danggu 黨錮, prohibition of court factions and lifelong employment ban

The prohibition of court factions (danggu 黨錮), by historians also dubbed the “incident of the factional interdiction” (danggu Shijian 黨錮事件) or the „disaster of the prohibition“ (danggu zhi huo 黨錮之禍), was a policy enforced by the court eunuchs of the late Eastern Han period to suppress opposition from state officials and princes. The term gu 錮 means a life-long ban for official appointment. The age of prohibition lasted from 166 to 184. From the reign of Emperor He on和帝, the relatives of empresses (waiqi 外戚) competeted with the court eunuchs for power. In 159 CE, Emperor Huan 桓帝 plotted with the chief eunuch Shan Chao 單超 to annihilate the Liang family 梁, with important representatives like xxx. A third party in the strife were the higher court officials, most of which hailed from wealthy and influential families. They cooperated with the many scholars of the National University (taixue 太學) who were experts in government regulations. Court officials were aware that the social and financial situation of the Han empire was unstable, and thus feared for the stability of the empire if the court would not be appeased. However, they sided with the empress’ kinsmen for various reasons, among others because a strong eunuch faction was an obstacle for regular access to administrative positions through the mode of recommendation 察舉、征辟. These recommendations worked by a system of “pure disputes” (qingyi 清議), in which the qualities of candidates were discussed. Members of the National University like Guo Linzong 郭林宗, Jia Weijie 賈偉節 conferred with Chen Pan 陳蕃, the honourable Defender-in-chief (taiwei 太尉), and Li Ying 李膺, the capital commandant (sili xiaowei 司隸校尉). The latter was a particular threat for court eunuchs because of his police function. In 166, Li had the Zhang Cheng 張成 arrested and executed, who had ties with eunuchs and was involved in teaching younger persons to commit murder. The eunuchs, in retaliation, incited Zhang Cheng’s disciple, Lao Xiu 牢脩, to falsely accuse Li Ying of harboring scholars from the Imperial Academy and forming factions with students from various commanderies to slander the court. In response, Emperor Huan issued an edict ordering the arrest of all "faction members" (dangren 黨人) across the empire. Li Ying, along with the Chamberlain for the Imperial Stud (taipu 太僕) Du Mi 杜密, Vice Censor-in-Chief (御史中丞) Chen Xiang 陳翔, Chen Shi 陳寔, Fan Pang 范滂, and over 200 others, were arrested. Chen Fan was also dismissed by imperial decree for employing the "wrong people." The following year, Emperor Huan issued another edict, pardoning the faction members under the condition that they return to their rural homes, but he imposed a lifelong ban on holding government office. This incident provoked widespread outrage among the scholar-official class. They began praising and honoring each other, referring to: Dou Wu 竇武, Chen Fan, and Liu Shu 劉淑 as the Three Exemplars (三君), Li Ying, Du Mi, and six others as the Eight Eminent Ones (八俊), Guo Tai 郭泰, Fan Pang, and six others as the Eight Worthy Advisors (八顧), Zhang Jian 張儉, Zhai Chao 翟超, and six others as the Eight Talented Men (八及), Du Shang 度尚, Zhang Miao 張邈, and six others as the Eight Outstanding Chefs (八廚) [likely metaphorical, referring to their skill in managing affairs or “cooking up” plans]. As a result, the struggle between the scholar-officials and the eunuch faction that dominated the court grew increasingly intense. In 167, Emperor Huan died, and the young Emperor Ling 靈帝 ascended the throne. Empress Dowager Dou 竇太后assumed regency, and her relative Dou Wu 竇武 became Grand General 大將軍, holding power over the court. Together with Grand Tutor Chen Fan 太傅陳蕃, Dou Wu reinstated the previously persecuted “partisan” scholars, and planned to eliminate the eunuch faction. However, the plan was leaked and failed—Chen Fan was executed, Dou Wu committed suicide, and those recommended or associated with them, including Li Ying, as well as their students and former subordinates, were dismissed and banned from holding office. In 169, the eunuch Hou Lan 侯覽 further accused Zhang Jian 張儉 and 24 others from his hometown of forming a faction and conspiring to endanger the state. Later that year, Cao Jie 曹節, another powerful eunuch, took the opportunity to petition for the arrest, torture, and execution of Yu Fang 虞放, Li Ying, Du Mi, and over a hundred others. Their wives and families were exiled to the frontier. Additionally, personal vendettas and abuses of power by local officials led to many being wrongfully implicated—in total, 600 to 700 more people were executed, exiled, dismissed from office, or banned. In 172, the eunuchs again ordered the Capital Commandant Duan Jiong 段颎xx to arrest partisan scholars and over a thousand students from the National Unviersity. By 176, the court further decreed that students, former subordinates, sons, brothers, and even relatives within five degrees of kinship of known partisans were all to be dismissed from office and permanently banned from government service. This wave of “partisan prohibitions” lasted for over a decade, deeply affecting the intellectual and political fabric of the late Eastern Han dynasty. In 184, following the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion 黃巾起義, Emperor Ling issued an edict pardoning the partisans, thus bringing the partisan prohibitions to an end.