Know all about the secrets of the harem

Chapter 3 How deep is the secluded harem (2)
In view of the bad governance of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, advocated frugality and reduced the number of people and worshipers in the harem.According to "Eastern Han Huiyao" Volume 2 "Internal Job", only the empress and the nobleman were rich in rank, and the third class was the beauty, the palace lady, and the maid.However, it didn't take long for the harem of the Eastern Han Dynasty to expand in size. During the reign of Emperor Shun, "officials served the imperial court and moved thousands of pieces."At the time of Emperor Huan, the number of women in the harem had reached 6000. "Hou Han Shu Buyi" Volume 20 "Chen Fan", Chen Fan remonstrated with Emperor Huan: "There are thousands of court ladies, and the consumption of cosmetics is innumerable."

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the system of concubines changed again; according to "Three Kingdoms · Wei Shu · Concubine Biography", Cao Cao established Wei Guo, and set up five classes under the queen: wife, Zhaoyi, Jiehao, Ronghua, and beauty; Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, The five ranks of Guifei, Shuai, Xiurong, Shuncheng, and Liangren were added; Wei Mingdi Cao Rui ascended the throne, and the third ranks of Concubine Shu, Zhaohua, and Xiuyi were added to remove Shuncheng.Therefore, there are 12 levels under the queen, which are noble concubine, madam, concubine Shu, Shuyuan, Zhaoyi, Zhaohua, Xiurong, Xiuyi, Jieyu, Ronghua, beauty, and beloved.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, under the empress, noble concubines, wives, and nobles were set up as the third wives, who were more important than the third duke; concubines Shu, Shuyuan, Shuyi, Xiuhua, Xiurong, Xiuyi, Jieyu, Xihua, and Chong were the three. Nine concubines, the rank is higher than that of Jiuqing; under the ninth concubine, there are also beauties, talented people, middle-talented people, etc. as the 27th wives and 81 imperial wives, and officials with titles below Qianshi.After Jin destroyed Eastern Wu, Emperor Wu appropriated more than 3 concubines and court ladies of Wu lord Sun Hao, and the number of harem increased to more than [-]. "Book of Jin" Volume [-]l "Biography of Hu Guipin": "Emperor Wu favored a lot. After the peace of Wu, thousands of Sun Hao palaces were reinstated. Since then, there have been almost [-] people in the court, and many favored people."

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the titles of post-rich people were changed repeatedly, and the number of people continued to increase.

According to "Book of Sui" Volume 36 "Biography of Concubines", Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty established the concubine system after the death of Empress Dugu. The three nobles were Concubine Gui, Concubine Shu, and Concubine De; 12 people from Jiehao, 15 beauties and talented people, making up 27 world wives; 20 people from Baolin, 24 imperial daughters, and 37 female adopters. 81 royal wife.During Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, there were so-called "Chengyi Daoren" and other concubines, who were often thousands of concubines, and they were placed at will.

The number of people in the harem of the Tang Dynasty is unprecedented. "Old Tang Book: Eunuch Biography": "Kaiyuan, Tianbaozhong, Chang'an Da Nei, Daming, Xingqing three officials, the prince's ten houses, the emperor's grandson's house, the east capital Da Nei, Shang Yang and Yang officials have a large rate of 4 court ladies." "New Book of Tang: Eunuch Biography": "In Kaiyuan and Tianbao, the rate of palace concubines is as high as [-]."

According to the "Old Tang Book" volume 51 "The Preface to the Concubine's Biography", in the early Tang Dynasty, four concubines were set up under the empress, namely the imperial concubine, the concubine De, the concubine Shu, and the concubine Xian; the nine concubines were Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, and Xiuyi. , Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, and Chongmei; Jieyu, Meiren, and Cairen each have nine people, totaling 27 people; Baolin, Yunu, and Cainv each have 27 people, totaling 81 people.

During Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the number of post-officials was abolished, and the names of internal officials were changed. Two Zande were replaced by four concubines; Xuanyi was replaced by four concubines; Baolin; enshrined eight people on behalf of imperial daughters; 20 servants on behalf of picking daughters; and 30 servants, collectively referred to as "internal officials".

