What are the ancient eunuchs?

Castration is a kind of torture used to destroy reproductive function in ancient times, ranking among the "five punishments". It is generally believed that castration is a patent for persecuting and humiliating men, but it is not. In ancient times, many women, especially those who committed adultery, also suffered from castration in many cases. There are many kinds of female castration, which can be roughly divided into five types.

First, suture the vagina. Sewing vulva, also known as locking vulva, is to sew up a woman's vulva with a needle and thread. This kind of castration, because it is extremely despicable and obscene, is generally not used in officialdom, but it is very popular among the people. Husbands are willing to use this method to deal with wives who have an affair with their husbands, while jealous women deal with handmaids who have an affair with their husbands. In "Jane Xuan Ji" written by Chu people, there are similar records, such as "pouring garlic in the shadow of a servant girl and sealing it with a rope" and "locking it with a cone and throwing the key in the well". It is said that there is an ancient building "Sewing Yin Lou" in Bozhou, Anhui Province. This strange name probably comes from this kind of folk punishment.

Second, claustrophobia. Wang, a man of Amin Dynasty, mentioned the operation of this method in the suicide note of Jieshi: "When you hit a woman's chest and abdomen with a mallet, something falls and closes her door, so you can only urinate, and human nature will be abolished forever", which is commonly called "claustrophobia". As for what organ is lost, some people think it is the uterus and some people think it is the anterior wall of vagina, but neither of these two kinds of prolapse can fundamentally cut off sexual intercourse. In this respect, Wu Zhou of A Qing Dynasty has a unique view. He said that there is a small bone deep in a woman's vagina called "shame bone". Once an external force is applied to make it fall, it will seal the vagina like a gate and prevent sexual intercourse, thus achieving the purpose of punishing women.

Third, ride a donkey. The wooden donkey is not a toy, but a castration that is more lethal than sewing yin and claustrophobia. Suturing and blocking the vagina won't kill him, but riding a donkey will kill him. A horizontally placed pommel horse car stands out with a wooden bamboo shoot (symbolizing donkey ball) that is more than feet long and inches in diameter. The punished woman sat on the pommel horse. As soon as the car was pushed, the following equipment exerted force, which linked the bamboo shoots to expand and contract up and down. Most of the female prisoners who were punished were crushed by hard bamboo shoots, and most of them were dying. Wang Po in Water Margin had the experience of riding a wooden donkey after being fined.

Fourth, dig yin. Digging yin, as the name implies, is digging genitals. Men cut off their genitals and stay in the "silkworm room" for a month, and they are cured; Female genitals were dug out, involving many important organs in the body. Under the backward medical conditions in ancient times, this punishment was extremely cruel, and the punished women often died of excessive bleeding. In addition, Wang Fuzhi also said in the Book of Knowledge that "the tendon of a horse is removed, such as making a horse's bow, so that the desire will be removed." This method is less destructive and more complicated to operate. I'm afraid it can't be done without the skill of "knowing cows".

Fifth, the method of understanding. Qiao, also known as Dao or Dao, originally meant to tie the wooden legs of livestock. According to Shuowen, it was interpreted as "chopping with a stick". "Qiao" should refer to women's nakedness. It is this kind of wooden lip that destroys female genitals, and its vicious degree can be imagined. During the reign of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, Liu Qu, the king of Guang Chuan, and Zhao Xin, his queen Yangcheng, killed Wang Qing, the king of Jirentao. Wang Qing was forced to throw himself into the well. Zhao Xin didn't feel wronged, but also let people fish out her body and "stand in the shade." Even so, for the dead, if used on the living, its cruelty is no less than castration of men.

Castration ranks second among the "five punishments", second only to the beheading of the "great monarch". Since ancient times, people have attached great importance to the value of genitalia, which is the "second life" after the head. The destruction of genitals, whether physical, psychological or spiritual, will cause a great blow to prisoners. In particular, women are "palace", with novel design, various names, bizarre techniques and bloody scenes, which can not only reflect the development of ancient punishment and the disadvantages of feudal system, but also expose the dark thoughts and abnormal psychology of executioners. These deliberate and rogue female castration methods fully reflect the inhuman destruction of women by the patriarchal society.