Can castrati have children? Who is a eunuch and how does a eunuch differ from a castrato? In the ancient world
The word “eunuch” itself translated from Greek means “guardian of the bed.” Contrary to popular belief today, eunuchs were deprived of their testicles, not their penises. Under certain conditions, eunuchs retained the ability to experience sexual arousal, which allowed them to have sex. But they could not have children under any circumstances. This is precisely what should be considered the main reason for carrying out the castration procedure. Rulers and nobles in this way saved themselves from the threat of the birth of illegitimate bastard children, maintaining the purity of their blood. Eunuchs most often guarded the harems of their overlords, restored order there, and organizational issues, were the only men on its territory. Their work was generously paid, and the risk of one of the wives or concubines having an illegitimate heir was reduced to zero.
Voluntary and forced castration
Men became eunuchs both under duress and voluntarily. Many poor families sent their sons to this service. Castration in childhood was in some ways easier to experience, since the young men did not fully realize what they were deprived of. Hormonal changes in the body during adolescence occurred differently; the body was rebuilt to suit the changing circumstances, gaining extra pounds. Such voluntary eunuchs were generously rewarded by the rulers who accepted them into service. Over time, they could reach really high positions. In the majority eastern countries eunuchs could become financial advisors, military leaders, and officials.
There was also forced castration. In China, for example, captured enemies were castrated. In this case, such a procedure had two meanings at once. Firstly, castration humiliated the enemy, and secondly, the purity of the nation was preserved, since a castrated enemy could no longer become a father, “spoiling” the family tree of the winners.
In some religious cults, castration was performed as a kind of sacrifice to the deity. The eunuch monk similarly denied all carnal, sinful thoughts and devoted himself completely to religious service.
The institution of eunuchs itself arose among the Persians, Assyrians and Byzantines, and a little later it became widespread in China. It was in China that eunuchs formed a real, strong caste that repulsed any brave man who encroached on them. The Persians and Assyrians always had a rather contemptuous attitude towards eunuchs; stern warriors treated them without an ounce of respect.
E grandsons were ideal servants of the harem, used out of a simple precaution: so that the concubines lived in safety and pleased only their master. But there was another reason.
The main advantage of eunuchs was the absence of female and male gender characteristics and complete neutrality in sexual relations. The harem was essentially a huge female army, waging continuous secret wars, and neither a man nor a woman could lead it, who were deprived of impartiality by the emotions inherent in both sexes. Both would inevitably die, but the eunuchs would survive. They were ideally suited to leading the complex harem system and, by their position, became the most powerful persons in the state.
Ottoman Empire: from harem to trade union
Castrated guards, eunuchs (from the Greek Eunuchos - “guardians of the bed”), the Ottoman ruler had an entire army, the number of which was different times ranged from 600 to 800 people...
Several methods were used for castration; the method itself of transforming a man into an asexual being was kept in deep secrecy, but it is known that after forced castration, many died, losing their lives from loss of blood and unsanitary conditions in which the “operation” was carried out. It happened that some men could not stand the horror of being transformed into asexual creatures and went crazy.
There are three known methods of castration: complete cutting off of the testicles and penis; cutting off the penis; removal of testicles only. The first type of eunuch was considered the most reliable, the other two were not, since they could still awaken sexual desire.
The appearance of the eunuchs, subjected to the most radical method of castration, was pathetic. Over the years, their body became flabby and fat, their voice became squeaky, their hair disappeared, and their character became closer to that of women. Eunuchs aged very early and at the age of 40 they already seemed sixty years old... A painful consequence of castration was urinary incontinence, and, as eyewitnesses stated, the approach of a eunuch could always be recognized from afar by the strong ammonia smell emanating from him. In order to urinate, a silver tube was used, which the eunuchs wore in their turbans.
The harem guards made up for the loss of love pleasures with other joys of life. They were fine gourmets, enjoyed music and dancing, loved to listen to fairy tales and the singing of nightingales, being considered the most refined connoisseurs of this favorite of the harem. To drown out melancholy and fill the “emptiness of the body,” eunuchs sometimes used light intoxicants - hookahs mixed with opium...
It was believed that cut penises grew back, so usually all eunuchs were periodically examined by a doctor. They preferred to take castrati with a repulsive appearance as harem guards, and this was understandable. Those who retained their penis could experience sexual desire and make love, reaching extraordinary heights in this art, especially in oral sex. The beauty is love relationship with eunuchs was also their complete safety, because it is impossible to get pregnant from castrati...
The custom of keeping eunuchs in service came to Turkey from Byzantium. And in the Ottoman harem, eunuchs appeared during the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. At first, the harem was guarded by white eunuchs supplied from the North Caucasus, Armenia and Georgia, but they could never be Turks, since castration is prohibited for Muslims by the Koran. Since 1582, when Sultan Murad III (1574-1595) appointed the Abyssinian Mehmed Aga as a eunuch, Abyssinians (Ethiopians) were almost always selected as eunuchs. It turned out that white boys endured castration more difficultly, while black boys survived much more... Black eunuchs were preferable to white ones for another reason. There was an opinion that eunuchs were still capable of conception, and the birth of a black child to an odalisque would immediately indicate its illegal origin.
When entering the harem, eunuchs received new names - the names of flowers. And the huge, ugly sentinels were called delicate carnations, roses, daffodils and hyacinths. It was believed that this was most befitting of those who guard the “clean and fragrant” wives of the Sultan.
Eunuchs, like all servants of the harem, had their own hierarchy and responsibilities. White eunuchs headed by Kapu-Aga were charged with external guarding the harem and the Sultan's chambers; they were forbidden to enter the women's quarters. The chambers of the black eunuchs, who were engaged in the upbringing and training of the crown princes, differed in their decoration and luxury from the living quarters of other black eunuchs...
Eunuchs were well off, receiving a salary of 60 to 100 akche per day and a separate annual allowance. A significant addition to this were gifts from other palace services. They also had their own secret sources of income. The eunuchs formed a special trading partnership, setting prices for goods and jewelry needed by the harem, purchasing them from merchants and reselling them to the women of the harem.
