Wang Mang: Encyclopedia II - Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes

Wang Mang - Early reign: mistakes

Early in his reign, now-Emperor Wang Mang was self-confident and believed that he now had the power to implement his ideals of restoring the legendary golden age of the early Zhou Dynasty. To those ends, he modified the governmental structure in many ways to conform with Zhou standards. He also continued the regime of modifying geographical names to fit with ancient names (or more euphemistic names, as he saw fit) -- so much so that even imperial edicts discussing the locations by their new names were forced to include notes on the old names so that the recipients of the edicts could tell what locations he was referring to. As part of this regime, the capital Chang'an's name was changed as well, involving the change of a homophonous character -- 長安 (literally long peace) to 常安 (literally frequent peace).

In 9, Wang Mang created his wife, Lady Wang, empress. By this point, only two of her four sons were still alive. The older, Wang An (王安) was described as lacking in talent, so Wang created the younger, Wang Lin (王臨), crown prince, and created Wang An the Lord of Xinjia (新嘉辟). He selected many Confucian scholars to serve as advisors for Crown Prince Lin.

Wang, grateful of his aunt Grand Empress Dowager Wang (who, however, resented him for deciving her and usurping the throne), continued to honor her as empress dowager, but also gave her an additional title of Wangmu (王母), the same title carried by the mother of King Wen of Zhou, implying that she was also her mother and had helped establishing a new dynasty. She died in 13.

Wang Mang - Economic policies

In 9, Wang Mang restored a revolutionary land redistribution system, ordering that all land in the empire become legally the property of the empire, to be known as wangtian (王田), in a system similar to the Zhou well-field system. All further land transactions were banned, although property owners were allowed to continue to possess the property. However, if a family had less than eight members but having one "well" or larger property (about 0.6 km²), it is required to distribute the excess to fellow clan members, neighbors, or other members of the same village. Criticism of the wangtian system was punishable by exile. Wang also banned slave trading (but did not abolish slavery). Eventually, with resistance to both of these policies, Wang was forced to dismantle both of these policies in 12.

In 10, Wang set up a state economic adjustment agency, seeking to control fluctuations in the prices of food and textile by purchasing excess goods and then selling them when price went up. The same agency also became responsible for loaning money to entrepreneurs, at the rate of three percent per month. Six offices were set up: in Chang'an, Luoyang, Handan, Linzi (modern Zibo, Shandong), Wancheng (modern Nanyang, Henan), and Chengdu.

In the same year, Wang Mang instituted a "sloth tax"; if landowners left land uncultivated, city dwellers left their houses without trees, or citizens refused to work, there would be penalties to be paid with textile. For those unable to pay those penalties, they would be required to labor for the state.

In addition, in 10, Wang also instituted an unprecedented tax -- the income tax -- at the rate of 10 percent of profits, for professionals and skilled labor. (Previously, all Chinese taxes were either head tax or property tax.) He also instituted a state monopoly on liquor and weapons.

Another economic change instituted by Wang -- a fairly disasterous one -- was to issue 28 types of coins, made of gold, silver, tortoise shells, sea shells, and copper. Because there were so many kinds of coins (versus the one kind that Han used), people became unable to recognize the kinds of coins as genuine or as counterfeit, and the money-based economy came to a halt. Eventually, Wang was forced to abolish all but two kinds of coins -- the small coin that had the same value of a Han coin, and the large coin that had the value of 50 small coins. However, the people, despite fairly severe penalties, lost faith in the Xin coins, and continued to use Han coins in an underground trade economy.

In 17, in an attempt to refill the depleted imperial coffers, Wang instituted six monopolies -- of liquor, salt, iron, coinage, forestry, and fishing. However, because of rampant corruption, the imperial treasury received only limited benefit, while the people were greatly burdened.

Wang Mang - Deterioration of the relationship with Xiongnu and other vassals

The first sign of irritation came sometime before 10; the Xin director of Wuhuan affairs had informed the Wuhuan tribes not to pay further tribute to Xiongnu. (Wuhuan had become somewhat of a dual vassal of both Han and Xiongnu during the late Han Dynasty, and was supposed to pay Xiongnu tributes in textile and leather; if Wuhuan failed to pay the tributes, Xiongnu forces would kidnap Wuhuan women as hostages.) In response, Xiongnu made a punitive military action against Wuhuan, capturing about 1,000 women and children to serve as hostages. Later, at Wang Mang's orders, Xiongnu was forced to return the Wuhuan hostages.

