Wei invasion of Shu.
Life
Huang Hao entered the Shu imperial palace sometime in the 220s as 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 millenni ...
attending to the Shu emperor
Liu Shan
Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhug ...
, who favoured him because he was shrewd and full of flattering words. Whenever Huang Hao attempted to interfere in state affairs,
Dong Yun
Dong Yun (died December 246), courtesy name Xiuzhao, was a Chinese general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. His father, Dong He, also served as an official in Shu. Dong Yun was one of four persons ...
, then the head of government, warned Liu Shan about the dangers of flattery and admonished Huang Hao for misleading the emperor. When Dong Yun was still alive, he kept Huang Hao in check and never allowed him to be promoted beyond the position of an Assistant of the Yellow Gate (黃門丞).
Following Dong Yun's death in 246,
Chen Zhi replaced him as the head of government and collaborated with Huang Hao to dominate the imperial court and state affairs. During this time, Liu Shan also criticised the late Dong Yun for treating him with contempt; he was believed to have said this under the influence of Huang Hao and Chen Zhi. When Chen Zhi died in 258, Huang Hao became the most influential figure in the Shu central government
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
. Liu Shan also promoted him to the positions of Central Regular Attendant (中常侍) and Commandant of Equippage (奉車都尉).
Huang Hao abused his power by promoting officials who flattered him and demoting those who refused to fawn on him. When
Luo Xian
Luo Xian (died 270), courtesy name Lingze, was a military general of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period. He is best known for defending his position at Yong'an (present-day Fengj ...
refused to associate with him, he had Luo Xian sent out of Chengdu to serve as the Administrator (太守) of Badong Commandery (巴東郡; around present-day
Fengjie County
Fengjie County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is on the Yangtze River; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges Dam, it is within the dam's affected area.
The county's most famous geograp ...
,
Chongqing). Yan Yu (閻宇), a close friend of Huang Hao, was appointed as Luo Xian's deputy to watch over him.
Fan Jian
Fan Jian ( 250s–263), courtesy name Changyuan, was a Chinese politician of the state of Shu Han in the late Three Kingdoms period. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei after the fall of Shu in 263.
Life
Fan Jian was from Yiyang Comman ...
, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing (尚書令), refused to have any dealings with Huang Hao. Huang Hao disliked
Xi Zheng
Xi Zheng (died 278), courtesy name Lingxian, was a Chinese essayist, poet, and politician of the state of Shu Han during the late Three Kingdoms period of China. He also served as an official in the early years of the Jin dynasty.
Early life ...
, an inner office official who had been near to Huang Hao's dealings for about 30 years, so although he did not harm Xi Zheng, he never allowed Xi Zheng to get promoted.
Liu Yong, a younger brother of Liu Shan, hated Huang Hao and was never on good terms with him. After Huang Hao came to power, he slandered and spoke ill of Liu Yong in front of Liu Shan, resulting in Liu Shan refusing to meet Liu Yong for more than 10 years.
[(初，永憎宦人黃皓，皓既信任用事，譖構永於後主，後主稍疏外永，至不得朝見者十餘年。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 34.]
In 262, the Shu general
Jiang Wei wrote to Liu Shan to urge him to execute Huang Hao. However, Liu Shan refused, said that Huang Hao were merely a servant running errands for him, and told Jiang Wei to not take it too personally. Jiang Wei knew that Huang Hao had many supporters in the imperial court and became worried that he might have gotten himself into trouble when he asked Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao. Later, Liu Shan ordered Huang Hao to apologise to Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei found an excuse to leave Chengdu and move to a military garrison at Tazhong (沓中; northwest of present-day
Zhugqu County
Zhouqu County (; ) is a county in the eastern extremity of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Gansu Province, the People's Republic of China, with the Bailong River flowing through its confines; it borders Sichuan province to ...
,
Gansu). In the meantime, Huang Hao came up an idea to remove Jiang Wei from his command and replace him with Yan Yu (閻宇), his close friend. When Jiang Wei heard about it, he remained in Tazhong and refused to return to Chengdu as he knew that he would be safe in Tazhong.
In 263, Jiang Wei received news that
Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...
, a general from Shu's rival state
Wei, was mobilising troops into the
Guanzhong region, seemingly in preparation for
an invasion of Shu. He then wrote to Liu Shan, requesting permission to set up defences against the impending invasion. Huang Hao, who believed in sorcery, got a witch doctor to predict the future. He then told Liu Shan that the witch doctor predicted that the Wei forces would not attack Shu, so there was no need to follow Jiang Wei's plan. Later that year, the Wei general
Deng Ai
Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...
led his troops through a shortcut across mountainous terrain, bypassed the Shu defences, and showed up outside Chengdu. Liu Shan surrendered without putting up a fight, thus bringing an end to the Shu regime's existence. After Liu Shan's surrender, Deng Ai heard that Huang Hao was a treacherous person and wanted to execute him, but Huang Hao had already bribed Deng Ai's men to release him and escaped. His eventual fate is unknown.
In Chapter 119 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 ...
'', Huang Hao is publicly executed at the order of the Wei regent
Sima Zhao when he followed Liu Shan to the Wei capital
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...
.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
References
*
Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''
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 ...
'' (''Sanguo Yanyi'').
*
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Hao
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Chinese eunuchs
Shu Han politicians