A Survival Guide to the Qing Harem

Chapter 28
How about it?Got jealous after strolling around the Palace Museum?Just say that no woman can resist the temptation of top jewelry.However, don't drool over this draped golden phoenix crown, it is really not something that ordinary concubines can wear.In the palace of the Qing Dynasty, not only people were classified into grades, but even the gold, silver and jewelry were not something you could wear whenever you wanted. There were also grades.Take a look at this sable fur inlaid beaded east facing crown. It has three layers on the top, and on the top is a big east bead. , as big as a thumb, a priceless treasure!Below the big east bead are three golden silk phoenixes, which are also separated by east beads. Don’t underestimate this tired silk phoenix. It takes a top goldsmith a month or two to make one. The process is complicated. Almost all of them have been lost, and it was only in modern times that masters of crafts gradually found them.There are also seven golden phoenixes on the main body of the crown, decorated with pearls and opals, and behind the crown are lapis lazuli, pearls, golden silk, and coral pendants. At a glance, you can know what is called "high-end atmosphere and high-grade".This court crown with three-tiered tops and seven golden phoenixes is only eligible to be worn by empresses and noble concubines.

If you, who have watched "The Scheming of the Palace Lock", imagine that you can be like Qingchuan, who can travel through time as a little palace lady and dress up to attract the attention of the prince, then I have to remind you that there is always a gap between reality and fantasy.

Here I have the real memories of the old maids in the "Talks of the Palace Ladies": "We palace ladies are not allowed to draw eyebrows and sideburns, nor wear bright red and green, and each season has a set of clothes. Spring and summer are green, there are light green, Dark green, old green, purple-brown in autumn and winter, only the Longevity Day and the first month can wear red clothes." As for the dress, the maids wear a big braid and tie their headbands.During major festivals and celebrations of the palace, one can also comb two Manchu hairs, but they cannot be decorated with gold, silver and jewelry, and can only wear prescribed flowers.

If you are lucky enough to be the empress dowager, the most trusted court lady beside the empress, you will be able to dress up more delicately and wear some nice colors.The maids of the Empress Dowager Cixi used to dress like this on the second day of the first lunar month. The padded jacket of purple spring silk was decorated with green satin borders and gold thread ribbons; the green vest was decorated with endless ribbons Zi, butterfly-style green velvet button loops, exquisite copper buttons; most importantly, you can wear shoes embroidered with five blessings and longevity, only those close to the Empress Dowager Cixi can wear them, and they are sought after wherever they go.

It seems that the lives of court ladies are not very easy, so will the harem concubines be much better?After all, maids of honor are servants, and concubines are half masters after all.According to the records of the "Great Qing Huidian", we can see a hierarchy distinguished by clothing. The crowns of the empress dowager and empress are divided into three layers, decorated with seven golden phoenixes, and concubines have to be lowered by a grade. Use the two-layer top and five golden phoenixes.Empress dowagers and empresses can use a large area of ​​bright yellow for decorations and clothing, noble concubines and concubines can use less golden yellow or red, and lower-ranking concubines can't even use yellow, only cyan blue with gold edging, etc. The dull color, the dress that the nobleman promised, is only a little better than that of a court lady.

In addition, the Qing court also implemented unified management, from the empress dowager to the court ladies, all received fixed salaries, which is the palace division, referred to as "gongfen" for short.The empress dowager’s rank is of course the highest. It is said that she can receive a fixed amount of 20 taels of gold, 2000 taels of silver, two bolts of python satin, two bolts of mending satin, two bolts of gold weaving, two bolts of makeup satin, and four bolts of Japanese satin every year. One piece of shiny satin, two pieces of golden satin, seven pieces of cloud satin, four pieces of plain plain satin, two pieces of plain blue satin, two pieces of hat satin, six pieces of poplar satin, two pieces of palace silk, four pieces of Lu silk, yarn Eight bolts, ten bolts of lining yarn, ten bolts of spinning yarn, ten bolts of hang fine cloth, ten bolts of cotton silk, ten bolts of Goryeo cloth, five bolts of three-thread cloth, forty bolts of wool green cloth, five bolts of coarse cloth, twenty strands of gold thread, Ten catties of cashmere, six catties of cotton thread, forty catties of kapok, two hundred No.51 silver buttons, two hundred No.[-] silver buttons, ten second-class mink furs, twenty third-class mink furs, seventy fifth-class mink furs, Twelve mink skins and twelve sea dragon skins.They can also receive abundant daily necessities every day, including one pig, one sheep, one chicken, and one duck each, two liters of new rice, one liter of yellow and old rice, three liters of Korean rice, three catties of rice flour, [-] catties of white flour, and buckwheat noodles , wheat flour, one catty each, three-in-one pea, five spoons of one-in-sesame, two catties of white sugar, one tael, five taels, eight taels of potted sugar, eight taels of honey, etc. It is indeed very extravagant and eye-catching!

