Volume 63: The Five Sons of Emperor Wu

卷六十三武五子傳第三十三

Chapter 63: Biographies of the Five Sons of Emperor Wu.

孝武皇帝六男。衛皇后生戾太子，趙婕妤生孝昭帝，王夫人生齊懷王閎，李姬生燕刺王旦、廣陵厲王胥，李夫人生昌邑哀王髆。

Emperor Wu had six sons. Empress Wei gave birth to Crown Prince Ju, known posthumously as the Prince of Li; Lady Zhao the Worthy bore Emperor Zhao; Lady Wang bore Liu Hong, Prince Huai of Qi; Lady Li bore Liu Dan, Prince of Yan, and Liu Xu, Prince Li of Guangling; Lady Li bore Liu Bo, Prince Ai of Changyi.

戾太子據

Crown Prince Ju (posthumously styled the Prince of Li).

戾太子據，元狩元年立為皇太子，年七歲矣。初，上年二十九乃得太子，甚喜，為立禖，使東方朔、枚皋作禖祝。少壯，詔受《公羊春秋》，又從瑕丘江公受《穀梁》。及冠就宮，上為立博望苑，使通賓客，從其所好，故多以異端進者。元鼎四年，納史良娣，產子男進，號曰史皇孫。

Crown Prince Ju was named heir apparent in the first year of the Yuanshou era (122 B.C.); he was seven at the time. When the emperor, at twenty-nine, finally had an heir, he was overjoyed. He founded a shrine to pray for descendants and commissioned Dongfang Shuo and Mei Gao to write the dedicatory texts. As he grew, he was ordered to study the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, then took the Guliang tradition from Jiang Gong of Xiaqiu. After his capping he moved into his own residence, and the emperor built Broad Vista Park for him so he could host scholars and pursue his interests—which is why so many unconventional figures found their way to his court. In the fourth year of Yuanding (113 B.C.), he took Consort Shi; she bore a son named Jin, who was known as the Imperial Grandson of the Shi line.

武帝末，衛后寵衰，江充用事，充與太子及衛氏有隙，恐上晏駕後為太子所誅，會巫蠱事起，充因此為奸。是時，上春秋高，意多所惡，以為左右皆為蠱道祝詛，窮治其事。丞相公孫賀父子，陽石、諸邑公主，及皇后弟子長平侯衛伉皆坐誅。語在《公孫賀》、《江充傳》。

Late in Emperor Wu's reign, Empress Wei fell from favor while Jiang Chong rose to power. Chong had quarreled with the heir and the Wei family, and he dreaded what would happen once the old emperor died. When the witchcraft panic broke out, he seized the chance to advance his own schemes. By then the emperor was old, suspicious, and convinced that everyone around him was dabbling in sorcery and laying curses. He ordered a pitiless inquiry. Prime Minister Gongsun He and his son, Princesses Yangshi and Zhuyi, and the empress's nephew Wei Kan, marquis of Changping, were all condemned and put to death. The full account appears in the biographies of Gongsun He and Jiang Chong.

充典治巫蠱，既知上意，白言宮中有蠱氣，入宮至省中，壞御座掘地。上使按道侯韓說、御史章贛、黃門蘇文等助充。充遂至太子宮掘蠱，得桐木人。時上疾，辟暑甘泉宮，獨皇后、太子在。太子召問少傅石德，德懼為師傅並誅，因謂太子曰：「前丞相父子、兩公主及衛氏皆坐此，今巫與使者掘地得征驗，不知巫置之邪，將實有也，無以自明，可矯以節收捕充等系獄，窮治其奸詐。且上疾在甘泉，皇后及家吏請問皆不報，上存亡未可知，而奸臣如此，太子將不念秦扶蘇事耶？」太子急，然德言。

Put in charge of the witchcraft investigation, Jiang Chong soon sensed what the emperor wanted to hear. He reported an evil aura inside the palaces, then went into the residential quarters, smashed the imperial dais, and began digging up the floors. The emperor sent Han Yue, marquis of Andao, Censor Zhang Gan, the palace attendant Su Wen, and others to assist Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong proceeded to the heir's residence to search for charms and found a paulownia-wood effigy buried in the ground—as if by design. The emperor was ill and had withdrawn to Sweet Springs to escape the heat, leaving only the empress and the crown prince in the capital. The crown prince consulted Junior Tutor Shi De. De feared they would execute tutor and pupil together, so he urged the crown prince: 'The late chancellor and his son, the two princesses, and the Wei clan were all destroyed over such charges. Now these investigators dig up supposed proof underground—but we cannot tell whether the dolls were planted or are genuine. You have no way to clear your name except to use the imperial tally, arrest Jiang Chong and his men, throw them in jail, and force a confession out of them. Besides, the emperor lies ill at Sweet Springs, and neither the empress nor her household has been able to get word back from the court—no one knows whether he is alive or dead. Yet wicked ministers act like this. Will you not remember how the First Emperor's son Fusu was destroyed?' Cornered, the crown prince accepted Shi De's counsel.

征和二年七月壬午，乃使客為使者收捕充等。按道侯說疑使者有詐，不肯受詔，客格殺說。御史章贛被創突亡。自歸甘泉。太子使舍人無且持節夜入未央宮殿長秋門，因長御倚華具白皇后，發中廄車載射士，出武庫兵，發長樂宮衛，告令百官日江充反。乃斬充以徇，炙胡巫上林中。遂部賓客為將率，與丞相劉屈氂等戰。長安中擾亂，言太子反，以故眾不附。太子兵敗，亡，不得。

On the renwu day of the seventh month in the second year of Zhenghe (91 B.C.), he sent agents disguised as imperial messengers to arrest Jiang Chong and his associates. Han Yue of Andao suspected the envoys were impostors and refused to hand himself over; one of the crown prince's men killed him. Censor Zhang Gan, wounded, broke away and fled. He made his own way to Sweet Springs to report. The crown prince sent his attendant Wu Qian, tally in hand, into Weiyang Palace through the Changle Gate in the dead of night. Through Senior Attendant Yi Hua he explained everything to the empress, then requisitioned chariots from the central stables, arms from the arsenal, and guards from Changle Palace, and proclaimed to the officials that Jiang Chong had risen in revolt. Jiang Chong was executed and his head displayed in public; the foreign sorcerers were burned alive in Shanglin Park. He organized his followers into an armed force and clashed with Chancellor Liu Qumao and government troops. Chang'an descended into chaos; rumor said the heir had turned traitor, so the people would not rally to him. The crown prince's army was routed; he slipped into hiding and could not be found.

上怒甚，群下憂懼，不知所出。壺關三老茂上書曰：「臣聞父者猶天，母者猶地，子猶萬物也。故天平地安，陰陽和調，物乃茂成；父慈母愛，室家之中子乃孝順。陰陽不和，則萬物夭傷；父子不和，則室家喪亡。故父不父則子不子，君不君則臣不臣，雖有粟，吾豈得而食諸！昔者虞舜，孝之至也，而不中於瞽叟；孝已被謗，伯奇放流，骨肉至親，父子相疑。何者？積毀之所生也。由是觀之，子無不孝，而父有不察，今皇太子為漢適嗣，承萬世之業，體祖宗之重，親則皇帝之宗子也。江充，布衣之人，閭閻之隸臣耳，陛下顯而用之，銜至尊之命以迫蹴皇太子，造飾奸詐，群邪錯謬，是以親戚之路隔塞而不通。太子進則不得上見，退則困於亂臣，獨冤結而亡告，不忍忿忿之心，起而殺充，恐懼逋逃，子盜父兵以救難自免耳，臣竊以為無邪心。《詩》曰：『營營青蠅，止於籓；愷悌君子，無信讒言；讒言罔極，交亂四國。』往者江充讒殺趙太子，天下莫不聞，其罪固宜。陛下不省察，深過太子，發盛怒，舉大兵而求之，三公自將，智者不敢言，辯士不敢說，臣竊痛之。臣聞子胥盡忠而忘其號，比幹盡仁而遺其身，忠臣竭誠不顧鈇鉞之誅以陳其愚，志在匡君安社稷也。《詩》云：『取彼譖人，投畀豺虎。』唯陛下寬心慰意，少察所親，毋患太子之非，亟罷甲兵，無令太子久亡。臣不勝惓惓，出一旦之命，待罪建章闕下。」書奏，天子感寤。

