Before the princess gets married, why does she let the dowry maid serve the horse first? The result was a series of tragedies
"The Phoenix Tower opens the door to attract the light, and the flowers and shochu are even drunk and fragrant." To know the Emperor's daughter Kaoru Tiangui, Jin Ke Yuzhu made a trip at night. "This is an ancient poem created during the Tang Dynasty, describing the scene when the princess celebrated moving to a new home, from which you can see the luxurious life of the princess, everywhere does not show the noble status of the emperor's daughter, and the status of the favored princess can be comparable to that of the empress, such as the Princess Taiping of the Tang Dynasty."
In ancient times, women's status was low, but the emperor's daughters were stained with royal blood and still had a noble status, they grew up in fine clothes and food, living a superior life, and even their marriage had to go through a heavy "examination". Under normal circumstances, before the ancient princess got married, she would let the dowry maid serve the horse first, which led to a series of tragedies.
Princess origin, marriage theory
The word "princess" we all know is the daughter of the emperor, but few people know the origin of "princess". Princesses first appeared in the Zhou Dynasty, according to the "Biography of the Ram": "The son of heaven marries a woman to the princes, and will make the princes with the same surname the lord." At the time of the cycle, there was no emperor, and the supreme ruler was called "Tianzi", and the daughter of Tianzi could not marry the same emperor, but could only marry the princes.
The princes are divided into five titles: duke, hou, uncle, son, and male, and the princes with the same surname have the highest status as dukes, so the meaning of this sentence is that when the son of heaven marries his daughter to marry the princes, he must be "presided over" by the "duke" of the same surname, and later the daughters of the emperor are unified and referred to as "princesses".
The emperor's daughter is the most honorable status besides the empress, representing the royal bloodline, so those who can marry the emperor's daughter can be said to be Gao Pan, but this kind of high-climbing marriage also has two sayings: one is to marry the princess called "Princess Shang", and the princess is called "concubine". The former is to marry into the princess house with horses, and the latter is to marry the princess into the husband's family.
Heaven's daughter, trial marriage system
The emperor's daughter can be said to be a delicate woman of heaven, especially those favored princesses are like pearls in the palm of their hands, eating and wearing are the best, receiving the most formal education, contacting the most luxurious supplies, this is the real people born with the golden key, once born to win on the starting line, the innate sense of superiority allows them to cultivate a very broad insight from an early age.
Such an excellent woman, to have an identity, to have money and wealth, as a princess looks not too bad, in modern terms is simply the best in the white rich beauty, to marry such a noble status as a princess, it will not let them suffer any grievances, once wronged, it is also harmful to the royal face, therefore, for the princess's happy marriage, the royal family has formulated a "trial marriage" system.
This "trial marriage" is not the meaning of living together before marriage, but to select a dowry maid to serve the attached horse first, which represents the princess to experience the character of the attached horse, how the family is, including the matter in the room, first understand the situation of the attached horse for the princess, and after everything is qualified, the princess can marry in a beautiful way.
Carefully selected to accompany the bridesmaids
Dowry palace women are not high-end "professions" that ordinary people can do, and there are not a few palace women who serve princesses, but only one person can become a dowry palace girl, and only after being carefully selected can serve the attached horse, and the requirements of this are also very strict.
Dowry palace women must have good physical fitness, there is no disease, but also have to be a virgin body, as for the appearance does not need to look too beautiful, otherwise it will affect the happy life of the princess in the future, the matter of spoiling concubines and destroying wives is not unheard of in ancient times, although the dowry palace women are chosen by themselves, but the heart of prevention is indispensable, this is a common disease in the heart of women, as long as the appearance can be passed.
The most important point is that the dowry maid should be careful. When the dowry palace first serves the attached horse, it usually goes to the attached horse's house to live for a period of time to understand the situation in the attached horse's home, such as receiving people and treating things, people's sophistication, family door style, etc., as large as the matter in the room, as small as eating and resting, everything must be reported to the princess in detail, so it is not so easy to say that the dowry palace girl is not so easy to do.
A moment of scenery, a tragic life
When the princess and the attached horse married, the dowry palace girl is still serving around, the dowry palace maid at this time is also a beautiful time, after all, she is also a person who has served the attached horse, although the identity is a palace girl, but there are more relationships, always slightly higher than those ordinary palace women, but it is limited to this, and it is their tragic life in the future to face the dowry palace women.
At first, the princess may be grateful for the dowry maid's efforts, which must be done in the case of the princess's kindness, but there will be some very embarrassing things after a long time. For example, when the princess is physically inconvenient, the dowry palace maid will replace the princess to serve the horse, and if she has children one after another, then the dowry palace girl can no longer be a palace girl and will be raised as a concubine, although the status is far less noble than the princess, but she has also changed from a servant to a master.
It's just that this does not mean that the life of the dowry palace girl will be better, and when she meets a careful-eyed princess, it is a new palace fight drama, and the dead are definitely concubines. Even if the child is born, it is also the identity of the concubine and the concubine, which cannot be compared with the princess's heirs, and under the suppression of the princess, the awkward dowry palace girl and her children are doomed to a tragic life.
Don't think that these dowry ladies have the opportunity to marry in the future, no one wants it at all. In ancient times, people attached importance to the chastity of women, and their own women must be complete, and the dowry palace women have long given the first time to the horse, not to say that they are the ones who attach the horses, but they cannot marry other people casually, most of the dowry palace women have no heirs, they can only grow old around the princess and be a loyal old palace girl.
The dowry palace maid who is not welcomed by the princess will be expelled from the palace, and may be given some "pension", but for a long life, it is a cup of water. The palace women who were expelled from the palace were rarely wanted, and even if they married out, they were poor people's families, becoming another man's reproductive tool, and their whole life was not up to themselves, and they had to feel sad for these dowry palace women.
brief summary
The princess is a golden branch and jade leaf, the innate sense of superiority makes them always superior, even the marriage must send the dowry palace girl to serve the attached horse first, test whether the attached horse is passed, if the attached horse is unqualified, then the life of the dowry palace girl is "abolished", if it is qualified, it is also to use an embarrassing identity to serve the princess and the attached horse, which is the life tragedy destined for the dowry palace.
In ancient times, women had a low status, and they always thought that the palace women who served the relatives of the emperor and the state would have a slightly better status, but in fact, it was not. Their fate is even more tragic, they are lucky to live to old age, many of them die due to accidents, and some are lonely and old, and their lives are lonely and bitter. In contrast, we are fortunate to be born in a society where men and women are equal, and while we cannot guarantee a 100 percent happy marriage, we can at least have the right to choose for ourselves.
Reference: "Night Feast Princess Anle New House System"