The story of the eunuchs

The first documented case of the use of eunuchs to guard the harem is found in the description of Xenophon palace life of the Persian king Cyrus. This description refers to the time of the conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. e. However, most likely, this practice was prevalent then in the civilized world. Definitely it is known that in China it has existed long before the fall of Babylon ...

As eunuchs were

Long before the reign of Cyrus II of Persia in the custom of castrating prisoners taken in battles to be used as a guard harems. It appears that the founders of this tradition were the first Persian kings who wanted to ensure the chastity of his concubines and to avoid damage to the dynastic lineage.

Cyrus noticed Xenophon wrote that "eunuchs were indifferent to any family affection, and because he thought it more likely they will respect and appreciate those who have had the greatest opportunity to lavish their reward and could protect them in case they someone or offended, and assign them to the honorary position, and no one thought he (Cyrus), he could not beat him in the distribution of favors of this kind.

In addition, as the eunuchs have been the subject of scorn and ridicule from all other ordinary people have for this one reason they needed a host who would be their patron. For there is no such person who would not think that he has the right to lord it over a eunuch at every opportunity to do so, if only to him this will not prevent the one who has the highest authority. However, there is no reason for which even a eunuch could surpass all others in faithfulness to his master. However, he did not consider how many might have been inclined to believe that eunuchs are weak creatures. And he brought this conclusion also by the example of other animals.

For example, a restive stallion being castrated, stop biting and rear up, that's for sure, however, despite this, they do not lose their suitability for service in the war.

And the bulls are castrated when they are largely lose their proud spirit and rebelliousness, but their strength and ability to work from this not become worse. And just like the dogs when they are castrated, they cease to run away from their owners, but nevertheless also suitable for the guard service and hunting.

Also men, if with them in doing so, became more gentle, being deprived of this desire, but showed no less care and diligence that they trust. They are not in any way become less dexterous horsemen, or less skilled spearmen, or less ambitious men.

On the contrary, as in war and in the hunt, they show that in their hearts there is still the spirit of competition. And as for their loyalty, the best proof of it is their behavior at the time when their owners fall into distress. For no one has served his master in misfortune more devotedly than eunuchs.

And if you think, and that there is some reason to believe that they are inferior in physical strength, still on the battlefield Steel makes weak as strong. By recognizing these facts, Cyrus picked eunuchs for all positions in his court, beginning with the gatekeepers. "

Before becoming a eunuch, a boy or a man subjected to castration. There were three varieties of this very painful surgery. The first was a complete castration: a man deprived and penis and testicles.

The second consisted in the removal of only the penis. The third - to deprive the testicles. If any of castration, when the wound healed at the edges, into the resulting cavity is inserted into the treated metal or bamboo tube for urination. Later invented a dildo made of rubber.

About what kind of suffering experienced during the operation eunuchs, he gave a detailed account of the late nineteenth century, a China specialist English scholar Carter Stent. He wrote in 1877:

"The operation was carried out as follows. Lower abdomen and upper thighs tight perebintovyvayut to prevent excessively heavy bleeding.

Then removable body part peppermint washed three times with hot water and cut at the very base of a small curved knife resembles a sickle. At the conclusion of the case the wound is covered with paper soaked in cold water, and carefully tape up.

Patient, supported by two "operators", forced to walk for 2-3 hours the room, and then let go, but forbid anything to drink for three days.

On the fourth day, remove the bandage and the sufferer, at last, can ease. If it turns out, it means he is out of danger, if not - it is doomed to a painful death, as the passages of his already swollen and nothing it will not save. "

Games harem

Meanwhile, castration, especially partial, often does not deprive a person of the male hormones, and sometimes eunuchs experienced torment that are in the society of beautiful women. Here's how to describe their torment one sufferer: "I entered the seraglio, where everything inspires me with regret for my loss. Every minute I felt the excitement of the senses; thousands of natural beauty reveals to me, seemed only to plunge me into despair ...

Whenever I accompanied the woman to the bed of my master, every time I undressed her, I came back to myself with rage in his heart and with terrible despair in his heart ...

I remember once, landing a woman in a bath, I felt so excited that my mind was clouded, and I dared to touch the hand of a place on her body ... When he came to, I thought that it was my last day. However, I was lucky, and I avoided the most severe punishment. "

However, the absence of the penis does not hurt eunuchs caress beauties, and while the rulers were busy with their chores, eunuchs are not missed in the community and their wives. Especially among eunuchs went legend - as a result of regular sexual intercourse sexual organs grow again. And the eunuch caressed foreign concubines, however, with the terrible fear of the ruler of revenge.

Chinese eunuch Li Guo was careless, and concubines body remained bites and bruises. Its owner found these tracks, and as the entrance to the harem was forbidden to all but the emperor, and the eunuch, then calculate the culprit was not difficult. Terrible punishment fell on Li Guo: he was sentenced to cutting into small pieces.

Eunuch Wei in charge of the harem of the Emperor Qianlong. Wei is so believed in their power, that the quarrel with the Chief Minister and stopped noticing it. In response, the Chief Minister informed the emperor that his sport eunuchs in harems. The Minister proposed to subject the eunuchs immediately re-operation, and, of course, first of all subjected to excruciating torture chief eunuch - Wei ...

castrato Career

Who will become a eunuch? Oddly enough, many go on it is voluntary - the eunuchs lived comfortably in luxurious palaces, well fed. Some parents were selling, and then sometimes the children of their thank - often made themselves eunuchs "career" - became officials, military commanders and advisors master.

Eunuch Taytsziyan planned the entire irrigation system in China. Eunuch Guo Shoujing built for the great Kublai Khan Grand Canal near Beijing. Eunuch Liu Jin even rules the entire Middle Empire - from 1505 to 1510 - for minor Emperor Vi-Tsu.

The most famous Chinese eunuch admiral was Chang Ho. He performed in the XV century voyages to India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, sailed along the coast of East Africa. It was close to the opening of Europe. He commanded a huge fleet, numbering over three hundred ships and 30,000 sailors.

In China, eunuchs were a respected and authoritative part of the society. They combine specific clans, often very powerful, and the rulers were forced to reckon with them.

Humiliated pride and inability to have sex made eunuchs sometimes extremely warlike and violent, that made good use of their owners. Emperor Xuan Zong, the owner of the harem with 500 concubines, appointed eunuch Gao Lishi his bodyguard and security adviser.

One day the emperor ordered Gao Lishi to take punitive action against Buddhist monks. Eunuch, seizing monks subtly dealt with them. He ordered to castrate the monks brew their genitals and feed them nuns. The nuns, in turn, cut off the breasts, cooked and fed monks. Executioner eunuch came up and other torture. On accidents eyes put bags filled with lime, crushed fingers and finally naked body wrapped in soft metal pipes in the form of snakes and wide-open their "mouth" poured boiling water cool.

Another eunuch Xuanzong was a certain Van Feyen, who brought the "Palace desirable monsters." It was inhabited by the most hideous and ugly women, collected from all parts of China: the dwarf and giantess, humpback and obeznozhennye covered with scabs and pus expiring ... And even, as evidenced by the historical records, a woman with two heads, wherein passion of ...

N. Trubinovskaya