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Dou Wu
Eastern Han consort kinsman and father of Empress Dou who, as regent after Emperor Huan's death, plotted with Chen Fan to destroy the eunuchs and killed himself when the plot failed.
In a council hall, a long table holds an unrolled map scroll, a brass-cornered chest and a brush pot, with tall-backed chairs around it and a bronze lamp at the left; a figure stands with their back turned on the balcony at the right, with palace roofs beyond.
Also known as Zi Youping
- Roles
- Chief Ministers
Dou Wu, courtesy name Youping, of Pingling in Fufeng, was an Eastern Han consort kinsman. In 165 CE his eldest daughter became Emperor Huan's empress and he was made Marquis of Huaili. When Emperor Huan died in 167 he and the empress dowager chose Emperor Ling, and as Grand General he governed jointly with the Grand Tutor Chen Fan, recalling Li Ying and other proscribed scholars. In 168 their plan to destroy the eunuchs Cao Jie and Wang Fu leaked; the eunuchs raised troops under a forged edict, Dou Wu was defeated and took his own life, and Chen Fan was killed. His biography is in the Hou Hanshu.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–168 CE