著者

平松 明日香

出版者

史学研究会 (京都大学大学院文学研究科内)

雑誌

史林 = The Journal of history (ISSN:03869369)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.102, no.3, pp.510-528, 2019-05

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The Latter Han was an age of rule by the dowager empress and the affines, or marital relations, of the emperor. In this article, I examine whether the regimes of these affines introduced their own factions as official personnel in the Imperial Secretariat (Shangshutai 尚書台). In the Latter Han one often sees records that mention the Lu Shangshushi (録尚書事), a post that has been translated as the Overseer of the Imperial Secretariat, but opinion is divided over its actual role. In the first section, I examine the question of whether the Lu Shangshushi did in fact oversee the Shangshutai. Then, after concluding that the Lu Shangshushi did not oversee the Imperial Secretariat, I made clear that the Lu Shangshushi should not be considered an object of this study. Then in the second section I consider the regime of the Dou clan 竇氏 from the second year of the Zhanghe era (88) to the fourth year of the Yongyuan 4 (92). All previous scholarship has indicated that the regime of the Dou clan controlled the Shangshutai. However, Han Leng 韓棱, who was extremely critical of the Dou clan during the period of their ascendance, occupied the post of Shanshuling 尚書令. In addition, other people who were critical of the Dou clan were selected as bureaucrats of Shangshu. While on the one hand the regime of the Dou clan did emphasize personnel placement in the imperial household, palace guards and military officials, but it can be said that they placed no special significance on placing their own faction in in the Shangshutai. In the third section, I considered the regime of the Deng clan from the first year of the Yuanxing era (105) to the first year of the Jianguang (121). Although there were some officials in the Shangshutai who were critical of the Deng clan during their regime, it was composed in general of personnel who cooperated with the Deng clan. In the fourth section, I consider the regime of the Liang clan 梁氏 from the first year of the Jiankang era (144) to the second year of the Yanxi era (159). During this period, there were many officials critical to the Liang clan among Shangshu officials including the Shangshuling. The Liang clan, like the Dou clan, did not place great weight on the personnel in the Shanshutai but instead placed more emphasis on officials close to the emperor. Judging from the above considerations, I have made clear that these regimes were able to operate the foundations without placing emphasis on personnel in the Shangshutai and that whether they placed emphasis on the Shangshutai did not depend on change over time. It was the regime of the Deng clan that emphasized personnel in the Shangshu and whose influence extended over policy decision-making through the Shangshutai. In contrast, the Dou and Liang clans placed greater emphasis on personnel who were close to the throne and had influence on the decision making of the emperor or dowager empress having restrained the Shangshutai through their own authority.

著者

平松 明日香

出版者

東洋文庫

雑誌

東洋学報 = The Toyo Gakuho (ISSN:03869067)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.98, no.3, pp.1-28, 2016-12

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In the research to date on the Later Han Dynasty, the Dowager Empress Deng’s (鄧太后) regency has been characterized as an era in which eunuchs rose to power at Court. However, alliances between eunuch and imperial in-laws in such practices as influence peddling for court appointments (選挙請託) became ingrained during the era of Emperor An’s (安帝) direct rule and the regency of Dowager Empress Yan (閻太后). As this period has not been duly noted due to its short duration, the author of this article examines it by focusing on imperial in-laws, eunuchs and literati bureaucrats, in an attempt to explain the reasons for the rise of the eunuchs at that time.The author begins with an investigation of two imperial in-law clans, the Gengs (耿) and the Yans (閻), discussing their family pedigrees, court appointments and influence they exercised at Court. The article then moves to the main question of the rise of the eunuchs and its various causes. To begin with, criticism of the governance during the regency of Dowager Empress Deng and the infiltration of the Deng Clan into the bureaucracy are discussed as factors. The author concludes the eunuchs in this period first gained influence at Court through the drafting and transfer of documents, before forming their affiliations with court in-laws. Then, regarding the political participation of eunuchs under the direct imperial rule of Emperor An, the author raises examples in order to show the motivation behind the Emperor and his in-laws coming to regard the eunuchs as indispensable.This is followed by an examination of the literati bureaucrats in office during the reign of Emperor An and the regency of Empress Dowager Yan. First, the author confirms the fact that a certain number of Deng Clan bureaucrats managed to retain their appointments during the reign of Emperor An, then shows that the Emperor resisted this move by summoning bureaucrats opposed to the Deng Clan to his side, as evidenced by the large anti-Deng character of the Office of Palace Writers (Shangshu 尚書). Finally, the author shows that this trend continued even during Empress Dowager Yan’s regency, when reaction arose to the deposing of the Heir Apparent, and the Yan Clan was unsuccessful in building friendly relations with bureaucrats, bringing about even heavier dependence upon the eunuchs. The author concludes that accelerated participation by the eunuchs in politics during the reign of Emperor An and the regency of Empress Dowager Yan marked an important era of transition in the history of the Later Han Dynasty.

