And you thought your life sucked…
For centuries in China, the only men from outside the imperial family who were allowed into the Forbidden City’s private quarters were castrated ones. They effectively swapped their reproductive organs for a hope of exclusive access to the emperor that made some into rich and influential politicians.
Sun’s impoverished family set him on this painful, risky path in hopes that he might one day be able to crush a bullying village landlord who stole their fields and burned their house.
His desperate father performed the castration on the bed of their mud-walled home, with no anaesthetic and only oil-soaked paper as a bandage. A goose quill was inserted in Sun’s urethra to prevent it getting blocked as the wound healed.
He was unconscious for three days and could barely move for two months. When he finally rose from his bed, history played the first of a series of cruel tricks on him – he discovered the emperor he hoped to serve had abdicated several weeks earlier.
Lets face it, having your balls cut off without anaesthetic and waking up from the pain 3 days later to discover it was not, in fact, going to put you on the path to riches and power would really ruin your day.
The moral of the story: do your research before committing to a big, life changing project!
On the upside, the rest of us can now feel a bit better about our lives – things could alwasy be worse. 
Comments on: "China’s last eunuch" (1)
poor guy.