Emperor Ai of Han , personal name Liu Xin (劉欣; 25 BC – 15 August 1 BC), was an emperor of China's Han dynasty . He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his childless uncle Emperor Cheng , and he reigned from 7 to 1 BC.
109-636: Emperor Ai (哀帝; Aidi ; "The Lamentable Emperor") may refer to: Emperor Ai of Han (27BC–1BC, reigned 7BC–1BC), emperor of the Western Han dynasty Li Ban (288–334, reigned in 334), brief emperor of the Cheng-Han state, also known as Emperor Ai of Cheng-Han Emperor Ai of Jin (341–365, reigned 361–365), emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty Emperor Ai of Tang (892–908, reigned 904–907), emperor of
218-561: A long line of emperors, all married of course, with male companions listed in their official histories. Ai bestowed honors on Dong at a rate which alarmed the court. Dong and his wife moved into the palace, and Dong's sister became an imperial consort. Dong's father was made an acting marquess (關內侯). Emperor Ai also ordered that a residence as luxurious as an imperial palace be built for Dong. All who opposed these honors for Dong were severely punished. In 3 BC, against opposition by his prime minister Wang Jia (王嘉), Emperor Ai created Dong
327-555: A bear which had broken loose. Princess Dowager Feng, realizing that Empress Dowager Fu was behind the investigation, went back to her palace and died by suicide. In total, 17 members of the Feng clan died as a result of the investigations. This was immediately viewed as a political case, and officials and the people all became disappointed in Emperor Ai. In 5 BC, Empress Dowager Fu would finally get what she wanted. Emperor Ai removed
436-446: A eunuch, Shi Li (史立), to serve as investigator, and Shi tortured a good number of Princess Dowager Feng's relations (including her sister Feng Xi (馮習) and her sister-in-law Junzhi (君之)), some to death, but still could not build a solid case against Princess Dowager Feng. Shi Li decided to show Princess Dowager Feng who was actually behind the investigation, by referring to an incident in which then-Consort Feng defended Emperor Yuan against
545-454: A frivolous man in his words and deeds, had secretly received bribes from the deposed Empress Xu and had promised to help her become "left empress", and that he had promised his associates important position once he succeeded Wang Gen. In 8 BCE, he informed Wang Gen and Empress Dowager Wang of the evidence, and both Wang Gen and Empress Dowager Wang were greatly displeased with Chunyu. They exiled Chunyu back to his march. Chunyu, before he left
654-514: A land redistribution program. Though a learned Confucian scholar who sought to implement the harmonious society he saw in the Chinese classics , his efforts ended in chaos. Wang Mang's late reign saw large-scale peasant rebellions , most notably the revolt of the Red Eyebrows . In October 23 CE, the capital Chang'an was attacked and the imperial palace ransacked. Wang Mang died in
763-461: A major controversy. Initially, Grand Empress Dowager Wang decreed that Princess Dowager Fu and Consort Ding see him periodically, every 10 days. However, Princess Dowager Fu quickly began to visit her grandson everyday, and she insisted that two things be done: that she receive an empress dowager title, and that her relatives be granted titles, like the Wangs. Grand Empress Dowager Wang, sympathetic of
872-623: A marquess. Several well-regarded officials concurred in this request, and Emperor Cheng was impressed with Wang Mang's reputation. He therefore made Wang Mang the Marquess of Xindu and promoted him to the Chamberlain for Attendants (光祿大夫). It was described by historians that the greater the position that Wang was promoted to, the more humble he became. He did not accumulate wealth, but used the money to support scholars and to give gifts to colleagues which gained him much praise. Wang Mang had only
981-607: A result, the general perception of the Wang clan as arrogant, wasteful, and petty, began to be reversed. In 7 BCE, Wang's cousin Emperor Cheng died suddenly, apparently from a stroke (although some historians have suggested the possibility of an overdosage of aphrodisiacs given to him by Consort Zhao Hede ). Emperor Cheng's nephew Crown Prince Liu Xin (劉欣) was the son of Emperor Cheng's brother, Prince Kang of Dingtao (Liu Kang 劉康). Liu Xin became emperor (as Emperor Ai). For
1090-468: A single wife, Lady Wang , and no concubines. (She had the same family name as Wang Mang which is seen as strong evidence that at this point the taboo against endogamy based on the same family name was not firmly in place in Chinese culture.) However, as later events would show, Wang was not completely faithful to his wife, even at this time. Emperor Cheng appointed his uncles, one after another, to be
1199-586: A title parallel to that of the Duke of Zhou. Believing her nephew to be truly faithful, Grand Empress Dowager Wang transferred more of her authority to him. In 2 CE, Wang Mang issued a list of regulations to the ally-vassal Xiongnu , which the Xiongnu chanyu Nangzhiyasi (囊知牙斯—later shortened to Zhi in response to Wang Mang's request) obeyed, but Wang Mang's tone of treating Xiongnu as a subordinate state rather than an ally offended Nangzhiyasi, which would foreshadow
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#17327733153861308-503: A variation of the empress dowager title (ditaihou (帝太后), compared to Empress Dowager Zhao's title huangtaihou (皇太后)). The prime minister Zhu Bo (朱博) and vice prime minister Zhao Xuan (趙玄), at Empress Dowager Fu's behest, submitted a petition to have Wang demoted to commoner status for having previously opposed Grand Empress Fu . Emperor Ai did not do so, but sent Wang back to his march in Xindu (in modern Nanyang, Henan ). While in Xindu, Wang
1417-451: A young Confucian scholar. He was also praised on how filial he was to his mother and how caring he was to the wife and son of his deceased brother Wang Yong ( 王永 ). Wang Mang befriended many capable people and served his uncles conscientiously. When Wang Mang's powerful uncle, commander of the armed forces Wang Feng ( 王鳳 ; 33–22 BCE) grew ill, Wang Mang cared for him day and night and attended to his medical and personal needs. Wang Feng
1526-429: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Emperor Ai of Han The people and the officials were initially excited about his ascension, as he was viewed by them (as well as Emperor Cheng) to be intelligent, articulate, and capable. However, under Emperor Ai, corruption became even more prevalent and heavy taxes were levied on the people. Furthermore, Emperor Ai
