Liu Jin

Liu Jin, born in 1451, was from Xingping County in Shaanxi province. Originally surnamed Tan (), he was castrated as a young boy and adopted by a eunuch surnamed Liu serving in the Forbidden City. ==Reforms==

As head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the most influential eunuch office, Liu's focus was on increasing the emperor's income, and he did so by implementing various tactics. For example, his agents would impose additional silver levies on mines in Fujian and Sichuan. They also engaged in salt monopoly by selling beyond official quotas, which often resulted in their own imprisonment when caught by officials. Liu's ultimate goal was for the profits from salt sales to become the second largest source of state revenue, following the land tax. To achieve this, he employed a secret police force led by eunuchs to track down and capture salt smugglers across the country. He also used fear and intimidation to ensure that officials responsible for finance and taxes met their quotas, threatening them with heavy fines if they failed to do so. This often left these officials in a state of financial hardship. Liu enforced the obedience of scholar-officials through brutal terror, but also struggled with the aversion of the other seven "Tigers", themselves powerful figures in the government. Liu's attempt to increase state revenue by raising the quotas assessed on military households caused widespread discontent in the borderlands, leading to a rise in banditry in the northern metropolitan area in 1509 and an open rebellion in 1510 that spread from Beijing to the Yangtze River. In March 1507, a decree was issued that placed eunuch intendants in the provinces on equal footing with leading provincial officials, giving them authority over administrative and legal matters. This increase in power for eunuchs sparked strong opposition from officials. While Liu managed state affairs, the Emperor indulged in pleasure. During one of his entertainments, Liu presented him with state documents to sign, but the Emperor dismissed him, saying he was only employing him to avoid the tedious task of reading and signing decrees. After that, Liu no longer bothered the Emperor with state documents. ==Downfall==

In May 1510, Zhu Zhifan, Prince of Anhua, led a rebellion in Shaanxi, taking advantage of the opposition to Liu's reforms. In response, the Emperor sent one of the "Eight Tigers", Zhang Yong, to lead the army against the rebels. Additionally, Yang Yiqing, an official familiar with local affairs, was also sent to Shaanxi. However, the rebellion was crushed by local forces before they even arrived. During the march, Yang convinced Zhang that he was in danger of being overthrown by Liu in a palace coup. After returning to Beijing, Zhang joined forces with the other six "Tigers". On 13 September 1510, they accused Liu of treason, claiming he planned to assassinate the Emperor and place his own great-nephew on the throne during the funeral of Liu's recently deceased brother, scheduled for 17 September. Despite the Emperor's initial reluctance to believe in Liu's betrayal, he was finally convinced. The next day, Liu was transferred to Nanjing and his property was confiscated. When the Emperor saw the weapons and vast treasures that Liu had accumulated, he ordered his execution, despite Liu's claims of innocence. On 16 September, Liu was arrested, and his three-day execution by lingchi, or "slow slicing", began on 27 September. Historians have varying accounts of the size of Liu's treasure. For example, Goodrich reports that it consisted of 300,000 liang of gold, 50 million liang of silver, and 20 bushels of precious stones. Meanwhile, Barmé claims that the treasure included 2.5 million liang of gold and silver, two gold suits of armor, 25 pounds of precious stones, 3,000 gold rings and brooches, 500 gold plates, and over 4,000 jeweled belts. Eberhard's account differs even more, stating that the treasure contained 57,800 pieces of gold, 240,000 gold bars (each ten times heavier than a liang), 791,800 liang of silver, 5 million silver bars (each weighing five liang), 3 bushels of precious stones, two gold armors, and 3,000 gold rings, among other items. One liang was equivalent to 37.301 grams, meaning that 1 million liang would weigh approximately 37.3 tons. Liu's allies were removed, and his reforms were reversed. The reform documents were also destroyed, resulting in the failure of the only substantial attempt to change the administrative structure of the Ming dynasty and expand the emperor's direct control through eunuch officials. While classical historians harshly criticize Liu's group, they did attempt to streamline the administration of the empire and prevent the decline of central authority. Despite amassing enormous personal wealth, Liu claimed to aim to prevent officials from serving their personal interests, anticipating similar efforts by Zhang Juzheng about seventy years later. However, the fact that these reforms were initiated by eunuchs sufficed for their rejection by the conservative bureaucracy. ==References==