Zhu Bolin
Zhu Bolin | |
|---|---|
 A 17th century depiction of Admiral Zhu Bolin, his captain's hat is decorated with victory laurels. | |
| Admiral of the Right Trident of the Qian | |
| Preceded by | office created |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 September 1615 Touxian |
| Profession | Naval officer |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Child Admiral |
| Allegiance |  Qian dynasty |
| Branch/service | Qian Fleet |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles/wars | Daxian colonization of Australis Daxian Polynesian Wars War of the Eastern Crag |
Zhu Bolin (1615-1682) was a Daxian naval officer and eunuch who served as an admiral for the Qian dyansty during the 17th century. Zhu Bolin was born a dwarf and sold early in life to the Imperial Palace to serve there. Turned into a eunuch, he would later rise to become one of Daxia's most noteworthy naval officers of the early Qian era. Fleets under his command participated in the colonization and conquest of Peratra and he commanded the fleet known as the Right Trident of the Qian during the Daxian Polynesian Wars. After his defeat at the Siege of Dun-Kurrengev in 1665 he was disgraced and removed from all of his commands. Restored to imperial favor in 1668 he once again was placed in his old command and his fleet supported imperial forces in Yaoyuan during the revolt known as the War of the Eastern Crag. Zhu Bolin was nicknamed the Child Admiral for his height of only four feet and two inches.
Zhu Bolin was one in a long line of dwarves who emerged from lives of servitude in the imperial palace and rose to become highly placed bureaucrats, generals and admirals. Dwarfism in Daxia had before been seen as a curse and those born with the condition lived meager lives; the Qian dynasty however held particular beliefs in mysticism that looked favorably upon dwarves and this affected their treatment. Zhu Bolin is favorably portrayed by modern Daxian history as a figure who overcame the limitations of his condition and became a capable and patriotic naval commander.
History
Early life
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. In 1628 he served as adjutant to the Imperial Stool Groom in charge of keeping the imperial scented soaps safe. This brought him closer to members of the imperial family than any other of his past positions. One of the imperial princes he ingratiated himself to recommended Zhu Bolin to the palace school for dwarves. Zhu Bolin attended the palace school for ten years, until 1638; during his time there he learned to write and read, studied subjects such as mathematics, philosophy and astronomy. During the last three years he was chosen to delve into naval strategy studies which he excelled at. He graduated from the palace school and was awarded with the rank of Vice Captain of the ship Flowing Majesty, which made him the second in command of the vessel.
The Flowing Majesty participated in various skirmishes around the island of Zhijun and later was part of the squadron under the command of Admiral Xi Haifong that bombarded the capital of the kingdom of Taualai in Peratra. Zhu Bolin supervised the keelhauling of fifteen polynesian nobles as part of the punishment of Taualai's ruling elites. During the return trip to the mainland, the fleet entered a violent sea storm in which one of the ships was sunk. Zhu Bolin's captain also seemingly fell into the sea during the storm and could not be rescued, giving Bolin an impromptu promotion to captain. Some uncharitable chroniclers of the era ascribe the captain's death to Zhu Bolin and 'the unnatural greed and ambition that is at the core of all dwarfs and eunuchs'. The ultimate cause of his superior's untimely demise remains shrouded in mystery, it cannot be disputed that Zhu Bolin's command of the Flowing Majesty allowed him to gain prestige and notoriety that a mere Vice Captain could not hope to achieve.
Captain of the Flowing Majesty
Zhu Bolin's assumption of command was ratified by Xi Haifong and his ship was assigned to Port Bondor as its operational base. In 1640 Zhu Bolin was ordered to take his ship and two others on a raiding mission to Sudmoll. The polynesian natives of the then uncolonized island were sending scaveging parties and raiders to the coast of Yaoyuan and causing trouble to tribes that had submitted to the Qian. Zhu Bolin's taskforce bombarded eleven coastal villages before landing their crews and attacking further inland. One hundred and forty two natives were taken as slaves, including two of the islands chiefs. A rare polynesian albino dwarf was also captured, Zhu Bolin named him Mala Jong and made him into his personal servant and cupbearer. Bolin's forceful and swift redress of the Sudmoll situation won him plaudits back at the imperial court and rivals of Xi Haifong took note of the young and diminutive captain as a potential replacement of the old admiral. Bolin outwardly kept faith with his superior but rumormongers of the era affirmed that while in his cups he mocked the old admiral and boasted he would be named admiral within a couple years, giving credence to the old whispers about ambitious and crafty dwarfs. In any case the expected showdown did not come to pass, Xi Haifong died in Rakin on an infected ulcer before he could marshal his allies in court to try and cut Zhu Bolin's career short.
Bolin immediately did something that was considered quite scandalous but the societal norms of the time, he seized Xi Haifong's estate and used the money in secret, to bribe officials at court to secure a promotion for himself. The bold bid worked and he was appointed Admiral of the Southern Waste in 1645, a dizzyingly fast pace of promotion from Vice Captain to Admiral in a mere seven years; Zhu Bolin was at this time only 30 years old and the youngest admiral in the Qian fleets. His bought title however brought him not only prestige but also danger, many distrusted him for his youth, lack of qualms and now evident corrupt nature. Moreover the friends of Xi Haifong at court were now Bolin's enemies and would constantly seek to cast him down for the rest of his naval career. It was after his promotion that Zhu Bolin began to be derisively called theChild Admiral, but never to his face.