quote this verse with yi2; Li Shan (vii cent.), in his comment,
quotes the same verse with szu and adds, "Wei Chao (197-273/4) says, `[According to]
the ancient text, yi2 is szu.' " In a note to HHS, Mem. 30 B: 11a, b, Li Hsien (651-684)
glosses that in the HS this verse is written with yi2 and the HS Yin-yi (probably the one
written by Wei Chao) states that yi2 is to be read as szu. Wang Nien-sun concludes that
according to the above evidence, the HS text which both Li Shan and Li Hsien saw read
yi2 and Yen Shih-ku altered it to szu to agree with the ancient text of the Book of History,
explaining the meaning accordingly. Cf. also Karlgren BMFEA 20, 76, Gl. 1253.
"Issue commands to the nobles" is a reminiscence of Book of Odes IV, iii, v, 4,
line 5 (Legge, p. 645; his translation is unsatisfactory). The Tz'u-hai defines hsia-kuo
as "the feudal nobles."
Yen Shih-ku asserts that ch'ün [OMITTED] means to retire, but Wang Yin-chih (1766-1834)
replies that because of the parallelism Yen Shih-ku's interpretation is mistaken; ch'ün
should be read as tsun [OMITTED] (follow); anciently ch'ün and tsun were interchanged; the
Erh-ya 1: 6a interprets tsun by hsün [OMITTED] and the Fang-yen 2: 6b interprets ch'ün by hsün.
Sun Hsing-yen (1743-1818) in his Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu Yin-yi B: 34b, sub ch. 7, states
that tsun-hsün means ch'ün-[OMITTED], identifying ch'ün and tsun.
The Official ed. emends by interchanging and reads pu-yi [OMITTED]. Wang Wen-pin
(xix cent.) however points out that this phrase is from Tso-chuan, Dk. Ch'eng, XVI
(Legge, p. 3947, 399b), which states that Viscount Wen of Chi, Chi-sun Hang-fu, "has
had no concubines who wore silk (yi-po) nor horses who ate grain"; hence, because of
parallelism, the phrase should be yi-pu, not pu-yi.
Book of Odes, #196; II, v, ii, 6 (Legge, p. 335). Yen Shih-ku repeats the Mao interpretation of this couplet, so I have adopted it as the Han interpretation, although Karlgren's rendering (BMFEA, 16, p. 106) is better.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "He did not engage in the production of [food or goods],
so that he did not take their profits away from the merchants." In this respect, he
imitated Tou Tzu-wen; cf. n. 12.11.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. (1530)
have chin [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED]. But the Ching-yu ed. does not have the chin. The reference
is to 99 A: 7b, where only cash and no gold or equivalent of gold (chin) is mentioned.
That kung [OMITTED] here means the three highest ministers is shown by the expression
[OMITTED] in the similar list in 84: 12a.
In Kuo-yü 18: 7a, Tou Ch'ieh says, "Anciently Tou Tzu-wen three times resigned
[the position of] Chief Governor. He did not have one day's supplies, because he
pitied the common people. King Ch'eng [of Ch'u] heard that what [Tou] Tzu-wen had
in the morning did not last until night. Therefore every morning he had prepared one
bundle of dried flesh and one basket of parched grain, in order to nourish [Tou] Tzu-wen.
Down to the present, the Chief Governor has it for his salary."
For Kung-yi Hsiu, cf. Glossary sub voce.
Yen Shih-ku explains, " `Plain houses' means the people, who use white grass
(quitch-grass) [OMITTED] to cover their houses." Ch'eng Ta-ch'ang however declares,
"Anciently there were regulations concerning [the color of] palace buildings. Officials
were not under those requirements, so their buildings exposed the natural [color] of their
materials, for it was not necessary to add any colors or ornaments. These were the
`plain houses.' When [Yen] Shih-ku says that white quitch-grass covered the building,
he is in error."
Wang Hsien-ch'ien asserts that [OMITTED] is mistaken; the Official ed. and the Southern
Academy ed. instead read [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Book of History, II, i, iii, 2 (Legge, p. 32). The use of Ta-lu [OMITTED] in HS 99 B: 6b
shows that in Wang Mang's time the K'ung An-kuo interpretation of that phrase (which
Legge rejects, cf. his trans., p. 32, note, also Karlgren BMFEA 20, 75, Gl. 1251) was accepted.
Yen Shih-ku prefers it in his comment.
Said by Confucius of himself in Analects IV, xv, 1. The `one principle' which
unified Confucius' teaching is there stated to have been, "Integrity and reciprocity," i.e.,
the Golden Rule.
The point is that good ministers have been able to carry out their conceptions of
good government.
Presented by Yao to Yü at the completion of the latter's work upon the waters
(according to the K'ung An-kuo interpretation); Book of History III, i, ii, 23 (Legge,
p. 150; Couvreur, p. 89).
Li-chi XII, 6-9 (Legge, II, 32; Couvreur, I, 729) states that King Ch'eng granted
to the Duke of Chou to be sacrificed to with the ceremonies and songs reserved to the
Son of Heaven.
The three enfeoffments in honor of Ho Kuang were: his son, Ho Yü, as Marquis
of Po-lu, on Apr. 27, 68 (HS 18: 11a); Ho Shan, grandson of Ho Ch'u-ping, as Marquis
of Lo-ping on May 14, 68 (18: 9a), at the special request of Ho Kuang, in order to continue
the ancestral sacrifices of a noble to Ho Ch'ü-ping (68: 11a); and Ho Yün, elder
brother of Ho Shan, as Marquis of Kuan-yang, on Apr. 24, 67 (18: 9b). Cf. A. Jongchell,
Huo Kuang och hans Tid, pp. 150, 194, 195, 197, 205.
Reading [OMITTED] as [OMITTED] at the suggestion of Wang Nien-sun. These two words were
anciently interchanged. The reference is to Wang Mang's resignation; cf. 99 A: 3b.
Fu Ch'ien explains, "P'iao [OMITTED] has the pronunciation of the p'iao of the tip of a
sword"; Shen Ch'in-han points out that in Huai-nan Tzu, 19: 8b, "Hsiu-wu-shun," Kao
Yu (fl. 205-212) also declares, "P'iao should be read as the p'iao of a sword," and concludes
that in Han times the point of a sword was called p'iao. Hence p'iao is borrowed
for [OMITTED] or [OMITTED], meaning the point of a sword (or the ornament at the tip of a scabbard).
Cf. the use of this word in HHS, Tr. 30: 12b9; Hsün-tzu, 18: 16a6, ch. 26; and in Ho Hsiu's
comment to the Kung-yang Commentary, 7: 9b6, Dk. Chuang, XIII, winter.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed.
correctly read [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads the former.
Tso-chuan, 54: 8b, Dk. Ting, IV, (Legge, p. 754), enumerates these six clans as
"the T'iao [OMITTED] clan, the Hsü [OMITTED] clan, the Hsiao [OMITTED] clan, the So [OMITTED] clan, the Ch'ang-sho
[OMITTED] clan, and the Wei-sho [OMITTED] clan."
The passage in single quotation marks is taken from Tso-chuan 54: 8b, Dk. Ting,
IV, (Legge, p. 754).
Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the princes of Fan [OMITTED], Chiang [OMITTED], Hsing [OMITTED],
Mao [OMITTED], Tsu [OMITTED], and Ts'ai [OMITTED] were the descendants of the Duke of Chou. His eldest
son, Po-ch'in, in addition, succeeded his father as Duke of Lu. Cf. Mh IV, 100, n. 2.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that after the [OMITTED] there should be an [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu
ed. however does not have this word.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Chekiang ed. (xi-xii cent.) reads [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED]
in this and the next sentence. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Chekiang ed. (xi-xii cent.) reads [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED]
in this and the next sentence. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED], but the Ching-yu
and Southern Academy ed. read the latter.
Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter;
Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. read likewise.
The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) and the Shao ed. (xi or
xii cent.) omit the [OMITTED]; the Ching-yu ed. also lacks it; Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the
Southern Academy ed. (1530/1) omits it. I have not translated it. The King's Uncles
of Kuan and of Ts'ai also spread rumors; cf. Book of History V, vi, 12 (Legge, p. 357);
Glossary, s.v.
Yen Shih-ku explains that these four were those of the three Overseers (including
the King's Uncles of Kuan and of Ts'ai) and the wild tribes of the Huai region. Cf.
Glossary sub Kuan.
Yen Shih-ku glosses, "Chu kuan-pu [OMITTED] means that it was used in securing
[persons who] were selected and recommended [to the central government as candidates
for official position]." Chou Shou-ch'ang adds (in his HS-chu Chiao-su 55: 16a), "[Emperor]
Hsiao-wen had an Erudit for the Classic of Filial Piety and the imperial capital
commanderies had Masters for the Classic of Filial Piety [12: 7a], which was recording
the Classic of Filial Piety on the official registers [as a regular study]. Wang Mang's . . .
edict . . . ordering the government schools to teach [his own book] was, it seems, establishing
it [too] in the government schools [as a regular subject of study]."
The text reads "fourth month," but HS 12: 7b, Han-chi 30: 4b, and Tzu-chih
T'ung-chien 36: 4b all read "second month." "Fourth month" is an error. The fourth
month was the first month of summer, but 12:7b notes, after the marriage, "In the summer,
the Empress [nee Wang] was presented in the Temple of [Emperor] Kao," and 97 B:
23a says, "In the next year, in the spring, [the Grand Empress Dowager] sent" various
courtiers "with the legal equipage to go and fetch the Empress from the residence and
palace of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han [Dynasty, Wang Mang,]" to be married.
Cf. Szu-ma Kuang, Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 2: 2a.
According to 18: 30a-31b these eight persons were Wang Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en
Ch'ung, Li Hsi, Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng.
Yen Shih-ku, in a note to HS 39: 13b, says of tsung-ch'en [OMITTED], "It means that
they are those whom later generations honor and look up to." Chang Yen (iii cent. A.D.),
in a note to 99 A: 21a, states, "A tsung subject has performed signal services and becomes
a duke of the first class, whom the state takes as an exemplar [OMITTED]." This
ancient usage justifies the translation of tsung in imperial temple names by the word
"exemplar."
Parallel to the expression used to the emperor, "foolishly risking the commission
of a crime worthy of death." Cf. HFHD, I, 99, n. 2; Ts'ai Yung's Tu-tuan, p. 5b. Yang
Shu-ta quotes the Lun-heng as saying, "When [the officials of] commanderies speak of
matters to the two yamens, they say, `We presume to speak of it.' "
Wang Mang had previously received 40 million cash (of which he gave 33 million
to the families of Emperor P'ing's concubines), then he was additionally granted 23 million
cash (99 A: 10a); now he was given 37 million more, making a total of 100 million cash.
To "send a minister to his residence" meant dismissing him from his position
and from the court. Evidently the Grand Empress Dowager had become tired of
Wang Mang's posing.
The "presentation of the betrothal presents" was the fourth of the rites preliminary
to a marriage; cf. n. 9.3. It made the betrothal binding.
The text reads "first month," but Hoang does not list a ping-ch'en day in that
month; HS 19 B: 51b reads "second month," which checks; I emend the text accordingly.
Cf. also n. 6.2.
For the apron (fu1 [OMITTED]) as an article of ceremonial attire, cf. 99 A: n. 2.8. Wang
Mang seems to have first made it part of a noble's or official's insignia of office, for it is
first mentioned in the reign of Emperor P'ing. Its use was in imitation of classical
practises—it is mentioned in Li-chi, XI, ii, 21-27 and XII, 29 (Legge, II, 14-16, 38;
Couvreur, I, 700-702, 740). Cf. also Po-hu-t'ung 10: 1a, b.
Yen Shih-ku, both here and in his notes to 14: 4b, 99 B: 1a, and 99 C: 5b, glosses,
"The fu1 is also called a tsu [OMITTED]," which latter article was the cord by which seals were
suspended from the wearer's girdle. The use of fu1 with the word for seal (e.g. 99 B:
23a) makes this interpretation plausible. The word fu1 was moreover interchanged with
fu2 [OMITTED], which latter word later denoted the seal-ribbon.
This interchange between fu1 and fu2 has probably misled Yen Shih-ku. Ch'en
Hsiang-tao (1053-1093), in his Li-shu 23: 6b, states that from the Wei and Chin periods
(iii cent. A.D.) onwards, the fu1, instead of being made of leather, was made of silk
gauze, hence the word was sometimes written fu2 (with the silk radical. Such may have
been the case already in Pan Ku's time; cf. 99 B: n. 1.1). As a result, people would be
likely to confuse fu1 and fu2 and think mistakenly that the fu1 denoted a seal-ribbon—
which statement was evidently current in T'ang times and is to be found in the dictionaries
today. But Ch'en Hsiang-tao takes his information, according to a note, from
Hsü Kuang's (ca. 352-425) "Rites and Institutes Concerning Carriages and Robes
[OMITTED]" (probably the same as his [OMITTED], listed in the Sui-shu bibliography 2:
14a, the Old T'ang-shu bibliography 1: 34b, and the New T'ang-shu bibliography 2: 21b;
the book is now lost), so that this information dates from two centuries before the time
of Yen Shih-ku.
Until Wang Mang came into power, the term used along with the word for seal in
shou [OMITTED], seal-ribbon (8: 22b, 12: 1a, 99 A: 4a). During the time Wang Mang controlled
the government, the fu1 is however occasionally mentioned along with the seal as the
insignia of noble or bureaucratic rank (14: 4b, 99 A: 18b, 22b, 26b; 99 B: 1a, 23a). In
Wang Mang's time, the term shou also on occasions accompanies the word for seal (98:
13b, 99 B: 11a, 12b, 18a; 99 C: 27b). The Later Han dynasty also used the shou (HHS,
Tr. 30: 13b-15a). The fu1 (apron) was the first of the nine distinctions (99 A: 22b), so
that it was only natural for Wang Mang to have used it as one of his insignia for a high
office. Such an article of attire was plainly convenient at a court where the kowtow was
common. The fu1 is mentioned under circumstances in which it can only mean "apron"
(99 B: 22b, 26b); it would be very strange to have the same word used to denote two
very different articles of apparel without any explanation on the part of the author.
Yen Shih-ku's change in the meaning of fu1 is unacceptable.
A catty of gold was equivalent to ten thousand cash; ten thousand catties of gold
were then equivalent to a hundred million cash. This was the amount of the dowry;
cf. 99 A: 17b.
Liu Pin (1022-1088) remarks that this last sentence is repeated from 99 A: 17b,
and declares that it should be excised here; but this whole paragraph seems to be a summary
of the ritual, etc. connected with the office of Ruling Governor in the spirit of HS,
ch. 19 A, in which case this sentence is pertinent here.
Li T'zu-ming, op. cit., 7: 15a, states that the Ch'u-hsüeh Chi (viii cent.; I cannot
find this passage) quotes the San-fu Huang-t'u (iii to vii cent.) as saying that in 4 A.D.
Wang Mang "built the Ming-t'ang, Pi-yung, made 30 residences for the Erudits, and
made a market-place for meeting," and also, "Seven li east of the city he made a Regularly
Full Granary. North of the Granary he made the Huai Market-place. The various
Huai trees were in several hundred rows and the students would meet and hold market
[there] on the first and fifteenth days of the month." This passage is not now in the
San-fu Huang-t'u, which has suffered losses. Cf. Glossary sub Imperial University. Li
T'zu-ming accordingly says that in the HS text, before the word [OMITTED] there has dropped
out the word [OMITTED], reading, "a market-place for meeting."
This Classic of Music has been lost. Wang Ch'un, in his Lun-heng 13: 16a, 29:
9b (Forke, II, 297, I, 88) says twice, "Yang-ch'eng [Heng] Tzu-chang [OMITTED] composed
the Classic of Music." Huan T'an (ca. 40 B.C.-A.D. 29), in his Hsin-lun (lost,
quoted in T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 815: 11b), says, "Yang-ch'eng Tzu-chang's personal name
was Heng [OMITTED] and he was a man from Shu Commandery. When Wang Weng and I
were both Libationers Expounding the Classic of Music and [Yang-ch'eng Heng] was in
bed ill, we purchased ahead of time inner and outer coffins [for him]." Wang Weng took
part in the rebellion of Chai Yi and was burnt to death by Wang Mang in A.D. 7 (cf.
HHS, Mem. 35: 10b); the Libationers were not however appointed until A.D. 11 (HS
99 B: 18a), so that Huan T'an's memory must have been at fault about his title at that
time. Yang-ch'eng Heng's death then probably occurred some time during Wang
Mang's reign. The T'ung-chih, ch. 29 (Com. Pr. ed.), p. 479c, sub double surnames
quotes the Feng-su-t'ung as stating that in Han times there was a Grandee Remonstrant
and Consultant, excellency Yang-ch'eng Heng.
The Classic of Music established as canonical by Wang Mang was then written by
Yang-ch'eng Heng and this is probably the one mentioned in the Chin History. (From
Ma Kuo-han's [fl. 1832-1852] "Introduction" to the Yo-ching in his "Yü-han Shan-fang
Chi-yi-shu"). Sui-shu ch. 32, "Treatise on the Classics and Literature" 1: 21a, lists a
"Classic of Music in four rolls." But this book is not mentioned in later bibliographies.
What the relation was of this book to the "Yo-chi (Record of Music)," now ch. 17 in the
Book of Rites, is unknown. Cf. Szu-k'u Ch'üan-shu Tsung-mu T'i-yao 38: 1a (Com. Pr.
ed. p. 789).
HS 12: 9b dates this summons in A.D. 5; probably that date represents the time
these persons mostly arrived.
"The lost [chapters of] the Rites" denotes the 39 fascicles (chapters) of the Book of
Rites in ancient characters said by Liu Hsin1a to have been found by King Kung of Lu, Liu
Yü2 (d. 129 B.C.), in the wall of Confucius' house and presented to the imperial throne
by K'ung An-kuo after 100 B.C. (HS 36: 33a). These chapters were not the Chou-li
(mentioned separately), which is said to have been secured about the same time by King
Hsien of Ho-chien, Liu Tê (HS 53: 1b).
"The ancient [text of] the Book of History" denotes the 16 fascicles (chapters) of that
Book in ancient characters, said by Liu Hsin1a to have been found along with the lost
Rites and also to have been presented to the throne by K'ung An-kuo (HS 36: 33a).
HS 36: 31b states that Liu Hsin1a "wanted to have made authoritative Mr. Tso's
[Commentary on] the Spring and Autumn [i.e., the Tso-chuan], the Mao [text of the Book
of] Odes, the lost [chapters of] the Rites, and the ancient [text of the Book of] History."
Hence this order of Wang Mang was instigated by Liu Hsin and constituted a step towards
making these classics authoritative, i.e., placed on the curriculum of the government
schools and used for government examinations.
The "Mao [text of the Book of] Odes" is the one at present current. It was made
authoritative by Wang Mang during the reign of Emperor P'ing (Legge, Chin. Clas. IV,
I, p. 11]).
Liu Hsin1a also worked on the Chou-li and eventually Wang Mang made it authoritative.
During the reign of Wang Mang, all the books here listed, from the lost Book of
Rites to the Erh-ya, were probably made authoritative.
"Ordinances for the Months, Yüeh-ling [OMITTED]" is the title of the present chap. IV
in the Li-chi (Legge, I, pp. 249-310; Couvreur, I, 330-410), which chapter consists of
excerpts from chaps. I-XII of the Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu (Wilhelm's trans. pp. 1-156).
Besides this document, there were probably other writings on this popular subject.
"The Art of War, Ping-fa [OMITTED]," is the title of the military treatise attributed to
Sun-tzu [OMITTED] and translated by L. Giles, Sun Tzu on the Art of War. Giles (p. xvii)
however points out that the title, "Sun-tzu in 82 fascicles, with diagrams in 9 rolls" listed
in HS 30: 59a, shows that in Han times there were other apocryphal works on this subject,
not included in the 13 books of Sun-tzu that we have at present. Wang Mang's
call was probably for more than just this one book, for in 99 C: 21b he is said to have
employed military men of all the 63 schools mentioned in HS 30: 64a (cf. 99 C: n. 21.3).
The Han dynasty had its own military methods [OMITTED], set forth by Han Hsin (HS 1 B:
24b; HFHD, I, 146 & n. 4). Wang Mang seems to have intended to accumulate the
country's learning at the imperial capital and use it for the imperial benefit.
Shih Chou's Fascicles was the earliest Chinese lexicographical work. It seems to
have been a word list of correct forms; cf. D. Bodde, China's First Unifier, ch. VIII.
This book is listed in HS 30: 22b. Ibid, 26a, b says, "In [the period] Yüan-shih, [Wang
Mang] summoned from the [whole] empire those who were versed in philology. [They
arrived] by the hundreds, and each one was ordered to record words in the [Palace] courts.
Yang Hsiung2 took those [writings] that were of use and composed from them his Hsün-tsuan
P'ien [OMITTED]. He followed the Tsang Chieh and also altered the duplicating
words in the Tsang Chieh. It was in 89 paragraphs."
A reference to Li-chi XII, 7 (Legge, II, 31), where the Duke of Chou is said to have
resigned in the seventh year. Cf. infra, n. 20.1.
Wang Mang's action in laying the foundations "when the moon began to wax"
was in imitation of the foundation of the city of Lo by the Duke of Chou. The phrase,
"when the moon began to wax, tsai1-sheng-p'o2 [OMITTED]" is a quotation from the account
of that foundation in Book of History, V, ix, 1 (Legge, p. 381). (That Book writes tsai2 [OMITTED]
for tsai1. These words were interchangeable; so were p'o1 and p'o2.)
The meaning of the phrase, tsai-sheng-p'o, seems to have suffered a complete reversal
due to an inexact writing of the word p'o. The correct word was p'o1 [OMITTED]. Hsü Sheng,
in his Shuo-wen 7 A: 4a, defines p'o1 as follows: "When the moon is first born,
it is like a p'o1 (new moon). When [in the calendar, we receive] a long month,
[the p'o1] is on the second day [of the month; when we] receive a short month, it
is on the third day." (In China, months have begun with the new moon, or,
more exactly, the day of the moon's conjunction with the sun, when the moon is invisible).
Since p'o1 is written with the word for "moon," this is probably the fundamental meaning
of the character. Shuo-wen 9 A: 7a defines p'o2 quite differently, as "A yin spirit."
Since tsai1 (and tsai2) means "beginning," tsai-sheng-p'o then originally meant "When
the new moon appears," and denoted the second or third day of the (lunar) month. This
interpretation is confirmed by Li-chi XLII, i, 4 (Legge, II, 436; Couvreur, II, 655), "Like
the third day of the moon, when it produces its p'o (new moon), [OMITTED],"
and ibid. 20 (Legge, II, 445; Couvreur II, 667), "The moon, when it is in the third day
[of the month] produces its p'o [OMITTED]." In a note to the above passage from
the Book of History, ("Shih-san Ching Chu-su," Shu-ching 14: 1b), Ma Jung (79-166)
moreover glosses, "P'o2 is the new moon [OMITTED]. It means that in the third day [of the
month] the moon first brings to birth the form of its new moon and its name is called
p'o2." Wang Mang used this interpretation, for this date was the second day of a short
month, according to Hoang. (Chen Yüan's Comparative Daily Calendar is probably in
error, for it makes this date the first day of the month).
This meaning of p'o seems to have suffered reversal because it was the ancient practise
to interchange many words with their homonyms. Thus p'o1 came to be written p'o2,
with the resultant interpretation of p'o2 (which ordinarily means the vital principle of
the body, the material soul) to mean "the substance of the moon [OMITTED]," i.e. the unilluminated
part of the moon, which appears when the moon begins to wane. Hence
tsai-sheng-p'o came to mean, "when the dark part of the moon is first born," i.e., a day
after full moon, the sixteenth day of the month and after. This interpretation appears
in the K'ung An-kuo gloss to the above passage in the Book of History, ibid., "The Duke
of Chou established his government in the seventh year, third month, when the p'o (dark
part of the moon) was first born, on the sixteenth day of the [lunar] month, when the
full moon was waning and the dark part of the moon (p'o) was born." To justify his
chronological calculations, Liu Hsin1a adopted this interpretation; HS 21 B: 60b quotes
his San-t'ung-li as follows: "When the dark of the moon (p'o) dies, it is the day of new
moon; when the dark of the moon (p'o) is born, it is the day of full moon. [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]." Meng K'ang, in a note to HS 21 B: 60a, interprets likewise, "In the second
day of the month and onwards, the moon is born and its dark (p'o) dies." K'ung Ying-ta
consequently took this interpretation of p'o. In a note to Book of History V, iii, 3 (Ibid.
11: 11b), he explains, "The places in which the circle of the moon have no light are called
p'o. After the day of new moon, its ming [OMITTED] (its brilliance or spiritual substance) is
born and its p'o (its dark or material substance) dies. After the day of full moon, its
ming dies and its p'o is born." Here is the pretty conceit that the moon has two souls,
like man, which die and are born as the moon waxes and wanes. This interpretation was
adopted by Legge (cf. his Book of History, p. 307) and Couvreur (Dict. Class., III ed.
sub p'o2), so that it influences their translations of the classics, sometimes with curious
consequences.
It is interesting that in this case Wang Mang's courtiers deliberately departed from
the interpretation given to a passage of the classic by his greatest authority, Liu Hsin1a.
Wang Mang's court contained other authorities who disagreed with Liu Hsin, and these
scholars preserved the correct interpretation of p'o. (Cf. T'zu-hai, sub p'o1, p'o2, tsai2-
sheng-p'o; Wang Kuo-wei, Kuan-t'ang-chi-lin, I:1a-5b.)
Meng K'ang (fl. 220-240) explains, "It is the message taxing [the people] for
corvée service [OMITTED]."
Yen Shih-ku suggests that p'ing [OMITTED] might be emended to p'ei [OMITTED]. Ho Ch'uo
(1661-1722) quotes Book of History, V, xii, 7, (Legge, p. 424) which contains the phrase
p'ei-tso [OMITTED], to substantiate this emendation. Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) adds that
this passage imitates Book of History, V, xiii, which uses the unusual word p'ei twice,
and calls attention to the fact that, in the ancient official form of writing, p'ing and p'ei
were written similarly and were sometimes confused.
This sentence is also found in 12: 8b. The next sentence is also found in that
passage, q.v. for annotations.
The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the Shun-hua ed. (997) had the word szu [OMITTED] after
the [OMITTED]. In a loose quotation of this passage in HHS, Mem. 4: 10a1, the szu is omitted.
Stange, Die Monographie über Wang Mang, 62, n. 9, declares that Wang Hsien-ch'ien's
ed. reads erroneously "1900 members of the imperial house." My copy (purchased at
Ch'ang-sha, hence probably the original ed.) does not have this error. It likewise does
not have the variant noticed in ibid., 63, n. 1.
The phrase "instituting rites and composing music [OMITTED]" is an allusion to
the activity of the Duke of Chou, who, when he was acting as regent for the young King
Ch'eng, is said to have "instituted rites and composed music" (Li-chi XII, 6; Legge's
trans. II, 31). On 99 A: 19a, the courtiers, in a memorial, compare Wang Mang to the
Duke of Chou and allude to this passage from the Book of Rites, saying that the Duke of
Chou fixed "his institutions" to the seventh year; on p. 20a, Wang Mang takes up this
phrase, stating that the Empress Dowager has "instituted rites . . . and . . . composed
music" (through his own instrumentality, of course), and now (p. 20b) he declares that
he wishes to use his whole time in "instituting rites and composing music," i.e., in ruling
in behalf of the young emperor and, in establishing truly Confucian institutes and government,
and, when this task is complete, like the Duke of Chou, he will return to private
life. The phrase "instituting rites and composing music" thus implied "ruling for the
minor sovereign in the spirit of the Duke of Chou." It occurs frequently in subsequent
passages. Since the Duke of Chou was one of the greatest Confucian sages, these rites
and music were of course understood to designate Confucian practises.
The phrase "instituting rites and composing music [OMITTED]" is an allusion to
the activity of the Duke of Chou, who, when he was acting as regent for the young King
Ch'eng, is said to have "instituted rites and composed music" (Li-chi XII, 6; Legge's
trans. II, 31). On 99 A: 19a, the courtiers, in a memorial, compare Wang Mang to the
Duke of Chou and allude to this passage from the Book of Rites, saying that the Duke of
Chou fixed "his institutions" to the seventh year; on p. 20a, Wang Mang takes up this
phrase, stating that the Empress Dowager has "instituted rites . . . and . . . composed
music" (through his own instrumentality, of course), and now (p. 20b) he declares that
he wishes to use his whole time in "instituting rites and composing music," i.e., in ruling
in behalf of the young emperor and, in establishing truly Confucian institutes and government,
and, when this task is complete, like the Duke of Chou, he will return to private
life. The phrase "instituting rites and composing music" thus implied "ruling for the
minor sovereign in the spirit of the Duke of Chou." It occurs frequently in subsequent
passages. Since the Duke of Chou was one of the greatest Confucian sages, these rites
and music were of course understood to designate Confucian practises.
Yen Shih-ku asserts that ts'ai1 [OMITTED] is the same as "ts'ai2 [OMITTED], to select," but Wang
Nien-sun, in a note to HS 48: 34a, states that this interpretation does not fit the phrase
ts'ai1-hsing [OMITTED]. He declares that ts'ai means "shao [OMITTED], somewhat," and that the meaning
of this phrase is similar to the expression in 48: 35a10, "I wish that your Majesty would
pay some attention to it [OMITTED]." He also quotes similar cases of the phrase ts'ai-hsing
from HS 77: 5b7 sub Chu-ko Feng, ch. 93, ch. 49 sub Ch'ao Ts'o (thrice), 72: 6b10 sub
Wang Chi, ch. 59 sub Chang An-shih, 75: 31a3 sub Li Hsün, and 86: 19b4 sub Shih1 Tan.
In a note to 54: 14a11, Yen Shih-ku, seemingly following an ancient comment, declares
that ts'ai means "chin4 [OMITTED], somewhat"; the Kuang-ya interprets chin3 [OMITTED] as shao; these
two words chin are interchanged. In a note to HS 4: 9b (cf. HFHD I, 242, n. 4) Yen
Shih-ku himself asserts that ts'ai means shao. Cf. also HFHD II, 387, n. 6.4. Ts'ai1,
ts'ai2, and ts'ai3 [OMITTED] are given the same archaic pronunciation in Karlgren, Grammatica
Serica, #943 h, ć, a, and were interchanged with ts'ai4 [OMITTED], which latter character seems
not to have occurred in Chou literature, but is used in HS 49: 13b11 and 51: 5b4.
The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the word chung [OMITTED] should be changed to come after
the [OMITTED], following the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.). Since the Ching-yu ed. agrees with the
present text, I have not adopted the Yüeh ed.'s emendation. Yen Shih-ku reads chung
with the present fourth tone, meaning "emphasis".
At this point, the text contains the words for "the Marquis of Fu-p'ing," necessitating
the translation, "erudits, gentlemen-consultants, full marquises, and the Marquis
of Fu-p'ing, Chang Shun." The Sung Ch'i ed. however reports that the Yüeh ed. lacks
the words for "the Marquis of Fu-p'ing," and the Ching-yu ed. also lacks them. I have
followed their reading. It is quite peculiar that one grade of the nobility should be
specifically mentioned as all being concerned in a Confucian ritual, along with the erudits
and learned persons at the court. The insertion of Chang Shun's marquisate was almost
surely a scribal interpolation.
For these conferments, cf. Li-chi III, ii, 8 (Legge, I, 215; Couvreur, I, 273), Book
of History V, viii, 4 (Legge, 379). The phrase, "a high duke (shang-kung) with the nine
conferments" is quoted from Chou-li 21: 1a (Biot, II, 1). The conferments (ming [OMITTED]) as
rewards given by the Son of Heaven are seemingly first mentioned in Book of Odes, II,
vii, viii, 3; Legge, p. 403.
Chou-li 18: 10b-12b (Biot, I, 428-430), sub the Ta-tsung-po, says, "He uses the conferments
in the nine rituals to correct the rankings of states. The first conferment is
investiture with office, the second conferment is investiture with robes, the third conferment
is investiture with rank, the fourth conferment is investiture with [sacrificial]
utensils, the fifth conferment is the granting of a tsê (cf. 99 B: n. 19.5), the sixth conferment
is the granting of [subordinate] officials, the seventh conferment is granting him a
[noble] estate, the eighth conferment is making him a Shepherd (mu), and the ninth
conferment is making him a Chief (po) [of a quarter of the country]."
Chang Yen (iii cent. A.D.) says, "The nine conferments (ming) are the nine distinctions
(hsi [OMITTED])." In the Spring and Autumn, Dk. Chuang, I, 6; Dk. Wen, I, 5; Dk.
Ch'eng, VIII, 7 (Legge, pp. 72, 227, 229, 366), hsi is used as a verb, "to impart," in the
phrase, "impart (hsi) the conferments (ming)." But in the HS text here both hsi and
ming are used as nouns. Very likely in Wang Mang's time ming denoted the nine "conferments"
mentioned in the Chou-li passage quoted above, whereas hsi denoted the
"distinctions" enumerated in n. 23.3.
Chou-li 21: 1a (Biot, II, 1), sub the Tien-ming (Officer in Charge of the Conferments)
says "High Dukes (shang-kung [OMITTED]) have the nine conferments (ming) and become
Chiefs [of quarters of the country]. Their states and households (kuo-chia [OMITTED]), their
palaces and residences, their chariots and banners, their garments and robes, and their
rites and usages all use nine as the limit. Marquises and earls have seven conferments.
Their states and households (kuo-chia), their palaces and residences, their chariots and
banners, their garments and robes, and their rites and usages all use seven as the limit.
Viscounts and barons have five conferments. Their states and households (kuo-chia),
their palaces and residences, their chariots and banners, their garments and robes, and
their rites and usages all use five as the limit." Cheng Hsüan explains (not too accurately),
"The high dukes (shang-kung) are the three highest ministers (san-kung [OMITTED])
of the king, [who have only eight conferments; cf. n. 21.3]. To those who possess virtue,
there is added a conferment and they become the two Chiefs (po). The descendants of
the two dynasties, [Hsia and Yin], were also high dukes (shang-kung)." In Wang Mang's
time the Shang-kung were the Four Coadjutors, who ranked above the San-kung. In
Chou times, office was hereditary, so that the highest ministers were nobles; whereas in
Han times such feudalism had disappeared and kung no longer always denoted a noble.
Cheng Hsüan continues, "Their state and households (kuo-chia) is where the prince and
his followers dwell [OMITTED]. It means the square which is their [capital] city. The
[capital] city of a duke was probably nine li square and his palace was nine hundred paces
square. The [capital] city of a marquis or earl was probably seven li square and his
palace seven hundred paces square. The [capital] city of a viscount or baron was probably
five li square, and his palace five hundred paces square." This scholastic architectonic
does not, of course, represent the facts of history.
Chou-li 21: 2a (Biot, II, 2) says, "The three highest ministers (san-kung) have
eight conferments. . . . When they are sent out [of the court] and enfeoffed [as feudal
nobles with fiefs, going to rule them], one [more] step [in conferments] is added." This
passage is referred to in the phrase, "promoted [an additional] step."
This sentence uses phrases from the Book of History, I, 2 (Legge, p. 17; translated
in HFHD II, 215, n. 7.6), which passage describes the virtue of Yao. In this passage
of the HS, as in the Book of History, po-hsing means "official class," cf. n. 6.13. The
word pang [OMITTED] in the Book of History, which was Emperor Kao's given name, is tabooed
here and kuo [OMITTED] is used instead. Pang was not however always tabooed. It is used in
the Shuo-wen (A.D. 100).
Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832) declares that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed.
and the Official ed. read the latter word. Wang Hsien-ch'ien says however that the
Southern Academy ed. reads as he does.
The connotation of "empty oneself (hsü-chi [OMITTED])," a phrase frequently used in
imperial charters to officials (cf. HFHD I, 334), is "pay close attention." The Tz'u-hai,
sub this phrase, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan (by Han Ying, fl. 179-141 B.C.; I have
not been able to find this passage), "A superior man who has the highest degree of virtue
is yet humble, [so that] he will empty himself and receive [the instructions of] others."
Chang Yen (iii cent.) explains that these two clauses refer to "the rites for capping
and marriage and the moving of the Southern and Northern [Altars for] the suburban
sacrifices."
Chang Yen explains, "He had enfeoffed the descendants of the previous dynasties,
established [as official] the ancient text of the Classics, and fixed the rites of successively
removing [the shrines of remote ancestors to the shrine of the most ancient ancestor]."
For the latter rite, cf. Glossary sub Wei Hsüan-ch'eng.
Yen Shih-ku explains that when the city of Lo was completed, the stubborn
people of Shang were removed to dwell there. The point of this passage is that Wang
Mang's achievements were as great as those of the founders of the Chou dynasty.
This sacrificial canon was a scholastic adoption of the ancient Chou sacrificial
custom as recorded in the Kuo-yü and the Li-chi XX, 1 (Legge, II, 201-202). There
were four ancestral sacrifices: the ti [OMITTED] sacrifice to the most ancient ancestor of the line,
the chiao [OMITTED] (suburban) sacrifice to the most prominent ancestor of the line anterior to
the founder of the house, the tsu [OMITTED] sacrifice to the founder of the house, i.e., the ancestor
who was responsible for the house securing its royal or imperial standing, and the tsung [OMITTED]
sacrifice to the greatest ruler subsequent to the founder of the house, i.e., the greatest
exemplar (for tsung as denoting an exemplar, cf. n. 17.6). On these sacrifices, cf. B.
Karlgren, "Legends and Cults in Ancient China," Bull. of the Museum of Far Eastern
Antiquities, no. 18, p. 215.
The previously established imperial ancestral sacrifice to Emperor Kao was evidently
considered as the tsu sacrifice, so that only the three others are mentioned. By the
device of making these ancestors the coadjutors (pei [OMITTED]) of high gods, as on p. 17a, i.e.,
making them the introducers of the worshipper to, intercessors with, and transmitters
of the sacrifice to these high gods, these ancestral sacrifices became at the same time the
worship of the highest deities. HS 25 B: 21a, b does not mention the sacrificial canon
referred to in this passage, merely saying, "In the course of [Wang Mang's] more than
thirty years [of rule], the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth underwent five changes."
Pan Ku thus omitted all but a very few of Wang Mang's portents. This fact
speaks well of Pan Ku's judgment of historical values. The Lun-heng (Forke, I, 366)
mentions a bird as large as a horse with variegated colors, which roosted in P'ei Commandery.
Meng K'ang glosses, "Tang1 [OMITTED] is the name of a jade. Of the ornaments for the
scabbard of a sword, [the one] on the top [of the scabbard] is called a peng [OMITTED] and [the
one] on the bottom is called a pi [OMITTED]. The Book of Odes [# 213; II, vi, ix, 2 (Legge, p.
383)] says, `His scabbard has a gem mouth and a gem tip,' which is this [meaning]."
The word here written tang1 is not the exactly correct form of the word intended in
the text. Meng K'ang seems moreover to have been in part mistaken in his interpretation
of its meaning. The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read for tang the word [OMITTED]
(which I do not find in the K'ang-hsi Dictionary), and the latter quotes Liu Pin as declaring
that tang1 should have the phonetic yi [OMITTED], with which the Sung Ch'i ed. agrees.
But Su Yü (fl. 1913) notes that Shuo-wen 1 A: 4b defines the word here pronounced as
tang1 as "a jade tablet one foot two inches [long], with a spoon, which is used in the
sacrifices in the [imperial] ancestral temples. It comes from [the radical for] jade and
yang [OMITTED] [which latter gives] its pronunciation, [OMITTED] [at present pronounced ch'ang]."
Su Yü points out that the ch'ang is accordingly not an ornament for a scabbard, but the
same as the libation tablet [OMITTED], the description of which in the Chou-li 41: 2b, sub the
Yü-jen (Biot, II, 523), is in precisely the same words as that for tang1 in the Shuo-wen,
and of the ch'ang-kuei [OMITTED] in Kuo-yü 4: 4a. This word thus has the pronunciation
ch'ang and should be written with the phonetic yang, not yi; hence the Sung Ch'i ed.
was mistaken.
Su Yü asserts that tang1 is here probably used for tang2 [OMITTED]. Shuo-wen 1 A: 6a defines
tang2 as "the [most] beautiful [kind of] gold, which has the same color as jade. It comes
from [the radical for] jade and t'ang [OMITTED] [which latter gives] its pronunciation. For the
scabbards of their ceremonial swords, the nobles have tang2 mouths and gem [more probably
liu (fine gold)] tips." Erh-ya 5: 9b says, "Gold is called tang2; the [most] beautiful
[kind] of it is called liu [OMITTED]." In a note to the passage of the Book of Odes quoted above
(in Shih-san Ching Chu-su 14 ii: 2a), the Mao interpretation (ii cent. B.C.; describing
ancient practices) says, "The Son of Heaven has a jade mouth to his scabbard and a
mother-of-pearl tip to his scabbard. Nobles have tang2 mouths to their scabbards and
gem [more probably liu (fine gold)] tips to their scabbards. Grandees have fine silver
mouths to their scabbards and liu (fine gold) tips to their scabbards. Gentlemen have
shell mouths to their scabbards and shell tips to their scabbards." Shuo-wen 1 A: 4b,
sub peng, however says, "The ornament for the tip of a scabbard. The Son of Heaven
uses jade and the nobles use metal (gold)." HHS, Tr. 30: 12b states moreover that both
the Emperor and the vassal kings used gold in their scabbards. Hence tang1 cannot here
be the name for a kind of jade and this word should be read as tang2.
Meng K'ang explains, "They are the present ornamental tips to fasting and
sacrificial shoe clogs. They protrude from the shoe one or two inches." Yen Shih-ku
adds, "Their shape is that of a forked [raised] end." The Sung Ch'i ed. says, "Wei Chao
says, `Chü-li [OMITTED] are ornamented at the end and are in the shape of the hilt of a sword.' "
In Li-chi II, i, iii, 38 (Couvreur, I, 183) and XI, iii, 12 (Couvreur, I, 710) the first word
of this phrase is written [OMITTED]. In a note to Yi-li 3: 6a (Steele, I, 15), Cheng Hsüan says,
"The chü . . . are used as guards in walking. In shape they are like the hilt on a scabbard
of a sword, and they are at the front of the shoes." For figures of these clogs, cf. Nieh
Ch'ung-yi's San-li T'u (presented 962) 8: 11a; also the account in Wen-hsüan 35: 36a, sub
P'an Hsü Yüan-mou's (d. 215) "Chiu-hsi-wen."
Yen Shih-ku explains, "The luan-lu [OMITTED] is a princely (lu) carriage on which are
used little bells (luan) . . . Four horses are called a [OMITTED] (quadriga)." The reference is to
Li-chi XII, 15 (31: 7b; Legge, II, 34; Couvreur, I, 734-35). Luan-lu is also used in HS
22: 23b, 24a; 25 B: 13a.
Book of History V, xxviii, 4 (Legge, p. 619) states that "a red bow and a hundred
red arrows, a black bow and a hundred black arrows" were awarded to Marquis Wen
of Chin.
Yen Shih-ku remarks, "Ch'ing [OMITTED] is the color of spring. The eastern quarter
gives birth to, grows, and nourishes all things."
Meng K'ang explains, "[OMITTED] is [OMITTED]. It means to make an opening at the junction
of two walls in the basement of his mansion (tien), and make a staircase, so as not to
cause [the staircase] to be exposed to the sky." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Meng [K'ang's]
explanation is correct. Honored persons do not wish to be exposed to the sky as they
go upstairs, hence they [put the stairs] inside beneath the eaves." In Wen-hsüan 35:
37a, P'an Hsü writes in his "Chiu-hsi-wen" ("Essay on the Nine Distinctions"), "For
this reason the prince who possesses the distinctions has an inside staircase to mount up
[to the main floor of his house]," and Li Shan quotes Ju Shun's explanation, "The basement
of the mansion (tien) is cut into to make a staircase in order to have comfort on
both sides, above and below [in climbing to the main floor]." Ancient Chinese official
residences seem often to have had below the main floor a basement floor for the servants
and usually to have had the main floor elevated above the level of the ground. Han
funerary pottery shows houses with even five stories; cf. Maspero, "La vie privée a
l'époque Han," in Revue des arts asiatiques, 7: 188.
There are five ancient lists of these nine distinctions: (I) In Han-shih Wai-chuan 8:
9a, sect. 13 (by Han Ying, fl. 174-141 B.C.), "The books say, `When the nobles are
virtuous, the Son of Heaven gives them distinctions. The first distinction is carriages
and horses; the second distinction is garments and robes, the third distinction is the
As Rapid as Tigers; the fourth distinction is music and [musical] instruments; the fifth
distinction is inside staircases; the sixth distinction is vermillion doors; the seventh distinction
is bows and arrows; the eighth distinction is ceremonial- and battle-axes; the
ninth distinction is black millet herb-flavored liquor." (II) The Li-wei Han-wen-chia
(prob. end i cent. B.C.), Yü-han Shang-fang Chi-yi-shu collection, p. 6a, has a similar
list, but in a slightly different order; (III) the passage of the HS translated above; (IV) in
a note to the Kung-yang Commentary 6: 3b, Dk. Chuang, I, x, Ho Hsiu (129-182) quotes
the list in the Han-wen-chia; (V) Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) has the same list (translated
in HFHD, II, 47-48, n. 9.2). Fan Ning (339-401) also quotes the list from the Han-wen-chia
in a note to Ku-liang Commentary 5: 2a, Dk. Chuang, I, x. Wang Mang's list
is different from all the others in that, instead of musical instruments, he received "jade
tablets with the nine emblems." These nine distinctions are not mentioned in the Five
Classics. They are mentioned first, seemingly, in the Han-shih Wai-chuan, and in a
memorial of 128 B.C. to Emperor Wu (HS 6: 9a); Chou-li 18: 10b ff, sub the Ta-tsung-po
(Biot, I, 428-430) gives a list of the "nine conferments (ming)," (trans. here in n. 21.2);
ibid., 21: 1a (Biot II, 1) refers to them (also cf. n. 21.2); but this passage of the Chou-li
may be no earlier than the time of Wang Mang. The Spring and Autumn (v cent. B.C.;
Dk. Chuang, I, x; Legge, p. 72) uses the phrase [OMITTED], in which the first word is
interpreted by the Kung-yang Commentary (iii cent. B.C.) 6: 3a as [OMITTED], but understood as
"distinctions" by Ho Hsiu and others. The Bamboo Annals, K. Yu, yr. I (Legge, Shooking,
Intro., p. 157) uses the term hsi to mean "to grant distinctions." It is thus probable
that the tradition concerning these nine distinctions came down to Wang Mang in a
slightly different form from that in the Han-shih Wai-chuan.
The use of those distinctions was continued after Han times; San-Kuo-chih, Wei, 1:
35b-36b, quotes an edict of Emperor Hsien, dated A.D. 213, granting these nine distinctions
to Ts'ao Ts'ao and enumerating them in detail.
Chang Yen (iii cent.) explains, "At that time she was in her fourteenth year and
first showed signs of womanhood." For the meaning of this name, cf. Glossary sub
Tzu-wu Road.
They had been sent out in March, A.D. 4; cf. A: 17a. Ch'en Ch'ung was one of
these commissioners, so that their return preceded this notice.
Chou Shou-ch'ang explains the phrase ting-chu-ling [OMITTED]: "When the Son of
Heaven of the Han [dynasty] published an ordinance, it was stored in the yamen of the
[Grandee] Secretary. The Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], and the Empress of [Emperor]
Kao employed this practise. When, [in the case of] Emperor Ch'eng, it was ordered
that an Heir-apparent should be permitted to cross the imperial pathway [cf. HFHD
II, 373-74], the ordinance was also published. At this time, [Wang] Mang openly memorialized,
begging that [the matter] should be established and published as an ordinance."
According to 18: 29a-31b, on June 29, P'ing Yen, Liu Hsin1a, K'ung Yung, and
Sun Ch'ien were enfeoffed because they had built the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung; Wang
Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en Ch'ung, Li Hsi6, Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng1
were enfeoffed because as messengers they had unified and spread the imperial teaching
and influence.
According to 18: 29a-31b, on June 29, P'ing Yen, Liu Hsin1a, K'ung Yung, and
Sun Ch'ien were enfeoffed because they had built the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung; Wang
Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en Ch'ung, Li Hsi6, Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng1
were enfeoffed because as messengers they had unified and spread the imperial teaching
and influence.
Phrases from Li-chi VII, iv, 16 (Legge, I, p. 392; Couvreur I, 536), "Hence Heaven
will send down sweet dew and Earth will produce wine springs."
A quotation from the Book of History, II, iv, 9 (Legge, p. 88), cf. Karlgren, BMFEA
20, 142, Gl. 1346.
Quoting the first two words in Book of Odes IV, ii, iii, 1, 2, 3, no. 299 (Legge, 616,
617). The use of a phrase from the Odes in a quotation of a speech by the barbarian
Ch'iang indicates the artificial classicism of Wang Mang's court.
Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) states that [OMITTED] is used for [OMITTED], to agree with the Book
of History I, i, 1 (Legge, p. 15). In a note to HHS, Mem. 7: 9b, 10a, Ch'ien Ta-hsin
(1728-1804) asserts that the original of both the above words was kuang [OMITTED], which in the
Erh-ya, "Shih-yen," 3: 2b, is said to mean "[OMITTED], to fill."
Fu Ch'ien comments, "The domain of restraint [belonging to] T'ang [Yao] and
Yü [Shun], [who were the two "sage-lords"], together with that [belonging to] the Chou
[dynasty] was seven thousand li square; that [belonging to] the Hsia and Yin [dynasties]
was three thousand li square; the territory of the Han [dynasty] is thirteen thousand li
from north to south." With this belief that the Han was the greatest of dynasties, it
was only natural that the Chinese called themselves "men of Han."
This term is the title of ch. vi in the Book of History V (Legge, p. 351); Wang
Mang was imitating the incident therein recorded as performed by the Duke of Chou.
The coffer was opened in 24 A.D., cf. 99 C: 22b.
I owe this illuminating interpretation of a very condensed expression to Prof.
Duyvendak. He points out that [OMITTED] denotes the reports made by the highest ministers
to Wang Mang; cf. 99 A: 18b.
These five kings were the King of Huai-yang, Liu Yin4b [OMITTED] (HS 14: 21b); the King
of Chung-shan, Liu Ch'eng-tu (14: 22a); the King of Ch'u, Liu Yü1a [OMITTED] (14: 22b); the
King of Hsin-tua, Liu Ching3b (14: 22b); and the King of Tung-p'ing, Liu K'ai-ming (14:
21b). (Listed by Hu San-hsing, [1230-1287].) He also enumerates the following as the
marquises referred to: the Marquis of Kuang-chi, Liu Hsien3c (HS 15 B: 37b); the Marquis
of Yang-hsing, Liu Chi-sheng [OMITTED] (15 B: 41a); the Marquis of Ling-yang, Liu Chia1n
(15 B: 41b); the Marquis of Kao-lo, Liu Hsiu2c [OMITTED] (15 B: 41b); the Marquis of P'ing-yi,
Liu Min3d [OMITTED] (15 B: 42a); the Marquis of P'ing-tsuan, Liu K'uang4c [OMITTED] (15 B: 42a); the
Marquis of Ho-ch'ang, Liu Fu3b [OMITTED] (15 B: 42b); the Marquis of Yi1-hsiang, Liu K'ai1b [OMITTED]
(15 B: 42b); the Marquis of Chiu-hsiang, Liu Pu-haid [OMITTED] (15 B: 43a); the Marquis of
Chiao-hsiang, Liu Wu3c (15 B: 43a); the Marquis of Yi2-hsiang, Liu K'uei1f [OMITTED] (15 B:
43b); the Marquis of Ch'ang-ch'eng, Liu Feng2a [OMITTED] (15 B: 43b); the Marquis of Lo-an,
Liu Yü10g [OMITTED] (15 B: 44a); the Marquis of T'ao-hsiang, Liu Kuei1e [OMITTED] (15 B: 52a); the
Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Pao1c [OMITTED] (15 B: 52b); the Marquis of Ch'ang-hsiang, Liu
Tan4d [OMITTED] (15 B: 52b); the Marquis of Hsin-hsiang, Liu Li7 [OMITTED] (15 B: 53a); the Marquis
of Wu-hsiang, Liu Kuang1k [OMITTED] (15 B: 53a); the Marquis of Hsin-ch'eng, Liu Wu3d (15 B:
53b); the Marquis of Yi-ling, Liu Feng2b (15 B: 53b); the Marquis of T'ang-hsiang, Liu
Hu4e [OMITTED] (15 B: 54a); the Marquis of Ch'eng-ling, Liu Yu2c [OMITTED] (15 B: 54a); the Marquis
of Ch'eng-yang, Liu Chung6c [OMITTED] (15 B: 54b); the Marquis of Fu-ch'ang, Liu Hsiu1b [OMITTED]
(15 B: 54b); the Marquis of An-lu, Liu P'ing2e [OMITTED] (15 B: 55a); the Marquis of Wu-an,
Liu Yü9 [OMITTED] (15 B: 55a); the Marquis of Chao-hsiang, Liu Ch'ung1c [OMITTED] (15 B: 55b); the
Marquis of Fu-hsiang, Liu P'u3c [OMITTED] (15 B: 55b); the Marquis of Fang-ch'eng, Liu Hsüan1f
[OMITTED] (15 B: 56a); the Marquis of Tang-yang, Liu Yi8 [OMITTED] (15 B: 56a); the Marquis of
Kuang-ch'eng, Liu Chieh2 [OMITTED] (15 B: 56b); the Marquis of Ch'un-ch'eng, Liu Yün3 [OMITTED]
(15 B: 56b); the Marquis of Lü-hsiang, Liu Shang4c [OMITTED] (15 B: 57b); the Marquis of Li-hsiang,
Liu Yin2e (15 B: 58a); the Marquis of Yüan-hsiang, Liu Lung1b [OMITTED] (15 B: 58a);
the Marquis of Shou-ch'üan, Liu Ch'eng5b [OMITTED] (15 B: 58b); the Marquis of Hsiang-shan,
Liu Tsun2 [OMITTED] (15 B: 58b); the Marquis of Yen-hsiang, Liu Hsin4g (15 B: 50a); the
Marquis of Wu-p'ing, Liu Huang5b [OMITTED] (15 B: 50b); the Marquis of Ling-hsiang, Liu
Ts'engb (15 B: 50b); the Marquis of Wu-an, Liu Shou5c [OMITTED] (15 B: 51a); the Marquis of
Fu-yang, Liu Meng [OMITTED] (15 B: 45a); the Marquis of Hsi-yang, Liu Yen3j [OMITTED] (15 B: 47a);
the Marquis of T'ao-hsiang, Liu Li5b (15 B: 44a); the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Hsüan-ch'eng
[OMITTED] (15 B: 39b); the Marquis of Chin-hsiang, Liu Pu-haic [OMITTED] (15 B: 40a); the
Marquis of P'ing-t'ung, Liu Tan4c [OMITTED] (15 B: 40a); the Marquis of Hsi-an, Liu Han4d [OMITTED]
(15 B: 40b); the Marquis of Hu-hsiang, Liu K'ai1a [OMITTED] (15 B: 40b); and the Marquis of
Chung-hsiang, Liu Shao-po [OMITTED] (15 B: 41a). Hu San-hsing enumerates fifty marquises
and states that the Marquis of Kuang-chi, Liu Hsien3c, was the father of the Young
Prince (so should not be counted) and the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Hsüan-ch'eng, had
previously been dismissed, leaving only forty-eight. But I find no evidence and no date
for the dismissal of Liu Hsüan-ch'eng (15 B: 39b). Forty-one of the foregoing fifty,
marquisates had been established at the request of Wang Mang in A.D. 1, 2, and 5
This translation deviates from that of Legge, who follows the pseudo-Kung An-kuo
comment. It is justified by the context in the HS, cf. Shang-shu Chu-su 16: 11a; Chiang
Sheng, Shang-shu Chi-chu Yin-su ("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh," 397: 11b); Sun Hsing-yen,
Shang-shu Chin-ku-wen Chu-su 22:2b ("P'ing-chin-kuan Ts'ung-shu ed.). But Yen
Shih-ku and Liu Fung-lu, Shang-shu Chin-ku-wen Chi-chieh ("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh
Hsü-p'ien" 344: 1b) punctuate differently. The point is that just as the sage Duke of
Chou knew he needed to be Regent, so Wang Mang must now be Regent.
Book of History V, xvi, 3, 4 (Legge, p. 476; Couvreur, pp. 298, 299). This quotation
differs from the present (ancient) text of the Book of History: for [OMITTED], this quotation
reads [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED] it reads [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED] it reads [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; the [OMITTED] before
the [OMITTED] is omitted; for [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED] it reads [OMITTED]. The HS quotes, as
usual, the "modern text" of that book (Tuan Yü-ts'ai, Ku-wen Shang-shu Chuan-yi
("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh" 590: 1b).
The eastern steps were reserved for the host or the master of the household and
for the Son of Heaven at the altar to Heaven.
The chapter "Auspicious Grain" is one of the lost chapters of the Book of History.
It seems to have been one of the "lost chapters" made canonical by Wang Mang.
Book of History, V, xiii, 1 (Legge, p. 434; Couvreur, 269). I have adopted the
K'ung An-kuo interpretation of this sentence, discussed and rejected by Legge, but plainly
employed in this memorial. Fu-p'i has come to mean "restore the monarchy." (Duyvendak.)
We would expect the word [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED], reading, "stand between the door and
window," to correspond with 99 A: 26a. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) 36: 13a has this
word.
He probably followed the ritual in the Li-chi XXI, ii, 21 (Legge, II, 231; Couvreur,
II, 311). Cf. Glossary sub Fivefold Experienced. The last sentence probably means
that his attendance was not perfunctory and that he stayed through the whole ceremony.
Hu San-hsing states that these four Junior Coadjutors were the Junior Master,
the Junior Tutor, the Junior Support, and the Junior Guardian.
The Official ed. has restored the stroke taken from the word [OMITTED], both here and
on p. 30a, which was omitted because of the taboo on the personal name of the Grand
Founder (T'ai-tsu) of the Sung dynasty, Chao K'uang-yin, who reigned 960-975.
Ku [OMITTED] was used by reigning nobles to designate themselves when addressing their
subjects. The term means literally, "orphan," and implies therefore, in a patriarchal
society, a rightful ruler, indicating that he is no usurper but regins by right of succession
to his father (Duyvendak). For these enfeoffments from and favors to cadet members
of the imperial house, cf. HS 12: 2b, 3a, 4b, 5a, 8b, 9a; 99 A: 7a, 19b.
Culture and virtue, wen-tê [OMITTED]" is a phrase from Book of History II, ii, 21
(Legge, p. 66). Stange, op. cit., 89, n. 2 remarks that wen-te originally referred to a
magical dance. That is probably correct, but the gloss on this passage attributed to
K'ung An-kuo (Shih-san-ching Chu-su 4: 8b) shows that in Han times these words denoted,
not magical practises, but civilization and culture.
Chen-tzu [OMITTED] is today a compound noun meaning "ministers of state." The
difference between Han and recent usage is illustrated by this phrase, which is found
twice in the Li-chi (Li-chi Chu-su 50: 2a, b = Legge, Li Ki, II, 258, 259), where it plainly
means "courtiers [or subjects] and sons."
"Hundred years [OMITTED]" is a phrase from Book of Odes, I, xi, 4 (Legge, 187). "Smiling
babes carried in arms" is from Mencius VII, B, xv, 2 (Legge, 456). Both in the
Mencius and here [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED], "an infantile smile."
Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. have
correctly emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) explains, "They dug up his palace to make a pool and used it
for storing water." This practise is mentioned in Mencius III, B, ix, 5 (Legge, 280) and
in Li-chi II, ii, iii, 18 (Legge, I, 195). In the latter it is the punishment for parricide.
The translation "palace-building" for kung-shih [OMITTED] is suggested by Duyvendak. The
Erh-ya equates kung and shih. But after Ch'in times they were distinguished (Erh-ya
Chu-su 5: 1a).
Wei Chao remarks, "Chan [OMITTED] is ch'ai [OMITTED] [firewood or a wooden fence]." Kung-yang
Commentary 27: 5b, Dk. Ai, IV, vi, says, "The mound to the gods of the soils of a
destroyed state is covered up; it is covered from above and ch'ai below," and Cheng Hsüan,
in a note to Chou-li 26: 3a, sub the Sang-chu, quotes the latter part of that sentence, using
chan instead of ch'ai, so that these two words had the same meaning. Yen Shih-ku
explains, "Chan means to use a mat [OMITTED] to cover it. Below, it is chan, and above, it is,
covered, in order that to block off and prevent the passage of the yin and yang emanations."
Ma Hsü-lun (xx cent.), in his Tu Liang-HS Chi, p. 18a, who quotes the preceding passages,
states that the text means that the mound was covered by a bamboo framework, citing
Shuo-wen 6 A: 6b, which explains chan by p'eng [OMITTED], a scaffold, and adds that it also
denotes a bamboo wattled military chariot. King Wu is said to have levelled the mound
of the Yin dynasty's gods of the soils at Po5 and to have distributed its soil to the nobles
to serve as a warning against rebellion; four walls and a roof, with possibly a window only
on the north, were built around the place to keep out the yang influence (which comes
from Heaven with the sun); then the place was covered with a mat of branches, etc., to
keep out the yin influence.
Prof. Duyvendak suggests reading [OMITTED] as [OMITTED], interpreting the clause to mean that
the yin (spirits of the earth) and the yang (spirits of heaven) could not intercommunicate.
Wang Nien-sun states that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED], to chop, to make it parallel
with the other clauses.
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that for [OMITTED] there was anciently written [OMITTED],
but the Ching-yu ed. reads the former. The Tzu-lin K'ao-yi (by Jen Ta-ch'un, 17381789),
basing itself on the Tzu-lin (by Lü Shen, iv cent.; book lost), declares that the
first word of the latter phrase means "[OMITTED], to cut."
The official ed. reads yi [OMITTED] for ho [OMITTED], and quotes the Sung Ch'i ed. as saying that
yi should be ho. The Ching-yu ed. however reads ho. Wang Nien-sun adds that anciently
yi was read like [OMITTED], with the upper tone, quoting in proof a line from the Lao-tzu
ch. 58 in which yi is rhymed with [OMITTED], so that its pronunciation must have been quite
similar to that of ho.
The text reads shih [OMITTED], but Ch'ien Ta-chao asserts that the word should be shuai1
[OMITTED], which is interchanged with shuai2 [OMITTED]. On 99 B: 14a he is called the Shuai2-li Marquis;
Wang Nien-sun adds that the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan, ch. 201, quoting this passage,
reads shuai1 (the Sung ed. reprinted in the "Szu-pu Ts'ung-K'an" and my reprint of a
1807 edition, 201: 4b, both read shih).
We are told chiefly incidentally about such subsequent rebellions. HS 15 B: 50b
mentions Lin Huang5b, Marquis of Wu-p'ing, who rebelled in A.D. 7. In 99 B: 13b, Sun
Chien also mentions Liu K'uai, Liu Ts'engb, and Liu Kueib; cf. Glossary, sub vocibus.
Cf. Appendix IV. Before this eclipse there appeared the varicolored horse of the
constellation San-t'ai, the second portent urging Wang Mang to take the throne; cf.
99 B: 9b.
Hu San-hsing explains, "The rooms lu [OMITTED] were his habitations shê [OMITTED] for stopping
and spending the night in the [Palace] Hall [OMITTED]; his yamen fu [OMITTED] was his place for doing
business; his residence ti [OMITTED] was where he lived."
Cf. HS 24 B: 21a, b (trans. in Appendix I to this chapter) and annotations. From
the nature of this coinage, Wang Mang does not seem to have yet been aiming at the
imperial throne, for he had to abolish the gilded knife-money when he took the throne.
That change may however have been an afterthought. Cf. 24 B: 21b.
The parallel passage in 84: 11a (cf. Glossary sub Chai Yi) makes it plain that the
tu-shih [OMITTED] (the annual review and inspection) occurred on a special day; in 76: 9a,
when Han Yen-shou was Grand Administrator of the Tung Commandery, it is said that he
"tu-shih and chiang-wu [OMITTED], set up axes and banners and practised archery and driving."
Ju Shun, in a note to the former passage, explains, "The Grand Administrator, Chief
Commandant, Prefects, Chiefs, Assistant [Prefects and Chiefs], and Commandants assembled
to tu-shih, and were examined for their ranking [in efficiency]," but Ch'i Shao-nan
(1703-1768) declares that this explanation is incorrect, for the tu-shih day was the day
for chiang-wu (which latter term is found in Li-chi IV, vi, 20 [Couvreur, I, 396; Legge, I,
300] where it seems to mean, "give instructions on military operations"). He asserts
that according to the Han dynasty's Code, in the autumn a tu-shih was regularly performed.
The phrase tu-shih also occurs in HHS, Mem. 5: 2a3, where Li Hsien explains,
"According to the Han law, on the day of the autumnal equinox, they tu-shih the cavalrymen
and soldiers, which means that they were examined concerning their relative ranking
[in military efficiency]."
I have adopted Yen Shih-Ku's interpretation, that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED]. The
latter character is found in the Ching-yu ed.'s note.
This phrase is the title of ch. vii in Book of History V, (Legge, 362-375), which
was supposed to have been written by the Duke of Chou in the name of King Ch'eng
on the occasion of the revolt by the King's two Uncles of Kuan, of Ts'ai, and others.
An allusion to Book of History V, vii, 3 (Legge, p. 365). The "great mandate"
is that of a dynasty (Book of History V, xiv, 5; Legge, 456); Ch'en Ch'ung hints that
Wang Mang ought to be the actual Emperor.
A reference to Tso-chuan, Dk. Ai, VII; Legge, p. 814.
Duyvendak remarks that the next sentence in the text, which I have placed in parentheses,
is probably an interpolation from some commentary. It is now found in Tu Yü's
(222-284) comment to the Tso-chuan passage. This sentence may however have been
Wang Mang's citation of the classical authority for his establishment of the noble rank
of Vassal at this time, in addition to his other five noble ranks, the classical authority
for which is cited a little further on.
Hsiao-ching ch. viii; 4: 1a (Legge, 474). The Official ed. of the HS lacks the word
[OMITTED], but the Ching-yu ed. reads it. The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shao ed. (xi or
xii cent.) has this word.
Wang Nien-sun asserts that pei [OMITTED] should be read as fu1 [OMITTED] (the usual word in
this phrase) and that the word was probably originally fu2 [OMITTED]; anciently pei, fu1, and fu2
were all read like the second word in the phrase [OMITTED], hence were interchanged. Li
Tz'u-ming suggests that pei should be [OMITTED], which is the same as fu2, quoting the use of
this word in HHS, Mem. 61: 6b.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) did not have the word [OMITTED].
The Ching-yu ed. also lacks it, I have omitted it.
Su Lin explains, "The five grades of noble ranks were dukes, marquises, earls,
viscounts, and barons. The four grades of lands were: the first grade, those of dukes;
the second grade, those of marquises and earls; the third grade, those of viscounts and
barons; the fourth grade, those of sub-vassals.
Yen Shih-ku glosses, "The first grade were dukes, the second grade were marquises,
and the third grades were earls, viscounts, and barons." Su Yü remarks that the Po-hu-t'ung
(i or iii cent.) 1: 1b quotes the Li-wei Han-wen-chia (end i cent.) as saying that
in Yin times there were three grades of noble ranks and in Chou times there were five
grades; the Kung-yang Commentary 5: 6a states that in the Spring and Autumn period,
earls, viscounts, and barons were classed together as one grade, making, with dukes and
marquises, three grades (the Ho Hsin [129-182] gloss states that the Spring and Autumn
period reverted to the Yin practise); the Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu (by Tung Chung-shu, ca.
175-ca. 105 B.C.), 7: 7b, chap. 23, "San-tai Kai-chih," states that there were five grades
of noble ranks in the Chou period and three grades in the Spring and Autumn period.
Su Yü concludes, "Probably the explanations of the `modern text' school were such as
[those referred to in the edict and Wang Mang] says, `There is not this written statement'
[because] these words do not appear in the Classics."
For this peculiar philosophical concept, cf. Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang, p. 11;
Bodde, China's First Unifier, p. 43. Here it means, "the highest ideals."
A quotation from Book of Odes, #305; IV, iii, v, 5 (Legge, p. 646). This adjective
is applied to Wang Mang in HS 99 A: 12a.
"Ruling" and "governing" allude to his title of Ruling Governor. Yen Shih-Ku
states that the phrase translated "govern justly" means literally, "like the beam of a
balance."
Pi-fu [OMITTED] is also used in HS 30: 1b, "[Emperor] Hsiao-wu . . . thereupon had
prepared blank fascicles for library writing tablets and set up an office for copying writings.
He sent to it [for copying] even the accounts and sayings of the various philosophers.
All [those books] were stored in his private courts (pi-fu)," i.e., the imperial private library
(pi-[OMITTED]). But to interpret the text here as declaring that Wang Mang "opened [to the
public] the imperial private library" does not fit the context. We must take pi-fu in its
generic sense, "private courts" or "private yamen."
K'ang Yu-wei, in his Hsin-hsüeh Wei-ching K'ao, ch. 6, p. 24, takes this passage
to imply that Liu Hsin fabricated the Chou-li and deceived Wang Mang by means of it.
The Chou-li however contains passages that date as far back as the iv cent. B.C.; cf. Karlgren,
"The Early History of the Chou Li and Tso Chuan Texts," Bull. Mus. Far East.
Antiq., no. 3 (1931), pp. 1-59.
"Followed" is an allusion to Analects II, xxiii, 2 and "surveyed" is another allusion
to ibid., III, xiv (from Li Ch'i).
Chou-li 21: 7a sub the Szu-fu, (Biot, II, 9 f). The Chou-li makes no distinction
between mourning for those relatives of the same and of different surnames. Cheng
Chung (ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83), in a note to that passage, says, "Szu [OMITTED] has its woof of
fifteen times eighty threads of hemp, half of which are dropped. The threads may be
treated [i.e., cleaned]; but the cloth may not be treated." If Liu Hsin fabricated the
Chou-li, it is curious that he should have quoted it so inexactly.
The Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. read [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED]. But the
Ching-yu ed. and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 36: 18a read the latter, so I make no emendation.
In this chapter, after Wang Mang is declared to have plotted to become actual
Emperor (99 A: 32a), Pan Ku avoids stating that Wang Mang issued any "imperial
edicts, chao [OMITTED]", or "imperial decrees, chih [OMITTED]." (These two terms are equated in 99 A:
30b, altho they were not precisely synonymous; cf. Mh II, 126, n. 2.) The full terms
for these imperial orders were "written imperial edict, chao-shu [OMITTED]" and "written imperial
decree, chih-shu" (cf. Yen Shih-ku's statement, quoted in HFHD I, 192, n. 1). Pan Ku
merely states that Wang Mang issued "written messages, shu" or, occasionally, "documents,
ts'e [OMITTED]" (99 B: 23a8). In this usage and in refusing to call Wang Mang by the
title of emperor [OMITTED], Pan Ku indicates his loyalty to the Han dynasty. If he had
written regularly that Wang Mang issued chao or chih, he would have implied that Wang
Mang was a legitimate emperor. (Chao in 99 B: 20b5, 99 C: 4a2, 10b6, 11b7, 21a4, and
chao-shu in 99 B: 25b1 are slips or later emendations, since they are contrary to Pan Ku's
regular practise; chih-chao in 99 B: 25b1, chao-shu in 99 C: 13a11, and chao-ling [OMITTED] in
99 C: 19b2 are probably quoted from Wang Mang's edicts. In other chapters, Pan Ku
is not so careful: Wang Mang is said to issue imperial edicts (chao) in 24 A: 21b4, 22a3;
B: 23a10, b5, and 25b11.)
Pan Ku does not however refrain from quoting statements by others that Wang Mang
issued imperial edicts (chao, 99 B: 23a1; C: 5b6, 16a2) or that he was the Son of Heaven
(99 A: 36a8) and Emperor (99 B: 10b2). He allowed to Wang Mang the terms proclamation
([OMITTED], 99 A: 35a4) and ordinance (ling, 99 A: 35a4; B: 6a6). These terms, while used
by emperors, could also be used by high nobles. He also allows Wang Mang to issue
mandates [OMITTED] (99 B: 1a12), charters (ts'e, 99 B: 1a12, 2b8), royally sealed messages hsi-
[OMITTED] shu (99 C: 16a9; hsi may denote either an imperial or a royal seal), and commands
([OMITTED], 99 B: 2b5, 23b11; this last term was not yet commonly used nor was its use as yet
an imperial prerogative).
The avoidance of chao and chih was a courtesy to the reigning Han dynasty and does
not imply any perversion of the facts. The term shu for an imperial order is moreover
unusual, so that any reader who knew the correct terms for imperial orders would immediately
understand the reference to chao-shu or chih-shu. Thus Pan Ku actually preserved
the original meaning, while extending to the Emperor, his patron, the proper
courtesy. I have accordingly translated shu as "message."
An allusion to Book of History, II, i, v, 13 (Legge, p. 40f), where it is said that the
people mourned for Yao to the third year, stopping and hushing the eight kinds of musical
instruments. This written (edict) refers to the third year after the death of Emperor
P'ing, including A.D. 6 as the first year.
Where this phrase occurs in HS 51: 33b, Chang Yen explains, "Three sevens is
210 years. From the beginning of the Han [dynasty] . . . to the death of Emperor P'ing
was to the 210th year." Emperor Kao's first year was 206 B.C.; to the death of Emperor
P'ing in the last month of the year beginning in A.D. 5 was actually 211 years. But
Emperor Kao did not reign in his first year, so that the period was close enough. The
text of that passage says that Lu Wen-shu's (fl. 73 B.C.) great uncle had by astrology
calculated that after three seventies of years the Han dynasty would come into dangers.
He memorialized the matter; in the time of Emperor Ch'eng, Ku Yung also made this
prophecy (85: 15b); when Wang Mang wanted to displace the Han dynasty, he published
these prophesies. Cf. Meng K'ang's note to 85: 15b.
Cf. n. 36.1. But the winter solstice occurred on Dec. 22 about 8 p.m.—illustrating
the inaccuracy in ancient Chinese determinations of the solstice by the gnomen.
Book of History, V, ix, 2 (Legge, p. 383; Couvreur, p. 233). The Duke of Chou
is using phraseology reserved for the ruler. The foregoing was the interpretation of this
disputed passage in Han times. But cf. Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 278, Gl. 1622.
In the Spring and Autumn, the first year of Duke Yin's reign lacks the statement
of his accession which is found for all the other Dukes. Wang Mang accepts the explanation
of the Tso-chuan, "It does not state that he took the throne, because he was a
regent [for the infant Duke Hui]." This sentence is not translated by Legge, cf. p. 4-3
of his Ch'un Ts'ew.
Szu-ma Kuang (1019-1086) in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 2: 2b states that
Hsün Yüeh's (149-209) Han-chi 30: 9a, together with Wei Kuang-mei's (fl. 881-4; book
lost) Chia-hao Lu and Sung Hsiang's (996-1066; book lost) Chi-nien T'ung-p'u, all invert
the name of this year-period to read Shih-ch'u. But the "Szu-pu Ts'ung-k'an" photographic
reprint of a 1548 ed. of the Han-chi, 30: 9b and a 1696 ed. of the same book,
30: 9a, do not invert these words. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 36: 17a moreover reads Ch'u-shih;
only 36: 19a reads Shih-ch'u.
Ch'u-shih might be translated "The original beginning [of Wang Mang's reign as
Acting Emperor]."
Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that in 1 A.D. the title of the Attendants at the Gate
had been changed to the As Rapid as Tigers, and says that this title is a contradiction.
Cf. Glossary sub vocibus.
Hu San-hsing explains, "Mao Huang (fl. dur. 1131-1163) says, `A chien [OMITTED] is the
cover of a letter, which has the cavity for the seal, and the inscription." The chien was
the ancient wooden envelop top; cf. HFHD II, 86, n. 25.1.
The legends of these seals imitate the legends on the imperial seals. Cf. HFHD, I, 56, n. 3.
The Sung Ch'i ed. reported that the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) and the Shao ed. (xi or
xii cent.) lacked the second [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. also lacks it.
Hu San-hsing glosses, "For the Temple of [Emperor] Kao there was a Prefect
and a Supervisor," but Wang Hsien-ch'ien answers that according to HS 19 A: 7a,
the Master of Ceremonies, the temple had a Prefect, but no Supervisor. According to
that passage, such temples had assistants as well as Prefects or Chiefs; possibly, because
of Emperor Kao's eminence, a Supervisor had been appointed for his temple.
According to 99 B: 10b, Wang Mang received the mandate on the previous day,
Jan. 9; but that is possibly a change to suit the theory of the five elements.
Wang Mang followed the classical Chou practise, which entitled the monarch,
"the King." He also used the title, "emperor." He used the ordinary first personal pronoun
and not the special imperial personal pronoun established by the First Emperor of
the unclassical Ch'in dynasty.
The twelve branches were used to indicate the months, in accordance with the
position taken by the handle of the Dipper at dusk, and the days of the month were given
astrological significence in accordance with the branch for the month. SC 27: 8 (Mh III,
341), in discussing the constellation Po-tou (the Northern Bushel or the Dipper), says,
"[The star] used to determine (chien [OMITTED]) [the month] at dusk is Piao [OMITTED] [η U Ma here;
elsewhere Piao denotes ε, ζ, and η U Ma]." The astronomical designation for the
months, which consists of the word chien with one of the twelve "branches," comes
accordingly from the direction taken by a line drawn through this star and the tail star in
the handle of the Dipper in the various months. At the winter solstice, the handle of the
Dipper points to the northern horizon at dusk; due north is called tzu; hence the month
containing the winter solstice is called the chien-tzu month, i.e., the first astronomical
month. The other "branches" are distributed about the horizon; cf. de Saussure, Les
origines de l'astronomie chinoise, p. 237," who indicates that in Han times this method of
determining the months was more theoretical than practical. The eleventh month of
this year was accordingly the month chien-tzu, i.e., "the [month when] the determining
stars point north."
The particular branch used to denote a day in naming the day by the sixty cyclical
characters (each of which names contains one "branch" and one "stem") is given an
astrological significance which depends upon which branch denotes the month. Huai-nan-tzu,
3: 12a, "T'ien-wen Hsün," says, "If yin is chien [which clause means both of
two things in accordance with two meanings of the word chien: "If the day having the
branch yin occurs in the month having the branch yin," and "The day yin is (in that
case) the day for establishing"], [the branch] mao is to remove; ch'en is to fill full; is
to be tranquil, it is in charge of life; wu is to determine; wei is to grasp, it is in charge of
danger; shen is to break, it is in charge of yokes; yu is to be solicitous, it is in charge of
attracting to oneself; hsü is to be completed, it is in charge of small virtues; hai is to
receive, it is in charge of great virtue; tzu is to open, it is in charge of the planet Jupiter;
ch'ou is to close, it is in charge of the retrograde correlate of the planet Jupiter." [OMITTED],
[OMITTED],
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED] (The terms used to give the meanings of the various days all have
many meanings, so that the above translation is only approximate; diviners doubtless
rung the changes on those words.) The Huai-nan-tzu is interpreting the meanings of
those days for a chien-yin month only; in a chien-mao month, the meanings would be shifted
along; the day mao would be the day for establishing, ch'en the day for removing, etc.
Chou Shou-ch'ang states that today in general, "removing, being solicitous, determining,
and grasping are lucky; establishing, filling full, being tranquil, and receiving are
the next [lucky days]; to be completed and to open are also lucky; to be closed and to
be broken are therefore unlucky. [This is sufficient] to show that this method was already
[used] in Han [times]."
Since in this case the eleventh month was the month chien-tzu, the interpretations of
the branches would accordingly be shifted to mean, tzu is to be established, ch'ou is to
remove, . . . ch'en is to determine; etc., and thus the interpretation in this passage and
on p. 34b above was generated. Wang Mang seems to have made much of this astrological
interpretation for the cyclical days.
A calendar for 63 B.C., found by Stein in the limes at Tun-huang (Chavannes, Docu
ments chinois, p. 10-14) marks these "determining" days by the word [OMITTED] after the day
containing the "day for establishing" in each month. Chavannes notes that within a
month these "days for establishing" (he misunderstands and translates, "points fixes")
are twelve days apart, but in two successive months the "days for establishing" are
separated by thirteen days. (Since in successive months the sun advances to the next
one of the twelve cardinal points, indicated by the twelve branches, the days containing
the next branch will be "days for establishing," so that thirteen, not twelve days separate
"days for establishing" in successive months.) It is interesting to find this astrological
device so popular that it was put into the calendar half a century before the time of
Wang Mang.
This precise method of determining lucky and unlucky days seems to have been lost.
but the terms, "establishing," "fill full," "be tranquil," etc. are still used; cf. Duyvendak
in T'oung Pao, v. 32 (1936), p. 297 & n. 3; H. Doré, Recherches sur les Superstitions en
Chine, Ière partie, tome II ("Var. Sin." no. 34), p. 269; PP. Havret & Chambeau, "Notes
Concernant la chronologie chinoise," pp. 29, 30, in Mélanges sur la chronologie chinoise,
("Var. Sin.," no. 52).
This dynastic title was taken from Wang Mang's previous marquisate of Hsin-tu,
just as Emperor Kao's dynastic title came from his previous kingdom of Han.
Sui-shu 16: 27a, "The Treatise on the Musical Tubes and the Calendar, Part A," at
the end quotes an inscription of the same date as this edict, "In the Later Wei [dynasty],
during [the period] Ching-ming [500-503], a man of Ping Province, Wang Hsien-ta, presented
one ancient bronze balance, on the top of which there were engraved 81 words.
The engraving reads, `A legal balance in which the picul has the weight of four chün.'
It said also [the remainder of this inscription is also to be found on Wang Mang's Standard
Measure, cf. Chin-shih-so, chin, 2: 51b, 52a. It is explained in Ma Heng, The Fifteen
Different Classes of Measures as given in the Lü Li Chih of the Sui Dynasty History, trans.
by John C. Ferguson, p. 5, 6],
" `The Yellow Lord was my original ancestor. In a cycle, his virtue came to Yü [Shun].
Lord Yü [Shun] was my first ancestor. In a cycle, his virtue came to the Hsin [dynasty].
When the planet Jupiter was in Ta-liang [Taurus] and the [Azure] Dragon [the hypothetical
symmetrically placed and retrograding correlate of Jupiter] [was in mou-ch'en (these
words are omitted in the Sui History by a dittographic lapse, but are found in the Chin-shih-so
and are needed for the rhythm)], on [the day] mou-ch'en, which was a day for
founding, [Jan. 10, A.D. 9], by the mandate of Heaven, a [certain] commoner [the Sui
History reads "man" because of the taboo in T'ang times on the word ming, "commoner"],
who depended upon the virtue of [the element] earth, received his dynastic title, ascended
[the throne as] the actual [Emperor], and changed the first [month of the year to be the
astronomical] second month. May he have long life, be eminent, and prosperous! "He
made uniform the musical tubes, the measures of length, the measures of capacity, and
the weights" [a quotation from the Book of History II, I, iii, 8 (Legge, p. 35)], investigating
so that they are in accordance with [those of] the ancients. When the [Azure]
Dragon was in Chi-szu and the planet Jupiter was in Shih-shen [the constellation Pi, i.e.,
in the next Chinese year, A.D. 9], [this regulation] was first proclaimed to the empire,
so that all countries should forever obey it from generation to generation and it should
be enjoyed and transmitted for a hundred thousand years.'
"This [balance] was also made under Wang Mang. At that time the Chief of the
Great Music, Kung-sun Ch'ung [OMITTED] [not mentioned in the HS or HHS], first prepared
and evaluated the foot [measure] according to the Han institutions. Moreover we
see that this weight is an evaluation of the Hsin [dynasty], which evaluated it, [so that
one picul] should weigh 120 catties. The evaluation and the weights of the Hsin [dynasty]
were according to [Wang Mang's] portents and documents, so that they were entrusted
to [Kung-sun] Ch'ung."
Liu Pin notes that Wang Mang named this new period Shih-chien-kuo and suggests
that the word shih [OMITTED] has dropped out of the text.
The year was now to begin with the second (chien-ch'ou) astronomical month, not, as
previously, with the third (chien-yin) astronomical month. This change was made in
order to follow Tung Chung-shu's doctrine of triple dynastic beginnings, in accordance
with which the Han dynasty ruled by virtue of the black dynastic beginning, so that the
next dynasty would rule by virtue of the white dynastic beginning [OMITTED]. Cf. Ku Chieh-kang,
Ku-shih-pien V, 443, 599. In A.D. 23, the rebels against Wang Mang changed
back to the Han practise of beginning the year with the third astronomical month. Ho
Ch'uo remarks that in A.D. 237, Emperor Ming of the Wei dynasty, Ts'ao Jui, again
changed and used the second astronomical month as the first month of the year, but his
son Fang changed the first month back to the third astronomical month when he ascended
the throne in 240.
Hu San-hsing remarks that the second double-hour, ch'ou (1-3 a.m.), was now taken
as the beginning of the day, just as the chien-ch'ou month was taken as the first month.
The justification of this change was the same as that for the change in the first month of
the year; cf. n. 36.3.
Hu San-hsing explains, "[Wang Mang] considered that [the element] earth succeeded
to that of fire, [which latter was the element taken by the Han dynasty], hence he took,
[as the imperial color], the [color] yellow. All things knot (niu [OMITTED]) their sprouts in the
ch'ou [OMITTED] ([astronomical] second month, [which was the former calendrical twelfth month]).
Its color is white. [Wang Mang] hence responded to the first [month of his calendar year]
by employing white." Shuo-wen 14 B: 7a, sub ch'ou (which is the word used to denote the
second astronomical month) says, "To knot (niu [a play on words, found in Huai-nan-tzu
ch. 3; Mh III, 306; etc.]). In the twelfth [calendrical] month, all things move and [begin
to] act. It symbolizes the shape of a fist." The color yellow is that of the element earth,
which, according to the Liu Hsiang's theory of the succession of the elements, followed
the element fire, the element by virtue of which the Han dynasty ruled; cf. 99 C: n. 24.1;
Ku Chieh-Kang, Ku-shih-pien, V, 599. The color of the sacrificial victims, white, was
taken from Tung Chung-shu's triple theory; cf. n. 36.3. Wang Mang was using eclectically
the theories of both these great Han teachers.
B. THE HISTORY OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]
B. [Chapter] XCIX
THE SIXTY-NINTH [MEMOIR]
B. The Memoir of Wang Mang
B. PART B
In [the year-period] Shih-chien-kuo, the first year,
the first month, on the first day of the month, [Wang]
Mang led the highest ministers, marquises, high
ministers, and gentlemen to offer the imperial seal
and [ceremonial] apron [1120] of an Empress Dowager
and present it to the Grand Empress Dowager [nee
Wang,[1121] in order to] obey the mandate [given
through] the portents and do away with her title
from the Han [dynasty].
Previously, [Wang] Mang had married a daughter
of the Marquis of Yi-ch'una, [Wang Hsien2a], who
was surnamed Wang.[1123]
She was made the Empress.
HUOb, An1a, and Lin1a. Two sons had previously been
executed. [Wang] An1a's mind was almost completely
gone, so [Wang Mang] made [Wang] Lin1a the Imperial
Heir-apparent, and made [Wang] An1a the Admirable
Prince of the Hsin [House. Wang Mang] enfeoffed
the six sons of [Wang] Yü: [Wang] Ch'ien2 as Duke
of Prospering Merits, [Wang] Shou as Duke of Brilliant
Merits, [Wang] Chi5b as Duke of Perfected
Merits, [Wang] Tsung as Duke of Eminent Merits,
[Wang] Shih as Duke of Shining Merits, and [Wang]
Li4 as Duke of Marked Merits. A general amnesty
[was granted] to the empire.
[Wang] Mang thereupon gave a charter-mandate
to the Young Prince [Liu Ying1a], which said, " `O
the Grand Founder of your [dynasty, Emperor Kao,
so that his descendants] succeeded [each other] for
twelve reigns and enjoyed the state for two hundred
ten years. `The [Heaven]-determined order of succession
rests upon my person.'[1130] Does not the Book
of Odes say, `They became subject to the Chou
[dynasty, for] the mandate of Heaven is not constant'?[1132]
I enfeoff you as the Duke of Established
Tranquillity, foreover to be a guest of the Hsin House.
Alas! Reverence the beneficence of Heaven. Go
and take your position and do not neglect my
commands."
