Imperial eunuchs have a lousy reputation in Chinese history and pop culture. Part of the problem is archival. We have very few sources produced by eunuchs about their own lives. When eunuchs did enter the official records, it was usually because they ran afoul of the emperor or officials at court. Simply put: The only time we hear about eunuchs is when they’ve screwed up (or somebody wants to frame them). No wonder eunuchs have a PR problem. That said, there were some eunuchs who definitely earned their notoriety. Here are three of the most famous of the bad bunch and some of the places in Beijing associated with them.