A Survival Guide to the Qing Harem

Chapter 26
It is said that once, Lafayette Cixi had nothing to do to shit, and suddenly had a whim, and had to let an old eunuch eat it.Everyone felt that this was a great shame, but Cixi was so excited that no one dared to say anything. The unfortunate old eunuch had to eat the shit with his head down.This matter let Guangxu know, Emperor Guangxu couldn't bear to listen, and muttered, "There is no such rule in the palace."And this word reached Cixi's ears, and Cixi was not happy at the moment, she slapped the table and said, "I am the rules!" So, the rules in the Forbidden City were basically settled.

The palace rules and regulations are placed there, and the rules and regulations are very restrictive, but it is the master who really counts.Even if the master did not follow the palace rules, countless people would rack their brains to find an excuse for the master.So, memorizing that "Court Handbook" fluently may not guarantee peace for the whole life, it is better to know who has the right to say, and the mind of the person who knows what to say is safer.

Ask for instructions early and report late, and you have to come to chat with me at noon |
"Under the whole world, is it the king's land, and the shore of the land, is it the king's ministers." In the Qing Dynasty, when imperial power was highly concentrated, the hierarchical system was so strict that it was unreasonable.Don't think that if you enter the palace, choose the show, and become the emperor's wife, you can live a leisurely life with less than one person and more than [-] people.Not to mention ordinary concubines, even if the emperor opened the palace door to formally marry the returned queen, she would still be just a daughter-in-law, with three mountains on her head: the emperor, the empress dowager, and the empress dowager.

According to the requirements of good wives and beautiful concubines, it is enough for ordinary concubines to have no major mistakes in moral character. In their spare time, they only need to dress up, watch plays, raise dogs, or entertain themselves with calligraphy and painting. It is much higher, first of all you must be of high moral character, be respectful to the emperor, empress dowager, and empress dowager, and be respectful to the world; then you must be virtuous, take good care of the emperor's mother and wives, and manage the eunuchs and maids in the harem well, You can't be jealous, and you can't neglect your duties; in the end, you have to socialize, meet your courtiers' mothers and wives from time to time, and help your emperor's husband do public relations.Alas, what a hard work!
Seeing this, you start to think, since the queen has worked so hard, I might as well stop being a queen, is it okay to be a concubine?So, in the palace, only the emperor's favor can lead a happy life?You are wrong again.To the emperor, the empress can still be regarded as the senior CEO of the empire, and can barely be called a husband and wife, while the other concubines are just tools for the emperor to carry on the family, or an ornament on the desk, a vase in the room, etc. Decoration only.

The heart of the emperor, the needle of the sea.There are three thousand beauties in the harem, and the emperor can choose a large group of young and beautiful women to enter the palace every three years. How can you be favored by the emperor for a long time?Those who serve people in Israel, the color fades and the love relaxes!

What?you do not believe?The emperors of the Qing Dynasty were all infatuated seeds? Isn't that what "Zhen Huan's Biography", "Every Step Startling", and "The Secret History of Xiaozhuang" say.Hey, don't read too many dramas and novels, and treat film and television works as history.You should read the "Biography of Concubines" in the Qing Dynasty to see how many concubines with names and surnames were written into the history books, and how many of them were able to enjoy their old age, and then you will understand that history is more Fiction is a hundred times crueler.

None of the concubines who were favored by the emperor had a good end.Shunzhi is a well-known infatuated emperor. It is said that he only favors Concubine Dong E. What happened?Concubine Dong E's son only lived for three months, and she herself died at a young age. Even if Shunzhi died in mourning for her, everyone died, and everything was empty, and it was just something for future generations to talk about.

Emperor Guangxu loved Concubine Zhen the most, what happened?The majestic king of a country can't even protect his beloved woman. An imperial decree from the Empress Dowager Cixi made Concubine Zhen a dead soul at the bottom of a well. How miserable!
So how can we survive in the palace safely and securely?Simple and simple to say, simple and not simple to say, just two words: rules.

