Career Under Emperor Huan
Dou Wu's father Dou Feng (竇奉) was a great-grandson of Dou Rong (竇融), who contributed much to Emperor Guangwu's campaign to reestablish Han Dynasty. Dou Feng was a commandery governor. When Dou Wu was young, he became known for his scholarship in Confucian classics and was famous for it in all of western empire, but was not involved in politics.
That changed in 165 when his daughter Dou Miao was selected to be an imperial consort, as an eligible woman from an honored clan. Because of this, Emperor Huan made Dou Wu a low level official. Later that year, after Empress Deng Mengnü was deposed, the imperial officials all favored Consort Dou to be the new empress due to Dou Wu's reputation, and Emperor Huan gave in to their wishes although he personally did not favor Consort Dou. She was created empress later that year. Dou Wu was promoted to be the commander of the capital (Luoyang) defense forces and created a marquess.
In 167, during the height of the first Disaster of Partisan Prohibition (in which Confucian officials and their university student supporters were accused to be "partisans" schemeing against the emperor), Dou Wu interceded on the partisans' behalf, requesting leniency and at the same time tendering his resignation (which Emperor Huan did not accept). It was with his intercession and that of Huo Xu (霍謣) that Emperor Huan did not execute any of the partisans, although he did strip their civil liberties. Dou Wu, in the meantime, also recommended several scholars who were not accused to be partisans for important posts.
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