Loading article…
The Lü Clan disturbance (Chinese:呂氏之亂; pinyin:Lǚ shì zhī luàn, 180 BCE) refers to a political upheaval after the death of Empress Lü Zhi of the early Han dynasty. In the aftermath, her clan of Lü (呂) were deposed from their seats of power and exterminated, Emperor Houshao was deposed and Emperor Wen acceded the throne. The term "Lü Clan disturbance" also sometimes encompasses the prior period of total domination of the political scene by Empress Lü Zhi and her family after the death of her son Emperor Hui.
When Ying Bu rebelled in August or September 196 bCE, Emperor Gaozu of Han personally led the troops against Ying and suffered an arrow wound which allegedly led to his death the following year. His heir apparent Liu Ying took the throne and is posthumously known as Emperor Hui of Han (r. 195–188 bce). Shortly afterward, Gaozu's widow Empress Lü – now empress dowager – had two of her opponents murdered. Liu Ruyi, a potential claimant to the throne, was poisoned. His mother, Lady Qi, was mutilated and publicly humiliated before being killed. When the teenage Emperor Hui discovered his mother's cruel deeds, Loewe says that he "did not dare disobey her." From that point, Emperor Hui only "indulged himself with wine and women" and no longer made key governing decisions, leaving them to his mother.
When Emperor Hui died in the autumn of 188 BCE, his son (whose parentage is disputed) ascended to the throne as Emperor Qianshao. There was no pretension that he was actually in charge: Emperor Hui's mother Empress Dowager Lü maintained control of the imperial court. With Empress Dowager Lü acting as regent, she was the one who exercised the power of the emperor and decided who bore that title, rendering the identity of the emperor rather meaningless. The Book of Han describes her as "presiding over court and issuing edicts" (臨朝稱制; lín cháo chēngzhì).
In the winter of 188 BCE, Empress Lü decided to elevate her brothers as princes, despite Emperor Gaozu's ruling that only members of the imperial Liu clan could be ennobled as princes— a ruling that Empress Lü had a hand in creating. She was opposed by Chancellor of the Right Wang Ling (zh:王陵 (西汉)) but was supported by Chancellor of the Left Chen Ping and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Marshal of State Zhou Bo. When Wang criticized Chen and Zhou in private for contravening Gaozu's edict, they claimed that their compliance with Empress Dowager Lü's position was necessary to protect the empire and the Liu family.
Empress Dowager Lü then appointed Wang Ling to the position of Grand Tutor (太傅; tàifù)— the emperor's teacher. Nominally a promotion, this appointment would have the effect of removing Wang from court. He declined, claiming illness, and Lü removed him from his position as Chancellor, sending him away from the capital to his fief of Anguo (安國, in modern Baoding, Hebei). She promoted Chen Ping to Chancellor of the Right, and promoted Superintendent of State Visits Shen Yiji (zh:審食其) to the office of Chancellor of the Left. Shen is described as a favoured servant of the empress, and romantic connection between the two was rumoured.[1]
Empress Dowager Lü then followed through on her intent to ennoble her kin. In the summer of 187 BCE, her daughter Princess Yuan of Lu died. Afterwards, the princess's son, Zhang Yan (zh:張偃), was created Prince of Lu on Empress Lü's orders. Zhang Yan's father Zhang Ao had been Prince of Zhao during Gaozu's reign, and had been demoted as part of the policy against non-Liu princes, so this first ennoblement could be seen as a return to older forms.
1か月後、彼女は皇帝の役人に正式に請願させ、甥の呂台を呂公に任命させ、斉公から呂公を分離させた。彼女は一族の権力をさらに強化するため、呂魯の娘を、高祖の別の妃の子孫である劉璋と結婚させた。その後、呂璋を朱虛侯（現在の山東省臨朔県）に任命した。さらに皇后は、2人の甥を異なる位階の侯爵に封じた。
紀元前184年、伝統的な父系制の下では前例のない行動として、呂太后は妹の呂嬃（范奎の妻）を侯爵に叙した。紀元前181年の春、父の死後呂王となった呂太の息子、呂產は、より大きな梁公国を与えられた。彼は長安の宮廷に留まり、大教師として呂太后を補佐した。同年後半、皇后は甥の呂祿を趙王に、呂太のもう一人の息子である呂通（西漢）を燕王に叙した。さらに3人の甥が侯爵に叙せられた。
紀元前180年の夏、呂智太后は、10人の親族を王子または侯爵の貴族に昇格させ、王家の権力に挑戦する形で死去した。死の直前、呂智太后は呂魯と呂禅に、それぞれ強力な北部の護衛隊と、弱い南部の護衛隊を任せ、さらに政府も掌握させた。呂智太后の死後、呂氏一族が漢王朝を打倒し、自ら帝位を奪取する計画を立てていたという噂が広まった。この計画は、呂魯の娘と結婚した長男の劉肥を通じて、高帝の孫である朱虚侯の劉璋に漏洩したとされている。劉璋は弟の東謀侯劉興居、そして兄の斉王劉祥と共に反乱を計画した。彼らの計画では、劉祥が斉軍を率いて都を攻撃し、劉璋と劉興居は皇帝の護衛兵を説得して呂氏に反旗を翻させるというものだった。計画が成功すれば、劉祥を皇帝に擁立するつもりだった。
However, everything did not go to plan. In the autumn of 180 BCE, Liu Xiang did indeed start a military campaign with his own forces and also gained the support of the nearby Principality of Langye. Lü Chan sent Guan Ying (灌嬰), the Marquess of Yingyin (潁陰), against the Qi forces, but Guan actually distrusted the Lüs more than Qi, and was unwilling to fight the Qi forces. He negotiated a secret armistice with Liu Xiang, and both armies halted some distance apart from each other.