According to "Tang Liudian" Volume 12 "Neiguan", Tang Xuanzong changed the four concubines to three concubines according to the meaning of the law, named Huifei, Lifei, Huafei, and replaced the nine concubines with Liuyi, named Shuyi, Deyi, Xianyi, Shunyi, Wanyi, Fangyi.In addition, there are four beauties and seven talents.

In addition to the emperor, the crown prince's east palace also has "internal officials", with a crown prince and concubine under the ranks of Liangdi, Liangyuan, Chenghui, Zhaoxun, and Fengyi.

Although Tang Xuanzong changed the fourth concubine to the third concubine, Yang Yuhuan was still named a noble concubine, and the three concubines Hui, Li and Hua were still set up as usual.Concubine Yang Guifei originally married Xuanzong's 18th son Shouwang Li Mao, and Concubine Wu Hui was Li Mao's biological mother.After the death of Concubine Wu Hui, "there are thousands of post-officials, and there are no ones who are interested", so Xuanzong took a fancy to his daughter-in-law Yang Yuhuan.

The identities of women in the harem are not only concubines, but also officials, courtesans, and court ladies.Although the latter three have no status as spouses with the emperor, the emperor has the right to favor them and can possess them or abandon them at any time.

From the Northern and Southern Dynasties onwards, the post-officials set up a system of female officials, governing internal affairs, and taking charge of the education of the concubines and the supply of food and clothing.The system of female officials in the Tang Dynasty was further improved. They were classified into categories and had clear responsibilities. In addition to managing various affairs in the six palaces, the emperor was also accompanied by female officials when he ascended to the court.The female official organization in the Tang Dynasty set up six bureaus and 24 divisions based on the six departments and 24 divisions of the imperial court. The six bureaus were: Shangguan, Shangyi, Shangfu, Shangshi, Shangfu, and Shanggong. .In addition, there is also Gong Zheng, who is also the fifth rank.According to statistics, there are 252 female officials from the fifth rank to the eighth rank, 85 female historians, and a number of officials who share various sundries.

"The so-called official prostitutes refer to the female prostitutes who serve in the imperial palace, mainly for the pleasure of the emperor, but also for the government and society." (Wu Zhou "Chinese Prostitute Cultural History") Court prostitutes are provided by the court and belong to the harem women a part of.Although they have the possibility of being possessed by the emperor, in fact, due to the large number of women in the harem, the chances of them serving the bed are very slim.

The prostitutes in the inner and outer Jiaofang are divided into three categories: "inners", "palace men" and "players".Cui Lingqin's "Jiaofang Ji":
"The prostitutes in Yichun Courtyard are referred to as insiders, and they are also the former ones, and they are often in the front row"; "officials" refer to prostitutes in Yunshao Court; A woman studying music.

As for the court ladies, Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang Dynasty, and Luoyang, the eastern capital, had a large number of official houses and a large number of palace servants.In the Shangyang Palace in Luoyang, there are a large number of palace people who have fallen out of favor or have never been favored.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, concubines and court ladies were combined into one, with various names and thousands of people.

The size of the harem in the Song Dynasty was much smaller than that in the Tang Dynasty, and generally maintained at several hundred people.The highest number was around 9000 during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty.The three dynasties of Liao, Jin and Yuan were all countries established by ethnic minorities, which were slightly different from the Han system, but were greatly influenced by the Han system.Among the concubines of the Ming Dynasty, noble concubines had the highest status, and their ranks changed from time to time, and their personnel were not limited to the prescribed constants.According to "Grand Views of the Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty: Legacy of Upright Officials": "There were as many as [-] court ladies in the Ming Dynasty."

The Qing Dynasty was the dynasty with the smallest number of harem, and eunuchs were all used in the post of the harem, and no female officials were assigned.The empress presides over the internal administration and takes charge of the six palaces. The following concubines are divided into four classes. There is one imperial concubine, two concubines, four concubines, and six concubines. Concubines and concubines lived separately in the East and West twelve officials.

In the Qing Dynasty, there were generally 500 court ladies, and Emperor Kangxi stipulated that untitled beautiful ladies should be sent out of the palace at the age of 25, making the selection and release of court ladies a normal operating mechanism.

In September 1923, the remnants of the Qing imperial family dismissed the maids. This was the last time in Chinese history that the court ladies were released, and the harem system also declined and collapsed.

