Zhao Zhong

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Historical sources preserve very little about Zhao Zhong's family background and early life. He was from Anping in Ji Province, came from a humble background, and little is known about his family. In the Eastern Han, many eunuchs came from poor households and entered the palace after castration because of poverty or personal misfortune. Zhao Zhong likely entered the palace during the reign of Emperor Huan and, through adaptability and political skill, gradually came to prominence.

During Emperor Huan's reign, the imperial relative Liang Ji dominated the government. Emperor Huan relied on eunuchs such as Shan Chao and Xu Huang to destroy the Liang clan, after which eunuch power expanded greatly. It reached an even higher point under Emperor Ling. After Emperor Ling's accession, Zhao Zhong became one of the emperor's favored eunuchs and joined Zhang Rang, Duan Gui, and others in dominating court politics. Contemporaries referred to them as the “Ten Attendants.”

Rise to Power and Political Dominance

After Emperor Ling took the throne, Zhao Zhong and his associates enjoyed exceptional favor and their influence steadily increased. In 181, the fourth year of the Guanghe era, Emperor Ling established the Western Garden in the rear palace and openly sold offices and ranks, with the proceeds entering the palace treasury. Zhao Zhong and the other eunuchs exploited the system to enrich themselves and even shared the profits with the emperor. According to the “Biographies of Eunuchs” in the Book of the Later Han, Emperor Ling once said, “Attendant Zhang is my father; Attendant Zhao is my mother,” illustrating Zhao Zhong's position in the emperor's favor.

Zhao Zhong and the other eunuchs not only dominated politics but also intervened in appointments. Local officials reporting to the capital often had to bribe the eunuchs before they could secure their positions. Upright officials such as Li Ying and Chen Fan suffered harsh persecution for opposing eunuch power, contributing to the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions. As a central figure in the eunuch faction, Zhao Zhong actively participated in suppressing the partisans.

Yellow Turban Rebellion and Enfeoffment

In 184, the first year of the Zhongping era, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out and shook the empire. Facing the crisis, Emperor Ling accepted the advice of the eunuch Lü Qiang and pardoned the proscribed partisans in order to ease internal tensions and concentrate resources on suppressing the revolt. Although Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs had no direct military achievements in the campaigns, they were enfeoffed as marquises because of the emperor's favor. The Book of the Later Han records that Zhao Zhong was made a marquis and, together with Zhang Rang, reached the height of his power.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, however, the authority of the Eastern Han court was badly weakened and regional military powers grew. Zhao Zhong and his fellow eunuchs continued to extract wealth and exclude opponents, further worsening political corruption.

Downfall and Death

In 189, the sixth year of the Zhongping era, Emperor Ling died and the young emperor Liu Bian succeeded him, with Empress Dowager He acting as regent. Her brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, together with leaders of the scholar-official faction such as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, plotted to eliminate the eunuchs. He Jin intended to use the forces of the regional warlord Dong Zhuo, but the plan was not kept secret and became known to Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and the others.

Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and their allies decided to strike first. They falsely transmitted an order from Empress Dowager He summoning He Jin into the palace. He Jin entered without adequate precautions and was killed by the eunuchs. When the news spread, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others led troops into the palace and slaughtered eunuchs on a large scale. Zhao Zhong was killed in the chaos, and his associates were destroyed as well. The era of eunuch dominance in the Eastern Han thereby came to an end.

Major Activities

Dominating the Court and Excluding Opponents

As one of the Ten Attendants, Zhao Zhong for many years dominated court politics, interfered in appointments, accepted bribes, and excluded political opponents. Together with Zhang Rang and others he formed a powerful interest group that contributed to corruption at court and widespread popular resentment.

Participation in the Suppression of Partisans

Under Emperors Huan and Ling, conflict between the scholar-official and eunuch factions became extremely intense and culminated in the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions. As a core member of the eunuch faction, Zhao Zhong took an active role in suppressing the partisans, leading prominent scholars such as Li Ying and Fan Pang to be killed or permanently prohibited from holding office.

Enfeoffment after the Yellow Turban Rebellion

In 184, the first year of the Zhongping era, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Although Zhao Zhong and the other eunuchs had no direct military achievements, they were enfeoffed as marquises because of Emperor Ling's favor. The grants further deepened political corruption and intensified dissatisfaction among scholar-officials and the population.

Killing He Jin and Triggering the Palace Crisis

In 189, Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang, and their allies learned that He Jin, Yuan Shao, and others were plotting to eliminate the eunuchs. They struck first and arranged He Jin's murder. This action prompted Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others to lead troops into the palace and slaughter the eunuchs, and Zhao Zhong himself was killed in the violence.

Personal Relations

Family

• Zhao Zhong came from a humble background; historical sources do not record his family circumstances.

Associates

• Zhang Rang: also one of the Ten Attendants; frequently associated with Zhao Zhong and his most important political ally.
• Duan Gui, Hou Lan, Cao Jie, and others: members of the eunuch faction who formed a political alliance with Zhao Zhong.

Ruler and Subject

• Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong: Zhao Zhong's ruler, who favored him greatly and said, “Attendant Zhao is my mother.”
• He Jin: General-in-Chief and imperial relative who opposed the eunuch faction and was killed through a plan devised by Zhao Zhong and his allies.

Conflicts

• Li Ying, Chen Fan, and other partisans: opposed eunuch domination and came into sharp conflict with Zhao Zhong's faction.
• Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu: leaders of the scholar-official faction who plotted to eliminate the eunuchs and ultimately destroyed Zhao Zhong and his allies.

Historical Assessment

Eastern Han / Contemporary View

• Eastern Han scholar-officials deeply hated Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs and regarded them as corrupt figures who harmed the state and people. When Yuan Shao and his allies slaughtered the eunuchs, they killed eunuchs indiscriminately, showing the depth of accumulated resentment.
• He Jin's plan to eliminate the eunuchs, though exposed and ending in his own death, was later viewed by scholar-officials as a righteous undertaking.
• The late Eastern Han popular rhyme, “A xiucai is recommended but does not know books; a xiaolian is recommended but lives apart from his father,” reflected strong social dissatisfaction with political corruption under eunuch dominance.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

• Chen Shou did not give Zhao Zhong an independent biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, but in accounts of He Jin, Yuan Shao, and others he treated Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs as important contributors to the collapse of the Eastern Han.
• The Eastern Jin historian Yuan Hong, in the Annals of the Later Han, placed late Eastern Han eunuch domination alongside late Western Han domination by imperial relatives as two chronic causes of dynastic decline.

Tang and Song Periods

• The Tang historian Liu Zhiji criticized eunuch domination in the Eastern Han in the Shitong, arguing that eunuchs “usurped authority over rewards and punishments and overturned the state.”
• The Northern Song historian Sima Guang recorded the conduct of Zhao Zhong and other eunuchs in detail in the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance and, drawing on Fan Ye's judgment, described eunuch domination as destructive of the state and government and an important cause of the Eastern Han's fall.

Modern Period

• Lü Simian, in Stories from Three Kingdoms History, argued that Eastern Han eunuch domination resulted from conflict between imperial power and the scholar-gentry. Although Zhao Zhong and others could not escape responsibility, he traced the deeper cause to institutional corruption in the monarchy.
• Qian Mu, in Outline of National History, treated Eastern Han eunuch domination as a typical example of the separation of the royal house from the government, regarding Zhao Zhong and his fellow eunuchs as products of an uncontrolled imperial system.