Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuch in Chinese history.[1] He is best known for his service in the court of the Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youjiao (r. 1620–1627), when his power eventually appeared to rival that of the emperor.[2]
During his tenure, Zhu Youjiao was uninterested in court affairs, leaving room for Wei to abuse his power to issue edicts to promote and demote hundreds of officers. Mao Wenlong was one of the generals promoted by Wei Zhongxian. During Zhu Youjiao's reign, Wei would send the emperor's edicts to the Embroidered Uniform Guard led by prison director Xu Xianchun to purge corrupt officials and political enemies. Xu then arrested and demoted hundreds of officials and scholars from the Donglin movement, including Zhou Zongjian, Zhou Shunchang, and Yang Lian.[2]
When Zhu Youjian rose to power, he received complaints about Wei and Xu's actions. Zhu Youjian then ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest Wei Zhongxian. Wei then committed suicide. Zhu then punished 161 officials and executed 24 of Wei's associates. Madam Ke, who was also close to Wei, was beaten to death.[3] Many people denounced the incident, with the Chinese public writing stories dramatizing the event. Eventually, the Ming dynasty was destroyed and overturned by the Qing dynasty, and the Qing armies purged and persecuted the Zhu emperors and their families.[4][5]
^"Wei Zhongxian". Encyclopædia Britannica (Online Academic Edition). Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014.
^ abCite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference dardess156 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
WeiZhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name...
officials and confiscated hundreds of fake seals. His main rival was WeiZhongxian. On 12 October 1575, Zuo Guangdou was born in Tongcheng, Anhui. He was...
emperor decides to end the influence of all-powerful eunuch WeiZhongxian or simply "Wei" (Chin Shih-Chieh) and purge his faction within the imperial...
beauty, and had close relationships with the eunuchs Wei Chao and, more famously, WeiZhongxian. When her charge succeeded to the throne as the Tianqi...
Emperor immediately eliminated WeiZhongxian and Madam Ke, as well as other officials thought to be involved in the "Wei-Ke conspiracy". Meanwhile, partisans...
contribution, and the enshrinement of one's own spirit. Due to the usage by WeiZhongxian the practice became seen as a sign of corruption and declined in China...
ISBN 978-8814145490. "Compared with the eunuch Zong Ai of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Zhao Gao and WeiZhongxian were all inferior". DayDayNews. 27 March 2020. Archived...
Petronius Walter Raleigh Cardinal Richelieu James Scudamore Angelo Soliman WeiZhongxian In modern English, the term is often used metaphorically for contemporary...
court memorials and uninterested in state affairs, the court eunuch WeiZhongxian and the emperor's wet nurse Madam Ke seized power and controlled the...
Emperor, when the government is very corrupt on all levels. The eunuch WeiZhongxian dominates the political scene and plans to bring the wulin (martial...
Yangzhou (揚州), was dissatisfied with WeiZhongxian. Liu wrote a poem about this and gave it to a temple monk. WeiZhongxian then denounced Liu, interrogated...
Chongzhen Emperor. Chongzhen, who hated the powerful chief eunuch WeiZhongxian, soon purged Wei and his supporters, which ironically removed a stabilizing factor...
bureaucracy and granted them power to collect provincial taxes. The eunuch WeiZhongxian (1568–1627) dominated the court of the Tianqi Emperor (r. 1620–1627)...
empire. In 1624, censor Yang Lien implored the emperor to impeach eunuch WeiZhongxian in a letter which said that eunuchs must be kept from interfering in...
vast power; one of the most powerful eunuchs in Chinese history was WeiZhongxian during the Ming. Occasionally, other nobles seized power as regents...
certain reigns of weak emperors, powerful eunuchs such as Liu Jin and WeiZhongxian circumvented this restriction by styling themselves with jiǔ qiān suì...
writer (d. 1637) Robert Wintour, English conspirator (executed 1606) WeiZhongxian, Grand Secretary of China (d. 1627) Ōtsu Ono, Japanese woman poet, koto...
famous example in late medieval times, helped unify pre-modern Japan. WeiZhongxian of Ming Dynasty China, a gambler who castrated himself and entered the...
became the head of the Moroccan invasion force into the Songhai Empire. WeiZhongxian (1568–1627): eunuch of the Ming dynasty, considered the most powerful...
in 1623. The elderly Sun was an able commander but refused to bribe WeiZhongxian, an influential court eunuch under the Tianqi Emperor. Consequently...
Vincent Zhao as Jin Duyi Wang Xuebing as Murong Chong Ni Dahong as WeiZhongxian Tong Yao as Ke Pingting Li Xinru as Tie Shanhu Cecilia Yip as Ling Yunfeng...
thriller film Lethal Hostage. In 2014, Ni had key supporting role as WeiZhongxian in The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, a wuxia-fantasy 3D film...
the upper hand, but from 1624, the court was dominated by the eunuch WeiZhongxian. In 1627, after the death of the Tianqi Emperor, his younger brother...
Global Information