What is torture?

After Sima Qian went to prison, the case fell into the hands of Du Zhou, a notorious cruel official at that time. Du Zhou tortured Sima Qian, and Sima Qian endured all kinds of cruel physical and mental torture.

In ancient China, the origin of castration was quite long. There is evidence that there was the consciousness and behavior of castrating male genitalia at the latest in Yin and Shang Dynasties. At that time, castration may have cut off the penis and testicles at the same time The castration technology in Qin and Han dynasties was relatively complete, so pay attention to the nursing measures such as windproof, warmth and rest after castration. At that time, the place where castration was performed was called the "Silkworm House". In the biography of Han * Zhang Anshi, Yan Shigu noted: "Anyone who raises silkworms wants it to be warm and early, so hiding fire is a secret room." The new corruption punishment is also a stroke, which needs to be completed in the secret room, because it is called silkworm room ear. "Roughly the same explanation can be found in Li Xian's note about the history of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty. The so-called "eunuch is afraid of the wind and needs to be warm, so he can store fire as a silkworm house, named after its name." "

Cleanliness needs to choose the right season, preferably late spring and early summer. The temperature is not high or low, and there are no flies and mosquitoes, because the lower body can't wear clothes for about a month after surgery. Before the operation, people who clean themselves need to go through the necessary procedures, the key of which is to conclude a life and death document, and invite three seniors and four schoolmates as referees to declare their willingness to clean themselves, regardless of life and death, so as to avoid future troubles and lawsuits. Of course, there is a charge, but most of the clean bodies are from poor families, and they may not get a lot of money for a while, and then make friends year after year after they get rich in the palace. These also need to be clearly written in the document. But there are two things you must bring. One is a gift for the knife maker, usually a pig's head or chicken, plus a bottle of wine. Second, the items used in the operation include 30 kilograms of rice, several baskets of corn cob, several loads of sesame stalks and half a knife of enough paper. Among them, rice is a month's ration for clean people, corn cobs are used for heating, sesame stalks are burned to ashes and then put on the kang, and window paper is used to paste the windows to avoid catching the wind after the operation. Knife maker should prepare two fresh pig gall, stinky hemp soup and straw. Pig bile has the function of reducing swelling and relieving pain, and is applied to the wound after operation; Smelly hemp soup has many functions. Drinking a bowl before operation is confusing and plays an anesthetic role. Drinking after operation can make the operator diarrhea, thus reducing the urine excretion and ensuring the success of the operation. The function of straw is self-evident, that is, it is inserted into urethra after operation.

During the operation, in addition to the surgeon, three or four assistants are generally needed. Castrated people need to lie on their backs in a semi-recumbent position. Several assistants tied and fixed his lower abdomen and upper thigh with white cloth, and then someone was responsible for holding down his waist and abdomen, while others cleaned and disinfected the castrated part with "Chili soup". The scalpel for castration is a sickle-shaped curved sharp blade. It is said that it is made of gold and copper alloy, which can prevent postoperative infection. However, there is usually no special disinfection measures when using it. It is sterilized by baking on a fire. After all this is done, the surgeon cuts off the castrated penis and scrotum with a sickle-shaped curved blade, usually in two steps:

The first step is to cut the testicles. Cut a deep hole in the left and right sides of the balloon, cut the tendon and squeeze out the testicles. This requires the eunuch to straighten his body and bulge his stomach. The testicles will be squeezed out with all their strength, and the knife maker will stick a pig gall on the left and right sides of the balloon.

Step two, cut the penis. This requires quite high technology. If you cut it shallow, you will leave more potential. In the future, the fragile bones inside will bulge out, so we must make up the second knife, which is commonly known as "brushing stubble" in the palace. If cut deeply, it will collapse after healing in the future, forming a pit shape, and it will be fan-shaped when urinating, which will make life inconvenient. Nine out of ten eunuchs in the palace have the problem of urine crotch, which is the sequela of castration. After the penis is cut off, a barley straw should be inserted, and the other pig gall should be split and applied to the wound in a butterfly shape. It is said that some people also insert a suppository-shaped pewter needle into the urethra and cover the wound with paper soaked in cold water. This is probably the technical difference between different cleaning sites.

