Eunuchs can only live in the narrow circle of the palace every day and serve people all day. Life is boring, and leisure is gambling and drinking to numb your nerves. Ming Shi Ji Huo records the daily life of eunuchs, saying that they "eat and live in seclusion, do nothing, sleep more." In small groups, they drink and roll dice, watch cards, play dominoes, play chess and backgammon, and don't go to bed until midnight. There are also people who can't eat wine and meat alone, such as getting together before, running east in turn, helping to get together for a drink, and talking and laughing are all vulgar. There are many disputes after drunkenness, from scolding servants to getting angry, to punching their ancestors and parents in order to win. But it is easy to reconcile, kowtow a few times, shed a few tears, that is, I am as happy as ever. "These eunuchs live in boring times, just like a lifeless wooden head.
The eunuch who lives in the deep palace, although well dressed and delicious, has no home, intimate friends, no descendants, no future and no hope. Life is just killing time for them. Although some eunuchs can reach the peak of power at an appropriate time, their hearts are still depressed and bored. Once you have power, you will try your best to make money and persecute officials, which is the manifestation of this extremely boring abnormal psychology. After the death of eunuchs, they are often wrapped in straw mats and thrown into the suburbs. The ghost of eunuchs, accompanied by generations of bitter wind and rain, wandered alone in the boundless Yuan Ye.
Superstitions and taboos
Eunuchs are mostly uneducated and lonely, so they are superstitious. Liu Jin, the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, took charge of state affairs, and built a large-scale construction in Xingping, Shaanxi (now Xingping County, Shaanxi Province), using stone tablets and stone tools to build ancestral temples and tombs for his parents. In addition, Xuan Ming Palace was built outside Chaoyangmen Gate in Shi Jing to honor Emperor Tian Xuan. In order to maintain the mystery of "Heaven", Liu Jin also forbade people to say "Heaven", but because of his evil deeds, he was finally chopped for "the crime of lawlessness"
In the mouth of eunuchs, bronze cranes, water tanks, flower trees, ancient wells and even a stone in the palace can be turned into essence and manifested as spirit. As for the famous deities with surnames, they are as sacred as Guan Jun and Zhenwu Emperor, not to mention. In The First Half of Life, Puyi recorded the superstitions of the eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty: "They are really superstitious themselves. Zhang Qian and he are such people. Whenever he has any questions, he always reads Jade Sagger and makes up his mind. General eunuchs are also very pious when offering sacrifices to temple gods, that is, four kinds of animals: worms, foxes, weasels and hedgehogs. It turns out that there are many gods enshrined in the palace, except Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, there are also' Father King and Mother King', as well as the' God Rod' outside the Kunning Palace, the horses of the court, the silkworms in any palace, the moon, the stars, the cowherd and the weaver girl, and all kinds of them, but the temple god belongs to the protector of eunuchs and not to the royal family. According to eunuchs, the temple god is a second-class fairy house sealed by the emperor. A eunuch told me that one night, he was walking on a pen in Gan Qing Palace. Suddenly, a man wearing a second-class hat and embroidered robe came from behind, arrested him and threw him in front of your Majesty Dan. This is the temple god. Eunuchs don't eat pork. According to a eunuch, eating pork was a big mistake, and the temple fair punished them for rubbing their mouths on the bark until the skin broke. When the eunuch enters the temple where no one goes, he must first shout,' Open the temple!' Just opened the door, so as not to accidentally meet the temple god and be punished. Eunuchs offer sacrifices to the gods in the temple on the first and fifteenth days of the first lunar month and holidays. "
Eunuchs are very credulous, thinking that the reason why they have fallen to this step is entirely the arrangement of fate. Zhang Defu, the personal eunuch of Empress Dowager Cixi, often said to people, "I am a man with a golden destiny. I am a white tiger, my parents and my son. Only lonely servants are my fate. " Therefore, he served Empress Dowager Cixi wholeheartedly all his life, never greedy for money or fame. The palace called him Tu Xian.
