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

While Kam Louie's theoretical paradigm of masculinity as defined through the dialectic of wen (literary accomplishment) and wu (martial prowess) has significantly advanced the field, the case of eunuchs within Buddhist institutional contexts reveals more nuanced gender configurations that resist categorization within this dyadic structure. By examining the tension between Buddhist vinaya prohibitions against ordaining eunuchs (categorized as huangmen 黃門) and historical evidence of palace eunuchs in the Ming who nevertheless entered monastic life, my work demonstrates how religious institutions created alternative pathways to masculine legitimacy. Buddhist monasticism offered gender-nonconforming individuals access to institutional standing that was not rooted in either scholarly achievement or martial power. Instead, these institutions developed practical accommodations that allowed eunuchs to establish social standing through religious practices despite their ambiguous gender status.

Focusing specifically on Ming-dynasty monastic contexts, this paper investigates the interplay between Buddhist monastic regulations, cultural constructions of masculinity, and the lived realities of eunuchs in Ming China. While Confucian ideals of masculinity were fundamentally structured around heterosexual reproduction and familial duty, eunuchs, through their castration, embodied a direct violation of these normative expectations. Buddhist disciplines similarly problematized eunuch bodies, with vinaya regulations explicitly prohibiting their ordination. Despite their ambiguous status in both traditions, historical records reveal instances of eunuchs entering monastic life and becoming monks, either after retirement or to escape service in the palace. By examining vinaya texts, ordination practices, and temple records, this paper seeks to uncover how Buddhist institutions simultaneously constructed and contested the masculinity of eunuchs, a group that defied the normative gender binaries of both Confucian society and the monastic order. 

Building on this inquiry into eunuchs’ monastic participation, this paper further examines the fluidity between eunuch and monastic identities, exploring how Buddhist institutions accommodated eunuchs’ presence within the monastic order in the Ming. Central to this inquiry is the tension between canonical prohibitions, which explicitly barred eunuchs (as huangmen) from ordination, and the documented presence of eunuchs within monastic communities. The Dharmagupta Vinaya (Sifen lü 四分律, Four-Part Vinaya), the foundational monastic code in East Asian Buddhism, exemplifies these norms’ textual rigidity. It categorizes huangmen into subtypes such as those castrated (jian huangmen 犍黃門), those born with ambiguous genitalia (sheng huangmen 生黃門), and those who lost their male organs through injury or sexual activity (bian huangmen 變黃門). Monastic concerns about sexual misconduct justified the strict prohibition against their ordination. Yet, despite these constraints, historical records suggest that eunuchs not only sought refuge in Buddhist monasteries but, in some cases, achieved clerical status. Their presence raises critical questions about the actual enforcement of vinaya prohibitions, the extent to which exceptions were made, and whether Buddhist authorities in the Ming developed justificatory frameworks to accommodate them.

For the first part of the paper, I will conduct a close analysis of related vinaya regulations, with a primary focus on the Dharmagupta Vinaya and its commentaries, to examine how they articulate the prohibition of eunuch ordination. This analysis will explore the various classifications of huangmen (including eunuchs as well as other sexually non-normative individuals) delineated in these texts and the underlying rationales for their exclusion from the monastic order. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya provides a nuanced taxonomy of huangmen, distinguishing between those castrated by force, those who underwent voluntary castration, and those born with ambiguous sexual characteristics. Each classification carried different implications for monastic exclusion. The commentarial tradition further supplements our understanding. I will also refer to Daoxuan's (596-667) Sifen lü shanfan buque xingshi chao 四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔, which serves as an invaluable reference that clarifies practical applications of these vinaya regulations. I will also examine the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya (Shisong lü十诵律), which provides additional context, noting that eunuchs approached not only monks but also nuns and female novices, causing laypeople to criticize these interactions and leading the Buddha to prohibit eunuchs from ordination and expel those already ordained from the sangha. Additionally, I will consult various additional texts that offer important perspectives on the categorization of huangmen, including the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya and the Vinaya-piṭaka. These rationales reflect broader Buddhist concerns regarding bodily integrity, sexual discipline, and the maintenance of monastic hierarchy, all of which were central to the regulation of the sangha across different historical periods. While rooted in early canonical traditions, the interpretation and enforcement of these prohibitions varied across different historical periods and social contexts.

The second section will examine historical evidence of Ming palace eunuchs engaging with Buddhist institutions, both as patrons and as monastics. It will begin by establishing the unprecedented power of eunuchs during the Ming dynasty, when eunuchs directed significant state resources toward Buddhist patronage. This section will document major instances of eunuch patronage of Buddhist temples and monasteries, drawing on temple gazetteers and stele inscriptions that record donations, construction projects, and ritual sponsorship. The research will then turn to evidence of eunuchs not merely as patrons but as monastics themselves. Drawing on a variety of sources, it will identify specific cases of palace eunuchs who entered monastic life, particularly during periods of political turmoil or following factional struggles at court. In this part, I will demonstrate how eunuch patronage shaped not only the physical landscape of Ming Buddhism but also influenced monastic rules and forms of religious lifestyle. These patronage activities often led to practical accommodations regarding ordination restrictions, as eunuch donors leveraged their financial support to negotiate exceptions.

By focusing on these aspects, this paper will contribute to scholarly understanding of how religious traditions construct and regulate gendered identities, the relationship between religious texts and lived practices, and the specific dynamics of Buddhist institutions in late imperial China. It will shed light on the religious experiences of eunuchs, a marginalized group whose spiritual lives have received limited scholarly attention. More broadly, it will illuminate how religious traditions negotiate contradictions between canonical ideals and social realities, a process relevant to understanding religion across cultural and historical contexts.