Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 27 Scroll 35 (continued)
The 2nd year of Emperor Ping’s Yuanshi Era (2 A.D.)
In the spring, the kingdom of Kanchi presented a rhinoceros as tribute. Kanchi, or Kanchipuram, lay beyond the Southern Sea, thirty thousand li from the capital. Wang Mang, wishing to display his majesty and virtue, bestowed generous gifts upon its king and requested that he continue to send envoys bearing tribute.
The Suixi Commandery reported that a yellow dragon had been seen swimming in the Yangtze River. The Grand Preceptor Kong Guang, the Grand Excellency over Masses Ma Gong, and others all praised Wang Mang, saying, “Wang Mang’s merit and virtue are comparable to those of the Duke of Zhou, and it is fitting to announce this in the ancestral temple with a sacrificial offering.”
However, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Sun Bao, objected, saying, “The Duke of Zhou was supremely sagacious, and the Duke of Shao was a great sage; yet even they had disagreements, as recorded in the classics, and neither harmed the other. Now the seasons of wind and rain are out of order, and the people are in want. Yet whenever something occurs, the ministers all speak with one voice—is it possible that not one of them dissents from this unanimous praise?”
At this, all the senior ministers were visibly unsettled. Zhen Han thereupon acted at once on Wang Mang’s instructions and expelled those who had raised objections. At the same time, Sun Bao had sent an official to fetch his mother, but because she had fallen ill on the journey and remained at his brother’s house, Sun Bao brought only his wife and children. Chen Chong, Judicial Associate to the Excellency over Masses, impeached Sun Bao, and the matter was handed over to the Three Excellencies for investigation. Sun Bao replied, “I am seventy years old, frail and muddle-headed, and in my old age the bonds of affection have grown weak, so I have indeed cared only for my wife and children, just as the memorial accuses.” Sun Bao was dismissed from office and died at home.
The Emperor’s personal name(Liu Jizi) was changed to Liu Kan.
On March 21, Wang Chong, the Grand Excellency of Works, resigned on grounds of illness in order to avoid Wang Mang.
In the summer, on April 16, Zhen Feng, General of the Left, was appointed Grand Excellency of Works; Sun Jian, General of the Right, was appointed General of the Left; and Zhen Han, the Grand Chamberlain, was appointed General of the Right. Liu Ruyi, the great-grandson of Prince Xiao of Dai, was enfeoffed as Prince of Guangzong; Liu Gong, Marquis of Xuyi and grandson of Prince Yi of Jiangdu, was enfeoffed as Prince of Guangchuan; and Liu Lun, the great-grandson of Prince Hui of Guangchuan, was enfeoffed as Prince of Guangde. The descendants of meritorious officials from the founding of the Han dynasty, including Zhou Gong, were enfeoffed as marquises or as marquises within the passes, totaling 117 persons.
The provinces and commanderies suffered from severe drought and locust infestations, with Qingzhou being especially hard hit, and many people fled in distress. Wang Mang reported the matter to the Grand Empress Dowager and suggested that she wear plain silk garments and reduce her meals in order to set an example for the empire. He also submitted a memorial offering to donate one million coins and thirty hectares of land to the Grand Minister of Agriculture for the relief of the poor. Thereupon, the high officials were moved to follow his example, and a total of 230 persons contributed land and houses, which were distributed among the poor. Within the city of Chang’an, a new settlement of five wards with two hundred residences was also established to house the homeless.
Wang Mang led the ministers in petitioning the Grand Empress Dowager, saying: “Fortunately, through the grace of Your Majesty, the wind and rain have come in due season, sweet dew has descended, divine fungi have sprouted, mingsun seeds, red herbs, and auspicious grain have all appeared together. We pray that Your Majesty resume the regular attire of the empress and restore the customary provisions of the imperial kitchen, so that your subjects may serve you with joy and fulfill their duties.”
Wang Mang then again had the Grand Empress Dowager issue an edict declining the request. Whenever there was flood or drought, Wang Mang would subsist on a vegetarian diet; and when this was reported to the Grand Empress Dowager, she sent an envoy to instruct him: “I have heard that you are eating only coarse vegetables, bearing deep concern for the people. This autumn’s harvest has fortunately been good; you should therefore eat meat at the proper time and preserve your strength for the sake of the state.”
In June, two meteorites fell in Julu.
Gong Sheng of Chu, Grand Master of Merit, and Bing Han of Langya, Grand Master of the Palace, both requested leave to retire on account of Wang Mang’s monopoly of power. Wang Mang then had the Grand Empress Dowager issue a decree, saying: “We sympathize with you in the burdens of official service. You should cultivate yourselves, preserve your integrity, and spend your remaining years in peace.” Both were sent off with special honors.
Mei Fu, knowing that Wang Mang would eventually usurp the Han dynasty, one day abruptly abandoned his wife and children and disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone. Later, some people saw Mei Fu in Kuaiji, where he had changed his name and become a gatekeeper in the market of Wu County.
In the autumn, on September 30, there was a solar eclipse, and a general amnesty was proclaimed for all convicts.
Chen Mao, an officer under the Bearer of the Mace[Chief of the Capital Police], was sent to persuade the pirates Cheng Zhong and more than two hundred others to surrender. They all submitted and were sent back to their homes, where they were made to serve out their sentences through labor. Cheng Zhong was relocated to Yunyang and granted public land and a dwelling.
