Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 25 Scroll 33 (continued)
The 2nd year of Emperor Cheng’s Suihe Era (7 B.C. continued)
Kong Guang and He Wu submitted a memorial, saying: “The timing for the demolition of the ancestral temples should be settled without delay. We request that this matter be discussed with the other officials.” Thereupon, Grand Chamberlain Peng Xuan and fifty-three others all agreed that, although Emperor Wu had great achievements and merits, it was appropriate to demolish his temple, since his degree of kinship to the current Emperor had become too remote.
Grand Coachman Wang Shun and Colonel of the Central Fortress Liu Xin argued: “According to the rites, the Son of Heaven has seven ancestral temples—the progenitor in the center, with the descendants of the second, fourth, and sixth generations on the left, and those of the third, fifth, and seventh generations on the right. The number seven represents the regular standard and is the fixed rule. However, for those emperors whose temple names include zong (‘ancestor’), they are not restricted by this fixed number. The number of such honored ancestors is not constant. Wherever there are merit and virtue, the ancestor should be included; this should not be predetermined. We believe that Emperor Wu’s achievements and merits were of such importance, and since Emperor Xuan so deeply revered him, it is not appropriate to demolish his temple.”
The Emperor reviewed their arguments and decreed: “The proposal of Grand Coachman Wang Shun and Colonel of the Central Fortress Liu Xin is acceptable.”
He Wu’s stepmother was in Shu Commandery, and he sent an official to bring her to the capital. When Emperor Cheng died, however, the official feared bandits along the road, and so his mother remained at home. Some of those close to the Emperor criticized He Wu for failing to care for his mother, and the Emperor also wished to replace his ministers. Thus, in October of winter, He Wu was dismissed from office and returned to his fief as a marquis. On October 9, Shi Dan was appointed Grand Excellency of Works.
Shi Dan, seeing that the Emperor had made many alterations to Emperor Cheng’s policies, submitted a memorial stating: “In ancient times, those in mourning remained silent, and state affairs were entrusted to the Chancellor. For three years, there should be no changes to the way of the late father. Yet while the late Emperor’s body still lay in the hall, Your Majesty’s attendants, relatives, and others were honored and promoted. Your uncle was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yang’an; the honorific title of the Empress had not yet been determined, yet her father had already been made Marquis of Kongxiang; among those dismissed were Privy Counselor Wang Yi and Colonel of Archers Wang Han. Multiple edicts were issued in haste, and thus changes in government followed in confused and abrupt succession of actions.
“Though I am unable to expound the great principles with clarity, nor have I firmly declined my own enfeoffment, but have merely followed the crowd and accepted the title of marquis, thereby increasing Your Majesty’s faults. Recently, many regions have suffered earthquakes and floods, with loss of life among the people; the sun and moon have failed to shine clearly, and the five planets have lost their proper courses. These are signs of error in administrative policies and violation of principles in law enforcement, reflecting disorder and confusion between yin and yang.
“I submit that even a common man without sons, though sixty or seventy years of age, still seeks to widen his household by taking additional concubines. Emperor Cheng, however, understood the Mandate of Heaven profoundly and recognized Your Majesty’s great virtue, choosing you in the fullness of his years as his heir. The late Emperor suddenly departed from the world, yet when Your Majesty succeeded him, peace prevailed within the Four Seas and the people felt no fear. This was due to the late Emperor’s divine virtue, which accorded with the harmony between Heaven and mankind. It is said, ‘Do not act contrary to Heaven’s will, for its might is but an inch away.’ Therefore, I urge Your Majesty to reflect deeply upon the late Emperor’s intention in establishing you as heir, to practice self-restraint in accordance with the tradition of silence during mourning, and to observe the custom of entrusting government to the ministers. All under Heaven already belongs to Your Majesty; there is no cause to fear that your kinsmen and favorites will not in time attain wealth and honor. To act with such haste is unwise, for what is gained so quickly cannot long endure.”
Shi Dan submitted numerous memorials, many of them containing direct and blunt remonstrance.
