The Fall of the Body (A Brief History of the Imperial Eunuchs)

Author: Ma Mo Shang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: As one of the most active political forces in history, eunuchs have led to the decline of at least four prosperous dynasties—Qin, Eastern Han, Tang, and Ming—so we cannot overlook them in politics. The purpose of castration is to subdue sexuality, but eunuchs are not truly sexless; they each have their own ways of expressing sexuality, so we need to understand them physiologically. While physical eunuchs have largely withdrawn from the historical stage, spiritual eunuchs remain active—essentially, we have never stopped being spiritually castrated. If physical castration is merely a technique involving a blade, then spiritual castration is far more intricate—families, nations, and even institutions are like delicate castration machines. The fundamental characteristics of modern society—consumption, globalization, replication, and standardization—are all metaphors of castration.