Inside the World of the Eunuch : a Social History of the Emperor's Servants in Qing China.
- HK : Hong Kong University Press, (c)2019.
- 1 online resource (237 pages)
Includes bibliographies and index.
Intro; Contents; Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Conventions; Introduction: The Other Side of Eunuch History; 1. The Palace Eunuch System; 2. Routes to the Palace; 3. Unrobing the Emasculated Body; 4. Entering the Emperor's Realm; 5. The Parallel World of the Eunuch; 6. Running away from the Palace; 7. Eunuch Suicide; 8. Authorized Exits from the System; 9. Surviving the Fall of the Qing; Conclusion; App 1. Reign Titles and Dates of the Qing Emperors; App 2. Eunuch Suicide Regulations; App 3. Eunuch Temples; App 4. Eunuch Cemeteries; Bibliography; Index
The history of Qing palace eunuchs is defined by a tension between the role eunuchs were meant to play and the life they intended to live. This study tells the story of how a complicated and much-maligned group of people struggled to insert a degree of agency into their lives. Rulers of the Qing dynasty were determined to ensure the eunuchs' subservience and to limit their influence by imposing a management style based upon strict rules, corporal punishment, and collective responsibility. Few eunuchs wielded significant political power or lived in a lavish style during the Qing dynasty. Emascu.