Hou Lan (died 172) was a Chinese politician. He was a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

-official who served under Emperor Huan ( 146–168) of the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in China. In the beginning of the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', Hou Lan is listed as one of the

Ten Attendants The Ten Attendants, also known as the Ten Eunuchs, were a group of influential eunuch-officials in the imperial court of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) in Eastern Han China. Although they are often referred to as a group of 10, there were actually 12 ...

even though historically he was not a member of the group.

Life

Hou Lan was from

Shanyang Commandery Shanyang Commandery ( zh, 山陽郡) was a historical commandery in China, located in present-day southern Shandong province. In early Han dynasty, Shanyang was part of the Liang Kingdom. In 144 BC, Liang was split into five kingdoms among the so ...

(), which is around present-day

Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jining ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

. In 159, he participated in a coup against

Liang Ji Liang Ji (梁冀) (died 9 September 159Emperor Huan's biography in ''Book of the Later Han'' recorded that Liang Ji and Sun Shou committed suicide on the ''dingchou'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Yanxi'' era of his reign. This co ...

, a highly influential general who monopolised state power in the 150s, and succeeded in ousting the general from power. In recognition of his contributions, Emperor Huan enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Gao. In 165, Grand Commandant Yang Bing requested Emperor Huan to dismiss Hou Lan because Hou Lan allegedly allowed his brother, Hou Can, to engage in extortion and corrupt practices. Hou Lan was dismissed in 165, but reinstated by 166. At some point prior to 172, Hou Lan became Grand Coachman of Changle Palace. This was the official residence of Empress Dowager Dou, so his appointment presumably reflected that he had backing from the empress dowager. The appointment is likely to have occurred in 168, when the death of Emperor Huan left Hou Lan powerless. While Empress Dowager Dou is known to have protected him from being executed by the court officials, in 168,

Chen Fan Chen Fan (90s- 25 October 168), courtesy name Zhongju (), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Han dynasty. A native of Pingyu, Runan (north of present-day Pingyu County, Henan), Chen served as Grand Commandant () during the reign of Empero ...

, a senior official, urged the empress dowager to execute the corrupt eunuch. In 172, Hou Lan was abruptly “found guilty of luxury and arrogance, and of acting with arbitrary authority.” He was ordered to surrender his seal and ribbon of office. He then committed suicide. It seems likely that Hou Lan's downfall, on such vague charges, did not result from any particular misconduct of his own. Rather, his arrest and dismissal are better explained by his relationship to Empress Dowager Dou in the controversy which led to her arrest and the death of her brother

Dou Wu Dou Wu (; died 25 October 168), courtesy name Youping (), was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was known as a Confucian scholar and served as a low-level official during the reign of Emperor Huan until his da ...

, together with many of their relatives, in the year 172.de Crespigny (1989: 1810-1811: K-M)

References

* Fan, Ye. ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

'' (''Houhanshu''), Volume 78. * Luo, Guanzhong. ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Sima, Guang. ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hou, Lan 172 deaths 2nd-century births 2nd-century executions Executed Han dynasty people Executed people from Shandong Eunuchs during the end of the Han dynasty Han dynasty politicians from Shandong People executed by the Han dynasty Politicians from Heze