If the empress dowager happens to be a lucky empress dowager who is filial to the emperor's son, such as the mother of Emperor Qianlong, when she celebrates her [-]th birthday, Emperor Qianlong will not only hold a grand banquet for her, but also present her with various gifts. Precious gifts include many exquisite jewellery, among which there are hundreds of hairpins, such as what everything is wishful thinking hairpin, Meiying Caisheng hairpin, Jingfu Changmian hairpin and so on.

If you don't have a worthy emperor's son, you can live an enviable and luxurious life if you become an empress dowager who takes over the power, such as Empress Dowager Cixi.Empress Dowager Cixi loves brightly colored accessories. She can be called a court fashion master. The large wings she designed can be decorated with dozens of different hairpins, hairpins, flat squares, head flowers, headbands, and tassels, which are extraordinarily luxurious.

If you really can't get into the position of empress dowager, then you have no choice but to accept the constraints of the palace rules, but don't try to be unconventional to gain a position.Emperor Guangxu doted on Concubine Zhen very much. Concubine Zhen was young and beautiful, she liked to dress up, and often wore some innovative styles, which angered the Empress Dowager Cixi.The Empress Dowager Cixi directly decreed that Concubine Zhen should be downgraded to a precious person by two consecutive levels, and asked her to dress according to the palace rules, and she was not allowed to violate the rules.You must learn from such a tragedy!

To sum up, let’s summarize the sources of jewelry for the imperial concubines in the Qing Dynasty.First, the distribution according to the rules, that is, palace points.This is a level fight, the higher the level, the richer and more precious the jewelry.For beautiful jewelry, please strive to be the best!
Second, rewards from the boss.You gave birth to a son for the emperor, and when he was happy, he rewarded you with jewels.Once the emperor rewards, the high-ranking concubines in the harem must also express themselves.Therefore, having more children, especially more sons, is also a good way to attract wealth.

Third, lower-level worship.If you become the empress dowager, then on your birthday, not only your son will give gifts, but your courtiers will also give gifts. It’s really cramp to receive gifts.This is something you have to work hard to get.

Fourth, give to yourself.The difference between humans and other creatures is that they have desires, subjective initiative, and means to obtain what they want.If you can dote on the harem or listen to politics behind the curtain, then what kind of treasure is not at your fingertips?However, I also have to put the ugly words up front, this road is risky, and you need to be cautious when going forward!Not every woman is Concubine Yang, Empress Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Cixi. You see, Concubine Yang was also given to death by Ma Weipo, and Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Cixi were both negatively evaluated?
Master, what you say is what you say, can't you forgive me once | crime of disrespect

If you read carefully, you will find that we have mentioned a "crime of disrespect" many times. This crime is so common and so easy to commit. What is it?
The so-called crime of disrespect is one of the "Ten Crimes" of the Qing Dynasty, but this crime is the most unique among the Ten Crimes, because there is no clear regulation at all, what is respect and what is disrespect, in fact most of the crimes Conviction is judged by the master's personal preference.It means that if the master thinks that you are disrespectful, then even if you talk about it, you still can't explain it clearly.Moreover, there is no clear regulation on the punishment method for this crime of disrespect. It is still the master who has the final say, ranging from fines and demotions to being placed in the cold palace or dying alone, which also varies from person to person.For example, the Empress Dowager Cixi often punished others for the crime of disrespect.

Once, Cixi ordered a young eunuch to play chess with her to pass the time. The little eunuch was so happy that he forgot the taboo and said casually: "The slave killed Lafayette's horse." The moody Lafayette Cixi, she responded angrily: "I will kill your whole family!"

So, the little eunuch was dragged out and beaten to death. This is not over, if the old lady Cixi hadn't had a sip of tea to soothe her emotions, it is estimated that the whole family of the little eunuch would have to be turned out and killed.

The same old Lafayette Cixi has more rules.Her husband died at a young age, and then she worried about her son's throne, and finally worried about her nephew's throne. Anyway, she spent a lot of brain cells thinking about things all day long, and she looked a little old. Especially the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, which really couldn't be covered up with any high-end cosmetics.

Therefore, Cixi, who loves beauty, especially avoids people staring at her face.No, another ignorant little eunuch bumped into the muzzle of the gun, and when he answered, he raised his head and glanced at her old man.This was really the last time the little eunuch saw in this world, because immediately he was dragged out and shot with a stick.From then on, no one dared to look directly at Cixi.Some people have served in the palace for many years and often went in and out of Cixi's residence, but in the end they didn't know what Cixi looked like. It seems that the mystery of Lafayette Cixi is still very good.

