From Official to Eunuch: The Unraveling of Xu Guanghan’s Fortunes

Xu Guanghan’s life was a series of misfortunes, each more devastating than the last. Once a respected official in the Han Dynasty, his downfall began with a seemingly minor incident—a borrowed saddle. During Emperor Wu’s reign, Xu was selected to accompany the imperial procession to Ganquan Palace. Discovering his saddle was damaged, he hastily borrowed another without permission. The owner, a petty and vindictive man, accused him of theft. What should have been a minor offense escalated into a capital crime—defiling the sacred imperial procession. Facing execution, Xu chose castration to spare his life, joining the ranks of palace eunuchs.

This humiliation marked the beginning of his turbulent journey. Unlike the historian Sima Qian, who endured castration to complete his monumental Records of the Grand Historian, Xu’s sacrifice was purely for survival. His story reflects the brutal unpredictability of Han bureaucracy, where minor missteps could lead to irreversible ruin.

A Career Marred by Blunders

Even as a eunuch, Xu’s misfortunes persisted. Promoted to Huanzhe Cheng (a mid-level eunuch administrator), he was tasked with searching the home of the rebellious official Shangguan Jie during Emperor Zhao’s reign. Overlooking a chest filled with ropes—later revealed as tools for binding dissidents—he was punished with guixin, forced labor cutting timber for imperial tombs. After his sentence, he was relegated to Baoshi Sefu, a despised role managing the palace’s infirmary and waste.

His personal life fared no better. His daughter, Pingjun, was betrothed to the son of a mid-ranking official, but the groom died suddenly. Desperate, Xu accepted a proposal from his eunuch friend Zhang He to marry Pingjun to Liu Xun, a destitute grandson of the disgraced Crown Prince Li. Despite his wife’s protests, Xu saw potential in Liu Xun’s imperial lineage.

The Unexpected Ascent: From Outcast to Emperor’s Father-in-Law

Fate took a dramatic turn when Emperor Zhao died childless, and the unpopular Liu He was briefly enthroned before being deposed. The court, seeking a pliable successor, turned to Liu Xun—now Emperor Xuan. Overnight, Xu Guanghan’s daughter became empress, and he stood on the precipice of power.

Yet the political elite, led by the regent Huo Guang, distrusted Xu. Delaying his ennoblement for a year, Huo tested his ambitions. When Xu was finally named Changcheng Jun (Lord of Changcheng), he accepted his modest rise with relief, unaware of the tragedy ahead.

The Poisoned Crown: A Conspiracy Unveiled

Empress Xu’s reign was cut short. Three years later, she died in childbirth—or so it seemed. In truth, she was poisoned by the physician Chunyu Yan, acting on orders from Huo Guang’s wife, Lady Xian, who sought to install her own daughter as empress. The murder exposed the ruthless machinations of the Huo clan. When investigations loomed, a horrified Huo Guang shielded the conspirators to protect his family’s reputation.

Legacy of a Pawn in Imperial Politics

Xu Guanghan’s life encapsulates the precariousness of Han Dynasty court life. His rise from disgraced eunuch to imperial in-law was overshadowed by systemic corruption and violence. Emperor Xuan, a shrewd survivor, eventually dismantled the Huo clan’s power after Huo Guang’s death, but Xu’s lineage paid the price.

Modern historians view Xu as a tragic everyman—caught between institutional cruelty and fleeting luck. His story resonates as a cautionary tale of how power, even when briefly held, could be both a gift and a curse in ancient China’s cutthroat political arena.

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