Wang Mang, wishing to please the Grand Empress Dowager by displaying his supreme virtue and authority, sought to distinguish her from former sovereigns. He therefore sent word to the Xiongnu Chanyu, Fuzhulei Ruodi, requesting that Xubu Juci[Princess] Yun, the daughter of Wang Zhaojun, be sent to Chang’an to attend to the Grand Empress Dowager. The rewards and gifts bestowed upon the Chanyu were exceedingly generous.
In the Posterior[Northern] Jushi Kingdom, a new route had been opened that connected with Yumen Pass and shortened the journey. Xu Pu, Wuji Colonel of the Garrison Farms, wished to widen and maintain this route. Gugou, king of Posterior Jushi, was responsible for supplying the envoys who passed through, but he was dissatisfied with this burden. Xu Pu wished first to define the boundaries clearly before submitting his report, and therefore summoned Gugou to confirm them. Gugou refused, and Xu Pu imprisoned him. His wife, Guzizou, said to him, “The king of Anterior[Southern] Jushi was killed by the marshal under Protector-General in the past; if you remain imprisoned for long, you too will surely die. Better to surrender to Xiongnu.” They thereupon fled with great speed, broke through the walls of Gaochang, and went over to the Xiongnu.
Meanwhile, Tang Dou, the Quhulai king of the Ruoqiang, had repeatedly suffered raids from the Qiang near Chishui, yet was unable to prevail against them. He appealed to the Protector-General Dan Qin for assistance, but Dan Qin failed to send timely help. In desperation, Tang Dou, enraged at Dan Qin, led his people eastward to seek entry at Yumen Pass. When the pass refused them admission, he led more than a thousand persons, including his wife and children, and defected to the Xiongnu. The Chanyu accepted them, settled them in the territory of the Left Luli King, and sent an envoy to report the matter, saying, “I have respectfully received them.” An imperial edict was then issued, dispatching Han Long, General of the Household, and others to the Xiongnu to rebuke the Chanyu. The Chanyu knelt and confessed his guilt, surrendering the two defectors, Tang Dou and Gugou, to the envoys.
An edict of the Grand Empress Dowager ordered that Wang Meng, General of the Household, remain at E’dunu Valley on the frontier of the Western Regions to handle the matter. The Chanyu sent an envoy to escort the prisoners and request a pardon, and the envoy reported this to the court. Wang Mang refused to consent. He summoned an assembly of all the kings of the Western Regions and had Gugou and Tang Dou executed before them as a warning. He also established four prohibitions: Han people who defected to the Xiongnu, Wusun people who surrendered to the Xiongnu, monarch lords of the Western Regions who had received seals and ribbons from the Middle Kingdom but defected to the Xiongnu, and Wuhuan people who defected to the Xiongnu were all henceforth not to be accepted. Generals of Household Wang Jun, Wang Chang, Lieutenant Colonel Zhen Fu and Wang Xun were dispatched to the Xiongnu to deliver these four prohibitions to the Chanyu, together with an imperial edict enclosed in the sealed envelope, and to instruct him to enforce them. They also recovered the treaty concluded in the reign of Emperor Xuan and took back the text in a sealed envelope.
At this time, Wang Mang also submitted a proposal that no one in the Middle Kingdom should bear a two-character personal name. He sent envoys to instruct Wuzhuliu Chanyu that he ought to admire Han culture and adopt a single-character name, for which the Han would bestow abundant rewards. Wuzhuliu Chanyu complied and sent a letter, stating: “I am honored to serve as a vassal and to enjoy the peace and prosperity of your sage rule. My original name was Nangzhiyasi, but I have now respectfully changed it to Zhi.” Wang Mang was greatly pleased, reported the matter to the Grand Empress Dowager, and sent an envoy to reward Wuzhuliu Chanyu with generous gifts.
Wang Mang wished to marry his daughter to the Emperor in order to strengthen his grip on power, and he submitted a memorial saying: “The Emperor has been on the throne for three years, yet the Changqiu Palace has not been established, and the inner palace remains unfilled with palace women. In former times, the state suffered difficulties because there was no heir, and marriages were therefore improperly arranged. I request that the Five Classics be consulted in order to determine the proper rites for selecting an empress, as well as to define the twelve ranks of women in the Emperor’s inner palace, so as to ensure the continuation of the imperial line. Selection should be made broadly from among the descendants of the Two Royal Houses—the houses of Yin(Shang) and Zhou—the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, and the sons and daughters of the marquises residing in Chang’an.”
The matter was referred to the officials, and the names of several noblewomen were submitted, many of them from the Wang clan. Fearing that they might compete with his own daughter, Wang Mang submitted another memorial: “I am without virtue, and my children are unworthy. They should not be considered together with the other noblewomen.” The Grand Empress Dowager, believing in his sincerity, issued an edict saying: “The women of the Wang family are my relatives and should not be selected.”
However, more than a thousand commoners, students, and officials submitted petitions day after day, some kneeling in court and others prostrating themselves at the palace gates, all saying: “The Duke of Anhan has accomplished great deeds and is a man of such stature; now that an empress is to be chosen, how can his daughter be excluded? Who else in the empire ought to bear this responsibility? We earnestly request that his daughter become the mother of the empire!”
Wang Mang sent his chief clerk to disperse the petitioners, but their numbers only grew. The Grand Empress Dowager, having no alternative, allowed the high officials to include Wang Mang’s daughter in the selection. Wang Mang then again expressed his desire that the selection be broadened. The Three Excellencies and the ministers objected, saying: “The empress must not be chosen from among other women, for this would undermine the legitimacy of the succession.” Wang Mang thereupon requested permission to present his daughter.
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