It also said, "Let a region a hundred li square, with
altogether ten thousand households in [the prefectures
of] P'ing-yüan, An-tê, T'a-yin, Ko, and
Chung-ch'iu become the state of the Duke of Established
Tranquillity, and let there be set up a temple
to his ancestors, [the Emperors] of the Han [dynasty],
scendants of the Chou [dynasty].[1136] Let him carry
on the first day of the [Han] first month and the
colors of the robes of that [dynasty],[1137] from generation
to generation serving his ancestors, so that they
may eternally, because of their famous[1138] virtue and
abundant achievements, enjoy sacrifices for successive
generations. Let the Empress [nee Wang] of
[Emperor] Hsiao-p'ing become the Duchess Dowager
of Established Tranquillity."
When the reading of the charter was ended, [Wang]
Mang himself grasped the hand of the Young Prince,
dropped tears, and sighed, saying, "Anciently, when
the Duke of Chou had the position of regent, he was
finally able to `return [the government] to his intelligent
pressed by the majestic mandate of August Heaven,
am I unable to follow my intention [to return the
government to you]." He sorrowed and sighed for a
long time. A Palace Tutor took the Young Prince
down below the Hall, faced him north, and pronounced
him a subject [of the new dynasty]. None
of the many lower officials who acted as assistants to
those who had positions [in the court at this ceremony]
failed to be moved and influenced.
The coadjuting ministers were moreover all enfeoffed
and installed according to [the list in] the
metal casket. The Grand Tutor Assisting on the
Left and General of Agile Cavalry, the Marquis of
An-yang, Wang Shun4b, became the Grand Master
and was enfeoffed as the Duke Giving Tranquillity to
the Hsin [Dynasty]. The Grand Master over the
Masses, the Marquis Conforming to Virtue, P'ing
forming to the Hsin [Dynasty]. The Junior Supporter,
the Hsi-and-Ho and Governor of the Capital,
the Marquis of Hung-and-Hsiu, Liu Hsin1a, became
the State Master and the Duke Honoring the Hsin
[Dynasty].[1146] Ai Chang, from Tzu3a-t'ung in Kuang-han
[Commandery], became the State General and
the Duke Beautifying the Hsin [Dynasty]. The foregoing
were the Four Coadjutors. Their rank was
that of the highest rank of the highest [ministers].
The Grand Guardian Serving at the Rear, the
Marquis of Ch'eng-yang, Chen Han, became the
Commander-in-chief and the Duke Serving the Hsin
[Dynasty]. The Marquis Making Great Efforts,
Wang Hsün3, became the Grand Minister over the
Masses and the Duke Ornamenting the Hsin [Dynasty].
The General of Foot-soldiers, the Marquis
of Ch'eng-tub, Wang Yi5, became the Grand Minister
of Works and the Duke Prospering the Hsin [Dynasty].
The foregoing were the three highest
ministers.
The Grand Supporter Aiding on the Right, the
Grand Minister of Works and General of the Guard,
the Marquis of Kuang-yang, Chen Feng, became the
General of a New Beginning and the Duke Extending
the Hsin [Dynasty]. Wang Hsinga, from the imperial
the Duke Upholding the Hsin [Dynasty]. The
General of Light Chariots, the Marquis of Ch'eng-wu,
Sun Chien, became the General Establishing the
State and the Duke Perfecting the Hsin [Dynasty].
Wang Sheng, from the imperial capital, became the
General of the Van and the Duke Exalting the Hsin
[Dynasty]. The foregoing were the Four Generals.
Altogether there were eleven highest ministers.
Wang Hsinga was a former clerk to a Prefect of a
City-gate,[1151] and Wang Sheng had been a seller of
cakes. In accordance with the mandate [given
through] the portent, [Wang] Mang sought out and
secured more than ten persons with these surnames
and given names. These two persons' features responded
to divination and physiognomization, so
they were elevated directly from [the condition of]
wearing plain clothes and were given [these high]
offices, in order to show that it was a supernatural
[matter]. The other persons [with these surnames
and given names] were all installed as Gentlemen.
On this day, altogether several hundred persons were
enfeoffed and installed in the offices of high ministers,
grandees, Palace Attendants, and Masters of Writing.
Those [members of] the Liu [clan] who had been
Commandery Administrators were all changed to be
Grandee-remonstrants.
[The name of] the Ming-kuang Palace was changed
to be the Lodge of Established Tranquillity, and the
Duchess Dowager of Established Tranquillity inhabited
it.
The yamen of the former[1155] Grand Herald was
made the residence of the Duke of Established Tranquillity,
[Liu Ying1a]. At both of these [residences]
there were established guards for the gates, and
commissioners inspected and directed them. It was
ordered that [Liu Ying1a's] nurses[1156] and wet-nurses
should not be permitted to talk with him. He was
dence, so that] when he grew up, he could not name
the six [kinds of] domestic animals. Later [Wang]
Mang married him to his granddaughter (a child of
[Wang] Yü3).[1160]
[Wang] Mang's charters to his various high officials
`respectfulness,'[1162] so [the Chief of] the Eastern
bringing `timely rains.' As its cerulean splendor
enlarges tranquillity, so he investigates [the sun's]
shadow by the sundial."[1167]
"As [the planet] Mars presides over `wisdom',[1168]
so [the Chief of] the Southern [Sacred] Peak and
Grand Tutor is in charge of bringing `timely
so he investigates sounds by the musical tubes."[1171]
"As [the planet] Venus presides over `orderliness,'
so [the Chief of] the Western [Sacred] Peak and
shine.'[1174] As its white splendor gives form to tranquillity,
so he investigates measures of capacity by
weighing instruments."[1176]
"As [the planet] Mercury presides over `deliberation,'
so [the Chief of] the Northern [Sacred] Peak
and State General has charge of bringing `timely
so he investigates the planets by the clepsydra."[1179]
"As the Moon [has charge of] punishments, and is
the great limb[1180]
[of the heavenly powers], so the
Commander-[in-chief] on the left has charge of
bringing about military responses [to evil deeds.
the try-square, so he has charge of presiding over
astrological phenomena, `reverently in accordance
with [the observation] of the vast heavens, to deliver
the seasons respectfully to the common people,'[1185]
and to give stimulation and encouragement to agricultural
pursuits, in order [to bring about] an
abundant harvest of grain."
"As the Sun has charge of virtues[1186]
and is the
great arm [of the heavenly powers, so] the [Grand]
Minister over the Masses on the right has charge of
bringing auspicious presages [concerning] civil [matters].
As a circle is investigated by testing it with
the compasses,[1187]
so he has charge of presiding over
human ways. The `five [fundamental] teachings'
people, to receive [commands] from the throne,
to propagate and beautify the customs and usages,
and the five grades [of people will be well] instructed."[1189]
"[As the constellation of the Northern] Bushel
[has charge of] balancing [i.e., judging][1192] and is the
great heart [(or center) of heaven], so in the center
the [Grand] Minister of Works has charge of preparing
designs [i.e., planning] for (animate and inanimate)
things. As length is investigated by the
[carpenter's] line, so he has charge of presiding over
the principles of geographical arrangements, of balancing
and ruling the waters and the earth, and is in
charge of [the spirits of] the famous mountains and
streams, of multiplying birds and beasts, and of
making grass and trees luxurious and abundant."
[Wang Mang thus] gave a charter-mandate to
each one according to his duties, [using] words like
those in the "Canons" and the "Announcements."[1194]
He established a Director of Confidence in the Commander-in-chief,
a Director of Uprightness to the
Grand Minister over the Masses, and a Director of
Obedience to the Grand Minister of Works, whose
positions were those of senior high ministers.
He [had previously] changed the title of the Grand
and later changed it to be the Communicator. The
Grand Judge was called the Deciding Judge, the
Grand Minister of Ceremonies was called the Arranger
of the Ancestral Temples, the Grand Herald
was called the Director of Music, the Privy Treasurer
Commandant of Waters and Parks was called the My
Forester. [These six officials], with the [three
senior] high ministers who were directors to the three
highest ministers were together [ranked as] the nine
high ministers. They were divided and [each] made
subordinate to [some one of] the three highest ministers.
For each high minister there were established
three grandees, and for each grandee there were
established three First Officers, so that altogether
there were twenty-seven grandees and eighty-one
First Officers.[1200] They were separately put in charge
of the various duties in the offices of the imperial
capital.
He changed the title of the Superintendant of the
Imperial Household to be the Director of Palaces,
the Grand Coachman to be the Grand[1201]
Charioteer,
the Commandant of the Palace Guard to be the
Grand[1202]
Guard, the Bearer of the Gilded Mace to
be the Inciter to Military Deeds, and the [Colonel of]
the Capital [Encampments][1203]
to be the Chief of
Keeper of the Robes, who had charge of the imperial
chariots of state, robes, and imperial articles. Later
[this officer] also had charge of troops. The ranks
and positions [of the foregoing six officials] were all
those of the highest [rank] of the high ministers; they
were entitled the Six Superintendants.
[The titles of] Grand Administrators of commanderies
[commandery] Chief Commandants were called
Grand Commandants, Prefects and Chiefs of prefectures
were called Rulers, [Attending] Secretaries
were called Upholders of the Laws, the Majors in
Charge of Official Carriages were called [the Directors
of] the Four Gates to the Royal Apartments.
The Ch'ang1-lo Palace was called the Ch'ang2-lo
House, the Wei-yang (Never Completed) Palace was
called the Shou-ch'eng House (the House Where a
Long Life is Perfected), the Front Hall was called
the Hall with the Royal Apartments, and Ch'ang1-an
was called Ch'ang2-an.
The names of the [civil] ranks were changed: the
[occupants of positions ranking at] 100 piculs were
called Common Officers, the [occupants of positions
ranking at] 300 piculs were called Lower-ranking
Officers, the [occupants of positions ranking at] 400
piculs were called Middle-ranking Officers, the [occupants
of positions ranking at] 500 piculs were
called Mandated Officers, the [occupants of positions
ranking at] 600 piculs were called First Officers, the
[occupants of positions ranking at] 1000 piculs were
called Lower-ranking Grandees, the [occupants of
positions ranking at] equivalent to 2000 piculs were
called Middle-ranking Grandees, the [occupants of
positions ranking at] 2000 piculs were called Upper-ranking
Grandees, and the [occupants of positions
ranking at] fully 2000 piculs were called High Ministers.
The carriages, robes, aprons, and mortarboard
hats of each [differed according to] their
different degrees.
There were also established [the Grandee] in
Charge of Respectfulness, [the Grandee] in Charge of
Accordance [with the Way,[1209]
the Grandee] in Charge
Attentiveness, and the Grandee in Charge of Perspicaciousness,[1213]
who, together with the Musician
Chanting the Odes and the Ruler for Removing the
Viands were to have charge of [the Emperor's] errors.
Their charters said,
"I have heard that the sages of the most [ancient
never failed to cultivate their persons carefully, in
order that they might tranquillize [everyone, even
those] at a distance. For this purpose I have established
you to have charge of your `five activities.'[1216]
Do not hide my faults and do not assist me in vainglory.
`In your likes and dislikes make no errors'[1217]
and hold to the mean. O! Put forth all your
efforts!"
[Wang Mang] ordered that the [Directors of Four
Gates to] the Royal Apartments should establish
the banner for initiating improvements, the post for
speaking ill and criticizing,[1218]
and the drum for those
who dare to admonish.[1219]
Four Grandee-remonstrants
were regularily seated at the Gates to the
of matters.
The members of the Wang clan who were related
mourning were enfeoffed as Marquises, [those
who would wear] the nine-months' mourning became
Earls, [those who would wear] the five-months'
mourning became Viscounts, and [those who would
wear] the three-months' mourning became Barons.
The females all became Baronesses. The males all
had Mu (concord) and the females had Lung (prosperous)
in their titles.[1224] All received seals and cords.
[Wang Mang] ordered that for the nobles there
should be appointed Ladies Dowager, Ladies, and
Heirs, who would also receive seals and cords.
[His message] also said, " `Heaven has not two
suns, nor has Earth two kings'[1228] —this is the unchangeable
way of all the kings. Some of the nobles
of the Han clan were entitled Kings, and even the
barbarians [beyond] the four [frontiers] followed
[this practise]. It is contrary to the ancient institutions
and absurd [in view of the principle that there
is only] one sovereign [in the world]. Let it be fixed
that the titles of vassal kings shall all be [changed to]
Duke, and that those of the barbarians [beyond] the
four [frontiers] who have usurped this title and called
themselves Kings shall all be changed and become
Marquises."
It also said: "According to the Way of the [ancient]
lords and kings, one followed [the ways of his
predecessor, so that [their principles] were transmitted
[from one to another]. As a recompense for
their abundant virtues for hundreds of generations
[after their death] they should enjoy sacrifices. I
reflect that the Yellow Lord, the Lord, Shao-hao, the
Lord, Chuan-hsü, the Lord, K'u, the Lord, Yao, the
Lord, Shun, the Lord, Yü of the Hsia [dynasty],
Kao-yao, and Yi Yin all possessed sage virtues and
ascended to August Heaven, [becoming gods]. Their
achievements were sublime and their brilliance was
spread[1232] to a distance. I esteem them highly and
have `instituted a search'[1233] for their descendants in
order to recompense them by [enfeoffing descendants
to] sacrifice to them. Verily, the Wang clan are
descendants of the Lord of Yü, [Shun], who was descended
from the Lord, K'u, and the Liu clan are
descendants of Yao, who was descended from Chuan-hsü."[1234]
Thereupon he enfeoffed Yao Hsün as the Marquis
of Original Concord to make offerings as the descendant
of the Yellow Lord and Liang Hu as the
Earl Renewing Distant [Sacrifices] to make offerings
as the descendant of Shao-hao. The Imperial Grandson,
the Duke of Prospering Merits, [Wang] Ch'ien2,
was to make offerings as the descendant of the Lord,
K'u. Liu Hsin1b became the Earl of Vast Glories
to make offerings as the descendant of Chuan-hsü.
[Liu] Tieh, the son to the State Master, Liu Hsin1a,
became the Marquis of Yi-and-Hsiu, to make offerings
as the descendant of Yao. Kuei Ch'ang became
the Marquis of the Beginning of Concord to make
offerings as the descendant of the Lord of Yü, [Shun].
Shan Tsun became the Viscount as a Recompense for
Counsel to make offerings as the descendant of
Kao-yao. Yi Hsüan became the Viscount in Recompense
to the [Supporting] Governor, to make offerings
as the descendant of Yi Yin. The position of
the descendant of the Han [dynasty], the Duke of
Established Tranquillity, Liu Ting1a, was made that
of a Guest. [The title of] the descendant of the
Chou [dynasty], the Duke of Weis,[1239] Chi Tang, was
changed, and he was enfeoffed as the Duke of Manifest
Peace and was also made a Guest. [The title of]
the descendant of the Yin [dynasty], the Duke of
Sung, K'ung Hung, whose rank was altered [because
of] the change in [the dynasty], was changed, and
he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Manifest Brilliance
and his position was made that of a Respected
Guest.[1240] A descendant of the Hsia [dynasty], Szu
enfeoffed and made the Marquis of Manifest Merits
and was also made a Respected Guest. (To the most
ancient examplars of the four dynasties there were
made sacrifices to exemplars in the Ming-t'ang, and
they were made the coadjutors of the August First
Deceased Ancestor, the Lord of Yü, [Shun].)[1244] The
descendant of the Duke of Chou, the Viscount in
Recompense to [the Duke of] Lu, Chi Chiu, and the
descendant of Duke Hsüan-ni [in Recompense for
Perfection, Confucius], the Viscount in Recompense
for Perfection, K'ung Chün, had already been previously
appointed.
[Wang] Mang also said, "When previously I was
Regent, I founded a temple for the suburban sacrifices,
established a temple for the distant ancestors, and
set up [an altar for] the gods of the soils and grains.
The gods in heaven and earth responded by [granting]
favors. Sometimes `lights descended from above,
dissolving into a crow';[1248] sometimes there was a
clear, thereby making manifest my brilliant [inheritance
from] the Yellow [Lord] and Yü [Shun].
"From the Yellow Lord to King Po of Chi-nan,
[Wang Sui], there have indeed been five surnames in
the generations of the founders [of my clan].[1253]
The
Yellow Lord had twenty-five sons, and granted them
twelve separate surnames. My ancestor who was
the Lord of Yü, [Shun], received the surname Yao;
in [the time of] T'ao-and-T'ang [Yao], [my ancestors]
were surnamed Kuei; in [the time of] the
Chou [dynasty], they were surnamed Ch'en; in [the
state of] Ch'i, they were surnamed T'ien; and in
Chi-nan [Commandery] they were surnamed Wang.
"I have humbly remembered my August Deceased
Original Ancestor, the Yellow Lord, and my August
Deceased First[1254]
Ancestor, the Lord of Yü, [Shun],
and have hence performed to them the sacrifice to
an exemplar (tsung) in the Ming-t'ang. It is proper
that [these ancestors] should be [given the proper]
ranks among the founders and exemplars in my personal
ancestral temple. Let there be established five
shrines to founders [of my line] and four shrines to
immediate ancestors,[1255]
and let the queens and ladies
husbands]. In the suburban sacrifice, let the Yellow
Lord be the coadjutor of Heaven, and let the Queen
of the Yellow [Lord] be made the coadjutrix of Earth.
Let the Eastern Residence of the Marquis of Hsin-tuc
become the great clan temple[1259] where [these ancestors]
shall be worshipped yearly and seasonally.
Those whom my family esteem shall be sacrificed to
for posterity thruout the empire.[1261]
"All [the members of] all the five clans [surnamed]
Yao, Kuei, Ch'en, T'ien, and Wang are distant descendants
of the Yellow [Lord] and of Yü [Shun],
and so are my fellowclansman. Does not the Book
of History say, `Effect a generous kindness and nice
observance of distinctions among the nine [classes of]
the names [of persons bearing] these five surnames
should be entered upon the register of the Arranger
of the Ancestral Temples; all are to be made [members
of] the imperial house. From generation to
pay anything. Let [the members of] the Wang clan
from Yüan-ch'eng be ordered not to intermarry
[among themselves], in order to distinguish [this clan]
and to regulate relationships."[1266]
[Wang Mang] enfeoffed Ch'en Ch'ung as Marquis
of Ruling Concord to make offerings as the descendant
of King Hu [of Ch'en],[1267]
and T'ien Feng as
Marquis of Hereditary Concord, to make offerings
as the descendant of King Ching.[1268]
[As to] all those [Provincial] Shepherds and [Commandery]
Administrators in the empire, who, because
of [the rebellion of] Chai Yi, Chao Ming, and others,
had led their provinces or commanderies [to attack
these rebels and thus] had cherished loyalty and
filial piety, the Shepherds were enfeoffed as Barons
and the Administrators as Sub-Vassals. [Wang
Mang] also enfeoffed as Barons the sons of all those
who had formerly shown him kindness, [the sons of]
Tai Ch'ung, Chin Shê, Chi Hung, Yang[1269]
Ping and
others.
He sent the Chief Commandant of Cavalry, [Hsieh]
funerary parks and altars to the Yellow Lord at the
Ch'iao Sacred Place in Shang Commandery, [1271] to the
Lord of Yü, [Shun], at [Mt.] Chiu-yi in Ling-ling
of] Huai-yang, to King Ching of Ch'en at Lin-tzu in
Ch'i [Commandery], to King Min [of Ch'i] at Chü
in Ch'eng-yang [Commandery], to King Po, [Wang
Sui], at Tung-p'ing-ling in Chi-nan [Commandery],
and to King Ju, [Wang Ho4a], at Yüan-ch'eng in Wei
Commandery. At the four seasons, commissioners
were to bring sacrifices to them. Those whose
temples had to be built, because the empire had just
recently been tranquillized, were temporarily to have
[their tablets] gathered together and to be offered
sacrifice in the Grand [Ancestral] Temple of the
Ming-t'ang. [The temple of Emperor] Kao of the
Han [dynasty] was made the Temple of the Accomplished
Ancestor.[1276]
[Wang] Mang said [in a message], "My August
Deceased First Ancestor, the Lord of Yü, [Shun],
received [the throne] by the abdication of T'ang
[Yao]. In the age of the original ancestor of the Han
dynasty, the Lord of T'ang, [Yao], there was the
model for transmitting the state [to another dynasty].
I myself in turn received the metal charter
from the genius of Emperor Kao of the Han [dynasty].
When I ponder recompensing the generosity
of previous dynasties, how could there be a time when I
should forget [the Han dynasty]? There are seven
Founders or Exemplars[1278] in the Han dynasty. According
to the proprieties, there should be established
temples for them in the state of [the Duke of]
Established Tranquillity. Let their funerary parks,
capital be not abolished, and let sacrifices and oblations
[be made] as formerly. In the autumn, the
ninth month, I will myself in person enter the temples
of [Emperors] Kao, Yüan, Ch'eng, and P'ing of the
Han dynasty.
"The various [members of] the Liu [clan] will be
of the imperial capital,[1282] and not be relieved from
their exemption [from taxes], but each one shall
[continue to be exempted] to the end of his life. The
Provincial Shepherds shall frequently visit and ask
after them, and shall bring it about that they should
not [undergo] any encroachments or injustices."
He also said, "When I previously was in [the position
of] the chief director [of the administration,[1284]
and became Regent and Acting [Emperor], I pondered
[times] seven [decades] of the Han dynasty,[1287] that
the emanation of virtue from the Red [Lord] was
exhausted, and I thought and sought, searching
widely for means whereby I might support the Liu
[house] and lengthen its period [on the throne].
There was nothing that I failed to do. For that
reason, I made the beneficial metal knife-[money],
hoping thereby to assist [the dynasty].[1288] Nevertheless
when Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn
to make it a model for later kings, [he continued it]
until the fourteenth year of [Duke] Ai [of Lu], when
it was also fourteen years [after Emperor] Ai [ascended
the throne that the Han dynasty ended its
rule].[1293] Since the calculated [number of years
allotted] for the age of the Red [Lord] was exhausted,
I could not eventually have the power to save [that
dynasty]. August Heaven made plain its majesty,
so that the virtue of the Yellow [Lord] was due to
arise and to make [Heaven's] great mandate abundantly
apparent, entrusting me with the empire.
Now the people all say that August Heaven has dethroned
the Han [dynasty] and set up the Hsin
[dynasty], that he has dismissed the Liu [clan from the
throne] and caused the Wang [clan] to rise.
"Verily the word for Liu is made up of mao, metal,
and knife. [The wearing of] the first-month kang-mao
[amulets] and the convenience of the metal-knife-[money]
[This matter] was widely debated by the ministers
and gentlemen, and they all said, `That Heaven and
men respond alike is brilliantly apparent. Let the
kang-mao [amulets] be done away with, and let no
one wear them at their girdles; let the knife-cash be
abrogated, and let them not be used as a convenience
[for exchange], in order to respond to and accord
with the will of Heaven and to rejoice the minds of
the people'."
Thereupon [the coinage] was changed and there
one shu. Their inscription said, "A diminutive cash,
worth one [cash]." Together with the preceding
large cash, [which were worth], fifty [of the smaller
cash], there were two denominations [of coins] circulating
at the same time.[1299] [Wang Mang] wanted to
prevent the common people from counterfeit casting
[of cash], so issued a prohibition that they were not
to be allowed to possess copper or charcoal.[1301]
In[1302]
the fourth month, the Marquis of Hsü-hsiang,
persons and raised troops in his state. [Liu] K'uai's
elder brother, [Liu] Yin2a, had been the former King
of Chiao-tung under the Han [dynasty], and had at
this time been changed to be the Duke Supporting
and Rendering Homage [to the Hsin Dynasty. When
Liu] K'uai mobilized his troops and attacked Chi-mo,
[Liu] Yin2a closed the city gates and had himself
bound in prison. The officials and common people
resisted [Liu] K'uai, so that [Liu] K'uai was defeated
and fled to Ch'ang-kuang, where he died.
[Wang] Mang said [in a message], "When anciently
my ancestor, King Min [of Ch'i, who reigned
over territory which is the present] Chi-nan [Commandery],
was distressed by the robber [state of] Yen
and left Lin-tzu (in [the state of] Ch'i) to take refuge
at Chü, a man of his clan, T'ien Tan1, made extensive
and clever plans, captured and killed a general of Yen,
and re-established the state of Ch'i. Today the
gentlemen and grandees of Chi-mo have again been
of the same mind [with me] and have extirpated
rebellious caitiffs. I commend most highly those
who are guiltless.
"Let [Liu] Yin2a and the others be pardoned.
Except for [Liu] K'uai's wife and children, his blood
relatives and relatives by marriage, who ought to be
sentenced, are not to be tried. In making consoling
inquiries about those who have died, the person in
charge of these inquiries shall grant to those who have
died fifty thousand [cash] per person for burial
money. [Liu] Yin2a understood the great mandate
[of Heaven] and deeply hated [Liu] K'uai, for which
reason [the latter] suffered immediately for his
crimes.[1310] Let the state of [Liu] Yin2a be made a
full ten thousand households, with a territory a
hundred li square."
[Wang Mang] also enfeoffed the more than ten
courtiers [who had been concerned with] the mandates
[from Heaven given by means of] portents.[1311]
[Wang] Mang said [in a message], "When the
ancients established the cottages of eight families on
the ching [system][1313] and one husband and one wife
had a hundred mou of cultivated land and paid one-tenth
in taxes, then the state had enough and the
common people were opulent and composed songs
of praise. The foregoing was the way of T'ang [Yao]
and of Yü [Shun], and that which the three dynasties
practised obediently.
"The [state of] Ch'in was inhuman and made the
taxes heavy, in order that [the ruler] might himself
have [a large] income. [The ruler] exhausted the
strength of the common people in order to satisfy
his desires to the utmost. He destroyed the institutions
of the sages and did away with the ching
taking posession of and joining together [of fields
by the wealthy] arose and avarice and vileness was
born. The strong made designs to secure cultivated
fields by the thousands [of mou] and the weak [even]
lacked [enough of] a habitation in which to stand
up an awl.
"[That state] also established market-places for
male and female slaves, putting [human beings] in
like enclosures with those for cattle and horses. In
their rule over their common people and subjects,
[the Ch'in rulers] arbitrarily cut short their [very]
lives, and villainous and oppressive persons took
advantage of the opportunity to make profits, even
kidnapping and selling other peoples' wives and
children, going contrary to the will of Heaven and
to the principle that `of all living things, [i.e.,
animals and plants, produced by] Heaven and Earth,
man is the noblest.'[1320] The Book of History says,
`[If you do not obey my commands], I will thereupon
enslave and dishonor you,'[1321] [according to which
passage] only those who did not obey [the king's]
commands should indeed suffer this punishment.[1322]
[of being enslaved].
"The[1323]
Han dynasty reduced and lightened the
land tax, taking [only] one-thirtieth, [but in addition]
there were regularly [required] conscript service
and capitation-taxes, which [even] the sick and aged
people encroached upon [the poor, letting their own]
fields [out on] shares, robbing [people] by the rentals
[required for their land, so that while] in name they
were taxed only one-thirtieth, in reality they are
taxed or pay as rent five-tenths of their produce.[1329]
Fathers and sons, husbands and wives plowed and
weeded for a whole year, [but] what they got was
insufficient to keep themselves alive. Hence the
horses and dogs of the rich had surplus beans and
grain and [the rich] were proud and did evil, while
the poor could not satiate themselves with brewer's
grains, became destitute, and acted wickedly. Both
[rich and poor] fell into crime, so that the punishments
had to be employed and could not be set aside.
"When previously I was the chief director [of the
administration], I first ordered that the empire's public
cultivated fields [should be organized on] the ching
[system according to the number] of persons, and
consequently at that time there were happy presages
of auspicious [large-eared] cereals. [But] there happened
to be rebellious caitiffs and treasonable rebels,
so that [the scheme] was temporarily stopped.
"Now I change the names of the cultivated fields
in the empire to be `the King's fields,'[1332] and of male
and female slaves to be `private adherents.' All are
not to be permitted to be bought or sold. Let it be
that those [rich families with] less than eight males,
ch'ing, shall divide the cultivated fields that are in
excess [of those in one ch'ing] and give them to their
nine [classes of] relatives or to [people in] their
neighborhood.[1335] Those who formerly had no cultivated
fields and who ought now to receive cultivated
fields [shall be treated] in accordance with the regulations.
If there are any who presume to speak evil
of the sage institution of the ching [system of] cultivated
fields, and mislead the crowd lawlessly, `they
shall be thrown out to the four frontiers [and be
made] to resist the elves and goblins,'[1337] as in the
former case my August Deceased First Ancestor, the
Lord of Yü, [Shun], did."
At this time, the people had considered the Han
Wang Mang's cash coins had been put out in two
[denominations], large and small, and so were difficult
to tell [apart], and moreover had been changed and
altered several times, so that they were not to be
trusted, [therefore the people] all privately used the
five-shu cash at the market and in purchases, saying
falsely that the large cash are due to be abolished
and that no one is willing to keep them.
[Wang] Mang was troubled by it and again issued
a written message that all those who hoard five-shu
cash and say that the large cash are due to be
abolished are similar to those who criticize the ching
system of cultivated fields and should be "thrown out
to the four frontiers."[1339]
Thereupon farmers and
were both rendered useless, and the common people
even wept in the marketplaces and highways. Moreover
those who were tried for buying or selling fields
or residences, male or female slaves, or for casting
cash, from the nobles, high ministers, and grandees
down to ordinary common people, and who suffered
punishment, could not be counted.
In the autumn, [Wang Mang] sent twelve Generals
of the Five Majestic [Principles], Wang Ch'i
and others, [each with his five Lieutenant Generals],[1346]
to publish through the empire the Mandate
[of Heaven Given Through] Portents, in 42 fascicles.
There were five matters of "Happy Presages of
Virtues," twenty-five of "Mandates Through Portents,"
and twelve of "Responses of Heavenly
Favors," forty-two fascicles in all.
[The chapters on] "Happy Presages of Virtues"
said that in the reigns of [Emperors] Wen and
Hsüan, yellow dragons appeared at Ch'eng-chi and
Hsin-tub,[1347]
that a catalpa pillar at the gate to the
grave of the Deceased Eminent Founder [of Wang
Mang's clan], King Po,[1348]
[Wang Sui], had sprouted
a branch with leaves, and the like. [The chapters
on] "Mandates Through Portents" spoke of the well,
the stone, the metal casket, and the like.[1349]
[The
and the like. The language [of the book] was like
the Classics,[1354] accorded with them and made use of
them in making its interpretations. Its final conclusion
was that [Wang] Mang was due to have
taken the place of the Han [emperors] and to possess
the empire.[1355]
In sum it said, "When lords or kings are to receive
the mandate [of Heaven], there inevitably are portents
and auspices concerning the presages of the
virtues [and powers through whose dominance they
rule], which assist and complete the mandate to the
five [powers],[1357] and make this circumstance known
by responses of heavenly favor. Then only can [a
dynasty] achieve sublime merit and transmit it to
its descendants, who will eternally enjoy boundless
prosperity. Hence, when the Hsin dynasty arose,
the happy presages of the virtue [of its power]
came forth after the three sevens [of decades] and the
nine generations [of emperors] of the Han [dynasty
had elapsed].[1358]
"The mandate [to the Hsin dynasty] commenced
when [Wang Mang was the Marquis of] Hsin-tuo
and received an auspicious presage from [the state
of] Huang-chih.[1361] His kingship began [with the
stone] at Wu-kung.[1363] The mandate was fixed
[upon him by the portent from the man of] Tzu3b-
t'ung.[1364]
The mandate was completed by [the happening]
at Tang-[ch'ü] in Pa [Commandery.[1365]
The gods] expressed their favor by twelve responses,
[so that] the method which Heaven has used to
[show that it] protects and blesses the Hsin dynasty
is indeed deep and indeed substantial.
"The red stone at Wu-kung appeared in the last
virtue of fire had been completely dissipated and the
virtue of fire]. August Heaven was solicitous [on
account of this circumstance] and so rejected the Han
[dynasty] and gave [His mandate] to the Hsin [dynasty],
using the red stone as its first mandate to the
Emperor. The Emperor, [Wang Mang, however]
humbly refused to accept [this title] and hence occupied
[the throne] as regent.
"[But that action] did not accord with the will of
Heaven, hence in that autumn, the seventh month,
Heaven again used the varicolored horse of[1374] [the
again humbly refused, and did not yet ascend the
throne, hence [there came] a third [mandate] by an
iron contract, a fourth [mandate] by a stone tortoise,
a fifth [mandate] by a portent from Yü [Shun], a
sixth [mandate] by an inscribed sceptre, a seventh
[mandate] by a black seal, an eighth [mandate] by a
stone message at Mou-ling, a ninth [mandate] by a
dark dragon stone, a tenth [mandate] by a supernatural
well,[1381] an eleventh [mandate] by a great
supernatural stone, and a twelfth [mandate] by a
copper portent and a design on silk.[1383] The happy
presages which expressed the mandate [of Heaven]
gradually became [more and more] outstanding until
they reached [the number of] twelve, in order to
announce plainly that the Emperor of the Hsin [dynasty
should ascend the throne].
"The Emperor pondered deeply that the majesty
of Heaven Above could not but be feared. Hence
he did away with the title of Regent, yet still called
himself the Acting [Emperor], and changed the year-period
to Ch'u-shih, intending thereby to stop the
mandate of Heaven and yet to carry out and satisfy
the will of the Lords on High. Yet that was not the
purpose for which August Heaven had so carefully[1385]
sent down his mandate through portents. Hence on
that [very] day Heaven again settled [his hesitancy]
by a tortoise letter.[1386]
A Gentleman-in-attendance,
plain cloth thin garment with a square collar of
red ribbon, wearing on his head the small bonnet,
standing in front of the Hall With the Royal Apartments.
He said to [Wang] Hsü, `Today, in heaven
[everyone] is of the same mind to confide the people
of the world to [Wang Mang] as Emperor.'[1392]
While [Wang] Hsü was marvelling at it and walked
more than ten double-paces, the man was suddenly
not seen.
"On the evening of [the day] ping-yin, at the
Temple of [Emperor] Kao of the Han dynasty, there
was a metal casket with a design and a charter,
[stating that] Emperor Kao had received the mandate
of Heaven to transmit the state to the Emperor
of the Hsin [dynasty]. The next morning, the Elder
of the Imperial House, the Marquis of Loyalty and
Filial Piety, Liu Hung3b, reported it. Thereupon the
ministers were summoned to discuss it. When they
had not yet reached a decision, the great supernatural
stone man spoke, saying, `Hasten the Emperor
of the Hsin [dynasty] to the Temple of [Emperor]
Kao, [where he is] to receive the Mandate.
Do not delay.'
"Thereupon the Emperor of the Hsin [dynasty,
to the Temple of [Emperor] Kao of the Han dynasty
and received the mandate. The day of receiving
the mandate was ting-mao.[1399] Ting is fire, which is
the virtue of the Han dynasty; mao is that whereby
the [Han dynasty's] surname, Liu, becomes this written
character.[1403] It makes plain that the virtue of
fire, [which was that of] the Han [dynasty] and of
the Liu [clan], is exhausted, and that [the state] has
been transmitted to the house of Hsin.
"Since the Emperor was perfect in `humility,'[1404]
he renounced firmly [the honors indicated by] the
twelve responses [from the gods] by portents, [but]
he was compelled by the plain mandate [of Heaven]
and could not refuse. He was startled and reverently
awed, and worried[1405]
and sad that the ending of the
Han dynasty could not have been arrested. He was
indefatigable in assisting[1406]
[the Han dynasty, but]
that, for three nights he did not go to his bed and
for three days he did not touch food. He invited and
questioned the highest ministers, marquises, high
ministers, and grandees, and all said, `It is proper
that you should receive [the rule] according to the
majestic mandate of Heaven Above.' Thereupon he
changed the year-period, fixed upon his title, and
[gave[1409] the opportunity for] a new beginning to [all]
within [the four] seas.
"When the House of Hsin had been fixed [upon the
throne], the gods in heaven and earth were glad and
rejoiced, and emphasized it by responses of [celestial]
favor. Their fortunate presages were continuous
and reiterated. The Book of Odes says,
He receives blessings from Heaven,
Who protects and aids him and gives him his mandate.
By [this mandate] from Heaven he issues his imperial mandates[1413] —
The Generals of the Five Majestic [Principles],
brought seals and cords and gave them to the
kings, the marquises, and those of lower [rank], down
to the lower officials whose official titles had been
changed, and, outside [the country], to the Huns, to
the Western Frontier Regions, and to the barbarians
outside the borders. From all [of these persons], immediately
that [the Generals] had given out the seals
and cords of the House of Hsin, they thereupon took
up the seals and cords of the former Han [dynasty].
There were granted, to the lower officials, two steps
in noble rank per person, to common people, one step
in noble rank per person, to the women of a hundred
households, a sheep and wine, and to the barbarians,
currency and silk, to each proportionately. A general
amnesty [was granted] to the empire.
The Generals of the Five Majestic [Principles] rode
in chariots [emblazoned] with the lines of [the hexagram]
Ch'ien, [representing Heaven], yoked to [the
hexagram] K'un [in the shape of] six mares.[1417] On
pheasant,[1421] and their robes were decorated very
extraordinarily. For each General there were established
Lieutenants of the Left, of the Right, of the
Van, of the Rear, and of the Center, five Lieutenants
in all. Their clothes and hats, chariots and robes,
and the horses yoked [to their chariots] were severally
like the colors and numbers of their directions.[1423]
The Generals carried credentials with the title, "A
Messenger of the Supreme One" and the Lieutenants
bore banners with the title, "A Messenger of the Five
Lords [on High." Wang] Mang's charter-mandate
to them read, "In the whole world, go to its four
extremities and do not leave any place unvisited."
Those who went out eastwards reached Hsüan-t'u
[Commandery], Lo-lang [Commandery], the Kao-chü-li,
and the Fu-yü. Those who went out to the
where they degraded the King of Kou-t'ing and made
him a marquis. Those who went out to the west
reached the Western Frontier Regions and changed
all the kings there to be marquises.
Those who went out to the north reached the court
changed the words in the Han [dynasty's] seal, doing
away with the word "imperial seal" and reading
and asked for his former seal, Ch'en Jao had broken
it to pieces. A discussion is in the "Memoir on the
Huns."[1431] The Shan-yü became furious. Kou-t'ing
and the Western Frontier Regions moreover later
finally all revolted because of this [change of titles].
When [Ch'en] Jao returned, he was installed as
General-in-chief and was enfeoffed as Viscount of
Majestic Virtue.
In the winter it thundered and the t'ung trees
blossomed.
[Wang Mang] established [as regular officials] Directors
of Mandates from the Five Majestic [Principles,
Generals] of the Central City [of the Five
Majestic Principles], and four Generals of the [respective]
Passes [in the four directions for the Five
Majestic Principles]. The Directors of Mandates
were directors to the officials [ranking] in the highest
class of the highest ministers and to those [ranking]
lower. [The Generals of] the Central City [of the
Five Majestic Principles] were in charge of the twelve
city gates [of Ch'ang-an].
The charter-mandate to the Marquis of Ruling
Concord, Ch'en Ch'ung, read, "O thou Ch'ung![1433]
Verily, [1] disobedience to mandates is the source
of sedition. [2] Great wickedness and knavishness
is the origin of rebellion. [3] The casting of counterfeit
gold[1434] and cash is a means whereby obstacles
are put [in the circulation of] the valuable currency.
[4] Pride and extravagance overpassing the regulations
is the beginning of evil and disaster [to oneself].
[5] Divulging matters [discussed in] the Inner Apartments
and [matters] concerning the Masters of
Writing is [what is called], `When the delicate government
[6] When those who are installed in noble ranks at
the court of a [true] king [nevertheless] give thanks
at the doors of private [persons] for the grace [shown
them, it is what is called] `blessings leave the public
halls'[1441] and the government goes to ruin. All these
six matters are fundamental principles of the state.
For this reason I establish you as Director of Commands
[of the Five Majestic Principles].[1442]
If it is hard, he does not spit it out.
He does not insult widowers or widows
Or fear the strong or oppressive.'[1443]
and observed,'[1445] and to control the concord in[1446]
the court."
His [charter-] mandate to the Marquis Delighting
in Portents, Ts'ui Fa, read, " `The double gates and
the beating of night watches are a preparation against
violent visitors.'[1447]
You are to serve as General of
the Central City of the Five Majestic [Principles].
When the central virtue[1448]
is perfected, all the world
will delight in [Heaven's] portents."
His [charter]-mandate to the Marquis Making the
Majestic [Principles] Brilliant, Wang Chi6, read,
"The fastnesses of the twists and overhangings[1452]
are at the south facing [the part of the ancient state],
Ch'u [in Yü's province of] Ching.[1453] You are to
serve as the General of the Southern Passes for the
Five Majestic [Principles]. Invigorate your military
[power] and make efforts in guarding [the capital],
making the majestic [principles] brilliant at my
front."[1454]
His [charter]-mandate to the Marquis the Commandant
of Concord, Wang Chia1c, read, "The narrow
facing [the former feudal states of] Yen and Chao.
Passes for the Five Majestic [Principles]. At the
Hu-k'ou [Pass], strike [the enemy] and occupy
[strategic positions], commanding concord at my
rear."
His [charter]-mandate to the Marquis Grasping[1460]
the Majestic [Principles], Wang Ch'i, read, "The
difficult places of [Mounts] Hsiao and Mien-[ch'ih]
are on the east, facing [the former states of] Cheng
and Weis. You are to serve as the General of the
Eastern Passes for the Five Majestic [Principles].
At the Han-ku [Pass], strike down dangers, grasping
the majestic [principles] at my left."
His [charter]-mandate to the Viscount Cherishing
Ch'ien1 [River and Mount] Lung are on the west,
facing the barbarians. You are to serve as the
General of the Western Passes for the Five Majestic
[Principles]. Make them secure, guard them vigilantly
and cherish the Ch'iang at my right."
[Wang Mang] also sent Grandee-remonstrants
[and others], fifty persons [in all], by divisions to
cast cash in the commanderies and kingdoms.
In this year, a mad woman of Ch'ang-an, Pi,
furious [and says], `Quickly return my state. If not,
in the ninth month I will inevitably kill you.' "
[Wang] Mang had her arrested and killed. The
Grandee in Charge of Brigands, Ch'en Ch'eng, who
had to punish her, resigned of his own accord and
left his office.
Liu Tu1b and others of [the former kingdom of]
discovered and all were executed, and in Chen-ting
rain of hail.
In the second year, the second month, an amnesty
[was granted] to the empire. The Generals of the
Five Majestic [Principles] and their Lieutenants, 72
persons [in all], returned and memorialized their
reports. The vassal kings of the Han [dynasty]
who had become Dukes had all given up their kingly
seals and cords, had become common people, and
none had disobeyed [Wang Mang's] commands.
[Wang Mang] enfeoffed the Generals as Viscounts
and the Lieutenants as Barons.
The ordinances for the six monopolies [lit., "controls"]
were first established. It was commanded
that the imperial government should [1] dispense
liquors, [2] sell salt and [3] iron implements, [4] cast
cash, and that all those who picked or took the
various things from [5] famous mountains or great
marshes were to be taxed.
It was also ordered [6] that the offices [in charge
of] the market-places should collect [things when
they are] cheap and sell them [when they are] dear,
and should lend on credit to the common people,
taking three [cash per] month as interest for a
hundred [cash].[1474] The Hsi-and-Ho, [Lu K'uang],
established one Officer for Liquor in each commandery,
with a riding quadriga, to oversee the
profit from the liquor.
A prohibition was made that the common people
were not allowed to possess crossbows or cuirasses.
[Those who violated this prohibition][1475]
were to be
exiled to Hsi-hai [Commandery].
When the Hun Shan-yü's [envoy, who had come to
the imperial capital,] had asked for [the Shan-yü's]
former imperial seal, [Wang] Mang had not given it
to him, consequently [the Huns had] raided the
border commanderies, killing and kidnapping officials
and common people.[1479]
In the eleventh month, the General Establishing
the Western Frontier Regions, [Tan] Ch'in, has sent
[to the court a message] which says, `In the ninth
month, on [the day] hsin-szu, Ch'en Lang and Chung
Tai, officials of the Mou-and-Chi Colonel, joined
together, murdered their Colonel, Tiao Hu, and
coerced officials and soldiers, calling themselves
Generalissimos of the fallen Han [dynasty], and fled
to the Huns.'[1484]
"Moreover in the present month, on [the day]
kuei-ch'ou,[1485]
a man of unknown provenance obstructed
calling himself Liu Tzu-yü of the House of Han, a
son of Emperor Ch'eng by a low-[class] wife,[1488]
that the palaces should quickly be emptied. I arrested
and bound the man,[1491] and he was [found to
be a man of] Ch'ang2-an, surnamed Wu, with the
courtesy name Chung.
"All of them have gone contrary to Heaven and
I beg that you will pass sentence upon
[Wu] Chung, together with [Ch'en] Liang and the
others, and upon their blood relatives and relatives
by marriage who are due to be sentenced with them."
The memorial was approved.
[He also memorialized],[1496] "Emperor Kao of the
Han dynasty frequently made known a warning
saying, `Dismiss the officials and soldiers [in the Han
Ancestral Temples] and make [the Han emperors]
guests at the sacrifice [in the temples of the present
dynasty],' sincerely desiring to accord with the will
of Heaven and to preserve his descendants. His ancestral
temple ought not to be inside the city-walls of
Ch'ang2-an, and, together with the [members of] the
Liu [clan] who are nobles, they should all have been
dismissed at the same time that the Han [dynasty
was overthrown]. Your Majesty is most benevolent
and for this long time has not settled [this matter].
"Previously, the former Marquis of An-chung, Liu
Ch'ung2c, the [former] Marquis of Hsü-hsiang, Liu
K'uai, the [former] Marquis of Ling-hsiang, Liu
Ts'engb, and the [former] Marquis of Fu-ên, Liu
plotted to rebel. Now some perverse and treacherous
caitiffs have falsely called themselves generals of
the fallen Han [dynasty] and one person has called
himself [Liu] Tzu-yü, a son of Emperor Ch'eng, so
that they have committed [crimes punishable by]
being executed and their relatives being annihilated.
The reason that these continual [rebellions] have not
stopped is that your sage grace has not sooner cut
off the early growths [of such events].
"Your servant stupidly considers that Emperor
Kao of the Han [dynasty] should become a guest of
the House of Hsin and enjoy sacrifices in the Ming-t'ang.
Emperor Ch'eng was your cousin with a
different surname and Emperor P'ing was your son-in-law.
For all of them it is not proper that they
should again enter their temples. Emperor Yüan
became of one flesh with the Empress Dowager [nee
Wang], and the rites by which your sage grace has
exalted her are appropriate also for him.
"Your servant begs that the various temples of
the Han dynasty in the imperial capital should all be
abolished, that the various [members of] the Liu
[clan] who are nobles should be put into the hierarchy
the number of households [in their estates], and that
those [members of the Liu clan] who are officials
should all be dismissed and await new appointments
at their homes. On the one hand, [this procedure]
will accord with the will of Heaven and agree with
the supernatural manifestations from Emperor Kao,
and [on the other hand],[1502] it will stop the beginnings
of perverseness and treachery."
[Wang] Mang said [in his message], "It may be
done. The Duke Honoring the Hsin [Dynasty], the
State Master, [Liu Hsin1a], who, because of the mandate
Four Coadjutors, the Marquis of Brilliant Virtues,
Liu Kung2, the Marquis Leading by the Rules of
Proper Conduct, Liu Chia1s" and others, "thirty-two
persons in all, all understood the mandate of Heaven;
they either presented portents from Heaven or offered
congratulatory sayings or arrested or informed upon
rebellious caitiffs, so that their merits are abundant.
The [members of] the Liu [clan] who are of the same
clan and have the same grandfathers as these thirty-two
persons are not to be dismissed and are to be
granted the [imperial] surname, Wang."
Only the State Teacher, [Liu Hsin1a], was not
granted this surname, because his daughter had been
married to [Wang] Mang's son. The title of the
Duchess Dowager of Established Tranquillity, [Wang
Mang's daughter], was changed, and she was called
the Princess of the Yellow Imperial House, in order
to cut her off from the [house of] Han.
In the winter, the twelfth month, it thundered.
The title of the Shan-yü of the Huns (Hsiung-nu)
was changed, and he was called the Submitted
Capture (Fu-yü) of the Surrendered Slaves
(Hsiang-nu).
[Wang] Mang said [in a message], "The Submitted
Capture of the Surrendered Slaves, [Lüan-ti] Chih,
has `despised and insulted the five powers,'[1509] has
turned his back upon and rebelled against the four
articles,[1510] has invaded and violated the Western
Frontier Regions, and has extended himself to and
reached the frontiers [of China], where he has made
himself injurious to the great multitude. His crimes
tives annihilated. I command and send the General
Establishing the State, Sun Chien," and others,
"twelve generals [in all], to go out simultaneously by
ten routes, and respectfully perform the majestic
punishment of August Heaven upon the person of
[Lüan-ti] Chih.
"But I ponder that the ancestor of [Lüan-ti] Chih,
the former Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh, [Lüan-ti] Chi-hou-shan,
was loyal and filial during successive
frontiers. I cannot bear, because of the crime of one
[Lüan-ti] Chih, to destroy the posterity of [Lüan-ti]
Chi-hou-shan. Now I divide the state, territory, and
people of the Huns and make of it fifteen [states],
setting up fifteen descendants of [Lüan-ti] Chi-hou-shan
as Shan-yü."
He sent a General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace,
Lin Pao, [with] Tai Chi, to gallop just outside the
barrier, summon, and install those who ought to become
Shan-yü. Those people of the Huns who ought
to be sentenced because of the law [against] the
caitiff [Lüan-ti] Chih were all [granted] amnesty and
set free.
[Wang Mang] sent the General of the Five Majestic
[Principles], Miao Hsin, and the General of
the as Rapid as Tigers, Wang K'uang4a, to go out of
Wu-yüan [Commandery], the General Repressing
Difficulties, Ch'en Ch'in, and the General Making
Barbarians Quake, Wang Hsün2, to go out of Yün-chung
[Commandery], the General Invigorating His
Military [Power], Wang Chia1c, and the General
Tranquillizing the Barbarians, Wang Meng2, to go
out of Tai Commandery, the General Assisting the
Majestic [Principles], Li Shen, and the General
Maintaining Order in Distant [Places], Li Weng, to
go out of Hsi-ho [Commandery], the General Executing
the Mo, Yang Chün, and the General Expelling
Filth, Chuang Yu, to go out of Yü-yang [Commandery],
Wang Chün40, and the General Settling the Hu, Wang
Yen4, to go out of Chang-yi [Commandery], together
with their lieutenant-, major-[generals], and
subordinates, 180 persons [in all]. They enlisted the
convicts, freemen, and armed soldiers of the empire,
300,000 persons [in all], transporting the taxes from
many commanderies,[1520] —clothes and furs, military
implements, and provisions, escorted by the Chief
Officials [of the prefectures]. From the seacoast, the
Yang-tze, and the Huai [Rivers] to the northern
borders, commissioners, [riding in] galloping quadrigae,
supervised and urged them, and acted in
accordance with the law for levying an army. The
empire was disturbed. Those who arrived first encamped
in the border commanderies, waiting for
them all to arrive, and then go out at the same
time.[1522]
Because his cash and [other] currencies finally did
not circulate, [Wang] Mang again issued a written
message, which said, "The common people consider
their food as their life and their goods as their wealth.
For this reason among the eight [objects of] government,
food is given the first place.[1524] If the valuable
currency is all of large [denominations], when one
needs a small amount [of money], it is not available;
if it is all of small [denominations], then transporting
it is troublesome and expensive; if large and small
[denominations], big and little [coins], are each of
different kinds, then their use is convenient and the
common people rejoice." Therefore [Wang Mang]
sion is in the "Treatise on Food and Goods."[1529]
The people did not accord, and only used merely
[cash]. Since those who cast counterfeit cash
could not be stopped, [Wang Mang] made the penalties
[against counterfeiting] heavy. When one
family cast cash, the five [neighboring] families were
to be sentenced for it, [their property was to be]
confiscated, and they were to be enslaved.
When officials and common people went iin or out
[the barriers], they were to carry spade-money as an
adjunct to their passport credentials.[1532]
For those
and relay stations were not to house them, and at
the barriers and fords they were to be investigated
and detained.[1535] The ministers were all to hold
them when they entered the gates of the palaces and
halls. The intention was to make them valuable
and circulate.
At this time, [many persons] strove to make mandates
to be enfeoffed as marquises. Those who did not
without letters of appointment from the Lord of
Heaven?" A Director of Mandates [from the Five
Majestic Principles], Ch'en Ch'ung, advised [Wang]
Mang of it, saying, "This [matter] is opening the
way for wicked `subjects to confer [kingly] favors
[upon themselves],'[1539] and to bring confusion upon
the mandate of Heaven. It would be proper to cut
away its source." [Wang] Mang also had had his
fill of it, and thereupon had a Grandee Master of
Writing, Chao Ping, investigate and try [such offenders].
Those who [made known portents] which were
not those published by the Generals and Lieutenants
of the Five Majestic [Principles] were all sent to
prison.
Previously, Chen Feng, Liu Hsin1a, and Wang
Shun4b had been [Wang] Mang's intimate advisors
and had led those who were in office in making known
[Wang Mang's] achievements and virtuous conduct
for rewards.[1543] His titles of [Duke] Giving Tranquillity
to the Han [Dynasty] and Ruling Governor,
together with the enfeoffment of [Wang] Mang's
mother and his two sons and a nephew,[1544] were all
planned by [Chen] Feng together with the others.
[Chen] Feng, [Wang] Shun4b, and [Liu] Hsin1a had
moreover received grants from him and had all become
indeed wealthy and honorable.
They did not in addition want to bring it about
that [Wang] Mang should become Regent. The
first beginnings of his becoming the Regent came
from the Marquis of Ch'üan-ling, Liu Ch'ing4i, the
Displayer of Splendor in the South, Hsieh Hsiao, and
the Prefect of Ch'ang-an, T'ien Chung-shu.
When [Wang] Mang's wings had grown and he
desired to be entitled Regent, [Chen] Feng and the
others accepted and agreed with his intentions.
[Wang] Mang immediately enfeoffed in addition the
two sons of [Wang] Shun4b and of [Liu] Hsin1a, together
with [Chen] Feng's grandson.
When the noble rank and official position of [Chen]
Feng and the others had been received, their ambitions
were satisfied. They moreover really feared
the Han imperial house and the prominent persons in
the empire. But those who had been distant from
[Wang Mang] and wanted to advance, simultaneously
made mandates [from Heaven given through]
portents. When [Wang] Mang thereupon employed
them in order to ascend [the throne as] the actual
[Emperor, Wang] Shun4b and [Liu] Hsin1a merely
became inwardly fearful.
[Chen] Feng was ordinarily resolute, [so Wang]
Mang became conscious that [Chen Feng] was not
pleased. Hence [Wang Mang] removed him from
being Grand Support Aiding on the Right and Grand
Minister of Works,[1548]
and, taking advantage of a
writing on a mandate by a portent, he made him the
General of a New Beginning, ranking him the same
as the seller of cakes, Wang Sheng. [Chen] Feng and
his son kept silent [but were dissatisfied].[1549]
At this time, [Chen Feng's] son, [Chen] Hsün, was
and Marquis of Abundant Virtues. He now made a
mandate [from Heaven by means of a] portent,
saying that the House of Hsin ought to divide [its
territory at] Shan and set up two Chiefs [to govern
that territory], making [Chen] Feng the Western
Eastern Chief, as in the former circumstances [was
done for the Dukes of] Chou and of Shao.[1555]
[Wang] Mang thereupon followed this [mandate]
and installed [Chen] Feng as the Western Chief.
[Chen Feng] was to "report on his duties"[1556]
and go
out to the west, but had not yet gone, when [Chen]
Hsün again made a mandate [from Heaven by means
Wang] of the former Emperor P'ing of the Han clan,
the Princess of the Yellow Imperial House, was [to
be] the wife of [Chen] Hsün.
[Wang] Mang had been set [on the throne] by
fraud, so he suspected in his heart that his great
terrify them in order to make his inferiors fear him.
Because of these [feelings], he burst out in anger and
said, "The Princess of the Yellow Imperial House is
a mother of the empire. What means this [statement]
[about her becoming the wife of Chen Hsün]?"
He [ordered Chen] Hsün arrested. [Chen] Hsün fled
and [Chen] Feng committed suicide.
[Chen] Hsün followed a gentleman versed in the
magical arts and entered [the solitudes of] Mt. Hua.
After more than a year he was siezed. His confession
implicated [1] the Palace Attendant, Supernaturally
[Influencing] General [Whose Influence]
Penetrates Eastwards, Grandee in Charge of the Five
Behaviors, and Marquis Prospering the Majestic
[Principles], Liu Fen, the son of the State Master
and Duke, [Liu] Hsin1a, [2] Liu Fen's younger
brother, the Senior Department Head, Colonel of the
Ch'ang River [Encampments], and Marquis Attacking
Caitiffs, [Liu] Yung4, [3] the General of the
and Marquis Grasping[1562] the Majestic Principles,
[Wang] Ch'i, the younger brother of the Grand
Minister of Works, [Wang] Yi5, together with [4] a
disciple of Liu Hsin1a, the Palace Attendant and
Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Ting Lung, and
others. They involved ministers, their cabals, and
their relatives. The full marquises and those [ranking]
lower who died were numbered by the hundreds.
In the lines of [Chen] Hsün's hands there were the
words, "Son of Heaven." [Wang] Mang had his
arms untied, had him enter [the palace], and looked
at [his hands]. He said, "These [words] are `one
big fellow.' "[1563]
Some one said, "[It is] `one lu
fellow.' `Lu' is to put to death.[1564]
It makes plain
that [Chen Feng and Chen] Hsün, father and son,
must be put to death and die." Thereupon [Wang
Mang] executed and banished [Liu] Fen to Yu Province,
executed and expelled [(Wang) Ch'i to Mt.
Ch'ung, executed and drove away Chen] Hsün to
[Mt.] San-wei, and executed and killed [Ting] Lung
post-chariots to their destinations.
As a man, [Wang] Mang had a large mouth and a
receding chin, bulging eyes with brilliant[1571] pupils,
and a loud voice which was hoarse. He was seven
feet five inches tall,[1573] loved thick-[soled] shoes and
tall bonnets, and used clothes padded with felt.[1574]
He stuck out his chest and made himself look tall,
[so that he could] look down on those who were
around him.[1575]
At this time, there was a person skilled in medical
and allied arts who was an Expectant Appointee at
the Yellow Gate. Someone asked him about [Wang]
Mang's figure and countenance, and the Expectant
Appointee replied, "[Wang] Mang is a person who
may be said to have owl's eyes, tiger's jaws, and a
wolf's voice. Hence he is able to eat people and is
also due to be eaten by people." The person who
questioned him gave information about [his reply,
and Wang] Mang exterminated the Expectant Appointee
Afterwards [Wang Mang] regularily screened himself
with a mica fan, so that, except for his intimates,
no one was permitted to have an audience with him.
In this year, the Marquis of Original Concord,
Yao Hsün, was made the General of a Peaceful
Beginning.
In the third year, [Wang] Mang said, "The many
duties have been redistributed, but the code, ordinances,
ceremonies, and laws have not yet been all
determined upon, [hence] temporarily the Han [dynasty's]
code, ordinances, ceremonies, and laws
should be followed and applied in [government]
business."
He ordered that the ministers, grandees, nobles,
[and officials ranking at] 2000 piculs might recommend
one official or commoner each who showed an
upright character, who was experienced in administrative
matters, who was gifted in speech, and who
was intelligent in literary studies.[1582]
[Such] persons
were to go to the [Directors of] the Four Gates
to the Royal Apartments.
[Wang Mang] sent the Grandee Master of Writing,
borders. He returned and said that in Po-chia of
Wu-yüan [Commandery the soil] is fertile and produces
grain, and that at other times offices for cultivated
fields had regularily been established there. Thereupon [Wang Mang] made [Chao] Ping the
General of Cultivated Fields and Grain to send
frontier troops to garrison farms in Po-chia, in order
to assist the army with provisions.
At that time, while the various generals who were
at the border were waiting for the large bands [of
soldiers] to be collected, their officers and soldiers
were troubled with levying [troops] and collecting
[materials]. The common people left the cities and
suburbs and became vagrants, becoming thieves and
robbers. In Ping Province[1589] they were especially
numerous. [Wang] Mang ordered that the seven
highest ministers and the six high ministers[1590] should
all be concurrently entitled Generals, and sent the
General Outstanding in Military Affairs, Lu Ping,
and others to control the famous cities, together with
55 Generals of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace and 55
Upholders of the Laws Clad in Embroidered Garments
separately to control the large commanderies
along the border, to correct the greatly cunning
villains who were taking it upon themselves to make
do evil in [the regions] outside [the capital], and
caused confusion in the provinces and commanderies,
making a business of bribes, taking advantage of the
people for their own profit.
[Wang] Mang issued a written message, saying,
"The caitiff [Lüan-ti] Chih's crimes are such that he
is due to be annihilated [with his relatives]. Hence
I sent my fierce generals, with separate [commands
as] twelve divisional generals, to set out simultaneously
and destroy him utterly at one stroke. Within
[the capital], I established Directors of Mandates
[from the Five Majestic Principles] and Chiefs of
Armies; outside [the capital] I set up Superintendants
of Armies, twelve persons [in all] verily intending
that they should have charge over those who do
not uphold my mandate and should cause the soldiers
all to be upright.
"But now they are not so. Each uses his power
putting seals upon common peoples' necks. When
[these officials] secure [a bribe of] cash, they take
[the seal] off.[1596] Poisonous and venomous stings are
simultaneously performed [at various places], so that
the peasants have left [their homes and have become]
scattered. If the Directors and Superintendants are
as the foregoing, can they be said to be suitable [for
their offices]? From this time and henceforth, those
who presume to offend in this [manner] will be immediately
arrested and held [in prison] and their
names shall be reported to me." [The officials] however
When Lin Pao and Tai Chi reached [the region]
just outside the Barrier, they summoned and allured
[Lüan-ti] Hsien, the younger brother of the Shan-yü,
[Lüan-ti Chih], and [Lüan-ti] Hsien's son, [Lüan-ti]
Teng, to enter through the Barrier. By force they
installed [Lüan-ti] Hsien as the Shan-yü Hsiao, granting
him a thousand catties of actual gold, and very
much brocade and embroidery. They sent him away
and brought [Lüan-ti] Teng to Ch'ang-an, [where
he was] installed as the Shan-yü Shun and retained
in the [Hun] princes' quarters.[1602]
From the time that [Wang] Mang usurped the
throne, the Grand Master, Wang Shun4b, had been
ill with [asthma and][1604] palpitation of the heart,
which gradually became worse, so that he died.
[Wang] Mang said [in a message], "Anciently the
[Foreseen] Grand Duke of Ch'i, [Lü Shang], became
the Grand Master of the Chou dynasty because of his
purity and virtue during successive reigns—verily
this is what I have perceived [in Wang Shun]. Let
[Wang] Shun4b's son, [Wang] Yen2, succeed to his
father's noble rank and become the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Hsin [Dynasty]; let [Wang]
Yen2's younger brother, the Marquis As Recompense
to [the House of] Hsin, [Wang] K'uang1a, become
the Grand Master and General; and [let his house]
forever be Coadjutors to the Hsin dynasty."[1605]
For the Heir-apparent, there were established four
Masters and four Companions, who were ranked as
Grandees. The former Grand Minister over the
Masses, Ma Kung, became the Master of Doubts;
the former Privy Treasurer, Tsung-po Feng, became
the Assistant Tutor; the Erudit Yüan Sheng became
the Supporting Coadjutor; the Governor of the
Capital, Wang Chia1c, became the Aiding Guardian.
The foregoing were the Four Masters.
The former Prefect of the Masters of Writing,
T'ang Lin, became the Attacher of the Indifferent,
the Erudit Li Ch'ung1 became the Hastener to Submission,
the Grandee-remonstrant Chao Hsiang became
Lien Tan, became the Defender. The
foregoing were the four Companions.
There was also established one Libationer for the
Masters and Companions, together with one [Libationer]
for] the Remonstrants and Consultants, and one
Libationer [to expound] each of the six Classics, nine
Libationers altogether. They were ranked [the same
as] the highest ranking of the high ministers. Tso
Hsien, from Lang-ya [Commandery], became the
[Libationer] Expounding the Spring and Autumn; Man
Ch'ang, from Ying-ch'uan [Commandery], became
the [Libationer] Expounding the Book of Odes; Kuo
Yu, from Ch'ang-an, became the [Libationer] Expounding
the Book of Changes; T'ang Ch'ang, from
P'ing-yang, became the [Libationer] Expounding the
Book of History; Ch'en Hsien, from P'ei Commandery,
became the [Libationer] Expounding the
Book of Rites; and Ts'ui Fa became the Libationer
Expounding the Book of Music. [Wang Mang] sent
an Internuncio, bringing a comfortable chariot, seal,
and cord, to go to [the home of] and install Kung
Libationer for the Masters and Companions of the
Heir-apparent. [Kung] Sheng would not respond to
the summons, refused to eat, and died.[1615]
The General of a Peaceful Beginning, Yao Hsün,
was dismissed and the Palace Attendant, the Marquis
of Eminent Blessings, K'ung Yung, became the
General of a Peaceful Beginning.
In this year, in the prefecture of Ch'ih-yang, there
were shadows of dwarfs, a foot and more tall. Some
rode in quadrigae with horses, some walked on foot,
holding[1617] all sorts of things. The size [of these
shadows in each group] were all proportionate to
each other. On the third day, it stopped.
In the commanderies on the banks of the [Yellow]
River, locusts sprang up, and the [Yellow] River
broke its banks in Wei Commandery, overflowing
several commanderies from Ch'ing-ho [Commandery]
eastwards. Previous to this [time, Wang] Mang
had feared that the [Yellow] River would break its
banks and injure the tumuli and graves [of his great-grandfather,
Wang Ho, and his descendants], at
Yüan-ch'eng, [but] when it broke its banks, it went
eastwards and Yüan-ch'eng was not troubled by the
In the fourth year, the second month, an amnesty
[was granted to] the empire.
In the summer, a red emanation came out in the
southeast, reaching to heaven.
The General Repressing Difficulties, Ch'en
Ch'in,[1624] said that he had captured some caitiff
[Huns] alive, and that [they had told] that violations
[Lüan-ti] Chio, the son of Shan-yü Hsiao, [Lüan-ti]
Hsien. [Wang] Mang became angry and decapitated
[Lüan-ti Hsien's] son, [Lüan-ti] Teng, at Ch'ang-an,
in order to make him an example to the barbarians.
The Commander-in-chief, Chen Han, died, and the
General of a Peaceful Beginning, K'ung Yung, became
the Commander-in-chief. The Palace Attendant
and Grand Keeper of the Robes, Hou Fu,
became the General of a Peaceful Beginning.
Every time that [Wang] Mang had to go out [of
the palace], immediately preceding there was a
search in the city, which was called a "general
search." In this month there was a general search
for five days.[1628]
When [Wang] Mang reached the Ming-t'ang and
[as a sign of enfeoffment], he issued a written
message which said, "Although I am not virtuous,
because I have inherited [the merits accumulated
by] my sage ancestors, I have become the lord of the
ten-thousand states. Now the tranquillizing of the
great multitude consists in establishing a nobility,
dividing up [the country into][1631] provinces and correcting
their frontiers, in order to beautify [peoples']
customs, and so I have sought out and surveyed the
fundamental and subordinate principles of the earlier
dynasties.
"Verily, in the `Canon of Yao' [it speaks of] twelve
provinces and [concerning] defences [it speaks of]
five domains;[1632]
the Book of Odes [speaks of] fifteen
`Sacrificial Odes of Yin' have the saying, `[T'ang the
Victorious] grandly possessed his nine possessions';[1638]
and the `Tribute of Yü' [speaks of] nine provinces,
not having a Ping or Yu [Province],[1639] while the
Chou Offices, [sub] the Commander-[in-chief], has however
no Hsü or Liang [Province].[1640] The lords and
kings changed [the arrangements] of their [predecessors].
Each one [distinguished himself] by his words
or actions, some making their deeds brilliant and some
enlarging their foundations, [but] their purposes were
outstanding and their intentions were the same.
"Anciently, two sovereigns of the Chou [dynasty]
received the mandate [of Heaven], hence [the dynasty]
had dwelling-places at the Eastern Capital,
have received the mandate [of Heaven], I should
verily also be like them. Let Lo-yang become the
Eastern Capital of the House of Hsin and let Ch'ang2-
an become the Western Capital of the House of Hsin,
[two] royal domains with the appropriate organizations,
each [royal domain] including territory for the
estates of high bureaucrats and baronesses. The
provinces shall accord with those in the `Tribute of
"The noble ranks shall follow those of the Chou
of the nobles shall be [limited to] 1800, and the
number of the Sub-Vassals shall in addition be the
same [as that of the nobles, which positions] shall
await those who distinguish themselves. The various
dukes shall [each] have the territory of one
t'ung,[1645] the multitude in ten thousand households, a
territory a hundred li square. The marquises and
earls shall [each] have one kuo, the multitude in five
thousand households, a territory seventy li square.
The viscounts and barons shall [each] have one tsê,[1646]
the multitude in 2500 households, a territory fifty li
square. Great Vassals shall have as their estates nine
ch'eng,[1647] the multitude in 900 households, a territory
30 li square. From nine [ch'eng] on down, [the
[ch'eng], down to one ch'eng. When [the position of
these] five degrees [of Sub-Vassals] are all filled, [their
territories] will together be equal to one tsê.[1652]
"Those who have now already received their clods
marquises, 21 earls, 171 viscounts, and 497 barons,
altogether 796 persons. [There are also] 1511 Sub-Vassals
and 83 women among the nine [classes of
royal] relatives who have become Baronesses. Moreover
the female descendants of the Han dynasty, the
Baronetess Serving the Rules of Proper Conduct, the
Baronetess Obedient to Virtue, and the Baronetess
Cultivating Moral Principles, in [the former kingdom
of] Chung-shan, have been changed and made Baronesses.
For the eleven highest ministers, the nine
high ministers, the twelve grandees, and the twenty-four
First Officers, their states, estates, or the places
from which they draw their revenues have been fixed.
"I have caused the Palace Attendant and Grandee
Expounding the Book of Rites, K'ung Ping, and
others, with [the people] in the provincial divisions
and the many commanderies who understand and
know the principles of geographical arrangements,
maps, and tax registers, together to examine them
carefully and study them in the Vermillion Bird Hall
of the Shou-ch'eng [House] and determine upon [the
division of the empire into nine divisions]. I and
the various highest ministers, Libationers, and high
ministers of the highest rank have several times in
person considered [this matter], so that I have already
comprehended it all.
"Verily, the recompensing of virtuous conduct and
the rewarding of achievements are the means of
Harmony among one's nine [classes of] relatives is
their way of making a return for one's love of one's
relatives. Since for a long time I have pondered unremittingly
and have thought and investigated [the
deeds of] persons in previous [generations], I shall
make brilliant the demotions and promotions, so as to
make plain the good and evil [of officials] and tranquillize
the great multitude."
Because the maps and tax registers [for the new
division of the country] had not yet been completed,
[Wang Mang] had not yet given [these appointees]
any states or estates and temporarily ordered that
they should receive several thousand cash per month
as salary from the [income of] the capital and inner
[commanderies]. The nobles were all miserably
poor, and there were even some who hired themselves
out.
A Gentleman-of-the-Household, Ou Po, admonished
[Wang] Mang, saying, "Although the ching
it has already been abolished for a long time.
cayed, so that the common people did not follow
them, the Ch'in [dynasty] knew how to accommodate
itself to the common peoples' minds so as to be
able to make great profits. Hence [this dynasty] did
away with the cottages of the ching [system] and
established [salable] subdivisions [of cultivated
fields], and therefore came to rule over all China.
"Down to the present, [all] within [the four] seas
have not yet had their fill of the perversity of the
[Ch'in dynasty in removing the ching system]. If
now you wish to go contrary to the desires of the
common people and restore the lost practises of a
thousand years ago, even though Yao and Shun
should arise again, [yet] without a hundred years of
gradual [training], they would be unable to put [these
ancient practises] into effect. The empire has recently
been tranquillized and the many common
people have newly attached themselves [to you, so
that the ching system] cannot yet be really put into
[Wang] Mang knew that the common people hated
[his arrangements],[1665]
so he issued a written message,
which said, "Those who own or enjoy the income from
are not to be restricted by the law.[1667] Those who
of ordinary people [as slaves] will moreover temporarily
not be punished."
When previously the Generals and Lieutenants of
changed [the title of] the King of Kou-t'ing to be
that of Marquis. The King, [Wu] Han, was resentful
and angry and would not be subordinate [to
Chinese nobles, so Wang] Mang hinted to the Grand
Governor of Tsang-k'o [Commandery], Chou Hsin,
to kill [Wu] Han by a ruse. [After this had been
done, Wu] Han's younger brother, [Wu] Ch'eng,
raised troops, attacked, and killed [Chou] Hsin.
Previous to this [time, Wang] Mang [ordered] the
then would have made an expedition against the
northern barbarians (Hu), [but] they did not wish
to go. When the commandery [authorities tried to]
compel and force them [to move], they all fled, went
out of the barrier, and thereupon violated the laws
and engaged in robbery. When the Grand Governor
of Liao-hsi [Commandery], T'ien T'an, pursued and
attacked them, he was killed by them. The provincial
and commandery [authorities] put the blame
upon a marquis of the Kao-chü-li, Tsou.
Chuang Yu memorialized, saying, "The violations
of the law by the Mo people did not arise from Tsou.
Even if [Tsou] had evil intentions, it would be proper
to order the provincial and commandery [authorities]
temporarily to soothe him. If now he is suddenly[1674]
that he will thereupon rebel. Some of the Fu-yü and
their like would certainly respond to him. Since the
Huns have not yet been conquered, if the Fu-yü and
the Wei-mo arise again, there would be serious
trouble."
[Wang] Mang did not [direct the officials] to console
and calm [Tsou], and the Wei-mo accordingly
revolted. By an imperial edict, [Wang Mang] ordered
lured Tsou, the marquis of the Kao-chü-li, to come,
and beheaded him.
When his head had been transmitted to Ch'ang-an,
[Wang] Mang was greatly pleased, and issued a
written message which said, "Recently, I have commanded
and sent my fierce generals to perform respectfully[1679]
the punishment [directed by] Heaven,
to execute and annihilate the caitiff [Lüan-ti] Chih.
They are divided into twelve regiments.[1680]
Some
are to cut off his right arm, some to cut thru his
left arm-pit, some to break thru his chest and abdomen,
and some to pull out his ribs. In this year
regiments who were to punish the Mo set out first,
arrested and beheaded the caitiff Tsou, and tranquillized
and made secure the eastern frontiers. The
destruction and annihilation of the caitiff [Lüan-ti]
"This [success] was a blessing through the aid and
assistance of Heaven, Earth, the many gods, the gods
of the soils and grains, and the [royal] ancestral
temples, and through the power [coming from] the
Ministers, Grandees, Officers, and common people
being of the same mind and from the generals and
lieutenants being [like] roaring tigers. I approve
most heartily of them. Let the name of the Kao
(high)-chü-li be changed to be Hsia(low)-chü-li, and
let it be published to all the world in order that
everyone shall know of it." Thereupon the Mo
people violated the borders all the more and the
northeastern together with the southwestern barbarians
were both in rebellion.
[Wang] Mang's intentions were then grand, and
he did not consider the barbarians of the four
[quarters] worth destroying, but concentrated his
mind on searching out ancient ways. He again
think that my August Deceased First Ancestor, the
Lord of Yü, [Shun], `received [Yao's] retirement
[from the royal duties in the temple of] the
Accomplished Ancestor,' and that he `examined the
Fine Jade [Turning] Mechanism and the Jade Balance,
in order that he might bring into accord the
seven Governors.' Thereupon `he performed the
sacrifice lei to the Lords on High, performed the
sacrifice yin to his six exemplars, performed the sacrifice
from a distance (wang) and arranged in order the
mountains and streams, made a universal sacrifice
(pien) to the many gods,' `made tours of inspection
to' the five sacred peaks, and `held four courts for the
various princes, at which they set forth and presented
[matters] by word of mouth and were clearly
tested by their deeds.'[1688]
"[From the time that] I received the mandate [of
Heaven] and ascended [the throne as] the actual
Shih]-chien-kuo, will be already five years. Since
the distresses of the nine dry years will have already
been crossed and the [untoward] occurrences in 106
[years] will have already been passed,[1694] [the planet]
Jupiter will be in Shou-hsing, [the planet] Saturn
will be in the [heavenly] Ming-t'ang, the Azure
Dragon will be at kuei-yu, the [ruling] virtue will be
in the Central Palace,[1695] [the hexagrams] Kuan and
tortoise-shell and the milfoil have given information
that they approve, let there be prepared a levy and
collection of taxes for the rites and ceremonies of a
tour of inspection eastwards for that year, in the
second month, at the conjuction inaugurating the
second astronomical month."[1703]
The various highest ministers memorialized begging
that there should be solicited from the officials
and common people, men, horses, linen cloth, silk
cloth,[1705] and brocade. It was also begged that the
twelve inner commanderies and kingdoms should buy
horses and dispatch 450,000 rolls of silk, transporting
them to Ch'ang2-an. Those which were to be sent
earlier and later were not to wait for each other.
issued a written message which said, "Since the
person of the Empress Dowager the Mother of Culture
[nee Wang] is not in good health, let [the transportation]
be temporarily stopped and await a future
[order]."
In this year, [Wang Mang] changed the titles of
hsin2. Later he again changed hsin2 to be hsin4.[1709]
In the fifth year, the second month, the Empress
She was buried in the Wei Tomb with [her husband],
A temple for her was established at Ch'ang-an, at
which the House of Hsin was from generation to
generation to offer sacrifices, which Emperor Yüan
was [also] to partake as her spouse, seated below her
couch. [Wang] Mang wore mourning for the Empress
Dowager [nee Wang] to the third year.
The Commander-in-chief, K'ung Yung, begged to
retire, and he was granted a comfortable chariot with
a quadriga of horses, and as [a person who ranked as]
Specially Advanced, he took his place at court. The
Marquis Unifying the Customs, Lu Ping, was made
the Commander-in-chief.
At this time, the common people of Ch'ang-an
at Lo-yang, so they were unwilling to repair their residences,
and some [people] destroyed their [houses]
considerably. [Wang] Mang said [in a message],
"The inscription on the dark dragon stone said,
locate] the capital at Lo-yang.'[1721] The mandate
[of Heaven by means of] portents is manifest and
clear. Could I presume not to uphold it reverently?
Because in the eighth year of [the period] Shih-chien-kuo
[the planet] Jupiter will move to [the
contellations of] Hsing-chi, [which is equated] with
the capital at Lo-yang, let the capital at Ch'ang2-an
be carefully put in repair, and let it not be spoilt.
Those who presume to violate [this order] shall immediately
have their names reported and [the
officials] shall beg [the throne to ratify appropriate
punishment for] the crimes [of those people]."
In this year, the Greater and Lesser K'un-mi of
the Wu-sun sent envoys to offer tribute. The
Greater K'un-mi, [Yi-chih-mi], was a grandson of
the Chinese [House of Han] on the distaff side.[1725]
His son by a wife who was a northwestern barbarian
(Hu) had become the Lesser K'un-mi, to whom the
Wu-sun had turned and adhered. [Wang] Mang
saw that the Huns were simultaneously invading the
various borders, so, with the intention of seeking to
obtain the affection of the Wu-sun, he sent a commissioner
to lead the envoy from the Lesser K'un-mi
and place him [in the court at a station] above that
of the envoy of the Greater K'un-mi.
The Libationer for the Masters and Companions
[of the Heir-apparent] Guarantor of His Perfection,
Man Ch'ang, memorialized, impeaching [Wang
Mang's] commissioner, saying, "The barbarians
consider that China has [a knowledge of] what is
right and proper, hence they submit and are obedient
to [China]. The Greater K'un-mi is the prince [and
the Lesser K'un-mi is his subject]. Now to rank the
not the way to hold [the affection of] the barbarians.
The commissioner was seriously disrespectful."
[Wang] Mang became angry and dismissed [Man]
Ch'ang from his office.
The various states of the Western [Frontier] Regions
considered that [Wang] Mang had repeatedly
broken [the ties of] grace and faithfulness [binding
them to China. The state of] Karashahr (Yen-ch'i)
revolted first, murdering the Protector-General [of
In the eleventh month, a broom-star appeared.
In this year, because those who violated [the law
against] possessing copper and charcoal were too
many, this law done away with.
For the next year, [Wang Mang] changed the year-period,
calling it T'ien-feng.[1732]
In [the year-period] T'ien-feng, the first year, the
and [Wang] Mang said [in a message], "In the second
month, at the conjunction inaugurating the second
astronomical month, I will perform the rites of a tour
of inspection. The Grand Provisioner [will take care
of] the dry provisions for traveling and the dried
meat and the [Prefect of] the Flunkies[1740] [will take
care of] the traveling curtains for my sitting and
pass will not be permitted to furnish anything.
"When I tour eastwards, I must in person carry a
plow,[1745] and every county shall thereupon plow, in
order to encourage `the beginning [of the work of
ploughing] at the eastern [season, spring].'[1746] When
I tour southwards, I must in person carry a hoe, and
every county shall thereupon weed, thereby encouraging
`the development[1747] in the southern [season,
summer].[1748] When I tour westwards, I must
in person carry a sickle, and every county shall thereupon
reap, thereby encouraging `harvesting in the
western [season, autumn].'[1749] When I tour northwards,
I must in person carry a flail, and every
county shall thereupon garner [their grain],[1750]
thereby encouraging covering up and storing [the
harvest]. When I have completed the rites of the tour
of inspection northwards, I will thereupon go to the
center of the earth and dwell in the capital at Lo-yang.
If any [people] presume to run and make a
noise, violating the law, they will immediately be
dealt with according to military law."[1751]
The various highest ministers memorialized, saying,
"You, Emperor, are most filial. In the last year,
the Mother of Culture [nee Wang] was not in good
health, you yourself in person supplied her needs,
rarely taking off your clothes or bonnet. When
thereupon it happened that she left her subjects, you
became melancholy. The color of your features has
not yet returned, and you have eaten and drunk too
little.
"Now for you to make four tours in one year, [to
travel] a road ten thousand li [in length]—your age
is honorable, so that you cannot endure [living on]
dry provisions and dried meat. For the time being,
do not make [these] tours of inspection. You need
to end your deep mourning in order to rest your sage
person. Your subjects will use all their power to
will support and accord with your brilliant edicts."
[Wang] Mang replied, "If the highest ministers, the
[Provincial] Shepherds, the high officials, the nobles,
and `the heads of offices'[1756]
are willing to use all their
power, leading each other in caring for and shepherding
the myriad common people, and wish thereby to
assist me and in this way to obey respectfully,[1757]
let
them make [all possible] efforts in this [direction], and
not swallow their words. I will change [my plans]
and in the seventh year of [the period] T'ien-feng,
Azure Dragon will be at keng-ch'en, I will perform the
rites of a tour of inspection. The next year Jupiter
will be in Shih-ch'en and the Azure Dragon at hsin-szu,
when I will go to the center of the earth at the
capital in Lo-yang."
[Wang Mang] thereupon sent the Grand Tutor,
P'ing Yen, and the Grand Minister of Works, Wang
[making] a map of the pomeria for [future] graves, and
to build the [imperial] ancestral temple, the altars to
the gods of the soils and grains, and the pomeria for
[the altars for] suburban sacrifices.
In the third month, on [the day] jen-shen, the
last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the
sun, and a general amnesty [was granted] to the
empire. The document to the Commander-in-chief,
Lu Ping, said, "The sun has been eclipsed so that it
had no light, since the shields and spears had not been
gathered in. Let the Commander-in-chief transmit
to the emperor his seal and [ceremonial] apron [in
token of his dismissal] and take the position of a
marquis of a noble clan in the court. The Grand
Tutor, P'ing Yen, shall not be Intendant of Affairs
of the Masters of Writing. Let the Palace Attendants
and Department Heads who concurrently hold
other positions be dispensed with. Let Miao Hsin,
an advantageous male,[1766] become the Commander-in-chief."
When Wang Mang had taken the throne as
actual [Emperor], he took special precautions against
his great officials and restrained and took away the
power of his subordinates. If a court official said
anything about the faults of [the high officials, Wang
Mang] each time promoted [the speaker]. Because
K'ung Jen, Chao Po, Fei Hsing, and others dared to
attack the great officials, [these daring critics] were
and held [such positions].
When the ministers entered the palaces, there was
a regular number of officials [for their suite]. When
the officials accompanying the Grand Tutor, P'ing
Yen, were greater [in number] than the regulation
[allowed], a Supervisor at a side-gate minutely
questioned [P'ing Yen about it] without showing any
Officer [in his train] arrested and bound the Supervisor.
[Wang] Mang was furious and sent an Upholder
of the Laws to send out several hundred chariots
and horsemen, surround the yamen of the Grand
Tutor, and arrest the Officer, who thereupon died.
An Officer of the Grand Minister of Works passed
Master of Ceremonies. When the Chief of the Commune
was severe with [the Officer and the latter]
made known the name of his office, the Chief of the
Commune said drunkenly, "Surely you have passport
credentials?" The Officer beat the Chief of the
Commune with his horsewhip, and the Chief of the
Commune beheaded the Officer and fled. The commandery
and prefectural [authorities] pursued him,
and his household sent to the Emperor a letter [explaining
the matter. Wang] Mang said, "The Chief
of the Commune was upholding the public [good].
Do not pursue him," and the Grand Minister of
Works, [Wang] Yi5, had his Officer's [body] mutilated[1773]
in order to excuse himself.
Since the State General, Ai Chang, was considerably
lished for him a Third Brother Ho. His [imperial]
command said, "Do not only protect the doors of the
State General's female apartments; it is necessary to
protect his blood relatives and relatives by marriage
in the western provinces."[1776] The various highest
ministers were all light-[weight] and of little worth,
[Ai] Chang especially so.
In the fourth month, there was a fall of frost which
killed the vegetation, especially at the sea-shore.
In the sixth month, a yellow fog [filled up everything
within] the four quarters. In the seventh month, a
great wind uprooted trees and blew off the roof-tiles
on [the buildings at] the Northern Portal [of the
Palace] and at the Chih-ch'eng gate [of Ch'ang-an]
and hail fell, killing cattle and sheep.
In accordance with the text of the Chou-li and the
"Royal Regulations," [Wang] Mang established Directors
of Confederations, Leaders of Combinations,
and Grand Governors, whose duties were to be the
same as those of [the former] Grand Administrators,
and [established] Prefects of Associations and Chiefs
of Associations with duties the same as those of [the
former] Chief Commandants. He established
[nine] Provincial Shepherds who were to be received
in audience with [the same] formalities as
those [shown] to the three highest ministers, and
twenty-five Superintendents of Regional Divisions,[1785]
one was to have charge of five commanderies. Dukes
herds, marquises with noble clans [occupied the positions
clans [occupied the positions of] Leaders of Combinations,
viscounts with noble clans [occupied the positions
of] Prefects of Associations, and barons with
noble clans [occupied the positions of] Chiefs of
Associations. All those offices were made hereditary.
Those who did not have any noble ranks were made
[Grand] Governors.
The neighborhood of the city of Ch'ang-an was
divided into six districts, and one Leader was established
for each [district]. The capital commanderies
were divided and made into six commandants' commanderies.[1793]
[The commanderies of] Ho-tung, Ho-nei,
Nan-yang became the six Neighboring Commanderies,
and Grandees were established [for them] with
duties like those of the [former] Grand Administrators,
and Directors of Associations with duties like
those of the [former] Chief Commandants. The
title of the Grand Governor of Ho-nan [Commandery]
was changed to be the High Minister Protecting and
devoted to the Hsin4 [Dynasty]. The counties subordinate
to Ho-nan [Commandery] were increased to
be a full thirty, and six suburbs were established with
a Chief of a Department for each [suburb], each
[Chief of a Department] having charge of five
Moreover the names of the other offices were all
even as many as five [commanderies],[1803] and three
hundred sixty commanderies and counties were given
the names of communes, in order to accord with the
words of the mandates [of Heaven as transmitted by]
portents. At the borders there were also established
Commandants of the Frontiers. Barons were
given [these offices. The numbers of] reserved fields
within nobles' estates were increased or decreased in
order to promote or demote [these nobles].[1805]
[Wang] Mang issued a written message, which
said, "At the Western Capital, Ch'ang2-an, [the
capital commanderies] shall be called the Six Districts
and the various counties shall be called those
of the six Commandants; at the Eastern Capital,
Yi4-yangb, [the capital commanderies] shall be called
the Six Departments,[1806]
and the various counties
shall be called [those of] the six Neighboring [Commanderies].
