Qin and Han · Ruler

Emperor Cheng 成帝

Chéng Dì

Attested BC 33 - BC 7

Passages: 42
Chapters: 2
Histories: 2

Overview

Emperor Cheng was a ruler.

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 33 to BC 7 成帝在位
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 93, passage 6
BC 33 to BC 7 成帝輦過後宮
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 17, passage 119

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Sibling of Liu Kang (康)
brothers 兄弟 · Paternal half siblings
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 93, passages 50, 95
Child of Emperor Yuan (元帝)
father 父
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 93, passages 50, 130
Child of Empress Wang (王皇后)
mother 母
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 50

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Entered
Secured as successor · With Shi Dan (史丹)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 165
Acceded
BC 33 成帝初即位
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 166
Acceded
BC 33 成帝即位
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 6

Places and affiliations

Polity Han · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 17, passage 119

Works and attributed material

BC 20 鴻嘉元年
Imperial edict · Issuer · With Shi Dan (史丹)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passages 167-169
This truly is a Han chancellor
Exclamation · Speaker · With Wang Shang (王商)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 25
Imperial edict · Issuer · With Wang Shang (王商)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passages 37-43
ordered that Wang Shang not be prosecuted
Rescript · Issuer
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 36
Retirement rescript · Issuer · With Shi Dan (史丹)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passages 54-56

Events and relationships

Rode palanquin through rear palaces
Court · Sovereign
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 17, passage 119

Assessments and attributes

Assessment praised Wang Shang's firmness and counsel · With Wang Shang (王商) · Mode narrator
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 18

References in the histories

Search passages

History

42 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 93Volume 82: Wang Shang, Shi Dan and Fu Xi · 41 passages

是時，定陶共王愛幸，幾代太子。 At that time Prince Kang of Dingtao enjoyed the emperor's favor and nearly displaced the crown prince.

商爲外戚重臣輔政，擁佑太子，頗有力焉。 As a leading consort-clan minister in the government, Wang Shang supported the crown prince and did much to protect his position.

元帝崩，成帝即位，甚敬重商，徙為左將軍。 After Emperor Yuan died and Emperor Cheng took the throne, the new sovereign held Wang Shang in high regard and appointed him General of the Left.

而帝元舅大司馬大將軍王鳳顓權，行多驕僭。 Meanwhile Wang Feng, the emperor's senior maternal uncle, served as grand marshal and grand general and dominated the government, and his behavior was frequently overbearing and out of line.

天子親御前殿，召公卿議。 The emperor went in person to the front hall and called the high ministers into council.

大將軍鳳以為太后與上及後宮可御船，令吏民上長安城以避水。 Wang Feng proposed putting the empress dowager, the emperor, and the harem aboard boats and ordering officials and townsfolk onto the ramparts of Chang'an to ride out the supposed flood.

上乃止。 The emperor dropped the idea.

上於是美壯商之固守，數稱其議。 The emperor then praised Wang Shang for holding firm and repeatedly commended his counsel.

明年，商代匡衡為丞相，益封千戶，天子甚尊任之。 The following year Wang Shang succeeded Kuang Heng as chancellor, received an additional thousand-household grant to his estate, and enjoyed the emperor's full confidence.

天子聞而歎曰：「此真漢相矣！」 When the emperor heard of it, he sighed and said, 'This truly is a Han chancellor!'

初，大將軍鳳連昏楊肜為琅邪太守，其郡有災害十四，已上。 Wang Feng had earlier formed a marriage alliance with Yang Rong, governor of Langye, a commandery that had suffered more than a dozen calamities.

天子以為暗昧之過，不足以傷大臣，鳳固爭，下其事司隸。 The emperor treated the charges as private indiscretions unworthy of ruining a senior minister, but Wang Feng pressed the case until the matter was referred to the metropolitan superintendent.

會日有蝕之，太中大夫蜀郡張匡，其人佞巧，上書願對近臣陳日蝕咎。 When a solar eclipse occurred, Palace Grandee Zhang Kuang of Shu commandery, a sly and fawning man, submitted a memorial asking to address the emperor's close advisers on the meaning of the eclipse.

