More than a hundred years ago, China ended the feudal imperial system that had ruled China for thousands of years and replaced itIt is a Chinese ** that advocates equality, men do not keep braids, and women do not bind their feet
However, the study of ancient Chinese history has never stopped.
Among them, the diet, clothing, and even the length of life of the palace personnel are the objects of study by historians.
Some people found that most of the eunuchs in the ancient palace lived to be sixty or seventy years oldAnd the emperor, who was also a man, could only live to be forty or fifty years oldThis general discrepancy cannot but surprise people.
Because there is such a saying in ancient folklore: If you want to live forever, you must first go from the palace. Is this really what is rumored to be true? Is there a mystery behind this?
Today, I will introduce it to you in detail.
The "eunuch", in most of our minds, is a man who has been castrated and has to serve the emperor and concubines in the palace.
As early as the Yin Dynasty, eunuchs had already appeared in the palace, but the origin of eunuchs can be traced back to before the Xia Dynasty.
At that time, monogamy appeared in society, and in order to rationalize the management of the civil marriage system, the upper rulers ordered that all women who fornicated with strange men would be locked up in their homes for eternity and not allowed to go outIf a man fornicates with a woman in the outer room, he will be cut off***
Therefore, the art of castration at that time was limited to "cheating and inappropriate men".
By the Zhou Dynasty,The ruler extended this punishment to all men who violated the rule of law, which is also a kind of cruel oppression imposed by the feudal dynasty on the people.
For example, during the Warring States Period, someone advised the King of Qin to "govern the country with benevolence and righteousness", but the King of Qin ordered people to carry out palace punishment on him on the grounds that "governing the country with benevolence and righteousness is the way to perish".That is, castration***
Everyone may have also learned a middle school text called "A Fang Gong Fu", and they have an understanding of Qin Shi Huang's poor soldiers and people at that time.
But what most people don't know is that at that time, Qin Shi Huang mobilized a total of about 700,000 people to build Afang Palace and Lishan MountainThese more than 700,000 people are all castrated men
Palace punishment was even more common in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a violent and cruel emperor, and Sima Qian, Li Yannian, etc. were all victims of palace punishment by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
However, it is worth mentioning that the term "eunuch" has not always been used.
Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, people generally called those who had been punished by the palace "eunuchs" or "eunuchs".It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the title "eunuch" was born
Speaking of which, I can't help but expand the scope of science popularization for everyone.
When we were watching costume dramas,It is often found that the queen mother in the palace calls herself "mourning family", the emperor calls herself "I", and the concubines call themselves "concubines".So everyone defaults to this as the general self-title of a feudal dynasty.
But this is not the case, it is similar to the origin of the word "eunuch", and the above so-called self-names are just the names of operas in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In everyday life,The emperor often referred to himself as "I", and the concubines referred to the emperor as "slaves" rather than "concubines".
And "I" is not the only self-title of the emperor in the opera.
For example, in Bai Pu's "Wutong Rain", he was heartbroken when he wrote that Emperor Tang Ming was unable to save Yang Yuhuan's life in Maweipo, resulting in the tragic death of the concubine.
When he returned to the palace, he couldn't even hold a funeral for Yang Yuhuan, so he had no choice but to sigh that he was "an official family of last resort", and the "official family" also belonged to the emperor's self-proclaimed.
According to the research of later generations, the term "eunuch" is very close to the ancient Greek word "man dressed by the bedside".
And hundreds of years ago, in the European royal family, there were also castrated people, not only in China.
The reason why eunuchs will serve in the palace is because if there are only women in the palace such as concubines, palace maids, and grandmothersThen no one can do the manual work.
And if you rashly let the guards into the palace to serve, it may cause unnecessary troubles such as "moral ethics".
Therefore, they will choose to punish the men who enter the palace before they can become eunuchs, and then they can enter the palace smoothly.
After entering the palace, most of the eunuchs went to serve the emperor and concubines, and some went to do miscellaneous work.
In the eyes of the ancients, eunuchs, palace maids and other subordinates could not be called so-called human dignity.
Therefore, the concubines will also have eunuchs to take care of daily chores such as bathing and changing clothes, dressing up, etcEven the concubines will have eunuchs and palace maids waiting for orders.
After talking about the origin and development of eunuchs, let's talk about the lifespan of eunuchs.
According to historical records, men in ancient China were generally only in their forties.
For example, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the average life expectancy of men was forty-three years, in the Song and Jin dynasties it was forty-one years, in the Yuan Dynasty it was thirty-six years, and in the Ming Dynasty it was slightly higher at forty-six years.
