Founding of Eastern Han: 东汉，王莽改制 Pt.1 Along Came an Usurper

The Eastern Han dynasty could be considered a fortuitous second founding of the Han dynasty. For the reconstitution of the Han from a state of totaly anarchy right back into its old form was nothing less than miraculous.

This story has many similar story beats to that of the Three Kingdoms. Although the story of the Three Kingdoms period left with the realm asunder in the end, this one has a different ending.

For those familiar with the story of the Three Kingdoms period, the fall of Western Han possessed many of the same storybeats as that of the later Eastern Han. In this tale of the downfall of a dynasty, we also see the echoes of a weak court rife with intrigue, usurping tyrants, a massive peasant rebellion, a realm in flames filled to the brim with ambitious warlords. Lastly, finished with a bitter war of supremacy for the position of the new emperor of China. However, because the winner of this battle royale had came from the same line as that of the the usurped imperial clan and a restored the previous Han regime, the significance of this critical period was often neglected by historians. But therein lies the shame. One of the best Chinese emperors deserved better.

Music: Dong Zhuo (董贼潜怀)

ALONG CAME AN USURPER

Wang Mang 王莽 (45 BC-23 AD) was a powerful minister and nephew of Empress Dowager Wang 王太后. Because of his connections, he gradually climbed up the ladder of the palace offices, became the palace attendant (shizhong 侍中) and thus a highly confidential adviser of the emperor.

In almost Shakespearean forms, and the story of the fall of Western Han began with an ambitious usurper along the stripes of Macbeth. In short, at the end of the Western Han dynasty (202 BC–9 AD,) palace intrigue and increasing burdens on the Han peasants allowed a high level imperial minister; Wang Mang 王莽 to seize control of the dynasty.

When Emperor Ai of Han 汉哀帝 died, he left the throne without an heir. It was recorded that Emperor Ai had spent his time indulged in homosexual relations with his male favorites and thus did not produce an heir at the time of his sudden death. Thus in the wake of his passing, his mother Grand Dowager Empress Wang grasped the reign of the government through her nephew Wang Mang.

In order to retain power, Wang Mang began to ruthlessly arrested his opponents and forced them to commit suicide or executed them. As regent, he managed to control the succession to the throne by purging many of the imperial Princes. In 8 AD Wang made his naked intention know to all by brazenly usurping the throne. In the place of the displaced Han, Wang established his own "Xin" 新 (meaning "new") dynasty, which inherited the territories of the Han. He would dominate China's politics for the next 14 years.

THE RADICAL NEW EMPEROR

Despite Wang Mang's ruthless power-mongering, he does have several very redeeming qualities which made him an intriguing figure to study for revisionist historians ranging from scholars of dynasties that had succeeded the Han to modern Chinese historians.

Wang Mang might be relegated to the dustbins of history simply as another ruthless usurper if not for one quality: that he was an aggressive reformer who tried to right much of the wrongs of the deposed Han dynasty. Wang Mang was at heart an idealistic and orthodox Confucian and sought to reform much of the dysfunctional Han bureaucracy.

For decades in the last days of Western Han, powerful private landowners had built massive estates that monopolized much of the farmlands for themselves. In time, they also accrued heavy debts from peasants that cannot pay them back and was thus forced into indentured servitude. 

During the last days of Western Han, many migrant workers toiled for many masters without a household of their own and peasants starved in the city's streets. Worse yet, many of these rich landowners staunchly rebuffed many reforms aimed at curtailing their stranglehold on the farm estates. In the coming decade, this would cause many peasants to arm themselves and rebel against the local governments.

Upon Western Zhou models, Wang attempted to distributed part of the imperial income directly to the hands of the peasants, tried to curtail local price gougers by abolishing the monopoly of key industries like iron, salt, coinage, liquor, and fisheries so as to be able to directly cut through the middlemen. He attempted to directly confiscate lands from many rich magnates and distribute them to the farmers to secure their loyalty. On top of these very radical reforms, he also prohibited the vending and purchase of debt slaves.

THE SPARKS OF REBELLION

As one could probably imagine, these radical reforms naturally provoked a strong reaction from many people already in power in the empire. Especially from the merchants and landed nobility who did not want to have their land confiscated by the state and see it redistributed to the landless tenant farmers. After only a few years, Wang Mang had to give up the reform of land ownership.

But by then, many factions were already primed for rebellion, not only among the previously mentioned privileged gentry of merchants and noble landowners, but also ironically among many peasants as well. Wang Mang's rather heavy handed rule through flood of drastic new laws and edicts meant that the state had to correspondingly intensify the use of the penal law against even minor offenses, which made many people of all social levels resent his heavy handed approach. To make matters worse, he also undertook several expensive military campaigns that ratcheted up the tax burdens from the subjects.

