Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 6 Scroll 14 (continued)
The 4th year of the Emperor Wen’s Early Era(176 B.C.)
In December of winter, the Marquis of Yingyin, Guan Ying, passed away.
In spring, on January 4, Zhang Cang of Yangwu County, the Grand Master of the Censorate, was appointed Chancellor. Zhang Cang had a deep fondness for books and was particularly knowledgeable in the fields of musical temperament and chronometry (calendar system).
The Emperor summoned Ji Bu, the Prefect of Hedong Commandery, intending to appoint him as Grand Master of the Censorate. However, there were rumors that, although brave, Ji Bu enjoyed drinking and was unfit to serve closely with the Emperor. After staying at the imperial residence for a month, Ji Bu was finally granted an audience with the Emperor and assigned to his original post. He then spoke up, “Your Majesty, I have not accomplished any meritorious deeds and have been awaiting punishment in Hedong. Your sudden summons must have been the result of someone’s deception. Now that I have arrived, I have not been given any tasks or promoted—this must be due to slander. You summoned me based on someone’s praise and now dismiss me based on someone’s slander. I fear that those with insight will hear of this and question Your Majesty’s wisdom.”
The Emperor remained silent for a long time, feeling ashamed, and finally said, “The Hedong commandery is as critical to my reign as arms and thighs to my body, which is why we summoned you specifically.”
The Emperor proposed appointing Jia Yi to a high-ranking position in the court. However, many ministers criticized him, claiming he was a young man from Luoyang who was just beginning his studies and was overly ambitious, hungry for power and likely to disrupt state affairs. Consequently, the Emperor began distancing himself from Jia Yi and did not adopt his proposals. Instead, Jia Yi was appointed Grand Tutor to the Prince of Changsha.
After the Marquis of Jiang, Zhou Bo, returned to his state, he lived in constant fear of execution. Whenever the prefect of Hedong or the Jiang county magistrate visited him, Zhou Bo would wear armor and have his family members armed to greet them. Later, someone submitted a memorial accusing Zhou Bo of plotting rebellion, which was handed over to the magistrate. The magistrate arrested Zhou Bo and put him on trial. Terrified and at a loss for words, Zhou Bo was mistreated by the officials. He bribed the jailer with a thousand catties of gold. The jailer then wrote on the back of his wooden tablet and showed it to Zhou Bo, which read: “Mention the princess in your testimony.” The princess referred to the Emperor’s daughter, who had married to Zhou Bo‘s eldest son, Zhou Shengzhi.
Empress Dowager Bo also believed in Zhou Bo‘s innocence. One day, when the Emperor visited her, she threw her scarf at him and scolded: “When the Marquis of Jiang executed the Lü clan, he took the Emperor’s seal and led troops to the northern army. If he wanted to rebel, wouldn’t he have done it then? Now he lives in a small county—why would he rebel?”
By this time, the Emperor had already read Zhou Bo’s attestation from the jailer. He apologized to the empress dowager: “He will be released when the officials finish their investigation.” The Emperor then sent a messenger with the imperial insignia to pardon Zhou Bo and restore his rank and fief.
After his release, Zhou Bo remarked: “I once commanded an army of a million soldiers, but who would have thought that a jailer could be so privileged?”
The temple of Gucheng had been built.
The 5th year of the Emperor Wen’s Early Era (175 B.C.)
In February of the spring, there was an earthquake.
The Qin Empire initially used half-tael coins, but Emperor Gaozu found them too heavy and impractical, so he introduced the “pod coins” as a replacement. This caused prices to soar, with rice reaching ten thousand coins per picul. In April, four-zhu(a fraction of one tael) coins were minted, and a decree was issued abolishing the law against counterfeiting, permitting the people to mint their own coins.
Jia Yi advised the Emperor on the issue of debased coinage: “By law, the government is permitted to hire workers to mint copper and tin coins. Anyone who adulterates the metal with lead or iron is guilty of a crime punishable by branding their faces. However, the art of coin casting requires a degree of skillful mixing to be profitable. A small alloy can yield great profit. Unintended trouble may arise, and poorly designed laws can tempt people into misconduct. If the government allows ordinary people to mint coins, each will do so secretly, using obscure trickery to maximize profits. Even if offenders are branded daily, this will not stop the practice.
“As a result, countless commoners face charges, with some counties seeing hundreds of accusations. Many officials will grow suspicious, resorting to corporal punishment and abuse, driving even more people into exile. Such county laws entrap people more than anything else. Furthermore, different regions have varying standards for currency. Some use lighter coins, requiring more coins to complete exchanges for 100 coins; others use heavier coins that aren’t accepted due to a lack of 1-to-1 exchangeability. Without uniform standards, how can officials manage consistently? Local authorities will be overwhelmed by enforcement, or the markets will fill with varied currencies, leading to chaos. Without an effective policy, which path should local officials follow?
“Today, more people are abandoning agriculture to mine copper, neglecting their farming tools and using furnaces and charcoal for smelting. Counterfeit coins are becoming widespread, creating food shortages. Honest people are tempted into wrongdoing, while cautious people who commit crimes are punished or executed. Severe punishment of the populace is not a sign of good governance. What a dilemma!
“The government recognizes this problem, and officials will surely propose a ban. But if the ban is poorly implemented, it will cause even greater harm. If coin minting is forbidden, coin values will rise, driving higher profits. Counterfeiting will increase, and even public executions won’t suffice to deter it. The number of offenders will overwhelm the law enforcement, as the root of the issue is copper. Copper is widely available across the country and its potential harm is considerable. It would be better to confiscate all copper mines.”
Jia Shan agreed with Jia Yi‘s assessment: “Money is a tool without a specific usage, but it can be used to gain wealth and power. Wealth and power are the levers of the ruler, but if rulers allow common people to mint money, they are essentially sharing that leverage, which cannot last.” However, the Emperor did not heed their advice.
At that time, Deng Tong, the Grandee of the Palace, was highly favored by the Emperor, who wished to make him wealthy. Deng Tong was granted the Yandao copper mine in the state of Shu Commandery to mint coins. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wu, Liu Pi, controlled the Yuzhang copper mine and employed fugitives from across the country to mint coins. He also boiled seawater from the eastern ocean to produce salt, allowing him to exempt his Principality from head tax, while maintaining a well-funded treasury. Consequently, coins minted by Wu and Deng Tong were widely circulated throughout the country.
Earlier, the Emperor had divided the state of Dai into two principalities, establishing his son Liu Wu as the Prince of Dai and his son Liu Shen as the Prince of Taiyuan. In this year, Liu Wu was relocated and made the Prince of Huaiyang, while Liu Shen became the Prince of Dai, restoring the kingdom’s original territory.
Reflection by Rio Grande 
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