Chapter 31 Lecture 53

There are four main groups of women in the Ming and Qing palaces: concubines, breast protectors, female officials, and court ladies.Concubines are the emperor's wives and concubines, as mentioned earlier.Nursing nurses are nursing mothers and nannies.The wet nurse is mainly to feed the prince and princess, that is, the wet nurse; the nanny is to look after and raise the young prince and princess.The female officials do management work, and the maids are the harem servants.It is not easy for them to enter the palace, they are selected.The above four kinds of people, the number of court ladies is astonishingly large.For example, in the Tang Dynasty, "Tang Taizong had a Tang Lingzhu. It can be seen that he sent three thousand people to the palace at one time, and the rest can be known by thousands more" (Vol.During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, there were as many as 40,000 court ladies. (Volume 10 of "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records") The court ladies of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi heard from the old eunuch of the Ming Dynasty: There were as many as 9,000 palace ladies in the Ming Dynasty, and there were no meals available, and some people died of starvation every day. (Volume 240 of "Records of the Holy Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty") The number of court ladies in the Ming Dynasty cannot be accurately counted.For example, in the Jiajing Dynasty, more than 3,000 palace ladies were selected nine times.

In the first year of Longqing (1567), censors Wang Dechun and Ling Rushu said: "The first emperor selected palace servants, and the accumulation of more than a few thousand people was not less than thousands of people." The result was not reported. (Volume 9 of "Ming Mu Zong Shilu") By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Longzheng, a scholar in the Chongzhen Dynasty, said: "The court ladies move by thousands, or as many as ten thousand." ("Ji Ting Quan Shu") From entering the palace to leaving the palace, they What is the situation?

Choose the Ming Dynasty to choose the maids, all over the world.For example, in the fourteenth year of Hongwu (1381), it was ordered to select unmarried women between the ages of 13 and 19 from the prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, as well as the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. Women without husbands serve as female officials.The Qing Dynasty was different, and it was stipulated: "Every three years old, a beautiful girl from the Eight Banners is selected, and the head of the household department is selected; every year, a beautiful girl belonging to the banner of the House of Internal Affairs is selected, and the head of the House of Internal Affairs is selected." It needs to be distinguished: once every three years, the Eight Banners select Xiunv, mainly concubines, nobles, etc., and some also select Fujin for the children of the clan; once a year, those selected by the Banners of the House of Internal Affairs are also called Xiunv in official documents, but they are actually handmaidens (later also called maids of honor), they are mainly engaged in rough work such as serving, sweeping, and chores.The three banners of the House of Internal Affairs were mainly servants of the Qing royal family, or criminals who stayed in the banners. Their families were called "Xinzheku" and were considered lowly people.Therefore, the political status and social status of the Eight Banners show girls and the Three Banners palace ladies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are different.According to records, when a girl is thirteen or fourteen years old, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will send her to the palace as a servant according to the booklet. This is a job that a slave should respect.Some families want girls to go out and see the world: firstly, they can earn a few taels of silver every month, and the family can get rewards on time and according to festivals; secondly, girls learn some rules and adjust them in the palace. Fame, use it to climb high and find a good wife; thirdly, if you really marry a first-class guard or something, if someone is promoted, you may make a fortune in a few years.

Training show girls and court ladies are selected into the palace, and they need to be trained.The content of the training for palace maids: one is culture, one hour a day for writing and reading, and the next day there will be an examination by palace officials; the other is female red, teaching embroidery and other tasks; and rules.Those who are unqualified to go out of the palace will be made up one by one.A year later, the handsome one will serve the concubine's daily life, the next one will be a dressmaker and adornment, and the third one will be a handyman.Keep their own, never disorder.After leaving the palace, you can choose to marry.

According to records, there is a saying among court ladies: "The old queen is easy to serve, but the aunt is not easy to serve." "Aunt" is the name of the new court lady to the old palace lady.The aunt who is in charge of the new palace ladies has great power. She can beat and punish you. She can think you are worthless and can't be transferred (tiao), so she can send you to work as a handyman.But they are almost full of errands, and they are anxious to find a substitute so that they can go home by themselves, and they will teach them wholeheartedly, and they will also say a few good words for the new maid so that they can replace themselves.The aunt was very angry, and she would take out her anger on the new palace maids at every turn, often without explaining the reason, she would hit and punish first.The beating was bearable, and the pain passed for a while.Afraid of being punished, kneeling at the corner of the wall may not always last.The little sister often begged: "Good aunt, please hit me!"

