The Book of the Later Han , also known as the History of the Later Han and by its Chinese name Hou Hanshu ( Chinese : 後漢書 ), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later or Eastern Han . The book was compiled by Fan Ye and others in the 5th century during the Liu Song dynasty , using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources.
95-624: In 23 CE, Han dynasty official Wang Mang was overthrown by a peasants' revolt known as the Red Eyebrows . His fall separates the Early (or Western) Han dynasty from the Later (or Eastern) Han dynasty. As an orthodox history , the book is unusual in being completed over two hundred years after the fall of the dynasty. Fan Ye's primary source was the Dongguan Hanji (東觀漢記; "Han Records of
190-629: A cordial relationship with both women, and she was largely successful, at least as far as Consort Feng was concerned. However, a struggle between Empress Wang and Consort Fu for their sons' status as heir to Emperor Yuan did erupt. As Crown Prince Ao grew older, Emperor Yuan became increasingly unhappy with Ao's fitness as imperial heir and increasingly impressed with Consort Fu's son, Prince Kang of Dingtao ( 山陽王劉康 ). Several incidents led to this situation. One incident happened in 35 BC, when Emperor Yuan's youngest brother Prince Liu Jing of Zhongshan ( 中山王劉竟 ) died. Emperor Yuan became angry when he felt that
285-491: A dancing girl. However, she finally gave in to her son's wishes in 16 BC, but she never liked the Zhao sisters. Despite this, neither of the Zhao women nor another favourite of Emperor Cheng's, Consort Li, bore him a son. In 9 BC, still without an heir, Emperor Cheng appeared to come to the resolution of making either his younger brother Prince Liu Xing of Zhongshan ( 中山王劉興 ) or his nephew Prince Liu Xin of Dingtao (定陶王劉欣, son of
380-454: 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
475-623: 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
570-607: 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
665-468: 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
760-586: 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
855-484: 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 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
950-503: 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
1045-742: The Han Records of the Eastern Lodge by various contemporaries throughout the 2nd century, and the Records of Later Han by Yuan Hong from the 4th century), most of which did not survive intact. The section on the Treatise on the Western Regions was based on a report composed by Ban Yong (with a few later additions) and presented to Emperor An of Han in around 125. It presumably includes notes from his father Ban Chao . It forms
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#17327659919591140-550: 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
1235-647: The 88th chapter (or 118th chapter in some editions) of the Book of the Later Han , and is a key source for the cultural and socio-economic data on the Western Regions , including the earliest accounts of Daqin (the Roman Empire ), and some of the most detailed early reports on India and Central Asia. It contains a few references to events occurring after the death of Emperor An, including a brief account of
1330-521: 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
1425-704: The Eastern Lodge"), which was written during the Han dynasty itself. The book is part of four early historiographies of the Twenty-Four Histories canon, together with the Records of the Grand Historian , Book of Han and Records of the Three Kingdoms . Fan Ye used earlier histories, including accounts by Sima Qian and Ban Gu , along with many others (some had similar names, such as
1520-512: 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
1615-455: 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
1710-570: 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
1805-564: 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
1900-527: 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
1995-465: 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
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#17327659919592090-522: 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
2185-540: 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
2280-425: The Zhao sisters falsely accused Empress Xu and Consort Ban of witchcraft. As a result, Empress Xu was deposed. While Consort Ban was able to successfully plead her case, she did not wish to return to the same environment and instead became a lady in waiting for Empress Dowager Wang. Then Emperor Cheng wanted to make Zhao Feiyan his empress, but Empress Dowager Wang complained about her low birth and prior occupation as
2375-508: 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
2470-470: The arrival of the first official envoys from Rome in 166. Fan Ye, himself, clearly says that the new information contained in this section on the Western Regions, is largely based on information from the report of Ban Yong: 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
2565-532: The birth of an heir. She also framed Zhang Fang for a crime to exile him from the capital, but the Emperor and his lover maintained contact through letters, and Fang was even further promoted. In c. 19 BC , when Emperor Cheng was visiting Princess Yanga ( 陽阿公主 ), he became enamoured with her dancing girl Zhao Feiyan ( 趙飛燕 ) and her sister Zhao Hede ( 趙合德 ) and made them his concubines, and they became favoured over Empress Xu and Consort Ban. In 18 BC,
