A Throne Built on Shifting Sands

The reign of Emperor Cheng of Han (33-7 BCE) unfolded during a critical juncture in Western Han history, when the empire appeared prosperous on the surface but harbored deep structural weaknesses. Born Liu Ao, Emperor Cheng ascended the throne at age nineteen following the death of his father Emperor Yuan. The early Western Han’s vigor had dissipated, replaced by court intrigues and the growing dominance of the Wang clan through Emperor Cheng’s mother, Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun. This period witnessed the paradoxical coexistence of Confucian scholar-officials attempting moral governance with the emperor’s personal indulgences and the Wang family’s relentless power accumulation.

The Emperor’s Excesses and the Scholars’ Warnings

Emperor Cheng’s court became notorious for its decadence. Historical records describe extravagant spectacles where the emperor compelled Central Asian performers to battle wild animals for entertainment. In 13 BCE, the emperor organized massive hunts across the Qinling Mountains, capturing beasts to stock his “Bear Shooting Pavilion” where foreign warriors fought animals barehanded. These displays wasted state resources while famine ravaged the provinces.

Court scholars like Liu Xiang and Gu Yong repeatedly warned the emperor through memorials referencing celestial omens. When multiple fires broke out in palace buildings in 13 BCE followed by a solar eclipse, Liu Xiang connected these to ancient Zhou dynasty portents preceding collapse. His memorials, preserved in the Han shu, argued that “when rulers neglect virtue, heaven sends warnings through natural anomalies.” Yet Emperor Cheng, though intellectually engaged with Confucian classics, failed to reform his behavior.

The Wang Clan’s Ascendancy

The Wang family’s rise constituted the most significant political development of Emperor Cheng’s reign. Wang Zhengjun’s brother Wang Feng dominated early in the reign, establishing the pattern of Wang clan control. By the 10s BCE, Wang Mang (future usurper) and Wang Gen held key positions. Wang Gen’s manipulation of land deals exemplified their methods—he seized cultivated lands from peasants, falsely claiming them as newly reclaimed to extract massive government compensation.

When the emperor considered reducing Wang family power after celestial omens, his teacher Zhang禹 betrayed him. Despite knowing the Wangs’ threat, Zhang禹 prioritized protecting his family’s position, advising the emperor to ignore warnings about the Wangs. This incident demonstrated how the Wangs co-opted the scholarly elite.

Frontier Challenges and Diplomatic Blunders

The Western Regions presented ongoing challenges. General Duan Huizong’s repeated missions to stabilize the Wusun confederation (modern Xinjiang/Kazakhstan) revealed Han’s overextension. The Wusun, divided between Greater and Lesser Kunmi rulers, required constant Han intervention yet remained unstable.

A 9 BCE incident exposed Han diplomatic clumsiness. Chancellor Wang根 and Emperor Cheng coveted匈奴 territory near张掖 for its timber and eagle feathers. They dispatched envoy Xiahou Fan to trick the匈奴 Chanyu into ceding land, claiming it was the envoy’s personal suggestion rather than imperial policy. When the Chanyu refused and exposed the ruse, the emperor lamely blamed Xiahou Fan, damaging Han’s prestige.

The Succession Crisis

Emperor Cheng’s lack of heirs created a dynastic crisis. After his younger brother刘兴 proved incompetent during a 9 BCE court examination, the emperor chose his nephew刘欣 (future Emperor Ai). This violated the “brother succeeds brother” tradition, provoking controversy. The decision reflected Wang family influence—刘欣’s grandmother had bribed Wang根 and the Zhao sisters to support his candidacy.

The subsequent purge of the许 clan revealed court factionalism. After deposed Empress许 bribed official Chunyu Chang hoping for restoration, Wang Mang exposed the scheme to eliminate a rival. Chunyu Chang died in prison, followed by a wider purge of his faction. This allowed Wang Mang’s appointment as Commander-in-Chief in 8 BCE, aged just 38, through calculated displays of Confucian humility—his wife dressed so plainly visitors mistook her for a servant.

Administrative Reforms and Confucian Idealism

Chancellor Zhai Fangjin’s 8 BCE reforms replaced regional Inspectors (刺史) with Governors (州牧), increasing local autonomy—a decision later regretted as it weakened central control. Meanwhile, scholar Liu Xiang’s proposals to expand the Imperial Academy (辟雍) and local schools reflected Confucian idealism amid decline. His memorials argued that “rites cultivate people’s virtue, while laws merely punish”—a philosophy ignored as the regime relied increasingly on coercion.

The Gathering Storm

By Emperor Cheng’s death in 7 BCE, the Western Han’s fate hung in the balance. The Wang clan controlled the bureaucracy while Confucian reformers were marginalized. Emperor Cheng’s reign demonstrated how personal failings of rulers, combined with institutional decay and elite malfeasance, could undermine even history’s most formidable empires. As Liu Xiang warned in his final memorials, when heaven’s warnings go unheeded, the mandate passes—a prophecy fulfilled when Wang Mang usurped the throne in 9 CE, ending the Western Han.

The era’s legacy endures in Chinese historiography as the classic case of how court corruption, factionalism, and neglect of governance fundamentals can unravel dynasties. Emperor Cheng’s reign offers timeless lessons about the interdependence of personal virtue and political stability that resonated through subsequent Chinese history.