Reason for presentation of this chapter here

The "Annals" in the History of the Former Han Dynasty recount events only until the death of Emperor P'ing on Feb. 3, A.D. 6. There was no legal Han emperor from that date until Aug. 5, A.D. 25, when Emperor Kuang-wu of the Later Han dynasty took the throne. During the first three of these years, Wang Mang, a maternal first cousin of Emperor Ch'eng (the latter of whom was Emperor P'ing's adoptive father), ruled as Regent and Acting Emperor, with Liu Ying, a descendant of Emperor Hsüan, as Heir-apparent and Young Prince, (Ju-tzu, an ancient title, given to King Ch'eng of the Chou dynasty). On Jan. 10, A.D. 9, Wang Mang took the throne as actual Emperor, and ruled until his death on Oct. 6, A.D. 23. Seven months previously, a scion of the House of Han had been set up as Emperor by a group of generals (called, from his reign-period, the Keng-shih Emperor), and, between that time and until Emperor Kuang-wu was seated firmly on the throne, about a dozen other persons were set up or set themselves up as Emperor (cf. Glossary, sub Kuang-wu, Emperor). The events in the first part of this period, from A.D. 6 to A.D. 23, are related fully only in this chapter of the History of the Former Han Dynasty. These seventeen years belong properly to the Former Han period.

The period of Wang Mang's reign is extremely interesting. Its events result from the tendencies that had previously been operating. The "Annals" in the HS constitute a summary of the history during the reigns of the Han emperors; in order to continue that account until the beginning of the Later Han period, there is presented here a translation of the "Memoir of Wang Mang," which is the only extensive primary source for that period. It really constitutes an appendix to the "Annals of Emperor P'ing."

The form of this Memoir

In its form, the "Memoir of Wang Mang" is that of a sequent memoir (chuan); its latter portion, since it is the only extensive account in the HS of these seventeen years, is also an annals for those years.

A typical memoir states first the given name and courtesy name of the person treated, then recounts his native place and ancestry, including a notice of those ancestors who were important. If, however, his father or some antecedent relative has been given a separate memoir, the notice of his native place and ancestry is omitted in such a sequent memoir. This section is followed by an account of his education, how he secured office, what offices he held, his distinguished deeds, his titles, etc. Samples of his writings are quoted, if they were important or interesting. Somewhere in the account there is a description of his character (and possibly of his appearance), preceded by the words, "As a man, ...". The notice of his death is followed by a similar account of his descendants, if they were important, and sometimes of other relatives. In general, events are related chronologically, but there are occasional deviations from that chronological order, as when an earlier event is recounted in order to explain or lead up to a later one. (Sometimes in the text there is no indication of a deviation from the chronological order; it is surprising how often a proper understanding of the chronology requires the use of the pluperfect tense).

The account is thoroughly objective; the historian's feelings are rarely allowed to appear until the end of the chapter, where there is appended a "eulogy (tsan)", giving the historian's judgment upon the person or persons considered in the chapter. This eulogy is usually a highly polished statement, sententious and pregnant. (Later historians, such as Hsün Yüeh, have not been content with exercising so much self-restraint, and, while keeping the objective form of the account, they have introduced at various places in the text a "discussion (lun)" of the events, criticizing or approving the person or deed under consideration, sometimes at considerable length. The term "eulogy" is then reserved for a final polished literary summary.)

A typical annals opens with a brief introductory section, in which are discussed matters concerning the ruler's childhood and the way he came to be selected for the throne. The chapter then relates the events during his reign, by years and months. These recordings are confined to matters of governmental concern; circumstances concerning the private life of even the ruler are relegated to the memoirs of the non-imperial individuals most concerned. Only rarely is there mentioned a matter not of governmental concern, and then only when it is of great importance. Thus Pan Ku did not even mention in his "Annals" the famous poet, Szu-ma Hsiang-ju, although he greatly admired this genius. Matters concerning legal developments are usually summarized briefly, sometimes with a reference to the "Treatise on Punishments and Laws." Matters that can be discussed better in other treatises (chih) or memoirs are similarly dealt with. Typical and important imperial edicts are quoted. After recounting the death and burial of the ruler, there is a eulogy, similar to that in a memoir.

The "Memoir of Wang Mang" is preceded by that of his aunt, the Grand Empress Dowager nee Wang (ch. 98), in which there is given an extended account of the Wang clan's ancestry and of the other members of that important clan. (An abstract of that memoir will be found in the Glossary.) Consequently, matters concerning Wang Mang's ancestry and predecessors are to be found in that memoir. His memoir is thus a sequent one, and omits the features with which a typical memoir begins. Since it is a memoir, not an annals, Pan Ku does not confine himself to governmental concerns, and introduces memorials written by Wang Mang and others. He also relates fully the antecedents of events. The part of this memoir devoted to the reign of Emperor P'ing is more than twice as long as the "Annals" of that Emperor.

Pan Ku's problem was how to include properly an account of Wang Mang's reign in a history of the Han period. Before he wrote the Han-shu, Pan Ku had prepared an annals for the first of the Later Han emperors, so that he knew where a history of the Later Han dynasty must begin. He did not wish to leave unrecorded the two decades between these two periods. If Wang Mang had been a legitimate emperor, Pan Ku could have written an annals for his reign, with additional memoirs treating of his important officials. Since Wang Mang was a usurper, Pan Ku could not do so. But Wang Mang was a minister to the last emperor of the Former Han line. So Pan Ku could legitimately write a memoir for him and could continue this account down to the beginning of the Later Han period. Thus he cleverly included this interregnal period in his History of the Former Han Dynasty.

Since this chapter is a memoir, the accounts of Wang Mang's officials are also included in it and they are not given separate accounts. Thus this chapter contains almost all the information in the History about Wang Mang. In addition to what we have here, there is elsewhere material about this usurper in the "Annals of Emperor P'ing" (with brief mentions in those of Emperors Ch'eng and Ai), an important section concerning Wang Mang's economic policies in the "Treatise on Food and Goods" (translated in Appendix I), and a very short notice of his religious activities in the "Treatise on the Suburban and Other Sacrifices." The rebellion of Chai Yi is furthermore treated in detail in this person's memoir (abstracted in the glossary). Thus this account of Wang Mang is more rounded than that in other memoirs, in dealing with which it is necessary, in order to obtain a complete account, to read also the memoirs of the several participants in the series of events, and supplement them by the chronology to be found in the imperial annals and the tables, especially that in part B to the "Table of the Many Offices" (ch. 19). Hence this chapter dealing with Wang Mang is much longer than an annals or an ordinary memoir would be---and also much more satisfying.

Because there is no annals for the reign of Wang Mang, the later portion of this chapter is both an annals and a memoir. A memoir regularly proceeds chronologically, so that Pan Ku could easily combine these two forms.

Since this chapter also contains the only account of Wang Mang's officials, Pan Ku found that he could not end it with the death of the usurper, for he needed to relate the fate of those officials. Then he also summarized the subsequent history down to the accession of Emperor Kuang-wu. This chapter is complicated in its form.

Its division into three parts was probably the work of either Ying Shao or Yen Shih-ku, who made the divisions in the chapters of the HS. This division is logical and deserves to stand. Part A deals with the rise of Wang Mang down to his assumption of the throne in A.D. 9. Part B pictures him at the height of his power. It relates his extensive changes in rites and titles and the beginning of his decline. Part C deals with the collapse of his rule, from A.D. 17 to the end. The chapter is so long that these divisions have proved useful as well as logical.

Its sources

Concerning the sources of this and other chapters, I shall have something to say in the volume of "Prolegomena" to this series. In the main, the sources here are the same as elsewhere: imperial messages and edicts, stenographical reports of imperial conversations (cf. 99 A: 27a), some official annals kept at the palace, memorials to the throne, with their very varied contents, such as even testimony at trials and the reports given by informers. In addition, Pan Ku used the political pamphlets of the day, which probably also formed part of the memorials to the throne, sometimes being presented to the throne by the author of the pamphlet, and sometimes (in the case of those attacking Wang Mang) forming part of the evidence memorialized to justify a condemnation. The material that might have come from the above sources may well account for practically the whole of this chapter.

In this chapter, the amount of direct and extended quotation from primary sources is noteworthy. In Part A, these explicit quotations form 68% of the whole; in Part B, 53%; and in Part C, 41% (exclusive of the eulogy); an average of 55% for the chapter. Pan Ku was himself a poet and literary artist of the first rank, and plainly admired the Confucian literary products of Wang Mang's time, including Wang Mang's own edicts, hence was led to quote them as examples of the age's literary products. The two memorials written by Chang Sung (99 A: 10a-16a; 27b-29a) alone account for 27% of the direct quotations in Part A.

In addition to the direct quotations, there is a very large amount of information that must have come from written documents, such as official appointments, enfeoffments, summaries of official orders concerning economic matters, concerning the redistricting of territory, concerning military expeditions, etc. Much of this material is probably fragmentary direct quotation. Since there is no difference in Chinese style between direct and indirect discourse (except for the personal pronouns, the phrase "your servant," and a few such phrases), a clever compiler, such as Pan Ku shows himself to be, could more easily piece together phrases from earlier documents to produce his own account than himself compose the whole account anew. The peculiar description of the bandits in 99 C: 14b, which makes them out to be beggars going about asking for food, blaming the fighting upon the government officials who come out and get hurt, was very likely part of the report sent in by the Higher Subordinate Official of the Commander-in-chief mentioned immediately afterwards, who was captured by the bandits and freed, probably because he promised to plead for them. Pan Ku used it as his own account of the bandits (without mention of his source), since it came from a man who could speak at first hand about them.

Another noteworthy feature of the age was the number of extensive political documents, chiefly propaganda, that are mentioned in this chapter. Evidently it was an age when there was a large reading public, who eagerly perused such documents and passed them from hand to hand. In A.D. 5, 487,572 persons (probably by groups) turned in memorials at the capital concerning Wang Mang (99 A: 19b). We hear of a work on filial piety written by Wang Mang in eight fascicles (99 A: 17a), of a report by the eight commissioners concerning the people's customs, praising Wang Mang, in 30,000 words (99 A: 23b), of a piece of propaganda, entitled "The Mandate of Heaven Given Through Portents," in 42 fascicles (99 B: 9a), of a remonstrance to Wang Mang written by his general, Chuang Yu, in three fascicles (99 C: 5b), of a book of revelations written by Wang K'uang(4b) attacking Wang Mang, in over 100,000 words (99 C: 12b), and of Wang Mang's own apologia, in more than a thousand words (99 C: 25a). In addition there are mentioned other political documents that must have been extensive, but about whose length we are given no information: Chai Yi's message attacking Wang Mang, sent about the country at the outset of his rebellion (99 A: 30a; 84: 11a); Liu Yin(4a) Po-sheng's messages (99 C: 20a), and Wei Hsiao's message (HHS, Mem. 3: 2a-4a), all attacking Wang Mang. There must have been many more, in addition to the government documents and constant propaganda. Pan Piao's "Discussion of the Mandate to True Kings" (quoted in HS 100 A: 7b-11b) was probably a pamphlet passed about the country in support of Emperor Kuang-wu.

Stange (in Die Monographie über Wang Mang, p. xxiv) states that this chapter contains many matters which could only have come from oral tradition or court gossip. There are, of course, some matters that did come from oral tradition, such as the opinion about Wang Mang's music (99 C: 4b), which might indeed have come from Pan Chih, Pan Ku's grandfather. But such matters that are traceable to no written sources are very much fewer than one might think, and Stange's own examples are all chosen unfortunately.

Whenever a capital sentence was imposed, the facts upon which that sentence was based were summarized in the form of a memorial and sent to the emperor for his approval before the sentence was carried out. These memorials then formed part of the government records, were preserved, and were available to Pan Ku for the compilation of his History. The government archives from Former Han times must have been very extensive. The most surprising case is that in a memorial of A.D. 9 (99 A: 34b), Wang Mang mentions a book of revelation by Kan Chung-k'o as being extant and stored in the Orchid Terrace (the imperial archives). Now this remarkable work (in twelve rolls) had been written some time in the reign of Emperor Ch'eng. It contained a prophecy that the Han dynasty had come to the end of its period and must receive a renewed mandate from Heaven. The famous Liu Hsiang had memorialized that the matter was a fabrication to impose upon the vulgar, and Kan Chung-k'o died in prison. In 5 B.C., a disciple, Hsia Ho-liang, memorialized this book to Emperor Ai, who was impressed by it and changed his own title and year-period in order to conform with this prophecy. (It was evidently this copy that Wang Mang read.) A few months later, when his illness did not improve, Emperor Ai abrogated his change and turned Hsia Ho-liang over to his officials, who decided that he had maliciously deceived the Emperor, which was an inhuman crime; he and his associates were executed. Now if this repudiated prophetic book, forming part of a memorial from a man who was executed for one of the most serious crimes in the code, was preserved in the imperial archives for a period of fourteen years, during three reigns, it is likely that memorials to the throne were generally preserved. Such memorials contained information and advice about all sorts of matters; they must have been an extensive source of information for anyone who had access to them. Pan Ku occasionally quotes such memorials, for example, Chuang Yu's advice about the expedition against the Huns, which advice was rejected (found in 94 B: 19a-b = de Groot, Die Hunnen, pp. 273-275).

Now let us examine the examples of supposedly oral tradition mentioned by Stange. The first one, the intrigue of Wang Mang against Shun-yu Chang (99 A: 2a), resulted in the death of Shun-yu Chang, the execution of his family and several dozen other persons, including a former Empress, and the promotion of Wang Mang, so that there must have been official documents recounting the testimony of those examined, requesting the execution of these persons, detailing the culprit's crimes, and indicating the person who reported them (cf. Glossary sub Shun-yu Chang). Pan Ku's information about this incident was very likely based upon these written documents.

The account of Wang Mang's wife's economy (99 A: 2a, b) also probably came from a documentary source; some among the hundreds of thousands of memorials praising Wang Mang probably contained this detail, as well as many other details of Wang Mang's early life. A similar memorial was probably the source for his interview with K'ung Hsiu (99 A: 3b-4a). It is even more probable that the statement made by Liu Ch'ung to his Chancellor, Chang Shao (99 A: 27a, b), was taken from a documentary source, either from the report of the magistrate about this rebellion or from a memorial to Wang Mang by Chang Shao's cousin, Chang Sung, excusing himself. In the case of Chao Ming's message to Chai Yi (99 A: 30b), it is quite possible that this message might have been found in Chai Yi's camp after his defeat or in the city of Yü, to which he fled and which was taken by storm.

It is not asserted that these conversations actually occurred, any more than that the Higher Subordinate Official's account of the bandits was true; it is merely pointed out that these conversations, etc., found in the HS, could in most cases have been found by Pan Ku in some documentary source, and that he used them as representing what very likely had happened. There are many cases, especially in the HS memoirs, in which a conversation would have enlivened the account and in which no conversations are recounted. Hence it is most probable that Pan Ku did not invent the conversations he recounts. He may be criticized for using other people's invented conversations, but it seems rarely the case that he himself invented matters which were not found in documents.

We have considered each of the cases Stange brings forward as supposed instances of oral tradition, and note that, as Pan Ku used them, they were all probably found by him in written form. The accounts of conversations, etc., found in the HS are different in their nature from the ones in the SC that have been so correctly suspected of having been fabricated by Szu-ma Ch'ien. The latter writer has been known for his lively accounts of events. Pan Ku's History has been criticized as being inferior in its literary character---the difference is probably that Pan Ku refused to invent conversations and events to enliven his writings, unless he found them in his sources. Hence the reliability of each case must be judged upon its own merits and any general suspicion of Pan Ku's reliability must be laid aside.

The sources for the account of Wang Mang's last days

The account of Wang Mang's death is extremely interesting because of the abundant details recounted and their vividness. The number of intimate details are so extraordinary that this account must have come from an eye-witness who had close access to the Emperor. It tells what happened on each day of the siege; how Wang Mang changed the guard at the city gates; how Chang(2) Han was killed as he was making the rounds of the gates; how Wang Mang was robed and where he sat in the throne-room, in the direction of the handle to the Great Dipper, performing divination while the Palace was burning (99 C: 27a). We are told by what steps he left the throne-room building---a staircase seemingly not mentioned elsewhere in ancient literature (a detail that would hardly have been invented by a forger)---and that his driver on his final journey was Wang Yi(6), a person only mentioned here and among the list of those who died with Wang Mang. At the tower where Wang Mang's followers made their last stand, we are told how Wang Mu, the son of Wang Mang's Heir-apparent, Wang Yi5, was taking off his court robes, preparing to flee, when his father arrived, who made him don them again and stay to die with Wang Mang. Thus part of the account plainly comes from an intimate companion of Wang Mang.

Other features are written from the viewpoint of the attackers. We are told in some detail how Teng Yi and Yü K'uang arose, whom they first attacked, how they effected entrance through the Wu Pass, how Teng Yi marched around the Han-ku Pass---by an obscure path not mentioned elsewhere by Chinese geographers---and how he defeated the Nine Tiger Generals, bottled the remainder of them up in the Capital Granary, left them, and began preparing siege implements.

Then we are told by what gate the attackers entered the palace, what important courtiers died defending the entrance to the Tower Bathed by Water, and which ones died with Wang Mang in the room on top of the Tower; exactly who killed Wang Mang and took his imperial seals and cords; who recognized the cords, evidently by their distinctive color, identified the corpse and took its head; and how Wang Hsien(4) lived like an emperor after the death of Wang Mang.

Where did all these details come from? They are too circumstantial to have been invented by a romancer. The "Memoir" gives us two details that seem to solve the problem. In the first place, it says that after the death of Wang Mang, Shen-t'u Ch'ien, a Han general, directed Liu Tz'u(4b), the Lieutenant Chancellor of the Keng-shih Emperor, to have Ts'ui Fa beheaded, because the latter had written an account of Wang Mang (99 C: 28b). Liu Tz'u(4b) came to Ch'ang-an before the Keng-shih Emperor arrived, to look over the situation and prepare a residence for the new Emperor, at which time this sentence was probably passed. Ts'ui Fa was an important personage, one of Wang Mang's advisors; a request for his execution would very probably have been prepared in accordance with the regular court procedure---a dossier of the evidence accompanied the request. In this case, most of the evidence was probably Ts'ui Fa's written account. The Keng-shih Emperor made Ch'ang-an his capital, so that the whole document found its way into the imperial archives. Thus we can trace back to Ts'ui Fa an important part of the material concerning the death of Wang Mang.

Ts'ui Fa was in a position to know these events, for he belonged to the innermost circle about Wang Mang. Ts'ui Fa appears again and again in the account of Wang Mang's reign, giving successful advice upon various superstitious practises, such as the very interesting wailing at the Altar to Heaven and the wailing in the city of Ch'ang-an to keep off invaders.

Ts'ui Fa seems, after his surrender to Shen-t'u Ch'ien, to have written an apologia, recounting his influence over Wang Mang and relating the details of the last days in his master's life. Perhaps he was with Wang Mang in the Tower and, as Wang Mu began to do, he took off his court robes, mixed with the ignorant soldiers who did not even recognize Wang Mang, and escaped. Ts'ui Fa seems to have been the sort of man who would do such a thing, and afterwards attempt to gain glory by writing an account of what had transpired. We know that this apologia was preserved, for it is stated that Emperor Kuang-wu had Yin Min rebut "a comparison written in behalf of Wang Mang by Ts'ui Fa" (HHS, Mem. 69 A: 10a), which contained prophecies and revelations.

Other features of Pan Ku's account came from separate sources. Someone undoubtedly wrote an account of the capture of Ch'ang-an as a report to the Keng-shih Emperor. We are not told who it was; the account did not come from Wang Hsien(4); it is too unfavorable to him. I suspect that Teng Yi was the author of this account, if there were not many such accounts---many of the details in the HS are connected with Teng Yi's expedition. Kung-pin Chiu, who secured Wang Mang's head, moreover carried this trophy to the Keng-shih Emperor at Yüan and received a marquisate for his deed. He undoubtedly had someone prepare an account of his exploit for presentation to the Emperor---possibly he wrote it himself. This account might naturally contain a list stating where each of Wang Mang's officials died, for Kung-pin Chiu was familiar with the court and could identify them.

The curious literary addition that several tens of soldiers killed each other in hacking Wang Mang's body to pieces may also come from his account. This incident is strikingly like the occurrence at the death of Hsiang Yü, when several tens of soldiers killed each other in the struggle for his body (Mh II, 320); indeed, exactly the same Chinese words are used. In that case, a reward was given to each person who finally secured a member; in the case of Wang Mang, we hear of nothing except the reward to Kung-pin Chiu; indeed, no reward seems actually to have previously been offered for Wang Mang's head, although everyone doubtless expected a reward. This incident looks like a literary embellishment to the account of Wang Mang's death, and might very likely have been added by Kung-pin Chiu in order to make an impression. If it was found in the written report of an eye-witness, we can hardly blame Pan Ku for utilizing it.

The foregoing analysis may indicate something of the nature of the sources used by Pan Ku. Of course, this analysis is wholly hypothetical; Pan Ku left no detailed account of the sources he used. But we know that he had free access to the imperial archives, and we can determine, from a knowledge of Han practises, about what sort of material must have been in those archives. Since Pan Ku spent twenty years working on his History while he was an official of the imperial private library and had access to the archives, he would naturally have culled out the material we find in this chapter. Then it is almost entirely a skilful piecing together of documentary material.

Pan Piao's part in this chapter

It is difficult to determine whether most of this chapter was written by Pan Ku or by his father, Pan Piao. Stange ibid., xii) thinks that a large part came from the experiences of Pan Piao. But Pan Piao was born in A.D. 3 (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 5a), so that he was only twenty years of age when Wang Mang was killed. His father, Pan Chih, was living in retirement as a Gentleman at the tomb of Emperor Ch'eng, because of his tacit opposition to Wang Mang, so that Pan Piao would hardly have been acquainted in court circles. It would thus seem that only a negligible part of this chapter could have come from Pan Piao's own experiences. In a work made up largely of piecemeal quotations from documentary sources, we would hardly expect any differences in style between father and son. Pan Piao became later only a minor official in some of the capital offices; he was sent out to hold office in a city of the present Anhui and later to one in Hopei, so that he hardly had access to the numerous sources available to Pan Ku. The HHS says that Pan Ku considered his father's account not to have been sufficiently detailed (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 7b), and, in his own preface, Pan Ku does not mention his father's work. I suspect that Pan Piao did not have much to do with the "Memoir of Wang Mang," although it is impossible to prove such a statement.

The reliability of this account

Pan Ku has often been suspected of bias against Wang Mang. He indeed condemns Wang Mang in the severest terms---his eulogy (99 C: 29a-30a) could hardly have been more drastic. His family, too, suffered from Wang Mang. In the reign of Emperor Ch'eng (during ca. 32-18 B.C.), Pan Ku's clan had for a time been very close to the throne, enjoying an eminence that was said to have shaken the empire (100 A: 6a). About 1 B.C., however, Pan Ku's grandfather had been accused of a capital crime by Wang Mang's associates and compelled to retire from official life (100 A: 5b). Hence the Pan clan was not in sympathy with Wang Mang, although it took no part in the rebellions against him. In the disorder after the death of Wang Mang, Pan Piao fled to the present Kansu, where he finally joined Emperor Kuang-wu's forces, and later returned to the capital with them. Pan Ku was moreover a loyal adherent of the Later Han dynasty; he was highly honored by and intimate with its second emperor (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 8b). He thus had ample reason to be prejudiced against Wang Mang.

There is, however, little or no evidence that he actually distorted his History because of any such prejudice. In the first place, his method of writing history by extensively quoting sources was itself a safeguard. If there had been any considerable distortion of the facts on his part, the large amount of quotation from contemporary documents would enable us to discover such distortion.

The high literary quality of Wang Mang's edicts and of his courtiers' memorials indeed probably caused Pan Ku to admire them greatly and to quote them extensively. He was actually attracted to this age, because of its Confucian spirit. Yin Min, with whom Pan Ku worked on "The Fundamental Annals of the Epochal Exemplar, [Emperor Kuang-wu]," (HHS, Mem. 30 A: 8a), found it impossible to rebut Ts'ui Fa's apologia for Wang Mang, probably because it was so thoroughly Confucian in its spirit and sayings. All he could say was that the sages had written no prophetic writings and that the dissection of characters to derive meanings from them was almost the same as vulgarity (HHS, Mem. 69 A: 10a). Wang Mang's portents were so Confucian and were presented with so much Confucian learning that probably the only possible refutation was that offered tacitly by Pan Ku---that they were fabrications.

In the second place, Pan Ku seems personally to have cherished a high ideal of historical accuracy. He does not tell good stories for their own sake, as did Szu-ma Ch'ien. His literary style may have suffered thereby; the ambitious Szu-ma Ch'ien seems to have told dramatic stories, whereas Pan Ku clung to what he conceived to be the truth. Pan Ku's spirit was that of the fifty-odd Confucians whom Emperor Wu asked (ca. 110 B.C.) to determine the ancient ceremonies for the imperial sacrifices feng and shan, which that Emperor proposed to reestablish. Failing to discover any detailed account of these rites, they replied that they could not determine them, and the Emperor himself fixed these rites (HS 58: 12a, b).

This spirit of historical accuracy was nourished by the famous story in the Tso-chuan (Dk. Hsiang, XXV; Legge, p. 514), concerning the historiographers in the state of Ch'i. When, in 548 B.C., Ts'ui Chu's followers killed Duke Chuang, who had illegally entered the former's house, the Grand Clerk is said to have written on his records, "Ts'ui Chu assassinated his prince." Ts'ui Chu had the clerk put to death, but his younger brother, who succeeded to the position, made the same record. (Official posts were hereditary in the clans of their occupants.) Ts'ui Chu had this brother in turn put to death, but the third brother, on succeeding to the position, made the same record. So Ts'ui Chu forgave the last brother and let the record stand. Meanwhile the Clerk For the South, hearing that the clan of the Grand Clerk had been extinguished, had taken his writing tablets and started for the court, evidently intending to make the same record when he would succeed to the post of Grand Clerk. Upon hearing that the record had been made, he however returned home. This story, whether true or not, must have been a powerful stimulus in ancient times to a correct recording of history, since it was the picture of the ideal clerk.

One of the accusations made against Liu Hsin(1a) was that he had "done away with the traditions about the classics handed down from generation to generation by his teachers"---he seems to have merely changed the principles of portent-interpretation (Cf. 99 C: 14b and n. 14.6). There was thus in certain strains of Confucianism a strong tradition of fidelity to the facts of history. Pan Ku, a thorough-going Confucian, had this strong incentive to give an unprejudiced picture of even a ruler whom he reprobated deeply.

In the third place, the Pan clan had not actually been harmed by Wang Mang, and had good reason to be attached to his aunt, the Grand Empress Dowager nee Wang. Pan Ku's own great-aunt had become a favorite of Emperor Ch'eng and came to be entitled the Favorite Beauty nee Pan. She retired from the imperial court in 18 B.C., when she became unwillingly involved in an intrigue. She then devoted herself to the care of the Grand Empress Dowager, who became fond of her (100 A: 5b). Wang Mang belonged to the same social group as Pan Ku's grandfather and great-uncles. Wang Mang indeed treated them as his own brothers and wore mourning for Pan Ku's great-uncle (before 1 B.C.; 100 A: 5b). Pan Ku's grandfather, Pan Chih, who was a commandery official during the reign of Emperor P'ing, was impeached by Wang Mang's associates for having failed to forward to the throne a laudatory report, which he probably knew was false. Through the intercession of the Grand Empress Dowager, he was not punished, and retired from active life with his former salary to the funerary park of Emperor Ch'eng. Thus Pan Ku's clan was able to remain unmolested in safe obscurity during the reign of Wang Mang and had no reason for any active animosity towards Wang Mang. The family income came from Wang Mang's treasury.

In the fourth place, the popular reaction against Wang Mang was so thorough that the Later Han dynasty did not need to encourage propaganda against him, so that a prejudiced account was not expected. Pan Ku was moreover born nine years after Wang Mang died, so that he came of a generation which was able to view Wang Mang dispassionately. He wrote half a century after Wang Mang's age, when active resentment had had time to die down.

In the fifth place, Pan Ku seems to have clung to a historian's objective valuation of events, and refused to over-value events in order to make an impression. For example, he did not record all the early revolts on the part of the Liu clan against Wang Mang, which he might have done in order to exalt the Han dynasty. He tells merely of Liu Ch'ung (99 A: 27a) and of Liu K'uai (99 B: 7b, 8a); it is only through an incidental mention in a memorial by Sun Chien that we learn of Liu Ts'eng and Liu Kuei, who also revolted (99 B: 13b). Probably these latter two revolts were so ineffective that Pan Ku did not consider them worth recounting. He even gives an outline of Wang Mang's book of propaganda and quotes its conclusion at length (99 B: 9a-11a), without attempting any rebuttal. The coincidences and analogies he quotes are quite adequate to convince a superstitiously inclined person of Wang Mang's legitimacy. Pan Ku does thus seem to try to give a fair view of Wang Mang and to be objective in his presentation of the evidence. I began my study of this chapter with a decided prejudice against Pan Ku (expecting him to be prejudiced) and in favor of Wang Mang, but the weight of the primary sources quoted by Pan Ku and the facts he recounts forced me to reverse my opinion and to agree with Pan Ku in condemning Wang Mang. There is every evidence that Pan Ku really tried and largely succeeded in giving an objective and reliable account of Wang Mang.

The literary quality of this chapter

The "Memoir of Wang Mang" is a literary masterpiece, in which the author largely succeeds in giving the reader the impression that Wang Mang left upon his contemporaries. Upon first reading it, Wang Mang appears at the outset as an unusually able and upright person, ambitious perhaps, but of uncommon high-mindedness. He outdoes his age in scrupulous morality, and his few off-color deeds, such as his purchase of a slave-girl and the supplanting of Shun-Yü Chang, appear as quite excusable in such an unusual person. Even the execution of his son, Huo, appears as sheer uprightness, not ruthlessness. His handling of the crisis at the death of Emperor Ai is magnificent, and the clever way he afterwards disposed of those who might thwart him brings applause. His steady humility and princely generosity fill one with admiration, just as they did the public of his time. As clever intrigues, one after another, bring success and he is praised, rewarded, and raised to heights never before known in Chinese history, a casual reader may well feel approval of this hero, although the approval may not be so whole-hearted when one remembers his ruthless crushing of his oldest son, of the Wei clan, and their associates, and the cruel way he secured settlers for the new Hsi-hai Commandery. (It is not until one has read through the whole account to the end and recognizes Wang Mang's character in its full depth of ruthless self-centeredness and shrewd deception, that these early events take on a sinister, not a benignant aspect. This masterly effect is achieved by the simple expedient of relating facts objectively and leaving their interpretation for the most part to the reader. [Exceptions to this entire objectivity are confined to adjectives and phrases, the condemnatory nature of which are deliberately hightened in the translation, in order to indicate the author's inner attitude. Cf. 99 A: 1b, 4b, 6b, 8b.] It is not, for example, until Wang Mang's last legitimate son has died that we are informed of the four children he begat in his three years of retirement at his estate, just as his public did not know of this fact until that time. Then we realize that he was no high-minded monogamist, but an iron-willed hypocrite, ready to conceal anything from the public.)

As portent follows portent with ever increasing impressiveness, and as rebellions are crushed, we are filled with admiration for this able statesman, and realize that his public approved of his taking the throne. When he attains the height of his power and ascends the throne with seeming reluctance, we feel that he has secured his just deserts. He appears as the conscientious Confucian, bent on obedience to the examples of the ancient sage-kings, determined to perfect his state in all particulars.

Then, as unwise and oppressive measures follow one after another, as he crushes ruthlessly his old followers, Chen Feng and his party, we realize the tremendous force for evil that he incarnated, and we begin to guess something of the tortures in store for the country. When the people are driven to banditry, when his own grandson and his son plot against his life, and when finally even his three highest officials plot to abduct him, we feel that he is getting only his just deserts. When however the collapse comes, and Wang Mang appears as a tired old man, sleeping only on his stool (99 C: 24a), wearing himself out to the end in an iron determination to vanquish even hopeless circumstances, using every means except the right ones, our indignation turns to pity, and the final massacre becomes not merely the inevitable result of his deeds, but a real tragedy, for the whole account constitutes a masterly portrayal of overweening ambition and its inevitable result.

Pan Ku has moreover achieved this wonderful effect, not by a free composition, but by piecing together documents in the right order, clinging to the facts as he found them---a work of extraordinary artistry. Sometimes the machinery does creak, as when we are given the long list of appointments and enactments made when Wang Mang ascended the throne, but such things are inevitable in a history that attempts to be complete. When the edicts and memorials drag out their weary length and the flowery parallels are repeated again and again, we begin to get weary, until we realize that we are being treated to samples of the age's literature. It is rather surprising that the whole account is not dull and long-winded from beginning to end. A lesser artist would have made it so. Pan Ku saw his opportunity for producing an unusually artistic history out of dry-as-dust materials and solved the problem of doing so. Such an achievement is nothing less than a work of genius.

Historical problems connected with Wang Mang

Because this chapter is not accompanied by memoirs that elaborate the dry facts given in its chronological outline, as was the case with the "Imperial Annals," but is itself a historical unit, it is not necessary in this introduction to present matters omitted from this chapter, as was done previously. The only important matters not presented fully in this chapter are the economic measures adopted by Wang Mang, and they are discussed fully in the appendices.

The important problems concerning Wang Mang up to the time of Emperor P'ing's death have been discussed in the introduction to that Emperor's "Annals." It remains here to discuss two further matters: Why was there so little opposition to Wang Mang's seizure of the throne? and, What were the reasons for his fall?

How Wang Mang secured general approval for his usurpation

As was pointed out previously, Wang Mang gained his honors by espousing thoroughly the Confucian faith and utilizing its traditions. After Emperor P'ing's death, Confucian principles were used to exalt Wang Mang by persons who believed they would be benefited by his elevation. Thereby they raised him to the throne.

Confucianism has had a curiously ambivalent attitude towards existing rulers. Confucius was himself a legitimist; he tried to strengthen the power of the ruler in his own state of Lu against the noble clans who were usurping that power. The Spring and Autumn has been interpreted, from ancient times, as indicating an attempt on the part of Confucius to exalt the position of the Son of Heaven (the Chou King) against the feudal nobles who were usurping that power. Thus Confucianism has stood for loyalty to the titular ruler of the state and the exaltation of his power against other claimants for power. This fact is, I think, the ultimate reason that China has never had any successful line of nobles, such as the Shoguns, who ruled for a succession of faineant emperors.

On the other hand, Confucianism has included the splendid doctrine of Heaven's Mandate, by virtue of whose possession a dynasty rules, but which may be lost by wicked or incapable rulers. This doctrine has been of inestimable ethical benefit to China and has probably been responsible for the generally good character of Chinese rule. The teaching that "Heaven's mandate is not constant" (Book of Odes, III, i, i, 5; Legge, p. 430) was dinned into the ears of Chinese heir-apparents by their Confucian tutors and ministers, so that rulers were induced to attempt being models for the empire, for the sake of keeping themselves on the throne and of perpetuating their dynastic lines. In Former Han times at least, the character of the emperors was generally higher than that of their brothers and cousins, who were petty kings. Confucianism has both supported existing dynasties and also, when a dynasty has shown itself feeble, has helped to bring about its fall.

By the end of Former Han times, Confucianism had absorbed and modified the teachings of the Yin-and-Yang school and the school of the Five Powers. The latter school asserted that the coming of each dynasty had been heralded by portents. This belief was accepted by Han Confucianism. The heralding of great rulers by supernatural portents is a widespread ancient belief; it could be justified in Han China by many ancient myths concerning the founders of the Chou dynasty and others, which myths were accordingly incorporated into the Confucian tradition. Wang Mang's many portents were quite Confucian.

In Chou times, divination and magical practises were part of the state religion, and many examples of both are to be found in the Tso-chuan, so that the acceptance of magical performances of many sorts became part of the Confucian imitation of ancient practises. The famous Hsün-tzu, whose interpretation of Confucian theory dominated Han Confucianism, had indeed attacked superstition of all sorts, even denying the existence of any spirits whatever, but the anti-superstitious phase of his teaching was not adopted by Han thinkers. Wang Mang's extensive use of magic, especially in the closing phase of his reign, was quite Confucian. His use of the divining-board when the Palace was being attacked (99 C: 27a) was copied directly from the account of the Grand Astrologer in the Chou-li. The magical sacrifices, by which he expected to attain immortality, were probably also considered to be Confucian. They were suggested by Su Yo, who is entitled a magician (fang-shih; 25 B: 22b). Magic was then probably considered a Confucian practise, for the Chou-li includes among the imperial officials such magical offices as the Grand Augur (Biot, II, 69), the Master of Augury ( Pu-shih; ibid. 74), Diviners ( Chan-jen; ibid. 78), the Interpreter of Dreams ( Chan-meng; ibid. 82), the Grand Intercessor (T'ai-chu; ibid. 85), the Imprecator ( Tsu-chu; ibid. 101), the Chief of the Shamans ( Szu-wu; ibid. 102), the Male and Female Shamans ( Nan-, Nü-wu; ibid. 103, 104), the Hereditary Magical Chancellor (Fang-hsiang-shih; ibid.d. 225), and the Shaman for Horses ( Wu-ma; ibid.d. 259). Indeed, many practises which later became specifically Taoist seem to have been considered Confucian in Former Han times; Liu Hsiang(4a), one of the outstanding Confucians, spent much time and money, in his younger days, in attempting to make alchemistic gold. Since Confucianism stressed the imitation of ancient practises, magic, alchemy, and superstition entered this stream of thought with little hindrance. They seem only later to have been cast out, especially in Sung times.

Wang Mang was such a convinced Confucian that he accepted its superstition and magic, and may never have doubted, even in his last hours, that the careful use of Confucian magic would eventually bring success---at least that is Ts'ui Fa's picture of him. Yet he was so worried during the last few days that he could not eat (99 C: 27a). Confucians could later explain the failure of this magic in the case of Wang Mang by alleging that magic does not work for a usurper.

Literary noble titles

The use of literary titles for nobles, rather than titles drawn from their fiefs, seems also to have been a specifically Confucian practise. Emperor Kao gave a few such literary titles before he acquired any secure territory, such as that of Baronet Enlarging Our Territory, given to Li Yi-chi. Li Yi-chi was the first Confucian whom Emperor Kao was able to endure. When this emperor later took the throne, with characteristic common sense, he gave only titles taken from some fief. There were a few other literary titles, all of which were similarly unimportant. The first important and permanent literary title in Han times was Emperor Wu's title for the noble he enfeoffed to carry on the sacrifices to the Chou dynasty, the Baronet Baron Descendant of the Chou Dynasty. The practise of enfeoffing a descendant of a supplanted dynasty to carry on the ancestral sacrifices of that dynasty is itself Confucian and this practise is recorded in the Confucian Classics as having been performed by the founders of the Chou dynasty. In the course of time, as Confucian influence became stronger, more and more literary titles appeared. When Emperor Yüan took the throne, he appointed K'ung Pa, a descendant of Confucius who had been this Emperor's teacher, as Baronet in Recompense for [Confucius'] Perfection (81: 15a). He also raised the title for the descendant of the Chou dynasty to be that of marquis. Emperor Ch'eng furthermore appointed a Marquis Continuing and Honoring the Ancestral Sacrifices of the Yin Dynasty, and then raised both these last two marquises to the rank of duke.

Wang Mang at first continued this practise of giving literary titles only to those nobles continuing ancient lines. In A.D. 1, Confucius was posthumously made Duke Hsüan-ni as Recompense for Perfection. As time went on, the Confucian literary flavor of such titles attracted him more and more, and the magical properties of such names made them important. Confucius was said to have emphasized the "rectification of names". That statement was now taken to imply the giving of magically effective titles. After he came to the throne, Wang Mang used almost none but literary titles for his nobles, his officials, and his generals. I have attempted the difficult and dubious task of translating them, in order to indicate their literary and magical flavor.

Wang Mang changed the titles of his officials to phrases found in the Confucian classics. These titles are sometimes curious, but always literary. Since it takes at least two words to make an unmistakable title, and since, in a speech of Shun, the Book of History contains the phrase "my forester," Wang Mang entitled one of his officials, the My Forester. The Chinese phrase, because of the cryptic nature of Chinese words, does not openly convey the nonsensical connotation of the English, but the meaning is exactly as I have translated it. In the titles of his generals, magical connotations seem to have overbalanced purely literary ones; Wang Mang seems indeed to have relied largely upon his literary-magical titles for military success. That was a legitimate conclusion from the strain of Confucianism he had imbibed.

Towards the end of his reign, the grandiose tendency of literary titles resulted in the multiplication of generalissimos and commanders-in-chief, a tendency continued in the early days of the Later Han dynasty. Indeed, Wang Mang's literary titles made such an impression on his age that the rebels against him imitated his titles. They were in good Confucian tradition.

