Huo Guang ( Chinese : 霍光 ; died 21 April 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in April 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the renowned general Huo Qubing , Huo was a palace aide to Emperor Wu and secured power in his own right at the emperor's death, when he became principal co-regent for Emperor Zhao . Huo outmaneuvered his colleagues in the regency and assumed personal control over state affairs, consolidating his power by installing family members and other loyalists in key offices. Following Emperor Zhao's death in June 74 BCE, Huo engineered the succession and deposition of Liu He within a mere 27 days. Huo next facilitated the accession of Emperor Xuan and retained control of the Han government until his death.
100-492: Huo Guang was born to Huo Zhongru and he had a half-brother named Huo Qubing , a renowned general. His step-aunt was Empress Wei Zifu , the second Empress of Emperor Wu of Han . Huo's early career in Han government was not well documented, but it is known that as of 88 BC—near the end of Emperor Wu 's reign, he was already a high-ranked official with dual titles of Fengche Duwei (奉車都尉) and Guanglu Dafu (光祿大夫). When Emperor Wu, near
200-528: A march of 2,500 households. In 121 BC, Emperor Wu deployed Huo Qubing twice in that year against the Xiongnu in the Hexi Corridor . During spring, Huo Qubing led 10,000 cavalry, fought through five Western Regions kingdoms within 6 days, advanced over 1,000 li over Mount Yanzhi ( 焉支山 ), killed two Xiongnu princes along with nearly 9,000 enemy troops, and captured several Xiongnu nobles as well as
300-419: A 3,000-strong regiment commanded by generals Su Jian (蘇建, father of the Han diplomat and statesman, Su Wu ) and Zhao Xin (趙信, a surrendered Xiongnu prince) was outnumbered and annihilated after encountering the Xiongnu force led by Yizhixie Chanyu ( 伊稚斜單于 ). Zhao Xin defected on the field with his 800 ethnic Xiongnu subordinates, while Su Jian escaped after losing all his men in the desperate fighting. Due to
400-492: A commoner take the throne, 27 days after Prince He was removed from the throne, Empress Dowager Shangguan first created him the Marquess of Yangwu. On the same day, he was offered the imperial seal and ribbon and the throne, and he accepted. When Emperor Xuan accepted the throne, his son Prince Shi was barely a few months old. Prince Shi's mother Xu Pingjun was initially created a consort. When it came time to create an empress,
500-531: A conspiracy to depose the emperor. The conspiracy was discovered, and the entire Huo clan was executed by Emperor Xuan. This act later drew heavy criticism from historians, such as Sima Guang in his Zizhi Tongjian , for its ungratefulness to Huo Guang. Empress Huo was deposed. Twelve years later she was exiled and, in response, she committed suicide. Despite the destruction of the Huo clan, Emperor Xuan continued to honour Huo Guang posthumously. In 51 BC, when he painted
600-409: A creek so all his men drinking the water could share a taste of it, giving the name to the city of Jiuquan (酒泉, literally "wine spring"). Huo Qubing died in 117 BC at the early age of 23. After Huo Qubing's death, the aggrieved Emperor Wu ordered the elite troops from the five border commanderies to line up all the way from Chang'an to Maoling , where Huo Qubing's tomb was constructed in the shape of
700-479: A failed plot to overthrow Emperor Xuan of Han in 66 BC, resulting in both of them committing suicide and the Huo clan being executed. It is presumed that no male descendants of Huo Qubing or Huo Guang survived, as during the reign of Emperor Ping of Han , it was Huo Yang, a great-grandson of Huo Qubing's paternal cousin, who was chosen as the descendant of Huo Guang to be the Marquess of Bolu. The Book of Han records that in 121 BCE when General Huo Qubing defeated
800-400: A failed uprising. His father Liu Jin ( 劉進 ) also died in that turmoil, along with the rest of his family. Emperor Xuan was only a months-old infant at the time and only survived due to the protection of the sympathetic prison warden Bing Ji, and lived his youth as a commoner after being released by a nationwide amnesty from Emperor Wu in 87 BC. After Liu He 's short 27-day reign in 74 BC,
900-497: A former lover of Huo Guang. The Huo family lived luxurious lives similar to the imperial household. Emperor Xuan, unhappy about the Huos' perceived arrogance, began to gradually strip their actual powers while letting them keep their formal titles. In May 67 BC, Emperor Xuan made his son Liu Shi (劉奭, later Emperor Yuan ), by the deceased Empress Xu, crown prince, an act that greatly angered Lady Xian, who instructed her daughter to murder
1000-467: A good number of these reports were later shown to be likely hoaxes, but Emperor Xuan accepted these reports without critically examining them: although in the case of reported sightings of a green rooster and golden horse in Shu (modern Sichuan ), Xuan did dispatch one of his favored poets and a Shu native, Wang Bao , to investigate and to bring back the golden horse, if found (though Wang became ill and died on
1100-629: A half-brother of the statesman Huo Guang . Along with Wei Qing, he led a campaign into the Gobi Desert of what is now Mongolia to defeat the Xiongnu nomadic confederation, winning decisive victories such as the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC. Huo Qubing was one of the most legendary commanders in Chinese history, and still lives on in Chinese culture today. Huo Qubing was an illegitimate son from
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#17327755737011200-450: A major battle with Xiongnu occurred. Xiongnu had been incessantly attacking the Xiyu (central Asia) kingdom of Wusun , whose queen was the Han princess Liu Jieyou ( 劉解憂 ). Emperor Xuan commissioned five generals and coordinated a plan with Wusun to attack Xiongnu at the same time. Xiongnu put the strongest defenses against the Han generals, the battle were largely inconclusively, but with
