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Castration
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===China=== According to legend, during the reign of the legendary Emperor Shun and Yu in China, in 2281 BC, castration was passed into law as a punishment, remaining so until the reign of [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Gaozu of Tang]] (618–626 AD). However, it was still practiced after his reign.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chronologicalha00fabegoog|quote=the five punishments are adopted branding cutting off the nose feet castration and death emperor wen kao tsu.|title=Chronological handbook of the history of China: a manuscript left by the late Rev. Ernst Faber|author=Ernst Faber|year=1902|publisher=Pub. by the General Evangelical Protestant missionary society of Germany| page= [https://archive.org/details/chronologicalha00fabegoog/page/n29 3]|access-date=11 January 2011}}</ref> According to historians, it was incorporated into Chinese law during the Zhou dynasty.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/chinainlighthis00fabegoog|quote=china chow dynasty 1100 imperial castration was one of the five legal corporal punishments.|title=China in the light of history| first= Ernst |last= Faber|year=1897|publisher=American Presbyterian mission press| page= [https://archive.org/details/chinainlighthis00fabegoog/page/n28 18]|access-date=11 January 2011}}</ref> It was one of the five physical punishments that could be legally inflicted on criminals in China.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5phBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406|title=Cyclopaedia of political science, political economy, and of the political history of the United States, Volume 1| first= John Joseph | last= Lalor|year=1882|publisher= Rand, McNally|page=406|isbn=9780598866110}}</ref> Records of castrations in China date to the [[Shang dynasty]] ({{circa|1700}}–1050 BC), when the Shang kings castrated prisoners of war.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=S3Y2PTI_vYYC&pg=PA136|title=Children in slavery through the ages|author1=Gwyn Campbell |author2=Suzanne Miers |author3=Joseph Calder Miller |year=2009|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-0-8214-1877-2|page=136}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&pg=PA11|title=The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty|author=Shih-shan Henry Tsai|year=1996|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0-7914-2687-4|page=11 |via= Google Books}}</ref> During the reign of [[King Mu of Zhou|Mu]] of the [[Zhou dynasty]] (10th c. BC) the Minister of Crime, Marquis Lu, reformed the law in 950 BC to make it easier for people to be sentenced to castration instead of death.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/details/chinachineseill01werngoog|quote=castration capital avoid.|title=China of the Chinese|author=Edward Theodore Chalmers Werner|year=1919|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons| page= [https://archive.org/details/chinachineseill01werngoog/page/n182 146]}}</ref> As long as the practice existed in China, not only were the testicles removed but castration included the severing of one's entire genitalia. Both organs were cut off with a knife at the same time.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=S3Y2PTI_vYYC|title=Children in slavery through the ages|author1=Gwyn Campbell |author2=Suzanne Miers |author3=Joseph Calder Miller |year=2009|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-0-8214-1877-2|page=138 |via= Google Books}}</ref> Men were castrated and made into state slaves during the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206 BC) to perform forced labor for projects such as the [[Terracotta Army]].<ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V6U2AQAAIAAJ| title=Qin Shihuang | first=| last= |year= 2001|publisher=Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege|isbn=3-87490-711-2|page=273 |via= Google Books}}</ref> The Qin government confiscated the property and enslaved the families of rapists who received castration as a punishment.<ref>{{cite book|title=The early Chinese empires: Qin and Han| first=Mark Edward | last= Lewis|year=2007|publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn= 978-0-674-02477-9|page=252|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHKxM31e408C&pg=PA252 |via= Google Books}}</ref> Men punished with castration during the [[Han dynasty]] were also used as slave labor.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8IktAAAAIAAJ|title=Osiris, Volume 10|author=History of Science Society|year=1952|publisher=Saint Catherine Press|page=144 |via= Google Books}}</ref> In the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), castration continued to be used as a punishment for various offences.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A1nwvKNPMWkC&pg=PA75|title=The History of China| publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing, The Rosen Publishing Group| year= 2010| isbn=978-1-61530-181-2|page=76 |via= Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |via= Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NhkRAAAAYAAJ&q=castration|title=Women in traditional Chinese theater: the heroine's play|author=Qian Ma|year= 2005|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=0-7618-3217-3|page=149}}</ref> Chinese historian [[Sima Qian]] was castrated by order of the Han Emperor of China for dissent.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/chinachineseill01werngoog|quote=castration inflicted li ling.|title=China of the Chinese|author=Edward Theodore Chalmers Werner|year=1919|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons| page= [https://archive.org/details/chinachineseill01werngoog/page/n188 152] | via= archive.org}}</ref> In another incident multiple people, including a chief scribe and his underlings, were subjected to castration.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLbsTKaO6v0C&pg=PA231|title=The Grand Scribe's Records: The Memoirs of Han China, Part 1 |via= Google Books |author=Ch'ien Ssu-Ma|year=2008|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-34028-3|page=231}}</ref> During the early part of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644 AD), China demanded eunuchs to be sent as tribute from [[Korea]]. Some of them oversaw the Korean concubines in the harem of the Chinese Emperor.<ref>{{Cite book |via= Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tyhT9SZRLS8C&pg=PA301|title=The Cambridge history of China: The Ming dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1|author1=Frederick W. Mote |author2=Denis Twitchett |author3=John King Fairbank |year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=976|isbn=0-521-24332-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |via= Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&pg=PA14|title=The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty|author=Shih-shan Henry Tsai|year=1996|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0-7914-2687-4|page=16}}</ref> When the Chinese overthrew Mongol rule, many Mongol captives were castrated and turned into eunuchs.<ref>{{cite book| via= Google Books| url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-asian-history_1991_25_1|url-access=registration|title=Journal of Asian history, Volume 25|year=1991 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |page= [https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-asian-history_1991_25_1/page/127 127] }}</ref> When the Ming army finally captured [[Yunnan]] from Mongols in 1382, thousands of prisoners were killed and, according to the custom in times of war, their young sons—including [[Zheng He]]—were castrated.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/books/chapters/0202-1st-menzi.html|title='1421'|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 February 2003|last1=Menzies|first1=Gavin}}</ref><ref name="google16">{{cite book |via= Google Books| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&pg=PA16|title=The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty|author=Shih-shan Henry Tsai|year=1996|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=0-7914-2687-4|page=16}}</ref> During the [[Miao Rebellions (Ming dynasty)]], Chinese commanders castrated thousands of [[Miao people|Miao]] boys when their tribes revolted, and then distributed them as eunuch slaves as gifts to various officials.<ref name="google16"/> At the end of the Ming dynasty, there were about 70,000 eunuchs (宦官 ''huànguān'', or 太監 ''tàijiàn'') employed by the emperor, with some serving inside the [[Forbidden City]]. The last imperial eunuch in China was [[Sun Yaoting]] who died in 1996. ====Non-Han peoples in China==== The [[Khitan people]] adopted the practice of using eunuchs from the Chinese and the eunuchs used were non-Khitan prisoners of war. The Khitan were a [[nomad]]ic [[Mongols|Mongolic people]] and originally did not have eunuchs as part of their culture.<ref>[http://www.docin.com/p-220201686.html 祝建龙 (Zhu Jianlong), 二〇〇九年四月 (April 2009), 12.](Page 18 on online document viewer, Page 12 on actual document)</ref> When the Khitan founded the [[Liao dynasty]] they developed a [[harem]] system with concubines and wives and adopted eunuchs as part of it. All of the eunuchs captured were ethnic Chinese from the [[Central Plain (China)|Central Plains]] that came from two sources. The Khitan captured Chinese people who were already eunuchs at the Jin court when they invaded the [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]]. Another source was during their war with the Chinese [[Song dynasty]]: the Khitan would raid China, capture Han Chinese boys as prisoners of war and emasculate them to become eunuchs. The emasculation of captured Chinese boys guaranteed a continuous supply of eunuchs to serve in the Liao dynasty harem. The Empress Dowager [[Xiao Chuo]] (Chengtian) played a large role in the raids to capture and emasculate the boys.