Did eunuchs and maids in ancient palaces enter the palace voluntarily? In what form were they elected?

There are differences in the sources of eunuchs and maids in the past dynasties. If we spread it out, I'm afraid we will get a book! I don't think I am capable of writing such a masterpiece. Here, take the Qing Dynasty as an example to make a simple discussion.

The eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty mainly came from the provinces near Gyeonggi, mostly Zhili, and the Hejian fief in Zhili was even called the "eunuch origin". Of course, there are exaggerated elements in this, but at least it shows that a large part of the eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty came from today's Hebei region, and the eunuch Pang in Lao She's novel Teahouse is a typical example. ?

Eunuchs in the Qing dynasty were mainly "voluntary" and few were forced to castrate. Not many people were forcibly castrated as eunuchs after being captured like Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty. But then again, this "voluntary" may not be so willing. If there is no reason, who will "voluntarily" get this knife? The eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty were not from the Ming Dynasty. Except for a few who are in the early stage, they can gain some benefits through the influence of their masters. Most of them are just servants in the Forbidden City, and their treatment is quite limited! Therefore, most of the eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty were poor people who could not live, or poor people who could not live for other reasons. Of course, except for one kind of people, the Qing dynasty stipulated that standard-bearers could not be eunuchs, no matter how poor they were!

Of course, no matter how poor the Qing flag bearer is, he can still get a grain and rice from the state. Basically, he is not poor enough to be a eunuch. Let's talk about this "voluntary". Eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty had to sign a "voluntary document" before castration, which showed that you were willing to lead an honest and clean life, not being coerced, and had to bear the consequences of a "medical accident". After that, clean body preparation. Eunuchs in Qing dynasty can't be pulled by themselves. They must be castrated by special departments. The most famous are Wu Bi and Liu Xiaodao.

These two families were in charge of eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty. They have high hats and ranks and specialize in castrating eunuchs and transporting them to the Qing Palace and Wang Fu. After castration, the new eunuch should be rehabilitated first and then handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for unified distribution. In the early Qing dynasty, if you castrate yourself privately, you will not only be unable to serve in the court, but even be investigated for "criminal responsibility." Although it was not so strict in the late Qing Dynasty, official festivals were still the main source of eunuchs.

After the distribution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some eunuchs were assigned to the governors' houses with eunuchs above eight points, and some were sent to the palace. But at first, these eunuchs did not directly serve the emperor, concubines or princes or Fujin, but served eunuchs with masters and senior qualifications first. In the words of Sun, the last eunuch of the Qing Dynasty, it is "a slave is a slave, and a slave dies"! As a "servant's servant", the new eunuch had a hard time. After a period of practice and certain qualifications, the new eunuch was assigned to serve in various places, basically serving as a servant. Eunuchs who can really get ahead like Li are rare.

Most eunuchs are slaves and servants all their lives, and they are not so beautiful, and their income is very meager. If they are not careful, they may be beaten with rattan or even lose their lives. After old age, the fate of eunuchs is also quite bleak. Those favored children are rich in oil and water, and some of their savings can be adopted by a nephew to support themselves, with a slightly better ending. Eunuchs who have no oil or water will basically live in temples or help each other with several people when they leave the palace. Without a stable source of income, life can be imagined. Because eunuchs are not complete men, they cannot be buried in ancestral graves after death. Eunuchs are generally buried in the eunuch cemetery in the suburbs of Beijing, which is now near the famous Zhongguancun in Beijing.

The situation of maids in Qing dynasty was much better than that of eunuchs, which may be related to the origin of maids in Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty stipulated that the flag bearer could not be a eunuch, but the maid-in-waiting was just the opposite. Not the flag bearer is not qualified to be elected as a maid of honor. Moreover, most of the maids in the Qing dynasty came from the coating of the three flags in the inner government, which is also commonly known as the three flags coating. According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the school-age painted women in Shangsanqi must choose the annual draft of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the winner will enter the palace as a maid of honor. This is the duty of coating! Even the coated daughters, bureaucrats, and commanders-in-chief who are in the frontier will participate in the draft. Once selected, both the general's wife and the governor's daughter must enter the palace to be maids!

In other words, the ladies-in-waiting in the Qing Dynasty were not real servants. Although they are servants in the palace, they may be the daughters of some generals, governors and even college students outside the palace! Of course, there are also the daughters of ordinary coaters. Therefore, in fact, in many TV plays in the Qing Dynasty, eunuchs rarely bullied maids. Why? First of all, the status of maids is higher than that of eunuchs. They are the flag bearers and flag slaves of Emperor Shangsanqi.

Secondly, many ladies-in-waiting are also officials and even senior officials, with deep family background. More importantly, as long as the emperor likes it, the maid-in-waiting may win glory for the emperor at any time, become the woman of the emperor, and then be called the concubine. Even if it is worse, you can mix and promise. That would be the eunuch's master! The famous filial piety empress Wu Yashi and filial piety empress Wei Jiashi are ladies-in-waiting. I would like to ask, which eunuch dares to make fun of his own head and bully maids at will? At most, eunuchs bully palace ladies that the emperor doesn't hate. Even in this case, it is actually rare.

In other words, there is only one main source of maids in the Qing Dynasty, and that is the draft of the Ministry of the Interior! Its subject is a woman painted with three flags. Other small sources are probably what they are, such as Mongolian foreign vassals and dowry at the back of the Ministry, and the number is very small. The famous Sumatra is this type. She is a Mongolian dowry girl and a personal maid of Xiaozhuangwen. In addition, Han women are not eligible to be elected as maids. Among the ladies-in-waiting in the Qing Dynasty, the woman surnamed Han was still a flag bearer, and the so-called Tu Han people were not Han people until the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

So, is the maid voluntary? Obviously, no! This is the duty of the coating, whether you like it or not, you must choose. Once selected, whether you like it or not, you should be a bridesmaid in the palace! But because the maid-in-waiting may be the emperor's lucky star at any time, it is self-evident what it means to the family if she becomes the emperor's woman. Therefore, the ladies-in-waiting in the Qing Dynasty were not so "forced" but almost "semi-voluntary".