1300-408: A marquess, but Huo opposed, reasoning a eunuch who had suffered castration as a punishment should not be made a marquess. Instead, Xu was given the title of Lord of Changcheng ( 昌成君 ). In 73 BC, Huo offered to be relieved of his responsibilities as a regent. Emperor Xuan declined and ordered that all important matters of the state and the army would still be submitted to Huo first, and by doing this,
1400-752: A ploy to further strengthen his powers, Shangguan Jie gave his granddaughter (also Huo's granddaughter), then age five, in marriage to the emperor, then age 11, and she was made empress in April 83 BC. In 80 BC, the growing conflict between Huo and Shangguan came to a head. Shangguan formed a conspiracy with Liu Dan, the Prince of Yan, the Princess Eyi (鄂邑公主) (who, as the emperor's sister, had served as his guardian), and another important official Sang Hongyang (桑弘羊) to make false allegations of treason against Huo. However, Emperor Zhao, who trusted Huo, did not act on
1500-409: A poem: The Champion of Piaoji, fast and brave. Six long-distance assaults, like lightning and thunder. Watering horse at Lake Baikal , conducting rituals at Khentii Mountains . Conquering the area west of great river , establishing commanderies along Qilian Mountains . 票騎冠軍，猋勇紛紜，長驅六擧，電擊雷震，飲馬翰海，封狼居山，西規大河，列郡祁連。 Huo Qubing's half-brother, Huo Guang , whom he took custody away from his father,
1600-478: A rebellion. Zhao opposed the annihilation strategy that other generals had proposed. Emperor Xuan had initially approved the plan and establish military settlements to better prepare for any future rebellions. Eventually, Emperor Xuan agreed to advocated for better treatment of the tribes, and the Qiang tribes were pacified without any major bloodshed. Also, after a short foray into magic in 61 BC, Emperor Xuan realized
1700-470: A second visit. With Han assistance, his strength grew, and Chanyu Zhizhi, who had previously been stronger, was forced to move west. In 53 BC, disappointed in Crown Prince Shi's overreliance on Confucian officials and lack of resolve, he considered making Liu Qin, the Prince of Huaiyang, the crown prince instead, but could not bring himself to do so—remembering how Prince Shi's mother Empress Xu
1800-544: A series of rituals upon his arrival at the Khentii Mountains (狼居胥山, and the more northern 姑衍山) to symbolize the historic Han victory, then continued his pursuit as far as Lake Baikal ( 瀚海 ), effectively annihilating the Xiongnu clan and allowing conquering tribe such as the Donghu People to retake back their land to establish their own confederacy to declared independent from Xiongnu Overlord following
1900-458: A son later, that son could only be a prince and not the future emperor. She instructed her daughter to murder the crown prince. Allegedly, Empress Huo did make multiple attempts to do so but failed each time. Around this time, the emperor also heard rumors that the Huo clan had murdered Empress Xu, which led him to begin stripping the Huos of actual power while giving them impressive titles. In 66 BC, after there had been increasing public rumors that
2000-482: A standard of decisiveness and strength that was rarely matched and even more rarely used for the benefit of the state. Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – c. October 117 BC, formerly Ho Ch'ii-ping ) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han . He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and
2100-424: A strong sense of social justice. As a teenager, he had many friends from all walks of life and was able to see the dark sides of society and the suffering of the people at the hands of corrupt officials. He had a strong interest in hiking. Occasionally he was summoned to see Emperor Zhao. Pingjun gave birth to a son, Liu Shi . After Emperor Zhao died in 74 BC at the age of 20, the regent Huo Guang initially offered
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#17327755737012200-484: A teenager. Emperor Wu saw Huo's potential and made Huo his personal assistant. In 123 BC, Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing from Dingxiang ( 定襄 ) to engage the invading Xiongnu, and appointed the 18-year-old Huo Qubing to serve as the Captain of Piaoyao ( 票姚校尉 ) under his uncle, seeing real combat for the first time. Although Wei Qing was able to kill or capture more than 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, part of his vanguard forces,
2300-533: Is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei . Huo Qubing was played by Li Junfeng ( 李俊锋 ) in the popular 2005 historical epics TV series The Emperor in Han Dynasty ( 汉武大帝 ). Huo Qubing was played by Eddie Peng ( 彭于晏 ) under the name of Wei Wuji ( 卫无忌 ) in the popular romance Chinese drama Sound of
2400-734: The Ganquan Palace and regularly worshipped. The Han expedition to the west and the capture of booty by general Huo Qubing is well documented, but the later Buddhist interpretation at the Mogao Caves of the worship of these statues as a means to propagate Buddhism in China is probably apocryphal , since Han Wudi is not known to have ever worshipped the Buddha, and Buddhist statues probably did not exist yet at this time. There are no known examples of monumental stone statuary in China before
2500-594: The Left Worthy Prince ( 左賢王 ). However, a Xiongnu prisoner of war confessed that the Chanyu's main force was at the east side. Unaware that this was actually false information provided by the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu ordered the two columns to switch routes, with Wei Qing now setting off on the western side from Dingxiang, and Huo Qubing marching on the eastern side from the Dai Commandery. Battles at
