Jin Midi
Encyclopedia
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
dynasty Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
of Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
ethnicity. He served as coregent early in the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han
Emperor Zhao of Han
Emperor Zhao of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 87 BC to 74 BC.Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu of Han. By the time Zhao was born, Emperor Wu was already 62. Zhao ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC. He was only 8 years old...
.
Background
Jin Midi was born in 134, and at that time he did not have the surname of Jin, which was given later. He was the heir apparentHeir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
's Prince of Xiutu, one of the major princes under the supreme ruler of the Xiongnu, the Chanyu
Chanyu
Chanyu , was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Middle and Central Asia for 8 centuries, starting...
Gunchen. After Gunchen's death in 126 BC, his brother Ichise succeeded him. During this time, the Prince of Xiutu and another major prince, the Prince of Hunye, were responsible for defending Xiongnu's southwestern border with Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
– modern central and western Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
.
In 121 BC, Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han , , personal name Liu Che , was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty of China, ruling from 141 BC to 87 BC. Emperor Wu is best remembered for the vast territorial expansion that occurred under his reign, as well as the strong and centralized Confucian state he organized...
sent his general Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing , born in Linfen, Shanxi, was a general of the western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. Being the illegitimate son of Wei Shaoer, he was the nephew of Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu....
to attack Xiongnu, dealing a great defeat on the Xiongnu. In the campaign, Huo killed the Princes of Zhelan and Luhou, as well as 8,900 Xiongnu soldiers, while capturing the Prince of Hunye's son, chief assistant, and a number of officials, as well as golden statues that the Prince of Xiutu had forged to use to worship heaven. The Chanyu Ichise was greatly displeased, and was considering summoning the Princes of Hunye and Xiutu to execute them. The princes, in fear, plotted to defect to Han. When Emperor Wu sent Huo to accept their surrender, the Prince of Xiutu changed his mind and tried to back out of defecting. The Prince of Hunye killed him and surrendered to Han, along with the region that he controlled.
Because the Prince of Xiutu was killed, Midi, as well as his mother the princess, as well as his brother Lun (倫), were confiscated to serve as imperial servants. Midi was assigned to the imperial stables.
During Emperor Wu's reign
On a later occasion, during an imperial feast, Emperor Wu ordered that horses be brought to him for him to examine. Midi, and a large number of fellow stable attendants, brought the horses, and as a number of Emperor Wu's beautiful concubines were in attendance, the attendants were struck by their beauty and were looking at them, but Midi did not dare to. Emperor Wu saw Midi and was impressed by his propriety, tall stature, and how healthy and strong the horses under Midi's care were. That same day, he awarded Midi robes and made him the director of the imperial stables, and thereafter became increasingly close to Midi. As he remembered that the Prince of Xiutu had used golden statues to worship heaven, Emperor Wu gave Midi the surname Jin, meaning "gold." When Jin Midi's mother died, Emperor Wu had her portrait drawn and displayed at his later favorite palace, Ganquan Palace (甘泉宮), entitling the portrait, "The Princess of Xiutu" (i.e., not regarding her as a servant any more, but by her former status as princess). Two of Jin Midi's sons became close attendants to Emperor Wu and were favored by Emperor Wu. After one of the sons was grown, on one occasion, he was flirting with Emperor Wu's ladies in waitingLady in Waiting
Lady in Waiting is the 2nd album by American southern rock band Outlaws, released in 1976. -Track listing:#"Breaker-Breaker" – 2:59#"South Carolina" – 3:05#"Ain't So Bad" – 3:48...
when Jin Midi saw them. Jin Midi, in anger that his son's behavior was inappropriate, killed him, and then reported to Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu was greatly saddened but became even more impressed with Jin Midi.
In 88 BC, the imperial official Ma Heluo (馬何羅) was anxious over the fact that the clan of his friend Jiang Chong (江充) had been slaughtered by Emperor Wu. (Jiang had falsely accused Emperor Wu's crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Liu Ju
Liu Ju
Liu Ju , formally Crown Prince Li was crown prince during the reign of his father, Emperor Wu of Han, during China's Han Dynasty...
of treason in 91 BC, causing Liu Ju to rise in rebellion in fear, killing Jiang. Liu Ju was killed, but in the aftermaths, Emperor Wu, discovering that Jiang's accusations were false, had Jiang's clan slaughtered.) He thus conspired with his brothers to assassinate Emperor Wu. The assassination attempt was thwarted by Jin, as when he saw Ma about to enter Emperor Wu's bedchambers with a knife, he grabbed and held Ma until other imperial guards could bind Ma.
In 87 BC, Emperor Wu was seriously ill, and he created his youngest son Liu Fuling
Emperor Zhao of Han
Emperor Zhao of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 87 BC to 74 BC.Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu of Han. By the time Zhao was born, Emperor Wu was already 62. Zhao ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC. He was only 8 years old...
crown prince. He summoned his close associates to his bedchambers to designate one of them, Huo Qubing's younger brother Huo Guang
Huo Guang
Huo Guang , courtesy name Zimeng was a Western Han statesman who was a rare example in Chinese history of a powerful official who deposed an emperor for the good of the state rather than to usurp the throne...
, as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
. Huo initially declined, arguing that Jin was more capable, but Jin pointed out that he was ethnically Xiongnu and that the other officials and the Xiongnu might think of him lightly. Emperor Wu thus designated Huo as the primary regent, but also designated Jin and Shangguan Jie (上官桀) secondary regents. He soon died, and Liu Fuling took the throne as Emperor Zhao. (In his will, Emperor Wu, citing the suppression of Ma's plot, created Jin, as well as Huo and Shangguan, marquesses, but Jin, citing Emperor Zhao's young age, declined.)
During Emperor Zhao's reign
In fall 86 BC, Jin Midi became seriously ill. Huo Guang, after discussing with Emperor Zhao, had Emperor Zhao approve a creation of Jin as the Marquess of Du on his bed. Jin died the next day and was buried near Emperor Wu's tomb. His family continued to serve as imperial servants until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, with seven generations in total.Sources
- Book of HanBook of HanThe Book of Han, Hanshu or History of the Former Han Dynasty |Fan Ye]] . Various scholars have estimated that the earliest material covered in the book dates back to between 206 and 202 BCE...
, vol. 68. - Zizhi TongjianZizhi TongjianThe Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
, vols. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. - Han Ji, vols. 13, 15, 16 http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/whr.htm.
- http://www.yangco.net/new0822/?doc=bbs/gnuboard.php&bo_table=koreaSa&page=11&wr_id=55
- http://daedongc.co.kr/read.php3?no=217§ion=11
See also
- XiongnuXiongnuThe Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
- Huo GuangHuo GuangHuo Guang , courtesy name Zimeng was a Western Han statesman who was a rare example in Chinese history of a powerful official who deposed an emperor for the good of the state rather than to usurp the throne...
- Emperor Zhao of HanEmperor Zhao of HanEmperor Zhao of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 87 BC to 74 BC.Emperor Zhao was the youngest son of Emperor Wu of Han. By the time Zhao was born, Emperor Wu was already 62. Zhao ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC. He was only 8 years old...