Notes
1. The reign of an emperor continues, for
chronological purposes, to the end of the calendar year in which he dies. The
Tzu-chih T'ung-chien (1084) includes the events in an emperor's reign previous
to the beginning of his first year, including his accession, in the previous
emperor's reign.
2. This date was two days after the burial
of Emperor Wen. SC 10: 18b (Mh
II, 491) says that he took the throne "in the Temple of Kao-[tsu] and on [the
day] ting-wei he inherited the title and was called `Emperor.' "
The Kung-yang Commentary (iii cent. B.C.) 25: 7b (Dk. Ting, I),
says, "Arrange the coffin
between the two [central] pillars, and then only take the throne." Shen
Ch'in-han (1775-1831) remarks, "The regulation, [used by] later generations, of
taking the throne before the encoffined corpse, came thus from the explanation
in the Kung-yang [Commentary]. This [practise] is honoring
[the customs] of later antiquity."
3. HS 27 Cb: 22b
adds, "Its trunk was straight [in the constellations] Wei(3) and Chi, and its end
pointed to [the constellations] Hsü and Wei1. It was more than ten feet long
and reached the Heavenly Han [River (the Milky Way)]. On the sixteenth day it
disappeared." This comet is no. 17 in J. Williams, Chinese Observations of
Comets.The Chinese phraseology in recording a
comet is very expressive, e.g., 有星孛于西方, lit. "There was a star which bushed out [or
`cometed'] in the western quarter [of the sky]." When we remember that a comet
often appears at first as a mere star wandering among the other stars and later
puts forth a tail, the Chinese expression appears apt.Before the time of Emperor Ching only
two comets are mentioned in Han times: one in
Aug./Sept. 204 B.C. (27 Cb: 22a) and the other in
the summer of 172 B.C. (4: 13b). Even Halley's comet, which passed perihelion
on May 20, 163 B.C., was not recorded. Did Emperor Ching install an astrologer
who was really interested in watching the heavens? Szu-ma T'an did not begin
his official career until after 140 B.C., when he became Grand Astrologer (SC 130: 3a).In 157 B.C. there was ended the last of
the vassal kingdoms not ruled by a scion of the Liu family. Wu Jui had been
moved from the kingdom of Heng-shan to that of Ch'ang-sha in 202 B.C. (1 B:
4a); in 157 B.C. the last king of his line died without heirs, and the kingdom
was abolished, later to be given to a son of Emperor Wu. All the other vassal
kingdoms not in the hands of a member of the imperial clan had been ended by
196 B.C.
4. Ying Shao (ca. 140-206) says, "The one
who first takes the empire is the Founder (tsu 祖).
That Emperor Kao was entitled
Kao-tsu [lit. "the Eminent Founder"] is an instance [of this use]. The one who
first governs the empire well becomes the Exemplar (tsung 宗).
That Emperor Wen
was entitled the Grand Exemplar (t'ai 太-tsung)
is an instance [of this use]."
Yen Shih-ku, with his usual cocksureness, writes, "Ying [Shao's] explanation is
wrong. Tsu [means] first; he first received the mandate
[of Heaven]. Tsung
[means] honorable; being virtuous he deserves to be honored." Liu Pin
(1022-1088) replies, "Yen [Shih-ku's] saying is mistaken. The one who first
received the Mandate [of Heaven] is entitled the Great Founder (t'ai-tsu).
Those who perform great deeds are also entitled tsu. [Emperor] Tsu-chia [said
to have reigned 1258-1226 B.C.] of the Shang [dynasty] was an instance [of this
use]." Cf. Mh II, 491, n. 1.Wang Ch'i-Yüan (xix cent.) writes,
"That `the Founder has merit and the Exemplar has virtue' is said in the
K'ung-tzu Chia-Yü [forged by Wang Su, fl. 386-534, based on an ancient book and
later interpolated], ch. "Miao-chih," to be a saying of Confucius. Although
this is not adequate proof, in the HHS, An. 1: [1a], the
commentator [Li Hsien, 651-684] quotes these words and attributes them to the
Rites, which is probably a lost treatise on the rites."
5. Wang Ch'i-Yüan calls attention to a
passage in the Po-hu-t'ung Te-lun (said in HHS, Mem. 40
B: 9a to have been composed by Pan Ku; said by W. Hung to have been composed
between 213-245), A: 22a, which reads, "The singers are placed above [in the
hall]; the dancers are placed below [the hall]. Why? Because the singers
symbolize virtue and the dancers symbolize great deeds. The superior man places
virtue above and great deeds below."
6. Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) explains,
"On the first day of the first month they make wine; in the eighth month it is
completed. It is named chou 酎 [the word in the text].
It is called chou because
it is pure. At the time of Emperor Wu, because in the eighth month, when [the
Emperor first] tastes this chou, there was an assembly of the nobles in the
[imperial ancestral] temple, at which they paid money to assist in [defraying
the expenses of] the sacrifice, it was hence called the eighth month wine money
酎金." Yen Shih-ku adds, "Chou is a thrice-repeated agitated and purified wine. Its
taste is rich, hence it is used as an offering in the ancestral temples." Cf.
6: App. III for a description of the ceremonies connected with this
wine.
7. HS 22: 13b says,
"The Dance of Military Virtue was made in the fourth year of Kao-tsu (203 B.C.)
in order to symbolize that the empire is happy because military power has
already been used to do away with confusion. The Dance of the Peaceful
Beginning was originally Shun's Shao Dance. In his sixth year (201 B.C.),
Kao-tsu changed its name to the Peaceful Beginning to show that he [did] not
copy [what Shun had done]. The Dance of the Five Elements was originally a
dance of the Chou [dynasty]. In his twenty-sixth year (221 B.C.), the First
Emperor of the Ch'in [dynasty] changed its name to the Five Elements."Meng K'ang (ca. 180-260) adds, "In the
Military Virtue, the dancers hold shields and battle-axes. In the Peaceful
Beginning, the dancers hold feathers and flutes. In the Five Elements, the
dancers' ceremonial hats and clothes imitate the colors of the five elements.
