Historical documents about Fu Jiazi

  Fu Jiezi, a man from Beidi, was an official because he followed the military. Previously, both Khotan and Loulan had killed Han envoys. During the Yuanyou period, Jiezi took advantage of his request to send a fast horse to Dawan and ordered him to reprimand Loulan and Khotan. When Jiezi arrived in Loulan, he blamed its king for teaching Xiongnu to kill Han envoys: "The great army is about to arrive, and the king did not teach Xiongnu, so why didn't you speak when the Xiongnu envoy passed through various countries?" The king apologized and said: "The Xiongnu envoy was going to Wusun, passing by Khotan." Jiezi arrived in Khotan and again blamed its king, who also pleaded guilty. When Jiezi returned from Dawan to Khotan, Khotan said: "The Xiongnu envoy is returning from Wusun and is here." Jiezi then led his officials and soldiers to execute the Xiongnu envoys together. After reporting back, he was appointed as a Zhonglang by imperial decree and promoted to Pingle Monitor.

  Fu Jiezi told General-in-Chief Huo Guang: "Loulan and Khotan have repeatedly rebelled without being punished, with no warning or punishment. When I passed through Khotan, its king was close to the people and easy to obtain, so I want to go and assassinate him to demonstrate our power to other countries." The General-in-Chief said: "Khotan is far away, let's verify it in Loulan first." So he sent Jiezi on a mission. Jiezi took gold and silk with his soldiers, claiming that they were going to give gifts to foreign countries. When they arrived in Loulan, the king of Loulan was not close to Jiezi, so Jiezi pretended to leave and went to its western border. He ordered the interpreter to say: "The Han envoy is carrying yellow gold and brocade to bestow upon various countries, but the king did not come to receive it, so I will go to the Western country." He then took out the gold and silk to show the interpreter. The interpreter returned to report to the king, who was greedy for Han goods and came to see the envoy. Jiezi drank with him and displayed the goods. When they were both drunk, Jiezi told the king: "The Son of Heaven has secretly ordered me to report to you." The king stood up and followed Jiezi into his tent, where two strong men stabbed him from behind, and he died instantly. His nobles and attendants all scattered.

  Jiezi announced: "The king betrayed Han's crime, the Son of Heaven sent me to execute the king, and we should establish the former crown prince who is being held in Han." He then took the king's head back to the capital, where the officials and generals all praised his achievement. The Emperor then issued a decree saying: "Loulan King Angui had previously colluded with Xiongnu to kill Han envoys, sending troops to kill and plunder Wei Si, Anle, Zhonglu Dafu, and others, as well as taking the seals and gifts of the envoys from Parthia and Dawan. Pingle Monitor Fu Jiezi took the imperial seal to execute Loulan King Angui, hanging his head on the northern gate, directly avenging our grievances without troubling the army. He was then enfeoffed as Yiyang Hou, with a fief of 700 households. The soldiers who stabbed the king were all promoted to Shilang."

  In the winter of 88 BC, a young man named Fu Jiezi was in his study in the county of Yiyu (now Ning County), North Commandery of the Western Han Dynasty. He suddenly threw down his brush and sighed: "A great man should ride across the land, achieve great things, and make a name for himself. How can he be content with just writing?" This young man was Fu Jiezi, a famous diplomat and military strategist of the Western Han Dynasty.

  In his youth, Fu Jiezi was intelligent and knowledgeable, but in a society that valued martial arts, his literary talent was not appreciated. He decided to follow the example of Zhang Qian and make a name for himself through military achievements.

  Fu Jiezi's talents were eventually recognized by Emperor Zhao of Han, who appointed him as the Supervisor of the Imperial Stables during the Guanghe era. As a young military officer, he was sent as an envoy to the kingdom of Dayuan (now in Uzbekistan) to obtain the famous "blood-sweating horses".

  At that time, the Western Regions were in chaos. The Xiongnu had regrouped and were expanding their power, while the small kingdoms of Khotan and Loulan had defected to the Xiongnu and were frequently attacking Han envoys and merchants on the ancient Silk Road. Loulan was particularly notorious for its treachery.

  Emperor Zhao ordered Fu Jiezi to punish Khotan and Loulan on his way to Dayuan. When Fu Jiezi arrived in the Western Regions, he visited various kingdoms with his deputy envoy, demonstrating Han's military power and rewarding those who were friendly to Han. In Khotan and Loulan, he explained the benefits of submitting to Han and warned them of the consequences of rebellion.

  One night, Fu Jiezi suddenly attacked and killed dozens of Xiongnu envoys in Khotan, intimidating the pro-Xiongnu faction in the kingdom. After returning from his mission, Fu Jiezi was promoted to the position of Gentleman of the Palace and became the Supervisor of the Imperial Parks.

  However, soon after his departure, Loulan and Khotan rebelled against Han again and allied themselves with the Xiongnu. Fu Jiezi requested permission to lead another expedition and was granted it by Emperor Zhao through General-in-Chief Huo Guang.

  Fu Jiezi led a large army and brought many gifts from Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an) to Loulan. When he met the king of Loulan, he pretended that he had come to reward him with gifts but did not produce any. The king was disappointed and cold towards him.

