Speaking of this "Zongren Mansion" of the Qing Dynasty, it was not actually a department established by the Qing Dynasty itself, but was first established by us Han Chinese during the Ming Dynasty. However, let's not misunderstand the Zongrenfu, it is not a department that is the main punishment, this is just one of its functions, and this function is exaggerated in the Qing Palace drama.
Zongrenfu was established in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, initially called The Great Zongzhengyuan, and when Hongwu was 22 years old, it was renamed "Zongrenfu", and after Zhu Di ascended the throne, this Zongrenfu basically existed in name only, because its functions were performed by the Ministry of Rites, and it had no real power itself.
When this clan mansion was finally established, it was established for the purpose of administering, serving, and restraining the imperial family. The significance of the existence of the Zongren Mansion is, in layman's terms, the logistics management department of the imperial family.
The imperial family's marriage, funeral, and other matters should be handled by the clan government; the imperial family's rewards, punishments, and other matters should be carried out by the clan government; the royal family genealogy records and memorabilia should be compiled, and the clan government should write; the imperial family's title inheritance, the number of fenglu, the clan government is still the main object of responsibility. All these things are the responsibility of the Zongren Government.
After the Manchu Qing entered the Central Plains, after all, they fought fiercely, but their ability to govern the country and make decisions was not very experienced, and they did not have their own better way to rule such a superpower, and finally chose to inherit many of the systems of the Ming Dynasty, and the Zongren Mansion was also continued.
The difference between the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty in zongrenfu is relatively large, because the zongrenfu existed in name during the Ming Dynasty, but it was reused in the Qing Dynasty; another major difference is that the Ming Dynasty had a large number of imperial personnel, but the original imperial family of the Qing Dynasty was basically nurhaci's family.
Why mention this? Because this still has a great impact on the work of the Zongrenfu, after all, the functions of the Zongrenfu are on the one hand, but the human condition is on the other hand.
The zongrenfu's management function over the imperial family has given the zongrenfu great powers, and it is necessary to be extra careful and careful when calculating the number of fenglu, the succession of titles, marriages and funerals, etc., after all, these big figures are difficult to serve, in case of any mistakes, the number of rewards and punishments will be calculated incorrectly, and the consequences will be unimaginable.
At the same time, the ZongrenFu also has a certain penal function, mainly for the imperial family. Such an errand is also an errand that tests eyesight and experience. After all, the emperor's family affairs are state affairs, although most of the affairs handled by the Zongren Government are internal affairs, but there are also certain "risks".
The status of the emperor was the pinnacle of feudal society, and his moodiness was said to accompany the king as a companion tiger. In the Qing Palace dramas, we can often see that there are some vicious concubines who play tricks or concubines who are designed by people to anger the emperor, and the emperor will sometimes rush to the crown and send him to the Zongren Mansion for punishment. But the concubine and the emperor are husband and wife after all, if the concubine who is blamed for the crime is reconciled with the emperor one day, or there is a force behind the concubine to help her redeem her sins, those who once cleaned up her zongren mansion personnel, life will certainly not be better, of course, the zongrenfu chief has the emperor covered, in order to maintain the duties of the zongrenfu will not be retaliated against, but the small staff below is afraid that it will be encountered, one day it will be cleaned up, and there is no opportunity to even shout injustice, and for such a small matter, the emperor will not personally ask questions.
In the Qing Palace drama, we will see such a scene, the emperor roared angrily, "Imprison her in the Zongren Mansion". When the concubines heard this, they would collapse to the ground, or their faces would change drastically, and they would show a look of fear at this time, and then they would beg for forgiveness. How terrible is this house captivity? Let the emperor's concubines talk about it like this.
In the Zongren Mansion, there is a place called the Zongren Mansion Empty House, and the Zongren Mansion Empty House has a Crime Sect Room, which is the place responsible for the captivity of the royal criminals. This place is nothing special, it is a small yard or a small house, depending on the level, the treatment is also different, there is no cruel punishment here, there is no job in eating and living.
Of course, there is no one here, no happiness, no slaves, fully embodies the name of "empty room", eating, drinking and sleeping every day, sleeping and eating is the main life item of captivity. Such a life is more difficult for the pampered concubines than any punishment, their rich life has since ended, their peerless appearance has never seen the light of day, only ended in a lonely and self-congratulatory end, and when they are old and fading, they are better off than dead. Such torture is not as good as death, which is also the main reason why many captive concubines hang themselves.
The zongren government's treatment of concubines tends to be cold and violent today, think about the days when you are not allowed to go out for a few days, you are not allowed to play with mobile phones, that kind of pain you may be able to experience in case.