身體階級的神話與實際—明清時期宦官的性身體與醫療

The myth and reality of the physical hierarchy – the sexual body and medical history of eunuchs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

After being castrated, eunuchs were branded with a mark representing a special sexual level: neither male nor female. Besides, eunuchs usually acted as a population disturbing politics in the previous governments. So they were relentlessly criticized by historians and always clothed with evil characteristics, including cruelty, greed, infertility and eccentricity, far different from other normal populations. And these characteristics were usually attributed to their physical defect and unsatisfied sexual desire. Through out the Chinese history, the literature about Chinese eunuchs has accumulated to an immense number of books clarifying the spouting and the revolution of the system in past dynasties. However, many writings in bookstores focus on the investigation of the bad characteristics of eunuchs, endeavor to present the control and distortion of humanity in Chinese dynasties and culture and smear the bodies and daily life of eunuchs to fulfill the readers’ desire of prying into the “body” privacy. In fact, we can’t always explore the body and mentality of historical figures with present thoughts. As the writer is concerned with medicine and body history, this article endeavors to ask: what the history of eunuchs can help us to understand? Starting from their bodies, two core questions will be investigated: the relationship between castration and operation. How to confer eunuchs a special level in the physical hierarchy and are there any points worth understanding? Then, after eunuchs were castrated, were there any parts of their physical and metal status ignored in the past? How did they face their daily lives? This article doesn’t study historical figures in the view of present physiology, but reviews these historical materials and literature with multilevel viewing angles in the classical Chinese medicine. Finally I hope readers to understand: castration or “injured” bodies won’t bring too many troubles in life and a physical defect won’t directly attribute to perverted mentality. Generally people think castrating or “cleaning” eunuchs is to disable them from perverting the government. However, eunuchs have not only normal sexual desire but also a healthy body, or even a body healthier than normal people. It is hard to tell the difference between eunuchs and normal people by surveying the diseases easily infesting eunuchs, whereas it is also an arrogant conclusion to say that castration has no impact on the body and mentality of eunuchs. However, though the operation mark the physical border of this special level, the pressure and criticism of secular perspective inflicted on them is what really decides their social caste as well as the main factor of their mental change. If scrapping the discrimination of the sexual physical hierarchy, the image of eunuchs is far healthier than what the history delivers. This article wants to confirm this idea.