Huandi 桓帝
| Occupation | RNRuler · Emperor | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R22 |
Profile
Emperor Huan was an emperor of the Later Han. Chen Shou's Records contain no biography of him, and he appears only briefly in various biographies, either as a marker of the period, 'in the time of Emperor Huan,' or in the phrase 'Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling.' In his time Cao Teng, who adopted Cao Song, became Regular Palace Attendant and Grand Prolonger and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Feiting, and Dong Zhuo became a Gentleman of the Feathered Forest in Emperor Huan's last years. Records, Wei 1 §1Records, Wei 6 §2
Later ministers cited the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling as the time when the Han declined. In his memorial on setting out on campaign, Zhuge Liang said that while the late emperor was alive he never failed to sigh in grief and bitterness over the affairs of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, and Lu Kai of Wu, in a memorial to Sun Hao, said that Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of the Han kept eunuchs close and greatly lost the hearts of the people. Records, Shu 5 §27Records, Wu 16 §35 · 42
Chen Shou gave no assessment of him. In the Romance he first appears at the opening of Chapter 1, in the statement that the disorder of the realm originated with the two emperors Huan and Ling; his name appears in 13 of its 120 chapters, and in no chapter title. The Romance describes him as an emperor who barred upright scholars from office and trusted only the eunuchs. Romance, Ch. 1 §2–3
In the Records
Since Chen Shou's Records contain no biography of Emperor Huan, the records that mention 'Emperor Huan' in various biographies are gathered here. Xun Yu's grandfather Xun Shu was famous in his day in the reigns of Emperor Shun and Emperor Huan, and had eight sons, whom people called the Eight Dragons. In the time of Emperor Huan, Cao Teng became Regular Palace Attendant and Grand Prolonger and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Feiting; his adopted son Cao Song succeeded him and rose to Grand Commandant, but no one could ascertain the full story of his birth. Cao Song fathered Taizu, Cao Cao. Records, Wei 10 §2Records, Wei 1 §1
Shi Xie's father Shi Ci became Administrator of Rinan in the time of Emperor Huan. Dong Zhuo became a Gentleman of the Feathered Forest at the end of the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, as a son of a good family from the Six Commanderies. Records, Wu 4 §35Records, Wei 6 §2
In the time of Emperor Huan, when a yellow star appeared in the field of Chu and Song, Yin Kui of Liaodong, who was versed in astronomy, said that fifty years later a True Man would arise between Liang and Pei whose spearhead none could withstand. The Annals of Emperor Wu record that by this time exactly fifty years had passed, and when Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, there was no one left in the realm to rival him. Records, Wei 1 §72
According to the Account of the Eastern Barbarians, Bogu of Goguryeo again invaded Liaodong between the reigns of Emperor Shun and Emperor Huan, raided Xin'an and Juxiang, attacked Xi'anping, killed the Prefect of Daifang on the road, and captured the wife and children of the Administrator of Lelang. The guoxia horses of the Ye were presented as tribute in the time of Emperor Huan of Han. At the end of the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, the Han tribes of Korea and the Ye grew strong and the commanderies and counties could not control them, so many of the people drifted into the Han lands. Records, Wei 30 §55 · 79 · 86
The emperor of Wei once asked Wang Su how Li Yun, Prefect of Baima in the time of Emperor Huan, could have escaped death after submitting a memorial saying, 'Di (帝, emperor) means di (諦, to discern). This means the emperor does not wish to discern.' Wang Su replied that his words had merely lost the proper measure of what is fitting and what is not, but his true intention was wholly to devote himself to helping the state, and had he been leniently pardoned, the breadth of the emperor's virtue could have been shown to the realm. Records, Wei 13 §88
Later ministers took Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling as a warning. In his memorial on setting out on campaign, Zhuge Liang said that drawing worthy ministers close and keeping petty men at a distance was why the Former Han flourished, and drawing petty men close and keeping worthy ministers at a distance was why the Later Han declined and collapsed, and that the late emperor always sighed in grief and bitterness over the affairs of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling. Yang Fu of Wei told Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) that if Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling had not abandoned the laws of Gaozu and the reverence and frugality of Emperors Wen and Jing, then even Taizu with his divine martial prowess would have had nowhere to exercise it, and Lu Kai of Wu told Sun Hao that Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of the Han kept eunuchs close and greatly lost the hearts of the people. Records, Shu 5 §27Records, Wei 25 §40–42Records, Wu 16 §35 · 42
In the Romance
Chapter 1 of the Romance, after stating the principle that the great trend of the realm is to divide and to unite, opens by declaring that, if one traces why the Han fell into the disorder that split it into three, it began with the two emperors Huan and Ling. Emperor Huan barred upright scholars from office and trusted only the eunuchs; when he died and Emperor Ling took the throne, the General-in-Chief Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan assisted him together, but their plan to kill Cao Jie and the other eunuchs leaked out, and they themselves were destroyed instead. Romance, Ch. 1 §2–3
Chapter 2 calls Emperor Ling's mother, Empress Dong, the wife of the Marquis of Jiedu Village, and records that because Emperor Huan originally had no son, the son of the Marquis of Jiedu Village was brought in and set up as emperor; this was Emperor Ling. Romance, Ch. 2 §37