Within [the area which] `contributes
grain in the husk and cleaned grain,' [the commanderies]
are to be called the Contributing Commanderies.[1807]
Outside of them, [the commanderies]
[commanderies] which contain barriers or palisades
are to be called Border Commanderies. Altogether
there are one hundred and twenty-five commanderies
in nine provinces with two thousand two hundred
and three counties.
"Those who do public service in the imperial
domain are those `constituting fortified walls.' Those
in the Domain of the Nobles are those `securing
repose.' Those in the territories allotted to high
bureaucrats, baronesses, and the patrols are those
`constituting buttresses.'[1811]
Those in the Domain of
Those in [the regions where they] `cultivate the lessons
of learning and moral duties [and where they]
show the energies of war and defence'[1815] are those
`constituting [unfortified] walls.' Those outside the
nine provinces are those `constituting fences.'[1816]
Each one is to be styled in accordance with the region
[in which his fief is located]; altogether they constitute
the myriad states."
In subsequent years, [Wang Mang] again changed
five times, returning and restoring its former
[name], so that the officials and common people
could not keep records of [these names], and whenever
a written imperial edict was issued, the former
names [of places mentioned therein] were each time
[For example], he said, "An imperial edict of
decree to the Grand Governor and Grand Commandant
of Ch'en-liu [Commandery]. Let [the
territory] from Yi-sui and southwards be transferred
to Hsin-p'ing [commandery]. (Hsin-p'ing
[commandery] is the former Huai-yang [Commandery].)
From Yung-ch'iu and eastwards [the territory]
is to be transferred to Ch'en-ting [Commandery].
(Ch'en-ting [Commandery] is the former
Liang Commandery.) From Feng-ch'iu and eastwards
[the territory] is to be transferred to the Chih
Commune [Commandery]. (The Chih Commune
[Commandery] is the former Tung Commandery.)
From [the city of] Ch'en-liu and westwards, [the
territory] is to be transferred to the Imperial Domain
Neighboring [Commandery]. (The Imperial
Domain Neighboring [Commandery] is the former
Jung-yang [Commandery].) Ch'en-liu is now not
any more to be a commandery. Its Grand Governor
and Grand Commandant are both to go to the place
where the [Emperor] is." The changes and alterations
in [Wang Mang's] ordinances regarding names
were all of the foregoing sort.
[Wang Mang] ordered that in the primary schools
of the empire [the day] mou-tzu should take the place
of [the day] chia-tzu as the first day of the sixty-[day]
cycle.[1825] In capping [boys at maturity], mou-tzu
should be considered as the best day. For marriages,
the decade [beginning with the day] mou-yin[1826]
most of the people did not obey [this order].
When the Hun Shan-yü, [Lüan-ti] Chih, had died,
set up as Shan-yü, he asked for peace and alliance
by marriage [with the Chinese imperial house.
Wang] Mang sent an envoy to give him rich presents
and to promise falsely to return his son, [Lüan-ti]
Teng, who had been an Attendant [at the Chinese
court]. Thereupon [Wang Mang] offered rewards
for Ch'en Liang, Chung Tai, and the others [of their
group] and the Shan-yü immediately siezed [Ch'en]
Liang and the others, and delivered them to the
envoys. In carts with cages they went to Ch'ang-an,
where [Wang] Mang had [Ch'en] Liang and the
others burnt [to death] at the north of the city, and
ordered the officials and common people to gather in
order to see it.[1832]
At the borders there was a great famine, so that
Ju P'u, [was sent to] inspect the border troops and
returned, saying, "The soldiers have encamped at
the barriers for a long time and have suffered [because]
the border commanderies have no means of
furnishing supplies for them. Now that the Shan-yü
has newly made peace, it would therefore be proper
to dismiss the troops."
Colonel Han Wei came forward and said, "For the
majesty of the Hsin House to swallow the northern
such small things as] fleas or lice in one's mouth.
Your servant wishes to take five thousand brave
and daring gentlemen, and, without taking along a bushel of food, in hunger to eat the flesh of the
caitiffs and in thirst to drink their blood, so that I
shall be able to traverse [their territory freely."
Wang] Mang admired his words and made him the
Majestically Acting General.
But he adopted [Ju] P'u's words and summoned
the various generals who were at the border to return,
persons [in all]. He also abolished the various garrisons
of soldiers [belonging to] the Chief Commandants
posted at the four passes [to the imperial
capital].[1839]
[But] it happened that when the Hun envoy returned,
the Shan-yü came to know that his son,
[Lüan-ti] Teng, who had been an Attendant, had
previously been executed, so he mobilized his troops
and raided the borders, [hence Wang] Mang had
again to mobilize the military garrisons. Thereupon
the people of the border wandered into the inner
commanderies and became slaves and slave-women
of those people. Then a prohibition was made, that
if officials or common people should presume to
possess people from the borders, they should be
publicly executed.
The barbarians in Yi-chou [Commandery] killed
their Grand Governor, Ch'eng Lung, so that the
whole of the three borders [to the province] were in
rebellion. [Wang Mang] sent the General Tranquillizing
the Southern Barbarians, Feng[1841] Mou, leading
The General of a Peaceful Beginning, Hou Fu, was
dismissed, and the Libation Officer Expounding the
Book of Changes, Tai Ts'an, was made the General
of a Peaceful Beginning.
In the second year, the second month, a banquet
all the ministers and grandees were present at the
feast. A general amnesty [was granted] to the
empire.
At this time a star was visible at noon,[1847]
and the
lower position to be Director of Mandates. The
the Commander-in-chief.
[Some common people][1854]
falsely said that a yellow
Palace, and [many] people hastily ran there. Those
who went to see it numbered by the ten-thousands.
[Wang] Mang hated it, and arrested and bound [some
of those people], in order to ask whence this saying
arose. He was not [however] able to trace [its
source.][1860]
Since the Shan-yü, [Lüan-ti] Hsien, had made peace
and an alliance by marriage [with the Chinese imperial
house], he asked for the corpse of his son,
[Lüan-ti] Teng. [Wang] Mang wanted to send envoys
to bring it to him, [but] he feared that because
of his grudge [Lüan-ti] Hsien would kill the envoys.
So he arrested the former General [Repressing Difficulties],
Ch'en Ch'in, who had previously said that
[Wang Mang] ought to execute [Lüan-ti Teng,] the
son [of the Shan-yü], in attendance [upon the
Chinese Emperor], and had him bound in prison for
another crime.[1863] [Ch'en] Ch'in said, "This [act is
because Wang Mang] wants to use me to excuse
[himself] to the Huns," and thereupon committed
suicide.
Wang Mang selected [as envoys] Confucian
Wang Hsien2c from Chi-nan [Commandery]
was made the Chief Envoy and the General
of the Five Majestic [Principles]; Fu5 Yen, [a
man of] Lang-yeh Commandery], and others, were
made Lieutenant Envoys to accompany the corpse of
[Lüan-ti] Teng. [Wang Mang] ordained that they
were to dig up the tomb of the Shan-yü [Lüan-ti]
Chih, and to whip his corpse with thorns. He also
ordered the Huns to withdraw their frontiers north
upon the Shan-yü ten thousand head of horses, thirty
thousand head of cattle, and a hundred thousand
head of sheep. Moreover of the few people and
livestock from the borders who had been kidnapped,
insofar as they were still alive, [the Shan-yü] should
return them all. [Wang] Mang loved to talk grandly,
as in the foregoing [order].[1870]
When [Wang] Hsien2c reached the court of the
Shan-yü, he set forth [Wang] Mang's majestic virtue
and reprimanded the Shan-yü for his crimes of rebellion.
In his replies, [Wang Hsien2c] responded to
his opponents in every way, so that the Shan-yü
was not able to argue him down. Thereupon [Wang
Hsien2c] carried out [Wang Mang's] mandate and
brought back these [people and livestock].[1871]
When
he entered through the barrier, [Wang] Hsien2c had
as an earl. Fu5 Yen and the others were all made
viscounts.
[Wang] Mang's notion was that if institutions were
Hence he thought in detail concerning geographical
arrangements, the institution of rites, and the composition
of music. In discussing the harmonization
and matching of the explanations to the six Classics,
the ministers entered [his presence] at dawn and left
at dusk. He discussed[1877] for successive years without
have leisure to examine law-cases, decide complaints
of injustices, or to settle the urgent business of the
common people, and when there were vacancies
among the rulers of the counties, [Wang Mang left]
for several years [officials as] acting [magistrates or as
magistrates] concurrently [holding other positions,
with the result that] the covetousness and injuriousness
of all [his officials] alike daily became greater.
The[1882] Generals of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace
and Administrators of the Laws Clad in Embroidered
Garments who were in the commanderies and states
all took advantage of their authority and opportunities,
and in turn[1883] recommended each other in memorials.
Moreover when the Officers of the eleven
highest ministers were dispersed to encourage agriculture
and sericulture, to proclaim the ordinances
for the [various] seasons, and to examine into various
documentary matters, the [official] bonnets and
[chariot] coverings of one [set of officials] could [almost]
be seen by the succeeding [set],[1884] and they
jostled one another on the roads. They would summon
meetings of the officials and common people and
arrest eye-witnesses. When the commanderies and
counties [gathered] capitation-taxes, [these officials]
exchanged bribes and presents, so that [even] white
and black were confused and those who watched at
the [palace] portals [to intercept] accusations were
many.
[Wang] Mang himself knew that he had previously
usurped the [imperial] power, and had thereby obtained
the government from the Han [dynasty], hence
he took care to control the multitude of [government]
affairs himself and when the high officials received
[orders directing] the detailed disposition [of cases],
they merely did enough to avoid [punishment]. The
various offices [in charge of] the valuable objects, the
famous treasuries, and the taxes were all in charge
of eunuchs. When officials or common people presented
to the Emperor matters in sealed letters, the
eunuchs serving in the palace offices or [members of
the imperial] entourage broke the seals, so that the
Masters of Writing did not get to know about
them.[1888] Such were [Wang Mang's] fear of and precautions
against his courtiers and subordinates.
He also loved to change and alter the institutions
were numerous, and those which needed to be put
into practise[1891] had each time to be asked about,
before anything could be done. When earlier and
later [documents] succeeded each other, they became
unclear, confused, and could not be cleared up.[1892]
lamp until daylight, but nevertheless he was not
able to accomplish his work. Taking advantage of
this [circumstance], the Masters of Writing did evil
and laid matters aside, so that those who had sent
letters to the throne and awaited replies [at the
Palace Portals] did not get to leave for successive
years. Those who had been arrested and bound [in
prison] in the commanderies or counties could only
get out when it happened that there was an amnesty,
and the soldiers of the [palace] guard were not
changed even in the third year.[1896]
Grain was constantly expensive. More than two
hundred thousand border troops depended for their
clothes and food upon the imperial government.
They were discontented and bitter. Wu-yüan and
Ta Commanderies suffered especially from them,
[so that people in these commanderies] arose and
became thieves and robbers, several thousand persons
becoming a troop, turning around and entering the
neighboring commanderies. [Wang] Mang sent the
General Siezing Robbers, K'ung Jen, with troops,
to join with the commandery and county [authorities]
to attack [the robbers]. Only after more than
a year were [the robbers] put down. The border
commanderies were moreover almost on the point of
being emptied [of people].
North of Han-tan there was a great rain and fog,
and the waters rose. The deepest [places] were
several tens of feet [deep]. It carried away and
killed several thousands of persons.
The General Establishing the State, Sun Chien,
died, and the Director of Mandates [from the Five
Establishing the State. The General of a Peaceful
office [of Libation Officer Expounding the Book of
Changes], and the General of the Southern City Wall
[of Ch'ang-an], Lien Tan, became the General of a
Peaceful Beginning.
In the third year, the second month, on [the day]
snow, which was especially severe east of the [Han-ku]
Pass. The deepest [places] were ten feet [deep].
The bamboos and arbor vitae trees all[1905] withered.
The Grand Minister of Works, Wang Yi5, presented
to the eighth year, and my efforts have not been
successful. In my duties as [Grand] Minister of
Works, I have [moreover] been more especially useless,
so that recently there has even been the grievous
vicissitude of an earthquake. I wish to beg to
retire."
[Wang] Mang replied, "Verily, Earth has movements
and has quakes. The quakes cause injury,
[but] the movements do not cause injury. The
Book of Changes, in the "Great Appendix," [says]
that [the hexagram] k'un, [representing Earth], moves. When [Earth] moves it opens, and when it
rests, it closes, and [in this way] all things are
brought to birth.[1908] Each grievous vicissitude of
visitation or prodigy has its message and action, so
Heaven and Earth move majestically in order to
warn me. What crime have you, Duke, committed
that you beg to retire? [This] is not the way to
assist me. I send the Inspector of Officials, Cavalryman
Without Specified Appointment, Director of
vating Tranquillity, Tsun2, to inform you of my
will."
In the fifth month, [Wang] Mang issued regulations
for the salaries of officials, saying, "I have met
with the distresses of the nine dry years and the
[untoward] occurrences in the 106 [years.[1914] The
revenues for] the expenses of the state have been
insufficient, so that the common people are in disturbance.
For the ministers and those of lower
[ranks], the emolument for one month has been two
rolls of 800-thread linen cloth[1916] or one roll of silk.
Every time I think of it, I never fail to be sad.
"Now that the distresses and [untoward] occurrences
have already been overpassed, although the
government treasuries have not yet been able to be
filled, [yet] something can be taken out to supply
[what is needed]. On the first day of the sixth
officials be for the first time distributed all according
to the regulations. The four coadjutors, the ministers,
the grandees, the officers, and on down to the
lower officials [constitute] altogether fifteen grades.
The salary of the lower officials for one year shall be
66 hu. [This amount] shall be gradually increased
by steps up to [the rank of] the four Coadjutors, [for
whom] it shall be made 10,000 hu."
Wang Mang also said,
There can be nothing but the King's lands.
Must not fail to be subjects of the King.'[1920]
Heaven.'[1921] The Chou-li [says that] in the imperial
cuisine, `one hundred and twenty kinds of meat dishes
[are furnished].'[1923]
"The nobles shall now each receive the income of
vassals shall receive the income of their estates;
ministers, grandees, and first officers shall receive the
income of the territory allocated to them. There are
regulations for all the differences in the amount of
their [revenues]. When the harvests are abundant,
the rites [regarding the amounts given them] shall be
fully carried out; when there are visitations or disasters
[to the crops, their revenues] shall be decreased,
so that they shall suffer and rejoice along with the
people. Let it be that at the time when the [yearly]
accounts [from the commanderies] are presented,
[there shall be made] a general account for the
empire. If there happily have been no visitations or
disasters, the Grand Provisioner [shall provide] the
complete number of imperial dishes. [But] if there
have been visitations or disasters, the amount shall
be calculated in percentages, and the dishes [at the
imperial table] shall be reduced [proportionately].[1926]
"[The Chief of] the Eastern [Sacred] Peak and
Grand Master and the General Establishing the
State shall act as guarantors for twenty-five commanderies
of three provinces and one regional division
in the eastern quarter; [the Chief of] Southern
Sacred Peak and Grand Tutor and the General of
the Van shall act as guarantors for twenty-five commanderies
of two provinces and one regional division
in the southern quarter; [the Chief of] the Western
[Sacred] Peak and State Master and the General of
a Peaceful Beginning shall act as guarantors for
twenty-five commanderies of one province and two
regional divisions in the western quarter; [the Chief
of] the Northern [Sacred] Peak and State General and
the General of the Guard shall act as guarantors for
twenty-five commanderies of two provinces and one
regional division in the northern quarter. The Commander-in-chief
shall act a guarantor for ten commanderies
in the eastern and southern [parts of] the
central regional divisions [subject to] the Communicator
and high minister, the Deciding Judge and high
minister, the Capital Commandant [Grandee], the
Sustainer Commandant [Grandee], the Metropole
Neighboring Commandery, and the Western Neighboring
Commandery.[1933] The Grand Minister over
the Masses shall act as guarantor for five commanderies
in the central regional divisions and western regional
division [subject to] the Director of Music and
high minister, the Arranger of the Ancestral Temples
and high minister,[1934] the Supporter Commandant
the Eastern Neighboring Commandery, and the
Southern Neighboring Commandery. The Grand
Minister of Works shall act as guarantor for ten commanderies
in the central regional divisions and northwards
[subject to] the My Forester and high minister,
the Provider of Works and high minister,[1937] the
Master Commandant [Grandee], the Commandant
of Magnificence [Grandee], the Imperial Domain
Neighboring Commandery, and the Northern Neighboring
Commandery. The directors and high ministers[1938]
shall all join with the highest ministers to
whom they are subordinate in acting as guarantors
against visitations and disasters [in the regions for
which] their [superiors act as guarantors].
"If there have been calamities or injuries to the
the amount shall also be calculated in percentages,
and their salaries shall be reduced [proportionately].
Gentlemen, the Imperial Retinue, and officials of the
imperial capital offices, who receive their salaries
from the receipts within the [imperial] capitals, shall
take the amount of the imperial dishes [provided by]
the Grand Provisioner as the measure [for their
salaries]. Nobles, princesses, baronesses, vassals,
and minor officials shall also each act as guarantors
against visitations and disasters [in] their [districts].
I hope that [thus] superiors and inferiors will be of
the same mind and will encourage the advancement
of agriculture and tranquillize the great multitude."
[Wang] Mang's regulations were as complicated and
detailed as the foregoing.
The calculations of the taxes could not be made
out, so that the officials did not eventually obtain any
salaries. Each one took advantage of the duties of
his office to do evil, receiving and exacting bribes and
presents in order to support himself.
bank of the Ch'ang-p'ing Lodge collapsed, blocking
up the Ching River, so that it could not run, was
cut off, and flowed northwards.[1948] [Wang Mang]
sent the Grand Minister of Works, Wang Yi5, to
inspect it. When he returned and memorialized a
description [of the occurrence], the courtiers offered
congratulations, considering that it was what the
upon water is a happy auspice of the Huns being destroyed.
[Wang Mang] thereupon sent the Shepherd
of the Ping Province, Sung Hung, the Scouting and
Attacking Chief Commandant, Jen Meng,[1951] and
others, leading troops, to attack the Huns. They
went to the border, and stopped to garrison it.
In the seventh month, on [the day] hsin-yu, there
among the common people is called the Cerulean
Gate, and on [the day] mou-tzu, the last day of the
month, there was an eclipse of the sun. A general
amnesty [was granted] to the empire, and [Wang
Mang] again ordered the ministers, grandees, nobles,
and [officials ranking at] 2000 piculs each to recommend
one person with the four [types of virtuous]
conduct.[1954] The Commander-in-chief, Ch'en Mou,
was dismissed because of the eclipse of the sun, and
the Earl Establishing Military Power, Chuang Yu,
was made the Commander-in-chief.
In the tenth month, on [the day] mou-hsü,[1956]
the
out for a day and night without ceasing. Ts'ui Fa
and others said, "The Lord of Yü, [Shun], `opened
the gates to the four [quarters] to hear with the ears
in the four [quarters].'[1959] The crying out of the gate
makes plain that you ought to cultivate the rites of
the four quarters." Thereupon [Wang Mang] ordered
that the courtiers should all felicitate him.
Those who were recommended for the four [types of
virtuous] conduct entered by way of the Vermillion
Bird Gate in order to take the examinations.
The General Tranquillizing the Southern Barbarians,
Feng Mou, had attacked Kou-t'ing, and six
As a levy for military purposes upon the common
people's wealth he had taken five-tenths, so that
the Yi Province was empty and waste, yet [the rebellious
barbarians] were not vanquished. [Wang
Mang] summoned him to return and sent him to
prison, where he died.
In his place, [Wang Mang] sent the General of a
Peaceful Beginning, Lien Tan, together with the
[Provincial] Shepherd of Yung Regional Division,
Shih Hsiung, to attack Kou-t'ing.[1964]
When they
had cut off a considerable [number of] heads and had
had a victory, [Wang] Mang summoned [Lien] Tan
and [Shih] Hsiung [to come to the capital. Lien]
Tan and [Shih] Hsiung wanted [instead] to increase
the taxes, [whereupon] they would be certain to conquer.
Thereupon they returned and again made a great
levy for military purposes. The Grand Governor of
Chiu-tu [Commandery], Feng Ying, was not willing
to furnish [anything], and sent [a memorial] to the
throne, saying, "From the time that Chou Niu of
Sui-chiu [county] and Hsieh-tou of T'ung Commune
and the like in Yüeh-sui [Commandery] revolted, it
has been almost the tenth year, in which [time] the
commanderies and counties have been resisting the
attacks of [the barbarians] without cessation. When,
in succession to [Ch'eng Lung], Feng Mou was employed,
policy, which was that, altho south of P'o-tao
the mountains are high and defiles are deep, [Feng]
Mou many times expelled their bands from distant
places, so that the expense has been counted by the
hundred-thousands [of cash] and officers and soldiers
have suffered from poisonous emanations,[1968] seven-tenths
of them dying.
"Now [Lien] Tan and [Shih] Hsiung are afraid
that they themselves would be reprimanded [for not
and [seek to] levy and mobilize the troops and grain
of the commandery, to re-appraise [the property of]
the common people and take four-tenths of it. They
have impoverished and ruined Liang Province, but
their efforts will not eventually meet with success.
It would be proper to dismiss the troops and garrison
farms and openly offer rewards [for the rebels]."
[Wang] Mang became angry and dismissed [Feng]
Ying from his office. [But] later he awakened considerably
to [the truth] and said, "[Feng] Ying
should not however be severely condemned," and
rewarded [Feng] Ying by making him the Leader of
the Combination in Ch'ang-sha [Commandery].
Wang-sun Ch'ing, [who belonged to] the faction of
sent the Grand Physician and the Master of Recipes,
with a skilled butcher, all together to dissect and flay
[Wang-sun Ch'ing], to measure and examine his five
viscera, and to use fine bamboos to trace out his
arteries, so as to find out their beginnings and ends,
saying that [thereby] they would know how to cure
illness.[1972]
In this year, [Wang Mang] sent as the Chief
Wang Chün4c, with the Protector General of the
Western Frontier Regions, Li Ch'ung2, leading the
Mou-and-Chi Colonel, [Kou Ch'in], to go out to the
Western Frontier Regions. All the various states
welcomed [the envoys] at their suburbs and offered
tribute.
The state of Karshahr (Yen-ch'i)[1977] had previously
murdered the Protector General Tan Ch'in, so
[Wang] Chün4c wanted to make a surprise attack
upon it. He ordered his Associate Lieutenant, Ho
Feng, and the Mou-and-Chi Colonel, Kuo Ch'inb, to
separate their commands [from his]. Karshahr
(Yen-Ch'i) made a pretense of surrendering, and
and ambushed troops, who attacked [Wang] Chün4c
and the others, so that all [his company] died.
[Kuo] Ch'inb and [Ho] Feng reached [Karshahr
shortly] after [Wang Chün4c had been killed, before
the troops had returned], and made a surprise attack
upon its aged and weak [people, massacring
them]. They returned by way of Turfan (Chü-shih)
and entered the [Chinese] barrier. [Wang] Mang
installed [Kuo] Ch'inb as the General Maintaining
Order in Foreign Parts, and enfeoffed him as the
Viscount Exterminating Northwestern Barbarians.
Ho Feng was made the Baron Quieting the Northwestern
Barbarians. From this time on, the Western
Frontier Regions were cut off [from China].
Wang Hsien-shen (1859-1922) points out that in the parallel passage, 98: 14a12, the
term fu1 [OMITTED] is written fu2 [OMITTED]. Seemingly the Grand Empress Dowager's ceremonial apron
was made of silk instead of leather, as befits a lady, and the word for this article, when the
article is made of silk, could be written with the silk radical as early as the time of Wang
Mang or of Pan Ku; cf. 99 A: n. 18.3.
The Grand Empress Dowager bitterly opposed Wang Mang's usurpation of the imperial
title; she possessed the Ch'in dynasty's imperial seal, which Chao Tzu-ying had
surrendered to Emperor Kao, and which was called "The seal whereby the Han dynasty
transmits the state [OMITTED]." When Wang Mang asked for this important seal, she refused
to give it up, saying that Wang Mang was worse than a pig or dog. She was however
compelled by threats to give up this seal and she accepted the Hsin dynasty's seal.
But secretly she continued certain of the Han dynasty's practises, which Wang Mang had
abolished. Cf. 98: 13a-15a; Glossary sub Wang, Grand Empress Dowager nee.
Wang Mang made her his Empress Dowager, i.e., instead of being the grandmother of a
Han emperor, she became the (adopted) mother of the Hsin emperor. Wang Mang later
wore mourning for her as for his own mother; cf. 99 B: 21b.
The Wang clan of Yi-ch'un was not related to the Wang clan of Yüan-ch'eng, to
which Wang Mang belonged, so that this marriage was considered quite proper; cf. 99 B:
6a & n. 6.4.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that Chin Shao's HS Yin-yi reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. Wang Hsien-ch'ien
says that the Southern ed. (poss. x cent., or the Southern Academy ed., 1531) reads
[OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. agrees with our text.
Hu San-hsing explains, " `A clerk to a Prefect of a City-gate' served a Colonel of a
City-gate. He had charge of writings."
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) has not the word [OMITTED], but
the New ed. (unknown) inserts it. The Ching-yu ed. lacks it.
Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) asserts that the word pao [OMITTED] should be inserted after
the o [OMITTED], in accordance with Han-chi 30: 10b. He declares that pao and o are always
used together, that without pao the phrasing would not be good and the meaning (merely
"wet-nurses," omitting the other nurses) would not be complete. In HS 75: 26a, a
similar phrasing, pao-o, is read.
Yang Shu-ta, in his "Examples of Historical Method in the HS," Yenching Jour. of
Chin. Studies, no. 3, June, 1928, p. 441 f, states that the phrase, "a child of [Wang] Yü,"
is an example of Pan Ku's use of author's explanatory notes—a practise first used by him
in a historical work. Since the practise of writing annotations in smaller characters was
not invented until a generation later (Ma Jung is said to have first used it in his edition
of the Chou-li, A.D. 138-40; cf. Maspero, "Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques," Inst.
Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, I [1931-32], p. 183), Pan Ku had to insert such an
annotation into the text as a phrase in apposition with the term explained, which appository
phrase accordingly interrupts the sentence. Yang Shu-ta instances seven other
examples from different parts of the HS. Perhaps this use of explanatory notes was taken
by Pan Ku from official documents such as the edict of Wang Mang to be found on
99 B: 25b.
This and the next three paragraphs constitute four series of correspondences between
(a) four planets (and the corresponding powers or elements), (b) personal qualities,
(c) quarters of the compass, (d) ministers, (e) types of weather, (f) colors, (g) the activities
of nature during the four seasons, and (h) measuring instruments:
1. (a) Jupiter (wood), (b) respectfulness, (c) the east, (d) the Grand Master, (e) timely
rain, (f) cerulean, (g) rising (spring), (h) the sun-dial.2. (a) Mars (fire), (b) wisdom, (c) the south, (d) the Grand Tutor, (e) timely warmth
(f) red, (g) enlarging (summer), (h) the musical tubes.3. (a) Venus (metal), (b) orderliness, (c) the west, (d) the State Master, (e) timely cool
sunshine, (f) white, (g) taking form (autumn), (h) weighing instruments.4. (a) Mercury (water), (b) deliberation, (c) the north, (d) the State General (because
executions [war] were set for the winter), (e) timely cold, (f) black, (g) harmony
(winter), (h) the clepsydra.
timely wind, (f) yellow, (g) (no season), is omitted, because this series corresponds to
(d) the King, Wang Mang.
Among these correspondences, (b) and (e) are quoted from the "Great Plan," Book
of History V, iv, verses 6 & 34 respectively (Legge, 327, 340; Couvreur, 198, 207), as
Prof Duyvendak points out. The powers or elements, colors, and directions are those
assigned to these planets, but their order is not the same as that of the corresponding
powers or elements in op. cit. V, iv, 5 (Legge, 325; Couvreur, 197), probably in order to
enable the imperial virtue, sageness, to be coupled with Wang Mang's elemnet, earth
Liu Hsiang wrote a "Discussion of the Tradition Concerning the Five Powers in the
`Great Plan' [of the Book of History] [OMITTED]," which is lost, and most of these
correspondences may have come from that book, SC ch. 27, or one of the various other
works of this sort written in Han times. Cf. the correspondences in Couvreur, Dict.
Classique, iii ed., p. 1059.
The planet Jupiter was supposed to punish injustice and disrespectfulness; cf. Mh
III, 356.
Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) explains, "All things are brought to birth in the eastern
quarter [spring], hence he warned the Grand Master."
Wang Hsien-ch'ien declares that [OMITTED] is an error; the Ching-yu ed., the Official ed. and
the Southern Academy ed. read [OMITTED] at this point and below.
Fu Chien declares that [OMITTED] is pronounced the same as [OMITTED] (hui). Ju Shun explains,
"[It is] the brilliance of the cerulean [springtime] emanation," and Chin Shao adds, "It
means that cerulean is the emanation of the yang principle, which first rises and goes
upwards in order to complete all things. At the vernal and autumnal equinoxes a
gnomen is set up to determine [due] east and west. East is where the sun first rises [at
the equinoxes], hence `its shadow is examined by the sun-dial' belongs to [the planet
Jupiter]."
Mars was supposed to punish violations of the rites by unusual heat; cf. Mh III,
364. Ying Shao glosses, "[Mars] punishes [lack of wisdom] by prolonged heat."
Chin Shao explains, "Yung [OMITTED] is [OMITTED] (enlarge, be liberal, pardon). [Yen Shih-ku
explains yung as [OMITTED]. These two words are interchanged.] Summer [OMITTED] [archaic pronunciation
g'å] [means] [OMITTED] (to enlarge [archaic pronunciation kå; an assonance]. Things
grow large, whereupon they manifest their tranquillity. The sixth month [is the time
for] the beginning of the yin emanation, hence the earth is made to rule. `The middle
number of earth is six. Six is the musical tube, [huang-chung]. The musical tube has a
shape and a color. Its ruling color is yellow.' [A quotation from HS 21 A: 5b]. Hence
`investigating the sounds by the musical tubes' belongs to [the planet Mars]."
Ying Shao explains, "When [a person's] words are not in accordance [with the Way],
this is what is meant by not-yi [OMITTED]. Yi makes peaceful [OMITTED]. The punishment for [failing
to do] this is always [a superabundance of the principle] yang. Yang brings drought."
Instead of yang [OMITTED], Book of History V, iv, 34 has [OMITTED], cool sunshine. Yen Shih-ku adds,
"Yi should be read as [OMITTED]." Mh III, 371 states that Venus presides over killing and
punishes murder.
Ying Shao explains, "The measures of capacity [OMITTED] are the tou and hu. [OMITTED] are the
steelyard and balances [OMITTED]." Chin Shao adds, "All things perfect their forms in the
western quarter [autumn, so that] their size and weight may all be known. Hence scales
and `measures of capacity' belong to [the planet Venus]."
Ying Shao explains, "To listen to a person [but] without attentiveness, this is what
is meant by not deliberating well. Mou [OMITTED] is [OMITTED]. The punishment [for failing to do]
this is prolonged cold." Chin Shao adds, "North is to be prostrated. When the yang
emanation is prostrate underneath [the earth], the yin principle has charge of killing.
Hence he has the State General guard against it." Mh III, 379 says that Mercury
punishes for incorrect punishments.
Ying Shao explains, "We investigate the courses and degrees of the five planets by
the clepsydra and its divisions." Chin Shao adds, "Ho [OMITTED] is to unite [OMITTED]. All things
are all united and stored in the northern quarter [winter]. Mercury is also in charge of
peace, hence he said, `harmonizes tranquillity.' The regulations for the calendar arise
from [the constellation] Tou [the Bushel, Ursa Major], which distinguishes the revolutions
of the sun and moon by [the constellation] She-t'i [η, τ, ν; ο, π, ζ Bootes]. She-t'i occupies
the place where the handle of the Bushel points, and is used to establish the seasons and
the [twenty-four] solar terms, hence `investigating the planets' belongs to [the planet
Mercury]."
The earth was thought to be square and heaven round; both the moon and the
earth are yin; hence heavenly phenomena that concern the earth (astrology) belong to
the commander-in-chief.
"Virtue" is to be taken in its ancient meaning of "power." "Arm" denotes "executive";
cf. n. 3.6.
Chin Shao explains, "The arms [can be made into the shape of] a circle, [as the
limbs form right angles]. When `the five [things that must be] taught are [taught] with
gentleness' [a quotation from Book of History II, i, v, 19 (Legge, p. 44; Couvreur, p. 26)],
then a filial attitude of submission influences creatures and things and the four supernatural
animals [probably: unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, dragon] appear. Hence `auspicious
presages [concerning] civil [matters]' belongs to [the Sun]."
Yen Shih-ku explains, " `The five [fundamental] teachings (wu-chiao [OMITTED])' [a
phrase from Book of History II, i, v, 19 (Legge, p. 44)] means the justice (yi) of a father,
the kindliness (tz'u) of a mother, the friendliness (yu) of an elder brother, the respectfulness
(kung) of a younger brother, and the filial piety (hsiao) of a son. [This interpretation
comes from Tso-chuan, Dk. Wen, XVIII (Legge, 2808, 283a). Mencius III, i, iv, 8
(Legge, p. 251f) has a slightly different list.] The five grades (wu-p'in [OMITTED]) are the
five social usages (wu-ch'ang [OMITTED]), which means benevolence (jen), righteousness (yi),
proper conduct (li), wisdom (chih), and trustworthiness (hsin)." The K'ung An-kuo
interpretation of the above passage from the Book of History (Shang-shu Chu-su 3: 13a)
however states that the five grades are the five social usages and K'ung Ying-ta (ibid., 3:
13b) explains that the five grades are "the differences of honor within one family, namely,
father, mother, elder, younger brother, and son, who are taught by justice, kindliness,
friendliness, respectfulness, and filial piety"—the same list as that for the five fundamental
teachings, which accordingly fits better here than Yen Shih-ku's list (which comes
from Wang Ch'ung).
SC 27: 6 = Mh III, 341 states that the constellation Po-tou (the Northern Bushel)
is the jade balance.
"Canon" is part of the title to Book of History I, bk. i and II, bk i; "Announcement"
is similarly part of the title to op. cit. V, bks. vii, ix, x, xii, and xiii.
These titles for the grades and the number of officials in each grade are taken from
Tung Chung-shu's Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu, 7: 10a, ch. 24, "Kuan-chih Hsiang-Tien."
Li Tz'u-ming, HS Cha-chi, 7: 15b, suggests that the first word in [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] was
originally [OMITTED], as in [OMITTED] (Grand Keeper of the Robes) and [OMITTED] (Grand Governor).
The Ching-yu ed. at this point and on the next page and Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text of
HS 99 B: 28a actually read [OMITTED].
The text reads,` `the Commandant of the Capital [OMITTED]," but that title had been
changed in 104 B.C. to Bearer of the Gilded Mace, so that it is out of place here. Liu
Pin suggests that the text should read [OMITTED], the two middle characters of which
have dropped out. I have followed this emendation.
The text reads,` `the Commandant of the Capital [OMITTED]," but that title had been
changed in 104 B.C. to Bearer of the Gilded Mace, so that it is out of place here. Liu
Pin suggests that the text should read [OMITTED], the two middle characters of which
have dropped out. I have followed this emendation.
The text reads, "Minister over the Masses [OMITTED]." Liu Pin suggests emending the
last character to [OMITTED], and Ch'i Shao-nan points out that this latter term harmonizes with
the rest of this passage, for these titles are taken from Book of History V, iv, 6, (Legge,
p. 326), the same one from which come the correspondences in n. 2.6.
Li Tz'u-ming, in his HS Cha-chi 7: 15b suggests that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED]; in the Book
of History (loc. cit.), the latter character is used. The former character has previously
been used for the Director of Palaces, so would not be used here.
The "five activities" are, according to ibid.: demeanor, speech, seeing, hearing, and
thinking, the virtues of which are those mentioned in the first five titles of the preceding
paragraph.
The text reads [OMITTED]; Wang Nien-sun says it should be [OMITTED] in accordance with the
Ching-yu ed. (1035) and the parallel phrase in HS 48: 23b.
The "drum for those who dare to admonish" is mentioned in the Ta-Tai Li (compiled
i cent. A.D.) 3: 3a, ch. 48 (Wilhelm, Li Gi, p. 219), and Liu Pien (fl. 520-557) glosses,
"Shun established it. He had those who would admonish, beat it in order that he might
himself hear of them." Chia Yi mentions it in a memorial which alludes to that passage
(HS 48: 23b). K'ung Kuang-sen (1752-1786) adds, "The ordinance of Yü said, `Those
who would teach Us concerning the Way should strike the drum.' " Chou-li 31: 7b, 8a
(Biot, II, 226) declares that the T'ai-p'u "places the drum for the royal apartments
outside the gate to the main part of the royal apartments and has charge of controlling
it [beating it to announce the time]. It awaits those who would communicate their misfortunes
and those who transmit ordinances. When [the T'ai-p'u] hears the sound of
the drum, he then quickly receives [the report of] the Yü-p'u or the Yü-shu-tzu [which
two officials were in attendance upon the drum, to take the complaint or report of the
person who had struck the drum]." Cheng Chung (ca. 5 B.C.-83 A.D.) comments, "It
is like when those beat a drum who at the present time report matters of grievous vicissitudes
to the emperor." Wang Mang, in establishing this drum, is following the teaching
of the Chou-li.
Evidently this rule was not always consistently carried out. Wang Yi5's title,
Duke Prospering the Hsin Dynasty (Lung-hsin Kung) and Liu Fen's title, Marquis
Prospering the Majestic Principles (Lung-wei Hou) contained the word lung, although
they were men; Wang Mang's daughters by concubines, Wang Chieh6 and Wang Yeh6,
were entitled the Baroness of Attained Concord (Mu-tai Jen) and the Baroness of Cultivated
Concord (Mu-hsin Jen), respectively. Wang Mang's grandson, Wang Ch'ien2 was
the Duke whose Merits Prosper (Kung-lung Kung). Cf. Glossary sub vocibus. Wang
Mang's enactments were so multifarious that many were probably forgotten, since card
files had not yet been invented. Mu and Lung were not interchanged, as Stange (p. 126,
n. 2) suggests, for Yao Hsün was made Marquis of Original Concord (Ch'u-mu Hou),
Kuei Ch'ang was made Marquis of the Beginning of Concord (Shih-mu Hou), Ch'en
Ch'ung was made Marquis of Ruling Concord (T'ung-mu Hou), and T'ien Feng was
made Marquis of Hereditary Concord (Shih-mu Hou), all of whom were considered as
imperial relatives, since they were considered descendants of Wang Mang's mythical
ancestor, the Yellow Lord.
A quotation from Mencius V, i, iv, 1 (Legge, p. 352), where it is said to be a saying
of Confucius.
According to SC 1: 45 = Mh I, 71, Shun was a descendant of Chuan-hsü; according
to SC 1: 21 = Mh I, 41, Yao was the son of K'u. Wang Mang is following a different
tradition.
Weis is here probably an anachronism; the title, Duke of Weis, was bestowed in
A.D. 37 upon Chi Tang's grandson, according to HS 18: 10a; HHS, An. 1 B: 9b. Chi
Tang was at this time Duke of Cheng, according to 18: 10a.
Yen Shih-ku remarks, "K'o1 [OMITTED] is to be respectful. It means that he treated him
ith added respect, also like a guest. The Chou [dynasty] took the descendants of
hun, together with [the princes of] Ch'i and Sung, [the descendants of the Hsia and Yin
dynasties], and made them the three Respected Guests (K'o)." The Tso-chuan, Dk.
Hsiang, XXV (Legge, 516) states that the Chou dynasty treated the descendants of
Yü (Shun), the Hsia, and the Shang dynasties as Respected Guests. Cf. also Mh I, 239.
On the meaning of k'o1, Wu Ta-cheng (1844-1902), in his Ku-chuan Pu, sub Sh
Chou K'o-ting, (also included in Shuo-wen Chieh-tzu Ku-lin Pu-yi 7 B: 494 b, sub k'o)
remarks that k'o1 was a different writing for k'o2 [OMITTED], and that k'o2 is merely a different
writing of k'o3 [OMITTED], which means guest, so that the meaning of k'o1 was originally "guest."
In the Book of Odes, no. 278; IV, i, [ii], iii, (Legge, p. 585), these Respected Ones of the
former dynasties are called k'o3, and Mr. Mao (ii cent. B.C.) explains, "The k'o3 are
the descendants of the two [dynasties] of kings." The K'ung-tsung-tzu ch. 21, 6: 18a
(prob. iii cent.), in a discussion of the three Respected Ones, says, "K'o1 is to respect.
These [three Respected Guests] were treated with rites like those for a guest k'o3." Of.
Tz'u-hai, sub [OMITTED] k'o1.
Liu Feng-shih remarks that the passage in parentheses interrupts the account, and
also that since the persons to whom sacrifices were made all had descendants enfeoffed,
the sentence is not appropriate at this point. Furthermore the matter is referred to later.
He said that this sentence is therefore an interpolation. Yang Shu-ta however replies
that these sacrifices are mentioned in connection with the enfeoffment of the descendants
of the persons sacrificed to, and says that the passage seems genuine. The four dynasties
were the Hsia, Yin, Chou, and Han dynasties.
A quotation from the "Modern text" of the Book of History, V, i, now a fragment
Cf. Legge, p. 298; also HHS, Mem. 30 B: n. 14.4.
This portent to the Chou dynasty was then understood as a portent denoting the Han
dynasty, which dynasty was believed to have succeeded to the divine powers upholding
the Chou dynasty.
Li Tz'u-ming, ibid., suggests that [OMITTED] is a copyist's error for kao [OMITTED]. But there is
no grammatical necessity to change the text. If kao-tsu [OMITTED] had been originally in the text,
it would have preceded "King Po" as it does on 99 B: 9a and Wang Mang's temple name
for the Yellow Lord would also have been used, and if Yen Shih-ku's text had read kao-tsu,
be would not have explained in his note that King Po of Chi-nan was Wang Mang's name
for the Eminent Founder (kao-tsu) of his house. This person was named Wang Sui, cf.
Glossary, sub voce.
The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Nan ed. (x-xii cent.) had [OMITTED] before the [OMITTED], which
seemingly a partial dittography. The Ching-yu ed. lacks it.
The distinction is between the shrines to the founders of houses [OMITTED], which were
not changed, and the personal shrines to the immediate ancestors [OMITTED], which were
altered as each new generation elevated its father and mother to a place in the ancestral
temple. Cf. 99 C: 9b; STange, 129, n. 5. "Temple" [OMITTED] is ambigious, here as elsewhere,
denoting sometimes a particular shrine in a temple building, and sometimes the temple
building or buildings themselves. Wang Mang was following the rule in Li-chi XIII, ,
9 (Legge, II, 42) = Li-chi Cheng-yi 32: 4b.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Mei [OMITTED] is [OMITTED] (a sacrifice [for descendants]). He established
this great temple [OMITTED] to sacrifice yearly and seasonally to his ancestors regularily." Mei
is usually used to refer to the god of marriage and birth; here it is the clan temple where
sacrifices are made for descendants to continue the clan.
Yen Shih-ku glosses, "It means that the state had already established its great clan
temple to sacrifice to its deceased founders. Each [ancestor] whom the families of the
common people esteem should be given ancestral sacrifices and [these sacrifices] should
not be interrupted. All under heaven should follow the same principle." But Lin
Feng-shih argues, "This [sentence] refers to the sacrifices for posterity [to those whom
Wang] Mang's family esteemed. He ordained that the empire should transmit them
and make them its sacrifices for posterity and that they might not fail to be upheld in
sacrifice. It was like the mound to the gods of the soils at the Fen-yin (White Elm)
[District in Feng] at which [Emperor] Kao of the Han [dynasty sacrificed]." Cf. 25 A: 17b.
The Yuan-ch'eng Wang clan was that of Wang Mang's own kindred. He had
married the daughter of Wang Hsien2a, who was of another Wang clan, and wanted to
show that other members of the large groups of persons surnamed Wang could intermarry,
yet also to make plain that he disapproved of the intermarriage of persons of the same
surname. He was thus led to distinguish among those surnamed Wang; cf. n. 1.3.
Meng K'ang remarks, "He posthumously gave the title of King to Duke Hu of
Ch'en," who founded the state of Ch'en at the Chou conquest.
Meng K'ang remarks, "He posthumously gave the title of King to Ch'en [Wan]
Ching-chung," who founded the T'ien clan.
The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] to accord with the reading in 99 A: 1b. The
Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Liu Pin asserts that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED], which statement is confirmed by 28 Bi: 26a,
Yang-chou.
Yen Shih-ku remarks that Wang Mang was imitating the action of Shun, who
"received Yao's retirement from the imperial duties in the Temple of the Accomplished
Ancestors," a quotation from Book of History II, i, iii, 4 (Legge, p. 32).
Emperors Kao, the Eminent Founder; Hsiao-wen, the Great Exemplar; Hsiao-wu,
the Epochal Exemplar; Hsiao-hsüan, the Central Exemplar; Hsiao-yüan, the Eminant
Exemplar; Hsiao-ch'eng, the Dynastic Exemplar; and Hsiao-p'ing, the Supreme Exemplar.
The last three titles had been conferred by Wang Mang.
The Official ed. reads, "Exemplars or Founders," but the Ching-yu ed. does not invert
thus.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that after a change in the dynasty the members of
the former imperial house should not continue to be subordinate to the Superintendent
of the Imperial House.
Fu Ch'ien explains, "The metal knife-[money] was the cash cast by [Wang] Mang."
Yen Shih-ku comments, "Because in the word Liu [OMITTED] there is above `mao [OMITTED],' below
metal [OMITTED],' and on the side there is also `knife [OMITTED],' [Wang] Mang prohibited the kang-mao
mulets] together with the metal-knife-[cash]." The metal knife-money was supposed by
the magic of its rebus to strengthen the Liu house, hence Wang Mang did away with it.
The Spring and Autumn ends with the fourteenth year of Duke Ai, although he
reigned for 13 years more; Chang Yen remarks that Emperor Ai reigned to his sixth year,
Emperor P'ing to his fifth year, and Wang Mang acted as Regent to the third year, which
makes fourteen years.
For the Kang-mao amulets, cf. App. I.
In a note to the History of the Three Kingdoms (San-kuo-chih) 57: 6a, Pei Sung-chih
(372-451) quotes a memorial of Yü Fan (164-233), in which the latter states that in the
ancient seal character, mao [OMITTED] was written for liu [OMITTED] (willow). Chou Shou-ch'ang concludes
that the words [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were interchanged with and were written the
same as mao, although distinguished by different pronunciations. Hence the Kang-
amulets also connoted the Liu house, so were forbidden.
These two denominations were later (A.D. 10; 99 B: 15a) supplemented by 26 others,
all of which were still later discontinued, except for these two; cf. HS 24 B: 21b-23b (in
App. I), Chin-shih So, "Chin," 4: 28b.
Before the words for "the fourth month," the present text has the words "[OMITTED] in
this year." The Ching-yu ed. lacks them; the Sung Ch'i ed. declares that the Yüeh ed.
(xi-xii cent.) lacked them. I have not translated this interpolation.
Prof. Duyvendak points out that the common phrase, "suffered for their crimes"
is taken from Book of Odes, no. 194; II, iv, x, 1 (Legge, p. 326).
For this system, cf. Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang, p. 41 f; Eberhard, "Z
Landwirschaft d. Han-Zeit," MSOS 35: 78ff.
A saying attributed to Confucius in the Classic of Filial Piety 5: 1a; ch. 9 (Legge,
SBE III, p. 476).
Book of History III, ii, i, 5 (Legge, p. 155). That Book reads "wives & children [OMITTED]"
instead of the HS's "enslave [OMITTED]"; Yen Shih-ku attacks that interpretation of this word
in this passage, saying that in view of ibid. V, i, iii, 3 (Legge, p. 295), "He has imprisoned
and enslaved upright gentlemen," the meaning "wives & children" cannot be maintained.
Wang Mang certainly took it to mean "enslave." Cf. Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 170f, Gl.
1403.
In a note to 24 A: 21a, Chin Shao explains, "Although they might be old or ill,
all had yet to pay the poll-tax (suan)."
This figure for the rate of rentals was taken from a memorial by Tung Chung-shu,
now in HS 24 A: 16b.
In Mencius V, i, iv, 2, (Legge, p. 352), Mencius quotes from Book of Odes II, vi,
i, 2; no. 205 (Legge, p. 360), the phrase "[OMITTED] the king's (or sovereign's) land," which
is the source of this term:
Is the king's land."
A quotation from Tso-chuan, 20: 10b, Dk. Wen, XVIII (Legge, p. 28013.14, 283a).
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Ch'ih [OMITTED] are the mountain spirits and mei [OMITTED] are the essences
of aged things." Cf. App. I, HS 24 B: 23a. "Being made to resist the elves and goblins"
was a circumlocution for a death sentence. In 24 A: 21b, the punishment for violating
the ordinance establishing the ching system is said to have been death. Stange (140, n. 1)
suggests that it meant banishment to frontier military colonies, but Tu Yü, in a note
to the Tso-chuan passage, explains "t'ou [OMITTED], to be thrown out" as "ch'i [OMITTED], to be executed"
(cf. HFHD, I, 319, n. 6.4) and K'ung Ying-ta adds that t'ou-ch'i means "[OMITTED] the
extreme penalty."
A quotation from Tso-chuan, 20: 10b, Dk. Wen, XVIII (Legge, p. 28013.14, 283a).
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Ch'ih [OMITTED] are the mountain spirits and mei [OMITTED] are the essences
of aged things." Cf. App. I, HS 24 B: 23a. "Being made to resist the elves and goblins"
was a circumlocution for a death sentence. In 24 A: 21b, the punishment for violating
the ordinance establishing the ching system is said to have been death. Stange (140, n. 1)
suggests that it meant banishment to frontier military colonies, but Tu Yü, in a note
to the Tso-chuan passage, explains "t'ou [OMITTED], to be thrown out" as "ch'i [OMITTED], to be executed"
(cf. HFHD, I, 319, n. 6.4) and K'ung Ying-ta adds that t'ou-ch'i means "[OMITTED] the
extreme penalty."
HS 99 B: 11a mentions five Lieutenant Generals for each of these twelve Generals;
99 B: 12b states that "the Generals . . . and their Lieutenants, seventy-two persons [in
all], returned." Hence the Lieutenant Generals should also be mentioned here.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien asserts that the words [OMITTED] should be interchanged, to conform
to the usual writing of his name. He is probably correct, but this reading is also found
in 27 Bb: 6a, where this event is dated in 45 B.C., the year Wang Mang was born. Lin
Hsiang is said to have declared that it symbolized the replacing of the Liu by the Wang
clan on the throne.
Erh-ya [OMITTED] has here the same meaning as in SJ 121: 117 = HS 88: 5a8, which
quotes from a memorial by Kung-sun Hung, flattering Emperor Wu for his edicts, "Whose
literary beauty is like the classics (erh-ya) and the expressions whose instructions are
extremely effective." Yen Shih-ku explains, "Erh-ya [means] approaching the classics
[OMITTED] chin-cheng. It means that the expressions in his edicts are elegant (ya) and classical
(cheng) and are extremely effective." (Reference from Prof. Duyvendak.)
Wang Hsien-shen remarks that this book has not been transmitted, and that HS
27 Bb: 6a, b quotes a few sentences from it, concerning the catalpa pillar.
Yen Shih-ku comments, "Wu-ming [OMITTED] means the order in which the five (wu)
powers or elements succeed each other and in which the mandate (ming) [of Heaven] is
transmitted."
Ho Ch'uo explains, "[Emperors] Hsiao-hui and Hsiao-wen were of the same generation
and [Emperors] Ai and P'ing were of the same generation." The Empress of
Emperor Kao is also omitted in this count of nine generations in the Former Han Dynasty.
For "three sevens of decades," cf. A: n. 34.4.
Shuo-wen 10 A: 2a, sub wen [OMITTED] (Chin Shao quotes this passage in a summary form)
says, "A horse with a red mane, a white body, and eyes like actual gold is named wen.
It is auspicious for the chariot of the emperor. In the time of King Wen of the Chou
[dynasty], the Dog Jung presented one. . . . The comment on the Spring and Auturm
[Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsüan, II, (Legge, p. 289b)], says, `The hundred quadrigae of wen horses',
which are horses with more than one color [OMITTED]. The Chief of the West, [later King
Wen], presented Chou with one in order to save himself."
The Yi-wen Lei-chü (compiled by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641), 93: 3b, quotes the Grand
Duke's Liu-t'ao (prob. iv or v cent. B.C. or later) as saying (this passage is not found
in the present Liu-t'ao), "When the King of Shang arrested the Chief of Chou, [Chi]
Ch'ang, [later known as King Wen], at Yu-li, the [Foreseen] Grand Duke, [Lü Shang], with
San Yi-sheng, took a thousand yi of gold and sought for the [most] precious things in the
world to ransom the crime of their lord. Thereupon they obtained from the clans of the
Dog Jung wen horses with fine hair, red manes, and eyes like actual gold, and named
[the chariot drawn by] them, `The quadriga with chi-szu [OMITTED]' [the name of a
supernatural variety of horse; Huai-nan-tzu 12: 12b (Morgan, p. 125) states that San
Yi-sheng "secured a quadrigae with tsou-yü (herbivorous white tigers with black stripes)
and chi-szu"] and presented it to the King of Shang."
Meng K'ang says that this letter refers to the written charter fabricated by Ai
Chang (cf. 99 A: 35a) and that mien [OMITTED] means to urge, with which Yen Shih-ku agrees.
But Ai Chang's "metal casket, design, and charter" is referred to later as another portent
(99 B: 10b). Chin Shao asserts that mien should be kuei [OMITTED] (tortoise), and Li Tz'u-ming,
ibid., 7: 16a, points out that kuei is similar to min [OMITTED] and that anciently mien and min
were interchanged, so that kuei was misread as min, and min exchanged for mien.
The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that other editions lack the three words [OMITTED], and that the
Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) has not the last of these, ch'i. Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that
the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. have [OMITTED] after the ch'i. Li Tz'u-ming
suspects the ch'i to be an interpolation, probably from the same word in Meng K'ang's
comment. The Ching-yu ed. reads as the text does, but its ch'i is plainly a correction,
being substituted for two words.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "[OMITTED] means that the heavenly gods of the five quarters had
united in their plans and agreed in their colors. The word should perhaps be pao [OMITTED]
Pao means that Heaven as a whole had wrapped up the crowds of people of the world
and had given them to [Wang] Mang. Both these interpretations are meaningful."
According to 99 A: 35b, Wang Mang received the mandate on the next day,
mou-ch'en; cf. A: n. 35.12; B: n. 7.2.
The written character Liu [OMITTED] is formed by adding mao to the word chao [OMITTED], to
round off.
Ma Hsü-lun, p. 18b, suggests that [OMITTED] be read as [OMITTED], which latter word is said by
Yü-p'ien 8: 2a (by Ku Ye-wang; preface dated 543; reconstructed 1013) to mean [OMITTED].
Yen Shih-ku states that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED]. Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks
that [OMITTED] is accordingly superfluous and could not have been in Yen Shih-ku's text; Yang
Shu-ta suggests that it is dittography for the [OMITTED].
Book of Odes, [OMITTED] 249; III, ii, v, 1 (Legge, p. 481). In translating the last line I have followed the interpretation of Cheng Hsüan (A.D. 127-200).
Mr. Cheng (fl. dur. 220-317) remarks that six is the number of Earth. The word
used for heaven, ch'ien, is the name of the first hexagram in the Book of Changes; the word
used for mares, k'un, is the second hexagram. This equipage represented Heaven and
Earth.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Pieh-niao [OMITTED] is of the pheasant family and is the [OMITTED]
(golden pheasant). Today it is commonly called the [OMITTED], which is erroneous."
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Their colors were: in the eastern quarter, cerulean, and in
the southern quarter, red, [etc.]. Their numbers were: as the number of [the power]
wood is three, the number of fire is two, and the like." A polychrome painting on silk,
dated 897, representing a Buddha seated on a chariot surrounded by the deities of the
five planets (which may be equated with the five directions) is reproduced in A. Stein,
Serindia, vol. IV, pl. LXXI, with an inadequate description in ibid. II, 1059, liv. 007.
A much better description with a key is found in W. C. White, Chinese Temple Frescoes,
p. 99 & fig. 26.
A quotation from Analects XVI, iii. Ho Ch'uo remarks, "[Wang] Mang feared
deeply and took precautions against his subordinates, hence [wrote] this sixth sentence."
Ch'ien Ta-chao suspects that before the words [OMITTED] there have dropped out the
words [OMITTED], and Chou Chou-ch'ang adds that Ch'en Ch'ung had previously been a
Director of Justice, so was newly established as Director of Mandates of the Five Majestic
Principles. Hence the full title must have been in the original document, whether Pan Ku
copied it out in full or not.
Prof. Duyvendak remarks that the use of yü [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED] is an imitation of the
style in the Book of History.
Fu Ch'ien remarks, "A narrow and important road," and Yen Shih-ku adds, "Its
location is in the present Shang Province, where the `seven coils and twelve twists' is that
place." The Ch'ang-an Chih (by Sung Min-ch'iu, 1019-1079) 16: 4a, sub Lan-t'ien, says,
"The Cheng [OMITTED] slope is southeast of the prefectural city. What the T'ung-tien [by Tu
Yu, 735-812 (I have not been able to find this passage)] calls, `The seven coils and twelve
bends' is the difficult road of the Lan-[t'ien] Pass," so that Yen Shih-ku probably wrote
`bends [OMITTED]' for the `twists [OMITTED]' at present in his note. Shen Ch'in-han declares that the
T'ai-p'ing Huan-yü Chi preserves Yen Shih-ku's note with the former word (we have
not been able to find it). He quotes a note to Yi-li, chap. 12, saying that cheng [OMITTED] means
[OMITTED]. (I have not been able to find it.) The reference seems to be to the road from Lan-t'ien
south through the Yao Pass and Wu Pass.
Shui-ching Chu (by Li Tao-yüan, d. 527) 14: 19b, sub the Ju River, says, "The precipitous
and rocky slopes of Lu-lung [OMITTED] [which Yang Shou-ching (1839-1915), in his
Shui-ching-chu T'u, N. 1, E. 1, b, locates in the present Jehol, on the Luan River, just
north of the Great Wall] are sinuous and broken, hence they have the name of `the nine
bends,' " so that there was another place with this name. (Reference from Shen
Ch'in-han.)
"Ching-Ch'u" is a phrase used in Book of Odes IV, iii, v. 1, 2, no. 305 (Legge, 643,
644), so that in Han times this term was eminently classical. The ancient state of Ch'u
had its best-known capital at Ying, near the present I-chang. But this state spread until
it included the lower Yangtze region and extended northwards along the sea-coast to
the present Shantung. The legendary province of Ching was smaller, being supposed to
have included roughly the present Hupeh, Hunan, and Kiangsi. "Ching-ch'u," i.e.,
"the part of Ch'u in Yü's province of Ching," was then a classical phrase denoting the
middle Yangtze region below the gorges.
Wang Nien-sun observes that t'ang [OMITTED] is here a copyist's error for ch'ang [OMITTED], which
latter word is found at the end of this paragraph. The Sung Ch'i ed. however thinks both
should be t'ang. Cf. Glossary sub voce.
Ju Shun glosses, "They put out a hundred cash and gave it to common people
to use, and collected three cash interest for it per month." For these controls, cf., App. I,
HS 24 B: 23a-25b. That passage however says that interest was not to be more than
10% of the borrower's income.
Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 37: 9a has at this point the words [OMITTED], which Wang Hsien-ch'ien
thinks have dropped out of the HS text.
Cf. HS 94 B: 17b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 268, 269, where the Hun raid on
So-fang Commandery is dated in A.D. 9. It is mentioned here to introduce the incident
at Turfan.
The text reads kuei-yu, but there was no such day in that month. Yu might easily
have been mistaken for ch'ou. It seems the only plausible and suitable emendation.
Yen Shih-ku glosses, "Low-[class] wife hsia-ch'i [OMITTED] is like saying that she was an
inferior wife [OMITTED]." But Hung Yi-hsüan (1765-ca. 1830/1840), in his Tu-shu Ts'ung-lu
21: 18a, objects that an inferior wife is a concubine [OMITTED], while a low-class wife is not an
inferior wife. He notes that HHS, An. 1 B: 4b quotes an order of Emperor Kuang-wu stating
that slaves and low-class wives who have been kidnapped may leave freely, that ibid. 1 B:
10b quotes another order to the effect that people who have been kidnapped and made
slaves are to be freed, and those who have become people's low-class wives and want to
leave shall be freely permitted to go, that Shuo-wen 12 B: 4a, defines hsü [OMITTED] [which is used
to denote a wife or a concubine] as follows, "Weak; it also denotes a low-class wife," and
that HHS, Mem. 2: 1a states that Wang Ch'ang later pretended to be the real Liu Tzu-yü,
"saying that his mother was a singer of the former Emperor Ch'eng." Hence Hung Yi-hsüan
concludes that a low-class wife was not a regular concubine but a slave-woman who
was used as a mistress. The mothers of Wang Mang's illegitimate sons (99 C: 11b) were
then low-class wives.
Such a distinction between a concubine and a slave-woman mistress is likely to be
blurred in practise; Chang Yi (fl. dur. 227-232), in his Kuang-ya ["Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh"
672 B: 5b), says, "A wife [OMITTED] is called a hsü," and Tuan Yi-ts'ai (1735-1815)
identifies "low-class wife" and "inferior wife." Cf. also Wang Nien-sun's Kuang-ya Su-cheng
Pu-Cheng: 34b ("Kuang-ts'ang Hsüeh-kuan Ts'ung-shu" ed.)
The Sung Ch'i ed. suggests emending [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads the
former. I have not followed this suggestion.
These four articles are enumerated in HS 94 B: 15b, 16a = de Groot, Die Hunn
264, as follows: "[1] Chinese who escape to the Huns, [2] Wu-sun who escape and surrender
to the Huns, [3] those in the various states of the Western Frontier Regions who have
worn Chinese seals and cords [officials] and surrender to the Huns, and [4] Wu-huan who
surrender to the Huns shall all not be permitted to be received."
At this point the text has [OMITTED]; Liu Feng-shih (1041-1113) declares that it is
inexplicable and probably an interpolation. I have omitted it.
This expedition was planned on so grandiose a scale, (the armies were to take along
provisions for three hundred days) that its requirements could not all be collected and
never set out. Cf. Chuang Yu's admonition against the plan in HS 94 B: 18b-19b
de Groot, Die Hunnen, 273-5.
Cf. App. I, HS 24 B: 21b-23a. This passage enumerates six kinds of money, of
denominations altogether. In the present passage, round cash and spade-money are
grouped together because they were made of the same material, bronze, hence there are
said to be only five kinds. The peculiarity of this bronze coinage was that as the denominations
of the coins became greater, the proportionate amount of metal became progressively
less, so that while the one-cash coin contained 1 shu of bronze, the thousand-cash
spade coin contained only 24 shu of bronze, 0.024 shu per cash. Cf. 24 B: n. 22.11. No
wonder Wang Mang had to compel people to use them! His purpose seems to have
been to facilitate the transport of large sums of money, as well as to profit from the
depreciation of the coinage.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "[According to] the old laws, those who travelled carried
passport credentials and were then not delayed or detained. Now [Wang Mang] changed
[the law] and ordered that they should carry spade-money to be with their credentials,
and thus only were they permitted to pass."
Yen Shih-ku explains, "The kitchens ch'u [OMITTED] were the places for eating and drinking
in traveling along the roads. The chuan [OMITTED] were the hostelries established at the posts.
Ho [OMITTED] is to question [OMITTED]."
HHS, Mem 2: 8b, quotes Chu Fou as saying, "When Wang Mang was Ruling
Governor, Chen Feng went in to him at dawn and at dusk to plan and discuss [matters].
At that time, people said, `The midnight guest is Chen [Feng] Chang-po.' " (Reference
from Yang Shu-ta.)
Li Tz'u-ming, ibid. 7: 6a, suggests that [OMITTED] is here an interpolation. It interrupts
the sentence.
In SC 84: 24, where this phrase is written mo-mo [OMITTED], Ying Shao interprets it
[OMITTED].
SC 34: 2 (Mh IV, 133 f) recounts that at the time of King Ch'eng of the
dynasty, the Duke of Shao supervised the country west of Shan and the Duke of
that east of Shan.
Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED] to accord with the phrase on 99 B:
12a. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed.
and the Southern Academy ed. read likewise.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED] to agree with the reading on
B: 12a.
The Official ed. reads t'ien [OMITTED] for ta [OMITTED], with the note, "The Sung Ch'i [ed.] says,
T'ien should perhaps be ta.' " But the Ching-yu ed. (1035) reads ta.
Chen Hsün was said to have had on his hand the words [OMITTED]. Wang Mang said
they were [OMITTED]. Another person said they were [OMITTED]. The words `[OMITTED] (six)' and `[OMITTED]
(put to death)' must have then been pronounced alike; cf. Karlgren, Grammata Serica,
#1032a & 1069v; Analyt. Dict. #546 & 563.
He was imitating Shun's treatment of his four criminals as related in the Bk. of
Hist. II, i, 12 (Legge, p. 39 f). Wang Mang evidently interpreted this passage, not as
Yang Shu-ta and Legge do, but as the K'ung An-kuo tradition did, which says, "[OMITTED]
[OMITTED] and [OMITTED] all [mean] execution [OMITTED]. Their difference is in the character of the language
used." Even if the K'ung An-kuo commentary is a later forgery, yet it probably
contains early statements. Mencius V, A, iii, 2 (Legge, p. 349), repeating this passage
from the Book of History, states that Shun "slew [OMITTED] [the prince of] the San-miao,
of these four criminals], on [Mt.] San-wei." Han Fei-tzu 13: 7b, 8a; ch. 34, further
states, "Yao, . . . using military weapons, executed [OMITTED] K'un in the wilderness of
Yü, . . . and, using military weapons, executed [OMITTED] the Provider of Works at the
tal of Yu Province." There is thus ample evidence to substantiate the K'ung An-
interpretation as ancient. Wang Mang certainly understood this passage to
execution. Cf. Chung Feng-nien, "The Four Banishments in the Shu-ching," in
ching Journal of Chinese Studies, no. 27, June 1940, pp. 211-232, Karlgren, BMFEA
91ff, Gl. 1272; Shang-shu Chu-su 3: 8b.
The Bk. of Hist. records the punishment of four criminals; Li Tz'u-ming, ibid., 7:
accordingly suggests that a clause has dropped out of the text. After [OMITTED] I accordi
insert the words [OMITTED]. (Li Tz'u-ming's own emendation does not follow
Book of History closely enough.)
For the shoes and hats, cf. Eberhard, Die Mode der Han-und Chin-Zeit, pp.
49-55. Erh-ya (Han period) 3: 5a, says, "Li [OMITTED] is chi [OMITTED] (wool or felt)," and
Ping (932-1010) says, "People of honorable clans say that li means felt (mao [OMITTED]
The Hu connect sheep's hair and make clothes. Then chi is made of woven hair like
present hairy rug [OMITTED]." K'ung Ying-ta (574-648), in a note to Book of Histo
11a (in "The Tribute of Yü"; cf. Legge, p. 122), quotes Sung Yen (fl. ca. 220) as say$
"Mao-li becomes wool (chi), which is woven hair."
Stange, p. 165, translates differently, "Selbst wenn er (scheinbar) abgewandt
behielt er doch, von oben sehend, seine Umgebung im Auge."
At this point the text has the words "and in the P'ing Province [OMITTED]." Hu
hsing remarks that P'ing Province did not exist until the third century, when the kingdom
of Wei divided P'ing Province off of Yu Province and says that the word "P'ing" in
error. He notes that at the end of the Later Han period, Kung-sun Tu set himself
as the Shepherd of P'ing Province, which was in the southern part of the present M
churia.
Ch'ien Ta-hsin however remarks that HS 55: 19b states that Lu Po-tê was a man
"P'ing-chou1 [OMITTED] in Hsi-ho [Commandery]," so that "P'ing-chou1 was the name of
county belonging to Hsi-ho Commandery within the section [called] Ping depart
(chou)." (A chou contained 2500 families; cf. 24 A: 4a). HS 28 Bi: 29a writes this
P'ing-chou2 [OMITTED], so that probably chou1 and chou2 were anciently interchanged.
Shen Ch'in-han suggests that P'ing Province was probably established by Wang M
out of part of Yu Province, so that Kung-sun Tu took his title from this occurrence,
that if P'ing-chou was merely the name of a county, disorder confined chiefly to part
one department would hardly have been worth mentioning.
This latter remark seems quite conclusive as a reply to Ch'ien Ta-hsin's suggesting
There is moreover no classical precedent for the name "P'ing Province" and no
notice of Wang Mang having established it, so that this name is itself very dou
HS 16: 53b and 17: 20b list a Marquisate at P'ing-chou1, but this place was in the
Shantung, not where these disturbances would be expected. Perhaps the best
of the difficulty is that of Hu San-hsing; I have consequently omitted this name, sin
uncertain what province was originally mentioned instead of P'ing Province.
Hu San-hsing remarks that the "seven highest ministers" were the four Coad
with the previous "three highest ministers"; the "six high ministers" were the Hsi-an
the Deciding Judge, the Arranger of the Ancestral Temple, the Director of Mu
Provider of Works, and the My Forester.
Ju Shun explains, "Powerful officials illegally used the law to do injustice to good
, making them slaves by putting a seal upon their necks in order to distinguish
. When they secured cash for the hire [of these condemned persons], they then took
their seals." According to this passage, some sort of a sealed cord about the neck
to have been used instead of the iron collar also used in the Former Han period to
slaves and criminals; cf. 99 C: 12b. If merely a seal-mark had been used
of branding, there would have been little reason for putting it on the neck.
HS 94 B: 18b, 20a = de Groot, Die Hunnen p. 272, 276 states that Lüan-ti
brother, Lüan-ti Tsu, was first made Shan-yü Shun and was taken to Ch'ang-an
Lüan-ti Teng, where Lüan-ti Tsu died, and then Wang Mang appointed Lüan-ti Teng
Shan-yü Shun in place of his brother.
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Old text (before vi cent.) writes ch'uan
chi [OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun accordingly concludes that this passage originally read
words, ch'uan-chi. These two words are unlike, so that they would not be confused
each other; probably the Old text and later editions had each dropped out one of
two words. T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) 741: 4a, quotes this passage with both
Wei Chao, in a note to HS 90: 15a, says, "When in one's heart he pants and sighs (
[OMITTED]), it is called chi." Stange, p. 169, n. 2, suggests angina pectoris.
This practise was in imitation of that in the ancient state of Lu, where the
posts were held hereditarily by the descendants of Duke Huan and were
relatives of the ruler.
Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that the Southern Academy ed. and the Fukien ed. read [OMITTED]
for [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu and Official ed. read similarly.
In 99 B: 14b and 94 B: 20a this man's given name is written [OMITTED] so that [OMITTED] is
error here.
For the "search," cf. HFHD, II, 113, n. 36.6. Wang Mang changed its name from
[OMITTED] to heng-sou [OMITTED].
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that after [OMITTED] there should be the word [OMITTED]. But its
would break the rhythm.
The nine provinces are mentioned, not in the present "Canon of Yao," but in the
chapter, where Shun is said to have made this division. (Anciently these two
chapters formed one.) Cf. Book of History II, i, iii, 10 (Legge, p. 38). The five
are mentioned in ibid. II, iv, i, 8 (Legge, p. 85).
Yen Shih-ku enumerates these fifteen as follows: Chou and the south, Shao and
the south, Wei, the Chou kingly state, Cheng, Ch'i, Weih, T'ang, Ch'in, Ch'en, ,
Ts'ao, Pin, Lu, and Shang; and alternatively as Chou and the south, Shao and the south,
Pei, Yung, Wei, the Chou kingly state, Cheng, Ch'i, Weih, T'ang, Ch'in, Ch'en, ,
Ts'ao, and Pin. The second list is taken from the names of the "Lessons from the
States"; cf. Legge, She-king, I, vii ff.
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED].
Book of History III, i, i (Legge, pp. 92-151).
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shun-hua ed. (994-997) omitted the words [OMITTED].
Chou-li 33: 6a-8b (Biot, II, 265-275) contains this list of provinces, which
enumerated sub the Chih-fang-shih, a subordinate of the Commander-in-chief. The
three different lists of the nine provinces are discussed in the Tz'u-hai, tzu, p. 106 sub [OMITTED]
The Official ed. has mistakenly emended t'ung [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed.
reads the former.
Chou-li 42: 1b, sub the Chiang-jen (Biot, II, 566) defines a t'ung as "a square of a
hundred li." This term is also found in the Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang, XXV, (Legge,
51211, 516b).
HS 23: 2b elaborates this passage from the Chou-li and says, "A territory one li square
is a ching [OMITTED]; ten ching make a t'ung1 [OMITTED]; ten t'ung1 make a ch'eng [OMITTED] (a ch'eng is ten li
square); ten ch'eng make a chung [OMITTED]; ten chung make a t'ung2 [OMITTED] (a t'ung2 is a hundred li
square); ten t'ung2 make a feng [OMITTED]; ten feng make a ch'i [OMITTED] (a ch'i is a thousand li square)."
The Chi-chung Chou-shu (the lost Book of History; possibly written after Han times
and taken from earlier material) 5: 8b, 9a, chap. 48, "Tso-Lo Chieh," says, "For those
who received a mandate [enfeoffing them as nobles] from the Chou [dynasty, the Chou
King had] established a large altar to the gods of the soils in the center of their states
[read [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]] . . . and for the nobles who were about to be established, [the King] dug
into and took of its soil from the side in the direction of their [territory], covered it with
yellow earth, enveloped it with white quitch-grass, and used it for the earth [given them
for] their enfeoffment. Hence it is said that they received tsê [OMITTED]-earth from the House
of Chou." (One text reads [OMITTED] [cut off] instead of tsê). Shen Ch'in-han suggests that
the term used by Wang Mang for the estates of viscounts and barons is taken from the
above passage. The reception of a tsê is mentioned as the fifth appointment in Chou-li
18: 11b, sub Ta-tsung-po (Biot I, 429); cf. 99 A: n. 21.2. This passage of the Chou-li also
mentions a kuo as the seventh appointment.
Ju Shun explains, "Ten li [square] make a ch'eng [OMITTED]," which is quoted from HS 23:
2b; cf. n. 19.4.
Wang Wen-pin (xix cent.) explains that it means estates of 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1 ch'eng.
This passage is reminiscent of Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang, XXVI, (Legge, 51914, 524b), `It
is the regulation that from the greatest to the least, [rewards] should be increased
diminished by two." The areas of these five ranks of Sub-Vassals were, respectively, 900,
700, 500, 300, and 100 square li, the sum of which is 2500 square li, which is the area of
a tse (50 li square).
Ch'ien Ta-hsin comments, "These fourteen persons were: [1] the Duke Giving
Tranquillity to the Hsin Dynasty, Wang Yen2, [2] the Duke Advancing the Hsin Dynasty,
P'ing Yen, [3] the Duke Honoring the Hsin Dynasty, Liu Hsin1a, [4] the Duke Beautifying
the Hsin Dynasty, Ai Chang, [5] the Duke Serving the Hsin Dynasty, Chen Han, [6] the
Duke Ornamenting the Hsin Dynasty, Wang Hsün3, [7] the Duke Prospering the Hsin
Dynasty, Wang Yi5, [8] the Duke Upholding the Hsin Dynasty, Wang Hsinga, [9] the
Duke Perfecting the Hsin Dynasty, Sun Chien, [10] the Duke Exalting the Hsin Dynasty,
Wang Sheng, [11] the Duke of Manifest Peace, Chi Tang, [12] the Duke Promulgating
the Majestic Principles, Lin Pao, [13] the Duke Spreading the Majestic Principles,
Chi, and [14] the Duke of Established Tranquillity, Liu Ying1a. The Duke Extending the
Hsin Dynasty, Chen Feng, had committed a crime, and his state had been abolished,
he is not in this number. The dukes of [Wang] Mang's imperial house, like the
Recommended by [the Marquis of] Hsin-[tu], [Wang] An1a, the Duke in Recompense to
[the Marquis of] Hsin-[tu], [Wang] Lin1a, the Duke of High Merits, [Wang] , the
Duke of Brilliant Merits, [Wang] Shou, the Duke of Perfected Merits, [Wang] Chi5b, the
Duke of Eminent Merits, [Wang] Tsung, the Duke of Shining Merits, [Wang] Shih, and
the Duke of Apparent Merits, [Wang] Li4 are also not among these fourteen persons."
T'ung-tien (by Tu Yu, 735-812) 1: 13b, quotes this sentence with the word ch'ou
[OMITTED] instead of yüan [OMITTED]. (HS 24 A: 21b, in repeating this sentence, also uses ch'ou)
Wang Nien-sun declares that someone who did not understand the ancient meaning of
ch'ou changed the ch'ou originally in the text of the HS to yüan, and that ch'ou and yüan
meant the same. Shou-wen 10 B: 8a defined wen [OMITTED] as yüan, meaning to hate. (The
present text of the Shou-wen writes nu [OMITTED] for yüan, but that is an emendation; in the
Shih-san Ching Chu-su, Book of Odes, no. 238; 16 ii: 13b, K'ung Ying-ta [574-648], quotes
the Shuo-wen as saying that wen means yüan. The Yi-ch'ieh Ching Yin-yi in 25 chapters,
written by the monk Yüan-ying [737-790], 5: 6a, 13: 8a, 19: 11a, however quotes
Shuo-wen as defining wen by nu.) Kuang-ya (by Chang Yi; in "Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh"
668A: 8a) defines both wen and ch'ou as hui [OMITTED], to hate. HHS, An. 2: 3b uses
ch'ou-yüan as a phrase. The Ching-yu ed. however here reads yüan and I see no need
to change the text.
HS 24 A:21b (cf. App. I), in quoting this edict, adds that it applied also to `
adherents,' i.e., slaves.
Yen Shih-ku explains that wei [OMITTED] means "many, heavily," but Wang Nien-sun,
in a note to HS 47: 9a, asserts that wei means suddenly, ts'u [OMITTED]. "In a note to Li-chi
17: 2a (quoted in the Shih-san Ching Chu-su; the same passage as in Couvreur, I, 386),
Cheng Hsüan says, "Tsung is like wei-ts'u [OMITTED]" (the last word should be read as
[OMITTED]), so that wei and ts'u were used to form a binom. The Kuang-ya ("Huang-ch'ing
Ching-chieh" 671 B: 23b) defines wei as "suddenly [OMITTED]," which word means the same
as ts'u. Ho Hsiu (129-182), in a gloss to Kung-yang Commentary 18: 8b, Dk. Ch'eng
XVIII, says, "Duke Li wei killed four grandees," where wei means "suddenly."
Yung's (79-166) "Fu on the Long Flute" (Wen-hsüan 18: 3a) likewise says, "The water
from the mountains wei arrived," with the same meaning of wei.
The reference is to the twelve divisional generals who were to attack the Hun
empire simultaneously, as is made plain by 94 B: 20a8, 18b10 = de Groot, 276, 273;
cf. 99 B: 14a.
Chang Yen comments, "In this [year], the year-star [Jupiter] was in jen-shen [the
cyclical notation for A.D. 12], so punishments were in the eastern quarter." SC 27:
33 = Mh III, 356 says, "When there are deficiencies in fealty, the punishment comes
from the Year-star." SC 27: 36 = Mh III, 360 notes that when Jupiter is in shen, "It is
favorable for military [enterprises]."
Quotations from Book of History II, i, iii, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 (Legge, pp. 32, 33, 34, 35, 37).
There are certain differences in the HS text: For the Book of History's [OMITTED] (also read by
the Official ed. of the HS), the HS reads [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; the sixth clause, concerning
"the mountains and streams," is quoted at the place given it in the Book of History's
v. 6, but has the additional word now in the doublet of that clause in v. 7. On the
lei sacrifice, cf. Karlgren, BMFEA 20, pg. 80, Gl. 1256. For the "exemplars," cf. ibid.,
81f, Gl. 1257.
In Wang Mang's time, there were two interpretations for the phrases from the Book
of History, hsüan-chi [OMITTED] or [OMITTED] (translated here as "the Beautiful Jade [Turning] Mechanism")
and yü-heng [OMITTED] (translated as "the Jade Balance"). Legge, in his translation
(Shoo King, p. 33) adopts the interpretation by the pseudo-K'ung An-kuo, as does
Couvreur (Chou King, p. 14-15). It interpreted these two phrases as denoting an armillary
sphere and its viewing tube, respectively, the whole forming a spherical astrolabe. If
such is the correct interpretation, this chapter of the Book of History cannot be very
ancient, for the armillary sphere was quite probably a late important into China.
W. Eberhard, "Das Astronomische Weltbild im alten China" (Die Naturwissenschaften,
1936, 24 Jahrg., Heft 33, p. 518) states that this instrument was known in China about
100 B.C. Ma Jung (A.D. 79-166), in his comment to this passage (preserved in Shang-shu
Chu-su 3: 3b, 4a), describes a spherical astrolabe.
There was also a quite different interpretation. The Wen-yao-kou [OMITTED] Woof Exposition
to the Spring and Autumn (fragments collected in the Yü-han-shan-fang Chi-yi-shu;
this passage is also quoted by Wang Hsien-ch'ien in a note on HS 26: 5a) said, "The
Bushel [OMITTED] [the Dipper in Ursa Major] is the throat of Heaven. From ancient [times], the
Jade Balance (yü-heng) has belonged with Piao [OMITTED] [the three stars in the tail of the Dipper:
ε, ξ, η Ur Ma, or, as here, only one of them, η, cf. MH III, 341, n. 5; i.e., the Jade Balance
has been the tail of the Dipper] and K'uei [OMITTED] [the four stars in the body of the Dipper,
α, β, γ, δ Ur Maj, or merely α] has been the Beautiful Jade [Turning] Mechanism (hsüan-chi)."
In HS 21 A: 19b, Pan Ku quotes Liu Hsin concerning "the weights [used with] the
balance (heng):" "The one [i.e., the balance] in heaven assists the Beautiful Jade [Turning]
Mechanism (hsüan-chi). [The ruler] consults where it points `in order that he may [discover
whether he] brings into accord the Seven Governors (ch'i-cheng).' Hence it is called
the Jade Balance (yü-heng)."
SC 27: 6 = MH III, 341 (this passage is also quoted in HS 26: 4b by Ma Hsü, a
brother of Ma Jung, who compiled this chapter of the HS) says, "The seven stars of the
Northern Bushel [the Dipper] are what are referred to [in the passage of the Book of
History which says, `He examined] the Beautiful Jade [Turning] Mechanism (hsüan-chi)
and the Jade Balance (yü-heng), so that he might bring into accord the Seven Governors
(ch'i-cheng).' " These passages make clear that Wang Mang interpreted the Beautiful
Jade Turning Mechanism and the Jade Balance as the stars of the Dipper and not as
any human astronomical instrument (cf. Chavannes' translation in MH I, 58-65 and
48, n. 2; Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 77ff, Gl. 1255).
The Seven Governors (ch'i-cheng), according to both schools, were the Sun, the Moon,
and the five planets. The K'ung An-kuo gloss (Shang-shu Chu-su 3: 3a) states (this
interpretation was accepted by both schools): "When Yao did not permit Shun to refuse
[the rule] and had him take the throne as regent, Shun examined the Ornaments of Heaven
[the stars] and inspected and brought into accord the Seven Governors. When he [found
that he had] suited the mind of Heaven, he hence performed his [governmental] duties."
The underlying conception was that the sun, moon, and planets moved correctly or incorrectly
in harmony with the good or evil character of the government, so that Shun,
by observing the motion of the stars, was able to determine whether his assumption of
the throne did or did not please Heaven. It did, and so his virtue harmonized the stars.
The two "constellations" sometimes placed on their court robes by the Ch'ing emperors
as symbols of imperial rank are almost surely the Beautiful Jade Turning Mechanism
and the Jade Balance. According to the passage in the Book of History, these constellations
were the means whereby Heaven confirms the right of an emperor to occupy the
throne. The Jade Balance is the "pointer"—the direction in which it points at dusk
is supposed to move around the horizon one-twelfth of the circumference each month, so
that it points out the months of the year, and, with the months, the duties of the ruler
in each month (given in the "Yüeh-ling," ch. IV of the Li-chi). The Jade Balance reminded
the emperor of his governmental duties. It was sometimes worn just below the
collar in front.
Liu Hsin, in his San-t'ung-li, calculated that the first 106 years in a yüan of 4617
years would contain nine years of drouth; cf. HS 21 A: 42a ff.
Fu Ch'ien asserts, "The Azure Dragon [OMITTED] is the T'ai-sui [OMITTED] [the hypothetical
dextrorotary correlate of the planet Jupiter]." Chang Yen declares, "When the T'ai-sui
arises in the chia and yin [parts of the ecliptic], it is the dragon. The eastern quarter is
the Azure [part]. In kuei its virtue is in the central palace [i.e., the circumpolar stars]."
Chin Shao however explains, "Shou-hsing is [the constellations] Chio and K'ang. `The
Eastern Palace [the eastern part of the ecliptic] is the Azure Dragon. Of [the constellations]
Fang and Hsin, Hsin is the [heavenly] Ming-t'ang.' [A quotation from HS 26: 7a.
`Hsin' here is an allusion to the Hsin dynasty, Wang Mang]. Wherever [the planet]
Saturn is located, that state will be prosperous. [Wang] Mang himself said [he ruled
through the virtue of the element] earth. The lord of the element earth is [the planet]
Saturn. In kuei, the [ruling] virtue is in the central palace. The palace is also [the
element] earth."
For an account of the position of Jupiter and its Chinese hypothetical dextrorotary
correlate, cf. Chavannes, Mh III, App. III. He remarks that because the revolution of
Jupiter is accomplished in 11.86 years, instead of in exactly 12 years (in which latter period
the Chinese dextrorotary correlate of Jupiter was supposed to make its revolution, thereby
generating the cyclical date for a year), for Spring and Autumn times two years must be
added to the date as given by the position of Jupiter to get the position of its dextrorotary
correlate. From the above dating, it is evident that for Wang Mang's time, two years
are similarily to be subtracted.
This seems to have been one of the first cases in which the cyclical terms were used
to denote a year. Previously they had been confined to the days.
Meng K'ang explains, "He observed (kuan [OMITTED]) the advance and retreat of the
sun, moon, stars and their controlling lords." He would translate this clause: "Observation
of their advance [reading chin [OMITTED] as [OMITTED]] will control the year." Chin Shao adds,
"The observation [i.e., imitation of Duke Wen of] Chin [kuan-Chin; a phase used in
Kuo-yü 10: 1a] is to find out where the T'ai-sui is, in what degree and constellation of the
Zodiac it is located." He also declares that Wang Mang was imitating Duke Wen of
Chin in that his movements were timed to those of the T'ai-sui (cf. Kuo-yu, 10: 1a, b).
But Ch'ien Ta-hsin points out that Meng K'ang is mistaken, for Kuan and Chin are
both hexagrams (nos. 20 & 35 respectively). In HHS, Mem. 20 A: 3b, Su Ching (
A.D. 1-29) is quoted as saying that the hexagram Pi controlled a certain year. The
Yi-wei Chi-lan T'u (anonymous, annotated by Cheng Hsüan, 127-200) and the
Ch'ien-k'un Tso-to (prob. Han period) discuss what hexagrams control what years.
Wang Mang is following the procedure in Li-chi III, ii, 13-16 (Legge, I, 216-8;
Couvreur I, 275-8) and the practise of Shun (Book of History II, i, 8, 9; Legge, 35-37).
The change was from Hsin1 [OMITTED] the name of Wang Mang's original marquisate,
to Hsin2 [OMITTED] (heart), and from Hsin2 to Hsin4 [OMITTED] (faithful). Anciently hsin1 and hsin2
were interchanged; the name of the Hsin dynasty was indifferently written hsin1 or hsin4.
Ju Shun explains, "She was buried within the Major's Gates [at the tomb] and a
ditch was made to separate her [from her husband's grave]."
Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks, "This was an omen that [Emperor] Kuang-wu would
establish his capital [there]."
This is no. 54 in Williams, Observations of Comets. Dion Cassius (Hist. Roman.,
lvi, 29) also mentions comets at this time. Cf. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy, p. 557.
The Han-chi mentions Wang Mang's first year-period, Shih-chien-kuo, but it
neglects the others entirely, continuing the enumeration of years from the first to the
fifteenth year of Wang Mang's reign. Sub 20 A.D., it merely mentions that every six
years the year-period was to be changed, but does not give the name of the next year-period.
