The Kangxi Emperor single-handedly opened the prosperity of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and he was also the longest-reigning emperor in history; during the sixty-year reign for the continuation of his heirs, the long-term reign would of course continue to include new people in the palace. Even in his later years, there were not a few concubines sent to the palace or whom he himself looked up to.
One of them was one of the concubines he had only incorporated in his later years, and a year after entering the palace, he gave birth to a prince for Kangxi, which was also his twenty-second son. It is reasonable to say that whether it is a happy prince or an old son, it should be worthy of happiness, but Kangxi, far from being particularly happy, did not care about this mother and son, and even treated each other coldly. Why?
In ancient Times, China, especially the imperial court and the emperor's harem, attached great importance to birth and status. People with low status have the opportunity to enter the army, but more often than not, they are hard to read and have no talent, because the title is also a hereditary system that can be passed from father to son. Those who have power have always had power, and civilians have been civilians for most generations.
And even if there is a title in a civilian's home, if there is no high official in the DPRK, it is difficult to promote, and you may only be able to stay in a small place as a sesame official for a lifetime. There is also a lack of talent and learning, which also reflects the importance of ancient origin.
This is the imperial court and the officialdom, in fact, in the emperor's harem is also the same, the same is the origin of the concubine. There are many empresses whose families are very large, and the reason is that the emperor also needs to get the support of the empress family in this way. There is often also the custom of making peace with foreign tribes on the frontier, which is also the purpose of achieving peace through marriage.
Therefore, in an environment where birth is particularly important, a person of humble origin naturally does not get the favor of the emperor. The concubine was of the Sekhtu clan, and it could be seen from this unfamiliar surname that the family was not at all famous, but only a commoner family; and his father was only a very small official at that time. The reason why Concubine Jin was favored by Kangxi was entirely because she had a good skin bag.
Probably like many young women who have been elected to the palace, when they were first selected to enter the palace, they had beautiful illusions about the future life of glory and wealth. After all, it is the first person in the world today to be favored, and entering the palace as a concubine will be greatly improved in terms of status and life. But like more women, the reality is often harsh, and because of her humble origins, she doesn't get everything she expects.
After being brought into the palace by Kangxi, he did not receive the canonization ceremony and his own name, but was collectively known as concubines with other women of low origin. Concubine Jin was only thirteen years old when kangxi saw her enter the palace, and she did not get much favor from the emperor after entering the palace, but she soon became pregnant. A year after entering the palace, he gave birth to a prince.
In the face of the son that this young and beautiful woman gave birth to for herself, Kangxi did not show happy emotions, but he treated the mother and son coldly. There are many reasons for this attitude of Kangxi, and many articles describe Kangxi as not attaching importance to feelings, and women are like clothes to him, which can be changed or thrown away at any time.
The concubine's origin is too low, how low is it? She could only survive in the palace on a meager monthly share, and some powerful slaves might have more power than her. Also because of the birth problem, the children she gave birth to were also inferior to other princes.
Kangxi looked up to her entirely because she was beautiful enough to attract Kangxi's attention with her face. But how long can the harem beauties get the emperor by the face alone? What's more, Kangxi had seen countless beautiful women, and he probably couldn't remember what this concubine looked like after a while. Naturally, there will be no excessive attention to her.
Secondly, Concubine Jin gave birth to only the twenty-second son of Kangxi. As the saying goes, "things are precious to be rare", Kangxi already had more than twenty sons before, to put it bluntly, this son is more than not much, less and less for Kangxi.
If this was Kangxi's second son, he might have divided love and joy into him, but unfortunately he was not. Or if his mother had been a large family that Kangxi needed to cooperate with, his fate would have changed. Therefore, neither the mother depends on the child and the child depends on the mother, and neither the concubine nor the concubine happens.
Although their mother and son did not get Kangxi's attention, it was precisely because of this that they were blessed by misfortune and lived their lives peacefully. The consequence of the many kangxi heirs was the famous "Nine Sons and Concubines", and after fratricide, Yin Chan, the Yongzheng Emperor, successfully succeeded to the throne. It was not until the new emperor ascended the throne that the lives of the two improved.
Yongzheng's methods and cruelty are all there for all to see, and the image of him created by film and television dramas may not be realistic and cruel enough. After he ascended the throne, he dealt with all the brothers who participated in the conquest of the throne, and Yin Hu was only about ten years old when he was fighting for the throne, and he had no ability and of course no strength to participate in the struggle for the throne, and it was precisely because of this that he escaped a disaster, and Yongzheng did not poison him.
However, the competition for the throne is not only the age and strength of the prince himself, but also the status of the prince's mother's family and military and political strength; Yin Hu is too young, and the second is that the mother Sekhtu has no status, so she is not qualified to compete. On the other hand, if Yin Hu also joined the struggle for the throne, he might be only ten years old.
After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he also ordered that his brother and mother, who had not been enthroned, be canonized, and it was at this time that the Sehetu clan had a real name - a concubine. Although she was canonized by the new emperor, she had already made great progress compared to the previous nameless generation, and she had also completed the second half of her life in wealth and glory, compared with most other concubines, she was already three years old.
Since Yin Hu did not pose a threat to Yongzheng's struggle for the throne, he did not embarrass Yin Hu after he ascended the throne, but instead gave him an errand to guard the imperial tomb; he also received the title of Gongqin Belle, although he did not have any real power, but he did not have too much intrigue and deception. In the end, he also walked through his life diligently, plain but stable.
In ancient times, class stratification was very strict, and the Qing Dynasty divided the nobility into distinct hierarchies, and the status of the commoners was visiblely very low. Therefore, the selection of empresses must be very strict, for example, the famous Empress Fucha is because her family's power is so great that the emperor has to give up a few points.
Therefore, the criteria for the emperor's harem to choose concubines are also very strict. Many women enter the palace without knowing that they have opened a tragic life, and they can only be locked up in the high wall of the wide courtyard for a lifetime, like a canary in a cage, losing their freedom forever. They can only live for the family, for the sake of their children, but they cannot live for themselves.
Kangxi made many contributions to the Qing Dynasty, the country was rich and strong, the politics were clear, and the economy was developed. Sixty years of reign is indeed worthy of being called a wise monarch in the history of our country. But the greatness of this monarch is directed against the state and the people; but against his harem, his concubines and even his children, he has not fulfilled the duties of a husband and father.