Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule

“Norman A. Kutcher takes the eunuch establishment seriously by treating it as a central institution of government. Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule is an important book: it is by far the best study of Chinese eunuchs to date (in any language) and a major contribution to our understanding of the court politics and central government of the Qing dynasty.”—Matthew Sommer, Professor of Chinese History, Stanford University
 
“Kutcher makes the eunuchs a topic not of curiosity, titillation, or cultural subversion, but of economy, statecraft, and ideology. He reminds historians that court edicts are not reportage; his case study of the eunuchs shows that policy in the early and middle Qing period was far more negotiated, far more tentative, far more subject to intervention by interest groups than we might believe.”—Pamela Kyle Crossley, Charles and Elfriede Collis Professor of History, Dartmouth College
 
“The wide range of sources used by Kutcher makes for a compelling narrative of eunuchs coming from all levels of popular society and serving at all levels of the imperial government. We learn, for the first time, why they were essential for the inner and outer courts to function.”—Benjamin A. Elman, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies and History, Princeton University
 
“Kutcher’s study of palace eunuchs and emperors provides fascinating glimpses of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Qing court life, revealing persistent tensions in the master-servant relationship that challenged the social order.”—Evelyn S. Rawski, Distinguished University Professor Emerita of History, University of Pittsburgh