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Chapter 2: The Former Han
Dynasty
II The Consolidation of
the Empire (195-141 BC)
Female dancer, early Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.–9
A.D.), 2nd century B.C.
China
copyright© Metropolitan Museum of Art
Those
years were spent mainly on reinforcing the authority of the central
government over China,
at the expenses of an expansionist foreign policy. The importance of the
kingdoms diminished, while the direct control of the imperial government
advanced following the Yellow and Huai rivers. The improvement of the tax
collection led to more resources for the central administration. The biggest
threat to the Han Dynasty during all these years was the bid of the Empress
Lü and her family for power, as she will dominate the country for some 15
years.
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The reign of Hui-ti (195-188BC) and the Empress
Lü
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Long
before becoming the Emperor, Liu Pang had married a woman from the Lü
family; they had one son and one daughter. When he became king of Han, his
son was nominated heir apparent, title that would remained unchanged until
the death of Kao-ti, although it seems that he may have wanted to nominate
the son of one of his consorts. However, it is his first son who will
become Emperor under the name Hui-ti in 195 BC, at only 15.
In the Standard
Histories, his mother, the Empress Lü, was described as particularly wanton
and cruel. She achieved some gruesome acts, like the poisoning of her son
main rival for the throne, as well as the murdering and mutilation of his
mother, scaring her own son so much he would not meddle into the affairs of
the state until his death, in 188 BC.
The most
important achievement under his reign was the fortification of the capital,
Chang-an, which took five years, and required at some points the strength
of 150’000 people, mostly from the city itself and its surroundings. Each
wall was between 5 to 6 km long, 8 meters high and 12 meters wide. Inside
these walls could be found the Wei-yang Palace, as well as lodges where the
kings would live when they came every year to pay homage to the Emperors,
and various markets. The walls were facing the four points of the compass,
but only the east wall forms an uninterrupted straight line. The others
were slightly irregular, which may have been due to topology or designed to
follow the figures of some constellations, as a good omen; this way, the
city would be linked to the most enduring patterns of heaven. They were
flanked by defensive towers, and each walls had three very large gates
Also, shrines
all over the country were established in memory of the late Emperor, an
example followed later on by other members of the dynasty. But those
shrines were a great expense in terms of maintenance, and their number
would eventually diminish.
As his wife had
been with no child, it is the son of one of the consorts of Hui-ti, Shao-ti
Kung, who succeeded him for 3 years as he was but a mere child, until he
was followed himself by a very young boy, Shao-ti Hung, giving thus the
possibility to Kao-ti’s widow to effectively lead the Empire as regent,
although she had never been officially recognized as such. She had her own
family members being nominated as kings in some 4 kingdoms; she also
appointed some of them as generals, giving her the effective mastery over
the armed forces within Chang-an. Yet she failed to keep foreign attacks at
bay, both north (Hsiung-nu) and south (Chao To, king of Nan-yüeh).
She died in 180
BC, as her family occupied the most important positions in the government,
namely chancellor and general of the army. They tried to overrule the Han
dynasty, but the relatives of Kao-ti, still holding three kingdoms,
gathered their forces, marched on the capital and eliminated the Lü family
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Wen-ti (180-157 BC) and Ching-ti (157-141 BC)
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The problem arose as to know who should
be chosen as the new emperor, and for which reasons. There were many
factors in favour of the king of Ch’i, grandson of Kao-ti, one of them
being that it had been following his initiative, and under his leadership,
that the Lü family had been eliminated. But it was feared that his –as well
as Huai-nan king’s, another contestant- mother would follow in empress Lü’s
footsteps. Thus it was Tai’s king and Kao-ti’s son, Liu-Heng, who received
the imperial seal and became Wen-ti, the new emperor.
His relatively
long reign, as well as the peaceful transition to the next emperor, his son
Ching-ti, provided some sense of continuity, creating a favourable
environment for the development and organization of China. The absence of
foul plays at the court was also due to the fact that Wen-ti’s wife, the
empress Tou, was strongly into Taoist writings, keeping her from having any
interest in messing with state affairs. Furthermore, it also influenced her
son; only after his death did the modernist policies become more
intensively applied.
From 179 to 143
BC, central power grew as the inner borders changed markedly. The situation
in 179 was pretty much the same as it was at the end of Kao-ti’s reign,
with 19 commanderies and 11 kingdoms, against 40 commanderies and 25
smaller kingdoms in 143. The threat of separatism was strong, since kings,
especially those who were from remote areas, and who had already known
independence previously and possessed enough natural resources, where
tempted to rebel against the imperial government in order to enjoy those resources
for themselves and avoid paying taxes; moreover, family ties that were
supposed to keep those kings loyal to their emperor, had weakened
significantly.
The central
government either waited for the kings to die without an heir (Chang-sha,
Liang), or to start a rebellion, which allowed them to intervene lawfully.
They would divide the kingdoms into a handful of small ones, given to the
emperor’s relatives, and into commanderies placed under its direct rule.
Those changes were particularly profound in areas potentially vulnerable to
foreign attacks; they no longer counted on the kings to defend the empire.
Two men played
a key-role in all this as advisers: Chia I and Ch’ao Ts’o, both modernists
aware of Confucian precepts.
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Internal policies and foreign relations
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The government,
by 150 BC, could exercise a more direct and intensified control, especially
over the highly productive areas; at the same time, under Chia I’s
influence, it became less oppressive (8 amnesties, some severe punishments abolished,
and the rate of tax on produce was significantly reduced). By 141 BC, at
Ching-ti’s death, the bases of the Han government had been established.
Some 9/10 of
the population was living in the countryside. Most were peasants, and a few
were craftsmen working for the emperor and his relatives. All men between
23 and 56 would also be trained 2 years for the armed forces or on security
duties. They would also work one month a year for the state in labour
gangs.
Finally, this
period witnessed a renewal of state cults, especially regarding the Five
Elements.
On the foreign
relations front, China was still threaten by the Hsiung-nu; they would
attack from the north, an agreement would be found until a new leader would
take the lead. This pattern will be repeated a few times over until a
system of beacons and watchtowers was built in 160 BC. Around the same
time, Chao T’o was persuaded to renounce to the title of emperor he had
taken during the regency of the empress Lü, and to renew his allegiance to
the emperor.
III: The
Full force of modernist policies: coming soon!
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