Eunuch Sun Yaoting revealed the secrets of the Qing Palace, serving the concubines late at night was dangerous, and Cang'er saved his life
In 1913, Sun Yaoting was only 12 years old, and his father cleansed him under extremely poor sanitary conditions. There is no anesthetic during the operation and there is no sterilization. Sun Yaoting was in a coma for three days and three nights, and finally woke up, only to see that the Qing Dynasty had perished.
Eunuchs were part of feudal Chinese society, and they served as servants of the emperor and concubines in the imperial palace, providing the royal family with comfortable and prosperous living conditions. However, the eunuchs are the victims of the ** system, they either sink into hell or rise to prominence, and they have performed thrilling live dramas on the big stage of Chinese history.
However, the life of eunuchs was not easy, and they were often subjected to cruel treatment and oppression. For example, Sun Yaoting was born in Tianjin, China, in 1902, and his father wanted him to live a good life and named him "Liujin", but this was not the case.
In that feudal country, no matter how hard you work, it is difficult to achieve prosperity, and life is still poor.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, when Sun Yaoting was five years old, his parents got a job in the village, his father farmed for Mr. Wang's private school, and his mother cooked for them. Fortunately, because Sun Yaoting was still young, he was allowed to study for free in a private school.
For this reason, my father happily made my mother a meal of white noodles, which made the whole family very happy. Two years later, Zhang Lande, the chief eunuch of the Qing Palace, returned to his hometown and province, which opened Sun Yaoting's eyes.
The county magistrate and the squire prepared the welcome ceremony early, and as soon as they saw Zhang Land, they nodded and bowed, respectful. Because Zhang Lande's official position is much higher than that of the county magistrate, he is still the "little Dezhang" in Cixi's mouth.
After the grand welcome ceremony, Sun Yaoting added a new concept to his vision - eunuchs. He had never known before that people could survive in this way.
However, what he never dreamed of was that just a few years later, he would become a eunuch.
When Sun Yaoting was 12 years old, he had already begun to help his parents do some manual work. However, the landlord Lao Cai thought that the children did not count, so his father had an argument with him, and even a fight, resulting in the two of them being put in prison.
After being released from prison, there was no place for them in Xishuangtang Village, and the family was driven out of the village with nowhere to go but to beg to make ends meet. However, in those difficult times, they often begged for very little food and could barely survive.
Sun Yaoting, a smart man who had attended a private school for four years, began to think of other ways out. He heard"Little De Zhang"He is a wandering god of wealth, and as long as he is willing to help them, they can live a prosperous life.
So, he decided to go into the palace to serve the concubine, even if he could eat her leftovers. He firmly believes that this choice is worth it compared to life.
Sun Yaoting's father cleaned up the 12-year-old under extremely poor sanitary conditions, and his father raised the knife in his hand, making his father cry for a whole night.
Sun Yaoting was fainted in pain, and after he finally woke up after being in a coma for three days and three nights, the Qing Dynasty had already died, and China ** was established, and Sun Yaoting's eunuch dream was shattered.
However, a few years later, things took a turn for the better.
In the long history of China, there is a special emperor - Pu Yi. He was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the last emperor in Chinese history. Although he has abdicated, he is still the most favored monarch of the fallen country.
not only retained his honorific title of Emperor Xuantong, but also allocated him 4 million taels a year as living expenses, and allowed him to temporarily live in the Forbidden City. Although the warlords later fought, Pu Yi still enjoyed the protection of the people.
In such an environment, Pu Yi became more and more bold, and even ignored the ban and openly recruited eunuchs into the palace. Such an opportunity gave Sun Yaoting a new hope.
After many inquiries, Sun Yaoting was selected by Zaitao Baylor Mansion and entered the capital to start his new life. Under Zaitao's appreciation, Sun Yaoting worked hard and took care of the two little Baylors meticulously.
However, Zaitao asked him to go to the palace on an errand. Sun Yaoting knew that it was because Concubine Duankang, who loved to listen to opera, organized an opera troupe and needed candidates from the palace, so Zaitao offered Sun Yaoting away.
Since then, Sun Yaoting has opened a new chapter in his life - the gate of the deep palace.
Sun Yaoting began to help his family because of the stable work of the Duankang Concubine Opera Troupe. He remembered the hardships of the past, and worked hard to gain a foothold in the palace. However, a fire destroyed more than 400 houses in the Forbidden City, and Pu Yi ordered all the eunuchs to be driven out of the Forbidden City.
As soon as Sun Yaoting returned home, things took a turn for the worse.
Empress Wanrong lacked a shrewd and capable personal attendant by her side, and Sun Yaoting was called into the palace again. This time, he was promoted to Wanrong's close eunuch, and his status and prestige increased, which also brought his life to a new peak.