Eunuchs were the biggest bribe takers in Ottoman Empire, where truly monstrous corruption reigned. They received gifts not only from their master, but also from petitioners. The Sultan's favorites could influence the resolution of a particular issue in favor of the petitioner. But it was possible to “reach out” to them for a good bribe, given to the eunuchs who created complex system relations with outside world.
A comical incident occurred with Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, the future field marshal and Napoleon's winner in the 1812 campaign. Arriving as the head of the diplomatic mission in Istanbul, he collected information about the signs and preferences of the Sultan’s favorites and, having established relations with the eunuchs, penetrated the Great Seraglio. Famous commander was a courageous man and risked entering the harem garden alone. There, Kutuzov, who spoke Turkish, conquered them with his eloquence and precious jewelry, precisely designed for the taste of every high-ranking lady. The long conversation with the “roses of the Sultan” became known, Istanbul was shocked, and the frightened chief eunuch, making excuses before Sultan Selim III, was forced to name the brave military man and father of the family Kutuzov as the chief eunuch of Empress Catherine II! This caused a storm of merriment in the Russian mission, but the main thing was done: all issues were settled within a week, and the resulting peace terms were extremely beneficial for Russia.
The dream and pinnacle of a eunuch’s career is the position of kizlyaragasa. Enormous power was concentrated in his hands, and his official position could be equated to that of the prime minister of the European court. He was the commander-in-chief of the palace guard, his range of responsibilities was extremely wide, and his influence was enormous. Kizlyaragasy acted as the main witness at the wedding of the Sultan and his children, performed circumcision and engagement ceremonies, and announced to the prince the death of his father or his abdication. He was also responsible for the promotion of the harem of women and eunuchs up the hierarchical ladder, and their careers largely depended on his location. The responsibilities of the kizlyaragasy also included protecting the women of the harem and supplying new odalisques there.
Any woman who addressed the Sultan had to do so through the chief eunuch, which, given the custom of gifts, enriched him immensely, and the right to personally report to the Sultan and frequent meetings with him made it possible to increase his fortune at the expense of other courtiers, and Kizlyaragasy was one of the most rich people of the Ottoman Empire. He was also one of the Sultan's most trusted people. It was Kizlyaragasy who escorted the odalisque to the Sultan’s bedroom. If something extraordinary happened in the harem at night, then only the chief black eunuch could enter there. The figure of the black eunuch was not only powerful, but also formidable and ominous. He announced sentences for the women of the harem and took the condemned to the executioner, and when the unfortunate ones were drowned in the sea, he himself put leather bags on them.
Those eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the harem did not have the right to cross its threshold themselves. The artist Vereshchagin knew this for sure
When the chief eunuch retired, he was given a pension. The new sultan, as a rule, chose a different chief eunuch, but sometimes left the old one. Eunuchs were the guardians of the Sultan's treasury, his wives and, most importantly, the secrets of the harem, on which the lives of many often depended. Their influence on state affairs grew, becoming truly enormous during the reign of women (1541-1687), and in the 17th and 18th centuries, together with the sultanas and valides, they, in fact, led the empire, playing a significant role in its decline. Eunuchs organized conspiracies, overthrew and elevated sultans to the thrones. They decided the outcome of the “war” between Sultanas Turhan and Kesem, strangling the latter.
Nose early XIX century, the power of the chief black eunuch began to weaken, and by the beginning of the twentieth century, his functions were reduced to monitoring order in the harem... With the disappearance of harems, the eunuchs also disappeared. Conversations about how to arrange their future lives quickly died down, and attempts by the former harem guards to organize their own trade union failed...
China: son for father
The institution of eunuchs in China, according to some historians, dates back at least 3-4 thousand years, and in no other country did they have such power as in the Middle Kingdom. Eunuchs formed a narrow circle of the emperor’s confidants, often exerted a decisive influence on state affairs, and sometimes, with the help of intrigues and conspiracies, became more powerful than their overlords. Eunuchs helped each other defend common interests, and their power often reached limits that made it possible to usurp power, which, as a rule, led to disastrous consequences for the country.
At first, people became eunuchs as a punishment. Castration in China was made one of the six serious punishments... Then, when eunuchs began to be used in harems, their physical inferiority was compensated for by many advantages, and children began to undergo castration by decision of their parents, and sometimes adult men voluntarily underwent this humiliating operation. The easy, well-fed service at the court of an emperor or prince served as a temptation that overcame the natural desire for a full life, and the matter of emasculation acquired scope.
According to some sources, the emperor could have up to 3 thousand eunuchs, princes and princesses - up to 30 eunuchs each, the emperor's younger children and nephews - up to 20, their cousins- up to 10.
There were whole families of specialists involved in castration... Here is what the traveler Kartner Stenz wrote in 1877: “This operation is performed as follows. Lower abdomen and top part The thighs are tightly bandaged to prevent excessive bleeding. Then those parts of the body that are to be operated on are washed three times with hot pepper water; the future eunuch is reclining. After these parts of the body are washed well enough, they are cut off at the very base with a small curved knife, shaped like a sickle. Upon completion of castration, the wound is covered with paper soaked in cold water, and carefully bandage it. After dressing the wound, the patient, supported by two “operators,” is forced to walk around the room for two to three hours, after which he is allowed to lie down. The patient is not allowed to drink anything for three days, and during this time he often experiences terrible agony, not only because of thirst, but also because of severe pain and the inability to relieve himself throughout the entire period. After three days, the bandage is removed, and the sufferer can finally get relief. If he succeeds, this means that the patient is out of danger, for which he is congratulated. If, however, the poor fellow is unable to urinate, he is doomed to a painful death, for the necessary passages are swollen and nothing can save him.”