Cf. the `Treatise on Music' [HS, ch. 22]."Ying Shao, in a note to
SCHC 10: 44, remarks, "According to my opinion of what
the present passage says about the dancing in the Dances of Military Virtue, of
the Peaceful Beginning, and of the Five Elements, their music in general was
like the music of King Wu [of the Chou dynasty, 1122-1117 B.C.]. The meaning
was that Kao-tsu used military means to conquer the world, hence he showed that
he was not copying [what King Wu had done, and could make a new beginning, just
as King Wu did]. When they begin to perform music, they first perform the
Peaceful Beginning. Using feathers, flutes, and ornamented and embroidered
clothes, they make the first [performance]; then they immediately perform the
Five Elements. The Five Elements is a military dance; they hold shields and
battleaxes and in their clothes they have the colors of the five
elements."In a comment to the Chou-li 23: 7b, sub
the Ta-hsü, Cheng Chung (ca. 5 B.C.-A.D. 83) says, "The
Han Code Concerning the
Music Master [now lost] says, `The children of humble people are not permitted
to dance at the offering of the eighth month wine in the [imperial] ancestral
temples. Officials who have been appointed to [positions ranked at] two
thousand piculs down to six hundred piculs, together with those [holding noble
ranks from] Kuan-nei Marquis down to Fifth Rank Grandee first pick their heirs
who are seven feet [63 in. Eng. meas.] tall or more, in their twelfth year to
their thirtieth year, whose features and appearance are harmonious, and whose
body and members are healthy, and use them for the dancers.' "
8. Cf. 4: 14a.
9. Cf. 4: 10b.
10. Cf. 4: 14b.
11. Cf. 4: 7a, b.
12. Cf. p. 238, n. 1; 4: 14b.
13. The clause translated, "not enriching
himself with such advantages," now stands after the clause, "did not punish
those who had committed no crimes." It has been moved in accordance with its
meaning, following the Fukien ed. (1549) and the SC, at
the suggestion of Ch'ien Ta-chao and Wang Hsien-ch'ien.
14. Cf. p. 233 and n. 3. The text reads 帑;
Yen Shih-ku says that this character "should be read as 孥." Ch'ien Ta-chao
remarks, "The Mao [text of] the Book of Odes, the Li-ki,
and the HS all write" the first character; "the
Book of History and the Mencius write" the second
character. "It is a corrupt form, and arose from Lü Shen's [fl. 265330]
Tzu-lin. Cf. Chang Ts'an,
Wu-ching Wen-tzu [776]."
15. The SC reads 肉
instead of 宮, repeating what is said above (5: 1b); cf. Mh II, 492, n. 5. This reading in the SC may be a corruption arising from conflation with this
passage of the HS, as Wang Hsien-ch'ien thinks, or it
may be an error in transcribing an original 腐. Wang Hsien-ch'ien remarks that
the last part of this sentence shows that castration, not mutilation, is the
original meaning. Ch. 23 does not say that Emperor Wen specifically abolished
castration independently of the other mutilating punishments. But 5: 7a says
that the Emperor allowed those who had been sentenced to capital punishment to
be castrated instead, so that probably in the time of Emperor Wen castration
had really been abolished.
16. Cf. 4: 14a.
17. HS 22: 14a says,
"[Emperor] Hsiao-ching selected from the Dance of Military Virtue to make [the
Dance of] Glorious Virtue, in honoring the Temple of the Great
Exemplar."
18. The SC at this
point adds, "will be written upon bamboo and silk" (the writing materials of
the time). Cf. Mh II, 493.
19. Cf. Glossary, sub Salaries.
20. Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests that, since
the 世 in the text is inappropriate and the SC and the
Tzu-chih T'ung-chien do not have it, it is a mistake for 曰, which is in the
SC. We have adopted this emendation in the
translation.
21. The titles "Great Founder" and "Great
Exemplar" became the "temple names" of Emperors Kao-tsu and Hsiao-wen
respectively, and are used with their posthumous names in the headings of the
chapters devoted to them in the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien and other
histories.
22. Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that the
SC has 嵗 for the HS's 所, and that
Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) explicitly uses the former word in his comment; Yen
Shih-ku uses the latter character. We have adopted this emendation.Chang Yen says, "The kings together
with the marquises, yearly, at the correct seasons, sent delegates to visit the
capital and attend the sacrifices to assist at the sacrifices." Ju Shun (fl.
dur. 189-265) says, "It is exactly [the case] as the Temple of [Emperor]
Kuang-wu [25-58] is at the Chang Tomb and the Grand Administrator of the
Nan-yang [Commandery], being entitled a delegate, went to sacrifice [there].
The marquises and kings are not sent to make the sacrifices, [because] the
nobles of the imperial house are not permitted to take as their ancestor the
Son of Heaven; [they worshipped their imperial ancestors as subjects, not as
descendants]. All [nobles] who attend the sacrifices at the ancestral temples
act as attendants [not as sacrificers] at the sacrifices." Yen Shih-ku adds,
"Chang [Yen's] explanation is correct. Since it says, `The temple where the son
of Heaven makes offerings to the [Great] Founder and the [Great] Exemplar,' it
does not speak of the temples in the commanderies and kingdoms."
23. Wang Nien-sun (1744-1832) says that the
T'ung-tien (compiled by Tu Yu, 735812) in its first chapter on "Foods and
Goods," quotes this passage, and that before the words 蹺陿 there is the word 地,
which is lacking in the present text, and should be supplied. It is parallel
with the same word in the next sentence.Yen Shih-ku says, "毄 is an ancient form
of 繫; it means to fatten and rear them; 畜 means to put out to
grass."
