Chinese Dynasty: Han Dynasty Part II - Reformist Usurper (9 – 23 CE)
Between the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, was the Xin Dynasty (新朝), which was a short-lived dynasty spanning only 15 years, from 9 to 23 CE. It was established by Wang Mang (王莽), a powerful court official who usurped the throne of the Emperor Ping of Han (汉平帝) and the infant "crown prince" (皇太子) Liu Ying (刘婴 or 孺子婴).
During his reign, Wang Mang implemented significant reforms, including the abolishment of slavery and the land redistribution program. However, the reforms ultimately proved to be unsuccessful. Wang's regime was destabilized by natural disasters, plagues, and famines, as well as troubles along the borders, and Wang's policies failed to solve ensuing crises, leading to widespread rebellion among the peasants and the rapid collapse of the Xin Dynasty.
Establishment of the Xin Dynasty
Left: a portrait of Wang Mang. Right: map of Xin Dynasty.
The Western Han Dynasty had been ruling China for over 200 years by the time Wang Mang came to power. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the people were oppressed and were in dire need of reform. Confucian scholars who believed in the study of prophecy and divination thought that it was time for a change of dynasty.
Wang Mang, who was a Han consort kin as well as a Confucian scholar and politician, rose as a court official who had served under several emperors and had gained a reputation as a capable administrator. At the time, he gained fame and the support of the people and Confucian scholars.
He usurped the throne in 9 CE and justified his actions by forging auspicious omens so that people would believe him having the Mandate of Heaven. He declared himself emperor under the new dynasty name Xin (新), which means "new" in Chinese, marking the end of the Western Han Dynasty.
Wang Mang's Reforms
Wang Mang had a unique vision for the Chinese empire and wanted to bring about a new era of social, economic, and political stability.
After proclaiming himself emperor, Wang Mang sought to reform the Chinese government and society. He carried out many reforms, mainly including reforming the official system, changing place names, implementing land redistribution, prohibiting the trading of slaves and maidservants, implementing economic policies involving state-owned enterprises, income tax, and loans, and reforming the currency system.
Political Reforms
Official System Reform
In order to express the change of the dynasty, Wang Mang made changes to the names of a large number of government agencies and official positions according to the Confucian classics.
In addition to the name change, Wang also added many new official positions. Based on ancient books and the Zhou system, he granted a total of 796 fifth-class princes and 1,511 vassals. Many of them did not actually get fiefdoms, and they could only receive a certain amount of money every month.
As a result, corruption and the oppression of the people emerged among officials at all levels.
Change of Place Names
Wang Mang also changed many place names, including the capital's name from 长安 to 常安 (though the same in English: Chang'an). This brought great confusion and inconvenience to people's lives, and even some of the officials were confused with the new names. Therefore, Wang Mang had to indicate the original place when he mentioned a certain place in his later edicts.
Abolishment of Slavery
Additionally, Wang froze the number of existing slaves and prohibited continued trading of slaves and maidservants, so that slavery would disappear naturally. This was a move to limit the power of the landowning families. However, after the fall of the Xin Dynasty, slavery was reinstituted.
Economic Reforms
Land Reform
Based on the well-field system (井田制) from the Zhou Dynasty, the land in the entire empire was changed to wangtian (王田, literal translation: "king's land"), which meant the private ownership of land would be abolished, and the land would be state-owned.
If there were eight males in a family, then they could receive one well of fields, which was 900 mu (亩, a unit for land). If the family had less than eight male members and the land exceeded 900 mu, the excess must be distributed to the clan neighbors. And those who did not have land before would receive the land according to the above-mentioned system.
Economic Policies
Wang Mang set up Wujun (五均, literal translation: "five balances") officials in the capital and a few other large cities. The task of Wujun officials was to collect taxes according to the operating conditions of various industries. They were also in charge of the management of market prices. If the price was higher than the "market level", the government would sell the inventory controlled by the government at a par price to stabilize the price; if the market price was lower than the "market level", the people would be allowed to buy and sell freely.
He also ordered the opening of credit loans (赊账), which were loans made by the government. If people want to hold rituals like making sacrifices or funerals, or if they want to run industries and commerce but have no funds, they can borrow from the government. Ritual loans must be repaid within ten days, and funeral loans must be repaid within three months. The above two loans do not charge interest. Industrial and commercial loans pay no more than one-tenth of the borrowed amount each year.
In addition, Wang Mang set up an order of six managements (六筦), which meant that the government would manage the six economic enterprises. Liquor, salt, iron, and coins are monopolized by the state; sericulture, weaving, sewing, artisans, doctors, witches, divination, woodcutters, fishermen, hunters, and merchants are levied mountains and lakes tax (山泽税).
Overall, these policies were meant to control the economy, keep prices stable, prevent hoarding, and protect the poor from being charged high interest rates. They were helpful in reducing the financial burden on the common people and strengthening the government's control over the economy, which would also strengthen the centralization of power. These policies were a continuation of those of Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝).
However, rich businessmen often took advantage of their position to collude with bureaucrats and landlords for personal gain. The Wujun system, which was supposed to stabilize prices, became a way for officials to buy low and sell high. Dishonest merchants took advantage of the policies to make profits by falsifying records and cheating the government, resulting in greater suffering for ordinary people.
Currency Reform
Different coins during the Xin Dynasty by Wang Mang's currency reform
In order to weaken the power of the old clan of the Han Dynasty and plunder the wealth of the common people, Wang Mang carried out a series of currency system reforms.