Castration of boys who were taken into the service of the emperor was usually carried out before reaching puberty, but not all fathers had the money for it, and children were castrated in a home, “private” manner, during which those castrated often died. The surviving castrated people were reported to the district government so that the boy's name could be included in the list of candidates for the imperial servants. The ambitious plans of the fathers concerned not only the fate of their sons, but also the entire family and clan, for, having reached a high position, the castrato was obliged to help all their members...
A peculiarity of the eunuchs of China was their reverent attitude towards the removed “jade stalk,” which was carefully stored so that the body could be buried entirely, because, as the Chinese said, “the skin covering the body was received from birth and cannot be damaged or injured.” If the integrity of the body is violated, the Chinese, according to beliefs, will not be allowed to see their ancestors in the next world...
Having established himself in the palace, the eunuch usually got a wife who looked after him, and adopted a boy (usually a relative) to continue his family...
The dominance of eunuchs in China was a consequence of the secluded life of the emperor, which he had to lead according to etiquette. The Son of Heaven rarely left his palace; when traveling, ministers saw their master only at audiences, where they addressed not directly to him, but to officials (most often eunuchs) surrounding the throne. It was the eunuchs who conveyed the opinions and advice of dignitaries to the emperor, and the accuracy of the messages lay entirely on the conscience of the transmitters. They were the only channel of communication between the emperor and the outside world. The eunuchs were thoroughly aware of all the palace secrets, but about the state of affairs in the province and beyond Chinese wall they could only learn second-hand, and, as a rule, their conduct of state affairs had dire and sometimes catastrophic consequences for the empire.
Eunuchs also used the rich “female resource” of the harem, elevating or, conversely, leaving concubines in oblivion. They received bribes from them with money, and then with promotions, in which their elevated protégés helped.
The emperor's heir was surrounded by eunuchs from birth. They determined the boundaries of his knowledge about everything that was outside the walls of the Forbidden City, and very often the future ruler, from childhood, turned into a toy of eunuchs who knew all his weaknesses and preferences and used them to achieve their own, most often selfish goals, and sometimes simply corrupting your pupil...
Homosexual relationships between the Sons of Heaven were not uncommon; eunuchs also became lovers of emperors, and the initiative often came from their side...
The irrepressible lust for power of the eunuchs reached the point that if the ruler interfered with them, he could be physically eliminated; emperors and members of their families often became victims of the eunuchs.
They hid the death of Emperor Qin Shihuang, and while the procession with his body (the emperor died on a journey) followed through the country, the eunuchs pretended to feed him, read out some decrees allegedly signed by the Son of Heaven, and hid the will according to which he was appointed heir a prince they don't like. Instead, they fabricated a message ordering the prince and the military leader loyal to him to commit suicide, and installed a convenient prince on the throne to carry out their plans.
When the intrigues of the eunuchs failed, the retribution was merciless. After the death of Emperor Lindi (189), a fierce struggle broke out between the eunuchs and the army. Ten chief eunuchs lured the commander-in-chief Prince He Jin (brother of the empress) and, having executed him, put his head on the wall of the palace. The consequences were disastrous for the perpetrators of the crime. The troops burst into the palace and cut down all the eunuchs. The country was plunged into anarchy and the Han Empire fell.
There have been repeated attempts to limit the power of eunuchs, and some emperors bequeathed to their descendants “to keep the eunuchs in check.” “If you make them your confidants,” warned Emperor Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang, 1368-1398), “your soul will hurt, if you make them your eyes and ears, your eyes and ears will deteriorate...” In the opinion of this emperor, eunuchs and the emperor’s female relatives bring harm to the cause political management of the country. They are needed in palaces, but there they should only be slaves and servants and serve the emperor, serving wine or sweeping the floor. The emperor's fears were not in vain. The next Emperor Chengzu (1403-1424) seized the throne with the help of eunuchs, and they usurped power. In the second half of the Ming dynasty, there were several tens of thousands of eunuchs, and by the end of the Ming period there were several hundred thousand. At the court, eunuchs captured 24 public places, 12 departments and 8 directorates. Their formidable camarilla appointed dignitaries, executed ministers, robbed the people, and the eunuch Wei Zhongxian actually ruled the empire on behalf of the emperor.
Among the eunuchs there were also talented leaders who acted for the benefit of society and the country, in particular, the famous expeditions to the shores of Africa in 1405 were led by the eunuch - Admiral Zheng He. But the influence of eunuchs on the politics and economy of China was corrupting and largely contributed to the decline of the empire...
Eunuchs were divided into categories. Those belonging to the first category enjoyed special privileges and served the emperor, empress, mother of the emperor and imperial concubines. Those belonging to the second category served everyone.
The duties of eunuchs were extremely varied - from household to state and priestly. They were supposed to be present during sleep and at the awakening of the Son of Heaven and his household, take part in the meal of the emperor and members of his family, accompany the emperor and his retinue, as well as the imperial doctors. Eunuchs provided fire protection, monitored the safety of books and antique products, paintings, clothes, weapons, household utensils. They also provided materials for the palace builders and prepared medicines.
Their duties also included disseminating the highest decrees, escorting officials and foreign guests to the emperor, accepting petitions, receiving money and grain from the court treasurers, and storing the imperial jewelry.
Careful distribution of responsibilities did not guarantee their fulfillment. Emperor Pu Yi recalled: “Since childhood, I constantly heard that thefts, fires and even murders were happening in the palace, not to mention gambling and opium smoking. The theft reached such a degree that, for example, before my wedding ceremony had even ended, all the pearls and jasper decorations of the crown were replaced with fake ones”...
Eunuchs were punished harshly. For an offense they were beaten with bamboo sticks, for an attempt to escape the punishment was the same. When he tried again, a block was hung around his neck, which he had to wear without removing it for two months. During the subsequent attempt, he was sent to the ancient capital of the Manchus - Mukden. They were executed for theft, and Empress Cixi dealt with the undesirables with the help of poison, which she chose herself. From Chinese history There are known cases when over 100 eunuchs died at the same time...