2600-540: The Qilian Mountains to commemorate his military achievements. Huo Qubing was then posthumously appointed the title Marquess of Jinghuan ( 景桓侯 ), and a large "Horse Stomping Xiongnu" ( 馬踏匈奴 ) stone statue was built in front of his tomb, near Emperor Wu's tomb of Maoling . Huo Qubing was among the most decorated military commanders in Chinese history. The Eastern Han dynasty historian Ban Gu summarized in his Book of Han Huo Qubing's achievements with
2700-631: The Qin Empire . In Cave 323 in Mogao caves (near Dunhuang in the Tarim Basin ), Emperor Wudi is shown worshipping two golden statues, with the following inscription (which closely paraphrases the traditional accounts of Huo Qubing's expedition): 漢武帝將其部眾討凶奴,並獲得二金(人),(各)長丈餘,刊〔列〕之於甘泉宮,帝(以)為大神,常行拜褐時 Emperor Han Wudi directed his troops to fight the Xiongnu and obtained two golden statues more than one zhàng [3 meters] tall, that he displayed in
2800-543: The decreed marriage of Wei Shaoer's older sister Wei Junru ( 衛君孺 ) to Emperor Wu's adviser, Gongsun He ( 公孫賀 ). At the time, Wei Shaoer was romantically engaged with Chen Zhang ( 陳掌 ), a great-grandson of Emperor Gaozu 's adviser Chen Ping . Their relationship was also legitimized by Emperor Wu through the form of decreed marriage. Through the rise of the Wei family, the young Huo Qubing grew up in prosperity and prestige. Huo Qubing exhibited outstanding military talent even as
2900-427: The love affair between Wei Shaoer ( 衛少兒 ), the daughter of a lowly maid from the household of Princess Pingyang (Emperor Wu's older sister), and Huo Zhongru ( 霍仲孺 ), a low-ranking civil servant employed there at the time. However, Huo Zhongru did not want to marry a lower class serf girl like Wei Shaoer, so he abandoned her and went away to marry a woman from his home town instead. Wei Shaoer insisted on keeping
3000-458: The 17-year-old Liu Bingyi was selected by Huo Guang (the half-brother of Liu Bingyi's great-cousin Huo Qubing ) for the throne, inheriting the crown that ironically would have been his anyway if his grandfather's rebellion in 91 BC hadn't happened. Emperor Xuan has been considered a hardworking and brilliant ruler by historians. Because he grew up among commoners, he thoroughly understood
3100-716: The Armed Forces of the Capital and the Imperial Army, was a his almost exclusive adviser and political mentor, Huo repeatedly persuaded him to issue amnesties, refrain from costly wars with other nations, focus on electing and promoting able officials at court, avoiding punishment without investigation and trial promoting agriculture, and preserving grain to prevent famine. In June 74 BC, Emperor Zhao died at age 21 without issue. Even though Emperor Zhao had living older brothers, Huo considered them incompetent and unfit for
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3200-529: The Desert ( 风中奇缘 ) derived from the book Da Mo Yao/Ballad of the Desert ( 大漠谣 ) by famous novel writer Tong Hua . Huo Qubing is also mentioned in the blockbuster film Dragon Blade , where the main character, played by Jackie Chan , is said to have been raised up by him. Actor Feng Shaofeng portrays the general in brief flashbacks. Emperor Xuan of Han Emperor Xuan of Han ( Chinese : 漢宣帝 ; 91 BC – 10 January 48 BC ), born Liu Bingyi (劉病已),
3300-574: The Emperor's affairs will be done, so Huo continued to "talking for the Emperor". He also gave high positions to Huo's son Huo Yu ( 霍禹 ) and grandnephews Huo Yun ( 霍雲 ) and Huo Shan ( 霍山 ), as well as Huo's sons-in-law Fan Mingyou ( 范明友 ) and Deng Guanghan ( 鄧廣漢 ). In many ways, Emperor Xuan, although now emperor, remained intimidated by the powers of Huo and was always humble in front of him. In that same year, Emperor Xuan restored posthumous titles to his grandparents and parents (although, perhaps out of
3400-596: The Golden Man idol used by Xiongnu as an artifact for holy rituals. For this achievement, his march was increased by 2,200 households. During the summer of the same year, Xiongnu attacked the Dai Commandery and Yanmen. Huo Qubing set off from Longxi (modern-day Gansu ) with over 10,000 cavalry, supported by Gongsun Ao, who set off from the Beidi Commandery (北地郡). Despite Gongsun Ao failing to keep up, Huo Qubing travelled over 2,000 li without backup , all
3500-502: The Han government in autumn of 121 BC to negotiate a surrender. Failing to persuade his fellow prince to do the same, he killed the Prince of Xiutu and ordered Xiutu's forces to also surrender. When the two tribes went to meet the Han forces, Xiutu's forces rioted. Seeing the situation changed, Huo Qubing alone headed to the Xiongnu camp. There, the general ordered the Prince of Hunxie to calm his men and stand down before putting down 8,000 Xiongnu men who refused to disarm, effectively quelling
3600-517: The Huo clan had murdered Empress Xu, Lady Xian finally revealed to her son and grandnephews that she had, indeed, murdered Empress Xu. In fear of what the emperor might do if he had actual proof, Lady Xian, her son, her grandnephews, and her sons-in-law formed a conspiracy to depose the emperor. The conspiracy was discovered, and Emperor Xuan executed the entire Huo clan—an act that later drew heavy criticism from historians for its his ungratefulness to Huo Guang. (e.g., Sima Guang in his Zizhi Tongjian.) (For
3700-457: The Huo clan. In April 68 BC, Huo Guang became ill and died. Emperor Xuan and Empress Dowager Shangguan made the nearly-unprecedented act of personally attending Huo's wake and built an impressive mausoleum for Huo. After Huo's death, his sons, sons-in-law, and grandnephews remained in important posts and were made marquesses. His wife, after a period of mourning, formed a passionate relationship with Huo Guang's slave master, Feng Zidu, himself
3800-400: The Huo family who had exerted considerable power since the death of Emperor Wu, after Huo Guang's death. However, his execution of the entire Huo clan later drew heavy criticism from historians (e.g. Sima Guang in his Zizhi Tongjian ) for being "ungrateful" to the late Huo Guang. Liu Bingyi was born in 91 BC to Liu Jin, the son of then-Crown Prince Liu Ju , and his wife Consort Wang. As
