Ding Hong

Biography

Family Background and Early Classical Studies Ding Hong was the son of Ding Chen, a founding meritorious official of the Eastern Han. In the closing years of Wang Mang’s rule, Ding Chen served as Commandant of Yingyang, later joined Liu Xiu, took part in military campaigns, served as General of a Separate Command and Governor of Henan, and received a noble title. Ding Hong’s birth year is not reliably recorded. The Book of the Later Han states that at thirteen he studied the Ouyang tradition of the Book of Documents under Huan Rong. Three years later he had mastered chapter-and-verse interpretation and had become skilled in debate, and he later served as chief lecturer. He subsequently traveled in plain cloth carrying his own luggage in pursuit of further learning, indicating that classical study formed the main part of his early life. After Ding Chen died, Ding Hong was expected to inherit his title and submitted a memorial asking that it be transferred to his younger brother, Ding Sheng. The court did not respond. Ding Hong later left his fief for a time, but returned after being persuaded by his fellow student Bao Jun and opened his gates to students. The account of his attempted renunciation appears under “Anecdotes and Allusions.” Bao Jun also submitted a memorial praising Ding’s classical learning and conduct, which drew the attention of Emperor Ming of Han. ### Entry into Court and the White Tiger Hall Conference In 67, the tenth year of Yongping, Emperor Ming of Han summoned Ding Hong to court. After receiving him, the emperor ordered him to expound the “Charge to the Marquis of Wen” from the Book of Documents and treated him with distinction. Ding was soon appointed Palace Attendant. In 70, the thirteenth year of Yongping, he concurrently became Colonel of Sound-Piercing Archery. In 79, the fourth year of Jianchu, Emperor Zhang of Han gathered classical scholars at the White Tiger Hall to discuss differences in interpretation among the Five Classics. Ding Hong participated together with Liu Xian, Prince of Guangping, Lou Wang, Cheng Feng, Huan Yu, Jia Kui, and others. Wei Ying, serving as General of the Gentlemen of the Household for All Purposes, posed questions under imperial authorization; Palace Attendant Chunyu Gong presented the discussions; and Emperor Zhang personally rendered decisions. The sources state that Ding Hong’s arguments were clear and were praised by the assembled scholars, and that Emperor Zhang repeatedly commended him. A saying of the time called him “Ding Xiaogong, without equal in the hall.” Ding was then promoted to a post connected with collation of books and succeeded Cheng Feng as Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues. The number of students seeking instruction from him increased. Disciples including Liu Kai of Pengcheng, Ba Mao of Beihai, and Zhu Chang of Jiujiang later rose to high office. In the same year, Ding was transferred to the fief of Marquis of Luyang Township; in 86, the third year of Yuanhe, he was transferred to Mating Township. ### Government Service under Emperor He After Emperor He of Han came to the throne, Ding Hong was promoted to Chamberlain for Ceremonials. In 91, the third year of Yongyuan, Dou Xian proposed establishing a surrendered leader as Northern Chanyu, and the court referred the question to the high ministers for discussion. Ding Hong, Grand Commandant Song You, Chamberlain for Attendants Geng Bing, and others supported the proposal. Yuan An, Ren Wei, and others instead argued that the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu should command the surrendered people and opposed establishing a separate Northern Chanyu. Dou Xian later installed Yuchujian, who subsequently rebelled. The available materials record Ding Hong’s position in this particular debate; they do not justify treating the later outcome as a decision personally made by Ding. In 92, the fourth year of Yongyuan, Yuan An died and Ding Hong succeeded him as Minister over the Masses. At the time, Empress Dowager Dou was ruling at court and Dou Xian and his brothers held substantial power. Ding used a solar eclipse as the occasion for a sealed memorial. Drawing on traditional political interpretations of disorder in the movements of the sun and moon, he warned that authority had shifted away from the ruler, that local officials were attaching themselves to powerful families, and that earlier historical cases showed the danger of dominant ministers. He urged Emperor He to correct the political situation promptly. More than ten days after the memorial was submitted, Emperor He ordered Ding Hong to act as Defender-in-chief while concurrently handling the duties of Commandant of the Guards, to station forces at the Southern and Northern Palaces, and to recover Dou Xian’s seal of General-in-Chief. Dou Xian and his brothers later committed suicide. The sources support Ding Hong’s participation in this process, but the decisions belonged to Emperor He and his court and should not be described as the achievement of Ding alone. During Emperor He’s reign, the court also discussed the number of filial-and-incorrupt candidates to be recommended by commanderies and kingdoms. Ding Hong and Minister of Works Liu Fang proposed a graduated system based on population: jurisdictions above specified population thresholds would receive additional recommendation quotas, while less populous jurisdictions would recommend one person every other year or every three years. Emperor He accepted their proposal. Ding Hong died in 94, the sixth year of Yongyuan, and Emperor He granted him posthumous gifts exceeding the normal scale.

