Archaeological research at the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun concerns Liu He. Its artifacts and written material help illuminate Western Han aristocratic life and identity. Assessments of the historical individual had largely relied on transmitted histories. Tomb evidence offers new perspectives, though particular interpretations still need excavation reports and chronological research.
Historical background
Liu He was briefly the ninth emperor of the Han dynasty. Originally King (or Prince) of Changyi, he was installed by the powerful minister Huo Guang as emperor in 74 BC, but deposed only 27 days later, and omitted from the official list of emperors. He lost his original kingdom of Changyi and was demoted to the rank of marquis. He was given the new fief of Haihun in modern Jiangxi Province and became known as Marquis of Haihun.
As part of the articles of impeachment, the officials asked that Empress Dowager Shangguan to exile Prince He to a remote location. However, she did not do so; rather, he was returned to Changyi without any titles, although he was given a small fief of 2,000 households who would pay tribute to him. His four sisters were also awarded smaller fiefs of 1,000 households each.
Prince He's Changyi subordinates were accused of failing to keep his behaviour in check and were almost all executed. Wang and Gong were spared because of their prior advice to him, but were ordered to undergo hard labour. The only other official spared was Prince He's teacher Wang Shi, who successfully argued that he tried to use his teachings of poems to show Prince He what was proper and what was improper.
Some historians argued that the reason why the Changyi officials were dealt with so harshly was that Huo was convinced that they were plotting with Prince He to have him killed, but there is no conclusive evidence of either such a plot or that the harsh treatment was as the result of such a plot or suspected plot.
Tomb
The tomb of Marquis of Haihun was found in 2011 and the excavation is ongoing. The tomb is located in the northern part of Xinjian in Jiangxi, in a cemetery that contains in total of nine tombs. About 20,000 artifacts have been unearthed from the tomb. Among the unearthed artifacts, there are more than 300 gold objects, 2 million copper coins, and a mirror containing the earliest known image of Confucius. In 2019, scholar Jue Guo contested the prevailing identification of the artifact as a “dressing mirror,” claiming it was in fact a talisman. Also the long lost Qi version of the Analects was found in the tomb. An application has been submitted for the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun to be listed as a World Heritage Site.
In the over 5,200 bamboo slips found in the tomb, archaeologists have found remnants of an edict by Emperor Xuan of Han regarding the disestablishment of the fief of Haihun following the Marquis and his sons' deaths. Some of the information that has come to light is not recorded in history books such as the Book of Han, including the exact date of the Marquis' death, 8 September 59BC. The slips also mention that the fief of Haihun was struck by numerous natural disasters, including floods and drought. The slips also mention a report by the governor of Yuzhang regarding the disestablishment of the fief, which corresponds with the Book of Han. It has been calculated from the slips that the time between the deaths of the Marquis and his sons and the disestablishment of the fief was less than 40 days.
The disestablishment process of the fief of Haihun was markedly different from the disestablishments of other fiefs. For example, in September 112 BC, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict disestablishing the fiefdoms of over 100 marquises without discussion at court. The fief of Haihun, however, went through a process of lengthy discussion with court officials, and the final disestablishment edict had over 100 officials sign their name, including 'Cheng Xiang' (Chancellor) Bing Ji and 'Yushi Daifu' (Attorney General) Xiao Wangzhi.