The last eunuch Sun Yaoting served the emperor, and he would put Cang's ears in his shoes
After learning the unique secrets of the old eunuch, when he served the concubines, he would always hide a mysterious ear in his shoes. Since having this little secret, he has become the darling of the concubines.
So, what is the magic of Xanthell?
As a child, Sun Yaoting lived in a poor peasant family with three children. In order to make ends meet, he and his brothers had to go to other people's homes to work. The head of the family who worked was a kind scholar, and he saw that Sun Yaoting was hardworking and capable, so he let him go to a private school to study, so that he could have the opportunity to learn literacy.
Later, Sun Yaoting became a eunuch for the first time, and all these experiences became an important part of his life.
Sun Yaoting studied diligently at a young age and cultivated excellent reading and writing skills, which laid a solid foundation for his career in serving in the palace. In his hometown, Xiaode Zhang, a fellow villager, has a pivotal status because of his status as a eunuch in the palace, and anyone who wants to see the Queen Mother and others needs to be notified by him.
As a result, Xiao Dezhang received a large amount of bribes from it. During a Spring Festival, Xiao Dezhang spent a lot of money to invite the whole village to a feast, and invited an opera troupe to perform, adding a lot of color to his prestige in the village.
When the Qing Dynasty eunuch Xiao Dezhang returned to his hometown, the children of the village surrounded him, and in order to get a bag of food, they would say a word of encouragement to Xiao Dezhang. This scene made Sun Yaoting yearn for being a eunuch, but he didn't know the hardships of eunuchs.
However, because his father inadvertently offended Xiao Dezhang, Sun Yaoting's family struggled to survive in the local area.
When Sun Yaoting was only 8 years old, he expressed his wish to his parents to become a eunuch. Although his parents tearfully agreed, they were unaware of the imminent demise of the Qing Dynasty and the fact that eunuchs were no longer a good way out because they were in a remote place.
Soon after, through family connections, Sun Yaoting was able to enter the palace of the capital as a eunuch.
At the beginning, Sun Yaoting didn't understand anything in the palace, so he urgently needed an old eunuch to teach him the rules. However, no old eunuch was willing to trouble him, which made him always have to be cautious in his actions in the palace.
Luckily, he waited for an opportunity. It turned out that an old eunuch was seriously ill, and Sun Yaoting served him feces and urine. The old eunuch was impressed by his sincerity, so he taught him some life-saving rules.
Sun Yaoting studied these rules carefully, and rarely made mistakes in the palace. It didn't take long for him to be sent to the palace to do things due to his outstanding abilities.
Because the rules in the palace are very different from the rules of the palace, and even the concubines have their own taboos, which makes Sun Yaoting and others feel pressured. However, Sun Yaoting has a flexible mind, he often follows an old eunuch, and uses his spare time to help the old eunuch deal with affairs, no matter what kind of dirty work is tiring, he always charges ahead.
As time passed, the old eunuch became more and more fond of Sun Yaoting, so he taught him some self-evident rules.
In the royal court, there was an unwritten rule that eunuchs would put a cang'er in their shoes when they were on night duty. This Xanthus is not an ordinary plant, but has miraculous effects.
It turns out that Cang'er has the effect of making people sober, when the eunuchs are on night duty, as long as they put a Cang'er in their shoes, they can stay awake in the middle of the night, stand by at any time, and provide timely services for the concubines.
This kind of secret book was not only passed on to Sun Yaoting by the old eunuchs, but also an unknown tradition in the court. However, this tradition is not without the pungent smell of Xanthus, which often makes the eunuchs' feet uncomfortable, and long-term use can also cause certain effects on the body.
But with this in mind, the eunuchs still chose to stick to this rule, because they knew that only in this way could they better serve the royal family and win the trust and respect of the concubines.
As soon as the concubines lose their temper, the eunuchs have to endure the punishment of 40 to 60 boards, which is enough to put their lives in danger. To stay awake at night, they hide a xanthus in their shoes.
Whenever they are sleepy, their toes will unconsciously slide forward, and the spiky ears will wake up their senses with pain after touching them.
Sun Yaoting knew the pain of being pierced by Cang's ears, but he still chose to endure this pain in order to show a shrewd image in front of his concubines. His tenacity made his concubines appreciate him and earned him a good reputation in the palace.
The people in the palace found out that he was possessed of martial arts, so they sent him to the opera troupe to study. Young, energetic, and a fast learner, he has attracted much attention in the troupe.
Sun Yaoting watched the drama frequently because of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the whole drama troupe was very busy. When he was in a hurry to deliver food to the class owner, he accidentally broke the class owner's rice bowl, and when he was nervous, he immediately knelt on the ground to apologize to the class owner and admit his mistake.
As soon as the class leader heard that Sun Yaoting was going to smash his rice bowl, he was furious, picked up a stool and threw it at Sun Yaoting. Sun Yaoting kowtowed and bled to the point that his head was bleeding, and he was beaten all over his body by the class master, and it took several days to recover.
From then on, he was kicked out of the troupe and continued to serve the concubines in the harem. Soon after, Sun Yaoting was sent to Empress Wanrong with his outstanding performance. However, he did not relax because of this, and the cruel blow of reality struck again.
Sun Yaoting's graceful marriage to Pu Yi was not voluntary, he was depressed all day long, and had a strict attitude towards the palace maids and eunuchs around him, especially when Pu Yi got along with other concubines. Wanrong understands that once she is favored by the emperor, not only will she be respected, but the people around her will also be valued.