3900-401: The Xiongnu princes with hopes of having them submit to him. His efforts paid off. By 56 BC, Xiongnu had been fractured into three separate regimes, ruled by Chanyus Runzhen ( 閏振 ), Huhanye ( 呼韓邪 ), and Zhizhi . All three sought peace with Han, and Han was able to reduce its military defense forces by a fifth, decreasing the burdens on the people correspondingly. In 54 BC, Chanyu Runzhen
4000-511: The allegations. The conspirators then planned a coup d'etat , but were discovered. Most of the conspirators, including Shangguan, were executed, and Liu Dan and the Princess Eyi were forced to commit suicide . After Emperor Zhao came of age, Huo Guang still had influence over the emperor and the court, helping Emperor Zhao run the empire, so much so that most scholars maintain that Emperor Zhao never held real power. When Emperor Zhao himself could rule, Huo as chief minister and Commander-in-Chief of
4100-507: The armies of King Xiutu (休屠), in modern-day Gansu , he "captured a golden (or gilded) man used by the King of Xiutu to worship Heaven". This golden statue was unlikely Buddhist, as the Xiongnu were unrelated to this religion. The statues were later moved to the Yunyang 雲陽 Temple, near or in the royal summer Ganquan Palace 甘泉 (modern Xianyang , Shaanxi ), which had also the capital of
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4200-421: The child, and selected two kind female prisoners, Hu Zu ( 胡組 ) and Guo Zhengqing ( 郭徵卿 ) to serve as his wet nurses and caretakers. Bing Ji visited them each day to see how the child was doing. Near the end of Emperor Wu's reign, there was an incident whereby magicians claimed that an aura of an emperor was appearing from Chang'an's prisons. Emperor Wu fearing that whoever the aura came from would later steal
4300-449: The child, raising him with help of her siblings. When Huo Qubing was around two years old, his younger aunt Wei Zifu , who was serving as an in-house singer/dancer for Princess Pingyang, caught the attention of the young Emperor Wu, who took her and her half-brother Wei Qing back to his palace in the capital, Chang'an . More than a year later, the newly favoured concubine Wei Zifu became pregnant with Emperor Wu's first child, earning her
4400-558: The city government of Chang'an. The city government refused to accept responsibility, and so Bing had to let them remain in prison. After Hu's sentence was over, Bing hired her out of his own pocket to continue to serve as a wet nurse for several months, before letting her leave. Later, the budget for taking care of Bingyi was cut off from the imperial clan affairs budget, and Bing took money out of his own salary to care for Bingyi. When he grew somewhat older, Bing heard that Consort Shi's mother Zhenjun ( 貞君 ) and brother Shi Gong ( 史恭 ) survived
4500-472: The crown prince. Allegedly, Empress Huo did make multiple attempts to do so, but failed each time. Around this time, the emperor also heard rumours that the Huos had murdered Empress Xu, which led him to further strip the Huos of actual power. In 66 BC, Lady Xian revealed to her son and grandnephews that she had, indeed, murdered Empress Xu. In fear of what the emperor might do if he had actual proof, Lady Xian, her son, her grandnephews, and her sons-in-law formed
4600-526: The eastern Dai Commandery theatre were quite straightforward, as Huo Qubing's forces were far superior to their enemies. Huo Qubing advanced over 2,000 li and directly engaged the Left Worthy Prince in a swift and decisive battle. He quickly encircled and overran the Xiongnu, killing over 70,000 men, and capturing three lords and 83 nobles, while suffering a 20% casualty rate that was quickly resupplied from local captives. He then went on to conduct
4700-516: The emperor's own great-grandson. The eunuch filed charges against Bing for refusing to abide by the edict—a capital offense—but by that time Emperor Wu had realized his error, and declared a general pardon. The prisoners in all other prisons were dead, but the prisoners at Bing's prison survived. However, this incident made Bing feel that it was inappropriate for the young Bingyi to remain at the prison, and so he ordered one of his lieutenants to transfer Bingyi and Hu (Guo might have died by this point) to
4800-505: The end of his life, chose his youngest son Liu Fuling (later Emperor Zhao ) as heir, he commissioned Huo, ethnically- Xiongnu official Jin Midi , and imperial guard commander Shangguan Jie (上官桀) as coregents , but with Huo effectively in command of the government, with the titles of dasima (大司馬) and dajiangjun (大將軍). When Emperor Wu died in March 87 BC, Emperor Zhao, then eight years old,
4900-443: The extent of his contribution to the emperor's survival in his young age) also became a key official. Huo's son, grandnephews, and sons-in-law remained in key posts, however. In 67 BC, Emperor Xuan made Prince Shi—the late Empress Xu's son—crown prince and made Empress Xu's father Xu Guanghan the Marquess of Ping'en—an action that Huo Guang had opposed. Huo's wife Lady Xian was shocked and displeased because if her daughter were to have
5000-521: The famed Ferghana horse (ancestors of the modern Akhal-Teke ), further strengthening the Han army. Emperor Wu then reinforced this strategic asset by establishing five commanderies and constructing a length of fortified wall along the border of the Hexi Corridor. He colonised the area with 700,000 Chinese soldier-settlers. After the series of defeats by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, Yizhixie Chanyu took Zhao Xin's advice and retreated with his tribes to
5100-414: The foolishness of seeking immortality and pursuing it would-be a costly venture (unlike, his great-grandfather Emperor Wu and many emperors before him). In 64 BC, Emperor Xuan considered creating a new empress. At that time, his favorite consorts were Consorts Hua, Zhang, and Wei. He was seriously considering making Consort Zhang, the mother of his son Liu Qin (later the Prince of Huaiyang), empress but he
