The Men Who Governed Han China: Companion to a Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods: No. 17 9004138455, 9789004138452

Table of contents :
The Men Who Governed Han China
Contents
PREFACE
ABBREVIATIONS
LIST OF FIGURES, MAPS AND TABLES
INTRODUCTION

Citation preview

THE MEN WHO GOVERNED HAN CHINA

HANDBOOK OF ORIENTAL STUDIES HANDBUCH DER ORIENTALISTIK SECTION FOUR

CHINA edited by S.F. TEISER • M. KERN

VOLUME SEVENTEEN

THE MEN WHO GOVERNED HAN CHINA

THE MEN WHO GOVERNED HAN CHINA Companion to A Biographical Dictionary of the Qjn, Former Han and Xin Periods BY

MICHAEL LOEWE

BRILL LEIDEN· BOSTON 2004

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on http://catalog.loc.gov

ISSN 0169-9520 ISBN 90 04 13845 5 © Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands

All rights reserved. No part ef this publication mqy be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any .form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission .from the publisher. Authoriz:,ation to photocopy items fer internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fies are paid direct{y to The Copyright Clearance Center, 2 22 Rosewood Drive, Suite 9 I 0, Danvers MA 0 I 923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

CONTENTS Preface................................................................................

x1

Abbreviations......................................................................

x111

List of figures, maps and tables..........................................

xv

INTRODUCTION.................................................................

1

CHAPTER ONE: Surnames, given names, styles and titles............................................................................... Xiansheng......................................................................... Jun....................................................................................

11 14 14

Xing................................................................................... Ming..................................................................................

16 19

Zi.......................................................................................

22 26 26

Nicknames........................................................................ Appendix: Examples : Xiansheng to Nicknames............. CHAPTER TWO: The records from Yinwan and the administration ofDonghai................................................. YM6D 14-23 Documents used in paying courtesy calls............................................................................ Strips nos. 1-76 An official's diary................................. YM6D 1 Basic figures and information for the commandery..... ............................. ............. ...... .. .... ... YM6D2 Officials posted in the sub-units of the commandery.................................... ................... ....... YM6D3 and 4 Reports on the promotion of officials...... YM6D5 Reasons for absence of officials from their posts........................................................................... YM6D6 Record of arms, vehicles and equipment..........

38 50 53 60 64 71 74 76

CONTENTS

vi

Appendix: Counties, nobilities and county officials........

79

CHAPTER THREE: The commandery and kingdom of Donghai................................................................................ Administrative organisation ............................................ Donghai 's place in dynastic developments ..................... Prominent officials .......................................................... Scholars and men of letters .................... ............ ...... ....... Appendix: Senior officials of the area ........... .. ................

89 90 94 98 100 108

CHAPTER FOUR: The first steps to office ..... ................ ...... Statutory arrangements .................................................... Men of intelligence and fine quality (Xianliang), and upright character.......................................................... Dong Zhongshu's proposal: theXiaolian ........................ The proposals of Gongsun Hong: the Bashi dizi.............. Maocai: men of flourishing talent.................................... Responses to a rescript: she ce ........................................ Assessment of integrity: cha lian ................................... The Gentlemen: lang ............................... ............ .......... . Sponsorship .................................................................... An official's tasks and duties .................... ............ ...... ... Appendix: (a) Examples of the foregoing types............... (b) The decree of 178 BC............................... CHAPTER FIVE: The office oflmperial Counsellor (Yushi Dafu) and the case of Ni Kuan...................................... Appendix: The Imperial Counsellors...............................

109 117 119 123 124 127 128 130 131 133 134 138 152

155 173

CHAPTER SIX: Military titles and the command of the armed forces................................................................... Junior officers................................................................... The term Jiangjun............................................................. Pre-imperial times and the Qin empire............................. Juji jiangjun and other titles............................................. The wars of Wudi' s reign................................................. Task force and other titles................................................

176 178 180 181 183 185 187

CONTENTS

The Generals of the Left and the Right ...... ..... ... ...... ....... The term Zhong chao ....................................................... The Generals of the Van and the Rear.............................. Attempts to establish a single command: the Taiwei, Da Jiangjun and Da Sima ...............................................

vii

189 194 195 197

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Tables of the Shiji and the Han shu: forms and contents...................................................... Shiji Chapter 13, Table 1.................................................. Shiji Chapter 14, Table 2.................................................. Shiji Chapter 15, Table 3.................................................. Shiji Chapter 16, Table 4.................................................. Han shu Chapter 13, Table 1............................................ Shiji Chapter 17, Table 5.................................................. Han shu Chapter 14, Table 2............................................ Shiji Chapter 18, Table 6.................................................. Shiji Chapter 19, Table 7.................................................. Shiji Chapter 20, Table 8............................................. ..... Han shu Chapter 16, Table 4............................................ Han shu Chapter 17, Table 5............................................ Han shu Chapter 18, Table 6............................................ Shiji Chapter 21, Table 9.................................................. Han shu, Chapter 15A,B, Tables 3A,B............................ Han shu, Chapter 19A,B, Table 7..................................... Shiji Chapter 22, Table 10................................................ Han shu Chapter 20, Table 8............................................

208 215 217 218 221 222 224 225 226 229 230 233 235 236 238 239 241 242 248

CHAPTER EIGHT: The Tables of the Shiji and the Han shu: two faulty passages.................................................... The foundation of nobilities in 122 or 116 BC................. The descendants of Han Wang Xin..................................

251 263 273

CHAPTER NINE: The nobilities of Western Han................ The origin and development of the institution................. The tables of the Han shu... .. .... .. .. .. ..... .... .. .. .. ......... .. ... .. .. . The creation and closure of the nobilities........................ The nobility conferred on Xiao He...................................

279 280 287 292 296

viii

CONTENTS

Practice under Wang Mang and survivals into Eastern Han............................................................................. The choice of certain titles............................................... Nobilities conferred on the sons of kings......................... Nobilities bestowed for merit........................................... Nobilities granted by reason of relationship or by favour The order of precedence................................................... Restored and derivative nobilities....................................

298 300 301 308 315 318 323

CHAPTER TEN: The honours paid to the house of Zhou and to Kongzi...................................................................... Ennoblement of the Ji family........................................... Descendants of the house of Yin and of Kongzi.............. Zhou Gong as a model......................................................

325 326 336 340

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The kingdoms (Zhuhouwang guo) of Western Han.................................................................. The rise and fall of the kingdoms..................................... The powers of the kings and the government of the kingdoms................................................................... The conduct and reputation of the kings.......................... Appendix: Kingdoms of Western Han (1)........................ Kingdoms of Western Han (2)........................ CHAPTER TWELVE: The investiture of three kings in 117: a controversial decision............................................. CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Mandate of Heaven................ Pre-imperial writings........................................................ References in the first century of Western Han............... Calls on the Mandate in the closing decades of Western Han.............................................................. Wang Mang's invocation of the Mandate........................ The dynastic succession in Eastern Han and later............

3 57 361 371 382 390 394

401 421 426 43 1 441 446 449

CONTENTS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The Wu xing: concept and theory..................................................................................... The Hong/an.................................................................... Zou Yan and the Lu shi chun qiu. .... ... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ... ... .. .. The Huainanzi and other references in Western Han sources ...................................................................... . Dong Zhongshu and the Chun qiu fan lu.......................... The order of conquest or production................................ The catalogue of the imperial library............................... The treatise on the Wu xing in the Han shu.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Wu xing: practice and application................................................................................. Qin's adoption of Water................................................... Han's choice of a symbol (up to 104 BC)........................ The reign ofYuandi.......................................................... Wang Mang and his claims.............................................. Developments in Eastern Han and subsequently.............. CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Imperial decrees and orders............ Decrees recorded in the chapters of imperial annals and under Wang Mang..................................................... Decrees recorded in the tables and treatises..................... Decrees recorded in the biographies................................. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Imperial sovereignty.................. Claims and opinions......................................................... Hereditary succession in practice..................................... Ritual procedures, regular duties and an emperor's powers........................................................................ Appendix: Qin, Western Han and Xin emperors and their parentage..................................................... CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The emperors and the powers that lay behind the throne.......................................................... The First and Second Emperors of Qin (reigned 221-210 and 210-207)...........................................

ix

457 460 462 468 472 477 482 487

496 497 505 514 515 516 522 535 539 541 54 7 549 558 566 575

577 581

X

CONTENTS

Gaozu (reigned 202-195)................................................ Huidi (reigned 195-188) and the Empress Lii (188-180).................................................................. Wendi (reigned 180-157), his advisors and the Empress Dou.............................................................. Jingdi (reigned 157-141)................................................. Wudi (reigned 141---87).................................................... Zhaodi (reigned 87-74)................................................... Xuandi (reigned 74-48)................................................... Yuandi (reigned 48-33)................................................... Chengdi (reigned 33-7 BC)............................................. Aidi (reigned 7-1 BC)..................................................... Pingdi (reigned 1 BC-AD 6)...........................................

