Zhufu Yan

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Zhufu Yan came from a poor commoner family in Linzi, Qi, and little is known of his early life. He first studied the teachings of the School of Diplomacy and later “studied the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the various masters.” He traveled among the Confucian scholars of Qi, but they rejected and excluded him. Because his family was poor, he could not obtain loans, so he traveled north through Yan, Zhao, Zhongshan, and other states. He continued to find no patron and lived in severe hardship. These experiences helped shape the extreme character later associated with his remark about “acting contrary to the normal course.”

Journey to Chang'an and Rise through Memorials

In 134 BCE, the first year of the Yuanguang era, Zhufu Yan concluded that the feudal kingdoms offered no prospects for advancement and traveled west through Hangu Pass to seek the patronage of General-in-Chief Wei Qing. Wei Qing recommended him several times, but Emperor Wu did not grant him an audience. Zhufu Yan remained in Chang'an until his money was exhausted, while many members of noble households disliked him. He therefore submitted a memorial directly to the emperor; it was presented in the morning and he was summoned by evening. Of the nine matters he discussed, eight concerned laws and ordinances, while one concerned war against the Xiongnu. Xu Le and Yan An submitted memorials at the same time. Emperor Wu summoned all three and remarked, “Where have you gentlemen been? Why have I met you so late?” He appointed them Gentlemen of the Palace. Thereafter Zhufu Yan was repeatedly received in audience, submitted further memorials, and was promoted to Internuncio and then Grand Master of the Palace, receiving four promotions within a year.

Imperial Favor and the Decree of Extending Favor

After gaining imperial favor, Zhufu Yan became influential in court affairs. He proposed the Decree of Extending Favor, under which regional kings were encouraged to enfeoff all of their sons as marquises. Though framed as an extension of imperial favor, the policy divided the lands of the kingdoms and progressively weakened their political and military power. Emperor Wu adopted the proposal. Zhufu Yan also recommended relocating powerful and wealthy families from across the empire to Maoling in order to strengthen the capital region and reduce local threats. He advocated establishing Shuofang Commandery in the Hetao region to secure the frontier and reduce transport burdens. These recommendations were likewise adopted. In addition, he participated in the elevation of Wei Zifu as empress and exposed misconduct by Liu Dingguo, King of Yan, further strengthening Emperor Wu's trust in him.

Chancellor of Qi and Execution of His Clan

In 127 BCE, the second year of the Yuanshuo era, Zhufu Yan reported allegations of sexual misconduct by Liu Cichang, King of Qi, and actively sought the post of Chancellor of Qi. Emperor Wu appointed him. After arriving in Qi, Zhufu Yan summoned his brothers and former associates and told them that they had denied him food and clothing and refused him entry when he was poor, whereas now they had traveled as far as a thousand li to welcome him as chancellor; he therefore declared that he was severing relations with them and ordered them not to return to his house. He then sent men to investigate the allegation that the King of Qi had committed incest with his elder sister. The king, fearing punishment, committed suicide.

Emperor Wu was enraged and suspected Zhufu Yan of having driven the king to death. Liu Pengzu, King of Zhao, also submitted a memorial accusing Zhufu Yan of accepting bribes. Zhufu Yan was imprisoned. He admitted taking bribes but denied coercing the King of Qi. Emperor Wu initially intended to pardon him, but Censor-in-chief Gongsun Hong argued that because the King of Qi had died without an heir and his kingdom had been abolished, Zhufu Yan was the principal cause and should be executed to answer to the empire. Emperor Wu then ordered the execution of Zhufu Yan and his clan.

In his early years Zhu Fu Yan studied the arts of the vertical and horizontal alliances and only late in life took up the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn and the various schools; he travelled among the scholars of Qi and, being excluded, could not settle, and with his family poor and no one to borrow from he went north to Yan, Zhao and Zhongshan, where he fared no better as a retainer. In 134 BCE he entered the passes to see the general-in-chief Wei Qing, who recommended him repeatedly without drawing an audience from Emperor Wu; his money exhausted and his long stay in Chang'an resented by the princes' retainers, he memorialized the throne directly. His memorial was submitted in the morning and he was received by evening; of the nine matters he raised, eight concerned statutes and one the campaign against the Xiongnu. Xu Yue and Yan An had memorialized at the same time, and the emperor, meeting all three, asked where they had been and why they had come so late, and made each of them a gentleman attendant. Thereafter he memorialized repeatedly and was promoted four times in a single year, serving as usher, palace gentleman and grand master of attendants.