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In those ancient times, when truly powerful civilizations were just beginning to emerge in Assyria, Persia and Babylon, rulers already existed. Each of them surrounded himself and his yard with the best things that money could get. But it was not only luxury goods that testified to the greatness of the sovereign. The number of women was the main sign of success, which was considered the standard in those days.
The harems of some ancient rulers were truly enormous. It often happened that the concubine never met her master in person, having stayed with him for several years. Of course, the women's team in such conditions was replete with intrigues and squabbles, which had to be somehow suppressed.
That's when the position of harem keeper appeared. Eunuch - who is he? Translated from Greek, the word means “guardian of the lodge,” which fully reflects the essence of this person’s work. Only castrated boys were hired as eunuchs, who did not pose a threat to the ruler’s “living capital”, being physically unable to encroach on the honor of the beauties who lived in the harem.
In addition, the chief eunuch often became the second most important figure in the state, as the ruler often pampered his devoted servant, who was responsible for selecting girls.
Where did they come from?
It is generally accepted that in those days only prisoners of war or criminals sentenced to such a measure for rape and fornication were castrated. Of course, this is not true. Of course, these categories of eunuchs really existed, but they were used exclusively as slaves who did the hardest and dirtiest work. Since they were deprived of male dignity, the owner did not have to fear for the slaves.
But such a worker is not a eunuch. Who is this in the classical sense? Where did they get candidates for such a job? There were two ways.
Firstly, a merchant could purchase a slave boy at the market and castrate him himself or use the services of doctors who specialized in this. By the way, in many countries that used the labor of eunuchs, entire families of doctors sometimes engaged in castration.
Secondly, the merchant could purchase a young man who had already been castrated. Be that as it may, he subsequently sold such a profitable product to the court of the next ruler. They always needed sexless servants to serve the Sultan's harem.
Successful career
But slaves did not always become eunuchs. In ancient China, fathers often gave their sons to doctors. And this is not a matter of inhuman cruelty: out of 10-15 offspring in a family, at best, three survived to childbearing age. The mortality rate during castration in countries with developed medicine rarely exceeded 1-3%. The young man who completed the procedure ended up at the ruler’s court, where he never again tolerated poverty and misery.
So who is a eunuch in a harem? Theoretically, a servant who was supposed to entertain and serve the royal concubines. In reality, it often turned out that he seized all the power not only in the harem, but throughout the country.
Many believe that eunuchs were tormented by impotence while looking at naked female bodies. This is indeed true when it comes to men castrated after puberty. If a boy was castrated at the age of 10-12 years, the result was a completely asexual person who did not experience sexual attraction to women at all.
Such eunuchs were especially common in the Ottoman Empire: the harems there were huge, and the sultans were extremely suspicious. They could not even admit the possibility of an assassination attempt on their odalisques, and therefore acquired only the “correct” castrati.
Family business
However, there were entire families who purposefully brought their sons to court. Each eunuch had a very good allowance. The old eunuchs often lived better than many courtiers, sometimes holding the reins of government in their hands (the Sultan's harem - great place for intrigue).
In Ancient China, there was a widespread custom according to which castrati, assigned to a place of bread by relatives, were obliged to help them. Considering that several eunuchs close to the court could come from one family at once, many Chinese families had no other sources of income at all, except for “trenches” from their castrated relatives.
Family life of eunuchs
Another interesting fact. Often, eunuchs even started families, and adopted exclusively boys of their kind. In this case, the child did not have to worry about the safety of his genitals, since the “father” was concerned about having a full-fledged heir. Needless to say, relatives vying with each other offered boys to such adoptive parents. The history of eunuchs even knows of cases where they adopted the illegitimate sons of their ruler (or even legitimate ones).
And again China. Since the Chinese religion states that a person should be whole at the time of transition to another world, castrati had to preserve their genitals in a special casket. Often its contents were shown to employers. After the death of the eunuch, the precious box was buried with him. It was believed that in afterlife the body parts will be reunited with each other.
Categories of eunuchs
So, before embarking on the path of “guardian of the bed,” a boy or youth was awaited castration. In total, three varieties of this action were distinguished. In the first case, the genitals were completely removed. In the second, only the penis was removed. In the third, a boy eunuch lost his testicles.
By the way, the classical “guardians of the lodge” were not subjected to operations of the second type. This is how criminals were punished: deprived of a penis, but having testicles responsible for the production of testosterone, the unfortunate people suffered terribly, being unable to perform sexual intercourse. Such workers were clearly of no use in the harem.
Piece goods
But castrati of the third type, with a preserved penis, were highly regarded among the inhabitants of harems. Since a certain amount of testosterone could be produced by the adrenal glands, an erection was maintained, and therefore the eunuch could easily perform sexual intercourse. Enthusiastic reviews from the concubines said that such a servant could make love for hours. In addition, there was absolutely no risk of getting pregnant. In general, the life of the eunuchs in this case was simply fabulously good.
But these castrati were a rarity in harems, since most often only “smooth” eunuchs were taken into service. Why smooth? We'll talk about this soon, but first it's worth focusing on castration technology itself.
Suffering on the operating table
Whatever method was used for castration, the pain was terrible. With two types of castration associated with the removal of all genitalia or just the penis, a bamboo tube or a piece of goose feather had to be inserted into the wound, as this prevented the urethra from clogging in the postoperative period. The inventive Chinese even launched the production of artificial rubber penises, which allowed the wives of castrati to experience all the pleasures of family life.
Description of operation
The English scientist Carter Stent already in the 19th century revealed to the world all the horrors of this inhumane procedure, describing in detail the process of its implementation. The future eunuch did not drink or eat for two days before castration. On the day of surgery the person took hot bath, and he needed a good wash. The upper thighs and lower abdomen were then tightly bandaged to prevent excessive bleeding. The parts to be removed were washed three times with a special hot infusion.
After this, the doctor once again asked the candidate for castrati or his relatives about consent to the operation, after which, having received an affirmative answer, he cut off the genitals with a sharp and quick movement. To do this, he used a small curved knife, which was shaped like a sickle.
