Eunuchs as Monks: Contested Masculinity and Monastic Refuge in Ming China

Kam Louie's wen-wu paradigm offers valuable insights into elite Chinese masculinity, yet the case of eunuchs in Buddhist contexts demonstrates how lived experiences of gender-nonconforming individuals revealed alternative paths to masculine identity and authority. Despite vinaya codes explicitly barring eunuchs from ordination, historical records from Ming China reveal their presence within monasteries, either seeking refuge from court life or entering religious service after retirement. How did temples reconcile canonical prohibition with the presence of powerful eunuch benefactors seeking spiritual refuge? What negotiations occurred when palace eunuchs exchanged court life for monastic robes? Drawing on vinaya texts, temple records, and patronage accounts, this investigation explores how Buddhist institutions reconciled doctrinal restrictions with the lived experiences of eunuchs who sought monkhood. It further looks into how eunuchs, as both patrons and monastics, shaped Buddhist institutions, leveraging influence to negotiate their place within the monastic order.