Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance
By Sima Guang
Translated By Yiming Yang
Annals of Han Book 17 Scroll 25 (continued)
The 4th year of Emperor Xuan’s Di’jie Era (66 B.C.)
In February of spring, the Emperor enfeoffed his maternal grandmother as Lady of Bo’ping. His maternal uncles were likewise ennobled: Wang Wugu was made Marquis of Ping’chang, and Wang Wu was made Marquis of Le’chang.
In May of summer, hailstones the size of chicken eggs fell in Shanyang and Jiyin. Floodwaters rose to two feet and five inches. More than twenty persons died, and all birds in flight perished.
An edict was issued: “Henceforth, those who shelter and conceal their parents, wives who shelter and conceal their husbands, and grandchildren who shelter and conceal their grandparents shall not be prosecuted.”
Liu Wen, grandson of Prince Hui of Guangchuan, was appointed Prince of Guangchuan.
At this time, Grand Madame Huo Xian, together with Huo Yu, Huo Shan, and Huo Yun, perceived that their authority was declining. They often gathered to lament and reproach themselves. Huo Shan said: “Now the Chancellor holds the reins of power, and the Emperor trusts him. He has overturned the statutes established by the Grand General, constantly exposing the General’s faults. Many Confucian scholars come from poor families, traveling far to the capital and enduring hunger and cold. They delight in haughty and reckless speech, heedless of taboos—such men the Grand General despised. Yet His Majesty takes pleasure in conversing with them, and all compose responses to the Emperor’s inquiries, frequently disparaging our clan.
“Some even submitted memorials accusing our brothers of arrogance and unrestrained conduct; this wounded me deeply. I suppressed the reports and did not present them to the Emperor. But the informers have grown ever more crafty, submitting sealed memorials without cease. His Majesty commands the Chief of the Palace Secretariat to retrieve them directly, bypassing the Secretariat entirely, further diminishing his trust in me. Moreover, rumors circulate among the common people that ‘the Huo family poisoned Empress Xu.’ Could such a thing be true?”
Huo Xian, stricken with fear, at once revealed the truth to Huo Yu, Huo Shan, and Huo Yun. They were stunned and cried out: “If this is so, why did you not tell us sooner? The Emperor’s dismissal and dispersal of the sons-in-law of our house were all because of this. The matter is grave, and the punishment will be heavy. What course remains for us?” Thus the shadows of treachery began to gather.
A close associate of Li Jing—maternal uncle to Huo Yun—named Zhang She observed the panic within Huo Yun’s household. He said to Li Jing: “The Chancellor and the Marquis of Ping’en now hold full power. You should have Grand Madame Xian petition the Empress Dowager to remove these two first. Thereafter, depose His Majesty and establish a new Son of Heaven—such matters lie within the reach of the Empress Dowager.”
A man of Chang’an named Zhang Zhang reported this plot. The Minister of Justice and the Bearer of the Mace took up the case, and Zhang She and his accomplices were arrested.
Later, an imperial edict ordered the arrests suspended. Huo Shan and the others grew still more fearful and conferred among themselves: “The Emperor hesitates only out of filial reverence for the Empress Dowager; otherwise, matters would already have gone to the end. This bodes ill. The restraint will not last—once it breaks, our clan will be annihilated. It is better to act first.” They bade their daughters warn their husbands. The husbands all replied: “There is nowhere for us to flee or hide!”
Li Jing was charged with illicit dealings with the feudal lords, and his testimony implicated the Huo clan. An edict was issued: “Huo Yun and Huo Shan are unfit to remain in the capital. Let them be stripped of office and retire to their fiefs.”
Zhang Chang, Prefect of Shanyang, submitted a memorial:
“I have heard that Prince Ji You rendered meritorious service to Lu, Zhao Cui contributed greatly to Jin, and Tian Wan achieved for Qi. All were amply rewarded by their states, and their descendants shared in the benefit. Yet in the end, the Tian clan usurped Qi, the Zhao clan partitioned Jin, and the Ji clan manipulated Lu. Therefore Confucius composed the Spring and Autumn Annals to trace rise and decline, censuring most severely the hereditary aggrandizement of noble houses.