590 599 604 612 614 620 624 628 631

List of works cited..............................................................

634

Emperors of Qin, Western Han, Xin and Eastern Han.......

648

Principal officials of the central government.....................

650

Index...................................................................................

653

584 587

PREFACE In compiling A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods I encountered a number of problems which required investigation. While undertaking the research that was necessary and including my conclusions in that volume I deferred publication of the necessary support until a later stage had been reached. Such results are assembled here together with certain other material with a view to illustrating the relationship between individual human beings and the institutions whereby they were governed. For this purpose it has been necessary to call on the evidence of certain documents, some found only recently, which provide means of probing more deeply into Han history than was possible previously. Some of the chapters will serve to supplement the Cambridge History of China volume I, which was published in 1986 partly on the basis of work which had been undertaken some years before then. Dates are given in terms of western usage. 'BC' is specified only where it is necessary to do so for clarity and the same reserves should be applied to notation of years in this way as are set down in the Biographical Dictionary (see pp. xix-xx). As elsewhere I use the term 'noble' rather than 'marquis' to render hou ({~ in order to avoid any comparison with European systems of a peerage. English terms used to render official titles are as given in the Biographical Dictionary; on occasion variants that are used in other publications are included in parenthesis. Full lists of references are omitted where they are not deemed to be essential or where a person or a subject is handled more fully in the Biographical Dictionary than here. Following the advice or even instruction that I received some forty years ago I have hitherto used the expressions 'Former Han' and 'Later Han', in the belief that this would be easier for beginners to understand than 'Western Han' and 'Eastern Han'. More recently I have preferred to avoid expressions such as 'Early Former Han', or 'Late Later Han'; 'Western Han' and 'Eastern Han' have therefore been adopted here.

xii

PREFACE

A number of friends and colleagues have given generously of their time to read some of these pages and to give me the benefit of their wisdom and advice. I single out Christopher Cullen, Martin Kem, Michael Nylan, Edward Shaughnessy, Nathan Sivin and Endymion Wilkinson to whom my special thanks are due. As previously, Patricia Radder, of Brill, has consistently provided the encouragement and help of the type for which no writer can ever render sufficient thanks. It is a particular pleasure to record my gratitude to Alison Gilderdale, once my pupil, for checking my text and correcting me over a number of details. Grantchester 1-i-2004

M.L.

ABBREVIATIONS 'Aristocratic ranks' Loewe, 'The Orders of Aristocratic Rank of Han China' BHT Bo hu tong Biographical Dictionary Loewe, A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han andXin Periods Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities BMFEA BSS Basic Sinological Series Bureaucracy Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times CHOAC Loewe and Shaughnessy, The Cambridge History of Ancient China CHOC Twitchett and Loewe, The Cambridge History of China CICA Hulsewe, China in Central Asia CQFL Chun qiu fan lu Crisis and Conflict Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China CITY Lishi yuyan yanjiu suo jikan DMM Loewe, Divination, Monarchy and Mythology in Han China Documents Chavannes, Les Documents Chinois EC Early China ECTBG Loewe, Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide Guadian Guadian Chu mu zhu jian HFHD Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty HHS Hou Han shu and Xu Han zhi HHSJJ Hou Han shujijie HJAS Harvard Journal ofAsiatic Studies HJYJWJ Hanjian yanjiu wenji HNZ Huainanzi HS Hanshu

XIV

ABBREVIATIONS

HSBZ Han shu bu zhu HSWZ Han shi wai zhuan HWCS Han Wei congshu HYGZ Huayang guo zhi KG Kaogu KGXB Kao gu xue bao KGYWW Kao gu yu wenwu LH Lun heng LSCQ Lu shi chun qiu MH Chavannes, Memoires historiques Nan Yue Report Xi Han Nan Yue wang mu QFL Qian ju lun RHA Loewe, Records of Han Administration SBBY Si bu beiyao SBCK Si bu cong kan SGZ San guo zhi Shizhai shan Yunnan Jinning Shizhai shan gu mu qun fajue baogao Shoseki Shoseki meihin sokan SJ Shiji SSDZ Shang shu da zhuan Takigawa Takigawa Kametaro, Shiki kaichu kosho TP T'oung Pao WW Wenwu XJZJ Xi Jing zaji YTL Yan tie lun Yinwan Documents Report Yinwan Han mu jiandu Zhangjia shan Zhangjia shan Han mu zhujian ZZTJ Zi zhi tongjian

LIST OF FIGURES, MAPS AND TABLES

Figure 1 Visits paid to a senior official by their subordinates (from a stone relief in a tomb in Zhucheng ~ :f:~ county, Shandong; Wenwu 1981.10, p. 20)........................................

51

Figure 2 Passages from Shiji 21 and Han shu I SA ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ...

25 8

Figure 3 Passages from Shiji 20 and Han shu 16......................

274

Map 1 The commandery of Donghai and its subordinate units AD 1-2 (as in Han shu 28 and after Tan Qixiang)................

62

Map 2 The kingdom of Donghai and its subordinate units AD 140 (as in Xu Han zhi 21 and after Tan Qixiang).................

63

Map 3 Kingdoms of the Han Empire 195 BC...........................

358

Map 4 Kingdoms of the the Han Empire AD 2 .......................

359

Table 1 Counties established in Donghai as in YM6D2............

80

Table 2 Nobilities established in Donghai as in YM6D2...........

82

Table 3 Nobilities recorded for Donghai other than those in YM6D2..................................................................................

86

Table 4 County officials and village heads................................

88

Table 5 Nobilities created for merit (as estimated and including ten whose final stages are untraced)..............................

310

Table 6 The Kingdoms of Western Han....................................

395

INTRODUCTION As has long been recognised our primary histories of Han China are focussed on the major achievements of imperial government with scant reference to the activities, way of life and sufferings of the great majority of the population. We learn of the lives and careers of those who administered the land or led the armed forces to battle. We read of the different views that senior officials expressed in regard to major problems of the day with their arguments for or against the adoption of a policy. Emperors, their consorts and their consorts' families stand out in bold print on the pages of the Shiji, Han shu and Hou Han shu somewhat disproportionately as against the scant account that is taken of the great majority of the population. Registered to the number of nearly sixty million strong, these were the men and women who toiled in the fields and served as conscript labourers carrying loads of grain or building grandiose palaces and mausolea for their masters. At times they were sent as soldiers to guard defence lines in a bitter climate, to journey to the disease ridden territories of the far south. Day by day they stood by in their villages and farms; they might hope that the emperor's government might extend them rewards by way of a bounty; they laid aside part of their harvest for delivery as tax that local officials would demand; they awaited the judgements that a magistrate would declare and the punishments to which he would sentence them for crime. We may read of the hardships that the inhabitants of the provinces suffered in times of famine, expressed often in rhetorical rather than personal terms. Remnants of the laws of the land reveal the severity of the treatment which was the lot of a criminal; fragments of military records show something of the working lives of servicemen and their families. Severely limited as our knowledge of the lives of the men who lived in these centuries is, we understand far less about those of the women. The historians concentrated on the men and all too often a woman's name appears on their pages only when she is accused of

2

INTRODUCTION

indulgence in intrigue or enormities of behaviour. Such instances are nearly all drawn from the activities of those who lived at high levels of society; we look in vain to learn something of a woman's work on the farm, let alone of her attention to religious practices, her personal and emotional experiences. It is within these and other limitations, such as the absence of other writings to bring to bear on the official accounts, that a biographical list could be compiled of all individuals known to have lived in Western Han times. Such work involved examination of a number of problems that required research whose results are presented here, partly by way of a companion to the Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods. Such problems include the controversy that arose over the nomination of three of Wudi' s sons to be kings; the different treatment that the two histories give to one of the Imperial Counsellors; the exceptional gift of a nobility to a descendant of the house of Zhou; and the success whereby Wang Mang was able to claim legitimate authority for his actions. This study seeks to trace the ways in which human beings reacted to institutions of state and how institutions of state assisted human beings to achieve their ambitions or hampered their attempts to do so. It calls on basic documents, including some material that is more properly classed as archive than chronicle, and scrutinises their validity; and it recalls how certain existing ideas were developed and exploited. Some of the chapters form small groups wherein it is necessary to set out the detailed factual evidence before embarking on an exercise in interpretation. Thus textual problems may require examination before the practical effects of an institution can be reviewed, as in the case of the documents found at Yinwan and the light that they throw on local government; or the forms, means of compilation and problems of certain chapters of the histories require study before the importance of the nobilities may be assessed. Or else attention may be due to some of the basic concepts of the day before considering the place of an institution, as in the case of imperial sovereignty and the personal part played by the emperors. The chapters attend to the problems and circumstances of different social strata, from the lowest to the highest in the land. The first person to be mentioned below was a forty-year-old civilian who came from Wei commandery (southern part of modern Hebei) and