Music: Mandate of Heaven (大道废有仁义)

Many provinces adjacent to the imperial capital began to disobey Wang Mang's regimes by refusing to send in taxes and tributes to the capital. Same was true for many peasants that did not experience a relaxation of their exploitation by the landowners but, quite contrary, actually became more oppressed by the local gentry as Wang Mang tried to bring the peasants under the direct control of the central government. After a decade of rule, a series of natural disasters, floods, and storms convinced many that Wang Mang's rule was illegitimate. And as more of Wang Mang's edicts were passed and punishments metted out, several provinces erupted into open rebellion, with the most powerful of these rebel groups led by mobs of peasant and bandits.

Wang Mang's fall in 20 AD: A realm primed for explosion at the latter part of Wang Mang's decade long rule. Several major peasant rebellions erupted across the empire and waged a continuous war against the Xin imperial troops. Notable among these rebels are the (Red) Chimei~ or "Redeyebrows," the (Green) Lulin~ "Green Forest" and a dozen others rebel groups (Black) that spread out from central and eastern China.

From 20 AD-22 AD Nearly a dozen rebellions had erupted across the realm, especially in the eastern regions of modern Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Hubei regions. Peasants militias were gathered and formed rebel societies, of which the "Red Eyebrows" 赤眉 and the rebels from Lulin 绿林 "The Green Forest" were the most important. The Red Eyebrows were notably visually prominent because many of its members painted their eyebrows red. And it was here that the protagonist of our story enters the historical stage.

ENTER LIU XIU: FARMER, RELUCTANT REBEL

For who knew that among the many peasants rebels who had risen against 

Wang Mang's rule, there was one who was born of the fallen house of Han?

"CHOSEN BY FATE"

In the last years of the reign of Wang Mang 王莽, there were who massive peasant rebellions that swept across the countrysides. When the peasant rebellions of the "Red Eyebrows" 赤眉 and of Lulin 绿林 "Green Forest" swept across the country, a certain sage named Li Tong 李通 made a prophecy that the deposed House Liu of Han would rise again and that someone with the surname of Li would be their counselor. According to traditional Han dynasty sources, it was because of this prophecy that Liu Xiu- one who would one day crown himself as the new "Shining Martial Emperor" of a revived Han, made his bid for the throne.

He was an eastern contemporary to Augustus, and his wars were no less than remarkable. Despite Liu Xiu's pedigree as part of the imperial house of Han, he led a largely unremarkable existence before the realm fell into chaos. By blood, Liu Xiu was the sixth generation descendant of Emperor Jing of the Western Han dynasty. Liu Xiu himself was the son of a local magistrate of Nandun county (南顿令 in modern Hubei). Although he was distantly related to the great Emperor Wu of Han, for most of Liu Xiu's early life, his family lived humbly as minor aristocratic famers. 

THE BROTHERS MARCH OFF TO SAVE THE REALM

The youngest of 3 sons, in Liu Xiu's youth, he was described as somewhat reclusive, deliberate in speech and actions, and cautious in his dealings with others. Despite these hesitant qualities, Liu Xiu was still noted as a wise boy for his age and a good student of the Classic. In contrast to the shy and cautious Liu Xiu- who was content in remaining a farmer, his elder brother Liu Yan was more of a hothead and very ambitious. 

2 Reconstructed suits of Han dynasty armor. Han dynasty armors are frequently attached to pauldrons. The heavier armors have a full armored sleeve to protect against the usually vulnerable armpits of the lamellar wearer. Many Han armors, such as the 襟领铠 Jīn lǐng kǎi,  "Collared" lamellar armor also have raised back and side collars to protect against glancing sword slashes towards the wearer's neck.

When Wang Man seized the imperial throne, the outraged Liu Yan was constantly considering starting a rebellion to restore the Han Dynasty. When another one of Liu Xie's kins- his brother-in-law heard Li Tong's prophecy and believed that a man named Liu would be emperor again, the elder brother Liu Yan launched the rebellion with his friends and younger brothers in 22 AD. 

Music: Liu Bei (蜀道之难)

It would soon be observed that the 27 year old Liu Xiu- like the more famous founder of the Han dynasty Liu Bang, and one of the last scions who would one day try to save the dynasty: Liu Bei, would also prove that he possessed the defining "Liu" qualities of resourcefulness and masterful employment of talented people despite his humble origins. But unlike them both, he would also be a god of war in his own right. Just a year after he joined the rebellion, he would achieve one of the most lopsided victories in all of Chinese history.

As more and more corners of the Xin dynasty rose up against Wang Mang's rule, in the next chapter we will follow Liu Yan and Liu Xiu's first adventures as upstart rebels in the conflagration of rebellion. Come back next time as we see the two brothers join other prominent rebel groups and forge their names to become two men of the hour. And how the young Liu Xiu- only 28 years old at the time, defied the heaven's odds by achieving one of the most lopsided victories in all of Chinese history. Stay tuned. We will return to the story of the founding of Eastern Han in Part 2.

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Eastern Han: PART ONE- Rebel

Eastern Han: PART TWO- General

Eastern Han: PART THREE- Warlord

Eastern Han: PART FOUR- Emperor