宦官的出现最早可追溯至殷周时期,《周礼》中记载当时宦官被称为寺、阉等名称。宦官大多是从对外战争中掳来的奴隶幼童转变而来,后也有一部分是由于生活贫困及现实所迫通过招选或自请入宫的办法入宫为宦。宦官最早的工作职责在于看守宫门,并且人数不多。随着王室不断扩大,所需宦官得数量也随之增加。纵观明代宦官的起落,宦官权利虽不及汉唐时期能够主宰皇帝的兴废大权,但是明朝的宦官却是活跃时间最久及人数最多的朝代。从永乐到崇祯,宦官伴随明朝二百多年的历史,明朝的政治也因此遭到严重的破坏。 The appearance of eunuch can be traced back to the Yin and Zhou Dynasties. “Zhou Li” recorded the names of eunuchs at that time as temples and eunuchs. Most of the eunuchs were transformed from young slaves kidnapped in the foreign war, partly because of the impoverishment of their living conditions and the reality that forced them to enter the palace through recruitment or solicitation. Eunuch’s earliest job is to guard the palace gate, and the small number. As the royal family continues to expand, the number of eunuchs required also increases. Looking at the rise and fall of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, although the eunuchs’ rights were not as dominant as those of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were the dynasties with the longest history and the largest number of eunuchs. From Yongle to Chongzhen, the eunuchs accompanied the history of the Ming Dynasty more than two hundred years and the Ming Dynasty’s politics was severely damaged.