The son of Dowager Empress Fu’s younger cousin, Fu Qian, served as an attendant around the Emperor. Because of his vicious character, he was disliked by the Emperor, removed from his post, and sent back to his former commandery. The Dowager Empress Fu was enraged, and the Emperor, unable to resist her, had Fu Qian reinstated. Chancellor Kong Guang and Grand Excellency of Works Shi Dan then submitted a memorial, saying: “The edicts are contradictory, causing confusion and undermining public trust. We request that Fu Qian be returned to his former commandery, in order to dispel the dishonest cliques surrounding the Emperor.” Their request, however, was not granted, and Fu Qian was restored as Privy Counselor. This clearly showed the overriding influence of Dowager Empress Fu over the Emperor.
The court consultant Geng Yu submitted a memorial to redress the injustice to Chen Tang: “Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang magnified the awe-inspiring might of the Sacred Han and extended it to the deepest and farthest reaches. They washed away the state’s accumulated shame of many years. They campaigned against a rebellious ruler in distant lands and bound a captive difficult to subdue from ten thousand li away—what deed could compare with this?
“The Former Emperor commended them and thereupon issued a clear edict, proclaiming and manifesting their merit. He changed the era name and caused the event to be recorded in the calendar, so that it might be transmitted without end. In response, Nanjun Commandery contributed a white tiger as a present, and along the frontiers there were no alarms.
“When the Former Emperor fell gravely ill, he still did not forget this matter, but repeatedly sent the minister of the State Secretariat to question and press the Chancellor, urging that their merit be formally established without delay. Yet Chancellor Kuang Heng alone obstructed the matter and refused to approve it, enfeoffing Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang with only a few hundred households. For this reason, the meritorious officers and fighting men were left disappointed.
“Emperor Cheng inherited the foundations of an accomplished reign and rode upon the awe inspired by former campaigns. Weapons and armor were not put in motion, and the state was free of major troubles; yet the great ministers, perverse and devious, sought to monopolize the ruler’s authority, excluding and envying men of merit. Thus Chen Tang, solitary and forsaken, suffered false accusation, arrest, and imprisonment, and could not make his case clear. In the end, though guiltless, he grew old and was cast aside.
“Dunhuang stands directly upon the route to the Western Regions; yet a minister whose prestige and renown had overawed and vanquished the lands, before he could even turn his heel, was himself reduced to such a state, and again made an object of mockery to the surviving caitiffs of Zhizhi. This is truly lamentable!
“To this day, those who bear missions to the outer tribes have never failed to recount the execution of Zhizhi, thereby proclaiming the grandeur of the Han empire. To rely on this man’s merit in order to intimidate the enemy, yet cast aside his person in order to gratify slanderers—how could this not be grievous?
“Moreover, in times of peace one must not forget danger; in times of prosperity one must surely consider decline. Now the state possesses neither the accumulated abundance built up through Emperor Wen’s many years of thrift, nor generals like those repeatedly employed under Emperor Wu to strike down bold chieftains and capture the enemy. There is only one Chen Tang. Even had he lived in another age and failed to encounter Your Majesty, one might still have hoped that the state would have posthumously recorded his merit, enfeoffed his descendants, and marked his tomb, thereby encouraging those who would come after.
“Chen Tang was fortunate to have lived in a sacred age. His merit was not yet long past, the court instead listened to wicked ministers, who scourged him, drove him away, and cast him far off, so that he fled in exile and in the end died without a settled resting place. Those gentlemen who look far and judge broadly all reckon that Chen Tang’s merit is such that it cannot be matched for generations, while his faults were no more than what ordinary human feeling may contain. If even Chen Tang was treated in this manner, then though other soldiers should once more break sinews and bones and expose their bodies in the field, they would still in the end fall victim to men’s lips and tongues and be ruined by jealous ministers. This is why your servant is all the more deeply distressed for the sake of the state.”
The Emperor responded to the petition by allowing Chen Tang to return to Chang’an, where he ultimately passed away.
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