Eunuchs of the Forbidden City by Charles Ludlam
"Eunuchs of the Forbidden City" is a five-act play by Charles Ludlam set during the tumultuous period of the Boxer Rebellion in China around 1900. The narrative centers on Orchid Yehonala, who unexpectedly finds herself in contention to become a consort of the emperor after her cousin bears his child. Amidst personal aspirations and the political machinations of the imperial court, the story explores themes of power, influence, and survival in a world fraught with danger. The character of Li Lien Ying, a young eunuch, serves as a guide for Orchid, revealing the unexpected power dynamics at play within the palace, where eunuchs often held significant sway despite their physical incapacitation.
The play is notable for its farcical humor and dramatic devices, characteristic of Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatre, which challenges societal norms and examines hypocrisy and greed through irreverent comedy. With a mix of historical context and exaggerated theatricality, "Eunuchs of the Forbidden City" reflects on the roles of gender and power in a historical setting while also engaging in a playful critique of authority and human behavior. The production itself was ambitious, requiring elaborate costumes and staging, and received a positive reception in Germany for its innovative approach to blending traditional elements with contemporary theatrical flair.
Eunuchs of the Forbidden City by Charles Ludlam
First published: 1972
First produced: 1971, at Der Reichskabaret, Berlin, Germany
Type of plot: Farce; history
Time of work: 1900-1920
Locale: The Forbidden City and Shantung, China
Principal Characters:
Orchid Yehonala , (later Tsu Hsi), chosen as the emperor’s consortSakota , (later Tsu An), her cousinChien Feng , the emperorEmpress Dowager , his motherT’ung Chih , his sonPervading Fragrance , a virginWelcome Spring , a virginPrince Kung , Chien Feng’s brotherPrince Yi , Chien Feng’s brotherSu Shun , the Grand CouncillorAn Te Hai , the chief eunuchLi Lien Ying , a young eunuchWu Yung Foo , a loyal eunuchA Lu Te , a servant girl
The Play
Eunuchs of the Forbidden City is a five-act play, set in China around the time of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. When the curtain opens, Orchid Yehonala is having a bubble bath, attended by a young eunuch named Li Lien Ying. It seems an idyllic moment, but the restful scene is shattered by the arrival of Orchid’s cousin, Sakota (later called Tsu An). Sakota has borne a child to Chien Feng, the emperor of China. Orchid is overjoyed until Sakota tells her cousin that she has borne a girl child and that the emperor is in a deep depression. The Empress Dowager has called for the selection of a new consort for her son in the hope of cheering him up, as well as for the practical purpose of securing the Throne of Heaven for her line of descendants. Sakota informs Orchid that she has submitted her cousin’s name as a potential candidate.
Orchid is overwhelmed by this honor, although she does not feel she has a chance of being chosen because of the multitude of beautiful women from which the emperor has to choose. However, Sakota’s recommendation is not completely benign. If her cousin is chosen and bears the emperor a son, then Orchid can use her influence to make sure that Sakota’s place in the palace will not be lost. As Sakota withdraws, Orchid’s eunuch, Li Lien, helps her prepare. Orchid is amazed by Li Lien’s directions not only about how to make herself beautiful, but also on how to please the emperor. When asked how he has come by such knowledge, the eunuch reveals how much power the seemingly powerless men have.
In due time, the chief eunuch, An Te Hai (played in the play’s debut by Charles Ludlam himself), comes to take Orchid to the Pavilion of Selection. Li Lien teaches his young charge how to bribe officials, knowing that it will come in handy if she is selected. Orchid is brought before the emperor and the Empress Dowager as one of the finalists, along with two other virgins, Pervading Fragrance and Welcome Spring. Chien Feng chooses Orchid as his consort, and she later gives birth to a boy named T’ung Chih. As Chien Feng lies upon his deathbed not long afterward, Orchid, now called Tsu Hsi, is forced to blackmail the dying and stubborn emperor to sign a decree making their son the rightful heir.
Upon his death, the empire is thrown into chaos as warring princes vie for the throne. The Boxers ransack China, forcing everyone to run in panic. Meanwhile, Prince Yi attempts to seize the imperial seal to prove his royal claim, but as Tsu Hsi, Tsu An, and their two young children flee the Winter Palace with loyal Prince Kung and the assistance of Wu Yung Foo, the ever-faithful eunuch, Li Lien, thrusts the royal seal into her hands. When Prince Yi and Su Shun, the Grand Councillor, enter, Li Lien hides and overhears their plot to kill T’ung Chih. However, he has no chance to tell his mistress what he has overheard, for Prince Yi, in an effort to disguise his true intentions, plucks out his own eyeball to show his loyalty to the new heir and Tsu Hsi. Believing Prince Yi’s word completely, they retire for the night.
