Fire over Luoyang

Rafe de Crespigny, Ph.D. (1968), Australian National University, is a professor at that university. His publications include A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms and Imperial Warlord: a Biography of Cao Cao 155-220 (Brill 2007 and 2010).

"The bulk of this book consists of chronologically arranged chapters bookended by two chapters on the first reign and the Later Han capital Luoyang and the fall of the city, as well as a short introduction and concluding chapter. Written by a leading scholar in the field and meticulously researched, this book should be read by every student of Later Han China in the West. [..] Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries." - V. C. Xiong, Western Michigan University, in: CHOICE, Vol. 54/8 (April 2017)"'We two reviewers see the riches that this book offers to specialists and non-specialists alike. Fire over Luoyang, along with de Crespigny’s Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD) (2007), has laid the firmest of hangtu foundation for many topics in Eastern Han history. Like the fabled palaces of Luoyang itself, it is a splendid edifice." - MICHAEL NYLAN, University of California, Berkeley & THOMAS H. HAHN, Independent Scholar, Berkeley, in: Monumenta Serica, 66:1 (2018)

• List of Illustrations, Maps and Tables xIntroduction 1The Emperors of Han 6Chronology of the Later Han Dynasty 81 Imperial Capital 17Luoyang and its Surroundings 17Emperor Guangwu and his New Capital 28Formalities and Government 34City, Suburbs and People 52Parks, Pleasure-Grounds and Tombs 612 Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang (57–88) 71Chronology 71Imperial Succession 72The Government of Emperor Ming 82The Government of Emperor Zhang 99Empress Dou and the Boy from the Harem 1083 The Reign of Emperor He (88–106) 117Chronology 117Triumph in the Steppe 118The Fall of the Dou Family 127The Peoples of the West 136The Government of Emperor He 141The Military Structure of Later Han 148Peace and Settlement? 1644 The Dowager Deng and Emperor An (106–125) 169Chronology 169The Child Emperors and the Regency 170The Rebellion of the Qiang 177Problems of Finance 190The Government of the Dowager 199The Favourites of Emperor An 2075 The Reign of Emperor Shun (125–144) 220Chronology 220The Destruction of the Yan Clan 221Emperor Shun and the Reformers 225The Rise of the Liang Family 238Barbarians, Migrants and Rebels 244People and Land 2576 The Hegemony of Liang Ji (144–159) 269Chronology 269Liang Ji and the Puppets 270Rebel Emperors and Great Peace 274The Government of Liang Ji 278Great Families in the Provinces 294The Fall of the House of Liang 3037 Emperor Huan and the Eunuchs (159–168) 310Chronology 310Imperial Favourites 311Problems of Finance 321Gentlemen and Eunuchs 324Imperial Consorts and the Worship of Huang-Lao 335The First Faction Incident 351Invitation to Genocide 3578 Emperor Ling: Disordered Government (169–184) 361Chronology 361The Dou Family and the Eunuchs 362Duan Jiong and the Barbarians 369The Second Faction Incident, the Great Proscription and the Decline of the University 375The Government of Emperor Ling 388Tanshihuai and the Misfortunes of the Frontier 397Yellow Turbans 4029 End of an Empire (185–189) 418Chronology 418The Loss of Liang Province 420Imperial Extravagance 428Imperial Succession 436Slaughter in the Palace 442A Note on the Dates of the Crisis 448Dong Zhuo 449Ruin of a Capital 456The End of Han 46510 Epilogues and Conclusions 474Part I: Elegy for a Lost Capital 474Chronology 474The Afterlife of Luoyang 475Part II: What Went Wrong? Reflections on a Ruin 480A Failure of Virtue? 480The Division of China 497The Difficulty of Reunification 504Bibliography 513Index and List of Characters 543