杜延年 / Du Yannian (Western Han)

Overview

杜延年 / Du Yannian enters the wiki through Hanji 455 in a closing annalistic notice: 汉宣帝 appoints him, then Xihe taishou, as yushi dafu. Hanji 397-2 now supplies the earliest policy-advice layer: seeing the late Han Wudi displacement crisis, Du repeatedly urges 霍光 to revive Emperor Wen-style frugality, lenience, and popular recovery because displaced people have not all returned home. Hanji 401 backfills a Huo-backed promotion under 汉昭帝, while Hanji 400-1 shows him as the official who reports the anti-Huo conspiracy after Yang Chang hesitates. Hanji 410-1 backfills an accession role. Hanji 402-1 adds his tactical remonstrance in the Hou Shiwu case, and Hanji 402-2 adds a family-background explanation: the host reads Du’s fair and conciliatory handling of court relations as partly shaped by growing up as 杜周’s son.

Current Profile

The sources give a compact seven-stage profile. Hanji 397-2 makes Du a policy-turn adviser before the later legal and succession scenes: he reads Han Wudi’s late displacement crisis as proof that the state needs frugality, lenience, and recovery rather than continued heavy extraction. Hanji 400-1 and Hanji 401 place him inside Huo Guang’s Han Zhao-era governing style: Huo promotes him to Taipu for loyalty, uses his more lenient judgment as a policy-review buffer, and the court can rely on him to report an existential conspiracy when Yang Chang will not act. Hanji 402-1 shows what that tact looks like under maximum pressure: Du does not openly overturn Huo’s line in the Hou Shiwu case, but he warns that overbroad treason labeling will look legally excessive and damage Huo’s reputation, while also preserving Tian Qianqiu from being discarded over Xu Ren. Hanji 402-2 reads the interpersonal side of that role: Du can speak fairly for Tian Qianqiu and maintain official harmony, and the host infers that his father Du Zhou’s harsh career gave the family unusually clear knowledge of court survival. Hanji 410-1 places Du in the succession machinery after Liu He’s deposition: he joins the push to make Liu Bingyi legible to Huo Guang and Zhang Anshi, then drives the light carriage that brings Liu Bingyi into the ritual preparation sequence. Hanji 455 later shows him as an already trusted senior official, appointed yushi dafu after Xuan’s Hedong tour, tax reduction, amnesty, and dependent-state arrangements for submitted Xiongnu.

Key Characteristics

• Western Han official later appointed from Xihe taishou to yushi dafu by Emperor Xuan and remembered in the episode as one of the Qilin Pavilion meritorious ministers.
• Post-Han-Wudi policy-turn adviser who urges Huo Guang toward Wen-era frugality, lenience, and displaced-population recovery.
• Huo Guang-backed Han Zhao official promoted to Taipu and used as a lenient policy-review counterpart.
• Crisis reporter who brings the leaked anti-Huo conspiracy to Han Zhao after Yang Chang hesitates.
• Tactful remonstrator who can warn Huo Guang about excessive legal classification without directly challenging his authority.
• Conciliatory court actor identified as Du Zhou’s son, with tact linked by the host to family experience with harsh official survival.
• Accession supporter who helps move Liu Bingyi from recommended candidate into formal enthronement procedure.

Evidence

Policy-turn advice:

• Hanji 397-2 says Du Yannian repeatedly tells Huo Guang that Han Wudi’s luxury and wars harmed the state and that displaced people have not all returned home.
• Hanji 397-2 says Du urges revival of Emperor Wen’s frugality, lenient governance, compliance with heaven, and popular reassurance, and that Huo Guang accepts the advice.

Appointment and crisis reporting:

• Hanji 400-1 says Yang Chang hears the conspiracy from Yan Cang but hesitates and claims illness.
• Hanji 400-1 says Yang Chang tells Du Yannian, who directly reports the plot to Han Zhao.
• Hanji 401 says Huo Guang promotes Du Yannian to Taipu because of his loyalty.
• Hanji 401 says Du Yannian often studies petitions before Huo Guang and Han Zhao act, giving Huo’s harsh style a lenient counterpart.