However, due to the frequent change of coins, complexity, and confusion of the currency system, transactions with these currencies were not smooth. Moreover, the size of the coins reformed each time was constantly shrinking, while the price was getting higher and higher, which essentially exploited the wealth of the common people.
Consequently, the failure of currency system reform also became one of the reasons for the rapid demise of the Xin Dynasty.
"Sloth Tax" and Forced Labor
Wang Mang also instituted a "sloth tax" policy. That is, if landowners left land uncultivated, city dwellers left their houses without trees, or citizens who were unemployed vagrants, there would be penalties to be paid, with textile tributes. And those who were unable to pay the penalties, the government would force them to work for the state and provide food during their labor.
Cultural Reforms
Wang Mang also adopted reform measures in various fields related to culture, including education, sacrifice, law, music, omission, architecture, calendar, weights and measures, and vehicle production.
He incorporated the Heavenly Stems (天干) to number the years and replaced the previous system which used only the Earthly Branches (地支).
Relations with Neighboring Countries
After Wang Mang proclaimed himself emperor, he changed the titles of the kings of the Western Regions (西域) to Marquis, which aroused widespread dissatisfaction among the Western Regions and triggered war disputes in the border areas.
Wang Mang also changed the friendly attitude towards the Xiongnu (匈奴) since Emperor Xuan of the Han (汉宣帝), and tried to lower the political status of the Xiongnu Shanyu (匈奴单于), so that the Xiongnu would become a vassal of the Xin. Coupled with other disputes, war was on the verge of breaking out on the northern border.
However, instead of taking palliative measures, Wang Mang issued an edict to change the name of the Xiongnu Shanyu to a more degrading Xiangnu Shanyu (降奴单于) and then ordered to divide the Xiongnu into fifteen parts. In response, the Xiongnu began to harass the frontier fortresses, and countless officials and people in the border areas were plundered and killed.
Wang Mang then sent 12 generals to conscript 300,000 elite soldiers from all over the country carrying 300 days of rations and planned to wipe out the Xiongnu at once.
In addition, Wang Mang also conscripted troops from Goguryeo (高句丽) which had surrendered to the Han, to fight against the Xiongnu. This also aroused the resistance of the Goguryeo people as well.
At the time, one of the generals pointed out that it would be hard to forage for food inside the Xiongnu border, therefore a long fight would likely fail. He suggested sending elite soldiers north to carry out blitz operations. But Wang Mang instead mobilized the resources of the entire empire and ordered to send young men, criminals, and slaves to the north, and took one-third of the country's property to subsidize military expenditures, preparing for a long fight against the Xiongnu.
Consequently, the burden on the people was greatly increased, and social problems since the end of the Western Han Dynasty as well as new civil conflicts brought about by Wang Mang's reforms were further intensified, which finally led to riots and uprisings throughout the country.
The Collapse of Xin
The improper governance of the Xin Dynasty caused public grievances. In 17 CE, locust plagues, droughts, and famines occurred all over the country. Peasants from different regions revolted one after another, starting a widespread civil uprising at the end of the Xin Dynasty.
Illustration and map of peasant uprisings at the end of the Xin Dynasty
Agrarian Revolts
Gua Tianyi (瓜田仪) and others rebelled in Kuaiji Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) in 17 CE. In the same year, Mother Lü (吕母), whose son was a minor civil servant and was wrongly killed by the county magistrate, gathered a group of desperate young men, stormed the County government and killed the county magistrate, and then led troops into the sea to become bandits. Mother Lü was also the first female leader of a peasant uprising that appeared in Chinese history.
In addition, in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Jingbei areas, where the natural disaster was most serious, the Lülin (绿林军, literal translation: "green forest army") was raised in Jingbei in 17 CE, and the Chimei (赤眉军, literal translation: "red eyebrows army") was raised in Qingxu Area in 18 CE. Among all the rebel armies, the Lulin and Chimei had the greatest influence.
The Fall of Xin and the Restoration of Han
As civil war engulfed the entire Xin Empire, Wang's armies fought hard and scored several victories at first but were completely defeated by Han restorationist armies (that had merged with Lülin) in the Battle of Kunyang (昆阳之战) in 23 CE.
Thereafter, the rebels sacked the capital, and the young men within Chang'an rose up and stormed Weiyang Palace (未央宫), the main imperial palace. Wang was killed in the chaos at the palace by a businessman Du Wu (杜吴).
The various rebel armies subsequently fought each other to gain full control over the empire. Eventually, Liu Xiu (刘秀), a bloodline in the former Han imperial family, proclaimed himself emperor in the south of Hao Xian (鄗县), killed Liu Xuan (刘玄), ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor - Emperor Guangwu of Han (汉光武帝) and restored Han which is known as the Eastern Han Dynasty (东汉).
Legacy and Evaluation
The Xin Dynasty created a precedent in Chinese history for usurping the throne.
Since coming to power, Wang Mang adopted a series of policies aiming to ease social problems. However, his restructuring and reforms not only failed to solve problems and crises that emerged at the end of the Western Han Dynasty but further intensified various civil conflicts. The policies were roundabout and inconsistent with reality, common people suffered first before benefiting from them, and policy changes from day to day caused great confusion which continuously aroused dissatisfaction among nobles and civilians.
Wang Mang has been a controversial figure in Chinese history. Ancient historians with an "orthodox" (正统) concept regarded him as a "giant traitor" (巨奸) who usurped the throne. But after the end of the imperial system in modern history, Wang Mang was praised by many historians as "the first social reformer in Chinese history" and think of him as a visionary and selfless social reformer.