1635-626: Is done for his birth father. Emperor Cheng's desire to have Prince Xin act as only his son extended to the arena of Prince Xin's relationship with his grandmother Consort Fu and his mother Consort Ding. Emperor Cheng decreed that Consort Fu (now princess dowager of Dingtao) and Consort Ding be required to remain in Dingtao and not be allowed to come to Chang'an to visit Prince Xin. Some time later, Emperor Cheng's mother Empress Dowager Wang , not wanting to continue these harsh regulations, decreed that Princess Dowager Fu be allowed to see Prince Xin, under
1744-550: The Heavenly Stems were incorporated to number the years , replacing the previous system which used only the Earthly Branches . In 17 CE, in an attempt to refill the depleted imperial coffers, Wang instituted six monopolies: on liquor, salt, iron, coinage, forestry, and fishing. However, because of rampant corruption, the imperial treasury received only limited benefit, while the people were greatly burdened. In
1853-521: The Dingling tribes (around Lake Baikal ), and Xiongnu would be divided into 15 small kingdoms to be ruled by 15 descendants of Chanyu Huhanye , who had first established friendly relations with Han. Under this plan, 300,000 men would be gathered for the attack. However, Wang did not follow his generals' recommendations to start the campaign as soon as a critical mass of men were gathered, but wanted to attack with overwhelming force. This placed pressure on
1962-543: The Fu and Ding clans in their stead (which, ironically, caused the people, who were not enamored with the Wangs initially, to long for their return to power as they associated the departure of the Wangs from power with Emperor Ai's incompetence in administration). In an unpopular act, Emperor Ai had his prime minister Wang Jia (王嘉, unrelated to the Wang clan mentioned above) put to death for criticizing him, an act that made him appear tyrannical. Emperor Ai's shortcomings quickly led to
2071-464: The Fu and Ding relatives. Emperor Ai declined to agree to this request and begged Wang Mang to stay in his administration. Several months later, however, Wang Mang came into direct confrontation with now Empress Dowager Fu. At a major imperial banquet, the official in charge of seating placed Empress Dowager Fu's seat next to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's. When Wang Mang saw this, he rebuked the official and ordered that Empress Dowager Fu's seat be moved to
2180-504: The Han system of using awards to buy the submission of southwestern tribes. When Wang started his campaign against Xiongnu, he requisitioned the forces of Goguryeo within Xin borders. Goguryeo refused to cooperate and marched out of the Xin borders. The Xin army that Wang sent against them was defeated by them. The general Wang sent, Yan You (嚴尤), used humble words to trick their leader, Zou (騶), who
2289-448: The Marquess of Gao'an. The following year, the prime minister submitted a report to Emperor Ai, in which he urged that the honors bestowed on Dong be curbed. This report was carefully worded to appear to be looking out for Dong. It warned that Dong might suffer the same fate of Emperor Wen 's favorite Deng Tong (鄧通), who starved to death after his assets were confiscated by Emperor Wen's heir, or of Emperor Wu 's favorite Han Yan (韓嫣), who
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#17327733153862398-570: The Shanyu – once he realized what had happened – would demand the old seal back, destroyed the old seal. Indeed, the next day, Shanyu Zhi realized that the seal's text had changed, and requested that the old seal be returned. However, upon being informed that the old seal had been destroyed (which the ambassadors claimed falsely to be an act of the gods), he acquiesced. The Xiongnu leader nevertheless began to prepare for confrontation with Wang Mang's Xin. The Shanyu built defensive bulwarks some distance from
2507-612: The Tang dynasty See also [ edit ] Aidi (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Emperor Ai . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emperor_Ai&oldid=1188041831 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2616-512: The Wangs. Grand Empress Dowager Wang, sympathetic to the difficult situation facing Emperor Ai, first granted Prince Kang the unusual title of "Emperor Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇) and then, under the rationale of that title, granted Princess Dowager Fu the title "Empress Dowager Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇太后) and Consort Ding the title "Empress Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇后). Several members of the Fu and Ding clans were created marquesses. Grand Empress Dowager Wang also ordered Wang Mang to resign and transfer power to
2725-527: The Weis, to try to break Wang Mang's dictatorial hold. They decided that they would create what appeared to be supernatural incidents to make Wang Mang concerned, and then have Wu Zhang try to persuade Wang Mang to transfer power to the Weis. Wang Yu instructed Lü Kuan to toss a bottle of blood onto Wang Mang's mansion door, but Lü was discovered by Wang Mang's guards. Wang Mang then arrested Wang Yu, who committed suicide, and his wife (Lü Kuan's sister) Lü Yan (呂焉) who
2834-465: The Xin outpost of Shuofang ( 朔方 , modern Ordos , Inner Mongolia ). He also began to accept Xiyu ("Western Regions", in modern Xinjiang and central Asia ) kingdoms' pledges of allegiance, an action that had been banned by Wang. Wang, irritated, declared war against Xiongnu. The strategy that he set out was to divide the Xin forces into 12 armies to divide and conquer Xiongnu. Under this scenario, Chanyu Zhi would be attacked and forced to retreat to
2943-522: The Xin, Wang, in anger, executed Deng and his attendants. In 13 CE, Chanyu Zhi died. The powerful official Xubu Dang (須卜當) and his wife Yun, the Princess Yimuo (the daughter of Chanyu Huhanye and Wang Zhaojun ), who advocated peaceful relations with Xin and who were also friendly with Xian, supported Xian as the new Chanyu. Even though Xian was unaware that Wang Mang had executed his son Deng, relations between Xiongnu and Xin remained tense. There
3052-540: The Xiongnu to inform Shanyu Zhi that Wang Mang had become emperor and that Xin had replaced Han. The ambassadors requested that the great seal of the shanyu, which Han had issued, be exchanged for a new seal issued by Xin. The old seal read, "the Great Seal of the Shanyu of Xiongnu" ( 匈奴單于璽 ; Xiongnu Chanyu Xi ); the new seal read "the Seal of the Shanyu of Gongnu of Xin" ( 新恭奴善于章 ; Xin gong nu Shanyu zhang ), changing
