Qing Palace drama was once popular, and many viewers were obsessed with it to the extreme. As everyone knows, many plots in Qing Palace dramas not only violate real history, but even the most basic titles and etiquette are full of errors.
The Forbidden City Noon Gate
1. The group of courtiers went to the court, and the mountain shouted "Long live long live long live".
Whether it was the emperor or the emperor, the minister did not say "long live" to the emperor. The appellation "Hooray" usually appears in writing or on the theatrical stage. During the Yongzheng period, even if "long live" appeared in the recital, it would be reprimanded. Yongzheng hated this kind of flattery.
At the same time, in the Yongzheng Dynasty, the Manchu Han ministers were also taboo to write "slave talents", and all wrote "subjects".
Even when Qianlong was crown prince, Shangquan was also called "subject".
Yongzheng changed the minister's conciliation slave to a minister
In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, eunuchs and palace women began to call the emperor "Long Live Grandpa", but not in person. For example, Guangxu asked Cixi for peace, and some eunuchs would reply in advance, "Long live Grandpa is coming"!
2. "Long live Grandpa Auspicious", "Empress Dowager Auspicious", "Lafayette Auspicious"
"Long live Grandpa auspicious" and "Lafayette auspicious" are nonsense. Neither "Viva Grandpa" nor "Lafayette" was addressed to the emperor in person, but by eunuchs in private.
In the Qing Dynasty, three rulers were privately addressed by eunuchs: Lafayette, namely Kangxi, Qianlong, and Cixi.
One is that they are the supreme rulers, and the other is that they all live a long life. The Jiaqing Emperor, on the other hand, could only be called "Buddha".
"The Empress Dowager' Auspiciousness"
"Dao auspicious" also existed only between eunuchs and eunuchs or between eunuchs and officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ministers and concubines did not have the custom of saying good fortune to the emperor.
3. "Emperor" and "Emperor"
The same person, two titles, but fully show the disparity in the identity of the saluter. There are generally only those who dare to call "emperor" in person
"Empress Dowager" and "Imperial Concubine".
Until the last emperor Puyi, the rules were not so strict. Puyi's parents and grandmother also called Puyi "Emperor". For example, Guangxu asked Cixi for peace, as long as Cixi said, "The emperor should go!" Guangxu could only take a few steps backwards and come out.
The emperor in the mouth of the concubine
Whether it was the empress, concubines, or Manchu ministers, they all called the emperor "emperor" in person or behind their backs.
4. "Old Man"
"Old Master" almost never appeared in the Qing Palace drama. But the term does exist. "Old Master", like "Lafayette", is the title of the emperor behind the emperor's close attendants and eunuchs, and the ministers cannot be called that way. When Xiaolan was old, he called Qianlong "old man" behind him, which may have originated from here. Ji Xiaolan almost got into trouble because of this.
5. "Brother", "Several Masters", "Emperor's Sons"
People of different identities cannot be called the crown prince casually. The ministers called the crown prince "Brother", while the officials and eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarded themselves as royal slaves and as intimate, and called the prince "Grandpa". The prince should standardize in the written writing, and the oldest few will write "emperor's sons".
Eight brothers
6. Misuse of the Taihe Temple
In film and television dramas, it is often seen that the emperor and the chancellor appear in the Taihe Hall. In fact, the Taihe Temple doesn't use it several times a year. Except for major celebrations and festivals such as the emperor's ascension to the throne, the canonization of the empress, the Longevity Festival (the emperor's birthday), New Year's Day, and the winter solstice, the Taihe Hall is not needed on other occasions. The emperor generally set up a throne and a royal case in qianqingmen.
Taihe Hall
7. Summons and introductions
Summoning (commonly known as summoning) requires the prince, the imperial chancellor, and the leading military minister to lead the ministers to meet the emperor in turn. This can be read in the diaries of many qing ministers. The occasion of the summons is usually in the East Pavilion of the Yangxin Hall.
If more than one person attends the call, only the lead person can answer, and no one else can interject. Those who were summoned could not turn their heads and talk to each other, and only when the emperor asked could they answer.
It is by no means like in the current film and television drama, where the emperor and the minister hold a discussion.
Yangxin Hall East Warm Pavilion
Introduction, there are civil and military officials of a certain rank who are in office to meet the emperor. Because it is more formal than the summons, the Ming Hall of the Yangxin Hall was chosen on the occasion. The introduction is formal but only a cutscene. Most officials probably only had this one chance to meet the emperor in their lifetime.
8. The emperor's title to the chancellor
The emperor does not address the ministers with titles, titles, or titles, and does not call them "a certain adult" as in film and television dramas.
The emperor and the empress dowager received the ministers, regardless of their status or age, they were called by their real names, and others were mentioned in the conversation.
When the emperor or empress dowager mentions a prince to another person, he will not directly call him by his name but call him a title of "prince". In a special case, Shunzhi once called Dolgun "Emperor Uncle" and "Imperial Father", and Puyi called his father Zaifeng "Wang Ye".
Zaifeng and his sons Puyi and Pujie
9. The rules of the chancellor before the emperor
It often appears in film and television dramas, when the emperor talks to the minister, the emperor sits, the minister stands, the emperor stands, the minister sits, and even the emperor sits, and the minister also sits. These situations do not occur in real history. Whether summoned or introduced, ministers knelt before the emperor. Regardless of the length of time, you must kneel until the emperor says "kneel", and when the conversation is over, you can stand up and retreat to the door and turn around and exit.
The minister knelt
10. Speech restrictions when kneeling
In film and television dramas, it is often the case that the emperor and the minister talk endlessly. This is not the case. Since the minister had to kneel, although there was white felt under the knees, no one could bear it if it was long. Therefore, there is an unwritten rule among the ministers,
"No matter what is right, it often ends in three sentences, and there is no need for the emperor to ask again."
This greatly avoids the unbearable knee pain caused by too long kneeling. To this end, the ministers also made knee pads with thick cotton wool to prevent pain due to how long they knelt. Some elderly ministers can really have an accident if they kneel for a long time.
The minister actually stood up, and the dress did not match
In addition to the above, when the emperor summoned or introduced ministers, both attendants and eunuchs were to recuse themselves. When the chancellor entered the emperor, he had to wear regular clothes, mending his gowns, and the imperial beads, and the emperor could not be casual, and he must wear a regular robe with a crown accordingly. By no means like some film and television dramas, the emperor sometimes wore pajamas, bareheaded, or even barefoot, summoned ministers. This etiquette is true even in the folk. When a guest visits, someone reciprocates, and one of the items is to tell the host what the guest is wearing. The host will then dress up to receive the guests. Before leaving, the host also changes a piece of clothing to send the guest.