The doctrine of the Five Powers

Two historical circumstances were responsible for convincing intelligent people that Wang Mang should take the throne. These were the philosophical doctrine of the five elements and certain historical events that led people to believe the Han dynasty must inevitably end. This philosophical theory was not the creation of a single person or age, but changed radically during Han times. Its various forms each influenced history, so it deserves careful study.

A cyclical theory of history is natural in any early philosophy. Greece too, in the philosophies of Empedocles and others, possessed such cyclical theories. The five Chinese elements, earth, wood, metal, fire, and water, seem to have come from popular thought. Tsou Yen, in the first half of the third century B.C., made them into a cyclical succession which constituted a philsophy of history. As one element or power becomes victorious over another, the dynasty upheld by that power conquers its predecessor dynasty. Each power has its color, its appropriate month for its New Year's day, its number, its note, etc. The victory of a new power exhibits itself by supernatural portents, so that the dominant power can be determined by historical events. Hsün-tzu had interpreted the Confucian supreme deity, Heaven, as an impersonal Nature; the succession of the elements came to be considered a law of Nature. It explained the succession of dynasties and, like natural laws today, was thought to enable the prediction of future events---in this case, the next dynasty. This doctrine soon became popular and was taught instead of the earlier Confucian doctrine that a dynasty falls because of its moral inadequacies. In a period of constant civil war, this earlier Confucian theory had little empirical confirmation. In Han times, Tsou Yen's theory was taken into Confucian thought and secured wide acceptance.

The Chou dynasty, because of the red crow that appeared to King Wu (Book of History, Legge, II, 298) was considered to have had the virtue of fire, hence the Ch'in First Emperor adopted the virtue of water, for water conquers (quenches) fire. He adopted the corresponding month for his New Year's. But the Ch'in dynasty ruled China for only fifteen years, a time much too brief for the period a power rules, if the Chou period is taken as typical. The Han dynasty located its capital near the destroyed Ch'in capital; the last Ch'in ruler surrendered his insignia and authority to the Eminent Founder of the Han dynasty; the latter accordingly assumed that he took over the Ch'in dynasty's power of water, whose color is black. He established a temple to the Black Lord, thus increasing the number of Lords on High to five (25 A: 17b). Down to the end of the Former Han period, Palace Attendants wore black sables (98: 15a). Until the time of Emperor Wen, this theory held the field. It was championed by Emperor Kao's paladin, who became Emperor Wen's learned Lieutenant Chancellor, Chang Ts'ang.

Some other learned men were not however satisfied. A change in the dynasty indicates a change in the ruling power; earth conquers (dykes) water just as the Han dynasty conquered the Ch'in. Hence the Han dynasty should change its New Year's day, the colors of court robes, etc., to those corresponding to earth. So reasoned Chia Yi. Kung-sun Ch'en even predicted that a yellow dragon would appear to manifest what was the dynasty's virtue. Earth is yellow. In 165 B.C., a yellow dragon did appear---Chang Ts'ang was accordingly dismissed and Kung-sun Ch'en was made an Erudit. He however fell into disgrace through being connected with the charlatan, Hsin-Yüan P'ing, and his proposed change in the dynastic institutions was dropped. Only in 104 B.C. did Emperor Wu officially adopt the color yellow and the power earth as Han imperial institutions (6:31b).

Meanwhile there had been other developments in this cyclical philosophy of history. Tung Chung-shu (ca. 175 -- ca. 105 B.C.) proposed a tripartite succession (san-t'ung) of red, black, and white, which three were supposed to succeed each other concomitantly with the five powers. Emperor Wu's New Year's day was fixed in the first month in accordance with this theory.

During the peaceful decades in the early part of the Han period, Confucians moreover came to give more attention to the ancient legendary lords, Fu-hsi, Sheng-nung, the Yellow Lord, Chuan-hsü, K'u Yao, and Shun. These lords did not succeed each other by conquest. Each one was said to have resigned the throne to his successor. A cyclical theory that the powers conquer each other does not fit a history which includes such peaceful changes of dynasties. Tung Chung-shu accordingly suggested a theory by which the five powers each produces its successor: wood produces fire, that produces earth (ashes), that produces (mines) metal, that produces (melts into) water (liquid), that produces (nourishes) wood (vegetation), and so on. His Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu contains both this theory and the earlier one that each power conquers its predecessor, but he himself plainly favored the other theory of production. Through his influence it came to be accepted widely. It found a place in the "Explanation of the Trigrams (Shuo-kua)" (Legge, Yi King, App. V), which was "discovered" during 73-49 B.C. Thus it was given classical confirmation. Liu Hsiang(4a) developed it and gave it the weight of his great influence, so that it came to be the only one given serious consideration during the latter part of the Former Han period. The Han dynasty was now given the virtue of fire, which was supported by the story of the Eminent Founder being the son of the Red Lord (1 A: 7a). Down to 91 B.C., the imperial credentials were pure red (66: 3b), possibly because Liu Chi, when he first arose, anointed his drums with blood (1 A: 9b). Since the Ch'in dynasty had ruled for such a short period, this dynasty was considered to have achieved its conquest without securing the Mandate of Heaven and without the assistance of a power in the regular cycle. The Ch'in dynasty then constituted an intercalary period. The Han dynasty was considered to have succeeded the Chou dynasty, to the latter of which was now given the virtue of wood. The ancient lords and the three ancient dynasties were each given their appropriate power in the cyclical succession and ancient history was explained thereby. In this way, the succession of dynasties was made to appear as inevitable and natural as the succession of the seasons (cf. Ku Chieh-kang, Ku-shih-pien, V, 404-617).

Liu Hsiang(4a) was a loyal member of the imperial clan. He opposed the influence of the Wang clan so strongly that he was never given high office. This theory of dynastic succession was then not originally intended to aid Wang Mang. It however aided mightily in bringing him to the throne.

This theory made intelligent people think that a change in the dynasty was inevitable. The succession of the powers moreover made them think it would be possible to predict the next dynasty. Fire produces earth. The Wang clan claimed descent from the Yellow Lord, who had the virtue of earth. This genealogy almost certainly antedated Wang Mang; it seems to have been merely a noble clan's attempt to exalt itself by claiming divine descent. There were other clans also claiming descent from this mythical ruler. The Wang clan however dominated the government for over three decades, so that it became only natural for people to point to this clan when they talked about the next dynasty.

Astrology and prognostication also played a part in this speculation. Generations before the Wang clan ever appeared at court, Lu Wen-shu's (fl. 73 B.C.) great-uncle had calculated by astrology that after a period of three times seven decades of years, the Han dynasty would end (cf. 99 A: n. 34.5). During the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, Ku Yung, a famous exponent of the Book of Changes and interpreter of portents revived this prediction. This period of 210 years would end in A.D. 4. When, in 12 B.C., there was an eclipse of the sun on New Year's day, followed by thunder without clouds in May and the appearance of Halley's comet in the autumn, the court became greatly exercised. Shun-Yü Chang, an imperial maternal relative, was sent to secure Ku Yung's interpretation. The latter replied that the number of portents during the last twenty years was greater than in the Spring and Autumn period or during the regins of all the preceding Han emperors; the period of three sevens of decades was coming to an end; and the lot indicated by the hexagram wu-wang (then meaning "hopelessness") was coming up. He went on to intimate that the essence of the power earth was being born (85: 15b-16b). His memorial made a deep impression in the court. Thus in 12 B.C., there was already a general belief among intelligent persons that the Han dynasty's period was coming to an end.

When moreover Emperors Ch'eng, Ai, and P'ing died without natural heirs, people naturally saw in this extraordinary circumstance Heaven's plain intention to end the dynasty. There could indeed be hardly any surer manifestation that the supernatural powers intended to end a dynasty than that three of its rulers should in succession all have left no heir. The death of Emperor P'ing at the end of the Chinese year beginning in A.D. 5 was naturally interpreted as a confirmation of Lu Wen-shu's great-uncle's prophecy. The count of years in Emperor Kao's reign had been begun before he had even become a king (1 A: 26b); it could easily be maintained that he began one year too early. If so, Emperor P'ing died at precisely the end of the dynasty's two hundred and tenth year. People naturally concluded that the virtue of fire had expired and the virtue of earth was arising by the inexorable operation of Heaven's cyclical natural law.

Yao and Shun had each resigned the throne to his greatest minister. Wang Mang came from a clan that had now controlled the government for many decades; he himself had been raised to previously unprecedented honors. He was descended from the Yellow Lord and possessed the virtue of earth. He had done all he could to maintain the Han dynasty on the throne, but nevertheless all these events had happened. He had not been responsible for the succession of coincidences that had occurred or the philosophical theory by which they were interpreted. History runs in cycles. The laws of Heaven cannot be evaded. People naturally drew the conclusion that history was repeating itself and that Heaven had destined Wang Mang to inaugurate a new dynasty under the rule of the power earth.

The depth and sincerity of this political consequence drawn from philosophical principles is shown by the fact that it was shared by members of the Liu imperial clan itself, especially after Wang Mang's victory over Chai Yi's formidable rebellion had given apparent empirical confirmation to the belief that Wang Mang possessed the mandate of Heaven. The famous Liu Hsin(1a), who was a descendant of Liu Chiao, Emperor Kao's younger brother, actively assisted Wang Mang to take the throne. Liu Ching(4b), a descendant of Emperor Wu, presented one of the crucial portents, urging Wang Mang to take the throne (99 A: 34a, b). Liu Kung(2), a first cousin of Liu Hsin(1a), also presented a portent (99 B: 14a). When Liu K'uai rebelled against Wang Mang, his brother, Liu Yin(2), a descendant of Emperor Ching, resisted and defeated the insurrection (99 B: 7b, 8a). Altogether some thirty-two members of the Han imperial clan either presented portents to Wang Mang, offered congratulatory sayings, or arrested and informed on rebels against him. These persons and their families were granted the new imperial surname, Wang, so that they were continued in their nobilities (99 B: 14a). Some of these persons were, of course, mere sycophants, seeking continued enjoyment of their fiefs, but there were honest persons among them. If then even members of the Han imperial clan were convinced, it is not surprising that intelligent persons generally accepted Wang Mang's legitimacy. The famous writers of the day all accepted Wang Mang. Huan T'an assisted Wang Mang at the time of Chai Yi's rebellion, by publishing abroad Wang Mang's apologia, and in reward was enfeoffed as a Vassal (84: 17a). The philosopher, Yang Hsiung(2), who cared not for fame or disciples and spent his energy solely in elaborating his philosophy, wrote mandates through portents for Wang Mang (87 B: 22b). Most of the Confucians seem to have approved of Wang Mang's succession, for this seemed to be Heaven's will.

Once there was such a general expectation of Wang Mang's succession to the throne and once portents of that event were expected, it was only natural that those individuals who were bolder than others should have manufactured what was required. The first portent came in the same month that Emperor P'ing died and was offered by an official ranking next to the high ministers (99 A: 25a). After Chai Yi had been defeated, portents began to appear more frequently, until at last there were more than a dozen (99 B: 9a-10b), whereupon Wang Mang finally ascended the throne.

I do not think that Wang Mang instigated any of these portents in even as indirect a manner as he instigated the coming of the white pheasant in A.D. 1. My chief reason is that it would have been quite unnecessary for him to have done so. He had carefully weeded out of his court all those who might oppose him. His courtiers were sensitive to his feelings. They knew he was intensely ambitious and they had helped him by indirect means to secure his unusual honors, being amply rewarded for doing so. After he controlled the government and had attained his unusual titles, there was only one honor really greater than those he had received, so that when the opportunity offered itself, his courtiers, as previously, spontaneously continued to flatter his ambition.

It is furthermore worthy of note that Ai Chang's portent, which was the decisive one, upset Wang Mang's plans considerably. On Jan. 6, A.D. 9, upon the receipt of some portents, he memorialized the Grand Empress Dowager, asking to be entitled Acting Emperor and to change the year-period to Ch'u-shih, saying that he would rear the Young Prince of the Han dynasty, Liu Ying, and return the government to him when he was grown (99 A: 34a-35a). Two days later, on Jan. 8, Ai Chang's portent arrived, and it was accepted on Jan. 9 or 10 (99 A: 35b and n. 35.12), whereupon Wang Mang took the throne. Ai Chang's portent completely upset the whole situation, so that it can hardly have been planned by Wang Mang.

We have no means of knowing Wang Mang's own attitude to these portents, whether he actively welcomed them or whether he was surprised. At least he was not displeased. If he had been a doggedly faithful servant of the Han dynasty, he would have arrested and executed Hsieh Hsiao and Meng T'ung, who presented the first portent (99 A: 25a), as he had treated Tung Hung (99 A: 2b), and there would have been no more portents. When, instead, he had the portent reported to the Grand Empress Dowager, probably without any comment of his own, he let it be known to the court that he was not displeased and gave his courtiers time to make up their minds about such matters. The general opinion in the court undoubtedly became favorable to Wang Mang's advancement, so that other persons were naturally stimulated to present their portents. They knew they had nothing to lose by so doing, and might secure boundless rewards.

It is quite possible that Wang Mang did not at first really want to take the throne. He waited three full years from the time of the first portent until he finally accepted the post those portents declared was his. Confucian sentiment honored the capable minister far more than the prince; Wang Mang had been promoted to the status of a Duke of Chou, the person whom Confucius had taken as his ideal character. If Wang Mang had finally refused the throne and maintained his position as a minister, he might well have come down in history as the greatest of ancient statesman, a man who outshone even Kao-yao, Yi Yin, and the Duke of Chou. But he loved power and knew what it was to have that power completely shorn from him and to be sent away to his estate in the provinces, with no prospects of further advancement. His lack of honors in his youth had made him intensely ambitious. And so, when his courtiers kept urging him, by renewed portents, to take the throne, he at last yielded to their proddings and accepted the dangerous honor. Thus his delay of three years in accepting the throne may have represented, not merely the proper Confucian modesty, but a real hesitation on his own part. Pan Ku says that in the autumn of A.D. 8 he at last plotted to secure the throne; that judgment may well be correct. Ts'ao Ts'ao (155-220 A.D.), in similar circumstances, benefited by Wang Mang's experience and never actually took the throne, although he wielded the imperial power. Wang Mang was a Confucian minister who put his minions into office and allowed them to persuade him, when the opportunity patently offered itself, to take the throne.

Reasons for Wang Mang's fall

It remains to discuss the reasons for Wang Mang's fall. Undoubtedly the most important cause was the weather. Wang Mang seems to have come upon a period of severe droughts, which were quite as bad as those in 1876-9. The resultant social confusion, brought to fruition by failure in government, caused widespread unrest, rebellion, and his fall.

(1) Wang Mang's whole reign seems to have been a time of poor harvests. In an edict of A.D. 20, he says that since he ascended the throne, there had several times been withering droughts, plagues of locusts and caterpillars, and the harvests of grain had been sparse and lacking, so that the people had suffered from famine (C: 8a). In A.D. 11, there was a famine at the northwestern borders (94 B: 19a). In A.D. 14, there was another famine at the borders, so severe that people took to cannibalism (99 B: 26a). The most severe droughts occurred in the years A.D. 18-22, the years immediately preceding Wang Mang's fall. In A.D. 18, there was a famine in Lang-yeh Commandery (southeastern Shantung), at which time the Red Eyebrows arose (99 C: 4b). This famine continued for several years. By A.D. 20, there was already considerable vagabondage: "In Ch'ing and Hsü Provinces [present Shantung and Kiangsu], many of the common people left their villages and hamlets and wandered about as vagabonds. The aged and weak died on the roads and paths, and the vigorous entered the robber bands" (99 C: 5b). In that year, there was a prolonged rain for sixty days at the capital (99 C: 9b), but in A.D. 21, there was a great famine in Honan and east China (99 C: 12b). In that year, east of Lo-yang, grain was 2000 cash per picul, about twenty-five times its normal price (99 C: 16a). In the spring of A.D. 22, east of Shensi, there was cannibalism (99 C: 17a). In that summer, the locusts even invaded Ch'ang-an, where they crawled about the palaces (99 C: 18a). Several hundred thousand refugges came to Shensi from the east, but famine relief in Shensi itself was inadequate and mismanaged, so that 70% to 80% of these refugees starved (99 C: 18a). At the same time, there was a famine in the middle Yangtze valley (Nan-yang Commandery; HHS, An. 1 A: 2a). Thus the climatic cycle made Wang Mang's later years a period of extreme stress and strain. Had there been consistently good seasons in Wang Mang's reign, as there were during the reign of Emperor Hsüan, he might have kept his throne and successfully founded another dynasty.

At the same time there was famine in the capital region itself (Kuan-chung, central Shensi). The plain in central Shensi north of the Wei River had been irrigated by some famous canals, the first of which was dug by the engineer Cheng Kuo in 237 B.C. This first canal had its intake in the ancient Ku-k'ou prefecture, not far from the place where the Ching River emerges from the mountains. North of that place, the river runs through a gorge cut in limestone; south of it the river runs through soft deep loess. This canal was planned to irrigate a region of 40,000 ch'ing (186,000 acres, 300 sq. miles), but it is doubtful if the canal was originally built on as large a scale. In 111 B.C., six subsidiary canals were dug, and in 95 B.C. at the suggestion of a Mr. Po (or Pai 白), another canal was dug nearly 200 li in length. This canal irrigated an additional 4500-odd ch'ing (20,925 acres). Cf. SC 29: 6-8 - Mh III, 523-525; Bodde, China's First Unifier, 59-60; Ch'ao-ting Chi, Key Economic Areas in Chinese History, 75-77, 83-84, 87-89; HS 29: 11b-12b; M.S. Bates, "Problems of Rivers and Canals," JAOS, 55 (1935): 304-305; S. Eliassen and O. J. Todd, "The Wei Irrigation Project in Shensi Province", China Journal, 17(1932): 170-180; Shui-ching-chu 16: 32b-33a; 19: 30a-31a, 46a; W.C. Lowdermilk and D.R. Wickes, "Ancient Irrigation in China Brought Up to Date", Scientific Monthly, 55 (Sept., 1942), 209-225. These canals were responsible for the strength of the Ch'in state and for the economic importance of Ch'ang-an in Former Han times. It was the one region in northern China where there were no droughts or famines. The grain in the Great Granary at Ch'ang-an was untouched for over a century, so that it became rotten and could not be eaten (HS 24 A: 15b).

The Ching River, after it leaves the mountains, flows through soft loess to the place where it joins the Wei River. It has a considerable gradient. Erosion dug the bed of this River deeper and deeper, until the intake of these canals finally drew less and less. At first, they drew an inadequate amount of water or none at all except in times of flood, and finally they drew no water at all. At present the original intake of these canals is about sixty feet above the river level. Lodermilk and Wickes, op. cit., p. 211, 215. The intake for the canal of 95 B.C. was placed somewhat higher up the river than the original intake. But continued erosion caused this intake, too, to become useless.

We are not told when these canals ceased operating. Li Tao-Yüan (vi cent.), in his Shui-ching-chu, says they were then dry. In all probability, they ceased to draw an adequate supply of water in Wang Mang's time. On June 2, A.D. 16, the banks of the Ching River collapsed at the Ch'ang-p'ing Lodge (99 B: 29b), which was located about half-way between the intake of the canals and the Wei River. (In 35 B.C., an earthquake had previously caused these banks to collapse [9: 12a], and on May 7, 25 B.C., the high bank of this River had collapsed in Ch'ang-ling Prefecture [10: 6a], not far from the junction of this River with the Wei.) At this time, erosion had already dug the bed of the River so deep that its sides caved in---in all probability, the canals were then already useless except when there was a flood on the Ching River. Only forty miles from its junction with the Wei, the Ching River flows through the mountains in a deep gorge cut into the rock, so that the intake of any irrigation canals could not be moved further upstream with the means of digging then available.

The result was bound to be famine in the capital area itself. Hence the Ch'ang-an area became economically less important than the Yellow River area in northern Honan, and Wang Mang talked of moving his capital to Lo-yang (where Emperor Kuang-wu later actually located his capital). Already at the time of Chai Yi's rebellion (A.D. 7), there were robbers in Kuan-chung; in A.D. 21 there was so much trouble in that reg in the summer of A.D. 22, there was famine even in Ch'ang-an itself (99 C: 18a). The failure of this canal, and the impossibility of relocating it, was another cause for Wang Mang's fall.

In A.D. 11, the Yellow River caused a great flood and changed its course; because it seemed to have found an easier outlet to the ocean, no attempt was made to check it (99 B: 18a), especially because Wang Mang's own ancestral area was thus protected from further floods. The climatic cycle and failure in irrigation was the most important factor in Wang Mang's fall.

H. Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, pp. 145-153, argues that Wang Mang's fall was ultimately caused by this change in the course of the Yellow River. He has established the importance of this factor. But other factors were equally and more important.

(2) North China is a region of recurrent droughts; it was recognized in ancient times that a drought was to be expected every six or seven years on an average, and the government maintained granaries for such occurrences. Hence ordinary famines would not cause widespread suffering unless at the same time the government was inefficient. A famine year was really a time when the competence of the government was tested. The real cause for Wang Mang's fall was the failure of his government to meet the strains put upon it.

It should not be thought that Wang Mang's time was a period of gtances seem to indicate that the period of cultural advance during Former Han times was coming to flower in an age of unusual progress. We are told that the study of anatomy was being pushed to the extent of human dissection (99 B: 30b), and that geometrical proportion was used in architectural design (99 C: 9a). Most interesting of all is the brief and cryptic account of an attempt at aviation in A.D. 19 ---the earliest account in human history of an actual flight that was not mythology (99 C: 5a). The carriage with flowery baldachins (99 C: 13b, 14a) was an outstanding mechanical achievement. It may well be the case that Wang Mang's Nine Ancestral Temples were more magnificent than anything previously erected (99 C: 9b).

But Wang Mang's government exhibited many signs of widespread corruption. During the reign of Emperor Ch'eng, when his uncles controlled the government, corruption was rife. Wang Mang came to the throne by fraudulent portents, and so needed officials who would countenance fraud, with the result that they countenanced fraudulent reports on the part of their subordinates (99 C: 15b), and the government became permeated with corruption (99 B: 27a). Wang Mang himself publicly confessed that some officials would extort ransoms from innocent persons by illegally condemning them as slaves and removing the sentence upon payment of a bribe. Yet he was powerless to stop this practise (99 B: 17b). That the outrageous T'ang Tsun should have become his minister is only natural.

(3) Wang Mang enacted some very unwise administrative measures. Emperor Wu had established Inspectors of Regional Divisions, ranking at only 600 piculs, who were really spies of the central government, traveling about the commanderies, reporting upon the rule of the Administrators for those commanderies (who ranked at 2000 piculs). The Confucians did not like this unhierarchical arrangement, by which a lower-ranking official supervised a higher-ranking one; in 7 B.C., when Wang Mang first came to power, the title and rank of these Inspectors were changed to that of Provincial Shepherd (an ancient name), so that names should correspond to reality. Emperor Ai changed these officials' titles back again to Inspector; in 1 B.C., Wang Mang again entitled them Shepherds, ranking them the same as the highest ministers. But now these Shepherds lost much of their incentive for careful supervision of their provinces. Inspectors had previously hoped that they might be promoted to the post of Administrator, if they did careful and honest work; the Shepherds could now be promoted only to one of the ministerial offices, among which there were very few openings. The result was that they were content to do little and merely held their positions (99 C: 10b). Consequently, in A.D. 21, Wang Mang was driven by the inefficiency of the provincial governments to appoint Shepherd's Superintendents and Associate Shepherds, who were to do the work previously done by the Inspectors. But it was now too late to reform a corrupt government.

Wang Mang knew how subordinates could thwart their superior, he had detailed ideas about what should be done in government, and he was suspicious of his associates. Consequently he did not give his ministers the power to decide matters themselves, but had every decision referred to himself. Since the ministers thus found themselves merely executive officers, they ceased to feel any responsibility for their offices and merely transmitted business to Wang Mang, awaiting his orders.

He was especially suspicious of his private secretaries, the Masters of Writing, who could control the government by withholding the information which came to the throne in the form of memorials. Hence he permitted eunuchs and members of his entourage to open and read memorials to the throne, with the result that memorials sometimes never even reached the Masters of Writing and were not dealt with in proper fashion.

The most important feature in government, according to Confucius' supposed teaching, was the rectification of names; if that were done, all governmental difficulties would automatically be solved. Wang Mang hence deliberated long and profoundly on geographical arrangements, rites, and music, endeavoring to make them accord with classical precedents. From dawn to dark, he discussed these matters with his ministers. He himself was a learned Confucian, the first such literatus to be on the throne; he surrounded himself with the best scholars he could find. But the classical precedents were by no means unambiguous, many matters were treated only implicitly in the Classics, and there were good arguments both for and against most decisions. Wang Mang was not like Emperor Wu, a dilettante who could blithely decide out of his own consciousness such a weighty matter as the proper rites for the important imperial sacrifices fengand shan. Wang Mang was a thoroughly conscientious man, who felt the importance of properly determining each matter. Hence his discussions with his ministers and advisors were interminable. Since no one else could make the final decision about precisely how classical precedents should be applied, Wang Mang had to decide these matters himself. After he had decided, he would change his mind again and again. In the case of some place-names, in his anxiety to get them exactly right, he changed them as much as five times, finally returning to the original name! (99 B: 25a, b) In addition, he had himself to decide on the multifarious details of an autocratic government. He worked all night at his documents, but even then he was unable to keep up with the government business.

The result was, as Pan Ku says (99 B: 26b-27b), that, since Wang Mang had little leisure to examine matters conscientiously, and yet was determined to do so, law-cases were not decided for years, prisoners were not released from prison except when there was an amnesty, vacancies in the government were not filled with permanent occupants for years, and the government in general could do little except routine work. Corruption could not be checked and things went from bad to worse. The ruler was too conscientious and too suspicious to delegate power and the governmental duties were too multifarious for him to manage.

As a result of such an eager concern about general principles, Wang Mang was led to make serious mistakes in particular matters. When the famine in the east was at its hight and the bandits were even capturing cities, Wang Mang decided that they must be put down at all costs. The man he had put over the Shepherds of that region protested (99 C: 16a), but nevertheless, in A.D. 22, Wang Mang sent 100,000 troops into the famine regions. The granaries were empty and could not feed them, so the troops foraged among the people, with dire results. It is not surprising that the people found the troops a greater calamity than the bandits, for the soldiers, under the guise of protecting the people, took what little food was left. The curious verse quoted in 99 C: 17b probably represents a mild version of what the people felt.

Wang Mang furthermore enacted into a systematized law the procedure, begun by Emperor Hsüan, of reducing official salaries at a time of drought or calamity. He made the various officials of the central court and the provinces each guarantors for a certain region. At the end of the year, when the yearly reports from the commanderies were presented, the amount of damage to the crops in each part of the empire was to be reported in percentages, and the number of dishes on the imperial table was to be reduced in proportion. At the same time, the officials guaranteeing the various sections in which there were calamities were to have their salaries reduced in proportion to the suffering in their region (99 B: 28a-29b). It was an idealistic proposal, but the result was that officials could not anticipate the amount of their salaries and income, so that they exacted fees and presents to support themselves. So bribery and corruption became general.

Wang Mang furthermore imitated a practise of Chou times, when official positions were largely hereditary. In A.D. 14, he made all his important provincial offices hereditary in the clans of his nobles (99 B: 24a). Thus he eliminated the incentive to efficient government that had been introduced by the Ch'in dynasty and continued by the Han dynasty, which regimes gave office for merit, not for family connections. Wang Mang probably thought he was doing away with another of the corruptions inherited from the Ch'in regime (6: 39a), but a more unwise measure could hardly have been conceived. As a result, he had to dismiss a noble from his title in order to get rid of a corrupt provincial official, and promotions for merit from one grade to another in the provincial government were made impossible. Wang Mang seems to have removed most of the stimuli to good government that the Ch'in and Han dynasties had laboriously set up. It is not surprising that the government in the provinces degenerated badly.

He furthermore exhibited the conceit that sometimes comes to self-made men. He did not like to listen to admonitions, and became angry when his proposals were opposed, even for the wisest reasons. Hence the people who had the best interests of the country at heart came to avoid him and he failed to learn the truth about things. He dismissed those who explained that undue taxation had produced banditry (99 C: 2b). He removed Feng Ch'ang, his Communicator (the state treasurer), because the latter protested against the state monopolies (99 C: 2a), and he dismissed a newly appointed Shepherd of the central Yangtze region, Fei Hsing, who had plans for reducing banditry by lightening the pressure of these monopolies upon his people (99 C: 3a). He even removed his best general, Chuang Yu, when the latter remonstrated against his unwise plans (99 C: 5b). As a consequence, the eunuchs, such as Wang Yeh, merely flattered Wang Mang and deceived him about the condition of the people (99 C: 18b).

(4) Wang Mang seems to have been personally stingy and publicly extravagant with government funds. He hoarded the gold he secured, and would not expend it even in an emergency (99 C: 25b). He liked to give noble titles, and at first did not give fiefs to his nobles, on the pretext that the country's geographical arrangements had not yet been settled, with the result that some of his nobles had to work for a living (99 B: 19b). Within noble estates he set up "reserved fields," nominally later to be used as fiefs for vassals, but really to economize on the incomes paid to the nobles and to reward or punish them by decreasing or increasing these reserved areas (99 B: 25a).

Wang Mang seems to have furthermore established quite a number of sinecure positions in the court. The Han dynasty had three highest ministers (kung) and nine high ministers (ch'ing); Wang Mang established four Coadjutors, three highest ministers, and four generals, making eleven officials who ranked as highest ministers (kung). The number of important subordinates to the high ministers (ch'ing) was also increased. The Han dynasty had only a few such, depending on the amount of business in each office. Such an unsymmetrical arrangement did not however suit literary Confucian ideals; Wang Mang appointed three grandees and nine Officers of the First Rank to each one of the nine highest ministers, making 27 and 81 respectively of these two grades. He also instituted seven grandees whose duty it was to admonish the emperor (99 B: 4a), Directors of Mandates from the Five Majestic Principles, whose duty it was to spread propaganda, and four Masters, four Companions and nine Libation Officers to the Heir-apparent, all of whom ranked the same as the highest of the high ministers. These additional salaries must have been quite expensive.

Outside the capital, Wang Mang increased the number of commanderies from 103 to 125 and the number of prefectures from 1314 to 2203 (28 Bii: 48b; 99 B: 25a), with a corresponding increase in the number of administrative officials and in the cost of administration. He frequently sent out commissioners and others to supervise the administration. In A.D. 11, he sent out 55 Generals of the Gentlemen-at-the Palace and 55 Administrators of the Laws Clad in Embroidered Garments to control the large commanderies along the border (99 B: 17a). His commissioners followed each other on the roads, one after another, sometimes ten chariots-full a day; when the public granaries and post-stations could no longer supply their needs, these commissioners forcibly took horses, carriages, and supplies from the people along the road (99 C: 7a).

Wang Mang also greatly expanded his nobility. In the time of Emperor Wu, before the great purge, there had been some twenty kings and about two hundred marquises (HFHD, ch. vi, app. III); in A.D. 12, Wang Mang had already appointed 796 nobles of the first five ranks (who corresponded to the kings and marquises of Han times). In addition there were Baronesses and Vassals (99 B: 19b). Thus Wang Mang's nobility must have been a great drain upon the empire, even though he did not give his nobles the full amount of their allowances.

(5) Perhaps Wang Mang's greatest extravagance was his military expeditions. Emperor Wu had flailed the Huns until, after his death, they were glad to submit and make peace with the Chinese; he had attacked the barbarians in all directions, so that eventually the border peoples recognized the might of the Chinese and kept the peace. Wang Mang upset this peace in the interests of a Confucian imitation of ancient practises. The Han rulers followed the Ch'in practise of calling themselves emperors, consequently they could entitle the rulers of neighboring vassal states kings, just as their own greatest vassals were entitled kings. But, at the beginning of the Chou period, the ruler had entitled himself king and his greatest nobles were only dukes, so Wang Mang followed the Confucian precept, "Heaven has not two suns nor has Earth two kings" (Mencius V, i, iv, 1 attributes this saying to Confucius), and degraded all his highest nobles to be dukes. They accepted the change of title without a murmur, for they knew it was a change in name only. When however Wang Mang came to change similarly the titles of his barbarian vassals, trouble ensued. They did not understand the necessity of conforming to Confucian principles, became suspicious, and felt insulted. Eventually the Huns, the Kao-chü-li in the present Manchuria, the petty states in the Western Frontier Regions, and those in Szechuan and Yünnan all revolted, and Wang Mang had to face border raids and war in all directions.

The worst trouble was with the Huns. When Shan-Yü Hu-han-hsieh had come to submit to Emperor Hsüan, the latter had treated him as a guest, had ranked him above all the Chinese nobles, and had given him an imperial seal as his sign of office, with the word hsi (denoting an imperial seal) in its inscription. Emperor Hsüan was not Confucian enough to esteem correct terminology above the establishment of friendly relations with a neighboring state. Wang Mang's envoys carried to the Shan-Yü a new seal bearing the Hsin dynasty's name, with the word chang (which was used for a noble or official seal) in its inscription. The Shan-Yü unsuspectingly made the exchange; afterwards, when the seal was read to him, he thought the Emperor's intention was to degrade him to be a mere noble, ranking below the Chinese vassal kings, and asked to have his old seal back. But the senior Lieutenant to the Chinese envoy had thoughtfully smashed the old seal. As a result of this deed and some other disagreements, the Huns raided the Chinese borders, capturing countless prisoners (to be sold as slaves) and animals, welcomed and shielded Chinese rebels against Wang Mang, and the Shan-Yü announced that he owed allegiance to the Han dynasty, not to the Hsin dynasty.

Wang Mang now declared war and planned a grandiose attack, which would send twelve armies by different routes simultaneously into Hun territory, numbering altogether 300,000 men, carrying provisions for 300 days. He would overthrow this Shan-Yü and divide his territory among fifteen Shan-Yü. But General Chuang Yu replied, with the carefulness of a staff officer, that 300 days' provisions would require 18 hu (10 bushels or 36 liters) of grain per man, which amount could only be transported by oxen; that the border commanderies could not furnish so much grain, so that it would take more than a year to collect and transport it from the parts of the empire from which it could be secured; that an ox would need 20 hu more grain; that, since Hun territory was lacking in water and grass, experience had shown that within 100 days all the oxen would be dead, while the balance of the provision could not be carried by men, so that it would be best to send a light expedition in order to come up with the rapidly moving Huns.

Wang Mang would not heed, and in A.D. 10, he ordered the expedition to be formed. The result was that large numbers of men collected at the borders, where they waited for their provisions. Having inadequate shelter and provisions, they foraged among the Chinese of those regions. But there had been a famine and scarcity in the northwestern borders (94 B: 19a); the result was that the farmers of the borders left their homes and scattered. The armies never started out and the men merely encamped at the border. Wang Mang had to maintain some 200,000 guards at the borders, who tyrannized over the people, with the result that the farmers turned robbers and raided neighboring commanderies. It took more than a year to put down these robbers and by that time the border commanderies were practically empty (99 B: 27b). In A.D. 19, he summoned an army and levied taxes for another expedition against the Huns, planning to put Hsü-pu Tang on the Hun throne. Chuang Yu's sound arguments led to the army not being sent out, and Wang Mang had to content himself with dismissing Chuang Yu (99 C: 4b-5b). In A.D. 21, Wang Mang had grain and currency worth millions of cash transported to the borders to prepare for an expedition against the Huns. But the expedition never started out (99 C: 12b). Wang Mang squandered his people's livelihood and lives in an attempt to secure an empty fame.

A similar result eventuated on the southwestern borders, with even greater wastage of men and wealth. By A.D. 16, all the border dependencies had broken from their allegiance to the Chinese. Wang Mang showed the typical learned Confucian's inability to understand peoples who possess a different cultural tradition and he was not sufficiently teachable to learn how to employ military force efficiently.

(6) Like all rulers who think of themselves as great, Wang Mang entertained grandiose plans of various sorts. In A.D. 12, he planned a grand tour to the east, and an order was dispatched that 450,000 rolls of silk should be collected to defray its cost. Only half of this amount arrived, so the expedition was put off (99 B: 21b). Wang Mang believed he had succeeded to the throne by virtue of the power earth, which was equated, not with one of the four directions, but with the center, so he concluded that he should make his capital at the center of the earth, and fixed upon Lo-yang, the ancient capital of the Chou dynasty. In A.D. 14, he proposed to make four less expensive tours in the four directions, and afterwards go to Lo-yang (99 B: 22a, b). He was again dissuaded from making these tours, and put off the change of the capital to a date seven years later. Meanwhile he sent two ministers to build palaces, temples, and altars at Lo-yang. In A.D. 20, he also spent some ten billions of cash in building his Nine Ancestral Temples near Ch'ang-an (99 C: 10a). In A.D. 23, when rebellion became serious, he exhibited his nonchalance by marrying a second time, sending the bride's family as betrothal presents the sum of 30,000 catties of actual gold (235,347 troy oz. or 7,320,000 g.; 99 C: 20a).

(7) With such heavy and unusual expenses, it is not surprising that Wang Mang should have resorted to depreciating the currency, making government monopolies out of especially profitable enterprises, and increasing the taxes. These and other economic measures are discussed elsewhere (cf. App. II). In so far as they were not soon rescinded, they represented increased burdens upon the people. Wang Mang seems to have drained the country's wealth. The suffering drove great hordes of people to banditry and rebellion, until even the people of the capital hated him so much that they were anxious to kill him and restore the Han dynasty to the throne.

(8) Wang Mang mistreated his own relatives and followers, so that he did not secure the permanent and unchallengeable loyalty of any group. He did not execute his Lieutenant Chancellors, as Emperor Wu had done, but he remained severe towards all, so that no one could permanently count on his favor and he could trust no one completely.

In his own family, he seems to have been the stern and strict father, who sacrifices his family to his own ambition. He executed three of his four legitimate sons: his eldest, Yü, because of an intrigue that opposed his own plans (99 A: 16b); his second, Huo, because he murdered a slave (99 A: 3b); and the third, Lin(1), because an unfortunate liaison had put him in the position where the son was afraid he would be executed if he did not first assassinate his father (99 C: 11a, b). The fourth son, An, was not quite right in his mind and died before his father (99 C: 11b). People naturally thought this series of deaths was Heaven's judgment upon Wang Mang.

Wang Mang was equally severe upon his relatives. He executed his own nephew, Kuang, because the latter had been responsible for a judicial murder (99 A: 33b). He also executed a grandson and a grand-daughter Tsung and Fang, because the first had in a silly fashion anticipated coming to the throne, by having a picture painted of himself in imperial garb and preparing other imperial paraphernalia (99 C: 3a, b), and the latter had performed black magical ceremonies against her mother-in-law and had murdered a slave to hide the matter (99 C: 3b).

In his younger days, Wang Mang, in his intrigues for power, had not spared his relatives. Shun-Yü Chang was his first cousin, and seemed likely to inherit the power Wang Mang wanted; the latter thereupon had no scruples about informing on his cousin's crimes and getting him executed (99 A: 2a). Wang Mang sent away from the court and later executed his own uncle and another first cousin, Wang Li(5) and Wang Jen, because he feared their influence with the Grand Empress Dowager (99 A: 4b, 16b).

Chen Han and his son, Feng, were Wang Mang's closest intimates, and had assisted most actively in securing for Wang Mang his unusual honors as a minister. When however Wang Mang advanced to the throne, they were not entirely pleased and were a little frightened at the prospect, for they were not overweeningly ambitious. Chen Han died in office; when Chen Feng's son, Hsün, ambitiously presented a portent ordering him to marry Wang Mang's daughter, the latter decided it was time to show his power and overawe the court. He executed Chen Feng and Chen Hsün, together with their associates, who included two sons of the famous Liu Hsin1a and his own first cousin, Wang Ch'i, a brother of the Wang Yi(5) whom he later made his Heir-apparent (99 B: 16a). A daughter of Liu Hsin(1a), Yin(3), who was the wife of Wang Mang's third son, was executed with her husband. Thus Wang Mang executed three of Liu Hsin's children.

Wang Mang in this way antagonized his own clan. While he gave them wealth and high noble rank, yet none felt secure, for they knew not when the imperial power might uproot and destroy them. His closest officials felt equally insecure. Consequently he could trust no one and was constantly suspicious, which made matters worse. Because he feared a revolt, he would not allow even his provincial Shepherds to maintain armies for bandit suppression. When he sent his generals to gather troops for use against the bandits he would not allow them to make a move without first consulting the throne. Thus the bandits and rebels could gain a firm foothold before the imperial forces were allowed to attack them.

It is hence not so surprising that in A.D. 23 another imperial first cousin, Wang Shê, should have been persuaded by astrology that Wang Mang would inevitably fall, and should have headed a conspiracy to remove the Hsin Emperor and put the Han dynasty back on the throne. He secured the cooperation of Wang Mang's Commander-in-chief and of Liu Hsin(1a). Only the fortunate disclosure of the plot and the pusillanimity of the Commander-in-chief prevented its success. Wang Shê had gone to the extreme of making out that Wang Mang was a bastard (99 C: 22b-23b). The plotters were all executed without trouble, but this plot was a severe shock to Wang Mang. Thereafter he could not eat properly nor sleep comfortably. His severity had recoiled upon his own head.

