釋氏稽古略 1.464

1.464

宣帝玄孫。年二歲立之。有司奏。武功長孟通浚井得白石。上圓下方。有丹書著石文曰。告安漢公莽為皇帝。符命之起自此始。大后怒而力不能沮莽。如周公故事稱攝皇帝。吏民皆稱臣。禮儀皆如天子。元年五月詔莽稱假皇帝。以居攝三年。為初始元年。即真天子位。定有天下之號曰新。以是冬十二月為明一正月。商正也。時孺子未即皇帝位。璽藏長樂宮。及莽即帝位請璽。太后不肯授莽。莽使安陽侯舜諭旨以脇太后。太后出漢璽投之于地。策命孺子嬰為定安公　初始元年戊辰王莽篡位。

He was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Xuan. He was enthroned at the age of two. The officials reported that Meng Tong, Chief of Wugong, had dredged a well and obtained a white stone, round on top and square below, bearing red cinnabar writing on the stone that said: "Proclaim Wang Mang, Duke Who Pacifies the Han, as Emperor." The rising of omens and prophetic mandates began from this. The Empress Dowager was furious, but lacked the strength to obstruct Mang. Following the precedent of the Duke of Zhou, Mang assumed the title of Acting Emperor. Officials and commoners all declared themselves his subjects, and rituals were all conducted as for the Son of Heaven. In the fifth month of the first year, an imperial edict proclaimed Mang the Surrogate Emperor. Taking the third year of his Regency as the first year of Chushi, he then assumed the throne of the true Son of Heaven, establishing the name of his realm as Xin. He designated the twelfth month of that winter as the first month of the following year, following the calendar of the Shang dynasty. At that time, Ruzi had not yet ascended the imperial throne, and the imperial seal was kept in the Changle Palace. When Mang took the throne and requested the seal, the Empress Dowager refused to hand it over. Mang sent Shun, Marquis of Anyang, to convey his intent and intimidate the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager brought out the Han imperial seal and hurled it to the ground. A decree was then issued appointing Ruzi Ying as the Duke of Ding'an. In the wuchen year, the first year of Chushi, Wang Mang usurped the throne.