Volume 33 Han Records 25

資治通鑑第033卷

Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 33.

【漢紀二十五】起閼逢攝提格，盡旃蒙單閼，凡二年。

[Han Annals 25] From Emao Shetige through Zhanmeng Danyan—two years in all.

春，正月，上行幸甘泉，郊泰畤。

In spring, the first month, the emperor went to Sweet Springs and offered sacrifice at the Great Altars.

二月，壬子，丞相方進薨。時熒惑守心，丞相府議曹平陵李尋奏記方進，言：「災變迫切，大責日加，安得但保斥逐之戮！闔府三百餘人，唯君侯擇其中，與盡節轉凶。」方進憂之，不知所出。會郎賁麗善為星，言大臣宜當之。上乃召見方進。還歸，未及引決，上遂賜冊，責讓以政事不治，災害並臻，百姓窮困，曰：「欲退君位，尚未忍，使尚書令賜君上尊酒十石，養牛一，君審處焉！」方進即日自殺。上秘之，遣九卿冊贈印綬，賜乘輿秘器、少府供張，柱檻皆衣素。天子親臨吊者數至，禮賜異於它相故事。

In the second month, on renzi, Chancellor Fang Jin died. Mars then lodged in the Heart mansion; Li Xun of Pingling, a deliberation clerk in the chancellor's office, wrote to Fang Jin: "Calamity presses close and blame mounts daily—how can you settle for mere dismissal and exile! More than three hundred men fill this office—only you, my lord, can choose among them who will give their utmost and turn misfortune aside." Fang Jin was deeply troubled and saw no way out. It happened that Gentleman Ben Li, skilled in astrology, said a great minister ought to bear the omen. The emperor then summoned Fang Jin for an audience. He returned home; before he could act, the emperor sent a patent rebuking him for misrule, converging disasters, and the people's destitution: "I mean to remove you from office but have not yet borne to do so. I send the Palace Clerk with ten piculs of honored wine and one nursing ox—consider carefully what you will do!" Fang Jin killed himself that same day. The emperor kept it secret, sent the Nine Ministers with a patent to bestow seals and cords, granted imperial funeral fittings and Privy Treasurer provisions, and draped pillars and thresholds in plain white. The emperor came in person to mourn several times; rites and gifts exceeded precedent for other chancellors.

臣光曰：晏嬰有言：「天命不慆，不貳其命。」禍福之至，安可移乎！昔楚昭王、宋景公不忍移災於卿佐，曰：「移腹心之疾，寘諸股肱，何益也！」藉其災可移，仁君猶不肯為，況不可乎！使方進罪不至死而誅之，以當大變，是誣天也；方進有罪當刑，隱其誅而厚其葬，是誣人也；孝成欲誣天、人而卒無所益，可謂不知命矣。

Sima Guang remarks: Yan Ying said, "Heaven's mandate does not weary; do not doubt your mandate." When fortune and calamity arrive, how can they be shifted! King Zhao of Chu and Duke Jing of Song could not bear to shift disaster onto their ministers, saying, "To move an ailment of the heart and belly onto arms and thighs—what good is that!" Even if disaster could be shifted, a benevolent ruler would still refuse—how much less when it cannot! To execute Fang Jin when his crime did not merit death, to answer a great omen—that is to deceive Heaven; when Fang Jin deserved punishment, to conceal his execution yet give him a lavish burial—that is to deceive men; Emperor Cheng wished to deceive Heaven and men yet gained nothing—he may be said not to have known his mandate.

三月，上行幸河東，祠后土。

In the third month, the emperor traveled to Hedong and sacrificed to the Queen of Earth.

丙戌，帝崩於未央宮。

On bingxu, the emperor died at Weiyang Palace.

帝素強無疾病。是時，楚思王衍、梁王立來朝，明旦，當辭去，上宿供張白虎殿；又欲拜左將軍孔光為丞相，已刻侯印，書贊。昏夜，平善，鄉晨，傅绔襪欲起，因失衣，不能言，晝漏上十刻而崩，民間讙嘩，鹹歸罪趙昭儀。皇太后詔大司馬莽雜與御史、丞相、廷尉治，問皇帝起居發病狀；趙昭儀自殺。

The emperor had always been strong and without illness. At this time Prince Si of Chu, Yan, and King Li of Liang were at court; at dawn the next day they were to depart; the emperor lodged in White Tiger Hall; he also meant to appoint Left General Kong Guang chancellor—the marquis seal was already carved and the encomium written. At dusk he was calm; toward dawn, as he fastened skirt and socks to rise, he lost control of his robe and could not speak; at ten quarters of the day clepsydra he died; the people clamored, all blaming Consort Zhao Zhaoyi. The Empress Dowager ordered Grand Marshal Wang Mang, together with the Censor-in-Chief, Chancellor, and Commandant of Justice, to investigate the emperor's daily conduct and how his illness arose; Consort Zhao Zhaoyi killed herself.

班彪贊曰：臣姑充後宮為婕妤，父子、昆弟侍帷幄，數為臣言：「成帝善修容儀，升車正立，不內顧，不疾言，不親指，臨朝淵嘿，尊嚴若神，可謂穆穆有天子之容者矣。博覽古今，容受直辭，公卿奏議可述。遭世承平，上下和睦。然湛乎酒色，趙氏亂內，外家擅朝，言之可為於邑！」建始以來，王氏始執國命，哀、平短祚，莽遂篡位，蓋其威福所由來者漸矣！

Ban Biao's encomium says: My father's sister served in the rear palace as Brilliant Companion; father, sons, and brothers attended within the curtain and often told me: "Emperor Cheng cultivated bearing and deportment—mounting his carriage he stood straight, never glancing within, never speaking hastily, never pointing with his own hand; at court he was deep and silent, august as a spirit—he had the solemn bearing of a Son of Heaven. He ranged broadly through past and present, welcomed forthright counsel, and the memorials of his ministers are worth recounting. He met an age of peace; court and realm were harmonious. Yet he was steeped in wine and women; the Zhao clan threw the inner palace into disorder; the consort kin monopolized the court—to speak of it wrings the heart!" Since Jianshi the Wang clan first held the nation's mandate; Ai and Ping reigned briefly, and Mang then usurped the throne—the authority and favor from which this came had grown by degrees!

是日，孔光於大行前拜受丞相、博山侯印綬。

That day, before the bier, Kong Guang received investiture as chancellor and Marquis of Boshan with seals and cords.

富平侯張放聞帝崩，思慕哭泣而死。

Marquis of Fuping Zhang Fang, hearing the emperor had died, died of grief and weeping.

荀悅論曰：放非不愛上，忠不存焉。故愛而不忠，仁之賊也！

Xun Yue remarks: Fang did not fail to love the emperor, but loyalty was not in him. To love yet not be loyal is the thief of benevolence!

皇太后詔南、北郊長安如故。

The Empress Dowager ordered that southern and northern suburban sacrifices in Chang'an continue as before.

夏，四月，丙午，太子即皇帝位，謁高廟；尊皇太后曰太皇太后，皇后曰皇太后。大赦天下。

In summer, the fourth month, on bingwu, the heir apparent took the throne and visited the High Ancestor's temple; the Empress Dowager was honored as Grand Empress Dowager, and the empress as Empress Dowager. The empire was pardoned.

哀帝初立，躬行儉約，省減諸用，政事由己出，朝廷翕然望至治焉。

When Emperor Ai first took the throne, he personally practiced frugality, cut expenditures, and took government into his own hands; the court with one accord looked toward perfect governance.

己卯，葬教成皇帝於延陵。

On jimao, Emperor Cheng was buried at Yanling.

太皇太后令傅太后、丁姬十日一至未央宮。

The Grand Empress Dowager ordered Empress Dowager Fu and Lady Ding to visit Weiyang Palace once every ten days.