The greatest suffering of the country came, not directly from Wang Mang, but from the robber bands that came into being as an indirect result of the famine and of his rule. They went through the country, looting, pillaging, and burning. The Red Eyebrows were merely the largest of these many illiterate robber armies. They swept over North China, defeating imperial armies and capturing cities by storm, destroying as they went. At the death of Wang Mang, only the Wei-yang Palace was burnt; the rest of Ch'ang-an was undamaged. In A.D. 25, after the Keng-shih Emperor had established himself in Ch'ang-an, the Red Eyebrows arrived, plundering along their route. They had set up another Emperor; they defeated the Keng-shih Emperor's general, captured Ch'ang-an, and plundered it. The people fled the city; the Red Eyebrows had to leave when the food in the city was exhausted. Then they burnt the remainder of the city, went west and north, digging into the imperial tombs and pillaging the cities. The snow drove them back to Ch'ang-an, where at last they were defeated by a ruse. A great famine now raged in the capital region; Ch'ang-an was itself empty and waste. No one dared to show himself alone for fear of being robbed; honest men gathered in camps and cities, which they defended desperately, so that the Red Eyebrows could secure little. In the winter of 26/27, famine drove them eastwards out of Kuang-chung. Meanwhile, Emperor Kuang-wu had been putting down robbers and rebels in eastern China. He met the remnants of the Red Eyebrows with his great army, overawing them, and they meekly surrendered, transmitting to him the Han dynastic imperial seals. Pan Ku states that the population of the empire had been reduced by half (24 B: 27a). So terrible were the forces that Wang Mang let loose upon his land.

The Sixty-ninth [Memoir]

The Memoir of Wang Mang

Wang Mang, whose courtesy given name was Chü-chün, was the son of [Wang Wan], a younger [half] brother of the Empress [nee Wang of Emperor] Hsiao-Yüan. The father, [Wang Chin], and the [living] elder and younger brothers of the Empress [nee Wang of Emperor] Yüan were all enfeoffed as marquises during the reigns of [Emperors] Yüan and Ch'eng. They occupied [high] positions and had important influence in the government. In the clan there were nine marquises and five Commanders-in-chief. HS 98: 15b says "ten marquises," but that passage includes Shun-Yü Chang in its enumeration. He was merely a relative of the Wang clan on the distaff side. A discussion is in the "Memoir of the Empress [nee Wang of Emperor] Yüan."

Only [Wang] Mang's father, [Wang] Wan, who had died young, was not made a marquis. The various elder and younger cousins of [Wang] Mang were all the sons of Generals or of the Five Marquises, For these Five Marquises (Wang T'an(2b), Wang Shang(1a) Wang Li(5), Wang Ken, and Wang Feng-shih) and similar terms, cf. Glossary sub vocibus. so they took advantage of their opportunities and were extravagant. In their equipages and horses, music and women, idleness and gadding "yi-yu 佚游 idleness and gadding" is a phrase from Analects XVI, v. they competed with one another.

[Wang] Mang alone was an orphan and in humble circumstances, hence he humbled himself and made himself courteous and temperate. Kung-chien 恭儉 is a phrase from Analects I, x, 2. In studying the Classic of Rites [yi-li], he rendered to Ch'en Ts'an, [a man] from P'ei Commandery, HS 88: 25b states that Ch'en Ts'an's younger brother, Ch'en Ch'in, taught Wang Mang the Tso-chuan (cf. also HHS, Mem. 26: 9b); Hsü Hsüan taught him the Book of Changes, cf. HHS, Mem. 34: 4b. (From Yang Shu-ta.) The Classic of Rites (Li-Ching) is listed in HS 30: 10a. the services due to a teacher. [Wang Mang] fatigued himself and studied extensively, wearing garments like the Confucian masters. He served his mother and the widow of his elder brother, [Wang Yung], and reared [Wang Kuang], the orphaned son of his elder brother. Thus his conduct was quite perfect. Moreover, outside [his clan] he associated with eminent persons, and within [his clan] he served his various uncles, paying minute attention to the spirit of the rules of proper conduct.

During [the period] Yang-so, when his paternal uncle who was the heir of his grandfather, the General-in-chief, [Wang] Feng, became ill, [Wang] Mang waited upon him in his illness, himself tasting the medicine [before administering it]. For successive months, [Wang Mang's] hair was disordered, his face uncleansed, and he did not [even] loosen the girdle to his garments. When [Wang] Feng was HS 19 B: 43b. about to die, he therefore confided [Wang Mang] to the Empress Dowager [nee Wang] and Emperor [Ch'eng]. He was installed as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and was promoted to be Colonel of the Archers Who Shoot By Sound.

After a long time, his paternal uncle who was younger than [Wang Mang's] father, the Marquis of Ch'eng-tu(b), [Wang] Shang(1b), memorialized that he wished to divide the households of his estate in order to enfeoff [Wang Mang]. Moreover, the Privy Treasurer of the Ch'ang-lo [Palace], Tai Ch'ung, the Palace Attendant, Chin Shê, the Colonel of Northern Barbarian Cavalry, Chi Hung, the Chief Commandant of Shang-ku [Commandery], Yang Ping, and the Gentleman-of-the-Household, Ch'en T'ang, who were all gentlemen well-known in that age, all spoke in behalf of [Wang] Mang. Because of that, the Emperor esteemed [Wang] Mang. In the first year of [the period] Yung-shih, he enfeoffed [Wang] HS 18: 21a. Mang as Marquis of Hsin-tu(c) with an estate of fifteen hundred households in the Tu District of Hsin-yeh [County] in Nan-yang [Commandery]. He was promoted to be Chief Commandant of Cavalry, Imperial Household Grandee, and Palace Attendant, and was careful as [an imperial] guard.

As his noble rank and position became more and more honorable, his conduct became more and more humble. He distributed equipages and horses, clothes, and fur garments, and bestowed them upon his guests, so that in his household there was no surplus [wealth]. He received and succored well-known gentlemen. He associated with a very large number of generals, chancellors, ministers, and grandees, hence those who occupied official positions in turn recommended him. Travelers talked about him; his empty fame flourished and spread, so that it overwhelmed that of his various uncles. He dared to do affected deeds which created a stir and performed them without shame.

[Wang] Mang's elder brother, [Wang] Yung(3), had been a Department Head. He had died young and had had a son, [Wang] Kuang(1). [Wang] Mang sent him to study at the gates of the Erudits. When [Wang] Mang took his leave, [usually once each five days], he led out and arranged his chariots and horsemen and brought sheep and wine to recompense and offer to [Wang Kuang1's] teachers; his favor was [also] shown to all of [Wang Kuang(1)'s] fellow-students, so that the masters all stared at him and the elders admired him.

[Altho Wang] Kuang(1) was younger than [Wang] Mang's son, [Wang] Yü(3), [Wang] Mang had them [both] married on the same day. [At the wedding feast], when the guests had filled his halls, in a moment a man told him that his Lady Dowager [mother] was suffering from a certain pain and must drink a certain medicine. Up to [the time] when the guests left, he had [thus] arisen several times.

He once For 為, the Ching-yu ed. (1035) reads 黨. Wang Hsien-ch'ien (1842-1918) states that the Official edition (1739) and the Southern Academy ed. (1531) also read thus. privately purchased a waiting-maid. Some of his cousins came to know something about it. Because of that, [Wang] Mang said, "The General of the Rear, Chu [Po] Tzu-Yüan, has no sons. I, Mang, heard that this girl's line is fruitful in bearing sons, so I purchased her for him." The same day he presented the slave-girl to [Chu Po] Tzu-Yüan. In the foregoing manner he hid his desires and sought for fame.

At this time, Shun-Yü Chang, the son of an elder [half]-sister of the Empress Dowager [nee Wang], had, because of his ability, become one of the nine high ministers. He was senior to and ahead of [Wang] Mang. [Wang] Mang secretly The Official ed. erroneously reads 因 for the ### read by the Ching-yu and other editions. sought out [Shun-Yü Chang's] crimes. [Wang Mang] took advantage of [this information and informed] the Commander-in-chief, the Marquis of Ch'ü-yang, [Wang] Ken, who had him speak [to the Empress Dowager HS 10: 15b = HFHD II, 416 dates Shun-Yü Chang's death in the eleventh month, which began on Dec. 3. Pan Ku is anticipating events. Wang Mang was appointed Commander-in-chief before Shun-Yü Chang died. nee Wang and the Emperor. Thereupon, Shun-Yü] Chang suffered execution. From this [deed, Wang] Mang obtained [a reputation] for straightforwardness. A discussion is in the "Memoir of [Shun-Yü] Chang." [Wang] Ken then begged to retire and recommended [Wang] Mang to take his place. The Emperor thereupon selected him to be the Commander-in-chief. This year was the first year of [the HS 19 B: 48a dates this event in the xi month, on the day ping-yin. This day did not occur in that month; no other cyclical characters seem plausible. Probably the date should be x, ping-yin, November 28 (julian). Wang Ken resigned on Nov. 16; the office of Commander-in-chief would not have been left vacant for long. period] Sui-ho, and [Wang Mang] had reached his thirty-eighth year. Wang Mang was born in 45 B.C., according to 27 Ba: 26a.

When [Wang] Mang had surpassed his equals and succeeded his four uncles, [Wang Feng, Wang Shang(1a), Wang Yin, and Wang Ken], as chief assistant in the government, he wished to make his fame and reputation surpass that of his predecessors, hence he denied himself An allusion to Analects XII, i (Soothill, p. 115). tirelessly and invited The Sung Ch'i ed. (ca. xii cent.) said that after 聘, for 諸, there should be read 請. the Capable and Good [to come to him], making them Division Head Clerks. He bestowed upon [other] gentlemen all of his grants [from the Emperor] and the income from his estate, being even more economical [in his personal expenses].

When his mother was ill, the ministers and full marquises sent their Ladies to ask after her illness. When [Wang] Mang's wife received them, her clothes did not trail on the ground [and she wore] a linen apron. The Fang-yen (attributed to Yang Hsiung(2), 53 B.C.-A.D. 18; annotated, possibly restored by Kuo P'o, 276-324) 4: 1b, 2a says, "The pi(1)-hsi 蔽膝 [translated `apron', lit., `covering for the knees'], in the region of the Yangtze and Huai [Rivers], is called hui 褘. Some call it fu 祓 [more exactly 韍]; in the region of Wei(h), Sung, and Southern Ch'u, it is called the large napkin 大巾; from [the region] east of the [Han-ku] Pass and westwards it is called pi-hsi. In the countryside of Ch'i and Lu it is called jan 袡." The Erh-ya (before and during the Han period) 5: 7a says, "Clothes that cover (pi) the front are called ch'an 襜 (aprons)," and Kuo P'o glosses, "They are the present pi-hsi." the Shih-ming (ca. iii cent. A.D.; attributed to Liu Hsi [fl. dur. Han period]) ch. 16, 5: 1b, 2a says, "The pi(2) 韠 is a cover (pi(1)); it is the means whereby one covers his knees (pi(1)-hsi) and front. Women's pi(1)-hsi are also of this sort. The people of Ch'i call them great napkins 巨巾. When the wives and daughters of people who work in the fields go out to the fields and wilds, they use them to cover their heads. Hence because of that they give them their name. They are also called kneeling aprons 跪襜. When they kneel down, [this apron] covers them and is spread out." A discussion of this garment is to be found in Nieh Ch'ung-yi's San-li-t'u (presented 962) 8: 10a, b, also in Ch'en Hsiang-tao's (1053-1093) Li-shu 23: 1a-6b, in which it is pointed out that this article was used in ceremonial dress, even by the Son of Heaven. (References from Shen Ch'in-han.) Legge, Li Ki, II, SBE, XXVIII, p. 14, n. 1, reproduces pictures of it, but the Chinese phrase pi(1)-hsi led him and Couvreur to translate it as "knee-covers." The dimensions given in the text should have warned them that this translation is inappropriate. Those who saw her, thought she was a servant, and sent someone to ask [who she was]. When they learned that she was the Lady, they were all astonished.

[Wang Mang] had been chief assistant in the The date of Emperor Ch'eng's death is from 10: 16a. It was only four and a half months after Wang Mang had been made Commander-in-chief. Pan Ku seems to have been careless about this date---he did not compile the "Table" from which the date of Wang Mang's appointment was taken. government for more than a year when Emperor Ch'eng died. When Emperor Ai ascended the HS 11: 2a. throne, he honored the Empress Dowager [nee Wang] and made her the Grand Empress Dowager. The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] issued an imperial edict to [Wang] Mang, [ordering him] to go to his residence and leave [his position vacant for some of] the Emperor's maternal relatives. A willingness to retire from office at the proper moment exhibited, on Wang Mang's part, the Confucian virtue of "declining and yielding". Such a virtuous act should properly be met by a similar "declining and yielding," i.e., a refusal of the resignation. The Grand Empress Dowager's edict was very likely instigated by Wang Mang himself, for the purpose of securing from the new Emperor a confirmation of his position as the dominant minister. Ho Kuang had similarly resigned (8: 4a = HFHD II, 207). [Wang] Mang [hence] presented to the Emperor a request begging to retire. Emperor Ai [however] sent his Prefect of the Masters of Writing, [T'ang Lin], with an imperial edict to [Wang] Mang, saying,

"The late Emperor entrusted the government to you, sir, whereupon he departed from his subjects. We have obtained [the opportunity] to uphold the [imperial] ancestral temples and will in truth consider [Ourself] fortunate to be of the same mind and similar opinions with you, sir. Now you, sir, have sent [Us a letter saying that you] are ill and ask to retire. Thereby you make known that We are not able to uphold or follow the intentions of the late Emperor. We are greatly saddened. [We] have already issued an imperial edict to the Masters of Writing to await your memorials, sir, about [government] business."

[The Emperor] also sent the Lieutenant Chancellor, K'ung Kuang, the Grand Minister of Works, Ho Wu, the General of the Left, Shih(1) Tan, and the Commandant of the Palace Guard, Fu Hsi, to speak to the [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang], saying, "The Emperor has heard of the Empress Dowager's imperial edict and is much saddened. If the Commander-in-chief [Wang Mang] does not arise, the Emperor will then not presume to attend to the government." The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang thereupon] again ordered [Wang] Mang to attend to the [government] business.

At that time, the grandmother of Emperor Ai, the Queen Dowager [nee] Fu of Ting-t'ao, and his mother, the Concubine nee Ting [of the deceased King of Ting-t'ao], were alive, so the Marquis of Kao-ch'ang, Tung Hung, presented to the throne a letter saying, "According to the principles of the Spring and Autumn [in the Kung-yang Commentary], a mother becomes honorable because of her son, so that the Concubine [nee] Ting should be presented with the imperial title [of Empress Dowager]." Cf. 11: n. 2.3; Glossary, sub Fu, Brilliant Companion nee. [Wang] Mang together with Shih(1) Tan impeached [Tung] Hung for misleading the court, which constituted inhumanity. A discussion is in the "Memoir of [Shih(1)] Tan."

At a later date, there was a banquet in Wei-yang Palace. The Prefect of the Flunkies spread the canopy and seat for the Queen Dowager [nee]Fu at the side of the seat for the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang. Wang] Mang investigated and reproached the Prefect of the Flunkies, saying, "The Queen Dowager of [the kingdom of] Ting-t'ao is a concubine from a tributary [kingdom]. How could she he permitted to be honored equally with the most honorable [lady in the palace]? Take it away and put the seat [of the Queen Dowager of Ting-t'ao] at a different [place]."

When the Queen Dowager [nee] Fu heard of it, she was furious and refused to attend [the banquet. She thereupon held] a great hatred against [Wang] HS 19 B: 48b says, sub the year Sui-ho II, "In month xi, ting-mao, the Commander-in-chief, [Wang] Mang, was granted gold, a comfortable chariot, a quadriga of horses, and was dismissed. On keng-wu, the General of the Left, Shih(1) Tan, became Commander-in-chief. In iv, he was moved [to another office]." On the same page, it says, "In month x, kuei-yu [Dec. 30, 7 B.C.], the Commander-in-chief, [Shih(1)] Tan, became the Grand Minister of Works. Within the year, he was dismissed." Now there were no ting-mao or keng-wu days in Sui-ho II, xi. If Shih Tan's appointment as Grand Minister of Works happened in month x and in the fourth month before Wang Mang was dismissed, the dismissal could not have happened in month xi. Szu-ma Kuang suggests that "month xi" is an error for "month vii" (十 and 七 were written almost alike in the li style), hence Wang Mang's dismissal occurred on Aug. 27 and Shih1 Tan's appointment as Commander-in-chief on Aug. 30. Mang. [Hence Wang] Mang again begged to retire. Emperor Ai granted [Wang] Mang five hundred catties of actual gold, a comfortable carriage and a quadriga of horses, dismissed him [from his position], and sent him to his residence. Most of the ministers and grandees praised him, so the Emperor added his grace and favor, and established, as [regular] messenger to his home, a Palace [Attendant Within] the Yellow Gate to grant him a meal [from the imperial cuisine] once every ten days. [The Emperor] sent to his subordinates an imperial edict which said,

"The Marquis of Hsin-tu(c), [Wang] Mang, has worried and toiled for the state and has firmly held to his fealty. We hoped with him to produce a good government, [but] the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang] has issued an imperial edict that [Wang] Mang should go to his residence, for which We are very sorry. Let [Wang Mang] The Sung Ch'i ed. reports that other editions and the Y9u)eh ed. (xi-xii cent.) lack the word for "Mang." The Ching-yu ed. lacks this word. be additionally enfeoffed with three hundred fifty households in Huang-yu Village; let his position be Specially Advanced, let him [be given the rank of] Serving in the Palace, [be required] to come to court [only] on the first and fifteenth days of the month, and present himself with formalities like those of the three highest ministers. When [the Emperor rides] his chariot of state, [Wang Mang] may follow in the [imperial cortege] riding a green chariot. Chin Shao, in a note to 68: 21b, says, "[According to] a Han commentator, `Green chariot 綠車' designated the chariot of an Imperial Grandson; if the Heir-apparent has a son, [the son] rides in this [sort of a chariot] when following [in the train of the emperor]." This equipage is described in HHS, Tr. 29: 10a. Yen Shih-ku explains, "When the Son of Heaven rode out, he ordered that [Wang] Mang [should be permitted] to ride this [sort of a chariot] in following him, thereby [granting him] his favor." HS 11: 4b.

The second year afterwards, when the Queen Dowager [nee] Fu and the Concubine [nee] Ting had both been given the imperial titles [of Emperor's Great Empress Dowager and the Emperor's Empress Dowager, respectively], the Lieutenant Chancellor Chu Po memorialized,

"[Wang] Mang has not previously applied broadly [enough] the principle of honoring those [deserving of] honor A phrase from Li-chi XIV, 3 (Couvreur, I, 777; Legge, II, 61). but has humbled and degraded those who should be honored with an imperial title, [thereby] injuring the doctrine of filial piety, so that he ought to suffer public execution. Fortunately [for him], he has received [the advantage of a general] ordinance of amnesty, [yet] it is not proper that he should possess a noble title or land. I beg that he be dismissed [from his titles] and made a commoner."

The Emperor said, "Because [Wang] Mang is related to the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang], let him not be dismissed [from his noble titles], but be sent away to his estate."

Chu Po was Lieutenant Chancellor from May 9 to Sept. 21, 5 B.C., so that Wang Mang's dismissal from the court occurred between those dates; cf. 19 B: 49a. While [Wang] Mang had closed his gates and was keeping to himself, [Wang] Huo(b), Yen Shih-ku (581-645) states that some texts write this given name as 護, which he says is "a vulgar change." his son who was neither his eldest nor his youngest, murdered a slave. [Wang] Mang bitterly reproached [Wang] Huo(b) and caused him to commit suicide.

While he had been at his estate to the third year, officials The Sung Ch'i ed. says that after the word 吏 there should be the word 民. The Ching-yu ed. does not read this character. by the hundreds sent letters to the Emperor grieving and pleading for [Wang] Mang. In the first HS 11: 7a. year of [the period] Yüan-shou, when there was an eclipse of the sun, [some persons who had been recommended as] Capable and Good, Chou Huo, Sung Ch'ung, and others, in their written replies to the examination, praised highly [Wang] Mang's achievements and virtue. The Emperor therefore summoned [Wang] Mang [to come to court].

When [Wang] Mang had first gone to his estate, because [Wang] Mang was an honorable and important [personage], the Grand Administrator of Nan-yang [Commandery] selected a Division Head from his office, K'ung Hsiu, [a man of] Yüan, to be the acting Chancellor of Hsin-tu(c), [Wang Mang's marquisate. When K'ung] Hsiu went to pay a visit to [Wang] Mang, [Wang] Mang [treated K'ung Hsiu] with all possible formalities and in person welcomed him [at the door]. [K'ung] Hsiu had also heard of [Wang Mang's] fame and responded to him in like manner.

Later, when [Wang] Mang was ill, [K'ung] Hsiu attended upon him. Because of his gracious intent, [Wang] Mang presented him with his [own] precious sword having jade furnishings, desiring to make [K'ung Hsiu] a good friend. [But K'ung] Hsiu refused to receive it. [Wang] Mang said therefore, "I verily see that on your face, sir, there is a scar. A fine jade can extinguish a scar. I merely wanted to present you with the ring on the hilt of the sword." The Sung Ch'i ed. says that 耳 should be excised. The Ching-yu ed. does not read it. Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) states that chuan 瑑 is pronounced the same as wei 衛. Su Lin (ca. 160-ca. 240) states that it is the ring at the end of the hilt on a two-edged sword. Yen Shih-ku hence infers that the text originally read chih 璏 (which has also the pronunciation wei and, with another meaning, is pronounced chuan) and that it was later mistakenly altered, for chuan means merely "engraved (with raised figures)." Shuo-wen 1 A: 4b says that chih means the jade ring at the end of the hilt on a sword, using the same words as Su Lin. Cf. Chavannes, Documents chinois decouverts, p. 19, no. 39. It is still believed that a fine jade made into powder and put upon a scar will extinguish the scar. He immediately loosed its [jade] sword-ring.

When [K'ung] Hsiu again excused himself and refused, [Wang] Mang said, "Do you, sir, dislike [to receive it] because of its [high] value?" Then he pounded it to pieces, himself tied it up, and thereupon presented it to [K'ung] Hsiu. [K'ung] Hsiu then received it.

When [Wang] Mang was summoned [to the court and was about to] leave, he wanted to see [K'ung] Hsiu, [but K'ung] Hsiu pronounced himself ill and did not present himself.

More than a year after [Wang] Mang returned to the imperial capital, Emperor Ai died. He had no HS 11: 8b. children and both the [August Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Fu] and the [Emperor's] Empress Dowager [nee] Ting had died previously. On the same day [as the death], the Grand August Empress Dowager [nee Wang] rode a quadriga to the Wei-yang Palace, where she secured the imperial seals with their seal-cords. Emperor Ai had given his imperial seals and authority to Tung Hsien(2a) before he died; Wang Hung took them away from Tung Hsien(2a) and gave them to the Grand Empress Dowager. Cf. Glossary sub Wang Hung. She sent a messenger galloping to summon [Wang] Mang. She issued an imperial edict to the Masters of Writing, [declaring] that the various insignia and credentials for mobilizing troops, the matters memorialized by the various officials, and the troops of the Palace Attendants Within the Yellow Gate and of the Attendants at the Gates should all be under the control of [Wang] Mang.

[Wang] Mang advised [the Grand Empress Dowager] that the Commander-in-chief, the Marquis of Kao-an, Tung Hsien(2a), was too young and [that his HS 19 B: 51a records Tung Hsien(2a)'s dismissal on Yüan-shou III (an error for Yüan-shou II), vi, yi-wei, which is impossible. Emperor Ai died on vi, mou-wu, a day before the day chi-wei, so that Tung Hsien's dismissal occurred on vi, chi-wei, Aug. 16; cf. 99 A: 21b. Chi 己 and yi 乙 are frequently mistaken for each other. This emendation is confirmed by the date for Wang Mang's appointment to succeed Tung Hsien, which is vi, keng-shen, the day after chi-wei. occupying that position] did not accord with public opinion, [so that she should] take [away] his [official and noble] seals and cords. On the same day, [Tung] Hsien(2a) committed suicide.

The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] in an imperial edict ordered the ministers to recommend persons who might become the Commander-in-chief. The Grand Minister Over the Masses, K'ung Kuang, and the Grand Minister of Works, P'eng Hsüan, recommended [Wang] Mang. The General of the Van, Ho Wu, and the General of the Rear, HS 19 B: 49b (under the date 4 B.C.) and 86: 4b (in recounting the same incident) list Kung-sun Lu as General of the Left, so that "Rear" is probably an error. (Noted by Ch'ien Ta-hsin.) Kung-sun Lu, recommended each other. The [Grand] Empress Dowager installed [Wang] Mang as Commander-in-chief HS 19 B: 51a. and discussed with him the establishment of an heir [to the throne].

The Marquis of An-yang, Wang Shun(4b), was a second cousin of [Wang] Mang, was cultivated and self-controlled Yen Shih-ku remarks that 飭 should be read the same as 敕, which means 整. in his person, and was trusted and beloved by the [Grand] Empress Dowager. [Wang] Mang advised her to make [Wang] Shun(4b) the General of Chariots and Cavalry and send him to invite the King of Chung-shan, [Liu Chi-tzu], to carry on the posterity of Emperor Ch'eng. This was Emperor Hsiao-p'ing.

The Emperor was in his ninth year, so the [Grand] Empress Dowager attended court and pronounced [that she issued the imperial] decrees. Cf. HFHD, I, p. 192, n. 1. She entrusted the government to [Wang] Mang.

[Wang] Mang advised her that [the lady] nee Chao had previously killed some imperial sons Cf. 10: 14a; HFHD II, 411; Glossary, sub Chao, Brilliant Companion nee. and that [the lady] nee Fu had been proud and arrogant, so she thereupon dismissed the Empress [nee] Chao of [Emperor] Hsiao-ch'eng and the Empress [nee] Fu of [Emperor] Hsiao-ai [from their titles]. Both were ordered to commit suicide. A discussion is in the "Memoir of the [Imperial] Relatives by Marriage."

Because the Grand Minister Over the Masses, K'ung Kuang, was a famous scholar, had acted as chancellor to three lords [of men], was respected by the [Grand] Empress Dowager, and the whole empire trusted him, [Wang] Mang therefore honored [K'ung] Kuang greatly and served him. [Wang Mang] introduced [to the court K'ung] Kuang's son-in-law, Chen Han, and made him a Palace Attendant and the Chief Commandant of the Imperial Equipages.

[Wang] Mang attributed crimes to all the various maternal relatives of Emperor Ai, together with [those of] his great officials and those who held office whom [Wang] Mang had disliked, and prepared [unsigned] memorials begging [that they be punished]. He had [Chen] Han take them to [K'ung] Kuang. [K'ung] Kuang was habitually timid and cautious, so did not dare to refuse to send in these memorials [as his own]. Each time [they were received, Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to assent to these memorials. In this way, the General of the Van, Ho Wu, and the General of the Rear, Kung-sun Lu, were sentenced for having ogether with [those of] Tung Hsien2a were all dismissed from their positions and from their noble titles and were exiled to distant regions.

The Marquis of Hung-yang, [Wang] Li(5a), was a younger [half]-brother of the [Grand] Empress Dowager. Although he did not occupy any [official] position, yet because he was one of his uncles who was respected within [the Palace, Wang Mang] dreaded him. He feared [Wang] Li(5a) might casually say something to the [Grand] Empress Dowager which would bring it about that [Wang Mang] would not be permitted to follow his own intentions. So [Wang Mang] had [K'ung] Kuang also memorialize [Wang] Li(5a)'s former evil deeds: that he had previously known that the Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-Yü Chang, had committed the crime of rebellion and he had [nevertheless] received from him a large bribe and had falsely Li Tz'u-ming (1829-1894), Han-shu Cha-chi 7: 14b, says that 為 should be read as 偽. spoken for him, [thus] misleading the court. Later he had advised that a secret son of a government woman, Yang Chi, [allegedly by Emperor Ch'eng], should be made an Imperial Son, [a possible heir to the throne. But] the common opinion [in the court was, "It is a case of] the reappearance of the Young Emperor of the Lü clan. The "Young Emperor" was Lü Hung; cf. HS 3: 3b, 8a; HFHD, I, 198, 209. Prof. Duyvendak interprets differently, inserting 王 after the 成 , noting that the succession of King Ch'eng, as an infant, to King Wu, and his being presented by the Duke of Chou to the feudal lords is the classical and often mentioned case of a child on the throne, which is later on frequently cited in this Memoir. He translates: "Later he had proposed that a private son of a government slave, Yang Chi, be set up as an Imperial son. The unanimous opinion [of the Ministers] was that a recurrence of the case of the young Emperor from the Lü clan would in a most disturbing way arouse the suspicion of the empire so that it would be difficult to show to later generations the [same] good results [which had been obtained by setting up King] Ch'eng in swaddling-clothes. They begged therefore that [Wang] Li be sent back to his state." It is most disturbing. It would be suspicious to the empire, so that it would be difficult to establish [such a babe's legitimacy] to later generations or to achieve anything creditable in behalf of [such a babe] in swaddling clothes." [The memorial] begged that [Wang] Li(5a) should be sent back to his state.

When the [Grand] Empress Dowager would not listen to it, [Wang] Mang said to her, "Now the Han dynasty has decayed and has been without [natural] heirs [to the throne] for successive generations. You alone, [Grand] Empress Dowager, can take the place of the young lord in directing the government. It is sincerely to be dreaded that, even if you strive hard to use justice and uprightness in leading the empire, it is yet to be feared that [the empire] will not follow [you. But] now if for the sake of your private affection you go contrary to the advice of your highest officials, in this way your many subordinates will become dangerous and evil; disorder will arise because of this [event]. It is proper to approve [this petition], temporarily send [Wang Li(5a)] to his state, and, after the situation has become more tranquil, to summon him back." The [Grand] Empress Dowager had no alternative, so sent [Wang] Li(5a) to his state. The [methods] by which [Wang] Mang compelled and controlled his superiors and inferiors were all of the foregoing sort.

In this way, those who attached themselves to him and accorded with him were promoted and those who opposed or disliked him were exterminated. Wang Shun(4b) and Wang Yi(5) became his intimate advisers. Chen Feng and Chen Han had charge of making decisions Han-chi 30: 1a writes chüeh-tuan 訣斷 instead of 擊-tuan. I have followed its reading. , P'ing Yen had charge of delicate matters Chi-shih 機事 is a phrase from Book of Changes, App. III, I, 47 (Legge, p. 363). , Liu Hsin(1a) Li Tz'u-ming ibid., remarks that, in A.D. 6, Liu Hsin(1a) had changed his personal name to Hsiu (cf. Glossary, sub voce); but Pan Ku still used Hsin to avoid the taboo on the personal name of Emperor Kuang-wu, which was also Hsiu. took care of [classical] literature, Sun Chien was his military assistant. The phrase in the text, "talons and teeth, chao-ya 爪牙," is used in Book of Odes, no. 185; II, iv, i, 1 (Legge, p. 298) as a figure for the king's soldiers. This phrase came to have various meanings. Ku Yung writes (HS 70: 14a, b), "A general who is victorious in battle is the talons and teeth of the state 戰克之將囯之爪牙." Sun Chien served Wang Mang as a general. This phrase also signified the subordinates who execute their superior's plans. HS 90: 7b states that Wang Wen-shu controlled the commandery of Kuang-p'ing by selecting some ten-odd braves as his "talons and teeth," hiding their crimes, and sending them to search out the commandery's thieves and robbers. Prof. Duyvendak suggests that "talons and teeth" denoted the secret police. H. O. H. Stange, Die Monographie über Wang Mang, p. 15, 1.5, translates this phrase as "Leibgardist," but the technical term for body-guard was su-wei 宿衛(HS 38: 3b12). [Chen] Feng's son, [Chen] Hsün, [Liu] Hsin(1a)'s son, [Liu] Fen, Ts'ui Fa from Cho Commandery, and Ch'en Ch'ung from Nan-yang [Commandery] were all favored by [Wang] Mang because of their ability.

[Wang] Mang's appearance was severe and his speech was blunt. The Official ed. reads chih 之 for fang 方, and quotes the Sung Ch'i ed. as saying that chih should be fang. Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Southern Academy ed. (1531) reads fang. The Ching-yu ed. reads likewise. When he wanted to have something done, he subtly indicated it in his bearing; his clique took up his intentions and manifested them in a memorial, [whereupon Wang] Mang bent his head to the earth with tears in his eyes, and firmly declined. On the one hand, he thereby misled the [Grand] Empress Dowager, and on the other, he thereby exhibited faithfulness to the mass of commoners.

First, he had hinted that [the Governor of] Yi Province should induce the barbarians outside the barrier to present a white pheasant, Cf. 12: 2a; Glossary sub Yüeh-shang. and, in the first year of [the period] Yüan-shih, in the first month, [Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict that the white pheasant should be offered in the [imperial] ancestral temples. The many courtiers therefore memorialized, saying,

"The [Grand] Empress Dowager entrusted to the Commander-in-chief, [Wang] Mang, the duty of planning the imperial enthronement that gave peace to the [imperial] ancestral temples. When the former Commander-in-chief Ho Kuang had the merit of [similarly] having given peace to the [imperial] ancestral temples, his enfeoffment was increased by thirty thousand households, the noble title and estate [of his posterity was ordered] to be the same [as that of the founder of their house, Cf. HS 8: n. 7.9. and he was ranked] the same as the [former] Chancellor of State Hsiao [Ho]. It would be proper for [Wang] Mang to be [treated] as [Ho] Kuang was formerly [treated]." Cf. 8: 7b.

The [Grand] Empress Dowager questioned The Sung Ch'i ed. says that before the word 問 there should be the word 召. the ministers, saying, "Is it really that, because the Commander-in-chief, [Wang Mang], has achieved great merit, he ought to be given [high] honors? Or it is because he is of [Our] flesh and blood that you have wanted to distinguish him?"

Thereupon various courtiers produced long expositions, [saying, "Wang] Mang's achievements and virtuous conduct have brought about the auspicious presage of a white pheasant [as at the time the Duke of] Chou [was minister to King] Ch'eng. That in a thousand years there are similarities is a law of the sage-kings. The "law" is found in Mencius IV, ii, i, 3 (Legge, p. 316). Cf. HS 12: n. 2.3. These Yüeh-shang are also mentioned in Lu Chia's Hsin-Yü (196 B.C.), cf. MSOS v. 33, p. 32. The Han-shih Wai-chuan 5: 7a declares that their language must be translated by "nine [successive interpreters]." When a subject has great achievements, in his lifetime he should have a laudable title. Hence the Duke of Chou, during his lifetime, was given The Official ed. has 記 for the t'o 託 of Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text; he notes that the Southern Academy ed. has t'o. The Ching-yu ed. reads likewise. a title with [the name of] the Chou [dynasty in it. Wang] Mang has the great achievement of having given stability to the state and of having given tranquillity to the Han dynasty, so that it is proper that he should be granted the title, `The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han [Dynasty],' that the [number of] households [in his noble estate] should be increased, and [his posterity should be given] the same noble title and estate [as the founder of their house]. On the one hand, [this appointment] will be in accordance with ancient principles, and on the other hand, it will take as its model past situations. Thereby it will accord with the mind of Heaven."

When the [Grand] Empress Dowager, in an imperial edict, ordered a Master of Writing to prepare [an edict for] this matter, [Wang] Mang presented a letter which said, "Your servant planned the enthronement [of Emperor P'ing] together with K'ung Kuang, Wang Shun(4b), Chen Feng, and Chen Han. Now I wish that the achievements and rewards of [K'ung] Kuang and the others should alone be listed and that [any rewards for] your servant, Mang, should be abandoned and set aside. Do not list me with them."

Chen Han advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict, which said, " `Without deflection and without partiality, Great is the way of [true] Kings.' A quotation from Book of History V, iv, 14 (Legge, p. 331); but cf. Karlgren in BMFEA 20, p. 237, Gl. 1539. Although a relative should be loved, [yet We] should not be partial to him. [But] you, sir, have achieved the merit of having given tranquillity to the [imperial] ancestral temples. [We] cannot set aside [your merits] and not exalt them just because you are of [Our] flesh and blood. You, sir, must not refuse."

When [Wang] Mang again presented a letter excusing himself, the [Grand] Empress Dowager by an imperial edict ordered an Internuncio to lead [Wang] Mang to await [investiture] in the Eastern Wing of the [Palace] Hall. [But Wang] Mang pronounced himself ill and would not enter [the Palace Hall, so the Grand] Empress Dowager sent the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, [Yao] Hsün, with an imperial edict to [Wang Mang], saying, "Because you, sir, are humble, Li Tz'u-ming ibid., 7: 15a, says that 選 should be read as 巽, with which it was anciently interchanged. you have refused on account of illness. Your position, sir, is important, and may not be left vacant. Arise promptly at this time."

When [Wang] Mang completely and firmly refused, the [Grand] Empress Dowager again sent the Grand Coachman at the Ch'ang-hsin [Palace, Wang] Hung, with an imperial decree summoning [Wang] Mang. [Wang] Mang [however] insistently pronounced himself ill. Her entourage advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager that it was proper not to force [Wang] Mang's will, and merely to list K'ung Kuang and the others, whereupon [Wang] Mang would be willing to arise.

HS 19 B: 51b supplies this date for the appointing of three Coadjutors, including Wang Mang. The latter declares (99 A: 18a) that on this date he was appointed Grand Tutor, but 99 A: 6a states that when the others had been appointed, Wang Mang had not yet arisen to receive his appointment. Wang Mang hence received his appointment later on in the same day as the others---court was held early in the morning. The [Grand] Empress Dowager [thereupon] issued to her subordinates an imperial edict, saying, "The Grand Tutor, the Marquis of Po-shan, [K'ung] Kuang, has guarded [the throne] for four reigns and from reign to reign has been tutor or chancellor. He is loyal, filial, benevolent, and sincere; his conduct and his fealty have been outstanding. He made the proposal and planned the imperial enthronement. He shall be additionally enfeoffed with [the income of] ten thousand households. [K'ung] Kuang shall become the Grand Master, participating in a government by Four Coadjutors.

"The General of Chariots and Cavalry, the Marquis of An-yang, [Wang] Shun(4b), has repeatedly and continually been benevolent and filial; he was sent to invite the King of Chung-shan, [Liu Chi-tzu, to ascend the throne] and he has `repulsed [by diplomacy] the attacks of [the enemy at a distance of] ten thousand li.' A quotation from a saying of Confucius in Han-shih Wai-chuan 8: 11b, sect. 18, "Without leaving the sacrifical vases or tables, Yen-tzu repulsed the attack [of the enemy] at a distance of a thousand li," denoting a diplomatic victory. This saying is in turn taken from Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu 5: 14a, sect. 16. A comparison of these two sources shows, in an illuminating fashion, how certain sayings attributed to Confucius arose. His achievements and virtuous conduct are abundant and brilliant. He shall be additionally enfeoffed with [the income of] ten thousand households. [Wang] Shun(4b) shall become the Grand Guardian.

"The General of the Left and Superintendent of the Imperial Household, [Chen] Feng, has guarded [the throne] for three reigns. He is loyal, trustworthy, benevolent, and sincere. He was sent to invite the King of Chung-shan [to ascend the throne] and has assisted and guided him and supplied his needs, thereby giving tranquillity to the [imperial] ancestral temples. [Chen] Feng shall be enfeoffed as Marquis of Kuang-yang with the income of a state of 5000 households. [Chen] Feng shall become the Junior Tutor.

"Upon all [these persons] there shall be conferred the position [of being included among] the Four Coadjutors. Their noble ranks and estates shall be the same [for their descendants as for the founders of their houses] and to each shall be given one residence.

"The Palace Attendant and Chief Commandant of Imperial Equipages, [Chen] Han, has guarded the throne and toiled diligently. He made the proposal and planned the imperial enthronement. [Chen] Han shall be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Ch'eng-yang with the income of an estate of two The Official ed. misprints 三 for 二. The latter reading is confirmed in 18: 28a. thousand four hundred households."

When these four persons had received rewards and [Wang] Mang had not even yet arisen, various courtiers again presented [a memorial to the Grand Empress Dowager nee Wang], saying, "Although [Wang] Mang is able to yield [to others, A phrase from Book of History, I, i, 1 (Legge, p. 15), where Yao is said to have been "able to yield to others." yet] he is one whom the court should properly make illustrious and to whom should be given at [this appropriate] time [suitable] rewards, [thereby] making well-known and important one who has achieved great merits and [thereby] not causing the hopes of the many officials or of the great multitude to be disappointed." Note the rimes: 讓, 章, 賞, 望.