After the operation, the castrated person must walk indoors for two to three hours with the help of one person, and then he can rest on his back. Three days after the operation is the hardest time for the castration. During these three days, they were lying on the special door panel, their hands and legs were firmly tied by locks, and they could not move at all. The main purpose is to avoid contact with the wound to avoid infection. There is also a small hole with a trap in the middle of the door panel to facilitate defecation. At that time, there was no good analgesic and anti-inflammatory means. In order to avoid wound infection, it is forbidden to drink water, which is an abnormal pain. After three days, you can urinate by pulling out the gray needle or straw, and the operation is successful. However, the suffering is not over yet, and the most important thing is to pat your legs. Every time you slap, your heart is broken, your liver is broken, and your whole body is shaking, but castration is necessary, otherwise it may lead to rickets, and you can't stand up straight all your life, so you can only endure this severe pain. The aftercare period will take about 100 days.

Every castrated man has experienced painful torture without exception. This process is so cruel and painful that castrated people will remember it all their lives. Ma Deqing, a eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty, recalled in his later years:

At that time, there were no anesthetics, no needles, no hemostatic drugs, etc ... How painful it would be for a lively child to press there and cut his deadly organs off him! One pulse leads to the heart, and I feel so distressed that I almost jumped out of my mouth ... After the operation, I must insert a tube in the urethra, otherwise, the granulation will be necrotic and the urine will not be discharged. I have to have a second operation. Later, people who know this method said that after cutting that thing, the wound can't scar quickly ... so change the medicine frequently. Honestly, where is medicine? It's just cotton paper coated with Bai La, sesame oil and pepper. It hurts like hell every time I change my dressing.

The cut penis is called a "treasure". Under normal circumstances, the knife maker does hide it like a "treasure", but the washed person has no right to retrieve it. After knife processing, "Bao" will usually be put into "Sheng", wrapped in red cloth and carefully placed in a high place indoors, which means promoting to a higher position and making a fortune, so as to wish honest people good luck in the future and promotion step by step. When the pure man becomes rich and redeems his "treasure", the knife maker can take the opportunity to measure the money and ask for it. Redemption of one's own property was called "the return of flesh and blood" by eunuchs. For them, this is the biggest happy event in their lives, and the ceremony is very grand, just like marrying a bride. There are also cases in which the family members of the clean body are preserved. In the past, the poor families in rural areas were nothing more than beams, so they were hung on beams and raised every year to wish their children a "step by step promotion" in the palace.

There are three reasons for keeping the "treasure": First, check the eunuch when he is promoted to prove his identity, which is usually called "treasure-hunting"; Second, after the death of eunuchs in the future, they should put the "treasure" in a coffin and bury it together, because eunuchs hope to restore the true colors to men when they go to another world or are reincarnated; Thirdly, in the tradition of China, there is a concept that parents are deeply influenced by their bodies. Eunuchs, as survivors of punishment, are unfilial, and they are even more unfilial because they cannot carry on the family line. Therefore, it is also a kind of psychological compensation to keep the "treasure" and bury it with the coffin after death.

In particular, it should be pointed out that although castration is a necessary prerequisite for becoming a eunuch, not everyone who has been castrated can successfully enter the DPRK, and there have been strict selection systems and procedures throughout the dynasties. However, regardless of whether he entered the imperial court or not, the castrated person began a completely different life. Because of this, they generally believe that all the joys and sorrows of life begin from the date of castration, which becomes their new birthday, and the future fortune-telling is also based on heavenly stems and earthly branches, who was castrated.

The castration process is quite cruel, and the castrated person will be in a coma for a long time because of excessive blood loss or too much pain. The measure to stop bleeding and diminish inflammation is also very simple, that is, "treat with ash and fire". The second is to cut the scrotum with a sharp knife and peel off the testicles. Obviously, this method of castration does not need to completely remove the reproductive organs, but it can also achieve the goal. Hong Mai recorded this method in Volume 8 of Jian Yizhi. According to another record, there were so-called "binding method" and "kneading method" in ancient times. The former is that when a boy is young, he is tied to death with hemp rope from the root of the "testicle" of the genitals. Although it does not affect urination, it hinders the normal development of genitals. Over time, the boy's genitals will lose their function. The latter was when the boy was young, and a man who knew this way gently pinched his testicles every day. After getting used to it, he will increase the strength of his hands until his testicles are crushed. However, if the testicles are cut off or crushed, if they have developed, although insemination can be completely avoided, their sexual desire and ability to fornicate with the court will still exist for a certain period of time, and some people will even be stronger and more lasting. Therefore, eunuchs in ancient times all cut off their genitals by "doing everything possible".