Lao Ai

Lao Ai (Chinese: 嫪毐; pinyin: Lào Ǎi; died 238 BCE) was an imposter eunuch and official of the State of Qin during the late Warring States period.[1][2] Allegedly falsifying his castration in order to gain entry into the court of Qin, he became the favorite of Queen Dowager Zhao, the mother of Qin Shi Huang, later the First Emperor of China. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Changxin (長信侯). After a conspiracy to incite rebellion was uncovered, he was executed by Qin Shi Huang.[3]

Since the conspiracy and downfall of Lao Ai, his sexual misdeeds have become a fixture in the traditional moralizing discourse of intellectuals in imperial China, and his very surname and style name, which meant "lustful misdeed" in Old Chinese, has become a byword for "fornicators" in the classical Chinese language.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ 现代汉语词典(第七版). [A Dictionary of Current Chinese (Seventh Edition).]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 1 September 2016. pp. 4, 787. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8. 嫪毐（Lào'ǎi），战国时秦国人。
  2. ^ 现代汉语规范词典(第3版) [Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian]. Beijing: 外语教学与研究出版社. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. May 2014. pp. 3, 797. ISBN 978-7-513-54562-4.
  3. ^ Knoblock, John; Riegel, Jeffrey (2000). The annals of Lü Buwei: a complete translation and study. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804733546.
  4. ^ Goldin 2002, p. 84.
  5. ^ Sima Zhen, Shiji Suoyin, vol. 2. quote: "嫪姓毐字按漢書嫪氏出邯鄲王劭云賈侍中說秦始皇帝母予嫪毐淫坐誅故世人駡淫曰嫪毐也" translation (partially based on Goldin 2002:84): "Lao ('嫪') is a surname; Ai ('毐') is a style name. According to the Book of Han, the Lao clan originated from Handan. Wang Shao said: 'The palace attendant surnamed Jia said that the mother of the First Emperor of Qin fornicated with Lao Ai; he was executed, so the world reviled fornicators by calling them 'Lao Ai'".
  6. ^ Kangxi Dictionary entry for Aì: "[...]故世罵淫曰嫪毐".