The Last Mission Beyond the Western Regions
After more than thirty years governing the Western Regions, Ban Chao – now in his late sixties – dreamed of reaching Da Qin, the fabled Roman Empire. In a final diplomatic thrust, he dispatched his trusted subordinate Gan Ying as envoy, bearing gifts and goodwill.
Gan Ying journeyed west to Tiaozhi (likely in Syria), a coastal kingdom on a mountainous peninsula bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The land was hot, humid, and prowled by lions and rhinos – making overland travel perilous. Gan Ying planned to sail across the sea.
But an Anxi (Parthian) sailor warned him:
“The sea is vast beyond imagining. With fair winds, the voyage takes three months; against them, two years – or more. Ships must carry three years’ worth of provisions. Many die from homesickness, disease, or storms. How can men from the East endure this?”
Gan Ying, prudently, turned back. He reported to Ban Chao, who – though disappointed – understood.
Soon after, Anxi envoys arrived with exotic gifts: a lion and a giant bird from Tiaozhi, destined for the Han court. Seizing the moment, Ban Chao sent his son Ban Yong to escort them to Luoyang – and included a heartfelt memorial to Emperor He:
“I am content to die in the Western Regions. But I fear future envoys will hesitate to go abroad if they see I was never recalled. If I cannot return to Jiuquan, let me at least pass through Yumen Pass alive. My greatest fortune? That my son, raised among foreign sands, may yet see the soil of his ancestors.”
Emperor He did not reply.
A Sister’s Plea and a Hero’s Homecoming
Ban Chao’s sister, Ban Zhao – honored in court as “Madam Cao” (Cao Da Jia) – petitioned the emperor with tears: Let my brother come home.
Moved at last, Emperor He issued an edict in 102 CE: Ren Shang would succeed Ban Chao as Protector-General; Ban Chao was summoned to the capital.
That summer, the aging hero crossed Yumen Pass and entered Luoyang – after thirty-one years on the frontier. Within a month, he died at seventy-one.
His legacy lived on: Ban Yong, like his father, would later defend the Western Regions and repeatedly defeat the Northern Xiongnu.
The Rise and Fall of Empress Deng
Three years later, Emperor He died young. With no heir, Empress Deng Sui – childless but shrewd – placed a toddler, Liu Long, on the throne as Emperor Shang. She ruled as regent.
But the infant emperor died within the year. The Dengs chose Liu Hu, a bright thirteen-year-old grandson of Prince Qing of Qinghe, who became Emperor An. Still underage, power remained with Empress Dowager Deng.
Haunted by the Dou clan’s collapse, Deng vowed not to repeat their mistakes:
- She refused to favor her relatives;
- Ordered local officials to punish Deng family members strictly for any wrongdoing;
- Promoted frugality and tax relief.
Yet disasters mounted: famine, peasant uprisings, and Xiongnu–Qiang invasions ravaged the empire.
Worse, Ren Shang, Ban Chao’s successor, abandoned his conciliatory policies, oppressing local kingdoms. One by one, the Western States rebelled. Short-sighted ministers urged withdrawal: “Why waste grain on ungrateful barbarians?”
Reluctantly, Deng abolished the Protectorate of the Western Regions. The vacuum allowed the Xiongnu to reclaim dominance – and launch fresh raids into Han territory.
Overwhelmed, Deng turned to talent. Her brother Deng Zhi recommended a man of unmatched virtue: Yang Zhen of Huayin.
“Heaven Knows, Earth Knows”
Yang Zhen was a scholar of profound integrity. For twenty years, he taught students while farming vegetables – refusing even their help, lest it distract from study.
Appointed Governor of Donglai (Shandong), he passed through Changyi. There, Magistrate Wang Mi – once recommended by Yang – visited him at midnight, offering ten catties of gold.
Yang rebuked him:
“I know who you are – but do you not know who I am?”
Wang Mi whispered: “No one will know. Take it!”
Yang replied firmly:
“Heaven knows. Earth knows. You know. I know. How can you say no one knows?”
Ashamed, Wang fled with his bribe.
As governor, Yang remained poor but principled. When urged to buy land for his children, he smiled:
“To leave them the name ‘children of an honest official’ – is that not the grandest inheritance?”
In the capital, he rose to Minister of Ceremonies (Taichang) and then Minister Over the Masses (Situ) – the empire’s highest civil post. All revered him. Empress Deng trusted him deeply.
Yet she still withheld full power from Emperor An, now twenty-six – for he had grown indolent, pleasure-seeking, and unfit to rule. She even elevated Liu Yi, a talented cousin, as Prince of Pingyuan, fueling suspicion.
The Empress Dies, Chaos Begins
In 121 CE, Empress Deng – exhausted after eighteen years of regency – died at forty-one.
Immediately, Emperor An seized control – and purged her faction. He elevated his wet nurse Wang Sheng, eunuchs Fan Feng, Liu An, Chen Da, and inner-palace attendants Li Run and Jiang Jing to power.
Their first victim: Cai Lun.
The Tragedy of Cai Lun – the Papermaker
Cai Lun, a eunuch from Guiyang, was no ordinary court servant. A craftsman and scholar, he revolutionized writing by inventing refined paper from tree bark, hemp, rags, and fishing nets. In 105 CE, he presented his “Cai Hou Paper” to Emperor He – who praised it highly. Paper soon spread across China.
For this, Empress Deng enfeoffed him as Marquis of Longting.
But after her death, enemies accused him of participating in the Dou clan’s plot to murder Emperor An’s grandmother. Though decades old, the charge was fatal.
Refusing public humiliation, Cai Lun drank poison and died.
Next, Deng Zhi was stripped of rank and forced to commit suicide. The Deng clan was destroyed.
Power shifted to the Yan family – led by Empress Yan, Emperor An’s new favorite – and the eunuch clique. Wang Sheng and her daughter strutted through the palace like royalty.
The Fall of Yang Zhen
Yang Zhen repeatedly memorialized the emperor: “These eunuchs plunder the treasury! They forge imperial decrees!”
Emperor An ignored him.
Emboldened, Fan Feng and his allies built lavish gardens with state funds. When Yang exposed them, Fan Feng retaliated:
“Yang Zhen was Deng’s loyalist. He resents Your Majesty. Send him home!”
Stripped of office, Yang Zhen left Luoyang. At Xiyang Pavilion, west of the city, he told his weeping disciples:
“Death is natural. But I failed to rid the court of villains. How can I face the world? Bury me simply – as a scholar, not a minister.”
Then, he took his own life.
Even strangers wept at the news of the man who once said, “Heaven knows, Earth knows.”
The Emperor’s Final Journey
With Yang gone, Emperor An felt unburdened. He set off southward with Empress Yan, her brother Yan Xian, and his corrupt inner circle – Fan Feng, Jiang Jing, Wang Sheng – on a pleasure tour.
He never returned. On the road, he fell ill and died – leaving the empire to further chaos, as eunuchs and empresses continued their deadly dance of power.
Thus ended an era – not with conquest, but with betrayal, paper, and a whisper of conscience lost.
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