INTRODUCTION

3

who was travelling in the outreaches of Gansu shortly before 81 BC. He was subject to the control of officials who carefully recorded details whereby he could be identified, and watched, before he was allowed to proceed on his journey; the second person was a convict, crudely buried in AD 119 while serving out his sentence to hard labour. The last person to be considered is Liu Jizi IU ~ r, later named Liu Kan ~J 1ff and more usually known as Pingdi, the young boy of nine years who took his place on the throne with the connivance of the powerful Wang family. It is in no way intended here to provide a comprehensive account of the way in which institutions of government operated, if indeed such a survey were to be possible. Fortunately enough some aspects of the subject have been studied in considerable detail elsewhere. As with other aspects of Han history, we rely principally on the two Standard Histories; and for reasons that will be shown, these two voluminous works are seen here as independent witnesses, worked from material that was in some cases common to both, and in some cases copying from the one to the other. Both include some material uniquely, some of it in archival form, and both can be supplemented with the help of documents found only recently. Bias is detected in both the Shiji and the Han shu; in particular the latter seems to take an unfavourable view of the kings of the empire, except for Liu Fa ~J ~ (1) 1 to whom the first of the Eastern Han emperors traced his descent. There were various ways of achieving an entry into public life. Chance could play a part, if a senior official travelling in the course of his duties might catch sight of a youngster who showed a promise of intelliegence or had proved himself to be familiar with matters of state. The senior member of a family might have the power and opportunity of nominating a relative to take his place at court or in the offices of the capital city. Favouritism could lead the relative of an emperor's consort to a high position. Others could perhaps find their ways there in a competitive display of their abilities, or by the selection of a senior official. The main opportunity of offering political counsel or expressing views on public decisions was perhaps seen at the level of Gentleman (Lang~~) or Counsellor (Dafu 1('7(), The title of Palace 1

The numbers that follow a name are as given in Biographical Dictionary.

4

INTRODUCTION

Attendant (Shizhong 1~ i:p ), which was not that of an established office, carried with it an entree to the corridors of power; nomination as such may have derived from the confidence and support of a senior official, and may have inspired the hope in a young man that such an official would give his nominee an initial recommendation for a post, thereby opening the route to high office. The first real move towards responsible authority came with appointment as Governor (Taishou *~)of a commandery, or perhaps Chancellor (Xiang :{-§) of a kingdom. Such positions required the exercise of independent judgement and the power to take decisions on one's own initiative; if approved, such actions could lead to promotion; if questioned they could lead to disgrace or death as a criminal. The governors needed special skills, innate with their characters, with which to impose their authority on their subordinates, win their loyalties and retain their respect. They must command the goodwill of the population of the area that they governed; ideally they must satisfy the central government that their conduct of the administration was neither corrupt nor oppressive. The highest responsibilities of government lay with the Nine Ministers of State, the Imperial Counsellor and the Chancellor. Tenure of those posts could mark the culmination of a career; it could also involve the incumbent in the intrigues of the palace or the rivalries of political life; it could end with the receipt of generous or munificent rewards or the infliction of punishments of a loathsome type of cruelty. Public life brought opportunities for performing acts of charity or for promoting a cultured way of life; it provided means of both gaining wealth and of practising oppressive and avaricious behaviour. On occasion the voice of human frailty, misery or tragedy calls out from the dry pages of the Standard Histories. Lying ill while still young, Wudi' s consort Li Furen A refused his earnest plea to visit her; for she knew that disease had destroyed her looks and she would have him remember her as in the days of her beauty. Anxious to avoid the responsibilities and the life of a noble, in 61 BC Wei Xuancheng ~ 5{ nlG tried in vain to thwart the order that he should succeed to his father's title, by feigning madness. Daughter of a somewhat debauched king, in about 110 BC Liu Xijun IU *-ffi 'flj was sent as a princess to fulfil her duty to be the bride of one of the non-Chinese kings in the remote lands of the north-west. Once or twice a year she met her elderly husband, who could not

*x

INTRODUCTION

5

understand Chinese; in a cry of anguish she sent back a poem to Chang'an longing for the creature comforts that she now lacked. Bales of silk sent from Chang' an may have alleviated her sufferings; obedient to her husband's wish she was subsequently married to his grandson. Names and titles may be regarded as a basic and universal institutional device with which to organise and regulate a society and to identify the status, obligations and rights of its members. The system evolved in Han times included notable features such as the conferment of a title on certain women, the possibility of changing one's name and the use of different terms of speech for communication on official and personal levels. Documents from Yinwan jt • which are dated close to 10 BC illustrate vividly the ways in which the basic tasks of government such as the registration of the population and the collection of tax were perfomed. We learn of the complement of officials at local levels, the reasons for their promotion and the duties that devolved on the officials of the Bureau of Merit. One set of these documents is an inventory of the contents of a large arsenal. Of general significance we may reach an estimate of the total numbers of imperial officials holding posts in the central and provincial government. Perhaps 100,000 held posts in the provinces to govern a registered population of fifty-seven million in the wide expanses of the empire inc. 10 BC. Yinwan was situated in the Han commandery of Donghai ]f[ which was one of the most populous administrative divisions of Western Han. The documents illustrate the way in which the constituent counties and nobilities were staffed and governed, either by officials who held posts of the provincial establishment, or those who were attached to the person of a senior official or those who were supernumerary. Other sources tell of the military activity that took place in the commandery at times of dynastic instability. A number of men who became prominent in public life were natives of Donghai, where there is reason to believe that the county of Lanling ]If ~ housed a centre of learning. The decrees and memorials that are included in the Standard Histories reveal a number of ways whereby a man could embark on an official career. A decree could initiate a recruitment drive for candidates to serve and his name might have been put forward locally in response to such a command. A bright youngster might

w

6

INTRODUCTION

attract attention, perhaps thanks to his knowledge of legal procedures; others might show their merits in the replies that they framed in response to questions about major matters of state. Personal sponsorship brought some men to the fore; some offices could perhaps at times be acquired by purchase. Two points marked significant stages in an official's career; first appointment as magistrate of a county, and then as governor of a commandery; thereafter the road lay open to appointment as one of the nine Ministers of State The careers of some of those who reached the position of Imperial Counsellor serve as examples of how it was possible to rise from a junior rank to a post that involved responsibility for some of the most highly important decisions of the day. Some of these men would then rise to the highest of all posts, that of Chancellor; some would encounter a loss of all that they had hoped to attain. Major differences of treatment in the two histories raise difficulties in the particular case of Ni Kuan ~ J[. If a sense of regularity and an adherence to hierarchy marked the careers in the civil offices, a contrived division of powers and a temporary rather than a permanent structure of responsibility was seen in the ordering of military affairs. With the passage of time, the terms Jiangjun M~ ii[ and Da Sima --J:::.. P'.] ,~ came to lose their significance as implying a professional command of armed forces or a position of authority that was displayed on a field of battle. A reluctance to establish a unified control of the armed forces may have reduced the effect with which they could be put to fight on a campaign. Two forms were used to inscribe the ten tables of the Shiji and the eight of the Han shu, the one in vertical and the other in horizontal mode. Of these the former is thought to derive directly from copying archive material that was held in the government's offices; the latter from personal composition by the compilers of the histories. These tables present basic information from which statistical inferences may sometimes be drawn. For example they provide the lists of succession of the major incumbents in the kingdoms, nobilities and major offices of state, with dates when kings, nobles or officials took up, relinquished or were deprived of their titles; they thus give the length of tenure of these positions ..