The [Grand] Empress Dowager thereupon issued an imperial edict, saying, "The Commander-in-chief, the Marquis of Hsin-tu(o), [Wang] Mang, has been one of the three highest ministers for three reigns and has performed the [same] duties [as those performed by] the Duke of Chou. He has established the plan [for the succession to the throne that is to endure for] ten thousand generations. In achievements and virtuous conduct For 能, the Ching-yu ed., the Southern Academy ed., and the Official ed. read 德. I adopt the latter reading. he has been a model to palace officials. Li Tz'u-ming ibid., asserts that 忠 is an error for 中; and I follow him. Cf. HHS, Mem. 17: 15a, sub Chao Wen, where a similar reading is found. His influence has spread over [all] within the [four] seas, so that people of distant [regions] have thought with affection of right principles; a potentate of the Yüeh-shang, The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Hsi-ning Academy ed. (1069) and the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) lack the word 裳. The Ching-yu ed. also lacks it. [whose speech must be] repeatedly interpreted [from one interpreter to another], presented a white pheasant as tribute.

"Let [Wang] Mang be additionally enfeoffed with [the income of] the twenty-eight thousand households in the two counties of Shao-ling and Hsin-hsi. His heirs who succeed him shall be exempted [from taxes and service] and their noble rank and estate shall be the same [as his]. They were to be exempted from the usual inheritance tax upon noble estates; cf. 8: n. 7.9. His achievements Liu Ch'ang (1019-1068) remarks that feng 封 is an interpolation. The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) reads 加 instead of 功 gung. I have followed Liu Ch'ang. shall be [ranked] the same as those of the [former] Chancellor of State, Hsiao [Ho. Wang] Mang shall be the Grand Tutor and in charge of the business of the Four Coadjutors. His title shall be the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty. The first residence, that of the former Chancellor of State, Hsiao [Ho], shall become the residence of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty. Let [this ordinance] be established and published as a [permanent] ordinance and be transmitted [forever] without end."

Thereupon [Wang] Mang hypocritically Su Yü (fl. 1913) remarks that 為 and 偽 were interchanged. I read the latter. feared that he had no alternative and so he arose and received his charter [of appointment]. The charter said,

"The Han [dynasty] was in danger because there was no heir, and your excellency stabilized it. As to the positions of the Four Coadjutors and the responsibilities of the three highest ministers, your excellency controls them. As to the various officials and the many positions, your excellency rules them. Your merits and virtue are abundant and brilliant. Thereby the [imperial] ancestral temples are tranquil. Verily, the auspicious presage of the white pheasant is symbolical of [the way the Duke of] Chou [acted as minister to King] Ch'eng. Hence [We] grant you the auspicious title of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty. When you are the Coadjutor and protector of the Emperor, do you aim at bringing about [a condition of the utmost] tranquillity. Do not disappoint Our intentions."

[Wang] Mang received the titles of Grand Tutor and Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [but] he yielded up and returned the matter of his increase in enfeoffment and his noble rank and estate being the same [for his descendants as for himself], saying, "I wish to wait until the people H. O. H. Stange, Die Monographie über Wang Mang, 22, n. 1 follows the Tz'u-Yüan in interpreting po-hsing 百姓 as denoting the families of officials, stating that this term was first democratized gradually in Han times. I believe that this process had already been completed. The meaning here is explained later (7a), when Wang Mang says that "benefits should be granted to gentlemen and common people and to widowers and widows . . . to everyone." That the "families of officials" should be favored moreover implies an aristocratic age, in which descent, rather than ability, brought official position. This was the fact in Spring and Autumn times, but the Han dynasty ushered in a period when not family, but ability was supposed to bring position; the founder of this dynasty and his paladins were commoners; their advent marks the final breakdown of a true hereditary aristocracy (cf. HFHD, I, 13-15). Han Confucianism, with the examination system opening even the highest positions to able persons, regardless of their descent, took an attitude to aristocracy quite different from that of Chou times, when, until its last centuries, official positions were hereditary in certain families. The Tz'u-hai, sub po-hsing, shows that this phrase, even when referring to the most ancient times, in addition to the meaning, "the officials," also meant "the common people." Stange himself is sometimes forced to translate po-hsing as "Volk" (p. 25, 1. 4). have a sufficiency in their households and then only should I be given any rewards." The other highest ministers again argued with him. The [Grand] Empress Dowager's imperial edict said, "You, Duke, of your own accord aim at the people having a sufficiency in their households, because of which [We] listen to you. Let it be ordered that your salary, Duke, and the rewards granted to the members of your suite Yen Shih-ku remarks, "The members of his suite were the regularly authorized number of officials in his own yamen 舍人私府吏員也." shall all be double what they were previously, and when the people have a sufficiency in their households so that personally they have enough, the Grand Minister over the Multitude, [K'ung Kuang], and the Grand Minister of Works, [Wang Ch'ung], shall report [the fact] in order that [you may thereupon be granted the full amount of your reward]."

[Wang] Mang again refused and would not receive [these honors] and proposed that it would be proper to set up descendants of the vassal kings [as kings] and to enfeoff the descendants of the more important of the meritorious courtiers of the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], and his successors, as marquises or to grant them the noble rank of Marquis of the Imperial Domain with the income of estates; and thereafter those in office should each have his [full] rank, [so that there may be] a government making grants to every one, in which on the one hand, the [imperial] ancestral temples are honored Ho Ch'uo states that the honoring of an imperial ancestral temple refers to the giving to the Temple of Emperor Yüan the name of the Temple of the Eminent Exemplar; cf. 12: 8a. But this title was not given until A.D. 4, so that Ho Ch'uo is very likely mistaken. , by augmenting the rites and music [employed therein] and on the other hand, gentlemen and commoners are shown kindness and widowers and widows [are given] grace and bounty. A discussion is in the "Annals of [Emperor Hsiao]-p'ing."

When [Wang] Mang had pleased the mass of commoners, Ch'ien Ta-chao states that the Southern Academy ed. (1531) and the Fukien ed. (1549) read 意 for 庶; the Official ed. reads likewise. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter word. I follow it. he also wanted the right to decide matters on his own authority. He knew that the [Grand] Empress Dowager had no taste for governing, so he gave a hint to the ministers. They memorialized her, saying, "In the past, officials have been promoted in accordance with the order of their merits to [positions ranking as] two thousand piculs. They, together with minor officials who have been recommended from the provincial divisions as being Abundant Talents of Unusual Degree, are for the most part not worthy [of their positions, so that] it would be proper that they should all interview the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang]. It is also not proper that the [Grand] Empress Dowager should in person supervise unimportant matters."

[Thus they] caused the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict which said, "Since the Emperor is young in years, We are temporarily directing the government until he puts on the bonnet of virility. The Sung Ch'i ed. said that after the word 服 there should be the word 者. The Ching-yu ed. does not have it. Now most matters are complicated and detailed, while Our years are many and [Our] bodily vigor is insufficient. [If We attend to these matters], there is danger that [We] may not have the means of keeping [Our] body in health or of caring for the Emperor. Hence [We] have selected loyal and capable persons and have set up the Four Coadjutors, so that [Our] many inferiors should be urged to do their duty and there should perpetually be prosperity and peace.

"Confucius `said, "How sublime the way Shun and Yü held possession of the country and yet remained indifferent to [the details of government]!" ' Analects VIII, xviii. From this time and henceforth, except Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that fei 非 is a mistake; the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. (1531) emend it to 惟. The Ching-yu ed. reads fei, and I prefer not to alter the text. We cannot always expect perfect Chinese style, even in imperial edicts. for enfeoffments of noble titles, which shall nevertheless be reported [to Us], in all other matters, the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty and the Four Coadjutors shall judge and decide. As to Provincial Shepherds, [officials ranking at] two thousand piculs, together with minor officials [who are recommended as being] Abundant Talents, when they are [considered] for their first appointment [to office] and when they memorialize matters, they shall each time be led into an office near [the palace] to answer questions; the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], shall examine into their former offices and ask about their new duties, in order that he may know whether they are worthy or not."

Thereupon [Wang] Mang received and questioned each one [of the officials], conveyed to them his secret gracious intentions, and bestowed upon them rich parting gifts, while he brought out memorials concerning those who did not suit his purposes and dismissed them, so that his power was equal to that of the lord of men.

[Wang] Mang wanted to delight the [Grand] Empress Dowager with vain reputation, so advised her in conversation that since she had herself succeeded to the extravagance of the Ting and Fu [clans related to] the deceased [Emperor] Hsiao-ai, while most of the people did not have enough [to live on], Reminiscent of Mencius I, i, vii, 22 (Legge, p. 148). it would be proper for the [Grand] Empress Dowager temporarily to wear coarse plain silk, Yen Shih-ku says, "Tseng-lien 繒練 means silk without markings 帛無文." and to reduce considerably [the expense of] her cuisine, in order to show [her economical spirit] to the empire.

[Wang] Mang thereupon presented a letter, stating Cf. HS 12: 5b. that he would pay a million cash and offer thirty ch'ing An area totaling about 340 acres or 136 hectares; cf. n. 9.7. of cultivated fields, to be paid to the Grand Minister of Agriculture, for assistance and gifts to the poor people. Cf. HS 12: 5b. Thereupon the ministers all admired and imitated him.

[Wang] Mang led the various courtiers in a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty is of an honorable age, [yet] you have for a long time worn heavy plain white silk and have reduced your imperial cuisine, which verily is not the way to sustain your bodily vigor, to care for the Emperor, or to give tranquillity to the [imperial] ancestral temples. Your subject, Mang, has several times knocked his head to the ground at the door to your Inner Apartments and has advised and argued with you [concerning this practise, but my request that this practise be discontinued] has not yet been approved. Now, thanks to your Majesty's virtue and beneficence, the wind and rain have recently been timely, sweet dew has descended, the supernatural fungus of immortality has grown, the calendar plant and the red herb, The calendar plant 蓂莢grew in Yao's courts, a new leaf growing each of the fifteen days in the first half of a month and a leaf dropping each of the remaining days in a month. In the Ta-Tai Li, "Ming-t'ang," 8: 12a, ch. 67 (not in Wilhelm's trans.) the red herb 朱草 is described in the same terms as the calendar plant is described elsewhere. auspicious cereals and [other] favorable signs have all appeared simultaneously.

"Your servant Mang and the others are not capable of overcoming their great hopes: we wish that your Majesty would have compassion upon your energy, rest your spirit, relax your thoughts, conform to the regular imperial robes, and restore the legal cuisine of the Grand The Official ed. reads 大 for this 太. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. Provisioner, thereby causing each of your subjects and children to be completely content in his heart and to supply your needs perfectly. We hope that you will sympathetically scrutinize [our request]."

[Wang] Mang also caused the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict which said, "Verily, [We] have heard that [according to] the moral principles for the mother of a ruler, her thoughts should not go outside the threshold of the door. Liu Hsiang(4) Lieh-nü Chuan 1: 17a says, Women "should have their cares inside the women's apartments and should have no thoughts outside that region." (Reference from Shen Ch'in-han.) He is probably quoting from the Meng-tzu Wai-shu 1: 5b. The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Academy ed. (1005) does not have the word 門. Since the state has not received [Heaven's] blessing and the Emperor is of the age when he is in swaddling-clothes and is not yet capable of governing in person, [We] have trembled with apprehension and [guarded Ourself] for fear that the [imperial] ancestral temples would not be tranquil. Except for Us, who can control the general policies of the state?

"It was for such reasons that Confucius interviewed Nan-tzu and that the Duke of Chou acted as regent, which was probably an expedient suited to the time. For Nan-tzu, cf. Analects VI, xxvi; Tso-chuan, Dk. Ting, XV (Legge, 788). Both she and the Duke of Chou controlled the government. [We] have fatigued [Ourself] and have pondered to the utmost [degree], have toiled and worried, and have not yet become tranquil. Hence `if the state is prodigal, then [a sage] gives it an example of economy,' A quotation from the Li-chi, II, ii, ii, 4 (Legge, I, 175; Couvreur, I, 213). and `in straightening a curved [piece of wood, it may be spoiled by being bent backwards] beyond a straight [line,' A saying attributed to Mencius, found in the Meng-tzu Wai-shu 3: 5b. so We may have gone too far in economizing], yet if We do not personally lead [the empire back to correctness], what will [We be able] to say to the empire?

"[We] have hoped morning and night that the five [kinds of] grains should be harvested in abundance and the peoples' households should have a sufficiency. When the Emperor dons the cap of virility, [We] shall entrust the government to him and transfer it to him.

"[We] now verily have had no leisure for light and delicate [clothing] or for perfectly flavored [food] and hope that together with the many officials [We] may achieve [a good government]. Let [us all] make [great] efforts towards this [end]."

Every time there was a flood or drought, [Wang] Mang would eat plain food. The Grand Empress Dowager's edict shows that "su-shih, 素食, plain food," in Han times, meant vegetables without meat. Cf. also HS 68: 7a. When her entourage advised her of it, the [Grand] Empress Dowager sent a messenger with an imperial edict to [Wang] Mang, saying, "[We] have heard that you, Duke, have been eating [only] vegetables. Your solicitude for the common people is indeed deep. Since in this autumn there has fortunately been a good harvest, and you, Duke, are so diligent in your duties, at this time you should eat meat and care for your body for the sake of the state."

[Wang] Mang pondered that the Middle States were already tranquil, and only the barbarians of the four [quarters] were still the same as [before]. So he sent an envoy to give actual gold and valuable silks, as heavy bribes, to the Hun Shan-Yü, in order to have him send a letter to the Emperor, which said, "I have heard that in the Middle States a double personal name is criticized. For this incident, cf. HS 94 B: 16a = de Groot, Die Hunnen, p. 264. Kung-yang Commentary 26: 1a, Dk. Ting VI, says, "They criticized a double personal name. A double personal name is contrary to the rites." Ho Hsiu (129-182) explains, "Because it is difficult to taboo." (Reference from Shen Ch'in-han.) From late Chou times onwards, double personal names were unpopular, especially among rulers, whom names had to be tabooed. But in the V cent. and later, double personal names, even for rulers, appear again. Emperor Kao, the Grand Founder of the Southern Ch'i dynasty, had the given name 道成, but his successors took single personal names. Cf. Ch'en Yuan's Shih-hui Chü-li, 48b, 49a. My former personal name has been Nang-chih-ya-szu. Now I change my personal name to Chih, in admiration of and conformity to the regulations of the sages." He also sent [Lüan-ti Yün], the Hun Princess [who had married] Hsü-pu [Tang] and who was the daughter of Wang [Ch'iang] Chao-chün, to enter [the court] and wait upon [the Grand Empress Dowager. Wang Mang thus used] myriads of methods and stratagems to dazzle deceptively and serve flatteringly the [Grand] Empress Dowager and her inferiors down to her Chief Chamberlain who was at her side.

When [Wang] Mang had become an important personage, he wanted to mate his daughter to the Emperor, making her the Empress, in order to make his power secure. [So] he memorialized, saying, "The Emperor has been on the throne to the third year, [yet the occupant of] the Ch'ang-ch'iu Palace, [the Empress], has not yet been established and [the positions of] concubines in the Lateral Yen Shih-ku remarks that 液 and 掖 have the same pronunciation and were interchanged. Courts have not yet been filled. Recently, the difficulties of the dynasty have originated from heirs being lacking and from [imperial] marriages and takings [of concubines] having been incorrect. I beg that the Five Classics be investigated and discussed in order to establish rites for [the imperial] marriage and to fix the principle of [the Emperor's] twelve women, In a comment to Chou-li 7: 7a, sub the Nei-tsai, Cheng Chung [ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83] says, "The consorts (fei 妃) of the king [numbered] 120 persons. There was one queen (hou 后 ), three ladies (fu-jen 夫人 ), nine spouses (p'in 嬪), 27 women destined to provide descendants (shih-fu 世婦) and 81 female attendants (nü-Yü 女御)." These same titles are found in the Book of Rites , I, ii, ii, 1 (Legge, I, 109; Couvreur, I, 86 f) ibid. XLI, 11 (Legge, II, 432; Couvreur II, 648). When Wang Mang married a second time, his concubines were of this number; cf. 99 C: 20a, b. In a comment to Li-chi 7: 1b, 2a (to Legge's verse 29 in II, i, i), Cheng Hsüan (127-200) says, "The Lord, K'u, established four consorts [for himself], which typify the four stars of the Empress and Consorts [a constellation in Scorpio and another in Ursa Minor], of which the brightest one is the principal consort, and the other three small ones are the secondary consorts. The Lord, Yao, followed [his example]. Shun did not inform [his parents] when he married, so did not establish a principal consort, and merely had three consorts, calling them the three Ladies. . . . The Sovereign of the Hsia dynasty, [Yü], increased them by three threes, which is nine, so that altogether there were twelve women. The explanation in the Spring and Autumn [unidentified] says, `The Son of Heaven marries twelve [women]', which [speaks of] the regulations of the Hsia [dynasty]. . . . Then the members of the Yin [dynasty] again increased them by three nines, which is twenty-seven, altogether 39 women. The members of the Chou [dynasty] imitated the Lord, K'u, and established a principal spouse and also increased [the King's concubines] by three twenty-sevens, making eighty-one women, altogether 121 women." Shen Ch'in-han remarks that, according to the Lieh-nü Chuan, the Son of Heaven had twelve [concubines], nobles had nine, grandees had three, and gentlemen had two. Cf. also T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 135: 1b ff. Po-hu-t'ung 9: 5b explains that "twelve women" is "to imitate Heaven, who has twelve months [in a year]." Cf. M. Granet, La Polygnie Sororale, p. 67, n. 1. in order to increase his posterity, and that there be a wide selection [for his harem] from the daughters of the principal wives of the descendants from the two [immediately preceding dynasties of true] kings, [the Shang and Chou dynasties], the posterity of the Duke of Chou and of Confucius, and the marquises in Ch'ang-an."

The matter was referred to the high officials and they presented [to the Grand Empress Dowager] the names of a multitude of girls. The girls of the Wang clan were the most numerous of those selected [as candidates for becoming the Empress. Wang] Mang feared that they would compete with his own daughter, HS 97 B: 23a states that Wang Mang wanted, like Ho Kuang, to have his daughter become the Empress, but "the [Grand] Empress Dowager did not wish it." so he immediately presented [a letter] saying, "I personally am without virtue and my child's abilities are of a low [order], so that it would not be proper for her to be put with the multitude of girls [form whom the Empress] is to be chosen."

The [Grand] Empress Dowager thought that he was completely sincere, so issued an imperial edict [for the Emperor], saying, "The girls of the Wang clan are Our maternal relatives. Let them not be selected [for the imperial harem]."

The many common people, the [Confucian] masters, the Gentlemen, the lower officials, and [those holding] higher positions, who [thereupon came to] wait at the [Palace] Portals to present letters [to the Grand Empress Dowager, numbered] more than a thousand daily; some of the ministers and grandees went to the middle of the [principal] court and some prostrated themselves outside the doors of the Inner [Apartments]. All said, "The sage virtue of your enlightened edict is as sublime as" that, [or] "The abundant and glorious services of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty are as magnificent as" this, [or], "Now that an Empress is to be established, why should the daughter of the Duke be specially excluded? Where would the destiny of the empire be [better] placed? We wish to secure the daughter of the Duke as the mother of the empire."

[Wang] Mang sent his Chief Clerk and subordinates by divisions to instruct and stop the ministers and the [Confucian] masters, but those who presented letters [to the Grand Empress Dowager] were even greater [in number than before, so the Grand] Empress Dowager had no alternative but to listen to the ministers and select the daughter of Wang] Mang [to be the Empress].

[When Wang] Mang again himself advised her that it would be proper to select widely from among the host of [suitable] girls, the ministers contested with him, saying, "It is not proper to select other girls and thereby alter the proper line of succession, [which can only come through the daughter of the Duke]."

[Wang] Mang [accordingly] advised [the Grand Empress Dowager] that he was willing to have his Cf. HS 12: 6b. daughter interviewed. The [Grand] Empress Dowager sent the Privy Treasurer of Ch'ang-lo [Palace, Hsia-hou Fan From HS 97 B: 23a, which states that the Privy Treasurer, Tsung-po Feng, was also sent. ], the Superintendent of the Imperial House, [Liu Hung(3b)], and the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, [P'ing Yen From HS 97 B: 23a, which states that the Privy Treasurer, Tsung-po Feng, was also sent. ], to present the proposal [of marriage] Na-ts'ai 納采 was the first of the five preliminary rites in a marriage. It was the ancient technical term for proposing an engagement, from Yi-li 4: 1a (Steele, I, 18), "When the [prospective] bride's [parents] have made known [their willingness], in presenting (na) [the announcement that the girl] had been chosen (ts'ai), a wild goose is employed." Cheng Hsüan comments, "After the girl's family has agreed, [the boy's parents] send a person to present (na) the rites of her choosing and selection (ts'ai-tse 擇), using a wild goose as an offering." Chia Kung-yen (fl. 640-655) adds, "Na (to present) means that the person who is doing the presenting, [the representative of the boy's parents], fears that the girl's family will not accept [the announcement], similar to the principle of nei 内 and na [to present a lady to a noble's harem] in the Spring and Autumn, when, if [the noble] approves, she is presented. Ts'ai (to select) means that the person who is doing the presenting, because [the girl] is newly chosen and selected (ts'ai-tse), fears that the girl's family will not agree to [the engagement]. Hence he calls it a na (presentation)." The five preliminary rites in marriage were: (1) "the presentation of the choice [to the girl's parents] (na-ts'ai), (2) the request for the [girl's] given name (ch'ing-ming), (3) the presentation of the lucky [divination concerning the marriage] (na-chi), (4) the presentation of the betrothal presents (na-cheng), and (5) the request to fix a date [for the marriage] (ch'ing-ch'i)" Legge, Li Ki, II, 428; Couvreur, Li Ki, II, 641-42. The sixth and final rite was "the [groom] in person fetching [the bride, bringing her to his ancestral home] (ch'in-ying)," cf. Steele, op. cit., I, 18ff; Po-hu-t'ung 9: 2b-3b. and to interview the girl. They returned and memorialized, saying, "The daughter of the Duke has been imbued with virtue and culture and has a beautiful and fascinating appearance, so that it would be proper for her to continue the heavenly Wang Hsien-ch'ien states that the Official ed. is correct in emending 大 to 天. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. succession and uphold the [imperial] sacrifices."

There was an imperial edict sending the Grand Master Over the Masses, [Ma Kung], and the Grand Minister of Works, [Chen Feng], to inform in an official document [the imperial ancestors in the imperial] ancestral temples and in various ways to perform divination by the tortoise-shell and by the stalks. They reported unanimously, "The cracks upon the tortoise-shell which occurred were [a prognostic] that metal and water will flourish and assist. The diagram formed by the stalks which occurred was that the father and mother will occupy [their due] positions, Fu Ch'ien says, "[According to] the rules for the cracks upon the tortoise-shell, crosswise ones are earth; vertical ones are wood; slanting ones in the direction of the grain are metal; [slanting ones] across [the grain] are fire; those that accomodate themselves to the tortoise-shell and are slightly curved are water." (Quoted by Ch'ien Ta-chao). Wang(2) 王 should here be read as wang(4) 旺; these words were interchanged. In his comment on Mencius II, ii, i, 1, (Legge, p. 208), "Heaven's times are not as good as Earth's advantages," Chao Ch'i (108-201 A.D.) says, " `Heaven's times' means the time and the day when the branches and stems and five elements wang-hsiang 王相 (flourish and assist), or are absent in that ten-day week or are the two middle days of a ten-day week." (The phrase wang-hsiang is also found in Lun-heng 1: 12b, ch. 3 [Forke, I, 148] where it is applied to people. For an explanation of ku-hsü 孤虛, cf. P'ei Yin's comment on these words in SC 128: 29.) The Meng-tzu Cheng-yi (quoted in Meng-tzu Chu-su 4 A: 1b), attributed to Sun Shih (compiled before the xii cent.) explains that the element metal flourishes (wang(4)) for the branches szu, wu, wei, shen, and yu and the element water flourishes (wang(4)) for the branches shen, yu, hsü, hai, and tzu. Hence the prognostication was shen and yu, for these branches are in both lists. Yet the marriage was performed on the day (A: 17a), so that there must have been a separate divination to determine the day of marriage. Chang Yen says, " `Father and mother' means hexagram [no. 11], t'ai (泰), [which has the trigram] ch'ien [male, heaven, etc.] below and [the hexagram] k'un [female, earth, etc.] above. Heaven is lower than Earth---this is the hexagram for mating and enjoying." Lin Pin however ridicules this interpretation, "I say that it nevertheless means `[Her] father and mother [shall] obtain [high] position.' How could he know that this was the hexagram t'ai?" Perhaps Chang Yen understood divination better than Liu Pin did. which may be said to be a response [presaging] prosperity and security, a portent of great good fortune."

The Marquis of Hsin-hsiang, [Liu] T'ung(2b), presented [to the throne a memorial], saying, "[According to] the Spring and Autumn, when the Son of Heaven was about to take [a bride from the state of] Chi(6), he rewarded the Viscount of Chi with the title of Marquis. In the Spring and Autumn, Dk. Yin, II (721 B.C.), (Legge, p. 8), there is mentioned a "Tzu-po of Chi(6)紀子伯." In a note to Tso-chuan 2: 17a, Tu Yü (221-284) declares, "Tzu-po is the style of Lieh-hsü 裂繻 [a grandee of Chi(6), mentioned in the same chapter of the Tso-chuan]." But the Kung-yang Commentary (iii cent. B.C.) 2: 3b, commenting upon the same passage, says, "Who was Tzu-po of Chi(6)? It has not been reported." According to the Ku-liang Commentary 1: 6b, the phrase in the Spring and Autumn, "Chi Tzu-po," was sometimes interpreted as "The Viscount of Chi treated [the Viscount of Lü] as his elder." This latter interpretation underlies the passage in the HS. The Spring and Autumn, Dk. Huan II, vii, (710 B.C.), (Legge, p. 39) mentions "the Marquis of Chi," and Ying Shao, in a note to HS 18: 1b, explains, "[The ruler of the state of] Chi had originally the title of Viscount, hence [the Son of Heaven] previously rewarded him and made him a marquis. It means that [true] kings do not take a bride from small states." In a note to the Kung-yang Commentary 4: 5a, explaining the latter passage of the Spring and Autumn, Ho Hsiu (129-182) glosses, "That he is entitled a marquis is [because], when the Son of Heaven was about to take [a bride from the state of] Chi, he gave [this title to its Viscount] since with her he would uphold his ancestral temple [sacrifices] and transmit them without end, than which nothing is greater. Hence he was enfeoffed [with a territory] of a hundred li [square]." There were thus two interpretations of the phase Chi Tzu-po. The estate of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], is not yet conformable to [this] ancient regulation."

The matter was referred to the high officials, and all advised, "Anciently, the Son of Heaven enfeoffed the father of his Empress [with a fief] a hundred li [square]; he honored [his father-in-law] and did not treat him as his subject, in order to give importance to his ancestral temple. It was the extreme of filial piety. [Liu] T'ung's advice is in conformity with the rites and may be approved. We beg that [Wang] Mang be additionally enfeoffed with the 25,600 ch'ing of cultivated fields in [the county of] Hsin-yeh, [in order that he may have] a full hundred li." HS 24 A: 2b declares that six feet made a pu 步 (double pace) and a hundred pu made a mou 畝, i.e., an area 1 pu wide and 100 pu long. This was probably the ancient mou and the Han pu. Teng Chang (fl. ca. 208), in a note to HS 24 A: 18a remarks, "Anciently [cf. also Li Hsien's note to HHS, Mem. 39: 17a], a hundred pu made a mou, [but] in Han times 240 pu made a mou. 1200 ancient mou then made five present [Han] ch'ing 頃," i.e., if the ancient and Han foot were of the same length, 1200 ancient mou were equal to 500 Han mou, since the Han ch'ing contained 100 mou. Since the Han foot was 9.09 in. (Eng. meas.) long, and the Han mou was one Han pu wide and 240 Han pu long, a Han mou contained 0.114 acre or 4.61 ar. A ch'ing was then 11.4 acres or 4.61 hectares. The fields of Hsin-yeh, 25,600 ch'ing, were then 291,840 acres or 118,016 ha. "A full hundred li [square]" thus refers to the whole of his holdings. The Han li 里 does not seem to have been based on the Han mou, but on the pu. Anciently, the li was the length of one side of a ching 井, i.e., 300 pu; the Han li was 300 Han pu long. HS 24 A: 2b states that an [ancient] ching was one li square and contained 900 [ancient] mou. The same passage states that a mou was one pu wide and a hundred pu long, so that a ching was 300 pu square. Li-chi III, v, 19 (Legge, I, 244; Couvreur I, 320) and Han-shih Wai-chuan 4: 7b (from which HS 24 A: 2b probably took its information) declare directly that a ching was 300 pu square. The latter and the HS assert that a pu was six feet long. Since the Han foot was 9.094 inches (Eng. measure) long (cf. HFHD, I, ch. IV, app. II, p. 279), the li was 1364 feet Eng. measure or 415.8 meters long. This length can be confirmed from a study by Ch'ou Tsai-lu in the Chinese Historical Geography Magazine (Yü-kung), Sept. 16, 1935, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 12, in which he points out that the HS states the distance from Yarkhand (Sha-ch'ê) to Guma (P'i-shan) to be 380 li, while it is measured at 155 km.; from Guma to Yotkan (Yü-tien) is 380 li, which is 150 km., so that a li must have been 408 or 400 m. Thus our deduction from HS 24 A concerning the li is confirmed; that conclusion also confirms our figure for the size of a mou. Cf. W. Eberhard, "Zur Landwirtschaft der Han-Zeit," MSOS, v. 35 (1932), p. 98, and his "Bemerkungen zu statistischen Angaben der Han-Zeit," T'oung Pao, 36 (1940), 2-4. This conclusion concerning the size of the mou and li applies only to Han times, more exactly, to Wang Mang's time. According to Li-chi III, v, 21 (Legge I, 246; Couvreur, I, 323), in Chou times the pu contained eight feet, so that writers, assuming a foot of the Han length, calculated the Chou mou and li to have been larger than in Han times; but such need not actually to have been the case.

[Wang] Mang excused himself, saying, "Your subject Mang's daughter is really not fit to be mated to the most honorable person [i.e., the Emperor]. I furthermore have heard about the discussions of the many [officials concerning] an increase in my en- feoffment. I, your subject Mang, myself humbly meditate that I have been permitted to rely upon [the fact that I am] a distant relative [of the throne] Wang Nien-sun, in a note to HS 36: 17a, states that both the words fei(1)-fu(1) 肺腑 mean bark (or shavings, splinters). Shuo-wen 6 A: 3b defines p'o 朴 as bark (or shavings) 木皮, and ibid. 7b defines fei(2) 柿 as a scraped wooden writing block. Wang Nien-sun asserts that fei(1) is borrowed for fei(2) (giving examples); that 桴, fu(2) 附 and p'o (also pronounced pu), all of which are used as the second word of this phrase, are close in pronunciation; and that fu(1) is used for fu(2). The phrase fei-fu "means that he considered himself as an unimportant relative of the imperial house, just as bark is a part of a tree (or the shavings were part of a wooden writing block)." Liu Hsiang uses this phrase of himself in 36: 17a; in 36: 29b he speaks of himself as "having fortunately been permitted to attach himself as one of the least of [the imperial] relatives," which passage is parallel to this expression. This phrase fei-fu is also used in ch. 52: 5a and SC 107: 10 sub T'ien Fen; HS ch. 53 sub King Ching of Chung-shan; ch. 55 sub Wei Ch'ing; ch. 80; ch. 86 sub Shih1 Tan; SC 19: 3 (MH III, 148); HHS, Mem. 2 sub Lu Fang. The foregoing interpretation follows that of Szu-ma Cheng in SC 19: 3, who takes it from Yen Chih-t'ui's (531-ca. 591) Yen-shih Chia-hsün B: 23a, b; ch. 17 (q.v.). It is strongly attacked by Chang Shou-chieh in a note to SC 107: 10, where he follows an ancient interpretation quoted by Yen Shih-ku in HS 36: 17a and 52: 5a, which states, " `Fei1-fu(1)' means that the liver and lungs are close to each other, as if one said, `heart and spine'. " He quotes Ku Yeh-wang (519-581) "Fei(1)-fu(1) [means the same as] belly and heart." In a note to SC 19: 3, Takigawa states that it was an expression peculiar to Han times, not seen in the Books of Odes, of History, the Tso-chuan or the Kuo-Yü, and was used to denote close relatives. Cf. Tz'u-tung, I, 1313-1314. But this latter interpretation, which makes Wang Mang boast that he is a close relative, is not at all humble. According to Han Confucian theory, close imperial relatives ought to be given high office (HFHD, II, 292). Wang Mang is not claiming a right, but humbly mentioning the favors granted him. Wang Nien-sun must be correct in this case. and have [thus] attained noble rank and lands. If my daughter is really capable of supporting and according with your sage virtue, the estate of your subject Mang is [yet] sufficient to make offerings for the tribute at the court; it is not necessary again to give me the favor of added territory. I wish to return what was to be added." The [Grand] Empress Dowager approved it.

The high officials memorialized that, [according to] ancient practises, an empress was betrothed [with a gift of] twenty thousand catties of actual gold, Han-chiu-yi B: 2a declares, "The Emperor bethroths his Empress with ten thousand catties of actual gold." HHS, An, 10 B: 6a says, "Thereupon altogether according to the former practice of the presents for an Empress [in the case of] the Empress [nee Chang of Emperor] Hsiao-hui, she was betrothed with twenty thousand catties of actual gold." Sung-shu 14: 4a states that in A.D. 287, a Master of Writing, Chu Cheng, asserted "According to the regulation of the Empress of [Emperor] Kao of the Han dynasty, an empress is betrothed with two hundred catties of actual gold and twelve horses and Ladies with fifty catties of gold and four horses." Shen Ch'in-han notes this statement and adds that the Sung-shu is correct. which would be two hundred million cash. [Wang] Mang declined it and asked strongly that it be given to others, [but] received forty million [cash] and gave thirty-three million [cash] of that [sum] to the families of [the Emperor's] eleven concubines, [who were to accompany the Empress].

Various courtiers again said, "Now the betrothal presents received for the Empress barely surpass those for the various concubines." [So] there was an imperial edict again increasing [the gift to Wang Mang] by twenty-three million [cash, making it] altogether thirty million [cash. Wang] Mang again used ten million [cash] of that [sum] to divide among the poor persons in his nine [sets of] relatives.

Ch'en Ch'ung was at that time Director of Justice to the Grand Minister over the Masses, [Ma Kung], and was good friends with Chang Ch'ang's grandson, [Chang] Sung. [Chang] Sung was a gentlemen of wide learning, and drafted for [Ch'en] Ch'ung a memorial praising the achievements and virtuous conduct of [Wang] Mang, which [Ch'en] Ch'ung memorialized. It said,

"[According to] the opinion of your unworthy servant, from the time that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty first `brought his bundle of dried flesh [and began studying],' A phrase from Analects VII, vii. he has been placed in an age when customs have been highly extravagent and luxurious, has had the high favor of being allied in flesh and blood to [the occupants of] two palaces, [Emperor Ch'eng and the Grand Empress Dowager nee Wang], and has been covered with the illustrious brilliance of his various uncles. His wealth has been great and his power abundant, so that his will was unopposed.

"Yet he has humbled himself, lived a life of kindness and goodness, vanquished his desires, and walked in the path of proper conduct, resisting the age and correcting its customs, standing firmly alone, [wearing] poor clothes and [eating] poor food, with a shabby carriage and sorry horses, with one consort and no other [woman]. No one of the multitude has failed to hear of [the wonderful conditions] within the doors of his inner apartments and of his virtues of filial piety and friendliness. He is quiescent, rejoicing in the Way, gentle and good, and associating with worthy inferiors. He is kindly to his old friends and servitors and faithful to his teachers and associates. Confucius said, `No [one] is as good as the man who is poor and yet happy, rich and yet loves the rules of proper conduct,' Analects I, xv, 1. which indeed applies to the Duke.

"When he was a Palace Attendant and the former Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-yn Chang, committed the crime of treason, the Duke did not presume to keep it to himself [but] advocated that [his cousin] should be punished. The Duke of Chou executed [the King's Uncles] of Kuan and of Ts'ai and Master Chi [Yu] poisoned Shu Ya, For these events, cf. Glossary, sub these names. which [precedent] indeed denotes that the Duke [is like these sages].

"For this reason, Emperor Hsiao-ch'eng gave the Duke a mandate to be his Commander-in-chief, entrusting him with the government of the state. When [Emperor] Hsiao-ai ascended the throne, the Marquis of Kao-ch'ang, Tung Hung, divined the desires [of the Concubine nee Ting] and sought for her approbation [by suggesting that the Emperor's natural mother, this Concubine nee Ting, should be given the title belonging to his imperial mother, instead of recognizing that Emperor Ai was the adopted son of his predecessor, hence his natural mother could not be his imperial mother. Tung Hung thus actually proposed] creating two lines of [imperial] descent. [But] the Duke in person impeached [Tung Hung] and thereby established a fundamental principle [of government]. He advocated that it was not proper for the Queen Dowager [nee Fu] of Ting-t'ao to have [her canopy and seat beside] the imperial Ts'ai Yung, in his Tu-tuan, A: 2b, explains that sheng-Yü 乘與 and ch'e-chia 車駕 came to mean merely "imperial" or "Emperor." canopy and seat [of the Grand Empress Dowager], Cf. 99 A: 2b, 3a. in order to make plain the constitution of the state. The Book of Odes says, `The weak he did not devour And the powerful he did not eject; He did not insult widowers or widows Nor fear the strong or resistful,' Book of Odes, # 260; III, iii, vi, 5 (Legge, p. 544). The Mao text reads 矜 for the HS's ###. Two other variations are merely substitute characters. The Sung Ch'i ed. remarks that the Academy ed. (1005) and the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) omit the third line. which indeed applies to the Duke.

"He firmly held to humility and expressed his sincerity in yielding his position. When the Queen Dowager [nee Fu] of Ting-t'ao wanted to secure for herself the usurped title [of Empress Dowager], she feared his sense of duty which [made him] rebuke her to her face [for placing] her canopy and seat [next to that of the Grand Empress Dowager]. Flattering and misleading braves, [such as] Chu Po and his sort, were restrained by the other fact that [Wang Mang] had in person impeached [Shun-Yü] Chang and [Tung] Hung. [Hence] superiors and inferiors were united in calumniating, injuring, and causing confusion, so that they violated and perverted the regulations, and [the Queen Dowager] succeeded in usurping the title [of Grand Empress Dowager]. They drove away [men of] stable benevolence and executed [the imperial] relatives by marriage [who were related to the preceding emperor, so that] the Duke suffered the calumny [undergone by Wu Yüan Tzu]-hsü and [Ch'ü] Yüan, and was caused to go far away to his state [of Hsin-tu(c)]. The court and the government were collapsing in ruins, the main and subordinate [dynastic] principles were going to pieces, and the calamity of the overthrow [of the dynasty] remained suspended by no more than a hair. The Book of Odes says, `When [capable] men flee, The state is exhausted and at the point of ruin,' Book of Odes, #264; III, iii, x, 5 (Legge, p. 563). One character there is written differently from in the Mao text. which applies indeed to the Duke.

"At this time, [when Emperor Ai had died], there was no heir in the [imperial] palaces; Tung Hsien(2a) occupied the most important [position], added to which the Fu clan had the assistance of their daughter, [who was the Empress]. They all themselves knew that they had offended the country and had a feud with [the royal family in the kingdom of] Chung-shan, so that it would have been necessary for [the Fu and Ting clans] to be `one in' their worries, protect each other by [the power which enables a person] to `shatter metal [bars]', Phrases from the Book of Changes, App. III, Sect. 1, ch. 8, 43 (Legge, p. 362), "When two men are one in heart Their power shatters metal [bars]." utilize a forged testamentary edict [of Emperor Ai], make frequent use of rewards and punishments, first eliminate those whom they dreaded and hastily introduce [to office] those who were attached [to them], then make false accusations against [those against whom they had] long standing grudges, [i.e., the clan of Emperor P'ing], and furthermore repress [even] distant [imperial] relatives. If the circumstances had developed and occurred [after this manner], it would not have been difficult [for the Fu and Ting clans to seize the power of the government]. The Sung Ch'i ed. asserted that 徵 should be 懲, after 其 there should be the word 然, and the 矣 should be excised. The Ching-yu ed. has the first of these changes.

