| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 侯览, 侯覽, Hóu Lǎn |
| Nickname | One of the Ten Attendants (十常侍) |
| Other name | Hầu Lãm |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Fangdong, Shanyang (present-day Shan County, Shandong) |
| Died | 172 |
| Death Reason | Died 172 AD; family executed and property confiscated after posthumous corruption investigation |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Eastern Han (eunuch faction) |
| Battles |
|
Biography & Historical Record
Hou Lan (侯览, Hầu Lãm) was one of the Ten Attendants (十常侍) — the notorious eunuch faction that dominated Emperor Ling’s court and is widely blamed for the Eastern Han’s final collapse. From Fangdong in Shanyang (present-day Shan County, Shandong), he rose through the inner palace to enormous wealth and power, building mansions and seizing property until local officials and gentry revolted against his exactions.
Hou Lan died in 172 AD, before the Yellow Turban rebellion, but his posthumous punishment became a landmark case: after his death, investigators uncovered vast corruption, his family was executed, and his property was confiscated — a rare instance of the court striking back at a dead eunuch’s estate. Luo Guanzhong invokes the Ten Attendants collectively in Chapters 1 and 3; Hou Lan is named among them when the narrative lists the faction that “banded together in wickedness” under Emperor Ling.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 1: When cataloguing the disasters of Emperor Ling’s reign, the novel names the Ten Attendants — Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Lan (侯览), Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng — as the inner-court faction whose corruption drove the realm toward rebellion. Chapter 3 (He Jin Is Slain in the Palace; Dong Zhuo Seizes Power): During the palace coup, eunuchs including Hou Lan’s faction seize the Empress Dowager and the young Emperor, dragging them through the inner palace toward the Northern Palace — Hou Lan is named among those who “seized the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Chenliu” and fled by the rear passage.
Hou Lan (侯览) — Historical & Literary Timeline
Emperor Ling’s reign
Ten Attendants faction
Named among the ten eunuchs who dominated Ling’s court — Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, Guo Sheng.
172 AD
Death and posthumous punishment
Died; investigators later exposed corruption, his family was executed and property confiscated — a rare posthumous strike against a eunuch estate.
Chapter 1
Listed as cause of Han decline
Novel names the Ten Attendants, including Hou Lan, as the inner-court corruption that precedes the Yellow Turban rebellion.
Chapter 3
Palace coup — seizing the imperial family
During He Jin’s assassination aftermath, Hou Lan is named among eunuchs who seize the Empress Dowager and Emperor and flee toward the Northern Palace.
For detailed historical records, archives, and official chronicles, explore Hou Lan on Wikipedia.
Key Relationships
Family
- Family executed and property confiscated after his 172 AD death when corruption was exposed.
Friends
- Zhang Rang (张让, Trương Nhượng): Leader of the Ten Attendants; Emperor Ling called him “Father.”
- Zhao Zhong (赵忠, Triệu Trung), Feng Xu (封谞), Duan Gui (段珪), Cao Jie (曹节): Fellow Ten Attendants named with Hou Lan in Chapter 1.
- Jian Shuo (蹇硕), Cheng Kuang (程旷), Xia Yun (夏恽), Guo Sheng (郭胜): Remaining members of the Ten Attendants roster.
Enemies
- He Jin (何进, Hà Tiến): Grand General whose failed coup against the eunuchs triggers Chapter 3’s chaos.
- Liu Bian (刘辩) (Emperor Shao) and Empress Dowager He (何太后): Imperial family the eunuchs seize in Chapter 3.
Other
- Dong Zhuo (董卓, Đổng Trác): Warlord who enters Luoyang after the eunuch crisis — the power vacuum the Ten Attendants helped create.
- Yuan Shao (袁绍, Viên Thiệu) and Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo): Officers who mobilize against the eunuchs in Chapters 1–3.
- Emperor Ling (灵帝, Linh Đế): Sovereign whose trust in the Ten Attendants the novel treats as the root of dynastic collapse.
In Novel
Chapter 1
- Hou Lan (侯览, Hầu Lãm): Named among the Ten Attendants (十常侍) whose corruption under Emperor Ling drives the Eastern Han toward rebellion — listed with Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng.
Chapter 3
- Hou Lan (侯览, Hầu Lãm): Named among the eunuchs who, after He Jin's assassination, seize the Empress Dowager, Crown Prince, and Prince of Chenliu and flee through the inner palace toward the Northern Palace.
In History
Summary
- Hou Lan (侯览, Hầu Lãm) was a Ten Attendants eunuch under Emperor Ling who died in 172 AD; his posthumous estate was confiscated and his family executed for corruption.
Year: 172 AD
- Died; subsequent investigation exposed vast illegal wealth, leading to family execution and property seizure.
Historical Record
- Hou Hanshu, eunuch biographies — Hou Lan's corruption and posthumous punishment.
- The novel's Ten Attendants roster in Chapters 1 and 3 reflects the historical faction blamed for Han collapse.
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