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Well friends, here is my inaugural post: an essay I recently wrote towards my MA in Global History.
This course is "Chinese Military History," and I wanted to examine a novel topic.

Men of Silk and Swords
Eunuchs in Chinese Military History


Eunuchs were men whose testicles, or testicles and penis, were deliberately cut off, with or without the man’s blessing. The eunuch is found in many cultural histories: in Asia, Asia Minor, Africa and Europe. Dynastic China made them an institution, a definitive adjunct of the aristocracy. Relying on them mainly as servants, and administrational and social duties, they were indispensable to the dynastic political and social framework. The vast majority had innocuous jobs, such as attending to royal harems and the caprices of princes and governors. A very slim minority, however, were chafed by their station in China’s heavenly-mandated cosmogony. Whether driven by ambition and avarice, or devotion and duty, many eunuchs impinged directly upon dynastic affairs. Either way, these __ men played a significant role in dynastic military history.
Eunuchs are found throughout classic and modern history. They are mentioned by name in the Old and New Testaments in words attributed to Moses and Jesus. Historian Albert Hourani writes that medieval Muslim societies emasculated prisoners of war, thereafter enslaved them. The Italian Castrati were mutilated in their teens; in this way, their youthful singing voices supposedly remained pure.
In Dynastic China, however, eunuchs provided widespread services in both palace and governmental affairs. Many willingly sacrificed their genitalia to enter the illustrious sanctums of the Mandate of Heaven. Others, prisoners of war, were castrated against their will, and put to work. The alternative for both types was to remain, literally, outside the palace walls in privation and uncertainty.
Debunking the theoretical harmony of the Dynastic Chinese bureaucracy, the relationship between palace, or court eunuchs and Confucian scholars was tenuous, and often vicious. Though the entrenchment of eunuchs and Confucians were contemporaneous, Confucians considered themselves imperially-mandated representatives of the palace elite; friction ensued when ambitious eunuchs trespassed upon the Confucian’s sanctified position. Historian Bamber Gascoigne, on the Eastern Han Dynasty, writes that by 168 C.E., the court eunuchs “were powerful enough to conduct a great purge of their Confucian opponents, killing, it was said, thousands of officials.” The Confucians struck back in 189, when eunuchs “were extensively slaughtered.” The deadly enmity between these two palace fixtures shifts back and forth throughout dynastic history. To demonstrate this rivalry’s longevity, we can jump from the second century Eastern Han to the seventeenth century Ming Dynasty, where the infamous eunuch usurper Wei Zhongxian, once he had acquired the de facto leadership of the nation, embarked on a purge of government officials, with the Confucians bearing most of the pain.
Once certain intrepid eunuchs had established themselves in the power structure, they commonly influenced, and even dictated, imperial matters. The success or failure of an alliance between officials and eunuchs was determined by aptitude in two areas. The first was internal, via subterfuge and political intrigue. Secondly, in external affairs, officials, all the way up to a sitting emperor, entrusted eunuchs to oversee a wide variety of meaningful tasks. Many eunuchs enjoyed a fluctuating level of involvement in political and military affairs. Some had direct control over imperial succession. Eunuchs eventually were allowed to acquire offices and own land, which placed them on a par with the aristocracy and rich merchants.
An aspiring eunuch’s safety was subject to shifting tides of governmental policy and loyalty; though they had dreams of grandeur, many were powerless over events that could ultimately destroy them. A eunuch trying to rise above his station took tremendous risks. For an example of a passive risk, early Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, whose chosen eunuchs were supposed to supervise “imperial stables and munitions,” dictated that,
They should not be given responsibility and their numbers should not be large. Eunuchs should not intervene in government affairs. Those who disobey will be beheaded.

Court eunuchs were analogous to the ruler of any governmental seat, provincial or aristocratic; if and when their superior was deposed, eunuchs loyal to him suffered the consequences. Philosopher Sanderson Beck writes that in 189 C.E., amidst late Han internecine conflict, “General Yuan Shao…captured the city of Luoyang and slaughtered over two thousand of his enemy’s court eunuchs.
Conversely, court eunuchs could benefit from a ruler’s success. To tip the scales in their favor, North Wei eunuchs, to take one example, “participated in military campaigns, formed alliances with the maternal relatives and the palace women, and got involved in the enthronement and dethronement of emperors.” In the pursuit of profit and power, adventurous and charismatic eunuchs insinuated themselves into dramatic military events. Eunuch Wang Zhen’s legacy is one of malevolence; his sway over the Ming boy-emperor Cheng-t'ung eventually culminated in one of the most disastrous episodes in China’s military history. In 1449, Zhen convinced Cheng-t'ung to engage a Mongolian tribe to the north. In the ensuing debacle, Cheng-t'ung, the absolute ruler of the heavenly-mandated Middle Kingdom was captured! China’s leading generals were killed; Wang Zhen fell in the same year.
The famed eunuch Zheng He was astonishingly beneficial for three Ming emperors: Zhu Di (c. 1402), Zhu Gaozhi (c. 1425), and Xuande (c. 1426). Zheng applied his talents to the emperor’s fleet, trade, and international political relations, his prime falling between 1402 and 1433. In these years he was admiral of the Treasure Fleet, except for 1425, when Zhu Gaozhi appointed him Nanjing military commander. According to Levathes, Zheng’s brief stint as the Nanjing City military commander, an important post, “set the precedent for other eunuch military commanders in other provinces.” As Zhu Di’s admiral, however, Zheng distinguished himself, facilitating trade and diplomacy across the China Seas to the Indian Ocean. His marine personnel included dozens of officials of the imperial government and military, over one hundred of which were fellow eunuchs.
Dynastic eunuch’s regular duties consisted of custodial service to the aristocracy, governors, and the rich. They reacted to the whims of hedonistic officials, tending to home and harem, experts of domestic proclivities. Their genitalia were removed to ensure docility and inferiority. Certain eunuchs broke this stereotype, ranging in spirit from Wang Mang’s impositions to Zheng He’s dazzling contributions. Whether inspired by the Chinese mythical deities Kuan Ti or Yeng-Wang-Yeh, eunuch’s played major roles in China’s military. Dynastic historiography would be lacking if a eunuch’s contributions, good, or bad, were ignored.

Interesting essay..

Yes, I could not resist. I guess I should have put this into the "eunuch" thread; I blame ignorance.