At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wei of Han was very fond of the male favorite, Dong Xian. One day, while drinking with the courtiers in the Qilin Hall, he actually said: "I want to emulate Yao Chanshun and pass the imperial throne to you." For a while, the hall was quiet, and everyone could not believe their ears.
So how could Dong Xian be able to get such favor from the emperor?
Dong Xian was the male favorite of the Han Emperor, and he came from the Yunyang region (present-day northwest of Chunhua, Shaanxi) at the end of the Han Dynasty. History records praise him as "beautiful and moving", and it can be said that he is a beautiful boy who makes the heartbeat of girls see it. It is said that the same-sex love between Emperor Han and Dong Xian began with "love at first sight".
In the fifth year BC, the 21-year-old Emperor of Han met Dong Xian, an 18-year-old prince, for the first time. Attracted by Dong Xian's big eyes, high nose, charming small mouth and delicate skin, he immediately made him sit on his lap, sat with him, and granted him the official position of Huang Menlang to accompany him. After that, Emperor Han and Dong Xian began a short but classic same-sex relationship.
Dong Xian has a feminine femininity, coquettish voice and moving posture, which attracts the attention of the Emperor of Mourning and has an improper relationship with him.
In the days that followed, Dong Xian, relying on his hue and the favored status of the Han Moi Emperor, tried to please his monarch and gave the Han Moi Emperor the ultimate tenderness and happiness. He waited by Emperor Hanwei's side almost all day, spending time with him.
Due to the influence of Dong Xian, Emperor Han became increasingly addicted and abandoned the imperial government, only wanting to have fun with Dong Xian. Dong Xian fascinated the Emperor of Sorrow, and the two were inseparable, with deep emotions, like a bond of glue paint.
One morning, Emperor Mourning woke up to find Dong Xian still asleep, and he wanted to retrieve his sleeve, but could not bear to disturb Dong Xian. However, because Dong Xian's body pressed the sleeve, in a hurry, the Emperor of Mourning pulled out his saber to cut the sleeve, and then quietly left.
This is the origin of the idiom "sleeve-breaking fetish". At that time, the palace ladies all followed the example of the Emperor of Mourning and cut off their sleeves. When Dong Xian woke up, he saw the broken sleeve left by the Emperor of Mourning, and felt the deep emotions of the Emperor of Mourning. Since then, Dong Xian has become more gentle and considerate, and inseparable from the Emperor of Sorrow.
Dong Xian was reluctant to return home to reunite, and refused to go home to see his wife on the grounds of taking care of Emperor Moi. Although Emperor Moi wanted to maintain a close relationship with Dong Xian, he was a little overwhelmed. In the end, he made a special grace and allowed Dong Xian's wife to live in the palace so that he could meet Dong Xian at any time.
Dong Xian has a younger sister who has been staying at home. One day, Emperor Moi asked Dong Xian to send his sister to the palace. Dong Xian's sister looks very similar to him, her eyes are bright and her face is beautiful.
When the Emperor of Sorrow saw her, he decided to let her spend the night with him to experience the taste of love. The next day, Emperor Wei canonized Dong as Zhaoyi, second only to empress. The place where Dong Zhaoyi lived was "Pepper Wind", which was the same as the "Pepper House" where the empress lived.
Dong Xian's wife was also very beautiful, and after Emperor Mourning saw her, he was also attracted to her. Therefore, Emperor Moi asked her to serve with Dong Xian. From then on, Dong Xian's wives and concubines took turns to accompany Emperor Moi for the night, and people called him "Heqiao Jue".
Emperor Moi's love for Dong Xian grew day by day, and he used the emperor's power to continuously promote Dong Xian, from the crown prince to Huangmenlang, the captain of the horse, the attendant, and finally by the age of 22, he had become a great sima and held the power of the entire country.
As early as when Dong Xian was first favored by the Emperor of Sorrow, the Emperor of Mourning gave Dong Xian tens of thousands of dollars in just a few months, making Dong Xian instantly become a rich man from an ordinary person, attracting the attention of the imperial court.
The Emperor also built a luxurious residence and a gorgeous tomb for Dong Xian, the Yiling Tomb, and the cost of building the Yiling alone exceeded tens of thousands of dollars. Like the favored beauties in history, the male pet Dong Xian also soared because of his favor.
Dong Xian's father, Dong Gong, was originally an imperial historian, so Dong Xian was able to become the prince. After Emperor Mourning favored Dong Xian, Dong Gong was made Marquis of Baling, promoted to Guanglu Daifu and Shaofu, and was also given the title of Marquis of Guannei.
Dong Xian's sister was canonized as Zhaoyi, second only to empress. The Emperor of Mourning also rewarded the Dong family with treasures, such as beads and jade boxes, with a cumulative value of 4.3 billion yuan, and the children and servants of the Dong family also accepted the rewards of the Emperor Mourning, the amount of which is incalculable.
Emperor Wei planned to reward Dong Xian, first of all, Empress Dowager Fu, and also to please his grandmother. To this end, Fu Yan, Marquis of Kongxiang, was sent to present an edict to Prime Minister Wang Jia and Imperial Scholar Jia Yan to reward Dong Xian.