Sung Hsiang (996-1066) in his Chi-yüan T'ung-p'u (lost) remarked that he suspects
that there had been a happy auspice of phoenixes, from which this reign-period was taken.
(Noted by Wang Hui [1321-1373] in the HS P'ing-lin 99 B: 24b.)
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shun-hua ed. (997) omitted the word nei [OMITTED],
and that the New ed. (unknown) omits nei-[OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads these words.
Wang Mang is following teh procedure in the Li-chi, IV, i, 13 (Legge, I, 254f;
Couvreur, I, 335). The Sung Ch'i ed. asserts that the word [OMITTED] (plowshare) should be
added after the word [OMITTED] (plow-handle), to agree with that passage in the Li-chi, but Wang
Hsien-shen (1859-1922) replies that this remark is mistaken, for the insertion would
break the rhythm of 4-character phrases.
These phrases are taken from the Book of History, I, ii, 4, 5, 6 (Legge, pp. 18-20);
cf. also HFHD II, 392, n. 8.2.
Yen Shih-ku points out that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED]; Ch'ien Ta-chao adds that
the former character was anciently written [OMITTED]. Cf. also Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 52, gl.
1219.
These phrases are taken from the Book of History, I, ii, 4, 5, 6 (Legge, pp. 18-20);
cf. also HFHD II, 392, n. 8.2.
These phrases are taken from the Book of History, I, ii, 4, 5, 6 (Legge, pp. 18-20);
cf. also HFHD II, 392, n. 8.2.
The text reads su [OMITTED], grain, and Yen Shih-ku declares it means [OMITTED], to thresh.
Li Tz'u-ming however objects that this interpretation does not fit in with the last words
of the sentence, "covering up and storing [the harvest]," and states that su is probably a
copyist's mistake, made before the T'ang period, for [OMITTED], which in ancient times was used
for [OMITTED] (to store in granaries), since the latter character did not exist in ancient times.
Shu-yin [OMITTED] is a phrase from the Book of History, II, iv, iii, 10 (Legge, p. 89),
where the pseudo-K'ung An-kuo explains it as [OMITTED].
For [OMITTED], the Official ed. mistakenly reads [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu and Mao. ed. read
the former.
The text now reads, "A man of Li-miao, Hsin," and Ju Shun declares that Li-miao
is the name of a town. It is listed in the Tung Commandery. But Li Tz'u-ming (7: 16b)
remarks that, from the previous mention on B: 14b and the subsequent notice of
dismissal from the post of Commander-in-chief on B: 26a, this name is undoubtedly Miao
Hsin; the surnames of Wang Mang's officials are always given; when he enfeoffed people
or gave them titles, he always picked lucky names and did not employ the names of towns.
Hence [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] have probably been interchanged, and after [OMITTED] a word or words have
probably dropped out. This textual error then antedates the third century, for it was
in Ju Shun's text. Nan or nan-tzu [OMITTED] is occasionally used with the meaning, "a man,"
cf. SC 6: 161 = MH II, 118, HS 8: 10b, 10: 10a, 99 A: 18b, 30b.
The text reads [OMITTED] (to reprimand); Liu Pin remarks that this official had previously
been beheaded and so the word should probably be [OMITTED] (to cut). Stange (p. 187 & n. 4),
and Duyvendak prefer not to emend the text. But Wang Yi plainly wanted to inflict
additional punishment upon his Officer. After the Emperor, Wang Mang, had condemned
the Officer, a posthumous reprimand by a minister could add nothing. "Cutting,"
i.e., mutilating the body, was a severe additional punishment, quite in harmony
with the practises of the age.
Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that Ai Chang came from Tzu-t'ung in Kuang-han Commandery
(in the present Szechuan), hence Wang Mang said, "in the western provinces."
The suggestion that Provincial Governors (the title previously given to Shepherds)
should rank higher than Commandery Administrators had been made by Ho Wu,
represented it as a conception of the Spring and Autumn; cf. HS 83: 14b, 15a.
The text is difficult to understand as it stands. After chou-mu [OMITTED], I insert tentatively
[OMITTED], at the suggestion of T'an Ch'i-hsiang (K'ai-ming Bookstore's Erh-shih-wu-shih
Pu-p'ien, I, p. 1747), to parallel the next clause, pu-chien erh-shih-wu jen [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. I also place these last six characters after the clause chien-li ju san-kung [OMITTED],
and drop the word chien [OMITTED] that now comes after this kung. (Chien is superfluous as a
result of the last change. It is not in the quotation of this passage in Han-chi 30: 13b).
The ranking of san-kung, the three highest ministers, can hardly refer to the pu-chien,
the Superintendents of Regional Divisions, for they are here stated to have had a lower
rank. In HS 99 C: 10b, it is moreover stated that the Provincial Shepherds (chou-mu)
had the rank of highest ministers (san-kung). In the transfer of these six characters, I
follow Wang Nien-sun.
He would emend more drastically, following Han-chi 30: 13b, and reading, "He established
Provincial Shepherds, the formalities for whom (ch'i-li [OMITTED]) were to be like those
of the three highest ministers, and twenty-five Superintendents of Commanderies (chün
[OMITTED]-chien). The rank of the Superintendents (chien) was to be that of Upper-ranking
Grandees. Each was to have charge of five commanderies."
Wang Nien-sun eliminates any mention of Superintendents of Regional Divisions (pu-chien)
and changes the chien-li of the HS text to ch'i-li as in the Han-chi. As evidence
for his emendations he has only the Han-chi's text. Chu Yi-hsien (1846-1894) however
protests that it is quite unnecessary to change chien-li to ch'i-li; chien-li is often found
in the HS [as in 99 A: 3a], so that there is no reason for emending it. Yang Shu-ta
approves this refusal to emend.
T'an Ch'i-hsiang (op. cit., pp. 1746-47) argues that Wang Nien-sun is furthermore
mistaken in emending pu-chien, Superintendents of Regional Divisions, to chün-chien,
Superintendents of Commanderies. For (1) the Regional Divisions (pu) are mentioned
again in HS 99 B: 29a. (2) In HHS, Mem. 3: 2a, Wei Ao: is quoted as having sent
out in A.D. 23 a broadcast to Wang Mang's "Shepherds of Provinces (chou-mu), Superintendents
of Regional Divisions (pu-chien)," and minor officials. (3) T'an Ch'i-hsiang
also quotes Chang Hsüan's (fl. 1582) Hui Erh-ya (also called the Hui-p'ien) as listing an
impression of an ancient seal with the five words: "[OMITTED] pu-chien [OMITTED]. The Seal of the
Superintendent of the Eastern Regional Division." There is then ample evidence that
Wang Mang actually had Regional Divisions (pu) with Superintendents (chien). T'an
Ch'i-hsiang however finds it difficult to explain how twenty-five regional divisions could
have been arranged into nine provinces and how the word pu could have also been used
with the title of Shepherd (mu), as in the phrase, "the Shepherd of Yung Regional Division"
(99 B: 30a & C: 4b).
The word pu, in addition to its other meanings, had, in Han times, certain technical
uses. For example, it denoted a "regiment" of 1000 men and 111 officers (HS 69: 11b).
It was also used for the administrative areas assigned in 106 B.C. to each of the twelve
Inspectors of Regional Divisions (pu [OMITTED]; HS 19 A: 27a, b). After this title had been
changed to that of Shepherd (mu) in 1 B.C., the term pu or regional division naturally
still clung to these Shepherds. In a memorial dated A.D. 5, Wang Mang remarks (HS
99 A: 24b), "When the Shepherds of Provinces (chou-mu) go to inspect their regional
divisions (pu)," and 99 C: 18a states that K'ung Jen was sent in A.D. 22 "to be in charge
of the division (pu), Yü Province."
Something of Wang Mang's districting of China may be inferred from the way he had
his highest ministers "guarantee" the empire (HS 99 B: 29a). The four Chiefs of the
Sacred Peaks in the four quarters guaranteed 100 commanderies, which were grouped
into a total of eight provinces plus five regional divisions. The other three highest ministers
guaranteed twenty-five commanderies in the central and neighboring regional divisions.
These commanderies were not however assigned to them by regional divisions.
The Grand Minister over the Masses guaranteed five commanderies from two different
regional divisions. Each of these three highest ministers was assigned commanderies
from the areas about both the two imperial capitals, Ch'ang-an and Yi4-yangb (Lo-yang).
There were in the empire or kingdom (Wang Mang used both the titles of "emperor"
[99 B: 22b] and "king") nine provinces, 125 commanderies (99 B: 25a), making twenty-five
regional divisions (99 B: 24a). A regional division was composed of five commanderies
(99 B: 24a). How many commanderies were there in a province? The three
provinces guaranteed by the Grand Master averaged less than seven commanderies each.
The two guaranteed by the Grand Tutor and the two guaranteed by the State General
averaged ten commanderies each. The province guaranteed by the State Master contained
fifteen commanderies. Then a province might have from five to fifteen commanderies
or more. In addition to these eight provinces there were five other regional
divisions (making twenty-five commanderies) guaranteed by these four ministers, plus
twenty-five more commanderies guaranteed by the three other ministers. How could the
remaining fifty commanderies form only one province?
In the former Han empire, the commanderies about the imperial capital had formed
an administrative area under the Colonel Director of the Retainers (Szu-li-hsiao-wei),
which was not entitled a province (chou), altho it actually functioned as one. Wang
Mang almost surely followed this precedent, both for security reasons and in order to
exalt the majesty of his arrangements. He had two capitals, Ch'ang-an and Lo-yang,
about each of which he would accordingly have established a group of commanderies not
included in any province. This arrangement is implied by the edict concerning the areas
neighboring the two capitals quoted in 99 B: 24a, b and is practically stated in Wang
Mang's enactment of two "royal domains" (99 B: 19a). We know the names of twelve
commanderies in these royal domains (the Western Capital had about it the six Commandants'
commanderies and the Eastern Capital had about it the six Neighboring commanderies
mentioned in 99 B: 29a; cf. also 99 B: 24a, b, 25a, 99 C: 16a, and T'an Ch'i-hsiang
op. cit., pp. 1734-1737). It is moreover not likely that Wang Mang could have
considered an area of only seven commanderies, about the size of a small province, adequate
to express the dignity of the Son of Heaven. His two royal domains might well
have each been larger than any province, being composed of twenty commanderies each,
leaving ten commanderies for the ninth province. His kingdom then contained nine
provinces plus two large royal domains.
It is unlikely that a single regional division included parts of two provinces, since it
would be difficult for a single superintendant to investigate two different .
Then the number of commanderies in a province was five or a multiple thereof—as
arrangement that was justified by the current doctrine of "five powers (wu-hsing)" accepted
by Wang Mang. The actual size of commanderies could be adjusted to such a
rigid arrangement by varying the number of counties in a commandery. This supposition
is substantiated by the size of the province guaranteed by the State Master (fifteen
commanderies) and by those guaranteed by the Grand Tutor and the State General
(either ten commanderies to each province or else five to one and fifteen to the other).
The three provinces guaranteed by the Grand Master totalled twenty commanderies.
Then some provinces contained only five commanderies and were identical with a single
regional division. This conclusion explains and is justified by the phrase, "the Shepherd
of the Yung Regional Division" (99 B: 30a). Meng K'ang (fl. A.D. 220-280) glosses
(HS 95: 7a), "[Wang] Mang changed Yi Province to be the Yung Regional Division."
(He probably economized by appointing the same person concurrently Shepherd and
Superintendent.) Such an area could be called by the name of either the province or
the regional division, as in Ch'ing times a city could be called by its name as a prefecture
(fu) or as a county (hsien).
There is then no reason to follow Wang Nien-sun in his latter two emendations. Some copyist of the Han-chi may not have understood Wang Mang's districting of the
country, so changed pu to the more familiar chün, whereupon Wang Nien-sun was misled.
San-fu Huang-t'u (iii-vi cent.) 1: 2a describes this division: "Wang Mang divided
the neighborhood of the city of Ch'ang-an into six districts and established one Leader
for each [district]. He divided the capital districts and made them into six [Commandant's
Commanderies] with Chief Commandants. The ten prefectures: Wei-ch'eng and An-ling,
and northwest to Hsün-yi and Yi-ch'ü, were put under the Capital Commandant Grandee,
with his yamen at the former Ch'ang-an official building. The ten prefectures, Kao-ling
and northwards, were put under the Metropolis Commandant Grandee, with his yamen
at the former Commandant of Justice's yamen. The ten prefectures, Hsin-feng and
eastwards to Hu were put under the Supporter Commandant Grandee with his yamen at
the east of the city. The ten prefectures, Pa-ling, Tu-ling, and eastwards to Lan-t'ien,
and westwards to Wu-kung and Yü-yi, were put under the Commandant of Splendor
Grandee, with his yamen at the [south] of the city. The ten prefectures, Mou-ling,
Huai-li, and westwards to Ch'ien, were put under the Sustainer Commandant Grandee,
with his yamen at the west of the city. The ten prefectures, Ch'ang-ling, Ch'ih-yang,
and northwards to [Yün-yang and] Tai-hsü, were put under the Commandant of Magnificence
Grandee, with his yamen at [the north of the city]." (The words in square
are not in the present text of the San-fu Huang-t'u, and are supplied from Yen Shih-ku's
quotation of this passage, which represents a superior text.) In addition to the six Commandant's
counties, the city of Ch'ang-an formed a separate administrative district
"The Western Capital of the House of Hsin" (99 B: 19a).
Liu Feng-shih (1014-1113) asserts that the "Ho-nan" in the text should be Jung-yang,
for on this page a little farther on, the title of the Grand Governor of Ho-nan
changed to a different title. Lo-yang (renamed Yi-yang), the headquarters of the Ho-nan
Commandery, was to be an imperial capital, hence Jung-yang and other
of the Ho-nan Commandery were separated to be a Neighboring Commandery. The
Jung-yang Commandery is mentioned on 99 B: 25b.
Chou Shou-ch'ang points out that in this passage Wang Mang is following in general
and with changes the account in the Chou-li, according to which the region within 100
of the capital was called the suburbs, chiao [OMITTED], in which were established six districts,
hsiang [OMITTED], and the region beyond the suburbs was called the neighborhood, sui [OMITTED],
which were established six administrations over the six Neighborhoods. In a note to
Chou-li 9: 1b (Biot, I, 172, n. 2), sub the Hsiang-lao, Cheng Chung (ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83)
says, "Within 100 li [from the capital] are the six hsiang: without it are the six Neighboring
[Commanderies] (sui)."
The Chou-li 15: 8a (Biot, I, 336 ff) has an official called the Sui-jen [OMITTED]. The term
sui seems to come from the Book of History V, xxix, 5 (Legge, p. 625) where Po-ch'in
made to say, "You men of Lu, from the three chiao and three sui, prepare forage."
and tui [OMITTED], the word in the text, were anciently interchanged; SC 33: 20 (Mh IV, 103),
which quotes the above passage from the Book of History, reads [OMITTED] (actually written
HS 99 B: 25b), of which tui (here pronounced sui4, according to Yen Shih-ku), is a
cursive writing. The six neighboring commanderies were the Capital, Western, Eastern,
Southern, Ch'i, and Northern Neighboring Commanderies. Cf. 99 B: 29a.
Ch'ien Ta-hsin remarks that many of these new names are listed in HS ch. 28,
the "Treatise on Geography," but the new delimitations of commanderies are not all
indicated there.
"Three hundred sixty" has an astrological significence, being the number of days in an
ancient Chinese solar year.
Hsien-t'ien [OMITTED] is a term taken from Li-chi, III, i, 8 (Couvreur, I, 268; Legge,
I, 212), of which pseudo-K'ung Ying-ta (quoted in the Shih-san Ching Chu-su, Li-chi 11:
5b) says, "If [fields in nobles estates] are not given in enfeoffment to people [who will be
their vassals], they are called reserved fields (hsien-t'ien)."
Liu Feng-shih remarks that chou [OMITTED] (Department) should be [OMITTED] (Suburb). According
to 99 B: 24b, however, chou is correct, for Wang Mang entitled the heads of the
commanderies nearest Lo-yang (then named Yi4-yangb) Chiefs of Departments.
Book of History III, i, ii, 18 (Legge, p. 144) says, "From the fourth [hundred li
from the capital, they contributed] grain in the husk, and from the fifth [hundred li,
they brought] cleaned grain." The first five hundred li from the capital constituted the
royal domain.
The terms, ts'ai, jen, chu-hou2 [OMITTED] are taken from Book of History III, i,
ii, 19 (Legge, 144-45), except that it uses nan [OMITTED] instead of jen. Yen Shih-ku
ts'ai as "the ts'ai domain," i.e., the region allotted for the estates supporting
and grandees. Jen he interprets as "the domain of the barons (nan)." Wang Mang had
however given the title of jen to baronesses (99 B: 4b). The K'ung An-kuo gloss to the
above passage (Shang-shu Chu-su 6: 18a) says, "Nan is jen." K'ung Ying-ta explains,
"The pronunciation of nan is near to that of jen, hence [the former] is explained by jen."
He interprets jen as "to be employed on the king's business," seemingly denoting
who hold office. The archaic pronunciation of nan (Grammata Serica, # 649) was
and that of jen (ibid. # 667f) was . The K'ung An-kuo gloss may have been a
explanation by an assonant word, so that K'ung Ying-ta interprets it correctly. But by
using this gloss, jen may be exchanged with nan. Indeed in a note to HS 99 B: 4b,
Shih-ku says, "Nan is also jen." This circumstance explains Wang Mang's use of
as his title for baronesses. Wang Mang here however uses jen instead of the nan in the
Book of History. Did he mean something slightly different? He may have meant ()
baronesses, (b) barons, or (c) those who hold office. I have preferred the first meaning,
for he very likely included the barons along with the nobles in the preceding .
The words ts'ai jen are also used on 99 B: 19a, where I have interpreted them likewise.
Chu-hou2 may denote "the nobles." But Wang Mang's nobles were located elsewhere,
so that this meaning would introduce disorder into his architectonic scheme. The K'ung
An-kuo gloss says, "Hou2 is hou4 [OMITTED]. They patrol (ch'ih [OMITTED] -hou4) and serve. . . . In
their 300 li they all alike patrol (ch'ih-hou4) for the king." K'ung Ying-ta explains,
"Ch'ih-hou4 means that they patrol [OMITTED] strategic places, watching for bandits." (Ch'ih-hou4
today means "sentry.") Wang Mang almost surely had this Han
in mind.
The Sung interpreters were probably correct about this passage in the Book of History
the greatest nobles were said to have been located farthest from the king and the
ones nearer him, in order to have powerful defenders at the borders, ready to repel
invasion. This passage probably reflects the actual situation during the latter part of
the Chou period: Lo-yang was the capital and the large feudal states were at the periphery
of the Chinese orbit. Wang Mang established a feudal nobility, because it was in accordance
with classical precedents. He ennobled the members of his clan. But he was an
who intended to rule the whole country, instead of depending upon his nobles
for defence. He turned the classical scheme upside down, placing the greatest noble
estates nearest the ruler. This arrangement he doubtless felt was more in accordance
with the Confucian principle of exhibiting a due gradation of affection as between his
closer relatives (the great nobles) and the more distantly related ones (the minor nobles),
by placing his closest relatives nearest himself.
The "domain of submission" is not in the usual lists of domains; this term is taken
from the brief list in Kuo-yü 1: 2a, b. Yen Shih-ku asserts it is the same as the domain
of garrisons [OMITTED] in Chou-li XXXIII, 52 (Biot, II, 276).
A quotation from Book of History III, i, ii, 20 (Legge, p. 145), where, in discussing
the region constituted by the five hundred li beyond the domain of the nobles, which
former is the second domain beyond the innermost one, it says, "In the first three hundred
they cultivated the lessons of learning and moral duties; in the other two hundred li
they showed the energies of war and defence."
The six phrases, "constituting fortified walls," "securing repose," "constituting
buttresses," "constituting screens," "constituting walls," and "constituting fences" are
taken from the Book of Odes, III, ii, x, 7 (Legge, II, 503), where they refer to the king's
relatives, the cherishing of virtue, great families, great states, the multitudes of people,
and good men, respectively. This stanza is quoted in full in HS 14: 1a. Wang Mang
is using this stanza as the authority for his own system of domains which shall harmonize
the two systems in the Book of History and the Chou-li.
Li-chi, IX, i, 20 (Legge, I, 424; Couvreur, I, 586) says, "For the day, a chia [day]
is used [for the sacrifice, in order to] employ the first of the days [in the cycle]."
and chi are the stems corresponding to the power earth, which Wang Mang considered
to be the ruling power during the time of his dynasty. To the names of his year periods
there seem to have been added the phrase shang-mou [OMITTED] (exalting [the stem] mou);
cf. C: n. 17.5.
Ch'ien Ta-hsin remarks, "In the decade [beginning with] mou-yin there is no
[day (tzu means son)], hence it is avoided."
HS 94 B: 21a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, 281 says, "[Wang] Mang created the
punishment of burning fan-ju [OMITTED], and burnt to death Ch'en Liang and the others."
The term fan-ju is a quotation from the Book of Changes, Hexagram 30, 4 (Legge, p. 121;
Wilhelm I, 89). Ying Shao says that Wang Mang made this punishment in accordance
with that passage of the Classic, which reads, "How sudden is his coming; it is burning,
dying, and being done away with [in execution]." Ju Shun adds, This line "refers to
unfilial children, who do not care for their parents and do not maintain a proper deportment
to their friends, hence they are burnt to death and done away with. [Wang] Mang
made the name of the punishment in accordance with this [passage]."
Hu San-hsing explains that Wang Mang had established at each of the four
a Chief Commandant of the Post, with garrison soldiers.
Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED], to agree with HS 95: 7a and 99 B:
30a. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter; Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Official ed.
and the Southern Academy ed. also read it.
If "at this time" refers to the second month of this year (Feb. 8 to Mar. 9, A.D. 15,
Julian), this "star" must have been a nova or comet, not Venus. It is not likely that it
was an imaginary object, since its appearance was considered a portent sufficiently great
to require one of the high ministers to be dismissed.
Mr. R. B. Weitzel of Washington, D.C. reports: "From experimental observations
made under favorable conditions, I would assign for daylight visibility of Venus without
optical aid a limiting value of 110 days before inferior conjunction, the planet having
then a magnitude of -3.7 and on elongation approximately 42° east. On Mar. 9, A.D.
, 160 days before inferior conjunction, Venus with magnitude -3.4 and elongation 31°
east evidently was not visible to the unaided eye at midday." It did not attain its
greatest brightness until June 11th, when its magnitude was -4.25, before and after
which date, during a period of several weeks, it was visible at noon to anyone who knew
where to look.
Unfortunately, we cannot be sure that "at this time" refers to the second month.
Pan Ku does not in this chapter furnish the month for any of the events in this year,
except for the banquet and amnesty, which are mentioned immediately before the "star."
Very likely most of the records for this year perished when the palace was burnt in A.D. 23.
"At this time" may mean "in this part of the year," in which case this "star" may indeed
have been Venus.
Chinese astronomers may however not, in Han times, have been aware that Venus may
regularly be seen crossing the sky. SC 27: 53 = Mh III, 374 states: "When it [Venus]
appears, it does not cross the sky. When it crosses the sky, the country changes its government."
The above statement is repeated in HS 26: 23a and much later in Sui-shu 20: 14b.
Thus the appearance of Venus in daytime was considered a great sign, portending a change
in the dynasty. It was accordingly expected to occur only once every few centuries.
Meng K'ang glosses the above passage: "[`Crossing the sky'] means when [Venus] rises in
the east and sets in the west or when it rises in the west and sets in the east. Venus is a
[weak] star, so that when it rises in the east [as a morning star] it is due to disappear
in the east, and when it becomes visible in the west [as an evening star] it is due to set in
the west. [The text is emended, following the suggestion of Dr. A. Pogo, to fit the facts
of observation. This last clause reads in the present text, "When it rises in the west it is
due to disappear in the west."] Going across the meridian [i.e., being visible at noon]
is `crossing the sky'." Chin Shao adds: "The sun is yang [strong]. When it rises, the stars
are due to be submerged. When Venus is visible in daytime on the meridian, it is `crossing
the sky'."
The facts of observation are the following: When Venus is a morning star, it rises in
the east, either when the sky is still dark, if its western elongation (the apparent
between it and the sun) is sufficient, or, if not, just at dawn. Then it disappears in the
rays of the sun soon after sunrise before reaching the meridian, or even at sunrise, depending
on its elongation. When Venus is an evening star, it becomes visible in the west
shortly before sunset, while the sky is still illuminated, or just at sunset, depending on
its elongation. Then it sets in the west soon (possibly three hours) after sunset, depending
upon its elongation. These two phenomena are stated correctly in Meng K'ang's
gloss (with the emendation mentioned above).
Venus is also visible in daylight at the time of its maximum brilliance, which circumstance
occurs about five weeks before and after inferior conjunction, twice in each revolution
of the planet, in each case lasting for a period of a few weeks. Venus is not conspicuous,
because of the sun's light. But anyone who has noted the distance of Venus
from the sun at its previous morning (or evening) appearance (which distance is 39° at
its maximum brightness) can easily pick it out in the daylight sky. At such times, in
addition to its setting, when an evening star (or rising, when a morning star), Venus has
also a real and visible rising (or setting), so that Meng K'ang is quite correct in saying
that Venus may rise in the east and set in the west.
It is not easy to understand how the ancient Chinese could have failed to
this daylight visibility of Venus or to identify this "star visible in daytime" with the
planet. By following such a star for a few hours, it will be found to be identical with the
"evening star" Venus, which will be very conspicuous in the evening sky by its
brightness. Or the unusually brilliant "morning star" Venus will be found, when followed,
to be identical with this "star visible in daytime." So all doubt about the identity of a
"noon star" can easily be dissipated. These periods of daylight visibility recur regularly
at intervals of 584 days. In Han times, such a "star visible in daytime" was recorded in
182 B.C. (cf. HFHD, I, 198; II, 425), but is not identified with Venus, although that
planet was then visible in daytime.
The reason that Venus was not recorded under that name when it was visible in daytime
is very likely the astrological interpretation given that visibility. Anyone identifying
this "noon star" with Venus thereby proclaimed himself a revolutionist, so that his
life might be seriously endangered. When however a revolution was expected by powerful
persons in the imperial court at the time that the Chou dynasty was being replaced by
the Sui, Venus is recorded as appearing in daytime. Sui-shu 1: 14a, b, 21a states, "Venus
appeared in daytime" on the dates, March 24, 25, May 21, 581 and on Nov. 2, 584.
Jupiter is also said to have been visible in daytime on May 21, 581. During the next
decade, however, although periods of Venus' daytime visibility occurred almost every
year, there is no notice of that fact. The dynastic revolution had been completed, so
that Venus as a portent was no longer useful.
These appearances have been checked by calculation from the tables in K. Schoch,
Planeten-Tafeln für Jedermann. The records for Venus on May 21, 581 and Nov. 2,
are probably correct, for that planet then had a magnitude of -4.0 and -4.40 respectively.
But the times of Venus' greatest brightness were on June 18, 581 and Nov. 8, 584, on which days Venus had a magnitude of -4.23 and -4.44, respectively. Then this
planet was not reported when it was brightest. We may infer that, on the days Venus
was reported, someone in the court bethought himself of the astrological significance to
the appearance of Venus, asked some astrologer about this planet, and reported Venus'
daytime visibility to the throne, whereupon this entry was placed on the records.
The reported appearances of Venus in daytime on Mar. 24 and 25, 581 are doubtful.
While the planet had an elongation of 39°, its magnitude was only -3.6. Jupiter's
magnitude on May 21, 581 was only -1.6. It is not a noon object, but its elongation
was 101°, so that it could have been seen when the sun was very low in the west.
We may conclude that, while some time during or after the Han period, Chinese
astronomers became aware of the fact that Venus is occasionally visible in daytime, the
astrological interpretation of this circumstance prevented it from becoming known to the
public, except at times when the court wished a portent known presaging a change in the
dynasty.
Meng K'ang's statement that Venus sometimes "rises in the west and sets in the east"
raises the interesting question whether he knew that this unusual phenomenon may
actually happen. It does not occur at Chinese latitudes, but only near or within the
Arctic (or Antarctic) Circles. At the infrequent times when the greatest brightness or
the inferior conjunction of this planet occurs in the months of April or May, if an observer
far enough north, he will sometimes see Venus traverse the northern sky from west to
east. For example, on May 30, B.C. 85, when Venus was at its greatest brightness with a
magnitude of -4.3, an observer north of China in latitude 65.3° could have seen Venus
due north on the horizon, 2 hours 45 minutes before midnight, while the sun at midnight
was just 3.3° below the horizon. On May 1 of that year, Venus, with a magnitude of
-4.1, was on the northern horizon 3 hours 7 minutes before midnight for an observer at
63.2° north, and at midnight the sun was 12.7° below the horizon. The famous Chinese
envoy, Su Wu, was in captivity of the Huns during 100 to 81 B.C., for most of which
time he was near Lake Baikal, which extends from about 52° to 56° north. It is possible
that some nomad told Su Wu or some other Chinese traveler of having seen Venus at
midnight and that this report was taken to China.
The word [OMITTED] seems to have dropped out at this point; Han-chi 30: 14a and Tzu-chih
T'ung-chien 38: 1a both have this word. Wang Nien-sun remarks that without it
the meaning is not complete, and that the ancients did not avoid such repetitions as the
use of this word here and [OMITTED] in the next clause.
Yen Shih-ku remarks that since Wang Mang held he ruled by virtue of the yellow
principle, this evil auspice was directed against him.
Liu Pin remarks that the existing text does not make sense, so proposes to emend
shao [OMITTED] to ch'ao [OMITTED] and invert, reading so [OMITTED] ch'ao-lio [OMITTED]. Duyvendak agrees. He also
reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED], a common interchange of characters, which latter reading I adopt. But
Chou Shou-ch'ang objects to Liu Pin's emendation, "[The text is] not in error. This was
just Wang Mang's `grand talk,' that the Huns had not dared to rob recklessly and had
merely kidnapped `a few' of the people at the borders." P. van der Loon agrees, so do I.
Liu Pin asserts that chih [OMITTED] is an interpolation. But if we accept Chou Shou-ch'ang's
interpretation (n. 26.10), this chih is needed (here meaning "them," referring to
the people and live-stock).
The date of Wang Hsien2c's return is found in HS 94 B: 21b = de Groot, op. cit., 283.
Liu Pin asserts that chih [OMITTED] is an interpolation. But if we accept Chou Shou-ch'ang's
interpretation (n. 26.10), this chih is needed (here meaning "them," referring to
the people and live-stock).
The date of Wang Hsien2c's return is found in HS 94 B: 21b = de Groot, op. cit., 283.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed.
have inverted to read [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. does not invert.
The Sung Ch'i ed. declares that at this point there should be the words [OMITTED],
"at this time."
The Official ed., for [OMITTED] reads [OMITTED] and quotes the Sung Ch'i ed. to the effect that the
former word should be read. But the Ching-yu ed. reads the former and Chou Shou-ch'ang
remarks that this word should be read as [OMITTED] and that a little further on this
page there is the phrase [OMITTED] and on 99 C: 15b there is [OMITTED] so that
former word is here both the original and correct.
Hu San-hsing explains, "Anciently when matters were presented to the Emperor
in sealed [envelopes], they first went to a Master of Writing, who then memorialized [the
matter] to the Emperor. [Wang] Mang feared that the Masters of Writing would block
or hide things, so ordered the eunuchs and his entourage to break the seals and [then]
he himself examined them."
Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that [OMITTED] is an error; the Ching-yu ed., the Southern
Academy ed., and the Official ed. all read [OMITTED].
Yen Shih-ku declares that hsieh [OMITTED] means [OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun replies that
this meaning does not fit into the passage, and asserts that hsieh means chih [OMITTED]. In a
note to Book of Changes, Hex. 48, 3 ("Yü-hen Shan-fang Chi-yi-shu," Chou-yi Hsün-shih
Chu B: 14a), Hsün Shuang (128-190) says, "Hsieh had the meaning of doing away
with dirt and turbidity and making it clear and clean." Lu Tê-ming (ca. 560-627), in
his Ching-tien Shih-wen 2: 19a, "Chou-yi," quotes Huang Ying (fl. iv cent.), as saying,
"Hsieh is to chih." In SC 84: 9, sub the above line from the Book of Changes, P'ei Yin
quotes Hsiang Hsiu (d. ca. 280) as saying, "Hsieh is to dig (chih) deeper and do away
with mud and turbidity."
Wang Nien-sun says, "[OMITTED] must be an error for hsien [OMITTED]. Han-chi 30: [14b] and
Po-t'ang Shu-ts'ao [152: 3b, (completed ca. 618)] "Section on Heaven," [ch.] 4, quote this
"Memoir" and read correctly, `hsien.'"
A free quotation from Book of Changes, App. III, ch. VI, i, 2(34), (Legge, p. 358;
Wilhelm, I, 229).
Meng K'ang explains, "A trung [OMITTED] is [cloth woven with] 80 threads [in the
of a standard 50 cm. width]." (The Southern Academy ed. and the Chi-ku Ko ed. [1642]
read, "is 80 tsung," but the Ching-yu ed. [1035] and the Official ed. read "is 80 threads [OMITTED]).
Shou-wen 13 A: 1b defines tsungb [OMITTED] as "the threads in [the warp on] a loom." The
Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu (iv cent. B.C.; fundamentally retouched in xiii cent.), "Tsa-p'ien, B,
par. 18; 6: 17a, says, "Ten-tsungc (800 thread) [OMITTED] linen cloth and one tou of food are
enough to cause a person to escape inner [cold or hunger]." (From Shen Ch'in-han.)
Mencius V, A, iv, 3 (Legge, p. 353), where the clause refers to a filial son. Filial
piety includes the duties of a subject to his lord.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "It means that dukes received the income of t'ung, marquises
and earls received the income of kuo, and earls and barons received the income of tse."
For these terms, cf. 99 B: 19a.
The Official ed. has emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED], which I have adopted.
The practise of reducing the imperial table and official salaries in time of poor
harvests had been inaugurated by Emperor Hsüan (8: 6b), but had not been systematized,
as Wang Mang now proposes. This practise seems first to have been suggested by Mo-tsu;
cf. Mei's trans., p. 18 f.
The text has been disarranged. Liu Pin suggests omitting the first and third [OMITTED],
and inverting to read [OMITTED], thus obtaining known title of officials. Liu Feng-shih
(1041-1113) suggests emending the second [OMITTED] to [OMITTED] to agree with the other sentences.
Wang Nien-sun suggests emending [OMITTED] to [OMITTED] to make up the full number of 25 commanderies
for these three officials.
Liu Pin suggests omitting the first and third [OMITTED] and inverting the others to read
[OMITTED] thus obtaining known titles of officials.
Liu Pin suggests omitting the first and third [OMITTED] to obtain known titles of officials.
This passage seems to have been disarranged in the time of Yen Shih-ku, for his comment
misunderstands it; Hu San-hsing in the xiii cent. quotes it in its present form in a note to
Tsu-chih T'ung-chien 38: 3a.
The text says, "The six (liu [OMITTED]) directors (szu [OMITTED]) and the six (liu) high ministers
(ch'ing [OMITTED])." But there are only three directors (szu) mentioned in Wang Mang's central
bureaucracy, cf. 99 B: 3b. Liu Feng-shih remarks, "This [passage] should say merely
-ch'ing, which were those called `the high ministers who were directors (szu-ch'ing) to
the three highest ministers' [a phrase quoted from 99 B: 3b], namely the Director of Confidence
[in the Commander-in-chief], the Director of Justice [to the Grand Minister over
the Masses], and the Director of Obedience [to the Grand Minister of Works, all of whom
are mentioned on 99 B: 3b]. Later persons did not understand [this reference] and
erroneously interpolated the two characters liu." Hu San-hsing however declares that the
"six directors (liu-szu)" are the "six superintendents" mentioned on 99 B: 4a. He does
not emend the text. But he leaves unexplained who were the "six high ministers."
The exact denotation of the phrase liu szu liu ch'ing is not clear, but Wang Mang's
intention is plain: the reduction in salaries consequent upon disasters was to be spread
among the whole bureaucracy. I have therefore followed Liu Feng-shih in dropping the
two characters liu, but have differed from him in interpreting the words szu and ch'ing,
making them refer to all officials of those grades without attempting to indicate particular
ones.
There was no mou-ch'en day in the fifth month, according to Huang. He
follows that month by an intercalary fifth month, which has such a day. I have assumed
that this was the month concerned.
Hu San-hsing explains, "The Ch'ang-p'ing Lodge was on the plain south of the
Ching River. The Ching River flows southeastwards and enters the Wei [River].
was blocked by the bank, hence was cut off and flowed northwards." The
actions, interpreting as a happy portent what was actually an indication of a very serious
and irretrievable irrigation failure, indicates well the inaccessibility of Wang Mang to
unpleasant facts and their own sycophancy and deception of their ruler (cf.
to this chapter, p. 113-114).
Liu Feng-shih remarks that these four types of conduct were probably those
mentioned in 99 B: 16b and taken from the Analects: moral character, gifts in speaking,
administrative ability, and scholarship.
The mention of "[officials ranking at] two thousand piculs" is probably an anachronism
for the sake of clearness; Wang Mang had renamed this rank the Upper-ranking Grandees;
cf. 99 B: 4a.
There was no mou-ch'en day in this month; seemingly the only servicable emendation
is from ch'en to hsü (also made in 11: 8a).
A quotation from Book of History II, i, 15 (Legge, p. 41; Couvreur, p. 23), cf.
Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 94ff, Gl. 1274.
Hu San-hsing remarks that previously there were Shepherds of Provinces and
Superintendents of Divisions; here a Division and a Province seem to have been the
same; cf. n. 24.1, paragraph 9.
No more official dissections seem to be recorded until A.D. 1106; cf. Maspero in
JA 229 (Apr.-June, 1937), p. 188.
Chu [OMITTED] is very probably a copyist's error for ch'i [OMITTED]. Ch'i was misread as che [OMITTED]
and the following kuo [OMITTED] caused che-kuo to be transcribed as chu-kuo. I emend accordingly.
There is no reason for a final particle yen [OMITTED] at the end of the preceding
HS 96 B: 35b states, "The state of Karashahr (Yen-ch'i-kuo) was nearest the Huns and
revolted first, murdering the Protector-General Tan Ch'in." Then the other states had
nothing to do with this murder. Here there is moreover the same group of three
that almost surely originally stood in this passage—yen-ch'i-kuo. Pan Ku probably used
the same original document in writing both passages. A cursively written ch'i in
original draft could easily have caused this mistake. Chu is found in the Ching-yu
so that this mistake occurred early.
C. THE HISTORY OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]
C. [Chapter] XCIX
THE SIXTY-NINTH [MEMOIR]
C. The Memoir of Wang Mang
C. PART C
In [the period T'ien-feng], the fourth year, in the
Libationer for the Masters and Companions [to the
Heir-apparent] Guarantor of His Perfection, T'ang
Lin, and the former Libationer for the Remonstrants
and Consultants, Chi Ch'ün, ([a man] from Lang-yeh
[Commandery), have shown] filial devotion, brotherly
respectfulness, loyalty, and reciprocity; they
have been respectful to their superiors and have loved
their inferiors; they have been extensively learned in
ancient traditions; their upright characters have
been excellent and perfect; and even to old age they
have not committed any errors. Let [T'ang] Lin be
enfeoffed as the Marquis Established Through Virtue
and [let Chi] Ch'ün [be enfeoffed as] the Marquis
Enfeoffed Through Virtue; the rank of both shall be a
Specially Advanced and they shall be received in
audience with rites like those of the three highest
ministers. They are [each] to be granted one residence,[1982]
three million cash, and are to be given
stools and canes."
In the sixth month, when [Wang Mang] changed
of earth [enveloped in] quitch grass to nobles [as a
token of enfeoffment], he said [in a message], "I
have instituted the geographical arrangements and
have established and enfeoffed [nobles] in five grades.
harmonized them with the written traditions [concerning
the classics] and the records, and pervaded
them by the principles of right relationships.
"I have discussed them and pondered over them
again and again, from the beginning of the first [year]
[which is] the ninth year. Now they have however
the [inclined] plane of ornamented stones,[1989] I have
Grand [Imperial] Mound Altar to the Gods of the
Soils, to Sovereign Earth, to my deceased male and
female ancestors, in order to publish and transmit
[these classical practises. Let] each [noble] go to
his state to care for and shepherd his common people
in order to accomplish meritorious achievements.
For those whose [estates] are on the borders or in
Chiang-nan, except for those who are summoned by
an imperial edict to be sent to wait upon [the Emperor]
in the imperial capital, the Grandee in Charge
of Goods [subordinate to] the Communicator shall
temporarily collect the old [style] cash from the
capital treasuries [in order to] pay them their allowances:
to dukes, 800,000 [cash] per year; to marquises
and earls, 400,000 [cash per year]; to viscounts and
barons, 200,000 [cash per year]."[1998]
Yet even then they could not receive the full
amount. [Wang] Mang loved bombastic speeches
and admired ancient practises. He enfeoffed very
many people as nobles, [but] in his nature he was in
reality niggardly. He took as a pretext that the
geographical arrangements had not yet been determined
upon, hence temporarily in advance distributed
clods with quitch-grass [in token of enfeoffment], using
them to console and delight those whom he enfeoffed.
In this year, [Wang Mang] again published ordinances
established regulations to restrain violators [of the
monopoly]; the penalties were as great as capital
[punishment. Yet] the officials and common people
who suffered for crime became increasingly[2004]
numerous.
He moreover temporarily made a levy [even] upon
the highest class of the highest ministers [and those
ranking] lower, that whoever possessed male or female
slaves should pay a tax of 3600 cash per [slave], so
that the empire became even more discontented and
thieves and robbers arose.[2007]
When the Communicator, Feng Ch'ang, remonstrated
against the six controls, [Wang] Mang became
furious and dismissed [Feng] Ch'ang from office.
[Wang Mang] established Administrators of the
Laws at [the Emperor's] Right and Left for the
Extirpation of Wickedness, and selected for employment
[in this office] capable officials, Hou Pa and
others, dispersing them to supervise the six Commandants'
[Commanderies] and the six Neighboring
Commanderies, like the Inspectors of the Han [dynasty],
with one Officer of the three highest ministers
for a commandery as an Attendant official [to the
Administrator of the Laws for the Extirpation of
Wickedness].
Kua-t'ien Yi of Lin-huai [Commandery] and
others became thieves and robbers, relying upon [the
fastnesses in] Ch'ang-chou of K'uai-chi [Commandery].
Mother Lü, a woman of Lang-yeh [Commandery],
also arose. Previously, Mother Lü's son had
been an official of the county and had been killed on
a false charge by its Ruler. His mother dispersed the
wealth of her household on [the pretext] of dealing
privately treating poor youths liberally. When she
had obtained more than a hundred men, she thereupon
attacked the county-seat of Hai-ch'ü and killed
its Ruler. She used [his corpse] as a sacrifice at the
grave of her son. She led her troops into the sea.
These bands gradually became greater. Later both
[bandit bands] were numbered by the ten-thou-sands.[2014]
[Wang] Mang sent commissioners to go to and
pardon the thieves and robbers. When [the commissioners]
returned, they said, "Whenever the
thieves and robbers disperse, they immediately
reunite." When he asked them the reason for this
and prohibitions, which are vexatious and tyrannous,
so that they can do nothing, and what they obtain by
hard work is insufficient to pay the taxes, while if
they close their doors in order to guard themselves,
they are moreover sentenced because their group of
five neighboring [families] might be casting cash or
possessing copper. Wicked officials take advantage
of that to afflict[2016] these common people. When
common people are improverished, they all arise and
become thieves or robbers." [Wang] Mang [became]
furious and dismissed them.
Some of them fell in with his ideas and said that
the common people were perverse and crafty and
ought to be executed and also said that the revolution
of the seasons was opportune and [the robbers] would
was pleased and immediately promoted them.
In this year, in the eighth month, [Wang] Mang in
person went to the place for the suburban sacrifice
at the south [of the Capital] to have the majestic tou
[measures] cast.[2021] For making the majestic tou
bronze.[2024] They were like the Northern Bushel [in
shape], two feet five inches long. [Wang Mang] intended
to use them to repress various military forces
by incantations. When they were completed, he ordered
the Directors of Mandates [from the Five
When [Wang] Mang went out, they went before
him; when he had entered [the palace], they waited
upon him at his sides.[2029] On the day that these tou
[measures] were cast, there was a severe cold [spell],
so that some men and horses of the various offices
froze to death.
In the fifth year, the first month, on the first day
of the month, there was a visitation [of fire] to the
southern gate of the Northern Army [Encampment].
Fei Hsing, the Director of Confidence in the Commander-in-chief,
was made the Shepherd of Ching
Province. When he was asked at an audience what
would be his plans of action when he reached his
regional division, [Fei] Hsing replied, "The common
people of Ching and Yang[2036] [Provinces] generally
take advantage of their mountains and marshes in
making fishing and the picking [of wild fruits] their
occupations. Recently the state has set up the six
controls, which tax [the products of] the mountains
and marshes and have interfered with and taken away
the profits of the common people. For a long time
in successive years there have been droughts, so that
the people are hungry and impoverished. Hence
they have become thieves or robbers.
"When I, Hsing, reach my regional division, I intend
to order and to make it clearly known and
inform the thieves and robbers that they should return
to their homes and I will lend them oxen for
plowing, seed, and food, and exempt them from the
land and capitation-taxes. I hope that thereby I
may be able to disperse and tranquillize them."
dismissed [Fei] Hsing from his office.
Because the officials of the [whole] empire did not
The personal property of [Grand] Governors of commanderies
and Rulers of counties [amounted to] a
thousand [catties of] gold. [Hence Wang] Mang
issued an imperial edict which said, "Investigate
carefully [the deeds of] the military officials and the
officials of the borders, from the grandees and upwards,
beginning with the second year of [the period]
Shih-chien-kuo, when the northern barbarian (Hu)
caitiffs troubled China.[2041] If any, have done evil
for profit, so that they have increased their property
and have become rich, [let] four-fifths of the property
in their families be taken and used to aid the
distress of the borders." Officers from the highest
ministers' yamens [rode] galloping quadrigae [all
over] the empire, examining and investigating avaricious
[persons]. They persuaded officials to inform
on their generals, and male and female slaves to
inform on their masters, hoping thereby to stop the
evil, [but] the evil became very much more serious.
An Imperial Grandson, the Duke of Eminent
a picture of himself painted, wearing the robes and
bonnet of the Son of Heaven, and having had three
seals engraved. One read, "Because of celestial
blessings, my official hat is prepared and ready. In
the summer [I] dwell in the Southern Mountains,
where there is stored up thin ice."[2045] The second
heritage."[2049] The third said, "[To be] enfeoffed because
of virtue and made glorious by the [imperial]
documents."[2050]
The household of [Wang] Tsung's maternal uncle
Lü K'uan, which had previously been exiled to Ho-p'u
cated with [Wang] Tsung. When [this matter] became
known, an examination was made and [Wang]
Tsung committed suicide.
[Wang] Mang said, "[According to] his relationship,
[Wang] Tsung was an Imperial Grandson;
[according to] his noble rank, he was [among] the
highest of the dukes. He knew that [Lü] K'uan and
the others belonged to rebellious clan, but communicated
with them. He had three bronze seals
engraved whose inscriptions and intentions were extremely
pernicious. He did not know how to be
contented, and was watching for and desiring what
he should not have hoped for.
"[According to] the principle in [the Kung-yang
Commentary on] the Spring and Autumn, `A relative
of the prince should not have had such an intention,
[but] since he had that intention, he should have been
executed,'[2053]
[Wang Tsung] was deluded and went
astray, so that he brought this punishment upon
himself. Alas! It is sad!"
[Wang] Tsung's personal name was originally
Hui-tsung; according to the [imperial] institutions, he
had done away with there being two words in his
personal name [and used only Tsung as his name].[2054]
He was now again named Hui-tsung, and his noble
was granted the posthumous name of the Erring Earl
of Eminent Merits, and was buried with the rites of
an earl in his former t'ung in Ku-ch'eng Commandery.
[Wang] Tsung's elder sister, [Wang] Fang, who
was the Lady (wife) of the General of the Guard,
against her mother-in-law and had killed a slave-woman
in order to stop up her mouth. The matter
became known and [Wang] Mang sent the Regular
Palace Attendant Tai Yün to interrogate [Wang]
Fang under torture and also to flog [Wang] Hsinga.
Both committed suicide.
The matter also involved the wife of the Director
of Mandates [from the Five Majestic Principles],
K'ung Jen. She also committed suicide. [When
K'ung] Jen had audience with [Wang] Mang, and
doffed his bonnet in acknowledging [his fault, Wang]
Mang had a Master of Writing impeach [K'ung] Jen
[saying that the fact of his] "having ridden in a
heavenly chariot [drawn by] earthly mares, `having
on his left the Azure Dragon [Standard], on his right
the White Tiger [Standard], in front the Vermillion
Bird[2059]
[Standard], and in his rear the Dark Warrior
[Standard],' in his right hand grasping the majestic
credentials and on his left [shoulder] bearing the
majestic tou [measure], and being called the Red
but to honor the majestic mandate of the Hsin house,
[and yet K'ung] Jen has presumed to doff his astrological
bonnet, which constitutes [the capital crime]
of being extremely disrespectful." [Then] there was
an imperial edict [ordering that K'ung Jen] should
not be impeached and exchanging his bonnet for a
new one. [Wang Mang's] love for marvels was like
the foregoing.
The Marquis of the Straight Path, Wang Shê, was
made the General of the Guard. [Wang] Shê was
the son of the Marquis of Ch'ü-yang, [Wang] Ken.
In the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, [Wang] Ken had
about to retire], he had recommended [Wang] Mang to take his place [as Commander-in-chief,[2065] so that
Wang] Mang was grateful to him. [The latter] had
considered that Ch'ü-yang (crooked phallus) was not
a good designation, so had posthumously [granted
Wang] Ken the posthumous name, Duke Jang
(Ceding) of the Straight Path. [Wang] Shê had
inherited this noble title.
In this year, Li Tzu-tu, Fan Ch'ung, and others of
famine and arose in Lang-yeh [Commandery]. They
moved about and robbed. Their bands all numbered
in the ten-thousands. [Wang Mang] sent commissioners
to mobilize the troops of the commanderies
and kingdoms to attack them, [but these troops]
were unable to vanquish [the robber bands].
In this sixth year, in the spring, [Wang] Mang saw
ordered the Grand Astrologers to calculate a calendar
for thirty-six thousand years, with one change of the
year-period [every] six years, and to publish it to
the empire.
[Wang Mang] issued a message, saying, "The
Tzu-ko T'u[2071]
says, `The Supreme One and the Yellow
Lord both [became] immortals and [then][2072]
ascended
to heaven, [where they] made music on top of the
K'un-lun and Ch'ien Mountains.[2073]
A sage lord who
presages is due [similarly] to have music made upon
the top of the Chung-nan Mountains in [the state of]
Ch'in.'
"Because of my lack of penetration, my performance
of [Heaven's] commands has not been intelligent,
yet now I have been informed [of the correct
procedure]. I restore [a former title, changing] the
General of a Peaceful Beginning to be the General of a
New Beginning, in order to conform to the Mandate
[of Heaven given through] portents. Does not the
Book of Changes say, `The daily renewing [of nature]
is what is called the flourishing of its virtue; its production
of what is produced is what is called its
change.'[2078] May I receive [Heaven's protection]."
He wished thereby to deceive and dazzle the people
and to scatter and disperse the thieves and robbers,
[but] the vulgar all laughed at him.
Previously when the music of the Hsin [House]had
been offered in the Grand [Ancestral] Temple of the
Ming-t'ang, when the courtiers had first worn the
female unicorn-skin caps,[2080] someone who heard the
sound of this music said, "It is limpid and inspiring,
but plaintive,[2081] not the music that will make a state
At this time, east of [Han-ku] Pass there had been
partizan bands of Li Tzu-tu and the others became
gradually larger. When the General of a New Beginning,
Lien Tan, had attacked [the rebels] in Yi
Province, he had not been able to vanquish them,
hence he was summoned to return in order that someone
might be sent in his place. He was [however]
restored to his [former] position [as General of a New
Beginning]. Afterwards when Kuo Hsing, [the
Commissioner Over] the Army [subordinate to] the
Commander-in-chief, and the Shepherd of the Yung
Regional Division, Li Yeh, [were sent to] attack the
barbarian Jo Tou and others, and the Third Brother
Hsi, Sun Hsi, a higher subordinate official of the
Grand Tutor, [was sent to] purify the Yangtze valley[2085]
from thieves and robbers, and when moreover
the Huns raided the borders very seriously, [Wang]
Mang made a great solicitation of the empire's freemen
together with those imprisoned for capital crimes
and the slaves of the officials and common people.
[Those who responded] were called "Boar braves who
are porcupines rushing out,"[2087] and were considered
as ardent troops.
[Wang Mang] temporarily taxed the officials and
their property. Their close-woven waterproof and
other silks were all transported to Ch'ang-an. It was
ordered that the ministers and those of lower [rank
counties who wore yellow seal-cords[2092] should all
guarantee[2094] the rearing of horses for the army, the
number of which [horses] should be proportionate to
each [official's] rank.
[Wang Mang] also made a wide solicitation for
those who possessed extraordinary skills that could
be used to attack the Huns, [saying that] they would
be treated [extraordinarily by being given a high]
ranking [at once and] not be [promoted only] by
degrees. Those who said that [their arts] would be
advantageous were numbered by the ten-thousands.
One said that he was able to cross streams without
using boats or oars; that by joining horses and connecting
their riders he could cause an army of a
million to ford [rivers]. One said that without carrying
a measure of grain and by taking drugs, the three
[divisions of] an army would not become hungry.
One said that he was able to fly a thousand li in a
day and so could spy out the Huns. [Wang] Mang
immediately had him try out [his invention]. He
took the quills of a large bird to make his two wings;
on both his head and his body he stuck feathers. He
connected them by pivots.[2096] He flew several hundred
double-paces [and then he] fell.
[Wang] Mang knew that these [people] could not
be useful, [but] he merely wished to make use of
their fame, so he installed them all as Directors of
while they waited [until the army should] set out.
Previously, the Hun Ku-tu Marquis of the West,
daughter of Wang [Ch'iang] Chao-chün, had been
attached to [the Chinese. Wang] Mang sent the
Marquis of Peace and Alliance By Marriage, Wang
Hsi6, the son of [Wang Ch'iang] Chao-chün's elder
brother, to allure and summon [Hsü-pu] Tang[2100] to
the foot of the barrier and by force made him go to
Ch'ang-an, where he was compelled to be set up as
the Shan4-yü Hsü-pu and the Duke of Future Peace.[2102]
[When Wang Mang] first wanted to allure and
receive [Hsü-pu] Tang, the Commander-in-chief,
Tang is in the western section of the Huns where his
troops do not invade [the Chinese] borders. Whenever
the Shan-yü moves or remains quiet, he immediately
[sends] word [of it] to China. [Thus] he
is of the greatest assistance in this quarter. If now
you receive [Hsü-pu] Tang and establish him on
Kao Street[2104] in Ch'ang-an, he will be merely an
individual northern foreigner (Hu) and would not be
as helpful as if he were among the Huns." [But
Wang] Mang did not listen [to him.
When Wang Mang] had secured [Hsü-pu] Tang,
he wanted to send [Chuang] Yu with Lien Tan to
attack the Huns. He granted both of them the surname
them the Two Generals Making a Military
Shan-yu [Lüan-ti] Yü, and set up [Hsü-pu] Tang to
take his place. They were to start out[2108] from the
Kuang Stables at the west of the city.
Before they started out, [since Chuang] Yu had
usually had wise plans and had opposed [Wang]
Mang's [project of] attacking the barbarians in the
four [quarters],[2110] and had remonstrated several
times, but [his advice] had not been followed, he
composed [a work] in altogether three fascicles,
[dealing with] the conception that ancient famous
generals, [such as] Yo Yi and Po Ch'i, were [eventually]
not employed [by their lords] and also discussing
matters [concerning the Chinese] borders,
and memorialized [the book] in order to remonstrate
with [Wang] Mang. When they were due to start
out, in a conference at court, [Chuang] Yu said
firmly that the Huns could be temporarily considered
as secondary and that the most important concern
[of the ruler] should be the thieves and robbers east
of the mountains [of Kuang-chung].[2112]
[Wang] Mang became furious and [wrote] a dismissal
notice for [Chuang] Yu, which said, "You have
overseen affairs to the fourth year, [but when] `the
barbarians became troublesome to the Chinese,' you
have not been able to stop or destroy them; when
`robbers and brigands have caused disorder outside
and inside [the government]',[2113]
you have not been
the majestic [mandate] of Heaven and have not carried
out my mandates in imperial edicts. Your
visage has been harsh, [yet] you have approved of
yourself. You insist that what you think is right and
never change. In your bosom you have cherished
inclinations toward rebellion, so that you have condemned
and ruined [my plans] in the deliberations on
military [matters]. I cannot bear to apply the law
to you. You shall deliver up your seals and aprons
of the Commander-in-chief and of the Earl Establishing
Military Power and return to your former
commandery. [Let] the Earl Making Portents Descend,
Tung Chung1b, become the Commander-in-chief."
T'ien K'uang, the Leader of a Combination at
and counties had not appraised the common
people's [property] according to the facts, so
[Wang] Mang again taxed [their property at the rate
of] one-thirtieth. Because of [T'ien] K'uang's faithful
words and his solicitude for the state, he was
advanced in noble rank, made an earl, and granted
two million cash. The mass of commoners all reviled
him.[2118]
In Ch'ing and Hsü [Provinces], many of the common
people left their native villages and became
vagrants. The aged and weak died on the roads,
and the vigorous entered the robber [bands].
The Leader of a Combination at Su-yeh [Commandery],
Han Po, sent a message to the emperor,
tall and ten spans [in circumference], who came to
your subject's yamen and said, `I am desirous with
(Hu).' He calls himself Chü-wu Pa and comes from
the shore of the Chao-ju Sea northwest of the five
cities southeast of P'eng-lai. A small chariot is not
able to bear him, and three horses are not able to
transport him, so, on the same day, in a large quadriga
with four horses, on which is erected a tiger flag,
bearing [Chü-wu] Pa, [I have sent him] to go to the
[palace] Portal. When [Chü-wu] Pa lies down, he
pillows [his head] upon a drum.[2124] He eats with iron
chopsticks.
"This [man has been sent] by August Heaven as a
means of assisting the House of Hsin. I wish that
your Majesty would have a large cuirass made, with
a high chariot and garments for a [Meng] Pen or a
[Hsia] Yü, and send a generalissimo and a hundred
of the [Gentlemen] As Rapid As Tigers to meet him
on the road. The gates and doors in the imperial
capital which will not admit him should be enlarged
and made taller and larger, in order to show him to
the barbarians and settle down the world."
[Han] Po's intention was that he wanted thereby
to offer a hint to [Wang] Mang,[2125]
[but when Wang]
Mang was informed of it, he disliked it and detained
He changed his surname to be Mr. Chü-mu (Chü's
Mother), saying, "Because of the Empress Dowager
the Mother of Culture there has been this portent
[that Wang (Mang) Chü-(chün) should be] a lord
protector (pa) and a [true] king."[2127]
[Wang Mang]
and had him publicly executed, because he had said
things that were not proper.
In the next year, the year-period was to be changed
to Ti-huang, which was a title taken from the calendar
for thirty-six thousand years.[2130]
In [the period] Ti-huang, the first year, in the first
to the empire. [Wang Mang] issued a message,
saying, "At the time when the army is being sent out
and the troops are being put into motion, those who
presume to run and shout, violating the law, should
immediately be judged and beheaded. It is not
necessary [to wait for] the season [for executions,
winter]. When the year is up, [this order] shall
cease." Thereupon during the spring and summer
people were beheaded in the market-places of the
capitals; the people were terrified and afraid and `on
the highroads and paths, they indicated their hatred
[of Wang Mang] in their eyes.'[2136]
In the third[2137]
month, on [the day] jen-shen, in the
"Recently, `in the sun an obscurity has appeared.'[2143]
The Yin [principle] is pressing upon the Yang [principle,
and has produced] the grievous vicissitude of a
black emanation. None of the people have failed to
be startled by the marvel. The Generalissimo of the
Northern City-wall [of Ch'ang-an],[2144] Wang K'uang1d,
have presented [to the ruler] matters [concerning]
grievous vicissitudes, [to examine] whether they intend
to blind the throne's intelligence. For this
reason, a reprobation has appeared in Heaven, in
order that I might correct [matters by right] principlies,
and stop these great prodigies."
When Wang] Mang saw that the thieves and
wanted to repress them, and so again sent out a message,
saying, "When my August Deceased Original
Ancestor, the Yellow Lord, tranquillized the world, he
led his troops as a First [Ranking] General and established
the flowery baldachin and set up the Bushel
Bowl [Standard].[2150] Within [the imperial court] I[2151]
establish a General-in-[chief]; outside [the court I
also] establish five Commanders-in-chief, 25 Generalissimos,
125 Lieutenant Generals, 1250 Major
Generals, 12,500 Colonels, 37,500 Majors, 112,500
Captains,[2154] 225,000 Centurions, 450,000 Petty Officers,
and accord with [the saying in] the Book of Changes,
`[This gave] the benefit of bows and arrows, whereby
they might [awe] the world by their majesty.'[2157] I
have obtained the writings of the mandate [of
Heaven given through] portents and have examined
[my enactments by the deeds] of earlier persons,
since I desire that [my enactments] may be complete
in detail."
Thereupon there were established the positions of
Commander-in-chief at the Van, at the Rear, at the
Left, at the Right, and at the Center. [Wang Mang]
granted to the various Provincial Shepherds the title
of Generalissimo; Directors of Confederations,[2158]
Leaders of Combinations, and Grand Governors of
commanderies became Lieutenant Generals; Prefects
and Chiefs of Associations [became] Major Generals;
and Rulers of counties became Colonels. Almost
ten [groups of] commissioners in riding quadrigae
daily passed through the commanderies and kingdoms.
[their needs] and the chariots and horses in the
post-stations could not be sufficient [for these many
messengers, so the officials] levied and seized chariots
and horses on the roads and requisitioned supplies
from the common people.
In the seventh month, a great wind damaged the
Hall With the Royal Apartments, [so Wang Mang]
again issued a message, saying, "Recently, on [the
day] jen-wu, at the time for eating the afternoon meal,
there was the grievous vicissitude of a strong wind,
with thunder and rain, which unroofed houses and
spired with great fear. I was greatly terrified. I
humbly reflected and after ten days the riddle was
then solved.[2166]
"Previously, the words of a mandate [granted by]
Hsin-hsien[2168] King [(the King, the Immortal of the
Hsin House); Wang] Lin1a should have Lo-yang as
his state and should be the T'ung-yi-yang King [the
King Controlling-the-line in which Right-principles
Shine].[2169] At that time, I was occupying [the post of]
Regent and Acting [Emperor], so deferred and did
not presume to [accept these titles], but made [my
sons] Dukes. After that, there arrived the writing
in the golden coffer. Those who discussed [these
matters] all said, `[Wang] Lin1a's state should be Lo-yang;
to be t'ung means to occupy the center of the
Earth,[2170] to be [the continuer of] the dynastic line
(t'ung) of the Hsin [House, (i.e., T'ung-yi-yang means
to live in the center of the Earth and continue the
dynastic line by which the right principles of the
Hsin House shine)]. It is proper that he should be
the Imperial Heir-apparent.'
"After this [time, Wang] Lin1a was ill for a long
time, and, altho he recovered, he was not entirely
borne suspended on a mattress.[2172] When he came
ments, he set up his bed in the Western Lateral
Apartments together with the Central [Room] for
Changing Garments in the Rear Pavilion.[2177] Because
moreover the Empress was ill, [Wang] Lin1a
temporarily left his original [rooms] and went to her
dwelling. His Crown Princess and concubines were
in the Eastern Long Lane.
"[On the day] jen-wu, a strong wind did violence
to the Western Lateral Apartments of [the Hall]
With the Royal Apartments and the Central Room
for Changing Garments in the Rear Pavilion; an elm
tree, ten spans [or fathoms] in circumference, southeast
of the pool at the Hall of Brilliant Peace, fell
eastwards, striking the Eastern Pavilion. This Pavilion
is the western wall of the Eastern Long Lane.
All [these places] were destroyed. Tiles were broken,
the roofs were taken off, and trees were uprooted.
I was very much frightened.
"The Office for Watching [the Heavens] moreover
memorialized that the Moon has invaded the front
stars of [the constellation] Hsin, which has an interpretation.[2180]
I was very much worried by it.
"I humbly considered the writing in the Tzu-ko-t'u,
`The Supreme One and the Yellow Lord both obtained
mortals, and among their later generations a magnificent
lord [Wang Mang] is due to ascend the
Chung-nan [lit., he comes to his end to the south]
Mountains.' What is meant by the Hsin-hsien King
is that he is a descendant of the Supreme One and of
the Immortal of the Hsin [House] (Hsin-hsien).
[What is meant by] the T'ung-yi-yang King is that
he is a descendant of [the one] who uses the five
dynastic principles (t'ung)[2184] and by means of the
rules of proper conduct (li) and moral principles (yi)
mounts up to the sunny side (yang [the south]) and
becomes an immortal.
"[Wang] Lin1a has an elder brother, but is called
the Heir-apparent, so that his title is not correct.
Duke Hsüan-ni [As Recompense for Perfection (of
Pao-ch'eng), Confucius,] said, `If titles are not correct,
then speech will not be in accordance with
[reality,' and so on], even to `punishments will not be
appropriate' and `the common people will not know
how to move their hands or feet.'[2185]
"Verily, since I have ascended the throne, the Yin
and Yang [principles] have not been harmonious, so
that the wind and rain have not been timely, and [the
country] has several times met withering drought,
visitations. The harvests of grain have been sparse
or lacking, so that the people have suffered from
famine. `The barbarians have troubled the Chinese
and robbers and brigands have caused disorder outside
and inside [the government,'[2187] so that] the
common people are fearful and disturbed[2188] and `do
"I have pondered deeply that the blame for this
[lies] in titles not being correct. Let [Wang] An1a
be set up as the Hsin-hsien King and [Wang] Lin1a
be the T'ung-yi-yang King. I hope that thereby I
may protect and preserve my two sons, that my
descendants [may be numbered] by the thousands
and millions, and that, without [the country], the
barbarians of the four [quarters] may be driven away
and within [the country] the Central States may be
pacified."
In this month, the imperial tiger-striped [grave]clothes
[of Emperor Hsüan] in the Side Hall at the
Tu Tomb, which had been set aside and stored in the
coffers of the [inner] chamber, went out and planted
themselves upright outside [the inner chamber] in
the Hall above.[2194] After a quite long time they however
fell to the ground. The officers and soldiers
who had seen them therefore reported it [to the
throne. Wang] Mang disliked it and so issued a
message which said, "For the precious [throne] there
is yellow and for the servitors there is red.[2195] Let it
be ordered that the Gentlemen and the Imperial
Retinue shall all wear carmine."
Many of those who watched the [cloudy] emanations
and made divinations said that there were
phenomena of some signal achievements [to be done
over saw that the thieves and robbers in the four
quarters were many and wanted to make it appear
that he himself was tranquil and was able to be the
founder [of a dynasty enduring for] ten thousand
generations, so issued a message which said, "I have
received the Mandate [of Heaven] and am meeting
with the distresses of the nine dry years and the untoward
occurrences in the 106 [years],[2199] when the
government treasuries are empty and the people are
exhausted. The [imperial] ancestral temples have
not yet been prepared, [hence] I have temporarily
made common ancestral sacrifices in the Grand [Ancestral]
Temple of the Ming-t'ang. Day and night I
have reflected long and have not presumed to rest.
I pondered deeply that no blessing or prosperity is
better than that to be had in the present year. I
then divined by the tortoise-shell [concerning the
region] north of the Po River and south of the Lang
Pool, and it was [divined as fit to produce] imperial
sustenance. I also divined by the tortoise-shell
[concerning the region] south of the Chin River and
west of the Ming-t'ang, and it was also [divined as
fit to produce] imperial sustenance.[2202] I will now in
ingly made plans [for buildings] south of the city of
Ch'ang-an with a total acreage[2207] of a hundred ch'ing.
In the ninth month, on [the day] chia-shen, stand-
ing in a chariot, [Wang] Mang went to inspect [the
work], and in person began it by pounding three
times [on the earth in the forms for walls]. The
Minister Over the Masses, Wang Hsün3, and the
Grand Minister of Works, Wang Yi5, bearing credentials,
together with the Palace Attendant, Regular
[Palace][2211] Attendant, and Upholder of the Laws, Tu
Lin, and others, several tens of persons [in all],
were to oversee the work.
Ts'ui Fa and Chang2 Han spoke to [Wang] Mang,
saying, "For those upon whom the virtue [of Heaven
is bestowed] abundantly the ritual practises are
elaborate. It would be proper to make the arrangements
[of these temples] magnificent and to make
[that fact] plainly known [to all] within [the four]
seas, so as to bring it about that [even] after ten
thousand generations, nothing in them should be
changed around or despised."[2212]
Thereupon [Wang]
Mang summoned widely the artisans of the empire,
and plans were calculated by means of geometry.[2213]
grain [into the government treasury] to assist the
work, moreover came and went on the roads and
highways without interruption.[2216]
[Wang Mang] tore down Chien-chang [Palace],
Ch'eng-kuang [Palace], Pao-yang [Palace], Ch'üan-t'ai
P'ing-lo [Lodge], Tang-lu [Lodge], and Yang-lu Lodge
in [Shang-lin] Park west of the city [of Ch'ang-an],
in all more than ten places, and took their materials
and tiles to build the Nine [Ancestral] Temples. (In
these months there was a great rain for more than
sixty days.) It was ordered that common people
who paid six hundred hu of grain might become
Gentlemen, and that those who were Gentlemen or
officials might be increased in rank or given a noble
rank, [as high] as that of Sub-Vassal.
The first of the Nine [Ancestral] Temples was
called the Temple to the Aboriginal Founder [of the
Hsin Dynasty], the Yellow Lord; the second was
called the Temple Facing South to the First Founder
[of the Hsin Dynasty], the Lord, Yü [Shun]; the
third was called the Temple Facing North to the
Dynastic Founder [of the Hsin Dynasty], King Hu
of Ch'en, [Kuei Man]; the fourth was called the
Temple Facing South to the Epochal Founder [of
the Hsin Dynasty], King Ching of Ch'i, [Ch'en
Ching-chung]; the fifth was called the Temple Facing
King Min of Chi-po, [T'ien An]; (all [the foregoing]
five temples were not to be discontinued [as succeeding
generations of emperors included their immediate
ancestors among the nine ancestors who are given
separate fanes]); the sixth was called the Temple
Facing South to the Honored Ancestor [of the Hsin
Dynasty], King Po of Chi-nan, [Wang Sui]; the seventh
was called, the Temple Facing North to the Honored
Ancestor [of the Hsin Dynasty], King Ju of
Yüan-ch'eng, [Wang Ho4a]; the eighth was called, the
Temple Facing South to the Close Ancestor [of the
reigning Hsin Emperor], King Ch'ing of Yang-p'ing,
[Wang Chin]; and the ninth was called, the Temple
Facing North to the Close Ancestor [of the Reigning
Hsin Emperor], King Hsien of Hsin-tuc, [Wang
Wan].
The [main] halls [of these temples] were all many-storeyed
buildings;[2222]
that in the Temple to the
Aboriginal Founder, [the Yellow Lord], from east
to west and from south to north, in each [direction]
was four hundred feet [long] and one hundred
seventy feet high. The other Temples were half
[that size]. They had bronze brackets,[2223]
and were
adorned with gold, silver, and carved tracery, which
reached the limit of the workmen's skill. Because
they sat[2224]
upon a high [place, the earth] around
several ten thousand millions [of cash] and the conscripts
and criminals who died [on this work] were
numbered by the ten-thousands.
A man of Chü-lu [Commandery], Ma-shih Ch'iu,
and others plotted to raise the troops of [the region
comprised in the ancient feudal states of] Yen and
Chao in order to execute [Wang] Mang. Wang
Tana, an Officer to the Grand Minister of Works,
discovered and reported it. [Wang] Mang sent some
Grandees to the three highest ministers to apprehend
and punish the cabal. Several thousand prominent
persons in the commanderies and kingdoms were
involved. All were executed. [Wang] Tana was
enfeoffed as the Marquis Supporting the State.
From the time that [Wang] Mang acted out of
accord with the ordinances for the seasons,[2231]
the
people hated him, [yet Wang] Mang [acted] as if he
was undisturbed by that [hatred. So] he again
issued a message, saying, "Verily, ever since these
temporary laws have been established, in the capital,
Ch'ang2-an, with its six districts and great city, the
warning drums have rarely sounded and robbers and
bandits have decreased and become few. The people
are satisfied with their habitations and yearly there
have been [good] harvests. The foregoing [circumstances
have been due to] the strength [coming from]
the establishment of my authority.
"[But] now the caitiff northern foreigners (Hu)
have not yet been annihilated and executed, the
southern and southwestern barbarians have not yet
stopped burning [with rebellion], the Yangtze valley
and the marshes of the sea-[coast] are boiling [with
disturbance],[2232]
and the thieves and robbers have
I have moreover taken in hand the great work of
upholding the [imperial] ancestral temples and the
altars to the gods of the soils and grains, so that the
multitude of common people have been agitated.
Now I again temporarily put these ordinances in
effect, [but this practise] will stop with the end of
the second year [of the period Ti-huang], in order
that I may preserve the great multitude and save the
ignorant and wicked."
In this year, the large and small cash were discontinued
circulation currency spade money, which was two
inches five fen in length, one inch broad, and was
worth 25 currency cash. The currency cash were
one inch in diameter, five shu in weight, each of
which was worth one [cash].[2237] The two kinds [of
money] were to circulate together. When anyone
presumed to cast cash illicitly or only partly accepted
the spade money as currency, [if any person] in a
group of five [neighboring families] knew of it but
did not discover and report it [to the authorities],
all [of the five neighboring families were to have their
property] confiscated[2238] and to become government
slaves or slave-women.
The Grand Tutor, P'ing Yen, died, and the My
and the people are impoverished, the reason [for
which is] prodigal extravagance." Consequently, he
personally [wore] short clothes with small sleeves,
rode on a chariot with stakes [and drawn by]
mares,[2244] slept upon a couch [made of] straw, [and
ate from] tile dishes. He also used earthen dishes[2245]
to send [food] to the ministers. When he went out,
if he met any men and women who did not travel
separately on the roads, [T'ang] Tsunb himself would
get down from his chariot and, in accordance with
[the principle of inflicting] punishments by altering
the clothing, he would defile and dye their garments,
[using] an ochre-red cloth.[2246] [When Wang] Mang
heard of it, he was delighted with him, so issued an
imperial edict instructing the ministers "to think of
making themselves equal" with him,[2247] and enfeoffed
[T'ang] Tsunb as the Marquis Equalizing Culture.
At this time, Chang Pac from Nan Commandery,
Yang Mu and Wang K'uang1b from Chiang-hsia
[Mountains] of Yün-tu [County] and called
themselves Troops from the Lower Yangtze [Region].
Their bands were all of more than ten
thousand men.
In the Chung-shui District of Wu-kung [County[2252]
]
of the earth and] became a pool.
In the second year, the first month, because the
three highest ministers,[2256] and so had become remiss
in inspecting and recommending [concerning matters
in their provinces], Shepherds' Superintendents and
Associate [Shepherds] were established in addition
[to the Shepherds], with the rank of First Officers,
who were to wear the Bonnet of the Law and whose
duties were to be like those of the Han [dynasty's]
Inspectors.
In this month, [Wang] Mang's wife died. Her
Empress. She was buried west of the Ch'ang-shou
Park at the Wei Tomb. It was ordered that she
should forever attend upon the [Empress Dowager]
the Mother of Culture [nee Wang]. The name of her
tomb was called Yi-nien (a hundred thousand years).
Previously, because [Wang] Mang had more than
once killed her sons, [Wang] Mang's wife had wept
and care for her. An attendant to [Wang] Mang's
wife was [named] Yüan-pi. [Wang] Mang had
favored her and later [Wang] Lin1a also had relations
with her. They were afraid that the matter would
leak out, so plotted that they would together kill
[Wang] Mang.
[Wang] Lin1a's wife, [Liu] Yin3, was the daughter
of the State Master and Duke [Honoring the Hsin
the stars.[2265] She told [Wang] Lin1a that soon there
would be a meeting of [people wearing] plain clothes
in the palace.[2266] [Wang] Lin1a rejoiced, thinking
that what he had planned would soon be achieved.
Later he was degraded to be the T'ung-yi-yang King
and went out [of the palace] to his residence outside.
He was [then] all the more apprehensive.
It happened that when [Wang] Mang's wife became
seriously ill, [Wang] Lin1a sent her a letter which
said, "The Emperor has been extremely severe with
his descendants. Previously when his sons, [Wang
Yü] Chang-sun and [Wang Huob] Chung-sun, were
each in their thirtieth [year], they were [put to]
death. Now your servant Lin1a has in turn come
upon his thirtieth [year, and so I] truly fear that if
some morning I am no [longer] protected by you, the
Empress,[2268]
I shall not know whether I shall die
[When Wang] Mang was waiting upon his wife in
her illness, he saw this letter and became greatly
incensed, suspecting that [Wang] Lin1a had some
evil purpose. [Consequently Wang Mang] did not
permit [Wang Lin1a] to join in the mourning ceremonies.
After [Wang Mang's wife] had been buried,
[Wang Mang] had Yüan-pi and others arrested.
They were examined and questioned, and they
confessed everything about the adultery and the
plans for [Wang Mang's] murder. [Wang] Mang
wanted to have it kept secret, so sent to kill the
commissioner [who had charge of] the case, who was
an Attendant Officer of a Director of Mandates [from
the Five Majestic Principles], and had him buried in
the jail, so that his family did not know where he was.
[Wang] Lin1a was unwilling to drink it, so he stabbed
himself and died.
[Wang Mang] had the Palace Attendant, the
General of Agile Cavalry and the Marquis of Like
Delight, [Wang] Lin2, grant the ghost garments and
the Kingly seal and apron [for the deceased].[2272]
[Wang Mang's] funeral eulogy[2274] [for Wang Lin1a]
said, "[According to] the writing in the mandate
[of Heaven given through] portents, [Wang] Lin1a
should have been set up as the T'ung-yi-yang King.
This [phrase] means that 36,000 years after the
House of Hsin had taken the throne, one who is a
descendant of [Wang] Lin1a is then due to rise up
as the dragon sun.[2277]
"Previously, when I erroneously listened to those
who discussed [this matter] and made [Wang] Lin1a
my Heir-apparent, there was the grievous vicissitude
of a violent wind, so I immediately obeyed the mandate
[from Heaven given by] portents and set him
up as the T'ung-yi-yang King. Previous to this
with] sincerity and obedience and so did
not receive any assistance from this [title], and at an
untimely age his life was destroyed. Alas! How
sad! [According to] his deeds and acts, I grant him
a posthumous name; his posthumous name shall be
King Miu (erring)."
There was also an imperial edict to the State
Master and Duke, [Liu Hsin1a, to the effect that
Wang] Lin1a did not originally understand the stars;
the matter arose from [Liu] Yin3, [so Liu] Yin3 also
committed suicide.
In this month, the Hsin-hsien King, [Wang] An1a,
died of an illness.
Previously, [when Wang] Mang had been [a mere]
marquis and had gone to his state, he had favored
Huai-neng had given birth to a boy, [Wang]
Hsingb; Tseng-chih had given birth to a boy, [Wang]
K'uang1c, and a girl, [Wang] Yeh6; and K'ai-ming
had given birth to a girl, [Wang] Chieh6. All had
been detained at [Wang Mang's] state at Hsin-tuc,
for the reason that he did not want to make it
known [that he had had relations with any women
besides his wife].
When moreover [Wang] An1a had become seriously
ill, [Wang] Mang was himself pained that he
for [Wang] An1a and had him send it to the
throne. It said, "Although the mothers of [Wang]
Hsingb and the others are humble in status, yet in
their relationship [to you, my father, these young
people] are still your Imperial Sons and Daughters,
and so should not be discarded." The document was
shown to the various highest ministers and they all
said that [Wang] An1a was "fraternally loving to his
[half]-brothers and sisters,"[2286] so that it would be
proper, when the spring or summer arrived, to give
them enfeoffments and noble titles. Thereupon
kingly chariots were sent with commissioners to go
and bring [Wang] Hsingb and the others [to the
Cultivated Merits, [Wang] K'uanglc as Duke of
Established Merits, [Wang] Yeh6 as Baroness of
Cultivated Concord, and [Wang] Chieh6 as Baroness
of Attained Concord.
[Wang Mang's] grandson, the Duke of Brilliant
Merits,[2291] [Wang] Shou, became ill and died, so that
within a full month [Wang Mang] had four funerals.[2292]
[Wang] Mang destroyed the Temples of
[Emperors] Hsiao-wu and Hsiao-chao of the Han
[dynasty] and buried his sons and grandsons separately
among these [temples].
Li Yen, the Grand Governor of Wei-ch'eng [Commandery],
had plotted with a diviner, Wang
K'uang4b. [Wang] K'uang4b had said to [Li] Yen,
"Since the time that the House of Hsin took the
throne, the cultivated fields and slaves of the common
people were not allowed to be bought or sold, the
cash and currencies have been changed several times,
there have been numerous levies [of troops] and
collections [of supplies], the armies have caused
disturbances, the barbarians of the four [quarters]
have simultaneously invaded, the people have cherished
hatred [for Wang Mang], and thieves and
robbers have simultaneously arisen [in various localities,
so that] the Han dynasty is due to be restored.
Your surname, sir, is Li. Li [rimes with] chih and
[the note] chih is [equated with] fire.[2295] You are
due to become a coadjutor to the Han [Dynasty]."
Hence [Wang K'uang4b] composed a book of revela-
tions for [Li] Yen. It said, "Emperor Wen has
become indignant and is dwelling on the earth below
where he is urging on armies: To the north, he has
instructed the Huns and, to the south, he has instructed
the people of Yüeh [to attack]. In the
center of the Yangtze [region], Liu Hsin4g will sieze
his enemy, [Wang Mang], revenge [the Han dynasty],
and restore and continue the ancient [line;
in] the fourth year he is due to set his army in motion.
Among the rivers and lakes there will be a robber
who will call himself a tributary king [of the Han
dynasty], his family name will be Liu. Ten thousand
men will form ranks and will not accept an ordinance
of amnesty, [because they] intend to disturb [the
region comprising the former feudal state of] Ch'in
and [the region of] Lo-yang. By the eleventh year,
they are due to attack. When Venus scatters its
light and Jupiter enters [the constellation] Tung-ching,
[Liu Hsin4g's] commands are due to be
obeyed." He also told of the good and evil fortunes
of [Wang] Mang's great ministers, that each had his
fated date. Altogether [the writing comprised]
more than a hundred thousand words.
[Li] Yen ordered a minor official to write out this
book, [but] the official fled and gave information
of it, [so Wang] Mang sent a commissioner immediately
to arrest [Li] Yen [and his confederates], imprison
them, and punish them. They all died.
Robbers and bandits made trouble and arose in
the three capital commanderies,[2299]
[so Wang Mang]
Siezing Robbers and ordered the Upholders of the
Laws and the Internuncios to pursue and attack
[the robbers] within Ch'ang-an. He established the
banner for "beating the drum and attacking"
thieves,[2302] with a commissioner following after it.
He sent Ching Shang, the Second Brother Hsi to
the Grand Master, and Wang Tang, the Commissioner
Over the Army to the General of a New
Beginning, with troops, to attack [the rebels] in
Ch'ing and Hsü [Provinces, sent] Ts'ao Fang, the
Second Brother Ho to the State Master, to assist
Kuo Hsing in attacking Kou-t'ing, and had the
Wu-yüan, So-fang, and Yü-yang commanderies, to
each by the millions [of cash worth], with the intention
of attacking the Huns.
In the autumn, a fall of frost killed the beans.
There was a great famine and [a plague of] locusts
east of [Han-ku] Pass.
When the common people violated [the law
against] casting cash, the people of five neighboring
families were sentenced together, [their property] was
confiscated by [the government], and they were
made government slaves and slave-women, their men
[went with] carts having cages and the children
and women [went] on foot. They had iron locks
and chains on [the rings about] their necks.[2307] [Such
by the hundred thousands. When they arrived,
their husbands or wives were changed, and six or
seven-tenths of them died of grief and suffering.
When Sun Hsi,[2311]
Ching Shang, Ts'ao Fang, and
vanquish them. Their armies were allowed to do
as they pleased, so that the people were doubly distressed.
Since Wang K'uang4b's revelation had said
that [the Han dynasty] is due to revive [in the region
of the former state of] Ch'u in [Yü's province of]
Ching, and that a Mr. Li would be the coadjutor
[who brought about this revival,[2313] Wang] Mang
wanted to repress [this belief], so installed the Palace
Attendant and Grandee in Charge of Pasturing [Sacrificial
Animals], Li Shen, as Generalissimo and Shepherd
of Yang Province, granted him the given name
Sheng (sage), and sent him, leading troops, to attack
[the bandits] with all his energy.
Ch'u Hsia, [a man] of Shang-ku [Commandery],
in person begged [Wang Mang] that he wanted to
persuade Kua-t'ien Yi [to surrender, so Wang] Mang
made him a Gentleman-of-the-Household, and sent
him to get [Kua-t'ien] Yi to leave [his banditry.
Kua-t'ien] Yi wrote that he surrendered, but before
he left [his banditry], he died. [Wang] Mang asked
for his corpse, buried it, and built for him a grave-mound
and a sacrificial temple, with the posthumous
name, Baron Shang of Kua-ning. He hoped thereby
But none were willing to surrender.[2315]
In the intercalary month, on [the day] ping-ch'en,
The heavy mouring of the empire [for Wang Mang's
wife was done away with] and those common people
who had been mourning for their own [relatives]
previous to this written imperial edict were also
freed [from their mourning].
A Gentleman, Yang-ch'eng Hsiu, presented a mandate
[from Heaven by] a portent saying, "In succession
to [Wang Mang's wife] a mother should be set
up for the people, [i.e., an Empress]." He also said,
"Because the Yellow Lord had 120 women, he became
a supernatural immortal." [Wang] Mang
hence sent Palace Grandees Without Specified Appointments
and Internuncios, forty-five of each, by
divisions, to inspect the empire and select widely
from [families] that were esteemed highly in their
native villages, who had "virtuous young ladies,"[2322]
and send up their names [to the throne].
[Wang] Mang dreamed that five of the bronze
[statues of] men in the Ch'ang-lo Palace arose and
stood up. [Wang] Mang hated it, and reflected that
in the inscription on the bronze [statues of] men,
there were the words, "The August Emperor has first
taken possession of the whole world." [Wang Mang]
immediately sent workmen from the Master of
Recipes to chisel out and destroy the writing on the
breasts of the bronze [statues of] the men, about
whom he had dreamt.[2324]
He was also excited against the supernatural spirits
in the Han [dynasty's] Temple to [Emperor] Kao,[2325]
War to enter the Temple of [Emperor] Kao, draw
their swords, throw and strike in all directions, destroy
its doors and windows with axes, whip the walls
of the building with ochre-red whips[2328] and sprinkle
them with peach-water. He ordered a Chief Commandant
of Light Chariots to dwell in its midst and
also ordered the [Colonel of] the Northern Encampment
of the Capital Army[2330] to dwell in the funerary
chamber of [Emperor] Kao.
Someone said, "At the time of the Yellow Lord,
might mount up [to become] an immortal." So
[Wang] Mang had made a flowery baldachin in nine
layers, eighty-one feet tall, with a golden claw-tip
and feather covering, and had it borne by a carriage
with a hidden mechanism and four wheels[2333] yoked
to six horses and three hundred strong men with
yellow clothes and [red] turbans.[2335] On the carriage
it all called out, "He will mount up to be an immortal."
When [Wang] Mang went out, he ordered
[this carriage] to go before him. The many officials
[however] said secretly, "This is like a funeral cart,
not a thing for an immortal."[2338]
In this year, the band of Ch'in Feng in Nan Commandery
[numbered] almost ten thousand persons.
Ch'ih Chao-p'ing, a woman of P'ing-yüan [Commandery],
was capable at explaining the Classic on
the Playing Blocks,[2340] using eight [blocks] to a throw.
She also collected several thousand men in the difficult
[Wang] Mang summoned and questioned his various
courtiers about stratagems for capturing the bandits,
and [the courtiers] all said, "These [people] are
Heaven's [condemned] criminals and walking corpses.