有詔問丞相、大司空：「定陶共王太后宜當何居？」丞相孔光素聞傅太后為人剛暴，長於權謀，自帝在襁褓，而養長教道至於成人，帝之立又有力；光心恐傅太后與政事，不欲與帝旦夕相近，即議以為：「定陶太后宜改築宮。」大司空何武曰：「可居北宮。」上從武言。北宮有紫房復道通未央宮，傅太后果從復道朝夕至帝所，求欲稱尊號，貴寵其親屬，使上不得由直道行。高昌侯董宏希指，上書言：「秦莊襄王母本夏氏，而為華陽夫人所子，及即位後，俱稱太后。宜立定陶共王后為帝太后。」事下有司，大司馬王莽，左將軍、關內侯、領尚書事師丹劾奏宏：「知皇太后至尊之號，天下一統，而稱引亡秦以為比喻，詿誤聖朝，非所宜言，大不道！」上新立，謙讓，納用莽、丹言，免宏為庶人。傅太后大怒，要上，欲必稱尊號。上乃白太皇太后，令下詔尊定陶恭王為恭皇。

An edict asked the Chancellor and Grand Minister of Works: "Where ought the Empress Dowager of the late King Gong of Dingtao to reside?" Chancellor Kong Guang had long known Empress Dowager Fu as fierce and skilled in power and stratagem; from the emperor's infancy she had reared and guided him to manhood, and she had had force in making him heir; Guang feared she would meddle in government and did not wish her near the emperor day and night; he proposed at once: "The Empress Dowager of Dingtao ought to have a separate palace built." Grand Minister of Works He Wu said, "She may reside in Northern Palace." The emperor followed Wu's advice. Northern Palace had the Purple Chamber covered passage to Weiyang Palace; Empress Dowager Fu then used it morning and evening to reach the emperor, sought an honored title, ennobled her kin, and kept the emperor from the straight path of rule. Marquis of Gaochang Dong Hong, hoping to please, memorialized: "King Zhuangxiang of Qin's mother was originally of the Xia clan, yet as son of Lady Huayang, after he took the throne both were styled Empress Dowager. The late Queen of King Gong of Dingtao ought to be established as Imperial Empress Dowager." The matter was referred to the authorities; Grand Marshal Wang Mang and Left General, Marquis within the Passes, and Overseer of Palace Affairs Shi Dan impeached Hong: "Knowing the Empress Dowager's supreme title and that the realm is one, yet citing fallen Qin as precedent, misleading the sage court—this ought not be spoken; it is great impiety!" The newly enthroned emperor was modest; he accepted Mang's and Dan's counsel and reduced Hong to commoner status. Empress Dowager Fu was furious and pressed the emperor, determined to obtain the honored title. The emperor then informed the Grand Empress Dowager and had an edict issued honoring King Gong of Dingtao as Emperor Gong.

五月，丙戌，立皇后傅氏，傅太后從弟晏之子也。

In the fifth month, on bingxu, Empress Fu was established—daughter of Yan, son of the Empress Dowager Fu's younger cousin.

詔曰：「《春秋》，母以子貴。宜尊定陶太后曰恭皇太后，丁姬曰恭皇后，各置左右詹事，食邑如長信宮、中宮。」追尊傅父為崇祖侯，丁父為褒德侯；封舅丁明為陽安侯，舅子滿為平周侯，皇后父晏為孔鄉侯，皇太后弟、侍中、光祿大夫趙欽為新城侯。太皇太后詔大司馬莽就第，避帝外家；莽上疏乞骸骨。帝遣尚書令詔起莽，又遣丞相孔光、大司空何武、左將軍師丹、衛尉傅喜白太皇太后曰：「皇帝聞太后詔，甚悲！大司馬即不起，皇帝即不敢聽政！」太后乃復令莽視事。

An edict said: "The Spring and Autumn Annals teaches that through the son the mother is ennobled. The Empress Dowager of Dingtao ought to be honored as Empress Dowager Gong; Lady Ding as Empress Gong; each should have chamberlains appointed, with fief income like Everlasting Faith Palace and the Central Palace." Posthumously Fu's father was honored as Marquis Chongzu; Ding's father as Marquis Baode; maternal uncle Ding Ming was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yang'an; his son Man as Marquis of Pingzhou; the empress's father Yan as Marquis of Kongxiang; the empress dowager's younger brother, Attendant-in-Ordinary and Household Grandee Zhao Qin as Marquis of Xincheng. The Grand Empress Dowager ordered Grand Marshal Wang Mang to retire to his residence and avoid the emperor's wife's kin; Mang submitted a memorial asking to resign. The emperor sent the Palace Clerk with an edict to summon Mang back; he also sent Chancellor Kong Guang, Grand Minister of Works He Wu, Left General Shi Dan, and Commandant of the Guard Fu Xi to tell the Grand Empress Dowager: "The emperor, hearing Your Majesty's edict, is deeply grieved! If the Grand Marshal does not return, the emperor dares not attend to government!" The empress dowager thereupon ordered Mang to resume duties.

成帝之世，鄭聲尤甚，黃門名倡丙強、景武之屬富顯於世，貴戚至與人主爭女樂。帝自為定陶王時疾之，又性不好音，六月，詔曰：「孔子不雲乎：『放鄭聲，鄭聲淫。』其罷樂府官；郊祭樂及古兵法武樂在《經》，非鄭、衛之樂者，條奏別屬他官。」凡所罷省過半。然百姓漸漬日久，又不制雅樂有以相變，豪富吏民湛沔自若。

In Emperor Cheng's reign, Zheng music flourished; famed Yellow Gate singers such as Bing Qiang and Jing Wu grew wealthy and prominent, and noble kin even contended with the emperor for female musicians. As King of Dingtao he had detested it, and by nature he disliked music; in the sixth month, an edict said: "Did not Confucius say, 'Banish Zheng music—Zheng music is licentious. Abolish the Music Bureau; suburban-sacrifice music and ancient martial music recorded in the Classics, music that is not of Zheng and Wei, should be itemized and assigned to other offices." In all, more than half was abolished or reduced. Yet the people had been steeped for generations, and without regulated elegant music to transform them, the powerful and wealthy remained steeped as before.

王莽薦中壘校尉劉歆有材行，為侍中，稍遷光祿大夫，貴幸；更名秀。上復令秀典領《五經》，卒父前業；秀於是總群書而奏其七略，有《輯略》、有《六藝略》、有《諸子略》、有《詩賦略》、有《兵書略》、有《術數略》、有《方技略》。凡書六略，三十八種，五百九十六家、萬三千二百六十九卷。其敘諸子，分為九流：曰儒，曰道，曰陰陽，曰法，曰名，曰墨，曰從橫，曰雜，曰農，以為：「九家皆起於王道既微，諸侯力政，時君世主好惡殊方，是以九家之術蜂出並作，各引一端，崇其所善，以此馳說，取合諸侯，其言雖殊，譬猶水火相滅，亦相生也；仁之與義，敬之與和，相反而皆相成也。《易》曰：『天下同歸而殊塗，一致而百慮。』今異家者推所長，窮知究慮以明其指，雖有蔽短，合其要歸，亦《六經》之支與流裔；使其人遭明王聖主，得其所折中，皆股肱之材已。仲尼有言：『禮失而求諸野。』方今去聖久遠，道術缺廢，無所更索，彼九家者，不猶愈於野乎！若能修《六藝》之術而觀此九家之言，捨短取長，則可以通萬方之略矣。」

Wang Mang recommended Central Stackade Commandant Liu Xin for talent and conduct; he was made Attendant-in-Ordinary, gradually promoted to Household Grandee, and became favored; His name was changed to Xiu. The emperor again ordered Xiu to oversee the Five Classics, completing his father's work; Xiu thereupon gathered all books and memorialized his Seven Summaries: the General Summary, the Six Arts Summary, the Masters Summary, the Poetry and Rhapsody Summary, the Military Writings Summary, the Techniques and Numbers Summary, and the Methods and Skills Summary. In all, six summaries, thirty-eight categories, five hundred ninety-six authors, and thirteen thousand two hundred sixty-nine scrolls. In his account of the masters he divided them into nine streams: Ru, Dao, Yin-Yang, Legalist, Ming, Mohist, Coalition-and-Vertical, Miscellaneous, and Agrarian, arguing: "The nine schools arose when the kingly way had declined, feudal lords strove by force, and rulers' tastes diverged—therefore their arts swarmed forth together, each drawing one strand and exalting what it favored, racing to persuade the lords. Though their words differ, they are like water and fire, destroying yet also generating each other; benevolence and righteousness, reverence and harmony—opposing yet each completing the other. The Changes says, 'All under Heaven shares one return yet paths differ; one aim yet a hundred thoughts.' The different schools push what each excels in and exhaust knowledge to clarify their aim—though each has blind spots, taken to their essential return they are branches and downstream kin of the Six Classics; had their followers met enlightened sage rulers and obtained the balanced mean, all would have been arm-and-thigh talent. Confucius said, 'When ritual is lost, seek it in the wilds.' Now, long removed from the sage, the Way and its arts lie broken, with nowhere further to seek—are not those nine schools still better than the wilds! If one cultivates the Six Classics and views these nine schools, setting aside the short and taking the long, one may master every strategy under Heaven."

河間惠王良能修獻王之行，母太后薨，服喪如禮；詔益封萬戶，以為宗室儀表。

King Hui of Hejian, Liang, cultivated King Xian's conduct; when his mother the queen dowager died, he observed mourning according to ritual; an edict increased his fief by ten thousand households, making him a model for the imperial clan.

