Dou Xian

Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD ) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire.

Early life A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan which dominated court politics during his tenure. However, his father Dou Xun fell into disgrace and died in 70 AD, leaving Dou Xian an orphan. His fortunes were greatly enhanced, though, when his two sisters entered the imperial harem in 77. In the following year, the older of these two sisters became Empress Zhangde, the wife of Emperor Zhang of Han, and lasted briefly as empress dowager and regent during the early reign of Emperor He of Han.

Campaigns against the Xiongnu

In 89 AD, Dou Xian led a Han expedition against the Northern Xiongnu. The army advanced from Jilu, Manyi, and Guyang in three great columns. In the summer of 89, the forces—comprising a total of 40,000 troops—assembled at Zhuoye Mountain. Near the end of the campaign, Dou's forces chased the Northern Chanyu into the Altai Mountains, killing 13,000 Xiongnu and accepting the surrender of 200,000 Xiongnu from 81 tribes.

In 90 AD, Dou Xian had encamped at Wuwei. He sent Deputy Colonel Yan Pan with 2,000 light cavalry to strike down the final Xiongnu defenses in the Western Regions, capturing Yiwu and receiving the surrender of Jushi.

Downfall In 92, the Dous suddenly fell from grace as the result of a coup d'état. The details are unclear now, but it appeared that Emperor He, perhaps encouraged by his brother Prince Qing (whose mother had died at the Dous' hand and whose status as crown prince had been stripped away by their machinations) and the eunuch Zheng Zhong (鄭眾), made sudden orders to the imperial guards to have them arrest Dou Xian's associates and execute them. He sent Dou Xian and his brothers back to their marches, but eventually ordered them to commit suicide, with the exception of Dou Gui. Empress Dowager Dou remained empress dowager, but lost all power.

Inscription of Yanran

The Inscription of Yanran, composed by Ban Gu and engraved on Mount Yanran to commemorate Dou Xian's victory against the Xiongnu, was recorded in the 5th-century Book of Later Han. The expression "to carve a stone on Yanran" entered the Chinese language as a synonym for achieving a decisive victory. In 2016, a researchers team of Mongolian national university expedition rediscovered the inscription in the Inil (Delgerkhangai) Mountains in southern Mongolia". The 220 legible characters of the inscription, out of a total of 260, are identical to the text recorded in the Book of the Later Han.