Source: CNKI original draft
As a product of the feudal dynasty on the mainland, eunuchs can be said to be a very tragic existence.
In that era when the emperor was the emperor, in order to ensure the purity of the royal blood, they had to suffer physical torture.
Incomplete bodies often devastate their minds, and the disdain of others for them is undoubtedly a violation of their dignity.
Sun Yaoting, the last eunuch in China, once said that those concubines never shy away from their eunuchs when they bathed, which made him feel very humiliated.
Sun Yaoting was born in 1902 in Jinghai District, Tianjin, when the Qing Dynasty was still the Qing Dynasty, his parents were ordinary farmers, the family was still very poor, and his father had to support four children.
In order to supplement the family, in addition to farming, his father would also go to a local private school to earn some money.
Because of his father's part-time job, Sun Yaoting also had the privilege of studying for four or five years.
Later, due to the famine in the village, Mr. Private School went to other places to escape the famine, his father became unemployed, and Sun Yaoting was forced to drop out of school immediately. Without the subsidy of part-time work, the life inside is tight again.
One day, Zhang Lanrong, a eunuch in the same village who had a good mix, went back to the village to visit relatives in a beautiful manner.
Zhang Lanrong, who is in the same village, was not much better than Zhang Yaoting's family before, but now he has become a eunuch, and he is deeply loved by Cixi, and he has successfully led the whole family to soar and become the envy of the villagers.
Listening to the villagers talking about Zhang Lanrong's experience behind his back, Zhang Yaoting, who was only 6 years old at the time, couldn't help but yearn for the life of the court.
Because in that era, Sun Yaoting's family couldn't even solve the problem of food and clothing, and when he was young, he often couldn't even eat, he was really hungry.
He doesn't care about whether his body is complete or not, not to mention, after entering the palace, not only does he not have to worry about food and clothing, but maybe if he is lucky, he can also help his family live an enviable life.
His father also expressed support for Sun Yaoting's idea, after all, for the current situation of his family, the most important problem to solve is to be able to live. In this way, although his father was full of distress, he still had to agree with Sun Yaoting's idea of becoming a eunuch.
At that time, the conditions of his family were not able to come up with the money for purification, and there was no way, so his father could only cut it for him himself.
Sun Yaoting, who was young at the time, was full of beautiful hopes for the future and survived the severe pain of circumcision.
Finally, he had the conditions to become a eunuch.
thought that what was waiting for him would be a good life without worrying about food and clothing, but life played a joke on him.
Soon after he had completed his cleansing, he heard the news that the then Emperor Xianyi had signed an edict of abdication.
Without an emperor, why do you need eunuchs?
Sun Yaoting, who heard the news, was extremely sad, and he could only come to Prince Alcohol's Mansion on an errand, and later was introduced to Zaitao Baylor Mansion on an errand.
Among them, the year of being an errand boy in Baylor Mansion enabled Sun Yaoting to accumulate enough contacts and the ability to deal with people.
Later, Sun Yaoting got the news that in order to take care of the members of the royal family, they were allowed to continue to live in the palace.
In addition, they can also recruit eunuchs and palace maids to serve them. Compared to Baylor House, the life of the palace is more attractive to Sun Yaoting.
Sun Yaoting seized this opportunity, and the chief eunuch of the North Garden in the palace introduced Xin Hengru to the palace as a eunuch.
Relying on his clever mind and down-to-earth way of doing things, Sun Yaoting was quickly appreciated by Concubine Duankang and asked him to be his personal eunuch.
This allowed Sun Yaoting to get rid of the fate of the lowest eunuch. And this year, Sun Yaowei was just 16 years old.
Not only that, but in 1922, Pu Yi and Wanrong got married.
Wanrong is a queen who has received a Western education since she was a child. Therefore, it is very unaccustomed to the life of those in the palace with many precepts.
In order to let Wanrong adapt to life in the palace as soon as possible, Concubine Duankang decided to send Sun Yaoting to take care of Wanrong's daily life, and by the way, she also taught him some rules in the palace. Under Sun Yaoting's care, Wanrong quickly adapted to life in the palace.
Wanrong, who has a Western-style education, does not have much of a shelf for his subordinates. On weekdays, he is very arrogant, and he can often mingle with the eunuchs and palace maids around him.
One day, Wanrong ordered Sun Yaoting to go and wait for her to take a bath.
What embarrassed Sun Yaoting was that Wanrong unbuttoned his clothes in front of him, and had no intention of letting him leave. Where had Sun Yaoting seen such a scene, he was very panicked.
In a hurry, he nervously said to Wanrong, "The slave has a stomachache and can't serve you." ”
Seeing that he was so shy that his face turned red, Wanrong couldn't help laughing, and said bluntly, "Obviously he is not a man, why are you shy?"
Wanrong's casual remark may not seem uncomfortable to her, but saying this to a eunuch with an incomplete body is simply pouring salt on his wounds.
Sun Yaoting felt humiliated like never before, but there was no way, the road was chosen by himself, and he had to stick to it no matter what.
And in the face of Wanrong's inadvertent ridicule, he didn't dare to say anything as a subordinate.
In 1924, Zhenyi and the queen were kicked out of the palace again, and Sun Yaoting accompanied them to wander around, unfortunately contracting pneumonia on the way.
Fearing that he would infect more people, she sent him home.
After returning to the village, Sun Yaoting was used to the life of the palace and was no longer used to the life of farming in his hometown. In addition, the villagers' fingers also bothered him.
Fortunately, in order to treat these eunuchs well, a place for them to live was arranged in Xinglong Temple on Beichang Street in Beijing. After Sun Yaoting found out, he packed his luggage and moved in without hesitation.
There, he lived hard for several years with more than forty other eunuchs who were suffering from the same illness as him.
Until the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government would give them a small pension every month. And Sun Yaoting also found a job to support himself with the help of the government.
With the passage of time, the eunuchs who shared the joys and sorrows with him at the beginning have all passed away one after another, leaving only Sun Yaoting alone, and the title of "the last eunuch" has become a label on Sun Yaoting.
In the face of the reporter's interview, Sun Yaoting said gratefully, "If it weren't for the government, I would have died a long time ago." ”
Sun Yaoting is unfortunate, unfortunately living in that feudal society that does not pay attention to human rights, and unfortunately facing unemployment as soon as he purifies himself.
But he was also lucky, fortunately, he successfully ushered in the founding of the new China, and with the help of the new Chinese government, he was able to enjoy his old age in peace.
Resources:
The living eunuch Sun Yaoting's journey to the palace - Lan Jie
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms2/article/abstract?v=gPw7xOyBVLGZm5SrucWiTGB0NiRAFOfFcNLUqdQ2typtw6Yg6nXohtoIpaUa5H8eIkNoi1BBpXOJh2gelBfYFEaLdS7m4Sq1968T-uSrO5dWeBB4rfSQHNVSR5ZtEWIzu4oU508GKfs=&uniplatform=NZKPT&language=CHS