The emperor's rage terrified the whole court; no one knew what to say. Mao, the village elder of Huguan, presented a memorial: 'I have heard it said that the father is like Heaven, the mother like Earth, and the child like the myriad creatures that depend on them. When Heaven holds steady and Earth lies calm, and yin and yang move in harmony, every living thing thrives. When a father is kind and a mother loving, children within the household embody true filial duty. When yin and yang fall out of balance, creation withers before its time. When father and son are at odds, the home itself is undone. Therefore, if a father fails as a father, his son cannot be a true son; if a ruler fails as a ruler, his ministers cannot be loyal ministers—and though the granaries overflow, who could bring himself to eat? In antiquity Shun of Yu was the very model of filial piety, yet even he could not win over his blind father Gusou; Xiao Ji was maligned, Bo Qi was driven into exile—bone of their fathers' bone—yet father and son came to doubt each other. Why? Because slander, piled up long enough, is eventually believed. Seen in this light, sons seldom lack devotion—it is fathers who sometimes fail to look clearly. The crown prince is the lawful heir of Han, the man who must carry the ancestral mandate across endless generations; in blood he is the emperor's own firstborn son. Jiang Chong was a nobody from the back alleys, yet Your Majesty raised him to power. Wielding authority as though it were your own, he hounded the heir, inventing crimes and spreading lies until honest kin could no longer reach your ear. The crown prince could not win an audience above and was hemmed in by corrupt ministers below; his wrongs had nowhere to go. Unable to swallow his rage, he struck down Jiang Chong and fled in terror—he merely borrowed his father's soldiers to break a trap, not to seize the throne. This subject believes he harbored no treasonous intent. The Book of Odes says: 'Buzzing green flies light on the fence. Gentle, easygoing gentlemen, do not trust slanderous words. Slander knows no limit; it can throw whole kingdoms into turmoil.' Everyone knows how Jiang Chong once slandered the heir of Zhao to his death—his guilt was plain. Yet Your Majesty did not look into the matter; you heaped blame on the heir and unleashed full armies in pursuit, with the Three Dukes leading the host in person. Wise men held their tongues; counselors dared not speak. Your servant is heartsick over it. I recall how Wu Zixu gave everything to loyalty and lost his life for it, how Bigan gave everything to goodness and died for it. A loyal subject will speak blunt truth though it cost him the ax—because his only purpose is to steady the throne and preserve the realm. The Odes says: 'Take those slanderers and throw them to the wolves and tigers.' I beg you to ease your mind, look again at those closest to you, and not dwell on the heir's missteps. Order the armies to stand down before your son remains a fugitive any longer. I stake my single life on these words and await your judgment beneath the gates of Jianzhang Palace.' When the memorial reached him, the emperor was shaken into clarity.

太子之亡也，東至湖，臧匿泉鳩裡。主人家貧，常賣屨以給太子。太子有故人在湖，聞其富贍，使人呼之而發覺。吏圍捕太子，太子自度不得脫，即入室距戶自經。山陽男子張富昌為卒，足蹋開戶，新安令史李壽趨抱解太子，主人公遂格鬥死，皇孫二人皆並遇害。上既傷太子，乃下詔曰：「蓋行疑賞，所以申信也。其封李壽為干阜侯，張富昌為題侯。」

While the crown prince was on the run, he fled east to Hu County and took refuge at Huguali by the spring. His host was destitute and often sold sandals just to feed him. The heir had a former friend in Hu who had grown wealthy; when he sent someone to call on him, the plot was exposed. Troops closed in. Seeing no way out, he went inside, barred the door, and hanged himself. Zhang Fuchang, a foot soldier from Shanyang, kicked the door open. Li Shou, a clerk from Xin'an, rushed in, seized the dangling body, and lowered the rope. The master of the house was killed in the melee, and the two young grandsons who had fled with the prince died as well. Grieving for the crown prince, the emperor issued an edict: 'Even when merit is uncertain, reward must sometimes be granted, so that good faith may be made clear. Let Li Shou be enfeoffed as marquis of Qianfu, and Zhang Fuchang as marquis of Ti.'

久之，巫蠱事多不信。上知太子惶恐無他意，而車千秋復訟太子冤，上遂擢千秋為丞相，而族滅江充家，焚蘇文於橫橋上，及泉鳩裡加兵刃於太子者，初為北地太守，後族。上憐太子無辜，乃作思子宮，為歸來望思之台於湖。天下聞而悲之。

As time passed, fewer and fewer people credited the witchcraft charges. The emperor came to see that the heir had acted only out of panic, not rebellion. When Che Qianqiu again pleaded the prince's cause, he promoted Qianqiu to chancellor, wiped out Jiang Chong's family, burned Su Wen alive at Hengqiao Bridge, and executed even the official who had first governed Beidi and later led the raid at Huguali. Moved by his son's innocence, he built the Palace for Mourning the Crown Prince and raised the Terrace of Return and Longing at Hu. Throughout the realm, people wept when they heard of it.

初，太子有三男一女，女者平輿侯嗣子尚焉。及太子敗，皆同時遇害。衛后、史良悌葬長安城南。史皇孫、皇孫妃王夫人及皇女孫葬廣明。皇孫二人隨太子者，與太子並葬湖。

The crown prince had left three sons and a daughter; the girl had married the heir of the marquis of Pingyu. When the heir fell, they perished with him on the same day. Empress Wei and Consort Shi were interred south of Chang'an. The imperial grandson of the Shi line, his consort Lady Wang, and their daughter were buried at Guangming. The two grandsons who had fled with the crown prince were laid to rest beside him at Hu.

太子有遺孫一人，史皇孫子，王夫人男，年十八即尊位，是為孝宣帝，帝初即位，下詔曰：「故皇太子在湖，未有號謚，歲時祠，其議謚，置園邑。」有司奏請：「《禮》：『為人後者，為之子也。』故降其父母不得祭，尊祖之義也。陛下為孝昭帝後，承祖宗之祀，制禮不逾閒。謹行視孝昭帝所為故皇太子起位在湖，史良娣塚在博望苑北，親史皇孫位在廣明郭北。《謚法》曰：『謚者，行之跡也』，愚以為親謚宜曰悼，母曰悼后，比諸侯王國，置奉邑三百家。故皇太子謚曰戾，置奉邑二百家。史良娣曰戾夫人，置守塚三十家。園置長丞，周衛奉守如法。」以湖閿鄉邪裡聚為戾園，長安白亭東為戾后園，廣明成鄉為悼園。皆改葬焉。

The crown prince left one surviving grandson—the son of the Shi-line imperial grandson and Lady Wang—who at eighteen took the throne as Emperor Xuan. At the start of his reign he issued an edict: "The former crown prince lies at Hu without posthumous title or seasonal offerings. Let his posthumous name be deliberated and a memorial park established." The responsible offices memorialized: 'The Rites say: One who succeeds another as heir counts as his son. Therefore the parents must be demoted and may not receive sacrifice—this is the principle of honoring the ancestors. Your Majesty succeeds Emperor Zhao and carries on the ancestral sacrifices; ritual propriety must not overstep bounds. We respectfully inspected the site that Emperor Zhao established for the former crown prince at Hu; the tomb of Consort Shi lies north of Bowang Park; the grave of the Shi-line imperial grandson lies north of the Guangming outer wall. The Canon of Posthumous Names says, 'A posthumous name is the trace of one's conduct.' In our foolish opinion, the father's posthumous name should be Dao, and the mother should be called Empress Dao; by comparison with the kingdoms of feudal kings, establish a support estate of three hundred households. Let the former crown prince be posthumously styled Li, with a maintaining estate of two hundred households. Let Consort Shi be styled Lady Li, with thirty households to guard the tomb. Let each park have a chief and assistant, guarded and maintained according to law.' They made the hamlet of Xieli in Huyan Township into Li Park, the area east of Baiting in Chang'an into Empress Li Park, and Chen Township in Guangming into Dao Park. All were reinterred there.

後八歲，有司復言：「《禮》『父為士，子為天子，祭以天子』。悼園宜稱尊號曰皇考，立廟，因園為寢，以時薦享焉。益奉園民滿千六百家，以為奉明縣。尊戾夫人曰戾后，置園奉邑，及益戾園各滿三百家。」

Eight years later, officials reported: 'The Rites say, "When the father holds only a knight rank and the son becomes Son of Heaven, the son sacrifices to him with Son of Heaven rites." The memorial park at Daoyuan should be titled Imperial Father; build a temple there, use the park as the inner shrine, and offer the seasonal sacrifices. Raise the tomb-guard households to sixteen hundred families and organize their lands as Fengming County. Posthumously honor Lady Li as Empress Li, endow her with cemetery fiefs, and bring each of the Li heirs' memorial grounds up to three hundred maintaining households each.'

