1
Emperor Jing had thirteen sons who were enfeoffed as kings, each born to one of five mothers. Those who shared the same mother were reckoned as one maternal lineage. Consort Li bore three sons: Rong, De, and Eyu. Consort Cheng bore three sons: Yu, Fei, and Duan. Lady Jia bore two sons: Pengzu and Sheng. Consort Tang bore one son: Fa. Lady Wang, also known as Erxu, bore four sons: Yue, Ji, Cheng, and Shun.
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King Xian of Hejian, whose name was De, was enfeoffed as King of Hejian as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign. He was devoted to Confucian learning, and in both his dress and his conduct, even in moments of haste, he invariably adhered to the ways of the Confucian scholars. Many Confucian scholars from east of the mountains came to study under him.
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King Ai of Linjiang, whose name was Eyu, was enfeoffed as King of Linjiang as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign. He died after three years without an heir, and his kingdom was abolished and converted into a commandery.
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King Min of Linjiang, whose name was Rong, was made Crown Prince in the fourth year of Emperor Jing's early reign. After four years he was deposed, and the former Crown Prince was then enfeoffed as King of Linjiang.
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In his fourth year as king, he was charged with encroaching upon the temple precinct walls to expand his palace. The emperor summoned Rong to the capital. As Rong departed, he performed the farewell sacrifice at the north gate of Jiangling. He had already mounted his carriage when the axle snapped and the carriage collapsed. The elders of Jiangling wept and whispered to one another, "Our king will never return!" When Rong arrived in the capital, he presented himself at the office of the Commandant of Justice to be registered. The Commandant Zhi Du interrogated the king with harsh rebukes; terrified, Rong took his own life. He was buried at Lantian. Tens of thousands of swallows carried earth in their beaks and placed it upon his tomb, and the common people mourned him.
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8
右三國本王皆栗姬之子也。
The original kings of these three states were all sons of Consort Li.
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King Gong of Lu, whose name was Yu, was first enfeoffed as King of Huaiyang as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign. Two years later, after the rebellion of Wu and Chu had been crushed, he was transferred to become King of Lu in the third year of Emperor Jing's early reign. He delighted in building palaces and gardens, and in keeping dogs and horses. In his later years he grew fond of music but had no taste for literary disputation. He had a stammer.
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King Yi of Jiangdu, whose name was Fei, was enfeoffed as King of Runan as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign. When the kingdoms of Wu and Chu rose in rebellion, Fei was only fifteen, yet he possessed both talent and strength, and he submitted a memorial requesting permission to march against Wu. Emperor Jing bestowed upon Fei a general's seal and dispatched him to fight against Wu. After Wu was crushed, two years passed before Fei was transferred to become King of Jiangdu, governing the former territory of Wu. In recognition of his military valor, he was awarded the imperial banners. In the fifth year of the Yuanguang era, the Xiongnu launched a major incursion into Han territory, raiding and plundering. Fei submitted a memorial requesting permission to strike against them, but the emperor refused. Fei delighted in feats of strength, built lavish palaces and towers, and gathered bold and daring men from every quarter. His arrogance and extravagance knew no bounds.
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After twenty-six years on the throne he died, and his son Jian was established as king in his stead. Seven years later, Jian took his own life. When the kings of Huainan and Hengshan were plotting rebellion, Jian had caught wind of their conspiracy. Believing his kingdom lay dangerously close to Huainan, he feared that should the revolt erupt, he might be swallowed up. He therefore had weapons forged in secret, and whenever he ventured out he wore the general's seal his father had received and displayed the imperial banners. Before King Yi had even been laid to rest, Jian became enamored of the late king's favored consort, Lady Nao. Under cover of night he sent men to bring her to his quarters, where he took her as his own. When the Huainan conspiracy was uncovered, the investigation of its accomplices extended to implicate King Jian of Jiangdu. Jian grew alarmed and dispatched agents laden with gold and coin to bribe officials and quash the proceedings against him. He also relied on shamans and diviners, sending them to offer prayers and utter slanderous prophecies. Jian further committed incest with all of his elder sisters and younger brothers. When these affairs came to light, the ministers and nobles of the Han court petitioned for Jian's arrest and prosecution. The Son of Heaven could not bear to act so harshly and instead sent senior ministers to interrogate the king in person. The king confessed to his offenses and then took his own life. His kingdom was abolished, its territory absorbed into the Han domain and reorganized as the Commandery of Guangling.
