Shusun Tong (叔孫通)

Overview

Shusun Tong was a Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Alternate name	Master Shusun	叔孫生	Shusun Sheng

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 209 二世時
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 82, 84
BC 206 to BC 194 今之叔孫通
Strongly inferred · New Book of Tang 95, passage 266
BC 200 叔孫通…作君臣之儀
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 99, passage 98
BC 201 to BC 195 叔孫通作漢禮儀
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 121, passage 27
BC 206 to BC 188 叔孫通制儀
Strongly inferred · Book of Jin 128, passage 78
BC 202 to BC 195 叔孫通定漢儀
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 65, passage 223

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BC 195 to BC 188 孝惠時
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 170, 173
BC 195 to BC 188 惠帝之世
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 3, passage 65
BC 200 漢七年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 139
BC 198 漢九年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 160
BC 205 漢二年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 104
BC 202 漢五年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 114
BC 206 to BC 194 漢初
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 40, passage 103
BC 206 to BC 195 漢初
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 40, passage 161
BC 196 漢十一年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passage 235
BC 195 漢十二年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passage 238; Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 161
BC 206 to BC 188 漢書叔孫通傳
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 17, passage 119
BC 202 to BC 195 漢氏鬱興…命叔孫于外野
Dated from the passage context · Book of Liang 25, passage 125
BC 200 漢興
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 25, passage 105
BC 206 to BC 194 稷嗣所述
Strongly inferred · Book of Zhou 13, passage 123
BC 202 至于高祖…叔孫通
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 23, passage 20
BC 206 to BC 195 高帝時
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 85, passages 80-81, 84

Key source chapters

Career and standing

ritual official 禮官
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 23, passage 20
ritual specialist 制禮者
Directly stated · Book of Liang 25, passage 125
court erudite 博士
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 97
erudite 博士
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 113
Grand Master of Ceremonies 太常
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 154; Records of the Grand Historian 121, passage 27
Grand Tutor 太傅
BC 196 漢十一年 · Held
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passage 235

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erudite awaiting imperial orders 待詔博士
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 83
Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent 太子太傅
Held
Directly stated · Book of Han 85, passage 81
minister of ceremonies 奉常
Held
Directly stated · Book of Jin 128, passage 78
Grand Master of Ceremonies 太常
Transferred
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 171
Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince 太子太傅
Transferred
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 160
Lord Successor of Ji 稷嗣君
Granted
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 113

Places and affiliations

BC 196 漢十一年
Polity Han 漢 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passage 235
Han 漢
Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Han 85, passage 81; Records of the Grand Historian 23, passage 20; Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 104-105
Qin 秦
Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 83
Polity Han 漢 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Liang 25, passage 125; Records of the Grand Historian 121, passage 27
Polity Western Han 漢 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 40, passage 161
Polity Western Han 西漢 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 40, passage 103; Book of Zhou 13, passage 123

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Polity Western Han 西漢 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 65, passage 223
At Xue 薛
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 82

Works and attributed material

叔孫通制禮儀
Directly stated · Book of Han 2, passage 364
Han ceremonial regulations 漢諸儀法
Relation Author
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 172
Han ceremonies 漢儀
Relation Author
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 40, passages 103, 137
Han court rituals 漢禮儀
Relation Author
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 121, passage 27
Han ritual ordinances 一代之儀
Relation Author
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 65, passage 223
institutional prescriptions associated with Jisi 稷嗣所述
Relation Author
Directly stated · Book of Zhou 13, passage 123

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Biography of Shusun Tong in the Book of Han 漢書叔孫通傳
Relation Subject of
Directly stated · Book of Southern Qi 17, passage 119
Speech · Speaker · With Emperor Xiaohui (孝惠帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 174-175, 177-179, 182
Speech · Speaker · With Qin Ershi (秦二世)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 88-92
Speech · Speaker · With Emperor Gao (高帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 117-118, 120-123, 161-165, 167
Speech · Speaker
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 99, 110-112
Treatise · Author · Paraphrased
Directly stated · Book of Zhou 13, passage 123