INTRODUCTION

7

In general there is a remarkably high degree of consistency between the tables of the two histories, even though the forms of the tables were sometimes different. Minor variants, of readings, names or dates are seen between the two works and each has its own inaccuracies. In one fairly well isolated passage, however, there occurs an exceptionally large number of differences, the texts of both the Shiji and the Han shu including patent inaccuracies or inconsistencies. This suggests that the compilers of the Han shu no less than those of the Shiji had access to original archive material. Uniquely in all the Standard Histories, since Northern Song times at least the received text of one of the tables of the Shiji has included certain entries that are inscribed upside down, doubtless being added at an unknown time. A series of discrepancies may be seen in the two accounts of the nobility held by the descendants of Han Wang Xin • .3:. {8"· Two ranks of peerage existed in Han China, that of the nobles and that of the kings. Administrative functions, no less than social status and incomes, pertained to the hereditary nobilities, deriving as these partly did from pre-imperial precedents. They were conferred on sons of the Han kings, and on civil officials and military officers who had served with distinction. In addition a number of favourites at court received the honour of a nobility as did leaders of some of the non-Chinese peoples who had made over to the Han cause. Exceptionally, a few nobilities were bestowed for other reasons. In 114 one was given to a descendant of the house of Zhou, and this honour was confirmed with greater strength towards the end of the dynasty. At the same time a Han government was showing its respect for figures of the past such as descendants of the royal family of Yin and that of Kongzi. Zhou Gong was likewise attracting a new measure of interest and respect. The kingdoms were set up at the outset of the dynasty with the intention of retaining control over large areas of territory within the hands of near kinsmen of the emperor. But before very long some of the kings began to show unwelcome signs of dissidence and counter measures followed to reduce their strength and to eliminate the dangers of separatism. Living in some isolation from the centre, some of the kings, whose number varied from time to time, contributed to the promotion of literary and scholarly ventures; some yielded to temptations of an ignoble kind, giving way to bouts of

8

INTRODUCTION

cruelty. Splendid tombs testify to the rank, privileges and wealth that they enjoyed. In 117 a difference of opinion arose between the emperor and his officials as to whether it was proper to nominate three of his sons as nobles or kings. Obliged to yield to the views of his advisors, Wudi nominated them as kings. The Shiji reveals details of what may well have been a major matter of discord or controversy but these are not seen in the Han shu. This omission, or suppression, reminds us that there may well be other instances wherein the historians felt it necessary to conceal certain pertinent facts from their readers. The incident is also noteworthy in so far as it illustrates that an emperor was not alway able to insist on his will. In different ways the institution and maintenance of imperial sovereignty received support from the concept of the Mandate of Heaven and that of the cycle of the Five Phases, but it was only comparatively late in Western Han times that these ideas were invoked. We may have to wait until the time of Chengdi (reigned 33 to 7) before an emperor took account of the doctrine of the Mandate; and the first emperor who may be said with certainty to have called for the blessing of one of the Five Phases was Wang Mang. In reaching these conclusions I have come to modify or even reject some of the propositions that I had accepted previously and which are to be found in earlier publications. In particular it seems to be untenable to assume that Dong Zhongshu took any part in promoting the ideas of the Five Phases, and the adoption of certain measures in 104 need not necessarily signify that Wudi' s government adopted a patron phase at that time. 2 Acceptance at official levels that the Five could influence dynastic destinies was anything but abrupt or sudden. Some men, such as Jia Yi, may well have been entertaining such ideas from early in Han times; and while some symbolic changes were introduced from 104, it is not certain that their significance was understood save by initiates. It is perhaps ironic that while some may have wished to invoke the blessing of one of the Five for dynastic purposes this was not formally achieved until the Xin dynasty. 2 CHOC vol. I, pp. 691, 710 and 733 (published 1986; other contributors to the volume accepted Dong's part in propagating this doctrine; see pp. 754, 758, 771, 809); DMM, p. 122 (in an article first published in 1987).

INTRODUCTION

9

Imperial decrees ranged over a variety of matters, whether of religious, dynastic or administrative importance and reveal a growing sense of imperial China's debt to its predecessors. Necessary as the position of the emperor was as the fount of authority, the path to accession was by no means always certain or smooth. The principle of hereditary succession did not always preclude such difficulties, and only rarely did an emperor exercise personal power effectively. His main duties were those of a religious, ceremonial and constitutional figurehead, and occasionally those of a supreme judge. As far as may be determined, the character of the emperors varied widely, ranging from that of the serious-minded Wendi to the ruthlessness of Jingdi. Wudi's energy was probably not matched by that of other emperors; of his successors, Xuandi was probably able to influence some public decisions, but Yuandi and Chengdi failed to do so. A few empresses, such as Li.i hou, the Empress Dowager Dou and the Grand Empress Wang stand out as women of strong personalities who were in some cases capable of dominating their contemporaries. Family rivalries were perhaps seen at their sharpest in the palace during the reigns of Wudi, Xuandi and Aidi. From Eastern Han onwards the masters who ruled China owed their predecessors of Qin, Western Han and Xin a major debt that was not always acknowledged. As in the later dynasties of Sui and Yuan, in their short period of dominance the Qin emperors organised a government that commanded general respect, imposed a sharp or even ruthless standard of discipline on the population and left a heritage of institutions whereby imperial government could be administered effectively. To those who governed China during Western Han is due the credit for adopting those forms of government and adapting them to meet the cultural, social and political changes of the day. By operating them over a lengthy period of time, they laid the foundations of a long-lasting dynasty that could live through both the oppression and weaknesses of some of its rulers and survive dangerous moments of crisis. In the few years of Wang Mang's reign ideas that had been conceived some centuries earlier so took their place in the dynastic tradition that they would form part of what is sometimes known as the Confucian ethic. These included the worship of Heaven, acknowledgement of the

10

INTRODUCTION

Mandate of Heaven, adulation of the kings of Western Zhou and adoption of the ideal that was impersonated in Zhou Gong. It is ironic that scholars and students of later ages learnt to recoil from the example of Qin, that had laid the structure of imperial government, as being tyrannical, and to curse Wang Mang, who might well claim to have achieved a 'victory of Confucianism', as the 'usurper'.

CHAPTER ONE

SURNAMES, GIVEN NAMES, STYLES AND TITLES As the late Wolfgang Bauer's majestic study of names has been available for some forty years, there is little call to consider the major aspects of this subject here. Rather is it proposed to concentrate on some of the details that have appeared in an examination of the individuals who feature in Han history, principally during Western Han times. While no account of the overall distribution of surnames, given names and styles is attempted, the following notes concern in particular the use of certain honorific titles, the reasons why and the circumstances in which names were changed, and the occasions when men and women addressed each other by style, often if personal or confidential matters were concerned. While it is evident that a select number of surnames (xing tt ; for the rendering 'surname', see below) recur with great frequency in imperial history, it is possible that undue account is given to a general assumption that the number of surnames in use was limited. Possibly insufficient account, however, is taken of the frequency with which certain given names (ming ::2'i ) were chosen, often because they bore a felicitous meaning (e.g., shou I;;); and the choice of a given name was restricted by the need to avoid choosing that of a close relative or a newly born infant. As will be seen below certain circumstances could call for the change of a surname or a given name or both. How far the choice was regulated by the conventions or prescriptions of Ii ff1 may as yet await research, but it is likely that these played a large part in certain families, particularly those of an imperial line, where directions may have been forthcoming from the IE)- In any Superintendent of the Imperial Clan (Zongzheng event the pages of the Standard Histories and other documents, none of which may be accepted as being representative of more than a limited class of persons, bring to light an uncomfortably large

*

12

CHAPTER ONE

number of cases of namesakes, obliging historians to take pains to avoid misconceptions. In the following pages, attention will focus on the significance of names, styles and titles in the records that are available. 1 The biographies of the histories find it sufficient to provide a man's surname, given name and style with a note of his family's place of origin, but further details were furnished in other documents and for other needs. 2 For administrative and legal purposes, men and women were identified in Han times in terms of their native commandery (jun $~) or kingdom (guo ffl), county (xian Wl), and ward or hamlet (Ii _m), followed by the surname, given name and perhaps the style. Sometimes the district (xiang M)~ ) was named after the county; for particular purposes, such as the personal description given on a record of an individual's journeys, or on a passport (fu zB=), details of age, height and complexion might be added, and the order of honour (Jue fl) to which a man was entitled might be named; for the latter could determine the terms of service that he was obliged to fulfil or the mitigation that he might expect from any punitive treatment to which he had been sentenced. 3 These

