In feudal history, eunuchs were a very special group. Like their relatives, they were valued by the emperor while being guarded by the emperor. Because in the thousands of years of ancient history, the harm caused by the autocracy of foreign relatives and the abusive power of eunuchs was far more serious than that of powerful ministers. Especially during the Ming Dynasty, the situation of eunuchs abusing power was very serious, and the demise of the Ming Dynasty had a very close relationship with the eunuchs' abusing power.
Eunuchs are the eunuchs as the saying goes. In fact, early eunuchs did not need to be purified, and were also qualified to serve as ministers of the court and could make suggestions for national affairs openly. Later, with the change of dynasties, eunuchs gradually evolved into court eunuchs during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and their responsibilities became servants dedicated to the emperor and his relatives. And more importantly, in order to avoid the eunuchs from turmoiling the palace, they must be purified before they are qualified to enter the inner court. From then on, the word "eunuch" was abandoned and replaced by the word "eunuch" with discriminatory meaning.
Eunuchs are close servants around the emperor and are relatively more likely to be trusted by the emperor. The phenomenon of eunuchs abusing power in the Ming Dynasty was because the emperors of the Ming Dynasty believed too much about these eunuchs who were with them day and night, and believed that they could not do anything bad under their noses. In fact, after being favored, eunuchs acted as mighty outside, and eunuchs became the "popular person in front of the emperor" in the eyes of court ministers, and flirted with them, indirectly encouraging the eunuchs' arrogance.
However, although eunuchs are more likely to be favored by the emperor and court ministers are usually respectful to them, eunuchs have a very low status among the people. This may be because of the eunuch's physical defects. Although they can enjoy wealth and glory after entering the palace, they are still despised by people. If it weren't for the desperate situation, no one would want their children to enter the palace to be eunuchs, because this would be like taking the initiative to cut off the family incense.
Of course, for those who are difficult to maintain their lives, it is better to go to the palace to be a eunuch than starve to death, so that at least one life can be saved. There was such a person in the late Qing Dynasty. His fate could be said to be very tragic, as if God had played a malicious joke with him. Because he couldn't survive, he went to the palace to be a eunuch, so he went into a coma for three days with one knife. However, when he woke up, the Qing Dynasty died, so naturally he no longer needed any eunuch. This person who was teased by fate was Sun Yaoting, the last eunuch in ancient Chinese history.
Sun Yaoting was born in a poor family in Tianjin. When he was born, his family was only 7% off. In addition to his parents, he had 4 siblings. Because his parents could not support so many children, he had to send the young Sun Yaoting into the palace to be a eunuch. But at that time, the Qing Dynasty was already shaky, and Sun Yaoting had just finished purging himself and the Qing Dynasty was destroyed. With the demise of the Qing Dynasty, Sun Yaoting's plan to enter the palace was shattered, so he had to return to his hometown to beg for a living with his parents.
However, although the Qing Dynasty had already perished, there was still a small court in the Forbidden City. A few years later, because of the lack of eunuchs in the palace, Puyi, the Emperor Xuantong, who had announced his abdication, publicly recruited eunuchs from the public despite the ban on the Republic of China. In this way, Sun Yaoting finally had the opportunity to enter the palace. He was first arranged to work in Zaitao Beile's mansion. Because he was smart and clever, he was later transferred to the Forbidden City to serve the Imperial Concubine Duankang and the Queen Wanrong.
After Puyi was driven out of the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang, Sun Yaoting was also dismissed back to his hometown. Later, he worked as a laborer in Changchun for a while, and finally left Changchun and returned to Beijing because of illness. Since then, he has lived in Xinglong Temple in Wanshou. This temple was the gathering place for eunuchs who left the palace in the late Qing Dynasty. Eunuchs who left the palace had nowhere to go, so they had to join the group here to keep warm and spend the last time of their lives. After the founding of New China, Sun Yaoting was also properly cared for and was arranged to live in Guanghua Temple until his death at the age of 94.
For Sun Yaoting, his career in the palace seemed to be glorious on the surface, but in fact he was very sad. Not only was he undeniable at all, but he would also be severely punished if he accidentally did something wrong.In order to survive in the palace, he had to learn to bow down and live a flattering life as a slave in the palace, and later he was driven back to his hometown. Fortunately, after the founding of New China, these helpless eunuchs were also properly taken care of, and they were able to receive a living expenses every month, and were also assigned to work to live with dignity.
The profession of eunuch can be said to be a special product of the feudal era. It always exists with the imperial power and perishes with the decline of the imperial power. Although the eunuchs in history, such as Liu Jin, Wei Zhongxian and others, were once glorious and even more than one person, their final outcome was very miserable. Moreover, there are still very few eunuchs who can do this step, and they have become victims of the imperial power era like Sun Yaoting and others.
