Tian Fen

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Tian Fen came from a humble background. His father, a man of the Tian family, died early. His mother, Zang Er, remarried into a Tian family of Changling and bore the brothers Tian Fen and Tian Sheng. By her previous husband, Wang Zhong, Zang Er had daughters Wang Zhi and Wang Erxu. Wang Zhi first married Jin Wangsun, but Zang Er later had her sent into the palace of Crown Prince Liu Qi, who subsequently became Emperor Jing of Han. Wang Zhi won Liu Qi's favor and gave birth to Liu Che. After Emperor Jing ascended the throne, Wang Zhi was first made a consort and then, in 150 BCE, was made empress; Liu Che was made crown prince in the same year.

Relying on the position of his elder sister Wang Zhi, Tian Fen began to participate in court politics. When Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi, held power, Tian Fen was still only a palace gentleman. He frequented Dou Ying's residence, drank with him, and repeatedly rose and knelt with the deference of a junior member of Dou Ying's household. Dou Ying was then at the height of his influence, and Tian Fen's deferential behavior foreshadowed the later reversal in their relationship.

Rise Through His Status as an Imperial In-Law

In 141 BCE, the third year of Emperor Jing's Later Yuan era, Emperor Jing died and Crown Prince Liu Che ascended the throne as Emperor Wu of Han. Wang Zhi was honored as empress dowager, and Tian Fen's position rose sharply as the emperor's maternal uncle. In 140 BCE, the first year of the Jianyuan era, Tian Fen was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu'an and appointed Grand Commandant. At the same time, Dou Ying was appointed Chancellor. The two men, one Grand Commandant and the other Chancellor, jointly assisted the emperor.

Tian Fen favored Confucian learning. While serving as Grand Commandant, he and Dou Ying jointly promoted Confucianism, recommending Zhao Wan as Censor-in-Chief and Wang Zang as Chamberlain for Attendants and seeking to advance Confucian policies. This, however, offended Grand Empress Dowager Dou Yifang, who favored Huang-Lao thought. In 139 BCE, the second year of the Jianyuan era, Empress Dowager Dou used misconduct by Zhao Wan and Wang Zang as grounds to have both imprisoned and executed, while Dou Ying and Tian Fen were also dismissed. Although removed from office, Tian Fen continued to enter the palace frequently and participate in discussions of government because of his relationship with Empress Dowager Wang.

Return as Chancellor

In 135 BCE, the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, Grand Empress Dowager Dou Yifang died and the power of the Dou clan declined. Tian Fen was recalled and appointed Chancellor. He thereafter held great authority and acted increasingly on his own initiative. He favored Confucian learning, established the Five Classics erudites, and helped advance the official status of Confucian scholarship.

After becoming Chancellor, Tian Fen grew increasingly arrogant. When he went to court to present matters, he would often remain seated for long periods, and some people he recommended were promoted directly from commoner status to offices carrying salaries of two thousand shi. He made appointments on a large scale and at times scarcely allowed the emperor an opportunity to speak. Emperor Wu eventually rebuked him: “Have you finished appointing officials yet? I would like to appoint a few myself.” Tian Fen also once asked that land belonging to the Kaogong office be transferred to him so that he could expand his residence. Emperor Wu mocked him: “Why not take the armory as well?” Tian Fen then became somewhat more restrained.

Tian Fen was short and unattractive in appearance, but his rank was extremely high. At one banquet he seated his elder half-brother Wang Xin, Marquis of Gai, facing south, while he himself sat facing east in the more honored position. He considered the dignity of the sitting Chancellor so great that even when drinking privately with his elder brother he would not lower himself. His residence exceeded those of other nobles in luxury, and his estates were exceptionally fertile. Bells and drums stood in the front hall, long curved-handled banners were erected, and the rear apartments held hundreds of women. Princes and nobles sent him innumerable treasures, gold and jade, dogs, horses, and luxury objects.

Conflict with Dou Ying

As Tian Fen rose to power, his relationship with Dou Ying steadily deteriorated. After Dou Ying lost influence, most of his retainers departed, while Guan Fu alone remained close to him. Numerous disputes accumulated between the Tian and Dou households. Tian Fen once sent Ji Fu to request from Dou Ying a tract of land south of the capital. Dou Ying angrily refused, and Guan Fu also cursed Ji Fu. From then on, the feud between the two households deepened.

