广汉郑公起义 / Guanghan Zheng Gong Uprising

Overview

广汉郑公起义 / Guanghan Zheng Gong Uprising enters the wiki through Hanji 532 as a Hongjia 3-4 / 18-17 BCE Western Han uprising led by 郑公 in Guanghan.

Current Profile

The source frames the uprising as a case of 生存压力型起义. It places the revolt inside a Chengdi-era environment of court infighting, Wang-family dominance, eunuch disorder, official failure, heavy burdens, empty granaries, hunger, displacement, and mass death. In this account, Zheng Gong’s violence grows from a population that sees no peaceful route to survival.

The event begins with attacks on government offices, prison release, and seizure of weapons. Zheng Gong calls himself “山君,” and the episode uses the title as the origin hook for later “山大王” language. By 17 BCE, the force expands into four counties and approaches ten thousand people, enough that local defense cannot manage it.

Suppression combines direct force and political division. The court appoints 赵护 as Guanghan governor and mobilizes more than thirty thousand soldiers from Guanghan and Shu. Some participants then capture or kill former companions to seek pardon, and the government uses amnesty to split the rebel side. The episode says the uprising is pacified within about a month, with Zhao Hu promoted and rewarded.

Key Characteristics

• Western Han Guanghan uprising under Han Chengdi in Hongjia 3-4 / 18-17 BCE.
• Framed by the source as “官逼民反” under livelihood collapse and official pressure.
• Begins through office attacks, prison release, and arsenal seizure.
• Expands into a multi-county force approaching ten thousand people.
• Suppressed through a large Guanghan/Shu military mobilization plus amnesty-backed division of rebels.
• Ends with official reward for Zhao Hu, while the source does not show deep repair of the underlying livelihood crisis.

Evidence

• Political background: Hanji 532 says Chengdi-era high officials pursue private interest, eunuchs are abusive, and ordinary people suffer heavily.
• Livelihood pressure: Hanji 532 names empty granaries, hunger, displacement, and deaths in the tens of thousands.
• Initial action: Hanji 532 says the rebels attack offices, free prisoners, and take weapons.
• Expansion: Hanji 532 says Zheng Gong’s followers attack four counties and number close to ten thousand.
• Suppression: Hanji 532 says the court appoints Zhao Hu, mobilizes more than thirty thousand Guanghan and Shu troops, grants amnesty to defectors, and pacifies the uprising within about a month.

Qualifications

This page is bounded to Hanji 532. The source gives an interpretive summary rather than a full archival reconstruction of rebel membership, military operations, local tax records, or post-pacification relief. The claim that it was the largest Western Han peasant uprising is kept source-scoped unless later sources corroborate or qualify it.

What Changed

• Created this event page from Hanji 532 to preserve the uprising as a distinct Western Han rebellion case rather than folding it into Zheng Gong’s biography alone.

Relationships

• 郑公 - leader of the uprising.
• 赵护 - suppression commander and rewarded Guanghan governor.
• 生存压力型起义 - causal interpretation emphasized by the source.
• 汉成帝 - emperor whose court orders the suppression.
• 西汉 - dynastic setting challenged by the uprising.