Later, disguised as bandits, Prince Yi and Su Shun enter to kill the young prince T’ung Chih. However, Tsu Hsi orders her cousin to switch the children and the princess is killed instead. In the process, before the eunuchs take away the survivors, Tsu Hsi sees Prince Yi’s ring and knows he is a traitor. Tsu Hsi then orders Prince Yi brought before her, and Prince Kung beheads him.
Sixteen years later, Tsu Hsi is still in command as empress. Her spoiled son must be married soon, but he seems to have eyes for one of her servant girls, A Lu Te. Tsu Hsi disapproves. Meanwhile, An Te Hai and Li Lien Ying carry on their own war against each other in order to see who can gain more favor with Tsu Hsi. Li Lien works with Tsu An and Prince Kung and orders An Te Hai’s execution. Before he dies, he reveals that he is not truly a eunuch, has had sex with countless women, and may be the father of T’ung Chih and the baby A Lu Te is carrying. In a strange plot twist that ends the play, Tsu Hsi executes Prince Kung and poisons Tsu An.
Dramatic Devices
Eunuchs of the Forbidden City is a typical example of Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatre. Ludlam made his New York stage debut as Peeping Tom in Ronald Tavel’s The Life of Lady Godiva (pr. 1966), which was directed by John Vaccaro at the Play-House of the Ridiculous, so it is not a surprise that his own future works (as well as the name of his own company) were influenced by the farcical works of his first director. In fact, after being summarily fired by Vaccaro during rehearsals for his second play, Conquest of the Universe (pr. 1967), he started his own company, the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, and produced his own version of the play called When Queens Collide (pr. 1967, pb. 1989).
Farce and humor have always been a central aspect of Ludlam’s dramatic devices, often used to reinforce Ludlam’s strict moralist standards and, as Tish Dace notes, to indict “the objects of his ridicule for violating his own humanistic standards.” Farcical humor is the most obvious dramatic device used in Eunuchs of the Forbidden City. Ludlam’s work in this play is no different from some of William Shakespeare’s work. It is bawdy, irreverent, shameless, funny, and full of asides to the audience.
Ludlam’s use of humor helps free the audience’s sense of inhibition, according to Dace, by “moving spectators quickly from incredulity at his daring to joining him in raucous belly laughs. . . .” In doing so, Ludlam “demonstrates outrage at hypocrisy, cruelty, greed, con-games, sycophancy, and other violations of his own moral imperatives.”
Critical Context
Eunuchs of the Forbidden City was only the fifth (the sixth, Edna Brown, 1964, he destroyed) play Ludlam wrote, preceded by plays that included When Queens Collide, Big Hotel (pr. 1966, pb. 1989), and The Grand Tarot (pr. 1969, pb. 1989). While most of these “chaotic, nonconformist, often all-night affairs,” as Steven Samuels describes them, were epic in style, Eunuchs of the Forbidden City would be the Ridiculous Theatrical Company’s largest production to that date. Ludlam, in “Manifesto,” says:
We’d been working on it for a year and a half. We had trouble getting it on [stage] because it had such elaborate mise en scène. We needed a couple of dozen enormous wigs, gongs, music. It’s epic style, and you have to have the palanquins and carts or you can’t do it. It has long tirades like in French classical tragedy. . . . It was the most demanding play we’d done.
The play opened in Germany, so Ludlam and his cast were free from the more conservative opinions of New York City critics. In fact, the German critics found the play quite refreshing. Ludlam noted that the German press gave it a good reception and saw Ludlam’s style as a welcome alternative to then-dominant Living Theater. As Ludlam said, “Europeans appreciated our extensions of tradition—the habit of mining out, redefining and exploiting traditions rather than merely destroying them.”
Most of Ludlam’s subsequent works proved to be equally epic and grand theatrical productions, such as Camille: A Tear-Jerker (pr. 1973, pb. 1989), based on Alexandre Dumas, fils’s La Dame aux camélias (pr., pb. 1852; Camille, 1856), and his tour de force, The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful (pr. 1984, pb. 1987). Charles Ludlam died at an early age, leaving behind an enormous body of work.
Sources for Further Study
Dace, Tish. “Ludlam, Charles.” In Contemporary Dramatists. New York: St. James Press, 1972.
Ludlam, Charles. The Complete Plays of Charles Ludlam. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
Samuels, Steven, ed. Ridiculous Theatre: Scourge of Human Folly—The Essays and Opinions of Charles Ludlam. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1992.