Lao Ai (; died 238 BCE) was an imposter

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 millenni ...

and official of the

State of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted e ...

during the late

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

. Allegedly falsifying his castration in order to gain entry into the court of Qin, he became the favorite of

Queen Dowager Zhao Zhao Ji (; Ji 姬 was an ancestral name of the Zhou royal family, which later evolved to generally mean "lady" in successive eras. But there are no more detailed mentions on her family at Zhao (which was a Boyi-descent state and shared origins ...

, the mother of

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...

, later the First Emperor of China. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Changxin (長信侯). After a conspiracy to incite rebellion was uncovered, he was executed by Qin Shi Huang. Since the conspiracy and downfall of Lao Ai, his sexual misdeeds have become a fixture in the traditional moralizing discourse of intellectuals in

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

, and his very surname and

style name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

, which meant "lustful misdeed" in

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

, has become a byword for "fornicators" in the classical Chinese language.

Biography

According to

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'', Lao Ai had a giant

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

, being of such size that it could be used as an

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, beari ...

for a wooden carriage. This ability drew the attention of

Lü Buwei Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wei () state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a ...

, who was having an affair with Queen Dowager Zhao, mother to King Zheng of Qin (later

), and Lü plotted to make use of Lao's sexual prowess to ingratiate himself with the Queen Dowager. During the formative years of King Zheng's reign, Lü Buwei ended his affair with the Queen Dowager and gave Lao Ai to her. Lü and the Queen organised a false castration in order to facilitate Lao Ai's admission to the Queen's palace as a eunuch. After moving to the provisional capital Yong, Lao Ai fathered two children by the queen and gave himself the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

"false father". Lao Ai profited from his status and gathered over one thousand servants and followers. In 238 BCE, following the royal proclamation announcing Lao Ai's status as an imposter lover consorting with the Queen Dowager, with plans to secretly father the next king, Lao Ai was investigated. During this time, he attempted a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

with a small number of followers, using the Queen Dowager's seal to gain legitimacy. Without popular support, military training, numbers, or sufficient organisation, Lao Ai's followers were quickly defeated. Lao Ai was punished by being

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...

and torn apart by five horses and the Queen Dowager was imprisoned in her palace and her two sons were killed. Followers were exiled to the former state of Shu.

Historicity

The historicity of Lao Ai has been doubted by modern historians, who consider that

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

ideologues, who were in favor with the Han court during the composition of the ''

'', had the ulterior motive of portraying

, a foe of Confucians who had ordered their mass execution in 212 BCE, as a bastard. Supporters of this theory point out that Lao Ai's name appears etymologically fanciful: the characters used to write Lao Ai literally mean "lustful misdeed" in

, and that his defining characteristic, his large penis (in Chinese ), can also be taken to mean "great conspiracy". Given that

, author of the historical work that canonized this traditional account of Lao Ai, was himself subject to the punishment of castration some years before, skeptically minded historians believe that the story of Lao Ai is meant to be understood allegorically, as a "personified phallus" who represented "a basic threat to the transmission of the imperial bloodline and hence the purity of the 'united cosmos.'" The story of Lao Ai was also told by Yu Xiao-yu, the 16th-century author of ''Chronicles of Many States During the Age of Spring and Fall,'' the length of which was nearly tripled by Fung Lung Mong (1574–1646), after which the book was then known as ''Stories of East Chou's Many States''.

In popular culture

In Manga Kingdom, he was given to Lady Zhao as

's "gift" to her. He joined the coup, as King of Ai, their own "state" and tried to eliminate Qin, reluctantly leading the bloodthirsty Qin traitor

Fan Wuji Huan Yi was a general of the state of Qin in the late Warring States period (5th century – 221 BCE). Background General Pang Nuan of Zhao occupied several towns of the state of Yan in 236 BCE, whereupon Yan asked the state of Qin for help ...

and other generals. He was caught in the disastrous retreat and executed in the aftermath.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lao Ai Year of birth unknown 238 BC deaths People executed by dismemberment Qin state people 3rd-century BC Chinese people