For the general validity of names as recorded, see Bauer, pp. 23--4. Occasionally, and perhaps somewhat irregularly, the Shiji refers to persons by the titles of their nobilities; e.g., Weiqi ft ;),t: for Dou Ying if~, and Wuan jt; 'Ji: for Tian Fen l:E !(8. Corresponding passages in the Han shu refer to these persons by their given names; SJ 107, pp. 2851-2, HS 52, p. 2389, HSBZ 52.lOb. The usage of the Shiji might well lead to ambiguity, as no less than four men had held the title of Weiqi, i.e., Zhou Ding ml JE (from 201), Zhou Jian ml !Ri (from 183), Dou Ying (from 155) and Liu Chang JU l'f!i (4) (from 110). 3 For passports, see RHA, vol. I, pp. 107-14. Inherited from pre-imperial times, in Western Han the Jue comprised twenty orders, ranging from Gong shi 0 ± as the lowest to che hou f(& {* as the highest ones in the scale (HS 19A, p. 739, HSBZ 19A.25a; Hanjiuyi B 6a--b; Nishijima; Zhangjia shan, pp. 175----0, and WW2002.9, pp. 49-53; Loewe 'Aristocratic Ranks'). These honours were granted or distributed to mark moments of dynastic importance, such as the accession of an emperor or the majority of the heir apparent, or as rewards for services rendered. The orders carried certain legal and other privileges and successive grants raised the status of an (see RHA vol. II, pp. 365individual up to the eighth order of Gongcheng 0 73), higher orders being given in special cases. The term shi wu ffi. denoted those who had been deprived of their orders as a punishment for crime (SJ 118, pp. 3077, 3078 note 4; HS 5, p. 140, HSBZ 5.3a note; Han jiu yi B.6b; Zhangjia shan p. 176, strip no. 312, for a reference in the ordinances of 186 BC). For attempts to recover money owed by servicemen, described in one case as Shang zao J::: ~ (the second 1

2

*

±

SURNAMES, GIVEN NAMES, STYLES AND TITLES

13

details are seen in the following example, which derives from a record that was made of travellers passing through a point of control in the north-west, shortly before 81 :4

Xie Mu, order of Dafu, of Gaowu hamlet, Fanyang [county], Wei commandery, aged forty, height 7 feet 2 inches, colouring black ...

When, in preparation for the visit of the Shanyu in 51 orders were given for portraits to be painted of the leading Han personalities, the captions were intended to record the offices that they held, their orders of honour, their surnames and given names. 5 The rough and ready slabs of brick that marked the graves of a large number of convicts who died between AD 103 and 127 record the punishments to which the men had been sentenced, together with the commandery, county, surname and given name as is seen in the following example: 6

Zhao Ju, ofLuoyang, Henan, a shaved and collared [convict], died on the fourth day of the intercalary month, Yuanchu sixth year [119].

Such gravestones may be contrasted with the finely cut and inscribed stelae of Eastern Han that proclaimed to the passer-by the ancestry, career and deeds of a man who had led a successful career as a senior official. The captions to these epitaphs may carry the man's surname and given name and the most senior post that he held, displayed in choice calligraphic style; e.g.: if Ml: ~ Jfix :Bt ~ ~ ~ 5:& ;@; '1k_ tJ. The main text of this inscription (dated 186) begins by repeating

order of honour) and otherwise as Shi wu, see the administrative strips of Qin, as described in WW2003.1, pp. 18-32. 4 Juyan strip no. 15.14; RHA vol. II, p. 212, item 21. 12:9 is written in the form of a single character. Dafu was the fifth rank of the twenty orders of honour. 5 HS 54, p. 2468, HSBZ 54.23a. 6 'Dong Han Luoyang cheng nan jiao de xingtu mu di' (KG 1972.4, pp. 4-8). For this example see Figure 4:5 and p. 5. For interpretations of the initial term wu ren, see p. 8; for punishment as a 'shaved and collared' convict, see Hulsewe, Remnants of Han Law, p. 129.

+

14

CHAPTER ONE

the given name and adds the style, but refrains from including the surname: ;@; ~ ¥! '.:f'. 01J.7 The following notes concern the uses of the terms Xiansheng )'c ~, Jun ;{!!;, Xing ft, Ming .::gand Zi '.:f'. and of nicknames.

Xiansheng )'c

~

This term is seen with reference to eight men who lived between the beginning of Western Han and the reign of Xuandi (74-48 BC). The common characteristic of those named as Xiansheng is that they lived a life of seclusion, perhaps as well-known specialists on scholarly matters and in one case as an expert on Huang Lao Ji~Only in one case, Xu Fu ~ ffrii (2), is a surname followed by a given name, and somewhat exceptionally Xu Fu is one of the two among the eight who eventually received an official appointment. Their call to fame rested on the advice that they gave as senior venerated persons, at times restraining an emperor or a senior official from an ill-thought out action. 8 As opposed to Xiansheng, the honorific title Gong 0 is used for holders of an office, as in Taishi Gong _§1:: 0, for Sima Qian pj ,~ ¥!, and Cang gong ~ 0, Taicang Gong ~ 0 or Chunyu Gong ¥J T 0, for Chunyu Yi 1¥-=f-g. In some instances, such as that of Xu Fu ~ ffrii (2) (A 8,and A 10 -15 below) the single term sheng may do duty for Xiansheng. The statement in a fragment of the Han jiu yi ii ff {I that Academicians (Bashi ff ±) were termed Xiansheng is not borne out by known examples. 9

**

Jun ;{!!; The orders of aristocratic rank, or honour (Jue fi ), that were in use in the period between Qin and Han included those of Qi Da.fu t 7(

x,

1 Liang Hanjin shiji 12.la, Shoseki I,16. Zhang Qian's ancestors had included three men well known to history, i.e., Zhang Liang~ ,Ill, Zhang Shizhi ~ ff and Zhang Qian ~ W8 For this description, see also Liji 2 ('Qu Ii shang') la note and 9a. 9 Hanjiuyi buyi A.2a.

z

SURNAMES, GIVEN NAMES, STYLES AND TITLES

15

Wu Daju Ji -}( ~, Zhi ho ¥A ff! and Zhi gui ¥A ft (or ~, being awarded in that ascending series to some of Liu Bang's JU ::}:~ supporters before he became king of Han (206 BC). In one instance the title of Zhi ho was granted by Chu Huai Wang ~ 'ti .3:.. At times these marks of honour were accompanied by the title of jun~; at times those who held these orders were promoted to the rank of hou {% after Liu Bang's accession as king. 10 These supporters included Cao Shen ff ~, Guan Ying ii ~ and Xiahou Ying ]l {* ~- Of these terms, Wu Da.fu also featured in the ninth place in Qin's series of seventeen and Han's series of twenty orders of honour,1 1 and it is recorded in one instance as being held in the pre-imperial kingdom of Wei ft .12 Zhi gui was associated with the orders conferred in pre-imperial Chu. 13 The meritorious title of jun, which sometimes accompanied these marks of distinction, was not itself one of the orders of honour. In addition it may appear unaccompanied by further titles in instructions given in the kingdom of Qin; e.g., to two men who were commissioned to attack Lao Ai "!& :g in 23 8 BC; neither their surnames nor their given names are recorded and they are simply ZfS ~ and Changwen jun :f;( -;g .14 known as Changping jun Both at this time and later the expressions chosen for the title of jun usually denoted the attainment of merit and were thus seen as expressions of praise. Jun takes its place as part of a title given in Han imperial times in two ways. Liu Bang granted it to some of his supporters in the years before he had acceded as emperor (B 1-5); later it was given in circumstances where a nobility would have been inappropriate or perhaps impossible, e.g., for women. 15 There is nothing to show that the honour necessarily carried with it the right to hold or to tax certain estates, as was the due of those who held the rank of Noble, or in some cases that of Noble of the Interior (Guannei hou fflffl pg {%

*

10

11 12 13 14 15

292.

*

See HSBZ 41.6b note. See 'Aristocratic Ranks', pp. 99, 103. Held by Fu Kuan ff J[ (l); SJ98, p. 2707; HS 41, p. 2085, HSBZ 41.15b. See Lil shi chun qiu 20 ('Zhi fen'~ :fr), p. 1351, note 17. SJ6, p. 227. For exceptional grants of a nobility to a woman, see Chapter Nine below p.

