The History of the Former Han Dynasty A Critical Translation with Annotations Translation, Volume 2 [2]

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92)

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI INTRODUCTION The purpose of these introductions

BY PAN KU

The sources for this chapter—the corresponding chapter of the SC A summary of Emperor Wu's reign His subversion of the unwritten state constitution and the consequences thereof The undue severity of his rule Li Ling's brilliant military exploit

Translation, Volume Two

Ancient appraisals of Emperor Wu The Emperor's favorite women and their relatives The Emperor's superstitious practises

FIRST DIVISION The Imperial Annals Chapters VI–X A Critical Translation with Annotations by HOMER H. DUBS With the Collaboration of P'AN LO-CHI and JEN T'AI

Luan Ta The civil service examination system The Emperor's gradual adherence to and advancement of Confucianism The founding of the Imperial University [Chapter] VI THE SIXTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III APPENDIX IV

BALTIMORE

APPENDIX V APPENDIX VI

WAVERLY PRESS, INC.

VII. CHAPTER VII INTRODUCTION

© 1944

The sources and nature of this and the remaining "Annals" The virtual regency of Ho Kuang The control exercised by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing

The history of the former Han dynasty

The abortive intrigue against Ho Kuang Ho Kuang's lightening of the people's burdens His conduct of foreign affairs [Chapter] VII THE SEVENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II VIII. CHAPTER VIII INTRODUCTION The apogee of the Former Han period Liu Ho4b's brief reign and deposition The selection of Emperor Hsuan The dangerous intrigues and downfall of the Ho clan The kindly and generous rule of Emperor Hsüan The submission of the Huns The nature of Chinese external vassalage The victory of Confucianism [Chapter] VIII THE EIGHTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III

IX. CHAPTER IX INTRODUCTION Who wrote this chapter and the next? The textual loss The probable source of a significant imperial conversation Summary of the reign Foreign affairs Ch'en T'ang's extraordinary expedition into Sogdiana and the treatment of him by the government The complete victory of Confucianism Visitations and calamities Governmental reforms and economies Enactment of fundamental features in the imperial ancestral cult The "Ordinances for the Months" A second civil service test added Imperial adoption of the Confucian principle that one's relatives should be favored Eunuch control of the government; Confucian attacks upon and eventual victory over the eunuchs IX.

[Chapter] IX THE NINTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III X. CHAPTER X INTRODUCTION Summary of the reign The beginning of the future Grand Empress Dowager née Wang's career Shih3 Tan frustrates an intrigue to change the Heir-apparent The Wang clan controls the government. Their deeds The rise of Wang Mang Imperial economies and grants The great imperial sacrifices removed to the capital Corrupt government brings popular distress and rebellions Divine visitations and prodigies The status of Confucianism Emperor Ch'eng's personal character Lack of an heir induces the Emperor to change his Empress and distribute his favors Emperor Ch'eng's infanticide of his two sons for love of the Brilliant Companion née Chao The appointment of an Heir-apparent and the Emperor's death [Chapter] X THE TENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

The history of the former Han dynasty

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92)

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY BY

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAN KU Translation, Volume Two FIRST DIVISION The Imperial Annals Chapters VI–X A Critical Translation with Annotations by

VI. CHAPTER VI INTRODUCTION The purpose of these introductions The sources for this chapter—the corresponding chapter of the SC A summary of Emperor Wu's reign

HOMER H. DUBS With the Collaboration of P'AN LO-CHI and JEN T'AI

His subversion of the unwritten state constitution and the consequences thereof The undue severity of his rule

BALTIMORE

Li Ling's brilliant military exploit

WAVERLY PRESS, INC.

Ancient appraisals of Emperor Wu The Emperor's favorite women and their

1944

relatives The Emperor's superstitious practises Copyright, 1944, by

Luan Ta

The American Council of Learned Societies

The civil service examination system The Emperor's gradual adherence to and

Printed in United States of America The history of the former Han dynasty

advancement of Confucianism The founding of the Imperial University [Chapter] VI THE SIXTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III APPENDIX IV APPENDIX V APPENDIX VI VII. CHAPTER VII INTRODUCTION The sources and nature of this and the remaining "Annals" The virtual regency of Ho Kuang The control exercised by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing The abortive intrigue against Ho Kuang Ho Kuang's lightening of the people's burdens His conduct of foreign affairs [Chapter] VII THE SEVENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II VIII. CHAPTER VIII INTRODUCTION The apogee of the Former Han period Liu Ho4b's brief reign and deposition The selection of Emperor Hsuan The dangerous intrigues and downfall of the Ho clan The kindly and generous rule of Emperor Hsüan The submission of the Huns The nature of Chinese external vassalage The victory of Confucianism [Chapter] VIII THE EIGHTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III

IX. CHAPTER IX INTRODUCTION Who wrote this chapter and the next? The textual loss

The probable source of a significant imperial conversation

Summary of the reign Foreign affairs Ch'en T'ang's extraordinary expedition into Sogdiana and the treatment of him by the government The complete victory of Confucianism Visitations and calamities Governmental reforms and economies

Enactment of fundamental features in the imperial ancestral cult

The "Ordinances for the Months" A second civil service test added

Imperial adoption of the Confucian principle that one's relatives should be favored Eunuch control of the government; Confucian

attacks upon and eventual victory over the eunuchs IX.

[Chapter] IX THE NINTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III X. CHAPTER X INTRODUCTION Summary of the reign

The beginning of the future Grand Empress Dowager née Wang's career Shih3 Tan frustrates an intrigue to change the Heir-apparent The Wang clan controls the government. Their deeds

The rise of Wang Mang Imperial economies and grants

The great imperial sacrifices removed to the capital Corrupt government brings popular distress and rebellions

Divine visitations and prodigies The status of Confucianism Emperor Ch'eng's personal character

Lack of an heir induces the Emperor to change his Empress and distribute his favors Emperor Ch'eng's infanticide of his two sons for love of the Brilliant Companion née Chao The appointment of an Heir-apparent and the Emperor's death

[Chapter] X THE TENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

The history of the former Han dynasty

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The history of the former Han dynasty ix

Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI

The First Division—the Imperial Annals

VII. CHAPTER VII

Chapter VI, The Annals of Emperor Hsiao-wu.

Page

Introduction to Chapter VI

1

IX. CHAPTER IX

Text, Translation, and Notes

27

X. CHAPTER X

Appendix I, The Establishment of Year-periods

121

Appendix II, Punishments by Altering the Clothing

123

Appendix III, The Eighth Month Fermented Wine Offering

126

Appendix IV, The Competitive Games

129

Appendix V, The Blood-sweating Horses of Ferghana

132

Appendix VI, Eclipses in the Reign of Emperor Wu

136

Chapter VII, The Annals of Emperor Hsiao-chao. Introduction to Chapter VII

143

Text, Translation, and Notes

151

Appendix I, Required Military Service

176

Appendix II, Eclipses in the Reign of Emperor Chao

178

Chapter VIII, The Annals of Emperor Hsiao-hsüan. Introduction to Chapter VIII

180

Text, Translation, and Notes

199

Appendix I, The Tabu on Imperial Personal Names

266

Appendix II, The Discussion of the Classics in the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion Appendix III, Eclipses in the Reign of Emperor Hsüan

271 275

Chapter IX, The Annals of Emperor Hsiao-yüan. Introduction to Chapter IX

277

Text, Translation, and Notes

299

Appendix I, The Nature of the "Clerkly Writing"

339

Appendix II, The Victory of Han Confucianism

341

Appendix III, Eclipses During the Reign of Emperor Yüan

354

Chapter X, The Annals of Emperor Hsiao-ch'eng. Introduction to Chapter X

356

Text, Translation, and Notes

373

Appendix, Eclipses During the Reign of Emperor Ch'eng

419

Addenda and Corrigenda to Volume One

423

The history of the former Han dynasty

VIII. CHAPTER VIII

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

1

VI. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY CHAPTER VI EMPEROR HSIAO-WU

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI INTRODUCTION [Chapter] VI THE SIXTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

INTRODUCTION The purpose of these introductions The reign of Emperor Wu is perhaps one of the most important periods in Former Han times. It was an age when fundamental changes in the Chinese state occurred and when precedents were set which influenced profoundly the remainder of Chinese history. This chapter is however not what we should call a history of that reign, and it is not in place to insert such a history in this translation of source-materials. In order that the reader may comprehend the events mentioned in this chapter, however, it is necessary that he should first be given something of the background to this reign and an account of the important events omitted from this chapter. In this introduction, after first discussing the sources of the chapter, especially the corresponding chapter in the SC, I shall accordingly discuss: the subversion of the state constitution by Emperor Wu, (who made the emperor an autocratic ruler, with important consequences for the nature of Chinese government), the severity of Emperor Wu's government, Li Ling's famous expedition, ancient condemnations and approvals of Emperor Wu, the influence of his women and their relatives, his superstitious practises (particularly the incident of Luan Ta), the development of the examination system, and the progressive victory of Confucianism (especially the founding of the Imperial University). The sources for this chapter—the corresponding chapter of the SC First of all, we must consider the sources of this chapter, especially the relation of this chapter to the corresponding one in the SC, a quite complicated problem. In writing the earlier chapters of the HS, Pan Ku used as his main source the chapters of the SC dealing with the same material, reproducing almost all of those chapters, with additions and corrections. For the present chapter he seems to have had no such source. SC ch. 12, "The Fundamental Annals of Emperor Wu," as we have it today, contains but half of the first paragraph in HS ch. 6; the remainder of SC ch. 12 is reproduced in its entirety from SC ch. 28. Some early editor recognized that Szu-ma Ch'ien intended to write a chronicle of Emperor Wu's reign, and inserted, after the first paragraph 2 (which alone remained of Szu-ma Ch'ien's writing), the account of this emperor's religious practises presented annalistically in SC ch. 28. It is doubtful, then, whether Szu-ma Ch'ien really wrote a chapter of "Fundamental Annals" for Emperor Wu's reign. Had such an account been available, Pan Ku would certainly have used it in this chapter. It is evident that Szu-ma Ch'ien at least planned to write such a chapter. In the preface to his history (SC 130: 29), he says, "Therefore I finally transmitted [an account of events] from T'ao-and-T'ang [Yao] down to and ending with the unicorn [captured in 123 B.C.]." The last sentence in that preface (130: 65) reads, "The Lord Grand Astrologer, [Szu-ma Ch'ien], says, `I have transmitted [an account of] the generations beginning with the Yellow Lord down to and ending with [the period] T'ai-ch'u [104-101 B.C.], in one hundred thirty chapters'."

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III APPENDIX IV APPENDIX V APPENDIX VI VII. CHAPTER VII VIII. CHAPTER VIII IX. CHAPTER IX X. CHAPTER X ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

The original versified table of contents (130: 32, 33) includes, moreover, a stanza for an annals of Emperor Wu's reign: "When the Han [dynasty] had arisen and [had endured to] its fifth reign, It flourished at [the period] Chien-yüan [the first period in Emperor Wu's reign]. Outside [its borders], it uprooted the barbarians; Within, it perfected its laws and regulations. [It established the sacrifices] feng and shan, changed the first day of [the calendar year], And altered the colors of its robes. [Hence I have] composed the twelfth Fundamental Annals, that for the present Emperor." If such a chapter was ever written, it seems to have perished very early, for no early writer refers to it. It seems indeed very likely that Szu-ma Ch'ien never wrote a complete chapter. Yet there is some evidence that he may have written part of such a chapter. Pan Piao (A.D. 3-54), in his "Summary Discussion" (Lüeh-lun, quoted in HHS, Mem. 30 A: 3a; trans. in the "Introductory Volume" of this series), reproduces the statement of Szu-ma Ch'ien, saying that the latter, "beginning with the Yellow Lord and ending with the capture of the unicorn, composed `Fundamental Annals', `Hereditary Houses', `Memoirs', `Treatises', and `Tables', in altogether 130 fascicles," but adds, "Ten fascicles (chapters) are missing." Pan Ku, in his own preface (HS 100 B: 1a) likewise uses Szu-ma Ch'ien's date for the close of the SC, saying, "In [the dynasty's] sixth reign, a clerkly courtier, [Szu-ma Ch'ien], thereupon . . . privately composed `Fundamental Annals', placing them at the end of [his chapters devoted to] the various kings . . . . After [the 3 period] T'ai-ch'u, [these records] are lacking and were recorded." Pan Ku thus likewise ends the account in the SC with the period T'ai-ch'u. In other chapters, the present text of the SC however carries the account to a much later date. (Most of this additional material must be supplementation by later hands, although some of it was probably written by Szu-ma Ch'ien himself.) The dates given by Szu-ma Ch'ien for ending his account, "the capture of the unicorn [123]" and "T'ai-ch'u [104-101]," are moreover not consistent. They are evidently a literary way of saying, "after Emperor Wu had begun his reign," and may be nothing more than literary phrases. The SC versified table of contents could not have been written until after 104 B.C., since it mentions the change of calendar made in that year. That stanza need not moreover be understood to imply that Szu-ma Ch'ien actually wrote a "Fundamental Annals" for Emperor Wu's reign, for it may have merely represented his plan for future writing. There is thus no definite evidence from the SC or HS concerning whether Szu-ma Ch'ien did or did not write an annals for Emperor Wu's reign.[1] There is a possibility based on circumstantial accounts, that such annals were written and destroyed. P'ei Yin (fl. 465-472), in a note on SC 130: 65, quotes a comment from the HS Chiu-yi (by Wei Hung, fl. 25-57), saying, "Szu-ma Ch'ien, in composing his `Fundamental Annals of Emperor Ching', spoke very much of his defects together with the faults of Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu became angry and sliced [the writing] off [the tablets on which the book was written]. Later [Szu-ma Ch'ien] was sentenced for recommending Li Ling. [Li] Ling had surrendered to the Huns, hence [the Emperor] committed [Szu-ma] Ch'ien to the Silkworm House, [where he was castrated. He spoke] some bitter words, was committed to prison, and died." The above saying has been taken to imply that Emperor Wu destroyed the original chapters of the SC which dealt with Emperors Ching and Wu. Wang Su (159-256) early seems explicitly to have understood it thus. The San-kuo Chih (by Ch'en Shou, 223-297), in its "Treatise on Wei," 13: 28a f, the "Memoir of Wang Su," towards the end, says, "Emperor [Ming, 227-239], also questioned [Wang Su, saying], `Because Szu-ma Ch'ien was punished, he cherished secret strong feelings within [himself] and composed the SC to blame and condemn [Emperor] Hsiao-wu, which makes people gnash their teeth.' "[Wang Su] replied, `When Szu-ma Ch'ien recorded events, he did not praise [anyone] without reason or hide any evil [deeds]. Liu Hsiang

4 [79-8 B.C.] and Yang Hsiung [53 B.C.-A.D. 18] admitted that he had stated things well and had the qualities of a capable historian, and called [his book] a recording of facts. [The foregoing statements are taken from Pan Ku's eulogy on Szu-ma Ch'ien, HS 62: 26a.] Emperor Wu of the Han [dynasty] heard that he had written the SC, took the "Fundamental Annals of [Emperor] Hsiao-ching" together with those recording his own [reign], and read them. Thereupon he became furious, sliced them off, and threw them away. Down to the present, these two chapters have the title but no writing. Later there happened the affair of Li Ling, and thereupon [the Emperor] committed [Szu-ma] Ch'ien to the Silkworm House. Thus there were secret strong feelings on the part of [Emperor] Hsiao-wu and not upon the part of the historian [Szu-ma] Ch'ien." The dependability of these two accounts is questionable. Wang Su's reply seems merely an expansion of Wei Hung's statement, and hence may perhaps be neglected. Wei Hung seems moreover to have been quite mistaken. In the first place, his statement about Szu-ma Ch'ien's death in prison is not corroborated. Unfortunately, Pan Ku's biography of Szu-ma Ch'ien says nothing concerning the circumstances of his death. Since Pan Ku admired Szu-ma Ch'ien greatly, he undoubtedly collected all that was known about that famous historian; if Szu-ma Ch'ien had died in prison, that fact would hardly have escaped Pan Ku's notice. The only time that we know of Szu-ma Ch'ien having been in prison was at the time that he was castrated, and HS 62: 16a says, "After [Szu-ma] Ch'ien was punished, he became Chief Palace Writer and was honored and favored in that position." (The Chief Palace Writer was the eunuch imperial private secretary, a very important position.) Moreover, in HHS, Mem. 50 B: 20a, the Minister over the Masses, Wang Yün, when interceded in behalf of Ts'ai Yung, is said to have replied as follows, in 192 A.D., "In former times, Emperor Wu did not kill Szu-ma Ch'ien and left him to compose libelous writings to be transmitted to later generations." Indeed, in HS 62: 12b, Pan Ku seems to represent Szu-ma Ch'ien as writing at least his "Introductory Memoir" (SC ch. 130) after his punishment, and the same chapter quotes a letter of Szu-ma Ch'ien written after his punishment.[2] Probably Szu-ma 5 Ch'ien's death, which occurred within the forbidden apartments of the imperial palace, to which few persons were admitted, was merely unnoticed. Hence the second part of Wei Hung's statement is false. Wei Hung's impression of Szu-ma Ch'ien's attitude towards Emperor Wu is nevertheless correct. SC ch. 30 (Mh III, 552 ff) contains what are practically annals for the years 124-110; that chapter constitutes a picture of the ruin brought by war upon a prosperous empire. The genuine portions of the SC thus contain a drastic criticism of Emperor Wu's policies. Pan Ku probably did not himself have any SC "Fundamental Annals for Emperor Wu." In 62: 16a he repeats his father's statement, "Moreover ten chapters [of the SC] are lacking; there is a listing [for them, but] there is no writing [for them]." Chang Yen (iii cent.; also trans. in Mh I, cci) attempted to enumerate these ten chapters, and writes, in a note to the passage quoted above, "After the death of [Szu-ma] Ch'ien, there were lacking the `Annals of [Emperor] Ching' [SC ch. 11], the `Annals of [Emperor] Wu' [ch. 12], the `Book on Rites' [ch. 23], the `Book on Music' [ch. 24], the `Book on War' [Szu-ma Cheng (fl. 713-742) says it was lost (possibly because of criticism like that in HS 100 A: 5a) and that Master Ch'u substituted for it part of Szu-ma Ch'ien's account of the calendar, under the title, the `Book on the Sonorous Tubes,' ch. 25; cf. Mh I, ccii, ccv-ccvii], the `Table by Years of the Generals and Chancellors since the Rise of the Han [Dynasty', ch. 22], the `Memoir on Fortune-tellers' [ch. 127], the `Hereditary House of the Three Kings' [ch. 60], the `Memoir on the Tortoise and the Milfoil' [ch. 128], and the `Memoir of Fu [K'uan] and Chin [Hsi,' ch. 98]. During [the time of Emperors] Yüan and Ch'eng [48-7 B.C.], Master Ch'u supplied what was missing and composed the `Annals of Emperor Wu,' the `Hereditary House of the Three Kings,' and the `Memoirs of the Tortoise and the Milfoil' and `on Fortune-tellers.' Their words and phrases are rustic and low, not

[Szu-ma] Ch'ien's original ideas." It is doubtful whether Chang Yen's statement contains any independent evidence. There is no doubt that most of the present SC ch. 12 has been supplied; chs. 60, 127, and 128 at present contain long passages, said in the text to have been composed by the Master Ch'u; chs. 23 and 24 are filled out with long quotations from previous literature (cf. Mh I, ccii for Szu-ma Cheng's explanation of Chang Yen's choice, and ibid. ccvii, for Chavannes' criticism). Chang Yen is plainly depending for his information upon internal evidence to be found in substantially what is the present text of the SC. In mentioning SC chs. 11 and 12 he may be under the influence of Wei Hung's statement, which itself is very doubtful. We have moreover seen that there is every reason to believe that the 6 SC text of the "Annals of Emperor Ching" was used by Pan Ku and that this chapter was written by Szu-ma Ch'ien (cf. HFHD, I, 291-292). The copy of the SC in Pan Ku's family library was made from the original, which Szu-ma Ch'ien says he deposited in the imperial private library (HS 100 A: 5a). In addition he made a copy for circulation in the capital outside the Palace (SC 130: 64), which seems to have been kept by his grandson Yang Yün. After Yang Yün's execution, this copy may have been preserved by Szu-ma Ch'ien's other descendants, who were living as late as the time of Wang Mang and for whom a noble title was then asked (Cf. HS 62: 25a; Fr. Jäger in Asia Major 9: [1933], 36). The additions now found in the text of the SC were probably made to that copy, to which Pan Ku may have had access. While composing his History, he moreover had free access to the imperial private library. Access to the copy of the SC in the imperial private library was commonly denied, and even copies of it were at first refused; Pan Ku's clan would not lend their copy (HS 100 A: 6b). Chang Yen does not thus seem to have been making an independent statement about the contemporary text of the SC, but merely to have been guessing about what chapters were missing from Pan Piao's copy. Concerning the "Annals of Emperor Ching," at least, he guessed wrong. We may then dismiss as unsupported, except by the internal evidence of the SC text, Chang Yen's statement about the missing chapters of the SC. Except for that internal evidence, which is as available to us as to earlier critics, we are left then merely with the statement of Pan Piao that his copy lacked ten chapters, and we do not know from ancient information which these ten were or even whether they were all chapters dealing with Han times. The HS "Annals of Emperor Wu" are then an original composition of Pan Ku, in which he was not following any chapter of the SC, because none was available. It is the first such chapter in the book. Szu-ma Ch'ien however had written much about Emperor Wu's reign: parts of SC chs. 28 and 30 are really annals dealing with some years in that reign. These chapters were utilized by Pan Ku. He also had the additions made to the SC by writers like Master Ch'u, who lived between his time and that of Szu-ma Ch'ien. The majority of the material in these "Annals" is however Pan Ku's own compilation and was taken, in all probability, from the same sources as the material which did not come from the SC now found in the preceding chapters: from the collection of imperial edicts and important memorials to the throne, which we know were preserved in the imperial files, and from some sort of palace annals recording travels of the emperors, together with portentous happenings and deaths of important persons.

[1] Cf. also the discussion by Fritz Jäger, "Der heutige Stand der Schï-ki-Forschung," in Asia Major 9: (1933) 21-37. [2] The authenticity of this letter has been doubted, on what appear to me to be inadequate grounds, for the points adduced can all be accounted for. Since books circulated very slowly (the SC did not become known until after Szu-ma Ch'ien's death, according to HS 62: 25a), it is natural for Szu-ma Ch'ien to have wished his contemporaries to see some of his work, and hence to have quoted two sections from the SC in a letter

that was plainly written for immediate publication. I do not think we ought to consider that Szu-ma Ch'ien ever set a definite year for the close of the SC. Cf. Chavannes, Mh I, xlii, n. 1; F. Jäger, Asia Major 9: (1933) 34f; Duyvendak, Jour. Am. Or. Soc'y 55: (1935) 332 f. 7

A summary of Emperor Wu's reign The history of this period, in the Occidental sense of the word, is to be found, for the most part, not in Pan Ku's "Annals", but in his "Treatises" and "Memoirs", which elaborate the chronological summary given here. These "Memoirs" are largely abstracted in the Glossary, which contains an account of every person, place, and government office mentioned in the "Annals". The reader is referred to it for many important matters concerning this and other chapters. A reading of the relevant "Memoirs" and "Treatises" impresses one with the tremendous activity of the time and with the control exercised by Emperor Wu over the elaborate governmental mechanism. The Emperor was, in more ways than one, le grand monarque of Han times. Not only did he reign for more than half a century, but he came to the throne at the age of fifteen and a half, so that shortly after he began his reign he came into the most vigorous years of his manhood and was prepared to infuse his own vigor into the government. In addition to his many brilliant achievements, he overturned the unwritten constitution of the state, which limited the emperor's powers, and made himself an absolute autocrat. He made continual demands upon his realm until its resources were exhausted and disorder ensued. He made the relatives of his favorite women influential officials. He devoted much time to the pursuit of supernatural beings. He set in operation the examination system in the form which it maintained until T'ang times, and, through the Imperial University, he was to a considerable degree responsible for the victory of Confucianism over its rivals, although he was personally only a nominal Confucian. His reign became a period about which romance gathered. There have come down two famous collections of such stories, the Stories from [the Reign of Emperor] Wu of the Han [Dynasty] (Han-Wu Ku-shih) and the Secret Memoirs of [Emperor] Wu of the Han [Dynasty] (Han-Wu Nei-chuan), both of which are full of miracles and wonderful stories. In addition, there are many other romances and plays based upon events in this reign. Some of these deal with Szu-ma Hsiang-ju, the famous poet, who, because he did nothing of administrative importance, is not even mentioned in this chapter, although Pan Ku admired him highly and devotes a long memoir to him. This is not the place to write a history of Emperor Wu's reign. Chavannes has supplied a long account of its events, external and internal, including an account of his military campaigns, his enfeeblement of the nobles, his selection of commoners as his ministers, his change in the calendar, his sale of noble ranks, his monetary changes, and his cultivation of letters (Mh I, lxii-cvii). Here will be found merely an attempt 8 to indicate something of the background to this reign and some important events omitted from the "Annals." His subversion of the unwritten state constitution and the consequences thereof Soon after he ascended the throne, Emperor Wu evidently determined to rule as well as to reign. In attaining that goal he made in the fundamental unwritten constitution of the state an important change which has had far-reaching effects upon Chinese history. In the conduct of government the Han practise had previously been that the emperor delegates his power to his important officials, especially the Lieutenant Chancellor, and confines his own activity chiefly to the appointment and dismissal of his high officials. All important matters, such as the issuance of important governmental orders and the confirmation

of all capital sentences, came to the emperor for final approval; in deciding such matters, the emperor seems to have ratified, without questioning, the decisions of his high officials. When important officials disagreed, it seems to have been the custom to convoke the members of the imperial court, including the high officials, the heads of bureaus, the Erudits, the Gentlemen, etc., to a discussion, at which the emperor presided; the consensus of opinion reached at this assembly was then adopted by the emperor. This limitation of imperial power had been embodied in and strengthened by the custom that the emperor rarely or never acts on his own initiative; he merely approves or disapproves the suggestions of his officials (cf. HFHD, I, 16, 17). Government business came to the high ministers, who usually decided matters and, sometimes after convoking their own subordinates, submitted their decisions to the emperor for ratification. While the emperor was thus theoretically an absolute monarch, in practise his official acts were determined by the group of officials with whom he had surrounded himself. This constitutional practise seems admirably designed, but its continuance required a degree of self-denial and freedom from overweening ambition not to be found continuously in any line of rulers. This custom, which made the emperor chiefly the personnel manager of the government, was plainly a Legalistic (and Taoistic) practise. It was called "governing by non-activity" and was strongly advocated by Han Fei and by Chuang-tzu (Cf. W. K. Liao, Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu, vol. I, ch. VIII; Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, I, 330-5). Since the Ch'in government adopted Legalist practises and the early Han rulers adopted Ch'in practises, this imperial abnegation of ruling power came almost certainly to the Han dynasty from the Ch'in, along with many other governmental institutions and offices. Hsiao Ho, the actual 9 founder of the Han governmental mechanism and the Han constitution, had been thoroughly trained in Ch'in procedures before he joined the Han forces. This conception of the imperial power was furthermore not contradicted by Confucian teachings. While the Book of History does not plainly represent any of the ancient sages as explicitly following it, yet the practise is quite in harmony with what these sages are represented as doing and with other Confucian teachings. For example, Shun urges Yü, his successor, to give up his own opinion and follow that of others (Book of History, II, ii, 3; Legge, p. 53); in the "Great Plan," the ruler is directed to consult with the ministers, officers, common people, and the divining instruments (ibid. V, iv, 25). The Confucian theory was that the ruler should serve as a model, and his subordinates would accordingly become virtuous without the ruler's interference. Mencius called the ruler who enforces his will by physical force a Lord Protector (pa) in contrast to the true king (wang), who governs by moral suasion. Thus it was quite possible to read Confucian sanction from the Classics into the practise of turning the actual work of government over to the ministers and bureaucracy. At the same time it was possible for sincere Confucians to allege that this practise was one of the "evils inherited" from the Ch'in dynasty (HS 6: 39a) and to reinforce by this argument the Emperor's natural ambition to dominate the governmental mechanism of which he was the head, urging that only by such a change could this anti-Confucian practise be removed. Szu-ma T'an makes imperial initiative in government a Confucian teaching (SC 130: 9; trans. in L. C. Porter, Aids to the Study of Chinese Philosophy, p. 51). Thus criticism of the change could be stifled by an appeal to the Confucian philosophy. Such a change, from passivity to imperial initiative in government, was foreshadowed when Emperor Wu, early in his reign, showed himself ambitious, active, and dominating. At first he followed the earlier practise of leaving matters to the decision of his Lieutenant Chancellors. But after the death, in 131 B.C., of T'ien Fen, his uncle and Lieutenant Chancellor, Emperor Wu took the government into his own hands. He did not allow any of his Lieutenant Chancellors to remain in office long enough to gain prestige. They were tripped up on some one of the many vague laws and were sentenced for crime. None of them held office for more than four years, except the incompetent and subservient Shih Ch'ing, who did not know enough to interfere in government business. The others all died or were dismissed in disgrace. From 121 to 88 B.C., a period of thirty-three years, during which there were seven Lieutenant

Chancellors, only Shih Ch'ing died a natural death; the others were all condemned for some crime or other. The result of this continual overturn of the outstanding government official was that government business 10 came naturally in the first instance to the throne, instead of to the Lieutenant Chancellor, and that the ministers became merely the agents of the throne, instead of actually controlling the government. Thus Emperor Wu altered the constitution of the state, and the emperor became the ruler, an absolute monarch who directed the government in person, instead of merely reigning and delegating his powers to the most capable subordinate he could discover. This profound change naturally had important consequences for subsequent history. In the first place, it removed an important check to misgovernment. As long as the Lieutenant Chancellor was ruling, it was possible for complainants to criticize this official; once the emperor actually assumed the direction of matters, it was no longer possible to criticize the government for its mistakes, since the emperor was above criticism. Szu-ma Ch'ien, in pleading for Li Ling, was actually criticizing the Emperor; such criticism was lese-majesty, for which Szu-ma Ch'ien was punished severely. Thus by placing the ruling power above criticism, the imperial government was deprived of the corrective power that comes from popularly expressed criticism. Emperors Wu and Wang Mang ruined the country, bringing about serious depopulation and banditry; yet critics could not ask to have the ruling authority changed, as they had done in the times of Emperors Wen and Ching, when the Lieutenant Chancellors were criticized. The very serious mistakes in Emperor Wu's reign, such as his economic policies, the loss of Li Ling, and the rebellion of the Heir-apparent Li, were made possible by the absence of effective criticism for governmental policies. In the second place, the emperor's private secretaries, the Masters of Writing or the Palace Writers, instead of the Lieutenant Chancellors, came to be the most powerful officials in the government. These secretaries became the sieve through which all official documents passed. Since the emperor could not possibly examine all memorials and documents, and since he remained enclosed by the barrier composed of his entourage and palaces, the person who selected what reports and documents were seen by the emperor could largely determine the emperor's decisions. Emperors Wu and Hsüan were alone able to a certain extent, by their personal activity, to break through this barrier; other emperors, who were not so active or able, usually succumbed to the restrictions thrown about them. There accordingly came into being the curious office of Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing (Chih Shang-shu Shih), the occupant of which, by controlling the imperial secretaries, controlled the emperor and the government. The Lieutenant Chancellor now became, not the dominating official in the government, but a convenient figurehead, a position to which some aged Confucian scholar could be 11 appointed, in order to give the government the flavor of virtue. The Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing was usually concurrently Commander-in-chief, and important government matters, such as important appointments, were usually decided by him. Occasionally emperors tried to nullify the power of the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing by appointing two persons to this post, to check each other, but, in such cases, the stronger of the two, by using the threat of legal condemnation afforded by the complicated and vague laws, usually dominated the other. Thus the attempt of the emperor to grasp the governing power in person merely drove that power to subterranean places. Thirdly, it now became possible for persons who held no official positions to dominate the government through their possession of the imperial confidence. Hence intrigue became rife in the court. Since the emperor had little or no contact with the public and was naturally suspicious of self-seeking among his courtiers, the persons whom he trusted could dominate the government. The most important of these persons was

his mother, the Empress Dowager, obedience to whom was required by the Confucian virtue of filial piety. She, being a woman, was also immured in the palace, and so came to depend upon her close relatives. They were blood relatives or connections of the emperor and their position in the court depended upon the possession of the throne by this particular emperor, hence he could be confident that their interests were fundamentally identical with his own. Consequently they were trusted and given high positions. Thus Emperor Wu's seizure of governmental control inaugurated the periods of intrigue and domination by imperial maternal relatives, which so defaced the succeeding periods of his dynasty and resulted in the downfall of the Former and Later Han dynasties. The foregoing consequences of Emperor Wu's over-ambitious overturn of the state constitution did not for the most part manifest themselves until the reigns of succeeding emperors. By his own penetration and activity he minimized them during his own reign. He was, for example, so far-sighted as to see to it that his successor should have no living mother. Emperor Hsüan, because of his unusual upbringing, likewise avoided these consequences. But under rulers of lesser ability, they became inevitable. All the reigns after Emperor Hsüan suffered from them. The undue severity of his rule In order to strengthen the government's control over the people, Emperor Wu had Chang T'ang and others enact a strict and detailed code of laws, so that it became difficult for anyone to keep out of prison 12 except by the favor of the emperor or of some official. At this time, Wang Wen-shu moreover made popular among officials his method of controlling the people by protecting certain criminals and using them as his "teeth and claws" in suppressing others. It is said that when Tu Chou was Commandant of Justice, there were always in prison more than a hundred officials, of ranks as high as two thousand piculs, waiting for their cases to be decided, and that each year there were more than a thousand cases concerning commandery officials, the larger cases involving several hundred accused and the minor ones involving several dozen people. By contrast, Emperor Wen is said to have pronounced only four hundred verdicts in his whole reign (cf. 4: 22a). One reason for this startling number of prisoners was doubtless the Emperor's constant demands for soldiers and workmen. By about 115 B.C., the regular levies for military service seem to have been mostly exhausted and volunteers no longer appeared. Several armies had been lost in expeditions against the Huns and even horses had become scarce. When, in 112, it became desirable to send expeditions against the kingdom of Nan-yüeh, the prisons were opened and amnesty was offered to those who would go with the armies. After that time most of the Chinese armies were composed of criminals. Probably many of Emperor Wu's edifices were also built by criminal workers—about 110 B.C., when Emperor Wu wanted to build the T'ung-t'ien Terrace and no laborers were available, Wang Wen-shu asked for leave to restudy the cases in the Palace Military Commander's office, and set free those who could work, thus securing several ten-thousands of men (cf. Glossary, sub voce). Government slaves were also secured by condemning people to penal servitude. Such slaves were employed in the government monopolies in salt, iron, and liquor. In 44 B.C., Kung Yü reported that the government still employed more than a hundred thousand convicts for that purpose. Szu-ma Ch'ien states that through condemnations for false reporting of property and capital, the government obtained wealth in cash by the hundred-thousands, in slaves by the thousands and ten-thousands, and in fields to the amount of several ten-thousands of mou in large prefectures and over ten thousand mou in small prefectures, with residences in proportion, so that merchants and the middle class were ruined (cf. Mh III, p. 585 f; HS 24 B: 16a, b). The undue demands made upon the people by Emperor Wu wrecked the country. In SC ch. 30, Szu-ma Ch'ien gives a picture of the economic calamities that came upon his country while Emperor Wu was exhausting the reserves accumulated during the peaceful reign of Emperor Wen.

The Emperor drained the country, while his sycophantic officials and 13 complaisant courtiers fed his megalomania. The wastage in the army was especially great, for the Chinese generals, spurred by imperial commands, often took undue risks. In 129 B.C., Li Kuang3 and Kung-sun Ao were defeated; the latter is said to have lost 7000 men. In 123, Chao Hsin4 surrendered to the Huns and Su Chien's troops, comprising more than 3000 cavalry, were killed or surrendered. In 121, Li Kuang3 lost most of 4000 men. In the strenuous campaigns of 119, Chinese are said to have been killed by the ten-thousands, and more than a hundred thousand army horses were worn out and died. In 103, Li Kuang-li lost eight to nine-tenths of his army, composed of several ten-thousands of men. In 102, Chao P'o-nu was captured by the Huns with 20,000 men. In 101, Li Kuang-li brought back from Ferghana only ten thonsand-odd out of sixty thousand men. In 99, he again returned, having lost six to seven-tenths of a much larger force. In that year all but 400 of Li Ling's 5000 famous foot-soldiers were destroyed. In 90, Li Kuang-li surrendered to the Huns with 70,000 men. Thus Emperor Wu's rule was anything but kindly. His intense desire for fame made his reign a calamity to China. Li Ling's brilliant military exploit Perhaps the most brilliant military exploit in Han times after the death of Hsiang Yü was the famous expedition of Li Ling deep into Hun territory. It throws so much light upon Emperor Wu and upon military practises that it is perhaps worth recounting. Li Ling was a grandson of Li Kuang3, a doughty and intrepid fighter from the Commandery of Lung-hsi (in the present Kansu). Li Kuang3 had been a famous archer, who was said to have mistaken in the dusk a stone for a tiger and to have sunk an arrow deep into it. He intrepidly attacked greatly larger forces of Huns, with the result that he twice lost all or almost all his soldiers in battle. He shared the hardships of his men and achieved great fame by his valor and ability. When, in 119 B.C., a strenuous attempt was to be made to capture the Hun Shan-yü, Li Kuang3, who was then a general, asked several times to go along. He was more than sixty years of age, and Emperor Wu thought him too old, but he was finally made General of the Van, with secret orders to the Commander-in-chief, Wei Ch'ing, to keep him in the rear. Emperor Wu had consulted the diviners about Li Kuang3, and had been told that his fate was to be an evil one, so did not wish Li Kuang3 to lead in the expedition; Wei Ch'ing wanted his personal friend, Kung-sun Ao, to have the opportunity of capturing the Shan-yü, because Kung-sun Ao had arrived late with his army at a rendezvous, a capital crime. He had been allowed to ransom his life, but had lost his noble rank and 14 wealth. Hence Wei Ch'ing removed Li Kuang3 to the command of the Right. The proud Li Kuang3 became angry and arrived late at the rendezvous. Wei Ch'ing's expedition defeated the Huns, but failed to capture the Shan-yü, possibly because it lacked Li Kuang3. When the expedition returned, Li Kuang3 was questioned; he admitted his fault, recounted his seventy victories over the Huns, and committed suicide. Thus the intrepid commander was robbed of his opportunity and his life by imperial superstition, professional jealousy, and his own pride. In 99 B.C., his grandson, Li Ling, had entered the imperial service and had been stationed in Kansu with a force of five thousand picked men to defend the frontiers. He was an excellent horseman and archer, and trained his men carefully. An expedition of thirty thousand cavalry was to be sent to attack the Hun Worthy King of the West at the T'ien Mountains (north of the present Chinese Turkestan). Emperor Wu summoned Li Ling, intending to put him in charge of the baggage train, whereupon the latter suggested that it would be better to send him on an independent expedition into the present Mongolia, in order to divide the Hun forces. Emperor Wu replied that there was no more cavalry (who fought as horse-archers) available, but Li Ling answered that he wanted only his five thousand infantry, saying that he liked to fight with a few against many.

Previous to this time, because the Huns fought on horseback, cavalry had always been sent to attack them; Li Ling for the first time opposed infantry, to the Hun cavalry in Hun territory. Emperor Wu approved his plan, and ordered Lu Po-tê to support Li Ling and to meet him halfway on his return. But Lu Po-tê was a General, while Li Ling was only a Chief Commandant; Lu Po-tê did not want to appear subordinate to Li Ling, and memorialized that the expedition should be delayed. Emperor Wu misunderstood his meaning, thought that Li Ling had regretted his proposal, became very angry (for he would not tolerate cowardice among his officers), and ordered Lu Po-tê off to another part of the border, while he commanded Li Ling to set out against the Huns in November. Li Ling sent back the Emperor correct information concerning what had happened between him and Lu Po-tê and, after getting no reply, started out with his men northwards from the present Chü-yen (Etzina) towards the present Urga, then approximately the seat of the Shan-yü. He marched for about thirty days, mapping the mountains and streams and sending a subordinate back to report to Emperor Wu. The force was then opposite the Shan-yü's location. The latter discovered the Chinese and surrounded Li Ling with a troop said to have consisted of 15 thirty thousand horsemen. Li Ling encamped between two mountains and used his large carts to wall his camp. He led his troops out of the camp and arrayed them, ordering the front ranks to bear pikes and shields and the rear ranks to bear bows and crossbows. At the sound of the drum they were to advance; at the sound of the bell they were to stop. The Huns attacked, and Li Ling's footmen awaited them unflinchingly, while a thousand cross-bows, which outranged the Hun longbows, were discharged at the Huns. The effect was terrible; the Huns fled to the mountains with the Chinese in pursuit. Several thousand Huns were killed. The Parthians, at the battle of Carrhae (54 B.C.) and in Antony's retreat from Phraaspa (36 B.C.), showed that the best foot soldiers of the time (Roman legionaries) were no match for horse-archers adequately supplied with arrows; Li Ling showed that footmen, when properly organized and supplied with enough crossbows, could vanquish an overwhelming force of horse-archers. But without support Li Ling could not follow up his victory. The Shan-yü summoned reinforcements, while Li Ling led his men southeastwards, towards the Chinese border, fighting as he went, always beating off overwhelming numbers and inflicting severe punishment upon the Huns. Crossbows that shot several arrows at a time were used so effectively that the Shan-yü himself had to dismount and flee on foot. The severely wounded Chinese were carried in carts; the moderately wounded pushed carts; while the slightly wounded kept on fighting. When the Chinese reached a place only a hundred-odd li from the frontier, they had to pass through a narrow valley. The Shan-yü was going to cease the pursuit, but his chiefs warned him that it would be a great shame for him not to be able to destroy several thousand Chinese with several ten-thousands of Hun horsemen. If Li Ling got forty or fifty li further on to level ground, he could not be stopped. Just then a Chinese captain turned traitor and surrendered to the Huns, bringing the news that there were no supporting troops coming to assist Li Ling, and that his arrows were almost exhausted. The Huns attacked with renewed vigor, surrounded the Chinese, blocked the valley, and rolled rocks and stones down, while their arrows fell like rain. Without arrows, the Chinese were helpless. They abandoned their carts and fled. Only three thousand were left; the men fought with cart axles, the officers used their short swords. Although many were killed, they could not win through the valley. It was then the chivalric Chinese tradition that a defeated leader must die with his men. Li Kuang3 had once escaped after his men had all been killed and he had been captured; Emperor Wu had pardoned him 16 for not dying and allowed him to ransom his life by a money payment. A second time he had been trapped by the Huns and almost all his men

killed before he was rescued; this time he had not been punished, because he had not been actually defeated. Thus exceptions could be made to the code at the Emperor's will, but he expected his defeated generals to die in battle. Li Ling saw that the situation was hopeless. After dark he cut off his banners and flags and buried his army's treasure. He told his men to scatter and try to escape, while he and his second in command set out on horseback with only ten-odd followers. His second in command was killed, while Li Ling, remembering his grandfather's unjust fate, surrendered to the Huns. Only four hundred-odd of Li Ling's troops arrived safely at the Chinese fortifications. When the news of Li Ling's defeat reached Emperor Wu, the latter merely hoped that Li Ling had died with his men. But when the news came that he had surrendered, Emperor Wu became very angry. His officials accordingly condemned Li Ling, all except Szu-ma Ch'ien, the historian, who had originally recommended Li Ling. He now defended him, saying that Li Ling had had no support; he had been defeated only when his ammunition had been exhausted; in marching deep into enemy territory and defeating ten-thousands of horsemen with only five thousand infantry he had performed the most glorious exploit in history. Emperor Wu sentenced Szu-ma Ch'ien to castration because of the implied criticism. A year later, the Emperor recognized that he had been to blame for not ordering Li Ling supported, and sent for Li Ling, but the latter would not return to China. His family was later exterminated. Thus a chivalric code and an irascible emperor deprived China of its most brilliant military genius. Ancient appraisals of Emperor Wu The final result of Emperor Wu's continued over-taxation, wastage, and misgovernment was civil disorder. In 99 B.C., the people in what is now Shantung, provoked by the misgovernment of the local officials, who had widely imitated Wang Wen-shu, took generally to brigandage. Emperor Wu, with characteristic energy, sent out Special Commissioners Clad in Embroidered Garments, with dictatorial power over life and death, who put down this virtual insurrection, executing perhaps more than ten thousand robbers and several thousand others in each commandery, including the highest officials. The witchcraft and black magic case of 91 B.C., with its arbitrary inquisitorial executions, involved the death of ten-thousands in addition to ten-thousands killed in the 17 fighting (cf. Glossary, sub Chiang Ch'ung and Liu Chü). When in 72 B.C., Emperor Hsüan wanted to honor his great-grandfather, Emperor Wu, the Confucian scholar Hsia-hou Sheng protested, saying that although Emperor Wu had repulsed the barbarians and had extended the borders of the empire, he had nevertheless killed many soldiers, had exhausted the wealth and strength of the people, and had been boundlessly extravagant. The empire was bankrupt, the people had become destitute vagabonds, and more than half of them had died. Locusts had risen in great swarms and had bared the earth for several thousand li, so that the people had taken to cannibalism and the granaries had not been refilled to this day. Emperor Wu had done nothing good for the people, so should not be honored with any special dances. In spite of these troubles, Emperor Wu must have been extremely popular, especially among the officials, because of his military conquests, his reforms in ceremonial, his encouragement of literature, the founding of the Imperial University, etc. There was also probably considerable enthusiasm for him among the people, because of his magnificence and his grants. Yet Hsia-hou Sheng undoubtedly represented one phase of popular opinion, perhaps that dominant in the eastern part of China. Emperor Hsüan's glorification of his great-grandfather seems to have received general acclaim; Hsia-hou Sheng was imprisoned for his criticism. In the Discourses on Salt and Iron, which are supposed to have occurred in 81 B.C., Emperor Wu is not criticized, but the measures that were instituted by his ministers and with his approval are castigated mercilessly. In his eulogy (HS 6: 38b, 39a), Pan Ku summarizes Emperor Wu's achievements, and they are very impressive. It is not surprising

that Emperor Wu became perhaps the most famous of Chinese emperors. Possibly because of the violent reaction against any criticism of this popular emperor, Pan Ku was cautious in expressing his opinions; his eulogy of Emperor Wu is a masterpiece of tact. His criticism of this Emperor is to be found in his eulogies upon Emperors Wen and Chao (4: 21a-22a; 7: 10b). Like Louis XIV of France, Emperor Wu left his country impoverished and exhausted. After the Emperor's death, Ho Kuang fortunately adapted the government's policy to the situation and allowed the empire to recuperate. The apogee of Chinese power during the Former Han period did not occur until the reign of Emperor Hsüan. The Emperor's favorite women and their relatives Perhaps the most interesting features of Emperor Wu's government are connected with the women of his harem. As a child, Emperor Wu was married to the girl who became his Empress née Ch'en, and he was 18 made Heir-apparent through the influence wielded by this Empress's mother. This Empress had his sole favor and was highly honored. But she had no son, even though she spent millions of cash on practitioners of various sorts. In a court where power depended upon who it was that had the Emperor's ear, intrigues against the influence of the Empress's mother naturally arose. A sister or half-sister of Emperor Wu, the Princess of P'ing-yang, gathered some ten girls of good families, and, when Emperor Wu visited her, she introduced them to him. He did not care for any of these girls, but liked an attractive singer and dancer, Wei Tzu-fu, the daughter of a slave in the Princess's household. This girl attended upon the Emperor while adjusting his clothes and he favored her. The Princess then sent her to the imperial harem. For more than a year after, she was not summoned, but at last she managed to see the Emperor, excite his pity, and revive her former relation with him. When the Empress heard of it, she was very jealous and fearful. She tried to have the new favorite's brother killed; when that fact became known, Emperor Wu became furious with his Empress. She had tried to obtain sons by magical practises; her daughter was now charged with using witchcraft and black magic upon the Emperor. Some three hundred persons, including the daughter, were executed; the Empress née Ch'en was dismissed and sent to live in a separate palace. The fear of witchcraft and black magic, which defaced Emperor Wu's reign, leading to the death of his first Heir-apparent, the Empress née Wei, and ten-thousands of others, and which became epidemic several times in later reigns, thus began its influence early in Emperor Wu's reign. Emperor Wu began the practise of entrusting power to the relatives of his favorite women, which practise in the end brought about the downfall of the dynasty. Wei Tzu-fu bore Emperor Wu three daughters and finally a son, whereupon she was made Empress. Her younger half-brother, Wei Ch'ing, was made a General; when he was successful against the Huns, he was made General-in-chief. Her sister's illegitimate son, Ho Ch'ü-ping, distinguished himself even more as a general. Ho Ch'ü-ping's half-brother, Ho Kuang, became the Emperor's intimate attendant and the actual ruler of the country after the Emperor's death. One sister of Tzu-fu was married to the Chief of the Stud, Kung-sun Ho, who was likewise made a general; another sister's lover, Ch'en Chang, who came of a noble family, was highly honored. Thus the imperial favor for one woman called into being the clique which was influential through much of the reign and after the Emperor's death. He seems however to have later realized the danger of female influence in the government; before he appointed the future Emperor Chao as his Heir-apparent, Emperor Wu thoughtfully saw to it that the young boy's 19 mother died, in order to avoid female influence during a long regency. Then he appointed his three most intimate attendants to control the government during the minority. Ho Kuang proved loyal and capable, so that this arrangement preserved the dynasty, but later emperors were too humane to follow Emperor Wu's example.

The Emperor's superstitious practises Emperor Wu devoted much time to the cultivation of relations with supernatural beings. He extended and enlarged the imperial sacrifices, introducing a new god, the Supreme One (T'ai-yi), who was ranked above the Five Lords on High (Shang-ti [q.v. in Glossary] or Wu-ti). He established two important new imperial sacrifices, the feng sacrifice to Heaven and the shan sacrifice to Earth, and recreated the Ming-t'ang as a place of sacrifice and audience. He also made various attempts to get immortals to come to him. These attempts invariably ended in failure, for the Emperor was too keen to be easily fooled. Yet he could not down the feeling that some of the magicians' practises might not have been entire frauds. Luan Ta His outstanding attempt to attract immortals was made through Luan Ta. Emperor Wu executed one magician, and later a queen who wanted to curry favor sent to Emperor Wu Luan Ta, a clever slave in the palace of a vassal kingdom located in the present eastern Shantung. Luan Ta made great promises, saying that gold could be made, the break in the dykes of the Yellow River could be mended, the medicine that brings immortality could be obtained, and immortals could be caused to come. He said that he had frequently seen immortals, but they despised him because of his low rank, and even despised the King his former master. If the Emperor wanted to make them come, he must give great honors to his messenger, make him his relative, and treat him as his equal. Emperor Wu was quite ready to try the experiment; he loaded honors upon Luan Ta, ennobling him, giving him a large estate, a palace, a thousand slaves, the Emperor's eldest daughter to wife, the equivalent of a hundred thousand catties of gold, emblems of ranks higher than those held by any of the ministers, and treated him as an equal, even coming to visit him at his house. Luan Ta was invited to the best homes and everyone marvelled at his success. When Emperor Wu had thus done everything that had been asked of him, Luan Ta was still unable to produce any immortals; even continual sacrifices all night did not bring any materializations. He finally left his dangerous honors and departed for the east to seek teachers. He was however watched, and, 20 when he failed to visit any supposed teachers, he was cruelly executed for having deceived the Emperor. Thus Emperor Wu shared the superstitious beliefs of the time and was willing to experiment with them, but was not uncritically credulous. About half of the "Treatise on the Suburban and Other Sacrifices" (HS ch. 25) is devoted to Emperor Wu's religious practises. The civil service examination system During this period, the examination system flourished in the form which it took in Han times. At intervals the Emperor issued a call for recommendations. Thereupon the commanderies and kingdoms (later also the high court officials) each recommended for the imperial service one or more (depending upon the number requested) of those persons whom they thought suitable. All those recommended were not of the same type; in 135, Emperor Wu asked each commandery and kingdom to recommend one person of filial piety and one incorrupt person. Later emperors varied somewhat the qualities requested; the two above mentioned remained the usual ones. The terms, Filially Pious, Incorrupt, Capable and Good, etc., which were originally merely names of the qualities desired, soon became virtual titles denoting those persons who had been thus recommended. When these Capable and Good persons arrived at the court, they were set a written examination. From the questions set by Emperor Wen, which are quoted in 56: 1b-3a, 6: 4b-5b, and 58: 1b-2b, we see that they really amounted to an invitation for general advice concerning the government, to be couched in literary terms. Some of the outstanding replies are also quoted; cf. those of Tung Chung-shu (56: 3a-19a, trans. in Mit. d. Sem. f. Or. Spr., 1922, pp. 1-50) and of Kung-sun Hung (58: 2b-4a). These examination papers were graded by the Grand Master of Ceremonies (58: 4a), after which they were again read by the Emperor,

who sometimes changed a name from the bottom to the top of the list. Thereupon those who were approved were given minor positions in the bureaucracy. Examinations were also given yearly to the students at the Imperial University, and those who passed might be given government employment. The Emperor's gradual adherence to and advancement of Confucianism

The reign of Emperor Wu marks an important step in the progressive victory of Confucianism over its rivals. According to Pan Ku's account of the rise of Confucian influence (HS ch. 88, taken from SC ch. 121), although Emperor Wen had at times elevated Confucians, he was more 21 interested in the rectification of penological terms (i.e., in the Taoist and legalist school of circumstances and names). Emperor Ching had not appointed any Confucian scholars as such to office. At the beginning of Emperor Wu's reign, in 141 B.C., it was decreed that all those adhering to the Legalist philosophy should be dismissed from government posts. The memorial of Lieutenant Chancellor Wei Wan to that effect, which was enacted by Emperor Wu, specifically requests that all persons who had become expert in the philosophies of Shen Pu-hai, Shang Yang, Han Fei, Su Ch'in, and Chang Yi should be dismissed (6: 1b). The first three of these philosophers belonged to the Legalist school; the latter two, to the Diplomatist (Tsung-heng) School. The intention of this edict was however, as Pan Ku says (6: 39a), to eliminate non-Confucians from the government service. Previous to this time there had been Erudits at the imperial court for the various non-Confucian philosophies; indeed, in the time of Emperor Wen, possibly the only imperial Confucian Erudit was Chia Yi (36: 32b). Upon the illness of the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou in 136, special Erudits were appointed for each of the Five Classics, and it seems that henceforth there were only Confucian Erudits at the imperial court; at least we do not hear of any others. There had been and continued to be Erudits at some kingly courts who specialized in the various Confucian classics, and some vassal kings, particularly Liu An, King of Huai-an, continued to support non-Confucians. At the time that the edict banning Legalists was enacted, Emperor Wu was under the influence of a strongly Confucian clique, headed by an uncle and a cousin, T'ien Fen and Tou Ying. They would undoubtedly have liked also to dismiss Taoists, but did not dare to do so because of the influence wielded by Emperor Wu's paternal grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou, who was an ardent Taoist. Other Taoists continued to hold positions at the court; Chi Yen had been an Outrider to Emperor Wu while the latter was Heir-apparent, and, through his frank criticism, continued to inspire the Emperor with respect and even fear (50: 9a). Szu-ma T'an was likewise a convinced Taoist. A few members of the Taoist school thus continued in the government service. The Mohist school seems to have exercised little if any influence, for it is not referred to as having any adherents, although it is mentioned by Szu-ma T'an in his survey and comparison of the six philosophical schools (SC, 130: 7-14; HS 62: 4b-8a; trans. in L. C. Porter, Aids to the Study of Chinese Philosophy, pp. 51-53). The eventual victory of Confucianism was achieved through the operation of the Imperial University and the examination system, which latter could easily exclude those holding a disapproved philosophy. 22 Emperor Wu did not at first have an altogether happy experience with Confucianism. His personal adherence to it remained mostly nominal, except for its interpretation that the emperor should be an autocrat, and he did not openly espouse any other philosophy. His decree against non-Confucian philosophies seems to have been enacted in a burst of youthful enthusiasm. He sometimes encouraged the advancement of Confucians and never openly encouraged non-Confucian philosophies, yet he actually put many legalist practises into effect. The Confucian clique was temporarily strong at Court under the

leadership of Tou Ying. Emperor Wu had soon dismissed the incompetent Wei Wan and appointed Tou Ying as his Lieutenant Chancellor. Tou Ying was widely known for his strong character, his pride, his ability, and his strong Confucian leanings. He brought into the important court positions a group of ardent Confucians and proceeded to enact Confucian ideals into laws, establishing regulations for mourning ceremonies, proposing to establish a Ming-t'ang, etc. To combat the anti-Confucian clique at the court, the Confucians revived the ideal that rulers should teach their people to live moral lives. The marquises were considered to have states; consequently Tou Ying enacted that they should all go to their states to guide their people. But they had almost all established themselves at the imperial capital, Ch'ang-an, where civilization and luxury were centered, and did not want to leave this comfortable place. In 179, Emperor Wen had futilely ordered them to go to their states; in 143, Emperor Ching had rescinded that order. Most of the imperial relatives were marquises and many of the marquises had married imperial princesses; hence, when they were ordered to leave the capital, they took their cause to the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou. In order to check her influence, the Confucian clique petitioned the Emperor to order that public business should not be brought to the attention of an Empress Dowager. When she heard of this move, the Grand Empress Dowager was furious. Tou Ying and his clique were dismissed; the Grandee Secretary, who had presented the memorial, was executed. Thereafter Tou Ying was powerless. After this misadventure, Emperor Wu gradually took over in person the direction of the government. Subsequent to the death of the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou in 135, T'ien Fen became Lieutenant Chancellor. He degraded those who held non-Confucian techings, especially Taoists and those who stressed penological terms, and advanced several hundred Confucians. Under Emperor Wu the literary and historical treasures of China, particularly the Classics, were especially studied and expounded by the Confucians and a definite canon was formed. Confucius was himself a 23 teacher and had stressed scholarship. Emperor Wu was a highly educated man and was greatly interested in literature. His poems and edicts show genuine literary ability. He was consequently attracted to Confucianism because of its literary and historical scholarship. He was the first ruler to select for his highest official a man who was primarily an oustanding scholar. This person was Kung-sun Hung1, who was an authority upon the interpretation of the Spring and Autumn. In 141, Kung-sun Hung1 had been recommended to the throne for government service and had been made an envoy to the Huns. On his return from his mission, his report did not please the Emperor, who became angry and dismissed him on account of illness. Ten years later, after the death of the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou, Kung-sun Hung1 was again recommended to the imperial court, because of his fame as a scholar. Emperor Wu was struck by the literary quality and nature of Kung-sun Hung1's written answers to the questions that the Emperor had put to those who were recommended, and summoned him to an audience. The Emperor found that Kung-sun Hung1 was not a stiff-necked Confucian, sure that he was right, but a man who, when asked about his ability in office, replied meekly that he could learn. So Kung-sun Hung1 was made an Erudit and sent to inspect the present Yünnan, which Emperor Wu was planning to conquer. His report again disagreed with Emperor Wu's plans, but Kung-sun Hung1 had learned to be tactful, and the Emperor kept him at court, for it was not wise to dismiss a scholar who had the respect of educated people. At meetings for discussing important matters, Kung-sun Hung1, in putting forward his ideas, tactfully said that he was merely presenting his views so that the sovereign could have a variety of opinions from which to choose. That pleased Emperor Wu, who was glad to prove his open-mindedness by having at court someone who disagreed with him. This sort of conduct was however not approved by the stricter Confucians; Tung Chung-shu called Kung-sun Hung1 a flatterer. Kung-sun Hung1 proved to be admirable in personal conduct, able in disputation, capable in legal matters, and an ornament to scholarship,

so he was advanced in office and in 124 was made Lieutenant Chancellor. He died three years later. The appointment of Kung-sun Hung1 does not therefore mean more than a very moderate attachment to Confucianism on the part of Emperor Wu. All the previous Lieutenant Chancellors had been marquises; Kung-sun Hung1 was only a commoner, so Emperor Wu enfeoffed him as a marquis. Thereafter it became the practise for the emperor to ennoble all Lieutenant Chancellors as marquises on the day of their appointment to this office, if they were not already full marquises. 24

The founding of the Imperial University Kung-sun Hung1 used his office to entrench Confucianism in the government service. At his request (Tung Chung-shu had first made this suggestion), Emperor Wu established the Imperial University (q.v. in Glossary), which was destined to advance Confucianism more than any other single institution. As early as the Ch'in dynasty, the imperial court had maintained Erudits, who were men prepared to give expert advice concerning historical and learned matters. Emperor Wu ordered that fifty Disciples should be established for these Erudits. They were exempted from taxes and military service. In addition, officials ranking at two thousand piculs were to send suitable persons to the capital along with the officials who brought the yearly accounts from the commanderies and kingdoms. These persons were sent to the Grand Master of Ceremonies, who in turn sent them to study for a year with the Erudits or their Disciples at the Imperial University. Thereupon the students were examined. Those who showed themselves expert in one or more of the Confucian disciplines (classics) were given the title of Literary Scholar or Authority upon Ancient Matters, and might be promoted to positions ranking at one or two hundred piculs or more or be given minor positions in the offices of the Prefects of the Capital, the Grand Messenger, or of the Commandery Administrators, etc. Less capable persons might be made Gentlemen-of-the-Palace, in which capacity the Emperor might become acquainted with them and appoint them to office. If there was a person of an Unusual Degree of Abundant Talent, his name was reported to the throne and he was given that title. From this time on, says Szu-ma Ch'ien, most of the minor officials in the offices of the ministers and grandees were Literary Scholars. Confucian learning thus became the means whereby most of the lower positions in the bureaucracy were filled, and it gradually permeated the government. For the remainder of his reign, Emperor Wu showed no more than a mild interest in Confucianism, except in matters of religious ceremonies and literature. In 110 B.C., during the controversy over the ceremonies for the sacrifices feng and shan, Emperor Wu broke with the Confucians, dismissed fifty-odd, and formulated the ceremonies himself (cf. Mh III, 498; HS 25 A: 35b; 58: 12a, b, 13a). Legalism had come to stand for the arbitrary authority of the government, as against the Confucian principle that the ruler governs autocratically in accordance with moral principles and for the benefit of the people. Emperor Wu was irked by restraint, and deliberately weakened the power of his ministers and nobles, employing commoners as his agents. In order to secure funds for his ambitious 25 military expeditions, he adopted the suggestion of Sang Hung-yang that he should arbitrarily take the more profitable industries from the despised merchants and make these industries government monopolies. Sang Hung-yang thereupon established government monopolies in salt, iron, and fermented liquors and had the government speculate in goods, buying where prices were low and selling where prices were high. Such monopolies had been characteristic of the Ch'in government and had been urged by Legalist thinkers. The cruel exactingness of Emperor Wu's laws was also modeled upon Ch'in Legalist practices. As Emperor Wu's military plans succeeded more and more, he seems to have likened himself to the earlier great conquerer, the First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty,

and he followed that Emperor's footsteps by making many and extensive tours about his empire. In his interest in magical practises, supernatural beings, and immortality (which was typically Taoist), Emperor Wu likewise imitated the First Emperor. In building great palaces and other edifices—many of which were discontinued by later emperors under Confucian influence, for the sake of economy—Emperor Wu also followed the example of the First Emperor. There was thus in Emperor Wu's government an extremely strong element of the very Legalist influence which he had ordered excluded. The reign of Emperor Wu hence marks both the entrenchment of Confucianism and also the actual reintroduction of many Legalist practises into the imperial government. It was perhaps the most brilliant reign in the period. In no other reign was there so much activity, yet much that Emperor Wu did had to be undone in order that the dynasty might retain popular approval. Because of his military conquests, Emperor Wu's actions came later to have upon the Chinese an influence disproportionate to his deserts. 27

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY] [Chapter] VI THE SIXTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Wu Emperor Hsiao-wu was a son of Emperor Ching, neither the eldest nor the youngest. His mother was entitled the Beauty [née] Wang. When he was in his fourth year [of age], he was made King of 153 B.C.[2] Chiao-tung; in his seventh year, he was made Imperial 150 B.C., Heir-apparent and his mother was made Empress. In his sixteenth year, [which was] the third June[5] year of the latter [part of Emperor Ching's reign], 141 B.C. in the first month, Emperor Ching died. On the Mar. 10[8] [same day], chia-tzu, the Heir-apparent took the Mar. 10 imperial throne.[10] He honored the Empress Dowager née Tou with the title, Grand Empress Dowager, and the Empress [née Wang] with the title, Empress Dowager. In the third month, he enfeoffed both Apr./May the younger brothers of the Empress Dowager by the same mother, T'ien Fen and [T'ien] Sheng, as Marquises. In the [period] Chien-yüan,[12] the first year, in 1b the winter, the tenth month, an imperial edict [ordered] I the Lieutenant Chancellor, the [Grandee] Nov. Secretary, the marquises, [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and at two thousand piculs, and Chancellors of the nobles to recommend persons who were capable and good, sincere and upright, 28 141 B.C. [able to] speak frankly and admonish unflinch6: 2a

ingly.[18] The Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei] Wan, memorialized, "Of those capable and good [persons] who were recommended, some have applied themselves to [and are conversant with] the sayings of Shen [Pu-hai], of Shang [Yang], of Han Fei, of Su Ch'in, and 2a of Chang Yi. [Such persons] cause confusion in the government of the State. I beg that they all be dismissed". The memorial was approved. 140 B.C. In the spring, the second month, an amnesty was Mar. granted to the empire and the common people were granted one step in noble rank. Those who were in their eightieth year were exempted from two poll-taxes [for members of their households] and those in their ninetieth year were [also] exempted [from the tax for] military purposes.[22] Three-shu cash were put into circulation.[23] In the summer, the fourth month, on the [day] May 8 chi-szu, an imperial edict said, "[According to] the teaching established by ancient [rulers], in the districts and hamlets, [honor was given to people] in accordance with their age, [and] in the court, [honor was given] in accordance with noble rank. Nothing is as good as virtue for supporting society and guiding the people. Hence the way of the ancients was 29 6: 2b to give precedence to those who were aged and to 140 B.C.

treat carefully those who were advanced in years in the districts and hamlets.[27] "When now the world's filial and obedient sons and grandsons wish to put forth all their efforts in serving their parents and grandparents, [from] outside [their households] they are harassed by [the requirements for] the public services and within [their homes] they lack [the necessary] property and wealth—for these reasons their filial intentions are enfeebled. We pity them greatly. For those of the [common] people who are in their ninetieth year and over, there is already a law that they should receive gruel.[28] For them, their sons or grandsons should be exempted [from public service] in order that [these sons and grandsons] may be free to lead their wives and concubines in person, in order to perform their service in caring for and serving [their parents or grandparents]." In the fifth month, an imperial edict said, "The 2b [Yellow] River and the sea fertilize ten thousand li June [of land].'[31] Let it be ordered that the sacrificial offices should renew the sacrifices to the mountains and streams and for the annual services let additions be made to the rites with minute care."[32]

An amnesty was granted to the wives and children of those [persons] from Wu, Ch'u, and [the others of] the Seven States who had been condemned and [had 30 140 B.C. been made to serve at] the government offices.[34] 6: 2b Aug. In the autumn, the seventh month, an imperial edict said, "The guards for transport and post [service] and for escorting away and bringing [people] to [the capital number] twenty thousand men. Let them be reduced by ten thousand men,[37] and let the [imperial] pastures and their horses be abolished, in order that [these regions] may be used to grant to the poor people.[38] The establishment of a Ming-t'ang was discussed, and a messenger was sent with a comfortable chariot with its wheels [wrapped in] rushes and with packages of silk to which were added [jade] circlets, to invite his excellency Shen [P'ei] of Lu [to come to court].[39] II In the second year, in the winter, the tenth month, Nov./Dec. the Grandee Secretary, Chao Wan, was sentenced for begging [the throne] that it should be forbidden to memorialize [government] matters to the Grand Empress Dowager. Both he and the Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Wang Tsang, were imprisoned and committed suicide. The Lieutenant Chancellor, [Tou] Ying, and the Grand Commandant, 31 6: 3a [T'ien] Fen, were dismissed.[43] 140 B.C. In the spring, the second month, on the [day] 141 B.C. ping-hsü, the first day of the month, there was an July 8[47] eclipse of the sun.[48] In the summer, the fourth 139 B.C. month, on the [day] mou-shen, there was [a star][50] June 11 which was as if the sun appeared at night. [The Emperor] first established the Mou Tomb 3a and the town of [Mou-ling].[53] In the third year, in the spring, the water of the III [Yellow] River overflowed in P'ing-yüan [Commandery] 38 B.C. and there was a great famine, [so that] Spring people ate each other. [The Emperor] granted to those who moved to Mou-ling two hundred thousand cash to each household and two hundred mou of land, and for the first time the Pien Gate Bridge was built.

In the autumn, the seventh month, there was a Aug. comet in the north-west.[58] The King of Chi-ch'uan, [Liu] Ming, was sentenced for killing his Grand Tutor and Palace Tutor. He was dismissed and 32 138 B.C. exiled to Fang-ling.[60] 6: 3b 3b [The state of] Min-yüeh besieged Tung-ou; [the king of] Tung-ou sent information that he was in straits. [The Emperor] sent Palace Grandee Chuang Tsu with a credential [to order] the mobilization of troops from K'uai-chi [Commandery]. He went by sea and rescued [the King of Tung-ou]. Before [Chuang Tsu] arrived, [the forces] of Min-yüeh fled, [so the imperial] troops returned.[63] In the ninth Nov. 1 month, on the [day] ping-tzu, the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. IV In the fourth year, in the summer, there was a 137 B.C. wind as red as blood. In the sixth month, there was June/July a drought. In the autumn, the ninth month, a Sept./Oct. comet appeared in the northeast.[69] V In the fifth year, in the spring, [the Emperor] 136 B.C. abolished the three-shu cash and put in circulation Spring the half-tael cash.[73] [Five] Erudits for the Five Classics were established.[74] May/June In the summer, the fourth month, the Baronetess June/July of P'ing-yüan, [Tsang Erh], died. In the fifth month, there was a great [plague of] locusts. In the Sept./Oct. autumn, the eighth month, the King of Kuang-ch'uan, [Liu] Yüeh, and the King of Ch'ing-ho, [Liu Fang]-sheng, both died. 33

6: 3b In the sixth year, in the spring, the second month, 135 B.C.

VI on [the day] yi-wei, there was a visitation [of fire] in 135 B.C. the Temple of [Emperor] Kao [in the commandery Mar. 9 of] Liao-tung.[83] In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] jen-tzu, there was a fire in the side-halls May 25 at the [funerary] park of [Emperor] Kao,[85] and

34 135 B.C. 4a Emperor [Wu wore] plain [mourning] garments to 6: 4a

the fifth day. In the fifth month, on [the day] June 29 ting-hai, the Grand Empress Dowager [née Tou] Sept. died. In the autumn, the eighth month, a comet appeared in the eastern quarter; it was long, extending through the entire sky.[91] The King of Min-yüeh, [Tsou] Ying, attacked Nan-yüeh. [The Emperor] sent the [Chief] Grand Messenger, Wang Huia, with troops, to go out of Yü-chang [Commandery] and the Grand Chief of Agriculture,[92] Han An-kuo, to go out of K'uai-chi [Commandery] to attack him. Before they arrived, the people of [Min]-yüeh killed [Tsou] Ying and surrendered, [so] the troops returned [home]. I In the [period] Yüan-kuang,[94] the first year, in Nov./Dec. the winter, the eleventh month, for the first time [the Emperor] ordered that the commanderies and kingdoms should each recommend one Filially Pious 35 6: 4b and one Incorrupt [person to the Imperial court].[97] 135 B.C. The Commandant of the Palace Guard [at Wei-yang Palace], Li Kuang3, was made the General of Resolute Cavalry and [sent to] encamp in Yün-chung [Commandery]; the Commandant of the Palace Guard [at Ch'ang-lo Palace][99] , Ch'eng Pu-shih, was made General of Chariots and Cavalry and [sent to] encamp in Yen-men [Commandery]. In the sixth month [after, these troops] were dismissed. In the summer, the fourth month, an amnesty 134 B.C. [was granted to] the empire and one step in noble Apr./May rank was granted to the eldest sons of the common people. There were restored [to registration among members of the imperial house] those [members of] 4b the imperial house [who belonged to] the Seven States and had previously been cut off from membership.[103] In the fifth month, [the Emperor] issued an imperial May/June 36 134 B.C. edict to the Capable and Good which said, 6: 4b

"We have heard that when, formerly in [the time of] T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun, the rulers merely] portrayed [the mutilating punishments by] likenesses [of those punishments in the criminals' clothing],[107] the people did not commit [crime], and, wherever the sun and moon shone, `none failed to be led by and to follow them.'[108] [Kings] Ch'eng and K'ang of the Chou [dynasty] established [mutilating] punishments but did not employ them and the virtue [of these Kings] reached [even] to birds and beasts.[109] `Their culture extended to the four seas; 37 6: 5a from beyond the sea, the Su-shen, the Po-fa, the 134 B.C.

Ch'ü-sou, and the Ti-ch'iang came to submit [to 5a them].'[113] The stars and zodiacal constellations did not [produce] comets and the sun and moon were not eclipsed; the mountains and hills did not crumble and the streams and the valleys were not stopped up [by unnatural occurrences]. Unicorns and phoenixes were in their suburbs and marshes; the [Yellow] and Lo Rivers produced their diagram and book [respectively].[114] Ah! What [did they] do that [they] attained to this [perfection]? "Now that We have secured [the opportunity to] uphold the [imperial] ancestral temples, [We have] risen early in order to seek [for the springs of their perfection] and have gone to bed late in order to think about them. It is like fording a deep river without knowing where to cross it. How fine, how extraordinary [was their virtue]! What can [We] do that [We] may glorify the vast achievements and beautiful virtue of the late emperors? [How can We] 38 134 B.C. be in the same class with Yao and Shun of early [times] 6: 5b

and be the equals of the three [great] kings of later [times]? [Owing to] Our lack of intelligence, [We] have been unable to make Our virtue [felt at] great distances—this is what you, sirs and grandees, have seen and heard. 5b "You, Capable and Good [persons], know clearly the essence of state affairs under ancient and modern [true] kings; when you have received this document and have examined these interrogations, do you all answer them in writing and set [your replies] down on the tablets. We Ourselves will read them." Thereupon Tung Chung-shu, Kung-sun Hung1, and others distinguished themselves.[118] In the autumn, the seventh month, on [the day] Aug. 19 kuei-wei, there was an eclipse of the sun. II In the second year, in the winter, the tenth month,

Nov./Dec. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a visit, where] he sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. 133 B.C. In the spring, an imperial edict made request Spring of the ministers as follows: "We have fitted out a daughter [of the imperial house] as a mate to the Shan-yü, and have shown to him the utmost generosity 39 6: 6a in presents of gold, silk, and ornamental 133 B.C.

embroidery. The Shan-yü [has however] treated [Our] commands with increasing disrespect—he has invaded and pillaged [Our borders] without cease. The border regions have suffered [great] injury from [him]. We greatly pity these [people at the borders]. If now [We] wish to raise troops and attack him, how would that be?" The Grand Messenger, Wang Huia, gave advice that it would be 6a proper to attack [the Huns].[127] In the summer, the sixth month, the Grandee July/Aug. Secretary, Han An-kuo, was made General of the Protecting Army, the Commandant of the Palace Guard, Li Kuang3, was made General of Resolute Cavalry, the Grand Coachman, Kung-sun Ho, was made General of Light Chariots, the Grand Messenger, Wang Huia, was made General in Charge of Encampments, and the Grand Palace Grandee, Li Hsi, was made General of Skilled Soldiers. [Altogether] they led a troop of three hundred thousand [soldiers] and encamped in a ravine at Ma-yi. They lured the Shan-yü to come, intending to attack him by surprise. When the Shan-yü entered the Barrier, he became aware of [the ambush] and fled [out of the Barrier]. In the sixth month [after], the army was disbanded. General Wang Huia was sentenced for having been the first to plan [this campaign but] not having advanced [at the right moment]. He was sent to prison and died. In the autumn, the ninth month, [the Emperor] Oct./Nov. ordered that the common people should be [allowed to assemble] for universal drinking during five days. In the third year, in the spring, the [Yellow] River III shifted [its course] and went southeastwards from 132 B.C. 40 132 B.C. Spring Tun-ch'iu, [but still] flowed into the P'o Sea.[134] 6: 6b June

In the summer, the fifth month, there were enfeoffed as marquises [by succession[137] ] five persons who were descendants of the distinguished officials of the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao]. The Yellow River broke its dikes at P'u-yang and flooded sixteen commanderies.[138] [The Emperor] 6b mobilized a hundred thousand soldiers to mend the breach in the dikes of the [Yellow] River. The Lung-yüan Residence was built.[140] IV In the fourth year, in the winter, the Marquis of Winter Wei-ch'i, Tou Ying, who had committed a crime, 131 B.C. was publicly executed[144] and in the spring, the third 41 6: 7a month, on [the day] yi-mao, the Lieutenant Chancel131 B.C.

May 7 lor, [T'ien] Fen, died. In the summer, the fourth month, there was a fall May/June of frost which killed plants.[149] In the fifth month, 7a there was an earthquake and an amnesty was granted June/July to the empire. In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month, V the King of Ho-chien, [Liu] Tê5a, died. 130 B.C. In the summer, [men] from Pa and Shu [Commanderies] Feb./Mar. were mobilized to repair the roads to the Summer southern barbarians[156] and ten thousand soldiers were also mobilized to strengthen the narrow and difficult [places] in Yen-men [Commandery]. In the autumn, the seventh month, a great wind Aug./Sept. pulled up trees and, on [the day] yi-szu, the Empress Aug. 20 née Ch'en was dismissed. The heads of those who were arrested on account of witchcraft and black magic were all impaled in the market-place.[159] In the eighth month, there [was a plague of] grubs.[160] Sept./Oct. 42

130 B.C. [The Emperor] summoned those of the officials 6: 7b

and common people who understood the needs of that age and were well-versed in the methods of the ancient Sages; the prefectures where they sojourned [on the road] were to provide[164] their food, and it was ordered that they should [come to the capital] along with the [officers who yearly brought to the imperial court the commandery] accounts. 7b In the sixth year, in the winter, for the first time VI commercial conveyances [were required to pay] Winter poll-taxes (suan).[168] In the spring the canal for 43 6: 7b water transport was dug, connecting with the Wei 129 B.C.

129 B.C. [River].[172] Spring The Huns entered Shang-ku [Commandery] and killed and kidnapped officials and common people. [The Emperor] sent the General of Chariots and Cavalry, Wei Ch'ing, out of Shang-ku [Commandery], the Cavalry General, Kung-sun Ao, out of Tai [Commandery], the General of Light Chariots, Kung-sun Ho, out of Yün-chung [Commandery], and the General of Resolute Cavalry, Li Kuang3, out of Yen-men [Commandery].[174] [General Wei] Ch'ing reached Lung-ch'eng and took seven hundred heads and prisoners.[175] 44

129 B.C. [Generals Li] Kuang and [Kung-sun] Ao lost 6: 8a

their armies, but returned. An imperial edict said, "The barbarians are devoid of the sense of proper relationships [between suzerain and vassal], which [has been the case] for a long time down to the present. Recently the Huns have several times pillaged the border regions, hence [We] have sent [against them] generals leading armies. Anciently, [rulers] trained their soldiers and arranged their cohorts, [but now] because [the generals] encountered the caitiff [Huns] just when these were invading [the borders, and because the Chinese] generals and their officers had just newly met, [so that] superiors and their subordinates had not yet become adjusted [to each other], the General in Tai Commandery, [Kung-sun] Ao, and the General in Yen-men Commandery, [Li] Kuang, showed themselves unworthy of their 8a charges. Their Colonels moreover turned their backs upon their duty and acted senselessly in deserting the army and fleeing, [so that] the lower officers violated the prohibitions. "[In accordance with] the laws governing the use of troops, failure in being diligent or in instructing

[the troops] is the fault of a general or a leader; [whereas] when instructions and orders have been proclaimed clearly, not to be able to use all his 45 6: 8a power [in obeying those instructions and orders] 129 B.C.

is the crime of an officer or a soldier. [These] generals have already been given into the charge of the Commandant of Justice, who is to apply the law and execute them. But [if We] also apply this law to the soldiers, [so that] both [generals and troops] are punished—this would not be [in accordance with] the will of a benevolent or a sage person. We pity the crowd of common [soldiers], when they have sunk into [this] disastrous [situation], and wish to wipe away their disgrace[181] , change their conduct, and once more act respectfully according to their rightful duty,[182] [but who] have no way to do so. Let the soldiers of the armies from Yen-men and Tai Commanderies who did not obey the law be pardoned." In the summer, there was a great drought and Summer [a plague of] locusts.[184] In the sixth month, [the June/July Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a visit]. In the autumn, the Huns plundered at the borders. Autumn [The Emperor] sent General Han An-kuo to encamp in Yü-yang [Commandery]. In [the period] Yüan-so,[187] the first year, in the I winter, the eleventh month, an imperial edict said, Dec./Jan. "The functions of ministers and grandees are to 128 B.C. unite ways of government, to unify general principles and specific cases [in the administration of law and 46 128 B.C. justice],[192] to spread [the imperial] culture and 6: 8b

influence, and to beautify [the people's] usages and customs. Verily, [taking] benevolence as the root and correct social relationships as the leading principle, 8b recompensing the virtuous and giving office to capable [persons], encouraging the good and punishing the violent, were the means whereby the Five Lords and the Three Kings became glorious. "We have risen early and retired late [in order] felicitously to give the gentlemen of the world [the opportunity of] attaining this path [of governmental power]. Hence [We] have cared for the aged and venerable and exempted the filially pious and those who are respectful [to their elders]; We have selected

[for official positions] eminent and distinguished [persons] to expound literary and scholarly [matters; We have] examined into and taken part in governmental affairs, seeking to make the minds of the common people progress; and [We] have instructed in grave [terms] those who have charge of [state] affairs to elevate the Incorrupt and promote the Filially Pious, hoping that [such actions] might become a custom [and thereby] transmit and glorify [Our] sage [imperial] succession. "Verily, `Even in a town of ten houses there must be [someone as] conscientious and [as] sincere [as myself]' and `When walking in a party of three, there [must] be [one] there [who can be] my teacher.'[195] [But] today sometimes even in a whole commandery not one person is recommended [for imperial attention]. This [situation arises because Our] transforming influence does not penetrate [the bureaucracy] to the bottom, so that superior men 47 6: 9a who have piled up their [meritorious] actions are 128 B.C.

blocked from being reported to the emperor. [The officials ranking at] two thousand piculs [down to] the offices and chiefs [of prefectures] rule and control human relationships. [If they do not search out and promote capable persons], wherewith will they be able to assist Us in illuminating that which is hidden and dark, in exhorting the great multitude, in encouraging the crowd of commoners, and in 9a making [people] honor the instructions [of the elders in] the districts and villages? "Moreover it was the way of the ancients that `he who promotes the capable will receive high rewards'[199] and he who keeps the capable in obscurity will receive public execution. Let it be that you, together with [the officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, the officials [in charge of] the rites, and the Erudits, should discuss [what should be] the punishment for not promoting [capable persons]." The high officials memorialized [the results of their] discussions as follows: "Anciently, when the nobles presented gentlemen [to the sovereign], if once [the persons who were recommended proved] suitable, [the person who presented them] was said to have had a love of virtue; if a second [time the persons who were recommended proved] suitable, [the person who presented them] was said to esteem the capable; if the third [time the persons who were recommended proved] suitable, [the person who presented them] was said to have [performed] a distinguished deed, and there were given to him [some of] the nine distinctions.[200] The first time 48 128 B.C. [a noble] did not present a gentleman to the sover6: 9b

eign, he was degraded in his [noble] rank; the second

time, his territory was diminished; and[203] the third time, he was completely deprived of [noble] rank and territory. "Verily `he who leagues himself with his inferiors and deceives his superiors should die, and he who attaches himself to his superior and deceives his inferiors should be punished; he who takes part in a country's government but is of no benefit to the common people should be' expelled, `he who occupies the highest position and is unable to advance those 9b who are capable should be' made to resign—`this [way of government] is the means of encouraging the good and abasing the evil.'[205] "Now the imperial edict glorifies the sage succession of the deceased emperors and orders [the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs to promote filially pious and incorrupt [persons], whereby to 49 6: 10a influence the great multitude, to alter their customs 128 B.C.

and change their usages. Those who do not promote filially pious [persons, thus] not upholding [that] edict, should be sentenced for being disrespectful; those who do not seek for incorrupt persons are not able to perform their duties and should be dismissed." The memorial was approved. In the twelfth month, the King of Chiang-tu, Jan./Feb. [Liu] Fei1, died. In the spring, the third month, on the [day] chia-tzu, the Empress née Wei was established Apr. 30 [as Empress]. An imperial edict said, "We have heard that if Heaven and Earth do not mutate, they cannot accomplish their bestowing and transforming [influence], and if the yin and yang do not mutate, things will not be abundant and flourishing. The Book of Changes says, `They carried through their [necessary] mutations, [thereby] causing people not to be wearied.'[210] The ode says, `[After] nine mutations, the series is renewed, [hence] he knows how to select among saying.'[211] We esteem T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun] and rejoice at the Yin and 10a Chou [dynasties; We] hold to the old, mirroring the new by it. "Let an amnesty [be granted to] the empire in order that the common people may be given [the opportunity to make] a new beginning. [As to] those [who are charged with] having absconded, owing [debts to the government], together with those who have lawsuits [dating] from before the third year in the latter [part of the reign of Emperor] 141 B.C. 50 128 B.C.

Hsiao-ching,[215] [let] it be ordered that all [such 6: 10a

cases] be not admitted to a hearing at law." Autumn In the autumn, the Huns entered Liao-hsi [Commandery] and killed its Grand Administrator. They entered Yü-yang and Yen-men [Commanderies] and defeated a Chief Commandant,[218] killing or kidnapping more than three thousand persons. [The Emperor] sent General Wei Ch'ing out of Yen-men [Commandery] and General Li Hsi out of Tai [Commandery]. They took several thousand heads and captives. [Among] the eastern barbarians, the Prince of the Wei-[mo], Nan-lü, and others, [numbering] two hundred and eighty thousand persons, surrendered, and [his territory] was made into Ts'and-hai Commandery.[219] The King of Lu, [Liu] Yü2b, and the King of Ch'ang-sha, [Liu] Fa, both died. 51

6: 10b In the second year, in the winter, [the Emperor] 128 B.C.

II granted to the King of Huai-nan, [Liu An], and the Winter King of Tzu-ch'uan, [Liu Chien], stools and canes [with permission] not to come to court.[224] In the spring, the first month, an imperial edict 10b said, "The King of Liang, [Liu Hsiang1b], and the 127 B.C. King of Ch'eng-yang, [Liu Yen5a], love dearly those Feb./Mar. who are born of their own [fathers]. They wish to divide their estates with their younger brothers. Let [their wishes] be granted. When vassal kings beg [to be permitted] to give [territory from their] estates to their sons or younger brothers, We will Ourselves examine [the proposed division] and see to it that there are proper rankings and positions." Thereupon the tributary kingdoms were first divided and consequently sons and younger brothers [of vassal kings] were all made marquises.[228] The Huns entered Shang-ku and Yü-yang [Commanderies], killing and kidnapping more than a thousand officials and common people. [The Emperor] sent Generals Wei Ch'ing and Li Hsi out of Yün-chung [Commandery]. They went to Kao-ch'üeh and then west to Fu-li,[229] taking several thousand heads and prisoners. [Wei Ch'ing] seized the territory south of the [Yellow] River, so that the commanderies of So-fang and Wu-yüan were established.[232] 52 127 B.C.

May 6 In the third month, on [the day] yi-hai, 6: 11a

the last day of the month, there was an eclipse Summer of the sun. In the summer, a hundred thousand common people were levied to move into So-fang [Commandery]. Moreover braves and stalwarts from the commanderies and kingdoms, together with those whose property was three million [cash] or over were moved to Mou-ling.[235] Autumn In the autumn, the King of Yen, [Liu] Ting-kuo, who had committed crimes, killed himself.[237] III In the third year, in the spring, the commandery 126 B.C. of Ts'ang-hai was abolished. Spring In the third month, an imperial edict said, "Verily Mar./Apr. punishments are the means of preventing evils; to receive those who exalt culture[242] is the means 11a whereby love [for the people] is manifested. Because of the people's failure to accord with [the correct] teaching and culture, We felicitate and give [Our] gentlemen and Grandees [the opportunity of] renewing this undertaking daily.[244] Be attentive 53 6: 11b and be not negligent. Let an amnesty [be granted 126 B.C.

to] the empire." In the summer, the Huns entered Tai [Commandery] Summer and killed its Grand Administrator. They entered Yen-men [Commandery] and killed and kidnapped more than a thousand people.[248] In the sixth month, on [the day] keng-wu, the June 25 Empress Dowager [née Wang] died. In the autumn, the southwestern barbarians Autumn were dismissed [from being vassals of the empire].[251] The city wall to the city of So-fang was built and [the Emperor] ordered that the common people should be [allowed to assemble] for universal drinking during five days. In the fourth year, in the winter, [the Emperor] IV traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a Winter visit]. In the summer the Huns entered Tai, Ting-hsiang, 125 B.C. and Shang Commanderies, killing and kidnapping Summer

several thousand persons. In the fifth year, in the spring, there was a great V drought.[257] The General-in-chief,[258] Wei Ch'ing, 124 B.C. leading six generals and more than a hundred thousand Spring troops, went out of Kao-ch'üeh in So-fang 11b [Commandery], and took fifteen thousand heads 54 124 B.C. and captives. 6: 12a July In the summer, the sixth month, an imperial edict said,[265] "Verily, [We] have heard that one should lead the people by the rules of proper conduct and influence them by music. [But] now the rules of proper conduct have fallen into ruin and [the standards of proper] music have crumbled. We are very much saddened [thereby]. Hence [We] have diligently sought to obtain the gentlemen who are renowned in [the various] quarters of the empire, and have had them all recommended to the various courts. "Let it be ordered that the officials for the rites should encourage study, discourse on rights and duties, broaden scholarship,[266] present [to the court] lost [documents], and promote the rules of proper conduct, in order that they may lead the world [to do likewise]. Let the Grand Master of Ceremonies discuss the giving of Disciples to the Erudits, for the promoting of cultural influence in the districts and villages, in order to encourage those who are capable and able." The Lieutenant Chancellor, [Kung-sun] Hung1, begged [the throne] that for the Erudits there should be established a definite number of Disciples. Scholars [thereupon] became increasingly greater [in number].[267] Autumn In the autumn, the Huns entered Tai [Commandery] and killed its Chief Commandant. 12a In the sixth year, in the spring, the second month, VI the General-in-chief, Wei Ch'ing, leading six generals 123 B.C. with more than a hundred thousand horsemen, went Feb./Mar. out of Ting-hsiang [Commandery].[273] They cut off 55 6: 12a more than three thousand heads, returned, and 123 B.C.

rested their soldiers and horses in Ting-hsiang, Yün-chung, and Yen-men [Commanderies]. An amnesty [was granted to] the empire.

In the summer, the fourth month, Wei Ch'ing Apr./May again led [out] six generals, crossed the [Gobi] desert, [and achieved] a great victory and many captures [of heads or captives]. The army of the General of the Van, Chao Hsin4, was defeated and surrendered to the Huns. The General of the Right, Su Chien, lost his army, escaped by himself alone, and returned. He ransomed [his life] and became a commoner.[277] In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "We June/July have heard that the Five Lords did not [each] repeat the same rites [as those used by the preceding Lord] and that the three dynasties were different in their laws;[279] the ways by which they proceeded were different, yet in establishing virtue they were one and the same. Indeed when Confucius replied to Duke Ting [that good government] consisted in attracting the distant,[280] to Duke Ai that it consisted in selecting 56 123 B.C. one's officials [correctly],[282] and to Duke 6: 12b

Ching [of Ch'i] that it consisted in economical use [of the state's wealth,[284] it was] not [that their] aims were different, [but that] their necessities [required] different means. 12b "Now the Middle Kingdom[286] has one government, but its northern borders are not yet at peace. We very much lament it. Recently, when the General-in-chief [Wei Ch'ing] was traveling about So-fang [Commandery], he attacked the Huns, cut off heads and captured [prisoners to] the number of eighteen thousand, and those who had been disqualified [from receiving office],[287] together with those who had committed crimes, all received liberal rewards by being pardoned or by having their punishment lessened. "Now that the General-in-chief, [Wei Ch'ing], has frequently repeated his victories and captures, having cut off heads and taken [prisoners to] the number of nineteen thousand, those who have received [noble] ranks or rewards and wish to transfer [them to others] or sell [them] have no means of transferring or bestowing [their titles upon others].[288] Let [this matter] be discussed and an 57 6: 13a ordinance be made." The high officials memori123 B.C.

alized [the Emperor] begging the establishment of an office for rewarding military merits, and thereby granting favors to military gentlemen. In [the period] Yüan-shou,[291] the first year, in the 13a

winter, the tenth month, [the Emperor] travelled I and favored Yung [by a visit, where he] sacrificed Nov./Dec. at the altars to the Five [Lords on High] and a white unicorn was captured. The "White Unicorn" song was composed.[295] 58

122 B.C. Dec./Jan. In the eleventh month the King of Huai-nan, [Liu] 6: 13a

122 B.C. An, and the King of Heng2b-shan, [Liu]·Tz'u4a, who had plotted rebellion, were executed. Several ten-thousands of their associates died with them.[300] In Jan./Feb. the twelfth month there was a great fall of snow and [many[302] ] common people froze to death. May/June In the summer, the fourth month, an amnesty May 31 was granted to the empire and on the [day] ting-mao, [Liu Chü] was established as Imperial Heir-apparent.[305] There were granted to [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, the noble rank of Senior Chief of the Multitude,[306] and to those of the common people who would be the successors of their fathers, one step [in noble rank]. An imperial edict said, "We have heard that Kao-yao, in reply to Yü, said, `[Good government lies] in knowing men. If [the ruler] knows men, he is wise. Even Lord [Yao] found this [knowledge] difficult.'[307] Verily the prince is the heart 59 6: 13b and the common people are like his members or 122 B.C.

body. When the members or body are injured, then the heart is pained and distressed. "Recently [the kings of] Huai-nan and Heng-shan have cultivated literature and scholarship, [in so doing] diffusing goods and presents; both states are contiguous in territory. [Their rulers] were versed in[310] perverse teachings, hence they have given rise 13b to rebellions and assassinations. This [fact] is due to Our lack of virtue. The ode says, `My sorrowing heart is deeply pained, when I think of the oppression in the country.'[312] [We] have already [granted an] amnesty to the empire, and have washed away and removed [these evils from Our people, thus] giving them [the opportunity of] beginning anew. "We felicitate the Filially Pious, the Respectful of their Elders, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Soil, and [We] are sorrowed at the aged and those of eighty or over, orphans, widows, widowers, and

childless [persons]. Some are lacking in clothes or food; [We] greatly pity and are solicitous for them. Let Internuncios be sent to travel about the empire, express [Our] regards, ask [them what sufferings they have], bring [Our] grants [to them], and say, " `The Emperor has sent [me], an Internuncio, to make grants: to each person [who is] a Filially Pious among the Thrice Venerable of the prefectures, five pieces of plain silk; to each person who is a Respectful to his Elders among the Thrice Venerable of districts and to each [Diligent] Cultivator of the Soil, three pieces of plain silk; to each of those who are in their ninetieth [year] or over, together with each widower, widow, orphan, and childless [person], 14a two pieces of plain silk and three catties of silk floss; 60 122 B.C. to each person in his eightieth [year] or over, three 6: 14a

piculs of grain.' If anyone has suffered injustice and has [thereby] lost his position, the [imperial] messenger shall report it. In the prefectures and districts, [the messenger] shall visit and make grants, and not gather and assemble [the people before making grants]."[316] July 9 In the fifth month, on the [day] yi-szu, the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. The Huns entered Shang-ku [Commandery] and killed several hundred persons. II In the second year, in the winter, the tenth month, Nov. the Emperor traveled and favored Yung [by a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords 121 B.C. on High]. Apr. 7 In the spring, the third month, on the [day] mou-yin, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Kung-sun] Hung1, died. [The Emperor] sent the General of Agile Cavalry, Ho Ch'ü-ping, out of Lung-hsi [Commandery]. He reached Kao-lan and cut off more than eight thousand heads. Summer In the summer, a horse was born in the midst of the Yü-wu River and the [kingdom of] Nan-yüeh presented [to the Emperor] a trained elephant and a bird that could talk.[323] 61

6: 14b Generals [Ho] Ch'ü-ping and Kung-sun Ao went 121 B.C.

14b

out of Po-ti [Commandery for] more than two thousand li, went past Chü-yen, and cut off heads [and captured] prisoners [to the number of] more than thirty thousand. The Huns entered Yen-men [Commandery] and killed and kidnapped several hundred persons. [The Emperor] sent the Commandant of the Palace Guard, Chang Ch'ien, and the Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Li Kuang3, both out of Yu-po-p'ing [Commandery. Li] Kuang3 killed more than three thousand Huns, [but] lost his army of four thousand men completely, 15a escaping alone by himself, and returned.[328] Kung-sun Ao and Chang Ch'ien moreover both [arrived at their separate rendevous] after the fixed time and should have been beheaded. [They were allowed to] ransom [themselves and] become commoners. The King of Chiang-tu, [Liu] Chien4c, who had committed crimes, killed himself.[329] The King of 62 121 B.C. Chiao-tung, [Liu] Chi4, died. 6: 15b Autumn In the autumn, the Hun King of Kun-hsieh killed the King of Hsiu-t'u, united and led [the dead King's] troop [with his own], altogether more than forty thousand persons, came, and surrendered.[333] Five [Chief Commandants of] Dependent States were established to give habitations to these [surrendered persons].[334] Out of their territory there were [later] made the commanderies of Wu-wei and Chiu-ch'üan. III In the third year, in the spring, there was a comet 120 B.C. in the eastern quarter [of the sky].[337] In the Spring summer, the fifth month, an amnesty [was granted June/July to] the empire and [the Emperor] established [Liu] Ch'ing4a, the younger son of King K'ang of Chiao-tung, [Liu Chi4], as King of Liu-an,[340] and enfeoffed [Hsiao] Ch'ing, a great-grandson of the former Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, as a marquis. 15b In the autumn, the Huns entered Yu-po-p'ing 63 6: 15b and Ting-hsiang [Commanderies], killing and kid120 B.C. Autumn napping more than a thousand persons. [The Emperor] sent Internuncios to exhort those commanderies which suffered from floods to plant winter wheat.[345] They recommended [to the Emperor] those officials and common people who were able to lend to the poor people, and their names were reported.[346] The garrison soldiers [at the frontier of] Lung-hsi, Po-ti, and Shang Commanderies were reduced by half.[347] Officials who were reprobated

were sent to dig the K'ung-ming Pond.[348] 64

120 B.C. IV In the fourth year, in the winter, the high officials 6: 15b

Winter said that altogether 725,000 poor people from east of the [Han-ku] Pass had been moved to Lung-hsi [Commandery], Po-ti [Commandery], Hsi-ho [Commandery], Shang Commandery, and K'uai-chi [Commandery],[353] and if the imperial government were to clothe and feed them and assist them in their occupations, the [imperial] revenues would be inadequate [for such expenditures, hence] they begged [the throne] to collect silver and tin and make [of them] white-metal and also leathern money in order to have enough [revenue] for these expenses.[354] For the first time poll-taxes (suan) were levied upon [merchants' and artisans'] property 65 6: 16a [in terms of] cash.[356] 119 B.C. In the spring, there was a comet in the northeast; 16a in the summer a long comet appeared in the northwest.[360] 119 B.C. The General-in-chief, Wei Ch'ing, leading Spring four generals,[362] went out of Ting-hsiang [Commandery] Summer and General [Ho] Ch'ü-ping went out of Tai [Commandery]. Each led fifty thousand cavalry; several hundred thousands of foot-soldiers followed after these armies. [Wei] Ch'ing reached [a place] north of the [Gobi] Desert, surrounded the Shan-yü, [but did not capture him], and cut off nineteen thousand heads. He reached the T'ienyen Mountains and returned. [Ho] Ch'ü-ping fought a battle with the [Hun] Worthy King of the 66 119 B.C. East and cut off heads and captured prisoners [to 6: 16b

the number of] more than seventy thousand. He [performed the sacrifice] feng[366] [on] Lang-chü-hsü Mountain and then returned. In the two armies several ten-thousands of men died.[367] The General of the Van, [Li] Kuang3, and the General of the Right,[368] [Chao] Yi-chi, were both late at their rendezvous; [Li] Kuang3 committed suicide; [Chao] Yi-chi ransomed himself from death. 16b In the fifth year, in the spring, the third month, V on the [day] chia-wu, the Lieutenant Chancellor,

118 B.C. Li Ts'ai, who had committed a crime, killed Apr. 8 himself.[373] In the empire, horses were scarce, [and so the price of] stallions was standardized at 200,000 [cash] apiece.[374] The half-tael cash were abolished and the five-shu cash were put in circulation. Cunning and troublesome officials and common people of the empire were transported to the boundaries.[375] 67

6: 16b In the sixth year, in the winter, the tenth month, 118 B.C.

VI [the Emperor] made grants: to the Lieutenant Chancellor, Nov./Dec. [Chuang Ch'ing-ti], and those [ranking] lower [than he], down to the officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs, a hundred [catties of] gold;[380] to those [ranking at] a thousand piculs and those [ranking] lower, down to [the retainers] who follow the [official][381] chariots, silk; to the [subject] barbarians, brocade; to each [person] proportionately [to his rank and position]. It rained rain and there was no ice.[382] In the summer, the fourth month, on the [day] 117 B.C. yi-szu, in the [imperial ancestral] temple, there were June 12 set up [as kings] the Imperial Sons, [Liu] Hung1 as King of Ch'i, [Liu] Tan4a as King of Yen, and [Liu] Hsüa as King of Kuang-ling. For the first 68 117 B.C. time [the Emperor] issued admonitory decrees.[386] 6: 17a July/Aug. In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "Recently [some] high officials [have said that] because the currency is light and there is much illegal [coinage], 17a agriculture has been injured and unimportant [activities, such as manufacturing and merchandizing], are numerous.[390] [We] have also [tried to] close the road [whereby people have been able] to take concurrently [the advantages of more than one class]. [We] have hence changed the currency in order to restrain [such practices.[391] We] have 69 6: 17b examined into the various past [i.e. Han] and ancient 117 B.C.

[i.e. Chou] regulations that are appropriate for the present time. Since the abolition [of these light

cash], there has been a full year[394] and [some] months, yet the common people in the mountains and marshes have not yet taken cognizance [of Our order]. "Verily, when [the principles of] benevolence are carried out [by the ruler, the people] will follow goodness; when [the principles of] righteousness are established, then [the people's] customs will be changed. Is it, probably, that those [high officials] who have received [and are in charge of carrying out Our] decree have not been perspicacious in the [way] whereby they have been leading [the people]? Or is it that the ways by which the people are made content are [still] not all of the same sort, so that violent and outrageous[395] [lower] officials have taken advantage of their power to oppress and squeeze the multitude of people? How is it that their vexations are so numerous? "Now [We] send the Erudit [Ch'u] Ta and others, six persons [in all], to tour about and inspect the 17b 70 117 B.C. empire in separate [groups], to visit and ask about 6: 17b

widowers, widows, destitute, sick, and those who have no means of securing an occupation, to lend and give [aid] to them,[399] to choose[400] Thrice Venerable, Filially Pious, and Respectful to their Elders to be the teachers of the people, and to recommend superior men of outstanding conduct and invite them to come to the place where [We] are.[401] We honor capable persons and are happy to know them personally in order to broaden and extend their influence [by giving them official positions]. If [any] gentlemen should be [given] special summons, [the issuing of such summons] will be the duty of [Our] messengers. [Let them] carefully seek for [capable people] who live in retirement and have no [official] positions, together with those who have lost their positions through injustice. As to tricky and cunning [officials] who do injury or those [in whose territory] there are waste and uncultivated [fields] or those who [exercise] a tyrannical administration, let them be pointed out and [let the facts] be memorialized [to the court]. If in the commanderies or kingdoms there is anything that is for the advantage [of the people, let it] be reported to the Lieutenant Chancellor [or Grandee] Secretary in order that they may inform [Us of it]." 71

6: 17b In the autumn, the ninth month, the Commander117 B.C.

Oct./Nov. in-chief and General of Agile Cavalry, [Ho] Ch'ü-ping, died. In [the period] Yüan-ting,[405] the first year, in the

I summer, the fifth month, an amnesty [was granted] 116 B.C. to the empire and [there was granted permission for] June universal drinking during five days. A three legged cauldron was obtained at the Fen River.[409] 72

116 B.C. 18a The King of Chi-tung, [Liu] P'eng-li, who had 6: 18a

committed crimes, was dismissed and exiled to Shang-yung.[413] II In the second year, in the winter, the eleventh Nov./Dec. month, the Grandee Secretary, Chang T'ang, who had committed a crime, killed himself, and in the Dec./Jan. twelfth month, the Lieutenant Chanceller, [Chuang] 115 B.C. Ch'ing-ti, was sent to prison and died.[418] Spring In the spring, the Po-liang Terrace was built. Mar./Apr. In the third month, there was a great fall of snow.[421] In the summer, there was high water, and east of [Han-ku] Pass, those who died of starvation were counted by the thousands.[422] Sept./Oct. In the autumn, the ninth month, an imperial edict said, "A benevolent [person] does not treat [people who come from] distant places differently [from the way he treats his neighbors]; a righteous [person] does not shun what is difficult. At present, since in the capital [districts] there has not been a prosperous harvest, [We] have shared with the common people the abundance of [Our] mountains, forests, ponds, and marshes. "Now that the great floods have moved to Chiang-nan and [the distress] will become [more] urgent as the severities of winter approach, We fear that [people] will be hungry and cold and not able to survive. In Chiang-nan, the land is plowed by fire 18b and hoed by water.[425] Just now [We] have sent 73 6: 18b millet down [the Yangtze River] from Pa and Shu 115 B.C.

[Commanderies] and had it brought to Chiang-ling. [We] send the Erudit Chung and others to tour about and inspect [the empire] in separate [groups], to inform and announce in all places to which they come that no one will be allowed to be in serious distress. Let all those officials or common people

who succor or save common people or relieve their difficulties be reported [to the court] in order that [We] may be informed [about them]." In the third year, in the winter, the Han-ku [Pass] III Barrier was moved to Hsin-an,[429] and the former Winter [Han-ku] Pass [Prefecture] was made the prefecture of Hung-nung. In the eleventh month, [the Emperor] ordered Dec./Jan. that those common people who inform about [incorrect 114 B.C. reports concerning the value of movable] property [for purposes of taxation] would be given half of [the confiscated property].[433] In the first month, on the [day] mou-tzu, there was Mar. 12 a fire in the Park of the Yang Tomb. In the summer, the fourth month, there was a fall of hail.[435] May/June 74 114 B.C. There was a famine in more than ten of the com6: 19a

manderies and kingdoms east of [Han-ku] Pass, and people ate each other. The King of Ch'ang-shan, [Liu] Shun, died. His son, [Liu] P'o5b, was enfeoffed in succession [to his father, but] he had committed a crime, was dismissed [from his kingdom and noble rank], and was exiled to Fang-ling.[439] IV In the fourth year, in the winter, the tenth month, Nov./Dec. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [by a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. He granted to the common people 19a one step in rank and to the women of [every] hundred households an ox and wine. He traveled eastwards from Hsia-yang and favored Fen-yin [with a Dec. 13 visit]. In the eleventh month, on the [day] chia-tzu, he established the Sacrificial Hall to Sovereign Earth on the Shui [Mound] at Fen-yin.[444] When the rites were completed, [the Emperor] travelled and favored Jung-yang [with a visit]. He returned and went to Lo-yang. An imperial edict said,[445] "[We] have sacrificed to the Earth in Chi Province; [We] have viewed and made the sacrifice from a distance to the [Yellow] and Lo Rivers; [We] have visited and inspected Yü Province, where [We] looked about for [members] of the Chou [dynastic] house, [but its direct line of descent] has been ended and [the ancestors of the line] have not been sacrificed to. [We] enquired and questioned aged people and have found an indirect descendant,[446] [Chi] Chia. Let [Chi] Chia be

75 6: 19b enfeoffed as the Baronet Baron Descendant of the 114 B.C.

Chou [Dynasty],[449] in order to uphold the [ancestral] 19b sacrifices of the Chou [dynastic house]." In the spring, the second month, the King of 113 B.C. Chung-shan, [Liu] Sheng4, died. March In the summer, the magician Luan Ta was enfeoffed Summer as the Marquis of Lo-t'ung, with the rank of a First [Class] General. In the sixth month, a July precious three-legged cauldron was obtained at the side of the Sacrificial Hall to Sovereign Earth.[455] In the autumn, a horse was born in the midst of the Autumn Wu-wa River.[457] The songs concerning the "Precious 20a Three-legged Cauldron" and concerning the "Heavenly Horse" were composed.[459] The sons of King Hsien of Ch'ang-shan, [Liu Shun], were set up [as kings: Liu P'ing as King of Chen-ting and Liu] Shang1a as King of Szu-shui.[460] 76

113 B.C. V In the fifth year, in the winter, the tenth month, 6: 20b

Nov./Dec. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [by a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. He thereupon crossed Lung [Mountain], climbed K'ung-t'ung [Mountain], went westwards to the Chia-lai River,[465] and returned [to the capital]. 20b In the eleventh month, the [day] hsin-szu, the Dec. 24 first day of the month, in the morning, was the winter solstice;[468] [the Emperor had previously] established the place for sacrifice to the Supreme [One] at Kan-ch'üan [Palace, and on this morning] the Son of 77 6: 20b Heaven in person made the suburban sacrifice and 113 B.C.

presented himself [to the Supreme One]. He made the morning sacrifice to the Sun and the evening sacrifice to the Moon.[471]

An imperial edict said, "With Our insignificant person [We] have been entrusted [with a position] above that of kings and marquises, [but Our] virtue has not yet been able to tranquillize the common people. Some of the common people [have suffered from] hunger and cold, hence [We] have toured about and have sacrificed to Sovereign Earth in order to pray for a prosperous year. At the Shui Mound in Chi Province there thereupon appeared an inscribed three-legged cauldron, [which We] secured and offered[472] [to the spirits] in the [imperial ancestral] temple; and from the Wu-wa River there came a horse. When We rule [the empire, We] tremble and are circumspect,[473] fearing that [we] are incapable [of performing Our] duty, and thinking of glorifying Heaven and Earth. Within [Ourself We] ponder concerning the renewing of Ourself. The Ode says, 78 113 B.C. `Their four steeds are strong and vigorous, 6: 21a

21a So that they may conquer those who do not submit.'[477] "[We have] Ourselves inspected the borders and frontiers and have made sacrifices at the farthest places [that We have reached. When We] made the sacrifice at a distance, presented [Ourself] to the 112 B.C. Supreme One, and arranged sacrifices to the heavenly Jan. 3 bodies, on the night of [the day] hsin-mao, there were twelve shinings, like flames of light.[480] The Book of Changes says, `[Be prepared on] the third day before [the day] chia [i.e., the day hsin] and the third day after [the day] chia [i.e., the day ting]'.[481] We have been very much concerned that for years the harvests have not all been abundant. [We] have regulated Ourself and have fasted and purified [Ourself],[483] Jan. 9 and, on the [day] ting-yu [We] gave thanks 79 6: 21b by a suburban sacrifice [for the] favors [granted by 112 B.C.

the gods]." In the summer, the fourth month, Lü Chiab, the May/June Chancellor to the King of Nan-yüeh, rebelled and killed the Han [dynasty's] envoys together with his King, [Chao Hsing], and the Queen Dowager [née Chiu].[487] An amnesty was granted to the empire. On [the day] ting-ch'ou, the last day of the month, June 18 there was an eclipse of the sun. In the autumn, Autumn toads and frogs fought together.[490] [The Emperor] 21b 80

112 B.C. sent the General Who Calms the Waves, Lu Po-tê, 6: 22a

to go out of Kuei-yang [Commandery] down the Nieh River and the General of Towered Warships, Yang P'u, to go out of Yü-chang [Commandery] down the Ch'eng River. The [former] Marquis [in the kingdom of] Yüeh, [who became the Chinese Marquis] Who Returns to His [Proper] Fealty, Yen, was made General of Vessels With Dagger-axes [and sent] to go out of Ling-ling [Commandery] down the Li River, and a certain person, [Tsu Kuang-ming],[494] was made the General Who Can Descend the Torrents, [and sent] to go down [from] Ts'ang-wu [Commandery]. 22a All led criminals. From south of the Yangtze and Huai [Rivers there were to be] warships with towers and a hundred thousand men. A [man of] Yüeh [who became] the Marquis Who Gallops to His Proper Fealty, Yi2, [was to] lead separately criminals from Pa and Shu and to mobilize the troops of Yeh-lang [and come] down the Tsang-k'o River. All were to meet at P'an-yü.[496] Oct./Nov. In the ninth month,[498] those marquises were sentenced who had offered [to the Emperor], for the sacrificial [offering of] the eighth month fermented wine in the [imperial] ancestral temples, [amounts of] real gold not according to the law. [Nobĺe] titles were taken away from a hundred and six 81 6: 22b persons,[500] and the Lieutenant Chancellor Chao 112 B.C.

Chou was sent to prison, where he died. The Marquis of Lo-t'ung, Luan Ta, was sentenced 22b for lying and deceiving [the Emperor] and was cut in two at the waist.[503] A group of a hundred thousand Western Ch'iang revolted and communicated by an envoy with the Huns. They attacked An-ku[504] and besieged Fu-han. The Huns entered Wu-yüan [Commandery] and killed its Grand Administrator. In the sixth year, in the winter, the tenth month, VI [the Emperor] mobilized the cavalry of Lung-hsi, Nov./Dec. T'ien-shui, and An-tung [Commanderies], together with a hundred thousand soldiers of the Palace Military Commander and Ho-nan and Ho-nei [Commanderies. The Emperor also] sent General Li Hsi and the Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Hsü Tzu-wei,[507] to chastize the Western Ch'iang. They were tranquillized. 82

112 B.C. [The Emperor] traveled eastwards. When he was 6: 23a

about to favor Kou-shih [with a visit][510] and had reached Tung District of Tso-yi, it was reported that [the capital of] Nan-yüeh had been captured. He 111 B.C. [therefore] made [the place where he then was] the Spring prefecture of Wen-hsi. In the spring, when he reached Hsin-chung District of Chi5, he received the head of Lü Chiab, and [therefore] made [that place] 23a the prefecture of Huo-chia.[514] The troops of the Marquis Who Gallops to His Proper Fealty, Yi2, had not yet arrived when [Nan-yüeh] had been subjugated; the Emperor immediately ordered him to march against the southwestern barbarians. He tranquillized them. Thereupon [the Emperor] fixed [the administration of] the territory of [Nan]-yüeh and made of it the commanderies of Nan-hai, Ts'ang-wu, Yü-lin, Ho-p'u, Chiao-chih, Chiu-chen, Jih-nan, Chu-yai, and Tan-erh; he [also] fixed [the administration of the territory occupied by] the southwestern barbarians and made of it the commanderies of Wu-tu, Tsang-k'o, Yüeh-sui, Shen-li, and Wen-shan. Autumn In the autumn, the King of Tung-yüeh, [Tsou] Yü-shan, rebelled and attacked and killed the Han [dynasty's] generals and officials. [The Emperor] sent the General Who Traverses the Seas, Han Yüeh, and the Palace Military Commander, Wang Wen-shu, 23b to go out of K'uai-chi [Commandery], and the General of Towered Warships, Yang P'u, out of Yü-chang [Commandery] to attack [Tung-yüeh]. [The Emperor] also sent the General of Fou-chü 83 6: 23b [Well], Kung-sun Ho, out of Chiu-yüan and the 111 B.C.