3161-508: The Zhou system of five grades of nobility—duke (公, gong ), marquess (侯, hou ), earl (伯, bo ), viscount (子, zi ), and baron (男, nan ). Several members of the imperial Liu clan were naturally suspicious of acting Emperor Wang's intentions. They started or were involved in several failed rebellions against Wang: After Zhai and Liu Xin were defeated, Wang was satisfied that the empire was entirely under his control. So he decided to finally seize
3270-679: The administration. Several members of the Dong clan became important officials as well, displacing the Fus and the Dings after Grand Empress Dowager Fu died in February 2 BC. Emperor Ai died in August 1 BC. It is not clear what the exact cause of death was, but he appeared to succumb to illnesses from which he had always suffered. On his deathbed, Ai ordered that his throne be passed on to Dong Xian, but this
3379-609: The battle. The Han dynasty was re-established in either 23 CE when the Gengshi Emperor took the throne, or in 25 when Emperor Guangwu of Han took the throne after defeating the Red Eyebrows who had deposed the Gengshi Emperor. Born in 45 BCE, Wang Mang was a son of Wang Man (王曼), a younger brother of Empress Wang Zhengjun , and his wife Qu (渠, family name unknown). His lineage can be traced back to
Emperor Ai - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-432: The bind that Emperor Ai was in, first granted Prince Kang the unusual title of "Emperor Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇) and then, under the rationale of that title, granted Princess Dowager Fu the title "Empress Dowager Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇太后) and Consort Ding the title "Empress Gong of Dingtao" (定陶共皇后). Several members of the Fu and Ding clans were created marquesses. Grand Empress Dowager Wang also ordered her nephew Wang Mang ,
3597-473: The border regions as they strained to accommodate, over what turned about to be a lengthy period, the men who had arrived, while fruitlessly waiting for the full support of 300,000 to be gathered. In the first stage of this plan, one of the local commanders kidnapped one of Chanyu Zhi's brothers, Xian (咸), the Prince of Zuoliwu (左犁汙王), and his sons Deng (登) and Zhu (助), by trickery. Xian and Zhu were made Chanyus,
3706-464: The capital Chang'an and periodically meet with him to give advice. However, in 5 BCE, Empress Dowager Fu achieved success in her quest for titles. Emperor Ai removed the qualification "of Dingtao" from his father's posthumous title (thus making him simply "Emperor Gong"), and then gave his grandmother a variation of the grand empress dowager title (ditaitaihou (帝太太后), compared to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's title taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)) and his mother
3815-437: The capital, each with a full budget. That year, the new Empress Dowager Ding died on 9 July. During these years, other than the palatial infighting, what plagued Emperor Ai's administration (not unlike how it plagued his uncle Emperor Cheng's administration) was the general situation where good proposals would be made to Emperor Ai, and then he would approve of them personally but not take any actual actions on them. Further, he
3924-545: The capital, gave his horses and luxurious carriages to his cousin Wang Rong (王融), the son of his uncle Wang Li (王立), with whom he had a running feud. Wang Li, happy with Chunyu's gift, submitted a petition requesting that Chunyu be allowed to remain at the capital. However, this request was treated with suspicion by Emperor Cheng because he knew of the feud between Wang Li and Chunyu. He ordered Wang Rong to be arrested, and Wang Li knowing this ordered his son to commit suicide in
4033-473: The capital. In 1 CE, after bribing the distant Yueshang tribes (probably in modern southern Vietnam ) to submit offerings of an albino pheasant (considered a rare sign of divine favour), Wang Mang was successful in having his followers persuade Grand Empress Dowager Wang to create him the Duke of Anhan (安漢公). This was despite the Han nobility system not including dukes and no duke had ever been created in Han history up to that point. This action gave Wang Mang
4142-717: The commander of the armed forces (the most powerful court official), and speculation grew as to who would succeed Wang Mang's youngest surviving uncle, Wang Gen (王根, commander 12–8 BCE). Wang Mang was considered one of the possibilities, while another was his cousin Chunyu Zhang (a son of Empress Dowager Wang's sister), who had a much closer personal relationship to Emperor Cheng than Wang Mang. Chunyu also had friendly relations with both Emperor Cheng's wife Empress Zhao Feiyan and his deposed former wife Empress Xu . To overcome Chunyu's presumptive hold on succeeding Wang Gen, Wang Mang took action. He collected evidence that Chunyu,
4251-534: The commander of the armed forces (大司馬), at the age of 37. After Wang Mang was promoted to this position, effectively the highest in the imperial government. In this position, all memorials and notes, both serious and minor, first passed through his office and were done by him, then went to the emperor to be approved and rejected, after that, the emperor's edicts were also entrusted to him and were issued with his approval. He became even better known for his self-discipline and promotion of capable individuals than before. As
4360-443: The commander of the armed forces, to resign and transfer power to the Fus and the Dings. Emperor Ai declined and begged Wang Mang to stay in his administration. Several months later, however, Wang Mang would come into direct confrontation with now-Empress Dowager Fu. At a major imperial banquet, the official in charge of seating placed Empress Dowager Fu's seat next to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's. When Wang Mang saw this, he rebuked
4469-462: The daughter of his grandmother Princess Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Yan (傅晏), empress. Emperor Ai, aged 20 at his ascension, quickly ended Emperor Cheng's practice of delegating imperial authorities to his uncles and cousins of the Wang clan and appeared diligent in his rule. He also reduced spending greatly. Both the officials and the people thought that after the reigns of the indecisive Emperor Yuan and
