Posted by admin | Posted in Books | Posted on 14-04-2011
Tags: bookstopurchase, cauldron chronicles, children, chroniclesofprydain, literature, prydain_chronicles
Story Of Three Chinese Eunuchs
What makes a man a man? No, not that. That only makes him a male monkey. No, being a real man lies in manly actions no other be-testicled animal would undertake. The male essence is exalted in acts of courage, innovation. That same essence clouds when it turns into failed ambition. Although deprived of their reproductive organs, all of the following Chinese men were indisputably male in deed, reminding us that we make far too much of our bodies, and little if anything of our spirits.
Think bravery springs from twin glands, do you? Zheng He no doubt knew gut-bursting fear when the Chinese army routed his Muslim village in Yunnan and kidnapped him. If a father’s operation on his son to give him a career as a eunuch was gory (see below), one can only shudder at the cruel efficiency young Ma He suffered at his prison camp emasculation. Although his father had been to Mecca, and taken the name Ma to serve Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, Ma He became court eunuch to Prince Zhu Di, fourth son of the Chinese emperor.
Not content to placidly stand watch over a harem holding a fan, or mince about intriguing behind screens, Ma He grew skilled in all arts of war. Extraordinarily comfortable in the saddle (coincidence?), he survived having his horse shot out from under him, leading the Prince to rename him Zheng He, after the besieged city where he nearly lost his life.
Ah, but the combination of mastery and vision to be granted charge of the emperor’s fleet, for not one but seven journeys to lands all but fabled. That’s true manliness. For his orders, sang out in alto-soprano though they were, carried out to floating cities – from 50 to 100 ships, some given to horses, other supplies, yet others trade goods.
He was making embassy in East Africa at the same time Prince Henry was nosing around the north coast. More than once he fought Sumatran pirates half the way home, and wound up capturing the leader and bringing him to justice at the Nanjing capital, and earned the ultra-ironic nickname San Bao, Three Jewels. Captain of a fleet. Explorer extraordinaire. Swashbuckler. A man with gonads could do no more.
Footnote: Was Zheng He truly 7 feet tall, as accounts claim? Castration of a pre-adolescent can cause abnormal bone growth (do not click link within an hour of eating.)
Boys, like monkeys, can chatter and swagger, but men get things done. And great men find even better ways to get them done. Imagine the trouble Eastern Han government officials, chroniclers, and poets went to in order to share info – scratching on heavy bamboo slats, dabbing paint on costly silk. In 105CE, Cai Lun had an audience with Emperor He and revealed a wonder.
First, he mixed the bark of mulberry trees, hemp leaves, and cloth rags in a cauldron of water. He pounded and stirred them, before straining the mixture onto coarse cloth. The concoction dried and flattened into a thin matted sheet of fibers far more suitable for writing on and carrying around than anything the world had known, at least the world where papyrus didn’t grow.
His discovery was the crowning touch to a long career of crafting and innovating. Introduced to the court as a eunuch, Cai Lun was nonetheless promoted to chief weapons manufacturer. How wistfully he must have surveyed his newly forged cannon balls, a sturdy battering ram. Still and all, he displayed the responsibility and craftsmanship of any man with full jockey shorts.
About the Author
To read the rest of this story visit Chinaexpat.com, which is written for expats living in China. The site is contributed to by many expats, including Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Josh Gartner and Graham Thompson. Chris Devonshire-Ellis also writes for 2point6billion.com and China-Briefing.com.
Coin Chronicles Ep. 8 – In the cauldron boil and bake…
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