釋氏稽古略 1.464

1.464

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.