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#17327755737015200-707: The grandson of the Crown Prince, Bingyi likely was born in Prince Ju's palace. That same year, however, disaster would strike. With conspirators accusing him of using witchcraft against his father Emperor Wu , Prince Ju was forced into a rebellion, which Prince Ju was defeated. Prince Ju committed suicide, and Bingyi's two uncles died with him, although it was not clear whether they also committed suicide or were killed by soldiers. Bingyi's great-grandmother Empress Wei also committed suicide, and his grandmother (Prince Ju's concubine ) Consort Shi and his parents died in
5300-463: The height of his career, many low-ranking commanders previously served under Wei Qing voluntarily transferred to Huo Qubing's service in the hope of achieving military glory with him. Emperor Wu offered to help Huo Qubing build up a household for marriage. Huo Qubing, however, answered that "the Xiongnu are not yet eliminated, why should I start a family?" (匈奴未滅，何以家為？), a statement that became an inspirational Chinese patriotic motto . Though Huo Qubing
5400-498: The imperial household. In 73 BC, Huo offered to return all authority to Emperor Xuan , but the emperor declined and reaffirmed that all important matters were to be presented to Huo before Huo would present them to the emperor. The emperor also made Huo's son Huo Yu (霍禹) and his grandnephews Huo Yun (霍雲) and Huo Shan (霍山) (Huo Qubing's grandsons) key officials in his administration. Huo Guang's sons-in-law Fan Mingyou (范明友) and Deng Guanghan (鄧廣漢) were made high military commanders. During
5500-483: The incident as well in the capital Chang'an . It is not completely clear whether they took their own lives or were executed, but the latter seems likely. For reasons not completely clear, baby Bingyi was spared, but was imprisoned in a prison overseen by the Ministry of Vassal Affairs. He was put into the custody of the warden Bing Ji ( 丙吉 ). Bing knew that Prince Ju was actually innocent of witchcraft and took pity on
5600-501: The jealousy and hatred of Emperor Wu's then empress consort , Empress Chen . Empress Chen's mother, Grand Princess Guantao ( 館陶長公主 ), then attempted to retaliate against Wei Zifu by kidnapping and attempting to murder Wei Qing, who was then serving as a horseman at the Jianzhang Camp (建章營, Emperor Wu's royal guards ). After Wei Qing was rescued by fellow palace guards led by his close friend Gongsun Ao ( 公孫敖 ), Emperor Wu took
5700-451: The justice system. In 68 BC, Huo Guang died. Emperor Xuan and Grand Empress Dowager Shangguan made the nearly-unprecedented act of personally attending Huo's wake and built an impressive mausoleum for Huo. After Huo's death, Zhang Anshi and Wei Xiang ( 魏相 ) became Emperor Xuan's most powerful advisors, but Emperor Xuan assumed far more personal powers than he had during Huo's lifetime. Later, Bing Ji (who had not yet revealed by this point
5800-517: The late Empress Xu. Emperor Xuan's early reign was generally known for his willingness to innovate, to commission officials who were lenient on the people, and to listen to advice. For example, in 67 BC, based on a submission from a Justice Ministry official Lu Wenshu ( 路溫舒 ), who was concerned about the harshness of the criminal justice system, Emperor Xuan added four appellate judges who were in charge of hearing final appeals. While this fell well short of what Lu suggested, it did help to somewhat reform
5900-436: The latter forgave the incident. Huo Qubing, on the other hand, refused to tolerate such disrespect towards his uncle and personally shot Li Gan during a hunting trip. Emperor Wu covered for Qubing, stating that Li Gan was "killed by a deer". When it came to military glory, Huo Qubing was said to be more generous. One story about him told of when Emperor Wu awarded Huo a jar of precious wine for his achievement, he poured it into
6000-403: The loss of this detachment, Wei Qing's troops did not earn any promotion, but Huo Qubing distinguished himself by leading a long-distance search-and-destroy mission with 800 light cavalrymen , killing the Chanyu's grandfather and over 2,000 enemy troops, as well as capturing numerous Xiongnu nobles. A very impressed Emperor Wu then made Huo Qubing the Marquess of Guanjun (Champion) ( 冠軍侯 ) with
6100-559: The next few years, Huo and the emperor effectively shared imperial powers. In 71 BC, Huo Guang's wife, Lady Xian (顯), in order to make her daughter Huo Chengjun (霍成君) empress, poisoned Emperor Xuan's wife Xu Pingjun by bribing her doctor. In April 70 BC, Huo Chengjun was created empress. Despite Emperor Xuan's outward respect towards Huo Guang, it was recorded that he feared Huo, and regarded him as "a thorn in (his) back" (芒刺在背, "mang ci zai bei"). This, combined with Huo Guang's unwillingness to rein in his clansmen, would prove disastrous to
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#17327755737016200-461: The north of the Gobi Desert , hoping that the barren land would serve as a natural barrier against Han offensives. Emperor Wu however, was far from giving up, and planned a massive expeditionary campaign in 119 BC. Han forces were deployed in two separate columns, each consisting of 50,000 cavalry and over 100,000 infantry, with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing serving as the supreme commander for each. Emperor Wu, who had been distancing Wei Qing and giving
6300-409: The officials largely wanted Emperor Xuan to marry Huo Guang's daughter Huo Chengjun ( 霍成君 ) and make her empress. Emperor Xuan did not explicitly reject this proposal but issued an order to seek out the sword that he owned as a commoner. Getting the hint, the officials recommended Consort Xu as empress, and she was created as such late in 74 BC. He initially wanted to make his father-in-law Xu Guanghan