But the young and frivolous Sun Yaoting did not realize the difficulties and dangers of "the palace gate is as deep as the sea", in addition to dealing with the affairs of the queen during the day, he also needs to participate in the vigil after resting gracefully at night, compared with his previous position in the opera troupe, the responsibilities are much heavier.
The Qing Dynasty court's management of eunuchs was meticulous, such as carelessness when lighting lamps, loud noises, etc., which could lead to heavy punishment of forty boards, and if there was a mistake on duty at night, it would inevitably lead to dozens of boards, and at worst it could be the loss of life.
Since concubines had to be watched by a eunuch when they slept at night, or were on standby outside the door to be called at any time, the eunuch in charge of the vigil had to stay awake throughout the night in case of emergency.
This made it difficult for the newcomer Sun Yaoting to adapt for a while. Late one night when he was on duty, because nothing happened, Sun Yaoting began to feel sleepy and spent the night peacefully.
But over time, something will always happen.
On that night, the queen fell asleep early. It happened to be Sun Yaoting's turn to be on duty at night, and the first half of the night was uneventful, but in the second half of the night, he began to be sleepy and took a nap.
However, the queen woke up in a dream and called him to serve, but Sun Yaoting did not hear him because he was napping. The next punishment almost killed him, and he lay in bed for half a month before **.
Sun Yaoting knew that in the palace, killing a eunuch was nothing, but how to save his life was the most important thing. He began to wonder why the old eunuchs had never made such mistakes, and he decided to find out.
So, he found some old eunuchs and asked them for secrets. However, the old eunuchs were very cunning, and none of them were willing to tell him their secrets directly, and most of them just left with a few perfunctory words.
Sun Yaoting found a problem in this, and he decided to use his monthly money to buy wine and food to invite the eunuchs to drink wine and eat meat, hoping to win their trust. At a banquet, he found an old eunuch who had taken off his shoes, revealing a pale ear.
This blue ear gave him a revelation, and he began to watch the night more cautiously, always awake.
Then, the old eunuch smiled drunkenly and said, "We don't teach this kind of life-saving method casually on weekdays, but seeing that you are so clever, I will tell you today." ”
He told Sun Yaoting to put Cang'er on the back of his shoe, walk on tiptoe, and if you feel sleepy, the spikes of Cang'er will immediately wake you up. In addition, Cang'er can also make your footsteps light and not disturb the master's sleep.
Even if the master calls, you can respond immediately. After hearing this, Sun Yaoting suddenly realized, compared to his own life, what is the tingling pain under his feet?
Since then, Sun Yaoting's soap boots have an extra sharp ear, which is a symbol of his servant status compared with the soft insoles of the **s***. With his feet on sharp ears, Sun Yaoting spent seven full years in the Forbidden City as a slave and tool.
In 1924, Feng Yuxiang staged a coup d'état in Beijing, which caused Pu Yi and his entourage to leave the palace, and Sun Yaoting was no exception. When he returned to his hometown, he had no choice but to return to Beijing due to his lack of livelihood skills, where he lived in Xinglong Temple and picked up garbage.
In 1932, Pu Yi became the "puppet emperor of Manchukuo" and began to "enjoy" his power again, and Wanrong hired Sun Yaoting as his minion. However, the good times did not last long, Sun Yaoting contracted lung disease in Changchun and was abandoned by his master again.
He finally spent the rest of his life under the bridge cave, recalling the scene of seeing "Xiao Dezhang" when he was a child, and couldn't help but burst into tears, regretting that he had been a eunuch and dreamed of glory and wealth.
Sun Yaoting dragged the sick body back to his birthplace, but there was no longer the enthusiasm of the expected "young and old man returning home", but instead pointing fingers at his identity and the pressure brought to his relatives.
On a cold night, Sun Yaoting left the place without saying goodbye to anyone. Since then, Xinglong Temple on the outskirts of Beijing has become his home. Despite his mutilated body and face full of vicissitudes, Sun Yaoting still stepped into New China.
* He was given a job to manage the temple without discrimination, with a fixed monthly salary, and the pilgrims respectfully called him Master Sun. These experiences gave Sun Yaoting his first experience of the dignity of being a human being.
In order to thank New China, he splashed ink and wrote a banner of "The country is in good spirits, and the officials are clean and the people are at peace", which is the truest feeling from the bottom of his heart in his life. This year, Sun Yaoting was 93 years old.
In 1996, Sun Yaoting died of illness at the age of 94. As the last eunuch in Chinese history, he took with him his own humiliation, his memories, and the imprint that the era left on him.
The eunuch system of the feudal dynasty was a devastation of human nature, which not only lacked positive significance, but also caused the eunuchs to suffer physically and mentally, losing their dignity and basic rights as men.
However, the Xinhai Revolution sowed the seeds of democracy and freedom in China, ending this dark history. Reference: Jia Yinghua, "The Secret Story of the Last Eunuch - The Biography of Sun Yaoting", Knowledge Publishing House, 199303。