Qin and Han · Emperor of Han

Emperor Yuan 孝元帝

Xiaoyuan Di

First attested BC 49; died BC 33

Passages: 15
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Emperor Yuan was an emperor of Han.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Posthumous name	Emperor Xiaoyuan	孝元皇帝	Xiaoyuan Huangdi

Life and dates

Death

BC 33 元帝崩
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 126

Attested activity

BC 48 to BC 33 元帝
Directly stated · Book of Han 85, passage 175
BC 49 元帝即位
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passages 14, 100

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Emperor Xuan of Han (漢宣帝)
begot 生
son 子
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 4
Child of Empress Xu (許皇后)
gave birth to 生
born of 生
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 4
Spouse of Wang Zhengjun (王政君)
Empress Wang 王皇后 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177
Parent of Liu Kang (康)
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177
Parent of Emperor Cheng (成帝)
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177
Parent of Liu Xing (劉興)
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177
Spouse of Lady Feng (馮昭儀)
Concubinage
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177
Spouse of Lady Fu (傅昭儀)
Concubinage
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 177

Kinship Role sons · Count 3
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passages 175-176

Key source chapters

Career and standing

BC 49 元帝即位
Directly stated · Book of Han 91, passage 14

Places and affiliations

Han 漢
Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Han 85, passage 175
Western Han 漢
Relation Ruled
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 91, passage 14

References in the histories

Search passages

History

15 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 85Volume 74: Wei Xiang and Bing Ji · 1 passage

元帝時，長安士伍尊上書言：「臣少時為郡邸小吏，竊見孝宣皇帝以皇曾孫在郡邸獄。 In Emperor Yuan’s time, Chang’an commoner Zun submitted a memorial saying, ‘When your servant was young, I served as a petty clerk in the commandery residence and privately saw Emperor Xuan, then the imperial great-grandson, in the prison there.

Book of Han, Chapter 91Volume 80: The Six Sons of Emperors Xuan and Yuan · 14 passages

卷八十宣元六王傳第五十 Volume 80: Biographies of the Six Princes of Emperors Xuan and Yuan (no. 50).

許皇后生孝元帝，張婕妤生淮陽憲王欽，衛婕妤生楚孝王囂，公孫婕妤生東平思王宇，戎婕妤生中山哀王竟。 Empress Xu gave birth to Emperor Yuan. Lady Zhang the Honored Lady bore Prince Xian of Huaiyang, Qin; Lady Wei the Honored Lady bore Prince Xiao of Chu, Ao; Lady Gongsun the Honored Lady bore Prince Si of Dongping, Yu; and Lady Rong the Honored Lady bore Prince Ai of Zhongshan, Jing.

久之，懲艾霍氏欲害皇太子，乃更選後宮無子而謹慎者，乃立長陵王婕妤為后，令母養太子。 In time, mindful of how the Huo family had tried to harm the crown prince, he looked elsewhere among his childless, cautious consorts and made Lady Wang of Changling empress, charging her with raising the heir.

太子寬仁，喜儒術，上數嗟歎憲王，輔曰：「真我子也！」 The crown prince was mild and humane and loved Confucian scholarship; the emperor would sigh over Prince Xian and tell his attendants, “Now that is my son!”

常有意欲立張婕妤與憲王，然用太子起於微細，上少依倚許氏，及即位而許后以殺死，太子蚤失母，故弗忍也。 He often toyed with making Lady Zhang and the prince his succession, yet the crown prince had come up from nothing: as a young man the emperor had leaned on the Xu clan, and after his accession Empress Xu had been executed, leaving the boy motherless—so he could not bring himself to replace him.

久之，上以故丞相韋賢子玄成陽狂讓侯兄，經明行高，稱於朝廷，乃召拜玄成為淮陽中尉，欲感諭憲王，輔以推讓之臣，由是太子遂安。 Years later he recalled how Wei Xuancheng, son of the former chancellor Wei Xian, had played mad to yield his noble title to an elder brother—learned in the classics and renowned for integrity—and summoned him to serve as commandant in Huaiyang, hoping such an example of deference would steady the ambitious prince and quiet the succession.

宣帝崩，元帝即位，乃遣憲王之國。 When Xuan died and Yuan ascended, the new emperor sent Prince Qin to his fief at Huaiyang.

元帝即位，就國。 When Yuan became emperor, Yu proceeded to his fief.

宇立二十年，元帝崩。 Twenty years after Yu took the throne, Yuan died.

孝元皇帝三男 Emperor Yuan had three sons

孝元皇帝三男。 Emperor Yuan had three sons.

即位二年，追尊共王為共皇帝，置寢廟京師，序昭穆，儀如孝元帝。 In the second year of his reign he posthumously honored Prince Gong as Emperor Gong, set up his spirit temple in the capital, arranged the zhao and mu order, and followed the ceremonial model of Emperor Xiaoyuan.

成帝之議立太子也，御史大夫孔光以為《尚書》有殷及王，兄終弟及，中山王元帝之子，宜為後。 When Cheng debated the succession, Imperial Counselor Kong Guang cited the Documents on Yin brother-to-brother transmission and argued that Xing, Yuan’s son and king of Zhongshan, should follow.

贊曰：孝元之後，遍有天下，然而世絕於孫，豈非天哉！ The summation runs: from Emperor Yuan onward they held all under heaven, yet the line died with the grandson—can we call it anything but fate?