A Survival Guide to the Qing Harem

Chapter 12 The "Trendy Girls" in the Forbidden City (3)
There is also a theory that the ancestors of the Manchus were robbed of their living land. In order to avenge their hatred and regain their territory, they unitedly attacked the enemy.But this process needs to go through a quagmire.The wise ancestors observed that the reason why the white crane can stand firmly in this quagmire is because it has a pair of slender legs, so the ancestors followed the example of the white crane and tied long tree branches on the legs to cross over. Go through the quagmire and regain the lost ground.Later, in order not to forget that period of suffering, but also to commemorate the function of the "stilts", women invented the method of tying wood on the shoes, which eventually evolved into high-soled shoes.

Although there are many untestable elements in such things as legends, if you observe carefully, you will find that every nation has one or another near-mythical legend, and they are all willing to describe their nation as extremely lucky and free. It can't be like God's help... But it's no wonder that we Manchu people, think about it, we relied on so many troops on horseback to fight into the pass, occupying such a large country as the Han people, let's not say something about Manchu people How can the legends about the nobleness and ability of the Han people inspire the servility in the Han people's bones to be loyal to us?

The truth is obviously a bit naked, let's go back to this topic and continue to talk about the trendy high-heeled shoes in our harem.

Flower pot bottom shoes are also called "horseshoe bottom shoes". According to the shape of the heel, they are divided into three types: horseshoe shape, flower pot shape and ingot shape. It looks a lot, the top of this wood is wide, fits closely with the sole, and the bottom is round, shaped like a flowerpot, hence the name flowerpot bottom.There is another type that is thin at the top and wide at the bottom, flat in front but round in the back, and its shape and footprints are similar to a horseshoe, so it is called "horseshoe bottom".I don't think there is any need to describe this ingot.But no matter what the bottom is, their material and packaging shape are the same.

The wooden soles of these shoes are generally one or two inches high, and gradually increased to four or five inches in the middle and late Qing Dynasty.The entire wooden bottom is first wrapped with white silk cloth, and then decorated with beads and embroidery on the parts where the wooden heel does not touch the ground.In our harem, it is very taboo to directly use white for decoration, which is called "violent clothing", so it is rare to see that the flowerpot bottom heels on the master's feet are plain and simple.

This is already the case with the heel, not to mention the conspicuous upper.Do you still remember the pair of Shu brocade shoes specially given to Zhen Huan by the emperor in "The Legend of Zhen Huan"?In fact, that is not an exaggeration. In the harem, if you are favored like Zhen Huan, you will definitely enjoy such high-end treatment.The shoe upper is made of precious satin, and the gold silk embroidery on it has taken a lot of time for the embroiderers, and in the harem where the details are extremely strict, every single stitch cannot be messed up, which takes a lot of time Not to mention, it’s mainly heart abuse, and the spirit is in a state of high tension. Once you make a mistake, your boss will beat or scold you, and you will be fined and not allowed to eat... Therefore, your supreme glory and the luxury used to show off your wealth Items are all built on the sweat, tears and even blood of the female workers.

The embroidered text is just one of the beauties of the upper, and jewelry and other ornaments are also placed on it, and some have tassels woven with silk thread on the toe part, the length of which is just enough to reach the ground.Walking on the road, the tassels are swaying and swaying gracefully, paired with gorgeous skirts and noble gowns, and listening to the sound of wooden soles hitting the stone floor, it is really charming.If you walk in the garden like this, and occasionally look sideways at the fish floating up to breathe in the fish pond, just as the emperor passes by, you must be attracted by your figure.If you don't believe it, just look at the famous Empress Dowager Cixi, don't you know it?As a scheming woman, isn't that how she gets to see the emperor?
BMW fragrant car, Ray-Ban sunglasses, how can there be less prominent packaging | Empress's car book and ceremonial guard
Now the country is vigorously reducing official vehicles. It stands to reason that there should be strict regulations on the grade of this vehicle and the number of vehicles used.In fact, this is not a modern thing.Do you still remember the carriage that Qin Shihuang rode in when he toured his country?Then it’s just a carriage, let’s not talk about several horses pulling the carriage together, just looking at the equipment in this carriage, it is exhaustive, except for a home theater.why?Because he is the emperor, the lord of the world, when he goes on a tour, everything is prepared and everything is comfortable.