His most influential proposal was that of extending favors: in antiquity a prince's land was no more than a hundred li and easily controlled, whereas now princes hold tens of cities and a domain of a thousand li, becoming arrogant in ease and joining forces against the capital in crisis; to cut them by law, as Chao Cuo had done, would provoke revolt. He therefore asked that princes be allowed to divide their lands among their sons and enfeoff them, so that each would be pleased, the court would appear generous, and the kingdoms would in fact be split and quietly weakened. The emperor adopted the plan, and on his advice also moved the rich and powerful and the disorderly to Maoling, filling the capital within and removing troublemakers without, so that harm was ended without executions. He had also exposed the scandal of Liu Dingguo, King of Yan, and he praised the fertility of Shuofang, shielded by the Yellow River, arguing that a city there could drive off the Xiongnu and save the cost of transport and garrison from the interior, the root of expanding China's territory and weakening the Xiongnu. The emperor referred it to the ministers, and Gongsun Hong objected that Qin had raised three hundred thousand men to build a city north of the river and abandoned it unfinished; Zhu Fu Yan pressed the advantages nonetheless, and the emperor adopted his plan, establishing the commanderies of Shuofang and Wuyuan, building the city of Shuofang and settling more than a hundred thousand people from the interior to farm and garrison it. Events proved the strategic value: the springboard for Xiongnu raids into the central plains was removed and the threat to Chang'an lessened.

In his ascendancy ministers feared his slander and vied in gifts that came to a thousand catties of gold; when someone warned him he was overbearing, he answered that he had studied abroad for more than forty years since binding up his hair, that his parents would not own him, his brothers would not take him in and his guests had abandoned him, and that a great man who cannot eat from five cauldrons in life may as well die by the five cauldrons of execution — the sun was setting and the road was long, so he must act against the grain. In 127 BCE he reported to the emperor the incest in the King of Qi's palace and was appointed chancellor of Qi. On arrival he summoned his brothers and former guests and renounced them, then prodded the king over his affair with his sister, and the king took his own life for fear. The King of Zhao, long at odds with him, seized the moment to memorialize that he had taken bribes from the princes, by which many of their sons had been enfeoffed. The emperor, angered by the King of Qi's death, believed Zhu Fu Yan had driven him to it and had him tried. He admitted the bribes but denied the coercion, and the emperor was inclined to spare him; then the censor-in-chief Gongsun Hong said that with the King of Qi dead without heirs his kingdom had been abolished and made commanderies, and that Zhu Fu Yan was the chief offender, who could not go unpunished if the realm were to be answered to. He was accordingly executed with all his kin. Of his thousands of retainers in his prosperity, none came to collect his body when he died; only Kong Che of Xiao had him buried, and the emperor, hearing of it, judged him a worthy man. Sima Qian lamented in the Records of the Grand Historian that while Zhu Fu Yan held office all praised him, and that once he fell and died men vied in telling of his faults. Later scholars have argued that the decree of extending favors may have been issued in the last years of Yuanguang or the first of Yuanshuo, with a further edict strengthening it in the spring of Yuanshuo 2, a view that differs from the sequence in the Records and the Han History and is not yet settled.

Major Activities

Proposal of the Decree of Extending Favor

In response to the danger posed by regional kings who controlled dozens of cities and territories extending for a thousand li, Zhufu Yan drew on earlier attempts by Jia Yi and Chao Cuo to weaken the kingdoms. He proposed allowing the kings to “extend favor” by dividing land among their sons and enfeoffing them as marquises. The measure appeared benevolent but in practice progressively fragmented the kingdoms until they could no longer challenge the central government. The Decree of Extending Favor became a key measure in resolving the long-standing problem of powerful regional kingdoms and strengthening Western Han centralization.

Relocation of Powerful Families and Establishment of Shuofang Commandery

Zhufu Yan recommended relocating wealthy and powerful families from across the empire to Maoling in order to strengthen the capital region and remove potential local threats; Emperor Wu accepted the proposal. He also strongly advocated creating Shuofang Commandery in the Hetao region, arguing that the area was fertile and protected by the Yellow River and that its occupation could reduce transport costs and expand the frontier. Despite opposition from Gongsun Hong and others, Emperor Wu eventually adopted the plan, and Shuofang became an important base in wars against the Xiongnu.

