Harem of Jewish slave traders to supply eunuchs to harems depended on whether they could acquire castrated males. European artists and writers envisioned and presented the Oriental harem in a romanticized, albeit historically inaccurate manner. The dark eunuch was held as the embodiment of the sensual tyranny that held sway in the fantasized Ottoman palace, for he had been "clipped" or "completely sheared" to make of him the "ultimate slave" for the supreme ruler. In the Ottoman court, white eunuchs, who were mostly brought from castration centers in Christian Europe and Circassia, were responsible for much of the palace administration, while
A Man Called Hero A Man Called Hero A Man Called Hero is a 1999 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Andrew Lau. It is loosely based on the manhua series "" by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-shing. It won the 1999 Golden Horse Award for Best Visual Effects. The story begins in early Republican China. After passing a test, Hero Hua is accepted by Pride, a master swordsman, as his second apprentice. When he returns home, he is horrified to see that his parents have been murdered by foreigners for opposing the opium trade. That night, Hero breaks up the foreigners' party and