Postoperative period
The wound was immediately covered with a paper sheet soaked in cold water and bandaged tightly. But the torment did not end there: two people lifted the castrato by the arms, and then, supporting him, forced him to walk in a circle for two hours. Only after this could the person lie down. He was also not allowed to drink or eat for the next three days. The torment was monstrous. This is how the castration of eunuchs was carried out.
Only on the fourth day was the bandage removed, after which the new eunuch was finally able to urinate... or not. If urine passed normally through the urethra, everything was fine. Otherwise, the person would not survive: stagnation of urine led to rupture of the bladder and painful death from peritonitis. More than one eunuch died this way (you already know who he is).
Consequences of the operation
There were many of them, and they all had a negative impact on health. People's metabolism slowed down and their character completely changed. The old eunuchs had flabby skin and had an extremely grumpy and hysterical character. Almost 90% of the eunuchs were ardent fans of smoking opium or strong alcohol. They were all incredible courtiers, cruel, cunning and completely ruthless.
The operation often subsequently led to problems with urination. Almost all eunuchs were required to carry a silver tube with them at all times, which was inserted into the urethra before urinating. Very often, an infection entered the urethra, which resulted in urinary incontinence. Contemporaries recall that it was often possible to recognize the approach of the eunuch even in complete darkness, since he smelled unbearably of ammonia.
Finally, the person became “smooth.” Since his metabolism was hopelessly damaged, he quickly gained weight. His skin was thin, stretched and flabby, all the hair on his head and in his crotch fell out. The voice, due to the larynx remaining in place, remained thin and high. It was impossible to distinguish a eunuch from a boy or a girl by his conversation.
However, there was still one positive effect from the surgical intervention. Having studied data on the average life expectancy of people in different eras, scientists came to the conclusion that castrati lived 12-14 years longer, all other things being equal.
Castrati and the church
Do you think that the barbaric custom of castration was characteristic only of antiquity? Alas, no. Until the beginning of the 20th century in church choirs Almost half of the boys were castrated. As a rule, children were still handed over to the monastery by their fathers. Just one fact: in Italy in those years, up to two thousand boys a year were deprived of their manhood. The official version is a pig attack.
Even if the doctor was forced to perform castration (which was generally prohibited), he always avoided punishment. To do this, all he had to say was that in this way he was saving the unfortunate child from a testicular tumor. Moreover, candidates for all high church positions were even checked for the presence of genitals, which indicates the prevalence of the vicious practice of castration. This came to an end only in 1920, when the Pope officially prohibited the ordination of anyone “who had been deprived of his loins.”
In those same years, the names of opera singers thundered all over the world. Yes, yes, almost all of them were castrati. Do you know why some classical operas are not staged today? The thing is that a woman's voice cannot reproduce the unique modulations that only a eunuch could produce. Who it is, you now know.
Chief Eunuch Li Lianying
The boy undressed and lay down on his back on a wide bench. His legs were tightly bandaged. Then - the stomach. They rubbed the groin with anesthetic ointment. After that, the doctor covered the “jade stalk” with his palm and, holding it tightly in his fist along with two “plums in a bag,” sharply twisted it at the very base. “You haven’t changed your mind?” - he turned to the boy’s parents and, having received “final consent,” decisively waved the knife...
From that moment on, the boy and his parents could only trust in the will of Heaven and wait three days, after which it would become clear whether the vital functions of the body were impaired or not. If so, then death from blood poisoning is inevitable. If not, then after another four months allotted for complete recovery, service in the imperial palace is guaranteed. Then the parents will not only be able to return with interest the six silver yuan taken from the moneylender to pay for the operation, but also hope for some kind of help from their eunuch son.
...Having quickly treated the wound, the doctor began to work on the cut off organs. I scrupulously washed them with a special solution and carefully placed them in glass vessel, who sealed it with his personal seal. From now on, what was cut off from the boy and placed in a vessel was called bao, “treasure.”
Each eunuch carefully kept his bao, since he was obliged to present it to the high examination commission every time the question of his promotion was considered - the assignment of the next of the 48 ranks provided for by the official “table of ranks”.
There was another, no less weighty, reason that prompted us to cherish the bao as the apple of our eye. When a eunuch died, his “treasure” would lie in the coffin next to the body. According to legend, Jun Wang, the ruler of the underworld, was terribly angry and mercilessly turned into donkeys everyone who appeared before him with an incomplete set of human organs.
It happened, however, that a careless eunuch could not remember where he hid his bao, or even lost it. Or I would simply forget to see the doctor out of absent-mindedness. Such bunglers had to buy someone else’s “treasure” for a considerable sum or, in extreme cases, rent it.
“After castration, all eunuchs’ voices changed to a girl’s, especially sharply in those people who were operated on in childhood,” testifies G. Stent, an English scientist who studied the life and everyday life of castrati in China for ten years, from 1870 to 1880. “As they grew older, they developed an unpleasant falsetto, reminiscent of the squeal of a woman at a London fish market.”
Young and beautiful in their own way, the eunuchs looked like women dressed in men's clothing. They bore no traces of gender or age. True, over the years they corroded and became thick and loose. Their character also changed. They began to cry or get angry over trifles. They were often cruel. But, as a rule, they were distinguished by their gentleness and compliance, goodwill and the ability to empathize. Puppies were especially loved by them.
Eunuchs were very vulnerable, and any reminder of “inferiority” hit their pride hard. In the presence of eunuchs, they did not talk about a “tailless” or “bump-tailed” dog, about a “teapot with a broken spout,” and did not use words such as “cut off” or “chop off.”
“Eunuch,” as we know, comes from the Greek eunuchos and literally means “guardian of the bed,” or, more prosaically, but more accurately, “castrated servant in the harem.” In China, harems were handled by the so-called “Chamber of Important Affairs,” which reported directly to the Son of Heaven (as the Chinese emperor was called) and consisted exclusively of eunuchs. But eunuchs were needed not only there. It is no coincidence that they were called Huan Guan, “castrated courtiers.”