Participation in the Elevation of the Empress and the Case against the King of Yan

Zhufu Yan participated in the elevation of Wei Zifu as empress, together with Wei Qing and others. He also exposed incestuous misconduct by Liu Dingguo, King of Yan, leading to the king's suicide and the abolition of his kingdom. These actions increased Emperor Wu's trust in Zhufu Yan but also earned him the hostility of regional princes.

Chancellorship of Qi and Destruction of His Clan

Zhufu Yan actively sought appointment as Chancellor of Qi in order to investigate the King of Qi. The king committed suicide out of fear, and Emperor Wu was enraged. Liu Pengzu, King of Zhao, then accused Zhufu Yan of accepting bribes. Zhufu Yan admitted receiving bribes but denied coercing the King of Qi. Gongsun Hong insisted that he be executed, and Emperor Wu ordered the destruction of Zhufu Yan's clan. Although thousands of guests had once gathered around him when he was powerful, after his death no one collected his body except Kong Che.

Personal Relations

• Brothers: Zhufu Yan's brothers did not support him when he was poor; after becoming Chancellor of Qi, he severed relations with them.
• Daughter: through the eunuch Xu Jia, she once sought entry into the King of Qi's inner court, without success (see the Book of Han, “Traditions of the Five Kings of Gaozu”).
• Wei Qing: Zhufu Yan sought Wei Qing's patronage, and Wei Qing repeatedly recommended him.
• Xu Le and Yan An: summoned with Zhufu Yan by Emperor Wu and appointed Gentlemen of the Palace.
• Kong Che: collected and buried Zhufu Yan's body after his execution; Emperor Wu called him an honorable elder.
• Emperor Wu of Han: recognized Zhufu Yan's abilities and adopted his proposals, but later ordered the execution of his clan.
• Gongsun Hong: opposed the establishment of Shuofang Commandery and later strongly urged Zhufu Yan's execution.
• Liu Cichang, King of Qi: Zhufu Yan exposed his sexual misconduct, after which the king committed suicide.
• Liu Dingguo, King of Yan: Zhufu Yan exposed his misconduct, leading to his death and the abolition of his kingdom.
• Liu Pengzu, King of Zhao: hostile toward Zhufu Yan and accused him in a memorial of accepting bribes.

Historical Assessment

Han / Contemporary

• Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, “Biographies of the Marquis of Pingjin and Zhufu Yan”: “When Zhufu Yan held power, all the lords praised him; when his reputation collapsed and he was executed, men competed to speak of his evils. How lamentable!”
• Ban Gu, Book of Han, “Biography of Zhufu Yan,” records his phrase about “acting contrary to the normal course,” vividly illustrating his character.
• Although Emperor Wu executed Zhufu Yan, policies such as the Decree of Extending Favor continued to be used, reflecting Zhufu Yan's political ability.

Wei-Jin through Sui-Tang

• Shiji Suoyin comments that Zhufu Yan “extended favor and shaped policy according to the times; in life he ate from five cauldrons, in death he became an untimely pest.”
• Zuo Si, in the seventh of his “Eight Poems on History,” lamented Zhufu Yan's frustration and estrangement from his own kin.
• Later historians generally recognized the effectiveness of the Decree of Extending Favor while criticizing Zhufu Yan's personal conduct.

Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance gives a detailed account of the Decree of Extending Favor and acknowledges its effectiveness in weakening the regional kings, while also criticizing Zhufu Yan as greedy and unrestrained.
• Wang Fuzhi, in Du Tongjian Lun, regarded Zhufu Yan's death as largely self-inflicted but also noted that Emperor Wu used his policies and then executed him.
• Ming and Qing scholars often assessed the Decree of Extending Favor from the perspective of centralization, arguing that Zhufu Yan rendered service to the state even though he died in disgrace.

Modern Period

• Qian Mu's Outline of National History treats the Decree of Extending Favor as a key measure in Emperor Wu's weakening of the regional kings and describes Zhufu Yan as farsighted and deeply calculating.
• Lü Simian's History of Qin and Han argues that Zhufu Yan's death resulted from political struggle and that his policies benefited the state while bringing disaster upon himself.
• Modern scholarship generally recognizes the historical importance of the Decree of Extending Favor while also examining Zhufu Yan's personality and the limitations of his age.