In fact, since that time, the court has had a strict car and public system. Of course, this was mainly established with the emperor as the center, but as relatives of the emperor, they naturally have the right to enjoy it.This system is characterized by strict hierarchy, insurmountability, and cumbersome rules and details.

With the change of dynasties, although the Cheyu system has changed a lot, it generally follows one point: to reflect the royal dignity.It's the same in our Qing Dynasty, from the empress dowager to the concubines, every level has a corresponding car official, there is no room for negligence, otherwise it will be a capital crime of losing your head.It feels like your boss is just driving an ordinary Volkswagen Tiguan, but you are driving an imported Touareg to work. Although it is not a capital crime, your behavior will definitely make the boss very unhappy. If the boss is upset, you may not have a good life, and you may have a lot of troubles at work, don't you believe it?you try!
But in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, you don't have to worry about this problem. If you are not high enough, you will not be able to enjoy the good things even if you covet them.As the Queen of the Six Palaces, wherever she goes, the scene must be magnificent and the momentum must be strong, and there cannot be only one "special car", otherwise, the emperor gave her such a huge palace, and a parking lot would be more than enough , The gold, silver and jewels in the room are all at their disposal. If you don’t buy all the Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari, can you still be called the most powerful and richest woman in the country?

But in fact, we can't measure the court car system by how many cars the queen has, but how many cars there are in the harem, and each model is specially used by the queen for evaluation.So, let's first take a look at the Che Yu of the famous Empress Dowager Cixi in history.

As a prestigious person in the harem, Empress Dowager Cixi only likes to ride in Fengyu when she goes out. Her favorite Fengyu is also called rattan sedan chair. This sedan chair is light in texture but very strong.From the appearance, the front, back, left and right are tied with thin silk, taking advantage of the yellow satin hanging inside.Four soaring blue flying dragons and eight golden phoenixes are embroidered on the four sides of the sedan chair.The top of the sedan chair is like the roof of a palace, with golden upturned cornices, and a pure gold ball in the center of the sedan chair roof.

Let’s take a look at the inside of the sedan chair. It is lined with apricot-yellow satin on all sides, embroidered with auspicious patterns of “eight treasures”, including: a small light red hexagonal box symbolizing harmony and surplus; the light black drum board symbolizes orderliness; the gray-headed silver jade fish symbolizes prosperity and reproduction; the red-crowned crane represents longevity; the dark green Ganoderma lucidum represents auspiciousness; the white pan represents peace and happiness; It represents the evergreen pine tree.These delicate and exquisite patterns are arranged in rows, making the interior of the whole sedan chair look magnificent.From this point of view, the Empress Dowager Cixi deserves to be synonymous with the luxury of the veritable "local tyrant sister" in the Qing Dynasty.

In fact, in the Qing Dynasty, the cars of concubines went through a process of development from simplicity to luxury.Especially the Empress Fengyu during the Qianlong period. In the 14th year of Qianlong, in the Forbidden City, a Fengyu rebuilt from a phoenix chariot was born out of nowhere.This wooden sedan chair, painted bright yellow, is seven feet high and has a two-tiered roof that is one foot and five inches high.The eight corners on the top and the four corners of the sedan chair are decorated with golden phoenixes.

Looking inside the sedan chair, it is all surrounded by bright yellow satin, and the four-foot-seven-inch-high pillars at the four corners are painted with golden phoenixes.The doors of the sedan chair are double doors, painted light red, and are two feet six inches high.The queen's seat in the sedan chair is a vermilion throne one foot seven inches high, the back of the chair is one foot eight inches high, painted bright yellow, and painted with a golden phoenix.The cushions on the chair seats are also of the "Royal brand", bright yellow satin, embroidered with colorful phoenixes.