<ref>[http://www.docin.com/p-220201686.html 祝建龙 (Zhu Jianlong), 二〇〇九年四月 (April 2009), 13.] (Page 19 on online document viewer, Page 13 on actual document)</ref> Chengtian took power at age 30 in 982 as a regent for her son. Some reports suggest that she personally led her own army against the Song Chinese in 986. Her army defeated them in battle,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennett Peterson |first1=Barbara |title=Notable women of China : Shang dynasty to the early twentieth century |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0765605047 |page=259 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLNrqn4WLZYC&q=empress+xiao+986&pg=PA259 |via= Google Books}}</ref> fighting the retreating Chinese army. She then ordered the castration of around 100 ethnic [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] boys she had captured in China, supplementing the Khitan's supply of eunuchs to serve at her court, among them was [[Wang Ji'en (Liao dynasty eunuch)|Wang Ji'en]]. The boys were all under ten years old and were selected for their good looks.<ref name=Jay>{{cite book |via= Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gc_3IXkwG3QC&pg=PA261|title=Women Shall Not Rule|isbn=9781442222908|last1=McMahon|first1=Keith|date=6 June 2013| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gc_3IXkwG3QC&pg=PA269|title=Women Shall Not Rule|isbn=9781442222908|last1=McMahon|first1=Keith|date=2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |via= Google Books}}</ref> The ''[[History of Liao]]'' described and praised Empress Chengtian's capture and mass castration of the Chinese boys in a biography on Wang Ji'en.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMahon |first1=Keith |title=Women shall not rule : imperial wives and concubines in China from Han to Liao |date=2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1442222892 |page=261}}</ref> Some legends say that the Mongol [[Genghis Khan]] was castrated by a Tangut princess using a knife, who wanted revenge against his treatment of the Tanguts and to stop him from raping her.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mwDJ-3XPNooC&q=tangut+castrate+genghis&pg=PA193|title=In the footsteps of Genghis Khan|author=John DeFrancis|year= 1993|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-1493-2|page= 193 |via= Google Books}}</ref> During the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1911 AD), the sons and grandsons of the rebel [[Yakub Beg of Yettishar|Yaqub Beg]] in China were all sentenced to castration. Surviving members of Yaqub Beg's family included his four sons, four grandchildren (two grandsons and two granddaughters), and four wives. They either died in prison in [[Lanzhou]], Gansu, or were killed by the Chinese. His sons Yima Kuli, K'ati Kuli, Maiti Kuli, and grandson Aisan Ahung were the only survivors in 1879. They were all underage children, and put on trial, sentenced to an agonizing death if they were complicit in their father's rebellious "sedition", or if they were innocent of their fathers crimes, were to be sentenced to castration and serving as [[eunuch]] slaves to Chinese troops, when they reached 11 years old, and handed over to the Imperial Household to be executed or castrated.<ref>{{cite book |via= Google Books| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Yjg1AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA83|title=Translations of the Peking Gazette|year=1880|page=83}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |via= Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DqYoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA145|title=The American annual cyclopedia and register of important events of the year ..., Volume 4|year=1888|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|page=145}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3xYbAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA145|title=Appletons' annual cyclopedia and register of important events: Embracing political, military, and ecclesiastical affairs; public documents; biography, statistics, commerce, finance, literature, science, agriculture, and mechanical industry, Volume 19|year=1886|publisher=Appleton|page=145 |via= Google Books}}</ref> Although some sources assert that the sentence of castration was carried out, official sources from the US State Department and activists involved in the incident state that Yaqub Beg's son and grandsons had their sentence commuted to life imprisonment with a fund provided for their support.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/clarencekingmemo00centrich|quote=Cruelty to Children Yakoob Beg.|title= Clarence King Memoirs: The Helmet of Mambrino|author=James D. Hague|year=1904|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/clarencekingmemo00centrich/page/50 50]|access-date=19 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN.; CASE OF THE KINGMA CHILDREN—LETTER FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1880/03/20/archives/the-protection-of-children-case-of-the-kingma-childrenletter-from.html |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |date=20 March 1880 |access-date=19 September 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bp4toTYNDLkC&pg=PT170|title=Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China|author=Jung Chang|year=2014|publisher=Anchor|location=New York|page=131|isbn= 978-0-385-35037-2 |via= Google Books}}</ref>
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