Their lives will [last] only an instant."
The former General of the Left, Kung-sun Lu, was
[Kung-sun] Lu said, "The Chief Grand
Astrologer, Tsung Hsüan, has had charge of prognostications
by the heavenly bodies, and of interpreting
the mutations in the emanations [and
weather]. He has called the baneful fortunate, has
in a disorderly fashion [reported] the astrological
[phenomena], and has misled the court. The Grand
Tutor, the Marquis Equilizing Culture, [T'ang
Tsunb], has covered [his faults] by false pretenses,
so that he has been able to treat lightly [the duties of]
his title and his position and `has done ill turns to
other men's sons.'[2345] The State Master, the Duke
Honoring the Hsin [Dynasty, Liu Hsin1a,] has overturned
the five Classics, has done away with the
traditions [about the classics handed down from
generation to generation] by his teachers, and has
caused his students to doubt and be misled.[2347] The
Baron of Brilliant Scholarship, Chang2 Han, and the
Marquis of Geographical Arrangements, Sun Yang,
have instituted the ching [system] of cultivated
fields, [thus] causing the common people to neglect
their occupation [in cultivating] the earth. The
lies and has thereby impoverished the artisans and
merchants. The Marquis Delighting in Portents,
Ts'ui Fa, has truckled and flattered in order to curry
your favor and has brought it about that the feelings
of inferiors have not been communicated to the
throne. It would be proper to execute these several
persons in order to calm the empire."
He also said, "The Huns should not be attacked,
but peace and an alliance by marriage ought to be
made with them. Your subject fears that the
[proper] cause for the House of Hsin's anxiety does
not lie with the Huns, but lies within the borders."
[Wang] Mang became incensed and had a [Gentleman]
As Rapid as Tigers assist [Kung-sun] Lu to
leave.
Nevertheless [Wang Mang] adopted his ideas to a
certain [extent]. He demoted Lu K'uang to be the
Director of a Confederation at Wu-yüan [Commandery],
because the people hated and maligned
set up by [Lu] K'uang alone, [yet Wang] Mang
[wanted to] satisfy the ideas of the crowd, so sent
[Lu K'uang] out [of the court].
Previously, because the four quarters [of the
country] had all [suffered from] famine and cold,
[the people] were impoverished and troubled, and so
had arisen and become thieves and robbers, until
gradually crowds gathered. They constantly thought
that if the harvest would be good,[2353] they would be
able to return to their native villages. Although
their bands were numbered by the ten-thousands,
[their leaders] only called themselves attendants upon
great persons, Thrice Venerables, or Libationers.
They did not presume to take or to possess cities
merely what food they would use up daily. When
various Chief Officials, Shepherds and Administrators
all themselves fought with them in a disorderly
manner, were wounded by weapons, and
died, it was not because the bandits presumed to
intend to kill them.[2356] But [Wang] Mang to the end
did not understand the purposes of these [bandits].
In this year, an Officer of the Commander-in-chief
reported in] a document, and was captured by the
bandits, [whereupon] the bandits escorted and sent
him to the county-seat. When the Officer returned
and memorialized [his report], he wrote out the whole
circumstance. Wang] Mang became greatly incensed,
and sent him to prison because he considered
[that the man] was falsifying [the situation] to deceive
[his superiors].
Thereupon he issued a message reproving the seven
highest ministers, which said, "Verily, to be an
official [means] to bring about order.[2358]
To diffuse
virtue and make favors manifest in order to shepherd
the common people is the principle of benevolence.
To repress the strong, control the wicked, and arrest
and execute thieves and robbers are components
of justice.
"Now however [the situation] has been otherwise.
apprehended, so they were able to form cliques and
intercept and kidnap Ruling Officers from [government]
riding quadrigae. An Officer who succeeded
in getting free from them moreover himself said
senselessly, `I questioned and reprimanded the robbers,
the robbers replied, "Merely because we are impoverished
and in need." [Then] the robbers protected
and sent me away. At present, vulgar people
who discuss [banditry say that the bandits] for the
most part are like these [ones].'
"I reflect [that, when people], out of distress from
famine or cold violate the laws and do evil, the
greater ones become groups of thieves and the lesser
ones steal [by making] holes [in people's walls].
There are no more than these two kinds. But now
they have conspired together and joined to form
gangs of thousands and hundreds. This is the greatest
disobedience and rebellion; how could it be spoken
of as [due to] famine or cold?
"Let the seven highest ministers strictly order the
High Ministers, Grandees, Directors of Confederations,
Leaders of Combinations, and `the heads of
offices'[2362]
carefully to shepherd the good common
people and hurriedly arrest and exterminate the
thieves and robbers. If there are any who do not,
with one mind and with mutual assistance, hate and
drive out the bandits, and, if they say unreasonably
that [the bandits] have been caused by hunger or
cold, they shall immediately be arrested and held in
prison, and [the officials] shall beg [me to pass sentence
upon] their crime."
Thereupon the numerous subordinates [of the
ruler] feared all the more and none presumed to speak
of the bandits' circumstances. They also were not
permitted to mobilize troops unauthorizedly. Because
of this, the bandits were not restrained.
Only the Leader of a Combination at Yi-p'ing
[Commandery], T'ien K'uang, had for some time
in their eighteenth year and above, [to the number
them arms from the arsenals, and had given them
engraved stones as [signs of their] convenant. The
Red Eyebrows had heard of it and had not presumed
to enter his borders. [T'ien] K'uang impeached
himself in a memorial, and [Wang] Mang reprimanded
[T'ien] K'uang: "You have not been granted
a tiger credential,[2368] yet have unauthorizedly mobilized
troops. This is playing with weapons. This
crime is that of negligence in raising [troops].[2369]
Because you, K'uang, have reproved yourself [and
have said that you would] certainly capture and
destroy the robbers, you are [however] temporarily
not to be punished."
Later [T'ien] K'uang himself begged to go out of
the boundaries [of his commandery] and attack the
robbers, [saying that] those against whom he turned
would all be routed. [Wang] Mang used a message
[stamped] with the imperial seal to order [T'ien]
K'uang to be put in charge of the affairs of the
Shepherds in the two provinces of Ch'ing and Hsü.
[T'ien] K'uang [memorialized] the throne, saying,
"Although when thieves and robbers first start out,
in the beginning they are very unimportant, yet they
cannot be captured by the divisional officers and
[the organization of] people in groups of five.[2371]
The fault lies [in the fact that] the Chief Officials
[of counties] do not give it a thought. The counties
deceive the commanderies, and the commanderies
deceive the [imperial] court. When in reality there
are a hundred [robbers], they say ten; and when in
reality there are a thousand, they say a hundred.
supervise and punish[2374]
[the bandits], so that they
even spread over adjoining provinces.
"When moreover generals and lieutenants are sent,
and many commissioners are sent out continuously
to supervise and urge each other on, [the officials of]
the commanderies and counties serve their superior
themselves, in replying to questions, in offering wine
and food, and in furnishing necessaries, in order to
save themselves from being sentenced and beheaded,
and so do not have [the time] again to think of the
thieves or robbers or to perform their official business.
The generals and lieutenants moreover are not able
in person to lead their officers and soldiers, and so,
when a battle [is fought, their troops] are routed by
the bandits, their officers gradually [become] dispirited,
and [the expedition] is merely an expense
upon the people.
"When previously [the bandits] fortunately received
an order of amnesty and the bandits wanted
to disband and scatter, some [of them] on the contrary
were prevented [from returning home] and
were attacked, so from fear they entered the mountains
and valleys, and in turn told the others [about
counties who had surrendered all changed [their
attitudes] and became terrified, fearing that they
would be destroyed by trickery. Because of the
famine, they were easily moved, and within ten days
there were again more than a hundred thousand men
[in the bandit troops]. The foregoing is the reason
"At present, east of Lo-yang, grain is two thousand
written imperial edict that it is intended to send the
Grand Master, [Wang K'uang1a], and the General
of a New Beginning, [Lien Tan, to attack the bandits].
They are important courtiers who are your
military assistants. If their crowds of followers are
multiplied, [these followers] will become exhausted
[from lack of food] on the way; whereas if [their
followers are] reduced [in number, these ministers]
will have no way of overawing the distant quarters
[of the empire].
"It would be proper to select promptly Shepherds
and Governors or those [ranking] below them, make
plain the rewards and punishments that they [can
deal out], and [have them] collect together those
people from scattered villages and small states [of
nobles] that have no city walls, transport their old
and weak [persons], putting them inside the large
cities, [then] collect and store foodstuffs and mutually
bandits come to attack the cities, they will then be
unable to take them and [the places] by which they
pass will have no food, so that their circumstances
will not permit them to collect in bands. Under such
[a situation], when they are summoned, they will
certainly surrender, and when they are attacked, they
will be annihilated.
"If now generals and lieutenants are vainly sent
out in numbers, the commanderies and counties will
suffer from them more severely than from the bandits.
It would be proper to summon back all the commissioners
in riding quadrigae in order to give rest to
the commanderies and counties, and entrust to your
servant K'uang the thieves and robbers of [these]
two provinces, for I will certainly tranquillize them."
[Wang] Mang feared and dreaded [T'ien] K'uang,
so secretly sent a substitute for him, and [also] sent a
the imperial seal. When the commissioner arrived
and had audience with [T'ien] K'uang, he thereupon
ordered the substitute to superintend [T'ien
K'uang's] troops. [T'ien] K'uang followed the commissioner
westwards. When he reached [the court],
he was installed as the Metropolis Commandant
Grandee. When [T'ien] K'uang had left, the region
of [the former feudal state of] Ch'i was thereupon
lost [to the bandits].
In the third year, the first month, the roofing of
the Nine [Ancestral] Temples was completed and the
spirit tablets were installed. [When Wang] Mang
[went] to be presented [to the divinities there, he
rode] in the grand carriage of state,[2386] to which were
yoked six horses, [on which] were robes with dragon
stripes made of vari-colored feathers, to which were
affixed three-foot long horns. The carriage with a
flowery baldachin and "ten large war chariots"[2387]
went before him. Thereupon he granted to the
Minister Over the Masses, [Wang Hsün3], and the
Grand Minister of Works, [Wang Yi5], who had
built the temples, to each ten million [cash]. The
Palace Attendants, Regular Palace Attendants, and
those of lower [rank] were all enfeoffed. He enfeoffed
the Chief Workman, Ch'iu Yen, as the Sub-Vassal
of Han-tan Hamlet.
In the third month,[2391] there was a visitation [of
fire] at the Pa [River] Bridge. Several thousand
not [thereby] extinguished. [Wang] Mang hated it,
so issued a message which said, "Verily, the three
August Ones typify spring, the Five Lords typify
summer, the three [dynasties of] Kings typify
autumn, and the five Lords Protector typify winter.
The virtues of the August Ones and the Kings followed
[one another] in a cycle. The Lords Protector
[including the Ch'in dynasty] succeeded [to
the rule of the world in] the vacancy and continued
in the gap [between the periods ruled by the elements
wood and fire][2395] in order to complete the
[full] number in a cycle; hence their ways were
disorderly.
"Verily, in Ch'ang2-an most of the imperial highways
have taken their names from recent [events].[2396]
Recently in the third month,[2397]
in the night of [the
day] kuei-szu and on the morning of [the day]
eastern side going westwards. By the evening of
[the day] chia-wu, the Bridge was completely destroyed
by the fire. When the Grand Minister of
Works, [Wang Yi5], went to inspect it, he examined
and questioned [persons], and someone said that
shivering people dwelt below the bridge, and he suspected
that they warmed themselves by a fire, which
became this visitation [of fire].
"The next day was [the day] yi-wei, which was the
of succession transmitted from the gods my sage
ancestors, the Yellow [Lord] and Yü [Shun], down
to the fourth year of [the period] Ti-huang, it will be
the fifteenth year. Exactly at the end of winter in
the third year [of the period Ti-huang], the bridge
which is [named] Pa (`tyrannical' or `Lords Protector')
and [therefore] disorderly has been broken
and destroyed. [Heaven] thereby intends to prosper
and perfect the way the House of Hsin is to be unified
in control [of the country] and preserved for a
long [time].
"This is also a warning [from Heaven in that the
breaking of] this bridge has placed a gap in the highway
to the eastern quarter [of the empire]. Now in
the eastern quarter the harvest has been lacking, the
common people are starving, and the highways and
roads are impassible [because of bandits. The Chief
of] the Eastern Sacred Peak and Grand Master,
[Wang K'uang1a], shall promptly [make] regulations
quarter and giving or lending to the distressed
[people, in order] to apply the principle of benevolence.[2408]
Let the name of the Pa Lodge be changed
to be the Ch'ang-ts'un (Long-preserved) Lodge, and
let the Pa [River] Bridge become the Ch'ang-ts'un
Bridge."
In this month, the Red Eyebrows killed Ching
Shang, the Second Brother Hsi to the Grand Master.
East of the [Han-ku] Pass, people ate each other.
In the fourth month, [Wang Mang] sent the Grand
Master, Wang K'uang1a, and the General of a New
Beginning, Lien Tan, eastwards. When, outside the
roads, Heaven [sent] a great rain which dampened
their clothes,[2413] and the elders sighed and said, "This
is because [Heaven] weeps for the army."[2414]
[Wang] Mang said, "Verily, the distresses of the
nine dry years conjoined with disastrous emanations
have come to a climax in the past years, when
withering droughts, frosts, locusts, and famines came
as previously, so that the people are miserably poor,
and wander scattered along the roads. In this spring,
[the calamity] is especially pitiable. I have been
very much saddened by it.
"Now I am sending [the Chief of] the Eastern
[Sacred] Peak and Grand Master, [Wang K'uang1a],
who is a Specially Advanced and the Marquis as
Recompense to [the House of] Hsin, to open the
various granaries in the eastern quarter and give or
which the Grand Master and Highest Minister does
not pass, he shall separately send a Grandee or
Internuncio to open the granaries simultaneously, in
other to preserve the great multitude.
"The Grand Master and Highest Minister, [Wang
K'uang1a], shall thereupon, with the Chief Envoy and
Director of Mandates from the Five Majestic [Principles],
the General of a New Beginning and Marquis of
Equalization and Standards, Lien Tan,[2418] go to Yen
Province, to pacify [the region] of which he, [the
Grand Master], is in charge. Moreover those who
formerly have been lawless and the bandits in Ch'ing
and Hsü [Provinces] who have not yet completely
dispersed or have later again assembled shall all be
purified. I hope that thereby the myriad people may
be pacified."
The Grand Master, [Wang K'uang1a, and the
General] of a New Beginning, [Lien Tan], together
led more than a hundred thousand ardent soldiers,
and wherever they went they did as they liked, so
that the eastern quarter said about them,
[Wang] Mang also sent out many Grandees and
Internuncios by divisions to teach the common
people to boil grasses and [parts of] trees to make a
vegetable juice,[2422] [but] the vegetable juice could
not be eaten, and [the sending merely] made much
trouble and expense.
[Wang] Mang issued a message which said, "Verily,
the common people are miserably poor, so that although
give relief to them, I fear that nevertheless it will
not be sufficient. Let the interdiction on the mountains
and marshes of the empire be temporarily lifted,
and let those who are able to take things from the
mountains or marshes and [who do so] in accordance
with the ordinances for [the various] months [of the
year] be freely allowed to do so, and let them not be
ordered to pay any taxes [for doing so]. In the
thirtieth year [of the period] Ti-huang, [the restrictions
be the sixth year of [the period] Wang-kuang-shang-mou.[2432]
"If powerful and unruly officials or common people
have committed crime and monopolized the [mountains
and marshes, so that] the uninfluential common
people have not received [any advantages], this has
not been my intention. Does not the Book of
Changes say,
The common people are boundlessly delighted'?[2433]
the state].[2437] Alas, that you, various highest ministers,
should fail to be solicitous [concerning these
matters]!"
At that time the Troops From the Lower Yangtze
[Region] were powerful, and Chu Wei, [a man from]
Hsin-shih, Ch'en Mu, [a man from] P'ing-lin, and
others had all again collected bands and were attacking
villages,[2439] so [Wang] Mang sent the Director of
Mandates [from the Five Majestic Principles] and
Generalissimo, K'ung Jen, [to be in charge of] the
division, Yü Province, and the Communicator and
Generalissimo, Chuang Yu, and the Arranger of the
Ancestral Temples and Generalissimo, Ch'en Mou,
to attack [the rebels] in Ching Province. Each one
was followed by more than a hundred officers and
soldiers. They rode in boats down the Wei [River]
into the [Yellow] River to Hua-yin, then left [the
boats and took] riding quadrigae.
When they reached their divisions, they solicited
soldiers. [Chuang] Yu said to [Ch'en] Mou, "To
send a general and not to give him the credentials
[for levying] troops, so that he must first beg [the
emperor] and then only can he make a move, is like
tying up a Hanh black hunting-dog[2442]
and yet demanding
it to catch [game]."
In the summer, there was [a plague of] locusts
which came from the eastern quarter. In flying they
the Wei-yang Palace, and crawled in its Halls and
Pavilions. [Wang] Mang sent out officials and common
people and established bounties for those who
seized and killed them.
Because the empire's grain was expensive, [Wang]
Great Granary he established a guard with joined
lances and named them Supporters of the Smaller
Gates to the Beginning of Public Authority.[2449] The
vagrant people who had entered the passes [of Kuan-chung
numbered] several hundred thousand persons,
so [Wang Mang] established an Office for Maintenance
and Relief, to feed them. [But] the commissioners
who supervised and had charge of [the matter],
together with the minor officials, together stole
their grain allowances, so that seven- or eighth-tenths
of them died of hunger.
Previous to this [time, Wang] Mang had sent a
Yeh5b, to have charge of buying at the Ch'ang-an
markets, and he took things at a low price from the
common people, so that the common people suffered
severely from it. [Because Wang] Yeh5b had
achieved the merit of having economized expenses,
he had been granted the noble rank of Sub-Vassal.
[When Wang] Mang heard that in the city there was
a famine, he asked [Wang] Yeh5b about it, and [Wang]
Yeh5b replied, "These all are vagrants." Then he
brought some millet mush with meat and thick meat
and vegetable soup which were being sold at the
market, and showed them to [Wang] Mang, saying,
"The food of all the resident commoners is like this,"
[and Wang] Mang believed him.
In the winter, So-lu Hui of Wu-yen and others
raised troops and siezed their city.[2456] Lien Tan and
Wang K'uang1a attacked and took it by storm, cutting
off more than ten thousand heads, [so Wang] Mang
sent a General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Household,
bearing a message with an imperial seal, to congratulate
[Lien] Tan and [Wang] K'uang1a. Their noble
ranks were advanced and they became Dukes. More
than ten of their officers and soldiers who had distinguished
themselves were enfeoffed.
A detached Colonel of the Red Eyebrows, Tung
Hsien4a, and others, with a band of several ten-thousand
men, were in Liang Commandery. Wang
K'uang1a wanted to advance and attack them, [but]
Lien Tan considered that [their own troops] had but
newly taken a city by storm, so were utterly weary,
and their men ought temporarily to be rested, in
order to increase their prestige. [Wang] K'uang1a
would not listen, so alone led his troops to advance,
and [Lien] Tan followed after him. Battle was
joined at Ch'eng-ch'ang. [The imperial] troops were
defeated and [Wang] K'uang1a fled. [Lien] Tan sent
an official bearing his seals, apron, and tally credentials,
to give them to [Wang] K'uang1a and say, "You,
boy, may flee, but I cannot." Thereupon he stayed
and died fighting.[2461] When his Colonels, Ju Yün,
[in all], who were fighting separately, heard of it,
they all said, "Duke Lien is already dead. For
whom should we live?" So they galloped rapidly at
the bandits and all died fighting.
[Wang] Mang was afflicted by it, so issued a written
Tan], controlled many select gentlemen and picked
troops. From all the fine horses, the grain in the
storehouses, and the stores in the treasuries of the
many commanderies, you might have made your
own selection, but you cared not for documentary
imperial edicts and separated yourself from the majestic
credentials [of power]. Mounting a horse you
shouted and [your followers] yelled and were killed
by wild swords. Alas! How sad! I grant him the posthumous name of Duke Kuo (Intrepid)."
The State General, Ai Chang, spoke to [Wang]
Mang, saying, "In the time of your August Deceased
Original Ancestor, the Yellow Lord, when Chung-huang
Chih was his General, he routed and killed
Ch'ih-yu. Now your servant is occupying the post
of Chung-huang Chih, and wishes to tranquillize
[the region] east of the mountains." [Wang] Mang
[accordingly] sent [Ai] Chang to gallop eastwards
and join his forces with the Grand Master, [Wang]
K'uang1a. He also sent Generalissimo Yang Chün to
Masses, Wang Hsün3, leading more than a hundred
thousand [men], encamped at Lo-yang, where he
garrisoned the Southern Palace. The Commander-in-chief,
Tung Chung1b, instructed soldiers and practiced
archery in the Northern Encampment of the
Capital Army.[2467] The Grand Minister of Works,
Wang Yi5, [was given] concurrently the duties of
When the [Grand] Minister Over the Masses,
[Wang] Hsün3, first started out from Ch'ang-an and
spent the night at the Pa-ch'ang Stables, he lost his
yellow battle-axe. [Wang] Hsün3's Officer, Fang
Yang, was ordinarily impetuously outspoken, but he
wept and said, "This is what the Classic means [when
it says], `He has lost his sharp axe.' "[2472] He accused
himself [of the loss] and left [the army. Wang]
Mang had [Fang] Yang killed with a battle-axe.
The thieves and robbers in the four quarters,
[whose bands] frequently [numbered] several ten-thousands
of men, attacked cities and towns, killing
[officials ranking at] two thousand piculs and under.
The Grand Master, Wang K'uang1a, and others
fought several battles, but unsuccessfully.
[Wang] Mang knew that the empire had got out
last extremity and some expedient was urgent, so he
discussed sending the Grandee In Charge of Customs
and Morals, Szu-kuo Hsien, and others, by divisions,
to inspect the empire and to do away with the prohibitions
against the ching [system of] cultivated
mountains and marshes, and the [other] six monopolies,
and that all the imperial edicts and ordinances
since [Wang Mang] had ascended the throne, which
were inconvenient to the common people, should be
recalled.
[While the messengers] awaited an audience, and
had not yet been sent out, it happened that the
[future] Epochal Founder, [Emperor Kuang-wu, Liu
Hsiu4α]; with his elder brother, [Liu Yin4α] Po-sheng,
[later] King Wu of Ch'i; Li T'ung, a man from Yüan;
and others led several thousand followers from
Ch'ung-ling and induced Chu Wei and Ch'en Mu
from Hsin-shih and P'ing-lin, and others to come.
Together they attacked and took Chi5-yang by
storm. At this time Chuang Yu and Ch'en Mou
routed the Troops from the Lower Yangtze [Region,
under] Ch'eng Tan, Wang Ch'ang2, and others, [to
the number of] several thousand men, and they
separately fled into the borders of Nan-yang [Commandery].
In the eleventh month, a comet appeared in [the
for five days and disappeared.[2480] [Wang] Mang
several times summoned and questioned his Chief
Grand Astrologer, Tsung Hsüan, and various diviners.
They all answered falsely, saying, "The astrological
phenomena are peaceful and good, so that the
many bandits will soon be destroyed." Thereupon
[Wang] Mang [felt] a little more tranquil.
In the fourth year, the first month, the Han troops
Wang Ch'ang and others, and made them auxiliary
Neighboring Commandery Grandee, Chen Fou, and
his Director of an Association, Liang-ch'iu Tz'u, and
beheaded them both, killing several ten-thousands
of their forces.[2491]
Previously, the imperial capital had heard that the
bands of bandits from Ch'ing and Hsü [Provinces]
numbered several hundred-thousands of men, and
yet that they had absolutely no written orders, banners,
or marks of identification. [The people of the
capital] all considered it a portentious prodigy and
those who loved [strange] things[2493] said furtively,
"Are not they like the three ancient August Ones,
who had no written messages or titles?"
[Wang] Mang also [considered] in his heart that it
was wonderful and asked his various courtiers about
it. None of the various courtiers answered, only
Chuang Yu said, "This [circumstance] is not sufficient
[to be considered] wonderful. From the time
that the Yellow Lord, T'ang [the Successful] and
[King] Wu led their armies, [armies] have always
been provided with regiments, companies,[2495] banners,
and orders. These [people] who now do not
have them are merely a crowd of thieves [produced
by] hunger and cold, [like] dogs or sheep that have
gathered together, who merely do not know how to
formulate [such institutions." Wang] Mang was
greatly pleased and the various courtiers acquiesced
completely.
However later, when the Han troops [under] Liu
[Yin4α] Po-sheng arose, [their leaders] all called
[themselves] Generals. They attacked cities and
they sent letters about, giving an account of [Wang
Mang's crimes.[2499] When Wang] Mang heard of it,
he was worried and fearful.
The Han troops took advantage of their victories
and thereupon besieged the city of Yüan.
Formerly, [Liu Hsüan2α] Sheng-kung, a second
cousin of the Epochal Founder, [Emperor Kuang-wu],
had previously been among the P'ing-lin Troops,
first day of the month,[2502] the P'ing-lin and Hsin-shih
[Troops] and the Troops from the Lower Yangtze
[Region], led by Wang Ch'ang2, Chu Wei, and
others, together set up [Liu Hsüan2α] Sheng-kung as
the Emperor. He changed the year-[period] to be
the first year of [the period] Keng-shih and installed
and established a bureaucracy.
When [Wang] Mang heard of it, he was all the
he himself was calm, so he dyed his beard and hair[2505]
and promoted the "virtuous young ladies"[2506] whom
he had summoned from the empire, setting up[2507] a
daughter of the Shih clan at Tu-ling as his Empress.
He sent her [family] as betrothal presents 30,000
catties of actual gold, [together with] chariots and
horses, slaves and slave-women, variegated silks, and
precious things, which were valued by the hundred
comed her between the two stairs to the Front Hall
and completed the ceremonies of the common [marriage]
meal above in the Western Hall.[2511]
[The prescribed number of] Harmonious Ladies,
Spouses, Beauties, and Attendants were all complete.
The Harmonious Ladies were three [in number]; their
Spouses were nine [in number; their rank] was equal
to that of the high ministers. The Beauties were
twenty-seven [in number; their rank] was equal to
that of Grandees. The Attendants were eighty-one
[in number; their rank] was equal to that of First
Officers. Altogether there were a hundred twenty
women. All wore seals with aprons at their girdles,
and held bowcases.[2514]
[Wang Mang] enfeoffed [Shih] Shen, the father of
the Empress, as Marquis of Harmony and Peace,
and installed him as General of a Peaceful Beginning.
[Shih] Shen's two sons were both [made] Palace
Attendants.
On that day, a great wind blew [off] roofs and
broke trees. When the many courtiers offered congratulations,
they said, "Verily, on [the day] keng-tzu,
day] hsin-ch'ou, they were clean and pure, without
any dust. That evening, the life-giving valley
east. Hsin-ch'ou is the day of [the musical note]
kung belonging to [the hexagram] sun.[2521] Sun [indicates]
wind and [indicates] obedience. [Thus] the
principles of an Empress are made plain and the way
of motherhood is secured. [The whole is due to] the
influence of your geniality and kindness. The Book
of Changes says, `He will receive this great blessing
from his [Queen], the Royal Mother [of the
country].'[2522] The [Yi-li] says, `May you receive
Heaven's blessing and myriad happinesses without
bounds.'[2523] Those who intend to attach themselves
to the abolished Han [dynasty], the Liu [clan, which
depends upon the virtue of] fire, shall all be flooded,
disappear like melting snow, and extirpated, without
any remaining fragments. All the grains shall be
bountiful and plants shall grow abundantly. The
great multitude will be glad and rejoice and the
myriad common people will have the blessings that
come from being good,[2525] so that the world will be
greatly favored [because of you]."
[Wang] Mang was daily in the harem with persons
versed in the magical arts, Chao-chün, from Cho
Commandery, and others, testing magical and technical
A general amnesty [was granted] to the empire.
[Wang Mang] however said [in a message], "The
descendants of the Marquises of Ch'ung-ling [under]
the former Han dynasty, Liu [Yin4α] Po-sheng, with
the members of his clan, his relatives by marriage,
and his cabal, have falsely spread groundless rumors
to delude the crowd into a treasonable rebellion
against Heaven's mandate. They have by their own
hands killed the General of a New Beginning, Lien
Tan, the Southern Neighboring Commandery Grandee,
Chen Fou, and his Director of an Association,
Liang-ch'iu Tz'u. [To them], together with the
northern barbarian caitiff,[2530] the rebel [Lüan-ti] Yü,
and the southwestern barbarian caitiffs Jo Tou and
Meng Ch'ien, this message [of amnesty] shall not
apply. Whoever are able to sieze these persons [Liu
Yin4α Po-sheng, etc.], will all be enfeoffed among the
highest ranking of the dukes, will be given the income
of an estate of ten thousand households, and will be
granted fifty million [cash] of the valuable currency."
There was also an imperial edict [saying], "The
Grand Master, Wang K'uang1a, the State General, Ai
Chang, the Director of Mandates [from the Five
Majestic Principles], K'ung Jen, the Shepherd of
Yen Province and Director of the Confederation at
Shou-liang, Wang Hung, and the Shepherd of Yang
Province, Li Sheng, shall quickly send forward the
troops of the provinces and commanderies in the
regional divisions which are their charge; altogether
a force of three hundred thousand [men], in order to
and Hsü [Provinces]. The Communicator and General,
Chuang Yu, the Arranger of the Ancestral
Temples and General, Ch'en Mou, the General of
Chariots and Cavalry, Wang Hsün2, and the Eastern
Neighboring Commandery Grandee, Wang Wu2, shall
quickly send forward the troops of the provinces and
commanderies in the divisions which are in their
charge, a force of altogether a hundred thousand men,
to pursue and arrest the band of caitiffs in the
Southern Neighboring Commandery, [Liu Yin4α, Liu
Hsiu4α, etc.]. Inform them clearly with trustworthiness
[like that of a painting done in] cinnabar
and azurite,[2536] that [if they surrender, they shall]
live, [but] if they are again deluded and do not disperse,
[these leaders] will all join forces, attack
unitedly, and extirpate them.
"Previously, when the Grand Minister of Works,
the Duke Prospering the Hsin [Dynasty, Wang Yi5],
a relative and member of the imperial clan, as the
Tiger Teeth General, went east and pointed [at
them], rebellious caitiffs were routed and ruined;
when he went west and attacked, seditious bandits
precious minister of the Hsin House. If the crafty
bandits do not disperse, I will send the Grand Minister
of Works, leading an army of a million [men],
to make a punitive military expedition [against them
and] exterminate them."
[Wang Mang] sent Wei Ao, an Executive Officer
of one of the Seven Highest Ministers, [Liu Hsin1a],
and others, seventy-two persons [in all], by divisions,
to issue the ordinance of amnesty and plainly instruct
[the people. When Wei] Ao and the others had left
[the court], availing [themselves of this opportunity],
they escaped.
In the fourth month, the Epochal Founder, [Liu
Hsiu4α], with Wang Ch'ang2 and others, separately
attacked Ying-ch'uan [Commandery] and caused
K'un-yang, Yen, and Ting-ling to surrender. When
[Wang] Mang head of it, he was all the more fearful,
and sent the Grand Minister of Works, Wang Yi5,
riding a galloping quadriga, to go to Lo-yang, with
the [Grand] Minister Over the Masses, Wang Hsün3,
to mobilize the troops of numerous commanderies,
[to the number of] a million [men], calling them the
Tiger Teeth [Troops and] the Troops of the Five
Majestic [Principles], in order to tranquillize [the
region] east of the [Kuan-chung] mountains. [Wang
Yi5] was permitted on his own authority to raise
[persons] to the nobility. [The power of] making final
decisions concerning government [business was also
given] to [Wang] Yi5. [Wang Mang] appointed to
office the [various] persons skilled in methods of the
sixty-three schools of military arts whom he had
summoned.[2545] Each one bore his charts and writings,
acted as a military officer. [Wang Mang] emptied
the government storehouses in order to send out
[Wang] Yi5 provided abundantly with precious things
and wild beasts, with the purpose of showing the
exceeding wealth [of the imperial forces,] in order to
frighten [the region] east of the [Kuan-chung]
mountains.
When [Wang] Yi5 reached Lo-yang, the provinces
and commanderies each selected their picked troops,
led by their Shepherds and Administrators in person.
Those for whom a rendezvous had been appointed
[numbered] more than four hundred twenty thousand
men and [marched] on the highways in a continuous
[stream]. From the [most] ancient [times] that
armies had set forth, [such] magnificence in chariots,
armor, men, and horses had never before been [seen].
In the sixth month, [Wang] Yi5 and the [Grand]
from Lo-yang, intending to go to Yüan. Their road
went out of Ying-ch'uan [Commandery] past K'un-yang.
At that time, K'un-yang had already surrendered
to the Han [troops], and the Han troops
were defending it. Chuang Yu and Ch'en Mou had
joined [their troops] with [those of] the two highest
ministers. When the two highest ministers [were
about to] launch their troops to besiege K'un-yang,
Chuang Yu said, "[The rebel] who has been called
by the imperial title, [Liu Hsüan2α Sheng-kung], is
below [the walls of] Yüan, [besieging it]. It would
be proper to hasten and advance [to that place]. If
he is routed, the various [other] cities will of their
own accord be tranquillized." [Wang] Yi5 replied,
"Wherever an army of a million passes, it is due to
annihilate [the enemy]. We will now massacre [the
defenders of] this city, trample in blood,[2552] and then
will dance; would not that be enjoyable?"[2555] Thereupon
they surrounded the city several tens [of
men] deep.
[The defenders] in the city begged [for permission]
to surrender [on terms], but [permission] was refused.
Chuang Yu also said, " `When an army
[wishes] to return [home], do not stop it; in besieging
with the Military Methods you might cause them
to be permitted to escape and leave [the city], and
thereby frighten [the attackers of] Yüan."[2558] Again
[Wang] Yi5 would not listen.
It happened that when the Epochal Founder, [Liu
Hsiu4α], mobilized all the troops in Yen and Ting-ling,
to the number of several thousand men, and came to
rescue [the defenders of] K'un-yang, [Wang] Hsün3
and [Wang] Yi5 made light of it. They themselves
led more than ten thousand men and reviewed their
battle-array. They ordered that the various encampments
should all to be retained and that the
regiments [therein] should not to be permitted to
move. [Then Wang Hsün3 and Wang Yi5] by themselves
[went to] meet the Han troops. When they
were not successful in battle, their great army did
The Han troops took advantage of their victory and
killed [Wang] Hsün3. Simultaneously the [Han]
troops inside K'un-yang came out and fought.
[Wang] Yi5 fled and the army was in confusion. A
great[2562] wind blew away tiles, and the rain was as if
water were being poured down, so that the great band
[of soldiers] collapsed in ruin. The shouting [made
even] the tigers and leopards tremble with fear in
their haunches. [Wang Mang's] soldiers fled hastily,
each returning to his own commandery. [Wang] Yi5,
with only the several thousand brave and daring men
from Ch'ang-an whom he commanded, returned to
Lo-yang. When [the people] in Kuan-chung heard
of it, they quaked with fear and thieves and robbers
arose simultaneously.
Since it was moreover reported that the Han troops
said that [Wang] Mang had murdered Emperor
in the Hall With the Royal Apartments,
the ministers and those [ranking] below and opened
the metal-bound document in which he had begged
[to substitute his own] life for that of Emperor
P'ing.[2566] He wept silently as he showed it to his
various courtiers.
He commanded the Baron of Brilliant Scholarship,
Chang2 Han, to state and explain the virtue [of the
the throne], together with the mandates [given him
"The Book of Changes says,
Mounts (sheng) a high mound (kao-ling),
And in the third year he will not prosper.'[2570]
means Liu [Yin4α] Po-sheng; kao-ling means Chai Yi,
the son of the Marquis of Kao-lingb, [Chai Fang-chin].
It means that Liu [Yin4α Po]-sheng and Chai
Yi will have troops with "hidden weapons in" [the
reign of Wang "Mang"],[2572] the Emperor of the Hsin
[House], but yet will be extirpated and "will not
prosper."[2573] The courtiers all called out, "Long
life!"
[Wang Mang] also ordered carriages with cages to
transport several men from the eastern quarter [of
the empire], saying that [these men] were Liu [Yin4α]
Po-sheng and the others. All of them underwent the
grand exposure [of their corpses. But] the common
people[2575] knew that it was false.
Previous to this, the General of the Guard, Wang
Shê, had kept a gentleman versed in the ways of
magic,[2577] Hsi-men Chün-hui. [Hsi-men] Chün-hui
loved astrology and prophetic accounts. He said to
[Wang] Shê, "A comet has swept in the [Heavenly]
Palace,[2578] [hence] the Liu clan is due to be restored.
name of the State Master and Highest Minister."[2582]
[Wang] Shê believed his words, and spoke of them
to the Commander-in-chief, Tung Chung1b, who urged
that they both go to the private apartments of the
State Master, [Liu Hsin1a], in the [Palace] Hall and
talk to him about the zodiacal constellation. [But]
the State Master did not respond.
Later [Wang] Shê went alone to him. He wept
silently before [Liu] Hsin1a and said, "I really wish
with you, Duke, to bring peace to our clans. Alas,
[Liu] Hsin1a said to him that, [according to] the
astrological phenomena and human affairs, [the insurgents]
in the eastern quarter, were bound to
succeed.
[Wang] Shê said, "Marquis Ai of Hsin-tuc, [Wang
Wan, Wang Mang's father], suffered from illness
when he was young, and the Baronetess of Apparent
Merits, [Wang Mang's mother], habitually loved
wine. I suspect that the Emperor was not in his
origin a child of my clan.[2585]
His excellency Tung
[Chung1b] has charge of the picked troops in the
Palace Encampments. I, [Wang] Shê, command the
Palace Guard; the Marquis of Yi-and-Hsiu, [Liu
Tieh], is in charge inside the [Palace] Hall. If we
unitedly cooperate in the plot, together sieze the
Emperor by force, and surrender to the Son of
[Liu Hsüan2α Sheng-kung, we] will be able to preserve
our clans. If not, we will all be executed and
our clans annihilated."
The Marquis of Yi-and-Hsiu, [Liu Tieh], was [Liu]
Hsin1a's eldest son. He was a Palace Attendant and
General of the Fifth Rank Gentlemen-at-the Palace.
[Wang] Mang habitually loved him, [but Liu] Hsin1a
held a grudge [because Wang] Mang had killed three
of his children,[2590]
and also feared that the great calamity
[of execution] would come upon him. Consequently
he plotted with [Wang] Shê and [Tung]
Chung.
When they wanted to act, [Liu] Hsin1a said, "We
must wait until [the planet] Venus appears,[2591]
and
then only may we [act]." Because the Director of
Marquis Raising Military Power, Sun Chi, also controlled
troops, [Tung] Chung1b also plotted with
[Sun] Chi. When [Sun] Chi returned to his home,
the color of his face had changed and he could not eat.
When his wife marvelled and asked him about it, he
told her the circumstances. His wife told it to her
younger brother, Ch'en Han, a man from Yün-yang,
and [Ch'en] Han wanted to give information about
it. In the seventh month, [Sun] Chi and [Ch'en]
Han together gave information [about the plot.
Wang] Mang sent commissioners separately to summon
[Tung] Chung1b and the others.
[Tung] Chung1b was just at that time teaching
military [methods] at a grand review [of his troops].
His Commissioner Over the Army, Wang Hsien2d,
said to [Tung] Chung1b, "Your plot has been made
for some time but no action has been taken, so that
I fear it has been divulged. It would be better immediately
to behead the commissioner, take command
of your troops, and enter [the Palace to carry
out the plot." But Tung] Chung1b did not listen
[to him], and consequently joined [Liu] Hsin1a and
[Wang] Shê outside the gate of the inner [Palace]
apartments.
[Wang] Mang ordered Tai Yün to interrogate
them under torture, and all confessed. Palace Attendants
Within the Yellow Gate, all with swords
drawn, conducted [Tung] Chung1b and the others to
an antechamber. [Tung] Chung1b drew his sword
with the intention of cutting his own throat. A
Palace Attendant, Wang Wang, reported that the
Commander-in-chief, [Tung Chung1b], had rebelled.
[The Palace Attendants Within] the Yellow Gate had
drawn their swords, and jointly fought with and
killed [Tung Chung1b. The people in] the inner [palace]
apartments frightened one another by the report
that troops under a command would arrive. [The Gentlemen] in the Gentlemen's quarters all drew
their swords and cocked their crossbows. The General
of a New Beginning,[2601] Shih Shen, visited the
various quarters and informed the Gentlemen and
officials, saying, "The Commander-in-chief, [Tung
Chung1b], had [a spell] of insanity come upon him;
he has already been executed. All are ordered to
unbend their weapons." [Wang] Mang wanted to
repress any baneful influence, so had the [Gentlemen]
As Rapid As Tigers use a sword for beheading
horses[2603] to cut off [Tung] Chung1b's [head], put it
in a bamboo vessel, and sent it about [the empire,
with a label] saying, "A rebellious caitiff who has
[Wang Mang] issued a message of amnesty to the
officers and soldiers belonging to the office of the
Commander-in-chief, who had been led into error
by [Tung] Chung1b, had plotted to rebel, and had not
yet been discovered. He had the clan and relatives
of Tung Chung1b arrested, and buried them together
in one pit with strong vinegar, poisonous drugs, foot[long]
naked two-edged blades,[2606]
and a thicket of
thorns.[2607]
Liu Hsin1a and Wang Shê both committed suicide.
persons was [of the same] flesh and blood [as himself
and the other was] a minister [who had been in
office] for a long [time, so,] because [Wang Mang]
disliked [it to be known] that these [persons] within
their execution secret. Because moreover the Marquis
of Yi-and-Hsiu, [Liu] Tieh, had constantly been
circumspect and [Liu] Hsin1a had finally not informed
[Liu Tieh of the plot], he was merely dismissed [from
his posts as] Palace Attendant and General of the
Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, and was changed to be a
Palace Grandee Without Specified Appointment.
A day later, in the [Palace] Hall, beside the palm
[of the hand] of the immortal on the hill of earth
[in the park under the charge of] the Intendant of
the Imperial Palace Parks,[2613] there was a white-headed
old man in cerulean clothes. The Gentlemen
and officials who saw it said privately that it was the
State Master and Highest Minister, [Liu Hsin1a].
The Marquis of Vast Merit, [Wang] Hsi3a, was
usually good with the hexagrams, [so Wang] Mang
had him to interpret its divination. He said, "One
should be careful about weapons and fire."[2615]
erroneous explanation? This is indeed my august
ancestor's younger uncle, [Wang] Tzu-ch'iao, who
has wanted to come and invite me [to become an
immortal]."
When, outside [the court, Wang] Mang's armies
had been routed and, inside [the court], his greatest
ministers had rebelled, so that none of those about
him could be trusted, he could no longer deliberate
[with them] about matters at a distance in the commanderies
[Wang] Yi5 and make plans with him, Ts'ui Fa
said, "[Wang] Yi5 is habitually cautious. Now that
he has lost a large force, if he is summoned, I fear
that he will grasp his credentials and commit suicide.
It would be proper that you should in some great
manner console his feelings." Thereupon [Wang]
Mang sent [Ts'ui] Fa in a galloping quadriga with
verbal instructions for [Wang] Yi5, [saying], "I am
aged and have no[2622] son by my legitimate wives. I
wish to transmit the empire to you, Yi. It is ordered
that you shall not need to beg pardon [for your
defeat] and when I receive you in audience you shall
not again speak [of the past]."
[When Wang] Yi5 arrived, he was made the Commander-in-chief.
The Grand Prolonger of Autumn,
Chang2 Han, became the Grand Minister Over the
Masses. Ts'ui Fa became the Grand Minister of
Works. The Director of the Palaces and Shelterer
The Marquis of Like Delight, [Wang] Lin2, became
the General of the Guard.
[Wang] Mang was so distressed and worried that
he could not eat. He only drank wine, ate shellfish,[2624]
and read books on military matters. When
he was tired, he would rest [his head] upon his stool
and sleep without again seeking his pillow.
By nature, [Wang Mang] loved the numerology
of lucky times and days.[2626] When moreover matters
tions. He sent a commissioner to destroy the screening
walls at the gates to the parks of the Wei Tomb
and the Yen Tomb, saying, "Do not cause the common
people to think of the Han [Dynasty] again."[2630]
He also used black to defile the color of their surrounding
walls.[2631] He entitled his generals,[2632] "The
general for whom [the planet] Jupiter rests in [the
cyclical sign] shen and [the element] water is an
assistant,"[2633] "the Colonel who honors [the cyclical
sign] keng and injures [the element] wood,"[2634] and
"the Chief Commandant who sets [the cyclical sign]
ping in front and glorifies [the element] metal."[2635]
He also [gave titles] reading, "[The military leader]
holding a great axe to chop down withered wood,"
[and, "The military leader] causing great waters to
run, extinguishing any fire that has arisen."[2636] The
things of this sort [that he did and said are too many]
to be recorded completely.
In the autumn, Venus moved into [the constel-
lation] T'ai-wei, and lighted the earth like the light
of the moon.[2640]
Wei Ts'ui and his elder brother, [Wei Yi, men
from] Ch'eng-chi, together kidnapped the Grand
Governor [of T'ien-shui Commandery], Li Yü5α.
They made their elder brother's son, Wei Ao, their
General-in-chief, and attacked and killed the Shepherd
of Yung Province, Ch'en Ch'ing, and the Director
of a Confederation at An-ting [Commandery],
Wang Hsün1,[2644] and joined his force [with their own].
They sent a letter to the commanderies and counties
enumerating [Wang] Mang's crimes and wickednesses,
[saying that they were] ten thousand [times
the number of those committed by] Chieh and
Chou.[2645]
In this month, Teng Yeh and Yü K'uang, men
from [the prefecture of] Hsi5, raised troops at Nan-hsiang
[to the number of] more than a hundred men.
At that time, the Ruler of Hsi5 led several thousand
troops and garrisoned the Ch'iao Commune to defend
the Wu Pass. [Teng] Yeh and [Yü] K'uang said to
been set up. Why do you, sir, not recognize the
mandate [of Heaven]?" The Ruler [thereupon]
begged [permission] to surrender, [and so Teng Yen
and Yü K'uang] secured all of his band.
[Teng] Yeh called himself the General of the Left
Supporting the Han [Dynasty] and [Yü] K'uang
[called himself] the General of the Right [Supporting
the Han Dynasty]. They took Hsi5 and Tan-shui
by storm. When they attacked the Wu Pass, the
Chief Commandant [of the Pass], Chu Meng, surrendered.
Neighboring Commandery Grandee, Sung Kang,
and killed him. Then they went west and took Hu2
by storm.
[When Wang] Mang was all the more worried and
did not know what to do, Ts'ui Fa said, "[According
to] the Chou Offices and Mr. Tso's [Commentary on]
the Spring and Autumn, whenever a state has a great
visitation, [the ruler] should weep, in order to repress
[the evil].[2650]
Hence the Book of Changes says, `He
at first wails and cries out, but later laughs.'[2651]
It
to Heaven, in order to seek for rescue."
[Wang] Mang himself knew that he would be defeated,
but he led his courtiers to the Southern Place
mandates [by means of] portents from first to last,
looked up to Heaven, and said, "Since thou, August
Heaven, hast given thy mandate to thy subject,
Mang, why doest thou not immediately order extirpated
the bands [of troops] and the robbers? But
if thy servant Mang has done wrong, I wish that
thou wouldst send down thy thunderbolt to execute
thy servant Mang." Thereupon he struck his heart
with his palm and wept loudly. When his breath
was exhausted, he prostrated himself and knocked
his head [upon the ground].
He also composed a document giving information
to Heaven, setting out his own important achievements,
in more than a thousand words. The various
Masters and uninfluential common people met in the
mornings and evenings to weep, and for them he
established repasts of congee. Those who were
[really] melancholy, together with those who were
able to recite the words of his document, were made
Gentlemen.[2657]
[They numbered] more than five
thousand persons. Tai Yün led them.
[Wang] Mang installed nine persons as Generals,
all of whom had "tiger" as their title. They were
called the Nine Tiger [Generals]. They led several
ten-thousand picked soldiers from the Northern Army
and went eastwards. Their wives and children were
taken into the palaces, to serve as hostages.
At this time, in the inner apartments [of the Wei-yang
Palace], ten thousand catties of actual gold
were put into one chest and there still remained sixty
chests.[2659] In each of [the offices] of the Yellow
storehouses, and [in the workshop of] the Empress's
Master of Recipes, there were [also] several chests.
In the Imperial Wardrobe at the Ch'ang-lo [Palace],
the Empress's Wardrobe and the storehouses of the
[Bureau of] Equalization and Standards in the capital[2663]
there was [in addition] very much cash, silk,
pearls, jade, and valuables. [Wang] Mang became
[even] more parsimonious with them, and granted
[only] four thousand cash to each of the soldiers of
the Nine Tiger [Generals].[2664] Their troops were
greatly discontented, so that they had no intention
of fighting.
The Nine Tiger [Generals] reached the Hui Gorge
the [Yellow] River and south to the mountains.
Yü K'uang, with several thousand crossbow [men],
mounted the [Feng-ling] mound to provoke a battle.
Teng Yeh, leading more than twenty thousand men,
went south from Wen-hsiang Highroad and came out
of the Tsao-[hsiang] Highroad and the Tso-ku [River
valley], routed one division [of soldiers], went north,
came out behind the Nine Tiger [Generals], and
attacked them. Six Tiger [Generals] were defeated
and fled. [Of these six], Shih Hsiung and Wang
K'uang4a came to the [Palace] portal [and asked for
pardon and permission] to return home to die.[2667]
saying], "How is it that those who should be dead
are [still] alive?" so they both committed suicide.
Four [defeated] Tiger [Generals] fled. Three Tiger
[Generals], Kuo Ch'inb, Ch'en Hui, and Ch'eng
Chung, collected the scattered troops and took refuge
in the Capital Granary.
Teng Yeh opened the Wu Pass and invited in Li
Sung, the Han [dynasty's] Director of Service to the
Lieutenant Chancellor. He led more than two thousand
men and came to Hu2. With [Teng] Yeh and
the others, they together attacked the Capital
Granary.
When it did not surrender, [Teng] Yeh made a
Division Head of Hung-nung [Commandery], Wang
Hsien4, his Colonel. [The latter] led several hundred
men north, crossed the Wei [River], and entered the
territory of Tso-p'ing-yi [Commandery], making
cities surrender and overrunning territory. Li Sung
sent a Lieutenant General, Han Ch'en, and others,
to go across westwards to Hsin-feng, where [Han
of the Po River, [Tou Jung. The General of] the
Po River fled.[2673]
Han Ch'en and the others pursued the fleeing
[troops], and so they came to Ch'ang-men.[2674]
Wang
Hsien4 went north to P'in-yang, and wherever he
passed, [the people came out] to welcome him and
Tang of Yüeh-yang and Wang Ta of Hsia-kuei, both
led their bands to follow [Wang] Hsien4. From
counties in [the capital commanderies], Chuang
Ch'un from T'ai, Tung Hsi from Mou-ling, Wang
Meng4b from Lan-t'ien, Ju Ch'en from Huai-li, Wang
Fu2b from Chou-chih, Chuang Pen from Yang-ling,
T'u-men Shao from Tu-ling, and the like, whose
bands all [numbered] several thousand men, took
titles and called themselves Generals of the Han
[dynasty].
At this time, Li Sung and Teng Yeh considered
that although the Capital Granary was a very small
[place], if they had not yet been able to make it
surrender, how much more [this would be the case
with] the city of Ch'ang-an, so that it would be necessary
for them to wait until the great army of the
Keng-shih Emperor arrived [before attacking Ch'ang-an].
When they thereupon led their armies to Hua-yin
troops from [places] neighboring Ch'ang-an however
assembled from all quarters below the [Ch'ang-an]
city walls. It was reported that the troops of the
Wei clan from T'ien-shui [Commandery][2681] would
presently arrive, so they all rivaled [one another],
wanting to be the first to enter the city, for they were
covetous of the profit [they would gain by] achieving
the great glory [of executing Wang Mang] and from
kidnapping and plundering [in the palaces].
[Wang] Mang sent commissioners separately to
amnesty the convicts in the various prisons within
the city and gave them all arms. [The commissioners
convicts] drink the blood [of the swine, thereby]
making an oath with them, saying, "If there is
gods of the soils and the spirits remember it." The
General of a New Beginning, Shih Shen, led them.
They crossed the Wei [River] Bridge and all scattered
and ran, [so that Shih] Shen returned empty[handed].
The bands of troops dug up the tomb-mounds of
[Wang] Mang's wife, sons, father, and grandfather,
and burnt their coffins and grave-vaults, together
with his Nine [Ancestral] Temples, the Ming-t'ang,
and the Pi-yung. The fire shone into the city.
Someone said to [Wang] Mang, "The soldiers at
the city gates are people from the east, so that they
cannot be trusted." [Wang] Mang [accordingly]
changed them and mobilized men from the Picked
Cavalry to be the guards [for the city gates], establishing
one Colonel at each Gate with six hundred
men.
In the tenth month, on [the day] mou-shen, the
first day of the month, the troops entered by way of
the Hsüan-p'ing City Gate, which among the common
people is called the Capital Gate. Chang2 Han
was inspecting the city gates, happened upon the
troops, and was killed. Wang Yi5, Wang Lin2, Wang
Hsün2, Tai Yün, and others separately led troops to
resist the attack outside the Northern Portal [of the
Palace]. The Han troops were ambitious for enfeoffment
[in reward for killing Wang] Mang and
more than seven hundred of them fought strenuously.
When it happened that the sun went down,
[the people in] the government yamens, the lodges
[for the commanderies and kingdoms], and the residences
[adjoining the Palace] had all run away
and fled.
On the second day [of the month, the day] chi-yu,
some young people from within the city [of Ch'ang-an],
Chu Ti, Chang Yü2, and others, who had feared
that they would be kidnapped or robbed, and had
shouted vehemently in response to [the invaders],
in the northwestern part of the Wei-yang Palace],
and hacked open a side door of the [Hall] of Reverence
for the Law, calling out,
The fire reached to the Ch'eng-ming [Hall] in the
Lateral Courts, where the Princess of the Yellow Imperial
House dwelt. [Wang] Mang fled from the fire
to the Hsüan Room, and the fire in the Front Hall
immediately followed him. The Palace Maids and
women wailed, saying, "What must we do?"
At that time [Wang] Mang had on uniformly
and apron and held the Lord of Yü, [Shun's], dagger
with a spoon on the end of its hilt; an Astrological
Gentleman held a diviner's board before him,[2699] and
for the day and hour he added [the appropriate] layout
[on the board. Wang] Mang had turned about
handle to the [Heavenly] Bushel, saying, "Heaven
begat the virtue that is in me. The Han troops—
what can they do to me?"[2702]
For some time, [Wang] Mang had not eaten, which
had lessened his energy, so that he had become exhausted.
On the morning of the third day [of the
month, the day] keng-hsü, when it was light, a group
of courtiers supported [Wang] Mang from the Front
Hall southwards down the Zanthoxylum Stairs, and
westwards out of the White Tiger Gate. The Duke
of Peace to [the House of] Hsin, Wang Yi6, had
charge of the chariot and drove it outside the [Palace]
Gate. [Wang] Mang went in the chariot to the
Tower Bathed [by Water], intending to rely upon
the water of the pond [as a magical defence],[2707]
and planning to hold in his arms the mandates [given
through] portents and majestic tou-[measures]. The
ministers, Grandees, Palace Attendants, [Attendants
of] the Yellow Gate, Gentlemen, and Royal Retinue,
who were still more than a thousand persons, followed
him.
Wang Yi5 had been fighting day and night and was
extremely fatigued; when his men had almost all been
killed or wounded, they galloped into the Palace and,
by a difficult and roundabout route, reached the
son, the Palace Attendant, [Wang] Mu, taking off
his robes and bonnet, with the intention of escaping,
[Wang] Yi5 scolded him, ordering him to return, [so
that the two], father and son, together defended
[Wang] Mang.
When the men of the army entered the [Palace]
Halls, they called out, "Where is the rebellious caitiff,
Wang Mang?" and a Beauty came out of a room and
said, "He is in the Tower Bathed [By Water]." The
bands of soldiers pursued after him, and surrounded
it several hundred deep. Those on the Tower also
exchanged shots with them, using bows and crossbows,
but gradually dropped out and left [off shooting].
When their arrows were exhausted, so that
they had no way of returning shots, they met [the
attackers] with their short weapons. Wang Yi5 and
his son,[2711]
[Wang Mu], Tai Yün, and Wang Hsün2,
room [on top of the Tower]. In the very late afternoon,[2713]
the bands of soldiers went up the tower.
Wang Yi6, Chao Po, Miao Hsin, T'ang Tsunb, Wang
Sheng, the Regular Palace Attendant Wang Ts'an,
and others all died on top of the Tower. Tu Wu,[2714]
a man from [the prefecture of] Shang, killed [Wang]
Mang and took his [seals][2716] and cords. A Colonel
had formerly been a [Gentleman] Dealing With the
Rites, [a subordinate of] the Grand Messenger, saw
[Tu] Wu and asked him where the owner of the seal-cords
was. He replied, "In the room, in the northeast
corner." [Kung-pin] Chiu recognized [Wang]
Mang and cut off his head.[2719] The men of the army
cut [Wang] Mang's body to pieces. His members
and his flesh and bones were sliced and divided.[2721]
"Those who killed each other in the struggle [to
secure parts of Wang Mang's body numbered] several
tens of persons."[2722] Kung-pin Chiu bore [Wang]
Mang's head to Wang Hsien4.
[Wang] Hsien4 called himself a Han Generalissimo
and the troops in the city, [numbering] several hundred
He dwelt in the Eastern Palace, treated [the women
in Wang] Mang's harem as his wives, rode in [Wang
Mang's] carriages [and wore Wang Mang's] robes.
On the sixth day [of the month, the day] kuei-ch'ou,
Li Sung and Teng Yeh entered Ch'ang-an.
Generals Chao Meng and Shen-t'u Chien also arrived.
Because Wang Hsien4 had received the imperial
seals and cords and had not immediately sent
them [to the Keng-shih Emperor], had taken many
and flags of the Son of Heaven, he was arrested and
beheaded [for aspiring to the throne. Wang] Mang's
head was transmitted to the Keng-shih Emperorand
was hung up in the market-place at Yüan. The
people all together picked up [things] and threw them
at it. Some cut out and ate his tongue.
The troops of [Wang] Mang's Shepherd of Yang[2729]
[from the Five Majestic Principles], K'ung Jen, were
defeated east of [the Kuan-chung] mountains. [Li]
Sheng fought and was killed. [K'ung] Jen led his
band and surrendered. Afterwards, he sighed and
said, "I have heard that he who eats another's food
must die in his service," so he drew his sword, stabbed
himself, and died. The Department Head and
Superintendant of a Division, Tu P'u, the Grand
Governor of Ch'en-ting [Commandery], Shen Yi,
and the Leader of a Combination at Chiu-chiang
[Commandery], Chia Meng, all moreover defended
their commanderies, did not surrender, and were executed
by the Han troops. When the Grand Governor
of Shang-tu [Commandery], Wang Ch'in, and
Kuo Ch'inb, who were defending the Capital Granary,
heard that [Wang] Mang was dead, they surrendered.
The Keng-shih [Emperor] [considered them] as
righteous, and enfeoffed them both as marquises.
The Grand Master, Wang K'uang1a, and the State
General, Ai Chang, surrendered at Lo-yang. They
were transported to Yüan, where they were beheaded.
After Chuang Yu and Ch'en Mou had been defeated
below [the walls of] K'un-yang, they fled to
Ch'iao in P'ei Commandery. They called themselves
Han Generals and summoned and assembled
officials and common people. [Chuang] Yu gave
them an account, saying that Wang Mang had
[allotted to him by] Heaven, and that the sage Han
[dynasty] would revive again; [meanwhile Ch'en]
Mou prostrated himself and wept. When they heard
that the former Marquis of Chung-wub [under] the
Han [dynasty], Liu Sheng5e, had collected a band in
Ju-nan [Commandery] and was [going to be] entitled
by the imperial title, [Chuang] Yu and [Ch'en] Mou
surrendered to him. He made [Chuang] Yu his
Commander-in-chief and [Ch'en] Mou his Lieutenant
Chancellor. [After] more than ten days, he
was defeated [by the Keng-shih Emperor's Generalissimo,
Liu Hsin4α, and Chuang] Yu and [Ch'en] Mou
The commanderies and counties all offered their
cities [to the Keng-shih Emperor] and surrendered,
so that the whole empire returned to the Han
[dynasty].
Previously, Shen-t'u Chien had once served Ts'ui
Fa [as a disciple, studying] the Book of Odes. When
[Shen-t'u] Chien arrived, [Ts'ui] Fa surrendered to
him, [but] later he again gave an [apologetic] account
[of Wang Mang,[2744] so Shen-t'u] Chien directed the
Lieutenant Chancellor [of the Keng-shih Emperor],
Liu Tz'u4α, to behead [Ts'ui] Fa in order that he
might accompany [his master, Wang Mang], in
death. Shih Shen, Wang Yen2, Wang Lin2, Wang
Wu2, and Chao Hung also surrendered but nevertheless
were killed.
Previously those soldiers who had taken titles every
one hoped to be enfeoffed as a marquis, [but] because
Shen-t'u Chien had beheaded Wang Hsien4 and also
spread about [a report] that treacherous [persons
from] the three capital commanderies had together
mon people [of Ch'ang-an] became afraid and the
counties subordinate [to Ch'ang-an] assembled
[troops, hence Shen-t'u] Chien and the others were
unable to make them surrender. He galloped and
advised [the Keng-shih Emperor of the situation].
In [the period] Keng-shih, the second year, the
Sheng-kung], reached Ch'ang-an. He issued an imperial
edict [granting] a general amnesty, [stating
that], except for the sons of Wang Mang, all others'
crimes were expunged. Hence the [former imperial]
Wang clan was able to be preserved and the three
capital commanderies all became calm.
The Keng-shih [Emperor] made Ch'ang-an his
capital and lived in Ch'ang-lo Palace. The government
Palace had been burnt. After [Wang] Mang [had
been attacked] for three days and he had died, [the
people of the capital commanderies] had lived peacefully
in their homes and [everything] was as
previously.[2753]
After the Keng-shih [Emperor] had arrived for a
[longer] obeyed. In the next year, in the summer,[2756]
after the Red Eyebrows,[2758] [led by] Fan Ch'ung and
entered through the passes, [Fan Ch'ung and others]
set up Liu P'en-tzu, giving him the imperial title,
and attacked the Keng-shih [Emperor]. The Keng-shih
[Emperor] surrendered to them.
The Red Eyebrows thereupon burnt the palace-buildings,
market-places, and wards in Ch'ang-an, and
killed the Keng-shih [Emperor]. The common
people starved and [even] ate others, so that the
dead [numbered] several hundred thousand, Ch'ang-an
became a waste, and inside the city walls there
were no people going about.[2763]
The [imperial ancestral]
were all dug up; only the Pa Tomb and the Tu Tomb
were preserved intact.
Kuang-wu], had ascended the throne, and thereafter
the [imperial] ancestral temples and the mounds
to the gods of the soils and grains were re-established
[at Lo-yang], the empire was well governed and at
peace.
In eulogy we say: Wang Mang first arose [because
he was one of] the maternal relatives [of Emperor
in order to seek for fame and reputation, so
that his clan praised him as filial and his teachers
and associates attributed benevolence to him.[2771]
When he occupied [a high] position and acted as
[chief] assistant in the government, [during] the time
in [the reigns of Emperors] Ch'eng and Ai, he toiled
course,"[2773] [so that whenever he] acted, [his
deeds] were reported in detail. Was he not [the sort
of person] referred to [in the sayings, "Such a man]
will certainly be heard of in his clan; he will certainly
be heard of in his state," and "He assumes the appearance
of benevolence, but his actions are contrary
to it?"[2774]
Since [Wang] Mang did not [possess] benevolence,
advantage of the power his four uncles, [Wang Feng,
Wang Yin, Wang Shang1b, and Wang Ken, had exercised
for] successive generations,[2776] and [because]
it happened that the Han [dynasty] became weak in
the midst [of its period] and the dynastic succession
was thrice broken, so that in her old age the Empress
Dowager [nee Wang] became the mistress of the
[imperial] clan, hence [Wang Mang] was able to give
free rein to his viciousness and thereby to bring to
pass the calamity of his usurpation [of the throne].
If we speak of [the situation by] investigating it from
this [aspect], it was[2778] a time [set by] Heaven and
not brought about by human effort.
When he had stolen the throne and faced south,
have seized, the influences[2780] which would overthrow
[such a person] were more dangerous [in his case than
in the cases of] Chieh and Chou, yet [Wang] Mang
was tranquil and considered himself a second appearance
of the Yellow [Lord] and Yü [Shun]. Then for
the first time he gave rein to his desires[2781] and displayed
his tyrannousness and deceitfulness, being
scornfully [hypocritical] towards Heaven[2782] and
oppressive towards the common people, exhausting
[the possibilities of] banefulness, and [attaining] the
limit of evil. His poison diffused itself among all
Chinese and [his power of causing] disorder [even]
extended to the southern and northern barbarians,
but this did not yet satisfy his desires.
For this reason, [all] within the four seas[2784]
murmured
sadly and lost their joy in life. Within and
outside [the country, people] were filled with resentment,
[braves] far and near [the capital] all mobilized,
his city-wall and moat was not defended, so
that his members were cut to pieces. Thereupon he
caused the cities and towns of the empire to become
wastes, [while peoples'] grave mounds were [moreover]
dug into, so that he injured all living people, and
Of the rebellious ministers and evil sons and of the
unprincipled men who are recorded in books and
records, if we investigate the calamities [they produced]
and the ruin [they wrought], there have not
been any as severe as [those produced by Wang]
[dynasty] burnt the Books of Odes and of History in
order to establish his private proposals, while [Wang]
Mang chanted the six canons in order to gloss over
his wicked words. "They came to the same result
but by different paths;"[2787] both thereby [came to]
destruction.[2788] They were both "dragons [who had
flown] too high"[2789] and whose breath was cut off,
which was not the destiny [originally bestowed upon
them by Heaven's] decree. They were [like] a
purple color[2790] or a croaking sound,[2791] or the leftover
calation,[2794]
which are driven out by a sage-king.[2795]
Light upright numbers indicate the paging in the Ching-yu ed., reprinted in the
Po-na Series, pub. by the Commercial Press.
Pan Ku in his "Fu on the Western Capital" (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 12a), speaking
the Front Hall in the Wei-yang Palace at Ch'ang-an, says, "On the left was the
and on the right was the [inclined] plane." This statement is repeated in San-fu
t'u 2: 3a. Li Hsien quotes Chih Yü's (fl. ca. 270-310) Chüeh-yi-yao-chu (lost)
"The [inclined] plane with ornamented bricks paralleled [the staircase up to the
Hall]." This inclined plane was probably for the imperial chariot. Since the
Steps (on the right) were reserved for the Emperor, Wang Mang added a ramp made
ornamented blocks, so that it might be possible to ride down from the hall in the
with the Emperor's Apartments (the audience hall). Cf. the plan of a palace Hall in
T'zu-yüan, sub [OMITTED].
Bold-face numbers indicate the paging in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's Han-shu Pu-chu,
in volumes I and II.
Italic numbers indicate the paging in the Official ed. or Palace ed. or Wu-ying
ed., pub. in the "Szu-pu Pei-yao Collecteana."
The "three-ribbed rush, ching-mao [OMITTED]" was used to envelop the clod of
from the imperial mound altar of the gods of the soils used in enfeoffing nobles.
rush is mentioned in Book of History, III, i, vii, 52 (Legge, p. 115; Mh I, 124).
schneider, Botanicum Sinicum, no. 459, p. 279, finds it impossible to identify exactly.
Kuan-tzu (iii cent. B.C.) 24: 6b, ch. 83, it is mentioned as growing between the
and Huai Rivers.
The Imperial mound altar of the gods of the soils contained five colors of soil;
only four are mentioned. The Chi-chung Chou-shu (found in a tomb in 280-289
extant in Former Han times) 5: 8b-9a, ch. 48, says, "[The Duke of Chou] established
great mound altar to the gods of the soils in the midst of the [Chou] state [capital at
Its low ridge around the edge [probably enclosing a ribbon of water encircling the
on the east was of cerulean earth, on the south was of red earth, on the west was of
earth, on the north was of black earth, and in the center [the mound] was sprinkled
yellow earth. When he was about to establish a noble, he dug into and took the earth
from one side in that direction [in which the fief of the noble was to be located], enveloped
it with yellow earth, and bound it with quitch-grass, using [the whole] for the earth [employed]
in the enfeoffment. Hence [the recipient] said, `I have received my sliced [clod of]
earth from the house of Chou.' " Since Wang Mang was following ancient practises, he
undoubtedly followed this precedent.
Under the Han dynasty, each household in a noble estate paid 200 cash per year
(91: 6a), hence the allowances of dukes were the same as those previously enfeoffed with
estate of 4000 households; of marquises and earls, 2000 households; and of viscounts
and barons, 1000 households.
For [OMITTED], the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. read [OMITTED]; the Ching-
ed. reads [OMITTED].
At this point Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 38: 7a, b adds the names of other robber bands:
Wang K'uang1b and Wang Feng4a [OMITTED] from Hsin-shih [in the present central Hupeh; cf.
HHS, An. 1 A: 3a]; Ma Wu [OMITTED] in Nan-yang Commandery [cf. HHS, Mem. 12: 10a-12a];
Wang Ch'ang and Ch'eng Tan in Ying-ch'uan Commandery; Chang Pa of Nan
Commandery; Yang Mu of Chiang-hsia Commandery, each of whose bands increased to
be ten thousand in number; cf. Glossary sub vocibus.
Wang Nien-sun shows that anciently chou [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were interchanged, and suggests
reading the latter word here. But chou makes quite good sense.
Couvreur (Dict. Class., III ed., p. 915), followed by Stange, (p. 214, n. 1) says
these tou [OMITTED] were bronze tablets on which the Northern Bushel ([OMITTED], i.e., the
Dipper) was represented, but I cannot find any other authority for this statement. It
quite true, as Stange remarks, that ancient Chinese tablets bearing a representation of
Northern Bushel have come down to us, but that fact does not constitute any evidence
that these articles were made by Wang Mang. The only description seems to be the
one in the text. This account furthermore contains some details which indicate that the
tou were measures rather than tablets. (1) It says they "were like the Northern
[OMITTED]," not that they were inscribed with the Northern Bushel. T'ai-p'ing
765: 4b, in quoting this passage, moreover begins the above clause with the word [OMITTED],
making it say, "Their shape was like the Northern Bushel." I take this to mean that
they had handles, like Chinese tou measures. (2) Wang Mang ordered his Directors of
Mandates to "bear them on their shoulders [OMITTED]." Tablets are carried in the hands
worn at the girdle, not borne on the shoulders or back. (3) Their size, 2 ft. 5 in. (58
or 22½ in. Eng. measure) is quite in accord with their being measures and containing
a tou (cf. HFHD, I, 279). This length was then that of the utensil with its handle.
its bowl was shallow, like the one dated 65 B.C. and pictured in Chin-shih-so, "Chin," 3:
42a, its over-all length was just right to contain a tou. I therefore conclude that a ladle-like
shape was much more probable than a tablet-like shape.
The Northern Bushel (the Dipper) was among the most important of Chinese constellations.
Near it is the Pole Star, where resides the Supreme One (T'ai-yi), the
God who rules the universe. "The [Northern] Bushel is the chariot of the Lord [i.e., the
Supreme One], whereby he moves around at the center [of the heavens], visits and controls
the four quarters, separates the yin and yang, determines the four seasons, proportions
[the influences of] the five powers [or elements], and gives information concerning
the divisions [of time] and the revolutions [of the stars, thereby] fixing [epochs for all]
records. All this depends upon the [Northern] Bushel" (SJ 27: 8 = Mh III, 342; cf. also
HFHD 99 B: n. 21.1). This constellation is the vehicle whereby the supreme God
his authority. The emperor of China, as the Son of Heaven, was the earthly deputy of
this supreme God. The Heavenly Bushel accordingly represented, more than any other,
the imperial authority. It was a god, to whom sacrifices were made at Yung (Mh III,
444, 491). In 112 B.C., Emperor Wu placed it on his supernatural standard, along with
flying dragon to represent the Supreme One (Mh III, 493). "The southern [side] of the
city-wall [of Ch'ang-an, built 194-190 B.C.] had the shape of the Southern Bushel and
the northern [side] had the shape of the Northern Bushel, [in order that this city should
be a proper habitation for an emperor]. This is [the reason that], down to the present,
people call the capital of the [Former] Han [dynasty], `the Bushel City' " (San-fu
1: 6a). When Wang Mang was besieged in his palace in A.D. 23, he sat in the direction
occupied by the handle of the Bushel, turning about as this constellation turned in the
heavens, by sympathy with it, securing its assistance (HS 99 C: 27a). These majestic
-measures accordingly denoted this divinity, who would naturally exert his authority
in behalf of the emperor on earth. By sympathy with the god, they would draw the god's
attention to happenings in their vicinity and would exercise his power to assist and protect
the emperor. Cf. also 99 B: 6b & n. 6.9.
Nan-shih 33: 24a-b, sub Ho Ch'eng-t'ien, says, (this event is dated between 442 and
447), "Chang Yung was once digging the Hsüan-wu Lake [north of the Shou-tu Metropolis
[OMITTED] i.e., present Nanking, Kiangsu, according to the Shina Redikai Chimei Yoran, p. 194a], when he happened upon an ancient tomb. Above the tomb he secured a bronze
[measure] with handles. Emperor Wen [of the Sung Dynasty] asked the gentlemen
of his court about it, and [Ho] Ch'eng-t'ien replied, `This is a majestic tou [measure] of
the fallen Hsin [Dynasty. When any of his] three highest ministers died, Wang Mang
always granted [such measures] to them: one for the outside of the tomb, and one for the
inside of the tomb. At that time, the only one of his highest ministers who lived near
the mouth of the Yangtze River [i.e., east of the present Nanking] was Chen Han, who
became Grand Minister over the Masses. It must be [Chen] Han's tomb.'
"Soon [Chang] Yung opened the tomb, and from inside it, he again secured a tou
[measure], and also there was a stone with the inscription, `The tomb of the Grand Minister
over the Masses, Chen Han.' "
This account must however be mistaken. Shen Ch'in-han points out that Chen Han
died in 12 A.D. His son, Chen Feng, was executed in 10 A.D., before these majestic tou-
measures were made. When he died, Chen Han was moreover Commander-in-chief, not
Grand Minister over the Masses. San-kuo-chih 5: 4b, sub the Empress nee Chen, who
was a descendant of Chen Han, says that her home was in Wu-chi [OMITTED] of Chung-shan
Commandery, and T'ai-p'ing Huan-yü Chi 60: 10b locates Chen Han's tomb and those
of other members of the Chen clan 35 li southwest of Wu-chi, which place was located,
according to Ta-ch'ing Yi-t'ung-chih 27: 5b, at the present place by the same name,
in Honan.
Li Ch'i explains, "Mineral medicines of five colors, together with bronze [or copper]
were used in making them," but Su Lin glosses, "Copper ore of five colors was used in
melting [metal] for them." Yen Shih-ku adds that Li Ch'i is correct and that "It was
like the process of making the present t'ou-shih [OMITTED] [a gold-appearing copper-zinc alloy,
made by smelting together two parts of copper with one part of smithsonite, the present
`yellow copper']." Dr. Duyvendak remarks that the number five must refer to the
five elements.
Wang Nien-sun says that this sentence originally read as it now is in T'ai-
Yü-lan 486: 5a, i.e., with the word [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED] and the last clause reading [OMITTED].
He says that people did not understand that [OMITTED] means "wait upon," so dropped out
two words [OMITTED] and changed one word. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 38: 6b and T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan
765: 5a (with another difference, showing a poorer text) read as the text does here.
A phrase from Book of History II, i, 20 (Legge, p. 44). This reference is to the
events recorded on 99 B: 14b.
It is impossible to be sure about the translation of such brief and condensed expressions
as these seal inscriptions. Wen Ying glosses, "Chih [OMITTED] [means] celestial favors
and prosperity. `The hat is prepared and ready' [means that] he wished to succeed
to [the imperial throne]." Ying Shao adds, " `In the summer to dwell in the Southern
Mountains' [means] going to a shady and cool place. `To store up thin ice' also [means]
thereby to avoid the heat."
Stange (p. 216) translates, "O Glück, die Krone ruht auf mir. Im Sommer wohne
im Nan-shan and ziehe mich nach Pao-ping zurück." He states that according to the
commentary Pao-ping was the imperial summer residence. I have been unable to discover
any evidence for this interpretation. Duyvendak understands, "[So long as] the
Cap of Binding Celestial Blessings is preserved, [that is, so long as I possess it], [it is]
already [like] living in the southern mountains and appreciating [even] thin ice." He
explains, "That is, even as in extreme heat even thin ice is appreciated, so in this desperate
enterprize even the mere possession of the imperial cap gives me courage." He takes wei
[OMITTED], not as an exclamatory particle (as does Stange), but as meaning "to bind [the blessings]
together," probably alluding to the wei-tou [OMITTED] "the Great Bushel" [another name
for the Northern Bushel constellation], which is an imperial emblem.
I prefer however to take wei in its meaning of [OMITTED]. Wen Ying does not interpret this
word, so that he seems not to have thought it contained any substantial content and
almost surely recognized it as an "empty" particle. The phrase "thin ice" comes from a
famous line in Ode no. 196 (Legge, II, v, ii, 6, p. 335), and was commonly used to denote
the way a true king should act, as if he were treading upon thin ice, i.e., carefully and
circumspectly, from fear of Heaven. Then in the Southern Mountains, Wang Tsung
was practising being emperor, by magically treading upon thin ice. This explanation
however far from certain.
Ying Shao explains, "[Wang] Mang himself said that he had inherited descent from
the Sage, Shun, and that he had been able to be respectful and to secure the Heavenly
treasure, the tortoise, and thereby was set up [as emperor. Wang] Tsung wanted to be
the successor to his line."
Stange (p. 217) translates, "Wenn man ehrfürchtig gegen die Heiligkeit ist, werden
die Kostbarkeiten [d.i. kostbare Schildkröte des Himmels] forterben." Duyvendak
points out that the vague parallelism with the third seal inscription makes it necessary
to take these four characters two by two. I have adopted his interpretation.
Su Lin explains, "[Wang] Tsung himself said that he would be enfeoffed [as emperor]
thru his [magical?] virtue and so must advance to [this] glorious and brilliant [position]
and receive the documents and registers of the empire."
Stange (p. 217) translates, "Durch magische Wirkungskraft [mir] verliehenes strahlendes
[d.i. kaiserliches] Siegel." Duyvendak interprets, "[Having the empire] conferred
[upon me] by virtue, making glorious the Plans [reference to the Tzu-ko T'u?]." I have
followed Su Lin more closely.
A quotation from Kung-yang Commentary, Dk. Chuang, XXXII, vii, & Dk. Chao,
I, i; 9: 5a & 22: 1b; in each of which cases it is applied to a person attempting to succeed
to the throne by assassinating a ruler's son.
As a prospective Emperor, he had done away with his other personal name, just
as Wang Mang had the Hun Shan-yü, Lüan-ti Nan-chih-ya-szu change his personal name
to Chih (99 A: 8b).
The Official ed. has emended [OMITTED] to the more usual [OMITTED]. But the Ching-yu ed.
reads the former.
The sentence in quotation marks is from Li-chi, I, i, v, 8 (Legge, I, 91; Couvreur, I,
55).
Doffing the bonnet indicates resigning the office denoted by the bonnet.
Repeated search has failed to discover any listing of this book, either in the lists
of books in the standard histories or the bibliography of the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan. The
Tsu-kung (lit. the Purple Palace) was the Chinese name for the circumpolar constellations,
at the center of which was the Supreme One, the heavenly emperor. Tzu-ko T'u may then
be translated, "The Plan of the Purple [Heavenly Imperial] Pavilion."
Wang Nien-sun says that after the [OMITTED] there was originally the word [OMITTED], as it now
is in the quotation of this passage in T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 16: 9b; and that this insertion
improves the phrasing. (Repeated search has not discovered this passage in the Ch'u-hsueh
Chi, contrary to what he says.)
The Mu T'ien-tzu Chuan (pos. iii cent.) 2: 1b (Cheng's trans. in JNChRAS., 64:
[1933] 133) says, "On the lucky day hsin-yu, the Son of Heaven ascended a mount of
K'un-lun [Mts.] and thereupon gazed upon the palace of the Yellow Lord."
The Shan-hai Ching (prob. ii & i cent. B.C.) 2: 11a, locates the Yellow Lord
Mt. Mi [OMITTED]. Shen Ch'in-han suggests that [OMITTED] is an error for Mi. T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan
9b reads Ch'u [OMITTED].
Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) declares that these were "deerskin hats." Shuo-wen 10 A: 3b
defines lin [OMITTED] (usually translated `unicorn') as, "A large female deer." Lu Chi (261-303),
in a note to Ode 11, "Lin-chih-chih," in Mao-shih Cheng-yi 1, iii: 7b (same as the
shih-yin Mao-shih Chu-su), remarks, "At present, in the borders of Ping Province
are lin, like deer in size, which are not the lin (unicorns) that are auspicious
[from Heaven]." (From Shen Ch'in-han). Thus these caps were probably made of
female deer skins from this later Ping Province; Wang Mang was probably
glad to call them unicorn caps.
This "someone" might very likely have been Pan Chih, Pan Ku's grandfather,
had been a high official and was living in retirement as a Gentleman at Emperor
Ch'eng's tomb; cf. 100 A: 5b.
The Official ed. emends [OMITTED] (plaintive) to [OMITTED] (enfeebling), seemingly without any
.
Fu Chien, in a note to 24 B: 26b, explains this phrase thus, "Hogs [OMITTED] [also porcupines]
by nature rush against men impetuously. Hence [Wang Mang] took them for a metaphor."
Yen Shih-ku adds, "People in the eastern quarter [of the empire] called pigs [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. Another [explanation] is that hsi are pigs running."
HHS, Tr. 30: 15a, states that officials ranking at 400, 300, and 200 piculs
yellow seal-cords. Cf. App. I, HS 24 B: 26b.
Yen Shih-ku, in a note to the parallel passage in 24 B: 26b, explains, "To
means to promise that they will not die or be injured," i.e., to provide another animal
case anything happened to these animals. Probably they also paid for rearing them.
For these pastures, cf. HFHD, II 304, n. 2.8.
This is perhaps the earliest authentic account of human flight. He probably
off from a height, so that a flight of several hundred yards was possible. B.
Prehistory of Aviation, does not notice this incident.
There were also other technical developments in Wang Mang's time; cf. the
dissection in 99 B: 30b.
For [OMITTED], the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED],
which I adopt.
According to HS 94 B: 21a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 283, Hsü-pu Tang had been
made Duke of Future Peace in A.D. 15, whereas he was made Shan-yü after A.D. 18
(HS 94 B: 21b = de Groot, ibid., 286), so that at this time only the Hun title was additionally
conferred upon him.
On Kao Street was located the government lodge for barbarians, cf. 70: 10b &
Glossary sub voce.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests that [OMITTED] is probably a mistake for [OMITTED]. Chariots were
then used only in military ceremonies; cavalry and footmen made up the army. Ch'u-ch'e
is moreover the title of Book of Odes, #168; II, i, viii; Legge, p. 261, which ode is
stated in the "Little Preface" (Legge, "Introduction," p. 64) to treat of "rewarding the
returning troops," with the result that ch'u-ch'e has taken this meaning.
For [OMITTED] (west), the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed.
read [OMITTED] (four); the former is not appropriate for an expedition against the Huns to
the north.
A previous admonition by Chuang Yu, against the expedition planned in A.D. ,
showing how carefully Chinese generals planned matters, is to be found in 94 B: 19a,
b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, 273-5.
The clauses in single quotation marks are a quotation from the Book of History II,
I, v, 20 (Legge, p. 44); cf. also HFHD, II, 320, n. 8.3.
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED], which suggestion looks very much
like a "boner" on the part of an ignorant scholar, thus illustrating the spurious character
of the Sung Ch'i ed. Cf. HFHD, P., "Editions of the History of the Former Han Dynasty."
The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Southern ed. (ca. x-xii cent.), instead of [OMITTED],
reads [OMITTED], "his pillow is several feet [high]," and that this reading is mistaken. In a
to HHS, An. 1 A: 5a, Li Hsien (fl. 674-676) quotes this passage, reading as the text .
(Reference from Ma Hsü-lun.)
The hint is conveyed in the man's name, which means literally, "Chü should not be
a tyrant." Chü was the first word of Wang Mang's courtesy name and is used in Pan Ku's
"Fu on Penetrating Obscurities" (100 A: 12a) to denote Wang Mang. Chin Shao ,
"The hint said, `It is not permitted to be a usurper and thief and become a tyrant!' "
Yen Shih-ku explains that "it means that the Mother of Culture sent this man to
cause me to be a lord protector and king." Pa means both "tyrant" and "Lord Protector."
T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 78: 1a quotes Hsiang Chün's (fl. dur. 222-280) Shih-hsüeh Chi as
saying, "When Heaven and Earth had been set up, there were twelve Heavenly Sovereigns
[OMITTED], called T'ien-ling [OMITTED], who rule over 18,000 years. Because their virtue was wood,
they ruled." Ibid., 1b, quotes the same source, "The twelve Earthly Sovereigns [OMITTED]
rule over 18,000 years." These two groups of gods seem to cover the 36,000 years referred
to. (Reference from Su Yü.)
A famous phrase from Kuo-yü 1: 4b, where the peoples' anger is directed against the
tyrannous King Li, who was subsequently overthrown. In accordance with the "Ordinances
for the Months," executions had previously been confined to the winter months.
The text reads "second month," but there was no jen-shen day in that month, and
there seems to be no servicable emendation of the cyclical characters. Probably "two'
was mistakenly written for "three," a common copyist's error.
Stange (p. 228) translates jih cheng [OMITTED] as, "wurde die Sonne ganz (dunkel)."
It might be, "At midday there was (a blackness)," to parallel jih-chung [OMITTED] below,
which may be translated, "At midday (we saw a dusk)." While "midday" is the correct
translation for jih-chung in the quotation from the Book of Changes, yet this line may
have been used by Wang Mang without bothering about its exact meaning, just as
from the Bible were frequently used as proof-texts with a quite different meaning from
that in the original. Jih-chung furthermore need not necessarily mean "midday," cf.
HS 27 Cb: 17b1, jih chung yang [OMITTED], "in the center of the sun." The important circumstance
is the Pan Ku does not himself write jih chung, but jih cheng, and cheng
"the center of a target." I conclude that Pan Ku writes exactly in his phrase jih cheng,
meaning "the middle of the sun," and quotes Wang Mang as fitting to the situation a
classical quotation by wresting it from its original meaning.
A blackness at midday might be a solar eclipse, a heavy cloud, or a dust-storm. There
was no eclipse at this time. Heavy clouds and dust-storms were so well-known that
they would hardly have been considered "grievous vicissitudes." I cannot make the
translations of Stange or the other one physically plausible. Large sun-spots are however
visible to the naked eye at sunrise or sunset, when the sun's brilliance is dimmed. Such
a sun-spot would cause as much consternation in ancient China as they did in Europe
when Galileo first saw them. One had previously been noticed in 28 B.C. (HFHD II,
384, n. 5.6) and was called a "black emanation," like the present one.
A quotation from Book of Changes, Hex. 55, 3, with meis [OMITTED] instead of the meis [OMITTED]
in the present text of that classic. Legge (p. 185) translates this sentence, "At midday
he can see (the small) Mei star." But Cheng Hsüan, in his comment on the Book of
Changes, gives the same interpretation of mei as that employed here.
I read po-ch'eng [OMITTED] instead of the chao-yü [OMITTED] in the text, at the suggestion
of Liu Feng-shih (1041-1113). While chao-yü ("Generalissimo of the Pomoerium for the
Tumuli") is not impossible, as Stange points out (p. 228, n. 4), it is nevertheless unparalleled.
Liu Feng-shih says it does not make sense. HS 99 C: 7a states that each
Shepherd of a province was made a generalissimo. On 99 B: 28a, Lien Tan is said to
have been General of the Southern City-wall [presumably of the imperial capital]. Since
there was a Major (Szu-ma) in charge of each city-gate at Ch'ang-an (19 A: 22b), Wang
Mang may well have considered that the dignity of the imperial capital required a generalissimo
for each side of its city-wall.