24. Ju Shun explains, "Chuang Chou [iv
cent. B.C.] says, `What deer eat is called grass (chien 薦).' It is also said
that when the grass is thick it is called chien; when it is long it is called
mang 莽 [translated, `tall grass']." But Wang Nien-sun replies, "If you interpret
chien as grass, then the phrase, `chien,
grass, and mang' is repetitious. I say
that chien means chü 聚 [together,
dense]. It means that the region is fertile and
broad and that in it the grass and tall grass is dense. Chien is used for
ch'ien 荐. The Tso-chuan
[iv. cent. B.C., Dk.] Hsiang, IV [Legge 42214], says,
`The Jung and Ti live in groups (ch'ien),' while the
[Kuo]-Yü [iv or iii cent.
B.C., in the chapters on] Chin, says, `The Jung and Ti dwell in groups
(ch'ien).' Wei [Chao (197-273/4)] and Tu [Yü (222-284)] both comment, saying,
`ch'ien is chü.' HS
ch. 84: [20a, says], `He planted it
heavily (chien) with thorns,' and Yen Shih-ku comments, `Chien should be read
as ch'ien. ch'ien is heavily,
together (chü).' " Chou Shou-ch'ang (1814-1884)
adds, "HS ch. 69: [11b, says], `Now the caitiffs [Huns]
have lost their beautiful land and chien grass.' The T'ang History, `Memoir on
the Ch'i-pi-ho-li,' [says], `They followed the dense (chien) grass and fine
water for their livelihood." This [passage] speaks of the density of the grass
and the advantageousness of streams and springs. The ancients changed the
word-order in using [passages with] parallel [phrases]."
25. The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 15: 16 dates
this amnesty on the day yi-mao, May 18.
26. The SC says that
the Huns had invaded the region of Tai, hence this treaty.This man's personal name has been the
subject of discussion. HS 19 B: 10 says, "The Grandee
Secretary T'ao Ch'ing [sic] was made Lieutenant Chancellor." ibid. 9b says, "T'ao Ch'ing became Grandee Secretary." Shen
Ch'in-han writes that the Wen-Yüan Ying-hua (publ. ca. 978), ch. 873 tells that
Hsiao Lun's (ca. 508-551) stele to T'ao the Hermit (T'ao Hung-ching, 452-536)
says, "The son of T'ao She, [T'ao] Ching-ti [occupied] positions up to that of
Lieutenant Chancellor." A Lieutenant Chancellor of Emperor Wu was named Yen (or
Chuang) Ch'ing-ti; Yen Shih-ku, Shen Ch'in-han, Ch'ien Ta-hsin, and Ch'i
Shao-nan think that the last word of his name may have been added by confusion
to that of T'ao Ch'ing.But Yang Shu-ta (1885- ), in his
Han-shu Pu-chu Pu-cheng 2: 30, remarks, "Duke Wen of Chin [636-628 B.C.] was
named Ch'ung-erh; the Tso-chuan, [Dk.] Ting, IV, in recording the oath at
Chien-t'u, however says, `Chung of Chin.' Shou Chen-to of Ts'ao is called `Shou
Chen' in the [Kuo]-Yü, [ch. on] Chin; the SC calls him
`Shou To.' Duke Yin of Lu [722-712 B.C.] was named Hsi-ku; SC ch. 33 calls him only `Hsi.' Anciently there was the
practise of calling [given] names [composed] of two words by one word for
short. HS ch. 19 [in mentioning T'ao Ch'ing-ti] has not
the word ti, for it copies the text of SC 22: [11b],
this text [i.e. HS 5: 3a] therefore completes [the
name]. The Superintendent of the Imperial House, Liu Hsi, in SC ch. 120, is called Liu Hsi-chi in the HS---this is a clear proof that the SC [uses] a shorter name and Pan [Ku] added to it and that
the explanations of Ch'i [Shao-nan], Shen [Ch'in-han], and Ch'ien [Ta-hsin] are
all incorrect. Cf. my Ku-shu Yi-yi Chü-lieh Pu."
27. The word hsia 下 is sometimes added to a
place-name which is composed of only one word in order to make a binomial. For
example, in SCHC 47: 91 and HS
81: 14b, K'ung Fu is said to have died at Ch'en(2)-hsia; in the K'ung-ts'ung B:
34a, sect. 19, near the end, he is said to have died at Ch'en2.
SCHC 11: 3 (Mh II, 497) says
under this date, "The Huns entered Tai and [the Emperor] made a treaty of peace
and friendship with them," hence it was natural that T'ao Ch'ing-ti should have
been sent to Tai.
28. Emperor Wen had exempted agriculturists
from taxes; cf. 4: 14b. Now that tax was re-established at half its former
rate. The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 15: 16b adds that this tax was at the rate of
1/30.
29. Szu-ma Cheng (fl. 713-742) in a note to
SCHC 57: 23 says, "The hsien-kuan 縣官 is the Son of Heaven.
The reason that the state is called the hsien-kuan
is that in [the Chou-li,
sub] the Ministers of Summer, [it says,] `The inner prefecture (hsien) of the
imperial central domain is the capital of the state.' The king controls (kuan)
the world. Hence he is called the hsien-kuan [i.e. controller of the capital
prefecture]." The Chou-li does not seem to contain this statement; the two
words referring to that book may be an interpolation.
30. Li Ch'i explains, "Those who had noble
ranks were to have [their ranks] taken from them and to be made common
soldiers; those who had official positions were to be dismissed from their
positions." But Shen Ch'in-han replies that the case of those who have already
left their positions is different from those who are in official positions,
since in the former case they could not compel their subordinates to pay
bribes; hence in such cases they were to be punished by merely having their
noble titles taken away from them and were excused from further trial. He adds
that the Han practise was, at the first crime, to dismiss a person from
official position, and, when he was tried a second time, to take away his noble
rank.
31. This is comet no. 18 in John Williams,
Chinese Observations of Comets, London, 1871. His date is incorrect; this month
was Jan. 18-Feb. 15, 155 B.C. The Han-chi 9: 1b erroneously dates this comet in
the eleventh month; the Tzu-chih T'ung-chien reads as the present text
does.
32. Yen Shih-ku explains "[According to]
the old law, in their twenty-third [year they were enregistered (cf. p. 80, n.
