Tell the truest history in the simplest words.
Eunuch is a word that cannot be avoided when talking about the ancient Chinese system, after all, under the centralized system, in the shadow of the emperor, there is no shortage of eunuchs; even in some special historical periods, there will be some eunuchs who are "powerful in the sky" to plague the court, these eunuchs can serve the emperor for a long time because of the "identity" problem, although becoming a "eunuch" needs to pay a huge price, but because of the particularity of their status, there are still people who flock to it.
Film and television drama eunuch image
The development of the position of "eunuch" belonged to the watershed during the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Eastern Han And Pre-Qin periods, there was no such thing as a "eunuch", known as a eunuch. Before the Eastern Han Dynasty, not all eunuchs were eunuchs, the best example is that Cao Cao's father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng.
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, eunuchs have all been eunuchs, and since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the term eunuch has been used. As mentioned above, there are still many people who flock to it, but there is such a person, young and poor, seeking a living in the palace, trying to find a way out in the Qing Dynasty, who expected to open their eyes and close their eyes, but the Qing Dynasty collapsed.
Sun Yaoting
This man was Sun Yaoting, the last eunuch in China.
Sun Yaoting was born in a poor family in Tianjin, with four brothers and sisters, Sun Yaoting was the second oldest, and the family conditions were extremely difficult. When the rural bullies joined forces with the Qing Dynasty county magistrates to seize the only land in Sun Yaoting's family, his parents became beggars and the whole family lived a life of starvation.
Sun Father realized that if he wanted to survive in the chaotic world, he must have a patron who could be attached, so he and Sun Yaoting sat down to discuss, and Sun Yaoting went to the royal palace to be a eunuch and hold the royal thigh.
Because the Sun family had no money to find a doctor to castrate the knife, The grandson's father made up his mind and personally performed the knife and castrated his son, who was only more than ten years old. Because the process was so sloppy, Sun Yaoting could not bear the pain caused by the "one-size-fits-all" and was in a coma for three days and three nights. When he woke up, the bad news came as promised- the Qing Dynasty was destroyed.
Fortunately, Feng Yuxiang had not yet entered the city of Beijing at that time, and although the feudal dynasty was overthrown, Puyi was still living a "fairy" life in the Forbidden City. And Puyi ignored the ban of the Republic of China and re-recruited eunuchs and maids in the Republic of China. Puyi's actions gave Sun Yaotingsheng hope, and finally stepped into the Forbidden City at the age of 15.
Sun Yaoting, who was introduced into the palace by He Deyuan, the grand eunuch of the Prince of Alcohol Palace, did not have any status, and even lost his name, he could only serve this person all day as an apprentice, serving food for him, pouring and urine, which was sad for a 15-year-old child.
Years of painful life taught Sun Yaoting how to live, he was diligent and clever, and finally passed into the ears of the big man (Guangxu's imperial concubine Duan Kang), she promoted Sun Yaoting from the rough and tired chores room to the drama class, and soon after was promoted to the division room, for Sun Yaoting, who had no background, it was a godsend.
His luck had not yet come to an end, and after working in the sifang for several years, he was promoted to serve under Puyi's empress Wanrong, reaching the peak of his life. The reason why it became the peak was because Feng Yuxiang was about to enter Beijing. Feng Yuxiang drove Puyi away, and these unemployed eunuchs lived a life of upheaval and displacement.
Sun Yaoting's return to normal life was after liberation. After liberation, Sun Yaoting returned to the Wanshou Xinglong Temple, the residence of the eunuchs in Beijing's Beichangjie Palace, where more than 40 eunuchs with the same fate lived together. Initially, the government gave them $16 per month in living expenses to support them. Later, Sun Yaoting, who was not willing to eat white rice, joined the work and was responsible for the management of the temple in the city. He also worked as a cashier for 6 years, earning $35 a month.
Sun Yaoting presided over the temple
After the special period in 1966, Sun Yaoting lived in Guanghua Temple, and lived there until his death in 1996, at the age of 94. He once wrote his autobiography: "The Last Eunuch in China", as a person who served by the emperor and empress, he witnessed the last luxury of the court, the pain after luxury, and became a "unique" living history.