A Survival Guide to the Qing Harem

Chapter 10 The "Trendy Girls" in the Forbidden City (1)
"Taizhen Gaiden" once recorded an incident, saying that after Concubine Yang Guifei hanged to death on Maweipo, a village woman picked up Concubine Yang's brocade socks, as if she had found a treasure.So this village woman advertised to everyone that she had the "original" brocade stockings of Tang Minghuang's favorite concubine Yang Guifei. This spread spread ten times, and attracted many people who wanted to see the brocade socks.The shrewd village woman found a way to make a fortune from it, so she stopped working in the fields and sat at the door with a small washbasin every day. Any "guest" who came here for fame would be charged one hundred dollars first, Please come into your home to see Concubine Yang's brocade stockings. Once you come and go, the village woman has become a rich household in ten miles and eight villages.It seems that this "dead money" is indeed a way to get money.

From this story, we can see the fact that since ancient times, court objects have been a symbol of nobility and mystery, so that a pair of socks worn by Concubine Yang Guifei that has not had time to wash can make an ordinary village woman rich by visiting. life, not to mention other things?

Of course, this palace thing is not only curious, but also enviable.It’s like the feeling of envy, envy and hatred for someone who goes from [-] to [-] every day to save a few cents to get a bus card and also to pick up a good time for the “big gift” event. , plus the sense of wasted time that is out of reach.

This is the same in the Qing Dynasty. The women who were active in the Forbidden City were all trendy girls with "famous brands". But they are still leading the fashion trend, always being imitated and never surpassed.

What is that thing on the head?My head hurts from the pressure | Harem women's headgear
The dazzling array of palace dramas of the Qing Dynasty may have already made you a little tired of watching, and all kinds of time travels will confuse the audience even more, making people unable to tell where they are and what language they are listening to.However, if you take the "small subway through crossing" from me, some things still need to be explained clearly, such as the head-to-toe clothing used to walk around the body. Your life is in danger.

If you always feel that it is not easy to be a woman in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and you have to carry such a flag bigger than your head on your head, which is so heavy that you can't lift your head, then you are wrong.If it hadn't been in the era of Cixi, in fact, in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, there was no flag head with such a large "occupancy area".

"Then what should I do with my hair?"

Don't worry, there are still some differences in the centuries-old history of the Qing Dynasty, a great country, things are always developing and changing, we can't generalize.Of course, the "candidate for the same room" who can enter the harem and become the emperor must have been at least a bannerman before Qianlong.

Since you are a bannerman, you should already know the rules of combing your hair. Before entering the customs, how did the bannerman live? (Of course, they were not called Bannermen at that time, we should still be called Manchu women.)
That's right, most of the time on horseback, with riding and shooting as the focus of life.If the long hair flutters and flies with the wind, it will not only attract bees and butterflies, increase resistance, but also easily cause accidents. Therefore, Manchu women usually braid their long hair and then put it in a bun on their heads.This is not only simple and neat, but when you sleep at night, you can also use the bun as a pillow, which really kills two birds with one stone.

But as a woman, no matter how bold and unrestrained the nation is, she always loves beauty, which can best show a woman's beautiful long hair. Since her long hair is tied up, she must decorate it with something bright and beautiful. There are no gorgeous jewels and emeralds. , a carved wooden hairpin can also highlight the femininity of women.

After Nurhachi established the Houjin Kingdom, some systems gradually began to be established, among which was the crown and uniform system.These concubines and wives in his harem also have different levels of "work clothes" with strict requirements, and of course, head decorations are indispensable.For the need of facing the crown, they loosen the hair and put it behind the head.

But it is different after entering the customs. The vast world and multiculturalism of the Han people instantly dazzles people who have been facing the monotonous scenery of the vast grassland for a long time. After leaving the sky at the four corners of the Forbidden City, my mind is only focused on a man, and my mind is of course on "the appearance of a woman who pleases herself".As a result, Manchu women's headgear began to enrich, and a more robust crown clothing system came into being.

If you come to the harem in the early Qing Dynasty, you should pay attention. At this time, the empress dowagers and queens were very frugal. They cooperated with the emperor wholeheartedly in line with the general policy of "conquering the world is easy and defending the world is difficult". Frugal housekeeping, even if the hairstyle has become a "twin", but do not wear luxurious headgear, at most put some flowers as decorations.

Of course, I still have to tell you what is called a two-hander.

The small two heads are to tie all the hair to the back of the head first, and then use a flat and long hairpin to divide the hair into two strands and wrap them around the hairpin respectively, and finally use a hairpin to insert and fix it horizontally.There is a reason for this hairstyle. In order to cooperate with the crown clothing system, concubines have to wear court crowns in addition to grand ceremonies, and other festive festivals also have a headdress called "Tianzi".The front of the tin is like a phoenix crown, and there is a dustpan at the back, which can be decorated with many jewels, hairpins and other ornaments.Wearing Tianzi on the head, and then hanging the braids behind the head, it looks nondescript, so the hairstyle of Xiao Er's head appeared.Firstly, it can be matched with Tianzi, and secondly, on non-holidays, you can also decorate some simple flowers on the head.