16

CHAPTER ONE

the nineteenth order). 16 Possibly the title jun gave the holder emoluments of a different type, 17 and it is clear that rights over estates followed only when he received a nobility, as may be seen in some of the following examples. The title jun was conferred at various times throughout Western Han. 18 Recipients included men who had rendered valuable military service or given counsel on important matters of policy, or held high ranking official posts (B 7, 8, 9). Others received the title together with the responsibility for maintaining certain religious rites (B 13, 16, 17). Some, who included women, did so by virtue of their relationship to the emperor or one of his consorts (B 15, 19, 20, 21). In one instance early in Eastern Han a non-Chinese leader who had made over to Han was given the right to style himselfjun (B 22). On one occasion the title was conferred by one of the kings of the empire (B 12). The term was also used as a means of expressing respect by a junior official who was referring to his superior, such as the governor of a commandery. 19 Xing tt_ The great maJonty of surnames recorded for the early imperial period consisted of one character only, with Chen !Mr, Wang .:f., Zhang 51, Zhao ffi and Zhou JWJ being the most frequent. At least thirty surnames with two component characters are recorded in use during Han times, some such as Dongfang 1.J and Xifu ,~, ~

*

16 See HSBZ 41.2a note. For special cases wherein Guannei hou was accompanied by rights on certain territories, see e.g., Dou Ruyi Jf tz ~ (c. 124 BC!7Kong Ba fL 1J (48 BC), Zhou De flo ffi (74 BC). See notes to SJ 95, p. 2653, HS 41, p. 2069, HSBZ 41.2a for a suggestion attributed to Yan Shigu and once to Yan Zhitui ~ :Jt (531-c. 591), that on some occasions between Qin and Han the title jun was accompanied by rights over certain estates. 18 For use of the term in epitaph inscriptions of Eastern Han, see pp. 13-14. 19 See Chapter Two below p. 56 for strip no. 47, from Yinwan (Yinwan Documents Report Plate p. 47, Transcription p. 64), where the death of the Governor is described simply as Jun bu xing ;g- ~ ¥; and Chapter Two p. 34 below for reference to the governor as Jun qing ;g- ~ (Yinwan Documents Report, verso side ofYM6D5 Plate p. 17, Transcription p. 100).

•

z

SURNAMES, GIVEN NAMES, STYLES AND TITLES

17

appearing only rarely, others such as Sima "qJ ~ or Gongsun 0 f% very frequently. Various explanations are offered for the origins of names with two component characters. Some of the names may probably be associated with place-names, either of pre-imperial or early imperial Liiqiu rffl _.Ei and perhaps Shentu $ times (e.g., Chunyu if with topographical terms (e.g., Dongmen F5) or official posts and titles (e.g., Gongshi I gifi or Shangguan J::: '§). The Bo hu tong explains some names such as Gongsun as deriving from a defined relationship with a nobleman. 20 Surnames were changed on a number of occasions and for different purposes. Emperors such as Liu Bang IJJ :}:~, Wang Mang 3:: ~ and the Gengshi ]!! ~{1 Emperor conferred the right to adopt the surname of Liu or Wang as an act of bounty, in reward for loyal services that had been rendered (see C9-11, 12, 13, 15). In a number of cases a leading official deliberately sought to live in obscurity rather than face an invitation or order to serve under a regime which he regarded as illegitimate or at least distasteful; he would therefore change both his surname and his given name (C26). One man tried to avoid recognition under his own name so that he could serve the cause of a friend (C 1). No examples illustrate the suggestion of Gu Yanwu Jim ~ ftt (1612-81) that names were changed in order to avoid the dangers ofvendetta. 21 It is by no means clear in what way writers of the Han period distinguished between the terms shi ~ and xing tt . Both terms feature in certain passages of the Shiji and in the idealised scheme and theoretical explanations that Ban Gu f)I '1!t[ (AD 32- 92) provided in the Bo hu tong. 22 Chavannes wrote that Sima Qian used the two as equivalents, and followed by Bauer he translated xing as 'nom de clan' and shi as 'nom de famille', while Tjan Tjoe Som renders xing as 'clan name' and shi as surname. 23 In a comment to a somewhat important passage in the Shiji24 where xing and shi

r,

*

m),

Bohu tong 3B, p. 223 (Chen Li, p. 403), Tjan Tjoe Som, vol. II, p. 580. Ri zhi lu 23 ('Bian xing ming' ~ tt ;g).36b. 22 BHT3B, p. 222 (Chen Li, p. 401),Tjan Tjoe Som, vol. II, pp. 579-90. 23 MH vol. I, pp. 3-4, cites from Gu Yanwu, Rizhilu B ¾f ~ 23; Tjan Tjoe Som, Po hu t'ung, vol. II, p. 579; Bauer, p. 15. 24 The passage is within the final remarks of Sima Tan or Sima Qian to the basic annals of Qin. Takigawa 5, p. 84. 20

21

18

CHAPTER ONE

m

appear, Liang Yusheng .=Is.~ (1745-1819) castigated the author for confusing the two terms, leading to errors in the chapters of the Shiji that concern pre-imperial history. The passage is rendered as follows: Le due grand astrologue -3

::c tT1

Nobilities recorded for Donghai other than those in YM6D2

Bitu ,ll'p±

Puling $ii

Youli ~flj

Dongping

(u)

(v)

(w)

(x)

Wencheng

(z)

Di 'it

Peng jj

(aa)

(ab)

:xm

§IZfS

Yunping

(y)

*ZfS

(a) Linqu ~/If,] Leim

(s) (t)

(1), king of Chengyang 143-117; closed 112.

ffi, the name of the nobility as fr1J*; SJ21, p. 1111

;u ~

Liu Qiang iUssi (3), son ofLiu Yan The personal name is also given as Yan

;u

;u

(b) Liu Nu iU~JZ. (1 ); son of Liu Zhi ;iJii5', king of Zichuan 153 -129 ; 4 successors from 86* Liu Xi ;iJ;f:/ff; son of Liu Xi ;iJ~ (2), king ofChengyang 176-168, Huainan 168-164, Chengyang 164-143; closed 112*; SJ21, p. 1079 Liu Zhuang ;iJM±, son of Liu Xi iU ~ (2), king of Chengyang 176-168, Huainan 168164, Chengyang 164-143; one successor; closed 112* Name of nobility possibly Bi m* Liu Jia iU ~ (4), son of Liu Yue iU ~ (1), king of Guangchuan 148--136; closed shortly, no successor* ~ (2), king of Chengyang 176-168, Huainan 168-164, Liu Ding ;iJjJ, son of Liu Xi Chengyang 164-143; closed in 122 Liu Qing iU Jli (2), son of Liu Xi iU ~ (2), king of Chengyang 176--l 68, Huainan 168164, Chengyang 164-143; closed 120 Liu Xin ;iJw'f(l), son of Liu Xi ;iJ~ (2), king ofChengyang 176-168, Huainan 168164, Chengyang 164-143; closed 112; Liu Xin also given as Liu Ji ~c; SJ21, p. 1098 71:; (4), son of Liu Yan ;iJ ~ (1), king of Chengyang 143-117; closed 112; Liu Guang SJ21, p. 1110 Liu Shou iU3 (2), son of Liu Yan iU~ (1), king of Chengyang 143 -117; closed 112

that was conferred on a relative of the king of Nan Yue, seep. 66 above. (a) Title; (b) Name of first holder; date of establishment; (d) HS 15A,B, p. HSBZ.

473

472

51a

50b

49b

36a 461 125

472

36a

461 125

122/ 116 122/ 116 122/ 116

35b 460

21b 125

446

17b 443 127 126

16b 17a 442 443

(c) 127 127

(d)

* signifies where doubts have been raised over an entry; references to SJ concern different readings of names. For one nobility

Table 3

00

~

0

~

...,~

t:TJ

...,"O

n

°'

W;t~B

Jiuxiang

ffi~

Jieyang

ffe~B

Zhengxiang

if~

Liu Wei

IUfl, son of Liu Xuan IU~ (Zong ~), king of Sishui

80 --41; closed 34

41

50

50

50 50

? 75

122/ 116 ?

