Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy
Hou Xian
Early Ming eunuch envoy who brought the Fifth Karmapa from Tibet to Nanjing, went on missions to Nepal and Bengal, and was ranked by the History of Ming next to Zheng He
On a road beside a desert gateway, a camel train carries a lidded chest and rolled bundles while travellers walk along the path; a large sailing ship lies in the harbour at the right, a stone waymark stands by the road, and dunes and mountains fill the distance.
Hou Xian was an early Ming eunuch whose career is recorded as an appendix to Zheng He's biography in the History of Ming, which gives neither his home nor his dates. In 1403, as a junior director of ceremonial, he was sent to Central Tibet to invite Deshin Shekpa, the fifth Karmapa lama, and after a journey of several years the lama reached Nanjing in 1406 and received the title Great Precious Dharma King, while Hou was promoted to senior eunuch. In 1413 he went on a mission to Nepal, in 1415 he led a fleet to Bengal, and in 1420 he was sent to settle a quarrel between Bengal and the sultanate of Jaunpur. In 1427 he went once more to the Tibetan lands. The History of Ming describes him as eloquent and bold, says he made five journeys to remote lands, and ranks his services just below those of Zheng He.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; eunuch envoy of the early Ming