Regarding eunuchs, we have seen too many in various movies and TV dramas. The impression given to people is that of a sharp mouth, a bad look, a soft voice, but there are thunderbolt methods behind it. This group of people who are short of spare parts are not at all short-sighted. They are good at playing power and have beaten many normal people to pieces and abandoned their armor.
According to research, eunuchs in ancient China first appeared around 1600 BC. At that time, they were called "eunuchs", which was the earliest name for eunuchs. Before the Tang Dynasty , there was no word eunuch, and such people were generally called eunuchs. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the palace province was changed to the imperial palace, and the eunuchs began to serve as eunuchs and young eunuchs. Only the eunuchs with higher status were called "eunuchs". Until the Ming Dynasty , due to the great power of the eunuch, eunuchs were gradually called eunuchs.
Famous eunuchs in Chinese history include Zhao Gao, Gao Qiu, Cai Lun, Tong Guan, Gao Lishi, Wei Zhongxian, Li Lianying, etc. All of them are well-known figures. They even controlled the government and listened to the government behind the curtain for a period of time. They were said to be nine thousand years old, and became the dragon and phoenix among the people with less than ten thousand people. The one we are most familiar with is Wei Zhongxian, who has become the prototype character for many film and television dramas.
According to unscientific statistics, the total number of eunuchs in China throughout the past dynasties is nearly 10 million, which can be said to be a huge group and has become an indelible memory in Chinese history. The special profession of eunuch has been deeply ingrained in the hearts of Chinese people.
However, Chinese eunuchs have such a rich history, why have we not seen foreign eunuchs? After consulting a lot of information, I finally figured it out.
In fact, the eunuch system is not unique to China. Eunuchs exist in many countries in the world. The eunuch system in the West ended slightly earlier than in China. Basically, there were no eunuchs in 1640. According to statistics, eunuchs have existed in Western history for 3,064 years, which is a full 448 years less than in ancient China.
For example, the Ottoman Turkish Sultan had many concubines in his harem and also used a large number of black eunuchs, most of whom were slaves from Nubia. Coincidentally, "Herodotus" wrote in his representative work "History of the Greek-Persian War": The eunuchs at that time mainly came from the Persian Empire. Compared with normal people, eunuchs who had lost their reproductive functions were more vulnerable. Damn.
In the ancient Roman Empire, eunuchs were mainly used to serve people in the superstructure. Ancient Rome There was a very famous eunuch named Sporus, who was famous for his cruelty and debauchery. Nero Marriage, the marriage between a man and an eunuch is unique, it can be said that there are many things in the world.
are deeply influenced by Chinese culture. Vietnam and Korea also had eunuchs in ancient times. Their clothing, service methods, and management systems were not much different from those in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Moreover, in the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs were used as tribute to the Ming Emperor. The fate of these eunuchs was really miserable.
It is said that Japan is the only country that does not have eunuchs. Because the Japanese believe People who believe in Buddhism and can serve the emperor must be of noble origin. People of low status cannot enter the palace. Perhaps because of this reason, it was difficult to attack the powerful, and because of Xiaozhi's special style, there was no eunuch position, because it didn't seem necessary.
The number of eunuchs began to decrease after the Ming Dynasty. After all, it was a burden for the country to support so many eunuchs. Moreover, the country's fiscal revenue continued to decrease sharply at that time, and it could no longer support so many people. Qing Dynasty htm During the L3 period, the number of eunuchs reached a peak. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Qing Palace accepted many eunuchs from the Ming Dynasty. It is said that the number was as many as more than 90,000. Therefore, the number of eunuchs in the early Qing Dynasty was said to be extremely large. By the late Shunzhi dynasty, there were still more than 9000 eunuchs. However, after the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, there were still 1,517 eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty. Especially after the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, these eunuchs served Emperor Puyi for about 10 years.In 1924, Feng Yuxiang expelled Puyi from the Forbidden City . At the same time, these eunuchs also became civilians. At that time, most of these eunuchs lived on the streets, and some eunuchs sought refuge with relatives. The TV series "The Last Eunuch in China" starring Andy Lau is based on them, interpreting their tragic and tortuous lives.
Generally speaking, the life of eunuchs is very miserable. They are operated on to purify themselves at the age of 5-6. The operation is extremely risky and there is no anesthesia. Because the medical conditions at that time were extremely poor, survival depended entirely on willpower and one's own quality. Many children lost their lives due to surgery. Even if you succeed in becoming a eunuch, you will have to be humble and cautious all your life, for fear that a single move or wrong word may lead to death.
Fortunately, with the demise of the Qing Dynasty, this inhumane system finally disappeared. At this point, the eunuch system has completely disappeared into the dust of history.
