Sun Cheng
Encyclopedia
Sun Cheng (died 132) was an eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...

 during Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 who, contrary to the stereotypes of Han eunuchs being corrupt and power-hungry, was loyal to the imperial family and tried (unsuccessfully) to counter the culture of corruption.

Contribution to Emperor Shun's restoration

During Emperor An
Emperor An of Han
Emperor Ān of Hàn, ch. 漢安帝, py. hàn ān dì, wg. Han An-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Hàn Dynasty and the sixth emperor of the Eastern Hàn period ruling from 106 to 125...

's reign, his various trusted person, including the eunuchs Jiang Jing (江京) and Li Run (李閏) and his wet nurse
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...

 Wang Sheng (王聖), as well as his wife Empress Yan Ji
Empress Yan Ji
Empress Yan Ji , formally Empress Ansi , was an empress during Han Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor An. She was known for her conspiratorial and nepotistic behavior, both as empress and as empress dowager...

, effectively ran the imperial administration, and they used this opportunity to corruptly seize for themselves power and wealth. One of the things Jiang and Empress Yan engaged in was to, in 124, falsely accuse the nine-year-old Crown Prince Liu Bao (劉保) of crimes and getting Emperor An to depose him and make him the Prince of Jiyin.

In 125, Emperor An died suddenly, and even though Prince Bao was Emperor An's only son, Empress Yan wanted someone younger to control, and so she made Liu Yi (劉懿), the Marquess of Beixiang
Marquess of Beixiang
The Marquess of Beixiang, , sometimes referred to as Emperor Shao , was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty...

, emperor.

When the young emperor became gravely ill later in the year, Sun, who was then a mid-level eunuch, became concerned that Empress Dowager Yan would again bypass Prince Bao, the rightful heir, and so he entered into a conspiracy with a number of other eunuchs. They swore an oath to restore Prince Bao, and several days after the former Marquess of Beixiang died, they made a sudden assault on the palace and welcomed Prince Bao to the palace and proclaimed him emperor (as Emperor Shun
Emperor Shun of Han
Emperor Shun of Han, trad. ch. 漢順帝;, sim. ch. 漢顺帝, py. hàn shùn dì, wg. Han Shun-ti, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the seventh emperor of the Eastern Han period...

). After several days of battling with the empress dowager's faction, the eunuchs led by Sun prevailed, and the Yan clan was slaughtered.

For their contributions to his restoration, Emperor Shun created Sun and 18 of his fellow eunuchs marquesses.

Failed attempt to guide Emperor Shun onto the right path

Emperor Shun, whose disposition was generally meek but weak, quickly himself became controlled by those eunuchs and officials around him, who were largely corrupt. Sun despised this situation, and in 126, when the eunuch Zhang Fang (張防) was accused of corruption by the governor of the capital district, Yu Xu (虞詡) but instead turned the situation around and convinced Emperor Shun that Yu had falsely accused him and should be sentenced to death, Sun and another eunuch who helped restore Emperor Shun, Zhang Xian (張賢), interceded at great personal peril to themselves. Yu was spared, while Zhang was exiled. However, officials who were close to Zhang then attacked Sun and his fellow eunuch-marquesses of being overly arrogant. Emperor Shun therefore sent them out of the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

, to their marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....

. Of the 19, Sun alone became sufficiently enraged by this development that he had his marquess seal and emblems returned to the emperor and secretly stayed in the capital, looking to find another chance to try to guide the emperor onto the right path. He was soon captured, but Emperor Shun, remembering his accomplishments, simply sent him back to his march without further punishment, but also without listening to his advice on stamping out corruption.

Later in life

In 128, Emperor Shun, remembering what Sun and the others had done for him, summoned them back to the capital, but largely again ignored their advice. In 132, Sun died and was buried with great honors, including the posthumous name Gang (剛, literally "unbending").
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