In 10, Wang sent his ambassadors to Xiongnu to inform Chanyu Zhi that he had become emperor and that Xin had replaced Han, and requested that the great seal of the chanyu, which Han had issued, be exchanged for a new seal issued by Xin. The old seal read, "the Great Seal of the Chanyu of Xiongnu" (匈奴單于璽, Xiongnu Chanyu Xi), while the new seal read, "the Seal of the Chanyu of Xiongnu, of Xin" (新匈奴單于章, Xin Xiongnu Chanyu Zhang), implying that Xiongnu, which Han had treated with some ambiguity about whether it was a vassal, was clearly a vassal of Xin. Without examining the new seal, Chanyu Zhi agreed to the exchange. The ambassadors, apprehensive that the Chanyu, once he realized what had happened, would demand the old seal back, destroyed the old seal. Indeed, the next day, the chanyu realized that the seal text had changed, and requested that the old seal be returned, but upon being informed that the old seal had been destroyed (which the ambassadors claimed falsely to be an act of the gods), acquiesced. Chanyu Zhi, however, began to prepare for confrontation with Xin. He built defensive bulwarks some distance from the Xin outpost of Shuofang (朔方, roughly modern Ordos, Inner Mongolia). He also began to accept Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia) kingdoms' pledges of allegiance, which were banned previously by Wang. (See also below.)

Wang, irritated, declared war against Xiongnu. The strategy that he set out were to divide the Xin forces into 12 armies to divide and conquer Xiongnu. Under this scenario, Chanyu Zhi would be attacked and forced to retreat to the Dingling tribes (around Lake Baikal), and Xiongnu would be divided into 15 small kingdoms to be ruled by 15 descendants of Chanyu Huhanye, who had first established friendly relations with Han. Under this plan, 300,000 men would be gathered (and would attack at the same time) -- Wang did not follow his generals' recommendations to start the campaign as soon as a critical mass of men were gathered, but wanted to attack with overwhelming force. This caused the border regions to be strained with supplying the men who arrived first for years, while fruitlessly waiting for the full complement of 300,000 to be gathered.

In the first stage of this plan, one of the local commanders kidnapped one of Chanyu Zhi's brothers, Xian (咸), the Prince of Zuoliwu (左犁汙王), and his sons Deng (登) and Zhu (助), by trickering. Xian and Zhu were made chanyus -- to be two of the 15. Chanyu Zhi became enraged and started massive attacks against Xin border regions, causing the border regions much distress and loss in economic and human terms. Eventually, Xian escaped back to Xiongnu, but his sons were kept as hostages. After Zhu died, Deng succeeded him. However, in 12, after hearing reports that Xian's other son Jiao (角) had been a successful Xiongnu strategist in military actions, Wang, in anger, executed Deng and his attendants.

Later, in 13, Chanyu Zhi died. The powerful official Xubu Dang (須卜當) and his wife Yun, the Princess Yimuo (the daughter of Chanyu Huhanye and Wang Zhaojun), who advocated peaceful relations with Xin and who were also friendly with Xian, supported Xian as the new chanyu, but even though Xian was unaware that Wang Mang had executed his son Deng, friendly relationship did not return. There was a temporary detente in 14, when Xian returned Xin defectors Chen Liang (陳良) and Zhong Dai (終帶), who, as junior army officers in Xiyu, had killed their superiors and surrendered to Xiongnu (perhaps seeking to have Xiongnu help them reestablish Han) so that Wang could execute them. In response, Wang recalled the forces to the northern regions which were intended to attack Xiongnu (but were never given the full complement that Wang envisioned. However, after Chanyu Xian found out late in 14 that Deng had been executed, he resumed raids against the border regions but maintained a façade of peace.