13
King Yu of Jiaoxi, whose name was Duan, was enfeoffed as King of Jiaoxi as an imperial prince in the third year of Emperor Jing's early reign, after the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu had been put down. Duan was cruel and violent by temperament, and he also suffered from a hidden affliction of impotence. Whenever he lay with a woman, he would fall ill for months afterward. Instead, he kept a favored young man as a gentleman-in-attendance at court. Before long, this attendant carried on illicit affairs with the women of the inner palace. Duan seized and put him to death, and killed his mother and children as well. He transgressed the imperial statutes time and again. The ministers and nobles of the Han court repeatedly petitioned for his execution, but the Son of Heaven, for the bond of brotherhood, could not bring himself to act. Meanwhile, Duan's outrages only grew worse. The responsible officials twice petitioned to have his kingdom reduced, and more than half its territory was stripped away. Duan seethed with resentment, and from that point on he spent nothing at all, living in the most extreme frugality. His storehouses and treasuries fell into ruin, their roofs leaking, until goods worth tens of millions had rotted away, yet he still refused to collect or relocate them. He forbade his officials from collecting rents or taxes. Duan dismissed all his guards and sealed every gate of the palace, leaving only a single gate through which he would come and go. He would frequently change his name, disguise himself as a commoner, and travel incognito to other commanderies and kingdoms.
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Whenever a chancellor or an official of two-thousand-shi rank was sent to administer the kingdom, faithfully upholding Han law, Duan would ferret out their transgressions and denounce them. Those against whom he could find no fault, he simply poisoned. He was masterful in devising stratagems and manipulating circumstances, forceful enough to rebuff any remonstrance, and cunning enough to disguise his every transgression. If the chancellor or officials of two-thousand-shi rank complied with the king's wishes in governing, then the Han court would hold them accountable under the law. Thus, although Jiaoxi was but a small kingdom, the number of officials of two-thousand-shi rank who were killed or ruined there was remarkably high.
15
立四十七年，卒，竟無男代後，國除，地入于漢，為膠西郡。
He reigned for forty-seven years and died without ever producing a male heir. His kingdom was abolished, its territory absorbed into the Han domain and reorganized as the Commandery of Jiaoxi.
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右三國本王皆程姬之子也。
The founding kings of the above three kingdoms were all sons of Consort Cheng.