Events and relationships

Admonished emperor
Political · Speaker · With Emperor Xiaohui (孝惠帝)
Directly stated · Book of Han 3, passage 65
Created han court ceremony
BC 200 漢七年 · Ritual · Designer
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 139, 153-154
Created Han court rituals
Ritual · Author
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 121, passage 27
Devised imperial rites
Ritual · Compiler
Directly stated · Book of Liang 25, passage 125
Drew on classical rites and Qin law for early Han court
BC 206 to BC 195 漢初 · Ritual · Ritual architect · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 40, passage 161
Made Han ritual ceremonies
Ritual · Author · Mode allusion Speaker Cao Bao (曹褒)
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 40, passage 103

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Made ritual
Ritual · Author
Directly stated · Book of Jin 128, passage 78
Opposed replacing crown prince
BC 195 漢十二年 · Political · Remonstrant · With Emperor Gao (高帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 161, 165, 168
Revised Qin rites
BC 202 叔孫通頗有所增益減損 · Ritual · Reviser · With Liu Bang (劉邦)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 23, passage 20
Staked life to defend crown prince
BC 195 漢十二年 · Political · Advocate
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passage 238
Relation Employed by · Person Emperor Gaozu of Han (高祖) · Function ceremonial system
Directly stated · Book of Han 25, passage 105
Relation Served · Person Liu Bang (劉邦)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 23, passage 20
Relation Tutor of · Person Crown Prince (太子)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 55, passages 235, 238

Assessments and attributes

Assessment became the Confucian patriarch of the Han house · Mode historian-judgment Source Person Id Sima Qian (司馬遷)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 191
Assessment truly a sage who understands essential affairs of the age · Mode named-source-report
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 158
Item five hundred catties of gold 金五百斤 · Relation Bestowed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 154
Item twenty bolts of silk and a set of clothes 帛二十匹，衣一襲 · Relation Bestowed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 97

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 40, passage 103; Book of Liang 25, passage 125; Book of Zhou 13, passage 123

References in the histories

Search passages

History

52 passages

Book of Han, Chapter 2Volume 1: Annals of Emperor Gaozu 2 · 2 passages

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於是諸侯王及太尉長安侯臣綰等三百人，與博士稷嗣君叔孫通謹擇良日二月甲午，上尊號。 So the feudal lords and Grand Marshal, Marquis of Chang'an, Wan, and 300 others, together with the Erudite Lord Jisi, Shusun Tong, carefully chose an auspicious day, the jiawu day of the second month, and presented the honored title.

天下既定，命蕭何次律令，韓信申軍法，張蒼定章程，叔孫通制禮儀，陸賈造新語。 After the world was settled, he commanded Xiao He to arrange the statutes and commands, Han Xin to explain military law, Zhang Cang to establish procedures, Shusun Tong to create rituals and ceremonies, Lu Jia to compose new discourses.

Book of Han, Chapter 3Volume 2: Annals of Emperor Hui · 1 passage

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聞叔孫通之諫則懼然，納曹相國之對而心說，可謂寬仁之主。 When he heard Shusun Tong's admonition he was fearful, when he accepted Chancellor Cao's response his heart was pleased. He can be called a lenient and benevolent ruler.

Book of Han, Chapter 25Volume 23: Treatise on Punishment and Law · 1 passage

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任蕭、曹之文，用良、平之謀，騁陸、酈之辯，明叔孫通之儀，文武相配，大略舉焉。 Gaozu employed Xiao He and Cao Shen in civil administration, used Zhang Liang and Chen Ping for strategy, gave free rein to Lu Jia and Li Yiji in persuasion, and established Shusun Tong’s ceremonial system; civil and military complemented each other, and the broad program was realized.