“In August 1412,” the chronicle of the Ming Dynasty tells, “Emperor Zhu Di, concerned that in some provinces the actions of local authorities were harming the throne and the people, sent palace eunuchs there to conduct an investigation. And in 1420, by imperial decree, a palace investigation service, Dongguan, was created, fully staffed by eunuchs. She was given the right to make arrests and conduct investigations in cases, as the decree stated, “about plans for rebellion, malicious speeches, major traitors and villains.”
“The emperor,” the chronicle noted, “was very favorable to the eunuchs, endowed them with the robes of gongs and hou (two of the three highest titles at court. - Author) and placed them above the generals.” As a result, “people without traces of gender or age,” and even with a “repulsive appearance,” gained unprecedented power in one of the largest empires peace. They gained control over the army, diplomatic relations, foreign trade and many other areas. Finally, they took control of censorship, which in China has always been assigned the role of “protector traditional image life and traditional methods of government." Censors were considered the spokesmen of public opinion.
Eunuchs began to “be in charge of ceremonial and regalia, state seals, treasury, palace warehouses, supplies, kitchen and other services.” Even the court troupe of Chinese opera came under their direct control. The manner of performing classical arias in a shrill voice, annoyingly, with a groan, introduced by the eunuchs, subsequently became a standard that Chinese actors strictly follow to this day.
During the reign of Emperor Xizong, 1621-1628, the Yandan, “Party of the Castrated,” arose, led by the chief ruler of the court eunuchs, Wei Zhongxian. He became the de facto leader of the country.
The highest power for the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire at all times was Heaven - personified in the image of the supreme deity Shandi. Inaccessible to mere mortals, this mysterious ruler conveyed his will to the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire through an intermediary - the Son of Heaven, whose personality was also considered divine and, therefore, also inaccessible to other mortals. Therefore, none of the loyal subjects, even as servants, was allowed to see the emperor with their own eyes, to observe his behavior, his personal life every day, to know his habits, preferences and shortcomings. After all, otherwise the subjects would have learned that the Son of Heaven was a man just like them.
Eunuchs were strictly forbidden to leave the emperor's residence. They were an impenetrable “partition” between the Son of Heaven and his subjects. Thus, the emperor maintained the myth of his divine origin, and the eunuchs acted as official interpreters of the thoughts of their master.
To this end, the Son of Heaven periodically issued decrees with “a list of titles to which eunuchs were entitled.” So, during the Qing dynasty, 1644-1911, the emperor was supposed to have 3,000 eunuchs. His adult sons are thirty. Princesses and daughters married to high dignitaries and princes also receive thirty eunuchs. Nephews and “youngest sons” are twenty each. The emperor's grandchildren are ten. Great-grandchildren - six each. Great-great-grandchildren have four eunuchs.
“The eunuchs were present when I ate, dressed and slept,” the last emperor Pu Yi recalls his childhood years. “They accompanied me in games and classes, told me stories, received rewards and punishments from me. If others were forbidden to be with me, then the eunuchs were obliged to do so. They were my main companions in childhood, my slaves and my first teachers.
Whenever I went for a walk to the Yiheyuan Summer Palace, my accompaniment looked like this: a eunuch trotted ahead of everyone, who acted as a whistle. He continuously shouted something like “beep beep” so that passers-by could leave the street in advance. Behind him, at a distance of 20-30 steps, two chief eunuchs were moving on both sides of the street. I walked about ten steps behind them in the middle of the street. If I was riding in a palanquin, then next to him, on both sides, two younger eunuchs walked, ready at any moment to fulfill my every wish. If I walked, they supported me. Besides them, another junior eunuch followed behind with a huge silk canopy. And a whole group of eunuchs walked behind him, carrying all sorts of utensils. A chair in case I want to rest or change clothes. Umbrellas, some from the sun, others from the rain. Following this group were eunuchs from the imperial kitchen. They carried boxes with all sorts of cookies and sweets and, of course, teapots with hot water and tea utensils. Next are the eunuchs from the imperial pharmacy, who had baskets with medicines for any ailment swaying on their rockers. The procession was completed by eunuchs with vessels for the administration of small and large needs. This entire motley “tail” of many dozens of people moved sedately and quietly!”
Huan Guan not only outgrew the boundaries of humiliating eunuchos, but gained attractiveness and respect in society. For many residents of the Celestial Empire, the prospect of gaining the status of huan guan looked enviable and desirable, since it promised a comfortable life and a prosperous old age, and, if lucky, then a high position at court.
90-year-old eunuch Sun Yaoting (1994)
« Since the reign of Jing-tai of the Ming Dynasty, noted Gu Yanwu, a 17th-century Chinese scholar, cases began to be observed in which men sought to become eunuchs by castrating themselves. They were usually punished, but were eventually accepted into service in the imperial palace." And according to the testimony of the already mentioned G. Stent, in late XIX century, several married eunuchs served in the imperial palace. They became eunuchs, of course, after marriage. Some were inspired to do this by poverty. For others, the persuasion of the better half. Such eunuchs were allowed occasionally, as an exception, to leave the palace and spend several days in the company of loved ones and relatives.”
B There were cases when the recruitment of eunuchs to the palace turned into a real competition. Chroniclers recorded a case when 20,000 “applicants” applied for 3,000 vacancies.
The historical chronicles of the Ming Dynasty mention that “at the imperial court there were about 9,000 court ladies and more than 100,000 eunuchs.”
The imperial “table of ranks” prohibited eunuchs from being assigned an official rank higher than fourth. But there were exceptions. “When I first saw this famous eunuch promoted to the second rank, I was simply amazed,” recalls Yu Rongli. “He turned out to be short, wrinkled, with tiny eyes - in a word, he looked like a monkey. Despite this, he was the Empress Dowager's favorite courtier.