Eunuchs are most afraid of being castrated Qian Ang, a famous minister in the Northern Song Dynasty, was famous for his outstanding achievements and tasted Qin Zhou. At this time, Tong Guan was lucky at first. He handled border affairs for Xihe, and was arrogant and arrogant, regardless of others. Once in a meeting, Tong Guan arrived for a long time, and Qian Ang went up to ask him what was going on. Tong Guan said: "I was too young to ride a donkey. I jumped easily and wanted to ride on a saddle. Suddenly, I spent a long time in the court and was delayed." Ang said, "The Duke of Autumn?" Tong Guan said, "Xiongye." Qian Ang said: "If you have no choice, don't castrate." Tong Guan was so angry that after Tong Guan used something, he exiled Qian Ang to a remote place.
Loyal to the master
The physiological characteristics of eunuchs determine that they can only be slaves in the palace and have no choice. Whether you can succeed in official career and make good luck depends entirely on what happened to your master. As the saying goes, you can only ascend to heaven if you master the Tao. So these eunuchs are very loyal to their master.
In the Northern Dynasties, Murong Bao of the State of Yan had a eunuch named Zhao Si. Later, Murong Bao was replaced by his uncle Murong De, who wanted to keep Zhao Si, but Zhao Si said, "Guan Yu paid great attention to Tsao Kung in the past, and he still remembered the kindness of his former master. I think that although punishment is residual, it is harsh on the country and cherishes the spirit. Dogs and horses have a heart, but if people beg, they will go to show. " After Zhao Sijian resigned, he was not killed and became a martyr of feudal ethics.
It is precisely because eunuchs are loyal slaves of emperors that emperors of all dynasties believed eunuchs, especially in the Ming Dynasty, who attacked eunuchs were often punished without guilt. In the Ming Dynasty, the secret service organized Dongxi Factory and Wei Jinyi in the hands of eunuchs. They spy on hundreds of officials and do evil, even from officials to the people. "No one is not afraid of fighting." There is even a huge plaque hanging in the East Factory, which reads: "The confidant of the imperial court!"
bow and scrape
Eunuchs are just slaves of the emperor, and what they usually do is beneath their dignity. Therefore, in front of the host, always grovel to please the host. When the emperor goes out to rest on the roadside, he can be a stool for the emperor to sit on and a pillow for the emperor when he sleeps. According to the biography of Han Fan Kuai, when Fan Kuai once rushed into the palace, he saw Liu Bang's Sleeping Alone.
Zai Chun, the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, liked to play a game called "Kicking a Dog" best. Is to let the eunuch lie on his back, open his mouth and pee in his mouth. The less spilled and the higher the level, the happier Zai Chun will be. Eunuchs must swallow all the "dragon urine" in their mouths. When Cixi played tricks on eunuchs, the means were even more unique. Beat the eunuch when you are happy, which is called "like beating"; When you are unhappy, you should sprinkle a fire on the eunuch's head, and maybe you will lose your head. The last emperor Puyi said in his "My First Half Life": "When I lose my temper and am unhappy, eunuchs will suffer; If I suddenly feel happy and want to be happy, the eunuch may also be unlucky. " Therefore, eunuchs should be cautious and grovel in front of their masters. When Sun Peng, a little eunuch in the Song Dynasty, washed his son's feet, he always exclaimed, "It smells good!" To please the master.
Try to please all parties and get rid of any embarrassing situation.
Eunuchs live in the deep palace, in the whirlpool of power of emperors, concubines, consorts, princes and courtiers. If they accidentally offend either side, they may be killed. This has enabled them to develop a set of methods that can meet the needs of both parties and are exquisite in all aspects.
The first thing to do, of course, is to win over your master and get on well with the emperor. Shi Xian, the eunuch of the Western Han Dynasty, is "a clever man. He learns things wisely, he can discover people's small intentions, and he is humble in his heart.". He hurt people in the middle with sophistry, hated it, looked down on it, and he was dangerously punished. " When someone denounced Shixian's autocratic power, he cried bitterly in front of Yuan Di, so vividly that Emperor Hanyuan not only did not punish him, but also said many comforting words to him and gave him a generous reward.
Eunuchs can often accurately judge which crown prince can ascend to the throne in the inner palace, so they often take the strategy of long-term fishing for big fish and win the crown prince. When Xuan Di was a child, Zhang He, the eunuch of the Western Han Dynasty, adopted him to the court, taught him to read and write poems, married Xu Fei for him, and spared no effort. Liu Jin, an official of the Ming Dynasty, deliberately settled down by various means when Wu Zong was a child, which won Wu Zong's heart and laid the foundation for him to monopolize power in the court in the future.
