Ancient China · Eunuch and Poet

Master Meng 寺人孟子

Mengzi

Attested c. BC 800 - c. BC 600

Passages: 2
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Master Meng was an eunuch and Poet.

Life and dates

Attested activity

legendary antiquity
Directly stated · Book of Han 90, passage 197
c. BC 800 to c. BC 600 寺人孟子
Dated from the passage context · Book of Han 22, passage 22

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Held
Eunuch
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 22
palace castration 宮刑
Castration · Suffered
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 22

Works and attributed material

resentful satirical verse 怨刺之作
Relation Author
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 22

Events and relationships

Wrote resentful satires
Literary · Author · Outcome Wrote in resentment and satire after castration
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 22

Assessments and attributes

Assessment departed from lofty Odes standards to preserve himself; ranked third class despite this · Mode commentator-judgment Speaker Zhang Yan (張晏)
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 22

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 22Volume 20: Prominent People from the Past Until the Present · 1 passage

大姬巫怪，好祭鬼神，陳人化之，國多淫祀，寺人孟子違於大雅，以保其身，旣被宮刑，怨刺而作，乃在第三。 Tai Ji indulged in shamanic superstition and spirit sacrifices, and the people of Chen followed her into proliferating illicit cults. The palace eunuch Master Meng, straying from lofty orthodox standards to save himself, later wrote resentful satires after his castration, yet is ranked in the third class.

Book of Han, Chapter 90Volume 79: Feng Fengshi · 1 passage

故伯奇放流，孟子宮刑，申生雉經，屈原赴湘，《小弁》之詩作，《離騷》之辭興。 So Boqi was driven out, Mengzi was castrated, Crown Prince Sheng hanged himself, Qu Yuan drowned—the "Little Boy" ode and "Li sao" rose from such pain.