Emperor Ai - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-400: The demoralization of the people towards the government and the acquisition of power by Wang Mang , in a backlash, after Ai died in 1 BC. Emperor Ai was also famous for being the most effusive homosexual emperor of the Han dynasty. Traditional historians characterized the relationship between Emperor Ai and Dong Xian as one between homosexual lovers and referred to their relationship as "
4687-516: The domineering Consort Fu , and not by his mother. Prince Kang died in September or October 23 BC, and the two-year-old Prince Xin became the Prince of Dingtao. In 9 BC, the then-18-year-old Prince Xin impressed his uncle Emperor Cheng when on an official visit to the capital Chang'an , when he brought three key officials of his principality—his teacher, his prime minister, and the commander of his capital's defense forces—to accompany him and cited
4796-514: The emperor. In the winter of 5 CE, Wang submitted pepper wine (considered in those days to be capable of chasing away evil spirits) to the 13-year-old emperor, but had the wine spiked with poison. As the emperor was suffering the effects of the poison, Wang wrote a secret petition to the gods, in which he offered to substitute his life for Emperor Ping's, and then had the petition locked away. (Historians generally believed that Wang had two motives in doing this: firstly, in case Emperor Ping recovered from
4905-471: The empire's property, known as wangtian (王田) (meaning Wang's land or the king's land), a system that bore similarity to the well-field system attributed to the Zhou dynasty. Any further real estate transactions were banned, although property owners were allowed to continue possessing their properties. If a household had less than eight members but had one "well" or larger property (about 0.6 km (0.23 sq mi)), then they were required to distribute
5014-409: The eventual breakdown of relationships with the Xiongnu. In the same year, Wang Mang decided to marry his daughter to Emperor Ping to further strengthen his position. Initially, he started a selection process of eligible noble young ladies (after declaring, in accordance with ancient customs, that Emperor Ping would have one wife and 11 concubines). However, in an act of false modesty intended to create
5123-447: The examination process was proceeding, the mayor of South Chang'an submitted a rock with mysterious red writing on it. The message on the rock was "Wang Mang, the Duke of Anhan, should be emperor." In May, Wang had his political allies force Grand Empress Dowager Wang to issue an edict granting him the title of "Acting Emperor" (假皇帝), with a commission to rule as emperor until one of Emperor Xuan's great-great-grandson could be selected as
5232-454: The excess land to fellow clan members, neighbours, or other members of the same village. Criticism of the wangtian system was punishable by exile. The existing aristocracy were not too fond of having their land stripped from them, so they start bribing local officials to keep their lands, and local officials who were landlords themselves also started resisting the wangtian system. Some local officials took this opportunity to take free land from
5341-440: The fact that he was also constantly ill, although the nature of the illness is not known. Circa 4 BC, Emperor Ai began to favor the minor official Dong Xian , and historians largely believe that they had a homosexual relationship. Both men were married, but that would not have been seen as conflicting with a homosexual love affair, as it was typical for Chinese men of the time to have multiple sexual relationships. Ai came from
5450-564: The first income tax through a 10% tax of net earnings from wild herb and fruit collection, fishing, shepherding, and various nonagricultural activities and forms of trading. People were obligated to report their taxes to the government and officials would audit these reports. The penalty for evading this tax was one year of hard labor and confiscation of the entirety of a person's property. Previously, all Chinese taxes were either head taxes or property taxes , in addition to corvée labour. Because it caused popular discontent, this income tax
5559-440: The first two of the planned 15. Chanyu Zhi became enraged and launched massive attacks against Xin border regions, causing the border regions much distress and economic and human loss. Eventually, Xian escaped back to Xiongnu, but his sons were kept as hostages. After Zhu died, Deng succeeded him. However, in 12 CE, after hearing reports that Xian's other son Jiao (角) had been a successful Xiongnu strategist in military actions against
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#17327733153865668-442: The full support that Wang envisioned). However, after Chanyu Xian found out late in 14 CE that Deng had been executed, he resumed raids against the border regions but maintained a façade of peace. When Wang Mang first became emperor, his ambassadors visited the southwestern tribes (in modern Guizhou , Yunnan , and southwestern Sichuan ), whose chieftains Han had largely granted the titles of princes. Wang's new seals demoted them to
5777-472: The future the Wangs would suffer a popular backlash once Emperor Ping was an adult. In response he formed friendships with Emperor Ping's Wei uncles, and told Consort Wei to offer assurances to Wang Mang that she would not act as Emperor Ai's mother and grandmother did, trying to become an empress dowager. Wang Mang still refused to let her visit the capital. In 3 CE, Wang Yu formed a conspiracy with his teacher, Wu Zhang (吳章), his brother-in-law, Lü Kuan (呂寬), and
5886-495: The gods. He gave Ying the epithet Ruzi , the same epithet that King Cheng of Zhou had when he was in his minority and under the regency of the Duke of Zhou . This was intended to support Wang Mang's claim that he was as faithful as the Duke of Zhou before him. However, Emperor Ruzi did not ascend the throne, but was given the title of crown prince . Empress Wang was given the title empress dowager. As acting emperor, Wang reinstituted
5995-437: The honor of living at the crown prince's palace, stating that he was only at the capital to serve Emperor Cheng until Emperor Cheng would produce an heir and that he should stay at the Dingtao mission in the capital. Whether Emperor Cheng was formally adopting Prince Xin would quickly become a major controversy. Emperor Cheng viewed his recognition of Prince Xin as crown prince as formal adoption, and he believed that Prince Xin
