Why "when serving a noble lady, the sole must be hidden with xanthium"?

There was a popular joke before, that is, the day after Jing's death, the Qing Dynasty was subjugated. Although it was a joke, there was a eunuch who had a similar experience in history. He was the last eunuch in the Qing Dynasty, Sun Yaoting.

In order to ensure the tranquility of the harem and the purity of the royal family, the ancient emperors castrated male servants and produced eunuchs. Although eunuchs are similar to normal men in appearance, they have lost the function of breeding children after all. Therefore, only extremely poor families will let their children be eunuchs.

In the late Qing Dynasty, Sun Yaoting's family was a poor peasant. Forced to make a living, Sun Yaoting's father decided to let his children go to the palace clean, so that they could make a living without starving, and if they got along well, they could support the Sun family.

In this way, Sun Yaoting was cut off by his father and became a eunuch. It is said that due to lack of experience at that time, improper operation almost killed Sun Yaoting. However, I didn't expect Sun Yaoting to die, but he survived.

At the beginning of Sun Yaoting's cleansing, eunuchs were almost no longer accepted in the palace. After many connections, he entered the Forbidden City. However, it is already the Republic of China, and Puyi in the Forbidden City is already in position? Mini version? The emperor. In this way, Sun Yaoting began to serve Wanrong in the palace.

About putting Xanthium sibiricum in shoes is recorded in Sun Yaoting's autobiography The Last Eunuch in China. Since eunuchs serve people, the masters have a rest at night, and they have to be busy there, so there is no need to stop. After all, people are flesh and blood, and it is inevitable that they will be sleepy, and once they take a nap, they will be punished.

In order to stay awake, the eunuchs came up with a way, that is, picking some xanthium and putting it in their shoes. Because Xanthium sibiricum takes the place of thorns, it will stick to your feet if you are not careful, so that people's energy will be highly concentrated and they will not be sleepy. Moreover, even if you are sleepy, you will wake up after your feet are pricked.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the royal family had already gone, but it was still so arrogant and enslaved the palace maids and eunuchs, which was really irritating and hateful. This story told by Sun Yaoting is precisely the exposure and criticism of this phenomenon.