刘嚣 / Liu Xiao (late Han)

Overview

Liu Xiao is the Changsha man in Hanji 891 who becomes sikong after being presented as skilled at flattering palace eunuchs.

Current Profile

Current evidence gives Liu Xiao a compact court-politics role rather than a full biography. His appointment to one of the Three Excellencies is interpreted by the host as an example of high office moving through eunuch favor and palace access, not through demonstrated public merit in the episode itself.

Key Characteristics

• Changsha-origin late-Han official named in the 169 CE Three Excellencies turnover.
• Appointed sikong after Wenren Xi and Xu Xun are removed in the previous office-churn sequence.
• Presented as adept at flattering zhongchangshi / palace eunuchs.
• Evidence marker for high office being shaped by inner-court access.

Evidence

• Appointment: Hanji 891 says Liu Xiao of Changsha is elevated to sikong in June 169.
• Patronage interpretation: Hanji 891 says he is promoted because he is especially good at flattering the zhongchangshi.
• Office-churn context: Hanji 891 places the appointment beside Wenren Xi’s and Xu Xun’s removals and Liu Chong’s move from situ to taiwei.

Qualifications

The source’s characterization is a host-level interpretation of the appointment. This page does not independently verify Liu Xiao’s wider career or the exact patronage channel.

What Changed

• Created the page from Hanji 891’s sikong appointment and eunuch-flattery explanation.

Relationships

• 汉灵帝 - ruler whose court appoints Liu Xiao during early-reign office churn.
• 闻人袭 - removed high official in the same appointment sequence.
• 许训 - high official named in the same churn sequence.
• 刘宠 - official moved to taiwei in the same June 169 sequence.
• 朝廷开府任官失序 - broader pattern of high office becoming unstable under court distortion.
• 宫廷接触垄断 - related inner-court access mechanism behind the host’s interpretation.