Liu Feng-shih points out that this Wang K'uang1d must have been a different
from the Grand Master, Wang K'uang1a, for Wang K'uang1a is always mentioned by
highest title of Grand Master. This cannot also have been Wang K'uang1b, who
later from obscurity in the Yangtze region, nor can it have been Wang K'uang,1c a
of Wang Mang who was not publicly acknowledged or brought to the capital until A.D.
21 (99 C: 11b). It was most likely some other person by the same name.
Ts'ui Pao, in his Ku-chin-chu, ch. 1: A: 4b, states, "The Flowery Baldachin was
created by the Yellow Lord. When he fought with Ch'ih-yu in the wastes of Cho-lu [a
mountain located, according to the Ta-ch'ing Yi-t'ung Chih 39: 7a, southeast of the
present Cho-lu, the Ch'ing dynasty's Pao-an, Chahar], a many-colored cloud emanation
with golden branches and jade leaves constantly stopped above the Lord, having the
likeness of the corolla to a flower. Hence he followed this pattern and created the
Flowery Baldachin." This legendary account probably gives a description of the
covering.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Hsi1 [OMITTED] is pronounced like hsi2 [OMITTED]. It means the [constellation]
K'uei of the [Northern] Bushel [the bowl of the Dipper, cf. 99 B: n. 21.1], together with
[the constellation] Piao [the handle of the Dipper]. Its end is like a handle in shape."
Here again the Bushel (cf. n. 2.4) is used as an imperial emblem and protection.
Stange (p. 229) makes the Yellow Lord the subject of this sentence, not Wang
Mang. But sudden unannounced changes in the unexpressed subjects of verbs are by
no means uncommon in Chinese. The Book of Changes was moreover not believed to
have existed in the time of the Yellow Lord, so that he could not have been the subject
of this sentence.
The Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. write [OMITTED] (marquis) for [OMITTED] (captain).
The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter.
Book of Changes, III, ii, ii, 20 (Legge, p. 384). The passage says, "They bent wood
by means of a string to make bows and sharpened sticks to make arrows; [this gave them]
the benefit of bows and arrows, whereby they might [awe] the world by their majesty."
The Sung Ch'i ed. again "pulls a boner" in suggesting that [OMITTED] should be emended
to [OMITTED]. Hereafter such notations will be neglected.
Yen Shih-ku points out that Wang Mang is alluding to the Book of History II, i,
iii, 2 (Legge, p. 32), "[Shun] was received as the chief director [of the administration], and,
amidst violent wind, thunder, and rain, he did not go astray." Cf. 99 A: n. 13.5.
For the pronunciation of [OMITTED], cf. Glossary sub this title. This word and [OMITTED] were
interchanged. Li Tz'u-ming, 7: 16b, suggests that possibly the first word was always
written in the HS and later changed to the second in most places but not all.
Yang [OMITTED] is the opposite of "shadow," i.e., "light." Wang Mang renamed Lo-yang
to be Yi-yangb. Cf. also n. 11.5; Glossary sub this title.
Han-chiu-yi B: 1b says, "The Empress and Favorite Beauties travel in imperial
chariots; all others [of the harem] travel by being carried by four men holding up a mattress
[OMITTED]." Chin Shao quotes the above passage and remarks, "Could that
have been the present sedan chair and it have been spread with a mattress?"
Shih-ku replies that he is mistaken, "This [passage] says directly that he sat on top of
mattress [or cushion] and had four men in pairs hold up the four corners of the mattress,
and so traveled." Prof. Duyvendak suggests that this was some sort of a stretcher.
Chin Shao explains, "Keng yi shih [OMITTED] means the name of the room (shih) and
building to which one goes for changing one's robes at the time of court felicitations."
Cf. also 97 A: 11b4. The first two words of this phrase also mean "go to the toilet."
Chou Shou-ch'ang suggests that the word (shih) [OMITTED] has dropped out at the end of this
phrase; it is read in the comment and in the repetition of the phrase a few lines further on.
Hsin [OMITTED] was one of the names Wang Mang gave to his dynasty. The star
in that constellation was moreover called the Heavenly King [Mh III, 343], so that
portent meant that the Yin principle (the Moon, the principle of decay) was invading
the Hsin dynasty's virtue. The moon passed within a degree of Antares in the early
morning of Mar. 3, A.D. 20.
Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 38: 12b emends [OMITTED] to [OMITTED] Yen Shih-ku interprets the phrase
as meaning, "Fearful and not at peace." The subsequent quotation is from Analects
XIII, iii, 6.
The Tu Tomb was that of Emperor Hsüan; cf. Glossary sub voce. For a similar
incident, cf. 12: 3b.
HHS, Tr. 30: 10b, says: "[The Gentlemen] As Rapid As Tigers and the
all [wear] the dark yellow pheasant cap and tiger-striped unlined clothes. [The county of]
Hsiang-yi yearly offers woven and completed tiger-striped [cloth]." Shen Ch'in-
remarks that these garments were probably those used in the Emperor's funeral and had
all been stored in the funerary chamber at his tomb.
Yellow was the color of earth, the power by virtue of which Wang Mang asserted
he ruled; red was the color of fire, the power of the Han dynasty. He was
earth (the Hsin dynasty's virtue) and degrading fire (the Han dynasty's virtue). Yellow
was then used for the robes of higher officials and red for those of lower rank.
These two sentences are in imitation of Book of History, V, xiii, 3 (Legge, p. 436f),
where the Duke of Chou reports the divination concerning the location of the city he
built, Lo. For the locations herein mentioned, cf. Glossary, sub vocibus.
Legge (op. cit.) follows the K'ung An-kuo interpretation of the shih in the foregoing
passage; for shih Wang Mang uses the phrase yü-shih [OMITTED], and Yen Shih-ku adopts
the aforesaid interpretation in his comment to the present passage, stating that it means
that the ink, smeared on the back of the tortoise-shell used in divination, was dried up
by the heat, which was a favorable prognostication.
K'ung Ying-ta, in a note to the Mao-shih Chu-su 4, i: 1b, quotes a gloss by Cheng Hsüan
(127-200), to the above-mentioned passage of the Book of History, in which the latter
paraphrases and explains this passage as follows: "On [the day] yi-mao, I, [the Duke of
Chou], arrived at the [future] capital at the city of Lo and looked at the places which the
Duke of Shao [had determined upon as a result of] divination by the tortoise-shell. They
are all able to be permanent homes for the common people and will make them devote
themselves to cultivating the fields, from which [they and the ruler may secure] food
(shih)." The last sentence is Cheng Hsüan's paraphrase of the word shih in the text of
the Book of History, hence he did not connect it with "ink" but with food.
Chou-li 24: 13a (Biot, II, 79) sub the Chan-jen, says moreover, "Whenever [the Chan-jen]
divines by the tortoise or by the stalks: for the prince, he divines by the form; for a
grandee, he divines by the color; for a [low] official, he divines by the ink [Cheng Hsüan
says that "ink [OMITTED]" means the width of the cracks in the tortoise-shell]; and when
divines by the tortoise for [ordinary] persons, he divines by the cracks." Thus divination
by "ink" was only for common officials, and would not be employed by an emperor such
as Wang Mang.
The phrase yü-shih moreover occurs in the Book of History V, iv, 18. Legge (p. )
translates it "the revenues of the empire." Ma Jung (79-166) in a note to the quotation
of that passage in SC 38: 15, declares, "Yü-shih is fine food [OMITTED]," and Cheng Hsüan
adds, "Yü-shih is all [composed of] unusual delicacies [OMITTED]." In the Shang-shu
Chu-su 12: 9a, K'ung Ying-ta (574-648) quotes what were probably ancient notes to
this passage of the HS, which Yen Shih-ku (581-645), a contemporary of his, omitted
from his edition, because he disagreed with these interpretations: "Chang Yen [prob. iii
cent.], in a note to the HS, says, `Yü-shih is unusual dainties [OMITTED].' Wei Chao [197-273]
says, `The nobles have nothing but unusually fine food.' " Sun Hsing-yen (1743-1818)
in his Shang-shu Ku-chin-wen Chu-su, in "Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh" 752: 5a, concludes,
"Yü-shih is as if it said good food [OMITTED]. . . . Whenever in the Classics it says a yü woman
or a yü color, the meaning is always that it is good [OMITTED]." Hence yü-shih denoted primarily
the fine food of a prince, and secondarily land that was fit to produce such food. Cf. also
Shang-shu Ku-chin-wen Chu-su, "Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh" 759: 2a, b.
For [OMITTED], the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. and the Official ed. read [OMITTED].
The meaning of t'i-feng [OMITTED] has been debated. The first word of this phrase
also written [OMITTED] and [OMITTED]. In a note to HS 23: 3a, Su Lin asserts that t'i is pronounced
the same as tib [OMITTED] (the Ching-yu and the Official ed. read ch'i [OMITTED] for tib throughout) and
"the people of the Ch'en-liu [Commandery] say that all its fields are its tib [OMITTED]."
Li Ch'i declares, "T'i is chü [OMITTED], to chü all within four boundaries (feng) [OMITTED]."
Yen Shih-ku adds that Li Ch'i is correct and Su Lin's pronunciation is erroneous. But
Wang Nien-sun states that all the preceding explanations are mistaken, for the
(by Chang Yi, fl. dur. 227-232) asserts that t'i-feng is tu-fan [OMITTED], which Wang
declares is like the present [OMITTED], "generally," and is merely another phrase with about
the same pronunciation. Cf. also the discussion in the Tz'u-t'ung, I, 1104.
But "generally" does not appear to express the full meaning of the phrase ,
for this phrase is invariably used referring to some area of land, which fact is excellently
illustrated by Wang Nien-sun's examples. For t'i-feng, Karlgren, Grammata , nos. 866n & 1197i, moreover gives the archaic and T'ang pronunciations d'ieg or tieg-piung
and d'iei- or tiei-piwong, respectively, and for tu-fan, (ibid., 45é & 625a), and tuo-biwom, respectively, so that the two phrases had different pronunciations. T'i-feng
has moreover something to do with acreage. Cf. HS 23: 4a; 24 A: 7a; 65: 7a; HHS,
Mem. 30 A: 11a.
The crucial passage is HS 28 B ii: 49a, b, where the census totals of China are given,
"The land is 9302 li [Han-chi (ii cent.) 30: 25a, reads 19,302 li] from east to west and
13,368 li from south to north, with a t'i-feng t'ien [OMITTED] of 145,136,405 ch'ing, of which
102,528,889 ch'ing are towns, dwellings, highways, roads, mountains, streams, forests,
and marshes, all of which cannot be cultivated, and 32,290,947 ch'ing are cultivatable
[but] not cultivated [omitting the second [OMITTED]], and definitely cultivated t'ien of 8,270,536
ch'ing [Han-chi, ibid., reads 8,270,567 ch'ing]." (Of the total, 2,026,023 ch'ing are omitted
from the itemization.) In this passage, t'i-feng t'ien must mean "total acreage." In a
note to Pan Ku's "Fu on the Western Capital" in Wen-hsüan (Szu-pu Ts'ung-k'an ed.) 1:
10a, Fu Tsan is moreover quoted as follows: "In my opinion, an old explanation says,
`T'i is "to pick it all up." It means, "A grand total of its acreage" [OMITTED]
[OMITTED].' " Hence I have translated t'i-feng as "total acreage."
A second [OMITTED] has probably dropped out after the first one, since the full title requires
it.
Wang-(fa) [OMITTED] ([OMITTED]) is a term frequently employed in the Chou-pi Suan-ching (ii
cent. B.C. to i cent. A.D.) and refers to the method of calculating heights by geometrical
means. Cf. op. cit. A: 17b. (Biot, in Jour. Asiat., 1841, p. 601, translates wang as
mesurer.)
[OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were interchanged; Yen Shih-ku explains the latter phrase.
Cf. Tz'u-t'ung, II, 2614.
The "Kuang-han Wei Ts'ung-shu" and the "Lung-hsi Ching-han Tsung-shu" ed.
of the San-fu Huang-t'u 5: 8b and 5: 6b respectively, in discussing the imperial
temples, in quoting this passage, write ch'üan [OMITTED] instead of ta [OMITTED]. The "Szu-pu Ts'ung-k'an"
anastatic reprint of a Yüan ed., 5: 6b and the 1792 "Han-Wei Ts'ung-shu" ed.,
5: 7b, however read ta. The "Szu-pu Ts'ung-k'an" ed., 3: 6b moreover mentions a
Ch'üan-t'ai Palace in the Shang-lin Park. This Palace is also mentioned in HS 45: 11b.
Ta is here an error for ch'üan.
Shuo-wen 6 A: 5a defines [OMITTED] as a ch'ung-wu [OMITTED] (a storeyed building). Chou-li
41: 15b, quoting the K'ao-kung Chi (Biot, II, 559) says, "The Yin dynasty had a ch'ung-wu"
and Cheng Hsüan glosses, "The ch'ung-wu was the main hall [OMITTED] of the King's Palace,
like the Great [Imperial] Apartments. . . . Ch'ung-wu is a double [set of] rafters [OMITTED]."
Ancient Chinese important buildings seem generally to have had more than one story.
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Po-lu [OMITTED] are the brackets [OMITTED] on top of pillars, [on which
cross-pieces the beams are supported]."
Wang Nien-sun suggests emending tai [OMITTED] to hsi [OMITTED]. In HS 36: 25b11 and 45:
3a7, where the word hsi is used, Yen Shih-ku each time interprets hsi by "yin [OMITTED]; it is as
if one sat upon a mat (hsi)." In his interpretation of the present passage, he likewise
interprets this tai by yin, so that his text of this passage must have read hsi. Wang
Nien-sun remarks that in the li style, hsi is sometimes written [OMITTED], which is vulgarly written
[OMITTED] (Yen t'ieh Lun, 9: 7b6, ch. 52, writes it thus): by omission of the radical, tai was written.
Tz'u-t'ung, II, 1729, asserts that here ma [OMITTED] is cursive for [OMITTED]. It then means
"bubbling up like rice-gruel." From this passage, ma-fei has now become a set phrase.
"Currency spade-money [OMITTED]" and "Currency cash [OMITTED]" were the names of
Wang Mang's third coinage. Cf. App. I, HS 24 B: 26a.
The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shun-hua ed. (994-997) and the Ching ed. (probably
the Ching-te Chien ed., 1004-1005) have the word [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu
ed. does not have it and Chou Shou-ch'ang declares that this word should not be inserted.
HS 24 B: 26a (q.v. in App. I) dates this order in 14 A.D., and adds that by the sixth
year after, the people should not be any more allowed to possess the former large cash.
In this "Memoir", Pan Ku is hence recording this order for the change in the currency
on the date when the old currency was finally outlawed, rather than on the date when the
new currency was authorized. Penalties for counterfeiting were at the same time lightened.
Yen Shih-ku says, "A chariot with stakes [OMITTED] is a wattled chariot [OMITTED] [used by
common soldiers]." It was despized by aristocrats and literati; Han-shih Wai-chuan 10:
9a, par. 11, says, "Coarse food and bad meat may be eaten; a jade for a horse and
chariot with stakes may be ridden."
Hu San-hsing adds, "While the Han dynasty flourished, those who rode on mares were
prohibited and not allowed to gather together. If in the villages and lanes there was the
same [custom, what was true about] the court and market-places can accordingly be inferred.
[T'ang] Tsun belonged to the highest class of the highest ministers, yet he
[a chariot drawn by] mares, which was in order to correct [the modernistic customs of]
age." Cf. HS 24 A: 15b = Mh III, 545, & n. 4.
This tabu on riding mares is probably connected with the very ancient Chinese
that the mare was closely connected with the gods of the soils (shê). Book of ,
App. I, ii, 3 (Legge, p. 214) says, "The mare is like the earth." Erkes (in T'oung Pao
[1940], 58) argues that the Chinese Earth-goddess originally had the shape of a mare.
Li Tz'u-ming, op. cit. 7: 16b, suggests that li1 [OMITTED] should be li2 [OMITTED]. Where
passage is repeated in HS 72: 25a, b, Fu Ch'ien explains li1 as "earthenware dishes."
Ochre-red was the color of clothes used for condemned criminals. Yen
explains that he soaked a strip of cloth with ochre-red liquid; cf. HFHD, II, 123-5.
According to HS 28 Ai: 33b, Chung-shui District was in Mei-yang County.
But the text of ch. 99 reads "Chung-shui District of Wu-kung." There were reasons that
Wu-kung should have been enlarged. It bordered upon Mei-yang; in A.D. 6 it had
produced a white stone portent, advising Wang Mang to take the throne. It had consequently
been made the private estate of Wang Mang, and its name was changed to Han-kuang
(the Han [dynasty's] brilliance); cf. 99 A: 26a. Under such circumstances it would
naturally have been enlarged. Wang Mang later changed its name to Hsin-kuang (the
Hsin [Dynasty's] brilliance), but probably kept the enlarged boundaries. Pan Ku is
naming it, not by its name at the time of this incident, but, for clearness' sake, by its
previous (and later) name.
Chou Shou-ch'ang points out that wei [OMITTED] here has the meaning of [OMITTED], and
parallel passages from HHS, Mem. 32: 18b8 and 33: 16b9.
Chou Shou-ch'ang explains that in Han times the garments of those who did not
have official position were called po-yi [OMITTED] (plain clothes), which phrase is found in HHS,
Mem. 42: 10a11. He states that Wang Lin1a was delighted because he thought
"plain clothes" meant mourning clothes, i.e., mourning for Wang Mang, not knowing
that it really meant that the common people would congregate in the palaces, an
of the turmoil when Wang Mang would be defeated. Chin-shu, 12: 3a, declares that
there is a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, or of Saturn and Venus, there will be a meeting
of people in plain clothes. There was a conjunction of Saturn and Venus on the evening
of Feb. 13, A.D. 21.
Li Ch'i glosses, "Chung-shih [OMITTED] [refers to Wang] Lin1a's mother." Yen
declares he is mistaken, but Chou Shou-ch'ang replies that Li Ch'i is correct, saying that
in Wang Mang's time the female members of the imperial family were called shih instead
of kung [OMITTED] as previously. Before the time of Wang Mang, the Empress was called the
Inner Palace (chung-kung; cf. Glossary sub voce); here she is called the chung-shih, which
has the same meaning as the former chung-kung.
Shuo-wen 8 A: 9b, sub jung [OMITTED], defines it as "ghost garments (kuei-yi [OMITTED])";
Yü-p'ien 28: 3a (by Ku Yeh-wang, 519-581) defines hsüeh [OMITTED] as ghost garments (kuei-yi)."
(Shen Ch'in-han declares that kuei should probably be hun [OMITTED], the word in the
text here.) Chou-li 21: 9a, sub the Szu-fu (Biot, II, 12) states that at a grand mourning
ceremony [for kings], the Szu-fu provides "the garments for making offerings [OMITTED],"
and Cheng Hsüan glosses, "The garments for making offerings are the present ghost
garments (hun-yi), [which are put] upon the seat [prepared for the ghost of the deceased
when sacrifices are made to him]." Ibid. 21: 9b, 10a, sub the Shou-t'iao, (Biot, II, 14)
says, "Those garments that remain are stored away. When they are about to offer
sacrifices, for each [ancestor], his garments are given to the representative of the deceased."
Cheng Hsüan glosses, "The garments that remain are those left over from the
final enshrouding [of the deceased]." Thus the "ghost garments" were those used for
enshrouding the corpses of kings, together with those remaining over after the enshrouding,
which were preserved and later used by the representatives of the deceased at sacrifices
made to him. (References from Shen Ch'in-han.)
The ts'e-shu [OMITTED] was a special imperial document used at the appointment and
death of vassal kings and the three highest ministers and at the dismissal of highest
ministers for crime. At the death of vassal kings or of highest ministers in office, such a
document contained a funeral eulogy and granted them a posthumous name. Special
stationary, composed of tablets alternately two feet long (18 in. Eng. meas.) and one foot
long, were used. (From Ts'ai Yung's Tu-tuan, quoted by E. Chavannes in "Les
chinois avant le papier," Journal Asiatique, ser. X, vol. 5, 1905, pp. 24-25). Ying Shao,
in a note translated on HFHD I, 318, n. 5.7, also mentions these documents. In that
note I mistakenly followed Ch'ien Ta-hsin in denying the meaning of "funeral eulogy"
to ts'e. It means "charter of appointment," "funeral eulogy," or "dismissal notice."
The inclusion of the highest ministers with the vassal kings is probably a Later
practise. It is not mentioned in HS 5: 5b, 6a.
A reference to Tso-chuan, Dk. Wen, IV, (Legge, p. 23814, 239b) "The Son of
being the sun (yang)." This phrase probably explains the meaning of yang in the peculiar
title given Wang Lin1a; yang = t'ai-yang = the sun = the emperor.
A quotation from Book of History V, xxi, 1 (Legge, p. 535). In Han times, the
term frequently used for a younger sister was nü-ti [OMITTED], so that ti could stand for both
brothers and sisters.
The Official ed. correctly emends [OMITTED] to [OMITTED].
Li [OMITTED] had the archaic and the T'ang pronunciations *liəg, lji, while chih [OMITTED] had the
pronunciations *təig, ti; cf. Karlgren, Grammata Serica, #980a, 891a. Chih was the
name of the fourth musical note. The Feng-su-t'ung (by Ying Shao, ca. 140-206), 6: ,
says, "I have carefully examined that Liu Hsinla's Book of Bells and Musical Pipes [OMITTED]
[says], `Chih is a blessing (chih [OMITTED]). When things become large and numerous, it is a
blessing (chih). [Among] the five powers or elements, [chih] is [equated with] fire; [among]
the five social usages, it is [equated with] the rules of proper conduct (li); [and among]
the five actions it is [equated with] looking. As a whole it is concerned "with [state]
affairs." ' " The last phrase is a quotation from Li-chi XVII, I, 5 (Legge, II, 94; Couvreur,
II, 48).
Cf. p. 364.
"Three capital commanderies" is here an anachronism, for Wang Mang established
six such commanderies. But this was a set phrase for the region about Ch'ang-an and
probably continued to be used, in spite of the change in their number.
Shuo-wen, 14 A: 4a, says, "A lang-tang [OMITTED] is a so (chain or lock) [OMITTED]." Yes
Shih ku says it is "a long chain (so)." But Wang Nien-sun points out that the
lang-tang is here used as a verb. He thinks the so should be omitted, but Wang Hsien-ch'ien
replies that the so is necessary. T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 644: 5a quotes this passage with
the so; the Liu-tieh, the part by Po Chü-yi (772-846), 45: 22b, quotes it without the .
Where this passage is repeated in HS 24 B: 26b, so is used without the lang-tang.
commonly wore iron collars in token of servitude. Cf. HFHD, I, 122, and n. 3.
convicts were chained to the prison carts they dragged.
Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the Sung editions read hsi1 [OMITTED] for hsi2 [OMITTED]. The
Official ed. 99 C: 12a accordingly reads hsi1. But the Ching-yu ed. (1035), p. 15a, the
HS P'ing-lin, (1581) p. 15a, the Chi-ku-ko ed. (1642), p. 9b, and HS 99 C: 4b all write hsi2.
This prophecy seems to have become widespread; it is mentioned in HHS, An. 1 A:
2b5.6 and Mem. 5: 1b1.
These bronze statues had been cast in 221 B.C. by the First Emperor of the
Dynasty; the inscription was his. In Han times they were set at the gate of the Ch'ang-
Palace. For an account of these statues and their history, cf. Mh II, 134, n. 1.
Shiratori, in Memoirs of the Toyo Bunko, no. 5 (1930), pp. 39-44, also has an account
them, which must however be used with caution.
Probably because of the incident of the mad woman recounted in 99 B: .
(Suggested by Chou Shou-ch'ang.)
The last clause is chiastic. The peach is supposed to have the property of expelling
demons. Ochre-red is the color of condemned criminals' clothes. On the apotropaic
use of peach-wood and its extract, cf. App. III, ad finem.
Wang Hsien-ch'en declares that chung [OMITTED] and po [OMITTED] have been interchanged here.
Yen Shih-ku's note speaks of the "Northern Army." HS 19 A: 22b says that the Colonel
of the Capital Encampment (Chung-lei Hsiao-wei [OMITTED]) had charge of the gates and
the walls of the Northern Army's [Po-chün ([OMITTED]) lei] encampment; cf. Glossary sub voce.
But this same phrase Chung-chün po-lei appears again on 99 C: 19a, where it can hardly
be interpreted as referring to the Colonel of the Capital Encampment; it is quite possible
that Wang Mang changed the name of the Northern Army to the Northern Encampment
of the Capital Army, a quite logical name, and Yen Shih-ku refers to it by its previous
, the Northern Army. This interpretation is confirmed by the phrase "the Capital
Chung-chün" in 99 C: 23a. The term "Northern Army" is however used on 99 C:
; but that may merely be an anachronism. I do not therefore emend the text.
Fu Ch'ien explains, "The baldachin was 80 feet tall and on the shaft all [nine covers]
pivot hinges, so that they could be raised and lowered, bent and straightened."
Evidently it was an umbrella-like arrangement. Yen Shih-ku adds, "It says that the
was hidden and from outside people could not see it." Bishop White mentions
umbrella-like canopy top in the Han tombs at Lo-yang. Cf. his Tombs of Old Lo-yang,
p. 37. Such umbrella tops are pictured on Han chariots in the Han grave sculptures.
Wang Nien-sun declares that the word [OMITTED] has dropped out before the [OMITTED], making
it read, "Red turbans." T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan, 772: 9a, quoting this passage, says, "Wang
Mang invented a chariot with four wheels drawn by 6 horses and 300 strong men with
yellow garments and red turbans and yokes," and the HHS, Tr. 30: 11b, says, "Military
officers regularly [wear] red turbans to make them awe-inspiring." Chu Yi-hsin (18461894)
replies, "[Wang] Mang despised the Han [dynasty's] practises; I fear that he did
not use red turbans. The [T'ai-p'ing] Yü-lan is insufficient evidence [for Wang Mang's
usages]. The HHS Treatises moreover [contain] the Han dynasty's ."
Nevertheless Wang Mang continued the use of red for his Gentlemen and retinue (99 C:
8b), so that the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan's quotation is probably correct.
In a note to Chou-li 15: 12a (Biot, I, 349, n. 4), sub the Sui-shih, Cheng Hsüan says,
"The funeral cart . . . has four wheels. It hugs the ground when it moves," and
Kung-yen adds, "It is a cart with solid wheels [used as a hearse], which has two
that pass through four wheels." Shen Ch'in-han explains, "This [carriage of Wang
Mang's] also had four wheels, hence they said it was like a funeral cart."
The magical means Wang Mang used to make himself an immortal are recounted is
HS 25 B: 22b-23b.
Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) glosses, "The Classic on the [Wei-ch'i] Playing
(po-yi-ching [OMITTED]), which used eight sticks to throw." The present text reads ching-po,
but Wang Nien-sun infers from the above gloss that Fu Ch'ien's text read po-ching, and
suggests emending accordingly. Then the word yi was probably an interpolation in the
gloss. Po-yi is mentioned in Analects XVII, xxii, whence this interpolation
have come.
Po (translated, "playing blocks") was an ancient game analogous to dice. Six sticks
and twelve blocks were employed, half of them by each player. This variety of the
seems to have used eight blocks. The classical accounts of this game (which is not clearly
understood) are to be found in the notes to HS 64 A: 14a and HHS, Mem. 24: 9b. The
Roman astragalen seems to have been a similar game; cf. H. Blümner, Die Romischen
Privataltertümer, "Handbuch d. Klassische Altertums-Wissenschaft," 4 Bd., 2 Abteil, 2.
Teil, 1911, pp. 412-419.
HS 27 Ba: 2b, 3a seems to explain this charge when it says that, concerning the
doctrine of the five powers or elements, Hsia-hou Shih-ch'ang transmitted his explanation
to Hsia-hou Sheng, he to Hsü Shang, and on to Liu Hsiang4, whose account was similar
to that of his predecessors; but Liu Hsin1a's account was different. Thus Liu Hsin1a
had changed the traditional explanation of portents, probably to favor Wang Mang, and
is here criticized for having done so. An example of his interpretation is quoted in HS 27
Ba: 3b (trans. in W. Eberhard, Beiträge z. kosmolg. Spekulation Chinas, p. 22, par. 2)
where it is declared to be incorrect.
The Southern Academy ed. and the Official ed. p. 13b change [OMITTED] to [OMITTED] to
to the usual writing of this word in the HS. The Ching-yu ed. however reads the former.
This paragraph is very likely taken from the report of the Officer of the Commander-in-chief;
cf. next paragraph.
Here Wang Mang is giving his own etymology for li [OMITTED] (*liəg, lji, Karlgren, Gram.
Ser. #975g) by a pun with li [OMITTED] (also *liəg, lji, ibid., #978d).
This passage is probably a quotation from Wang Mang's decree. For this crime,
ef. HFHD, II, 392, n. 7.11.
Hu San-hsing explains that by "divisional officials" were meant the officials of a
commandery division who were in charge of bandits, such as the commandery Department
Head for Bandits, the county Commandant, and the Chiefs of Districts and Communes.
Tu-tsê [OMITTED], "supervising [the acts of one's subordinates] and punishing [their
delinquencies]" was a technical term from the Legalist School; cf. D. Bodde,
First Unifier, p. 38 & n. 3, 205-6. While I agree with his interpretation, I prefer "punishing"
instead of "holding responsible" as a translation of tsê. Szu-ma Cheng, in a note to
SC 87: 28, interpets tsê as "[OMITTED], punishing them by the [statutory] punishments."
The text reads "second month," but this date may be mistaken, for in that month
there were no days such as those mentioned in the edict, according to the calendars of
P. Hoang and Ch'en Yüan. Such days occurred only in the first and third months.
Han-chi 30: 18b dates this fire in the intercalary [second?] month, but Hoang and Ch'en
have no intercalary month in this year. The mention of the vernal equinox fixes the
fire in March, but March 30 (julian) is much too late for the equinox (cf. n. 16.6). Possibly
there was an intercalary second month in this year, instead of the preceding year,
as Huang and Ch'en have it.
According to Liu Hsiang's theory of the succession of the five powers, by virtue
of which successive dynasties ruled, between the period dominated by the powers wood
(T'ai-hao, K'u, the Chou dynasty) and fire (Shen-nung, Yao, the Han dynasty), there
was an intercalary period, during which there were disorderly rulers (Kung-kung, Chih,
the Ch'in rulers); cf. n. 24.1; Ku Chieh-kang, Ku-shih-pien V, 452, diagram B.
Shui-ching-chu 19: 16b states that the Pa River "was anciently called the Tzu [OMITTED]
River. When Duke Mu of Ch'in [ruled 659-621 B.C.] was the Lord Protector (Pa), he
changed the name of the Tzu River to be the Pa River, in order to exhibit his glory as a
Lord Protector."
The text reads "second month," but this date may be mistaken, for in that month
there were no days such as those mentioned in the edict, according to the calendars of
P. Hoang and Ch'en Yüan. Such days occurred only in the first and third months.
Han-chi 30: 18b dates this fire in the intercalary [second?] month, but Hoang and Ch'en
have no intercalary month in this year. The mention of the vernal equinox fixes the
fire in March, but March 30 (julian) is much too late for the equinox (cf. n. 16.6). Possibly
there was an intercalary second month in this year, instead of the preceding year,
as Huang and Ch'en have it.
The vernal equinox occurred at Ch'ang-an in the evening of March 22 (julian),
eight days before this date. Wang Mang's astronomers would hardly be so much in
error about such an event; Wang Mang probably post-dated the equinox for the sake
of giving a favorable interpretation to the fire.
Prof. Duyvendak points out that "benevolence [OMITTED]" here is opposed to "pa (tyrannical)"
in the preceding paragraph.
The Official ed. has emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]; the other editions read the former. It
may be a mistake for [OMITTED].
T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 328: 7a quotes the Liu-t'ao (iv or v cent. B.C.; this passage is
not in the present Liu-t'ao, but is quoted in its appendix of fragments, p. 15b) as saying,
"When rain dampens their clothes, it means they will be favored [lit. wetted [OMITTED]] weapons;
when it does not dampen them, it means that it weeps silently for the weapons." Ibid.
11: 1b, 2a quotes Ts'ao Ts'ao's (155-220) Ping-shu Chi-yao as saying, "When a Generalissimo
marches and the rain wets his clothes and bonnet, this means that he will spatter his
weapons [with the enemy's blood] and that his army will secure felicitations. . . . If when
a Generalissimo first marches, it rains but lightly, not dampening his clothes or bonnet,
this means that Heaven weeps silently and that this general will have a great misfortune
and his soldiers will be defeated and lost."
Shen Ch'in-han accordingly remarks that the prognostications in this "Memoir" are
different from those in the books on military affairs.
Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests that the words "Lien Tan" should be transferred to
come after the word hou (Marquis). According to 99 B: 29a, the General of a Peaceful
Beginning (which title had been changed to General of a New Beginning, cf. 99 C: 4b)
was in charge of the western provinces, not the east. The subject of the phrase "to
and control the region of which he is in charge" must be "the Grand Master," who was
in charge of the east (99 B: 2b, 29a). As a matter of fact, both these officials went
this expedition (99 C: 17b). I accordingly transfer these two words, as does
(p. 259).
In a note to HS 24 A: 21b, Fu Ch'ien says, "They boiled the fruits of trees. Someone
says it was something like the present thistle cakes [OMITTED]." Ju Shun adds, "They
made something like an almond drink (hsing-lo [OMITTED])." Yen Shih-ku approves Ju
Shun's interpretation. Chou Shou-ch'ang however objects that these things are scarce,
and adds, "It was probably like in the present famine years when the common people
cut up [the leaves and bark] of elm trees and made a gruel and take the juice of millet
stalks to make soup, etc."
Prof. Duyvendak has called my attention to the importance of this passage for the
meaning of lo [OMITTED], mentioning the occidental literature. Karlgren (Philology & Ancient
China, p. 138) states that lo had the archaic pronunciation glak, which he uses as evidence
for an ancient Turkish (Hunnish) stem, arak- or rak-, denoting kumyss or its forerunner,
an alcoholic drink made of fermented milk, for which stem there is also good evidence
in many modern Turkish dialects. Karlgren derives the English word "arrack," the
Japanese sake, and cognate words in other languages from this stem word. (Cf. also his
discussion of lo in Deutsche Literaturzeitung, 47 [1926], 1960-1962.)
The relationship of this ancient Turkish stem rak- to the Chinese archaic glak, the
present lo, is however not one of simple derivation, as Karlgren recognizes. The word lo
was used by the Chinese with a more generalized meaning, seemingly before they became
acquainted with kumyss. In ancient China, lo denoted three different kinds of drinks:
First, Li-chi VII, i, 9; XVIII, ii, ii, 38; & XXI, ii, 5 (Legge, I, 369; II, 160, 222 [he
twice mistranslates lo as "cream"]; Couvreur, I, 504; II, 176, 293; Karlgren admits the
first of these chapters as written in the iv cent. B.C.) uses lo to denote some kind of a
sour cereal drink, possibly a sour alcoholic drink or a vinegar (Karlgren, Grammata
Serica, 766 p., defines it as "A kind of acid soy made of rice or millet," which statement
may however be merely an over-literal translation of one Chinese glossator's description
of a sour liquor). Lo is used with li [OMITTED], in the phrase li-lo, which phrase is most
naturally interpreted as "sweet and sour liquors." The aforesaid is the most ancient
literary use of the word lo, and was its original meaning in Chinese literature.
Secondly, the word undoubtedly denoted kumyss or some similar drink. Karlgren
states that lo came to be used with this meaning because of the similarity in its ancient
pronunciation and its first meaning with the ancient Turkish word from the stem rak-
(archaic Chinese had no initial r- with the ending -ak). In 104 B.C., Emperor Wu established
the office of Mare Milker (T'ung-ma [OMITTED]; HS 19 A: 13a), whose function, according
to Ying Shao and Ju Shun, was to prepare a kind of kumyss. Shuo-wen 12 A: 6a,
sub t'ung, defines it as "[OMITTED]" (lit. "grab and pull," easily understood as an attempt, in a
language unfamiliar with herdsmen's vocabulary, to express the notion, "to milk"), and
adds, "The Han [dynasty] had the office of Mare Milker, who made ma-chiu ([OMITTED],
kumyss)." Possibly kumyss was introduced to the Chinese in the time of Emperor Wu,
when intercourse with the Huns became more frequent. HS 22: 36b moreover quotes a
memorial by K'ung Kuang and Ho Wu, dated 7 B.C., which mentions "seventy-two
apprentices who furnish the Grand Provisioner with kumyss (t'ung-ma-chiu)," of whom
seventy were dismissed (probably because kumyss was not a classical drink). This
beverage, according to the glossators, was anciently made from goat's and cow's milk as
well as mare's milk. The Shuo-wen does not list the word lo; it is however found in
Shih-ming 4: 6b, ch. 13 (by Liu Hsi, ca. 200 A.D.), where it is interpreted as .
The word lo is used with this meaning in the lament of Liu Hsi-chün, the Chinese Princess
who became the Wu-sun Queen (in HS 96 B: 4a; written between 110 and 104 B.C.) and
in Li Ling's letter to Su Wu (in Wen-hsüan 41: 2a = G. Margoulies, Le Kou-wen chinois,
p. 94; possibly written 81 or 80 B.C.; but its authenticity is debated).
There are various ancient Chinese names for this beverage: in addition to lo, ,
ma-chiu, and t'ung-ma-chiu, there are ju [OMITTED] -lo, lo-su [OMITTED], and ti-hu [OMITTED] or [OMITTED] (the
last two names are found in a quotation from the T'ung-su-wen [by Fu Ch'ien, ca.
125-195] in TPYL 858: 1a [which chapter deals largely with kumyss and contains interesting
quotations]). Of these names, the last, ti-hu (for which Karlgren, Gram. Ser.,
590e & 49l, gives the archaic pronunciation tiər-g'o), seems a purely phonetic reproduction
of a foreign name, for its component words in this phrase are otherwise meangingless.
Thirdly, lo was used to denote a drink made from fruits, etc., such as the "
drink (hsing-lo)" mentioned by Ju Shun in his gloss to the HS passage, and to denote gruel
made from bark recommended by Wang Mang. On the above meanings, cf. the Tz'u-hai,
sub lo. The P'ei-wen Yün-fu, sub lo and the other phrases mentioned here, contains many
interesting quotations.
Lo was originally the name of a sour fermented liquor; when the Chinese came to know
kumyss (which the glossators mention specifically as being sour), the Chinese naturally
applied the native word for a sour fermented liquor to it, calling it lo. They likewise
called other similar fermented beverages, such as those made from apricots and from bark,
etc. lo. Whether this ancient word, glak, can be used as evidence for an ancient
word with a similar pronunciation, is however not by any means sure, since there was
anciently a quite different word meaning kumyss, tiər-g'o, which seems more likely to
have been the phonetic reproduction of its foreign name. There is however also the
possibility that the Chinese took their word for sour liquor, glak, from the ancient
name for kumyss, but that hypothesis would push the Chinese knowledge of kumyss much
farther back than the literary evidence carries us. (Cf. also A. Conrady, "Alte westöstliche
Kulturwörter," in Berichte ü. d. Verhandl. d. Sächs. Akad. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, Phil.-hist.
Kl., v. 77 (1925), H. 3, pp. 9-10; W. Eberhard, "Çín de kimiz ve yoğurdum
(Ueber die Herstellung von Kumys in China)" in Ülkü, Nov. 1940 [in Turkish].)
Meng K'ang states that this is "the name of [a year-period in] the calendar made
by [Wang] Mang." Mou is equated with earth, the element by virtue of which Wang
Mang declared he ruled. He had his Grand Astrologer prepare the titles of year-periods
for 36,000 years, with one change of the year-period every six years (99 C: 4a), so that
names had been invented for all these year-periods.
Chavannes, Documents chinois découverts par Aurel Stein, p. 128 ff, no. 592, lists a
tablet in which the date A.D. 20 is written with the ten words, Hsin Shih-chien-kuo Ti-huang-shang-mou,
first year [OMITTED]." He also lists tablets with the
date for A.D. 14 written, Shih-chien-kuo T'ien-feng, first year (nos. 307, 482) and for
A.D. 17, Shih-chien-kuo T'ien-feng, fourth year (nos. 368, 369). Li-hsü 2: 1b (by Hung
Kua, 1117-1184) lists a captain's bell with the date, "Hsin Shih-chien-kuo Ti-huang-shang-mou,
second year." Yung-chai Sui-pi 6: 1a, b (by Hung Mai (1123-1202) says,
"In the family of Han [Tien] Chuang-min [lived 815-893] there was a bronze tou [measure]
with the inscription, `Hsin Shih-chiew-kuo T'ien-feng-shang-mou, sixth year.' In [the
period] Shao-hsing [1131-1162], Kuo Ching-chou secured a bell with the inscription,
`Hsin Shih-chien-kuo Ti-huang-shang-mou, second year.' " Lo Chen-yü's Cheng-sung-t'ang
Chi Ku-yi-wen 15: 2a lists a captain's bell with the inscription "a captain's bell [OMITTED],
weighing six catties five taels, made in Hsin Shih-chien-kuo Ti-huang VI." Here is
evidence that, in Wang Mang's time, "Hsin Shih-chien-kuo" or "Shih-chien-kuo" (i.e.
"[the House of] Hsin [having for the] first [time] established its state") was prefixed to
the two words distinguishing a year-period, and shang-mou, lit. "[the dynasty that]
exalts [the stem] mou [i.e., the element earth]" was added at the end. Wang Mang
began the sexagenary cycle with the term mou-tzu (99 B: 25b). The names of the reign-periods
that are listed in the HS, T'ien-feng and Ti-huang, are then cursive forms of the
full names found in these contemporary documents.
Wang Mang is alluding to Book of History V, iv, 6 "[The virtue of] speech is practicality"
and "Practicality produces good government." (Reference from Yen Shih-ku.)
Legge, pp. 326, 327 translated ts'ung [OMITTED] as "accordance with [the Way]." But the K'ung
An-kuo gloss is, "This then can be followed (k'o [OMITTED] ts'ung)," with which Cheng Hsüan
and Ma Jung agree. K'ung Ying-ta explains, "The second [activity] is speech, of which
[the important circumstance] is that it can be used [in practise] k'o [OMITTED]." [Shang-
Chu-su 12: 4b.])
Yen Shih-ku explains that han-lu [OMITTED] was "the name of a dog in the ancient
state of Hanh. A black color is called lu." This breed of dog is also mentioned in K'ung
Ts'ung-tzu, ch. 17, sect. 8; 5: 20b.
HHS, An. 1 A: 21a states that, towards the end of Wang Mang's reign, when there
were drouths and plagues of locusts, a hu of grain cost one catty of actual gold.
The establishment of this guard seems to indicate that there had been disturbances
by hungry people outside the government granaries even at the imperial capital.
Yen Shih-ku explains fan3-ch'eng [OMITTED] as "to sieze a city in order to [start]
rebellion (fan3). It is also said that fan3 is pronounced fan1 [OMITTED]. When today
are spoken of, they still say fan1-ch'eng."
HHS, Mem. 18 A: 6a (which may have been taken from Pan Ku's account of the
Later Han dynasty's rise) states that when Lien Tan, on his way east, "had reached
Ting-t'ao, [Wang] Mang had sent an imperial edict after [Lien] Tan, which said, "The
granaries are exhausted and the government arsenals are empty. You must now indeed
"become enraged"* and must now indeed fight. You, General, have received the weightiest
duty in the state. If you do not leave your body "in the midst of the waste,"**
will not be able to repay [the state's] favors or to escape a reprimand." " Thus Wang
Mang drove Lien Tan to his death. (The phrase marked * is an allusion to Mencius I,
ii, iii, 6 (Legge, p. 156). "King Wen, in one burst of rage, gave repose to the
people of the world." That marked ** is a quotation from Book of Changes, App. III,
ii, ii, 22 (Legge, 385), which passage discusses methods of burial.)
Book of Changes, Hex. 57, 6 (Legge, p. 191; Wilhelm, I, 168). The conclusion of
this passage is, "Firmness of mind will bring misfortune." No wonder Fang Yang left!
Yellow was the color of Wang Mang's power, hence his ceremonial axes were yellow.
For the HS's ch'i [OMITTED], the Book of Changes reads tzu [OMITTED]. Legge and Wilhelm translate
differently, interpreting tzu as "property," as they also do in ibid., Hex. 56, 4 where the
phrase tzu-fu [OMITTED] recurs (Legge, 188, Wilhelm, I, 163). Yü Hsi (ca. 285-360) in his Chih-lin
Hsin-shu ("Yü-han Shan-fang Chi-yi-shu" ed., p. 6a) declares, "Ch'i should be chai [OMITTED];
whenever an army leaves, [its commander] must fast and purify himself, enter [the imperial
ancestral temple], and receive his axe. Hence it says chai (fast)."
But Ying Shao, in a note to this passage of the HS, defines ch'i as li [OMITTED] (sharp), and
interprets, "He has lost his sharp axe (li-fu)." Ch'ien Chan (1744-1806) points out that
tzu and ch'i were anciently interchanged. Erh-ya ch. 2 (Erh-ya Chu-su 3: 2b) says,
"Chi [OMITTED] (to cut) and chien [OMITTED] (to cut off) are ch'i," and Kuo P'o (276-324) comments,
"The people of the southern quarter call a chien-knife a ch'i-knife." Shen Ch'in-
quotes the above explanations, concluding that Yü Hsi is mistaken and says, "The words
ch'i-fu take their meaning from beheading and cutting off." Cf. also Tz'u-hai, hai, 154b,
sub ch'i-fu and ibid., yu, 99d, sub tzu-fu. Ying Shao's interpretation must be accepted.
Wang Mang had taken the second astronomical month for the first month of the
year, whereas the Han dynasty took the third astronomical month as their first month,
so that Wang Mang's first month was the same as the thirteenth month of the preceding
year according to the Han calendar. The months of this year in this chapter are thus
one month earlier than the corresponding months of the Han calendar, which latter is
given in Hoang, Concordance.
A phrase from Mencius, V, i, viii, 1 (Legge, p. 365). For the ancient belief concerning
the literacy of the Three Sovereigns, cf. HFHD, I, 124, paragraph 3.
Hu San-hsing in Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 39: 1b explains [OMITTED] as "recounting [Wang]
Mang's crimes."
HHS, An. 1 A: 4a dates this event in the second month; the difference is due merely
to the fact that the HHS here uses the Han calendar, while this "Memoir" here uses
Wang Mang's calendar; cf. n. 19.4.
Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that this is the first time dying the beard and hair
appeared in Chinese history.
Wang Nien-sun declares that before [OMITTED] there was originally the word [OMITTED]; T'ai-p'ing
Yü-lan (978-983) 89: 11a and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 39: 2a, in quoting this sentence,
have this word.
The gold alone was worth (at the standard rate, 10,000 cash per catty, cf. 24 B:
22a) 300,000,000 cash, so that "hundred millions of cash" must refer to the other presents.
The gold amounted to 235,343 oz. troy or 7,320,000 g.
For the ceremonies, cf. the Yi-li, ch. III (J. Steele, trans.). For these parts of the
ancient house, cf. plan in T'zu-yüan, sub [OMITTED].
In accordance with Li-chi IV, i, ii, 9 (Legge, I, 259; Couvreur, I, 341 f), "In this
month [the second month of spring, Wang Mang's third month], the swallows arrive.
On the day of their arrival, a suovetaurilia is sacrificed to the Eminent Deity of Marriage
and Birth. The Son of Heaven attends in person, and the Queen Consort leads the
nine Spouses and the Attendants. Then a ceremony is performed for those [ladies] who
have attended [in person] upon the Son of Heaven. They carry bowcases and are given
bows and arrows before the Eminent Deity of Marriage and Birth."
An allusion to Book of Odes, I, iii, x (Legge, I, 55); the phrase denotes the east
wind. The valley wind was supposed to blow gently and bring all genial influences.
Ch'ou was connected with the note kung. Chu Chen (1072-1138), in his Han-shang
Yi-kua T'u, B: 23b, basing his calculations on the Yi-chuan of Ching Fang (B.C.
77-37), asserts that the hexagram sun, in the cyclical combination hsin-ch'ou, is equated
with the power earth (which is equated with the note kung). The same equation is
found in San-yi Pei-yi 6: 5b (by Chu Yüan-sheng; fl. 1211; in T'ung-chih-t'ang Ching-chien,
vols. 14 & 38). Thus this equation was based upon earlier documents and has
passed into the stream of interpretation for the Book of Changes. Sun-erh [OMITTED] was the
ancient good of the wind, and the hexagram sun was itself equated with wine.
Book of Changes, Hex. 35, 2 (Legge, p. 132; Wilhelm, I, 103). Yen Shih-ku explains
wang-mu [OMITTED] as chün-mu [OMITTED], i.e., the principal wife, which is a case of tecnonymy
become a set title; cf. HS 99 A: 9a3, C: 13a12.
Yi-li I, ii, 17, c (Steele, I, p. 15). That text has however "[OMITTED] receive" for the
HS's "[OMITTED] ten-thousand."
An allusion to Mencius VI, A, vii, 1 (Legge, p. 404): "With good harvests most
people are good."
Ti [OMITTED] was the classical (Chou period) general designation for the barbarians in the
present northern China and north of it, while hu [OMITTED] was the general designation in the
Han period for the barbarians outside the northern border. Wang Mang, imitating
classical models, here uses ti in order to be classical and has to add hu to make his meaning
clear to his contemporaries.
Yen Shih-ku explains [OMITTED] as meaning "and"; the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy
ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED].
The phrase "tan-ch'ing-chih-hsin [OMITTED]" was a set expression in Han Times.
5 B: 1a, sub ch'ing, says, "Tan-ch'ing-chih-hsin [means] certainly [OMITTED]." Juan
Chi's (210-263) "Yung-huai Shih" (Wen-hsüan, 23: 3b, not trans. by von Zach) has the
lines,
Which for an eternity of ages we shall never forget."
Li Shan comments, "[A painting done in] cinnabar and azurite does not change, hence
be used it to liken to his oath." Li Shan moreover quotes an edict of Emperor Kuang-wu
from the Tung-kuan Han-chi (lost), "Establish plainly with trust worthiness [like that in a
painting done in] cinnabar and azurite and open wide the road which restricts Our action."
This edict is also referred to with this phrase in HHS, Mem. 3: 19a.
Yang Hsiung, in his Fa-yen, 12: 2a, b, ch. "Chün-tzu," uses this phrase similarly:
"Someone asked, `Are the words of a sage as brilliant as [a painting done in] cinnabar and
?' I replied, `Ha! What kind of words are that? At first [a painting done in]
and azurite is brilliant; after a long time it changes. [Do a sage's words]
?' " The fact that a phrase from painting had already become widely used as a
phrase in Former Han times illustrates the prevalence and antiquity of Chinese
painting.
HS 30: 64a lists "altogether books on military matters from 53 schools, in
fascicles," and Pan Ku's note adds, "I have omitted [and transferred to another place
the books of] 10 schools, in 271 fascicles." Wang Hsien-ch'ien accordingly concludes
that Liu Hsiang's Ch'i-lüeh Pieh-lu (now lost) recorded 63 schools of military methods.
HHS, An. 1 A: 4b also says, "63 schools."
I take here meaning (1) for this phrase from HFHD I, 222, n. 2, since meaning
(2) does not seem to fit this case.
HHS, An. 1 A: 5b gives a different and less bombastic explanation for Wang Yi's
refusal to advance, namely that Wang Yi5 had previously been tried and reprimanded
because, when he had surrounded Chai Yi, he had not taken him alive. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien
39: 3b adopts this explanation. Cf. Glossary, sub Kuang-wu, Emperor.
Yen Shih-ku asserts that this sentence is a saying from the standard Military
Methods. Ts'ao Ts'ao, in his comment to Sun-tzu, 7: 40a, quotes the Szu-ma
(iv. cent. B.C., later added to; this passage is not in the present text of that book) as saying,
"Surround three sides of it, and open one side of it, as a means of showing them that
there is a way [to save their] lives."
Hsia [OMITTED] is sometimes a meaningless suffix, used to make a binom out of a place-name
composed of only one word; cf. HFHD, I, 310, n. 33. But hsia can also mean
"below [the walls of]," cf. HS 99 C: 26a10-11, 28b3, or "just outside [a wall, door, or gate],"
cf. 99 A: 1b11, 9a2, B: 14b2, 17b4, C: 23a12, 26b7.
Hsiang [OMITTED] cannot here have the meaning found in the dictionaries, "mutual;
reciprocal; direction towards." Hsiang can only be equivalent to a pronoun object. It
very often has this meaning, frequently being equivalent to a preposition plus a pronoun
object. Cf. 99 C: 29a3, "hsiang [OMITTED]," which cannot mean "ate each other," but only
"ste them," i.e., "others."
The present text reads, "Heaven's wind blew tiles off," which is the reading of the
important texts. The Official ed., which I here follow, has emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED], in accordance
with HHS, An. 1 A: 6b.
The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. and the Official ed., for Wang
Hsien-ch'ien's "[OMITTED] courtiers," read "[OMITTED] common people," which latter reading I adopt.
Tao-shih [OMITTED] did not yet mean predominately a Taoist practicioner. Huan
T'an (ca. 40 B.C.-A.D. 29), in his Hsin-lun (lost; quoted in T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 720: 5b),
calls Hsi-men Chün-hui a "gentleman possessing magical recipes, fang-shih [OMITTED]," and
states that Wang Ken (the father of Wang Shê) had kept him in order to cultivate methods
of securing longevity. Hence tao-shih at this time denoted a fang-shih. Cf. ,
sub tao-shih.
This comet is not mentioned in Williams' list.
The constellation Ying-shih is meant. This reference is confirmed by the sentence
below, referring to it as a zodiacal constellation. Chin-shu, 11: 14b, says, "The two stars
of [the constellation] Ying-shih are the palace of the Son of Heaven."
The State Master was Liu Hsin1a, who had previously changed his name to Liu
Hsiu4a, which name is not used in the HS, since it was the same as the tabooed personal
name of Emperor Kuang-wu, Liu Hsiu4α. Hsi-men Chün-hiu was prophesying that a
Liu Hsiu (which may mean either Liu Hsin1a or Emperor Kuang-wu) would come to the
throne.
Ju Shun's judgment upon this incident is interesting: "He said that [Wang] Mang's
mother was in decayed circumstances, loved wine, and gave herself lascivious liberty, so
conceived [Wang] Mang, [hence] he was not a child of the Wang clan. [Wang Shê] put
forth this fraud in order to separate himself [from Wang Mang, with the aim of] not
receiving execution [when Wang Mang would be destroyed]."
In 11 A.D., Wang Mang had executed two of Liu Hsin's sons, cf. 99 B: 16a; in
21 A.D. he also executed Liu Hsin's daughter, cf. C: 11b.
According to SC 27 : 50 = Mh III, 371, Venus "presides over executions. When a
person who has done wrong is killed, that punishment is initiated by Venus." SC 27:
57 = Mh III, 378 moreover declares: "When Venus is invisible and troops are put into
the field, the troops will suffer calamity." This astrological interpretation explains Liu
Hsin1a's reluctance to act until Venus again became visible.
According to calculation by the tables in K. Schoch, Planeten-Tafeln für Jedermans,
Venus had been in superior conjunction on Oct. 25, A.D. 22 (Julian) and became visible
as an evening star at Ch'ang-an on Dec. 4, 22. Venus was last visible as an evening star
on Aug. 2, 23 and first became visible as a morning star on Aug. 20, 23.
What evidently happened was that, when the conspirators finally decided to act,
Venus had become invisible. Liu Hsin1a, who accepted the above astrological interpretation
of Venus' influence and who knew that at inferior conjunction this planet is only
invisible for a few days, consequently suggested they wait until Venus reappears. He
probably did not know that, at this time, Venus would be invisible for the longest period
of time in which it can remain invisible at this latitude—eighteen days. While awaiting
its reappearance, possibly expecting the period would not be long (sometimes Venus does
not disappear at inferior conjunction), Tung Chung1b took Sun Chi into his confidence,
with the result that the plot was revealed and the conspirators, including Liu Hsin1a
lost their lives.
Pan Ku's dating of the plot is not exact. He does not mention any date until he notes
the revelation of the plot and includes in the events before the seventh month Liu Hsin1a's
proposal to delay acting until Venus reappears. Evidently Pan Ku knew only the date
the plot was memorialized to the throne, that this event occurred during the seventh
month, which was July 7 to Aug. 5. But Venus was still visible as an evening star during
most of the sixth month. (The possibility is excluded, with great probability, that Pan
Ku's source was using the Han dynasty's months, which set the seventh month a month
later, i.e., Aug. 6 to Sept. 3. For Pan Ku's information about the plot and its revelation
could hardly have come elsewhere than from Wang Mang's court. It was most probably
taken from Sun Chi's memorial, giving information about the plot.)
Since Venus disappeared first on Aug. 3, Liu Hsin1a's proposal to delay could only
have been made during the last three days of the seventh month, i.e., Aug. 3, 4, or 5.
Sun Chi hence was persuaded by his wife and brother-in-law to reveal the plot on the
same or the next day after that on which he was taken into Tung Chung1b's confidence
and acted immediately. This inference is confirmed by the circumstance that only by
revealing such a plot immediately that he knew of it could Sung Chi have escaped implicating
himself in the plot. It is thus not surprising that the conspirators did not suspect
they had been betrayed and obeyed Wang Mang's order to come to the Palace.
Previously (p. 20b), Shih Shen was made General of a Peaceful Beginning; Liu
Feng-shih states that the text may be in error here; Wang Ming-shen thinks that the
text should be emended. Lien Tan had been General of a New Beginning and had been
killed in the winter of 22 A.D.; the title of General of a New Beginning seems to have
been the higher title (cf. Glossary); possibly Shih Shen had been promoted. He is again
noted with this title on p. 26b, so that I see no need to emend the text.
Professor Duyvendak calls my attention to the mention of this sword in HS 67:
6a, b, where Chu Yün, in a memorial to Emperor Ch'eng, dated during the decade beginning
20 B.C., declares, "Your servant would be willing to be granted a sword for beheading
horses from the Master of Recipes, to cut off the head of one flattering courtier, in order
to stimulate the others." The name of this article, which seems originally to have been
merely a large sword, accordingly acquired the connotation of an article specially used to
behead flatterers.
Professor Duyvendak suggests emending ch'ih-po1-ren [OMITTED] to ch'ih-po2 [OMITTED],
which latter Couvreur, Dict. Class., defines as short for san [OMITTED] -ch'ih po2-ch'ou [OMITTED], the
cord granted by the throne to erring officials by which to strangle themselves. While
this emendation is attractive and has the advantage of not breaking the rhythm of two-word
phrases, the phrase ch'ih-po2 does not seem to have been used in ancient times, nor
can I find any ancient example of this practise. Ch'ih-po2 is moreover used in Chan-kuo-ts'e,
ch. 20, sect. 14 ("Szu-pu Pei-yao" ed., 20: 11a; "Szu-k'u Ts'ung-k'an" ed., 6:
74b) and denoted "a foot of silk cloth," used for making a cap, which meaning is clearly
unsuitable here. Professor Duyvendak also suggests rendering ch'ih separately by
"footrule," perhaps in the sense of the footrule used to bastonnade criminals. He doubts
the whole passage.
In Han times, the requirements of parallelism and rhythm were not yet strict, so
that a three-character phrase might be allowed to occur along with a series of two-character
phrases. Ch'ih is used in various compounds to denote a "one-foot long" article;
cf. Tz'u-hai sub ch'ih. Ch'ih-tao [OMITTED] is used in HS 54: 12b10. This phrase still denotes a
dagger. Po1-ren is used in the Doctrine of the Mean, ix (Legge, p. 389). Ch'ih-po1-ren
represents merely the combination of these two anciently well-known phrases.
The ancient Chinese sword was three feet long; cf. HFHD I, 142 & n. 3. Since the
ancient Chinese conceived ghosts as quite small beings, dagger-blades would naturally
be sufficient to put into a grave with the bodies of dangerous criminals, along with poisonous
drugs and thorns, in order to prevent their ghosts from rising. For a parallel to the
magical use of vinegar, cf. HS 100 A: 14b & n. 14.5 (in the Preliminary Volume).
The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED] instead
of [OMITTED], which reading I adopt. The phrase "thicket of thorns" is from Book of Changes,
Hex. 29, 6; Legge, p. 119; cf. also HS 45: 18b. For the use of thorns, cf. HS 97 B: 19b.
Mr. Cheng (fl. dur. 220-317) glosses, "The immortal held in his palm a vessel for
receiving dew." Professor Duyvendak calls attention to the fact that HS 25 A:
mentions "the bronze pillar and the immortal's palm for receiving dew [on] the Po-liang
[Tower]" (q.v. in Glossary) made at the order of Emperor Wu about 120 B.C. Su
glosses, "The immortal held in the palm of his hand an uplifted basin to receive sweet
dew." The Po-liang Tower however burnt down in 104 B.C., so that in Wang Mang's
time this was another statue. The San-fu Ku-shih (iii-v cent.; lost) is quoted by
Shih-ku as saying, "The basin for receiving dew in the Chien-chang Palace was 200 feet
high [the hight of the Po-liang Tower; the San-fu Ku-shih seems to have confused the
location] and seven spans in circumference. It was made of bronze. Above it there was
an immortal's palm to receive dew, which [latter] was mixed with jade powder and drunk
[as an elixir of immortality]." This tradition was derived largely from some lines in
Chang Heng's (78-139) "Fu on the Western Capital" (in Wen-hsüan 2: 15b), which
refer to the immortal's palm on the Po-liang Tower (this passage was quoted in the
San-fu Ku-shih passage):
For receiving the pure dew from the tips of the clouds,
[Which, with] fine jade powder, was used for a morning drink at the conclusion of the meal,
[So that the Emperor] would certainly be able to transfer his life [from this world to the next, i.e., become an immortal]."
Professor Duyvendak remarks that fire is the power or element of the Han dynasty.
But red was not officially adopted as the color of the Han dynasty until A.D. 26
(Teng Chan, fl. ca. 208, in a note to HS 25 B: 23b).
In the time of Emperor Kao down to the time of Emperor Wen, the Han dynasty was
supposed to have succeeded to the virtue of the Ch'in dynasty, whose virtue was the
element water. Its color, black, is however nowhere said to have been adopted. However,
down to the end of the Former Han period, Palace Attendants wore black sables
(HS 98: 15a).
Kung-sun Ch'en and Chia Yi argued that because earth overcomes water, the Han
dynasty's virtue was earth, whose color is yellow. The appearance of a yellow dragon
at Ch'eng-chi in 165 B.C. caused the dismissal of Chang Ts'ang, who upheld the theory
that water was the Han dynasty's virtue. Yellow was not however adopted as the official
Han color until 104 B.C. (HS 6: 31b).
Liu Hsiang and Liu Hsin1a later argued that the order of the powers (and consequently
the succession of the dynasties) was not to be considered as that in which one overcomes
the other [OMITTED], but rather that in which they produced each other [OMITTED], since the
ancient (legendary) rulers did not conquer their predecessors, but each one yielded to
and resigned in favor of his successor. This theory was supported by verses in Book
of Changes, App. V, 8, 9 (Legge, 425; in the "Explanation to the Trigrams," a section
which was "discovered" during 73-49 B.C.) and so became widely accepted. According
to this theory, the virtue of the Han dynasty was that of fire, whose color is red. The
Ch'in dynasty was not given any virtue in this succession of powers, merely being counted
as an intercalary dynasty, with the intercalary virtue of water, placed between the rule
of the virtues wood (the Chou dynasty) and fire (the Han dynasty). The brevity of the
Ch'in period was accounted for by the fact that it had no real virtue, only an apparent
virtue. Wang Mang and his time (including Pan Piao) accepted this theory, hence
thought of the Han dynasty's virtue as being fire and its color as being red, although that
view was not officially adopted until the Later Han period under Emperor Kuang-wu. The
story of the Eminent Founder having killed the snake (HFHD I, 34-36) clinched the
of this theory. But it was probably invented in the first century B.C., so
that it was interpolated into the SC (Mh II, 331). Cf. HS 25 B: 23b; Ku Chieh-kang in
Ku-shih-pien V, 423-500, 560-636.
For Wang Tzu-ch'iao, cf. Glossary, s.v.
Ts'ao Ts'ao also liked to eat shellfish. Su Shih (1036-1101), in his "Shellfish Song
(Fu-yü Hsing)" (in the Tung-p'o Hsien-sheng Shih-chi-chu 30: 33b) has the apt couplet,
In what they liked were also shoulder to shoulder."
The phrase hsiao-shu [OMITTED] is also used in HS 30: 40a, which says, "But when
those who restricted themselves to [the school of Yin and Yang] concerned themselves
with [this subject], they tied themselves to prohibitions and abstentions, and became
mired in numerology (hsiao-shu)."
A magical play on words. [OMITTED] "think again" was another writing for [OMITTED],
"screening wall"; cf. HFHD, I, 250, n. 3.
Wang Nien-sun points out that after [OMITTED] there has dropped out the word [OMITTED], which is
still read in T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 89: 11b & 185: 8a, Han-chi 30: 19a, and Shui-ching Chu 16:
17b, sub the Ku River.
Prof. Duyvendak remarks that this blackening of the walls was to remove the
red color of the Han dynasty.
Chou Shou-ch'ang says that a Sung ed. in small characters (xii or xiii cent.) reads
[OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. The Southern Academy ed. also has this good reading. The Ching-yu ed.
reads the latter.
This seems to be one of the first times the cyclical characters were used to denote a
year. But A.D. 24, not A.D. 23, has the cyclical character shen. Professor Duyvendak
remarks that shen corresponds to the power metal, so that the emphasis was upon the
power, rather than upon the year.
Professor Duyvendak remarks that ping corresponds to the power fire, the Han
dynasty's virtue.
Professor Duyvendak notes that "axe" is also metal and that "fire" denotes the
Han dynasty. The emphasis throughout these titles is on the power metal, which was
believed to govern the sending out and movements of the imperial army, the punishment
of rebels and traitors, and the ending of violence and disturbance; cf. HS 27 A: 17b;
W. Eberhard, "Beiträge zur kosmologischen Spekulation der Chinesen der Han-Zeit," p.
19.
HHS, Tr. 10: 5a, b lists this circumstance and interprets it, "Venus carries out
military deeds; [the constellation] T'ai-wei is the court of Heaven. Venus was victorious
and went north, entering T'ai-wei—this [circumstance] is the general-in-chief entering
the court of the Son of Heaven."
The first star of T'ai-wei, δ Leo, was then in R.A. 141°; Venus reached this R.A. on
the evening of July 4 and again on Sept. 29, according to calculation by the tables
in C. Schoch, Planeten-Tafeln für Jederman. At that time it had attained a declination
of 13.9° north of the equator, confirming the phrase "went north." It had a magnitude
of -4.2—so bright that it could easily be seen in daytime by anyone who knew where
to look for it, hence it is not surprising that it was said to have lighted the earth like the
moon. "Autumn" began with the first day of the seventh month, which was Aug. 6
of this year, so that "autumn" is confirmed. Venus was again in T'ai-wei when Wang
Mang was killed and with an even greater brilliance—it is not surprising that this apt
astrological interpretation should have made an impression.
HHS, Mem. 3: 4b names this man, "the Grand Governor of An-ting [Commandery],
Wang Hsiang [OMITTED]."
Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsüan, XII, (Legge, p. 311, 316), says, "When the Viscount of
Ch'u had besieged Cheng to the seventeenth day, the people of Cheng divined by the
tortoise whether they should end their struggle, [and the reply] was unfavorable. Then
they divined by the tortoise whether they should lament in the Grand [Ancestral] Temple
and set out their chariots in the streets, [and the reply] was favorable, so the people of
the state held a great lamentation and the defenders of the parapets all wept." Ibid.,
Dk. Chao, XXI, (Legge, 68611, 689) records that in the state of Lu, Shu Ch'ê wept for
the eclipse of the sun in 520 B.C.
Chou-li 26: 6b, sub the Female Shaman (nü-wu) (Biot, II, 104) says, "Whenever in
the country there is a great visitation, [the Female Shamans] sing and weep in order to
beg [the divinities]," and Cheng Hsüan explains, "Some sing and some weep. They hope
to move the gods in heaven and earth to pity."
Gold was cast into square cake-shaped ingots an inch on a side, weighing a catty
(24 B: 1b) and worth ten thousand cash. At 244 g. per catty (HFHD, I, 280) a chest
contained 2,440,000 grams or 78,448 oz. troy, worth, at present prices, U. S. $2,745,680.
Sixty chests, if full, contained 146,400,000 g. or 4,706,880 oz. troy. With this huge
treasure may be compared the amount of gold brought to Spain from the Americas between
1503 and 1660, which E. J. Hamilton (American Treasure and the Price Revolution
in Spain, p. 42) finds to have been 181,333,180 g., or 5,829,996 oz. troy. For the reliability
of this statement, cf. App. II, p. 479ff.
Yen Shih-ku remarks that the Imperial treasury was under the Privy Treasurer.
The Empress was called the Inner Palace; cf. Glossary sub voce. Yen Shih-ku explains,
"The [OMITTED] was the treasury of the Empress."
The Bureau of Equalization was under the Grand Minister of Agriculture (the state
treasurer), called by Wang Mang the Communicator.
Contrast the thousand catties of actual gold given to Tou Jung a little later under
similar circumstances, probably at the solicitation of Wang Yi5; cf. HHS, Mem. 13: 1b.
According to HHS, Mem. 13: 1b, Tou Jung had been installed as General of the
Po River and was stationed at Hsing-feng. Ch'ien Ta-hsin remarks that when Pan Ku
was preparing his History, the Tou clan was very powerful, hence he did not mention
this name. Cf. Glossary, sub Tou Jung.
The present text reads, "Ch'ang-men Palace." But this Palace was inside the
city of Ch'ang-an (cf. Glossary sub Ch'ang-men). There was a place by the name of
Ch'ang-men near Ch'ang-an, but nothing is said of any palace located there; HHS, Tr. 10:
5b, in quoting this passage, omits the word for "Palace." This word seems to have been
an interpolation made by someone who knew about the Palace and did not know the
place-name.
Wei Ao and his followers, among whom were Pan Piao and Pan Ku; cf. HHS, Mem.
30 A: 1a. They had then taken An-ting Commandery, just over the border in the present
Kansu, on the upper reaches of the Ching River; cf. HHS, Mem. 3: 4b.
There is a rime or assonance between the last words of these two lines: [OMITTED], mang < mwâng < *mwâng, and [OMITTED], hsiang < yång > *g'ông (Karlgren, Gram. Serica, #709a, 1015a).
Yen Shih-ku explains, "Kan is a color that is a deep blue, showing a red [tinge]
[OMITTED]." Dr. Duyvendak notes that purple is the color corresponding
to the Pole Star, the imperial symbol. Mh III, 340 gives the name "the Lilac Purple
Palace (tzu-kung [OMITTED])" to the four asterisms about the Pole Star. The Supreme One,
the divine ruler of the universe, has his regular habitation in the Pole Star (Mh, III, 339),
so that the color of this area is appropriate to the human ruler of all under heaven. Kan
(deep purple) was a deeper purple than tzu (lilac purple). By wearing the color of the
Supreme One, Wang Mang was by sympathy attracting protection from this supreme
power.
The Official ed. has emended an1-shih1 [OMITTED] to an2-shih2 [OMITTED]. Yen Shih-ku's
comment reads, "A shih1 is what is used to divine the seasons and days," hence his
text read shih2.
Chou-li 26: 9a, sub the Grand Astrologer, (T'ai-shih) (Biot, II, 108 & n. 5), says,
"When the great army [starts out, the Grand Astrologer] holds [the board for determining]
Heaven's times, and [travels] in the same chariot as the Grand Master [of Music]."
Cheng Chung glosses, "When a great army starts out, then the Grand Astrologer has
charge of holding the diviner's board, in order [to be able] to tell Heaven's times and to
determine whether they are lucky or unlucky." The bibliography in HS 30: 72a sub
the school of the Five Powers, lists, "[Mr.] Hsien-men's Method [of Using] the Diviner's
Board, in 20 rolls and [Mr.] Hsien-men's Divining Board, in 20 rolls." (For Hsien-men
Tzu-kao, the immortal, cf. Mh II, 165, n. 1; III, 432, 436). The Ta-t'ang Liu-tien 14:
27b, sub the T'ai-p'u Ling, contains a description of the board used in T'ang times. It
had the zodiacal constellations engraved on it. At the Wang Hsu Tomb and at the
Painted Basket Tomb in Korea a set of Han divining boards were found; a photograph
is found in Plate 6 to W. C. Rufus, "Korean Astronomy," in Trans. of Korea Br. Roy.
As. Soc'y, vol. 26.
He made magical use of Confucius' saying in time of danger, "Heaven begat the
virtue that is in me. Huan T'ui—what can he do to me?" Analects, VII, xxii.
Water, the element in the pond, puts out fire, the Han dynasty's element, represented
by the attackers.
For [OMITTED], the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED].
Wang Yi5's father, Wang Shang, had died in 11 B.C.
HS 26: 46b, in enumerating the periods of the day, lists the period hsia-pu [OMITTED]
as the period before sunset and after the period pu [OMITTED], which latter was about 3 to 5
p.m.
The San-fu Chiu-shih (attributed to Wei Piao, d. A.D. 89; book lost) collected
fragments, p. 15b, says, "A butcher, Tu Yü [OMITTED], killed [Wang] Mang by his own hand."
The Tung-kuan Han-chi (A.D. 58-225; book lost, fragments collected) 23: 4a also writes
"Tu Yü." But HHS, Tr. 10: 5b, copying this sentence, says, "A man from Shang, Tu
Wu [OMITTED] killed [Wang] Mang." Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that anciently wu and yü
interchanged. Shang was a place along the road through the Wu Pass to Ch'ang-an,
that this man probably came with the forces attacking the capital.
The word "seals [OMITTED]" has probably dropped out before [OMITTED]. Previously (p. 27a), it
said that Wang Mang wore his seals; nowhere else is it said that anyone else secured the
imperial seals before they passed into the possession of Wang Hsien4 (p. 28a). The seal-cords
were threaded through the seals, so that it would be difficult to take the cords without
also taking the seals.
Tung-kuan Han-chi 23: 4a says, "Kung-pin Chiu secured his head and transmitted
and took it to Yüan, [where the Keng-shih Emperor was], and was enfeoffed as the Marquis
of Hua."
Yen Shih-ku quotes the San-fu Chiu-shih (lost), as saying that luan [OMITTED] is "to cut
into a thousand pieces." Hsü Ling (507-583), in his "Letter to [the Northern Ch'i]
Supervisor [of the Masters of Writing] Yang, [Tsun-yen]," in his works, Hsü Hsiao-mu Chi
4: 6a, says, "Wang Mang was mutilated by a thousand strokes." (Reference from Shen
Ch'in-han.)
This sentence is identical with the similar statement at the death of Hsiang Yü:
cf. SC 7: 73 = Mh II, 320. It may have been a merely literary addition in Kung-pin
Chiu's report of his deeds; cf. HFHD, III, 97.
The Southern Academy ed. and Official ed. emend [OMITTED] to the more correct [OMITTED].
The Ching-yu ed. reads the former.
This apology was preserved; Emperor Kuang-wu had Yin Min [OMITTED] rebut "a
comparison written in behalf of Wang Mang by Ts'ui Fa"; HHS, Mem. 69 A: 10a. Cf.
HFHD, III, 95-96.
Tung-kuan Han-chi 23:2b states that after the Keng-shih Emperor reached Ch'ang-an,
"the bells and drums, the women and eunuchs of the [imperial] apartments, the several
thousand offices and yamens, and [the people of the various] wards were peacefully
as formerly. The Keng-shih [Emperor] ascended [the throne] in the Front
Hall [of the Wei-yang Palace]." Hence there was sufficient left of even the audience
in the Wei-yang Palace for the imperial throne to be set up in its former location.
The Red Eyebrows entered Kuan-chung in Jan./Feb., A.D. 25, defeated the Keng-shih
Emperor's generals in Feb./Mar. and Apr./May, set up Liu P'en-tzu as the Emperor
in July/Aug., and entered Ch'ang-an in Oct./Nov. The Keng-shih Emperor fled and
to them in Nov./Dec., upon the promise of a kingdom. He was probably
murdered not long afterwards. Cf. Glossary, sub Fan Ch'ung & Liu Hsüan2α.
A T'ang manuscript fragment of this chapter has been preserved, which consists
2½ leaves, 38 columns of the passage at the end of this chapter. The words shih
and ming, which were the personal name of the Grand Exemplar of the T'ang dynasty,
Emperor Wen, (reigned 627-649), lack a stroke. This manuscript furthermore contains
Yen Shih-ku's comments, hence it was written after 641, when Yen Shih-ku completed
his work. The word Sung, the personal name for the Condescending Exemplar, (the
Shun-tsung, reigned 805), is written correctly. In T'ang times, the names of the Eminent
Founder and the Grand Exemplar and of the seven emperors immediately preceding the
reigning emperor were tabooed, hence this manuscript was written some time in 641-804
or 860-907 A.D. A photographic reprint is published in vol. 4 of the Ku-chi Ts'ung-ts'an,
under the editorship of Lo Cheng-yü. The other manuscripts in this volume are from
the cave at Tun-huang, hence this one probably also came thence, although nothing is
specially said to that effect. Its variant readings exhibit a tendency to improve the
literary quality of the writing.
In this manuscript, the word [OMITTED] is regularly written [OMITTED], which variant reading is now
occasionally found in the HHS.
In a note to HHS, Mem. 42: 2b11, Li Hsien says, "Tzu-hui is an attitude of being
unwilling to heed the exhortations of others [OMITTED]."
An allusion to Book of History, I, iii, 11 (Legge, p. 24). The reference is to the
Provider of Works of whom Yao says, "He appears to be respectful, [but he is actually]
scornful of Heaven." The Han interpretation of this passage is found in SC 1: 29
MH I, 50.
An allusion to Book of Changes, App. II, Hex. 1, 6 (Legge, p. 267; Wilhelm, II,
), "A dragon [that has flown] too high will have to repent it; a state of fullness cannot
long."
The Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. write [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED], to accord with
the reading in the Book of Odes, but the T'ang mss., the Ching-yu ed., and the Chi-ku-ko
ed. confirm the reading in the latter reading.
Ying Shao explains that purple is a mixed color. Professor Duyvendak notes
the reference to Analects XVII, xviii, where Confucius states he dislikes purple and
parallels it with obscene music. Professor Duyvendak explains that purple pretends to
be red without being red.
Ying Shao explains, "Wa [OMITTED] is an evil sound." In his Yen-shih Chia-hsün, ch. 17,
. 16; B: 20a, Yen Chih-t'ui explains, "It probably means that it is not a blue color,
[that of heaven], nor a yellow color, [that of earth], and that it is a sound which does not
agree with the [twelve] musical tubes." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Wa is a disorderly sound in
music, not [appropriate to] correct songs. Recent students say however that wa means
merely the croaking of frogs,* [thus] mistaking its meaning. They also wish to change
the wa-sheng of this eulogy to be `the sound of [OMITTED] blue-flies (ying)', and quote the Book
of Odes [I, viii, i, 1; Legge, p. 150]:
It was the sound of blue flies,'
denote "a croaking sound which is a parody of music."
At the sign *, after the word wa, the T'ang mss. adds the word [OMITTED], making the meaning
clearer.
I have compared the variant readings of this T'ang manuscript with those of five other
editions of the HS: the Ching-yu ed. of 1035, the Wang Wen-sheng ed. of 1546, the Chi-ku-ko
ed. of 1642, a Te-fan-tsui-lo-hsien ed., prob. between 1457 and 1573, and Wang
Hsien-ch'ien's ed. of 1900. Including items in the Chinese notes (which are not mentioned
in my notes), there are nineteen differences between this T'ang manuscript and other
editions. In each case, these other five editions agree against the T'ang manuscript.
In many cases, it can be seen that the T'ang manuscript is endeavoring to make plainer
or easier the original text (cf. my notes 29.4, 29.9, 29.11, and the preceding paragraph
of this note); in other cases they are errors of transcription. Evidently this scribe was not
careful in his work and his variants are textually unimportant.
Fu Ch'ien explains, "It means that [Wang] Mang did not obtain the real [Heavenly]
decree of a [true] king, as the left-over parts of the months in a year make an intercalation."
A phrase also found in SC 16: 38,9 = Mh III, 49. Su Lin explains that in this
case the sage-king was Emperor Kuang-wu.
I. APPENDIX I
THE PASSAGES IN
"THE TREATISE ON FOOD AND GOODS"
DEALING WITH WANG MANG
The following two passages are the most important accounts of Wang
Mang in the HS outside of his "Memoir" and are necessary in order to
understand his period, hence they are translated here in full. They
occur at the end of the first and second parts of this "Treatise."
There are a few additional passages dealing with this period: the section
in the "Memoir on the Huns" (HS ch. 94) is translated in de Groot,
Die Hunnen der vorchristlichen Zeit, ch. XX-XXII. The few scattered
matters in the "Memoir on the Western Frontier Regions" (HS ch. 96)
are to be found in his companion volume, Chinesischen Urkunden zur
Geschichte Asiens (cf. his index sub Wang Mang). The passage (about a
page) in the "Memoir on the Southwestern Barbarians" (HS ch. 95) is
translated by A. Wylie in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute,
vol. 9 (1879/1880), p. 64, 65. There is also a brief section at the
end of the "Treatise on the Suburban Sacrifices and State Offerings to the
Spirits" (HS ch. 25, which is not translated; it deals with Wang Mang's
alterations in the state sacrifices and his attempts to secure immortality).
Other passages dealing with this period, found in the various biographies
of the HS and HHS, are abstracted in the Glossary. With these accounts,
the reader should be able to secure a well-rounded view of Wang
Mang and his period.
After this translation had been prepared and sent to press, there appeared
a translation of these two passages in Food & Money in Ancient
China, Han Shu 24, by Nancy Lee Swann (Princeton University Press,
1950). The difficulty of altering a proof which was already in page form
has however prevented me from referring to this translation.
THE HISTORY OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY]
Chapter XXIV
THE TREATISE ON FOOD AND GOODS
A. PART A
After Emperor P'ing died,[2] Wang Mang occupied
[the post of] Regent and thereupon usurped the
throne. Wang Mang profited from the Han [dynasty's]
estate, inheriting its peacefulness: the Huns
had pronounced themselves its tributaries and the
many barbarians had submitted respectfully, so that
wherever boats or carriages could go, all [people] were
its male or female subjects,[6] and its yamens and
treasuries [exhibited] "the richness of its host of
officers,"[7] with the result that the empire was at
rest. In one morning, [Wang] Mang possessed them
[all, but] his mind and intentions were not yet satisfied.
He despised the institutions of the Han dynasty,
considering them to be lax.
Emperor Hsüan had first granted the [Hun] Shan-yü
an imperial seal like that of the Son of Heaven,
and [the Marquis of] Kou-t'ing, [Wu Po], a southwestern
barbarian, had been entitled a king. [Wang]
Mang however sent a commissioner to change the seal
degraded the King of Kou-t'ing to be a marquis.
Not until then did these two quarters become resentful
and trespass the borders. [Wang] Mang thereupon
raised an army, mobilizing a multitude of three
stroke to annihilate the Huns. He solicited and
mobilized the empire's convicts, freemen, and armed
soldiers, to transport supplies and bring military
implements. From the seacoast, the Yangtze and
the Huai Rivers, to the northern borders, commissioners,
[riding in] galloping quadrigae, supervised
and urged them, [so that all] within [the four] seas
were disturbed.[21]
Moreover, whenever [Wang Mang] acted, he desired
to imitate ancient [practises], and did not consider
what was appropriate to the times,[22]
so he
divided up the provinces and commanderies, altered
the duties [of officials], and created [new] offices.
He issued an ordinance,[23]
which said,
"The Han dynasty reduced and lightened the land
there were regularly [required] conscript service and
capitation taxes, which [even] the sick and aged were
all required to pay,[27] while powerful common people
rentals [required for their land, so that while], in
name, the [poor] were taxed [only one]-thirtieth, in
reality, they were taxed or paid in rent five-tenths
of their produce. The rich were proud[33] and did
evil, and the poor became destitute and acted wickedly.
Both [of them] fell into crime, so that the
punishments [had to be] employed and could not be
set aside.
"Now I am changing the names of the cultivated
male and female slaves to be `private adherents.' All
are not to be permitted to be bought or sold. Let
it be that those [rich families with] eight males or
less, who have more cultivated fields than those in
one ching [900 mou], shall divide the cultivated fields
that are in excess [of those in one ching] and give
them to their nine [classes of] relatives or to [people
in] their neighborhood." The punishment of those
who violated this ordinance was as great as death.
The institutions and regulations were moreover not
so that the empire kept murmuring,[36] and those
who fell into punishment were multitudes.
The third year[37]
afterwards, [because Wang]
arrangements], he issued an imperial edict, [saying],
"Those who enjoy the income from the King's fields
together with [those who have] private adherents,
are all to be permitted to sell or buy them, and are
were however very severe, and in other[43] [respects]
his government was contrary to reason and disorderly.
The troops at the border, [numbering] more than
two hundred thousand men, relied upon the imperial
government for food and clothing; [since Wang
Mang's] means were insufficient, he repeatedly [exacted]
unreasonable poll-taxes and imposts, so that
the common people became all the more poor and
impoverished. They constantly suffered from withering
droughts, and there were no abundant harvests,
so that the prices of the grains soared and were high.
In his last years, robbers and bandits arose in great
numbers, and when he mobilized armies to attack
them, the generals and officials acted with free license
outside [the capital], so that at the northern borders
and in the regions of Ch'ing and Hsü [Provinces],
people ate each other. At Lo-yang and east of it,
grain was two thousand [cash per] picul,[46] [so
Wang] Mang sent [one of] the highest ministers and
a general to open the various granaries in the eastern
quarter, and to give and lend to those who were in
extremity or indigent.[48] He also sent out by divisions
grandees and internuncios to teach the common
people to boil [parts of] trees and make a vegetable
juice, [but] the vegetable juice could not be eaten,
[and the sending merely] made much trouble and
disturbance.[51] The vagrant common people who
entered the passes [of Kuan-chung numbered] several
hundred thousand persons, [so Wang Mang] established
an Office for Maintenance and Relief,[52] in
order to distribute [grain] to them, [but] the officials
or eight-tenths of them died of hunger.[54]
[Wang] Mang was ashamed [to recognize that
so he issued imperial edicts which said, "I have
met with the distresses of the nine dry years and [the
untoward] occurrences in the 106 [years], of withering
droughts, frosts, locusts, famines, repeated arrivals
of `barbarians who have troubled the Chinese,' robbers
and bandits [who follow] a wicked course, and
people who become vagrants and fall into [crime].
I am greatly saddened by it. This injurious emanation
will [soon] end." Year by year he produced
this explanation, until he came to ruin.[57]
This statement is all that the Treatise says concerning the period when Wang Mang
was ruling for Emperor P'ing.
A statement characteristic of the Legalists (Bodde, China's First Unifier, p. 214f);
perhaps also of the Confucianists. Mencius says that Confucius was timely (V, ii, i, 5).
A T'ang manuscript of HS 24 A has been preserved in Japan in the Höjöin of the
Shimpuku Temple in Nagoya. Yang Shou-ching (1839-1915) had a tracing of it made in
1895; it was edited by Li Shu-ch'ang (1837-1897) and published as vol. 21 of the "Ku-yi
Ts'ung-shu", under the title, Ying T'ang-hsieh-pen HS Shih-huo Chih. Unfortunately,
this tracing is not always accurate. Dr. Takao Yamada has published a photolithographic
facsimile, under the title, Han-sho Shokka-shi [OMITTED], under the auspices of the
Koten Hozon-kai [OMITTED].
This manuscript taboos the words shih-min [OMITTED] (they usually lack a stroke; occasionally,
as on folio leaf 7, reverse [b], column 7 of the facsimile, and 8a1,5, the word [OMITTED] is
written for min [this latter form of taboo is not in Ch'en Yüan's list]). Shih-min was the
personal name of Emperor Wen [OMITTED], the Grand Exemplar (the T'ai-tsung) of the T'ang
dynasty. This manuscript also taboos the word chih [OMITTED], which was the personal name of
Emperor Ta [OMITTED], the Eminent Exemplar (the Kao-tsung). The words tan [OMITTED] (6a4) and
yu [OMITTED] (5a3, 10a3), which were the personal names of the Penetrating Exemplar (the Jui-tsung)
and the Dynastic Exemplar (the Tai-tsung), respectively, are however written
correctly. The word yung [OMITTED] (16a9, 18b8, 19a2, 19b2, 20a7), which formed part of the
personal name of Li K'o-yung, the founder of the Later T'ang dynasty, is also written
correctly. At its inception, the T'ang rulers were quite lenient concerning taboos of imperial
names. But as Confucianism became more and more influential, the observance
of these taboos became more and more stressed, until, in the period of the Five Dynasties,
which followed upon the fall of the T'ang dynasty, imperial taboos were observed strictly.
