Chapter 38 Second, the selection of concubines

There are two situations in the selection of concubines in the Ming Dynasty.First, the concubine chosen by the crown prince or prince is chosen by the empress or empress dowager among officials or other wealthy families, and she is the first concubine or side concubine.Second, the choice of the emperor's concubine is selected from nobles or officials or wealthy families, and they are registered as queens, concubines, concubines, etc.Then, the selection of concubines was irregularly selected from nobles, officials, ladies from wealthy families, and also from court ladies.For example, Emperor Jiajing's "nine concubines" were selected from ladies from all over the country, selected layer by layer, and finally determined by the empress dowager and the emperor. (Volume 122 of "Records of Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty")

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to "choose ladies carefully for the sake of wide heirs", and selected ladies extensively across the country in order to enrich the harem.For example, in the Jiajing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, in November of the ninth year (1530), it was ordered to "select ladies from inside and outside the capital, and get 1,258 people" (Volume 19 of "Ming Shizong Shilu"); In May of the fifth year (1536), Jia Shiyun, the head of the household department, was ordered to "return eighty-eight ladies including Liu Shi from Shandong, Henan, and Beizhili (today's Hebei) to Beijing, and the imperial edict was introduced from Donghuamen. "Nei" (Volume 187 of "Ming Shizong Veritable Records"); in May of the nineteenth year (1540), "one hundred ladies from inside and outside the capital were selected by edict" (Volume 237 of "Ming Shizong Veritable Records").Only the above three times, a total of 1446 ladies were selected.After these people entered the palace and went through strict selection, some of them were clearly recorded as concubines, and the rest stayed in the palace as maids of honor, or were sent home. Historical records are unclear.It is also recorded that in the winter of the 31st year of Jiajing (1552), 300 girls from inside and outside the capital were selected to enter the palace. (Shen Defu's "Wanli Yehuo Compilation") What to do?Emperor Jiajing believed in alchemy and used it for collecting menstrual blood, refining elixirs, and seeking longevity.

Let us take the example of Emperor Apocalypse choosing ladies.According to historical records: In the first year of Tianqi, Emperor Tianqi will hold a big wedding, and select 13 to 16 year old ladies from all over the world in advance, and gather 5,000 people from the capital.They have been strictly screened: first, the eunuchs are dispatched for primary selection, in groups of one hundred people, and the internal eunuch observes their height, shortness, fat, and thinness, and thousands of them are sent back; secondly, the eunuch inspects the ears, eyes, mouth, and nose of the ladies Hair, skin, waist, collar, shoulders, back, etc., if there is one item that is not legal, it will be removed, and two thousand people will be returned; again, the eunuch will take a measuring device and measure the woman's hands and feet. After the measurement is completed, they will go around Dozens of steps, to see its abundance, etc., and those who are eliminated will be thousands of people.Then, send the old maids to lead the ladies to the secret room, explore their breasts, smell their armpits, and touch their skin texture. Three hundred people will be selected.Afterwards, their temperament, poetry and writing, self-cultivation, etc. were inspected in the palace, and only fifty people were selected. (Ji Yun's "The Biography of Empress Ming Yi'an") The 5,000 people who were selected from the audition were screened many times, and finally 50 people were selected, which is really one in a hundred.

There are also two situations in the choice of empresses in the Qing Dynasty.First, the prince's direct Fujin and side Fujin are designated by the emperor, empress, and empress dowager. After the prince inherits the throne, the direct Fujin is registered as queen, and the side Fujin is registered as concubine.Second, those who were originally young emperors, such as Shunzhi, Kangxi, Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Xuantong, had their concubines selected by the empress dowager or empress dowager among the daughters of nobles and officials.Later, the main source of concubines was Xiunu.The rules for the emperor's selection of beautiful women are divided into two categories:

One is that once every three years, the Eight Banners show girls are introduced as usual, and the time and place for the show girls are selected and selected by the court.At that time, the chief eunuch of the palace will lead the eunuchs from all over the place to lead the beautiful women to select and watch them, and then lead them out to reward them with meals and money for chariots and horses.The selected women of the Eight Banners are selected as candidates for concubines, concubines, nobles, etc., or for marriage to the children of close clans.

The second category is that, once a year, the show girls under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are introduced as a rule, and the time and place for the show girls are selected and selected by the court.At that time, the chief eunuch of the palace will lead the eunuchs from all over the place to lead the beautiful women to select and watch them, and then lead them out to reward them with meals and money for chariots and horses.Once a year, the beautiful women who belong to the House of Internal Affairs are selected, and they are supplemented by the maids who accompany the heads of the inner court.The court lady was sent back to her family at the age of 25, and she was allowed to marry.Girls over 13 years old in the above two aspects can be recruited and married if they fail the selection test. Those who have not been selected are not allowed to marry without permission.

The concubine was selected into the palace and lived in the East and West Six Palaces.How is the huge and complex harem managed?