The History of China - #286 - Special: Everything Eunuchs All At Once

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

Everything you ever wanted to know (and probably some you didn't) about Court Eunuchs in Imperial China (warning: contains description of castration & its effects) Mary M. Anderson, Hidden Power: The Palace Eunuchs of Imperial China. Duhalde, Marcelo. "How an army of eunuchs ran the Forbidden City" in The South China Morning Post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast. Hello, and welcome to the History of China. Episode 286. Everything Eunuchs All at Once. Zhao Gao was contemplating treason, but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands. So he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the second emperor, Qin Arshi, but called it a horse. The second emperor laughed and said, Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse? Then the emperor questioned those around him.

Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate with the eunuch Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others insisted that it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law and executed. Thereafter, the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao. From the Shi Ji, the chapter on the Qin Dynasty by Sima Qian, the Grand Historian As we turn the corner of the 18th century and continue our examination of the latter stages of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, it strikes me that this is just about the time period in which an article that I read a few years back by SCMP

talked about the lives of imperial eunuchs in China and specifically the Qing dynasty. I went to go look it up and unfortunately it was paywalled by SCMP years back, but I did find that it was based on an article by Mary M. Anderson called Hidden Power, the Palace Eunuchs of Imperial China, published in 1990. So using a combination of the portions of the article that I could pull back up and the book excerpts on which it was based, I thought it would be interesting for me, and hopefully for you, to take a little bit and do a kind of a one-off episode on what it was like for eunuchs in imperial China. So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy. Kastrati, or eunuchs, have been utilized in cultures all over the world across time for

various functions, both low and high, in society. In Chinese history, however, the role of eunuchs carries a special connotation and importance, one that is both complicated and laced with elements of hatred, fear, misunderstanding, and demonization. Nevertheless, across the imperial era of China, court eunuchs served an important and indeed irreplaceable function for most dynasties. These emasculated men served as palestinians, spies, and harem watchdogs throughout the ancient world. An army of eunuchs was attached to the Forbidden City, primarily to safeguard the imperial lady's chastity. They operated from what was known as the inner court, consisting only of the emperor's chosen women and those eunuchs designated to protect their person and, of course, virtue.

Confucian ideals deemed it vital for the emperor, seen as heaven's very representative on earth, the son of heaven, to produce a direct male heir in order to maintain harmony between that which is above and that which is below. It was therefore of paramount importance that the emperor not only had exclusive access to the largest number of potential heir producers to ensure the survival of at least one into adulthood, but also that that exclusivity was jealously guarded and rigorously protected by those who were rendered physically incapable of doing otherwise. Court chronicles record Chinese kings keeping emasculated servants as early as the 8th century BC,

but historians generally date the appearance of eunuchs into the imperial court to the reign of Emperor Huan, the 27th emperor of the Han dynasty, who reigned from 146 to 167 CE. The government role occupied by eunuchs meant that, over time, they were able to exert enough influence on emperors to gain control of state affairs and even cause the fall of some dynasties. The heights of power enjoyed by some of these court eunuchs was due partly to the ambitions of the consort families,

those of the emperor's wives and concubines, and also partly as a result of the secluded lifestyle which etiquette prescribed for the emperor and those closest to him, and the information bubble that that naturally created. In all, this system would last more than two millennia, coming to an end only when it was abolished on November 5th, 1924, when the last emperor, Pu Yi of Qing, was driven out of the Forbidden City, where he'd been living in virtual seclusion since the outbreak of the 1912 Xinhai Revolution.

That would ultimately end imperial rule over China altogether. The reasons, or in some cases lack of reasons, for boys and men to become eunuchs across Chinese history are as many and varied as there were members removed. Some were taken by coercion, others due to poverty, some of their own free volition, and some as a form of administrative punishment. In terms of coercion, about one-eighth of those who became eunuchs were young children, bowing to largely parental pressures. Families could expect to receive a cash reward for donating their sons to the imperial venture,

but they also hoped that their children would have a more comfortable and prosperous life in the palace. This, at times, could be the case, although, as we will see in just a little bit, that was far from certain. Poverty. The second reason was that some adults, with no economic means to lead an honest or acceptable way of life opted to have themselves emasculated and become eunuchs in order to avoid begging and stealing. Other men, who could only envision a life of futility and hardship, were envious of the seemingly easy lifestyle enjoyed by those kept in the imperial palace as eunuchs, and some decided to undergo the procedure themselves in order to gain the at least perceived benefits. Probably the most enduringly famous version of eunuchification in imperial China, though, was as an administrative punishment.