In 131 BCE, the fourth year of the Yuanguang era, Tian Fen married a daughter of Liu Dingguo, Prince of Yan. Empress Dowager Wang ordered all senior officials to attend and offer congratulations. Guan Fu did not wish to go, but Dou Ying compelled him to attend. At the banquet, everyone treated Tian Fen with great deference, while Dou Ying was neglected. Guan Fu, who was forthright by temperament, became angry at the sight. His relative Guan Xian, Marquis of Linru, happened to be whispering with Commandant of the Guards Cheng Bushi and failed to show due attention when Dou Ying offered a toast. Guan Fu berated Guan Xian: “You normally say Cheng Bushi is not worth a single coin, yet today, when an elder offers you wine, you whisper to Cheng Bushi like a girl!” Tian Fen intervened: “General Cheng and General Li are both Commandants of the Guards. By insulting General Cheng in public, are you not also insulting General Li?” Guan Fu replied: “Even if you kill me today, I do not care. What do I care about General Cheng or General Li?”

Tian Fen immediately impeached Guan Fu before Emperor Wu for “cursing at the banquet and showing disrespect” and investigated Guan Fu's previous acts of violence and lawlessness. Guan Fu and his clan were ultimately executed. Dou Ying angrily intervened in an attempt to save him and disclosed to Emperor Wu Tian Fen's earlier private dealings with Liu An, Prince of Huainan. Tian Fen resented this and in turn accused Dou Ying. Dou Ying claimed that he had received a testamentary order from Emperor Jing authorizing him, when circumstances made it necessary, to report matters according to expediency. The Secretariat, however, could find no record of such an edict and therefore impeached Dou Ying for falsely invoking an edict of the former emperor, a capital offense. In the twelfth month of the fourth year of the Yuanguang era, Dou Ying was beheaded and his body exposed in the marketplace at Weicheng for the crime of “forging an imperial edict.”

After Dou Ying's death, Tian Fen also fell ill. During his sickness he muttered apologies and confessions. His family summoned a person said to be able to perceive ghosts and matters of yin and yang, who claimed that the spirits of Dou Ying, Marquis of Weiqi, and Guan Fu were tormenting and whipping Tian Fen in revenge. Physicians were unable to help him and could only watch as his condition worsened. In the spring, in the third month of the fourth year of the Yuanguang era, Tian Fen died of illness.

Major Activities

Political Activities

Tian Fen's political career can be divided into two major periods. From 140 BCE to 139 BCE, he served as Grand Commandant alongside Chancellor Dou Ying, promoted Confucian learning, and recommended Confucian scholars such as Zhao Wan and Wang Zang for office. In 139 BCE, after intervention by Empress Dowager Dou, Zhao Wan and Wang Zang died in prison and Tian Fen was dismissed.

After Empress Dowager Dou died in 135 BCE, Tian Fen returned to power as Chancellor and began to dominate court politics. He favored Confucian learning and established the Five Classics erudites, contributing to the institutionalization of Confucian scholarship. At the same time, however, he wielded power arbitrarily, favored his own associates, and promoted large numbers of retainers, provoking dissatisfaction from Emperor Wu.

Conflict with Dou Ying and Guan Fu

The conflict between Tian Fen and Dou Ying was an important episode in the competition among imperial in-law families in the early Western Han. Dou Ying was a nephew of Empress Dowager Dou, while Tian Fen was the younger brother of Empress Dowager Wang, placing the two men in different imperial-affinal factions. While Empress Dowager Dou was alive, Dou Ying at times overshadowed Tian Fen; after her death, Tian Fen rose to dominance and began to retaliate.

Their conflict began with the dispute over land and reached its height with Guan Fu's drunken outburst at Tian Fen's banquet. Tian Fen used the incident to imprison and execute Guan Fu and his clan, then took advantage of Dou Ying's efforts to save Guan Fu to accuse Dou Ying of falsely invoking an imperial edict, ultimately bringing about Dou Ying's death. Throughout the process, Tian Fen pressed his political advantage step by step and succeeded in eliminating his rival.

Obstruction of Yellow River Control

In 132 BCE, the third year of the Yuanguang era, the Yellow River changed course and flowed southward, causing severe flooding across sixteen commanderies. Tian Fen's fief of Shu, in present-day Pingyuan, Shandong, lay north of the old river channel and was not affected. For private advantage, he strongly opposed river-control works and told Emperor Wu that “breaches of the rivers are affairs of Heaven and cannot easily be forcibly stopped by human effort.” As a result, river-control work was suspended for twenty years, causing great damage.

Relations with the Prince of Huainan

When Tian Fen was Grand Commandant, Liu An, Prince of Huainan, came to court. Tian Fen went to Bashang to welcome him and said: “The emperor has no crown prince. Your Highness is the most worthy and is also a grandson of Gaozu. If the emperor should die, who but Your Highness ought to inherit the throne?” Liu An was delighted and gave Tian Fen large quantities of gold, silver, and valuables. In 122 BCE, when Liu An's rebellion was uncovered, Emperor Wu investigated the matter and learned of Tian Fen's earlier words. He said: “Had the Marquis of Wu'an still been alive, his clan would certainly have been exterminated.”