齊懷王閎與燕王旦、廣陵王胥同日立，皆賜策，各以國土風俗申戒焉，曰：「惟元狩六年四月乙巳，皇帝使御史大夫湯廟立子閎為齊王，曰：『烏呼！小子閎，受茲青社。朕承天序，惟稽古，建爾國家，封於東土，世為漢籓輔。烏呼！念哉，共朕之詔。惟命於不常，人之好德，克明顯光；義之不圖，俾君子怠。悉爾心，允執其中，天祿永終；厥有愆不臧，乃凶於乃國，而害於爾躬。嗚呼！保國乂民，可不敬與！王其戒之！』」閎母王夫人有寵，閎尤愛幸，立八年，薨，無子，國除。旦壯大就國，為人辯略，博學經書、雜說，好星曆、數術、倡優、射獵之事，招致游士。及衛太子敗，齊懷王又薨，旦自以次第當立，上書求入宿衛。上怒，下其使獄。後坐臧匿亡命，削良鄉、安次、文安三縣。武帝由是惡旦，後遂立少子為太子。

Liu Hong, Prince Huai of Qi, was invested the same day as Liu Dan, Prince of Yan, and Liu Xu, Prince of Guangling. Each received an investiture document with admonitions suited to his realm's soil and customs. In the sixth year of Yuanshou, fourth month, day yisi, the Emperor sent Grand Counselor Tang Miao to invest his son Hong as King of Qi, saying: 'Alas! Young Hong, receive this green earth of the state. We have received Heaven's order and have reverently examined antiquity. We establish your state and house and enfeoff you in the eastern lands, so that generation after generation you may be a fence and support for Han. Alas! Take thought—heed Our edict. The favor of Heaven is not fixed; when men cherish virtue, they may brightly manifest glory; When righteousness is not pursued, it makes gentlemen slack. Give your whole heart, hold firmly to the mean—the Mandate may endure forever; If fault and wrong arise, calamity will strike your kingdom and harm your own person. Alas! To preserve the state and bring peace to the people—can you but revere this task! O King, take warning!' Hong's mother, Lady Wang, enjoyed the emperor's favor, and Hong was especially loved. Eight years after his investiture, he died without a son, and the kingdom was abolished. When Dan came of age, he went to his kingdom. As a man he was clever, resourceful, and skilled in debate, broadly learned in the classics and miscellaneous teachings, fond of astronomy and calendars, numerical arts, performers, archery, and hunting, and he drew wandering scholars to him. When Crown Prince Ju fell and Prince Huai of Qi also died, Dan reckoned himself next in line and petitioned to serve in the palace guard at the capital. The emperor was enraged and imprisoned his messenger. Later he was punished for harboring fugitives and lost the three counties of Liangxiang, Anci, and Wen'an. Emperor Wu henceforth hated Dan and later established his youngest son as crown prince.

燕刺王旦賜策曰：「嗚呼！小子旦，受茲玄社，建爾國家，封於北土，世為漢籓輔。嗚呼！薰鬻氏虐老獸心，以奸巧邊甿。朕命將率，租征厥罪。萬夫長、千夫長，三十有二帥，降旗奔師。薰鬻徙域，北州以妥。悉爾心，毋作怨，毋作棐德，毋乃廢備。非教士不得從征。王其戒之！」

The edict investing Prince Dan of Yan began: 'Alas! Young Dan, receive this sacred black soil, found your kingdom on the northern marches, and for age after age stand as bulwark and shield for the house of Han. Alas! The Xiongnu show the hearts of beasts: they abandon the aged to misery and harry our border folk with every deceit they know. We have ordered our generals to march and exact retribution for their crimes. Thirty-two commanders of ten-thousand and thousand-man units lowered their banners and broke before our host. The nomads have been driven beyond the pale, and the north is quiet at last. Give the realm your whole heart: nurse no private grudges, foster no wicked ways, and never relax your guard. Only trained soldiers may ride with the hosts We despatch. Take these words to heart, O king!'

帝崩，太子立，是為孝昭帝，賜諸侯王璽書。旦得書，不肯哭，曰：「璽書封小。京師疑有變。」遣幸臣壽西長、孫縱之、王孺等之長安，以問禮儀為名。王孺見執金吾廣意，問：「帝崩所病？立者誰子？年幾歲？」廣意言：「待詔五莋宮，宮中言雚言帝崩，諸將軍共立太子為帝，年八九歲，葬時不出臨。」歸以報王。王曰：「上棄群臣，無語言，蓋主又不得見，甚可怪也。」復遣中大夫至京師上書言：「竊見孝武皇帝躬聖道，孝宗廟，慈愛骨肉，和集兆民，德配天地，明並日月，威武洋溢，遠方執寶而朝，增郡數十，斥地且倍，封泰山，禪梁父，巡狩天下，遠方珍物陳於太廟，德甚休盛，請立廟郡國。」奏報聞。時大將軍霍光秉政，褒賜燕王錢三千萬，益封萬三千戶。旦怒曰：「我當為帝，何賜也！」遂與宗室中山哀王子劉長、齊孝王孫劉澤等結謀，詐言以武帝時受詔，得職吏事，修武備，備非常。

When the old emperor died, the crown prince ascended as Emperor Zhao and sent sealed rescripts to the kings of the blood. Dan read his copy and refused to mourn, muttering, 'The wax on this rescript is too small. Something must be wrong in the capital.' He dispatched his favorites—Shouxi Zhang, Sun Zongzhi, Wang Ru, and others—to Chang'an under the pretense of inquiring about mourning etiquette. Wang Ru called on Guangyi, chief of the metropolitan guard, and asked, 'What illness carried off the emperor? Who is the new heir? How old is he?' Guangyi replied: 'I was on duty at Wuzuo Palace when word raced through the halls that the emperor was dead. The marshals enthroned the crown prince—a boy of eight or nine—and he never even appeared at the funeral.' They rode home and told the prince everything. Dan said, 'The late emperor dismissed his ministers without a word, and even the Princess of Gai was barred from his bedside—something is very wrong here.' He next sent a palace grandee to the capital with a memorial: 'Your servant has witnessed how Emperor Wu embraced the Way of the sages, honored his ancestors, cherished his kin, and brought peace to the common people. His virtue matched heaven and earth, his clarity rivaled the sun and moon, and his might rolled outward until distant peoples offered tribute. He added dozens of commanderies, doubled the realm's breadth, sacrificed on Mount Tai, knelt on Liangfu, toured the four quarters, and laid the rarest treasures before the Grand Temple. Merit so towering calls for shrines in every province—we ask that temples to him be raised throughout the commanderies and kingdoms.' The memorial was submitted and reported to the throne. Grand Marshal Huo Guang was running the government; to placate the king of Yan he awarded him thirty million cash and added thirteen thousand households to his fief. Dan snarled, 'The throne should have been mine—what insult is this, tossing me money?' He then conspired with Liu Chang, son of the prince of Zhongshan, Liu Ze, grandson of Prince Xiao of Qi, and others, claiming they had been secretly authorized under Emperor Wu to oversee administration, drill troops, and stand ready for any emergency.

長於是為旦命令群臣曰：「寡人賴先帝休德，獲奉北籓，親受明詔，職吏事，領庫兵，飭武備，任重職大，夙夜兢兢，子大夫將何以規佐寡人？且燕國雖小，成周之建國也，上自召公，下及昭、襄，於今千載，豈可謂無賢哉？寡人束帶聽朝三十餘年，曾無聞焉。其者寡人之不及與？意亦子大夫之思有所不至乎？其咎安在？方今寡人欲撟邪防非，章聞揚和，撫慰百姓，移風易俗，厥路何由？子大夫其各悉心以對，寡人將察焉。」

Liu Chang then had Prince Dan summon his ministers and address them: 'I owe my post on the northern frontier to my late father's grace, and I hold a mandate to oversee officials, arsenals, and defenses. The burden is heavy and I lie awake with worry—tell me, gentlemen, how do you propose to advise me? Yan may be a small kingdom, yet it was founded in the age of King Cheng of Zhou—from the Duke of Shao down through the Zhao and Xiang reigns of Qin, a thousand years have passed. Surely it cannot be said that no worthy men have ever walked this land? For more than thirty years I have risen at dawn and held court, yet I have never heard a whisper of such talent. Is the fault mine—that I am not equal to the task? Or is it that you, my officers, have simply not troubled to think the matter through? Where, then, does the blame lie? I mean to set crooked things straight, bar the door to evil, give the good a voice, bring peace to the people, and reform the ways of the land—by what path can that be done? Each of you, gentlemen, give me your best counsel in full; I will weigh every word.'

群臣皆免冠謝。郎中成軫謂旦曰：「大王失職，獨可起而索，不可坐而得也。大王一起，國中雖女子皆奮臂隨大王。」旦曰：「前高後時，偽立子弘為皇帝，諸侯交手事之八年。呂太后崩，大臣誅諸呂，迎立文帝，天下乃知非孝惠子也。我親武帝長子，反不得立，上書請立廟，又不聽。立者疑非劉氏。」

The whole assembly doffed their caps and begged forgiveness in silence. Cheng Zhen of the palace guard whispered to Dan: 'You have been robbed of your rightful place; you must rise and seek it—you will never win it by sitting still. Raise your standard, and every soul in Yan, even the women, will take up arms at your side.' Dan replied: 'Remember the Empress Dowager Lü and her puppet Hong—the lords bowed their heads and served that sham emperor for eight years. When she died, the great ministers wiped out the Lü clan and enthroned Emperor Wen—and only then did the realm learn that the boy on the throne had never been Xiaohui's true son. I am Emperor Wu's firstborn son, yet I was passed over. I asked only to honor him with temples, and the court would not even hear me out. Men whisper that the child they enthroned may not be a Liu at all.'