2660-473: 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,
2755-464: 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
2850-545: 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
2945-473: 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
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3040-417: The clan of his murdered grandmother, the first wife of Emperor Xuan. He favoured Consort Ban as well. Neither Empress Xu nor Consort Ban bore him a child. He also had a male favorite, Zhang Fang, upon whom he lavished a great deal of wealth. Focused on the need for Emperor Cheng to have a son to be heir, Empress Dowager Wang openly encouraged Emperor Cheng to take on more concubines, but that did not result in
3135-492: The clothes of young nobles but those of 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
3230-717: 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,
3325-534: 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
3420-514: 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
3515-413: The empire when they were selecting officials for various position in the government. This led to a continued deterioration in Emperor Cheng's administration of the empire, who at times considered modifying this power structure but always failed to do so. For example, in 24 BC, based on suggestions from an official, Wang Zhang (王章, unrelated to the Wang clan), Emperor Cheng considered replacing Wang Feng with
3610-471: 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
3705-409: 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
3800-447: 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
3895-454: 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
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3990-564: 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
4085-440: 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
4180-508: 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 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
4275-442: 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
4370-472: 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
4465-495: 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
4560-401: The government and, as a result, rebellions broke out throughout the country. Emperor Cheng died childless after a reign of 26 years; both of his sons by concubines had died in infancy. One of them starved to death and another was suffocated in prison. The babies and their mothers were killed by the order of Emperor Cheng's favorite consort Zhao Hede , with the implied consent of the emperor. He
4655-580: The government. In addition to his oldest uncle Wang Feng ( 王鳳 ), who had inherited his father's title as the Marquess of Yangping, six of Empress Dowager Wang's brothers were created marquesses, in violation of the rule laid by Emperor Gao , the founder of the dynasty, who had decreed that only those who had contributed to the empire in substantial ways could be made marquesses. Wang Feng, Wang Shang ( 王商 ) and Wang Gen ( 王根 )), in addition to Empress Dowager Wang's cousin Wang Yin ( 王音 ), served successively as
4750-414: The highly regarded official Feng Yewang ( 馮野王 ), the brother of his father's concubine Consort Feng . When Wang Feng realized this, Empress Dowager Wang became upset and, in response, Emperor Cheng executed Wang Zhang and relieved Feng Yewang of his position without any allegation of wrongdoing. Emperor Cheng had many favourites among his consorts. His first favourite was Empress Xu (created 31 BC), from
4845-600: 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
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#17327659919594940-491: The intercession of Shi Dan led Emperor Yuan to cease those thoughts. When Emperor Yuan died in 33 BC, Crown Prince Ao ascended the throne (as Emperor Cheng). After the death of Emperor Yuan and the accession of Emperor Cheng, Empress Wang became empress dowager . Prince Kang, as was customary with imperial princes, was sent to govern his principality in Dingtao ( 定陶 ). Despite the attempts by Consort Fu and Prince Kang to gain
5035-485: The late Prince Kang) his heir. Emperor Cheng became convinced that Prince Xin was more capable, and at the same time, Prince Xin's grandmother Consort Fu was endearing herself to the Zhaos and Wang Gen with lavish gifts, and so the Zhaos and Wang Gen both praised Prince Xin as well. Emperor Cheng made Prince Xin crown prince in 8 BC. Emperor Cheng died suddenly in 7 BC, apparently from a stroke (although historians also report
5130-468: 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
5225-476: 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
5320-446: 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
5415-422: 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
5510-417: 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,
5605-471: 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
5700-476: 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
5795-477: The opportunity to become a marquess . Empress Wang took pity on his family, and after she 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
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#17327659919595890-616: 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
5985-422: 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
6080-407: 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
6175-629: 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
6270-506: 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