6400-458: The opportunity to humiliate Empress Chen and Princess Guantao by promoting Wei Zifu to a consort (夫人, a concubine position lower only to the Empress) and Wei Qing to the triple role of Chief of Jianzhang Camp ( 建章監 ), Chief of Staff ( 侍中 ), and Chief Councillor ( 太中大夫 ), effectively making him one of Emperor Wu's closest lieutenants. The rest of the Wei family were also well rewarded, including
6500-573: The other hand, he was also criticized for his dictatorial governing style, alleged nepotism and failure to rein in the behaviour of his clansmen, traits that some historians claim eventually led to his clan's destruction after his death. Many later conspirators in Chinese history would often claim that they were acting in the empire's best interest, like Huo, even though few actually did. Conversely, when emperors wanted to accuse (and execute) officials of treason, they often euphemistically refer to them as "wanting to act like Huo Guang." Effectively, Huo set
6600-738: The people to carry out " naming taboo " (the avoidance of using the emperor's name in speech or writing in respect of the emperor), because bing and yi were both common characters that were hard to avoid. In 63 BC, having realized the extent of Bing's contributions to him, Emperor Xuan decided to repay him, and others who were involved in his upbringing, for their kindness. Bing and several others, in addition to Zhang He's adopted son, were created, marquesses. The prison guards who had treated him with kindness were also rewarded. His nurses Hu and Guo had already died by this point, but their descendants were tracked down and rewarded. Late in his reign, Emperor Xuan began to moderately become luxurious in living but
6700-470: The portrait of 11 great statesmen of his administration in the great hall of his palace, Huo, alone among the 11, was referred to by title and family name only, which was considered an even greater honour than the honour given to the other ten. Huo was treated somewhat paradoxically by posterity. On one hand, he was greatly admired for his skilful administration of the empire and his selflessness in putting himself in great danger in deposing an unfit emperor. On
6800-432: The prince was not punished, presumably under Huo's decision, even though the other conspirators were executed. Among the regents and great ministers of Emperor Zhao, Huo Guang is the most prestigious and powerful, leading all of them. Within 6 years from 87 BC to 81 BC, when Emperor Zhao could not decide on his own, Huo took control of the court, and the country was still at peace. Due to holding too much power even though he
6900-434: The respect to Emperor Zhao's memory, Crown Prince Ju received the rather unflattering posthumous name "Li" (戾, unrepenting )) and reburied them with honor. In 67 BC, he also finally found his maternal grandmother and her family, and he rewarded his grandmother and uncles with riches, and made his uncles marquesses. Huo Guang's wife Xian ( 顯 ) was granted her wish of wanting her daughter become an empress. In 71 BC, Empress Xu
7000-675: The riot. The Hunxie tribe was then resettled into the Central Plain . The surrender of the Xiutu and Hunxie tribes stripped Xiongnu of any control over the Western Regions, depriving them of a large grazing area. As a result, the Han dynasty successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road , allowing direct trade access to Central Asia. This also provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, including
7100-561: The silk road). The Mausoleum of Huo Qubing (located in Maoling at 34°20′28″N 108°34′53″E / 34.341214°N 108.581381°E / 34.341214; 108.581381 , near the Mausoleum of Han Wudi ) has 15 more stone sculptures. These are less naturalistic than the "Horse trampling a Xiongnu", and tend to follow the natural shape of the stone, with details of the figures only emerging in high-relief. Huo Qubing
7200-583: The stone sculptures at Huo Qubing's Mausoleum. In particular, his mausoleum was adorned with a monumental stone statue depicting a horse trampling a Xiongnu warrior . In literary sources, there is only a single 3rd-4th century CE record of a possible earlier example: two alleged monumental stone statues of qilin (Chinese unicorns) that had been set up on top of the tomb of the First Emperor Qin Shihuang . Huo Qubing must have been influenced by stone statues he saw during his campaigns in
7300-462: The subjugation for over a few decade. A separate division led by Lu Bode ( 路博德 ), set off on a strategically flanking route from Right Beiping (右北平, modern-day Ningcheng County , Inner Mongolia), joined forces with Huo Qubing after arriving in time with 2,800 enemy kills, and the combined forces then returned in triumph. This victory earned Huo Qubing 5,800 households of fiefdom as a reward, making him more distinguished than his uncle Wei Qing. At
7400-453: The suffering of the grassroot population, and lowered taxes, liberalized the government and employed capable ministers to the government. He was said by Liu Xiang to have been fond of reading the works of Shen Buhai , using Xing-Ming to control his subordinates and devoting much time to legal cases. Emperor Xuan was open to suggestions, was a good judge of character, and consolidated his power by eliminating corrupt officials, including
7500-480: The throne from the imperial clan ordered that all prisoners, regardless of whether they had been convicted or not and regardless of the severity of the charges, were to be executed. When the eunuch delivering the edict arrived at the Vassal Affairs prison that Bing oversaw, Bing refused to accept the edict, stating that no one who had not been convicted of a capital crime should be executed, and particularly not
7600-485: The throne to Prince He of Changyi . However, after Prince He quickly showed his unsuitability to be an emperor, Huo removed him from the throne. Huo, however, could not find a suitable successor among the princes. At Bing's recommendation (although the exact process behind the scenes was not completely clear), Huo, with Zhang Anshi's concurrence, decided to offer the throne to Bingyi, then 17, an offer ratified by Huo's granddaughter Empress Dowager Shangguan . To avoid having