初，董仲舒說武帝，以「秦用商鞅之法，除井田，民得賣買，富者田連阡陌，貧者亡立錐之地，邑有人君之尊，裡有公侯之富，小民安得不困！古井田法雖難卒行，宜少近古，限民名田以贍不足，塞並兼之路；去奴婢，除專殺之威；薄賦斂，省繇役，以寬民力，然後可善治也！」及上即位，師丹復建言：「今累世承平，豪富吏民訾數巨萬，而貧弱愈困，宜略為限。」天子下其議，丞相光、大司空武奏請：「自諸侯王、列侯、公主名田各有限；關內侯、吏、民名田皆毋過三十頃；奴婢毋過三十人。期盡三年。犯者沒入宮。」時田宅、奴婢賈為減賤，貴戚近習皆不便也，詔書：「且須後。」遂寢不行。又詔齊三服官：「諸官織綺繡，難成、害女紅之物，皆止，無作輸。除任子令及誹謗詆欺法。掖廷宮人年三十以下，出嫁之；官奴婢五十以上，免為庶人，益吏三百石以下俸。」

Earlier, Dong Zhongsun persuaded Emperor Wu: "Qin used Lord Shang's laws, abolished the well-field system, and allowed land to be bought and sold—the rich held fields stretching across paths and moors, the poor had no place to stand an awl; townships held men with a ruler's honor, lanes men with a duke's wealth—how could common people not be distressed! Though the ancient well-field law cannot be restored at once, one ought to draw near antiquity, limit registered land to support the needy, and block the path of merger; abolish slaveholding and the power of arbitrary killing; lighten taxes, reduce corvée labor, ease the people's burden—only then can there be good governance!" When this emperor took the throne, Shi Dan again proposed: "After generations of peace, the powerful and wealthy count their wealth in tens of millions while the poor grow ever weaker—it is fitting to set limits." The emperor referred the matter; Chancellor Guang and Grand Minister of Works Wu memorialized: "From feudal kings and princes, ranked marquises, and princesses, registered land should each have a limit; for marquises within the passes, officials, and common people, registered land must not exceed thirty qing; slaves must not exceed thirty persons. A deadline of three years was set. Violators would have excess property confiscated by the palace." Land, houses, and slaves fell in price; the noble kin and court favorites were all discommoded; an edict said, "For now, wait." Thereupon the measure was shelved and never carried out. Another edict to the Three Garment Offices of Qi: "All offices weaving patterned silks and brocades—things hard to finish and harmful to women's work—must stop; produce nothing for delivery. The emperor abolished the statute on gratifying heirs and the statutes on slander, defamation, and fraud. Palace women of the Palace Domestic Service aged thirty and below were released to marry; official bondmen and bondwomen aged fifty and above were freed as commoners, and salaries for officials ranked at three hundred piculs and below were raised."

上置酒未央宮，內者令為傅太后張幄，坐於太皇太后坐旁。大司馬莽按行，責內者令曰：「定陶太后，籓妾，何以得與至尊並！」徹去，更設坐。傅太后聞之，大怒，不肯會，重怨恚莽；莽復乞骸骨。秋，七月，丁卯，上賜莽黃金五百斤，安車駟馬，罷就第。公卿大夫多稱之者，上乃加恩寵，置中黃門，為莽家給使，十日一賜餐。又下詔益封曲陽侯根，安陽侯舜，新都侯莽，丞相光，大司空武邑戶各有差。以莽為特進、給事中、朝朔望，見禮如三公。又還紅陽侯立於京師。

The emperor gave a banquet at Weiyang Palace; the Inner Palace Master hung curtains for Grand Dowager Empress Fu and seated her beside the Grand Empress Dowager's chair. Chief Minister Mang made his rounds of inspection and reproached the Inner Palace Master, saying, "The Dowager Empress of Dingtao is a feudatory concubine—how can she sit beside the Son of Heaven!" They were removed entirely, and new seating was arranged. When Grand Dowager Empress Fu heard of it, she was furious, refused to attend the banquet, and harbored deep resentment against Mang; Mang again petitioned to retire. In autumn, the seventh month, on dingmao, the emperor bestowed five hundred jin of gold and a secure carriage with a team of four on Mang and dismissed him to his private residence. Because the Three Dukes, ministers, and grandees largely praised him, the emperor added further favor: he stationed Palace Yellow Gate attendants to serve Mang's household and sent him a meal every ten days. He also issued an edict increasing the fiefs of Marquis of Quyang Gen, Marquis of Anyang Shun, Marquis of Xindu Mang, Chancellor Guang, and Grand Minister of Works Wu, each by a different measure. Mang was appointed Special Advancement and Attendant Within, to attend court on the first and fifteenth of the month, with ceremonial honors like the Three Dukes. Hongyang Marquis Li was also recalled to the capital.

傅太后從弟右將軍喜，好學問，有志行。王莽既罷退，眾庶歸望於喜。初，上之官爵外親也，喜獨執謙稱疾；傅太后始與政事，數諫之；由是傅太后不欲令喜輔政。庚午，以左將軍師丹為大司馬，封高鄉亭侯；賜喜黃金百斤，上右將軍印綬，以光祿大夫養病；以光祿勳淮陽彭宣為右將軍。大司空何武、尚書令唐林皆上書言：「喜行義修潔，忠誠憂國，內輔之臣也。今以寢病一旦遣歸，眾庶失望，皆曰：『傅氏賢子，以論議不合於定陶太后，故退，』百寮莫不為國恨之。忠臣，社稷之衛。魯以季友治亂，楚以子玉輕重，魏以無忌折衝，項以范增存亡。百萬之眾，不如一賢，故秦行千金以間廉頗，漢散黃金以疏亞父。喜立於朝，陛下之光輝，傅氏之廢興也。」上亦自重之，故尋復進用焉。

Grand Dowager Empress Fu's younger cousin by the same mother, Right General Xi, loved learning and possessed moral resolve. Once Wang Mang had stepped down, the common people looked to Xi with hope. Earlier, when the emperor granted offices and noble ranks to his maternal relatives, Xi alone held back in humility and pleaded illness; Grand Dowager Empress Fu had begun to participate in government affairs and repeatedly admonished him; for this reason Grand Dowager Empress Fu did not wish to have Xi assist in government. On gengwu, Left General Shi Dan was appointed Chief Minister and enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoxiang Village; Xi was granted a hundred jin of gold, surrendered the seal and ribbon of Right General, and was appointed Palace Chamberlain to convalesce; Director of the Secretariat Peng Xuan of Huaiyang was appointed Right General. Grand Minister of Works He Wu and Director of the Secretariat Tang Lin both submitted memorials, saying, "Xi's conduct is righteous and pure, his loyalty devoted to the state—he is a minister fit to assist within. Now, on the pretext of lingering illness, he is suddenly sent home—the people are disappointed, all saying, 'The worthy son of the Fu clan was dismissed because his counsel did not agree with the Dowager Empress of Dingtao'—not one of the hundred offices fails to grieve this for the state's sake. A loyal minister is the bulwark of the altars of soil and grain. Lu relied on Ji You to set order amid chaos; Chu on Ziyu for its fortune and failure; Wei on Lord Xinling to meet the enemy; Xiang on Fan Zeng for survival or ruin. An army of a million is no match for one worthy man—therefore Qin spent a thousand jin of gold to drive a wedge between Zhao and Lian Po, and Han scattered gold to alienate the Second Father. Xi standing at court is Your Majesty's splendor and the rise or fall of the Fu clan." The emperor also valued him personally, and therefore before long employed him again.

建平侯杜業上書詆曲陽侯王根、高陽侯薛宣、安昌侯張禹而薦朱博。帝少而聞知王氏驕盛，心不能善，以初立，故且優之。後月餘，司隸校尉解光奏：「曲陽侯，先帝山陵未成，公聘取故掖庭女樂五官殷嚴、王飛君等置酒歌舞，及根兄子成都侯況，亦聘取故掖庭貴人以為妻，皆無人臣禮，大不敬，不道！」於是天子曰：「先帝遇根、況父子，至厚也，今乃背恩忘義！」以根嘗建社稷之策，遣就國，免況為庶人，歸故郡。根及況父商所薦舉為官者皆罷。

Marquis of Jianping Du Ye submitted a memorial attacking Marquis of Quyang Wang Gen, Marquis of Gaoyang Xue Xuan, and Marquis of Anchang Zhang Yu while recommending Zhu Bo. The emperor had known from youth of the Wang clan's arrogance and power and took no pleasure in it, but because he had only recently acceded, for the time he indulged them. More than a month later, Director of Retainers Xie Guang memorialized, "Marquis of Quyang—before the late emperor's tomb was completed—openly took former Palace Domestic Service musicians Yin Yan and Wang Feijun of the Five Offices and set out wine for song and dance; and Gen's nephew Marquis of Chengdu Kuang also took a former Palace Domestic Service lady of rank as his wife—all in breach of a subject's rites: grave irreverence and unfilial conduct!" Thereupon the Son of Heaven said, "The late emperor treated Gen and Kuang, father and son, with utmost generosity—now they betray that grace and forget their duty!" Because Gen had once offered counsel for the altars of soil and grain, he was sent to his fief; Kuang was stripped of rank and made a commoner, and returned to his former commandery. All whom Gen and Kuang's father Shang had recommended for office were dismissed.

