Ten regular attendants
| Ten Attendants | |||||||
| Chinese | 十常侍 | ||||||
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The Ten Attendants, also known as the Ten Eunuchs, were a group of influential eunuch-officials in the imperial court of Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 CE) in the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although they are often referred to as a group of 10, there were actually 12 of them and all held the position of zhong changshi (中常侍; "Central Regular Attendant") in Emperor Ling's imperial court.
The 12 were: Zhang Rang (張讓), Zhao Zhong (趙忠), Xia Yun (夏惲), Guo Sheng (郭勝), Sun Zhang (孫璋), Bi Lan (畢嵐), Li Song (栗嵩), Duan Gui (段珪), Gao Wang (高望), Zhang Gong (張恭), Han Kui (韓悝) and Song Dian (宋典).
Two of the eunuchs, Zhang Rang (張讓) and Zhao Zhong (趙忠), started serving in the Han imperial palace as attendants holding the rank of jishi shengzhong (給事省中). Zhang Rang was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡; around present-day Xuchang, Henan) while Zhao Zhong was from Anping Commandery (安平郡; around present-day Jizhou, Hebei). They were promoted to xiao huangmen (小黃門) during the reign of Emperor Huan (r. 146–168). In 159, Zhao Zhong participated in a coup against Liang Ji, a highly influential general who monopolised state power in the 150s, and succeeded in ousting him from power. In recognition of Zhao Zhong's efforts, Emperor Huan enfeoffed him as a marquis of a chief district (都鄉侯). In 165, Zhao Zhong was promoted to a secondary marquis (關內侯) and allowed to draw an annual salary of 1,000 hu of grain.
During the reign of Emperor Ling (r. 168–189), Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang rose to the position of zhong changshi (中常侍) and received marquis titles from the emperor. They were also close allies of two other influential eunuchs, Cao Jie (曹節; died 181) and Wang Fu (王甫; died 179). After Cao Jie's death, Zhao Zhong assumed the appointment of Empress's Chamberlain (大長秋). Around the time, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, along with ten others – Xia Yun (夏惲), Guo Sheng (郭勝), Sun Zhang (孫璋), Bi Lan (畢嵐), Li Song (栗嵩), Duan Gui (段珪), Gao Wang (高望), Zhang Gong (張恭), Han Kui (韓悝) and Song Dian (宋典) – all held the position of zhong changshi (中常侍), in addition to marquis titles. Their relatives and associates, who were spread throughout the various provinces and commanderies of the Han Empire, were notorious for corruption.
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