6104-600: The imperial government. She put him in charge of the armed forces and the government. They summoned Prince Jizi of Zhongshan (the last surviving male issue of Grand Empress Dowager Wang's husband Emperor Yuan) to the capital to succeed Emperor Ai, and he ascended the throne as Emperor Ping . Wang Mang became his regent . In 1 BCE, Wang Mang, now back in power, took drastic action to attack actual or perceived political enemies: Wang Mang, having thus consolidated his power, began to further build up his personality cult , encouraging others to submit false prophecies in which he
6213-403: The impulsive and lavish spending Emperor Cheng, there would finally be a capable emperor. In 7 BC, under Emperor Ai's auspices, a major proposal to reduce involuntary servitude was made by several officials—princes would be limited to 200 servants (it was as many as they like before), marquesses and princesses to 100 servants (it was 200 before), and other nobility and commoners to 30 servants (it
6322-455: The kings of Qi , whose descendants changed their surname to Wang ( lit. 'king', 'royal') as Qi locals referred to them as the "royal family". Wang Man died early when Wang Mang was still young, before Emperor Cheng took the throne and his mother Empress Wang became empress dowager . Unlike most of his brothers, Wang Mang did not have the opportunity to become a marquess . Empress Wang took pity on his family, and after she
6431-468: The law, both found themselves opposing the new system. Eventually, faced with resistance for both of these policies, Wang was forced to repeal both of them just three years later in 12 CE. In 10 CE, Wang set up a state economic adjustment agency, seeking to control fluctuations in the prices of food and textiles by purchasing excess goods and then selling them when the price went up. The same agency also became responsible for loaning money to entrepreneurs, at
6540-476: The legendary golden age of the early Zhou dynasty as theorised in the Book of Rites . To that end, he modified the governmental structure to better conform with standards attributed to the Zhou. He also continued the regime of modifying geographical names to fit with ancient names (or more euphemistic names). This meant that even imperial edicts discussing the locations by their new names were forced to include notes on
6649-446: The meanings "ferocious slave" ( 匈奴 ; Xiongnu) to "respectful slave" 恭奴 ; "Shanyu" 單于 (the chief of the tribes) to "Shanyu" 善于 ; and "seal" 璽 to "badge" 章 , implying that the Xiongnu were nothing but a vassal of the Xin. This contrasted with the Han who had been somewhat ambiguous about whether the Xiongnu were a vassal group. Without examining the new seal, Shanyu Zhi agreed to the exchange. The ambassadors, apprehensive that
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#17327733153866758-422: The middle of his panic. This dramatic action only made Emperor Cheng more suspicious. He therefore had Chunyu arrested and interrogated. Chunyu admitted to deceiving Empress Xu and receiving bribes from her, and he was executed. On 16 November 8 BCE, Wang Gen, by was then seriously ill, submitted his resignation and requested that Wang Mang succeed him. On 28 November 8 BCE, Emperor Cheng made Wang Mang
6867-417: The money-based economy came to a halt. Eventually, Wang was forced to abolish all but two kinds of coins: the small coin that had the same value of a Han coin, and the large coin that had the value of 50 small coins. However, despite fairly severe penalties, people lost faith in the Xin dynasty's currency, and continued to use Han coins in an underground trade economy. In 13 CE, during Emperor Wang Mang's rule,
6976-497: The more proper heir. The majority, perhaps seeing that Emperor Cheng was leaning toward Prince Xin, recommended him, citing the general rule of succession that when one lacked an heir, he should adopt a brother's child to be his own son and heir; one official recommended Prince Xing under the rationale that he was closer in bloodline with the emperor. Emperor Cheng, whose mind was fairly made up, created him Crown Prince Xin . In an act praised one as showing humility, Prince Xin declined
7085-471: The new Emperor. To further bolster his claims, Wang also created a false genealogy, declaring himself a descendant of the Yellow Emperor , a legendary emperor revered in Chinese culture. In the spring of 6 CE, acting Emperor Wang selected the child Ying, then just one year old, as the designated successor to Emperor Ping, claiming that soothsayers told him that Ying was the candidate most favoured by
7194-442: The official and ordered that Empress Dowager Fu's seat be moved to the side, which drew great ire from Empress Dowager Fu, who refused to attend the banquet. To soothe her anger, Wang Mang resigned, and Emperor Ai approved his resignation. After Wang Mang's resignation, the Wangs gradually and inexorably began to lose their power. At Empress Dowager Fu's behest, the Fus and the Dings were installed in their place. Empress Dowager Fu
7303-476: The old names so that the recipients of the edicts could tell what locations he was referring to. As part of this regime, the name of the capital was changed. Chang'an 長安 ; 'eternal peace' was redesignated Chang'an 常安 ; 'constant peace'. The characters are now homophones in Standard Mandarin, but had distinct pronunciations at the time. In 9 CE, Wang Mang promoted his wife Lady Wang to
7412-616: The opposite result, he then petitioned Grand Empress Dowager Wang that his daughter not be considered. Wang Mang then started a petition with the aim of having the Chinese people have his daughter selected as empress. The petitioners stormed the outside of the palace, and Grand Empress Dowager Wang, overwhelmed by the display of affection for Wang Mang, ordered that Wang Mang's daughter be made empress. In 4 CE, Emperor Ping officially married her and made her empress. Wang Mang's son, Wang Yu (王宇), disagreed with his father's dictatorial regime and program to build up his personality cult, afraid that in
7521-415: The passion of the cut sleeve " (斷袖之癖) after a story that one afternoon after falling asleep for a nap on the same bed, Emperor Ai cut off his sleeve rather than disturb the sleeping Dong Xian when he had to get out of bed. Dong was noted for his relative simplicity contrasted with the highly ornamented court, and was given progressively higher and higher posts as part of the relationship, eventually becoming
