Why did many men in the Ming dynasty voluntarily undergo “private castration” just to become eunuchs

Hello everyone, welcome to History and Culture. Fans of Chinese historical costume dramas and wuxia series probably all have this same question, why in the Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Xiao Ao Jiang Hu. Do those who practice martial arts always have to pay such an extreme price? Characters like Lin Pingzhi and Yu Buqiuan essentially bet their entire lives to practice the so-called evil repelling sword manual, Bixie Qianfa. Dongfang Bubai, to master the Sunflower Manual, Kuihua Baodian, took a path that completely and irreversibly changed his fate. Many people see this as an exaggerated trope typical of wuxia novels. But in reality, Jin Yong didn't invent it out of thin air. What he was alluding to was a very real and extremely complex social phenomenon from the Ming Dynasty. This phenomenon was historically known as private castration, cn, private self-castration. In simple terms, it refers to castration performed privately among the common people, without going through any official channels. This wasn't something that only appeared in the Ming Dynasty. As early as the pre-Qin and Tu Han periods, there were already people who voluntarily altered their bodies in order to enter the center of power and change their destinies. The records of the grand historian, Sherji, records cases of individuals who gave up their ordinary male identity to serve a ruler during the Eastern Han, when the eunuch faction held enormous power. Large numbers of families voluntarily sent their sons down this path, hoping for a chance at meteoric success. By the Tang Dynasty, some regional warlords even presented privately castrated individuals to the court. As political capital. But it was the Ming Dynasty that pushed this trend to its most extreme point. In the mid to late Ming, an almost unimaginable situation emerged in society. Entire families with multiple members taking the same path. Entire villages where this became concentrated. And even tens of thousands of people who had undergone private castration, gathering in the capital, hoping to change their fate through this means. From today's perspective. It's hard to understand the choices made by these people who castrated themselves. But if we place them back in their historical context. We realize it wasn't madness. It was a choice forced upon them step by step by harsh reality. Institutionally, the Ming court actually had a strict official process for selecting eunuchs. In theory, anyone wishing to enter the palace. Had to be reported by local officials, sent to the capital. Jointly reviewed by the Ministry of Rights and the Directorate of Ceremonial. And only then could they be accepted. Any unauthorized, privately performed castration. Was explicitly forbidden by law. With very clear statutes and severe punishments. But the problem was. The law was one thing. And reality was quite another. Because the Ming Emperor's attitudes toward eunuchs. Directly shaped the entire social trend of private castration. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely wary of eunuchs in his early years. Stipulating that they could only handle miscellaneous chores and were forbidden from interfering in politics. Yet in his later years. When revising the ancestral instructions. He removed this restriction. From then on, Ming Emperor's constraints on eunuchs. Grew looser and looser overall. Emperor Yongle Zhu Di even openly called eunuchs family members. By the Xuanda era. The court specially established the Inner Study Hall. Where grand scholars taught eunuchs to read and. Trained them to handle government affairs. This practice sent a very clear signal. Eunuchs were no longer merely palace servants. They could become trusted political forces. Whenever ministers stood up to oppose this. They rarely met a good end. During the Xuanda era. Grand Secretary Lu Jian warned the Emperor about the risks of eunuch interference in politics. Only to be rebuked. When Emperor Chongzhen first ascended the throne. He also tried to curb eunuch power. But soon, due to distrust of the outer court officials. He reinstated and relied on them again. Over time, Emperor's trust in eunuchs. Clearly surpassed their trust in the civil official class. This trust was not accidental. It was closely tied to the Ming Dynasty's power structure. After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of Grand Chancellor. Imperial power became highly concentrated. But the affairs of the empire were too numerous for one emperor to handle personally. Thus, the Grand Secretariat and the Directorate of Ceremonial gradually became the Emperor's left and right hands in managing state affairs. Within this system, eunuchs served as an important tool. To check and balance the scholar-official bureaucracy. Starting from the Yongle period. Large numbers of eunuchs were dispatched to the provinces. To supervise armies, collect taxes, procure supplies, investigate cases, and more. Their power was no longer confined to the palace. It penetrated every level of central and local government. In many places, a eunuch status locally was hardly inferior to that of a provincial governor. In such an environment, eunuchs gradually became quasi-bureaucratized. Their families could receive honors and rewards. Their parents could be posthumously ennobled by the court. When traveling, local officials often had to yield the road to them. Ordinary people witnessed all of this. Meanwhile, the other main path of upward mobility, the imperial examination system, was becoming narrower and narrower. Although the caju existed, the cost of studying was extremely high, requiring long-term investment that ordinary peasant families simply could not afford. Ten years of hardship might yield nothing, while the other path, private castration, though it carried a heavy price, offered the possibility of rapidly transforming an entire family's fate under the heavy burden of taxes and frequent corvée labor. Many lower-class people began to see private castration as a shortcut, especially when someone nearby actually entered the inner palace and gained status and wealth. The demonstration effect became extremely powerful. Although the court repeatedly issued bans on private castration, real-life success stories were far more attractive than cold legal provisions. What made it even more complicated was that, beyond the imperial palace, society at large had a very strong demand for eunuchs. Princely mansions, princess residences, and powerful noble households all needed large numbers of people to manage inner affairs. By regulation, the number of such personnel was limited. But actual demand far exceeded the quotas. Thus, privately harboring or illegally employing privately castrated individuals became commonplace. Moreover, some local military generals and powerful local strongmen would, for reasons of management and control, privately carry out similar practices. Over time, the phenomenon spread almost nationwide, becoming an open secret. The Ming court was not unaware of the seriousness of the problem. From the founding of the dynasty, the Great Ming Code explicitly prohibited private castration, and later punishments were repeatedly increased, even to the point of capital punishment. But in actual enforcement, things went completely off track. Cases of truly severe punishment were extremely rare. Most of the time, sentences were reduced to exile, penal labor, or simply being sent back home. As the number of participants grew, the judicial system itself fell into a Eventually, the court often could only symbolically punish the ringleaders and disperse the rest. Even more contradictory was that while the court strictly forbade it, it also continuously selected new members from among these people to fill the inner palace. Each exceptional recruitment sent a vague and dangerous signal to society, the ban exists. But it is not insurmountable. By the late Ming, this contradictory attitude caused the prohibition to completely lose its deterrent power. Social custom, economic pressure, and institutional flaws intertwined, forming an almost irreversible cycle. As some historians have commented, looking back from today's civilized perspective, the era of private castration is a truly lamentable chapter of history. It was not the impulsive act of a few individuals, but the combined result of institutions, power, economics, and human nature.