This would occur in many dynasties across Chinese history, with most of it happening in the early imperial period rather than the later period. Emperor Guangwu of Han, who reigned between 25 and 57 BC, for instance, at one point during the course of his reign commuted all death sentences to the eunuch creation procedure, and successive emperors then followed this edict for centuries thereafter. Oh man, so let's get to it. The methodology. It's a pretty simple thing, really. It's nothing more than a curved, single-edged blade with a slight hook on one end. It is approximately 14 and a half to 15 centimeters long, and that is the knife that removes the male genitalia. The procedure takes place in a small hut outside of, but near, the Forbidden City in Beijing. Now I should say that this data, which I'm largely pulling from the SCMP article, which describes this very

same procedure, is specifically referencing the eunuchification procedures of the Qing dynasty, which is great for us because that is where the show is currently. But we would expect that with only slight modifications, this would have been based on and probably largely similar to the surgical methods used in earlier dynasties as well. There's very little reason to suspect that it would have largely changed between, say, the Han and the Qing. The professional whose job it was to perform the procedure was known as the Daozijiang, which can be translated as the knifer or the slicer, depending on just how squeaky you want to get with it. This professional was responsible for the castrati throughout the process, including not only the surgical stage, but then the recovery

and healing stage thereafter. He was of course paid for his services and charged six silver tails for a procedure, which is approximately equal to about $80 to $90 today. As with any professional artisanal service, a master Daozhejiang would have several apprentices under him who were learning the craft eventually to take over for themselves. When a patient, aspirant, candidate was selected or selected themselves to undergo the procedure, they would be brought to this small hut, which of course allowed for privacy. They would be undressed and have their abdomen above their pelvis, as well as both of their upper thighs tightly bound with silk or perhaps linen bandages. This would largely be to restrict blood flow in order to prevent excessive bleeding or patient death by exsanguination. Hopefully. Suffice it to say, this is all a bit of an inexact process. A local anesthetic was used. Unfortunately, it was not the very nice medical anesthetics that we enjoy today.

Instead, by the late Qing Dynasty, the local topical anesthetic administered was a version of spicy chili sauce applied to the skin of the entire groin and genital region. The genitals that were to be removed were then disinfected by washing them three times in hot pepper water, which I've got to say, I'm not a fan of this method already. This just sounds really bad. I don't want this. This would be a four-man procedure, not including the patients. Two of the assistants would be there to hold the patient down. One would stand between the man's legs as he lay on the table, holding his feet down to the table so that they would not kick or move violently. Two other men would hold him around the waist and pin down his arms. Once the three assistants and the patient were in place and positioned and secured, the barber-surgeon would approach with his 15-centimeter blade in his hand and displayed. Approaching the patient, he would intone the following question,

Will you regret this or not? This was not a rhetorical question. The patient was expected to answer and answer affirmatively and confidently that they would not regret what was about to happen. If they displayed any kind of hesitation or doubt, policy dictated that the procedure would stop immediately. But if consent was given, the knife was put to work. Again, I must stress that this is for voluntary procedures and does not apply to the punitive method for criminal behavior. The actual removal method was, as one might expect, as swift and as complete as could be done with the technology available at the time. It was a single cut which removed both the penis and the scrotum, as well as its contents, in one fell motion. Immediately thereafter, a pewter needle or spigot was carefully inserted into the urethra in order to prevent it from stricturing down and closing up.