九月，庚申，地震，自京師到北邊郡國三十餘處，壞城郭，凡壓殺四百餘人。上以災異問待詔李尋，對曰：「夫日者，眾陽之長，人君之表也。君不修道，則日失其度，晻昧亡光。間者日尤不精，光明侵奪失色，邪氣珥，蜺數作。小臣不知內事，竊以日視陛下，志操衰於始初多矣。唯陛下執乾剛之德，強志守度，毋聽女謁、邪臣之態；諸保阿、乳母甘言悲辭之托，斷而勿聽。勉強大誼，絕小不忍；良有不得已，可賜以貨財，不可私以官位，誠皇天之禁也。

In the ninth month, on gengshen, an earthquake struck—from the capital to more than thirty northern border commanderies and kingdoms, city walls were destroyed, and more than four hundred people were crushed to death. The emperor asked Retainer-at-attendance Li Xun about the portents; he replied, "The sun is the chief of the many yang forces, the emblem of the ruler. If the ruler does not cultivate the Way, the sun loses its proper measure, grows dim, and loses its light. Recently the sun has been especially impure; its bright light has been stolen and drained of color; evil vapors have formed solar halos, and secondary rainbows have appeared again and again. Your petty servant does not know the inner affairs of the palace; I take the sun as a mirror of Your Majesty—and your resolve and conduct have declined greatly since you first acceded. Only may Your Majesty hold fast to the firm virtue of Heaven, strengthen your will and keep to proper measure, and refuse to heed women's petitions or the schemes of wicked ministers; cut off and refuse all the sweet words and tearful pleas of nurses and wet nurses. Urge yourself on in great righteousness and cut off petty indulgence; when you truly cannot refuse, you may bestow goods and wealth, but you must not privately grant office and rank—that is truly Heaven's prohibition.

「臣聞月者，眾陰之長，妃後、大臣、諸侯之象也。間者月數為變，此為母后與政亂朝，陰陽俱傷，兩不相便；外臣不知朝事，竊信天文，即如此，近臣已不足杖矣。唯陛下親求賢士，無強所惡，以崇社稷，尊強本朝！

" Your servant has heard that the moon is the chief of the many yin forces, the emblem of consorts, great ministers, and feudal lords. Recently the moon has changed repeatedly—this means the empress dowager participates in government and disorders the court; yin and yang are both harmed, and neither side can prosper; an outer minister does not know court affairs, yet I trust astronomy in private—and if it is so, even your near ministers are no longer fit to lean on. Only may Your Majesty personally seek worthy men, not force what you dislike, to exalt the altars of soil and grain and honor and strengthen this court!

「臣聞五行以水為本，水為準平，王道公正修明，則百川理，落脈通；偏黨失綱，則湧溢為敗。今汝、穎漂湧，與雨水並為民害，此《詩》所謂『百川沸騰』，咎在皇甫卿士之屬。唯陛下少抑外親大臣！

" Your servant has heard that among the Five Phases water is the root; water is the standard of levelness—when the kingly Way is fair, upright, cultivated, and bright, then the hundred streams are ordered and the falling veins run clear; when partial factions lose the guiding cord, surging overflow becomes ruin. Now the Ru and Ying rivers drift and surge, together with the rains becoming a scourge upon the people—this is what the Odes calls 'the hundred streams boil and seethe'—the blame lies with ministers such as Chief Minister Huangfu. Only may Your Majesty slightly restrain your maternal kin and great ministers!

「臣聞地道柔靜，陰之常義也。間者關東地數震，宜務崇陽抑陰以救其咎，固志建威，閉絕私路，拔進英雋，退不任職，以強本朝！夫本強則精神折衝；本弱則招殃致凶，為邪謀所陵。聞往者淮南王作謀之時，其所難者獨有汲黯，以為公孫弘等不足言也。弘，漢之名相，於今亡比，而尚見輕，何況亡弘之屬乎！故曰朝廷亡人，則為賊亂所輕，其道自然也。」

" Your servant has heard that the earth's Way is soft and still—the constant meaning of yin. Recently the lands east of the Pass have repeatedly quaked; you ought to exalt yang and restrain yin to remedy this blame, fix your will and establish authority, close off private paths, advance outstanding talent, and dismiss those unfit for office, to strengthen this court! When the root is strong, spirit and energy repel the foe; when the root is weak, calamity and misfortune are summoned, and wicked plots trample you. I have heard that when the King of Huainan plotted rebellion in former times, the one man he alone feared was Ji An—he considered Gongsun Hong and the like beneath mention. Hong was a famed chancellor of Han, without equal today, yet he was still held in contempt—how much more those who are no Hong! Therefore it is said: when the court lacks worthy men, rebels and disorder hold it in contempt—the Way is naturally so."

騎都尉平當使領河堤，奏：「九河今皆窴滅。按經義，治水有決河深川而無堤防壅塞之文。河從魏郡以東北多溢決，水跡難以分明，四海之眾不可誣。宜博求能浚川疏河者。」上從之。

Commandant of Cavalry Ping Dang was sent to oversee the Yellow River dikes and memorialized, "The Nine Rivers today are all sunk and lost. According to the classics, controlling water means breaching rivers and deepening channels—there is no text advocating dikes and choking blockage. From Wei Commandery east and north the river has repeatedly overflowed and burst; its water traces are hard to distinguish clearly—the people of the empire cannot be deceived. It is fitting broadly to seek those able to dredge channels and open the rivers." The emperor followed this advice.

待詔賈讓奏言：「治河有上、中、下策。古者立國居民，疆理土地，必遺川澤之分，度水勢所不及。大川無防，小水得入，陂障卑下，以為污澤，使秋水多得其所休息，左右游波寬緩而不迫。夫土之有川，猶人之有口也，治土而防其川，猶止兒啼而塞其口，豈不遽止，然其死可立而待也。故曰：『善為川者決之使道，善為民者宣之使言。』蓋堤防之作，近起戰國，雍防百川，各以自利。齊與趙、魏以河為竟，趙、魏瀕山，齊地卑下，作堤去河二十五里，河水東抵齊堤則西泛趙、魏；趙、魏亦為堤，去河二十五里，雖非其正，水尚有所遊蕩。時至而去，則填淤肥美，民耕田之；或久無害，稍築宮宅，遂成聚落；大水時至，漂沒，則更起堤防以自救，稍去其城郭，排水澤而居之，湛溺自其宜也。今堤防，狹者去水數百步，遠者數里，於故大堤之內復有數重，民居其間，此皆前世所排也。河從河內黎陽至魏郡昭陽，東西互有石堤，激水使還，百餘里間，河再西三東，迫厄如此，不得安息。今行上策，徙冀州之民當水沖者，決黎陽遮害亭，放河使北入海；河西薄大山，東薄金堤，勢不能遠氾濫，期月自定。難者將曰：『若如此，敗壞城郭、田廬、塚墓以萬數，百姓怨恨。』昔大禹治水，山陵當路者毀之，故鑿龍門，辟伊闕，析厎柱，破碣石，墮斷天地之性，此乃人功所造，何足言也！今瀕河十郡，治堤歲費且萬萬；及其大決，所殘無數。如出數年治河之費以業所徙之民，遵古聖之法，定山川之位，使神人各處其所而不相奸；且以大漢方制萬里，豈其與水爭咫尺之地哉！此功一立，河定民安，千載無患，故謂之上策。若乃多穿漕渠於冀州地，使民得以溉田，分殺水怒，雖非聖人法，然也救敗術也。可從淇口以東為石堤，多張水門。恐議者疑河大川難禁制，滎陽漕渠足以卜之。冀州渠首盡，當仰此水門，諸渠皆往往股引取之：旱則開東方下水門，溉冀州；水則開西方高門，分河流，民田適治，河堤亦成。此誠富國安民、興利除害，支數百歲，故謂之中策。若乃繕完故堤，增卑倍薄，勞費無已，數逢其害，此最下策也。」