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

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相國臣何、御史大夫臣昌謹與將軍臣陵、太子太傅臣通等議：『春夏秋冬天子所服，當法天地之數，中得人和。 Chancellor Xiao He and Imperial Clerk Zhou Chang respectfully deliberated with General Wang Ling, Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent Shusun Tong, and others: The Son of Heaven’s clothing for spring, summer, autumn, and winter should model the numbers of Heaven and earth and attain the mean of human harmony.

Book of Han, Chapter 99Volume 87b: Yang Xiong 2 · 2 passages

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五帝垂典，三王傳禮，百世不易，叔孫通起於枹鼓之間，解甲投戈，遂作君臣之儀，得也。 The Five Sovereigns left models, the Three Kings handed down ritual—unchanged for ages—yet Shusun Tong stepped from the drum corps, laid down arms, and drafted the court ceremony for the new dynasty; that was what the times required.

有作叔孫通儀於夏、殷之時，則惑矣； To stage Shusun Tong’s court rituals in the days of Xia or Shang would be sheer folly.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 40Volume 35: Biographies of Zhang, Cao, Zheng · 3 passages

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常感朝廷制度未備，慕叔孫通為漢禮儀，晝夜研精，沈吟專思，寢則懷抱筆劄，行則誦習文書，當其念至，忘所之適。 He felt the dynasty's ceremonial code was still half-built and modeled himself on Shusun Tong; he pored over texts day and night, slept with brush and tablets in his belt, muttered classics on the road, and when an idea struck he would lose track of his path.

章和元年正月，乃召褒詣嘉德門，令小黃門持班固所上叔孫通《漢儀》十二篇，敕褒曰：『此制散略，多不合經，今宜依禮條正，使可族行。 In Zhanghe 1, first month, he called Cao Bao to the Gate of Virtuous Blessing, had a junior eunuch hand him the twelve-fascicle Han ceremonies of Shusun Tong that Ban Gu had submitted, and ordered: "This draft is loose and often uncanonical—revise it by the classics so it can be enforced everywhere.

論曰：『漢初天下創定，朝制無文，叔孫通頗采經禮，參酌秦法，雖適物觀時，有救崩敝，然先王之容典蓋多闕矣，是以賈誼、仲舒、王吉、劉向之徒，懷憤嘆息所不能已也。 The historian comments: "Early Han had no written court ritual; Shusun Tong drew on classical rites and Qin statutes—it met the moment and staunched decay, yet the old kings' forms were largely gone, which is why men like Jia Yi, Dong Zhongshu, Wang Ji, and Liu Xiang fumed and could not rest.

Book of Jin, Chapter 128Volume 128 Records 28: Murong Chao · 1 passage

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是以蕭何定法令而受封，叔孫通以制儀為奉常。 Xiao He and Shusun Tong won honor for codifying law and rite.

Book of Liang, Chapter 25Volume 25: Zhou She; Xu Mian · 1 passage

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漢氏鬱興，日不暇給，猶命叔孫于外野，方知帝王之爲貴。 When the Han rose in splendor, its affairs were so pressing that each day left no spare moment; yet the court still had to summon Shusun Tong from the wilderness to devise rites, and only then did men understand how precious imperial dignity truly was.

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

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《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.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 65Volume 65: Book of Wu 20: Biographies of Wang, Lou, He, Wei, and Hua · 1 passage

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漢氏承秦，則有叔孫通定一代之儀，曜之才學亦漢通之次也。 Wei Yao could be another Shusun Tong for this dynasty.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 23Treatise on Ritual · 1 passage

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至于高祖，光有四海，叔孫通頗有所增益減損，大抵皆襲秦故。 As for Gaozu, who shone over All under Heaven, Shusun Tong made considerable additions and subtractions, but in broad outline he still followed the old Qin practices.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 55House of Marquis of Liu · 2 passages

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是時叔孫通為太傅，留侯行少傅事。 At that time Shusun Tong held the office of Grand Tutor, while the Marquis of Liu served as Junior Tutor.