"Thanks to the Duke, who at once entered [the court, Tung] Hsien2a was immediately made to retire, together with his clique and relatives. At this time, the Duke acted by his own brilliant insight and wielded an unprecedented majesty. He lifted his eyebrows with a stern air and disseminated a martial ardor. Taking advantage of the fact that [Tung Hsien2a] was not secure [in his position], he crushed him before he could move. Like a thunderbolt he set in motion the mechanism [of government] and his enemies were broken. Even if [Meng] Pen or [Hsia] Yü had been [there], they would not have [had time] to take up [their weapons] and touch him; even if Shu-li [Chi] had been [there], he would not have had time to use his wits; even if [the Master of] the Demon Valley had been [there], he would have been unequal to such rapid [action]. For this reason Tung Hsien2a lost his spirit and committed suicide by strangling. People did not [have time] to turn around, the sun did not [have time to] move on the sun-dial, when suddenly on all [sides, the conspirators] were eliminated, [things were] changed and it became a peaceful court.

"Without your Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager], no one could have presented [for appointment] and given [office] to the Duke; without the Duke no one could have vanquished this calamity.

The Book of Odes says, `Verily, the [Grand] Master was Shang-fu, [Lü Shang]. He was an eagle, a hawk, Assisting King Wu; Book of Odes, #236; III, i, ii, 8 (Legge, p. 436). and Confucius said, `With promptness you will have success;' Analects XVII, vi. which indeed apply to the Duke.

"Hence the Duke thereupon advised [the Grand Empress Dowager] to receive the former Chancellor of [the kingdom of] Szu-shui, [Chen] Feng, and the Prefect of T'ai, [Chen] Han, together with the Grand Minister over the Masses, [K'ung] Kuang, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, [Wang] Shun(4b), [and have them] propose and plan [the enthronement of the Emperor who should care for the dynasty's] altars to the gods of the soils and grains, go eastwards, bearing credentials, and invite [the present Emperor to ascend the throne]. All of them received enfeoffment or additional territory because of their achievements and virtuous conduct and became famous officials of the state. The Book of History says, `One who knows people is wise,' Book of History, II, iii, ii, 2 (Legge, p. 70). which applies to the Duke.

"The ministers all sighed after the Duke's virtue and all honored the Duke's signal services, [saying that] they were equal to those of the Duke of Chou, so that it would be proper to grant him the title of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty and to increase his enfeoffment by two counties, [but] the Duke would not accept any of them. A book says, `Shen Pao-hsü would not receive the reward for having preserved [the state of] Ch'u,' For this event, cf. Tso-chuan, Dk. Ting, V, (Legge, p. 760). We have not been able to find this quotation. and `Yen [Ying] P'ing-chung would not receive the enfeoffment for having acted as [chief] assistant [in the government of the state of] Ch'i.' Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu 6: 17b, sect. 19, states that when the Duke of Ch'i wanted to enfeoff Master Yen, the latter replied, " `From [the time of the Foreseen] Grand Duke, [Lü Shang], to your own [time], Duke, there have been several tens of Dukes. If people were able to obtain [noble] estates [merely] by delighting their princes, they would not have waited until your [time], Duke, to hasten to Ch'i and strive [with each other] in seeking promotion and lands [in such great numbers that] it would have been impossible for them to get a foothold or lodging there.' . . . Thereupon he did not accept [the enfeoffment]." Perhaps the foregoing is the passage that is loosely quoted here. Confucius said, `If [a prince] is able to rule his state in accordance with the rules of proper conduct and yielding [to others], what [difficulty] will he have?', Analects IV, xiii. which apply to the Duke.

"When they were about to determine upon and establish an Empress-consort for the Emperor, the high officials sent up [to the Grand Empress Dowager] the names [of suitable girls], the first of whom was the daughter of the Duke, [and] and had no resource, and then only did he accept the imperial edict [ordering his daughter to be Empress]. The love between father and child is a Heaven-[endowed quality of human] nature and spontaneous; [a father] desires glory and honor for his [child] much more than for himself. The honor of being Empress is equal to that of being the Son of Heaven. The opportunity [offered to his daughter] at that time is rare [even] in a thousand years. Yet the Duke thought of the great principles of the state and yielded up the favor of the greatest blessing. In all matters he was humble, and, [whatever was done, he firmly refused [honors]. The Book of History says, `Shun [wished to] yield to someone more virtuous, and was not delighted [at the prospect of taking the throne],' Book of History, II, i, iii, 3 (Legge, 32). Wang Nien-sun declares that the text should read yi(2) 怡 or 台 instead of szu 嗣. Yen Shih-ku explains szu. The ancient text of the Book of History read szu and the modern text read yi(2). The HS regularly quotes the modern text. SC 1:32 (Mh I, 56) quotes this verse from the Book of History with the word yi(5) 懌 (which means the same as yi(2)), and Hsü Kuang (ca. 352-425) glosses, "The modern text Book of History reads yi(2). Yi(2) is yi(5)." Szu-ma Cheng (fl. 713-742) adds, "The ancient text reads szu; the modern text reads yi(2)." SC 130: 30 also quotes this passage with yi(2). HHS, Mem. 30 B: 11a and the Wen-hsüan 48: 24b, in Pan Ku's "Tien-yin," quote this verse with yi(2); Li Shan (vii cent.), in his comment, quotes the same verse with szu and adds, "Wei Chao (197-273/4) says, `[According to] the ancient text, yi(2) is szu.' " In a note to HHS,is verse is written with yi(2) and the HS Yin-yi (probably the one written by Wei Chao) states that yi(2) is to be read as szu. Wang Nien-sun concludes that according to the above evidence, the HS text which both Li Shan and Li Hsien saw read yi(2) and Yen Shih-ku altered it to szu to agree with the ancient text of the Book of History, explaining the meaning accordingly. Cf. also Karlgren BMFEA 20, 76, Gl. 1253. which applies indeed to the Duke.

"From the time that the Duke received his charter Cf. 99 A: 6b. down to the present, he has been indefatigable and orderly, daily renewing his virtue. He has added to and cultivated his whole life, so that he might issue the [proper] commands to the nobles; he has followed "Issue commands to the nobles" is a reminiscence of Book of Odes IV, iii, v, 4, line 5 (Legge, p. 645; his translation is unsatisfactory). The Tz'u-hai defines hsia-kuo as "the feudal nobles." Yen Shih-ku asserts that ch'ün 逡 means to retire, but Wang Yin-chih (1766-1834) replies that because of the parallelism Yen Shih-ku's interpretation is mistaken; ch'ün should be read as tsun 遵 (follow); anciently ch'ün and tsun were interchanged; the Erh-ya 1: 6a interprets tsun by hsün 循 and the Fang-yen 2: 6b interprets ch'ün by hsün. Sun Hsing-yen (1743-1818) in his Yen-tzu Ch'un-ch'iu Yin-yi B: 34b, sub ch. 7, states that tsun-hsün means ch'ün-巡, identifying ch'ün and tsun. economy and exalted moderation, so that he might correct the customs of the age. He has diminished his wealth and disparaged his family, so that he might lead his many subordinates; he has humbled himself and held firmly to equity, so that he might influence the ministers. He has taught children and has honored scholarship, so that he might raise the development of the state. His slaves have worn plain cloth The Official ed. emends by interchanging and reads pu-yi 布衣. Wang Wen-pin (xix cent.) however points out that this phrase is from Tso-chuan, Dk. Ch'eng, XVI (Legge, p. 3947, 399b), which states that Viscount Wen of Chi, Chi-sun Hang-fu, "has had no concubines who wore silk (yi-po) nor horses who ate grain"; hence, because of parallelism, the phrase should be yi-pu, not pu-yi. and his horses have not been fed grain, and the expense for his food and drink has not surpassed that of ordinary people. The Book of Odes says, `One must be mild and humble As if perched upon trees;' Book of Odes, #196; II, v, ii, 6 (Legge, p. 335). Yen Shih-ku repeats the Mao interpretation of this couplet, so I have adopted it as the Han interpretation, although Karlgren's rendering (BMFEA, 16, p. 106) is better. and Confucius said, `In his food he should not seek for satiety and in his dwelling he should not seek for comfort;' Analects, I, xiv. which indeed apply to the Duke.

"He has denied his person and was himself frugal, buying food [only] to the point of what has been necessary. For all articles he has depended upon the market-place, daily emptying [his bins] and keeping no stores. Yen Shih-ku explains, "He did not engage in the production of [food or goods], so that he did not take their profits away from the merchants." In this respect, he imitated Tou Tzu-wen; cf. n. 12.11. He furthermore sent a letter to the throne [asking to be permitted] to return the estate with which Emperor Hsiao-ai had additionally enfeoffed him and to pay Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. (1530) have chin 金 after the 入. But the Ching-yu ed. does not have the chin. The reference is to 99 A: 7b, where only cash and no gold or equivalent of gold (chin) is mentioned. cash [to the government] and to offer his cultivated fields. He entirely exhausted his former possessions in order to lead the many [officials in making contributions]. Thereupon small and great [turned] towards him in harmony, accepting his influence and following his example; outside [the court], kings, the highest ministers, That kung 公 here means the three highest ministers is shown by the expression 三公 in the similar list in 84: 12a. and the full marquises, and within [the court, the occupants of the imperial] canopies and the imperial attendants, harmoniously and at the same time, each exhausted his possessions. Some paid gold and cash and some offered cultivated fields and acres to assist the impoverished and exhausted and to provide for and support those who had not sufficient [to live on]. Anciently, what the Chief Governor [Tou] Tzu-wen had in the morning did not last until night, In Kuo-Yü 18: 7a, Tou Ch'ieh says, "Anciently Tou Tzu-wen three times resigned [the position of] Chief Governor. He did not have one day's supplies, because he pitied the common people. King Ch'eng [of Ch'u] heard that what [Tou] Tzu-wen had in the morning did not last until night. Therefore every morning he had prepared one bundle of dried flesh and one basket of parched grain, in order to nourish [Tou] Tzu-wen. Down to the present, the Chief Governor has it for his salary." For Kung-yi Hsiu, cfGlossary. sub voce. and Master Kung-yi [Hsiu] of Lu would not eat mallow from his garden [in order not to deprive gardeners of their profit], which indeed applies to the Duke.

"He opened his gates and invited in gentlemen and [those of lower rank] down to [the occupants of] plain houses. Yen Shih-ku explains, " `Plain houses' means the people, who use white grass (quitch-grass) 白茅 to cover their houses." Ch'eng Ta-ch'ang however declares, "Anciently there were regulations concerning [the color of] palace buildings. Officials were not under those requirements, so their buildings exposed the natural [color] of their materials, for it was not necessary to add any colors or ornaments. These were the `plain houses.' When [Yen] Shih-ku says that white quitch-grass covered the building, he is in error." He has frequently inspected court affairs, has controlled all the administration, and has himself interviewed the [Provincial] Governors and [Commandery] Administrators and those of lower [rank], investigating their whole life, until he had made plain those to be promoted and demoted. The Book of Odes says, `He never slackened, day or night, In serving the ruler,' Book of Odes, #260; III, iii, vi, 4 (Legge, p. 543). and the Book of Changes says, `[The superior man] all day is active and vigilant, and in the evening still careful and apprehensive of evil,' Book of Changes, Hex. I, 3 (Legge, p. 57; Wilhelm, I, 4). which indeed apply to the Duke.

"During three successive reigns he has been [one of] the three highest ministers and has twice been in charge of accompanying the imperial funeral cortege. He has held the position of prime minister and has pacified and tranquillized the state. The radii of [all within] the four seas have converged Wang Hsien-ch'ien asserts that 奏 is mistaken; the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. instead read 湊. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. [in him] and nothing has failed to be given its [proper] place. The Book of History says, `[Shun] was received as the chief director [of the administration], and, amidst violent wind, thunder, and rain, he did not go astray,' Book of History, II, i, iii, 2 (Legge, p. 32). The use of Ta-lu 大麓 in HS 99 B: 6b shows that in Wang Mang's time the K'ung An-kuo interpretation of that phrase (which Legge rejects, cf. his trans., p. 32, note, also Karlgren BMFEA 20, 75, Gl. 1251) was accepted. Yen Shih-ku prefers it in his comment. which indeed refers to the Duke.

"All the foregoing have been rare in very ancient times and would be difficult, [even] for Yü and [Prince] Millet, yet the Duke encompassed its entirety, `containing the one pervading principle.' Said by Confucius of himself in Analects IV, xv, 1. The `one principle' which unified Confucius' teaching is there stated to have been, "Integrity and reciprocity," i.e., the Golden Rule. He may indeed be said to be perfect.

"For this reason, in the course of [these] three years, his influence has affected [people] like that of a god and auspicious presages have repeatedly succeeded [each other]. Is this not the result of your Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager], being able to know people and having obtained a most capable [person]? Hence not only has the prince received the mandate [of Heaven, but] also the lives of your courtiers have indeed not been in vain. The point is that good ministers have been able to carry out their conceptions of good government. For such a [reason] Prince `Yü was presented a dark-colored jade tablet' Presented by Yao to Yü at the completion of the latter's work upon the waters (according to the K'ung An-kuo interpretation); Book of History III, i, ii, 23 (Legge, p. 150; Couvreur, p. 89). and the Duke of Chou received [the privilege of] being sacrificed to [after his death] with the suburban sacrifice. Li-chi XII, 6-9 (Legge, II, 32; Couvreur, I, 729) states that King Ch'eng granted to the Duke of Chou to be sacrificed to with the ceremonies and songs reserved to the Son of Heaven. Verily, since [these rulers] reported [to Heaven the great deeds of those] sent by Heaven, they did not presume to arrogate to themselves the merit [that came from] Heaven.

"When we estimate the upright character of the Duke, it is a model for the empire, and when we look at the achievements of the Duke, they are a foundation for ten thousand generations. If a foundation has been laid and the reward is not appropriate to it, and if a model has been established and the recompense is not in accord, [such a condition] is verily not the way to help the state or to obey the will of Heaven.

"Emperor Kao rewarded and recompensed [those persons who had performed] the greatest services. His Chancellor of State, Hsiao Ho, both [was given] twice [as many] households for his estate [as others had] and also received special ritual privileges: of not [needing to use] his personal name in memorializing matters and of not [being required to] hasten in entering the [Palace] Hall. Cf. HS 39: 4b. More than ten of his relatives by marriage were enfeoffed. Since [Emperor Kao] rejoiced without satiation in goodness, the recompenses he made were not parsimonious. If [a person propounded] one [good] plan, [Emperor Kao] invariably [gave that person] noble rank. For this reason, [although] the position of Kung-sun Jung was [merely] that of a Gentleman, he was selected from [among] the standard-bearers when he had once explained [the conduct] of Fan K'uai, and was enfeoffed [with the income of] two thousand households. Cf. Glossary, sub Kung-sun Jung.

"Emperor Hsiao-wen rewarded the Marquis of Chiang, [Chou P'o], by adding to his enfeoffment [the income of] ten thousand households and granting him five thousand catties of actual gold. Emperor Hsiao-wu favored and recorded military achievements, so allocated thirty thousand households wherewith to enfeoff Wei Ch'ing; [Wei] Ch'ing's three sons, some of whom were in swaddling clothes, all became full marquises. Emperor Hsiao-hsüan made Ho Kuang distinguished and brilliant, adding to the households [of his estate] and commanding [that his descendants should have] the same [rank and estate as the founder of the house]; three persons [in his clan] were enfeoffed, [enfeoffments] being extended to the grandsons of his elder [half]-brother [Ho Ch'ü-ping]. The three enfeoffments in honor of Ho Kuang were: his son, Ho Yü, as Marquis of Po-lu, on Apr. 27, 68 (HS 18: 11a); Ho Shan, grandson of Ho Ch'u-ping, as Marquis of Lo-ping on May 14, 68 (18: 9a), at the special request of Ho Kuang, in order to continue the ancestral sacrifices of a noble to Ho Ch'ü-ping (68: 11a); and Ho Yün, elder brother of Ho Shan, as Marquis of Kuan-yang, on Apr. 24, 67 (18: 9b). Cf. A. Jongchell, Huo Kuang och hans Tid, pp. 150, 194, 195, 197, 205.

"Now at the time of the Marquis of Chiang, [Chou P'o], because of the firmness of the Han [dynasty's] tributary [kings], thru the obstinate courage of the [Marquis of] Chu-hsü, [Liu Chang(1a),] by the support of the various generals who surrounded [the Empress Dowager nee Lü], and by the aid of the power of mutual assistance [of these persons], altho the project [of the Lü clan] was detestable, they were not able to progress.

"When Ho Kuang entered his position [as Commander-in-chief], the authority of having long held office multiplied the majesty of his great prestige. The Official ed. reads 媵 for 勝. The Ching-yu ed. however reads the latter. [Different from Wang Mang], he never happened upon a situation that he could not handle and that caused him to fall into disfavor Reading 假 as 瑕 at the suggestion of Wang Nien-sun. These two words were anciently interchanged. The reference is to Wang Mang's resignation; cf. 99 A: 3b. and [to be compelled] to leave the court. None of those in charge of matters in the court failed to be of the same [mind as he]; when the break [in the imperial line occurred at the death of Emperor Chao, Ho Kuang had controlled the government] for a long period and his direction of the government had brilliantly illuminated the age. Altho it may be said that he distinguished himself, he had [those circumstances] to rely upon, so that [his achievement] was moreover [comparatively] easy. Yet he suffered the embarrassment of not being discerning in making his plans by erroneously summoning [the King of Ch'ang-yi, Liu Ho, to the throne].

"As to [Wei] Ch'ing and [Kung-sun] Jung, [the one gained distinction] at the point of his sword, Fu Ch'ien explains, "P'iao 標 has the pronunciation of the p'iao of the tip of a sword"; Shen Ch'in-han points out that in Huai-nan Tzu, 19: 8b, " Hsiu-wu-shun," Kao Yu (fl. 205-212) also declares, "P'iao should be read as the p'iao of a sword," and concludes that in Han times the point of a sword was called p'iao. Hence p'iao is borrowed for ### or 剽, meaning the point of a sword (or the ornament at the tip of a scabbard). Cf. the use of this word in HHS, Tr. 30: 12b(9); Hsün-tzu, 18: 16a(6), ch. 26; and in Ho Hsiu's comment to the Kung-yang Commentary, 7: 9b(6), Dk. Chuang, XIII, winter. [and the other performed] the service of [saying] one word, yet both received a hill-[high] recompense.

"Examining the merits [of the Duke along] with those of [the Marquis of] Chiang, [Chou P'o], and of Ho [Kuang, the first shows] creativeness and [the others] were followers, when compared with [those of Wei] Ch'ing and [Kung-sun] Jung, [the Duke's merits are as different] as earth is from heaven. The Duke, moreover, also performed the service of controlling the government, hence he ought to be elevated to be equal in greatness and glory with Prince Yü and the Duke of Chou, and should receive the [same] reward and recompense that they did. Why should he be only discussed at the same time as those others just mentioned, [the Marquis of Chiang, Ho Kuang, Wei Ch'ing, and Kung-sun Jung]? Yet he has not yet obtained nor received the generosity [received by Wei] Ch'ing and the others. Your servant is verily mystified by this [circumstance].

"Your servant has heard that, when services are measureless, the recompense should be boundless, and that when virtuous conduct is peerless, rewards should be unrestrained. This is the reason for King Ch'eng's [treatment] of Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. correctly read 於 for 與. The Ching-yu ed. reads the former. the Duke of Chou, which passed beyond the limits of a hundred li [of territory] and overpassed the restrictions of the nine distinctions, Cf. HFHD II, 47, n. 9.2; 99 A: 22b. creating a territory of seven hundred li [in extent], including both the people of [the states of] Shang and Yen(3a), and granting him to have as his vassals the six clans from [the state of the] Yin [dynasty], Tso-chuan, 54: 8b, Dk. Ting, IV, (Legge, p. 754), enumerates these six clans as "the T'iao 條 clan, the Hsü 徐 clan, the Hsiao 蕭 clan, the So 索 clan, the Ch'ang-sho 長勺 clan, and the Wei-sho 尾勺 clan." `the great chariot, Cf. Mh III, 225. the great banner, [the great bow], Fan-jo, [belonging to] Feng-fu, the semi-circular jade tablet [used by] the Sovereign of the Hsia [dynasty, Yü], a [Grand] Intercessor, a [Master of the Ducal] Clan, a [Grand] Augur, a [Grand] Astrologer, the appendages [of state, a ducal] code and institutes, officials, high and low, vases for offering liquors [in the ancestral temple, and other] utensils,' The passage in single quotation marks is taken from Tso-chuan 54: 8b, Dk. Ting, IV, (Legge, p. 754). with a white bull as his sacrificial victim, Taken from Li-chi XII, 9 (Legge II, 32; Couvreur, I, 730). and the rites of the suburban [kingly] sacrifices and the sacrifice from a distance. `King [Ch'eng] said, "My uncle, I will establish your eldest son [as Duke of Lu]." ' A quotation from the Book of Odes, IV, ii, iv, 2 (Legge, p. 623). Son and father were both installed in order, and received their [fiefs], which may indeed be called an unrestrained [reward for] measureless [services. But his honors] did not stop merely with these; his six sons were all enfeoffed. Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that the princes of Fan 凡, Chiang 蔣, Hsing 邢, Mao 茅, Tsu 胙, and Ts'ai 祭 were the descendants of the Duke of Chou. His eldest son, Po-ch'in, in addition, succeeded his father as Duke of Lu. Cf. Mh IV, 100, n. 2. The Book of Odes says, `No word but has its answer, `No good deed but has its reward.' Book of Odes, #256; III, iii, ii, 6 (Legge, p. 514). The reward must accord with the [deed]; if it does not accord, it is not a reward.

"When we consider matters done in more recent [times], there is the oath of the Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], that except for [members of] the Liu clan, no [one] should be made a king. Yet the Baronet of P'o, [Wu Jui], was permitted to be King of Ch'ang-sha and [Emperor Kao] promulgated an imperial edict praising him as loyal, establishing and publishing [his position as a permanent] ordinance, Cf. HS 34: 24b. [thus] making plain that where great confidence exists, [the Emperor] should not be held by the regulation [restricting vassal kings to the imperial clan].

"[According to] the Spring and Autumn [in Mr. Tso's Commentary], Duke Tao of Chin employed the plan of Wei Chiang and all of China served and followed him; when the prince of Cheng presented [to Duke Tao] musical [instruments and musicians], Duke Tao thereupon granted half of them to [Wei Chiang. Wei] Chiang declined strongly and asked that they be given to others, [but] the noble [ruler] of Chin said, `But for you, sir, I, your humble servant, would not have been able to cross the [Yellow] River. Verily, rewarding is in the code of the state and cannot be annulled. Do you, sir, receive these [things].' Wei Chiang thereupon possessed musical instruments of metal and stone. Cf. Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang, XI, ix (Legge, p. 453). The Spring and Autumn [in Mr. Tso's Commentary] praises him. It approves [the fact that] he, a subject, was entirely devoted [to his prince] and therefore refused [a reward for] his services, [but] the prince knew his subject, and accordingly rewarded him.

"Now since your Majesty, [Grand Empress Dowager], already knows that the Duke has the achievements and virtuous conduct of the Duke of Chou, The Sung Ch'i ed. says that after the 德 there should be an 而. The Ching-yu ed. however does not have this word. if you do not put into effect the rewards and recompenses [granted by] King Ch'eng, and consequently accept the Duke's firm refusals, not considering the plain meaning of the Spring and Autumn, then how can the common people and your courtiers praise [your deeds], and how can they be recounted to ten thousand generations? In truth, this is not [the way] the state should be governed.

"Your stupid subject considers that it would be appropriate to enlarge the Duke's state, causing it to be like that of the Duke of Chou, and to set up and establish the Duke's [eldest] son [as a noble], causing him to be like Po-ch'in. The articles that are granted to him should also be like those [granted to the son of the Duke or Chou]. The enfeoffments of [the Duke's] various sons should all be like those of the six sons [of the Duke of Chou]. Then your many subordinates will openly offer The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Chekiang ed. (xi-xii cent.) reads 諭 for the 輸 in this and the next sentence. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. their devotion, and the many people will be brilliantly moved by your virtue. If your courtiers really offer The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Chekiang ed. (xi-xii cent.) reads 諭 for the 輸 in this and the next sentence. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. their devotion and if the common people are really moved by your virtue, then which of the deeds of an [ideal] King would be [lacking]?

"I hope that your Majesty will ponder deeply the weighty [deeds] of your [imperial] ancestors, respect and fear the warnings of High Heaven, imitate Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. reads 邢 for 形, but the Ching-yu and Southern Academy ed. read the latter. the gloriousness of Yü [Shun] and of the Chou [dynasty, follow] completely and entirely [the example of] the grants [made] to Po-ch'in, and not be parsimonious [in granting to the Duke] a recompense [similar to that made to] the Duke of Chou, in order that Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that 今 should be 令. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter; Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. read likewise. this law of Heaven may be established and a model may be [set] for later generations. The whole world would [thus] be favored."

The [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] thereupon showed [the memorial] to the various highest ministers. [But] just when the various highest ministers were discussing this matter, it happened that the affair of Lü K'uan arose.

Previously, [Wang] Mang had wanted to arrogate the [imperial] power to himself, so had said to the [Grand] Empress Dowager, "Previously, when Emperor Ai was set up [as Emperor] and went contrary to the favor and beneficence [shown him by you, Grand Empress Dowager, the Emperor] himself raised his maternal relatives, the Ting and Fu [clans], to high rank, who troubled the state, so that they almost destroyed the [dynasty's] gods of the soils and grains, [almost overthrowing the dynasty]. Now, since the Emperor is young and is again upholding the main line [of the dynasty] as the [adopted] child of Emperor Ch'eng, it is proper to make plain the principle of [only] a single line of [imperial] descent, in order to ward off [such a] situation as had previously [arisen] and to make [the new arrangement] a model for later generations."

Thereupon she had sent Chen Feng, bearing a HS 12: 4a. kingly seal and cord, who had gone to the Emperor's mother, the Concubine [nee] Wei, had installed her as the Queen of King Hsiao of Chung-shan, [the deceased Liu Hsing], and had granted to the Emperor's maternal uncles, Wei Pao and [Wei] Pao's younger brother, [Wei] Hsüan, the noble rank of Marquises of the Imperial Domain. All of them were detained in [the kingdom of] Chung-shan and were not permitted to go the imperial capital.

[Wang] Mang's son, [Wang] Yü(3), disapproved [of the fact] that [Wang] Mang had separated the Wei clan [from the Emperor] and feared that when the Emperor grew up, enmity would later appear [between the Wei and Wang clans. Wang] Yü(3) hence sent a man privately to give letters to [Wei] Pao and the others, instructing the Emperor's mother to send a letter to the throne, asking [that she be permitted] to enter [the imperial palace]. A discussion is in the "Memoir of the Queen [nee] Wei."

[Wang] Mang did not listen [to this request, so Wang] Yü(3) and his teacher, Wu Chang, together with his own wife's elder brother, Lü K'uan, discussed the circumstances. [Wu] Chang considered that [Wang] Mang could not be admonished, but, since he was fond of spiritual beings, they should make some grevious vicissitudes or portentous happenings, For these technical terms, cf. Glossary, sub portents. in order to terrify him. [Wu] Chang would thereupon explain them by citing parallel [instances from history] and so would cause him to give the government to the Wei clan. [Wang] Yü(3) then had [Lü] K'uan carry blood at night and sprinkle it at the door of [Wang] Mang's residence. When the officials discovered the [plot], [Wang] Mang had [Wang] Yü(3) HS 12: 7a. seized and sent to prison, where he drank poison and died. [Wang] Yü(3)'s wife, [Lü] Yen, who was with child, was held in prison until she gave birth to the child; when it had been [born], she was killed.

[Wang] Mang memorialized, saying, "[Wang] Yü(3) has been led into error by Lü K'uan and others, who spread groundless rumors to mislead the crowd, which is The Sung Ch'i ed. notes that the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) and the Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) omit the 惡; the Ching-yu ed. also lacks it; Wang Hsien-ch'ien adds that the Southern Academy ed. (1530/1) omits it. I have not translated it. The King's Uncles of Kuan and of Ts'ai also spread rumors; cf. Book of History V, vi, 12 (Legge, p. 357); Glossary, s.v. a crime similar to that of the [King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai. Your servant does not dare to hide [the fact that] he has been executed."

Chen Han and others advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict saying, "Verily, T'ang Yao had, [as his son], Tan-chu and King Wen of the Chou [dynasty] had, [as sons, Hsien and Tu, who were known as the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai. These [two rulers] were both sages of the highest [degree], yet they could not prevent their sons from being of the lowest [degree] of stupidity. Why? Because their own [good] natures could not be transplanted [into the hearts of these others]. You, Duke, occupy the position of the Duke of Chou and assist your lord [as he assisted] King Ch'eng. You have also executed [your son as he executed the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai, and have not [allowed] your love for your relatives to injure the honor [due to] those who are honorable, [i.e., the imperial family]. We approve of it most highly.

"Anciently, after the Duke of Chou had executed the descendants of the four states, Yen Shih-ku explains that these four were those of the three Overseers (including the King's Uncles of Kuan and of Ts'ai) and the wild tribes of the Huai region. Cf. Glossary sub Kuan. his grand transformation [of the country] was perfected, until even the multilating punishments [could be] established but not employed. Cf. HFHD, II, 36, n. 5.1. Do you, Duke, concentrate on attending to the state and aim at bringing about the [utmost] transquillity."

Taking advantage of this [edict, Wang] Mang exterminated the Wei clan and examined exhaustively the case of Lü K'uan. [Wang Mang] involved [in this case] the prominent persons of the commanderies and kingdoms who had in the past criticized him in memorials, and within [the imperial court] even [implicated] the Princess of Ching-wu, the King of Liang, [Liu] Li(5a), the Marquis of Hung-yang, [Wang] Li(5a), and the Marquis of P'ing-o, [Wang] Jen. Messengers tortured or guarded them, and they all committed suicide. Those who died were numbered by the hundreds, so that [all] within [the four] seas trembled at it.

The Commissioner Over the Army [subordinate to] the Commander-in-chief, Pao(1b), memorialized, saying "The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], has suffered from the fact that his son, [Wang] Yü3, has fallen into the [same] crimes [as the King's Uncles of] Kuan and of Ts'ai; his love for his son was very deep, [but], for the sake of the imperial house, [Wang Mang] has not presumed to consider his private [interests. Since], however, [Wang] Yü(3) has suffered for his crime, [Wang Mang] has sighed and has been deeply moved, so he has composed a writing in eight fascicles, in order to warn posterity. It would be proper to publish it in the commanderies and kingdoms and order the school officials to teach it."

The matter was referred to the various highest ministers, who begged that it should be ordered that the officials of the empire who were able to recite and explain the Duke's warning should therefore be recorded on the official registers [of meritorious persons preferred for official positions], just as those [who recite and explain] the Classic of Filial Piety. Yen Shih-ku glosses, "Chu kuan-pu 著官薄 means that it was used in securing [persons who] were selected and recommended [to the central government as candidates for official position]." Chou Shou-ch'ang adds (in his HS-chu Chiao-su 55: 16a), "[Emperor] Hsiao-wen had an Erudit for the Classic of Filial Piety and the imperial capital commanderies had Masters for the Classic of Filial Piety [12: 7a], which was recording the Classic of Filial Piety on the official registers [as a regular study]. Wang Mang's . . . edict . . . ordering the government schools to teach [his own book] was, it seems, establishing it [too] in the government schools [as a regular subject of study]."

In the fourth year, in the spring, the suburban sacrifice (chiao) was performed to the [dynasty's] This passage is also found in HS 12: 7a, cf. 12: n. 7.4 for annotations. Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], making him the coadjutor of Heaven, and the sacrifice to the greatest exemplar (tsung) was performed to Emperor Hsiao-wen, making him the coadjutor of the Lords on High. This passage is also found in HS 12: 7a, cf. 12: n. 7.4 for annotations.

In the second The text reads "fourth month," but HS 12: 7b, Han-chi 30: 4b, and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 36: 4b all read "second month." "Fourth month" is an error. The fourth month was the first month of summer, but 12:7b notes, after the marriage, "In the summer, the Empress [nee Wang] was presented in the Temple of [Emperor] Kao," and 97 B: 23a says, "In the next year, in the spring, [the Grand Empress Dowager] sent" various courtiers "with the legal equipage to go and fetch the Empress from the residence and palace of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han [Dynasty, Wang Mang,]" to be married. Cf. Szu-ma Kuang, Tzu-chih T'ung-chien K'ao-yi 2: 2a. month, on [the day] ting-wei, the daughter of [Wang] Mang was established as Empress. A general amnesty [was granted] to the empire and the Director of Justice to the Grand Minister over the Masses, Ch'en Ch'ung, and others, eight persons [in all], were sent to travel separately about the empire, to observe and see [the people's] customs. According to 18: 30a-31b these eight persons were Wang Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en Ch'ung, Li Hsi, Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng.

The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun(4b), and others memorialized, saying, "[According to] the principles of grading achievements and meritorious conduct in the Spring and Autumn [in Mr. Tso's Commentary], `The highest [degree of celebrity] is to establish [an example of] meritorious conduct, the next [degree] is to establish [a name for] successful achievements, and the next [degree] is to establish [wise] sayings. Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang, XXIV (Legge, p. 507; Couvreur, II, 408). Verily, those of extreme meritorious conduct or of great excellence are alone able to do this. Such persons, if they were courtiers, thereupon [during] their lifetime received great recompenses and [after] their death became [known as] exemplary subjects; Yen Shih-ku, in a note to HS 39: 13b, says of tsung-ch'en 宗臣, "It means that they are those whom later generations honor and look up to." Chang Yen (iii cent. A.D.), in a note to 99 A: 21a, states, "A tsung subject has performed signal services and becomes a duke of the first class, whom the state takes as an exemplar 國所宗者也." This ancient usage justifies the translation of tsung in imperial temple names by the word "exemplar." Yi Yin in the Yin [dynasty] and the Duke of Chou in the Chou [dynasty] were such [persons]."

The common people who presented [similar] letters to the Emperor moreover [numbered] more than eight thousand persons. They all said, "Yi Yin became the Supporting Governor and the Duke of Chou became the Grand Ruler. The Duke of Chou enjoyed [the honor of] having his seven sons enfeoffed and had recompenses greater than the highest rank of the highest ministers. It is proper that [it should be done] as Ch'en Ch'ung has said."

Their memorials were referred to the high officials, and the high officials begged that [Wang Mang] be returned the two counties [of Shao-ling and Hsin-hsi, with which his enfeoffment] had previously been increased, [and which he had returned to the government], together with Huang-yu Village and the cultivated fields in Hsin-yeh [County, which he had previously held]; that there be selected [a term] from [each of] the titles of Yi Yin, [Supporting Governor], and the Duke of Chou, [Grand Ruler], so that the Duke should be given the title of Ruling Governor, with his rank in the highest rank of the highest ministers; his division head clerks should be ranked at six hundred piculs; the three highest ministers, when speaking to him of [government] business, should say that they `presume to speak of it;' Parallel to the expression used to the emperor, "foolishly risking the commission of a crime worthy of death." Cf. HFHD, I, 99, n. 2; Ts'ai Yung's Tu-tuan, p. 5b. Yang Shu-ta quotes the Lun-heng as saying, "When [the officials of] commanderies speak of matters to the two yamens, they say, `We presume to speak of it.' " the various [lower] officials should not be permitted to have the same personal name as the Duke; when he goes out he should be followed by twenty Attendants at the Gates, thirty [members of] the Winged Forest, and that before and after him there should be ten great chariots. The Duke's Lady Dowager, [his mother], should be granted the title, the Baronetess of Apparent Merits, with the income of an estate of two thousand households, a golden seal and a red seal-ribbon; the Duke's two sons should be enfeoffed: [Wang] An(1a) as Marquis in Recompense to [the Marquis of] Hsin-[tu], (Pao-hsin), and [Wang] Lin(1a) as Marquis in Reward to [the Marquis of Hsin]-tu (Shang-tu); and thirty seven million [cash] should be added to the betrothal present of the Empress, [making it] altogether a hundred million [cash], Wang Mang had previously received 40 million cash (of which he gave 33 million to the families of Emperor P'ing's concubines), then he was additionally granted 23 million cash (99 A: 10a); now he was given 37 million more, making a total of 100 million cash. in order to glorify the great rites [of imperial marriage].

Cf. HS 99 A: 18a. The [Grand] Empress Dowager went to the Front Hall [of the Palace] in person to enfeoff [the Duke and his sons]. The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty was first installed, and his two sons were later installed, as [had happened] in the former case of the Duke of Chou. [But Wang] Mang repeatedly bent his head to the ground, declining and asking that [these honors] be given to others. When he had gone out, he memorialized [the Empress Dowager] concerning these enfeoffments, [declaring that] he wished only to accept the title for his mother and [wished] to return the seals and [ceremonial] aprons of [Wang] An(1a) and [Wang] Lin(1a), together with their titles, positions, and the households in their estates.

The matter was referred to the Grand Master, [K'ung] Kuang, and others, who all said, "These rewards are not adequate for the achievements [of him to whom they have been given]. Humility, self-restraint, retiringness, and yielding are the constant moderation of the Duke. [His request] should not be eventually accepted."

[Wang] Mang asked for an audience and firmly declined [these honors, so the Grand] Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict which said, "Every time that the Duke has an audience, he kowtows with tears falling, as he firmly refuses [his honors]. Now he has sent [Us] a communication [informing Us] that he is ill. Should [We] indeed accede to his yielding so that [We] may order him to attend to his business? Or should [We] indeed put into effect his recompenses and send him home to his residence?" To "send a minister to his residence" meant dismissing him from his position and from the court. Evidently the Grand Empress Dowager had become tired of Wang Mang's posing

[K'ung] Kuang and the others replied, "[Wang] An and [Wang] Lin(1) have in person received their seals and aprons, their charters and titles, and it has been communicated to Heaven, so that the justice [of their appointments] is patent. The cultivated fields of Huang-yu, Shao-ling, and Hsin-yeh are extraordinarily great in their income. [Their disposal] altogether rests with the Duke. If the Duke wishes to diminish himself in order to bring about a [moral] transformation in the state, it is proper that [his request to yield up these fields] be approved and acceded to, and it is to be expected that the [moral] transformation [which will bring about a condition of] good government and peace will accordingly be achieved in [due] time.

"[But] the office of Ruling Governor cannot be attained by [his heirs in the next] generation, [so that he should not be permitted to refuse it]. The cash [used] in the betrothal presents The "presentation of the betrothal presents" was the fourth of the rites preliminary to a marriage; cf. n. 9.3. It made the betrothal binding. [of his daughter] was moreover to honor her as the [future] Empress, and not for the Duke's sake. The households [in the estate] of the Baronetess of Apparent Merits will lapse with her [death] and not be transmitted [to her descendants]. The two estates of Pao-hsin and Shang-tu together [amount only to] three thousand households, which is indeed very little. [According to] the conduct of a loyal official, it is moreover proper that he should humble his own [will] in order to show his fealty to his lord.

"It would be proper to send the Grand Minister over the Masses, [Ma Kung], and the Grand Minister of Works, [Chen Feng], with credentials, bearing your edict of decree that the Duke must quickly enter [the court] and attend to business, and give an edict to the Masters of Writing not again to receive a memorial from the Duke which yields up [his honors]." The memorial was approved. [Wang] Mang thereupon arose and attended to business.

He presented a letter saying, "Your servant, as the Marquis of Hsin-tu(c), in [the year-period] Yüan-shou, the second year, the sixth month, on [the day] mou-wu, in a night of haste and confusion, as Marquis of Hsin-tu(c), was led into the Wei-yang Palace. On [the day] keng-shen, I was installed as Commander-in-chief and occupied the position of [one of] the three highest ministers. In [the year-period] Yüan-shih, the first year, the second The text reads "first month," but Hoang does not list a ping-ch'en day in that month; HS 19 B: 51b reads "second month," which checks; I emend the text accordingly. Cf. also n. 6.2. month, on [the day] ping-ch'en, I was installed as Grand Tutor, granted the title of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, and merely acted as [one of] the Four Coadjutors. In the present year, the fourth month, on [the day] chia-tzu, I was again installed as Ruling Governor, being ranked in the highest class of the highest ministers. I, your servant Mang, myself think humbly that my noble rank is Marquis of Hsin-tu(c), my title is Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, my offices are those of Ruling Governor, Grand Tutor, and Commander-in-chief, so that my noble rank is [too] high, my title is [too] honorable, and my offices are [too] weighty for a single person. That I should have received [these] five great favors, is indeed beyond your humble servant's merits.

"Since in the third year of [the period] Yüan-shih, the empire had a good harvest, it is proper that those official subordinate positions which have been abolished should all be [now] reestablished.

