The Last Eunuch's Life in a Chaotic Era

In 1912, Gousheng, the son of a farming family in Zhili, was castrated by his father and sent into the Forbidden City. Renamed Laixi, he became one of the last eunuchs of the Qing Dynasty. He lived cautiously behind the palace walls as imperial rule crumbled, warlords fought for power, and Japanese invaders ravaged China. From a “living relic” of the Forbidden City to a “broken man” cast out of the palace, he found a home amid the everyday bustle of Beiping’s alleyways, relying on the widowed Xiu’e and being relied upon in turn. Caught between the shackles of his identity, tangled emotions, and the calamities of his age, he struggled to pursue the dignity and wholeness of being human. This is the epic tale of an individual “castrated” by his era, who at last makes peace with himself and his fate amid the embers of a turbulent age.