Rebellion of the Witches - Fukonoran

Civil war occurred at the end of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty in China (reigned 141-87 BC). A type of sorcery called 'Wu Gu' involved burying a wooden doll in the ground and using a shaman to put a curse on it, shortening the lifespan of a targeted person. Over twenty years had passed since Empress Wei's son Ju (posthumously called Prince Return) was made crown prince. By this time, the leader of the Wei clan, General Wei Qing, had already passed away, and the clan's power was beginning to decline. The relationship between Emperor Wu and the crown prince was also not going well. Jiang Chong, a direct embroiderer (inspector of the Three Ministries) who had long been at odds with the Crown Prince, was concerned about the 66-year-old Emperor Wu's aging and his own health, and in July 91 BC, he petitioned the throne that the Crown Prince was cursing the Emperor. At the time, Emperor Wu was ill and was staying in the Ganquan Palace for the summer. Upon receiving this accusation, he had the Crown Prince's palace excavated, and six dolls pierced with needles were discovered. This was Jiang Chong's strategy. Deciding that the only option left to fight was to take the initiative and kill Jiang Chong, then occupy the Weiyang Palace. Emperor Wu immediately returned to the Jianzhang Palace in Chang'an, and the two armies fought for five days. Tens of thousands of people were killed. The crown prince was defeated, and about 20 days later he was found hiding in a private home in Hu County (Shaanxi Province), where it is said he either hanged himself or was killed in battle along with the two other princes. Emperor Wu learned of the crown prince's false accusation shortly after the rebellion, and exterminated Jiang Chong's surviving family members, built the Sizishi Palace in Hu County, and lamented his own mistake. The latter half of Emperor Wu's reign was marked by many disasters caused by shamans, but behind these incidents was the existence of the contemporary thought that showed a tendency towards mysticism, such as the "disaster theory of strange things" as seen by Confucian thinker Dong Zhongshu and Emperor Wu's interest in immortals.

[Akira Kasugai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、前漢の武帝(ぶてい)（在位前141～前87）末期の内乱。木製の人形を地中に埋め、巫(みこ)によってこれに呪(のろ)いをかけ、目的とする人物の寿命を縮めようとする邪術を巫蠱という。衛(えい)皇后の子の拠(きょ)（諡(おくりな)は戻(れい)太子）は皇太子にたてられて以来二十数年が過ぎた。このころになると衛氏一族の統領、大将軍衛青(えいせい)もすでに亡く、その勢力に影がさし始めていた。武帝と皇太子の間柄も順調ではなかった。従前から皇太子と反目していた直指繍衣使者(ちょくししゅういししゃ)（三輔の監察官）の江充(こうじゅう)は、66歳の武帝の衰えと身の保全を考え、紀元前91年7月、皇太子が武帝を呪詛(じゅそ)していると上奏した。当時、病を得て甘泉(かんせん)宮に避暑中の武帝がこの告訴を受けて皇太子宮の地下を掘らせたところ、針の突き刺してある人形が6個発見された。江充の策略である。もはや戦うのみと断じた皇太子は先手を打って江充を斬(き)り、未央(びおう)宮を占領。武帝もただちに長安城内建章宮に帰り、両軍は5日間にわたって戦った。死者は数万に及んだ。皇太子は敗れ、20日ほどのち、湖(こ)県（陝西(せんせい)省）の民家に隠れているのが発見され、2人の王子ともども縊死(いし)したとも討ち死にしたともいわれる。乱後まもなく皇太子の冤罪(えんざい)を知った武帝は、江充の遺族を族滅するとともに、湖県に思子(しし)宮を建てて自らの過ちを悔い嘆いた。武帝の後半期は巫蠱の災いが多いが、これら事件の背景には、儒教思想家の董仲舒(とうちゅうじょ)らにみられる「災異説」や武帝の神仙趣味など、神秘的な傾向を示す当時の時代思潮の存在があった。

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