Li Lianying, formerly known as Li Jinxi, had a beautiful appearance when he was young, far beyond ordinary people, like the "Lotus Rokuro" during the reign of Wu Zetian. After entering the palace, he served Empress Dowager Cixi, which was deeply liked by the empress. Therefore, Cixi gave him the name "Lian Ying", and Empress Dowager Cixi also set a precedent for him, breaking the royal rules and promoting him to the chief eunuch of Zhengerpin, and letting him manage all the eunuchs in the palace, which can be described as grace.
However, in history, Li Lianying's identity as a eunuch has always been controversial, and there are many doubts in the street, and it is rumored that he is a false eunuch. Even in the coffin after his death, his body was not seen, which made people even more confused. Whether Li Lianying is a real eunuch or a fake eunuch has always been controversial in history.
1. Li Lianying is a fake eunuch?
Eunuchs, high-ranking officials among the eunuchs of China's ancient feudal dynasties, are a relatively special group of people, which have existed since the Qin Dynasty.
In the harem, they need to be responsible for the living and eating of the emperor and empress, the concubines of the palaces, the princesses and princesses, etc., and they also need to be on regular guard duty in the main halls of the palaces. Sometimes it also helped the emperor or the imperial court to upload and issue documents or instructions, etc., and eunuchs were also an indispensable team in the capital.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Internal Affairs Department's procedures for the examination of eunuchs were extremely strict, and they generally had to go through the review process of "reporting books, checking the net, and sweeping the second stubble". In the event of a slight mistake, the eunuch himself, as well as the introducer, had to land on the ground.
Eunuchs also start small, starting from the lowest position, doing the most ordinary things, and after having certain achievements and qualifications, they can go through layer after layer of selection in order to go deep into the palace and serve the more expensive masters. Therefore, eunuchs are not who wants to be, under such a set of strict selection process control, to be honest, Li Lianying is not very likely to fake.
In addition, after entering the palace, the Ministry of internal affairs will also organize regular inspections every year, usually 1 to 3 times a year, mostly in the spring or summer. Therefore, if Li Lianying were a false eunuch, it would be impossible not to reveal the stuffing, and the consequences would be extremely serious, and even his introducer at that time would be implicated for his crime of deceiving the king.
Once it is found that the purification is not pure, even the officials in charge of purification at that time will be blamed and will be held responsible. Before officially entering the palace to serve the master, it is also necessary to carry out a purification, and the process of inspection is more stringent, if Li Lianying has a personal relationship, it is unlikely that there will be a false situation.
After entering the palace, it is also necessary to carry out a more stringent "sweep two stubble" process than the net inspection, even if the previous newspaper and the cleaning link are muddy waters, at this level, its scale is larger, the screening is more stringent and stricter, and the probability of trying to mix the past is basically zero.
During the period of feudal monarchy, if it were not for the fact that the family was extremely poor and the status was in decline, how could they be willing to enter the palace as eunuchs? In fact, although this is a helpless move, it is also a way for poor families to get rid of poverty and become rich.
There are four brothers in Li Lianying's family, the father is an unemployed vagrant, the mother is doing leather-making work, the income is very small, the living conditions of the Li family are relatively poor, and the family's economic level is extremely limited, which is relatively consistent with Li Lianying's situation of being forced to enter the palace as a eunuch.
When purifying, it is also necessary to find professional purification craftsmen, Li Lianying is located in the Beijing area, there are two purification craftsmen, that is, Bi Wu of the Accounting Division Hutong of Beijing South Long Street and the knife Liu of the Square Brick Hutong inside di'anmen, both of which are skilled and cannot be favoritism. Once there is a mistake, it is the head falling to the ground, or even the great sin of the Nine Tribes, which cannot be provoked at all.
Li Lianying originally served Prince Zheng, but later because of her diligence and agility, she was valued by Prince Zheng and was sent to the palace. He was only 8 years old when he was only 8 years old after Qing Xianfeng was purified as a eunuch, and was recommended by Prince Zheng to enter the palace, and later became a close eunuch of Empress Dowager Cixi, with a high position of power and commanding all the eunuchs in the harem.
Prince Zheng had no reason to shield Li Lianying, let alone be charged with the felony of "deceiving the king" because of a eunuch. A prince, there is no need to shelter a eunuch and lose his immeasurable future and supreme honor.
After serving Empress Dowager Cixi for more than fifty years, Li Lianying was also a particularly discerning child, who was very proficient in Cixi's life and temperament habits, and won Cixi's favor everywhere, and served Empress Dowager Cixi comfortably.
Second, he was a eunuch but married and had children, which aroused people's suspicions
The suspicion that Li Lianying was a true or false eunuch also aroused the discussion of the Manchu Dynasty's ministers of culture and military affairs at that time. This is also closely related to Empress Dowager Cixi's breaking of conventions.
Perhaps the two people have been together for a long time, inseparable, for some of the ministers to pay tribute to some delicacies, rare treasures, precious treasures, etc., Empress Dowager Cixi will always leave a copy to Li Lianying. Sometimes, Empress Dowager Cixi also asked him to sit down and watch a play together. When Li Lianying was forty years old, Empress Dowager Cixi also set up a feast for him, which was very lively and rewarded him with countless gold and silver treasures, which made everyone in the palace very red-eyed.
In addition, the Qing Dynasty's legal system stipulates that no matter how high the position of eunuch, it cannot exceed the four pins. However, Empress Dowager Cixi did not hesitate to violate the ancestral rules for Li Lianying, directly promoted Li Lianying beyond her rank, and gave him the second pin to wear; Empress Dowager Cixi's liking for Li Lianying was really beyond the relationship between ordinary masters and slaves.
Naturally, Li Lianying aroused the jealousy of imperial court officials. However, perhaps because Li Lianying was a red person around Empress Dowager Cixi, who was reused in the later period and promoted many times by Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Lianying's power increased rapidly, which inevitably aroused people's jealousy.
What made Li Lianying suspicious was that as a eunuch, he actually married his wife and had children. He married Ma Furong, and Ma Furong was a famous prostitute in the Qinglou in the capital.
At that time, there was an official in the imperial court named Wang Xianqian, who had the courage to stand up and impeach Li Lianying and accuse him
"Li Lianying married Ma Furong, a famous prostitute in the capital, back home, and asked the eunuch who had a wife and had children?"
This made Empress Dowager Cixi at that time very angry, and once asked Li Lianying to undress and show the public. However, what was the situation later, in fact, whether Empress Dowager Cixi had said this sentence or not, whether Li Lianying undressed in public, is not recorded in the main history.
In addition, it is said that Li Lianying also had four sons, but these four sons were not born to her own, but to others. Even the eldest son is an heir.
In summary, although it is controversial, the possibility that Li Lianying is a false eunuch is not very large.
Text/Lin Fen
Resources:
1. "The Great Eunuch Li Lianying", Yang Qinghe
2. "Li Lianying, the number one eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty", Zhang Deqiang