Similarly, when Wang Mang first became emperor, his ambassadors visited the southwestern tribes (in modern Guizhou, Yunnan, and southwestern Sichuan), whose chieftains Han had largely granted the titles of princes. Wang's new seals demoted them to the titles of marquesses. One of the more powerful ones, Han (邯), the Prince of Juting (句町王), became so angry that he cut off relations with Xin. Wang instructed the local commandery governor Zhou Xin (周歆) to use trickery to kill Han. In response, Han's brother Cheng (承) started a rebellion, killing Zhou, and starting a campaign of harassment against Xin borders. By 16, the Commandery of Yizhou (modern northeastern Yunnan) had become corrupt, and yet Juting remained powerful. In 16, Wang commissioned two generals, Lian Dan (廉丹) and Shi Xiong (史熊), who were initially successful against Juting, but soon became caught in problems with food supply and plagues. However, Wang continued to refuse to reinstitute the Han system of using awards to buy the submission of southwestern tribes.

When Wang started his campaign against Xiongnu, he requisitioned the forces of Korean tribes within Xin borders. The Korean tribes refused, and marched out of Xin borders, and the army that Wang sent against them were defeated by them. The general Wang sent, Yan You (嚴尤), used humble words to trick their leader, Zou (騶), who carried the title the Marquess of Gaojuli (高句驪, Korean Hangul: 고구려 (Goguryeo) (but appeared to have no direct connection with the Kingdom of Goguryeo, existing at the same time), into a meeting with him, and then killing Zou by surprise. Wang then changed Gaojuli to the derogatory term "Xiajuli" (gao means "high", while xia means "low"), which further enraged the Koreans, causing them to attack the Xin northeastern regions with greater ferocity.

The troubles with Xiyu kingdoms also started in 10. In that year, Xuzhili (須置離), the King of Rear Cheshi (後車師, now part of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture) became concerned of the great cost of hosting Xin ambassadors, and he became so distressed that he considered abandoning his kingdom and fleeing to Xiongnu. Xin's Xiyu commissioner Dan Qin (但欽) summoned Xujhili and executed him. Xuzhili's brother Hulanzhi (狐蘭之) fled to Xiongnu and attacked Dan, inflicting severe casualties, before withdrawing.

In 13, the dual kingdom Wusun (which, under a system set up by Han, had two kings -- the greater king was a descendant of a Han princess and her husband the king of Wusun, while the lesser king was a descendant of her brother-in-law) sent ambassadors to Chang'an to offer tributes. Because Wang Mang knew that the people of Wusun actually had greater affinity for the lesser king, he placed the ambassador of the lesser king in a higher position than the ambassador of the greater king, which greatly insulted the greater king.

Also in 13, perhaps related to this, the Xiyu kingdoms joined forces and attacked the Xiyu commissioner Dan, and successfully killed him. The Xiyu kingdoms, by that point, no longer pledged allegiance to Xin. In 16, Wang made another attempt to intimidate the Xiyu kingdoms back into submission, but the armies were divided and cut off from each other. One army was entirely wiped out. The other was forced to withdraw to Qiuzi (龜茲, in modern Aksu, Xinjiang) with its way back to Xin proper cut off, and the army settled there and was unable to return for the rest of Xin Dynasty's duration.

Wang Mang - Paralysis and corruption of the government

In addition to these wars, a major problem plaguing Wang Mang's administration was that he was so committed in finding out what the ancient governmental structure was and believing that once things were restored to Zhou Dynasty standards, the government would be efficient. He and his officials spent inordinate amounts of time carrying out research of legends, leaving important affairs of the state undecided. A large number of counties lacked magistrates for years. The local officials, without supervision, became highly corrupt and oppressive of the populace.

Because of the way Wang came to power, he also became suspicious of allowing his subordinates of having too much power. Therefore, he made all important decisions by himself and did not delegate his power. This left himself highly fatigued and many decisions undecided. Further, he trusted eunuchs to screen the reports from local governments for him, but those eunuchs decided to relay or not to relay those reports based on personal likes and dislikes, and many important petitions went unanswered.

An even more serious problem was that the officials lacked salaries. Han had a well-defined system of official salaries, but when Wang became emperor, he ordered that the salary system be overhauled and recalibrated -- but because a system could not be created for years, the officials went without salary for years. In response, they became corrupt in demanding bribes from the people, causing the people much distress. In 16, Wang finally issued the new salary system, which were to depend on how prosperous the state was to determine what the salaries were. However, because whether the state was in a prosperous year was a highly subjective matter, the officials continued to go without salary for the rest of Xin Dynasty's existence.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Early reign: mistakes", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki