Guarding the tomb of Tian Yi [file photo]

Also, in the museum you can view a burial robe of a eunuch. A Chinese explanation states how only an emperor was allowed to wear yellow robes, or robes with an embroidered dragon on. Imperial officials, meanwhile, usually wore dark blue robes. And, they were only allowed to wear a robe with a snake embroidered on it. Dragon and snake motifs were often difficult to tell apart because both animals were show to have claws, but usually the dragon was shown with five claws and the snake with only four claws. But some officials with particularly high positions wore robes with snakes that had five claws.

In another glass case I viewed the chair and walking stick of the last eunuch, Sun Yaoting. There are a couple of his calligraphy paintings, as well as a short biography written by him.

Another glass case displays a wooden model of the ship captained by Zheng He. Zheng He is China’s famed 14th century mariner, explorer and diplomat. He was actually born Ma He. He was castrated at the age of 11 and sent to the Imperial Court after the Ming army crushed a Mongolian rebellion in the Yunnan region where he lived. Once at court, he was named San Bao, meaning Three Jewels. He went on to become a trusted adviser of the Yongle Emperor, assisting him in toppling his predecessor. In return for his services, the eunuch received the name Zheng He.

Zheng He went on to make great voyages through South Asia, as well as to East Africa. He is credited with the development of Islam in Indonesia and Malaya.

Around the walls of the museum you can also see the faces of some famous eunuchs, as well as read about them. The explanation is written only in Chinese, so if you do not read Chinese you may want to come here with a Chinese friend who can explain it all to you. One of my biggest surprises was to discover that Cai Lun, the inventor of paper, was also a eunuch. Cai Lun was born in 50 AD and served under the Emperor He of Han. At the age of 55, Cai Lun invented the composition of what we recognize today as paper and he also invented the papermaking process. In ancient times writing was generally done on tablets of bamboo or special silks, all of which were very heavy to carry and difficult to store. Therefore, Cai Lun’s invention was a significant turning point for Chinese civilization. The technology we use today to make paper may be more complex than what Cai Lun invented, but they still utilize his papermaking process.

Cai Lun’s invention earned him great wealth and an aristocratic title, but in the year 121 Emperor An of Han assumed power and he ordered Cai Lun to report to prison. Cai Lun failed to report and instead he committed suicide. He committed suicide by drinking poison after taking a bath and dressing in fine silk robes. Cai Lun, however, went on to be revered in ancestor worship and a temple was even built in his honour in Chengdu.

But it would take many more centuries before paper was introduced to Europe. In fact, it was only after Chinese papermakers were captured by Arabs in the 8th century Battle of the Talas that papermaking knowledge started to spread westwards. Paper was first introduced to Europe in the 12th century, and therefore we have a eunuch to thank for one of the world’s most important inventions.

(CRI December 3, 2009)