When it comes to eunuchs, I believe that many people will think of those perverted personalities in film and television dramas, who are fierce and fierce, not only flattering and deceiving, forming parties for personal gain, and sometimes even trying to replace the emperor with treacherous villains. It is true that many eunuchs in history have not had a good reputation, as people who have been physically handicapped since childhood, they often have resentments that ordinary people cannot understand, and at the same time, the advantage of being able to stay with the emperor for a long time makes it easier for them to grasp the power in their hands.
For example, Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty killed Meng Tian and Gongzi Fusu after the death of Emperor Shi, supported Hu Hai as emperor, and became a chancellor; in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eunuch clique "Ten Constant Attendants" seduced Emperor Ling and tyrannically ruled; at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Liu Jin, who currying favor with Emperor Wuzong of Ming and was eventually executed by Ling Chi, Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch leader who firmly controlled the government and was revered as "nine thousand nine hundred years old", and Li Lianying, who was once powerful by virtue of Empress Dowager Cixi's favor, all had a great impact on the eunuchs being portrayed as a negative image. In fact, in history, there are not only treacherous and cunning eunuchs, but also some who are not so bad and even worthy of respect.
The concept of "eunuch" had appeared as early as the pre-Qin period, and later, Zhao Gao's unauthorized power sounded the alarm bell for the rulers after that, so the eunuch's interference in politics was firmly suppressed. Coming to the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is a eunuch who has to be mentioned, he is Cai Lun, who improved papermaking. Cai Lun was originally born in a blacksmith family, and learned a lot of related skills from an early age, according to legend, until he was eighteen years old, he entered the palace under the recommendation of others and became a small eunuch working in the court.
Because of his education and his own intelligence, Cai Lun was soon promoted and began to be responsible for more important matters such as conveying edicts and managing documents. On the other hand, he also participated in the court struggle to frame the Song nobles at the behest of Empress Dowager Dou. However, given his humble status at the time, it was clear that he could only choose to obey the Queen's orders. As his seniority in the palace grew, Cai Lun's status in the palace also became higher and higher, and he was even appointed to supervise the manufacture of instruments in the palace.
In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (105), Cai Lun presented the Han and Emperor with products made from his own improved papermaking technology, which was more convenient to manufacture and less expensive, and was very advanced at that time. After seeing Cai Lun's invention, Hedi was very happy, and not only personally named it "Cai Hou Paper" to recognize Cai Lun's contribution, but also ordered it to be promoted so that more people could use this high-quality product.
When Cai Lun died, another eunuch with a better reputation also began to emerge, he was the titular grandfather of Cao Cao, Cao Teng. Cao Teng entered the palace at a young age and won the favor of Empress Deng with his cautious and steady personality. Unlike those eunuchs who were obsessed with fighting for power and favor, Cao Teng not only served the four emperors in the palace for more than thirty years without making any mistakes, but also often recommended some talented people, so the wind and criticism inside and outside the government and the public were quite good.
After Cao Teng's death, because he had no heirs as a eunuch, Cao Song of the same clan inherited his official title. As for Cao Song's son, he was Cao Cao, a great figure who unified the north at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the third year of Taihe (229), the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui posthumously named his grandfather Cao Teng emperor, which also made Cao Teng the only eunuch in China's history to be awarded the title of emperor by the orthodox dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, the most famous eunuch may be Gao Lishi, the favorite of Tang Xuanzong, and in the impression of many people, his most famous deed is that he was humiliated by Li Bai in the allusion of "Lux taking off his boots". In fact, the most important reason why Colliers was able to be reused by Xuanzong was that he was loyal, reliable, careful and meticulous. On the other hand, he was also very capable and could share Xuanzong's worries. After the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, Gao Lishi never abandoned Xuanzong, following him to and fro, and immediately vomited blood and died after learning of his death. For such a loyal eunuch, even the Ming Dynasty thinker Li Yan, who had boldly criticized Confucius, had to sigh: "Gao Lishi is really loyal to the subject, who is called a eunuch and no one." ”
Entering the Ming Dynasty, the most respected eunuch was undoubtedly the "Three Bao Eunuchs", that is, Zheng He. Zheng He was originally from Yunnan, and his family had been practicing Islam for generations, and even his grandfather and father had made pilgrimages to the distant holy city of Mecca. During the Battle of Pingnan by the Ming army, Zheng He was taken captive to the palace as a eunuch, and after going to the Yan king's palace to take office, he was appreciated by Zhu Di, the king of Yan.
In the third year of Yongle (1405), Zheng He, who came into contact with Islam from an early age and later embraced Buddhism, was appointed as a eunuch in the Western Ocean because of his advantageous identity background, as well as his courageous, resourceful, loyal and reliable character. In the following twenty years, he led the fleet to sail seven times, making great contributions to the establishment of the "tribute" system of the Ming Dynasty. To this day, there are still traces left by Zheng He's fleet in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and even many parts of Africa, which highlights the strong national strength of the Ming Dynasty and promotes the exchange of culture and materials between China and foreign countries.
To sum up, in the history of our country, there are not only those eunuchs who are vicious, but even if it is a special group, there are still some respectable and excellent individuals among them. Therefore, when discussing a certain group or a certain thing, it is very undesirable to adopt an attitude of partial generalization and adherence to prejudice.