Wei Zhongxian: A Novel of the Traitor's Downfall

A vernacular novel of manners from the Ming dynasty, possibly written by Feng Menglong or Lu Yunlong. It tells the story of Wei Zhongxian, originally named Wei Jinzong. Clever and quick-witted from childhood, he was told by a face reader at thirteen or fourteen that he would rise to wealth and status in middle age. During the famine in his hometown around the fifteenth or sixteenth year of the Wanli reign, debt drove him to castrate himself, leave his wife, and go to the capital, where he became a eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial. For more than twenty years, he accompanied the Tianqi Emperor from boyhood to the throne, becoming a close attendant to the new ruler and enjoying robes of state and jade belts. Thereafter, Wei relied on his power, took control of the Eastern Depot, built factions for private gain, persecuted loyal officials, and spent his days leading the emperor into indulgence in hunting, music, and women. Though once impeached, he only grew more deeply favored by the emperor. He later schemed to seize military command and had shrines built in his honor, a practice that spread throughout the provinces and as far as the frontier garrisons. When the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, Wei was impeached by the officials and sent under escort to Fengyang. Fearing punishment, he hanged himself. Once the tree fell, the monkeys scattered: after the eunuch Wei was destroyed, the loyal officials he had framed were freed and exonerated. Senior officials opposed to Wei, who had been forced into retirement, also regained their posts and rank.