I have talked so much, but I just want to tell you that if you are in the harem in the early Qing Dynasty, even if you want to dress up beautifully, there are conditions and restrictions. First, there are not so many decorations; The high-ranking women are so simple, if you are too showy, aren't you asking for your own death?

Fortunately, this restraint finally changed during the Qianlong Dynasty.Our "Shiquan old man" took over the burden of Yongzheng's father, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to do a big job like his grandfather. Of course, with his efforts, he created a golden age of prosperity in Kangxi and Qianlong.

As the saying goes, "the country is rich and the people are strong", or "one person wins the Tao and ascends to heaven", whatever, what I want to say is that because the emperor made the world happy, the people of the world also know how to be grateful to the emperor, and change the method every year He paid tribute to the capital with good things.And the emperor saw so many good things and knew that there were so many people honoring him, so he naturally smiled, and he was relatively gentle to the people in the harem, and generously rewarded him with good things.As a result, all kinds of rare and precious jewelry were spread in the harem, which greatly stimulated the nature of all kinds of beauties in this "daughter country".Everyone competes to clean up and dress up, and the supply of jewelry, pearls and emeralds is in short supply, which in turn stimulates the development of folk jewelry craftsmanship. This phenomenon should be called stimulating domestic demand in our present.

For concubines, seeing more and more dazzling gold, silver, jade, and pearls in front of them, they always wish to decorate them all on their heads. At this time, the limitations of the young couple's heads are particularly prominent.For the sake of beauty, women always have endless inspiration, and hair racks came into being.

This kind of thing that looks like a spectacle frame is either twisted with iron wire or made of wood. The biggest advantage is that it can fit with the hair and be firmly fixed on the top of the head. After the hair is wrapped firmly on the hair frame and fixed with a needle , the dazzling array of accessories has room to play.This is not over yet, there are still some hanging hair left behind the head, combed into a flat shape, tied with a headband, and slightly upturned, looking from the side, it looks like a little swallow waiting to fly, so it is also called "" Swallowtail".

Hair racks widen the area above the head, and there are more things to decorate yourself for eye-catching, but not every woman can have thick hair, what should I do?In order to achieve the effect of "double frames hanging between the temples", it can only be filled with some wigs for appearance.No wonder "A String of Grass Beads" joked: "The first name's airs are too absurd, and the back of the head hangs a foot long."

Jewelry is on the head, and there is one thing that is the best among them, and that is the hairpin.In our Qing Dynasty, hairpins were very capable of conveying meaning, so they became a good thing for courtiers and foreign ministers to flatter.When Emperor Qianlong celebrated his mother's [-]th birthday, the hairpins in the birthday gift made people dazzled and jaw-dropping.Such as the Sun Moon Sheng Heng Longevity Hairpin, Everything Ruyi Hairpin, Meiying Caisheng Hairpin, Wannian Jiqing Hairpin, etc. These hairpins are expensive in materials and exquisite in workmanship. If they can be preserved in modern times, they have become supreme treasures.

You have to ask, can you finish wearing so many precious things?But look at your closet full of clothes, are you finished?Can't you just keep buying?Women, they always lack resistance to beautiful things, not to mention, even if you are born beautiful, in order to attract the emperor's attention, you still have to dress up...

In fact, at this time, the flag head in our traditional impression still has not appeared, so when you see countless flag heads that do not match the times in Qing palace dramas, don’t believe it is true, it is just a wrong background arrangement That's all.

It was not until the Cixi period that the flag head really appeared.And its appearance is actually related to the privacy of Grandma Cixi.It is said that this grandma has already lost her beauty in her middle-aged and old age, and even her once beautiful hair has almost fallen out. There is no way to comb the traditional two hair, so she invented a more convenient and more decorative, The headgear that does not use your own hair to fix or modify it is commonly known as "Da La Chi".

Well, please pay attention to your pronunciation, be sure to bring a strong northeast accent, "Da-la-chi".

That's right, that's the way to pronounce it, because this thing appeared in the capital, so the folks also call it "Dajingyang".I really don't understand why something so beautiful has such a... weird name.

This big pull-wing is a hard shell similar to a fan, one foot high, and the lower end is made of iron wire according to the size of the head to form a round hoop, and the skeleton is also made of iron wire from the bottom to the top.Then make the inner tube with cloth velvet and wrap it with green velvet and blue satin.In this way, those hairpins, hairpins, velvet flowers, and honeysuckle can be decorated on a large area, and it is much easier than before. They can be matched directly and worn on the head. "Qing Palace Ci" describes it like this: "The two phoenix buns are neatly arranged, and the pearly hairpin shadows protect the grubs. The city is more than a ruler, and the fork divides the bottom of the swallowtail equally."