即與劉澤謀為奸書，言少帝非武帝子，大臣所共立，天下宜共伐之。使人傳行郡國，以搖動百姓。澤謀歸發兵臨淄，與燕王俱起。旦遂招來郡國奸人，賦斂銅鐵作甲兵，數閱其車騎材官卒，建旌旗鼓車，旄頭先驅，郎中侍從者著貂羽，黃金附蟬，皆號侍中。旦從相、中尉以下，勒車騎，發民會圍，大獵文安縣，以講士馬，須期日。郎中韓義等數諫旦，旦殺義等凡十五人。會缾侯劉成知澤等謀，告之青州刺史雋不疑，不疑收捕澤以聞。天子遣大鴻臚丞治，連引燕王。有詔勿治，而劉澤等伏誅。益封缾侯。

He and Liu Ze forged a seditious proclamation claiming the boy-emperor was no son of Emperor Wu, that the high ministers had installed him by conspiracy, and that the empire should rise as one to destroy him. Agents carried the forgery from kingdom to kingdom, hoping to stir the common people into revolt. Liu Ze planned to slip back to Linzi, raise an army there, and move in concert with the king of Yan. Dan began recruiting ruffians from across the north, melting down copper and iron for arms, drilling charioteers, cavalry, and crossbowmen, and parading war drums and yak-tailed standards through the streets. His household guards pinned sable plumes and gold cicadas to their caps and swaggered about calling themselves imperial attendants. From his chancellor and chief of police on down, he mustered chariots and horsemen, called out the yeomanry for a great hunt in Wen'an County, and used the exercise as a cover to train troops for the day he would strike. When courtiers such as Han Yi dared remonstrate, Dan cut them down—fifteen in all. Marquis of Ping Liu Cheng got wind of the plot and denounced it to Jun Buyi, governor of Qing province, who arrested Liu Ze and forwarded the case to the throne. The emperor ordered an assistant grand herald to conduct the inquiry, and the evidence soon pointed toward the king of Yan. An edict spared the king of Yan himself, but Liu Ze and his fellow plotters went to the block. Liu Cheng was rewarded with an enlarged fief for his loyalty.

久之，旦姊鄂邑蓋長公主、左將軍上官桀父子與霍光爭權有隙，皆知旦怨光，即私與燕交通。旦遣孫縱之等前後十餘輩，多繼金寶走馬，賂遺蓋主。上官桀及御史大夫桑弘羊等皆與交通，數記疏光過失與旦，令上書告之。桀欲從中下其章。旦聞之，喜，上疏曰：「昔秦據南面之位，制一世之命，威服四夷，輕弱骨肉，顯重異族，廢道任刑，無恩宗室。其後尉佗入南夷，陳涉呼楚澤，近狎作亂，內外俱發，趙氏無炊火焉。高皇帝覽蹤跡，觀得失，見秦建本非是，故改其路，規土連城，布王子孫，是以支葉扶疏，異姓不得間也。今陛下承明繼成，委任公卿，群臣連與成朋，非毀宗室，膚受之訴，日騁於廷，惡吏廢法立威，主恩不及下究。臣聞武帝使中郎將蘇武使匈奴，見留二十年不降，還但為典屬國。今大將軍長史敞無勞，為搜粟都尉。又將軍都郎羽林，道上移蹕，太官先置。臣旦願歸符璽，入宿衛，察奸臣之變。」

Years later, Dans sister—the princess of Eyi, styled Elder of Gai—and the father-and-son team of Shangguan Jie, general of the left, fell out with Huo Guang over power. They knew Dan nursed a grudge against Guang, and secret messengers began passing between the palace and Yan. Dan dispatched Sun Zongzhi and a dozen other envoys, laden with gold, jewels, and fleet horses, to buy the princess of Gai's favor. Shangguan Jie, Sang Hongyang the imperial counselor, and their faction joined the intrigue, jotting down every real or imagined slip by Huo Guang for Dan to weave into memorials of impeachment. Jie hoped to smuggle the memorial through the inner palace so that the emperor would endorse it without scrutiny. When Dan heard of it, he was pleased and submitted a memorial saying: 'Formerly Qin occupied the south-facing position, controlled the commands of an age, and subdued the four barbarians by awe. It slighted and weakened its own flesh and blood, honored and gave weight to other clans, abandoned the Way and relied on punishments, and showed no grace to the imperial clan. Then Zhao Tuo carved up the south, Chen She raised the cry of revolt in the Chu marshes, trusted men turned traitor within and without, and the First Emperor's line was snuffed out like a cold stove. Our own Gaozu studied those ruins, saw where Qin had gone wrong, and rebuilt the realm on a different plan: he enfeoffed his sons and grandsons so that the dynastic tree grew thick with branches, leaving no crevice for outsiders to slip in. Yet today, though Your Majesty sits where he sat, power rests with grandees who pack the court in factions, blacken the Liu clan with rumor, and let petty suits shouted in the audience hall overturn the law. Cruel clerks swagger while true grace never reaches the common people. Your servant recalls how Su Wu spent twenty years a captive among the Xiongnu without yielding, and on his return was given nothing higher than superintendent of dependent states. Meanwhile Huo Guang's chief clerk Yang Chang, a man who never drew sword in the state's service, walks off with the granaries commission. He reviews the palace guard as if it were his private army, clears the highways for his own retinue, and sends the imperial kitchen ahead to lay his table before the emperor's. I beg leave to surrender my seals, take a turn standing night watch in the capital myself, and help root out the traitors who surround the throne.'

是時，昭帝年十四，覺其有詐，遂親信霍光，而疏上官桀等。桀等因謀共殺光，廢帝，迎立燕王為天子。旦置驛書，往來相報，許立桀為王，外連郡國豪傑以千數。旦以語相平，平曰：「大王前與劉澤結謀，事未成而發覺者，以劉澤素誇，好侵陵也。平聞左將軍素輕易，車騎將軍少而驕，臣恐其如劉澤時不能成，又恐既成，反大王也。」旦曰：「前日一男子詣闕，自謂故太子，長安中民趣鄉之，正言雚不可止，大將軍恐，出兵陳之，以自備耳。我帝長子，天下所信，何憂見反？」後謂群臣：「蓋主報言，獨患大將軍與右將軍王莽。今右將軍物故，丞相病，幸事必成，征不久。」令群臣皆裝。

Emperor Zhao was only fourteen, but he smelled a rat. He drew closer to Huo Guang and cold-shouldered Shangguan Jie and his friends. The cabal then resolved to murder Huo Guang, depose the young emperor, and enthrone the king of Yan in his stead. Dan relayed orders by post riders, promised Shangguan Jie a kingdom of his own, and boasted of thousands of bravos in the provinces ready to rise at his word. Dan spoke of this to Chancellor Ping, and Ping said: 'Earlier, when Your Majesty formed a plot with Liu Ze, the affair failed and was discovered because Liu Ze was habitually boastful and liked to encroach on and bully others. The general of the left is rash by nature, and the general of chariots and cavalry is young and proud. I fear they will bungle the business as Liu Ze did—or worse, if they succeed, they will turn the knife on you.' Dan said: 'The other day a man went to the palace gates and called himself the former crown prince. The people of Chang'an rushed toward him, and the talk and uproar could not be stopped. The Grand General was afraid and sent out troops to array them, merely to prepare for his own defense. I am the late emperor's eldest son and the man the realm still trusts. Who would dare turn on me?' Afterward he told the assembled ministers: 'The Elder Princess of Gai has reported that the only concern is the Grand General and Wang Mang, General of the Right. Wang Mang is dead, the chancellor is bedridden—Heaven is clearing our path. The summons to strike cannot be long in coming.' He ordered every man in his train to prepare traveling gear.

是時天雨，虹下屬宮中飲井水，井水竭。廁中豕群出，壞大官灶。烏鵲斗死。鼠舞殿端門中。殿上戶自閉，不可開。天火燒城門。大風壞宮城樓，折拔樹木。流星下墮。後姬以下皆恐。王驚病，使人祠葭水、台水。王客呂廣等知星，為王言「當有兵圍城，期在九月、十月，漢當有大臣戮死者」。語具在《五行志》。

That season the skies opened; a rainbow dipped into the palace well until the water ran dry. Pigs burst from the palace privy and smashed the imperial kitchen hearth. Crows and magpies tore each other dead on the rooftiles. Rats danced in the lintel of the main hall. The great doors of the audience hall slammed shut of their own weight and could not be forced. Lightning struck the city gate. A gale shattered the watchtower on the palace wall and tore up trees by the roots. A boulder-bright meteor fell across the sky. Every concubine in the harem trembled with fear. The king fell sick with dread and sent priests to offer sacrifice at the Jia and Tai rivers. His star-readers, men like Lü Guang, warned him: "Armies will ring the walls in the ninth or tenth month, and a great minister of Han will die by the headsman axe." The full portents are recorded in the Treatise on the Five Phases.