In the Qing Dynasty, the average life expectancy of men dropped considerably, to 31 years.
However, the average life expectancy of eunuchs has always reached sixty or seventy years, which is about twenty years higher than that of ordinary men.
Some people say that it may be that the eunuchs in the palace have better living conditions, they don't have to worry about food and clothing, and they can prolong their lives after they are relaxed.
This argument is actually not convincingNot to mention that the eunuchs in the palace serve the concubines and the emperor all day long, and they have to do countless chores every day, and they also face the risk of being killed or killed by the rod if they do something wrong at any time.
And if the living conditions are better and the life expectancy can be extended, why is the emperor's life shorter than that of the eunuchs
According to historical records, one of the longest-lived eunuchs in China was named Xiao Jing.
He was a eunuch in the Ming Dynasty, went through a total of seven dynasties from orthodoxy (Ming Yingzong) to Jiajing (Ming Shizong), served six emperors, and had more than 50 eunuchs under his hands**, before and after more than 50 years, and finally lived to be 90 years old.
In fact, the question of "why eunuchs generally live a long life" has been investigated by the research team, and scientific knowledge is enough to explain it.
A team of experts from Inha University in South Korea analyzed the lineage of emperors and eunuchs of the Joseon Dynasty between 1300 and 1900 A.D. and found that the eunuchs lived 14 to 19 years longer than the emperorPerhaps it is the male hormone in the male body
In ancient China, in addition to the fact that eunuchs lived longer than ordinary men, women also lived longer than ordinary men.
For example, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, the average life expectancy of women was 47 years old, and that of men was only 43 years old, and during the Ming Dynasty, the average life expectancy of women was 51 years old, and that of men was only 46 yearsAmong them, it is male hormones that are at work.
A team of experts from the University of Texas' Human Life Institute conducted a study on mice after physical castrationIt was found that castrated mice survived longer than male mice in a normal stateBut the weight is on the heavy side and the height is on the low side.
Experimental data from the study of mice can also be generalized to humans.
Scientists have found that if a male is physically castrated before puberty,Inhibiting the growth of male hormones reduces the probability of middle-aged death in ancient men
In ancient China, if some families lived in poverty and did not have enough to eat, the elders of the family would either send their children to learn art or take them to the palace to become eunuchs.
Although the eunuch had a relatively low status in the palace,But for ordinary people in the people, it is already a good arrangement to be able to work in the palace and not worry about food and clothing, and even some people have to rely on relationships to enter the palace as eunuchs.
So when these little boys, who were only eleven or twelve years old or even younger, were sentenced to the palaceThe male hormones in the body are no longer secreted in large quantities, which will play a role in prolonging life
Therefore, perhaps the saying "If you want to live forever, you must first go to the palace" in ancient Chinese folk is not unreasonable.
In fact, there is another point, which may also be a reason for the longevity of eunuchs.
Because after the eunuch is castrated, he can't have sex, but the sperm in the body is still producing normally, so people often say that the eunuch is "energetic" in the body.
In traditional Chinese medicine, there is also a saying that "essence and qi are the foundation of the body".Therefore, this can also be seen as one of the reasons for the longevity of eunuchs.
Perhaps, people can also boldly speculate that the reason for the generally short life span of ancient emperors is not only due to the lack of physical support for working all day long, but also related to the three thousand beauties of the harem.
For example, Liu Jun, the filial piety emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty, had improper relationships with many of his uncle's righteous daughters, and even violated human ethics with his mother, Empress Dowager Lu, not to mention the concubines who had fun with him all day long in the harem.
Later, Liu Jun died of overindulgence when he was thirty-four years old.
According to historical records, Liu Jun had a total of 28 princes and 8 princesses in his short lifeThis staggering number is perhaps more than twice that of other emperors
It is enough to see that excessive indulgence in men will cause a series of symptoms, such as kidney deficiency and lack of physical strength.
Emperor Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty even relied on taking aphrodisiacs to maintain his physical strength in middle and old age.
So for the eunuchs who are "unstoppable" and only focus on serving the emperor and eating and drinking, to be able to live so long, is also forgivable.
The ancient castration technique was not very perfect, not to mention what disinfection, anesthesia, so the risk is very high, according to statistics, only 40% of the eunuchs who survived after castration in ancient timesPerhaps the physical fitness of the remaining people is better, which is also the reason for their health and long life.
But the right way to prolong life is stillRegular work and rest, healthy diet, and frequent exerciseDon't follow this wrong approach.