  The next day, Fu Jiezi pretended to leave Loulan and told the postal station master on the western border: "Please inform the king that I have brought many gold and silk gifts for the kingdoms, but since your king has been so rude to me, I will give these gifts to other countries instead." The king of Loulan regretted his behavior and hurriedly came to apologize to Fu Jiezi.

  Fu Jiezi showed him the precious gifts he had brought and the king was dazzled by their splendor. He completely let down his guard against Fu Jiezi, who then invited him to a banquet. When the king was drunk, Fu Jiezi whispered in his ear: "Your Majesty, I have come on behalf of the Han Emperor with a special message for you." The king dismissed his attendants.

  At this moment, two strong men emerged from behind the curtains and killed the king of Loulan. The king's attendants wanted to rush in but were stopped by Fu Jiezi, who shouted: "The Han army has arrived! Whoever dares to move will be punished like the king!" The soldiers of Loulan threw down their swords and surrendered.

  Fu Jiezi brought the head of the king back to the palace, summoned the officials of Loulan, and announced the king's crimes. He rewarded the prince who had submitted to Han and the officials who had cooperated with him. From then on, the people of Loulan were all submissive.

  The news of Loulan's submission was reported back to Chang'an, and Emperor Zhao was overjoyed. The officials in the court praised Fu Jiezi for his great achievement. Emperor Zhao issued a proclamation praising Fu Jiezi's merits and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Yiyang with a fief of 700 households.

  Fu Jiezi's legendary exploits were admired by later generations, including the famous Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, who wrote: "I wish to be a sword at his waist, just for cutting down Loulan."

  Born from death

  Fu Jiezi (died 65 BC), a man from Beidi (now northwest of Qingyang, Gansu Province), became an official because he was good at military affairs. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Fu Jiezi was appointed as the monitor of the imperial stables and sent to the Western Regions to scold the kings of Loulan and Khotan for killing the envoys of the Han Dynasty. When Fu Jiezi arrived in Loulan, he blamed the king of Loulan for colluding with the Xiongnu and killing the Han envoys, saying: "The great army is about to arrive, and you are not teaching the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu envoy has passed through various countries, why didn't you speak?" The king of Loulan admitted his mistake and said that the Xiongnu envoy had indeed passed through their country on his way to Wusun. Fu Jiezi then went to Khotan and blamed the king of Khotan, who also admitted his mistake. When he returned to the Han court, he was appointed as a middle-ranking official and later promoted to be in charge of the imperial parks. He suggested to General-in-Chief Huo Guang that he should assassinate the king of Loulan, saying: "Loulan and Khotan have repeatedly rebelled against us but were not punished. When I passed through Khotan, its king was close by and could be easily taken. I wish to go and kill him to demonstrate our power to other countries." Huo Guang said that the road to Khotan was too far and suggested trying it out in Loulan first. In 77 BC, Fu Jiezi was sent on a mission to Loulan with a group of men, all carrying gold coins and pretending to be bringing gifts for foreign countries. When they arrived in Loulan, the king did not come close to them, so Fu Jiezi pretended to leave and went to the western border of Loulan, where he told an interpreter to pass on a message: "The Han envoy is bringing gold and silk to bestow upon various countries. If the king does not come to receive it, I will go to the Western Countries." The interpreter then showed the king the gold coins. The king of Loulan was greedy for the wealth of the Han Dynasty and came to meet with Fu Jiezi. Fu Jiezi sat down with him and drank wine together, displaying the gifts before him. When they were drunk, Fu Jiezi told the king: "The Son of Heaven has secretly instructed me to report to you." The king believed him and stood up to follow Fu Jiezi into his tent for a private conversation. Two strong men then stabbed the king from behind, and he died immediately. His attendants were all frightened and ran away. Fu Jiezi announced: "The king was guilty of offending the Han Dynasty, and the Son of Heaven has sent me to punish him. I will now establish the former crown prince who is being held hostage in the Han Dynasty as the new king. The Han army is about to arrive, do not dare to move, or you will be destroyed!" As a result, there was no uprising. Fu Jiezi then brought back the head of the king of Loulan and reported back to the court, where he was praised by all the officials for his achievement. Emperor Zhao issued an edict saying that the king of Loulan had been a spy for the Xiongnu and had killed several groups of Han envoys, including those led by Wei Xiao, Zhong Jun, and Xi Cheng, as well as the envoys sent by Anxi and Dayuan, and had stolen the seals and gifts brought by the Han envoys. He had violated the principles of heaven. The monitor of the imperial parks, Fu Jiezi, had been sent to Loulan with a seal and had beheaded the king, which was now hanging on the northern gate, and had taken revenge without stirring up trouble. Now he was being rewarded by being enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yiyang, with a fief of 700 households. The two strong men who had killed the king were also rewarded by being appointed as attendants. The Han Dynasty then established Wei Tuo as the new king of Loulan and renamed the country "Dushan". Fu Jiezi relied on the power of the Han Dynasty and had a spirit of adventure, so he was able to achieve great things in the Western Regions and was enfeoffed as a marquis. From Zhang Qian onwards, there were many people like him in the Western Han Dynasty, such as Zheng Ji and Duan Huizong.