Eunuchs in China in the context of "Grand Secretaries"

Cai Lun (Chinese: 蔡伦; courtesy name: Jingzhong (敬仲); c. 50–62 – 121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He occupies a pivotal place in the history of paper due to his addition of pulp via tree bark and hemp ends which resulted in the large-scale manufacture and worldwide spread of paper. Although traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper, earlier forms of paper have existed since the 3rd century BCE, so Cai's contributions are limited to innovation, rather than invention.

Born in Guiyang Commandery [zh] (in what is now Leiyang), Cai arrived at the imperial court in Luoyang by 75 CE, where he served as a chamberlain for Emperor Ming, and then as Xiao Huangmen, an imperial messenger for Emperor Zhang. To assist Lady Dou in securing her adopted son as designated heir, he interrogated Consort Song and her sister, who then killed themselves. When Emperor He ascended the throne in 88 CE, Dou awarded Cai with two positions: Zhongchang shi  [zh], a political counselor to the emperor that was the highest position for eunuchs of the time, and also as Shangfang Ling, where Cai oversaw the production of instruments and weapons at the Palace Workshop.

The government of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was modeled after the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Over time, the government system changed and adapted to circumstances. The Ming government was traditionally divided into three branches—civil, military and surveillance, with the imperial household and its eunuchs holding a distinct position.

In the beginning, the central civil authorities were led by the Central Secretariat, which oversaw Six Ministries and other less significant institutions. The Chief Military Commission served as the high command of the army, while the Censorate held the highest control authority. The empire was divided into two metropolitan areas and thirteen provinces, each of which was managed by a Branch Secretariat. The lower levels of administration included prefectures and subprefectures, with the lowest level being the counties. There were approximately 1,400 counties in Ming China.

Penis removal is the act of removing the human penis. It is not to be confused with the related practice of castration, in which the testicles are removed or deactivated; or emasculation, which removes both. Penis removal and castration have been used to create a class of servants or slaves called eunuchs in many different places and eras, having a notable presence in various societies such as Imperial China.

In Russia, men of a devout group of Spiritual Christians known as the Skoptsy were castrated, either undergoing "greater castration", which entailed removal of the penis, or "lesser castration", in which the penis remained in place, while Skoptsy women underwent mastectomy. These procedures were performed in an effort to eliminate lust and to restore the Christian to a pristine state that existed prior to original sin.