Look at the supports that will lift the sedan chair.Two straight poles measuring [-] feet and [-] inches in length pass under the sedan chair. Underneath are two large crossbars eight feet long, four small crossbars three feet long, and a five-foot-one-inch long pole. Eight shoulder rods.Even the large horizontal bar did not forget to show the royal wealth and honor, it was painted bright yellow, and a pair of golden phoenixes facing each other with their heads and tails inlaid in the middle were inlaid with gold iron.The rest of the poles are also painted bright yellow, and the drilled holes arranged horizontally are connected with copper buckles, and the copper buckles arranged vertically are also decorated with engraved golden phoenixes.

Such a luxurious phoenix roof requires sixteen people to lift it up at the same time. Of course, this does not rule out the issue of strength and force balance.But what I want to say is that there is no way, in this harem with strict hierarchy, if you want to sit in such a car, you really can only covet the back seat.

Of course, the queen does not have to engage in 16 people carrying sedan chairs every time she travels. On formal occasions, it is to show the royal majesty, so it is natural to make it more domineering.In addition to the most luxurious Fengyu, the queen also has a means of transportation called Yiyu. In fact, this Yiyu is not exclusive to the queen. Imperial concubines, noble concubines, and concubines can all take Yiyu, but the decoration of this Yiyu is different. different.

Except that Yiyu itself is one foot and one inch shorter than Fengyu, the entire sedan chair is smaller than Fengyu, but the interior decoration is still luxurious. The curtains are also bright yellow, the chair is painted with a golden dragon pattern, and the entire color of the imperial concubine's body has turned golden yellow.The most important thing is that this Yiyu only needs eight people to carry it, which is indeed very different from the 16-person sedan chair.

Concubines often use sedan chairs when traveling, because everyone's range of activities is limited. Although the Forbidden City is a vast building complex, it is only a city within a city after all. A sedan chair can fully handle it from one end to the other.But occasionally, the emperor would bring the empress and a few concubines out of the palace to pray for rain or something, and the sedan chair was obviously not as fast as the horses and chariots.Therefore, there are also various types of carriages in the palace, in case of emergencies.The organization of these carriages is actually similar to that of sedan chairs, extremely luxurious and well-defined, but the shape has more wheels and a shaft for driving a horse.

However, when concubines come out for activities, especially on important days, such as New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, Canonization, Sacrifice, Court Meeting and other ceremonies, they need to form a large team. At this time, it is not just a car that can solve the problem. Yes, the entire domineering ceremonial book is needed.

Regarding the ceremonial book system of Chinese dynasties, "History of the Ming Dynasty" said: "Although the systems of the past dynasties have similarities and differences in history, they are always guarded against entry and exit, and the distinction between strictness and inferiority. The rites, the martial arts are called the guards... The order of driving is called the halogen book." It probably means that although the systems of the dynasties are somewhat different, the principles to be followed are the same. .Therefore, the aspect of this text is to reflect etiquette, and the aspect of military is to guarantee the defense. All these drivers and entourage are added together to be called Lubo.

Why do we have to use the materials of "History of Ming Dynasty"?That's because in this matter, the Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming system, except that the people who sat in the car were different from those who accompanied them, but the other things they paid attention to were the same.However, compared with the previous dynasties, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the concubine's brine book is relatively simple.

We can find detailed records about the queen's halogen book of the Qing Dynasty from "Guochao Palace History".

The queen's ceremonial vehicle includes: "Two dust whisks (made of pig hair), two gold burners and two golden incense sticks, one gold washbasin and one gold spit pot, two gold water bottles, one gold-painted chair, and several gold-painted squares. One. One gold bent handle with three eaves and nine phoenix covers, two gold festivals, ten straight handles with three eaves and nine phoenix umbrellas, straight handle three eaves and nine phoenix umbrellas with ten faces, straight handle with three eaves and nine phoenix umbrellas, straight handle three eaves and nine phoenix umbrellas, and straight handle three eaves full red square umbrellas with four sides each. Dragon and phoenix fan, There are eight pheasant feather fans each, and ten golden phoenix flags. Four lying melons, standing melons, and Wuzhangs each."

(End of this chapter)