Eunuchs were only allowed to wear blue balls and blue feathers on their hats. Li Lianying was awarded a red ball and a multi-colored feather. The princes and dignitaries were very unhappy and even tried to keep Ci Xi from this unheard of step, but they heard an irritated answer: “Can’t I really be a mistress even in such a small way?!” Everyone immediately bit their tongues.”
Even in his youth, Li Lianying stood out among his peers for his cunning, dexterity, and prudence. Sometimes with flattery, sometimes with gifts, and sometimes with cash, he moved towards his intended goal. But the most amazing thing is that he was not a eunuch at all! It was not difficult for him to get into the palace in 1860, bypassing the emasculation procedure. He managed to get a job as the empress's personal hairdresser, whom he conquered not only with his magnificent hairstyles, but also with his ability to satisfy her insatiable lust. In 1869, the barber was promoted to chief eunuch.
The temporary false eunuch did not miss the opportunity to show “who is the boss of the house.” He allowed himself to sit in the presence of the Empress Dowager. Moreover, in front of the dumbfounded courtiers, he often sat on the throne. His personal fortune was estimated by London bankers at 2 million pounds sterling - a fantastic sum that the false eunuch amassed from bribes.
He organized a shameless sale of government positions, titles, awards, as well as contracts for construction, reconstruction and other intra-palace work, for the supply of weapons and provisions for the army, food for the palace, etc., etc. Everything was sold and all. At the same time, Li Lianying did not forget about his patroness.
“Arriving in Beijing for the anniversary of the Empress Dowager, the official Gan Ni handed the chief eunuch 30,000 new silver yuan, which he had swindled from his subordinate, the manager of the mint. Handing over the coins, Gan Ni slyly noted that on the occasion of the empress’s anniversary, they could be presented to dignitaries close to her. Li Lianying gave the gift to the hero of the day, who appreciated the fine design of the new coins. A few days later, Gan Ni was introduced to the State Council by order of the Empress.”
The other chief eunuchs were not much different from Li Lianying. Thus, Yuan Jinshou, the chief eunuch of Empress Long Yu, “with the onset of winter, changed his fur coats every day. He never wore the same sable jacket twice. Only one sea otter fur coat, which he once put on New Year, was enough to feed a petty official for the rest of his life. He had own kitchen. He was served by junior eunuchs, as well as maids and maids."
But among the castrated brethren there were also white crows. One of them turned out to be Kou Liangcai, who, along with other court eunuchs, served the Empress Dowager herself and was even in good standing with her. More than once she instructed him to perform the most intimate tasks. And in 1898, Ci Xi reported on the secret contacts of her favorite with her political opponents and, moreover, on his complicity in their conspiratorial activities. The indignant Tsi Xi wanted to personally interrogate the traitor. Much to her surprise, the 18-year-old boy said that he would prefer to die than to discredit his like-minded people. Then the Empress ordered Kou Liangcai to be subjected to “the most sophisticated torture.” “Wait! “I’ll tell you everything,” exclaimed the young man. And with the precision of a chronicler, he began to list all of Ci Xi’s love affairs, including fleeting affairs with young actors, who then, like illegitimate babies, disappeared without a trace. Tsi Xi, turning purple with anger, interrupted him, ordering Li Lianying, who was present at the interrogation, to immediately execute the young man. However, Kou Liangtsai was ahead of the executioners - with all his might, running, he hit his head on a column and, bleeding, fell dead.
“I can’t say exactly when the use of eunuchs as servants began, but I know exactly the day when it stopped,” admits Pu Yi in his memoirs. “It happened after the Second World War, on the day when I last flew from the imperial throne. At that time there were probably fewer eunuchs than ever before, only about ten.”
After Pu Yi officially abdicated the throne of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, and a republic was proclaimed in China, many Huang Guan found themselves out of work. Many, but not all. The so-called “Preferential Conditions” signed along with Pu Yi’s abdication provided for his retention of a staff of eunuchs “necessary to serve the imperial concubines and his wife.” Even at the beginning of 1922, Pu Yi had 1,137 eunuchs at his disposal. Two years later, there were no more than 200 people left.
On August 15, 1945, Pu Yi, as he put it, “flew from the imperial throne for the last time.” But not the Qing, but Manchukuo, a puppet state proclaimed by the Japanese in 1934 in northeast China. During the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army Soviet troops Pu Yi was captured. Less than a dozen eunuchs who were serving him at that moment fled to God knows where and thus put the last end in the history of Huang Guan.
6 May 2015, 14:12Eunuchs were ideal servants of the harem, used for the simple precaution of keeping the concubines safe and pleasing only their master. But there was another reason.
The main advantage of eunuchs was the absence of female and male gender characteristics and complete neutrality in sexual relations. The harem was essentially a huge female army, waging continuous secret wars, and neither a man nor a woman could lead it, who were deprived of impartiality by the emotions inherent in both sexes. Both would inevitably die, but the eunuchs would survive. They were ideally suited to leading the complex harem system and, by their position, became the most powerful persons in the state.
Castrated guards, eunuchs (from the Greek Eunuchos - “guardians of the bed”), the ruler of the Ottomans had an entire army, the number of which at different times ranged from 600 to 800 people...
Several methods were used for castration; the method itself of transforming a man into an asexual being was kept in deep secrecy, but it is known that after forced castration, many died, losing their lives from loss of blood and unsanitary conditions in which the “operation” was carried out. It happened that some men could not stand the horror of being transformed into asexual creatures and went crazy. 
There are three known methods of castration: complete cutting off of the testicles and penis; cutting off the penis; removal of testicles only. The first type of eunuch was considered the most reliable, the other two were not, since they could still awaken sexual desire.
The appearance of the eunuchs, subjected to the most radical method of castration, was pathetic. Over the years, their body became flabby and fat, their voice became squeaky, their hair disappeared, and their character became closer to that of women. Eunuchs aged very early and at the age of 40 they already seemed sixty years old... A painful consequence of castration was urinary incontinence, and, as eyewitnesses stated, the approach of a eunuch could always be recognized from afar by the strong ammonia smell emanating from him. In order to urinate, a silver tube was used, which the eunuchs wore in their turbans.
