Grandson of a Eunuch
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 12:58 pm
A biography of Cao Cao (Ts'ao Ts'ao in the old Romanization) arrived on my desk on Tuesday. Cao Cao, who lived from 155 to 220 AD, was military commander for the last emperor of the Han Dynasty of China. While his efforts failed to preserve the empire, after the death, without descendants, of the last Han emperor, Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, became the first emperor of the short-lived Wei Dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms, and the one that Chinese historians consider to be the "main line" of dynastic history.
In addition to his role as a military commander, Cao Cao was an outstanding poet and the author of several other works. We know more about his life than that of any of his contemporaries. The first chapter of the biography is titled Grandson of a Eunuch, which is exactly what he was, though his biological father had been adopted by a court eunuch who had been castrated at about age 5 or 6.
Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was the fourth son of a farmer who aspired to higher rank. As the youngest son, he was castrated and presented for imperial service at a young age. At about age 6, in 119 AD, he became the "study companion" of Prince Shun of the imperial family, the heir to the throne. He and the future emperor became close and he continued to serve him after he ascended to the throne in 125, at age 11, until the emperor's death in 144. He then continued to serve in the palace as a trusted advisor until his death in about 160.
As an important part of the imperial bureaucracy, holding the highest position of any eunuch in the court, Cao Teng acquired a large tract of land and the revenue that it provided. At some point in his life, he adopted an intact boy, who became Cao Song. Cao Song later married and had four sons, the eldest of whom was Cao Cao. Cao Cao produced at least 25 sons by a number of different women, as well as a number of daughters, one of whom, Cao Jie became the empress of Emperor Xiandi (ruled 189-220 as the last Han Dynasty emperor).
While we have no written records of the nature of the castration surgery of the period, we do have some tomb figures from the Han Dynasty as evidence. The tomb of the emperor Jingdi (ruled 157-141 BC) contained a number of detailed, anatomically correct, pottery "attendants" that were originally clothed in fabric. The fabric has, of course, disintegrated over the centuries. The male attendants are shown with appropriate adult size penis and testicles; the eunuchs with small, prepubertal penis and no testicles.
SOURCE:
de Crespigny, Rafe. (2010). Imperial Warlord: A Biography of Cao Cao 155–220 AD. Sinica Leidensia, volume 99. Leiden: Brill. 553 pp.
Chapter 1, Grandson of a Eunuch, is pp. 9 to 50.
In addition to his role as a military commander, Cao Cao was an outstanding poet and the author of several other works. We know more about his life than that of any of his contemporaries. The first chapter of the biography is titled Grandson of a Eunuch, which is exactly what he was, though his biological father had been adopted by a court eunuch who had been castrated at about age 5 or 6.
Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was the fourth son of a farmer who aspired to higher rank. As the youngest son, he was castrated and presented for imperial service at a young age. At about age 6, in 119 AD, he became the "study companion" of Prince Shun of the imperial family, the heir to the throne. He and the future emperor became close and he continued to serve him after he ascended to the throne in 125, at age 11, until the emperor's death in 144. He then continued to serve in the palace as a trusted advisor until his death in about 160.
As an important part of the imperial bureaucracy, holding the highest position of any eunuch in the court, Cao Teng acquired a large tract of land and the revenue that it provided. At some point in his life, he adopted an intact boy, who became Cao Song. Cao Song later married and had four sons, the eldest of whom was Cao Cao. Cao Cao produced at least 25 sons by a number of different women, as well as a number of daughters, one of whom, Cao Jie became the empress of Emperor Xiandi (ruled 189-220 as the last Han Dynasty emperor).
While we have no written records of the nature of the castration surgery of the period, we do have some tomb figures from the Han Dynasty as evidence. The tomb of the emperor Jingdi (ruled 157-141 BC) contained a number of detailed, anatomically correct, pottery "attendants" that were originally clothed in fabric. The fabric has, of course, disintegrated over the centuries. The male attendants are shown with appropriate adult size penis and testicles; the eunuchs with small, prepubertal penis and no testicles.
SOURCE:
de Crespigny, Rafe. (2010). Imperial Warlord: A Biography of Cao Cao 155–220 AD. Sinica Leidensia, volume 99. Leiden: Brill. 553 pp.
Chapter 1, Grandson of a Eunuch, is pp. 9 to 50.