Week Four - Dragons and Daoists

 

51m. Emperor Gaozu is conceived after a dragon visits his mother. This double paternity suggests that Gaozu is positioned by birth for a divine destiny before any mention of his merit is made (51m). Indeed, despite Xiao He’s comment that he “so far has accomplished very little,” Gaozu still perceives himself as worthy of a seat of honor at a banquet (52m). Furthermore, his worth is recognized by both Master Lü and the mysterious old man through his dragon-like facial features, not through any meritorious action he has taken to prove his worth (52b, 53m). Certainly, Gaozu accomplishes the establishment of the Han dynasty, but even still the reader is left to wonder the extent to which he directs this accomplishment. For example, he is in charge of the troops that overcome Xiang Yu’s forces, but this feat is brought about by his approval of the ideas and strategies of Zhang Liang (61t, 72m, 74t&m), Han Xin (65m), Chen Ping (65m, 74m), Yuan (70t), Zheng Zhong (71t), and even unnamed officers (62b). It is not unusual, of course, for a ruler to receive advice, but the amount of times Sima Qian indicates Gaozu’s approval of plans devised by others is unusually high in this account.* One could disparagingly characterize Gaozu as one who is gifted by Heaven with good looks but does not deserve the kingship based on his own strategic acumen. Yet many willingly follow him (one even suggesting he is a man “of true moral worth” (38b)), implying that they see value in him. Perhaps Sima here presents a different model of kingship. Gaozu, a ruler who constantly accepts the opinions and remonstrations of others, is in this respect the opposite of the first Emperor of Qin, a ruler who imposed his will on others and rejected all remonstration. Gaozu himself attributes his success to his ability to listen to others and use those who surpass him in his areas of weakness, which contradicts a previous accusation of his arrogance (76m&b). Perhaps his good looks and dragon-given stature also play into this model of kingship, since even though Sima does not comment on their value directly, he gives no repudiation of their importance. Maybe here the idea emerges that the Son of Heaven is the symbol of the empire and as such ought to have majestic and auspicious looks. Only further reading into the story of Han might confirm or disconfirm this conjecture.

*Perhaps the historical Gaozu did, indeed, formulate and execute his own strategies, but I was not able to find a single instance where Sima Qian indicated that Gaozu conceived of a strategy on his own which he ended up implementing.

116b. When the elders compliment Chen Ping’s ability to divide up the sacrificial flesh with fairness, Chen Ping expresses a wish to “divide [the empire] up in the same way as this flesh!” Yet precisely what he means by this is difficult to ascertain. He could desire to do good for the empire by ensuring fairness for all and serving with propriety, or he could simply desire to hold a respected position in the empire as he does in his village. Unfortunately, examining his actions once he has attained power does not shed much light on the question. For example, the Fan Kuai affair is open to both interpretations. On the one hand, Chen may truly mean what he says when he conjectures that the emperor would regret Fan’s death (123b), thus illustrating a desire to do good for his sovereign. On the other hand, the mention of Fan’s marriage to Empress Lü’s sister might indicate a more mercenary motivation: Chen wants to remain in her good graces in order to keep his position. The emperor’s death and Chen’s explanation to Empress Lü resolves the situation, and the reader receives no further indication of Chen’s motive. Similarly, the incident involving the ascension of the Emperor Wen shows no clear motive for Chen’s actions. When questioned by Empress Lü as to whether her family should be set up as kings, he replies that “there was no objection” (125m), but then plots to overthrow the Lü family after her death (126m). As before, one could interpret the removal of the Lü house and installation of this “filial” emperor as proceeding from a high-minded notion of what is good for the empire, but one could also suppose his motivation comes from a desire to ingratiate himself with the new regime. Sima provides no narrative voice to push the reader in either direction. In fact, he makes no comment on Chen’s values other than his adherence to Daoism (128m), commenting only on the results of his plans. In fact, he praises Chen’s ability to satisfy both possible motives, “sav[ing] himself from harm” while preserving the “safety of the dynasty’s ancestral temples as well” (128m). Perhaps Sima simply uses Chen’s ability to lay low, keep his motives hidden, and act at the proper moment as illustrative of his Daoist beliefs, or maybe he here suggests that serving the state and serving oneself do not have to be in antinomy.