Qin and Han · Imperial Counselor and Chancellor

Bing Ji 丙吉

First attested BC 87; died BC 55

Passages
83
Chapters
5
Histories
1

Overview

Bing Ji was an Imperial Counselor and Chancellor.

IdentityHistorical · Male
Found inBook of Han

Other names

TypeEnglishChinesePinyin
Courtesy name Shaoqing 少卿 Shàoqīng
Posthumous name Marquis Ding 定侯

Life and dates

Death

Attested activity

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Key source chapters

  1. Book of Han, Chapter 85 Volume 74: Wei Xiang and Bing Ji 74 passages
  2. Book of Han, Chapter 89 Volume 78: Xiao Wangzhi 5 passages
  3. Book of Han, Chapter 101 Volume 89: Upright Officials 2 passages
  4. Book of Han, Chapter 68 Volume 58: Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan 1 passage
  5. Book of Han, Chapter 82 Volume 71: Jun, Shu, Yu, Xue, Ping and Peng 1 passage

Career and standing

Show 5 more source-backed claims

Places and affiliations

Learning and skills

Works and attributed material

Events and relationships

Assessments and attributes

References in the histories

83 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 68Volume 58: Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan · 1 passage
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孝宣承統，纂修洪業，亦講論六藝，招選茂異，而蕭望之、梁丘賀、夏侯勝、韋玄成、嚴彭祖，尹更始以儒術進，劉向，王褒以文章顯，將相則張安世、趙充國、魏相、丙吉、於定國、杜延年，治民則黃霸、王成、龔遂、鄭弘、召信臣、韓延壽、尹翁歸、趙廣漢、嚴延年、張敞之屬，皆有功跡見述於世。 Emperor Xuan inherited the succession and carried forward the great enterprise. He too expounded the Six Arts and recruited outstanding men. Xiao Wangzhi, Liangqiu He, Xiahou Sheng, Wei Xuancheng, Yan Pengzu, and Yin Gengshi advanced through Confucian learning; Liu Xiang and Wang Bao gained distinction for their writing; among the generals and chancellors were Zhang Anshi, Zhao Chongguo, Wei Xiang, Bing Ji, Yu Dingguo, and Du Yannian; and among those who governed the people were Huang Ba, Wang Cheng, Gong Sui, Zheng Hong, Shao Xinchen, Han Yanshou, Yin Wengui, Zhao Guanghan, Yan Yannian, Zhang Chang, and others. All left achievements celebrated in their age.
Book of Han, Chapter 82Volume 71: Jun, Shu, Yu, Xue, Ping and Peng · 1 passage
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Book of Han, Chapter 85Volume 74: Wei Xiang and Bing Ji · 74 passages
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吉奏記光曰：「將軍事孝武皇帝，受襁褓之屬，任天下之寄，孝昭皇帝早崩亡嗣，海內憂懼，欲亟聞嗣主，發喪之日以大誼立後，所立非其人，復以大誼廢之，天下莫不服焉。 Bing Ji wrote Huo Guang: ‘General, you served Emperor Wu, received the charge of the swaddling-clothes regency, and bear the empire’s trust; when Emperor Zhao died without heir the realm was anxious; you established a successor on the day mourning was announced, and when he proved unworthy you deposed him again by great duty—none under Heaven failed to submit.
馭吏因隨驛騎至公車刺取，知虜入雲中、代郡，遽歸府見吉白狀，因曰：「恐虜所入邊郡，二千石長吏有老病不任兵馬者，宜可豫視。」 The carriage officer therefore followed the courier to the Public Carriage Office and made inquiries. Learning that the raiders had entered Yunzhong and Dai commanderies, he hurried back to the bureau, saw Bing Ji, reported the situation, and then said, ‘I fear that in the border commanderies the enemy has entered, some of the two-thousand-bushel senior officials may be old or ill and unable to handle troops and horses. It would be proper to inspect this in advance.’
掾史獨謂丞相前後失問，或以譏吉，吉曰：「民斗相殺傷，長安令、京兆尹職所當禁備逐捕，歲竟丞相課其殿最，奏行賞罰而已。 The clerks privately thought the chancellor had asked about the wrong thing, and some used it to mock him. Bing Ji said, ‘When commoners fight and kill or wound one another, it is the duty of the Chang’an magistrate and the Governor of the Capital to prevent it, prepare against it, pursue the offenders, and arrest them. At year’s end, the chancellor merely grades their performance and memorializes for rewards and punishments.
成帝時，修廢功，以吉舊恩尤重，鴻嘉元年制詔丞相御史：「蓋聞褒功德，繼絕統，所以重宗廟，廣賢聖之路也。 In Emperor Cheng’s time, neglected services were restored to honor. Because Bing Ji’s old kindness was especially weighty, in the first year of Hongjia an edict was issued to the chancellor and imperial secretary: ‘We have heard that commending merit and virtue and continuing broken lines of succession are ways to honor the ancestral temples and broaden the path for worthies and sages.
Book of Han, Chapter 89Volume 78: Xiao Wangzhi · 5 passages
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Book of Han, Chapter 101Volume 89: Upright Officials · 2 passages
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