However, she knew that this path was not easy to follow, because in the imperial palace, being favored by the emperor was the only way to gain respect.
Wanrong decided to turn her focus to herself, and she bathed more and more often, quietly waiting for the palace maid to wipe her body for her every time. After bathing, she is not in a hurry to get dressed, but sits in front of her favorite mirror and admires her flower-like appearance.
After all, she was sent to the palace at this flower-like age, and there was almost no possibility of leaving the palace. After all, although the life of the palace maids is very difficult, they still have the hope of leaving the palace and reuniting with their families, but the fate of Wanrong and the others is completely linked to the emperor and can no longer be free.
Under the double torture of mind and body, Wanrong fell into deep self-indulgence, and used smoke to temporarily numb her pain. During this time, Sun Yaoting always silently guarded by his side, no matter when Wanrong smoked a big cigarette, he would kneel on the ground, motionless holding the smoking device for her until she recovered her strength.
In this case, Wanrong may smoke for up to an hour each time, but Sun Yaoting always keeps her head down and sticks to her side intently.
After Empress Wanrong and her husband Pu Yi were kicked out of the palace, Sun Yaoting was taken out of the palace by Empress Wanrong because of her convenient service to Empress Wanrong. During this period, Sun Yaoting still respectfully served a washbasin for Empress Wanrong as if he was in the palace, so that Empress Wanrong could wash conveniently without bending down.
Since Pu Yi and Empress Wanrong were in poor financial condition and could no longer hire Sun Yaoting to serve them, Empress Wanrong gave Sun Yaoting a sum of money to let him go home.
Wanrong Puyi was addicted to drugs, and Sun Yaoting felt pressured while serving her, and even fell seriously ill due to overwork. Wanrong was worried that Sun Yaoting's condition would be contagious, so she gave him some money to go to Beijing for medical treatment.
Sun Yaoting was quick to get the right time, but when he was hopefully ready to return to the palace, he found that he had been dismissed. Although he would be snubbed in the village as a person, it is unclear whether he will survive in Beijing.
Fortunately, he still had contact with the eunuchs of the past, and with the help of the old eunuchs, he was able to settle down in a temple in the capital.
Sun Yaoting worked at Wanshou Xinglong Temple to make a living, but as the Japanese army rampant in Beijing, his life became more and more difficult, and he finally had no choice but to leave Beijing and return to his hometown.
During this period, he was always pointed at, and in order to avoid gossip, Sun Yaoting did not dare to go out alone for a long time. Seeing what happened to their son, Sun Yaoting's parents felt very distressed.
Sun Yaoting, as the pillar of the family, made great sacrifices. After he became a eunuch, the standard of living of his family was indeed improved, and he also experienced for the first time the joy of making his family live a good life through his own efforts.
However, the harsh reality made him lose this opportunity and even fell into self-doubt. Fortunately, after the enlightenment of his family, he was able to face life positively again.
Although his health limits his ability to do heavy work, he can still do what he can for his family.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Sun Yaoting realized that his departure as the last eunuch of the Qing Dynasty might make people ignorant of the history of the imperial palace. Therefore, he was determined to write down his experience.
In the process of recording, he strives to maintain the objectivity of the text and avoid too much personal emotional involvement. His books vividly depict the customs of the Qing Dynasty and provide valuable first-hand information for researchers.
Sun Yaoting went through hardships and relied on his own diligent hands to solve the problem of food and clothing. He has a clear attitude towards the preferences of life stages, and he cherishes the life of New China even more.
He believes that in the Qing Dynasty, he was only driven by others, and after the founding of New China, he really gained dignity and lived a good life. In his later years, he lived a very comfortable life, getting up every morning for a walk, basking in the sun after eating at noon, and this comfortable life lasted until he passed away peacefully at the age of 94.
Sun Yaoting's life is full of twists and turns. As a eunuch in the feudal dynasty, he often faced threats to his life, and for the survival of his family, he resolutely chose to enter the palace on an errand.
However, the news of the founding of the People's Republic of China gave him hope that he would be able to live a comfortable and happy life and enjoy his old age in peace, which he could never have imagined. At that time, war and displacement plagued them, and their lives could not be guaranteed, and they even had to pin their fate on others.
In stark contrast, despite the noble status of Pu Yi and Wanrong, their fate could not be controlled by themselves, and Wanrong became a victim of the feudal dynasty at a young age.
The new China gave Pu Yi a new life and made him look forward to the future. In the same way, we must also cherish this hard-won peaceful life, devote ourselves to social construction, bring well-being to more people, and love the motherland.
Born in the new era, we enjoy the care and care of the state, especially the elderly and children, retirement life is guaranteed, and learning is also in the spotlight. Therefore, we should be grateful for life, devote ourselves to the community outside of work, and contribute to others and society.
Respecting history and understanding the career choices of antiquity, they were also forced to earn a living under the pressures of life. Unlike now, we can get help from our relatives, friends and the country and society to face difficulties.
We must actively respond to life and work, and create value with diligent hands, because social progress is inseparable from everyone's contribution. When faced with difficult choices, we can seek information and professional help, because we only have one life and we are all responsible for our own lives.
The years are not forgiving, the old people around us will eventually leave, and on the way forward, we must strengthen our faith, move forward bravely, and create a rich and worry-free life for ourselves and others.