王愈憂恐，謂廣等曰：「謀事不成，妖祥數見，兵氣且至，奈何？」會蓋主舍人父燕倉知其謀，告之，由是發覺。丞相賜璽書，部中二千石逐捕孫縱之及左將軍桀等，皆伏誅。旦聞之，召相平曰：「事敗，遂發兵乎？」平曰：「左將軍已死，百姓皆知之，不可發也。」王憂懣，置酒萬載宮，會賓客、群臣、妃妾坐飲。王自歌曰：「歸空城兮，狗不吠，雞不鳴，橫術何廣廣兮，固知國中之無人！」華容夫人起舞曰：「發紛紛兮寘渠，骨籍籍兮亡居。母求死子兮，妻求死夫。裴回兩渠間兮，君子獨安居！」坐者皆泣。

Dan grew frantic. He asked his soothsayers: "Our plot stalls while omens pile up and the air itself reeks of steel—what are we to do?" Then Yan Cang, father of one of the princess of Gai's chamberlains, betrayed the conspiracy to the authorities. The chancellor issued sealed orders, and men of two-thousand-bushel rank hunted down Sun Zongzhi, Shangguan Jie, and their confederates. Every one of them died on the scaffold. When the news reached Yan, Dan called for Ping and demanded: "The plot is blown—do we strike now?" Ping answered: "Shangguan Jie is dead and the whole empire knows it. There will be no rising from these ashes." Broken with grief, Dan called a last banquet in Wansui Palace for his ministers, guests, and women. He lifted his voice and sang: "Back to an empty city—no dog barks, no cock crows; how wide the crossroads run—yet I know now my kingdom holds no friend at all!" Lady Huarong rose and danced, saying: 'Hair disheveled—place in the ditch; bones piled—no dwelling. Mothers hunt for sons already slain; wives hunt for husbands already slain. They wander between twin ditches—while you, my lord, think still to find a peaceful bed!' Every guest at the table wept aloud.

有赦令到，王讀之，曰：「嗟乎！獨赦吏民，不赦我。」因迎後姬諸夫人之明光殿，王曰：「老虜曹為事當族！」欲自殺。左右曰：「黨得削國，幸不死。」後姬夫人共啼泣止王。會天子使使者賜燕王璽書曰：「昔高皇帝王天下，建立子弟以籓屏社稷。先日諸呂陰謀大逆，劉氏不絕若發，賴絳侯等誅討賊亂，尊立孝文，以安宗廟，非以中外有人，表裡相應故邪？樊、酈、曹、灌，攜劍推鋒，從高皇帝墾災除害，耘鋤海內，當此之時，頭如蓬葆，勤苦至矣，然其賞不過封侯。今宗室子孫曾無暴衣露冠之勞，裂地而王之，分財而賜之，父死子繼，兄終弟及。今王骨肉至親，敵吾一體，乃與他姓異族謀害社稷，親其所疏，疏其所親，有逆悖之心，無忠愛之義。如使古人有知，當何面目復奉齊酎見高祖之廟乎！」

There was an amnesty order arrived; the King read it, saying: 'Alas! It pardons every clerk and commoner in the land, but not me.' He gathered his women in Mingguang Hall and raged: "Those gray-bearded schemers in Chang'an deserve the extermination of their whole clans!" He reached for his sword to fall on it. His attendants caught his arm: "At worst they will shrink your fief—you may yet keep your life." His concubines clung to him, weeping, until he lowered the blade. It happened that the Son of Heaven sent an envoy to bestow a sealed edict on the Prince of Yan, saying: 'Formerly, when the High Emperor ruled all under Heaven, he established his sons and younger brothers as a fence and screen for the altars of soil and grain. When the Lü clan conspired against the throne, the house of Liu hung by a thread until the Marquis of Jiang and his comrades struck down the traitors and raised Emperor Wen to restore the temples—did that victory come from anything but loyal hearts answering one another within and without? Men like Fan Kuai, Li Shang, Cao Shen, and Guan Ying marched behind Gaozu with naked blades, cleared the realm of tyrants, and went unshorn for months on end—yet the highest honor any won was a marquisate. Their descendants today inherit kingdoms without ever having shivered in rags on a campaign field—estates fall to them unearned, treasure pours into their laps, and the succession passes smoothly from father to son or brother to brother. You are bone of our bone, yet you league yourself with outsiders against the house of Liu. You embrace strangers and cast off your kin; your heart is turned backward, and there is no shred of loyalty or love in it. Had the ancients eyes to see, how could you ever again lift the sacrificial cup in Gaozu's shrine?'

旦得書，以符璽屬醫工長，謝相二千石：「奉事不謹，死矣。」即以綬自絞。後夫人隨旦自殺者二十餘人。天子加恩，赦王太子建為庶人，賜旦謚曰刺王。旦立三十八年而誅，國除。

Dan read the edict, handed his seals to the court physician, and took leave of his ministers: "I have served my trust badly. This is the end." Then he twisted his sash into a noose and strangled himself. More than twenty of his concubines followed him into death. The emperor showed mercy: the heir Jian was spared and reduced to commoner rank, while Dan was given the posthumous epithet Ci, the Pricked King. Dan had reigned thirty-eight years when his line ended and his kingdom was abolished.

後六年，宣帝即位，封旦兩子，慶為新昌侯，賢為安定侯。又立故太子建，是為廣陽頃王，二十九年薨。子穆王舜嗣，二十一年薨。子思王璜嗣，二十年薨。子嘉嗣。王莽時，皆廢漢籓王為家人，嘉獨以獻符命封扶美侯，賜姓王氏。

Six years later Emperor Xuan enfeoffed two of Dan's surviving sons—Liu Qing as marquis of Xinchang and Liu Xian as marquis of Anding. He also restored the former heir Jian as Prince Qing of Guangyang, who reigned twenty-nine years before he died. His son Shun, Prince Mu of Guangyang, succeeded and ruled twenty-one years. Huang, Prince Si, held the fief for twenty years and died. His son Jia inherited the title. When Wang Mang stripped the Han imperial clans of their kingdoms, Jia alone kept his skin by proffering bogus portents; Mang made him marquis of Fumei and forced the surname Wang on him.

廣陵厲王

Liu Xu, Prince Li of Guangling.

廣陵厲王胥賜策曰：「嗚呼！小子胥，受茲赤社，建爾國家，封於南土，世世為漢籓輔。古人有言曰：『大江之南，五湖之間，其人輕心。揚州保強，三代要服，不及以正。』嗚呼！悉爾心，祗祗兢兢，乃惠乃順，毋桐好逸，毋邇宵人，惟法惟則！《書》云『臣不作福，不作威』，靡有後羞。王其戒之！」

To Prince Li of Guangling, Xu, the enfeoffment document said: 'Alas! Young Xu, take this sacred red soil, found your house on the southern marches, and for all generations be shield and rampart for the Han. The ancients warned: South of the Yangzi, among the Five Lakes, the folk are quick to shift their loyalties. Yangzhou is proud and stubborn; even in the Three Dynasties it was held only as distant tributary ground, too wild to tame by the usual rites. Alas! Give the realm your whole heart: be humble, be vigilant, be gentle and obedient. Do not sink into idle ease like the parasol tree; do not truckle to men who haunt the dark—take the law alone as your model! The Book of Documents warns: Ministers must not arrogate blessings or throw their weight about—only then can they escape later disgrace. Take these words to heart, O king!'

胥壯大，好倡樂逸游，力扛鼎，空手搏熊彘猛獸。動作無法度，故終不得為漢嗣。

Xu grew into a giant who lived for music, roaming, and pleasure. He could hoist a ritual tripod and, bare-handed, grapple bears and wild boars. His conduct knew no restraint, so he was never seriously considered for the succession.

昭帝初立，益封胥萬三千戶，元鳳中入朝，復益萬戶，賜錢二千萬，黃金二千斤，安車駟馬寶劍。及宣帝即位，封胥四子聖、曾、寶、昌皆為列侯，又立胥小子弘為高密王。所以褒賞甚厚。

As soon as Emperor Zhao took the throne he added thirteen thousand households to Xu's income. During the Yuanfeng era the king visited the capital and won another ten thousand households, twenty million cash, two thousand catties of gold, a four-horse state coach, and a jeweled sword. When Emperor Xuan came to power he made each of Xu's four sons—Sheng, Ceng, Bao, and Chang—a full marquis, and raised the youngest, Hong, to the kingship of Gaomi. The court heaped favor on him as on few other princes.

