Eunuch's political power during the Tang dynasty

This talk is held in the Serangoon Public library, in NEX mall of Serangoon. It is located at level 4R.

Qinli is the speaker for this english talk and my contact number: 93695488

About the speaker:

Yang Qinli, a local Singaporean, is a librarian working in the National Library Board (NLB). He took a minor in China studies during his post-graduate days in National University of Singapore (NUS) to pursue further his interest in Chinese history, philosophy and culture. He enjoys reading up on Chinese history as his past time. Mr Yang is the founder of the Ancient Chinese History Meetup. He sees this as a platform to share his passion in Chinese history, hoping to spur more people to be interested in China’s past. Currently, the meetup organizes a history talk on a bimonthly basis in Serangoon public library.

Contents for the talk:

A eunuch is a male who has been castrated, devoid of his sexual organs. With the lack of the male hormones, there are significant physical and physiological changes as a result. A typical stereotype of a eunuch in the Chinese court is one who walks like a lady, behaves like a lady, speaks in a high pitch voice, an evil villain who exploits his political power and commits terrible crimes. There are horrible stories where eunuchs seek to recover their lost organs by eating the brains of young children. This, I believed are stories created to vilify the eunuchs. Although it is true that eunuchs have led to the downfall of dynasties like Han and Tang, the bureaucrats and emperors still believed that employing eunuchs in the imperial courts is a necessary evil. They can be put into good use if properly controlled. In my 2-part talk on eunuchs, my 1st talk focuses on the eunuchs during the Tang dynasty and how they come into power. A careful examination of the political structure reveals that the eunuchs were becoming too powerful because the emperor had failed to control the power growth with strict and tough regulations. Find out why the eunuchs become so powerful, even more powerful than the emperor himself!

The two main periods where eunuch played a influential political role took place during the Tang and Ming dynasty. My 1st part will focus on the Tang Dynasty

Contents for the talk:

Background information on palace eunuchs

Why is there a need for eunuchs in a palace?

Why do emperors trust eunuchs?

How did eunuchs come to power during the Tang Dynasty?

Why did eunuchs pose such a big political threat during the Tang?

Why you should attend?

Because I'm going to remodel history to be a relevant and intriguing topic for anyone who is a newbie in the topic. I hope to spur your interest in china history.

Program highlights:

1. Ice-breaking and welcome speech by Qinli

2. Talk begins

3. Discussion and sharing among audience

4. Refreshments (Yes. Free refreshments provided by the library)

5. Casual session of card games(San Guo Sha and others) or mix and mingle in Macdonald's

6. Dinner together

Some things to note:

1)The library is as cold as winter season. Bring a jacket or heater or risk a frostbite.... (i exaggerate) :)

2. We would like to create a critical thinking culture and hear your thoughts on the topic discussed. Here's a way to encourage you to speak up. Instead of presenting and speaking in front of the group, you can post your comments on my facebook page. I will open and create the post on the day itself.

3. Please update your RSVP. Only reply "yes", if you are seriously showing up. Put yourself in the shoe of the speaker. It's quite demoralising for the speaker to see 30 "yes" but only 10 showed up. Also, the library will prepare refreshment accordingly to the expected number of participants. Its not nice to see the food wasted.

4. Please try to set aside time after the talk and stay back for dinner. I hope to take the chance to talk to you and get to know you better. Also take the opportunity to mingle and make new friends.