Huo Guang (; died 68 BC),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China
China, officially the People's R ...
Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the
Western Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...
from 87 BCE until his death in 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the renowned general
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-br ...
, Huo was a palace aide to
Emperor Wu and secured power in his own right at the emperor's death, when he became principal co-regent for
Emperor Zhao. Huo outmaneuvered his colleagues in the regency and assumed personal control over state affairs, consolidating his power by installing family members and other loyalists in key offices. Following Emperor Zhao's death in 74 BCE, Huo engineered the succession and deposition of
Liu He within a mere 27 days. Huo next facilitated the accession of
Emperor Xuan and retained control of the Han government until his death.
Service under Emperor Wu
Huo Guang was born to Huo Zhongru and he had a half-brother named
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-br ...
, a renowned general. His step-aunt was Empress
Wei Zifu, the second Empress of
Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign ...
. Huo's early career in Han government was not well documented, but it is known that as of 88 BC—near the end of
Emperor Wu's reign, he was already a high-ranked official with dual titles of ''Fengche Duwei'' (奉車都尉) and ''Guanglu Dafu'' (光祿大夫). When Emperor Wu, near the end of his life, chose his youngest son Liu Fuling (later
Emperor Zhao) as heir, he commissioned Huo, ethnically-
Xiongnu official
Jin Midi, and imperial guard commander
Shangguan Jie (上官桀) as
coregents, but with Huo effectively in command of the government, with the titles of ''dasima'' (大司馬) and ''dajiangjun'' (大將軍). When Emperor Wu died in 87 BC, Emperor Zhao, then eight years old, was left in the tutelage of Huo, Jin, and Shangguan. Emperor Wu's will created the three of them as
marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...
es, but all three declined.
Service under Emperor Zhao and Control of power as regent
As Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu, this created conflict and ill will with his older brothers, and in his reign there were multiple conspiracies. In 86 BC, a conspiracy involving Liu Dan (劉旦),
Prince of Yan
Prince or King of Yan () was a Chinese feudal title referring to the ancient Chinese State of Yan and to its fiefs including the capital Yanjing (located within modern Beijing).
Typically, the title is translated as "King of Yan" for rulers pri ...
, and an elder son of Emperor Wu, was discovered, but the prince was not punished, presumably under Huo's decision, even though the other conspirators were executed.
Among the regents and great ministers of Emperor Zhao, Huo Guang is the most prestigious and powerful, leading all of them. Within 6 years from 87 BC to 81 BC, when Emperor Zhao could not decide on his own, Huo took control of the court, and the country was still at peace. Due to holding too much power even though he was not alone, he created the jealousy of another main sub-power, the Shangguan family.
In 85 BC, Huo was created the Marquess of Bolu (博陆侯). In the same year, Jin, a moderating influence in the co-regency, died. After Jin's death, Shangguan became increasingly jealous of Huo's powers, even though the two had been great friends, and Huo had given his daughter in marriage to Shangguan's son Shangguan An (上官安). In 84 BC, as a ploy to further strengthen his powers, Shangguan Jie gave his granddaughter (also Huo's granddaughter), then age five, in marriage to the emperor, then age 11, and
she was made empress in 83 BC.
In 80 BC, the growing conflict between Huo and Shangguan came to a head. Shangguan formed a conspiracy with Liu Dan, the Prince of Yan, the Princess Eyi (鄂邑公主) (who, as the emperor's sister, had served as his guardian), and another important official
Sang Hongyang
Sang Hongyang ( Chinese: ; c. 152–80 BC) was a Chinese politician. He was a prominent official of the Han Dynasty, who served Emperor Wu of Han and his successor Emperor Zhao. He is famous for his economic policies during the reign of Empero ...
(桑弘羊) to make false allegations of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
against Huo. However, Emperor Zhao, who trusted Huo, did not act on the allegations. The conspirators then planned a
coup d'etat, but were discovered. Most of the conspirators, including Shangguan, were executed, and Liu Dan and the Princess Eyi were forced to commit
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
.
After Emperor Zhao came of age, Huo Guang still had influence over the emperor and the court, helping Emperor Zhao run the empire, so much so that most scholars maintain that Emperor Zhao never held real power. When Emperor Zhao himself could rule, Huo as chief minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Capital and the Imperial Army, was a his almost exclusive adviser and political mentor, Huo repeatedly persuaded him to issue amnesties, refrain from costly wars with other nations, focus on electing and promoting able officials at court, avoiding punishment without investigation and trial promoting agriculture, and preserving grain to prevent famine.
The Prince He Incident and the installation of Emperor Xuan
In 74 BC, Emperor Zhao died at age 21 without issue. Even though
Emperor Zhao had living older brothers, Huo considered them incompetent and unfit for the throne. After some investigation, he settled on making Liu He, Emperor Zhao's nephew and the
Prince of Changyi the new emperor. Once the Prince of Changyi was installed as the emperor, however, he began to spend incessantly and otherwise act inappropriately during the period of mourning for Emperor Zhao.
