Wang Mang

Wang Mang (born 45 bc, China—died Oct. 6, ad 23, Chang’an [now Xi’an, Shaanxi province]) was the founder of the short-lived Xin dynasty (ad 9–25). He is known in Chinese history as Shehuangdi (the “Usurper Emperor”), because his reign (ad 9–23) and that of his successor interrupted the Liu family’s succession of China’s Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220); as a result, the Han is typically divided into the Xi (Western) and Dong (Eastern) Han periods.

Early life

Wang Mang was born into a distinguished Chinese family. Three years earlier, his father’s half sister Wang Zhengjun had become the empress with the accession of the Yuandi emperor. Upon the death of her husband, she was given the traditional title of empress dowager, which meant added prestige and influence for herself and her clan. Yuandi’s successor, the Chengdi emperor, her son and Wang Mang’s first cousin, was a pleasant but weak and irresponsible man, who showed little interest in personal government. He appointed, one after the other, as regents, four maternal relatives, the last of whom retired in 8 bc.

During that period, Wang Mang’s career had been unpromising, perhaps because his father’s early death had deprived him of a protector and a sponsor. From 22 bc he held a number of relatively low positions at the court, and it was not until 16 bc that he was given a noble title as marquis of Xindu. His great opportunity seemed to have come in 8 bc, when he was appointed to the vacant regency, probably on November 28. The Chengdi emperor died without an heir, however, in 7 bc, and with the enthronement of his successor the political climate changed. The new emperor, Aidi, was not related to the Wang clan, had no reason to favour it, and soon accepted Wang Mang’s resignation. Wang Mang remained in the imperial capital (Chang’an [present-day Xi’an]) until the summer of 5 bc, when he was sent to live on his estates.

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As Wang had previously comported himself well and had won a good reputation, people at court and the general public all pleaded with the emperor to recall him to the capital. He returned in 2 bc, and this proved to be the turning point of his political life. The Aidi emperor died a year later, and the empress dowager Zhengjun again appointed her nephew regent. He quickly outmaneuvered his opponents in the central government and consolidated his position by having his daughter enthroned as the empress of the new emperor, Pingdi. The sudden death of the 14-year-old Pingdi on Feb. 3, ad 6, may have been inconvenient to Wang Mang, although his enemies charged that he had poisoned the boy. Wang Mang solved the succession problem to his own advantage by selecting the youngest among more than 50 eligible heirs, a boy born in ad 5. The child was not officially enthroned but merely called the Young Prince, while Wang Mang in ad 6 was given the title of acting emperor.

At this point Wang Mang encountered sporadic and disjointed opposition from the imperial Liu clan and its supporters, which he subdued with ease. He also embarked on an intensive propaganda campaign, intending to prove that the Han dynasty had ruled for its allotted time and that Heaven was granting the mandate for a new dynasty to him. On Jan. 10, ad 9, he ascended the throne and proclaimed the foundation of the Xin dynasty.

Reign as emperor

The sources for Wang Mang’s reign, as for his earlier life, are meagre and distorted. This is because the Han dynasty was restored under the Liu after his fall, whereupon its partisan historians depicted him as a villain and usurper. Some modern scholars have accepted this verdict. Others have gone to the opposite extreme and presented him as a visionary and selfless social reformer. Wang Mang was neither. He was a competent politician, a convinced Confucian, as superstitious as most men of his time, and something of a pedant. His fiscal and agrarian enactments were in line with the practices of the Han dynasty or Confucian precepts. He was a stickler for law and executed three of his sons, one grandson, and one nephew for having broken it. He encouraged scholarship and broad learning.

Wang Mang’s effort to institute large-scale reforms ultimately led to his downfall. Attempting to model an ideal society in accordance with the principles set forth in the Confucian Classics, he promoted sweeping reform efforts that conflicted gravely with entrenched interests and therefore encountered resistance. Large landholders were affected by his attempts to distribute land more equally, and his frequent currency reforms caused property values to decline, a blow to the interests of both merchants and commoners. His reform of tax policies simply could not be fully implemented, since corrupt officials easily discovered loopholes in the proposed statutes and exploited them for their private gain. Perhaps Wang Mang’s ministers concealed from him the effects of his reforms, but he nonetheless enforced them inflexibly. He asked his subordinates to implement his proposed reforms to the letter, heedless of the damage they caused.

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Between ad 2 and 5, and again in ad 11, the Huang He (Yellow River) changed its course, devastating one of the most populous regions of China. The cumulative effects of the disaster—displaced population, famine, and epidemics—led to increasing unrest, civil war, and a migration southward. Peasants banded together in ever larger units. One of these groups, the so-called Red Eyebrows, became from ad 18 strong enough to defeat Wang Mang’s armies. Secondary rebellions followed, including uprisings in the capital region itself. On Oct. 4, ad 23, rebels broke through one of the city gates on the east wall of the capital. After hours of street fighting they reached the imperial palace, about four miles distant, at sundown. On the next morning, October 5, some people within the city joined the rebels, forced their way into the palace, and set parts of it afire. The conflagration spread, and fighting raged throughout the day. Wang Mang, in purple garments and girded with the imperial seals, attempted to marshal magical defenses. He did not eat and became more and more exhausted. At dawn on October 6 he was conducted by chariot to the Terrace Bathed by Water, where his attendants, still more than 1,000 strong, made their last stand. They defended themselves with crossbows until their supply of arrows was exhausted, then drew their swords and fought hand-to-hand. In the late afternoon, the rebels forced their way onto the terrace, where Wang Mang was killed, along with his last followers.