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趙王彭祖，以孝景前二年用皇子為廣川王。 趙王遂反破後，彭祖王廣川。 四年，徙為趙王。 十五年，孝景帝崩。 彭祖為人巧佞卑諂，足恭而心刻深。 好法律，持詭辯以中人。 彭祖多內寵姬及子孫。 相、二千石欲奉漢法以治，則害於王家。 是以每相、二千石至，彭祖衣皁布衣，自行迎，除二千石舍，多設疑事以作動之，得二千石失言，中忌諱，輒書之。 二千石欲治者，則以此迫劫； 不聽，乃上書告，及汙以姦利事。 彭祖立五十餘年，相、二千石無能滿二歲，輒以罪去，大者死，小者刑，以故二千石莫敢治。 而趙王擅權，使使即縣為賈人榷會，入多於國經租稅。 以是趙王家多金錢，然所賜姬諸子，亦盡之矣。 彭祖取笔江都易王寵姬王建所盜與姦淖姬者為姬，甚愛之。
King Pengzu of Zhao was first enfeoffed as King of Guangchuan as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign. After King Sui of Zhao's rebellion was crushed, Pengzu ruled as King of Guangchuan. Four years later, he was transferred to become King of Zhao. Fifteen years into his reign, Emperor Jing passed away. Pengzu was by nature artful, fawning, and obsequious, deferential in outward manner but ruthless and calculating at heart. He had a passion for legal matters and wielded sophistry to entrap others. Pengzu kept a great number of favored consorts in his inner palace, and sired many children and grandchildren. Any chancellor or official of two-thousand-shi rank who attempted to govern by Han law inevitably ran afoul of the royal household's interests. For this reason, whenever a new chancellor or official of two-thousand-shi rank arrived, Pengzu would don coarse black cloth and personally go out to welcome him. He would prepare the official's quarters and contrive all manner of provocations to unsettle him. If the official let slip an indiscreet word or violated some taboo, Pengzu recorded it at once. Should an official of two-thousand-shi rank attempt to govern, Pengzu would use these records to coerce and threaten him; and if the official still refused to comply, Pengzu would submit a memorial of accusation to the throne, smearing him with charges of corruption and profiteering. Over the course of Pengzu's reign of more than fifty years, not a single chancellor or official of two-thousand-shi rank lasted a full two years before being removed on charges. Those convicted of greater offenses died; those of lesser ones were punished. As a result, no official dared to govern. The King of Zhao thus monopolized all authority, dispatching agents to the counties to operate trading monopolies on his behalf, which brought in revenue exceeding the kingdom's regular rents and taxes. As a result, the house of Zhao amassed a great fortune in gold and coin, yet what Pengzu lavished upon his consorts and sons consumed it all. Pengzu took as his own consort the very Lady Nao whom King Jian of Jiangdu had abducted from the late King Yi's inner palace and bedded unlawfully. Pengzu doted on her greatly.
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Pengzu took no interest in building palaces or pursuing auspicious omens; his passion lay in the business of governance. He petitioned the throne for permission to personally oversee the suppression of bandits and thieves within his kingdom. He frequently went out at night with foot soldiers on patrol through the streets of Handan. Envoys and travelers who passed through all regarded Pengzu as dangerous and unpredictable, and none dared linger in Handan.
19
His crown prince Dan committed incest with his own daughter and with a sister born of the same mother, and fell into a bitter feud with a retainer named Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong reported Dan's offenses, and as a result Dan was deposed as heir. The kingdom of Zhao then established a new heir apparent.
20
King Jing of Zhongshan, whose name was Sheng, was enfeoffed as King of Zhongshan as an imperial prince in the third year of Emperor Jing's early reign. Fourteen years into his reign, Emperor Jing passed away. Sheng was a man who delighted in wine and women, and he fathered more than a hundred and twenty sons and descendants across his branches. He often quarreled with his elder brother, the King of Zhao, saying: "My brother, though a king, concerns himself solely with taking over the work of officials. A king ought to spend his days enjoying music and the pleasures of the senses." The King of Zhao countered: "The King of Zhongshan does nothing but wallow in excess day after day. He does not assist the Son of Heaven in nurturing and guiding the people. How can he claim to be a worthy vassal?"
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King Ding of Changsha, whose name was Fa, was the son of Consort Tang, who had formerly served as a lady-in-waiting to Consort Cheng. When Emperor Jing summoned Consort Cheng, she was indisposed and unwilling to attend. Instead, she adorned her attendant, known as Tang Er, and sent the girl in her place under cover of night. The emperor, drunk and unsuspecting, took her for Consort Cheng and lay with her. She conceived. Only afterward did the emperor realize that the woman had not been Consort Cheng. When she gave birth to a son, he was given the name Fa. In the second year of Emperor Jing's early reign, Fa was enfeoffed as King of Changsha as an imperial prince. Because his mother was of humble origin and enjoyed no imperial favor, he was consigned to rule over a poor and swampy kingdom.
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The founding king of the above kingdom was a son of Consort Tang. King Hui of Guangchuan, whose name was Yue, was enfeoffed as King of Guangchuan as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's middle reign.
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After twelve years he died, and his son Qi was established as king. Qi had a favored retainer named Sang Ju. In time Sang Ju committed an offense. The king sought to have him executed, but Ju fled. The king then seized Ju's entire clan. Harboring bitter resentment, Ju submitted a memorial to the throne accusing King Qi of incest with his own sister. From that time on, King Qi repeatedly submitted memorials denouncing Han ministers and nobles, as well as imperial favorites such as Suo Zhong and others.
27
King Kang of Jiaodong, whose name was Ji, was enfeoffed as King of Jiaodong as an imperial prince in the second year of Emperor Jing's middle reign. He died after twenty-eight years on the throne. When the King of Huainan was plotting rebellion, Ji caught wind of the scheme and secretly had siege towers, arrowheads, and other military defenses constructed, standing ready for the moment Huainan would rise. When officials investigated the Huainan affair, the confessions that emerged implicated him. Ji had been the emperor's most beloved brother, and the affair weighed heavily upon him. He fell ill with grief and died, not having dared to designate an heir. Only then did the emperor learn what had happened. Ji's eldest son was named Xian, but his mother had never enjoyed imperial favor; his younger son was named Qing, whose mother was beloved and favored. Ji had always wished to name Qing as his heir, but since doing so would violate the order of succession, and because of the taint of his own offenses, he said nothing. The emperor, moved by pity, made Xian King of Jiaodong to carry on King Kang's line, and enfeoffed Qing in the former territory of Hengshan as King of Liu'an.
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King Ai of Qinghe, whose name was Cheng, was enfeoffed as King of Qinghe as an imperial prince in the third year of Emperor Jing's middle reign. He died after twelve years without an heir. His kingdom was abolished, its territory absorbed into the Han domain and reorganized as the Commandery of Qinghe.
31
King Xian of Changshan, whose name was Shun, was enfeoffed as King of Changshan as an imperial prince in the fifth year of Emperor Jing's middle reign. Shun was the most cherished of the brothers, being Emperor Jing's youngest son. He was arrogant, indolent, and given to excess, and he frequently ran afoul of the law. Yet the emperor always pardoned him. After thirty-two years on the throne he died, and his heir apparent, Bo, succeeded him as king.
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初，憲王舜有所不愛姬生長男棁。 棁以母無寵故，亦不得幸於王。 王後修生太子勃。 王內多，所幸姬生子平、子商，王后希得幸。 及憲王病甚，諸幸姬常侍病，故王后亦以妒媢不常侍病，輒歸舍。 醫進藥，太子勃不自嘗藥，又不宿留侍病。 及王薨，王后、太子乃至。 憲王雅不以長子棁為人數，及薨，又不分與財物。 郎或說太子、王后，令諸子與長子棁共分財物，太子、王后不聽。 太子代立，又不收恤棁。 棁怨王后、太子。 漢使者視憲王喪，棁自言憲王病時，王后、太子不侍，及薨，六日出舍，太子勃私姦，飲酒，博戲，擊筑，與女子載馳，環城過市，入牢視囚。 天子遣大行騫驗王后及問王勃，請逮勃所與姦諸證左，王又匿之。 吏求捕勃大急，使人致擊笞掠，擅出漢所疑囚者。 有司請誅憲王後修及王勃。 上以修素無行，使棁陷之罪，勃無良師傅，不忍誅。 有司請廢王後修，徙王勃以家屬處房陵，上許之。
Originally, King Xian Shun had a consort whom he did not favor, and she bore him his eldest son, Tiao. Because his mother enjoyed no favor, Tiao likewise received none from the king. The queen, whose name was Xiu, later bore the crown prince, Bo. The king kept many women in his inner palace, and his favored consorts bore him sons named Ping and Shang. The queen herself rarely enjoyed his attentions. When King Xian fell gravely ill, his favored consorts took turns attending at his bedside. The queen, out of jealous resentment, declined to attend regularly and would withdraw to her own chambers. When the physician prepared medicine, Crown Prince Bo did not taste it first to test it, as filial duty required, nor did he keep vigil at his father's bedside through the night. Only when the king breathed his last did the queen and the crown prince finally