However, if you think that this thing is really as popular as it is on TV, and that even court ladies can wear it beautifully, then you are wrong. If you don’t believe me, try wearing one, and it will immediately cause disaster!You don't even look at it, who invented this thing?Lafayette Cixi!This grandma loves beauty all her life, only loves gorgeous things, and has a strong desire for power. Her old man invented such a good thing in order to cover up her hair loss problem. Why are you joining in the fun?Unless you are her daughter-in-law, and you have to be the one who pleases her.Maybe she will smile and praise your youthful beauty. No matter how happy she is, she might take off the flowery hairpin on her head and give it to you as a reward.Therefore, if you want to have the qualifications to dress up beautifully, you must first know how to please those people who will die if they don't like you!

Of course, that was when Lafayette was around, and there were such unruly rules.When Lafayette drives west, who can control so much.After all, the big pull wing is a tall invention, everyone wants to chase after it, as long as there are enough money in the wallet.Therefore, even the noble ladies outside the palace have such dresses.

After all, as a Manchu woman, you should be proud.Although they are not as "foreign" as the Han people in terms of living habits and fashion trends, Manchu women's love for beauty is unparalleled. In terms of hairstyles and headgear, they have always led the fashion trend and become the objects that the Han people are vying to emulate.Therefore, when you sit in front of the bronze mirror and are served by a group of servants to pack up and arrange flowers on your head, you must smile.Not only will this make you seem more relatable, but it's something you should be proud of!
Casual, professional, evening dress...there must be nothing less | Crown Dress System
However, as a trendy girl in the Forbidden City, how can the headwear show the trend?It must be matched with the new season.But this new style also has new rules. In the harem, the trendy clothes that can be worn by different levels are not the same.

Let's talk about it first.The Qing Dynasty gradually perfected the crown and clothing system since Emperor Kangxi. This system mainly restrained the courtiers, and of course even the concubines were also brought along.It's restraint, it's better to say it's a show of rank, a person's high or low, you can see it at a glance from the clothes, unlike us now, who still pay attention to low-key luxury, when we were naked to show off our wealth.

Just looking at the classification of concubine crowns and clothes, we can see that winter crowns, summer crowns, auspicious costume crowns, court gowns, court gowns, dragon gowns, dragon robes, collars, colored ribbons and court beads are all indispensable.

Let's talk about the crown first.There is no need to elaborate on the distinction between winter and summer, since the four seasons are distinct in the north, this style is what I want to talk about.The court crown of the Qing Dynasty is obviously different from that of other dynasties, because it clearly retains the old Manchu system.There are two types of crowns, one is the bowl-covered compound crown with red tassels, and the other is the bowl-covered winter crown with rolling eaves. They all have a common symbol, that is, the crown.The winter crown is made of smoked mink, and the summer crown is made of green velvet.In this hierarchical society, the distinction between high and low starts from the details of the crown.

For example, the queen's crown must be the most noble and gorgeous.The top is divided into three layers, and each layer is decorated with a golden phoenix. There are three east pearls and seventeen pearls on each golden phoenix, and a big east pearl is held on top of the pearl.There are seven golden phoenixes around the red tassel, each decorated with nine east beads, 21 pearls and one opal.On the back of the crown is embroidered gold di, which is a kind of jewelry similar to hairpins.On Jin Zhai's head is adorned with a big opal and sixteen shining pearls, Zhai Wei is even more domineering, with five rows of [-] pearls hanging down, each row has a prominent big pearl.There is a piece of lapis lazuli in the middle of the back of the crown, decorated with six east beads, six pearls, and red coral at the end. The collar is decorated with two bright yellow ribbons with blue satin, and the end is Also studded with gemstones.

How about it, are you dazzled by the dizziness?These gorgeous pearls, pearls, gemstones, any one of them is worth a lot, no wonder those grave robbers are risking their lives to do it, the benefits are considerable.Of course, not every tomb robber is so "lucky" to see the queen's court crown. After all, the queen's number is small, her status is noble, and the things she uses are rare.

Of course, not every woman is destined to be a queen. Imperial concubines, noble concubines, etc. also have royal crowns that belong to their rank.Let's go down one by one in order from high to low.

We can refer to the imperial concubine's court crown style, but the decorative pearls and east beads are correspondingly less. The precious opal stone.There are 190 two pearls hanging behind the crown, with a lapis lazuli knot in the middle, and four east pearls and four pearls around it.The rest is the same as the queen's tiara.

There is basically no difference between the crown of a noble concubine and that of an imperial concubine, except that the collar strip behind the crown is golden yellow.

When it comes to the crown of the concubine, it is different from the previous three grades in terms of shape. The top has become two layers, both bearing a golden phoenix. The golden phoenix is ​​surrounded by seven oriental pearls and seventeen pearls, with an opal on it. .There are five golden phoenixes around the red tassel, each with seven east beads and 21 pearls.There are a total of 180 pearls hanging from Jin Zhai's tail, and the rest are the same as the imperial concubine's crown.

The imperial concubine's court crown is simpler, with only one layer of top, and there are five golden phoenixes around the red tassel, each decorated with five oriental beads and nineteen pearls.There are a total of 170 two pearls hanging from Jin Zhai's tail, and the rest of the decoration is the same as the concubine's court crown.

(End of this chapter)