Female Eunuchs Existed in Ancient Times! The 'Castration' of Women Was 'More Torturous Than Childbirth' – Few Could Survive This Hell on Earth

Many people, when watching historical court dramas, have become accustomed to the male eunuchs who serve the royal family, moving between the palaces. However, when we look at the true history of the ancient imperial court, there was also a heartbreaking past of 'female eunuchs' within the harem. Compared to male eunuchs, who often wielded power and even accumulated considerable wealth on the historical stage, these women, forced into the deep palace, experienced physical devastation and a tumultuous fate, painting a cruel elegy for ancient women under the patriarchal system.

What is the 'Confinement' Punishment? Tied Up, Beaten in the Abdomen with a Thick Club Until the Uterus Falls Out

When mentioning the castration process of ancient eunuchs, most people think of the surgical removal of male genitalia. However, the punishment inflicted on women was called 'confinement' (youbi), and the brutality of its execution, as recorded in historical texts, is chilling. This was not an ordinary surgical procedure but an extremely violent physical destruction carried out by specialized personnel.

During the execution, the woman's limbs were firmly tied to a post, rendering her immobile. Her mouth was stuffed with anesthetic drugs to prevent her from biting her tongue. Then, the executioner would use a thick wooden club to deliver violent, continuous blows to her lower abdomen until the uterus inside her body was severely damaged, dislodged, and displaced. In an environment severely lacking modern medical equipment and concepts of disinfection, the wounds were only sutured with rough thread and covered with plant ash to stop bleeding. Many of the punished women died on the spot from severe internal organ rupture, massive hemorrhage, or acute wound infection. Even those who gritted their teeth and survived the ordeal were left with severe, lifelong pain and illness.

A Poisonous Plot by Jealous Concubines? Stripping Fertility to Secure Status

The reason such a cruel method of confinement evolved for women in ancient times is deeply rooted in the intrigues and power struggles within the imperial harem. In an environment where a mother's status depended on her son, offspring were the core asset for wielding power and winning favor. According to legend, this horrific method of disabling women was initially a cruel conspiracy secretly planned and promoted by some concubines to consolidate their exclusive position in the palace and prevent the maids serving them from gaining the emperor's favor and bearing imperial sons.

By violently destroying the women's uterine function, these maids would forever lose the ability to conceive and bear children. Even if the emperor later took a temporary fancy to them, they could never threaten the status and authority of their mistresses. Thus, healthy, living women became victims of the calculations of palace power struggles, stripped of their complete physiological structure in extreme pain.

Male Eunuchs Could Marry and Take Concubines! Female Eunuchs Lost Fertility and Faced a Lonely, Miserable Fate

Looking back at ancient history, the living conditions of male eunuchs showed a stark contrast. Since ancient laws did not strictly prohibit eunuchs from starting families, many senior eunuchs who had accumulated deep experience and wealth in the court could not only form 'dui shi' (pair dining) relationships with favored palace maids, secretly becoming partners and sharing meals, but some, after leaving the palace in their old age and purchasing property, even took many wives, concubines, and male lovers. Although these male eunuchs often had distorted personalities due to their physical disability and long-term oppression by their masters, and would vent their negative emotions on their partners, at least in terms of material life and social interaction, some powerful eunuchs could still enjoy generous treatment.

In contrast, the fate of female eunuchs was destined to be thoroughly difficult. In a traditional social structure that valued male superiority over female inferiority and the continuation of clan bloodlines, women who could not bear children already endured immense social discrimination. These female eunuchs, rendered permanently infertile by the confinement torture, held an extremely low status in the harem, at the mercy of others. Even if they later had the opportunity to leave the palace and return to civilian life, under the reality of having no offspring and a broken body, it was nearly impossible for them to find a suitable marriage partner or a family home in secular society. The rest of their lives were spent in prolonged loneliness and the cold stares of society.

Source: Sohu.com