Under the feudal dynasty, human rights were suppressed, and eunuchs were the product of the misery of that period. In order to satisfy their own selfish interests, the ruling class in ancient times let some people sell themselves into slavery, and only when the lives of these slaves were in their own hands, they were relieved to let these people do things for themselves.
Especially in the palace, some things can only be done by men with greater strength, but in order to maintain the purity of the bloodline, some men are castrated and made eunuchs. Interestingly, although after becoming a eunuch, he was no longer a complete man, but the concubine was still willing to be close.
So why, or why? Today, let's talk.
Although the eunuch's status is humble, there is a huge network of connections behind it
In ancient times, the status of eunuchs was extremely humble, and generally only people with particularly poor families were discouraged. In desperation, they will choose to enter the palace and become a eunuch, but even eunuchs cannot be called if they want to.
It is mentioned here that not all eunuchs can be called eunuchs, they are more called eunuchs, and only those who have higher status among eunuchs can be called "eunuchs". Although eunuchs have a long history, in fact, the word "eunuch" did not appear until the Tang Dynasty, and it began to become an official name in the Song Dynasty.
Although the eunuchs are of humble status, they have a huge network of relationships, and the young eunuchs who have just entered the palace will have old eunuchs to study, and these eunuchs will also exchange information with each other. People with low status are likely to provoke some noble people and lose their lives.
Therefore, in order to survive better in the palace, the preferences and taboos of the nobles were all remembered by these eunuchs, so that they could climb up. In the process. Eunuchs also had different factions due to the different masters they followed, as well as for other reasons.
In tv dramas, we often see concubines wantonly scolding eunuchs, and even when concubines are favored by the emperor, if they become crazy and look down on these eunuchs. However, in reality, this rarely happens, and if the concubine does this, then there will be absolutely no good fruit to eat.
The eunuchs, with their vast network of connections, would deliberately spread false news, thus making the concubines lose the emperor's favor. At this time, the life of the concubine who has lost her favor may not even be as good as that of a slave, and the eunuchs will take advantage of her illness to completely suppress her, and no longer let the concubine have a slight possibility of regaining favor.
Those who often accompanied the emperor were not civil and military officials, nor concubines of the later dynasty, but the emperor's personal eunuchs. There are also many famous eunuchs in history, Cao Teng, who was Cao Cao's grandfather and the only eunuch in ancient Chinese history to be awarded the title of emperor.
In addition, there was the first eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, he was Wang Zhen, who was originally just a failed teacher, but chose to voluntarily enter the palace to become a eunuch, and Wang Zhen, who was good at drilling and drawing profits, was favored by the emperor at that time, and at that time, whether it was the former dynasty or the harem, it was called unlimited scenery.
Another well-known eunuch is Wei Zhongxian, who often appears in some film and television dramas. Emperor Ming Xizong, whom Wei Zhongxian served, loved carpentry and did not like political affairs, which also caused the regime to fall by the wayside, and some of the notes were approved by Wei Zhongxian.
From the above eunuchs, it can be seen that in terms of intimacy, even if they can be called concubines of pillow people, they are not as good as some eunuchs favored by the emperor, after all, eunuchs are rootless people, and the emperor is more willing to believe them.
Eunuchs after castration could not be passed on from generation to generation, and the power held by eunuchs was also given by the emperor, and even if the scenery was infinite, they could withdraw their power at any time. If you spoil a concubine, you may also worry about the dictatorship of foreign relatives, but you will not have such concerns about eunuchs.
These eunuchs often accompanied the emperor, occasionally mentioning which concubines they were, and even saying a few nice words for these concubines. This invisibly left an impression on the emperor, thus increasing the chances of favoring, so from this aspect, the concubines were also very close to these eunuchs.
In this context, although the eunuch is no longer a complete man and cannot pass on the lineage, the concubine is still willing to be close to the eunuchs and have a good relationship, and the reason for this is easy to understand.
One of the reasons for being close to eunuchs is to understand the emperor's preferences
Although the eunuch was no longer a complete man, even due to the removal of the part, the body would often have a peculiar smell. Some concubines despised eunuchs at the same time, but also had to be close to eunuchs, one of the main reasons was to be able to understand the emperor's preferences in time.
In ancient times, if a concubine wanted to live a better life and not be oppressed by others, the most important thing was to gain the favor of the emperor. Therefore, the eunuchs around the emperor were especially valued by these concubines, who served at the emperor's side and knew the emperor's various preferences.
The concubines hoped to bribe the eunuchs with some money, thus portraying themselves as the emperor liked. In addition, eunuchs can also learn about the emperor's movements, so that they can have a beautiful encounter with the emperor in the imperial garden.
Although it is said that the whereabouts of the emperor cannot be spied on, once found, it is light to hit the board, and heavy to lose his life. After all, the wealth is touching, and some eunuchs also want to ally with concubines, just like Wei Yanwan in "Ruyi Zhuan".
Concubines can learn about the emperor's preferences through eunuchs, and can even give eye drops to other concubines, and eunuchs who are allied with concubines can not only receive gold and silver jewelry, but also leave an impression in front of the emperor and keep the sacred heart. This is a win-win situation, the concubine chooses to be close to the eunuch, and the eunuch also chooses to go with the flow to the concubine's door, mutual benefit.
The second reason for being close to the eunuch was to help the concubine speak kindly in front of the emperor
In addition to learning about the emperor's personal preferences through eunuchs, eunuchs can also be allowed to speak well for concubines in front of the emperor, and an emperor's harem is always countless concubines.
In addition to the many concubines in the harem, there were many political affairs in the previous dynasty, so the emperor could not remember every concubine, which required the eunuch to mention it next to him.
The green head card of the emperor's favored concubine was also placed by the eunuch, and if the relationship with the eunuch was good, the green head card was placed in a conspicuous position, which undoubtedly increased the chance of the emperor flopping.
The concubines knew the importance of the eunuchs around the emperor, and in order to win over these eunuchs, in addition to the gold and silver jewelry, they even chose to pair their palace daughters with the eunuchs.
Eunuchs cannot pass on the lineage, but they also want to please a wife, on the one hand, they can provide for their own pension, on the other hand, they can also raise themselves to recognize some dry sons.
The concubine took the eunuch's psychology, so she chose to send the palace maid around her, so that the eunuch could do things for herself willingly.
Under the feudal dynasty, human life was not even as good as grass and mustard, and many poor people may have to sell themselves into slavery because of a natural disaster, and henceforth the power of life and death is in the hands of others. The masters treated the slaves lightly and scolded them, and the heavy ones endangered their lives.
The population was bought and sold like a beast, and it was not until after the overthrow of the Qing government that this problem changed, the awareness of human rights gradually awakened, and eunuchs became a thing of the past. What do you think about that?