Preface:
In China's more than 2,000 years of feudal history, the supremacy of imperial power has always been the main theme of this society. As the only legitimate successor of the Son of Heaven, the emperor must not only shoulder state affairs, but also obtain heirs in the harem to continue the dynasty. So, against such a background, where did the emperor's woman come from? What conditions do they need to meet in order to be honored by the emperor? Let's go back to the Qing Dynasty over time and take a look at the stories of these women.
First, the source of the emperor's concubines: the choice of the empress dowager's confidant
In the sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the seven-year-old Kangxi Emperor officially ascended the throne. According to convention, real power remained in the hands of his biological mother, Empress Hyohuizhang, at this time. In order to consolidate the imperial power, Empress Zhang surrounded the emperor and installed a group of her own henchmen and cronies. Among them, the most crucial is the emperor's concubine candidate.
During the reign of Empress Zhang, there was a very clear source for the creation of concubines - the appointment of the Empress Dowager. Just as Empress Xiaokang appointed Empress Zhang as an imperial concubine, Empress Zhang would also select henchmen from the daughters of powerful families according to her own political considerations and arrange for them to enter the palace as concubines.
These chosen women, usually of illustrious origin, had outstanding fathers and brothers, and were good tools for the Empress Dowager's political marriage. For example, one of Kangxi's concubines, the Borzigit clan, was the granddaughter of Sony, the founder of the Qing Dynasty, and through this political marriage, the Empress Dowager not only encircled the Sony family, but also added some noble blood to the emperor.
As emperor, Kangxi had no choice in the selection of these women's candidates. According to custom, he had to accept the arrangement of the Empress Dowager to marry these women. For the seven-year-old, this political marriage is full of helplessness and passivity. However, this was also the need to consolidate imperial power at the beginning of the dynasty.
In contrast, the fate of these women is even more tragic. They could have lived a happy life in front of each other, but they were forced to fall victim to the royal family's political calculations. However, under the customs of the time, their father and brother could only endure the pain of cutting their love and sacrifice their flesh and bones to the royal family in order to seek a glimmer of life.
This political marriage means a lot to both families. As the head of the new dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor had to consolidate his reign through constant marriages. And for the Mongol nobles who had just returned to the Qing Dynasty, getting the favor of the emperor also meant having a say in the court. However, the only thing that really suffers is to become a victim of political calculation.
Under Empress Zhang's arrangement, Kangxi was forced to meet one Mongolian girl after another of his own age. They were either nervous or scared, hanging their heads and afraid to look at him. Kangxi was also ignorant and did not know why. "Why marry them?" Kangxi asked about his mother. Empress Zhang just replied softly: "This is all for the sake of the Great Qing Jiangshan and for the sake of our family's world."
Kangxi looked at the firm eyes of the queen mother, and finally nodded. He was still young and could not yet see the true meaning of this political marriage, so he could only follow his mother's arrangement. For those Mongolian girls who were forced to enter the palace, their lives have since been rewritten by this marriage, and there is no autonomy.
II. Exotic Marriages: Political Courtesy of the Mongol Nobility
As Kangxi became an adult, the Qing Dynasty's rule gradually expanded to Mongolia. It is conceivable that the newly stable dynasty urgently needs to stabilize the newly returned vassals through marriage. As a result, princesses from the Mongol nobility also became candidates for the emperor's concubines.
In 1655, at the age of 14, Butulujit was sent to the palace and became Kangxi's concubine. She is the daughter of Sebutenbalzi, the left-wing banner of the Mongolian branch, and her biological mother is the granddaughter of Lin Dan Khan. Through this marriage, Sebutenbalzi both expressed his submission and loyalty to the new dynasty and won a discourse of power for himself.
However, for the Butulujit clan himself, this exotic marriage was destined to be tragic. A young girl who originally lived in the Mongolian steppe was suddenly sent to the depths of a strange court and became the emperor's concubine overnight. The husband was a stranger who had only met a few times, and he was accompanied by palace eunuchs who spoke different languages.
At first, Buturujit cried and cried, but then simply kept silent and refused to eat. However, all these rebellions were futile in the face of the Great Qing Dynasty. In the end, she died alone in the confinement of the court until her death at the age of 62.
On the day that the Buturujit clan was forced to leave the Mongolian steppe, Sebutenbalzi held a grand ceremony in his tent, entertaining guests with the best cattle and sheep to congratulate his family on entering the palace. For him, this is undoubtedly a great opportunity to consolidate his power in the DPRK.
However, Butulujit was silently sobbing on the sidelines, her mood ununderstood and cared for. WHEN SERVANT WAS PUT ON A PALANQUIN AND EMBARKED ON A JOURNEY TO A STRANGE LAND, SHE LOOKED BACK AT THE GROWING PRAIRIE FOR A LONG TIME, AND HER TEARS COULD NO LONGER BE STOPPED. Years later, she vaguely remembered the flying flags that day, the joy on her father's face that could not be concealed, and the tearing pain in her heart.