(Cf. Ch'en Yüan, Shih-hui Chü-li, p. 95b.) In the T'ang period, there were tabooed the
personal names of the seven immediately preceding generations of emperors, and also
those of the dynastic founders, as well as that of the reigning emperor, i.e., those of the
Eminent Founder (the Kao-tsu), the Grand Exemplar, the Eminent Exemplar, the seven
emperors immediately preceding, and the reigning sovereign. (Cf. ibid., p. 49b.) From
the above noted phenomena, this manuscript was written in either of two periods: (1)
between 650 (when the Eminent Exemplar began his reign) and the reign of the Penetrating
Exemplar, i.e., 684 (when he was first enthroned) or 710 (when he began his
independent reign), or else (2) after the seventh reign after that of the Dynastic Exemplar,
down to the end of the T'ang period, i.e., in 847-904.
On the back of this scroll there has been transcribed the Buddhist Amida Sutra, with a
colophon stating that it was written in the second year of the period Kaho [OMITTED], a
Japanese date corresponding to 1095. The scroll is doubly boxed. On the outer box is
written the words, "[OMITTED] Handwriting of Tachibana no Hayanari." The inner
box also has this attribution inscribed on it; on the cover of this box is the signature of
Kohitsu Ryôhan [OMITTED] (1827-1853), who came of a family for generations acknowledged
to be authorities on matters of ancient handwriting, so that this attribution is
very likely from him.
Hayanari went to China in the closing years of the Enriki period (782-805) and after
his return served in the court, being noted for his calligraphy. At the end of the scroll
is a vermillion seal, that of the Office of Civil Affairs, used on official documents from 770
to some date before 864. It is then quite possible that this manuscript was written in
the middle of the ix century by Hayanari, after his return from China. In that case it
represents an exemplar then preserved in Japan. Hayanari was made Governor of
Tajima Province in 840; the date of his death is unknown. Dr. Yamada however seems
to place little reliance upon the attribution of this scroll to Hayanari. He and his colleagues
believe that this scroll comes from the early Nara period (646-710). (I thank
Dr. Shio Sakanishi, formerly of the Library of Congress, for the above information.)
There is the further possibility that this manuscript is a copy by Hayanari or some
other Japanese scribe of a Chinese exemplar then preserved in Japan. Dr. Sakanishi
states that no Japanese would have taken any liberties in copying an old Chinese manuscript,
not even altering the writing to conform to Chinese taboos that had arisen after
the exemplar had been written. If so, this exemplar was written between 650 and 684 or
710 and the present manuscript was written between 650 and the first part of the ninth
century, to possibly about 820, when that seal ceased to be used.
At this point, this T'ang manuscript omits the word [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED].
The T'ang manuscript reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED], and omits the word [OMITTED], although space is
left for it.
The Official ed. has emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED], but the T'ang mss. and other texts read
the former word.
The T'ang mss., the Ching-yu ed., and the Official ed. read [OMITTED]; the Chi-ku-ko ed,
and Wang Hsien-ch'ien read [OMITTED].
This edict is also found in 99 B: 20a.
For the [OMITTED] of the other texts, the T'ang mss. writes [OMITTED].
I have compared this T'ang manuscript with the Ching-yu ed. of 1035, with what
seems to be a copy of the 1131 Szechuan large character ed., also a Yüan reprint of a
Sung Academy ed., the Te-fan-tsui-lo-hsien ed. (betw. 1457 & 1573), the Wang Wen-sheng
ed. of 1546, the Chi-ku-ko ed. of 1642, and the Wang Hsien-ch'ien ed. of 1900.
In the part translated here, there are ten differences between the T'ang manuscript and
these other texts. Except for the difference noted in n. 21.10, in every case these other
editions agree against the readings of the Japanese T'ang manuscript. Its variants are
then textually unimportant. No significent variations occur and some are sheer blunders.
Cf. also Pelliot, BEFEO, 2 (1902), 335.
This passage does not seem to be a quotation from any single edict, but merely a
summary; cf. 99 B: 21a, 28a; C: 8b, 17a for such utterances. "Barbarians who have
troubled the Chinese" is a phrase from Book of History II, i, 20, Legge, p. 44.
B. PART B
When Wang Mang acted as Regent, he changed
the Han institutions. Because in the Chou [dynasty]
its cash were larger and smaller coins[62] which
coined large cash, with a diameter of an inch and two
fen, a weight of 12 shu, and a legend which reads,
"Large cash (ta-ch'ien) [worth] fifty [cash]."[69] He
also coined graving-knife (ch'i-tao) [coins] and [gold]
inlaid knife (ts'o-tao) [coins]. The circular [heads]
of the graving-knife [coins] are like the large cash;
their bodies are shaped like knives and are two inches
long. Their legend reads, "a graving-knife [coin],
worth five hundred [cash]."[70] The inlaid knife
reads, "One knife [coin], worth five thousand
[cash]."[74] Together with the five-shu cash, altogether
considered that in the writing for the word Liu [there
are the words] metal and knife, so he abolished the
with the five-shu cash. [Later] he changed and
made [six] kinds [of money]: gold, silver, tortoise[shells],
cowries, cash, and spade-money, [giving
them] the name, "Valuable currency (pao-huo)."[85]
The diminutive cash (hsiao-ch'ien) are six fen in diameter,
one shu in weight, and their legend is,
"Diminutive cash worth one [cash]."[87] The next
with the legend], "Young cash (yao-ch'ien) [worth]
ten [cash]."[90] The next are eight fen [in diameter
and weigh] five shu, [with the legend], "Small cash
(yu-ch'ien) [worth] twenty [cash]."[92] The next are
nine fen [in diameter and weigh] seven shu, [with
the legend], "Medium cash (chung-ch'ien) [worth]
thirty [cash]."[93] The next are one inch [in diameter
and weigh] nine shu, [with the legend], "Adult
cash (chuang-ch'ien) [worth] forty [cash]."[94] [The
use of] the previous large cash [worth] fifty [cash]
was [also] continued.[95] These were the six denominations
of cash currency, each of which are valued
according to its legend.
Actual gold weighing one catty was [declared to be]
Shu-shih silver weighing eight taels made [one
[cash].[98] One liu of other silver was [declared to be]
worth one thousand cash. These were the two
denominations of silver currency.
Sovereign's tortoise-[shells], the edges of whose
carapaces reached a foot and two inches were [declared
to be] worth 2160 [cash] and were [made
the equivalent of] ten pairs of large cowries.[100]
nine inches [or more],[103] were [declared to be] worth
five hundred [cash] and were [made the equivalent of]
ten pairs of big cowries. Marquises' tortoise-[shells,
the edges of which reached] seven inches or more were
[declared to be] worth three hundred [cash] and were
[made the equivalent of] ten pairs of small cowries.
Viscount's tortoise-[shells, the edges of which
reached] five inches or more were [declared to be]
worth a hundred [cash] and were [made the equivalent
of] ten pairs of little cowries. The [foregoing]
were the four denominations of tortoise-[shell]
currency.
Of large cowries (ta-pei), four inches eight fen or
more [in length], two made one pair (p'eng), and were
[declared to be] worth 216 [cash]. Of adult cowries
(chuang-pei), three inches six fen [in length] or more,
two made one pair, and were [declared to be] worth
fifty [cash]. Of little cowries (yao-pei), two inches
four fen [in length] or more, two made one pair and
were [declared to be] worth thirty [cash]. Of diminutive
cowries (hsiao-pei), an inch two fen [in
length] or more, two made one pair and were [declared
to be] worth ten [cash]. Those which were
not fully an inch two fen and so were outside of these
regulations were not permitted to make pairs and
were [declared to be] generally worth three [cash]
of cowry currency.
"Large spade-money (ta-pu)," the "next-[largest]
spade-money (tz'u-pu)," the "third [largest] spade-money
(ti-pu)," "adult spade-money (chuang-pu),"
"medium spade-money (chung-pu)," "smaller [than
medium] spade-money (ch'a-pu)," "[still] smaller
[than medium] spade-money (hsü-pu),"[111] "young
spade-money (yu-pu)," "little spade-money (yao-pu),"
and "diminutive spade-money (hsiao-pu)"
[were also coined]. The diminutive spade-money
was one inch five fen long, weighed fifteen shu, and
its legend was "Diminutive spade-money [worth]
a hundred [cash]."[112] From the diminutive spade-money
on upwards, each [denomination] was one fen
longer and one shu heavier, and the legend of each
[gave] the name of [that denomination of] spade-money,
and each [denomination] was worth a hundred
[cash] more [than the preceding denomination],
up to the large spade-money, which was two[113]
inches four fen long, weighed one tael, and was worth
a thousand cash.[115] The [foregoing] were the ten
denominations of spade-money currency. Altogether
the "valuable currency" was made of five
substances with six names, and [included] twenty-eight
In casting and making cash and spade-money, all
[denominations] used copper and mixed it with lead
their raised rim all around, they imitated the Han
[dynasty's] five-shu cash. In this [currency], the
gold and silver were mixed with other substances,
and the alloy was not pure and good. Tortoise[shells]
not fully five inches [in size], and cowries not
fully six fen [in length] were all not permitted to be
considered as valuable currency. Large tortoise-[shells
what the four [orders of] common people[126] were allowed
to store up. Those who had them took them
to the Grand Augur and received their value.
The people were confused and troubled [by this
coinage, so that Wang Mang's] currency did not
circulate. The common people privately used five-shu
cash in the markets and in purchases. [Wang]
Mang was troubled by it and so issued an imperial
edict that those who presumed to oppose the ching
[system of] cultivated fields or hoard five-shu cash
were misleading the multitude and `should be thrown
out to the four frontiers [and be made] to resist the
elves and goblins."[129] Thereupon farmers and
merchants lost their business, food and goods were
both rendered useless, and the common people wept
and cried in the market-places and highways. Those
who were sentenced for selling or buying fields,
residences, slaves or slave-women, or for casting cash,
and [thus] fell into crime, from the ministers and
grandees down to ordinary people, could not be
estimated or counted.
[Wang] Mang knew that the common people hated
[his arrangements], so he only had the two denominations
of diminutive cash worth one [cash] and the
large cash worth fifty [cash] circulate together; the
tortoise-[shells], cowries, spade-money, and the like
were temporarily abandoned.
[Wang] Mang by nature was irascible and irritable,
and could not [bring himself to a state of] nonactivity.
Every time there was something that he
accordance with ancient [practises and tried to]
secure the words of [some] classic [as a model]. The
State Master and Highest Minister, Liu Hsin1a,
for Money,[137] which collected what was not sold
and gave to those who needed to obtain [such things],
which was precisely what the Book of Changes means
by "the right administration of wealth, correct instructions
[to the people], and prohibitions to the
common people against wrong-[doing."[139] Wang]
Mang accordingly issued an imperial edict, saying,
"Verily, the Chou Offices contains [regulations for]
selling on credit and lending on interest,[140] the Yo-yü
contains [an account of] the five equalizations,[142] and
all the books and records speak of controls. Now
that I open [offices for] selling on credit and lending
on interest, set up the five equalizations, and establish
that the crowd of people may be made equal and
those who take concurrently [the advantages of other
classes] may be repressed."[146]
Thereupon at Ch'ang-an and at five [commandery]
capitals there were established Offices for the Five
Equalizations. The name of the Prefects of the
Eastern and Western Markets at Ch'ang-an, together
with the Chiefs of the Markets at Lo-yang,
changed to be the Masters in Charge of the Five
Equalizations at the Markets.[148] At the Eastern
Market, in the title [of this official, the word] Capital
[was used]; at the Western Market, in his title [the
word] Court [was used]; at Lo-yang, in his title,
[the word] Central [was used]; at the remaining four
capitals one of [the words] Eastern, Western, Southern,
and Northern, [respectively, was used] in his
title. At each [place] there were established five
Assistants for Exchange, and one Assistant for the
Office for Money. Artisans and merchants who
tin, to whom tortoises had presented themselves,[153]
or who had gathered cowries, all themselves testified
[their value to the Assistant for] the Office for
Money of [the Master] in Charge of the Market, and
he took them in accordance with the emanations of
the seasons.
[Wang Mang] also [ordered], "In accordance with
the [system of] taxing the common people in the
Chou Offices,[154]
all fields that are not plowed are `unproductive
[fields,' hence] shall pay taxes for three
outer city walls that are not planted [with fruit-trees]
or cultivated [for garden produce] are `denuded
of vegetation,' and shall pay the hemp-cloth [tax]
for three heads of households; common people who
wander about and have no occupation must pay [the
tax of] one roll of hemp-cloth for a head of a household.
Those who are not able to pay the hemp-cloth
[tax] shall work at incidental occupations for the
imperial government and shall be clothed and fed
by it.
"Those who collect articles of any kind, birds,
beasts, fish, turtles, or the various insects from the
mountains, forests, streams, or marshes, together
with those who rear or care for domestic animals,
women who collect mulberry leaves, rear silkworms,
weave, spin, or sew, laborers, artisans, physicians,
shamans, diviners, invokers, together with [people
who have] other recipes or skills, peddlers, traders,
merchants who sit down and spread out [their wares]
houses, shall all and each themselves, at the places
where they are, testify to the imperial government
what they do, exclude their principal, calculate their
[net] profit, divide off from it one-tenth, and use
this one-[tenth] as their tribute. Those who presume
not to testify themselves, or who themselves
in testifying do not accord with the facts shall have
all that they have collected or taken confiscated and
paid [to the government] and shall work for the imperial
government for one year.
"The [Masters] in Charge of Markets shall regularly,
in the second month of [each of] the four
seasons, determine the true [prices] of the articles
that they take care of and make high, middle, and
Each [Master] shall himself use [these prices] at his
own market to equalize [prices there] and shall not
restrict himself [by the prices] at other places. When
the mass of common people have sold and bought the
five [kinds of] grains or articles of hempen-cloth, silk
cloth, silk thread, or silk wadding, which are used
everywhere among the common people, whenever any
has not been sold, and the office for equalization has
examined and inspected the reality of that [fact, the
office] shall take those [articles] at their cost price,
so as not to cause [the people] to lose a cash. When
[any of] the myriad things rise [in price and become]
expensive, so that they surpass by one cash [the
prices at which they have been] equalized, then [the
accumulated stock] shall be sold to the common
people in accordance with the price at which they
have been equalized. If the price goes down and becomes
cheap, below [the price at which it is to be]
equalized, the common people shall be permitted to
sell [goods] amongst each other at the market-place,
in order to prevent any from storing [goods] up [for
the purpose of keeping them until they become]
expensive.[163]
"If any of the common people wish to sacrifice or
perform funeral and mourning ceremonies, and have
not the means, the Office for Money shall give to
them on credit, without requiring interest, whatever
laborers or merchants have paid in as tribute,[167] [in
the case of] sacrifices, for not more than ten days,
[and in the case of] mourning ceremonies, for not
more than three months. If any of the common
people are lacking and have no [means] or wish to
borrow on interest in order to establish a productive
occupation, [the money] shall be impartially given to
them, and, after their expenses have been deducted,
they shall calculate what [profit] they have made,
and shall pay interest [to the amount of] not more
than one-tenth [of his income] per year."[168]
The Hsi-and-Ho, Lu K'uang, said, "The controls
salt and [3] iron, [4] cash and spade-money currency,
[6] the five equalizations, selling on credit and lending
on interest, are in [the hands of] the imperial
government. Only [1] the selling of fermented
drinks alone is not yet monopolized. Fermented
drink is the most beautiful happiness from Heaven,
whereby the lords and kings have nourished the
country. Meetings for offering sacrifices, for praying
for blessings, for succoring the decrepit, for caring for the sick, and all the rites, cannot be carried on
without fermented drink.
"Hence the Book of Odes says,
`If I have no fermented drink, I buy it, do I,'[175]
but the Analects says, `[Confucius] would not drink
purchased fermented drink.'[176]
These two are not
contradictory.
"Verily, the ode refers to [a time when] peaceful
reigns succeeded [each other, when] the fermented
drink purchased at a [government] office was harmonious,
agreeable, and suited to people, so that it
could be offered [to others]. [In the time of] the
Analects, Confucius [lived] in [the period when] the
Chou [dynasty] was decaying and in disorder, so that
the sale of fermented drink was in [the hands of] the
common people, [and hence] was of poor quality, bad,
and not free from adulteration. For this reason
[Confucius] suspected it and would not drink it.
"If now the empire's fermented drink is cut off,
then there will be no means of performing the rites
or of cherishing others. If permission is given [to
anyone to make it] and no limit is set [to its manufacture],
then it will consume wealth and injure the
common people. [Hence] I beg that you will imitate
ancient [practises] and order the [government] offices
to make fermented drink, taking 2500 piculs as one
standard [unit] and accordingly open one shop[177]
to
is taken as one standard [unit]; one fermentation
requires two hu of coarse grain and one hu of
yeast, [from which] is obtained six hu six tou of
finished fermented drink. If for each [fermentation]
one counts up together the price of the three hu of
grain and yeast, according to [the price at] the
by three, and take one part as the average for one hu
of [material for] fermented drink, if one deducts the
original price of the grain and yeast and counts up
the profit, then seven parts in ten will be paid to the
government. The three [other parts], together with
the lees, vinegar, ashes, and charcoal may be given to
the workmen for the expense of the utensils and
firewood."
The Hsi-and-Ho, [Lu K'uang], established [officials,
five equalizations and the six monopolies. [In each]
commandery there were several [such] men. Everywhere
he employed rich merchants, [such as] Nieh
Tzu-chung and Chang Ch'ang-shu from Lo-yang,
Hsin Wei from Lin-tzu, and others. [Traveling] in
riding quadrigae, they sought for profit and made
numerous contacts [all over] the empire, and, availing
[themselves of their opportunities], they communicated
their wickedness to the commanderies and
prefectures, and made many false accountings. The
yamens and storehouses were not filled, and the
people suffered all the more.
[Wang] Mang knew that the common people
suffered from these [measures, so he] again issued an
greatest of foods; [1] fermented drink is the chief
of all medicines and the best feature of auspicious
assemblies; [3] iron is the fundamental [thing] in
[the cultivation of] fields[185] and in agriculture; [5] the
famous mountains and the great marshes are storehouses
of abundance; [6] the five equalizations and
and [the system of] selling on credit and lending on
interest [are means by which] the people may receive
the equalization of high [prices], in order to give assistance
and spade-money, and the casting of copper make
wealth circulate and furnish [what is needed] for the
common people's use. These six [matters] are not
[things that] the enrolled households of equal common
people[190] are able to make in their homes, so
that, if [the prices of these goods] are high in the
market-place, although [these things] may be several
times as expensive [as usual, the people] inevitably
have no alternative but to purchase them, [hence]
eminent common people and wealthy merchants can
thereupon coerce the poor and weak. The ancient
sages knew that it would be so, hence they made controls
(monopolies) of these [matters]."
For each control (monopoly) he established rules
and precepts to interdict and prohibit [violations of
the monopoly]; the penalties for violation extended to
capital [punishment].[193] Wicked officials and cunning
common people both at the same time encroached
upon the mass of people, so that every
[person] was disquieted with life.
The fifth year after, in [the period] T'ien-feng, the
message], increasing and decreasing considerably the
price and value of gold, silver, tortoise-[shell], and
cowry currency, and abolishing the large and small
cash. Instead he made "currency spade-money (huo-pu,"
width, with their heads eight fen and a fraction long
and eight fen wide, their circular holes two fen and a
half in diameter, their feet eight fen long, their
opening [between the feet] two fen wide, their
legend, on the right reading, "Currency (huo)" and
on the left reading, "Spade-money (pu)."[200] Their
weight was twenty-five shu, and they were worth
twenty-five of the currency cash. The currency cash
(huo-ch'üan) were one inch in diameter, and weighed
five shu. Their legend on the right reads "Currency
(huo)" and on the left reads "Cash (ch'üan)."[201]
One [such] was worth one [cash]; it and the currency
spade-money [formed] two denominations,
which circulated concurrently.
Moreover, because the large cash had circulated
that the common people would keep them and not
stop [using them].[204] So he ordered that the common
people should only temporarily circulate the
large cash, and that one [such large cash] should be
worth one of the new currency cash, that their concurrent
circulation should be ended in the sixth
year, and that [people] should not [then] be any
more allowed to possess the large cash.[207]
Each time that the money was changed, the common
people were thereby ruined financially and fell
into serious punishment. Because so many were
those who violated the laws and [whoever] privately
cast cash had to die and [whoever] criticized or put
obstacles [in the circulation of] the valuable currency
should be thrown out to the four borders, with the
result that [their sentences] could not be entirely
carried out, [Wang] Mang therefore changed and
lightened these laws: those who privately cast or
made cash or spade-money were confiscated with
their wives and children and became government
slaves or slave-women. Officials and the group of
five [families, of which the culprit was a member],
who knew of [the crime] and did not bring it forward
or denounce it, [were tried] with [the culprit as having
committed] a like crime. As to those who
criticized or put obstacles [in the circulation of] the
valuable currency: common people were to be punished
[by being made] to work for one year and
violations became the more numerous and [the people
in the group of] five [families who were held responsible]
were sentenced together with them and all were
confiscated to [the government penal service], the
commanderies and kingdoms, with accompanying
[guards], sent them in carts with cages, with iron
locks [about their necks], to the Office for Coinage
at Ch'ang-an. Six or seven out of [every] ten [of
these people] died from the hardships and suffering.
The sixth year after the currency spade-money had
robberies, [hence Wang] Mang made a great solicitation
of the empire's prisoners, convicts, and people's
slaves, naming them, "Boar braves who are porcupines
rushing out." He temporarily taxed the
officials and common people, taking one-thirtieth of
their property. He also ordered that the ministers
and those of lower [rank, down] to the officials in the
commanderies and counties who wore yellow seal-cords,[217]
should all guarantee the rearing of horses
for the army, and the officials all in turn gave [these
horses to] the common people [to care for them].
Whenever the common people moved their hands,
they ran upon a prohibition. They could not plow
or cultivate silkworms, for the corvée service was
troublesome and distressing, and withering droughts
and [plagues of] insects and locusts[218] followed
each other.
Moreover, because [Wang Mang's] establishment
[of rites] and composition [of music] had not been
settled, from the dukes and marquises on the one
hand to the minor officials on the other, they all
could not secure their salaries, so they made private
taxations and collections, and goods and bribes flowed
up from them. Criminal trials and litigations were
not settled, officials employed tyranny and violence
in order to establish their power, and utilized [Wang]
Mang's prohibitions to encroach upon and oppress
the unimportant common people.
When the wealthy were not able to protect themselves
and the poor had no way of keeping themselves
alive, they arose and became thieves and robbers.
Since they relied upon the fastnesses of the mountains
and marshes [for refuge], the officials were not
able to capture them, hence covered and hid the
[fact], and the infection spread daily. Thereupon in
the regions of Ch'ing, Hsü, Ching, and Ch'u [Provinces,
people] often by the ten-thousands battled and
died, were taken captive at the borders by the various
barbarians, fell into criminal punishment, or suffered
from famine and epidemics, so that people ate each
other. Before [Wang] Mang had been executed, the
population of the empire had been reduced by half.[227]
In the fourth year after the "Boar braves who are
porcupines rushing out" had been mobilized, the
Han troops executed [Wang] Mang. The second
year afterwards, the Epochal Founder, [Emperor
Kuang-wu], received [Heaven's] mandate, washed
away these vexatious [ordinances] and tyrannous
[punishments], restored the five-shu cash, and gave a
new beginning to the empire.[232]
Cf. HS 24 B: 2b, 3a. The reference is to Kuo-yü (iv or iii cent. B.C.) 3: 13b-15b,
sect. 5, (de Harlez, Jour. Asiat., ser. 9, vol. 3 [Jan.-Feb. 1894], pp. 58-61) which says,
"In the twenty-first year of King Ching [524 B.C.], when [the King] was about to have
large cash cast, [seemingly for the purpose of securing more revenue], Duke Mu of Shan
said, `It should not be done. Anciently, when Heaven's visitations descended, thereupon
[the ruler] evaluated [the state's] merchandise and currency, and standardized the weight
[of the currency] in order to assist the common people. When the common people suffered
[because the currency was too] light, then he made heavier currency in order to make [the
lighter ones] circulate, whereupon the larger ones (mu) acted as a standard (ch'üan) for
the smaller ones (tzu) and [the smaller ones] circulated, so that the common people secured
[the benefits of] both [denominations of coins]. However, when [business conditions]
would not support the heavier [coins], then [the ruler] made many lighter [coins] and
circulated them, and also did not suppress the heavier ones, whereupon the smaller [coins]
(tzu) acted as a standard (ch'üan) for the larger ones (mu) and [the larger ones] circulated
so that [both] the smaller and larger [coins] were beneficial. If now you, King, abolish
the lighter [coins] and make heavier ones, and the common people lose their property,
will they be able not to default [on their taxes]?' ... But the King did not listen and
eventually cast larger cash."
Chi-chung Chou-shu (possibly forged from ancient materials after the Han period), 2:
7b, 8a, also refers to this incident: "When the currency for the land tax was too light,
[King Wen] made larger [coins] in order to make the smaller ones circulate and altered
the price of merchandise, in order to adjust it for travelers, so that [merchandise] might
have no obstacles [in trade]."
Ying Shao explains this economic policy as follows (in a note to HS 24 B: 2b, 3a):
"The mother (mu) is the heavier one. It is a moiety larger, hence it is the mother (mu).
The son (tzu) is the lighter. It is lighter and lesser by half, hence it is the son (tzu). When
the common people suffered by the lightness of the currency and the expensiveness of
goods, [the ruler] made heavy currency in order to equalize the [prices] and temporarily
circulated these [coins] in order to do away with the light [coins]. Hence it is said,
`The mothers (mu, heavier ones) act as standards for the sons (tzu, lighter ones),' which
is like saying that the heavier ones are used as the weights by which to weigh the lighter
ones. The common people all secured them. Whether they were farmers or merchants,
had or had no [property], they all secured benefits from them."
Meng K'ang adds, "The heavier ones were the mothers (mu) and the lighter ones
were the sons (tzu). It is like the selling of an article for eighty cash: the mother (mu
[original cost]) was fifty [cash] and the son (tzu, [profit]), thirty [cash], comes from it."
This same precedent was used to justify paper money in Yüan times; cf. HJAS 2: 317
(the phrase mentioned there, tzu-mu hsiang-ch'üan erh hsing, is from the Kuo-yü.)
Cf. James H. Stewart Lockhart, The Stewart Lockhart Collection of Chinese Copper
Coins, "Royal Asiatic Society, North China Branch," Extra Volume no. 1 (1915), no. 144;
H. Glathe, The Origin and Development of Chinese Money, p. 30, nos. 151-161, 163-167.
Mr. H. F. Bowker of Oakland, Cal., an officer of the U. S. Navy, has loaned me a 50-cash
coin of this issue which weighs 6.19 g. and is 27 mm. in diameter, as compared with the
7.68 g. and 27 mm. of the text.
Cf. E. Chavannes, Documents chinois, no. 709; Glathe, op. cit., p. 29, no. 103. The
graving-knife coins in Lockhart, ibid., nos. 152, 153, are both probably fakes: no. 152
because of the defective writing of the words for "five hundred" and no. 153 because of
its size and the more modern form of the word ch'i. In this matter I am glad to have the
concurrence of the numismatist, Mr. H. F. Bowker. Chin-shih-so, Chin, 4: 29a, b, contains
diagrams of the graving-knife and inlaid-knife coins.
Mr. Bowker has very kindly loaned me an excellently-preserved specimen of a graving-knife
coin, obtained from Gakuyo Katsuyama [OMITTED] of Tokyo, a highly esteemed
Japanese archeologist, who guaranteed its authenticity. It corresponds exactly with
the description in the HS text and with Chavannes' illustration. The cutting edge of the
knife-blade has been sharpened by filing from both sides (with almost all of the bevel on
the obverse side), so that the coin would actually cut. It weighs 15.80 g. or a little less
than 25 shu (16.0 g.), which latter figure may have been its original weight. The circular
head of the coin is 28 mm. in diameter (exactly corresponding to the text's "1 inch 2 fen"
for the diameter of large cash; cf. HFHD I, 279 for equivalents), with a hole 13 mm.
square; the blade is 46 mm. long (exactly 2 of Wang Mang's inches, as the text states).
Mr. Bowker has also loaned me what is plainly the circular head of a graving-knife coin,
from which the blade has been broken off and the break smoothed, thus making a round
cash out of the coin. It weighs 9.48 gm.; about two-thirds of the graving-knife coin's
metal was in its head. Since the edges of cash were smooth and not milled, such a
mutilation would be unnoticed until the inscription was read, which is "ch'i-tao (graving-knife)."
Mr. Bowker has also loaned me three other coins which are similar round heads
of inlaid knife-coins. Cf. Glathe, ibid., p. 30, no. 162.
Chang Yen (iii cent.) plainly knew only these broken-off knife-coin heads, for he glosses
this passage as follows: "In my opinion, in shape and substance, the graving-knife [coins]
and inlaid knife-[coins] which are extant today are like [Wang Mang's] large cash, but
the raised edges to their circumferences and holes are thick—different from those of these
large cash. In shape [these knife-coins] are like the rings on swords. The shape of the
body of the graving-knife [coins] is round, not two inches long. The legend to the left
[of the hole] reads, `ch'i (graving),' and to the right reads, `tao (knife),' and they do not
have the words, `wu-po (five hundred [cash]).' "
Yen Shih-ku (581-645) states that Chang Yen is mistaken and that the Wang Mang
knife-coins of his day tallied with the description in the text. Chang Yen seems merely
not to have known unmutilated knife-coins. (Cf. also the end of n. 21.5).
Cf. Glathe, op. cit., 29, no. 104. Mr. Bowker has also kindly loaned me a well-preserved
Wang Mang inlaid knife-coin, also obtained from and guaranteed by the same
archeologist. It corresponds with the description in the text (except for the substitution
of p'ing for chih, which is discussed later). This coin weighs 23.74 g. (a little less than
38 shu [24.32 g.]), so that these coins probably originally weighed about 40 shu. The
cutting edge of the blade has been filed sharp, with an even bevel on both sides. Its
dimensions are exactly the same as those of the graving-knife coins, except that it is
thicker and heavier. On the field of the circular part of the coin, above and below the
hole, are the words, "yi-tao (one knife-[coin])," in seal characters, engraved into the body
of the coin and inlaid with gold, level to the field of the coin. This gold inlay is mentioned
in the HS text, without specifying what is inlaid. The blade of the coin bears the words,
"p'ing wu-ch'ien (standardized at five thousand [cash])" in raised bronze characters, like
the legends on other Han coins. The reverse of the coin is bare of any legend.
In the account of the legend on these coins, for "worth," the text reads the word chih [OMITTED].
But this coin has p'ing [OMITTED]. I suspect that the chih in the HS text is an error, from attraction
to the word chih in the legend on the one-cash coins in Wang Mang's coinage of A.D.9.
P'ing, which meant "standardized," denoting the establishing by the government of a
fixed value for an article, is much more appropriate for these coins, which were really fiat
money. Liu Feng-shih (1041-1113), the Sung Ch'i ed. (xi or xii cent.), and Ch'ien Chan
(1744-1806) moreover all quote the legend on these coins with the word p'ing. The
latter of these writers noted that the words yi-tao are engraved and inlaid with gold, while
the rest of the legend is raised.
Lockhart's inlaid knife-coins, ibid. nos. 146-152, seem all either to have been fakes or
counterfeits or to have been copied incorrectly from Chinese numismatic books. He nowhere
mentions the gold-inlaid characters, which are the most striking feature of these
coins and are testified to as early as by Chang Yen in the third century. Mr. Bowker
remarks that Lockhart "obviously did not have these coins or he would have mentioned
the gold characters." The word p'ing in Lockhart's drawings is not correctly formed
(except perhaps in no. 147); the vertical line should project below the bottom horizontal
line. Mr. Bowker writes me, "I have never seen a specimen like no. 148, and am sure
it is a fake. The same applies to no. 147, on account of the incused line around the blade
on both sides, not to mention the smallness of the characters." No. 149 comes closest to
Mr. Bowker's specimen, but the proportions are somewhat incorrect.
Chang Yen knew only the circular heads of these inlaid knife-coins, from which the
blades had been broken off. His gloss (trans. in n. 21.4) continues, "The inlaid knife[coins]
are moreover engraved with characters, which are filled with actual gold. Their
legend, above [the hole], reads, `yi (one),' and, below [the hole], reads, `tao (knife-[coin]).' "
This description agrees with Mr. Bowker's specimens. The heaviest of these heads
weighs 15.97 g., so that about two-thirds of the metal was in the head. The amount of
gold inlaid in the two engraved characters is negligible, so that it was not worth gouging
out.
When Wang Mang ascended the throne and dispossessed the Han dynasty, these knife-coins
became nefastus, unpropitious, since they denoted the Han surname, Liu (cf. p. 245f).
After Wang Mang demonetized them, their possession probably became a mark of loyalty
to the Han dynasty. Wealthy nobles, who had obediently exchanged their gold for these
knife-coins, found them now not only worthless, but even dangerous to possess. Probably
many nobles did not dare to melt down their knife-coins, for someone in their household
would be sure to inform the ever-watchful government of the deed, and counterfeiting was
a serious crime. Hence the blades were broken off these coins, making them into round
cash. As such they would have been worth their weight in bronze or (perhaps more
likely) they may have circulated on a par with the fifty-cash coins—the owners lost 99%
of their money by turning a 5000-cash coin into a 50-cash coin, but that doubtless seemed
better than losing the whole value of these coins and being punished for possessing them!
In the Ch'üan-pi [OMITTED], issue 1, July, 1940 (pub. at Shanghai), Mr. Ts'ai Chi-hsiang
[OMITTED] publishes a photograph of a 10,000-cash coin, shaped like a circle with a square
attached to it, with the legend, "Worth ten thousand [cash from] the chests of gold in the
state's treasure [OMITTED]." Mr. Ts'ai decides that it is a Wang Mang coin from
the issue of A.D. 11.
I cannot agree with him. If it was from Wang Mang's age at all (the use of the word
chih, instead of p'ing, raises doubts), it must have been intended for the issue of A.D. 7.
At that time, Wang Mang "nationalized" gold, paying for it probably at the rate of 10,000
cash per catty (the value he set in A.D. 11), so that a 10,000-cash coin was really needed
in making this exchange. The round shape denotes heaven and the square shape denotes
earth. Mr. Ts'ai argues that the word kuei [OMITTED] (chest) in its legend was the name for
10,000 catties of gold in Wang Mang's time (cf. HS 99 C: 25a), just as Kuan-tzu (ch. 5,
"Shen-ma," sect. "Shih, nung, kung, shang"; Szu-pu Ts'ung-k'an ed. 1: 12b) states, "A
hundred yi [OMITTED] of actual gold [make] one ch'ieh [OMITTED] (box)," and Nan-shih, 53: 25b "Memoir
of the King of Wu-ling, Hsiao Yüan-cheng," states, "One catty of actual gold makes one
ping [OMITTED] (cake) and a hundred ping make a ch'ou [OMITTED] (secondary unit)." (Gold was cast
into cake-shaped ingots; Mr. Ts'ai publishes photographs of such ingots from Chou and
Former Han times.)
This 10,000-cash coin is not mentioned in any Chinese history. It was needed in
A.D. 7, but if such coins had been issued, they would have been used plentifully in purchasing
the nobles' gold and would not be so rare and unmentioned. But in the issue of
A.D. 7, the coins of a higher denomination than one cash were all multiples of five: 50, 500,
and 5000 cash. (Five, along with the other odd numbers, is the number of Heaven, not
Earth; cf. Book of Changes, App. III, i, 49; Legge, p. 365.) Emperor P'ing was sickly;
the knife-coins, with their symbolism of metal and knife [HS 24 B: 21b] denoted the Liu
house; similarly the use of the number five, denoting Heaven [the Emperor was the Son
of Heaven] was probably also magic to strengthen the Emperor.) It would have been
unlikely that a 10,000-cash coin (denoting both Heaven and Earth) would have been
added to this (purely Heavenly) series. In the issue of A.D. 11, the denominations increase
by tens to 50, then by hundreds to 1000; it would have been unlikely that a 10,000-cash
coin would have been added to such a series, leaving so great a gap between it and
the next lower coin. The largest denomination in the issue of A.D. 14 was 25-cash, so
that this 10,000-cash coin could not have belonged to that series. In my opinion, if this
coin is really from Wang Mang's mint (concerning which I have no evidence), it can
only have been a mint sample for the issue of A.D. 7, which coin was rejected because it
spoiled the symmetry and magical effect of that issue. (Cf. also the Tung-yang Huo-pi
Tsa-chih [OMITTED], no. 218.)
As a matter of fact, this coinage was not all begun at the same time. The previous
coinage was abolished, except for the twelve-shu large fifty-cash coins, in the spring of
A.D. 9, when there were also first coined the one-shu diminutive cash coins, so that these
two denominations circulated together (99 B: 7b). Then in A.D. 10 (99 B: 15a), Wang
Mang added the other 26 denominations of this coinage. When compiling this "Treatise,"
Pan Ku evidently forgot that this coinage was not all enacted at the same time.
As a matter of fact, this coinage was not all begun at the same time. The previous
coinage was abolished, except for the twelve-shu large fifty-cash coins, in the spring of
A.D. 9, when there were also first coined the one-shu diminutive cash coins, so that these
two denominations circulated together (99 B: 7b). Then in A.D. 10 (99 B: 15a), Wang
Mang added the other 26 denominations of this coinage. When compiling this "Treatise,"
Pan Ku evidently forgot that this coinage was not all enacted at the same time.
Wang Mang took this name from that said to have been given by King Ching of
the Chou dynasty to his large cash; cf. HS 24 B: 3a.
Cf. Lockhart, ibid., no. 145; Terrien de Lacouperie, Catalogue of Chinese Coins in
the British Museum, p. 367, nos. 341-343; Chin-shih-so, Chin, 4: 28b.
Shu-shih was a prefecture in Chien-wei Commandery, which mined fine silver.
For location, cf. Glossary, sub voce.
Meng K'ang glosses, "Jang [OMITTED] [means] the border of tortoise shells.... They
measured the edge of the two sides of their backs as a foot and two inches." Li Tz'u-ming,
in his HS Cha-chi 2: 6a, adds that jang should be [OMITTED], which is defined in the Shuo-wen
13 B: 2b as, "The edge of a tortoise carapace.... [The edge of] great tortoise shells
used for] the Son of Heaven is a foot and two inches; for the nobles, it is a foot; for grandees,
it is eight inches; and for gentlemen, it is six inches." Meng K'ang seems to have
had this latter word in mind. The Shuo-wen is quoting the ancient text of the Lost Book
of Rites (now lost), which is quoted by name in Ch'u-hsüeh-chi 30: 30a.
Li-chi XVII, ii, 26 (Legge, II, 114; Couvreur, II, 82) says, "[The standard] bordered
with blue and black was that [on which were represented] the Son of Heaven's precious
tortoise-[shells]." The "precious" tortoise-shells were those used for divination. Kung-yang
Commentary, 26: 3b, Dk. Ting. VIII, says "The treasures of Chin were...tortoise[shells]
with blue borders," and Ho Hsiu glosses, "Tortoises [which live to] a thousand
years have blue beards." (References from Shen Ch'in-han.)
Wang Nien-sun asserts that after [OMITTED] there were originally the words [OMITTED], to agree
with the statements concerning the size of the next two sizes of tortoise-shells; K'ung
Ying-ta, in a note to Li-chi, ch. VIII, i, 6, in his Li-chi Chu-su 23: 4a, and the Ch'u-hsüeh-chi
30: 32b quote this passage with these words; the T'ung-tien, ch. 8: 11a, (Com. Pr. ed.
p. 47) quotes it without them.
Ts'ai Yün (d. ca. 1820), in his Pi-t'an 3: 8b, 9a, asserts that the text's hou [OMITTED] should
be hsü [OMITTED]. He points out that the six denominations of cash were named "diminutive,"
"little," "young," "medium," "adult," and "large." There were ten denominations of
spade-money, hence between "large" and "adult" there were added [OMITTED] and [OMITTED], both of
which words mean "next"; and between "medium" and "young" there were added [OMITTED]
and hsü, both of which also mean "next." Hou, "thick," does not fit the meaning at all;
in the seal character, hou and hsü are very similar. A specimen of this "Still smaller than
medium spade-money," loaned me by Mr. Bowker, bears plainly the seal-character form
of the word hsü, which is practically identical with that found for hsü in the Shuo-wen,
and is not the word hou.
The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read the obviously correct [OMITTED] for Wang
Hsien-ch'ien's [OMITTED].
For these spade-coins, cf. de Lacouperie, ibid., pp. 302-306; Ku-chin Ch'ien-lüeh 16:
7b-9a and Chin-shih So, Chin, 4: 30b-32a illustrate a complete set. The Yokohama
Numismatic Society's [OMITTED], no. 9 (1912) and Glathe, op. cit., pp. 28,
29, nos. 90-99 print a photograph of these ten spade-coins.
The legend on these 1000-cash pieces is "[OMITTED] large spade-money valued at a
thousand [cash]," for which legend there is ancient testimony. Ni Mo, in his Ku-chin
Ch'ien-lüeh 16: 9b, points out that the word huang [OMITTED] in this legend is a cursive form of
heng1 [OMITTED], and that heng1 is used for heng2 [OMITTED], with which it was anciently interchanged.
Heng2, like p'ing [OMITTED], meant "to weigh," hence "to standardize at a given value." Karlgren,
Grammata Serica 707a & m, lists huang and heng1 as having had the same archaic and
ancient pronunciations. The fact that Wang Mang asserted he ruled by virtue of the
element earth, whose color is yellow, huang, aided in forming this cursive form of heng1.
Mr. Bowker has loaned me a complete set of these spade-coins, secured by him from
Gakuyo Katsuyama. Herewith a comparison of these coins with the statements in
the HS:
| Denomination (in cash) |
Legal weight according to the HS (in grams) |
Actual weight (in g.) |
Legal length according to the HS (in mm.) |
Actual length (in mm.) |
| 100 | 9.60 | 7.0 | 35 | 35 |
| 200 | 10.24 | 7.86 | 37 | 38 |
| 300 | 10.88 | 9.44 | 39 | 40 |
| 400 | 11.52 | 8.09 | 42 | 42 |
| 500 | 12.16 | 9.38 | 44 | 44 |
| 600 | 12.80 | 14.15 | 46 | 50 |
| 700 | 13.44 | 12.02 | 48.5 | 51 |
| 800 | 14.08 | 15.31 | 50.8 | 52.5 |
| 900 | 14.72 | 13.37 | 53.1 | 54 |
| 1000 | 15.25 | 8.42 | 55.4 | 53 |
It is to be noted that the first five and the 900-cash coin correspond very well with
the sizes indicated in the HS, although their age has caused them to lose weight. The
other four are, in my judgment, very likely ancient counterfeits or later fakes. Since
the Han weights and measures were gradually increased to their present size, a later faker
would make coins in accordance with the weights and measures of his own epoch, so that
they would be larger and heavier than the Han standards required. Such seems to be
the case with Mr. Bowker's 600-, 700-, and 800-cash coins. The 1000-cash coin may be an
ancient light-weight counterfeit.
The outstanding feature of Wang Mang's bronze coinages is that as the nominal value
of the coins increased, the amount of metal per cash decreased, so that the larger coins
were the more depreciated.
| Coinage of A.D. 7 | Coinage of A.D. 9-10 | Coinage of A.D. 14 | ||||
| Nominal Value |
Total Weight |
Shu per cash |
Total Weight |
No. of shu per cash |
Total Weight |
No. of shu per cash |
| 1 cash | 5 shu | 5 shu | 1 shu | 1 shu | 5 shu | 5 shu |
| 10 cash | (same as Han dynasty's cash; unchanged since 118 B.C.) |
3 shu | 0.3 shu | |||
| 20 cash | 5 shu | 0.25 shu | ||||
| 25 cash | 25 shu | 1 shu | ||||
| 30 cash | 7 shu | 0.23 shu | ||||
| 40 cash | 9 shu | 0.225 shu | ||||
| 50 cash | 12 shu | 0.24 shu | 12 shu | 0.24 shu | ||
| 100 cash | 15 shu | 0.15 shu | ||||
| 200 cash | 16 shu | 0.080 shu | ||||
| 300 cash | 17 shu | 0.057 shu | ||||
| 400 cash | 18 shu | 0.045 shu | ||||
| 500 cash | 25 shu? | 0.05 shu? | 19 shu | 0.038 shu | ||
| 600 cash | 20 shu | 0.036 shu | ||||
| 700 cash | 21 shu | 0.030 shu | ||||
| 800 cash | 22 shu | 0.027 shu | ||||
| 900 cash | 23 shu | 0.0244 shu | ||||
| 1000 cash | 24 shu | 0.0240 shu | ||||
| 5000 cash | 40 shu? | 0.008 shu? | ||||
On the origin of spade-coins, cf. Richard Schlösser, "Der Ursprung der Chinesischen
Pu-münzen," Artibus Asiae, 1928, no. 1, pp. 12-34. This article contains photographs
of more ancient spade-coins (of which Wang Mang's coins were imitations), also of a
complete set of Wang Mang's coins. Cf. also his, "Die Münzereformversuche des Wang
Mang," Sinica V (1930), 25-37.
Meng K'ang glosses, "Lien1 [OMITTED] is another name for tin," but Li Ch'i declares,
"The name for lead and tin ore is lien1." Yen Shih-ku asserts that both are mistaken,
because the Shuo-wen 14 A: 1b says, "Lien2 [OMITTED] is [the same] sort [of thing as] copper."
Shen Ch'in-han however replies that Li Ch'i is correct; the Shuo-wen is merely speaking
in general terms; the Kuang-ya and the Yü-p'ien both state that lien2 is lead ore. F. C.
Chang asserts that zinc was called lien; Journal of Science 8, 233-243; 9, 1116-1127 (in
Chinese). Certain Sung cash are found, upon analysis, to be copper with a considerable
proportion of lead, a small proportion of tin, and a minute amount of zinc, the latter arising
from the impurity of the ore used.
Ju Shen quotes Analects V, xvii, in which a tortoise is called a t'sai, and states that
the state of Ts'ai produced large tortoises. Hence large tortoises were named Ts'ai.
Ku-liang Commentary 13: 1b, Dk. Ch'eng, I, enumerates the four orders of common
people as gentlemen, merchants, farmers, and artisans. HS 24 A: 2a however enumerates
them as gentlemen, farmers, artisans, and merchants. The Han dynasty, following the
Ch'in practise, degraded merchants.
Cf. 99 B: 12b. The numbers in square brackets in the margin and text, here and
on pp. 24b, 25a, b are the same as those in the enumeration of the six monopolies in
99 B: 12b. There was no fixed order, so I use that list as a reference point.
Chou-li 15: 3b f (Biot, I, 326-328) lists as one of the Chou offices an Office for
Money, which "collected what goods are not sold in the market-place, goods [whose sale]
is slow, but which are used by the common people. [The Yamen] writes their selling-price
on a post, in order to be ready for those in need who would buy them."
Chou-li, 15: 4a (Biot, I, 327), sub the Office for Money (Ch'üan-fu), says, "Whoever
buys on credit, for [purposes of] sacrificing, shall not exceed ten days [without paying
interest], and for mourning ceremonies, shall not exceed three months [without paying
interest]. Whenever common people wish to borrow on interest, [the head of the Office
for Money] shall discuss it with his heads of departments and then only shall pay out
[the loan; the people shall pay] interest in accordance with [the taxes paid] as their service
to their state," [i.e., if the tax was a tithe, the interest would be a tithe per year].
Cheng Chan (fl. ca. 208) glosses, "The Yo-yü are sayings on the origin of music,
which King Hsien of Ho-chien, [Liu Tê, d. 130 B.C.], transmitted [to Emperor Wu]. It
speaks of the matter of the five equalizations." This book has been lost; the only quotations
from it that have been preserved are three brief paragraphs in the Po-hu-t'ung (relating
to other matters) and the following one:
Fu Tsan glosses, "Its words are, "When the Son of Heaven takes land from his nobles
and uses it to establish the five equalizations, then in the market-places there are no two
[different] prices [for the same thing, so that] the four [orders of] common people are
constantly equalized [in their power]. If the strong are not permitted to oppress the weak
and the rich are not permitted to use force upon the poor, then the government shows
additional kindness to the unimportant common people."
Shen Ch'in-han declares that this statement is based on the Chi-chung Chou-shu, 4: 7a,
ch. 39, (possibly this latter book, which seems to be a later forgery, took them from the
Yo-yü) which says, "When in the market-places there were the five equalizations, then
morning and evening [prices] were the same. [This office] accompanied the departing,
invited those who are coming, assisted the distressed, and rescued the impoverished."
Wang Nien-sun points out that the word ch'eng [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED] is an interpolation
by attraction for the subsequent use of this word. This title is quoted without the word
ch'eng in HS 91: 11b (Master in Charge of the Capital Market) and in sundry quotations
of this passage: Wen-hsüan 21: 23a, in a note to Pao Chao's "Yung-shih Shih"; ibid., 36:
22a, in a note to the "Yung-ming, XI Nien, Ts'ê Hsui-ts'ai Wen"; ibid., 53: 20b in a note
to the "Yün-ming Lun"; T'ung-tien 11: 22a (Com. Pr. ed. p. 65); and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien
37: 8b. Wen-hsüan 1: 8b, in a note to the "Hsi-tu Fu", however quotes this passage
with the word ch'eng.
I.e., those who had found tortoises. Ju Shun explains, "Tortoises have supernatural
power [OMITTED], hence it says that they present themselves [OMITTED]."
Chou-li 13: 9a (Biot, I, 279 f) says, "All residences which are denuded [of vegetation]
have the hempen-cloth [tax] for occupied land; all fields which were not plowed, pay grain
for a house [occupied by three families]; all common people who do not have an occupation,
pay the contribution of service for a head of a household." This passage enumerates the
three types of taxes mentioned in Mencius VII, ii, xxvii, 1 (Legge, p. 491).
The procedure seems to have been that the Master fixed his prices for equalization
as the fair prices for his market, and bought goods that were unsold in the market-place
at their cost to the producer or at the current price, providing that this price was below
his price for equalization. Then he sold those goods at the price for equalization whenever
the market-price surpassed his price by one cash.
HS 99 B: 12b states however that interest was 3% per month. The usual rate of
interest was 20% per year (91: 6a); so that the government was charging more than the
current rate. This passage adds that borrowers were not to pay more than 10% of their
income as interest to the government.
Ju Shun explains, "When a liquor-seller opens a shop and waits for guests, he puts
up a wine-jar. Hence a wine-jar (lu [OMITTED]) is used as the name for the shop." Yen Shih-ku
denies this plain interpretation, but Liu Feng-shih points out that Ju Shun must be correct.
HS 91: 7a states, "A large capital which communicates with [surrounding] towns sells a
thousand fermentations in one year."
Ch'ien Ta-chao says that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED]; the Official ed. has made this emendation,
and I have followed it.
Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that the Fukien ed. (1549) has emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED], which
seems correct, since iron was previously mentioned.
In a note to HS 24 B: 17a, Ju Shun glosses, "Ch'i [OMITTED] is `of the same rank [OMITTED].'
When there are no honorable or inferior [grades] they are called the equal common-people
(ch'i-min [OMITTED]), just as at present we say p'ing [OMITTED] -min." Chin Shao however declares,
"They are Chinese instructed and regulated (ch'i-cheng [OMITTED]) common people." Chavannes
(Mh III, 588 = SC 30: 35), who did not have Ju Shun's gloss available, follows Chin Shao,
but Yen Shih-ku approves of Ju Shun's interpretation.
This sentence is a doublet (except for verbal differences) of one in 99 C: 1b; that
sentence seems however to refer to a second issuance of these rules.
HS 99 C: 10a mentions this enactment under the date A.D. 20, because it was not
to take full effect until that time. Cf. 99 C: 10a & n. 10.4.
Cf. Lockhart, ibid., nos. 155, 156; de Lacouperie, ibid., p. 306, nos. 112-115; Glathe,
op. cit., p. 29, no. 101; Chin-shih-so, Chin, 4: 32a. Prof. P. M. L. Linebarger of Duke University
has loaned me a well-preserved ho-pu coin of this issue, weighing 15.53 g. (legal
weight, according to the HS, 16.0 g.); length, 57.7 mm. (legal, 58 mm.); width, 23.5 mm.
(legal, 23.1 mm.); length of feet 19 mm. (legal, 18.5 mm.); width of opening, 4.8 mm.
(legal, 4.6 mm.).
Cf. Lockhart, ibid., nos. 162-182; de Lacouperie, ibid., p. 384, nos. 365-400; Glathe,
op. cit., p. 30, nos. 173-75; Chin-shih-so, Chin, 4: 29a.
HHS, An. 1 B: 23b says, "When Wang Mang had usurped the throne, he feared evil
[because] the Liu clan had used the word ch'ien [OMITTED] [as the word for `cash'] and [the word
for Liu [OMITTED]] contains [the words for] metal (chin [OMITTED]) and knife (tao [OMITTED]), hence [Wang Mang]
changed [the coinage and the word for `cash'] and made it `currency cash (huo-ch'üan
[OMITTED]).' [But] someone considered that the words huo-ch'üan were `The immortal of the
White River (Po-shui chen-jen)'." Ying Shao, in his Han-kuan-yi (lost; quoted in T'ai-p'ing
Yü-lan 835: 6b, 7a) also remarks this circumstance, and adds, "This was an auspicious
presage of the restoration under the Epochal Founder, [Emperor Kuang-wu]."
The word ch'üan [OMITTED] is composed of the words po [OMITTED] and shui [OMITTED], and huo [OMITTED] is composed
of jen [OMITTED] and chen [OMITTED], which make-up is particularly evident in the seal form on these
coins, in which the jen extends all along the left side of the character. The White River
was a stream which arises 50 li northeast of the present Tsao-yang, Hupeh (Shina Rekidai
Chimei Yoran, p. 531); Emperor Kuang-wu came from the city of Ts'ai-yang, which was
located southwest of the present Tsao-yang (HHS, An. 1 A: 1a); hence it was not surprising
that these coins issued by Wang Mang were later understood as a prophecy of Emperor
Kuang-wu.
The "large cash" weighed 12 shu and were nominally worth 50 cash (B: 21a), i.e.,
0.24 shu per cash; the spade-money of 14 A.D. weighed 1 shu per cash and the round cash
weighed 5 shu per cash; Wang Mang was trying to drive out light coins, something that
rulers have always found difficult or impossible, because of the facts summed up in
Gresham's law.
Since the "large cash" had been worth 50 cash, and the new cash were worth 1 cash,
such a valuation meant losing 49/50 of their nominal value. Yet the large cash weighed
more than twice as much as the new cash, so that private melting down and counterfeit
casting became inevitable.
Wang Nien-sun points out that huang-ch'ung [OMITTED] was originally ch'ung-huang.
He quotes the parallel expressions ch'ung-ming [OMITTED] in Li-chi IV, iv, ii, 18 (Legge, I, 306;
Couvreur, I, 345); [OMITTED] in Yi-li 7: 8a (Steele, I, 50); [OMITTED] in Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang,
XVIII, autumn (Legge, 47611); [OMITTED] in the Hsün-tzu; the present expression ch'ung-[OMITTED];
ch'ung-huang in HS 27 Ca: 2b10; the present huang-ch'ung, which he says was originally
ch'ung-huang (cf. Ching-yi Shu-wen) in Li-chi IV, iii, 21 (Couvreur, I, 358); and ch'ung-huang
in Shuo-wen 13 A: 8b, sub [OMITTED]. The HS uses huang just as the Tso-chuan uses
ch'ung (as indicating an insect plague), so that it does not make sense to add a ch'ung
after the huang, for the phrase ch'ung-huang means that the plague consisted of other
insects in addition to the huang. HS 27 Bb: 20a, b lists plagues of ming and huang from
130 to 89 B.C., hence in HS 75: 4a4 Hsia-hou Sheng summed them up by saying that
ch'ung-huang arose, i.e., both locusts and other insects appeared; the present reading of
HS 75: 4a, huang-ch'ung, which means only locusts, is thus inexact. People did not
understand the meaning of ch'ung-huang, so changed it to huang-ch'ung. Hence the
phrase huang-ch'ung was originally ch'ung-huang in SC 106: 121 = HS 35: 7b5, HS 75:
4a4, HS 90: 17a10 (which is quoted in a note to HHS, Mem. 67: 10a11 without the ch'ung).
H. Bielenstein, BMFEA, no. 19, pp. 125-163, in an illuminating paper, "The
Census of China during the Period 2-742 A.D.," (esp. pp. 135-145), shows that, between
2 B.C. (when the population was 56.7 million) and A.D. 140, there was a decrease of 8 or
9 million, i.e., about 15%. The population of northwestern and northeastern China had
decreased nearly 18 million, whereas that of south China, especially the present Hunan,
Kiangsi, Kwangtung, and Szechuan, had increased by roughly 9 million. When we make
allowance for the natural population increase in the subsequent century, Pan Ku's statement,
that by A.D. 25 the population fell to half its former figure, is roughly corroborated,
but for north China only. He seems to have been unaware that millions had emigrated
into central and southern China, so that the total loss in population was not as great as
he believed.
HHS Tr. 13: 10b says, "In A.D. 30, boys in Shu circulated a saying,
The five-shu [cash] must be restored.'
said secretly that Wang Mang had taken yellow [for his color; Kung-sun] Shu wanted to
succeed him, hence he took white [for his color]. The five-shu cash were the currency of
the Han dynasty, [so that this saying] made plain that the Han dynasty must be restored.
[Kung-sun] Shu was thereupon executed and destroyed." Thus even a reference to a
particular coinage had political implications. (Reference from Chou Shou-ch'ang.)
II. APPENDIX II
WANG MANG'S ECONOMIC REFORMS
The economic changes made by Wang Mang constitute one of the very
interesting experiments man has made with his social environment. In
studying these reforms, we must recognize that they sprang from the
Confucianism of that age. While Wang Mang was himself interested in
changing government institutions—he liked nothing so much as to show
his superiority by bringing about an improvement—yet the crucial test
of any proposed change was whether it was classical, i.e., whether it had
been practised or approved by some of the sages, as their deeds and
sayings were recorded in the Classics and interpreted by the scholarly
traditions of the time, handed down in the various schools. Wang Mang
had moreover added certain books to the official Confucian canon: the
Tso-chuan, the Chou Offices, the ancient text (since lost) of the Book of
History, the lost chapters of that Book, etc. (99 A: 19a). The Chou Offices,
for example, seems to have been prepared, in part at least, by idealistic
Confucian antiquarians, who, consciously or unconsciously, wrote into
the past their own conceptions of an ideal government. In these new
canonical books there were naturally many traditions concerning economic
matters. Wang Mang had acquired his popularity among the
intelligentsia, which had brought him to the throne, by his complete conformity
to Confucian ideals; when he ruled in person, he was then obligated
to put into practise these Confucian ideals. Wang Mang was, first
and foremost, a complete Confucian; the credit for his remarkable reforms
must be given rather to the Confucian literati than to him.
Wang Mang was also a scheming courtier who wormed his way into
power by clever intrigue. He came of a clan that had enriched itself,
beyond all other clans, through imperial grants and through profiting from
the perquisites of power. While Wang Mang himself held his acquisitive
propensities severely in check, in order to appear liberal (99 A: 1b), yet
at heart he was grasping and stingy (99 C: 1b). Hence he saw to it
that his reforms benefited the throne. In his rule, he showed himself
callous to the true interests of his people, with the result that their
economic condition deteriorated, until, as a result of misgovernment, oppression,
famine, banditry, and civil war, the population was reduced
by half (24 B: 27a).
Such a result was however quite contrary to Confucian idealism, which
all reforms which accord with the Classics will benefit the state and the
people. Consequently, when any of Wang Mang's reforms brought discontent
and economic disorganization, the conclusion was drawn that it
was not really classical. Wang Mang did not follow classical precedents
slavishly; he improved on them. The tradition was that King Wen had
coined two denominations of money (24 B: n. 21.2), so Wang Mang instituted
twenty-eight denominations (24 B: 23a), only later reducing them
to two. Wang Mang found the word "controls (kuan)" in the Classics
(24 B: 23b), whereupon he used this word as a justification for his monopolies;
later, when these monopolies were seen to have oppressed the
people, the term "controls" was interpreted otherwise and monopolies
were held to be unclassical. As a result of Wang Mang's failure, Confucianism
was not discarded by many intelligentsia, it was merely reinterpreted;
the Later Han dynasty was at first more Confucian than the
Former Han. But sceptical thinkers (even some members of Wang
Mang's own clan, such as Wang Chi7 [a distant cousin, cf. HHS, Mem. 9:
1a]) began now to be repelled by Confucianism and were attracted to
Taoism, so that at this time there began the re-emergence of this doctrine
after a century of almost total eclipse. Wang Mang's own grasping
nature was an important reason for the failure of his reforms, in spite of
their Confucian nature.
We shall consider his economic changes in the following order: (1) his
monetary reforms, (2) his policy regarding land and slavery, (3) his monopolies
and taxes, and (4) his attempt to speculate in staples and
to loan money.
His monetary reforms came soon after he became Acting Emperor
(A.D. 6). A tradition had been preserved that in Chou times, in order
to compensate for fluctuations of prices, there had been two denominations
of bronze coins, not merely one, as in Han times. (HS 24 B: 2b,
3a, 21a & n. 21.2). This tradition made varied coinage a Confucian
practise, since a fundamental Confucian principle was the imitation of
the ancient sages. Wang Mang accordingly coined four denominations
of bronze coins, with the values of 1, 50, 500, and 5000 cash. The first
two denominations were round cash; the latter two were in the form of
knives. The fifty-cash coins had only 1/20 as much metal per cash as
the one-cash coins, and the others were proportionately lighter (about
1/100 and 1/625 as much metal per cash as the one-cash coins), so that there
was much profit for the government in this coinage. In its early years,
the Han dynasty had experimented with depreciating the coinage, but
there had arisen opposition to that practise, and, for the last century and
evil effects of this depreciation were probably not anticipated. One result
was a great increase in counterfeiting.
In addition, Wang Mang "nationalized" all gold, that is, he permitted
only vassal kings to possess actual gold, other nobles and people being
required to bring their gold to the Emperor's wardrobe, where they were
to be given its value in bronze cash. Pan Ku states that they were not
given its full value. Very probably they were paid in light-weight knife-coins
of high denominations. Thus Wang Mang made much profit out
of manipulating coinage and gold.
When in A.D. 9, Wang Mang became titular emperor and established
his own dynasty, he had to do away with the knife-coins, because the
Chinese word for knife, [OMITTED], forms part of the word Liu [OMITTED], the surname
of the Han dynasty. Since a change in currency was thus necessary,
he first did away with the knife-coins, only two denominations remaining
(A.D. 9), and later (A.D. 10), added other denominations to make twenty-eight
in all. Sixteen of these were of bronze. The others, in gold, silver,
tortoise-shells, and cowries, were not coined, so that this legislation
amounted to fixing a price for these four articles.
An important motive in this bronze coinage was undoubtedly to make a
profit for the government. We are informed concerning the weight and
value of each denomination (24 B: 21a-23a). The light-weight fifty-cash
pieces were retained, but the heavy one-cash pieces were replaced by new
cash weighing only one-fifth as much as the former one-cash pieces. The
higher denominations were in the shape of trousers-cash or spade-money.
The weights of these bronze coins were so arranged that the one-cash
pieces contained proportionately the largest amount of metal, each higher
denomination containing proportionately less metal, until the highest
denomination, that of a thousand cash, contained only 2.4% as much
metal per cash as the one-cash pieces (cf. 24 B: n. 22.11). This coinage
was thus an issue of metal fiat money. People who had previously used
the heavy one-cash pieces would hardly want to give them up in exchange
for the new light coins. In order to make the coins of large denominations
circulate, Wang Mang ordered that all persons who passed the likin
stations at the passes, fords, and elsewhere must show large spade-coins of
high denominations along with their passports; officials who used the
government posts or who entered the palaces, must also show spade-money
in order to be admitted (99 B: 15a). Since cash were cast, instead
of being struck, counterfeiting was easy and many people were
driven to it in order to preserve their wealth. To stop counterfeiting,
Wang Mang made the possession of copper and charcoal an offense (99 B:
consequently abolished in A.D. 13 (99 B: 22a). When the people refused
to use the new coins, Wang Mang issued an edict that all those possessing
the older heavy cash would be executed or exiled. Pan Ku says that as a
consequence farmers could not sell their produce nor merchants their
goods, and the common people wept in the market-places and highways,
while uncounted people and officials, even of the highest ranks, were
sentenced for crime (24 B: 23a).
When we note that the mere possession of the heavy coins was made a
crime, and that an informer was given half of the illicit wealth seized as
a result of his information, we can well believe Pan Ku's statement. In
order to maintain a semblance of authority over the coinage, Wang Mang
had to abandon all but two denominations of these new coins, and retain
only the light one-cash pieces and the fifty-cash pieces (24 B: 23b).
Some years later (A.D. 14), Wang Mang again changed the coinage.
The light-weight one-cash pieces had probably so disarranged prices that
there had been a loud clamor for the restoration of the previous heavy
cash. The people had been paying taxes in the light cash, and the officials
had probably found that taxes and their salaries (which were payable
half in coin) did not yield as much value as previously. The former
coinage was therefore abolished and the previous heavy one-cash pieces,
weighing five times as much as the light one-cash pieces, were restored.
But the light one-cash coins were not exchanged for the new heavy cash;
they were merely dropped. The one-cash pieces in circulation were thus
demonetized. An edict was issued which declared that the previous
fifty-cash coins (weighing two and one-half times as much as the new
large one-cash coins) were to be worth as much as one of the new one-cash
pieces (24 B: 26b), i.e., the government would take a former fifty-cash
coin in place of a new one-cash coin.
The people were given six years in which to make this change; after
that time, possession of the former fifty-cash pieces was to be forbidden.
The result may easily be imagined. A person who had any large amount
of money in fifty-cash pieces and who used it in accordance with the law,
lost 49/50 of his money. What he had in one-cash pieces became worth
only so much metal. Few people could afford to make the exchange.
By melting down cash, on the other hand, a person may have lost comparatively
little, for cash were then probably worth approximately their
weight in metal. All that was needed was new cash to use as models,
clay for moulds, and a charcoal stove to melt the coins. It is not surprising
that counterfeiting became ubiquitous. To stop it, people were
grouped in lots of five families, who were responsible for each other; if one
many people, however, violated the law that the punishments could not
be carried out. Wang Mang had to lighten the punishment for counterfeiting
to enslavement of the counterfeiter to the government, together
with his wife and children and those in his group of five families. These
unfortunates were transported to the mint at the capital to work out
their sentences. Pan Ku states that six or seven out of every ten died
from the hardships and suffering (24 B: 26b).
There were also coined new twenty-five-cash pieces (in the shape of
trousers-cash or spade-money), which contained one-fifth as much metal
per cash as the new one-cash pieces. Thus the former principle was continued,
of profiting by coining light-weight pieces of high denominations.
Light-weight coins of high value would be a boon to anyone who must
transport money, if their value could be maintained. But there is no
evidence that the government did anything to maintain their value. The
fact that the coins of high denominations in the second coinage were
dropped and that the coins of high value in the third coinage were only
twenty-five-cash pieces, instead of fifty-cash pieces as in the first coinage,
would seem to indicate that the value of these coins was not maintained
and that they depreciated in usage.
We must resort to inference in order to determine the precise economic
effects upon Chinese society of Wang Mang's three changes in coinage
and his nationalization of gold. The latter decree probably succeeded in
mulcting the wealthy, especially the Han dynasty's nobility, who were
the only persons likely to have possessed much gold. They needed gold
for their yearly contribution to the throne (HFHD II, 126-128). Since
Wang Mang allowed the highest nobles (the vassal kings) to retain their
gold, he did not, even in A.D. 6, take gold completely out of circulation;
the enactment of A.D. 10, which made gold one of the articles of currency,
rescinded the prohibition against possessing gold.
At that time, gold was not coined, but circulated in the shape of square
cakes an inch (0.9 in., Eng. meas.) on a side and weighing a catty (then
7.84 oz. troy, 244 g.; HFHD, I, 280). Such a catty of gold was worth
ten thousand cash; imperial grants of gold were usually transmitted in
terms of their equivalent in bronze cash. Ten catties of gold was the
value of the property belonging to a median family (HS 4: 21a). By
exchanging depreciated inlaid bronze knife-coins for actual gold, Wang
Mang deprived all but his highest nobles of much of their wealth. His use
of such knife-money in making grants saved him about 99.8% of the
metal he would otherwise have disbursed. For the first three years after
their gold had been taken away, the nobles probably did not feel the
gilded knife-money. When, however, in A.D. 9, these knife-coins were
demonetized and suddenly became worth only their value in metal, the
nobles found themselves mulcted and had to get rid of these knife-coins
to show their loyalty to the new dynasty. Thus, by a clever trick,
Wang Mang deprived the Han dynasty's nobility of much their wealth,
before he dismissed them and set up his own nobility.
Wang Mang seems to have hoarded most of the gold he obtained. He
was miserly, and failed to use his treasure, even in emergencies (cf. his
payment to soldiers, 99 C: 25b). Pan Ku reports that when Wang Mang
was finally killed, he still had much treasure. Ten thousand catties of
gold made a chest and there were sixty chests of gold in the imperial
apartments, as well as several chests in other offices of the palace, besides
cash, silk, pearls, jade and valuables (99 C: 25a, b). This nationalization
of gold seems merely to have withdrawn much of the empire's gold from
circulation and to have concentrated it in the imperial palace. The nobles
had been given depreciated bronze coins, nominally of the same value,
but probably exchangeable in trade for far less, and these coins were
soon demonetized, after which time gold was again allowed to circulate.
Sixty chests of gold, if all the chests were full, would be 146,400,000
grams or 4,706,867 oz. troy. There were also "several chests" in each of
three other offices, so that the total amount, if correctly reported, must
have been about 5,000,000 oz. of gold. Where did this huge amount of
treasure come from? If the report is correct, it was a greater quantity
than the entire visible stock of gold in Europe of the middle ages, which
is estimated as not over 3,750,000 oz.[1]
The reliability of this report concerning the gold is probably quite high.
Pan Ku was too careful a historian to insert such a statement into his
account if he had no documentary source for it. He had no motive in
exaggerating Wang Mang's wealth. This statement probably came from
the report to the Keng-shih Emperor made in A.D. 23 by the captors of
Ch'ang-an. They may indeed have exaggerated their report of Wang
Mang's wealth. "Sixty" is a round number and so may not be exact.
But the captors would not have exaggerated very much, for they would
be held accountable if any large amount of treasure was missing. The
Wei-yang Palace, in which were located the inner apartments containing
this large treasure, was burnt in the attack upon Wang Mang, but Pan
Ku says specifically that the government treasuries were nevertheless
maintained intact (99 C: 29a). Proof that Wang Mang had possessed a
of his second wife, nee Shih, which was 30,000 catties of actual gold or
235,343 oz. (7,320,000 g.; 99 C: 20a).[2] Thus Wang Mang must at one
time have had about five million ounces of gold. China had never produced
any large quantity of gold;[3] whence could he have obtained all
this treasure?
It undoubtedly came to China in return for Chinese exports, the chief
of which was silk. Gold has indeed a tendency to form hoards. Siberia
was then the largest and nearest source of gold. Much of the gold
possessed by ancient oriental empires seems to have come from this region.
Parthia, Bactria, Sogdiana, and India produced little or no gold, although
Bactria was famed in ancient times for its gold.[4]
An abundance of golden
articles has however been found in Scythian graves in South Russia and
Siberia. In the fifth century, the Massagetae, who were northern
neighbors of Bactria, had so much gold that they used it to make bits
and trappings for their horses.[5]
Probably most of this gold came from
placer mining along the headwaters of Siberian rivers; even at the beginning
of the present century, the main Siberian sources were the washings
along the Lena and Amur. Possibly the Obi and Yenisei systems also
furnished gold; new gold fields are said to have recently been discovered
near the head waters of both rivers. Probably gold was obtained over a
very large area; Siberia is today asserted to have larger amounts of gold
Urals and Altai, but mining was so laborious in comparison with washing
that most of the gold probably came from the rivers. Anciently this
supply must have seemed inexhaustible.
The Chinese probably obtained a goodly share of this Siberian gold
by trade with their northern neighbors. Although these peoples did not
wear silk, yet their leaders would want it as an article of luxury; other
Chinese articles of luxury were likewise exported to these peoples. The
Chinese traded actively with the Huns and other northern neighbors
(except when they were at war with them) along the whole northern
border, and (at least during the first century B.C.) Chinese envoys
traveled regularly through much of southern Siberia, along with whom
went merchants, who took advantage of the envoy's escort and probably
paid his expenses.
Gold was also mined in Europe and possibly in Asia Minor. There
were important gold mines in Transylvania, where the Romans obtained
much gold.[7]
Once silk became available, the Romans eagerly sought for
it, just as they imported large quantities of Indian spices and other goods.
In Wang Mang's time, the silk trade with Greek Asia and India via the
Tarim basin had been actively carried on for some centuries. We know
little of it before the time of Emperor Wu, but the fact that Chang Ch'ien
reported conditions in Bactria shows that before the Chinese conquered
the Tarim basin, trade was going on between the Greek orient and China.
After that conquest, with the establishment of peace, trade doubtless
increased several-fold. In 67 B.C., a Protector-General was established
for the Western Frontier Regions and in 48 B.C. the army of the Mou-and-Chi
Colonel was established there to maintain order.
At the same time, silk was becoming more and more popular in Rome.
Julius Caesar (d. 44 B.C.) is reported to have possessed silken curtains,
but the introduction of silk to Rome in quantities began only in the
reign of Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14) and may be traced to Marcus
Antonius, who communicated with the Bactrians. Tiberius (A.D. 14-37)
censured the wearing of silk by both sexes and forbad its wearing by men.
Gaius (37-41) revived the wearing of silk, at least by the emperor. But
clothing made wholly of silk was rare until Elagabalus (218-222) set the
example, this material normally being woven into linen or woolen fabrics
after importation. At the same time that they were using silk, the
Pliny says that at the lowest computation, India, Seres, and Arabia
drained from the Roman empire a hundred million sesterces (over five
million dollars-worth) annually, more than half of which went to India.[8]
Thus wealthy Romans began to use a certain amount of silk in the last
century of the Former Han period; in the time of Wang Mang, sumptuary
legislation was enacted against it, and in Later Han times its use became
common among the wealthy.
Before silk became sought after in Rome, its use had probably become
likewise popular in the kingdoms of central and western Asia and in India.
As early as the time of Emperor Wu, traders were taking silk to India
by sea (HS 28 Bii: 68b); this sea-borne trade seems however to have
represented a drain of gold rather than an accession of it. There was also
some trade to India via Yünnan and Burma. But these two routes can
hardly have carried any large quantities of trade; the geographical obstacles
were too great. The chief route of export was by way of the
Tarim basin, which led into Sogdiana and Bactria, and thence to India
or to the Mediterranean world.
It is doubtful whether there was much return trade to China in goods
by this route. The road was so long and difficult that only goods which
combined high value with small bulk would be profitable to carry. In
Europe, silk was worth its weight in gold. Some jewels (including pearls
from India) and a few Hellenistic works of art seem to have been all that
the Chinese imported. But their appeal was limited, so that large quantities
would hardly be carried to China. Hence the return trade was
largely in gold, which alone, together with silk, fulfilled the conditions
for profitable trade. Thus China may have drained the Hellenistic
Euthydemids of gold in the first century B.C., just as in the time of
Wang Mang the Roman use of silk threatened the Roman stock of gold.
It is an interesting fact that, although gold was mined in Europe, in late
antiquity, accumulated stocks of gold seem to have disappeared from
that region. Much of this gold found its way to India, but some must
have come to China. Large hoards of gold coins dating from Hellenistic
and Roman times have been found in India, but finds of such coins are
extremely rare in Chinese territory. Trade between the Roman empire
and India went direct; that between the Roman empire and the Chinese
seems only to have been carried by middlemen, until Later Han times.
The Chinese were furthermore accustomed to using gold in the form of
bullion squares, so that they melted down Greek and Roman coins. In
China there was a customary ratio between gold and cash (10,000 cash
to 1 catty of gold, 130 to 1). Wang Mang's stock of gold probably came
from Europe.
At the beginning of the Former Han period, gold seems to have been
used in China freely in exchange; imperial grants were frequently in
"actual gold." By the latter part of that period, actual gold seems to
have been used much less frequently. Probably the opening of the
copper mines in the lower Yangtze region and elsewhere had made bronze
cash so plentiful that even large sums were transferred in the form of cash.
In A.D. 3, Wang Mang was given 40,000,000 cash and 23,000,000 cash
as betrothal presents for his daughter (99 A: 10a). With large quantities
of cash available, it would have been natural that gold should have accumulated
in the treasuries of the wealthy, who were chiefly the nobles.
When Wang Mang demonetized gold, these nobles would have been especially
careful to deliver up their stores of gold, in order to avoid the
punishment (dismissal and confiscation) for retaining any of it. Thus
Wang Mang probably secured much of the gold in China, which country
had been draining gold from Asia and Europe.
The changes in the bronze coinage probably affected Han China much
less than a similar depreciation would have done in modern times. China
had already changed from a barter economy to a limited money economy.
The land tax was still payable in kind, but money was exacted for the
numerous other taxes. The salaries of officials were quoted in so many
piculs of grain, and were paid, half in grain and half in money (HHS,
Tr. 28: 14b, 15a). Poll-taxes, levied upon all adults and all children
over their seventh year, were in cash. Artisans and professional men
paid an income tax in money, (established by Wang Mang; 24 B: 24a, b).
The Han satrapies each sent an annual accounting to the imperial government,
and probably at the same time remitted a certain proportion
of the taxes they had gathered. Nearer commanderies remitted at least
a portion in the form of grain. We hear of corvée service for the transportation
of grain and of a special canal to Ch'ang-an dug for its conveyance.
Distant commanderies probably remitted cash or valuables.
An effort seems to have been made to transport to the capital no more
grain than was necessary to feed the people in that region. The capital
region had been irrigated, and had been one of the most productive areas
in the empire. Hence taxes could largely be remitted in money, which
had been used to purchase grain in the capital area. Each city had its
market-place (or bazaar); the capital had two. There was thus a large
sum of money in circulation for purposes of taxation and trade.
The farmers probably used very little money. They stored their grain
and used it themselves or sold small amounts in order to purchase articles
those who had accumulated surplus wealth. The poorer people affected
by Wang Mang's changes in coinage were chiefly those who were in debt.
Interest rates were quite high. We have no way of knowing how many
farmers were involved in debt, for we hear nothing of farm debts. Since
merchants were prohibited from owning cultivated fields, they would
hardly lend money on farm land, for they could not foreclose such a
mortgage.
A real, though limited money economy was only a few centuries old
in the China of Wang Mang's time, so that a mortgage system may have
not yet developed. The only moneyed people besides merchants were
nobles and officials. Some decades previously, the Grandee Secretary,
Kung Yü, (d. 43 B.C.) had memorialized the throne that the court
officials should not be allowed to buy or sell or to make money off the
people, but this memorial had not been acted upon (HS 72: 14a). Hence
some wealthy officials did actually engage in business, but that procedure
was frowned upon and was not considered proper. There had been a
long-standing prejudice and prohibition against merchants entering government
positions.
The higher nobles undoubtedly considered it beneath their dignity to
engage in business. Some of the wealthier ones however maintained
"guests," i.e., persons of ability who came voluntarily to their house,
became part of their household, receiving support from them, and in return
executed various commissions for them. We hear of guests who
gave clever advice, of others who wrote books for their host, of still
others who avenged their host's feud, and even of guests who robbed for
their host, bringing their booty into his house and being protected by him.
Some nobles had guests who engaged in business for their hosts. But
here again the aristrocratic prejudice against merchants probably prevented
this carrying on of business by proxy from becoming a very
common practise.
We hear of one wealthy merchant who sent his slaves out to conduct
businesses (91: 10a), and of a wealthy family that lent money, but these
loans were to other merchants or artisans (91: 9b). When Wang Mang
established an office for making loans, his enactment implies that debts
were incurred chiefly for the performing of religious sacrifices (especially
burials) and for buying farm land or setting up businesses (24 B: 24b).
In an emergency, a certain wealthy man made loans to those newly
enfeoffed nobles who needed supplies for a military expedition against
rebels (154 B.C.; he exacted a tenfold repayment; 91: 11b).
But nowhere do we hear of any extensive loans to farmers, except those
would sometimes settle landless people on vacant or newly opened
land, giving them seed, food, and oxen for plowing. They were expected
to repay these debts, but this provision was frequently waived by an
imperial act of grace. The only large farm debts may have been of this
variety; but on such debts, the government, if it wished, doubtless found
means whereby a change in coinage would not diminish its revenues.
Wealthy land-owners probably exacted their rents in terms of grain,
rather than money, as is still the case in rural China. Hence farmers
(except the wealthy ones) were probably little affected by the depreciation
of money.
Merchants and other wealthy persons (who were probably bureaucrats
or their descendants) were the ones who felt the deprecations of the
coinage, for they possessed most of the money not in the hands of the
government. The policy of the Han dynasty was to discourage trade and
foster agriculture in every possible manner. Trade was penalized drastically.
Merchants were considered parasites and were compelled to pay
larger taxes than farmers. They and their descendants were not ordinarily
allowed to hold official positions.
How far the depreciations of the coinage actually deprived merchants
of their wealth is difficult to determine. The extremely rich, settled
merchants, who had large establishments, probably found it possible to
melt down their cash promptly and recoin it into the new forms. They
may even had made money by the change, just as did the government.
Wealthy officials probably kept most of their property in the form of
goods or jewels. Those who suffered were the smaller merchants and
pedlars, who did not have facilities for counterfeiting, and whose small
shops could easily be watched. The worst suffering was among the unfortunates
who were caught counterfeiting; they were punished with their
innocent neighbors who had failed to report the crime. The chief effect
of the changes in coinage was probably the transfer of wealth from the
smaller merchants to some rich merchants and especially to the government.
Wang Mang had incurred great expenses, and his income was inadequate
for the government expenses. It was thus only natural that he
should have depreciated the coinage in order to secure money. Government
loans had not yet been thought of. The circumstances occasioning
the monetary changes and the nature of the changes in the coinages were
such that Wang Mang could hardly have had any genuine revolutionary
policy in mind—his purpose was probably to make money for the government
by a change in coinage which superficially had classical sanctions.
In his land policy, Wang Mang encountered similar difficulties. Population
had increased considerably during the peaceful years of the Han
dynasty. North China (then the only thickly populated part of the
country) is a region of periodic droughts and floods; many poor farmers,
unable to keep reserves enough to tide them over a drought, had been
forced to sell their hand in bad years, in order to get food. It had been
the policy of the Han government to maintain great granaries for famine
relief, to make loans to the poor, and to settle landless refugees upon
vacant lands. Nevertheless large holdings of land and tenancy had increased
and had long been a problem, because tenants could scarcely
accumulate the reserves necessary to tide them over a famine. A famine
year inevitably produced great hordes of vagrants, who died on the roads
and thronged into regions where there was food. Since the government
levied poll-taxes upon adults and children over seven years of age, in
addition to the land-tax, this vagrancy meant not only human suffering,
but also a great loss of income to the government.
In the year that he took the throne (A.D. 9), Wang Mang reformed the
tenure of land by establishing the ching [OMITTED] system (99 B: 8a, b; 24 A:
21a, b).[9]
The Confucian tradition was that this system had been universal
in Chou times in all flat regions, and that other types of terrain
had been parcelled out proportionately (HS 24 A: 3a). According to
this system, an area one li or about 1350 feet square (Eng. meas.). was
divided into nine equal squares. One of the outer squares, containing
100 mou or about 4½ acres, was given to each of eight families to cultivate
for its own use. (For the size of the li and mou, cf. 99 A: n. 9.7.) Each
family also cultivated one-ninth of the central square (½ acre), the produce
of which was to be paid to the government in lieu of taxes. The remaining
ninth of the central square was reserved for houses and buildings.
Thus the farmer paid as taxes only one-tenth of his produce, and paid it
in kind, not in money. Land was moreover distributed according to the
needs of the people, so that one household, containing five persons and
one male worker, cultivated one unit. A youth received land in his
twentieth year and returned it to the government in his sixtieth year.
(Cf. Pan Ku's account, in HS 24 A: 2a ff.)[10]
This ching system looks excellent on paper; but its practical difficulties
make doubtful its use without changes over any large area. Land cannot
always be divided into exact squares; streams, hills, and roads interfere
with such a division. Five acres could not support a family except on
the best soil; Pan Ku, in describing this system (24 A: 2b), states that
two or three times as much land of the poorer varieties was necessary for
a family. A tax amounting to only a tithe of the produce would provide
very little for the officials in poor years, when they needed a larger income
than in good years. This sum was furthermore too small for the requirements
of a developed government, which maintained an expensive and
luxurious court, an elaborate bureaucracy with post-roads and post-stations,
a standing army, government schools, a government university,
etc., etc. Hence there had been added to the tax on land other taxes,
such as a regular conscript system, which required three days a month
service at the distant frontiers (regularly commuted to a money payment
for substitutes, who became a standing army). In addition, there were
heavy poll-taxes of various sorts. Tung Chung-shu said, in a memorial
to Emperor Wu (24 A: 16b), that farm tenants paid out five-tenths of their
income to their landlords. In Han times, money had come to be the
usual medium of exchange, so that the payment of all taxes in kind was a
special boon granted by the throne to the farmers only on special occasions,
when grain was extraordinarily low in price. Thus the ching
system seems to have been a dream of idealistic scholars; it had probably
been tried only in a restricted area and in much simpler times, and, if
applied literally, was quite impractical in a society like that of Han China.
(In recent centuries, it has been considered by orthodox Confucian
authorities as a practise suitable only for Spring and Autumn times.
That conclusion is however probably a consequence from the experience
of Wang Mang and others with this scheme.) The ching system had
however the great merit of doing away with tenancy and large land-holdings,
from both of which China suffered.
This system had great authority, for it had been urged by Mencius
(III, A, iii, 13-20; Legge, 243-5) and was said to have been the system
employed by the Confucian sages. Tung Chung-shu, the great Confucian
authority, had urged it upon Emperor Wu (24 A: 17a), and Shih1 Tan,
probably because they felt that the land needed redistribution and taxes
were too onerous. Wang Mang, who had secured the throne because he
followed Confucian practises whole-heartedly, naturally ordered its
enactment.
In order to prevent any increase in tenancy, he at the same time nationalized
all land. He named all cultivated fields, "the King's fields, wang-t'ien
[OMITTED]," and ordered that they could not be bought or sold. Thus
farmers were deprived of the opportunity to alienate their land, even in
extremities. The amount of land that one family could hold was also
limited. A family containing nine adult males or less was allowed to
possess a maximum of 900 mou (102 acres or 41.5 ha.) of arable land; any
family with less than that number of adult males and more than that
amount of land must distribute its excess land to relatives or neighbors.
Thus land ceased to have any market-value and wealthy land-owners were
compelled to get rid of all but a small part of their land. Wang Mang
must have realized the extremely drastic nature of this reform and the
resentment it would arouse, for he added that anyone who dared even to
criticize the ching system would be exiled beyond the frontiers or suffer
execution.
At the same time, slavery, which had also been disapproved by Confucians,
was to be abolished. Tung Chung-shu had urged its abolition
more than a century previously (24 A: 17a). As a consequence of Shih1
Tan's proposals in 7 B.C., it had actually been ordered that vassal kings
might own only 200 slaves, marquises and princesses only 100 slaves, and
others only 30 slaves, but this law had been dropped and had never been
enforced (11: 3a). Wang Mang now produced a text from the Confucian
canon, which was interpreted to assert that slavery was lawful only for
the government, i.e., there should be no slaves except those in penal
servitude to the government. Private slaves were renamed "private
adherents [OMITTED]" and were not to be bought or sold.
The limitation of land holdings was a specifically Confucian measure.
Tung Chung-shu had advocated the limitation of the amount of land
that could be held by an individual (24 A: 17a). Shih1 Tan had repeated
that statement (24 A: 20b). When Emperor Ai had agreed, his officials
suggested that kings and marquises should be allowed unrestricted
amounts of private land within their kingdoms or marquisates; outside
these areas they should be restricted to 3000 mou (342 acres or 136 ha.).
