It was a life Sun Yaoting knew only too well. Puyi expelled the remaining eunuchs in The former emperor had become convinced that the eunuchs were plotting against him, and stealing treasures which Puyi and his family had planned to appropriate for their purposes. Many fell into poverty. Some gathered together in small communities based at temples and tried as best they could to adapt to a changing society. The Communist revolution brought even more significant challenges, and the account of eunuch persecution during the Cultural Revolution is predictably horrifying.
Through it all, at least according to his telling, Sun Yaoting made the best of a bad situation, avoiding the pitfalls of gambling, opium, and profligate spending which undid many of his brethren.
Although he had some near misses during the political upheavals of the s and s, he survived and lived out the final years of his life in the Guanghua Temple, near Houhai in central Beijing. The stories of wicked or power-hungry Chinese eunuchs are sensational, but most of them lived without freedom on the margins of power.
Dale, in particular, takes pains to strip the sensationalism and titillation which have long surrounded accounts of eunuchs in Chinese and Western writing on the subject. More scholarship remains to be done on the subject of eunuchs. It would be interesting to look at the Manchu-language archives for references to the eunuch system. There is evidence that the Manchus were somewhat apprehensive about the use of eunuchs, although by the 18th century there were over eunuchs employed by the Qing emperors still a far cry from the 50, — 70, which, according to Dale, served the Ming court.
The life of the eunuch was not easy, but it was a life lived. Melissa Dale and Jia Yinghua should be commended for bringing these lives to our attention. Jeremiah Jenne is a writer, educator, and historian based in Beijing. View all posts by Jeremiah Jenne. Skip to content. In the end, perhaps, Wei Zhu, who did become wealthy enough to rebuild the dilapidated temple, came to confirm some of the worst fears of Confucian authors. Seemingly, he put his own interests above those of the empire.
To Confucian writers, this represented the defect in the eunuch character, and the imbalance castration created between yin and yang. Yet the plight of Wei Zhu was not a function of his castration. Instead, it had more to do with his status. Unofficial officials survive solely at the discretion of those they serve. When deprived of their patrons, they are unprotected and thus liable to risk threatening the system to protect their livelihoods.
In this way, the Chinese system was little different than any other. Stay informed: Sign up for eNews Subscribe. AAS by Norman A. Kutcher, author of Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule Can a government function without unofficial officials—that is, without the men and women who work behind the scenes at the behest of those formally appointed to office? Norman A. The eunuchs lost their testicles and penis "the three preciouses".
The only local anesthetic used was hot chili sauce. After the procedure a plug was placed in the wound and the urethra and left there for three days. If urine poured out of the wound after the plug was removed the operation was considered a success.
During the Ming dynasty, the Forbidden City contained a special eunuch clinic where candidates had their genitals removed while sitting on a special chair with a hole in it. Candidates that didn't survive were carried way with their penis and testicles in a pouch for reunification in the afterlife. Many eunuchs were orphans or sons of prisoners or poor parents. Hundreds never recovered, dying of infection and exposure.
Those who did were taken to the capital to serve as court eunuchs. The operation cut off the supply of male hormones to the body and gave the eunuchs high voices and soft demeanors.
It also left them with less control of their bladder. Eunuchs traditionally preserved their genitals in a jar and carried them in a bag hung on their belt. This way, if a eunuch died he had his genitals on him and could be buried with them and be reincarnated as a "full man". Eunuch tombs In September , Reuters reported: A study of eunuchs in Korea's royal court has found men without testicles live longer.
Researchers looking at the court of the Chosun Dynasty found eunuchs lived to 70 on average, or 14 to 19 years longer than "intact" men of similar socio-economic status.
Three of the 81 eunuchs studied lived to or more, giving the group a centenarian rate some times that in developed nations today. September 24, ]. During the dynasty, which ran from to , boys in Korea sometimes underwent castration in order to serve as eunuchs and gain access to the privileged life of the palace.
Employed through history as guards or servants in harems across the Middle East and Asia, eunuchs in the Chosun court were allowed to marry and had families through adoption. In contrast, the average lifespan of the kings, who spent their whole lives inside the palace, was just 47 years. Previous studies have shown female mammals generally live longer than males, and one explanation is that testosterone weakens the immune system and can increase the chances of heart disease.
Scientists have also found that castration typically prolongs lifespan in animals but studies on people have been inconclusive. While data on mentally ill, institutionalized men showed them living longer, the lifespan of castrato singers was not significantly different from their non-castrated counterparts. The study was published in the journal Current Biology. Tomb of powerful eunuch Tian Yi Eunuchs were generally the only men other than the emperor who were allowed to enter the inner courtyards of the Forbidden City, where the imperial family and concubines lived.
Other men, including officials, military guards and even male relatives of the emperor, were not only not allowed to enter the inner sanctums but were often required to leave the palace grounds at night. They became a privileged class. Knowledge of the daily habits and personal tastes of the emperor gave eunuchs a peculiar opportunity to anticipate the monarch's whims. In the arbitrary governments of the East, this meant an opportunity to seize power.
Eunuchs had to be careful though. They say the sovereign is rigid with them in this respect that even for a slight fault the poor unfortunates are sometimes beaten to death. Floggings and other punishments were often controlled and carried out by the court eunuchs. Concubines and eunuch often formed close friendships. Eunuchs served as cooks, cleaners, record keepers and companions.
On his master's death, a young eunuch might be forgotten until the day he himself died but if he was apprenticed to the chief he might rapidly acquire influence.
The eunuchs were loathed by many. They were regarded as corrupt and immoral. They often demanded kickbacks in return for contracts. Scholar-bureaucrats, who had risen to their positions through merit, "feared, envied and despised" the eunuchs.
Sometimes political battles broke out between the eunuchs and the mandarins. Eunuchs were not allowed to be buried with their families. Several buried together outside of Beijing in a small graveyard for eunuchs with stone guardians around the tomb of the Ming dynasty eunuch Tian Yi. Beginning with the reign of Han Shun To in A. While ministers and many high officials were not allowed to address the Emperor directly, eunuchs saw him on a daily basis and were allowed to talk to him on familiar terms.
Not only did they work closely with the Emperor and his court, child eunuchs often grew up with future princes and emperors and were their playmates. They also had close ties with the palace women.
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