At that point, then, the wound was carefully bound with paper that had been soaked in cold water and likely silk outside of that. After dressing the wounds, the assistants would then not allow the patient to rest but would instead insist and help the patient, the now newly made eunuch, to walk around the small room's interior for the next three hours without letting him stop or lie down. You would think that that would already be more than enough for one day. However, it really only just continues from here at about this pace. For the following three days after the operation, the eunuch would

be monitored and forbidden from drinking or urinating. He would be actually physically prevented from urinating by the spigot plugging his urethra and was forbidden from drink because, of course, well, no out, no in. After three days, the spigot was removed from the operation site. If, within a short period of time, urine flowed out of the opening, then the operation was deemed a success and the patient was likely to make a full recovery and be able to take up his duties as an imperial eunuch in time. However, unfortunately, if no urine was produced, that would mean that there was nothing that could be done to spare the unfortunate patient from what

was to come, which would be a painful death via blood toxicity. As horrible an ending as that certainly would have been, fortunately, the Daozijiang of Beijing were very professional about what they did, and losses as such only accounted for between 1-2% of all operations recorded in this time period. Assuming that everything went to plan and infection did not take hold, the expectation was that within 100 days or so, the wounds would be fully healed and the newly created eunuch servant would be able to take up his duties within the Imperial Palace. Once he entered, that would be where he would spend the rest of his life. Let's go ahead and take a momentary break here to take a breath, maybe unclench our jaw and or legs,

and throw to an ad, which, fingers crossed, will hopefully be about male enhancement pills or something to that effect. So here we go, please enjoy, and then come back for the next half of everything about eunuchs. Napoleon Bonaparte rose from obscurity to become the most powerful and significant figure in modern history. Over 200 years after his death, people are still debating his legacy. He was a man of contradictions, a tyrant and a reformer, a liberator and an oppressor, a revolutionary and a reactionary. His biography reads like a novel, and his influence is almost beyond measure. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the Age of Napoleon podcast, and every month I delve into the turbulent life and times of one of the greatest characters in history, and explore the

world that shaped him in all its glory and tragedy. It's a story of great battles and campaigns, political intrigue, and massive social and economic change, but it's also a story about people, populated with remarkable characters. I hope you'll join me as I examine this fascinating era of history. Find The Age of Napoleon wherever you get your podcasts. Well, that's all nice and well and good, I can hear you saying right now. But get to the important stuff already. I mean, get to what we all want to know. All right, fine, I will. What happened to the junk? The Chinese word bao translates as treasure or precious. People use it to describe things from their child to treasure. In this case, however, Bao refers to the eunuch's new satchel.

The contents of the surgical removal were themselves placed carefully into a container that was then sealed after being filled with a preservative fluid of something around 24 fluid ounces or so. This would be kept by the eunuch himself and placed on some high shelf out of the way in his home or domicile, where it would be both protected and respected. The container would have attached to it by a string, a red paper label that would have the eunuch's name on it. This precious satchel was kept for two primary reasons. The first was strictly business. Every time an imperial eunuch received a promotion in rank, he had to pass a strict exam. Part of this exam,

sort of like putting your name on the test sheet, was the presentation and inspection of a eunuch's satchel, without which promotion was impossible. The examination process was indeed called the Yanbao and was led by none other than the head eunuch of the empire. The inspection was often a source of profit for those daozi jiang, those knifers or slicers, because sometimes a careless or ignorant eunuch aspirant forgot to claim or carry out their satchel after the surgery. Pain causes us all to forget certain things, doesn't it? If they were foolhardy enough to forget to take their precious treasure with them, then the knifer had it in his rights to be able to sell it to them back

at a hugely inflated price. If the original purchaser didn't come back for it, then it became a satchel of pond stars, and it could be rented or sold to the highest bidder. The second reason was more personal or religious in nature. Namely, that after death, it was widely understood, according to Confucian ethics, that one's body should remain as complete and as unaccosted as possible. As such, it was important for a eunuch to be buried with his satchel, so that he could take it with him to the afterlife. Once again, the idea of the eunuch pawn stars comes into this, however.