The royal family of the Qing Dynasty—the Manchus had a good habit of respecting their elders before the Qing Dynasty was established. When they entered the customs and became emperors, this habit of respecting their elders was influenced by the ethics of the Central Plains and evolved into a more harsh one. Senior-child relationship and stricter hierarchy.

Take the emperor as an example. Kangxi was a very diligent emperor. He got up at four o'clock in the morning every day, and the first thing he did was to pay his respects outside the palace of the empress dowager.Think about it, even the emperor has to be respectful to the empress dowager, as the emperor's wife, shouldn't she be more respectful to her mother-in-law?
Therefore, although the concubines in the Qing Dynasty, including the queen, had nothing to do every day, their work and rest schedule had to be closer to that of the emperor.Emperor Kangxi was a very diligent emperor who had high demands on himself, going to bed early and getting up early every day.At six or seven o'clock in the evening, the emperor is about to go to bed. Even though you are not sleepy at all, you have to wash up and go to sleep quickly. Otherwise, what if the light in your room affects the rest of the Long Live Lord?Every day at four or five o'clock in the morning, the emperor is ready to get up and go to bed. The biggest boss in the palace can't sleep in. Of course, you have to wash up and stay in your room neatly dressed.If you are a maid of no rank, you have to get up earlier than your master. If you are a concubine with a rank, you have to wash up quickly, stay outside the queen's palace, and wait to go with the queen to the queen dowager's palace to say hello.

The empress and empress dowager may not notice whether the concubines are late or not, but the eyes of the concubines and concubines are sharp. If you PK down, there will be one less person who competes with everyone for the emperor. How can I let it go.So, the consequences of being late, hehe, ruin your future, because you have no rules and no respect for your elders!
The empress dowager is almost the most honorable woman in the harem, she got up in a leisurely manner to wash and wash, had breakfast, and then received her son's beautiful harem concubines.Of course, only high-status empresses and imperial concubines have the honor to talk and chat with the empress dowager. Ordinary concubines can only stand in the hall and listen to their speeches.If the empress dowager is in the mood to chat, let everyone stay a little longer; if the empress dowager wants to worship the Buddha and doesn't want to chat with people, she will tell the maids around her to let everyone go back.

When the empress dowager spoke, the empress had to obey, so she took everyone back to her palace.The concubines had to listen to the queen's arrangement, either go back to their own rooms, or stay and talk with the queen.One morning passed.

In the afternoon, most concubines arrange their own time.If you like to be lively, you can watch the maids and eunuchs playing with cats, dogs and birds, or chat with other concubines.If you like quietness, you can embroider, write and write in your own room, or go to the small Buddhist hall to worship the Buddha.Day after day, year after year, until the girl gets old.

It's hard to say whether such a life is lucky or unfortunate, because not only the imperial palace, but also ordinary official families in the Qing Dynasty had the custom of going to the parents' room to greet each other in the morning and evening, which is called "morning and evening Dingsheng", which means that they go to the parents' room regularly in the morning and evening. Greetings here, to see how the elders are in good health, whether they are in a good mood, and so on.Of course, the head of the family must be busy with work, and the work of serving the elders is mainly left to the mistress of the family.How do you serve them?Generally, it is to greet the elders in the morning and evening, serve the elders for meals, take care of the sick elders, etc. If you are a housewife, you have to deal with housework, manage servants, manage family property and human relations, etc.

The new daughter-in-law who has just entered the door must go to the mother-in-law's room every day to say hello and serve her three meals a day.That is, the mother-in-law is ready to eat, and you have to set the chopsticks and take the bowl; the mother-in-law sits and eats, and you stand beside her to pick up food for her; after the mother-in-law finishes eating, you can go to the side room to eat two leftovers.If there is a sister-in-law in the family, you still have to serve the sister-in-law, and the sister-in-law enjoys the same treatment as the mother-in-law.

