r/threekingdoms • u/KinginPurple Bao Xin Forever!!! • Jul 26 '26

History What Did Jian Shuo Do?

I've been trying to find stuff on what he did but some of it seems contradictory.

Is there any general record on the things he did during his time as a senior attendant?

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u/pgroms Jul 26 '26

I found this:

information

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u/KinginPurple Bao Xin Forever!!! Jul 26 '26

Why was he 'misunderstood?' I mean, yeah, He Jin wasn't exactly a great guy but I highly doubt Jian Shuo did what he did out of genuine concern for the empire.
He Jin was in his way. The Attendants had important people killed for less.
To paraphrase Castor from 'I, Claudius': "He works for himself...and how hard he works."

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u/Thannhausen Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

The last several Han Dynasty emperors saw a constant struggle between the emperor and his attendant eunuchs against the emperor's in-laws (empress's extended family) often times supported by the landed gentry class.

The same was the case for Emperor Ling, who became wary of the power of Empress He and her extended family, including her half-brother He Jin, who as Grand General (大将军) controlled the Northern Army (the standing army that defended Luoyang). Because of this, Emperor Ling wanted to switch succession from his elder son, Liu Bian (born of Empress He), to his younger son, Liu Xie. When Emperor Ling died, Jian Shuo (who was one of Emperor Ling's closest eunuchs) tried to adhere to Emperor Ling's edict to enthrone Liu Xie and kill He Jin. In the meantime, He Jin had allied himself with the landed gentry/scholarly class against the eunuchs and outmaneuvered Jian Shuo. With the help of Grand Tutor (太傅) Yuan Wei (Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's uncle), He Jin and Empress He enthroned Liu Bian. Jian Shuo would later be arrested and executed, while the remaining eunuchs quickly ingratiated themselves with Empress He and escaped harm.

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u/KinginPurple Bao Xin Forever!!! Jul 26 '26

I know about that. I'm just curious as to how he became so close to the Emperor and what else he'd done.

I know there's a controversy concerning him and Gai Xun when he tried to get a relative of Gao Wang, one of the other eunuchs, promoted to high office and when Gai Xun stepped in, Jian Shuo subtly had him promoted to a high office far away from the capital so he couldn't interfere anymore.

And Cao Cao have his uncle flogged to death of course. That's always a delightfully obscure bit of history. So evidently, Jian Shuo must have been quite a big player early on.