Ep. 271 | Eunuchs in China (Part 5)

In this penultimate episode of the Eunuchs series, we finally make it to the Qing Dynasty.  After everything that transpired during the Ming, the Qing is tame by those standards.  From Dorgon to Daoguang things were pretty tame in the Qing. But once Empress Dowager Cixi grabs hold of the reigns of power, she allows her eunuchs, most notably An Dehai and Li Lianying, to do their worst. We’ll finish off next episode with the tale of The Last Eunuch and clean up loose ends.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Shāng	商朝	China's earliest dynasty where written records exist, 1000 BCE to 1046 BCE.
Hàn	漢朝	Chinese dynasty founded by Liu Bang that ran from 202 BCE to 220 CE with a brief interval when Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty ruled
Táng	唐朝	Chinese dynasty from 618 to 907 with a brief interval for Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty
Míng	明朝	Chinese dynasty that ran from 1368 to 1644
Aisin Gioro	愛新覺羅	The clan name of the founding ruler of the Qing Dynasty. All Qing emperors had this Aisin Gioro surname
Wāng Zhí	汪直	Ming Dynasty eunuch, one of the Four Eunuch Dictators. Did his mischief during the time of the Chenghua Emperor
Liú Jǐn	刘瑾	1451-1510, very powerful eunuch dictator and leader of the so-called Eight Tigers. He climbed to the top on the back of the Zhengde Emperor
Wèi Zhōngxián	魏忠贤	1568-1627, Chief Eunuch during the Ming Tianqi Emperor
Chóngzhēn	崇祯帝	The final emperor of the Ming Dynasty, reigning 1627-1644
Shùnzhì	顺治帝	Second emperor of the Qing Dynasty, reigning 1643-1661
Kāngxī	康熙帝	Longest ever reigning Chinese emperor, from 1661-1722
Hóngwǔ	洪武帝	A.K.A. Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋, founder of the Ming Dynasty
Yōngzhèng	雍正帝	Qing emperor from 1722-1735
Dàoguāng	道光帝	Qing Emperor 1820-1850
Xiánfēng	咸丰帝	Qing emperor from 1850-1861
Cíxǐ / Yehe Nara (Yehonala) Xìngzhēn	慈禧太后 / 葉赫那拉 杏貞	Lived 1835 to 1908. Grand Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, mother of the Tongzhi Emperor
Tóngzhì	同治帝	Qing Emperor 1861 to 1875
Guāngxù	光绪帝	Qing Emperor from 1875 to 1908
Pǔyí	溥仪帝	The Last Qing Emperor, 1908-1911
Ān Déhǎi	安德海	Qing eunuch who lived 1844 to 1869. He was the Empress Dowager's favorite
Lǐ Liányīng	李莲英	Qing eunuch who lived 1848-1911. Another of Cixi's favorites
Qīngcháo Mònián	清朝末年	The last years of the Qing Dynasty
Qiánlóng	乾隆帝	Long reigning Qing Emperor (some may say too long) from 1733-1796
Dāozǐjiàng	刀子匠	A "knifer", someone skilled in castrating males, a must for all eunuchs
Chǎngzǐ	厂子	A "Shed" where the Daozijiang operated out of
Hútong	胡同	a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing.
Dāozǐ	刀子	A knife
Jiàng	匠	A skilled craftsman
Bǎo	宝	The "Treasure", the male genitalia, preserved in a kind of package
Gōng Qīnwáng	恭亲王	Prince Gong, son of the Dàoguāng Emperor and half brother to the Xiánfēng Emperor. Sometimes ally of Cixi
Xīnyǒu Zhèngbiàn	辛酉政变	November 1861 Xinyou Coup, The palace coup that followed the death of the Xiánfēng emperor where Cíxǐ was able to seize power from her political enemies, the so-called Eight Regents
Húnán	湖南省	A province in central China
Zēng Guófān	曾国藩	1811-1872, a major military and political figure in 19h century China. Organized and led the Xiang Jun 湘军 Hunan Army
Zàiyuán Conspiracy	载垣	Another term for the Xinyou Coup of 1861 in which Cixi overthrew the Eight Regents. Zaiyuan was one of the Eight.
Róng Lù	荣禄	1836-1903, a major political and militarty figure during the late Qing. A close ally of the Empress Dowager Cixi
Shāndōng	山东省	Coastal province in northern China
Dīng Bǎozhēn	丁宝桢	1820-1886, One time governor of Sichuan. He's the guy from which we get Kung Bao Chicken. Prior to serving in Sichuan, he was in charge of Shandong
Cí’ān	慈安太后	the Co-Regent Empress Dowager. She was the empress of the Xianfeng Emperor
Tài’ān	泰安	Prefecture level city in Western Shandong.
Zámen	咱们	We or Us (including the speaker and the person or persons addressed)
Yuán Shìkǎi	袁世凯	1859-1916, major military figure in late 19th early 20th century China. Served as President of the Republic of China and a number of other high offices
Sūn Yàotíng	孙耀庭	Qing dynasty eunuch whop we will look at in Part 6.

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