introduction
In the pre-Qin period, the males who served in the imperial palaces of the ancient capitals appeared until the Western Han Dynasty, but the eunuchs in the imperial palaces at that time were not all eunuchs. After arriving in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial court began to fully use castrated men as servants until the end of the Republic of China. The prevalence of the eunuch system was a set of eunuch institutions created to prevent chaos in the inner palace and adapted to the autocratic system, and its emergence was closely related to the social system, political system, and even marriage system at that time.
Since ancient times, eunuchs have existed like aliens in the long river of history, and it is difficult for anyone to truly recognize them. However, becoming a eunuch allows you to be infinitely close to the center of power, even if the body will be mutilated, but all the opportunities are not ordinary people. As a result, many poor families send their children to the palace in the hope that they will all live in a different way. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the eunuch system gradually disappeared into the long river of history, and Sun Yaoting was the last eunuch in China and the last eunuch to leave Empress Wanrong.
▲Sun Yaoting's old photo
01
In 1902, Sun Yaoting was born in Tianjin to a poor peasant family, and his parents worked for the village's private school teachers, living in poverty. Because his parents worked for private school teachers, Sun Yaoting was able to study for free at the latter's place, and had a certain literary foundation. Unfortunately, due to social unrest, Sun Yaoting's parents lost their jobs and became beggars. The Sun family and the rest of the brothers could not make a living from this, and Sun Yaoting's parents were helpless and prepared to send him to the palace as a eunuch. At that time, entering the palace could be exchanged for a lifetime of food and clothing, and if appreciated, it was possible to become a powerful personage, such as Li Lianying, Xiao Dezhang and others were typical representatives.
▲Recent photos of the Qing Palace (now the Forbidden City)
Because the Sun family was so poor, even professional purification people could not afford it, so they could only adopt a rough one-size-fits-all approach by Sun Father. Because there were no good drugs and utensils, Sun Yaoting, who had finished purifying himself, immediately fainted. Although the medical conditions were poor at the time, sun Yaoting was not infected by this, and after three days of coma, he finally woke up. But when he woke up, the news of the emperor's abdication reached the Sun family, and since then it has been a republican world, and there is no emperor again. When Sun Yaoting heard this bad news, he was very sad, but he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, fantasizing that one day he would be able to truly enter the palace. Soon after, Heaven gave Sun Yaoting the opportunity to realize his hopes.
▲Puyi Wanrong group photo
At that time, although it was the era of democracy and republicanism, the Republic of China government did not drive Puyi and others out of the Forbidden City, and the former Qing emperors still lived in the imperial palace, and Puyi also ignored the ban and recruited eunuchs and maids from all over the country. Sun Yaoting was introduced by people and met he Deyuan, a eunuch who served the Prince of Alcohol, and after some reckoning, the latter helped him go to the former Qing Dynasty Belle Grandfather Zaitao's mansion. Zaitao was the younger brother of Zaifeng the Prince of Alcohol and puyi's uncle, who gave Sun Yaoting the name Shunshou. After serving in zaitao mansion for a year, Sun Yaoting was introduced to the palace again, officially became a eunuch in the palace, and was assigned to the deputy governor of the Ninth Hall, Ren Dexiang, to do miscellaneous work.
▲A recent photo of the main hall of the Prince of Alcohol Palace
Due to his experience in Zaitao Province, Sun Yaoting was cautious and extremely good at flattering others. Ren Dexiang was very appreciative of him and promoted him all the way, and eventually even The Princess Duankang knew about Sun Yaoting. The Imperial Concubine asked him to participate in the drama class, and soon he was transferred to the sifang, responsible for the dispatch of slaves and the management of clothing. A few years later, Sun Yaoting was sent by Puyi to serve Empress Wanrong. In 1924, Puyi and other former Qing imperial families were expelled from the palace by Feng Yuxiang and returned to the palace of Prince Shuo. Sun Yaoting took care of Wanrong in the palace of the Alcohol King, and after Puyi went to the Japanese Embassy in China, Wanrong also followed.
▲ Sun Yaoting's old photos in his later years
Since then, Sun Yaoting has lost his master, and his career as a eunuch has ended. Because he could not do heavy agricultural work, at first he could only be helped by the brothers in the family, and later he went to xinglong Temple, the eunuch's residence, to make a living by collecting waste. After the founding of New China, Sun Yaoting and more than 40 eunuchs lived in the Wanshou Xinglong Temple, and the government gave them a monthly subsidy of 16 yuan. After living in Xinglong Temple, Sun Yaoting began to officially join the work, responsible for the management of all temples in Beijing, and received a monthly salary of 35 yuan. Because eunuchs were indeed different from ordinary men, out of self-esteem, Sun Yaoting did not take a bath for 30 years until his death.
epilogue
After the ten years of unrest began, Sun Yaoting moved to Guanghua Temple, where he spent the last 30 years of his life. It was not until 1996 that Sun Yaoting died peacefully at Guanghua Temple at the age of 96. Based on his experience, the famous writer Jia Yinghua published the book "The Last Eunuch in China" to commemorate him.
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