502

498

498

497 497

27b

20b

19b

18b 19a

55b 4b

55a

476 477 485

52a

474

The nobilities of Jifei fflP~ (HS 15A, p. 479, HSBZ 15a.58a) and Duxiang j!ITT~B (HS 15B, p. 497, HSBZ 18a) are not included above; Wang Xianqian corrects the identifications given for Donghai to Weijun and Changshan. For Yiyang ~ ~ hou, see under Table 1 above (s.v. Houqiu county)

(ak)

(aj)

(ai)

Liu Chang IU~ (2), son of Liu Qingji ;iJ}!fg (3), king of Lu 88 -51; closed 48 Liu Ping IU :zp: (3), son of Liu Qingji IU J!li:Ifs', (3), king of Lu 88----2i 1 ; 1 successor; closed 32 Liu Dang IU 11t (2) , son of Liu Qingji IU J!li:& (3), king of Lu 88----2il ; one successor; closed 19 Liu Xian IU~ (1), son of Liu Shun IU/11~ (6), king ofChengyang 97 -51; closed 35

Pingyi :zp:E§ Heyang

(ag) (ah)

m~

Liu Xi :j: (5), son of Liu Yue ;iJil'!! (1), king of Guangchuan 148 ---136; closed 112 Liu Ren IUC, (3), son of Liu Wu IUJt.t (3), king ofChengyang 108 -97; closed 65

Yiling ifrJN Jiangyang

Liu Buyi ;iJ ::f~ (2), son of Liu Yan ;iJ ~ (1), king of Chengyang 143-117; closed 112*; SJ21, p. 1114 Liu Ze ;irnu (3), son of Liu Yue IUil'!! (1), king ofGuangchuan 148 ---136; closed 112

(ae) (af)

~II

Canzong

(ad)

ii

Yu

(ac)

00 ---.J

~

::E

z

-
-rj

r/l

6

0

(")

Gl

tTl

>--3

::r::

35

28--43 492 5.8 2-18 82

41

31-56

574

14 nobilities under a xiang of 300 shi

44 42-7

178

50--65

227

4 nobilities under a xiang of 400 shi E

12

21 16-30 87 13 6-36

54

35

22--66

141

4 counties under a zhang

7-19

31 23--43 287 24

4-36

224

56

27--,-3

::,;;

>-3 tTi

n

00 00

CHAPTER THREE

THE COMMANDERY AND KINGDOM OF DONGHAI Certain parts of China stand out as centres from which men and women arose to make notable contributions to the growth of the Han empire, the strength of its government and the richness of its culture. The land within the passes, where later generations looked to see the ideals of the kings of Zhou, formed the capital of Western Han. As in earlier times, so in Eastern Han Luoyang acted as a focus for learning and the arts. Men of Chu in the south and Shu in the west enriched the way of life of the north with the characteristic features of their arts and literature. The east had given rise to teachers whose writings and precepts formed an essential element of Chinese civilisation as the basis of traditional learning. Within this context attention is due to the part taken by one particular locality in the process whereby the idea of China's unity came to be accepted as the norm, alike in cultural, administrative and dynastic terms. From the documents of Yinwan J=f" ~ there emerges a vivid picture of the administration of one of the larger commanderies of Western Han. Unmatched as these records are for other parts of the empire, it remains open how far the conditions that they describe applied to other commanderies or kingdoms. In the following pages it will be shown that Donghai commandery of Western Han was replaced in Eastern Han by Donghai kingdom, to be entrusted to the care of one of the sons of Guangwudi and supplemented by control over Lu from AD 52. Thanks to its geographical position the area may well have been of considerable strategic importance to those who wished to impose their rule over a united empire, as may be witnessed in the actions of the First Qin Emperor, the fighting that preceded the foundation of Han, the revolt of 154 BC, the restoration of Han and the civil warfare of its final decades. Several of those men who took leading parts in public life, enjoying appointment to the highest offices of state in Western Han, came from families whose domicile lay in Donghai. Moreover

CHAPTER THREE

90

particular attention is due to the county of Lanling If ~' that was one of the largest in the Han commandery, and had been within Lu in Zhanguo times. From Wudi' s time onwards a number of scholars who left an imprint on China's tradition came from Lanling. They seem to have carried the torch of learning of Lu and Qi and to have attracted students from commanderies such as Langye, Pei and Wei, and kingdoms such as Liang and Lu. Similar examples, however, cannot be traced for Eastern Han times, when it seems that men of talent were forthcoming more from lands that lay to the west. !B Tanxian ~B Wl, capital of the commandery, and Xiapi county may also have been places of considerable interest. In administrative terms, like Langye, Donghai had acted as a highly suitable home for the establishment of nobilities for sons of the kings of neighbouring kingdoms. No less that twelve were founded for the princes of Lu, between 82 and 21 BC, and thirteen for those of Chengyang between 127 and 41.

-r

Administrative organisation

*

It has been seen above that by the end of Western Han the r-fi, which had been founded in 155 BC, commandery of Donghai comprised a total of 38 subordinate units. 1 In AD 14 Wang Mang .:E ~ re-organised the administration of the provinces, by sub-dividing some of the larger commanderies, in some cases into as many as 5 smaller ones,2 and creating an empire of 125 commanderies, with 2,203 counties. 3 No statement tells of how Donghai was affected, if at all, but it is likely that its very size may have called for reorganisation. Some of the later developments, whose causes or origins are not explained, may have been due to these changes. Along with changes made to the names of many other commanderies 1 Chapter Two, pp. 64-71, 80-7. According to HS 2, p. 89, HSBZ 2.4b in 192 [Zou] Yao [g] was made king ofDonghai. This statement is also seen in HS 95, p. 3859, HSBZ 95.15b, 16a with the addition that the line of kings was known as Dong Ou Wang }ll:[ 1ffi: .:E,; see also SJ 114, p. 2979; Qian Han Ji 5.4b has Zou Yao made king of Dong Ou. The Donghai that is mentioned in these references is quite separate from the other units of this name that are under study here. 2 E.g., Beihai, Donglai and Dongjun. 3 HS 99B, pp. 4136-7, HSBZ 99B.24b-25a note.

m

THE COMMANDERY AND KINGDOM OF DONGHAI

91

and counties, under Wang Mang Donghai became Yiping lfr :zp.; it is not recorded whether this followed from the relief from flooding on the part of the river Yi. A more complex situation prevailed in Eastern Han. 4 Towards the end of Wang Mang's reign Liu Zhong JU {q:i, elder brother of the future Guangwudi, had responded to the call made by Liu Bosheng JU {B ft to restore the Han dynasty and had been killed in the fighting at Xiao Chang'an ;j\ ~ 'fi:. Whether or not he had as yet been accorded any title is not clear, but in AD 26 Liu Xing JU ~' son of Liu Bosheng, had been named king of Lu with the express intention of succeeding him (he was reduced to the rank of Gong 0 in 37, and was restored to the rank of Wang _::f_ in 43). In 39 Liu Zhong was given the posthumous title of Lu Ai Gong ~ -R 0, and in 164 Huandi paid his respects to his memorial shrine. In 52 Liu Xing was transferred to become king of Beihai. Meanwhile Liu Zhuang JU #f, who, as a son of the Empress Yin ~ had originally been named Liu Yang JU ~ and would accede in 57 as the emperor known as Mingdi, had received the title of Donghai Gong in 39, to become Donghai Wang in 41. 5 At the time Liu Qiang JU 51, son of the Empress Guo :,~, and thus a half-brother of Liu Zhuang, was Guangwudi' s Heir Apparent. At the deposal of his mother in that year Liu Qiang sought leave to retire from the capital city and was reluctantly allowed to do so in 43, being himself nominated Donghai Wang while Liu Zhuang became the new Heir Apparent. In so far as his reduction had not been due to faults of his own making, Liu Qiang evidently merited the kindest treatment from his father the emperor; and in 52, when Liu Xing was transferred from being king of Lu to that of Beihai, Lu was made over to Liu Qiang; that arrangement probably lasted until Xiandi set up his capital at Xuxian !"f ~~ (Yingchuan commandery) in 196. 6 It was also decreed that he should set up his capital in Lu, where the fine For the events described here, see HHS IA, p. 29; IB, pp. 61, 66, 71, 79, 82; 7, p. 313; 14, pp. 549,553, 555-6; HHSJJ 1A.20a; 1B.9b, 12a, 15a, 19b, 21a; 7.13a; 14.lb, 4a, Sb, 6a. For the appearance of the term Lu Ai Gong, see HHSJJ 1B.12a, 14.4a, 6a notes. 5 The same steps were taken for nine of Guangwudi 's other sons, whether borne to the Empress Guo~, the consort Xu i'f~ A or Yin Lihua ~ )ffl ~ (Guanglie ho~ 71'; 7.!{ f§ ); HHS I B, pp. 66, 68, HHSJJ I B. l 2a, 13 b. HHS 9, p. 3380, HHSJJ9.7b; see HHSJJ (tr.) 21.15b note. 4