In response, Huo decided to depose the new emperor, an unprecedented action in Chinese history. Under an edict issued by Empress Dowager Shangguan (Huo's granddaughter), Prince He was deposed after just 28 days as emperor and exiled to his old principality of Changyi, but without a princely title.
There was no imperial heir who met Huo's standard of a diligent and skilled emperor. At the suggestion of another senior official Bing Ji (丙吉), Huo made a great-grandson of Emperor Wu,
Liu Bingyi (later Liu Xun 劉詢) emperor, taking the name Emperor Xuan.. Liu Bingyi's grandfather
Liu Ju had been Emperor Wu's crown prince by
Empress Wei but subsequently had fallen out of favour and been killed, with his issue being removed from the imperial household.
Service under Emperor Xuan
In 73 BC, Huo offered to return all authority to
Emperor Xuan, but the emperor declined and reaffirmed that all important matters were to be presented to Huo before Huo would present them to the emperor. The emperor also made Huo's son Huo Yu (霍禹) and his grandnephews Huo Yun (霍雲) and Huo Shan (霍山) (Huo Qubing's grandsons) key officials in his administration. Huo Guang's sons-in-law Fan Mingyou (范明友) and Deng Guanghan (鄧廣漢) were made high military commanders. During the next few years, Huo and the emperor effectively shared imperial powers.
In 71 BC, Huo Guang's wife, Lady Xian (顯), in order to make her daughter
Huo Chengjun (霍成君) empress, poisoned Emperor Xuan's wife
Empress Xu Pingjun
Xu Pingjun () (89 BC – 71 BC), formally Empress Gong'ai (; literally, the Respectful and Lamentable Empress) and sometimes (but not at all times) Empress Xiaoxuan (), was an empress of the Chinese Western Han dynasty. She was the first wife of ...
by bribing her doctor. In 70 BC, Huo Chengjun was created empress.
Despite Emperor Xuan's outward respect towards Huo Guang, it was recorded that he feared Huo, and regarded him as "a thorn in (his) back" (芒刺在背, "mang ci zai bei"). This, combined with Huo Guang's unwillingness to rein in his clansmen, would prove disastrous to the Huo clan.
Death and subsequent destruction of the Huo clan
In 68 BC, Huo Guang became ill and died. Emperor Xuan and
Empress Dowager Shangguan made the nearly-unprecedented act of personally attending Huo's
wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
and built an impressive
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be con ...
for Huo. After Huo's death, his sons, sons-in-law, and grandnephews remained in important posts and were made marquesses. His wife, after a period of mourning, formed a passionate relationship with Huo Guang's slave master, Feng Zidu, himself a former lover of Huo Guang.
[Hinsch, Bret. (1990). ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press. pp. 49–50] The Huo family lived luxurious lives similar to the imperial household.
Emperor Xuan, unhappy about the Huos' perceived arrogance, began to gradually strip their actual powers while letting them keep their formal titles. In 67 BC, Emperor Xuan made his son Liu Shi (劉奭, later
Emperor Yuan), by the deceased Empress Xu, crown prince, an act that greatly angered Lady Xian, who instructed her daughter to murder the crown prince. Allegedly, Empress Huo did make multiple attempts to do so, but failed each time. Around this time, the emperor also heard rumours that the Huos had murdered Empress Xu, which led him to further strip the Huos of actual power.
In 66 BC, Lady Xian revealed to her son and grandnephews that she had, indeed, murdered Empress Xu. In fear of what the emperor might do if he had actual proof, Lady Xian, her son, her grandnephews, and her sons-in-law formed a conspiracy to depose the emperor. The conspiracy was discovered, and the entire Huo clan was executed by Emperor Xuan. This act later drew heavy criticism from historians, such as
Sima Guang
Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...
in his
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynas ...
, for its ungratefulness to Huo Guang. Empress Huo was deposed. Twelve years later she was exiled and, in response, she committed suicide.
Despite the destruction of the Huo clan, Emperor Xuan continued to honour Huo Guang posthumously. In 51 BC, when he painted the portrait of 11 great statesmen of his administration in the great hall of his palace, Huo, alone among the 11, was referred to by title and family name only, which was considered an even greater honour than the honour given to the other ten.
Impact on Chinese history
Huo was treated somewhat paradoxically by posterity. On one hand, he was greatly admired for his skilful administration of the empire and his selflessness in putting himself in great danger in deposing an unfit emperor. On the other hand, he was also criticized for his dictatorial governing style, alleged
nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, and ...
and failure to rein in the behaviour of his clansmen, traits that some historians claim eventually led to his clan's destruction after his death.
Many later conspirators in Chinese history would often claim that they were acting in the empire's best interest, like Huo, even though few actually did. Conversely, when emperors wanted to accuse (and execute) officials of treason, they often euphemistically refer to them as "wanting to act like Huo Guang." Effectively, Huo set a standard of decisiveness and strength that was rarely matched and even more rarely used for the benefit of the state.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huo Guang
68 BC deaths
Year of birth unknown
Ancient LGBT people
Han dynasty generals from Shanxi
Han dynasty politicians from Shanxi
LGBT people from China
Politicians from Linfen
Regents of China