In the feudal society of ancient China, marriage is based on the order of parents, the words of the matchmaker, and for some large households, there are cumbersome rituals to be handled, and from the Spring and Autumn Period onwards, but all noble women who marry, generally let the woman bring a few people into the door, so the profession of dowry is officially born.
However, many of their final destinations will not change because of this, with a few exceptions, such as following the Xiaozhuang Empress Dowager Su Ma Lama, who married Shunzhi, and was respected by the two generations of qing monarchs.
And the next one to talk about should be the most fortunate dowry in history, following the married lady to become the imperial concubine, and she eventually became the empress, the name of this lady, called Song Fujin.
In the 8th century, at this time, China was still in the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Li Min was displaced, and Song Fujin, the daughter of the Jiangxia people, was separated from his father in a war, but was taken in by Shi Wangrong of Shengzhou (Nanjing, Jiangsu). Therefore, the young Song Fujin grew up in the royal palace and followed the young lady Wang and became a servant.
At that time, Wang Rong was an important minister of the State of Wu during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and in order to further stabilize his power, he eventually married Xu Zhihuan of the Runzhou Regiment of Shengzhou, and married his daughter Wang Shi to her as a wife, and Song Fujin, as a concubine among the dowry concubines, was also married to the Xu family.
It turned out that among the dowry bridesmaids, they were also divided into three, six, and nine grades, and the concubine was the highest level, and its status was even much higher than that of ordinary concubines. She can also attend formal banquets and has a great status.
It turns out that in the past, women who married to their husbands' families with their wives were of higher specifications, such as sisters or women of the same clan, and if the wife died of illness or did not give birth, the concubines could also be corrected, and the purpose of this was to ensure the maximization of the interests of the married woman. For example, Sun Quan's mother married her father Sun Jian with her sister.
Therefore, after Song Fujin married, he no longer had to serve people, and his status was much higher. However, she was still cautious and cautious, which was appreciated by Xu Zhihuan.
And Song Fujin's life, also changed because of this, after a few years, Wang died of illness, and did not have time to give birth to an heir, but Song Fujin, first in 916 for Xu Zhihuan gave birth to a son Xu Jingtong, and later gave birth to a son Xu Jingqian, Xu Jingsui, so she was also justified as a wife.
At this time, Xu Zhihuan's power expanded step by step, and he was promoted to Taishi, Grand Marshal, and King of Qi. Finally in 937, Xu Zhihuan was proclaimed emperor and the state name Qi, and posthumously honored his former deceased wife Wang Shi as the Prince of Wei, and received the title of Concubine Shun, as for Song Fujin, he was naturally made empress.
In the end, the young lady only obtained the status of imperial concubine, and Song Fujin became an empress, and her own virtuous courtesy was inseparable. In his later years, Xu Zhihuan, because of taking the poison ingredients of the Dan medicine, became increasingly grumpy, often angry, because of a small matter to execute his subordinates, fortunately, Song Fujin on the side of the timely persuasion and mediation, so that many people survived. Finally, in 945, two years after Xu Zhihuan's death, Song Fujin also died of illness and was buried with Xu Zhihuan's Yongling Tomb, historically known as Empress Yuanjing.