Speaking of the word eunuch, the first thing that everyone thinks of is Wei Zhongxian and Li Lianying. The Forbidden City made them famous, but they are still notorious today. Eunuchs are unfortunate and are victims of the feudal era. The darkness in the emperor's heart led to the physical disability of the eunuchs. In fact, their appearance was to meet the needs of the court. What most eunuchs can understand is that the fear of accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. If you are not careful, you will be killed. Doing high-risk jobs, but also living a nurturing life, they read an imperial edict that may be higher than your annual income.
The number of eunuchs in the Ming and Qing dynasties was not much less than that in the Han and Tang dynasties. It is reported that there were more than 1,000 eunuchs and 9,000 palace maids in the Ming Dynasty, which was equivalent to the number of people in a town within the Forbidden City. The excessive number of eunuchs also caused trouble to the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in the Qing Dynasty , the emperors of the Qing Dynasty learned the lessons of the previous dynasty and suppressed the power of eunuchs. Basically, eunuchs would not interfere in politics. Especially after the Jiaqing emperor, the number of eunuchs decreased. By the late Qing Dynasty, the total number of eunuchs in the palace was about 1,500.
Eunuchs can't actually do too many menial jobs in the palace. They usually only clean and cook or watch the door. The work is not heavy, so what is their salary? The economic income of eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty was closely related to their status. The higher the eunuch's grade, the more income he would receive.
During the Qianlong period, "Guochao Officials" was compiled, which recorded the income of eunuchs in detail: Sipinjingshifang looks at the first-level eunuchs, and every month They are paid eight taels of silver, 40 bushels of rice, and one, two or three cents of pocket money. This is the highest-ranking eunuch; the fifth grade is six taels, 30 bushels of rice, and one, two or three cents of pocket money; It's 5 taels, 25 buckets of rice, and one tael and one penny as pocket money. In descending order, eunuchs without grades have lower incomes. But a senior eunuch's monthly income must be more than this.
But the eunuchs in the palace have one good job, which is to read out the imperial edict. In ancient times, reading out the emperor's imperial edict was usually done by eunuchs, and it was rarely done by ministers. At this time, the eunuch became more majestic. The ministers not only knelt down to listen to the imperial edict, but also prepared tea for the eunuch. Of course, they would not forget to give him some benefit when they left. This benefit was usually some money or valuable treasures.
The reason why the minister did this was because he hoped that the eunuch could say something nice in front of the emperor. In fact, this is secondary. If the reception is not good, some narrow-minded eunuchs will fan the flames in front of the emperor, and the gain will outweigh the loss by adding fuel and jealousy. A minister's kindness will never be too little, up to dozens of taels at most. Reading the imperial edict once would earn him an additional year's income. These dozens of taels of silver were an income that ordinary families did not have in a year.
The person who did the eunuch job very successfully was undoubtedly Li Lianying. He was originally a eunuch who combed his hair, but eventually he became the general manager, and was also favored by Cixi . He received a lot of benefits in the palace. He retired and returned to his hometown in his later years and became a local millionaire. You can imagine how nourishing his life was.