If he, for some reason, didn't have, or or it was destroyed his satchel, then he could potentially seek out a replacement to rent or, of course, in the case of funerals, probably buy permanently. Because even if it's not your own, I guess it's better than nothing. If they took that with them to the underworld, then it was believed and understood that their masculinity would be restored in the next life. However, if they showed up to the gates of Tartarus without their bow in hand, then the king of hell would turn them into a female donkey. Let's get now to the physical changes that one could expect to undergo after having received the eunuch procedure. Now, first off, we need to largely banish from our minds the modern idea of gender transition or of anything of the sort, because this is a fundamentally different process. There are certain elements that overlap, but we're not talking about gender

dysphoria for the most part. We're not talking about necessarily feeling as though one is born in the wrong body or with the wrong identity in that manner. As I've said, many of the eunuchs of China felt themselves to be men, and correctly so, but it was more of an economic or political or even punitive decision either that they made or was made for them. As such, and of course because of medical strictures at the time, there would be no capacity for any kind of hormone replacement therapy. The physical underchanges that happened to imperial eunuchs in China are somewhat, if not unique, then at least noteworthy. So let's get to that. Emasculation obviously cuts off the supply of all primary male hormones with the removal of the testicles.

This results in almost all eunuchs having a very high voice compared to what a typical male voice usually would be. Almost all eunuchs lost their natural voices after the procedure. Those who underwent the operation when children sounded throughout their life like young women whereas those who had the process after arriving at maturity after the vocal cord loosening and deepening would tend to speak up in a cracked falsetto masculine hair growth would also be arrested or even reversed in most candidates beard growth stopped so for most eunuchs there was very little to no facial hair or even body hair male pattern baldness typically would also be stopped or reversed if that was a something that was of concern or of issue when thoroughly recovered usually in two or three months and

after perhaps a year of training in princely establishments they were transferred to the imperial palace where they were transferred to the Imperial Palace, where they were again closely examined by old, experienced eunuchs to ascertain that they had indeed been rendered completely sexless. In the late 1800s, a British official stationed in China, George Carter Stent, published a paper giving more information on this subject than had ever before generally been known in the Western world. This was the paper known as Chinese eunuchs in the Journal of the Royal Society, North China branch in 1887. Though a study of palace eunuchs was made in late imperial rule, the eunuch's clinic,

which he described, is known to have existed in the preceding Ming dynasty, and it is assumed that many of its methods were in use long before that era. As of Sten's time, there were only around 2,000 eunuchs employed in the Forbidden City, for the Manchu emperors had been determined to keep their numbers low. Another reason for the greatly reduced number of eunuchs may have been that during the previous 50 years, the Manchu dynasty was ruled by a regent, the Empress Dowager Cixi, for two successive child emperors, who would have considerably lessened the need for any concubines or protectors thereof. Besides the eunuchs in the imperial palace, the numerous princely sons and married princesses of Manchu rulers were allowed to keep 30 eunuchs each in their private establishments. Imperial nephews and younger

unmarried princes had to make do with 20 eunuchs, and grandsons with just 10. Sons born to lesser concubines could employ four to six eunuch servants. During the Qing, the only other persons allowed to employ eunuchs were all the numerous descendants of the eight Manchu banner chieftains who'd originally assisted in establishing the Qing dynasty in the 1640s. They were each allowed 20 eunuchs. All these dignitaries were not only entitled to utilize their eunuchs as they saw fit,

but were indeed compelled to do so or else lose their rank for failing to keep up the dignity of their station. Every fifth year, each princely son was required to furnish the Manchu palace with eight young eunuchs who'd been well-trained, inspected for proper castration, and declared free of diseases or uncleanliness in person. The palace paid 250 taels to the princes for the purchase and training of each eunuch. Since this system did not supply nearly the number of eunuchs required by the palace, grown men could voluntarily have themselves castrated, but in order to be accepted for service at the palace, they had to find someone to vouch for their character, and they inevitably filled the ranks of the most menial jobs that did not require them entrance into the ladies' apartments.