始，昭帝時，胥見上年少無子，有覬欲心。而楚地巫鬼，胥迎女巫李女須，使下神祝詛。女須泣曰：「孝武帝下我。」左右皆伏。言「吾必令胥為天子」。胥多賜女須錢，使禱巫山。會昭帝崩，胥曰：「女須良巫也！」殺牛塞禱。及昌邑王征，復使巫祝詛之。後王廢，胥浸信女須等，數賜予錢物。宣帝即位，胥曰：「太子孫何以反得立？」復令女須祝詛如前。又胥女為楚王延壽後弟婦，數相饋遺，通私書。後延壽坐謀反誅，辭連及胥。有詔勿治，賜胥黃金前後五千斤，它器物甚眾。胥又聞漢立太子，謂姬南等曰：「我終不得立矣。」乃止不詛。後胥子南利侯寶坐殺人奪爵，還歸廣陵，與胥姬左修奸。事發覺，繫獄，棄市。相勝之奏奪王射陂草田以賦貧民，奏可。胥復使巫祝詛如前。

At the beginning, in Emperor Zhao's time, Xu saw the emperor was young and childless and nursed covetous ambition. Chu country was rich in sorcerers; Xu welcomed the witch Li Nüxu and had her descend as a spirit to curse by prayer. Nüxu wept and said: "Emperor Wu sends me down." Those at his side all prostrated themselves. She said: "I shall surely make Xu Son of Heaven." Xu gave Nüxu much money and had her pray at Mount Wu. When Emperor Zhao died, Xu said: "Nüxu is a fine witch!" He slaughtered oxen to complete the prayers. When the King of Changyi was summoned, he again had witches curse him. After the king was deposed, Xu came to trust Nüxu and her ilk more deeply and repeatedly bestowed money and goods. When Emperor Xuan ascended, Xu said: "How can the crown prince grandson in turn be enthroned?" He again had Nüxu curse as before. Moreover Xu's daughter was the younger brother's wife of King Yanshou of Chu; they frequently exchanged gifts and sent private letters. Later Yanshou was executed for plotting rebellion; his testimony implicated Xu. An edict ordered that he not be prosecuted; Xu was given five thousand jin of gold in all and many other goods besides. When Xu also heard that Han had established a crown prince, he said to Lady Nan and the others: "In the end, I will never be established." He then ceased his curses. Later Xu's son Bao, Marquis of Nanli, was deprived of his rank for killing someone and returned to Guangling, where he had illicit relations with Xu's concubine Zuo Xiu. The affair was discovered; he was imprisoned and executed in the marketplace. Chancellor Sheng Zhi memorialized to strip the king's She-po marsh grasslands to tax the poor; the memorial was approved. Xu again had witches curse as before.

胥宮園中棗樹生十餘莖，莖正赤，葉白如素。池水變赤，魚死。有鼠晝立舞王後廷中。胥謂姬南等曰：「棗水魚鼠之怪甚可惡也。」居數月，祝詛事發覺，有司按驗，胥惶恐，藥殺巫及宮人二十餘人以絕口。公卿請誅胥，天子遣廷尉、大鴻臚即訊。胥謝曰：「罪死有餘，誠皆有之。事久遠，請歸思念具對。」胥既見使者還，置酒顯陽殿。召太子霸及子女董訾、胡生等夜飲，使所幸八子郭昭君、家人子趙左君等鼓瑟歌舞。王自歌曰：「欲久生兮無終，長不樂兮安窮！奉天期兮不得須臾，千里馬兮駐待路。黃泉下兮幽深，人生要死，何為苦心！何用為樂心所喜，出入無悰為樂亟。蒿裡召兮郭門閱，死不得取代庸，身自逝。」左右悉更涕泣奏酒，至雞鳴時罷。胥謂太子霸曰：「上遇我厚，今負之甚。我死，骸骨當暴。幸而得葬，薄之，無厚也。」即以綬自絞死。及八子郭昭君等二人皆自殺。天子加恩，赦王諸子皆為庶人，賜謚曰厲王。立六十四年而誅，國除。

In the palace gardens a jujube sprouted a dozen trunks of blood-red bark and leaves pale as undyed silk. The fishponds ran red and every fish in them floated belly-up. Rats reared up in broad daylight and capered in the inner courtyard. Xu muttered to Lady Nan and the rest: 'These omens of jujube, water, fish, and rat are very hateful.' A few months later his witchcraft curses came to light. Panic-stricken, he poisoned more than twenty sorceresses and palace women to silence them. The high ministers demanded his head, but the emperor only sent the commandant of justice and the grand herald to take his deposition in Guangling. Xu bowed low and said: 'Death would not begin to pay for my guilt—I have earned every charge. The old crimes are tangled in memory; let me withdraw and set my thoughts in order before I answer in full.' Once the envoys had started home, he held a banquet in Xianyang Hall. He called in his heir Liu Ba, his children Dongzi and Husheng, and the rest for a night of wine, while his favorite concubines of the eighth rank—Gu Zhaojun, Zhao Zuojun, and their companions—played the zither and danced. The King himself sang, saying: 'Desiring long life—there is no end; long not happy—how can one be at the limit! Heaven's summons brooks no delay; even a swift horse must halt when the road runs out. The yellow springs yawn deep and dark; every man must die—so why rack the heart with grief? What good is pleasure if the heart finds no delight in it? To pass in and out of the halls without a spark of joy is to rush headlong through the feast of life. The graveyard calls beyond the city gate; no hired man can die in your place—you go down into the dark alone.' His attendants wept as they poured the wine, and they did not leave off until the first cockcrow. He turned to Liu Ba and said: 'The throne has dealt generously with me, and I have repaid it with deep ingratitude. When I am gone, leave my bones for the sun and birds if you must. If they grant me a coffin after all, let the rites be spare—nothing rich or long.' Then he knotted his sash into a noose and strangled himself. Two of his concubines of the eighth rank, including Gu Zhaojun, followed him into death. The emperor tempered justice with mercy: Xu's sons were spared but reduced to commoner rank, and the dead king was given the posthumous epithet Li, the Fierce King. He had held Guangling for sixty-four years when his line ended and the kingdom was struck from the rolls.

後七年，元帝復立胥太子霸，是為孝王，十三年薨。子共王意嗣，三年薨。子哀王護嗣，十六年薨，無子，絕。後六年，成帝復立孝王子守，是為靖王，立二十年薨。子宏嗣，王莽時絕。

Seven years later Emperor Yuan restored his heir Liu Ba as king of Guangling—the prince posthumously styled Xiao—who reigned thirteen years before he died. His son Yi, Prince Gong, ruled three years and died. Hu, Prince Ai, reigned sixteen years and died sonless; the main line was extinguished. Six years later Emperor Cheng revived the fief for Xiao's son Shou, posthumously styled Prince Jing, who held it twenty years before he died. His son Hong inherited the title until Wang Mang abolished it.

初，高密哀王弘本始元年以廣陵王胥少子立，九年薨。子頃王章嗣，三十三年薨。子懷王寬嗣，十一年薨。子慎嗣，王莽時絕。

Liu Hong, Prince Ai of Gaomi, was first enfeoffed in the first year of Benshi (73 B.C.) as the youngest son of Prince Li Xu of Guangling; he died in the ninth year of his reign. His son Zhang, Prince Qing, ruled thirty-three years. Kuan, Prince Huai, held the fief eleven years and died. His son Shen inherited until Wang Mang snuffed out the house.

昌邑哀王髆，天漢四年立，十一年薨，子賀嗣。立十三年，昭帝崩，無嗣，大將軍霍光征王賀典喪。璽書曰：「制詔昌邑王：使行大鴻臚事少府樂成，宗正德、光祿大夫吉、中郎將利漢征王，乘七乘傳詣長安邸。」夜漏未盡一刻，以火發書。其日中，賀發，晡時至定陶，行百三十五里，侍從者馬死相望於道。郎中令龔遂諫王，令還郎謁者五十餘人。賀到濟陽，求長鳴雞，道買積竹杖。過弘農，使大奴善以衣車載女子。至湖，使者以讓相安樂。安樂告遂，遂入問賀，賀曰：「無有。」遂曰：「即無有，何愛一善以毀行義！請收屬吏，以湔灑大王。」即捽善，屬衛士長行法。

Liu Bo, Prince Ai of Changyi, was invested in the fourth year of Tianhan; eleven years later he died, and his son Liu He succeeded. Thirteen years after his investiture Emperor Zhao died without heir, and Grand Marshal Huo Guang summoned King He to preside at the funeral. The sealed rescript said: "Imperial rescript to the King of Changyi: We send Le Cheng, Junior Minister acting as Grand Herald, together with De, Director of the Imperial Clan; Ji, Grandee of Splendid Light; and Lihan, Palace Attendant, to summon the king. Travel by seven-horse relay to the Chang'an lodge." Before the night water clock had run one quarter, the message was dispatched by fire-signal relay. At midday Liu He set out; by the bu hour he reached Dingtao—a hundred thirty-five li—with horses of his entourage dying one after another along the road. Wang Ji, chief of the gentlemen-of-the-household, remonstrated with the king and had more than fifty palace attendants sent back. At Jiyang, Liu He asked for a long-crowing rooster and bought stout bamboo staffs along the way. Passing through Hongnong, he had his chief slave Shan carry women in a curtained carriage. At Hu, the envoy reproached Chancellor An Le. An Le told Wang Ji; Ji entered and questioned Liu He, who said: "Nothing of the sort." Wang Ji said: "If there is nothing of the sort, why spare one slave and ruin your conduct! I beg that he be taken and handed to the law, to cleanse the Great King name." At once they seized Shan and committed him to the guard captain for punishment according to law.