In order to win over the emperor, eunuchs sometimes use the power of the emperor's concubines. Li Yannian, the eunuch of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, recommended his sister to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, saying, "There are beautiful women in the north, and they are peerless and independent. They care about the city and then the country. " Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty soon married this beautiful woman and was ready for good luck. Li Yannian was therefore highly valued by the emperor.
It is said that Gao Lishi, the eunuch of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, had an affair with Yang Guifei, the favorite concubine of Emperor Xuanzong, which was also an important reason why he trusted Emperor Xuanzong all his life. Wei Zhongxian, the powerful minister of the Ming Dynasty, climbed to the position of eunuch because of the emperor's wet nurse.
In a word, the eunuchs who live in the inner palace all day see the power struggle of intrigue, which makes them practice a set of skills of talking with people and talking nonsense. Only by finding the source on both sides and being exquisite on all sides can we survive in the cracks.
Take the monarch hostage
Eunuchs have a set of skills to hold the monarch hostage, and they will show their talents whenever they have the chance. Chou Shiliang, a eunuch in the Tang Dynasty, once said to all the eunuchs who saw him off when he left the palace: "The emperor can't be idle. When he is idle, he must study. When he sees a Confucian minister nearby, he must be trained, far-sighted, less interesting and less happy. I am kind and thin, but my strength is light. " For the sake of the gentleman in the world, raising money and goods will be full of eagles, dogs and horses. Every day, I dazzle my heart with aluminum, and I am at a loss for luxury. You will definitely reject classics and westernization. Everything is in my hands, and you will appreciate your strength! "(The Biography of Shiliang Zhou in the New Tang Dynasty) Hearing this, the eunuchs were very grateful for Shiliang Zhou's teaching.
Although there are many ways to please the host, they are all the same, and that is what the host likes. Ming Wuzong is a romantic son of heaven, and he likes to have fun. Liu Jin and other eunuchs accompanied him every day to shoot eagles and dogs, listen to songs and dances and watch corners, so he was highly valued by the emperor. After Li, the eunuch of the Qing Dynasty, entered the palace, he saw that Empress Dowager Cixi paid great attention to hairstyle, so he learned to comb his hair outside the palace, pondered it repeatedly, and tried to enter the hair-combing room, where he won the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi and was soon promoted to be the general manager, and his power even exceeded the court etiquette.
Greedy and profligate
Eunuchs are slaves of the emperor, and their salaries are very low. However, due to their special status, with their increasing power and management of the royal estate, they have the opportunity to participate in economic activities and become economic nouveau riche by accepting bribes and extortion. "Their wealth is shocking."
Turning to the history of China, eunuchs with huge wealth are really a dime a dozen. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, half of the courtyards in Beijing belonged to eunuchs. Gao Lishi's assets are even richer. Tong Guan was the richest eunuch in the Song Dynasty. He built a mansion in Kaifeng, which was filled with donations from all sides. He also privately occupies fields in Zhejiang, Zhejiang, and hides beautiful women at home. Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were even more insatiable. During the Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty, they copied the eunuch Shang Ming's home. "Those who take tens of thousands of dollars to the inner government will be very tired every day." During Hongzhi's reign, Li Guang, the great eunuch, used a huge sum of money to "open a place first and draw Yuquan landscape around it". When eunuch Jiang Bin's house was copied, he got 70 cabinets of gold, 2,200 cabinets of silver and countless other treasures.
So where did the huge wealth of these eunuchs come from? On the one hand, they came from the emperor's reward, on the other hand, they came from extortion, corruption and bribery. After Li Guang, the eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, was killed, the chamberlain was ordered to copy his home and got a bribe. It was written in the book that someone gave hundreds of stones to yellow rice and thousands of stones to white rice, totaling several million stones. Yellow rice is gold and white rice is silver.
After seizing a large amount of wealth by hook or by crook, eunuchs hoarded it with hundreds of thousands or tens of millions, which made them out of the circulation field. Or waste money and live a luxurious and dissolute life; Or build temples, shrines and so on. These consequences for the country and people are economic depression, intensification of various social contradictions, and finally the demise of the feudal dynasty.
