Eunuchs

Eunuchs played important roles in the Chinese Imperial Court since before the Tang Dynasty.

Tang Dynasty

Prior to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), eunuchs were drawn chiefly from peoples kidnapped or abducted during war. During the Tang, this practice of using war captives declined dramatically, or came to an end, and the majority of eunuchs now came from non-Chinese origins among indigenous peoples of the south and southwest; a great many came from Fujian province in particular.

Eunuchs were generally castrated at an early age, and raised within the court, taking on the family names of senior eunuchs by whom they were adopted. Most served within the women's quarters at Court, though many also served as messengers to (and spies on) military governors and other military commanders.

Following the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763), eunuchs came to hold considerable power within the Court, maneuvering themselves and their adopted sons (including some who were not eunuchs) into influential positions, particularly within the Imperial army. By the ninth century, a Eunuch Palace Council had formed alongside the regular system of court ministers; eunuchs came to serve as direct advisors to the emperors, and as messengers and spies, becoming significant rivals for the court ministers in matters of court influence and intrigues.

References

• Valerie Hansen, The Open Empire, New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000), 231.