"The Ku-liang Commentary says, `The [Grand] Ruler of the Son of Heaven should be acquainted with [all within] the four seas.' Ku-liang Commentary 8: 2b; Dk. Hsi, IX, summer. Your servant stupidly considers that the office of Ruling Governor has for its duties the correcting of all the officials and the tranquillizing of [all] within [the four] seas. Yet it has no seal or sign, so that its name does not correspond to its reality. [Although] your servant Mang does not have the ability to [hold many] offices concurrently, since now you, the sage court, have through an error and mistake employed me, your servant begs that the Attendant Secretaries should have a seal engraved for the Ruling Governor with the inscription, `Ruling Governor, Grand Tutor, and Commander-in-chief,' and, when the seal is completed, transmit it to your servant Mang, who will [then] return the seals of the Grand Tutor and of the Commander-in-chief." The [Grand] Empress Dowager's imperial edict said, "It is approved. His [ceremonial] apron For the apron (fu(1) 韍) as an article of ceremonial attire, cf. 99 A: n. 2.8. Wang Mang seems to have first made it part of a noble's or official's insignia of office, for it is first mentioned in the reign of Emperor P'ing. Its use was in imitation of classical practises---it is mentioned in Li-chi, XI, ii, 21-27 and XII, 29 (Legge, II, 14-16, 38; Couvreur, I, 700-702, 740). Cf. also Po-hu-t'ung 10: 1a, b. Yen Shih-ku, both here and in his notes to 14: 4b, 99 B: 1a, and 99 C: 5b, glosses, "The fu(1) is also called a tsu 組," which latter article was the cord by which seals were suspended from the wearer's girdle. The use of fu(1) with the word for seal (e.g. 99 B: 23a) makes this interpretation plausible. The word fu(1) was moreover interchanged with fu(2) 紱, which latter word later denoted the seal-ribbon. This interchange between fu(1) and fu(2) has probably misled Yen Shih-ku. Ch'en Hsiang-tao (1053-1093), in his Li-shu 23: 6b, states that from the Wei and Chin periods (iii cent. A.D.) onwards, the fu(1), instead of being made of leather, was made of silk gauze, hence the word was sometimes written fu(2) (with the silk radical. Such may have been the case already in Pan Ku's time; cf. 99 B: n. 1.1). As a result, people would be likely to confuse fu(1) and fu(2) and think mistakenly that the fu(1) denoted a seal-ribbon--- which statement was evidently current in T'ang times and is to be found in the dictionaries today. But Ch'en Hsiang-tao takes his information, according to a note, from Hsü Kuang's (ca. 352-425) "Rites and Institutes Concerning Carriages and Robes 車服儀制" (probably the same as his 車服雑注, listed in the Sui-shu bibliography 2: 14a, the Old T'ang-shu bibliography 1: 34b, and the New T'ang-shu bibliography 2: 21b; the book is now lost), so that this information dates from two centuries before the time of Yen Shih-ku. Until Wang Mang came into power, the term used along with the word for seal is shou 綬, seal-ribbon (8: 22b, 12: 1a, 99 A: 4a). During the time Wang Mang controlled the government, the fu(1) is however occasionally mentioned along with the seal as the insignia of noble or bureaucratic rank (14: 4b, 99 A: 18b, 22b, 26b; 99 B: 1a, 23a). In Wang Mang's time, the term shou also on occasions accompanies the word for seal (98: 13b, 99 B: 11a, 12b, 18a; 99 C: 27b). The Later Han dynasty also used the shou (HHS, Tr. 30: 13b-15a). The fu(1) (apron) was the first of the nine distinctions (99 A: 22b), so that it was only natural for Wang Mang to have used it as one of his insignia for a high office. Such an article of attire was plainly convenient at a court where the kowtow was common. The fu(1) is mentioned under circumstances in which it can only mean "apron" (99 B: 22b, 26b); it would be very strange to have the same word used to denote two very different articles of apparel without any explanation on the part of the author. Yen Shih-ku's change in the meaning of fu(1) is unacceptable. shall be like that of the Chancellor of State. We will Ourself attend [court] to transmit it to him."

[Wang] Mang thereupon again took ten million cash of what had been added to the betrothal present [for his daughter] and left it with the Chief Chamberlain at the Ch'ang-lo [Palace], who had charge of providing for [the Grand Empress Dowager].

The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun(4b), memorialized, saying, "The empire has heard that the Duke would not accept a territory [that would furnish] a thousand chariots, has refused a present of [the equivalent of] ten thousand [catties of] gold, A catty of gold was equivalent to ten thousand cash; ten thousand catties of gold were then equivalent to a hundred million cash. This was the amount of the dowry; cf. 99 A: 17b. has distributed his wealth and has given it away by the ten-millions, so that no one fails to reform himself. A man of Shu Commandery, Lu Chien, and others have stopped their litigation, blushing for shame, and retired. Although King Wen [of the Chou dynasty caused the rulers of the states of] Yü(2a) and Jui to cease [their quarrels], For this story, cf. Glossary, sub Yü(2a). how could it be more than [what Wang Mang has accomplished]? It would be proper to inform the empire [of the foregoing facts]." The memorial was approved.

When the Ruling Governor, [Wang Mang], went out, he was both preceded and followed by ten large chariots, with a Specially Serving Master of Writing, Gentlemen, Attending Secretaries, Internuncios, Palace Attendants Within the Yellow Gate, Attendants at the Gates, and [members of] the Winged Forest. The Ruling Governor regularily bore his credentials. When he stopped [anywhere], an Internuncio held them for him. The division head clerks of the Ruling Governor were ranked at six hundred piculs. The three highest ministers, [in speaking to him] said that they "presumed to speak of [their business]." Liu Pin (1022-1088) remarks that this last sentence is repeated from 99 A: 17b, and declares that it should be excised here; but this whole paragraph seems to be a summary of the ritual, etc. connected with the office of Ruling Governor in the spirit of HS, ch. 19 A, in which case this sentence is pertinent here.

In this year, [Wang] Mang memorialized [the plans for] and built a Ming-t'ang, a Pi-yung, and a Spiritual Tower, and for the students [in the Imperial University] he erected ten thousand houses and had made a Market and a Regularly Full Granary. Li T'zu-ming, op. cit., 7: 15a, states that the Ch'u-hsüeh Chi (viii cent.; I cannot find this passage) quotes the San-fu Huang-t'u (iii to vii cent.) as saying that in 4 A.D. Wang Mang "built the Ming-t'ang, Pi-yung, made 30 residences for the Erudits, and made a market-place for meeting," and also, "Seven li east of the city he made a Regularly Full Granary. North of the Granary he made the Huai Market-place. The various Huai trees were in several hundred rows and the students would meet and hold market [there] on the first and fifteenth days of the month." This passage is not now in the San-fu Huang-t'u, which has suffered losses. Cf. Glossary sub Imperial University. Li T'zu-ming accordingly says that in the HS text, before the word 市 there has dropped out the word 會, reading, "a market-place for meeting." His institutions were very grand. He established the Classic of Music This Classic of Music has been lost. Wang Ch'un, in his Lun-heng 13: 16a, 29: 9b (Forke, II, 297, I, 88) says twice, "Yang-ch'eng [Heng] Tzu-chang 陽成子長 composed the Classic of Music." Huan T'an (ca. 40 B.C.-A.D. 29), in his Hsin-lun (lost, quoted in T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan 815: 11b), says, "Yang-ch'eng Tzu-chang's personal name was Heng 衡 and he was a man from Shu Commandery. When Wang Weng and I were both Libationers Expounding the Classic of Music and [Yang-ch'eng Heng] was in bed ill, we purchased ahead of time inner and outer coffins [for him]." Wang Weng took part in the rebellion of Chai Yi and was burnt to death by Wang Mang in A.D. 7 (cf. HHS, Mem. 35: 10b); the Libationers were not however appointed until A.D. 11 (HS 99 B: 18a), so that Huan T'an's memory must have been at fault about his title at that time. Yang-ch'eng Heng's death then probably occurred some time during Wang Mang's reign. The T'ung-chih, ch. 29 (Com. Pr. ed.), p. 479c, sub double surnames quotes the Feng-su-t'ung as stating that in Han times there was a Grandee Remonstrant and Consultant, excellency Yang-ch'eng Heng. The Classic of Music established as canonical by Wang Mang was then written by Yang-ch'eng Heng and this is probably the one mentioned in the Chin History. (From Ma Kuo-han's [fl. 1832-1852] "Introduction" to the Yo-ching in his "Yü-han Shan-fang Chi-yi-shu"). Sui-shu ch. 32, "Treatise on the Classics and Literature" 1: 21a, lists a "Classic of Music in four rolls." But this book is not mentioned in later bibliographies. What the relation was of this book to the "Yo-chi (Record of Music)," now ch. 17 in the Book of Rites, is unknown. Cf. Szu-k'u Ch'üan-shu Tsung-mu T'i-yao 38: 1a (Com. Pr. ed. p. 789). [as an imperially approved classic], and increased the regular number of the Erudits, having five for each Classic. He summoned those from the empire who were versed in one classic and were teaching eleven persons or more, HS 12: 9b dates this summons in A.D. 5; probably that date represents the time these persons mostly arrived. together with those who possessed the lost [chapters of] the Rites, the ancient [text of] the Book of History, "The lost [chapters of] the Rites" denotes the 39 fascicles (chapters) of the Book of Rites in ancient characters said by Liu Hsin(1a) to have been found by King Kung of Lu, Liu Yü(2) (d. 129 B.C.), in the wall of Confucius' house and presented to the imperial throne by K'ung An-kuo after 100 B.C. (HS 36: 33a). These chapters were not the Chou-li (mentioned separately), which is said to have been secured about the same time by King Hsien of Ho-chien, Liu Tê (HS 53: 1b). "The ancient [text of] the Book of History" denotes the 16 fascicles (chapters) of that Book in ancient characters, said by Liu Hsin(1a) to have been found along with the lost Rites and also to have been presented to the throne by K'ung An-kuo (HS 36: 33a). HS 36: 31b states that Liu Hsin(1a) "wanted to have made authoritative Mr. Tso's [Commentary on] the Spring and Autumn [i.e., the Tso-chuan], the Mao [text of the Book of] Odes, the lost [chapters of] the Rites, and the ancient [text of the Book of] History." Hence this order of Wang Mang was instigated by Liu Hsin and constituted a step towards making these classics authoritative, i.e., placed on the curriculum of the government schools and used for government examinations. the Mao [text of] the Book of Odes, the Chou Offices [the Chou-li], The "Mao [text of the Book of] Odes" is the one at present current. It was made authoritative by Wang Mang during the reign of Emperor P'ing (Legge, Chin. Clas. IV, I, p. 11]). Liu Hsin(1a) also worked on the Chou-li and eventually Wang Mang made it authoritative. During the reign of Wang Mang, all the books here listed, from the lost Book of Rites to the Erh-ya, were probably made authoritative. the Erh-ya, [books on] astronomy, divinations and revelations, the musical tubes, the "Ordinances for the Months," "Ordinances for the Months, Yüeh-ling 月令" is the title of the present chap. IV in the Li-chi (Legge, I, pp. 249-310; Couvreur, I, 330-410), which chapter consists of excerpts from chaps. I-XII of the Lü-shih Ch'un-ch'iu (Wilhelm's trans. pp. 1-156). Besides this document, there were probably other writings on this popular subject. military methods, "The Art of War, Ping-fa 兵法," is the title of the military treatise attributed to Sun-tzu 孫子and translated by L. Giles, Sun Tzu on the Art of War. Giles (p. xvii) however points out that the title, "Sun-tzu in 82 fascicles, with diagrams in 9 rolls" listed in HS 30: 59a, shows that in Han times there were other apocryphal works on this subject, not included in the 13 books of Sun-tzu that we have at present. Wang Mang's call was probably for more than just this one book, for in 99 C: 21b he is said to have employed military men of all the 63 schools mentioned in HS 30: 64a (cf. 99 C: n. 21.3). The Han dynasty had its own military methods 軍法, set forth by Han Hsin (HS 1 B: 24b; HFHD, I, 146 and n. 4). Wang Mang seems to have intended to accumulate the country's learning at the imperial capital and use it for the imperial benefit. the written characters in Shih [Chou's] Fascicles, Shih Chou's Fascicles was the earliest Chinese lexicographical work. It seems to have been a word list of correct forms; cf. D. Bodde, China's First Unifier, ch. VIII. This book is listed in HS 30: 22b. Ibid, 26a, b says, "In [the period] Yüan-shih, [Wang Mang] summoned from the [whole] empire those who were versed in philology. [They arrived] by the hundreds, and each one was ordered to record words in the [Palace] courts. Yang Hsiung(2) took those [writings] that were of use and composed from them his Hsün-tsuan P'ien 訓纂篇. He followed the Tsang Chieh and also altered the duplicating words in the Tsang Chieh. It was in 89 paragraphs." and who were versed in and understood their meaning. All went to the [office of the Major in Charge of] Official Carriages, [so that Wang Mang] ensnared and collected [all] the gentlemen of uncommon ability in the empire. Those who came, at former and later [times], were numbered by the thousands. All were ordered to write out their explanations [of the Classics] in his courts, with the intention of making them correct their discrepancies and errors and unify differing explanations.

Various courtiers memorialized, saying, "Anciently, when the Duke of Chou upheld the heir who succeeded his father, although he possessed the honor of being in the highest rank of the highest ministers, yet only in the seventh year were the institutions fixed. A reference to Li-chi XII, 7 (Legge, II, 31), where the Duke of Chou is said to have resigned in the seventh year. Cf. infra, n. 20.1. Verily, the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung have fallen into ruins and have been abolished for a thousand years and no one has been able to revive them. Now the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty has arisen from a great family and has assisted and protected your Majesty for four years down to the present. His achievements and virtuous conduct are brilliant.

"The Duke, in the eighth month, when the moon began to wax, on [the day] keng-tzu, Wang Mang's action in laying the foundations "when the moon began to wax" was in imitation of the foundation of the city of Lo by the Duke of Chou. The phrase, "when the moon began to wax, tsai(1)-sheng-p'o(2) 載生魄" is a quotation from the account of that foundation in Book of History, V, ix, 1 (Legge, p. 381). (That Book writes tsai(2) 哉 for tsai(1). These words were interchangeable; so were p'o(1) and p'o(2).) The meaning of the phrase, tsai-sheng-p'o, seems to have suffered a complete reversal due to an inexact writing of the word p'o. The correct word was p'o1 霸. Hsü Sheng, in his Shuo-wen 7 A: 4a, defines p'o(1) as follows: "When the moon is first born, it is like a p'o(1) (new moon). When [in the calendar, we receive] a long month, [the p'o(1)] is on the second day [of the month; when we] receive a short month, it is on the third day." (In China, months have begun with the new moon, or, more exactly, the day of the moon's conjunction with the sun, when the moon is invisible). Since p'o(1) is written with the word for "moon," this is probably the fundamental meaning of the character. Shuo-wen 9 A: 7a defines p'o(2) quite differently, as "A yin spirit." Since tsai(1) (and tsai(2)) means "beginning," tsai-sheng-p'o then originally meant "When the new moon appears," and denoted the second or third day of the (lunar) month. This interpretation is confirmed by Li-chi XLII, i, 4 (Legge, II, 436; Couvreur, II, 655), "Like the third day of the moon, when it produces its p'o (new moon), 象月之三日而成魄也," and ibid. 20 (Legge, II, 445; Couvreur II, 667), "The moon, when it is in the third day [of the month] produces its p'o 月者三日則成魄." In a note to the above passage from the Book of History, ("Shih-san Ching Chu-su," Shu-ching 14: 1b), Ma Jung (79-166) moreover glosses, " p'o(2) is the new moon 朏. It means that in the third day [of the month] the moon first brings to birth the form of its new moon and its name is called p'o(2)." Wang Mang used this interpretation, for this date was the second day of a short month, according to Hoang. (Chen Yüan's Comparative Daily Calendar is probably in error, for it makes this date the first day of the month). This meaning of p'o seems to have suffered reversal because it was the ancient practise to interchange many words with their homonyms. Thus p'o(1) came to be written p'o(2), with the resultant interpretation of p'o(2) (which ordinarily means the vital principle of the body, the material soul) to mean "the substance of the moon 月質," i.e. the unilluminated part of the moon, which appears when the moon begins to wane. Hence tsai-sheng-p'o came to mean, "when the dark part of the moon is first born," i.e., a day after full moon, the sixteenth day of the month and after. This interpretation appears in the K'ung An-kuo gloss to the above passage in the Book of History, ibid., "The Duke of Chou established his government in the seventh year, third month, when the p'o (dark part of the moon) was first born, on the sixteenth day of the [lunar] month, when the full moon was waning and the dark part of the moon (p'o) was born." To justify his chronological calculations, Liu Hsin(1a) adopted this interpretation; HS 21 B: 60b quotes his San-t'ung-li as follows: "When the dark of the moon (p'o) dies, it is the day of new moon; when the dark of the moon (p'o) is born, it is the day of full moon. 死霸朔也生霸望也." Meng K'ang, in a note to HS 21 B: 60a, interprets likewise, "In the second day of the month and onwards, the moon is born and its dark (p'o) dies." K'ung Ying-ta consequently took this interpretation of p'o. In a note to Book of History V, iii, 3 ibid. 11: 11b), he explains, "The places in which the circle of the moon have no light are called p'o. After the day of new moon, its ming 明 (its brilliance or spiritual substance) is born and its p'o (its dark or material substance) dies. After the day of full moon, its ming dies and its p'o is born." Here is the pretty conceit that the moon has two souls, like man, which die and are born as the moon waxes and wanes. This interpretation was adopted by Legge (cf. his Book of History, p. 307) and Couvreur (Dict. Class., III ed. sub p'o(2)), so that it influences their translations of the classics, sometimes with curious consequences. It is interesting that in this case Wang Mang's courtiers deliberately departed from the interpretation given to a passage of the classic by his greatest authority, Liu Hsin(1a). Wang Mang's court contained other authorities who disagreed with Liu Hsin, and these scholars preserved the correct interpretation of p'o. (Cf. T'zu-hai, sub p'o(1), p'o(2), tsai(2)- sheng-p'o; Wang Kuo-wei, Kuan-t'ang-chi-lin, I:1a-5b.) received the message [authorizing him to] employ [people] for the purposes of the court, Meng K'ang (fl. 220-240) explains, "It is the message taxing [the people] for corvée service 賦功役之書." and he himself attended to the required service and the work of construction. And on the next day, [the day] hsin-ch'ou, the various masters and common people assembled in great harmony; a great crowd of a hundred thousand [persons] joined together, working with vigor Yen Shih-ku suggests that p'ing 平 might be emended to p'ei 丕. Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) quotes Book of History, V, xii, 7, (Legge, p. 424) which contains the phrase p'ei-tso 作, to substantiate this emendation. Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) adds that this passage imitates Book of History, V, xiii, which uses the unusual word p'ei twice, and calls attention to the fact that, in the ancient official form of writing, p'ing and p'ei were written similarly and were sometimes confused. for twenty [days], when the great work was all completed. When T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun] did [great] things or when at Ch'eng-chou [the Duke of Chou] founded the dynasty's [capital], they verily did no better.

"It is proper that the rank of the Ruling Governor should be above that of the vassal kings, that he should be granted bundles of silk to which are affixed jade circlets, one chariot of state [like that for] a large kingdom, one comfortable carriage, and two quadrigae of black horses." The imperial edict said, "It is approved. Let rules for the nine distinctions be discussed."

In the winter, a great wind blew off almost all the roof-tiles on [the buildings at] the eastern gates of the city wall of Ch'ang-an. This sentence is also found in 12: 8b. The next sentence is also found in that passage, q.v. for annotations.

In the fifth year, in the first month, the hsia ancestral sacrifice to all the ancestors together was performed in the Ming-t'ang; twenty-eight vassal kings, one hundred twenty full marquises, and more than nine hundred scions of the imperial house were summoned to assist in the sacrifices. The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the Shun-hua ed. (997) had the word szu 祠 after the 祭. In a loose quotation of this passage in HHS, Mem. 4: 10a(1), the szu is omitted. Stange, Die Monographie über Wang Mang, 62, n. 9, declares that Wang Hsien-ch'ien's ed. reads erroneously "1900 members of the imperial house." My copy (purchased at Ch'ang-sha, hence probably the original ed.) does not have this error. It likewise does not have the variant noticed in ibid., 63, n. 1. After the rites were ended, thirty-six great-grandsons of [Emperor] Hsiao-hsüan, [Liu] Hsin(4g) and others, were enfeoffed as full marquises. HS 12: 2b dates this enfeoffment in Mar., A.D. 1. Cf. 12: n. 2.5. The other [persons who assisted in the sacrifices] all had households added [to their estates] or were granted noble ranks and rewards of money and silk, to each a definite amount.

At this time, because [Wang] Mang had not accepted the cultivated fields of Hsin-yeh, the officials and common people who sent letters to the Emperor, [including] previous and later [times, numbered] 487,572 persons. Moreover, the vassal kings, the highest ministers, the full marquises, and [the members of] the imperial house, when they had audience, all kowtowed, saying that it would be proper immediately to give rewards to the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty.

Thereupon [Wang] Mang presented a letter to the throne, saying, "Because I, your servant, am your maternal relative, I have overleaped my [due] sequence and occupy my [present] post, [but] I have not yet been able to be worthy of my position. I humbly reflect that your sage virtue is pure and abundant, you have received [the mandate] of Heaven and have followed ancient [practises], you have instituted rites in order to govern the common people, and you have composed music The phrase "instituting rites and composing music 制禮作樂" is an allusion to the activity of the Duke of Chou, who, when he was acting as regent for the young King Ch'eng, is said to have "instituted rites and composed music" (Li-chi XII, 6; Legge's trans. II, 31). On 99 A: 19a, the courtiers, in a memorial, compare Wang Mang to the Duke of Chou and allude to this passage from the Book of Rites, saying that the Duke of Chou fixed "his institutions" to the seventh year; on p. 20a, Wang Mang takes up this phrase, stating that the Empress Dowager has "instituted rites . . . and . . . composed music" (through his own instrumentality, of course), and now (p. 20b) he declares that he wishes to use his whole time in "instituting rites and composing music," i.e., in ruling in behalf of the young emperor and, in establishing truly Confucian institutes and government, and, when this task is complete, like the Duke of Chou, he will return to private life. The phrase "instituting rites and composing music" thus implied "ruling for the minor sovereign in the spirit of the Duke of Chou." It occurs frequently in subsequent passages. Since the Duke of Chou was one of the greatest Confucian sages, these rites and music were of course understood to designate Confucian practises. in order to improve their customs, so that [all within] the four seas have run and hastened to obey you, [even] the many barbarians have all come to you, and on the days when they had to take leave and go, none have failed to drop tears. If they had not been sincere, how could this [situation] have been gratuitously brought about?

"From the vassal kings on down to the lower officials and common people, all know that your servant Mang on the one hand and your Majesty on the other are related as closely as the pellicle inside a reed is to the reed. Moreover, [now] that I have been permitted to exercise an [important] charge, those who attribute merits and rank virtuous conduct always have some superfluous words about me, your servant Mang, so that when I, your servant, have an audience and the nobles of the imperial house themselves speak of business before me, I never fail to break out in perspiration and be mortified. Although my nature is stupid and rustic, I myself know most sincerely that while my virtue is small and my position honorable, my strength is too little and my duties are too great. Day and night I am fearful and circumspect, continually being afraid that I will sully and disgrace your sage court.

"Now the empire is well-governed and at peace, the [people's] customs are uniform, the many barbarians obey and have submitted, all of which [comes] from your Majesty's sage virtue and what you yourself [have done]. The Grand Master, [K'ung] Kuang, and the Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun(4b), and others assist you in the government and aid in ruling. None of the various ministers and grandees have failed to be sincere and good, hence it has been possible, in the time of five years, to attain this extreme achievement.

"I, your servant Mang, have really had no wonderful plans or extraordinary projects. When I have received the sage edicts of the [Grand] Empress Dowager and have promulgated them to your subjects, I have not been able to attain one-tenth [of the sageness contained therein]; when I received plans from various capable [persons] and reported them to the throne, I have not been able to attain five-tenths [of the virtue contained therein], so that I ought to suffer for the crime of being of no benefit [to the empire]. The reason that I temporarily presume to protect my head and neck for the moment is in reality because on the one hand I have reposed upon your Majesty's superabundant glory and [because] on the other hand I have relied upon my old friends, the highest ministers.

"Your Majesty could not bear [to refuse] the words of the crowd, so their writings were each time referred to [the officials] for discussion. Your servant Mang previously sought immediately to memorialize and stop [their proposals], but I feared that you thereupon would not be willing to stop the matter.

"Now that the great rites have already been performed and the assistants at the sacrifices have all left, I cannot repress my greatest wish. It is my wish that the various writings which have been referred to those who are to discuss [these matters] should all be laid aside and not reported to the throne, [thereby] causing your servant Mang to be able to use all his efforts in completing the business of instituting [Confucian] rites and composing [Confucian] music. The phrase "instituting rites and composing music 制禮作樂" is an allusion to the activity of the Duke of Chou, who, when he was acting as regent for the young King Ch'eng, is said to have "instituted rites and composed music" (Li-chi XII, 6; Legge's trans. II, 31). On 99 A: 19a, the courtiers, in a memorial, compare Wang Mang to the Duke of Chou and allude to this passage from the Book of Rites, saying that the Duke of Chou fixed "his institutions" to the seventh year; on p. 20a, Wang Mang takes up this phrase, stating that the Empress Dowager has "instituted rites . . . and . . . composed music" (through his own instrumentality, of course), and now (p. 20b) he declares that he wishes to use his whole time in "instituting rites and composing music," i.e., in ruling in behalf of the young emperor and, in establishing truly Confucian institutes and government, and, when this task is complete, like the Duke of Chou, he will return to private life. The phrase "instituting rites and composing music" thus implied "ruling for the minor sovereign in the spirit of the Duke of Chou." It occurs frequently in subsequent passages. Since the Duke of Chou was one of the greatest Confucian sages, these rites and music were of course understood to designate Confucian practises. When these matters are completed, I will then transmit and show them to the empire and give them to [all] within the [four] seas to criticize. Supposing that they contain anything traitorous For this meaning of chien, cf. SC 29: 7 and Mh III, 524(3). or evil, your servant Mang ought accordingly to suffer for the crime of having misled the Emperor and of having deceived the court. If I do not undergo any other impeachments, to be permitted to preserve my life, to be granted to ransom my person and return home, and to make way for a worthier person will be the private wish of your servant. I only hope that your Majesty would have compassion and pity and favor me somewhat." Yen Shih-ku asserts that ts'ai(1) 財 is the same as "ts'ai(2) 裁, to select," but Wang Nien-sun, in a note to HS 48: 34a, states that this interpretation does not fit the phrase ts'ai(1)-hsing 幸. He declares that ts'ai means "shao 少, somewhat," and that the meaning of this phrase is similar to the expression in 48: 35a(10), "I wish that your Majesty would pay some attention to it 少留計." He also quotes similar cases of the phrase ts'ai-hsing from HS 77: 5b(7) sub Chu-ko Feng, ch. 93, ch. 49 sub Ch'ao Ts'o (thrice), 72: 6b(10) sub Wang Chi, ch. 59 sub Chang An-shih, 75: 31a(3) sub Li Hsün, and 86: 19b(4) sub Shih(1) Tan. In a note to 54: 14a(11), Yen Shih-ku, seemingly following an ancient comment, declares that ts'ai means "chin(4) 僅, somewhat"; the Kuang-ya interprets chin(3) 菫 as shao; these two words chin are interchanged. In a note to HS 4: 9b (cf. HFHD I, 242, n. 4) Yen Shih-ku himself asserts that ts'ai means shao. Cf. also HFHD II, 387, n. 6.4. Ts'ai(1), ts'ai(2), and ts'ai(3) 才 are given the same archaic pronunciation in Karlgren, Grammatica Serica, #943 h, c, a, and were interchanged with ts'ai(4) 纔, which latter character seems not to have occurred in Chou literature, but is used in HS 49: 13b(11) and 51: 5b(4).

Chen Han and others advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict saying, "It is permitted. Verily, Duke, your achievements and virtuous conduct are [the most] brilliant in the empire. For this reason the vassal kings, the highest ministers, the full marquises, [the members of] the imperial house, the various masters, the lower officials, and the common people were of one accord and said the same things. They continually waited at the gate towers and the great court, hence their writings were referred [by the throne to the proper officials]. On the day when the nobles and the members of the imperial house took their leave and left, they again presented their previously emphasized proposals. The Sung Ch'i ed. said that the word chung 重 should be changed to come after the 復, following the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.). Since the Ching-yu ed. agrees with the present text, I have not adopted the Yüeh ed.'s emendation. Yen Shih-ku reads chung with the present fourth tone, meaning "emphasis". Although they were plainly instructed to be dismissed and sent off, [yet they acted] as if they were unwilling to leave. When [we] informed them that in the first month of summer your rewards would be put into effect, no one failed to rejoice and be pleased. They called out, `Long life,' and left.

"Now every time that you, Duke, have an audience, you always drop tears and kowtow, saying that you wish not to receive a reward and that if a reward is given you, you will not presume to occupy your position. Just now [the rites and music] that are being instituted and composed have not yet been fixed upon, so that those matters need you, Duke, to decide upon them, hence for the time being [We] accede to you, Duke. When what is being instituted and composed is all completed, the highest ministers will report it and investigate into the previous proposal [of the nobles, etc.]. Let the ceremonial for the nine distinctions be promptly memorialized [to Us]."

Thereupon the ministers, grandees, erudits, gentlement-consultants, and the full marquis, At this point, the text contains the words for "the Marquis of Fu-p'ing," necessitating the translation, "erudits, gentlemen-consultants, full marquises, and the Marquis of Fu-p'ing, Chang Shun." The Sung Ch'i ed. however reports that the Yüeh ed. lacks the words for "the Marquis of Fu-p'ing," and the Ching-yu ed. also lacks them. I have followed their reading. It is quite peculiar that one grade of the nobility should be specifically mentioned as all being concerned in a Confucian ritual, along with the erudits and learned persons at the court. The insertion of Chang Shun's marquisate was almost surely a scribal interpolation. Chang Shun, and others, nine hundred two persons [altogether], all said, "When the sage lords and glorious kings beckoned to the capable and urged the able [to come to them], those whose virtuous conduct was abundant [were given] high positions and those whose achievements were great [were given] rich rewards. Hence when an exemplary subject possessed the honor of being a `high duke with the nine conferments,' For these conferments, cf. Li-chi III, ii, 8 (Legge, I, 215; Couvreur, I, 273), Book of History V, viii, 4 (Legge, 379). The phrase, "a high duke (shang-kung) with the nine conferments" is quoted from Chou-li 21: 1a (Biot, II, 1). The conferments (ming 命) as rewards given by the Son of Heaven are seemingly first mentioned in Book of Odes, II, vii, viii, 3; Legge, p. 403. Chou-li 18: 10b-12b (Biot, I, 428-430), sub the Ta-tsung-po, says, "He uses the conferments in the nine rituals to correct the rankings of states. The first conferment is investiture with office, the second conferment is investiture with robes, the third conferment is investiture with rank, the fourth conferment is investiture with [sacrificial] utensils, the fifth conferment is the granting of a tsê (cf. 99 B: n. 19.5), the sixth conferment is the granting of [subordinate] officials, the seventh conferment is granting him a [noble] estate, the eighth conferment is making him a Shepherd (mu), and the ninth conferment is making him a Chief (po) [of a quarter of the country]." Chang Yen (iii cent. A.D.) says, "The nine conferments (ming) are the nine distinctions (hsi 錫)." In the Spring and Autumn, Dk. Chuang, I, 6; Dk. Wen, I, 5; Dk. Ch'eng, VIII, 7 (Legge, pp. 72, 227, 229, 366), hsi is used as a verb, "to impart," in the phrase, "impart (hsi) the conferments (ming)." But in the HS text here both hsi and ming are used as nouns. Very likely in Wang Mang's time ming denoted the nine "conferments" mentioned in the Chou-li passage quoted above, whereas hsi denoted the "distinctions" enumerated in n. 23.3. Chou-li 21: 1a (Biot, II, 1), sub the Tien-ming (Officer in Charge of the Conferments) says "High Dukes (shang-kung 上公) have the nine conferments (ming) and become Chiefs [of quarters of the country]. Their states and households (kuo-chia 國家), their palaces and residences, their chariots and banners, their garments and robes, and their rites and usages all use nine as the limit. Marquises and earls have seven conferments. Their states and households (kuo-chia), their palaces and residences, their chariots and banners, their garments and robes, and their rites and usages all use seven as the limit. Viscounts and barons have five conferments. Their states and households (kuo-chia), their palaces and residences, their chariots and banners, their garments and robes, and their rites and usages all use five as the limit." Cheng Hsüan explains (not too accurately), "The high dukes (shang-kung) are the three highest ministers (san-kung 三公) of the king, [who have only eight conferments; cf. n. 21.3]. To those who possess virtue, there is added a conferment and they become the two Chiefs (po). The descendants of the two dynasties, [Hsia and Yin], were also high dukes (shang-kung)." In Wang Mang's time the Shang-kung were the Four Coadjutors, who ranked above the San-kung. In Chou times, office was hereditary, so that the highest ministers were nobles; whereas in Han times such feudalism had disappeared and kung no longer always denoted a noble. Cheng Hsüan continues, "Their state and households (kuo-chia) is where the prince and his followers dwell 國之所居. It means the square which is their [capital] city. The [capital] city of a duke was probably nine li square and his palace was nine hundred paces square. The [capital] city of a marquis or earl was probably seven li square and his palace seven hundred paces square. The [capital] city of a viscount or baron was probably five li square, and his palace five hundred paces square." This scholastic architectonic does not, of course, represent the facts of history. he [also] possessed the favor of having been promoted `[an additional] step,' Chou-li 21: 2a (Biot, II, 2) says, "The three highest ministers (san-kung) have eight conferments. . . . When they are sent out [of the court] and enfeoffed [as feudal nobles with fiefs, going to rule them], one [more] step [in conferments] is added." This passage is referred to in the phrase, "promoted [an additional] step." with the nine distinctions.

"Now `the nine [classes of the imperial] kindred are affectionately harmonius' and `the official class' is already `honored,' `the myriad states' are `harmonized and united,' and `the many people have then become harmonious.' This sentence uses phrases from the Book of History, I, 2 (Legge, p. 17; translated in HFHD II, 215, n. 7.6), which passage describes the virtue of Yao. In this passage of the HS, as in the Book of History, po-hsing means "official class," cf. n. 6.13. The word pang 邦 in the Book of History, which was Emperor Kao's given name, is tabooed here and kuo 國 is used instead. Pang was not however always tabooed. It is used in the Shuo-wen (A.D. 100). The auspicious presages of sageness have all arrived and the great peace has become universal. Of the greatest lords, none were greater than T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun], yet your Majesty is worthy [of occupying their positions]. Of loyal ministers who had abundant achievements, none were more outstanding than Yi [Yin and the Duke of] Chou, yet the Ruling Governor, [Wang Mang], is equal to them. It is what might be called a revival [of ancient glories] at a different time, `[and is as similar to those great days] as the matching of [the two halves] of a tally.' A quotation from Mencius IV, ii, i, 3 (Legge, p. 317).

"We have carefully taken the universal principles of the six canons and what is found in the text of the Classics, [especially] in the Chou Offices and the Record of Proprieties (Li-chi), and is suitable to the present [time], and have made the distinctions for the nine conferments. Your servants beg [your approval of] the distinctions for the conferments." The memorial was approved.

[Wang Mang's] charter said, "Verily, in the fifth year of [the period] Yüan-shih, the fifth month, on [the day] keng-yin, the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang] came to the Front Hall [of the Palace, had Wang Mang] conducted and [ordered to] mount [the steps to the throne], and in person Shen Ch'in-han (1775-1832) declares that 請 should be 親. The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read the latter word. Wang Hsien-ch'ien says however that the Southern Academy ed. reads as he does. commanded him by this imperial edict, which said,

" `Let the Duke approach, empty himself, The connotation of "empty oneself (hsü-chi 虛己)," a phrase frequently used in imperial charters to officials (cf. HFHD I, 334), is "pay close attention." The Tz'u-hai, sub this phrase, quotes the Han-shih Wai-chuan (by Han Ying, fl. 179-141 B.C.; I have not been able to find this passage), "A superior man who has the highest degree of virtue is yet humble, [so that] he will empty himself and receive [the instructions of] others." and listen to Our words. Previously you, Duke, have guarded the throne [from the time of] Emperor Hsiao-ch'eng [now] to the sixteenth year. You have presented your plans and have been completely loyal. You advised [the Emperor] to execute the former Marquis of Ting-ling, Shun-Yü Chang, in order to repress his rebellion and reveal the evil-doers. You mounted to [the position of] Commander-in-chief and your duties were to assist [the Emperor] at the court.

" `When Emperor Hsiao-ai ascended the throne, while the proud concubine, [the Queen Dowager nee Fu] watched him furtively [for a chance] to work her will and while his wicked courtiers hatched rebellion, you, Duke, yourself impeached the Marquis of Kao ch'ang, Tung Hung, and [at an imperial banquet] changed and corrected the usurped seat of the now deceased [Queen Dowager nee Fu], the mother of King Kung of Ting-t'ao, [Liu K'ang]. From that time on, when the officials of the court discussed [matters], no one failed to accord with the Classics.

" `When you had resigned your position on account of illness and returned to your great house, you were endangered by brigand-like officials, [but] after you had gone to your estate, Emperor Hsiao-ai awakened [to a comprehension of his error] and again returned you, Duke, to Ch'ang-an. When he became ill and [his illness] became increasingly severe, he still did not forget you, Duke, and again especially advanced your rank.

" `That night, in [a time of] haste and confusion, the state was without a presumptive heir and wicked courtiers filled the court, so that the peril was indeed great. We reflected that no one was more fitting than you, Duke, [to make] a plan for giving tranquillity to the state, [so We] had you inducted into the court. That same day [We] dismissed the Marquis of Kao-an, Tung Hsien(2a), and within the interval of a turn of the clepsydra, your loyal plans were immediately established and the main and subordinate [dynastic] principles were all set forth in detail.

" `[During the year-periods] Sui-ho and Yüan-shou, when you twice happened upon the death of an emperor, you carried out all things perfectly, so that civil disturbances did not take place. You have assisted Us to the fifth year, [during which time] you have corrected fundamental matters of human relationships and have fixed the altars of Heaven and Earth. Chang Yen (iii cent.) explains that these two clauses refer to "the rites for capping and marriage and the moving of the Southern and Northern [Altars for] the suburban sacrifices." You have carefully served the gods in heaven and earth and have disposed of [matters in all] the four seasons. You have restored what had been abolished for a thousand years and straightened out the mistakes of a hundred generations. Chang Yen explains, "He had enfeoffed the descendants of the previous dynasties, established [as official] the ancient text of the Classics, and fixed the rites of successively removing [the shrines of remote ancestors to the shrine of the most ancient ancestor]." For the latter rite, cf. Glossary sub Wei Hsüan-ch'eng. [People from all over] the empire have met in harmony and a great crowd has collected together. The Spiritual Tower [spoken of] in the Book of Odes, Referring to Book of Odes, III, i, viii (Legge, p. 456). the building of [the city of] Lo in the Book of History, Referring to Book of History V, xiii (Legge, p. 434 ff). the institutes of the capital at Hao and the regulations of the Shang [dynasty's] capital Yen Shih-ku explains that when the city of Lo was completed, the stubborn people of Shang were removed to dwell there. The point of this passage is that Wang Mang's achievements were as great as those of the founders of the Chou dynasty. have been revived by you in the present [age]. You have made glorious and illustrious the supreme achievements of the deceased deified rulers and have made brilliant and manifest the `excellent virtue' "Excellent virtue" is a phrase from Book of Odes, no. 174; II, ii, x, 3 (Legge, p. 276). of the founder and exemplars [of the imperial line]. You have exalted and made apparent the principle that respect for the father [of a dynasty] consists in [making him] the coadjutor of Heaven. You have restored and established the rites for the suburban sacrifice to the most prominent ancestor of the line anterior to the founder of the house (chiao), the sacrifice to the most ancient ancestor of the line (ti), and for the sacrifice to the greatest exemplar of the house (tsung), This sacrificial canon was a scholastic adoption of the ancient Chou sacrificial custom as recorded in the Kuo-Yü and the Li-chi XX, 1 (Legge, II, 201-202). There were four ancestral sacrifices: the ti 締 sacrifice to the most ancient ancestor of the line, the chiao 郊 (suburban) sacrifice to the most prominent ancestor of the line anterior to the founder of the house, the tsu 祖 sacrifice to the founder of the house, i.e., the ancestor who was responsible for the house securing its royal or imperial standing, and the tsung 宗 sacrifice to the greatest ruler subsequent to the founder of the house, i.e., the greatest exemplar (for tsung as denoting an exemplar, cf. n. 17.6). On these sacrifices, cf. B. Karlgren, "Legends and Cults in Ancient China," Bull. of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 18, p. 215. The previously established imperial ancestral sacrifice to Emperor Kao was evidently considered as the tsu sacrifice, so that only the three others are mentioned. By the device of making these ancestors the coadjutors (pei 配) of high gods, as on p. 17a, i.e., making them the introducers of the worshipper to, intercessors with, and transmitters of the sacrifice to these high gods, these ancestral sacrifices became at the same time the worship of the highest deities. HS 25 B: 21a, b does not mention the sacrificial canon referred to in this passage, merely saying, "In the course of [Wang Mang's] more than thirty years [of rule], the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth underwent five changes." in order to make glorious the great [principle of] filial piety. For this reason [all within] the four seas are concordant, all countries incline towards correct principles, and the barbarians, who have different customs [from the Chinese], have of their own accord come [to the imperial court] without being summoned and are gradually progressing [in civilization] and have corrected their ceremonial bonnets and bring their treasures to assist at the [imperial] sacrifices.