Accession and later office:

• Hanji 410-1 says Du Yannian knows Liu Bingyi’s virtue and helps persuade Huo Guang and Zhang Anshi to install him.
• Hanji 410-1 says Du Yannian drives the light carriage that brings Liu Bingyi to the zongzheng office for ritual preparation.
• Hanji 455 says Xuan appoints Xihe taishou Du Yannian as yushi dafu in the closing notice.

Profile:

• Hanji 402-1 says Du Yannian warns Huo Guang that treating Hou Shiwu as great rebellion may be legally excessive and may worsen public perception of harsh punishment.
• Hanji 402-1 says Du argues Tian Qianqiu usually speaks for subordinates and should not be removed unless there is major fault.
• Hanji 402-2 says Du Yannian speaks fairly for Tian Qianqiu and understands how to maintain harmony among officials.
• Hanji 402-2 identifies Du Yannian as Du Zhou’s third son and treats his official tact as possibly shaped by Du Zhou’s survival knowledge.
• Hanji 455 says Du Yannian is Du Zhou’s son, a Qilin Pavilion meritorious minister, lenient, legally skilled, long responsible for court affairs, and deeply trusted by Xuan.

Qualifications

This page is source-scoped to Hanji 397-2, Hanji 400-1, Hanji 401, Hanji 402-1, Hanji 402-2, Hanji 410-1, and a brief closing notice in Hanji 455. It does not reconstruct Du Yannian’s complete family, legal career, offices, Qilin Pavilion role, full participation in the anti-Huo conspiracy reporting chain, full participation in the succession deliberations, or exact legal position in the Hou Shiwu case. Hanji 397-2’s Wen-era policy recommendation is a compact podcast account rather than a full reconstruction of all court debates before the Salt and Iron Conference. Hanji 402-2’s father-to-son explanation is preserved as the host’s inference rather than proof of direct training.

What Changed

• Added Hanji 397-2’s policy-turn layer: Du urges Huo Guang to respond to Han Wudi’s displacement crisis with Wen-era frugality, lenience, and popular recovery.
• Preserved Hanji 400-1’s conspiracy-reporting layer and Hanji 402-1’s tactical remonstrance layer: Du reports the anti-Huo plot to Han Zhao, later warns Huo Guang about excessive legal classification, and helps keep Tian Qianqiu from being destroyed with Xu Ren.
• Preserved Hanji 402-2’s family-background layer: Du Yannian’s fair, conciliatory court handling is linked to Du Zhou’s survival experience.
• Preserved Hanji 401’s Huo-backed Taipu promotion and lenient-review role, Hanji 410-1’s accession-support role, and Hanji 455’s later yushi dafu appointment notice.

Relationships

• 汉宣帝 - ruler who appoints Du Yannian as yushi dafu.
• 霍光 - regent who promotes Du Yannian, accepts his policy-turn advice, and uses him as a policy-review counterpart.
• 汉武帝晚年流民危机 / Late Han Wudi Displacement Crisis - crisis background that makes Du’s frugality-and-lenience recommendation urgent.
• 盐铁会议 / Salt and Iron Conference - downstream policy debate in the recovery turn Du encourages Huo Guang to adopt.
• 汉昭帝刘弗陵 - ruler to whom Du Yannian reports the anti-Huo conspiracy.
• 杜周 - father whose harsh career supplies the source’s family-experience explanation.
• 田千秋 - chancellor for whom Du Yannian speaks fairly in Hanji 402-2.
• 徐仁 / Xu Ren (Western Han) - Tian Qianqiu’s son-in-law whose case Du uses to argue against overextended punishment of Tian.
• 侯史吴 / Hou Shiwu (Western Han) - harboring defendant whose classification prompts Du’s warning about legal excess.
• 丙吉 - recommender whose accession argument Du Yannian supports.
• 张安世 - senior decision-maker whom Du Yannian helps persuade in the accession scene.
• 麒麟阁功臣荣典 - honor field the episode associates with Du Yannian.
• 西汉 - dynasty and administrative setting for the appointment.