Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Ranks of Harem Concubines

Friends who have watched the fifth and sixth episodes of "The Legend of Zhen Huan in the Harem" will definitely notice the following two plots: A chance encounter with Yu Xu, Yu Ying is so proud of being pampered that he actually asks Mei Zhuang, who is a nobleman, to make way for her, Mei Zhuang can't bear it.In the sixth episode, Yu Xunying, who was named Miaoyin's lady, dared to send Xin Changzai, an old man beside the emperor, to the Punishment Department. Here, there is a problem: the rank and identity of the harem of the Qing Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, there were formal regulations—in our current words, they were called "red-headed documents".Among them are vague requirements: one queen, one imperial concubine, two noble concubines, four concubines, and six concubines.However, the emperor still has a lot of leeway.Because there is no specific quota limit for the nobles below the concubine, permanent presence, promise, etc., the emperor can still expand the army as he pleases.

The queens in the palace, imperial concubines, noble concubines, concubines, concubines and maids of honor, etc., all have strict levels.The Qing Dynasty was a hierarchical society, and the palace was even more strictly hierarchical.Dressing, accessories, eating, drinking tea, eating meat, monthly salary, silver rewards, regular silver, utensils, room size, etc. are all regulated.There are also regulations for the allocation of maids of different ranks to concubines.In short, from head to toe, from eating to clothing, there are rules. For example, the empress dowager's annual allowance is 22 taels of gold and 200 taels of silver; the empress's annual allowance is 1,000 taels of silver for twelve maids; Maid; Concubine six hundred taels, eight maids; concubine three hundred taels, six maids; concubine two hundred taels, six maids; nobleman one hundred taels, four maids; maids; promised thirty-two, two maids.Take the queen as an example: In addition to the twelve maids and an annual allowance of one thousand taels of silver, the "durable consumer goods" allocated to the queen include the following: jade cup gold table, gold square, golden tea pot lid, green inlaid Turquoise gold spoon, gold-inlaid ivory chopsticks, silver square, silver bowl, copper shade lamp, copper dustpan, silver gossip stove, one each (paid); gold holding pot, gold spoon, golden cloud-wrapped corner table, foreign lacquer low table, Silver fire pot, silver pot, silver pot, copper pot, copper gossip stove, copper hand stove, copper ladle, tin pool, tin fire pot, tin lier (refrigerator for storing ice), tin drawer cobalt, iron fire tongs , two each; silver spoons, silver teapots, three each; copper tile high foot lamps, tin tea bowl lids, tin back pots, iron fire covers, iron base lamps, magnetic slag buckets, and claw handle lamps, four each; Five gold bowls, copper pick trays, iron stove, five each; gold saucers, copper cut-off candle jars, six each (paid); silver tea pot lids, silver-inlaid ivory chopsticks, tin pots, eight each (paid); Ten bowls, silver spoons, tin basins, and incense lamps; thirteen pots with silver backs; fifteen lacquered tea trays; twenty stamp lamps; twenty-five lacquer boxes; twenty-six lacquer boxes; Thirty plates and silver teapots each; forty yellow porcelain dishes; fifty porcelain bowls and plates of various colors; eighty yellow porcelain plates; one hundred yellow porcelain bowls and cups each.

You know, in the Qing Dynasty, the Lumi of the dignified first-rank officials was only 90 shi, and the salary was only 180 taels; Being a broken official is not as comfortable as being a concubine!The queen has such a generous material treatment, and holds the power to command thousands of "women's army", the "sisters" are of course jealous.It would be great if he could be replaced; even if he couldn't, he should show his talents and try his best to get as much oil and water from the emperor's husband. The family members of the palace ladies are allowed to visit their daughters in the palace once a month.The row of small and low rooms on the side of the corridor outside the Shunzhen Gate is the place where the maids meet their families.Except for the most favored maids who had to wait on the master day and night, most court ladies didn't come out every day to do errands.Once every three days, once every five days, probably the more popular, the more frequently on duty, from the monthly shifts, we can also see how favored the maid is.Because the maids are on duty, they lead a very tense life, and they don't have any time to rest, so when it's their turn to go off duty, most of them try to relax as much as possible.The most obvious manifestation is that after getting up in the morning, just wash your face and rinse your mouth, and you are done. You don't apply powder or fat, let alone draw your eyebrows and temples, and you are dressed very casually.Stronger court ladies can learn embroidery, writing, calligraphy and painting, and those who like to play can play cards.