" `You have searched for old [precedents and have based [yourself] on the [correct] Way [of action], you have obeyed the [Confucian] canons and honored ancient [practices, so that] whenever you acted, you have been successful, and in everything you have attained the mean. Your extreme virtue and essential principles have become known to the gods; the imperial ancestors have esteemed you and rejoiced, so that lights have shone brightly and happy portents from Heaven have arrived repeatedly. The grand [cosmological] principles are universally concordant [and there have been] more than seven hundred auspicious presages of unicorns, phoenixes, tortoises, and dragons. Pan Ku thus omitted all but a very few of Wang Mang's portents. This fact speaks well of Pan Ku's judgment of historical values. The Lun-heng (Forke, I, 366) mentions a bird as large as a horse with variegated colors, which roosted in P'ei Commandery. You are accordingly instituting rites and composing music, so that you will have the great merit of having restored peace to the [imperial] ancestral temples and the [imperial] gods of the soils and grains. All [persons] under Heaven rely upon you alone, Duke. Your office is that of Ruling Governor and your rank is The Ching-yu and the Official ed. read 為 instead of 在. in the highest class of the highest ministers.

" `[We] now add [to your honors] the distinctions for the nine conferments. Let them be used in assisting at the [imperial] sacrifices and in performing your civil and military duties. [Their favor] shall moreover be conferred upon your [deceased] ancestors. Oh! How can that fail to be good!' "

Thereupon [Wang] Mang bent his head to the ground, and, bowing repeatedly, received [1] a green apron, For this garment, cf. n. 2.8. a tunic embroidered with dragons and other figures and a mortar-board hat, a short tunic and robe, a fine gold mouth for a scabbard and a fine gold tip for a scabbard, Meng K'ang glosses, "Tang(1) 瑒 is the name of a jade. Of the ornaments for the scabbard of a sword, [the one] on the top [of the scabbard] is called a peng 琫 and [the one] on the bottom is called a pi 珌. The Book of Odes [# 213; II, vi, ix, 2 (Legge, p. 383)] says, `His scabbard has a gem mouth and a gem tip,' which is this [meaning]." The word here written tang(1) is not the exactly correct form of the word intended in the text. Meng K'ang seems moreover to have been in part mistaken in his interpretation of its meaning. The Ching-yu ed. and the Official ed. read for tang the word ### (which I do not find in the K'ang-hsi Dictionary), and the latter quotes Liu Pin as declaring that tang(1) should have the phonetic yi 易, with which the Sung Ch'i ed. agrees. But Su Yü (fl. 1913) notes that Shuo-wen 1 A: 4b defines the word here pronounced as tang(1) as "a jade tablet one foot two inches [long], with a spoon, which is used in the sacrifices in the [imperial] ancestral temples. It comes from [the radical for] jade and yang 昜 [which latter gives] its pronunciation, 丑亮 [at present pronounced ch'ang]." Su Yü points out that the ch'ang is accordingly not an ornament for a scabbard, but the same as the libation tablet 裸圭, the description of which in the Chou-li 41: 2b, sub the Yü-jen (Biot, II, 523), is in precisely the same words as that for tang(1) in the Shuo-wen, and of the ch'ang-kuei 鬯圭 in Kuo-Yü 4: 4a. This word thus has the pronunciation ch'ang and should be written with the phonetic yang, not yi; hence the Sung Ch'i ed. was mistaken. Su Yü asserts that tang(1) is here probably used for tang(2) 璗. Shuo-wen 1 A: 6a defines tang(2) as "the [most] beautiful [kind of] gold, which has the same color as jade. It comes from [the radical for] jade and t'ang [which latter gives] its pronunciation. For the scabbards of their ceremonial swords, the nobles have tang(2) mouths and gem [more probably liu (fine gold)] tips." Erh-ya 5: 9b says, "Gold is called tang(2); the [most] beautiful [kind] of it is called liu 鏐." In a note to the passage of the Book of Odes quoted above (in Shih-san Ching Chu-su 14 ii: 2a), the Mao interpretation (ii cent. B.C.; describing ancient practices) says, "The Son of Heaven has a jade mouth to his scabbard and a mother-of-pearl tip to his scabbard. Nobles have tang(2) mouths to their scabbards and gem [more probably liu (fine gold)] tips to their scabbards. Grandees have fine silver mouths to their scabbards and liu (fine gold) tips to their scabbards. Gentlemen have shell mouths to their scabbards and shell tips to their scabbards." Shuo-wen 1 A: 4b, sub peng, however says, "The ornament for the tip of a scabbard. The Son of Heaven uses jade and the nobles use metal (gold)." HHS, Tr. 30: 12b states moreover that both the Emperor and the vassal kings used gold in their scabbards. Hence tang(1) cannot here be the name for a kind of jade and this word should be read as tang(2). and ornamented shoes, Meng K'ang explains, "They are the present ornamental tips to fasting and sacrificial shoe clogs. They protrude from the shoe one or two inches." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Their shape is that of a forked [raised] end." The Sung Ch'i ed. says, "Wei Chao says, `Chü-li 句履 are ornamented at the end and are in the shape of the hilt of a sword.' " In Li-chi II, i, iii, 38 (Couvreur, I, 183) and XI, iii, 12 (Couvreur, I, 710) the first word of this phrase is written 絇. In a note to Yi-li 3: 6a (Steele, I, 15), Cheng Hsüan says, "The chü . . . are used as guards in walking. In shape they are like the hilt on a scabbard of a sword, and they are at the front of the shoes." For figures of these clogs, cf. Nieh Ch'ung-yi's San-li T'u (presented 962) 8: 11a; also the account in Wen-hsüan 35: 36a, sub P'an Hsü Yüan-mou's (d. 215) "Chiu-hsi-wen." [2] a princely chariot with bells and a quadriga of horses, Yen Shih-ku explains, "The luan-lu 鸞路 is a princely (lu) carriage on which are used little bells (luan) . . . Four horses are called a 乘 (quadriga)." The reference is to Li-chi XII, 15 (31: 7b; Legge, II, 34; Couvreur, I, 734-35). Luan-lu is also used in HS 22: 23b, 24a; 25 B: 13a. with the dragon banner with nine tails and the spotted deerskin cap and white silk pleated robe, a war-chariot with a quadriga of horses, [3] a red bow and arrows and a black bow and arrows, Book of History V, xxviii, 4 (Legge, p. 619) states that "a red bow and a hundred red arrows, a black bow and a hundred black arrows" were awarded to Marquis Wen of Chin. [4 a] vermillion axe of authority to be held on his left and a metal (copper) battle-axe to be held on his right, one set of armor and a helmet, [5] two flagons of black millet herb-flavored liquor Mentioned in the Book of History, V, xiii, 25 (Legge, p. 449). and two jade tablet spoons, [6] two green jade tablets for the nine conferments, Yen Shih-ku remarks, "Ch'ing 青 is the color of spring. The eastern quarter gives birth to, grows, and nourishes all things." [7] vermillion doors, [8] inside staircases, Meng K'ang explains, "納 is 内. It means to make an opening at the junction of two walls in the basement of his mansion (tien), and make a staircase, so as not to cause [the staircase] to be exposed to the sky." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Meng [K'ang's] explanation is correct. Honored persons do not wish to be exposed to the sky as they go upstairs, hence they [put the stairs] inside beneath the eaves." In Wen-hsüan 35: 37a, P'an Hsü writes in his "Chiu-hsi-wen" ("Essay on the Nine Distinctions"), "For this reason the prince who possesses the distinctions has an inside staircase to mount up [to the main floor of his house]," and Li Shan quotes Ju Shun's explanation, "The basement of the mansion (tien) is cut into to make a staircase in order to have comfort on both sides, above and below [in climbing to the main floor]." Ancient Chinese official residences seem often to have had below the main floor a basement floor for the servants and usually to have had the main floor elevated above the level of the ground. Han funerary pottery shows houses with even five stories; cf. Maspero, "La vie privée a l'époque Han," in Revue des arts asiatiques, 7: 188. and [9] the insignia of having an Office of [Superintendancy over] his Clan, an Office of Praying, an Office of Augury, an Office of Recording, three hundred men of [the Gentlemen] as Rapid as Tigers, one Household Steward and one Assistant [Household Steward]. In each of the Offices over his Clan, of Praying, of Divination, and of Recording there were established Bailiffs and Accessory [Officials]. When the Duke Giving Tranquility to the Han Dynasty was in his yamen inside [the Palace] or in his residence outside [the Palace, the Gentlemen] as Rapid as Tigers were to act as the guard at his gates, and those who were qualified to come out or in were to have their names inscribed on a register [at his gates]. From the Four Coadjutors and the three highest ministers [on down, if anyone] had business at his yamen or residence, they were all to use passports. The Prince's Lodge of the Kings of Ch'u was made the residence of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty. It was grandly repaired and built and a vacant space [arranged] all around it for the guard. The temples and funerary chambers of his [deceased] grandfather and father were all given vermillion doors and inside staircases. There are five ancient lists of these nine distinctions: (I) In Han-shih Wai-chuan 8: 9a, sect. 13 (by Han Ying, fl. 174-141 B.C.), "The books say, `When the nobles are virtuous, the Son of Heaven gives them distinctions. The first distinction is carriages and horses; the second distinction is garments and robes, the third distinction is the As Rapid as Tigers; the fourth distinction is music and [musical] instruments; the fifth distinction is inside staircases; the sixth distinction is vermillion doors; the seventh distinction is bows and arrows; the eighth distinction is ceremonial- and battle-axes; the ninth distinction is black millet herb-flavored liquor." (II) The Li-wei Han-wen-chia (prob. end i cent. B.C.), Yü-han Shang-fang Chi-yi-shu collection, p. 6a, has a similar list, but in a slightly different order; (III) the passage of the HS translated above; (IV) in a note to the Kung-yang Commentary 6: 3b, Dk. Chuang, I, x, Ho Hsiu (129-182) quotes the list in the Han-wen-chia; (V) Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) has the same list (translated in HFHD, II, 47-48, n. 9.2). Fan Ning (339-401) also quotes the list from the Han-wen-chia in a note to Ku-liang Commentary 5: 2a, Dk. Chuang, I, x. Wang Mang's list is different from all the others in that, instead of musical instruments, he received "jade tablets with the nine emblems." These nine distinctions are not mentioned in the Five Classics. They are mentioned first, seemingly, in the Han-shih Wai-chuan, and in a memorial of 128 B.C. to Emperor Wu (HS 6: 9a); Chou-li 18: 10b ff, sub the Ta-tsung-po (Biot, I, 428-430) gives a list of the "nine conferments (ming)," (trans. here in n. 21.2) ibid., 21: 1a (Biot II, 1) refers to them (also cf. n. 21.2); but this passage of the Chou-li may be no earlier than the time of Wang Mang. The Spring and Autumn (v cent. B.C.; Dk. Chuang, I, x; Legge, p. 72) uses the phrase 錫桓公命, in which the first word is interpreted by the Kung-yang Commentary (iii cent. B.C.) 6: 3a as 賜, but understood as "distinctions" by Ho Hsiu and others. The Bamboo Annals, K. Yu, yr. I (Legge, Shooking, Intro., p. 157) uses the term hsi to mean "to grant distinctions." It is thus probable that the tradition concerning these nine distinctions came down to Wang Mang in a slightly different form from that in the Han-shih Wai-chuan. The use of those distinctions was continued after Han times; San-Kuo-chih, Wei, 1: 35b-36b, quotes an edict of Emperor Hsien, dated A.D. 213, granting these nine distinctions to Ts'ao Ts'ao and enumerating them in detail.

Ch'en Ch'ung also memorialized, "When the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty goes outside of the city gate for the purpose of sacrificing to his [deceased] grandfather or father, it would be proper for the Colonel of the City Gate to accompany [the Duke] at the head of his cavalrymen. Then when [the Duke] enters [the city] he will have the guards of his gates [to protect him] and when he goes out of [the city] he will have cavalrymen [following him, by all of which] his state would be made more honorable." His memorial was approved.

That autumn, because of the auspicious presage that the Empress [nee Wang] would have descendants, Chang Yen (iii cent.) explains, "At that time she was in her fourteenth year and first showed signs of womanhood." For the meaning of this name, cf. Glossary sub Tzu-wu Road. [Wang] Mang cut the Tzu-wu Road. The Tzu-wu Road cuts straight across the Southern Mountains from Tu-ling and passes [into] Han-chung [Commandery].

The eight messengers They had been sent out in March, A.D. 4; cf. A: 17a. Ch'en Ch'ung was one of these commissioners, so that their return preceded this notice. [who had been sent to observe and influence the people's] customs had returned and had said that the customs of the empire have been unified. They had falsely invented accompanied and unaccompanied songs from the commanderies and kingdoms to praise [Wang Mang's] achievements and virtuous conduct, in altogether thirty thousand words. [Wang] Mang memorialized that [their report] should be established and published as a [permanent] ordinance. Chou Shou-ch'ang explains the phrase ting-chu-ling 定著令: "When the Son of Heaven of the Han [dynasty] published an ordinance, it was stored in the yamen of the [Grandee] Secretary. The Eminent Founder, [Emperor Kao], and the Empress of [Emperor] Kao employed this practise. When, [in the case of] Emperor Ch'eng, it was ordered that an Heir-apparent should be permitted to cross the imperial pathway [cf. HFHD II, 373-74], the ordinance was also published. At this time, [Wang] Mang openly memorialized, begging that [the matter] should be established and published as an ordinance." He also memorialized that [because] there existed such [perfect] institutions, in the market-places there were not two prices, the offices were without law-cases or litigation, towns were without thieves or robbers, the countryside was without famished people, things dropped on the roads were not picked up, and males and females took separate paths, A condition described in Li-chi III, v, 15 (Legge I, 244; Couvreur I, 319). [hence] those who violated [the institutions should merely suffer] punishments [which portrayed] the likeness [of the mutilating punishments in the criminal's clothing]. Cf. HFHD II, 123-25, App. II.

Liu Hsin(1a), Ch'en Ch'ung, and others, twelve persons According to 18: 29a-31b, on June 29, P'ing Yen, Liu Hsin1a, K'ung Yung, and Sun Ch'ien were enfeoffed because they had built the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung; Wang Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en Ch'ung, Li Hsi(6), Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng(1) were enfeoffed because as messengers they had unified and spread the imperial teaching and influence. [altogether], were all enfeoffed as full marquises because they had built the Ming-t'ang or had spread the [imperial] teaching and influence. According to 18: 29a-31b, on June 29, P'ing Yen, Liu Hsin1a, K'ung Yung, and Sun Ch'ien were enfeoffed because they had built the Ming-t'ang and Pi-yung; Wang Yün, Yen Ch'ien, Ch'en Ch'ung, Li Hsi(6), Ho Tang, Hsieh Yin, Lu P'u, and Ch'en Feng(1) were enfeoffed because as messengers they had unified and spread the imperial teaching and influence.

Since [in the empire, Wang] Mang had brought about [the condition of] complete tranquillity, in that to the north he had influenced the Huns, to the east he had caused [people] to come [from] beyond the ocean, and to the south he had attracted the Huang-chih, [but] only in the western quarter he had not yet produced [any effects], he therefore sent a General of the Gentlemen-at-the-Palace, P'ing Hsien, and others, bearing much money and silk, to tempt the Ch'iang outside the barriers and have them present their territory [to the throne and to express] a desire to be received by and to be subordinate [to Chinese rule.

Upon his return, P'ing] Hsien and the others memorialized, saying, "The leaders of the Ch'iang tribes, Liang Yüan, and others, whose number might be twelve thousand persons, wish to be received and to be your subjects. They offer the Hsien-shui Sea, the Yün Gorge, and the Salt Lake. The level land with fine grass is all given to the Chinese people, and [the Ch'iang] will themselves dwell in the narrow and difficult places and act as guards at the frontiers.

"When I asked Liang Yüan the reason for his submitting, he replied, saying, `The Grand Empress Dowager is sage and glorious, the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty is most benevolent, and the world is completely peaceful, so that the five [kinds of] cereals ripen and there are good harvests. Some stalks of grain are ten feet or more tall, sometimes one spikelet has three kernels, sometimes, without being sown, [grain] springs up of itself, sometimes [silk] cocoons form themselves without any worms having been fed, sweet dew comes down from Heaven and wine springs come out of the earth, Phrases from Li-chi VII, iv, 16 (Legge, I, p. 392; Couvreur I, 536), "Hence Heaven will send down sweet dew and Earth will produce wine springs." "male and female phoenixes have come and arrived," A quotation from the Book of History, II, iv, 9 (Legge, p. 88), cf. Karlgren, BMFEA 20, 142, Gl. 1346. supernatural birds have descended and perched, so that for the [last] four years the Ch'iang people have had nothing to suffer [from the government]. Hence "oh! how pleasant" Quoting the first two words in Book of Odes IV, ii, iii, 1, 2, 3, no. 299 (Legge, 616, 617). The use of a phrase from the Odes in a quotation of a speech by the barbarian Ch'iang indicates the artificial classicism of Wang Mang's court. to be admitted [to the Chinese empire] and to become your subordinates.'

"It would be proper at this time to settle them in [stationary] occupations and to establish a [Chief Commandant] of a Dependent State to direct and protect them."

The matter was referred to [Wang] Mang. [Wang] Mang memorialized in reply, saying, "You, [Grand] Empress Dowager, have controlled the rule for several years; your grace and bounty have inundated and overflowed, so that a filial attitude of submission [has spread over] the four quarters and not even the most distant regions with different customs have failed to turn towards correct principles. A Yüeh-shang potentate, [whose speech must be] successively interpreted, presented a white pheasant; the Huang-chih [came] from [a distance of] thirty thousand li to offer a live rhinoceros as tribute; kings of the Eastern Barbarians crossed the Great Ocean to offer the treasures of their states; the Hun Shan-Yü conformed to [Confucian] institutions and did away with his double personal name. Now at the western boundary, Liang Yüan and the others in turn present their land and [desire to] become your menials. Anciently T'ang Yao's [virtue] `filled Ch'ien Ta-chao (1744-1813) states that 橫 is used for 光, to agree with the Book of History I, i, 1 (Legge, p. 15). In a note to HHS, Mem. 7: 9b, 10a, Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1728-1804) asserts that the original of both the above words was kuang 桄, which in the Erh-ya, "Shih-yen," 3: 2b, is said to mean "熲充, to fill." and covered [all within] the four extremities of the empire,' but it could not surpass your [virtue].

"Now I have carefully examined that there are already a Tung-hai (Eastern Sea), a Nan-hai (Southern Sea), and a Po-hai (Northern Sea) Commandery, [but] there is not yet a Hsi-hai (Western Sea) Commandery. I beg that you will accept the territory which Liang Yüan and the others are offering and make it the commandery of Hsi-hai.

"Your servant has also heard that when the Sage-kings gave order to the ornaments of Heaven, [the stars], and fixed the principles of geographical [arrangements], they took the mountains, streams, and customs of the common people as the principles for the boundaries of their provinces. The territory of the Han dynasty is broader than that of the two [sage-]lords and three [dynasties of] kings, Fu Ch'ien comments, "The domain of restraint [belonging to] T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun], [who were the two "sage-lords"], together with that [belonging to] the Chou [dynasty] was seven thousand li square; that [belonging to] the Hsia and Yin [dynasties] was three thousand li square; the territory of the Han [dynasty] is thirteen thousand li from north to south." With this belief that the Han was the greatest of dynasties, it was only natural that the Chinese called themselves "men of Han." having altogether thirteen provinces. Many of the names of the provinces together with their boundaries do not correspond to those in the Classics. The `Canon of Yao' [speaks of] twelve provinces; Book of History, II, i, 10 (Legge, p. 38). later they were fixed at nine provinces. The vast territory of the Han dynasty is far-extending. When the Provincial Shepherds go to inspect their divisions, the most distant ones are more than thirty thousand li [away], so that there cannot be [only] nine [provinces]. I would respectfully employ the ideas of the Classics in correcting the names of the twelve provinces and make boundaries for them to correspond to the correct original [boundaries]." The memorial was approved.

He also added fifty items to the laws. Offenders were transported to Hsi-hai [Commandery]. Those who were transported were counted by the thousands and ten-thousands, so that the common people for the first [time] held grudges [against Wang Mang].

The Marquis of Ch'üan-ling, Liu Ch'ing(4i), sent to the imperial court a letter saying, "When King Ch'eng of the Chou [dynasty] was a minor, he was called the Young Prince, and the Duke of Chou acted as Regent. Now that the Emperor is rich in youthfulness, it would be proper to order the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty to perform the duties of the Son of Heaven like the Duke of Chou." The various courtiers all said, "it would be proper [to do] as [Liu] Ch'ing(4i) has said."

In the winter, when [the planet] Mars was occulted by the moon, Mars was occulted by the moon at sunset on Nov. 29 of this year. Emperor P'ing became ill. [Wang] Mang made a written declaration [to Heaven] in which he begged for [the Emperor's] life at the altar to the Supreme [One]. He had a jade circlet hung on his person, carried jade insignia, and [declared] that he was willing in person to take the place [of the dying Emperor]. The declaration was stored in a "metal-bound coffer" This term is the title of ch. vi in the Book of History V (Legge, p. 351); Wang Mang was imitating the incident therein recorded as performed by the Duke of Chou. The coffer was opened in 24 A.D., cf. 99 C: 22b. and placed in the Front Hall [of the Palace]. He ordered the various highest ministers not to presume to speak [to him about government business, in order that he might concentrate on caring for the Emperor's illness]. I owe this illuminating interpretation of a very condensed expression to Prof. Duyvendak. He points out that ### denotes the reports made by the highest ministers to Wang Mang; cf. 99 A: 18b.

In the twelfth month, Emperor P'ing died. A Cf. 12: 10a. general amnesty [was granted] to the empire. [Wang] Mang summoned those who understood the rites, Tsung-po Feng and others. With them, [Wang Mang] determined that the officials of the empire [ranking at] six hundred piculs and above should all wear mourning to the third year. [Wang Mang] memorialized, that the Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-ch'eng should be honored with the title of [the Temple of] the Controlling Exemplar and the Temple of [Emperor] Hsiao-p'ing with the title of [the Temple of] the Primary Exemplar.

At that time, the line of descent from Emperor Yüan had been ended, but of the great-grandsons of Emperor Hsüan there were living: five kings and forty-eight full marquises, [including] the Marquis of Kuang-chi, [Liu] Hsien(3c). These five kings were the King of Huai-yang, Liu Yin(4b) 縯 (HS 14: 21b); the King of Chung-shan, Liu Ch'eng-tu (14: 22a); the King of Ch'u, Liu Yü(1a) 紆 (14: 22b); the King of Hsin-tu(a), Liu Ching(3b) (14: 22b); and the King of Tung-p'ing, Liu K'ai-ming (14: 21b). (Listed by Hu San-hsing, [1230-1287].) He also enumerates the following as the marquises referred to: the Marquis of Kuang-chi, Liu Hsien(3c) (HS 15 B: 37b); the Marquis of Yang-hsing, Liu Chi-sheng 寄生 (15 B: 41a); the Marquis of Ling-yang, Liu Chia(1n) (15 B: 41b); the Marquis of Kao-lo, Liu Hsiu(2c) 修 (15 B: 41b); the Marquis of P'ing-yi, Liu Min(3d) 閔 (15 B: 42a); the Marquis of P'ing-tsuan, Liu K'uang(4c) 況 (15 B: 42a); the Marquis of Ho-ch'ang, Liu Fu(3b) 輔 (15 B: 42b); the Marquis of Yi(1)-hsiang, Liu K'ai(1b) 開 (15 B: 42b); the Marquis of Chiu-hsiang, Liu Pu-hai(d) 不害 (15 B: 43a); the Marquis of Chiao-hsiang, Liu Wu(3c) (15 B: 43a); the Marquis of Yi(2)-hsiang, Liu K'uei(1f) 恢 (15 B: 43b); the Marquis of Ch'ang-ch'eng, Liu Feng(2a) 豐 (15 B: 43b); the Marquis of Lo-an, Liu Yü(10g) 禹 (15 B: 44a); the Marquis of T'ao-hsiang, Liu Kuei(1e) 恢 (15 B: 52a); the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Pao(1c) 裦 (15 B: 52b); the Marquis of Ch'ang-hsiang, Liu Tan(4d) 旦 (15 B: 52b); the Marquis of Hsin-hsiang, Liu Li(7) 鯉 (15 B: 53a); the Marquis of Wu-hsiang, Liu Kuang(1k) 光 (15 B: 53a); the Marquis of Hsin-ch'eng, Liu Wu(3d) (15 B: 53b); the Marquis of Yi-ling, Liu Feng(2b) (15 B: 53b); the Marquis of T'ang-hsiang, Liu Hu(4e) 護 (15 B: 54a); the Marquis of Ch'eng-ling, Liu Yu(2c) 由 (15 B: 54a); the Marquis of Ch'eng-yang, Liu Chung(6c) 衆 (15 B: 54b); the Marquis of Fu-ch'ang, Liu Hsiu(1b) 休 (15 B: 54b); the Marquis of An-lu, Liu P'ing(2e) 平 (15 B: 55a); the Marquis of Wu-an, Liu Yü(9) 譽 (15 B: 55a); the Marquis of Chao-hsiang, Liu Ch'ung(1c) 充 (15 B: 55b); the Marquis of Fu-hsiang, Liu P'u(3c) 普 (15 B: 55b); the Marquis of Fang-ch'eng, Liu Hsüan(1f) 宣 (15 B: 56a); the Marquis of Tang-yang, Liu Yi(8) 益 (15 B: 56a); the Marquis of Kuang-ch'eng, Liu Chieh(2) 疌 (15 B: 56b); the Marquis of Ch'un-ch'eng, Liu Yün(3) 允 (15 B: 56b); the Marquis of Lü-hsiang, Liu Shang(4c) 尚 (15 B: 57b); the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Yin(2e) (15 B: 58a); the Marquis of Yüan-hsiang, Liu Lung(1b) 隆 (15 B: 58a); the Marquis of Shou-ch'üan, Liu Ch'eng(5b) 承 (15 B: 58b); the Marquis of Hsiang-shan, Liu Tsun(2) 遵 (15 B: 58b); the Marquis of Yen-hsiang, Liu Hsin(4g) (15 B: 50a); the Marquis of Wu-p'ing, Liu Huang(5b) 璜 (15 B: 50b); the Marquis of Ling-hsiang, Liu Ts'eng(b) (15 B: 50b); the Marquis of Wu-an, Liu Shou(5c) ### (15 B: 51a); the Marquis of Fu-yang, Liu Meng 萌 (15 B: 45a); the Marquis of Hsi-yang, Liu Yen(3j) 偃 (15 B: 47a); the Marquis of T'ao-hsiang, Liu Li(5b) (15 B: 44a); the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Hsüan-ch'eng 玄成 (15 B: 39b); the Marquis of Chin-hsiang, Liu Pu-hai(c) 不害 (15 B: 40a); the Marquis of P'ing-t'ung, Liu Tan(4c) 旦 (15 B: 40a); the Marquis of Hsi-an, Liu Han(4d) 漢 (15 B: 40b); the Marquis of Hu-hsiang, Liu K'ai(1a) 開 (15 B: 40b); and the Marquis of Chung-hsiang, Liu Shao-po 少柏 (15 B: 41a). Hu San-hsing enumerates fifty marquises and states that the Marquis of Kuang-chi, Liu Hsien(3c), was the father of the Young Prince (so should not be counted) and the Marquis of Li-hsiang, Liu Hsüan-ch'eng, had previously been dismissed, leaving only forty-eight. But I find no evidence and no date for the dismissal of Liu Hsüan-ch'eng (15 B: 39b). Forty-one of the foregoing fifty, marquisates had been established at the request of Wang Mang in A.D. 1, 2, and 5 [Wang] Mang hated it that they were adults, so advised, "A cousin is not permitted to be the successor [to his cousin of the same generation]." So he selected the very youngest among [Emperor Hsüan's] great-great-grandsons, [Liu] Ying(1a), the son of the Marquis of Kuang-chi, [Liu] Hsien(3c). He was in the second year of his age. [Wang Mang] took as a pretext that when he was divined about and physiognomized, he was the most auspicious [of all].

In this month, the Displayer of Splendor in the South, Hsieh Hsiao, memorialized that the Chief of Wu-kung [prefecture], Meng T'ung, while a well was being dug, had secured a white stone, round above the square below, with red writing on the stone. The writing said, "An instruction to the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang] Mang, that he should become the Emperor." The coming of mandates [from Heaven] through portents began indeed with this one.

[Wang] Mang had the various highest ministers advise the [Grand] Empress Dowager [nee Wang] of it. The [Grand] Empress Dowager said, "This [thing] is trumped up to deceive the empire. [Its message] cannot be put into practise." The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun(4b), said to the [Grand] Empress Dowager that when matters have already reached such [a condition as they had], there was nothing that could be done [about it], that if she wished to check it, she did not have the strength to stop it; and also that [Wang] Mang would not presume to have any other [intentions], but merely desired to be entitled The Official ed. reads 居 for 稱. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. the Regent, in order to make his power greater and to settle the empire and make it obedient. The [Grand] Empress Dowager listened to him and promised [to do so].

[Wang] Shun(4b) and others thereupon together had the [Grand] Empress Dowager issue an imperial edict which said, "Verily, [We] have heard that when `Heaven gave birth to' the crowd of `common people,' they were unable to govern themselves, so `He set up princes for them', A quotation from Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsiang, XIV, summer (Legge, 4627, 466b). in order to control them. When a prince is young, there must be someone whom he can rely upon, who should then act as regent. Then only will [the prince] be able to carry out [the duties] given him by Heaven and complete the transforming influence of Earth, so that the various living beings will flourish and be nurtured. Does not the Book of History say, `The work is Heaven's---let men take the place of [Heaven]'? Book of History II, iii, ii, 5 (Legge, p. 73; Couvreur, p. 47).

"Because Emperor Hsiao-p'ing was young, We temporarily took charge of the government of the state. [We] hoped to put upon him the cap of maturity and to entrust the government to him and hand it over. But now his life has been cut short and he is dead. Alas! How sad!

"[We] have already had the high officials summon twenty-three great-great-grandsons of Emperor Hsiao-hsüan, to choose an appropriate person to be the heir and successor of Emperor Hsiao-p'ing. This great-great-grandson is of the age when he is in swaddling-clothes; if [We] are not able to secure [to be his regent] a princely man who has reached the very heart of virtue, who can give tranquillity to [the empire]?

"The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang] Mang, has assisted in the government for three reigns, has repeatedly met with critical times, has tranquillized and made brilliant the House of Han, and has thereupon made [people] of customs differing [from those of the Chinese become] like [the Chinese even] in their institutions, [so that] he has had the same presages as those had at a different age by the Duke of Chou. Now the Displayer of Splendor in the South, [Hsieh] Hsiao, and the Chief of Wu-kung [prefecture, Meng] T'ung, have presented [a memorial] speaking of a red stone portent. We have thought profoundly that its meaning, which said, `[Wang Mang] should become Emperor,' is however that as Regent he should perform the duties of the Emperor. Verily if there is a model, accomplishment is easy; [but] if there is no sage, there is no model. Stange ibid., 82, n. 1, remarks that this sentence refers to the Duke of Chou as the model.

"Let it be ordered that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty should occupy [the post of] Regent and should [be permitted to] mount the eastern [master's] steps [at the altar to Heaven], as in the former case [was done by] the Duke of Chou. Let the prefecture of Wu-kung become the territory whose revenue is allocated to the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, and let its name be the town of Han-kuang (the Han [dynasty's] brilliance). Let there be prepared a memorial concerning the ceremonial [for the above]."

Thereupon the various courtiers memorialized, saying, "The sage virtue of the [Grand] Empress Dowager is brilliant. You have seen deeply into the intentions of Heaven and have issued an imperial order that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty should act as Regent. Your subjects have heard that when King Ch'eng of the Chou [dynasty] was a minor and the practises of the Chou [dynasty] had not yet been completed, so that King Ch'eng was unable to perform his duties to Heaven and Earth and to renew the illustrious services [performed by Kings] Wen and Wu, the Duke of Chou temporarily acted as Regent and the practises of the Chou [dynasty] were therefore completed and its kingly house was at peace. If he had not acted as Regent, then it is to be feared that the Chou [dynasty] would have lost the mandate of Heaven.

"The Book of History [quotes the Duke of Chou as] saying [to Prince Shih, the Duke of Shao], `If the son or grandson who becomes the heir to and serves our [lord, King Wu], should be altogether incapable of reverencing [the deities] above and below, [Heaven, Earth, the ancestors, and gods], and lose the glory of his predecessors, if we [were retired, living] at home, we would remain ignorant of it. This translation deviates from that of Legge, who follows the pseudo-Kung An-kuo comment. It is justified by the context in the HS, cf. Shang-shu Chu-su 16: 11a; Chiang Sheng, Shang-shu Chi-chu Yin-su ("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh," 397: 11b); Sun Hsing-yen, Shang-shu Chin-ku-wen Chu-su 22:2b ("P'ing-chin-kuan Ts'ung-shu ed.). But Yen Shih-ku and Liu Fung-lu, Shang-shu Chin-ku-wen Chi-chieh ("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh Hsü-p'ien" 344: 1b) punctuate differently. The point is that just as the sage Duke of Chou knew he needed to be Regent, so Wang Mang must now be Regent. The Mandate [of Heaven] is not easy [to retain], and the assistance of Heaven is not sure, so that His mandate may be lost.' Book of History V, xvi, 3, 4 (Legge, p. 476; Couvreur, pp. 298, 299). This quotation differs from the present (ancient) text of the Book of History: for 復嗣, this quotation reads 嗣事; for 弗 it reads 不; for 恭 it reads 共; for 佚, it reads 失; the 天 before the 命 is omitted; for 難, it reads 應斐; for 其墜 it reads 亡隊. The HS quotes, as usual, the "modern text" of that book (Tuan Yü-ts'ai, Ku-wen Shang-shu Chuan-yi ("Huang-ch'ing Ching-chieh" 590: 1b). The explanation says, `The Duke of Chou wore the tasselled mortar-board bonnet of the Son of Heaven, faced south and held audience for the courtiers, and made proclamations and gave ordinances, constantly calling them the mandates of the King. The Duke of Shao was a worthy person, [but] did not understand the intentions of the sage, [the Duke of Chou], hence was not pleased.' We have not been able to discover whence this comment was taken. The [Record of] Proprieties (Li[chi]), in `Record of the Ming-t'ang,' says, `When the Duke of Chou held court for the nobles in the Ming-t'ang, [like] the Son of Heaven, he turned his back to the axe-embroidered screen, faced south, and stood up.' Li-chi XII, 1 (Legge, II, 29; Couvreur, I, 725). It means that the Duke of Chou occupied the throne of the Son of Heaven to the sixth year, held court for the nobles, established the rites, and composed the music, so that the empire submitted widely. [But] the Duke of Shao was not pleased. At that time, King Wu had [just] died and the coarse mourning garments had not yet been put off. If we consider it in this way, when the Duke of Chou first became Regent, he then occupied the Son of Heaven's throne and it was not [that he waited] until the sixth year [before] he mounted the eastern steps. The eastern steps were reserved for the host or the master of the household and for the Son of Heaven at the altar to Heaven.

"The lost chapter of the Book of History, `Auspicious Grain,' The chapter "Auspicious Grain" is one of the lost chapters of the Book of History. It seems to have been one of the "lost chapters" made canonical by Wang Mang. says, `When the Duke of Chou offered the herb-flavored millet liquor, he stood upon the steps of the eastern staircase and was conducted to mount them, and the presentation speech [at the offering] said, "The Acting King is ruling over the government and diligently harmonizing the world." ' The [foregoing] is how the Duke of Chou was entitled by the person [who read] the presentation speech when [the Duke of Chou] was regent in the government.

"When King Ch'eng put on his cap of maturity, the Duke of Chou thereupon presented the government to him. The Book of History [quotes the Duke of Chou] as saying, `We return [the government to Our] nephew, the intelligent prince.' Book of History, V, xiii, 1 (Legge, p. 434; Couvreur, 269). I have adopted the K'ung An-kuo interpretation of this sentence, discussed and rejected by Legge, but plainly employed in this memorial. Fu-p'i has come to mean "restore the monarchy." (Duyvendak.) The Duke of Chou constantly called [his orders] the mandates of the King, and acted on his own authority without reporting [matters to the King], hence he said, `I return [the government] to my nephew, the intelligent prince.'

"Your subjects beg that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty should act as Regent, mount the eastern steps, The Official ed. emends 祚 to 阼. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. wear the apron and tasselled mortar-board hat of the Son of Heaven, turn his back to the axe-embroidered screen We would expect the word 立 after the 依, reading, "stand between the door and window," to correspond with 99 A: 26a. Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) 36: 13a has this word. between the door and window, and face south as he holds court for the courtiers and attends to the business of government. When he goes in or out [of the Palace] in his chariot and robes, [the people] should be warned and [the streets] cleared. The common people and courtiers should call themselves his `subjects' or `female servants.' Chieh 妾 is the feminine of ch'en 臣; cf. 24 A: 20b(12); 44: 3a(3). In all [these matters, he should be treated] as in the regulations for the Son of Heaven.

"When he makes the suburban sacrifices to Heaven and to Earth, makes the sacrifice to the greatest exemplar of the house in the Ming-t'ang, makes offerings and sacrifices in the [imperial] ancestral temples, and performs worship and makes sacrifices to the many gods, in his presentation speech he should be called, `the Acting Emperor.' The common people and courtiers should speak of him as `the Regent-Emperor'; he should call himself `I'. This word Yü is part of the imperial self-designation 予一人. In judging and deciding matters [when holding] court, he should regularily employ the imperial edicts of the Emperor and pronounce [that he issues imperial] decrees, Cf. HFHD, I, 192, n. 1. thereby upholding and obeying the will of August Heaven, assisting and protecting the House of Han, and guarding and tranquillizing the young heir to Emperor Hsiao-p'ing, [thus] carrying out the principle of entrusting [a Regent with the rule] and exalting the development of good government and peace.

"When he pays court at an audience of either the Grand Empress Dowager [nee Wang] or the Empress Dowager [nee Wang], he should reassume the devotion of a subject. He should in his own person [as a noble] exercise the government and issue `instructions' to his own palace, his family, his [marquis's] estate, and his special territory [of Han-kuang], as in his previous practise, [according to] the legal practises of a noble. Your subjects, risking death, make this request." The edict of the [Grand] Empress Dowager said, "It is approved."

The next year, [Wang Mang] changed the year-period and called it Chü-shê (the Regency).

In [the year-period] Chü-shê, the first year, the first month, [Wang] Mang sacrificed to the Lords on High at the Southern [Altar for] the suburban sacrifice, welcomed the spring at the Eastern [Altar for] the suburban sacrifice, performed the rites of the great archery contest in the Ming-t'ang, and served food to Thrice Venerable and Fivefold Experienced. He completed the rites, then left. He probably followed the ritual in the Li-chi XXI, ii, 21 (Legge, II, 231; Couvreur, II, 311). Cf. Glossary sub Fivefold Experienced. The last sentence probably means that his attendance was not perfunctory and that he stayed through the whole ceremony.

He established the Five Clerks At the Foot of the Pillars, with their rank like that of the [Attendant] Secretaries. When he attended to government business, they attended at his side and recorded and made detailed accounts of his words and acts.

In the third month, on [the day] chi-ch'ou, [Liu] Ying(1a), a great-great-grandson of Emperor Hsüan, was set up as the Imperial Heir-apparent and was given the title, Young Prince (Ju-tzu). Wang Shun(4b) was made Grand Tutor Assisting on the Left, Chen Feng was made Grand Support Aiding on the Right, and Chen Han was made Grand Guardian Serving at the Rear. There were also established four Junior [Coadjutors] whose ranks were all two thousand piculs. Hu San-hsing states that these four Junior Coadjutors were the Junior Master, the Junior Tutor, the Junior Support, and the Junior Guardian.

In the fourth month, the Marquis of An-chung, Liu Ch'ung(2c), plotted with his Chancellor, Chang Shao, saying, "The Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang] Mang, acts on his own authority in holding court and exercizing the government, which will inevitably endanger the Liu clan. No one of those in the empire who disapprove of it has however dared to be the first to make a move. This is a shame to the [imperial] house. I will give an example to the [imperial] house and clan and be the first [to attack. All] within [the four] seas will certainly respond." [Chang] Shao and others, who followed him, [to the number of] more than a hundred persons, thereupon made an assault upon [the city of] Yüan, [but] did not succeed in entering it and were defeated.