2)]; now this [edict sets the age at] twenty, a change to a different
[dynasty's] code." But Shen Ch'in-han replies, "Originally those who were in
their fifteenth year and over had to pay the poll-tax (suan) in cash [cf. p.
93, n. 1]; now [the Emperor] liberalized it, making it the twentieth
year."
33. HS 14: 14a, 15a
dates these appointments on the day chia-yin, May 12.
34. According to 16: 43b, the Marquis of
Hsiang-p'ing was Chi T'ung. Here he is called [Chi] Chia. We have understood
this as merely another case of a double given name for one person; cf. n.
3.2.
35. Ju Shun says, "According to the Code,
when there is a case of `treason and inhumanity,' the father, mother, wife,
children, and brothers and sisters should all be publicly executed." Evidently
Emperor Wen's abrogation of extending punishment to the relatives of a criminal
(4: 5b) did not extend to treason and inhumanity.
36. This dating is incorrect. For a
discussion of the eclipses in this chapter, cf. App. II.
37. For an account of this rebellion, cf.
Introduction.
38. In 169 B.C. these barriers had been
abolished. Cf. 4: 14a. The SC dates the present order in
the intercalary ninth month (Oct./Nov., 153) and says, "He re-established the
fords and [customs] barriers." Cf. Mh II, 500. Ying Shao
says that this reestablishment was "because the Seven Kingdoms had just
rebelled and to be prepared for any untoward circumstance."
39. She had no children, had lost the favor
of Emperor Ching, and her protectress, the Grand Empress Dowager née Po, had
died.
40. SC ch. 11 (Mh II, 501) dates this dismissal in the winter of 151/150
B.C. HS 14: 17a dates his appointment as king "in the
eleventh month, on [the day] chi-yu," which day was only possible in the tenth
and twelfth months of that year. SC 17: 21b dates the
dismissal and appointment both "in the eleventh month, on [the day] yi-ch'ou,"
which was Dec. 28, 151. The Tzu-chih T'ung-chien 16: 12b follows
HS 14: 17a. The Han-chi 9: 12b follows HS 5: 5a.
41. The Grand Commandant, Chou Ya-fu, was
made Lieutenant Chancellor on Apr. 7, according to Mh
II, 501, and, according to HS 19 B: 11a, after Aug.
5.
42. For the intrigues leading to this
change of heirs, cf. Glossary sub Wang, Empress née;
Mh II, 501, n. 5.
43. The name for this year is usually
written today as if there had been a year-period by the name of Chung-Yüan 中元.
There is also tacitly assumed to have been a year-period Hou-Yüan 後元. Both the
SC and the HS however only write
the first of these two pairs of characters. In the SC,
the Chinese for the various years is 中二年, etc. In the HS,
only the first year of the part of the reign is preceded by 中; in that year the
word Yüan 元 is plainly intended to indicate the "first"
year of that part of the
reign. In the "Tables," the Chinese dates for the latter two parts of this
reign are always written 中二年, 后五年, etc. Cf. 14: 17b, 19a; 15 A: 8a; 16: 7b, 8a, 9a,
14a, b; 17: 1b, 4a, 6a; 18: 7b. There is an exception: 16: 13b has 景後元元年, but Chu
Yi-hsin (1846-1894) says that the Wang ed. (1546) is correct in reading only
one Yüan, for the second Yüan
is dittography. Wang Hsien-ch'ien, in a note to
5: 8b, also uses the single character to indicate this part of the reign, but
Shen Ch'in-han, in a note to 5: 8a, uses two characters, making it the name of
a year-period. Emperor Ching was merely imitating the practise of his father,
Emperor Wen, in beginning anew the numbering of the years in his reign.
Reign-periods were not introduced until 114 or 113 B.C., in the reign of
Emperor Wu. Cf. p. 260, n. 1; ch. 6, App. I.
44. The words for "grandson and son" seem
to be a mistake on the part of Pan Ku in which he follows the text of
SC ch. 11. HS 16: 45a tells that
the Marquis of Kaoching, Chou Ch'eng, was enfeoffed because of his father, Chou
Ho, and that in 159 B.C. his marquisate was abolished, but that in 149 B.C.
(the present year) Chou Ch'eng's grandson, Chou Ying, was enfeoffed as Marquis
of Sheng. SC 18: 45a (Mh III,
130, no. 25) says the same. Then Chou Ying was Chou Ho's great-grandson.HS 16: 15b, 16a
tells that Marquis Tao of Fen-yin, Chou Ch'ang, transmitted his marquisate to
his son and grandson. The latter was punished and the marquisate abolished, but
in "the second year of the middle [part of the reign] of [Emperor] Hsiao-ching,
[Ch'ien Ta-chao remarks that it should be the "first year"], [Chou] Tso-ch'ê
succeeded to enfeoffment because he was a grandson of [Chou] Ch'ang" and became
Marquis of An-yang. SC 18: 12a says the same.
HS 42: 4a also says that Chou Tso-ch'ê was Chou Ch'ang's
grandson.Then these two new marquises were the
great-grandson and grandson of these Grandee Secretaries. SC ch. 11 (Mh II, 502) says, "[The
Emperor] appointed [Chou] P'ing [who was the son of Chou Ying, according to
SC 18: 45a and HS 16: 45a], the
grandson of the former Grandee Secretary Chou Ho, as Marquis of Sheng and
[Chou] Tso-chün [chün 軍 instead of the
ch'ê 車 in HS 16:
15b], the son of the former Grandee Secretary Chou Ch'ang, as Marquis of
An-yang." The HS seems here to have clearly been
abstracting from the corresponding passage in the SC.
45. Ying Shao writes, "When the Emperor
entertains the vassal kings or treats kings and nobles as his guests, they are
all under the charge of the Grand Herald. Hence, when they die, he memorializes
their deeds and grants them posthumous names, together with funeral eulogies."