The Romance uses 'in the time of Emperor Huan' as a period marker when introducing characters. In Chapter 22, Zheng Xuan had risen to Master of Writing in the time of Emperor Huan, gave up office because of the disorder of the Ten Regular Attendants, and lives in Xu Province. In Chapter 27, the old man Hu Hua, who receives Guan Yu, says he served as Consultant in the time of Emperor Huan before retiring to his home village, and in Chapter 57 Ma Teng's father Ma Su is said to have been Commandant of Langan County in Tianshui in the time of Emperor Huan, then to have lost his post, drifted to Longxi and married a Qiang woman. Romance, Ch. 22 §4Romance, Ch. 27 §16Romance, Ch. 57 §39
In Chapter 31, after the battle of Cangting, an old man of nearly a hundred tells Cao Cao that in the time of Emperor Huan a yellow star appeared in the field of Chu and Song, and that Yin Kui of Liaodong, versed in astronomy, stayed in this place and said that fifty years later a True Man would arise between Liang and Pei; counting the years, exactly fifty have now passed. Cao Cao laughs and asks how he could dare to live up to such words. Romance, Ch. 31 §10–11
From then on, Emperor Huan appears as a byword for the beginning of the age of disorder. In Chapter 18, Guo Jia says that 'since Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, government has erred through leniency,' and that Cao Cao's rule, correcting this with strictness, will prevail over Yuan Shao; the memorial on setting out on campaign in Chapter 91 records that the late emperor always sighed in grief and bitterness over the affairs of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling. In Chapter 93, Wang Lang says that 'since Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling the Yellow Turbans have risen in rebellion' and that the sacred vessel passes to the man of virtue, and Zhuge Liang retorts that 'in the age of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling the Han succession declined and the eunuchs brewed disaster.' Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling also appear together in the poems in Chapters 5, 13, 37 and 38. Romance, Ch. 18 §17Romance, Ch. 91 §35Romance, Ch. 93 §38 · 41Romance, Ch. 5 §51Romance, Ch. 13 §18Romance, Ch. 37 §29Romance, Ch. 38 §23
Where the Romance differs
The cause of the disorder: In Chapter 1 of the Romance, the narrator himself states that the disorder of the realm originated with Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling and that Emperor Huan barred upright scholars and trusted only the eunuchs. In the Records, judgments of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling appear only in the words of ministers. Zhuge Liang conveyed the late emperor's lament in his memorial on setting out on campaign, and Yang Fu, to Emperor Ming, and Lu Kai, to Sun Hao, cited Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling as warnings. Romance, Ch. 1 §2–3Records, Shu 5 §27Records, Wei 25 §42Records, Wu 16 §42
The prophecy of the yellow star: In Chapter 31 of the Romance, an old man of nearly a hundred conveys this prophecy to Cao Cao and says that Yin Kui spoke of it while staying in that very place. The Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records simply narrate the same matter and do not say where or to whom Yin Kui spoke. Romance, Ch. 31 §10–11Records, Wei 1 §72
Cao Cao's family: The Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records state that in the time of Emperor Huan, Cao Teng became Regular Palace Attendant and Grand Prolonger and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Feiting, and that no one could ascertain the full story of the birth of his adopted son Cao Song. Chapter 1 of the Romance says that Cao Song was originally of the Xiahou family and took the surname Cao on becoming the adopted son of the Regular Palace Attendant Cao Teng, with no mention of the time of Emperor Huan. Records, Wei 1 §1Romance, Ch. 1 §36
Dong Zhuo's beginnings: In the Records, Dong Zhuo became a Gentleman of the Feathered Forest at the end of Emperor Huan's reign as a son of a good family from the Six Commanderies. Chapter 2 of the Romance, in first introducing Dong Zhuo, gives his office only as Administrator of Hedong and records nothing from the time of Emperor Huan. Records, Wei 6 §2Romance, Ch. 2 §1
Ma Teng's father: Chapter 57 of the Romance says that Ma Teng's father Ma Su was Commandant of Langan County in Tianshui in the time of Emperor Huan. Chen Shou's main text in the Biography of Ma Chao says only that Ma Teng rose in the western provinces together with Bian Zhang, Han Sui and others at the end of Emperor Ling's reign, and does not mention his father. Romance, Ch. 57 §39Records, Shu 6 §25
Zheng Xuan's office: In Chapter 22 of the Romance, Zheng Xuan rose to Master of Writing in the time of Emperor Huan and then gave up office because of the disorder of the Ten Regular Attendants. In Chen Shou's main text, Zheng Xuan appears as the scholar under whom Cui Yan and others studied and as the classicist whose theories Wang Su disputed, and there is no mention of his becoming Master of Writing in the time of Emperor Huan. Romance, Ch. 22 §4Records, Wei 12 §2Records, Wei 13 §96
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
- LEA3131±0
- STR3131±0
- INT3531−4
- POL2015−5
- CHA3531−4
- VIR2830+2
- ADP4035−5
- SCH4035−5
- DIP3531−4
- DIS1812−6
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from the record that the commanderies and counties could not control the Han tribes and the YeWei 30 §86
NNo direct record — estimated from his being an emperor with no military recordCh. 1 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from the failure to control the frontier in his last yearsWei 30 §86
NNo direct record — estimated from the narrative that he trusted only the eunuchsCh. 1 §3
RAbandoned the laws of Gaozu and frugality, and in his last years the commanderies and counties lost controlWei 25 §42Wei 30 §86Shu 5 §27
NUnder Emperors Huan and Ling the Han succession declined and government erred through leniencyCh. 93 §41Ch. 18 §17
RPut to death Li Yun, who had remonstrated, and abandoned frugalityWei 13 §88Wei 25 §42
NBarred upright scholars and trusted only the eunuchs, so the late emperor lamentedCh. 1 §3Ch. 91 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of Goguryeo's incursions into LiaodongWei 30 §55
NNo direct record — estimatedCh. 1 §3
RDrew petty men close and kept worthy ministers away, so the Later Han declinedShu 5 §27
NBarred upright scholars from office and trusted only the eunuchsCh. 1 §3Ch. 91 §35
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (13)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →