In the 17th and 18th centuries, hundreds of thousands of boys in Europe became "castrat singers", and their life expectancy increased instead of decreasing?

In this world, many people will like very rare and beautiful things, and many people even pay all the price for the pursuit of these things. For example, in order to realize their musical dreams, many people participate in various competition variety shows, such as "The Voice of China", "Avenue of Stars", etc. The most eye-catching is the singing of falsetto tenor singers. The public recognizes this "feminine" sound very much, and it seems that falsetto tenor has a large music market.

The birth of the "Golden Age of Bel Canto" castrato singers

We all know that boys and girls will change their voices when they reach puberty, especially boys, because the testosterone secretion level of boys increases as a whole during puberty. After puberty, the larynx of a boy develops very rapidly. For example, it is like a parallel-bar washing machine, which is more powerful than a horizontal-bar washing machine.

When the puberty period is over, the fundamental frequency of the highest pitch and the natural vocal range of boys begin to change greatly, decreasing and narrowing. Since then, male singers are often in a disadvantaged position to sing soprano, and they are not as good as female sopranos. Under this trend, from the 17th to 18th centuries, castrato singers came into being, and they created the "Golden Age of Bel Canto" in the history of vocal music.

So what exactly is a castrato singer? Literally, castration refers to castration, and castrated singers refer to singers who have been castrated. In medieval Europe, wars were raging in various countries and the social and political situation was turbulent. Many ordinary people believed in gods and hoped to live a peaceful life by praying for well-being.

To this end, the kings of many countries will use the influence of religion to control the country. Among them, the most influential is the Pope of Rome. In the early Middle Ages, the Pope of Rome issued a rule that prohibited women from making all kinds of voices in the church and kept quiet. If there are female voices in the church, it represents a kind of bad luck.

Now that women have been stripped of their right to sing collective soprano songs in churches, who should sing the soprano part of the choir? How to solve the female voice that opera performance needs? In desperation, the church had to recruit a large number of boys with good voices to sing. It is a pity that after the selected boys received long-term singing training, they ushered in a period of voice change, and their singing careers have also changed since then. This is the end, but unfortunately the whole process is too short.

Seeing that there are fewer and fewer boys in the choir in the church, some people find that they can castrate boys to retain their unique voices. After being castrated, boys' androgen secretion is too low, but their vocal cords are still very weak. Short, know that the shorter the vocal cords, the higher the pitch will be. Moreover, castrated males have larger lung capacity than females, and they can sing high notes directly from two to three octaves. These males can also sing female high notes very dexterously. They occupy the core part of the entire stage and have a singing career. It has also been extended to more than 40 years and is loved by various kings and nobles. It can be said that this advanced technology achieved the most perfect sound effect at that time.

So how does castration technology succeed? What is its rationale?

The castrations of European boys in the Middle Ages have many similarities with our ancient Chinese eunuchs. They are all products of castration, and this castration technique occupies an important position in the long history. The appearance of castrated men also reflects the dark side of social feudalism. It seems that the superficial beauty is infinite, but there is a lot of bitter history behind it.

Some netizens can't help but ask: "In the society with backward medical technology at that time, how did the castration technology succeed, and what is its principle?" Castration in ancient times mainly refers to destructive organs, and castration was carried out by physical means. , and it is also useful to perform castration directly by hand. However, castration of male organs carries a great risk, and many people die from excessive bleeding or post-operative infection. Removing the testicles is a relatively safe method, but it is also a very complicated technique.

Castration techniques were developed from the great European empires, represented by the rope method and the kneading method. The rope method is tied to the bottom of the genitals through hemp ropes. After a few days, the boy's genitals will shrink and fall off. The kneading method is that professionals knead the boy's testicles every day until they are crushed. In medieval Europe, castration gradually became a religious practice, and hundreds of thousands of boys became "castrat singers".

Do castrated men really live longer?

Do these castrated men really live longer? In the 1960s, researchers conducted in-depth studies on the effects of castration on male longevity. In a comparison of the lifespan of 297 castrated men and 735 intact men, the average life expectancy of castrated men was 69.3 years, while the average life expectancy of intact men who were not castrated was 55.7 years. The earlier it is, the longer the lifespan.

The results of this study confirmed that inhibiting the release of male hormones secreted by the testes of men can make men live longer. However, not all scientists agree with the results of this study. Some scholars believe that the length of life of men has nothing to do with castration. Androgen is the main component of the male body. It can strengthen muscles and have a positive effect on physical health. Whether or not castration can affect a male's life expectancy is not worth advocating.

Why are there no castrated singers in China?

You must know that the emergence of Western castrated singers was mainly influenced by religious culture. At that time, opera had great market value, but in ancient China, this long and profound vocal music tradition was lacking from beginning to end. Chinese instrumental music Although prosperous, it cannot be compared with European vocal music.

In ancient China, all songs were accompanied by musical instruments, holding the qin and wind music. It can be seen that traditional musical instruments have a long history in China. In addition, Western religions do not allow women to sing on stage. These rules and regulations did not exist in ancient China. During the Warring States Period, women were famous for singing and dancing. In the Tang Dynasty, many musical instruments were played, and singing and dancing were dominated by women. Therefore, this is also the reason why there are no castrated singers in China.

The appearance of castrato has made many people pay a heavy price for art. No matter how brilliant it was, hidden behind it are the shackles that trample on human rights and imprison human nature. The demise of this art is not worthy of pity, because only art that respects human nature is true art, and any happiness should not be built on the suffering of others.