Retainer-at-attendance Jia Rang memorialized, saying, "Controlling the river has an upper, middle, and lower strategy. In antiquity, when establishing a state and settling the people, in demarcating the land, they always left room for rivers and marshes and measured where the water's force could not reach. Great rivers had no barriers; small waters could enter; embankments were kept low to form marshes, so autumn floods had places to settle; the wandering waves on either side were broad, slow, and unhurried. Land having rivers is like a person having a mouth; governing the land yet blocking its rivers is like stopping a child's crying by stuffing its mouth—it may stop at once, yet death can be awaited standing. Therefore it is said, 'He who is good at rivers breaches them and gives them their course; he who is good at the people opens them and lets them speak.' Dike barriers arose only recently, starting in the Warring States—each state blocked the hundred streams for its own profit. Qi with Zhao and Wei took the river as their border; Zhao and Wei hugged the mountains while Qi's land lay low, and they built dikes twenty-five li from the river—when the river struck east against Qi's dike it then spread west over Zhao and Wei; Zhao and Wei also built dikes twenty-five li from the river; though not the proper course, the water still had room to wander. when the season came and the water withdrew, the silt that filled in was rich and fertile, and the people plowed it; sometimes long without harm, they gradually built houses and dwellings until settlements formed; when great floods came and swept them away, they raised dikes again to save themselves, gradually moving their towns, draining marshes to live on—being drowned was their own fitting lot. Today's dikes stand as close as several hundred paces from the water and as far as several li; within the old great dikes there are again several layers, and people dwell between them—all pushed forward by former generations. From Liyang in Henei to Zhaoyang in Wei Commandery, stone dikes on either side force the water to turn back; within more than a hundred li the river turns twice west and thrice east, pressed so tight it cannot rest. Now execute the upper strategy: relocate the people of Jizhou who stand in the flood's path, breach Zhehai Pavilion at Liyang, and release the river northward into the sea; west of the river it hugs great mountains, east it hugs the Golden Dike—the flood cannot spread far; within a month it will settle of itself. Objectors will say, 'If it is so, cities, fields, dwellings, and tombs will be destroyed by the tens of thousands, and the people will resent it.' In former times Yu controlled the waters—where mountains blocked the way he destroyed them; therefore he cut Longmen, opened Yique, split Dizhu, and broke Jieshi, altering Heaven and Earth's nature—this was human work wrought; what is there worth speaking of! Now the ten commanderies along the river spend nearly tens of thousands each year maintaining dikes; and when there is a great breach, what is destroyed is beyond counting. if you spend several years' cost of river control to settle the relocated people, follow the ancient sages' method, fix the positions of mountains and rivers, and let spirits and men each dwell in their place without harming one another; moreover, the Great Han rules ten thousand li—how could it contend with water over a few inches of land! once this achievement is established, the river is settled and the people are at peace, and for a thousand years there is no trouble—therefore it is called the upper strategy. If one bores many transport canals in Jizhou, lets the people irrigate their fields, and divides and tames the water's fury—though not the sages' method, it is still a technique for saving a failing situation. From Qikou east one may build stone dikes and set out many water gates. Fearing deliberators will doubt that the great river is hard to restrain, the transport canal at Xingyang is proof enough. When the canal heads of Jizhou run dry, they should rely on these water gates; the various canals all branch and draw from them: in drought open the eastern lower water gates to irrigate Jizhou; in flood open the western higher gates and divide the river's flow—the people's fields will be properly tended and the river dikes will also hold. This truly enriches the state and settles the people, raises benefit and removes harm, and can sustain several hundred years—therefore it is called the middle strategy. If one only repairs the old dikes, raises what is low and doubles what is thin, toil and expense never end, and one repeatedly meets disaster—this is the lowest strategy."

孔光、何武奏：「迭毀之次當以時定，請與群臣雜議。」於是光祿勳彭宣等五十三人皆以為：「孝武皇帝雖有功烈，親盡宜毀。」太僕王舜、中壘校尉劉歆議曰：「《禮》，天子七廟。七者其正法數，可常數者也。宗不在此數中，宗變也。苟有功德則宗之，不可預為設數。臣愚以為孝武皇帝功烈如彼，孝宣皇帝崇立之如此，不宜毀。」上覽其議，制曰：「太僕舜、中壘校尉歆議可。」

Kong Guang and He Wu memorialized, "The sequence for successive removal from the temple should be fixed according to the times—we request to deliberate with the ministers." Thereupon Director of the Secretariat Peng Xuan and fifty-three others all held, "Although Emperor Xiaowu had meritorious achievements, when his line of descent is exhausted he should be removed from the temple." Grand Master of Equipage Wang Shun and Commandant of the Inner Ramparts Liu Xin argued, "In the Rites, the Son of Heaven has seven temples. Seven is the correct standard number—the number that may remain constant. An honored ancestor is not within this number—honored ancestor is an exception. If there are merit and achievement, then one honors him as an ancestor—the number cannot be set in advance. Your servant foolishly considers that Emperor Xiaowu's achievements were as great as they were, and Emperor Xiaoxuan exalted him as he did—he should not be removed from the temple." The emperor reviewed their deliberation and decreed, "The argument of Grand Master of Equipage Shun and Commandant of the Inner Ramparts Xin is accepted."

何武後母在蜀郡，遣吏歸迎；會成帝崩，吏恐道路有盜賊，後母留止。左右或譏武事親不篤，帝亦欲改易大臣，冬，十月，策免武，以列侯歸國。癸酉，以師丹為大司空。丹見上多所匡改成帝之政，乃上書言：「古者諒暗不言，聽於塚宰，三年無改於父之道。前大行屍柩在堂，而官爵臣等以及親屬，赫然皆貴寵，封舅為陽安侯，皇后尊號未定，豫封父為孔鄉侯；出侍中王邑、射聲校尉王邯等。詔書比下，變動政事，卒暴無漸。臣縱不能明陳大義，復曾不能牢讓爵位，相隨空受封侯，增益陛下之過。間者郡國多地動水出，流殺人民，日月不明，五星失行，此皆舉錯失中，號令不定，法度失理，陰陽溷濁之應也。

He Wu's stepmother was in Shu Commandery, and he sent an official home to escort her back; When Emperor Cheng died, the official feared bandits on the road and the stepmother remained where she was. Some at court mocked Wu for insufficient devotion to his parents; the emperor also wished to reshuffle the high ministers—in winter, the tenth month, Wu was removed by edict and sent home as a marquis. On guiyou, Shi Dan was appointed Grand Minister of Works. Dan saw the emperor correcting many of Emperor Cheng's policies; he submitted a memorial, saying, "In antiquity during mourning seclusion the ruler did not speak and listened to the chief steward—for three years there was no change from the father's way. The late emperor's coffin was still in the hall, yet offices, ranks, ministers, and even kin were all conspicuously honored and favored—the maternal uncle was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yang'an, the empress's honorific title was not yet fixed, yet her father was preemptively enfeoffed as Marquis of Kongxiang; Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Yi and Commandant of the Archers Wang Han were dismissed. Edicts issued in succession; government affairs were changed suddenly, without gradual steps. Your subject, though he could not clearly set forth great righteousness, likewise could not firmly decline enfeoffment, following along to accept a marquisate in vain and adding to Your Majesty's faults. Recently commanderies and states have suffered many earthquakes and floods that killed the people; sun and moon have dimmed; the five planets have strayed from their courses—all responses to misguided policy, unsettled orders, laws losing their proper form, and yin and yang thrown into disorder.

「臣伏惟人情無子，年雖六七十，猶博取而廣求。孝成皇帝深見天命，燭知至德，以壯年克己，立陛下為嗣。先帝暴棄天下，而陛下繼體，四海安寧，百姓不懼，此先帝聖德，當合天人之功也。臣聞『天威不違顏咫尺』，願陛下深思先帝所以建立陛下之意，且克己躬行，以觀群下之從化。天下者，陛下之家也，胏附何患不富貴，不宜倉卒若是，其不久長矣！」丹書數十上，多切直之言。

" Your subject reflects that when a man has no son, though he be sixty or seventy he still seeks far and wide. Emperor Cheng deeply perceived Heaven's Mandate and recognized supreme virtue; in his prime he restrained himself and established Your Majesty as heir. The former emperor suddenly departed, yet Your Majesty succeeded to the throne—the four seas are tranquil and the people unafraid; this is the former emperor's sagely virtue and ought to unite the achievements of Heaven and man. Your subject has heard, 'Heaven's majesty does not depart from the face within arm's reach'—may Your Majesty deeply ponder why the former emperor established you, restrain yourself and practice virtue in person, and observe whether your ministers follow and are transformed. All under Heaven is Your Majesty's household—your flesh and kin need never lack wealth and rank; such haste is unfitting and will not long endure!" Shi Dan submitted dozens of memorials, mostly blunt and forthright.

傅太后從弟子遷在左右，尤傾邪，上惡之，免官，遣歸故郡。傅太后怒；上不得已，復留遷。丞相光與大司空丹奏言：「詔書前後相反，天下疑惑，無所取信。臣請歸遷故郡，以銷奸黨。」卒不得遣，復為侍中，其逼於傅太后，皆此類也。

Grand Empress Dowager Fu's grandnephew Qian attended the emperor, especially crooked and depraved; the emperor hated him, dismissed him, and sent him back to his home commandery. Grand Empress Dowager Fu was furious; the emperor had no choice and kept Qian at court. Chancellor Guang and Grand Minister of Works Dan memorialized, saying, "Edicts contradict one another; all under Heaven is doubtful and has nothing to trust. We request that Qian be sent back to his home commandery to break up the wicked faction." In the end Qian could not be sent away and was again made Attendant-in-Ordinary; the emperor's being pressed by Grand Empress Dowager Fu was always of this kind.