Ding Hong's father, Ding Chen, was commandant of Yingyang at the end of the Xin; when Emperor Guangwu campaigned there he persuaded the magistrate to submit with him and was made a general of the flank. He afterward crossed the river first with his troops, circulated proclamations through the commanderies and took twenty-one counties in Henan, Chenliu and Yingchuan, being made governor of Henan in 25 CE and Marquis of Xinan township in Dingling with five thousand households, afterward transferred to Lingyang. At the enfeoffment the emperor asked each to state his wish; the generals all chose rich and famous counties while Ding Chen alone asked for his native district, saying that his merit was slight and a township fief more than enough, and the emperor agreed.

Ding Hong studied the Ouyang recension of the Book of Documents under the famous scholar Huan Rong and was known for his eloquence, held in repute among his fellow students. Under Emperor Ming he held court office, serving as palace attendant and colonel of archers; under Emperor Zhang he memorialized on government, using the eclipse as his figure and urging the court to restrain consort kin and set discipline in order, his words carrying weight at the time. Under Emperor He he became master of ceremonies and minister of education, a leading minister with Bao Yu and others. In 92 he took part with others in helping Emperor He destroy the faction of the consort kinsman Dou Xian, as recorded in the History of the Later Han.

His scholarship centered on the Book of Documents, his memorials and discussions surviving in part and forming important material for the politics and classical learning of the early and middle Eastern Han.

Major Activities

Classical Learning and the White Tiger Hall Conference Ding Hong studied the Ouyang tradition of the Book of Documents under Huan Rong and became known for mastery of chapter-and-verse interpretation and skill in disputation. The White Tiger Hall Conference discussed differences among the Five Classics and the adjudication of classical meanings. The sources assess Ding’s performance highly and record that his reputation and number of students increased as a result. The two available full-text sources do not provide enough evidence to show that Ding founded a separate school of classical learning, nor do they allow confirmation that the Baihu tong preserves his individual doctrines. The lists writings such as Yu Di Sheng Shu and Rishi Shang Fengshi in connection with him; on the present evidence, these references are not expanded into a reconstructed catalogue of works or a complete system of thought. ### Memorial against the Dou Clan and Participation in Its Removal While serving as Minister over the Masses, Ding Hong used a solar eclipse as the occasion for a sealed memorial. Its central argument was that the ruler’s authority should not pass into other hands, and it criticized the political consequences of the General-in-Chief’s power and officials’ attachment to dominant families. Emperor He subsequently ordered Ding to act as Defender-in-chief while concurrently handling the duties of Commandant of the Guards, station troops at the palace complex, and recover Dou Xian’s seals. This was an important political action by Ding Hong in Emperor He’s reign; the actual removal of the Dou clan was carried out by the emperor and court collectively. ### Population-Based Adjustment of Filial-and-Incorrupt Recommendation Quotas Ding Hong and Minister of Works Liu Fang proposed a graded system to address the mismatch between population size and the number of candidates recommended by commanderies and kingdoms. Using two hundred thousand people as the basic interval, more populous jurisdictions would receive additional slots, while less populous ones would lengthen the interval between recommendations. Emperor He adopted the proposal. The record confirms Ding’s participation in an adjustment to the recommendation system, but the available materials do not quantify the scope of later implementation or its long-term effects.