7700-545: The throne. After some investigation, he settled on making Liu He, Emperor Zhao's nephew and the Prince of Changyi the new emperor. Once the Prince of Changyi was installed as the emperor, however, he began to spend incessantly and otherwise act inappropriately during the period of mourning for Emperor Zhao. In response, Huo decided to depose the new emperor, an unprecedented action in Chinese history. Under an edict issued by Empress Dowager Shangguan (Huo's granddaughter), Prince He
7800-403: The time being, Empress Huo was deposed but not executed, but 12 years later she was exiled; in response, she committed suicide.) During the middle stage of his reign, Emperor Xuan's administration continued to be known for the promotion of honest officials who generally cared for the people. It was also marked by further fostering of relationships with Xiyu kingdoms, making them strong vassals. He
7900-495: The way past Juyan Lake to Qilian Mountains , killing over 30,000 Xiongnu soldiers and capturing a dozen Xiongnu princes. His march was then increased further by an additional 5,400 households for the victory. Huo Qubing's victories dealt heavy blows to the tribes of the Xiongnu princes of Hunxie ( 渾邪王 ) and Xiutu ( 休屠王 ) that occupied the Hexi Corridor. Out of frustration, Yizhixie Chanyu wanted to mercilessly execute those two princes as punishment. The Prince of Hunxie contacted
8000-479: The way). However, in general, Emperor Xuan's reign, even in this period, was marked by his concern for the people and unwillingness to undertake military action unless necessary. For example, in 59 BC, a major Xiongnu civil war broke out—which would leave the Xiongnu princes fighting each other for years. Many generals wanted to use this opportunity to completely and thoroughly annihilating the Xiongnu. But Emperor Xuan didn't want to do so, rather he encouraged peace among
8100-543: The west. The cultural tradition of monumental stone sculpture too seems to have followed a process of West-East diffusion, starting from Egypt and Babylonia to reach Greece, until finally reaching India with the Pillars of Ashoka (268-232 BCE) and China around the 2nd century BCE. The stone carvings of the tombs of Huo Qubing and Zhang Qian may have been influenced by their contact and experiences with Western Asian cultures (Central Asian culture and other culture diffused by
8200-450: The western frontier now weakened, Wusun forces won a major victory over Xiongnu, severely crippling Xiongnu's western region. For years after, without Han engaging major forces, Xiongnu was constantly under attack by Dingling from the north, Wuhuan from the east, and Wusun from the west, and became unable to harass Han borders. In 70 BC, Emperor Xuan made Huo Chengjun empress. Accustomed to luxury living, her palace expendes far exceeding
8300-476: The witchcraft incident, and so sought them out and had Bingyi delivered to the Shi residence. Lady Zhenjun then raised him herself. Several years later, Bingyi's granduncle Emperor Zhao found out that Bingyi was alive, and ordered that the Ministry of Imperial Clan Affairs take over the duty for caring for Bingyi. The chief eunuch at the palace Zhang He ( 張賀 ), who had previously been an advisor to Prince Ju before he
8400-412: The younger Huo Qubing more attention and favour, hoped that Huo would engage the stronger Chanyu's tribe and preferentially assigned him the most elite troopers. The initial plan called for Huo Qubing to attack from Dingxiang (定襄, modern-day Qingshuihe County , Inner Mongolia) and engage the Chanyu, with Wei Qing supporting him in the east from Dai Commandery (代郡, modern-day, Yu County, Hebei ) to engage
8500-465: Was Xu's superior, Xu did not dare to renege on the promise, and Bingyi and Pingjun were married, in a ceremony entirely paid by Zhang (because Bingyi could not afford it). Zhang also paid the bride price . After marriage, Bingyi depended on his wife's family and his grandmother's family for support, and he hired a teacher to teach him the Confucian classics . He was a diligent learner, and he also had
8600-523: Was also characterized by attention to detail and willingness to have correspondences with his generals in which he kindly but firmly had concrete discussions with them on proper military strategy in dealing with minority tribes and foreign nations. An example could be seen in his correspondences with General Zhao Chongguo ( 趙充國 ) in 62 BC to 60 BC when Zhao was on a mission to pacify the Qiang tribes, some of which were rebelling and some of which were considering
8700-615: Was castrated by Emperor Wu in the aftermath of Prince Ju's death, cared well for young Bingyi, and paid for his expenses and studies out of his own pocket. Circa 76 BC, Zhang wanted to marry his granddaughter to Bingyi, but his brother Zhang Anshi ( 張安世 ), then an important official, opposed, fearing that it would bring trouble. Zhang, instead, invited one of his subordinate eunuchs (who had also been castrated by Emperor Wu), Xu Guanghan ( 許廣漢 ), to dine, and persuaded him to marry his daughter Xu Pingjun to him. When Xu's wife heard this, she became extremely angry and refused, but because Zhang
8800-695: Was defeated and killed by Chanyu Zhizhi, who further sought to try to defeat Chanyu Huhanye to reunify Xiongnu. In response, in 53 BC, at the advice of his official, Chanyu Huhanye headed south and requested to become a Han vassal to seek Han protection. In 51 BC, Chanyu Huhanye made an official visit to Chang'an as a Han vassal, and Emperor Xuan, correctly judging that he should seek to have Huhanye submit to him out of gratitude and not of fear, ordered that Huhanye not be required to bow to him and that he be treated as higher than imperial princes. Emperor Xuan also commissioned an expedition force to assist Chanyu Huhanye in defending his territory. In 49 BC, Chanyu Huhanye made
