*6.2. The Mutual Evidence in Official Historical Records*

There are materials in the official historical records of the Han dynasty that can serve as powerful circumstantial evidence for the Queen Mother's role or function in social governance. The *History of the Han Dynasty*, for example, records an incident that involved hundreds and thousands of famine victims known as the Queen Mother Incident in its "Aidi ji" 哀 帝 紀 (Annals of Emperor Ai), "Tianwen zhi" 天 文 誌 (Treatise on Celestial Patterns), and "Wuxing zhi" 五 行 誌 (Treatise on the Five Phases), respectively. Below is the description of the incident given in the "Treatise on the Five Phases":

In the first month of the fourth year of Jianping (3 BC), during the reign of the Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty, people fled in panic, holding a stick of dried-up wood or hemp stalk in their hands, and passing it to one another, which is called "passing edict sticks" (*xing zhaochou* 行 詔 籌). Thousands of people ran across each other along the road. Some walked barefoot with scattered hair, some destroyed the official pass at night, some went over the wall, and some took carriages or rode on horseback, changing horses at the relay station for fresh ones to continue their journey. It was only after passing through twenty-six vassal states did they arrive at the capital. In the summer of that year, people in the capital gathered in the alleys, streets and squares, and they set up gaming tools and sang and danced to worship the Queen Mother of the West. Then there came a word, saying: "The Queen Mother of the West tells the people that those who carry this amulet shall not die. Those who don't believe what I have said, just look under your door hinge and you will find white hair.". The incident did not stop until autumn. (*Hanshu*, 27.1476)

The Queen Mother Incident recorded in the *History of the Han Dynasty* occurred in the late Western Han era and involved thousands of people. From the *History of the Han Dynasty*, we know that this incident was not only large in scale, lasting in time, but also very influential. In the incident, the Queen Mother's role to solve social problems is highlighted, especially in the religious experience of "those who carry this amulet shall not die (*busi* 不 死)". The message is clear that those who believed in the Queen Mother and obeyed her orders would survive the draught and famine. Here, the Queen Mother is portrayed as a savior who has the divine power to deliver people from a severe social crisis caused by natural disasters. This kind of power goes beyond helping people achieve longevity and immortality, thus adding solving the social problem of starvation to the divine role of the Queen Mother. Therefore, the cult of the Queen Mother had both functions of helping to achieve longevity and immortality as well as solving social problems.

The ruling class also acknowledged that the Queen Mother could solve social problems. The *Hanshu* records that Wang Mang 王 莽 (r. 9 BC–AD 23), who was in power in the late Western Han dynasty, once issued a decree, "Da Gao" 大 誥 (Great Announcement), hoping to obtain the blessing of the Queen Mother:

The Grand Empress Dowager (Empress Xiaoyuan) was with the blessing of the holy land of Shalu 沙 鹿 in Yuancheng 元 城, as well as the auspicious sign from the deity who represented the *yin* essence and fertility. Consort of Emperor Han Yuan, she gave birth to Emperor Han Cheng. Thus, she was able to show the harmony of the Han family, and also received the blessings and auspicious signs from the Queen Mother, to protect the emperor's clan, stabilize the long-standing and influential families, and continue their lineage to inherit the feats of the Han family to dominate the world. (*Hanshu*, 84:54:3432)

However, Wang Mang's knowledge came after the Queen Mother Incident and had a clear political purpose. *The Hanshu* records one of his edicts as follows:

During the reign of Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty, rumors about the miracle of Queen Mother's book of immortality were prevalent among the people. Therefore, people worshiped *Xiwangmu* and prayed to her for a peaceful year. This is a sign that the Grand Empress Dowager will become the mother of all generations. How dare I disobey the destiny of heaven! Therefore, I deliberately chose an auspicious day to personally lead the royal family, ministers, and celebrated scholars to present the seal of the empress dowager respectfully to show to the world that I have complied with the will of heaven. (*Hanshu*, 98:68:4033)

Wang Mang held sacrificial activities for the Queen Mother, with the purpose of using her cult to whip up public opinion for himself in order to usurp the power of the Han dynasty. Wang Mang's recognition of the Queen Mother occurred after the Queen Mother Incident. He took advantage of the disaster. He was influenced by the Queen Mother Incident of the civilian class.

In a nutshell, the materials in official historical materials recorded the Queen Mother Incident, which occurred in the civilian class and also had an impact on the ruling class. Therefore, we can make a more comprehensive description of the cult of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother was not only a god of immortality and longevity but also a god who had the function in social governance.

### *6.3. Properties of Commoners' Class Characteristic of Han Tombs with Stone Reliefs*

Regarding the class attributes of the owners of the Wu Liang Shrine, Wu (1989, pp. 26–27) once sorted out biographical information of the owners of the shrine:

Wu Ban 武 斑 died in 145 at the age of 25. Before his death, he served as a chief clerk to a protector-general of the Dunhuang District.

Wu Ban's father, Wu Kaiming 武 開 明, died in 148. He once worked in the imperial house as a royal coachman.

In 151, Wu Kaiming's older brother, Wu Liang 武 梁, died at age 74. He was a "virtuous man" who became a recluse devoted to learning.

This text provides two pieces of information: First, the owners of the Wu Liang Shrine did not have high social status. They either held low official positions or were in office only for a short time. Second, Wu Liang, the most prestigious owner of the Wu Liang Shrine, was not an official. In contrast, he lived in seclusion for a long time. These two pieces of information indicate that the owners of the Wu Liang Shrine were scholars far away from the imperial court and they belonged to the civilian class. Their tombs should be categorized as low-level tombs.

In a nutshell, the "Sage-Kings Image" or Wu Liang Shrine III is very distinctive in composition. The Queen Mother is high above, and the 11 mythical emperors are placed

underneath. This composition conveys three important messages. First, it shows that in popular belief, the Queen Mother could make the real world overlap with the world of longevity and immortality. Second, the words in *Hanshu* prove that people believed the Queen Mother could govern the real world. Third, biographical information of the owners of the shrine demonstrates that in the Han Dynasty, the civilian class used stone reliefs in tombs. This information makes the image of the sage kings especially precious.
