In the harem of the Qing Dynasty, those pet concubines looked glamorous and enviable, but there was a saying called "deep love is not longevity", most of the pet concubines are people with red faces and thin lives, such as Dong Efei who spoiled the sixth palace, and those unfavored concubines are surprisingly long-lived, such as the wan guifei that I want to talk about today.
Wan Guifei Chen was a Han woman from the folk, her father's name was Chen Yanzhang, in fact, a woman of Chen's origin was not eligible to participate in the draft, and could not enter the palace at all. However, during the Kang Yongqian period of the Qing Dynasty, officials in the Jiangnan region had the custom of offering beautiful women to the imperial court, and Chen Shi was one of them.
In the early years of the Yongzheng Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the Chen clan, who was only a teenager, was sent to the Capital Division, and Yongzheng gave it to the fourth son of the emperor, Hongli, as a maid, that is, a servant who served beside Hongli. Although the Chen clan was from a humble origin, he was still well-behaved and sensible, and usually very cautious, and it was not long before the identity of the Chen clan changed, and he became a concubine by Hongli's side.
Before Hongli succeeded to the throne, there were about ten handmaidens around her, and Chen was one of them, among these handmaidens, Chen almost belonged to the lowest status, and her unworthy personality made her not get too much attention from Hongli. After Hongli succeeded to the throne, the Chen clan was given the title of Chang Zai, and in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, it was almost the lowest-ranking concubine, and there was a concubine similar to the Chen clan at that time, she was Hai Chang zai, that is, the concubine who later gave birth to the fifth brother Yongqi.
Hai Chang was often summoned by Qianlong, which led her to give birth to the fifth brother Yongqi in the sixth year of Qianlong, but the Chen clan did not get any chance at all, and it was not until after the death of Empress Xiaoxian in the thirteenth year of Qianlong that Qianlong gave her the title of concubine and the title of Concubine. However, what is unexpected is that in the following forty-six years, the position of the Chen clan has not changed at all, and according to some Qing palace archives, the Chen clan may have been treated unfairly during this period.
For example, on Chen's fortieth birthday, she did not receive any rewards, and on her fiftieth birthday, Qianlong rewarded two hundred taels of silver according to the standards of nobles, and more often, Chen's sub-routines were only received according to the usual standards, which shows that Chen was indeed not welcomed by Qianlong.
However, after all, Chen Shi was an old man of Qianlong's hidden residence, and his qualifications were still there, so sometimes he could also gain Qianlong's trust, such as the first month of Qianlong's forty years, which made the imperial concubine seriously ill, and Qianlong sent Concubine Ying and Concubine Wan to take care of it.
In the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong, the Chen clan finally waited for the opportunity to be promoted, and this year she was promoted to the title of Concubine Wan, at this time, the Chen clan was already a 78-year-old woman, it can be said that the Chen clan spent up the Fanghua in the harem of the Qing Dynasty. Five years later, emperor Qianlong of Taishang rode the guest, at this time Chen was 83 years old, if you count according to the Chen clan began to serve Qianlong at the age of 13, she stayed with Qianlong for 70 years, which is extremely rare in the ancient harem.
After Jiaqing pro-government, Chen became the most senior in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and was honored by Jiaqing as a princess of grace, after which, the Chen clan lived in the harem of the Qing Dynasty for six years, and died of illness in the Forbidden City at the age of 92 on the second day of February in the twelfth year of Jiaqing, and the Chen clan became the longest-lived one in the Qianlong harem.
It is worth mentioning that at that time, there was a Qianlong concubine who personally went to the funeral palace to bid farewell to the Chen family, she was the Egui, the Egui was also a spoilless person, The Concubine Wan had been a concubine for 46 years, and the Egui had been a concubine for 46 years, perhaps it was this state of no favor that also made the two have pity for each other and have a good relationship.
Moreover, according to historical records, after Princess Wanfei died of illness, Jiaqing personally went to her coffin to pay tribute, which can be said to have given the old lady enough face.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty, Imperial Classics