 The eunuch Wei Zhongxian ( 1568 – 1627 ) dominated the court of the Tianqi Emperor ( r . 1620 – 1627 ) and had his political rivals tortured to death , mostly the vocal critics from the faction of the Donglin Society . He ordered temples built in his honor throughout the Ming Empire , and built personal palaces created with funds allocated for building the previous emperor 's tombs . His friends and family gained important positions without qualifications . Wei also published a historical work lambasting and belittling his political opponents . The instability at court came right as natural calamity , pestilence , rebellion , and foreign invasion came to a peak . The Chongzhen Emperor ( r . 1627 – 44 ) had Wei dismissed from court , which led to Wei 's suicide shortly after . 