賀到霸上，大鴻臚效迎，騶奉乘輿車。王使僕壽成御，郎中令遂參乘。旦至廣明東都門，遂曰：「禮，奔喪望見國都哭。此長安東郭門也。」賀曰：「我嗌痛，不能哭。」至城門，遂復言，賀曰：「城門與郭門等耳。」且至未央宮東闕，遂曰：「昌邑帳在是闕外馳道北，未至帳所，有南北行道，馬足未至數步，大王宜下車，鄉闕西面伏。哭盡哀止。」王曰：「諾。」到，哭如儀。

When Liu He reached Bashang, the grand herald met him with full ceremony and grooms led forward the imperial chariot. The king had his coachman Wang Shoucheng take the reins while Wang Ji, chief of the gentlemen-of-the-household, rode escort on the box. East of Guangming, at the outer barrier of the capital, Wang Ji said: 'According to ritual, when hurrying to a funeral you must weep as soon as you sight the national capital. This is Chang'an's eastern outer gate.' Liu He replied: 'My throat hurts; I cannot weep.' At the city gate Wang Ji spoke again; Liu He said: 'The city gate and the outer gate are the same.' When they were about to reach the eastern gate tower of Weiyang Palace, Suice said: 'The Changyi tent is outside this gate tower, north of the imperial road. Before we reach the tent, there is a north-south path; when the horses are still several steps short of it, Your Majesty should dismount, face west toward the gate tower, and prostrate yourself. Weep out your grief in full, then you may rise.' The king answered: 'Very well.' When he reached the appointed spot he performed the lament by the book.

王受皇帝璽綬，襲尊號。即位二十七日，行淫亂。大將軍光與群臣議，白孝昭皇后，廢賀歸故國，賜湯沐邑二千戶，故王家財物皆與賀。及哀王女四人各賜湯沐邑千戶。語在《霍光傳》。國除，為山陽郡。

He took the imperial seals and cords and mounted the throne. Twenty-seven days after his accession he had disgraced the palace with lewdness and excess. Grand Marshal Huo Guang met with the high ministers, secured Empress Dowager Shangguan's warrant, struck Liu He from the roll of emperors, and sent him back to Changyi with a maintenance estate of two thousand households and every stick of furniture from his old palace. Each of Prince Ai's four daughters received a thousand-household maintenance grant. The full story is told in the biography of Huo Guang. The kingdom was abolished and its lands folded into Shanyang commandery.

初，賀在國時，數有怪。嘗見白犬，高三尺，無頭，其頸以下似人，而冠方山冠。後見熊，左右皆莫見。又大鳥飛集宮中。王知，惡之，輒以問郎中令遂。遂為言其故，語在《五行志》。王卬天歎曰：「不祥何為數來！」遂叩頭曰：「臣不敢隱忠，數言危亡之戒，大王不說。夫國之存亡，豈在臣言哉？願王內自揆度。大王誦《詩》三百五篇，人事浹，王道備，王之所行中《詩》一篇何等也？大王位為諸侯王，行污於庶人，以存難，以亡易，宜深察之。」後又血污王坐席，王問遂，遂叫然號曰：「宮空不久，祅祥數至。血者，陰憂象也。宜畏慎自省。」賀終不改節。居無何，征。既即位，後王夢青蠅之矢積西階東，可五六石，以屋版瓦覆，發視之，青蠅矢也。以問遂，遂曰：「陛下，之《詩》不雲乎？『營營青蠅，至於籓；愷悌君子，毋信讒言。』陛下左側讒人眾多，如是青蠅惡矣。宜進先帝大臣子孫親近以為左右。如不忍昌邑故人，信用讒諛，必有凶咎。願詭禍為福，皆放逐之。臣當先逐矣。」賀不用其言，卒至於廢。

Even while Liu He still ruled Changyi, uncanny signs had dogged him. Once he saw a white dog three feet tall, without a head, yet from the neck down its form was human, and it wore a courtier's square mountain cap. Later he cried out at a bear that none of his attendants could see. A monstrous bird also settled inside the palace roofs. The king knew these were ill omens and turned each time to Wang Ji for an explanation. Wang Ji interpreted them for him; the details are recorded in the Treatise on the Five Phases. Liu He threw back his head and groaned: "Why do these portents never leave me in peace?" Wang Ji kowtowed and said: 'I have never hidden my loyalty—I warned you again and again of ruin, yet Your Highness would not listen. Whether a kingdom stands or falls was never mine to decide. Look into your own heart, my lord, and judge what you see there. You have memorized all three hundred five odes, wherein every human duty and the whole kingly Way are set forth—which single ode, my lord, does your conduct echo? You wear a king's crown yet live more foully than a peasant. To save yourself would be hard; to destroy yourself is easy. Think on that long and hard.' Afterward, blood again stained the king's sitting mat. The king asked Suice about it, and Suice cried out and wailed, saying: 'The palace will soon be empty; prodigies keep appearing. Blood is the sign of hidden grief working upward. Tremble, look inward, and mend your ways before Heaven mends them for you.' Liu He never mended his ways. Soon the summons to the capital arrived. After his enthronement he dreamed that flyspeck mounted east of the western steps to the weight of five or six bushels; he roofed it over with tiles, lifted them, and found nothing but maggot-ridden fly dung. He asked Wang Ji, who answered: 'Your Majesty, does not the Book of Odes say it plain? Buzzing green flies light on the fence. Gentle, easygoing gentlemen, never heed the whisperer's tongue. Slanderers throng your left and right—no less hateful than those flies. Raise up the sons and grandsons of the late emperor's proven ministers and keep them at your elbow. If you cannot bear to dismiss your old Changyi cronies and go on heeding flatterers, disaster is certain. Send them all into exile, and you may yet turn ill luck to good. Banish your servant first if you must begin somewhere.' Liu He ignored him and soon lost the throne.

大將軍光更尊立武帝曾孫，是為孝宣帝。即位，心內忌賀，元康二年遣使者賜山陽太守張敞璽書曰：「制詔山陽太守：其謹備盜賊，察往來過客。毋下所賜書！」敞於是條奏賀居處，著其廢亡之效，曰：「臣敞地節三年五月視事，故昌邑王居故宮，奴婢在中者百八十三人，閉大門，開小門，廉吏一人為領錢物市買，朝內食物，它不得出入。督盜一人別主徼循，察往來者。以王家錢取卒，迾宮清中備盜賊。臣敞數遣丞吏行察。四年九月中，臣敞入視居處狀，故王年二十六七，為人青黑色，小目，鼻末銳卑，少鬚眉，身體長大，疾痿，行步不便。衣短衣大褲，冠惠文冠，佩玉環，簪筆持牘趨謁。臣敞與坐語中庭，閱妻子奴婢。臣敞欲動觀其意，即以惡鳥感之，曰：『昌邑多梟。』故王應曰：『然。前賀西至長安，殊無梟。復來，東至濟陽，乃復聞梟聲。』臣敞閱至子女持轡，故王跪曰：『持轡母，嚴長孫女也。』臣敞故知執金吾嚴延年字長孫，女羅紨，前為故王妻。察故王衣服言語跪起，清狂不惠。妻十六人，子二十二人，其十一人男，十一人女。昧死奏名籍及奴婢財物簿。臣敞前書言：『昌邑哀王歌舞者張修等十人，無子，又非姬，但良人，無官名，王薨當罷歸。太傅豹等擅留，以為哀王園中人，所不當得為，請罷歸。』故王聞之曰：『中人守園，疾者當勿治，相殺傷者當勿法，欲令亟死，太守奈何而欲罷之？』其天資喜由亂亡，終不見仁義，如此。後丞相御史以臣敞書聞，奏可。皆以遣。」上由此知賀不足忌。