[Chang] Shao was a cousin of Chang Sung. [Chang] Sung, with [Liu] Ch'ung's father's cousin, Liu Chia(1s), went to [the palace] portals and surrendered of their own accord, [so that Wang] Mang pardoned them and did not condemn them. Thereupon [Chang] Sung composed a memorial for [Liu] Chia(1s), which said,

"During [the year-periods] Chien-p'ing and Yüan-shou, when the main line [of the Han Dynasty] was in imminent danger of being cut short and the [imperial] house was in imminent danger of being overthrown, thanks to your Majesty [Wang Mang's] sage virtue, you `crawled on your knees to rescue and save it,' A phrase from the Book of Odes, I, iii, x, 4 (Legge, p. 57). you protected and defended, succored The Official ed. has restored the stroke taken from the word 匡, both here and on p. 30a, which was omitted because of the taboo on the personal name of the Grand Founder (T'ai-tsu) of the Sung dynasty, Chao K'uang-yin, who reigned 960-975. and guarded it, so that the [heavenly] mandate of the [Han] state was again prolonged and the imperial house opened its eyes [again].

"When you attended court, controlled the government, put out proclamations, and put forth ordinances, in your every act you made the imperial house the first [and most important consideration] and the promotion and employment of the nine [sets of imperial] relatives as the primary matter. You have had included with them and recorded [upon the registers of the imperial house] cadet branches [of that house] and have established kings and marquises [from among these cadet branches], so that those who face south [in holding court and call themselves by the designation a noble uses for himself], ku, Ku 孤 was used by reigning nobles to designate themselves when addressing their subjects. The term means literally, "orphan," and implies therefore, in a patriarchal society, a rightful ruler, indicating that he is no usurper but regins by right of succession to his father (Duyvendak). For these enfeoffments from and favors to cadet members of the imperial house, cf. HS 12: 2b, 3a, 4b, 5a, 8b, 9a; 99 A: 7a, 19b. are numbered by the hundreds. You gathered in and restored those members whose [registration in the imperial house] had been broken off, you preserved those [whose lines of descent as nobles] had died out, and you continued [those lines whose heads] had been dismissed [from their noble ranks], so that they form a numerous company who are able to be shoulder to shoulder and head to head [with the other nobles] and have been restored in their persons. You have thereby defended the Han [dynasty's] state and supported the Han clan.

"You have established the Pi-yung and set up the Ming-t'ang to propagate the law of Heaven and to spread the influence of the sages. You have held court for the various princes in order to render your `culture and virtue' Culture and virtue, wen-tê 文德" is a phrase from Book of History II, ii, 21 (Legge, p. 66). Stange, op. cit., 89, n. 2 remarks that wen-te originally referred to a magical dance. That is probably correct, but the gloss on this passage attributed to K'ung An-kuo (Shih-san-ching Chu-su 4: 8b) shows that in Han times these words denoted, not magical practises, but civilization and culture. manifest. You have added to the lands and territory of all the nobles in the imperial house, so that all under Heaven lift up their heads, stick out their necks and sigh [with approval], and the sound of their praises is `magnificent and ear'-filling, A reminiscence of Analects VIII, xv. and enters [the sense of hearing]. The reason that the state has gained this beauty, has obtained this fame, has enjoyed these blessings, and has received this glory---is it not [the result of the fact that] the Grand Empress Dowager considers [that she must be diligent until] `sundown' An allusion to Book of History V, xv, 10 (Legge, p. 469). and that `in the evening' your Majesty is still `carefully' contemplating [your duties]? An allusion to Book of Changes, Hex. 1, 3 (Legge, p. 57). How [otherwise could it be] explained?

"When there has been disorder, you have controlled it; when there has been danger, you have turned it to tranquillity; when there has been calamity, you have led it to happiness; when [lines of descent] have been cut off, you have continued their succession, when [the Emperor] is young, you have taken his place and borne his burdens. Day and night, you have performed detailed labor; in cold and in heat, you have been diligent, without any time for relaxation, with unending unwearied effort. All was for the sake of the empire and to favor the Liu clan.

"The courtiers, whether stupid or wise, and the common people, whether male or female, have all understood your high intentions. But the Marquis of An-chung, [Liu] Ch'ung(2c), alone entertained perverse illusions in his heart and held rebellious thoughts, so that he raised his troops and moved the multitude, intending to endanger the imperial [ancestral] temples. Of his wickedness one cannot endure to hear and for his crime one cannot be patient with [mere] execution. Verily, he was an enemy of [loyal] subjects and [filial] sons, Chen-tzu 臣子 is today a compound noun meaning "ministers of state." The difference between Han and recent usage is illustrated by this phrase, which is found twice in the Li-chi (Li-chi Chu-su 50: 2a, b = Legge, Li Ki, II, 258, 259), where it plainly means "courtiers [or subjects] and sons." a foe of the imperial house, a rebel against the state, and an injury to the country.

"For this reason, his clan and relatives by marriage quaked, became distant to him and gave information of his crimes; the common people dispersed, rebelled against him, and threw away their arms, so that in advancing he could not [take] a step and when he retired he suffered the calamity [visited upon] him [by Heaven]. His mother, who was near the end of her life, and his smiling babes, carried in [their nurses'] arms, "Hundred years " 百嵗 is a phrase from Book of Odes, I, xi, 4 (Legge, 187). "Smiling babes carried in arms" is from Mencius VII, B, xv, 2 (Legge, 456). Both in the Mencius and here 孩 should be read as 咳, "an infantile smile." were beheaded at the same time with him; their heads were hung on the ends of poles with their pearl earrings [still] in their ears and their hair ornaments still on [their heads]. How can it not be perverse to make a plan such as this?

"Your servant has heard that anciently, when [the head of] a rebellious state had already been punished, then Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. have correctly emended 而 to 則. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. they made a pool out of his palace-buildings, making them a stagnant pond, and put filth into it, calling its name, `The baleful waste,' so that, although it might grow vegetables, yet people would not eat them. Li Ch'i (fl. ca. 200) explains, "They dug up his palace to make a pool and used it for storing water." This practise is mentioned in Mencius III, B, ix, 5 (Legge, 280) and in Li-chi II, ii, iii, 18 (Legge, I, 195). In the latter it is the punishment for parricide. The translation "palace-building" for kung-shih 宮室 is suggested by Duyvendak. The Erh-ya equates kung and shih. But after Ch'in times they were distinguished (Erh-ya Chu-su 5: 1a). They put four walls [around] its mound to the gods of the soils, covered it above, and put a mat [on it] below, Wei Chao remarks, "Chan 棧 is ch'ai ### [firewood or a wooden fence]." Kung-yang Commentary 27: 5b, Dk. Ai, IV, vi, says, "The mound to the gods of the soils of a destroyed state is covered up; it is covered from above and ch'ai below," and Cheng Hsüan, in a note to Chou-li 26: 3a, sub the Sang-chu, quotes the latter part of that sentence, using chan instead of ch'ai, so that these two words had the same meaning. Yen Shih-ku explains, "Chan means to use a mat 簀 to cover it. Below, it is chan, and above, it is, covered, in order that to block off and prevent the passage of the yin and yang emanations." Ma Hsü-lun (xx cent.), in his Tu Liang-HS Chi, p. 18a, who quotes the preceding passages, states that the text means that the mound was covered by a bamboo framework, citing Shuo-wen 6 A: 6b, which explains chan by p'eng 棚, a scaffold, and adds that it also denotes a bamboo wattled military chariot. King Wu is said to have levelled the mound of the Yin dynasty's gods of the soils at Po(5) and to have distributed its soil to the nobles to serve as a warning against rebellion; four walls and a roof, with possibly a window only on the north, were built around the place to keep out the yang influence (which comes from Heaven with the sun); then the place was covered with a mat of branches, etc., to keep out the yin influence. so that spirits of the earth could not communicate [with those of heaven. Prof. Duyvendak suggests reading 示 as 祇, interpreting the clause to mean that the yin (spirits of the earth) and the yang (spirits of heaven) could not intercommunicate. The soil of] its mound was distributed to the nobles' [altars for the gods of the soils], so that when they went out of their gates and saw it, it would be visible to them as a warning.

"Just now, when the empire heard that [Liu] Ch'ung(2c) rebelled, all wanted to raise up [the skirts of] their robes, [take] a two-edged sword in their hand, and rail at him. Those who first reached him, cut Wang Nien-sun states that 拂 should be read as 刜, to chop, to make it parallel with the other clauses. his throat, struck his breast, pierced his body, The Sung Ch'i ed. states that for 刃其軀 there was anciently written ###其體, but the Ching-yu ed. reads the former. The Tzu-lin K'ao-yi (by Jen Ta-ch'un, 17381789), basing itself on the Tzu-lin (by Lü Shen, iv cent.; book lost), declares that the first word of the latter phrase means "切, to cut." and hacked his flesh. Those who came later wanted to pull down his gates, break down his walls, raze his houses, and burn his utensils. [As rapidly as] an echo follows a sound, [their blood] stained the earth, so immediately was a wound created [in people's feelings]. [The members of] the imperial house moreover [felt it] especially keenly, so that, when they spoke of him, they inevitably gnashed their teeth. Why so? Because he had gone contrary to and rebelled against your favor and beneficence and did not recognize where the greatest virtue lay.

"The [members of] the imperial house, for the most part, live at places distant [from Yüan]; I, Chia, have been fortunate to have been able to hear of [his rebellion] first and have not [been able] to resist my indignant desire. I wish to take the lead of the imperial house, myself, [with] my sons and my elder and younger brothers, to carry baskets on our shoulders and to bear mattocks, The official ed. reads yi 倚 for ho 荷, and quotes the Sung Ch'i ed. as saying that yi should be ho. The Ching-yu ed. however reads ho. Wang Nien-sun adds that anciently yi was read like 阿, with the upper tone, quoting in proof a line from the Lao-tzu ch. 58 in which yi is rhymed with 禍, so that its pronunciation must have been quite similar to that of ho. gallop to Nan-yang [Commandery], and make a pond of [Liu] Ch'ung(2c)'s palace-buildings, in order to cause them to be according to the ancient institutions. They, together with the mound to the gods of the soils belonging to [Liu] Ch'ung(2c), should be like the mound to the gods of the soils at Po(5), Po(5) was the capital of the Yin dynasty; cf. n. 28.7. and should be used to grant to the nobles, in order that it may be an eternal lesson and warning. I wish that [this matter] may be referred to the Four Coadjutors, the ministers, and the grandees, for discussion, in order to make plain its right and wrong and to show it [as an example] to the four quarters [of the empire]."

[Wang] Mang was thereupon very much pleased. The ministers all said, Su Yü states that 曰皆 should probably be interchanged. "It would be proper [to do] as [Liu] Chia(1s) says," [so Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict, which said, "Verily, although [Liu] Chia(1s), a father and his sons, his elder and younger brothers, are related to [Liu] Ch'ung(2c), they did not presume to show partiality to him. Whenever they saw some sprouts [of evil], they led each other in giving information [about it]. Now that this calamity [of rebellion] has come to pass, they unanimously and together [want to] take vengeance upon him. [Their act is] a response to ancient institutions, so that their loyalty and filial devotion is apparent.

"Let [Liu] Chia(1s) be enfeoffed with a thousand households of [the prefecture] of Tu-yen, as the Marquis Leading The text reads shih 師, but Ch'ien Ta-chao asserts that the word should be shuai(1)帥, which is interchanged with shuai(2). On 99 B: 14a he is called the Shuai(2)-li Marquis; Wang Nien-sun adds that the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan, ch. 201, quoting this passage, reads shuai(1) (the Sung ed. reprinted in the "Szu-pu Ts'ung-K'an" and my reprint of a 1807 edition, 201: 4b, both read shih). by the Rules of Proper Conduct, and [let Liu] Chia(1s)'s seven sons be all granted the noble rank of Marquises of the Imperial Domain."

Later [Chang] Sung was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pure Virtue. In Ch'ang-an there was a saying about him, which said, "If you seek enfeoffment, Go to Chang [Sung] Po-sung. Strength in fighting Is not as good as cleverness in preparing memorials."

[Wang] Mang also enfeoffed more than a hundred officials and common people of Nan-yang [Commandery] who had distinguished themselves. He made a stagnant pond of Liu Ch'ung(2c)'s residence. People who later plotted to rebel all had stagnant ponds [made out of their residences]. We are told chiefly incidentally about such subsequent rebellions. HS 15 B: 50b mentions Lin Huang5b, Marquis of Wu-p'ing, who rebelled in A.D. 7. In 99 B: 13b, Sun Chien also mentions Liu K'uai, Liu Ts'engb, and Liu Kueib; cf. Glossary sub vocibus.

The various courtiers furthermore advised [the Grand Empress Dowager] that Liu Ch'ung(2c) and the others had plotted treason because [Wang] Mang's power was too light, and that it would be proper to honor and make him more powerful in order that he might control [all] within [the four] seas.

In the fifth month, on [the day] chia-ch'en, the [Grand] Empress Dowager issued an imperial edict that when [Wang] Mang comes to a court audience of the [Grand] Empress Dowager, he should be called the Acting Emperor.

In the winter, the tenth month, on [the day] ping-ch'en, the first day of the month, there was an eclipse of the sun. Cf. Appendix IV. Before this eclipse there appeared the varicolored horse of the constellation San-t'ai, the second portent urging Wang Mang to take the throne; cf. 99 B: 9b.

In the twelfth month, various courtiers memorialized, begging to increase the officials in the palace and in the home of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty, [Wang Mang], to establish a Chief Leader of Conscripts, Chiefs and Assistants in his Temple, Stable, and Kitchen, Palace Bodyguards, [Gentlemen] As Rapid as Tigers, and those of lower [rank, to the number of] more than a hundred persons, and also establish Guards [for him to the number of] three hundred persons. The rooms, [in the imperial palace], of the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty should be [called] the Regent's Apartments; his yamen should be [called the Regent's Hall; and his residence should be [called] the Regent's Palace. Hu San-hsing explains, "The rooms lu 廬 were his habitations shê 舍 for stopping and spending the night in the [Palace] Hall 殿; his yamen fu 府 was his place for doing business; his residence ti 第 was where he lived." The memorial was approved.

[Wang] Mang advised the [Grand] Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict which said, "Verily when the late Grand Master, [K'ung] Kuang, died previously, his achievements were already made known. The Grand Guardian, [Wang] Shun(4b), the Grand Minister of Works, [Chen] Feng, the General of Light Chariots, [Chen] Han, and the General of Foot-soldiers, [Sun] Chien, all formed plans for inducing the Shan-Yü [to adopt Chinese customs]. They also had charge of the Spiritual Tower, the Ming-t'ang, the Pi-yung, and the four [altars for] the suburban sacrifices, and fixed their institutions and regulations. They opened up the Tzu-wu Road, were of the same mind with the Ruling Governor in delighting in virtue, and were in accord with his ideas and of mutual assistance to him, so that their achievements and virtuous conduct are abundant and apparent. [We] enfeoff the sons of [Wang] Shun: [Wang] K'uang(1a) as the Marquis of the Same Mind [with the Ruling Governor] and [Wang] Lin(2) as the Marquis Delighting in Virtue; [K'ung] Kuang's grandson, [K'ung] Shou, as the Marquis of Accordance of Ideas; [Chen] Feng's grandson, [Chen] K'uang, as the Marquis of Mutual Assistance; and add [to the enfeoffments of Chen] Han and of [Sun] Chien, to each [the income of] three thousand households."

In this year, P'ang T'ien, Fu Fan, and others of the Western Ch'iang, who had held a grudge [because Wang] Mang had taken away their land and made of it the commandery of Hsi-hai, rebelled and attacked the Grand Administrator of Hsi-hai [Commandery], Ch'eng Yung. [Ch'eng] Yung fled hastily, [so Wang] Mang executed [Ch'eng] Yung and sent the Colonel Commissioner for the Ch'iang, Tou K'uang, to attack [the Ch'iang].

In the second year, in the spring, Tou K'uang and others attacked and routed the Western Ch'iang.

In the fifth month, [Wang Mang] changed [the coinage] and created as [objects of] exchange, [gold] inlaid knife [coins] (ts'o-tao), one of which was worth five thousand [cash], graving knife [coins] (ch'i-tao), one of which was worth five hundred [cash], and large cash (ta-ch'ien), one of which was worth fifty [cash]. Together with the [previous] five-shu cash, Cf. HS 24 B: 21a, b (trans. in Appendix I to this chapter) and annotations. From the nature of this coinage, Wang Mang does not seem to have yet been aiming at the imperial throne, for he had to abolish the gilded knife-money when he took the throne. That change may however have been an afterthought. Cf. 24 B: 21b. [all of them were to] circulate together. Many common people cast counterfeit [money]. Full marquises and those of lower [rank] were not permitted to possess actual gold; they were to transport it to the Imperial Wardrobe, to receive its value [in money]. Yet in the end he did not give them its value.

In the ninth month, the Grand Administrator of Tung Commandery, Chai Yi, held his [annual] general [military review and] examinations, The parallel passage in 84: 11a (cf. Glossary sub Chai Yi) makes it plain that the tu-shih 都試 (the annual review and inspection) occurred on a special day; in 76: 9a, when Han Yen-shou was Grand Administrator of the Tung Commandery, it is said that he "tu-shih and chiang-wu 講武, set up axes and banners and practised archery and driving." Ju Shun, in a note to the former passage, explains, "The Grand Administrator, Chief Commandant, Prefects, Chiefs, Assistant [Prefects and Chiefs], and Commandants assembled to tu-shih, and were examined for their ranking [in efficiency]," but Ch'i Shao-nan (1703-1768) declares that this explanation is incorrect, for the tu-shih day was the day for chiang-wu (which latter term is found in Li-chi IV, vi, 20 [Couvreur, I, 396; Legge, I, 300] where it seems to mean, "give instructions on military operations"). He asserts that according to the Han dynasty's Code, in the autumn a tu-shih was regularly performed. The phrase tu-shih also occurs in HHS, Mem. 5: 2a3, where Li Hsien explains, "According to the Han law, on the day of the autumnal equinox, they tu-shih the cavalrymen and soldiers, which means that they were examined concerning their relative ranking [in military efficiency]." led [out] his chariots and cavalry, and made use of this occasion to mobilize emergency troops. He set up the Marquis of Yen-hsiang, Liu Hsin(4g), as the Son of Heaven, and sent a call-to-arms to the commanderies and kingdoms, saying, "[Wang] Mang murdered Emperor P'ing by poison and, as Regent, [has taken to himself] the throne of the Son of Heaven, intending to cut short [the reign of] the House of Han. Now we should respectfully I have adopted Yen Shih-Ku's interpretation, that 共 should be read as 恭. The latter character is found in the Ching-yu ed.'s note. inflict the punishment of Heaven and execute [Wang] Mang."

In the commanderies and kingdoms he caused a crowd of more than a hundred thousand [persons] to doubt and suspect [Wang Mang. Cf. 84: 11a for another phrasing and a parallel account of this rebellion. Wang] Mang was frightened and afraid and could not eat. Day and night he held the Young Prince, [Liu Ying], in his arms. He gave information [to the gods] in prayers at [the altars for] the suburban sacrifices and at [the imperial ancestral] temples. He made a document after the model of the "Great Announcement," This phrase is the title of ch. vii in Book of History V, (Legge, 362-375), which was supposed to have been written by the Duke of Chou in the name of King Ch'eng on the occasion of the revolt by the King's two Uncles of Kuan, of Ts'ai, and others. and sent the Grandee-remonstrant Huan T'an and others to publish it in the empire and to proclaim the idea that, since [Wang Mang] had [only] the post of regent, he would be obliged to return the government [in due time] to the Young Prince. [Wang Mang] sent Wang Yi(5), Sun Chien, and others, eight generals [in all], to attack [Chai] Yi, and distributed [others] to garrison the various passes and guard the barriers in the defiles.

Some men of Huai-li, Chao Ming, Ho Hung, and others, raised troops in response to Chai Yi, and plotted with them, saying, "The generals and picked troops have all gone to the east, so that the imperial capital is empty [of troops] and it is possible to attack Ch'ang-an." Their bands were quite large, reaching almost a hundred thousand persons. [Wang] Mang was afraid and sent the generals, Wang Ch'i and Wang Chi(6), leading troops, to resist them. He made the Grand Guardian, Chen Han, the General-in-chief. [Chen Han] received his axe of authority in the Temple of [Emperor] Kao [and was ordered] to lead the empire's troops. In his left [hand] he held his credentials and in his right [hand] he grasped his axe of authority. He encamped outside the city walls. Wang Shun(4b) and Chen Feng day and night patrolled in the [Palace] Halls.

In the twelfth month, Wang Yi(5) and the others routed Chai Yi at Yü(3).

The Director of Majesty, Ch'en Ch'ung, who had been sent to superintend to army, sent [to Wang Mang] a letter, saying,

"Your Majesty has upheld the great plan An allusion to the title of Book of History V, ch. iv (Legge, p. 320). of Heaven and in your heart you have accorded with [the prognostications from] the precious tortoise. An allusion to Book of History V, vii, 3 (Legge, p. 365). The "great mandate" is that of a dynasty (Book of History V, xiv, 5; Legge, 456); Ch'en Ch'ung hints that Wang Mang ought to be the actual Emperor. You have received the great mandate [of Heaven, so that] you know beforehand [what will] succeed [and what will] fail, and you were influenced by and responded to the auguries by the tortoise-shell and the lots. This means that you are the associate of Heaven. When a lord who is the associate of Heaven reflects, he changes the emanations; when he speaks, he moves [the many] beings and things; when he acts, he brings his transforming influence to success.

"Your subject Ch'ung humbly read of the date when your written imperial edict was issued, and your humble servant compared it with the time [of the victory]. When your sage reflections were first begun, the rebellious caitiffs were then routed; when the words of your edict were first written, the rebellious caitiffs were seriously defeated, and when your written imperial decree was first issued, the rebellious caitiffs were completely beheaded. Before the many generals had time to array the sword points [of their troops], and before I, your subject Ch'ung, had time to complete my foolish thoughts, the matter had been already settled." [Wang] Mang was greatly pleased.

In the third year, in the spring, there was an earthquake, and a general amnesty [was granted] to the empire.

Wang Yi(5) and the others returned to the imperial capital and went west to join with Wang Chi(6) and the others to attack [Chao] Ming and [Ho] Hung, who were all routed and annihilated. A discussion is in the "Memoir of Chai Yi."

[Wang] Mang held a great banquet in the White Tiger Hall of the Wei-yang Palace to make grants to the generals and leaders for their toil. In an imperial edict, [he ordered] Ch'en Ch'ung to examine and estimate the military achievements [of the leaders] and rank them as high or low.

[Wang] Mang then sent [to the Grand Empress Dowager] a memorial which said, "In an age of brilliant sages, there are many capable persons in the state, hence at the time of T'ang [Yao] and Yü [Shun], in every house [someone] was capable of being enfeoffed and when their meritorious services had been performed and their work had been done, rewards were given. At the time of the assembly [called by] the Sovereign of the Hsia [dynasty, Yü,] at T'u-shan, those who held jade and silk [at the ceremonies, belonged to] ten thousand states. A reference to Tso-chuan, Dk. Ai, VII; Legge, p. 814. Duyvendak remarks that the next sentence in the text, which I have placed in parentheses, is probably an interpolation from some commentary. It is now found in Tu Yü's (222-284) comment to the Tso-chuan passage. This sentence may however have been Wang Mang's citation of the classical authority for his establishment of the noble rank of Vassal at this time, in addition to his other five noble ranks, the classical authority for which is cited a little further on. (The nobles held jade and their sub-vassals held silk.) [In the time of] King Wu of the Chou [dynasty, at the assembly] above the Meng Ford, there were still eight hundred nobles. When the Duke of Chou occupied [the post] of Regent, he performed the suburban sacrifice to Prince Millet as the coadjutor of Heaven and performed in the Ming-t'ang the ancestral sacrifice to the greatest exemplar, to King Wen, as the coadjutor of the Lord on High. For this reason, when, within the four seas, each person came to [assist in] the sacrifice in accordance with his duty, there were indeed probably 1800 nobles. The Record of Proprieties (Li-chi), [in the chapter,] `The Royal Regulations,' [speaks of] more than seventeen hundred states. Li-chi III, i, 10 (Legge, I, 212; Couvreur, I, 269). For this reason, when Confucius composed the Classic of Filial Piety, he said, `[anciently, the brilliant kings] did not presume to neglect the ministers of [even] small states---then how much more dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons! Hence they brought it about that the myriad states rejoiced in heart and therefore served [the King's] deceased predecessors.' Hsiao-ching ch. viii; 4: 1a (Legge, 474). The Official ed. of the HS lacks the word 其, but the Ching-yu ed. reads it. The Sung Ch'i ed. states that the Shao ed. (xi or xii cent.) has this word. The foregoing [was the result of] the Son of Heaven's filial piety.

"The Ch'in [dynasty] acted contrary to the [right] way, killing the nobles and exterminating their clans, making [their territories] into commanderies and prefectures, with the intention of arrogating to itself [all] the benefits of the whole country. Hence [in the reign of] the Second Emperor, it fell and Emperor Kao received the mandate [of Heaven] to do away with [the Ch'in dynasty's] oppression. He examined [his subjects'] merits, distributed rewards, and established several hundred [kings' and marquises'] states. Later they declined considerably [in number] and the remainder have barely preserved [their noble ranks].

"You, Grand Empress Dowager, have yourself controlled the great fundamental [features of the government] and have extensively enfeoffed meritorious and virtuous [persons] in order to stimulate [people] to goodness. You have revived destroyed [nobilities], and continued [noble houses] that had been ended, in order to perpetuate their lines. For this reason your great transforming influence has spread abroad and will be completely effective in a short time.

"It happened that, when the Ch'iang malefactors injured Hsi-hai Commandery, when rebellious caitiffs spread lying words in Tung Commandery, and when treasonable robbers misled the crowd [even] in the land west [of the imperial capital], no loyal subjects or filial sons failed to become angry, so that those against whom they made expeditions have been extirpated and have all suffered Wang Nien-sun asserts that pei 備 should be read as fu(1) 伏 (the usual word in this phrase) and that the word was probably originally fu(2) 服; anciently pei, fu(1), and fu(2) were all read like the second word in the phrase 匍匐, hence were interchanged. Li Tz'u-ming suggests that pei should be 犕, which is the same as fu(2), quoting the use of this word in HHS, Mem. 61: 6b. for their crimes, with the result that the empire is altogether peaceful.

"I The Sung Ch'i ed. says that the Yüeh ed. (xi-xii cent.) did not have the word 今. The Ching-yu ed. also lacks it, I have omitted it. have been instituting rites and composing music, and have verified by investigation that there is an explicit written statement [to the effect that] the noble ranks of the Chou [period] were of five grades and that their lands were of four grades, Su Lin explains, "The five grades of noble ranks were dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons. The four grades of lands were: the first grade, those of dukes; the second grade, those of marquises and earls; the third grade, those of viscounts and barons; the fourth grade, those of sub-vassals. and that there is the saying but no written statement that the noble ranks of the Yin [period] were of three grades. Yen Shih-ku glosses, "The first grade were dukes, the second grade were marquises, and the third grades were earls, viscounts, and barons." Su Yü remarks that the Po-hu-t'ung (i or iii cent.) 1: 1b quotes the Li-wei Han-wen-chia (end i cent.) as saying that in Yin times there were three grades of noble ranks and in Chou times there were five grades; the Kung-yang Commentary 5: 6a states that in the Spring and Autumn period, earls, viscounts, and barons were classed together as one grade, making, with dukes and marquises, three grades (the Ho Hsin [129-182] gloss states that the Spring and Autumn period reverted to the Yin practise); the Ch'un-ch'iu Fan-lu (by Tung Chung-shu, ca. 175-ca. 105 B.C.), 7: 7b, chap. 23, "San-tai Kai-chih," states that there were five grades of noble ranks in the Chou period and three grades in the Spring and Autumn period. Su Yü concludes, "Probably the explanations of the `modern text' school were such as [those referred to in the edict and Wang Mang] says, `There is not this written statement' [because] these words do not appear in the Classics." Confucius said, `The Chou [dynasty] surveyed the two [preceding] dynasties. How replete was its culture! I follow the Chou [dynasty].' Analects, III, xiv. Your subject begs that the various leaders who ought to receive noble ranks and estates should [be granted] noble ranks of five grades and lands of four grades." The memorial was approved.

Thereupon the highest of those who were enfeoffed were made marquises and earls; the next were made viscounts and barons; those who would have been granted the noble rank of Marquis of the Imperial Domain [had their nobilities] changed and were entitled Sub-vassals. Altogether there were several hundreds [of people enfeoffed]. Those who had attacked [the rebels in] Hsi-hai [Commandery] had [the word] Ch'iang used in their titles, [those who had attacked the rebels in] Huai-li had [the word] Wu (military) used in their titles; [those who had attacked] Chai Yi [had the word] caitiff (lu) used in their titles.

The courtiers again memorialized, saying, "Of the persons whose merits the [Grand] Empress Dowager has embellished and whose virtue she has recorded, the greatest ones [will be remembered for] a thousand years, and the lesser ones for the present generation. Some were enfeoffed for civil [deeds] and some received noble ranks for military [acts]. None, [whether their merits were] deep or shallow, great or small, have failed to be presented [for rewards].

"Now the Regent-Emperor, [Wang Mang], turns his back to the screen and mounts the eastern steps, so that it is proper that he should be [treated] differently from at the time when he was [merely] the chief minister of the state. Although his instituting [of regulations] and composing [of music and dances] has not yet been all completed, it is proper that the noble ranks of his two sons should be advanced and that both should be made dukes.

"[According to the principle of] the Spring and Autumn [in the Kung-yang Commentary], that `treating well the good should be extended to their sons and grandsons and [treating well] the worthy to' their descendants, Kung-yang Commentary, 23: 7b; Dk. Chao, XX. it is proper that [these persons] should possess lands and territory. King Ch'eng gave broad enfeoffments to the sons of the Duke of Chou by concubines, so that all his six sons had soil enveloped in quitch-grass [as a token of their enfeoffment]. So the relatives of the famous Chancellor [of State] and of [the famous] General-in-chief of the Han dynasty, Hsiao [Ho] and Ho [Kuang, respectively,] were all [enfeoffed] together with their relatives and connections. [Wang Mang's] elder brother's son, [Wang] Kuang(1), might first be enfeoffed as a full marquis. When the institutions and regulations are all completed, the Grand Minister over the Masses and the Grand Minister of Works should present the names of [Wang Mang's various grandsons] to the throne in accordance with the previous written imperial edict."

The [Grand] Empress Dowager's imperial edict said, "[We] promote the sons of the Regent-Emperor: the Marquis in Recompense to [the Marquis of] Hsin-[tu], [Wang] An(1a), to be the Duke Recommended by [the Marquis of] Hsin-[tu]; and the Marquis in Reward to [the Marquis of Hsin-] tu, [Wang] Lin(1a), to be the Duke in Recompense to [the Marquis of] Hsin [-tu]; and enfeoff [Wang] Kuang(1) as the Marquis of Vast Merit."

At this time, [Wang] Mang returned his state of Hsin-tu(c), so various courtiers again advised [the Grand Empress Dowager] and she enfeoffed [Wang] Mang's grandson, [Wang] Tsung, as the Marquis of Hsin-tu(c).

Since [Wang] Mang had annihilated Chai Yi, he himself considered that his majesty and virtue was increasing daily and that he had secured the assistance of Heaven and of men, so he plotted to ascend [the throne] as the actual [Emperor].

In the ninth month, [Wang] Mang's mother, the Baronetess of Apparent Merits, died. [Wang Mang's] mind was not upon mourning, so he had the [Grand] Empress Dowager issue an imperial edict [ordering] the discussion of [what] mourning garments [should be worn]. The Junior Supporter, the Hsi-and-Ho, Liu Hsin(1a), with the Erudits and Confucians [to the number of] 78 persons [altogether], all said,

"The principle of acting as Regent is to direct the performance of the duties established by Heaven, to promote the reverencing of the way of [the ancient Sage]-lords, For this peculiar philosophical concept, cf. Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang, p. 11; Bodde, China's First Unifier, p. 43. Here it means, "the highest ideals." to bring to a successful issue the laws and regulations, and to make tranquil and concordant [all] within [the four] seas. Anciently, when T'ang the Victorious of the Yin [dynasty] had died and his Heir-apparent had died in his youth, his son T'ai-chia was a minor and unintelligent, so Yi Yin banished him to the T'ung Palace and acted as Regent in order to promote the course of the Yin [dynasty]. When King Wu of the Chou [dynasty] had died, the ways of the Chou [dynasty] had not yet been completed and `King Ch'eng was young' and a minor, `so the Duke of Chou protected King Ch'eng' A quotation from Hsüntze 4: 1a, Bk. VIII (Dubs, p. 91). (Reference from Lin Ch'ang.) and acted as Regent in order to perfect the ways of the Chou [dynasty]. For this reason the Yin [dynasty] had the development of being `orderly' A quotation from Book of Odes, #305; IV, iii, v, 5 (Legge, p. 646). This adjective is applied to Wang Mang in HS 99 A: 12a. and the Chou [dynasty] had the merit of establishing but not employing the mutilating punishments. During the reigns of Kings Ch'eng and K'ang; cf. HFHD, II, 36, n. 5.1.

"Now the Grand Empress Dowager has frequently `happened upon untoward circumstances in the state,' A quotation from Book of Odes, #286; IV, i, [iii], i, (Legge, p. 569). and has commissioned the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty to rule and control the various officials, and to govern "Ruling" and "governing" allude to his title of Ruling Governor. Yen Shih-Ku states that the phrase translated "govern justly" means literally, "like the beam of a balance." the empire justly. It has happened that since the Young Prince is a minor and has not yet been able to be diligently respectful I follow Yen Shih-ku in reading 共 as 恭. to [the gods] above and below, August Heaven has sent down auspicious presages and has produced the portent of the red stone. For this reason, the Grand Empress Dowager followed the plain mandate of Heaven and issued an imperial edict that the Duke Giving Tranquillity to the Han Dynasty should act as Regent and mount the eastern steps in order that he might perform the duties of the sage Han [dynasty] and make it equally eminent with that of T'ang [Yao], Yü [Shun], and the three dynasties.

"The Regent-Emperor thereupon opened his private yamen Pi-fu 袐府 is also used in HS 30: 1b, "[Emperor] Hsiao-wu . . . thereupon had prepared blank fascicles for library writing tablets and set up an office for copying writings. He sent to it [for copying] even the accounts and sayings of the various philosophers. All [those books] were stored in his private courts (Pi-fu)," i.e., the imperial private library (pi-書). But to interpret the text here as declaring that Wang Mang "opened [to the public] the imperial private library" does not fit the context. We must take Pi-fu in its generic sense, "private courts" or "private yamen." and met with various Confucians to institute rites and compose [the proper] music, to assist in fixing the [titles of] the many offices, and to complete beautifully the work of Heaven. His sage mind is in all respects complete, and eminent are his individual insights. The Chou Rites (the Chou-li) was discovered and secured, K'ang Yu-wei, in his Hsin-hsüeh Wei-ching K'ao, ch. 6, p. 24, takes this passage to imply that Liu Hsin fabricated the Chou-li and deceived Wang Mang by means of it. The Chou-li however contains passages that date as far back as the iv cent. B.C.; cf. Karlgren, "The Early History of the Chou Li and so Chuan Texts," Bull. Mus. Far East. Antiq., no. 3 (1931), pp. 1-59. so that it was made plain what should be `followed' and `surveyed'. "Followed" is an allusion to Analects II, xxiii, 2 and "surveyed" is another allusion to ibid., III, xiv (from Li Ch'i). He took Heaven as his model and searched out ancient ways, yet modified them. It was just as when [K'ung Ch'iu] Chung-ni heard [the music] Shao, An allusion to Analects VII, xiii. and [just as] `the sun and moon' `cannot [be climbed up to by any] stairs.' Allusions to Analects XIX, xxiv; xxv, 3, which praise Confucius. If [Wang Mang] had not the utmost of sage wisdom, how could he have been able to perform these [deeds]? The fundamental and subordinate principles [of government] are all displayed and completed [except for] one basketful. An allusion to the Book of History V, v, 9 (Legge, p. 350) or to Analects IX, xviii. These [matters] are the means by which he has devoted himself to protecting and assisting the sage Han [dynasty] and giving tranquillity to the great multitude.

"Now the Baronetess of Apparent Merits has died. The [Ceremonies and] Rites [Yi]-li [says], `The son of a concubine who becomes the heir [of his father] wears the three-month's szu mourning for his own mother,' and the explanation says, `He is in the same position as the most honorable person [in the family, i.e., his father, and so] should not presume to wear [deep] mourning for his own mother.' Yi-li 33: 4a, b (Steele, II, 37). The explanation is said to have been made by Tzu-hsia. The Regent-Emperor has, through his sage virtue, obtained the mandate of August Heaven, received the imperial edict of the [Grand] Empress Dowager that he should act as Regent and mount the eastern steps, The Official ed. emends 祚 to 阼. The Ching-yu ed. reads the latter. and support the descendant of the great Han imperial family. On the one hand, he has his weighty [duties] to Heaven, Earth, and the gods of the soils and the grains, and on the other hand, he has the care of the great multitude and the multifarious matters [of the government], A phrase from Book of History II, iii, 5 (Legge, p. 73; Couvreur, p. 47). so that he is not permitted to consider his own relatives. Hence the Grand Empress Dowager has established his eldest grandson [as a noble], causing him to be the marquis at Hsin-tu(c) and the successor to Marquis Ai, [Wang Wan], making plain that the Regent-Emperor is in the same position as the most honorable person, [the Emperor], upholds the sacrifices at [imperial] ancestral temples, is in charge of supplying the needs of the Grand Empress Dowager, and is not permitted to wear mourning for his own parents.

"The Chou Rites (Chou-li) says, `A king, . . . [in wearing mourning] for his nobles, [wears] the hemp mourning badge and cap,' to which there is added a ring of `hemp banding.' Chou-li 21: 7a sub the Szu-fu, (Biot, II, 9 f). The Chou-li makes no distinction between mourning for those relatives of the same and of different surnames. Cheng Chung (ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83), in a note to that passage, says, " Szu 緦 has its woof of fifteen times eighty threads of hemp, half of which are dropped. The threads may be treated [i.e., cleaned]; but the cloth may not be treated." If Liu Hsin fabricated the Chou-li, it is curious that he should have quoted it so inexactly. If [the nobles] are of the same surname [as the king], then [his mourning garments] are of hemp (Cannabis); if they are of a different surname, then they are of ke hemp (Pueraria). The Regent-Emperor ought to wear the hemp mourning badge for the Baronetess of Apparent Merits and a cap to which there has been added a hemp ring of banding, like the mourning garments of the Son of Heaven in condoling his nobles, in order to respond to the institutions of the sages."

[Wang] Mang therefore acted [accordingly]. Altogether he paid one mourning [visit] and a second [time] assembled [the mourners] and ordered the Marquis of Hsin-tu(c), [Wang] Tsung, to be in charge [of the ceremonies] and wear mourning to the third year.

The Director of Majesty, Ch'en Ch'ung, memorialized that the Marquis of Vast Merit, [Wang] Kuang(1), had secretly sent a message to the Bearer of the Gilded Mace, Tou K'uang, and had ordered him to kill a man, The Official ed. and the Southern Academy ed. read 之 for the 人. But the Ching-yu ed. and Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 36: 18a read the latter, so I make no emendation. and that for this reason [Tou] K'uang had arrested and bound [this person] and had applied the law to him. [Wang] Mang was furious and bitterly reproached [Wang] Kuang1. [Wang] Kuang(1)'s mother said [to her son], "Do you yourself consider in what way [you are any different from Wang Yü] Chang-sun or [Wang Huo(b)] Chung-sun, [Wang Mang's dead sons]?" Thereupon [both of them], mother and son, committed suicide; together with [Tou] K'uang they all died.

Previously, because [Wang] Mang had served his mother, had nourished his elder brother's wife, and had raised his elder brother's son, [Wang Kuang(1)], he had made a name [for himself]. Then later, his perversity and cruelty were again used to show [that he was actuated by] public spirit and sense of duty. He ordered [Wang] Kuang(1)'s son, [Wang] Chia(1b), to inherit [his father's] noble rank and become the Marquis [of Vast Merits].

[Wang] Mang issued a written message, In this chapter, after Wang Mang is declared to have plotted to become actual Emperor (99 A: 32a), Pan Ku avoids stating that Wang Mang issued any "imperial edicts, chao 詔", or "imperial decrees, chih 制." (These two terms are equated in 99 A: 30b, altho they were not precisely synonymous; cf. Mh II, 126, n. 2.) The full terms for these imperial orders were "written imper