The Precarious Throne: Emperor Huan’s Rise to Power

The Later Han Dynasty in 164 AD stood at a critical juncture. Emperor Huan, having ascended the throne through unconventional means, found himself ruling an empire where court eunuchs wielded unprecedented influence while scholar-officials grew increasingly discontent. This delicate balance of power would define one of the most tumultuous periods in Han history.

Emperor Huan’s path to the throne was itself unconventional. Originally the Marquis of Liwu, he was selected as emperor in 146 AD after the death of Emperor Zhi, who had no heirs. This selection came through the machinations of the powerful Liang family, particularly Empress Dowager Liang and her brother Liang Ji, who sought a pliable ruler they could control. However, Emperor Huan would eventually turn against his benefactors, executing Liang Ji in 159 AD in a dramatic palace coup that marked the beginning of his personal rule.

The Eunuch Ascendancy and Scholar-Official Resistance

Following Liang Ji’s downfall, Emperor Huan increasingly relied on eunuchs to counterbalance the scholar-official class. Five eunuchs who had assisted in Liang Ji’s overthrow – Shan Chao, Xu Huang, Ju Yuan, Zuo Guan, and Tang Heng – were enfeoffed as marquises, earning them the moniker “the Five Marquises.” This marked the beginning of unprecedented eunuch political influence.

The eunuchs’ rise provoked fierce opposition from Confucian scholar-officials. Figures like Yang Bing and Han Yan repeatedly memorialized against eunuch abuses. In one notable case, eunuch Hou Lan’s brother Hou Can, as Inspector of Yi Province, amassed enormous wealth through corruption. When Hou Can was arrested and committed suicide en route to the capital, Yang Bing seized the opportunity to impeach Hou Lan himself, leading to the eunuch’s dismissal.

The First Prohibition of Factionalism (166 AD)

Tensions reached a boiling point in 166 AD with the “First Prohibition of Factionalism” (Danggu zhi huo). The incident began when Li Ying, the stern and uncompromising Governor of Henan, executed Zhang Shuo, the corrupt younger brother of eunuch Zhang Rang, for his crimes. This bold action against eunuch privilege sparked a backlash.

Eunuchs orchestrated accusations that Li Ying and other officials were forming factions to criticize the government. Emperor Huan, already wary of scholar-official criticism, ordered mass arrests. Over 200 officials and scholars were imprisoned, including prominent figures like Du Mi, Chen Xiang, and Fan Pang. The aged Grand Commandant Chen Fan’s strenuous objections led to his dismissal.

The arrested scholars displayed remarkable courage. Fan Pang, when told to pay respects to the legendary judge Gao Yao upon entering prison, retorted: “Gao Yao was an upright minister of old. If I am innocent, he will plead my case before heaven. If guilty, what use is worshiping him?” Chen Shi voluntarily surrendered, declaring “If I don’t go to prison, there will be no closure.”

Regional Unrest and Frontier Challenges

While court factions clashed, the empire faced external threats and internal rebellions. In the south, bandit leaders like Bu Yang and Pan Hong plagued Jing Province until Governor Du Shang employed unorthodox tactics to defeat them. On the frontiers, Southern Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei tribes rebelled repeatedly, requiring constant military attention.

Du Shang’s campaign against the bandits demonstrated both military ingenuity and psychological warfare. After initial victories left his troops complacent from plunder, Du Shang secretly burned their camp and loot, then rallied them to pursue the bandits to their stronghold, achieving total victory. Such campaigns drained imperial resources while eunuchs at court enriched themselves.

Cultural and Philosophical Undercurrents

Beneath the political turmoil, intellectual currents revealed the era’s complexities. Scholar-officials like Guo Tai embodied Confucian ideals while navigating dangerous times. Guo’s ability to recognize talent in unlikely places – whether the upright farmer Mao Rong or the philosophic Meng Min who ignored his broken pottery – became legendary.

The era also saw growing interest in Daoist and even Buddhist ideas. Emperor Huan personally worshipped Laozi at the Zhuolong Palace in 165 AD, employing lavish rituals that critics deemed inappropriate. When scholar Xiang Kai criticized this and the emperor’s harem excesses, he was exiled despite his astute astronomical omens warning of imperial misfortunes.

The Legacy of Emperor Huan’s Reign

The events of 164-166 AD set patterns that would culminate in the empire’s eventual collapse. The “Prohibition of Factionalism” created martyrs whose reputations grew in imprisonment, while the eunuchs’ victory proved pyrrhic as it turned scholar-officials into implacable foes. Frontier troubles that commanders like Zhang Huan and Duan Jiong struggled to contain would only worsen.

Emperor Huan’s reign demonstrated the fatal contradictions of later Han rule: a scholar-official class increasingly alienated from the throne it served, eunuchs wielding power far beyond their formal roles, and an emperor suspicious of both. The philosophical debates about when to speak out and when to remain silent, as seen in the stories of Xu Zhi and others, took on life-and-death significance in this charged atmosphere.

As the 160s drew to a close, the Han dynasty’s downward spiral continued. The courage of officials like Li Ying and Chen Fan, the corruption of eunuchs like Hou Lan and Zhang Rang, and Emperor Huan’s inability to mediate these conflicts would be remembered as warning signs of a dynasty losing its mandate. The “First Prohibition of Factionalism” was not the last – a second and more severe crackdown would follow after Emperor Huan’s death, further weakening the Han state before its eventual collapse.