Dou Wu
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Dou Wu | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Dòu Wǔ |
Dou Wu (
Career under Emperor Huan
Dou Wu's father Dou Feng (竇奉) was a great-grandson of Dou Rong (竇融), who contributed much to
That changed in 165 when his daughter
In 167, during the height of the first
Career during his daughter's regency and death
Early in 168, Emperor Huan died without an heir. Empress Dou became empress dowager and regent. She consulted her father and Chen Fan with regard to who would be the new emperor. They eventually decided on the 12-year-old Liu Hong (劉宏), the Marquess of Jieduting. Later that year, he became emperor (as Emperor Ling). Empress Dowager Dou continued to serve as regent.
With Empress Dowager Dou as regent, Dou Wu and Chen became the most important officials in the imperial government. Dou Wu was given a larger march, while his son and two nephews were also created marquesses. As a reaction to this, Lu Zhi, then still a civilian with no official post, wrote to Dou Wu, advising him to reject the rewards; Dou ignored him.[5]
Dou and Chen recalled the partisans and made many of them important officials. Meanwhile, though, they became concerned that the emperor and the empress dowager were being surrounded by eunuchs, the ladies in waiting, and Emperor Ling's wet nurse Zhao Rao (趙嬈), who flattered them and were trusted by them. Chen and Dou therefore started a plot to exterminate all of the powerful eunuchs. When Dou Wu presented the plan to his daughter, however, she refused—reasoning that not all of the powerful eunuchs deserved death. Dou Wu therefore sought to execute four—Guan Ba (管霸), Su Kang (蘇康), Cao Jie (曹節), and Wang Fu (王甫). As Empress Dowager Dou was still pondering this proposal, another eunuch, Zhu Yu (朱瑀), while Dou Wu was on vacation, opened up Dou Wu's proposal and found out that Dou Wu proposed a mass extermination plan and became enraged. He gathered 17 other eunuchs and took Emperor Ling into custody (managing to persuade him that they did it for his own protection) and kidnapping Empress Dowager Dou. They then sent forces to arrest Dou Wu and Chen. Chen was quickly captured and killed, but Dou gathered his forces and resisted. The eunuchs tricked the general Zhang Huan (張奐), who was battle tested as the former commander of the northern border defense forces, into believing that Dou was committing treason, and Zhang led his forces to defeat Dou Wu. After defeat, Dou Wu committed suicide, and his entire clan was slaughtered. Empress Dowager Dou lost power and was put under house arrest ever since. However, Dou Wu's young grandson Dou Fu was saved.
References
- ^ According to Liu Hong's biography in Book of the Later Han, Chen Fan and Dou Wu, among others, were killed on the xinhai day of the 9th month of the 1st year of the Jianning era of his reign. This corresponds to 25 Oct 168 in the Julian calendar. [(建宁元年)九月辛亥,中常侍曹节矫诏诛太傅陈蕃、大将军窦武...] Houhanshu, vol.08
- ^ (窦武字游平,扶风平陵人,安丰戴侯融之玄孙也。父奉,定襄太守。) Houhanshu, vol.69
- ^ (武少以经行着称,常教授于大泽中,不交时事,名显关西。) Houhanshu, vol.69
- ^ (书奏,因以病上还城门校尉、槐里侯印绶。帝不许...) Houhanshu, vol.69
- ^ ([建宁元年]六月....。癸巳,录定策功,封窦武为闻喜侯,武子机为渭阳侯,兄子绍为鄠侯,靖为西乡侯,中常侍曹节为长安乡侯,侯者凡十一人。涿郡卢植上书说武曰:“足下之于汉朝,犹旦、奭之在周室,建立圣主,四海有系,论者以为吾子之功,于斯为重。今同宗相后,披图案牒,以次建之,何勋之有!岂可横叨天功,以为己力乎!宜辞大赏,以全身名。”武不能用。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.56