“Recently, the Grand General made resolute plans, secured the ancestral temples, and brought order to the realm—his merits are not insignificant. The Duke of Zhou governed for seven years, yet the Grand General held authority for twenty, controlling the fate of the empire. At the height of his power, he shook Heaven and Earth, disturbing the harmony of yin and yang. The court advisers should have submitted a frank memorial, saying: ‘Your Majesty has already rewarded the Grand General to the fullest for his service. Of late, the regent ministers have dominated affairs, and the power of the nobility has grown excessive; the boundary between ruler and subject is no longer distinct. It is fitting to remove the three marquises of the Huo clan from power and send them back to their fief; as for the Guard General, Zhang Anshi, grant him a cane and a tea table for retirement, consult him on occasion, and treat him with courtesy, appointing him as mentor to the Son of Heaven, with a marquis title.’
“Your Majesty should then have issued an edict declining their proposal, expressing gratitude for past achievements. The ministers, asserting righteousness, would repeatedly press their case until it was accepted. The world would regard Your Majesty as mindful of past achievements, and the officials as discerning in principle. The Huo clan would have no grounds for resentment in generations to come.
“Now, the court hears no upright words, and the Emperor issues decrees alone. This is no prudent course. The two marquises have already departed the capital, and the feelings of the people do not differ by much. In my humble estimation, Grand Marshal Huo Yu and his subordinates are likely gripped by fear. When those close to the throne feel insecure, it won’t be an ideal situation.
“I, Zhang Chang, dare to speak first and expose the root of the matter. Yet I stand alone in this distant commandery, unable to pursue the argument further. I beseech Your Majesty to examine my words with care.”
The Emperor greatly approved his proposal, but did not summon him.
The households of Huo Yu, Huo Shan, and the others were repeatedly troubled by uncanny portents, which filled them with grief and dread. Huo Shan said, “The Chancellor has arbitrarily reduced the offerings in the ancestral temple—lambs, pigs, and even frogs. This may be the source of these calamities.” They conspired to have the Empress Dowager Shangguan host a banquet for Lady Bo’ping, the Emperor’s maternal grandmother, summoning the Chancellor, the Marquis of Ping’en(Xu Guanghan), and their subordinates. Their plan was that Fan Mingyou and Deng Guanghan, acting under the Empress Dowager’s command, would execute them during the feast, afterward depose the Emperor, and set Huo Yu upon the throne. The scheme was spoken of, but no action was taken.
Before it could be carried out, Huo Yun was appointed Prefect of Xuantu, and Ren Xuan was sent as Prefect of Dai Commandery. When the plot came to light, in July of autumn, Huo Yun, Huo Shan, and Fan Mingyou took their own lives. Grand Madame Huo Xian, Huo Yu, Deng Guanghan, and others were arrested. Huo Yu was executed by waist-chopping; Huo Xian, her daughters, and her brothers were put to death. All connected with the Huo clan shared their fate, and several dozen households were exterminated. The Grand Coachman Du Yannian, because of past dealings with the Huo family, was also dismissed from office.
On August 1, Empress Huo was deposed and confined in the Zhao’tai Palace. On August 17, an imperial edict enfeoffed Zhang Zhang, Court Guard Dong Zhong, Left Assistant to the Secretariat Yang Yun, and the Privy Counselors Jin Anshang and Shi Gao—all of whom had aided in exposing the conspiracy. Yang Yun was the son of the former Chancellor Yang Chang; Jin Anshang was nephew to the late General of Chariots and Cavalry Jin Midi; and Shi Gao was nephew to Lady Shi, grandmother of the Emperor.
Reflection by Rio Grande 