In film and television dramas, we can often see countless servants around the dignitaries, even if they are students who go to Beijing to take the exam, they will also follow a book boy to help him take care of his life. And in real history, the "profession" of servants also existed.
So the question is, how much did it cost to buy a servant in ancient times? Can you afford it now? The following author will take you to understand the price of servants in history.
Speaking of servants, I have to mention Kunlun Nu because he impressed me the most. Most of the Kunlun nu in film and television dramas are very strong images, and even the force value can be directly pulled full, which has a sense of both vision of Hercules; in ancient China, Kunlun nu is not derived from Kunlun Mountain, but generally refers to servants from the Nanyang region, most of which are "black people" in Southeast Asia.
Historically, Kunlun Nu was as strong as an ox, gentle temperament, down-to-earth and upright, and was the preferred servant of many princes and nobles, and the reason why it was called Kunlun Nu was because in ancient China, the word Kunlun had the meaning of referring to black things, and the Tang Dynasty used the meaning of the word to collectively refer to black-skinned people as Kunlun people. In the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Nan Man, it is written:
South of Linyi, all of them have curly hair and black bodies, and the common name is 'Kunlun'.
Kunlun Nu's most popular dynasty was in the Tang Dynasty, and chang'an at this time can be called an international metropolis, the streets can see people of all colors, at that time there was a saying "Kunlun Nu, Silla Concubine", and this is also the standard of Chang'an magnates to show off their wealth.
However, although kunlun nu were prevalent in the Tang Dynasty, its number was very rare, so with the change of supply and demand, the price of Kunlun nu can be said to have soared all the way, and at its peak, it could even reach 5 times that of ordinary slaves.
Generally speaking, slaves are divided into two kinds: unskilled slaves and skilled slaves, the former is called rough servants, simply put, it is miscellaneous, and the latter is more classified, according to the different positions, there will be specific titles, such as the bookboy who follows the student, the close servant who follows the miss, and so on.
In the Tang Dynasty, the price of a coarse servant was generally around 2 yuan, while the price of Kunlun Nu might reach 10 yuan. Taking the purchasing power of the Tang Dynasty as the standard, the consistent money is about 7,000 yuan now, that is to say, the price of a Kunlun slave will even reach 70,000 yuan, and it is likely that there will be a situation where there is no market.
Seeing this, do you feel that your wallet is not bulging enough? Don't be discouraged, after all, the example just given is the Tang Dynasty, which is very strong in national strength, the price is actually somewhat inflated, and after the Tang Dynasty, the price of servants began to gradually flatten. In the literary work "Golden Plum Bottle", the price of buying servants is mentioned repeatedly.
In the whole "Golden Plum Bottle", there are a total of 30 descriptions of the sale of the beard, the price ranges from three two to sixteen two, the difference is more than 5 times, is it the appearance that determines everything?
Not all of this, because the beard under the age of 13 could not bear heavy physical labor and could not be used to meet the physiological needs of the owner, so the price was about 4 taels of silver.
In addition, adult mane, most of them are based on the appearance of the price to evaluate the price, such as the 17 times to buy the face value is not high, the price is 10 two silver; good-looking Chunmei and Chunxiang, the price is 16 two silver, they are treated as concubines who do not disclose their identity, Chunmei is for Ximen Qing, Chunxiang is for Han Daoguo.
Although the top mane is expensive, when it comes to the second generation of the rich in the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid they will say: It is not as good as Kunlun Nu.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty described in the "Golden Bottle Plum", 1 two silver can buy 350 pounds of rice, or 50 pounds of pork, if the standard is now, 1 two silver is equivalent to about 800 yuan, that is to say, an ordinary servant, the price is as low as 2400 yuan, the highest is 12800 yuan. Seeing such a cheap price, some netizens even immediately said: you can open a factory.
Of course, the bold idea of this netizen can only be used as a temporary pastime, even if the laws and regulations are not discussed, at the moment when the standard of living is generally improved, the vast majority of people can earn 2400 yuan or even more through their own efforts in 1 month, so who will sell their freedom for this money?