Why were eunuchs in the past often illiterate but still able to read holy orders?

In feudal times, eunuchs were the closest servants of the emperor and the royal family in the palace. The eunuchs were responsible for serving every meal, sleep, and every activity of the emperor in life.

However, not only that, the eunuchs also took on a particularly important role of the emperor, which was "communicating holy orders". But there is a special thing that the eunuchs of the past were often illiterate. So how did they read the emperor's decree?

Are eunuchs often illiterate?

In the old days, not all the men in the capital were called eunuchs. The eunuch is a position that dates back to the Ming Dynasty. The position of eunuch in this period was not many, but there were people with certain power and influence. Furthermore, the eunuch was not an official position that ordinary eunuchs could do. The largest position of the eunuch is the Chief of the Four Divisions.

Most of the eunuchs of the past were illiterate. (Illustration).

Although considered an official in the palace, in terms of nature, most of the eunuchs in the past were people from lowly backgrounds. These people, because they want to eat well and dress warmly, accept to enter the palace to keep their body as eunuchs.

Moreover, since the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Yuanzhang, because he was worried about eunuchs disrupting the main court, had very strict regulations for eunuchs. They are not allowed to study or engage in any politically related activities. These were also the main reasons why ancient eunuchs were often illiterate.

The reason the eunuchs can read the holy scriptures

The close eunuchs who served the emperor at the head of a country always handled important things, so being illiterate was extremely inconvenient. In fact, the only holy reading as we often see on historical films is the eunuchs. In fact, the eunuchs are illiterate but can read saints only for the following reasons.

First, the eunuchs assigned to read the scriptures still needed to be literate, more or less. The eunuch literate in the old days was not much. But for important orders, literate eunuchs would be assigned to read the emperor's decrees.

Second, if it is the emperor's orders and will to deal with personal matters, he will direct the eunuchs to ensure good information and avoid leakage. In addition, since the eunuchs had served the emperor for a long time, the emperor's intentions were clearly understood. Therefore, sometimes the emperor's intentions did not need to be written too much, but the illiterate eunuchs could still convey them well.

Third, usually for decrees to deal with important events of the country, there will be high officials in the court in charge of handling and communicating. Thus, eunuchs would not have to undertake to read scriptures that were too difficult or beyond their ability to read.

The eunuchs were assigned to read the scriptures simply.

It can be said that reading the scriptures was just one of the difficult tasks for the eunuchs of old. However, the reality is that eunuchs are often assigned to read simple saints, such as dealing with minor problems in the royal family or affairs in the harem.