How Eunuch Coup Politics Shaped Late Eastern Han Power

After the Partisan Prohibitions, the struggle between eunuchs and scholars did not end; palace coups continued to change the dynasty's direction.

After Emperor Huan died, the scholars were on prohibition lists, but eunuchs still occupied the palace. Before the new emperor could sit firmly, weapons sounded inside Luoyang's gates.

Empress Dowager Dou Held Court

Emperor Huan had no son. After his death, Empress Dou, now empress dowager, had to choose a successor quickly.

Dou Miao had become empress because officials opposed the favored woman Tian Sheng. Once Emperor Huan's coffin was still in the palace and Dou Miao began governing, she ordered Tian Sheng and others executed.

Then came the succession.

Empress Dowager Dou and her father Dou Wu chose Liu Hong, Marquis of Jiedu Precinct. He was only eleven or twelve, young enough for the empress dowager to continue ruling.

The court sent ministers and the palace attendant Cao Jie to Hejian to welcome Liu Hong. He became Emperor Ling.

Old People in a New Court

When a new emperor took the throne, rewards followed.

In the sixth month of 168, Dou Wu became Marquis of Wenxi. Cao Jie became Marquis of Chang'an Township. Several eunuchs involved in the enthronement also became marquises.

Emperor Huan was dead, but his eunuchs had not disappeared. By helping welcome the new emperor, Cao Jie, Wang Fu, and others gained fresh merit and stayed in the palace.

Empress Dowager Dou reorganized government. Dou Wu became General-in-Chief. Chen Fan became Grand Tutor. Hu Guang, Minister over the Masses, joined them in controlling Secretariat affairs.

Chen Fan had supported making Dou Miao empress, so the empress dowager trusted him. Chen Fan and Dou Wu came from different positions, but both opposed eunuch domination.

Dou Wu had been a scholar before becoming an imperial relative. During the first Partisan Prohibition, he had tried to save the scholars. Now, holding military authority, he wanted to clean up the palace.

Famous Scholars Came Back

After Emperor Ling's accession, Dou Wu and Chen Fan summoned famous men from across the realm.

Li Ying, Du Mi, and other Pure Stream figures who had been barred from office were noticed again. Many scholars believed Eastern Han might still turn toward clarity.

But the highest formal authority belonged to Empress Dowager Dou. Around her stood the wet nurse Zhao Rao, female secretaries, and palace attendants such as Cao Jie and Wang Fu.

They flattered the empress dowager, colluded with one another, and again used edicts to distribute offices and titles improperly.

Chen Fan and Dou Wu could not accept it.

After one court meeting, Chen Fan privately told Dou Wu that Cao Jie and Wang Fu had manipulated power since the former emperor's time. Now, with the young emperor newly enthroned, was the moment to strike.

Dou Wu agreed. They contacted several officials and began planning to eliminate the eunuchs.

Dou Wu Hesitated

Dou Wu's problem was that he still wanted to act like a minister following procedure.

He was General-in-Chief and the empress dowager's father. He had troops and authority. Yet he still believed the matter must first be approved by Empress Dowager Dou.

The empress dowager did not want to destroy all eunuchs. The palace had always had eunuchs, she said. If some committed crimes, punish the guilty; do not kill them all.

Dou Wu therefore began with Guan Ba and several palace attendants. Guan Ba was capable but domineering. Dou Wu arrested him and others, convicted them, and had them executed.

Then Dou Wu repeatedly requested approval to kill Cao Jie and Wang Fu. Empress Dowager Dou kept hesitating.

The plan stalled.

Dou Wu and Chen Fan tried to arrange appointments so their own men controlled key points in Luoyang. Dou Wu also had the eunuch Shan Bing impeach and arrest Zheng Sa, a Changle Palace secretary, and send him to the Northern Bureau Prison.

Chen Fan urged that Zheng Sa be killed immediately before delay created danger. Dou Wu refused. He insisted on legal interrogation.

Under questioning, Zheng Sa implicated Cao Jie and Wang Fu. Shan Bing and others submitted memorials asking the empress dowager to approve the arrest of the great eunuchs.

Before the memorial reached her, the news leaked.

The Palace Struck Back

On the seventh day of the ninth month, Dou Wu was at home on leave.

The eunuch handling memorials discovered the plan and told his allies. Someone opened the document and cursed: if eunuchs committed crimes, punish them, but what crime had all of them committed that they should be exterminated by clan?

They immediately changed the accusation. Chen Fan and Dou Wu, they said, planned to depose the emperor. This was great rebellion.

That night, a group of young, strong eunuchs swore a blood oath and moved first. Cao Jie and the others seized control of Emperor Ling, claimed the outside situation was urgent, and had the child emperor brought to the front hall of Deyang.

The eunuchs took the tallies, closed the palace gates, and forced Secretariat officials at sword point to write edicts. Wang Fu was appointed Yellow Gate Director and sent to the Northern Bureau Prison to arrest Shan Bing.

Shan Bing suspected the edict was false and refused. Wang Fu killed him, released Zheng Sa, seized Empress Dowager Dou, took the imperial seal, and sent men to arrest Dou Wu.