Large numbers of young boys, on the other hand, purchased from their families, were castrated and drafted into the palace, where they were especially favored by the harem ladies as both pets and companions. All eunuchs were thought of as being pure, but those under ten at the time of the operation were termed as thoroughly pure, or, I guess, unsullied. These were prized by palace ladies and given as much freedom and familiarity as if they were girls, and allowed to perform bedroom and bathroom duties of the most intimate nature. Boy eunuchs were supposedly free of any licentiousness, even in thought. As they grew older, they were replaced by younger eunuchs

and given duties outside the ladies' quarters. According to Stent, emasculation affected character and could make eunuchs appear much older than they actually were. They were vulnerable to extreme bouts of emotion, including moments of uncontrollable anger. Those emasculated at an early age were known to often put on significant weight, not so much as to be described as fat, but they usually became flaccid and soft in their flesh,

and physically weak beside. In the Qing Dynasty, they wore a standardized uniform of a paozi, which was a long gray garment, over which they wore a guazi, or it's a short, dark blue vest. In terms of duties and influence, eunuchs were required to preserve the air of sanctity and secrecy that imbued the imperial presence. Regarding outdoor employment, eunuchs acted as water carriers, watchmen, chair bearers, porters, and gardeners, while their indoor duties covered work normally performed by cooks and chambermaids, parlor or scullery maids. In other words, they were

basically everywhere around the palace at all times, doing just about all things. As of the end of the 15th century, there were an estimated 10,000 eunuchs in the imperial palace, and by the establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644, as many as 70,000 eunuchs in the imperial palace, and by the establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644, as many as 70,000. This was the result of an increasing number of men seeking work in the Forbidden City, and thereby volunteering for castration. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, that number was severely curtailed down to only about 3,000, in large part, as I mentioned, because the Manchu leaders were concerned that eunuchs had far too much influence over the royal court, outside of their direct

control. This imperial eunuch administration was divided in the Qing into 48 departments, each with its own particular set of duties. Each of these departments had its own superintendent, while a chief eunuch or general supervisor presided over all the departments altogether and was usually ranked in the imperial third grade. Over the course of the Qing dynasty, that number would further shrink from just about 3,000 eunuchs by the 18th century to little more than 1,000 by the end of imperial rule altogether at the beginning of the 20th century. Palace eunuchs were paid for their work. They were paid in silver tails, and their salary

varied from two to four tails per month, which is anywhere from about fifty to a hundred dollars a month. The highest salary a eunuch could receive was legally capped at 12 taels per month, or about $300, no matter what his rank was. Though that might not sound like a lot, and it's not a lot, it needs must be remembered that most of their daily wants and needs were already provided for by the palace. Besides the thousands of eunuchs employed in household and harem duties, a few were ordained to become one of the 18 Lamas' priests which the palace maintained expressly to attend to the spiritual welfare of the female populace. Though, often as not, the chosen eunuchs could neither read nor write and knew nothing about the craft of priesthood, they nevertheless earned double the salary. Needless to say, vacancies among the eunuch lamas were filled with little delay whenever they opened up. Another about 300 or so eunuchs were employed as actors and singers in the ever-popular palace theater. Eunuch performers lived outside the palace in the imperial city

on small salaries, but were accustomed to receive gratuities from their imperial audiences for especially pleasing performances. At least as much as any other servant or citizen of the throne, eunuchs were subject to arbitrary punishments by those in power, ranging from anything from monetary fines all the way up to excruciating execution by torture. Beatings were probably the most common form of punishment, as was the sentence to cut grass, which is not a euphemism, actually go and cut grass, sometimes for the rest of your life. The most common crime to be punished was for desertion. Eunuchs who ran away from the palace were inevitably caught by special police and then returned to the Forbidden City to face their punishment.

First-time offenders were imprisoned for two months and then given 20 blows of the bamboo rod or whip and then sent back to duty. Those who deserted a second time were put into a kang for two months, that is to say, a large wooden frame that clamped around the neck and sometimes the hands, preventing the wearer from lying down or even feeding himself, necessitating both embarrassment and forcing other people to take care of him for basic survival. Third-time defectors were banished to Manchuria for two and a half years. No worse punishment could possibly exist, right? As were eunuchs who were caught stealing. If the stolen goods were valued by the emperor, the offender was beheaded at a special ground

about ten miles from the capital. Neglect of duty or laziness were punishment by whipping. The chief eunuch summoned one eunuch from each of the 48 household departments to administer the whipping with bamboo canes. The culprit received 80 to 100 blows and was then sent to the physicians, who was also a eunuch, to have the wounds cleaned and dressed. Only after three days to have the offender stripped once again and beaten a second time in a punishment known as raising the scabs. Typically, things like cooking were done as group activities within the palace.