The first way out is to be promoted to the throne.Some court ladies were favored by the emperor, such as Concubine Ji (the birth mother of Emperor Hongzhi) and Concubine Wan Gui of Emperor Chenghua of Ming Dynasty, and Concubine Li (the birth mother of Emperor Wanli) of Emperor Longqing, all of them were born as court ladies.The Qing Dynasty stipulated: "Women in the palace attendants should be present and promised, and gradually progress to concubines and concubines." ("Qing History Draft · Concubine Biography" 214) The second is the female officer who was appointed as the female manager of the court.The third is to leave the palace to marry when the age limit is over.

Punishment in the palace of the Ming Dynasty, there were many corporal punishments.There is a palace poem: "Fifteen Qing'e recited the Sutra of Filial Piety, her shy words were unclear, and she couldn't bear to be taught to hold it, and Ye Yu street sang peace." Pulling both feet, bending and standing up, repeated non-stop, dizzy, and severe cases fell to the ground.The so-called "singing peace" means that the punished maids carry the bell, and go from Qianqing Gate to Rijing Gate, Yuehua Gate, and back to Qianqing Palace every night, singing "Tianxia Taiping", with a slow and long voice, corresponding to the bell, walking slowly. Goose step, rain or shine. ("Tianqi Palace Ci Notes") If it is more serious, it will be sentenced to death.Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty executed the court lady Yang Jinying and others as an example.

Exiting the Palace The Ming Dynasty did not have regulations on the release of palace ladies, and the release of palace ladies was occasionally implemented.When Emperor Chenghua came to the throne, Li Xian, a scholar of the university, said: "The weather is not harmonious, and the yin is too strong. From Xuande to Tianshun, there are too many palace people selected, and the sorrow is especially serious. It is advisable to release them all."So the emperor released some palace ladies.From the first year of Xuande (1426) to the eighth year of Tianshun (1464), it has been 38 years before it was released this time.The maids who entered the palace in Xuande, such as 13 years old, are already over half a hundred at this time.

Court ladies in the Qing Dynasty can leave the palace.Some of the maids who left the palace were due to age, some due to illness, some due to clumsiness, and some due to mistakes.When Emperor Qianlong tried to pick a girl, he suddenly saw lotus flowers printed with powder on the ground. It was because the soles of her carved shoes were lotus-shaped and filled with powder, which made the lotus flowers grow on the ground.Emperor Qianlong was angry and ordered the inner prison to expel him from the palace. ("Qing Barnyard Banknotes·Gongwei Chapter") Another example is the records in the archives: the respect room was handed over, and the women who left the palace under the age limit of Chuxiu Palace, one of the Lan nobles left the palace due to illness, and one of the British concubines left the palace due to illness. One from the palace, one from Ligui's position because of stupidity. ("Records of the House of Internal Affairs") also contains: The respect room was handed over, the women in Yikun Palace were not allowed to leave the palace before the age limit, three of Xianggui's subordinates were out of the palace due to stupidity, laziness, and blame, and Li Ying's subordinate was due to illness One went out of the palace, and one under the reign of Yuan Chang went out of the palace due to illness. ("Records of the House of Internal Affairs") In the Qing Dynasty, the court ladies went out of the palace on schedule, which was generally implemented.According to historical records: "The envoys in the harem are all the women of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who are lowly dressed and released at the age of twenty-five. They have never lived in the confinement for a long time. They are sincere and virtuous." ("Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records" Volume 10 ) Officials cannot marry maids who are out of the palace.He Shen married a woman who was out of the palace as his second wife, which was considered one of the major crimes.Why is this?Maybe he was afraid that the minister would know the secrets of the harem.

However, Lagu Su Ma is a special case of court ladies in Ming and Qing Dynasties.