The position of imperial concubine originated in the Ming Dynasty. The concubines who held this position were second only to the empress in status. Because it was a newly established relationship, the position of imperial concubine brought many drawbacks to the harem. Because the imperial concubines were the most important among the concubines and loved by the emperor, they could directly threaten the empress.
This also caused chaotic battles in the harem. When the Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming Dynasty system, it made many changes to the imperial concubine system. By the time of the Kangxi Dynasty, the harem system of the Qing Dynasty had been basically perfected. At that time, there were more detailed regulations on the rank, number, and treatment of concubines.
In the Kangxi Dynasty, it was stipulated that there would be one empress and one imperial concubine in the harem, two noble concubines, four concubines, and six concubines. These five concubines are of higher rank. Of course, in addition to the relatively fixed number of empresses and imperial concubines, the number of concubines will change. Below the concubines, there are three ranks: noble, permanent, and promised. They each lived in the east and west palaces, and their status was not high.
Only when children are born can they be treated higher. During the Qing Dynasty, the imperial concubines still inherited their previous status. The status of the imperial concubine in the harem is equivalent to that of the deputy empress. If the empress is absent, the imperial concubines can exercise their powers on behalf of the empress, unify the concubines, and handle the affairs of the harem.
During the Qing Dynasty, the etiquette of crowning imperial concubines was not low. On the day of the canonization, the imperial concubines were to go to the palace gate to greet the golden book and the golden treasure, and perform the ritual of three prostrations and nine prayers. The golden book of the imperial concubines, each page reached the third class red gold fifteen two. These ceremonies and canonizations are not much different from the queen.
In terms of other treatment, according to the "Four Genealogies of the Qing Imperial Family", the empress can use a palace girl with a quota of ten people, while the imperial concubine can use a palace girl with an eight-person quota. Other monthly routines, daily necessities, clothes, hats and clothing, etc., the gap is extremely limited.
The Qing Dynasty promoted the status of imperial concubines to such a high position, and it was certainly easy to re-produce harem chaos. To avoid this problem, the Qing Dynasty made some other arrangements.
On the one hand, it is to elevate the status of the empress and make the position of the empress difficult to shake. The Qing Dynasty practiced a polygamous concubine system. The empress was the wife, and the other concubines were concubines. The gap between wives and concubines was like a chasm in ancient times.
Moreover, the identity of the empress is not only the emperor's wife, the lord of the harem, but also the identity of the mother of the imperial court. When the emperor attends major ceremonies, if there is a current empress, he must accompany him whenever conditions permit. Therefore, the canonization and dethronement of the empress was not only a family affair of the emperor, but also a state affair of the imperial court.
The emperor could not make a decision directly. In the more than two hundred years of the history of the Qing Dynasty, only two things after the abolition occurred. The imperial concubine is different, although she can rule the harem, but her identity is still a concubine, not a wife. In other words, the abolition of the imperial concubine, the emperor can directly make a decision.
In some really weighty treatment. For example, the daughter born to the empress can be called "Princess Gulun", and the daughter born to the imperial concubine can only be called "Princess Heshuo".
The empress's son is a concubine, and she has the greatest chance of being elected to the throne in the future. When the imperial concubine was canonized, she needed to pay homage to the empress. The status gap between the two can be seen.
While elevating the status of empress, it is to distinguish the time of establishment of imperial concubines. In the history of the Qing Dynasty, a total of 28 imperial concubines were crowned. The promotions of these imperial concubines varied. Some were promoted from the last concubine to the position of imperial concubine, and there were 11 of them.
Some were posthumously sealed, and there were 10 of them. Two were crowned empresses from imperial concubines during their lifetime, four were posthumously crowned empresses from imperial concubines, and one was Empress Uranara of Qianlong, who was demoted from empress to imperial concubine.
Except for the fact that during the Shunzhi period, Empress Xiaohuizhang was established together with the imperial concubine Dong Eshi, and after the Kangxi Dynasty, when the harem system was gradually improved, there was no longer a situation in which the empress and the imperial concubine were established at the same time. The Qing Dynasty set up imperial concubines, in addition to posthumous titles, as well as the promotion of the widow of the former emperor, in most cases, it was the death of the empress, and the emperor needed someone to deal with the affairs of the harem before he could appoint an imperial concubine.
This was to prevent the empress from existing at the same time as the imperial concubines, so that the harem would be chaotic. Or the concubine was critically ill, and the emperor specially ordered it to be sealed. For example, the Yongzheng Emperor's Dunsu Emperor Concubine Nian Shi was made an imperial concubine in the face of illness.
That is to say, for ordinary concubines, there are only four situations for them to face. There are two kinds of posthumous sealing and critical illness sealing, which have no actual influence and do not constitute competition.
The widows of the former emperor all lived with the empress, and they belonged to the elderly players. It neither poses a real threat nor creates competition. The current concubines are also not opponents of these elders at all.
As for the current imperial concubine. They were established after the death of the Empress, and they held the highest status in the royal palace. Moreover, after the death of the empress, they were selected by the emperor from among the concubines to be awarded the position of imperial concubine, and they were all concubines who were very trusted by the emperor, and it was possible to be crowned empresses in the future. It is extremely difficult to pry this kind of corner, and it is almost impossible.