叔孫太傅稱說引古今，以死爭太子。 Grand Tutor Shusun Tong invoked precedents from antiquity and the present, staking his very life on the defense of the crown prince.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 99Biographies of Liu Jing and Shusun Tong · 32 passages

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叔孫通者，薛人也。 Shusun Tong was a native of Xue.

叔孫通前曰：「諸生言皆非也。 Shusun Tong stepped forward and said, "The scholars' words are all wrong.

乃賜叔孫通帛二十匹，衣一襲，拜為博士。 He bestowed upon Shusun Tong twenty bolts of silk and a set of clothes, and appointed him as a court erudite.

叔孫通已出宮，反舍，諸生曰：「先生何言之諛也？」 After Shusun Tong left the palace and returned to his lodging, the students said: 'Sir, why did you speak so flatteringly?'

通曰：「公不知也，我幾不脫於虎口！」 Tong said, "You gentlemen do not understand. I nearly failed to escape the tiger's mouth!"

及項梁之薛，叔孫通從之。 When Xiang Liang came to Xue, Shusun Tong attached himself to him.

懷王為義帝，徙長沙，叔孫通留事項王。 When King Huai was made the Righteous Emperor and relocated to Changsha, Shusun Tong remained behind to serve King Xiang.

漢二年，漢王從五諸侯入彭城，叔孫通降漢王。 In the second year of the Han dynasty, the King of Han entered Pengcheng with the forces of five feudal lords, and Shusun Tong surrendered to the King of Han.

漢王敗而西，因竟從漢。 When the King of Han was defeated and retreated westward, Shusun Tong followed and ultimately committed himself to the Han cause.

叔孫通儒服，漢王憎之； Shusun Tong wore Confucian robes, and the King of Han disliked them;

叔孫通之降漢，從儒生弟子百餘人，然通無所言進，專言諸故群盜壯士進之。 When Shusun Tong submitted to Han, he was followed by over a hundred Confucian scholar disciples, but Tong made no recommendations for them. Instead, he specifically recommended the former bandit leaders and warriors for advancement.

叔孫通聞之，乃謂曰：「漢王方蒙矢石爭天下，諸生寧能鬬乎？ Shusun Tong heard this and then said to them, 'The Han King is currently braving arrows and stones to contend for the empire—how can you Confucian scholars fight?

漢王拜叔孫通為博士，號稷嗣君。 The King of Han appointed Shusun Tong as an erudite and bestowed on him the title Lord Successor of Ji.

漢五年，已并天下，諸侯共尊漢王為皇帝於定陶，叔孫通就其儀號。 In the fifth year of Han, the empire having been unified, the feudal lords together honored the King of Han as Emperor at Dingtao, and Shusun Tong arranged the ceremonies and titles for the occasion.

叔孫通知上益厭之也，說上曰：「夫儒者難與進取，可與守成。 Shusun Tong knew the High Emperor increasingly disliked this and persuaded him, saying, 'Confucian scholars are difficult to use for conquest, but they can be used for maintaining what has been achieved.

叔孫通曰：「五帝異樂，三王不同禮。 Shusun Tong said, 'The Five Emperors had different music, and the Three Kings had different rites.

於是叔孫通使徵魯諸生三十餘人。 Shusun Tong then sent for more than thirty Confucian scholars from Lu.

叔孫通笑曰：「若真鄙儒也，不知時變。」 Shusun Tong laughed and said, 'You are truly narrow-minded Confucian scholars who do not understand how times change.'

習之月餘，叔孫通曰：「上可試觀。」 After practicing for over a month, Shusun Tong said, 'Your Majesty can try observing.'

乃拜叔孫通為太常，賜金五百斤。 He then appointed Shusun Tong as Grand Master of Ceremonies and bestowed upon him five hundred catties of gold.

叔孫通因進曰：「諸弟子儒生隨臣久矣，與臣共為儀，願陛下官之。」 Shusun Tong then stepped forward and said, 'These disciples and Confucian scholars have followed me for a long time and helped me create the ceremonies. I wish Your Majesty would give them official positions.'