Allegedly, at this time, the Lü clan was ready to take over the imperial dynasty but did not do so because they were concerned at the reactions of Zhou Bo, Liu Zhang, and the principalities of Qi and Chu. While the crisis was forming in Xi'an, a new conspiracy was formed in response, involving:
The conspirators first attempted to get the Lüs to give up power voluntarily. Li Ji persuaded Lü Lu that the best course of action for him and Lü Chan was to return to their principalities and give power to Zhou Bo and Chen Ping, the two highest ranking government officials. Lü Lu agreed but was unable to reach a consensus with the Lü clan elders.
The conspirators then took drastic actions. Ji Tong issued a forged imperial edict, ordering the northern division of the imperial guards to be turned over to Zhou. When the edict arrived at the northern division's camp, Li Ji and Liu Jie convinced Lü Lu that the edict was genuine and that he should obey it, which he did. After requiring the guards to affirm their loyalty to the imperial Liu clan, Zhou Bo took over the northern division.
The conspirators then moved against Lü Chan, who had not known of the change in authority over the capital garrison. While he was trying to enter the imperial palace (alleged by the conspirators later to be preparing for the takeover), Liu Zhang and Cao Qu took control of the gates of the palace and had Lü Chan and his guards confined to the courtyard. Zhou Bo sent some soldiers to Liu Zhang, who fought with Lü Chan's guards and killed him in battle. Over the next few days, each member of the Lü clan was executed regardless of age or gender.
The conspirators argued that their actions were justified in order to protect Emperor Houshao against the Lü conspiracy, but once the Lüs were killed, the conspirators claimed that neither the emperor nor his brothers were in fact Emperor Hui's sons. Rather, they suggested that Empress Zhang Yan, Emperor Hui's wife, had stolen and adopted the boys at Empress Dowager Lü's instigation. They also admitted that they were concerned about reprisals when Emperor Houshao and his brothers grew up. They then agreed to depose Emperor Houshao and invite an imperial prince, not from Emperor Hui's line, to be the new emperor.
As to which prince to be the new emperor, some of the conspirators suggested that Liu Xiang, being the eldest Di son (嫡長子) of Emperor Gao's oldest son (thus the eldest grandson of Emperor Gao), was the obvious choice. Most of the important officials disagreed with this suggestion. They were concerned that Liu Xiang's uncle Si Jun (驷均) was a dominating figure, and if Liu Xiang were to become emperor they would have a repeat of the Lü clan situation. They believed that Emperor Gao's oldest surviving son, 23-year-old Prince Liu Heng of Dai, was the better choice, because he was known to be filial and tolerant, and because his mother Consort Bo's family was known to be careful and kind. Messengers discreetly carried the invitation to Prince Heng, asking him to be the new emperor.
衡王の顧問たちはこの招待に疑念を抱いた。彼らは呂氏一族の虐殺は不当だと感じており、官僚たちが衡王を傀儡にして、自分たちが実権を握ろうとしているのではないかと懸念していた。顧問の一人、宋昌はこれに反対した。彼は漢王朝の支持者たちは権力の転覆を許さないだろうし、都以外にも多くの諸侯国が存在するのだから、官僚たちがたとえ望んだとしても皇帝の権力を奪うことはできないだろうと信じていた。それでも確信が持てない衡王は、叔父の薄昭を長安に派遣し、周元帥に会わせた。周元帥は官僚たちの招待は誠実なものであり、下心はないと保証した。叔父はこれを信じ、衡王に申し出を受け入れるよう促した。
その後、衡王は長安に向かった。夕方の儀式で、陳宰相は役人たちを率いて衡王に帝位を申し出た。衡王は慣例に従って3回辞退した後、異例の4回目で申し出を受け入れ、正式に中国皇帝として即位した。その夜、劉興居は後紹皇帝を皇居から追放し、役人たちは盛大な儀式で新皇帝（死後、漢の文帝と名付けられた）を皇居に迎え入れた。
総じて言えば、呂氏乱は勃興期の漢王朝にとってプラスの効果をもたらした。権力は皇帝に帰属するという原則が確立されたのである。さらに重要なことに、文帝は有能で勤勉な統治者となった。文帝とその息子である景帝の安定した治世は、一般的に中国史における黄金時代の一つとみなされている。呂氏乱とその後の呂氏の運命は、中国史を通して、皇后の一族が権力を過剰に掌握しないよう、また皇帝がそれを許さないよう、警告としてしばしば語られてきた。