議郎耿育上書冤訟陳湯曰：「甘延壽、陳湯，為聖漢揚鉤深致遠之威，雪國家累年之恥，討絕域不羈之君，系萬里難制之虜，豈有比哉！先帝嘉之，仍下明詔，宣著其功，改年垂歷，傳之無窮。應是，南郡獻白虎，邊垂無警備。會先帝寢疾，然猶垂竟不忘，數使尚書責問丞相，趣立其功；獨丞相匡衡排而不予，封延壽、湯數百戶，此功臣戰士所以失望也。孝成皇帝承建業之基，乘征伐之威，兵革不動，國家無事，而大臣傾邪，欲專主威，排妒有功，使湯塊然被冤拘囚，不能自明，卒以無罪老棄。敦煌正當西域通道，令威名折衝之臣，旋踵及身，復為郅支遺虜所笑，誠可悲也！至今奉使外蠻者，未嘗不陳郅支之誅以揚漢國之盛。夫援人之功以懼敵，棄人之身以快讒，豈不痛哉！且安不忘危，盛必慮衰，今國家素無文帝累年節儉富饒之畜，又無武帝薦延梟俊禽敵之臣，獨有一陳湯耳！假使異世不及陛下，尚望國家追錄其功，封表其墓，以勸後進也。湯幸得身當聖世，功曾未久，反聽邪臣鞭逐斥遠，使亡逃分竄，死無處所。遠覽之士，莫不計度，以為湯功累世不可及，而湯過人情所有，湯尚如此，雖復破絕筋骨，暴露形骸，猶複製於脣舌，為嫉妒之臣所繫虜耳。此臣所以為國家尤戚戚也。」書奏，天子還湯，卒於長安。

Remonstrance Officer Geng Yu submitted a memorial pleading Chen Tang's case, saying, "Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang displayed holy Han's power to strike deep and reach far, wiped away years of national shame, punished a lord of the distant realm who would not submit, and bound a captive hard to control across ten thousand li—has anything compared! The former emperor praised them and issued a bright edict proclaiming their merit; the reign era was changed and handed down through the calendar to be transmitted without end. In response, Nanyang presented a white tiger and the border marches needed no alarm. When the former emperor fell gravely ill, even at the end he did not forget, repeatedly sending the Master of Documents to reproach the Chancellor and urge that their merit be established; only Chancellor Kuang Heng blocked it and would not grant proper reward, enfeoffing Yanshou and Tang with only several hundred households—this is why meritorious soldiers were disappointed. Emperor Cheng inherited an established foundation and the prestige of conquest—arms were not moved and the state was at peace, yet great ministers were crooked, wishing to monopolize authority, excluding and envying the meritorious, leaving Tang alone wronged, imprisoned, unable to clear himself, and in the end cast off in old age though guiltless. Dunhuang lies on the Western Regions route—when a minister whose renown once turned enemies at the frontier suffers within a turning of the heel and is laughed at again by Zhizhi's surviving captives, it is truly pitiable! Down to the present, envoys to outer barbarians never fail to cite the execution of Zhizhi to display Han magnificence. To use another man's merit to frighten enemies yet abandon his person to please slanderers—how is it not painful! Moreover, in security do not forget peril; in flourishing one must consider decline—the state lacks the stores from Emperor Wen's years of thrift and abundance and lacks Emperor Wu's fierce ministers who captured enemies; there is only Chen Tang! Suppose he had not lived to serve Your Majesty—still one would hope the state would record his merit posthumously and mark his tomb to encourage those who come after. Tang was fortunate to serve a sagely age; his merit had not long stood, yet wicked ministers whipped, drove, and expelled him, making him flee and scatter, dying with no place to rest. Men of far vision all reckoned that Tang's merit over generations was unmatched, yet his faults were what any man might have—if even Tang was so treated, though one broke bones and exposed one's body one would still be made captive to envious ministers' tongues. This is why your subject grieves especially for the state." The memorial was submitted; the emperor recalled Chen Tang, and he died in Chang'an.

孝哀皇帝上

Emperor Ai (Part One)

春，正月，隕石於北地十六。

In spring, the first month, sixteen meteorites fell in Beidi.

赦天下。

There was an amnesty for all under Heaven.

司隸校尉解光奏言：「臣聞許美人及故中宮史曹宮皆御幸孝成皇帝，產子。子隱不見。臣遣吏驗問，皆得其狀：元延元年，宮有身；其十月，宮乳掖庭牛官令捨。中黃門田客持詔記與掖庭獄丞籍武，令收置暴室獄，『毋問兒男、女，誰兒也！』宮曰：『善臧我兒胞，丞知是何等兒也！』後三日，客持詔記與武，問：『兒死未？』武對：『未死。』客曰：『上與昭儀大怒，奈何不殺！』武叩頭啼曰：『不殺兒，自知當死；殺之，亦死！』即因客奏封事曰：『陛下未有繼嗣，子無貴賤，唯留意！』奏入，客復特詔記取兒，付中黃門王舜。舜受詔，內兒殿中，為擇乳母，告『善養兒，且有賞，毋令漏洩！』舜擇官婢張棄為乳母。後三日，客復持詔記並藥以飲宮。宮曰：『果也欲姊弟擅天下！我兒，男也，額上有壯發，類孝元皇帝。今兒安在？危殺之矣！奈何令長信得聞之？』遂飲藥死。棄所養兒十一日，宮長李南以詔書取兒去，不知所置。許美人元延二年懷子，十一月乳。昭儀謂成帝曰：『常紿我言從中宮來。即從中宮來，許美人兒何從生中！許氏竟當復立邪！』懟，以手自搗，以頭擊壁戶柱，從床上自投地，啼泣不肯食，曰：『今當安置我，我欲歸耳！』帝曰：『今故告之，反怒為，殊不可曉也！』帝亦不食。昭儀曰：『陛下自知是，不食何為！陛下嘗自言：「約不負女！」今美人有子，竟負約，謂何？』帝曰：『約以趙氏，故不立許氏，使天下無出趙氏上者，毋憂也！』後詔使中黃門靳嚴從許美人取兒去，盛以葦篋，置飾室簾南去。帝與昭儀坐，使御者於客子解篋緘，未已，帝使客子及御者皆出，自閉戶，獨與昭儀在。須臾開戶，呼客子使緘封篋，及詔記令中黃門吳恭持以與籍武曰：『告武，篋中有死兒，埋屏處，勿令人知！』武穿獄樓垣下為坎，埋其中。其它飲藥傷墮者無數事，皆在四月丙辰赦令前。臣謹案：永光三年，男子忠等發長陵傅夫人塚。事更大赦，孝元皇帝下詔曰：『此朕所不當得赦也。』窮治，盡伏辜。天下以為當。趙昭儀傾亂聖朝，親滅繼嗣，親屬當伏天誅。而同產親屬皆在尊貴之位，迫近帷幄，群下寒心，請事窮竟！」丞相以下議正法，帝於是免新成侯趙欽、欽兄子成陽侯訢皆為庶人，將家屬徙遼西郡。

Director of the Retainers Xie Guang memorialized, saying, "Your subject has heard that Consort Xu and the former Central Palace clerk Cao Gong were both favored by Emperor Cheng and bore children. The children were hidden from view. Your subject sent officials to investigate and obtained the facts: in the first year of Yuanyan, Gong was with child; in the tenth month she gave birth at the Lateral Courts' Ox Office Chief's quarters. Palace Attendant Tian Ke brought an edict note to Lateral Courts prison assistant Ji Wu, ordering him to take the child to the Sudden-Death Prison: 'Do not ask whether the child is male or female, or whose child it is!' Gong said, 'Store my child's afterbirth well—the assistant knows what sort of child this is!' Three days later Ke brought an edict note to Wu and asked, 'Is the child dead yet?' Wu replied, 'Not dead.' Ke said, 'The emperor and the Brilliant Companion are furious—why have you not killed him!' Wu kowtowed and wept, saying, 'If I do not kill the child, I know I must die; if I kill him, I die as well!' He had Ke present a sealed memorial, saying, 'Your Majesty has no heir yet; a child has no high or low rank—only take heed!' The memorial was submitted; Ke again by special edict took the child and handed him to Palace Attendant Wang Shun. Shun received the edict, brought the child inside the palace, chose a wet nurse, and told her, 'Raise the child well and there will be reward—do not let word leak out!' Shun chose the official slave Zhang Qi as wet nurse. Three days later Ke again brought an edict note and medicine for Gong to drink. Gong said, 'So they want brother and sister to monopolize all under Heaven! My child is a boy; on his forehead is strong hair, resembling Emperor Yuan. Where is my child now? You nearly killed him! How could you let Changxin hear of it?' She drank the medicine and died. On the eleventh day Zhang Qi had raised the child, Palace Chief Li Nan took the child away by edict; where he was placed is unknown. Consort Xu in the second year of Yuanyan was with child and gave birth in the eleventh month. The Brilliant Companion said to Emperor Cheng, 'You always deceived me, saying you came from the Central Palace. If you came from the Central Palace, how could Consort Xu's child be born there! Is the Xu clan really to be restored!' In fury she beat herself, struck her head on wall and pillar, threw herself from the bed, wept and refused food, saying, 'Now settle my place—I wish to go home!' The emperor said, 'I told you deliberately, yet you are angry instead—utterly incomprehensible!' The emperor also refused to eat. The Brilliant Companion said, 'Your Majesty knows you are in the wrong—why refuse food! Your Majesty once said, 'I covenant not to fail you!' Now the consort has a child—you have broken the covenant after all; what is to be said?' The emperor said, 'The covenant was for the Zhao clan; therefore I will not restore the Xu clan, so that none in all under Heaven ranks above the Zhao clan—do not worry!' Later an edict sent Palace Attendant Jin Yan to take the child from Consort Xu, placed him in a reed basket, and had him taken south of the Ornament Chamber curtain. The emperor and the Brilliant Companion sat; he had the charioteer Yu Kezi open the basket's seal—before it was done the emperor sent Kezi and the charioteer out, closed the door himself, and was alone with the Brilliant Companion. After a moment he opened the door, called Kezi to seal the basket again, and by edict ordered Palace Attendant Wu Gong to give it to Ji Wu, saying, 'Tell Wu: the basket holds a dead child—bury him at the screen and let no one know!' Wu dug beneath the prison tower wall, made a pit, and buried the child there. Countless other cases of forced medicine to cause miscarriage all occurred before the bingchen amnesty edict in the fourth month. Your subject respectfully notes: in the third year of Yongguang, the men Zhong and others opened the tomb of Lady Fu of Changling. The matter fell under a great amnesty; Emperor Yuan issued an edict, saying, 'This is what We ought not to pardon.' Investigation was pushed to the limit and all were punished. All under Heaven held it fitting. Brilliant Companion Zhao overturned the court and personally extinguished the succession; her kin ought to suffer Heaven's execution. Yet her full siblings and kin all hold honored positions pressing close to the imperial curtains; the court is chilled at heart—we request investigation to the end!" From the Chancellor down they deliberated on applying the proper law; the emperor dismissed Marquis of Xincheng Zhao Qin and Qin's nephew Marquis of Chengyang Xin, reduced them to commoners, and moved their households to Liaoxi Commandery.