Ch'ien Ta-hsin adds, "The posthumous name and eulogy are used for the dead;
charters are used by those who are newly enfeoffed and go to their
states."Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285)
says, "Emperor Ching in this year had already established a
Grand Herald, yet HS 19 [A: 13b] says, `In 104 B.C.
Emperor Wu changed [the title of the Chief Grand Messenger] to be the Grand
Herald,' which is, according to this passage, incorrect." The use of the title,
Grand Herald, here may however be an anachronism. Yen Shih-ku says, "The Grand
Herald was originally named the Director of Guests; later [his title] was
changed to be Grand Herald. The Chief Grand Messenger was originally named the
Messenger, which was a subordinate office to the Director of Guests. [His
title] was later changed to be Chief Grand Messenger. Hence, in honorable and
important matters, [the Emperor] sent the Grand Herald, and in less honorable
or important ones, [the Emperor] sent the Grand Messenger. According to the
text of this `Annals,' Emperor Ching had already changed [the title of] the
Director of Guests to be Grand Herald, and changed the Messenger to be the
Grand Messenger. Yet HS 19 [A: 13b] says, `In 144 B.C.
Emperor Ching changed the title [of the Director of Guests] to be Chief Grand
Messenger. In 104 B.C. Emperor Wu changed the title [of the Chief Grand
Messenger] to be Grand Herald . . . and changed the title of the Messenger to
be the Chief Grand Messenger.' According to the text [of ch. 5], ch. 19 is
mistaken."According to HS
53: 2b, when King Hsien of Ho-chien, Liu Tê, died in 130 B.C., the Chief Grand
Messenger memorialized his posthumous name. The passage regarding posthumous
names, etc., is not in SC ch. 11; Pan Ku probably found
the law regarding the memorializing of posthumous names, eulogies, and charters
in the form it assumed after the titles of the participating officials had been
changed, and inserted it in the "Annals" at the time when it was originally
enacted, so that the titles of the officials are merely anachronisms. The title
in this passage, Imperial Household Grandee, is also an anachronism, for
according to HS 19 A: 9a that title was not established
until 104 B.C.Ying Shao misunderstood the meaning of
ts'ê 策 in this passage. Here it is the term for the charter given an official
upon his appointment. Ch'ien Ta-hsin (1720-1804) corrects him, saying, "When
marquises are first enfeoffed and go to their states, the Grand Herald has
charge of memorializing their charter. Ying [Shao] considered that the ts'ê was
a `funeral eulogy,' which is a mistake." Such charters are to be found in
HS 99 A: 6b, 21a, etc. Another is translated in Appendix
I.
46. Wang Hsien-ch'ien's text writes 大; the
Official ed. (1739) writes 太, so does HS 19 A: 8b,
9a.
47. The text at this point has the word 薨,
which is superfluous and interrupts the meaning. It seems to have crept in
through dittography from the preceding three instances of that word. It is not
in Han-chi 9: 3a. Following Wang Nien-sun, we have
omitted it.
48. SC ch. 11 (Mh II, 503) adds at this point, "Thereafter there ceased to
be peace and friendship [between the Chinese and the Huns]."
49. This is one of the classic texts
dealing with these two punishments. Ying Shao says, "Before this time those who
were punished with death were all chê in the marketplace 磔於市. Now it was changed
and called public execution 棄市. From [this time], except for monstrous [crimes]
and rebellion, they did not again chê anyone." Chavannes Mh I, cxi, n. 2), Couvreur, (Dict. Classique) and the
Tz'u-Yüan say that chê means "to
quarter" (the latter writes 分裂肢體). In support of
this interpretation is the use of the word chê in the Book of Rites for the
cutting up of victims offered in some sacrifices (cf. Couvreur, Li-Ki, I, 352,
406). The existence of a punishment which consisted in quartering 分裂 is
established by the use of those words in HS 100 A:
9a.But Yen Shih-ku writes, "Chê means
exposing his corpse 磔謂張其尸也; public execution is to kill him in the market-place 棄市殺之於市也. It
means that when someone is to be publicly executed, there is employed [the
principle stated in the Li-ki III, ii, 11 (Legge I, 215; Couvreur I, 274)], `A
person should be executed in the market-place, [thus] being done away with
(hsi) with the participation of the crowd.' " The
K'ang-hsi Dictionary gives
both meanings for chê: "張也開也裂也." Perhaps Yen Shih-ku was attempting to make an
ancient practise appear more humane than it really was.
50. Wen Ying (fl. ca. 196-220) says, "The
Chancellor of Ch'u, Chang Shang, the Grand Tutor [of Ch'u], Chao Yi-wu, the
Chancellor of Chao, Chien-tê, and the Prefect of the Capital [at Chao], Wang
Han---these were the four persons. Each had admonished his king not to bring
about a revolt, [but their kings] would not heed and killed all of them. Hence
their sons were appointed." HS 17: 3a, b, 4a and
SC 19: 21b, 22a, b (from which the above information was
taken) note these four persons as all appointed in the fourth month, on the day
yi-szu, May 26, 148 B.C. SC ch. 11 (Mh II, 503) dates these appointments "in the summer,"
putting the words for "in the ninth month" after this notice.
51. There is some mistake in the text. At
present it reads, "The Empress Dowager died." But the Empress Dowager née Tou
did not die until 135 B.C. This notice of a death is not in the
SC or the Han-chi. Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) quotes Wang Mou
(fl. before 265) as saying, "The Empress [née] Po of Emperor Ching died in this
year; I suspect that it was she. It should say the `dismissed Empress,' " i.e.,
read 廢 instead of 太. Wang Mou may be taking as his authority HS 97 A: 8b, which says that this Empress died the fourth
year after she was dismissed. The latter date was 151 B.C. (5: 5a); then she
died in 147 B.C. We have followed Wang Mou's emendation in the
translation.There are however very serious
objections. Yen Shih-ku points out that the death of a dismissed empress is not
recorded and that the particular word here used for "died" would never be used
of a dismissed Empress. Cf. p. 260, n. 3. Ch'ien Ta-chao concludes that the
whole sentence is an interpolation.
