The Last Eunuch of China: The Life of Sun Yaoting

China's last eunuch Sun Yaoting died in December 1996 at age 94. He took with him intimate stories of the last vestiges of Imperial China and was himself the Fast in the line of eunuchs who had served the royal family for more than 2,000 years. His personal journey from poor farmboy to revered servant to Pu Yi and Wanrong, China's last emperor and empress, is an amazing journey which also chronicles nearly one century of turbulence and upheaval in Chinese history and culture.

This engrossing biography by Chinese historian Jia Yinghua features first - hand accounts by Sun Yaoting of his adventures in the Forbidden City, his reunion with Pu Yi in Japanese-held Manchukuo in the 1930s, his return to "normal" life as a community organizer in the Buddhist temple where he lived out the rest of his life. Beginning in the early 1900s, Sun's story follows events in China such as Pu Yi's abdication of Imperial rule, the Japanese occupation of China which ended with the conclusion of World War II, China's civil war and the eventual victory of the Communist Party in 1949, the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and the subsequent: "opening up" policy from which China has emerged as a leading economic and political power worldwide.

The Last Eunuch of China: The Life of Sun Yaoting is a unique glimpse into China's storied past from the perspective of a man who faithfully served China's Imperial Family in the Forbidden City but was later forced to maneuver himself among the tremendous and often turbulent events that became the history of 20th century China. As Sun Yaoting recalls his experiences, he also recounts the life of the dwindling eunuch community in China.