Why were eunuchs in ancient times afraid of serving concubines in bathing?

The emperor's harem had thousands of concubines, so the number of servants could not be too small. Not only did a large number of servants were needed, the work in the palace was not easy. Therefore, the court would recruit more physically strong men to do the heavy work.

However, to prevent men from entering the harem and causing wrongdoings, the court thought of recruiting eunuchs. Eunuchs were men who underwent a process of castration with the purpose of being brought into the palace to serve.

After being castrated, eunuchs could take on tasks that required men's strength, including serving concubines. Even tasks like being on duty while the concubines bathed required eunuchs to take on. A seemingly easy task, but for eunuchs, it was torture.

Eunuchs were recruited into the palace to do heavy work that required strength. (Photo: Sohu)

Sun Yaoting, the last eunuch of feudal China, answered this question. According to Sun Yaoting, there were several reasons why eunuchs feared serving concubines in their baths.

Firstly , this was extremely hard work. Ancient concubines often bathed late at night, at least an hour after dinner. Their bathing process was also very complicated.

In ancient times, there was no electricity or natural gas, so eunuchs had to take turns carrying water to the tub. They had to alternately add hot and cold water until the right temperature was reached. Then they had to prepare the necessary items for the concubines. Other eunuchs had to pay attention to the water temperature. It took four eunuchs to serve each concubine while she bathed.

During the bath, the eunuchs had to constantly add water to ensure that the water did not get cold. In addition, if the eunuchs accidentally changed the water temperature to their master’s liking, they would be severely punished. Furthermore, many concubines required perfumes in the bath to create a scent that would attract the emperor. However, if the eunuchs did not prepare it in time that day, they risked being punished.

For eunuchs, serving concubines while bathing was no different from torture. (Photo: Sohu)

It was recorded in ancient history books that Empress Dowager Cixi was the most demanding when it came to bathing. She required bathing every day. The palace maids and eunuchs had to prepare 4 hours before she went to bathe. Each time she bathed, they had to prepare 100 towels divided into 4 piles, each pile containing 25 towels. Each towel needed to be washed and used differently.

The Empress Dowager also used two different bathtubs. One for her upper body, one for her lower body. The Empress Dowager also requested a rotating chair. While bathing, she could lie down on the chair and rest while the palace maids and eunuchs massaged her body.

Second , bathing the concubines was a form of mental torture. According to Sun Yaoding, he suffered great humiliation while serving Empress Wanrong, the last empress of the Qing Dynasty. Every time the empress bathed, the eunuchs and maids had to kneel on the ground, not raising their heads to massage her.

Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)

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