52. HS 27 Ba: 24a
calls it a "great drought" and dates it in the autumn.
53. These locusts are also mentioned in
HS 27 Bb: 20a.
54. This is no. 24 in Williams,
>Observations of Comets.
55. HS 14: 18b dates
this appointment in the third month, on the day ting-yu, May 13, 147
B.C.
56. This was to be Emperor Ching's funerary
temple. Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that the Fukien ed. (1549) mistakenly has
interchanged the words in this temple's name.
57. This height is about 52 in. Eng. meas.
Fu Ch'ien explains, "When horses are in their tenth year, the surfaces of their
teeth become smooth." The SC (Mh
III, 544) says that in the time of Emperor Ching, additional horse pastures
were established in order to increase the public resources.
58. Ju Shun explains that castration was
called 腐, i.e., rottenness, because it was being like a rotten tree, which could
not bring forth any fruit. HS 97 A: 21b tells that when
Hsü Kuang-han had committed a capital crime, an edict of Emperor Wu invited him
to enter the silkworm room of the palace, (i.e., to be castrated instead of
executed). In the San-kuo Chih (by Ch'en Shou, 233-297) Chung Yu (a Grand Tutor
and a famous calligraphist) says to Emperor Ming (58-75), "It is proper that,
like the ordinance of [Emperor] Hsiao-ching, whoever should be publicly
executed and wishes [instead] to cut off his right toes should be permitted to
do so." Chou Shou-ch'ang remarks that castration accordingly does not seem to
have been the only way of commuting the death penalty.
59. HS 14: 19a dates
this appointment in the third month, on the day ting-szu, an impossible month
and day, according to Hoang, Concordance.
60. HS 27 A: 11a
blames this fire on the dismissal and suicide of the first heir-apparent, Liu
Jung, and the dismissal of Chou Ya-fu. Cf. Glossary, sub
vocibus.
61. The purpose of this change, as of that
abolishing Grandee Secretaries in kingly courts, was to exalt the imperial
court and to distinguish imperial from kingly titles.
62. Chou Shou-ch'ang says, "The T'ung-tien,
ch. 4 on Punishments, "Miscellaneous Discussions," pt. A, says, `The Chief
Justice sent to the Emperor a prisoner, Fang Nien. His step-mother, [Fang]
Ch'en, had murdered Fang Nien's father. Fang Nien therefore killed [Fang]
Ch'en. According to the Code, a matricide should be sentenced as having
committed treason. The Emperor doubted [the justice of such a sentence]." `The [future] Emperor Wu was at this
time in his twelfth year and was Heir-apparent. He was by [the Emperor's] side.
The Emperor thereupon asked him [about the case]. The Heir-apparent replied,
saying, "Now a step-mother is like a mother, [but] it is plain that she is not
equal to a mother. Because of his father, she is similar to a mother. Now this
step-mother acted wrongly. With her own hand she murdered his father; then from
the day that she put forth her hand [against his father], his indebtedness to
her as a mother was already ended. He should be sentenced as a person who has
killed another, and should not be sentenced as one who has committed treason."
[The Emperor] followed his [judgment].' From this [account we see that] this
affair happened in precisely the year [of the edict in the
text]."
63. SC 11: 5a (Mh II, 505) says that this visit was in the second month, on
the day chi-mao, Apr. 9, 144 B.C.
64. For details, cf. Mh II, 506; HS ch. 19
passim.
65. Ying Shao writes, "Emperor Wen, in his
fifth year (175 B.C., cf. 4: 12b), allowed people to coin [cash], a law that
had not yet been abrogated. At earlier times there had been made much
[alchemistic] counterfeit gold. [But] counterfeit gold cannot really be made,
and vainly [causes] loss and expense, so that it turns to mutual boasting about
one's brilliancy. When [these alchemists become] poor, then they rise up and
become brigands and robbers, hence [the Emperor] established this law." Meng
K'ang (ca. 180-260) quites a popular "saying, `If gold could be made, the world
could be measured.' " This edict of 144 B.C., together with these comments of
the second and third century of our era establish the existence of alchemy in
China at this early date.Cash had been largely coined in the
kingdom of Wu, under its King, Liu P'i. Now that he had rebelled and had been
executed, private coinage was forbidden.
66. HS 27 Bb: 13a
says that this snow prognosticated a Hun raid and the death of Chou
Ya-fu.
67. Ch'ien Ta-chao says that the omission
of the King's personal name must probably have been due to a copyist's
error.
68. Chang Yen (prob. iii cent.) comments,
"The position of six hundred piculs was that of Grandees." This may be the only
place where 長吏 is used in the sense of "important officials." Elsewhere it is the
title of certain subordinate officials.
69. Ying Shao explains, "They are the ears
of a carriage which open out. They are the means whereby one protects (fan) and
covers himself against dust and mud. [Officials ranking at] two thousand piculs
make the pair of them vermillion; those of lower rank do it for the left side
only. They are made of bamboo matting, or leather is used." Ju Shun says, "Fan
轓 is pronounced as 反; they are the two screens of a small carriage." Yen Shih-ku
adds, "According to the explanation of Hsü Shen [fl. 100] and Li Teng [fl. dur.
220-265], fan is the covering of a carriage. . . . They were screens to cover
the carriage. To say that they `are the ears of a carriage which open out' is
mistaken."Wang Hsien-ch'ien notes that the
Supplement to the Official ed. (1739) says, "吏 is erroneously written 史.
Following Sung [Ch'i's] ed. [ca. xii cent.], it is emended."HHS, Tr. 29: 10b
(by Szu-ma Piao, ca. 240-304) says, "In 145 B.C. there first was an edict
granting permission to [officials ranked at] six hundred piculs and above to
use bronze for the five ends of their carriage screens and on their yokes to
have chi-yang pipes."
