“Eunuchs, or castrated men, traditionally were employed in the women's quarters of China, Iran, India, and the Arab Muslim world. They also served as officials in the Chinese courts, where they were frequently very influential. In Egypt the term eunuch was used to designate any court official, whether castrated or not. The practice of castration may have originated in religious rites, as an act of ascetic devotion, but it later was commonly practiced as a condition of employment.. Eunuchs were not only considered suitable guards for the palace women, but they also served as royal confidants. The role of the eunuch in court affairs reached its height during the Byzantine Empire, particularly in the imperial court at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). The institution ended in China with the collapse of the Chinese empire in 1912 and in the West with the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I (“Eunuch”).”

In the Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanley Robinson portrays Kyu as a eunuch with a dynamic character. He is first castrated on board the Treasure Fleet with Zheng He, who did this to all young boys as a personal vendetta following his own capture and castration at a tender age (Kim Stanley Robinson 33).

“Eunuch.” 17 Feb 2008 <http://go.grolier.com/>.

Robinson, Kim Stanley. The Years of Rice and Salt. New York: Bantam Books,
2002.