Groups of eunuchs banded together to organize mess halls with each donating food as needed. Each was given a monthly stipend of rice as well, in addition to his rather meager salary. The cooking was done in the palace kitchens. Each of the eunuchs lived in small huts, which were called menial houses, which were attached to the sides of the main buildings within the imperial palace itself, where their employers resided and where the eunuch servants could be easily summoned at will. Each of the myriad courtyards of the Forbidden City had its own, largely independent, functioning colony of eunuch

servants, living solely within. Palace eunuchs were allowed to worship in the temples, to burn incense, practice fasting, and donate money and offerings. However, they were prohibited from ascending the altar of the main deity, as were all cripples, deformed persons, people lacking eyes, limbs, or any other body part, or women on their menstrual cycle. Eunuchs were easily recognizable by their high falsetto voices, for which they were derisively called crows for the cawing, harsh, cracked manner of it, as well as for their want of beards, their cringing, hangdog demeanor, and their often bloated appearance. Though in old age, they invariably became thin and deeply wrinkled, making them look like old women.

Low-ranking eunuchs wore a long gray robe under a shorter dark blue coat and had to wear their official hats and boots when on duty. In older eras, however, high-ranking palace eunuchs wore ornate robes of brilliantly embroidered colors, with a ching, however, that was largely done away with. Besides their voice, eunuchs could also be easily recognized from a distance by their particular gait of walk. They characteristically leaned slightly forward, with legs close together, taking short, pitter-patter steps, with their toes turned outwards. So sort of like penguin walking. Whether this odd walk was a physical necessity or was imposed on eunuchs as a rule of conduct to denote their station isn't clear. For a long period after their castration, many young eunuchs wet their beds in themselves.

This led to them all being known for having a rather strong and particular odor of urine, leading to the old standby Chinese phrase of being as smelly as a eunuch. Initially, this incontinence was seen for what it was, an outcome of the physical trauma that they'd undergone. However, if they continued to be incontinent and urinate themselves, they were punished eventually with severe beatings, which were continued until the habit was broken or outgrown. So the floggings will continue until you stop peeing yourself from all the floggings I'm giving you. Thus, many Chinese spoke of them behind their backs as stinking eunuchs and claimed that they could smell one from a mile away. The most common and vulgar names for a eunuch was Old Earl, Lao Bo, or Old Rooster, Lao Ji,

both so incredibly insulting that they would never be used to a eunuch's face. Eunuchs were also extremely sensitive to any reference to their deficiency, such that items even as anodyne as a spoutless teapot or a tailless dog were never even mentioned in their presence. In terms of their off time, most eunuchs spent their leisure hours gambling amongst themselves, and it was said to be their greatest source of enjoyment. They're written to have been especially affectionate toward women and children, loved pets, with many of them keeping at least a puppy on which they lavished great affection. As late as the 1920s, one dismissed but fairly well-off eunuch was

commonly seen ice skating on Beijing's outdoor rink, displaying miniature Chinese dogs that he sold to foreign ladies in order to make a living. So hopefully that was an interesting little aside of the lives of imperial eunuchs in china and the qing dynasty and just all the different troubles and travails that they faced in the course of their lives thank you for coming with me in this little endeavor and as always more broadly and every week thank you for listening. 400 years ago, a trio of tiny kingdoms were perched on some damp islands off the coast of Europe. Within three short centuries, these islands would become the centre of an empire which ruled a quarter of the globe and on which the sun never set. I'm Samuel Hume,

a historian of the British Empire, and my podcast Pax Britannica follows the people and events that built that empire into a global superpower. Learn the history of the British Empire by listening to Pax Britannica everywhere you find your podcasts, or go to pod.link slash pax.