著者

平松 明日香

出版者

東洋史研究会

雑誌

東洋史研究 (ISSN:03869059)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.72, no.2, pp.187-221, 2013-09

著者

平松 明日香

出版者

東洋史研究会

雑誌

東洋史研究 (ISSN:03869059)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.72, no.2, pp.187-221, 2013-09

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In this paper, the author surveys the organization, changes, and demise of the persistent regencies of empresses dowager throughout the Later Han era. In the first section, the author examines how the environment that allowed authority to be concentrated in the institution of the empress dowager was set up with a focus on the first half of the Later Han era. Once an empress dowager became regent, she maintained political power for most of her life, and had the authority to nominate a new emperor, and on certain occasions, even to dethrone an emperor. In addition, during the Later Han era, the number of clans that produced empresses became limited, an empress no longer needed to produce an heir herself, and the status of empresses stabilized. Furthermore, an empress dowager could assemble a coterie of close advisers, take advantage of the court council, and was thus also able to punish maternal relative of the emperor. Through the first half of the Later Han era, an environment was set up in such a way that once an empress dowager, who had come from the clan of a meritorious retainer, became regent, she could then stay at the center of political power for a lengthy period of time. Then, in the second section, the author investigates the process of change in the actual conditions of the regency of empresses dowager during the middle period of the Later Han era. The rise of the eunuch faction as a political force was caused mainly by the existence of multiple of centers of power at court after the enthronement of Emperor An, such as the Deng, Geng, and Yan clans, rather than by the female regency. In such circumstances, the political power of eunuchs and nurses was sought after. Moreover, Empress Dowager Yan gave the eunuchs more important positions than she did scholar bureaucrats. Later, during the regency of Empress Dowager Liang, who had been the empress of Emperor Shun, the maternal relatives of the emperor, i.e. her male relatives, also awarded eunuchs important positions. By permanently fixing the capital of Da Jiangjun, and with the cooperation of the eunuchs, maternal relatives of the emperor enormously increased their voice in politics, and they no longer needed the power of empresses dowager as was previously the case. At this stage, institution of the empress dowager had lost almost all its function as an organ of policy planning. Lastly, in the third section, the author considers the process of the loss of authority and power of empresses dowager from the reign of Emperor Huan to that of Emperor Ling. The rise of others, especially real mothers of emperors rather than legitimate mothers, accelerated the relative decline in status and political authority of the empresses dowager. Furthermore, the eunuchs were essential in order for the empresses dowager to keep their status at the court, but at this stage, the maternal relatives of emperor had already set about excluding the eunuchs who were their rivals. There was a fracture between eunuchs and the maternal relatives of emperor who both ought to advise empresses dowager, and their regencies thus lost their ability to function. As noted above, the regencies of the empresses dowager had begun to change from about the reign of Emperor An and develop into a new political system that was formed after the end of the Later Han era.