8900-556: Was deposed after just 28 days as emperor and exiled to his old principality of Changyi, but without a princely title. There was no imperial heir who met Huo's standard of a diligent and skilled emperor. At the suggestion of another senior official Bing Ji (丙吉), Huo made a great-grandson of Emperor Wu, Liu Bingyi (later Liu Xun 劉詢) emperor, taking the name Emperor Xuan.. Liu Bingyi's grandfather Liu Ju had been Emperor Wu's crown prince by Empress Wei but subsequently had fallen out of favour and been killed, with his issue being removed from
9000-504: Was his first love and had been murdered by poisoning, and also how he depended on his father-in-law in his youth. In 51 BC, after Chanyu Huhanye's visit, Emperor Xuan, in his most shining moment, remembered key officials who had been instrumental in his success. In an unprecedented action, he had the portraits of 11 of them be painted onto the main gallery of the main imperial palace, the Weiyang Palace . The 11 officials were: Huo
9100-431: Was later a great statesman who was the chief counsel for Emperor Zhao , and was instrumental in the succession of Emperor Xuan to the throne after Emperor Zhao's death. Huo Qubing's son, Huo Shàn ( 霍嬗 ), succeeded him as the Marquess of Jinghuan but died young in 110 BC. So Huo Qubing's title became extinct. His grandson Huo Shān (霍山, later Marquess of Leping) and Huo Yun (霍云, later Marquess of Guanyang) were involved in
9200-418: Was left in the tutelage of Huo, Jin, and Shangguan. Emperor Wu's will created the three of them as marquesses , but all three declined. As Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu, this created conflict and ill will with his older brothers, and in his reign there were multiple conspiracies. In 86 BC, a conspiracy involving Liu Dan (劉旦), Prince of Yan , and an elder son of Emperor Wu, was discovered, but
9300-497: Was not alone, he incurred the jealousy of another main sub-power, the Shangguan family. In c. March 85 BC, Huo was created the Marquess of Bolu (博陆侯). In the same year, Jin, a moderating influence in the co-regency, died. After Jin's death, Shangguan became increasingly jealous of Huo's powers, even though the two had been great friends, and Huo had given his daughter in marriage to Shangguan's son Shangguan An (上官安). In 84 BC, as
9400-499: Was pregnant when Lady Xian came up with a plot. She bribed Empress Xu's female physician Chunyu Yan ( 淳于衍 ), under the guise of giving Empress Xu medicine after birth, to poison her. Chunyu did so, and Empress Xu died shortly after she gave birth. Her doctors were initially arrested to investigate whether they cared for the empress properly. Lady Xian, alarmed, informed Huo Guang what had happened, and Huo, not wanting to turn in his wife, instead signed Chunyu's release. In that same year,
9500-607: Was recorded as a quietly spoken man of few words, he was far from humble. Sima Qian noted in Shiji that Huo Qubing paid little regard to his men, refusing to share his food with his soldiers, and regularly ordering his troops to conduct cuju games despite them being short on rations. When Emperor Wu suggested him to study The Art of War by Sun Tzu and Wuzi by Wu Qi , Huo Qubing claimed that he naturally understood war strategies and had no need to study. When his subordinate Li Gan (李敢, son of Li Guang ) assaulted Wei Qing,
9600-464: Was referred only by titles and not by name—which was considered an even greater honor than given to the other 10. By this time, the Western Han dynasty would reach its peak in terms of territorial size, even greater than during the reign of Emperor Wu. Emperor Xuan died in 49 BC. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Shi, as Emperor Yuan. His tomb Duling ( 杜陵 ) is located some 15 km southeast of
9700-550: Was still a bit traumatized over the fact Empress Huo nearly succeeded in poisoning Crown Prince Shi, and fearing that it would happen again if Consort Zhang where to be made emperess. He resolve this by choosing to create an empress who did not have a sons of her own, was kind and gentle but hard and strict when time comes and have moral values. He created Consort Wang , not one of his favorites consort, empress, and had her raise Crown Prince Shi as her own son. That same year, he also changed his name to Xun ( 詢 ), to make it easier for
9800-530: Was still comparatively thrifty in his expenditures. He also began to relax from his early diligence in governing the state. He also became less diligent in the inspection of false reports by officials. For example, there were large numbers of reported sightings of fenghuang (Chinese phoenixes ) – mythological birds who were considered symbols of divine favor—during this period, and while in ancient China there might have been "legitimate" sightings of phoenixes (that is, rare birds that were then-considered phoenixes),
9900-475: Was succeeded by his son Emperor Yuan after his death in 48 BC. Emperor Xuan's life story was a riches-to- rags-to-riches story. He was born a prince as a great-grandson of Emperor Wu . His grandfather Liu Ju , was a son of Emperor Wu and Empress Wei and the crown prince of the Han Empire, who in 91 BC was framed for witchcraft practice against Emperor Wu and committed suicide after being forced into
10000-564: Was the tenth emperor of the Han dynasty , reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple name (along with Emperor Gaozu , Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu ). During his reign, the Han dynasty prospered economically and militarily became a regional superpower , and was considered by many to be the peak period of the entire Han history. His time of rule, along with his predecessor Emperor Zhao 's are known by historians as Zhaoxuan Restoration (昭宣中興). He
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