下朝者左將軍丹等問匡，對曰：「竊見丞相商作威作福，從外制中，取必於上，性殘賊不仁，遣票輕吏微求人罪，欲以立威，天下患苦之。 After court, General of the Left Shi Dan and others questioned Zhang Kuang. He answered, "I have observed Chancellor Wang Shang wielding arbitrary power, controlling the court from outside, and extracting whatever he wants from the throne. He is cruel and ruthless, sending out swift minor officials to hunt for crimes in order to terrify the realm, and the people suffer greatly under him.

往者丞相周勃再建大功，及孝文時纖介怨恨，而日爲之蝕，於是退勃使就國，卒無怵惕憂。 Formerly Chancellor Zhou Bo had rendered great service twice, yet when minor resentments arose under Emperor Wen the sun was eclipsed on his account; the emperor then sent Bo back to his fief, and he lived out his days without further fear.

於是左將軍丹等奏：「商位三公，爵列侯，親受詔策為天下師，不遵法度以翼國家，而回辟下媚以進其私，執左道以亂政，為臣不忠，罔上不道，《甫刑》之辟，皆為上戮，罪名明白。 General of the Left Shi Dan and his colleagues then memorialized: 'Wang Shang ranks among the Three Excellencies and holds a marquisate; he was personally commissioned to guide the realm. Instead of upholding the law to support the state, he courts favor below and pursues private ends, peddling heterodox practices that corrupt government. Such disloyalty and deceit of the throne violate the standards of the Fu Xing and merit execution; his offenses are plain.

上素重商，知匡言多險，制曰「勿治」。 The emperor had long respected Wang Shang and recognized Zhang Kuang's memorial for the vicious attack it was, so he ruled, 'Take no further action.'

鳳固爭之，於是制詔御史：「蓋丞相以德輔翼國家，典領百寮，協和萬國，為職任莫重焉。 Wang Feng would not let the matter drop, and the emperor had to issue an edict to the censor-in-chief: 'The chancellor exists to support the dynasty with moral authority, to head the bureaucracy, and to keep the realm in harmony—no burden is weightier.

商死後，連年日蝕、地震，直臣京兆尹王章上封事召開，訟商忠直無罪，言鳳顓權蔽主。 After Wang Shang's death, solar eclipses and earthquakes followed year on year. Wang Zhang, the principled governor of the capital, submitted a sealed memorial; when the emperor summoned him and opened it, Zhang argued that Wang Shang had been loyal and blameless and that Wang Feng had monopolized power and blinded the throne.

上以丹舊臣，皇考外屬，親信之，詔丹護太子家。 The emperor treated Shi Dan as a veteran of his father's household and a maternal relative, kept him close, and ordered him to oversee the crown prince's establishment.

是時，傅昭儀子定陶共王有材藝，子母俱愛幸，而太子頗有酒色之失，母王皇后無寵。 At that time Consort Fu's son, Prince Kang of Dingtao, was gifted and accomplished, and mother and son both enjoyed the emperor's affection, whereas the crown prince showed a weakness for wine and women and his mother, Empress Wang, had fallen out of favor.

其後，中山哀王薨，太子前吊。 Later Prince Ai of Zhongshan died, and the crown prince went to offer condolences.

哀王者，帝之少弟，與太子遊學相長大。 Prince Ai was the emperor's younger brother; he and the crown prince had studied and grown up together.

上望見太子，感念哀王，悲不能自止。 When the emperor saw the crown prince, memories of Prince Ai overwhelmed him and he could not stop grieving.

太子既至前，不哀。 When the crown prince came forward, he showed no grief.

向者太子當進見，臣竊戒屬毋涕泣，感傷陛下。 When the crown prince was about to appear, I privately warned him not to weep and add to Your Majesty's sorrow.

竟寧元年，上寢疾，傅昭儀及定陶王常在左右，而皇后、太子希得進見。 In Jingning 1 the emperor was bedridden. Consort Fu and the Prince of Dingtao were constantly at his side, while the empress and crown prince were rarely admitted.