6365-456: The possibility of an overdose of aphrodisiacs given to him by Consort Zhao Hede). Immediately after his death, there were many rumours that he had in fact had concubines who bore him sons, but that those sons and their mothers were murdered by Consort Zhao Hede (out of jealousy) and she had possibly also murdered Emperor Cheng. Grieving for her husband and apparently fearful of reprisals, Consort Zhao Hede killed herself. Crown Prince Xin ascended
6460-487: 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
6555-605: 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 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
6650-413: 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
6745-404: 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
6840-452: 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
6935-515: 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
7030-412: The supreme commander of the armed forces and were in effective control of the administration. After Wang Gen, Empress Dowager Wang's nephew Wang Mang served in the same role: The Wangs, while not particularly corrupt and apparently some of them were genuinely trying to help the emperor, but many of them were more concerned about increasing their governmental power and did not have the best interests of
7125-399: The teenage Crown Prince Ao was insufficiently grieving—particularly because Princes Ao and Jing were of similar age and grew up together as playmates—and was showing insufficient respect towards Prince Jing. Prince Ao's head of household Shi Dan ( 史丹 ), a relative of Emperor Yuan's grandmother and a senior official respected by Emperor Yuan, managed to convince Emperor Yuan that Crown Prince Ao
7220-552: 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
7315-406: The throne as Emperor Ai . A report by officials commissioned by Empress Dowager Wang concluded in 6 BC that Emperor Cheng did have two sons—one born to Consort Cao in 12 BC and one born to Consort Xu (a relative of the deposed Empress Xu) in 11 BC. However, one of the sons was murdered in their infancy by orders of Consort Zhao Hede, with at least the tacit agreement from Emperor Cheng. Consort Cao
7410-404: The throne prior to Emperor Yuan's death, Empress Wang and Emperor Cheng did not bear grudges, and, against the advice of officials who were concerned that Prince Kang would become the subject of conspiracies, Emperor Cheng often summoned Prince Kang to the capital Chang'an for extended visits. Emperor Cheng trusted of his uncles (Empress Dowager Wang's brothers) and put them in important roles in
7505-399: 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
7600-491: 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
7695-467: 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
7790-462: 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
7885-788: 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
7980-451: Was a marquess of Goguryeo, into a meeting with him where he treacherously killed Zou. Wang then changed Gaogouli to the derogatory term "Xiagouli" ( gao means "high", while xia means "low"), and reduced their king's rank to marquess, which further enraged Goguryeo, causing them to attack the Xin northeastern regions with great ferocity. Emperor Cheng of Han Emperor Cheng of Han , personal name Liu Ao (劉驁; 51 BC – 17 April 7 BC),
8075-513: 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 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
8170-482: 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
8265-433: 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
8360-465: Was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty ruling from 33 until 7 BC. He succeeded his father, Emperor Yuan . Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its growing disintegration as the emperor's maternal relatives from the Wang clan increased their grip on the levers of power and on governmental affairs as encouraged by the previous emperor. Corruption and greedy officials continued to plague
8455-488: 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),
8550-622: 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
8645-490: 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
8740-584: Was succeeded by his nephew, Emperor Ai , whose death was followed by Wang Mang's rise to power. Emperor Cheng was born circa 51 BC to then-Crown Prince Liu Shi (later Emperor Yuan ) and one of his consorts, Consort Wang (later more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun ). He was Emperor Yuan's first-born son. On 17 June 47 BC, Emperor Yuan created him Crown Prince Ao. Emperor Yuan had two favourite concubines in addition to Empress Wang, Consort Fu and Consort Feng Yuan , each of whom bore him one son. Empress Wang apparently tried to maintain
8835-885: 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
8930-425: 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
9025-717: Was trying to stop Emperor Yuan himself from grieving too much, but the seed of dissatisfaction was sown. As the princes further grew older, Emperor Yuan and Prince Kang became closer. They shared an affection for, and skills in music, particularly in the playing of drums. Prince Kang also showed high intelligence and diligence, while Crown Prince Ao was known for drinking and womanizing. When Emperor Yuan became seriously ill (c. 35 BC), Consort Fu and Prince Kang were often summoned to his sickbed to attend to him, while Empress Wang and Crown Prince Ao rarely were. During his illness, Emperor Yuan considered whether he should make Prince Kang his heir instead (apparently encouraged by Consort Fu) . Only
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