It was also proposed that the number of slaves be restricted. The Emperor's
maternal relatives had however found this restriction inconvenient,
and prevented it from being put into effect (11: 3a; 24 A:20b). The
tradition and sentiment.
A customary practise, like the free ownership of land, cannot be changed
overnight. Land had been bought and sold freely in China for several
centuries. After Wang Mang's edict was published, it was but natural
that the wealthy should seek to convert their excess land and slaves into
money. Pan Ku reports that countless people, nobles, ministers, and
commoners, were sentenced for purchasing or selling land or slaves (99 B:
9a). It is not surprising that two years later the prohibition against
buying or selling land or slaves was rescinded (24 A: 21b).
In A.D. 17, a tax of 3600 cash per slave was levied upon all slave-owners,
including nobles (99 C: 1b). The intent of this tax was not to
eliminate slavery, but merely to obtain money. Since rich households
depended upon slaves for domestic service, this law bore chiefly upon the
wealthy nobles and high officials.
In the abolition of slavery and the restriction of land holdings, Wang
Mang was undoubtedly making a needed reform. It is possible that the
more thoroughgoing nature of this enactment, as compared with previous
proposals of the kind, indicates a genuine altruism on his part and a
desire to help the poor. The severity with which violations of his enactment
were punished may have also been merely a general characteristic
of his government. He very likely conceived of himself as altruistic.
The drastic nature of his enactments may however have been merely his
conception of the lengths to which a new and thoroughly Confucian dynasty
should go in carrying out supposedly ancient practises and an expression
of his sense of power. This latter supposal is moreover more in
harmony with the rest of his deeds. Certainly he seems to have shown
no pity for those who suffered from his reforms.
Since these reforms were all rescinded within two years, someone was
evidently able to bring so much pressure upon him that he had to revoke
this reform of land tenure and slavery. We are not told who it was, so
shall be compelled to resort again to inference.
No large part of the population in China has ever been enslaved except
by a general conquest. Slaves have rarely, if ever, been used for agricultural
work. Skilled artisans, who are able to make money by plying
their trades, tend to become freemen; free labor is more efficient than
slave labor and clever slaves purchase their freedom. Chinese slavery
was limited chiefly to domestic service and rough labor. The government
was undoubtedly the largest slave-owner; criminals were frequently condemned
to forced labor for a period of years or for life and were put to
work in the government offices. (C. M. Wilbur, Slavery in China During
bureaux was performed by these slaves. Thousands of such enslaved
criminals were employed in the government iron and salt monopolies. A
capital sentence could sometimes be commuted, at the culprit's request,
to castration, whereupon he became a eunuch in the imperial palace—a
eunuch government slave. Many, perhaps most of the palace eunuchs
must have originated in this manner. We hear of thousands of slaves
in the imperial palace and occasionally even of a highly educated slave-girl,
such as Emperor Ch'eng's inamorata, Ts'ao Kung (HFHD, II, 369).
Government slaves were freed when their terms were completed. Government
slaves were sometimes bestowed upon imperial relatives or
favorites; occasionally at least, they were sold (Wilbur, op. cit., p. 446).
There may have been hereditary slaves, but there is some evidence that
children of slaves were automatically free, at least by the fourth generation,
unless (as must have very commonly been the case) they were, as
children, sold or given into slavery by their parents, in order that they
might be reared. The Huns captured large numbers of Chinese in their
raids upon the borders; these people were often sold, many, in all probability,
to Chinese. The slave-market was however chiefly maintained
from children sold by their poor parents or from children or adults
kidnapped by powerful people (perhaps given actually unjust, but
technically legal sentences of enslavement). Criminals who were enslaved
by the government would rarely be of high caliber and would be
suitable chiefly for rough labor; for entertainers and other trained domestic
slaves, the nobles and wealthy had to depend chiefly upon the
slave market.[11]
Outside the government service, the largest number of slaves were in
the noble houses. The nobles maintained slaves as entertainers as well
as domestic servants. Rich merchants also had such slaves; sometimes
slaves were used for manufacturing. The prohibition of the sale or
purchase of slaves would have limited severely the supply of high quality
domestic slaves and it would have made the government the only remaining
source of slaves. At the time, it produced little immediate change,
except among merchants who had bought slaves for resale. We may well
conclude that it was Wang Mang's nobles, probably his close relatives,
who persuaded him to rescind this measure, for these nobles would have
Since the revocation came so soon, the measure had a negligible effect
upon slavery.
Just how Wang Mang put the ching system into effect is not told.
He could not cut the land up into regular squares; probably he did not
change the boundaries of fields, but merely limited to 900 mou the amount
of land one family might possess. The Han land-tax was one-fifteenth,
so that the introduction of the ching system probably meant an increase
in the land tax to one-tenth. The other taxes, such as the poll-tax on
adults, (suan), the poll-money (levied on children), the military taxes (fu),
likin duties (collected at the Wu Pass and probably at the other passes),
were probably continued. Then the actual effect of the ching system
was very likely limited to prohibiting the sale of cultivated land, limiting
land holdings, and an increase in the land tax.
The ban on selling cultivated land was probably a benefit to the poor
farmers. It prevented them from losing their land in time of drought.
Hence they were compelled to fall back upon the government for relief
and to become vagrants when that relief was not available. We are not
told about any mortgages upon farm land. This prohibition of the sale
of farm land merely fixed the existing farm population upon the farms
they then occupied. It was rescinded within two years and so had little
actual effect.
The limitation of the amount of cultivated land that could be owned
by a single small family was plainly an attempt to diminish tenancy and
distribute the land more widely among the people. It only affected large
land-owners. These large land-owners were chiefly the bureaucrats and
nobility (these two classes were largely identical, since the Han nobilities
had been mostly discontinued and Wang Mang's nobles were his relatives
and officials); merchants were not allowed to own farm land. The reason
that the nobles would wish to own large private farm estates requires
explanation.
The Han dynasty's full marquises (which Wang Mang replaced by four
degrees of nobility: marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons) all had their
noble estates located outside of Kuan-chung (the capital region, roughly
the present central Shensi), some at considerable distances from the capital—in
the present southern Honan, Hunan, Shantung, or Hopei. The
nobles had little control over their fiefs; these estates were managed by
chancellors, who were appointed by the central government; in practise,
nobles received merely the income from these estates in the form of 200
cash per household or its equivalent in grain, out of which they had to
pay their annual contributions to the imperial court (91: 6a). But the
presented difficulties because of banditry, and sometimes cost more than
the value of the grain itself. It may have been impossible to make
regular deliveries to the capital from the noble estates, because of the
distance. Most of the nobles, moreover, lived at the imperial capital,
Ch'ang-an, the center of culture, civilization, and political power. Hence
it became the practise for such nobles to purchase private land in Kuan-chung,
the income of which they used for their expenses. Such neighboring
lands could be watched, and rents brought to the capital with ease.
The largest private land-owners were the same rich nobles who had large
numbers of slaves. Wang Mang's uncles are described as having, at the
time of Wang Mang's childhood, "several tens of concubines in their
harems, slaves by the thousands or hundreds, musicians, singers, actors,
dogs, horses, large residences with earthen mountains inside, cave gates,
high verandas and pavillions, double passage-ways," etc. (98: 7b). To
keep up such extravagent establishments, large estates were essential.
Wang Mang did not interfere with the feudal estates of his nobles,
he merely required them to distribute their excess private fields among
their relatives or neighbors. It would not have been difficult for some
nobles to find members of their clans to take these excess cultivated fields,
manage them, and remit part or most of the proceeds to the original
owner. There was, however, the danger that these new owners would
cease paying rents to the original owner. Those nobles who could not or
would not use such subterfuges and who did not have adequate official
salaries would be compelled to retire from the court to their feudal estates.
That meant, however, leaving civilization to live in the "sticks," the
abandonment of one's social life and of the source of political perquisites.
Exclusion from the capital was a penalty considered more severe than
dismissal from office; it was visited upon officials who had become obnoxious
to the court. Wang Mang had suffered three years of such exile
and knew its bitterness; his intimates and the members of his clan probably
reminded him of the suffering he was preparing for them and of the
ease with which certain nobles were circumventing his enactment. So
much pressure was brought upon him (in all probability, practically the
whole court, except the conscientious Confucians, were unanimous in this
matter) that he had to rescind his enactment. In the end, this reform of
land tenure amounted to nothing.
We can only speculate concerning Wang Mang's motive in attempting
to alter land tenure. He might have been moved by compassion for the
miserable condition of the peasant farmers, but in my opinion, any such
attitude on his part is doubtful. He did not commonly indulge in compassion;
concern for the poor. His concern was rather to carry out Confucian
policies. The ching system was one of the outstanding Confucian economic
policies; if he had not attempted to put into practise a policy
recommended by Mencius, Tung Chung-shu, and other outstanding
Confucians, he would have appeared lukewarm, so that one important
source of his unusual popularity would have been gravely undermined.
Statecraft and ambition, not compassion, were his driving ambitions. * * *
The third group of economic measures enacted by Wang Mang were
the six monopolies (established A.D. 10; 99 B: 12b; C: 1b) and increased
taxes. Government monopolies were by no means new in China. More
than half a millennium earlier, in the first half of the seventh century
B.C., Duke Huan of Ch'i is said to have made himself powerful through a
government monopoly in the manufacture of salt and iron. (Maspero
rejects this tradition; Karlgren defends it.) The Ch'in dynasty, which
first unified China under a single government, continued these two
monopolies (24 A: 16b). Emperor Wen (180-157 B.C.) had allowed the
common people to evaporate salt, smelt iron, and coin money (Discourse
on Salt and Iron, Gale, p. 28), but Emperor Wu had withdrawn these
privileges. Tung Chung-shu had protested against these monopolies
without avail (24 A: 17a). In the famous discussion of 81 B.C. (reported
in the Discourses on Salt and Iron), when the economic policies of the
government were reviewed, the Confucian literati likewise protested
against these monopolies (HS 7: 5a). In 44 B.C., Emperor Yüan, who
was attempting to be a good Confucian, abolished these monopolies, but
the loss of revenue compelled him to reestablish them three years later
(41 B.C.; HS 9: 6b, 9a). Confucianism in general opposed government
monopolies, so that these measures can hardly be said to have been
Confucian. Wang Mang, however, found references in Confucian literature
to something called controls or kuan, [OMITTED] or [OMITTED], so he changed the
name of these monopolies to "controls," and continued them as Confucian
enactments. He needed money too much to dispense with them.
A third monopoly was that in fermented liquors. Originally established
by Emperor Wu in 98 B.C., it had been abolished in 81 B.C., because
of popular criticism. The people were then permitted to brew
liquors upon payment of a tax. A high official of Wang Mang produced
texts from which one could infer that a government monopoly of liquor
was an ancient institution approved by Confucius; he pointed out to
Wang Mang that a 70% profit could be made in brewing and selling
liquor (24 B: 25a, b). Wang Mang therefore included it as one of his
A fourth monopoly was that of coinage, which probably included the
mining and smelting of copper. In this enterprise, Wang Mang was
continuing a long-standing Chinese practise. In 175 B.C., Emperor Wen
had indeed allowed free coinage (4: 12b), but the consequent depreciation
of the currency had caused his son, Emperor Ching, to rescind this
privilege in 144 B.C. and to establish a death sentence for counterfeiting
(5: 7b).
The fifth monopoly was concerned with the products of the mountains
and marshes; these included forestry, fishing, hunting, and the taking of
other wild products, such as wild honey, etc. Such occupations had been
the resource of the poor in ordinary times and of all in time of famine.
(The mining of copper and or iron were probably included in the monopolies
of coinage [which was of bronze] and of iron, respectively.) For these
monopolies too, Wang Mang could cite classical texts. The Chou Offices
mentions a Forester of the Mountains [OMITTED], whose duty it was to enforce
the prohibitions concerning these regions, keeping people out of the
forests at improper times. He had a subordinate who collected the
revenue from the forests. Thus it is implied that there had been a tax
upon those who cut trees. This book also lists a Forester of the Marshes
[OMITTED], who had the local people go into the marshes and waters at the
proper times to take the articles of those places, delivering the proper
amount to the imperial treasury (as a tax) and keeping the rest for themselves
(Chou-li 16: 6b-8b; Biot, I, 370-375). Li-ki III, iii, 11 (Legge,
I, 227; Couvreur, I, 293) says, "Anciently, [people] went into the forests
at the foot of the mountains and the waters of the marshes at the [proper]
seasons without being prohibited," in which statement the qualification
"at the proper seasons" implies that there were prohibitions against
cutting trees at certain seasons of the year (Chou-li 16: 7a [Biot, I, 372]
specifies spring and autumn), and so implies a government supervision
of these regions with an impost upon those working there, to support
that supervision. Elsewhere, the Li-chi (IV, i, iii, 12; iv, ii, 21; Legge,
I, 265, 301; Couvreur, I, 350, 396) mentions a Forester of the Wastes
[OMITTED] and a Forester of the Waters [OMITTED], whose duties were to prevent
the cutting of trees at certain times and to collect the revenues from
rivers, springs, ponds, and meres. Thus there was ample classical precedent
for a taxation of forests and marshes. Wang Mang merely broadened
these precedents into a government monopoly and made it cover
all forests and marsh products.
The Ch'in dynasty had actually made the rivers, marshes, mountains,
and forests a government monopoly (24 A: 16b). In Han times, the
shops had been reserved for those overlords who were enfeoffed as their
private estates with the regions containing these places, such as kings,
marquises, baronets, and princesses. From regions not given in fief,
this revenue was reserved for the imperial private purse, in charge of the
Privy Treasurer, and was not put into the imperial public treasury, in
charge of the Grand Minister of Agriculture (HS 24 A: 9b = Mh III,
541 f). The Privy Treasurer could hardly supervise these regions
throughout the empire, hence it is probable that, except for certain areas
near the capital, especially Kuan-chung, which he could conveniently
supervise, the mountains and waters in most of China had been actually
free to the people. Hunting had been prohibited in the imperial parks,
which were hunted and fished by government agents; it may not have
been restricted elsewhere, especially outside Kuan-chung. Wang Mang
seems then to have extended systematically throughout the whole country
the Ch'in and Han practise of taxing mountains and waters, and to have
made all the occupations related to forests and marshes government
monopolies, permitted only to those who paid certain fees. (Possibly
only certain of such occupations had previously been taxed.) In A.D. 22,
in a time of famine, the mountains and marshes were freely opened to
the people (99 C: 17b), possibly because they could not be kept from
utilizing these resources.
Detailed laws were made for each of these monopolies; the penalties
for violation were as severe as death (99 C: 1b), in which latter respect too,
Wang Mang was following classical precedent—Chou-li 16: 7b mentions
execution [OMITTED] in this connection (Biot, I, 374 softens this word to "châtiments").
These monopolies were opposed. When the Communicator
(the state treasurer), Feng Ch'ang, remonstrated against them, Wang
Mang became extremely incensed and summarily dismissed him from
office (99 C: 2a). There had been successive years of drought, and there
was much banditry. In A.D. 18, a new governor, Fei Hsing, was appointed
for a province in the Yangtze valley. When asked what would
be his plans upon reaching his province, he replied that these people
made much of fishing; the monopolies and taxes on the mountains and
marshes had taken away peoples' profits, so that they were starving; he
would summon back to farm land those who had taken to banditry and
would exempt them from taxes, loan them seed and food, and thus bring
peace to the region. Wang Mang was incensed at the covert criticism of
his monopolies and dismissed Fei Hsing (99 C: 2b, 3a).
The economic effect of these five monopolies was chiefly to raise and
stabilize the price of certain necessities. This objection had been made
said that the price of salt had become so high that people had to forego it,
and that the iron implements made by the government manufactories
were inferior and unsuitable. Similar objections were made to the liquor
monopoly. The effect of these three monopolies, together with coinage,
was, indeed, to put into the hands of the government the most profitable
manufacturing enterprises of the time. Only the monopoly in liquors
was new in the time of Wang Mang. Its effect was to take away the
livelihood of those merchants who had engaged in brewing and liquor
dealing, except for those who now became government agents. It probably
also raised the price of liquor to the common people. There was
no thought of restricting its use. The abuse of alcoholic liquors has
rarely become an important problem in China.
The effect of the fifth monopoly, that on the mountains and marshes,
was to deprive of their livelihood the country's poor, who had engaged
in hunting and fishing, or to compel them to pay for the privilege of
continuing their occupations. These monopolies constituted an additional
tax upon the poor.
As a whole, these monopolies were thus means of obtaining additional
revenue for the government. I can find no other purpose in them. They
were a burden upon the poor and common people, since they were a tax
upon necessities. They could be counted on to bring in revenue, and
were in no sense revolutionary.
This policy of mulcting the people for the benefit of the government
also showed itself in Wang Mang's new taxes. A special tax upon
merchants and artisans had previously been attempted by Emperor Wu
(119 B.C.), compelling them to testify to the total amount of their
property and to pay a tax of 9½% and 4¾% respectively, upon their
capital (HFHD, II, 65, n. 15.13; 24 B: 13a, b). This tax had, however,
soon been abolished (24 B: 20a).
In A.D. 9, Wang Mang imposed an income tax upon all hunters,
fishermen, sericulturalists, artisans, and professional men. They were
each to testify to their income for the year, and pay a tithe of it as a
tax. Those who refused to testify to their income or who testified falsely
were to be sentenced to a year at penal servitude (24 B: 24b). At the
same time, it was ordered that all uncultivated fields, whether inside or
outside the city, should pay three times the usual land tax. This latter
provision was taken from the classical Chou-li (13: 9a; Biot, I, 279f; HS
24 B: 24a & n. 24.3). Wang Mang moreover attempted to systematize
the previous practise, begun by Emperor Hsüan (8: 6b & n. 6.4), that
official salaries were reduced in time of flood or drought. He enacted
the state of the harvest in each part of the empire (99 B: 29a, b). This
system proved cumbersome, for officials hence did not know what their
salary was to be until the year was almost over. They therefore made
various collections and exactions (24 B: 27a). When they were suspected
of having accumulated much property, in A.D. 18, Wang Mang ordered
that all but the lowest officials should be required to deliver up four-fifths
of their wealth, for the use of the army at the borders. Pan Ku
states that inquisitors galloped all over the empire, persuading slaves and
subordinates to inform on their masters or superiors (99 C: 3a). We can
imagine the limitless opportunities for blackmail and bribery, the repaying
of old scores by inquisitors and informers. In the same year, when a
serious attempt was made to put down the bandits and rebels, a levy
was made, consisting of 1/30 of all property. This levy was immediately
repeated, because property had not been assessed at its full value (99 C:
4b, 5b). All officials were also required to make additional contributions
out of their salaries, for the rearing of horses (99 C: 4b). It is not surprising
that when serious rebellion finally arose against Wang Mang, the
bureaucracy did little to stop it.
Wang Mang's fiscal policy seems to have been one of exploiting all the
sources of revenue he could find, regardless of the effect his measures had
upon the empire. While some of them mulcted the rich, other measures
burdened the poor. It is but natural that the enthusiasm for him, which
was so abundantly evident before he took the throne, should have
evaporated rapidly once he attained unchecked rule. He incurred large
and unusual expenses, which were aggravated by the corruption of his
officials. His fiscal measures show a remarkable lack of tact and a
phenomenal disregard of their effect upon the empire.
The most interesting of Wang Mang's economic experiments was the
sixth control, which he called the "Five Equalizations," by which fluctuations
of prices in staple goods were to be prevented and loans were to be
made by the government. These measures, too, had had their predecessors.
Four centuries earlier, Li K'uei, a student of Confucius' personal
disciple, Tzu-hsia, became Chancellor to Marquis Wen of Weih (reigned
424-387 B.C.) and attempted to equalize the price of grain. In good
years, the state of Wei4 purchased grain in large or small amounts according
to the state of the crop, while in poor years, it sold grain, thus attempting
to prevent fluctuations in its price (HS 24 A: 7b-8b). Unfortunately,
we are given no information concerning the success of this policy of
Weih wealthy and powerful."
This policy was again tried in 54 B.C., when Keng Shou-ch'ang, the
Palace Assistant Grand Minister of Agriculture under Emperor Hsüan,
built Constantly Equalizing Granaries in the border commanderies.
These granaries purchased grain when its price was low and sold it when
the price was high (24 A: 19b). Granaries were not built at the imperial
capital, probably because irrigation had eliminated bad seasons in that
region. These Constantly Equalizing Granaries seem to have become
sources of expense rather than of benefit to the people; they were abolished
by Emperor Yüan in 44 B.C., ten years after being built, in a fit of imperial
economy, when other expensive government projects were also
abolished, such as the imperial ateliers for silk and metal manufacture
and the government monopolies of salt and iron (9: 6a, b; 24 A: 20a).
When moreover, in 115 B.C., Emperor Wu needed money, Sang Hung-yang,
an official who had come from a mercantile family, suggested speculation
in goods. Prices differed widely in different parts of the empire;
Sang Hung-yang had the government purchase goods where they were
cheap and transport them to places where they were dear, thus making a
profit (24 B: 19b). Since the government had built roads and set up a
system of posts, and since criminals sentenced to penal servitude could
be used to supply the necessary labor, the government had an advantage
over private traders and could make great profits in this manner. The
system also prevented undue fluctuations in prices; when prices rose in
one region, goods were brought in from other places. We are not told
that this system was abolished. It was complained of in 81 B.C., but
not abolished; probably the increasing freedom of intercourse led to an
approximate equalization of prices in different regions, so that this method
of equalization became unprofitable and gradually ceased to function.
At least we hear nothing of it after the reign of Emperor Chao. Wang
Mang directed the Masters in Charge of the Five Equalizations to neglect
prices at other markets (24 B: 24b), so that in his time the government
had plainly ceased to transport goods.
Liu Hsin1a, who brought the Chou Offices to people's attention and induced
Wang Mang to make it an officially recognized classic, pointed out
to Wang Mang that the Chou dynasty, according to this classic, had a
government Office for Money (24 B: 23b). This book recounts that
in the Chou period there was an office for the collection of goods unsold
in the market-place of the capital and for their storage until people wished
to buy them. There was also an office which lent money without interest
for a period of three months to people who needed it for ancestral sacrifices
(Chou-li 15: 3b f; Biot, I, 326-328; HS 24 B: n. 23.6, 23.8). The Yo-yü
(now lost), which was a commentary on the Classic of Music, told of an
institution called the Five Equalizations, by which prices were stabilized,
probably for the five fundamental commodities (HS 24 B: 23b & n. 23.9).
It is impossible to tell whether these measures had ever been actually
put into practise; they were very likely the inventions of Confucians who
were idealizing the past.
When Wang Mang came to the throne in A.D. 9, he accordingly established
offices for lending and for the Five Equalizations. At the imperial
capital and at five other large cities in the empire, Lo-yang, Han-tan,
Lin-tzu, Yüan, and Ch'eng-tu, there were set up Masters in Charge of
the Five Equalizations at the Markets, each with five Assistants for Exchange
and one Assistant for the Office for Money. Storehouses were
built at these places. In the middle of each quarter, the Master at each
market was to determine a price for equalization for each of three grades
of goods (high, middle, and low). These prices were to apply to the five
kinds of grains (hemp and similar seeds, glutinous millet, panicled millet,
wheat, and beans), linen cloth and silk cloth, thread, and wadding.
When any of these goods remained unsold in the market (as they were
brought in by farmers), the office for equalization was to buy them at
cost or at the market price (provided that price was lower than the price
for equalization), so that the people would lose nothing by being compelled
to receive a lower price in the market. When the price rose above
the price for equalization by one cash, the office for equalization was to
sell its goods at the price for equalization. Fluctuations of prices in the
market were thus to be prevented, merchants were not to be allowed to
corner goods or fleece the country people, and the farmers were to be
assured of a market for their goods.
People who needed money for sacrifices or for mourning ceremonies
were to have what they needed lent them, from the payments of the
income-tax, without interest for ten days or three months, respectively.
Others who needed money for working capital were to be given loans,
paying interest at 3% per month.
It was an interesting and idealistic experiment. Hu Shih says that
Wang Mang's exposition of his monopolies and of the Five Equalizations
was "the earliest conscious statement of the theory of state socialism in
the history of the social and political thought of mankind" (JNChRAS,
59 [1928]: 229). How far that statement is true may be gaged from the
information here given. The credit for this experiment should not however
be given to Wang Mang, but to the Confucian author of the passage
Hsin1a.
Rich merchants were selected to operate these offices. Few others
would be capable of controlling, without great loss, offices essentially
intended for speculating in goods and lending money. Pan Ku says that
these merchants communicated their wickedness to various places in the
empire and made many false accountings; that the offices and storehouses
for goods were not filled (24 B: 25b). If they had been well stocked with
goods, their very presence would have kept prices down, without actually
purchasing any more goods, until a scarcity arose. Since however these
storehouses were not filled, and since they utterly failed to prevent the
rise of prices in time of famine (99 C: 16a), this attempt to control prices
probably achieved very little, except for providing certain sinecure positions
in the bureaucracy.
It is not difficult to discover the reason that this attempt to speculate
in goods had only slight economic effects. If the price for equalization
was set too high, the storehouses would be filled with goods unsalable at
the current price. Hence the Masters, to protect their offices from losing
money, probably set their prices for equalization low, with the result
that they refused to take goods from the common people, because the
current price was too high. Then farmers would not bring their goods
to the storehouses except under stress of necessity. We are told that the
storehouses remained empty.
When a scarcity was impending, the grain remaining in these storehouses
was probably sold rapidly, before famine actually arrived, for
goods had to be sold at the price for equalization plus one cash. In
times of abundant harvest, because the prices for equalization were set
every quarter, these prices decreased before the harvest was reaped, since
grain was expected to become plentiful. Thus the farmers were not
helped, unless there was a sudden and unexpected fall in prices, such as
that caused by a glut on the market. Such gluts were perhaps the only
economic situations in which farmers were regularly benefited. The
Masters knew that Wang Mang needed money, and they undoubtedly
looked upon the storehouses as means of making profits, just as with the
other monopolies. They did not accordingly dare to risk a loss. The
Masters were former merchants, who hence took the same attitude to the
farmers that the merchants did. It is therefore only natural that the
farmers should not have been greatly benefited.
The loans made to needy persons were to be taken out of the payments
for income-taxes made by professional men. We are not told how much
money was loaned. The rate of interest, 3% per month, was however
(91: 6a), so that few loans were probably made, except for short terms,
for which periods the commercial rate was probably also high. There
was furthermore a provision that the borrower was not to pay more than
10% of his net income as interest, so that the Masters probably refused
to make large loans. These storehouses and lending agencies benefited
few except their managers.
Their purpose was undoubtedly good—that of preventing exploitation
of the farmers by the merchants. In view of the fact that the Chinese
state had been carrying on at least two businesses (the manufacture and
sale of salt and iron) for several centuries, Wang Mang's measures can
hardly be called state socialism or revolutionary. The Five Equalizations
was merely another measure to benefit the people, advocated by the
Confucians with the same motive as the ching system and other economic
plans.
This motive on the part of the Confucians who first invented these
proposals does not however mean that Wang Mang had any strong urge
to benefit the people. His chief purpose was undoubtedly to follow Confucian
tradition—the practise by which he first secured his popularity and
as a result of which he was able to ascend the throne. He was morally
obligated to put Confucian policies into practise. Had he really been
deeply concerned for the people, he would have removed the monopolies
on salt and iron, which pressed most severely upon them. But he showed
no inclination to do so; on the contrary, he dismissed any official who
manifested an inclination even to relax these monopolies.
Wang Mang was in no sense a revolutionist. He was merely a clever
intriguer, who found a new way of gaining popular approval and who
clung to it tenaciously. He achieved the throne by playing upon the
Confucian attitude of the educated class and becoming a whole-hearted
Confucian. Confucianism is an idealistic philosophy that sought to
benefit the whole people, and the Confucian literati were in close touch
with the common people of their own clans, so that they largely reflected
the attitude of the common people to the government. When Wang
Mang actually came to the throne, he proceeded to enact various Confucian
proposals, but his decrees were not based upon a clear knowledge of
the people or of their needs.
He had passed his life as a member of the governing clan, which
gained wealth and position merely because it was related to the reigning
Emperor. He made his way to leadership by intrigue and secured popularity
by espousing the popular Confucian religion of the educated class.
infant, people found no difficulty in interpreting Confucian teachings so
that they were thought to require his enthronement. He then had to
put into practise the economic policies embodied in the Confucian tradition,
including the particular Confucian books he had newly accepted as
authoritative.
His economic policies proceeded from the Confucian tradition, not
from any need of the people. His forced colonization of Kokonor (99 A:
24b) and his increased taxation demonstrate his utter callousness to the
real needs of the people. His changes in the coinage were a means of
mulcting the merchants and moneyed class. His nationalization of land,
the establishment of the ching system, the restrictions on large holdings
of land and on slaves proved onerous even to his own relatives and followers.
These measures were therefore quickly rescinded, even though
they were in accord with Confucian tradition and would have proved
helpful to the common people.
The first four monopolies were plainly means of seizing for the government
the most profitable private enterprises, a procedure that had long
been a government policy. It was especially oppressive under Wang
Mang, because he added to the number of enterprises taken over by the
government and to the severity of the punishments for offending against
these monopolies. They put added burdens upon the poorer people,
virtually taxing necessities. The fifth monopoly was clearly directed
against the poorer people and was in effect a direct tax on certain occupations.
The Five Equalizations, an attempt to stabilize prices and make
loans to those who needed them, was inexpertly planned and failed to
achieve anything of note. Thus Wang Mang's economic policies were
either futile or oppressive in their operation. He seems to have oppressed
all the economic classes in the empire.
When, in the winter of A.D. 22, the whole empire was in rebellion and
Wang Mang at last realized the extremity of the situation, it was decided
to rescind all the imperial edicts and ordinances that had been made since
he had ascended the throne, especially the economic reforms we have
been discussing. Messengers were prepared to be sent out (99 C: 19b).
Such an act would have meant a drastic loss of face. The imperial
forces, however, achieved a preliminary minor success, and the messengers
were not actually dispatched. Such a drastic proposal is evidence that
Wang Mang was at last driven to recognize the unpopularity of his
economic reforms. Thereafter events happened too rapidly. The rebels
continued to gain, and by October of the next year, the capital had been
captured and Wang Mang killed by the people of the capital itself. Thus
bitter hatred. His economic measures must bear much of the blame for
that reversal of public opinion.[12] (Reproduced by permission, with
omissions and additions, from an article with the same title in the T'oung
Pao, vol. 35, [1940], Livr. 4, pp. 219-265.)
SC 30: 11 (= Mh III, 553 = HS 24 B: 8a) also states that in 123 B.C. (possibly in
this and the preceding years since 135 B.C., when Emperor Wu began his war against the
Huns) Emperor Wu gave out more than 200,000 catties of actual gold in rewards to his
victorious troops—an amount over 1,568,000 oz. or 48,800,000 g. There may have been
a set monetary grant for each head or prisoner taken (cf. 6: n. 7.8) or Emperor Wu may
have been over-liberal in his grants. They seem to have exhausted the imperial treasury,
for at this time a new military aristocracy was established, ranks in which were to be
used in the future to reward victorious troops. In 135 B.C., Emperor Wu then possessed
at least 1,600,000 oz. or 50,000,000 g. of gold, while in 23 A.D. Wang Mang had three
times as much. It is attractive to speculate that in a century and a half the gold stock
of China may have tripled. (It should however be noted that Emperor Wu did not
attempt to monopolize his country's gold in the way Wang Mang did.)
While gold is very widely distributed in China, it has nowhere been mined in very
large amounts, and ancient references to gold production in China are quite uncommon.
There seems to be only one in the HS—28 Aiii: 42b states that ten-odd li west of Wu-yang
District [OMITTED] in P'o-yang [OMITTED] County of Yü-chang Commandery there was a gold
placer [OMITTED] (this phrase is interpreted "where gold is taken"). Wu-yang was fifty li
east of the present P'o-yang. (This placer is also mentioned in Shui-ching-chu 39: 17b.)
But HS 28 Bii: 67a reports, "Yü-chang [Commandery] produces actual gold, but very
little. The things that can be gotten with it are inadequate in exchange for the expense
[of getting it]."
Probably other Chinese deposits were likewise poor. Shui-ching-chu 27: 12b mentions
gold in the mountains along the Han River below the Hou-ching Rapids [OMITTED] below
Ch'eng-ku [OMITTED], and also on the southern bank of the Yangtze, below its junction with
the Hsiang River (ibid. 35: 4a), but neither of these places seems to have produced much
gold. Curiously enough, Kiangsi is not at present credited with any gold production.
Evidently its deposits were anciently exhausted. (Cf. New Atlas & Commercial Gazetteer
of China; Chinese Year Book, 1938-1939, pp. 488-490.) According to a news release from
the China Information Committee, dated Aug. 7, 1939, although efforts had been made
to stimulate gold production by modern methods, for many years previous to 1938-9,
gold production in China and outlying territories had averaged only 130,000 ounces
yearly. (Communicated by Prof. T. T. Reed of Columbia University School of Mines.)
With ancient primitive methods of mining, even if all the modern lodes were known in
ancient times (which is not at all likely), the amount of production would have been
very much less. If there had been any large production of gold in ancient China, we
would undoubtedly have been informed of it. Ancient Chinese production cannot explain
Wang Mang's hoard of gold.
Outside of the above few references, gold production is mentioned in the HS only in
two regions outside the Chinese area: in Chi-pin (Kabul or northern India) and in Wu-yi-shan-li
(Seistan; HS 96 A: 24a, 29a = de Groot, Die Westlande, pp. 87, 91; for identification,
cf. Tarn, Greeks in Bactria, pp. 340 ff, 347). But Tarn (ibid. p. 103-4) indicates
that these regions produced no gold; their gold was an importation from Siberia. The
HS says nothing, either in its "Treatise on the Principles of Geographical Arrangements"
(ch. 28) or elsewhere, about any gold washings in Yünnan or elsewhere, such as those
mentioned by Marco Polo (II, ch. 47-48). HHS, Tr. 23 A: 24a however notes gold
produced in the southern borders of Po-nan [OMITTED] County in Yung-ch'ang Commandery,
which is the present Yung-ch'ang [OMITTED], Yünnan. This gold seems however
to have first become known between the time Pan Ku wrote in 58-84 A.D. and the age
in which Szu-ma Piao (ca. 240-306) compiled the HHS Treatises. According to the
Hua-yang Kuo Chih (by Ch'ang Ch'ü, fl. dur. 302-347), 4: 5b, chap. "Nan-chung Chih,"
this gold seems to have been produced abundantly only after the conquest of this region
in A.D. 225. Hence the gold of Yünnan did not contribute to Wang Mang's hoard.
While it is always dangerous to argue from negatives, yet the HS is careful in mentioning
outstanding products and seems to be interested in deposits of gold. We are hence
probably safe in concluding that nowhere in the Chinese world of Han times were there
produced any large amounts of gold, so that Wang Mang's store must have been largely
imported from outside China.
W. W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, p. 107 f, points out that the Greeks
had to teach the Indians about gold and silver mining and that the Greek invaders got
no gold in India (ibid. 108; 106, n. 6). In Darius' inscription, no gold came from Sogdiana.
Yet in legend, Bactria had been a golden land (e.g., the golden Treasure of the
Oxus in v and iv cent. B.C.); from Bactria the Persian empire had drawn its gold; but
Bactria itself produced no gold. After Euthydemus (d. ca. 189 B.C.), no Greek king of
Bactria coined any gold, although gold coinage was prized. Even in India, no Greek or
Saca king coined any gold (ibid. pp. 104 f). Bactrian and Indian gold was an importation
chiefly from Siberia or the Mediterranean world.
Cf. also K. A. Wittfogel, "Foundations and Stages of Chinese Economic History,"
Zeit. f. Sozialforschung, 4 (1935), p. 44 f.
In estimating the areas of land concerned, I have used the Han figure for the li;
the length of the Chou li and size of the Chou ching are uncertain. Since however the
underlying unit was the pu [OMITTED] or double-pace (300 pu made a li), which is a natural and
not an arbitrary unit, the difference in these two larger measures between Chou and Han
times may not have been large. The Chou foot was one or two inches (Eng. meas.) shorter
than the Han foot, but the Chou pu contained eight Chou feet while the Han pu contained
only 6 Han feet (cf. 99 A: n. 9.7), so that the two pu seem to have been about the
same length.
Concerning slaves in agricultural colonies in A.D. 275, cf. HJAS 9, 161. This
agricultural slavery was probably little different from other agricultural colonies, except
that in this case the colonists were criminals made to farm.
An account of Wang Mang's policies is also to be found in Hans O. Stange, Leben,
Persönlichkeit und Werk Wang Mang's, Inaugural-Dissertation zur Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitäts
zur Berlin, 1934, which is not always quite carefully done. Cf. also Dr.
Stange's Die Monographie über Wang Mang, kritisch bearbeitet, übersetzt, und ,
Leipzig, 1939.
O. Franke, Geschichte des Chinesischen Reiches, I, 375, likens Wang Mang to Richard
the Third in Shakespeare; his economic reforms are described on pp. 379-383.
O. Franke, "Staatssozialistische Versuche im alten und mittelalterlichen China,"
SPAW (1931), Phil.-hist. Kl., 218-242, touches upon Wang Mang in passing.
An excellent summary of economic matters during the Han period is to be found in
W. Eberhard, "Zur Landwirtschaft der Han-Zeit," MSOS, 35 (1932): 74-105; K. A.
Wittfogel, "Foundations and Stages of Chinese Economic History," Zeit. f. Sozialforchung,
vol. 4 (1935), pp. 26-60.
III. APPENDIX III
THE KANG-MAO AMULETS
The mention of the kang-mao amulets in 99 B: 7a has induced the
commentators to give us an account of these curious objects, which show
the prevalence of superstition in that age.
Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) glosses, "The kang-mao [amulets] are made
in the first month, on a mao day, and are worn at the waist. They are
three inches[1]
long, one inch wide, and foursquare [in cross-section].
Sometimes jade[2]
is used, sometimes metal is used, and sometimes peach[wood]
is used. A thong is attached to them to wear them at the waist.
Now jade[3]
ones still exist. The inscription on one of them, on its side,
reads, `The first month kang-mao [amulet].' " [OMITTED]
[OMITTED],[4]
[OMITTED],[5]
[OMITTED][6]
[OMITTED] Yen Shih-ku (581-645) adds, "Today
frequently in the soil there are obtained jade kang-mao [amulets].
According to my opinion, as regards their size and their inscriptions,
the explanation of Fu [Ch'ien] is correct."
Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) however glosses, "The kang-mao [amulets] are
one inch long, five fen broad, and four-square [in cross-section]. In the
center, there is a hole made lengthwise, in order that it may be threaded[7]
to the bottom with variegated silk, like the threads of the fringe on the top
of a hat. Two lines of writing are engraved on their faces. The inscription
says, `When the first month kang-mao [amulet] is in the center [of
the girdle ornaments], it is a supernatural baton[8]
[which influences] the
four quarters. Red, blue, white, and yellow, these four colors are my
defences. The Lord [Shun] ordered Chu-yung[9]
to teach K'uei and Lung[10]
[to infuse power into it, so that] of the many epidemics and serious (kang)
the inscription says, `On the worst of unlucky days, [the day] mao, the
Lord [Shun] ordered K'uei to transform [this object, saying], "In accordance
with your firmness and subtlety, do you transform this thing into
a supernatural baton.[11] It should be completely upright, completely
straight, completely angular, and completely square, so that of the many
epidemics and severe (kang) diseases, none will presume to touch me." ' "
[OMITTED][12]
[OMITTED][13]
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED],[14]
[OMITTED].
HHS, Tr. 30: 13a, b (by Szu-ma Piao, ca. 240-306) says, "The girdle
ornaments are a pair of seals[15]
one inch two fen long and six fen square.
The emperor, vassal kings, dukes, and full marquises use white jade for
them. [Officials ranking at] fully 2000 piculs and lower, down to [those
ranking at] 400 piculs, all use black rhinoceros [horn. Those ranking at]
200 piculs [and lower, down] to disciples of private schools, all use ivory.
They are attached above by silk. The Emperor uses a cord threaded
with white pearls and red wool threads. Vassal kings and those of lower
[rank] use a band with red silk threads. The cords and bands are each
according to the material of the seal. The engraved writing reads, `When
the first month kang-mao [amulets] is in the center,[16]
it is a supernatural
baton,[17]
[which influences] the four quarters. Red, blue, white, and
yellow, these four colors are my defense. The Lord [Shun] ordered Chu-yung
to teach K'uei and Lung [to transform this object into an amulet,
so that] of the many epidemics and severe diseases, none will presume to
touch me.' [The inscription on the other one of the pair reads], `On the
worst of unlucky days, [the day] mao, the Lord [Shun] ordered K'uei to
transform [this object, saying], "Do you care for subtle things all around.
Transform this [thing] into a supernatural baton.[18]
It should be completely
upright, completely straight, completely angular, and completely
square, so that of the many epidemics and severe (kang) diseases, none
will presume to touch me." ' In all there are 66 words." [OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED][19] , [OMITTED][20]
[OMITTED][21] ,
[OMITTED]
Shuo-wen 3 B: 6b defines hai [OMITTED] as follows: "The hai-szu [OMITTED] is a large
kang-mao [amulet]. It is used to expel influences and demons." (From
Shen Ch'in-han.)
Chi-chiu-p'ien 41b, a word-list written by Shih Yu during 48-33 B.C.,
contains the following line: "The Shih-ch'i [lit., "the shooter of infantlike
demons"] and the Pi-hsieh [lit., "the expeller of perversities"] eliminate
the many banefulnesses [OMITTED]," and Yen Shih-ku explains,
"Shih-ch'i and Pi-hsieh are both the names of supernatural animals.
The ch'i is a demon [in the shape of] a small infant. Shih-ch'i
means that it is able to hit and drive away infant-like demons. Pi-hsieh
means that it is able to expel and ward off monstrosities and perversities.
[These terms] refer to [articles made of] precious jade and the like. The
forms of [these] two animals were used to hang on [peoples'] girdles to
drive away baneful calamities and to protect their persons.
"It is also said that shih-ch'i refers to the large kang-mao [amulets].
Gold, jade, and peach-wood were carved to make them. Another name
for them is hai-szu. On top of them there was an inscription and on their
sides a hole was pierced, which was threaded with many-colored silk.
They were used to attach to the forearm and were also a means of expelling
influences and animal-shaped demons." (Yen Shih-ku's error
about the location of the inscription and hole on these amulets indicates
that he had never seen them; he is merely summing up the literary tradition
about them.)
Hui Tung (1697-1758) confirms Fu Ch'ien's implication that the day
mao was evil, by quoting Tso-chuan, Dk. Chao, IX (Legge, p. 626), "If
the day is tzu or mao, it is called an evil day." Motze, ch. 31 (Mei, p. 170)
however mentions the day ting-mao as a propitious day for sacrifices.
The difference was that there were both kang (severe)-mao and jou
gentle)-mao days, and the day ting-mao belonged to the latter group.
T'ao Tsung-yi (fl. 1360), in his Cho-keng-lu 24: 5a-7b, discusses these
kang-mao amulets and states that they were called [OMITTED], great firmness."
Hence the word kang may refer to the hardness of the material used
for them, this hardness implying their strong power to ward off disease.
The Kang found in the inscription on them says that they ward off
kang (severe) diseases.
Kang also has a third meaning. Li-chi 3: 8b (Legge, I, 94; Couvreur,
60) says, "For external matters, a kang (odd) day should be used, and
explains, "Kang [refers to] the odd (chi [OMITTED]) days. In ten days there are
five odd and five even (ou [OMITTED]). The five odd [days] chia, ping, mou,
keng, and jen are kang (strong). External affairs [need] strong (kang)
purposes, hence kang days are used. . . . The five even [days], yi, ting,
chi, hsin, and kuei are jou (gentle)." Kang and jou are also used in the
Book of Changes to refer to the undivided and divided lines of the hexagrams.
Thus the term kang-mao has a number of meanings upon which
diviners undoubtedly rang the changes. Kang refers to the strength of
the amulet, the hardness of its material, the severity of the disasters it
warded off, as well as the odd days in the decenary cycle of stems and
certain lines of the hexagrams.
In Han times, the word mao had a special significance. The character
liu [OMITTED], which was the surname of the imperial clan, is made up of the
three characters mao, chin (metal), and knife (tao), as Wang Mang notes
(cf. 99 B: 7a & n. 7.2). Hence mao denoted the Han imperial house.
The continuance of this interpretation is to be found in the biography of
Liu Fang [OMITTED], who in A.D. 586 was executed for conspiracy against the
newly enthroned Emperor Wu, the founder of the Sui dynasty. Liu
Fang is declared to have said, "My surname is mao, metal, and knife,
and my given name is `one, ten-thousand, and days [OMITTED],' so that the Liu
clan will infallibly rule as kings and be the sons of Heaven [emperors]
for ten thousand days." (Pei-shih 74: 3b; Sui-shu 38: 4a). It is then
not surprising that Wang Mang and the Wei dynasty did away with
these kang-mao amulets and that the Han emperors wore them.
Wu Ta-cheng (1844-1902), in his Ku-yü T'u K'ao, pp. 130 & 132,
presents drawings with a discussion of four jade kang-mao amulets from
Han times. He remarks that their construction and inscriptions are very
similar and that many of the words are written in a cursive manner or
with borrowed characters. The inscription on them all is as follows:
"[When] the yu-month kang-mao [amulet] is in the center [an unreadable
word, possibly "it influences"] the four quarters. Red, blue, white, yellow,
these four colors are my defense. The Lord commanded to hold
and complete it. Of the many epidemics and severe sicknesses, (three
characters unreadable) mao, none will presume to touch me." [OMITTED],
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]. Wu Ta-cheng asserts he has seen no kang-mao amulets of the dimensions
Fu Ch'ien speaks of, and states that his amulets are of the size described
by Chin Shao. Possibly Fu Ch'ien's amulets were what the
Shuo-wen calls "large kang-mao [amulets]."
These kang-mao amulets were part of the regular Han court costume
in the center of the girdle ornaments. They were worn by all grades of
officials, even students in private schools. Their function was frankly
that of being amulets intended to ward off disease demons. Even the
emperor and his highest officials wore them, which circumstance illustrates
vividly the prevalence of superstition among the most educated
persons of the age.
We do not know when they first became popular. Wei Hung (fl. ca.
25), in his Han-chiu-yi A: 1b, declares, "In the Ch'in and earlier [periods],
the common people all wore seal-cords on their girdles, with seals, an
inch square, made of gold, jade, silver, bronze, rhinoceros [-horn], or ivory,
each one wearing what he liked." While the passage concerns itself
with actual seals, yet these amulets were also called seals, so that they
may date back to Chou times. They seem to have gone out of fashion
some time after the Later Han and before the T'ang period, for Yen
Shih-ku had not seen them and they are not mentioned in the Sung
books on rites, such as Nieh Ch'ung-yi's San-li-t'u (presented 962) and
Ch'en Hsiang-tao's (1053-1093) Li-shu.
Yen Shih-ku states that there were kang-mao amulets made of peach-wood.
The peach is indigenous to China, so that it was naturally used
for apotropaic purposes. The Tso-chuan (Dk. Hsiang, yr. XXIX; Legge,
pp. 5442, 547b) recounts that when, in 544 B.C., Duke Hsiang of Lu was
required to go in person to present shrouds to the deceased King K'ang
of Ch'u, he first had shamans asperse the corpse with peach-wood and
broom-straw in order to drive away the dead king's ghost and other evil
spirits, so that no harm should come to the Duke. This book also (Dk.
Chao, yr. IV; Legge, pp. 5923, 596a) states that when stored ice was
brought out of the ice-house, a bow of peach-wood and thorn arrows were
used to drive away evil influences. It likewise (Dk. Chao, XII; Legge,
63718, 641a) reports that when the first ancestor of the Ch'u line, Hsiung-yi,
who was supposed to have lived at the time of King Ch'eng of the
Chou dynasty, waited upon that King, he bore a peach-wood bow and
thorn arrows. Tu Yü (222-284) states that these implements were for
apotropaic purposes (Tso-chuan Cheng-yi 45: 19a). Chou-li 32: 8b (Biot,
II, 248) states: "[The royal companion of the right in the war-chariot
(jung-yu)] assists [at the making of a solemn oath by holding] the ox's
ear, [which is cut off to secure blood for making the oath, and he assists
by using] peach-wood and broom-straw [to asperse this blood and drive
away any harmful influences]." Since peach-wood thus came to have
the meaning of driving away harm, sword-makers were entitled "the
Peach-wood Clan (t'ao-shih)" in the K'ao-kung-chi, which was appended
In Han-shih Wai-chuan 10: 11b (by Han Ying, fl. 179-141 B.C.), Duke
Huan of Ch'i (685-643 B.C.) is represented as having met, while on a
trip, an old man on foot, carrying a peach-wood baton (t'ao-shu). When
the Duke asked him about it, he replied, "This is named a double
[strength] peach-wood [implement]. The way peach-wood acts is called
`to destroy.' . . . The warning to plebeians [against destructive conduct]
lies in peach-wood batons." The story continues, "By the first month
of the next year, the plebeians [at the Duke's court] all wore [these peach-wood
batons]." Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, 10a (my
attention was called to this passage by P. van der Loon), quotes this
passage and concludes, "In my opinion, this was the origin of wearing
kang-mao [amulets]." It appears to me, however, to have been more
probably a rationalization, written in Han times, for a practise common
then.
Wang Su's (195-256) Sang-fu Yao-chi (this book is lost and the passage
is quoted from T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 967: 3b by the Han-Wei Yi-shu Ts'ao, 2b)
said, "When Duke Ai of Lu (494-468 B.C.) was sacrificing preparatory to
the funeral of his father, . . . Confucius asked [Duke Ai], `Would it not
be better to use triply [extracted] peach-wood water?' [The Duke] replied,
`No. [The use of] peach-wood [water] arose when Duke Ling of
Weis [534-493 B.C.] had a daughter who was married to [the prince of]
Ch'u. Her nurse was accompanying her to her husband's household,
when she was a newly [wedded] wife, and on the way she heard that
her husband had died. The nurse wanted to have the new wife return
[home. But] the new wife replied, "A woman has the three obediences.
Now I belong to this man. He has died and I must complete the mourning."
Thereupon she had a plain chariot yoked with white horses and
proceded to her husband's house. She made some triply [extracted]
peach-wood water and used it to wash the hair of the deceased. She went
out of the eastern gate at the northern corner [of the eastern wall of the
city] and completed the ceremony with three bows, in order to make the
deceased not hate her. My father has nothing to hate. What would be
the use of triply [extracted] peach-wood water?' " Here is given a classical
sanction for apotropaic implements and ceremonies put into the
mouth of the greatest of sages. It is also a mere rationalization of a later
practise.
Evidence that kang-mao amulets were placed upon doors (as are the
present door-gods) in Han times is furnished by HHS, Tr. 5: 4b-5a:
"In the central month of summer [the fifth month], all things are then
flourishing and the sun comes to its summer maximum [northward
to be feared that things will not [continue to] grow. The [proper] rites
for this [situation] are to employ scarlet cordage plants joining strong
smelling vegetables, to exorcise injurious insects, rodents (?), black magic
(ku), and noises (?), and to use peach-wood seals, six inches long and
three inches square, vari-colored, on which are written characters according
to the regular procedure, and display them on gates and doors.
"The [various] dynasties used as ornaments [articles] they esteemed
according to [the elementary powers by which they ruled]. The clan of
the Hsia sovereigns [had as their elementary power] metal. Their roads
were made of the stalks of rushes, meaning that essences should mingle
[and the people be fruitful]. The Yin people had water as their [elementary]
virtue. They used snail shells, stressing cautiousness, that
their closing up [against evil emanations] should be like that by snails.
The Chou people had wood as their [elementary] virtue. They used
peach-wood for apotropaic purposes, meaning that emanations should be
blocked [from operating] upon them. In Han [times] all were used.
Hence on the fifth day of the fifth month, scarlet cordage plants and varicolored
seal-[shaped blocks of peach-wood] were used as ornaments for
gates and doors in order to present obstacles and block evil emanations."
Huang Shan (fl. 1915) quotes the Shih-wu Chi-yüan (by Kao Ch'eng,
fl. 1078-1085, book later greatly added to) as recording, "In the Han
[period, people] used scarlet cordage plants joining vari-colored kang-mao
[amulets] as decorations for their gates and doors." According to the
passage from HHS, Tr. 30 translated above, the kang-mao amulets worn
at people's waists were also called "seals," so that these large "seals" on
doors were likewise kang-mao amulets.
Liu Chao (fl. dur. 502-520) glosses HHS, Tr. 5: 5a as follows: "The
peach-wood seals were originally a Han institution and a means of reinforcing
[the power of] the mao-metal-[knife clan, i.e., the Han dynasty].
The Wei [dynasty] did away with them." Perhaps Liu Chao's statement
is as far as we can go concerning the origin of these amulets.
The text reads [OMITTED]; the Official ed. has emended it to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads [OMITTED].
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
The text reads [OMITTED]; the Official ed. has emended it to [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. reads [OMITTED].
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
These amulets were probably called seals because they were worn at the waist just
as seals were.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
[OMITTED] should probably be read as hai [OMITTED]. But it is better to read without emending or
changing. Shen Ch'in-han, in his HS Su-cheng 36: 9b, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan
10: 8b (ed. "Ku-ching-chieh Hui-han") and thinks that ling [OMITTED]-shu denotes the tao [OMITTED]-shu,
the peach-wood baton, which was a popular apotropaic implement.
IV. APPENDIX IV
ECLIPSES DURING THE RULE OF WANG MANG
i. In Chü-shê I, x (the tenth month), on the day ping-ch'en, the first
day of the month, an eclipse of the sun is recorded (99 A: 29b; Han-chi
30: 7b). Hoang equates this date with Nov. 10, A.D. 6, but there was
no eclipse on that date.
In the 12 years between the previous eclipse of A.D. 2 and the next
correctly recorded eclipse in 14 A.D., there were 28 solar eclipses, of which
three were visible in China.[1]
These three were all calculated by Neugebauer's
tables, and the following results were reached: The eclipse of Apr.
8, 4 A.D. was invisible in Ch'ang-an, but at the present Peking it reached
a magnitude of 0.15 at 4:06 p.m., local time. The eclipse of Sept. 11,
A.D. 6 reached a magnitude of 0.95 at Ch'ang-an at 3:59 p.m., local
time. Hoang and Chen Yuan (Comparative Daily Calender) both equate
this date with Chü-shê I, vii, last day, ping-ch'en. Then [OMITTED] is an error
for [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] is an error for [OMITTED] or, since these calenders might have been a
day in error, the eclipse might well have happened on the first day of the
eighth month, so that [OMITTED] is an error for [OMITTED]. The eclipse of June 30, 10,
was invisible at Ch'ang-an and Peking, but at So-fang, the present
Ning-hsia, it reached a magnitude of 0.46 at sunset.
In view of the nearness in time and the magnitude of the eclipse, the
eclipse of 6 A.D. is undoubtedly the one referred to in the text; it requires
merely a slight emendation in the text, an error that may have been in
Pan Ku's source.
ii. On T'ien-feng I, iii, jen-shen, the last day, a second eclipse is recorded.
(HS 99 B: 23a; Han-chi 30: 13b.) Hoang and Yuan both
equate this date with Apr. 18, 14 A.D., for which Oppolzer calculates his
solar eclipse no. 2917. It was merely partial; calculation according to
Neugebauer's tables shows that at Ch'ang-an it reached a magnitude of
0.30 at 6: 19 a.m. local time.
iii. On T'ien-feng III, vii, mou-tzu, the last day, a third eclipse of the
sun is recorded (HS 99 B: 29b; Han-chi 30: 14b). Hoang and Yuan both
equate this date with Aug. 21, 16 A.D., for which Oppolzer calculates his
solar eclipse no. 2923. He charts the path of totality as passing through
the present Canton and the Philippines.
In the two years since the preceding recorded eclipse, 5 solar eclipses
occurred, of which one was visible in China.[2]
This one occurred on Sept.
2, 15 A.D. Calculation shows that it was invisible in Ch'ang-an, but at
the present Peiping it reached a magnitude of 0.07 at 9: 10 a.m., local time.
In the 9 years from the time of this recorded eclipse to the first eclipse
recorded by the HHS in the reign of Emperor Kuang-wu, which occurred
on Feb. 6, 26 A.D., there were 24 solar eclipses, of which only one was
visible in China.[3]
This one occurred on Dec. 15, 19 A.D. Calculation
by Neugebauer's elements shows that it was invisible in Ch'ang-an and
north China, but at the present Canton it reached a magnitude of 0.03
at 7:47 a.m., local time, so that it was hardly visible in China.
Besides those charted by Oppolzer, the following partial eclipses were located near the
south pole: nos. 2889, 2890, 2899, 2900, 2909, and 2916. The following were calculated
by Oppolzer's elements and shown plainly invisible in China: nos. 2891, 2898, 2901, 2908.
The following umbral eclipses were also calculated by Oppolzer's elements and found
invisible: nos. 2895, 2896, 2903, 2904, 2910, 2911, 2915.
Two were merely partial; #2919 was located near the south pole; the other, #2918
was calculated by Oppolzer's elements and found invisible as far south as China.
Eleven were merely partial; nos. 2926, 2929, 2935, 2936, 2945, 2946 were located near
the south pole. Of the others, nos. 2927, 2928, 2930, 2932, 2934, 2937, 2939, 2944, 2947
were so far outside of China that a rough calculation by Oppolzer's elements was sufficient
to determine them to be invisible in China. The remaining one, not charted, no.
2937, on Nov. 23, 21, was calculated by Neugebauer's tables and found to have been too
far north to have been visible in China.
The eclipse of Feb. 16, 25 was listed in the Ku-chin Chu (about 300 A.D.), according
to a note to HHS, Tr. 18: 1a. (It is not in the present text of that book.) Oppolzer
calculated his eclipse no. 2944 for that date, and both Hoang, Catalogue des eclipses, and
Chu Wen-chin, Li-tai Jih-shih K'ao, list this eclipse among Chinese eclipses. Calculation
by Neugebauer's tables shows that on the morning of Feb. 17 it was visible in Alaska.
western United States and Canada, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. But it was invisible
in China. It was merely partial. This eclipse could not have been observed, and must
have been calculated by Chinese astronomers. The listing of this eclipse by Hoang and
Chu shows how dangerous it is to assume an eclipse to have been observed, without
calculating its circumstances, especially when it was merely partial.
Of the umbral eclipses, those on June 10, 20 and Nov. 23, 21 seemed promising; they
were also calculated by Neugebauer's tables, and both found invisible in China. The
first one was located too far south, and the other too far north.
V. APPENDIX V
SOLAR ECLIPSES DURING THE FORMER HAN PERIOD
The results derived from an examination of the eclipses reported in the
HS are here summarized. During this period of 230 years (including the
reign of Wang Mang) there occurred 559 solar eclipses, of which 98 or
17.5% were visible in some part of China. Fifteen of these were very
small eclipses or were invisible in the capital, so that we should not expect
Chinese astronomers to have noticed them. Of the remaining 83 solar
eclipses, 55 or almost two-thirds seem to have been recorded by Chinese
astronomers. In order to examine this unusually good record, I present
here a list of the solar eclipses visible in China from 206 B.C. to A.D. 23,
with my conclusions.[1]
As sources for these eclipses recordings, there is (1) the SC, which
contains very few of these recordings, so that its value is almost negligible.
(2) The "Annals" and ch. 99 of the HS constitute a second source, giving
only the dates of these eclipses. (3) HS ch. 27, "The Treatise on the
Five Powers," near the end, contains a list of solar eclipses, which partly
duplicates the information contained in the "Annals" and partly amplifies
it by noting a few additional solar eclipses, giving the heavenly location
of many eclipses, sometimes other information, and often presenting their
astrological interpretation. This list ends with the reign of Emperor
P'ing, so that the eclipses during A.D. 6 to 23 are only mentioned in
ch. 99 of the HS. (4) The Han-chi seems to be an entirely secondary
was written in the second century A.D., it constitutes an early check upon
the text of the HS, and very occasionally furnishes additional information.
The information found in these four sources is discussed in the appendixes
of the various chapters concerning eclipses, and need not be repeated here.
SOLAR ECLIPSES VISIBLE IN CHINA, 206 B.C. to A.D. 23
206 B.C., July 6. Not noticed.
205, Jan. 1. Not noticed.
205, Dec. 20. Recorded correctly (HFHD, I, 165, i).
201, Oct. 8. Possibly recorded (ibid., ii); if so, as for all eclipses not noted
as "recorded correctly," the Chinese date must be emended.
198, Aug. 7. Recorded correctly (HFHD, I, 166, iii).
197, July 26. Not noticed.
195, June 6. Not noticed.
194, May 26. Not noticed.
192, Sept. 29. Probably recorded (HFHD, I, 188, i).
188, July 17. Recorded as total (HFHD, II, 189, ii).
A false solar eclipse is listed for July 26, 186 (HFHD, I, 211-12, i).
184, May 6. Hardly visible and seemingly not noticed (ibid.).
181, Mar. 4. Recorded correctly, total at the capital (HFHD, I, 212, ii).
178, Jan. 2. Recorded correctly (HFHD, I, 284, i). A small partial
eclipse, only reaching a magnitude of 0.20 (totality = 1.00) at the
capital.
The SC notes a solar eclipse for Jan. 17, 178, which was actually the
date of a lunar eclipse (ibid., ii).
178, Dec. 22. Recorded correctly (ibid., iii).
176, June, 6. Probably recorded (HFHD, I, 285, iv).
174, Oct. 10. Not noticed.
173, May 4. Not noticed.
169, July 17. Not noticed.
167, May 28. Not noticed
166, May 17. Not noticed.
164, Mar. 26. Hardly visible, magnitude 0.02 (ibid.).
162, Mar. 5. Hardly visible. Invisible in the north (ibid.).
161, Aug. 16. Possibly recorded (HFHD, I, 286, v).
155, Oct. 10. Possibly recorded (ibid., vi).
154, Apr. 4. Recorded (HFHD, I, 335, i). The three sources here all
disagree on the day of the eclipse.
An eclipse listed for 153 may have been dittography for the eclipse
of 145 (ibid., ii).
152, Aug. 8. Hardly visible (ibid.). Invisible at the capital; magnitude
of 0.08 at Peiping.
151, Feb. 2. Hardly visible (ibid.); magnitude of 0.03 at the capital.
150, Jan. 22. Recorded correctly (ibid., 336, iii).
149, June 7. Very probably recorded (ibid., iv).
An eclipse listed for Oct. 22, 148 is almost certainly dittography for
the eclipse of 147 (ibid., 337, v).
147, Nov. 10. Recorded correctly (ibid., vi); almost total (0.77).
145, Mar. 26. Possibly recorded (ibid., 338, vii); if so, reported from the
tip of eastern Shantung.
144, Sept. 8. Recorded correctly (ibid., viii).
143, Aug. 28. Recorded correctly (ibid., 339, ix).
The SC states that in the month Nov. 16-Dec. 14, 142, "the sun
and moon were both eclipsed and red for five days." The HS does
not mention this eclipse, which may have been a dust storm (ibid. x).
141, July 8. Possibly recorded (HFHD, II, 136, i).
138, Nov. 1. Recorded correctly (ibid., ii).
136, Apr. 15. Probably recorded (ibid., iii).
135, Apr. 5. Probably recorded (ibid., 137, iv).
134, Aug. 19. Recorded correctly (ibid., 138, v).
127, Apr. 6. Recorded correctly (ibid., vi).
124, Feb. 3. Hardly visible and that only in southern Mongolia (ibid.
139, vii).
123, Jan. 23. Very probably recorded (ibid.).
122, July 9. Recorded correctly (ibid., viii).
115, Aug. 19. Reached a magnitude of 0.28 at 11:21 a.m. at the capital,
so that it was not conspicuous. But smaller eclipses were recorded
(ibid., 140).
112, June 18. Recorded correctly (ibid., ix).
108, Apr. 6. Possibly recorded; reached a magnitude of 0.32 at the
capital (ibid., x).
107, Sept. 19. Invisible at the capital; reached a magnitude of 0.34 at
Peiping at sunrise, where it was conspicuous. Not mentioned (ibid.)
104, July 19. Not mentioned; reached a magnitude of 0.62 at the
capital (ibid.).
103, Dec. 3. Not mentioned; reached a magnitude of 0.12 at the capital
(ibid.).
101, May 17. Not mentioned; reached a magnitude of 0.45 at the
capital (ibid.).
96, Feb. 23. Recorded correctly, if Hoang's calendar is corrected by
altering the intercalary month according to a recently excavated
93, Dec. 12. Recorded correctly (ibid., xii).
90, Oct. 11. Not conspicuous; reached a magnitude of 0.17 at sunrise
at the capital (ibid., 142, xiii).
89, Sept. 29. Recorded correctly (ibid.).
84, Dec. 3. Recorded correctly (HFHD, II, 178, i).
82, May 18. Not mentioned (ibid., 179).
81, May 6. Not mentioned; invisible at the capital, but reached a magnitude
of 0.47 shortly after sunrise at Peiping (ibid.).
80, Sept. 20. Recorded correctly; almost total at the capital and total
in the provinces, from which its totality was reported (ibid., 178, ii).
75, Jan. 3. Visible only in south China (HFHD, II, 275, i).
73, May 8. Not mentioned (ibid.)
69, Feb. 25. Not mentioned (ibid.).
68, Feb. 13. Recorded correctly, although at the capital it only reached
a magnitude of 0.10 at 4:20 p.m. (ibid.).
68, Aug. 9. Not mentioned (ibid., 276).
61, Sept. 20. Not mentioned (ibid.).
58, July 20. Not mentioned (ibid.).
57, July 9. Not mentioned (ibid.).
56, Jan. 3. Recorded correctly, although it was invisible at the capital
and at Peiping it only reached a magnitude of 0.18 at sunrise
(ibid., 275, ii).
54, May 9. Recorded correctly (ibid., 276, iii).
53, Oct. 21. Not mentioned (HFHD, II, 354, i).
50, Aug. 21. Not mentioned (ibid.).
49, Aug. 9. Not mentioned (ibid.).
47, June 19. Not mentioned (ibid.).
42, Mar. 28. Recorded correctly (ibid.).
40, July 31. Recorded correctly (ibid., ii).
39, July 20. Hardly visible; only reached a magnitude of 0.07 at the
capital (ibid., 355, iii).
38, Jan. 14. Hardly visible; only reached a magnitude of 0.02 at sunset
at the capital (ibid.).
36, Nov. 12. Not mentioned. Reached a magnitude of 0.29 at sunrise
at the capital (ibid.).
35, Nov. 1. Recorded, with an error of a year in the date. The record
indicates that it was a sunset eclipse of large magnitude; this is the
only eclipse of the sort within many years (ibid.).
29, Jan. 5. Recorded correctly (HFHD, II, 419, i).
28, June 19. Recorded correctly; total near the capital; the Annals say
26, Oct. 23. Recorded correctly (ibid., iii).
25, Apr. 18. Recorded correctly (ibid., 420, iv).
24, Apr. 7. Recorded correctly (ibid., v).
16, Nov. 1. Recorded correctly (ibid., vi). The Treatise says it was
seen only in the capital. At that place it only reached a magnitude
of 0.08 at 4:29 p.m.; its small magnitude prevented it being noticed
elsewhere. It could only have been seen by using a mirror, smoked
glass, or other special means. The court astronomers must have
been watching carefully for eclipses.
15, Mar. 29. Recorded correctly (ibid., 421, vii). The Treatise states
that clouds prevented this eclipse being seen in the capital, but it
was seen elsewhere, proving that reports of eclipses were sent in to
the central government.
14, Mar. 18. Recorded correctly (ibid., viii).
13, Aug. 31. Recorded correctly (ibid., ix).
12, Jan. 26. Recorded correctly (ibid., 422, x). It only reached a
magnitude of 0.07 at the capital and lasted only 67 minutes.
2, Feb. 5. Recorded correctly (HFHD, III, ch. 11: app. II, i). Almost
total at the capital.
1 B.C., June 20. Recorded with an error in the day (ch. 11: app. II, ii).
It only reached a magnitude of 0.06 at sunset at the capital.
A.D. 1, June 10. Recorded correctly (12: app., i).
2, Nov. 23. Recorded correctly (12: app., ii). It is stated to have been
total, but its totality was visible in northern Shensi and Honan, so
that this fact was reported from outside the capital.
4, Apr. 8. Hardly visible; invisible at the capital, and at Peiping reached
only a magnitude of 0.15 (99: app. IV, i).
6, Sept. 11. Recorded with a slight textual error in the date. It
reached a magnitude of 0.95 at the capital (ibid., 544, i).
10, June 30. Hardly visible. Only visible in present Ninghsia (99:
app. IV, i).
14, Apr. 18. Recorded correctly (ibid., ii).
15, Sept. 2. Hardly visible; invisible at the capital; at Peiping it only
reached a magnitude of 0.07 (ibid., 545, iii).
16, Aug. 21. Recorded correctly (ibid.).
19, Dec. 15. Hardly visible. Visible only in south China; at Canton it
only reached a magnitude of 0.03 (ibid.).
From a study of the above material, there emerge several interesting
conclusions:
1. The records of eclipses in Former Han times are predominatingly
are recorded correctly in the present text. Considering the length of time
since the HS was written in the first century A.D., and the many opportunities
for mistakes, both by astronomers and annalists before the
HS was compiled and the opportunities for errors in transmitting the HS
text, this is an excellent record. Fourteen other eclipses can be fitted
into the actual dates, usually by only slight changes in the text. Only at
most three recordings are hopelessly erroneous; two of these are due to
errors in the transmission of the data. When we consider how very easy
it is to write mistakenly the number of a month or the cyclical day, the
essential correctness of the HS is a marked evidence of the care that was
exercised in compiling it and in preserving and copying faithfully its text.
It does not seem to have been the case in Han times, as was sometimes
later the case, that the dates given in the history were those on which
the emperor was informed of an event, rather than the dates on which
events occurred. The eclipse of 15 B.C. is said to have been reported
from outside the capital and to have been invisible in the capital, so that
some days must have elapsed between its occurrence and its being reported
to the throne. But it is dated correctly.
2. In the case of some eclipses that are not listed correctly, it is plain
that the errors of dating occurred before the HS was compiled. In other
cases the evidence is not so clear, but it looks as if the same thing happened.
The description of the eclipse of 35 B.C. as being large and ending
at sunset is such that the actual eclipse can be unmistakeably identified
by calculation. In the chronological account of events in the Annals,
this eclipse is put more than a year later than it actually happened; between
the actual date and the date at which the Annals put it, several
events are recorded. Hence it is plain that when Pan Ku composed the
"Annals," this eclipse was already misdated. In the eclipses of 192 and
141, it also seems very likely that the error of dating occurred before
Pan Ku prepared his HS. He or his sources probably had somewhat
illegible astronomical records of eclipses, which were easily misread. As
a whole, there seem indeed to have been made more errors of dating
before the HS was written than have occurred in the transmission of the
text since that time.
In other cases, minor changes have plainly been made since the HS
was composed. With the eclipse of 192, there seems to have been later
conflation between the account in the "Annals" and that in the "Treatise."
A later correction of a date has possibly been made in connection
with the eclipse of A.D. 1. For the eclipse of 154, three different cyclical
dates are given by our three sources.
Dittography in Pan Ku's sources seems to have been responsible for the
eclipse listed for 153, and almost certainly for that listed for 148. The
reign of Emperor Ching (157-141 B.C.) was the worst period in accuracy
of eclipse recordings. During this period there are five eclipses incorrectly
dated, two dittographies, and only four correctly recorded eclipses.
The "Annals" for this period are also the least satisfactory of all the
"Annals" in the HS. The original sources for this reign seem to have
been defective.
3. Ch'ang-an, the imperial capital, was not the only place from which
eclipses were observed. The remarks in the HS in connection with the
eclipse of 15 B.C. establish by direct testimony the fact that eclipses were
reported from outside the capital. The eclipses of 136, 135, 80, and 56
must also have been reported from outside the capital. It is hence
dangerous to take the capital as the sole point of observation, as Hoang
and others have done. Nothing less than the whole of China should be
taken as the possible locus of observation. For Han times, there is however
some evidence that eclipses were not reported to the capital from
central and southern China; the eclipse of 2 B.C. was total in the present
southern Szechuan, southern Hunan, and Foochow, but no statement of
its totality got into the HS.
4. During long periods of years, all eclipses plainly visible in China
(and some quite small ones) are reported, while during other periods,
groups of eclipses are missed. The following table indicates the number
of eclipses not mentioned in the HS and the number of years after the
last unreported and plainly visible eclipse during which all plainly visible
eclipses were reported:
| Number of missed eclipses | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Years in which all plainly visible eclipses were recorded |
1 | 1 | 18 | 51 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 61 |
century during which all plainly visible eclipses were recorded—from 166
to 115 B.C. and from 35 B.C. to the first eclipse correctly recorded in
Later Han times (A.D. 26). What could have been the reason for such
periods of complete success followed by periods of failure? For example,
the five plainly visible eclipses between 174 and 166 B.C. were all missed,
then all plainly visible eclipses during 51 years down to 115 B.C. were
recorded.
Bad weather could hardly be the reason; eclipses were reported from
outside the capital, so that local bad weather would hardly prevent an
eclipse visible to the naked eye from being recorded. There is however a
small correlation between the number of eclipses missed and the time
| months | ||||||||||||
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | |
| Number of eclipses missed in the month |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Number of eclipses recorded in the month |
6 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Aver. number of overcast days in month at Ch'ang-an[2] |
9 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
especially May and July, more than half coming during four consecutive
months. Yet the correlation between the number of eclipses missed in
each month and the number recorded is only -0.34, with a probable
error of ±0.17. There is thus only a very moderate degree of association
between the number missed and the number recorded, and the number of
instances is too low to make the correlation reliable. The correlation
between the number of eclipses missed and the average number of overcast
days is -0.39 ± 0.17, a negligible amount. It however looks
very much as if the interest taken in the observation of solar eclipses
by the responsible observers determined whether eclipses were or were
not observed. To be conspicuous (so that an eclipse could not be missed
by ordinary people) an eclipse must reach a magnitude of 0.75 when
the sun is high or a magnitude of 0.33 when the sun is near the horizon.
Many of the eclipses recorded in the HS are much smaller than these
magnitudes, so that they could not have been perceived unless astronomers
were expecting them and used special means to observe them.
Hence the attitude of the responsible observers or astronomers probably
had much to do with the observation or non-observation of solar eclipses.
5. The Chinese used special means to observe eclipses and watched for
them during the two or three days at the end and beginning of the
Chinese months when solar eclipses were to be expected. Unless an
diminution of light is too small to be perceived. Unless the sun is near
the horizon or is covered by light clouds, it cannot moreover be watched
with naked eyes. The necessary diminution of light can be obtained by
looking through smoked mica or at the reflection of the sun in water or in
a mirror. (Smoked glass may have been available at the time, mica was
actually used as a screen, cf. 99 B: 16b.) Some of the recorded eclipses
were so small that such special means were certainly used by Chinese
astronomers. The eclipse of 178 only reached a magnitude of 0.20; that
of 68 only a magnitude of 0.10; that of 16, only 0.08; that of 12, only a
magnitude of 0.07 lasting only 67 minutes; that of 1 B.C., only a magnitude
of 0.06. That such small eclipses were recorded demonstrates that
eclipses were expected and watched for, using special means. There was
an office at the capital entitled the Office for Watching the Heavens (cf.
Glossary, sub voce), the members of which probably scrutinized the sun
for eclipses. Probably this practise of watching for eclipses was however
confined to the capital; the eclipse of 16 B.C. was not reported from outside
the capital, although at the present Peiping it reached a magnitude
of almost twice that at the capital. Thus astronomical activity reached
high levels at the capital and was largely confined there.
6. As is to be expected, the method of calculation given by Neugebauer
shows itself remarkably accurate when its results are compared with
Chinese records. In the eclipse of 181, Chinese records show that at
Ch'ang-an the eclipse was total; calculation by Neugebauer's tables
reaches that result, but Oppolzer and Ginzel both reach a different result.
For the eclipse of 89, Chinese records give its time, late afternoon, which
also checks, to a reasonable degree of accuracy, with the results of calculation
by Neugebauer's tables. In this case, the eclipse seems merely
not to have been noticed until some time after it began.
By Neugebauer's tables, the time of an eclipse may be determined to
within fifteen minutes and the magnitude to within 0.03.[3]
The eclipse of
136 may have actually been observed at the capital, although, according
to Neugebauer's method of calculation, the capital was just outside the
area of visibility.
7. The differences between the statements about eclipses in the "Annals"
and in the "Treatise on the Five Powers" (HS ch. 27) indicate
that the latter probably represents the list of eclipses kept by the astrologers
at the capital, while the "Annals" also employ reports from outside
state that the eclipse was total, while the "Treatise" says it was
almost total. In each case, calculation demonstrates that at Ch'ang-an
it was almost total, while at some other places in China it was total. Thus
we can identify the "Treatise" with the reports of the astronomers at
the capital.
Yet the astrologers at the capital sometimes utilized reports from
elsewhere. The "Treatise" specifically mentions the observation of an
eclipse in other parts of China, in connection with the eclipse of 15. It
lists the eclipse of 135, which was not visible at the capital, as well as
that of 136, which was close to the borderline of visibility there. The
"Treatise" also records the eclipse of A.D. 2 as total, whereas calculation
shows that at Ch'ang-an it was not quite total.
8. It is possible that the eclipse listed for 186 was a deliberate fabrication
for the purpose of warning the ruler, the Empress of Emperor Kao,
that Heaven disapproved of her acts. This listing seems hardly explicable
by any other means. The eclipse discussed under the date 155 is
also either a fabrication or else an actual eclipse dated a few years ahead.
The eclipse of 201 is likewise doubtful. That only these three eclipses,
all near the beginning of this period, should be doubtful, is a high testimony
to the accuracy of Chinese recordings at this time. According to
Chinese law, it was a serious and capital crime to report falsely a prodigy
(such as an eclipse of the sun, cf. HS 100 A: 5b, to be translated in the
Preliminary Volume of this series).
9. There is no evidence that the Chinese by calculation reached the
dates of any eclipses recorded in the period. In the most promising cases,
those of 201, 184, 155, and 145 B.C., I tried to calculate these eclipses
by the methods that might have been used, and in each case reached
negative results.
For the mistakenly dated eclipse of 201, I counted forwards from the
date given for this eclipse to the end of the Former Han period by the
Han eclipse period of 3986⅔ days, by the Han chang of 6939 61/81 days,
and by the saros of 6585.3 days, without coming upon any solar eclipses.
Since it might have been possible for Chinese astronomers to know that
there is a lunar period lasting one month, during which two solar eclipses
and one lunar eclipse or two lunar eclipses and one solar eclipse may occur
(although no evidence of this knowledge is found in Han records), I also
took periods of one lunation from the dates found by this counting, but
came upon no solar eclipse visible in China. This eclipse could thus
hardly have been a calculation and its date must merely have been an
error of some sort.
In the case of the eclipses listed in 186 and 145, I performed a similar
calculation, with similar negative results. For the actual eclipse of 145
(not the mistaken date given in the "Annals," which does not correspond
to any actual eclipse), I counted forwards and backwards for the whole
Former Han period by the Chinese eclipse period of 3986⅔ days. At each
date thus found, an eclipse had occurred, but most of these eclipses were
invisible in China. The second eclipse period after was the date of the
eclipse of 123, the sixth was that of the eclipse of 80, the eleventh, that
of 25, and the twelfth, that of 14 B.C. In addition, the eclipses of 167,
58, 47 B.C. and A.D. 19 occurred in this series, but these four eclipses
are not recorded in the HS. The four recorded eclipses do not occur in
any regular sequence, so that the probabilities are decidedly against this
eclipse having been calculated by the Chinese eclipse period. I made a
similar calculation, using the Han chang of 6939 61/81 days, but no
recorded eclipse was found, only the missed eclipse of 164 and two invisible
eclipses. Calculation by the saros of 6585.3 days, used by Greek
astronomers, brought the eclipses of 181, 145, 127, and 1 B.C., the missed
eclipse of 73, together with invisible eclipses. The saros does not however
seem to have been known to the ancient Chinese. Thus even calculation
of a difficultly visible eclipse from the actual date of that eclipse does not
bring any results that would seem to encourage the computation of
eclipses or to make probable the hypothesis that they were computed by
the ancient Chinese.
It is however interesting that the first eclipse listed for Later Han times,
dated on Feb. 16, A.D. 25, was almost certainly calculated. It is not
found in the list of eclipses in the relevant "Treatise" of the History of the
Later Han Dynasty, which was compiled by Szu-ma Piao, who lived
ca. 240-306. This eclipse is listed in the Ku-chin Chu, written about
A.D. 300. Calculation shows that this partial eclipse was invisible in
Asia, and was confined to Alaska, western North America, and the eastern
Pacific Ocean (cf. p. 509, n. 3). This date cannot thus have been the
result of any Chinese observation; since the Chinese listing agrees with
the date of the actual but invisible eclipse, it must have been calculated.
Both Hoang and Chu Wen-hsin however include it in their lists of Chinese
eclipses. This eclipse shows how dangerous it is to accept an eclipse
listing without scrutiny.
Perhaps the most peculiar eclipse is that of 145 B.C., which was visible
only at sunrise at the tip of the Shantung peninsula. I have pointed out
that for it calculation was quite unlikely; since it was visible to the naked
eye, it was probably observed and reported to the capital.
10. The court astronomers seem to have kept lists of lunar eclipses as
One such lunar eclipse got into the SC (that of 178), probably because
Szu-ma Ch'ien or his source misread the word for "lunar" as "solar" in
his source. Eclipses of the moon were not believed to portend anything
important, so were not recorded in the histories.
11. Where the dates in the Chinese text do not correspond to any
actual eclipse, slight emendations nearly always enable us to show what
was the original date. The eclipse of 35 B.C. shows that such emendations
actually reach the original dating. In this case, the eclipse is described
in such a way that there is no doubt which eclipse is denoted by
the recording. To reach the correct date, it is necessary to change a 5
in the year to a 4, a 6 in the month to a 9, and a jen-shen [OMITTED] in the date to
a ting-ch'ou [OMITTED], all of which are mistakes easily made in copying records.
These mistakes occurred before Pan Ku compiled his History.
In other cases, slighter or greater changes are necessary. They have
been noted in the appendices dealing with those eclipses. Altogether the
dates of thirteen eclipses were rectified with a considerable degree of
probability; those of 192, 176, 161, 149, 145, 141, 136, 135, 123, 108, 35,
1 B.C., and A.D. 6. The eclipses of 201, 151, and 155 also present
difficulties.
12. The calendars of correspondences between Chinese and European
dates are essentially correct. Hoang, who prepared the best of the
calendars dealing with this period, based his tables largely on previous
Chinese studies and partly on the correctly recorded eclipses, as is quite
proper. He also published a table of Chinese eclipses, indicating the correspondence
between astronomically calculated and Chinese dates, which
he took as the basis for his calendar. In those eclipses for which I have
been able to identify the original of a now incorrect date, and in which
the correct date was unknown to Hoang, it is possible to test Hoang's
calendar. In every case it is shown to be reliable (within close limits)
for the Han period.
The most interesting case is the eclipse of 96, in which a change in the
intercalary month from one year to the next (which is required by a
contemporary calendar for this year discovered by Stein in the desert;
cf. Chavannes, Documents chinois, p. 71) furnishes, unknown to Hoang, a
date from his calendar correct within one day to that obtained from
astronomical calculation. Thus modern science justifies Chinese calendrical
calculations.
There are however slight discrepancies. These never amount to more
than three days (except for the intercalary month mentioned above), so
that the essential accuracy of Hoang's table is maintained. More recent
in the text by two months, and is said to have occurred on the first day
of the month, both Hoang and Chen Yuan's Comparative Daily Calendar
(Chung-hsi-hui Jih-li) equate the actual date with the last day of the
month, so that both these calendars seem to be a day in error here. Because
of inaccuracies in Han calculations, it is quite possible that months
which our present calendars calculate as having 29 days actually had 30
days, so that modern calendrical computations may in some years be a
few days in error. Such seems actually to have been the case. Hoang's
calendar requires minor reworking.
13. In 37 cases, the position of the sun at the time of a solar eclipse
is given. By the use of Neugebauer's Sterntafeln, the positions of the
stars mentioned in the Chinese sources have been calculated for the date
of these eclipses. The comparison of these records with the calculated
position of the sun does not furnish any convincing proof that these
positions were the result of any observation. In partial eclipses, the stars
could not have been observed; almost all of these eclipses were observed
as partial. For the total eclipse of 181, when the stars could have been
observed, the position is 14° in error. For erroneously dated eclipses, the
position, if given, is grossly in error, and corresponds more to the (erroneous)
date than to the actual position of the sun at the time of the
actual eclipse. For the five eclipses whose dates are corrected and in
which positions are given, the errors in the dates are 3 yrs. 9 mo., 3 yrs.
4 mo., 1 yr. 7 mo., 10 mo., and 1 yr. 8 mo., while the errors in the position
are 103°, 130°, 66°, and 105° respectively. Towards the end of the
Former Han period, these positions are no longer given exactly in degrees,
only the constellation being given. It looks as though someone had
calculated the position of the sun from the date in the calendar at some
time towards the end of the Former Han period, possibly about 27 B.C.
(Liu Hsiang?), at which time the dates of many eclipses were already
in error.
Yet more of the positions are fairly correct. Of the 37 eclipses for
which positions are given, 24 are correct to 8° or less in R.A.; seven more
are in error only 10 to 14°. (Since Chinese astronomical observations
were always made with reference to the equator, not the ecliptic, celestial
positions are reduced to right ascension for purposes of comparison.)
The other six are grossly in error, from 42° to 105°. These are the
eclipses of 201, 192, 176, 161, 141, and 80. The first five of these are
incorrectly dated in the HS. For the others whose dates are correct,
there possibly has been some corruption in the original names of the
Chinese constellations.
These positions cannot have much significence and may be neglected.
Their use in Han times was astrological; the various parts of the sky were
taken to correspond to various localities on earth, hence an eclipse in a
certain part of the sky indicated something in the corresponding locality
on earth. It is possible that the heavenly location of the eclipse was
falsified in order to make the eclipse interpret some earthly event. In
however only six cases in the whole period are we given an interpretation
of the eclipse in terms of its heavenly location. Much more common
was an interpretation in terms of its month or day. Of the eclipses whose
location is grossly erroneous, only those of 201 and 141 were interpreted
in terms of their location. Hence it is not likely that many of the erroneous
heavenly locations were deliberate falsifications.
In conclusion: The outstanding impression left by the Chinese recordings
of eclipses in the Former Han period is their high degree of fidelity
to fact. The Chinese were not to any great extent interested in fabricating
eclipses as portents and it was dangerous to do so. They had not
yet begun to predict eclipses. They watched for eclipses, at times with
great pertinacity, and succeeded in observing eclipses that were quite
small and required the use of special means to be seen. It is but natural
that the original records should have suffered errors of transmission; as a
whole they are surprisingly correct. This fact constitutes an unimpeachable
testimony to the fidelity of the HS to fact. (Reproduced by
permission and with alterations from Osiris, vol. 5 [1938], pp. 499-522.)
The data for overcast days are for the years 1924-1936 and have been very kindly
reported to me by Fr. E. Gherzi, S.J., Director of the Siccawei Observatory.
A. Pogo, "Additions and Corrections to Oppolzer's Canon der Mondfinsternisse," the
Astronomical Journal, 1938, no. 1083.
The visibility of these eclipses has been computed by the method discussed in HFHD
I: app. III. Both P. Hoang, Catalogue des éclipses de soleil et de lune relatées dans les
documents chinois et collationées avec le Canon de Th. Ritter v. Oppolzer, "Variétés sinologiques,"
no. 56, and Chu Wen-hsin, Li-tai Jih-shih K'ao are not altogether reliable, since
they do not discuss these eclipses in detail and sometimes list an eclipse that was invisible
in China as the one referred to by the Chinese historian.
In dating these eclipses, capital roman letters refer to the year of a reign or year-period,
small roman letters to the (lunar) month, and arabic numbers to the day of the
month. European dates are given by the Julian system, as in Oppolzer, but years are
B.C., not astronomical years. (Hoang uses the Gregorian calendar for dates B.C., but
the Julian for the first millennium A.D.) In references, arabic figures followed by a colon
denote chapters of the HS, app. denotes appendices of those chapters, and small roman
numbers particular eclipses in those appendices.
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