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The Rise of the Dou Family When Empress Dowager Dou – great-granddaughter of the famed general Dou Rong – assumed regency for her ten-year-old stepson, Emperor He of Han, real power fell to her brother, Dou Xian. As the de facto ruler, Dou Xian’s first major act was to repeal the state monopolies on…
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A Scholar’s Son, a Warrior’s Heart After leaving the warlord Wei Xiao, historian Ban Biao joined Dou Rong in Hexi. Later summoned by Emperor Guangwu, he began compiling the Sequel to Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji Houzhuan) – but died before completing it. He left behind two gifted sons: Ban Gu, the elder,…
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The Ambitious Warlord of Longyou Wei Xiao, a respected scholar from Chengji (northwest of modern Qin’an, Gansu), rose to prominence during the anti-Wang Mang uprisings. Appointed by local elites, he seized control of Tianshui and built a powerful regional base. Though he briefly submitted to Liu Xuan (the Gengshi Emperor), he later joined the…
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The Collapse of the Gengshi Regime As the Red Eyebrows advanced on Chang’an in two columns, Liu Xuan, the Gengshi Emperor, suffered defeat after defeat. His generals – Zhang Ang, Wang Kuang, and others – had already been routed by Deng Yu and fled back to the capital. Seeing the end near, they plotted…