Biography

On 12 October 1575, Zuo Guangdou was born in Tongcheng, Anhui. He was named Guangdou because his birthday coincided with the god Doumu's birthdate.

In 1607, he and Yang Lian both became censors for the censorate. After Zuo finished his investigations, seventy fake seals were confiscated while he detained one-hundred fake officials. After the Taichang Emperor died, Wei Zhongxian forced Zuo and Yang to moved into the Renshou palace. Tensions grew between the eunuchs and the Donglin movement faction, whose head was Yang. He was promoted to the Left Minister of the Court of Judicature and Revision on March, 1623. In 1624, Zuo Guangdou was promoted to the Left Minister of the Censorate.

Against Wei Zhongxian

When Wei Zhongxian started to become a dictator in June of the same year, Yang Lian exposed Wei's twenty-four crimes and said that Wei should be put to death by Lingchi. Zuo Guangdou as well as more than seventy others supported Wei's impeachment. Along with them came another thirty-two crimes that were exposed. However, the Tianqi Emperor dismissed the accusations.

On 25 April 1625, Wei Zhongxian countered with false accusations. He stated that six members of the Donglin faction, including Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, had excepted bribes from Xiong Tingbi. The Wei faction tortured Donglin faction's Wang Wenyan into admitting that they had accepted bribes. Wei ruled that Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou had twenty thousand stolen goods while Wei Dazhong had three thousand. This led to the imprisonment of Yang, Zuo, and four other members of the Donglin faction. They suffered five days of continuous torture. Shi Kefa, a disciple of Zuo, sneaked into the prison to visit his master. He said Zuo "was no longer in human form." Eventually, all six of them died by the tortured, with Zuo dying on 26 August 1625.

Posthumous Honors

After the death of the Tianqi Emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor posthumously awarded the titles of "Right Minister of the Censorate"(右都御史) and "Assistant Protector of the Crown Prince" (太子少保). One of his sons was also accepted as an official. The Hongguang Emperor gave Zuo the posthumous title "Duke of Zhongyi" (忠毅公).

In Popular Culture

• A General, a Scholar, and a Eunuch is a 2017 Hong Kong science fiction drama show. Zuo Guangdou is played by Raymond Cho and is one of the protagonists. He is the "Scholar."

• Baifa Monü Zhuan is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng. Zuo Guangdou is a minor character who is a censorate official who is murdered by Wei Zhongxian's men.

生平

万历三年九月初九日（1575年10月12日）左光斗生于桐城东乡左家宕老家，出生之日恰逢斗姥元君神诞，因而命名为光斗。

万历三十五年（1607年）与杨涟同年进士，授中书舍人，擢监察御史，巡按京畿，捉拿了吏部的一些作恶多端的官吏，当时奸党恶人冒充官吏，横行京师，光斗调查之后，收缴假印七十多枚，拘押假官一百多人。

万历四十八年（1620年）七月，明光宗朱常洛即位，宠妃李选侍照顾皇长子朱由校迁入乾清宫。九月光宗死于红丸案，朱由校继位，是为熹宗。李选侍又想继续侍奉熹宗。时魏忠贤想利用熹宗年幼之机，把持朝政大权，坚持让李选侍居住在熹宗所在的乾清宫内；都给事中杨涟、御史左光斗等为防李选侍干预朝事，逼迫李选侍移居仁寿殿哕鸾宫。此事件史称移宫案。

天启元年（1621年）因移宫案，宦官与东林党党势力间关系愈加紧张，左光斗力主移宫案。

天启三年（1623年）三月升授大理寺左寺丞。

次年，拜都察院左佥都御史。同年六月，宦官魏忠贤专权，杨涟上了一份奏章，揭发魏忠贤二十四条罪状。左光斗等七十馀人大力支持，弹劾忠贤等三十二斩罪，但熹宗皆不信。

天启五年三月十九日（1625年4月25日）魏忠贤矫旨提问。魏忠贤反诬陷六君子接受熊廷弼的贿赂，判定杨涟、左光斗各坐赃二万，魏大中三千。后左光斗等人被捕下狱，受酷刑折磨，史载「五日一审，受拶、夹、棍等刑，不能跪起，平卧堂下受讯」。门生史可法潜入狱中探望时「已不成人形」。左恐连累门生，将史赶出监狱。忠贤诬光斗等贪污数万两白银，要追出赃款。左光斗的旧友孙奇逢与鹿正（主事鹿善继父）、张果中四处募款，诸生热烈响应，募得数千两白银上缴未及，魏忠贤见光斗有人营救，反而加重拷打六君子，六君子皆死，孙奇逢等人被赞为范阳三烈士。

天启五年七月二十四日（1625年8月26日）左光斗在狱中被锦衣卫许显纯拷打而死，其兄左光霁亦被阉党都御史周应秋所逼，自杀而死，左母因二子俱死，悲痛而卒。魏忠贤一度又要将左光斗开棺戮尸，后来被劝阻。

天启七年（1627年）明熹宗驾崩，明思宗即位，改元崇祯，惩办魏忠贤阉党，忠贤畏罪自杀，思宗追赠光斗右都御史、太子少保，录用其一子为官。南明福王弘光时，为左光斗追諡忠毅。

著作

作品收入《左忠毅公集》5卷。

家族

曾祖父左麒、祖父左轸、父左出頴，母周氏。兄左光霁、左光朝、左光前、左光启，弟左光裕、左光先、左光明、左光弼。

注释

分类:中国被酷刑者