General of the Hun River, Chao P'o-nu, out of Ling-chü. Both [of them marched] more than two thousand li without meeting any caitiff [Huns], and so returned. Thereupon [the Emperor] divided [off pieces from] the territory of Wu-wei and Chiu-ch'üan [Commanderies], established the commanderies of Chang-yi and Tun-huang,[519] and moved common people [into these places] to fill them. In [the period] Yüan-feng,[520] the first year, in I the winter, the tenth month, an imperial edict said, Nov. "[The states of] Nan-yüeh and Tung-ou have both suffered for their crimes, [but We] have not been quite [able to] bring the western savages and the northern barbarians together [with Ourself] in peace. We are going to travel and inspect the borders and frontiers, to dismiss[523] [temporarily] the troops and have the cohorts retreat. In person [We] shall hold

84 111 B.C. the military credentials and establish the twelve 6: 24a

regimental generals. We Ourself shall lead the army." 24a [The Emperor] traveled from Yün-yang, went northwards, passed through Shang Commandery, Hsi-ho [Commandery], and Wu-yüan [Commandery], went outside the Great Wall, went northwards, and mounted the Shan-yü's Terrace. He reached So-fang [Commandery] and visited Po-ho. Leading one hundred eighty thousand cavalry, his flags and pennons traversed more than a thousand li and his majesty terrified the Huns. He sent an envoy to inform the Shan-yü, saying, "The head of the King of Nan-yüeh has already been hung upon the Northern Portal of the Han [palace]. If the Shan-yü is able to fight a battle, the Son of Heaven, leading [his troops] in person, is waiting at the boundary; if [the Shan-yü] is unable [to fight the Chinese], let him hasten to come and submit [to the Chinese Emperor] as his subject. Why should [the Shan-yü] uselessly flee and hide north of the [Gobi] desert, in a cold and bitter region?" The Huns were breathless [with fear].[527] [The Emperor] returned and sacrificed to the Yellow Lord upon Mount Ch'iao, then returned to Kan-ch'üan [Palace]. [Some people of] Tung-yüeh killed their king, [Tsou] Yü-shan, and surrendered. An imperial edict said, "Tung-yüeh is an inaccessible and difficult [region]. It has been vacillating [in its allegiance] and would be a trouble in later reigns. Let its people be moved into [the region] between the 85 6: 24b Yangtze and Huai Rivers and thereupon let its land 111 B.C.

be emptied." 110 B.C. In the spring, the first month, [the Emperor] Feb. traveled and favored Kou-shih [with a visit].[532] An imperial edict said, "We have made offerings at Mount Hua, have proceeded to the central [sacred] peak, [Mount Sung-kao], and have secured a variegated one-horned deer.[533] [We] have seen the stone to the mother of the Hsia [dynasty] sovereign, [Ch'i],[534] and the next day in person [We] climbed 24b [Mount] Sung-kao.[536] While the Secretaries Who Accompany the [Imperial] Chariot were beside the temple, the officials and troops all heard three shouts 86 110 B.C.

25a of `Long Life.'[539] [Whenever We have] ascended 6: 25a

[a sacred mountain or performed] rites [of sacrifice, there has been] no [deity who has] failed to respond. Let it be ordered that the sacrificial officials shall add to [the official] sacrifices at [Mount] T'ai-shih and [let there be] a prohibition, that its plants and trees be not cut. [Let] three hundred households at the foot of the mountain be made an estate for upholding [its sacrifices] and let its name be called Sung-kao; [let these people] provide only for the sacrifices and be exempted so that they shall not contribute anything else." [The Emperor] traveled, and then went eastwards, [where he] passed along and inspected the sea-coast. May 5 In the summer, the fourth month, on the [day] kuei-mao, 25b the Emperor returned, and ascended and [performed the sacrifice] feng upon Mount T'ai.[543] [The 87 6: 25b Emperor] descended [the mountain] and seated him110 B.C.

self in the Ming-t'ang.[546] His imperial edict said, 88 110 B.C. "With Our insignificant person We have received the 6: 26a

most exalted [post. We have been] most circumspect,[549] and have pondered that [Our] virtue is slight and that [We] are not perfectly conversant with the rules of proper conduct and music. [We] have hence engaged in making sacrifices to the eight gods[550] and so have been met with favors and gifts from Heaven and Earth. Phenomena and signs have appeared and have been manifested and light [sounds] have been heard, just as if [words were 26a spoken].[552] [We] were terrified by these prodigies, and wished to stop [where We were, but] did not dare [to do so]. Thereupon [We] ascended and [offered the sacrifice] feng upon Mount T'ai and went to [Mount] Liang-fu; thereafter [We] ascended and [offered the sacrifice] shan at [Mount] Su-jan. "[We] will renew Ourself and felicitate [Our] gentlemen and grandees by giving them [the opportunity of making] a new beginning. Let the tenth month [of the present year begin] the first year [of the period] Yüan-feng.[553] [At the places where We] have gone and which [We] have inspected, [namely], Po6, Feng-kao, Yi-ch'iu, Li-ch'eng, and Liang-fu, 89 6: 26b there have already been remitted the tax on the

110 B.C.

cultivated fields of the common people and the capitation taxes and debts [to the government] which were in arrears; [We] additionally [grant] two bolts of silk to each of those who are in their seventieth year or over and to orphans and widows. [Let these] four prefectures not [be required] to pay this year's poll-tax (suan).[556] [We] grant to the common people of the empire one step in noble rank and to the women in [each] hundred households an ox and wine." [The Emperor] traveled from T'ai-shan [Commandery] and again went eastwards, where he went along the seashore to Chieh-shih. From Liao-hsi [Commandery] he passed along the northern boundary to Chiu-yüan, [then] returned to Kan-ch'üan [Palace].[557] In the autumn, a comet appeared in the [constellation] 26b Tung-ching and again appeared in the Autumn [constellation] San-t'ai,[560] and the King of Ch'i, [Liu] Hung1, died. In the second year, in the winter,[561] the tenth II month, [the Emperor] traveled, and favored Yung Nov./Dec. 90 109 B.C. 109 B.C. [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to 6: 27a

Spring the Five [Lords on High]. In the spring, he favored Kou-shih [with a visit], and thereupon went to Tung-lai May/June [Commandery].[569] In the summer, the fourth month, he returned and sacrificed at [Mount] T'ai. He went to Hu-tzu and visited the breach [in the dikes of the Yellow] River. He commanded those courtiers who had followed [him], from the [rank of] general on down, all to bear brush to stop up [the breach] in the dike of the [Yellow] River. He made the "Song of Hu-tzu."[570] An amnesty was granted to those who had been exiled [to toil at those places] by which [the Emperor] had passed. Four piculs of grain were granted to each orphan, childless [person], and person advanced in years. [The Emperor] returned [to the capital]. He had the T'ung-t'ien Terrace built in the Kan-ch'üan [Palace] and the Fei-lien Lodge [in the city of] Ch'ang-an. 27a The King of Chao-hsien, [Wei Yu-ch'ü], attacked and killed the Chief Commandant [of the Eastern Section in] Liao-tung [Commandery, Shê Ho];[572] thereupon [the Emperor] solicited [all the] criminals in the empire [sentenced to] capital [punishment to 91 6: 27a

go and] attack Chao-hsien. 109 B.C. In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "In an July/Aug. inner chamber of Kan-ch'üan Palace, there has sprung up a fungus of immortality with nine stalks and interconnected leaves.[576] The Lords on High[577] visit widely and do not disdain the inferior rooms; they have granted Us an eminent favor. Let an amnesty be granted to the empire. [Let] an ox and wine be granted to [every] hundred households in the Yün-yang capital."[578] The "Song of the Fungus of Immortality Room" was made.[579] In the autumn, a Ming-t'ang was built at the foot Autumn 92 109 B.C. of Mount T'ai.[582] 6: 27b [The Emperor] sent the General of Towered Warships, 27b Yang P'u, and the General of the Left, Hsün Chih, leading the criminals who had responded to [the Emperor's] solicitation, to attack Chao-hsien. [The Emperor] also sent General Kuo Chang and a General of the Gentlemen-of-the-Household, Wei Kuang, to mobilize the troops of Pa and Shu [Commanderies] and tranquillize those of the southwestern barbarians who had not yet submitted. [Upon its conquest, this region] was made into the commandery of Yi-chou.[585] III In the third year, in the spring, competitive games 108 B.C. were held and [people] from all [places] within three Spring hundred li [came] to look at them.[589] Summer In the summer, [the people of] of Chao-hsien beheaded their King, [Wei] Yu-ch'ü, and surrendered. Of his territory there were made the commanderies of Lo-lang, Lin-t'un, Hsüan-t'u, and 28a Chen-p'an. The General of Towered Warships, Yang P'u, was sentenced for having lost many [of his troops in battle] and by desertion, was dismissed, 93 6: 28b and became a commoner;[593] the General of the Left, 108 B.C.

Hsün Chih, was sentenced for having [illegally] striven for distinction and was publicly executed. In the autumn, the seventh month, the King of Aug. Chiao-hsi, [Liu] Tuan, died. The Ti [barbarians] of Wu-tu [Commandery] rebelled;

they were divided [and a part of them] were transported to Chiu-ch'üan Commandery. In the fourth year, in the winter, the tenth month, IV [the Emperor] favored Yung [with a visit, where he] Nov. sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. He passed through the Hui-chung Road and then 28b went north out of Hsiao Pass, passing by [Mount] Tu-lu and the Ming Marsh. From Tai [Commandery] he then returned [to the capital] and [on the way] favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit].[599] 107 B.C. In the spring, the third month, he sacrificed to Mar./Apr. Sovereign Earth. His imperial edict said, "When We sacrificed in person to Sovereign Earth, the Spirit of Earth in one night manifested three flames of light, which rested upon the altar for sacrifice. When [We] favored the palace at Chung-tu [with a visit], above the [main] hall there appeared a light. Let an amnesty be granted [to those] in Fen-yin, Hsia-yang, and Chung-tu [who have committed] crimes [deserving] capital [punishment] and less. [We] grant to [the foregoing] three prefectures, together with the [prefecture of] Yang-shih6, that they shall not [be required] to pay this year's land or capitation taxes." 94

107 B.C. Summer In the summer there was a great drought, and 6: 29a

many common people died of the heat.[605] In the Autumn autumn, it was considered that the Huns were weak and might therefore [be induced] to submit [to the Chinese Emperor] as subjects, hence [the Emperor] sent envoys to persuade them [to do so]. After the envoy of the Shan-yü arrived, he died in the [Chinese] capital.[607] [Hence] the Huns raided the borders, and [the Emperor] sent the General Who Destroys the Huns, Kuo Ch'ang, to encamp in So-fang [Commandery].[608] V In the fifth year, in the winter, [the Emperor] Winter traveled southwards, making a tour of inspection,[611] 29a and reached Sheng-t'ang. He made the sacrifice from a distance to Yü Shun at [Mount] Chiu-yi[613] and ascended Mount T'ien-chu in Ch'ien2 [Prefecture]. From Hsün-yang he traveled on the [Yangtze] River, in person shot an alligator in the river,[614] 95 6: 29b and captured it. When the vessels [on which the

107 B.C.

29b Emperor had traversed] a thousand li[618] neared Ts'ung-yang, he disembarked. The "Songs of Sheeng-t'ang" and "of Ts'ung-yang" were made.[619] Thereupon he went northwards to Lang-yeh [Commandery], where he reached the sea. Wherever he went, he performed ceremonials and sacrifices to the famous mountains and large streams. In the spring, 106 B.C. the third month, he turned back [towards the capital Apr./May and, on the way,] reached Mount T'ai, where he added [the sacrifice] feng to [the imperial sacrifices].[622] On [the day] chia-tzu, he sacrificed to the May 5 Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], in the Ming-t'ang, making him the coadjutor of the Lords on 96 106 B.C. High.[625] Thereupon he held a court for the vassal 6: 30a

kings and marquises, [at which] he received the accounts from the commanderies and kingdoms. May/June In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial edict said, "We have traveled over and inspected Ching and Yang [Provinces], have communed with the [spiritual] beings of the Yangtze and Huai [River 30a regions, and] have met with the emanations of the Great Sea, in order that [We] might unite [these spiritual beings for worship] at Mount T'ai, [with the result that in heaven above [favorable] phenomena appeared. [We] have added to and renewed [the sacrifices] feng and shan. Let an amnesty [be granted to] the empire. [Let] those prefectures which [We] have favored [by a visit] not [be required] to pay this year's land or capitation taxes. [We] grant silk to the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, and grain to the poor." [The Emperor] returned [to the capital] and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. The Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief, [Wei] Ch'ing, died. For the first time Inspectors and the regional divisions 97 6: 30b of the thirteen provinces were established. 106 B.C. [Because] the famous civil and military subjects [of the dynasty] had nearly all passed away, an imperial edict said, "Verily, if any unusual distinction is to be achieved, it must wait for an unusual person [to accomplish it]. Hence [just as] a horse may bolt and kick, but may yet travel a thousand li,

[so] a gentleman may have got into difficulties by 30b going contrary to the customs, but may yet achieve distinction and fame. Now [what is accomplished by] a horse who might upset the carriage or by a gentleman who is self-willed and wild depends moreover entirely upon how they are guided. Let it be ordered that the provinces and commanderies shall investigate [among their] officials and common people whether there are any [persons of] Unusual Degree of Accomplished Talent who might be made generals or chancellors or sent [as envoys] to distant countries."[632] In the sixth year, in the winter, [the Emperor] VI favored Hui-chung [Palace with a visit]. In the Winter spring, Mount Shou Palace was built. In the third 105 B.C. month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Ho-tung Apr. [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. His imperial edict said, "When We performed the rites to Mount Shou, the fields at its foot produced precious things which metamorphosed, some [of which] became actual gold; when [We] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth, there were three flames of supernatural light. Let there be [granted] 31a an amnesty [to those in] Fen-yin [whose crimes are those deserving] capital [punishment] and below. [Let there] be granted one bolt of linen or of silk to each poor person in the empire." The K'un-ming [tribe] in Yi-chou [Commandery] 98 105 B.C. revolted. [The Emperor] pardoned the fugitives in 6: 31b

the imperial capital and ordered them to go with the army. He sent the General Who Destroys the Huns, Kuo Ch'ang, to lead them and attack [the K'un-ming tribesmen]. Summer In the summer, the common people of the imperial capital watched some competitive games at P'ing-lo Autumn Lodge in Shang-lin [Park]. In the autumn there was a great drought and [a plague of] locusts.[642] I In [the period] T'ai-ch'u,[644] the first year, in the Oct./Nov. winter, the tenth month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Mount T'ai [with a visit]. In the eleventh Dec. 25 month, on the [day] chia-tzu, the first day of the month, in the morning, which was the winter solstice,[647] [the Emperor] sacrificed to the Lords on 104 B.C. High in the Ming-t'ang. Jan. 15 On the [day] yi-yu, there was a visitation [of fire]

in the Po-liang Terrace.[650] Jan./Feb. In the twelfth month, [the Emperor performed the sacrifice] shan at [Mount] Kao-li and sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. He went east to the P'o Sea, [where he performed] the sacrifice from a distance [to the immortals on the island] P'eng-lai.[652] In the Spring spring, he returned [to the capital] and received in Kan-ch'üan [Palace] the [yearly] accounts [from the commanderies and kingdoms]. 31b In the second month, Chien-chang Palace was Mar./Apr. built.[656] 99

6: 31b In the summer, the fifth month, [the Emperor] 104 B.C.

June/July corrected the calendar and took the first month as the beginning of the year;[660] [among] the colors, he took yellow [as the ruling color], and [among] the numbers, he used five.[661] He fixed official titles and harmonized the sounds of the musical pipes.[662] [The Emperor] sent the General of Yin-yü, Kung-sun Ao, to build Shou-hsiang-ch'eng outside of the 100 104 B.C. Sept./Oct. barriers.[665] In the autumn, the eighth month, [the 6: 32a

Emperor] traveled and favored An-ting [Commandery with a visit]. [The Emperor] sent the General of Sutrishna (Erh-shih), Li Kuang-li, to mobilize the reprobated common people of the empire, to go west and make an expedition against Ferghana (Ta-yüan).[667] Locusts flew from the eastern quarter and reached Tun-huang 32a [Commandery].[669] II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, 103 B.C. on the [day] mou-shen, the Lieutenant Chancellor, Mar. 4 [Shih] Ch'ing, died.[673] Apr./May In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. He ordered that [everyone in] the empire should [be permitted to assemble] for universal drinking during five days, and on the day for the lou [sacrifice], the five sacrifices should be made to the Gates and Doors just as at the la [sacrifice].[675]

101

6: 32b In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial 103 B.C. May/June edict said, "We have held services at Mount Chieh and sacrificed to Sovereign Earth; at both [places] there were lights [which appeared] in response. Let an amnesty be granted to Fen-yin and An-yi, to those [who have committed crimes deserving] death [sentences] and less." In the fifth month, the horses of the officials and June/July the common people were enregistered in order to supply horses for the [military] chariots and cavalry,[680] and in the autumn, [there was a plague of] Autumn locusts. [The Emperor] sent the General of [Mount] Chün-chi, Chao P'o-nu, with twenty thousand cavalry, to go out of So-fang [Commandery] and attack the 32b Huns. He did not return.[683] 102 B.C. In the winter, the twelfth month, the Grandee Jan. Secretary, Yi K'uan, died.[686] 102

102 B.C. III In the third year, in the spring, the first month, 6: 33a

Feb. [the Emperor] traveled eastwards and went along and inspected the sea-coast.[691] In the summer, the May fourth month, he returned, and [on the way] renewed [the sacrifice] feng on Mount T'ai and [the sacrifice] shan on [Mount] Shih-lü. He sent the Superintendent of the Imperial Household, Hsü Tzu-wei, to build several forts outside the Barrier of Wu-yüan [Commandery] northwestwards to [Mount] Lu-ch'ü,[693] the Scouting and Attacking General, Han Yüeh, with troops, to garrison them, and the Chief Commandant of Strong Crossbowmen, Autumn Lu Po-tê, to build Chü-yen. In the autumn,[695] the Huns entered Ting-hsiang and Yün-chung [Commanderies], killing or kidnapping several thousand persons. They went to and ruined the various fortifications [maintained by] Communes [that had been built by the Superintendent of] the Imperial Household.[696] They also entered Chang-yi and Chiu-ch'üan 101 B.C. [Commanderies] and killed a Chief Commandant.

IV In the fourth year, in the spring, there arrived the Spring General of Sutrishna (Erh-shih), [Li] Kuang-li, who had had the head of the King of Ferghana (Ta-yüan) cut off, and had secured the horses that sweat 33a blood.[701] The "Song of the Heavenly Horses from 103 6: 33a the Extreme West" was made.[703] 101 B.C. In the autumn, Ming-kuang Palace was built. Autumn In the winter, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Winter Hui-chung [Palace with a visit]. He moved the Chief Commandant of Hung-nung [Commandery] to control Wu Pass; those going out and in [the Pass] were to be taxed in order to provide supplies for the officials and soldiers of the Pass. 100 B.C. In the [period] T'ien-han,[708] the first year, in the I spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled and Feb./Mar. favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the third month, [the Emperor] Apr./May traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth.[712] The Huns returned the Chinese envoys and sent a messenger to bring tribute.[713] In the summer, the fifth month, an amnesty was granted to the world. June/July In the autumn, the city gates were closed and Autumn 104 100 B.C. 33b there was a great search.[718] Reprobated persons 6: 33b

and exiles were sent to encamp [as guards] in Wu-yüan 99 B.C. [Commandery]. II In the second year, in the spring, [the Emperor] Spring traveled and favored Tung-hai [Commandery with a visit]. He returned and favored Hui-chung [Palace with a visit]. June/July In the summer, the fifth month, the General of Sutrishna (Erh-shih), [Li Kuang-li], with thirty

thousand horsemen, went out of Chiu-ch'üan [Commandery] and fought [a battle] with the [Hun] Worthy King of the West at the T'ien Mountains, 34a [in which he] cut off heads and took prisoners [to the number of] more than ten thousand. [The Emperor] also sent the General of Yin-yü, [Kung-sun 105 6: 34a Ao],[726] to go out of Hsi-ho [Commandery]. The 99 B.C.

Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Li Ling, leading five thousand foot-soldiers, went out of Chü-yen, went north, and fought [battles] with the Shan-yü, cutting off heads and [taking] captives [to the number of] more than ten thousand. [Li] Ling's troops were defeated and [he] surrendered to the Huns. In the autumn, those shamans who made sacrifices Autumn on the roads were stopped and prohibited.[729] There was a great search. Six states, [including the state of] Ch'ü-li, sent messengers bringing tribute.[730] 106

99 B.C. In T'ai-shan and Lang-yeh [Commanderies], crowds 6: 34b

of robbers, [led by] Hsü P'o and others, obstructed the mountain [passes] and attacked cities, [so that] the roads and highways were blocked.[733] [The Emperor] sent Special Commissioners, Pao Shen-chih and others, clad in embroidered clothes and bearing axes, in separate parties, to pursue and arrest [the 34b wrong-doers]. Inspectors, Commandery Administrators, and lower [officials] all suffered execution.[735] Dec./Jan. In the winter, the eleventh month, an imperial edict 98 B.C. to the Chief Commandants of the Passes said, "At present many of the braves and stalwarts [of the capital commanderies] have relationships [with people] at a distance and attach themselves to the groups of bandits in the east. Be careful in investigating those who come and go [through the passes]." III In the third year, in the spring, the second month, Mar./Apr. the Grandee Secretary, Wang Ch'ing, who had committed 107 6: 34b crimes, killed himself. 98 B.C. For the first time there was created a [government] monopoly of [brewing] fermented drink and selling

it.[742] In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and Apr./May favored Mount T'ai [with a visit, where] he renewed [the sacrifice] feng and sacrificed in the Ming-t'ang. Thereupon he received the [yearly] accounts [from the commanderies and kingdoms]. He returned and favored the northern regions[744] [of the empire with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Mount Ch'ang and buried black jade.[745] In the summer,[746] the fourth May/June month, an amnesty was granted to the empire and [the places through which the Emperor] had passed in his travels [were allowed] not to pay the land tax. In the autumn, the Huns entered Yen-men [Commandery]. Autumn Its Grand Administrator was sentenced for cowardice and timidity and was publicly executed.[751] 108 97 B.C. 35a 6: 35a IV In the fourth year,[754] in the spring, the first 97 B.C. month, the court for the vassal kings was held in Feb./Mar. Kan-ch'üan Palace. [The Emperor] mobilized the seven classes of reprobated persons[757] in the empire together with resolute and courageous gentlemen, and sent the General of Sutrishna (Erh-shih), Li Kuang-li, leading sixty thousand cavalry and seventy thousand foot-soldiers, to go out of So-fang [Commandery]; the General of Yin-yü, Kung-sun Ao, [leading] ten thousand cavalry and thirty thousand foot-soldiers, to go out of Yen-men [Commandery]; and the Scouting and Attacking General, Han Yüeh, [leading] thirty thousand foot-soldiers, to go out of Wu-yüan [Commandery]. The Chief Commander of Strong Crossbowmen, Lu Po-tê, [leading] more than ten thousand foot-soldiers, effected a junction with the [General of] Sutrishna (Erh-shih). [Li] Kuang-li fought battles with the Shan-yü on the Yü-wu River for [several] successive days. [Kung-sun] Ao fought a battle with the Worthy King of the East, [but] 109 6: 35b was unsuccessful. All led [their troops] back. 97 B.C. In the summer, the fourth month, [the Emperor] May established his Imperial Son, [Liu] Po6, as King of Ch'ang-yi.[761] In the autumn, the ninth month, [the Emperor] Oct. ordered that [those who had committed] capital crimes [could] diminish their death [sentences by]

one degree by paying[763] five hundred thousand cash as a ransom. 96 B.C. In [the period] T'ai-shih,[765] the first year, in the I spring, the first month, the General of Yin-yü, 35b [Kung-sun] Ao, who had committed crimes, was Jan./Feb.[769] cut in two at the waist.[770] Braves and stalwarts from among the officials and common people of the commanderies and kingdoms were moved to Mou-ling and Yün-yang.[771] In the 110 96 B.C. June/July summer, the sixth month, an amnesty [was granted] 6: 35b

95 B.C. to the empire. II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, Feb./Mar. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Hui-chung Apr./May [Palace with a visit]. In the third month, an imperial edict said, "The high officials have discussed and said that when formerly We made the suburban sacrifice [in which We] presented [Ourself] to the Lords on High and went westwards and ascended [Mount] Lung-shou, [We] captured a white unicorn and used it as an offering in the [imperial] ancestral temple, the Wu-wa River produced a heavenly horse, and actual gold was discovered on Mount T'ai,[779] [hence] it is proper that [We] should change [some] former appellations. Now [We] change [the shape for ingots of] actual gold to have that of unicorns' feet and fine horses' hoofs, in order to accord with these auspicious presages, and use them to distribute among the vassal kings as grants to them."[780] 111

6: 36a In the autumn, there was a drought. In the 95 B.C.

Autumn ninth month, those who had committed capital Oct./Nov. crimes were solicited [each] to pay five hundred thousand cash as ransom in order to diminish their death [sentence by] one degree.[785] The Grandee Secretary, Tu Chou, died. 36a In the third year, in the spring, the first month, III

[the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan 94 B.C. Palace [with a visit, where he] banqueted his guests Feb. from foreign countries. In the second month, he Mar. ordered that [everyone] in the empire should [be permitted to assemble] for universal drinking during five days. He traveled and favored Tung-hai [commandery with a visit, where he] secured [some] red wild geese. The "Red Wild Goose Song" was made.[791] He favored Lang-yeh [Commandery with a visit, where he] paid rites to the Sun at Mount Ch'eng and ascended [Mount] Chih-fou. When he floated upon the ocean [in a boat], the mountains called out, "Long life [to the Emperor]." In the winter he granted five thousand cash to the households Winter by which he had passed, and to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, one bolt of silk per person. 93 B.C. In the fourth year, in the spring, the third month, IV [the Emperor] traveled and favored Mount T'ai Apr./May [with a visit]. On the [day] jen-wu, he sacrificed May 14 112 93 B.C. in the Ming-t'ang to the Eminent Founder, [Emperor 6: 36b

Kao], as the coadjutor of the Lords on High. Thereupon he received the [yearly] accounts [from the commanderies and kingdoms]. On [the day] kuei-wei, May 15 he sacrificed in the Ming-t'ang to Emperor May 16 Hsiao-ching. On [the day] chia-shen, he renewed May 18 [the sacrifice] feng. On [the day] ping-hsü, [he performed the sacrifice] shan at [Mount] Shih-lü. May/June In the summer, the fourth month, he favored Pu-chi [with a visit] and when he sacrificed at Chiao-men Palace to the supernatural persons [of P'eng-lai], it was as if there were [some of these immortals] who made obeisance towards the [Emperor's] throne.[803] The "Chiao-men Song" was made. In June/July the summer, the fifth month, [the Emperor] returned and favored Chien-chang Palace [with a visit, where he] held a great feast and [granted] an amnesty to the empire. Aug./Sept. In the autumn, the seventh month, in [the kingdom of] Chao, there were snakes who [came from] outside of the outer wall, entered the city, and fought 36b in droves with the snakes inside the city at the foot of the temple to [Emperor] Hsiao-wen, [so that] the snakes inside the city died.[807] In the winter, 113

6: 36b the tenth month, on [the day] chia-yin, the last day 93 B.C.

Dec. 12 of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. 92 B.C. In the twelfth month, [the Emperor] traveled and Jan./Feb. favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High. Then he] went west to An-ting and Po-ti [Commanderies]. In [the period] Cheng-ho,[813] the first year, in the I spring, the first month, [the Emperor] returned. He Feb./Mar. traveled and favored Chien-chang Palace [with a visit]. In the third month, the King of Chao, [Liu] Apr./May P'eng-tsu, died.[817] In the winter, the eleventh month, [the Emperor] Nov./Dec. sent out the cavalrymen of the three capital commanderies to make a grand search in Shang-lin [Park]. He had the city gates of Ch'ang-an closed for the search to the eleventh day, and then they 114 91 B.C. were opened.[820] The witchcraft and black magic 6: 37a

91 B.C. [case] arose.[823] II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, Feb. the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Kung-sun] Ho, was sent to prison and died, and in the summer, the Apr./May fourth month, a great wind blew away houses and June/July broke trees, [then] in the intercalary month, the Princess of Chu-yi and the Princess of Yang-shih5 37a were both sentenced for witchcraft and black magic and died. Summer In the summer, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit], and in the Aug./Sept. autumn, the seventh month, the Marquis of An[831] -tao, Han Yüeh, the [Special] Commissioner [Clad in Embroidered Garments], Chiang Ch'ung, and others dug up black magic [charms] in the Palace of the Sept. 1 Heir-apparent. On [the day] jen-wu, the Heir-apparent, [Liu Chü], and the Empress [née Wei] plotted and beheaded [Chiang] Ch'ung. By means

of credentials, they mobilized troops and fought a great battle with the Lieutenant Chancellor, Liu Ch'u-li, in Ch'ang-an, [in which] the dead [numbered] several tens of thousands. On [the Sept. 9 day] keng-yin, the Heir-apparent fled and the Empress [née Wei] committed suicide. For the first time troops garrisoning the city gates were established. The [imperial] credentials were changed 115 6: 37b [in that] yellow pennons were added.[835] The 91 B.C.

Grandee Secretary, Pao Sheng-chih, and the Director of Justice [to the Lieutenant Chancellor], T'ien Jen, were sentenced for negligence in allowing [the Heir-apparent] to escape. [Pao] Sheng-chih committed suicide and [T'ien] Jen was cut in two at the waist. In the eighth month, on [the day] hsin-hai, the Heir-apparent committed suicide at Sept. 30 Hu2, and on [the day] kuei-hai, there was an earthquake.[839] Oct. 12 In the ninth month, [the Emperor] established Oct./Nov. [Liu] Yen3a, the son of King Ching-su of Chao, [Liu P'eng-tsu], as King of P'ing-kan.[841] The Huns entered Shang-ku and Wu-yüan [Commanderies], killing and kidnapping officials and common people. 90 B.C. In the third year, in the spring, the first month, III [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a Feb./Mar. visit]. He went to An-ting and Po-ti [Commanderies]. The Huns entered Wu-yüan and Chiu-ch'üan [Commanderies] and killed two Chief Commandants. In the third month, [the Emperor] sent the General 37b of Sutrishna (Erh-shih), [Li] Kuang-li, leading Apr./May seventy thousand men, out of Wu-yüan [Commandery]; the Grandee Secretary, Shang-ch'iu Ch'eng, with twenty thousand men, out of Hsi-ho [Commandery]; and the Marquis of Chung-ho, Ma T'ung, with forty thousand cavalry, out of Chiu-ch'üan [Commandery. Shang-ch'iu] Ch'eng reached the 116 90 B.C. Chün-chi Mountains and fought [a battle] with the 6: 37b

caitiff [Huns], cutting off many heads. [Ma] T'ung reached the T'ien Mountains. The caitiff [Huns] led away [their troops]; thereupon he [brought about] the surrender of Turfan (Chü-shih).[849] Both [of these generals] led their troops

[safely] back [to China, but Li] Kuang-li was defeated and surrendered to the Huns.[850] June/July In the summer, the fifth month, an amnesty [was July/Aug. granted to] the empire and in the sixth month, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Liu] Ch'u-li, was sent to prison and was [executed by being] cut in two at the waist; his wife's head was exposed in public.[853] In the autumn, [there was a plague of] locusts. Oct./Nov. In the ninth month, the rebels Kung-sun Yung and Hu Ch'ien were discovered and both suffered for 89 B.C. their crimes. IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, Feb./Mar. [the Emperor] traveled, favored Tung-lai [Commandery with a visit], and went to [the shore of] the ocean. In the second month, on [the day] Mar. 9 ting-yu, two meteorites fell at Yung and the noise 117 6: 38a was heard four hundred li [distant].[860] In the 89 B.C.

Apr./May third month, the Emperor plowed [the sacred field] 38a at Chü-ting. He returned and favored Mount T'ai [with a visit, where he] renewed [the sacrifice] feng. On [the day] keng-yin, he sacrificed in the May 1 Ming-t'ang. On [the day] kuei-szu, [he performed May 4 the sacrifice] shan at [Mount] Shih-lü. In the summer, the sixth month, he returned and favored July Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit]. In the autumn, the eight month, on [the day] hsin-yu, the last day Sept. 29 of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. 88 B.C. In [the year period] Hou-yüan,[869] the first year, I 118 88 B.C. 38b in the spring, the first month, [the Emperor] 6: 38b

Jan./Feb. traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace, where] he performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. Thereupon he favored An-ting [Commandery with a visit]. The King of Ch'ang-yi, [Liu] Po6, died. Mar./Apr.

In the second month, an imperial edict said, "When We presented [Ourself] in the suburban sacrifice to the Lords on High, [We had previously] traveled along the northern border and had seen a flock of cranes stop and settle. Because [We] did not spread any nets [for them, We] did not capture any as an offering.[876] When we made offerings at the altar to the Supreme [One], both [supernatural] lights and signs appeared. Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire." July/Aug. In the summer, the sixth month, the Grandee Secretary, Shang-ch'iu Ch'eng, who had committed crimes, killed himself.[878] The Palace Attendant Supervisor, Ma Ho-lo,[879] with his younger brother, the Marquis of Chung-ho, [Ma] T'ung, planned to rebel. The Palace Attendant and Chief Commandant of Auxiliary Cavalry, Chin Mi-ti, the Chief Commandant Custodian of Imperial Equipages, Ho Kuang, and the Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Shang-kuan Chieh, Aug./Sept. executed them.[881] In the autumn, the seventh 119 6: 39a month, there was an earthquake, and at many 88 B.C.

[places] gushing springs appeared. 39a In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II [the Emperor held] court for the vassal kings in 87 B.C. Kan-ch'üan Palace and made grants to the imperial Feb./Mar. house. In the second month, [the Emperor] favored Mar./Apr. Wu-tso Palace at Chou-chih.[889] On [the day] yi-ch'ou, he established his Imperial Mar. 27 Son [Liu] Fu-ling as the Imperial Heir-apparent and, on [the day] ting-mao, the Emperor died in Wu-tso Mar. 29 Palace. [His body] was encoffined in the Front Hall of Wei-yang Palace. In the third month, on [the day] chia-shen, he was buried in the Mou Apr. 15 Tomb. In eulogy we say: The Han [dynasty] inherited the evils of the many Kings; the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], established order [out of] confusion and turned [things] aright.[893] The attention of [Emperors] Wen and Ching was [directed to] nurturing the common people, [but] in the matters of investigating ancient [practices] and of respecting literature they still had many defects. When [Emperor] Hsiao-wu first came to the throne, he abolished and dismissed [the study of] the many [non-Confucian] schools [of philosophy] in a surpassing manner, [thus] making known and rendering illustrious the six [Confucian] classics.[894] Thereupon

he [had all the officials] within the [four] seas "search for [intelligent persons who could accord 120 with the times]"[895] and recommend those who were 6: 39b

talented and excellent; [then] he gave them [the opportunity to] distinguish themselves. He founded the [Imperial] University, renewed the suburban [and other] sacrifices, corrected the commencement [of the year], fixed the calculation of the calendar, harmonized the [musical] notes and musical tubes, composed songs and music, established [the sacrifices] feng and shan, worshipped the various divinities, and gave [a noble appointment] by succession 39b to the posterity of the Chou [dynasty]. His commands and his ordinances, his writings and literary compositions are splendid and may be transmitted [to posterity, so that] his descendants are able to follow his grand achievements and possess the fame of the three [great] dynasties.[898] If Emperor Wu, with his superior ability and his great plans, had not departed from the modesty and economy of [Emperors] Wen and Ching, and if, by means of [these principles], he had helped the common people, in what respects could [any of] those [heroes who are] praised in the Book of Odes or the Book of History have surpassed him?[899] [2] Cf. HS 5: 4b; 14: 17a. [5] Cf. 5: 5a; 14: 17a. [8] Cf. 5: 10b. [10] Down to this point, SC ch. 12 is practically the same as HS ch. 6. From this point on, the rest of SC ch. 12 is a reproduction of the second part of SC ch. 28, the "Book on the Sacrifices Feng and Shan." The remainder of HS ch. 6 seems to be a compilation from other sources; cf. the Introduction, p. 1 ff. [12] Cf. App. I. [18] Han Fei-tzu, ch. 20 (Liao's trans., p. 178) defines fang [OMITTED] as follows: "To act fang is to have one's thoughts and deeds correspond to each other, to make one's words and acts balance." For the first use of the phrase, "speak frankly and admonish unflinchingly," cf. 4: 9a. HS 56: 1b-3a makes plain that the Emperor himself set questions about the ancient and present ways of government and that over a hundred persons wrote answers which the Emperor read in person, and as a result Tung Chung-shu was made Chancellor of Chiang-tu and Chuang Tsu was promoted to be a Palace Grandee (64: 1a). [22] Chang Yen says, "[Those who were exempted from] two suan were exempted from the suan for two persons. [Those who] fu chia-tsu [OMITTED] were not [required] to participate in [paying] the tax for military purposes." [23] Cf. 24 B: 12a. These were abolished in the spring of 136 B.C. Cf. 6: 3b, 24 B: 12b. "Cash" is the common word for the round, square-holed Chinese copper coins. [27]

Yen Shih-ku (581-645) says, "Those fifty years of age are called ai [OMITTED]". Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) notes that the Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) writes [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED] of the other editions: anciently these two words were interchanged; somebody did not recognize the ancient writing, so exchanged these words. [28] Cf. 4: 7a, b. Li T'zu-ming (1824-1894) says that the [OMITTED] of the text must be the present [OMITTED], for the Shuo-wen does not have the former, only the latter word. [31] A quotation from the Kung-yang Commentary, 12: 12a, Dk. Hsi, XXXI (year 31), iv (fourth month). [32] Meng K'ang comments, "These were prayers for agriculture. They were instituted at this time and the annual [services] were made a regular [institution]. Hence it says, `For the annual services.' " [34] Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) writes, "When Wu, Ch'u and [the others of] the Seven States had rebelled, the wives and children of those who had taken the lead in this matter had been condemned to be government slaves and slave women. Emperor Wu pitied them, freed, and sent them all to [their homes]." For this rebellion, cf. 5: 4a. [37] Cf. Glossary sub Guard. [38] Yen Shih-ku remarks, "In the pastures for rearing [government] horses, the people were formerly not allowed to cut grass, pasture [animals], or pick firewood. Now [this law forbidding such use of the government pastures] was abolished." Emperor Ching had established these pastures; cf. 24 A: 15b. [39] This proposal to erect a Ming-t'ang, for which Shen P'ei was summoned, was not carried out; it was initiated under the influence of Chao Wan and Wang Tsang; the opposition of the Grand Empress Dowager née Tou caused them to be sentenced and to commit suicide, whereupon the whole matter was dropped for some time. Cf. Glossary sub Shen P'ei; Mh III, 461, 462; HS 22: 4a. The rushes on the wheels were to make this chariot (which was furnished with seats) more comfortable. In ordinary chariots, riders stood. [43] Ying Shao explains, "[According to] the principles of proper conduct, women should not take part in governmental matters. At this time the Emperor was already himself overseeing the multifarious duties [of the government] in person. Wang Tsang was a Confucian and wanted to set up a Ming-t'ang and a Pi-yung. The [Grand] Empress Dowager had always been fond of the practises of the Yellow [Lord] and Lao-[tzu], and disapproved and scorned the Five Classics. Because [Wang Tsang] wanted to put an end to the memorializing of matters to Empress Dowagers, the [Grand] Empress Dowager became angry. Hence she killed him." Cf. 52: 4b; Glossary sub vocibus. [47] For the discussion of eclipses and of this date, cf. App. VI. [48] For the discussion of eclipses and of this date, cf. App. VI. [50] The Han-chi (by Hsün Yüeh, 148-209) 10: 1b and the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) 17: 9a add the word hsing [OMITTED] at this point; Wang Nien-sun thinks it has dropped out of the text, saying that the sentence does not make sense without this word. Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) objects that the text is correct; something appeared at night which could hardly have been called the sun and yet could not be called a star. The Wen-hsien T'ung-K'ao 284: 1a, by Ma Tuan-lin (xiv cent.) lists this event without the word hsing; the Hsi-Han Hui-yao (by Hsü T'ien-lin) 29: 9a, lists it in the same fashion. This event was possibly the appearance of a fireball or a large meteor. [53] Emperor Wu's tomb and its town. Cf. Glossary sub voce. [58] This is comet no. 27 in J. Williams, Observations of Comets Extracted from the Chinese

Annals. Cf. also G. F. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy, IV ed., I, p. 555. [60] The text reads [OMITTED], but 47: 6a and 14: 12a read the first word as [OMITTED], which is the modern name of the place. Wang Hsien-ch'ien (1842-1918) suggests that the text arose from a confusion with [OMITTED]. For these events and locations, cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [63] Note the transportation of troops by sea-going vessels. For this affair, cf. Glossary sub vocibus. [69] This is comet no. 28 in Williams, Observations of Comets. [73] The three-shu cash had been ordered to be coined in the spring of 140. Now the half-tael cash were again coined. Cf. 6: 2a. [74] It is far from certain that there were only five Erudits; but Emperor Hsüan increased their number to twelve, so that it is likely that [OMITTED] here refers both to the number of the Classics and to the number of the Erudits. Like the Ch'in First Emperor, Emperor Wen had probably had 70 Erudits, who were expert in the various philosophies; Emperor Wu's law of 141 B.C. (6: 1b, 2a) had dismissed most of them. That these were the same Five Classics as those now enumerated is shown by Pan Ku's listing of the imperial Erudits in accordance with their specialties: on the Book of Changes (HS 88: 6a), of History (88: 11a), of Odes (88: 15b), of Rites (the Yi-li, 88: 20b), and the Spring and Autumn with the Kung-yang Commentary (88: 21b). [83] HS 27 A: 11a dates this fire in the sixth month, the day ting-yu, (July 9). [85] Yen Shih-ku writes, "The phrases pien-tien [OMITTED] (side-hall), pien-shih [OMITTED] (side-chamber), and pien-tso [OMITTED] (side-sanctum), all [mean] not the principal or large places, [but] those where [people] go for convenience (pien) and rest. The funerary park (yüan [OMITTED]) was made above the ling [OMITTED]; since it had a central funerary chamber (cheng-ch'in [OMITTED]) like the Main Hall (cheng-tien) [of the palace] in his life, there were also built side-halls (pien-tien) as places of rest and relaxation. . . . Their meanings may be found from the memoirs of Shih Chien [46: 2a], Wei Hsüan-ch'eng [73: 9b], K'ung Kuang [81: 15a, 22a] and others." But according to 73: 9b, only the daily sacrifices to the departed were offered in the funerary chambers; the monthly sacrifices were performed in the funerary temples and the seasonal sacrifices (which were naturally the most solemn of all) were performed in the side halls. Ju Shun says that the side halls were "the central main halls," which statement is contradicted by Yen Shih-ku, apparently without any evidence except for the name of these buildings. Seemingly the spirit of the deceased ruler was conceived as residing in his Main Funerary Chamber, where his daily meals were offered; at special times he was invited to repair to his Funerary Temple or his Side Hall, where more elaborate festivals were held. Since the sacrifices in the side halls occurred even less frequently (and hence were more grandiose) than those in the funerary temples, the former must have been more elaborate structures than even the latter. Ju Shun therefore seems correct in making them the chief buildings at the imperial tombs. Hu San-hsing (1230-1287), in a note to Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 17: 14a, quotes Shen Yo (441-513) as saying, "The various tombs (ling) of the Han dynasty all had parks (yüan) and funerary chambers (ch'in), following the practise of the Ch'in [dynasty]. Those who explained [things] considered that anciently in front [there was] the sacrificial hall (miao [OMITTED]) and in the rear [there was] the funerary chamber (ch'in), just as for the Lord of Men, [the Emperor], there is in front the reception hall (ch'ao [OMITTED]) and in the rear there is his bedroom (ch'in). The sacrificial hall (miao) is to contain the tablet (chu [OMITTED]), [which is] sacrificed to at the four seasons; the funerary chamber (ch'in) contains clothes and hats, like those [worn] in [his] lifetime, [before which] to offer first-offerings. The Ch'in [dynasty] first removed the funerary hall (ch'in) and built it at the side of the grave (mu [OMITTED]); the Han [dynasty] followed suit and did not change [the arrangement of the funerary buildings]. When Emperor Wu [d. A.D. 220] of the Wei [dynasty] was buried at the Kao Tomb (ling), the high officials, following [the practises of] the Han [dynasty], established a sacrificial hall (tien) at his ling. Emperor Wen [of the Wei dynasty, 220-226,] thought that anciently there was no sacrifice at the tomb (mu), [but the sacrifices] were all set out in the sacrificial hall (miao). The halls (tien) and houses (wu [OMITTED]) on the Kao Tomb (ling) [for Emperor Wu of the Wei dynasty] were all torn down; the chariots and horses were returned to the stables; the clothes and robes were sent back to the treasury and storehouse, and Emperor Wen himself made funerary

regulations. [Emperor Wen] also said, `At my tomb (shou-ling), do not establish a funerary chamber (ch'in), a hall (tien), or make a park and town [of tomb-keepers].' From this [time] until the present, the funerary chamber (ch'in) at a ling has therefore ceased [to be established]." [91] HS 27 Cb: 22b reads, "In Chien-yüan VI, the sixth month, [July, 135 B.C.] a comet appeared in the northern quarter. . . . In the eighth month [Sept.], a long comet appeared in the eastern quarter, as long as the whole sky. On the thirtieth day it left. The diviner said, `This is the Flag of Ch'ih-yu.' " These two appearances (they may have been from the same comet) are Williams' nos. 29 & 30. The first appearance is not mentioned in the "Annals." This comet may have been the one that appeared at the birth of Mithridates, cf. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy, I, p. 555. [92] The text writes "Grand Minister of Agriculture"; but that title was not established until 104 B.C.; the term in use at this time is substituted in the translation. [94] Fu Tsang (fl. ca. 285) says, "Because the long comet was seen, it was [named] Yüan-kuang [lit. "grand light"]." (The present reading is san [OMITTED] instead of ch'ang [OMITTED] ["long (comet)"]; Ch'ien Ta-chao says that san should be ch'ang; the Official ed. has emended accordingly.) [97] Filially Pious and Incorrupt were not official titles, but qualities supposed to be possessed by certain persons, who were recommended to the imperial court because they were said to have these qualities. These terms came however to be used in the same way as official titles. Yen Shih-ku writes, "[The appellation of] `Filially pious' denotes those who are good at serving their fathers and mothers; [the appellation of] `Incorrupt' denotes those who are pure and irreproachable and show incorruptibility and integrity." Yü Yüeh (1821-1906) explains that each commandery and kingdom was to recommend two persons, not one, for some persons were recommended for filial piety and others for incorruptibility. The first virtue was considered more important than the other. Cf. 6: 9b, 50: 5b. [99] The text writes "Palace Military Commander," but Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768) notes that, according to 19 B: 13b, the Palace Military Commander at this time was Chang Ou and that, according to 54: 3a, Li Kuang3 was Commandant of the Palace Guard at Wei-yang Palace and Ch'eng Pu-shih was Commandant of the Palace Guard at Ch'ang-lo Palace, which statement is confirmed by 52: 9b. HS 19 B: 15a moreover records that in this year Li Kuang3 became the Commandant of the Palace Guards (there was one such official in charge of all the palace guards; sometimes special Commandants of the Palace Guards were appointed to individual palaces). Hence the [OMITTED] in the text should be emended to read [OMITTED]. It is natural that some copyist should have thought that there could not have been two persons with the same title. [103] They had rebelled in 154 B.C. Cf. 5: 4b. [107] Cf. Appendix II. [108] A quotation from the Book of History, V, xvi, 21 (Legge, p. 485) or iii, 6 (Legge, p. 313). [109] The second word in the phrase hsing-ts'o [OMITTED] (or [OMITTED]) had in Han times and earlier both the meaning "to establish" and "to disuse." The latter meaning is plainly to be found in HS 4: 22a, which must be interpreted to mean that Emperor Wen "set aside punishments [without using them]." The former meaning is illustrated in Hsün-tzu, ch. 28, 20: 3a (Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed.), "For this reason the severity of [the ancient sage-kings] was exhibited but not used and the [mutilating] punishments were established but not employed [OMITTED]," in which passage parallelism compels us to interpret ts'o as meaning "establish." Any other interpretation makes the sentence a stupid tautology. The same sentence (without the [OMITTED]) is found in Hsün-tzu ch. 15, 10: 14b as a quotation from some ancient book. My translation of the latter passage, "punishments should be established but not used," is approved by Duyvendak ("Notes on Dubs's Translation of Hsün-tzu," T'oung Pao, 1932, p. 25), who himself translates the phrase [OMITTED], which is the title of Paragraph 9 in the Book of Lord Shang (p. 238) as, "Establishing Laws."

The connection between the meanings, "establish" and "disuse" is supplied by a sentence in SC ch. 4 (Mh I, 250), "During the time of [Kings] Ch'eng and K'ang [of the Chou dynasty, the civilized] world was calm and peaceful, [so that the mutilating] punishments were established for more than forty years, [but] not used [OMITTED]." (Chavannes translates differently.) Ying Shao, in a note to this passage, interprets ts'o by chih [OMITTED], to establish, and adds, "The common people did not violate the laws, [hence] there was no cause [for suffering in] establishing the [mutilating] punishments [OMITTED]." This interpretation of ts'o by chih is repeated by Yen Shih-ku in a note to HS 6: 4a and by Yang Liang in a note to Hsün-tzu 20: 3b. It is approved by Wang Nien-sun in a note to Hsün-tzu 10: 14b, who adds the explanation [OMITTED]. The saying from the Hsün-tsu is also quoted in SC ch. 23 (Mh III, 220). The passage in SC ch. 4 is abbreviated in HS 23: 23a12. This saying is explained by two sentences in the Bamboo Books (Chu-shu Chi-nien, Legge, Chin. Clas. III, i, 147, 149; [which saying may however have been inserted as a result of the statements in the SC and Hsün-tzu]): sub King Ch'eng, XXI yr., "[King Ch'eng] did away with government [by the use of] symbolic [punishments] [OMITTED]," and sub King Chao, I yr., "[King Chao] reestablished the symbolic [punishments] [OMITTED]." Forty-four years are supposed to have elapsed between these two dates. The implication is that during this period of forty-odd years, the ruler's virtue caused the people to be free from crime, so that even the symbolic punishments were not used, hence the rulers established the ancient cruel mutilating punishments because there was no need to employ them. Hence hsing-ts'o always means "the punishments were established," and the tradition about Kings Ch'eng and K'ang gave it the connotation of "establishing but not employing punishments," so that the phrase came to imply "the punishments were disused." It is necessary to understand the details of Confucian mythological history in order to interpret Chinese phrases. Cf. also App. II. [113] The passage in single quotation marks is a quotation from the Ta-Tai Li-chi, Ch. 76, 11: 9a, although that passage refers to Shun, Yü, T'ang, and King Wen. The "Preface" to the Book of History, verse 56 (Legge, p. 12; part of the ancient text, but quoted in SC 4: 41, cf. Mh I, 249) reads, "When King Ch'eng had punished the eastern barbarians, the Su-shen came to congratulate him." For these place-names, cf. Glossary and Mh I, 89, n. 4. [114] For the diagram from the Yellow River and the book from the Lo River, cf. Book of Changes, App. III, ch. XI, Sect. 73 (Legge, p. 374); Glossary, sub vocibus. [118] According to 56: 1b, Tung Chung-shu was recommended as a Capable and Good and answered the examination questions "when Emperor Wu ascended the throne." That passage moreover quotes another edict of the Emperor, similar to this one. HS 6: 1b records that Capable and Good were promoted in Nov. 141 B.C.; presumably they were also examined at that time. Ssu-ma Kuang has followed the biography and dated Tung Chung Shu's advancement in 141 B.C. (cf. n. 1.6). According to 58: 1b, when Emperor Wu came to the throne, Kung-sun Hung1 was then in his sixtieth year, was summoned as a Capable and Good, and was made an Erudit. Later he was dismissed, but was again, in 130 B.C., sent to the court as a Capable and Good. According to 64 A: 1a, Chuang Tsu was also sent to the court as a Capable and Good and promoted to be Palace Grandee because of his answers to the examination questions; Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768) says that this was in Nov. 141 B.C. Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832) thinks that possibly all three of these persons were promoted in the same year. The disagreement between these biographies and the "Annals" makes us suspect this notation concerning Tung Chung-shu and Kung-sun Hung; it seems out of place in an "Annals" devoted to important governmental affairs; probably it is an interpolation. [127] Cf. Glossary, sub Wang K'uei; SC 110: 43, 44 = HS 94 A: 16a, b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 95 ff. [134] The Yellow River had previously followed approximately the course of the present Grand Canal, and entered the sea near Tientsin; now it changed its course, but still flowed into the present Gulf of Chihli. This change was followed, a few months later, by the breach at Hu-tzu, after which the River flowed into the Yellow Sea. Tun-ch'iu was not far from Hu-tzu. [137] The names of these persons are not given and there were no such enfeoffments made for the first time in this year. There are however recorded in this year as being enfeoffed

by succession the following: Chang Kuang-kuo as Marquis of Sui-ling, because he was the younger brother of Chang Sheng, the great-grandson of Chang Ao (16: 46a), and Kuan Hsien as Marquis of Lin-ju, because he was the grandson of Kuan Ying (16: 15b). (His appointment is listed for the second year, which is possibly a mistake for the third year, since the previous marquis of Lin-ju, Yang Wu-hai, was dismissed in the second year. Cf. 16: 36a.) The other three persons are not mentioned in the "Tables," so that ch. 16 and 17 lack the names of some marquises. Chou Shou-ch'ang suggests that all these five enfeoffments were enfeoffments by succession, and that the word [OMITTED] has dropped out of the text just before [OMITTED]. These appointments show the high honor in which were held those who assisted in the founding of the dynasty. [138] HS 29: 6a, b, following SC 29: 8, says that the Yellow River broke its dikes at Hu-tzu, turned into the Chü-yeh Marsh, and ran into the Huai and Szu Rivers. Su Lin (fl. 196-227) says that the breach was south of Chüan-ch'eng [OMITTED] and north of P'u-yang. (Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that Hu-tzu was a dike in P'u-yang prefecture.) The Hsi-ching Tsa-chi 2: 6b (vi cent.) says, "At Hu-tzu, when the [Yellow] River broke its dikes, a chiao dragon [possibly an alligator], followed by nine young, from within the breach, went against the current up into the River, spurting out foam and making waves for several tens of li," which statement is probably based on a line of Emperor Wu's poem in HS 29: 10a. This breach was closed in 109 B.C.: cf. 6: 26b. [140] The funerary temple of Emperor Wu. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [144] Cf. Glossary sub voce for this very interesting quarrel. [149] HS 27 Bb: 14b says that it killed "plants and trees." [156] Cf. 95: 3a12. [159] HS 97 A: 11a says that only the Empress née Ch'en's daughter, Ch'u-fu, had her head impaled on a stake in the market-place; more than three hundred persons were executed as accomplices. Wang Hsien-shen (1859-1922) thinks that [OMITTED] is an interpolation and that the last clause should be translated in the singular number. Black magic, [OMITTED] ku, was thought to act as a love philter and to punish a faithless lover. Cf. Introduction to this chapter, p. 18 ff; H. Y. Feng and J. R. Shryock in Jour. Amer. Or. Soc'y Mar. 1935, pp. 1-30. [160] This record is repeated in 27 Bb: 20a. Other plagues of ming are mentioned in HHS, Tr. 16: 7a, b, under dates of 82, 175, and 185 A.D., as early as July/Aug. and as late as Sept./Oct. The localities are from the modern K'ai-feng to the neighborhood of Ch'ang-an. The Spring and Autumn notes ming in 718 B.C. and later; cf. Legge, p. 18. In a note to Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu 18: 12b, "Pu-ch'ü," Kao Yu (fl. 205-212) remarks, "Huang [OMITTED] are insects. When they eat the heart [of plants], they are called ming [OMITTED]. When they eat the leaves, they are called t'eng [OMITTED]. Today in Yen Province [present Shantung, Honan], they say that huang are t'eng." Thus the ming would appear to have been a worm or grub. Mr. J. A. Hunter, writing from near Peiping, says that the farmers around there call the army worm or any worm on the grain a ming-ch'ung [OMITTED], and also call small moths by this name. Mr. Raymond T. Moyer, writing from Taiku, Shansi, reports that farmers there know as ming a stem borer of rice and of millet. The ancient literary Chinese do not however seem to have been exact in their use of the word ming. Shuo-wen (100 A.D.) 13 A: 6a10 defines ming as "Insects that eat the leaves of plants." Mr. Moyer says that the nymphs of locusts appear in great swarms and do much damage. In all probability, ming was a common noun applied to various insects; there likely were local variations in the designation intended by this word and the intelligensia may not have clearly understood the distinctions made by farmers. [164] The text here reads hsü [OMITTED]; the Sung Ch'i ed. (xii cent.) notes that the Ancient Text (before vi cent.) read instead chi1 [OMITTED]; Yen Shih-ku's (636-641) comment uses chi1 and 12: 6a has a similar phrase with chi1. The T'ung-tien (by Tu Yu, 735-812) 13: 5a, "Hsüan-chü," 1, quotes this order with chi1; the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983), 628: 3a "Sect. on Chih-tao," 9, has the same reading. The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 18: 10b (1084) has hsü, so that in its time the HS already contained this error. Wang Nien-sun concludes that the reading chi1 is correct.

The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED]. Yen Shih-ku explains, "The chi2-chê [OMITTED] was the messenger who presented [to the imperial court] the accounts and registers [OMITTED]. Every year the commanderies and kingdoms sent him to the imperial capital to present them. Chieh [OMITTED] is together [OMITTED]. [The Emperor] ordered that the persons who were summoned should come with the person who presented the accounts and that the prefectures where they sojourned were to furnish (chi1) them with food. Later generations were deceived and mistaken in transmitting [the interpretation of] this passage, hence generally said that the presenters of the accounts were chi1-chieh. K'an Ying [fl. ca. 422] did not examine carefully, and erroneously gave such an explanation, saying, `The Ch'in and Han [dynasties] called the officials who came to court for the nobles by the name of chi2-chieh. Chieh is [OMITTED] (to sojourn).' In the Chin dynasty there were chi2-chieh-pu [OMITTED]. [People] also changed chieh to [OMITTED] (steps, to mount), [thereby] misunderstanding it even worse, and bringing later scholarship into error." Cf. also the phrase with chi2 on 6: 29b. [168] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) writes, "[The Emperor] for the first [time] taxed carriages and boats of resident and traveling merchants and ordered them to pay poll-taxes (suan)." Cf. Kato, "A Study of the Suan-fu," Mem. Toyo Bunko, no. 1, p. 57. The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. [172] Cf. HS 29: 7a. This canal extended from below the Southern Mts. near Ch'ang-an direct to the Yellow River, for a distance of more than 300 li, and was for the purpose of irrigation and of facilitating the transport of tribute grain to the capital. It was not completed until the third year. [174] In SC 110: 44 = HS 94 A: 16b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 103, this expedition is dated in the "autumn." [175] Chavannes (cf. Mh III, 553, n. 2) would translate huo-shou-lu [OMITTED] as "made surrendered slaves prisoner," taking shou in the sense "submit," as in the expression [OMITTED] -shou. But "submitting [or bending] one's head" is not the same as "capturing heads." Huo in the expression above can hardly mean anything except "capturing" or "taking." In HS ch. 94, the parallel passages use tê [OMITTED] for huo, which likewise means "secured" or "captured." In 6: 12b, Emperor Wu says that Wei Ching attacked the Huns and chan [OMITTED] -shou-lu [OMITTED], which Chavannes (Mh III, 554) translates, "décapité dix-neuf mille esclaves soumis." But the Chinese have never eulogized the killing of prisoners. A reader of emanations told Li Kuang3 that the reason he had been so unlucky as not to have secured a high position was because he had killed 800 surrendered Ch'iang; cf. his Memoir, 54: 6b; Glossary sub voce. An illuminating phrase is found in 6: 16a, where it says that Ho Ch'ü-ping fought a battle with the Worthy King of the West and chan huo shou lu [OMITTED]. It could hardly mean that he beheaded and captured 70,000 surrendered slaves. Rather it means that he cut off heads and took prisoners to the number of more than 70,000. This expression seems to be the complete form of the phrase, of which other forms commonly found, chan-shou-lu and huo-shou-lu or tê-shou-lu are abbreviations. The Yen-t'ieh Lun, ch. 44, 9: 13a has moreover the phrase [OMITTED]. Evidently, in reckoning up the number of the rewards to be given to an army, the number of the slaughtered was added to that of the prisoners. Cf. also 7: n. 9.2. A step in noble rank was given for each head taken, according to the Ch'in law. This important law is to be found in J. J. L. Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang, pp. 297-300, and specifies the promotions for various grades. Cf. also Maspero's emendations to this passage in Jour. Asiatique, 1933, Supplement to vol. 222, pp. 55-59. The Han dynasty may have followed the same plan; it gave money rewards for captures of heads or prisoners; 24 B: 8a. Such prisoners were probably worked by the government or sold as slaves. Since no distinction is made between heads and prisoners, it seems that one prisoner counted as much as one head. We are not told anything to the contrary; yet it is impossible to be sure. Since a chi [OMITTED], lit. "step [in noble rank]" was given for each head, chi came to be the numerator for the number of heads taken, and, by extension, for the number of prisoners. The number of prisoners and heads was sometimes exaggerated by the soldiers or generals; if detected, they were punished severely. Lung-ch'eng was the capital of the Huns; cf. Glossary sub voce. For an account of this campaign, cf. de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 103.

[181] This phrase is probably taken from the source of the similar phrase in HS 91: 4a, possibly SC 40: 61 = Mh IV, 395. [182] The Official ed. (1739) emends [OMITTED] to [OMITTED], which Wang Hsien-ch'ien approves and I accept. [184] Repeated in 27 Ba: 24a and 27 Bb: 20a. [187] The name of this year-period was probably taken from the fact that during this period the commandery of So-fang was established as the result of great victories in the northwest. Ying Shao however says that so means to revive, quoting Mencius I, ii, xi, 2 ad fin. (Legge, p. 47), where Mencius quotes the Book of History. "The prince's coming will be our reviving." Yen Shih-ku replies that so means beginning. Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that all of Emperor Wu's early year-periods were named from some actual happening, not from literary quotations. [192] These phrases seem to have been taken from Hsüntzu, ch. 6, 3: 16b, "To unite ways of government, to make [people's] words and deeds accord [with the true standard], to unify general principles and specific cases [OMITTED]," which is said of Confucius and Tzu-kung. [195] Quotations from Analects V, xxvii and VII, xxi. [199] A quotation from the Ho-kuan-tzu (author unknown, professes to be written by an author who fl. dur. 325-299 B.C.), A: 10b, ch. 6, "If the person who promotes the capable will receive high rewards, then one's inferiors will not keep each other in obscurity." [200] The Shang-shu Ta-chuan (compiled by Master Fu, [d. dur. 179-157 B.C.] from material that had been reworked, book lost in the xiv cent.) is quoted by Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) as having said, "[When for] the third [time the persons who are recommended to the emperor prove] suitable, [the person who presented them] is said to have done a distinguished deed, and there are granted to him [the distinctions of] carriages and horses [or] a bow and arrows." The Ch'ien-fu Lun 2: 5a, ch. 7, quotes this paragraph. Ying Shao writes, "The first [distinction [OMITTED]] was chariots and horses, the second was garments [of honor], the third was music and instruments, the fourth was vermillion doors, the fifth was inside staircases [cf. 99 A: n. 23.2], the sixth was a hundred of the As Rapid as Tigers [cf. Glossary, sub Gentlemen as Rapid as Tigers], the seventh was axes [carried as insignia of honor], the eighth was bows and arrows, and the ninth was black millet herb-flavored liquor—these all were institutions [fixed by] the Son of Heaven for honoring a person. Therefore he grants and bestows them on several [occasions], but only a few [of each]." Wang Mang was granted the nine distinctions; cf. 99 A: 22b, 23a, and n. 23.3. [203] The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. [205] The sentences in single quotation marks are said to be a quotation from the Book of History, V, i, "The Great Declaration," by the Shuo-yüan (by Liu Hsiang, 79-8 B.C.; present text compiled by Ts'eng Kung, 1019-1083), 2: 14a, chapter "Ch'en-shu." The Ch'ien-fu Lun (by Wang Fu, fl. dur. 79-166), 2: 5a, chap. 7, "K'ao-chi," also quotes 3 clauses of this passage. These sentences are not in the present text of the Book of History. Ma Jung (79-166) doubted these sentences, and Chao Ch'i (108-201) said that they were obtained later than the genuine text. They are also quoted in Legge's appendix to that chapter; cf. his Shoo-king, II, p. 299. [210] A quotation from the Book of Changes, App. III, ch. II, sect. 15 (Legge, p. 383). The passage refers to the reforms instituted by the Yellow Lord, Yao, and Shun. [211] A poem lost even in the time of Ying Shao (140-206), about whose meaning the commentators dispute. In explanation of "nine mutations," Shen Ch'in-han quotes Lieh-tzu (iii cent. B.C.) A: 1b, chap. "T'ien-jui," "The primeval impalpable chaos mutates and becomes one; the one mutates and becomes seven; the seven mutates and becomes

nine; nine is the limit of mutation, so that when it mutates again, it becomes one." [215] The date of Emperor Wu's accession. [218] Ch'ien Ta-chao says that the Fukien ed. (1549) writes [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED] of the text, but SC 110: 45 = HS 94 A: 17a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 106 says that the Huns "defeated the Grand Administrator of Yü-yang [Commandery] with his army of more than a thousand men, . . . and also entered Yen-men. [Commandery], killing or kidnapping more than a thousand persons," so that "defeat" is corroborated, but not "Chief Commandant." The Chief Commandant was the military head of a commandery; the Grand Administrator was its civil head. [219] HS 24 B: 6b says, "P'eng Wu opened the way to the Wei-mo and Chao-hsien, [whereupon] Ts'ang-hai Commandery was established." In 194 to 180 B.C., a treaty had been made by the Chinese government with Wei Man, a Chinese adventurer who had made himself King of Chao-hsien, in accordance with which he agreed to prevent the barbarians from raiding Chinese territory, in return for which the present Korean peninsula was to be regarded as his "sphere of influence," so that all intercourse between chieftains of that region was to come through Wei Man, and Korean chieftains were to be denied audience with and by the Chinese emperor (95: 19a). The admission of Nan-lu to audience, who was probably challenging the overlordship of Wei Man's successor, and the taking of his territory as a nominal imperial commandery was a direct breaking of this treaty. Although this territory was given up in 126 B.C. (p. 10b), probably because Wei Man's successors asserted their rights, Emperor Wu did not forget the incident, and, when Wei Man's grandson, Wei Yu-ch'ü, refused to come to court in person and acknowledge Chinese overlordship, an expedition captured his capital and annexed his territory. [224] The stool and cane were symbols of age; they had previously been granted for the same reason by Emperor Wen to Liu P'i, King of Wu (cf. 4: 21b & HFHD I, 274, n. 2). Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 18: 17a omits the mention of the King of Tzu-ch'uan, and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 7b remarks that Liu Chih, the previous King of Tzu-ch'uan, had died in 130 B.C. (cf. HS 14: 7a; 38: 10a). Shih Yün-yü (1756-1837) remarks that Liu Chien had just come to the throne, so that it would be unlikely that he should have been so infirm as to be unable to attend court; Szu-ma Kuang, Wang Hsien-ch'ien, and Shih Yün-yü all consider that the mention of the King of Tzu-ch'uan is probably a mistaken interpolation. Han-chi 12: 2b however mentions the King of Tzu-ch'uan. [228] This dynastic practice was suggested by Chu-fu Yen; cf. 64 A: 19a, b. On its importance, cf. O. Franke, Geschichte des Chinesischen Reiches, I, 293. [229] This was the region earlier conquered by Meng T'ien in 214 B.C. It was located in the present Ordos region inside the great northward bend of the Yellow River and beyond it. Cf. Glossary sub vocibus; Mh II, 168. [232] For this campaign, cf. SC 110: 44, 45 = HS 94 A: 17a = de Groot, Die Hunnen p. 107 f. [235] These transportations were also at the suggestion of Chu-fu Yen; cf. 64 A: 19b, 20a. [237] He had committed incest. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [242] The K'un-hsüeh Chi-wen 12: 5a, (Com. Press ed., p. 1001), (by Wang Ying-lin, 1223-1296) says that somebody reported an old hand-written copy of the HS, lacking comment, to have read for the [OMITTED] of the present HS text, [OMITTED] "and to publish amnesties," which Wang Nien-sun thinks fits into the text much better than what is there now. This reading is supported by the reference to "amnesty" in the following sentence. Li Tz'u-ming adds that Liu Ch'ang-shih (xii/xiii cent.), in his Lu-pu Pi-chi, wrote that an old copy of the HS, preserved in the home of Chang Tun (fl. 1094-1101), which may have been the same copy as that mentioned by Wang Ying-lin, had this latter phrase. But this reading is possibly merely a conjectural emendation by Liu Ch'ang-shih himself. Dr. Duyvendak moreover objects that the emendation [OMITTED] is not very good, for there are two complete sentences, each ending in [OMITTED], so that there is no room for [OMITTED]. Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) and Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) show, by their comments, that they had substantially the present text. Yang Shu-ta (1885- ) quotes

the Discourse on Salt and Iron, ch. 44, 9: 11b, which uses the phrase [OMITTED], so that this phrase was used in Han times. [244] An allusion to the Doctrine of the Mean, "Commentary," II, 1 (Legge, p. 361). [248] SC 110: 46, 47 = HS 94 A: 17b = de Groot, ibid., p. 111 dates the foray of the Huns into Tai Commandery in the summer and that into Yen-men Commandery in the autumn. [251] Kung-sun Hung had inspected this region in 129 B.C. He reported that it was not worth the effort to reconquer it and it should be discarded. Emperor Wu did not heed his advice. In 126, when Kung-sun Hung became the Grandee Secretary, he repeated his suggestion; at this time the Chinese forces were needed to fortify and defend So-fang in the north, hence this suggestion was adopted. Cf. Glossary, sub voce; HS 95: 3b; 58: 4b. [257] Also noted in 27 Ba: 24a. [258] According to 55: 4b, 5a, Wei Ch'ing did not receive the title of General-in-chief until after this expedition; at this time he was still General of Chariots and Cavalry. That passage moreover says that he led 300,000 cavalry, and that the other generals were subordinate to him. These six generals were Su Chien, Li Chü, Kung-sun Ho, Li Ts'ai, Li Hsi, and Chang Tz'u-kung. [265] This edict is also found in SC 121: 9 and HS 88: 3b-4a. Together with Kung-sun Hung's reply it constituted the charter of the Imperial University. [266] This phrase is also found in HS 36: 35b6. [267] Cf. Introduction, p. 24. [273] For details, cf. SC 110: 48 = HS 94 A: 18a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 115 f., which says they went out several hundred li. The six generals were Kung-sun Ao, Kung-sun Ho, Chao Hsin4, Su Chien, Li Kuang3, and Li Chü. [277] Cf. de Groot, ibid., pp. 116-118. [279] A Legalist teaching, also found in a memorial of Li Szu, SC 6: 50 = Mh II, 171 = Bodde, China's First Unifier, p. 81. (Reference from Dr. Bodde.) [280] An allusion to Analects XIII, xvi; but there, and in Han-fei-tzu, 16: 2b, ch. 38, "Nan iii," as well as in the Shuo-yüan (by Liu Hsiang, 79-8 B.C., compiled by Tseng Kung, 1019-1083), 7: 7b, all of which quote this saying, the interlocutor is the Duke of Shê, not Duke Ting. Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) has noticed this difference. [282] A reference to a saying of Confucius in Han-fei-tzu 16: 2b, ch. 38, "Nan iii," "Duke Ai asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, `[Good] government [lies] in selecting the capable." The Shuo-yüan, 7: 5a, in quoting this saying, for the last two characters, [OMITTED], uses [OMITTED], which looks like the original of the passage in the HS; the confusion between [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] is easy to make; Yang Shu-ta, in his comment on this passage, has either misread the first character to be the second or has a variant edition of the Shuo-yüan that we have not been able to find; both words mean the same in this connection. Wang Nien-sun explains that the second character means the same as and stands for [OMITTED], which means "select." [284] A reference to a saying of Confucius in Han-fei-tzu, 16: 2b, ch. 38, "Nan iii," "Duke Ching of Ch'i asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, `[Good] government [lies] in economizing [the state's] wealth.' " This passage in Han-fei-tzu goes on to explain that in each case Confucius adapted his reply to the circumstances of the interlocutor. These three sayings are all quoted in Liu Hsiang's Shuo-yüan,

7: 7b, in a form that matches much more exactly the expressions in this edict than the form in the Han-fei-tzu; possibly Liu Hsiang, when he wrote this passage, had Emperor Wu's edict in mind, and Emperor Wu took them from the Han-fei-tzu. [286] Here chung-kuo [OMITTED] is used as equivalent to China and is contrasted with surrounding states. [287] Cf. Mh II, 502, n. 2. For those disqualified for office, cf. n. 35.2. [288] This edict is found in substance in the SC (cf. Mh III, 554, & n. 5; cf. also HS 24 B: 8a, b), but with variations and not labelled as an edict. Ying Shao writes, "It says that military officers or soldiers who have taken heads or prisoners have many noble ranks and no means of transferring or giving [them to others]. Now for their [sakes] there was established an office for rewarding military merit, [so that] those who had [too] many noble [ranks] could distribute them and give them to their fathers, their elder brothers, their sons, or their younger brothers, or sell them to other persons." Yen Shih-ku disagrees with this translation (Chavannes, Mh III, 554, n. 6, follows him), quoting Hsü Shen's Shuo-wen 6 B: 4b as saying that "Yi [OMITTED] [means] the order of layers of things," and interpreting the edict as ordering that a value should be set for various ranks. But Wang Nien-sun shows that yi has also the meaning "confer," "transmit" (cf. 100 B: 15a), and says that if it had the meaning assumed by Yen Shih-ku, the words [OMITTED] and yi should have been interchanged and several other words must have been added to explain it. Hence Ying Shao's interpretation is correct. Dr. Duyvendak however writes, "I think that we should take the meaning [of yi]: layer, stratification, gradation, [and translate], `For those who wish to transfer or to sell [the various rewards they have received] there is no current gradation.' " The purpose of this order was to establish a new noble hierarchy, the eleven grades in which could be given as rewards to victorious troops instead of money or the former noble ranks, thus economizing expenditure, and also enabling the troops to sell these noble ranks in order to secure money if they needed it. At the same time these new titles were available for sale by the government, giving it more revenue. Mr. Tai Jen suggests that the last part of this sentence should be translated, "should have no means of transferring their conferred [titles]," implying that the Emperor was putting a stop to the sale of titles by private individuals, in order to encourage their sale by the government. Ying Shao testifies to the continuance of this practice of transferring titles. For the details of the hierarchy of military titles now established, cf. Mh III, 555 & n. 4; HS 24 B: 8a-9a. [291] Ying Shao writes, "A white unicorn was captured, hence, when the year period was changed, it was called Yüan-shou," (lit. "the first year of the [period in which] the animal [was captured]"). [295] This unicorn was used in an offering in the imperial ancestral temple; cf. 6: 35b. Yen Shih-ku writes, "The unicorn has the body of a deer, the tail of a cow, the feet of a horse, is yellow in color, has round hoofs, one horn, and flesh at the end of its horn." He seems to be quoting freely from a saying in the Yi-chuan (a lost book) by Ching Fang (77-37 B.C.), now found in a comment on the Tso-chuan (Dk. Ai, XIV), "The unicorn has the body of a muntjak, the tail of a cow, the forehead of a wolf, and the hoofs of a horse. [It is dappled with all] five colors. Below its belly it is yellow. It is twelve feet tall [9 ft. Eng. meas.]." Wang Ch'ung (27-97), in his Lun-heng, Bk. XVI, Ch. IV (Forke, ch. 30; I, 359) discusses the unicorn and phoenix. He writes, "In Chou [times], a unicorn was captured; the unicorn was like a deer and had a horn. The unicorn of Emperor Wu was also like a deer and had a horn." He also writes (ibid. p. 370), "In the time of Emperor Wu, a western hunting party secured a white unicorn, with one horn and five feet." According to HS 25 A: 24a, the chief characteristic of this animal was its single horn; at first people were by no means certain that it was a unicorn. The "White Unicorn" Song is in 22: 31b, 32a. It is translated in Mh III, 626 f, XVII. [300] According to 44: 11b, the rebellion of Liu An had been crushed in the autumn of the preceding year; because these two kings had plotted together to rebel, the suicides of Liu An and Liu Tz'u were recorded at the same time. [302] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that the present text is not happy and proposes

inserting [OMITTED], following 27 Bb: 13a. [305] This act was the result of discovering that Liu An's rebellion arose from his hope to succeed to the imperial throne because no heir had been appointed. Cf. Glossary, sub Liu An. [306] The eleventh noble rank. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [307] A free quotation from the Book of History, II, iii, 2 (Legge, p. 70). In the original, the second and third sentences are interchanged and some words intervene between the first and second sentences quoted by Emperor Wu. [310] Reading [OMITTED] for the character in the text. According to the pronunciations and meanings given in their comments, Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) and Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) seem to have had the former character in their texts and Ju Shun (fl. 189-265) seems to have had the latter reading, which arose because the former reading had been corrupted to [OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun points out this fact and illustrates this reading from parallel passages. [312] Book of Odes, II, iv, viii, 11 (Legge, II, 319). [316] Ju Shun says that chui [OMITTED] means to assemble [OMITTED]. The Shuo-yüan (by Liu Hsiang 79-8 B.C.) 12: 6a says, "The King of Liang assembled (chui) his various officials and they discussed his faults." The idea seems to have been that the Messengers should actually visit the people themselves and not collect a number of people in a haphazard fashion, to whom rewards were to be given. [323] HS 6: 19b notes a horse born in another river. Yen Shih-ku says that this bird was a parrot and that in his time they occurred in both Lung-hsi (Kansu) and Nan-hai (Kuang-tung). Shen Ch'in-han however points out that the HS elsewhere uses the usual Chinese word for `parrot,' so that if this bird was a parrot, it would have been directly mentioned by that name; and that there were many parrots in Ch'in and Lung [Shensi and Kansu], so that the presentation of a parrot would not have been important enough to mention. [Cf. also Ni Heng (style, Cheng-p'ing's) "Fu on the Parrot," in the Wen-hsüan, ch. 13.] Shen Ch'in-han adds that the T'ang History, "Treatise on Music," says, "In Ling-nan [Kwangtung] there is a bird like a thrush, but somewhat larger. When one suddenly glances at it, one cannot distinguish it [from a thrush]. When it is reared in a cage for a long time, it can talk and can repeat anything. The people of the south call it a chi-liao [OMITTED]. At the beginning of [the period] K'ai-yüan [713-742], Kuang-chou [modern Canton] presented one. Its speech and voice is loud and heavy like a man. It is docile and recognizes people; its nature is more intelligent than a parrot." Shen Ch'in-han accordingly thinks that this bird was a Chi-liao. The Tz'u-yüan, sub Ch'in [OMITTED] -chi-liao, says, "The name of a bird. In shape it is like a thrush. Its whole body is black. Behind its two eyes there is a yellow flesh crest. Its feet are yellow and its beak red. It can imitate human speech." This bird was, according to Herbert Friedman of the U. S. National Museum, the Chinese crested mynah, Aethiopsar cristatellus, which is now a common cage bird with the Chinese, because of its attractive plumage and its ability as a mimic. [328] Liu P'in (1022-1088) remarks that Li Kuang3's "Memoir" (cf. 54: 6a; Glossary, sub voce) has a different statement, to the effect that Chang Ch'ien came to Li Kuang3's rescue when Li Kuang3's men had almost all been killed. Liu P'in accordingly thinks that the "Annals" are mistaken here. [329] He had been inhumanly licentious and had plotted rebellion. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [333] HS 94 A: 19a reads, "That autumn the Shan-yü became angry at the King of Kun-hsieh and the King of Hsiu-t'u, who lived in the western part [of the Shan-yü's empire] and several ten-thousands of whose men had been killed or captured [by Ho Ch'ü-ping. The Shan-yü] wanted moreover to summon and execute [these kings]. The Kings of Kun-hsieh and of Hsiu-t'u were afraid, and plotted to surrender to the Chinese [Emperor]. The Chinese [Emperor] sent the General of Agile Cavalry, [Ho Ch'ü-ping],

to receive them. The King of Kun-hsieh killed the King of Hsiu-t'u, united and led [the dead King's] troop [with his own], and surrendered to the Chinese. [The two troups were] altogether more than forty thousand men and were called a hundred thousand. When the Chinese had thereupon secured [the territory of] Kun-hsieh, then Lung-hsi, Po-ti, and Ho-hsi [Commanderies suffered] much less [from] raids by the Hu." Cf. de Groot, ibid., p. 126 f = SC 110: 51. [334] Hu San-hsing, following Chang Shou-chieh (fl. 737) says that the surrendered Huns were distributed to regions outside the former Barrier (the Great Wall) in these five commanderies, where Chief Commandants of Dependent States were established, namely, the commanderies of Lung-hsi, Po-ti, Shang, So-fang, and Yün-chung. Cf. 55: 12b. [337] This comet is not in the list in ch. 27. It is no. 32 in Williams' list. HS 27 Ba: 24a adds that in this summer there was a severe drought. [340] This appointment was probably made in the preceeding year; cf. Glossary, sub Liu Ch'ing. [345] Yen Shin-ku says, "In the autumn or winter, they plant it, over the New Years it is ripe, hence it is called su [OMITTED] [lit. sleeping or over-night] wheat." [346] HS 24 B: 10a reads, "Many of the people east of the mountains who suffered from floods were famished and lacked everything, whereupon the Son of Heaven sent a messenger to empty the depots and granaries of the commanderies and kingdoms in order to aid the poor, [but the food] was still not sufficient; [so he] also solicited distinguished and rich people to lend to them, [but] it was still impossible to rescue [the starving]; so more than seven hundred thousand of the poor people were removed to the west of [Han-ku] Pass and [were sent] to fill up [the region in the] south of So-fang [Commandery] in Hsin-ch'in." Cf. also Mh III, 562. [347] This action was the result of the surrender of the Hun Kings of Kun-hsieh and Hsiu-t'u and the victories of Ho Ch'ü-ping, whereby the invasions of the Huns were greatly lessened. [348] HS 24 B: 12a says that as the laws became more severe, most of the officials were dismissed, and adds, "Those who had formerly been officials had all been reporbates and were ordered to cut down thorns in Shang-lin [Park] or make the K'un-ming pond." (Cf. Mh III, 568-9.) Ju Shu remarks, "HS ch. 24 [recounts] that the former officials had fallen foul of the law as being former reprobates, so they were sent to dig the Pond, and those who had property were instead appointed [as officials]." For "reprobated persons," cf. n. 35.2. It looks as though a law had been discovered or enacted, prohibiting those who had been connected with trade from occupying official posts, with the result that many officials had to be dismissed. Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) adds, "HS 95: [1b reports] that in the state of K'un-ming [later included in the Han dynasty's] Yüeh-sui [Commandery], there is `a T'ien Lake, whose circumference is three hundred li' [which was the present lake by the same name, located just south of K'un-ming (the Ch'ing dynasty's Yün-nan Fu), Yunnan]. The Han messengers sought the country of Shen-tu [India] and were stopped by [the King of] K'un-ming [cf. 95: 4a]. Now [the Emperor] wished to make an expedition against it, hence made a K'un-ming Pond like [the one in Yünnan], in order to practise naval fighting. [It was] southwest of Ch'ang-an and was forty li in circumference." [353] HS 24 B: 10a reads much the same as this passage (cf. n. 15.8), except that it says the people were moved to the region of Hsin-ch'in in the south of So-fang Commandery and does not mention K'uai-chi Commandery. [354] Ying Shao says, "At this time [the resources for] the state revenues were insufficient, so white deerskin was used to make money." HS 24 B: 11a, b says, "The high officials said, `Anciently the nobles used leathern money for ambassadorial offerings and presents [given by guests at feasts]. Of metals there were three grades: actual gold was the highest, silver was the second, and Tan-yang copper was the lowest. Now . . . as the cash become lighter and thinner and goods become [more] expensive, [when people from] distant places use currency [to present to the emperor], it is troublesome and

expensive and not economical.' So white deerskin, a foot square, bordered with embroidery, was used as leathern money worth four hundred thousand [cash]. When the kings, marquises, and [members of] the imperial house attended court and in the autumn made offerings to the Emperor, they were required to use [this] leathern money and present jade circlets, and then only were [their offerings] accepted. Silver and tin were also made into white metal. Because it is considered that for use [as a symbol of] `Heaven, nothing is as good as the dragon,' for use [as a symbol of] `Earth, nothing is as good as the horse [a mare],' [an allusion to sayings in the Book of Changes, Hex. 1 & 2] and for use [as a symbol of] man, nothing is as good as the tortoise, hence [this] white metal [money was of] three grades: the first was called `Weight eight taels.' It was round, its device was a dragon, its name was `A White Hsüan' [the hsüan was an ancient weight of 6 taels (of gold)], and it was worth 3000 [cash]. The second was called, `A little less in weight.' It was square; its device was a horse [mare], and it was worth 500 [cash]. The third was called, `Still less [in weight].' It was oblong, its device was a tortoise, and it was worth 300 [cash]." Cf. Mh III, 564 ff. [356] HS 24 B: 13a, b says, "[As to] resident merchants and craftsmen, who buy on credit and lend on interest, and who buy and sell and live in towns [cf. 24 B: 10b], or who collect and amass various [kinds of] goods, together with the merchants [who travel] in order to make profits, although they [may] not be [enregistered on] the registers of the market-places, [yet] each one [of the foregoing must] himself estimate [the value of his goods, report it to the officials], and be taxed on his property [in terms of] cash, one poll-tax (suan) on [each] two thousand [cash]. Those who manufacture and pay the land-tax, together with those who cast [cash], should be taxed on their property [in terms of] cash, one poll-tax on [each] four thousand [cash]." Cf. also Mh III, 571-5. Fu Tsan quotes the above passage as quoted in the Mou-ling Shu (prob. written in Han times, lost before 312) and adds, "This property [in terms of] cash is their accumulated [property in terms of] cash. Hence [a merchant's taxes] are in accordance with the way he uses [his property]. If he uses it to get a high profit, his poll-taxes are also more [in proportion]." If the poll-tax was 190 cash (cf. Glossary, sub voce), merchants and pedlars paid 9½% and artisans 4¾% on their capital. Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) and Yen Shih-ku would interpret min1 [OMITTED] as the string used to `string' cash; Chavannes (Mh, III, 573, n. 4) follows this interpretation; but Su Yü (fl. 1913) notes that Shuo-wen 14 A: 4b defines min2 [OMITTED] [and [OMITTED]] as "property. Shop-keepers estimate [the value of their] property," while min1 is defined as "a line for angling fish." He points out that here min1 is used for min2, and adds that the Yü-p'ien (by Ku Yeh-wang, 519-581) interprets min2 as "capital." [360] These are nos. 32 and 33 in Williams' list of comets. HS 27 Cb: 22b does not mention the first of these, but says that "a long comet came out again" in the fourth month, which was May/June, 119 B.C. This seems to have been the comet that appeared when Mithridates ascended the throne; cf. Chambers, op. cit. p. 555. [362] These four generals were Li Kuang, Kung-sun Ho, Chao Yi-chi, and Ts'ao Hsiang. Cf. 55: 13a; de Groot, ibid., p. 133 ff. [366] Yen Shih-ku says, "To climb a mountain, worship Heaven, and pile up earth [for a memorial] is to feng [OMITTED]. He engraved a stone recording this event in order to manifest the achievements of the Han [army]." Cf. n. 25.1; Chavannes' discussion of feng in Mh III, 413, n. 1; Ku Chieh-kang, Han-tai Hsüeh-shu-shih Lüeh, ch. 2. Po-hu-t'ung B: la says that the sacrifice feng must be made on top of Mount T'ai, and continues, "It must be on top of it. Why? It utilizes its height to give information to [Heaven, who] is high, [thereby] according with the nature [of Heaven and the mountain]. Hence the person who sheng [OMITTED] -feng (raises up [the altar to perform the sacrifice] feng) increases its height." The altar on Mount T'ai was twenty (Chinese) feet high. Cf. n. 25.1. According to 55: 14b, Ho Ch'ü-ping also performed the sacrifice shan. [367] Wang Nien-sun says that the chan [OMITTED] is an interpolation, for the Ching-yu ed. (1034) is without it and 94 A: 20a is also without it. The Official ed. reads chan shih [OMITTED], instead of shih chan. [368] Ju Shun notes that HS 54: 7a, 8a, b; 55: 13a, b record Chao Yi-chi as General of the Right; Yen Shih-ku says that ch. 6, which here entitles Chao Yi-chi as General of the Rear, contains an error of transcription.

[373] He was charged with peculation. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [374] Ju Shun says, "The price of stallions was standardized at a high [value], with the intention of making people compete in rearing horses." The campaigns of 119 B.C. alone had caused the loss of 100,000 horses (cf. Mh III, 569; HS 24 B: 12b). [375] Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 8b, says that this recording is erroneous, for the half-tael cash had been previously melted down (according to the order in Mh III, 567 = HS 24 B: 12a), so that at this time the three-shu cash were abolished, not the half-tael cash. Since however the order for the imperial government (not the "fonctionnaires provinciaux" as Chavannes translates; cf. HFHD I, 311, n. 3.5) to melt down half-tael cash had only been issued in the preceding year, no large proportion of these coins could yet have been withdrawn from circulation, hence the present reading of this order may be correct. The three-shu cash were put into circulation in 140 B.C. (cf. 6: 2a), and in 136 B.C. they were abolished and the half-tael cash coined in their place (cf. 6: 3b). In 120 B.C., they were ordered melted and three-shu cash were to be issued with the legend, "Three-shu cash." Now, in 119 B.C. (Mh III, 569 = HS 24 B: 12b) an official complained that the three-shu cash were light, hence could easily be counterfeited, and begged that five-shu cash be coined. The term "half-tael cash" does not mean that cash by this name actually weighed half a tael or 12 shu; HS 24 B: 4a reports that Emperor Wen coined four-shu cash with the legend, "Half-tael." There was much illicit private coinage, and light coins would naturally continue in use and not be melted down. The "cunning and troublesome officials and common people" were probably the counterfeiters. [380] The Ching-yu ed. (1034), the Academy ed. (1124), and the Official ed. read [OMITTED]; the Sung Ch'i ed. says that the New ed. (unknown) does not have the first of these words; Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed. also omits it, saying that this word is a mistake. I have retained it in the translation because of its excellent textual evidence. [381] Yen Shih-ku states that some popularly current copies of the HS read "public chariots [OMITTED]," which he says is a mistake. These grants were probably in gratitude for the Emperor's recovery from illness in the preceding year (Mh III, 472). [382] This occurrence is also mentioned in 27 Bb: 3b. [386] These admonitory decrees, kao [OMITTED], were formal written admonitions given by the Emperor to the kings he was appointing and were in imitation of the kao, "Admonitions," in the Book of History. Several such admonitory decrees are to be found in ch. 63, among the biographies of Emperor Wu's sons. These admonitory decrees were similar in their nature to the charters of appointment given officials; cf. 5: n. 5.7 and 5: app. I. Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) and Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) testify to this technical sense of kao. [390] This memorial is to be found in 24 B: 12b. [391] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) explains, "It says that powerful families have been taking possession of (chien [OMITTED]) and making servants of the unimportant common people and the rich have been taking possession of (chien) and making servants of the poor people, and [the Emperor] wished to equalize matters." But Wen Ying replies, "Those who `had taken concurrently (chien-ping [OMITTED])' were the families who enjoyed official salaries; they were not permitted to rule their estates and concurrently (chien) to take the advantages [given to] unimportant common people. Although merchants might be rich, they were not again concurrently (chien) to hold fields and residences, to have guest-[retainers], or to plow and farm." Yen Shih-ku approved of Li Ch'i's interpretation, but Wen Ying seems to be correct, for Mh III, 575 = HS 24 B: 13b records for the year 119 B.C., "Merchants who are enregistered in the market-places, together with their families and relatives, are all not to be permitted to own private cultivated fields in order to take advantage of [the privileges accorded to] farmers." Wen Ying seems to imply that there were three classes: (1) officials and nobility, who might possess fields and residences and entertain guest-retainers, (2) farmers, and (3) merchants. Farmers were granted many privileges by the Ch'in and Han dynasties;

Emperor Wu tried to keep the officials and merchants from claiming the advantages granted to farmers, by prohibiting merchants from owning farm land. The phrase ping-chien has however a different meaning: Li Hsien, in a note to HHS, Mem. 39: 17a, says, "Ping-chien means that powerful and rich [people], by means of their wealth and influence, unite and secure (ping-[OMITTED]) the fields of poor people and take and possess (chien-[OMITTED]) them." The change in the currency referred to is the coining of five-shu cash (cf. n. 16.8). The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed., Li Ch'i and Wen Ying, read chien for the [OMITTED] in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text. I have adopted this reading. [394] I follow Ju Shun (fl. dur. 189-265) in interpreting [OMITTED] as [OMITTED]. The edict abolishing the three-shu cash was dated a year and three months previous to this one. [395] The phrase [OMITTED] is an allusion to Book of Changes III, Sect. II, ch. 5, par. 31 (Legge, p. 389). Wei Chao (197-273/4) says, "Whenever one is considered deceptive, he is chiao [OMITTED]; to take by force is ch`ien [OMITTED]," quoting, in support, the Tso-chuan, Dk. Ch'eng, XIII, iv; 27: 7b (Legge, 38010), where ch'ien is used in that sense. But Wang Nien-sun quotes a comment of Cheng Hsüan (127-200) on the Book of History, IV, xxvii, 2, where the phrase chiao-ch'ien occurs (this comment is now to be found in the comment of Chia Kung-yen [fl. dur. 640-455] on the Chou-li, 36: 1b, sub the Szu-hsing), "Chiao-ch'ien means [OMITTED] (to make a [serious] disturbance). The Commentary on the Spring and Autumn [the passage in the Tso-chuan referred to above] means that they pillaged and took people and things in order to make a [serious] disturbance." Wang Nien-sun says that chiao and ch'ien mean [approximately] the same and have not here two different meanings. [399] Mh III, 580 and HS 24 B: 14b say that Ch'u Ta, Hsü Yen and others were sent out to suppress the grasping rich and the Administrators and Chancellors who were profiting. Chavannes' translation gives a wrong impression; his notes, 581, n.1 and 563, n 2 furnish the correct explanation. [400] Wang Nien-sun says that [OMITTED] is a mistake for lun [OMITTED]; and that the latter word here means `choose'. The parallelism with [OMITTED] in the next clause and the meaning require lun. [401] Ju Shun quotes Ts'ai Yung (133-192) as saying, "The Son of Heaven considers the world as his household; he himself calls the place where he dwells the [OMITTED]." Yen Shih-ku points out that this phrase may be used of the place where the Emperor is, whether he is in the capital or out traveling or hunting; Chou Shou-ch'ang adds that at this time the Emperor was out traveling. The last two words of this phrase are used of another person than the emperor in HS 99 C: 6a. [405] Ying Shao remarks that this period was named for the three-legged cauldron. This article was not however secured until the sixth month of the fourth year in the period, and this year-period was not named until 114 B.C. Cf. n. 17.9, n. 19.5, and App. I. [409] The Han-chi 13: 8a follows the HS in recording on this date the finding of a percious three-legged cauldron in Ho-tung, on the Fen River, saying that it was presented in the Ancestral Temple and preserved in the Kan-ch'üan Palace, and was 8 ft. 1 inch in size [circumference] and 3 ft. 6 in. in height; the officials said that it was the lost three-legged cauldron of the Chou dynasty, but Wu-ch'iu Shou-wang replied that it was not a Chou cauldron, but one that Heaven had given especially to the Han dynasty. This material in the Han-chi (except for the size of the cauldron) is taken from this passage of the HS and from HS 64 A: 16. The statement that this three-legged cauldron was found at this time is almost certainly a mistake. Szu-ma Kuang notes, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi, 1:9a under this date, that SC ch. 28 (Mh III, 482) reports that in the same year that Luan Ta was made Marquis of Lo-t'ung (Mh III, 480) a shamaness of Fen-yin, Chin, made at Shui in Weih a sacrifice to Sovereign Earth, that there was found, in the earth at the side of the place where the sacrifice was made, a three-legged cauldron, and that the Emperor said

in an edict (Mh III, 483) that he had recently traveled, had sacrificed to Sovereign Earth, and asked why the three-legged cauldron had now appeared. This account is repeated in HS 25 A: 29a-30b. Now HS 6: 18b also records that in the fourth year of Yüan-ting, in the tenth month, the Emperor visited Fen-yin, that (p. 19a) in the eleventh month he established sacrifices to Sovereign Earth on Shui Mound in Fen-yin district, and that (p. 20a) in the sixth month he obtained a precious three-legged cauldron at the side of the place for sacrificing to Sovereign Earth. Thus the HS records the finding of a three-legged cauldron twice: here and in July 113 B.C. HS 22: 30a also says, "In [the period] Yüan-ting, the fifth year, [after] the three-legged cauldron had been secured at Fen-yin, [this poem] was composed." According to 18: 10b, Luan Ta was made Marquis of Lo-t'ung on May 22, 113 B.C., so that the account in SC ch. 28 is also dated in 113 B.C. Thus, except for this one recording and its parallel in the Han-chi, the discovery of the three-legged cauldron is dated in 113 B.C. and nowhere else except in this one place is such a discovery said to have been made in 116 B.C. Szu-ma Kuang thinks that the account of finding a three-legged cauldron in 116 B.C. is a doublet of the account dated for 113 B.C., and that the first account was inserted into the record by mistake because someone thought it necessary to account for the name of the year-period, since the interpolator did not realize that the names of these year-periods were not given until 114 or 113 B.C. The size given by the Han-chi for the cauldron may however be a genuine addition to our knowledge, coming from Hsün Yüeh's personal knowledge. [413] He had committed brigandage. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. Shang-yung was near the present Chu-shan, in northwestern Hupeh. [418] These two officials had quarrelled and accused each other unjustly. Cf. Glossary sub Chang T'ang. [421] HS 27 Bb: 13b states that on level ground the snow was five feet thick. [422] For an enumeration of the localities affected, cf. 74: 4b. [425] Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) writes, "[They] burn the grass and let in water, [then] plant rice. The grass and rice grow together [until they are] seven or eight inches tall. Thereupon it is all mowed [by fire?] and then again water is let in to flood it. The grass dies and only the rice grows. [This is] what is called `to plow by fire and hoe by water'," Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832) adds, "In plowing by fire, when the rice is cut, they burn its straw in order to fertilize the ground and then only do they plow it. The duty of the Tao-jen [the Rice Official, cf. Chou-li 16: 5a; Biot, XVI, 18] was `in summer to destroy the grass by means of water and mow it.' " [429] The customs barrier, which had been at Han-ku Pass (cf. Glossary sub voce). was moved some 270 li eastwards. [433] HS 24 B: 13b says, "Those who conceal [their property] and do not themselves testify [the amount of their estate], or those who do not testify the full [amount of their property] shall be sent to the border as garrison soldiers for one year and their property [in terms of] cash shall be confiscated [to the government]. Those who are able to give information shall be given half of [what is confiscated]." [435] HS 27 Bb: 13b records in this month "a fall of snow", which is much more appropriate as an unusual event in May or June. Ch. 27 lists it along with other unseasonable snows, so that "snow" is probably correct and ch. 6 is erroneous here. The Han-chi 13: 10b and the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 20: 8a read "snow". [439] Liu P'o had been unfilial and had violated the mourning prohibitions. Cf. Glossary sub voce. [444] Cf. 25 A: 26b, 27a; Mh III, 474-6; Glossary sub Shui, Sovereign Earth. [445] Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the SC (Mh III, 476-7) summarizes this edict and that here Pan Ku quotes the original. Evidently Pan Ku used a collection of imperial edicts.

[446] The Sung Ch'i ed. reports that the Ching-tê ed. (1004) does not have the word [OMITTED]. [449] On the translation of this title, cf. Glossary, sub voce. [455] Cf. 25 A: 29a; 64 A: 16; 22: 30a; 6: n. 17.9; Mh III, 482. It may have been a Yin cauldron; more likely it was the one hidden by Hsin-yüan P'ing in 164 B.C.; cf. HFHD, I, 218, 259, n. 3. [457] Li Fei writes, "In Hsin-yeh of Nan-yang [Commandery] there was a Pao Li-chang, who, during the time of Emperor Wu, happened to have been punished [by exile to] a garrison colony in the region of Tun-huang. Many times on the shore of this [Wu-wa] River he saw that in a herd of wild horses there was a very peculiar [horse], which came with all the [other] horses to drink at this river. [Pao] Li-chang first made on the border of the river an earthen mannekin holding a halter and horse-hobbles. Later, when the horses had played with and become accustomed to it for a long time, he took the place of the earthen mannekin and held a halter and horse-hobbles. He took and secured this horse and presented it [to the Emperor]. Wishing to [make out] this horse as a supernatural marvel, he said that it came out of the midst of the River." Cf. also Mh III, 236, n. 3. Possibly this report of a horse being born in a river originated from the similar one recorded on 6: 14a. [459] These songs are to be found in HS 22: 30a and 26b, 27a; they are translated in Mh III, 624, XIV and 620, X. [460] This recording lacks the words "P'ing, King of Chen-ting" and should have been listed with the events of the preceding year. HS 53: 19a says that after Liu P'o had been king for several months, he was dismissed; 6: 18b records that dismissal in the summer of 114 B.C. HS 53: 19a goes on to quote an imperial edict dated several months after that dismissal, which orders the enfeoffment of Liu P'ing and Liu Shang as Kings of Chen-ting and Szu-shui, respectively. The notice of Liu P'ing has undoubtedly dropped out of HS ch. 6, for the son with the smaller kingdom would hardly be mentioned and the one with the larger kingdom left out. Wang Hsien-ch'ien thinks that Pan Ku may here have been misled by the recording in SC 17: 66f, in which Liu Shang and Liu P'ing are recorded as reigning for their first year in Yüan-ting IV, and may have thought that the appointment of these two kings came in the preceding year. In HS 28 Bii: 17a and 39a, both the kingdoms of Chen-ting and Szu-shui are moreover recorded as having been established in 113 B.C. [465] Cf. Glossary sub voce. He was making a trip into the present eastern Kansuh. [468] This date, Dec. 24, 113 B.C., is taken from P. Hoang's tables, changing his gregorian to the julian day. De Saussure (in Jour. Asiatique, 1925, p. 285, n. 1) reports a computation by Dr. J. K. Fotheringham, showing that the solstice actually occurred on Dec. 23 at 8 h. 1 m. p.m. (Hsi-an time) and that the true new moon occurred on Dec. 22, 10 h. 48 m. p.m. and the mean new moon on Dec. 23, 3 h. 49 m. a.m. The observation of the solstice by a gnomen 8 ft. in length, which seems to have been the method used by the Chinese, is however very inexact, since the declination of the sun varies less than half a degree in the whole of the ten days preceeding and following the winter solstice. Dr. Fotheringham writes me that "it was in antiquity very difficult to determine the time of the solstice by direct observation to within a day or two. . .even for the great Ptolemy." Hence a difference of one day between the actual and recorded solstice (assuming P. Hoang's calendar is correct) is not surprising. Eight years later, another solstice is listed on Dec. 25, 105 B.C. (cf. 6: 31a). But this interval is one day more than eight solar years. According to the cyclical date, the interval must have been 2923 days, whereas 8 tropical years contain 2921.938 days and 8 julian years contain 2922 days. The Chinese astronomers must have known this discrepancy in the number of elapsed days; de Saussure says of the latter date, "On fausse volontairement d'un jour et demi la date du solstice." (Ibid. p. 280). HS 21 B: 73b lists another winter solstice on Dec. 25 or 26, 124 B.C. julian ("eleventh month" in that text should plainly be amended to "twelfth month"). [471] HS 25 A: 33a says, "In the eleventh month, [the day] hsin-szu, the first day of the month, in the morning, was the winter solstice and at the break of day the Son of

Heaven first made the surburban sacrifice (chiao) and prostrated himself to the Supreme One; in the morning he made the morning sacrifice (chao) to the Sun and in the evening he made the evening sacrifice (hsi) to the Moon." Cf. Mh III, 491. Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) quotes a note in the Han-chiu-yi (by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57) as saying, "In making the suburban sacrifice at the place for sacrifice to the Supreme [One], at daybreak the emperor comes out of the Bamboo Palace [within Kan-ch'üan Palace, according to the San-fu Huang-t'u, 2: 6b], and, facing east, he bows to the Sun; that evening, facing southwest, he bows to the Moon." Ying Shao however says, "In the spring, the Son of Heaven makes the morning sacrifice to the Sun and in the autumn he makes the evening sacrifice to the Moon. He makes the morning sacrifice to the sun in the morning and the evening sacrifice to the Moon in the evening." This statement represents a slightly different practise, and may have been taken from Chia Yi's memorial in HS 48: 24a10. [472] The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. (1528-31), the Fukien ed. (1549), and the Official ed. read [OMITTED]. Wang Hsien-ch'ien reads [OMITTED]. I have adopted the former reading. [473] For the [OMITTED] of the text, the Official ed. mistakenly reads [OMITTED]. [477] The ode from which these lines were taken was not extant even as early as the time of Yen Shih-ku. [480] HS 25 A: 33b (Mh III, 492) reports that on Dec. 24, while the Emperor was sacrificing, a light was seen by some officials, and that at other times lights were seen. The hymn in HS 22: 27a (trans. in Mh III, 621, XI) says, "Light shone at night." [481] A quotation from Book of Changes, Hex. 18 (Legge, p. 95 and Wilhelm, I, 55 translate differently). Ying Shao quotes here from a commentary on that Book, "The third day before [the day] chia is hsin; the third day after [the day] chia is ting." The Han dynasty performed the suburban sacrifice on days whose cyclical date contained the words hsin or ting. Su Yü quotes the Po-hu-t'ung as saying, "For the days of sacrifice, [the days] ting and hsin were used." (A lost fragment.) Since the miracle of lights occurred on a hsin day, the thanksgiving was made on a ting day, thus conforming to this saying. Cheng Hsüan, in a comment upon the Book of Changes (quoted in a note to HHS, Tr. 4: 2b, where these days are discussed) gives a moralistic explanation for these days, based on puns: "[The day] chia is the day when new ordinances are made. The three days previous to [the day] chia [should be] employed [by the ruler] to correct his errors and renew (hsin) himself, hence [the day] hsin is used; the three days after [the day] chia [should be] employed with the purpose of making repeated (ting) admonitions [to himself], hence [the day] ting is used." [483] HHS Tr. 4: 4a explains "abstain [OMITTED]" as follows: "Whenever [it is necessary to] abstain, [before sacrificing to] Heaven and Earth, [the emperor should abstain for] seven days; [before sacrificing] in the ancestral temples or to the mountains and streams, five days; [before] lesser sacrifices, three days. [During] the days of abstinence, [he should remain] within [the house or room. If he should commit any] impurity or uncleanness [during the period of abstinence, it would] dissolve the abstinence." Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804) notes that Shuo-wen 12 B: 4b, sub [OMITTED], says, "Women's impurity. . . . The Han [Dynastic] Code says, `[If anyone] sees [a woman in] menstruation, he may not wait upon [the divinities in] sacrifice.' " Thus the fundamental idea about abstinence in Han times was not the avoidance of particular foods, as at present under the influence of Buddhism, but the purification of the celebrant by ablutions and the avoidance of contamination from others' uncleanness. For a more elevated conception of abstinence, cf. Li-chi, XXII, 6 and XXI, i, 2 (Legge, II, 239 f, 210 f; Couvreur, II, 323 f, 272); Wei Hung's Han-chiu-yi, Pu, B: 2b. [487] Lü Chia had held this office during three reigns; he opposed the pro-Chinese policy of the Chinese-born Queen Dowager and her paramour, the Chinese envoy. She attempted Lü Chia's life; when Chinese troops approached, he massacred the pro-Chinese party and annihilated the troops. [490] Yen Shih-ku explains, "The wa [OMITTED] is a toad [OMITTED]. It is like a frog [OMITTED], but with long legs. Its color is green [OMITTED]." HS 27 Bb: 17b says that toads and frogs "fought together

in droves." Han-chi 14: 1b adds that they were fighting "below the [Palace] portals." Toads and frogs figure in the stone reliefs from the Wu clan funerary chamber in Chavannes, Mission archeologique. Fighting frogs were reported earlier in Chinese literature. Han Fei-tzu (iii cent. B.C.) 9: 9b, ch. 30, 3 (Liao's trans. I, 302) says, "King Kou-ch'ien of Yüeh saw frogs raging and bowed to them. His driver said, `Why bow to them?' The King replied, `When frogs have such spirit as these, can one forbear from bowing [in respect] to them?' When his gentlemen and people heard of it, they said, `If, when frogs have spirit, the King bows to them, how much more [will he do so to any of his] gentlemen or people who possess courage?' " T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 949: 3b quotes a variant of the foregoing often mentioned passage, in which the frogs are said to have been "fighting". Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, Head Curator of Biology at the United States National Museum, however writes me, "It can be safely asserted that frogs and toads do not fight in droves, and I doubt very much that anybody has ever seen individual frogs `fighting' individual toads (and surely they have nothing to fight with); but some person with a very vivid imagination may have interpreted the commotion observed in a pond full of mating toads, as a fight." [494] The name is found in Han-chi 14: 1b. [496] The Emperor's plan was to have six generals collect troops in six different regions in the present Kiangsi, Hunan, Kwangsi, and Kweichow (including Szechuan) and converge upon P'an-yü (modern Canton) by various river routes. Yang P'u and Lu Po-tê arrived first and took the city. Some of the other armies were then diverted to conquer the present Yünnan. Cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [498] HS 27 Bb: 20a says that in the autumn there was a plague of locusts. [500] Cf. Appendix III. [503] He had failed to materialize any immortals and had gone to the east, saying he needed to consult his teacher. When he would not venture upon the sea, Emperor Wu had him followed. Upon receiving the report that his magical powers were at an end, Emperor Wu had him executed. Cf. Mh. III, 493; HS 25 A: 34a; Glossary, sub Luan Ta. [504] The text writes Ku-an, which was the name of a place in Cho Commandery in the present northern Hopei, far from the lands of the Western Ch'iang. Hu San-hsing suggests transposing these two words. An-ku was, in the time of the Contending States, a city of the Western Ch'iang. Further confirmation for that emendation is to be found in the next note. [507] Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text writes this surname as—; but the Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read Hsü [OMITTED]. Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that 19 B: 19a lists Hsü Tzu-wei as Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace during 117-105. HHS Mem. 77: 5b reads, "At this time the Hsien-ling Ch'iang and the tribe of the Feng-yang-lao-tzu made up their feuds, bound themselves together by an oath, and communicated with the Huns that they would join more than 100,000 of their troops [with them]. Together they attacked Ling-chü and An-ku and thereupon besieged Fu-han. The Han [Emperor] sent General Li Hsi and the Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Hsü Tzu-wei, with 100,000 soldiers to attack and tranquillize them, and for the first time the Colonel Protecting the Ch'iang was established." [510] HS 25 A: 34a says, "Kung-sun Ch'ing was attending upon the gods in Ho-nei [Commandery] and said that he had seen the traces of an immortal on the city wall of Kou-shih, that there was something like a pheasant going and coming on top of the city-wall. The Son of Heaven himself favored Kou-shih [with a visit] and looked at these traces." [514] Wen-hsi means, "The happy [news] was [here] reported." Huo-chia means, "[The Emperor] obtained [the head of Lü] Chia." Cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [519]

According to 28 Bi: 15a and 17b, the commanderies of Chang-yeh and Tun-huang were established in 104 B.C. and 88 or 87 B.C., respectively. The commanderies of Wu-wei and Chiu-ch'üan were moreover not established, according to 28 Bi: 13b, 16b, until 101 and 104 B.C., respectively. The Han-chi, 14: 2a, and the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien, 20: 19a, follow ch. 6. Possibly these commanderies were nominally ordered in 111, but administration was not organized until 104 and 87 B.C. [520] Ying Shao says, "[The Emperor] for the first time performed the sacrifice feng at Mount T'ai, hence changed the year-period." The edict ordering this year-period was not given until the fourth month of this year; cf. p. 26a. [523] Wang Hsien-ch'ien declares that tse1 [OMITTED] should be shih [OMITTED]. HS 25 A: 35a (taken from SC ch. 28; cf. Mh III, 495 f) reads shih twice, "In the next year, in the winter [of 111 B.C.], the Emperor discussed [the matter] and said, `Anciently, the troops were first made to retreat and the cohorts were [temporarily] dismissed [the same phrase as here, [OMITTED] shih- [OMITTED]], and then only were the sacrifices feng and shan performed. . . .He returned, sacrificed at the tomb of the Yellow Lord at Ch'iao-shan and [temporarily] dismissed (shih) the troops at Liang-ju." Hsü Kuang (ca. 352-425) says, "The ancient word shih was written tse2 [OMITTED]." According to Wang Hsien-ch'ien, in the ancient writing, shih and tse2 were interchanged, and shih and tse1 were not interchanged; but because tse1 is similar to tse2, the former was here written for shih. On the meaning of this phrase, cf. Mh III, 495, n. 5. The dismissal of the troops was merely during the time of sacrifice—war was considered as an inauspicious matter. The purpose of this campaign seems to have been to lure the Shan-yü to his final defeat. But he would not be tempted. Emperor Wu went north of the great northern bend in the Yellow River. [527] HS 94 A: 21a (de Groot, ibid., p. 148 = SC 110: 56) continues, "When his speech was ended, the Shan-yü was infuriated and immediately beheaded his Intendant in Charge of Guests, who had introduced [the Chinese envoy]. He retained Kuo Chi [the envoy], not [allowing him] to return. He exiled him shamefully north of the Northern Sea [Lake Baikal]. However, in the end, the Shan-yü did not permit the making of any raids into the Chinese borders." [532] Han-chi, 14: 2b and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien, 20: 21a follow this chapter in dating this visit in the first month; SC ch. 28 (Mh III, 498) and HS 25 A: 35b date it in the third month (Apr.). [533] In a note to SC 12:10, Wei Chao (197-273/4) says, "The people of Ch'u call a tailed deer [Cervus (elaphurus) davidianus] [OMITTED] a p'ao [OMITTED]." In a note to HS 25 A: 24a, Yen Shih-ku, commenting upon the capture of a supposed unicorn, says, "The p'ao is like a deer, in shape like a hornless river-deer [Hydropotes inermis] [OMITTED], with the tail of an ox and one horn." This animal was shot by Emperor Wu himself; 25 A: 29b calls it a deer [OMITTED]; SC 28: 61 (Mh III, 483) and HS 6: 24a call it a p'ao. Emperor Wu's edict is also translated in Chavannes, Mission archeologique, vol. 11, p. 47, n. [534] The present text contains the personal name of this sovereign, Ch'i. But Ch'i was also the personal name of Emperor Wu's father, Emperor Ching, so that Emperor Wu would hardly have used the word ch'i. Liu Pin (1022-1088) says that Emperor Wu changed the name of this shrine from "The Stone of the Mother of Ch'i [OMITTED]" to "The Stone of the Mother of the Hsia Sovereign [OMITTED]" on account of the taboo on his father's name; he concludes that the word Ch'i is an attempt at restoring the original name after ch'i was no longer tabooed, and hence was not original in the History. Yen Shih-ku (581-645) mentions the presence of Ch'i in the text. For an account of this person and shrine, cf. Glossary, sub Ch'i. [536] The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the New ed. (unknown) writes [OMITTED]. The Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) reads likewise. Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that the Fukien ed. (1549) writes the first character as the Official ed. does, and that 25 A: 36a writes that character [OMITTED]. The Official ed. writes the name of this mountain [OMITTED]. (In 25 A: 13b, 14a, Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed. reads as the Official ed. does here.) Wang Nien-sun says that we should follow the Ching-yu ed. Anciently [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were interchanged. Wang Nien-sun adds that the first of these two words is not in the Shuo-wen; the ancients used the second character for the first; the second character came into use during 168-189 A.D. [539]

HS 25 A: 35b, 36a says, "[The Emperor] favored Kou-shih [with a visit], performed the [sacrifical] rites, and ascended the T'ai-shih [Mount] of the Central [Sacred] Peak, [Mount Sung-kao]. When his attendant officials who accompanied him were on the mountain, they heard [something] as it were the words, `Long life.' They asked those above them, [but] those above them had not said it; they asked those below them, [but] those below them had not said it." An imperial edict (6: 25b) is even milder, "Light sounds just as if words [were spoken]." Han-chi 14: 2b says, "[The Emperor] favored Kou-shih [with a visit] and ascended [Mt.] Sung-kao. He heard three sounds calling `Long life.' His various ministers, officials, and troops did not [make this] call, [but] all heard it." Hsün Yüeh says that the mountain spirits were acclaiming the Emperor. Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) says, "In Sung-kao prefecture, there are [today] an Upper, Middle, and Lower Wan-sui [lit. `Long life'] Hamlet." [543] Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) explains, "When the achievements of [true] kings are complete and their rule has been established, they inform Heaven that they have completed their work. To feng [OMITTED] is to elevate. [This sacrifice] is to assist [in showing] the greatness of Heaven. He had a stone engraved, recording his words. There was the sealing (feng) of a golden document on a stone envelop bottom (han [OMITTED]) with a golden mortar [seal] on a jade envelop top (chien [OMITTED])." The "envelop" was probably similar to the wooden ones found by Stein in the Tarim basin; cf. Serindia, vol. IV, pl. xxi. Ying Shao writes, "[For the sacrifice] feng, the altar was 120 feet wide and 20 feet high, with three flights of steps [to ascend it. The sacrifice] feng [was performed] on top of it, to show [that the Emperor] had increased in greatness. A stone was inscribed to record his achievements. [Emperor Wu] set up a stone 31 feet [tall]. Its inscription reads, `[We, the Emperor,] have served Heaven with [proper] rites And established [Our] person according to moral principles. [We] have served [Our] parents according to [the principle of] filial piety And nurtured the common people according to [the principle of] benevolence. Within the four boundaries. The whole [land] has been [organized] into commanderies and prefectures. The four [groups of] eastern barbarians and the eight [tribes of] southern barbarians Have all come to pay dues and tribute. Together with Heaven, [Our empire] is endless; The people are defended and live in quietude. The blessings of Heaven will [hereby] be everlastingly obtained.' "Dark wine was presented and raw fish [was offered] on the sacrificial table. [The Emperor] descended [the mountain and performed the sacrifice] shan at [Mount] Liang-fu [a lower peak of Mount T'ai, cf. Glossary, sub voce], worshipping the Ruler of Earth, to show that he had increased the breadth [of his territory]. This [practise (reading [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] with the Southern Academy, Fukien, and Official editions)] was an ancient institution." HS 25 A: 37a says, "[The altar for the sacrifice] feng was twelve feet wide and nine feet high; below it there were jade tablets with writing [on them, but] the writing was hidden," probably by this envelop arrangement. Ying Shao, in quoting this passage, says it was "a writing [tied up with] cords [OMITTED]," just as those ancient envelops were tied. The writing was probably thus sealed because it was directed to the gods alone. Then a feature of the sacrifice feng (the word means "to seal") was a sealed message to the god, hence this name. An elaborate account of the sacrifice feng made by Emperor Kuang-wu in A.D. 56, in which he followed Former Han practises, is to be found in HHS, Tr. 7: 7a-11b. Cf. also n. 16.3 to this chapter; Ying Shao's Han-Kuan-yi, B: 1b-3b. According to HS 58: 12bf, Emperor Wu himself fixed the rites for the sacrifice feng. [546] HS 25 A: 37b adds that the Emperor's "many courtiers in order presented to the Emperor their congratulations." Fu Tsan explains, "HS 25 [B: 2b] says, `[At] the northeast foot of Mt. T'ai, in ancient times there had been a place for a Ming-t'ang.' [This statement is taken from the SC; cf. Mh III, 510.] Then this was the place where [the Emperor] seated himself. In the next year, in the autumn, he built a Ming-t'ang." HS 28 Aii: 75a notes that at Feng-kao in T'ai-shan Commandery, "there is a Ming-t'ang four li southwest [of the city], which was built by Emperor Wu in 109 B.C." Wang Hsien-ch'ien infers that the Ming-t'ang southwest of Feng-kao was the one used by the Han emperors and the one at the northeast foot of Mt. T'ai was the one used by the Chou dynasty. The Shina Rekidai Chimei Yoran, p. 596, locates Feng-kao as seventeen li northeast of the present T'ai-an Hsien (which is south of Mount T'ai), so that the two Ming-t'ang must have been at different localities. The establishment of a Ming-t'ang had previously been discussed in 140 B.C.; cf. 6: 2b.