議郎耿育上疏言：「臣聞繼嗣失統，廢適立庶，聖人法禁，古今至戒。然太伯見歷知適，逡循固讓，委身吳、粵，權變所設，不計常法，致位王季，以崇聖嗣，卒有天下，子孫承業七八百載，功冠三王，道德最備，是以尊號追及太王。故世必有非常之變，然後乃有非常之謀。孝成皇帝自知繼嗣不以時立，念雖末有皇子，萬歲之後未能持國，權柄之重，制於女主，女主驕盛則耆欲無極，少主幼弱則大臣不使，世無周公抱負之輔，恐危社稷，傾亂天下。知陛下有賢聖通明之德，仁孝子愛之恩，懷獨見之明，內斷於身，故廢後宮就館之漸，絕微嗣禍亂之根，乃欲致位陛下以安宗廟。愚臣既不能深援安危，定金匱之計，又不知推演聖德，述先帝之志，乃反覆校省內，暴露私燕，誣污先帝傾惑之過，成結寵妾□石媢之誅，甚失賢聖遠見之明，逆負先帝憂國之意！夫論大德不拘俗，立大功不合眾，此乃孝成皇帝至思所以萬萬於眾臣，陛下聖德盛茂所以符合於皇天也，豈當世庸庸斗筲之臣所能及哉！且褒廣將順君父之美，匡救銷滅既往之過，古今通義也。事不當時固爭，防禍於未然，各隨指阿從以求容媚；晏駕之後，尊號已定，萬事已訖，乃探追不及之事，訐揚幽昧之過，此臣所深痛也！願下有司議，即如臣言，宜宣佈天下，使鹹曉知先帝聖意所起。不然，空使謗議上及山陵，下流後世，遠聞百蠻，近布海內，甚非先帝托後之意也。蓋孝子，善述父之志，善成人之事，唯陛下省察！」帝亦以為太子頗得趙太后力，遂不竟其事。傅太后恩趙太后，趙太后亦歸心，故太皇太后及王氏皆怨之。

Remonstrance Officer Geng Yu submitted a memorial, saying, "Your subject has heard that when succession loses its standard, setting aside the legitimate heir for a lesser son, the sages forbid it—the utmost warning of antiquity and the present. Yet Taibo read the calendar and knew the legitimate heir; he hesitated and firmly yielded, committed himself to Wu and Yue—expedient change, not reckoning ordinary law—raising Wang Ji to honor the sagely succession; in the end his line held all under Heaven; descendants inherited the enterprise seven or eight hundred years; merit topped the Three Kings; virtue was most complete—therefore the honorific title reached back to the Grand King. Therefore the age must have extraordinary change before there can be extraordinary plans. Emperor Cheng knew succession was not established in season; he thought that though he had no son, after his death the state could not be held—the weight of authority would fall to the empress; when she grew proud desires would know no limit; when the young lord was weak great ministers would not serve; the age had no assistant like the Duke of Zhou—he feared peril to the altars and chaos under Heaven. Knowing Your Majesty had worthy, sage, penetrating virtue, filial love, and unique insight, deciding within yourself, he abolished the rear palace's gradual encroachment, cut off the root of minor succession's chaos, and wished to raise you to the throne to settle the ancestral temples. Your foolish subject could neither deeply support security and peril nor fix the plan of the golden casket; nor did he know how to unfold sagely virtue and narrate the former emperor's intent—instead he repeatedly examined affairs within, exposed private bedchambers, slandered the former emperor as deluded, completing the punishment of the favored concubine □ Shi's jealousy—greatly losing worthy and sage far-sighted clarity and betraying the former emperor's intent to worry for the state! For discussing great virtue does not bind one to custom; establishing great merit does not accord with the multitude—this is why Emperor Cheng's thought was beyond all ministers, and why Your Majesty's flourishing virtue accords with Heaven—how could the mediocre ministers of the present age reach it! Moreover, to praise and extend a lord and father's virtues, to correct and erase past faults, is the common righteousness of antiquity and the present. At the proper time they did not firmly contend or prevent calamity before it arose; each followed cues and fawned for favor; after the late emperor's passing, honorific titles were fixed and all affairs concluded, then they probed what could not be reached and exposed hidden faults—this your subject deeply grieves! May it be sent to the responsible offices; if as your subject says, it is fitting to proclaim to all under Heaven so that all understand the sagely intent behind the former emperor's act. If not, slander will reach the imperial tomb and flow to posterity; far barbarians will hear and the realm will know—greatly contrary to the former emperor's intent in entrusting the succession. A filial son well narrates his father's intent and well completes his father's affairs—only may Your Majesty examine and consider!" The emperor also thought the heir apparent had considerably gained Empress Dowager Zhao's support, and did not carry the matter to completion. Empress Dowager Fu favored Empress Dowager Zhao, and Empress Dowager Zhao in turn gave her allegiance; therefore the Grand Empress Dowager and the Wang clan all resented them.

丁酉，光祿大夫傅喜為大司馬，封高武侯。

On dingyou, Household Grandee Fu Xi was made Grand Marshal and enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaowu.

秋，九月，甲辰，隕石於虞二。郎中令泠褒、黃門郎段猶等復奏言：「定陶共皇太后、共皇后，皆不宜復引定陶籓國之名，以冠大號；車馬、衣服宜皆稱皇之意，置吏二千石以下，各供厥職；又宜為共皇立廟京師。」上復下其議，群下多順指言：「母以子貴，宜立尊號以厚孝道。」唯丞相光、大司馬喜、大司空丹以為不可。丹曰：「聖王制禮，取法於天地。尊卑者，所以正天地之位，不可亂也。今定陶共皇太后、共皇后以『定陶共』為號者，母從子，妻從夫之義也。欲立官置吏，車服與太皇太后並，非所以明『尊無二上』之義也。定陶共皇號謚已前定，義不得復改。禮：『父為士，子為天子，祭以天子，其屍服以士服』，子無爵父之義，尊父母也。為人後者為之子，故為所後服斬衰三年，而降其父母期，明尊本祖而重正統也。孝成皇帝聖恩深遠，故為共王立後，奉承祭祀，令共皇長為一國太祖，萬世不毀，恩義已備。陛下既繼體先帝，持重大宗，承宗廟、天地、社稷之祀，義不可復奉定陶共皇祭入其廟。今欲立廟於京師，而使臣下祭之，是無主也。又，親盡當毀。空去一國太祖不墮之祀，而就無主當毀不正之禮，非所以尊厚共皇也。」丹由是浸不合上意。

In autumn, the ninth month, on jiachen, a meteorite fell at the two Yu districts. Director of the Secretariat Leng Bao, Yellow Gate Gentleman Duan You, and others again memorialized, saying, "The Empress Dowager of Lord Gong of Dingtao and the Consort of Lord Gong should not again use the name of the Dingtao feudal state to crown their great titles; their carriages, horses, and garments ought all to accord with imperial status; officials below the 2,000-bushel rank should be appointed, each to perform his duty; and a temple for Lord Gong ought to be established in the capital." The emperor again referred the matter for deliberation; many officials followed his hint and said, "When the mother is honored through the son, an exalted title ought to be established to fulfill filial piety." Only Chancellor Kong Guang, Grand Marshal Fu Xi, and Grand Minister of Works Shi Dan held that it could not be done. Dan said, "Sage kings established ritual by taking their model from Heaven and Earth. Honor and baseness are what set right Heaven and Earth's positions—they cannot be disordered. That the Empress Dowager of Lord Gong of Dingtao and the Consort of Lord Gong take 'Dingtao Gong' as their title follows the principle that the mother follows the son and the wife follows the husband. To establish offices and appoint officials, with carriages and dress equal to the Grand Empress Dowager's, is not how to uphold the principle that 'in honor there is no second supreme. Lord Gong of Dingtao's posthumous title and style were already fixed; by right they cannot be changed again. The Rites says, 'When the father was a common officer and the son is Son of Heaven, sacrifice is performed as for Son of Heaven, but the corpse's garment is the officer's garment'—the son does not ennoble the father in order to honor his parents. One who becomes another's successor becomes that person's son; therefore he wears three-year mourning for the one succeeded and reduces mourning for his parents to one year—clarifying that one honors the root ancestor and esteems the orthodox succession. Emperor Cheng's sagely grace was profound; therefore he established a successor for Lord Gong to continue the sacrifices, making Lord Gong the founding ancestor of a state undestroyed for ten thousand generations—favor and righteousness were already complete. Your Majesty has already succeeded the former emperor, upheld the great lineage, and received sacrifice at the ancestral temple, Heaven and Earth, and the altars of state—by right you cannot again offer sacrifice to Lord Gong of Dingtao and bring it into his temple. To establish a temple in the capital and have ministers sacrifice to it is to leave the rites without a lord. Moreover, when kin ties are exhausted, the shrine ought to be destroyed. To abandon a whole state's undestroyed sacrifices to its founding ancestor and instead adopt improper rites without a lord that ought to be destroyed is not how to honor Lord Gong." From this Dan gradually fell out of favor with the emperor.