The monarchs of the past dynasties built a harem system with a large number of people and a strict hierarchy at the expense of the youth of thousands of women for the purpose of their own benefit and happiness, and even created a deformed marriage and love system.No matter whether the concubines in the harem are in power for a while or they are favored alone, they cannot escape the fact that they use their sex to serve the emperor and become the emperor's plaything.

In order to survive in the cruel harem, the concubines had to participate in intrigue and brutal political struggles.

Although the concubine system has long been sealed in history as a feudal relic, the destruction of Chinese women by this system is thought-provoking.

How the emperors of all dynasties pageant
The emperor is also known as the "Ninth Five-Year King" and has supreme authority. This authority is reflected in many aspects, one of which is the possession of a large number of women. The emperor enjoys "three officials, six courts, eight concubines, nine concubines, and 72 royal wives"; And there are a large number of concubines as supplements to concubines. These women are called palace ladies or palace people.They were to provide the services required by the emperor at any time.Due to the differences in the concubine system of successive dynasties, the number of opposite sexes owned by emperors also varies.But one thing is unquestionable. The number of women owned by emperors in ancient China is unique in the world, and the number of concubines in the harem of each dynasty has been increasing.

How were the tens of thousands of concubines and court ladies in the harem of the emperors of the past dynasties appointed?According to historical records, they originally came from wars, and the female captives of the defeated country would become concubines and court ladies of the emperor of the victorious country. "Book of Changes" has the words "marriage between bandits and bandits", which shows that the methods of marriage in ancient times are not much different from the disputes between bandits and bandits. "Book of Jin" uploaded "In the past Xia Jie conquered, there was a gift, and there was a giver who used his sister to love his daughter Yan; Yin Xin (King of Yin Zhou) attacked Su, and the Su people used Daji daughter Yan".

Meixi and Daji are rare beauties in ancient China, and they were all obtained by crusade against Youshi and Yousu. The monarch of the Western Weekend, You Wang Ji Gongni, sent troops to defeat Baoguo (now Baocheng in Hanzhong, Shaanxi), After Baoguo presented the beautiful woman Baosi, King You of Zhou was willing to stop the army.

However, with the gradual disintegration of the slave system, the main sources of concubines in the emperor's harem are: First, gifts from friendly countries.For example, Jin Wengong Chonger fled to Qin State, Qin Mugong remarried the biological daughter who had married the Jin prince to Chonger, and also gave Chonger five beauties successively to help Chonger return to Jin State to kill Jin Huaigong.All Qin Mugong's actions were just to use Chong'er to control the state of Jin.In the Warring States Period, it was common for emperors to give beautiful women to each other as a gift.The second is the dedication of the courtiers.At the end of the Warring States period, the seven heroes stood side by side.In order to win the trust of Zhao State, King Qin Xiaowen sent Xia Ji's son Yiren (later renamed Zi Chu) as a hostage to Handan, the capital of Zhao State, so the story of the great businessman Lu Buwei Xianji seeking power happened.In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the concubines of the emperor's palace selected some women who conformed to the system from the good families of the people according to some systems, and most of the court ladies were forced to serve in the government by using power.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, in August every year, the palace sent Chinese doctors, Ye Tingcheng's inner court officials, and people who were proficient in physiognomy to Luoyang Township, Kyoto, to select good families.The selection criteria are those who are over 13 years old and under 20 years old, with beautiful appearance, dignified appearance, and suitable facial features.The selected one immediately got into the car and loaded into the palace.

After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the selection of concubines formed a system.Every autumn and August, women from good families are selected from the people.During the period of the Three Kingdoms, the Three Kingdoms were fighting for supremacy, and each country did not choose people's palaces from the people.Most of the recruitment of palace people is by plundering women in wars, the wives and concubines of innocent ministers, and daughters into the palace, and only a small number of people are selected from the people.After Emperor Wu of Jin won the throne of the emperor, he issued an edict to "forbid the world to marry and marry", and held a large-scale beauty pageant. Emperor Wu of Jin had 5000 official beauties. The number reached 5000.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, historical records record that Shi Hu, Emperor Zhao of the Sixteen Kingdoms, plundered [-] folk women and put them in the harem.Shi Hu's son Prince Shi Xuan and the princes also followed Shi Hu's beauty pageant, and there were also [-] beauties.

