Running away from the Palace

Abstract

The abundance of cases in the historical record of palace eunuchs running away, often repeatedly, reflects poorly on the imperial court’s treatment of its eunuchs and effectiveness at times in controlling its eunuch population. The repeated flight of eunuchs suggests that, for some, the possibility of punishment was preferable to continued service and waiting for an authorized exit from the system due to old age or sickness. Cases of runaway eunuchs reveal: (1) the tensions that characterized labor relations between the imperial household and its eunuch workforce and (2) that eunuch status does not fit neatly into the binary of free or unfree, it is something more complicated that lies on the continuum in between.