70. "Three Adjuncts" (q.v. in Glossary) is
probably anachronistic here; this title was not used until 104 B.C. According
to HS 19 A: 20b, until 155 B.C. there was only a Prefect
of the Capital; in that year Western and Eastern Prefects of the Capital were
appointed. Ch'üan Tsu-wang (1705-1755) thinks that perhaps the Western and
Eastern Prefects of the Capital, together with the Military Commander at the
Capital, governed the capital city, and had covertly divided it into the "Three
Adjuncts" (which title denotes also the three districts governed by those three
officials). Wang Hsien-ch'ien suggests, "The use of the title, `Three
Adjuncts,' is perhaps an anachronistic change by a historian. In this book this
sort of thing is quite frequent."
71. Ju Shun comments, "The comment in the
Han-[chiu]-yi [written by Wei Hung, fl. dur. 25-57, says], `The various
pastures [under the care of] the herdsmen of the Chief of the Stud [number]
thirty-six. They are divided and spread over the northern and western borders.
Gentlemen are used as Superintendants of the Pastures; thirty thousand male and
female slaves care for three hundred thousand horses.' " Yen Shih-ku adds,
"Places for rearing birds and beasts are comprehensively named pastures . Hence
it says that a place for herding horses is a pasture."
72. Buying and selling wine had been
forbidden since 147 B.C. Cf. 5: 6b.
73. Wang Hsien-shen (1859-1922) argues that
this date is mistaken and that Chou Ya-fu died in 147 B.C., which is the date
given in the SC (Mh II, 504).
According to HS 19 B: 12a, he was dismissed from his
position as Lieutenant Chancellor in 147 B.C., and 40: 28a tells that soon
afterwards he was insulted by the Emperor. When his son had purchased arms for
use in his funeral, Chou Ya-fu was arrested and committed suicide by
starvation. HS 16: 13a notes that he was made a marquis
in 162 B.C., (Chu Yi-hsin says that the Wang ed. (1546) is correct in reading
161 B.C.) and was dismissed from his title of marquis in the eighteenth year
after, which would be 145, 144 or 143 B.C. HS 40: 28b
moreover says that the same year that he died, Emperor Ching enfeoffed his son
as Marquis of P'ing-ch'ü; HS 16: 13b dates that
appointment in 143 B.C., so that the date of his death in 5: 8b is
corroborated.
74. In 179 B.C. (cf. 4: 8b), Emperor Wen
ordered the marquises to go to their states, which order is now dispensed with.
Chavannes (Mh II, 508) translates quite differently, "on
examine si les seigneurs avaient été envoyés dans leurs états." The nobles had
however evaded Emperor Wen's order that they should go to their estates (cf. p.
246). Emperors regularily enfeoffed the relatives of their mothers and favorite
concubines; we do not hear of any such nobles thereupon disappearing from the
capital; on the contrary they continued to figure in intrigues even when they
did not hold office. According to 8: 9a, in 67 B.C. the Emperor "granted to
each of the eighty-seven marquises who were at their estates twenty catties of
actual gold." But, according to the "Tables," there were at that time more than
two hundred marquises, so that the vast majority of the marquises were in the
capital. Marquises were moreover sometimes sent to their estates as a
punishment, cf. HS 45: 18a, also Glossary, sub
Marquis.The original term for marquis 徹侯, which
is here used in the text, was tabooed because the word ch'ê was the personal
name of Emperor Wu. Chou Shou-ch'ang says that this reading is a copyist's
chance error.
75. Wang Hsien-ch'ien points out that "the
spring" has been previously mentioned and that this word is here an
interpolation. The SC dates the invasion of the Huns in
the third month and the prohibition of feeding grain in the first
month.
76. SC 11: 6a reads
内史郡, in which phrase the HS omits the middle word. Yen
Shih-ku says that what were confiscated were the horses.
77. Ying Shao writes, "Tsuan 纂 are the
present laces of many colors. Silk stuff of variegated colors (tsui 綷) is this
[material]. Tsu 組 is the present seal-ribbon. Intermixed silk cords 紛條 is this
[material]." But Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) writes, "Hsü Shen [who wrote the
Shuo-wen, ca. 100] says, "Tsuan
is vermillion tsu,' " and Yen Shih-ku writes
"[Fu] Tsan's explanation is correct. Tsui is
hui [many-colored embroidery] and
hui is many [colored] ts'ai 綵
[many-colored flowered silk]. At present it is
called ts'o-ts'ai 錯綵 [woven multicolored stuff].
It is not tsuan."Women's work was especially raising
silk-worms, weaving, and sewing. Raising food is men's work; making cloth and
clothes is women's work.
78. The foregoing sentence is found in a
conversation about punishments between Marquis Wen of Wei(h) and Li K'o or Li
K'uei (cf. Duyvendak, Book of Lord Shang, p. 43, n. 2), in the Shuo-Yüan
(written by Liu Hsiang, 77-6 B.C.), ch. "Fan-chih."
79. The taxes paid to the emperor by
commanderies and nobles.
80. Yü Yüeh (1821-1906), in his Hu-lou
Pi-t'an 4:4, suggests that one wei and one
li are due to dittography. A
parallel passage is found in HS 6: 17a.Li Ch'i (fl. 220-265) writes, "Mou 牟 is
an insect that eats the roots of cereals. 侵牟 is to eat up the people like this
mou."Yen Shih-ku explains yü by lieh
獵 (hunting), but Chou Shou-ch'ang replies, "To invade and take by force without
choosing [any particular things] is called yü.
Yü and lieh are two [different]
things."
81. Ch'ien Ta-chao notes that the Fukien
ed. (1549) mistakenly reads 異 for 謂.
82. Fu Ch'ien (ca. 125-195) comments,
"Those whose tzu 訾 (capital or property) is ten thousand cash [pay] as a
poll-tax (suan 算 [cf. p. 184, n.1]) 127 [cash]." Ying Shao explains, "Anciently
[people] hated that officials should be covetous. `If their clothes and food
are enough, they know [how to distinguish between] honor and disgrace.' [A
quotation from Kuan-tzu]. So [official position] was restricted [to those
whose] capital (tzu) [was sufficient so that they paid at least] ten [times]
the poll-tax (suan) and then only were people permitted to become officials.