[549] For [OMITTED], the Official ed. has mistakenly [OMITTED]; Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 20: 22a reads as Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed. does. [550] HS 25 A: 36a states that Emperor Wu "went east, traveled along and inspected the sea-coast, and performed sacrificial rites to the eight gods." HS 25 A: 10b-11b enumerates these eight divinities as the Ruler of Heaven (T'ien-chu), the Ruler of Earth, the Ruler of War, the Ruler of the Yin [Principle], the Ruler of the Yang [Principle], the Ruler of the Moon, the Ruler of the Sun, and the Ruler of the Four Seasons. Cf. also Mh III, 432-435. Liu Pin says that the altars to these eight gods were all in the territory of Ch'i, so that when Emperor Wu imitated the First Emperor in going eastwards and along the sea-shore, he similarly sacrificed to these eight deities (cf. Mh III, 431). [552] The reference is probably to the lights seen at sacrifices (cf. p. 21a) and to the supposed shouts of "Long life!" (cf. p. 24b). Fu Tsan makes this identification. [553] This sentence establishes that the official year began with the tenth month (cf. 1: App. II). The names of the previous year-periods were not given until 113 or 114 B.C. Cf. App. I. Chavannes translates the preceding sentence differently, cf. Mh III, 503. Tzu-hsin [OMITTED] is also used to mean "reform oneself" in 7: 7a. [556] Five prefectures are enumerated above; here only four are exempted from the poll-tax; Yen Shih-ku explains that Feng-kao did not pay the poll-tax, but instead regularly made provision for the offerings to the gods. I use "capitation taxes" to translate [OMITTED], which is the general term, and "poll-tax" to translate [OMITTED], which is one of the various capitation taxes. [557] HS 25 A: 38a says, "In the fifth month [June], he thereupon reached Kan-ch'üan [Palace. He had started out in the first month.] The circuit [he traveled was] eighteen thousand li." Cf. also Mh III, 504. [560] HS 27 Cb: 22b, 23a dates these two appearances in the fifth month. They are considered as two appearances of the same comet and numbered 34 in Williams, Observations of Comets. HS 25 A: 38a says, "A comet appeared in Tung-ching; more than ten days later a comet appeared in San-t'ai." [561] The Hsi-ching Tsa-chi (vi cent.), 2: 6a, says that this year "it was extremely cold; the snow was five feet deep, [so that] wild birds and beasts all died and cattle and horses all coiled and shrunk themselves up like porcupines. Two or three tenths of the people in the three capital [commanderies] froze to death." [569] HS 25 A: 38b says, "In that spring, Kung-sun Ch'ing said that he saw a supernatural person on a mountain of Tung-lai [Commandery], who seemed to say that he wished to have an audience with the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven thereupon favored the city of Kou-shih [with a visit] and installed [Kung-sun] Ch'ing as a Palace Grandee. Thereupon he went to Tung-lai [Commandery] and lodged there. For several days there was nothing to be seen. [Then] he saw the footprints of a giant." [570] This breach in the Yellow River dike had occurred in 132 B.C.; it had remained open for 23 years. Cf. p. 6a. HS 25 A: 39a says that Emperor Wu stopped at Hu-tzu only two days, sacrificed, and left. The "Song of Hu-tzu" is to be found in 29: 9b-11a. It was translated by Edkins in the China Review, vol. 15, no. 5, p. 287, and by Chavannes in Mh III, 533-5. [572] HS 95: 19a reports that the Emperor had sent Shê Ho as an envoy to rebuke the King of Chao-hsien, Wei Yu-ch'ü, who was however unwilling to submit to the Chinese. Shê Ho had the Assistant King of Chao-hsien, Chang, who was escorting Shê Ho out of Korean territory, assassinated and then reported to the Emperor that he had killed a Chao-hsien general. Shê Ho was made Chief Commandant of the Eastern Section in the Liao-tung Commandery; Wei Yü-ch'ü, in revenge, attacked and killed Shê Ho. [576] Ying Shao writes, "Chih [OMITTED] means the chih plant. Its leaves interconnect." Ju Shun adds, "The Jui-ying T'u [by Sung Jou-chih, prob. fl. before 265] [says], `When

[true] kings respectfully serve the aged and old and do not neglect their former old [subjects], then the chih plant is produced.' " This book also says, "The chih plant usually springs up in the sixth month; in the spring it is blue, in the summer it is purple, in the autumn it is white, and in the winter it is black." Bretschneider (Jour. N. C. Br., 25: 40) identifies the chih as an orange colored branching fungus of a ligneous structure, described as Agaric ramifié. Yen Shih-ku says that this fungus grew in a room of the harem; Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that [OMITTED] means a room, and quotes the Book of Odes, I, x, ii, 2 (Legge, p. 176) in illustration. HS 22: 30a says, "In 109 B.C., a fungus of immortality sprang up in the room for [ceremonial] retreat in Kan-ch'üan [Palace]." This mushroom is also mentioned in 25 B: 2a. Cf. also 8: 16a. [577] Yen Shih-ku writes, "The Lord on High is Heaven. [OMITTED]." But in the HS, this term refers to more than one god, for 25 A: 17b lists five Lords on High; cf. Glossary sub voce. Emperor Wu worshiped the Supreme One and five Lords on High. [578] Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) writes, "In Kan-ch'üan [Palace] in Yün-yang there was the place [where there was located] the round mound for the worship of Heaven from the time of the Yellow Lord on. Emperor Wu regularly [went there] to escape the heat. He had a palace and lodge there, hence he called it his capital." Yen Shih-ku however objects that "capital" means merely the prefecture in which the Emperor happens to occupy a palace or building, and that it did not mean to imply that Yün-yang was an imperial capital. Wang Hsin-ch'ien replies that Yen Shih-ku's remark is unsubstantiated, and quotes a line from the poem in 22: 30a5, where Kan-ch'üan Palace is also called a "capital." HS 25 B: 4b moreover states that Emperor Wu was urged to make Kan-ch'üan Palace his capital and that he built lodges there for his vassal kings. [579] This poem is to be found in 22: 30a. It is translated in Mh III, 624, XIII. [582] This Ming-t'ang was built according to plans made by Kung-yü Tai; cf. 25 B: 2b-3b. [585] HS 95: 4b, 5a recounts that they destroyed the states of Lao-shen and Mi-mo, and that the King of T'ien submitted and was enfeoffed by the Emperor. The Liang-shu, 40: 5a, in the biography of Liu Chih-lin (477-548), says that this scholar and collector possessed a foreign-style ewer, on which there was the inscription, "Presented in Yuan-feng II by the state of Kuei-tzu" (the present Kucha). HS 96 B: 14b says, concerning Kuei-tzu, "They are skilled in casting [metal] and possess lead [mines as well as of other metals]." Thus intercourse between the Chinese capital and what became the Western Frontier Regions was already well-developed at this time. [589] For the "competitive games," cf. Appendix IV. Wang Nien-sun says that lai [OMITTED] is an interpolation; the Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) is without it; T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 755: 5a has it, but Han-chi 14: 4a quotes this sentence without this word. The latter adds that the games were for the purpose of entertaining those who brought offerings to the court from foreign countries. The Official ed. writes [OMITTED] instead of lai. [593] Li Tz'u-ming (1824-1894) says that min [OMITTED] here should be jen [OMITTED]; other similar passages do not use min. Probably Yen Shih-ku changed the words min in the HS to jen in order to avoid the taboo on the name of the T'ang Grand Exempler, Li Shih-min (reigned 627-649); later other persons changed them all back, and then this jen was also mistakenly changed to min. [599] He seems to have gone north through the present western Shensi and eastern Kansuh and south through northern Hopei. Cf. Glossary sub vocibus. [605] Ju Shun says that [OMITTED] has the same pronunciation as [OMITTED] (yeh5) and Yen Shih-ku says, "They suffered from the heat and died." [607] For the events summarized here, cf. SC 110: 58-60 = HS 94 A: 21, 22 = de Groot,

ibid., 149, 150. [608] SC 110: 60 = HS 94 A: 22b = de Groot, ibid., 150 adds that Chao P'o-nu was sent with Kuo Ch'ang. [611] For this phrase, cf. Mencius I, ii, iv, 5 (Legge p. 35). [613] Shun was sacrificed to as the tutelary deity of Mt. Chiu-yi. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. Emperor Wu probably did not go to this mountain (in the present southern Hunan), but performed the sacrifice in the present Anhui, where the ancient Sheng-t'ang and Ch'ien2 were located. [614] The word used is chiao1 [OMITTED], which the Shuo-wen interprets as "a kind of dragon." Cf. HFHD I, 29, n. 1. Yen Shih-ku quotes Kuo P'u (276-324) as saying, "It is like a snake but has four feet and a narrow neck. On its neck is a white ring-mark. The large ones are several double arms' length [around]. They are hatched from eggs. The young are like a jar [the size of] one or two hu. [These creatures] are able to swallow a man." Wang Nien-sun adds, "The chiao1 which was shot should be read as chiao2 [OMITTED] and it should be explained as a large fish of the Yangtze River. The Shuo-wen [11 B: 5b, explains] chiao2 as a sea-fish, whose skin is used to encase knives." This word is translated in Couvreur, Dict. Class., as "large shark." As Wang Nien-sun points out, this fish is recognized in the SC (cf. Mh II, 190) as a sea-fish. He continues, "The chiao2 is a sea-fish, yet there are also some in the Yangtze River [Dr. C. W. Bishop tells me that in the Yangtze River, fresh-water porpoises are seen as far up as Ichang, and dolphins are seen in the Tung-t'ing Lake. A species of alligator is also found in that river (the only place in the world where it occurs outside of North America).].... In the [Li-chi, chap.] "Yüeh-ling," the Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu, and the Huai-nan-[tzu], chiao2 is written chiao1." Since Emperor Wu was emulating the Ch'in First Emperor's exploits, chiao2 was very probably meant. In view of Kuo P'u's description, this creature was probably an alligator, altho we cannot be sure that it was not a fresh-water porpoise or dolphin. The Ta-Ch'ing Yi-t'ung Chih (1842) vol. 116, Chiu-chiang Fu, 1: 15b, lists a Shêchiao-p'u [OMITTED] (lit. "the bank where the alligator was shot"), located ten li southeast of the present Hu-k'ou [OMITTED], in the Ching dynasty's Chiu-chiang Fu, Kiangsi, which is said to have been the place where Emperor Wu shot his alligator. [618] Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) writes, "Chu [OMITTED] is the stern of a boat, where one holds the rudder. Lu [OMITTED] is the front of a boat, where the [places for] oars are incised. It means that his boats were many, with their stems and sterns linked unbroken for a thousand li." "Thousand li" is then a poetical exaggeration. But Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) points out that the Shuo-wen 8 B: 1b, sub chu, says, "The Han Code names a boat, when it is square and long, a chu-lu. It also means the stern of a boat." Sub lu, it says, "It also means the bow of a boat." The Emperor's route on the Yangtze River seems to have been nearer five hundred than a thousand li. [619] HS 30: 56b lists a book with the title "Songs of Travels, Tours of Inspection, and Pleasure-trips, in ten chapters," which are probably Emperor Wu's poems and included these two. These poems have been lost. [622] HS 25 B: 3b says, "This year [the Emperor] renewed [the sacrifice] feng;" SC 28: 82 reads [OMITTED], which is translated in Mh III, 511 "La cinquième année (106 av. J.-C.), il recommença le sacrifice fong," for Chavannes considers that Pan Ku wrote the sentence in HS ch. 25 in interpretation of this sentence in the SC. In a comment to HS 6: 29, Wang Hsien-ch'ien however interprets this passage, "[The Emperor] renewed [the sacrifice] feng once every five years." [625] HS 25 B: 3b says, "Then he sacrificed to the Supreme One and to the Five Lords [on High, putting their thrones] in the highest place at the Ming-t'ang, and united the throne for sacrifice to Emperor Kao [with their thrones], putting his throne facing theirs. [He also] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth in the lower room, using, [for these sacrifices, altogether] twenty suevotaurilia." Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) adds, "The Han [dynasty] had not yet at this time made the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao] the coadjutor of Heaven, hence it says `[placed his throne] facing [theirs].' From [the time of Emperor] Kuang-wu, [25-57], [Emperor Kao] was made the coadjutor [of Heaven]." A memorial by Wang Mang, in 25 B: 19a, states that in 164 B.C., when Emperor Wen

sacrificed to the Supreme One, he made the Eminent Founder, Emperor Kao, the coadjutor of the Sun. Making Kao-tsu the coadjutor of Heaven meant that his tablet was put with that of Heaven, so that Emperor Kao acted as the intermediary to the god, and both tablets were worshipped at the same time with offerings of the same rank. [632] Cf. von Zach, Übersetzungen aus dem Wên Hsüan, p. 112; Margoulies, Le Kou Wen, p. 55 for other translations of this edict. [642] This plague is also mentioned in 27 Bb: 20a. [644] Ying Shao says, "For the first time, [the Emperor] used the calendar of the Hsia [dynasty] and made the first month the beginning of the year. Hence he changed the year and made [the year-period] T'ai-ch'u (the Great Beginning)." Cf. Mh III, 512. [647] Cf. n. 20.4. [650] HS 27 A: 13a adds to this recording, "Before this a great wind had blown away its roof. Hsia-hou Shih-ch'ang predicted the day of this visitation." Cf. also 75: 2a. [652] HS 25 B: 4a says, "He went to the P'o Sea in order to [perform] the sacrifice from a distance to the inhabitants of [the island] P'eng-lai [q. v. in Glossary], hoping to reach its marvellous halls." Cf. also Mh III, 513. [656] HS 25 B: 4a, b says, "Because there had been a visitation [of fire] to the Po-liang [Terrace in Wei-yang Palace, the Emperor] received the [yearly] accounts at Kan-ch'üan [Palace]. . . .Yung-chih [whom Wen Ying says was a shamaness from the Yüeh barbarians] however said, `[According to] the customs of Yüeh, when there is a visitation of fire, they again raise up a building which must be larger, in order to overcome and suppress [the malignant influences that caused the fire].' Thereupon [the Emperor] built Chien-chang Palace." [660] This statement proves that previously the month called "the first month" did not begin the year. Cf. ch. I, App. II. The change was from a year beginning in the tenth month, which calendar had been adopted from the Ch'in dynasty, to a year beginning in the first month. P. Hoang gives this year an intercalary month, so that this calendar year contained 16 months. For this change, cf. 21 A: 25a ff. [661] HS 25 B: 5b (Mh III, 515) says, "[The Emperor] took the first month as the beginning of the year, and [among] the colors, took yellow [as the ruling color. For] the officials, he changed their seals, [making them] of five characters." Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) explains, "The Han [dynasty] occupied [its place through] the virtue of [the element] earth. The number [corresponding to the element] earth is five, hence he used five. This refers to the inscriptions on seals. For example, for the Lieutenant Chancellor it said, [OMITTED], and for the ministers, together with Administrators and Chancellors, if the words in their seals did not have as many as five characters, they were augmented [to this number]." [662] Emperor Wu changed the titles of many official positions at this time; he and other emperors had made changes previously and subsequently continued to do so. For these changes, cf. Glossary, sub the various official titles. Many are noted in HS 19. There is no actual record of any changes in music, but 22: 15a says that Emperor Wu appointed Li Yen-nien as "the Commandant for Harmonizing the Musical Pipes." Feng-su-t'ung (by Ying Shao) 6: 9b, sub the "Flute (ti [OMITTED])," says, "According to the Classic of Music, the flute was made in the time of Emperor Wu by Ch'iu Chung [OMITTED]. The flute (ti) is to cleanse (ti [OMITTED]). It is the means of purifying and cleansing unorthodox and harmful [music] and bringing it [into harmony with music that is] elegant and correct. [The flute] is two feet four inches long and has seven holes." Shen Ch'in-han remarks, "Judging by the example of the twelve flutes used by Hsün Hsü [OMITTED] (d. 289), probably at this time they made this instrument to harmonize the musical tubes." [665] SC 110: 61, 62 = HS 94 A: 22b, 23a = de Groot, ibid., 152 says, "The Shan-yü

was young and was fond of killing and fighting, so that there was much disturbance in his country. The [Hun] Grand Commandant of the East intended to kill the Shan-yü. He sent a man secretly to inform the Chinese, saying, `I intend to kill the Shan-yü and surrender to the Chinese. [But] China is distant. If [the Chinese] will send troops to my vicinity, I will at once make [an attack upon the Shan-yü].' When the Han [Emperor] had first heard these words, he had Shou-hsiang-ch'eng [lit. "the city to receive the surrenderers"] built, [but the Hun Grand Commandant of the East] still thought it was too distant, [so did not come to surrender]." [667] Yen Shih-ku writes, "The ordinary people [OMITTED] who have committed crimes are the [OMITTED]." But cf. n. 35.2. For this expedition, cf. App. V and Glossary, sub Li Kuang-li. [669] HS 27 Bb: 20a says, "In the summer, locusts [came] from the east; by flying they reached Tun-huang [Commandery]." [673] Hsi-Han Nien-chi 16: 15b (by Wang Yi-chih, fl. 1221) notes that the first month of this year did not contain a mou-shen day, so that this date is impossible; Hoang agrees; HS 19 B: 23a dates this death on the day mou-jin, which P. Hoang equates with Mar. 4, 103. Han-chi 14: 8b and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 21: 13a however both write mou-shen, so that this error must have occurred very early. [675] Ju Shun interprets lou [OMITTED] as ch'ou [OMITTED]-lou, which was a sacrifice to the ancestors at the autumnal equinox, according to the comment in the Han-chiu-yi; the early commentators follow him. Ch'ien Ta-chao objects that this meaning is inappropriate, since the Emperor's order was for the third month, not for the autumn. Shuo-wen 4 B: 5a says, "Lou is a sacrifice in the second month with eating and drinking, according to the custom in [the state of] Ch'u. ... It is also said, `To pray for grain and eat of the new [products of the year] is called li [OMITTED]-lou.' " (One text omits the word li.) Shen Ch'in-han quotes Han-fei-tzu, "Wu-tu P'ien," 19: 1b, "Those who dwell in the mountains and draw water from the valleys, [on the days for the sacrifices] lou and la, offer water to each other [as a gift]," so that this festival was ancient. The la sacrifice was made to the spirits on the third day having the cyclical character hsü, after the winter solstice. Liu Pin (1022-1088) says that the word [OMITTED] is an interpolation; I have taken it that [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] should be interchanged. HS 25 A: 3b says "Grandees make the `five sacrifices' to the Gates, Doors, Well, Stove, and Center of the [Principal] Room." The Li-ki IV, vi, 19 (Couvreur, I, 396) says, "On the La [day], he [sacrifices] to the ancestors and makes the `five sacrifices'," which latter are the sacrifices to the parts of the house enumerated above. These five sacrifices are described in Ts'ai Yung's Tu-tuan 10b, 11a and in Po-hu T'ung 1: 15a-16b. [680] Yen Shih-ku explains, "Registration means that they were all put on the registers, recorded and taken." Ho Ch'uo adds, "This registration of horses was for the expedition against Ferghana (Ta-yüan)." [683] For the fate of this expedition, cf. Glossary, sub Chao P'o-nu. [686] Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804) remarks, "The recording of deaths of Grandee Secretaries begins with [Yi] K'uan. There is only omitted in the `Annals of Emperor Yüan' the recording of the death of Ch'en Wan-nien, which is an omission of the annalist. When Grandee Secretaries died, their surname was regularly recorded. [But] in 33 B.C., upon the death of Grandee Secretary [P'an] Yen-shou [cf. 9: 13a], his surname is not recorded, which is also an omission." [691] HS 25 B: 5b (= Mh III, 516) adds, "He investigated the [alleged] divinities, immortals, and the like [upon the sea-coast, but] none were verified." [693] Cf. Glossary, sub Kuang-lu-ch'eng. [695] HS 27 Bb: 20a says, "In the autumn, there was again [a plague of] locusts." [696] Yen Shih-ku writes, "[According to] the Han institutions, at important places on

each [part of] the Barrier, there were separate buildings constituting a fort [OMITTED], and there were people appointed to hold [OMITTED] and guard it. It was called a captain's fort [OMITTED]. These were precisely the fortifications [OMITTED] [spoken of]." [701] Cf. Appendix V. [703] This poem is to be found in 22: 26b, 27a and is translated in Mh III, 620, X, 2. [708] In 39: 2b, Hsiao Ho is represented as saying, "The saying is, `The heavenly Hans [i.e., the Milky Way; Hans is the same word as that for the Han dynasty];' this name is very beautiful." Fu Tsan interprets this saying, "A vulgar expression is `The heavenly Hans.' It means that the Hans [dynasty] is regularly matched with Heaven." Wang Hsien-ch'ien asserts that this saying indicates the meaning of the name for this year-period. But Ying Shao says, "At that time, for successive years there had been bitter droughts, hence the year-period was changed to T'ien-hans in order to pray for sweet rain." Yen Shih-ku agrees; he refers to the Book of Odes, III, iii, iv, which poem is entitled "Yün-hans" (the Milky Way, the heavenly river, from which rain comes), and which was composed, according to him, "by Jeng Shu in order to glorify [the preparations made by] King Hsüan [827-782 B.C.] for meeting a visitation of drought, by cultivating his virtue and by a diligent government, so that he was able to bring rain. Hence, because of [this conception, the Milky Way] was taken as the name of the year-period." Wang Hsien-ch'ien denies that meaning because of Hsiao Ho's saying. Possibly both conceptions, the aversion of drought and the glorification of the dynasty, were implied in this name. [712] HS 27 Ba: 29a says, "In the third month, Heaven rained white feathers." [713] This submission was the result of Li Kuang-li's conquest of Ferghana; cf. SC 110: 64, 65 = HS 94 A: 23b, 24a = de Groot, ibid., 156, 157. According to 27 Ba: 24a, in the summer of this year there was a great drought. [718] Such a "great search" is also recorded in the autumn of 99 B.C. (p. 34a) and in Nov./Dec. 92 B.C. (p. 36b). Huai-nan-tzu, "T'ien-wen Hsün," 3: 10b, says, "If on [the day] jen-tzu, an order is received, thereupon the [city]-gates and street-[gates] are closed, there is a great search for strangers, criminal cases are decided and those who deserve it are killed, the [customs] barriers and the bridges are closed, and moving out of [the kingdom] is prohibitated." Ibid., "Shih-tse Hsün," 5: 13a says, "In the first month of winter, . . . [the ruler should] prohibit moving out [of the country], close [the gates to] the streets, [make] a great search for strangers, decide criminal cases, and kill those who deserve [this] punishment." Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks, "The `great search' probably arose [in the time of] the Contending States [403-255 B.C.]; it was especially used in the time of the Ch'in [dynasty]. For proof, see the various "Memoirs of Li Szu" [SC ch. 87] and "of Shang Yang" [SC ch. 68 (I have not been able to find there any reference to a great search in SC 68 or 87)], together with the Huai-nan-tzu. When [Emperor] Kao of the Han [dynasty] united [the empire], this law was considerably relaxed. [Emperor] Hsiao-wen did away with the barriers and did not employ passports, so that he was not generous merely to the imperial capital. Emperor Wu again employed this law. When [the affair of] witchcraft and black magic arose, this prohibition [was enforced] still more strictly. Pan [Ku] mentioned it especially in his "Annals" in order to record the harshness of the government in this period. During and after [the reigns of Emperors] Chao and Hsüan, [this practise of making a `great search'] is not seen in history. Probably this prohibition had already been entirely done away with." The biographies of Shang Yang and of Li Szu do not contain any accounts of `great searches' having been made; but the spirit of the `great search' is very akin to what is found there. This practise fits in well with the legalist measures adopted by Emperor Wu. [726] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that it was not the practise of the historian to omit the name of a general in such a case as this one, so that the words, "Kung-sun Ao," have probably dropped out of the text here. SC 110: 66 = HS 94 A: 24a = de Groot, ibid., 162 states that Li Kuang-li was surrounded by a great force of Huns on his return, and barely escaped with the loss of 60% to 70% of his force. It also says that Kung-sun Ao was to meet Lu Po-tê at Mt. Cho-yeh, and that they did not even make any captures. [729]

Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) writes, "At first, the Han dynasty made sacrifices upon the roads, to take away misfortunes and calamities and transfer them upon travelers. The people considered this [practise] unorthodox, so he now stopped it." Yen Shih-ku says however that this interpretation is mistaken, for "Emperor Wen had previously done away with the Secret Invocator and the transferrence of faults [to others, cf. 4: 14b. But this practise may meanwhile have been revived]. This [order] is now merely a general prohibition to the people against shamans and seers who perform sacrifices upon the roads." Shen Ch'in-han notes that the Chou-li 26: 5b (Biot, II, 103) says, "The Male Shaman [OMITTED] has charge of sacrifices at a distance. He looks towards [the divinities invoked], invites [them to come; the word used is yen1 [OMITTED]] and bestows upon them [honorific] titles." (Tu Tzu-ch'un, ca. 30 B.C.-A.D. 60, says that the bestowing of titles consists in "bestowing upon them the name used in sacrificing to them." Cheng Hsüan, 127-200, says that yen1 should be read as yen2 [OMITTED], which we have interpreted as "invite to come." But Szu-ma Cheng [fl. 713-742], in a note to SC ch. 28, quotes Li Ch'i [fl. ca. 200] as saying, "In the three capital commanderies, [the region] between hills or tomb mounds is called yen1." Shen Ch'in-han accordingly says that this yen1 sacrifice is a sacrifice in the regions between hills or tomb mounds, and is the sacrifice referred to in the HS text as being on roads. The above passage from the Chou-li should accordingly be translated, "He looks to the gaps between hills or tomb mounds and bestows [upon the divinity dwelling there an honorific] title.") [730] HS 96 B: 17b, quoting an edict of Emperor Wu, says, "The young men of six states, [including] Korla (Wei-hsü), Wei-li, and Lou-lan, who were in the imperial capital, all came [to Us] first." Hsü Sung (1781-1848) suggests that the other two states might have been Charchan (Chü-mo) (which does not seem correct on geographic grounds) and Karashahr (Yen-ch'i). [733] There was considerable disorder at this time. HS 90: 12a says, "At this time the Commandery Administrators and Commandants, and the nobles' Chancellors and [officials ranking at] two thousand piculs who wished to have a good government generally imitated Wang Wen-shu and others in all things [by controlling the people thru stool-pigeons and protected criminals], so that the officials and common people increasingly despized and violated the laws, and robbers and thieves arose increasingly. In Nan-yang [Commandery] there were Mei Mien and Po Cheng; in [the region of] Ch'u there were Tuan Chung and Tu Shao; in Ch'i there was Hsü P'o; in [the region] between Yen and Chao there were Chien Lu and Fan Chu, and their like. The large groups attained [the number of] several thousand persons. They unauthorizedly gave themselves titles, attacked cities and towns, took arms from the arsenals, freed [those who had committed] capital crimes, bound and insulted Commandery Administrators and Chief Commandants, killed [officials ranking at] 2000 piculs, and by means of dispatches informed prefectural [cities] that they must hasten to provide food. The small groups, numbering hundreds [of people], who kidnapped and captured in the villages and hamlets, could not be estimated or numbered." [735] HS 90: 12b says, "They cut off the heads of the greater part [of the robbers, whose number] reached to perhaps more than ten thousand. Moreover, in accordance with the law, there were executed: those who had opened the way [for the robbers], those who had given them food, and those who were sentenced for being implicated [with them, whose number totaled] at most several thousand persons in a commandery." [742] Ying Shao explains, "The imperial government itself dealt in liquor and monopolized the selling of fermented drink. Ordinary people were not again permitted to deal in it." Wei Chao writes, "To use a tree to cross a stream is called chio [OMITTED] [Ju Shun says this word is pronounced the same as [OMITTED]]. It says that it was prohibited for the people to deal in or ferment liquors, only the officials could open and establish [places for such activities], just as on the roads and ways when logs are placed to serve as a means of crossing a stream (a chio), they alone get the profit [from it]." Yen Shih-ku writes, "The chio is a bridge for crossing [a stream] on foot. The Erh-ya [5:4b] speaks of `a stone foot-bridge [OMITTED] [i.e., stepping stones].' The present small beam or tree lying across a stream [OMITTED] is [precisely] this [thing]. They prohibited and closed up this business, gathering its profits for the government, so that their inferiors would have no means of securing or having them, like a foot-bridge (chio) for crossing a stream. From that it was given [this] name, [chio]. Wei [Chao's] explanation and Ju [Shun's] pronunciation are correct." [744] Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768) remarks that po-ti cannot here be the name of a

commandery, because Mt. Ch'ang was in Ch'ang-shan Commandery. "It is merely as if it said `the northern borders.' " [745] Teng Chang (fl. ca. 208) writes, "Yi [OMITTED] is to bury." Yen Shih-ku adds, "The Erh-ya [6: 8a] says, `Sacrifices to the Earth are called yi-mai [OMITTED].' The objects [used as offerings] are buried to show that they are devoted to the Earth." [746] HS 27 Ba: 24a says, "In the summer, there was a great drought." [751] A similar case is mentioned in 52: 20a, "The Commandant of Justice charged that [Wang] Hui had stopped and hesitated, and should be executed by being cut [in two]." Ju Shun explains "[According to] the military law, one who delays or is fearful or timid should be cut in two at the waist." [754] Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that HHS, Mem. 76: 20b, states that in this year Shen-li Commandery was abolished and its territory was made the western portion of Shu Commandery. [757] Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) writes, "[The reprobated persons (tse [OMITTED]) are:] first, petty officials who have committed crimes; second, fugitives [the Official ed. and Hu San-hsing in his quotation of this comment in the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 22: 1b write [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED]]; third, adopted sons-in-law [there was an intense prejudice against the practise employed by some persons who had no sons, of adopting a boy, giving him their surname, and marrying him to a daughter, in order to perpetuate their ancestral sacrifices, probably on the ground that such a practise constituted incest]; fourth, resident merchants; fifth, those who had formerly been enregistered in the market-place [as merchants]; sixth, those whose father or mother had been enregistered in the marketplace [as merchants]; seventh, those whose grandfather or grandmother had been enregistered in the market-place [as merchants]; seven classes in all." [761] HS 14: 21a dates this appointment on July 17. [763] The Official ed. has correctly emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]. This order commuting death punishment for a money payment is repeated on p. 35b under the date 95 B.C. The latter seems a doublet for the present recording; in 78: 5b, Hsiao Wang-chih mentions this order, dating it in 97 B.C., and not even hinting that it was repeated in 95 B.C. [765] Ying Shao explains, "It says that he purified and cleansed the world and gave the common people [an opportunity to make] a new beginning, hence he capped the year-period with [this name]," lit. "the great beginning." [769] Chavannes, Documents Chinois découverts par Aurel Stein, p. 71, notes that one of Stein's tablets necessitates putting the intercalary month at the end of the year T'ai-shih I, not at the end of T'ien-han IV, as Hoang has it. The months in Hoang's calendar for T'ai-shih I are then each to be moved along by one month. This change is confirmed by the eclipse recorded for this year; cf. App. VI, xi. [770] HS 55: 18b states that Kung-sun Ao feigned death and fled, hiding among the common people. Five or six years later he was discovered and executed. The "Annals" is probably merely copying his sentence of death. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [771] The present text reads, "Yün-ling." Yen Shih-ku remarks that at this time there was no Yün-ling. Mou-ling was the city at the tomb erected by Emperor Wu for himself. Yün-yang was the prefecture in which Kan-ch'üan Palace was located. When the Favorite Beauty nee Chao of the Kou-yi Palace died between 91 and 87 B.C., she was buried in Yün-yang prefecture; when her son, Emperor Chao, ascended the throne in 87 B.C., she was for the first time entitled Empress Dowager and the Yün tomb was built with the town of Yün-ling, made from part of Yün-yang prefecture. Hence in 96 B.C. there was no Yün-ling and the future Empress Dowager nee Chao was still living. In Pan Ku's time only Yün-yang remained. Hence Yen Shih-ku is probably correct in suggesting the emendation of "Yün-ling" to "Yün-yang." The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 22: 2b however deletes "Yün-ling" as an interpolation. Han-chi 15: 1a reads, "to Mou-ling and the tomb which is at Yün-yang," so that the present reading of the HS is ancient.

A copyist who knew that there had been a Yün-ling might have written ling for yang through the attraction of the first ling. [779] For the ascent of Mt. Lung, cf. 6: 20a; for the white unicorn, cf. 6: 13a; for the horse, cf. 6: 19b. The gold may be that mentioned in 6: 30b, but that was at another locality. [780] Ying Shao says, "He captured a white unicorn and had the auspicious presage of the horse [from the Wu-wa River], hence he changed the casting of actual gold to be like unicorns' feet and fine horses' hoofs, in order to accord with these happy celestial favors. Anciently there was an excellent horse by the name of Yao-niao [OMITTED] [the latter of which words is here translated `fine horse'], who had a red muzzle, a black body, and could travel fifteen thousand li in one day." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Since it says, `It was proper that [We] should change former appellations,' it also says, `[We] change [the shape for ingots of] actual gold to have [the shape of] unicorns' feet and fine horses' hoofs.' This [means] that although anciently gold was named in terms of [its weight in] catties and taels, yet according to the official regulations it had a regular shape, like the present golden ingots with lucky words [OMITTED] [which we have not been able to find described elsewhere]. Emperor Wu wished to make known his auspicious presages, hence universally changed [the shapes of gold ingots] and cast [gold] in the shape of unicorns' feet and horses' hoofs, merely to change the ancient forms. At present people from time to time find in the earth [ingots in the shape of] golden horses' hoofs [OMITTED] [this seems to be the only place where these ingots are mentioned], the gold of which is very fine and good and whose shape is beautiful and elegant." Liu Pin remarks that Emperor Wu probably used gold from Mt. Lung-shou to make these castings in order to accord with the portents. "Unicorns' hoofs" is an allusion to Book of Odes, I, i, xi (Legge, p. 19). Unicorns were supposed to have the hoofs of a horse; the animal was the symbol of all goodness and benevolence. One of these ingots is reproduced in the magazine Ch'üan pi (Chinese Numismatics) vol. 1, no. 1, July 1940, p. 26. [785] This recording is a doublet for the one on p. 35a; cf. n. 35.4. [791] The Emperor secured six wild geese. The poem is found in HS 22: 32a, b and translated in Mh III, 628, XVIII. [803] Yen Shih-ku quotes a note of Ju Shun to HS 25 B: 6b, saying, "It was as if there were shadows of spirits who faced the throne which was sacrificed to and who made obeisance," and adds, "A Han [dynasty] commentator says, `[Some] spirits appeared together, both white and black, both great and small, facing the [Emperor's] throne, and [made] three obeisances.' " Sacrifices were made in the morning before dawn. The "three obeisances" look like the required obeisances to the emperor; such obeisances were probably also made to shrines. Ying Shao identifies these spirits as immortals from the fairy isle of P'eng-lai. [807] This event is also noted in 27 Ca: 17a, where it is interpreted as presaging the downfall of Heir-apparent Li, since his downfall was caused by a man from Chao, Chiang Ch'ung, who dug up the black magic; cf. 6: 37a. Snakes, frogs, fish, and the like were thought to be attendants upon certain gods; Cf. the plates of the Wu clan graves in Chavannes, Mission archeologique, which also show toads fighting. This portent is an imitation of the one recorded in the Tso-chuan, Dk. Chuang, XIV, (Legge, p. 92), where the fighting of serpents prophesies the assassination of the Earl of Cheng and his two sons. The fighting in the HS may have been believed to presage the fighting in Ch'ang-an at the time of the Heir-apparent's turmoil. Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, Head Curator of Biology at the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C., writes, "It does not seem possible that the account can have reference to `snakes' or serpents in the ordinary sense of the word. It seems to be pure myth." This account is one of the rare purely mythological events reported for Han times in the HS. It may be paralleled by the fight between frogs and toads (6: 21a; cf. n. 21.6). Practically all the portents in the HS dated in Han times are possible events; among the impossible ones, besides these two, there are the hair on the bottoms of Emperor Hsüan's feet (8: 3a), the dwarf shadows (99 B: 18a), and Emperor Hsüan's grave-clothes standing up (99 C: 8b, which seems a sheer exaggeration of the similar and possible event in 12: 3b). The rarity of such impossible events recorded in a superstitious era speaks well for Pan Ku's carefulness.

[813] Ying Shao explains the name of this year-period as follows: "It says that [the Emperor] had made military expeditions (cheng) against the barbarians in all directions, so that the world was at peace (ho)." [817] HS 27 Ba: 24b reads, "In the summer, there was a great drought." [820] Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) says, "They surveyed the chariots and horses and counted the provisions for the army." But Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) adds, " `Search' means to seek for evil people [cf. n. 33.5]. Shang-lin Park is several hundred li around, hence [the Emperor] mobilized the chariots and cavalry of the three capital commanderies to enter it and make a grand search. The Han-ti Nien-chi [(before 285) says the Emperor] `mobilized the cavalrymen of the three capital commanderies to make a grand search in Ch'ang-an and in the Shang-lin [Park]. The city gates were closed to the fifteenth day and many of the military officials who were Expectant Appointees to the Northern Army died of hunger.' Then in both [cases, in the Park and in the city], it was a search, and was not to count the provisions for the army." Han-chi 15: 3a and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 22: 4b both read "the eleventh day," so that the "fifteenth day" of the Han-ti Nien-chi is a mistake. A search is mentioned in the Tso-chuan Dk. Ch'eng, XVII, 574 B.C. (Legge, p. 404). Cf. also Book of Changes, App. II, xxiv, Legge, p. 297; SC 15: 116, under date 236 B.C. [823] For this cause célèbre, and the subsequent tumult, cf. Glossary, sub Kung-sun Ho, Chiang Ch'ung, and Liu Chü; J. J. M. de Groot, The Religious System of China, V, 826-844. [831] The typesetters have followed the Official ed. This is also the reading of the Ching-yu ed. and is correct. The traditional text, followed by Wang Hsien-ch'ien, gives An the wood (No. 75) radical. [835] Ying Shao comments, "At that time, the Heir-apparent had also sent out credentials in order to be able to fight, hence yellow [pennons] were affixed to the top of [the imperial credentials] in order to distinguish them." HS 66: 3b says, "At first, the credentials of the Han [emperors] were pure red [in color]. Because the Heir-apparent used red credentials, [the imperial credentials] were changed to have yellow pennons added to them in order to distinguish [the two kinds of credentials]." [839] HS 27 Ca: 9a adds, "It crushed and killed people." [841] Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed. has dropped the kan [OMITTED] at this point; the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. (1528-31), the Fukien ed. (1549), and the Official ed. have it. [849] HS 94 A: 25b = de Groot, ibid., 178f recounts that the Huns sent more than twenty thousand troops to block Ma T'ung's way, but retreated when they found the Chinese force was strong, so that Ma T'ung neither gained nor lost anything. At this time the Chinese feared that the troops of Turfan (Chü-shih) would intercept Ma T'ung, so Ma T'ung sent the Marquis of K'ai-ling, Ch'eng Wan, who was originally a Hun, to besiege Turfan. He captured its king and all its people. [850] For details, cf. Glossary sub voce. According to 94 A: 26a, Li Kuang-li was not defeated until after the execution of Liu Ch'u-li; this paragraph sums up the year's campaigns. [853] For details, cf. Glossary, sub Liu Ch'u-li. The present text adds the word "children [OMITTED]" after "wife"; but Mr. Cheng (fl. dur. 265-317) comments, "His wife committed witchcraft and black magic; her husband was sentenced as her accomplice, [but] he only was cut in two at the waist." The Sung Ch'i ed. writes that the Old text (before vi cent.) has not the word for "children"; the Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) also has not this word. HS 27 A: 13b also mentions only his wife as having had her head exposed; Han-chi 15: 7a likewise mentions her alone. Wang Nien-sun says accordingly that "children" is a conflation from 66: 5a. But in the Han style tzu may be an enclitic; cf. p. 425, addition to 231, n. 2. [860]

These meteorites are also mentioned in 27 Cb: 25a and in 25 B: 6b, 7a. The latter passage says, "In this year, at Yung Hsien, when there were no clouds, it was as if there were three [peals] of thunder, and something as if it were a rainbow mist, blue and yellow, like a [flock of] flying birds, perched south of Yü-yang Palace. The noise was heard for four hundred li and the two meteorites were as black as a black mole. A high official considered them as a fortunate [sign, so] they were offered in the [imperial] ancestral temples." [869] The name of this year-period, which seems to mean "the last year-period," is peculiar. It looks very much as if Emperor Wu had failed to give a name to this year-period (names were not usually assigned until some time, sometimes years, after the year-period began), and this name was used by historians because it was the last period of his reign. But Wang Yi (1321-1372) says that Emperor Wu was imitating Emperor Wen's and Emperor Ching's last year-periods, so that the name of this year-period was not given by historians. Wang Hsien-ch'ien approves. Liu Pin (1022-1088) thinks that, just as in the reigns of Emperors Wen and Ching there were properly no named year-periods, so here there was merely a "last first year [OMITTED]." Chu Yi-hsin (1848-1894) points out that this phrase is found in 68: 2a and 28 Bi: 17b, and that the phrase [OMITTED] is found in 7: 3b and 14: 9b. (In these cases however the word [OMITTED] may have merely dropped out in the transmission of the text. Cf. 7: n. 3.8.) Chu Yi-hsin suggests that [OMITTED] was probably a popular term for the more precise [OMITTED]. Wu Jen-chieh (ca. 1137-1199) suggests that just as Emperor Kuang-wu named 56 A.D. as [OMITTED] and the historians dropped the first two words, so Emperor Wu called this year-period Cheng-ho-hou-yüan, and the historian deleted the first two characters. But there is independent proof for the above designation of 56 A.D., whereas there is no corroboration for Wu Jen-chieh's suggestion. Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that Emperor Wu began the practise of giving year-periods with a name composed of two characters, and that each of his ten previous year-periods had such a name, so that this year-period would hardly be an exception. These explanations seem however far-fetched, so that I am possibly correct in suggesting that the name of this year-period was given by historians on the model of those in preceding reigns. [876] Ju Shun says, "At the time it was spring, not the time to use bird-nets, hence he did not capture any." [878] He was sentenced for impious disrespect or witchcraft. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [879] [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] seem anciently to have been pronounced alike, as muo. For the change of this surname, cf. Glossary, sub Ma T'ung. The first of these two words is usually written, hence I have used its modern pronunciation, in accordance with my practise of employing the modern equivalents of ancient pronunciations, unless there is some justification for a change. [881] For this attempted assassination of Emperor Wu, cf. Glossary, sub Ma Ho-lo. Chin Mi-ti siezed Ma Ho-lo; Ho Kuang and Shang-kuan Chieh probably pursued and killed Ma T'ung. [889] In a note to 7: 1b, Liu Pin remarks that in this year, the second month (Mar./Apr.), there was an amnesty, mentioned in 8: 2a and 74: 7a (also 97 A: 19b7), which the "Annals" fail to record. [893] A quotation from Kung-yang Commentary 28: 8a, Dk. Ai, XIV. It is repeated in SC 8: 86 = Mh II, 403 = HS 1 B: 24b. [894] Yen Shih-ku writes, "The six classics are the Book of Changes, the Book of Odes, the Book of History, the Spring and Autumn, the Book of Rites, and the Book of Music. [895] Ch'ou-tzu [OMITTED] is a phrase used by Yao in the Book of History, I, iii, 9 (Legge, p. 23) and must be interpreted accordingly. [898] Much of the above eulogy is taken from the laudatory edict of Emperor Hsüan; cf. 8: 5b; 75: 3b.

[899] For Pan Ku's drastic criticism of Emperor Wu's reign, cf. the eulogies of Emperors Chao and Wen, 7: 10b and 4: 21a-22a; also the bitter summary in 96B: 36a-38b. 121

APPENDIX I THE ESTABLISHMENT OF YEAR-PERIODS Before Han times, there were no named year-periods. For the reigns of Emperors Kao, Hsiao-hui, and the Empress of the Kao-tsu, there were also no named year-periods. In the reigns of Emperors Wen and Ching, we find merely more than one beginning of the count of years, no named year-periods. Emperor Wen began the count of years twice, the second time seemingly under the influence of Hsin-yüan P'ing, with the notion that his reign would be thereby lengthened (cf. 4: 16a & HFHD I, 260, n. 1). Emperor Ching began the count of years thrice. Named year-periods are first found in the reign of Emperor Wu. This conclusion must be inferred from the scant information given us; namely, a record of an imperial order by Emperor Wu ordering that a new beginning should be made in the count of years, and a memorial requesting the establishment of the first named year-period. In SC 28: 55 (= Mh III, 474), there is the following statement, "In the third year after [114 B.C.], a high official said that it was proper for the first years to be called by some manifestation of heavenly favor, and it was not proper [for them to be called merely] by the numbers First, Second, [etc.]. The first first year (yüan) should be called Chien (inaugurate); the second first year should be called Kuang (splendor), because of the long comet; the third first year should be called Shou (animal), because the animal with [only] one horn was obtained for the suburban sacrifice." From the above statement, Wu Jen-chieh (1137-1199) in his Liang-Han K'an-wu Pu-yi 2: 2a, b, deduces that, in the first part of his reign, Emperor Wu merely continued the practise of his predecessors in beginning anew the count of years in his reign, without giving any special name to these periods. Emperor Wu was only fifteen and a half years of age when he came to the throne; by 114 B.C. (the twenty-seventh year of his reign), he had already begun the count of years at least thrice and was destined to reign an equally long period in the future. These periods had previously been called merely by numbers, the First, the Second, and the Third first years. To only three periods could the words ch'ien, chung, and hou be (retrospectively) applied, as was the case in the reign of Emperor Ching; since it was not known how many times Emperor Wu would change the count of years, when it seemed likely in 114 B.C. 122 that he would want to begin the count of years again, the suggestion was made that these periods be named in accordance with some outstanding supernatural event that had happened in the period. The official who made this suggestion also suggested names for three year-periods; when names were actually given, it was decided to start a new period every six years, so the period Yüan-so was interpolated, which seems not to have previously been counted. The precious tripod, after which the fifth period was named, was probably not found until the fourth year of that period (113 B.C.; cf. 6: 19b & n. 17.9), hence that year-period must also have been retrospectively named. The named year-periods then originated in 114 or 113 B.C., when Emperor Wu had begun the count of years in his reign at least three times already and was thinking of beginning the count again. At least the first five names were retrospectively given to periods which previously had no name, only numbers, and, in the case of one period, seem not to have previously been counted. The first year-period for which we have an imperial edict ordaining its name is that of 110 B.C. (cf. 6: 26a). This one was not named until the sixth month in that calendar year, and the naming of Emperor Wu's last year period seems to have been

delayed until after his death (cf. n. 38.1). The practise of naming year-periods continued to the end of the Ch'ing dynasty with only one important change; beginning with the Ming dynasty, the name of the year-period was not altered except at the accession of a new emperor. (Cf. also Chavannes, "Le Traité sur les sacrifices fong et chan," in Jour. Peking Or. Soc'y, 1890, III, no. 1, p. 56, n. 1; Mh I, c, n. 1; HS 6: 1b; SC 28: 55; Nien-erh Shih Cha-chi 2: 11b.) 123

APPENDIX II PUNISHMENTS BY ALTERING THE CLOTHING In HS 6: 4b, Emperor Wu reveals his acceptance of the belief that anciently, in the times of Yao and Shun, punishments were only symbolic, merely requiring criminals to wear certain articles of clothing. This myth was ancient in his day; the actual practise in early historic times seems to have been to mutilate a criminal in such a way as to indicate his crime by the type of mutilation. This myth took different forms, which are here presented. Hsün-tzu (ca. 320-235 B.C.) ch. XVIII (cf. Dubs' trans., p. 193; also quoted in HS 23: 21a) writes, "The ordinary sophists of the age say, `In the well-governed ancient times, there were no mutilating punishments, but instead [symbolic] punishments [were used], portraying [the crime in the criminal's clothing. Instead of] tatooing [the criminal's face], there was wearing a [black] turban; [instead of amputating the nose, there was wearing] a grass cord about the neck [worn in mourning, cf. Li-chi, XVIII, ii, 6; Couvreur, II, 134]; [instead of] castration, [there was wearing] a grey apron [or cutting off the apron]; [instead of] amputating the feet, [there was wearing] hemp sandals; [instead of] execution, [there was wearing] ochre red garments without any borders—in the ancient well-governed times [punishments] were like the foregoing.' This was not so." (In the above passage, for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; before [OMITTED], insert [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED]; and for [OMITTED], read [OMITTED].) In a note to Hsün-tzu 12:5a, Yang Liang (fl. 818) quotes the Shen-tzu (lost; Shen Tao was a contemporary of Hsün-tzu, living in the first part of the third cent. B.C.) as saying, "In his punishments, the possessor of Yü, [Shun], used designs on the feet to take the place of tatooing; he used a grass cord to take the place of amputating the nose; he used hemp sandals instead of amputating the feet; and he used a grey apron instead of castration. These were the punishments [used by] the possessor of Yü." In a note to HS 6: 4b, Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that this saying arose from a passage in the Book of History II, i, 11 (Legge, I, p. 38), which says that Shun [OMITTED]. Ibid. II, iv, i, 8 (Legge, I, 86) says that Kao-yao [OMITTED]. From either of these passages the belief in punishments portraying the crime could have arisen, but neither passage bears that meaning when strictly interpreted. Legge translates the first, "He gave delineations of the statutory punishments," and the second, "Kao-yao is . . . employing the represented punishments with 124 entire intelligence," quoting in proof of his interpretation for the latter passage, the interpretative quotation of this passage in the SC (Mh I, 159). Hsün-tzu seems accordingly to have been correct in denying the exactness of Shen Tao's interpretation of the Book of History. The present Bamboo Books date a revival of the symbolic punishments in the reigns of Kings Ch'eng and K'ang; cf. n. 5.1. In spite of Hsün-tzu's denial, this belief nevertheless continued to flourish and grow. Emperor Wen mentions it (cf. HS 23: 13a). The Shang-shu Ta-ch'uan (compiled in the ii cent. B.C. from material previously reworked; lost; fragments recovered from quotations) 1 B: 8 reads, "T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun] [had symbolic] punishments portraying [the crime in the criminal's clothing], and then the people did not presume

to commit [crime]. The multitude of the people utilized [these] punishments and the people progressed, [assisting] each other to advance. The punishments of T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun] were: for a serious punishment, ochre red clothes without any border; for medium punishment, many-colored shoes; for a light punishment, a black turban, while [the criminal was made to] dwell in his department and hamlet, and the people shamed him." The Hsiao-ching Wei Yüan-sheng Ch'i (prob. end of i cent. B.C.; lost; recovered from quotations) B: 7a, b, reads, "The three Sovereigns [Fu-hsi, Shen-nung, the Yellow Lord] had no writing; the five Lords [(Shao-hao, Chuan-hsü, K'u, Yao, Shun) used punishments] portraying the likenesses [of mutilating punishments]; the three Kings [(Yü, T'ang, Wen and Wu) used] mutilating punishments. Of those [who were punished by] portraying the likenesses [of mutilating punishments, those who had committed] great crimes [had to wear] black painting on red ochre clothes and many-colored sandals; [those who had committed] medium crimes [had to wear] red ochre clothes and many-colored sandals; [those who had committed] light crimes [had to wear] many-colored sandals." Ying Shao, in a note to HS 6: 4b, writes, "These two Lords, [Yao and Shun], portrayed [crimes on the criminals'] clothing and headwear, changing their ornaments and clothing, and then the people did not dare to commit [crime]." The Po-hu T'ung (i or iii cent.) in the Pao-ching T'ang Ts'ung-shu ed., (this passage is omitted in most other editions, but is also quoted by Yen Shih-ku in a note to HS 6: 4b), 4 A: 6b, says, "For those who [were punished by] the Five Lords by portraying the likenesses [of their punishments], their clothing showed likenesses to the five [mutilating] punishments. Those who had committed [crimes deserving punishment 125 by] tatooing [were compelled to ]cover [their heads] with turbans; those who had committed [crimes deserving] the amputation of the nose [had to] use red ochre to apply to their clothes. Those who had committed [crimes deserving] amputation of the knee-cap [had to] use ink to cover their knee-caps, which in a symbolic [way] portrayed [the mutilating punishment]. Those who had committed [crimes deserving] castration [had to] wear variegated straw sandals. Those who had committed [crimes deserving] capital punishment [had to wear] ordinary clothes without a collar." Emperor Wu's edict was thus merely repeating and giving imperial sanction to a belief accepted by many scholars in his time. Emperor Yüan also accepted this belief; cf. 9: 8a. Pan Ku agrees with Hsün-tzu; cf. HS 23: 21a-23b for his discussion of this matter. 126

APPENDIX III THE EIGHTH MONTH FERMENTED LIQUOR OFFERING This offering was the means by which the Han emperors took tribute from the nobles of the empire. Nobles were exempt from taxes, but they were required to make an offering proportionate to the size of their estates in order to assist in defraying the expenses of the sacrifices to the imperial ancestors at the time of the offering of the specially fermented liquor in the eighth calendar month. Failure to offer the required amount was punished by dismissal from noble rank or degradation. When Emperor Wu was engaged in military conquests, his nobility took no part in them; the Emperor became enraged, took advantage of the fact that most of the nobles were lax in paying the full amount, and dismissed half of his nobility, as will be recounted. The eighth month fermented `wine' has already been described; cf. 5: n. 1.6.[1] Since grapes were not introduced until Chang Ch'ien brought them from Bactria, this `wine' was probably made of grain. Concern-the offering, Ju Shun writes, in a note to HS 6: 22a, "The comment in the Han-chiu-yi [by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57] says, `The vassal kings

[and marquises offered] real gold yearly [at the sacrifice of] the eighth month liquor in the Han [dynastic ancestral] temples according to [the number of] households [in their kingdoms or estates]. The Emperor attended [the ceremony] and received the offered gold. If the gold was insufficient and not in accordance with [its required weight in terms of] catties and taels, or if its color was bad, prefectures were taken away from the kings' [territory] or marquises were dismissed from their estates.' " Liu Chao (fl. dur. 502-520), in a note to HHS, Tr. 4: 4a, quotes the Han-yi (by Ting Fu, fl. 251), "The code [concerning] the gold [to be offered at the sacrifice of] the eighth month liquor was added by Emperor Wen. On the morning of [the first day of] the first month, the liquor is made; in the eighth month it is ready. It is called the eighth-month liquor [OMITTED]. Thereupon [the Emperor] gathers the nobles to assist at the sacrifice and to pay their tribute of gold. The `Ordinances Concerning Money and Textiles' in the Han Code [lost] says, `When the Emperor abstains and practises a retreat and in person leads his subjects in presenting the sacrifices in the [imperial] ancestral temples, it is proper that his subjects should [offer] a percentage of their income. [The Emperor] requests each of the vassal [kings] and the marquises to 127 tax themselves according to the number of common people [in their territories] and to offer four taels of gold for each thousand persons [in their territories], and for remainders which are not a full thousand persons, [but], are of five hundred persons, also to [pay] four taels. All shall meet [for the offering of] the eighth month liquor. The Privy Treasurer receives [their offerings]; the Grand Herald also [receives them]. Those who receive the income of estates in [the commanderies of] Chiu-chen, Chiao-chih, or Jih-nan shall each use [as an offering] twenty rhinoceros horns more than nine inches long and one fine tortoise-shell carapace; [those who receive the income of estates in] Yü-lin [Commandery] shall each use [as an offering twenty] elephant tusks more than three feet long and kingfisher feathers. These are considered equal with and take the place of the gold.' "The Han-chiu-yi says, `When the emperor mounts his chariot [to go to offer] the eighth month liquor in the eighth month, on the same evening, an ox is killed and covered with a deep red [cloth]. The Emperor, later in the evening, looks at the victim. He uses a metal mirror [for collecting dew] to take water from the moon and uses a metal mirror [for reflecting the rays of the sun] to take fire from the sun, [thus] making sacramental water and fire. He bares his left arm and uses the water to asperse the right shoulder of the ox. In his hand he holds a knife whose handle terminates in a bell and uses it to cut off the ox's tail and offers it. Then he immediately changes his clothes and linen fillet and waits upon [his spiritual] superiors. [When the ox is] ready, [the emperor] thereupon offers it.' " Emperor Wu's reason for making a wholesale purge of his aristocracy in 112 B.C. may be found in HS 24 B: 18b, "The Chancellor of Ch'i, Pu Shih, memorialized to the Emperor that he and his sons wished to [go and] die [in the expedition against] Nan-yüeh. The Son of Heaven issued an edict recompensing and promoting him and granting him the rank of Kuan-nei Marquis, forty catties of actual gold, and a thousand mou of fields. [This edict] was published [throughout] the empire, but no [one in] the empire responded [by volunteering as Pu Shih had done. Among] the marquises, [who were numbered] by the hundreds, no one sought to go with the armies. When [the time came for] drinking the eighth month liquor, the Privy Treasurer inspected [their offerings of] gold, and marquises were sentenced on account of [the deficiency] in the gold [offered to pay the expenses at the sacrifice of] the eighth month liquor; more than a hundred persons lost their marquisates." (Cf. Mh III, 594 f for the parallel passage in the SC.) HS 17: 3b states that the Lieutenant Chancellor, Chao Chou, was sent to prison and committed 128 suicide, because he knew that the marquises had not been paying the full amount as their offerings at the sacrifice of the eighth month liquor.

Evidently Emperor Wu became angry at his nobles when they all selfishly refused to volunteer for military service at a time when volunteers were lacking, and cashiered a large proportion of them on the technicality of not having paid their full quota of tribute. HS 6: 22a notes the dismissal of 106 nobles. The tables of marquises (ch. 15-18) however record only the dismissal at this time of 29 marquises who had been appointed for their or their ancestors' merits, 4 who had been appointed because of imperial favor, and 65 who were members of the imperial house, a total of 98 dismissals. After this purge there remained 26 marquises who had been appointed for their or their ancestors' merits, 4 who had been appointed because of imperial favor, and 68 who were members of the imperial house, a total of 98 marquises. Evidently these tables do not record all the marquises. (Cf. also 8: n. 12.1. Some of the dismissals may have been of Kuan-nei marquises, who ranked lower than full marquises. Their estates were small, frequently of only 300 households, so that they might not all be required to pay tribute. There is no record of the Kuan-nei marquises. The HS "Tables" were not compiled by Pan Ku, but after his death by Pan Chao and Ma Hsü; cf. HHS, Mem. 74: 3b.) If the recordings in these tables are representative of the total number, there were dismissed 71% of the noble families not of the imperial house enfeoffed as marquises by Kao-tsu, 71% of those enfeoffed by other rulers preceding Emperor Wu, 18% of those enfeoffed by Emperor Wu, and 49% of the marquises who were members of the imperial house, i.e., 50% of the total number of marquises. After this purge, the nobility was composed chiefly of members of the imperial house. In 62 B.C., atonement was made for this wholesale dismissal by exempting the families of many of these dismissed nobles and granting them each 20 catties of actual gold. (Cf. 8: 12a, 15b, n. 12.1) [1] See also Li-ki IX, iii, 27 (Legge, 446 f). 129

APPENDIX IV THE COMPETITIVE GAMES The competitive games (chio-ti [OMITTED] [or [OMITTED]] [OMITTED]) seem first to have been mentioned in SC 87: 36 (= D. Bodde, China's First Unifier, p. 46), which says, "At this time [208 B.C.], the Second Emperor was at the Kan-ch'üan [Palace (then near Shang-lin Park, not at Yün-yang; cf. Glossary)], and was just then holding a spectacle of competitive games and theatricals." These games are also mentioned in HS 6: 27b, and later. The nature of these games seems to have varied. HS 23: 5b says, "After the Spring and Autumn [period], . . . somewhat was added to the rites in military reviews, and they became games and amusements and were used for boasting and showing off; the Ch'in [dynasty] changed their name to chio-ti." Thus the name (and probably the practise) originated in the Ch'in state and in the Ch'in period. Ying Shao explains these games as follows: "Those who chio, contest in skill; those who ti, butt each other." Wen Ying adds, "In my opinion, the [Ch'in dynasty] named this amusement chio-ti [because] in pairs they opposed and contested (chio) with each other in strength. They contested in skill and talents, in archery and in driving, hence they named it chio-ti. It was probably an amusement [which consisted in contests of] miscellaneous skills, of the sort as when [the people] of the Yü [River] in Pa [Commandery] play fishes and dragons stretching themselves out. The Han [dynasty] later changed the name [of these games] to P'ing-lo-kuan [OMITTED] (the Spectacle of Peaceful Amusement)." The Yü River performances were thus originally distinct from the competitive games, but may later have been combined with them, although even Wen Ying does not explicitly say that this combination was actually made. In a note to HS 22: 35a, where, at the time of a general reduction in the number of palace musicians, K'ung Kuang and Ho Wu ask to have thirty-six drummers from the Yü River in Pa Commandery dismissed, Yen Shih-ku comments, "When the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], was first made King of Han, he obtained the people of the

Yü [River] in Pa [Commandery]. Both were strong and active and good at fighting. With them he conquered the three [kingdoms that had been made out of the state of] Ch'in and annihilated [the state of] Ch'u. Hence he preserved the military games [of the peoples who had assisted him]. The games of the Yü [River] in Pa [Commandery] had their beginning [at the imperial court] because of this [circumstance]." 130 The History of the Chin Dynasty 22: 11a, b, Treatise 12 ad finem says, "When the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], of the Han [dynasty] was about [to go] from Pa and Han to conquer the three [kingdoms made out of the state of] Ch'in, [Mr.] Fan from Lang-chung thereupon led the levies [from Pa]. With them he followed the Emperor and acted as his van-guard. When Ch'in-chung had been subdued, [Emperor Kao] enfeoffed [Mr. Fan] as Marquis of Lang-chung and exempted his seven clans of levies. [According to] their customs, they liked dancing. The Eminent Founder rejoiced at their fierceness and ardor, and several times watched their military dances. Later he had his musicians familiarize themselves with them. In Lang-chung Prefecture there is a Yü River. Because this river was [by] their dwelling-place, [this performance] was called the dance of the Yü [River] in Pa [Commandery]." The "fishes and dragons" were eight hundred feet long, according to Chang Heng's (A.D. 78-139) "Hsi-ching Fu" (cf. Wen-hsüan, 2: 32a); this amusement probably consisted in some sort of dragon parade (cf. Tz'u-yüan sub [OMITTED]; Tz'u-hai sub [OMITTED] [OMITTED]). Yen Shih-ku says that ti means to oppose and not to butt. Lang-chung [OMITTED] was a prefecture of Pa Commandery, located, according to the Ta-Ch'ing Yi-t'ung Chih 390: 2a, in the west of the Ch'ing dynasty's place by the same name; cf. HS 28 Aiii: 96a. There are other references to these games. Chia Yi (200-168 B.C.) in his Hsin-shu (in the Han-Wei Ts'ung-shu) ch. 4, "The Huns," p. 4b, writes, "The Emperor should thereupon feast the Huns with a great chio-ti." Thus in the time of Emperor Wen, these chio-ti were probably held. T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan, 755: 5b, quotes the Han-Wu Ku-shih (prob. by Wang Chien, ca. 452-489), "The chio-ti games which were held in the court of Wei-yang [Palace], originated [in the time of] the Six States [475-207 B.C.]; when [the state of] Ch'in united and seized [the other states in] the empire, it added and enlarged these [games]. Although when the Han [dynasty] arose, [these games] were abolished, yet they were not entirely ended; at the time of Emperor [Wu], he again chose and used them. He joined [with them] the amusements of the barbarians at the four [boundaries] and introduced marvellous illusions, so that it was as if spirits or gods chio-ti, and had them butt each other with the strength of their horns." Jen Fang (460-508), in his Shu-yi-chi A: 2a, says "[In the period] of the Ch'in and Han [dynasties], it was said that Mr. Ch'ih-yu's ears and his hair on his temples were like a double-edged sword and a three-pointed lance, and that on his head were horns (chio) and that he fought with Hsien-yüan [the Yellow Lord]. When he used his horns to butt people (chio-ti [OMITTED]), people were not able to withstand 131 him. Now in Chi Province [present Hopei and Shansi] there is an amusement called Ch'ih-yu's Games. In it the common people wear horns on their heads and butt each other, two [against] two, or three [against] three. When the Han [dynasty] established the chio-ti games, it was probably after this style." (Cf. C. W. Bishop, "Ritual Bullfight," Smithsonian Inst. Report, 1926, p. 453.) These games are mentioned in Wen-hsüan 2: 30b (von Zach, p. 5, col. 1), but no further explanation is given. It is noteworthy that when the Wei dynasty attempted to reestablish these games, no one at court could be found who understood the meaning of the words in the four songs danced at these games (cf. the continuation of the passage from the History of the Chin Dynasty quoted above). These competitive games thus originated out of military exercises and included chariot-racing, archery contests, and similar events of a military nature. They were connected with the region of the Shang-lin Park in both Ch'in and early Han times, where there possibly was an arena for such performances. Their name indicates that with these

military contests there were also performances in the nature of a ritual bullfight connected with Ch'ih-yu (q.v. in Glossary). Wang Hsien-ch'ien thinks that they were a sort of wrestling. With the foregoing two elements there were probably also combined the religious dances from the Yü River in the present Szechuan, which latter were performed by some of Emperor Kao's soldiers and encouraged by emperors as an entertainment. Emperor Yüan abolished these games in 44 B.C. (HS 9: 6a). Their precise nature seems to have been already forgotten in ancient times. (These games are also discussed by Wang Kuo-wei, in his Sung-Yüan Hsi-ch'ü Shih, p. 5, 6.) 132

APPENDIX V THE BLOOD-SWEATING HORSES OF FERGHANA The sending, by Emperor Wu, of an expedition to secure these horses has been one of the romances of history. Their nature has been much discussed. HS 96 A: 37a, b = de Groot, Die Westlande Chinas, p. 110 says, concerning Ferghana (Ta-yüan), "Its horses sweat blood, and it is said that their forbears were foaled from heavenly horses. Chang Ch'ien first told Emperor Wu about them. The Emperor sent an envoy, [Ch'ê Ling], bearing [the equivalent of] a thousand [catties of] gold, together with a golden horse, in order to ask for the fine horses of Ferghana, [but] the King of Ferghana thought that China was not contiguous [with his own land] and was distant, so that a great army could not reach him. He loved his precious horses and [so] was unwilling to give [them to the Chinese]. The Chinese envoy said something improper, so [the people of] Ferghana attacked and killed the Chinese envoy and took his valuables. Thereupon [in Oct., 104 B.C. (6: 31b)], the Son of Heaven sent the General of Sutrishna (Erh-shih) [which city was where these horses were located], Li Kuang-li, to punish Ferghana, leading, in his former and later [expeditions], more than a hundred thousand men. In the fourth consecutive year [of the campaign], the people of Ferghana beheaded their King, Wu-ku, and presented [to the Chinese] three thousand head of horses. The Chinese troops accordingly returned. A discussion is in the `Memoir of Chang Ch'ien [and Li Kuang-li; 61: 6, 8-14]." (The fundamental account is to be found in SC 123: 32-42 = de Groot, ibid., 35-45. An account of these expeditions will be found in the Glossary, sub Li Kuang-li.) As to the name, "heavenly horses," SC 123: 24 = HS 61: 6a = de Groot, ibid., p. 28 contains a significant statement: "Previously [before the Wu-sun had sent Emperor Wu some of their horses as tribute], the Son of Heaven had the Book of History and the Book of Changes [text doubtful] opened [in divination, and the diviner] had said, `Supernatural horses will presently come from the northwest.' When [Emperor Wu] secured the horses from the Wu-sun, he liked [for them] the name, `heavenly horses.' But when he secured the Ferghanan horses that sweat blood, which are even hardier [than the Wu-sun horses], he changed the name of the Wu-sun horses and called them `the horses from the western extremity [of the empire' and] called the Ferghanan horses, `the heavenly horses.' " Thus the statement that these horses from Ferghana were 133 "foaled from heavenly horses" probably arose from a fancy of Emperor Wu's. (The name is from Shan-hai-ching 3: 9b.) Li Kuang-li made two expeditions to secure these horses. The first expedition was unsuccessful, because of inadequate preparation. The company returned more than a year later, with only one or two-tenths of its members. Li Kuang-li was then sent out again, and was successful in getting the nobles of Ferghana to kill their King and offer the Chinese their horses, of which Li Kuang-li selected several tens of the best and more than three thousand ordinary stallions and mares. He returned in the spring of 101 B.C., bringing back successfully only a thousand horses. In the present account I shall endeavor merely to present the evidence concerning the nature of these horses and of their blood-sweating. To begin with, we consider the early evidence concerning them. The

first poem to the heavenly horses in HS 22: 26a, b, begins, "A gift from the Supreme One—the heavenly horses have been sent down. They are dampened by a red sweat—their foam flows red." HS 22: 26b credits this poem to the horse secured from the Wu-wa River in 113 B.C. (The reference however gives an incorrect date, so that this attribution is doubtful; from the true nature of the "red sweat," it is however possible that the Wu-wa horse also contracted this disease.) Only in the second poem is unambiguous reference made to the Ferghana horses. In that poem, the only detail regarding the characteristics of the horses is the line: "He had a double spine, [protruding like] a tiger's." The implication is that these horses were very spirited. (Cf. Mh III, 620 for a translation of these poems.) HHS, Mem. 32: 13a (by Fan Yeh, 389-445) quotes a letter of Emperor Chang, dated in 78 A.D., in which he orders sent to two sons of Emperor Kuang-wu, "a pair of Ferghanan horses, whose blood comes out through small holes above their front shoulder-blades. You have formerly heard, in the song of Emperor Wu, that the heavenly horses were `dampened by a red sweat,' and now you yourselves may see that it was true." Ying Shao (ca. 140-206), in a note to HS 6: 32b, says, "In Ferghana from ancient times there has been a race of heavenly horses. [They are able to] tread upon stones, and they sweat blood. Their sweat comes out from their front shoulder-blades like blood. They are called [horses able to travel] a thousand li in one day." Since in ancient times horses were not shod, except with straw or leather, and since horses bred upon the plains would wear out their hoofs in long journeys (which was the reason the Chinese armies needed such large supplies of horses), mountain-bred 134 horses with firmer hoofs who could travel farther without needing rest for their feet to recuperate would be a great economy to the imperial purse and would give a decided advantage to the Chinese cavalry. Some mythology has grown up about these blood-sweating horses. Hsü Sung (1781-1848; this passage is quoted by Shen Ch'in-han in a note to HS 96 A: 37a) notes that the Yi-wen Lei-chü (by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641) quotes the Shen-yi Ching (attributed to Tung-fang So, but probably composed some time in 265-618) as saying, "In the southwest, in Ferghana and Yüan-ch'iu, there are fine horses. They are twenty feet tall. Their manes reach to their knees; their tails sweep the ground; and their hoofs are like a thick wrist. They can travel a thousand li by the setting of the sun. When the sun is at its height, they sweat blood." (The present text of the Shen-yi Ching, p. 14b, 15a, is however significantly different, "In the great wilderness of the southwest there are horses, [etc.]. . . . Their whiskers reach their knees, [etc.]. . . . They can grasp the sun and travel a thousand li; when they reach the sun, they are wounded and sweat blood. [The person] who rides [in a carriage drawn by them] must bind his head with floss in order to avoid becoming ill with the wind, [but] the people of that country do not bind [their heads]." From the construction of the book, the first words of the present passage cannot have originally been "In the southwest, in Ferghana," but must have been, "In the great wilderness of the southwest.") The true nature of this blood-sweating may be determined. Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832) remarks caustically, "The stronger and sturdier horses of the present Ili constantly have small sores in front of their shoulder-blades and on their back, which [sores] exude blood. They are said to have been hurt by an emanation [OMITTED]. [These sores] are necessarily on the front of their shoulder-blades, because they are worked very hard. The earlier commentators did not [use] their eyes to investigate [this matter], hence did not understand its details." Langdon Warner (in The Long Old Road in China, p. 124, 125) tells of securing near Tun-huang, Kansu, four Chinese Turkestan ponies which bled from various sores after a day's work and was told that all

the western ponies did that and that it never for a moment slowed them down. He adds, "No traveler who had once used these sturdy, patient little beasts could fail to associate them with this curious disease, probably the result of some parasitic insect." Mr. C. W. Bishop suggested to me that this was the same phenomenon as that shown by the "blood-sweating" horses brought from Ferghana. Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, Assistant Chief of the Zoological Division, 135 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, suggests in a letter that this disease "is produced by a nematode now known as Parafiliaria multipapillosa and formerly known as Filiaria haemorrhagica. These parasites occur under the skin of horses and other equines and produce in various parts of the skin small hemorrhages. The lesions consist of hemispherical elevations about the size of a pea. In about two hours after the elevations are formed, an opening appears at the summit of the elevation; from this opening there exudes blood which mats the hair surrounding the lesion. The lesions occur on the shoulder, on the back, and in other locations." Perhaps the famous "blood-sweating" Nesaean horses, mentioned by Greek writers as having bred in the upland pastures of Media (northeast of Ecbatana; cf. Herodotus III, 106; Strabo XI, 13, 7; 14, 9; Pliny, Hist. Nat. VI, 25 (29), 44) for the use of the Great Kings of Persia, with which these Ferghanan horses have sometimes been identified, had these same parasites. Mr. Bishop has studied the evidence offered by Han sculptures concerning the difference between the type of Chinese horse before and after the introduction of this breed from central Asia. He says that before this time, Chinese horses were small, with large heads, coarse extremities, a ewe neck, and an inclination to paunchiness. This breed is still to be met with in out of the way places in China, Japan, and Korea. The type represented in the latter part of the Han dynasty is stocky, with a well-developed barrel, thick neck, short legs, and well-shaped head. It is also shown on a gold medal struck by Eucratides, a Graeco-Bactrian king of the second century A.D., and in the famous bas-reliefs of T'ang T'ai-tsung's chargers. It was apparently the same breed which the central Asian explorer, Vambery, found among certain tribes of Turkomans, and which he describes as being distinguished less for size and speed than for strength and endurance. [Cf. C. W. Bishop, "The Horses of T'ang T'ai-tsung," in Museum Journal, pub. by University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Sept.-Dec. 1918, pp. 244-272, which contains excellent illustrations; also W. P. Yetts, "The Horse: A Factor in Early Chinese History," Eurasia Septentrionalis Antiqua 9: (1934) 231 ff.] It is thus possible to determine both the nature of the horses secured by Emperor Wu and the reason for the curious epithet, "blood-sweating." (Cf. J. J. M. de Groot, Die Westlande Chinas, pp. 35-45; for the western Asiatic source of these horses, cf. W. W. Tarn, Hellenistic Military and Naval Developments, pp. 78-83, 156-9.) 136

APPENDIX VI ECLIPSES IN THE REIGN OF EMPEROR WU i. In Chien-yüan II (the second year of the period Chien-yüan), ii (the second month), on the day ping-hsü, the first day of the month, an eclipse of the sun is listed (HS 6: 2b, 27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 10: 1b) The "Treatise," ch. 27, adds, "It was 14 degrees in [the constellation] K'uei." Hoang, Concordance des chronologies néoméniques chinois et européenne, equates this date with the julian Mar. 21, 139 B.C. But there was no eclipse on that date. In the five years between the last preceding correctly recorded eclipse in 143 B.C. and the next one in 138 B.C., there were 12 eclipses, of which only one was visible in China.[1] That one occurred on July 8, 141 B.C., which date was, according to Hoang, Emperor Ching, Hou III, v, the last day, yi-ch'ou. The day after yi-ch'ou is ping-yin, which was the first day of the sixth month; Hoang's calendar might have been one day in error; and someone, reading a partly illegible list of eclipses which

omitted the year-periods, might have misread "three" as "two," "six" as "two," and misread or corrected "ping-yin" [OMITTED] to "ping-hsü" [OMITTED], thus achieving this listing, so that it quite possibly represents a genuine observation. The three principal stars of K'uei were then in 344°, 343° and 347° R.A.; Oppolzer calculates the longitude of the sun at the eclipse of 141 B.C. as 101° = 103° R.A. The heavenly location of the eclipse does not thus represent any observation. ii. On Chien-yüan III, ix, ping-tzu, the last day of the month, a second solar eclipse is recorded (6: 3b; Han-chi 10: 5a). Hoang equates this date with Nov. 1, 138 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2545. It must have been quite conspicuous in Ch'ang-an; Oppolzer charts the path of centrality as passing through the present Urga, Mongolia, and Korea. HS 27 Cb: 14a also records the eclipse and adds, "It was 2 degrees in Wei3." The principal star of Wei3, μ Scr, was then in 219° R.A.; Oppolzer calculates the sun as in 215° long. = 213° R.A. iii. On Chien-yüan V, i, chi-szu, the first day of the month, a third eclipse is recorded (HS 27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 10: 8b). The "Annals," ch. 6, do not list this eclipse. Hoang equates this date with Feb. 16, 136 B.C., but there was no eclipse on that date. 137 In the four years between the previous eclipse in 138 B.C. and the next correctly recorded one in 134 B.C., there were nine solar eclipses, of which two were visible in China.[2] Oppolzer charts the moon's umbra in the eclipse of Apr. 15, 136 as passing through northern Siberia; calculation by the method in Neugebauer, Astronomische Chronologie, shows that in Ch'ang-an this eclipse was invisible, in the present Peiping it reached a magnitude of 0.07 at 3:26 p.m., local time, and at the present Ning-hsia, the ancient So-fang, it reached a magnitude of 0.15 at 2:44 p.m., local time. Calculation also shows that the eclipse of Apr. 4, 135 was invisible in Ch'ang-an, but reached a magnitude of 0.08 at 6:32 a.m., on Apr. 5, in the present Peiping. Apr. 15, 136 was, according to Hoang, Chien-yüan V, iii, the last day, ting-mao. Ting-mao is the second day before chi-szu. Since Hoang's calendar may be two days in error, and since "three" in Chinese may easily be misread as "first," the eclipse we are considering happened on Apr. 15, 136 with a very high degree of probability. It seems to have been reported from outside the capital. Yet at the longitude of Ch'ang-an, the southern limit of visibility for this eclipse was 35° N, only a short distance north of Ch'ang-an, according to Neugebauer's elements, so that the eclipse might easily have been reported from somewhere in central Shensi. Since moreover absolute exactness cannot be claimed for even the best astronomical computations concerning events two thousand years ago, it is furthermore possible that this eclipse was actually visible in Ch'ang-an. iv. In Yüan-kuang I, ii, on the last day of the month, ping-ch'en, a fourth eclipse is recorded (HS 27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 11: 4b). The "Annals" does not record it. Hoang equates this date with Mar. 25, 134. But there was no eclipse on that day. In the four years between the last correctly recorded eclipse in 138 B.C. and the next one in 134, only two eclipses were visible in China, the first of which seems definitely to be the one denoted by the preceding recording. The other eclipse visible in China, occurring on Apr. 4, 135, 22h.48m.GCT, and visible in China on the morning of Apr. 5, was on Chien-yüan VI, iii, the last day, jen-hsü, according to Hoang. Jen-hsü [OMITTED] may easily be misread as ping-ch'en [OMITTED] and "three" may equally easily be mistaken as "two." Year-periods were not inaugurated until 138 114 or 113 B.C., so that the mistake of one year is equally intelligible. The original record probably read the year "six," which was misread "seven" before it was inserted into the list in the "Treatise," ch. 27.

Hence Apr. 5, 135 B.C. was probably the actual date of this eclipse. Since the list in the "Treatise" seems to be that of the court astronomers in Ch'ang-an, it is peculiar that this and the preceding eclipses must have been entered into that list without having been visible in Ch'ang-an. The previous eclipse may have actually been visible in the capital; the southern limit of visibility for the present eclipse, according to Neugebauer's method, was about 40° N in the longitude of Ch'ang-an; it was visible at sunrise at T'ai-yüan. v. In Yüan-kuang I, vii, a day before the last day of the month, kuei-wei, a fifth eclipse is recorded (6: 5b; 27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 11: 4b). The "Treatise" adds, "It was eight degrees in Yi4." Hoang equates this date with Aug. 19, 134 B.C., for which day Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2555. He calculates the sun in long. 142° = 143° R.A. Of the stars in Yi4, α Hydrae was then in 136° R.A., α and γ Crateris in 139° and 145° R.A. There is thus a fair approximation. This eclipse must have been quite prominent; Oppolzer charts the path of totality as passing through the modern Irkutsk and southern Manchuria. vi. In Yüan-so II, a sixth eclipse of the sun is recorded. HS 6: 10b dates it iii, the last day, yi-hai. HS 27: Cb: 14a dates it ii, the last day, yi-szu, and adds, "It was 3 degrees in Wei4," Han-chi 12: 3a dates it ii; the last day, yi-hai. Hoang equates the date in the "Annals" with May 6, 127, and that in the "Treatise" with Apr. 6, 127. He gives no yi-hai day in the second month, so that the Han-chi's date is impossible. Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2570 for Apr. 6, 127, and nothing for the other date, so that the recording in the "Treatise" is correct. It is interesting that the Han-chi gives a dating partly like the incorrect one in the "Annals" and partly like the correct one in the "Treatise." Probably in the second century, when the Han-chi was composed, the text of the "Annals" contained the reading now in the Han-chi (possibly Pan Ku originally had an incorrect record before him), and later someone, who knew that such a date was impossible, corrected the text by changing the month, for the emendation of the month is the easiest one and gives a seemingly correct result. This eclipse was visible in the Mediterranean world, especially in Babylonia. Oppolzer and Ginzel both calculate that the path of totality passed through northern Sinkiang and just east of Lake Baikal. They 139 calculate the sun in long. 12° = 14° R.A. The principal star of Wei4, 35 Arietis, was then in 11° R.A. In the period of 7 years between the preceding eclipse and this one, no eclipses were visible in China.[3] vii. In Yüan-so VI, xi, kuei-ch'ou, the last day of the month, a seventh eclipse is listed (27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 12: 9a). The "Annals" do not list it; the Han-chi puts it at the end of the year, on the day kuei-yu. Hoang gives no kuei-ch'ou day in the eleventh month of that year, but does give a kuei-yu day as the 19th day of the month, Dec. 14, 124 B.C., at the beginning, not the end of the year. In the 5 years from the preceding to the next correctly recorded eclipse in 122 B.C., there were 11 eclipses, of which 2 were visible in China.[4] Calculation of the eclipse of Feb. 3, 124 B.C. shows that it was invisible in Ch'ang-an and the present Peiping, but it reached a magnitude of 0.05 at 2:10 p.m. local time in the ancient So-fang, the present Ning-hsia, which had recently been conquered. Such a small eclipse in so remote a spot would hardly have been noticed. The eclipse of Jan. 23, 123 B.C. was visible in Ch'ang-an and places south and east. It occurred in Yüan-so VI, xii, the last day, kuei-ch'ou. The record plainly points to the eclipse of Jan. 23, 123 B.C.; the error in dating, reading xii as xi, is quite natural.

viii. In Yüan-shou I, v, yi-szu, the last day of the month, an eighth eclipse is recorded (6: 14a; 27 Cb: 14a; Han-chi 12: 13). The "Treatise" adds, "It was 6 degrees in [the constellation] Liu. According to the calculations of Ching Fang [77-37 B.C.] in his Yi-chuan, when, as at this time, the sun is eclipsed from its right side, his rule says that the prince will lose a minister." Hoang equates this date with July 9, 122 B.C. for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2582. He charts the path of this annular-total eclipse as passing through central Shensi, just north of Ch'ang-an. He calculates the sun as in long. 102° = 103° R.A.; the principal star of Liu, δ Hydrae, was then in 101° R.A. ix. In Yüan-ting V, iv, the last day, ting-ch'ou, a ninth eclipse of the sun is listed (6: 21a; 27 Cb: 14b). The Han-chi does not list this eclipse. 140 The "Treatise" adds, "It was 23 degrees in [the constellation] Tung-ching." Hoang equates this date with June 18, 112 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2606. He charts the moon's umbra as passing through Suiyüan and Jehol, and calculates the sun's longitude as 83° = 82° R.A. The principal star of Tung-ch'ing, ν Gemini, was then in 66° R.A. In the ten years since the preceding eclipse and down to this eclipse, there were 23 solar eclipses, of which only one was visible in China.[5] This eclipse occurred on Aug. 19, 115 B.C. It reached a magnitude of only 0.28 at 11:21 a.m. local time in Ch'ang-an, so might naturally have been missed. x. In Yüan-feng IV, vi, the first day, chi-yu, a tenth eclipse is listed (27 Cb: 14b). This eclipse is not found in the "Annals" or in the Han-chi. Hoang equates the date with June 24, 107 B.C., but there was no eclipse on that date. Chu Wen-hsin, in his Li-tai Jih-shih K'ao, p. 30, suggests the eclipse of Sept. 19, 107 B.C. In the six years from the preceding eclipse to the next correctly listed one in 96 B.C., there were 37 solar eclipses, of which five were visible in China.[6] These were the eclipses on (1) Apr. 6, 108 B.C., Yüan-feng III, iii, last day, yi-yu, which reached a magnitude of 0.32 at 3:29 p.m. at Ch'ang-an; (2) Sept. 19, 107, Yüan-feng, IV, viii, last day, ping-tzu, which was invisible in Ch'ang-an but reached a magnitude of 0.34 at the present Peiping at sunrise; (3) July 19, 104 B.C., T'ai-ch'u I, vii, first day, keng-yin; (4) Dec. 3, 103 B.C., T'ai-ch'u II, xi, first day, jen-tzu, which reached a magnitude of 0.12 at 1:42 p.m. at Ch'ang-an; and (5) May 17, 101 B.C., T'ai-ch'u IV, iii, the day before the last, jen-yin, which reached a magnitude of 0.45 at 4:20 p.m. at Ch'ang-an. Of these eclipses, the one of Apr. 6, 108 is the most plausible one, for chi[OMITTED]-yu may easily be mistaken for yi[OMITTED]-yu. If Hoang gauged incorrectly the number of days in a month, yi-yu might have been the first day of the fourth month. The eclipse of July 19, 104 was on the right day of the month; chi-ch'ou [OMITTED] (which may easily be misread for chi-yu [OMITTED]) is the 141 day before keng-yin; but the year-period, year, and month present difficulties.[7] The day of the eclipse of Sept. 19, 107, ping-tzu, presents insuperable difficulties, and the eclipse was invisible in the capital, which seems to be the locality indicated for the list in the "Treatise." In all probability Apr. 6, 108 B.C. was the actual date of this eclipse. It is interesting that from the beginning of Emperor Ching's reign in 154 B.C. down to the eclipse of June 18, 112 B.C., every eclipse that could reasonably be expected to be recorded was actually listed, while here within six years at least four eclipses seem to have been missed. Why should this failure have occurred just before the calendar was rectified? xi. In T'ai-shih I, i, yi-szu, the last day of the month, an eleventh eclipse is recorded (HS 27 Cb: 14b; Han-chi 15: 1a). The "Annals" do

not list this eclipse. According to the correction of Hoang's calendar in Chavannes, Documents chinois, p. 71 (cf. n. 35.6), this date was Feb. 22, 96 B.C. Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2644 for Feb. 23, 96 B.C. and charts it as visible in China. This mistake of one day may well have been that of Hoang's calculations. Chavannes found, on a tablet discovered by Stein in a Han watch-tower in the desert, a record giving the cyclical day for the first day of the twelfth month in T'ai-shih I, which shows that the intercalary month was added at the end of T'ai-shih I, not in T'ien-han IV, as Hoang has it. This change discovered by Chavannes gives a date correct within one day for this eclipse. Neither Hoang, in his Catalogue des éclipses de soleil et de lune nor Chu Wen-hsin, in his Li-tai Jih-shih K'ao, seems to have noticed this necessary correction in Hoang's calendar. Hoang concludes that no eclipse corresponds to this listing! This unexpected tallying shows the essential correctness both of Han recordings and (within a limit of about three days) of Hoang's calendar. xii. In T'ai-shih IV, x, chia-yin, the last day, a twelfth eclipse is listed (HS 6: 36b; 27 Cb: 14b; Han-chi 15: 3a). The "Treatise" adds, "It was 19 degrees in [the constellation] Tou." Hoang equates this day with Dec. 12, 93 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2652 and charts the moon's umbra as passing through Suiyüan and Chahar. He calculates the sun's longitude 142 as 258° = 257° R.A. The principal star of Tou, φ Sagitarii, was then in 249° R.A. This eclipse was also visible in Athens, Memphis, and Babylon. Hoang lists this day, however, as the first day of the eleventh month, so that one day probably needs to be added to some preceding month. In the three years since the preceding eclipse, there were 7 solar eclipses, none of which was visible in China.[8] xiii. In Cheng-ho IV, viii, hsin-yu, the last day, a thirteenth eclipse is listed (HS 6: 38a; 27 Cb: 14b; Han-chi 15: 11a. The Han-chi reads, "the seventh month.") The "Treatise" adds, "It was partial, like a hook, 2 degrees in [the constellation] K'ang. In the late afternoon [3-5 p.m.], the lower part of the sun was eclipsed from the northwest. In the late afternoon, the eclipse was [also] over." Hoang equates this date with Sept. 29, 89 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2661. Calculation shows that this eclipse reached a magnitude of 0.85 at 3:41 p.m., local time at Ch'ang-an; that it commenced at 2:21 p.m. and ended at 4.53 p.m. The sun's longitude was 183° = 183° R.A.; the principal star of K'ang, κ Virginis, was then in 186° R.A. There was thus a close checking (except in longitude) between the recording and calculation. In the four years since the preceding eclipse, there were 8 solar eclipses, of which only one, that of Oct. 11, 90 B.C. was visible in China.[9] Calculation shows that this one reached a magnitude of 0.17 at sunrise in Ch'ang-an. [1] Cf. 4: App. II, ix. The eclipse of June 17, 139 B.C. is the most promising of these eclipses; calculation shows however that it was invisible in all China. [2] In addition to those charted by Oppolzer, there were 4 partial eclipses, two of which, nos. 2550 and 2553, were located near the south polar regions. No. 2552 was calculated from Oppolzer's elements and found plainly invisible in China. The other one was visible in China. [3] Oppolzer lists 14 eclipses, 4 of them partial. Three of these partial eclipses were near the south pole, and the other, upon calculation, was found invisible in China. Of

the umbral eclipses, no. 2561, which might appear to be visible, was calculated from Oppolzer's elements and found clearly invisible. [4] Besides those charted by Oppolzer, there were 3 partial eclipses, one of which was visible in China. No. 2577 was located near the south pole; no. 2578 was calculated and found invisible in China. [5] In addition to those charted by Oppolzer, there were 9 partial eclipses; nos. 2586, 2593, 2596, 2603 were near the south pole; the others were calculated from Oppolzer's elements and all found clearly invisible in China. [6] Besides those charted by Oppolzer, there were 13 partial eclipses; nos. 2611, 2612, 2620, 2629, 2636, 2639 were near the south pole. Nos. 2610, 2619, 2621, 2627, 2637, 2638 were calculated from Oppolzer's elements and found invisible in China. In addition nos. 2607, 2641, and 2642 were calculated by Neugebauer's elements and found invisible in China. The first and last of these were not quite visible in the present Canton. [7] The eclipse of May 17, 101 has also claims to be the one listed; the number of the year is correct, the number of the month is understandable, for "three" might be misread as "six" and the day jen-yin is the third day before the day yi-szu [OMITTED], which might have been misread for chi-yu [OMITTED]. But the day in the month and the year-period are wrong. [8] Besides those charted by Oppolzer, there were two partial eclipses; no. 2646 was near the south pole; no. 2647 was not visible in Chinese latitudes. No. 2649 was also calculated from Oppolzer's elements and found invisible. [9] Besides those charted, there were 3 partial eclipses; nos. 2654 and 2655 were near the south pole; no. 2653 was not visible in Chinese latitudes. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

143

VII. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY CHAPTER VII EMPEROR HSIAO-CHAO

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI VII. CHAPTER VII INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION The sources and nature of this and the remaining "Annals" Concerning the authorship and sources of this and the remaining chapters in the "Annals," there is little to be said. These chapters have the same characteristics as the preceding chapter—they are a chronological summary listing the important events of the reign, summarizing briefly the history to be found elsewhere in this voluminous work. The sources used by Pan Ku seem also to be the same as for the previous chapter, with the difference that Szu-ma Ch'ien died some time about the end of Emperor Wu's reign or the beginning of Emperor Chao's reign, so that the SC was not available as a source for this chapter, except for the supplementary accounts that had later been introduced into its text. The virtual regency of Ho Kuang This short period of only thirteen years (87-74 B.C.) was primarily a time of recuperation from the excessive drains made upon the country during the reign of Emperor Wu. The chief events of the period were the virtual regency of Ho Kuang, the attempt to overthrow him led by the Shang-kuan clan, and his relief of the people from many of the exactions made by Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu, moreover, was an excellent judge of character; when his death was approaching, he selected his youngest son as his heir and picked Ho Kuang to control the government. There was no constitutional provision for a regency, except for one by the close relatives of an infant ruler. Precedents for such a form of regency were to be found in the acts of the ideal rulers and ministers recounted in ancient and recent history, especially in the Book of History, and in the deeds of Confucius' hero, the Duke of Chou. These precedents found in ancient and recent history composed the virtual constitution of the Chinese state, and the Erudits (together with the graduates of the Imperial University entitled Authorities upon Ancient Matters) were expected to be able to advise the ruler or the officials, concerning these constitutional precedents. The First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty had proscribed and burned the Book of History because he, an autocrat, would not follow ancient 144 practises. Emperor Wu had distrusted his own clan, and so had kept its members from any power in the imperial government; one of Ho Kuang's first deeds, after he came to power, was to appoint members of the imperial clan to government positions. Emperor Wu had made Ho Kuang Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief (one of the three highest ministers) and gave him a testamentary edict directing him to assist the young emperor. He was not made regent, but merely assistant to the young ruler. A regent not only controlled the government, but also performed many of the rites permitted to a Son of Heaven. Ho Kuang remained, in rank, merely a minister, for he was not even distantly related to the throne. [When previously there had been virtual regency, the Empress of the Kao-tsu had seated herself upon the throne and ruled, but she was not entitled a regent. As a woman, she could not take the place

[Chapter] VII THE SEVENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II VIII. CHAPTER VIII IX. CHAPTER IX X. CHAPTER X ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

of a man. She was merely ruling for the Emperor in the capacity of his mother. The first titular regent in Han times was Wang Mang, who in February, A.D. 6, was given an edict allowing him to perform the rites allowed to a Son of Heaven (99 A: 25b).] Ho Kuang was a legitimate son of Ho Ch'ü-ping's father, and had probably been a close attendant upon Emperor Wu for more than twenty years. He was the ideal person for the position—quiet, steady, careful, methodical, and reliable. He is said to have had a particular place in which to stand in court and not to have varied one foot from his usual position. In addition to his other titles, he became Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing, and controlled the government through this latter office. The control exercised by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing The Masters of Writing (Shang-shu) were the private secretaries of the emperor. Government business came to the emperor in the form of memorials; the Masters of Writing received these memorials and brought them to the attention of the emperor. They then prepared his replies or sent the memorials to the appropriate officials for action. The emperor naturally consulted with his Masters of Writing, so that this position became an important one. This office had been inherited by the Han from the Ch'in dynasty. Before the time of Emperor Wu, these Masters of Writing do not seem to have been important, since government business came first to the ministers, especially the Lieutenant Chancellor or Grandee Secretary, who presented their recommendations to the emperor for enactment. Emperor Wu however took to himself the actual control of the government, so that governmental affairs were brought directly to him. Hence 145 his private secretaries became important. Emperor Wu spent a large part of his time in the harem, where the Masters of Writing, who were not eunuchs, could not go. Consequently he established a new office, that of Palace Writer (Chung-shu), a eunuch position, in order that his private secretaries could be with him even in the imperial harem. (Szu-ma Ch'ien was made a Palace Writer after his punishment; possibly one of Emperor Wu's reasons for allowing Szu-ma Ch'ien to be thus punished was to have a capable person in that office.) Because of court opposition to eunuchs, the office of Palace Writer was abolished in 29 B.C. It did not have any importance during the reign of Emperor Chao. When matters were brought to the attention of the government, duplicates or abstracts had to be presented along with all memorials. The duplicate was opened by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing; unless he approved the memorial, the matter was not brought to the attention of the emperor. The Intendant of Affairs could thus control the government by the simple expedient of controlling the emperor's sources of information. A vigorous emperor might break through these limitations, but the government business was so voluminous that some sifting out of unimportant matters was unavoidable and the person who did so inevitably obtained considerable control over the government. Hence the attempt to make the emperor an absolute autocrat resulted in making him dependent upon his entourage. When he was Emperor, Wang Mang worked night and day, attempting to deal in person with all government documents, but was unable to keep up with his work. Thus Emperor Wu, in making the emperor an absolute autocrat, virtually subverted the fundamental constitution of the state for himself and his successors, by taking most of the governmental power away from the Lieutenant Chancellor and the Grandee Secretary, who were supposed to head the government. The result was that this power came into the hands of whatever clique had the emperor's ear or had entrenched itself with the imperial private secretaries. After the time of Emperor Wu, the control of the government was usually held by the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing or by the Chief Palace Writer. Since these titles did not carry any high rank in the court, the Intendant of Affairs was usually made concurrently the Commander-inchief. In his capacity as virtual regent, Ho Kuang showed himself faithful

and reliable. Emperor Chao was only in his eighth year when he came to the throne in 87 B.C.; when he was in his eighteenth year, he was capped, thereby being entitled to rule in person. Ho Kuang had had the Emperor's entire confidence and the young Emperor had defended 146 him against slander and intrigue, so the Emperor continued Ho Kuang in control of the government to the end of his reign. The abortive intrigue against Ho Kuang The only serious difficulty Ho Kuang had to face was a palace intrigue which threatened his life and the throne itself. Emperor Chao was Emperor Wu's youngest son. After Emperor Wu's first Heir-apparent, Liu Chü, had been killed, his next eldest living son was Liu Tan4a, King of Yen. Liu Tan naturally expected to be made the Heir, and asked to resign his kingdom and come to the capital to attend upon Emperor Wu. The latter however resented the suggestion, executed the messenger who brought it, and later, on a legal pretext, deprived Liu Tan4a of some territory. When Emperor Chao had been enthroned, Liu Tan4a naturally felt he had been cheated. To pacify him, Ho Kuang had him granted thirty million cash and the income of thirteen thousand families. But Liu Tan4a continued to be dissatisfied, and caused an ugly rumor to be circulated that Emperor Chao was not an actual son of Emperor Wu. He also made military preparations, executing those of his officials who remonstrated. Ho Kuang heard of the matter and executed Liu Tan4a's agent, who had circulated the rumor. The marriage of the youthful Emperor fanned the opposition to Ho Kuang. Closely associated with Ho Kuang in the government were Shang-kuan Chieh and Chin Mi-ti. Ho Kuang had married two of his daughters to the eldest sons of these two men. Chin Mi-ti died a year after Emperor Chao came to the throne. The new Emperor's elder half-sister, the Elder Princess of O-yi, was made the boy Emperor's nurse to care for him in the palace. She was a widow, and fell in love with a commoner, Ting Wai-jen. To please her, Ting Wai-jen was made her personal attendant. Shang-kuan Chieh and his son, Shang-kuan An, were ambitious; to secure their power, they planned to make Shang-kuan An's young daughter, who was Ho Kuang's granddaughter, the Empress. The Elder Princess had already taken a girl into the Palace to be Emperor Chao's future mate; therefore Shang-kuan Chieh and his son promised Ting Wai-jen a marquisate if he would induce the Elder Princess to have Shang-kuan An's daughter married to the Emperor. If he were a marquis, Ting Wai-jen would be able to marry the Elder Princess. Ho Kuang disapproved, thinking that the girl was too young. But the Elder Princess, being the titular mother of the Emperor, decided the matter. The girl was summoned to the Palace and married a month later. The Emperor was then in his twelfth year and the Empress in her sixth year. 147 This marriage was disapproved by later Confucians, who criticize the ministers for lack of education and the courtiers for failing to protest against permitting a marriage before the boy was capped. Ho Kuang now refused to make Ting Wai-jen a marquis or even to promote him. So Shang-kuan Chieh, his son, and the Elder Princess all came to have grudges against Ho Kuang. The Grandee Secretary, Sang Hung-yang, who was proud of the fiscal arrangements and government monopolies he had founded, was smarting under the criticisms made against him, with Ho Kuang's permission, by the common people recommended to office, and he joined the clique opposing Ho Kuang. They communicated with Liu Tan4a, who sent them large presents and, at their direction, made an accusation against Ho Kuang to the Emperor. When this accusation had no effect, the clique planned to have the Elder Princess invite Ho Kuang to a feast at which he would be assassinated. Thereafter Emperor Chao would be degraded and Liu Tan4a would become emperor; or, as Shang-kuan An planned it, Liu Tan4a would be lured to the capital, killed, and Shang-kuan Chieh would become emperor.

But a member of the Elder Princess' suite heard of the plot and Ho Kuang was informed. Shang-kuan Chieh, his son, Sang Hung-yang, and the other conspirators were executed; the Elder Princess and Liu Tan4a were allowed to commit suicide. Liu Tan4a's sons were merely pardoned and made commoners; six years later, when Emperor Hsüan came to the throne, Ho Kuang had Liu Tan4a's two younger sons made marquises and the elder son made a King. Henceforth Ho Kuang's power was unchallenged. Ho Kuang's lightening of the people's burdens Although Ho Kuang spent almost all of his life, from his teens on, at the court, first as Palace Attendant and finally as the actual ruler, he came from the common people and knew their sufferings. He had been trained by Emperor Wu and continued that Emperor's type of government. But the impoverished and depopulated condition of the country caused him, at the suggestion of Tu Yen-niena, to make one change after another, each in the direction of returning to the practises customary before the time of Emperor Wu, so that the collapse of the country, which must have been impending, was averted and recuperation was possible. The economic reforms of Ho Kuang covered a wide range. Loans were made to poor people, payment of which was remitted; taxes were remitted in bad years; payment of taxes in kind was permitted when the price of grain became low. The forced contribution of horses was stopped. Unnecessary commanderies, unnecessary government 148 offices, and unnecessary services required from the people were abolished. The amount of grain transported to the capital was decreased; imperial lands were distributed to the people. The poll-tax on children was lightened. Most remarkable of all was the debate held in 81 B.C. when outstanding persons from various parts of the empire were recommended for office and sent to the capital. In their civil service examination, they were asked about what the people suffered from and what the government should do, and all replied that the government monopoly of salt and iron, the monopoly of fermented liquors, and the bureau of equalization and standards (through which the government speculated in goods) should be abolished and the government should set an example of economy (24 B: 20b). The Grandee Secretary, Sang Hung-yang, who had previously established these monopolies, replied to their criticisms in a series of court discussions. A generation later Huan K'uan wrote a lively report of these discussions, the Discourses on Salt and Iron (the name of the chief monopolies), which may very likely represent, to a large extent, the principal arguments actually used, although his account makes much of literary effects. The monopolies on salt and iron were too productive of revenue to be eliminated, but the monopoly on fermented liquor was abolished and brewing was permitted to private persons upon the payment of a tax. His conduct of foreign affairs In foreign affairs, Ho Kuang likewise pursued the policies of Emperors Wen and Ching, that of merely defending the frontiers, instead of sending expeditions deep into enemy territory. The Huns had been worn out by Emperor Wu's many military expeditions and were glad to ask for peace with the Chinese, so that the northern borders had a chance to recuperate. In dealing with other tribes, Ho Kuang was not so happy. He manifested the same blindness and carelessness towards weak foreign tribes as that witnessed in many other excellent administrators. Unnecessary trouble with the Wu-huan and with Lou-lan resulted. In 78 B.C., Fan Ming-yu was sent out of the northeast border to assist the Wu-huan against the Huns; when he found the Huns had withdrawn, he remembered that his orders were not to make the expedition in vain, so he attacked the friendly Wu-huan, taking more than 6200 heads, including those of three chieftains. Fan Ming-yu was made a marquis for this exploit and the Wu-huan thereafter raided the Chinese border. In the northwest, the subject state of Lou-lan, located around the present Lop-nor, athwart the road south of the desert, had several times harassed and killed Chinese envoys. Threatened by both Chinese and

149 Huns, its King had sent sons to both courts as hostages. This King died; the son who was at the Chinese court had been sentenced to castration for a crime, so that the Chinese did not dare to send him back, and another son was made King. This king likewise sent sons as hostages to the Chinese and Hun courts. When this king died, the son who had been at the Hun court returned home first and became King. The new King continued to harass Chinese envoys, and the King's younger brother at the Chinese court, who was pro-Chinese, reported these matters. Ho Kuang sent an envoy, Fu Chieh-tzu, with a small following, to assassinate this King. Fu Chieh-tzu lured the suspicious King to his camp by exhibiting rich presents, made him drunk, and took him to his tent by a ruse, where two soldiers stabbed him. The King's followers fled and his younger brother was brought from China and made King. The new King was given a lady of the Chinese imperial harem for his wife, and asked for a Chinese guard to protect him, so that a major with forty soldiers was sent to encamp in his capital and his state's name was changed to Shan-shan. Fu Chieh-tzu was given a small marquisate for this exploit. Two centuries later, Pan Ch'ao successfully imitated his example. In this way, although Ho Kuang was careful to treat his own people kindly, he was careless of the means for success outside the border. 151

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY] [Chapter] VII THE SEVENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Chao Emperor Hsiao-chao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu. His mother was entitled the Favorite Beauty [née] Chao. She had originally secured [Emperor Wu's] favor because about her there had been extraordinary and strange [portents]; when she bore the [future] Emperor, there was also an extraordinary and strange [circumstance].[1] A discussion is in the "Memoir of the [Imperial] Relatives by Marriage." 97 A: 16a, b At the end of Emperor Wu's [reign], his Heir-apparent Li, [Liu Chü, had revolted and] had been defeated; and [Liu] Tan4a, King of Yen, and [Liu] Hsü, King of Kuang-ling, [other sons of Emperor Wu], had been arrogant and disrespectful in their conduct.[3] [Consequently] when, in [the period] 87 B.C. Hou-yüan, the second year, the second month, the Mar./Apr. Emperor was sick, he thereupon set up [the future] Mar. 27[7] Emperor Chao, who was in his eighth year, as his Heir-apparent. He made the Palace Attendant and Chief Commandant Custodian of Imperial Equipages, Ho Kuang, the Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief, and had [the latter] receive a testamentary edict [directing him] to act as assistant to the young ruler. On the next day, Emperor Wu died Mar. 29[9] and, on [the day] mou-ch'en, the Heir-apparent took Mar. 30 the imperial throne and was presented in the [ancestral] 1b 152 87 B.C.

Temple of [Emperor] Kao. The [new] Em7: 2a

peror's eldest [half]-sister, the Princess of O-yi, [who was given the income of] additional private estates and became the Elder Princess, served and cared for [the young Emperor] in the Inner Apartments [of the imperial palace]. The General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, controlled the government and was Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. The General of Chariots and Cavalry, Chin Mi-ti, and the General of the Left, Shang-kuan Chieh, assisted him. July/Aug. In the summer, the sixth month, an amnesty [was granted to] the Empire. In the autumn, the Aug./Sept. seventh month, a comet appeared in the eastern quarter,[16] and the King of Chi-po, [Liu] K'uan, who had committed crimes, killed himself.[17] [Imperial] grants were made to the Elder Princess, [the Princess of O-yi], and to members of the imperial house of the same generation [as the Emperor], to each proportionately. The Favorite Beauty [née] Chao was posthumously honored and made the Empress Dowager, and the Yün Tomb was built [for her]. Winter In the winter, the Huns entered So-fang [Commandery], killing and kidnapping officials and common people, and an army was mobilized to encamp in Hsi-ho [Commandery]. The General of the Left, [Shang-kuan] Chieh, inspected the northern borders. 2a I In [the period] Shih-yüan, the first year, in the 86 B.C. spring, the first month,[22] a yellow swan came down Feb. upon the T'ai-yi Pond of Chien-chang Palace.[24] 153 7: 2a 86 B.C. 154 86 B.C. The high ministers presented their congratulations and [the Emperor] granted gold [in terms of] cash to the vassal kings, the marquises, and the [members of] the imperial house, to each proportionately. On Feb. 24 [the day] chi-hai, the Emperor plowed [the sacred field] in the Amusement Fields of the Intendant of [Imperial Palace] Parks.[29] He increased the fiefs of the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], and of the King of Kuang-ling, [Liu Hsü], together with [that of] the Elder Princess of O-yi, each by thirteen thousand Summer households. In the summer, a funerary park and temple were built for the [deceased] Empress Dowager [née Chao] at Yün-ling. Twenty-four towns revolted, [including] Lien-t'ou and Ku-tseng of Yi-chou [Commandery] and T'anchih

and T'ung-pan of Tsang-k'o [Commandery. 2b The Emperor] sent the Chief Commandant of Waters and Parks, Lü P'o-hu, to levy officials and people [for the army], and to mobilize the emergency troops of Chien-wei and Shu Commanderies.[32] He 155 7: 3a attacked [the rebels in] Yi Province and routed them 86 B.C.

severely. A high official begged that Ho-nei [Commandery] should belong to Chi Province and Ho-tung [Commandery] to Ping Province.[35] In the autumn, the Autumn seventh month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire and [every] hundred households of the common people were granted an ox and wine. There was a great rain and the Wei [River] Bridge broke. In the eighth month, after it had become known Sept. that Liu Tsê5c, the grandson of King Hsiao of Ch'i, [Liu Chiang-lü], had plotted to rebel, intending to 3a kill Ch'üan Pu-yi, the Inspector of Ch'ing Province, [Lin Tsê5c] and all [the conspirators] suffered execution. [Ch'üan] Pu-yi was promoted to be Governor of the Capital and was granted a million cash.[39] In the ninth month, on [the day] ping-tzu, the Sept. 29 General of Chariots and Cavalry, Chin Mi-ti, died. In the intercalary month, the former Commandant Nov./Dec. of Justice, Wang P'ing, and others, five persons [in all], were sent with credentials to inspect the commanderies and kingdoms, to recommend capable and good [persons], to ask the common people about what they suffered from and were distressed by and about those who had lost their occupations because of 156 86 B.C. Winter wrongs done to them. In the winter, there 7: 3b

was no ice. II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, 85 B.C. because the General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, and the Feb./Mar. General of the Left, [Shang-kuan] Chieh, had both previously distinguished themselves in capturing and decapitating the rebel caitiffs, [the Palace Attendant Supervisor, Ma Ho-lo,[47] and] the Marquis of Chung-ho, Ma T'ung; [Ho] Kuang was enfeoffed as Marquis of Po-lu and [Shang-kuan] Chieh [was enfeoffed] as

Marquis of An-yang. Because no members of the imperial house held [official] positions, Liu Pi-ch'iangb and Liu Chang-lo 3b were recommended as Accomplished Talents, and were both made Imperial Palace Grandees. [Liu] Pi-ch'iangb [was appointed] Acting Commandant of the Palace Guard at Ch'ang-lo [Palace].[49] Apr./May In the third month, messengers were sent to assist and lend to those poor people who had no seed or Sept./Oct. food. In the autumn, the eighth month, an imperial edict said, "In the past [few] years there have been many visitations and calamities; this year the silk and wheat have been injured. Do not collect their 157 7: 4a debts from those who have been assisted or loaned 85 B.C.

seed and food. Let it not be ordered that the people shall pay this year's land tax on cultivated fields."[54] In the winter, trained fighting-men and archers Winter were mobilized and sent to So-fang [Commandery].[56] Retired officers were selected to command the agricultural garrisons in Chang-yi Commandery. In the third year, in the spring, the second month, III a comet appeared in the northwest.[58] In the 84 B.C. autumn, common people were solicited to move to Mar./Apr. Yün-ling, and [those who did so] were to be granted Autumn money, fields, and residences. In the winter, the tenth month, phoenixes perched in Tung-hai [Commandery] Nov. and messengers were sent to sacrifice at that place. In the eleventh month, on [the day] jen-ch'en, the first day of the month, there was an Dec. 3 eclipse of the sun.[64] In the fourth year, in the spring, the third month, IV on [the day] chia-yin, the Empress née Shang-kuan 83 B.C. was established [as Empress], an amnesty [was Apr. 24 granted] to the empire, and accusations and legal cases [which dated from] before the second year of 87 B.C. [the period] Hou-[yüan[69] were ordered] all to be dismissed. In the summer, the sixth month, the 4a Empress [née Shang-kuan] was presented in the Temple June/July 158

83 B.C. of [Emperor] Kao and grants of money and silk 7: 4a

were made to the Elder Princess, [the Princess of O-yi], the Lieutenant Chancellor, [T'ien Ch'ien-ch'iu], the generals, the marquises, [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and under, together with Gentlemen, officials, and [members of] the imperial house, to each proportionately. Rich people from the three capital commanderies were moved to Yün-ling and each household was granted a hundred thousand cash. July/Aug. In the autumn, the seventh month, an imperial edict said, "For successive years there have not been good harvests and the common people have been lacking in food, [so that] those who have moved away [from their homes] to take employment have not yet all returned [home]. In the past, it was ordered that the common people should by groups contribute horses [to the government]. Let [this practise] be stopped, [so that] they shall not [be required to] contribute [horses, and let] those who have been contributing them for the offices at the imperial capital have [the number required from them] temporarily reduced." Winter In the winter, the Grand Herald, T'ien Kuang-ming, was sent to attack [the rebels in] Yi Province. The Commandant of Justice, Li Chung, was sentenced for having purposely set free [persons who had committed] capital crimes, and was publicly executed. V In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month, 82 B.C. [Father Chao], the father of the Empress Dowager Feb./Mar. [née Chao], was posthumously honored and made Marquis of Shun-ch'eng. A man of Hsia-yang, Chang Yen-nien, came to the northern Portal [of the Palace] and called himself the Heir-apparent [whose mother was née] Wei, [Liu Chü. He was attempting to] deceive and mislead [the emperor, consequently he was executed by being] cut in two at the waist. 159

7: 4b In the summer, the communes (t'ing) [for the 82 B.C.