In the above two cases, Cixi punished the eunuchs for the crime of disrespect. It can be seen that if you are in the hands of a vicious master, then all the disrespect will be death.

You may want to say, why are you talking about slaves, we serve the emperor in this harem, so we don't have to be so cautious like slaves, right?

Then you are wrong, even if you serve the emperor, but you are in the harem, most of the people you deal with are women, there must be someone with a higher status than you, if you accidentally offend, you will still be offended.Even being a queen is dangerous.

If you don't believe me, let's take a look at the Queen Xiaozheyi of Emperor Tongzhi, Arut.Speaking of this, I really feel pitiful. At the beginning, she was Empress Dowager Ci'an's favorite queen candidate, and Empress Dowager Cixi had her eyes on another woman.This is a tug-of-war between the empress dowagers of the two palaces, and it is not difficult to sandwich a Tongzhi emperor in the middle.

Although Tongzhi is Cixi's biological son, it is clear that the relationship between mother and child is not harmonious. In Cixi's heart, power is far more important than sons.Of course the son could feel the mother's indifference, so Tongzhi had a closer relationship with Empress Ci'an since he was a child.When choosing the queen, he also followed Ci'an's advice and chose Arut as the queen.

When Tongzhi died, Alut was still pregnant with his child, but Cixi had already chosen the heir to the throne.The ambitious Cixi was of course not reconciled to waiting for Arut to give birth to a prince, so she devolved power and retired to the empress dowager to take care of her life, so she made Guangxu emperor and made trouble with Arut everywhere.

Once, Arut greeted Cixi as usual, but Cixi was upset. He found a random excuse to punish Arut and ordered the eunuch to slap her.

You know, slapping the mouth is the cheapest punishment for women in the harem. Even a court lady would feel ashamed and ashamed to be slapped, let alone a dignified queen?Unable to bear the humiliation, Arut retorted: "Even if the concubine made a big mistake, she was brought into the palace from the Daqing Gate after all. Please let the empress dowager save some face for the concubine." The words really hurt Cixi. As I said before, didn't this old lady always worry about her failure to hold a big wedding as a queen?

This Arut's is simply blatantly disrespectful.However, Empress Dowager Cixi didn't have an upright reason to punish Arut for this sentence, because what she said was absolutely right, she was a queen in the palace, and no one had the reason and power to slap her.

Of course, Arut died in the end, very helplessly.It can be seen that in Cixi's case, no matter whether it is justifiable disrespect or unreasonable disrespect, the ending is not good.

So how much disrespect is there in this harem?
Let's talk about this "famous and famous".First of all, it is the taboo of the name.This has always been a matter of great emphasis in the history of the Qing Dynasty.No matter what character is in the emperor's name, other people cannot use this character, no matter if it has the same sound or the same character.For example, the name of Emperor Yongzheng is Aixinjueluo Yinzhen.People all over the world cannot be named after the character "禄", nor can they be named after the character that pronounces this character. If this character must be used when writing something, it must be avoided with few strokes and few pictures.It embodies that only the emperor is respected.

Therefore, in the harem, it is a trivial matter to show off the poems and songs you have learned, forgetting to avoid taboos, this crime of disrespect is likely to implicate your family.

Second, there is the question of status.We have discussed in detail the question of please, and how to greet sisters when they meet.If you don't follow these rules, the person who is higher than you can turn his face and deny him anytime and anywhere, and punish you for the crime of disrespect, and you will be speechless.Therefore, the rules must be kept in mind at all times, no matter where you go, you must remind yourself to follow the rules.Even after you greeted the queen, the queen pretended to say: "My sister, you don't have to do such a big reason, my sister is too polite." You can only listen to it and not take it seriously. You have to salute, otherwise, be careful that the queen will cheat you to death.

Again, it is a matter of interfering in politics. "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics" is a rule established by the Qing Dynasty since the founding of the country.Your woman eats and drinks in the harem, just give birth and watch the show, what are you talking about about men's affairs?But there are some women who have a strong desire for power, or who think they have read a few books and know some historical knowledge, so they chirp next to the emperor to give advice.Be careful!When the emperor dotes on you, people will take what you say to heart, and people will not care about your mistakes, but what if he doesn't dote on you?

What's more, if there is an emperor's favor, others will naturally be jealous.Maybe you give your husband some advice, and your husband suddenly becomes enlightened, but in the ears of other concubines, this is your real braid. If they insist on holding on, they will sue the empress dowager and the empress, and you will be punished by the harem for meddling in politics. The emperor was helpless for the crime of disrespect.

(End of this chapter)