Huo Guang then enthroned Emperor Wu's great-grandson, who reigned as Emperor Xuan. After he ascended the throne, he was inwardly wary of He. In the second year of Yuankang, he sent an envoy to bestow a sealed edict on Zhang Chang, Governor of Shanyang, saying: 'Imperial rescript to the Governor of Shanyang: carefully guard against robbers and bandits, and watch travelers coming and going. Do not post this edict where the people may read it.' Chang thereupon submitted an itemized memorial on He's residence and conduct, setting out the signs of his deposition and ruin, saying: 'Your servant Chang took office in the fifth month of the third year of Dijie. The former King of Changyi was living in the old palace; the slaves and servants inside numbered one hundred eighty-three. The main gate was closed and a small gate opened. One honest official was placed in charge of money and goods for market purchases, and food was brought in each morning; apart from this, nothing else was allowed to go in or out. A chief of detectives runs constant patrols and logs every visitor. Royal funds pay for guards who seal the inner courts against intruders. I dispatch deputies at intervals to verify these arrangements. In the ninth month of my fourth year in office I called on him in person. He is twenty-six or twenty-seven, sallow as old bronze, with small eyes, a pinched nose, scant beard and brows, a tall stooped frame, and a crippling limp. He dresses in a short jacket and baggy trousers, crowns himself with a Huizhen cap, threads a jade ring on his belt, tucks a brush behind his ear, and clutches wooden slips as he minces forward to greet me. I sat with him in the central court and reviewed his wives, children, and bondmaids. To probe his mind I baited him: They say Changyi swarms with owls. He answered: So they say. When I rode west to Chang'an I heard none at all. Coming home east as far as Jiyang, the owls began to cry again. While I was inspecting his household I noticed a girl holding the chariot reins. He knelt up eagerly and said: 'The rein-holder's mother is a daughter of Yan Changsun.' I recognized the name: Yan Yannian, the chief of police, whose style is Changsun, has a daughter Luo'ao who was once this man's queen. Judging by his dress, his speech, and the way he rises and kneels, he is touched—witless rather than wicked. He keeps sixteen wives and twenty-two children—eleven sons and eleven daughters. At peril of my life I append the household registers and the inventory of slaves and property. In an earlier memorial I reported that the ten dancing-girls led by Zhang Xiu, who had entertained Prince Ai of Changyi, bore no royal sons, held no rank as concubines, and were mere common entertainers—when their lord died they should have been sent home. Grand Tutor Bao and his colleagues kept them by force as shrine attendants for Prince Ai's tomb—an abuse I asked Your Majesty to correct by ordering their release. When the ex-king heard my plea he sneered: Those wretches in the park—let the sick go untended, let killers among them go unpunished; I wanted them dead as soon as may be. Why should the governor meddle to spare them? Such was his temper—drawn to chaos and his own undoing, blind to the least scrap of benevolence or duty. The chancellor and imperial counselor laid my memorial before the throne, and the court approved it. They have all been dismissed as I requested.' From this the emperor saw that Liu He posed no threat.

其明年春，乃下詔曰：「蓋聞像有罪，舜封之，骨肉之親，析而不殊。其封故昌邑王賀為海昏侯，食邑四千戶。」侍中衛尉金安上上書言：「賀，天之所棄，陛下至仁，復封為列侯。賀𡂨頑放廢之人，不宜得奉宗廟朝聘之禮。」奏可。賀就國豫章。

In the spring of the following year, he issued an edict saying: 'We have heard that although Xiang was guilty, Shun enfeoffed him. The bonds of flesh-and-blood kin may be divided, but they are not utterly severed. Let Liu He, the former king of Changyi, be made marquis of Haihun with four thousand taxable households.' Palace Attendant and Commandant of the Guards Jin Angshang submitted a memorial saying: 'He was one whom Heaven cast off, yet Your Majesty, in utmost benevolence, again enfeoffed him as a full marquis. He remains a dull, headstrong outcast—unfit to join the sacrifices at the imperial shrines or the court's diplomatic rounds.' The throne accepted the objection. Liu He withdrew to his fief in Yuzhang commandery.

數年，揚州刺史柯奏賀與故太守卒史孫萬世交通，萬世問賀：「前見廢時，何不堅守毋出宮，斬大將軍，而聽人奪璽綬乎？」賀曰：「然。失之。」萬世又以賀且王豫章，不久為列侯。賀曰：且然，非所宜言。有司案驗，請逮捕。制曰：「削戶三千。」後薨。

Some years later the governor of Yangzhou, surnamed Ke, reported that Liu He was consorting with a former clerk, Sun Wanshi, who had asked him: 'When they dragged you from the throne, why did you not bar the palace gates, strike down the grand marshal, and keep your seals by force?' He said: 'Yes. I missed my chance.' Wanshi went on to hint that he would soon rule Yuzhang as a king, or at least rise to a full marquisate. He said: 'Perhaps so—not what is fit to say." The censorate reviewed the case and asked permission to arrest him. An edict answered: 'Strip three thousand households from his fief.' Not long afterward he died.

豫章太守廖奏言：「舜封象於有鼻，死不為置後，以為暴亂之人不宜為太祖。海昏侯賀死，上當為後者子充國；充國死，復上弟奉親；奉親復死，是天絕之也。陛下聖仁，於賀甚厚，雖舜於象無以加也。宜以禮絕賀，以奉天意。願下有司議。」議皆以為不宜為立嗣，國除。

Liao, Governor of Yuzhang, submitted a memorial saying: 'Shun enfeoffed Xiang at Youbi, but when Xiang died he did not establish a successor for him, because he held that violent and disorderly men should not become founding ancestors. At Liu He's death his eldest son Chongguo was the rightful heir. Chongguo died before taking the title; next in line was his brother Fengqin. Fengqin too died—Heaven has plainly cut off this house. Your Majesty has lavished more grace on Liu He than Shun ever lavished on his brother Xiang. It is time to end his line by the rites and bow to Heaven's will. I ask that you refer the matter to the ministers for debate.' The court unanimously ruled that no heir should be named; the marquisate was abolished.

元帝即位，復封賀子代宗為海昏侯，傳子至孫，今見為侯。贊曰：巫蠱之禍，豈不哀哉！此不唯一江充之辜，亦有天時，非人力所致焉。建元六年，蚩尤之旗見，其長竟天。後遂命將出征，略取河南，建置朔方。其春，戾太子生。自是之後，師行三十年，兵所誅屠夷滅死者不可勝數。及巫蠱事起，京師流血，殭屍數萬，太子子父皆敗。故太子生長於兵，與之終始，何獨一嬖臣哉！秦始皇即位三十九年，內平六國，外攘四夷，死人如亂麻，暴骨長城之下，頭盧相屬於道，不一日而無兵。由是山東之難興，四方潰而逆秦。秦將吏外畔，賊臣內發，亂作蕭牆，禍成二世。故曰「兵猶火也，弗戢必自焚」，信矣。是以倉頡作書，「止戈」為「武」。聖人以武禁暴整亂，止息兵戈，非以為殘而興縱之也。《易》曰：「天子所助者順也，人之所助者信也；君子履信思順，自天祐之，吉無不利也。」故車千秋指明蠱情，章太子之冤。千秋材知未必能過人也，以其銷惡運，遏亂原，因衰激極，道迎善氣，傳得天人之祐助云。

Emperor Yuan later restored the fief to Liu He's son Daizong; the title passed from father to son to grandson and continues in the same line to this day. Commentary: The calamity of witchcraft—how is it not pitiful! This was not Jiang Chong's guilt alone; Heaven's timing also played a part—not something human effort could fully direct. In the sixth year of Jianyuan the banner of Chiyou appeared, its length spanning the sky. Afterward armies were dispatched on campaign to seize the lands south of the Yellow River and establish Shuofang commandery. That spring Crown Prince Ju was born. From then on, hosts marched for thirty years; those slain, butchered, destroyed, or exterminated in battle were beyond count. When the witchcraft affair erupted, the capital ran with blood—tens of thousands of corpses—and father and son the crown prince both met ruin. The crown prince grew to manhood amid war and lived with it to the end—how can one blame a single favorite alone! By the thirty-ninth year after Qin Shihuang came to the throne, he had pacified the six states within and driven back the four barbarians without. The dead lay tangled like hemp; exposed bones stretched below the Great Wall; skulls lined the roads; not a single day passed without troops in the field. Hence trouble rose east of the mountains; the four quarters broke and turned against Qin. Qin generals and officials defected without, treacherous ministers rose within; turmoil began inside the palace walls, and disaster reached the Second Emperor. Hence the saying "War is like fire—if not quenched it must burn the wielder"—how true! Therefore when Cangjie devised writing, he made "stop spear" into "warrior." The sage employs arms to restrain violence and put disorder in order, to halt war—not to delight in slaughter and let cruelty run loose. The Book of Changes says: "Heaven assists the Son of Heaven who follows the Way; men assist him who keeps faith; The gentleman treads faith and thinks on obedience—Heaven blesses him, and good fortune follows without exception." Hence Che Qianqiu clarified the truth of the witchcraft and vindicated the crown prince's innocence. Qianqiu's talent and wisdom may not necessarily have surpassed others, but because he dissolved an evil momentum, checked the source of disorder, stirred renewal from decline, and guided in auspicious qi, tradition says that he received the aid of Heaven and men.

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