Summer raising of] mares were abolished [all over] the empire, together with the barriers [for preventing the exportation of] horses and cross-bows.[82] In the sixth month, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the July/Aug. father of the Empress [née Shang-kuan], the General of Agile Cavalry, Shang-kuan An, as Marquis of 4b

Sang-lo. An imperial edict said, "We, with our insignificant person, have obtained [the opportunity] to protect the [imperial] ancestral temples. Tremblingly and circumspectly we have risen early and gone to bed late [in order to] cultivate [Ourself] in the practises of the ancient lords and kings. [Although We] 160 82 B.C. have been made acquainted with the Classic of 7: 5a

Filial Piety, the Analects, and the Book of History, through the teaching of [Our Grand] Guardian and [Grand] Tutor, [yet We can]not say that [We] have any perfect understanding [of them]. Let it be ordered that the Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies should each recommend two Capable and Good [persons] and that the commanderies and kingdoms should each [recommend] one Literary Scholar of high standing [for appointment in the imperial government]." Noble ranks were granted to [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs on down to the [low] officials and the common people, to each proportionately. The commanderies of Tan-erh and Chen-p'an were disestablished.[87] Autumn In the autumn, the Grand Herald, [T'ien] Kuang-ming, and his Chief of the Army, Wang P'ing, 5a attacked [the rebels in] Yi Province, cutting off heads and taking captives [to the number of] more than thirty thousand persons, and capturing more than fifty thousand head of domestic animals.[90] VI In the sixth year, in the spring, the first month, 81 B.C. the Emperor plowed [a Sacred Field] in Shang-lin Feb./Mar. [Park]. In the second month, an imperial edict Mar./Apr. [ordered that] the [high] officials should ask the Capable and Good [persons] and the Literary Scholars who had been recommended by the commanderies and kingdoms about what the common people suffered from or were distressed by. There was a discussion concerning the abolition of the 161 7: 5b salt and iron [monopoly] and the [government] 81 B.C.

monopoly dealing [in fermented drinks].[97] The Superintendent of [the Stable] Among the Plum Trees, Su Wu, who had previously been sent [as an envoy] to the Huns and had been held at the court of the Shan-yü to the nineteenth year [of his captivity], was moreover [now allowed to] return. He had upheld [the dignity of] an envoy and had

preserved his credentials, [hence Su] Wu was made Director of Dependent States and was granted one million cash. Summer In the summer, there was a [great] drought and great sacrifices for rain [were held, during which] the lighting of fires was not allowed.[99] In the autumn, the seventh month, the offices of Aug. the [government] monopoly dealing in [fermented drinks] were abolished,[101] and it was ordered that the common people should be allowed to testify to [their assessment for] the tax [on the right to sell liquor] in accordance with [the provisions concerning assessments in the legal] code, and should 5b 162 81 B.C. [be allowed to] sell wine at four cash per sheng.[104] 7: 5b Because the barrier at the borders was distant and far-removed, two prefectures were taken from each of T'ien-shui, Lung-hsi, and Chang-yi Commanderies, and [out of them] there was established Chin-ch'eng Commandery. An imperial edict said, "The Marquis of Kou-t'ing, Wu Po, has distinguished himself by leading his chiefs and people in attacking the rebel [southwestern barbarians] and by cutting off heads and taking captives. Let Wu Po be established as the King of Kou-t'ing. The Grand Herald, [T'ien] Kuang-ming, has distinguished himself as a general and leader; [let] him be granted the rank of Kuan-nei Marquis with the income of an estate."[106] I In [the period] Yüan-feng,[108] the first year, in the 80 B.C. spring, [because] the Elder Princess, [the Princess of Spring O-yi], had served and cared for [the young Emperor] and had toiled and suffered, the private estate of 163 7: 6a the Elder Princess was again increased [by the 80 B.C.

addition of Lan-t'ien [Prefecture]. King Tai of Szu-shui, [Liu Ho4a], had previously died; because he was not [said to have] had any heirs, his kingdom had been disestablished. [But a lady of his] harem had given birth to his posthumous child, [Liu] Huan, [about whom the deceased king's] Chancellor and Prefect of the Capital had not memorialized nor said [anything]. The Emperor heard [of the child] and had compassion upon him, [so he] set up [Liu] Huan as the King of Szu-shui; the Chancellor and the Prefect of the Capital were 6a both sent to prison.

In the third month, grants of fifty bolts of silk Mar./Apr. were made to each of those who had been selected by the commanderies and kingdoms as having [shown good] conduct and laudable [deeds, viz.:] to Han Fu from Cho Commandery and others, five persons [in all. They were then] sent home. An imperial edict said, "We are saddened [at the thought] that they should be made to toil at the affairs of official position. Let them apply themselves to the cultivation of filial devotion and brotherly respectfulness in order to instruct their districts and hamlets. [Let it be] ordered that the commanderies and prefectures shall regularly grant them, in the first month, a sheep and wine, and, when the [final] untoward event happens [to them, let them be] granted a complete suit of [burial] clothes and [let] a ram and a boar be sacrificed to them."[115] The Ti [barbarians] in Wu-tu [Commandery] rebelled; [the Emperor] sent to attack [the rebels] the Chief of Palace Police in the Capital, Ma-shih Chien, the Marquis of Lung-lo, Han Tseng, and the Grand 164 80 B.C. Herald,[117] [T'ien] Kuang-ming, leading convicts 7: 6b

[from the districts under the control of] the Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies, all of which [convicts] were freed from punishment. July/Aug. In the summer, the sixth month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire. In the autumn, the Sept. 20 seventh month, on [the day] chi-hai,[121] the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun and it Sept./Oct. was total. In the eighth month, [the Emperor] changed [the year-period] Shih-yüan to be Yüan-feng. Oct./Nov. In the ninth month, the Elder Princess of O-yi and the King of Yen, [Liu] Tan4a, who had plotted 6b rebellion with the General of the Left, Shang-kuan Chieh, [with] the son of [Shang-kuan] Chieh, the General of Agile Cavalry, [Shang-kuan] An, and with the Grandee Secretary, Sang Hung-yang, all suffered execution. Previously, [Shang-kuan] Chieh and [Shang-kuan] An, father and son, had contested for power with the General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang. They wished to kill him, so had falsely caused someone to write a petition from the King of Yen, [Liu] Tan4a, to the Emperor, telling of [Ho] Kuang's crimes. At that time the Emperor was in his fourteenth year,[125] [but] he had perceived its falsity. Later, when someone had slandered [Ho] Kuang, the Emperor had immediately become angry and said, "The General-in-chief, [Ho Kuang], is [the most] faithful minister of the government and was the one to whom the late Emperor [Wu] entrusted [the empire]; whoever dares to slander or speak evil 165

7: 7a of him shall be sentenced [to punishment]." From 80 B.C.

that [time on, Ho] Kuang had been able [to carry out] completely [whatever his sense of] loyalty [prompted]. A discussion is in the "Memoirs of 63: 7b-14a the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a]," and "of Ho Kuang." 68: 1a-4b In the winter, the tenth month, an imperial edict Nov./Dec. said, "The General of the Left, the Marquis of An-yang, [Shang-kuan] Chieh, the General of Agile Cavalry, the Marquis of Sang-lo, [Shang-kuan] An, and the Grandee Secretary, [Sang] Hung-yang, have all sought several times to assist in the government with evil and crooked [intentions]; when the Generalin-chief, [Ho Kuang], did not listen [to them], they cherished grudges and discontentment against him. They communicated and plotted with the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], established post relays going and coming, and made a mutual covenant and agreement with the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], who sent Shou-hsi Ch'ang, Sun Tsung-chih, and others to bribe and offer presents to the Elder Princess, to Ting Wai-jen, to the Internuncio Tu Yen-nienb, to the Chief Clerk of the General-in-chief, Kung-sun Yi, and to others. They interchanged secret letters and plotted together to have the Elder Princess [of O-yi] hold a feast [at which] soldiers should be ambushed, [with the purpose of] murdering the General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, and summoning and setting up the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], as the Son of Heaven. It was treason and an inhuman crime. 7a "The former Commissioner for the Rice Fields, Yen Ts'ang, first detected [the plot] and thereupon informed the Grand Minister of Agriculture, [Yang] Ch'ang. [Yang] Ch'ang told the Grandee Remonstrant, [Tu] Yen-niena. [Tu] Yen-nien reported it, and the Lieutenant Chancellor's Consultant, Jen Kung, [with his own] hand captured and beheaded [Shang-kuan] Chieh. The Lieutenant Chancellor's Junior Clerk, Wang [Shan]-shou, induced and led [Shang-kuan] An to enter the gate of [the Lieutenant 166 80 B.C. Chancellor's] yamen. All [of the conspirators] 7: 7b

have already suffered execution and the officials and common people have thereby secured peace. [Let Tu] Yen-nien, [Yen] Ts'ang, [Jen] Kung, and [Wang Shan]-shou all be enfeoffed as marquises." It also said, "The King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], was deluded and lost the [right] Way. He had formerly committed treason with Liu Tsê5c, the [grand]-son of the King of Ch'i, [Liu Chiang-lü], and others, [which matter] was repressed and not made public, hoping that the King would mend his ways and reform himself. But now he, with the Elder Princess,

the General of the Left, [Shang-kuan] Chieh, and others, plotted to endanger the [imperial] ancestral temples. The King and the Princess have both [caused] themselves to suffer for their crimes. Let the King's Heir-apparent, [Liu] Chien4d, the son of the Princess, [Wang] Wen-hsin, together with the young people of the imperial house who plotted rebellion with the King of Yen, [Liu Tan4a]. Shang-kuan Chieh, and the others, and their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, who ought to be sentenced [with them], be all dismissed [from their noble ranks and official positions in lieu of execution] and become commoners. Let the crimes of those officials who have been deluded and misled by [Shang-kuan] Chieh and the others, which have not yet become known [so as to come] into [the hands of] 7b the officials, be expunged." II In the second year, in the summer, the fourth 79 B.C. month, the Emperor removed from Chien-chang May/June Palace to Wei-yang Palace. He held a great feast and granted silk to his Gentlemen and his personal attendants and two hundred thousand cash to each son [among members] of the imperial house. To each official or common person who offered an ox and wine he granted one bolt of silk. July/Aug. In the sixth month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire and an imperial edict said, "We pity 167 7: 7b [Our] subjects [because] they have not enough 79 B.C.

[food]. In previous years [We] have lessened the water transport [of grain] by three million piculs and have reduced considerably the horses [required] for [Our] carriages and conveyances, together with the horses of [the imperial] pastures, in order to supply transport horses for the border commanderies and for the three capital commanderies. Let it be ordered that the commanderies and kingdoms shall not collect this year's poll-[tax] in cash on horses and that [the people in] the commanderies [under the charge of] the Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies shall be allowed to use beans or cereals in [payment] of the military taxes [instead of cash].[141] In the third year, in the spring, the first month, III in T'ai-shan [Commandery], there was a large 79 B.C. stone that rose and stood upright of itself and in Feb./Mar. 168 78 B.C. Shang-lin [Park] a willow tree that had been withered 7: 8a

and had fallen down rose up of itself and came to 8a life.[148] Chung-mou Park was abolished and [its land] was distributed among the poor people. An imperial edict said, "Recently the common people have suffered from calamities of water and are sorely lacking in food. We will empty the granaries and storehouses[149] and send messengers to relieve the suffering and indigent. Let it be ordered that in the fourth year [of Yüan-feng] there shall be no [water] transport [of grain] and [let there be] no collection of debts from those who were [given] relief or loans in the third year [of Yüan-feng] and earlier, except those in the border commanderies [for whom] the Lieutenant Chancellor or [Grandee] Secretary begged that they should receive oxen."[150] May In the summer, the fourth month, the Privy Treasurer, Hsü Jen, the Commandant of Justice, Wang P'ing, and the Eastern Supporter, Chia Sheng-hu, were all sentenced for having [purposely] freed a rebel.[152] [Hsü] Jen committed suicide; [Wang] P'ing and [Chia] Sheng-hu were both cut in two at the waist. Winter In the winter, the Wu-huan of Liao-tung [Commandery] rebelled.[154] The General of the Gentle-men-of-the-Household, 169 7: 8b Fan Ming-yu, was made the 78 B.C.

General Who Crosses the Liao [River], and, leading two thousand cavalry from each of the seven commanderies at the northern border, he attacked [the Wu-huan].[157] IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, 77 B.C. on [the day] ting-hai, the Emperor put on the bonnet Feb. 25 of virility[161] and was presented in the Temple of 8b [Emperor] Kao. He granted to the vassal kings, to the Lieutenant Chancellor, [T'ien Ch'ien-ch'iu], 170 77 B.C. to the General-in-chief, [Ho Kuang], to the mar7: 9a

quises, to the [members of the] imperial house, on down to the officials and common people, money, silk, oxen, and wine, to each proportionately. He granted to [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and lower, together with the common people of the empire, noble ranks. [He ordered that] the poll-money for the fourth and fifth years [of Yüan-feng] should not be collected[165] and that [from] all those who had avoided [payment in lieu of] military service or whose military taxes for the third year [of Yüan-feng] or earlier had not yet been paid,

9a [these payments] should not be collected.[167] He ordered that the whole empire should [be allowed to] drink during five days. Mar. 14 On [the day] chia-hsü,[169] the Lieutenant Chancellor, 171 7: 9b [T'ien] Ch'ien-ch'iu, died. 77 B.C. In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial May/June edict said, "Formerly the General Who Crosses the Liao [River, Fan] Ming-yu, as the Chief Commandant of Ch'iang Cavalry, led the Ch'iang King, marquises, baronets, chiefs, and their subordinates to attack the rebellious caitiffs of Yi Province; later he again led them to attack the rebellious Ti [barbarians] of Wu-tu [Commandery]; he has now routed the Wu-huan, cutting off the heads of the caitiffs and taking prisoners alive,[173] [thus] distinguishing himself. Let [Fan] Ming-yu be enfeoffed as Marquis of P'ing-ling. "The Superintendent of the P'ing-lo [Stables], Fu Chieh-tzu, as an envoy with credentials, has executed and beheaded the King of Lou-lan, An-kuei, whose head has been hung at the North Portal [of the imperial Palace. Let] him be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yi4-yanga." In the fifth month, on [the day] ting-ch'ou,[174] the July 8 main hall in the Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-wen burnt. The Emperor, together with his courtiers, all wore plain [mourning] robes. He mobilized the officials [ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, 9b leading the five managers, to [re]build and repair it; on the sixth day, it was completed.[177] The Grand 172 77 B.C. Master of Ceremonies, together with the Prefect, the 7: 10a

Assistant, the Gentlemen, and the officials of the Temple, were all impeached as having been extremely disrespectful. It happened that there was an amnesty, [so] the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Marquis of Liao-yang, [Chiang] Tê, was [merely] July/Aug. dismissed and became a commoner.[181] In the sixth month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire. V In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month, 76 B.C. the King of Kuang-ling, [Liu Hsü], came to pay Feb./Mar. court; his kingdom was increased by eleven thousand families and he was granted twenty million cash, two hundred catties of actual gold, two swords, one comfortable carriage with seats, and

two quadriga of horses. Summer In the summer, there was a great drought. In July/Aug. the sixth month, the evil young people about whom the officials had been informed and who had been accused, but had absconded, were sent out from the three capital commanderies together with the [other] commanderies and kingdoms to the encampments Autumn in Liao-tung [Commandery]. In the autumn, Hsiang Commandery was abolished and [its territory] was divided and incorporated in Yü-lin and 10a Tsang-k'o [Commanderies].[189] 173

7: 10a In the winter, the eleventh month, there were 75 B.C.

Dec. great [bursts of] thunder; in the twelfth month, on 75 B.C. [the day] keng-hsü, the Lieutenant Chancellor, Jan. 8 [Wang] Hsin, died. In the sixth year, in the spring, the first month, VI convicts of the commanderies and kingdoms were Feb. solicited to build city walls in Liao-tung and Hsüan-t'u [Commanderies]. In the summer, an Summer amnesty [was granted] to the empire. An imperial edict said, "Verily, when grain is cheap, it injures agriculture. Now the grain [in the districts of] the Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies is getting lower and cheaper [in price]. Let it be ordered that beans and cereals may be used to take the place of this year's military taxes. The General of the Right, Chang An-shih, has constantly been on guard and has been loyal and diligent; [let him] be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Fu-p'ing." The Wu-huan again violated the frontier; the General Who Crosses the Liao [River], Fan Ming-yu, was sent to attack them. In [the period] Yuan-p'ing, the first year, in the I spring, the second month, an imperial edict said, 74 B.C. "The empire considers agriculture and sericulture Mar./Apr. to be the fundamental [activities]. Recently [We] have lessened [Our] expenses, have abolished those offices that are not urgently necessary, and have 174 74 B.C. reduced the corvée labor [at places] away from 7: 10b

[peoples' homes]. Those who plow and cultivate silkworms have become increasingly many, yet our subjects have not yet been able to have sufficient [food and clothing even] for their homes. We are very solicitous for them. Let the poll-money be reduced." The high officials memorialized, begging that it be reduced three-tenths and the Emperor permitted it.[203] Apr. 7 On [the day] chia-shen, at dawn, there was a meteor as large as the moon with a crowd of stars following it and traveling westwards,[205] and in the June 5 summer, the fourth month, on [the day] kuei-wei, the Emperor died in Wei-yang Palace. In the July 24 sixth month, on [the day] jen-shen, he was buried in the P'ing Tomb.[208] 10b In eulogy we say: Anciently [King] Ch'eng of the Chou [dynasty] succeeded to the dynastic line as a child and there occurred the vicissitudes [brought about by] the circulating rumors [spread by the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai in [the rebellion of] the four states;[210] [Emperor] Hsiao-chao took the throne while [still] a youth and there likewise occurred the conspiracy and treasonable rebellion of [the King of] Yen, the [Elder Princess of O-yi, whose husband was the Marquis of] Kai, and Shang-kuan [Chieh and his son, Shang-kuan An]. King Ch'eng did not doubt the Duke of Chou; [Emperor] Hsiao-chao had confidence in and put [the government] 175 7: 10b in charge of Ho Kuang. Each took advantage of the circumstances of their time and thereby made for themselves a fame that is great indeed. [Emperor Hsiao-chao] inherited the evils of extravagance and indulgence remaining from [the rule of Emperor] Hsiao-wu and his military expeditions. [The country] within the [four] seas was depopulated and exhausted, the population was reduced by half.[212] [Ho] Kuang understood the important necessities of the period, so lightened the required public service and reduced the taxes, [thus] giving the people rest and repose. During [the periods] Shih-yüan and Yüan-feng, the Huns made 86-75 B.C. peace and friendship and the people became opulent. The Capable and Good and the Literary Scholars were recommended [to the imperial court,[214] the government sent to] inquire about what the people suffered from or were distressed by,[215] the [abolition of the government] salt and iron [monopolies] was discussed,[216] and the [government] monopoly dealing in [fermented drinks] was abolished.[217] [The Emperor] was honored with the title Chao (brilliant). Was this not indeed appropriate? [1] This circumstance was an abnormally long period of gestation. Cf. Glossary sub Chao, Favorite Beauty née. [3]

Emperor Wu had six sons; the remaining two: Liu Hung, King Huai of Ch'i, and Liu Po, King Ai of Ch'ang-yi, had died in 110 and 89 B.C., respectively. [7] Cf HS 6: 39a. [9] Cf HS 6: 39a. [16] P. H. Cowell and A. C. D. Crommelin calculate with a fair degree of certainty that this was an appearance of Halley's comet. They calculate perihelion for Aug. 15. P. Hoang lists the seventh month as Aug. 10 to Sept. 8, julian. Cf. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 68, 1907-8, p. 668. [17] He was sentenced for incest and black magic. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [22] The text reads "second month," but the events recorded for this month, the congratulations by the high ministers and presents to nobles and members of the imperial house, are most naturally understood to refer to the great court reception at the beginning of the year, in the first month. The day chi-hai recorded in this month is moreover listed by P. Hoang only in the first month, not the second. Hence I have emended this date. [24] Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 275) writes, "At that time, the Han [dynasty] was using the virtue of earth [as its ruling element] and in the color of its robes it esteemed yellow. The color of all swans is white, and the fact that this [one] changed to yellow was considered an auspicious omen concerning the virtue of earth, hence was recorded." (The present text says, not "the virtue of earth," but "the virtue of the Emperor." Wang Hsien-ch'ien approves the emendation in the Official ed. of [OMITTED] to [OMITTED].) Yen Shih-ku (581-645) writes, "The yellow swan is a great bird which in one stretch [flies] a thousand li; it is not a white swan." The Hsi-ching Tsa-chi (vi cent.) 1 ˙ 4b, says, "In the first year [of the period] Shih-yüan, a yellow swan came down into the T'ai-yi Pond and Emperor [Chao] composed a song, which runs: `A yellow swan flew here And came down in Chien-chang [Palace]. Its wings and plumage are respectful And its gait is dignified. Gold is its tunic And chrysanthemums are its lower garments. It gobbles lotus and duck-weeds [As it] goes in and out among the reeds. When I consider myself, I am shallow and mediocre; I am ashamed [of myself at receiving] thee, thou felicitous and happy augury.' " Dr. George D. Wilder of Tehsien, Shantung, writes in a letter, "The bird seen in the palace grounds at Ch'ang-an in February was doubtless one of the two or three species of swan still found in North China in winter, in a rather rare abnormal plumage which may be described as `rusty.' Many swans have this rusty feathering on the head but I have seen one or two specimens in which the under parts and much of the mantle also was heavily washed with this orange or rusty yellow. It is only the tips of the feathers that have the yellow color, the bases remaining white, but the tip for a half inch or more is colored so as to give a distinct yellow surface noticeable at a distance of fifty or perhaps a hundred yards. . . . "Both the Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus (Linnaeus) and Bewick's or more properly Jankowski's Swan, Cygnus bewickii jankowskii, Alpheraky, are common in autumn, winter (less so), and in spring at Peiping, and probably also at Hsi-an, Shensi. It being farther south they would be still more apt to be there in winter. . . . Three specimens of the Mute Swan, with the large tubercle at the base of the upper mandible, have been taken in east China in modern times, and it is a minor possibility that the bird in Ch'ang-an belonged to that species. So I think you are pretty safe in concluding that they did really see a `yellow swan'. . . . A flock of about 120 [swans] stays every year at the Summer Palace west of Peiping through the winter, and I have seen thousands together in the spring and fall. "The large `Yellow Duck,' Casarca ferruginea (Pallas) with its black and white wings could never have been mistaken for the swan by anyone who knew the swan at all. Some of the bean geese sometimes have the rusty plumage as well as the swan. . . .

"The poem notes accurately several characteristics of the swan, which is a vegetable eater, as it says." [29] For the significance of this plowing, cf. ch. IV, app. II. Ying Shao explains, "At this time the Emperor was in his ninth year and so was not yet able in person to plow the imperial sacred field." For these amusement fields, cf. Glossary, sub Intendant of the Imperial Palace Parks. [32] Su Lin explains, "These are all the names of different tribes among the southwestern barbarians." Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) writes, "In former times commanderies and kingdoms all had skilled soldiers and cavalrymen for attending promptly to urgent difficulties. Now the barbarians revolted and the regular troops were insufficient to chastize them, hence, as a measure of expediency, they selected and chose skilled braves who, when they heard [the general's] order, would eagerly run [to assist] [OMITTED], hence they were called emergency troops (pen-ming [OMITTED])." Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) adds, "Those who were mobilized were ordinarily from their twentieth year to their fiftieth year and constituted the militia [OMITTED]. The present persons were over their fiftieth and below their sixtieth year, hence constituted the emergency troops (pen-ming). [The use of the term] pen-ming means that it was an emergency." But Hu San-hsing (1230-1287) calls attention to the fact that the Tso-chuan (Legge, p. 36217; Couvreur II, 65) says, "Tzuch'ung and Tzu-fan thereupon in one year [met] seven emergencies (pen-ming)." He remarks, "Pen-ming are troops who assist in an emergency; they would certainly not all be [restricted to those] over fifty and under sixty." Yü Yüeh (1821-1906) adds, "The skilled soldiers and cavalrymen are like the present regularly levied troops; the emergency troops were skilled braves selected and chosen in a crisis, like the present levied braves [OMITTED]. This [practise] already existed in Han [times]." Thus the pen-ming were specially impressed soldiers. [35] Yen Shih-ku says, "They probably had [previously] been a territorial division of the capital [districts under the inspectorate of the Colonel] Director of the Retainers." This office had been established in 89 B.C.; at the end of the Former Han period and in the Later Han period, this official inspected seven commanderies, including the two mentioned here; cf. Glossary sub voce; HS 28 Ai: 60b; HHS, Tr. 19: 1a. This change was merely a redistribution of the territory whose administration was inspected by the Colonel Director of the Retainers, which change was later annulled. [39] For this attempt to instigate rebellion and dethrone Emperor Chao, cf. Glossary, sub Liu Tan4a. [47] The present text lacks the words in brackets; Han-chi 16: 2a (by Hsün Yüeh, 148-209) reads them; where this incident is recorded in HS 6: 38b, both brothers are also mentioned; the accounts of this affair in the memoirs of Chin Mi-ti and Ho Kuang (HS 68: 2a, 19b) likewise mention both brothers. Ma T'ung was choked to death by Chin Mi-ti; it would be surprising if Ma Ho-lo, in whose arrest Ho Kuang and Shang-kuan Chieh could alone have distinguished themselves, were not mentioned in the citation of their deeds. In the citation in 18: 11a, b, Ma Ho-lo alone is mentioned. Hence the words in brackets have evidently dropped out of the HS text; Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) suggests their reinsertion. [49] Ch'ang-lo Palace was the residence of the Empress Dowager, but there was no Empress Dowager at this time. Ho Kuang was seeking to show the imperial house that he had no intention of repeating the usurpation attempted previously by the Lü clan; cf. 3: 5b ff. Members of the imperial clan were not ordinarily permitted to hold official positions, although exceptions were made. The Superintendent of the Imperial House was always a member of the imperial clan; the other position was purely honorary. Cf. 36: 4b; Glossary, sub Liu Pi-ch'iang and sub the Superintendent of the Imperial House. [54] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) remarks, "He was cultivating somewhat [the principles of] government used by [Emperors] Wen and Ching, and the empire therefore became tranquil again." [56] In the Discourse on Salt and Iron, 7: 5b, ch. 38, the Capable and Good say, "At present the horsemen and armed gentlemen from east of the mountains who are garrisoned

in the border commanderies are separated [from their families] by a vast distance. Their bodies are among the Hu and the Yüeh, [but] their hearts and spirits are with their elders and mothers." Since Sang Hung-yang defends the government policy in the Discourse on Salt and Iron, ch. 38, Shen Ch'in-han concludes that this order was perhaps due to Sang Hung-yang. [58] This is no. 37 in Williams, Observations of Comets. [64] For this and other eclipses, cf. App. II. [69] This date was the year Emperor Chao began his reign. Chou Shou-ch'ang (18141884) says that the omission of the word "Yüan" is merely an abbreviation, taking the use of this word on p. 1a as proof. But cf. 6: n. 38.1. [82] A commune or t'ing was an administrative division; cf. HFHD I, 29, n. 3. The phrase ma nu [OMITTED] might very well be read "horse-crossbows." Ying Shao writes, "Emperor Wu many times sent military expeditions against the Huns and twice [sent them] to attack Ferghana (Ta-yüan), [so that] his horses had almost all died. Thereupon he ordered the various communes in the empire to rear mares with the intention of making [horses] multiply and breed. He also instituted barriers for the crossbow trigger mechanisms [used] upon horseback [OMITTED]. Now they were all abolished." Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) says, "Formerly horses five feet six inches tall whose teeth were not yet smooth [an order of 146 B.C., cf. 5: 6b] and crossbows of ten piculs' [strength] and over were all not allowed to go out of the barriers. Now this was not prohibited." Yen Shih-ku says that Ying Shao is correct about the mares and communes and Meng K'ang about the barriers for horses and crossbows (or horse-crossbows). Chia Yi (200-168 B.C.) in his Hsin-shu 3: 8b, "Yi-t'ung," mentions the barriers for prohibiting the exportation of horses. Whether horse-crossbows were used this early is not certain. The HHS, An. 8: 11a, under the date of 184 A.D. days, "An imperial edict [ordered] the highest ministers to contribute ma-nu." The T'ung-tien (by Tu Yu 735-812), 149: 13a (p. 781 of the Com. Press one vol. ed.) says, "Today there are . . . crossbows drawn tight by hand which shoot three hundred paces, used in fighting on foot, and horse-crossbows (ma-nu), which shoot two hundred paces and are used in cavalry fighting. Crossbows are drawn [only] slowly and, when the enemy are near, they can only be shot one or two times, so that it is not convenient to use crossbows when fighting in battle-line; it is not that crossbows are not effective in fighting, but it is because of the general's [poor] use of his crossbows." There is thus ample evidence that the Chinese used crossbows in cavalry fighting, something that does not seem to have been done in Europe; but we cannot be sure that these light crossbows for cavalry were used in Han times. Mr. Martin Wilbur has illustrated and described various kinds of crossbows in "The History of the Crossbow," Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1936, pp. 427-438. [87] HHS, Mem. 75: 9b2 states that in this year Lin-t'un Commandery was also abolished and that its territory and that of Chen-p'an Commandery were united with those of Lo-lang and Hsüan-t'u Commanderies. The commandery of Tan-erh was located in Hainan; the commanderies of Chen-p'an and Lin-t'un were in Korea (cf. Glossary, sub vocibus); unnecessary administrative divisions were being disestablished, possibly because these regions were poor and had reverted to their former semi-independent condition. [90] HS 95: 5b states that more than fifty thousand captives and heads and more than a hundred thousand domestic animals were taken. [97] The discussions developed and presented by Huan K'uan in the Discourses on Salt and Iron were held at this time. Dr. E. M. Gale has translated the first 28 chapters of that book under the above title and (together with P. A. Boodberg and T. C. Lin) additional chapters in the Jour. N. C. Br. Royal As. Soc'y, vol. 65, (1934) pp. 73-110. Cf. p. xxxi of that translation. Tu Yen-niena first suggested that these discussions be held; cf. Glossary sub voce. [99] HS 27 Ba: 24b says, "There was a great drought." Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that the word [OMITTED] is omitted in this clause to avoid repetition, for it is used in the next clause. Fu Tsan remarks, "[The reason] they were not allowed to light fires [was that they thus] suppressed [the principle] yang and aided [the principle] yin."

[101] This monopoly had been established in Mar.-Apr. 98 B.C.; cf. 6: 34b. The Discourses on Salt and Iron, ch. 41, ad fin. say that the high officials (Ch'ê Ch'ien-ch'iu and Sang Hung-yang, according to HS 24 B: 20b) "memorialized [the throne], saying, `The Capable and Good and the Literary Scholars do not understand the affairs of the imperial government, alleging that the salt and iron [monopoly] is disadvantageous; we beg that there may temporarily be abolished the [government] monopoly dealing in [fermented drinks] in the commanderies and kingdoms, and the offices for the iron [monopoly] within Kuan-[chung].' The memorial was allowed." The monopoly of salt and iron was abolished in 44 and restored in 41 B.C., because revenue was needed. [104] Ju Shun explains, "[According to] the Code, for those who must testify (chan [OMITTED]) to [their assessment] for the tsu [OMITTED] (tax), each head of a family must in person testify (chan) [the value of] his goods. If his testimony is not in accordance with the facts, or if the head of the family does not himself in person have it written down, in all [such cases] he is fined [the equivalent of] two catties of gold, and whatever goods have not been testified to in person are confiscated and paid in and their value in cash is brought to the imperial government." Yen Shih-ku says, "Chan means privately to estimate one's wealth and to fix it in written words. . . . Further on [the text] also speaks of testifying (chan) to one's name and [cadastral] amount. These meanings are both the same. At present one moreover speaks of disputations [OMITTED] in legal cases and calls them chan (testimony). Both [these things are among] the [word's] meanings." Liu Pin adds, " `To testify (chan) [to their assessment for] the tsu (tax) in accordance with the code' means that it was ordered that the common people could sell liquor and testify (chan) concerning the profit which they made and then pay their tsu (tax). . . . The tsu was the tax [OMITTED] for selling liquor." HS 15 A: 22b records that Liu Yin, Marquis of Pang-kuang, was dismissed from his marquisate for not testifying his taxes and for taking illegal interest. Cf. HS 24 B: 13b. [106] This edict is repeated in 95: 5b with slight additions. [108] Ying Shao writes, "In the third year [84 B.C.; cf. p. 3b], phoenixes (feng-huang) had repeatedly come down in Lo District of Hai-hsi [Prefecture] in Tung-hai [Commandery]; hence he used [the word feng] to cap the year-period." This title was not given until Sept./Oct.; cf. p. 6a. [115] Yen Shih-ku writes, "Hsing [OMITTED] is to be fortunate and escape calamity, hence death is called pu-hsing [OMITTED]. One hsi [OMITTED] is a complete suit of clothes [OMITTED], just as today they say [OMITTED]. A chung-lao [OMITTED] is a [OMITTED]; it means a ram and a boar." [117] Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that "Grand Herald" is here an error; according to 19 B: 27b, in 83 B.C., T'ien Kuang-ming had been promoted from Grand Herald to Commandant of the Palace Guard. His expedition is also noted in 95: 5b, where, however, he is also entitled Grand Herald. [121] I have emended the [OMITTED] of the text to [OMITTED], following 27 Cb: 14b. Cf. App. II, ii. [125] Since Emperor Chao was in his eighth year in 87 B.C. (cf. p. 1a), this event happened a year before the execution of the conspirators. This event is recounted in 68: 3b-4b; cf. Glossary, sub Ho Kuang. [141] Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) says, "In former times [whoever] had horses paid taxes in cash [in accordance with their number]. Now it was dispensed with." Ju Shun (fl. dur. 189-265) says, "This is what is meant by `taxation even on domestic animals'." Shen Ch'in-han adds, "Emperor Wu ordered the communes to rear horses [cf. 24 B: 18b], hence taxed the people, making them pay cash for the expenses of the market and the expense of hay and feed." Yen Shih-ku says, "All those who had to pay the military taxes [OMITTED], the poll-taxes (suan [OMITTED]), the land-tax [OMITTED], or [other] taxes [OMITTED] were permitted to use beans or cereals to take the place of cash or [other] articles." Ku Yen-wu (1613-1682) adds, "In Han times the land tax on cultivated fields was originally [paid in] these beans and cereals. Now together with the poll-tax and various taxes which [were paid in] cash, it was ordered that beans or cereals were to be accepted in place of [money]. This was only done in the

commanderies of the Three Adjuncts and Grand Master of Ceremonies, not merely because grain was cheap [and for fear of] injuring agriculture; it was also [done] because the water-transport [of grain] had been reduced three million piculs and it was feared that the stores and stocks [of grain] might be exhausted." Shen Ch'in-han adds, "Since later on in the sixth year [cf. p. 10a], it was also ordered that they should take beans or cereals in place of taxes, it was not a regular decree [that such commutation should be allowed]." Chou Shou-ch'ang adds, "[It was] because [those places] were near the imperial domain and it was convenient to transport [grain]; if [this commutation had been allowed] in other commanderies, they would have been too distant." Ho Ch'uo remarks that this payment in kind was in accord with the conceptions in the account of the imperial domain found in the "Tribute of Yü" (Book of History, III, i, ii, iv, 18; Legge, p. 144), hence it was derived from that account. [148] The details of these portents are given in 27 Ba: 29a and 75: 1a, b. Kuei Hung interpreted them as fortelling the arising of a new emperor who was a commoner. He was executed for his pains. These portents were later considered to have been fulfilled by the elevation of Emperor Hsüan, who had been a commoner. [149] Yen Shih-ku writes, "The ts'ang [OMITTED] were the places were new grain is stored; the lin [OMITTED] were the places whence grain is paid out [to those who need it] and taken in [by the government]." [150] Ying Shao writes, "Emperor Wu first opened the three borders and transported people to colonize agricultural garrisons. They were all given oxen for plowing. Later the Lieutenant Chancellor and [Grandee] Secretary again at various times begged [that they should be given oxen]. Now it is ordered that what had been granted and given from the Emperor should not be collected as a debt; [but] what the Lieutenant Chancellor [and Grandee Secretary] had begged is however ordered to be considered and taxed." [152] The "rebel" was Hou-shih Wu; cf. Glossary, sub Tu Yen-niena. [154] The Wu-huan (q.v. in Glossary) had dug up the graves of buried Hun Shan-yü and the Huns attacked the Wu-huan; when Ho Kuang sent Fan Ming-yu to intercept the Huns, the Huns withdrew, whereupon Fan Ming-yu attacked the friendly Wu-huan with great success. Cf. 94 A: 29a; de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 191. [157] HS 94 A: 29a7 says that he had 20,000 cavalry, so that either ten commanderies contributed or some commanderies contributed more than their quota of soldiers. [161] Emperor Chao was in his eighteenth year. Yen Shih-ku explains that [OMITTED] means head, so that the cap of virility [OMITTED] is the yüan-fu [OMITTED]. He points out that the versified table of contents in 100 B: 11b says, "Emperor [Wu] corrected his yüan-fu," and the account in 50: 10a, b, shows plainly that this phrase refers to the Emperor's head-gear. The text of the ceremony for the capping of Emperor Chao is given in the Ta-Tai-li, ch. 79 (translated in R. Wilhelm, Li Chi, p. 338). Shen Ch'in-han notes that Ch'iao Chou (201-270) said that King Ch'eng of the Chou dynasty (1115-1079 B.C.) was capped in his fifteenth year; Duke Hsiang of Lu (572542 B.C.) was capped in his twelfth year, on which occasion the Marquis of Chin remarked, "He is in his twelfth year then; that is a full decade of years, the period of a revolution of Jupiter. The ruler of a state may have a son when he is in his fifteenth year. It is the rule that he should be capped before he begets a son." (Legge, Tso-chuan, p. 441). Emperor Ho (89-105) was capped in his thirteenth year; Emperor An (107-125) in his sixteenth year, Emperor Shun (126-144) in his fifteenth year. All of them were first capped and later married; Emperor Chao was however married six years before he was capped. Shen Ch'in-han remarks that this fact indicates, "His great officials were not educated and the ministers of the court did not remonstrate [with them] for their fault, which is astounding." The learned Confucian, Wang Mang, however also married his daughter to Emperor P'ing before the latter had been capped. Confucian principles did not outweigh clear advantages. Dr. Duyvendak writes, "[OMITTED] is a `sacred' word for `head'; cf. Li-chi, ch. I, pt. ii, art. iii, 10 (Couvreur, I, p. 101; Legge, XXVII, p. 117) for the expression [OMITTED], `one head great tracks' as the `sacred' term for a sacrificed ox (Couvreur's translation is not very exact). This passage contains several other `sacred' circumlocutions for animals that are sacrificed, which constitute a kind of `priest language,' such as one finds among

many so-called `primitive tribes.' Cf. also Yi-li, Couvreur, p. 533, 596, for similar expressions." [165] HS 72: 13a reports that Kung Yü petitioned Emperor Yüan to the effect that "anciently the common people had no military taxes [OMITTED] or the poll-tax (suan) [OMITTED]. The poll-money (k'ou-ch'ien) [OMITTED] [first] arose when Emperor Wu made military expeditions against the barbarians of the four [quarters] and made the military taxes heavy upon the common people. When a commoner has a child and it is in its third year, then he [has to] pay the poll-money [for it]. Hence the common people are doubly distressed, so that when a child is born, they immediately kill it, which is very lamentable. It is proper that it should be ordered that [since] children lose their [first] teeth in their seventh year, the poll-money should then [first] be paid [for them]; when they are in their twentieth year, they should then [first pay] the poll-tax." Ju Shun, speaking of times after Emperor Yüan, says, "The comment in the Han-[chiu]-yi [by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57; B: 5b, says] `Common people [from] their seventh year to their fourteenth year pay the poll-money (k'ou-fu-ch'ien [OMITTED]), 23 [cash] per person. Twenty cash are used for the income of the Son of Heaven. The [other] three cash were poll-money [OMITTED] that Emperor Wu added to provide horses for the chariots and cavalry.' " But cf. note 10.1. [167] Cf. App. I. [169] Both this passage and 19 B: 29a date this death on a chia-hsü day; but P. Hoang has no chia-hsü day in the first month of this year. The fact that both recordings agree would seem to eliminate any mistake in the transmission of the text. Yet the same difficulty occurs with the date of the fire below (cf. n. 9.3); so that it may have been possible that one recording was erroneous and the other was corrected to agree with it. The only serviceable emendation seems to be chia-ch'en, which was Mar. 14. On 11: 8a, ch'en is mistakenly written for hsü; cf. 11: App. II, ii. If we suppose that P. Hoang is mistaken in putting the intercalary month in the preceding instead of this year, then the just preceding date, that of the Emperor's capping, is impossible. The death could not have taken place on chia-hsü of the second month, for that was Apr. 12 and ch. 19 records the appointment of T'ien Ch'ein-ch'u's successor on Apr. 3. [173] Yen Shih-ku points out that this passage makes clear that [OMITTED] means to take prisoners. Cf. 6: n. 7.8. [174] There is here the same difficulty as that with the date for the death of T'ien Ch'ien-ch'iu. Ting-ch'ou is impossible in the fifth month, according to P. Hoang, yet it is found both here and in 27 A: 14a. The repeated mention of "the fifth month" in that passage seems to assure the correctness of the month. Then either Hoang is mistaken in his calendar or one recording of this event became erroneous and somebody corrected the other to agree. Hsin-ch'ou seems to be the only serviceable emendation; it was July 8. [177] HS 19 A: 22b, 23a lists altogether eight hsiao-wei (colonels) with whom Wang Yi (1321-1372) identifies these five officers. Dr. N. Kano, however, remarks that colonels had nothing to do with building. HS 19A: 18b lists five managers (hsiao) subordinate to the Court Architect, viz., the Left, Right, Front, Rear, and Central Managers, with whom Hu San-hsing identifies these persons. [181] HS 19 B: 28b states that Chiang Tê was sentenced and dismissed because the Gentlemen of the Temple were drinking at night and allowed the Temple to catch on fire. It is possible that the words "became a commoner" are an interpolation or are due to a misunderstanding on the part of the author, for the "Table" (17: 25a) records that in 75 B.C. Chiang Tê's son succeeded him in the marquisate, which would not happen unless the title had been restored to him; but titles were not usually restored, for that would be a confession of an imperial mistake; a dismissed marquis, if he deserved the honor, was usually given a new marquisate. [189] Hsiang Commandery was established in 214 B.C. by the First Emperor; at the collapse of his empire it presumably became part of the kingdom of Nan-yüeh; when Nan-yüeh was conquered and made into commanderies, there is no mention of any Hsiang Commandery among those established; cf. 6: 23a. H. Maspero asserts that the Hsiang Commandery was among the seventeen unnamed new ones established in 111

B.C., after the conquest of Nan-yüeh, according to the SC (Mh III, 596), because this commandery is mentioned in the Mou-ling-shu (quoted in a note to HS 1B; 4a), which book was composed shortly after the conquest; cf. T'oung Pao 23 (1925), 375-389. Yü-lin was in the present southeastern Kuangsi and Tsang-k'o was in north central Kweichow; between the two there was abundant territory for another commandery. Wang Hsien-ch'ien quotes the "Treatise" in the T'ang History as saying that Hsiang Commandery took its name from a Mt. Hsiang; the Shina Rekidai Chimei Yoran, p. 274 lists several such mountains, one of which is in Hsiang [OMITTED] Hsien, in the Ch'ing dynasty's Liu-chou Fu, central Kwangsi, and another one was north of the present Ting-fan [OMITTED] in the Ch'ing dynasty's Kuei-yang Fu, south central Kweichow; it is possible that this Hsiang Commandery was in that territory. Shen Ch'in-han suggests that since the Ch'in dynasty's Hsiang Commandery was said to have been located where the Han dynasty located its Ho-p'u Commandery, that Ho-p'u Commandery was disestablished at this time. [203] If the poll-money was 23 cash in the time of Wei Hung (cf. note 8.7) and was now reduced three-tenths, then it had previously been 33 cash. But in 8: 20a the poll-money is again reduced, so that before this time it must have been more than 33 cash. [205] This event was probably a fireball that exploded, sending out a shower of luminous trails. It was taken as a presage of the emperor's death. [208] Forty-nine days elapsed between his death and burial. [210] Cf. Glossary, sub Kuan. Yen Shih-ku says that the "four states" in rebellion were Kuan, Ts'ai, Shang, and Yen; but Book of History V, xiv, 21 (Legge, p. 461) states that after King Ch'eng came from Yen he mitigated the penalty of the "four states," so that Yen, altho rebelling at the same time, was not one of the "four states." [212] Condemnation of Emperor Wu could hardly be more severe than this statement! The statement about the population is taken from the "Memoir of Hsia-hou Sheng." Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [214] Cf. 7: 3a. [215] Cf. 7: 3a, 5a. [216] Cf. 7: 5a. [217] Cf. 7: 5a. 176

APPENDIX I REQUIRED MILITARY SERVICE Valuable information concerning the Former Han Dynasty's ordinances regarding conscript military service and payment in lieu therefor is to be found in an ancient note at the end of 7: 8b. Ju Shun writes, " `Periodic military service (keng [OMITTED])' was of three kinds. There was `the required service as a soldier (tsu-keng [OMITTED])', there was `hired service (chien-keng [OMITTED])', and there was `transferred frontier service (kuo-keng [OMITTED])'. In ancient times, for the `regularly [drafted] soldiers (cheng-tsu [OMITTED])' there was no definite number, [but] every person had to serve in his turn [in the army, serving] one month as one `turn [OMITTED]'. This was called required service as a soldier. "When poor people wished to obtain the money for periodic military service by being hired [as substitutes], a person who next was to serve his turn [as a soldier] paid out the money to hire them, two thousand cash per month. This was called hired service. "All the people of the empire [had to] occupy the position of frontier

guard for three days, which was also called periodic military service [OMITTED] and was what the Code called corvée garrison service (yao-shu [OMITTED]). Although one might be the son of the Lieutenant Chancellor, he was nevertheless among those summoned to frontier guard [duty]. Every person could not himself [undertake] the journey to serve as a frontier guard for three days, and moreover those who [undertook] the journey, after fulfilling the duty of serving in person for three days, could not go there and return immediately. Because of the convenience [of the following system, those who served], lived [at the frontier] for a year as one turn [OMITTED]. Those who did not serve, paid three hundred cash to the government, and the government used it to pay those who [actually] served as frontier guards. This was called transferred frontier service. "[According to] the explanation of the Code, soldiers doing required service and soldiers who do hired service are settled [OMITTED] [soldiers]. Those settled [soldiers who serve] a turn in their [native] prefectures [served] five months as a turn. Later, in accordance with the Code for Military Officers [OMITTED], soldiers doing required service and hired service [served] one month [and then] were relieved for eleven months. The `Treatise on Food and Merchandise' [HS 24 A: 16b; this is a quotation from a memorial of Tung Chung-shu, ii cent. B.C.], says, `[The Ch'in dynasty . . . moreover added to the requirements of the government] that for 177 a month [each person] should become a soldier serving his turn [OMITTED]; when [this period] was completed, he in turn became a regular [soldier, who served] one year as a garrison guard at the frontier and one year at service on the public works [OMITTED]—[which service] is thirty times [more] than in ancient [times].' Thus the Han [dynasty] at first took over the practises of the Ch'in [dynasty] and followed them. Later they were thereupon changed and altered; only those who were reprobated, who were in arrears and had not paid money [to transfer their duty of serving] a turn, [served] as frontier guards for one year." For other details of the Han and Ch'in military arrangements, cf. HFHD I, 80, n. 2; 5: n. 3.8. Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) adds, "Ju [Shun] explains that `periodic military service was of three kinds. There was required service as a soldier, there was hired service, and there was transferred frontier service.' In my opinion, they were in reality of [only] two [sorts]. Hired service was required service as a soldier in place of others, in which they only individually obtained the value of their time counted by the month. Transferred frontier service was general corvée garrison service in place of others, and was counted by the year. A person would pay to the government the value of three days' service as a frontier guard and the government would in his behalf give it to people who lived [at the frontier] for a long time. Required service as a soldier was indeed the ancient institution of military taxes on cultivated fields for putting an army into the field; garrison service at the frontier for three days resembled the institution of corvée service, and to be hired [to serve] a turn in place of [service] was the source for the practise of hired military service, [i.e., a standing army]." 178

APPENDIX II ECLIPSES IN THE REIGN OF EMPEROR CHAO i. HS 7: 3b reads, in the period Shih-yüan, "the third year, . . . . xi, (the eleventh month), on [the day] jen-ch'en, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun." (Han-chi 16: 2a agrees.) HS 27 Cb: 14b adds, "It was 9 degrees in [the constellation] Tou." P. Hoang lists this date as Dec. 3, 84 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2674 for that date. The principal star of Tou, φ Sagittarii, was then in R.A. 249°. According to my computation by Neugebauer's method, the sun was in long. 249° = 247° R.A. Oppolzer charts the path of totality as passing through Indo-China; at Ch'ang-an the eclipse reached a magnitude of 0.66 (sun's diameter = 1.00) at 11:25 a.m., local time.

In the five years between this and the last recorded eclipse in the reign of Emperor Wu, no eclipses were visible in China. ii. HS 7: 6a reads, in the period Yüan-feng, the first year, "vii, on yi-hai, the last day, there was an eclipse of the sun, and it was total." (Han-chi 16: 6a agrees.) HS 27 Cb: 14b writes the day as "chi-hai" and adds, "It was almost total. It was 12 degrees in Chang. Liu Hsiang said, `Because it was chi-hai it was total. The significance of [this combination] is great.' " Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) comments, "Chi is earth and hai is water. It was the pure [element of] yin, hence the eclipse was extremely great. When a solar eclipse is complete, it is [called] chi [OMITTED]." The comments of Liu Hsiang and Meng K'ang fix the day as chi-hai, not yi-hai as in the text of the "Annals" and the Han-chi. The latter's concurrence shows moreover that this error was ancient. Yi-hai was furthermore neither the last day of the month nor the day of the eclipse, according to P. Hoang's calendar. P. Hoang equates this date with Sept. 20, 80 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2684 for that date. The stars of Chang, λ, υ, λ2, μ, and φ3 Hydrae were then in 120°, 123°, 127°, 131°, and 135° respectively. The sun's longitude was 174° = 175° R.A. This discrepancy of longitude is hard to account for. Calculation shows that at Ch'ang-an, the eclipse reached only a magnitude of 0.77, which was at 12:53 p.m. local time. Calculation of the path of totality shows that it passed 179 through Lake Baikal, east of Urga, and that at the present Peking the eclipse was total at 1:39 p.m. local time. In the 4 years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, 2 solar eclipses were visible in China; on May 18, 82 B.C. and May 6, 81 B.C. (the latter was invisible at Ch'ang-an, but calculation shows that at the present Peiping it reached a magnitude of 0.47 at 5:03 a.m., shortly after sunrise). THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

180

VIII. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY CHAPTER VIII EMPEROR HSIAO-HSÜAN

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI VII. CHAPTER VII VIII. CHAPTER VIII

INTRODUCTION The apogee of the Former Han period The reign of Emperor Hsüan (74-48 B.C.) marks the highest point of Chinese power and civilization during the Former Han period. In government, in prosperity, in art (cf. 8: 25a), and in its power over foreign tribes, this reign constitutes the apogee of the period. Never before was the government so well-administered or so kindly disposed to the people; never before had there been such good harvests. Emperor Wu had sent out victorious military expeditions, but never before had the Huns acknowledged themselves vassals of the Chinese. After this reign, decline ensued, until the dynasty ended and there came a general collapse under Wang Mang. In giving an account of the important events in this reign omitted from or inadequately discussed in these "Annals," it will perhaps be worth while to discuss the change in the succession to the throne, the revolt of the Ho clan, the character of Emperor Hsüan's rule, the submission of the Huns, and the ascendancy of Confucianism over its rivals. Liu Ho4b's brief reign and deposition Emperor Hsüan was not the Heir-apparent of Emperor Chao, but was selected to be Emperor by Ho Kuang and the ministers. The actual successor to Emperor Chao was Liu Ho4b, who was dismissed from the throne after a reign of twenty-seven days. This episode is passed over with a bare mention in the "Annals," since Emperor Hsüan did not figure in it. A full account of this as well as of other matters discussed in this introduction is to be found in the relevant "Treatises" and "Memoirs," which are abstracted in the glossary. Emperor Wu had six sons, three of whom died before their father. Liu Chü, his Heir-apparent, was killed in the insurrection caused by the famous witchcraft and black magic case (91 B.C.). With him died all his sons. The only descendant saved alive was an infant grandson only a few months old, Liu Ping-yi (the future Emperor Hsüan), who had been born of a singer and dancer slave-girl sold into the household of Liu Chü's son. Since the babe was a grandson, he was not executed, for the Chinese 181 law of blood-feud demanded that vengeance be taken for a parent's death only to the first generation of the dead man's descendants. Consequently, the Chinese law of inculpation similarly required the execution, in heinous crimes, of only the three sets of closest relatives (cf. glossary, sub Three sets of relatives). The courage of Ping Chi prevented this babe's death in the general executions that occurred after that insurrection. By 74 B.C., when Emperor Chao died, Liu Ping-yi had already been restored to membership in the imperial clan, from which he had at first been excluded, and was known as the Imperial Great-grandson. Another son of Emperor Wu, Liu Hung1a, King of Ch'i, had died in 110 B.C. without descendants. A third son, Liu Po6, King of Ch'ang-yi, had also died before his father (89 B.C.), leaving a son, Liu Ho4b. A fourth son of Emperor Wu, Liu Tan4a, King of Yen, had intrigued against

INTRODUCTION

[Chapter] VIII THE EIGHTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III IX. CHAPTER IX X. CHAPTER X ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

Emperor Chao and Ho Kuang, and had been executed (80 B.C.). A fifth son, Liu Hsü, King of Kuang-ling, was still living. The sixth and youngest son, Liu Fu-ling, had become Emperor Chao. There were thus, at the time of Emperor Chao's death, only three eligible descendants of Emperor Wu: Liu Ping-yi, Liu Ho4b, and Liu Hsü. Liu Tan4a's three sons were then commoners, and, because of their father's crimes, were not eligible. Liu Hsü had not proved himself a suitable person for the throne. He had been far from decorous and had delighted in such things as music (dancing), wandering, and feats of strength, such as lifting weights and fighting bare-handed with bears, boars, and other wild animals. He was passed over. Twenty years later he was executed for murder. The obvious choice for the throne was Liu Ho4b, and he was accordingly invited to come and perform the funeral rites as the heir of Emperor Chao. Liu Ho4b was then in his eighteenth or nineteenth year and had already been King of Ch'ang-yi for twelve years. The manic-depressive insanity that seems to have afflicted him in later years was probably already beginning to affect him. He was expecting the message; it was sent by fire-beacons from Ch'ang-an to Ch'ang-yi, which latter place was located in the present southwestern Shantung. In a fit of enthusiasm, Liu Ho4b started for the imperial capital late the same afternoon, spurring as hard as he could, killing horses recklessly, traveling 135 li in the remainder of that day. Meat, intercourse with women, and joyful amusements were forbidden during the period of mourning; in his delight at being on the way to the throne, Liu Ho4b forgot all prudence and had his slaves secure women and meat. When, forty-two days after, he reached the capital, instead of weeping as the heir of a 182 deceased emperor, he could not control his joy. When he came to the palace Portal, he however performed the required prostrations. Liu Ho4b was now given the imperial seals and the title of Emperor. Emperor Chao's Empress (née Shang-kuan), who was a grand-daughter of Ho Kuang, was made Empress Dowager, thus becoming the adoptive mother of Liu Ho4b. Emperor Chao died on June 5th; Liu Ho4b became Emperor on July 18th; Emperor Chao was buried on July 24th. An essential feature of the coronation was the presentation of the new Emperor in the ancestral Temple of Emperor Kao, the founder of the line. Liu Ho4b, in his pursuit of enjoyment, postponed this event. Meanwhile he gave rein to his wishes like a care-free youth. He played with the imperial seals. He gave his followers a thousand catties of gold in order that they might secure ten wives for him. He gave elaborate rewards to his boon companions. While the imperial coffin was still in the Palace Hall, he had music performed. He indulged in elaborate feasts, and did not refrain from meat, sending his followers out to buy chickens and pork when the palace officials refused to provide them for him. He committed fornication with the Palace Maids and threatened death to anyone who revealed the fact. In the twenty-seven days of his reign, he sent out messengers with credentials and edicts on 1127 missions. Officials who admonished him were warned to keep silent or were imprisoned. Ho Kuang was in distress at this flaunting of the dynasty's customs and institutions, and asked his intimates what could be done. He was reminded of the precedent set by Yi Yin, the venerated minister of T'ang the Victorious, the founder of the Shang dynasty. Yi Yin had imprisoned to the third year, in a place near his grandfather's tomb, T'ai-chia, an unworthy grandson and successor of T'ang, until T'ai-chia had repented of his wild ways. Thereupon Yi Yin had handed the rule back to T'ai-chia. This account was part of the Confucian tradition (it is found in Mencius V, i, vi, 5, also in the SC [Mh I, 189]), and was consequently part of the state constitution. Ho Kuang summoned the officials and members of his party to a conclave and explained the situation to them. They were astounded at the proposal to dethrone the Emperor, and did not dare to say anything, until T'ien Yen-nien arose, pulled out his sword, and asked for permission to kill anyone who

dissented. The officials thereupon agreed unanimously. The Empress Dowager, Ho Kuang's grand-daughter, was three or four years younger than Liu Ho4b, but was technically his mother, so that she could command Liu Ho4b. To lure Liu Ho4b out of the imperial quarters, 183 she went to the Emperor's palace. Liu Ho4b accordingly came to pay his court to her; when he returned to his apartments, he alone was allowed to enter the doors; the eunuchs held the doors and kept Liu Ho4b's followers out. These followers were arrested and imprisoned. Liu Ho4b was summoned to the Empress Dowager. She received him in full regalia (probably in the throne room), seated in the military tent, with several hundred attendants bearing arms. The courtiers ascended into the audience hall according to their proper order and Liu Ho4b was commanded to prostrate himself and hear the proceedings. A Master of Writing thereupon read a memorial signed by Ho Kuang and all the important officials, which asserted that Liu Ho4b had abandoned the rules of proper conduct and moral principles, and enumerated his misdeeds one by one. When the reading reached the point where Liu Ho4b was charged with fornication, the Empress Dowager said, "Stop. Could any subject or son of mine act in so disorderly a manner as this?" Liu Ho4b left his mat and prostrated himself while the Master of Writing continued reading the memorial. It ended by saying that Liu Ho4b had not yet presented himself in the Temple of Emperor Kao to receive the imperial mandate and was not fit to continue the imperial line nor to uphold the sacrifices in the imperial ancestral temples, so that he should be dismissed. It begged that the proper officials should be instructed to give information of that fact in the Temple of Emperor Kao. The Empress Dowager assented to this memorial and Ho Kuang ordered Liu Ho4b to arise, bow and accept the edict. Liu Ho4b protested, whereupon Ho Kuang held Liu Ho4b's hands and took away from him his imperial seals, the insignia of imperial authority. These he presented to the Empress Dowager, and led Liu Ho4b down, out of the palace Hall, out of the palace gate, and to the residence at the imperial capital for the kings of Ch'ang-yi. Liu Ho4b was then sent back to Ch'ang-yi, where he was given a stipend; his wealth was distributed among his daughters and sisters and he was left without any title. Ten years later, when he had proved to be harmless, he was made a marquis. The selection of Emperor Hsuan Ho Kuang and the ministers thereupon discussed the succession to the throne. Liu Hsü had already been passed over and the sons of Liu Tan4a could not be considered. Hence the most closely related member of the imperial clan was Liu Ping-yi, the Imperial Great-grandson. He was well spoken of and was then in his eighteenth year. Emperor Wu had ordered him to be taken care of in the imperial palace, and faithful eunuchs had used their private funds to have him given a good Confucian 184 education and to get him properly married. Ho Kuang memorialized the Empress Dowager that this youth would be a fit person to be the successor of Emperor Chao. The proper officials then went to the youth's residence, bathed and dressed him, and took him to the yamen of the Superintendent of the Imperial House, where he purified himself by fasting. Liu Ho4b was dismissed on Aug. 14; on Sept. 10, Liu Ping-yi presented himself to the Empress Dowager, who first ennobled him, making a marquis, after which Ho Kuang, acting upon her direction, invested him with the imperial seals and presented him to the imperial ancestors in the Temple of Emperor Kao. Thus the Confucian constitution of the state showed itself capable of dismissing an unworthy emperor after he had been (partly) enthroned, and of selecting another imperial scion to take his place, without creating any disturbance in the state. The particular device used was the principle of authority in the family: that a filial son owes obedience to his parents, hence the mother of the family could even dismiss from the throne an unworthy imperial son. (The Han emperors, after the first

one, were all called hsiao, "filial," in their posthumous names.) The success of such a change depended upon the loyalty of the minister who made the change and his reputation in the court. The dangerous intrigues and downfall of the Ho clan The revolt of the Ho clan is probably the most important single internal disturbance during this reign. When Emperor Hsüan was enthroned, Ho Kuang modestly resigned; Emperor Hsüan retained this minister in power, and he was the actual ruler until his death in 68 B.C. Emperor Hsüan paid no attention to the government until after Ho Kuang's death. In recompense for his services, Emperor Hsüan granted Ho Kuang a laudatory edict, ranked him the same as Hsiao Ho, Emperor Kao's Chancellor of State, who had founded the dynastic institutions, and gave his heirs the right to be exempt from the usual inheritance tax, by which the estate of a noble was decreased one-fifth each time it was transmitted from one generation to another. Ho Kuang's son, Ho Yü, was made General of the Right; Ho Kuang's grand-nephew, Ho Shan, was made Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing; Ho Kuang's grand-daughter was the Empress Dowager née Shang-kuan; his daughter was the Empress nee Ho; his sons-in-law, grand-nephews, and other relatives were all given high positions. Thus the Ho clan seemed to be in firm control of the court. But the train of events that was to bring about this clan's speedy downfall and destruction had already begun. 185 Ho Kuang's first wife had no sons; his son, Yü, was born of a slave-girl, Hsien. After his first wife had died, Ho Kuang had accordingly made Hsien his wife. Her unscrupulous ambition destroyed his house. When Emperor Hsüan had been a commoner, with the name Liu Ping-yi, he was at first not even allowed to be enregistered as a member of the imperial house; consequently his friends found difficulty in securing a wife for him. The eunuch Superintendent of the Lateral Courts (the imperial harem) had been a follower of Heir-apparent Li, Liu Ping-yi's grandfather. One of the Superintendent's subordinate eunuchs, Hsü Kuang-han, had a daughter, P'ing-chün, who was in her fourteenth or fifteenth year. She had been betrothed to a boy who had died and so it would be difficult to find a husband for her. The Superintendent persuaded her father to marry her to Liu Ping-yi, which was done in 75 B.C. Hsü Kuang-han had been a Gentleman to Emperor Wu, but through sheer stupidity had been impeached for robbery when accompanying the Emperor, a capital crime; his punishment had been commuted to castration, and he had finally become Inspector of Fields in the Drying House, the prison in the harem of the imperial palace, where was located the palace laundry. Several months before Liu Ho4b's deposition, P'ing-chün gave birth to a boy, who later became Emperor Yüan. After Liu Ping-yi became Emperor, P'ing-chün was made a Favorite Beauty (the highest rank of imperial concubines). Ho Kuang had a young daughter, and the officials began talking of appointing an Empress, thinking naturally of this daughter. But Emperor Hsüan cared for P'ing-chün and knew the Confucian principle that a wife married in poverty must not be cast off in success, so told his officials that they should seek even for the swords he had used before he had been ennobled. They took the hint, and suggested P'ing-chün as Empress. She was appointed in 74 B.C. Ho Kuang's wife, Ho Hsien, was now at her wits' end, for she was ambitious to make her daughter the Empress. The next year, the Empress nee Hsü was with child and fell ill. One of the imperial women physicians was a favorite with the Ho family and came to ask Ho Hsien for a favor in behalf of her husband, who was a guard in the palace harem. Ho Hsien saw her opportunity, and persuaded this woman to poison the Empress. Medicines given to imperial personages were always tested befoŕehand; this woman watched her opportunity and mixed the extract from some poisonous shells with the great pill of the Grand Physician. Before the Empress died in great agony (71 B.C.), she asserted she had been poisoned. Ho Hsien did not dare to reward the woman physician highly; the imperial physicians were all arrested

186 and questioned; Ho Hsien had to tell her husband what she had done. He said nothing, but managed to have the woman physician released. Then Ho Hsien prepared her daughter's marriage garments and sent her to the imperial palace. A year after the Empress née Hsü's death, Ho Hsien's daughter became Empress. She secured the sole affection of the Emperor. Emperor Hsüan would not, however, allow affection for a new wife to prevent him from doing his duty to the wife of his poverty. A year after Ho Kuang died, the Emperor made Liu Shih, the son of his first wife, his Heir-apparent, and made his first wife's father, Hsü Kuang-han, a marquis. Ho Kuang had previously opposed such an enfeoffment, saying that it was not proper for a criminal to be made a noble. Ho Hsien was now extremely angry, and instructed her daughter to poison the Heir-apparent. The sudden death of the Empress née Hsü had put people on their guard, and the child's nurse tasted all food given the boy, even when it was offered by the new Empress, so that the latter could not find any opportunity to poison the boy, even though she summoned the boy several times and kept poison by her. After the death of Ho Kuang in 68 B.C., the Grandee Secretary Wei Hsiang and others pointed out to Emperor Hsüan the danger of allowing one clan to monopolize the high positions in the court. The power of Ho Kuang's grand-nephew, Ho Shan, was accordingly curtailed drastically by enacting that memorials might be sealed before presentation and no duplicate need be presented. Thus the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing no longer knew beforehand what was being said to the throne and could not completely control the government business. Wei Hsiang had long private talks with the Emperor. About this time Emperor Hsüan heard the truth regarding the assassination of his first Empress. He did not attempt to punish the Ho clan immediately, for that clan and its relatives controlled the army. The Empress's assassination was accordingly not investigated any further. Instead of that, the members of the Ho faction were gradually displaced and their power taken away. The generals in that faction were one by one given civil posts or sent out into the provinces to be Grand Administrators of distant commanderies. Their positions were given to members of the Shih or Hsü clans, to whom belonged the maternal grandfather and the fatherin-law of the Emperor. Wei Hsiang was made Lieutenant Chancellor in place of the incompetent Confucian scholar who had been appointed through Ho Kuang's influence. Ho Yü was promoted to be Commanderin-chief, but was denied the right to wear the regular hat of a commanderin-chief or to carry the commander-in-chief's seal (whereby orders were authenticated), and thus his troops were taken out of his control. 187 When the Ho clan thus saw their power shorn away, they wept and blamed themselves. At last Ho Hsien told them about the poisoning of the Empress née Hsü. They then saw that there was no hope for their safety except by some desperate action. So they plotted to have the Empress Dowager hold a feast to which Wei Hsiang and Hsü Kuang-han were to be invited, at which the Empress Dowager was to issue an edict to behead these two enemies of the Ho faction, dethrone Emperor Hsüan, and make Ho Yü the Emperor. A messenger bearing news of this plot was intercepted by the imperial officials, and the palace of the unsuspecting Empress Dowager was carefully guarded, to prevent word of the plot being carried to her. At the same time, an imperial edict commanded that there should be no more arrests, thereby confounding the Ho faction. Their plot could not be carried out, because persons essential to the plot were moved to positions away from the capital. Ho Shan and his second cousin, Ho Yün, were dismissed from their positions for disrespectful lack of attention to their duties. Then Ho Shan was arrested and sentenced for having written secret letters. Ho Hsien offered to pay a thousand head of horses and to turn over to the government her residence west of Ch'ang-an, in order to ransom Ho Shan, but to no avail. He and Ho Yün then committed suicide. Thereupon Ho Hsien, Ho Yü, and the other conspirators were arrested and the whole Ho faction was exterminated. Altogether several thousand families were executed

and destroyed as accomplices; the only ones saved alive were the two Empresses. The Empress Dowager seems to have known nothing about the plot. The Empress nee Ho was dismissed and sent to a palace in Shang-lin Park, outside the capital; eleven years later she was moved to a still meaner place, whereupon she committed suicide. Thus the Ho clan, from having held the dominating power in the government, fell into utter ruin and annihilation within two years after the death of Ho Kuang. A more complete upset would hardly be imagined. The skill with which power was gradually taken away from this faction, its suspicions allayed by making no attempt to unearth evidence against them, while they were yet pursued relentlessly, is worthy of note. Rarely has such great power been so successfully withdrawn. The kindly and generous rule of Emperor Hsüan Emperor Hsüan did not himself take over the rule until after the death of Ho Kuang. As a youth he had been a commoner and had come to know, by personal experience, how the government affected the common people. He consequently had an infinitely better conception of the nature of a desirable government than could have been secured by a youth who had grown up in an imperial or a kingly palace, shielded from 188 contacts with a rough world. Emperor Wu had encouraged a severe government, with the result that tyranny had come to be looked upon as a sign of an official's ability. Ho Kuang had continued Emperor Wu's practises. Emperor Hsüan had himself seen the sufferings of the people, and set about to make the administration kindly disposed to the people. He rewarded those officials who were known to be kindly, and degraded those who were harsh. Huang Pa, the Assistant Grand Administrator of Ho-nan Commandery, had become known for generosity and fairness in deciding law-cases; Emperor Hsüan had heard of this fact before he came to the throne, and consequently gave Huang Pa a high position in the office of the Commandant of Justice. Thus a beginning was made in doing away with harshness in government. The inevitable result was that officials took advantage of the Emperor. Wang Ch'eng, who was Chancellor in the kingdom of Chiao-tung, sent in a false report in which he magnified the benefits he had conferred upon the people; Emperor Hsüan honored him with a noble title and increased his salary. Before Wang Ch'eng could be summoned to the capital to receive his rewards, he died. Then Emperor Hsüan discovered his deceit. The Emperor, however, continued the practise of rewarding kindly officials, permitting some vulgar officials to secure an empty fame for the sake of encouraging kindliness among the other officials. During the first part of Emperor Hsüan's reign, Ho Kuang himself controlled the government and successively appointed as Lieutenant Chancellor (the titular head of the government) two aged and incompetent Confucian scholars who were famous for their learning and who had been Emperor Chao's teachers. Both died in office. When Emperor Hsüan ruled in person, his Lieutenant Chancellors were all Confucians, who had each made a special study of some Confucian classic, but they were not primarily scholars. All (except the last one) died in office; Emperor Hsüan did not execute his officials as Emperor Wu had done. The first Lieutenant Chancellor, Wei Hsiang, was stern and severe; he had previously been made Grandee Secretary by Ho Kuang, which position was regularly the stepping-stone to the position of Lieutenant Chancellor. Wei Hsiang advised Emperor Hsüan against the Ho clan. When Ho Hsien's crimes became known, the government needed a stern and severe hand, and so Emperor Hsüan dismissed the scholar who was Lieutenant Chancellor, giving this office to Wei Hsiang. For the next Grandee Secretary, Emperor Hsüan selected a very different sort of person, Ping Chi, a protégé of Ho Kuang who was good-natured and liberal, and who sought no rewards for any of his own good deeds. If an official 189 committed a crime, Ping Chi would conceal the matter and suggest to the official that he had better resign than be punished. When he succeeded

to the position of Lieutenant Chancellor, he inaugurated the custom of not turning that office into a court for trying minor officials. He was followed by Huang Pa, who did not show the ability as Lieutenant Chancellor that he had shown as a commandery administrator. Emperor Hsüan's last Lieutenant Chancellor was Yü Ting-kuo, a man who was kindly to widows and, in doubtful cases, gave the accused the benefit of the doubt. Emperor Hsüan was thus more successful in securing capable and good Lieutenant Chancellors than any other emperor had been since Emperor Kao. Emperor Hsüan took a personal interest in legal cases. All cases of capital punishment had to be memorialized to the Emperor and his consent secured for the execution. Most of the information in the HS concerning various persons and even concerning certain conversations undoubtedly comes from the statements and testimony found in such memorials, which, because they had been approved by the emperor, became imperial edicts and were preserved in the imperial archives. Few emperors had devoted much time to reviewing law-cases; after Emperor Hsüan noticed the hardships inflicted upon the people by legal means, he spent a great deal of time in the yamen to which important legal decisions were sent for imperial approval. He reformed legal procedure in various ways. He established special judges to whom difficult cases could be referred (8: 9b) and who would be competent to judge such cases, so that it would not be necessary to execute a judge for having made a wrong decision, as had been done in the case of Hsü Jen and Wang P'ing (cf. Glossary sub Tu Yen-ninea). Emperor Hsüan inaugurated the practise that a son, grandson, or wife was not to be punished for concealing his or her parents', grandparents', or husband's crimes. Parents, grandparents, and husbands who shielded their sons, grandsons, or wives, were not however to be thus exempted, but were to be given special imperial consideration (8: 9b). He had special investigations made concerning persons who died in prison (8: 11a). He exempted the aged from punishment except for the most serious crimes (8: 15a). He continued the practise of sending out messengers to search for and report unjust trials (8: 20b). In his treatment of his people, Emperor Hsüan was kindly and generous. He rewarded capable officials and made large grants of money to the sons of those capable officials who died poor (8: 15b, 17a). Persons in mourning for their parents were exempted from required service (8: 9b) and festivities were allowed at marriages (8: 19a). The salaries of the 190 lowest officials were increased by half, in order that they should not need to oppress the people (8: 17b) and the practise was abolished that imperial messengers might exact their necessities from the people instead of securing them from the government (8: 24a). Various economies were effected: in time of drought the imperial table was reduced and officials were made to take a temporary reduction in salaries (8: 6b). Military garrisons were reduced. Useless palaces and lodges were not repaired. An unnecessary commandery was abolished (8: 9a, b). Taxes were remitted in time of drought or calamity (8: 6a, 7a, 13a) and the poll-money and poll-tax were reduced (8: 20a, 21b). Government land was loaned to the poor (8: 8b, 9a); government reservoirs and preserves were opened to cultivation (8: 9a). The price of salt (a government monopoly) was lowered (8: 11a). These reductions in government levies were not only made possible by economies; there was also such a succession of good harvests that in 62 B.C. the price of grain dropped to five cash per picul (probably one-eighth of its normal price). It is not surprising that, as a consequence of these benefits, the people should have seen many portents from Heaven. Phoenixes, supernatural birds, sweet dew, dragons, and other marvels appeared. Upon each such report, Emperor Hsüan distributed favors—amnesties, noble ranks, oxen and wine, silk. It is consequently natural that reports of of portents should have been frequent. The people, who credited even the good weather to the beneficent government, doubtless considered Emperor Hsüan worthy of all these portents and more. He was the best ruler in the whole Former Han period. The submission of the Huns

In his relations with non-Chinese peoples, Emperor Hsüan was especially fortunate, for a dispute over the succession to the Hun throne induced one of its claimants to come to the Chinese court and acknowledge Chinese overlordship; Chinese assistance then enabled this claimant to establish himself firmly on the Hun throne and to drive his rival far away. A Chinese expedition finally ended this rival's career. The Huns (Hsiung-nu) were a race of nomads, occupying the present inner and outer Mongolia, who were in the habit of making annual raids upon the settled Chinese to the south when winter gave them respite from the care of their flocks and herds. Pelliot (La haute Asie, p. 6) remarks that the Hsiung-nu were identical with the Huns of the great European invasions. In their raids, these Huns not only took Chinese animals and food, but also captives to be sold as slaves. Capture for the slave-trade was probably the most profitable feature of these raids. 191 To protect themselves, the Chinese built the Great Wall, and organized local militia for its defense. This system proved effective against small bands of raiders. Following the example of the Ch'in First Emperor, a Hun of the Lüan-ti clan, with the given name Mao-tun or Moduk, however united the Hun tribes and established himself as their emperor or Shan-yü (the last word of a phrase meaning, "Great Son of Heaven.") Thereafter it was possible for large bands of Huns to gather and break through the Great Wall. Emperor Kao was almost captured in a campaign to drive Lüan-ti Mao-tun out of Chinese territory. Defeated Chinese rebels regularly fled to the Huns and were welcomed by them, bringing with them Chinese mechanical and military skill. The Empress of Emperor Kao made peace and friendship with the Huns, sending them a girl of the imperial clan to be a wife of the Shan-yü. This arrangement did not, however, permanently stop the Hun raids. In the time of Emperor Wen, the Huns raided almost within sight of Ch'ang-an. Emperor Ching adopted the policy of encouraging Hun dissensions by giving high noble rank to noble Hun rebels who surrendered to the Chinese. Irritated by the constant Hun raids, Emperor Wu had sent army after army deep into Hun territory, driving them out of inner Mongolia and defeating them severely in outer Mongolia. At one time the Shan-yü was actually surrounded by an overwhelming Chinese force, but he succeeded in slipping away. The Chinese emperors followed the policy of making large and valuable grants to barbarian princes who came to pay homage; worn out by Emperor Wu's sledgehammer blows and attracted by the prospect of Chinese gifts, in the time of Emperor Chao, the Shan-yü thought of coming to the Chinese court, in order to be allowed to inhabit inner Mongolia. His envoy, unfortunately, became ill and died in Ch'ang-an; hence suspicion and pride kept the Shan-yü from taking any further steps and led him to continue the Hun raids. In 71, at the appeal of the Wu-sun, an Aryan tribe inhabiting the present Ili valley, Emperor Hsüan sent five armies deep into Hun territory, but the Huns had withdrawn and could not be found. The Wu-sun, however, achieved a signal victory over the Huns, for which Emperor Hsüan rewarded the Chinese Colonel, Ch'ang Hui, who had been sent to give them moral support. Thus the Chinese and Huns continued to oppose each other. In 60 B.C., Shan-yü Hsü-lu-ch'üan-chü died. The succession to the Hun throne was not fixed; the Hun kings were summoned to select his successor, but, before they arrived, a Yen-chih or Hun empress seated the deceased Shan-yü's younger brother upon the vacant throne. He proved tyrannical and cruel, dismissing the sons and brothers of his predecessor, 192 and offending some of his nobles. They consequently set up a son of his predecessor as Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh, and defeated the other Shan-yü, who then committed suicide. Other claimants for the throne now appeared, until in 57 B.C. there were five Shan-yü. Civil war eliminated all but Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh, whereupon three more claimants appeared, including Shan-yü Chih-chih, who was an elder brother, probably a half-brother of Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh. Shan-yü Chih-chih moreover succeeded in defeating Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh and occupied the region

of the Hun capital near the present Urga. Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh now appealed to the Chinese for aid and sent his son to the Chinese court to be an attendant upon the Emperor. Shan-yü Chih-chih countered by similarly sending one of his sons to the Chinese court. Shan-yü Hu-hanhsieh had now to find a more effective way of securing Chinese aid, so in 52 B.C., he requested permission to come in person to the grand court at the first of the Chinese year, bring tribute, and pay homage to the Son of Heaven. Such an event had never happened before, that the emperor of a powerful neighboring state should come to pay homage to a Chinese emperor. It was hence necessary to determine how the Shan-yü should be treated and what rites should be used. The court officials urged that he be treated as a vassal king and be ranked below the Chinese vassal kings. But Hsiao Wang-chih, an independent-minded and learned Confucian, advised that the Shan-yü should be treated as a guest, i.e., an equal of the Emperor, since it would be better to attach the barbarians by kindness and generosity than to alienate them by harshness and humbling them. Since they were not settled inhabitants, they could not be apprehended and subjugated. Therefore it would be better to influence them by benevolence and righteousness, so that they would be led to be trustful and yielding. Emperor Hsüan adopted this wise advice, and had Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh treated as a guest. He was given an imperial seal like that of the Chinese emperor (24 A: 21a). It was arranged that the Shan-yü's retinue should be given a view of the imperial cortege, and he was entertained at a great banquet during which he was shown the imperial treasures. He was given rich presents and sent back after a month or so. Patriotic and proud Huns had opposed Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh's personal submission to the Chinese, saying that it made them the laughing-stock of the world. On Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh's return, the Chinese supplied him with a large escort of Chinese cavalry, and allowed him to establish himself in inner Mongolia and to take refuge in the Chinese fortifications beyond the border. He was given large quantities of grain. The second 193 year after, Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh again came to the Chinese court and received even greater presents. Shan-yü Chih-chih had expected that when Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh once went to the Chinese court, he would not be able to return, but now he had not only returned but was greatly enriched by Chinese presents and grain, so that the Huns flocked to him. As a consequence, Shan-yü Chih-chih gave up all hope of being able to conquer his rival and moved to the west to carve himself out a kingdom there. In 36 B.C., during the reign of Emperor Yüan, a notable Chinese expedition pursued and beheaded him. Thus Chinese support proved able to determine the succession to the Hun throne, and the Huns at last became vassals of the Chinese. The Chinese subjugation of the Huns by diplomacy and gifts, after military conquest had failed to subjugate them, is quite typical of the best Chinese foreign policy. Against settled towns, such as those in the Tarim basin, military attacks could be permanently successful; but against a nomadic people, who could move out of reach when an expedition threatened them and could return to their steppes to attack the settled Chinese at the opportune moment, massed military attacks could have little permanent effect. Hence diplomacy and material assistance offered the best method of dealing with the Huns. The nature of Chinese external vassalage Ancient Chinese vassalage did not mean the same as it did in European medieval practise. The Chinese emperor asserted he was the Son of Heaven, and consequently the rightful overlord of all earthly rulers. His territory ideally comprised the whole earth, "all within the four seas." There grew up, however, a distinction between China proper and foreign lands. The boundary between these two regions was marked, at the north, by the Chinese fortifications built to keep out barbarian raids, which had been called, by the Ch'in dynasty, the Great Wall (ch'ang-ch'eng), and in Han times, the Barrier (sai). Within China proper there was sometimes also made a distinction between the central states (chung-kuo

[OMITTED]) and the border commanderies—at times the central states were asked to provide the court with literary men and administrators, while the border commanderies provided fighting men and generals. Outside Chinese territory, the demands made upon vassal states depended upon their distance from China as well as their size and importance. This distinction was recognized in Chinese theory by the conception of the various domains (fu). The imperial domain (tien-fu) was theoretically surrounded successively by the feudal domain (hou-fu), the tranquillizing domain (sui-fu), the domain of restraint (yao-fu), and the wild domain 194 (huang-fu). This arrangement is to be found in the "Tribute of Yü" (Book of History, III, i, ii, iv; Legge, pp. 142-151), where different services are required of the vassal states in different domains. In Han times, little more than a purely literary use was made, however, of these "domains." In practise, the Chinese court secured from surrounding countries whatever homage it could conveniently get. Vassalage always meant that: (1) The vassal ruler must accept and use as a badge of office a seal furnished him by the Chinese emperor. (2) The vassal must appear at the Chinese court at the great yearly reception on New Year's day, either in person or through an envoy, and bring tribute, in return for which he received gifts from the Chinese emperor (distant states were allowed to appear less often, but must come at least once each reign). For the entertainment of these missions, there was built at the imperial capital a Lodge for Barbarian Princes, just as there were Lodges for the various feudal kingdoms and commanderies. (3) Vassal rulers each sent a son to be reared at the Chinese court at the expense of the Chinese emperor. Such a son was held by the Chinese as a hostage and was indoctrinated with the might and civilization of the Chinese. (4) Vassal rulers were required to keep the peace, in return for which, such a ruler might actually be given a regular subvention from the Chinese. The latter was the case with Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh; the chief purpose of the unusual treatment given him was to induce him to prevent the continual border forays that had been made into Chinese territory by the Huns. At the court of 51 B.C., besides other things, Shan-yü Hu-hanhsieh was given 15 horses, 20 catties of actual gold, 200,000 cash, 77 suits of clothes, 8000 bolts of cloth, and 6000 catties of silk floss. After his return, he was at various times also sent 34,000 hu of grain. Since he actually stopped the border forays, the payments made him were less than the losses previously suffered by the Chinese in the Hun raids. (5) In the rare cases when a military expedition was necessary, each vassal ruler was required, upon demand, to contribute auxiliary troops, together with food and forage for the expedition. A set of credentials (cf. HFHD I, 245, n. 2) were each divided in two lengthwise, and the ruler was given the left half. The right half was retained in the imperial capital and was, when necessary, given to an imperial envoy, who accordingly had the right to command the vassal ruler. The genuineness of an envoy was tested by matching the two halves of the credential. Hence an "envoy with credentials" not only bore messages, but also 195 wielded the imperial authority for his special mission. Regular officials, such as the Protector General of the Western Frontier Regions, had to secure the imperial consent before calling out troops. Ch'en T'ang's expedition was composed mostly of auxiliaries from the states in the Western Frontier Regions, with a core of Chinese trained troops. (6) With regard to their internal affairs, the foreign vassal states were usually left alone. Distances were so great and travel so slow that it was not usually worth while to interfere in the internal affairs of vassal states. As long as they did not bother the Chinese, they were allowed to go their own way. At the installation of a new king, an imperial envoy

usually played an important part, although the succession to the vassal throne was not often interfered with by the Chinese. Imperial envoys were constantly sent out to vassal states, to keep the Chinese court informed of happenings in distant countries, to gage the loyalty of vassal states, to maintain the semblance of Chinese overlordship, and to carry on trade. Envoys were also sometimes sent to states outside of the Chinese orbit, bearing gold, silks, etc., in order to induce those states to declare themselves Chinese vassals. Since the annual tribute from these states was repaid by imperial gifts worth more to these people than what they sent, it was really to their own interests to submit. A Chinese military officer with his men might sometimes be quartered at the capital of a troublesome state, for the purpose of assuring the free passage of caravans and the maintenance of peace and Chinese dominance in the internal affairs of that state. Occasionally, a troublesome ruler might be dethroned and executed, whereupon a son more favorable to the Chinese was enthroned in his place (cf. Glossary, sub Fu Chieh-tzu). There were thus various degrees of subservience among foreign vassal states. Tribute missions easily became actual trading expeditions. Since vassal rulers were benefited by paying tribute, it became a deeper mark of homage for such a ruler to attend the Chinese court in person— the various Hun Shan-yü had been sending envoys, tribute, and sons as hostages before Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh came to court in person. The Hun people evidently considered the former actions quite in harmony with actual independence, so that it was necessary for a Shan-yü to bow before the Chinese emperor in person before the Huns seemed to to have recognized that their independence had been given up. Thus vassalage in China was different in spirit and in letter from that in Europe. As a special favor, Chinese imperial ladies were in rare cases granted to rulers of foreign states to be their wives. At first girls of the imperial clan (sometimes the daughter of a dismissed king) were thus sent; later, 196 when ladies of the imperial clan refused to leave China, ladies of the imperial harem who had not seen the emperor, such as the famous Wang Ch'iang, were sent. Thus foreign princes were attached to the Chinese by marriage. The granting of an imperial lady for the harem of a foreign ruler must, however, be considered a matter of diplomacy rather than one of vassalage, for this practice began before foreign states admitted any vassalage. Thus Emperor Kao sent a girl of the imperial clan (at first he had planned to send his own daughter) to the Hun Shan-yü Mao-tun's harem. The granting of an imperial lady was considered to be so signal an act of imperial favor, that it was extended only in rare cases, chiefly to the Huns and the Wu-sun (the latter were traditional Chinese allies against the Huns). When such alliance by marriage had been made, there naturally ensued intrigues to have the sons by such Chinese women elevated to the foreign thrones, in order to extend Chinese influence. Among the Huns, these attempts were usually unsuccessful; the Wu-sun kings, however, became in this manner partly Chinese. Thus there was opened the possibility for some barbarian invaders of China during the early middle ages to assert that their ruler was the legitimate heir to the Chinese imperial throne, since he was descended from a Chinese imperial house whom the Chinese had dethroned. The victory of Confucianism The reign of Emperor Hsüan was the time when the actual victory of Confucianism over its rivals occurred, although that victory was not completed until the reign of Emperor Yüan. Emperor Kao had merely been favorably inclined to Confucianism; Emperor Wen had been influenced greatly, but was also interested in other schools, especially the Legalist attempt to rectify penal terminology. He had hence kept both Confucian and non-Confucian Erudits at his court. Emperor Wu had done away with non-Confucian Erudits, and had established the Imperial University, whereby the civil service came to be filled with Confucians and the children of good families were taught by Confucians. Emperor Wu had, however, been greatly influenced by Legalism, Taoism, and other non-Confucian philosophies.

Emperor Hsüan's own sincere, but not quite whole-hearted, Confucianism was undoubtedly occasioned by the circumstance that as a child he had been cared for by some of the lower officials in the government service who thought affectionately of his grandfather, and who consequently gave him a good Confucian education, including a careful study of the Analects, the Classic of Filial Piety, and the Book of Odes. 197 The first two of these books then probably constituted the minimum curriculum for a well-educated Confucian. Emperor Chao had also studied these books, together with the Book of History (7: 4b). Emperor Hsüan's first edict in the first full year of his reign mentions the Book of Odes. Thereafter he continued to choose Confucians as his officials and advisors. He revived the study of the Ku-liang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn. When calamities occurred, as at the earthquakes of 70 and 67 B.C., he sent for Confucians to advise him what could be done. The study of the Ku-liang Commentary, which had been the favorite of Emperor Hsüan's grandfather, brought attention to the differences between it and the then authoritative Kung-yang Commentary (the Tso-chuan was not yet popular or studied by important scholars), and then to the differences between the various other classics. Emperor Hsüan summoned to the capital the outstanding authorities on all the Confucian classics to discuss these matters in the imperial presence. At the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion in the imperial palace, these discussions were carried on for two years (cf. App. II), under the presidency of Hsiao Wang-chih, with Emperor Hsüan acting as final arbiter to decide matters on which agreement could not otherwise be reached. The results of these discussions were then memorialized to the throne and published, thus fixing the official interpretation of the classics. Other interpretations were not proscribed; they are also listed among the books in the imperial library, but the official interpretation was doubtless taught in the Imperial University and learned by candidates for all official positions, for use in replies to the imperial examinations. The candidates' replies were graded by good Confucians, with the result that this official interpretation monopolized men's minds in the same manner that Chu Hsi's interpretation of the classics became dominant in recent centuries. At the same time, the number of the Erudits and their Disciples, who were the teachers in the Imperial University, was doubled. In spite of Emperor Hsüan's personal reliance upon Confucianism, he never accepted it exclusively or blindly in all respects, as did his successors. He was a practical man who had lived among the common people before he came to the throne, and knew the danger of idealistic impracticality inherent in the interpretations made by Confucian scholars. Hence he took as his standard not only Confucian interpretations of the classics but also the conduct of practical statesmen in Spring and Autumn times. In dealing with the Huns, he was quite ready to adopt "benevolence and righteousness" as the method for treating the Shan-yü, but he was far from relying upon moral suasion in all cases, as 198 Confucian idealists urged. In addition to Confucianism, he was interested in penological terminology as developed by the school of names and circumstances. He said that the Han practices accorded only in part with the Confucian models; these practises were also taken from the practises of the Lords Protector in Chou times (considered to be anti-Confucian), who had adapted themselves to circumstances, rather than following rigidly Confucian principles (9: 1b). Although all his Lieutenant Chancellors were highly educated Confucians, they were at the same time primarily experienced officials, and were chosen by him with reference to their success as officials. Emperor Hsüan intended at one time to make the great Confucian authority, Hsiao Wang-chih, his Lieutenant Chancellor, but the conduct of the latter as Grandee Secretary showed that he was not capable of holding the highest office, so he was dismissed. Thus Emperor Hsüan was a sincere and convinced Confucian, but he was too wise and too practical to accept everything the Confucian pedants said. While Emperor Wu paved the way for the victory of Confucianism by putting it in control of the curriculum

through which officials entered the civil service, that victory did not become complete until the time of Emperor Hsüan's successor, Emperor Yüan (49-33 B.C.). 199

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY] [Chapter] VIII THE EIGHTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Hsüan Emperor Hsiao-hsüan was the great-grandson of Emperor Wu and the grandson of Heir-apparent Li, [Liu Chü]. The Heir-apparent married[1] the Sweet Little Lady [née] Shih, who bore [Liu Chin], the Imperial Grandson [whose mother was née] Shih. The Imperial Grandson married the Lady [née] Wang, who bore Emperor Hsüan. He was [at that time] called the Imperial Great-grandson. Several months after his birth, there happened the witchcraft and black magic case, and the Heir-apparent, his Sweet Little Lady, the Imperial Grandson, and the Lady [née] Wang all met with [the extreme] misfortune. A discussion is in the "Memoir of the Heir-apparent". 63: 1a-6b Although the [Imperial] Great-grandson was 200 1b [a babe] carried on the back wrapped up,[4] he was 8: 1b

nevertheless sentenced and was arrested and held in the Prison at the Lodge for the Commanderies.[6] But Ping Chi, who was a Superintendent to the Commandant of Justice and had charge of the witchcraft and black magic [cases] at the Lodge for the Commanderies, pitied the [Imperial] Great-grandson because he was innocent, and directed [some] female convicts who had been exempted and were serving [their sentences,[7] including] Chao Cheng-ch'ing of Huai-yang [Commandery] and Hu Tsu of Wei-ch'eng, in turn to suckle and care for him. [Ping Chi] privately provided his clothing and food, 201 8: 2a looked after him, and treated him with extreme 87 B.C.

kindness. The witchcraft and black magic case was not definitely [ended] for many consecutive years. In the second year of [the period] Hou-yüan, Emperor 87 B.C. Wu was ill and went back and forth between Ch'ang-yang 2a [Palace] and Wu-tso Palace.[12] A person who watched for emanations said that in the prisons at Ch'ang-an there was the emanation of a Son of Heaven, so the Emperor sent messengers separately

to [each of] the prisons at the offices in the imperial capital to kill all those who were held [in prison, whether their crimes were] light or serious. The Chief of the Internuncios in the Inner [Courts], Kuo Jang, came by night to the Prison at the Lodge for Commanderies. [Ping] Chi resisted [him and] closed [the gates of the prison, so that] the messenger could not enter. [Thus], through the assistance of [Ping] Chi, the [Imperial] Great-grandson was saved alive. Thereupon there occurred a general amnesty.[13] [Ping] Chi hence sent the [Imperial] Great-grandson in a carriage to the home of his [deceased] grandmother, the Sweet Little Lady [née] Shih. A discussion is in the "Memoirs of [Ping] Chi" and "of 74: 7a, b the [Imperial] Relatives by Marriage." 97 A: 19b Later there was an imperial order that [the Imperial Great-grandson] should be reared and cared for in the Lateral Courts [of the Imperial Palace] and should be entered upon the register of members [of the imperial house by] the Superintendent 202 of the Imperial House. At that time the 8: 2b Chief of the Lateral Courts, Chang Ho, who had formerly served Heir-apparent Li, [Liu Chü], thought and reflected upon the kindness formerly [shown him by the Heir-apparent, and so] had compassion upon the [Imperial] Great-grandson and served and reared him very attentively. Out of his own money he furnished and provided for teaching him the writings.[17] When he was grown, [Chang Ho provided for] marrying him to a daughter of the Bailiff in the Drying House, Hsü Kuang-han. 2b The [Imperial] Great-grandson was therefore attached to and relied upon [Hsü] Kuang-han and his brothers, together with his grandmother's family, the Shih clan. He studied the Book of Odes with Fu Chung-weng of Tung-hai [Commandery]. He showed great ability and loved studying. He also delighted in roving braves, in cock-fighting, and in horse-racing. He was acquainted with all the undesirable elements of the hamlets and villages and with the accomplishments and defects in the government of the minor officials. He several times [participated in] the ascending and descending of the various imperial tombs,[19] going all about the three capital commanderies. He was once in trouble at the salt beds of Lien-shao. He especially enjoyed himself in the region of Tu4a and Hu3, and he was very commonly at Hsia-tu. At the times when the spring and autumn courts were held, he dwelt in Shang-kuan Ward of Ch'ang-an.[20] 203

8: 3a On his [whole] body and [even] on the bottoms of 74 B.C.

3a

his feet there was hair.[24] Where he slept and dwelt there were frequently lights and shinings. Whenever he bought cakes, each time the shop from which he bought made great sales. Because of these things, even he marvelled at himself.[25] In the first year of [the period] Yüan-p'ing, in I the fourth month, Emperor Chao died without an 74 B.C. heir. The General-in-chief, Ho Kuang, begged June 5[29] the Empress [née Shang-kuan] to summon the King of Ch'ang-yi, [Liu Ho4b]. In the sixth month, on [the day] ping-yin, the King, [Liu Ho4b], received July 18 204 74 B.C. the Emperor's imperial seals and seal cords. He 8: 3a

honored the Empress [née Shang-kuan] with the Aug. 14 title, Empress Dowager. On [the day] kuei-szu, [Ho] Kuang memorialized that the King, [Liu] Ho4b, had committed fornication and disorderly conduct, and begged that he be dismissed.[34] A discussion 63: 18b-20a is in the "Memoir of [Liu] Ho4b" together with 68: 4b-10a that "of [Ho] Kuang." Aug./Sept. In the autumn, the seventh month, [Ho] Kuang memorialized [the results of the officials'] deliberations, saying, "According to the Rites, the Way of mankind is to love [especially] one's relatives.[38] Hence people honor the founder of the house. Because they honor the founder of the house, they respect his successors. When the chief successor has no heirs, they select to be the heir a capable person from among the sons and grandsons of collateral branches [of the house]. "[Concerning] the great-grandson of Emperor Hsiao-wu, [Liu] Ping-yi, there was an imperial edict [ordering] that he be reared and cared for in the Lateral Courts. At present, he is in his eighteenth year. His teachers have taught him the Book of Odes, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety. He has held to moderation and economy in his conduct; he is kind and benevolent and loves others, [so that] he is capable of serving as an heir to Emperor Hsiao-chao, of worshipping and serving the founder of the house and his successors, and of treating [the people of] the ten thousand families as his children." The memorial was approved [by the Empress Dowager née Shang-kuan]. The Superintendent of the Imperial House, [Liu] Tê5b, was sent to the residence of the [Imperial] 205 8: 3b Great-grandson in Shang-kuan Ward to bathe his 74 B.C.

body and wash his hair and grant him the [proper] garments from the imperial Wardrobe. The Grand Coachman [was sent] with a hunting chariot[41] to fetch the [Imperial] Great-grandson respectfully. 3b [The latter] went to and purified himself in the yamen belonging to the Superintendent of the Imperial House. On [the day] keng-shen, he entered Sept. 10 the Wei-yang Palace and visited the Empress Dowager [née Shang-kuan, who] enfeoffed him as Marquis of Yang-wu.[44] After [these ceremonies] had been completed, the various courtiers memorialized that she should deliver up to him the imperial seals and seal-cords and he ascended the imperial throne and paid his respects in the Temple of [Emperor] Kao. In the eighth month, on [the day] chi-szu, the Sept. 19 Lieutenant Chancellor, [Yang] Ch'ang, died. In the ninth month, a general amnesty [was granted] Oct./Nov. to the empire. In the eleventh month, on [the day] jen-tzu, the Empress née Hsü was established Dec. 31 [as Empress] and gold and cash were granted to the vassal kings and to those [ranking] below them, down to the [minor] officials and common people, and to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, to each 206 74 B.C. proportionately. The Empress Dowager [née Shang8: 4a

kuan] returned to Ch'ang-lo Palace[50] and for the first time there was established a garrison guard in Ch'ang-lo Palace.[51] I In [the period] Pen-shih, the first year, in the 73 B.C. spring, the first month, officials and common people Feb./Mar. whose property was one million [cash] and over were solicited to move to P'ing-ling.[55] [The 4a Emperor] sent messengers bearing credentials [to carry] an imperial edict to the [officials] in the commanderies and kingdoms [ranking at] two thousand piculs, [ordering them] diligently to shepherd and 207 8: 4a nurture the common people and cause them to 73 B.C.

develop in virtue through the "Odes of the States."[59] The General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, bent his head to the ground and returned the rule, [offering his resignation, but] the Emperor respectfully refused to accept it and delegated to him [again] the charge [of the government]. The merits [of those who] made the plan[60] [for enthroning Emperor Hsüan]

were discussed, [and so] seventeen thousand families were added to the enfeoffment of the Generalin-chief, [Ho] Kuang, and ten thousand families to [that of] the General of Chariots and Cavalry and Superintendent of the Imperial Household, the Marquis of Fu-p'ing, [Chang] An-shih. The imperial edict said, "The former Lieutenant Chancellor, the Marquis of An-p'ing, [Yang] Ch'ang, and others, while performing their duties in their [respective] positions, together with the General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, [Chang] An-shih, initiated the proposal and fixed upon the plan [for the succession to the throne] in order to bring tranquillity to the [imperial] ancestral temples. Before a reward could be made for the merits [of the former person], he died. Let there be added to the enfeoffment of [Yang] Chung, the son and heir of [Yang] Ch'ang; to [the enfeoffments of] the Lieutenant Chancellor, the Marquis of Yang-p'ing, [Ts'ai] Yi; of the General Who Crosses the Liao [River], the Marquis of P'ing-ling, [Fan] Ming-yu; of the General of the Van, the Marquis of Lung-lo, [Han] Tseng; of the Grand Coachman, the Marquis of Chien-p'ing, [Tu] Yen-niena; of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the 208 73 B.C. Marquis of P'u, [Su] Ch'ang; of the Grandee8: 4b

remonstrant, the Marquis of Yi-ch'una, [Wang] T'an2a; of the Marquis of Tang-t'u, [Wei] P'ing; 4b of the Marquis of Tu4b, [Fu-lu] T'u-ch'i;[64] and of the Privy Treasurer of the Ch'ang-hsin [Palace], the Kuan-nei Marquis, [Hsia-hou] Sheng;" to the estates and households of each proportionately. [The Emperor] enfeoffed the Grandee Secretary, [T'ien] Kuang-ming, as Marquis of Ch'ang-shui; the General of the Rear, [Chao] Ch'ung-kuo, as Marquis of Ying-p'ing; the Grand Minister of Agriculture, [Tien] Yen-nien, as Marquis of Yang-ch'eng; the Privy Treasurer, [Shih] Lo-ch'eng, as Marquis of Yüan-shih; and the Imperial Household Grandee, [Wang] Ch'ien1, as Marquis of P'ing-ch'iu. He granted to the Western Sustainer, [Chou] Tê; to the Director of Dependent States, [Su] Wu; to the Commandant of Justice, [Li] Kuang1; to the Superintendent of the Imperial House, [Liu] Tê5b; to the Grand Herald, [Wei] Hsien; to the Supervisor of the Household, [Sung] Chi; to Imperial Household Grandee [Ping] Chi; and to the Chief Commandant to the Governor of the Capital, [Chao] Kuang-han, the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis. [Chou] Tê and [Su] Wu were given the income of estates. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] May 17 keng-wu, there was an earthquake. An imperial edict [ordered] the inner commanderies and kingdoms[66] each to recommend one Literary Scholar and one Person of High Standing. 209

8: 5a

In the fifth month, male and female phoenixes 73 B.C.

5a perched in [the commanderies of] Chiao-tung and June/July Ch'ien-ch'eng; an amnesty was granted to the empire and noble ranks, from [the rank of] Junior [Chieftain of] Conscripts to that of Fifth [Rank] Grandee,[71] were granted to the officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs, to the chancellors of the nobles, and to those [ranking] lower, down to the officials and eunuchs in the offices at the imperial capital [ranking at] six hundred piculs, to each proportionately. The common people[72] of the empire were each granted one step in noble rank, the Filially Pious [were granted] two steps, the women of a hundred households [were granted] an ox and wine, and the land tax and tax on produce were not to be collected. In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "The July/Aug. former Heir-apparent, [Liu Chü, who is buried] at Hu, has not yet any title nor posthumous name [for use at his] yearly and seasonal sacrifices. Let it be discussed [what would be a proper] posthumous name, and let there be established a park and [funerary] town [for him]." A discussion is in the "Memoir of the Heir-apparent." 63: 6a-7a In the autumn, the seventh month, an imperial Aug./Sept. edict set up [Liu] Chien4d, the Heir-apparent of King La of Yen, [Liu Tan4a], to be King of Kuang-yang, and [Liu] Hung2, a younger son of the King of Kuang-ling, [Liu] Hsü, to be King of Kao-mi.[76] In the second year, in the spring, the cash [in II possession of the Chief Commandant of] Waters and 72 B.C. Parks [was ordered to be used] for the P'ing Tomb; Spring common people were moved [there] and residences 210 72 B.C. were built. 8: 5b 5b The Grand Minister of Agriculture, the Marquis of Yang-ch'engb, T'ien Yen-nien, who had committed crimes, killed himself.[83] May/June In the summer, the fifth month, an imperial edict said, "We, with [Our] insignificant person, have respectfully succeeded to [the throne of Our] ancestors. Early and late [We] have been thinking and reflecting that Emperor Hsiao-wu personally practised benevolence and righteousness and selected brilliant generals to punish those who did not submit, [so that] the Huns fled afar. [Those generals] pacified the Ti-ch'iang, [so that] the [states of] K'un-ming, Nan-yüeh, and the many southern

barbarians turned towards his influence, knocked at the barriers, and brought tribute. He established the [Imperial] University, renewed the suburban and other sacrifices, fixed the beginning of the year, harmonized the [musical] notes and musical tubes, performed the [sacrifice] feng upon Mount T'ai, and made the Hsüan-fang [dyke]. Auspicious portents and presages [came in] response, the precious three-legged cauldron appeared, and the white unicorn was captured.[85] His merits and virtue are glorious and abundant, so that they cannot be completely related. Yet the music in his temple is not adequate [to glorify him properly]. Let [this matter] be discussed [and the results of the discussion] memorialized." The [high] officials memorialized, begging that it would be proper to give to him a more honorable title. [Consequently,] in the sixth month, on [the Aug. 10 day] keng-wu,[87] the Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-wu 211 8: 6a was honored and was made the Temple of the Epochal 72 B.C.

Exemplar. [It was ordered that] there should be performed [in it] the dances of Abundant Virtue, of the Peaceful Beginning, and of the Five Elements;[90] that the Son of Heaven should from generation to generation make offerings [there]; that the commanderies and kingdoms which Emperor Wu favored [by a visit] in making a tour of inspection should all erect temples [to him]; and that there should be granted to the common people one step in rank and to the women of a hundred households an ox and wine.[91] The Huns had several times invaded the [Chinese] borders and also were making expeditions westwards against the Wu-sun. The K'un-mi[92] of the Wu-sun, together with the [Chinese] Princess, [his wife], took the opportunity [offered by a Chinese] envoy to that state, [who was returning], to send the Emperor a letter saying that the K'un-mi was willing to mobilize the choice troops of his state to attack the Huns, if only the Son of Heaven would 6a have compassion and pity and send out his troops to rescue the Princess. In the autumn, there was a Autumn great mobilization, raising, and appointment of light chariots and valiant soldiers from east of the [Han-ku] Pass. Selections were made from the officials [ranking at] three hundred piculs in the commanderies and kingdoms, and the stout, strong, and experienced horsemen and archers were all [sent] to go with the army. The Grandee Secretary, 212 72 B.C. T'ien Kuang-ming, was made the General of 8: 6b

the Ch'i-lien [Mountains]; the General of the Rear,

Chao Ch'ung-kuo, was made the General of the P'u-lei [Lake]; and the Grand Administrator of Yün-chung [Commandery], T'ien Shun, was made the Tiger's Teeth General. Together with the General Who Crosses the Liao [River], Fan Ming-yu, and the General of the Van, Han Tseng, [there were] altogether five generals with an army of one hundred fifty thousand horsemen. Colonel Ch'ang Hui, bearing credentials, [was sent] to aid the army 71 B.C. of the Wu-sun. All [were to] attack the Huns. III In the third year, in the spring, the first month, Mar. 1 on [the day] kuei-hai, the Empress née Hsü died. Mar. 6 On [the day] mou-ch'en, the five generals and their armies started from Ch'ang-an. In the summer, June/July the fifth month, the armies were disbanded. The General of the Ch'i-lien [Mountains, T'ien] Kuang-ming, and the Tiger's Teeth General, [T'ien] Shun, had committed crimes and were given into the charge of the [high] officials. Both killed themselves.[102] Colonel Ch'ang Hui, leading the army of the Wu-sun, penetrated into the western [part of] the Hun territory and made great conquests and captures, so he was enfeoffed as a marquis. There was a great drought.[103] In those commanderies and kingdoms that suffered greatly from the drought, the people [were permitted] not to pay the land tax or capitation taxes, and those among the common people of the three capital commanderies 6b who had reached the lowest [conditions] were temporarily not to have [taxes] collected [from them] nor to be made to serve. [This remission] was to be ended in the fourth year [of Pen-shih]. 213

8: 6b In the sixth month, on [the day] chi-ch'ou, the 71 B.C.

July 25 Lieutenant Chancellor, [Ts'ai] Yi, died. In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV an imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard 70 B.C. that agriculture is the fundamental thing in making Feb./Mar. virtue flourish. [But] this year there has not been a good harvest. [We] have already sent messengers to aid and make loans to those who are distressed and indigent. Let it be ordered that the Grand Provisioner shall diminish the food [for the imperial table] and reduce the [number of] butchers.[111] The Bureau of Music shall lessen [the number of] musicians, and send them home, so that they may turn to the profession of agriculture. The Lieutenant Chancellor and lower [officials], down to the Chiefs and Assistants in the offices at the capital, shall

inform Us [concerning the amount of] grain they will contribute and pay into the Ch'ang-an granaries to assist and loan to the poor people.[112] Common people who transport grain by cart or by boat through the [customs] barriers shall be permitted not to use passports."[113] In the third month, on [the day] yi-mao, the Apr. 17 Empress née Ho was established [as Empress], and there were granted to the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei Hsien], and to those [ranking] below him, down to the Gentlemen and [minor] officials and their attendants, gold, cash, and silk, to each proportionately. An amnesty [was granted] to the empire. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] 214 70 B.C. June 3 jen-yin, in forty-nine commanderies and kingdoms, 8: 7a

there was an earthquake, [in which] mountains collapsed and water came forth.[118] The imperial edict said, "Verily, [calamitous] visitations and prodigies are warnings from Heaven and Earth. We have inherited [Our] vast patrimony, are upholding [the sacrifices in the imperial] ancestral temples, and have been entrusted [with a position] above that of gentlemen and common people, [but We] have not yet been able to harmonize the many living beings. Recently an earthquake in Po-hai and Lang-yeh [Commanderies] has ruined the Temples of the [Eminent] Founder, [Emperor Kao], and of the [Epochal] Exemplar, [Emperor Hsiao-wu]. We are greatly dismayed. "Let the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei Hsien], and the [Grandee] Secretary, [Wei Hsiang], together with the marquises and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, widely question those gentlemen who are learned in the Classics [to see whether 7a there is anything] to do in response to this calamity[120] and [thereby] assist Our inadequacies. Let nothing be hidden [from Us. We] order that the Three Adjuncts, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and the inner commanderies and kingdoms should each recommend one Capable and Good person who is Sincere and Upright. If in the Code or ordinances there is anything that should be abolished and done away with, in order to give peace to the people, [let those] articles [of the law] be memorialized [to Us. At those places] which have been the most 215 8: 7a ruined or demolished by the earthquake, let the 70 B.C.

land-tax and the capitation-taxes not be collected. [Let] a general amnesty [be granted] to the empire."