[Those who paid] ten [times] the poll-tax [possessed] a hundred thousand
[cash]. Merchants who had wealth were not permitted to become officials;
incorrupt gentlemen who had no capital were also not allowed to become palace
officials (huan). Hence [the Emperor] reduced [the required] capital to [enough
to require the payment of only] four [times] the poll-tax [as the amount
required before they] were permitted to become palace officials (huan)."Ho Ch'uo (1661-1722) adds "What Tung
Chung-shu said [in the HS] `To select Gentlemen and
officials according to their wealth and capital (tzu)'
points to this tzu and
suan. [HS 57 A: 1a says that] Szu-ma Hsiang-ju, `by his
capital (tzu) and poll-taxes (suan)
became a Gentleman.' " The Han dynasty had
a tax upon property or capital; each ten-thousand cash of property paid one
poll-tax (which tax was different in amount at different times; cf. Glossary
sub Poll-tax). Poor people were kept out of office in order to avoid securing
high officials who sought profit in holding office.Yao Nai (1732-1815) however says, "When
this [passage] says palace officials (huan 宦), it means Gentlemen. [But cf.
below]. At the beginning of the Han [period], Gentlemen had to furnish
ornamented robes and horses before they were permitted to wait upon the
emperor, hence [they were appointed] according to their capital (tzu) and
poll-taxes (suan). The saying of Chang Shih-chih [HS 50:
1a], `Being a palace official (huan) for a long time reduced my [older brother]
Chung's possessions' and that General Wei Ch'ing ordered that the members of
his suite should all furnish their saddles, horses, deep red garments, jade,
utensils, and swords is about this [matter]."In Han [times], when a person [wanted
to] enter official life, in general there were three ways: [1] as a Gentleman
or [Palace] Attendant, [2] by holding office in a province or commandery or in
the yamen of a minister, or [3] by an imperial summons. Gentlemen were
attendants upon the emperor. Without capital, they were not allowed to become
attendants upon the emperor, but naturally they could hold office in the
commanderies or prefectures or in the yamens of the ministers. At the time of
Emperor Wu, schools were established and the filial and incorrupt were
recommended; after that, Gentlemen did not need capital [on which to pay]
poll-taxes in order to be promoted; yet they contributed sheep and contributed
grain in order to be given a vacancy among the Gentlemen, which was a very much
greater [payment] than the former [requirement] of capital [on which to pay]
poll-taxes. All this did not exist before the time of Emperor Ching. When Ying
[Shao] says, `[Official position] was restricted to those whose capital [was
sufficient so that they paid at least] ten [times] the poll-tax, and then only
were they permitted to become officials,' he did not comprehend that this
regulation did not apply to all officials."Wang Hsien-ch'ien says that the
Official ed. (1739) and the Academy ed. (1124) read kuan 官 (offices) instead of
huan (palace officials) both in the text and in Ying Shao's comment, at the
places indicated by (9.9) or by (huan). If this emendation is accepted (and the
first part of Ying Shao's comment uses the word li 吏 for "officials," so that he
may not have had huan in his text), Yao Nai's restriction that only palace
officials were required to have property falls to the ground.This emendation is however making a
difficult reading easy and hence is operating on a wrong principle. Dr. J. J.
L. Duyvendak remarks that it is not likely that an original kuan should have
been changed to huan and that such a change does not make a proper sentence,
inasmuch as in the HSkuan is used to mean "office"
rather than "official." For "official," the word li would have been used.Emperor Ching seems to have been
thinking that entrance into the government bureaucracy is normally through
first becoming a Gentleman in the imperial palace, where the Emperor could get
to know him, and from which position persons were promoted to governmental
offices. He deplored that only very wealthy persons could thus enter the
government service, hence he lowered the amount of property required for
service in the palace. At a later time Commandery Administrators and other high
officials recommended persons as filial and incorrupt, etc., whereupon such
persons were sent to the quarters of the Major in Charge of Public Carriages or
to the Yellow Gate in the imperial palace, where they became Expectant
Appointees and were given a small allowance. Later such persons were given
positions in the bureaucracy, seemingly without being made Gentlemen. Hence Yao
Nai is correct in pointing out that not all officials first became Gentlemen,
at least in the time of Ying Shao. Whether that was the case before the time of
Emperor Ching is difficult to determine.
83. Cf. p. 182, n. 2.
84. Fu Tsan (fl. ca. 285) writes, "The
Emperor was in his thirty-second year when he came to the throne; he reigned to
his sixteenth year; he lived to his forty-eighth year." Then he was born in 188
B.C.
85. Wang Ming-sheng (1722-1798) remarks,
"When Emperor Wen died, he sent home [his concubines], from his Ladies down to
his Junior Maids, [hence] when Emperor Ching died, he also freed the women of
his harem. In [the time of Emperors] Wu and Chao there came to be the practise
[that members of an emperor's harem] should uphold [his worship] at his tomb.
When Emperor P'ing died, Wang Mang again freed [the Emperor's] concubines and
sent them all home."
86. Analects, XV, xxiv, 2. Yen Shih-ku
explains, "He means that the people of this time were the same as those
governed by the Hsia, Yin, and Chou [dynasties], when, because of the
government's cultural influence, purity, and unity, [the people] could follow a
straight path in their actions. He regrets that at this time [the situation]
was different."
87. The Ch'in dynasty enacted many and
severe laws, which applied to everyone, high and low. These were the "fine net"
and "severe enactments." The Lord of Shang, who established the severe laws of
Ch'in, is said to have even had the nose of the Grand Tutor of the
Heir-apparent, Prince Ch'ien, sliced off in punishment. Cf. J. J. L. Duyvendak,
The Book of Lord Shang, p. 19.
88. Wang Hsien-shen (1859-1922) says that
the words 至於 are an interpolation; the T'ai-p'ing Yü-lan (978-983) ch. 88, quotes
this passage without these two words.
89. On the meaning of this phrase, cf. 10: n. 6.7.