In 135, two major political changes occurred. Eunuch-marquesses began to be allowed to pass their
marches to their adopted sons, and Liang Shang became the commander of the armed forces and effectively the most powerful individual in the imperial government. Neither of these developments appeared at the time to be major, but had great implications. The former demonstrated that the power of the eunuchs was becoming systemic, and the latter led to the start of the Liangs controlling the imperial government for several administrations. Liang Shang was, much like his son-in-law, a kind man who lacked any real political abilities, even though he appeared to be honest, compassionate and ethical. For example, in 138, when there was a conspiracy by some eunuchs to undermine him that Emperor Shun discovered, he advocated leniency, and while Emperor Shun did not completely agree with him, Liang's intercession clearly saved many lives. However, both he and Emperor Shun trusted his son
Liang Ji () who, unlike his father, was corrupt and violent. From 136 to 138, there were a number of native rebellions in various parts of southern China. While these were generally put down with relative ease (in particular, the rebels generally surrendered willingly if the corrupt officials they were protesting against were replaced by Emperor Shun), these would foreshadow the much more serious rebellions that would come in the next few decades. Further, in 139, the
Qiang again rebelled, and this time the rebellion would not be put down easily and would plague Emperor Shun for the rest of his reign. Indeed, in 141, the Qiang forces annihilated a Han force led by Ma Xian () and set fire to the tomb-gardens of a number of Western Han emperors in the
Chang'an region. Further, agrarian rebellions started in Jing (荊州, modern
Hunan,
Hubei, and southern
Henan) and Yang (揚州, modern
Jiangxi,
Zhejiang, and central and southern
Jiangsu,
Anhui) Provinces and would not be pacified for the rest of Emperor Shun's reign. In September 141, Liang Shang died. Inexplicably, Emperor Shun gave his post to Liang's son Liang Ji and gave Liang Ji's post to his younger brother Liang Buyi (). Liang Ji proceeded to seize power at every opportunity, and even though Liang Buyi tried to encourage his brother to be moderate in his behaviour, his pleas fell on deaf ears. In 144, apparently already ill, Emperor Shun created his only son Liu Bing (), born of his concubine Consort Yu in 143, crown prince. Later that year, Emperor Shun died, and Crown Prince Bing succeeded him as
Emperor Chong. Empress Dowager Liang served as regent, and while she personally appeared capable, her trust in her brother Liang Ji would lead to a further decline in the standing of the Eastern Han. On 26 October 144, Emperor Shun was buried and given the temple name "
Jingzong". However, in 190, during the reign of
Emperor Xian of Han, Emperor Shun's temple name was revoked. At the same time, the posthumous title of "Empress Gongmin" (恭愍皇后), which was granted to his mother Consort Li on 7 July 127, was also revoked. ==Era names==