Li Ying (Eastern Han)
Li Ying, courtesy name Fuli, was a Confucian scholar and official during the Eastern Han dynasty. He was implicated during the first Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, and eventually killed during the second Disaster during the reign of Emperor Ling.
Background
Li Ying was from Yingchuan Commandery. Due to his personality, he had few friends, except for Xun Shu and Chen Shi from the same commandery, whom he regarded as mentors as well.Li Ying's grandfather Li Xiu served as Grand Commandant during the reign of Emperor An of Han, while his father Li Yi was Chancellor of the state of Zhao. The mother of Zhong Hao's paternal nephew Zhong Jin was a paternal aunt of Li Ying.
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Between December 142 and July 146, after being nominated as a xiaolian, Li Ying was recruited as an official by Hu Guang, who was then situ.Service under Emperor Huan
After his recruitment by Hu Guang, Li Ying was able to pass the government certification test and was appointed Inspector of Qingzhou. Many officials in the province, fearing his severity, abandoned their posts. After Qingzhou, Li Ying was appointed Administrator of Yuyang Commandery; after a short stint at Yuyang, he was appointed Administrator of Shu Commandery. While at Shu Commandery, he resigned, citing his mother's advanced age.In August 156, with the Xianbei raiding Yunzhong Commandery, Li Ying was appointed General Who Crosses the Liao by Emperor Huan when the emperor heard of his abilities. When Li reached the border, the raiders were so in awe of him that they released the populace they had captured previously.
In 159, Li Ying was made Intendant of Henan Commandery.
In 166, Li Ying handled a murder case: Zhang Cheng, a fortune teller in Luoyang, had foretold that a general pardon would be forthcoming, and he therefore instructed his son to commit the murder. Li Ying, by then one of the foremost Confucian scholars in government who was serving as the governor of the capital province, arrested the Zhangs, but at this time a general pardon was issued. Li, in anger, disregarded the pardon and executed the Zhangs anyway. He was then accused by palace eunuchs of plotting treason with students at the Imperial University and associates in the provinces who opposed the eunuchs. Emperor Huan was furious, arresting Li and his followers, who were only released from prison the following year due to pleas from the General-in-Chief Dou Wu. However, Li Ying and hundreds of his followers were proscribed from holding any offices and were branded as partisans.
During Emperor Ling's reign
In January 168, Emperor Huan died without issue. In February, after Empress Dowager Dou Miao consulted her father and Chen Fan, Liu Hong, then Marquis of Jiedu Village, was selected as the next emperor; he would posthumously be known as Emperor Ling.In October 168, Chen Fan and Dou Wu plotted against the eunuchs, but their plan was leaked; they were then both killed. With Dou Wu eliminated and the Empress Dowager under house arrest, the eunuchs renewed the proscriptions against Li Ying and his followers; in 169, they had hundreds more officials and students prohibited from serving office, sent their families into exile, and had Li Ying executed.