THE CRISIS OF 168

The reign of Ling-ti (A.D. 168–189) began with a crisis. The court eunuchs felt that they had lost their power with the demise of the previous emperor, and they were desperate to regain it. The leading families and officials were overconfident and reacted too late.

The choice of Ling-ti

On 25 January A.D. 168, Huan-ti (r. 146–168) died, leaving no designated heir. The next day, his wife, the empress Tou (d. 172), was declared empress dowager, a title which gave her the authority needed to validate edicts. At this time she was in her late teens or early twenties.

This was not the first time that the throne had been left vacant, and a rich body of precedent had grown up to deal with just such a situation. The empress dowager, in secret consultation with the most senior male member of her family (in this case her father, Tou Wu, d. 168), was expected to select a candidate who met the following requirements. He should be a young male member of the imperial Liu family, chosen from the noble descendants of Chang-ti (r. A.D. 5–88), who together formed the most senior branch of that family.

In order to secure support for the candidate, and in contravention of established practice, Tou Wu called together a conference of at least eight persons representing various cliques and interests. The Tou family was represented by Tou Wu himself, by his son, and by two of his nephews. The powerful families were represented by Yüan Feng (d. ca. 180), the most senior member of the noble Yüan family, and the bureaucracy was present in the person of Chou Ching (d. 168) who, as supreme commander (t'ai-wei), was the head of all officials.