7630-422: The penalties would be required to perform work for the state. The new emperor had not accounted for people unable to find work, nor those living in mountainous areas with little work, already struggling to survive. Many old people who wanted to live a quiet life in the mountains were forced to move back in with their children to avoid taxation . In 9 CE, Emperor Wang Mang of the Xin dynasty (9 to 23 CE) established
7739-407: The people and redistribute it amongst their clan members. Farmers who were at first thrilled at the idea of getting free land but found that not only were they not getting free land – because Wang Mang didn't do anything to ensure that local officials were doing their jobs right – in addition to corrupt local officials who were taking the opportunity to take what little land they had left in the name of
7848-533: The people and the officials to yearn for the return of the Wangs. Consorts: Wang Mang Wang Mang (45 BCE – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun , officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor ( 始建國天帝 ), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty . He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized
7957-629: The poisoning, to use the petition to try to absolve himself of involvement in the poisoning and, secondly, to leave for posterity evidence of his faithfulness to the emperor. After a few days of suffering, Emperor Ping died. Because the young Emperor Ping didn't have any children with his wife Empress Wang or any of his concubines, there were no heir. Also, there were now no surviving male issue from Emperor Ping's grandfather, Emperor Yuan. Emperor Ping's great-grandfather's Emperor Xuan progeny were therefore examined for possible successors. There were 53 great-grandsons of Emperor Xuan then still living but at
8066-600: The political scene extended until her death in February 2 BC, including an episode where her jealousy of Consort Feng Yuan —another consort of Emperor Yuan's (and therefore her romantic rival) and a grandmother of the future Emperor Ping —resulted in Consort Feng being falsely accused of witchcraft and subsequently being forced to die by suicide. During Emperor Ai's reign, he also stripped the Wang clan (Empress Wang's clan), which had been powerful during Emperor Cheng's reign, of much of their power, and substituted members of
8175-506: The position of empress. By this point, only two of her four sons were still alive. The older Wang An ( 王安 ) was described as lacking in talent, so Wang Mang made the younger Wang Lin ( 王臨 ) crown prince , and made Wang An the Lord of Xinjia ( 新嘉辟 ). Wang Mang selected many Confucian scholars to serve as advisors for Crown Prince Lin. Wang, grateful to his aunt Grand Empress Dowager Wang (who, however, resented him for deceiving her and usurping
8284-565: The proper legal regulations that, in his opinion, required and allowed him to bring them with him (even though it was customary that princes would bring only their teachers). He also showed clear understanding of the Confucian classic Shi Jing , further impressing Emperor Cheng. At that time, the sonless Emperor Cheng was beginning to consider making either his younger brother Liu Xing, Prince of Zhongshan (中山王劉興) or his nephew Prince Xin his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin
8393-480: The qualification "of Dingtao" from his father's posthumous title (thus making him simply "Emperor Gong"), and then gave his grandmother a variation of the grand empress dowager title ( ditaitaihou (帝太太后), compared to Grand Empress Dowager Wang's title taihuangtaihou (太皇太后)) and his mother a variation of the empress dowager title ( ditaihou (帝太后), compared to Empress Dowager Zhao's title huangtaihou (皇太后)), and there were therefore now four official empresses dowager in
8502-487: The rate of three percent per month. Six offices were set up: in Chang'an, Luoyang , Handan , Linzi (modern Zibo , Shandong ), Wancheng (modern Nanyang, Henan ), and Chengdu . In the same year, Wang Mang instituted a "sloth tax": if landowners left their land uncultivated, city dwellers left their houses without trees, or citizens refused to work, they would pay penalties in the form of textile tributes. Those unable to pay
8611-619: The rationale that she, having raised him, was merely in the role of a wet nurse . Consort Ding, however, would continue to not be allowed to see Prince Xin. Emperor Cheng died suddenly in April 7 BC, apparently from a stroke (although historians also report the possibility of an overdose of aphrodisiacs given to him by Consort Zhao Hede). Crown Prince Xin ascended the throne as Emperor Ai. Empress Dowager Wang, as his step-grandmother (and "legal" grandmother) became grand empress dowager, and Empress Zhao became empress dowager. He created Consort Fu ,
8720-413: The same year, Wang abolished slavery to limit the power of the landowning families. Anyone who offended the law will be punished by (paradoxically) being turned a slave. Wang also did not account for the fact that because of the aforementioned "sloth tax" many people would sell themselves into slavery to earn money so they could help their families pay the tax. Following Wang's assassination in 23 CE, slavery
8829-404: The side, which drew great ire from Empress Dowager Fu, who then refused to attend the banquet. To soothe her anger, Wang Mang resigned, and Emperor Ai approved his resignation. After this event, the Wangs gradually and inexorably lost their power and Empress Dowager Fu displayed her dominance over her grandson even more. After Wang Mang's resignation, Emperor Ai initially requested him to remain in
8938-452: The son of Wang Gen, back to the capital to assist Grand Empress Dowager Wang. However, Wang Mang was to have no official post and was to exert little influence on politics. Emperor Ai died suddenly in 1 BCE, without an heir. Taking decisive action, Grand Empress Dowager Wang seized power back from Emperor Ai's male favourite and likely lover Dong Xian (who was the commander of the armed forces by this point) and summoned Wang Mang back to
9047-515: The state, and had himself given the nine bestowments (九錫). (The "nine bestowments" would, after Wang Mang, become a customary step for usurpers to receive before they usurped the throne.) Around 5 CE, Emperor Ping, appeared to grow out of the heart condition from which he had suffered as a child. It soon became clear that he resented Wang Mang for killing his uncles and not allowing his mother to visit him in Chang'an . Wang therefore resolved to murder
