Free shirt!
I got a freaking free shirt today, thanks to Sports Clubs! Man, nothing like free clothing...it's a shame pants are never given away. After all, I have plenty of shirts, and it's not a huge hassle to buy more. But pants, I could always use another pair of jeans, and this article of clothing is usually more on the expensive side.
Free boxers would also rock.
And taking a cue from Jordan, here are some musical suggestions. Namely, y'all should be listening to Cake and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Stadium Arcadium" by the latter is righteous on so many levels, and I've been grooving to "Comfort Eagle" by the former (admittedly, "Fashion Nugget" is kind of disappointing) Both are satisfying on a level I haven't felt in some time, and they are perfect for both the driving and private scene. If ska is your thing (or stuff that's ska-like), you should listen to Chicken Poodle Soup (I have their CD). They're a local band--they just have that one CD with 8 songs--but I know half the group and they're refreshing to listen to.
Oh! While perusing my old emails, I came across one involing palace eunuchs and court scholars (it was from World History). Interestingly, I ran in across my TA from that class (he had answered the question) later today. Anyway, one intriguing aspect of Chinese history is the conflict between the eunuchs and the scholars.
"Why the conflict Adam, why?"
Well, you see readers:
Emperors often have large numbers of women. These women need guards, but male guards cannot be trusted to not have affairs with the women. As a result, they are castrated as boys; this way, they cannot actually have affairs with the imperial women. In China, this is especially the case (although the Byzantines and Muslims certainly did it as well). Keep in mind the effect that this has in China: The future emperor, as a child, is raised up in the harem, which means that he is surrounded by eunuchs. In turn, when he grows up and becomes emperor, the people who will be physically closest to him will be his women and the eunuchs. The court scholars are somewhat distant from him, because uncastrated men are not allowed into the emperor's private quarters. But because eunuchs do have entrance, they have access to the emperor, so they can talk to him and persuade him to
follow their ideas. So eunuchs tend to have greater access to the emperor,
which makes them powerful.
--(Farmer 2003)
I tried putting it into my own words, but got lazy, so I just copied my TA's helpful response and cited accordingly.
But the moral of the story is that I'm thinking about perhaps trying to use this as my suma thesis topic. However, my concentration is Europe, so I don't know if that'll fly or not. Perhaps something about castration in the Byzantine Empire, but that might be considered more Middle East than Europe.In sum though, I've now devoted my energies into finding a more creative topic. Not that there's anything wrong with my previous ones, but I want to do something really juicey.
posted by adam @ 8:41 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Your TA's hypothesis sounds reasonable, but it's only that...an hypothesis. He would need to cite examples of when the emperor listened to a eunuch or the harem over the advice of the scholars. After all, a lot of people are close to their dogs, but I have yet to see someone acting on the dog's impulses over that of their friend.
Given that my email prompt read:
"Hello again Mr. Farmer,
Ok, my question is: Why were the Chinese (as well as other societies) big on having eunuchs in government positions? I know that castration was a form of punishment, but as I was looking through my notes, it always seemed that it was the court scholars versus the palace eunuchs, and I was just trying to remember why eunuchs were so prevalent (I do recall Dr. Tracy explaining that, but I sadly did not write it down)"
I wasn't expecting a detailed essay where he included textual evidence to prove his point.
Besides, here's a list of eunuchs from Wikiepedia, and there are quite a few Chinese:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunuch
You should write about why German footballers are inherently superior to the rest of Europe (especially those Chzechs who lose to Ghana. I mean, seriously, Ghana?).
Why if I didn't know any better logic, I'd say there's a tinge of Aryanism in that comment of yours ;-)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
How do we know that the emperor wasn't so over whelmed with the harem's and eunuchs that he would have decided to partipate in sexual activities all day and therefore wanted nothing to do with the political world leaving all decisions up to his scholars? The scholars would then have to cite the emporer as having had say in the decision simply because he had the power to "dispose" of them at will.
That sounds just as plausible as the emporer taking his political woes with him to "bed"!
Look, I'm no expert or professor in Chinese history, so trying to poke holes in my poste is a waste of time.
HOWEVER, here are some points of mine:
1. Well yes, even though I don't have any specific evidence (at the moment), one could still logically see a potential influence on the emperor if only eunuchs and women were allowed in private chambers (as one example). I mean, lets switch out "eunuchs and women" for "monks." Even if I didn't have a specific example to give, it could be surmised that the monks influenced the emperor (if that's the only group that can see him in private).
2. If the conflict between palace eunuchs and court scholars was discussed in class, that must mean that my professor was getting his information from somewhere, and therefore the conflict was documented. Could the description of the conflict be skewed perhaps (as in written by a scholar)? Of course, but that's another topic.
3. You're example of the emperor just being preoccupied with sex and the scholars running everything has much room for error...do you know how the goverment functioned in Ancient China (I know a little bit, and this isn't meant to be as an insult)? Maybe if the emperor wasn't exerting a strong, centralized government, the provinces did their own thing; thus taking power away from the court (and the scholars). Or additionally, if the emperor is just focusing on women and eunuchs, that means he's showing favoritism to them and probably not rewarding the scholars.
Again, back in the day when I was in the class, I could probably be more specific, and if I was that interested in it, I would've emailed the prof. for more details. However, I just thought it was fun and interesting, and felt like sharing.
I am saddened and appalled to read your put down of Fashion Nugget. Comfort Eagle, while good, pales in comparison to the wonderful vibrations of the Fashion Nugget.
Post a Comment
<< Home