明代王府太监

Eunuchs in Princes’ Mansions of Ming Dynasty

明代王府设有太监机构,太监在王府中扮演了举足轻重的角色,他们几乎与王府生活的各层面都息息相关。日常管理、婚丧喜庆、财务控管、文化事业,都有太监的参与,甚至主导。因此太监是“王府社会”中缺一不可的成员。这个“王府社会”包括所有与王府直接或间接相关的人物,诸如宗室成员本身、仪宾及其亲属、王妃及其本家亲属、王官、地方官、护卫军及其家属、王府的侍女与仆人、地方流氓、优人与王庄的管理者等。由此可知王府社会运作的复杂度,也可看出它充沛的生命力。

In the Ming Dynasty, eunuch institutions were set up in the mansions of princes. Eunuchs played a vital role in the mansions, as they were closely related to almost all aspects of the daily life. They participated in or even took the lead in daily management, weddings, funerals and other festival celebrations, financial management, and even cultural activities. They became a dispensable member in the "society in the princes’ mansions",which consisted of all figures directly or indirectly related to the princes such as the family members, princesses’ husbands and families, imperial concubines and their families, their subordinate officials, local officials,guards and their families, maids and servants, local gangsters, performers, managers of the mansions, etc. This indicates the complexity of the society in the princes’ mansions and its remarkable vitality.