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Following the death of Emperor Ling of Han, military authority within the imperial court was effectively controlled by General-in-Chief He Jin. Originally a butcher by trade, He Jin unexpectedly rose to power after his sister entered the imperial palace. As his entire family rose to prominence, He Jin became the General-in-Chief, establishing himself as…
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Emperor Xian of Han (Liu Xie) has long been cast in the shadows of history and literature as a helpless puppet, a symbol of imperial decay and impotence. In both Romance of the Three Kingdoms and traditional historiography, he is often portrayed as a passive victim—first under Dong Zhuo, then Cao Cao, and finally…
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Although the Yellow Scarves Uprising had been suppressed, the Eastern Han court sank into deeper crisis.
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In the late Eastern Han period, political crises were set in motion by the controversial decision of Emperor Ling of Han (Liu Hong) to replace his elder son(the Crown prince) with the younger one. Emperor Ling had two sons: the elder son, Liu Bian (born to Empress He), and the younger son, Liu Xie…