Personal Relations

Family

• Mother: Zang Er
• Elder maternal half-sisters: Wang Zhi, mother of Emperor Wu of Han; Wang Erxu
• Elder maternal half-brother: Wang Xin, Marquis of Gai
• Younger brother: Tian Sheng
• Son: Tian Tian, who inherited the title Marquis of Wu'an but was later stripped of it after entering the palace in inappropriate dress and showing disrespect

Ruler and Court

• Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che: nephew and ruler, who both relied on and resented Tian Fen
• Empress Dowager Wang Zhi: maternal half-sister and Tian Fen's principal political patron

Political Rivals

• Dou Ying: Marquis of Weiqi and nephew of Empress Dowager Dou; competed with Tian Fen for power and was ultimately brought down through Tian Fen's accusations
• Guan Fu: close friend of Dou Ying; his clan was executed after the banquet outburst

Others

• Han Anguo: once presented Tian Fen with gifts worth five hundred jin and was restored to office
• Liu An, Prince of Huainan: Tian Fen once flattered him and discussed the imperial succession with him

Historical Assessment

Han Dynasty and Contemporary Assessments

• Sima Qian, in “Biographies of the Marquises of Weiqi and Wu'an” in the Records of the Grand Historian, wrote that “Wu'an relied on his position and loved power.” He also recorded that Tian Fen, as a relative of the emperor serving as Chancellor, needed to humble himself and treat others with respect if he wished the realm to submit. Sima Qian's assessment emphasizes Tian Fen's reliance on his affinal position and his appetite for power.
• Ban Gu, in the Book of Han, observed that Dou Ying and Tian Fen both gained importance through their status as imperial in-laws, while Guan Fu became famous through decisive action at a particular moment; all three nevertheless met tragic ends.
• After Tian Fen's death, Emperor Wu learned of his dealings with the Prince of Huainan and said: “Had the Marquis of Wu'an been alive, his clan would have been exterminated.” This illustrates the emperor's underlying attitude toward him.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

• The Jin historian Sima Biao discussed the danger of powerful imperial in-laws and placed Tian Fen alongside figures such as Huo Guang and Wang Feng, regarding the monopolization of power by imperial relatives as one of the major problems of the Western Han.
• Pei Yin of the Liu Song, in his Collected Explanations of the Records of the Grand Historian, cited Xu Guang and accepted the account that Tian Fen “died from fear and alarm” after the deaths of Dou Ying and Guan Fu, treating it as retribution for his actions against them.

Tang and Song Periods

• Liu Zhiji, in the Shitong, discussed the characterization of historical figures in the Records of the Grand Historian and described the struggle between Tian Fen and Dou Ying as one of Sima Qian's most vivid portrayals of power struggles among imperial in-laws.
• Sima Guang, in the Zizhi Tongjian, placed the relevant events in the fourth year of the Yuanguang era and criticized Tian Fen's obstruction of river control as sacrificing public interest for private benefit.
• Su Zhe, in the Gushi, wrote that Tian Fen, relying on his status as the emperor's maternal uncle, killed Dou Ying and Guan Fu and thereby made his wrongdoing manifest, while also arguing that Dou Ying bore some responsibility for his own fate.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, in the Du Tongjian Lun, argued that Tian Fen's wrongdoing lay in allowing private desires to disrupt state affairs and singled out his obstruction of Yellow River control.
• Zhao Yi, in the Nian'ershi Zhaji, discussed the politics of imperial in-laws in the Western Han and treated both Tian Fen and Dou Ying as relatives who appropriated political power and therefore brought ruin upon themselves.
• Liang Yusheng, in the Shiji Zhiyi, examined Tian Fen's year of death and the execution of Dou Ying and regarded the chronology in the Records of the Grand Historian for the fourth year of Yuanguang as more credible.

Modern and Contemporary Assessments

• Lü Simian, in History of the Qin and Han, argued that the struggle between Tian Fen and Dou Ying appeared to be a personal feud but in fact represented a power struggle between the Dou and Wang imperial-affinal groups.
• Qian Mu, in History of the Qin and Han, criticized Tian Fen for occupying the office of Chancellor as the emperor's maternal uncle while conducting himself in this manner, regarding him as an early example of the dangers posed by powerful imperial relatives in the Western Han.
• Bu Xianqun, in a study of the Qin-Han bureaucracy, analyzed Tian Fen's personnel policies as Chancellor and argued that favoritism toward his own associates worsened corruption within the mid-Western Han bureaucracy.