Di Shan
Encyclopedia
Di Shan was an erudite in the court of Emperor Wu
of the western Han dynasty
. He was killed by a Xiongnu
attack.
When the Xiongnu sought an alliance and the matter was being discussed by various officials, Di Shan declared that he was in favour of peace. Asked to elaborate by the emperor, he criticised the impact of war on resources and the standard of living of those near the border. He cited the examples of both internal and external conflicts under past reigns and juxtaposed the hardship of these times with the prosperity enjoyed during times of peace. Zhang Tang
, when consulted on his opinion, dismissed Di Shan as a stupid Confucianist with no understanding of the matter. Di Shan responded by admitting that his loyalty was the "loyalty of the stupid" but then accused Zhang Tang of being dishonest in his loyalty, using as evidence the latter's forceful prosecution of the kings of Huainan
and Jiangdu
.
Emperor Wu then asked Di Shan whether he could keep out the Xiongnu if made a governor of a province. When the latter responded by saying he could not, the emperor proposed that he be made magistrate of a district, an offer that he similarly rebuffed. However, Di Shan finally relented when offered the position of commander of a guard post, afraid that he would be handed over for trial if he refused. Within a little over a month, Di Shan had been decapitated following a Xiongnu raid on his guard post.
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...
of the western 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...
. He was killed by a 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...
attack.
When the Xiongnu sought an alliance and the matter was being discussed by various officials, Di Shan declared that he was in favour of peace. Asked to elaborate by the emperor, he criticised the impact of war on resources and the standard of living of those near the border. He cited the examples of both internal and external conflicts under past reigns and juxtaposed the hardship of these times with the prosperity enjoyed during times of peace. Zhang Tang
Zhang Tang
Zhang Tang was a high ranking official of the Western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu.-Personal life:Zhang Tang was a native of Du, the son of a deputy in Changan's city government. His father died before Zhang Tang became a minor official, but his mother, along with a number of younger brothers,...
, when consulted on his opinion, dismissed Di Shan as a stupid Confucianist with no understanding of the matter. Di Shan responded by admitting that his loyalty was the "loyalty of the stupid" but then accused Zhang Tang of being dishonest in his loyalty, using as evidence the latter's forceful prosecution of the kings of Huainan
Huainan
Huainan is a prefecture-level city with 2,334,000 inhabitants in central Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu’an to the southwest, Fuyang to the west, Bozhou to the northwest, Bengbu to the northeast and Chuzhou to the east.Its...
and Jiangdu
Jiangdu
Jiangdu is a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou. Jiangdu is the location of Yangzhou Taizhou Airport that is currently under construction and will serve Yangzhou and Taizhou when open in 2012.-References:*...
.
Emperor Wu then asked Di Shan whether he could keep out the Xiongnu if made a governor of a province. When the latter responded by saying he could not, the emperor proposed that he be made magistrate of a district, an offer that he similarly rebuffed. However, Di Shan finally relented when offered the position of commander of a guard post, afraid that he would be handed over for trial if he refused. Within a little over a month, Di Shan had been decapitated following a Xiongnu raid on his guard post.