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)
On February 27, the Emperor invested his younger brother Liu Jing as Prince of Qinghe.
On February 28, an earthquake struck Longxi Commandery, toppling walls and buildings and crushing many people.
In March, Liu Ba, son of Prince Li of Guangling (Liu Xu), succeeded as Prince of Guangling.
An edict ordered the discontinuation of palace carriages and the keeping of dogs and horses for the eunuchs. The inner gardens of the imperial parks under the Water Management Bureau, the Yichun Lower Garden, and the pools outside the Archer Training Office under Privy Treasury and the royal archery grounds were to be closed, cutting expenditure for the benefit of the poor. A general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm, and men of exceptional talent and those who spoke with candor and remonstrated directly were to be recommended.
In April of summer, the Emperor appointed his son Liu Ao as Crown Prince.
Scribe-in-waiting Zheng Peng recommended Zhang Chang, Prefect of Taiyuan, saying he had been a distinguished minister under the late Emperor and was suited to instruct and assist the Crown Prince. The Emperor consulted Xiao Wangzhi regarding this. Xiao Wangzhi replied that although Zhang Chang was a capable administrator, able to manage difficult affairs, he lacked the gravitas befitting a tutor or preceptor to a prince.
The Emperor nonetheless dispatched an emissary to summon Zhang Chang, intending to make him Intendant of Pingyi. Before he arrived, Zhang Chang fell ill and died.
An edict granted Xiao Wangzhi the title Marquis Within the Passes and appointed him Palace Steward, permitting him to attend court audiences at the new and full moons, instead of being there everyday.
East of Hangu Pass famine prevailed, and in the Qi region the people turned to cannibalism.
In autumn, on July 27, another earthquake occurred.
The Emperor once more summoned Zhou Kan and Liu Gengsheng, intending to appoint them as Grandees of Remonstration. Hong Gong and Shi Xian advised against it, recommending instead that they be made Palace Gentlemen.
The Emperor continued to hold Xiao Wangzhi in high esteem and intended to raise him to the Chancellorship. But Hong Gong, Shi Xian, the Xu and Shi clans, together with other attendants and officials, regarded Xiao Wangzhi and his associates with suspicion and hostility.
Liu Gengsheng had a maternal kinsman in the palace submit a memorial, saying: “The earthquake is doubtless due to Hong Gong and his faction, not stirred by the three obstinate men alone. Your servant, in dullness, believes that Hong Gong and Shi Xian should be dismissed, thus displaying the punishment for those who obscure and conceal the worthy, and that Xiao Wangzhi and his associates should be advanced, thus opening the way for the virtuous. If this be done, the Gate of Great Peace will be opened, and the sources of calamity and anomaly will be stopped.”
When this memorial was presented, Hong Gong and Shi Xian suspected Liu Gengsheng of instigating it. They requested an inquiry into the deceit, and Liu Gengsheng’s relative confessed. Liu Gengsheng was arrested and imprisoned, then dismissed from office and reduced to the status of a commoner.
The son of Xiao Wangzhi, Xiao Ji, serving as Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and Palace Gentleman, together with others, also submitted a memorial appealing his father’s earlier prosecution. The matter was referred to the judicial authorities, who again reported: “The charges against Xiao Wangzhi were clear, and no accusations were born of slander; yet he instructed his son to submit a memorial citing the verse on ‘The Exoneration of the Guiltless,’ thereby failing to exhibit the deportment of a great minister and acting with disrespect. We request that he be arrested.”
Hong Gong, Shi Xian, and their associates knew Xiao Wangzhi to be a man of noble character who would not endure humiliation, and thus they proposed: “Xiao Wangzhi was fortunate to escape punishment, and moreover received title and land, yet he does not repent but nurses deep resentment. He instructed his son to submit a petition that reproaches the Emperor, believing that, as a former imperial tutor, he would not be punished. Unless he is imprisoned to quell his discontent, His Majesty’s further grace will not be felt by him.”
The Emperor said, “Master Xiao is known for his firmness and loftiness; he will not submit to the officials!”
Shi Xian and the others replied, “Human life is the weightiest of all considerations. Xiao Wangzhi’s offense is but a minor one of speech; there is no cause for concern over his life.”
Thus the Emperor approved their proposal.
In December of winter, Shi Xian and his faction sealed the edict and delivered it to the usher, ordering him to present it directly to Xiao Wangzhi. Shi Xian instructed the Minister of Rites to summon the Bearer of the Mace, and cavalry guards were dispatched to encircle Xiao Wangzhi’s residence.
Xiao Wangzhi sought counsel from his disciple Zhu Yun of Lu, a man of lofty virtue. Zhu Yun advised him to take his own life. Xiao Wangzhi looked up to Heaven and sighed: “I have held high offices and am now past sixty. To be imprisoned in old age, seeking only to cling to life—what a disgrace is this!”
He then said to Zhu Yun, “Fetch the poison quickly; do not let me languish in death!” He drank the poison and died.
When the Emperor heard this, he was shocked and struck his hands together, saying: “I feared he would not go to prison, and now you have killed my virtuous tutor!” He happened to be taking his meal, but pushed his food aside and wept, moving all who attended him. He summoned Shi Xian and the others for questioning; they removed their caps and pleaded forgiveness. After a long while, the matter was settled.
The Emperor, missing Xiao Wangzhi, never forgot him; each year he dispatched envoys to offer sacrifices at his tomb, and this practice continued throughout his reign.
Sima Guang’s commentary: How grievous it is that Emperor Yuan, as a ruler, was easy to mislead yet hard to awaken! The slanders that Hong Gong and Shi Xian wove against Xiao Wangzhi—wicked in argument and deceitful in design—were indeed difficult to penetrate. At first they suspected Xiao Wangzhi would not willingly enter prison, yet claimed there was no need for concern; when he then took his own life, the deceit of Hong Gong and Shi Xian was laid bare. For a ruler of even median wisdom, who would not be moved to punish such treacherous attendants?Emperor Yuan was not so. Though he wept and set aside his meal in sorrow for Xiao Wangzhi, he could do no more than bid Hong Gong and Shi Xian remove their caps and apologize. How can treacherous ministers be checked in this way? Thus Hong Gong and Shi Xian were left to indulge their evil hearts without fear or restraint.
Reflection by Rio Grande 