Eunuchs
Chinese Eunuchs
Eunuchs and Political Power
Eunuchs originated around 2000 years ago in the Imperial court. The tradition of using eunuchs was first presented in the Han Dynasty. They would often run the day to day affairs of the emperor’s court and were often the emperor’s closest friends. In the Ming Dynasty over 20,000 Eunuchs were employed in the Imperial city until 1924 when the last 1500 of them were banished from the Forbidden City. Eunuchs were often viewed as a privilegded class because of their close relationship to the emperor. The Eunuchs were often seen as scheming and corrupt… often the case as they were the only connection to the emperor. Any military generals or anyone outside the emperor’s direct family could never directly talk to the emperor, so they had to go through the eunuchs for information which would ask for bribes in return. This gave Eunuchs a lot of power. Although they were often viewed as corrupt, they also made significant contributions to the Chinese culture and civilization. The Eunuch Cai Lun is credited with inventing paper, while others were the first to play classical Chinese music. The Eunuch Zheng Ho was Chinas greatest explorer.
Way of life of a Eunuch
Often times Eunuchs chose their way of life. They were usually from poor families and chose that way of life in order to provide money and value to their family name. Often times, the parents would castrate the sons at an early age so they had a better chance of becoming a Eunuch. Becoming a head Eunuch was one of the highest honors someone could receive in China at this time. Even ordinary Eunuchs commanded respect due to their closeness with the Emperor and his family.
Castration procedure
Typically this was done with a slash of a knife outside a hut with only hot chili sauce as an anesthetic. After the procedure they would place a plug in the wound and would leave it there for 3 days. The plug was then removed and if urine came out it was considered a success. Many would die due to infections and loss of blood. Many of these boys were only 9 or 10 years of age. Once these boys became Eunuchs, they often carried their genitals in a jar attached to their belt. That way once they died; they could be buried with it and be reincarnated as a full man. This mixed with the castration often made eunuchs have a bad odor. They often wet their beds and were too weak to perform hard labor. After the procedure with the lack of testosterone would turn the males feminine. They would have high pitched voices and acted very feminine.
Eunuchs and relationship with emperor
Eunuchs were often the only men other than the emperor who was allowed to enter the inner courtyards of the Forbidden City. This is where the emperor, the imperial family, and the concubines lived. All military personal and other men were not allowed to enter the inner sanctum. This often led to eunuchs being to go between for the military generals and the emperor. Often times the Eunuchs would accept bribes in order to pass information to the emperor and other such tasks. Often times, the Emperor would be raised with eunuchs at a young age and would become close friends with them during the course of his lifetime.
Court affairs
The Eunuchs court duties were abundant. The majority of the day to day operations were taken care of the the emperors favourite Eunuch whom leaded an entire staff of thousands of other Eunuchs. Day to day work for the Eunuchs would be tasks such as cooking, cleaning, record keeping, and frendship for the emperor and concubines.
Eunuchs and the concubines
The Emperors concubines were highly guarded by the emperor and were never allowed outside the inner sanctum of the forbidden city. The eunuchs were the few men privileged to see the concubines and build relations were them. All other men were forbid to be around them in fear they may corrupt or impregnate them. Eunuchs on the other hand did not have this problem, so the emperor trusted them around the women.
The Last Eunuch
The last imperial Eunuch was Sun Yaoting. He died on December 17 1996 at the age of 93 in a Beijing Temple. In 1911 after the communists came to power, all Eunuchs were kicked out of the Forbidden City, never to return again. A few of them committed suicide by jumping in the moats of the Forbidden City.
REFERENCES
1. http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=43&catid=2&subcatid=2 (EUNUCHS IN CHINA, By 2008 Jeffrey Hays)
2. http://www.beijingmadeeasy.com/beijing-history/chinese-eunuchs (Chinese Eunuchs)