Eunuchs had a very long history in ancient China. Although they were the product of feudal autocracy, you would find the answer to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty from a new perspective through the study of eunuchs.
Many people knew that eunuchs were slaves who lost their fertility but possessed the characteristics of a male labor force. Why were they associated with marriage?
In fact, according to Chinese official historical records, there had been a historical record of eunuch marriage as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had learned historical lessons, and he took various actions to restrain eunuchs, including their power, clothing, and marriage. But something changed during the reign of Yongle Emperor.
Loosening of Policy
Eunuchs were strictly forbidden to marry in the early Ming Dynasty. But starting in 1402, Yongle violated his father’s rules to repay eunuchs for their significant contributions in Jingnan Campaign.
From then on, the marriage of eunuchs had legitimacy because it had the tacit approval of the emperor. Yongle Emperor even awarded wedding to eunuchs who made significant contributions.
After the loosening of policy, the phenomenon of eunuchs’ marriage didn’t disappear until the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. What’s more, their wedding ceremonies were very simple and even had to be performed secretly. In general, the wives of eunuchs were concubines. Such a special conjugal relationship was named Caihu.
However, it was gratifying that eunuchs were extremely loyal to their wives despite their loss of fertility. Many eunuchs would choose not to marry for life after losing their wives. This characteristic of eunuchs’ marriage was their desire to be recognized by society.
Demand for Power
The interference of eunuchs in politics is a major feature of the Ming Dynasty. When eunuchs became the agents of imperial power, more and more officials actively married their daughters to powerful eunuchs to gain power.
Obviously, these officials were shameful. The starting point of this kind of behavior was their political future, not for the true happiness of their daughters. Such behaviors broke out in the middle and late periods of the Ming Dynasty.
Demand for Physiological
Just like many emperors in ancient China, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty had a large number of concubines. Due to the imbalance between supply and demand, most concubines didn’t have the opportunity to meet the emperor once in their lives.
Under such conditions, the emperor consented in the marriage of concubines and eunuchs to solve the physiological demand of concubines. At the same time, eunuchs had been castrated. Even if they get married, they couldn’t have their children.
Demand for Mentality
Eunuchs were usually not accepted by the mainstream value of Ming society because of the influence of Confucian culture, which always made them psychological distortion.
However, once eunuchs got married, they could receive love from the opposite sex, which relieves their inner self-esteem and allows them to experience the warmth of family. It can be said that the psychological needs of eunuchs for marriage far exceed physical needs.
In Conclusion
Although eunuchs are not real men, they are equally eager to have a family. In fact, the feudal autocracy forced them to take such a distinctive way to experience the warmth of the family.
Frankly, they are a group of slaves who are deprived of the right to reproduction and family happiness by the emperor. If there were other options, who wanted to be a eunuch?