If the mother-in-law is kind enough to let you wait for a year and a half, she doesn't ask you to do this every day, and she will ask you to sit down and eat, and let the maids wait on you.

If the mother-in-law is not satisfied with you, it will be more miserable.You are made to stand and wait for three meals a day, and you are also told to do girl's work from morning to night, so you are not allowed to spend time with your husband at all.After three months or half a year, if you still feel disgusted that you haven't done anything for your husband's family, you will either drive you home, or send a large group of concubines to your husband's orders.

This ordinary family is actually a simplified version of the life in the palace. The life of the daughter-in-law in the ordinary family is not easy, let alone the court concubine whose situation is a thousand times more complicated.

Mom, I miss you | Rules and procedures for family members to meet in the palace
After finally squeezing through the draft, you can finally get your household registration in the Forbidden City, alas, it is not easy!However, this is only the beginning of a long court life. Except for a few sisters with strong backgrounds and deep backgrounds who can become concubines of high status, most of the selected people can only start from the promise and often live in the lowest palace. Concubine starts.

There is only one place for the most honorable empress, only one place for the second-class imperial concubine, two places for the third-class concubine, four places for the fourth-class concubine, and six places for the fifth-class concubine. A concubine or above can be regarded as a famous person in the palace.Below concubines, there are nobles, Chang Zai, promises and other unlimited number of concubines, who are also members of the emperor's harem, but from the perspective of ordinary official families, they are at most the status of a maid, barely able to be in the palace. A surname is reserved in the court. If the surname is Su, it is called Su Ying, and if the surname is Chen, it is called Chen Changzai.

Don't think that if a concubine has a rank, she will have the opportunity to climb up. This is not a workplace where you can be promoted with credit. Many women below the concubine have never had the chance to be promoted in their entire lives.It is said that "once you enter the Hou's gate, it is as deep as the sea", but when you enter a higher-level palace gate than the Hou's gate, you can only drink water like a person, knowing whether you are warm or not.

The imperial palace, on a large scale, is the important place of the country, the glory of the royal family, and a symbol of imperial power; on a small scale, it is nothing more than a square city, where the emperor's family lives.Of course, as a symbol of the supreme imperial power, the emperor's family has no family affairs, and family affairs are also state affairs.Therefore, any activity of the royal family must be carried out strictly according to the rules. There are rules for walking, sitting and lying down. If you are not careful, you may get into trouble.

Before entering the palace, you may have been taught by the nuns, but when you really stand in the narrow courtyard, you will have the deepest understanding of the word rules.The Qing Dynasty stipulated that girls from the Eight Banners had to go through drafts, and the wives and concubines of the imperial relatives and relatives were all appointed by the emperor. Under such circumstances, the Eight Banners families paid special attention to the education of girls. Before the draft, no one dared to say that their own daughters would be No empress or concubine, no chance to be the mother of the world.For this reason, the Qing Dynasty clearly stipulated that girls who were not drafted in the Eight Banners did not need to bow down to any elders or other people in the family, and there was no particularly large level difference between the noble girls and commoner girls in the Eight Banners.

But after the draft, the status of the show girls widened a huge gap in an instant, and they were no longer jewels held in the hands of their families.There are emperors, empress dowagers, and concubines oppressing, there are concubines fighting for favor, and there are eunuchs and maids who are obedient and vicious. Every step is shocking.What should I do if I am wronged?Crying and shouting "Mom, I miss you, I want to go home", does it work?
Useless!

If she is a folk woman, after she gets married, if her natal family is close, there are still many opportunities to go home and visit her parents in her life, but the situation is quite different when she marries an emperor.

It's written in the rules and regulations!Clearly! "History of the Qing Dynasty Palace Regulations" stipulates: "Where a beautiful girl enters the palace, if she has a famous name, her parents are old, and she has a special decree to make a marriage. For a year or a few months, if her parents enter the palace, the women in the family are not allowed to enter the palace, and other relatives are not allowed to enter the palace. Not allowed to enter the palace."