Shihu's twelve beauty pageant envoys were named Liehou for their meritorious service in the pageant.Shihu beauty pageant used extremely cruel means to kill husbands and wives, and there were three thousand people who were forced to commit suicide in anger.Jing, Chu, Xu, and Yang were all empty.

"The common people have beautiful women... If they can't ask for it, they will be falsely accused of committing a crime. More than a hundred families will die, and there will be no peace for people in Haidai and Heji."

When Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty defeated Southern Chen, he heard that Zhang Lihua, the favorite concubine of Empress Chen, had a stately appearance. When he invaded Jiankang (now Nanjing), he urgently ordered his minister Gao Ying to keep Zhang Lihua, but Gao Ying did not obey the order. Beheading Zhang Lihua, Yang Guang was very angry and brooding.During Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he sent envoys to select beauties all over the country every year to enrich the post-officials.

"Qing Yi Lu" records that the post-officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty had beautiful women like clouds, colorful butterflies flying, and dragonflies cruising among the flowers.In Empress Li's palace, the most famous ones are window maids and foot binding.Mi Niang is delicate and beautiful, good at singing and dancing.The latter made a big lotus flower for her.The lotus is decorated with various treasures, and in the middle is a five-color lotus. The master also ordered Mi Niang to wrap her feet with a cloth belt, making the toes look like crescent moons, and then let Mi Niang spin and linger on the lotus. After jumping, the master likes it dance.From then on, everyone imitated the beauties in the harem to please the king. This invention has affected China for thousands of years and has suffered generation after generation of Chinese women.Tang Hao's poem said: "The flower in the lotus is better, and the moon in the cloud grows new." It was made for the window maid's foot binding.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Prince Zhao Yu of the Qing Dynasty said: "In the Yuan Dynasty, there were as many as [-] empress officials and court ladies, and they were not released for a long time." In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the number of concubines in the palace was not clearly recorded, but the history books did. It is recorded that many ministers persuaded the emperor to reduce the number of court ladies as much as possible. From this, it can be seen that there were not many women in the harem of the second generation of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Ji Yun recorded the grand occasion of the "beauty pageant" in the first year of Ming Xizong's Tianqi in "Ming Yi'an Queen's Biography": "Xi Zong Zhu Youxiao will hold a big wedding, and the 5000th to 300th ladies from all over the world will be selected in advance, and some will be hired with silver coins. His parents gave it to him, and he gathered in the capital (now Beijing) in the first month, with 50 people." It was an unprecedented grand occasion, and then he said: "The emperor sent the inner supervisor to select women, and every hundred people were arranged in order of teeth (in terms of age). The supervisor watched them and said: Some are slightly longer, some are slightly shorter, some are slightly fatter, and some are slightly ridged, and they are all helped out. There are thousands of people who are sent back." Then "all the women are separated as before, and the inner guards are watching ears and eyes. , Mouth, nose, hair, skin, neck, shoulders, back, if there is an illegal appearance, get rid of it. Then let him recite his book, surname, and age, and listen to his voice. They all go, and those who go will return to two thousand."The next day, "each of the internal supervisors held a measuring instrument and measured the woman's hands and feet. After the measurement, they were ordered to walk dozens of steps in a circle to observe their demeanor. Those with shorter wrists, larger toes, and less irritable behavior were removed. There are thousands of people. Only a thousand people are left, and all of them are recruited into the palace. The old man who dispatched the officials led them to the secret room, probed their breasts, sniffed their armpits, and felt their texture. Therefore, only 5000 people were selected, and they all got to be palace people. It’s a long time. In the first month of the palace, I was familiar with his temperament and speech, and judged his femininity, ignorance, wisdom and virtuousness, so 50 people were selected, and all of them were selected as concubines.” Out of [-] people, only [-] were selected at the end, which is really "one in a hundred".This "beauty pageant" system continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The beauty pageant system of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty was different from other dynasties, and it created a "draft girl system" with its own characteristics.According to Aixinjueluo Pujie's wife Cuo Ehao's "Food in the Court", the matter of drafting women began in the second year of Shunzhi "until Emperor Kangxi, this kind of thing never happened once."but it is not the truth.

Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne at the age of 6, got married at the age of 14, died at the age of 24, and reigned for 18 years.In the first 7 years, Dorgon was in charge. At that time, Shunzhi was only in his teens. Naturally, there was no such thing as a draft girl. Although Dorgon was domineering, he never drafted a girl.In the seventh year of Shunzhi, Dorgon died of illness.In the following year, Emperor Shunzhi came to power and held a big wedding in the same year. Borzigit, the daughter of Wu Keshan, Prince Wu Keshan of Old Liketu of Horqin Mongolia, was named queen.However, in August of the tenth year of Shunzhi, the queen was ordered to be demoted to Concubine Jing on the grounds that "Prince Rui was engaged to be married when I was young, and she was not chosen because of her in-laws' engagement" and "did not agree with my will, and the palace participated in business". Change to a side palace.

In October of the tenth year of Shunzhi, he ordered "the selection of a queen, as a fan Zhongguan, and a respectful ceremony. It should be carefully selected among the women of officials and civilians in Inner Manchuria, and women below Baylor in Outer Mongolia and above ministers."This time, after the promulgation of the imperial decree, it was not until May of the following year that the daughter of Horqin Mongolian Township Chuoerji and the niece of the abolished Concubine Jing, Borzigit, were selected as the queen. A big wedding was held in the month.

Although the word "draft girl" did not appear in Shunzhi's aforementioned edict, in order to deal with the emperor's spouse, the practice of large-scale review and selection among Manchu and Mongolian official and civilian women was consistent with the so-called "draft girl" later. The system is exactly the same, in fact, it was the first time that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty drafted women.

After the system is finalized, every three years, a female show will be selected within the fixed Eight Banners.Its purpose is just like what Wu Zhenor of the Qing Dynasty pointed out, "either to prepare for the throne of the inner court, to become the prince and grandson to marry, or to marry the prince of the county and the son of the prince of the prince."That is to say, the selection of beautiful women who conform to the system from the Eight Banners is not only for the emperor to be used as a concubine, but some may also be assigned to the emperor's other clans.

There was a very strict system for drafting girls in the Qing Dynasty.Show girls are generally selected from the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners.All banner girls aged 14 to 16 (false age), healthy and without disabilities must participate in the selection.Six years before Jiaqing, even the daughter of a princess who married off could not break this rule.Xiunv who are over 14 years old are called "Ji Sui", and those over 17 are called "Over Sui". Those who are "over the age" generally no longer participate in the selection.Those who fail to read the selection for some reason must participate in the next selection, otherwise, even if they are in their twenties, they cannot marry others under the arbitrariness of their family members, and offenders will be punished.Any banner girl who is eligible for election, who marries with others privately before reading it, will also be investigated and punished by the banner capital.

Even if it is true that those who cannot participate in the draft due to disability, they must be confirmed by each banner at all levels, and reported to the capital of the banner, and then the emperor will be exempted from the selection.In the sixth year of Qianlong's reign, Hengzhi, the daughter of Maertai, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was over 17 years old, but no one had ever selected a daughter.

If the show girl selected for registration is privately hired and married within the registration period (usually five years), then all the officials from the Dutong, Deputy Dutong, Shenling, Zuoling, down to the Banner Chief and my parents will be subject to Certain punishment.If the show girl who is selected to keep the brand is not re-elected for a long time, and the registration period has passed, then such a woman has to never marry for life.

The household department is responsible for hosting the event of the draft girl.At that time, the Ministry of Household Affairs will write a document to govern the yamen of each of the Eight Banners, and the garrison of the Eight Banners in the provinces of Zhili, as well as foreign banner officers, and submit the candidates of suitable age for the record.The date of selection for each session will be approved by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and then the banners will be notified that they will have a list and prepare for selection.

On the day of reading and selection, all the show girls got off at Shenwu Gate, arranged in order, and led to Shunzhen Gate by the eunuchs, so that the emperors and empresses could choose to watch.The choice of places to watch varies from dynasty to generation.During the Tongzhi period, the two empress dowagers, Ci'an and Cifu, used to select beautiful women in "Jing Qia Xuan", while the concubine of Emperor Guangxu selected to see in the Tiyuan Hall of the West Palace.

(End of this chapter)