Becoming a eunuch

Time Out takes a look at the excruciating process by which the emperor's eunuchs were separated from their 'crown jewels'...

To anyone living outside of the Imperial city in ancient times, the 'Great Within' was the pinnacle of existence. Housing the emperor and his harem, it was a place of immense wealth and power.

For a poor boy living outside the Palace walls, the only hope of gaining access to this world, and increasing his family's chances of a better life, was to become a eunuch.

Often sent forward by their parents, boys as young as eight or nine were submitted for inspection to prove they were 'clean' before undergoing the operation that would end with their 'precious' pickled in a jar.

Often, several thousand eunuchs were required to wait on the palace residents at one time, so older men were accepted too, as long as someone could vouch for their good character and they went through with the obligatory castration.

The operation usually took place at the back gate of the Forbidden City, carried out by 'knifers' who were paid 6 taels for each surgical procedure they performed.

The patient was asked if he was likely to have any regrets about becoming a eunuch one last time before being strapped to a semi-reclining bed, with legs held down firmly to prevent any movement.

The area was numbed by dipping it in a bowl of hot pepper water, before the knifer swiftly chopped off both penis and testicles. A metal plug was inserted into the urethra and the wound bandaged.

The boy was expected to thirst for three days so he wouldn't urinate. If they survived this stage of the procedure (and it is believed many didn't), they could enter the Forbidden City proper and, due to the fact that they now posed no threat to the Imperial bloodline, the emperor could rest easy.

When eunuchs died, their 'precious' was removed from the jar and placed on the body so they could enter the afterlife whole again.

The last eunuch to serve an emperor in the Forbidden City died in 1966.

Sarah Keenlyside