Emperors of ancient China were inseparable from eunuchs because eunuchs could help them to do many things, and the Ming emperor was no exception. Eunuchs lost the ability to reproduce after being castrated. As a result, the purity of the emperor’s bloodline would be ensured.
However, due to the eunuch’s proximity to the center of power, they had interfered with politics in many Chinese dynasties. Obviously, although the eunuch’s body was incomplete, the desire for power hadn’t been eliminated.
Worse still, if the emperor were unable to focus on governing the dynasty, and instead left the decision-making power to the eunuch, then the eunuch’s power would reach its peak.
Throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs caused considerable damage to the Ming because of the emperor’s laziness and inability. Among them, the most notorious eunuchs included Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian.
1、Wang Zhen（王振) ?-1449
Wang Zhen was the first eunuch who had the absolute power in the court. He actually prepared for a long time before he reached the peak of power. As the Zhu Qizhen’s first teacher, he didn’t encourage the young emperor to study hard. Instead, he tried his best to shorten the emperor’s study time and arrange a lot of entertainment activities.
His reason for doing so was to cultivate a fatuous emperor and gain the emperor’s trust. Sadly, Zhu Qizhen, who was the sixth emperor of the Ming, didn’t see through the eunuch Wang Zhen’s tricks. Instead, he more liked this teacher, who often brought joy to himself.
In this way, once the emperor wanted to indulge in playing properly, he would delegate part of the decision-making power to the eunuch. Under the emperor’s pampering, the eunuch Wang Zhen eventually caused the Tumu Crisis.
2、Liu Jin （刘瑾) 1451-1510
Liu Jin was born in Shanxi, China, whose surname was originally Tan. Due to poverty, he was castrated to be a eunuch when he was only six years old. After getting into the palace, he changed his name to Liu Jin.
On his way to the peak of power, he encountered many bumps. The most serious was that during the reign of Xiao Zong Emperor, Liu Jin was almost wiped out because of crime. Since then, Liu Jin had been more cautious in his work.
Later, he was appointed to provide service for crown prince Zhu Houzhao for his excellent performance. In 1505, Zhu Houzhao, a 14-year-old child, became the 10th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, which led to a rapid expansion of Liu Jin’s power.
Since then, Zhu Houzhao had become increasingly dependent on Liu Jin, because this eunuch could bring happiness to the emperor. Meanwhile, the emperor began to ignore government affairs to obtain a better sensory experience, and many government affairs of the court were handed over to Liu Jin.
In this case, Liu Jin became the emperor’s spokesperson, and as long as officials dared to oppose his orders, they would be retaliated. From 1505 to 1510, under the emperor’s indulgence, Liu Jin hurt many upright officials and corrupted a lot of wealth. However, he eventually received severe legal sanctions.
3、Wei Zhongxian（魏忠贤) 1568-1627
Wei Zhongxian was born in Hebei, China. He was poor and always wandered on the streets when young. Afterward, he chose to be a eunuch to change his current situation. Because of his close relationship with Zhu Youxiao’s nanny, Wei Zhongxian attracted his lucky day and was paid more and more attention by the emperor.
Wei Zhongxian used to take all kinds of ways to please the emperor, which resulted in being too busy with pleasure to deal with the government affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Then, he could help the emperor deal with government affairs.
In fact, Wei Zhongxian gained the decision-making power of the emperor and gradually reached the peak of power. He used to call himself nine thousand years, which meant that his power was second only to the emperor.
To make matters worse, he would retaliate against any Ming officials who impeached him to secure his power. As a result of cruel means, many officials and civilians were terrified of Wei Zhongxian.
In conclusion
All three eunuchs caused considerable damage to the Ming Dynasty. If the emperor were diligent in government affairs, eunuchs would lose the opportunity to have absolute power.
Unfortunately, not all descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang knew how to control the eunuch.