Because the ancestral temples had been destroyed, the Emperor wore mourning garments and shunned the Main Hall [of the Palace] for five days. In the fifth month, male and female phoenixes perched June/July at An-ch'iu and Shun-yü in Po-hai [Commandery]. In the autumn, the King of Kuang-ch'uan, [Liu] Autumn Chi5,[125] who had committed crimes, was dismissed, and exiled to Shang-yung. He killed himself. In [the period] Ti-chieh,[126] the first year, in the I spring, the first month, a comet appeared in the 69 B.C. western quarter.[129] In the third month, fields Jan./Feb. [for cultivation] were loaned to poor people from Apr./May the commanderies and kingdoms.[132] In the summer, the sixth month, an imperial July/Aug. edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that Yao loved his nine [classes of] relatives in order that he might thereby harmonize the myriad states [of his empire].[134] We have received and inherited the 216 69 B.C. virtue [of Our ancestors] and have been put in 8: 7b

charge of maintaining the sacred imperial patrimony. [We] have been thinking and reflecting that in the imperial house [there are some whose] registration has not yet lapsed [because their relationship is not yet too distant], but who have been cut off because of their crimes; if they have any fine talents, correct their conduct, and make great efforts toward goodness, let them again be enregistered [as members of the imperial house, in order to] cause them to have an opportunity to renew themselves." Dec./Jan. In the winter, the eleventh month, the 68 B.C. King of Ch'u, [Liu] Yen-shou, who had plotted rebellion, [was made to] commit suicide. In the 7b twelfth month, on [the day] kuei-hai, the last day Feb. 13 of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun.[141] II In the second year, in the spring, the third month, Apr. 21 on [the day] keng-wu, the Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief, [Ho] Kuang, died. The imperial edict said, "The Commander-in-chief and Generalin-chief, the Marquis of Po-lu,[144] was constantly on guard for Emperor Hsiao-wu for more than thirty years and acted as assistant to Emperor Hsiao-chao for more than ten years. He met with the greatest difficulties, [but] he himself held firmly to his fealty. He led the three highest ministers, the nobles, the nine high ministers, and the grandees in determining upon the plan [for enthroning Us, the Emperor,

which is to determine the imperial succession for] ten thousand generations, and thereby gave peace to the [imperial] ancestral temples. The multitude of common people in the empire have all as a result [enjoyed] tranquillity and peace. "His merits and virtues were abundant and great, [so that] We have esteemed him most highly. [We] 217 8: 7b exempt his posterity [from taxes and service] and 68 B.C.

grant to them [in perpetuity] the same estate for their noble rank [as that possessed by the founder of the house].[147] From generation to generation they [shall] not [be required] to pay [anything to the Emperor]. His merits [shall be ranked] the same as [those of] the Chancellor of State, Hsiao [Ho]."[148] In the summer, the fourth month, phoenixes May/June perched in [the kingdom[150] of] Lu and a crowd of birds followed them.[151] [Consequently], a general 218 68 B.C. amnesty [was granted] to the empire. 8: 8a June/July In the fifth month, the Imperial Household 8a Grandee, the Marquis of P'ing-ch'iu, Wang Ch'ien1, who had committed crimes, was sent to prison and died.[156] The Emperor for the first time [attended] in person to governmental affairs. He moreover meditated on rewarding the merit and virtues of the General-in-chief, [Ho Kuang], so he furthermore employed the Marquis of Lo-p'ing, [Ho] Shan, as the Intendant of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing; but he ordered that the various courtiers were to be permitted to memorialize state affairs in [single] sealed [envelopes],[157] in order that [the Emperor] might know the sentiments of his subjects. [Every] five days he held one audience for state affairs. From the Lieutenant Chancellor[158] on down, each [official], in performing his duties, memorialized matters [concerning his office], in order to "express [their ideas] in words" [so that the Emperor] might examine and "test them by their deeds"[159] and abilities. The Palace Attendants and 219 8: 8a Masters of Writing, who had distinguished them68 B.C.

selves by their labor and who deserved to be promoted, together with those [officials] who showed unusual excellences, were given rich rewards and

grants, and [rewards were even bestowed] upon their sons and grandsons, [but their positions] were not at any time changed or altered.[162] The pivot-pins and [crossbow] trigger mechanism [levers] everywhere fitted each other; the instrument and its form was complete and entire.[163] Superiors and inferiors were at peace with each other, and there was no thought of treating [any matter] lightly.[164] In the third year, in the spring, the third month, III an imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard 67 B.C. that if anyone has merits and is not rewarded, or April if anyone has committed crimes and is not punished, although [the ruler were] T'ang [Yao] or Yü [Shun], he would on that account not be able to improve the country. Now the Chancellor in [the kingdom of] Chiao-tung, [Wang] Ch'eng, has treated [his people] kindly and has cared for them without reposing.[168] 220 67 B.C. 8b More than eighty thousand wandering people 8: 8b

voluntarily reported themselves [for registration].[172] His government is of an extraordinarily [high] grade. Let [Wang] Ch'eng be ranked at fully two thousand piculs and be granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis." [The edict] also said, "The poor or distressed common people who are widowers, widows, orphans, childless, or in advanced years are those whom We [especially] pity. Previously [We] issued an edict [ordering that the officials should] lend them public fields for cultivation and lend them seed and food. Let there be added grants of silk to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and those in advanced years. [Let the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs severely instruct their officials carefully to care for and visit [these persons] and not permit them to lose their status [as occupants of government land. We] order the inner commanderies and kingdoms to recommend capable and good persons who are sincere and upright and are able `to cherish the common people'."[173] In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] May 24 mou-shen, the Imperial Heir-apparent, [Liu Shih], 221 8: 9a was established [as heir-apparent]. A general am67 B.C.

nesty was granted to the empire and there were granted: to the Grandee Secretary, [Wei Hsiang], the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis; to [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, the noble rank of Senior Chief of the Multitude; and to those 9a

in the empire who would become the successors of their fathers, one step in noble rank.[178] There were granted: to the King of Kuang-ling, [Liu Hsüa], a thousand catties of actual gold; to each of the fifteen [other] vassal kings, a hundred catties of actual gold; and to each of the eighty-seven full marquises who were at their states, twenty catties of actual gold. In the winter, the tenth month, an imperial edict Nov./Dec. said, "Recently, when there was an earthquake in the ninth month on [the day] jen-shen, We were Oct. 15 very much dismayed. If there are any [persons] who can remonstrate with Us for [Our] faults or errors or [any] capable and good, sincere and upright gentlemen, [who are able] to speak frankly and admonish unflinchingly, in order to correct Our inadequacies, let them not keep silent because of respect for the high officials, [but speak out]. "Since We are not virtuous, We have not been able to transmit [Our influence] to distant [regions]. For this reason, at the borders, the frontier garrisons and frontier guards have not yet been dismissed. If now [We] again make the troops labor and increase the frontier garrisons, [We] will lengthen out the toil of the people, which is not what would 222 67 B.C. give rest to the empire. Let the garrison troops 8: 9b

of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, [Chang An-shih], and of the General of the Right, [Ho Yü], be abolished."[183] There was also an edict [ordering] that the reservoirs [for rearing fish] and the preserves[184] which had not yet been favored by the Emperor [with a visit] should be loaned to poor people, that the palaces and lodges in the commanderies should not again be repaired, and that when wandering people return [to their former homes], they should be loaned public fields, should be loaned seed and food, and temporarily should not [be made to pay] poll-taxes or [to do public] service. Dec./Jan. In the eleventh month, an imperial edict said, 9b "Since We are inadequate and are not wise in leading 66 B.C. the people, [We] turn over from side to side [in bed] and rise at dawn, thinking and reflecting about the myriad parts [of the empire] and not forgetting the great multitude [of common people], especially fearing that [We] shall bring disgrace to the sage virtue of [Our] imperial predecessors. Hence for many years down to the present, [We] have had [the different parts of the empire] at the same time recommend [to Us] persons who are capable and good, sincere and upright, in order that they might `cherish'[188] the myriad clans [of the empire]. Yet the customs and culture [of the empire] are [still] inadequately [developed]. The

223 8: 9b Memoir says, `Are not filial devotion and brotherly 66 B.C.

respect the very foundation of an unselfish life?'[191] Let each commandery or kingdom recommend one person of filial devotion and brotherly respectfulness whose actions and principles are renowned in his village or hamlet." In the twelfth month, [the Emperor] first established Jan./Feb. the four Commandant of Justice's Referees, who were ranked at six hundred piculs.[193] The commandery of Wen-shan was abolished and [its territory and administration] were united with [that of] Shu [Commandery]. In the fourth year, in the spring, the second month, IV [the Emperor] enfeoffed his maternal grandmother, Mar./Apr. [Wang Wang-jen], as the Baronetess of Po-p'ing. [Hsiao] Chien-shih, a [great-]great-grandson of the former Marquis of Tso, Hsiao Ho, was made a Marquis. An imperial edict said, "If the people are led in accordance with [the principle of] filial devotion, the whole world will be submissive. [But] it now happens that sometimes when the people are suffering the misfortunes and calamities [which cause them to wear] mourning badges and girdles, the [minor] officials nevertheless require their service, so that they are not able to bury [their parents, thus] saddening the hearts of filial sons. We pity them very greatly. From the present [time on], let whoever is in mourning for his grandfather, grandmother, father, or mother not [be] required to do [forced] service, so that he can care for [the deceased], dress the corpse, and accompany it to the grave, 224 66 B.C. [thus] carrying out to the full the duties of a son."[197] 8: 10a 10a In the summer, the fifth month,[200] an imperial June/July edict said, "The love between parents and children and the relationship between husband and wife are Heaven-[endowed qualities of human] nature. Even though [one of these persons] should suffer calamitous trouble, [the other] would nevertheless expose himself to death, in order to preserve [his father or husband]. Indeed love knotted about the heart is the extreme of benevolence and generosity. How can [anyone] go contrary to it? "From now [on], if a son takes the lead in hiding his father or mother, or a wife in hiding her husband, or a grandson in hiding his grandfather or grandmother, let them all not be condemned [for crime]. If a father or mother should hide their son, or a

husband hide his wife, or a grandfather or grandmother hide their grandson, and if their punishment should be death, let all [such cases] be referred to the Commandant of Justice in order that they may be reported [to Us]."[202] 225

8: 10b [Liu] Wena, the grandson of King Hui of Kuang66 B.C.

ch'uan, [Liu Yüeh], was set up as the King of Kuang-ch'uan. In the autumn, the seventh month, since the Aug./Sept Commander-in-chief, Ho Yü, had plotted to rebel, an imperial edict said, "Recently Chang Shê, a Clerk to the Prefect of the Eastern Weaving Chamber, sent the bravo[206] Li Ching, [a man from] Wei Commandery, to inform the Marquis of Kuan-yang, Ho Yün, [how his cabal should] plot to commit treason. Because of the [former] General-in-chief, [Ho Kuang], We repressed [the matter] and did not 10b take action, hoping that [Ho Yü and his friends] would reform themselves. [But] now the Commander-in-chief, the Marquis of Po-lu, [Ho] Yü, and his mother, [Ho] Hsien, the Lady of Marquis Hsüan-ch'eng, [Ho Kuang]; together with his older and younger [second][208] cousins, the Marquis of 226 66 B.C. Kuan-yang, [Ho] Yün, and the Marquis of Lo8: 10b

p'ing, [Ho] Shan; also the husbands of his elder and younger sisters, the General Who Crosses the Liao [River], Fan Ming-yu; the Privy Treasurer of the Chang-hsin [Palace], Teng Kuang-han; the General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Jen Sheng; the Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Chao P'ing; and a man[211] of Ch'ang-an, Feng Yin, have [actually] plotted to commit treason. [Ho] Hsien moreover previously had the female attendant physician, Shun-yü Yen, give poison to and murder Empress Kung-ai [née Hsü], and plotted to poison [Our] Heir-apparent, [Liu Shih, thereby] intending to endanger the [imperial] ancestral temples. [This conduct was] treasonable, rebellious, and inhuman,[212] and they have all suffered for their crimes. [Let] all those who have been deceived and led into error by the Ho clan, [whose crimes] have not yet become known [so as to come] into [the hands of] the officials, be all pardoned and freed." In the Sept. 17 eighth month, on [the day] chi-yu, the Empress née Ho was dismissed. Oct./Nov. In the ninth month, an imperial edict said, "We have been reflecting that those people who have lost their occupations have not enough [to live on, and so We] have sent messengers to travel about

227 8: 11a among the commanderies and kingdoms to ask the 66 B.C.

11a common people about what they are pained by or suffer from. The officials sometimes seek for private profit, [thus making] trouble and difficulties for [Our subjects], not considering their calamities. We pity [these suffering people] greatly. "This year the commanderies and kingdoms have suffered considerably from inundations. [We] have already given assistance and loans [to them]. Salt is the food of the common people, yet its price is everywhere [too] high, [so that] the multitude of common people are heavily distressed. Let the price of salt be reduced all over the empire."[218] It also said, "It is the first ordinance[219] [of Heaven] that the dead cannot become alive [again] and that a mutilating punishment cannot be undone. This is what the preceding emperors have been greatly concerned about, yet the officials have not conformed to [the imperial intentions. But] now, those who are held sometimes die in prison because they have been flogged for their crimes or because of hunger, cold, or illness.[220] Why should the intentions [of 228 66 B.C. prison officials be so] contrary to human nature? 8: 11b

We are very much saddened by it. "Let it be ordered that the commanderies and kingdoms shall yearly report the offence, name, prefecture, noble rank, and hamlet of those who have been held as prisoners and have died because of beatings or illness; when the Lieutenant Chancellor and [Grandee] Secretary examine the relative merits [of the officials], they shall thereupon report [such 65 B.C. cases to Us]."[224] Jan./Feb. In the twelfth month, the King of Ch'ing-ho, 11b [Liu] Nien, who had committed crimes, was dismissed and exiled to Fang-ling.[227] I In [the period] Yüan-k'ang,[229] the first year, in the Spring spring, on the plain east of Tu4a, the Emperor's tomb was made,[231] and the name of Tu4a Prefecture was changed to Tu-ling [Prefecture. The residences of] the Lieutenant Chancellor, generals, marquises, and officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs whose property [amounted to] a million [cash] were moved to Tu-ling. Apr./May In the third month, an imperial edict said, "Recently phoenixes have perched in T'ai-shan and

Ch'en-liu [Commanderies] and sweet dew[233] has descended in Wei-yang Palace. We have not yet been able to manifest the excellent and glorious [deeds of Our] imperial predecessors, in harmonizing and giving rest to the people, in serving Heaven and obeying Earth, and in tempering and ordering the four seasons. [Yet We] have obtained and received these favorable presages and have been granted this 229 8: 12a [supernatural] favor and happiness. Morning and 65 B.C.

evening, [We] have been circumspect without any pride [in Our achievements. We] examine Ourself [to take care that We] be not lax, and continually reflect without end. Does not the Book of History say, `The male and female phoenixes come and dance in pairs and all the chiefs are truly harmonious?'[236] "Let an amnesty be granted to the convicts of the empire; [let] noble ranks [be] granted to officials who are diligent in their business, [to those ranking] from fully two thousand piculs down to six hundred piculs, from the [noble rank of] Ordinary Chieftain of Conscripts[237] to [that of] Fifth [Rank] Grandee; to the Accessory Officials and those [ranking] above, 12a two steps [in aristocratic rank]; to the common people, one step; and to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine. We add grants of silk to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Brotherly Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields. Let what has been given as assistance and loans be not collected [again]." In the summer, the fifth month, there was established June/July 230 65 B.C. the Temple of the Deceased Imperial Father, 8: 12a

[Liu Chin; the number of] the households [whose taxes supported] Feng-ming [Funerary] Park, [where he was buried], was increased; and [the place] was made Feng-ming Prefecture. The families of the descendants of 136 persons who were meritorious subjects of Emperor Kao, [such as] the Marquis of Chiang, Chou P'o, were exempted [from taxes and forced service] and were ordered to uphold the sacrifices [to their ancestors, the meritorious subjects of Emperor Kao], from generation to generation without end. If [these meritorious subjects] had no descendants, their next [of kin] were exempted.[242] Sept./Oct. In the autumn, the eighth month, an imperial edict said, "We are not versed in the six classics and are ignorant regarding the great Way [of the universe]. For this reason the yin and yang, the winds

and the rain have not yet been timely. Let [the Lieutenant Chancellor, the Grandee Secretary and the Commander-in-chief][244] each recommend generally, [from among] the officials and common people, two persons who have cultivated and corrected their persons, who are learned Literary Scholars, and who 231 8: 12b are [not only] intelligent concerning the political 65 B.C.

methods of the ancient Kings, [but can also] thoroughly manifest the intentions [of those rulers. Let the officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs 12b [also] each [recommend] one [such] person." In the winter, there was established [the office of] Winter Commandant of the [Palace] Guard at Chien-chang [Palace]. In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II an imperial edict said, "The Book of History says, 64 B.C. `[You must deal speedily with them according to] Feb. the penal laws made by King Wen, punishing them [severely] and not pardoning them.'[252] [But] now the officials, in cultivating their persons and in upholding the laws, have not yet conformed to Our conceptions. We are very much troubled [by it]. Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire, [so as to] give [these] gentlemen and grandees [an opportunity] to do their utmost and start anew." In the second month, on [the day] yi-ch'ou, the Mar. 26 Empress née Wang was appointed [as Empress], and cash and silk were given to the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei Hsiang], and to [officials] inferior [to him, down] to the Gentlemen and the [imperial] retmue, to each proportionately. In the third month, because phoenixes had perched Apr. and sweet dew had descended[255] [the Emperor] granted: to the officials of the empire, two steps [in noble rank]; to the common people, one step; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged, silk. In the summer, the fifth month, an imperial edict June said, "Criminal trials are that [on which] the fate 232 64 B.C. of the myriad common people [hangs]. They are 8: 13a

the means of arresting violence and of stopping evil, of rearing and developing all living beings. If anyone can make the living be without cause of resentment [against him] and the dead [whom he has 13a sentenced] be without hatred [for him], he may indeed be called an accomplished official. "But the present [officials] are not such [persons]. In applying the law, some of them cherish deceptive intentions, juggling the law in either direction [that suits them, making their] unjust [decisions too] heavy or [too] light, adding statements to cover up [their own] wrong-doing, using [such statements] to encompass the guilt [of the accused]. When they memorialize what is not according to the facts, the Emperor has moreover no means of knowing [the truth].[260] "This [fact is due to] Our lack of intelligence and to the inappropriateness of the officials. Upon whom [then] would the common people in the four quarters [of the empire be able] to rely? [Let the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs each investigate their official subordinates and not employ this [sort of] person, and [let the minor] officials bend their efforts to make the law impartial. "Some [officials] arbitrarily levy forced laborers to decorate their kitchens and post [relay stations], in order to please [their superiors'] messengers and guests who pass by, going beyond their duties and transgressing the laws in order to gain fame and renown. [Such conduct] is like walking on thin ice[261] while waiting for the bright sun. How could it not be dangerous? "The empire has now suffered considerably from 233 8: 13b visitations of sickness and epidemics, and We are 64 B.C.

much troubled by them. Let it be ordered that [those] commanderies and kingdoms which have suffered greatly from [these] visitations be not [required] to pay this year's land-tax or capitation taxes." It also said, "[We] have heard that anciently the personal name of the Son of Heaven was difficult to know and easy to avoid. [But] now many people, when they send in memorials, violate the tabus and thereby commit crimes. We pity them very much. Let there be a change [in Our personal name and let 13b the word] Hsün2 be tabued.[265] [Let] all those who have violated the tabu previous to this ordinance be amnestied." In the winter, the Governor of the Capital, Chao Winter Kuang-han, who had committed crimes, was executed by being cut in two at the waist.[267] 234

63 B.C. 14a In the third year, in the spring, because super8: 14a

III natural birds[272] had several times perched in T'ai-shan 63 B.C. [Commandery, the Emperor] granted gold to Spring the vassal kings, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei Hsiang], the generals, the full marquises, and [officials ranking at] two thousand piculs; and silk to the Gentlemen and the [imperial] retinue, to each proportionately. [He also] granted two steps in noble rank to the officials of the empire, one step to the common people, an ox and wine to the women of a hundred households, and silk to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged. 235

8: 14b In the third month, an imperial edict said, "Verily, 63 B.C.

Apr./May [We] have heard the [although] Hsiang committed the crime [of trying to kill Shun, yet] Shun enfeoffed him [as a prince]. People related by flesh and blood may be dispersed,[278] but [the relationship] cannot be destroyed. Let the former King of Ch'ang-yi, 14b [Liu] Ho4b, be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Hai-hun." It also said, "When We were an unimportant and insignificant [person], the Grandee Secretary, Ping Chi, the Generals of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Shih Ts'eng and Shih Hsüan, the Commandant of the Palace Guard at the Ch'ang-lo [Palace], Hsü Shun, and the Palace Attendant and Imperial Household Grandee, Hsü Yen-shou, all previously showed us kindness. In addition, the former Chief of the Lateral Courts, Chang Ho, assisted and guided Our person, [and arranged for Us] to study literature and the Classics, [so that] his grace and kindness were surpassing and outstanding, and his merit was very great. Does not the Book of Odes say, `Every good deed should have its recompense'?"[280] The son of [Chang] Ho's younger brother, the Palace Attendant and General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, 236 63 B.C. [Chang] P'eng-tsu, whom [Chang Ho had 8: 15a

adopted as] his son, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yang-tu and [Chang] Ho was posthumously granted the title, Marquis Ai of Yang-tu. [Ping] Chi, [Shih] Ts'eng, [Shih] Hsüan, [Hsü] Shun, and [Hsü] Yen-shou [were all enfeoffed] as marquises. The [wo]men who had formerly been sent to the Prison at the Lodge for the Commanderies, who had been

exempted and had served [their sentences][283] and had formerly acquired merit by nursing and protecting 15a [the Emperor], all received government salaries, fields, residences, and precious things; each was rewarded according to the depth of her kindness. July/Aug. In the summer, the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "In the preceding year, in the summer, supernatural birds[286] perched in Yung, and this spring vari-colored birds, by the ten-thousands in number, flew past the surrounding prefectures, flying, soaring, 237 8: 15a and leaping [for joy]. They wished to perch, [but] 63 B.C.

did not come down. Let it be ordered that in the three capital commanderies [people] shall not be allowed in the spring and summer to remove nests, to try to find eggs, or to shoot pellets or arrows at flying birds.[289] Let this be a statutory ordinance."[290] The Imperial Son [Liu] Ch'in was established as King of Huai-yang. In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV an imperial edict said, "We have been reflecting that 62 B.C. when aged peoples' hair and teeth have dropped Feb./Mar. away and fallen out, and when their blood and breath have become enfeebled and delicate, they moreover have no heart for violence and cruelty. Some are now suffering [because] the letter of the law [has been applied to them] and they have been arrested and are held in prison, so that they will not end [their days according to] the fate [granted them by] Heaven. We pity them very greatly. From the present time onward, whoever is in his eightieth year or over, except for falsely accusing, killing, or injuring others, shall not be sentenced for any other crime." [The Emperor] sent the Grand Palace Grandee, [Li] Ch'iang, and others, twelve persons [in all], to travel about and inspect the empire, to visit and bring presents to widowers and widows, to examine and observe customs, to investigate the success and failure of the officials' administration, 238 62 B.C. and to recommend gentlemen who [were] Ac8: 15b

complished Talents of Unusual Degree.[296] 15b In the second month, Ho Cheng-shih of Ho-tung Mar./Apr. [Commandery] and others, who had plotted to rebel, were executed.[299]

Apr./May In the third month, an imperial edict said, "Recently the supernatural birds have been vari-colored, and have perched by the ten-thousands in Ch'ang-lo [Palace], Wei-yang [Palace], the Northern Palace, the Funerary Chamber of [Emperor] Kao, the Hall at the Altar to the Supreme [One] in Kan-ch'üan Palace, and also [at various places] in Shang-lin Park. Our [actions] do not come up to [Our words,[301] and We] are lacking in virtue and generosity, [yet We] have often obtained favorable omens, of which We are not worthy. Let there be granted to the empire: to the officials, two steps in noble rank; to the common people, one step; and to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine. [Let there be] added grants of silk to the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, two bolts to [each] person; and to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, one bolt to each." Sept. In the autumn, the eighth month, a hundred catties of actual gold were granted to the son of the former Western Sustainer, Yin Weng-kuei, for upholding the sacrifices to his [father]. Twenty catties of actual gold were also granted to each of the heirs of descendants of [Emperor Kao's] meritorious subjects.[303] Sept. 13 On [the day] ping-yin, the Commander-in-chief and General of the Guard, [Chang] Ain-shih, died. For successive years there had been abundant [harvests, so that] grain [reached the price of] five 239 8: 16a cash per picul.[306] 61 B.C. In [the period] Shen-chüeh,[308] the first year, in I the spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled 61 B.C. and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where Jan./Feb. he] made the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the third month, he traveled Mar./Apr. and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. 16a His imperial edict said, "We have inherited [the care of the imperial] ancestral temples; tremblingly and circumspectly [We] have reflected upon the ordering of the myriad affairs [of the government, but We] have not yet understood perfectly its principles. Recently in the fourth year of [the period] Yüan-k'ang, auspicious cereal and black millet descended in the commanderies and kingdoms,[314] supernatural birds repeatedly perched, a golden fungus of immortality with nine stalks grew in a copper basin of Han-tê Hall,[315] Chiu-chen [Commandery] 240 61 B.C.

presented a strange animal,[317] and in Nan 8: 16b

Commandery there were captured a white tiger[319] and a majestic male phoenix[320] [to be kept] as treasures. Not being intelligent, We were frightened by [such] precious objects, so [We] mastered Ourself, purified [Our] spirit, and prayed for the people. When, going eastwards, [We] forded the great [Yellow] River, the weather was clear and calm, and supernatural fish played in the River. When [We] favored Wan-sui Palace [with a visit], supernatural birds flew about and perched. Not being [perfectly] virtuous, [We] fear lest [We] be incompetent in [Our] duties. "Let [this] fifth year [of Yüan-k'ang] be the first year of [the period] Shen-chüeh, and let there be made grants in the empire: two steps in noble rank to the diligent officials; one step to the common 16b people; an ox and wine to the women of a hundred 241 8: 17a households; and silk to widowers, widows, orphans, 61 B.C.

childless, and aged. [Let] those things which have been [given] as assistance or loans not be collected [again],[324] and let [the places] through which [We] have passed in traveling not [be required] to pay the land-tax on the fields." The Western Ch'iang rebelled. The convicts [who were serving in the prisons of] the Three Adjuncts and of the imperial capital offices were mobilized and were exempted from punishment [on condition that they served in the army];[325] there were also [mobilized] those who responded to the call [for enlistment] from among the bowmen of the Sharpshooters, the Winged Forest Orphans, the Hu and the Picked Cavalry; skilled soldiers from the three Ho Commanderies, Ying-ch'üan [Commandery, P'ei Commandery, Huai-yang [Commandery], and Ju-nan [Commandery]; and cavalrymen from Chin-ch'eng [Commandery], Lung-hsi [Commandery] T'ien-shui [Commandery], An-ting [Commandery], Po-ti [Commandery], and Shang Commandery. The Ch'iang horsemen came to Chin-ch'eng [Commandery]. In the summer, the fourth month, Apr./May [the Emperor] sent the General of the Rear, Chao Ch'ung-kuo, and the General of Strong Crossbowmen, Hsü Yen-shou, to attack the Western Ch'iang. In the sixth month a comet appeared in the eastern 17a quarter.[328] [A messenger] went [to Chiu-ch'üan July/Aug. Commandery] and installed the Grand Administrator of Chiu-ch'üan [Commandery], Hsin Wu-hsien, as the General Who Routs the Ch'iang. Together with the [other] two generals, they advanced together. 242 61 B.C.

8: 17a An imperial edict said, "In the army, [people] are exposed to the sun and the air; the transportation [of supplies for the army] is troublesome and toilsome. Let it be ordered that the vassal kings and the full marquises, [together with] the kings, marquises, baronets, and chiefs of the barbarians, who ought to pay their court-[respects] in the second year [of the period Shen-chüeh], should all not [be required] to come to court." Autumn In the autumn,[333] [the Emperor] granted to the son of the former Grand Minister of Agriculture, Chu Yi, a hundred catties of actual gold, in order to support his [ancestral] sacrifices. The General of the Rear, [Chao] Ch'ung-kuo, spoke about his plan for [border] garrison farms. 69: 10b-14b A discussion is in the "Memoir of [Chao] Ch'ung-kuo."[336] 60 B.C. II In the second year, in the spring, the second Mar./Apr. month, an imperial edict said, "Recently, in the first Mar. 5 month, on [the day] yi-ch'ou, phoenixes perched and sweet dew descended[340] in the imperial capital, and flocks of birds by the ten-thousands in number followed [the phoenixes]. We are not [perfectly] virtuous, [yet] have repeatedly[341] obtained the blessing of Heaven. [We have merely] been `careful in doing [Our] duty and have not been negligent'.[342] Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire." June/July In the summer, the fifth month, the Ch'iang 243 8: 17b caitiffs surrendered and submitted; the heads of 60 B.C.

their chief evil-doers, the great bravos, Yang Yü and Yu Fei, were cut off.[346] [The Director of] Dependent states for Chin-ch'eng [Commandery] 17b was established in order to settle the surrendered Ch'iang. In the autumn, the Hun Jih-chu King, Hsien-hsien Autumn Ch'an, leading a multitude of more than ten thousand people, came to surrender [to the Chinese. The Emperor] sent the Protector-general at the Western Frontier, the Chief Commandant of Cavalry,[349] Cheng Chi, to receive the Jih-chu [King. Cheng Chi] had routed [the forces of] Turfan (Chü-shih); both [he and Hsien-hsien Ch'an] were enfeoffed as full marquises. In the ninth month, the Colonel Director of the Oct./Nov. Retainers, Kai K'uan-jao, who had committed crimes, was given in charge of the high officials, and

killed himself.[351] The Hun Shan-yü sent an important king[352] to present tribute, congratulate [the Emperor at] the first month [court reception of the next year], and begin [a period of] peace and friendship. 59 B.C. In the third year, in the spring, Lo-yu Park was III prepared. Spring In the third month, on [the day] ping-wu, the Apr. 10 Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei] Hsiang, died. In the autumn, the eighth month, an imperial Aug./Sept. edict said, "If the officials are not incorrupt and 244 59 B.C. just, then their way of administration becomes weak. 8: 18a

At present the minor officials are all industrious in their work, yet their salaries are small, [so that although We] wish that they should not encroach upon or make demands upon the people, it is difficult [for them not to do so]. Let five-tenths [of their present salary be added to the salary of] officials [ranking at] one hundred piculs and [those of] lesser 18a [ranks]."[361] IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the second 58 B.C. month, an imperial edict said, "Recently male and Mar./Apr. female phoenixes have perched and sweet dew has descended[365] in the capital, so that auspicious presages have appeared simultaneously. [We] have renewed the worship of the Supreme One, of the Five Lords [on High], and of Sovereign Earth, and have prayed that the people may receive blessings and happiness. Young phoenixes (luan) have risen by the ten-thousands, have flown to observe and to fly back and forth, and have perched and stopped beside [the capital].[366] At sunset, during [Our] 245 8: 18b retreat and fast, supernatural brilliances appeared 58 B.C.

and shone; at the evening presentations of aromatic liquor [to the manes], supernatural lights crisscrossed each other. Sometimes they descended from Heaven, sometimes they arose from the Earth, and sometimes they came from the Four Quarters and gathered at the altar. The Lords on High have approved and received [Our offerings and all the world] within the [four] seas receives their

blessings. Let an amnesty be granted to the empire, [let] the common people be granted one step in noble rank, [let] the women of a hundred households [be granted] an ox and wine, and [let] widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged [be granted] silk." In the fourth month, because the administration of May/June the Grand Administrator in Ying-ch'uan [Commandery], Huang Pa, was especially excellent, he was ranked at fully two thousand piculs[370] and was 18b 246 58 B.C. granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis and 8: 18b

a hundred catties of actual gold. The officials and common people of Ying-ch'uan [Commandery] who had acted righteously were moreover [granted] two steps in noble rank per person; the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, one step; and chaste wives and obedient daughters, silk.[374] [The Emperor] ordered that each of the inner commanderies and kingdoms should recommend [to the imperial court] one capable and good [person] who was able "to cherish the common people."[375] June/July In the fifth month, the Hun Shan-yü [Wu-yench'ü-ti] sent his younger brother, the King of Huliu-jo, [Lüan-ti] Sheng-chih, to pay court [to the Emperor].[377] Nov./Dec. In the winter, the tenth month, eleven[379] male and female phoenixes perched at Tu-ling. 247

8: 19a In the eleventh month, the Grand Administrator 58 B.C.

Dec./Jan. of Ho-nan [Commandery], Chuang Yen-nien, who 57 B.C. had committed crimes, was publicly executed.[384] In the twelfth month, male and female phoenixes Jan./Feb. perched in Shang-lin [Park]. In [the year-period] Wu-feng,[386] the first year, I in the spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled Feb./Mar. and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. The imperial Heir-apparent, [Liu Shih], was capped,[389] and the Empress Dowager [née Shang-kuan]

made grants of silk to the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Ping Chi], the generals, the full marquises, and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, one hundred bolts to each; and to the grandees, eighty bolts to each.[390] She also granted to the heirs of full marquises the noble rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee and to boys who would be the heirs of their fathers, one step in noble rank. In the summer, an amnesty [was granted] to the Summer convicts who had built the Tu Tomb. In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day] 56 B.C. yi-yu, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse Jan. 3 of the sun; the Eastern Supporter, Han Yen-shou, 19a who had committed crimes, was publicly executed.[395] 248

56 B.C. II In the second year, in the spring, the first 8: 19a

Feb. month,[400] [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords]. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] May 7 chi-ch'ou, the Commander-in-chief and General of Chariots and Cavalry, [Han] Tseng, died. Aug./Sept. In the autumn, the eighth month, an imperial edict said, "Verily, the rites of marriage are the [most] important feature of human relationships; gatherings for drinking and feasting are the means whereby the rules of proper conduct and music are performed. [But] now in the commanderies and kingdoms, some of [the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs arbitrarily make vexatious prohibitions, imposing prohibitions upon the common people when they give or take in marriage, so that they are not permitted to prepare feasts, to offer felicitations, or to summon each other [together]. In this way they have abolished the rites of proper conduct for the districts and villages and have caused the common people to be without any means of enjoyment. This is not the way in which to guide the common people. Does not the Book of Odes say, 249 8: 19b `If people are lacking in virtue, 56 B.C.

They are sparing [even] in the dry provisions [they provide].'[405] Do not rule [in such a] vexatious [fashion]."[406]

In the winter, the eleventh month, the Hun Dec./Jan. Shan-yu Hu-su-lei,[408] leading his troop, came [to 19b China] and surrendered. He was enfeoffed as a full 55 B.C. marquis. In the twelfth month, the [former] Marquis of Jan./Feb. P'ing-t'ung, Yang Yün, was sentenced for having previously committed a crime, when he was Superintendent of the Imperial Household. He was dismissed and made a commoner. He did not repent for his fault and cherished a grudge, which was treason and inhuman conduct, so he was [later] executed by being cut in two at the waist.[412] 250

55 B.C. III In the third year, in the spring, the first month, 8: 19b

Mar. 17 on [the day] kuei-mao, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Ping] Chi, died. Apr./May In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery by a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. An imperial edict said, "In the past, the Huns many times made border raids and the people were injured by them. Since We have succeeded to this most exalted [position, We] have not yet been able to [achieve] repose and tranquility [for the world].[418] The Hun Shan-yü Hsü-lü-ch'üan-ch'ü begged and asked for peace and friendship, [but] became ill and died. The Worthy King of the West, [Lüan-ti] T'u-ch'i-t'ang, was enthroned in his place, [but] the great ministers of the [Hun imperial] blood set up a son of Shan-yü Hsü-lü-ch'üan-ch'ü as Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh, and attacked and killed [Lüan-ti] 251 8: 20a T'u-ch'i-t'ang. Various [Hun] kings simultaneously 55 B.C.

set themselves up and divided [the Hun realm between] five Shan-yü. In turn they attacked and fought with each other. The dead [number] in the ten-thousands, the [Hun] flocks and herds have been largely destroyed, [even to the extent of] eight or nine-tenths, and their people are hungry and starving, so that they roast and broil each other in seeking for food. Because of these great wrongs and disturbances, 20a the Yen-chih of a Shan-yü, with her children, grandchildren, older and younger brothers, together with Shan-yü Hu-su-lei, and important kings, the Western Yi-chih-tzu, [also] Chü-chü,

Tang-hu, and [Hun officials] subordinate [to them], leading a troop of more than fifty thousand people, have come and surrendered [to Us], returning to their [proper] fealty.[422] Shan-yü [Hu-han-hsieh] called himself [Our] subject and sent his younger brother to present [to Us] precious objects and to pay court and congratulate [Us at the great court in] the first month. The northern borders are at repose and have no military concerns. "We have restrained Ourself, purified [Ourself], and fasted; when [We] performed the suburban sacrifice to the Lords on High and sacrificed to Sovereign Earth, supernatural lights were simultaneously seen and some rose in the valley. They shone and scintillated in the palace for purification for more than ten divisions [of the clepsydra].[423] Sweet dew has descended and supernatural birds have perched. [We] have already issued an imperial edict that the high officials should give information 252 55 B.C. [of the above] in the sacrifices to the Lords on High 8: 20a

and in the [imperial] ancestral temples. In the May 14 third month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou, young phoenixes again perched upon the trees within the Eastern Portal of Ch'ang-lo Palace, flew down, and stopped on the ground.[427] They were beautifully ornamented in [all] five colors, and stayed for more than ten divisions [on the clepsydra, so that] officials and common people saw them simultaneously. "We are not intelligent and fear that [We] are incapable for [Our] post, [yet] have frequently received auspicious presages and obtained such celestial favors and happinesses. Does not the Book of History say, `Although [you receive] happy omens, do not [consider them as] happy omens. Be careful in doing your duty, and be not negligent'?[428] Let the high ministers and the grandees exert themselves [to do their best. Let] the poll-money in the [whole] empire be reduced and [let] an amnesty [be granted to those who have committed crimes] [deserving] capital punishment or lesser [crimes.[429] Let] the common people be granted one step 253 8: 20b in noble rank, [let] the women of a hundred 55 B.C.

households [be granted] an ox and wine, and [let there be permission for] drinking during five days. [We] add grants of silk to the widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged people." There were established [Chief Commandants of] Dependent States for Hsi-ho and Po-ti [Commanderies], in order to settle those Huns who had surrendered. In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month,

20b the King of Kuang-ling, [Liu] Hsüa, who had committed IV crimes, killed himself.[434] 54 B.C. The Hun Shan-yü [Hu-han-hsieh] called himself a Feb./Mar. subject [of the Chinese Emperor] and sent his younger brother, the Lu-li King, to enter [the Chinese court] and wait upon [the Emperor],[437] so that the barriers at the border were without raids and the troops guarding the frontiers were reduced two-tenths. The Palace Assistant Grand Minister of Agriculture, Keng Shou-ch'ang, memorialized that Constantly Equalizing Granaries should be established, in order to provision the northern borders and reduce [the amount] of transport [for grain]. He was granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou, the first day[438] of the month, there was May 9 254 54 B.C. an eclipse of the sun. The imperial edict said, 8: 21a

"August Heaven makes a prodigy appear in order to warn Our person. This [event has happened because] We are inadequate and the officials are not suitable [to their positions]. Previously, [We] sent messengers to ask the common people what they suffered from or were troubled by; again [We] sent twenty-four Division Heads [from the offices of] the Lieutenant Chancellor and [Grandee] Secretary to inspect and travel about the empire, to recommend concerning injustices in trials at law and to search for those who arbitrarily make tyrannous prohibitions, are extremely exacting, and have not reformed themselves." I In [the period] Kan-lu,[443] the first year, in the 53 B.C. spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled and Feb. favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. The Hun Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh sent his son, the Worthy King of the West, [Lüan-ti] Shu-lü-ch'üt'ang, to enter [the Chinese court] and wait upon [the Emperor]. Mar. 20 In the second month, on [the day] ting-szu, the Commander-in-chief and General of Chariots and 21a Cavalry, [Hsü] Yen-shou, died. 255

53 b.c

In the summer, the fourth month, a yellow dragon Apr./May appeared at Hsin-feng. On [the day] ping-shen, Apr. 28 the Temple of the Grand Emperor burnt and on [the day] chia-ch'en the Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-wen May 6 burnt.[452] The Emperor wore plain clothes to the fifth day. In the winter, the Hun Shan-yu [Chih-chih] sent Winter his younger brother, the Worthy King of the East, to come to pay court and offer congratulations [to the Emperor at the grand court in the first month of the next year].[454] In the second year, in the spring, the first II month,[456] [the Emperor] established his Imperial 52 B.C. Son [Liu] Ao as the King of Ting-t'ao. Feb./Mar. An imperial edict said, "Recently male and female phoenixes have perched and sweet dew has descended,[459] a yellow dragon has ascended and risen, wine springs[460] have flowed abundantly, dried and 256 52 B.C. withered [trees] have flowered and flourished, super8: 21b

21b natural lights have simultaneously appeared, and all [people] have received happy auspices. Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire and let the poll-tax (suan) of the common people be reduced by thirty [cash. Let] gold and cash be granted to the vassal kings, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Huang Pa], the generals, the full marquises, and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, to each proportionately. [Let] there be granted: to the common people, one step in rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged, silk." May/June In the summer, the fourth month, [the Emperor] sent the Chief Commandant of the Protecting Army, [Chang] Lu, with troops, to attack [the rebels in] Chu-yai [Commandery]. Oct./Nov. In the autumn, the ninth month, [the Emperor] set up his Imperial Son [Liu] Yü3 as King of Tung-p'ing.[466] 51 B.C. In the winter, the twelfth month, [the Emperor] Jan./Feb. traveled and favored Yo-tsu Lodge of Pei-yang Palace [with a visit]. The Hun Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh asked for permission to enter the Barrier of Wu-yüan [Commandery], wishing to present treasures from his state and 22a

come to pay court in the first month of the third year [in the period Kan-lu]. An imperial edict [ordered] the [high] officials to discuss [the matter]. 257 8: 22a Together they replied: 51 B.C. "[According to] the institutes of the Sage-kings, in granting favors and in treating [people in accordance with] the rules of proper conduct, [the Emperor] should [put] the capital region ahead and put [the rest of] the Chinese [states] behind; [he should then] put the Chinese [states] ahead and put the barbarians behind. The Book of Odes says, `[Hsieh] led [his people in accordance with] the rules of proper conduct, so that they did not transgress [those rules]. Everyone paid attention to [his orders] and acted accordingly. [As a consequence,] Hsiang-t'u was majestic, And [even states] beyond the seas were well-ordered.'[472] "Your Majesty's sage virtue has completely filled Heaven and Earth and `your brilliance has extended to the four extremities of the empire',[473] so that the Hun Shan-yü has turned towards your good example, longs to [perform his duties of] fealty, and his whole country is agreed that he should present treasures and pay [your Majesty] court [to present his] congratulations—[such a thing] has not happened from ancient times [to the present]. A Shan-yü is not [a ruler to whom] the first day of the first month [in the Chinese calendar] is applicable or who can be [treated as] a guest by a [true universal] king.[474] [According to] the rites and ceremonies, 258 51 B.C. it is proper that he should acknowledge 8: 22b

himself a subject like the vassal kings, [employ the standard phrase used by subjects in their memorials, viz.:] `risking death and making repeated obeisances,' and be ranked next below the vassal kings." The imperial edict, [however], said, "Verily, [We] have heard that the Five Lords and the three [dynasties of] Kings did not touch in their administration those who had not been influenced by the rules of proper conduct [i.e., the outer barbarians].[477] Now the Hun Shan-yü has styled himself [Our] feudatory at the northern frontier and [is coming to] pay court in the first month. We are inadequate and [Our] virtue is unable to cover [the earth] widely. Let [the Shan-yü] be treated according to the rites for a guest and [let] his rank be above that of the vassal kings."[478] III In the third year, in the spring, the first month, Feb./Mar. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. When the Hun Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh, [Lüan-ti]

22b Chi-hou-shan, came to pay court, he was introduced 259 8: 22b and announced as a subject from the border, but his 51 B.C.

personal name was not used, and he was granted an imperial seal and seal-ribbon, hats, girdles, garments, a comfortable carriage, a quadriga of horses, actual gold, silk, flowered silk, embroidery, and silk floss. [The Emperor] had high officials lead the Shan-yü. First he went to his prince's lodge in Chang-an and spent the night at Ch'ang-p'ing [Lodge]. The Emperor, [coming] from Kan-ch'üan [Palace], spent the night at Ch'ih-yang Palace. When the Emperor mounted the Ch'ang-p'ing Slope, he instructed the Shan-yü by an edict not to pay his respects [then], and so the multitude of his Eastern and Western Tang-hu all spread themselves out to observe [the imperial cortege]. The barbarian baronets, chiefs, kings, and marquises and those who met [the cortege, numbering] several ten-thousands of people, crowded the road and arranged themselves in order. When the Emperor mounted the Wei [River] Bridge, with one accord they cried out, "Long life." The Shan-yü went to his prince's lodge. [The Emperor] held a feast in Chien-chang Palace and granted the Shan-yü a great banquet, [at which the Shan-yü] was shown [the imperial] treasures. In the second month, the Shan-yü was dismissed Mar./Apr. and went back home. [The Emperor] sent[485] the Commandant of the Ch'ang-lo [Palace] Guard, the Marquis of Kao-ch'ang, [Tung] Chung1a; the Chief Commandant of Chariots and Cavalry, [Han] Ch'ang; and the Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Hu; leading sixteen thousand cavalry, to escort the Shan-yü [out of Chinese territory]. The Shan-yü [thereafter] dwelt south of the [Gobi] Desert and took refuge in the Kuang-lu-ch'eng. An imperial edict [ordered] the northern borders to assist him with grain and food. [Later] the [rival] Shan-yü 49 B.C.[487] 260 51 B.C. Chih-chih fled far away and the Huns were there8: 23a

upon pacified. 23a An imperial edict said, "Recently, male and female phoenixes perched at Hsin-ts'ai, and flocks of birds, which were numbered by the ten-thousands, arranged themselves in rows on all sides, all standing facing the phoenixes. Let there be granted to the Grand Administrator of Ju-nan [Commandery] a hundred bolts of silk and in Hsin-ts'ai [let grants of silk be made] to the Chief Officials, the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, and to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, to

each proportionately. [Let] two steps in noble rank be granted to the common people and let them not pay this year's tax on the fields."[491] Apr. 11 In the third month, on [the day] chi-ch'ou, the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Huang] Pa, died. An imperial edict [ordered] that the Confucian scholars should discuss the discrepancies in the Five Classics. The Grand Tutor of the Heir-apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih, and others evaluated and memorialized their discussions. The Emperor himself pronounced [these accounts] imperial decrees, attended [upon the discussions] and decided [their 23b disputes].[494] Thereupon there were established Erudits for Liang-ch'iu [Ho's interpretation of] the Book of Changes, for [the interpretation of] the 261 8: 23b Book of History by the senior and junior Hsia-hou 51 B.C.

[i.e., Hsia-hou Sheng and Hsia-hou Chien], and for the Ku-liang [Commentary on] the Spring and Autumn. In the winter, the [Chinese] Princess of the Wu-sun, Winter [Liu Chieh-yu], arrived, returning [to China]. In the fourth year, in the summer, the King of IV Kuang-ch'uan, [Liu] Hai-yang, who had committed 50 B.C. crimes, was dismissed and exiled to Fang-ling.[501] Summer In the winter, the tenth month, on [the day] 49 B.C. ting-mao,[503] there was a fire at the small doors of Jan. 9 the Hsüan Room in Wei-yang Palace. In [the year-period] Huang-lung,[505] the first year, I in the spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled Feb./Mar. and favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] offered the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. The Hun Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh came to pay 262 49 B.C. court. The ceremonies and grants [made to him] 8: 24a

Mar./Apr. were [the same as] previously. In the second month, 24a

the Shan-yü returned to his state. An imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that in most ancient times, in the government, the prince and his subjects were of the same mind, and promotions of the upright and dismissals of the unjust[512] were each according to their deserts. For this reason the superior and his inferiors were at harmony and in accord, [all] within the [four] seas were tranquil and at peace, and the virtue of those [rulers] cannot be attained. "Since We are unintelligent, [We] have several times made known in [Our] edicts to the ministers and grandees that they ought to practise clemency and generosity and suit [their actions] to the sufferings and bitternesses of the common people, [because We] wished to equal the high attainment of the Three Kings and to manifest the virtue [of Our] imperial predecessors. "[But] now some officials have thought that not prohibiting wickedness and evil constitutes clemency and generosity and that setting free or dismissing criminals constitutes the absence of tyranny, [whereas] some consider that tyranny and evil-doing constitute capability. All [of these persons] have failed to attain the [true] mean. When they receive [Our] edicts and promulgate [Our] instruction in such [ways], how can they be without errors? "Just now the empire has very little trouble, forced labor and military service have been dispensed with or lessened, and the armies are not in motion, yet there is much poverty among the common people and robberies and thefts have not stopped. Wherein lies the cause [for this situation? It lies] in sending [from the various parts of the empire to the central government, yearly] registers of accounts which are 263 8: 24b merely padding and strive to deceive and lie [to Us], 49 B.C.

in order to avoid a trial for [blamable conduct]. If the three highest ministers do not pay attention [to such matters], whom can We depend upon? "[Let the practise] be altogether stopped [of officials] asking for an imperial edict to dispense with their soldiers and followers in order to provide for their own [needs by making exactions from the people].[515] The [Grandee] Secretary [shall] investigate 24b the registers of accounts; if he suspects that they are not [in accordance with] reality, he should have them [examined and] judged, so that truth and falsehood may not be confused with each other." In the third month, a comet [appeared in the Apr./May constellations] Wang Liang and Ko-tao, and entered [the constellation] Tzu-kung.[518] 264

49 B.C. May/June In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial 8: 24b

edict said, "In [ordering] the recommendation of incorrupt officials, [We] sincerely desire to attain precisely [what is due] them. When officials [ranking at] 600 piculs or those who have the post of a Grandee have committed crimes, before [they are punished, the officials must now] ask [for the throne's consent]. Their rank and salary [are such that] they [can] communicate with the Emperor, [which is] sufficient so that they can make their ability and talents known. From this time and henceforth, let them not be permitted to be recommended [as incorrupt officials]."[522] 48 B.C. In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day] Jan. 10 chia-hsü, the Emperor died in Wei-yang Palace.[525] 265

8: 25a In eulogy we say: [The fundamental principle in] 25a the government of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan was [to make] rewards dependable and punishments certain and to examine and confront names with realities. His gentlemen [who were concerned] with government business, who were Literary Scholars, or [were concerned with] law and principles were all excellent in their capacities. Even his artists, craftsmen, workmen, and artisans, his vessels and utensils[528] could seldom be matched in the time of [Emperors] Yüan and Ch'eng, [which fact] is indeed sufficient to indicate that his officials were worthy of their positions and that the common people were satisfied in their occupations. He happened [to live at a time when] the Huns were acting contrary to reason and were in disturbance, [hence he was able] to "overthrow those who should perish, to strengthen those who should be preserved,"[529] and to display his majesty to the northern barbarians. The Shan-yü longed [to perform his duties of] fealty, bowed his head to the ground, and called himself a feudatory. [Emperor Hsüan's] achievements glorified his ancestors and his signal services are transmitted to his descendants. [His reign] may be called the renaissance [of the dynasty] and he may indeed [be said to have been] equal in virtue with the [Eminent] Exemplar of the Yin [dynasty], [Wu-ting], and with [King] Hsüan of the Chou [dynasty].[530] [1] It has been suggested that na [OMITTED] should be translated "took unto himself," inasmuch as it does not here refer to taking a wife, but merely a concubine. Na is however the word that is used when referring to the taking by an Heir-apparent of his first wife, his Crown Princess (fei [OMITTED]). Sweet Little Lady (Liang-ti [OMITTED]) was moreover an official title, and the relationship between the Heir-apparent and his Sweet Little Lady was as stable and regular as between him and his Crown Princess, so that it may well be called marriage. The reader's pardon is asked for the unfortunate connotations of "Sweet Little Lady"; it is difficult to invent consistent English translations of Chinese titles. Certain imperial concubines were entitled Beauties (Mei-jen [OMITTED]) and Sweet Ladies (Liang-jen [OMITTED], lit. "Goodies"), so that Sweet Little Lady seems the most

consistent translation for Liang-ti. Cf. HFHD I, 271, n. 1 and Glossary sub vocibus. [4] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) says, "Chiang [OMITTED] is a tie [OMITTED]. It is made of silk or linen cloth They tie little children and bear them on their backs. Pao is a large support for little children [OMITTED]," (probably to hold them in position while they are being carried). Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) adds, "Pao is the covering [OMITTED] of little children," and Yen Shih-ku (581-645) says, "Ching is precisely [the same as] the present bands with which mothers envelop little children [to carry them on their backs][OMITTED]. [Concerning] pao, Meng [K'ang's] explanation is correct." Chang Shou-chieh (fl. 737), in a note to SC 33: 7, declares, "A chiang is eight inches broad and eight feet long. It is used to tie little children on the back, in order to bear them on the back while walking about." Chiang is also used in Analects XIII, iv, 3; HS 48: 22a8. Jour. of W. China Border Res. Soc'y, v. 6, p. 106 shows a Han grave figure of a woman carrying a babe on her back. [6] Ju Shun (fl. dur. 189-265) writes, "It means that at the Lodge for the various Commanderies there was established a prison," but Yen Shih-ku writes, "According to the Han-chiu-yi [by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57; this passage was lost and is now placed in the Han-chiu-yi Pu-yi, A: 3a], `[The Warden of] the Prison for the Commanderies had charge of those [who had to be punished among the ones who bring] to the emperor the [yearly] accounts [from commanderies]. He is under the Grand Herald.' This [action] was probably [because] those who were imprisoned for witchcraft and black magic were many and those who were taken and held were numerous; hence the [Imperial] Great-grandson was made to lodge in the Prison for the Commanderies." [7] Li Ch'i says, "The fu-tso [OMITTED] were female convicts (t'u [OMITTED]). It means that for light crimes men [are made to] guard the border for a year, [but] women are tender and weak and unable to endure standing guard, so are exempted (fu) and ordered to work (tso) for the government, which is also for one year. Hence they were called fu-tso-t'u." But Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) writes, "It means that they are convicts (t'u) who are freed from punishment. There was an imperial edict granting amnesty, and their iron collars, the iron rings for their legs, and their red [convict] garments were taken off. They were changed [from being considered as] cases of transgression, were not [treated] as convicts, and were added to the common people, which was the established rule. Hence they must be exempted (fu) [from treatment as criminals] and they worked (tso) for the government to fill out [the term] for their original crime to the year, month, and day. The Code names them fu-tso (those who have been exempted and are serving [their sentences])." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Meng [Kang's] explanation is correct." [12] Both palaces were at Chou-chih (cf. Glossary sub vocibus). [13] Liu Pin (1022-1088) points out that the "Annals of Emperor Wu" do not record any amnesty in the year Hou-yüan II, but record one in Hou-yüan I, ii (6: 38b). Wu Jen-chieh (ca. 1137-1199) replies that 74: 7a repeats the sentence about Emperor Wu's going back and forth between the two palaces, and explains how he came to grant a general amnesty in the year Hou-yüan II; 6: 39a dates Emperor Wu's visit to the Wu-tso Palace in the same year. Emperor Wu seems accordingly to have granted an amnesty in Hou-yüan II, which was not recorded in his "Annals." Emperor Chao later granted an amnesty in Hou-yüan II, vi (cf. 7: 1b), so that there seem to have been two amnesties in the same year. [17] Chiao-shu [OMITTED] is elaborated on p. 14b as "[OMITTED], to study literature and the Classics." [19] "Ascending an imperial tomb" was a yearly imperial sacrifice, performed on the first ting day of the first month, in which the relatives of the deceased emperor, nobles, grandees, foreign envoys, and hostages, and officials went to the tomb, ascended it, offered sacrifices, then descended; cf. HHS, Tr. 4: 3a. [20] Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) says, "Because he belonged among the younger cousins and relatives by marriage [of the Emperor], hence at the [proper] seasons of the year he came in order after the imperial house at the court assemblages." Ju Shun adds, "In the spring, [the court assemblage] is called ch'ao [OMITTED]; in the autumn, it is called ch'ing [OMITTED]." [24]

Dr. T. D. Stewart, Assistant Curator, Division of Physical Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute, writes me as follows: "I have made a study of the hair distribution in all of the primates and have not found any cases of hair on palms or soles. As far as I know this does not occur in humans, even in the so-called `dog-men', who have long hair over all the other parts of the body." Dr. Duyvendak suggests that this excessive hairiness may have been one of the prognostics of a great man in the science of physiognomy, of which the meaning may have been later lost. Emperor Kao was also hairy; cf. 1 A: 3a. Emperor Yüan had stiff hairs on his forehead; cf. 97 B: 12b1; 9: n. 1.7. Thus hairiness was inherited in the Liu clan. Possibly for [OMITTED], the text originally had [OMITTED], thus saying that he had hair on top of his feet, which was later changed to the present reading in order to heighten the wonder. Such hairiness among Chinese might well have excited wonder. In view of Yen Shih-ku's comment, "On his whole body together with the bottoms of his feet everywhere there was hair," the present text dates from well before the sixth century. Dr. Derk Bodde, of the University of Pennsylvania, however, objects, "Hairiness in many parts of the world is a sign of strength and almost supernatural power. Cf. Samson, etc. This whole paragraph is obviously legendary and should be compared with the portents, etc., described for Emperor Kao (also a great ruler) [1 A: 3a-7b]. The humble origin of Emperor Hsüan, like that of Emperor Kao, would encourage the development of such legends." Yet Pan Ku does not repeat legends for their own sake; he was sceptical of all that did not have documentary evidence, so that he must have had strong evidence for this statement. If it is a legend, it might well have originated in some actual unusual hairiness of Emperor Hsüan, who we know inherited a tendency in this direction. [25] The Official ed. (1739) has transposed [OMITTED] and [OMITTED], which emendation meets with Wang Hsien-ch'ien's approval. [29] HS 7: 10a. [34] Liu Ho reigned only 27 days. Cf. Introduction to this chapter, p. 180-3, and Glossary sub voce. For a similar dismissal because of unfilial conduct and fornication during the period of mourning, cf. Glossary, sub Liu P'o. [38] A loose quotation from the work which is now Book of Rites XIII, i, 15 (Legge, II, 44; Couvreur, I, 748; both translate differently). [41] Wen Ying says, "The hunting chariot (ling-lieh [OMITTED]) is a small chariot, at the front of which there is a curved platform [OMITTED] without any covering. In recent times it has been called the ling-lieh-ch'ê [OMITTED]." Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) says, "[It was the sort of] hunting chariot ridden at present. In front there is a curved railing [OMITTED], which is especially high and large. At the time for hunting, [the hunter] stands within [the railing, using it as] a support to shoot birds and beasts." Li Ch'i, however, says, "The railed chariot platform [OMITTED] is a light chariot." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Wen [Ying's] and Li [Ch'i's] explanations are both correct. At the time, they had not yet prepared the equipage for a Son of Heaven, hence they temporarily merely took one of the light and convenient [equipages] and did not make use of a tall and large one. Meng [K'ang's] explanation misses the mark." HHS, Tr. 29: 8b says, "The decorations of the [imperial] hunting chariot were all like the preceding. It had heavy felloes and plain silk on its wheels with dragons entwined about them. It was also called the chariot for spearing boars [OMITTED]. When [the Emperor went] in person to trap and hunt, he rode in it." [44] Yen Shih-ku comments, "The reason that he was first enfeoffed as a marquis was that they did not want to set up a commoner as Son of Heaven." [50] Hu San-hsing (1230-1287), in a note to Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 24: 13b, comments, "The Empress Dowagers of the Han [dynasty] regularly lived in Ch'ang-lo Palace. Since the dismissal of the [King of] Ch'ang-yi, [Liu Ho4b], the Empress Dowager had lived in Wei-yang Palace, [which was occupied regularly by the Emperor]. Now that Emperor Hsüan had been set up, she again lived in Ch'ang-lo Palace." When Liu Ho4b was dethroned, the imperial seals were taken from him and given to the Empress Dowager née Shang-kuan; she had lived in Wei-yang Palace because technically she was ruling; when the emperor was enthroned, she returned to her palace.

[51] Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) points out that 3: 7b mentions a Commandant of the Palace Guard at Ch'ang-lo Palace, and 63: 3a records that previous to this time the Heir-apparent Li mobilized the guard of Chang-lo Palace. HS 19 A: 12a states that the positions of Commandants of the Palace Guards at the various palaces were not permanent offices. Chou Shou-ch'ang says that these positions were probably established from time to time and then again abolished, and at this time the office was again established. Or possibly the guard did not previously "garrison" the Palace. The Official ed. has dropped out the second "Ch'ang-lo Palace", implying that this phrase is due to dittography and that these garrison guards might have been established at the frontiers, to which such garrison encampments are usually referred. But the Ching-yu ed. (1034-5), the Chi-ku-ko ed. (1642), Han-chi (ii cent.) 17: 2a, and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) 24: 13b all repeat the words "Ch'ang-lo Palace." The term "t'unwei [OMITTED] (garrison guards)" is moreover also found in HS 19 A: 11b, where a Commandant of the Guards is said to have as subordinates some twenty-two captains (hou) and majors (szu-ma) of garrison guards. The context plainly shows that they were located at the various imperial palaces. Yen Shih-ku, in 9: n. 6.9, moreover says definitely that the Commandants of the Palace Guards had eight encampments (t'un), two majors at each face of a palace. If so, there were 8 majors at one palace, so that the twenty-two officers mentioned were the complement for one palace. The palace at which such a garrison would have first been established would naturally have been the one in which the emperor resided, namely Ch'ang-lo Palace. Hence there were plainly encampments (t'un) at the imperial palace, and the text does not need emendation. [55] For a similar solicitation, cf. 6: 10b. P'ing-ling was Emperor Chao's tomb town. [59] The allusion is to the Book of Odes, Great Preface, 7 (Legge, p. 35]), "Superiors, by the `Odes of the States', developed their inferiors". [60] The phrase ting-ts'ê [OMITTED] or chien-ts'ê [OMITTED] is used to denote the fixing upon and putting into effect of some important procedure, usually with reference to the setting up of an emperor. Cf. also 11: 2a12, 12: 3a, 99 A: 5a. In 69: 2a, the last word of this phrase is written [OMITTED]. For [OMITTED] as a charter of appointment, cf. 5: n. 5.7 ad finem and App. I. [64] Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that the t'ang [OMITTED] of the text is an interpolation, caused by confusion with the given name of the Hun Western Worthy King, T'u-ch'i-t'ang, found in 8: 19b. HS 17: 13b writes the former name without the word t'ang. The same interpolation is however found in 68: 6b. Fu-lu T'u-ch'i was a Hun, whose grandfather had surrendered to the Chinese and had been enfeoffed. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [66] Yen Shih-ku explains, "The central states (chung-kuo [OMITTED]) were the inner commanderies. The borders with their fortresses and barriers [OMITTED] against the barbarians were the outer commanderies. In the time of Emperor Ch'eng [10: 14a], the inner commanderies recommended Sincere and Upright people, [while] the twenty-two commanderies along the northern border recommended brave and fierce soldiers." Chung-kuo is similarly used in Mencius IV, I, iv, 12. [71] The twelfth and ninth noble ranks, respectively. [72] Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED]. This is the same error as that noted in 6: n. 28.1, q.v. [76] HS 14: 20a dates the appointment of Liu Chien4d in the fifth month and 14: 21a dates the appointment of Liu Hung2 in the tenth month. The other sons of Liu Tan4a and Liu Hsü were made marquises at the same time. [83] He had been caught in peculation and committed suicide rather than go to prison. [85] Cf. 6: 19b and 6: 13a, respectively. [87] According to Hoang's calendar, keng-wu is impossible in the sixth month; if only one character is mistaken, keng-tzu is alone possible in this month out of all the possibly

correct originals for keng: wu, ping, jen, or kuei, and for wu: wei, shen, or tzu. Hence I read keng-tzu. [90] For a similar imperial order, cf. 5: 1b. This matter is repeated in 75: 4a. Ying Shao remarks, "Emperor Hsüan again selected the Dance of Glorious Virtue to be the Dance of Abundant Virtue in order to honor the Temple of the Epochal Exemplar. In the temples of the various emperors, there are regularly performed the Dances of the Peaceful Beginning, the Four Seasons, and the Five Elements." [91] Cf. HFHD I, 231, n. 2. [92] K'un-mi was the title of the Wu-sun king. Cf. Glossary sub voce. HS 94 A: 29a says that the Huns had sent an envoy to the Wu-sun asking for the Chinese Princess. According to 96 B: 4b, her name was Chieh-yu, and she was the granddaughter of Liu Mou, King of Ch'u. [102] T'ien Kuang-ming had dawdled with a woman instead of attacking as ordered; T'ien Shun had exaggerated the number of his captures. [103] HS 27 Ba: 24b says, "There was a great drought [extending] east and west for several thousand li", and declares that it was caused by the military expedition against the Huns. [111] Yen Shih-ku quotes the comment in the Han-yi, "The Chief Grand Butcher [OMITTED] [controls] 72 butchers [OMITTED] and 200 cutters [OMITTED]." [112] Salaries were paid half in grain; court officials are here ordered to "take a cut." [113] Yen Shih-ku explains, "Chuan [OMITTED] are credentials for moving from one place to another. [The Emperor] desired that there should be much grain, hence he did not inquire into [the people's] going out or in [through the barriers]." Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) adds, "[The practise in] later generations of not taxing grain and rice at the [customs] barriers and fords began with this [edict]." [118] HS 27 Ca: 9a adds, "In forty-nine commanderies, in Ho-nan [Commandery] and east of it, there was an earthquake. In Po-hai and Lang-yeh [Commanderies], it ruined the Temples of the [Great] Founder and [Epochal] Exemplar, and the inner and outer city walls. It killed more than six thousand people." This earthquake saved the life of Hsia-hou Sheng, who had protested against the glorification of Emperor Wu. Cf. Glossary sub voce. [120] Yen Shih-ku comments, "It means to prevent and stop [calamitous] visitations and marvels." [125] The Sung Chi ed. (xii cent.) says that "Chi" is also written "Ch'ü [OMITTED]." HS 14: 17b and 53: 14b both write Ch'ü; Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) may be correct in saying that Chi should be emended to Ch'ü; or possibly this man had both names and only one is written for short, as in other instances. He had been responsible for the murder of some sixteen persons; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [126] Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) says, "Because previously [cf. p. 6b] there had been an earthquake [in which] mountains crumbled and water came forth, hence when [the Emperor] changed the year-[period], he called it Ti-chieh ([lit.] `the Earth's self-control'). He wished to cause the Earth to control herself [OMITTED]." The Feng-su-t'ung [by Ying Shao, 2: 9a], chapter "Cheng-shih", says that in this year "the cases of more than 47,000 persons were decided." [129] HS 27 Cb: 23a adds, "It was twenty feet (degrees) from the location of Venus." This listing is no. 44 in J. Williams, Observations of Comets. [132]

Yen Shih-ku says, "They were temporarily given to them; they were not given permanently." [134] An allusion to Book of History, I, i, 2 (Legge, p. 17), "[Yao] was able to make the capable and virtuous distinguished, in order that he might thereby love the nine [classes] of his kindred when the nine [classes] of his kindred were harmonious, he made the official class [of his domain] elegant and cultured. When the official class became brilliant and intelligent, he united and harmonized the myriad states [of the country]." [141] Cf. App. III for eclipses. [144] Yen Shih-ku comments, "[The Emperor] honored him [Ho Kuang], hence did not use his personal name." [147] Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) explains, "[According to] the Code, except for [the person who was] first enfeoffed, [for each successive heir, the number of households in his estate] was reduced two-tenths, [as an inheritance tax]. Ch'ou means to be equal [OMITTED]. It says that [the heirs will] not again be reduced [in the size of their estate]." A marquisate with an estate composed of two thousand households would thus be reduced in the fifth generation to 820 households and in the tenth generation to 274. A "household" paid annually 200 cash as its tax, so that a marquisate of 2,000 households received an income of 400,000 cash per year. This inheritance tax and the Han policy of not allowing any noble family to retain its noble rank for many generations was urged by Han Fei (cf. ch. 13, Liao's trans., I, 115), who also says that, according to the law of the state of Ch'u, noble fiefs were confiscated after two generations (ch. 21; Liao, I, 209). [148] Hsiao Ho and his descendants ranked first among the marquises. [150] The present text writes, "Lu Commandery", but the word [OMITTED] (Commandery) is probably an erroneous dittography for the next word, which is [OMITTED]. Lu was at this time a kingdom. This passage is quoted in Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 24: 22a; in the comment of Li Shan (649-689) upon Wang Pao's "Szu-tzu Chiang-tê Lun," in Wen-hsuan 51: 22a; Yi-wen-lei-chü, (by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641) 99: 3a, b; in Tai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) 652: 2a and 915: 4b; and in the Sung-shu, (by Shen Yo, 441-516) 28: 3a, Treatise 18, all without the word for "Commandery." (Ch'i Shao-nan and Wang Nien-sun have collected the above evidence.) [151] Yen Shih-ku says that in his time vulgar copies added at this point, "On [the day] mou-shen [May 29], the Imperial Heir-apparent was appointed," but that in the next year [cf. p. 8b] this statement is repeated, and the old texts do not have it at this place. He says that this interpolation came about because 9: 1a says, "[When the future Emperor Yüan] was in his second year, Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne; when he was in his eighth year, he became the Heir-apparent." If that passage is taken to mean that Emperor Yüan was in his second year in 74 B.C., then his appointment as Heir-apparent would have been made in 68 B.C., and this interpolation would have been justified; but the remainder of the year in which an emperor died was considered still to belong to his reign, and his successor was not considered to begin his reign until the next year. Then Emperor Hsüan theoretically (but not actually) did not begin his reign until 73 B.C., and so the future Emperor Yüan was made Heir-apparent in 67 B.C., as the present text has it. (Cf. 8: 8b). This interpretation is confirmed by 71: 3b3 and 74: 8a9, both of which say specifically that the appointment was made in 67 B.C. Han-chi 17: 7b, however, lists this appointment in 68 B.C., just as the interpolation does; cf. n. 18.9. Dr. Duyvendak suggests that the Han-chi is probably the source of this interpolation. [156] He had accepted a large bribe; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [157] Han-chi 17: 8a at this point says, "Formerly matters for the emperor always had two sealed [envelopes. Inside] one sealed [envelop] the matter was transcribed for [the Intendant of Affairs of] the Masters of Writing. It must first be opened. If what was said was not good, [the memorial] was not presented. [The Grandee Secretary, Wei] Hsiang, again told [the Emperor] to do away with the second sealed [envelop] in order to prevent [information] being suppressed and hindered [from coming to the Emperor]. The Emperor considered [the suggestion] good and, in an edict, [ordered Wei] Hsiang to serve in the inner [palace] apartments."

Wang Yi (1321-1372) remarks that the Han dynasty had had no regular periodic courts and at this time the practise was begun of holding a court every five days. [158] The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. (1528-31), the Fukien ed. (1549), the Official ed., and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 24: 23a have at this point the words [OMITTED]; Han-chi 17: 8b has the last two of them. Wang Hsien-ch'ien has omitted them, noting that they have dropped out of the text. I read them. [159] Ying Shao at this point explains the word fu1 [OMITTED] instead of fu4 [OMITTED]; Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that anciently they were interchanged and that probably fu1 originally stood in the text. But in HS 100 B: 3a, fu4 is also used. The quotation is from Book of History, II, i, 9 (Legge p. 37). [162] Han-chi 17: 8b says, "Although [in accordance with] their merits and toil, Palace Attendants or Masters of Writing ought to have been promoted, in each case they were given rich rewards and [their positions] were not frequently changed or altered [OMITTED] [OMITTED]". [163] Book of Changes, App. III, ch. VIII, sect. 42 (Legge, p. 361) says, "Words and actions are the superior man's pivot pin and [cross-bow] trigger mechanism [levers]. The operation of that pivot-pin and trigger determines his glory or disgrace." [164] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) comments, "From this [time], the power of the Masters of Writing, [the Emperor's private secretaries], was great and the Lord of Men [the Emperor] was led to depend upon them to decide the multitudinous affairs [of the government]. That the government of the Later Han [dynasty] was controlled from the terraces and side-halls, [the Emperor's private chambers], and was not in charge of the three highest ministers, originated with Emperor Hsüan." It should be added that he was acting after the precedent set by Emperor Wu. [168] An allusion to the "Little Preface" of the Book of Odes, on the "Hung-yen" (Legge, Ch. II, App. I, Bk. III, 7; p. 67]), "The myriads of common people left their homes and were scattered, [for] they were not content with their dwelling-places. [King Hsüan] was moreover able to tell and help them to return, and to establish, to tranquilize, and to settle them." Yen Shih-ku would interpret lao-lai [OMITTED] as "comfort, encourage, and attract them [to come] [OMITTED]", as Legge does in his translation of the passage we have quoted. But Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) quotes passages which show that lao-lai may be interpreted either as "encourage [OMITTED]" or as "treat kindly and care for [OMITTED]"; that the two words lao and lai do not have different meanings, as Yen Shih-ku implies, and that in this place, because of the next sentence, they mean "treat kindly and care for." [172] Yen Shih-ku says, "Chan [OMITTED] means that they themselves had privately estimated [the number of] their households and individuals and had recorded their names on the [government register]." This report of vagrants was a falsehood to gain position for Wang Ch'eng; cf. Glossary sub voce. [173] The phrase ch'in-min [OMITTED] (which I have translated, "to cherish the common people") is from the Great Learning, I (Legge, p. 356). Chu Hsi, following Ch'eng-tzu, interprets it as [OMITTED], and Legge translates, "to renovate the people," although he says in his note that the reasons for this change in meaning are unsatisfactory. This phrase is also found in HS 8: 9b, 18b. (I owe this reference to Dr. Duyvendak.) [178] These were the nineteenth, eleventh, and first noble ranks, respectively. Full marquis, which noble rank was regularly bestowed upon the Lieutenant Chancellor, if he did not have it previously, was the twentieth rank. The other noble ranks were not regularly bestowed upon the high ministers (who were the "fully two thousand piculs"); this was a special grant upon an occasion for rejoicing. Yet this grant shows what a low value was placed upon noble ranks, since the first rank was freely bestowed upon the eldest sons of families among the common people and the higher ranks were bestowed upon the higher members of the government bureaucracy. [183] This move was to enfeeble the power of the Ho clan. Cf. Glossary sub Ho Hsien.

[184] Su Lin (fl. 196-227) writes, "When bamboos are broken off and connected with ropes to ward off [people], so that people cannot go and come, the Code names [such places] yü [OMITTED]." Ying Shao adds, "Ch'ih [OMITTED] (reservoirs) are embanked pools. Yü are prohibited enclosures." Yen Shih-ku approves both these explanations. Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) however, says, "Yü are constructions made in the midst of ponds, which can be used by birds for roosting; when birds enter into them, one seizes them." Fu Ts'an (fl. ca. 285) says, "Yü are places for rearing birds. They are established with a fence all around and covering over them, to keep the birds from getting out, like the animals reared in parks or fish reared in a pool." [188] The same quotation as that noted in n. 8.10. [191] Analects I, ii, 2. [193] This action was the result of Lu Wen-shu's memorial, calling the Emperor's attention to the fact that the officials did not dare to free a person accused of crime, for fear of suffering the same fate as Wang P'ing (cf. Glossary sub Tu Yen-niena). For the memorial and the Emperor's edict, cf. 51: 30b-33a and 23: 15b, 16a. Emperor Hsüan, from this time on, frequently attended the court buildings, at which times he fasted and himself decided cases referred to the central government. [197] HHS, Mem. 36: 12b says, "In 116 A.D., there was an imperial edict [which said], `Great officials are permitted to perform mourning to the third year. When the mourning is ended, they may return to their posts.' Because of this, [Ch'en] Chung told Emperor [An] about the former ordinance of Emperor Hsiao-hsüan, that if a man [had to] serve with the army, do garrison [service], or do labor for the imperial government, and if his grandfather or grandmother had died not more than the third month [previously], he should not be made to do forced service, and it had been ordered that he should be permitted to bury and [perform] funerary [ceremonies for the deceased]." From this quotation, Chou Shou-ch'ang concludes that the original edict went into details which are omitted in Pan Ku's abstract. [200] HS 27 Bb: 15b notes that in this month, "In Shan-yang and Chi-yin [Commanderies] it rained hail [as large] as chicken eggs, [which stood] two feet five inches deep. Twenty persons were killed and the birds who flew all died." [202] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) explains that although parents have the same affection for a son as a son for his parents, yet if the son commits crime, the parents have failed to instruct him rightly, hence they are punished. Emperor Hsüan had such cases however referred to him, so that leniency might be granted. In the Discourse on Salt and Iron, by Huan K'uan, (fl. 73-49 B.C.), 10: 9a, ch. 57, the Literati are made to say, "From [the time] that the law was established that those who take the lead in hiding [a criminal] should be condemned as his accomplices, consideration for one's flesh and blood was destroyed and as a result punishments and crimes have been more numerous. We have been taught that although a child may have committed crime, a father and mother will nevertheless hide [their child]. Why is it that they do not want [their child] to suffer punishment? [It is because] `A son will screen his father, and a father will screen his son.' [A saying of Confucius, found in Analects XIII, xviii, 2]. We have not been taught that a father and son should be considered as accomplices of each other [in crime]." This discussion is supposed to have taken place in 81 B.C.; the Literati are complaining about the law later abrogated by Emperor Hsüan. Huang K'an (488-545), in a comment on Analects XIII, xviii, 2, says, "The government's law at present therefore permits that those persons [for whom a person should mourn] a year or more are permitted to shield each other without being condemned for crime." For a statement of the persons for whom various degrees of mourning are worn, taken from the Code of the Ch'ing dynasty, cf. Legge, Li-ki, ("SBE," XXVII, p. 205). Hsing Ping (932-1010), in a comment on the same passage of the Analects, says, "[According to] the present Code, those [relatives for whom one wears] `heavy mourning' and those closer are permitted to receive and shield each other. Those who inform upon their fathers or grandfathers are considered to have committed [one of] the ten unforgivable crimes [to which an imperial amnesty does not apply]." `Heavy mourning' is worn

for nine months. Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the laws noted by Huang K'an and Hsing Ping were probably developments from Emperor Hsüan's ordinance. [206] Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) says, "The hao [OMITTED] who have power and influence are of the honorable great families." [208] Yen Shih-ku remarks that Ho Yün and Ho Shan were both grand-nephews of Ho Kuang; Ho Yü was a generation above them, so that the word tzu [OMITTED] should be in the text at this point. HS 68: 17a quotes this edict with the word tzu, so that it evidently dropped out here before the sixth century. [211] On the translation of the phrase, cf. Glossary, sub Feng Yin. [212] Chang Fei (fl. 1644), in a note to the "Treatise on Law" in the Chin Dynastic History, says, "[Actions that are] against duty and contrary to nature are known as inhuman (pu-tao) [OMITTED]" An inhuman crime (pu-tao) is defined in the Ch'ing dynastic code as: "(a) murder of three or more persons in one household who have not been guilty themselves of any capital crime; (b) mayhem, (c) mutilation of a living body to obtain certain members or organs for use in witchcraft, (d) the manufacture of ku poison, or witch's potion, keeping it in one's possession, or teaching the art of its preparation to others, and (e) the employment of incantations and charms to inflict the curse of the nightmare demon (yen-mei [OMITTED];" E. T. Williams, JNChRAS., 38: 63. Cf. also 5: n. 4.2. Treason and like high crimes were also called inhuman. [218] Salt was a government monopoly. [219] Wen Ying writes, "What Hsiao Ho instituted, which was based upon laws of the Ch'in [dynasty] were the Code and ordinances [OMITTED]. This is the law-code [OMITTED]. Those things [ordered] in the edicts of the Son of Heaven which add or subtract anything which is not in [the laws of] the code are ordinances [OMITTED]." The first ordinance [OMITTED] is the first ordinance of a preceding emperor [OMITTED]." Ju Shun adds, "[Among] ordinances there are earlier and later [ones]. Hence there is the first ordinance [OMITTED], the second ordinance [OMITTED], the third ordinance [OMITTED], [etc.]." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Ju [Shun's] explanation is correct. Chia and yi [OMITTED] are like the present first and second chapter [OMITTED] [in the code]." Cf. HS 23: 12a. In a note to the Book of Changes, Hex. 18 (Shih-san Ching Chu-su, Book of Changes 3: 3a) K'ung Ying-ta says, "The first (chia) ones are the initiating ordinances. Chia is the first of the ten days [in the cyclical series of stems, so] the initiating ordinances are the foundation for later ordinances, hence the initiating ordinances are called the first (chia) ones. Therefore in the Han period they called the most important ordinances the first (chia) ordinances." Cf. also Han-lü K'ao 1: 18, 19. [220] Su Lin writes, "Yü [OMITTED] is illness. When prisoners or criminals became ill, the Code names it yü." But Ju Shun writes, "[According to] the Code, prisoners who have died because of hunger or cold are called yü." Yen Shih-ku confirms Su Lin's interpretation and says that Ju Shun is mistaken. He adds that this word is sometimes written [OMITTED]. [224] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) adds, "The present law, that if a warder causes the death of a criminal prisoner, the officer in charge of the prison should be punished, probably began with Emperor Hsüan." [227] Liu Nien was sentenced for incest; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [229] Wang Yi remarks that the year-period was changed to Yüan-k'ang (lit. "great tranquillity and prosperity") because the Ho clan had been executed. [231] Cf. 9: n. 10.3. [233] Cf. n. 21.4. [236] Book of History, II, iv, iii, 9, 10 (Legge, pp. 88, 89). The implication is that

favorable presages occur as a result of good government. The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. (1528-1530), the Fukien ed. (1549), the Official ed., and the present text of the Book of History read [OMITTED] instead of the pu [OMITTED] in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text, which mistake he notes. Pu seems a careless mistake of some copyist and does not make sense. [237] Instead of chung-lang li [OMITTED], Liu Pin (1022-1088) proposes to read Chung-keng [OMITTED]. Chung-lang (Gentlemen-of-the-Household) was not a noble rank, whereas Chung-keng (Ordinary Chieftain of Conscripts) was. Liu Pin suggests that keng was erroneously transcribed as li, and then someone interpolated lang to try to make sense. At this time, officials ranking at fully 2000 piculs were accordingly given the noble rank of Ordinary Chieftain of Conscripts (the 13th rank); those of merely 2000 piculs, Junior Chieftain of Conscripts (the 12th rank); those of 1000 piculs, Senior Chief of the Multitude (the 11th rank); those of 800 piculs, Junior Chief of the Multitude (the 10th rank); and those of 600 piculs, Fifth Rank Grandee (the 9th rank). This emendation is confirmed by the similar order in 73 B.C.; cf. p. 5a. [242] Szu-ma Kuang (1019-1086), in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 12a, notes that in HS ch. 16 these exemptions are all recorded in the year Yüan-k'ang IV. He concludes that probably the recording in the "Annals" is mistaken. Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804) remarks that ch. 16 records the exemption of only 123 persons, so that this chapter cannot contain a complete record of the marquises. (The same conclusion was previously drawn; cf. 6: App. III.) He replies to Szu-ma Kuang that probably the edict ordering these exemptions was promulgated in Yüan-k'ang I, but that the necessary examination of records, etc. took time, so that it was not until Yüan-k'ang IV that the exemptions were actually granted; ch. 8 records the edict, whereas ch. 16 records the actual granting of exemption. Wang Hsien-ch'ien approves this explanation. The actual granting of these exemptions is then referred to on p. 15b, when these heirs were each given 20 catties of actual gold. Many of these nobles had been dismissed by Emperor Wu in 112 B.C.; cf. 6: App. III. [244] Liu Pin (1022-1088) says that this edict was to the Lieutenant Chancellor and Grandee Secretary as usual, and hence does not specify who were asked to recommend these persons. Shen Ch'in-han adds that in addition to these two officials, the Commander-in-chief must also have been included. [252] Book of History, V, ix, 16 (Legge, p. 393). [255] This sentence, lit. "phoenixes and sweet dew had descended and perched," is an interesting case of chiasmus. It is repeated on 17a, 18a, and 21a. The Lun-heng (completed 82 or 83 A.D., by Wang Ch'ung), Bk. XIX, ch. I, Sect. 57 (Forke, II, p. 196), says, "In Yuan-k'ang II, phoenixes perched in T'ai-shan [Commandery]." [260] This edict refers to Chao Kuang-han and was probably justifying his condemnation. He is said to have made criminals whom he condemned "not to hate death"; he accused Wei Hsiang's wife of a slave-girl's murder which Wei Hsiang asserted was a suicide. Cf. Glossary sub vocibus. [261] Reminiscent of the often quoted last line in Book of Odes II, v, ii, 6 (Legge, p. 333). [265] Emperor Hsüan's original personal name was Ping-yi, lit., "His illness is over." Cf. Glossary sub Hsiao-hsüan. Concerning the tabu on imperial names, cf. App. I. [267] The correctness of this dating for Chao Kuang-han's death has been disputed. Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi, 1: 11b, 12a, points out that HS 19 B: 31a says, under the date 71 B.C., "Chao Kuang-han became Governor of the Capital. In the sixth year [which would be 66 or 65 B.C.], he was sent to prison and [later?] executed by being cut in two at the waist," and that ibid., p. 33a, under the date 65 B.C., says, "The acting Governor of the Capital was [the former] Grand Administrator of P'eng-ch'eng, Yi." Thus someone else was given Chao Kuang-han's office in 65 B.C. HS 76: 5b states that Hsiao Wang-chih, who was then Director of Service to the Lieutenant Chancellor, accused Chao Kuang-han. HS 19 B: 33a, under 65 B.C., says, "The Grand Administrator of P'ing-yüan [Commandery], Hsiao Wang-chih, became the Privy Treasurer." Hence Chao Kuang-han was condemned in or before 65 B.C. Szu-ma

Kuang concludes that Chao Kuang-han was executed in 65 B.C. and that this recording in the "Annals" which dates his death in the winter of 64/3 B.C., is mistaken. Chou Shou-ch'ang, however, questions this argument. HS 78: 3a recounts that Hsiao Wang-chih was promoted three times in one year, finally becoming Director of Service to the Lieutenant Chancellor, and "after that the Ho clan finally plotted to rebel and were executed" (which event occurred in 66 B.C.). Later Hsiao Wang-chih was made Grand Administrator of P'ing-yüan Commandery and was promoted to be Privy Treasurer. Hence he must have been Director of Service in 66 B.C. (in which capacity he accused Chao Kuang-han), in order to have become Grand Administrator and later to have been promoted to Privy Treasurer in 65. Chou Shou-ch'ang accordingly concludes that the execution of Chao Kuang-han cannot have been later than the winter of 66 B.C. But Chao Kuang-han's execution need not have occurred the same year that he was accused. Chou Shou-ch'ang has merely shown that Hsiao Wang-chih accused him in 66 B.C. HS 76: 5b recounts that after that accusation, the Commandant of Justice was ordered to investigate the case and condemned Chao Kuang-han for many crimes, including that of judicially murdering an innocent person. Chao Kuang-han had many friends; when Emperor Hsüan approved the report of his Commandant of Justice, many protests were made. Several ten-thousands of people came to the Palace, weeping and offering to die for Chao Kuang-han. Hence it would have been natural for Emperor Hsüan to review the case, for it was one in which the Lieutenant Chancellor and the Commandant of Justice, representing the ministers and influential persons, were arrayed against an official who had made a high reputation by defending the common people and repressing the powerful. HS 76: 5b, after recounting the protests, says, "[Chao] Kuang-han was in the end sentenced to be executed by being cut in two at the waist." It was the Han practise to execute capital punishment only in the winter season, in accordance with the "ordinances for the various months of the year." After Chao Kuang-han's accusation by Hsiao Wang-chih in 66 B.C., the Commandant of Justice's investigation may have continued over the winter, so that he did not condemn Chao Kuang-han until some time in 65 B.C. Emperor Hsüan reviewed criminal cases in person, and may have taken his time in coming to a final decision. The charge against Chao Kuang-han was that of having unjustly condemned an innocent person to death, so that the imperial edict of June 64 concerning criminal trials (cf. p. 12b, 13a, & n. 13.1), which refers to such unjust condemnations, may well indicate that Emperor Hsüan had then only recently made up his mind about the case. The Emperor possibly sentenced him to such extreme punishment to mark the gravity of judicial murder. The execution would accordingly occur in the winter of 64/63 B.C. The date in 19: B 31a (quoted above) is then that of his condemnation, not that of his execution. Dr. Duyvendak remarks, however, "I think that it is extremely unlikely that, after having been delayed for two years, such an extreme punishment as cutting in two at the waist should have been inflicted. A delay generally meant some kind of mitigation. I can therefore not believe in the delay." [272] This is the first occurrence of this auspicious omen. For a description, cf. n. 15.1. [278] Wu Jen-chieh (ca. 1137-1199) and Wang Nien-sun propose emending ts'an [OMITTED] to sa [OMITTED]. In the square `official character' they could easily be confused. Tso-chuan, Dk. Chao, Yr. I [Legge, p. 5721, Couvreur, III, 24] uses the word ts'ai [OMITTED], to mean "banish" (here pronounced sa), in the phrase, "He banished Ts'ai-shu"; this word was also originally sa. Tu Yü (222-284), in a note to that passage, says that ts'ai means "send away"; Lu Tê-ming (ca. 560-627), in another comment on that passage, adds that the Shuo-wen writes this character as sa. Shuo-wen 7 A: 10a defines sa as "san [OMITTED], separate." Wu Jen-chieh, in his Liang-Han K'an-wu Pu-yi, says, concerning the word ts'ai in HS 28 Ai: 15a9, that it should be read like the ts'ai in the passage of the Tso-chuan just referred to. In HS 63: 21b5, this edict of Emperor Hsüan is quoted with the word hsi [OMITTED] instead of ts'an; hsi and san have a similar meaning. Han-chi 18: 7a quotes this passage with the word fang [OMITTED] (to banish) instead of ts'an. In Wen-hsüan 37: 17b, in a note to the "Ch'iu-t'ung-ch'in-ch'in-piao" by Ts'ao Tzu-chien, Li Shan also quotes from this edict of Emperor Hsüan, using the word ts'an, and adding that Ju Shun said that ts'an should perhaps be san. Thus there is ample evidence that ts'ai and ts'an were written for sa. Yen Shih-ku explains ts'an as meaning "brilliant", so that in the sixth century this change in writing was already so ancient that it had been forgotten. [280] Book of Odes, III, iii, ii, 6 (Legge, p. 514). [283] Cf. p. 1b.

[286] Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) comments, "A Han gloss [says], `They were as large as quail [OMITTED], with a yellow throat, a white neck, a black back, and the breast streaked.' " These supernatural birds seem, however, to have been really birds that were uncommon to Ch'ang-an. HS 89: 6b says, "At this time, at the residence of the Governor of the Capital, Chang Ch'ang, some quail (ho-chio; [cf. below]) flew and perched on the Lieutenant Chancellor's yamen. [Huang] Pa considered that they were supernatural birds." Huang Pa and Chang Ch'ang had an argument over these birds; Huang Pa argued that they were unrecognized by his men, and hence must have been supernatural. (For "quail", HS 89: 6b has ho-chio [OMITTED], which Gee, Moffett and Wilder identify as the Manchurian Snow pheasant. Su Lin comments, "Today, [the corps called the] As Brave as Tigers wear ho." But Yen Shih-ku says that Su Lin is mistaken, for this word is pronounced kai [OMITTED] (the T'ang pronunciation, according to Karlgren), and that the word was probably originally chieh [OMITTED] (T'ang pronunciation kai). He adds "The chieh is a large bird and its color is blue. It comes from the interior of the Ch'iang region [Kansu, Tibet?] and is not what the As Brave as Tigers wore. The As Brave as Tigers [wore] the ho, whose color is black and comes from Shang-tang [Commandery]. Because they do not stop fighting until they are dead, hence their tail [feathers] were used to adorn the heads of military officials. It is what vulgar people today call [OMITTED]." [The present text writes [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] respectively in the above comment, but there is ample evidence that the words were originally as we have written them; cf. the comments upon this passage.] The [OMITTED] is a quail; Shuo-wen 4 A: 9b says of the chieh, "It is like the ho, but blue, and comes from within the Ch'iang [country].") [289] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Southern ed. (prob. xii cent.) adds at this point "[OMITTED], [This order shall be] ended [at the end of this] year," but the next sentence implies that this order protecting birds was made permanent; otherwise there would have been no point in making it an "ordinance", i.e., part of the dynastic code. [290] Su Yü (fl. 1913) says, "The Emperor only ordered one thing and should not use [the word] [OMITTED] (all); I suspect it is a mistake for the word [OMITTED], whose sound is similar." I have adopted this emendation in the translation. Statutory ordinances became part of the permanent code. [296] For [OMITTED], I read [OMITTED], as in 6: 30b, 88: 5a, and elsewhere. [299] Nothing further seems to be known about this incident. [301] An allusion to Analects IV, xxii. [303] Cf. p. 12a and n. 12.1. [306] HS 24 A: 19a says, "When Emperor Hsüan came to the throne, . . . for several years the harvests were very abundant and grain [reached the price of] five cash per picul, so that the farmers had [very] little profit." At this time Keng Shou-ch'ang proposed his plan to build government granaries to store grain when it was cheap and sell it when it was dear, in order to equalize its price and assist the farmers. In times of famine, grain reached a price of 500 cash per picul; cf. Glossary sub Feng Feng-shih. Thirty or forty cash per picul seems to have been an average price, cf. 24 A: 7b. [308] Shen-chüeh, lit. "supernatural birds", is explained in the imperial edict establishing the year-period; cf. p. 16a. [314] Shen Ch'in-han notes that the Yi-wen Lei-chü (by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641) quotes the Ku-chin-chu (ca. 300) as saying, "In the fourth year of Yüan-k'ang, in Ch'ang-an, it rained black millet," and also saying, "In Nan-yang [Commandery], it rained beans." Beans were considered one of the "cereals." [315] For the fungus of immortality, cf. 6: n. 27.2. Fu Ch'ien says, "The color of the golden fungus of immortality was like gold." Ju Shun adds, "The copper basin was to receive water from the roof," and Chin Shao says, "They used copper [or bronze] to make

the basin." Wang Hsien-ch'ien declares that this incident is referred to in the military song, "Shang-ling", which was added to the services in the imperial ancestral temple during 84-86 A.D. (found in the Yo-fu Shih-chi, 16: 7b, compiled by Kuo Mou-ch'ien, [pub. 1340]), which says in part, "In the first two years of [the period] Kan-lu [53-52 B.C.], A fungus of immortality sprang up in a copper basin, And immortals descended and came to drink. Long life, thousands and ten thousands of years [to the Emperor]." [317] Su Lin (fl. 196-227) says, "It was a white elephant," but Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) remarks, "A commentator of the Han [period says that] it had the shape of a colt, the coloring of a unicorn, the horns of an ox, was kindly, and liked human beings." Lun-heng (by Wang Ch'ung, written 82-83 A.D.) 16: 20b, "Chiang-shui", (Forke, I, p. 370) says, "In the time of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan, Chiu-chen [Commandery] presented as tribute a female unicorn which in figure was like a deer [OMITTED], but had two horns. . . . The female unicorn of Emperor Hsüan was said to be like a deer [OMITTED]." Ibid. 19: 3b, vol. II, ch. 18 (Forke, II, p. 196) says, "In [the reign of] Emperor Hsiao-hsüan. . . . . Yüan-K'ang . . . . IV, . . . . Chiu-chen [Commendary] presented a female unicorn." Thus Chin Shao's description is confirmed. Yang Shu-ta (1885- ) thinks that the date in the Lun-heng, 62 B.C., is Wang Ch'ung's mistake. He says that this animal was probably strange and had no name, so that reports about it gave different names to it. Dr. Remington Kellogg, of the Division of Mammals, United States National Museum, Washington, D. C., writes me, "No animal remotely resembling this description [that of Chin Shao] occurs in Indo-China, Siam, or the Malay Peninsula so far as known . . . . . Both Mr. Miller and myself consider that the description was made from memory and both fact and fiction got hopelessly mixed up." [319] Dr. Kellogg also writes, "From time to time, reports and records of albino cats including white tigers, come to hand. They are not especially plentiful, but there is nothing questionable about the record." The skin, teeth, and claws of this tiger were sent to the capital and the Emperor had an altar erected to it. Cf. 25 B: 8a, b. [320] Fu Ch'ien says that "majestic phoenix" is the name of a bird, but Chin Shao says that the first word is an adjective, and Yen Shih-ku approves. [324] It looks as though famine relief was usually required to be repaid. [325] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) says, "It refers to [a situation] like that of convicts at present, whose iron collars, rings around their legs, and red garments are taken off and who are given tasks of transportation and laboring." Yen Shih-ku quotes the comment in the Han-chiu-yi (by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57; this passage has dropped out of its text), as saying, "At the various offices in Ch'ang-an, there were thirty-six prisons." [328] This is no. 45 in Williams' list. [333] HS 27 Ba: 24b says that in this autumn there was "a great drought," and blames it on the military expedition against the Ch'iang. [336] Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [340] The same chiasmus as that noted in n. 12.4. Lun-heng 16: 15b, "Chiang-shui", (Forke I, p. 363) says, "In the time of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan, phoenixes perched in the Shang-lin [Park], and crowds of birds followed above them, [numbering] thousands and ten-thousands." [341] Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that in the HS, [OMITTED] is always written for lü [OMITTED]; this is the only place that is different, hence it must be a mistake. [342] A sentence from the `Modern Text' of the Book of History, repeated on p. 20a; cf. n. 20.4. [346] HS 69: 14b recounts that in the fifth month, Chao Ch'ung-kuo asked permission

to dismiss his garrisons because most of the Ch'iang had surrendered, and p. 15a states that in that autumn some of the Ch'iang banded together and beheaded the great bravos of the Hsien-ling (a tribe of the Ch'iang), Yu Fei and Yang Yü, and that then the rest of their bravos led more than four thousand people to surrender to the Chinese. [349] This peculiarly phrased title is also found in 70: 4a10. [351] He had recommended that the Emperor abdicate in his favor; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [352] Yen Shih-ku explains, "Ming-wang [OMITTED] [trans. "important kings"] means those who have a great reputation ta-ming [OMITTED], to distinguish them from the lesser kings [OMITTED]." The Ch'i-tan in medieval times similarly had Eminent Kings [OMITTED]; cf. T'oung Pao, vol. 35, p. 55. Ta-ming is the Japanese daimyō or feudal lord. [361] Ju Shun (fl. dur. 189-265) comments, "[According to] the Code, [officials ranking at] a hundred piculs receive 16 hu [of grain] per month." (The present text has "six hundred," but the Sung Ch'i ed. remarks that according to HHS Tr. 28: 14b and Yen Shih-ku's comment in HS 19 A: 1a it should be "sixteen hu.") Wei Chao (197-273) adds, "If [an official] had an income of one hu [or ten tou], then it was increased by five tou," i.e., 50%. [365] The same chiasmus as that noted in n. 12.4 and 17.4. [366] The "Shang-ling" song, quoted previously (cf. n. 16.2), also says, "Birds from Ts'ang-hai [Commandery, pres. Corea], Red-winged geese and white geese [came], Following the mountains and the forests. Now they opened and now they closed [their wings], So that we did not know That the sun or moon shone." Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that this song refers to the same phenomenon as that in the edict above. On the difference between luan (translated "young phoenixes") and other varieties of these mythical birds, Chih Yü (fl. ca. 270-310) in his Chüeh-yi-yao-chu 1: 1a states that while the future Emperor Kuang-wu was still a commoner, a large varicolored bird, five feet tall, appeared, which was called a phoenix (feng). But the Chief Grand Astrologer, Ts'ai Hung [OMITTED] (not mentioned in HS or HHS), replied, saying, "Altogether there are five [kinds of birds] that are like the phoenix (feng). Those that are mostly red [OMITTED] in color are feng [OMITTED]. Those that are mostly blue-green [OMITTED] in color are luan [OMITTED]. Those that are mostly yellow in color are ch'u [OMITTED]. Those that are mostly purple [OMITTED] in color are yüan [OMITTED]. Those that are mostly white in color are ku [OMITTED] (snow geese). This bird is mostly blue-green, so it is a luan, not a feng. The throne approved his words." On such arbitrary principles occultists classified large birds. The first four of these are all fabulous birds. [370] Ju Shun comments, "Although Grand Administrators were entitled [officials ranking at] 2000 piculs, they [really] had [an income of only] 1000 or 800 piculs. If the merits and virtue of the occupants were especially excellent, then they were allowed [to receive] the full [amount called for by their] rank. [Huang] Pa received [the rank of] fully 2000 piculs, [which was] the rank of the nine high ministers." But Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) says, "This simply says directly that his rank was increased from 2000 piculs to fully 2000 piculs; it is not said that [he received either] the full [amount] or not the full [amount]." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Ju [Shun]'s explanation is mistaken. [Huang] Pa had previously already been [ranked at] 2000 piculs. Now [his rank] was increased to be fully 2000 piculs, in order to [show him] unusual favor. This [act] was like the increase in the ranking of the Chancellor of Chiao-tung, Wang Ch'eng, in 67 B.C. [cf. 8: 8a, b]. [According to] the Han [dynasty's] regulations [he is basing his statement upon the Han Code, cf. his note to HS 19 A: 1a, translated in Mh II, 526, 527, which probably states the regulations of the Later Han dynasty], those ranking at 2000 piculs received 1440 piculs per year, which was really not fully 2000 piculs. Those who were nominally [ranked at] fully 2000 piculs received 2160 piculs per year. It mentions [ranks by] a round number, hence it

says `Fully 2000 piculs.' [OMITTED] [means] full [OMITTED]." But Huang Pa's memoir (HS 89: 6a) says that he had been Acting Governor of the Capital with the rank of 2000 piculs, and for a technical crime had been degraded to be the Grand Administrator of Ying-ch'uan Commandery with only the rank of 800 piculs. Now the Emperor kept him in the same position, but gave him the salary and rank of fully 2000 piculs. Some months later he was promoted to a higher post. Cf. Glossary, sub Huang Pa. [374] Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks, "From ancient times there had not been any mention of `chaste wives and obedient daughters'. In the [time of Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan there was this imperial edict, hence the according of honors to chaste wives and filial daughters by later generations took this [edict] for a model. `Obedient' [means] `filial'." [375] The same quotation as that noted in n. 8.10, q. v. [377] HS 94 A: 32b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 204 says, "When Shan-yü Wu-yench'ü-ti had been enthroned, he again renewed peace and friendship [with the Chinese] and sent his younger brother, the King of Yi-chiu-jo [OMITTED], [Lüan-ti] Sheng-chih, to enter China and offer [tribute] and present himself to [his superior]." Then Yi-chiu-jo and Ho-liu-jo are different transliterations of the same Hun word. Karlgren, Grammata Serica, gives the following archaic pronunciations respectively for those two words ˙i̭εr-dz'i̭ôg- ńi̭ak and χo-li̭ôg-ńi̭ak, and for the T'ang period: ˓̇i-˓dz`i̭ə̭u-ńźi̭ak and ˓χuo-˓li̭ə̭u-ńźi̭ak. [379] "Eleven .... phoenixes" here looks very queer; nowhere else is any specific number of phoenixes mentioned; cf. 7: 3b; 8: 5a, 7b, 11b, 12b, 16a, the second paragraph below, and 23a. Dr. Duyvendak has brilliantly suggested that "eleven" here is dittography for the subsequent "eleventh (month)." [384] Chuang Yen-nien had sentenced so many people to execution that he had acquired the nickname, "Uncle Butcher." Emperor Hsüan sentenced him because of his cruelty and tyranny. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. On his surname, cf. App. I. [386] Ying Shao says, "Previously, phoenixes had come five times. Hence, this fact was used [for the name of the year-period when the name of] the year-period was changed." This name means literally, "Five [Appearances of] Phoenixes." [389] The Han-chi notes the capping of Liu Shih twice: in 63 B.C. (18: 8b) and at this date (20: 1a). Probably the earlier mistaken recording is connected with the same mistake as that discussed in note 7.12 of the present chapter. [390] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that one text reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] and adds "[OMITTED] and to their Ladies, sixty bolts [to each]," quoting the Sung Ch'i ed. as saying that one text did not have this phrase. [395] He had been sentenced for peculation and attempted blackmail, in spite of his popularity with the common people; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [400] The text says, "the third month", but Hsün Yüeh (148-209), in his Han-chi 20: 3a, quotes this sentence with the words, "the first month." Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 12b, notes this fact, and remarks, "According to the Han [dynastic] regulations, the suburban sacrifice was regularly performed in the first month. Probably at the time when Hsün Yüeh wrote his [Han]-chi, this mistake [in the HS] had not yet been made." Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 27: 5a emends this sentence to, "In the first month, the Emperor favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]." In HS 66: 10b, Yang Yün is reported as saying, "Since the first month, the sky has been overcast, [yet] it has not rained; this [circumstance] is recorded in the Spring and Autumn and was spoken of by Mr. Hsia-hou [Sheng, (q.v. in Glossary). The Emperor] in traveling should certainly not go to the Ho-tung [Commandery]." Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) comments, "The Temple to Sovereign Earth is in Ho-tung Commandery where] the Son of Heaven sacrifices yearly." Szu-ma Kuang (op. cit.) remarks, "Probably at this time [the Emperor] also favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed

to Sovereign Earth, but the historian has omitted [to mention] it." [405] From Book of Odes, II, i, vi, 3 (Legge, p. 255). [406] A law of the Han dynasty, probably inherited from the Ch'in dynasty, prohibited the gathering of even three people without cause, even for feasting. Cf. HFHD, I, 231, n. 2. Emperor Hsüan is liberalizing these severe laws. There seem to have been two different types of customs in celebrating marriage. One custom was to celebrate the marriage with a feast and music, to which friends were invited. This type of custom was very ancient; it is found in the Book of Odes, I, i, i, (Legge, p. 4), and in the Book of Rites (prob. compiled in the latter part of the Former Han period, with some chapters added in the Later Han period), I, i, iii, 37 (Legge, XXVII, 78; Couvreur, I, 31). HS 52: 9a recounts that in the summer of 131 B.C., when T'ien Fen married the daughter of the King of Yen, Liu Tan4a, "the Empress Dowager, by an imperial edict, summoned all the marquises and members of the imperial house to go and congratulate him." There was also a custom which treated marriage as a quiet event because it implies that the bridegroom's parents will in the future pass away, and hence did not allow any feasting, music, or rejoicings. It was said that music is yang (male), while marriage is yin (female), so that music is inappropriate to marriage. Possibly this custom arose from the Ch'in prohibition of gatherings. Book of Rites, V, i, 20 (Legge, XXVII, 322; Couvreur, I, 429), says, "Confucius said, . . . . `The family that receives the [new] wife has no music for three days, thinking that [her bridegroom] is to take the place of his parents.' " The officials who had been prohibiting marriage feasts and congratulations were following the second of these customs, whereas Emperor Hsüan favored the first. [408] This man was not actually a Shan-yü. At this time there were five claimants for the title of Shan-yü, and Hun groups who were defeated in the consequent civil war surrendered to the Chinese. Cf. Glossary sub Hu-su-lei. [412] The plain meaning of this passage is that Yang Yün was executed at this time. Hsün Yüeh, in his Han-chi 20: 4a, interprets it thus. But Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 13a, points out that, in the biography of Yang Yün (HS 66: 12a), the latter is said to have written to Sun Hui-tsung, "Your servant's crime was committed the third year ago," and later (66: 13a) he speaks of Tu Yen-nien as Grandee Secretary. It is then said that following an eclipse of the sun, information was given to the Emperor that the eclipse occurred because of what Yang Yün had said, after which he was executed. HS 19 B: 34a records that Yang Yün was made Superintendent of the Imperial Household in 61 B.C. and dismissed in 57 B.C. According to 19 B: 35b, Tu Yen-niena became Grandee Secretary on Aug. 2, 55 B.C. The eclipse was then probably that of May 9, 54 B.C. Hence Yang Yün could not have been executed in Jan./Feb., 55 B.C. Szu-ma Kuang thinks that Yang Yün was dismissed from his noble rank at this time. (HS 17: 29b dates that dismissal in Wu-feng III, but also says it was in the ténth year after 66 B.C., which would be Wu-feng II [56 B.C.], not III. Hence Su Yü independently concludes that "three" is there a mistake for "two".) Szu-ma Kuang further thinks that Yang Yün was thereupon made a commoner, and died in the winter of 54 B.C., after the eclipse. Wei Hsüan-ch'eng and Chang Ch'ang, who were dismissed when Yang Yün was executed (HS 66: 13a) were both dismissed in 54 B.C., according to 19 B: 34a, 35a. Hence I have concluded that Pan Ku is here summarizing the later disposition of Yang Yün's case, possibly because it was noted on the edict ordering his cashiering. But Dr. Duyvendak writes, "I cannot think the translation is admissible. It is better to accept the contradiction as it stands. The details given after [OMITTED] look like the insertion of some commentary." Yang Yün's surname is mistakenly written here; it should be written [OMITTED]. [418] The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. [422] Dr. Duyvendak remarks that the second word in the phrase kuei-yi [OMITTED] refers to "[OMITTED] the moral and political relationship between prince and subject," so that "fealty" is perhaps the best translation for yi here. [423] Lun-heng, 19: 3b, "Hsüan-Han", (Forke, II, p. 196), notes this event, but mistakenly writes [OMITTED] for [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] for [OMITTED]. Since Wang Ch'ung, the author of the

Lun-heng, did not know Pan Ku's HS, but was a disciple of Pan Piao, it is likely that he took this recording from the latter's Later Account (Hou-chuan) which Pan Ku used as a source for the HS. [427] Chang Yen explains, "They were the trees outside the [inner] gates and inside the [outer] portals, inside the railing [to keep out] horses [at the entrance]." (The Official ed. emends [OMITTED] to [OMITTED].) Lun-heng, 16: 13a, "Chiang-shui," (Forke, I, p. 359), reads, "In the time of Emperor Hsiao-hsüan, phoenixes perched in Shang-lin [Park]. Later they again [perched] on the trees at the Eastern Portal of Ch'ang-lo Palace. They were five feet high, beautifully ornamented in [all] five colors." San-fu Huang-t'u 6: 6b says, "The ch'üeh [OMITTED] (portals) were look-out towers [OMITTED]. The Chou [dynasty] established two look-out towers in order to mark [each] palace gate. It was possible to dwell in the upper part of these [look-out towers]. By climbing them one could look out far, hence they were called look-outs. When ministers who are about to go to court reach this [place] they think of their defects," (another play on words, for `defects' is also denoted by ch'üeh). [428] A quotation from Book of History V, xxvii, 13 (Legge, p. 600). The words [OMITTED] [OMITTED] are, however, not in the present text of the Book of History; Chiang Sheng (17211799), in his Shang-shu Chi-chu Yin-su 10: 19a, says that these words should be read in that passage of the Book of History instead of the present [OMITTED], because these words are found in the quotation by Emperor Hsüan, which, he says, comes from the tradition of Master Fu (iii-ii cent. B.C.) and from the "Modern Text" of the Book of History. They are also found on p. 17a. [429] An irrevocable death sentence was one to which an amnesty did not usually apply. [434] He had had magical imprecations made against the Emperor and had murdered his witches. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [437] Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 13b, remarks that according to HS 94 B: 3a, Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh called himself a Chinese subject and sent his son, the Worthy King of the West, Lüan-ti Shu-lü-ch'ü-t'ang, to enter the Chinese court and wait upon the Emperor, but that event is definitely dated in 53 B.C. In the same year, Shan-yü Chih-chih also sent his son, the Western General-in-Chief, Luan-ti Chü-yü-lishou, to enter the Chinese court and wait upon the Emperor. HS 94 B: 2a mentions a younger brother of Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh as being the Western Lu-li King, who was probably this envoy. By the end of 54 B.C., only two remained of eight persons who had set themselves up as Shan-yü since 60 B.C. [438] The text reads, "the last day of the month", but HS 27 Cb: 14b, 15a says, "In the fourth year, the fourth month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. . . . . `This was the first day of the principal month [OMITTED] [a phrase used in Book of Odes II, iv, viii, 1 (Legge, p. 314) for the fourth month; it seems to have been the term used in Chou times for the first month of summer; cf. also Tso-chuan 10: 4b, Dk. Chuang, XXV], when the yin influence had not yet encroached.' [Tu Yü (222-284), in a note to Tso-chuan, ibid., (where this phrase is used), says, "The principal month is the fourth month of the Hsia [dynasty's calendar (that used in Han times after 104 B.C.), which is] the sixth month of the Chou [calendar], is called the month of complete yang influence [OMITTED]."] Mr. Tso [in the Tso-chuan passage referred to above, from which the sentence in single quotation marks is taken] considered that [an eclipse on that day] was an important anomaly." Hence this date must have been the first day of the month. Han-chi 20: 8b and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 27: 9a both read, "The first day of the month." The imperial edict confirms the statement of ch. 27 in saying that it was considered "an important anomaly." [443] The name, Kan-lu, lit. "sweet dew", is obviously taken from the frequent appearances of that substance, many of which are noted in the Annals. Cf. n. 21.5. [452] These fires are also mentioned in 27 A: 14b. [454] HS 94 B: 3a says, "[Shan-yü] Hu-han-hsieh followed the plan of [his Eastern Yichih-tzu King], led his troop southwards, and came near the Barrier. He sent his son,

the Worthy King of the West, [Lüan-ti] Shu-lü-chü-t'ang, to enter [the Chinese court] and wait upon [the Emperor]. Shan-yü Chih-chih also sent his son, the Commander[in]-chief of the West, [Lüan-ti] Chü-yü-li-shou, to enter [the Chinese court] and wait upon [the Emperor]. This year was the first year of [the period] Kan-lu." Shan-yü Chih-chih had himself been Worthy King of the East before he set himself up as Shan-yü; he was an elder brother of Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh. At this time Shan-yü Chih-chih controlled the eastern part of the Hun empire; he had possibly made his younger brother the Worthy King of the East, but the "Memoir on the Huns" does not mention it or this embassy. The Worthy King of the East was regularly the Heir-apparent to the Hun throne. At this time both Shan-yü were competing for Chinese assistance. [456] HS 14: 22a dates this appointment in the tenth month on the day yi-hai, Nov. 28, 52 B.C., which is probably the correct date, for there was no yi-hai day in the first month. [459] The same chiasmus as that noted in n. 12.4. [460] Wang Ch'ung, in his Lun-heng 17: 12a, b, 13a, "Shih-ying", (cf. Forke, II, 324-326), has an extended and illuminating discussion of "sweet dew" and "wine springs" in which he concludes that "wine springs" are merely another name for "sweet dew". According to his description of the latter, it may have been some sort of tree exudation. Kan [OMITTED] (sweet) is, however, used to refer to water that is not alkaline; the ground water east of the ancient Kao-ling (now Ch'ang-an) is still alkaline and bitter, so that an abundant fall of dew would naturally be called "sweet". The Li-ch'üan-hsien Chih (1783), 2: 6b, notes a place called Li-ch'üan (lit. "Winespring"), 30 li southeast of the city, and says that the old gazetteer records that it is several tens of paces around, of unfathomable depth, and that in the time of Emperor Hsüan it gushed forth, its taste like sweet wine (li), because of which the district was named; it is now disused. A note adds that some say it is the present Liu-ch'üan Hamlet [OMITTED], in Hsien-yang Hsien, Shensi. (Data from Dr. D. R. Wickes.) Wu Jen-chieh (ca. 1137-1199) in his Liang-Han K'an-wu Pu-yi 2: 8a, b, discusses sweet dew and wine springs, and gives later examples of both. The term "sweet dew" is found in Tao-te-ching, ch. 32, and in the Chan-kuo-ts'ê. Shan-hai-ching 16:2b states that the people in the country of the Mother Queen of the West eat phoenixes' eggs and drink sweet dew. [466] HS 14: 21b, 22a date the appointments of both Liu Ao and Liu Yü3 in the tenth month on Nov. 28, 52 B.C., which was probably the correct date, for the cyclical day there given, yi-hai, does not occur in the ninth month. [472] A quotation from Book of Odes IV, iii, iv, 2 (Legge, p. 639, 640). This ode speaks of the way that Hsieh's proper conduct was so influential that the Shang dynasty sprang from his line. The Mao text of the Odes has [OMITTED] instead of the HS's [OMITTED], with the comment that the latter character gives the correct meaning. Hsiang-t'u was Hsieh's grandson. I have followed Wen Ying's interpretation of this passage. For these persons, cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [473] This last clause is a quotation from Book of History I, i, i (Legge, I, 15). [474] The notion seems to be that as long as he kept his title of Shan-yü (which were the last words of a Hun title explained in HS 94 A: 6b10,11 as meaning, "The Great Son of Heaven"), and did not recognize himself as a subject (to be granted a title by the Chinese Emperor), he could not be received at the New Years court. (Explanation by Dr. Duyvendak.) Wang-chê [OMITTED] is a phrase frequently used to denote the emperor, in imitation of the practise, in Chou times, of denoting the supreme ruler by the title, king. Kung-yang Commentary, 1: 12b, Duke Yin, I, x, says, "For a [true universal] king there is no foreign [territory] [OMITTED]." Hsün Yüeh, in his Han-chi 20: 10b, in commenting upon this episode, quotes the above sentence and adds, "He [i.e. a true king] wants to unite [all] under Heaven..... A [true] king necessarily imitates Heaven and Earth; there is nothing not covered by Heaven and nothing not borne up by Earth." In HS 4: 3a the Emperor is likewise called "a [true] king". [477] Yen Shih-ku explains, "He says that the people outside the Wild [Domain] were not the ones for whom the rules of proper conduct were established and that the government

and punishments also did not reach them." [478] HS 78: 8b, 9a (q.v.) informs us that the memorial expresses the ideas of Huang Pa and Yü Ting-kuo; the edict follows the ideas of Hsiao Wang-chih. HS 94 B: 3a10 states that the Shan-yü was favored by being treated "in accordance with extraordinary rites." Hsün Yüeh, in his Han-chi 20: 10b, 11a, argues at length that Hsiao Wang-chih was wrong and that the treatment of a barbarian ruler as anything but a subject of the Chinese emperor is contrary to the rules of proper conduct. [485] The Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed. (1528-31), the Fukien ed. (1549), and the Official ed., read [OMITTED] instead of the [OMITTED] of Wang Hsien-ch'ien, who, however, notes the former reading. [487] According to 94 B: 4a, b, Shan-yü Chih-chih also sent an envoy to the Chinese court in 51 B.C., who was treated very generously by the Chinese; in 50, both Shan-yü sent envoys to the Chinese court to make offerings, but Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh's envoy was treated better than his rival's; in 49, Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh himself came to court again. When Shan-yü Chih-chih heard that the Chinese were supporting Shan-yü Huhan-hsieh with provisions and troops, Shan-yü Chih-chih fled to the west. [491] Yang Shu-ta notes that another appearance of phoenixes, not recorded in this chapter, is recounted in the Lun-heng, 19: 13b, "Yen-fu," (Forke, II, 217), "In the time of Emperor Hsüan, phoenixes descended at P'eng-ch'eng. When [the authorities at] P'eng-ch'eng had made [this fact] known [to the capital], the Emperor summoned the Palace Attendant Sung Weng-yi [OMITTED], [who is not mentioned in the HS or HHS, for he is not listed in the index by Chuang Ting-yi or that by Fu Shan]. [Sung] Weng-yi replied," etc. [494] For this historic discussion, cf. App. II. [501] He was sentenced for pornography and murder; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [503] There was no ting-mao day in the tenth month. "Tenth" may easily be a mistake for "eleventh", in which case the date was Jan. 9, 49 B.C., or ting may be a mistake for hsin, in which case the date was Dec. 4, 50 B.C. [505] Ying Shao remarks, "Previous to this, a yellow dragon (huang-lung) appeared at Hsin-feng; because of it [the Emperor] crowned the year-period [with this name]." Yen Shih-ku retorts, "A gloss of the Han period says, `In this year, in the second month, a yellow dragon appeared in Kuang-han Commandery, hence [the Emperor] changed [the name of] the year-[period accordingly].' Thus Ying [Shao's] explanation is mistaken. The [dragon] that appeared at Hsin-feng [had appeared] five years [previous] to this [time]." But Liu Pin points out that HS 25 B: 10b records that in the summer of the year that the year-period was changed to Kan-lu (53 B.C.), "a yellow dragon appeared at Hsin-feng", and continues (p. 11a), "Later, at an interval of [some] years, he changed the year-period to be Huang-lung," mentioning some of the same events as those recounted in the "Annals" here. Liu Pin concludes, "Therefore Emperor Hsüan, because of [that appearance], in changing [the name of] the year-period, retrospectively utilized [the appearance of] the yellow dragon five years previous." HS 99 B: 9a also reports that in the time of Emperor Hsüan a yellow dragon appeared at Hsin-tub, which was a prefecture of Kuang-han Commandery, so that the appearance reported by Yen Shih-ku is also confirmed. The "yellow dragon" was an auspicious mythological species distinct from other dragons. Cf. Chavannes, Mission archeologique, 11, p. 236 & fig. 167; Laufer, Chinese Grave Sculptures, p. 26 ff, pl. VIII. [512] A reminiscence of Analects II, xix (Legge, p. 152; Soothill, p. 169) in which Confucius recommends this sort of government. [515] Ying Shao explains, "At that time there were those who begged [the Emperor] saying, `[There should be] an imperial edict to bring about that those who are sent out [from the imperial court on commissions] should dispense with their soldiers and followers in order that they should themselves provide the cost [of these soldiers and followers by exactions from the people] and that they might require no further government subvention

or vacation-allowance.' Although [this practise produced] income for the government, it was not an ancient usage, hence it was stopped." Chang Yen explains, "Before this [time], because the [government] income of Emperor Wu was insufficient and it was proper that it should be increased, some in his offices who had received orders [to be sent on a mission] asked that they should not receive any salary, but should themselves dispense with their soldiers and followers in order that they might receive the government subventions [for these soldiers and followers]; some [of them moreover] provided for their own [needs by making exactions from the people]. Thereupon evil officials on this account used [this practise] for their own profit, and [consequently] received more than their original salary. Hence [this practise] was stopped." Ju Shun adds, "At this time there were some who dispensed with their soldiers and followers, and a crowd of officials asked for [the privilege], in order to [have the right to] provide for their own [needs]. The offices and yamens had, previous to this [time], permitted this practise; now [the Emperor] changed and repented of it and did not again permit it." Yen Shih-ku approves the explanations of Ying Shao and Chang Yen. Dr. Duyvendak adds, "The right to provide for themselves under a show of disinterestedness would give officials an unlimited opportunity for extortion." [518] Tzu-kung meant literally, "the [Heavenly] Purple [Imperial] Palace;" it was composed of the circumpolar stars, at the center of which was the North Polar constellation, where dwelt the Supreme One, the heavenly emperor. Cf. Glossary, sub vocibus of these constellations. Comets were believed to "do away with the old and arrange the new" (HS 27 Cb: 20b); a comet entering the heavenly imperial palace in the year of an emperor's death would inevitably be felt to have a special significance. This comet is no. 46 in Williams, Observations of Comets. It may have been the comet mentioned by Lucan (Pharsalia i, 526) as having been seen during the war between Caesar and Pompey. Cf. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy I, p. 556. [522] Wei Chao (197-273) explains, "Officials [ranking at] 600 piculs were not again permitted to be recommended as incorrupt officials." Wang Ch'i-yüan (xix cent.) points out that the foregoing statement is confirmed in Chou-li 35: 3a, sub the Hsiao-szu-k'ou, (Biot, II, p. 321 & n. 11), where Cheng Chung (5 B.C.-A.D. 83) says, "[The deliberation over the punishment of honorable persons] is like [the situation] at the present time, when officials [who wear] black seal-cords have committed crimes, and [the Emperor must] first be asked [to confirm their sentences]." HS 19 A: 31a says, "[Officials] ranked as equivalent to 600 piculs and over all have bronze seals and black seal-cords." Wang Ch'i-yüan says that probably, according to the Han dynastic regulations, purple seal-cords were used for the three highest ministers, blue seal-cords for the high ministers, and black seal-cords for those equivalent to the Grandees and those ranking at 600 piculs. HS 76: 1a recounts that while Chao Kuang-han was Chief of Equialization and Standards, he was investigated, found incorrupt, and made the Prefect of Yang-ti. HHS, Tr. 26: 2a records that the Chief of Equalization and Standards was ranked at 600 piculs. Hence previous to this edict of Emperor Hsüan, officials who ranked at 600 piculs had been recommended for promotion as incorrupt persons, which practise was now stopped. For the order of Emperor Kao establishing the practise of asking the throne's consent for punishments, cf. 1 B: 12a. Dr. Duyvendak explains, "This order tries to prevent accumulation of honors and to get fresh blood into the higher government service by having new people recommended as `incorrupt'." [525] The burial of Emperor Hsüan did not occur until the next year, after the next emperor had taken the throne, contrary to the custom of preceding rulers; cf. 9: 2a. At this point the present text adds "On [the day] kuei-szu, he honored the Empress Dowager with the title, Grand Empress Dowager." This sentence is plainly a dittography for the same sentence in 9: 2a. It is dated on the day Emperor Yüan ascended the throne and so could only come in his "Annals". [528] Yen Shih-ku says, "Hsieh [OMITTED] is a general name for ch'i [OMITTED] (utensils). It is also said that what has a cup [OMITTED] is a hsieh; what has no cup is a ch'i." [529] This clause is a quotation from Book of History IV, ii, iv, 7 (Legge, p. 181). Li Ch'i interprets it as alluding to the driving away of Shan-yü Chih-chih and establishing Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh as the actual Shan-yü. [530] Wang Ch'ung, in his Lun-heng 16: 22a, "Chiang-shui" (Forke, I, 372, 3), exalts him still more highly, "[Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan was equal to Yao or Shun. The world was

completely peaceful; for ten-thousand li [in all directions, people] strove to progress, and the doctrine of benevolent love was put into practise." 266