The harem guards made up for the loss of love pleasures with other joys of life. They were fine gourmets, enjoyed music and dancing, loved to listen to fairy tales and the singing of nightingales, being considered the most refined connoisseurs of this favorite of the harem. To drown out melancholy and fill the “emptiness of the body,” eunuchs sometimes used light intoxicants - hookahs mixed with opium...
It was believed that cut penises grew back, so usually all eunuchs were periodically examined by a doctor. They preferred to take castrati with a repulsive appearance as harem guards, and this was understandable. Those who retained their penis could experience sexual desire and make love, reaching extraordinary heights in this art, especially in oral sex. The beauty of love relationships with eunuchs was also their complete safety, because it is impossible to get pregnant from castrati...
The custom of keeping eunuchs in service came to Turkey from Byzantium. And in the Ottoman harem, eunuchs appeared during the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. At first, the harem was guarded by white eunuchs supplied from the North Caucasus, Armenia and Georgia, but they could never be Turks, since castration is prohibited for Muslims by the Koran. Since 1582, when Sultan Murad III (1574-1595) appointed the Abyssinian Mehmed Aga as a eunuch, Abyssinians (Ethiopians) were almost always selected as eunuchs. It turned out that white boys endured castration more difficultly, while black boys survived much more... Black eunuchs were preferable to white ones for another reason. There was an opinion that eunuchs were still capable of conception, and the birth of a black child to an odalisque would immediately indicate its illegal origin.
When entering the harem, eunuchs received new names - the names of flowers. And the huge, ugly sentinels were called delicate carnations, roses, daffodils and hyacinths. It was believed that this was most befitting of those who guard the “clean and fragrant” wives of the Sultan.
Eunuchs, like all servants of the harem, had their own hierarchy and responsibilities. White eunuchs headed by Kapu-Aga were charged with external guarding the harem and the Sultan's chambers; they were forbidden to enter the women's quarters. The chambers of the black eunuchs, who were engaged in the upbringing and training of the crown princes, differed in their decoration and luxury from the living quarters of other black eunuchs...
Eunuchs were well off, receiving a salary of 60 to 100 akche per day and a separate annual allowance. A significant addition to this were gifts from other palace services. They also had their own secret sources of income. The eunuchs formed a special trading partnership, setting prices for goods and jewelry needed by the harem, purchasing them from merchants and reselling them to the women of the harem.
Eunuchs were the biggest bribe-takers in the Ottoman Empire, where truly monstrous corruption reigned. They received gifts not only from their master, but also from petitioners. The Sultan's favorites could influence the resolution of a particular issue in favor of the petitioner. But it was possible to “reach out” to them for a good bribe given to the eunuchs, who created a complex system of relations with the outside world. 
A comical incident occurred with Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, the future field marshal and Napoleon's winner in the 1812 campaign. Arriving as the head of the diplomatic mission in Istanbul, he collected information about the signs and preferences of the Sultan’s favorites and, having established relations with the eunuchs, penetrated the Great Seraglio. The famous commander was a courageous man and risked entering the harem garden alone. There, Kutuzov, who spoke Turkish, conquered them with his eloquence and precious jewelry, precisely designed for the taste of every high-ranking lady. The long conversation with the “roses of the Sultan” became known, Istanbul was shocked, and the frightened chief eunuch, making excuses before Sultan Selim III, was forced to name the brave military man and father of the family Kutuzov as the chief eunuch of Empress Catherine II! This caused a storm of merriment in the Russian mission, but the main thing was done: all issues were settled within a week, and the resulting peace terms were extremely beneficial for Russia.
The dream and pinnacle of a eunuch’s career is the position of kizlyaragasa. Enormous power was concentrated in his hands, and his official position could be equated to that of the prime minister of the European court. He was the commander-in-chief of the palace guard, his range of responsibilities was extremely wide, and his influence was enormous. Kizlyaragasy acted as the main witness at the wedding of the Sultan and his children, performed circumcision and engagement ceremonies, and announced to the prince the death of his father or his abdication. He was also responsible for the promotion of the harem of women and eunuchs up the hierarchical ladder, and their careers largely depended on his location. The responsibilities of the kizlyaragasy also included protecting the women of the harem and supplying new odalisques there.
Any woman who addressed the Sultan had to do so through the chief eunuch, which, given the custom of gifts, enriched him immensely, and the right to personally report to the Sultan and frequent meetings with him made it possible to increase his fortune at the expense of other courtiers, and Kizlyaragasy was one of the most rich people of the Ottoman Empire. He was also one of the Sultan's most trusted people. It was Kizlyaragasy who escorted the odalisque to the Sultan’s bedroom. If something extraordinary happened in the harem at night, then only the chief black eunuch could enter there. The figure of the black eunuch was not only powerful, but also formidable and ominous. He announced sentences for the women of the harem and took the condemned to the executioner, and when the unfortunate ones were drowned in the sea, he himself put leather bags on them.
When the chief eunuch retired, he was given a pension. The new sultan, as a rule, chose a different chief eunuch, but sometimes left the old one. Eunuchs were the guardians of the Sultan's treasury, his wives and, most importantly, the secrets of the harem, on which the lives of many often depended. Their influence on state affairs grew, becoming truly enormous during the reign of women (1541-1687), and in the 17th and 18th centuries, together with the sultanas and valides, they, in fact, led the empire, playing a significant role in its decline. Eunuchs organized conspiracies, overthrew and elevated sultans to the thrones. They decided the outcome of the “war” between Sultanas Turhan and Kesem, strangling the latter.
But from the beginning of the 19th century, the power of the chief black eunuch began to weaken, and by the beginning of the 20th century, his functions were reduced to monitoring order in the harem... With the disappearance of harems, the eunuchs also disappeared. Conversations about how to arrange their future lives quickly died down, and attempts by the former harem guards to organize their own trade union failed...
