彭宣 / Peng Xuan (Western Han)

Overview

彭宣 / Peng Xuan is synthesized as a Western Han senior official whose current arc runs from appointment as Yushi Dafu in 汉哀帝’s partial post-王嘉 correction to later resignation as Da Sikong under 王莽’s tightening court. His case supplies an early example of dignified retreat under a dangerous power field.

Current Profile

Hanji 599 provides the earlier office layer. After Wang Jia dies and Aidi restores 孔光 and 何武, Aidi transfers He Wu to Qian Jiangjun and appoints Peng Xuan as Yushi Dafu.

Hanji 606 presents Peng Xuan later as one of the Three Excellencies observing Wang Mang’s concentration of power. He cannot realistically contend with Wang Mang, so he submits a resignation memorial that frames withdrawal as incapacity: the Three Excellencies are like the three legs of a ding vessel, and if one leg cannot bear weight the whole vessel overturns. He cites age, illness, mental confusion, and declining memory while asking to return the Da Sikong and Changping Hou seals and go home.

Wang Mang reports the request to Wang Zhengjun, who removes Peng Xuan from office and lets him return to his fief. The source stresses Wang Mang’s resentment afterward: although retired high ministers ordinarily receive gold, a comfortable carriage, and four horses, Peng Xuan receives none. Ban Gu’s later comparison treats Peng Xuan’s retreat as clearer-sighted than mediocre clinging to office.

Peng Xuan therefore becomes a survival-judgment figure. He exits before direct destruction, but Wang Mang’s denial of normal retirement gifts shows that even successful retreat can carry symbolic punishment.

Key Characteristics

• Western Han Yushi Dafu in Aidi’s post-Wang-Jia personnel sequence.
• Later Da Sikong and Changping Hou in the Wang Mang power field.
• Senior official who reads the court situation as dangerous.
• Uses illness, age, and incapacity language to justify resignation.
• Returns to his fief after Wang Zhengjun accepts the resignation.
• Punished symbolically when Wang Mang withholds normal retirement gifts.
• Later framed by Ban Gu as a clearer-sighted official who knew when to retreat.

Evidence

• Earlier appointment: Hanji 599 says Aidi appoints Peng Xuan Yushi Dafu after transferring He Wu to Qian Jiangjun.
• Office and retreat: Hanji 606 identifies Peng Xuan as Da Sikong and says he requests to surrender the Da Sikong and Changping Hou seals.
• Ding metaphor: Hanji 606 says Peng Xuan compares the Three Excellencies to the three legs of a ding vessel.
• Accepted resignation: Hanji 606 says Wang Zhengjun removes him and allows him to return to his fief.
• Withheld honors: Hanji 606 says Wang Mang gives him none of the usual retirement gifts.
• Later judgment: Hanji 606 reports Ban Gu’s favorable comparison of Peng Xuan’s timely retreat.

Qualifications

The sources do not prove Peng Xuan’s private motive beyond Hanji 606’s reading that resignation was survival-minded. Hanji 599 supports only his Yushi Dafu appointment in Aidi’s office sequence. His health claims may have been sincere, strategic, or both. The wiki therefore treats him as a source-bounded senior-official case rather than a full biography.

What Changed

• Created Peng Xuan as a Western Han official-retreat case under Wang Mang’s early dominance.
• Added Hanji 599’s earlier Yushi Dafu appointment in Aidi’s partial correction after Wang Jia’s death.

Relationships

• 王莽 - dominant court figure whose resentment shapes Peng Xuan’s retirement treatment.
• 王政君 - dowager who accepts Peng Xuan’s resignation.
• 何武 - predecessor in the Yushi Dafu slot in Hanji 599.
• 汉哀帝 - ruler who appoints Peng Xuan in the post-Wang-Jia sequence.
• 权力退场困境 - broader pattern for why leaving power can be necessary but still costly.
• 安全第一政治生存 - survival frame illustrated by Peng Xuan’s illness-based withdrawal.
• 西汉 - dynastic setting for Peng Xuan’s office.