APPENDIX I THE TABU ON IMPERIAL PERSONAL NAMES The tabu on the personal names of emperors seems to have originated in the Chou period. Tso-chuan, Dk. Huan, VI, (Legge, p. 50; Couvreur, I, 93) says, "The people of Chou used [the custom of] tabuing [names] in serving the spirits [of the dead]; after they were dead, their personal names (ming [OMITTED]) were in the future tabued." K'ung Ying-ta (574-648) accordingly concludes, "Before the Yin [dynasty] had ended, there was no procedure of tabu. Tabu originated with the Chou [dynasty]. The Chou [rulers] used the procedure of tabu in reverencing and serving their ancestral spirits." Such a tabu did not mean, as is sometimes said, that an emperor's personal name was not supposed to exist for his subjects. The use of such a name seems to have been largely similar to the European lese majesty, and was punished as severely. This danger of punishment made every person who might prepare a memorial or even talk in the presence of officials highly conscious of the tabued names, since such persons had to be continually careful to avoid these names. Punishments were severe: HS 46: 3b says, "When [Shih] Chien was Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the Palace, he memorialized a matter and it was referred back to him. When [Shih] Chien [re]-read it, he was frightened and afraid, and said, `The writing for "horse" should have, together with the tail, five [strokes at the bottom of the character, one for the tail and four dots for the feet]. Now I have, however, [only written] four, one less than enough. If [Emperor Wu] had happened to have been irritated, [I should have been made to] die." Chou Shou-ch'ang, who quotes this passage in a note to HS 8: 13a, concludes that if a mistake in writing one character could have been punished thus severely, how much more a violation of tabu! He also quotes the T'ang dynastic code as follows: "Whoever presents a memorial, memorializing matters with a mistake which violates the names tabued [by the imperial] ancestral temples, shall be beaten 80 heavy strokes; whoever orally makes a mistake or in writings other [than memorials] writes a mistake, violating [a tabu], shall be beaten 50 light strokes." It also says, "Whoever in his own personal name violates and breaks [a tabu] shall serve three years of penal servitude; [but] if by a homonymn or if by using separately one word of a double [tabued] name, he violates [a tabu], he shall not be sentenced [for crime]." (The latter provision is taken from the Book of Rites, I, i; Legge, I, 93; 267 Couvreur, I, p. 57, 58). Chou Shou-ch'ang adds, "By the aid of these [facts], we can estimate [what were] the Han [dynastic] regulations." Since it was so important for persons who composed memorials to know exactly what to avoid, tablets with the tabued names were hung up in public places for the guidance of the gentry. The History of the Southern Ch'i Dynasty, 46: 5a ff, in the biography of Wang Tz'u (lived 451-491), recounts that after Wang Tz'u had become a high official, he considered that the practise of placing "in the court and halls a tablet with the tabus [written on it] [OMITTED] was not an ancient or old custom." Emperor Wu thereupon order a discussion concerning the discontinuance of this practise. The Gentleman Division Head of Ritual, Jen Fang, said in the course of the discussion, "The institution of publishing the tabus has, however, come down from Han times to the Chin [period] for successive ages without error. The present tablets of tabus have moreover a clear meaning, and imitate [the first Han tabu, that instead of] the word pang, [meaning `country', the personal name of Emperor Kao, there should be written the word] kuo [meaning `state'], which is really a proof of [how] things [were done in] the past. The importance of the tabu on personal names is that it is the extreme of affection and respectfulness. Hence [such tablets] are hung in the various

courts and halls where the gentry gather, in order to bring it about that when they rise and lie down, at morning and evening, [the tabus] may not escape their eyes or ears. [This] way of prohibiting and avoiding [tabus] is most evident and easy to follow." Wang Tz'u's proposal was accordingly dropped. Chou Shou-ch'ang points out that in Han times there must accordingly have been this practise of publishing tabus. Hsün Yüeh (148-209) probably quotes the statements on these tabu-boards, in his notes to the imperial titles at the beginning of each HS "Annals." For example, for Emperor Hui he writes, "His tabued personal name was Ying, and for this word write man [OMITTED]" (HS 2: 1a); for the Empress of the Kao-tsu, "Her tabued personal name was Chih, and for this word write yeh-chi [OMITTED]" (HS 3: 1a); etc. (In reading these condensed phrases, Hsün Yüeh's comment on the Kao-tsu [HS 1A: 1b] is illuminating, "His tabued personal name was Pang and his style was Chi. For the word pang, write kuo [OMITTED] [OMITTED].") Thus it became possible to identify what particular words were being tabued and, when the tabu was dropped, to restore the original word. Because of the tabu on the personal name of Emperor Ming of the Later Han Dynasty, (ruled 58-75 A.D. during and after which period Pan Ku 268 wrote his history), the surname Chuang [OMITTED] was changed to Yen [OMITTED] and was thus originally written in the HS; it is hence immediately apparent that for Former Han times the surname Yen should be translated Chuang, while for times after Emperor Ming's accession, the same surname has been Yen. In books republished after a tabu had been announced, tabued words were changed; when a book was again republished after a tabu had been lifted, as by a change in the dynasty, the previously tabued words were restored. Sometimes in this procedure, words were mistakenly restored (cf. 6: n. 28.1). The date of a book may sometimes be determined from the tabus found in that edition. When, moreover, the relationship of a previous emperor to the reigning ruler became distant, due to a large number of generations intervening, tabus were relaxed. Thus Pan Ku, writing in the Later Han dynasty, used the tabued names of even the earlier Han rulers, who were ancestors of the Later Han dynasty. This practise of relaxing tabus of distant ancestors may be derived from the practise of increasingly doing away with the temples of distant imperial ancestors and worshipping separately only the five immediately preceding generations, together with the founder of the house (cf. Glossary sub Wei Hsüan-ch'eng). The tabu on the personal name of Emperor Kao, Pang, may however have sometimes been maintained all through this period. In 99 A: 35b, a memorial to Wang Mang tabus this word, which was probably written in the original portent; but the present text of 99 B: 19a uses this word. Shuo-wen, 6 B: 5b, does not mention any tabu on this word, hence it was not always tabued in Later Han times. The Mou-tzu (by Mou Tzu-po, fl. 190-3) however tabus pang; cf. Pelliot in T'oung Pao, v. 19, p. 397, n. 321. Han writers were often lax about tabus, while originally tabued words may have been restored by later editors. Imperial personal names were usually composed of only one character, following the principle enunciated in the Kung-Yang Commentary, in order to avoid troubling the people by many tabus (cf. 99 A: n. 8.7). When an emperor's personal name contained a commonly used word, he often changed it to an unusual word, in order that the people should not fall into crime by violating the tabu. Thus Emperor Hsüan changed his name from the very ordinary words, Ping-yi (meaning, "his illness is over," a magical name for a sick child) to the unusual word Hsün [OMITTED] (cf. 8: 13a, b). Because they were homonyms, the surname of the famous Hsün [OMITTED]-tzu was written Sun [OMITTED], and remained so written until Yang Liang corrected it in the ninth century. (The words hsün and sun must therefore have been homonymns in Han times; they are today pronounced exactly alike in some Chinese dialects, e.g., in Hunan, 269 although Karlgren, Grammata Serica, nos. 392o and 434a, gives distinct archaic and T'ang pronunciations for them.) Some later emperors followed

Emperor Hsüan's example. Since the emperor was considered the parent of his people, Confucian sons have similarly tabued the given names of their fathers and close ancestors. The Li-chi, I, i, v, 16 (Couvreur, I, 58) holds that the tabu on ancestral names is primary and that upon the names of rulers is in imitation of it. Confucius, however, taught that the practises of the Chou rulers should be those of an educated gentleman; hence the tabu on ancestral given names may well have first been a practise of the Chou kingly clan and have been spread to the lower orders through Confucian influence; most of this spread may indeed have occurred in the early part of the Former Han period, when the practise of mourning to the third year similarly spread. As a consequence of its use upon the tabu-boards, the word for tabu (hui [OMITTED]) came to have the meaning of "avoided personal name." Chou Shou-ch'ang writes, "Accordingly, when [a person was alive, his personal name] was called his ming; [after] he was dead, it was called his hui (tabu)." But in his edict changing his personal name, Emperor Hsüan speaks of his personal name as his hui while he was still alive. Chou Shou-ch'ang says in explanation, "In Han [times], there was no difference in calling [a personal name] a ming or a hui. Shuo-wen [ca. 100 A.D.; 7 A: 7b, sub] the radical, `Grain', [the word] hsiu [OMITTED], says, `The Emperor's hui,' meaning [Emperor] Kuang-wu, [reigned A.D. 25-57, ibid., 1 A: 1b, sub] the radical `Signs [OMITTED]', [the word] yu [OMITTED], it says, `The Emperor's hui,' [which must] then [mean] Emperor An [reigned 107-125]. Hsü Shen, [the author of the Shuo-wen] died in 121; his son, [Hsü] Ch'ung, in that very year presented the Shuo-wen to the Emperor, while Emperor An was still alive. This [fact proves that] while still alive, [an emperor's personal name] was called his hui. "[According to] the Record of the Southern Yen [Dynasty], when Mu-yung Tê [reigned 398-404] ascended the imperial throne, he said, `[Emperor] Hsüan of the Han [dynasty] pitied his officials and common people [because] they violated his hui, hence he changed his personal name (ming). We now add the one word Pei [OMITTED] to be [Our] second personal name (ming), desiring to open the way whereby [Our] subjects may avoid [Our] hui (tabued name).' This [quotation shows that] Mu-yung [Tê], while alive, himself called [his personal name] his hui and also referred to this act of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan." It is difficult to determine when the motivation of this tabu on personal names was magical and when it was merely a matter of respectfulness. 270 For some persons, it was undoubtedly magical—the use of a personal name put the name, and by sympathy, that person himself, in rapport with the circumstances mentioned in connection with the name, some of which might easily be harmful: the emperor was so important for the well-being of the empire that it would be merely prudent to avoid the use of his name. If the emperor's personal name was used in an inauspicious set of words, that inauspiciousness would be reflected upon him, and through him, upon the empire. The age was, in many respects, deeply superstitious. Divination, auspicious and inauspicious days, and the like were features of the best Confucian teaching. Tung Chung-shu made rain in time of drought by closing the south gates of the city and opening the north gates, to allow the yin influence full entrance and keep the yang influence out (cf. Glossary sub voce). Before the time of Wang Mang, and after, the emperor, vassal kings, nobles, and officials, including disciples of private schools, all wore "kang-mao amulets," in order to protect themselves against diseases and epidemics (cf. 99: App. III). After Wang Mang had done away with the Han dynasty, he felt compelled to do away with his knife-coins, because the surname of that dynasty, Liu [OMITTED], contains the word knife [OMITTED]. Yet Confucius had doubted the spirits and Hsün-tzu had denied the existence of all spirits; he had explained superstitious beliefs in a purely naturalistic manner (cf. Works of Hsuntze, Bk. XVII). Jen Fang adopted Hsün-tzü's interpretation, and many other intelligent persons undoubtedly did the same. For them this tabu was merely a matter of respect. Thus its significance was an individual matter: to some it was

magic and to others merely a matter of respectfulness. For further discussion, cf. Ch'en Yüan, "The Traditional Omission of Sacred and Imperial Names in Chinese Writings" (in Chinese), Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies, no. 4, Dec. 1928, pp. 537-651; E. Haenisch, "Die Heiligung des Vater- und Fürstennames in China," Berichte über d. Verhandlungen d. Sächischen Akademie d. Wissenschaften, Philolog.-hist. Klasse, 84. Band, 1932, 4. Heft; M. A. Vissière, "Traité des charactères chinoise que l'on évite par respect," Journal Asiatique, vol. IX, 18, 1901, 320-373. 271

APPENDIX II THE DISCUSSION OF THE CLASSICS IN THE SHIH-CH'Ü PAVILION Emperor Hsüan greatly encouraged the study of the classics and elevated Confucian scholars to the highest positions in his government. He several times ordered that Confucian classical scholars should be summoned to the court and encouraged to teach what they knew. In June, 70 B.C., on the occasion of an earthquake, he had his ministers question widely among the Confucian scholars concerning what should be done (8: 6b). In all probability, many of these Confucians were accordingly brought to the imperial court. In Sept./Oct 65., B.C., he had his highest ministers and Commandery Administrators recommend learned Literary Scholars to the throne (8: 12a). The manner in which he became interested in the discrepancies between the Classics is rather indirect. HS 88: 23b, 24a, in discussing the Ku-liang and Kung-yang Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn, recounts that because Hsia-ch'iu Chiang-kung, who was the authority on the Ku-liang Commentary, was not as skillful in disputation as Tung Chung-shu, and because Lieutenant Chancellor Kung-sun Hung had been a student of the Kung-yang Commentary, Emperor Wu had honored the latter Commentary and had his Heir-apparent Li study it, so that this Commentary became popular and was studied. The Heir-apparent, however, privately asked about the Ku-liang Commentary and liked it, but he was killed and only two teachers of it remained. When Emperor Hsüan came to the throne, he heard that his great-grandfather, Heir-apparent Li, had loved the Ku-liang Commentary. He was told that Ku-liang came from the state of Lu. Several of the Emperor's officials, Wei Hsien, Hsia-hou Sheng, and Shih Kao, came from Lu, whereas the Kung-yang scholarship came from the state of Ch'i. So Emperor Hsüan revived the study of the Ku-liang Commentary, and selected ten of his Gentlemen to study the book. "Beginning in the [year-period] Yüan-k'ang [65-62 B.C.] to the first year of [the period] Kan-lu, [53 B.C., they studied] consecutively for more than ten years, [until they] understood and were familiar with it all. Then [Emperor Hsüan] summoned the Confucian scholar famous in [all] the Five Classics, the Grand Tutor to the Heir-apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih, and others, [to hold] a great discussion in the [Palace] Hall, to criticize the discrepancies between the Kung-yang and Ku-liang [Commentaries and to determine] the correctness or erroneousness of each, according to the Classics." 272 Thus in 53 B.C. Emperor Hsüan had these two commentaries on the Spring and Autumn discussed in the Palace Hall. Among his officials there was already then an Erudit for the Kung-yang Commentary and a Gentleman-consultant for the Ku-liang Commentary (88: 24a). The discussions probably continued down to 51 B.C., during which time they were transferred to the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion [OMITTED], which was north of the Great Hall in Wei-yang Palace, according to the San-fu Chiu-shih (prob. iii cent. and later; lost; quoted by Yen Shih-ku in a note to HS 36: 7a). HHS, Mem. 38: 7a says, "[Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan had the six Classics [perhaps the Books of Changes, of History, of Odes, of Rites, the Spring and Autumn with the Kung-yang Commentary, and the Ku-liang Commentary, but cf. the different list in 6: n. 39.3] discussed in the Shih-ch'ü [Pavilion]."

HS 36: 7a says, "It happened that for the first time the Ku-liang [Commentary to] the Spring and Autumn was established [as authoritative], and [Emperor Hsüan] summoned [Liu] Keng-sheng [i.e., Liu Hsiang4a], to study the Ku-liang [Commentary] and [also] to expound and discuss the Five Classics in the Shih-ch'ü [Pavilion]." HS 73: 8a also says, "At this time . . . [Wei] Hsüan-ch'eng received an imperial edict to discuss miscellaneously in the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion the discrepancies [in the Classics] with the Grand Tutor to the Heir-apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih, and the Confucian scholars of the Five Classics, and memorialize their responses in detail." The "Annals" contains an even more impressive summary (cf. 8: 23a), which indicates that the proceeding took the form of summoning the outstanding scholars from all over the empire and fixing authoritatively, with the imperial decision and by the imperial authority, the correct interpretation of the various classics. Thereupon an Erudit for the Ku-liang Commentary was established, together with three other Erudits for special interpretations of certain classics, to carry on this tradition. Ch'ien Ta-chao has determined from references in the HS the names of the important scholars who participated in this historic discussion, which thus constitutes a roster of the important exponents of the Classics in the reign of Emperor Hsüan, "At this time those who participated in the discussion at the Shih-ch'ü [Pavilion] were [the following]: authorities on the Book of Changes: the Erudit Shih Ch'ou [OMITTED] from P'ei [Commandery] and the Gentleman at the Yellow Gate, Liang-ch'iu Lin [OMITTED] from Tung-lai [Commandery]; authorities on the Book of History: the Erudit Ou-yang Ti-yü [OMITTED] from Ch'ien-ch'eng [Commandery], the Erudit Lin Tsun [OMITTED] from Chi-nan [Commandery], the Chief of the 273 Bureau of Interpreters, Chou K'an [OMITTED] from Ch'i [Commandery], the Erudit Chang Shan-fu [OMITTED] from [Yu]-fu-feng [Commandery], and the Internuncio Chia Ts'ang [OMITTED] from Ch'en-liu [Commandery]; authorities on the Book of Odes: the Palace Military Commander of [the kingdom of] Huai-yang, Wei Hsüan-ch'eng [OMITTED] from [the kingdom of] Lu, the Erudit Chang Ch'ang-an [OMITTED] from Shan-yang [Commandery], and Hsieh Kuang-tê [OMITTED] from P'ei [Commandery]; authorities on the Book of Rites: Tai Sheng [OMITTED] from [the kingdom of] Liang and the Member of the Heir-apparent's Suite, Wen-jen T'ung-han [OMITTED] from P'ei [Commandery]; authorities on the Kung-yang [Commentary]: the Erudit Chuang P'eng-tsu [OMITTED] and the Gentlemen-in-attendance Shen Wan [OMITTED], Yi T'ui [OMITTED], Sung Hsien [OMITTED], and Hsü Kuang [OMITTED]; authorities on the Ku-liang [Commentary]: the Gentleman-consultant Yin Keng-shih [OMITTED] from Ju-nan [Commandery], the Expectant Appointees Liu Hsiang [OMITTED], and Chou Ch'ing [OMITTED] and Ting Hsing [OMITTED] from [the kingdom of] Liang, and the Gentleman-of-the Household, Wang Hai [OMITTED]. Those of whom there is evidence [that they participated] numbered altogether twenty-three persons. [He heads his list with the Grand Tutor to the Heir-apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih]." (Cf. his HS Pien-yi 2: 8b, 9a; quoted in the HS Pu-chu 8: 23a) The foregoing list shows that at that time scholarship was confined chiefly to the present Shantung, Honan, and Shensi. The results of these discussions were embodied in the form of memorials and published; the "Treatise on Arts and Literature" lists five of them: the Memorialized Discussions on the Book of History in 42 chapters (30: 7a), the Memorialized Discussions on the Book of Rites in 38 chapters (30: 12b), the Memorialized Discussions on the Spring and Autumn in 39 chapters (30: 17a), the Memorialized Discussions on the Analects in 18 chapters (30: 20a), and the Miscellaneous Discussion on the Five Classics in 18 chapters (30: 21b). There were probably also Memorialized Discussions on the other two classics, the Book of Changes and the Book of Odes; Ch'ien Ta-chao says that Pan Ku merely failed to record them. In the development of Confucianism, the discussion in the Shi-ch'ü Pavilion fills a place corresponding to that occupied in the occident by the first General Council of the Christian Church at Nicaea (325 A.D.). In the time of Emperor Hsüan the Tso-chuan had not yet become canonical; the Chou-li was later also added to the canon; these official additions and other changes (made by Wang Mang) necessitated another revision of the Confucian tradition. This discussion was summoned by Emperor

Chang on December 23, 79 A.D., and met in the White Tiger Lodge (Po-hu Kuan). Its procedure was modelled upon that in the Shih-ch'ü 274 Pavilion; Emperor Chang similarly attended it and himself decided disputed points. As a result there was composed the Universal Discussions of Virtue at the White Tiger [Lodge] (Po-hu T'ung Tê-lun; cf. n. 9.3 to my translation of HHS, Mem. 30, in the "Introductory Volume" to this series). It is highly probable that the permanently important material in the Memorialized Discussions arising out of the decisions made at the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion were taken up into the Po-hu T'ung, and that the reason these Memorialized Discussions were allowed to perish is merely that they had been superseded. We must thus look to the Po-hu T'ung for the results of the Shih-ch'ü discussions. 275

APPENDIX III ECLIPSES IN THE REIGN OF EMPEROR HSÜAN i. HS 8: 7a, b, reads, "In the [period] Ti-chieh, I (the first year), . . . xii (in the twelfth month), on [the day] kuei-hai, the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun." (Han-chi 17: 7a reads the same.) HS 27 Cb: 14b repeats the foregoing and adds, "It was 15 degrees in [the constellation] Ying-shih." This date was, according to P. Hoang, Feb. 13, 68 B.C. Oppolzer calculates his eclipse no. 2712 on that date and charts the path of annular totality as passing through Sumatra and Borneo and ending at sunset near the island of Mindanao. Calculation shows that at Ch'ang-an this eclipse reached a magnitude of only 0.10 at 4:20 p.m., local time. The eclipse began at 4:19 and ended at 5:03 p.m., which was 42 minutes before sunset, according to the U. S. Nautical Almanac. This eclipse must have been observed by watching the sun's reflection in water or in a mirror, for there was no perceptible diminution of sunlight at Ch'ang-an. To the east and south, the eclipse was more conspicuous. If an eclipse that is so barely visible was recorded, why were the many more conspicuous eclipses that preceded and followed this eclipse not recorded? The sun was in long. 322° = 324° R.A. According to Neugebauer, Sterntafeln, the two stars of Ying-shih, α, β Pegasi, were then in 321° and 322° R.A. respectively. In the 12 years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, three eclipses were visible in China: on Jan. 3, 75 B.C. (at sunrise), on May 8, 73 B.C. and on Feb. 25, 69 B.C. The eclipse of Jan. 3, 75 B.C. was invisible in the Yangtze valley and north, but at Canton, at sunrise, it reached a magnitude of 0.18, according to calculation. ii. HS 8: 18b, 19a says, "In Wu-feng I, xii, . . . on yi-yu, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun." Han-chi 20: 1a reads the same. HS 27 Cb: 14b adds, "It was 10 degrees in [the constellation] Wu-nü." P. Hoang equates this date with Jan. 3, 56 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2742. Calculation, according to the method in P. Neugebauer, Astronomische Chronologie, shows that this eclipse was invisible in Ch'ang-an, so that it must have been reported from outside the capital. At sunrise in the present Peiping, it had reached a magnitude of 0.18. At the present 276 Shan-hai-kuan, at sunrise, it had reached a magnitude of 0.40. At lat. 40° N. it was invisible west of long. 113.5° E. (pres. Ta-t'ung, Shansi) and at lat. 35° N. it was invisible west of long. 111.3° E. (pres. Shan-hsien, western Honan), so that, although it was not visible in Ch'ang-an, yet it was barely visible at sunrise in Lo-yang, whence reports might

easily have been brought to the capital. The sun was in long. 281° = 280° R.A. The principal star of Wu-nü, ε Aquarii, was then in 284° R.A. In the twelve years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, four eclipses were visible in China: on Aug. 9, 68 B.C., Sept. 20, 61 B.C., July 20, 58 B.C., and July 9, 57 B.C. iii. HS 8: 20b says, In Wu-feng IV, "iv, on hsin-ch'ou, the last day of the month [27 Cb: 14b and Han-chi 20: 8b read correctly, "the first day of the month," cf. n. 20.8], there was an eclipse of the sun." HS 27 Cb: 15a adds, "It was 19 degrees in [the constellation] Pi." P. Hoang equates that date with May 9, 54 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2747. He charts the path of the eclipse as passing thru central China and calculates the sun in long. 45° = 42° R.A. The first star of Pi, λ Tauri, was then in 33° R.A. In the two years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

277

IX. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY CHAPTER IX EMPEROR HSIAO-YÜAN

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI VII. CHAPTER VII VIII. CHAPTER VIII

INTRODUCTION Who wrote this chapter and the next?

IX. CHAPTER IX INTRODUCTION IX.

Among the textual characteristics of this chapter, the outstanding feature is the opening sentence in its eulogy (9: 13b), which indicates plainly that at least the first paragraph of that eulogy was written by Pan Piao, Pan Ku's father (cf. n. 13.5). Ying Shao says, in a note to that passage, "The `Annals of Emperors Yüan' and `Ch'eng' were both composed by Pan Ku's father, Pan Piao." The "Memoir of Pan Piao" (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 2b) says, "Pan Piao thereupon continued to collect from matters that had been neglected by the preceding historians, and from other sources he added different reports, thus composing his Later Account (Hou-chuan), in several tens of chapters." Ying Shao may have had access to Pan Piao's work, which is lost today. Pan Ku quotes large passages from the Historical Memoirs of Szu-ma Ch'ien without giving any indication that he is quoting; thus if he quoted his father's composition, he might also have given no apparent sign of doing so. It is therefore possible that these two chapters were actually composed by Pan Piao. Yet the style and characteristics of these two chapters are not different from those of the preceding and following chapters, except for this one sentence. (Very occasionally eulogies in other chapters likewise indicate that they are quotations from Pan Piao's work; cf. n. 13.5 ad finem.) There is indeed nothing in the whole History of the Former Han Dynasty to corroborate Ying Shao's statement about these two chapters. Possibly the first sentences of the eulogy were merely one of the "different reports" collected by Pan Piao and were simply used by Pan Ku as valuable evidence for a judgment upon Emperor Yüan's character. Ying Shao may not have had any further evidence than merely the present text of the HS, and from this one sentence may have come to the conclusion, that if Pan Piao wrote anything at all, he must have written at least an account of the court events in his own time and those of the generation preceding his. The fact that the HHS does not know how many chapters there were in Pan Piao's book would seem to indicate that his book did not circulate. It is not mentioned in the later lists of extant books. Hence 278 it was probably preserved in Pan Piao's household and was largely incorporated into the HS, so that there was no reason to desire a copy of it. The probabilities seem thus to contradict Ying Shao's statement. The sources of this chapter thus seem to have been largely the same as those of the preceding ones: a palace annals, the imperial collection of memorials and edicts, and some events collected by Pan Piao. The textual loss There is one sign of injury to the text, namely the broken sentence in 9: 7b. As early as the middle of the third century, Ju Shun noted this sentence, so that the remainder of the sentence was probably lost almost at the beginning of the text's history. There does not seem to be any other such sign of damage to the text in the "Annals."

[Chapter] IX THE NINTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

APPENDIX I APPENDIX II APPENDIX III X. CHAPTER X ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

The probable source of a significant imperial conversation One further circumstance merits notice from a textual standpoint— the conversation between Emperor Hsüan and his son reported in 9: 1b. It does not seem to be in Pan Ku's manner at all and may well have been one of Pan Piao's "different reports," recounted to him by a relative— his relatives had the entree into the most intimate imperial circles and could well have observed this sort of thing (cf. n. 13.5). Or it might have been stenographically recorded. In 6 A.D., Wang Mang established an office of court reporters or stenographers, whose duty it was to keep a record of imperial remarks and deeds for future reference. They were entitled the Five Clerks at the Foot of the Pillars. Since the emperor usually decided matters by verbal replies, the courtiers needed a record of what he said, hence this office was necessary. The title was as old as the Ch'in and possibly the Chou period (cf. Glossary, sub voce), so that Wang Mang was probably enacting into law a long established practise. Many imperial edicts were probably dictations. (There is however, no evidence in Former Han times of any Right and Left Historiographers, Tso-shih and Yu-shih, attending the emperor to record his words and deeds.) The conversation mentioned above contains such a drastic criticism of Confucianism that sincere Confucians, such as Pan Piao and his son, would not have fabricated it and would not have included it in their histories had they not believed they had good evidence for its genuineness. It sums up very well the difference between Emperors Hsüan and Yüan. Pan Ku is so careful in his recordings and plainly depends so much upon written records, that he would hardly have recorded an imperial conversation for which he had no documentary or traditional evidence. I think one would be quite safe in holding that 279 this conversation must have been well attested or else Pan Ku would have rejected it. Summary of the reign Emperor Yüan's reign (49-33 B.C.) was in general a time of peace, in which began the deterioration that ultimately led to the downfall of the dynasty. In foreign affairs the most important event was the brilliant expedition of Ch'en T'ang into Sogdiana; in internal affairs Confucianism was adopted as the guiding principle of government, bringing as a consequence administrative economies and a lightening of the people's burdens. The actual control of the government was, however, given to imperial maternal relatives and to a favorite eunuch. Foreign affairs In foreign affairs, the Huns caused little trouble. Their Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh had submitted himself to the Chinese in the preceding reign, and the Chinese continued to support him with large grants of grain. A large band of Huns who had been domiciled in Chinese territory escaped and joined him (9: 3a). The Western Ch'iang in the present Kansu rebelled when the harvest failed; but they were routed and driven out of Chinese territory. Ch'en T'ang's extraordinary expedition into Sogdiana and the treatment of him by the government The expedition of Ch'en T'ang against Shan-yü Chih-chih was, next to the famous march of Li Ling deep into Hun territory, perhaps the most brilliant Chinese military exploit in the Former Han period after the time of Hsiang Yü. Shan-yü Chih-chih was the rival of Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh whom Emperor Hsüan had aided to establish himself in Mongolia; Chih-chih consequently fled to the west, fearing a surprise attack. There he made for himself a kingdom in the region east of Lake Balkash, and defeated the Wu-sun (in the present Ili valley), who were hereditary Chinese allies. He held a grudge against the Chinese for protecting his rival, hence he mistreated and shamed several Chinese envoys sent to him. The affair of Chih-chih's son deepened the enmity between himself and the Chinese. His son had been staying at the Chinese court; in

45 B.C., Chih-chih sent an envoy with presents, asking that his son be returned. The proper thing was for a Chinese envoy to convoy the boy safely to his father's court, for which purpose Ku Chi was appointed. Some Chinese officials, however, feared for the safety of a Chinese envoy 280 and argued that it would be sufficient to escort the boy to the borders. Ku Chi replied that for the sake of future relations with Chih-chih, the boy should be convoyed all the way. The matter seems to have been delayed and debated from 45 to 42 B.C.; perhaps because of this circumstance, when Ku Chi reached Chih-chih's court with the boy, Chih-chih killed the Chinese envoy. He knew that he had outraged the Chinese by this act, and that they would try to take vengenace, so he planned to flee further west. Chih-chih's move to Sogdiana was on invitation of the King. The Greek kingdom in Sogdiana, a state located across the mountains of central Asia west of the Wu-sun, in the valley of the Jaxartes River, had collapsed a century previously; at this time the Sogdianans were much troubled by Wu-sun raids into their territory. Knowing of Chih-chih's great fame as a victorious fighter and Shan-yü, and remembering that the Wu-sun had previously been vassals of the Huns, the King of Sogdiana invited Chih-chih to settle on the eastern borders of Sogdiana, and serve as a defence against the Wu-sun. An arrangement was made, and the King of Sogdiana sent some nobles with several thousand camels, asses, and horses to convoy Chih-chih. Unfortunately for him, a cold spell caught his troop on the road and only 3,000 people survived the trip to Sogdiana. Unless Chih-chih was followed by other Huns at other dates (which does not seem very likely) there was thus in this century no mass migration of Huns westwards. The King of Sogdiana and Chih-chih confirmed their alliance by each marrying the other's daughter. With Sogdianan troops, Chih-chih attacked and drove away the Wu-sun, penetrating deep into their territory, so that they left their western borders uninhabited for a thousand li. Other successes puffed Chih-chih up until he repudiated the King of Sogdiana as his overlord and killed the King's daughter, setting himself up as an independent king and building a fortified capital city for himself. He exacted tribute even from Ferghana and states north of it, which were Chinese tributaries. Chih-chih's power was a threat to the Chinese hold on the Tarim basin. At this time the valley of the Tarim basin (with surrounding regions west and north) was called by the Chinese "the Western Frontier Regions." It had been put under the control of a Protector-General with an Associate. To maintain order, a Chinese military force was established in a central part of the Tarim basin (usually at Turfan) as an agricultural colony, under an officer called the Mou-and-Chi Colonel. (Mou and chi are the central stems and this officer was located in the 281 center of the Western Frontier Regions.) Each of the cities in the Western Frontier Regions was also required to contribute a force of levies at the call of the Emperor. The office of Protector-General had been established in 67 B.C. and later, in 59 B.C., its rank had been increased to fully two thousand piculs, a rank the same as that of Grand Administrators of Commanderies and many court officials. The office of Mouand-Chi Colonel had been established in 48 B.C.; hence it can be seen that the Tarim basin did not become an important part of the Chinese administration until almost the latter half of the first century B.C. In 38 B.C. Ch'en Tang was sent out to the Tarim basin as Associate to the new Protector-General, Kan Yen-shou. The former was an ambitious boy from a poor family, who had been given very minor posts and had asked for a foreign appointment in order to have an opportunity to distinguish himself. He showed himself a man of keen insight and paid much attention to his duties. He soon comprehended the political situation of central Asia, and saw in Chih-chih a potential source of serious danger to Chinese interests. Chih-chih was brave and able, and planned an empire in central Asia athwart the silk route. Although he had

moved out of the regions tributary to the Chinese, his empire would endanger the western part of the Western Frontier Regions. Hence it was important to crush him before he had established himself firmly in Sogdiana. To attack Chih-chih rapidly required a bold stroke on Ch'en T'ang's part. Kan Yen-shou agreed with his Associate that Chih-chih must be crushed, and wanted to follow the usual procedure: memorialize the court and ask for permission. Ch'en T'ang had, however, gaged the temper of the Emperor and his court; such a request would bring endless delays, consultations, and finally a refusal from the pacifistic and narrow-minded court and ministers. No request was sent. Kan Yen-shou fell ill for a long period, and Ch'en T'ang seized this opportunity. He boldly forged an imperial order mobilizing the troops of the cities together with the garrison of the Mou-and-Chi Colonel. When the troops arrived at the Protector-General's seat at Wu-lei, in the neighborhood of the present Chadir, Kan Yen-shou was aghast and rose from his sick bed, intending to stop the mobilization. Ch'en T'ang, however, intimidated and persuaded his superior officer to desist. The expeditionary force, numbering more than 40,000, was organized into six regiments, each with a Colonel. Following the Chinese practise of having separate columns converge upon a single objective, three regiments were to take the southern route along the southern border of the Takla-Makan Desert, cross the Pamirs, and 282 traverse Ferghana to Sogdiana. The other three regiments, under the Protector-General himself, with Ch'en T'ang, were to follow the northern route, north of the desert, gather at Uch-Turfan, cross the mountains to the Issik Kul, and transverse Wu-sun territory into Sogdiana. Kan Yen-shou and Ch'en T'ang memorialized the Emperor, accusing themselves of having forged an imperial order and relating the circumstances, then set out westwards, where imperial commands to desist could not reach them for some months. The column of the Protector-General defeated a Sogdianan raiding party and arrived in Sogdiana ahead of the other column. The Chinese troops were kept from robbing the Sogdianans, and a secret arrangement was made with these people. Then Sogdianan nobles who had grudges against Chih-chih allowed themselves to be captured, so that the Chinese were informed of Chih-chih's circumstances. At last the Chinese army encamped three li from Chih-chih's city. This city was defended by an earthen wall, outside of which there was a double wooden palisade and a moat, with towers for archers inside the city. On the wall several hundred armed men were seen; outside more than a hundred cavalry rode about; and at both sides of the city gate there were lined up more than a hundred soldiers arranged "like the scales of a fish" (probably Roman legionaries from Crassus' army; cf. TP 36, 64-80). When the Hun cavalry rode towards the Chinese, the disciplined Chinese line awaited the attack with their crossbows ready cocked, so that the horsemen were repulsed with losses. The Chinese crossbows outranged the Hun bows, and arrow fire drove the Huns into their city. Then the Chinese force was marshalled around the city on all sides; the sound of a drum signalled the attack. They drained the moat and advanced with great shields in front and lances and crossbows behind. Some of these crossbows were so heavy that they could only be cocked by a strong man lying on the ground, with his feet against the bow and pulling the string with his hands. Such were the bows used by "skilled soldiers." The Hun archers were outranged, driven from their towers, and made to take refuge behind the earthen wall. Chih-chih himself, with his Yen-chih (empress) and several tens of other women, shot from one of the towers; Chinese arrows hit him in the nose and killed some of his ladies, so that he too had to descend. Then the Chinese gathered faggots and set fire to the palisades. During the night, several hundred Hun cavalry tried to escape, but were shot down by the Chinese. By midnight the palisade was pierced, and the people within withdrew inside the earthen wall. 283 During the night large bands of Sogdianan cavalry surrounded the

Chinese besiegers in response to the call of Chih-chih for succor. They attacked several times, but unsuccessfully, never pressing their attacks home. Probably they were only half-hearted, for Chih-chih had offended the Sogdianans by his high-handed actions. At dawn the Chinese feigned to attack the Sogdianans, setting fires and making a loud noise with bells, drums, and shouting, thus frightening the Sogdianan horses and driving the attackers away. Then the Chinese pushed forward against the city on all sides under protection of their large shields, and penetrated the earthen wall. Chih-chih's people, numbering more than a hundred, fled into his private quarters. The Chinese set fire to this place; in the fighting, Chih-chih was wounded and killed. The city was looted and the credentials of Ku Chi and another Chinese envoy were discovered. Altogether 1518 heads were taken, including those of Chih-chih, his Yen-chih, his Heir-apparent, and distinguished kings in his following. One hundred forty-five captives (possibly the Romans) were taken alive, and more than a thousand persons surrendered. These captives were distributed among the auxiliaries of the Chinese, while the Romans were settled at Li-chien in present Kansu. From the above account, it is possible to estimate the size of Chih-chih's following. There is no indication in it of any Hun mass migration into Asia west of the central mountains. In the attack, all Huns were probably killed and those taken alive were Sogdianans and others who had joined Chih-chih. The foregoing is the most vivid and detailed account of military operations to be found in the HS. It is now found in the "Memoir of Ch'en T'ang," and was probably taken from Ch'en T'ang's report to Emperor Yüan, together with the maps of his route, adorned with paintings, which accompanied the report and which delighted the court and imperial harem. (It is translated by J. J. L. Duyvendak in T'oung Pao, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 259-261 and by de Groot in Die Hunnen, pp. 230-7.) His expedition shows the power of the Chinese governmental organization at the time, that the Chinese should have been able, without drawing upon the central government, to make an expedition to such a vast distance and capture a fortified town, exacting vengeance for a murdered envoy. One important reason for this success was that the Chinese enjoyed a decided material advantage over the barbarians. Many years later, in the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, another Protector-General of the Western Frontier Regions was besieged by the Wu-sun. When he sent for help, Ch'en T'ang was summoned from private life to advise the Emperor. On 284 his expedition he had suffered from cold, so that he was not able to straighten his arms, hence he was specially exempted from the usual prostrations when he entered the imperial presence. Ch'en T'ang said that the barbarians' swords had been blunt and their bows and crossbows were not good, so that one Chinese soldier had been equal to five barbarian soldiers; that by this time the barbarians had secured some of the Chinese skill, but even yet one Chinese was worth three barbarians. Mr. C. W. Bishop suggested that perhaps these barbarians, like the Germans conquered by Julius Caesar, did not know how to temper iron, with the result that their weapons were soft. Probably the barbarians' crossbows did not have the efficient Han crossbow trigger mechanism, the secret of which, (a triple compound lever) was closely guarded and not permitted to leave China, so that it did not reach even medieval Europe. Without such a mechanism, strong crossbows would not be practical. Chinese crossbow bolts could drive defenders from a city wall. Chinese mechanical skill undoubtedly played a large part in their military conquests. How did the central government treat its servants who had achieved a notable victory? Similarly to the way governments in Europe have sometimes treated those who conquered colonial territory for them. Emperor Yüan was inwardly elated and proud of Ch'en T'ang's achievement, the most brilliant in several reigns. But Shih Hsien, Emperor Yüan's favorite eunuch, who controlled the government, bore a grudge against Kan Yen-shou. Shih Hsien had wanted to marry his elder sister to Kan Yen-shou, but the latter had refused. The meticulous Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang Heng, and the Confucian Grandee Secretary, P'an Yen-shou, were mortally offended because the imperial

order summoning the expedition had been forged. Thus the influential ministers were united against Ch'en T'ang. In the spring of 35 B.C., the head of Shan-yü Chih-chih arrived in Ch'ang-an, with the suggestion that it be hung up at the gate of the Lodge in Ch'ang-an for Barbarian Princes, in order to show them that even if a person who had outraged the Chinese should fly to the most distant parts, he would be pursued and executed. But the ministers memorialized that, according to the Confucian rules for the seasons, winter was the time for executions and spring was the time to cover skeletons and bury carcases, so that the head should not be hung up. The generals at the Chinese court, however, replied that it should be hung up for ten days and then buried. Ch'en T'ang was accused of avarice and of having sent into China illegally-obtained wealth. The Colonel Director of the Retainers, whose duty 285 it was to investigate imperial officials in the capital and neighboring commandaries, ordered that Ch'en T'ang's conduct should be investigated. Normally Ch'en T'ang would have been arrested and imprisoned; Ch'en T'ang replied, asking if the Colonel was avenging the death of Chih-chih. Emperor Yüan was shocked and immediately sent out officers and soldiers, ordering the cities to feast Ch'en T'ang's troops. Shih Hsien and K'uang Heng, however, told the Emperor at a banquet that since Kan Yen-shou and Ch'en T'ang had raised their army by forging an imperial order, they would be fortunate not to be executed, and, if they were rewarded by being given noble ranks and estates, their illegal acts would be repeated by later envoys, thus causing trouble for the government. Although Emperor Yüan was delighted at the great military victory achieved in his reign, he did not want to go contrary to the advice of his favorite eunuch and Lieutenant Chancellor, so the matter dragged along for a long time. In 33 B.C., Kan Yen-shou was at last given a full marquisate with a small estate, and Ch'en T'ang was made a Kuan-nei Marquis. They were each given a grant of a hundred catties of actual gold and official promotion. That same year the Hun Shan-yu Hu-han-hsieh came to pay court to Emperor Yüan to thank him for having annihilated his rival. When, a month later, Emperor Ch'eng came to the throne, K'uang Heng memorialized that Ch'en T'ang had not acted correctly towards the barbarians; he had stolen the treasures he secured in Sogdiana, and although he had done these things before a general amnesty had been declared, yet it was not proper that he should occupy an official position. So he was tried and dismissed. Later he was accused and condemned on a capital charge; Emperor Ch'eng freed him from punishment, but took away his noble rank and made him a common soldier. The imperial ministers had long memories for an offence against their pride. The complete victory of Confucianism Perhaps the most important circumstance in Emperor Yüan's rule was his complete and whole-hearted acceptance of Han Confucianism. The reason for this adherence is to be found in the circumstance that his teachers had been Confucians. Since Confucian scholarship had made Confucians the masters of knowledge, they became the teachers of youth, and in due time became the counsellors of emperors. The criticism of Emperor Hsüan's rule by his Heir-apparent and of Confucianism by Emperor Hsüan in the conversation at the beginning of this chapter is highly significant. 286 In accordance with his convictions, Emperor Yüan selected Confucians to head his government. His Lieutenant Chancellors were Yu Ting-kuo, who had been appointed by Emperor Hsüan, Wei Hsüan-ch'eng, and K'uang Heng. Wei Hsüan-ch'eng had participated in the discussions in the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion as an authority on the Book of Odes. K'uang Heng was also an authority on the Book of Odes; he had been recommended to Emperor Hsüan, but that Emperor did not care for scholarship in government, and had sent him back to his post in P'ing-yüan Commandery. The future Emperor Yüan had an interview with him at this time and liked him. Perhaps this interview led to the conversation recounted at the beginning of this "Annals."

Because capable officials were first tried out in various ministerial positions and regularly occupied the post of Grandee Secretary before becoming Lieutenant Chancellor, some prominent Confucians died in office or retired because of age before the position of Lieutenant Chancellor became vacant. Hence Pan Ku includes Kung Yü and Hsieh Kuang-tê in his list of influential and distinguished Confucian ministers (9: 14a). The other Grandee Secretaries were of such negligible importance that they are not even mentioned in the "Annals." Hsieh Kuang-tê had also participated in the discussions of the classics in the Shih-ch'ü Pavilion as an authority on the Book of Odes. Perhaps the most influential of these Confucians was Kung Yü, who suggested a number of reforms, some of which were put into effect after his death by K'uang Heng. Visitations and calamities During this reign, calamities were numerous, especially at the beginning of the period. In the "Annals" for the reign, calamities are recorded in almost every year. There does seem to have been a succession of favorable seasons in Emperor Hsüan's reign and a succession of droughts at the beginning of Emperor Yüan's reign. It is, moreover, likely that many of these calamities are recorded because the Confucians emphasized them as a means of expressing a veiled criticism of the reign, especially of the power exercised by Shih Hsien, and as a means of pointing out the need for governmental reform. Tung Chung-shu had taught that when something is wrong in the government, Heaven sends a visitation (tsai); if matters are not corrected, Heaven then sends a prodigy (yi) to terrify the culprit. In themselves, these droughts, floods, fires, frosts, comets, eclipses, and earthquakes are not improbable; the unusual number recorded in this reign is very likely due to the fact that such events were usually somewhat neglected and were emphasized chiefly 287 when people, because of their dissatisfaction with the government, expected them. Conversely, in a good and prosperous reign, such as those of Emperors Hsüan and Chang, people expected auspicious visitations, hence saw and reported supernatural birds, sweet dew, etc. These visitations were thus probably all natural events, some of which (e.g. the supernatural birds) were merely misinterpretations of what had actually been seen. What made them visitations was merely the interpretation put upon them in accordance with Confucian teaching. Because of the Confucian doctrine that Heaven sends warnings to the ruler by means of portents, Emperor Yüan in his edicts (probably drafted for him by his Confucian ministers) asked for explanations of these events, seeking to know where the fault lay, and intelligent Confucians took the opportunity to suggest changes in the government. Some blamed the portents upon the machinations of Shih Hsien, but Emperor Yüan would not accept such interpretations. In accordance with Confucian doctrine, these natural events became the occasion for governmental reforms. Governmental reforms and economies The Confucians who succeeded in gaining Emperor Yüan's ear showed themselves, like the Confucians in the Discourse on Salt and Iron, interested in what would benefit the common people. Kung Yü pointed out to Emperor Yüan the expense and luxury of the court, contrasting it with the simplicity of ancient times and the restraint in Han times before Emperor Wu, when the imperial harem did not have more than ten-odd women and the imperial stable had only a hundred-odd horses. Since that time, he said, luxury had been the rule and the courtiers had vied with each other in luxuriousness. In Ch'i (the present Shantung), several thousands of workmen were kept busy preparing fine silks and garments in the imperial ateliers, at a cost of several hundred million cash per year. In Shu and Kuang-han Commanderies (the present Szechuan), over fifty million cash were expended yearly at the imperial workshops for gold and silver vessels. The common people were suffering from famine and even practising cannibalism, while the horses in the imperial stables were fed and suffered from obesity, the imperial harem was overflowing with women, and the imperial musicians were too numerous. Kung Yü urged that this expense be reduced as much as

two-thirds, that only twenty-odd women should be retained in the harem; the imperial concubines of deceased emperors who were being kept at the imperial tombs should be sent home to be married (except 288 for the several hundred women at the tomb of Emperor Hsüan), only several tens of horses should be retained in the imperial stables, and many of the imperial parks should be given to the people for cultivation. With the encouragement of Shih Hsien, Emperor Yüan accepted most of this advice and reduced the imperial expenses. After Kung Yü became Grandee Secretary, he continued making suggestions for economy in the government. He pointed out that the annual head tax upon children, beginning in their third year, called the poll-money, led to much infanticide, and suggested that the poll-money be not required until a child was in its seventh year. The Emperor approved. He pointed out that the practise established by Emperor Wu of allowing money commutation for crimes encouraged crime and disorder. In accordance with the Confucian policy of esteeming ancient practises, Kung Yü also pointed out that the free use of money in Han times, different from the ancient payments in kind, allowed persons to live without farming, and the advantages of trade led many to leave agriculture, reducing the supply of food. The government monopoly of copper mining and coinage and of iron production employed a hundred thousand convicts. Since each farmer feeds seven persons, Kung Yü argued that 700,000 persons a year go hungry because these persons were diverted from agriculture. Merchants charged 20% interest and did not pay the land tax or the tax on produce, whereas farmers paid both, with the result that less than half of the common people were farmers. He urged that the offices for the manufacture of objects using jewels, gold, and silver, and those for coinage be abolished; the use of money be done away with; merchants should not be allowed to buy or sell; only the land should be taxed; and that taxes, salaries, and imperial grants should all be in cloth or grain, in order that the people should be compelled to return to agriculture and obtain the advantages of ancient times. The conservative Confucians' opposition to a growing money economy is well exemplified in the above memorial. Fortunately Emperor Yüan did not adopt this proposal; when Wang Mang attempted to put Confucian reforms into effect, disorder and calamity followed. As a result of the foregoing and other suggestions, Emperor Yüan effected many economies. He disestablished the palaces and lodges in Shang-lin Park that were rarely used. He did away with the guard at Chien-chang and Kan-ch'üan Palaces, and reduced by half the guard at the temples to vassal kings. The number of imperial musicians was lessened, the expense of the imperial table was diminished, the imperial stables, kennels, and menagerie were reduced, and imperial gardens, 289 parks, ponds, and fields were given to the common people. The competitive games, the imperial ateliers in Ch'i, and the government granaries which purchased grain with tax money, instead of having grain transported to the capital, were abolished. Even the government monopoly of salt and iron was abolished, although four years later the need for income compelled its reestablishment. Thus real economies were made in governmental expenditures and a beginning was made in the direction of the economic reforms so extensively attempted by Wang Mang. Emperor Yüan also relieved his people of other burdens. Capital punishment was lightened in seventy matters. Guarantors for their relatives (except in the case of high officials) were no longer to be punished along with those persons whom they had guaranteed. Witnesses were not to be called up at times when they had to work their fields. Arrangement was made that the grandparents, parents, and brothers of those in the imperial palaces could be registered at the palace gates, enter the palace, and visit their relatives within. No funerary town was established at Emperor Yüan's tomb. Grants of tax remission, amnesties, ranks, silk, etc. were made at times of drought and calamity and at other occasions. When the aborigines in the southern part of the island of Hainan revolted, the commandery of Chu-yai was abolished rather than

burden the people with a struggle to reconquer such a barbarian region. Enactment of fundamental features in the imperial ancestral cult Among the most expensive features of the government were the imperial ancestral temples. Emperor Kao had ordered his vassal kings each to establish a Temple of the Grand Emperor (his father) at their capitals. The commanderies and kingdoms which Emperor Kao (entitled the Eminent Founder), Emperor Hsiao-wen (entitled the Grand Exemplar), and Emperor Hsiao-wu (entitled the Epochal Exemplar) had visited, each established temples to those emperors, so that there were 167 imperial ancestral temples in the commanderies and kingdoms. In the capital commanderies, nine emperors (including the Grand Emperor and the Deceased Imperial Father Tao, the father of Emperor Hsüan) were worshipped. Each one had his funerary chamber (in which food was offered four times a day), his temple (in which sacrifices were made 25 times a year), and his side-hall (in which sacrifices were made at each of the four seasons). There were also thirty other places of worship for imperial personages, such as the Kao-tsu's mother, his eldest brother and elder sister, the Empress Dowagers, the grandfather of Emperor Hsüan, etc. The cost of the food used in this worship was 290 24,455 cash per year; 45,129 guards were employed in addition to 12,417 intercessors, butchers, and musicians, without counting those who reared and cared for prospective sacrificial victims. Kung Yü memorialized that anciently the Son of Heaven maintained only seven shrines: those of the six immediately preceding ancestors and of the founder of the house. The tablets of other remote ancestors were removed to the temple of the founder of the house and worshipped along with his tablet. Kung Yü also said that the imperial ancestral temples in the commanderies and kingdoms were not in accordance with ancient ritual practises. He proposed disestablishing them, discontinuing the separate sacrifices to Emperors Hsiao-hui and Hsiao-ching at the imperial capital, and combining these sacrifices with those to Emperor Kao. Thus the Confucian exaltation of ancient practises meant a great simplification and economy in Han times. Emperor Yüan agreed with the suggestion, but Kung Yü died in 43 B.C., before the matter could be discussed and enacted. In 40 B.C., Emperor Yüan ordered a discussion by Wei Hsüan-ch'eng and sixty-nine other eminent Confucians. They approved Kung Yü's suggestions, and the changes were made. Thereafter only the five immediately preceding generations of imperial ancestors were worshipped separately, except that the separate worship of the Founder and the two Exemplars was continued. Such drastic abolition of almost two hundred ancestral shrines could not but arouse doubt in an age when even Confucians were superstitious. After the death of Wei Hsüan-ch'eng in 36 B.C., Emperor Yüan was seriously ill and dreamed that his ancestors blamed him for having abolished their temples in the commanderies and kingdoms. When his younger brother dreamed the same thing, Emperor Yüan asked his Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang Heng, whether the temples had not better be restored. K'uang Heng, true to the Confucian exaltation of ancient practises, replied that they should not. But when Emperor Yüan had been ill for a long time and did not recover, K'uang Heng became afraid, took the blame upon himself, and prayed to the emperors whose temples had been abolished. In 34 B.C., after Emperor Yüan had been ill for successive years, the abolished temples were restored. Immediately after Emperor Yüan's death in 33 B.C., K'uang Heng, however, memorialized that these temples should be again abolished, and it was done. The custom of worshipping only the five immediately preceding ancestors began its popularity at this time. Thus 291 the Confucian veneration of ancient practises proved a great boon to the people and government. The "Ordinances for the Months"

During this reign the ordinances for the months, a Confucian superstition, began to be popular. It seems to have first received government recognition through the efforts of Wei Hsiang in the preceding reign. This belief is based upon the ancient conceit that there is a sympathy between the stars, the four seasons, the five directions, the five Lords on High, the yin and yang, the weather, etc., and certain human activities, so that if the wrong activities are performed in any month, calamities of unseasonable weather, poor crops, pestilence, or something of the sort will follow. This doctrine probably arose out of the demand for an explanation of unseasonable weather, earthquakes, droughts, etc. Already in 197 B.C. there had been drafted a set of rules for the colors of imperial robes in the various seasons (the weather depended upon the imperial actions). Grants and favors were bestowed in the spring; executions and military expeditions were performed in winter, etc. Under Wei Hsiang's influence, four Confucian scholars had been appointed, one to be an authority on each season, to advise the emperor what were the proper activities for that season. This sort of study developed into the "Ordinances for the Months (Yüeh-ling)", Chapter IV of the Book of Rites. (This chapter is also found, with slight modifications, in the Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu, but the latter book was worked over in the iii cent. A.D., so that the repetition of this chapter in both books may mean little.) Thus Confucian scholarship was turned to the direction of pseudo-science. A second civil service test added The civil service examination system was developed in this period by an enactment that the Superintendant of the Imperial Household should rank the imperial retinue yearly according to a set of Confucian virtues (9: 7a & n. 7.5). Since the commonest way of entering the bureaucracy was for prospective officials to spend a term as members of the imperial retinue (cf. 5: n. 9.9), in order that the emperor might become acquainted with them, and since the Superintendant of the Imperial Household was in charge of such persons at the imperial court, this development was logical. The bureaucracy had grown to such a size that even an industrious emperor could no longer know individually all the prospective officials. Hence this second and moral test was added after the first and literary examination. 292

Imperial adoption of the Confucian principle that one's relatives should be favored Emperor Yüan thus whole-heartedly adopted Confucianism and allowed its tenets markedly to influence his government, choosing distinguished Confucian scholars for his highest civil officials;—the army was, however, kept under the control of his maternal relatives. The day before he died, Emperor Hsüan had appointed Shih Kao as Commanderin-chief. This man was a maternal first cousin of Emperor Hsüan's father and the head of the Shih clan (that of Emperor Hsüan's paternal grandmother), who had reared Emperor Hsüan. When Shih Kao retired because of age in 43 B.C., this position was given to Wang Chieh5, a maternal first cousin of Emperor Hsüan, and after Wang Chieh5's death in 41 B.C., it was given to Hsü Chia, a paternal first cousin of Emperor Yüan's mother, who held it until 30 B.C. Thus the control of the army was given to the clans of Emperor Yüan's great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother, successively. This practise of giving high position and great power to the maternal relatives of the emperor is justified by Confucian teaching. The Book of History, in its second paragraph, declares that as one of the essential acts in his rule, Yao (who was admired extravagantly by Confucius [cf. Analects VIII, xix]) favored his nine sets of relatives. Mencius declares that the favoring of one's relatives (ch'in-ch'in) constitutes benevolence (jen) (VI, B, iii, 2). In the Doctrine of the Mean (XX, 13, 14), which probably represents Later Han conceptions, Confucius is represented as advocating this virtue as fundamental and as saying, "To exalt their positions, to make their emoluments large, and to share their likes and dislikes is the way in which to encourage [people in the virtue of] favoring their relatives."

The Chinese phrase, ch'in-ch'in, may be interpreted "love one's relatives" as well as "favor one's relatives." An idealist like Tung Chung-shu might maintain, "A true king continually takes as his ideal the loving and benefiting of all under Heaven," but this statement must not be interpreted to mean the equal love of all people. Confucius had set bounds to the sage's regard for others when he rejected the principle of love for one's enemies. In practice, the principle of loving one's relatives and others becomes the loving of one's relatives more than others, which slips, by imperceptible degrees, into favoring one's relatives. Probably Mencius, with his high moral ideals, meant only the first of these interpretations. Thus favoring one's relatives is a cardinal Confucian virtue. 293 Successive rebellions had led the Han dynasty to the set practise of keeping its paternal relatives, the members of the Liu clan, at a distance from the imperial capital, giving them small kingdoms or marquisates, but depriving them of any power in the imperial government. Members of the imperial house and people from kingdoms ruled by members of the imperial house were not supposed even to hold high office in the imperial capital or in neighboring commanderies. This rule was, however, not always enforced. An exception was regularly made for the Superintendant of the Imperial House, who was always a member of the imperial house. Membership in the imperial house lapsed after a certain number of generations (nowhere definitely specified). The attempted seizure of the throne by the Lü clan after the death of the Empress Dowager née Lü in 180 B.C. led the next two rulers, who were not wholeheartedly Confucian, to restrict the powers of their maternal relatives. Emperor Wu, however, broke with this wise policy. Dynastic custom had kept the Han emperors from giving governmental power into the hands of their paternal relatives; consequently the Confucian virtue of "favoring one's relatives" was turned to be applied specifically to relatives on the distaff side, especially those of the Empresses Dowager, of the Empresses, and of favorite concubines. Emperor Wu appointed the relatives of his favorite women to high position. His most successful generals, Wei Ch'ing and Ho Ch'ü-ping, were a half-brother and a nephew, respectively, of his favorite concubine, whom he made his Empress. Ho Kuang, the man whom he selected to be virtual regent for his successor, and who actually ruled the country for nineteen years, was a half-brother of Wei Ch'ing. When Ho Kuang died, Emperor Hsüan at first pursued the policy of continuing in high office Ho Kuang's clan and those of Ho Kuang's group who had assisted him in bringing Emperor Hsüan to the throne. But the rebellion of the Ho clan made him look to other persons for support. Emperor Hsüan, when young, had been reared in the family of his maternal grandmother, the Shih clan; when the disloyalty of the Ho clan was discovered, Emperor Hsüan of course turned for support to this clan and to his wife's relatives, the Hsü clan, for their interests were naturally bound up with his own. The Liu clan, his paternal relatives, were potential rivals for the throne. Thus the necessity of finding some group in the court whose unswerving loyalty could be counted upon because their interests were bound up with those of the occupant of the throne led to the exaltation of the imperial relatives on the distaff side. Emperor Yüan, under the combined influence of his father's precedent and of Confucian teaching, 294 continued this practise of giving the highest positions to his relatives. Emperor Ch'eng also continued it, and finally, when later a child emperor had kept one particular clan in power for a long period, this clan, in the person of Wang Mang, overthrew the dynasty. The practise of favoring the ruler's maternal relatives and relatives by marriage has of course sometimes been influential in non-Confucian lands, often with similar results, so that Confucianism cannot be charged with initiating such a practise. What Confucianism did in China was to afford a philosophical and ethical justification for this practise, with the result that criticism of the practise could be stifled and the practise could be urged as a duty by interested parties upon rulers who might not otherwise desire to trust their relatives too much. Thus Confucianism

encouraged nepotism and removed the bulwark afforded by common sense against the abuse of imperial relationships. The inevitable result was the eventual downfall of the dynasty. Confucian idealism was thus the most important contributory factor in the downfall of the Former Han dynasty as well as that of the Later Han dynasty. Eunuch control of the government; Confucian attacks upon and eventual victory over the eunuchs The actual control of governmental business during this reign was neither in the hands of the Confucian scholars in high civil position nor of the imperial maternal relatives in control of the army, but in the hands of Emperor Yüan's favorite eunuch, Shih Hsien. The custom of employing eunuchs as imperial private secretaries was begun by Emperor Wu. He spent much of his leisure in the imperial harem, to which ordinary persons were not admitted; hence he needed eunuchs for his private secretaries. They were entitled Palace Writers, and should be distinguished from the Masters of Writing, who were noneunuch imperial private secretaries. At the end of the previous reign, when Emperor Hsüan was dying, he selected his maternal cousin, Shih Kao, together with the two learned Confucians who were the Grand Tutor and Junior Tutor to the Heir-apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih and Chou K'an, to be the persons who should guide the Heir. The two Confucians were concurrently made Intendants of Affairs of the Masters of Writing, usually the key position in the government. Hsiao Wang-chih was perhaps the most learned and famous Confucian scholar of the time. He had been highly honored and influential under Emperor Hsüan and, while he had been the future Emperor's Tutor, had 295 secured the deep respect of Emperor Yüan. Now that this thoroughly Confucian Emperor was on the throne, Hsiao Wang-chih thought that the opportunity had come for introducing Confucian reforms into the government. His clique included the famous Confucian, Liu Hsiang4, who was Superintendant of the Imperial House. The rise of the eunuch Shih Hsien to a position of influence came about when Shih Kao found his power checked by that of Hsiao Wang-chih, who had been made General of the Van. Shih Kao was jealous of the favor shown by Emperor Yüan to these Confucians and found two influential Palace Writers, Hung Kung and Shih Hsien (the latter was no relative of Shih Kao), who were glad to league with him. They were both men who in their youth had fallen foul of the numerous and involved laws enacted by Emperor Wu, had been made eunuchs, and had been selected, first as members of the eunuch Yellow Gate, and later as Palace Writers. Hung Kung proved capable in the law, knew historical precedents, and was skilled in preparing memorials, so was made Chief Palace Writer. Shih Hsien was made a Supervisor, and, when Hung Kung died several years after Emperor Yüan came to the throne, Shih Hsien was promoted to be Chief Palace Writer. Emperor Yüan was quite ignorant concerning the mechanics of running a government, whereas Hung Kung and Shih Hsien had long occupied their positions, knew how to handle affairs, and were well acquainted with the laws. Hence Emperor Yüan soon found them indispensable. He was ill and did not attend to government business, giving his time to music. Shih Hsien had no outside connections, was attentive and reliable, and was able to anticipate Emperor Yüan's wishes, so Emperor Yüan entrusted him with making decisions in great and small affairs. Shih Kao in the court and Shih Hsien in the imperial private chambers were thus quite able to check and defeat for a time the Confucian influence (later they made terms with it). Hsiao Wang-chih recognized the source of his opposition, and proposed to Emperor Yüan that eunuchs should not be employed in such a confidential and important capacity as imperial private secretaries, for which only unmutilated persons should be used. He urged that the employment of eunuchs in such a capacity was not an old constitutional practise, and that it was contrary to the Confucian principle (now found

in the Book of Rites, I, i, iv, 52; Legge, I, 90) that a person who had been punished should not be allowed to be by the side of a prince. Hsiao Wang-chih, Chou K'an, and Liu Hsiang4 went so far as to discuss the proposal of asking the Emperor to dismiss his imperial maternal 296 relatives. This proposal leaked out, and, before they had said anything to the Emperor, the imperial relatives had a Confucian (whom Hsiao Wang-chih had failed to promote) slander the Confucian clique. The matter was brought to Emperor Yüan's attention on a day when Hsiao Wang-chih was on leave from the court; Hung Kung was appointed to investigate the charge. He reported that Hsiao Wang-chih, Chou K'an, and Liu Hsiang4 had formed a cabal to promote one another, slander high officials, and degrade the imperial maternal relatives, in order to seize the power themselves, which constituted disloyalty and inhumanity, and he begged that they be given in charge of the Commandant of Justice. Emperor Yüan had just come to the throne and did not know that a summons to the Commandant of Justice meant imprisonment, so he approved the request. When he later asked for Chou K'an and Liu Hsiang4, he was astounded to be told that they were in prison, whereupon he had them immediately released. Hsiao Wang-chih, because he was General of the Van, seems not to have been imprisoned at this time. Hung Kung and Shih Hsien now had Shih Kao memorialize that since these persons had been in prison, they should be pardoned and dismissed from their offices. In 47 B.C., Emperor Yüan accordingly dismissed the Confucians from their posts. Several months later he recalled Hsiao Wang-chih and ennobled him, intending eventually to make him the Lieutenant Chancellor. Hung Kung and Shih Hsien, however, reminded Emperor Yüan that Hsiao Wang-chih was proud and that he believed he would never be brought to task for what he did, so that it was necessary to send him to prison in order to humble his pride. Emperor Yüan feared that Hsiao Wang-chih's pride would never allow him to be taken to prison, but they replied that if he were sent to prison on a petty charge, he would have nothing to fear. So Emperor Yüan agreed to their plan. Shih Hsien and the others thereupon ordered the police to surround Hsiao Wang-chih's residence, and a messenger gave him the warrant for his arrest. He wanted to commit suicide, but his wife stopped him, telling him that the Emperor did not want his death. A disciple, who loved resolution, however encouraged his master to be firm and to avoid disgrace by ending his life. Hsiao Wang-chih sighed that for him, a former General, to go to prison in order to save his life would be shameful, so he drank poison. Emperor Yüan was shocked at what he had done. He wept and would not eat. He wanted to punish Shih Hsien and the others because they had not advised him concerning the consequences of his act. They begged his pardon and explained at length, and the matter blew over. Thus they disposed of their most dangerous enemy. 297 Whenever there was a calamity, Emperor Yüan would ask his subjects to explain to him what was to blame, and several good Confucians blamed the anger of Heaven upon Shih Hsien's machinations. Each time, Shih Hsien heard about it and managed to have the complainant caught up and punished on some crime, so that this eunuch came to be feared greatly by the officials in the capital. A famous Confucian authority on the Book of Changes, Ching Fang, secured Emperor Yüan's ear and pointed out to him that the ancient rulers who had wicked ministers had been warned by a succession of calamities such as those that occurred in the reign of Emperor Yüan. Then he drew the conclusion that the person at fault was the Emperor's most intimate and confidential advisor, whom Emperor Yüan confessed was Shih Hsien. Nevertheless, Emperor Yüan could not spare his favorite eunuch. Shih Hsien soon had Ching Fang promoted to a position away from the capital. He discovered that Ching Fang had repeated to others what the Emperor had once said to him in the imperial private apartments, which was a capital crime. Thereupon he had Ching Fang executed. Shih Hsien was afraid that Emperor Yüan would eventually listen

to criticism of him, so he kept searching out his critics relentlessly and had them executed for one crime or another. People generally said that he had killed Hsiao Wang-chih. When the famous Confucian, Kung Yü, came to the court, Shih Hsien hence purposely sent someone to tell him that he wished him well and wanted to aid him, and recommended him to Emperor Yüan. Thus Kung Yü eventually became Grandee Secretary and was able to bring about many reforms. Then people ceased to believe that Shih Hsien had killed Hsiao Wang-chih. Before Emperor Yüan died, Shih Hsien, who was afraid of punishment after his patron's death, resigned his office as Palace Writer and took a low position in the harem. Nevertheless, he was still highly favored by the Emperor and was given large grants. He was active in bringing Emperor Ch'eng to the throne, and was rewarded by the latter with a high official position. The Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, K'uang Heng, and the Grandee Secretary, Chang T'an, now dared to bring Shih Hsien's evil deeds to the attention of Emperor Ch'eng. Shih Hsien was dismissed, exiled, and sent back to his home with his wife and son. On the way he would not eat because of worry, became ill, and died. The office of Palace Writer was abolished in order to keep eunuchs out of government affairs. Thereafter, eunuchs had little influence in the government until Later Han times. An emperor with such a pitifully inadequate knowledge of human nature and of the governmental machinery as that displayed by Emperor 298 Yüan can hardly be expected to have been an active force in government. He could only be pulled about by the various personalities who managed to get his attention. Emperor Yüan's reforms were accordingly not his own deeds, but the creations of the persons by whom he was surrounded, and even those achieved by Kung Yü were only enacted because Emperor Yüan's eunuch, Shih Hsien, for selfish reasons, assisted Kung Yü. Emperor Hsüan had disliked his Heir-apparent and had failed to train him in the business of government. Before his death, Emperor Hsüan had wanted to change his Heir, but was dissuaded. The untrained Emperor Yüan was little more than a dignified puppet in the hands of those around him. Confucianism was thus a predisposing cause of the favoritism shown to imperial maternal relatives and of the very sordid influence wielded by eunuchs, and was both hampered and aided by that influence. Some Confucians dared to attack this eunuch influence and suffered death; other Confucians made peace with it as long as it was unassailable, but overthrew it as soon as the coming of another Emperor made successful attack feasible. 299

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY] [Chapter] IX THE NINTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Yüan Emperor Hsiao-yüan was the Heir-apparent of Emperor Hsüan. His mother was entitled Empress Kung-ai [née] Hsü. At the time when Emperor Hsüan was [still] an unimportant person, [the future Emperor Yüan] was born as a commoner. When 74 B.C.[2] he was in his second year, Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne [and began his own reign],[3] and when [the future Emperor Yüan] was in his eighth year, 67 B.C. he was made Heir-apparent. When he had grown up, he was condescending and kind and liked Confucian scholars. He saw that

there were many written statutes among those employed by Emperor Hsüan; that his [father's] officials ruled their subjects in accordance with [the 300 1b principle of] circumstances and names;[6] and that 9: 1b

[his father's] great courtiers, Yang Yün, Kai[8] K'uan-jao and others, had been sentenced for critical and derogatory sayings, which were made crimes, so that they were executed. [Hence] once when he was waiting upon [Emperor Hsüan] at a banquet, he said, with a deferential bearing, "Your Majesty is 301 9: 1b too severe in applying the laws. It would be proper to employ Confucian masters [in your government]." Emperor Hsüan changed color and said, "The Han dynasty has its own institutes and laws, which are variously [taken from] the ways of the Lords Protector and the [ideal] Kings.[10] How could I trust[11] purely to moral instruction and use [the kind of] government [exercised by] the Chou [dynasty]? The vulgar Confucians moreover do not understand what is appropriate to the time; they love to approve the ancient and disapprove the present, making people to be confused about names and realities, so that they do not know what they should cherish. How could they be capable of being entrusted with responsibility?" Thereupon he sighed and said, "The one who will confound my dynasty will be my Heir-apparent." From this [time on], he became distant to his Heir-apparent and loved [another son], the King of Huai-yang, [Liu Ch'in]. He said, "The King of Huai-yang is intelligent concerning, has examined minutely, and loves the laws. He is worthy to be my son." Since, moreover, the King's mother, the Favorite Beauty [née] Chang, was favored the most, the Emperor had the intention of making the King of Huai-yang [his heir] in place of the Heir-apparent. But when [the Emperor] had been young, he had depended upon the Hsü clan, [that of the Heir-apparent's maternal grandfather], together with whom [the Emperor] had arisen from an unimportant station, hence in the end he was not [willing] to turn his back on it [by changing his Heir-apparent]. 302

48 B.C. 48 B.C. In [the year-period] Huang-lung, the first year, 9: 2a

Jan. 10[16] in the twelfth month, Emperor Hsüan died; on [the Jan. 29 day] kuei-szu, the Heir-apparent ascended the imperial 2a throne and was announced in the Temple of

[Emperor] Kao. He honored the Empress Dowager [née Shang-kuan] with the title, Grand Empress Dowager, and the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Empress [née Wang] with the title, Empress Dowager.[19] I In [the year-period] Ch'u-yüan, the first year, in Feb. 6 the spring, the first month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou, Emperor Hsiao-hsüan was buried in the Tu Tomb,[22] and there were granted: to the vassal kings, the princesses, and the full marquises, actual gold;[23] and to officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs and under, cash and silk; to each proportionately. A general amnesty [was granted] to the empire. Apr. In the third month, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the older brother of the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Empress Dowager [née Wang], the Palace Attendant and General Apr. 9[26] of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, Wang Shun4a, as Apr. 12 Marquis of An-p'ing, and on [the day] ping-wu he established the Empress née Wang [as Empress]. The public [plowed] fields, together with the parks which could be dispensed with in [the districts of] the Three Adjuncts and the Grand Master of Ceremonies and in the commanderies and kingdoms, were used to assist the poor people in their occupations; to those whose property did not amount to fully one 303 9: 2b thousand cash there were given loans of seed and 48 B.C.

food. [The Emperor] enfeoffed as the Marquis of P'ing-en the Regular Palace Attendant Hsü Chia, the son of the full brother to [the Emperor's deceased] maternal grandfather, Marquis Tai of P'ing-en, [Hsü Kuang-han], to uphold the [ancestral sacrifices that should be performed by] the posterity of Marquis Tai. In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial May edict said, "We have received [the opportunity to continue] the sage succession of [Our] deceased [ancestors], the emperors, and have obtained [the opportunity] to uphold [the sacrifices in the imperial] ancestral temples, [in doing which We have been] fearful and circumspect. [But] recently the Earth has shaken several times and has not been quiet. [We] are dismayed by the warnings of Heaven and Earth, not knowing for what reason [they have come]. It was just at the time for cultivating the 2b fields, and We are solicitous lest the multitude of ordinary people should lose [the results of] their work. [Hence We] in person send the Imperial Household Grandee Pao1a and others, twelve persons [in all], to travel about and inspect the empire, to visit and inquire about the common people who are aged, widowers, widows, orphans, childless, in suffering, indigent, or unemployed, to invite and present [to the throne] capable and distinguished [persons], to summon and make appear [worthy persons in] poor or mean [conditions],[32] and to use the opportunity

to observe the development of [the people's] customs. If the Chancellors [of kingdoms], the Administrators [of commanderies, and the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs can in truth make themselves upright and toil to make known clearly [Our] instruction and transforming influence, in order that [We] may come close to all the people, then within 304 48 B.C. the six directions[34] [all will live in] peace and friend9: 2b

ship, almost without any worries. Does not the Book of History say, `When the legs and arms [of the Emperor, i.e., the officials] are good, All business will be happily performed'?[36] [Let] this be published and made known to the empire, to cause Our intentions to be made clearly known." It also said, "East of the [Han-ku] Pass, the grain has not ripened this year and many of the common people are suffering or indigent. Let it be ordered that those kingdoms and commanderies which have been injured severely by this calamity shall not pay the land or capitation taxes, and that [the revenues of] the rivers, the Ocean, the reservoirs, the lakes, the gardens, and the ponds which are under the supervision of the Privy Treasurer shall be used to lend to poor people and [they shall] not pay the land or capitation taxes. [We] grant: to those enregistered as belonging to the imperial house, [from] one horse to two quadrigae of [horses to each]; to the Thrice Venerable and the Filially Pious, five bolts of silk; to the Fraternally Respectful and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, three bolts; to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, two bolts; and to the officials and common people of fifty households, an ox and wine." July In the sixth month, because the common people were [suffering from] sickness and pestilence, [the Emperor] ordered the Grand Provisioner to diminish the [imperial] food, [ordered the regular number of] persons in the Bureau of Music reduced, and dispensed with the horses of the pastures,[38] in order to 305 9: 3a assist the suffering and indigent. 48 B.C. In the autumn, the eighth month, more than ten 3a thousand surrendered northwestern barbarians (Hu), Sept. [who had been under the supervision of the Chief Commandant] of Dependent States in Shang Commandery, escaped and entered Hun [territory]. In the ninth month, in eleven commanderies and Sept./Oct kingdoms east of [Han-ku] Pass, there was high water and famine so that there were cases of people eating one another. Cash and grain from neighboring

commanderies were transported to succor them. An imperial edict said, "Recently the Yin and Yang have not been in accord, so that the many people have [suffered] famine and cold, and there has been no means of safeguarding peace and good order. Verily, [Our] virtue is shallow and thin, insufficient to fill or enter into the old [imperial] dwellings.[44] Let it be ordered that the palaces and lodges which the emperor rarely favors [with a visit] shall not be repaired or prepared, that the Grand Coachman shall reduce the grain for feeding his horses, and that [the Chief Commandant of] Waters and Parks shall dispense entirely with[45] the flesh for feeding the animals [in the Shang-lin Park menagerie and elsewhere]." In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II 306 47 B.C. 47 B.C. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan 9: 3b

Feb./Mar. [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. He granted to the common people of Yün-yang [Commandery] one step in noble rank and to the women of a hundred households an ox and wine. Mar./Apr. [In the second month],[52] he established his younger brother, [Liu] Ching4, as King of Ch'ing-ho. Apr./May In the third month, he established [Liu] Pa, the Heir-apparent of King Li of Kuang-ling, [Liu Hsü], as King [of Kuang-ling]. An imperial edict [ordered] the disestablishment of the chariots, carriages, dogs, and horses [under control of] the Yellow Gate, of the [imperial] private gardens under [the supervision of the Chief Commandant] of Waters and Parks, of the Lower Park at Yi-ch'unb, of the outer ponds of the Sharpshooters [who were under the supervision of] the 3b Privy Treasurer, and of the hiding-places in the preserves, the ponds, and the fields [in the imperial parks].[55] They were lent to the poor people. An imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that when a capable and sage [ruler] is on the throne, the Yin and Yang are harmonious, the wind and rain are timely, the sun and moon are brilliant [without eclipses], the stars and zodiacal signs are in repose, and the many people are prosperous and peaceable and end in old age [the days allotted to 307 9: 3b them by] their fate. Now that We have respect47 B.C.

fully succeeded to [the care of] Heaven and Earth and have been confided with [a place] above that of

the highest nobles, [Our] understanding has not been able to light up [the universe and Our] virtue has not been able to tranquillize [it, so that] visitations and prodigies have arrived simultaneously and have not ceased for successive years. Moreover, in the second month, on [the day] mou-wu, there was an Apr. 19 earthquake in Lung-hsi Commandery,[59] which destroyed and made the wooden decorations on the wall of the [great] hall in the Temple of the Grand Emperor fall,[60] ruined and demolished the inner and outer city walls and the official buildings of Huan-tao Prefecture,[61] together with the houses and buildings of the common people, and crushed to death a multitude of people. "Mountains have fallen down and the earth has been rent, streams and springs have gushed[62] forth. Heaven has in truth sent down visitations to terrify and frighten Us and [Our] multitude. [Our] rule must be greatly deficient for the calamities [sent by Heaven] to have reached such [a magnitude]. Morning and night, [We] have been circumspect and fearful, [but] have not comprehended these great 308 47 B.C. [unfortunate] vicissitudes. [We] have pondered 9: 4a

deeply, [but] have been baffled and chagrined [that We] have not understood the [proper] order [of things].[65] Recently for several years, there has been no good harvest, so that the great multitude are suffering and indigent, are unable to endure [the extremes of] famine and cold, and hence have become involved in punishments and chastisements. We pity them very much. 4a "[Let] those commanderies and kingdoms which have suffered severe visitations of earthquakes not pay the land or capitation taxes. [Let] an amnesty [be granted] to the empire. If there is anything [in the laws and ordinances] that can be suppressed, abolished, reduced, or dispensed with for the benefit of all people, [let] it be memorialized in detail, and let nothing be kept hidden.[67] [Let] the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Yü Ting-kuo], the [Grandee] Secretary, [Ch'en Wan-nien], and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs recommend [persons who are] Accomplished Talents of Unusual Degree, gentlemen who [are able] to speak frankly and admonish unflinchingly, and We shall Ourself interview them." In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] June 17 ting-szu, [the Emperor] appointed his Imperial Heir-apparent, [Liu Ao], and granted: to the Grandee Secretary, [Ch'en Wan-nien], the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis; to [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, [the noble rank of] Senior Chief of the Multitude; to those in the empire who would be the successors of their fathers, one step in noble rank; to each full marquis, two hundred thousand cash; and to Fifth [Rank] Grandees, one hundred thousand [cash].

309

9: 4a In the sixth month, there was famine east of 47 B.C.

July/Aug. [Han-ku] Pass and in the region of Ch'i people ate each other. In the autumn, the seventh month, an Aug./Sept. imperial edict said, "For successive years there have been visitations and disasters, so that the common people are anaemic.[73] [We] are suffering and saddened in heart and have already [issued] an imperial edict [ordering] the officials to empty the storehouses and granaries, to open the warehouses and depots, to aid and rescue [the people], and to make grants of clothes to those who are cold. "This autumn the grain and wheat have been considerably injured; within one year the Earth has twice shaken;[74] in Po-hai [Commandery] streams have overflowed and carried away and killed people. The Yin and Yang are not harmonious. Wherein lies the blame for these [circumstances]? In what way should the ministers be solicitous for this [situation]? Let them do their utmost to make known Our faults and not be silent about anything." In the winter, an imperial edict said, "If a state is Winter to prosper, [its ruler must] reverence his teachers and esteem his tutors. The former General of the Van, [Hsiao] Wang-chih, tutored [Us] to the eighth year, guiding [Us] by the Classics. His achievements are abundant. Let him be granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis with the income of an estate of eight hundred households; he shall pay court on the first and fifteenth of the month."[76] 310 46 B.C. 4b [But] in the twelfth month, the Chief Palace Writer, 46 B.C. Hung Kung, [together with] Shih Hsien and others, Jan./Feb. slandered [Hsiao] Wang-chih [to the Emperor] and caused [Hsiao Wang-chih] to commit suicide. III In the third year, in the spring, [the Emperor] Spring ordered that Chancellors of vassal [kings] should be ranked below [Grand] Administrators of commanderies. [Because] the prefectures south of the mountains[83] in Chu-yai Commandery had rebelled, [the Emperor asked] the various officials generally for plans [to deal with this rebellion]; the Expectant Appointee, Chia Chüan-chih, considered that it would be proper to abandon Chu-yai [Commandery], in order to aid the common people [of northeastern China] in their famine of grain and vegetables. Thereupon Chu-yai [Commandery] was abolished. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day]

May 21 yi-wei,[85] there was a visitation [of fire] in White 311 9: 5a Crane Lodge at the Mou Tomb. The imperial edict 46 B.C.

said, "Recently a visitation of fire descended upon a Lodge in the [funerary park of Emperor] Hsiao-wu. We tremble with respectful awe, being afraid and fearful and not comprehending [this] grievous vicissitude and prodigy. The blame [must lie] upon Us Ourself. The many high officials have, moreover, not yet been willing to tell Us [Our] faults to the end, so that [things] have been brought to this [pass]. How can they be awakened [to the situation]? The people have continued to meet with baneful distresses, so that there is no means of helping them. They have furthermore been molested and troubled by exacting officials and by being held down and tied to the details of written [laws],[88] so that they are not allowed to prolong their lives to a [natural] end. We pity them greatly. Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire." In the summer, there was a drought. Summer [The Emperor] established [Liu] Tsung, the younger brother of King Yang of Ch'ang-sha, [Liu Tan4b], as King [of Ch'ang-sha], and enfeoffed [Liu] 5a Tai-tsung, a son of the deceased Marquis of Hai-hun, [Liu] Ho4b, as Marquis [of Hai-hun]. In the sixth month, an imperial edict said, "Verily, July/Aug. [We] have heard that the way to tranquillize the people has its source in [tranquillizing] the Yin and Yang. [But] recently the Yin and Yang have been disordered and are in disaccord, so that the wind and rain have not been timely. We are not virtuous 312 46 B.C. and hoped that among the highest ministers some 9: 5a

would have the daring to speak to Us of [Our] faults. But now it has been otherwise. They have frivolously agreed [with Our ideas], have negligently followed [Our wishes], and have not been able to speak unflinchingly.[94] We pity them greatly. "[We] have long[95] pondered that when the multitude of people are in famine and cold [some] have been sent far away from their fathers and mothers, their wives and children, to toil at unnecessary work or to act as guards in uninhabited palaces. [We] fear that this is not a way of aiding the Yin and Yang [to attain their harmony]. "Let the guards at Kan-ch'üan and Chien-chang Palaces be disestablished and [let each[96] person] be ordered to go to [his home and devote himself to]

agriculture. [Let] all the officials each reduce their expenses. [Let matters] be memorialized in detail without keeping silent about anything. [Let] the high officials exert themselves and not violate the prohibitions for the four seasons. [Let] the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Yü Ting-Kuo], and the [Grandee] Secretary, [Ch'en Wan-nien], each present the three [best] persons in the empire who understand the visitations and prodigies [caused by] the Yin and Yang."[97] Thereupon a multitude [of so-called experts] 313 9: 5b discussed these matters; some were advanced 46 B.C.

and promoted and summoned to an [imperial] audience, and [each][100] considered that he had divined the Emperor's opinion. 5b In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan 45 B.C. [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban Feb. sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the third month, he [again] traveled and favored Apr. Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. He granted an amnesty to the convicts in Fen-yin and granted: to the common people, one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to widowers, widows, and aged, silk. The places through which he passed were not to pay the land tax or capitation taxes.[106] In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month, V [the Emperor] made the Baronet Baron Descendant 44 B.C. of the Chou [Dynasty, Chi Yen-nien], the Marquis Feb./Mar. Who Succeeds to the Greatness of the Chou [Dynasty], with a rank next to that of the vassal kings. In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and Apr./May favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. In the summer, the fourth month, a comet appeared May/June in [the constellation] Shen,[112] and an imperial edict said, "Since We are inadequate [to Our position], 314 44 B.C. the ranking [of persons] in their positions is 9: 6a

not carefully scrutinized, and many offices have long

been unoccupied and have not been filled with the [proper] persons, so that the great multitude has lost its hope [of good rulers. This situation] has affected August Heaven above, so that the Yin and Yang have produced grievous vicissitudes, hence [Our] fault has spread to the many common people. We are greatly dismayed at [this situation]. "Recently, for successive [years], east of [Han-ku] Pass there have occurred visitations and disasters of famine, cold, sickness, and epidemics, so that premature death has not [permitted the people] to live out their lives. Does not the Book of Odes say, `Wherever among others there was a great misfortune, 6a I crawled on my knees to help them'?[116] "Let it be ordered that the Grand Provisioner shall not butcher daily and that each of his provisions be reduced by half. [Let] the imperial equipages and the horses that are fed be merely sufficient so that they do not fail in their proper business.[117] "Let there be abolished: the competitive games,[118] the Palaces and Lodges in Shang-lin Park that are rarely favored with an imperial [visit], the Three Offices for Garments in Ch'i [Commandery], the 6b offices for [public] fields in Po-chia,[120] the offices of the Salt and Iron [Government Monopoly],[121] and the Constantly Equalizing Granaries. Let 315 9: 6b no [restricted] number be established for the Dis44 B.C.

ciples of the Erudits, in order to increase [the number of] students [in the Imperial University.[124] "Let] there be granted: to the members of the imperial house who are enregistered, [from] one horse to two quadrigae of [horses to each]; to the Thrice Venerable and the Filially Pious, five bolts of silk per person; to the Fraternally Respectful and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, three bolts; to widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, two bolts; and to the officials and common people of fifty households, an ox and wine. "Let the punishments be reduced" in more than seventy matters.[125] "Let there be expunged, for Imperial Household Grandees and under, down to Gentlemen-of-the-Palace, 316 44 B.C. the ordinance [requiring punishment for 9: 7a those] who had made themselves responsible for their fathers, mothers, or own brothers or sisters.[128] "Let it be ordered that the Retinue and those who serve within the Majors' [Gates] to the palaces shall be permitted [to secure] for their grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, and older and younger brothers, registration [permitting them] to enter

7a [the palaces]."[130] 43 B.C. In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day] 317 9: 7a ting-wei, the Grandee Secretary, Kung Yü, died.[133] 43 B.C. Jan. 17 A Major of the [Palace] Guard, Ku Chi, [was sent] as an envoy to the Huns, [but] did not return.[136] In [the period] Yung-kuang, the first year, in the I spring, the first month, [the Emperor] traveled and Feb./Mar. favored Kan-ch'üan [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One], and [granted] pardon to the convicts in Yün-yang [Commandery]. He granted: to the common people, one step in the noble rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to the aged, silk. [Those places] through which he had passed in traveling were not[139] to pay the land-tax or capitation taxes.[140] In the second month, an imperial edict [ordered] Mar./Apr. the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Yü Ting-kuo], and the [Grandee] Secretary, [Hsieh Kuang-tê], to recommend persons who were simple and straightforward, sincere and honest, humble and yielding to others, and who showed good behavior. The [Superintendent of] the Imperial Household should yearly examine and rank the Gentlemen and [Imperial] Retinue according to these [four qualities].[142] 318

43 B.C. Apr./May In the third month, an imperial edict said, "The 9: 7b

Five Lords and the Three Kings gave office to the capable and employed the able in order to attain to extreme tranquility. Yet how could the misgovernment 7b of today [come from the fact that] these common people are different [from those of ancient times]?[147] The blame lies in Our lack of intelligence and lack of means in becoming acquainted with capable [persons]. For this reason flatterers are in office and `admirable gentlemen'[148] are prevented [from securing office] and hide themselves. [These evils] are aggravated by the corruption[149] [coming from] the Chou and Ch'in [periods], so that the common people are being permeated with despicable customs. They depart from the rules of proper conduct and right principles, and [as a result] bring upon themselves the punishments of the law. Is not this indeed sad? Looking at it in this way, what guilt has the great multitude?

"Let an amnesty be granted to the empire and 319 9: 7b [let] it be ordered that [the people to whom amnesty 43 B.C.

has been granted] shall improve their personalities, renew themselves, and each pay attention to cultivating his acres. [Let] those [amnestied people] who have no cultivated fields all be loaned [fields] and be made loans of seed and food the same as for [ordinary] poor people. [Let] there be made grants: to officials [ranking at] six hundred piculs and above, the noble rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee; to officials who are diligent in doing their duty, two steps [in noble rank]; to the common people,[152] one step; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged, silk." In this month it snowed and there was a fall of frost which injured the wheat harvest.[153] In the autumn, it was abolished.[154] Autumn 320

42 B.C. 8a In the second year, in the spring, the second II month, an imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have 42 B.C. heard that when T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun employed] Feb./Mar. punishments [which merely portrayed] the likenesses [of the mutilating punishments in criminals' clothing],[161] the common people did not transgress, and when the Yin and Chou [dynastic] laws were put into practise,[162] evil-doers and traitors submitted.[163] Now We have had the opportunity of succeeding to the great[164] patrimony of the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], and have been entrusted with a position above that of the highest nobles. Morning and night [We] have trembled with respectful awe, pondering long on the necessities of the people, which [We] do not allow to leave [Our] mind. But the Yin and Yang have not yet accorded [with each other], the three luminaries have been veiled and indistinct,[165] the great multitude have suffered greatly, have wandered, and have been scattered on the highways and paths. Robbers and brigands 321 9: 8b have arisen simultaneously. The high officials are, 42 B.C.

moreover, habitually injurious and hard [upon the people] and have been defective in the art of shepherding the common people. The foregoing is all [because of] Our lack of insight and [because Our]

government shows a deficiency. [Since Our] faults have produced such [a situation], We are very much ashamed of Ourself. If [We], the father and mother of the common people, have been so incapable, what [can We] say to [Our] subjects? "Let a general amnesty [be granted] to the empire, and [let there be] granted: to the common people, one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, aged, the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, silk. [Let there] also be granted: to the vassal kings, the princesses, and the full marquises, actual gold; to the [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and those of lower [rank] down to the chief officials in the offices 8b at the imperial capital, [money], to each proportionately; to the officials [ranking at] six hundred piculs and above, the noble rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee; to each official who is diligent in doing his duty, two steps [in noble rank]." In the third month, on [the day] jen-hsü, the first Mar. 28 day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun.[170] The imperial edict said, "We have been trembling and in respectful awe, day and night thinking of [Our] faults and defects, and have not dared to be negligent or at peace. [We] have pondered that the Yin and Yang have not been harmonized and [We] have not yet [secured] enlightenment [concerning what is] to blame. [We] have frequently ordered the ministers [to find where the fault lies] and have daily hoped that [Our efforts] would bring results. 322

42 B.C. "Down to the present, the [high] officials who 9: 9a

control the government have not yet attained to the mean [in their government]. In their grants and gifts [of favor] and in their prohibitions and sentences, they have not yet accorded with the opinions of the common people. Violent and cruel customs increase more and more, and ways of peace and friendliness are daily enfeebled, so that the people are sad and suffering, with no place to rest themselves. "For this reason evil emanations have yearly increased and have encroached upon and violated the great Yang [being, the sun], so that good emanations have been submerged and arrested, and the sun for a long time has been robbed of his light. Recently, on [the day] jen-hsü, there was an eclipse of the sun— Heaven made a great prodigy appear in order to forewarn Us Ourself. We are very much saddened. Let it be ordered that the inner[173] commanderies and kingdoms should each recommend one gentleman who is an Accomplished Talent of Unusual Degree [or] who is capable, good, and [able to] speak frankly." July/Aug. In the summer, the sixth month, an imperial edict

said, "Recently for consecutive years, [the harvest] has not been gathered and the four quarters [of the empire] are all suffering. The great multitude of common people work hard at plowing and weeding, but it does not produce any results, so that they suffer from a famine of grain and vegetables, and there is no means by which they can be saved. We are the father and mother of the people, [but Our] virtue is not able to protect them. Yet [We must at times] punish them, which hurts Ourself greatly.[175] 9a Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire." Aug./Sept. In the autumn, the seventh month, the Western Ch'iang rebelled, and [the Emperor] sent the General 323 9: 9a of the Right, Feng Feng-shih, to attack them. In 42 B.C.

the eighth month, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, Sept./Oct. Jen Ch'ien-ch'iu, was made the General Displaying his Majesty,[181] with a separate command over five colonels. He advanced together with [Feng Feng-shih].[182] In the third year, in the spring, the Western III Ch'iang were pacified and the armies were demobilized. 41 B.C. Spring In the third month, [the Emperor] set up his Imperial Apr./May Son [Liu] K'ang as King of Chi4-yang. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] kuei-wei, the Commander-in-chief and General of June 11 Chariots and Cavalry, [Wang] Chieh5, died. In the winter, the eleventh month, an imperial Dec./Jan. edict said, "Recently, in the second [month] of winter [i.e., the eleventh month],[189] on [the day] chi-ch'ou, there was an earthquake and a rain of Dec. 14 water and a great fog. Robbers and brigands have arisen simultaneously; why do not the officials conform to the prohibitions for the seasons?[191] Let each one express his whole mind in reply." 324

41 B.C. In the winter,[193] there were reestablished the 9: 9b

offices of the Salt and Iron [Government Monopoly] and a [restricted] number for the Disciples of the Erudits, because the [government] income was insufficient and too many of the common people had

been exempted, so that there were not [enough persons] to furnish the required labor and required military service in the central [states] and at the 40 B.C. borders.[196] IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the second Mar./Apr. month, an imperial edict said, "We have succeeded to the cares of the most honorable [station, yet We] have not been able to enlighten or direct the people aright. Baneful calamities have frequently occurred, added to which the border regions have not been at peace and the armies [have had to be sent] out of [the border, so that, because of] taxes and transportation [of supplies], the great multitude have been troubled and agitated, are exhausted and suffering without any assistance, and have violated the laws and fallen into crime. Verily, their superiors have failed in their duty and have drawn their inferiors deeply into punishment. We are greatly afflicted by this [situation]. Let an amnesty [be 9b granted] to the empire. [Let] their debts not be collected from the poor people to whom loans were made." Apr./May In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and 325 9: 9b favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at 40 B.C.

the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. In the summer, the sixth month, on [the day] chia-hsü, July 27 there was a visitation [of fire] to the Eastern Portal of the Funerary Park of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan,[204] and on [the day] mou-yin, the last day of July 31 the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. The imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that when an intelligent king is in control and faithful and capable [subordinates] display [a proper attention to] their duties, the many living things are in harmony and rejoice, and [even those] outside the [empire at the four] quarters receive benefits. "[But] now We are ignorant about the Way of [true] kings. Day and night [We] have solicitously toiled, [yet We] have not penetrated to its principles. There is nothing that [We] have looked at which has not been confused and nothing that [We] have heard that has not been misleading. For this reason many of the governmental ordinances have been returned,[206] the affections of the common people have not been secured, erroneous explanations have been vainly presented, and nothing has been achieved. The foregoing is what [everyone in] the empire has heard openly. "The ministers and grandees are not alike in their likes and dislikes; some associate with the wicked and act corruptly, encroaching upon and extorting from the uninfluential common people—how can the

326 40 B.C. great multitude find refuge for their lives? There9: 10a

upon, on the last day of the sixth month, there was an eclipse of the sun. Does not the Book of Odes say, `Now these lower [classes of] the common people Are in a very deplorable [situation]'?[209] "From this time and henceforth, let the ministers and grandees exert themselves and think upon Heaven's warning. [Let] them be careful of themselves and cultivate far-reaching [thoughts],[210] in order to support [Us because of] Our inadequacies, speaking frankly their entire meaning and not keeping silent about anything." Oct. 9 In the ninth month, on [the day] mou-tzu, [the Emperor] abolished the funerary park of the Empress Szu [née] Wei, together with the funerary park of 10a [Heir-apparent] Li, [Liu Chü].[213] In the winter, Nov. 15 the tenth month, on [the day] yi-ch'ou, [the Emperor] disestablished the temples in the commanderies and kingdoms to the [Eminent] Founder, [Emperor Kao], and the [Great and Epochal] Successors, [Emperors Hsiao-wen and Hsiao-wu]. The various [imperial] 327 9: 10a tomb-[towns] were divided and put under the charge 40 B.C.

of the Three Adjuncts.[217] On the [northern][218] plain in the Shou-ling Commune section of Wei-ch'eng [prefecture] there was being made the Emperor's tomb,[219] and an imperial edict said, "It is the nature of the many common people to be contented with their locality and to consider transportation [to a different locality] as a serious matter. To have one's flesh and blood attached to [and near] oneself is what human affections desire. A short time ago, some high officials memorialized that, according to the principles [involved in the relationship of] a subject [to his ruler], common people from the commanderies and kingdoms should be transported [to Our tomb] to uphold [the sacrifices at Our] funerary park and tomb, [thus] causing the people to leave and abandon the tombs and mounds of their deceased ancestors, ruining their patrimonies and losing their property, [making] relatives to be divided and separated from each other, people [to be tormented by] thoughts of longing and affection, and families to have feelings of dissatisfaction.[220] In this way the eastern extremities of the empire would suffer the injury of being depopulated and ruined and Kuan-chung would possess common people who have no resources, which is not an expedient [for one who plans] far ahead. Does not the Book of Odes say, `The common people have indeed been heavily burdened;

Now they can be [given] a little ease. 328 40 B.C. Favor this center of the country 9: 10b

In order to give repose to the four quarters [of the country]'?[223] "Let those who are now making the emperor's tomb not be [compelled to remain there and let them not be] established as [inhabitants of] the prefecture or estate [supporting this tomb, thus] causing all the empire to be satisfied with their localities, rejoice in their patrimonies, and have no feeling of being troubled or disturbed. [Let this edict] be published and announced to the empire, to cause it to be clearly 10b understood." [The Emperor] also abolished the estate supporting [the tomb of] the father and mother, [Hsü Kuang-han and his wife], of the deceased Empress [Kuang-ai née Hsü].[225] V In the fifth year, in the spring, the first month, 39 B.C. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan Feb./Mar. [Palace with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altar Apr./May to the Supreme [One]. In the third month, the Emperor favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altar to Sovereign Earth. Autumn In the autumn, in Ying-ch'uan [Commandery], the streams overflowed, carrying away and killing people.[231] The officials and [imperial] retinue whose [native] prefectures had suffered injury were given a vacation,[232] and the officers and soldiers [among the drafted men who came from those prefectures] 329 9: 11a were sent home. 39 B.C. In the winter, the Emperor favored [with a visit] Winter the Lodge for Shooting Bears in Ch'ang-yang [Palace] and arrayed his chariots and horsemen for a great hunt. In the twelfth month, on [the day] yi-yu, the 38 B.C. funerary chambers, the temples, and the funerary Jan. 29 parks of the Grand Emperor and of Emperor Hsiao-hui were done away with.[238] In [the period] Chien-chao, the first year, in the I spring,[240] the third month, the Emperor favored Apr./May Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High].

In the autumn, the eighth month, from Tung-tu Sept./Oct. Gate to Chih-tao there were white butterflies flying in swarms that hid the sun.[243] In the winter, the King of Ho-chien, [Liu] Yüan2b, Winter who had committed crimes, was dismissed and exiled 11a to Fang-ling.[246] The funerary chambers and funerary parks of the Empress Dowager [née Po of Emperor] Hsiao-wen and of the Empress Dowager [née Chao of Emperor] Hsiao-chao were abolished.[247] 330

37 B.C. II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, 9: 11a

37 B.C. [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan Feb. [Palace with a visit, were he performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the Apr. third month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. [The Emperor] increased the rank of the Grand Administrators of the three Ho Commanderies [and of large] commanderies [to that of fully two thousand piculs.[254] Commanderies with] 120,000 households were made `large commanderies'. In the summer, May the fourth month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire. July In the sixth month, [the Emperor] set up his Imperial Son [Liu] Hsing[257] as the King of Hsin-tua. Oct. 2 In the intercalary month, on [the day] ting-yu, the Grand Empress Dowager née Shan-kuan died. Dec./Jan. In the winter, the eleventh month, there was an 36 B.C. earthquake and a great fall of snow in [the kingdoms of] Ch'i and Ch'u.[261] Trees were broken and houses fell in ruin. Chang Po, the maternal uncle of the King of Huai-yang, [Liu Ch'in], and the Grand Administrator of the Wei Commandery, Ching Fang, were sentenced for having led astray a vassal king by perverse notions, and having divulged [imperial] 331 9: 11b conversations [that occurred] in the inner palace 36 B.C.

apartments, [respectively. Chang] Po was executed by being cut in two at the waist and [Ching] Fang was publicly executed.[264] In the third year, in the summer, [the Emperor] III ordered that the Chief[266] Commandants to the Summer Three Adjuncts and the Chief Commandants in large commanderies[268] should be all ranked at two thousand piculs.[269] In the sixth month, on [the day] chia-ch'en, the Aug. 5 Lieutenant Chancellor, [Wei] Hsüan-ch'eng, died. In the autumn, the Chief Commandant of Cavalry Autumn who had been sent out as Protector-[general] of the Western Frontier Regions, Kan Yen-shou, and his Associate, Colonel Ch'en T'ang, by fraud mobilized 11b the officials and troops of the agricultural garrison under the Mou-and-Chi Colonel, together with the northwestern barbarian (Hu) troops of the Western Frontier Regions, and attacked Shan-yü Chih-chih. In the winter, they cut off his head and sent it to the Winter [imperial] capital, where it was hung on the gate of the Lodge for Barbarian Princes.[274] In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV because Shan-yü Chih-chih had been executed, information 35 B.C. was made [to the Lords on High] in the Feb./Mar. Suburban Sacrifice and in the sacrifices [to the imperial ancestors in their] Temples, and an amnesty was granted to the empire. The courtiers [wished] the Emperor long life. A feast was held [by the 332 35 B.C. Emperor] and the documents and charts concerning 9: 11b

[Shan-yü Chih-chih] were shown [even] to the honored ladies in the [imperial] harem.[280] May/June In the summer, the fourth month, an imperial edict said, "We have succeeded to the glorious achievements of our imperial predecessors. Morning and night [We] have been respectfully attentive, fearing lest [We may] not be capable in [Our] duties. Recently the Yin and Yang have not[282] accorded [with each other], and the five elements have lost their order, so that the people have been famished. [We] have been pondering that the multitude [of people] have lost their occupations and [We] have visited and sent the Grandee-remonstrant and Erudit Ch'ang and others, twenty-one persons [in all], to travel about and examine the empire, to visit and inquire about the aged, widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and the people who are indigent, suffering,

or have lost their work, and to recommend gentlemen who are Accomplished Talents and have especial eminence. [Let] the chancellors, generals, and nine high ministers apply themselves with all their minds[283] 333 9: 12a and be not negligent, so that We shall be able to 35 B.C.

observe the propagation of [Our] instruction and civilizing efforts." 12a In the sixth month, on [the day] chia-shen, the July 11 King of Chung-shan, [Liu] Ching, died. In Lan-t'ien [prefecture], there was an earth[quake and a mountain collapsed],[288] and gravel and stones blocked the Pa River. At the An Tomb, the [river] bank collapsed and blocked the Ching River, so that its water flowed backwards. In the fifth year, in the spring, the third month, an V imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard that 34 B.C. when an intelligent king rules the country, he makes Apr. plain what to like and dislike and fixes what should be rejected and accepted; he exalts respectfulness and yielding [to others], and then the common people cultivate their conduct. Hence when his laws are instituted, the common people do not violate them, and when his ordinances are promulgated, the common people follow them. "Now that We have secured [the opportunity to] protect the [Imperial] ancestral temples, [We] have been careful and fearful, and have not dared to be lax or negligent. [But Our] virtue has been slight and [Our] intelligence has been obscured, so that [Our] teaching and civilizing influence has been shallow and slight. Does not the Memoir say, `When the people commit faults, [the blame] rests upon Us'?[292] Let an amnesty [be granted] to the empire and let there be granted: to the common people, one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to the Thrice Venerable, 334 34 B.C. the Filially Pious, the Brotherly Respectful, 9: 12b

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

"[But] now evil[296] officials, in reconsidering law-cases involving small crimes, in calling and summoning witnesses in [such] cases, take up matters that 12b are not pressing and so trouble the people. By making [the people] lose the one time [when their] work [can be done, the officials cause them] to bring to naught a whole year's labor. Let the ministers examine and investigate [such cases] and inform and warn the [officials about this matter]." In the summer, the sixth month, on [the day[ Aug. 11 keng-shen, the Funerary Park of [Heir-apparent] Li, Nov. 1, [Liu Chü], was reestablished. On [the day] jen-shen, 35 B.C.[301] the last day of the month, there was an eclipse 34 B.C. of the sun. In the autumn, the seventh month, on Sept. 20 [the day] keng-tzu, the Funerary Chamber, the Temple, and the Funerary Park of the Grand Emperor, the Second Temple [of Emperor Kao], and the Funerary Parks of Empress Chao-ling, King Wu-ai, Queen Chao-ai, and Empress Szu [née] Wei were reestablished.[304] I In the period Ching-ning,[306] the first year, in the 335 9: 13a spring, the first month, the Hun Shan-yü Hu-han33 B.C.