However, Wang Jia and Jia Yan strongly objected, causing the matter to be shelved for a while. A few months later, Emperor Moi finally broke out and suddenly issued an edict naming Dong Xian the Marquis of Gao'an. Because of this incident, Prime Minister Wang Jia was suspected by Emperor Mourning and was executed shortly after.
One day, Dong Xian's mother fell ill, and the Emperor of Mourning sent people to set up sacrifices and prayers everywhere, and after praying, on the offerings lined up on the roadside, anyone passing by could eat them independently. Whenever there was a wedding or other happy event in Dong Xian's house, Emperor Mo ordered the officials to prepare gifts to congratulate him.
Dong Xian's father, Dong Gong, was Kong Guang's junior official, when Kong Guang served as the imperial doctor. Once, Emperor Moi specially asked Dong Xian to visit Kong Guang. Kong Guang learned that Dong Xian was coming, sorted out his clothes in advance, and waited respectfully at the door.
When Dong Xian's car drove to the door, Kong Guang quickly retreated, and only after Dong Xian got out of the car did he bow his head and salute, inviting Dong Xian to take the seat and accompany him in the next seat. This flattering attitude made Dong Xian feel disdainful, and he was very dissatisfied with Kong Guang's sycophancy.
Emperor Moi was very fond of Dong Xian, and one day when drinking with the courtiers in the Qilin Hall, he actually said: "I want to emulate Yao Chanshun and pass the imperial throne to you." For a while, the hall was quiet, and everyone could not believe their ears.
Dong Xian was very happy, but this happened too suddenly, he didn't know how to answer for a while, and just as he was thinking about it, someone suddenly spoke:
"Tianxia is the world of Emperor Gao, not His Majesty's personal private property. His Majesty inherited the temple and should pass the throne to his descendants and pass it on from generation to generation. Son of Heaven should not be a joke! ”
When Emperor Moi saw that the spokesman was Wang Hong, the attendant of Zhongchang, he was very angry and drove Wang Hong out. When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she apologized to Emperor Moi on behalf of Wang Hong, and Emperor Mourning gradually calmed his anger. Instead, he thinks about his gaffe, so instead of making a clear response, he obscures his words.
The door of Dong Xian's house was originally very strong, but it suddenly collapsed for no reason. Dong Xian vaguely felt that this seemed to be a bad omen. Sure enough, not long after, Emperor Moi died soon after due to excessive indulgence at the age of 26, reigning for only 6 years.
Dong Xian and Dong Zhaoyi went to the weeping bedchamber, and the Empress Dowager summoned Dong Xian and asked how to arrange the funeral. Dong Xian had never dealt with such a big matter, and he couldn't answer for a while. So, the Empress Dowager sent someone to summon Wang Mang.
As soon as Wang Mang arrived, he said that Dong Xian had no merit and no virtue, and should not sit back and enjoy his achievements. He then forbade Dong Xian to enter and leave the palace. Dong Xian was very alarmed, he stood in front of the gate, took off his official hat, barefoot, and apologized inwardly.
Soon, Wang Mang pretended to be empress dowager and ordered Dong Xian's official seal and uniform to be confiscated, removed from his official position, and sent home to await his disposition. Dong Xian knew that Wang Mang would not let him go easily, thinking that suicide was the best choice, and Dong's wife was willing to die with him, and the two hugged their heads and cried together, and both committed suicide.
After the death of Dong Xian and his wife, the family thought it was an ominous omen and did not dare to declare the funeral, so they quietly buried them at night. However, after Wang Mang learned of this incident, he suspected that Dong Xian had died fraudulently and ordered the relevant judicial institutions to conduct an autopsy on Dong Xian.
Dong Xian's coffin is made of sand gold, painted with the colors of the four seasons, with a dragon engraved on the left side, a white tiger on the right, and a sun and moon pattern made of gold and silver embedded on the top.
Wang Mang accused Dong Xian of tyrangizing the royal system, dragging his body out of the coffin, stripping him of his clothes and decorations, and burying him in prison wrapped in a straw mat. Dong Xian's family was also implicated, and the family property was confiscated and sealed, with a total value of about 430,000 threads.
As an important political figure in the last years of the Han Dynasty, Dong Xian's evaluation in history was quite negative. He used his power and position to constantly woo the Emperor of Sorrow, and eventually succeeded in becoming a close confidant and important advisor to the Emperor of Sorrow.
However, when dealing with government affairs, he was often driven by his own selfish interests, did not pay attention to the interests of the country and the people, and even tried to usurp the throne after the death of the Emperor of Sorrow, which led to chaos in political affairs and social instability.
In addition, he also connived at his wife Dong Zhaoyi's arrogance and extreme extravagance and waste, which seriously damaged the image and prestige of the imperial court.
Therefore, Dong Xian is considered by historians to be a mixed figure, and although his behavior has some positive aspects, on the whole, it has very obvious individualism and selfish desires, which has a great negative impact on the country and society.