會有上書言：「古者以龜、貝為貨，今以錢易之，民以故貧，宜可改幣。」上以問丹，丹對言可改。章下有司議，皆以為行錢以來久，難卒變易。丹老人，忘其前語，復從公卿議。又丹使吏書奏，吏私寫其草。丁、傅子弟聞之，使人上書告「丹上封事，行道人遍持其書。」上以問將軍、中朝臣，皆對曰：「忠臣不顯諫。大臣奏事，不宜漏洩，宜不廷尉治。」事下廷尉，劾丹大不敬，事未決，給事中、博士申鹹、炔欽上書言：「丹經行無比，自近世大臣能若丹者少。發憤懣，奏封事，不及深思遠慮，使主簿書，漏洩之過不在丹，以此貶黜，恐不厭眾心。」上貶鹹、欽秩各二等。遂策免丹曰：「朕惟君位尊任重，懷諼迷國，進退違命，反覆異言，甚為君恥之！以君嘗托傅位，未忍考於理，其上大司空、高樂侯印綬，罷歸！」

It happened that someone submitted a memorial saying, "In antiquity tortoise shells and cowries served as currency; now coins have replaced them, and the people have grown poor thereby—it ought to be possible to change the currency." The emperor asked Dan, and Dan replied that the currency could be changed. The memorial was referred to the relevant offices; all held that coin currency had been in use too long to be changed suddenly. Dan was elderly and forgot his earlier statement; he again sided with the excellencies and ministers. Moreover, Dan had an official write his memorial, and the official privately copied the draft. The Ding and Fu clans' sons and younger brothers heard of it and had someone report, "When Dan submitted a sealed memorial, travelers on the road everywhere held copies of it." The emperor questioned the generals and inner-court ministers; all replied, "A loyal minister does not remonstrate openly. When great ministers memorialize, there ought not to be leakage—it is fitting that he not be tried by the Minister of Justice." The matter was sent to the Minister of Justice, who impeached Dan for great irreverence. Before it was decided, Palace Attendant and Erudite Shen Xian and Xu Qin memorialized, saying, "Dan's classical conduct is without parallel; in recent times few great ministers have equaled Dan. In anger he submitted a sealed memorial without deep forethought and had the chief clerk write it—the fault of leakage does not lie with Dan. To demote him for this will perhaps not satisfy public sentiment." The emperor reduced Xian's and Qin's ranks each by two grades. Thereupon by patent he dismissed Dan, saying, "We consider that you hold lofty rank and heavy responsibility, yet harbor delusion and mislead the state, advance and retreat contrary to orders, and speak now one way and now another—we are greatly shamed for you! Because you once relied on the Fu clan for position, we have not borne to try you by law. Submit the seals and cords of Grand Minister of Works and Marquis of Gaole and return home!"

尚書令唐林上疏曰：「竊見免大司空丹策書，泰深痛切！君子作文，為賢者諱。丹，經為世儒宗，德為國黃耇，親傅聖躬，位在三公；所坐者微，海內未見其大過。事既以往，免爵太重；京師識者鹹以為宜復丹爵邑，使奉朝請。唯陛下裁覽眾心，有以尉復師傅之臣！」上從林言，下詔，賜丹爵關內侯。

Director of the Masters of Writing Tang Lin submitted a memorial, saying, "Your servant has seen the patent dismissing Grand Minister of Works Dan—it is exceedingly harsh and painful! When gentlemen compose writing, they cover for the worthy. Dan's classical learning made him the age's Confucian patriarch; his virtue made him the state's venerable elder; he personally tutored the emperor and stood among the Three Excellencies; his offense was slight; the empire has not seen a great fault in him. The matter is already past; stripping his rank is too severe; those with understanding in the capital all consider that Dan's rank and fief ought to be restored and that he should attend court. May Your Majesty weigh the people's hearts and find means to comfort and restore your tutor-minister!" The emperor followed Lin's advice, issued an edict, and granted Dan the rank of Marquis within the Passes.

上用杜業之言，召見朱博，起家復為光祿大夫；遷京兆尹。冬，十月，壬午，以博為大司空。

The emperor followed Du Ye's advice, summoned Zhu Bo, and from private life restored him as Household Grandee; he was transferred to Metropolitan Governor of Jingzhao. In winter, the tenth month, on renwu, Bo was made Grand Minister of Works.

中山王箕子，幼有眚病，祖母馮太后自養視，數禱祠解。上遣中郎謁者張由將醫治之。由素有狂易病，病發，怒去，西歸長安。尚書簿責由擅去狀，由恐，因誣言中山太后祝詛上及傅太后。傅太后與馮太后並事元帝，追怨之，因是遣御史丁玄案驗；數十日，無所得。更使中謁者令史立治之；立受傅太后指，冀得封侯，治馮太后女弟習及弟婦君之，死者數十人，誣奏云：「祝詛，謀殺上，立中山王。」責問馮太后，無服辭。立曰：「熊之上殿何其勇，今何怯也！」太后還謂左右：「此乃中語，前世事，吏何用知之？欲陷我效也！」乃飲藥自殺。宜鄉侯參、君之、習夫及子當相坐者，或自殺，或伏法，凡死者十七人。眾莫不憐之。

Jizi, King of Zhongshan, had suffered an eye ailment from youth; his grandmother Empress Dowager Feng personally cared for him and repeatedly prayed and sacrificed for his recovery. The emperor sent Palace Gentleman Usher Zhang You to lead physicians to treat him. You had long suffered manic illness; when it broke out he left in anger and returned west to Chang'an. The Masters of Writing registered and rebuked You for leaving without authorization; in fear he falsely reported that the Empress Dowager of Zhongshan had cursed the emperor and Empress Dowager Fu. Empress Dowager Fu and Empress Dowager Feng had both served Emperor Yuan; Fu bore long resentment and therefore sent Censor Ding Xuan to investigate; after several tens of days nothing was found. He sent instead Chief Palace Usher Ling Shi Li to try the case; Li followed Empress Dowager Fu's instructions, hoping to win enfeoffment; he tried Feng Empress Dowager's younger sister Xi and her younger brother's wife Junzhi—several tens died—and falsely reported, "Curse-prayer, plotting to kill the emperor, and installing the King of Zhongshan." When questioned, Empress Dowager Feng had no compliant answer. Li said, "How brave Xiong was when ascending the hall—how timid now!" The empress dowager turned and said to her attendants, "This is palace slang—a matter of former times; why should officials know it? They wish to trap me by making me incriminate myself!" Thereupon she drank poison and killed herself. Marquis of Yixiang Can, Junzhi, Xi's husband, and sons who ought to be implicated—some killed themselves, some were executed; seventeen died in all. Everyone pitied them.

司隸孫寶奏請覆治馮氏獄，傅太后大怒曰：「帝置司隸，主使察我！馮氏反事明白，故欲擿抉以揚我惡，我當坐之！」上乃順指，下寶獄。尚書僕射唐林爭之，上以林朋黨比周，左遷敦煌魚澤障候。大司馬傅喜、光祿大夫龔勝固爭，上為言太后，出寶，復官。張由以先告，賜爵關內侯；史立遷中太僕。」」」」

Metropolitan Commandant Sun Bao memorialized requesting a retrial of the Feng clan case; Empress Dowager Fu was furious and said, "The emperor installed the Metropolitan Commandant to have him investigate me! The Feng clan's treason is supposedly clear; he wishes to pry and expose my evil—I ought to be punished for it!" The emperor thereupon followed her hint and sent Bao to prison. Vice Director of the Masters of Writing Tang Lin objected; the emperor held that Lin formed factions and demoted him to Marquis of Yuzefang Barrier at Dunhuang. Grand Marshal Fu Xi and Household Grandee Gong Sheng firmly objected; the emperor spoke to the empress dowager on Bao's behalf, released Bao, and restored his office. Zhang You, because he had reported first, was granted the rank of Marquis within the Passes; Shi Li was promoted to Chief Steward for the Metropolitan Area.””””

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