Tag: Emperor Yuan of Han

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance

By Sima Guang

Translated By Yiming Yang  

Annals of Han Book 20 Scroll 28 (continued)

The 2nd year of Emperor Yuan’s Chuyuan Era (47 B.C. continued)

That year, Hong Gong died of illness, and Shi Xian succeeded him as Chief of the Palace Secretariat.

At the outset, when Emperor Wu pacified Nanyue, he established the commanderies of Zhuya and Dan’er upon an Island in the South Sea(Hainan Island). The officials and soldiers stationed there were all from the Central States and often oppressed the local people. The islanders were fierce and unruly, believing themselves cut off from the mainland; they frequently violated official prohibitions. Every few years they rose in rebellion, killing officials, and the Han repeatedly dispatched troops to quell them. In more than twenty years they rebelled six times; by the reign of Emperor Xuan, they rebelled twice more.

In the second year of the present Emperor’s reign, Shannan County of Zhuya rebelled; troops were sent to suppress it. Other counties rose likewise, and for several years unrest did not cease. The Emperor consulted his ministers, intending to mobilize a great host. Scribe-in-Waiting Jia Juanzhi remonstrated, saying:

“I have heard that the sage lords Yao, Shun, and Yu governed realms only a few thousand li across. To the west their transforming influence reached the drifting sands; to the east, the shore of the great sea, to the north and the south as well. They held that they would govern only those who were willing to receive their instruction and would not force it upon others. Thus lord and subject praised each other’s virtue, and all beings dwelt in their proper places.

“Even the great kings Wu Ding of Shang and King Cheng of Zhou, the humane rulers of their age, ruled eastward no farther than the principalities of Jiang and Huang, westward no farther than the Di and Qiang, southward no farther than the territories of the Jingman[barbarian in Jingzhou], and northward no farther than Shuofang Commandery. Songs of praise filled the land, and all creatures lived in harmony. The Yuechang tribe came from afar with tribute, passing through nine interpreters; this was not won by force of arms.

“Then came the Qin, who waged far-flung wars and exhausted their strength through greed; in the end, rebellion arose and their state was destroyed. Emperor Wen restrained his armies and cultivated civil governance; in his time, legal cases numbered only in the hundreds, and taxes and labor service were light. Emperor Wu, however, relied on arms to repel the barbarians; legal cases numbered in the tens of thousands, taxes were heavy, and banditry was rife. Soldiers were constantly mobilized; fathers died in battle, sons were wounded, women watched over the passes, orphans cried in the roads, widowed mothers wept in the streets—this all sprang from excessive expansion and ceaseless war.

“In human sentiment, none are dearer than parents, none bring more joy than husband and wife; yet men now sell their children and marry away their wives. Law cannot forbid it; righteousness cannot restrain it. This is the great peril of the state.

“Now Your Majesty, unable to bear long-standing anxieties, proposes to drive the multitude into the vast sea, relieving a moment’s concern at the cost of deepening their hunger and distress. The Book of Songs says: ‘The foolish Jingman[southern barbarian] made a great state into their foe.’ This means that when a sage arises they submit, but when the Central Plain is weak they rebel; how much more so the southern savages who dwell in distant and untamed lands!

“The people of Luoyue(Luegvet) bathe with father and son together in the same waters and drink through their noses—no different from beasts. They are not worth establishing counties over. Living alone on an island in the sea, shrouded in mist and humidity, amid poisonous plants, insects, serpents, and harmful water and soil—the soldiers die before they ever meet the enemy. Moreover, Zhuya is not the only source of pearls, rhinoceros horn, and tortoise shell. To abandon it is no loss; not to attack it does not injure our prestige. These men are like fish and turtles—not worthy of our desire.

“Seek antiquity for precedent and it gives no such counsel; apply it to the present and it yields nothing workable. Your servant, in ignorance, believes that among states, if they are not of cap and girdle—if they lie outside the territories described in the Yu Gong(The Book of Documents) and governed by the Spring and Autumn Annals—they may be set aside for now and not acted upon. I plead that the commandery of Zhuya be abandoned, and that the court turn its efforts to relieving the suffering east of Han’gu Pass.”

The Emperor consulted the Chancellor and the Grand Master of the Censorate. The Master of the Censorate, Chen Wannian, held that the rebels should be attacked; but Chancellor Yu Dingguo argued:

“In former years when troops were dispatched year after year, of the eleven commanders sent forth, only two returned. More than ten thousand soldiers and transport workers died, and over thirty million coins were expended, yet we were still unable to pacify them completely. Now the regions east of Han’gu Pass are depleted, and the people are difficult to mobilize. To abandon the enterprise, as Jia Juanzhi proposes, is sound policy.”

The Emperor accepted this counsel. Jia Juanzhi was the great-grandson of Jia Yi.

The 3rd year of Emperor Yuan’s Chuyuan Era (46 B.C.)

In the spring, an edict was issued, stating:

“The barbarians of Zhuya have slain officials and people, turned their backs upon us, and risen in rebellion. Now among those who deliberate in court, some urge attack, some urge defense, and some wish to abandon the territory; their reasons differ. Day and night We ponder their words. Ashamed that Our authority is not upheld, We would like to punish them; wavering and fearing peril, We would like to hold firm and settle them by garrison-farms; accommodating to the circumstance, We would like to grieve for the myriad people.

“Between the hunger of the multitude and the failure to chastise distant barbarians, which danger is the greater? Moreover, in a year of ill omen, even the sacrifices at the ancestral temples cannot be fully prepared; how then could We show no concern for the disgrace of neglecting distant threats?

“Now the lands east of the Passes are sorely afflicted; granaries and treasuries stand empty and cannot sustain one another. To raise armies again would not only weary the people but bring disaster upon the year. Let the Commandery of Zhuya be abolished. If any among the people admire righteousness and desire to submit and come within, then settle them; if they do not wish it, do not compel them.”

In the summer, on April 29, the White Crane Palace at Maoling, the tomb of Emperor Wu, caught fire; a general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm.

In the summer, there was a drought.

The younger brother of the late Prince Yang of Changsha(Liu Dan), Liu Zong, was elevated as the Prince of Changsha to succeed him.

The Treasurer of Changxin Palace, Gong Yu, submitted a proposal stating: “The guards at the various detached palaces and the Changle Palace can be reduced by more than half to lighten the labor burdens.”

In June, an edict was issued: “We have been contemplating the hunger and cold suffered by the common people, who are far from their parents, wives, and children, laboring on tasks not their own, guarding palaces they do not inhabit. We fear this does not align with the principles of supporting the balance of yin and yang. Therefore, disband the guards at the Ganquan and Jianzhang Palaces and let them return to farming. Each palace should reduce its expenses. Submit detailed plans without concealment.”

That year, the Emperor reappointed Zhou Kan as the Chamberlain. Zhou Kan‘s disciple, Zhang Meng, was appointed as a Grand Master of Merit and a Palace Liaison, receiving great trust and favor.