Eunuchs of ancient China were special products of feudal autocracy. They had to rely on the emperor to gain power and live a good life. They couldn’t be accepted by mainstream society because of the incomplete bodies, which made them generally loyal to the Emperor.
The essence of eunuchs was that they were the Emperor’s watchdog, and they had to do other things as well as serve the Emperor and concubines. The duties of eunuchs also varied greatly in different dynasties.
During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty had learned a lot from history about how to take measures to control the expansion of eunuchs’ power. It can be said that the eunuchs who lived in Hong Wu period were the waiters without any chance to interfere in politics.
After Yongle Emperor got the throne, he began to attach great importance to eunuchs because of their significant contribution to Jingnan Rebellion. He broke his father’s rules and began giving eunuchs the power to interfere in politics.
Since then, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty had ushered in the spring of power expansion. Throughout the history of the Ming, the most notorious eunuchs such as Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian appeared.
Fortunately, although the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty caused lots of damage, their power hadn’t involved the control of the army yet.
It meant that once the Emperor began to dislike these watchdogs around him, the eunuchs had to wait to die. For example, when Wei Zhongxian had the absolute power in the court, he hurt many people and didn’t realize his doom until Chong Zhen Emperor came to power.
In order to create a new political environment, Chong Zhen Emperor ordered the arrest of eunuch Wei Zhongxian. After learning about the Emperor’s orders, Wei Zhongxian didn’t rebel but chose to commit suicide.
There were many other examples in Ming history, but eunuchs living in the late Tang Dynasty, they would never choose to wait for death. When the emperors wanted to eliminate them, they would rebel because they could command the army.
This is the greatest difference between the eunuchs of Tang Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Although the eunuchs of both dynasties served the Emperor, their powers were completely different.
The Ming strictly stipulated that eunuchs couldn’t command the army directly. The only armed forces they could command were Embroidered Uniform Guard, Eastern Depot, or Western Depot. The army responsible for defending the Ming emperor was always controlled by military attaches loyal to the Emperor, which kept the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty from rebelling.
Due to the outbreak of An Lushan Rebellion, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty gradually distrust local armed commanders. Especially after Emperor Suzong of Tang came to power, who was the 10th emperor of Tang, he gave the command of the army to eunuchs firstly.
Such behavior caused a terrible impact so that the eunuch with military power could decide who could become the supreme ruler of the Tang Dynasty. Obviously, the eunuch’s power was out of control.
In conclusion
If you are very familiar with the ancient history of China, you will be surprised to find that the power of the Emperor is on the rise, while the power of the eunuch is on the decline.
Especially in Qing Dynasty, they learned the lessons of history and effectively controlled the size and power of eunuchs to ensure the safety of their rule.
