Since the Qin state, eunuchs have played an important role in the stage of Chinese history. From the change of dynasties to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, they have been active in the court for more than 2,000 years. Even an extremely centralized emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang reused eunuchs, which shows the importance of his status. They may be able to be in power for a while, but they are not eternal, but this is also the last line of insurance for the emperor, avoiding the risk of usurpation.
The power of eunuchs is naturally closely linked to imperial power, and is essentially an extension of imperial power. The examples of Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian illustrate this point. Liu Jin once served as the eunuch of the celebrant and the eunuch, which can be said to be the highest position among the eunuchs. At the height of his power, he was immense, but even so, the emperor's words were enough to wipe out his power. The same is true of Wei Zhongxian, who gained power in the hands of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, but ultimately led to the instability of the throne. For emperors, eunuchs were the most reliable tools.
Before the Song Dynasty, power was mainly held by relatives and clans, but since the Song Dynasty, the status of women has been suppressed, the status of military generals (clans) has gradually declined, the status of civil officials has been elevated, and the era of relatives and clans interfering in politics has also ended. However, this raises a series of questions. The weakness of civil officials and scholars, the rise of the school valve and gate valve family caused by the selection mechanism, until the middle and late Ming Dynasty, these problems became more and more serious. It was also a helpless move to use eunuchs and appoint the children of the Suyi clan as eunuchs, trying to fight poison with poison. Although Zhu Yuanzhang has established a series of rules, he is not a stupid person. He skillfully designed the entire bureaucratic system of eunuchs, corresponding to the foreign courts. It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang has set a good standard for eunuchs to participate in government affairs. In the end, this was also proved by the fact that the celebrant and the cabinet actually complemented each other.
The deterioration of civil power.
After the Tumubao Incident, Yu Qian successfully defended Beijing, opening a precedent for civilian officials to lead troops. After the death of Emperor Zhengde, imperial power was further suppressed. Several famous eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, such as Zheng He, Wang Zhi, Liu Jin, Feng Bao, and Wei Zhongxian, except for Wang Zhen, were talents in any field, and although their private virtues were uneven, in the later period, they became important assistants in the contest between the emperor and the civil officials.
At the time of the Tumubao Change, Zhu Qizhen was already an adult, with 200,000 elite soldiers in his hands, facing 30,000 people in Walla. However, he heeded the advice of his generals and led to the annihilation of his army. Ming emperors were often manipulated by eunuchs, and Zhu Qizhen's was played with as a rare exception. He and Wang Zhen lowered the prestige of the Ming emperors, and Wang Zhen was even more disgraced among the eunuchs, and he knew nothing about military economics. In contrast, Zheng He, Wang Zhi, Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian were all superior to him.
Liu Jin can be said to be the true protector of Emperor Zhengde. However, after Liu Jin's death, Zhengde's side was infiltrated like a sieve, and he died of illness soon after. The so-called "Eight Tigers" was a title imposed by the civil servants, not by themselves. At that time, some people said that the killing of the Eight Tigers was caused by Wang Yue and Liu Jin's struggle for power. At that time, Wang Yue was in charge of the seal of the celebrant supervisor, but in the 16th year of Hongzhi, Liu Jin served as the supervisor of the East Factory as the internal official and supervisor of the palm seal.
Power struggle. 
During this period, Wang Yue formed an alliance with the cabinet and secretly plotted to kill the Eight Tigers, but it was leaked to Liu Jin in advance. It is said that the leaker was Li Dongyang, the cabinet boss at the time, and after that, Wang Yue and other eunuchs were assigned, but Li Dongyang retained the cabinet position and became the first assistant. After Liu Jin took control of the celebrant supervisor, the managers of the East Factory were Qiu Ju and Ma Yongcheng, and Gu Dayong was in charge of the West Factory. As for Zhang Yong, he is the head seal of the imperial supervisor and the head of the Qianqing Palace. Therefore, Zhang Yong spent more time by Zhengde's side, which is why Yang Yiqing chose to conspire with Zhang Yong to kill Liu Jin.
The eventual decline of the Ming Dynasty was not caused by eunuchs, but by the rise of the Donglin Party. In short, the Donglin Party was an organization composed of gentry, landlords, and wealthy people. In addition to ordinary people, almost all strata of society are covered. This organization wantonly annexed land and collected heavy taxes in the name of the imperial court, causing the common people to be unable to afford the taxes, so they had to get land, and then became homeless, and finally rebelled. The growing strength of the Donglin Party led to a threat to imperial power in the late Ming Dynasty. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty, until the last Chongzhen, were difficult to fight against the Donglin Party. By this time, even if Zhu Yuanzhang was reborn, it would be difficult to reverse the situation, because the Donglin Party had eroded the entire social class, eventually leading to the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
The stories behind these histories are full of power, struggle, and intrigue that formed part of ancient China's political culture. In the long course of history, eunuchs have either become the emperor's right-hand men or become victims of court battles, but they have always played a role that cannot be ignored and become the last line of defense in the hands of the emperor.
This article delves into the role of eunuchs in politics in Chinese history, and their inextricable relationship with imperial power. It sheds light on an era of power struggles and political intrigues, and the profound impact of these historical events on ancient Chinese political culture.
Eunuchs have played a complex and pivotal role in Chinese history. The article points out that they, as the last line of defense in the hands of the emperor, are both protectors and threats to power. While they could be the emperor's right-hand man, they were often victims of political struggles. Through the examples of eunuchs such as Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian, the author clearly shows the situation in which they were once powerful and powerful, but it was difficult to be eternal. The transience and fragility of this power is not only a personal problem for eunuchs, but also reflects the relative stability and long-term consideration of imperial power.
Another thought-provoking point is the article's description of the changes in civil power. From the Song Dynasty onwards, the status of civil officials was elevated, and the interference of relatives and clans gradually ended, but this also raised new problems. The weakness of civil officials, the problems of the selection mechanism, and the rise of the gate valve family laid the groundwork for the resurgence of eunuchs. Zhu Yuanzhang was wise in designing the eunuch bureaucratic system to deal with this problem, but history has proved that this did not solve the fundamental problem of political structure. The power contest between civil officials and eunuchs further complicated the political system and reflected the inherent weaknesses and changes in political power.
In addition, the article mentions the influence of the Donglin Party on the decline and fall of the Ming Dynasty. As an organization composed of people from different walks of life, the Donglin Party had a huge impact on society through land annexation and taxation. Its growing power led to a threat to imperial power in the late Ming Dynasty, which also became an important factor in the demise of the Ming Dynasty. The rise of this kind of organization and its enormous impact on society presents a more complex aspect of the transformation of political power, illustrating the profound impact that changes in different forces have on the entire political system in political struggles.
To sum up, this article delves into the complexity and changes of China's ancient political power structure through the analysis of historical events such as eunuchs, civil officials, and the Donglin Party. It is not only a historical review, but also a reflection on the power struggle, the changes in the political system and the mechanism of power operation, which provides a useful perspective and reflection for us to understand the ancient Chinese political culture.
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