Chen Fan Died in the Northern Bureau Prison

Dou Wu learned the plan had been exposed and ran to the infantry camp. Its commandant, Dou Shao, was his nephew.

Dou Wu shot the palace messenger, gathered several thousand men from the Northern Army's five camps, occupied the capital station, and ordered a campaign against the eunuchs.

He declared that eunuchs had abducted the emperor and rebelled. The armies should rescue the sacred carriage and kill the eunuch faction.

Chen Fan heard of the coup and acted at once. He led more than eighty subordinates, students, and followers, drew swords, entered Chengming Gate, and rushed toward the Secretariat.

He shouted that the General-in-Chief was loyal to the state and that eunuchs were rebelling. Why did they call Dou Wu a traitor?

Wang Fu came out from the palace and met him. He accused Chen Fan of plotting with Dou Wu and ordered warriors to arrest him.

Chen Fan was more than eighty. His followers were mostly scholars. They could not resist palace fighters.

He was taken to the Northern Bureau Prison and killed that day.

Dou Wu Was Defeated

After Chen Fan died, Dou Wu was still with troops, and the matter was not over.

At that moment, the frontier general Zhang Huan had just been summoned back to Luoyang. Cao Jie and the eunuchs exploited his lack of information. They forged the emperor's order, claimed Dou Wu had rebelled, and ordered Zhang Huan to attack.

Dou Wu was General-in-Chief in title, but at heart he was still a scholar-relative. In real battle, he was no match for a frontier commander like Zhang Huan.

Dou Wu was defeated and fled with his nephew Dou Shao. Zhang Huan's forces pursued and surrounded them. Both killed themselves.

The eunuchs cut off their heads and hung them in the Luoyang market.

They then arrested Dou relatives, guests, and in-laws. Empress Dowager Dou was moved to the Southern Palace under confinement. Dou Wu's family was exiled.

All officials recommended by Chen Fan and Dou Wu, along with their students, followers, and former subordinates, were removed and barred from office for life.

The plan to kill the eunuchs had failed completely.

The Second Prohibition Was Heavier

Dou Wu and Chen Fan were dead, but the eunuchs did not stop.

The next year, disasters appeared in Luoyang. Zhang Huan submitted that Dou Wu and Chen Fan had been loyal yet received no pardon, and that Empress Dowager Dou was not treated properly. He urged burial for the two men, recall of the exiles, and release from prohibition.

Emperor Ling thought this reasonable.

The eunuchs blocked it. When Zhang Huan and Liu Meng recommended Wang Chang, Li Ying, and others for the highest offices, Cao Jie hated him even more. Zhang Huan was forced to submit himself to prison and later pay a salary fine.

Xie Bi also memorialized for Dou Wu and Chen Fan and asked that Empress Dowager Dou be restored. He was soon suppressed and killed.

Eunuchs feared scholar reputation even more. Li Ying and Du Mi were dismissed, but the world still honored them. After the first prohibition, being listed as a partisan became a badge of purity.

Scholars also ranked one another by reputation: Three Lords, Eight Eminent Men, Eight Supporters, Eight Reachers, and Eight Cooks who used wealth to rescue others.

To scholars, these were honorable names. To eunuchs, they looked like another list to destroy.

So eunuchs told Emperor Ling that the partisans planned rebellion.

The young emperor asked what partisans were. Cao Jie explained that they were men who formed private factions. The emperor asked what they wanted to do. Cao Jie said they wanted to overthrow the court.

That was enough.

Emperor Ling ordered a nationwide search for partisans. Anyone found was sent to prison.

Someone urged Li Ying to flee. Li Ying said a minister should not avoid difficulty in serving the ruler and should not escape punishment if accused. He was already sixty. Where could he go?

He entered imperial prison voluntarily and died under torture.

In this second purge, more than one hundred people died, and wives and children were exiled to the frontier. Famous scholars, students, and local powerful men with clean reputations, or anyone with grudges against eunuchs, could be called partisans. Another six or seven hundred people were killed, exiled, dismissed, or barred.

Seeking Shelter at Any Gate

During the pursuit, many famous men fled. The court ordered that anyone who sheltered them would share their guilt.

Still, people risked their lives.

Zhang Jian was pursued by Hou Lan's faction. As he fled, he sought shelter at whatever household he reached. The hosts respected his name and accepted the risk of family destruction rather than betray him.

This became the story of seeking shelter at any gate.

Zhang Jian eventually fled beyond the frontier. More than ten households were killed for sheltering him, yet no one sold him out.

He once went to the Lu man Kong Bao. Kong Bao was not home. His younger brother Kong Rong, only sixteen, hid Zhang Jian.

When the matter was exposed, Kong Bao and Kong Rong were arrested. Kong Rong said he had hidden the fugitive. Kong Bao said Zhang Jian came for him and that his younger brother was innocent. Their mother said the head of the household bore responsibility, so the fault was hers.

All three competed to die. The investigators could not decide and reported to the court. Emperor Ling finally ordered Kong Bao executed.

After Dou Wu and Chen Fan failed, scholars were killed, barred, or forced into flight. Eunuchs used the young emperor's name to grip the palace even more tightly.

The emperor would eventually grow up. Whether the eunuchs would loosen their hands when he did was another question.