叔孫通出，皆以五百斤金賜諸生。 When Shusun Tong left the court, he distributed all five hundred catties of gold among the scholars.

諸生乃皆喜曰：「叔孫生誠聖人也，知當世之要務。」 The scholars were all delighted and said, 'Master Shusun is truly a sage—he understands the essential affairs of our time.'

漢九年，高帝徙叔孫通為太子太傅。 In the ninth year of Han, Emperor Gao transferred Shusun Tong to the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

漢十二年，高祖欲以趙王如意易太子，叔孫通諫上曰：「昔者晉獻公以驪姬之故廢太子，立奚齊，晉國亂者數十年，為天下笑。 In the twelfth year of Han, Gaozu wished to replace the Crown Prince with King Ruyi of Zhao. Shusun Tong admonished the High Emperor, saying, 'Formerly, Duke Xian of Jin deposed the crown prince because of Li Ji and established Xi Qi, plunging Jin into disorder for several decades and making it the laughingstock of the empire.

叔孫通曰：「太子天下本，本一搖天下振動，柰何以天下為戲！」 Shusun Tong said, 'The Crown Prince is the root of the empire. If the root shakes even once, the whole empire shakes. How can you treat the empire as a joke!'

高帝崩，孝惠即位，乃謂叔孫生曰：「先帝園陵寢廟，群臣莫（能）習。」 After the High Emperor passed away and Emperor Hui ascended the throne, he said to Master Shusun, 'The assembled ministers are not familiar with the rituals for the late emperor's park tomb and ancestral temple.'

及稍定漢諸儀法，皆叔孫生為太常所論箸也。 As Han's ceremonial regulations were gradually established, they were all discussed and codified by Master Shusun during his tenure as Grand Master of Ceremonies.

叔孫生奏事，因請閒曰：「陛下何自筑複道高寢，衣冠月出游高廟？ Master Shusun memorialized on affairs, then requested a private audience and said, 'Why does Your Majesty personally build a covered walkway to the high chamber and, wearing court robes, go out monthly to tour the High Temple?

叔孫生曰：「人主無過舉。 Master Shusun said, 'A ruler makes no mistaken actions.

孝惠帝曾春出游離宮，叔孫生曰：「古者有春嘗果，方今櫻桃孰，可獻，願陛下出，因取櫻桃獻宗廟。」 Once in spring, Emperor Hui went out to tour a detached palace. Master Shusun said, 'In ancient times there was the spring tasting of fruits. Right now the cherries are ripe and can be offered. I wish Your Majesty would go out and thereby take cherries to offer at the ancestral temple.'

叔孫通希世度務，制禮進退，與時變化，卒為漢家儒宗。 Shusun Tong gauged the spirit of the age and measured affairs of state, crafting the rites of advancement and withdrawal to suit each change of the times, and in the end became the Confucian patriarch of the Han house.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 121Biographies of Confucian Scholars · 1 passage

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叔孫通作漢禮儀，因為太常，諸生弟子共定者，咸為選首，於是喟然嘆興於學。 Shusun Tong devised the Han court rituals and was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies. The students and disciples who had helped establish these rites were all awarded top appointments, inspiring a great surge of admiration and enthusiasm for learning.

New Book of Tang, Chapter 95Volume 95 Biographies 20: Gao Jian and Fifth Generation Descendents: Gao Zhong, Dou Weizhi, Douzhi, Dou Gui, Dou Cong, Dou Kang, Dou Jing, Dou Dan, Dou Zhi, Dou Congsun: Dou Dexuan · 1 passage

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帝語裴寂曰：「威，今之叔孫通也。」 The emperor told Pei Ji, "Wei is today's Shusun Tong."

Book of Zhou, Chapter 13Volume 13 Biographies 5: Princes of Wen, Xiaomin, Wu, and Xuan · 1 passage

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稷嗣所述，不可施成周之朝。 what Jisi (Shusun Tong) set forth cannot be applied in the court of accomplished Zhou.