Personal Relations

• Ding Chen: father; joined Liu Xiu in military campaigns, later served as Governor of Henan, and received a noble title.
• Ding Sheng: younger brother; Ding Hong asked that his hereditary title be transferred to him.
• Huan Rong: teacher; Ding Hong began studying the Ouyang tradition of the Book of Documents under him at the age of thirteen.
• Bao Jun: fellow student and friend; urged Ding Hong to return to his fief and submitted a memorial praising his classical learning and conduct.
• Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang: ruler; summoned Ding Hong to court and appointed him Palace Attendant.
• Emperor Zhang of Han, Liu Da: ruler; called Ding Hong to the White Tiger Hall Conference and praised his arguments.
• Emperor He of Han, Liu Zhao: ruler; appointed Ding Hong Chamberlain for Ceremonials and Minister over the Masses and later ordered him to act as Defender-in-chief while concurrently handling the duties of Commandant of the Guards.
• Liu Xian, Lou Wang, Cheng Feng, Huan Yu, and Jia Kui: members of the imperial house or classical scholars who also took part in the White Tiger Hall Conference.
• Song You and Geng Bing: colleagues; supported the same position as Ding Hong in the court debate over establishing a separate Northern Chanyu.
• Yuan An and Ren Wei: court officials; opposed establishing a separate Northern Chanyu and thus differed from Ding on that question.
• Liu Fang: Minister of Works; worked with Ding Hong on population-based adjustments to filial-and-incorrupt recommendation quotas.
• Dou Xian: General-in-Chief; Ding Hong criticized his accumulation of power and was later ordered to recover his seals.
• Empress Dowager Dou: mother of Emperor He and regent at court; the Dou family held power when Ding Hong submitted his sealed memorial.
• Liu Kai, Ba Mao, and Zhu Chang: Ding Hong’s disciples; the source states that all three later rose to high office.
• Chen Yan and Yang Lun: disciples of Ding Hong recorded in the sources.

Anecdotes

His Attempt to Yield His Title and Bao Jun’s Intervention After Ding Chen died, Ding Hong was expected to inherit his father’s title but asked that it be transferred to Ding Sheng. When the court did not reply, Ding Hong left his mourning garments at the tomb hut and went away, leaving a letter that cited his failure to serve his father fully and his illness as reasons for declining the title. In Donghai, he encountered his fellow student Bao Jun and initially pretended not to know him. Bao invoked the Spring and Autumn Annals to argue that private affection between brothers should not extinguish the hereditary title left by their father. Ding Hong wept, returned to his fief, and began teaching students. Bao Jun later memorialized the court in praise of Ding’s classical learning and conduct. The episode is recorded in the Book of the Later Han, “Biographies of Huan Rong and Ding Hong”; it is presented here as a documented incident, without turning it into an unsupported moral parable.

Historical Assessment

The relevant passages of the Book of the Later Han state that, at the White Tiger Hall Conference, Ding Hong had outstanding learning and gave especially clear arguments, and record the contemporary praise “Ding Xiaogong, without equal in the hall.” These judgments concern his reputation for classical scholarship and debate. Bao Jun’s memorial praising his “classical learning and exemplary conduct” is connected with Ding’s attempt to yield his inherited title and his eventual return to the fief after being persuaded. In his historical assessment, Fan Ye places Huan Rong, Ding Hong, and others within the broader flourishing of Confucian classical learning during the Eastern Han restoration. The two available sources do not provide enough material to support a broader claim of modern scholarly consensus, so Ding Hong is not described as the definite founder of a particular classical school, nor is a specific contribution of his doctrines to the Baihu tong inferred.