33 B.C. hsieh came to pay court. The imperial edict said, Feb./Mar. "The Hun Shan-yü Chih-chih abandoned and rebelled against the rules of proper conduct and principles of fealty and so has already suffered for his crimes, [whereas] Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh has not 13a forgotten [Our] favors and benefits. He has turned toward and striven to follow the rules of proper conduct and principles of fealty, [and now] has again renewed the rites of [presenting his] congratulations at the [great annual] court. He wishes to guarantee the [border] barriers and to continue [this practise] endlessly, so that the borders and frontiers will eternally be without any warlike affairs. Let the year-period be changed to be Ching-ning and [let] the [Lady] Awaiting an Imperial Edict in the Lateral Courts, Wang Ch'iang, be granted to the Shan-yü to be his Yen-chih." The Imperial Heir-apparent, [Liu Ao], was capped; heirs of full marquises were granted the noble rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee and those in the empire who would be the successors to their fathers [were granted] one step in noble rank. In the second month, the Grandee Secretary, Mar./Apr. P'an][313] Yen-shou, died. [In the third month, on [the day] kuei-wei, there

Apr. 30 336 33 B.C. were reestablished the Funerary Chamber, the 9: 13b

Temple, and the Funerary Park of Emperor Hsiao-hui, and the Funerary Chambers and Funerary Parks of the Empress Dowager [née Po of Emperor] Hsiao-wen and of the Empress Dowager [née Chao of Emperor] Hsiao-chao.[317] Summer In the summer, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Kan Yen-shou, as a full marquis and granted to his Associate [Protector-General of the Western Frontier Regions], Colonel Ch'en T'ang, the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis and a hundred catties of actual gold. July 8 In the fifth month, on [the day] jen-ch'en, the Emperor died at the Wei-yang Palace. The Temples of the Grand Emperor and of Emperors Hsiao-hui and Hsiao-ching were done away with and the Funerary Chambers and Funerary Parks of the Empresses Dowager [née Po and née Chao of Emperors] Hsiao-wen and Hsiao-chao [respectively], of Empress Chao-ling, of King Wu-ai, and of Queen Chao-ai were abolished.[320] In the autumn, the seventh month, on [the day] Aug. 31 ping-hsü, [the Emperor] was buried in the Wei Tomb.[322] 13b In eulogy we say: The elder and younger brothers of your servant, [Pan Piao's], maternal grandfather, were Emperor Yüan's Palace Attendants,[324] and 337 9: 14a spoke to your servant, saying, "Emperor Hsüan had much ability in polite arts and was good at the clerkly [style of] writing,[326] at playing the guitar and lute, and at blowing the open flute.[327] He himself composed new songs, clothed them with melodies for singing,[328] distinguished and indicated the cadences 14a [of the verses and music],[330] and understood to the utmost the delicacies [of poetry and music]." When he was young, he liked the Confucians, and when he ascended the throne, he summoned and gave office to Confucian masters, entrusting the government to them. Kung [Yü], Hsieh [Kuang-tê], 338 Wei [Hsüan-ch'eng], and K'uang [Heng] were suc9: 14a

cessively his ruling chancellors.[332] The Emperor,

however, tied and controlled himself by written principles,[333] so that he hesitated to settle matters, and thus the achievements of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan decayed. Yet he was broad-minded and had his inferiors express themselves completely.[334] He was outstanding in respectfulness and self-restraint. His proclamations and ordinances are polished and elegant, and have the spirit and fire of the ancients.[335] [2] HS 97 A: 22a says, "In the same [calender] year [that she was married, the future Empress née Hsü] gave birth to Emperor Yüan, and in several months the [Imperial] Great-grandson, [Emperor Hsüan], was made Emperor." Hence Liu Shih, the future Emperor Yüan, was actually born a few months before Sept., 74 B.C., when Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne, probably in the last months of Yüan-feng VI, about February, 74 B.C. Thus he could not have been in his second full year at the accession of Emperor Hsüan, although he might have been in his second calendar year. Or it might be that this passage in the "Annals" is counting time not from the actual date that Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne, but from the first year of his reign, which did not begin until the first month of the year after that in which his predecessor died. The remainder of the year in which an emperor dies continues to belong to the reign of the deceased emperor; his successor does not nominally begin to reign until the new year. Liu Pin (1022-1088) remarks that this practice follows that of the Dukes of Lu in the Spring and Autumn, who considered the first year of their reign to begin with the first New Year's day on which they were reigning. Because Yen Shih-ku (581-645) neglected these possibilities, he thought that the chronology in this passage was mistaken; through a similar misinterpretation, Hsün Yüeh's (148-209) Han-chi twice notices the appointment of Liu Shih as Heir-apparent. Lin Shih's birth in February, 74 is, however, quite consistent with his appointment as Heir-apparent in his eighth year, on May 24, 67 B.C. [3] HS 97 A: 22a says, "In the same [calender] year [that she was married, the future Empress née Hsü] gave birth to Emperor Yüan, and in several months the [Imperial] Great-grandson, [Emperor Hsüan], was made Emperor." Hence Liu Shih, the future Emperor Yüan, was actually born a few months before Sept., 74 B.C., when Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne, probably in the last months of Yüan-feng VI, about February, 74 B.C. Thus he could not have been in his second full year at the accession of Emperor Hsüan, although he might have been in his second calendar year. Or it might be that this passage in the "Annals" is counting time not from the actual date that Emperor Hsüan ascended the throne, but from the first year of his reign, which did not begin until the first month of the year after that in which his predecessor died. The remainder of the year in which an emperor dies continues to belong to the reign of the deceased emperor; his successor does not nominally begin to reign until the new year. Liu Pin (1022-1088) remarks that this practice follows that of the Dukes of Lu in the Spring and Autumn, who considered the first year of their reign to begin with the first New Year's day on which they were reigning. Because Yen Shih-ku (581-645) neglected these possibilities, he thought that the chronology in this passage was mistaken; through a similar misinterpretation, Hsün Yüeh's (148-209) Han-chi twice notices the appointment of Liu Shih as Heir-apparent. Lin Shih's birth in February, 74 is, however, quite consistent with his appointment as Heir-apparent in his eighth year, on May 24, 67 B.C. [6] Yen Shih-ku quotes Liu Hsiang's (ca. 79-8 B.C.) Pieh-lu (a lost book) as saying, "The teaching of Shen-tzu [Shen Pu-hai, a legalist, cf. SC 63: 13] is called `Circumstances and names [OMITTED]. [The meaning of] `circumstances and names' is `to use names to demand their realities, in order to honor the prince and humble his subjects, to reverence the superior and curb his inferiors,' [probably a quotation from Shen-tzu, whose book is now lost]. Emperor Hsüan liked to look at the chapter [of Shen-tzu entitled] `The Prince and His Subjects'." For the meaning of the above philosophical phrases, cf. Fung Yu-lan, History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. by D. Bodde, I, 192, 323-5. The text reads hsing1-ming, [OMITTED], lit. "punishments and their names", i.e., penological terminology; anciently hsing1 and hsing2 [OMITTED] "circumstances" were interchanged. Wang Ming-sheng (1722-1798), in his Shih-ch'i-shih Shang-chüeh, ch. 5, has shown that the phrase hsing1-ming originally read hsing2-ming, so that it should be translated as above. Ancient Chinese logic was concerned with the problem of the subsumption of particulars under general terms, i.e., the proof for the minor premise to a syllogism, rather than with the mere arrangement of concepts involved in the proof for major premises or the tree of Porphyry; the Chinese school of "circumstances and names" discussed problems of subsumption. Since this problem was chiefly treated in connection with legal

cases, in which the discussion was, the name (ming) under which to subsume the acts (hsing) of the accused, the phrase hsing2-ming consequently came to be written as hsingming, i.e., the more general problem of logical subsumption came to be identified with its most common particular case, the identification of the particular crime under which the acts of an accused person were to be subsumed, i.e., penological terminology. Cf. also Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang, pp. 101, 327-335. [8] The Southern Academy ed. (1528-31), the Fukien ed. (1549), the Official ed. (1739), and the Wang ed. (1546) write this surname as Kai [OMITTED]; the Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) writes Ho [OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) remarks that anciently ho was borrowed to use for kai, and that the surname of Kai K'uan-jao was anciently pronounced ko [OMITTED], so that these two words could be interchanged. The Yi-wen Lei-ch'u (by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641), "Birds", A, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan (by Han Ying, fl. 179-141 B.C.) as writing the surname of a man by the name of Kai Hsü as Ho [OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun says that in this place in the "Annals" the word ho has been emended to kai by persons who did not understand that these two words were anciently interchanged. Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) adds that there is a stele of T'ang times to a certain Kai Wen-ta, in which his surname is written ho, and that in Heng-shui [OMITTED] Hsien, Chihli, the vulgar pronunciation for the surname Kai is Ho [OMITTED]. Karlgren, (Grammata Serica 642, n & q) gives for both ho and kai the archaic pronunciation g'âp. [10] T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) 89: 6a quotes this sentence with the word [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED]. "The ways of the Lords Protector (pa)" is the technical term used by Mencius for non-Confucian teaching; "the ways of the ideal kings" refers to the Confucian doctrines; cf. Fung Yu-lan, History of Chinese Philosophy, I, 112. [11] The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read [OMITTED]; Wâng Hsien-ch'ien reads [OMITTED], noting that Ch'ien Ta-chao approves the former reading. [16] Cf. HS 8: 24b. [19] T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 89: 6b quotes Ying Shao's (ca. 140-206) Han-kuan-yi as saying, "In the time of [Emperor] Hsiao-wu, the Son of Heaven and his subordinates did not yet wear conical caps [OMITTED], [which cover the hair]. Above his forehead, Emperor Yüan had stiff hairs, and did not wish to let people see them, hence he for the first time employed a conical cap. All the officials followed him [in this practise]." These stiff hairs are also mentioned in HS 97 B: 12b1. [22] Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) comments, "From his death to his burial was altogether 28 days." [23] Sung Ch'i (998-1061) notes that the Ancient text (before vii cent.) lacked the word [OMITTED]; Han-chi 21: 1a (by Hsün Yüeh) also lacks it. [26] Cf. HS 18: 16b; 27 Ba: 13a, trans. in 100 A: n. 16.2. [32] A reminiscence of Book of History I, iii, 12 (Legge, p. 26). [34] Wei Chao says, "The six directions are Heaven [above], Earth [beneath], and the four cardinal points." [36] Book of History I, iv, iii, 11 (Legge, p. 90). [38] Wang Hsien-ch'ien (1842-1918) suggests that these "horses of the pastures" were those established by Emperor Ching (24 A: 15b). The Han-kuan-yi (by Ying Shao), A: 11a, says that the various imperial pastures were located in 36 places on the northern and western borders, where 300,000 horses were raised. HHS, Tr. 25: 9b, 10a says that these pastures were located in the six commanderies of Ho-hsi (present Ninghsia and Kansu). They must have been reestablished after Emperor Yüan's disestablishment, for they are mentioned in HS 19 A: 12b; in 19 A.D., Wang Mang had his high officials pay for rearing horses in these pastures (HS 99 C: 4b), and they were again disestablished by Emperor Kuang-wu (HHS, Tr. 25: 10a).

[44] An allusion to Analects XI, xiii, 2. Yen Shih-ku explains that the Emperor is saying in humility that he is not worthy of occupying the palaces or rooms of his imperial ancestors. In 11: 1b Emperor Ai similarly says he is not worthy of occupying the Heir-apparent's palace. [45] Yen Shih-ku remarks," Chien [OMITTED] means reducing its number; sheng [OMITTED] is dispensing entirely with it." [52] The Chinese characters for the words in brackets seem to have dropped out of the text, for HS 14: 23a lists the appointment of Liu Ching in the second month on the day ting-szu (Apr. 18), which day did not occur in the first month. [55] Su Lin (fl. 196-227) comments, "Yen [OMITTED] is to camouflage [OMITTED] buildings on the ponds, together with their regions." Fu Ch'ien (cf. 8: n. 9.3) explains yen-yü [OMITTED] as camouflaged bird-traps in the reservoirs and fields. Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275) says, "Yen-yü are the parks for shooting. Hsü Shen [d. 121, in his Shuo-wen 5 A: 3b] says, `Yen are where fowlers and archers hide themselves.' Ch'ih-t'ien [OMITTED] are the cultivated fields within the parks," and Yen Shih-ku says that Chin Shao's explanation is correct. Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) says that yen is the ancient word [OMITTED] and that yü are the prohibited parks. Cf. 8: 9a for a similar edict. [59] Ch'ien Ta-chao says that since this earthquake is mentioned in the edict, it was omitted from the annals of the second month, in order to avoid repetition. A second earthquake seems to have happened in the third month (cf. n. 4.3), so that the annals Pan Ku was using as a source for this chapter probably did not record earthquakes. [60] Ch'ien Ta-chao comments, "The `Annals of Emperor Kao', in the tenth year, eighth month, [(1 B: 15b), contains] an ordinance that vassal kings should all establish temples to the Grand Emperor in their capital cities. [But] Lung-hsi Commandery was not the capital of a vassal king's [state]. It has not yet been explained how [Lung-hsi Commandery came] to have this temple. Moreover, according to the `Annals of Emperor Hui' [2: 3b] there was an ordinance that the commanderies and vassal kings should establish temples to [Emperor] Kao. Was the [temple] that was destroyed and made to collapse perhaps a temple to [Emperor] Kao?" [61] Yen Shih-ku says, "All places where there are yamens or courts are called szu [OMITTED] [OMITTED]." [62] For [OMITTED] the Official ed. writes [OMITTED]. [65] Dr. Duyvendak explains, "If the Emperor had been able to observe the proper order of things in his action, nature would also have done so and there would have been no calamities." [67] This sentence of the edict seems to be condensed from that recorded in 23: 16b; it was followed by the enactment on 9: 6b. [73] Lit., "have a vegetable color, ts'ai-sê [OMITTED]." Yen Shih-ku remarks, "The five [kinds of] grains were not harvested, so men ate only vegetables; hence their color changed for the worse." [74] The second earthquake is not recorded in this chapter or in ch. 27, but HS 36: 8a says, "In the third month, there was a great earthquake." The quake on Apr. 19 was then followed by another one. [76] Szu-ma Kuang (1019-1086), in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 13b, remarks, "HS 36: [8a] says, `Previously Hung Kung [and Shih Hsien] had memorialized that [Hsiao] Wang-chih and others should be sent to prison and it was so decided. [They were, however, not actually put in prison, but were pardoned and made commoners.] In the third month, there was a great earthquake.' Then [Hsiao] Wang-chih and the others had been degraded and dismissed in the spring, before the earthquake. [HS 36:

7a] also says, `That spring there were earthquakes. In the summer, a wandering star appeared among [the constellations] Mao, Chüan, and Shê. The Emperor was moved and became conscious of [his fault], so he issued an imperial edict granting to [Hsiao] Wang-chih the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis.' HS 78: [11b tells of the dismissal of Hsiao Wang-chih and the others by the Emperor, and adds], `Several months later an imperial edict of decree to the Grandee Secretary said, "If a state is to prosper [etc., quoting the edict in the text]. Let there be granted to [Hsiao] Wang-chih the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis." ' Probably [the writer of this] "Annals" saw that [Hsiao] Wang-chih died in the twelfth month, hence [mistakenly] placed this edict [just] before that [event]." Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 28: 5b accordingly dates the edict ennobling Hsiao Wang-chih in the fourth month, the first month of summer. There were thus two attacks upon Hsiao Wang-chih: the first in the spring, after which he was dismissed and later (probably in the summer) ennobled. Then in Jan./ Feb., Emperor Yüan was induced to order his imprisonment, in order to humble him, whereupon he committed suicide in order to avoid the disgrace of imprisonment. [83] Shan-nan [OMITTED] might be the name of a prefecture, but 64 B: 15a makes it plain that more than one prefecture revolted, so that this phrase should be taken as a common noun. [85] The text adds, "The last day of the month," but this day could not have been the last day of the month; it was the eleventh day of the month. This date is also given in 27 A: 14b and in 75: 18b, both times without the word meaning "the last day of the month." Ch'ien Ta-hsin accordingly concludes that this word is an interpolation; I have omitted it in the translation. [88] Su Yü (fl. 1913) remarks that the Emperor is referring to the same thing that Emperor Hsüan does in his phrase, "juggling the law in either direction [that suits them]" (8: 13a). Emperor Yüan did not care for profound investigations into `circumstances and their names' such as officials had been accustomed to make for Emperor Hsüan. Dr. Duyvendak points out that the repetition of hu [OMITTED] (= [OMITTED]) gives these phrases an explanatory character. [94] There had been no lack of admonitions to the Emperor regarding Shih Hsien (cf. Introduction to this chapter and Glossary sub voce), in spite of the danger of doing so, but Emperor Yüan was not open-minded regarding his favorite eunuch. [95] The Sung Ch'i ed. (ca. xii cent.) remarks that one ed. lacked the word [OMITTED]. [96] The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) and the Ching-te Academy ed. (1004-5) have the word ko [OMITTED] after the [OMITTED]. Han-chi 31: 9b likewise has it. Wang Nien-sun says that this ko is necessary for parallelism with the ko in the next clause. This disestablishment was the result of Kung Yü's advice, cf. 72: 14a. Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the reason the guard of Ch'ang-lo Palace was not also disestablished was that this Palace was then inhabited by the Grand Empress nee Shang-kuan. [97] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) remarks that the vogue of the Yin and Yang doctrine and the doctrine concerning the conditions appropriate for each month began with Wei Hsiang (cf. 74: 5a ff) and flourished especially at this time. Cf. n. 9.4 and also Emperor Ch'eng's edict in 10: 6b. [100] The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Chiang-nan Text (x cent.) has only one jen [OMITTED], and Wang Nien-sun says that that reading is correct, for otherwise Yen Shih-ku's explanation of the jen-jen in the present text would be unnecessary. He says that the second jen has been added from conflation with 81: 5b, where both are read, and where Yen Shih-ku does not consider it necessary to explain the phrase. [106] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that 27 Bb: 6a notes a portent and that (according to 27 Ba: 26a and Bb: 6b), Wang Mang was born in this year. [112]

Williams, Observations of Comets, lists this comet as no. 49, but gives a different heavenly location. This may have been the comet said by Suetonius (De Vita Caesarum I, lxxxviii [Loeb ed., I, 119]) to have indicated the admission of Julius Caesar's soul into the ranks of the immortal gods. Cf. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy, I, p. 556. [116] Book of Odes, I, iii, x, 4 (Legge, p. 57). [117] Yen Shih-ku explains that the proper business of the imperial equipages is to transport the emperor to make offerings or sacrifices and to hunt, but not to go on pleasurable expeditions. [118] Cf. HS 6: 27b and 6: appendix IV. [120] For the very interesting Three Offices for Garments, cf. Glossary sub voce. Concerning the office for public fields in Po-chia, Li Fei (prob. iii cent.) comments, "They had charge of renting the existing government fields to the common people and of collecting the rent and taxes. Hence there were established offices for cultivated fields and agriculture." [121] It was revived in the winter of 41 B.C., when revenue was needed. Cf. 9: 9a. [124] The purpose of this order is explained by a sentence in HS 88: 6a, "Emperor Yüan loved the [Confucian] scholars and those who were able to understand one of the classics were all exempted." Thus the abolition of a definite number for the Disciples of the Erudits (who were teachers) meant that anyone who could pass an examination in any of the Classics would be given exemption from taxes and an allowance. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 28: 10b, 11a couples this abolition with the exemption. The number of scholars exempted proved too great, however, for in 41 B.C. the number of the Disciples to the Erudits was limited to one thousand persons, and the commanderies and kingdoms were ordered to establish Retainers for the Five Classics, who were ranked at 100 piculs. Cf. 9: 9a. Thus a government school system for the provinces was inaugurated. [125] Pan Ku has plainly summarized this long edict at this point. HS 23: 16b (and 9: 4a) records that Emperor Yüan in his first years issued an edict requesting that the throne should be memorialized in detail concerning any penal laws that could be dispensed with. HHS, Mem. 24: 1b quotes a memorial of Liang T'ung, which says, "I saw that Emperors Yüan and Ai lightened the punishment of irrevokable death [sentence] by 123 matters, and reduced the death [sentence] by one degree, for those who with [their own] hand, killed others," and Li Hsien (651-684) quotes the Tung-kuan Han-chi (ii cent.) as saying, "Emperor Yüan, in the fifth year of [the period] Ch'u-yüan, lightened the punishment for an irrevokable death [sentence in] thirty-four matters. Emperor Ai, in the first year of [the period] Chien-p'ing [6 B.C.], lightened the punishment for an irrevokable death [sentence in] eighty-one matters. Of these, forty-two matters [were concerned with] the killing of another by [one's own] hand, the death [punishment for which] was reduced one degree." Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that after the fixing of the code, there were contradictory records of the number of matters that were abolished and that the "Annals of Emperor Ai" only records a general amnesty in the second year of Chien-p'ing, without saying anything about lightening punishments. [128] Ying Shao comments, "In former times, when [people] became responsible for each other, if one person had committed a fault, all must be sentenced for it." Yen Shih-ku adds, "[The Emperor] expunged this ordinance especially for Gentlemen-of-thePalace and those [ranking] higher, in order to accord them favorable treatment." [130] Ying Shao comments, "The retinue were the eunuchs, together with the As Rapid As Tigers, the Feathered Forest, the Grand Physician, and the Grand Provisioner." But Yen Shih-ku says, "Ying [Shao's] explanation is mistaken. The Retinue were those who came near to the Son of Heaven; the Regular Attendants and followers were both such [persons]. Hence it says below [9: 7a], `shall examine and rank the Gentlemen and Retinue.' " Ying Shao says, " `Inside the Major's [gates]' means [inside] the inner gates of the palace. The Major had charge of the military. The meaning [of this phrase] is that their troops prohibited [entrance into the palace]." But Yen Shih-ku says, "The Major's

gates were the outer gates of the palaces. The Commandants of the [Palace] Guards had eight encampments. The Captains and Majors of the Guard had charge of the [Palace] guards who patrolled and constantly guarded [the palaces]. Each face [of a palace] had two majors. Hence I say that the outer gates of the palace were the Major's gates." The Han-chiu-yi (by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57) 1: 1a says, "When the Emperor occupies the ceremonial palaces, within the Major's [gates], the many officials go in and out according to their registrations. The encamped guard, whose quarters are all around, night and day [question them, saying], `Who are you? Why [do you come]?' " Wang Hsien-ch'ien approves of Yen Shih-ku's explanation and says that Ying Shao was mistaken on this matter. Ying Shao says, "The registers were two foot [long] bamboo slips, [on which] were recorded one's age, name, style, and features. These [registers] were hung up at the gate of the palace. [When anyone wanted to enter], this list was examined; if he corresponded [to the register], he was then permitted to enter." In a note to the Chou-li 3: 11b (Biot, I, p. 65), sub the Kung-cheng, Cheng Chung (5 B.C.?-A.D. 83) says, "[The sentence in the text of the Chou-li,] `He examines those who go out and in,' refers to [a situation] like that at the present time, when in the palace, . . . . unless one has a registration [to serve as] a permit, one is not allowed to enter into the palace or the gates of the Majors or of the Hall." [133] Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that, [according to 66: 14a and 19 B: 36a], Grandee Secretary Ch'en Wang-nien died in this year, before Kung Yü did, but his death is not mentioned in the "Annals". [136] He was killed by the Hun Shan-yü Chih-chih; the Chinese later took full vengeance for this murder. Cf. Glossary sub voce. [139] The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Old text (before vi cent.) had the word [OMITTED] after [OMITTED]. [140] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that when the rites were over the Emperor stopped to hunt, and at that time accepted an admonition of Hsieh Kuang-tê, then returned to the capital on the same day. Cf. 71: 8b. [142] Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768) states that the use of the phrase, "chü Kuang-lu szu-hsing [OMITTED], recommended by [the Superintendant of] the Imperial Household [as possessing] the four [kinds of] behavior," began with this edict. HHS, Mem. 54: 2a recounts that Wu Yu, "[because he possessed] the four [kinds of] behavior [examined for by the Superintendant of] the Imperial Household, was promoted to be Chancellor to the Marquis of Chiao-tung", and Li Hsien (651-684) quotes Han-kuan Yi A: 8a (by Ying Shao) as saying, "The four [kinds of] behavior are sincerity and honesty, simplicity and straightforwardness, humility and yielding to others, and self-restraint and economy," i.e., the ones enumerated in Emperor Yüan's edict, to which are added [OMITTED] (restraint and economy). Ch'i Shao-nan continues, "Probably in the time of the Han [dynasty, the Imperial] Retinue at the court was all subordinate to the Superintendant of the Imperial Household. The Grand Palace Grandees, the Palace Grandees, the Grandee-remonstrants, together with the Gentlemen-consultants, the Gentlemen-of-the-Household, the Gentlemen-in-attendance, and the Gentlemen-of-the-Palace numbered as many as a thousand persons, hence [the Emperor] ordered the Superintendant of the Imperial Household to rank them according to their capacities." Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) remarks that this practise is referred to in Chou-li 3: 10a (Biot, I, pp. 63f), sub the Tsai-fu, which says, "in the first month of the year, . . . . he writes down those [of the palace officials] who are capable, and those who are good [in conduct], and thereby gives information [of that report] to his superiors, [the Hsiao-tsai and the Ta-tsai]." Cheng Chung (5 B.C.?-A.D. 83), in a note to that passage, however, says that this practise "is like the recommending at the present time of the filially pious and incorrupt, the capable and good, the sincere and upright, and the Accomplished Talents of Unusual Degree." This practise consisted in adding a second and moral examination to the first and literary examination in the civil service system. [147] An allusion to Analects XV, xxiv, 2, where Confucius says, "These common people [of today are the same as those who supplied the ground] whereby the three dynasties pursued their straight forward course." [148] An allusion to the same phrase in Book of Odes III, ii, viii, 7 (Legge, p. 493).

[149] For [OMITTED], the Official ed. reads [OMITTED]. [152] The text at this point has the four words meaning "who will be the successors to their fathers", but the Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Yüeh ed. (possibly xi-xii cent.) does not have these words. The Ching-yu ed. (1034-5) does not have them: Han-chi 22: 1b quotes this edict without them and with the word [OMITTED] instead. Wang Nien-sun suggests that these words have been derived from the edict which made grants at the appointment of the Heir-apparent, on 9: 4a, and are not suited to this place. The similar edicts making grants on pp. 9: 3a, 5b, 7a, 8a, 12a all grant to the common people one step in noble rank, but none of them restricts the grant to those who will be the successors of their fathers. In view of the textual difficulties and the uniform practise of making grants, I have excised these words in the translation. [153] Chin Shao suggests that perhaps chia [OMITTED] (harvest) should be sang [OMITTED] (mulberries) or possibly [OMITTED] (prolonged rain). The Southern Academy ed. and the Fukien ed. have emended chia to sang. HS 27 Bb: 15a says, "In the third month, frost fell, killing the mulberries; in the ninth month [Oct.], frost fell for two days, killing the harvest, and there was a great famine in the whole empire." HS 27 Cb: 17a says, "In the fourth month [May/June], the color of the sun was pale blue and it cast no shadows; when it was exactly at the zenith it cast shadows [but] showed no brilliance. That summer was cold. In the ninth month [Oct.], the sun, however, showed brilliance." [154] Ju Shun (fl. cur. 189-265) remarks, "It ought to say what office or what matter was abolished; [the manuscript] has been injured and [part] lost." Chin Shao, however, suggests that possibly the word [OMITTED] should either be deleted, or should come after the word for "autumn", and says that it means, "[The frost] injured the wheat harvest and in the autumn [the people] were reduced to the last extremity," which interpretation, implying the famine (cf. n. 7.10), is approved by Yen Shih-ku. But Liu Pin (1022-1088), Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832), and Chou Shou-ch'ang approve Ju Shun's interpretation. The latter argues that Chin Shao's interpretation is impossible and points oút that in 6: 11a and 10: 3a, where the phrase, "In the autumn, it was abolished," is found, what is abolished is each time specified. HS 19 B: 38a states that on Aug. 21 the Commanderin-chief and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, Shih Kao, was dismissed; Shen Ch'in-han says that perhaps the phrase "in the autumn it was abolished" refers to that dismissal. HS 19 A: 8a states, "In the first year of [the period] Yung-kuang, the various [imperial] tombs and their towns, [which had previously been under the charge of the Grand Minister of Ceremonies], were divided and put under the charge of the Three Adjuncts;" Shen Ch'in-han also suggests that "in the autumn it was abolished" should be emended to add the abolition that "the Grand Master of Ceremonies should have charge of the [Imperial] tomb prefectures." But the latter event is separately recorded on 9: 10a. Ju Shun's explanation seems the only satisfactory one. [161] For this legend, cf. 6: 4b and 6: Appendix II. [162] The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) inverts the words to read [OMITTED]. [163] Yen Shih-ku, (repeating a statement of Cheng Hsüan), says, "Disorder outside [of the court] is called chien [OMITTED]; inside [the court], it is called kuei [OMITTED] [or [OMITTED]]." But elsewhere chien is defined in the way he defines kuei and kuei is defined as he defines chien. [164] The Sung Ch'i ed. remarks that one text did not have the word [OMITTED]. [165] For the "three luminaries", cf. 100 B: n. 21.4; for the meteorological phenomena, cf. 9: n. 7. 10. [170] Cf. Appendix III. [173] Cf. 8: n. 4.4. [175]

Instead of [OMITTED], Han-chi 22: 6b has [OMITTED], making the meaning clearer. [181] HS 79: 4b entitles him the General Displaying his Military [Might] [OMITTED]. Han-chi 22: 8b quotes his title as in ch. 9; Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 28: 20a quotes it as in ch. 79. [182] HS 27 Bb: 7a says, "In the eighth month, Heaven rained plants like rushes knotted together, as large as crossbow-pellets." [189] HS 27 Ca: 9a says, "In the winter, there was an earthquake." Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that the words [OMITTED] have been transposed, in transmitting the text, from just above the words chi-ch'ou. [191] Yen Shih-ku points out that the reference is to the ordinances for the months, the sort of thing now expressed in Bk IV of the Li-chi, the "Yüeh-ling." As an example of the prohibitions for the seasons in Former Han times, there is the long reply of Li Hsün to Emperor Ai in HS 75: 24b-31a, which says in part, "The zodiacal signs and the stars rule the four seasons. . . . . When the four seasons lose their order, then the zodiacal signs and the stars produce prodigies. Now they have appeared in the first month of the year. Heaven has therefore sent them to give information to your Majesty. . . . . Moreover, the [government] orders and ordinances have not accommodated themselves to the four seasons. . . . . Recently when in the spring, the third month, a trial involving capital punishment was decided, at that time, the Robber (Tsê) [Star, the essence of Venus] retrograded, so that it was to be feared that the year would bring a small harvest. When, in the third month of summer, military punishments were applied, at that time a cold emanation responded, so that it was to be feared that later there would be visitations of frost and hail. When, in the autumn months, enfeoffments of noble ranks were made, in those months the ground was wet and damp, so that it was to be feared that later there would be vicissitudes of thunder and hail." [193] Wang Hsien-ch-ien thinks that the word for "winter" is an interpolation here; but perhaps Pan Ku did not know the exact date for this reestablishment, so dated it generally "in the winter." [196] These two institutions had been abolished in May/June 44 B.C. Cf. 9: 6b and n. 6.5. According to 88: 6a, the number for the Disciples of the Erudits was fixed at a thousand. The commanderies and kingdoms also established officials for the Five Classics, ranking at 100 piculs, who were teachers of local government schools. [204] HS 27 A: 14b says, "On [the day] chia-hsü, there was a visitation [of fire] to the southern part of the Eastern Portal to the Funerary Park of the Tu Tomb for [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan." [206] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) comments, "Huan [OMITTED] [means] to return. The Book of Changes [6: 7b; Hex. 59, 5; Legge, p. 195; Wilhelm, I, 173] says, `Dissolving as perspiration are his great proclamations.' It means that when an [ideal] king sends out his proclamations and gives forth his ordinances, they are like perspiration which goes forth and cannot return." Han-chi 22: 9b writes [OMITTED] for huan, "[Our] instructions and ordinances have been disobeyed." Since an imperial ordinance, once issued, cannot be returned, "returned" means "disobeyed". [209] Book of Odes, II, iv, ix, 1 (Legge, p. 321). [210] An allusion to Book of History II, iii, i, 1 (legge, p. 69). Yen Shih-ku (581-645) says that because this allusion was not understood, some vulgar copies have here interpolated the word [OMITTED] before the [OMITTED]. [213] Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that 9: 12b records, under the sixth and seventh months of 34 B.C., the reestablishment, not only of these two funerary parks, but also of the three funerary parks for Empress Chao-ling, King Wu-ai, and Queen Chao-ai, and says that if this reestablishment is recorded, their abolition must also have been recorded. HS 73: 11b records the abolition of all five at the same time, together with the funerary

park of Queen Li. Han-chi 22: 9b, 10a quotes in this year both the order for the abolition of these two funerary parks, dating it in the seventh month, and also that for the abolition of all six parks, taking them from HS ch. 73; Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 29: 2a dates the abolition of all six in the seventh month, on the day mou-tzu, Aug. 10. Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that probably the names of these other funerary parks have dropped out here. But possibly Pan Ku mentioned only two abolitions in his "Annals" in order to avoid undue duplication of matter in the "Memoirs". The abolition of these funerary parks and temples was due to the efforts of Kung Yü and Wei Hsüan-ch'eng, for the purpose of economy in the administration and to follow ancient practices. Cf. Introduction, pp. 288-289; 72: 15b; 73: 11b. [217] Previously they had been under the Grand Master of Ceremonies; cf. n. 7.11; Glossary sub voce. [218] Wang Nien-sun notes that Han-chi 22: 10a has at this point the word for "northern", and says that it has dropped out of the present text. [219] Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) says, "[This was] the tomb established for Emperor Yüan. It did not yet have a name, hence it was called ch'u [OMITTED]" The same word is found with this meaning again on this page and in 8: 11b and 11: 6a. [220] Ch'ien Ta-chao says that the Fukien ed. (1549) adds the word [OMITTED] in the middle of the phrase [OMITTED]. [223] Book of Odes, III, ii, ix, 1 (Legge, p. 495). [225] HS 97 A: 23b states that the income of an estate of 300 families with a Chief and Assistant had been established by Emperor Hsüan for the support and care of the tomb for Hsü Kuang-han. [231] HS 27 A: 22a says, "In the summer and in the autumn, there was high water in Ying-ch'uan, Ju-nan, Huai-yang, and Lu-chiang [Commanderies]. The rain destroyed the dwellings of the common people in the districts and burgs and the streams carried away and killed the people." That passage attributes this calamity to the Emperor's previous abolition of the imperial ancestral temples in the commanderies and kingdoms and his decision (given below) to abolish the older imperial ancestral temples in the capital. [232] Fu Tsan writes, "Kao means to be given a vacation [OMITTED]." [238] These ancestors were considered so distant that the relationship to them had become exhausted. Their tablets were removed to the Temple of the Eminent Founder (Emperor Kao), where they were to be given a great sacrifice every five years. Thus only the five immediately preceding generations were separately sacrificed to. Cf. 73: 11b-13a. These funerary chambers, temples, and parks were reestablished in 34 and 33 B.C., but were done away with again in the latter year after Emperor Yüan's death. Cf. 9: 12b, 13a. [240] HS 27 Cb: 25a says, "In the first month, on [the day] mou-ch'en [Mar. 13], six meteorites fell in the kingdom of Liang." [243] Dr. W. Schaus of the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C., writes that he has "never heard of migrations of moths (except the American Alabama argillacea Hübner, which migrates late in autumn), but the butterflies, especially species of Pieridae, have been observed in many parts of the world and are of frequent occurrence. The migrants are chiefly species of the Pierid genus Catopsilia, which are generally white or pale yellow, those of the latter color appearing white when in flight." [246] He had murdered his concubines and their relatives. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [247]

These funerary chambers and parks were reestablished on Apr. 30, 33 B.C. and again abolished in the same year. Cf. 9: 13a. [254] Han-chi 23: 1a, in copying this order, has the words, "fully two thousand piculs," which I have added in the translation. Wang Nien-sun says that previously Grand Administrators had been ranked at two thousand piculs, so that if their rank was increased, it could be only to fully two thousand piculs. In the next year, the salaries of Chief Commandants to the Three Adjuncts and to the large commanderies were likewise increased, they being ranked at two thousand piculs. The Official ed. has also emended the text by adding the word [OMITTED] before the [OMITTED], which emendation seems necessary because of the next sentence and the first ordinance in the next year. [257] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Yüeh ed. (xi or xii cent.) writes this man's personal name as [OMITTED], and that according to his "Memoir" and the "Table", that reading is correct; but the present text of the HS in both those places, 80: 10a and 14: 23b, has Hsing as here. [261] HS 27 Bb: 13b adds that the snow was five feet deep, and attributes the calamity to Shih Hsien's machinations against Ching Fang and Chang Po. [264] Cf. Glossary sub Liu Ch'in and the others. [266] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) does not have the woed [OMITTED]. [268] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Old text (before vi cent.), the Chiang-nan ed. (x cent.), and the T'ang text do not have the word [OMITTED]. The [HS] K'an-wu (1034) added it. [269] Chou Shou-ch'ang says that previously these Chief Commandants were ranked at equivalent to two thousand piculs and received one hundred hu of grain per month; now, being ranked at two thousand piculs, they received 120 hu per month. [274] For this very remarkable expedition, cf. Introduction to this chapter, pp. 281-283, and Glossary sub Ch'en T'ang; also H. H. Dubs, "An Ancient Military Contact between Romans and Chinese," Amer. Jour. of Philology, vol. 62, 3 (July, 1941), pp. 322-330; and "A Roman Influence upon Chinese Painting," Classical Philology, vol. 38, 1 (Jan., 1943), pp. 13-19. [280] Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) comments, "They were the documents and charts concerning the punishment of [Shan-yü] Chih-chih. Someone says they were the documents [giving] the configuration of the Shan-yü's land, mountains, and streams." Yen Shih-ku asserts that the latter interpretation is mistaken. These documents and charts were probably the report of Ch'en T'ang, giving his account of his victory (now excerpted in HS 70: 7a-10b), together with the maps of his route (it was the practise of Han generals to make maps of unknown territories; Li Ling is specifically said to have done so, cf. HS 54: 11a and Glossary sub voce), which maps, in this case, were either ornamented with or accompanied by paintings depicting the capture of the Shan-yü's city; cf. J. J. L. Duyvendak in T'oung Pao, vol. 34, no. 4 (1939) pp. 249-264, "An Illustrated Battle Account in the History of the Former Han Dynasty," also ibid. 35: 211-214 and 36: 6480, "A Military Contact Between Chinese and Romans in 36 B.C." [282] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) reads [OMITTED] for the text's [OMITTED]. [283] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that [OMITTED] and [OMITTED] were interchanged. He states that in the Yi-li, sub the [OMITTED], the commentator says that in the ancient style, the second word was always written for the first. (We have not been able to find that passage.) He also says that in the HS the phrases Shuai-yi [OMITTED], shuai-yi, [OMITTED], hsi-yi [OMITTED], and chin-yi [OMITTED], all mean about the same thing. Cf. also HFHD, I, 262, n. 2. [288] Han-chi 23: 6b and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 29: 13b add at this point the words

[OMITTED]. Wang Nien-sun says that they have dropped out of the text and are needed to explain the event. T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 880: 2a quotes this sentence with the first of these omitted words, and blames the portent upon the fact that Shih Hsien was controlling the government. [292] Analects XX, i, 5; King Wu of the Chou Dynasty is speaking of the tyrant Chou. This sentence is quoted by the Analects from the Book of History V, i, ii, 7 (Legge, p. 292). [295] The Official ed. has correctly emended [OMITTED] to [OMITTED]. [296] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) omitted the [OMITTED]. [301] Cf. App. III, iii. [304] This restoration was because of Emperor Yüan's dream. Cf. Introduction, p. 290; Glossary sub Wei Hsüan-ch'eng. These temples were abolished again in the next year. Cf. 9: 10a, b, 13a. [306] Ying Shao says, "Shan-yü Hu-han-hsieh wished to guarantee that the barriers at the border and the frontiers (ching1) should obtain peace and tranquillity (ning). Hence [the Emperor] crowned the year-period accordingly." Yen Shih-ku objects, saying that according to Ying Shao's explanation, the ching1 [OMITTED] of the text must be read as ching3 [OMITTED] (frontiers), and that although ching1 and ching3 were anciently interchanged, according to the imperial edict [9: 13a], ching1 should be interpreted to mean perpetual. Couvreur, Dict., ed. III, p. 404, sub ching1, has followed this interpretation. But Ch'ien Ta-chao declares that if in Han times the ching in this phrase had meant perpetual, the word [OMITTED] would have been used instead of ching, and Chou Shou-ch'ang points out that in HS 70: 18a the memorial of Keng Yü praising Ch'en T'ang says that Emperor Yüan should properly "change [the title of] the year-[period, because] the borders have been put in order, so that [this event] will be transmitted [to posterity] endlessly," which "plainly points out that the year-period Ching-ning was [named thus] because the Shan-yü [wanted to] guarantee the barriers and give peace to the borders." In Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 29: 14a, Hu San-hsing also refutes Yen Shih-ku. Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that the edict cannot bear Yen Shih-ku's interpretation. [313] Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that the omission of the surname here, contrary to the usual practise, is probably due to a copyist's mistake. [317] Cf. 9: 11a and n. 11.2. [320] Cf. 9: 12b, 13a. This move was at the request of K'uang Heng. The Temple of the Grand Emperor was reestablished in 28 B.C.; Cf. 10: 5b. [322] From the death to the burial 54 days elapsed. [324] These Palace Attendants would most naturally be the maternal uncles of the Favorite Beauty nee Pan, Emperor Ch'eng's favorite. She was a daughter of Pan K'uang, who was Pan Piao's grandfather, so that "your servant" is very likely Pan Ku's father. Ying Shao says, "The `Annals of Emperors Yüan' and `Cheng' were both composed by Pan Ku's father, [Pan] Piao. `Your servant' is then [Pan] Piao's own saying. His maternal grandfather was Chin Ch'ang2." (Ju Shun, however, says, "Pan Ku's maternal grandfather was Fan Shu-p'i," but we have not been able to find this name in the HS or HHS, and Yen Shih-ku says that Ying Shao's explanation is correct. Shu-p'i was moreover Pan Piao's own style.) According to 68: 21a, the four sons of Chin An-shang were named Ch'ang1, Ch'ang2, Ming, and Ts'en. Chin Ch'ang1 became an Imperial Household Grandee. Chin Ch'ang2 became an Imperial Household Grandee, General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, and Palace Attendant to Emperor Yüan. Chin Ts'en and Chin Ming both became Division Heads and Generals of the Gentlemen-at-thePalace. The four brothers were thus all courtiers close to the emperor. According to 17: 29b, Chin Ch'ang1 died in 55 B.C.; according to 19 B: 43a, Chin Ch'ang2 died in 21 B.C. Traditions concerning Emperor Yüan were probably preserved among the Chin clan; Chin T'ang, a grandson of Chin Ch'ang2, was a marquis until the death of Wang

Mang. In addition to the eulogies in chaps. 9 and 10, Pan Piao is mentioned by name as the composer of the eulogies in HS 73: 21a, 84: 20b, and 98: 15b. [326] Cf. App. I. [327] Ju Shun says, "It is a flute without a bottom." Wang Pao (d. 61 B.C.), in his "Tung-hsiao Fu (The Fu on the Pandaen Pipes)", in Ch'üan-Han-wen, 42: 1a, (Emperor Yüan is said to have liked this poem, cf. HS 64 B: 14b), says, "The sources from which the bodies of the pipes are born Is among the hills and wastes of Chiang-nan. Their hollow stems shoot up with few joints; Their branches spread out abundantly with large distances between their junctures [to the stem]." Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) says that the `open flute' accordingly was made of one [bamboo] joint without any nodes, and took its name from that fact. [328] Ying Shao explains, "He himself in his privacy composed new songs. Thereupon he would take the new song and make for it a melody for singing the poem." (Ch'ü [OMITTED] in ancient times denoted the words of a song; now it denotes the melody.) Hsün Yüeh adds, "Pei-sheng [OMITTED] [means] it can be played with music." Fu Tsan says, "Tu-ch'ü [OMITTED] means at the end of a song to cap it [by another]. The next one is called the tu-ch'ü." Yen Shih-ku and Ho Ch'uo approve Ying Shao's explanation. [330] The Tz'u-tung, II, ch. 20, p. 68 says that tu [OMITTED] is dittography for the preceding tu, and was originally either [OMITTED] or [OMITTED] (both words mean the same). [332] Kung Yü and Hsieh Kuang-tê only rose to be Grandee Secretaries. They died or retired shortly after attaining that office, which was regularly the stepping-stone to the position of Lieutenant Chancellor, to which they would probably have also attained, had they been younger. Hence Pan Piao includes them among Emperor Yüan's chancellors. [333] Pan Ku is said not to have studied the classics "by chapter and verse, but he merely picked out the general principles [OMITTED] [of what he was studying]." HHS, Mem. 30 A: 5b. [334] Wang Hsien-ch'ien comments, "It means that in his edicts he asked for frank speech and was able to have his inferiors express their ideas completely." [335] Ch'ien Ta-chao says that the Fukien ed. (1549) has the word [OMITTED] at the end; T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) 89: 6a quotes this passage with that word. 339

APPENDIX I THE NATURE OF THE "CLERKLY WRITING" In a note to HS 9: 13b, where Emperor Yüan is said to have been "good at the clerkly [style of] writing," Ying Shao says, "[The clerkly writing (shih-shu [OMITTED])] is the greater seal [character] created by the Grand Astrologer of King Hsüan of the Chou [dynasty], Shih Chou," who is said to have invented the greater seal of writing about 800 B.C. Li Hsien (fl. 674-676) repeats this statement in a note to HHS, An. 5: 1a and elsewhere. Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804), however, replies, "Ying [Shao's] explanation is mistaken. [According to] the Han [dynastic] code, `The Grand Astrologer examines the youths who have studied, [to determine whether] they are able to recite and write more than nine thousand characters; if so, they are allowed to become clerks,' [a quotation from HS 30: 24b]. HS 72: [14b, 15a says], In the time of `Emperor Wu, . . . robbers and brigands arose, . . . and [the officials in] the commanderies and kingdoms . . . selected those who were skilled and clever at the clerkly writing (shih-shu) . . . and made them senior officials . . . . The vulgar people

all said, . . . "Why should we employ the rules of proper conduct and moral principles? If we can write the clerkly writing, we can be officials." ' HS 90: [16b says that] Chuang Yen-nien `was good at the clerkly writing. Memorials [concerning] those whom he wished to punish with death were completed in his own hand. His Master of the Records and the officials near his person were not allowed to hear or know [the contents of these memorials].' "Probably the `clerkly writing' was the style of writing which the Clerks to Prefects were accustomed [to use], namely the [ancient] official style (li-shu). `Good at the clerkly writing' meant merely that [a person] was able to recognize characters and write the official style. How could all [these people] have completely understood the fifteen chapters of Shih Chou's [book]? HS 97: [B: 1b, 2a] says that the Empress [née] Hsü was perspicacious and wise and good at the clerkly writing. HS 96: [B: 8a] says that an Attendant of the King of Ch'u, Feng Liao, was capable in the clerkly writing. HS 76: [19b] says that when Wang Tsun was young, he was good at the clerkly writing. HHS, Annals 5: [1a] says that when Emperor An was in his tenth year, he loved to study the clerkly writing. HHS, Annals 10 A: [14b] says that when the Empress [née] Teng was in her sixth year, she was capable in the clerkly writing and [ibid., B: 3a] that the Empress [nee] Liang when young 340 loved the clerkly writing. HHS, Mem 45: [4b says that] the mother who bore Emperor An, the Concubine [née] Tso, was good at the clerkly writing. HHS, Mem. 4: [7a] says that King Ching of Po-hai, [Liu] Mu, was good at the clerkly writing, and that his age considered [his writing] a model. HHS, Mem. 40: [4b] says that King Ching of Lo-ch'eng, [Liu] Tang, was good at the clerkly writing and like to correct written words. "Those who were called `good at the clerkly writing' were simply the kings, empresses, concubines, and attendants, who, when they knew something about the ancient official style, were already considered good [enough] to make a name for themselves. They were not really excellent and versed in the greater seal character." For a discussion of the development in ancient Chinese systems of writing, cf. D. Bodde, China's First Unifier, ch. VIII. 341

APPENDIX II THE VICTORY OF HAN CONFUCIANISM Since the victory of Confucianism as the official government teaching was completed in the reign of Emperor Yüan, it may be worth while here to summarize that development, although this matter has been discussed in detail in the introductions to various preceding chapters. During the Former Han period, Confucianism developed from being the teaching of a few pedants in semi-retirement, as it was at the end of the Chou period, to become the official philosophy of the government, which had to be adopted by anyone who hoped to enter public life. This victory set Confucianism on its way to be the dominating feature of Chinese culture and to affect profoundly a large portion of humanity. It is consequently interesting to determine just how and why this victory came about. It is sometimes supposed that this victory came about at the beginning of Emperor Wu's reign. HS 56: 20b, 21a says, "When Emperor Wu had newly ascended [the throne], the Marquises of Wei-ch'i [Tou Ying] and of Wu-an [T'ien Fen] became his [Lieutenant] Chancellors, and made Confucianism flourish. When moreover [Tung] Chung-shu wrote [his famous] replies to the [examination] questions [set by Emperor Wu, he advocated] promoting and making glorious [the teaching of] Confucius and of repressing and degrading [the advocates of] the hundred [other schools of] philosophy. The establishment of offices for a [government] university and schools and the recommendation of [persons with] Abundant Talents and of Filially Pious and Incorrupt [persons to the imperial government] by the provinces and commanderies all arose from

the proposal of [Tung] Chung-shu." The Confucian victory cannot however be fixed at any one particular date, nor did it occur in the reign of Emperor Wu. Rather it was a slow process of increasing completeness, which began with Emperor Kao and was not complete until the time of Emperor Yüan, more than a century and a half later. The History of the Former Han Dynasty, with its detailed reports concerning the intellectual and political life of the period, gives us a fairly complete account of the way this victory was achieved. Emperor Kao began with a violent prejudice against Confucians. Yet he had an intimate younger half-brother who had had a thorough Confucian education. The Confucians had opposed and critized the First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty, and the latter had repressed them violently, burning the Books of Odes and of History and driving outstanding 342 Confucians into flight or retirement. Because of the Ch'in dynasty's attitude, Confucians naturally assisted Emperor Kao. The Ch'in dynasty maintained seventy learned men at court, giving them the title of Erudits. One of them, Shu-sun T'ung, was captured and surrendered in turn to Hsiang Yü and to Emperor Kao. He later arranged Emperor Kao's court ceremonies. In his conflict with Hsiang Yü, Emperor Kao received valuable advice from Confucians, who pointed out to him the great advantage of employing the Confucian doctrine of Heaven's Mandate against the tyranny of the Ch'in ruler. Emperor Kao, at the instance of his Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, seems to have been the first to ask his Administrators in the provinces to recommend persons with excellent reputations and manifest virtue to the imperial government for positions in the bureaucracy, which procedure initiated the examination system, so influential in promoting Confucianism. Li Yi-chi and Lu Chia, two of Emperor Kao's paladins, were sincere Confucians. The latter wrote a thoroughly Confucian book at the Emperor's request, and was highly praised and rewarded for it. Thus Emperor Kao, beginning with an antipathy to Confucians, ended by giving them high position and favoring them. Under the next two rulers, Emperor Kao's son and wife, Emperor Hui and the Empress Dowager nee Lü, Confucianism suffered a set-back. Ts'ao Ts'an, the outstanding Lieutenant Chancellor during this period, was a Taoist; the Confucians opposed the Empress Dowager's usurpation of the imperial power and went into retirement. With the Empress Dowager's death and the accession of Emperor Wen, Confucians again became influential. Lu Chia played an important part in enthroning this Emperor. The new Emperor encouraged learning and continued many Confucian practises. But he felt that he must be impartial towards all the various philosophies current at the time, hence he established Erudits to be specialists upon these various philosophies, until he is said to have had seventy Erudits. Yet Emperor Wen was probably more influenced by Confucianism than by any other single teaching. Later Confucians have considered him a saint. Chia Yi, who was more a Confucian than a Taoist, influenced Emperor Wen greatly. Emperor Wen moreover extended the examination system by having the commanderies send capable persons to the imperial court, among whom the Emperor selected officials by setting examinations for them at the capital. In his questions, the Emperor invited the candidates to give him advice upon governmental policies. Thus Confucianism was nerely one of the most influential of the many tendencies in Emperor Wen's government. 343 In the imperial examination of 165 B.C., Ch'ao Ts'o, a favorite of the Heir-apparent, the future Emperor Ching, took the first place. Ch'ao Ts'o had become his Household Steward, and was known as the "bag of wisdom." In his youth he had studied the legalist philosophy and that of names and circumstances; when someone was needed to receive from the aged Master Fu the Confucian tradition concerning the Book of History, Ch'ao Ts'o was sent. Like Chia Yi, he was thus conversant with several philosophies, in this respect perhaps typical of

the age. The future Emperor Ching favored Ch'ao Ts'o greatly, and, when he came to the throne, gave Ch'ao Ts'o high office. As a whole, Emperor Ching, however, was not as favorable to Confucianism as his father had been. In 141 B.C., the youthful Emperor Wu came to the throne. He was only in his sixteenth year, and had been given a good classical education, which had naturally included a study of Chinese literature, the Confucian classics. His Junior Tutor had been Wang Tsang, a disciple of Shen P'ei, the famous Confucian authority on the Book of Odes. The Emperor was greatly interested in learning, literature, and poetry; he himself later wrote some very creditable poetry. He was somewhat imperious and very ambitious. After having been given such an education, he was naturally much impressed by Confucianism, so much so that at first, at the suggestion of Tung Chung-shu, he seems to have wanted to make Confucianism the sole philosophy of the government. In this resolve, he was probably swayed very largely by his advisors, especially by Wang Tsang, for in later years the Emperor altered his attitude to Confucianism greatly. The most serious obstacle to this plan was the fact that the Emperor's grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager nee Tou, was a devotee of Lao-tzu. Because of the current exaltation of filial piety, her influence at the court was quite as strong as that of the Emperor. The Confucian party hence compromised by attacking only the philosophy they considered most dangerous and most opposed to the Confucian tradition, namely the Legalist school, which had been that espoused by the Ch'in dynasty, from whose institutions the Han dynasty had taken its governmental organization. Hence they induced the aged and faithful but incompetent Lieutenant Chancellor, Wei Wan, to memorialize the throne that all those officials and candidates should be dismissed who had specialized in the lore of Shen Pu-hai, Shang Yang, Han Fei, Su Ch'in, and Chang Yi, who were mostly Legalists. Emperor Wu naturally ratified and enacted this proposal.[1] Pan 344 Ku says that the intention of this edict was to eliminate all non-Confucians from the government service.[2] Half a year later, Emperor Wu dismissed Wei Wan for incompetence and appointed in his place Tou Ying, a son of a first cousin of the Grand Empress Dowager, who had distinguished himself by putting down a serious rebellion in the preceding reign, but had not previously been given high civil office because of his outspokenness and pride. The Emperor's maternal half-uncle, T'ien Fen, was made Grand Commandant, a position only inferior in power to that of the Lieutenant Chancellor. The Grand Empress Dowager was induced to suggest this arrangement.[3] Tou Ying favored Confucianism highly; T'ien Fen had in his youth studied the works of a certain P'an Yü, an eclectic philosopher who combined the doctrines of the Confucians, the Mohists, Legalists, and the school of names. The greatest ministers thus all favored Confucianism. They made a clean sweep of the previous officials, and selected for the third most influential court position, that of Grandee Secretary, Chao Wan, another disciple of the Confucian authority Shen P'ei. Wang Tsang was a Chief of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, a position that enabled him to come into intimate contact with Emperor Wu. Thus Confucians controlled the government. They proceeded to introduce Confucian practises, and proposed the establishment of a Ming-t'ang, a ceremonial building said to have been used in Chou times for sacrifices and court receptions. Emperor Wu liked ceremonies and pomp; Confucianism emphasized such ceremonials. Chao Wan and Wang Tsang needed expert aid in this project, so they persuaded Emperor Wu to send for their teacher, Shen P'ei. A messenger was sent with presents of silk and jade circlets (pi), and with a comfortable carriage with seats, with its wheels bound with rushes, and a quadriga of horses, to invite the eighty-odd year old Confucian authority to court. His two outstanding disciples followed him in one-horse carriages. When he arrived at court, Emperor Wu asked him to state the source of good and bad government. The old man replied, "The person who governs well should not speak much, and should merely pay attention and strive hard at what he does." The young emperor

thought highly of his own literary ability, so that he was much displeased by the old man's reproof. The Emperor had however summoned Shen P'ei, so made him a Grand Palace Grandee, a high honorary 345 position, and installed him in the Lodge at the capital for the King of Lu, then ordered the discussion of a Ming-t'ang. Meanwhile the Confucian clique at the court had found itself hampered by the influence of the nobles at the capital. The Confucians accordingly revived a law enacted by Emperor Wen under Confucian influence to the effect that nobles, especially marquises, should reside at their estates in order to guide and care for their people. Most of the nobles had however established themselves at the center of civilization and luxury in the imperial capital, did not wish to leave it, and concerned themselves only with receiving the taxes from their estates. On account of fear of rebellion, the administrators of noble estates were all appointed by the imperial government, so that nobles could have little contact with their people. Emperor Ching had consequently rescinded Emperor Wen's law. Many of the marquises had moreover married imperial princesses, hence they took their cause to their relative, the Grand Empress Dowager nee Tou, and slandered Tou Ying to her. Tou Ying also offended his own clan by discriminating among its members, erasing from the family record the names of those who were not upright. In order to check the influence of the Grand Empress Dowager, the Confucians now asked for the enactment of a law to the effect that government affairs should not be brought to the attention of an Empress Dowager, i.e., that female influence should be excluded from the government. Thus the issue was joined. Tou Ying and his party were trying to exalt Confucianism and suppress Taoism as well as Legalism; the Grand Empress Dowager was an ardent Taoist. When the Grand Empress Dowager heard of the Confucians' request, she was furious; Emperor Wu, who had probably become somewhat tired of the Confucians, sent Wang Tsang and Chao Wan to jail, where they were compelled to commit suicide; Tou Ying and T'ien Fen were dismissed. The Confucians would not withstand the Emperor's grandmother.[4] A few months after her death in 135 B.C., Emperor Wu, possibly at the suggestion of T'ien Fen, who had again become influential, established Erudits who specialized in each of the five Confucian classics. The same year, T'ien Fen became Lieutenant Chancellor. He appointed several hundred Confucians to office and degraded Taoists.[5] Yet there continued to be Taoists in the court, for there had been no ban put upon them—Chi Yen, a Taoist, was promoted by Emperor Wu to the position of Chief Commandant in Charge of Noble Ranks, one of the high ministers 346 (50: 9b), and continued by his frank criticism to inspire the Emperor with respect and even with fear. Szu-ma T'an and his son, the historian Szu-ma Ch'ien, were both Taoists and kept their post as the successive Grand Astrologers. The Mohist school seems to have exercised little influence, if it still existed, which is doubtful, for no adherent of this school is mentioned among Emperor Wu's officials, although it is mentioned by Szu-ma T'an in his survey and comparison of the six philosophical schools.[6] Through his liking for scholarship and literary men, Emperor Wu came into touch with the Confucian Kung-sun Hung1. The latter was a poor boy who had studied the various commentaries on the Spring and Autumn, and was recommended to the imperial court by his native state. His examination paper was placed in the lowest class by the Grand Master of Ceremonies; when Emperor Wu reread the papers, he was much struck by the literary quality of Kung-sun Hung's paper, promoted it to the first paper of the first class, and summoned him to an audience. He proved to be a Confucian who knew how to clothe displeasing speech in tactful language, hence secured Emperor Wu's favor. Tung Chung-shu called him a flatterer. He was gradually advanced until Emperor Wu made him a marquis and Lieutenant Chancellor.

Tung Chung-shu had previously suggested to Emperor Wu the establishment of a government university; in the summer of 124 B.C., while Kung-sun Hung1 was Lieutenant Chancellor (6: 11b), the latter renewed the suggestion and drafted the memorial which was approved by the Emperor and became the charter of the Imperial University (HS 88: 3b-6a). This institution was located seven li northwest of the capital. The masters were the Erudits; they or their Disciples did the teaching.[7] The Grand Master of Ceremonies was ordered to select fifty persons who were in their eighteenth year or over, in good health and upright in character. They were entitled the Disciples of the Erudits and were exempted from taxes and service. The Administrators 347 of Commanderies and Chancellors of Kingdoms were ordered to select suitable students who showed a love of learning and good character and to send them to the Grand Master of Ceremonies at the imperial capital with the persons who brought the yearly accounts to the capital; these students were to study at the Imperial University for one year with the Disciples, whereupon they were to be examined. Those who thereupon showed themselves expert in one classic or more were entitled Literary Scholars or Authorities upon Ancient Matters. Those who did not attain such a high rank might be made Gentlemen-of-the-Palace, who were imperial attendants and might be selected for office. The name of a person who was graded as an Accomplished Talent of Unusual Degree might be reported to the throne for a substantial office. Those who had not applied themselves to studying or had shown themselves of such small ability that they could not even become expert in one Classic were immediately dismissed. Literary Scholars or Authorities upon Ancient Matters might be given minor positions in the official bureaucracy.[8] There was thus established in the capital an institution for the training of officials, capable graduates of which automatically entered the government service. The curriculum and teachers of this institution were all Confucians, so that, as Szu-ma Ch'ien says, "From this time on, most of the minor officials in the offices of the ministers and officials at the capital were Literary Scholars." Confucian learning thus became the means whereby most of the lower positions in the bureaucracy were filled, and so in time permeated the government. Emperor Wu was far from being a thoroughgoing Confucian. Indeed, in many respects he acted contrary to Confucian ideals. His widespread military expeditions were un-Confucian. His heavy taxes and legal oppression of the people were un-Confucian. His establishment of the salt and iron government monopolies, the monopoly on fermented liquors, and the Bureau of Equalization and Standards, whereby the government speculated in goods, were specifically Legalist measures. His cultivation of magicians, his seeking for supernatural beings, his erection of buildings for magical purposes, such as Fei-lien Lodge, Yi-yen-shou Lodge, and T'ung-t'ien T'ai (the Terrace that Communicates with Heaven) and his indulgence in superstitious sacrifices were Taoist measures.[9] His 348 elaborate development of laws was a measure stressed by the school of names and circumstances. In many ways, in his conquest, in his tours of the empire, in his ascent of Mt. T'ai, and in his severe government, he seems deliberately to have imitated the First Emperor of the Ch'in dynasty, who was a legalist. In 110 B.C., when the fifty-odd Confucians he had summoned could not agree on what should be the ceremonies and utensils for the sacrifices feng and shan, chiefly because these Confucians restrained themselves by historical principles and were unwilling to go beyond what ancient texts declared, Emperor Wu dismissed them all and himself fixed the rites for these sacrifices.[10] Thus Emperor Wu was in reality influenced by all the current doctrines, and did not hesitate to depart from Confucian principles. While his reign marks the beginning of strong Confucian influence in the government, that influence was far from being victorious at this time. The next step towards the Confucian victory occurred in the reign of Emperor Hsüan, who came to the throne almost by accident in 74 B.C., thirteen years after Emperor Wu died. This boy had been disinherited

because of his grandfather's rebellion against Emperor Wu, and had been brought up by some faithful officials. He had been given a good education, which naturally included a study of Chinese literature, so that he had studied the Analects, the Classic of Filial Piety, and the Book of Odes. Thus he had been indoctrinated with Confucianism, because Confucians had taken to themselves the exposition of the best Chinese literary treasures and had made those treasures into Confucian books. After he began to rule, he chose Confucians for his officials and advisors. Each of his Lieutenant Chancellors had made a special study of some Classic, although they were not primarily scholars. When calamities, such as earthquakes, occurred, he did the typically Confucian thing of sending for those Confucians who professed to be able to interpret such visitations as indicating the will of Heaven. Because his grandfather had been interested in the Ku-liang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn, Emperor Hsüan revived its study and summoned its teachers to the Imperial Palace, where he ordered ten of his gentlemen to study it, which they did consecutively for more than ten years. Comparison of it with the then authoritative Kung-yang Commentary (the Tso-chuan had not yet become popular), led to a realization of the discrepancies between different interpretations of the various classics. Emperor Hsüan accordingly summoned to the capital all the outstanding authorities upon the Confucian classics to discuss the meaning of these 349 classics in the imperial presence. The discussions began in the Palace Hall and were transferred to the Shih-ch'ü Pavillion, under the presidency of the Grand Tutor to the Heir-Apparent, Hsiao Wang-chih, who was famous for his scholarship in all five classics. The discussions lasted three years; twenty-two persons are mentioned in various places as having participated as authorities in this famous discussion. In cases of otherwise irreconcilable disputes, Emperor Hsüan seems himself to have decided upon the correct interpretation. The decisions of this Confucian council were memorialized to the Emperor and were ratified by him in 51 B.C. They are listed among the books in Imperial Private Library. In this way an official interpretation for the classics was reached. Other interpretations were not proscribed, but the official interpretation was doubtless taught in the Imperial University and learned by all candidates for official position, for use in the examinations. Consequently it monopolized men's minds in the same way that Chu Hsi's interpretation became dominant in the medieval period. At the same time, the number of Erudits and Disciples, i.e. the teachers in the Imperial University, was doubled and Erudits were established for special interpretations of certain classics.[11] Thus at the end of Emperor Hsüan's reign, the occupants of the high government posts had all had a Confucian training, the Imperial University was continuing to fill the bureaucracy with Confucian scholars, and a Confucian council had fixed the official interpretation of the Classics which became authoritative for the government. Yet Emperor Hsüan was not a thoroughgoing Confucian and did not wholeheartedly approve of this doctrine. He was primarily a practical man who had lived among the common people before he came to the throne, and knew the danger of idealistic impracticality inherent in Confucian teaching. Hence he took as his own ideal of government, not merely Confucian principles, but also the conduct of the very un-Confucian practical statesmen during Spring and Autumn times. He was interested in the penological terminology discussed by the legalist school of names and circumstances, and most of his high officials used these legalist principles as well as Confucian principles in their government. Pan Ku represents him as telling his Heir-apparent that the institutes and laws of the Han dynasty had been taken from both non-Confucian and Confucian teachings and that the Confucian principle of using merely moral suasion to bring about conformity to right principles is utterly impracticable; the Confucian love of the ancient and disapproval 350 of the present results in confusion.[12] This drastic criticism of Confucianism, found today in the writings of a Confucian historian, indicates well the attitude practical men then took towards Confucianism.

Yet Emperor Hsüan had so well prepared the way for the victory of of Confucianism that this victory could hardly have been avoided. He had given his son and Heir Confucian tutors. This Emperor Yüan had been brought up in the Palace and had had little contact with the outer world, so that Confucianism did not appear impractical to him. When he came to the throne, he proposed immediately to make Confucian reforms. The influence of the Emperor's maternal relatives, who were in control of the army, and of the Emperor's favorite eunuch was able to check the Confucian influence for a time. Emperor Yüan knew little of government, so depended upon this eunuch to decide government matters, and spent most of his time enjoying himself in the imperial harem. This eunuch was even able to trick the Emperor into sending the outstanding Confucian, Hsiao Wang-chih, to his death. The criticism that resulted however led this eunuch to favor other famous Confucians, and so, during most of Emperor Yüan's reign, Confucian influence was allowed to make important reforms in the government. In this period it became the practise for the Superintendant of the Imperial Household yearly to rank the various members of the imperial retinue according to a set of four Confucian virtues. Since the commonest way of entering government service was by spending a period as a member of the large imperial retinue, in order that the emperor might have a personal acquaintance with his officials, it was natural, when the bureaucracy and consequently the imperial retinue became so large that an emperor could not know individually all the prospective candidates (it included as many as a thousand persons) that a second and moral test should have been added after the first and literary examination.[13] In the next reign, that of Emperor Ch'eng, Confucian influence was equally important. His cousin, Wang Mang, who sought to usurp the throne, found it advisable to adopt all sorts of Confucian practises. He indeed endeavored to secure public approval by being more Confucian than even the Han emperors had been, and kept reforming the imperial administration to give it more and more Confucian features. His outstanding reforms were merely Confucian ideals translated into governmental practises. In thus attracting the approval of educated men, Wang Mang was so successful that the 351 leaders of the Later Han dynasty largely followed his example. The rulers of that dynasty were even more Confucian than the last emperors of the Former Han dynasty and Confucian influence dominated the whole Later Han period. Thus the victory of Confucianism was a gradual process. It began when Emperor Kao found Confucians assisting him in overthrowing the anti-Confucian Ch'in dynasty. The early Han emperors encouraged all the various philosophies of the time. Emperor Wu had a Confucian education, and, in a fit of youthful enthusiasm, endeavored to make Confucianism the philosophy of the government. This attempt was however frustrated by the Emperor's grandmother, while the Emperor himself lost his first enthusiasm for Confucianism and became influenced by various other doctrines. His love for literature and literary men however continued to attract him to Confucians, and Kung-sun Hung induced the Emperor to establish a Confucian Imperial University, which gradually distributed Confucian literati among the minor offices in the government. Emperor Hsüan likewise had a Confucian education; he favored Confucianism highly, enlarged the Imperial University, and fixed upon an official interpretation to the Confucian Classics. But he considered Confucian principles as impractical for government, so checked their influence by legalist principles. The final victory of Confucianism did not come until the reign of his son, Emperor Yüan. Thereafter Confucian doctrines became the sole guide for princes, except during the brief reign of Emperor Ai. The usurper Wang Mang and the revived Later Han Dynasty both honored these doctrines, and they continued to dominate the government until the end of that dynasty. We can now see the causes that brought about the victory of Confucianism. In the first place, Confucianism was admirably adapted to be the official philosophy of an imperial government. Confucius was himself a government official and his pupils were people whose future lay mostly in official life. Consequently he stressed and taught ideals of good government. His ethics were aristocratic, that of the ruler who

should be kind (jen) to his people, and of the subject who should be filial (hsiao), loyal (chung), and decorous (li) to his ruler. In the second place, Confucius, as a good teacher, was himself a learned man, and those of his disciples who did not enter political life became the teachers of China. Confucius taught the literature of his people; the Confucians made themselves the scholarly authorities and teachers of that literature. Thus ancient Chinese literature, especially the best of it, became the literature of Confucianism, and was interpreted to teach Confucian lessons. Hence anyone who became interested in 352 literature or scholarship naturally gravitated to the Confucians, for they possessed the scholarly traditions of the country, and anyone who acquired a scholarly education was inevitably given a Confucian indoctrination. In times of warfare, such as that towards the end of the period of Contending States, scholarship was unimportant, and Confucianism declined; but when peace was restored, so that scholarship became useful, Confucianism revived. Because Confucians inevitably became the tutors of the Heirs to the throne, rulers became indoctrinated in Confucian ideals. Even though a particular ruler might not be altogether Confucian, his son, who was affected by both his father's example and the influence of his Confucian tutor, was likely to be more Confucian, until the dynasty became wholly Confucian. In the third place, certain governmental institutions put a premium upon Confucianism. In the time of Emperor Wen, it became the practise for the Emperor periodically to invite the provinces to send to him able persons; he selected among them by requiring to write essays on various subjects connected with government. The examination system, even in this early form, thus put a high premium upon literary ability, and hence upon a Confucian training. It was thus natural that the government should have been led to establish schools, in particular the Imperial University, graduates from which filled the bureaucracy with learned Confucians. Since Confucians were learned men, they naturally graded the examinations, hence kept non-Confucians out of the bureaucracy, not by any proscription, but by the simple device of ploughing non-Confucians. In the fourth place, after its advantages were recognized, the advantage of unifying the country intellectually by making one system of thought current among all educated men led to the elevation of Confucianism. Shortly after Emperor Wu ascended the throne, in 141 B.C., Tung Chung-shu, in his reply to the imperial examination, presented his famous memorials concerning statecraft. One of the principles he therein advocated was that there should be an intellectual unification of the country by destroying all the non-Confucian philosophies.[14] These memorials seem to have made a deep impression upon Emperor Wu, for he immediately acted upon them, proscribing Legalism and elevating Confucians to be his highest officials. An intellectual unification had been previously attempted by Li Szu, the famous minister of the First Emperor, when in 213 B.C. he recommended the burning 353 of the books and punishment of any one who criticized the Ch'in regime. The Confucians had roundly condemned this procedure. Emperor Wu was ambitious to equal the First Emperor in greatness; he was probably not loath similarly to unify the thought of his own time. While Emperor Wu later became lukewarm towards Confucianism, Emperor Hsüan was undoubtedly reminded of Tung Chung-shu's proposal and certainly recognized the advantages of this policy. These four factors first demonstrated their effectiveness in Former Han times. They have undoubtedly continued to operate throughout Chinese history. At the end of the Later Han period, there seems to have been a collapse of Confucianism because sincere and long-continued attempts to put it into practise had failed to prevent the collapse of the dynasty; the ensuing long period of disorder naturally also brought about decay of Confucianism. When peace was restored in the T'ang period, these four factors again brought Confucianism to the front, although

the dynasty's supposed descent from Lao-tzu kept it from becoming Confucian. In the next great dynasty, the Sung, there was naturally another peak of Confucian influence. That ascendency continued as long as peace enabled scholarship to be prized. Only in the modern period, when literature and learning have ceased to be synonymous with Confucian teaching and China has ceased to be an empire, has there been a marked break in the influence of Confucianism. In China, as in Europe, not until the advent of modern science put into man's hands another tool for reaching truth, has the power of the ancient authoritarian world-view been broken. (Reproduced, with permission and with modifications, from JOAS, Sept. 1938, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 435-449.) [1] HS 6: 1b. [2] HS 6: 39a. [3] HS 52: 4a. [4] HS 52: 1a-4b. [5] Cf. HS 88: 3b. [6] Cf. SC 130: 8; HS 62: 6a-7a. Mohists are however referred to in the Huainan-tzu, which is a Former Han document. [7] It is quite likely that there were only five Erudits at this time, namely those for the five Confucian classics. It was customary for a great scholar to do most of his teaching through his more advanced disciples; Tung Chung-shu is said to have shut himself up to study and to have helped only his more advanced disciples; his more recent disciples could only get help from the more advanced ones, so that some of his disciples did not even see his face. Cf. HS 56: 1a. [8] Cf. HS 88: 3b-6a. [9] Taoism in the time of Emperor Wu was already taking over many superstitious practices, which Confucianism rejected, under the influence of Hsün-tzu's naturalism. [10] Cf. Mh III, 498; HS 25 A: 35b; 58: 12a, b, 13a. [11] Cf. HS 8: 23a; 88: 23b, 24a; 36: 7a; 73: 8a; 30: 7a, 12b, 17a, 20a, 21b. HHS, Mem. 38: 7a. [12] Cf. HS 9: 1b. [13] Cf. HS 9: 7a & n.7.5; also 5: n.9.9. [14] Cf. Fung Yu-lan, History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. D. Bodde, p. 16 f; W. Seufert in Mitteil. d. Seminar f. Orient. Sprache, 1922, pp. 1-50. 354

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

Hoang equates this date with Mar. 28, 42 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2777 for Mar. 27, 42 B.C. at 23th 45m Greenwich Civil Time (which was Mar. 28 at 7:00 a.m., local time at Ch'ang-an), and charts the path of totality as passing through Japan and Kamchatka. He calculates the sun at conjunction as in long. 4° = 4° R.A. The principal star of the constellation Lou, β Arietis, was then in 2° R.A. In the 12 years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, four solar eclipses were visible in China: Oct. 21, 53, Aug. 21, 50, Aug. 9, 49, and June 19, 47 B.C. ii. HS 9: 9b says, In Yuan-Kuang IV, vi "on mou-yin, the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun." Han-chi 22: 9b repeats the statement. HS 27 Cb: 15a adds, "It was 7 degrees in [the constellation] Chang." Hoang equates this date with July 31, 40 B.C.; Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2784 for that date and charts the path of totality as passing through the present northern Manchuria and Hondo, Japan. He calculates the sun as being in long. 124° = 127° R.A.; the first star in Chang, k Hydrae, was then in 121° R.A. There is thus a very close correspondence between the record and calculation. In the 2 years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. iii. In Chien-chao V, vi, on jen-shen, the last day of the month, an eclipse is listed (9: 12b; Han-chi 23: 6b repeats this statement). HS 27 Cb: 15a adds, "It was partial, like a hook, then it set." Hoang gives this date as Aug. 23, 34 B.C., but there was no eclipse on that date. In the eleven years from the last correctly recorded eclipse to the next correctly recorded one in 29 B.C., there were 25 solar eclipses, of which four were visible in China:[1] 355 (1) The eclipse of July 20, 39 B.C. reached a magnitude (sun's diameter = 1.00) of only 0.07 at 2:43 p.m. local time at Ch'ang-an, so that it could easily be missed. (2) The eclipse of Jan. 14, 38 B.C. (2 days before a jen-shen day), reached only a magnitude of 0.02 at sunset at Ch'ang-an, so that it would be very likely missed. Visibility was better at points north and east. At lat. 40° and the long. of Ch'ang-an, this eclipse-reached a magnitude of 0.15. (3) The eclipse of Nov. 12, 36 B.C. (the day after a jen-wu day) reached a magnitude of 0.29 at Ch'ang-an at sunrise. (4) The eclipse of Nov. 1, 35 B.C. reached a magnitude of 0.66 when the sun set at Ch'ang-an. In view of the statement in the "Treatise" regarding the eclipse and its character, this must have been the eclipse concerned. It occurred in IV, ix, on ting-ch'ou, the last day of the month. Since ting-ch'ou may be easily misread as jen-shen, the reliability of Hoang's calendar and of the HS record is confirmed. This eclipse must have been misdated before that chapter was written, for the "Annals" lists it among materials belonging in the wrong year. It is noteworthy that during this period of a quarter century, seven out of the ten eclipses that might have been visible, if the weather permitted it, were missed. Evidently the court astronomers were not looking for solar eclipses, or else they could have seen at least some of these seven. This period was not one during which portents were overlooked; the misgovernment of Shih Hsien induced the annalists to record many portents. It seems as if the astronomers were satisfied with the calendar, and hence did not bother to look for solar eclipses. [1] Of the 9 partial eclipses, nos. 2789, 2797, 2798, 2807, and 2808 were located near the south pole. Nos. 2796, 2806, and 2809 were found plainly invisible by the use of Oppolzer's elements. The other one, no. 2799, was calculated from Neugebauer's elements and found invisible in China. Of those whose location Oppolzer charts, no. 2790 seemed possibly visible; calculation, however, showed that it was invisible in China.

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

356

X. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY CHAPTER X EMPEROR HSIAO-CH'ENG

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The history of the former Han dynasty Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY [title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS VI. CHAPTER VI VII. CHAPTER VII VIII. CHAPTER VIII

INTRODUCTION Few textual characteristics of this chapter require comment. Its eulogy, like that in the preceding chapter, opens with a remark by Pan Piao, but, like that chapter, this one shows no characteristics that would lead us to consider it more than the other annals to be the work of Pan Piao. Pan Ku might easily have quoted a passage from his father's eulogy in a chapter that was largely his own composition. Summary of the reign This chapter constitutes the chronological summary covering one of the long reigns in the dynasty, which lasted twenty-six years, from 33 to 7 B.C. It was a peaceful period, when the traditional practises were largely continued without change. The government was entrusted to the Wang clan, that of the Emperor's mother; her brothers, one after another, controlled affairs, while the Emperor took his pleasure in amusement, music, banquets, incognito excursions, and in his harem. The government consequently degenerated and corruption became rife, until the people were driven to sporadic rebellions, none of which, however, became serious. Certain events within the imperial harem influenced history more vitally than anything else. The beginning of the future Grand Empress Dowager née Wang's career Many casual happenings cooperated to bring Emperor Ch'eng to the throne. About 52 B.C., while his father, Emperor Yüan, was still only Emperor Hsüan's Heir-apparent, the Heir-apparent's favorite concubine became ill and died. Either in sincerity or because she wished to keep her husband true to her, she told the future Emperor Yüan, before she died, that her death had been the result of magical imprecations by his other concubines. He believed her, became ill with grief, and would have nothing to do with his other women. His father, Emperor Hsüan, became worried, and told his Empress to pick out some of his Daughters of Good Family (the next to the lowest grade of imperial concubines) for the Heir-apparent. Five girls were offered to the sorrowing Heir-apparent, who had no desire for any of them. Out of respect for his mother, he forced himself to say, "One of these will do." The harem 357 official thought he meant the girl nearest him, who happened to be the only one dressed in red; consequently she was sent to the Heir-apparent's apartments. This girl, Cheng-chün, the future Grand Empress Dowager née Wang, was the daughter of a minor official in one of the capital bureaus. She had been betrothed twice, and each time her betrothed had died. The diviners had foretold that she would become honorable, so she had been taught to write and to play the lute, and had been presented to the imperial harem. At this time, she was in her nineteenth year. The Heir-apparent had been married for seven or eight years and had had several tens of women in his apartments, but he had had no children; the first time that this new girl was summoned, she was favored and

IX. CHAPTER IX X. CHAPTER X INTRODUCTION [Chapter] X THE TENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS] APPENDIX ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

conceived. In 51 B.C., she gave birth to the future Emperor Ch'eng. Emperor Hsüan was delighted with the babe, his grandson, called him the Heir-apparent of the Heir-apparent, and often had the child by him. When Emperor Yüan came to the throne, this child was in his third year and was made Heir-apparent. His mother was accordingly made the Empress. Cheng-chün's father was made a marquis, and her uncle was given an official position. The favoring of relatives (cf. p. 292) is a Confucian moral principle. Shih3 Tan frustrates an intrigue to change the Heir-apparent When the Heir-apparent grew up, he proved generous and respectful, but he gave himself up to drinking, music, and banqueting. His father thereupon concluded that this son was incapable. The Emperor's second son, Liu K'ang1a, who had been made King of Ting-t'ao, showed much ability and skill, and was beloved by his father, who kept the boy by him. He also highly favored the child's mother, the Brilliant Companion née Fu. In 33 B.C., when Emperor Yüan was seriously ill, this Brilliant Companion and her son were constantly in attendance upon him, while the Empress née Wang and her son did not often see the Emperor. He thought seriously of changing the succession, and several times asked what previous emperors had done when they changed their heirs. Emperor Yüan had previously appointed, as the protector of his Heir-apparent, Shih3 Tan, an intimate companion of the Emperor, who was a younger son of the clan to which the Emperor's great-grandmother had belonged. Shih3 Tan, who was attending upon the Emperor, took the opportunity when the Emperor was alone to speak in behalf of the Heir-apparent. He pointed out that the Heir-apparent had had that position for more than ten years because he was the Emperor's eldest son and had consequently become known to the people and the officials, 358 so that a change in the succession might bring about a rebellion. Emperor Yüan was impressed by this reasoning. He considered that his Empress née Wang had been very respectful and careful and that his Heir-apparent had been loved by Emperor Hsüan, so he did not change the Heir. The Wang clan controls the government. Their deeds Just as Emperor Yüan had put his maternal relatives into control of the government, so Emperor Ch'eng promptly put his mother's relatives into the dominating positions. Wang Feng, the eldest brother of his mother, was made Commander-in-chief, General-in-chief, and Intendant of the Affairs of the Masters of Writing and an associate of Hsü Chia, who had been Commander-in-chief and General of Chariots and Cavalry for seven years previously. Hsü Chia was the father of Emperor Ch'eng's first Empress and a maternal uncle of Emperor Yüan. Wang Feng's concurrent titles were higher than those of Hsü Chia, and, in three years, the latter retired because of age, after which Wang Feng alone controlled the government. The dominating position in the government became again, as previously in the time of Emperors Chao and Hsüan, the Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. In 29 B.C., the eunuch office of Palace Writer was abolished. As Intendant, Wang Feng could determine what matters came to the attention of the Emperor, who was supposed to ratify all important appointments and enactments. When Wang Shang1a (a different person from the Wang Shang1b, who was a brother of Wang Feng) was Lieutenant Chancellor and accused a Grand Administrator of crime, his memorial was suppressed by Wang Feng, so that nothing could be done. Wang Feng soon had Wang Shang1a dismissed (cf. 82: 2a). Emperor Ch'eng was young and deferred to his uncle, who watched over the Emperor's every action. When the famous scholar, Liu Hsin1a, was first presented to the Emperor, the latter was delighted and wanted to make Liu Hsin1a a Regular Palace Attendant. Just as he was about to be installed, one of the Emperor's entourage told the Emperor that he should first consult Wang Feng. Emperor Ch'eng wanted impatiently to proceed with the installation, but Wang Feng's man insisted, and Emperor Ch'eng communicated with Wang

Feng. When the latter refused permission, the matter was dropped. Thus Wang Feng dominated the government both through his position and by his ascendency over his imperial nephew. He came to be cordially hated by many in the court. In order to prevent the domination of the government by a single 359 person, two Intendants of Affairs of the Masters of Writing had been created. Chang Yü3, a Confucian scholar and Erudit, who had been Emperor Ch'eng's teacher and was later made Lieutenant Chancellor, had been made Intendant along with Wang Feng. The Confucian scholar, however, feared the power of Wang Feng, and several times pronounced himself ill and asked to resign. This permission was refused, and he was not allowed to resign until 20 B.C., when he was retired on account of age. The Confucian could not hold his own against the Emperor's close relative. Wang Feng's power did not go unchallenged; in 25 B.C., Wang Chang, an outspoken official, in a private audience, took advantage of an eclipse to tell Emperor Ch'eng that special visitations came because of deeds done by high officials, and pointed out Wang Feng's derelictions. But Wang Feng's cousin, Wang Yin, who was concealed and listening to the conversation, reported the matter to Wang Feng. The latter promptly pronounced himself ill, retired to his residence, and asked to retire on account of age. When Emperor Ch'eng's mother heard of it, she wept and refused to eat. Emperor Ch'eng was to kind-hearted to hurt his mother or had become accustomed to be dominated by her; he had also come to rely upon his uncle and found he could not do without him, so he replied that Wang Feng should arise and do his best. Later the latter had a Master of Writing memorialize Wang Chang's offenses; he was sent to prison, where he died, and his family was exiled. Thereafter the power of Wang Feng remained unchallenged. He chose the incumbents of all the positions in the government and filled the bureaucracy with his adherents. Before Wang Feng died in 22 B.C., Emperor Ch'eng came to see him and promised to make Wang Feng's brother the next Commander-inchief. Wang Feng, however, recommended Wang Yin. The latter was accordingly made Commander-in-chief, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. Hsieh Hsüan, who later became Lieutenant Chancellor, was also made Intendant. The Wang clan thus rose from obscurity to the control of the empire because one girl of the clan had happened to give birth to the Emperor. Eight members of the clan had already been made marquises; two more were later also enfeoffed. Members of the clan vied with one another in extravagance. They had several dozen women in their harems, hundreds or thousands of slaves, musicians, singers, dogs, and horses. Their residences were large and contained earthen hills, cave gates, high pavilions, passage-ways, etc. Wang Shang1b, a brother of Wang Feng, borrowed from Emperor Ch'eng the Ming-kuang Palace, north of Ch'ang-lo 360 Palace in Ch'ang-an, in order to live in it to escape the heat of summer. He had the city-wall of Ch'ang-an pierced, in order to let the Feng River into his residence, where he made a large pond. On his boat he had feather coverings and curtains all around; his oarsmen sang songs of Yüeh as they rowed. When Emperor Ch'eng visited Wang Shang's residence and saw the pierced city-wall, he was displeased, but said nothing. Later he saw the earthen hill in the park of Wang Feng's residence, and became angry. These deeds violated imperial prerogatives. He was told that another brother, Wang Li5, sheltered guests in his house who made a practise of robbery. Emperor Ch'eng reprimanded Wang Yin; the brothers, Wang Shang, Wang Li5, and Wang Ken, came to the Emperor carrying axes and headsman's blocks on their backs, begging pardon for their crimes. Again the kind-hearted and timid Emperor could not bear to execute them or make them suffer, so they escaped punishment.

When Wang Yin died in 15 B.C., his position was given to Wang Shang1b, the eldest living brother of Wang Feng. He was made Commander-inchief, General of the Guard, and Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. When he died in 11 B.C., his next younger brother, Wang Li5, was in line for the vacancy, but he had committed a crime, so Wang Li5 was passed over and his next younger brother, Wang Ken, was made Commander-in-chief, General of Agile Cavalry, and Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. He controlled the government for the next five years. The rise of Wang Mang In 7 B.C., Wang Ken retired on account of age. His position was taken by Wang Mang but not without an interval of struggle and intrigue. Wang Ken's sister's son, Shun-yü Chang, had shown ability and so had been made a marquis and had been elevated to be one of the ministers. He naturally thought that he would succeed Wang Ken, and had even gone so far as to discuss who should be given prominent government positions. But Wang Ken's elder brother's son, Wang Mang (who later usurped the throne), was intensely ambitious and wanted the place. He took care to wait upon Wang Ken in his illness and to find out about Shun-yü Chang's doings. The latter had many wives and concubines and indulged much in music and women, not restraining himself by the laws. He had taken the widowed sister of the dismissed Empress née Hsü as a concubine, and had received bribes from the dismissed Empress to the value of more than ten million cash, on the promise that he would induce the Emperor to make her the Junior Empress. Wang Mang told Wang Ken about Shun-yü Chang's deeds, adding that the latter had rejoiced at the illness of Wang Ken, because he expected to succeed the latter in control of the 361 government. Wang Ken became angry and had Wang Mang inform the Empress Dowager née Wang about the matter, who in turn had Wang Mang repeat his information to Emperor Ch'eng. Shun-yü Chang was dismissed and ordered back to his estate. As he was leaving, Wang Jung, the heir of Wang Ken's elder brother, Wang Li5, called upon Shun-yü Chang, and the latter took the opportunity to send some valuable jewels to Wang Li5, who accordingly spoke the Emperor Ch'eng in behalf of Shun-yü Chang. Emperor Ch'eng became suspicious and had the officials investigate. They arrested Wang Jung, and his father made him commit suicide, in order to prevent the government from securing information. Thereupon Emperor Ch'eng became even more suspicious, and had Shun-yü Chang arrested and tortured. He told about making sport of the dismissed Empress née Hsü and of his promise to her; his crime was adjudged to be treason, and, in 8 B.C., he died in prison. His family was exiled; Wang Li5 was exiled from the capital to his estate; the dismissed Empress was sent poison; and several dozens of persons were sentenced. Wang Ken recommended Wang Mang for his position, and in 7 B.C. the latter was made Commander-in-chief and Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing. In five months, Emperor Ch'eng died; three months later Wang Mang resigned to make way for the new Emperor's maternal relatives. Thus the Wang clan ruled the empire for a quarter-century by virtue of being relatives of the Emperor's mother. She supported them against any threat to displace them, and the weak Emperor was glad to be relieved from the burdens of government. Their conduct is hardly admirable. Wang Feng merely continued the traditions of his predecessors, while Wang Ken was known for his avarice. The quality of the government declined considerably. The Lieutenant Chancellor and Grandee Secretary had become virtual subordinates of the Commanderin-chief. Imperial economies and grants A superficial perusal of this "Annals" gives the impression that Emperor Ch'eng's reign was a good one. He had the best of intentions and indeed probably thought of himself as a good ruler. He followed Confucian models and continued his father's practise of instituting economies in the government. Some twenty-five palaces and a prison in Shang-lin

Park were abolished (10: 2a, 3a). The imperial carriages and stables were reduced (4a). The great imperial sacrifices removed to the capital A great economy was effected in 32 B.C. at the suggestion of the Confucian, K'uang Heng, by moving the imperial sacrifices to the Supreme 362 One, to the Five Lords on High, and to Sovereign Earth, from Kan-ch'üan Palace at Yün-yang (in the present central Shensi), from Fen-yin in Ho-tung Commandery (in the present western Shansi), and from Yung (Feng-hsiang, in the present western Shensi), respectively, to the capital, where places for these sacrifices were established to the south and north of the capital. The practise, which was continued down to Ch'ing times, that the altar for the imperial sacrifices to Heaven and Earth should be at the imperial capital, was thus inaugurated. This change was not, however, made without qualms, especially as at the time of the change, a storm uprooted more than a hundred great trees at the Kan-ch'üan altar. When, in 14 B.C., Emperor Ch'eng was still without an heir, the Empress Dowager restored the imperial sacrifices to their former places, and thereafter Emperor Ch'eng traveled bi-annually to those places to perform the usual sacrifices. Immediately after his death, however, the altars at Ch'ang-an were restored, just as certain imperial ancestral temples, which Emperor Yüan had abolished and restored, were finally abolished when he died. In addition to these economies, grants of taxes, noble ranks, money, oxen, wine, silk, etc. were made at intervals of every few years; amnesties were granted every two or three years; and approximately every three years the Emperor asked for the recommendation of capable persons for government service. In 18 B.C., a much lower price was put upon noble ranks. In 15 B.C., noble ranks, official positions, and tax remissions were given to those who made large contributions at the time of a famine. When, in 16 B.C., it became apparent that more than four years' work was insufficient to complete a second and grander tomb for the Emperor, this tomb was given up and the Court Architect, who had planned the second tomb, was punished, together with Ch'en T'ang, who had planned to benefit by the real-estate development connected with the second tomb. The imperial edicts show a sincere desire to secure a good and beneficent government and to benefit the people. These edicts, however, had little effect, for the Wang clan, not the Emperor, was selecting the officials, and Emperor Ch'eng did little without the consent of this clan. Corrupt government brings popular distress and rebellions The character of the government administration must have declined considerably and official oppression of the people must have increased greatly, for in this reign there occurred a phenomenon that had been absent since the reign of Emperor Wu—several sporadic revolts occurred in various parts of the empire. There were droughts in 31 and 18 B.C. In 29, the Yellow River broke a dike and overflowed 32 prefectures in four commandaries to a depth of thirty feet, because the 363 central government, through false economy, had refused to repair the dike. The dike was immediately mended. There were floods again in 30, 29, 27, 23, and 17 B.C. These, however, do not seem to have been much more than the usual number of such calamities in north China. Yet in 17 B.C., there were many vagrants and roving people on the roads (p. 10b)—people who had been driven away from their homes for one reason or another—another phenomenon largely absent since the time of Emperor Wu. In 22 B.C., there was an armed rebellion among those sentenced to work as slaves in the government iron works at Ying-ch'uan commandery (in the present central Honan). The rebellion overran nine prefectures. In 17 B.C., there was a similar revolt among the government criminals in Kuang-han Commandery (in the present Szechuan), which lasted for ten months, overran four prefectures, and produced a band said to have numbered ten thousand persons. In

the winter of 14/13 B.C., there was a revolt in Ch'en-liu Commandery (the present central Honan), in which the Grand Administrator was killed. Its leader was assassinated by some treacherous followers and the revolt collapsed. The next month, the greatest of these revolts arose among the government slaves in the iron works at Shan-yang Commandery (the present southwestern Shantung). This revolt spread over nineteen commanderies and kingdoms. It was put down in the same year. Since the officials had almost unchecked power over the people, unless the Emperor took the trouble to consider the people's petitions, a set of corrupt officials could easily tyrannize and oppress the common people, until rebellion became a welcome relief from suffering. Those sentenced to penal servitude would naturally be treated the worst, and hence would be the first to rebel. In this reign, as in that of Emperor Wu, official oppression, caused by imperial negligence in the oversight of the bureaucracy and consequent official corruption and oppression, brought about bitter suffering on the part of the common people in the provinces and consequent revolts. Divine visitations and prodigies This reign is unique in the number of visitations and prodigies recorded. Fires, comets, eclipses, fogs, flies, droughts, floods, earthquakes, avalanches, murders, meteors, and thunders dot the pages of this chapter, few years being without several visitations. The recording of these portents is undoubtedly due to the increasing acceptance of Han Confucianism by intelligent people, with its doctrine that Heaven, as the state god, is interested in state happenings and consequently sends visitations (tsai) as warnings whenever anything wrong is allowed to 364 occur, following them by prodigies (yi), if the warnings were not heeded. As a natural consequence, people looked for portents whenever things began to go wrong, and found a portent in any strange event. The reporting of portents was thus a means of criticizing the government—one which could hardly be punished or stopped, since portents were supposed to be sent by Heaven, not by men. Ever since the time of Emperor Wu, criticism of the government had been more or less repressed and ofttimes punished; the reporting of portents thus became a safe outlet for peoples' feelings. It is furthermore probable that most, if not all, of these portents were reported by the people to the high officials, such as Commandery Grand Administrators, and memorialized to the throne by the latter, since, except for those persons who could go to the imperial palace in person, ordinary people could not petition the emperor. Thus the large number of portents in this reign is an indication of the reaction by the people, and especially by the higher officials, to the character of the central government. There were several systems of portent-interpretation; they are summarized in the "Treatise on the Five Elements," ch. 27, of which W. Eberhard has made a study in his "Beiträge zur kosmologischen Spekulation der Chinesen der Han-Zeit" (Baessler-Archiv, B. 16, H. 1-2). Since, however, portents were merely strange chance events and could not be fabricated to fit the situation, due to the danger of detection and punishment, and since they had to be interpreted to fit the actual evils of the time, no system of portent-interpretation could fit all cases; we find diverse interpretations for the same portent from different authorities and for the same sort of event at different times. It is therefore not surprising that Pan Ku, after a long discussion of portents, should have concluded that they are "obscure, profound, dark, and impenetrable." (HS 100 A: 16a). In his "Memoirs," he records many instances in which an interpretation of a portent produced a correct prophecy of the future, but he characteristically also records instances in which reliance upon portents led to error and calamity. The interpretation of portents was thus, even in Han times, a pseudo-science not wholeheartedly accepted by the best minds. Emperor Ch'eng was usually affected by these portents; his edicts testify to his acceptance of the Confucian doctrine that they are warnings sent by Heaven to the ruler. Sometimes, however, he was not so sure

of their meaning. In 16 B.C., after an eclipse of the sun and several earthquakes, people memorialized that these portents came because of the Wang clan. But the aged Confucian scholar, Chang Yü3, told Emperor Ch'eng that it is very difficult to know the causes of portents and that Confucius rarely spoke of strange events or of supernatural beings, 365 so that the Emperor should not pay attention to the sayings of ignorant Confucians and should pay attention to the government. Emperor Ch'eng was glad to have his cherished relatives thus exonerated. On the other hand, when, in 7 B.C., a strange appearance among the stars, an avalanche, and an earthquake were all blamed upon the highest official in the government, Emperor Ch'eng had this exacting and cruel Confucian Lieutenant Chancellor, Chai Fang-chin, commit suicide, saying that these signs showed he had not done his duty. Thus the Confucian doctrine could be used upon a Confucian official who had made use of portents in his criticism of others. The status of Confucianism During this reign, Confucianism reigned supreme as the official philosophy and religion. The famous Liu Hsiang4 was given the task of making a catalogue of the Imperial Private Library, the greatest library in the empire, in the course of which he prepared and published standard editions of some important books. He did this, for example, with the works of the great philosopher, Hsün-tzu. An Internuncio was sent about the empire to seek for lost books, and the `ancient text' classics and explanations probably entered the Imperial Private Library at this time (cf. p. 5b, 6a, n. 6.1). Pan Yu, a great-uncle of Pan Ku, assisted Liu Hsiang4 in this undertaking and read much aloud to the Emperor (100 A: 4b). The results of this cataloguing are to be found in the "Treatise on Arts and Literature" (HS ch. 30). Emperor Ch'eng's personal character In his personal character, Emperor Ch'eng was dignified, kindly, affectionate, gentle, and docile. In the spirit of "yielding to others," he allowed his mother and uncles to control the government; his kindliness and timidity prevented him from punishing their derelictions. He became a heavy drinker and spent much time in banqueting, drinking, watching dances, and other forms of sport. In the earlier part of his reign, Emperor Ch'eng was inclined to the study of the classics, and had two Confucian authorities, Chen K'uan-chung and Chang Yü3, expound the classics in a hall at the palace. Certain of the imperial attendants, such as Pan Po, another great-uncle of Pan Ku, were ordered also to study with these scholars. This amusement, however, palled upon the Emperor after some years, and he stopped studying. In 20 B.C., a favorite nobleman, Chang Fang, whose mother was the Emperor's aunt and who had married a sister of the Empress née Hsü, invented a new amusement—Emperor Ch'eng went out incognito, like a mere noble, with a following consisting of only a dozen persons, calling 366 himself a member of Chang Fang's household. He thus attended cockfights and horse-races. The Emperor's mother became worried, and at last made him send Chang Fang away to the border, urging her son to associate more with Confucians like Pan Po, who warned against intoxication. Emperor Ch'eng then revived his love for learning. He remained, however, the dilettante, seeking amusement in Confucian studies just as he had in horse-racing. Lack of an heir induces the Emperor to change his Empress and distribute his favors The events that throw the most light upon the age, upon conditions within the forbidden apartments of the imperial palace, and upon Emperor Ch'eng's character are connected with his doing away of his two natural sons for the love of a woman, so that he was left without a natural heir. Such a deed would seem almost unbelievable, but, after his sudden

death, an industrious Director of the Retainers, whose duty it was to investigate the actions of the officials at the capital, ferreted out the facts and memorialized the depositions of eye-witnesses: certain eunuchs, slave-women in the imperial palace, and chamberlains to the Brilliant Companion née Chao. This sensational memorial is quoted in the "Memoir of the Imperial Relatives by Marriage." Emperor Yüan's mother had been assassinated soon after the birth of her first child and Emperor Yüan sorrowed at that fact. Hence he selected the daughter of her first cousin to be the consort of his Heir-apparent. This girl later became the Empress née Hsü. She was intelligent and accomplished and good at the clerkly style of writing. When she was married, the future Emperor Ch'eng was delighted with her, which overjoyed his father. From the time that she was married until Emperor Ch'eng ascended the throne, she was continually favored by the Heir-apparent, and he rarely approached his concubines. But her children all died in infancy. She had a son who died young; after her husband ascended the throne, she bore him a daughter, but this babe died also. One of the prime duties of a filial son, especially of an emperor, according to Confucian teaching, is to have a son. The Emperor's mother and her clan were worried at the lack of an heir, for, if another line came to the throne, their power would be gone. The Confucian explainers of visitations, especially the famous Liu Hsiang4 and Ku Yung, blamed the visitations upon the imperial harem. Thus the Emperor's conscience, his mother and relatives, and outstanding Confucians combined to urge him to cease favoring only his beloved wife. In economizing government expenses, he reduced the allowance for the Empress's apartments and for 367 the harem. The sensitive Empress protested, and Emperor Ch'eng replied, citing the portents alleged to have been directed against her. Thus a coolness developed. The Emperor's first new favorite was a great-aunt of Pan Ku, a well-educated woman who understood the Odes and the admonitory writings for women. She had been selected for the imperial harem when he first ascended the throne. She first became a Junior Maid, the eleventh rank among the imperial concubines, but in a little while the Emperor took quite a fancy to her and made her a Favorite Beauty, the second rank. She was installed in the Residence of Increasing Perfection, the third hall in the imperial harem. She remained his prime favorite for some years, and bore him two children, one of whom was a boy, who died when a few months old. Once when the Emperor was going on an excursion to a country lodge, he wanted this Favorite Beauty née Pan to ride in the same chariot with him, but she refused, saying that according to the histories, sage princes always kept famous subjects by their sides; only decadent princes spent most of their time with concubines. Emperor Ch'eng approved highly of her reply; it also commended her to the Empress Dowager. After 20 B.C., Emperor Ch'eng planned to spread his favors among many concubines in order to secure an heir, and so the Favorite Beauty née Pan introduced to him a maid of hers, Li P'ing. This girl was also favored and made a Favorite Beauty. She had risen from humble station, and so Emperor Ch'eng gave her the surname Wei, in memory of Emperor Wu's famous Empress née Wei, who likewise rose from humble people. Through his evil precedents, such as his selection of a singing girl to be his Empress and his bestowal of high positions upon relatives, Emperior Wu ultimately ruined his dynasty. About this time, when Emperor Ch'eng was one day traveling incognito, he passed by the residence of the Imperial Princess of Yang-o. The Princess had music performed for him. (The ancient `music' included dancing.) There he first saw the later famous beauty, Chao Fei-yen. This girl had originally been a Palace Maid, one of a class of slave-girls, aged seven and over, who were reared in the imperial palaces to work there. She came from a very humble family, which was so poor that when she was born, the family decided to abandon her. But the babe was still alive on the third day, so she was reared. When she was

grown, she was put into the household of the Princess of Yang-o, and studied singing and dancing, so that she came to be called Fei-yen, lit., "flying swallow." When Emperor Ch'eng saw this girl dance, he was delighted with her and summoned her to his harem, where she became 368 his prime favorite. She had a younger sister, who was then also summoned and favored. Both sisters were made Favorite Beauties. The Empress née Hsü had now lost the Emperor's favor, and naturally tried every means of regaining it and of securing an heir. Her widowed sister performed magical rites to attract the Emperor to the Empress and to injure his concubines who were with child, especially a Beauty née Wang, who was pregnant, and also to injure the Wang clan, which the sisters regarded as having been responsible for the portents that had caused the Emperor to turn away from the Empress. In 18 B.C., Chao Fei-yen accused the Empress of having performed magical rites and of having even pronounced imprecations against the Emperor. The Empress Dowager née Wang was infuriated that a girl of her own clan should have been injured; her eldest brother, Wang Feng, had died just a few years previously, and now black magic was probably suspected to have caused his death. The accused ladies were examined; the Empress's sister and a few others were executed. The Empress was herself probably guiltless, for she was merely dismissed and sent to live in a separate palace. Her relatives, the Hsü clan, were all banished from the capital. Chao Fei-yen had also accused the Favorite Beauty née Pan, but the latter replied that life and death are fated; wealth and honor are bestowed by Heaven. She said she had lived an upright life but had not yet been blessed with the greatest happiness (a living imperial son). If now she had done evil and tried to get the spirits and gods to aid her, if they had knowledge of human activities, how could she hope not to be accused by them of disloyalty to her lord; whereas if they had no knowledge, what good would it have done her to appeal to them? Hence she said she had not participated in any magical rites. Emperor Ch'eng was so delighted with her reply that he gave her a hundred catties of actual gold. It is noteworthy that there were no such general excitement and wholesale executions at this time as in the time of the black magic and witchcraft case near the end of Emperor Wu's reign. The difference is probably due to the increased influence of Confucianism (which was sceptical of magic and spirits), and to the higher degree of civilization then attained in court circles. The reply of the Favorite Beauty née Pan, who came of a highly educated family, indicates the attitude of the best people at this time. The Favorite Beauty nevertheless saw that eventually she might be injured by the clever Fei-yen, so she asked for permission to withdraw from the harem and devote herself to caring for the Empress Dowager. Her request was granted, and she retired from the intrigues of the court. Emperor Ch'eng's infatuation with the clever singer and dancer continued, and he now wanted to make her his Empress. But his mother 369 made difficulties, for she resented that this girl had come from such humble circumstances. Emperor Ch'eng, however, had his boon companion, who was also his mother's nephew, Shun-yü Chang, smooth matters over, and finally secured his mother's consent. At last, in 16 B.C., Fei-yen was made Empress and her father was made a marquis. Emperor Ch'eng's infanticide of his two sons for love of the Brilliant Companion née Chao After her elevation, Emperor Ch'eng gradually lost interest in her, and came to favor her younger sister more than anyone else. This latter girl was made a Brilliant Companion (the highest rank among the imperial concubines) and was installed in the Sun-bright Residence, the first of the eight halls in the imperial harem. Her residence was painted and adorned with gold and jewels as no place in the harem had ever before been decorated. She retained Emperor Ch'eng's favor until his

death, and he promised her never to be faithless to her. The philandering Emperor's attention could not, however, be kept from wandering. In 12 B.C., an educated slave-girl, Ts'ao Kung, became pregnant. She had been employed to teach the difficult Book of Odes to the Empress, Chao Fei-yen. This girl told her mother, who was also a government slave in the palace, that she was with child by the Emperor. In due time, she bore a son on whose forehead there were stubborn hairs like those of Emperor Yüan. This child constituted a great danger for the Empress and the Brilliant Companion née Chao, for neither sister had any children. If this child became the Heir-apparent, his mother would be made Empress and the Chao sisters would lose their influence. Within a few days, a eunuch came to the Assistant at the harem prison (who testified later to what he had done), bringing an imperial edict ordering that Ts'ao Kung, her child, and her six slaves should be taken to the palace prison, and that no one should even ask the sex of the child or who was its father. The third day after, another edict was brought to the Assistant, asking whether the infant was dead yet. A little later the messenger returned, saying that the Brilliant Companion and the Emperor were very angry, and asking the Assistant why he did not kill the babe. He replied that whether he did or did not kill the child, he would have to die, so he wrote the Emperor a memorial saying that it did not matter by whom the Emperor's heir was born. When the messenger brought the Emperor this reply, the latter merely looked at the messenger fixedly. That night the Assistant was brought an order to give the child to another eunuch, who was ordered to select a wet-nurse for the babe, and not to allow the matter to leak out. The child was then seven or eight days old. The third day after, another edict was brought to the Assistant, together 370 with a small sealed box and an order that he must himself give its contents to the woman and that she must drink it. In it were two packages of drugs and a little written message from Emperor Ch'eng, "I am commanding you, Wei-neng [the `style' of Ts'ao Kung], to try hard to drink this medicine. You cannot again enter Our presence, which you yourself know." After protesting in vain and lamenting that she had no means of giving information about her newly born son to the Emperor's mother, who would probably have saved the babe, Ts'ao Kung drank the poison. Her slaves were summoned by the Brilliant Companion née Chao and were made to strangle themselves. The wet-nurse cared for the babe to its eleventh day, when a eunuch came with an imperial edict to take it away, and it disappeared. Such was the penalty of successfully attracting a philandering Emperor whose favorite was a determined woman. It is not difficult to imagine what happened between the Emperor and his Brilliant Companion. Emperor Ch'eng loved hunting and similar amusements, so did not remain continually in Wei-yang Palace. At the large Shang-lin Park, some miles west of Ch'ang-an, some imperial concubines were kept at the Lodge for Wetting and Bathing the Hair. In 11 B.C., a certain Beauty née Hsü was summoned to the Ornamented House in that Lodge, conceived, and in due time gave birth to a boy. Among the fourteen ranks of imperial concubines, the Beauties ranked fifth, so that this child could not be disposed of as easily as the child of a mere slave. To prove his sincerity, Emperor Ch'eng in person brought the news of the child's birth to the Brilliant Companion née Chao. She reproached him with unfaithfulness to her and her sister. A eunuch later testified that he overheard her say to the Emperor, "You are always deceiving me. You said that you came from the Empress; if you have been coming from the Empress, how has it come about that the Beauty née Hsü should have had a son? Must an Empress née Hsü be again set up?" In her desperation, she struck herself with her fists, beat her head against the wall and doorposts, and threw herself down to the ground from her bed. She wept and declared she would not eat, saying, "Where will you now put me? I want to go home." Emperor Ch'eng replied that he had purposely told her about the birth in order to prove his own sincerity and faithfulness to her, for she could not otherwise have known about the child being born in a lodge outside

the capital. He evidently considered that occasional attentions to other concubines outside of the Palace did not constitute unfaithfulness to his favorite. In order to convince her, Emperor Ch'eng likewise refused to eat. Finally the Brilliant Companion said, "If your Majesty thinks that 371 you are right, why do you not eat? Your Majesty constantly said to me, `I promise not to turn my back upon you.' But now that this Beauty had a child, you will eventually turn you back upon your promise. What do you mean to do?" Emperor Ch'eng replied, "I promise that for the sake of the ladies née Chao I will not set up the Beauty née Hsü as the Empress, and I will bring it about that nobody in the world surpasses the ladies née Chao. Do not be worried." Later the Emperor and the Brilliant Companion went to this Lodge in Shang-lin Park. A eunuch afterwards testified that he was ordered to take a green sack containing a letter to the Beauty née Hsü. He was told, "The Beauty will have something to give to you. Bring it and put it in the Ornamented House south of the curtain." She took her babe and put it into a reed basket, sealed it, and gave it with a written reply to the eunuch. He took them, and placed them where he had been directed, then left. The Emperor and the Brilliant Companion seated themselves in this room, and the Emperor ordered one of his companion's chamberlains, who later testified to the occurrence, to open the basket. Before the sealed knot had been opened, the Emperor ordered all the three chamberlains out of the room. He himself closed the door and remained alone with the Brilliant Companion. In a moment he opened the door and called them back, ordering them to take the sealed basket to the Assistant at the harem prison. They were told that in the basket there was a dead child and that he should bury it near the gate and should let no one know of it. He buried it below the wall of the prison. Thus Emperor Ch'eng himself disposed of his only sons. It was then an ancient custom, even in the noblest houses, that when a male or female babe was born, it was laid upon a couch or on the ground; if the head of the family did not pick it up, the babe was not reared. Emperor Ch'eng was thus quite within his rights in disposing of his own sons. Yet when, several months after Emperor Ch'eng's successor had ascended the throne, this infanticide became known, it caused a very great stir. There indeed grew up a general feeling that Emperor Ch'eng had acted contrary to the will of Heaven in destroying his sons, and that the Han dynasty had lost the mandate of Heaven. The troubled economic condition of the country aided in spreading this feeling, and in the next reign, prophets appeared with recipes for renewing the lost Mandate of Heaven (cf. Glossary, sub Hsia Ho-liang). Wang Mang later took advantage of this feeling to usurp the throne. Although the Empress née Chao and her sister, the Brilliant Companion, had assisted Emperor Ai to the throne, when the fact became known that the Brilliant 372 Companion had been responsible for these infanticides, even though the Brilliant Companion was already dead, Emperor Ai dismissed her brother and nephew from their marquisates, made them commoners, and exiled them together with their families. Because of his debt to the Empress nee Chao, Emperor Ai did not push the matter further. Public opinion did not, however, unanimously condemn the infanticide; one Grandee-remonstrant (whose office corresponded to the Ch'ing dynasty's Censors) memorialized that the matter was not serious, for the Emperor had himself had his own children killed. Some intelligent people thus justified Emperor Ch'eng's action. Immediately after the death of Emperor Ai in 1 B.C., when the Wang clan again came into power, the Empress née Chao was, however, degraded and exiled to another palace; a few months later she was dismissed and made a commoner, whereupon she committed suicide. Thus died a famous Chinese beauty. The appointment of an Heir-apparent and the Emperor's death

It remains to speak of the succession to the throne and of Emperor Ch'eng's death. When Emperor Ch'eng remained without heirs, his first cousin, Liu Hsin5, the son of the Liu K'ang whom Emperor Yüan had once planned to make his heir, came to pay court to Emperor Ch'eng a few years before the latter's death. Liu Hsin5's grandmother, the Brilliant Companion née Fu, secretly bribed Chao Fei-yen and the latter's sister, the Brilliant Companion nee Chao, together with others, so that in 8 B.C., Liu Hsin5 was finally made the Heir-apparent. Four months later Emperor Ch'eng died quite suddenly. He had not been ill. On the night of April 16, 7 B.C., he slept in the White Tiger Hall. It had been arranged that the next morning two vassal kings were to take their leave and on that day K'ung Kuang was to be installed as Lieutenant Chancellor. His seal and charter had already been prepared. In the evening, Emperor Ch'eng was well; towards the next dawn, he tried to arise with his trousers and stockings on, but dropped his clothes and could not speak. In the morning, when the clepsydra marked the tenth division, he died. The people blamed the Brilliant Companion. The Empress Dowager had the officials investigate what had happened in the harem that the Emperor should have become ill, and the Brilliant Companion committed suicide. It was, of course, suspected that the Emperor had been poisoned; it is however quite possible that he died of apoplexy. He was in his forty-fifth year of age. So ended the reign of a loving and kindly playboy, who was forced to choose between his heir and his childless beloved, and chose the latter. 373

THE BOOK OF THE [FORMER] HAN [DYNASTY] [Chapter] X THE TENTH [IMPERIAL ANNALS]

The Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-Ch'eng Emperor Hsiao-ch'eng was the Heir-apparent of Emperor Yüan. His mother was entitled the Empress [née] Wang. While Emperor Yüan [was living] in the Heir-apparent's Palace, [the future Emperor Ch'eng] was born in the Painted Hall of the First Lodge.[1] He was [called] the Imperial Grandson Who is the Heir by the First Wife. Emperor Hsüan loved him, named him the Heir-apparent of the Heir-apparent,[2] and constantly kept him about 1b himself. When he was in his third year, Emperor Hsüan 48 B.C. died, and Emperor Yüan ascended the throne, [whereupon the future] Emperor became the Heir-apparent. 47 B.C.[6] When he grew up, he loved the classics, and was large-minded and generous, circumspect and attentive. Previously, when the Heir-apparent lived in Kuei Palace, Emperor [Yüan] once summoned him [to come] in haste. He went out of the Lung-lou Gate [to his 374 palace], but did not dare to cross the imperial path10: 2a

way,[8] so went west to the Chih-ch'eng Gate [of the city], where it was permitted to cross [the imperial pathway]. Thereupon he crossed, returned [eastwards], and entered the Artisan's Chamber Gate [of Wei-yang Palace]. The Emperor [said] he was

tardy, and asked the reason for it. [The Heir-apparent] replied, [giving] the circumstances, and the Emperor was greatly pleased. Thereupon [the Emperor] published an ordinance, ordering that an Heir-apparent should be allowed to cross the imperial pathway. Later, [the Heir-apparent grew] fond of wine and "took pleasure in the delights of conviviality,"[9] [so that] Emperor Yüan did not think him capable. Moreover [Emperor Yüan's second son], King Kung of Ting-t'ao, [Liu K'ang], showed innate ability and talents; his mother, the Brilliant Companion [née] Fu, was also loved and favored [by the Emperor]; 2a for this reason the Emperor constantly had thoughts of wanting to make King Kung his heir. [But] because of the Palace Attendant Shih3 Tan, who protected the Heir-apparent's household and effectively aided and assisted [the Heir-apparent], and because, moreover, the deceased Emperor [Hsüan] had especially loved the Heir-apparent, Emperor [Yüan] permitted him not to be dismissed. 33 B.C. In [the period] Ching-ning, the first year, the fifth July 8[13] month, Emperor Yüan died, and in the sixth month, Aug. 4 on [the day] chi-wei,[15] the Heir-apparent ascended 375 10: 2a the imperial throne, presented himself in the Temple 33 B.C.

of [Emperor] Kao, honored the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Empress Dowager [née Wang], entitling her the Grand Empress Dowager, [honored] the Empress [née Wang], entitling her the Empress Dowager, and made his eldest maternal uncle, the Palace Attendant and Commandant of the Palace Guard, the Marquis of Yang-p'ing, Wang Feng, Commanderin-chief and General-in-chief, and Intendant of Affairs of the Masters of Writing.[18] On [the day] yi-wei,[19] a high official said that [to Aug. 10 bury with the deceased Emperor his] imperial chariot, his carriages, oxen, horses, birds, and beasts was contrary to the [ancient] rites, so that it was improper to bury them [with the Emperor]. The memorial was approved. In the seventh month, a Aug./Sept. general amnesty [was granted to] the empire. In [the period] Chien-shih,[22] the first year, in I the spring, the first month, on [the first day], yi-ch'ou, 32 B.C. there was a visitation [of fire] in the temple of Feb. 6 the [Emperor's] imperial great-grandfather, the Deceased [Imperial] Father Tao, [Liu Chin].[26] The Chief of the Arsenal in Shang Commandery, [Liu] Liang, the younger brother of the former King of Ho-chien, [Liu Yüan2b], was set up as King [of Ho-chien].

