The Rise of the “Five Marquises”
With the Liang clan destroyed in 159 CE, Emperor Huan of Han finally held real power. But instead of reforming the state, he focused on consolidating his own authority – by rewarding the very men who helped him: the eunuchs.
On a single day, he ennobled five palace eunuchs as marquises:
- Shan Chao,
- Zuo Guan,
- Xu Huang,
- Ju Yuan,
- Tang Heng.
They became known as the “Five Eunuch Marquises”.
When Shan Chao suggested that other eunuchs like Liu Pu and Zhao Zhong also deserved honors, Emperor Huan – flush with triumph – granted eight more eunuchs noble titles.
Outwardly, the court seemed renewed. In truth, eunuch domination had reached new heights, replacing one tyranny with another.
The Rejection of Virtue: When Sages Refuse Power
Chen Fan, the upright Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, still dreamed of Han restoration. He recommended five renowned scholars for high office:
- Xu Zhi of Nanchang,
- Jiang Gong of Guangqi,
- Wei Zhuo of Pingling,
- Yuan Hong of Runan,
- Li Tan of Yangdi.
Emperor Huan sent envoys to summon them – but not one accepted. All preferred teaching, farming, and quiet integrity over a corrupt court.
Undeterred, Chen Fan urged the emperor to invite Wei Huan, a famed recluse from Anyang. Friends pleaded:”At least visit the capital once!”
Wei Huan replied sharply:
“A scholar serves only if he can benefit the people and the state.
- Can the emperor reduce his thousands of concubines?
- Can he cut his ten thousand pleasure horses?
- Can he dismiss the swarm of eunuchs around him?”
When they admitted all were impossible, Wei Huan said:
“Then why ask me to go? If I leave alive and return in a coffin, what good is that to anyone?”
Silenced, his friends withdrew.
A Voice of Truth – and Its Price
Emperor Huan cared little for these recluses. He had his marquised eunuchs, and that was enough.
Even Hou Lan, an Attendant-in-Chief who played no role in overthrowing Liang Ji, bought favor by donating 5,000 bolts of silk – and was made a marquis anyway.
This excess provoked Li Yun, magistrate of Baima County (modern Hua County, Henan). He submitted a blistering memorial:
“These eunuchs have no merit, yet are granted ten-thousand-household fiefs! How can border soldiers – who bleed for the empire – accept this?
Your Majesty grants titles recklessly, favors petty men, allows bribery, and ignores governance. How can the realm survive?”
Enraged, Emperor Huan imprisoned Li Yun and ordered Eunuch Guan Ba to torture him.
Du Zhong, a minister, offered to die with Li Yun. The emperor jailed him too.
When Chen Fan and other officials petitioned for mercy, Emperor Huan saw defiance – not loyalty. He dismissed them all and executed Li Yun and Du Zhong.
To show who ruled, he appointed Shan Chao as General of Chariots and Cavalry – giving a eunuch command over the entire military.
Eunuch power now pierced the heavens.
Adopted Sons, Stolen Justice
After Shan Chao died, the remaining four – Xu Huang, Ju Yuan, Zuo Guan, and Tang Heng – grew ever more arrogant.
Following a precedent set by Emperor Shun, their adopted sons inherited titles and offices. Opportunists lined up to call eunuchs “father.” Soon, nephews, brothers, and fake sons filled posts as governors, commandery administrators, and county magistrates.
They ruled not by law, but by greed – extorting taxes, seizing property, and silencing dissent. The people had nowhere to appeal.
Nowhere – except perhaps to men of conscience.
The Arrow That Pierced Conscience
Xu Xuan, nephew of Xu Huang, served as magistrate of Xiapi. There, he coveted the daughter of the late Governor Li Song of Runan.
When her family refused his demand to become his concubine, Xu Xuan sent thugs to abduct her.
The girl resisted fiercely. Enraged, Xu Xuan tied her to a pillar, beat her, and demanded submission. She called him a “beast.”
Laughing, Xu Xuan took up a bow, poured wine, and began shooting arrows at her – one per sip – until she bled to death.
Her family cried for justice. No one dared act – until the case reached Huang Fu, Administrator of Donghai Commandery, to which Xiapi belonged.
Huang Fu was fearless. He summoned Xu Xuan, who sneered:
“What can you possibly do to me?”
Huang Fu ordered him stripped, bound, and sentenced to death.
As guards hesitated – fearing Xu Huang’s wrath – Huang Fu thundered:
“I’ll kill this villain today! If I die tomorrow, so be it!”
He oversaw the execution himself. The city rejoiced.
Justice Punished, Tyranny Rewarded
But joy was short-lived.
Xu Huang rushed to Emperor Huan, weeping:
“Huang Fu took bribes from the Li family and murdered my nephew!”
The emperor, ears tuned only to eunuchs, stripped Huang Fu of office and condemned him.
Such injustices multiplied. And as oppression deepened, a new force stirred.
The Students Rise
Across the empire, Imperial Academy students – the conscience of the literati – could endure no more. They gathered in halls and marketplaces, openly criticizing eunuch rule.
Their voices would soon ignite the Partisan Prohibitions (Danggu), a decades-long struggle between moral scholars and palace tyrants.
But for now, under the shadow of the Five Marquises, the Han dynasty drifted closer to collapse – one corrupt adoption, one poisoned arrow, one silenced voice at a time.
Leave a Reply