CHAPTER THREE

92

palace that had been constructed by Liu Yu JU m,% (1), king of Lu from 154 to 128 BC, still survived. 7 The statement of the Hou Han shu that his kingdom comprised twenty-nine sub-units is probably erroneous, in place of nineteen. 8 Guangwudi paid a visit to Lu in 56, and Mingdi showed his respects by attending at Liu Qiang's tomb in 63 and 72. 9 The line of the kings of Donghai, now including Lu, lasted almost until the end of Xiandi's reign. 10 Administrative changes affected Donghai. Liu Jing JU /~' a full brother of Mingdi, had been king of neighbouring Langye since 41. In 59 his kingdom was increased by the addition of six counties, Ge :iffi Nan Wuyang 1¥J ii'.; ~ and Huaxian ¥ being transferred from Taishan, and Changyang ~ ~' Luxiang JS ~~~ and Dongmou .$ from Donglai. 11 Later Liu Jing asked permission to move his capital from Ju g to Kaiyang ~ ~ which lay in Donghai; he offered that in exchange for Kaiyang and Linyi i&w; tfr, also in Donghai, he would give up five of his counties, i.e., the recently acquired Ge, Nan Wuyang and Hua, Houqiu JI!Jl £i:, and Ganyu ff tJW- 12 His request was granted in AD 80. 13 In 90, Liu Zheng JU J&,

*

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HHS 42, p. 1423, HHSJJ 42.lb. HHS 42, p. 1423, HHSJJ 42.la; the erroneous figure of 29 included the six counties of Lu and others that had originally been in Donghai, i.e., Kaiyang ~ IW;, Linyi, Jiqiu and Zeng (in Langye); Xiapi, Quyang, Siwu and Liangcheng (in Xiapi); Haixi (in Guangling); and Nancheng and Fei (in Taishan); see HHS 42.la,b notes. The figure of twenty-nine also appears in Jin shu 14, p. 414, Jin shujiao zhu 14.21a. 9 HHS IB, p. 82, 2, pp. 110, 118, HHSJJ 1B.2la, 2.9b, 14b. 10 The succession of kings was as follows: Liu Qiang JU iJ1!i (43-58); Liu Zheng JU i& (58-102); Liu Su JU ~ (102-25); Liu Zhen JU W (125-56); Liu Zhi JU Wr.K (156-200). Liu Xian JU ~, last king of Donghai, was created Chongde hou ffi {* after Han's abdication in favour of Wei. (HHS 9, p. 386 carries the accession of Liu Dun JU ~ as king in 212, but Donghai is thought to be in error for Beihai; see HHSJJ 9 .1 Ob note). In addition to Donghai, a number of other kingdoms that were founded under Guangwudi survived until the end of Eastern Han, e.g., Qi, Beihai, Zhao, Pei, Fuling and Langye. See HHS 42 and HHSJJ 9.10b note, and p.108. 11 HHS 42, p. 1452, HHSJJ 42.20b notes. The geographical implications of this transfer are not entirely clear. 12 The nobility of Ma Gong ,~ 'g, named Fude ft( ffi , was situated in Ganyu, which Wang Xianqian identifies as a county of Langye; HS 18, p. 714, HSBZ 18.27b. For correction of;ttu to til!i, see Yang Shuda, p. 149, Chen Zhi, p. 206. 13 Houqiu is given in the treatises of both histories, and in the documents from Yinwan, as being in Donghai. Ganyu, which had been in Langye since Western Han times, is said to have been an island not far from the coast, with a monument set up 7

8

*

THE COMMANDERY AND KINGDOM OF DONGHAI

93

second king of Donghai, was deprived of Xuexian ff Wl by way of punishment for behaviour that was at the least immoral or at the worst criminal. 14 · In the absence of complete information there remains some confusion over these administrative arrangements. The Xu Han zhi' s treatise, which gives information for AD 140, lists Donghai as a commandery and Lu as a kingdom, and this arrangement is seen in a recent atlas; 15 there are also a number of textual references to Lu jun; 16 no kings of Lu are known to have followed Liu Xing, but there are examples of officials bearing the royal title of Xiang if-§ or Fu {1# both of Lu and of Donghai; 17 no governors of Donghai jun are known for Eastern Han, but at least two are named for Lu. 18 The outcome may have been in the nature of a compromise, and even an anomalous compromise, whereby the title of Lu Kingdom was retained as a mark of traditional respect, and that of Donghai jun as a mark of the administrative arrangements that were operative. by the First Qin Emperor, measuring 18 by 5 by 8.3 feet, and bearing an inscription of 13 characters in one column; HHS (tr.) 21, p. 3459, HHSJJ (tr.) 21.17a note. 14 HHS 42, p.1425, HHSJJ 42.3a. 15 Tan Qixiang, p. 45. 16 See Fujita, vol. III p. 2919. 17 For xiang of Lu, see Ru Yu & fill (c. 91; HHS 36, p. 1240, HHS 36.16b); Zhongli Yi~ 1£ ~ (c. 100; HHS 41, p. 1410, 42, p. 1425, HSBZ 41.13a, 42.3a); Wang Tang 3:: ~ (AD 131; HHS 31, p. 1105, HHSJJ 31.lla); Zhao Anshi ffi 'fi: fil (? c. 150; HHS 46, p. 1546, HHSJJ 46.3b); Diao Wei ;;;J )ii(? c. 150; HHS 61, p. 2041, HHSJJ61.20b); and the inscriptions 'Lu xiang Han Chi zao Kong miao Ii qi bei' ~ t§ fftPp ~ fL J_§ jffl ~ Wj! (156), 'Kong miao zhi shou miao bai shi zu shi bei' fL J,§ Ii: ';f J,§ Ef E ;q,: 3':_ Wj! (153) and 'Lu xiang Shi chen zou si J,§ Wj! (169), in Liang Hanjin shiji Kong zi miao bei' ~ t§ 3':_ I.I:~ jjjE; fL 6.la, 12b and 16a; for xiang ofDonghai, see Guo Jing ¥J3 jt (after 41; HHS IOA, p. 403, HHSJJ I0A.4b); Liu Kuan iU Ji: (Huandi's reign; HHS 25, p. 887, HHSJJ 25.12a); Bao Yong ~7.1< (after 35, and following appointment as Lu jun Taishou; HHS 29, p. 1029, HHSJJ 29.7b); Zhao Zi )M ~(early part of Lingdi's reign; HHS 39, p. 1314, HHSJJ39.14b); Song Jun*~ (promoted as such in 58; HHS 41, p. 1413, HHSJJ 41.15b); Xu Qiu~~ (after 184; HHS 48, p. 1621, HHSJJ 48.17b); Diao Wei;;;J )ii (seemingly after appointment as the xiang of Lu; HHS 61, p. 2041, HHSJJ61.20b); Huang Fu Ji t-f (c. 165; HHS 66, p. 2164 and 78, p. 2522, HHSJJ 66.4b, 78.lla); Liu Kui IJJ 1ml (c. 189; HHS 71, p. 2312, HHSJJ 71.I0b); for a decree addressed to the xiang and the/u in 58, see HHS 42, p. 1424, HHSJJ 42.2b; for a Ju who served Liu Qiang when king, see Du Lin ;f± # (HHS 27, p. 938, HHSJJ27.7b). 18 HHS 18, p. 686 and 29, p. 1019, HHSJJ 18.9a and 29.6a for Liangqiu Shou ~ ..6:. i; and Bao Yong ~ 7.1(_ -$.J 11 at the instruction of Du Lin f± ;f-.t, (Imperial Counsellor, Da Sikong 46- 7) and was appointed Gentleman Consultant (Yi fang~ jj!~) during Guangwudi's reign. He is reported as the author of the now lost Han jiu yi ii lj {fl Wang Liang _:E ffil, style Zhongzi {q:i -=r, of Lanting had acquired a familiarity with Xiahou Jian's I {* ~ interpretation of the Book of Documents. Declining to serve under Wang Mang he gave instruction to a large number of pupils who included Guo Xian ¥~ 'f!.i., and later held the positions of Advisory Counsellor (Jianyi Da.fu ~ ~ 7(:j;:) in AD 27 and Deputy to the Chancellor (Da Situ sizhi 'P_} tfiE 'P_} TI[) from 3 0. 64 Guo Xian, for his part, also refused to serve under Wang Mang, burning the robes which had been sent to him, and fleeing for refuge to the shores ofDonghai. 65 Shen Jun* $ ';(!!;, Magistrate (ling i5-) of Maoxian 113 Wl (Kuaiji commandery) was the teacher of Dai Feng AlG tt who was appointed Superintendent of Ceremonial in AD 100.66 Miao Xi* ~ ~ was

*

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106

CHAPTER THREE

accustomed to praise Zhongchang Tong 1r:f:l ~ *ft (of Shanyang, 180-220) as a man who was fit to succeed Dong Zhongshu ji 1r:f:l tJ.t; he rose to ~' Jia Yi jf ~'§'., Liu Xiang j~ f8] and Yang Xiong a position which is given as Shang shu Guangluxun fiu ~ Y(; ffi!k

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