Qin and Han · Ruler

Emperor Yuan 元帝

Yuán Dì

First attested BC 49; died BC 33

Passages: 26
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Emperor Yuan was a ruler.

Life and dates

Death

BC 33 元帝崩
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 6
BC 33 元帝竟崩
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 166

Attested activity

BC 49 to BC 33 元帝在位
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 93, passage 94

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Lady Fu (傅昭儀)
consort 昭儀 · Concubinage
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 50
Spouse of Empress Wang (王皇后)
empress 皇后 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 50
Parent of Liu Kang (康)
father 父
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 93, passages 50, 95
Child of Emperor Xuan (宣帝)
father 父
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 93, passage 130
Parent of Emperor Cheng (成帝)
father 父
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 93, passages 50, 130

Career and standing

Succeeded as emperor
BC 49 孝元帝即位
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passage 130

Works and attributed material

Deathbed response · Speaker · With Shi Dan (史丹) · Mode direct-quotation Speaker Emperor Yuan (元帝)
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passages 157-160, 162-163
questioned the crown prince's fitness after he showed no grief
Reproach · Speaker
Directly stated · Book of Han 93, passages 143-144

References in the histories

Search passages

History

26 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 93Volume 82: Wang Shang, Shi Dan and Fu Xi · 26 passages

商少爲太子中庶子，以肅敬敦厚稱。 In youth Wang Shang served as palace attendant to the crown prince and was known for solemn respect and steadfast integrity.

元帝時，至右將軍、光祿大夫。 Under Emperor Yuan he rose to General of the Right and Grand Master of the Household.

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.

惟商與先帝有外親，未忍致於理。 Yet Wang Shang is tied to the late emperor by marriage, and I cannot bring myself to subject him to full criminal process.

帝崩，太子襲尊號，是爲孝元帝。 When the emperor died, the crown prince succeeded as Emperor Yuan.

自元帝為太子時，丹以父高任為中庶子，侍從十餘年。 While Emperor Yuan was still crown prince, Shi Dan, through his father Shi Gao's standing, was appointed palace attendant to the heir and served at his side for more than a decade.

元帝即位，為駙馬都尉侍中，出常驂乘，甚有寵。 When Yuan took the throne, Shi Dan became chief commandant of horsemen-at-attendance and palace attendant, routinely rode beside the emperor in the side car, and basked in imperial favor.

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.

建昭之後，元帝被疾，不親政事，留好音樂。 After the Jianzhao period Emperor Yuan fell ill, ceased to attend to government himself, and devoted himself to music.

或置鼙鼓殿下，天子自臨軒檻上，隤銅丸以擿鼓，聲中嚴鼓之節。 Drums were sometimes set below the hall; the emperor himself stood on the upper balustrade, dropped copper balls to beat the drums, and matched the rhythm of the ceremonial drum pattern.

後宮及左右習知音者莫能爲，而定陶王亦能之，上數稱其材。 None of the harem or the emperor's attendants who knew music could match the feat, yet the Prince of Dingtao could, and the emperor repeatedly praised his ability.

於是上嘿然而笑。 The emperor smiled but said nothing.

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.

上大恨曰：「安有人不慈仁而可奉宗廟爲民父母者乎！」 The emperor was furious and said, "How can anyone lacking kindness and humaneness be fit to tend the ancestral temple and be father and mother to the people!"

上以責謂丹。 The emperor reproached Shi Dan.

丹免冠謝上曰：「臣誠見陛下哀痛中山王，至以感損。 Shi Dan removed his cap and apologized: "Your servant saw that Your Majesty was grieving for Prince Ai of Zhongshan to the point of harming your health.

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.

上以爲然，意乃解。 The emperor accepted this explanation and his anger subsided.

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.

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.

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!

上因納，謂丹曰：「吾病浸加，恐不能自還。 The emperor accepted this and said to Shi Dan, "My illness grows worse, and I fear I may not recover.

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.