Play politics.
Eunuchs in past dynasties used to exert their power in troubled times, and they often became active figures on the political stage in the turmoil and war of the dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period, after Guan Zhong's death, Qi Huangong reused eunuchs to erect minks. After Huan Gong's death, vertical Diao and treacherous court official Yiya made the prince king again, and there was no loss, which led to national chaos.
In the Western Jin Dynasty, the eunuch Dong Meng was keen on political affairs. After serving in the East Palace, he secretly passed the news, plotted to abolish the Queen Mother, participated in the killing of Yang Jun, Runan Wang Liang and Wang Wei, the king of Chu, and was arbitrarily appointed as Wu Houan for his work. Because of Prince Sima? Not born of the empress dowager, Dong Meng intends to abolish the prince and send someone to kill him. Xu Longju, the eunuch of Zhao Ye during the Liu and Song Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, was fooling around with Gong Ji all day long. Later, he developed into a general secretary, often living in the chapter hall, wearing a yellow silk hat and a mink fur quilt, sitting in the south, reading documents for small people.
In the Song Dynasty, the twenty-five years of Song Huizong's reign was the darkest period in the Northern Song Dynasty. Song Huizong successively reused three eunuchs, namely, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng and Li Yan, so that the power of eunuchs reached its peak. When Liang Shicheng was authoritarian, the Prime Minister Wang Fu treated him with respect like a father, and even the powerful Cai Jing and his son wanted to flatter him. Therefore, some people say that Liang Shi has become a "hidden phase", that is, the prime minister behind the scenes.
Several important events in the Ming Dynasty, such as the "rebellion" and the "change of seizing the door", were all intervened by eunuchs. Even the regime change of Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was helped by eunuchs. Therefore, after Chengzu ascended the throne, he used eunuchs more.
In the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Yi commented on the eunuch's autocracy in the Notes on Twenty-two Histories: "Although the eunuchs in the Eastern Han Dynasty and before the Ming Dynasty suffered a lot, they still stole sovereignty and ravaged the world. In the Tang Dynasty, the eunuch's power was above the master, and it was simply a child's play to establish, kill and abolish the monarch. " In the late Tang Dynasty, Mu Zong, Wenzong, Wuzong, Xuanzong, Zong Yi, Nuozong and Zhaozong were all founded by eunuchs. The emperor hates eunuchs, is afraid of eunuchs, and cannot live without eunuchs, so he has to use eunuchs.
Cruel nature
Eunuchs mostly come from criminals, prisoners of war, or some local hooligans. Of course, there are also children of good families who are deceived into the palace, but not the majority. After castration, these people have undergone great changes in body and mind, and their appearance has become sinister and lacking in masculinity. And psychology has also undergone tremendous changes, often losing humanity and becoming extremely cruel.
Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty believed in "eating children's brains to regenerate", so they killed countless young children. According to the book Wild Harvest in Ming Dynasty, "Fujian tax-collecting eunuchs adopted ancient tactics and mistakenly believed the alchemist's words:' If you eat more than a thousand children's brains, it will be revived as before'. It's all about buying childishness and killing childishness. After a long time, everyone knows everything. If the people don't want it, they steal it and give it to him. The loss of children in the four directions is not counted, but suddenly it has changed back. These are the incarnations of hags. "
For ordinary people, the eunuch's * * *, but also generous, is a face of land hooligans. Mountain Hall Collection, Entrance to the Official, recorded an incident of Zheng De in the 14th year of Ming Dynasty 15 19. "First the eunuch Jason Wu came to Yangzhou, chose resplendent and magnificent houses as the prefect's office, and stationed in the future. After correcting the meaning, brush the virgin widow. People are aggressive, and women are suitable for people overnight. It is forbidden to fight for the door and escape at night ... I know the home of widows and prostitutes through secret accounts. Send a few riders to open the city gate in the middle of the night and call for driving. Make the avenue burn a torch and make it as bright as day. After the whole world entered his home, all the apes disappeared, and those who broke the wall and destroyed the house were all their own, and no one could escape. The cries were loud and the women were sent to the temple to stay. Two of them were angry and refused to eat. "