Zhao Guangqing: The Witchcraft Curse of the Emperor Wu Period
Witchcraft is an early human activity characterized by the fantasy of utilizing "supernatural powers" (such as summoning spirits, chanting incantations, drawing talismans, or planting cursed objects) to influence or control objective reality. Those who pretend to be spirits or ghosts to pray on behalf of others are known as shamans or sorcerers. Following the emergence of various religions, these activities were retained and reinforced to varying degrees. From antiquity to the present, reports of witchcraft activities among the common people have emerged from time to time. The term "Witchcraft and Sorcery" (wūgǔ) [1] implies that sorcery plays a role in deluding people’s minds and inciting social unrest. Consequently, successive dynasties employed severe punishments to suppress it; Han statutes prescribed death for those practicing wūgǔ. However, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han [2], witchcraft activities occurred with high frequency. Manifesting within the imperial court, they may be said to have persisted throughout the entirety of the Emperor Wu period.
Empress Chen of the Xiao Wu reign was the daughter of the Grand Princess of Guantao, the Emperor’s paternal aunt. Initially, the Grand Princess exerted great effort to ensure Emperor Wu’s appointment as Crown Prince; as a result, he married her daughter as his consort. Upon Emperor Wu’s accession to the throne, she was established as Empress. She enjoyed exclusive imperial favor and lived in luxury, yet remained childless for over a decade. Upon hearing that Wei Zifu (another consort) had gained the Emperor’s favor, she repeatedly sought to take her own life, which only increased Emperor Wu’s displeasure. Empress Chen further resorted to "women’s seductive arts" [3], which were discovered several times. In the fifth year of the Yuanguan era, Emperor Wu’s patience was exhausted, and he ordered a thorough investigation. Many women were implicated in the crimes of performing witchcraft, sacrifices, and curses for the Empress. These acts were deemed rebellious and immoral, leading to the execution of over 300 people in the ensuing chain of implications. Empress Chen was deposed and died several years later. In the first month of the first year of the Taishi era, General Gongsun Ao—who had experienced four rises and falls in his career—was sent to the legal authorities for execution due to the heavy loss of soldiers during his final campaign against the Xiongnu. He feigned death to escape and lived among the common people for five or six years before being discovered. Because his wife had practiced witchcraft on his behalf, his entire clan was executed. This served as a prelude to the "Disaster of Witchcraft and Sorcery" during Emperor Wu’s reign.
During this time, several massive searches were conducted to prohibit witchcraft. In the winter of the first year of the Zhenghe era, cavalry from the Three Adjuncts [4] were mobilized for a massive search in the Shanglin Park of Chang'an. The gates of Chang'an were closed for fifteen days. Many officials in the Northern Army awaiting imperial summons starved to death; one can only imagine that many more commoners perished from hunger.
It is said that "the Disaster of Witchcraft and Sorcery began with Zhu Anse and was brought to completion by Jiang Chong." In the first month of the year following the "massive search," the disaster of Zhu Anse occurred. Zhu Anse was a famous "knight-errant" (xiá) [5] in the capital. The so-called "knight" refers to those who help the endangered, relieve the poor, and fight against injustice. However, "the knight violates prohibitions through force," as they interfere with social stability. Therefore, the imperial court issued edicts to arrest Zhu Anse but failed, causing great anxiety. At the time, Gongsun He (the Emperor’s brother-in-law by marriage) served as Chancellor, and his son Gongsun Jingsheng served as the Minister of the Imperial Stud; both father and son held high ministerial positions. Jingsheng, using his special status, lived arrogantly and extravagantly, failing to observe the law. He was discovered to have embezzled 19 million strings of cash from the Northern Army’s military budget and was imprisoned. Gongsun He requested to pursue and arrest Zhu Anse personally to redeem his son's crime. To such an absurd request, the imperial court actually gave its assent. Later, Zhu Anse was indeed captured. Hearing that Gongsun He, as Chancellor, had personally pursued a great knight-errant to redeem his son's crime, Zhu Anse laughed loudly and said: "The Chancellor’s disaster will reach his whole clan! The bamboo of the Southern Mountains is not enough to record my testimony, and the wood of the Xie Valley is not enough to make the shackles for me." He subsequently submitted a letter from prison accusing Jingsheng of having an illicit affair with Princess Yangshi (Emperor Wu’s daughter) and of commissioning shamanic sacrifices and curses against the Emperor. He further alleged that Jingsheng had buried wooden figurines [6] on the imperial road to the Ganquan Palace and uttered evil curses. The relevant authorities investigated the case and pursued the crimes to their limit; Gongsun He and his son died in prison, and their clan was exterminated. Princess Yangshi, her sisters, and the nephew of Empress Wei were all executed. It appeared that Zhu Anse’s accusations were not baseless.
