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By the Ming Dynasty, palace eunuchs came to play essential roles in the administration of government, and in the management of the palace. Roughly 20,000 eunuchs lived within the Imperial City at the height of the Ming, and though they are sometimes characterized as mere "domestic servants who rose to meddle in state affairs,"<ref>Ray Huang, ''1587: A Year of No Significance'', Yale University Press (1981), 19.</ref> many were officially appointed to administrative roles, often on the basis of genuine merit (talent, skill, intelligence), and so were not necessarily overstepping their bounds. Some eunuch officials were dispatched to the province to oversee tax collection and other matters, and some were sent overseas as Imperial envoys to [[tribute|tributary]] states. [[Zheng He]], the admiral who famously commanded a Ming treasure fleet across the Indian Ocean, as far as India, the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa, and Mozambique in the early decades of the 15th century, was one such palace eunuch.<ref name=huang>Huang, 19-20.</ref>

By the Ming Dynasty, palace eunuchs came to play essential roles in the administration of government, and in the management of the palace. Roughly 20,000 eunuchs lived within the Imperial City at the height of the Ming, and though they are sometimes characterized as mere "domestic servants who rose to meddle in state affairs,"<ref>Ray Huang, ''1587: A Year of No Significance'', Yale University Press (1981), 19.</ref> many were officially appointed to administrative roles, often on the basis of genuine merit (talent, skill, intelligence), and so were not necessarily overstepping their bounds. Some eunuch officials were dispatched to the province to oversee tax collection and other matters, and some were sent overseas as Imperial envoys to [[tribute|tributary]] states. [[Zheng He]], the admiral who famously commanded a Ming treasure fleet across the Indian Ocean, as far as India, the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa, and Mozambique in the early decades of the 15th century, was one such palace eunuch.<ref name=huang>Huang, 19-20.</ref>

By the middle of the period, eunuchs came to play indispensable roles as the emperor's personal secretaries, conveying palace memorials, presenting to the emperor the business of the day, and otherwise handling edicts, decisions, imperial rescripts and so forth between the Emperor and the various arms of government. A number of these eunuch secretaries briefed the emperor each morning in closed-sessions, enjoying an intimate access to the emperor which none but the highest-ranking scholar-bureaucrat officials enjoyed.<ref name=huang/>

By the middle of the period, eunuchs came to play indispensable roles as the emperor's personal secretaries, conveying palace memorials, presenting to the emperor the business of the day, and otherwise handling edicts, decisions, imperial rescripts and so forth between the Emperor and the various arms of government. A number of these eunuch secretaries briefed the emperor each morning in closed-sessions, enjoying an intimate access to the emperor which none but the highest-ranking scholar-bureaucrat officials enjoyed.<ref name=huang/> This became especially true during the reign of the [[Wanli Emperor]] (r. [[1572]]-[[1620]]), who went for long periods of time without leaving the Inner Palace; as only eunuchs and not officials could enter this portion of the [[Forbidden City]], they gained considerable power as intermediaries. Many even began to charge fees (or bribes) to officials & others who wished them to carry messages to the Emperor for them. One eunuch of this time, [[Wei Zhongxian]], gained so much power that he was able to publish histories defaming his political rivals & even arrange for their execution, as well as having temples built in his honor across the empire.<ref>Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 17.</ref>

Most palace eunuchs, even if from rather lowly origins, were educated at the Inner Palace School, established by the [[Xuande Emperor]],<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 247.</ref> from a young age. The content of that education differed little, if at all, from that of the scholar-bureaucracy, and often their teachers included some of the top teachers from the [[Hanlin Academy]].

Most palace eunuchs, even if from rather lowly origins, were educated at the Inner Palace School, established by the [[Xuande Emperor]],<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 247.</ref> from a young age. The content of that education differed little, if at all, from that of the scholar-bureaucracy, and often their teachers included some of the top teachers from the [[Hanlin Academy]].