上疾稍侵，意忽忽不平，數問尚書以景帝時立膠東王故事。 As his illness deepened, the emperor grew restless and repeatedly asked the Masters of Writing about the precedent from Emperor Jing's reign of enthroning the Prince of Jiaodong instead of the crown prince.

是時，太子長舅陽平侯王鳳爲衛尉、侍中，與皇后、太子皆憂，不知所出。 The crown prince's elder maternal uncle, Yangping Marquis Wang Feng, served as Commandant of the Guard and palace attendant; he, the empress, and the crown prince were all anxious and at a loss.

丹以親密臣得侍視疾，侯上間獨寢時，丹直入臥內，頓首伏青蒲上，涕泣言曰：「皇太子以適長立，積十餘年，名號繫於百姓，天下莫不歸心臣子。 As an intimate adviser permitted to attend the sickbed, Shi Dan waited until the emperor was resting alone, then entered the inner chamber, prostrated himself on the green rush mat, and weeping said, "The crown prince was established as the legitimate eldest son more than ten years ago. His title is bound up with the people, and all the realm looks to him as heir.

見定陶王雅素愛幸，今者道路流言，爲國生意，以爲太子有動搖之議。 The Prince of Dingtao has long enjoyed your favor, and now rumor runs through the streets that the succession may be changed.

天子素仁，不忍見丹涕泣，言又切至，上意大感，喟然太息曰：「吾日困劣，而太子、兩王幼少，意中戀戀，亦何不念乎！ The emperor was by nature humane and could not bear to see Shi Dan weeping. His words cut to the heart. Deeply moved, the emperor sighed and said, "My days are failing, and the crown prince and the two princes are still young. My heart clings to them—how could I not think of them!

且皇后謹慎，先帝又愛太子，吾豈可違指！ Besides, the empress is prudent, and the late emperor loved the crown prince. How could I go against his intent!

善輔道太子，毋違我意！」 Guide the crown prince well and do not betray my intent!"

太子由是遂爲嗣矣。 The crown prince was thereby secured as successor.

元帝竟崩，成帝初即位，擢丹爲長樂衛尉，遷右將軍，賜爵關內侯，食邑三百戶，給事中，後徙左將軍、光祿大夫。 When Emperor Yuan died and Emperor Cheng first succeeded, Shi Dan was promoted to Commandant of the Chang'le Palace Guard, then General of the Right, granted Marquis within the Pass with a three-hundred-household fief and palace attendance, and later moved to General of the Left and Grand Master of the Household.

鴻嘉元年，上遂下詔曰：「夫褒有德，賞元功，古今通義也。 In Hongjia 1 the emperor issued an edict: "Honoring the virtuous and rewarding great service is a principle honored in every age.

丹為人足知，愷弟愛人，貌若儻蕩不備，然心甚謹密，故尤得信於上。 Shi Dan was shrewd, warm, and considerate; he looked relaxed and even careless, but he was meticulous by nature, which is why the emperor trusted him above others.

為將軍前後十六年，永始中病乞骸骨，上賜策曰：「左將軍寢病不衰，願歸治疾，朕愍以官職之事久留將軍，使躬不瘳。 He served sixteen years as a general. In the Yongshi period he fell ill and asked to retire. The emperor replied: 'Your illness as General of the Left does not improve, and you wish to go home to heal. I regret that state business has kept you at your post so long that your health has not mended.

哀帝立爲太子，成帝選喜爲太子庶子。 When Emperor Ai was made crown prince, Emperor Cheng appointed Fu Xi palace attendant to the heir.

又傅太后欲求稱尊號，與成帝母齊尊，喜與丞相孔光、大司空師丹共執正議。 When Grand Empress Dowager Fu demanded a title equal to Emperor Cheng's mother, Fu Xi stood with Chancellor Kong Guang and Grand Minister of Works Shi Dan on the side of precedent.

Book of Southern Qi, Chapter 17Volume 17 Treatises 9: Caraiges and Dress · 1 passage

《漢書叔孫通傳》云「皇帝輦出房」，成帝輦過後宮，此朝宴竝用也。 The Biography of Shusun Tong in the Book of Han says, "When the emperor's palanquin left the side chamber"; Emperor Cheng's palanquin passed through the rear palaces—court and banquet alike employed it.