After the Qing army entered the customs, in order to show that they did not distinguish between each other, they first stated that Manchu and Han could intermarry.Qing Shizu Aixinjueluo?Fulin announced in the fifth year of Shunzhi (1648) that the women of Han officials who "wanted to marry Manchuria" could register.Qing Shizu Aixinjueluo?Fulin himself, in order to set an example, also asked for the daughter of Shi Shen, Luanzhou, the servant of the Han household department, to be his concubine.According to the "Yongping Mansion Chronicles", this lady surnamed Shi was very favored by Emperor Shunzhi, because she was not only given to live in Yongshou Palace, but also could wear Han-style crown clothes. More importantly, whenever her When her mother, Zhao Shuren, came to see her, she could get off the sedan chair nearby—"take the shoulder to enter the Xihua Gate to the inner right gate and enter the palace"!

Qing Shengzu Aixinjueluo, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty?In Xuanye's harem, there are also many concubines with Han surnames.Later, concubines with the Han surname became more common in the palace.Among them, the most noteworthy is the fifth emperor Qing Renzong Aixinjueluo?Yong Yan, his biological mother, Empress Xiaoyi, whose surname is Wei, is his father Qing Gaozong Aixinjueluo?One of Hongli's three queens (Empress Wei).According to the "Records of the Qing Dynasty", in 1818, she was specially instructed by her son to revise the book "Wei Jiashi" in the jade plate. This seems to deliberately cover up that half of the blood of the current emperor is Han.

Outside the Longzong Gate in the Forbidden City, there is a group of buildings with the Palace of Compassion and Ning as the main body.Some people call it the widow's house in the Forbidden City.Because the original owner here was the empresses, concubines, and concubines of the first emperor.Among them, they mainly entered the palace through drafting girls.Although the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties were not like the "three thousand beauties in the harem" of the Tang Dynasty, the number of them was not small.The empress, imperial concubine, concubine, concubine, nobleman, Chang Zai, promised, etc., they all live in the East and West Six Palaces on both sides of the Qianqing Palace.

In terms of housing, concubines and above live in the East and West twelve palaces separately, each with its own special room, while nobles and below have no special room at all, so they can only live in the east and west palaces and work diligently.It can be seen from this that not only is it basically impossible for the fifth episode of "Yu promised to be arrogant because of being favored and let the nobleman Meizhuang make way for her", even the nobleman Meizhuang It’s impossible to live in the majestic Xianfu Palace because of a high status—whether it’s a promise, or a nobleman, and you don’t even have your own room, and you are still "proud of being favored"?

In addition, it should be noted that slavery was prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, and slavery was also prevalent.In the early years of Kangxi, Zhu Zhibi, the chief minister, said in his memorandum: "The servants and maidservants of the Eight Banners commit suicide every year at the newspaper department. There are no less than 2,000 people. Are they all happy to die? The hunger and cold are severe, the whip is imposed on the outside, and you will kill yourself with hatred, of course." The court ladies also have a similar situation. They are responsible for the heavy labor and chores necessary for the royal luxury and enjoyment. If they are careless, they will be severely punished. even be executed. In the winter of 1778, concubine Chun beat a maid to death in the palace. In order to express his opposition to this behavior of "indulging in sexual abuse and beating slaves and maidservants", Qianlong summoned all the officials in the Xinuang Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation on the second day after the incident happened. The prince and the minister of military affairs announced that "the concubine Chun will be conferred as a concubine as a warning; and the concubines and other concubines should be taken as a warning, so that they will not repeat the same mistakes and commit crimes themselves."However, it didn't take long before he revoked the punishment of Concubine Chun.It can be seen that his handling of this incident is nothing more than flaunting wisdom and benevolence, and it is just a kind of ruling power.

From this, it can be seen that in the second episode, such things as "the angry concubine Hua killed the court lady Fuzi sent by the queen to serve her" could really happen in the early Qing Dynasty. Once the emperor passed away, according to the Qing Dynasty's ancestral system, they would all move to the Compassionate Palace.It can be said that the life here has nothing to do with laughter. It can only be lived in the lonely and monotonous life of "dark faces, old faces, white hairs and new faces".There are also occasional joys in the Compassion Palace, such as giving the empress dowager an emblem, registering a concubine, New Year's Day, winter solstice, and the empress dowager's longevity festival. Grand celebrations are held here.Only at this time, the widows of the Qing Dynasty gathered together, drinking and having fun.But such activities are only a few days a year after all.There are many Buddhist halls in the Compassion Palace complex. These empress dowagers, concubines, and concubines burned incense and paid homage to the Buddha during their boring widowhood, trying to seek spiritual comfort and sustenance from the illusory Buddhist world.

Having said that, you know that Yu Xu, who is so proud of his favor, actually let the nobleman Mei Zhuang make way for her, and even dared to send the old man beside the emperor, Xin Changzai, to the Department of Punishment. This is impossible happened.