Looks good, right?Every year or a few months, the biological parents can still visit the palace.But have you noticed?This honor is only given to famous girls, but what about those who don't?Also, only those who have the emperor's permission can see their relatives, what about those who have not obtained the emperor's permission?I can only "hehe", once entering the palace gate is as deep as the sea, from then on the family members are passers-by.

You may be surprised, how is it possible? Isn't there a chapter in "Dream of Red Mansions" where the concubine Yuan visits her relatives?The emperor also specially ordered the Rongguo Mansion to repair the gardens to welcome the concubine Yuan back home.Although I only stayed in the Grand View Garden for a few hours, at least I still went home to visit relatives, right?And isn't it written in "A Dream of Red Mansions" that Mrs. Wang and Jia Mu visited Yuanchun in the palace?As a native of the Qing Dynasty, Cao Xueqin should not understand court rules, right?
Faced with this question, we can only answer that novels are novels after all!From life but higher than life.When Cao Xueqin wrote "A Dream of Red Mansions", he didn't point out that I was writing about the emperor of this dynasty.Do you still remember? The beginning of "A Dream of Red Mansions" is not about the Qing Dynasty, but "I don't know which dynasty or generation".Moreover, in the Qing Dynasty, a dynasty that practiced literary inquisition, I think that Mr. Cao Xueqin might not have the courage to write about real people and real things one by one.At best, I can only use the words of the concubine Yuan to convey a few words about the difficulty of court life.

Concubine Yuan visited relatives, but before she arrived, the whole family was waiting in line in dresses, and when they met, even her own grandmother and biological parents had to kneel down and bow to her.Concubine Yuan even cried and complained about her family's cruelty, how sad and pitiful it was to send her to that shameful place in the palace!

In fact, in the Qing Dynasty, according to the relevant regulations in the "Existing Regulations in the Palace" and "History of the Imperial Palace", "the parents of the inner court are old, and those who are allowed to meet relatives in the palace by special decree, or one year Or a few months, Xu Bensheng's parents entered the palace, and the women in the family were not allowed to enter the palace, and other relatives were not allowed to enter the palace."

In other words, if you want to meet your parents, you must meet the following two conditions: first, your rank is above concubine, and you have your own title, such as "Defei" or "Zhenfei"; second, You have to ask the emperor himself, and get the special approval of the emperor, "a certain concubine is pregnant with a dragon seed, or her parents are old and miss her parents, and her biological parents are allowed to enter the palace."Neither of them is dispensable.

Even if your parents get special approval to enter the palace, and are very honored to receive a temporary residence permit in the Forbidden City, yes, your character is very good, the emperor gave special approval to let your parents take care of you for three months.Ouch, you are so happy, you want to direct the eunuchs and maids to clean the room and settle the parents.Unexpectedly, the nurse next to you immediately stopped you: "This Forbidden City, you can only live in the royal family, you are now the emperor's wife, and it is necessary to live in the Forbidden City. But your parents are not qualified. Well, in the Forbidden City, you can’t be the master of the house yet. You see, there is a small courtyard with two entrances in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City, which was prepared by the Long Live Lord for the parents of the concubines who are visiting relatives.”

It turned out that the place where parents can live when visiting relatives is not the room next to me, but a corner halfway across the Forbidden City.When this person entered the palace, he had to abide by the rules of the palace. When he saw this one, he had to salute, and when he saw that one, he had to kowtow.Parents are uncomfortable, and you are even more uncomfortable. This is not as good as being a master and wife at home.After three months of hard work, do you still want to see your parents in the future?Forget it, the old man has been worrying all his life, and he should enjoy his old age at home.

The Qing Dynasty strictly controlled concubines' meeting with their family members. It was impossible to go out of the palace, and it was not easy to ask their parents to come and see them.But what if you really miss your family?
(End of this chapter)