9156-425: The supreme commander of the armed forces by the time of Emperor Ai's death. Dong was afterward forced to die by suicide . Emperor Ai was born to Liu Kang (劉康), Prince of Dingtao, a brother of then-reigning Emperor Cheng and son of Emperor Yuan, and his concubine Consort Ding, in 25 BC, presumably at Prince Kang's principality (roughly modern Heze , Shandong ). From birth, he was raised by his paternal grandmother,
9265-552: The throne and start a new dynasty. In the winter of 8 CE, after receiving a false prophecy written by a criminal named Ai Zhang (哀章) which pretended to be a divine decree from Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang) stating that the throne should be given to Wang, and that Grand Empress Dowager Wang should follow this divine will, Wang issued a decree accepting the position of emperor, establishing the Xin dynasty . Early in his reign, Emperor Wang Mang confidently sought to implement his ideals of restoring
9374-412: The throne in 9 CE. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow, and his rule marked the separation between the Western Han dynasty (before Xin) and Eastern Han dynasty (after Xin). Traditional Chinese historiography viewed Wang as a tyrant and usurper, while more recently, some historians have portrayed him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. During his reign, he abolished slavery and initiated
9483-399: The throne), continued to honour her as empress dowager, but also gave her an additional title of Wangmu (王母), the same title carried by the mother of King Wen of Zhou , implying that she was also his mother and had helped establish a new dynasty. She died in 13 CE. In 9 CE, Wang Mang instituted a revolutionary land redistribution system, ordering that all land in the empire legally become
9592-432: The time and they were all adults. Wang Mang disliked the fact that they were all adults as he wanted a child whom he could control. Therefore, he declared that it was inappropriate for members of the same generation to succeed each other (even though Emperor Ping had succeeded his cousin Emperor Ai several years earlier). He then examined the 23 great-great-grandsons of Emperor Xuan—all of whom were infants or children. While
9701-467: The time being, Wang remained in his post and continued to be powerful in the imperial court, as his aunt became grand empress dowager and was influential and powerful. However, that position soon changed. Emperor Ai's grandmother, Princess Dowager Fu of Dingtao (concubine of Grand Empress Dowager Wang's husband Emperor Yuan ) was a domineering with strong personality woman who was able to control her grandson and guide him as she pleases. She greatly wanted
9810-462: The title of empress dowager as well. Initially, Grand Empress Dowager Wang decreed that Princess Dowager Fu and Emperor Ai's mother, Consort Ding, see him every 10 days. However, Princess Dowager Fu soon began to visit her grandson every day, constantly provoking him to her advantage and to the detriment of her opposition, and she insisted that two things be done: that she receive an empress dowager title, and that her relatives be granted titles, just like
9919-788: The titles of marquesses. One of the more powerful chieftains, Han (邯), the Prince of Juting (句町王), responded by angrily cutting off relations with Xin. Wang instructed the local commandery governor, Zhou Xin (周歆), to arrange for the killing of Han. In response, Han's brother Cheng (承) started a rebellion, killing Zhou, and starting a campaign of harassment against Xin borders. By 16 CE, the Commandery of Yizhou (modern northeastern Yunnan) had become corrupt while Juting remained powerful. So Wang commissioned two generals, Lian Dan (廉丹) and Shi Xiong (史熊), to attack Juting. They were initially successful, but soon became caught in problems with food supply and disease. However, Wang continued to refuse to reinstitute
10028-459: Was 100 before, and that servants would be set free after a service of three years. However, after the proposal was leaked, many slave owners pushed to have the proposal tabled, and Emperor Ai only issued a limited version of the proposal—freeing servants over age 50. The issue of the roles of Princess Dowager Fu and Consort Ding (and what honor, if any, to posthumously bestow on Emperor Ai's father Prince Kang), however, would quickly again erupt into
10137-482: Was a temporary détente in 14 CE, when Xian returned Xin defectors Chen Liang (陳良) and Zhong Dai (終帶), who, as junior army officers in Xiyu, had killed their superiors and surrendered to Xiongnu (perhaps seeking to have Xiongnu help them re-establish Han) so that Wang could execute them. In response, Wang recalled the forces located in the northern regions which were intended to be used to attack Xiongnu (but were never given
10246-433: Was abolished in 22 CE. Wang also instituted a state monopoly on liquor and weapons. Another economic change instituted by Wang – which turned out to be disastrous – was to issue 28 types of coins: made of gold, silver, tortoise shells, cowrie shells, or copper. Because there were so many kinds of coins in comparison to the one kind that the Han used, people were unable to work out which coins were genuine or counterfeit, and
10355-488: Was careful not to associate with many people (to prevent false accusations that he was planning a rebellion). In 5 BCE, when his son Wang Huo killed a household servant, Wang Mang ordered him to commit suicide . By 2 BCE, there had been several hundred petitions by commoners and officials requesting Wang Mang's return to the capital. Emperor Ai, who also respected Wang Mang, summoned him and his cousin Wang Ren (王仁),
10464-413: Was executed by Empress Dowager Wang after being accused of improperly assuming imperial style. Later in 2 BC, when Wang Jia opposed the expansion of Dong's march , Emperor Ai had him accused falsely of crimes and forced him to die by suicide through fasting. On January 1 BC, Dong was made the commander of the armed forces—at age 22 (by East Asian reckoning) —and effectively the most powerful official in
10573-457: Was harsh in his punishments of officials who disagreed with him—including, but not limited to, the issue of his grandmother and mother's titles. He would often backtrack in these punishments as well after some time, which also made him appear indecisive. He would also quickly promote officials that he saw as capable and honest and then, as soon as that capability or honesty offended him in some way, demote them. His temper might have been related to