A comet appeared in [the constellation] Ying-shih.[27] 376

32 B.C. The Imperial Prison in Shang-lin [Park] was abol10: 2b

ished. Mar./Apr. In the second month, Yao Yin, a Chief Clerk of the General of the Right, [Wang Shang1a], who had been sent [as an envoy] to the Huns, and others —when they were on their way back and were a hundred-odd li from the Barrier—a fire which sprang up [in the grass] in a violent wind burnt to death [Yao] Ying and the others, seven persons [in all].[31] 2b [The Emperor] granted to the vassal kings, the Lieutenant Chancellor [K'uang Heng], the generals, the marquises, the Queens Dowager, the Imperial Princesses, the Royal Princesses, and the officials [ranking at] two thousand piculs, actual gold; to [members of] the imperial house who were in the various offices, and officials [ranking at] a thousand piculs, down to those [ranking at] two hundred piculs, together with members of the imperial house who were enregistered, the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, cash and silk, to each proportionately; and to the officials and common people of fifty households, an ox and wine. An imperial edict said, "Recently a visitation of fire descended upon an [imperial] ancestral temple and a comet appeared in the eastern quarter [of the heavens]—the rectification [of Our government] at its inception has [shown some] defect. What calamity [could be] greater! The Book of History says, `Verily, [when a portent occurred], the greatest kings of former [times] rectified their work.'[33] The highest ministers should be very diligent, should lead 377 10: 3a and act as examples to the many officials, and should 32 B.C.

support Us in Our inadequacies, exalting clemency and generosity, and making harmony and concord grow. In all these things they should `treat others as themselves'[36] and not be exacting and oppressive. Let a general amnesty [be granted] to the empire, so that [everyone] may secure [an opportunity] to renew himself." [The Emperor] enfeoffed his maternal uncle, the Inspector of Officials and Imperial Household Grandee, the Kuan-nei Marquis, Wang Ch'ung2a, as Marquis of An-ch'eng and granted to [the Emperor's] maternal uncles, Wang T'an2b, [Wang] Shang1b, [Wang] Li5, [Wang] Keng, and [Wang] Feng-shih, the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis. In the summer,

the fourth month, a yellow fog completely filled the May/June four [quarters.[38] The Emperor] asked the ministers and grandees widely [for an explanation, telling them] not to keep silent about anything. In the sixth month, there were innumerable ten-thousands 3a of blue flies, which collected on the places [for July standing] at the court receptions in the Hall of Wei-yang Palace.[41] In the autumn, twenty-five palaces and lodges in Autumn Shang-lin [Park] that were rarely visited by the 378 32 B.C. Emperor were abolished. 10: 3a Sept. In the eighth month there were two moons, one above the other, that appeared at dawn in the eastern quarter,[46] and in the ninth month, on [the day] Oct. 27 mou-tzu, there was a shooting star whose light lighted up the earth. It was forty or fifty feet (degrees) long, curved and sinuous in the form of a snake, and traversed [the constellation] Tzu-kung. Dec./Jan. In the twelfth month, [places] for the suburban 31 B.C. sacrifices [to Heaven and Earth and their rulers] were made to the south and north of Ch'ang-an, [respectively], and the sacrifices [to these deities] at Kan-ch'üan [Palace] and at Fen-yin, [respectively], were abolished. On that day a great wind uprooted large trees that were more than ten spans [in circumference] at the place for sacrifice in Kan-ch'üan [Palace].[50] The commanderies and kingdoms more than four-tenths [of whose fields] had suffered calamitous visitations were [ordered] not to pay the land tax on cultivated fields. II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, Jan./Feb. the altars to the Five [Lords on High] at Yung were Feb. 17 abolished,[54] and on [the day] hsin-szu, the Emperor first performed the suburban sacrifice at the place for the suburban sacrifice south of Ch'ang-an. His imperial edict said, "Recently [We] have moved the 379 10: 3b altar of the Supreme [One and that of] Sovereign 31 B.C.

Earth to the place for the suburban sacrifice south [of Chang-an] and the place for the suburban sacrifice north [of Chang-an, respectively]. When we purified Ourself, and in person made the suburban

sacrifice to the Lords on High, August Heaven responded, and [several] supernatural lights appeared simultaneously. The elders of the three capital commanderies are not [now] put to the trouble of supplying tents and forced service,[57] [hence We 3b merely grant] an amnesty to the criminals who have been sentenced to shave their whiskers, in the prefectures which support the suburban sacrifices, [namely] Ch'ang-an and Ch'ang-ling,[59] together with [such criminals] in the offices at the imperial capital. [We] reduce the capitation taxes and poll-tax money by forty cash."[60] In the intercalary [first] month, at the Yen-ling Feb./Mar. Commune section of Wei-ch'eng [prefecture], the Emperor's tomb was made. In the second month, an imperial edict [ordered] Mar./Apr. the three capital [commanderies] and the inner commanderies each to recommend one person who was capable and good, sincere and upright. 380

31 B.C. Apr./May In the third month the water of a well in the 10: 4a

Northern Palace overflowed and ran out.[66] May 8 On [the day] hsin-ch'ou, the Emperor first sacrificed to Sovereign Earth at the place for the Suburban Sacrifice north [of Ch'ang-an]. May 13 On [the day] ping-wu, [the Emperor] established the Empress née Hsü [as Empress]. [The Emperor] abolished the offices of the Six Stables and the Clever Workmen. Summer In the summer there was a great drought. [Because] the King of Tung-p'ing, [Liu] Yü3, had committed crimes, the prefectures of Fan and K'ang-fu were cut off from [his kingdom].[70] Autumn In the autumn, the Park of Wide Vision was abolished [from the appurtenances of] the Heir-apparent, 4a and it was granted to the members of the imperial house who came to pay their court visits in the spring and autumn. The [imperial] chariots and horses of the stable were reduced. III In the third year, in the spring, the third month, 30 B.C. the criminals of the empire were [granted] an amnesty, Apr./May and two steps in noble rank were granted to the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and

the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields. Defaulted land and capitation taxes, and what had been given in aid as loans were not to be collected. Autumn In the autumn, within the [Han-ku] Pass [region] Aug./Sept. there was a flood.[78] In the seventh month, a little 381 10: 4a girl of Szu-shang, Ch'en Ch'ih-kung, who heard that 30 B.C.

the high water was coming, ran and entered the Kuang city-gate, entered without authorization through the side gate of the Master of the Recipes, and reached [the area of] Wei-yang Palace [under the control of] the Intendant of the [Imperial] Palace Parks, [because] the officials and common people had been frightened and had gone up onto the city wall.[81] In the ninth month, an imperial edict said, Oct./Nov. "Recently the commanderies and kingdoms have suffered from a visitation of water, which carried away and killed a large [number of] people, reaching to thousands in number. In the imperial capital it was causelessly and falsely rumored that a flood was coming, and the officials and common people were terrified, fled, ran, and mounted the city wall. [This has] perhaps [happened because] vexations, tyrannous, and severely oppressive officials have not yet been suppressed and many of the great multitude have reason for complaint because they have lost their occupations. [We] send the Grandee-remonstrant 382 29 B.C. Lin and others to travel about and 10: 4b

inspect the empire." 29 B.C. In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day] Jan. 5 mou-shen, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun[87] and in the night there was an earthquake in[88] the Hall of Wei-yang Palace. The imperial edict said, "Verily, [We] have heard[89] that 4b when Heaven gave birth to the multitude of common people, they were unable to rule themselves, [hence Heaven] set up princes for them, in order to rule and control them. When the way of a [true] prince is attained, then [even] herbs, trees, and insects[91] find their [proper] places. [But] when the prince of men is not virtuous, a reproach appears in Heaven or Earth, and visitations and prodigies happen frequently, in order to inform him that he is not governing rightly. "Our experience in governing has been [only] for a brief time, so that [We] have not been correct in [Our] acts, hence on [the day] mou-shen there was an eclipse of the sun and an earthquake. We are greatly dismayed. Let the ministers each think over Our faults and mistakes and state them [to Us] clearly. `You should not assent to [Our]

face, and, after you have retired, make other [sorts of] remarks.'[92] [Let] the Lieutenant Chancellor, 383 10: 5a [K'uang Heng], and the [Grandee] Secretary, [Yin 29 B.C.

Chung], with the generals, full marquises, and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, together with the inner commanderies and kingdoms, recommend gentlemen who are capable and good, sincere and upright, and able to speak frankly and admonish unflinchingly. [Let] them go to the [Majors in Charge of] the Official Carriages, and We will interview them." In Yüeh-sui[95] [Commandery], a mountain collapsed. In the fourth year, in the spring,[96] the office of the IV eunuch Palace Writers was abolished and for the 5a first time five Masters of Writing were established.[99] Spring In the summer, the fourth month, there was a fall May of snow.[102] In the fifth month, an Assistant Palace Internuncio, June Ch'en Lin, killed the Colonel Director of the Retainers, Yüan Feng, in the [Palace] Hall.[104] In the autumn, peach and plum [trees bore fruit Autumn and there was a flood. The [Yellow] River broke through the Chin Dike in Tung Commandery.[106] In the winter, the tenth month, the Grandee Secretary, Oct./Nov. Yin Chung, committed suicide because he had not been careful in his duties and [as a consequence] the [Yellow] River had broken through its dikes. 384

28 B.C. I In [the period] Ho-p'ing,[110] the first year, in the 10: 5b

28 B.C. spring,[113] the third month, an imperial edict said, Apr./May "The [Yellow] River broke through its dikes in Tung Commandery and submerged the two provinces [of Yen and Yü]. The Chief Commandant, Wang Yen-shih, diked and stopped the gap and immediately there was calm. Let the year-period be changed to be Ho-p'ing, and let noble ranks be granted to the officials and common people of the empire, to each proportionately."[115]

In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] June 19 chi-hai, the last day of the month, there was an 5b eclipse of the sun, and it was total. The imperial edict said, "[Ever since] We have secured [the opportunity of] protecting the [imperial] ancestral temples, [We] have trembled with respectful fear, [yet] have not yet been able to be worthy of [Our] title. A book says, `If the instructions for males are not followed, since matters concerning the yang [or male principle] are not attained, then there will on this account be an eclipse of the sun and Heaven will manifest this [sort of] a prodigy.' The blame [for this eclipse therefore] lies upon Us Ourself. Let the ministers and grandees exert themselves and do their best to assist [Our] inadequacies, and [let] each of the many officials perfect themselves in their duties. 385 10: 5b [Let] rich employment be given to benevolent per28 B.C.

sons and [let] cruel and injurious persons be dismissed and sent away. [Let] Our faults and errors be pointed out without keeping silent about anything. [Let] a general amnesty [be granted] to the empire." In the sixth month, [the office of] Director of July/Aug. Dependent States was abolished and [his duties] were given to the Grand Herald. In the autumn, the ninth month, the Funerary Oct./Nov. Chamber, Temple, and Funerary Park of the Grand Emperor were reestablished.[122] In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II in the office for iron in P'ei Commandery, iron that 27 B.C. was being cast flew up. A discussion is in the Feb./Mar. "Treatise on the Five Elements."[126] 27 A: 13b In the summer,[128] the sixth month, [the Emperor] July/Aug. enfeoffed his maternal uncles, [Wang] T'an2b, [Wang] Shang1b, [Wang] Li5, [Wang] Ken, and [Wang] Feng-shih, all as full marquises.[130] In the third year, in the spring, the second month, III 386 26 B.C. 26 B.C. on [the day] ping-hsü, in Chien-wei [Commandery] 10: 6a

Mar. 28 there was an earthquake, and a mountain avalanche blocked the water of the [Min] River, so that the water flowed backwards.[136] In the autumn, the Oct. 23 eighth month, on [the day] yi-mao, the last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. The Imperial Household Grandee Liu Hsiang4 was collating [the books] in the Palace Private Library, 6a and the Internuncio Ch'en Nung was sent as a Messenger to seek in the empire for lost books.[139] IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, 25 B.C. the Hun Shan-yü [Fu-chu-lei-jo-ti] came to pay Feb./Mar. court.[143] An amnesty [was granted] to the criminals of the empire, and there were granted to the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields two steps in noble rank. Defaulted land and capitation taxes and what had been given in aid as loans were not to be collected. Mar./Apr. In the second month, the Shan-yü was dismissed and 387 10: 6a returned to his state. 25 B.C. In the third month, on [the day] kuei-ch'ou, the Apr. 18 first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. [The Emperor] sent the Imperial Household Grandee and Erudit, [Meng] Chia, and others, eleven persons [in all], to inspect and report on the commanderies bordering on the [Yellow] River. [The imperial edict said],[148] "Those whose [property] has been demolished or injured by the floods or who are suffering and indigent and [do not have the means] of keeping themselves alive are [to have their needs] investigated[149] and to be assisted by loans. For those who have been carried away by the water or have been crushed to death and are unable to be buried by their own [relatives, the legates] shall order the commandery or kingdom to supply small coffins and bury them. To [the relatives of] each of those who were already buried, there are to be given two thousand cash, and for those who have gone to other commanderies and kingdoms to escape the floods, the places in which they are, are to distribute food to them. [The legates] are to treat them carefully, with courtesy and equity, and are not to cause them to lose their occupations. [The legates] are to recommend gentlemen who are true and honest, whose conduct is [correct], and who are able to speak frankly." On [the day] jen-shen, in Ch'ang-ling [prefecture], May 7 the high bank on the border of the Ching [River][151] 388 25 B.C.

collapsed, blocking the Ching River. 10: 6b Aug. 13 In the summer, the sixth month, on [the day] 6b keng-hsü, the King of Ch'u, [Liu] Ao, died. In Shan-yang [Commandery], a fire had started among the rocks and [the Emperor] changed [the name of] the year-period to be Yang-so.[156] I In [the year-period] Yang-so, the first year, in the 24 B. C. spring, the second month, on [the day] ting-wei, the Apr. 7 last day of the month, there was an eclipse of the Apr./May sun, and in the third month, an amnesty [was granted] to the criminals of the empire. Winter In the winter, the Governor of the Capital, Wang Chang1a, who had committed crimes, was sent to prison and died.[162] II In the second year, in the spring, it was cold. 23 B. C. An imperial edict said, "Anciently, when Lord Spring Yao set up the offices for the Hsi and the Ho, he commanded them to prevent the four seasons from losing their order, by taking care of the matters [concerning these seasons]. Hence the Book of History says, `The many people multiplied and the seasons were harmonious',[166] which makes plain that 389 10: 7a it considers the Yin and Yang as the fundamental 23 B.C.

[principles of the universe]. Now some of the ministers and grandees do not believe in the Yin and Yang, misprize and disdain them, [with the consequence that] much of what they suggest in their memorials is contrary to the [proper] governmental acts for the seasons. They propagate [this attitude], so that ignorance [of the rules concerning the seasons] prevails all over the empire. Yet they expect that the Yin and Yang will accord and harmonize. Is not this absurd? Let [the officials] take care to accord with the rules for the four seasons and the months."[169] 7a In the third month, a general amnesty [was Mar./Apr. granted] to the empire. In the summer,[172] the fifth June/July month, the ranks [in the bureaucracy] of eight hundred piculs and five hundred piculs were eliminated.[174] In the autumn, there was a flood east of [Han-ku] Autumn Pass. [An imperial edict ordered that][176] vagrant people who wished to enter through Han-ku [Pass],

T'ien-ching [Pass], Hu Mouth, or Wu-yüan Pass should not be treated harshly or detained. [The Emperor] sent Grandee-remonstrants and Erudits 390 23 B.C. separately to inspect and observe. 10: 7b Oct. 16 In the eighth month, on [the day] chia-shen,[180] the King of Ting-t'ao, [Liu] K'ang, died. Oct./Nov. In the ninth month, those who had received [the imperial appointment] as messengers [were found] not to be suitable.[182] An imperial edict said, "In ancient times, the purpose of establishing an Imperial University was to propagate the principles of the former kings and to spread their transforming influence over the world. The office of the Forest of Literati is the source and spring for [the culture of all within] the four seas, [hence] it is proper that [its occupants] should all understand clearly ancient and present [times], `reviewing what they already know and acquiring new [knowledge],'[183] and being penetratingly understanding about the constitution of the 7b state. Hence they are called Erudits. If they are not [thus learned], then those who study with them will not have anything to transmit [to others] and they will be despized by their inferiors, which is not the way to honor morality and virtue. `A workman who wishes to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.'[185] Let the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Chang Yü3], and the [Grandee] Secretary, [Wang Yin], together with [the officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs and at two thousand piculs, recommend from many [sources] those who can fill the post of Erudit in order to bring it about that [the abilities of the Erudits] may be surpassing and they may be looked up to [by all]." 391

10: 7b In this year the Grandee Secretary, Chang Chung2, 23 B.C.

died.[188] In the third year, in the spring, the second III month,[190] on [the day] jen-hsu, eight meteorites fell 22 B.C. in Tung Commandery. Apr. 12 In the summer, the sixth month, a convict [workman] July/Aug. in the office for iron in Ying-ch'uan [Commandery], Shen-t'u Sheng, and others, one hundred eighty persons [in all], killed their Chief Official and took the weapons from the arsenal by force. [Shen-t'u

Sheng] called himself a general and overran nine prefectures.[194] [The Emperor] sent a Chief Clerk of the Lieutenant Chancellor and the Palace Assistant Secretary to pursue and arrest them according to [the law] for levying military supplies,[195] and all [the rebels] suffered for their crimes. 392

22 B.C. In the autumn, the eighth month, on [the day] 10: 8a

Oct. 4 ting-szu, the Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief, 8a Wang Feng, died.[200] IV In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, 21 B.C. an imperial edict said, "Verily, the `Great Plan' Feb./Mar. makes food the first of the eight [concerns of] government.[204] This is truly the fundamental [factor in making every] family self-supporting and in doing away with punishments. [Our] imperial predecessors encouraged agriculturists, lightening their taxes on land and on produce and favoring those who worked diligently [at agriculture]. They ordered that [the Diligent Cultivators of the Fields] should be classed with the Filially Pious and the Fraternally Respectful. "[But] recently the common people have been more and more indolent and few have inclined towards the fundamental [activity (agriculture), whereas] many have been eager [to give themselves up] to unimportant [matters (merchandizing)]. How can [We] correct them? "Just now it is the season for the work of spring.[205] Let is be ordered that [the officials ranking at] two thousand piculs shall encourage agriculture and sericulture and shall [send people to] go into the paths between the fields[206] in order to encourage the 393 10: 8b [farmers]. Does not the Book of History say, `If they 21 B.C.

labor in the fields, then there will be an [abundant] harvest'?[209] Let [the officials] make strenuous efforts."[210] In the second month an amnesty [was Mar./Apr. granted] to the empire.[212] In the autumn, the ninth month, on [the day] Oct. 13 jen-shen, the King of Tung-p'ing, [Liu] Yü3, died. 20 B.C. In the intercalary month, on [the day] jen-hsü, Jan. 31 the Grandee Secretary, Yü Yung, died.

8b In [the period] Hung-chia, the first year, in the I spring, the second month, an imperial edict said, Mar./Apr. "We have succeeded [to the care of] Heaven and Earth and have had [the opportunity] to protect the [imperial] ancestral temples, [but Our] insight has in some respects been unclear and [Our] virtue has not been able to bring tranquillity. The punishments have not been appropriate, so that many people have lost their positions through injustice and have [hence] ceaselessly hastened to the [palace] portals to inform and tell [of their wrongs]. Because of this, the Yin and Yang have wandered from their path and are in disorder, so that cold and heat have lost their [proper] succession, the sun and moon have had no brilliance, and people have exposed themselves to criminal punishment. We pity them greatly. Does not the Book of History say, `Among my [officials] who are managing affairs, none is capable or aged. The blame lies upon them themselves'?[219] 394

20 B.C. "Just now it is spring, the season for birth and 10: 9a

growth. [We] have visited the Grandee-remonstrant Li3 and others and send them to report unjust law-cases in the three capital [commanderies], the three Ho [commanderies], and Hung-nung [Commandery]. The ministers, grandees, and Inspectors of Divisions shall inform clearly and warn the Administrators and Chancellors [of commanderies and kingdoms, respectively,] to conform to Our intentions. Let there be granted to the common people of the empire one step in noble rank; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and [let there be] added grants of silk to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and the aged. Defaulted loans [from the government] and what has not yet been paid shall not be collected." Apr. 21 On [the day] jen-wu, [the Emperor] traveled and favored his imperial tomb [with a visit, where he granted] an amnesty to the convicts working [on the tomb]. Ch'ang1-ling Prefecture was made out 9a of the Hsi District of Hsin-feng [Prefecture]. Those who were to support [the sacrifices at] the imperial 395 10: 9a tomb were granted an ox and wine for [every] 20 B.C.

hundred households. The Emperor for the first time went out to travel incognito.[226] In the winter, a yellow dragon appeared in [the

Winter kingdom of] Chen-ting.[228] In the second year, in the spring, [the Emperor] II traveled and favored [with a visit] Yün-yang [Prefecture, 19 B.C. in which was Kan-ch'üan Palace]. Spring In the third month, when the Erudits were performing Apr./May the rites for drinking wine,[233] pheasants flew and perched in the courtyard, came up the steps,[234] 396 19 B.C. mounted to the hall, and crowed. Later they 10:9b

perched in various yamens,[237] and also perched in the Ch'eng-ming Hall. The imperial edict said, "Anciently, when [a ruler] selected capable [officials], he made them express themselves, accepted them `in accordance with their discussions, and tested them clearly by their achievements.'[238] Hence in the government offices affairs were not neglected and among his subordinates there were no negligent people. [Consequently, the ruler's] instruction and civilizing influence spread abroad and was carried out, the winds and rain were harmonious and timely, the various grains therefore ripened, the multitude of commoners rejoiced in their occupations, and all were as a result prosperous and tranquil. "We have succeeded to [this] great estate for more than ten years, yet have several times met with visitations of flood, drought, sicknesses, and epidemics, so that the many common people have frequently 9b suffered from hunger and cold, [and, as a result, although We] hoped that the rules of proper conduct and moral principles would flourish, how could it not but have been difficult [to achieve anything]? Since We have not had any means of leading and guiding [the people], the way of [the sage] lords and [true] kings has been daily falling into decadence.[240] Is it that the road for inviting and 397 10: 10a selecting capable gentlemen has been blocked and is 19 B.C.

not open, or is it that those who recommend [persons for official examination] have not yet found the [right] persons? Let there be recommended persons who are true and honest, whose conduct [is according to] moral principles, and who are able to speak frankly, [so that We may] hope to hear earnest speech and excellent deliberation in order to correct Our inadequacies." In the summer,[243] braves and stalwarts from the

Summer commanderies and kingdoms whose property was five million [cash] or more, [to the number of] five thousand households, were moved to Ch'ang1-ling [Prefecture]. There were granted to the Lieutenant Chancellor, [Hsieh Hsüan], the [Grandee] Secretary, [Wang Chün4a], the generals, the full marquises, the princesses, and [officials ranking at] fully two thousand piculs, places for tombs and residences [at Ch'ang1-ling]. In the sixth month, [the Emperor] set up [Liu] 10a Yün-k'o, a grandson [of a younger brother][246] of July/Aug. 398 19 B.C. King Hsien of Chung-shan, [Liu Fu5b], as King of 10: 10a

Kuang-tê. III In the third year, in the summer, the fourth 18 B.C. month, an amnesty [was granted] to the empire and May it was ordered that officials and common people were to be allowed to purchase noble ranks at the price of a thousand cash per step.[253] There was a great drought.[254] In the autumn, Sept. 11 the eighth month, on [the day] yi-mao, there was a visitation [of fire] to the [Northern][256] Portal of the 17 B.C. Temple to [Emperor] Hsiao-ching, and in the winter, Jan. 8 the eleventh month, on [the day] chia-yin, the Empress 399 10: 10b née Hsü was dismissed. 17 B.C. Cheng Kung, a man of Kuang-han [Commandery], and others, more than sixty persons in all, attacked the government offices and buildings, taking by force the prisoners and convicts and robbing arms from the arsenal. He called himself the Lord of the Mountains.[261] 10b In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV an imperial edict said, "[We] have several times Feb./Mar. issued a decree to the high officials that they should take care to be liberal and large-minded in their actions and should prohibit tyranny and oppression, [but] down to the present [their behavior] has not changed. If one person commits a crime, they recommend that his clan should be arrested and imprisoned. The farmers and common people who have lost their occupations and who cherish grudges

and hatred [against the government] are many, which injures and damages the harmonious emanation, so that water and drought have produced visitations. East of [Han-ku] Pass, vagrants and roving [people] are many, and in the Ch'ing, Yu, and Chi [Provincial] sections [the situation] is especially serious, so that We are greatly pained. [We] have not heard that any one in [high] positions is saddened. Who, [then], is capable of assisting Us by being solicitous in this [situation]? ["We] have already sent messengers to travel about and inspect the commanderies and kingdoms. In [those commanderies and kingdoms] that have been injured by the visitations and disasters [to the 400 17 B.C. extent of] four-tenths [of their normal produce] or 10: 10b

more, the common people whose property is not as much as thirty thousand [cash] shall not [be required] to pay the land-tax or capitation taxes. Defaulted loans and what has not yet been paid shall all not be collected. Those wandering people who wish to enter through the passes shall be enregistered and admitted whenever [they arrive]. Those who [wish to] go to [other] commanderies or kingdoms shall be treated respectfully and with equity. [Let the officials] take care that they have the desire to preserve and keep alive [the refugees], in order that they may accord with Our intentions." Autumn In the autumn, in P'o-hai and Ch'ing-ho [Commanderies, the Yellow] River overflowed. Those who suffered from the visitation were assisted by loans.[268] Winter In the winter, in Kuang-han [Commandery], Cheng Kung and others [formed] a faction which gradually spread, invading and passing through four prefectures. His horde [numbered] almost ten thousand persons. [The Emperor] installed the Chief Commandant of Ho-tung [Commandery], Chao Hu, as the Grand Administrator of Kuang-han [Commandery] and mobilized [the people] in that commandery together with [those in] Shu Commandery, altogether thirty thousand men, to attack [the rebels]. Some [of the rebels] seized and beheaded other [rebels], in order to expunge [their own] crimes, and in ten months [the region] was pacified. [The Emperor later] promoted [Chao] Hu to be Chief of Palace Police in the Capital and granted him a hundred catties of actual gold.[270] 401

10: 11a In [the period] Yung-shih, the first year, in the 16 B.C.

I spring, the first month, on [the day] kuei-ch'ou, there 16 B.C.

was a fire in the Ice Chamber of the Grand Provisioner, Mar. 2 on [the day] mou-wu there was a fire in 11a [the Southern] Portal of the Funerary Park of Queen Mar. 7 Li,[278] and in the summer, the fourth month, [the May/June Emperor] enfeoffed [Chao] Lin, the father of the Favorite Beauty née Chao, [Chao Fei-yen], as Marquis of Ch'eng-yang. In the fifth month, [the Emperor] June/July[281] enfeoffed, as Marquis of Hsin-tuc, the Palace Attendant, Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and Imperial Household Grandee, Wang Mang, who was the son of [the Emperor's] maternal uncle, [Wang] Wan. In the sixth month, on [the day] ping-yin, July 13 [the Emperor] established the Empress née Chao, [Chao Fei-yen, as Empress], and [granted] a general amnesty to the empire. In the autumn, the seventh month, an imperial Aug. edict said, "Our grasp of virtue has not been firm and in [Our] plans [We] have not [consulted] all of [Our] subordinates, [so that We] have erred in listening to the Court Architect, [Chieh] Wan-nien, who said that the Ch'ang Tomb could be completed in the third year. He has worked [at it] to the fifth year, [but] has not yet set anyone to work inside the Majors' Gates to its Hall in the central part of the Tomb.[284] The empire's [treasury] is empty and 402 16 B.C. exhausted and the people are worn out and fatigued. 10: 11b

The earth taken from other places [distant from the Tomb] is scanty and bad, so that in the end [the Tomb] cannot be completed. When We reflect upon these difficulties, [We] are saddened and afflicted at heart. Verily `to err and not to reform may indeed be called error.[287] Let the Ch'ang Tomb [and the town of Ch'ang1-ling] be abolished and [let the imperial tomb] be returned[288] to the former Tomb. Let no officials or common people be moved [to the former Tomb],[289] so that in the empire there may not be caused any disturbance in peoples' hearts."[290] 11b [The Emperor] set up [Liu] Li4, a son of King Hsiao of Ch'eng-yang, [Liu Ching3a], as King [of Ch'eng-yang]. Sept. 22 In the eighth month, on [the day] ting-ch'ou, the [Ch'iung-ch'eng] Grand Empress Dowager née Wang died. II In the second year, in the spring, the first month, 15 B.C. on [the day] chi-ch'ou, the Commander-in-chief and Feb. 1 General of Chariots and Cavalry, Wang Yin, died.[296]

403

10: 11b In the second month, on [the day] kuei-wei, in 15 B.C. Mar. 27 the night, stars fell like rain,[300] and on [the day] yi-ch'ou, the last day of the month, there was an Mar. 29 eclipse of the sun. The imperial edict said, "Recently a dragon appeared in Tung-lai [Commandery] and there was an eclipse of the sun. Heaven has made grievous vicisitudes and prodigies appear in order to manifest Our faults. We are greatly dismayed. [Let] the ministers inform and decree to the various officials that they should ponder deeply the warning of Heaven. If there is anything that can be economized or reduced to the advantage and peace of the people, let it be memorialized in detail. Let what [has been given] in aid or loaned to povertystricken people not be collected." It also said, "East of [Han-ku] Pass for successive years there has not been a [good] harvest. To those officials and common people who, because of moral principles, have gathered and fed poverty-stricken people or have contributed grain or goods to assist the imperial government in helping and succoring [the poor], there have already been granted the value [of their contributions].[302] For those [who have contributed] a million [cash] or more, let there be granted in addition the noble rank of Senior Chieftain of Conscripts and let those who wish to become officials be given vacancies [of the rank of] three hundred piculs; let those who are officials be promoted two steps. [Let those who have contributed] three hundred 404 15 B.C. thousand [cash] or more be granted the noble 10: 12a

rank of Fifth [Rank] Grandee; if they are officials, let them also be promoted two steps; if they are common people, let them be given vacancies as Gentlemen. Let the families [of those who have contributed] a hundred thousand [cash] or more not pay the land-tax or capitation taxes for three years, and [let the families of] those [who have contributed] ten thousand cash or more [not pay taxes] for one 12a year."[306] Dec./Jan. In the winter, the eleventh month, [the Emperor] 14 B.C. traveled and favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High].[309] Jan./Feb. In the twelfth month, an imperial edict said, "Previously, the Court Architect, [Chieh] Wan-nien, knew that the Ch'ang Tomb [locality] was low and could not be made a habitation for [Our] decease, [but nevertheless] memorialized, begging to plan and build [that Tomb] and to found and establish

a town at the outer wall [of the Tomb], deceitfully producing lies. He gathered earth and piled it up high, increased the taxes, exactions, and forced service, and pushed [the laborers] to rapid and hurried work, so that the workmen and convicts have suffered punishment and died in continuous succession. The people are utterly worn out and the empire's [treasury] is empty and exhausted. "The Regular Attendant, [Wang] Hung, when he was previously the Palace Assistant Grand Minister of Agriculture, memorialized several times that the 405 10: 12b Ch'ang Tomb could not be completed. The Palace 14 B.C.

Attendant and Commandant of the Palace Guard, [Shun-yü] Chang, stated several times that it would be proper very quickly to cease removing families [to Ch'ang1-ling] and to return [the tomb] to its former location. Because of [Shun-yü] Chang's words, We sent the document of [Wang] Hung to [Our] subordinates, and the ministers and consultants all agreed with [Shun-yü] Chang's calculations. [Shun-yü Chang][313] has taken the lead in proposing the best plan. [Wang] Hung, as Director in Charge [of building the Tomb], has saved a great expense and the common people have therefore become tranquil and at peace. [Wang] Hung has previously been granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis and a hundred catties of actual gold. Let [Shun-yü] Chang be granted the noble rank of Kuan-nei Marquis with the income of an estate of a thousand households, and [let Wang] Hung [be granted the income of an estate] of five hundred households. "[Chieh] Wan-nien has been a flatterer, perverse, and disloyal. His evil influence has spread among the multitude of commoners so that the hatreds [of persons] within the [four] seas have not ceased down to the present. Although he has received a pardon, it is not proper that he should live in the imperial capital. Let [Chieh] Wan-nien be exiled to Tun-huang Commandery." In this year the Grandee Secretary, Wang Chün4a, died.[314] 12b In the third year, in the spring, the first month, on III [the day] chi-mao, the last day of the month, there Mar. 18 was an eclipse of the sun. The imperial edict said, "Visitations from Heaven have been repeated and frequent, so that We have been greatly dismayed 406 14 B.C. [We] have pondered that [many] common people 10: 12b

have lost their occupations and [We] have visited and sent the Grand Palace Grandee Chia and others

to travel about and inspect the empire, to visit and ask the aged and common people from what bitternesses they suffer. Let [these messengers] with the Inspectors of Regional Divisions each recommend [to Us] one true and simple, humble and yielding person whose actions accord with moral principles."[320] Nov. 14 In the winter, the tenth month, on [the day] keng-ch'en, the Empress Dowager [née Wang] issued an imperial edict [ordering] the high officials to reestablish the [imperial] sacrifices at the altar to the Supreme [One] at Kan-ch'üan [Palace], to Sovereign Earth at Fen-yin, at the altars to the Five [Emperors] at Yung, and to the Jewel of Ch'en at Ch'en-ts'ang. 25 B: A discussion is in the "Treatise[323] on the Suburban 15a-16a and Other Sacrifices." Dec./Jan. In the eleventh month, Fan Ping, a man of Wei-shih, 13 B.C. and others, thirteen persons [in all], who had plotted to rebel, killed [Chuang P'u],[327] the Grand Administrator of Ch'en-liu [Commandery], seizing and kidnapping officials and people. [Fan Ping] called himself their general. The convict Li T'an and others, five persons [in all], together struck and killed [Fan] Ping and the others. [Li T'an and his associates] were all enfeoffed as full marquises.[328] Jan./Feb. In the twelfth month, the convicts in the office for iron in Shan-yang [Commandery], Su Ling and others, 228 persons [in all], attacked and killed their 407 10: 13a Chief Official and robbed weapons from the arsenal. [Su Ling] called himself their general. They passed through nineteen commanderies and kingdoms,[331] and killed the Grand Administrator of Tung Commandery and the Chief Commandant of Ju-nan [Commandery. The Emperor] sent the Chief Clerk of the Lieutenant Chancellor and the Palace Assistant Secretary, with credentials, to superintend and urge on the pursuit and arresting [of the rebels]. The Grand Administrator of Ju-nan [Commandery], Chuang Hsin, arrested and beheaded [Su] Ling and the others. [The Emperor] promoted [Chuang] Hsin 13a to be Grand Minister of Agriculture and granted him a hundred catties of actual gold. In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan Feb./Mar. [Palace with a visit, where he] performed the suburban sacrifice at the alter to the Supreme [One]; supernatural lights descended and rested upon the Purple Hall. A general amnesty [was granted] to the empire and there were granted: to the officials and common people of Yün-yang, noble ranks; to the women of a hundred households, an ox and wine; and to widowers, widows, orphans, childless, and aged, silk. In the third month, [the Emperor] Apr./May traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a

visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. Grants were made to the officials and common people [of this place] just as at Yün-yang; the places through which he had passed were not to pay the land-tax on cultivated fields. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the day] 408 13 B.C. May 15 kuei-wei, there were visitations [of fire] in both the 10: 13b

Hall of Approach to Flowers in Ch'ang-lo [Palace] and in the Eastern Majors' Gate in Wei-yang Palace, July 25 and in the sixth month, on [the day] chia-wu, there was a visitation [of fire] to [the Eastern] Portal of the Funerary Park at the Pa Tomb.[340] [The concubines of Emperor Hsüan] at the Tu Tomb who had not served the Emperor were sent away and returned to their homes,[341] and an imperial edict said, "Recently there was an earthquake and in the imperial capital, visitations of fire have several times descended, so that We are greatly dismayed. Let the high officials do their utmost to make clear the parallels [to these visitations, in order to show where lies] the blame for them. We will Ourself look over [their replies]." It also said, "The Sage-kings made clear the rites and regulations in order [to display] the ranks of the honorable and lowly; they made distinctions among carriages and clothes in order to render illustrious those who possessed virtue. Although a person had the wealth [to own splendid carriages and clothes], if yet he did not have the honorable [rank necessary for displaying them], he was not permitted to overstep the regulations [for his rank]. Hence the common people were excited to good conduct, moral principles were exalted, and profit was deprecated. "[But] just now the custom of the age is to be 13b extravagant and overstep [the proper bounds] without limit, without being contented or satisfied. The ministers, full marquises, [Our] personal attendants, and the courtiers near [Our Person should 409 10: 13b be] models for the four quarters [of the empire, but 13 B.C.

We] have not yet heard of any who cultivate their personalities in obedience to the rules of proper conduct or who join in mind [with Us] in being solicitous for the state. Some, moreover, are extravagant and prodigal, [loving] repose and pleasure, taking care to enlarge their dwellings and residences, building gardens and ponds, maintaining an excessive number of male and female slaves, carrying on their shoulders and wearing [on their bodies] flowered silks and gauzes, setting up bells and drums, procuring female musicians, chariots and trappings, and performing

marriages and burials that overpass the regulations. The [lower] officials and common people emulate and imitate them, so that [such extravagance] has gradually become customary. Under [these circumstances], is it not difficult to expect the people to be economical and self-restrained, families to be self-sufficient, and [every] person to be contented? Does not the Book of Odes say, `Awe-inspiring art thou, [Grand] Master Yin, The common people all look to thee'?[345] "Let it be made known and decreed that the high officials shall therefore gradually prohibit [such extravagance]. Let, however, blue and green, which are the regular [colors of] clothing for the common people, not be forbidden.[346] Let the full marquises and the courtiers near [the throne] each economize and reform himself, and let the Colonel Director of Retainers investigate those who do not change." In the autumn, the seventh month, on [the day] hsin-wei, the last day of the month, there was an Aug. 31 eclipse of the sun. In [the period] Yüan-yen, the first year, in the I spring, the first month, on [the day] chi-hai, the 12 B.C. first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the Jan. 26 410 12 B.C. sun. 10: 13b Apr./May In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. In the summer, the fourth month, on [the first May 24 day], ting-yu, when there were no clouds, there was a sound of thunder and light shone out on all sides, descending to the earth. At dusk it stopped.[355] An amnesty [was granted] to the empire. In the Aug./Sept. autumn, the seventh month, a comet appeared in [the constellation] Tung-ching.[357] The imperial 411 10: 14a edict said, "Recently there have been eclipses and 12 B.C. 14a falling stars, reproaches appearing in heaven. Great prodigies have been repeated, [but] those who are in [official] positions have been silent; rarely have there been loyal utterances. Now a comet has appeared in [the constellation] Tung-ching. We are greatly dismayed. Let the ministers, grandees, erudits, and grandee-consultants each do their best in pondering and thinking upon the meaning of these

grievous vicissitudes, and parallel them clearly from the Classics [in explanation], not keeping silent about anything. Let them and the inner commanderies and kingdoms each recommend one sincere and upright person who is able to speak frankly and admonish unflinchingly, and let the twenty-two commanderies at the northern border each recommend one person who is brave and fierce and knows the methods of warfare." [The Emperor] enfeoffed [Hsiao] Hsi3, a descendant of the Chancellor of State, Hsiao [Ho], as Marquis of Tsan.[361] In the winter, the twelfth month, on [the day] 11 B.C. hsin-hai, the Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief, Feb. 2 Wang Shang1b, died. In this year, the Brilliant Companion née Chao killed an Imperial Son in the Harem.[364] In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan Feb./Mar. 412 11 B.C. [Palace with a visit, where he] made the suburban 10: 14b

sacrifice at the alter to the Supreme [One]. In the Apr./May third month, he traveled and favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. May/June In the summer, the fourth month, he set up [Liu] Shou3a,[371] the son of King Hsiao of Kuang-ling, [Liu Pa], as King [of Kuang-ling]. Winter In the winter, [the Emperor] traveled and favored 14b Ch'ang-yang Palace [with a visit], and, accompanied by guests who were northwestern barbarians (Hu), he [held] a great hunting contest.[374] He spent the night at Pei-yang Palace and made grants to his accompanying officials. III In the third year, in the spring, the first month, on 413 10: 15a [the day] ping-yin, Mt. Min in Shu Commandery 10 B.C. 10 B.C. collapsed, blocking the [Min] River to the third day, Feb. 12 so that the water of the [Min] River was exhausted.[380] In the second month, [the Emperor] enfeoffed the

Mar. Palace Attendant and Commandant of the Palace Guard, Shun-yü Chang, as Marquis of Ting-ling. In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and Apr. favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. In the fourth year, in the spring, the first month, IV [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan 9 B.C. [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban Feb./Mar. sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the second month, the office of the Colonel Mar./Apr. Director of the Retainers was abolished. In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and Apr./May favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. Sweet dew descended in the imperial capital, and [the Emperor] granted oxen and wine to the common people of Ch'ang-an.[388] In [the period] Sui-ho, the first year, in the spring, I the first month, a general amnesty [was granted] to 8 B.C. the empire. In the second month, on [the day] Feb./Mar. kuei-ch'ou, an imperial edict said, "We have succeeded Mar. 20 to the vast estate of the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], and have upheld the [imperial] ancestral temples to the twenty-fifth year. [But 15a Our] virtue has been unable to give tranquility to or administer [properly the region] within the [empire's] boundaries. Many are the people who [cherish] resentment. [We] have not received the blessing of Heaven, [for] down to the present [We] have not yet 414 8 B.C. had an heir to succeed [Us], and the empire has no 10: 15a

one to whom its hearts can attach themselves. When [We] look over the warnings [in the history] of the distant past and of recent events, the beginnings of calamities and disorders have all come from this [lack of an appointed heir]. "The King of Ting-t'ao, [Liu] Hsin5, has [acted] toward Us as a son. He is affectionate, benevolent, filial, and obedient, so that he may therefore follow [Us] in the succession [decreed by] Heaven, and continue the [imperial] sacrifices. Let [Liu] Hsin5 be made the Imperial Heir-apparent. Let the Grandee-remonstrant Feng Ts'an, who is the maternal uncle of the King of Chung-shan, [Liu Hsing], be enfeoffed

as Marquis of Yi-hsiang,[396] and let the kingdom of Chung-shan be increased by thirty thousand households, in order to console [Liu Hsing's] feelings, [since he is not made Heir-apparent]. Let there be granted: to the vassal kings and full marquises, gold; to those in the empire who will be the successors to their fathers, a noble rank; to the Thrice Venerable, the Filially Pious, the Fraternally Respectful, and the [Diligent] Cultivators of the Fields, silk, to each proportionately." It also said, "Verily, [We] have heard that the [true] kings necessarily preserved the descendants of the two [preceding] kingly [dynasties], in order that they might thereby connect themselves with the Three Beginnings.[397] Anciently, T'ang the Victorious 415 10: 15b received [Heaven's] mandate and [his dy8 B.C.

nasty, the Yin,] is grouped among the Three Dynasties, yet his sacrifices have been neglected and cut off. When [We] sought for his descendants, none was more upright than K'ung Chi. Let 15b [K'ung] Chi be enfeoffed as the Marquis Continuing and Honoring the Yin [Dynasty]." In the third Apr./May month, his noble rank was advanced to be that of Duke. Together with the Marquis who Succeeds to the Greatness of the Chou [Dynasty, Chi Tang], they were both made Dukes, each with a territory of a hundred li [square]. [The Emperor] traveled and favored Yung [with a visit, where he] sacrificed at the altars to the Five [Lords on High]. In the summer, the fourth month, the Commander-in-chief May/June 416 8 B.C. and General[404] of Agile Cavalry, [Wang] 10: 15b

Ken, was made [merely] Commander-in-chief, and his General's office was abolished. [The title of] the Grandee Secretary was made that of the Grand Minister of Works, and [its incumbent, Ho Wu,] was enfeoffed as a full marquis.[406] The salaries of the Commander-in-chief and the Grand Minister of Works were increased to be like that of the Lieutenant Chancellor.[407] In the autumn, the eighth month, on [the day] Sept. 13 keng-hsü, the King of Chung-shan, [Liu] Hsing, died. Dec. In the winter, the eleventh month, [the Emperor] set up [Liu] Ching3b, a grandson of King Hsiao of Ch'u, [Liu Ao], as King of Ting-t'ao.[410]

The Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-yü Chang, [who had committed] treason and inhuman conduct, was sent to prison and died, and the Commandant of Justice, K'ung Kuang, was sent with credentials to grant poison to the honored lady née Hsü. She 7 B.C. drank the poison and died.[412] Jan. In the twelfth month, the Inspectors of Regional 417 10: 16a Divisions were abolished and there were established 7 B.C.

instead Provincial Shepherds with the rank of two thousand piculs. In the second year, in the spring, the first month, II [the Emperor] traveled and favored Kan-ch'üan Feb. [Palace with a visit, where he performed] the suburban sacrifice at the altar to the Supreme [One]. In the second month, on [the day] jen-tzu, the Mar. 14 Lieutenant Chancellor, Chai Fang-chin, died. 16a In the third month, [the Emperor] traveled and Apr. favored Ho-tung [Commandery with a visit, where he] sacrificed to Sovereign Earth. On [the day] ping-hsü, the Emperor died in Wei-yang Palace. Apr. 17 The Empress Dowager [née Wang] issued an imperial edict that the high officials should reestablish the [places] for the suburban sacrifices to the south and north of Ch'ang-an. In the fourth month, on [the day] yi-mao,[422] [the Emperor] was buried in May 16 the Yen Tomb. In eulogy we say: Your servant [Pan Piao's] paternal aunt was given a place in the [imperial] harem 418 and became a Favorite Beauty;[424] her father, [Pan 10: 16b

K'uang], his sons and her brothers waited [upon the Emperor] in his private apartments, and frequently said to your servant, "Emperor Ch'eng was good at cultivating his deportment and appearance. `When he mounted his chariot, he stood upright, he did not look around, he did not speak hastily, he did not point with his hands.'[426] When he attended court, he was profound and silent, dignified and grave like a god, so that it might be [truly] said, Majestic is the bearing of the Son of Heaven.[427] He read widely on [both] ancient and present [matters], and received frank discourses indulgently." His ministers were worthy of their positions, and their memorials and

discussions are worthy of being transmitted [to posterity]. 16b He happened upon an age which inherited a peaceful condition, when the superior and his inferiors were in concord. Yet he gave himself up to wine and women. The Chao clan caused disorder within [the palace] and his maternal relatives made themselves masters in the court. In saying this, I cannot but feel oppressed. From [the period] Chien-shih 32 B.C. onwards,[430] the Wang clan first grasped the power of the state. [Emperors] Ai and P'ing had [only] short lives, and [Wang] Mang thereupon usurped the throne. In fact his [usurpation of the imperial power, thereby enabling him to grant] severity or favor, came about [very] gradually.[431] [1] For these places, cf. Glossary sub Heir-apparent's Palace. [2] Hsün Yüeh (148-209), in his Han-chi 24: 1a, repeats the statement in HS 98: 3a that Emperor Hsüan himself gave to the future Emperor Ch'eng the name Ao and his tzu [OMITTED] was T'ai-sun, so that this passage was early interpreted as recording the Emperor's `style'. But Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884) points out that T'ai-sun [OMITTED] is an appellation analogous to Heir-apparent [OMITTED], just as in the time of Emperor Wu the son of Heir-apparent Li was called the Imperial Grandson [OMITTED], and his son (the future Emperor Hsüan), was called the Imperial Great-grandson [OMITTED]. This interpretation is confirmed by the statement in 98: 3a, that after Emperor Yüan ascended the throne, he "[OMITTED], established the Heir-apparent of the Heir-apparent as his Heir-apparent," in which [OMITTED] seems plainly to be a title (cf. HS 8: 1a and Glossary, sub vocibus). [6] Cf. 9: 4a. [8] Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) comments, "The ch'ih-tao [OMITTED] is the road on which the Son of Heaven travels, like the present central path." Cf. Glossary sub Imperial pathway. [9] A quotation from Analects XVI, v, where Confucius condemns these enjoyments. Yen Shih-ku (581-645) remarks that in his time the vulgar copies did not have the second [OMITTED], which was excised because people did not understand that this phrase was a quotation. From the comment of Chin Shao (fl. ca. 275), his copy evidently also did not have this character. [13] HS 9: 13a. [15] Han-chi 24:1a reads yi-wei instead of chi-wei, and Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) hence says that the HS here is mistaken; but Hüang's Concordance des Chronologies néoméniques puts a chi-wei but no yi-wei day in this month, so that the text seems correct. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) 29: 21b reads chi-wei. The enthronement occurred 27 days after Emperor Yüan's death and 27 days before his burial. [18] Wang Hsien-ch'ien (1842-1918) remarks, "The Wang clan secured its power for the first [time] from this [appointment]." [19] Yi-wei is a mistake, for there was no such day in the sixth month. These words seem to be either an erroneous dittography, an interpolation for the preceding chi-wei, or a mistake for yi-ch'ou, which was Aug. 10. [22] The name of this year-period plainly means "to establish a beginning," and is appropriate for the first year-period in a reign.

[26] HS 27 A: 15a also lists this fire (with lacunae). [27] HS 27 Cb: 23a adds, "It was bluish white in color, sixty or seventy feet (degrees) long, and more than a foot (degree) broad." J. Williams, Observations of Comets, lists it as no. 50. Dio Cassius (Hist. Roman., L [Loeb ed., V, 451]) also mentions it; cf. Chambers, Descriptive Astronomy, I, 556, [72]. [31] Han-chi 24: 1b reads "more than ten," instead of "seven." [33] Book of History IV, ix, 2 (Legge, p. 264). [36] A reference to the famous phrase in Analects, IV, xv, 2. [38] HS 27 Ca: 6a says, "In [the period] Chien-shih, the first year, the fourth month, on [the day] hsin-ch'ou [May 13], in the night, to the northwest, there was light as of a fire; on [the day] jen-yin [May 14], at dawn, a great wind arose from the northwest, and the clouds of emanations were red and yellow on [all] four [sides] of the empire for a whole day and night. What came down and lay upon the earth was yellow earthen dust." The portent is blamed on the immediately preceding enfeoffments of imperial relatives. W. Eberhard says it may have been a distant volcanic eruption; it might also have been an unusual dust-storm; cf. his "Beiträge z. Kosmol. Spekulation in d. Han-Zeit." p. 30-31. It was later instanced by Li Hsün, cf. 75: 23a. Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests that the words jen-yin must have dropped out of the text in ch. 10 after the words for "fourth month." [41] Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) says, "They were the places [for standing] for the ministers and lower [officials] at the court gatherings." Blue flies were symbolic of calumny (Book of Odes, II, vii, v; Legge, p. 394). [46] HS 27 Cb: 16a says, "In the eighth month, on [the day] mou-wu [Sept. 27], at dawn, when the clepsydra had not yet emptied itself by three marks, there were two moons shining together." Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that the words mou-wu have dropped out after the words for "the eighth month", since otherwise the passage would mean that two moons appeared every night. Ying Shao quotes Ching Fang's (i cent. B.C.) Yi-chuan (this passage is not found in the present book by that name, but quoted from that source, in HS 27 Cb: 16b) in explanation, "When a prince is as weak as a woman, so that he is led by the Yin (female [influence]), then two moons appear." [50] For its significance, cf. Introduction to this chapter, pp. 362-365. [54] Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that this abolition and that of the other places for sacrifice in the preceding year were all due to the suggestion of K'uang Heng, q. v. in Glossary. These other places for sacrifice were reestablished in 14 B.C. and abolished again in 7 B.C., after Emperor Ch'eng's death; cf. 10: 12a, b, 16a; Introduction, p. 362. [57] The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the Yao text (possibly x cent.) contained a note saying, "Every time the Han [Emperors] went to Yung or sacrificed at Kan-ch'üan [Palace, the people of those places] were put to the trouble of provisioning a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen. Now the sacrifices were changed to the places for the suburban sacrifice south and north [of Ch'ang-an], hence the [people] had [not] the trouble of furnishing tents and forced service." (The interpretation of [OMITTED] as meaning [OMITTED] is made by Chang Yen [prob. iii cent.] in a note to Pan Ku's "Fu on the Eastern Capital" in the Wen-hsüan [ca. 530]. Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that the [OMITTED] in Sung Ch'i's quotation should be [OMITTED] and the first [OMITTED] should be [OMITTED].) [59] Ying Shao explains, "The place for the suburban sacrifice to Heaven was south of the city of Ch'ang-an and the place for the suburban sacrifice to Earth was north of the city of Ch'ang-an within the borders of Ch'ang-ling [prefecture. These] two prefectures had the care of upholding the suburban sacrifices, hence they were both granted an amnesty at the same time."

[60] Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) comments, "Originally the poll-tax was 120 [cash]. Now it was reduced forty [cash] and became eighty [cash]." But S. Kato comes to a different conclusion. Cf. Glossary sub "poll-tax." [66] HS 27 Ba: 26a says, "In the third month, on [the day] mou-tzu [Apr. 25], the spring in a well within the Northern Palace sprang up considerably, overflowed, and [water] came out, flowing southwards." [70] He had murdered his divorced concubine, who had given information that he had failed to fast and abstain during the period of mourning for Emperor Yüan. Cf. Glossary, sub voce. [78] HS 27 A: 22a says, "In [the period] Chien-shih, the third year, in the summer, there was a flood. In the three capital commanderies, there was a prolonged rain for more than thirty days and in nineteen commanderies and kingdoms there was rain. Streams issued from the valleys of the mountains, killing altogether more than four thousand persons and destroying more than eighty-three thousand government buildings and houses of the common people." This visitation was blamed upon the change in the suburban sacrifices made in the preceding two years. This prolonged rain for more than thirty days is also noted in 27 Ba: 9b. [81] HS 27 Ca: 21a says, "In the third year of [the period] Chien-shih, the seventh month [the text reads the "tenth" month, but the day shows this numeral is an error], on [the day] ting-wei, [Sept. 6], in the imperial capital, [people] terrified each other, saying that a flood was coming. A little girl of Szu-shang on the Wei River, Ch'en Ch'ih-kung, who was in the ninth year of her age, ran, entered the Kuang city-gate, and entered the side gate of the Master of Recipes in Wei-yang Palace. The guards at the gates and doors of the Hall did not see her. She reached the forbidden apartments [in the care of] the Intendant of the [Imperial] Palace Parks, and was then discovered and arrested." This passage explains the event as portending the entrance of the Wang clan into the imperial inheritance through imperial favor shown to female relatives. Wang Feng had advised that the Emperor and his harem should take to boats and the people should take refuge on the city walls. Wang Shang1a opposed this advice and the rumor of a flood proved groundless; cf. 82: 1b. Ying Shao says, "To enter into a palace by fraud without any credentials or registration [at the palace gate] is called lan [OMITTED]." He also says, "The Yi-men [OMITTED] are small gates at the side of the main gates." Yen Shih-ku adds, "The yi-men are on the two sides. It means that they are like a man's armpits (yi)." [87] Cf. the Appendix for eclipses. The interpreters of portents made much of this combination of eclipse and earthquake, alleging that it was due to intrigues in the harem. Cf. 27 Cb: 15a, b. [88] The Official ed. (1739) reads [OMITTED] instead of the text's [OMITTED]. [89] The Appendix to the Official ed. says that the Sung Ch'i ed. (xi or xii cent.) omits the words [OMITTED], but the other editions have them. The passage that follows is probably a reference to Book of Changes, App. III, ii, 15 (Legge, 383). [91] Yen Shih-ku says, "K'un [OMITTED] [means] a crowd [OMITTED], and k'un-ch'ung [OMITTED] means the numberless insects [OMITTED]. Moreover Hsü Shen [d. 121] in his Shuo-wen [13 B: 1a; A. D. 100] says, `Two ch'ung are [OMITTED] . . . . [This word] is read the same as k'un.' It means that it is a general term for ch'ung. The two ideas are interchanged. Cheng Hsüan [127-200, in a note to Li-ki 12: 3b] considered, however, that k'un-ch'ung means `insects born under the influence of the Yang principle [OMITTED]', in which he was mistaken. Ch'ung is pronounced [OMITTED] [pres. hui]." [92] A quotation from Book of History II, iv, i, 5 (Legge, p. 81), where this statement is put into the mouth of Shun. [95]

For [OMITTED], the Official ed. reads [OMITTED]. [96] HS 27 Cb: 25a says, "In Chien-shih IV, i, on kuei-mao [Feb. 29], four meteorites fell in Kao-[ch'eng], and one in Fei-lei." [99] Cf. Glossary, sub Masters of Writing. [102] HS 27 Bb: 13b adds, "In the kingdom of Yen, many died." (The context shows that the date there given [Chien-chao, IV, iii] was probably originally the same as that here.) This portent was interpreted as presaging the dismissal of the Empress nee Hsü. [104] Ying Shao explains, "[Yüan] Feng had been the Prefect of Ch'ang-an and had attained a reputation for able rule, so he was selected and installed as Colonel Director of the Retainers. [Ch'en] Lin had held a long-standing grudge against [Yüan] Feng. When he saw that the latter was to be honored and distinguished, he feared that [the latter] would injure or kill him. After the installation had ended, before [Yüan Feng] had gone out, [Ch'en Lin] sent a man to stab and kill him." [106] Cf. HS 29: 14b. [110] The edict explains the name of this year-period as meaning, "The [Yellow] River is peaceful." [113] HS 27 Cb: 17a, b says, "In Ho-p'ing I, the first month, on [the day] jen-yin [Feb. 22], the first day of the month, when the sun and moon were both in [the constellation] Ying-shih, the sun came up red. In the second month, on [the day] kuei-wei [Apr. 4], the sun was red in the morning and when it went down it was also red. At night the moon was red. On [the day] chia-shen [Apr. 5], the sun came up as red as blood, without any brilliance. When the clepsydra marked four divisions and a half, [the sun] had some light, and lighted up the earth red and yellow. After breakfast, [the sun] recovered [its natural light]. . . . In the third month, on [the day] yi-wei [probably a mistake for chi-wei, May 10], the sun came up yellow with a black emanation as large as a cash right in the center of the sun," [probably a sun-spot]. [115] This edict is also quoted in 29: 15a; the added detail there seems to show that the quotation there represents the original, which Pan Ku has condensed and polished for his "Annals." [122] This restoration was at the request of P'ing Tang. The Temple had been abolished in 33 B.C. Cf. 9: 13a. [126] HS 27 A: 13b says, "In Ho-p'ing II, i, at the office for iron in P'ei Commandery, [at present P'ei, northwestern Kiangsu], when iron was being cast, it would not come down. There was a rumbling like the noise of thunder and also like the sound of drums, and the thirteen workmen were frightened and fled. When the sounds stopped, they returned and looked at the earth. The earth had opened up several feet, the furnace had divided into eleven [pieces], and from inside the furnace, the iron had scattered like shooting stars and had all gone up and out [of the furnace. It was] a phenomenon similar to that in Cheng-ho II." HS 27 A: 13a says, "In Cheng-ho II, [91 B.C.], in the spring, when, at the office for iron in Cho Commandery, they were casting iron, the iron melt all flew up and out. In this [case, the element] fire constituted the unhappy vicissitude and caused it to act thus." Professor Thomas T. Read of the Columbia University School of Mines points out that the above phenomena were what we would now call furnace break-outs, and that the description is exceedingly important in the history of iron technology, because such an accident could only happen in a furnace of the cupola type, which has been supposed to be a much later development. Cf. T. T. Read, "The Earliest Industrial Use of Coal," Transactions, Newcomen Soc'y of England, v. 20 (1939-40), pp. 119-133. [128] HS 27 Bb: 16a says, "In Ho-p'ing II, iv [May/June], in the kingdom of Ch'u, it rained hail as large as axe [heads], and flying birds were killed."

[130] Su Yü (fl. 1913) points out that, according to HS 18: 19b-20b, these brothers were all enfeoffed on the same day, and suggests that the day should have been mentioned in the text here, "yi-hai," July 20. They were commonly called "The Five Marquises." [136] HS 27 Ca: 10b says, "In Ho-p'ing III, ii, on ping-hsü, in Chien-wei [Commandery], Po-chiang Mountain collapsed and Chüan-chiang Mountain collapsed, both blocking the water of the [Min] River, so that the water of the [Min] River flowed backwards, injuring city-walls and killing thirteen persons. The earthquake shocks continued for twenty-one days, 124 shocks." Except for a statement in the Comment on the Shui-ching (by Li Tao-yüan, d. 527), 33: 10a, locating this earthquake in Nan-an Prefecture, there seems to be no information about the location of these mountains. Nan-an was located, according to the Yi-t'ung Chih 405: 3a, 20 li northeast of the present Chia-chiang [OMITTED] Hsien, in the Ch'ing Dynasty's Chia-ting Fu, Szechuan. This potent is grouped in HS ch. 27 with those due to lack of perspicacious thinking. Anciently, what is now called the Min River was considered to be the upper course of the Yangtze (Book of History, III, i, ii, 9 [Legge, 137]; HS 28 Aiii: 71a), hence the text states that the Yangtze River was blocked. In this and other cases, I have used the modern name. [139] Liu Hsiang4 not only published new editions of the ancient classics (cf. the preface to his edition of Hsün-Tzu, in Hsün-tzu 20: 26a ff; trans. in Dubs, Hsüntze, p. 28 ff), but also, with his son, Liu Hsin1a, made a catalog of the Palace Private Library, which is to be found in HS ch. 30. Feng Yu-lan says that the "Ancient text" classics and explanations must have entered the imperial private library at this time; Cf. his Chung-kuo Chê-hsüeh Shih, 2nd. ed., II, p. 575f. [143] Cf. HS 94 B: 10a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 249. [148] The sentences following are evidently taken from the edict commissioning the legates; in order to translate them in direct discourse, instead of the indirect form in the Chinese, I have added the words in brackets. [149] Yen Shih-ku says that [OMITTED] is the same as [OMITTED] and means "to measure their degree [of need]." Ch'ien Ta-chao corroborates the fact that these two words were anciently interchanged by quoting SC 28: 38, which uses the first word, and then pointing out that where this sentence is quoted in HS 25 A: 19a, the second word is used. [151] This sentence may be translated, "In Ch'ang-ling and Lin-ching [prefectures]," but Lin-ching was, according to the Ta-ch'ing Yi-t'ung Chih, located 2 li west of the present Chen-yüan, Kansu, near the headwaters of a branch of the Ching River (cf. HS 28 Bi: 21a), so that an avalanche there would seem of little importance. [156] Dr. D. Bodde suggests that this passage is an early reference to coal. Professor Thomas T. Reed of the Columbia University School of Mines adds that this is probably the earliest account of a coal seam on fire. Ying Shao explains this name as follows: "At that time the Yin [principle] was flourishing and the Yang [principle] was weak, hence [the Emperor] changed the year-period and called it Yang-so (the beginning of the Yang), [meaning that] he wished the Yang [principle] to revive and grow." Yen Shih-ku replies, "Ying [Shao's] explanation is mistaken. So [means] beginning. Because the fire [i.e., a Yang manifestation and in Shan-yang Commandery] started among stones, it means that it was `a beginning of the Yang's manifestations.' " [162] Wang Chang had outspokenly criticized Wang Feng, who had him imprisoned; cf. Glossary, sub voce. [166] Book of History I, i, 2 (Legge, p. 17, translates differently). The present text of the Book of History has pien [OMITTED] instead of the HS's fan [OMITTED]. Ying Shao explains fan by pien, but Wei Chao says that fan means to [OMITTED]. Yen Shih-ku notes the difference and says that both are correct. Tuan Yü-ts'ai (1735-1815), in his Ku-wen Shang-shu Hsüan-yi (in the Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh, 567: 10b, 11a), says that the `modern text' of the Book of History read fan and the `ancient text' pien. Ying Shao followed the `ancient

text' to read fan as pien, whereas Wei Chao explained fan as to, so that the interpretation of this sentence by the modern text school did not change the reading. Ying Shao says that the li in li-min [OMITTED] means [OMITTED]. Yen Shih-ku repeats this interpretation in a note to 5: 10b10. In the Book of History, the sentence here quoted refers to the actions of Yao and comes before the appointment of the Hsi and the Ho, whereas the edict here makes it the consequence the appointment of the Hsi and the Ho. [169] On the "orders for the months or yüeh-ling" cf. Ku Chieh-kang Han-tai-Hsüeh-shu Shih-lüeh [OMITTED], pp. 40, 41. Tung Chung-shu was largely responsible for this cult. [172] The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Ancient Text (before vii cent.) did not have the word for "summer." [174] Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) says, "[The rank] of eight hundred [piculs] was eliminated and [the former occupants of that rank] were given [the rank of] six hundred [piculs; the rank] of five hundred [piculs] was eliminated and [the former occupants of that rank] were given [the rank of] four hundred [piculs]." Cf. Glossary, sub "Salaries." [176] Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests that the word [OMITTED] has dropped out at this point. Since the edict is not quoted in full, possibly Pan Ku purposely omitted this word. [180] Hoang lists no chia-shen day in the eighth month. Chia-shen may have been a mistake for chia-tzu, which was Oct. 16. [182] Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the foregoing statement has nothing to do with the rest of the entries for this month, and says that such a general statement is not paralleled elsewhere. Hence he suggests that it has been displaced from the end of the statement just above, concerning the appointment of Grandee-remonstrants and Erudits. It seems as if something has been omitted at this point. [183] A quotation from Analects II, xi. [185] A quotation from Analects XV, ix. [188] He died some time before May 28th, which was the day when his successor, Wang Yin, was installed; cf. 19 B: 43a. Yen Shih-ku remarks that the annalist upon whom Pan Ku depended for the events of this "Annals" probably did not know in what month Chang Chung died, so noted his death at the end of the chronicle for the year, just as with Wang Chün (10: 12a). Pan Ku did not compile the HS "Tables," which record the dates of official appointments. [190] The text reads "third month," but HS 27 Cb: 25a says, "In Yang-so III, the second month, on [the day] jen-hsü, eight meteorites fell in Po-ma [a prefecture of Tung Commandery]." According to Hoang, there was no jen-hsü day in the third month (which is the reading in the present text of the "Annals"). Hence I have emended "third" to "second" in my translation. Han-chi 25: 9b reads "third month," showing that the "Annals" was already mistaken in the second century. The peculiar style in recording meteorites is copied from the Spring and Autumn. It is also used throughout the catalogue of meteorites in HS 27 Cb: 25a. Cf. Hu Shih, The Development of Logical Method in Ancient China, p. 49. [194] The text reads "commanderies" instead of "prefectures"; Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the rebellion was put down within a month, which would have been difficult or impossible if the rebellion had extended to nine commanderies; the names of these commanderies are moreover not given. Hence "commanderies" is a mistake for "prefectures." In 17 B.C., the rebellion of Cheng Kung lasted over a year, although he disturbed only four prefectures (10: 10a,b). Hsün Yüeh seems to have followed a text which read "commanderies" and also to have felt that it was doubtful, for his Han-chi 25: 9b reads, "He overran commanderies and kingdoms." HS 28 Ai: 91a notes an office

for iron in Yang-ch'eng of Ying-ch'uan Commandery. [195] SC 117: 61 quotes a note of Hsü Hung-chün (fl. dur. 1875-1908), "In my opinion, chün-hsing [OMITTED] was the name of a Han [dynasty] law. The Chou-li 16: [1a = Biot, I, 357, says], `He equitably distributes [the grain] which has been collected and stored up,' and Cheng Hsüan [127-200] comments, `When the imperial government levies and gathers goods, [this levy] is called hsing. What today is called chün-hsing is the same [as this].' " Hence chün-hsing was a technical term for levying an army and military supplies, and not an error for [OMITTED], as it is said to be in the Tz'u-t'ung, vol. II, ch. 24, p. 151. This phrase is also found in HS 57 B: 1a; 99 B: 14b; etc. For other examples, cf. Han-lü-k'ao 3: 11a. Cf. also the technical name for the crime connected with this law, in HS 99 C: 15b. [200] Ch'ien Ta-hsin remarks that deaths of Commanders-in-chief are recorded beginning with 117 B.C. (6: 17b), but their surnames are omitted, just as in the case of Lieutenant Chancellors, except in 22 B.C. (10: 7b), 15 B.C. (10: 11b), and 11 B.C. (10: 14a). [204] The "Great Plan" is Bk. iv of Part V in the Book of History; the allusion is to verse 7 (Legge, p. 327), which enumerates the eight concerns of government. [205] Ying Shao glosses, "The work of spring is plowing." This phrase is an allusion to Book of History, I, ii, 4 (Legge, p. 19). [206] Yen Shih-ku explains, "The ch'ien-mo [OMITTED] were the roads between the cultivated fields. Those north and south were called ch'ien; those east and west were called mo. They were probably those opened by Shang Yang in the Ch'in period." On these paths, cf. the illuminating remarks by Dr. Duyvendak in his Book of Lord Shang, p. 18, n. 3; p. 45, n. 1 and the notes in HS 24 A: 8b & 28 Bii: 51a. [209] Book of History, IV, vii, i, 9 (Legge, p. 226f). [210] For [OMITTED] (which is in Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text and in the Official ed. [1739], and which is not found in the dictionaries), the Ching-yu ed. (1034) and the Chi-ku Ko ed. (1642) read [OMITTED]. [212] HS 27 Bb: 14a says, "In Yang-so IV, the fourth month [May], snow fell, and in [the kingdom of] Yen, birds died." [219] Book of History, V, xxviii, 2 (Legge, p. 617). In the present text of that Book, three characters are different from those in the quotation here. Instead of the HS text's [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; instead of [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; and instead of [OMITTED], it reads [OMITTED]; thus giving an entirely different meaning to the last two clauses. Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) comments, "It says, [putting the words into the mouth of King P'ing of the Chou dynasty], that my Chou dynasty has not been able to secure, as those employed [in charge of] affairs, [officials] who are aged and capable, [thereby] causing the state to be in danger and ruin. The blame lies upon those employed [to be in charge of] affairs." Su Yü (fl. 1913) says that Wen Ying's explanation, "the blame lies upon those employed [to be in charge of] affairs," interprets exactly chüeh-kung [OMITTED], which are the last two words of the quotation in the edict, and that if this clause were interpreted to mean "the blame lies upon myself," as Yen Shih-ku (and Legge, loc. cit.) interprets it, [OMITTED] would have to be written instead of chüeh. He also remarks that the HS text is probably from the "modern text" of the Book of History. In spite of the text, the sense would, however, seem to require Yen Shih-ku's interpretation, but of course chüeh does not bear that interpretation. Dr. Duyvendak has called my attention to Karlgren's article on the pronoun chüeh in the Book of History, (Göteborgs Högskolas Årsskrift, 39 [1933]: 2, pp. 29-38) in which he argues that, for paleological reasons, chüeh was sometimes confused with nai [OMITTED], both in the sense of "then" and as the second personal pronoun. But even nai would not give a suitable meaning here. [226] Chang Yen (iii cent.) says, "He went out by a rear gate, followed by Gentlemen Attendants at the Gates, together with his private slaves and guests, [in all] ten-odd

persons. They were [clothed] in white garments with a girdle and turban, and [rode] one-[horse chariots] or [were all] on horses, going in and out of the markets and wards without again ordering a clearing of the roads. This was like the conduct of an unimportant and humble [person], hence it was called wei-hsing [OMITTED] (traveling [like] an unimportant [person])." Tzu-chih T'ung-Chien 31: 2 a,b quotes the above comment in its text and adds that the Emperor went as far as the prefectures neighboring on Ch'ang-an and to Kan-ch'üan, Ch'ang-yang, and Wu-tso Palaces, to see cock-fights and horse-races. It adds that he called himself a member of the household of the Marquis of Fu-p'ing, Chang Fang, whose mother was Emperor Ch'eng's aunt, the Princess of Ching-wu, and who had himself married a younger sister of Emperor Ch'eng's Empress nee Hsü and was in high favor with the Emperor. The above information is taken largely from HS 97 B: 16a and 27 Ba: 11a, b. [228] Yen Shih-ku implies that it was the prefecture of Chen-ting (q.v. in Glossary), but I have preferred to take the larger unit, which included that prefecture. [233] HS 27 Bb: 9a says, "The Erudits performed the rites of the great archery [contest]." Han-chi 25: 11a says, "The Erudits performed the rites for the district drinking of wine." For these rites, cf. Li-chi, ch. XLIII. These three statements all refer to the same rites; the first sentence in Li-chi XLIII (Legge, XXVIII, 446; Couvreur, II, 668) is, "Anciently, when the feudal nobles would practise archery, they always first performed the ceremonies of the banquet. When the ministers, grandees, and gentlemen would practise archery, they always first performed the ceremonies of the district drinking of wine." Cheng Hsüan (127-200), in a comment to the title of Li-chi XLIII, says that this chapter records the rites of (1) the banquet and archery [contest] and (2) the great archery [contest], (which two were probably the same thing, for only one performance is discussed in the chapter). [234] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) read [OMITTED] for the chieh [OMITTED] of the text; but HS 27 Bb: 9a (which repeats this statement), Han-chi 25: 11b, and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 31: 3a all read chieh, so that the T'ang text must have been mistaken. [237] HS 27 Bb: 9a specifies them as the yamens of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Superintendent of the Imperial House, the Lieutenant Chancellor, the Grandee Secretary, and the Commander-in-chief and General of Chariots and Cavalry. [238] A quotation from Book of History II, i, iii, 9 (Legge, p. 37). [240] Yen Shih-ku says, "Ling [OMITTED] [means] ch'iu [OMITTED]-ling (a mound); yi [OMITTED] [means] p'ing [OMITTED] (level or calm). It says that it decays [OMITTED] as a mound gradually becomes level." He also says, "Ling-ch'ih [OMITTED] also means [to decay], as a mound's sinuosities gradually become lower." This statement is repeated in MH III, p. 122, n. 2. But Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) replies, "[Yen] Shih-ku is mistaken in considering that ling [in ling-yi] means a mound. Ling and yi both [mean] p'ing (level). In a note to Wen-hsüan [9: 9a sub] the "Ch'ang-yang Fu," [Li Shan (649-689) quotes] Hsieh [Han's (fl. ca. 25-60)] Han-shih Chang-chü [as saying], `Ling means to be p'ing in [all] four [directions].' Hence the ling of ch'iu-ling (a tomb-mound) originally took its meaning from ling-yi; ling-yi did not take its meaning from ch'iu-ling. SC 18: [2 (Mh III, 121 f), says], `At first [the Emperor] has never failed to want to strengthen [a noble clan's] trunk and roots, yet its branches and leaves little by little ling-ch'ih shuai-wei [OMITTED] [OMITTED] (decay and weaken).' The four words ling-ch'ih and shuai-wei are precisely parallel. Ling-yi cannot be interpreted as the yi of a ling any more than shuai-wei can be interpreted as the shuai of a wei. "Ling-yi is related to ling-ch'ih as wei [OMITTED]-yi is related to wei-ch'ih. Hence Wang Su [159-256], in a comment on the [K'ung-tzu] Chia-yü [(prob. written by Wang Su), 1: 7a], says, `Ling-ch'ih is like an inclined declivity [OMITTED].' Huai-nan-tzu [ii cent. B.C.], "T'ai-ts'u Hsün," [20: 6b, says], `Because the [Yellow] River is tortuous (wei-yi [OMITTED]), it is able to extend far; because the mountains decline (ling-ch'ih), they are able to be high.' Wei-yi and ling-ch'ih are parallel expressions; ling-ch'ih cannot be understood as the ch'ih (decline) of a ling (mound), any more than wei-yi can be understood as the wei (tortuousness) of a yi (serpent).' . . . Then it is quite clear that [the ling of ling-yi and ling-ch'ih] is not the ling of ling-ch'iu." [243] HS 27 Cb: 25a says, "In Hung-chia II, v, on [the day] kuei-wei [June 16], three

meteorites fell in Tun-yen [in Nan-yang Commandery]." [246] Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804) points out that the word [OMITTED] (younger brother) has dropped out at this point, and should be read, as in 53: 12b. Cf. Glossary sub Liu Yün-k'o. HS 14: 16b dates his appointment in the eighth month (Sept./Oct.). [253] The first mention of selling noble ranks is in 243 B.C. (Mh II, 103), when one step was sold for a thousand piculs of grain. This enactment may, however, have been merely making uniform a practise dating from the time of Shang Yang (cf. Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang, pp. 64f, 236, 253, 304). In 195 B.C., the price of noble ranks was still high, for those Gentlemen who were not awarded a step in noble rank were given ten thousand cash (HS 2: 1b), so that a step was worth more than ten thousand cash. HS 24 A: 14b, 15a says that in the time of Emperor Wen, when grain was lacking for the border military colonies, those who contributed six hundred piculs were given the second noble rank, Superior Accomplished; those who contributed four thousand piculs were given the ninth rank, Fifth Rank Grandee; and those who contributed twelve thousand piculs were given the eighteenth rank, Great Chief of the Multitude. Ch'en Shu-yung (fl. 1887), in his Han-kuan Ta-wen 5: 1a, calculates that at 40 cash per picul of grain (an average price), the second rank was worth twenty-four thousand cash, so that one step was worth more than ten thousand cash. In 123 B.C., Emperor Wu sold a specially created hierarchy of military noble ranks at the rate of 170,000 cash for the first step (with succeeding ranks seemingly at a higher rate, cf. Mh III, 555f; HS 24 B: 8a, b). Evidently with the amelioration of the laws and government policies after the time of Emperor Wu, the exemptions given by noble rank were not needed so much. As a result, noble ranks lost their appeal, so that Emperor Ch'eng finally had to reduce the price drastically. [254] HS 27 A: 18b says, "In the fifth month, on [the day] yi-hai [June 3], in the Southern Mountains of Chi [prefecture] in T'ien-shui [Commandery], a great stone cried out. Its sound was rumbling like thunder, and in a moment it stopped sounding." For the interpretation of this portent (the people are complaining), cf. Eberherd, "Beiträge," p. 19. [256] Wang Nien-sun points out that the word [OMITTED] has dropped out at this point. It is found in HS 27 A: 15a and in Han-chi 25: 12b. In similar notations of previous fires at temple portals, in HS 4: 13a, 5: 7a, and 9: 9b, the name of the portal is always given. In subsequent notations, the name of the portal is, as here, sometimes omitted. yet in each case ch. 27 specifies the particular portal affected. Cf. 10: 11a, 13a. The fire and the dismissal of Empress nee Hsü are also coupled in ch. 27. [261] HS 27 A: 18b describes those events slightly differently: "In Kuang-han [Commandery, the convicts] with iron collars plotted [together], attacked the jail, and took by force a prisoner [sentenced for] a capital crime, Cheng Kung, and others. They robbed arms from the arsenal, and pillaged and overran the officials and people. [Cheng Kung] clothed [himself] in embroidered garments and called himself the Lord of the Mountains. His party gradually increased. The next year, however, in the winter, he suffered execution. Those who gave themselves up [numbered] more than three thousand persons." On the significance of this and other rebellions, cf. Introduction to this chapter, pp. 362-363. [268] HS 27 Bb: 17 b says, "In Hung-chia IV, in the autumn, in Hsin-tua [Commandery]. it rained fish that were as long as five inches and less." [270] HS 19 B: 46b records the appointment of Chao Hu as Chief of Palace Police in the Capital under the date 12 B.C., and Chu Yi-hsin (1846-1894) explains the discrepancy by saying that Pan Ku merely notes this event here in order to complete his account of the rebellion. [278] HS 27 A: 15a notes these two fires with the same wording, adding that it was the Southern Portal; cf. n. 10.4. These fires are there likewise coupled with the elevation of Chao Fei-yen. HS 27 Bb: 17b says, "In Yung-shih I, in the spring, in Po-hai [Commandery, the ocean] produced four large fish, sixty feet long [45 ft. Eng. meas.] and ten feet high [7½ ft. Eng. meas.]." These fish were probably stranded whales.

[281] P. Hoang, Concordance des chronologies néoméniques, contains an unnoticed typographical error in this year. His lunar months, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 should have been set to correspond with the solar months, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively. Otherwise the table for this year seems correct. [284] Ju Shun (fl. dur. 189-265) explains, "Within the Tomb there were Majors' Gates to its Hall, just as [is the case] in the buildings [occupied by the Emperor] during his lifetime." But Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) replies, "Within the grave-pit that held the Son of Heaven there were no Majors' Gates to its Hall. This [passage] denotes the Funerary Chamber and Hall above the Tomb, [not in the grave itself], together with their Majors' Gates. At that time they had not all been built." Yen Shih-ku approves Fu Tsan's explanation and adds that the chung-ling [OMITTED] was the [OMITTED] (Main Funerary Chamber) of the central Tomb. Cf. Glossary sub Funerary Chamber of Emperor Kao. [287] A saying of Confucius, from Analects XV, xxix. [288] Ch'en Ching-yün (1670-1747) suggests emending chi [OMITTED] to fan [OMITTED]. Liu Hsiang had admonished the Emperor against the Ch'ang Tomb (cf. HS 36: 19b-24a). HS 10: 12a says that Shun-yü Chang advised the Emperor that the people should be prevented from moving to Ch'ang1-ling and that the Emperor's tomb "should be returned (fan) to its former location," i. e., to the Yen Tomb. A note to Hsi-Han Nien-chi (printed 1221) 26: 16b, by Wang Yi-chih, says that Wang Yi-chih's Hsi-Han Nien-chi K'ao-yi remarks that the then current copies and the Academy ed. (1124) write chi, but that Wang Yen-chang (1079-1154), who collated an edition of the Southern T'ang period (937-975), wrote this phrase with fan instead of chi. [289] Hu San-hsing (1230-1287), in a note to Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 31: 12a, explains, "At the former Tomb they were not to build a town for the Tomb and move officials and common people [there]." [290] The Official ed. reads [OMITTED] for the [OMITTED] of the text. [296] HS 19 B: 45b notes this death on the day yi-szu, Feb. 17. [300] HS 27 Cb: 19a says, "In Yung-shih, II, ii, on kuei-wei, after midnight, stars fell like rain, ten or twenty feet (degrees) long. [They appeared] continuously and were extinguished before they reached the earth. At cockcrow they stopped." This meteoric shower was that of the Lyrids, which is now dated on Apr. 20, because of precession. [302] Ju Shun explains, "[The Emperor] granted them noble ranks and exempted them from the land-tax and capitation taxes, considering [the foregoing] as the value [of their charitable contributions]." But Yen Shih-ku replies, "This explanation is mistaken. . . . It means that the offices had [already] granted them the value of their expense. Only at this time did he add noble ranks, together with exemption from capitation taxes." Senior Chieftain of Conscripts was the fourteenth rank; Fifth Rank Grandee was the ninth rank; cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [306] Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) remarks that this practise was not as bad as that of Emperors An and Huan in the Later Han Dynasty, who sold these official positions and noble ranks for money. Cf. HHS An. 5: 6b; 7: 10b. [309] These altars had been abolished in Jan./Feb. 31 B.C. (Cf. 10: 3a & n. 3.4). Ho Ch'uo says that they were now restored. He is however probably mistaken. HS 25 B: 15b-16a quotes the Empress Dowager's edict (cf. 10: 12b), which shows that these altars were not reestablished as regular places of imperial sacrifice until Nov. 14, 14 B.C. Liu Hsiang4 had told Emperor Ch'eng that these ancient places were extremely honorable and important; the Emperor was probably experimenting to see whether he wanted to reestablish these altars permanently. [313] Li Tz'u-ming (1829-1894) remarks that the word [OMITTED] should be inserted before the [OMITTED].

[314] According to 19 B: 44a, 45b, he died before Apr. 10, 15 B.C., when Chai Fang-chin became Grandee Secretary. [320] HS 27 Ba: 24b says, "In Yung-shih, III and IV, in the summer, there was a great drought." [323] Some copies of the Official ed. have [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED]. The sacrifices in the Southern and Northern Suburbs were reestablished in 7 B.C.; cf. 10: 16a. For these gods, cf. Glossary, sub vocibus. [327] This man's name is found in HS 26: 58b. (From Ch'ien Ta-chao.) [328] HS 17: 31b-32b enumerates only four: Li T'an, Cheng Chung, Chung Tsu, and Tzu Shun. Szu-ma Kuang (1019-1086), in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi, 1: 15b, accordingly says that the "Annals" is mistaken in saying "five." But as Pan Ku did not compile the "Tables," that reasoning is far from conclusive. [331] HS 26: 58b, in recounting this rebellion, says "By the next year they had passed through more than forty commanderies and kingdoms." HS 27 A: 18b also reads "forty"; Chou Shou-ch'ang, however, remarks that there were only 103 commanderies and kingdoms in the empire, hence "forty" would mean that about half the country was in revolt. Such a great rebellion could not be put down so quickly. Chou Shou-ch'ang suggests that the word "four" is an interpolation in these two passages, and that they should read "more than ten commanderies and kingdoms." [340] HS 27 A: 15b contains the same recording of these three fires, specifying, in the case of the last one, that it was the southern part of the Eastern Portal; cf. n. 10.4. These fires were blamed upon the fact that the control of the government was in the hands of the Wang clan. [341] It was then thirty-five years after the death of Emperor Hsüan; more than a century previously, Emperor Wen had ordered that his inferior concubines were to be sent back home immediately after his death. Cf. 4: 20b. [345] Book of Odes, II, iv, vii, 1 (Legge, p. 309). [346] Yen Shih-ku notes the implication that red, purple, etc. are forbidden to the common people. [355] This event was probably a freak thunderstorm just over the horizon. [357] This was Halley's comet, for which Cowell and Crommelin (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 68: 669) calculate a perihelion for Oct. 8, 12 B.C. HS 27 Cb: 23a, b, says, "In Yüan-yen, I, vii, on hsin-wei, [Aug. 26], a comet appeared in [the constellation] Tung-ching [μ, ν, γ, ξ, λ, ζ, 36, ε Gem], and marched over the Five Nobles [θ, ι, τ, γ, κ Gem]. It rose north of the [two] Ho-shu [the same as the Nan and Po-ho, ρ, α, β Gem and ε, β, α C Min] and directed itself towards and traversed Hsien-yüan [35 Lyn; 10 U Ma; 38, α Lyn; 59, ι, ξ Cnc; λ, ε, μ, ζ, γ, η, α, ο, 31 Leo] and T'ai-wei [δ, θ, ι, σ Leo; β, η, γ, δ, ε Vir; α Com]. It daily progressed six degrees [of equatorial longitude] or more. At dawn it rose in the eastern quarter. On the thirteenth day [Sept. 7], at evening, it appeared in the western quarter. It invaded the Second Consort [ζ Scr (cf. SC 27: 14 notes)], the Harem [another name for Wei3 (ε, μ, ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, γ Scr) and Chi (γ, δ, ε, η Sgr; cf. HS 26: 8b, 9a)], the Bushel [ζ, τ, σ, ϕ, λ, μ Sgr], and Saturn. [On Sept. 7, Saturn was in R. A. 283.5°.] "The point of its flame [its tail] penetrated twice through the Tzu-kung [a circle of stars about the north polar regions: 6, λ Dra; Piazzi 10h 126, 27 U Ma; Piazzi 7h 187, 48 H Cep; 19 H Cam; α, ι, η, ζ, δ, ε Dra; β, γ Cep]. Its great fire [head?] later reached to the Milky Way and swept [away evils] in the Region of the Consorts and Empress [U Mi?], went south, moved on, and invaded Ta-chio [Arcturus], the [two] Shê-t'i [η, τ, ν and ο, π, ζ Boo], and went to the Heavenly Market-place [four stars of the six in Ch'i (cf. HS 26: 7b), i.e., γ, ρ, 43, π, ο, ν Sgr], where it stopped for a lunation, traveling slowly.

Its flame [tail] entered into the Market-place for ten days and later went west and left. On the fifty-sixth day [Oct. 20], it hid itself together with the Azure Dragon [the same as the Eastern Palace (cf. 26: 7a), one-quarter of the zodiac, including Chio, K'ang, Ti, Fang, Hsin, Wei3, and Chi (Vir, Lib, Scr, and part of Sgr)]." E. Biot, in Connaissance des temps, 1846, app., pp. 83 f, and J. Williams, Observations of Comets, pp. 9 f, have not translated this difficult passage in full. Cf. also J. H. Hind, in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 10: 58. Wen Shion Tsu, "The Observations of Halley's Comet in Chinese History," Popular Astronomy 42: (1934) 193, has translated part of this passage, but with errors. The recording he takes for the appearance of Halley's comet in 163 B.C., taken from HS 26: 49b, is a blunder; the date there given is Feb. 6, 162 B.C., a year different from that calculated for Halley's comet. The return of 87 B.C. is dated in HS 7: 1b (cf. my note 1.4), which Mr. Wen seems not to have seen. [361] The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the T'ang text (before xi cent.) and the Chiang-nan text (x cent.) write Hsiao Hsi3's personal name as "Chia," which was the name of a man who was a grandson of Hsiao Ho and who was marquis 155-149 B.C. HS 16: 12b dates Hsiao Hsi3's appointment in Yung-shih I, four years before Yüan-shih I, and notes that his son succeeded him in Yung-shih IV, so that the notation of Hsiao Hsi3's appointment here in the "Annals" cannot be correct. [364] For this sensational imperial infanticide, cf. Glossary, sub Chao, Brilliant Companion née, and the Introduction to this chapter, pp. 369-372 ff. HS 27 Cb: 23b, after the account of Halley's comet, says, "In this year, the Brilliant Companion [née] Chao killed the two Imperial Sons and the fifth year afterwards Emperor Ch'eng died"; Pan Ku in his "Annals" may hence be referring to both infanticides. But the dates he gives in ch. 97 show that only one babe was killed in 12 B.C. [371] The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the Ching-tê ed. (1004-5), the Text in the Historiographer's Office (before xi cent.), and the T'ang ed. (before xi cent.) all write [OMITTED] instead of Shou. Han-chi 27: 7a writes Hsien [OMITTED]. HS 14: 20b and 63: 17b write Shou; Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 32: 8b follows suit. [374] Ju Shun explains the meaning of the word chiao [OMITTED] (translated "contest") by quoting Chou-li 33: 1a (Biot, II, 254) to the effect that the Hsiao- (or Chiao-)jen [OMITTED] had charge of the imperial horses. Yen Shih-ku says he is mistaken, and that chiao here means a wooden fence enclosing the animals to be hunted. Liu Pin (1022-1088), however, explains that chiao here has the meaning it has in Analects VIII, v, viz., "contesting," which interpretation is approved by Wang Hsien-ch'ien. For a brilliant description of this hunt, cf. Yang Hsiung's Yü-lieh (or Chiao-lieh) Fu and his Ch'ang-yang Fu; HS 87 A: 23a-33a; 87 B: 1b; Wen-hsüan 8: 20a-33a; trans. in von Zach, Uebersetzungen aus dem Wen Hsüan, pp. 14-16. There has been a misunderstanding concerning the dating of this hunt. HS 87 A: 19b, 23a dates the presentation of Yang Hsiung's Yü-lieh Fu in 11 B.C., while 87 B: 1a dates in the next year the presentation of his Ch'ang-yang Fu (the introduction to which describes the gathering of the animals for the hunt, and their being freed and being chased by the Hu barbarians with their bare hands). Szu-ma Kuang, in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 1: 16a, hence argues that the hunting contest happened in Yüan-yen III, and dates it thus in his Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 32: 11a. But, as Shen Ch'in-han explains in a note to HS 87 B: 1a, Yüan-yen III is merely the date of the Ch'ang-yang Fu's presentation to the Emperor; the Yü-lieh Fu and the Ch'ang-yang Fu both refer to the same event. Hence the dating of this hunt here in 10: 14b must be correct. Wang Hsien-ch'ien thinks that [OMITTED] should be read as [OMITTED], interpreting the passage to mean, "He set free [animals and birds for] his Hu guests to hold a great hunting contest," as in HS 87 B: 1b9. [380] HS 27 Ca: 10b repeats most of this passage, saying that "the water of the River flowed backwards to the third day and then it flowed on." Liu Hsiang4 interpreted this event to mean that it is to be feared the Han dynasty would soon end. [388] HS 27 Cb: 25a says, "In Yüan-yen IV, the third month, two meteorites fell in Tu-kuan [of Shan-yang Commandery]." [396] The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read Yi-hsiang [OMITTED], so does 18: 23b and 79:

10a. Wang Hsien-ch'ien reads Yi-ch'ing, with a note that this reading is erroneous. Liu Hsing was the rival candidate for the position of Heir-apparent. [397] Yen Shih-ku explains the "Three Beginnings (san-t'ung [OMITTED])" as "Heaven, Earth, and Man." This phrase also refers to the Three Dynasties: the Hsia, the Yin, and the Chou dynasties. The phrase was used by Tung Chung-shu in his cyclical theory of history to denote these three dynasties with their respective colors, black, white, and red, which three principles he asserted would succeed each other in a ceaseless round. Cf. Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 27, n. 1; Chung-kuo Chê-hsüeh Shih, vol. II, ch. II, sect. 11, pp. 532-537. Ch'ien Ta-hsin points out that at this time only the descendants of the Yin and Chou dynasties were enfeoffed, and no search was made for any descendants of the Hsia dynasty, so concludes that the term, "the three dynasties (san-tai [OMITTED])" here, contrary to its meaning elsewhere, refers to the Yin, Chou, and Han dynasties. Emperor Ch'eng is however merely quoting from a memorial of K'uang Heng, presented about 44 B.C. to Emperor Yüan (67: 12b-13a), which begins, "The [true] kings, [referring to the Chou dynasty], `preserved the descendants of the two [preceding] kingly [dynasties,' i.e., the Hsia and Yin dynasties (a quotation from Tung Chung-shu's Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu, 7: 4b, "San-tai Kai-chih Chih-wen," in which section this clause appears several times)], in order to honor their own deceased [ancestral] kings and `connect themselves with the Three Beginnings' [another quotation from Tung Chung-shu, ibid., 7: 6b]." This memorial went on to recommend enfeoffing a descendant of Confucius in order to carry on the sacrifices to the Yin dynasty. Emperor Yüan had considered that this recommendation was not classical, so had laid the memorial aside. Recently, Mei Fu had memorialised Emperor Ch'eng, making the same recommendation (67: 11a-12b). Because Mei Fu also attacked the Wang clan, his memorial was rejected. Emperor Ch'eng's attention was however drawn to K'uang Heng's memorial, and it was acted upon, in accordance with the principles of "the Tso-chuan, the Ku-liang Commentary, the Geneological Origins (Shih-pen), and the Book of Rites" (67: 13a). A descendant of the Chou dynasty had been enfeoffed by Emperor Wu; Emperor Ch'eng was only interested further in honoring the descendants of the two preceding dynasties, in accordance with Tung Chung-shu's principle, hence he did not feel it encumbent upon him to enfeoff any descendants of the Hsia dynasty. Cf. Po-hu-t'ung, 7: 8a, "San-cheng." Since the Chou dynasty enfeoffed the descendants of the two preceding dynasties, Confucian authorities held that other dynasties need support only the scions of the two preceding dynasties. It is noteworthy that in so doing, the Ch'in dynasty was neglected—it was treated as a usurping dynasty, not in the true succession. [404] Shen Ch'in-han remarks that the word [OMITTED] at this point is an interpolation. It is lacking in HS 19 B: 47b and in Han-chi 27: 8b. [406] Later Grand Ministers of Works, e. g. Chu Po, were not ipso facto ennobled. [407] Ju Shun says, "According to the Code, the salaries of the Lieutenant Chancellor and of the Commander-in-chief and General-in-chief were 60,000 cash per month. The salary of the Grandee Secretary was 40,000 cash per month." Hung Liang-chi (17461809) remarks, "If the salary of the Commander-in-chief was really like that of the Lieutenant Chancellor, why does this [passage] say `increased'? I suspect that since in 67 B.C. Emperor Hsüan established a Commander-in-chief without concurrently making him a general and without a seal, seal-ribbon, or official subordinates, his emolument was probably also reduced; hence this [edict] increased it to be the same grade as that of the Lieutenant Chancellor. [Ju Shun's] comment quotes `the Code', which must be the Code of the time of Emperor Wu." Cf. also 19 A: 4b, 5a. [410] Liu Ch'ing3b was to continue the ancestral sacrifices to Liu K'ang, King Kung of Ting-t'ao, since King Kung's son had been made the Imperial Heir-apparent and should therefore maintain the sacrifices to Emperor Ch'eng, and not to his natural father. Cf. Glossary sub Hsiao-Ai, Emperor. [412] The lady née Hsü was the former Empress. Shen Ch'in-han remarks that the first [OMITTED] is an interpolation. I have retained it in the translation. For this incident, cf. Introduction to this chapter, p. 361, and Glossary, sub vocibus. [422] The text writes chi-mao, but if there was a ping-hsü day in the third month, as stated above, there could hardly have been a chi-mao day in the fourth month. Hoang

gives none. Chi [OMITTED] is almost certainly an error for yi [OMITTED], a common copyist's mistake. This mistake must have occurred early, for Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285), in a note, says that from the death to the burial was to the fifty-fourth day, which is the number of days from a ping-hsü to a chi-mao day, inclusive. Han-chi 27: 11b, 12a, dates the death in the third month on the day ping-wu and the burial in the fourth month on the day chi-mao, and says specifically that the interval was to the thirty-fourth day, which number is obtained by using these cyclical days. But Hoang gives neither a ping-wu day in the third month nor a chi-mao day in the fourth month. Hence the error in the text of the HS must date at least to the second century, when the Han-chi was written, for the Han-chi is plainly correcting the date of the Emperor's death to correspond to the interval of a month. It puts the death on the day of Emperor Ai's accession to the throne, according to Han-chi 28: 1a and HS 11: 2a. HS 97 B: 10b and 81: 17a inform us that K'ung Kuang was made Lieutenant Chancellor and Marquis on the day of Emperor Ch'eng's death, and HS 19 B: 48b and 18: 24a both date those events in the third month on the day ping-hsü, so that Emperor Ch'eng certainly died on that day. The alternative possibility, that the burial occurred in the fifth month on the day chi-mao, is not at all likely, because both the HS and the Han-chi date the burial in the fourth month, while the latter has plainly made a correction to bring the burial into the fourth month. [424] This was the Favorite Beauty nee Pan (cf. Glossary sub voce) who was the paternal aunt of Pan Piao; hence Pan Piao wrote this part of the eulogy. [426] A quotation from a description of Confucius in Analects X, xvii, here used to praise Emperor Ch'eng. [427] An allusion to Book of Odes, IV, i, ii, vii, 1 (Legge, p. 589) or to Li-chi XV, 23 (Legge, II, 73; Couvreur, II, 12). [430] The beginning of Emperor Ch'eng's reign. [431] T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) 89: 7b quotes this sentence with [OMITTED] instead of [OMITTED]. 419

APPENDIX ECLIPSES DURING THE REIGN OF EMPEROR CH'ENG i. In Chien-shih, III, xii (the twelfth month), on the day mou-shen, the first day of the month, a solar eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 4a; Han-chi 24: 6b). HS 27 Cb: 15a adds that it was nine degrees in the constellation Wu-nü. P. Hoang, Concordance des chronologies néoméniques, equates this date with the julian Jan. 5, 29 B.C., for which day Oppolzer, Canon der Finsternisse, calculates his solar eclipse no. 2810. He charts the moon's umbra as passing thru Indo-china and Formosa. He calculates the sun as in long. 283° = 284° R.A. The principal star of Wu-nü, ε Aquarii, was then in 284° R.A. Between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. ii. In Ho-p'ing I, iv, on chi-hai, the last day of the month, a second solar eclipse is recorded. (HS 10: 5a, b; 27 Cb: 15b; Han-chi 24: 11a). The "Annals" say it was total; the "Treatise" says, however, "It was not completely [total, but] like a hook. It was 6 degrees in [the constellation] Tung-ching." Liu Hsiang4's interpretation, in the same passage, however says it was total. The Han-chi here copies the "Treatise," but writes yi for chi. Hoang equates this date with June 19, 28 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2813. Calculation of this eclipse according to the method in Neugebauer, Astronomische Chronologie, shows that it reached a magnitude of 0.96 (sun's diameter = 1.00) at Ch'ang-an, and that the broad path of totality ran only 3° or less south of Ch'ang-an. Hence the recording in the "Treatise" came from a record made in Ch'ang-an, whereas that in the "Annals" was taken from reports from

places outside the capital, confirming the conclusion reached in connection with the eclipse of July 17, 188 B.C. (cf. HFHD I, p. 189). The calculated longitude of the sun was 84° = 83° R.A. The first star in Tung-ching, μ Gem, was then in 65° R.A. There is thus a discrepancy of about ten degrees between the location of the sun at the time of eclipse and that stated in this record. In the two years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. iii. In Ho-p'ing III, viii, on yi-mao, the last day, a third eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 5b; 27 Cb: 15b; Han-chi 25: 1a). The "Treatise" 420 adds that it was in the constellation Fang. Hoang equates this date with Oct. 23, 26 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2820. He charts the moon's umbra as passing thru Szechuan and Formosa, and calculates the sun as in longitude 207° = 205° R.A. The principal star of Fang, π Scr, was then in 210° R.A. In the two years between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. iv. In Ho-p'ing IV, iii, on kuei-ch'ou, the first day, a fourth eclipse of the sun is recorded (HS 10: 6a; 27 Cb: 15b; Han-chi 25: 5b). The "Treatise" adds that it was in the constellation Mao. Hoang equates this date with Apr. 18, 25 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2821. He charts the moon's umbra as passing thru Siam and the Philippines, and calculates the sun's longitude as 25° = 23° R.A. The principal star of Mao, η Tauri (Alcyone), the brightest star in the Pleiades, was then in 28° R.A. In the six months between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipse occurred. v. In Yang-so I, ii, on ting-wei, the last day, a solar eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 6b; 27 Cb: 15b; Han-chi 25: 7a). The "Treatise" adds that it was in the constellation Wei4. Hoang equates this date with Apr. 7, 24 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2823. He charts the moon's umbra as passing thru northern Siberia to the Arctic Ocean and calculates the sun's longitude as 15° = 13° R.A. The principal star of Wei4, 35 Arietis, was then in 13° R.A. In the year between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. vi. HS 27 Cb: 15b says, "In Yung-shih I, ix, on ting-szu, the last day, there was an eclipse of the sun." The "Annals" (ch. 10) do not note this eclipse. (Han-chi 26: 6a has this notation with the day yi-szu.) Hoang equates this date with Nov. 1, 16 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2846. It was merely partial; calculation shows that at Ch'ang-an it reached a magnitude of only 0.08 at 4:29 p.m. local time. It was better visible farther north; at the present Peiping it reached a magnitude of 0.15 at 4:51 p.m. local time. The "Treatise" and the Han-chi say, after the record of this eclipse, "[Heaven] caused the capital alone to know of it, the kingdoms in the four [directions] did not perceive it." The small magnitude of the eclipse in north China effectually prevented its being perceived except by special 421 means, such as looking at the reflection of the sun in a mirror, stream etc., so that unless people were looking for an eclipse, it would hardly have been perceived. It accordingly appears very likely that during this reign, at least, the court astronomers were on the look-out for solar eclipses, and used special means to perceive them. There was an Office

for Watching the Heavens (cf. Glossary, s.v.). Between these eclipses of 24 and 16 B.C., Oppolzer calculates 22 solar eclipses, none of which was visible in China.[1] vii. In Yung-shih II, ii, on yi-yu, the last day, a solar eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 11b; 27 Cb: 15b; Han-chi 26: 6a). Hoang equates this date with Mar. 29, 15 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2847. He charts the path of the moon's umbra as passing thru the present outer Mongolia. The "Treatise" and the Han-chi continue, "[Heaven] caused the four quarters all to perceive [this eclipse], whereas in the capital it was cloudy and overcast." Here is definite proof that eclipses were reported to the capital from other localities and were recorded by the court astronomers. In the seven months between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses occurred. viii. In Yung-shih III, i, on chi-mao, the last day, an eighth solar eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 12b; 27 Cb: 16a; Han-chi 26: 10a. The latter book reads yi for the HS's chi.) Hoang equates this date with Mar. 18, 14 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2849. This eclipse reached a magnitude of 0.43 at 3:40 p.m., local time at Ch'ang-an. In the year between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. ix. In Yung-shih IV, vii, hsin-wei, the last day, a ninth solar eclipse is recorded (HS 10: 13b; 27 Cb: 16a; Han-chi 26: 12a). Hoang equates this date with Aug. 31, 13 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2852. He charts the path of the eclipse as passing through 422 northern Siberia. In the year and a half between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses were visible in China. x. HS 10: 13b & 27 Cb: 16a also record another solar eclipse in Yüan-yen I, i, chi-hai, the first day. The Han-chi does not list this eclipse. Hoang equates this date with Jan. 26, 12 B.C., for which Oppolzer calculates his solar eclipse no. 2853. This eclipse was merely partial; calculation shows that at Ch'ang-an it reached only a magnitude of 0.07 at 7:14 a.m., local time, beginning at 7:35 a.m. and ending at 8:42 a.m., local time. Sunrise was at 6:56 a.m. An eclipse of such a slight magnitude and lasting only 67 minutes could only have been perceived by an astronomer who was on the look-out for eclipses. In the five months between this and the preceding recorded eclipse, no solar eclipses occurred. [1] Except for six eclipses, all others are plainly shown to be invisible by the data in Oppolzer, either by the data for the track of the moon's umbra, or by the value given for γ. The remaining six were calculated and found invisible. That of Mar. 27, 23 B.C. was visible only at high latitudes, except in the Atlantic Ocean. That of Aug. 22, 23 B.C. was also visible only at high latitudes; at the longitude of Ch'ang-an it was visible only north of lat. 45°. That of Feb. 5, 21 B.C. was visible in India and in the Pacific Ocean, but not in China. That of June 10, 19 B.C. was visible only in western Siberia. That of Nov. 23, 18 B.C., was invisible north of about lat. 19°. That of Apr. 9, 16 B.C. was invisible south of lat. 60°. THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY The history of the former Han dynasty

The history of the former Han dynasty

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The history of the former Han dynasty 423

Ban, Gu (32-92) THE HISTORY OF THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE

[title page] TABLE OF CONTENTS

(Arabic numbers denote pages; superscript numbers, lines.) VI. CHAPTER VI 286, delete for her (Suggested by P. A. Boodberg.) 2833, for Min-sheng read Ming-sheng 3214, for yourself read voluntarily 3735, for Chi read Ch'i; 3713, 341, map and index, for Chi1 read Ch'i6.

VII. CHAPTER VII VIII. CHAPTER VIII IX. CHAPTER IX X. CHAPTER X ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA TO VOLUME ONE Collapse All | Expand All

383, for most read many (Suggested by Derk Bodde.) 3911, 12, for Do not allow that to happen, read, because you do nothing. 6631, for Ch'eng-liu read Ch'en-liu 689, 10, for utterly read and cut (Suggested by Derk Bodde.) 6934, for 2.9 read 2.11 775, after forth insert all (Suggested by Wang Yi-t'ung.) 7813, for Ling-pi. read Ling-pi, (Suggested by Wang Yi-t'ung.) 7827, for Po read P'o-yang; 7837, for 11a-12a, read 19b, 20a 791, for On the Sui River he read and on the Sui River. He (Suggested by Wang Yi-t'ung.) 8032, for Shu read Shun 8937, for Hsiang's read Huai's 9036, 37 (twice), for King Ch'eng read Han Ch'eng, King of Hanh 932, for come read came 9610, for home read native 9825, for Chan read Ch'ana 99 (running head) for 1A read 1B 9923 should read deserving] capital punishment and below." 11820, for complete read make progress on 12135, after and insert if; 12136, 37 (twice), for base read bottom 1229 for were read was 1237, delete not; 1238, for irrevokable read irrevocable; after sentence insert and lower 12416, for Szu read Shih 1253 should read yang whose crimes [deserved] death or less. 1304, for Henceforth read [We] order that 13135, for Yung read Jung 13534, for T'ung-hsien read T'ung-shan; 13538, for Chao read Ch'ao 1363, should read [guilty of] capital crimes or less, and ordered

13828, 36 (thrice), for Chao read T'ao; 13829, for Ling-liang read Ling-ling. 14621, 22 should read In eulogy we say,8 In [Mr. Tso's Commentary on] the Spring and Autumn, a Chin Clerk, Ts'ai 1475, 6, for Fan Hsien-tzu read Viscount Hsüan of Fan, [Shih Kai], 14737, 1489, 12 (thrice), for Szu read Shih 14838, for Yin read Ying 15012, for rule read succession 1539, for 23 read 32 15533, for Jei read Jui 1565, 9, for Wei-chi read Wei-ch'i; 15624, for Yin-Chung read Ying-chung 15721, for 15 read 6; 15724, for P'in read P'ing 424 17638, for A: 5a read B: 50a 18635, for K'u read Cho 19237, for T'ung-p'ing read Tung-p'ing 21716, for Chien read Ch'ien; 21731 for Chao read Ch'ao 22816, for Ling read Lin; 22843, for Lin read Liu 23120, for Ts'a read Ch'a 23722, delete the Prefect,; 23723, for an official read a clerk to the Prefect; delete n.4 entire. 24122, 23, 25927, for four-square read sincere 24219, for in the prefectural offices read for the imperial government 24835, for 133 read 134 24926, for Sun read Hsün; 24938, for Lo-yu read Lo-yü 25142, for Cheng Te read Mr. Cheng 25237, for She read Shen 25329, insert (before cf.; 25330, insert) after 42 25622, for Chao, Pa read Chu-na; 25627, for Lung-lü read Lung-lu 25827, for Shung read Shun 26015, for n. 3 read n. 1 26325, for Yu read Yü 26828, for Chang read Ch'ang 26915, after sentence insert ] 27325, after Wen insert and; 27327, for Min read Ming 2817, for for read as an example to 28226, for Tien-szu read Tien-shih 30717, for praiseworthy read bountiful 3082-5, this sentence should read In all these matters, your subjects, [Shen-t'u] Chia and the others, because we are stupid, are not equal [to you]. 3087, after one insert of the age; 3088, 10, 27 delete -[tsu] 31020, for Ching-ti read Ch'ing-ti; 31027, 28 (thrice) for Shou read Shu; 31033, (twice)

for Hsi read Ch'i 33812, for Ch'ü-fou read Ch'ü-fu For O-fang read O-pang: at 15730, 341 map & index. For Ti read Chai: at 23937, 27026. For Yo-yang read Yüeh-yang: at 3616, 17, 15536. 341, on the map and index to the same: for Ch'ang-ting read Ch'ang-ling; for Ch'i, H2 read Ch'i2; for Ching-hsiang Pass read Ching-hsing Pass; for Chü-ni read Ch'ü-ni; for Hsin-tu read Hsin-tua; for Hsien-ch'eng read Hsüan-ch'eng; for Nan-ch'eng read Nan-cheng; for Po-hai read P'o-hai; for Shang-ling Park read Shang-lin Park; for Yang-ch'eng read Yang-ch'enga. The following additions to the notes should be made: 2911, after officials, insert2a; and after n. 2, insert 2a SC 8: 5 quotes Ying Shao, "He took the tests for an official vacancy [OMITTED]" 4917, 20, 25 (thrice) for Wu-ch'eng read Ch'eng-wu; 4922, 23, 24, delete the clause in parentheses, and add the following at the end of that note: Chavannes's text seems to have read Wu-ch'eng, but the SCHC and a reprint of the Mao ed. both read Ch'eng-wu in both of his references. The latter place was near 425 Chiang-li (cf. map), whereas both Han prefectures of Wu-ch'eng were distant. Chavannes is in error here. 56, end of n. 3, add: In SC 6: 113 = Mh II, 244, Pan Ku compares this surrender to that of the Earl of Cheng to King Chuang of Ch'u in 597 B.C. Cf. Mh, II, 244, n. 4; Kung-yang Commentary, Dk. Hsüan, XII. 76, n. 3, at end, add: interpreting the rest of this sentence to mean, "In order to announce to the nobles that for this reason you march eastwards to chastize [Hsiang Yü]." 140, n. 1, at end, add: Yet the Eminent Founder sometimes, in his travels, made sacrifices to popular heroes, something that Confucius called flattery (Analects II, xxiv), so that it was sometimes done. SC 77: 16 states that every time the Eminent Founder passed by Ta-liang, he sacrificed to the Prince of Weih, Wu-chi. The Eminent Founder however arranged for the care of Wei Wu-chi's tomb, something he did not do for Confucius. 147, n. 2, at end, add: This statement is a quotation from Tso-chuan, Dk. Chao, XXIX (Legge, 7298,9, 731a). 147, n. 3, at end, add: This sentence is a quotation from Tso-chuan Dk. Hsiang, XXIV (Legge, 5052, 507). 19821, after daytime, add4; at bottom of pg., add:4 In February, Venus reached a magnitude of 4.4, making it visible in daytime, so that this star was Venus, according to my calculation by Schoch's Planeten-Tafeln. 231, n. 2, at end, add: Nü-tzu [OMITTED] denotes "women"; the Han phrase denoting "women and children" is [OMITTED] (HS 99 C: 12b). 259, n. 1, at the beginning, insert: The last sentence is a loose quotation from Book of History II, i, 9 (Legge, p. 37). 326, n. 8.5, at end, add: In a note to SC 6: 196, Su Lin says, "[According to] the customs of Ch'en-liu, on the first szu [day in] the third month, they eat and drink on the river, making a p'u [OMITTED]." Chang Shou-chieh adds, "[It was] a great drinking of wine [because] the empire was rejoicing." 3367, after B.C. insert (seen in China on the morning of Aug. 8) For the sake of uniformity of usage with the other volumes in this series, the following changes should also be made:

2327, for Destiny of read Mandate to the 477, for Chancellor read Governor 7527, delete Great 8212, for appoint read enfeoff 8832, for Official read Clerk; 8836,37, delete everything after the; 13221,31, for Hung read Hung1 14525,33, for great read eminent; 14526, for Kao-huang-ti read Emperor Kao. 14611, for orders read ordinances 1471,7, for T'ao and T'ang read T'ao-and-T'ang 15220, for Tsu-ying read Ying Tzu-ying 17413, for Guards read Shield-bearers 21228, for Hung read Hung2 2302,3; 24210; 32631,32 for Chief of the Stud read Grand Coachman. 23414, for Chang read Ch'ang 426 23722 for Inspector of Fields read Bailiff 32319, for Chief read Commandant of For carriage or carriages read chariot or chariots: at 10724,31,37,38; 2093; 3248,29,34, 36,42; 3253,18. For carriage read quadriga: at 10733,34,35. For Ch'i read Ch'i1: at 2489; 341, map & index E2. Elsewhere, for Ch'i read Ch'i2 For god or emperor read Lord: at 359,11; 3614,18,34; 4015; 413,4; 30429 For Great read Grand: at 30428; 30811,13,15,16,18,22,31; 30919; 3202. For Heng-shan read Heng1-shan: at 19317; 19610; 19810; 20932; 341, map & index, F2. For Heng-shan read Heng2a-shan: at 6534; 6712; 7826,27,28; 9928; 10217; 341, map & index, F5. For Ho-yang read Ho5-yang: at 341, map & index, F2. For Ho-yang read Ho6-yang: at 1178; 1808; 341, map & index, C3. In all passages, for Kao-tsu read the Eminent Founder For land or soil read soils: at 7436; 10014; 15226; 28218. For Lang-ya read Lang-yeh at 1111; 17118; 19917; 20213,23,32,34,35,37; 20334; 22425; 22843; 23326; 341 on map and index. For Li read Li4: at 1094,5,7,12; 341, map & index. For the old gentleman read his excellency: at 3017; 3112,14,23,25; 328,15,18; 8623,26; 15310; 19115. For San-lao read Thrice Venerable: at 1613; 2026; 755,6,7,9,26; 24722; 25325; 25410,18,31; 2835. For T'ai-kung read Grand Excellency: at 286,42; 7221; 7921; 9314,21; 1149,10,11,14,19,22,23; 11517,20,21. For t'ing read commune: at 2818; 2912,36,38,40,42; 3026,27,29; 317; 3321,34; 342,7; at 3334, for T'ing-fu read Father of the Commune; at 568, after Chih-tao add [Commune]. For Yü read Yü2b: at 809; 341, map & index. The history of the former Han dynasty