This was immediately followed (in the same year) by the witchcraft disaster of Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong was originally a guest of Liu Pengzu, the King of Zhao (Emperor Wu’s half-brother), but fled to the capital after offending the Crown Prince of Zhao. Emperor Wu appointed him as the "Direct Messenger in Embroidered Robes" [7] to supervise the pursuit of bandits in the Three Adjuncts. He did not shrink from confronting the powerful and became quite influential. Because he had a rift with Crown Prince Liu Ju, he feared he would be executed by the Prince after Emperor Wu’s passing. When Emperor Wu fell ill, Chong slandered the Crown Prince, claiming he was using witchcraft to hex (yàn) the Emperor. The Prince captured and executed Chong and raised troops in rebellion. Upon the rebellion’s failure, the Crown Prince and others committed suicide. Tens of thousands of people died in the resulting implications. At that time, the Crown Prince’s grandson—the Imperial Great-Grandson and future Emperor Xuan—was less than a year old and was also implicated. Bing Ji, the Commandant of Justice, received the edict to handle the witchcraft prison. Seeing the infant, he took pity and selected prudent female prisoners to nurse and care for him, placing him in a clean and dry cell. When someone came to inspect the prison, Bing Ji blocked the door and refused entry. Later, Emperor Wu realized his error and issued a general amnesty, allowing the Imperial Great-Grandson to escape disaster. Had it not been for Bing Ji’s "merit reaching the four seas," the history of the latter half of the Western Han would have to be rewritten. "How can one not be afraid! How can one not be afraid!"
During the reign of Emperor Zhao, Liu Xu, the fifth son of Emperor Wu, harbored ambitions for the throne upon seeing that Emperor Zhao had no sons. Xu invited a sorceress to summon a spirit and utter curses. The sorceress pretended to be possessed and wept, saying, "Emperor Wu has descended into my body!" Upon hearing this, all the attendants were shocked into submission. The sorceress said, "I shall certainly cause Xu to become the Son of Heaven." Xu was overjoyed and gave the sorceress much gold and money, sending her to pray at Mount Wu. When Emperor Zhao passed away, Xu was even more delighted, saying, "She is truly a skilled sorceress!" He slaughtered oxen in a sacrificial thanksgiving, believing the Emperor’s death was caused by the curses. When Liu He, the King of Changyi, was summoned to the throne, Xu again ordered the sorceress to curse him. When that King was deposed, Xu believed even more in the sorceress’s spiritual power. When Emperor Xuan ascended the throne, Xu again ordered curses as before. Hearing that Emperor Xuan had established a Crown Prince, Xu stopped the cursing. When Xu’s son was convicted and executed in the marketplace, Xu resumed the curses. Later, the cursing was discovered; Xu poisoned the sorceress and more than twenty palace attendants to silence them. Having no other recourse, Xu hanged himself with a silk sash. This occurred during the Wuheng era and can be seen as the residual tremors of the witchcraft disasters of Emperor Wu’s court.
In conclusion, regarding the disasters of witchcraft: "This was not only the fault of Jiang Chong; it was also the timing of Heaven, not something caused merely by human effort." Emperor Wu of Han is known historically as a "Heroic Sovereign," and his reign is called a "Prosperous Age." It is said that "The Han’s acquisition of talent was greatest during this period." Yet, because he "believed in gods and immortals, engaged in grand construction, was urgent in tax collection, and heavy in criminal punishment, bandits increased, and witchcraft incidents arose." These are the objective and subjective factors behind the frequent witchcraft disasters of Emperor Wu’s reign—a negative reality hidden beneath the surface of a prosperous age. In his later years, Emperor Wu also engaged in some self-criticism, even issuing the "Repentant Edict of Luntai" [8]. However, it was neither comprehensive nor profound. Given Emperor Wu’s heroic talent and grand vision, had he "not abandoned the frugality of Emperors Wen and Jing to aid the people, even the praises of the Classics could not have added more to his renown!"