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Zhufu Yan
Western Han minister under Emperor Wu, of the school of persuaders, from Linzi in Qi, who proposed the grace-extension decree to weaken the kings and was executed with his clan.
In the courtyard of a district government hall, a line of petitioners waits before a raised bench with a long table and document boxes; a blue umbrella stands beside it, a large drum stands at the gate where a few people wait, and a lake with sailboats lies beyond.
Also known as Zhufu Yan, Chancellor of Qi
Zhufu Yan came from Linzi in the state of Qi and was a Western Han minister whose birth year is unknown; he died in 126 BCE. He studied the arts of persuasion, then won the favour of Emperor Wu with a memorial, was promoted several times in a year and became Palace Counsellor, later Chancellor of Qi. He proposed the decree of grace extension, which let the kings divide their lands among their sons as marquisates and so weakened the kingdoms. Accused of driving the King of Qi, Liu Cixi, to suicide and of taking bribes from the lords, he was executed with his clan after Gongsun Hong urged it.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown, died 126 BCE