He was known as a Confucian scholar and served as a low-level official during the reign of Emperor Huan until his daughter Dou Miao was elevated from imperial consort to empress, which caused him to be promoted, eventually to become one of the most important imperial officials when his daughter became empress dowager and regent for Emperor Ling.
[2] When Dou Wu was young, he became known for his scholarship in Confucian classics and was famous for it in the areas west of Dasan Pass, but was not involved in politics.
[3] That changed in 165 when his daughter Dou Miao was selected to be an imperial consort, as an eligible woman from an honored clan.
Dou Wu was promoted to be the commander of the capital (Luoyang) defense forces and created a marquess.
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 therefore sought to execute four—Guan Ba (管霸), Su Kang (蘇康), Cao Jie (曹節), and Wang Fu (王甫).
He gathered 17 other eunuchs and took Emperor Ling into custody (managing to persuade him that they did it for his own protection) and kidnapping Empress Dowager Dou.