Zhu Bolin: Difference between revisions

The date of Zhu Bolin's birth is tentatively given in imperial records as September 24 of 1615 and while the circumstances of his birth are not well known, historians roughly agree with the date. Extant administrative scrolls record that Zhu Bolin was sold to the Imperial Palace as a newborn child of only two weeks, for a payment of four bushels of wheat and a bag of rice. The infant Zhu Bolin was then given into the care of the [[Matron of the Warren]] who was in charge of the first years of educating the dwarf children and seeing to their needs. The [[Matron of the Warren]] employed several wet nurses, usually women of very large girth, to feed the infants. Zhu Bolin grew greatly attached to his wet nurse, a woman named Wu Di, who would sometimes give him some extra time at her teat; he would help her settle down outside the palace later in life. When Zhu Bolin reached the age of nine, he was castrated with a hot knife and his parts burned in a brazier as part of the ritual to become a palace eunuch. Usually around two out of every five dwarfs to undergo the process died of blood loss or infection. As one of the survivors Zhu Bolin was now put to work as a tea boy, his task was to quickly carry tea cups for officials and guests, pass them to the majordomos and wash the used cups he was given back. His efficiency and excellent manner in conducting himself as a palace tea boy saw him get promoted to [[Head Tea Boy]] of the eastern palace wing, with one hundred younger tea boys under his command.