The role of Xiao Huangmen () was a role for a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

in the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. The position, with a salary-rank of 600 ''shi'' or ''dan'', involved delivering and receiving messages between the imperial palace apartments and the outside court. A ''Xiao Huangmens responsibilities were to follow the emperor, receive Shangshu memorials, preach the emperor's orders, and handle communication between the emperor and the harem inside and outside the palace. The position's responsibilities and level of authority changed over time.

Noted Xiao Huangmen

Cai Lun Cai Lun (; courtesy name: Jingzhong (); – 121 CE), formerly romanized as Ts'ai Lun, was a Chinese eunuch court official of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is traditionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the modern papermaking process ...

(–121 CE) *

Ten Attendants The Ten Attendants, also known as the Ten Eunuchs, were a group of influential eunuch-officials in the imperial court of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) in Eastern Han China. Although they are often referred to as a group of 10, there were actually 12 ...

(mid-second century CE) * Cao Jie (125 - 181 CE)

Notes

References

Sources

* * Han dynasty eunuchs Chinese imperial harem {{China-hist-stub