10682-600: Was highly controlled by his grandmother Consort Fu (consort of his grandfather and his predecessor's father Emperor Yuan ), who demanded the title of Grand Empress Dowager —even though she had never been an empress previously and therefore did not properly hold that title, and this led to the unprecedented and unrepeated situation of four women possessing empress dowager titles at the same time—Empress Wang Zhengjun (Emperor Cheng's mother and Emperor Yuan's wife), Empress Zhao Feiyan (Emperor Cheng's wife), Consort Fu, and Consort Ding (Emperor Ai's mother). Consort Fu's control of
10791-580: Was himself afflicted with a psychiatric condition (probably bipolar disorder ), and when he got to Zhongshan, he suddenly, in a rage, left there and returned to Chang'an. Once he did and was ordered to explain his conduct, he made up a false reason—that he had discovered that Princess Dowager Feng was using witchcraft to curse Emperor Ai and Empress Dowager Fu. Empress Dowager Fu and Princess Dowager Feng were romantic rivals when they were both consorts to Emperor Yuan, and Empress Dowager Fu decided to use this opportunity to strike at Princess Dowager Feng. She sent
10900-488: Was ignored by imperial counselors. The Grand Empress Dowager acted quickly to seize his seal and to take power back from Dong Xian, reinstating Wang Mang as the regent. Dong Xian and his wife died by suicide. Emperor Ai would officially be succeeded by his cousin, Prince Jizi, as Emperor Ping , but this was merely a pretext for Wang Mang to seize the throne nine years later. Emperor Ai's abuse of power, first influenced by his grandmother and then by his love for Dong, caused
11009-622: Was mentioned as the second coming of Ji Dan, the Duke of Zhou and the regent for King Cheng of Zhou , or other great mythical personalities. He also began a regime of modifying the governmental structure to recall the governments of the Zhou dynasty and the even more ancient Shang dynasty . This included numerous changes to officials' titles and even to geographical locations. To prevent Emperor Ping's maternal Wei clan uncles from becoming powerful, he ordered that they, along with Emperor Ping's mother, Consort Wei , not be allowed to visit Emperor Ping in
11118-537: Was more capable, and at the same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to Emperor Cheng's wife Empress Zhao Feiyan , her sister and Emperor Cheng's favorite Consort Zhao Hede , and Emperor Cheng's uncle Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well. Emperor Cheng therefore seriously considered making Prince Xin his heir. In 8 BC, Emperor Cheng summoned several key officials to discuss with him who would be
11227-582: Was not satisfied with what she saw was her inferior title (as only empress dowager, not grand empress dowager, and with the qualifier "of Dingtao"). Several key officials who opposed her move were reduced to commoner status without any other fault—including the prime minister Kong Guang (孔光) and the prime inspector Shi Dan (師丹)—two of the top three officials of the administration. The third one, Empress Dowager Fu's cousin Fu Xi (傅喜), who also opposed Empress Dowager Fu's actions notwithstanding his relationship with her,
11336-400: Was now his son, no longer Prince Kang's. When he created a cousin to be the new Prince of Dingtao to serve as Prince Kang's heir in c. December 8 BC, Prince Xin, grateful that his father would continue to be worshipped as an ancestor, submitted a formal note of thanksgiving—at which Emperor Cheng was highly offended, believing that Prince Xin should not be grateful any more for whatever
11445-490: Was reinstituted. The first sign of irritation came sometime before 10 CE when the Xin director of Wuhuan affairs informed the Wuhuan tribes not to pay further tribute to Xiongnu. In response, Xiongnu carried out a punitive military raid against Wuhuan, capturing about 1,000 women and children to serve as hostages. Later, on Wang Mang's orders, the Xiongnu were forced to return the Wuhuan hostages. Wang sent his ambassadors to
11554-711: Was removed from his position and sent back to his march . In 6 BCE, Empress Dowager Fu would further display her power and at the same time cause the people to be even more disappointed in Emperor Ai. Emperor Ai's cousin Liu Jizi (劉箕子), the Prince of Zhongshan (Prince Xing's son), had a congenital heart disorder, and his grandmother Feng Yuan, the princess dowager, cared for his treatment and often worshipped gods to pray for his healing. Emperor Ai, up on hearing his cousin's illness, sent imperial physicians along with his attendant Zhang You (張由) to go to Zhongshan (roughly modern Baoding , Hebei ) to treat Prince Jizi. Zhang, however,
11663-885: Was then executed. Wang Mang subsequently executed Wu Zhang and the entire Wei clan, except for Consort Wei. It is not known what happened to Lü Kuan, but it is unlikely he could have escaped death. Wang Mang took this opportunity to wipe out other potential enemies. Wang Yu and Lü's co-conspirators were tortured with anyone who they mentioned being arrested, and then either executed or forced to commit suicide. The victims of this purge included Emperor Yuan's sister, Princess Jingwu (敬武長公主), Wang Mang's uncle, Wang Li, and his cousin, Wang Ren. He falsely advised Grand Empress Dowager Wang that they had died of illnesses. Many other officials who were not willing to follow Wang Mang were victimized in this purge. After this, Wang Mang's hold on power became absolute. In 5 CE, Wang Mang revived an ancient ceremony intended for those who had made great contributions to
11772-425: Was touched, and before his death, he asked Empress Dowager Wang and Emperor Cheng to take good care of Wang Mang. Wang Mang was therefore given the post of imperial attendant (黃門郎) and later promoted to be one of the subcommanders of the imperial guards (射聲校尉). In 16 BCE, another of Wang Mang's uncles, Wang Shang (王商) the Marquess of Chengdu, submitted a petition to divide part of his march and to make Wang Mang
11881-426: Was widowed, she had Qu moved to the imperial palace to live with her. While Wang Mang was well-connected to the imperial family, he did not have the luxurious life style that his cousins enjoyed. Unlike his relatives who lived luxuriously and competed with each other on who could spend more, Wang Mang was praised for his humility, thriftiness, and his desire to study. He wore not the clothes of young nobles but those of
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