appear. King Xian had never treated his eldest son Tiao as a person of consequence, and upon his death he left Tiao no share of the estate. Certain gentlemen-attendants urged the crown prince and queen to let the other sons share the estate with the eldest, Tiao, but neither would hear of it. Even after the crown prince succeeded to the throne, he still refused to look after Tiao or offer him any support. Tiao nursed a deep grudge against the queen and the crown prince. When Han envoys arrived to oversee King Xian's funeral, Tiao came forward and personally testified that during the king's illness, neither the queen nor the crown prince had attended him. After the king's death, they had left their mourning quarters within six days. He further reported that Crown Prince Bo had conducted illicit affairs, drunk wine, gambled, and played the bamboo zither. He had raced in carriages with women through the streets, ridden around the city walls and through the markets, and entered the prison to inspect the inmates. The Son of Heaven dispatched the Grand Herald, Qian, to investigate the queen and interrogate King Bo. He requested the arrest of all accomplices and witnesses to Bo's illicit activities, but the king concealed them. When the officials pressed urgently to apprehend Bo, he had his men resort to beatings and floggings, and he took it upon himself to release prisoners whom the Han court had placed under suspicion. The responsible officials petitioned to have Queen Xiu and King Bo put to death. The emperor, reflecting that Xiu had always been of poor conduct, making it easy for Tiao to entrap her, and that Bo had never had the benefit of a worthy tutor, could not bring himself to have them executed. The officials petitioned instead to depose Queen Xiu and exile King Bo along with his family to Fangling. The emperor consented.
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Bo had reigned as king for only a few months before he was removed to Fangling, and the kingdom came to an end. A little more than a month later, mindful that Changshan had been ruled by his closest kin, the Son of Heaven issued an edict to his ministers: "King Xian of Changshan died before his time. His queen and consorts were at odds, and legitimate and illegitimate sons slandered one another and quarreled until they fell into disgrace and the kingdom was extinguished. We are deeply grieved by this. Enfeoff King Xian's son Ping as King of Zhending, with thirty thousand households; and enfeoff his son Shang as King of Sishui, also with thirty thousand households."
34
King Ping of Zhending, a son of King Xian of Changshan, was enfeoffed as King of Zhending in the fourth year of the Yuanding era.
35
King Si of Sishui, whose name was Shang, a son of King Xian of Changshan, was enfeoffed as King of Sishui in the fourth year of the Yuanding era. After eleven years he died, and his son, King Ai, whose name was Anshi, succeeded him. He died after eleven years without a son. The emperor, grieved that the Sishui line had come to an end, established Anshi's younger brother He as King of Sishui.
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The Grand Historian remarks: In the time of Emperor Gaozu, the feudal lords all collected their own taxes and were permitted to appoint their own officials from the rank of Interior Minister downward. Only the chancellors were appointed by the Han court, and they bore golden seals. The feudal lords appointed their own censors, chief justices, and erudites, rivaling the Son of Heaven in their establishments. After the rebellion of Wu and Chu, through the successive generations of the five royal lineages, the Han court appointed officials of two-thousand-shi rank in every kingdom, replaced the title of "chancellor" with the lesser designation of "administrator," and issued silver seals in place of gold. The feudal lords were left with nothing but the right to collect their rents and taxes; all real power had been stripped away. In the years that followed, some of the more impoverished feudal lords were even reduced to riding in ox-drawn carts.