3. Folk beauty: the occasional gain of micro-service petitioners
In addition to concubines from political arrangements, the emperor's own desire to see the mood was also an important source of concubines. Most of these women came from ordinary people's families, and they usually met by chance when the emperor was on a travel.
According to legend, during a trip to visit the people, the Kangxi Emperor saw a girl who was dressed simply, but showed her wisdom. The emaciated figure did not affect the crystal clear beauty of her face in the slightest. The Kangxi Emperor was attracted to her at a glance, met her again and again, and finally adopted her as a concubine. This was Fu, one of the later Kangxi concubines.
Once again, the Kangxi Emperor went on a safari and stumbled upon a small village. By the pond in the middle of the village, a peasant girl is washing clothes. The breeze was blowing, and her long black hair fluttered in the wind, which was lovely. The Kangxi Emperor couldn't help but look at her a few more times from afar, and tenderness rose in his heart.
In this way, an ordinary peasant girl was also brought into the palace by chance and became the emperor's concubine. For women like them, becoming a concubine is nothing less than a pie-in-the-sky opportunity to change the fate of herself and her entire family. However, they also have to pay the price of youth and freedom, and many will not be able to adapt to the deep life for the rest of their lives.
When the Kangxi Emperor first met Fu in the village, Fu was holding his mother's arm and walking on the village path. Groups of villagers greeted them respectfully. It turned out that they were the ladies and ladies of the richest families in the village. Fu has waist-length hair, fair skin, and a dignified and quiet demeanor. Unlike other rural girls, she had no dark skin from work, nor rough palms and ankles. With just one glance, Kangxi could see that she was different.
Later, Kangxi repeatedly ordered people to inquire about her name and family lineage, and after learning that she was unmarried, he finally ordered the palace maid to go to interrogate and bring the peasant girl into the palace. For Fu and her family, this is undoubtedly a life-changing opportunity. However, for an unmarried girl, living in the deep palace also means sacrificing freedom and youth.
Fourth, strict selection criteria: flag people, door to door
Becoming a concubine, especially a concubine who has served for a long time and can give birth to a prince, has a disparity in status compared with ordinary concubines. So, what are the requirements to become a concubine? First of all, it must be a woman in the Eight Banners of Manchuria or the Eight Banners of Mongolia, the so-called "banner man". This criterion is directly related to the bloodline orthodoxy of the Qing imperial family.
As early as the Nurhachi period, the Eight Banners of Manchuria were the backbone of the Qing Dynasty's military power. Their relentless conquest and expansion led to the gradual rise of this ethnic minority and the establishment of the Great Qing Dynasty. Therefore, the orthodox bloodline of the royal family comes from the Eight Banners, especially the Eight Banners of Manchuria. The Mongolian Eight Flags were also a good choice to strengthen the marriage relationship with the Mongol nobility.
Secondly, even if she is not within the Eight Banners, if she is from a high-ranking family and her father and brother have meritorious service to the country, her daughter can also be considered as a concubine. This satisfies the royal family's demand for noble heroes outside the bloodline. The heirs of women with a background in the family can also be used by the royal family and cultivated as confidant ministers.
For the unsuccessful woman and family, this is undoubtedly a political humiliation and blow. But for the imperial power, it was a necessary means of maintaining its own privileges. The Kangxi period was when imperial power needed to be both consolidated and expanded, and this blood-centered selection criterion for concubines was formed.
When Kangxi first ascended to the Great Treasure, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was in a critical period. He needs to constantly secure his rule through marriage, and the support of the Eight Flags Sect and the meritorious nobles is especially important to him. Therefore, whenever a disciple of the Eight Banners was made a prince, Kangxi would choose his daughter as a concubine. For those women who came from ordinary banner families, it was difficult to get the favor of the emperor.
This arrangement allowed the Eight Banner aristocracy to firmly hold power through royal marriage, while for ordinary bannermen, they lost the opportunity for upward mobility. Later history books called it "the old custom of the beginning of the country", and the formation of this convention originated from the choice of these concubines during the Kangxi period.
5. Anecdote: The smell of sweat under the armpit is sad
In addition to the hard requirements of blood and family, to become a concubine, you also need to pass a special "test" - that is, there must be no peculiar smell under the armpits. This is undoubtedly a bumpy hurdle for women who are born with developed sweat glands and are prone to sweating under their armpits. It is said that many candidate concubines fell short before entering the palace threshold for this reason. This also reflects to some extent that under the strict standards of concubine selection, it may also be mixed with the absurdity and ignorance of medicine at that time.
For example, during the Kangxi Dynasty, a Qianjin of the Eight Banners Sect was selected as a candidate concubine at the age of fifteen. She was born with white skin and outstanding talent, and was originally one of the most promising candidates. However, during the examination on the eve of her entry into the palace, the imperial doctor found that she had a strong body odor between her armpits. The imperial doctor diagnosed that this was caused by "summer humidity", and if you enter the palace, it may affect the dragon body. In the end, this Eight Flags Qianjin destroyed the cave port like this, and the success fell short.
This incident became the object of discussion among the Eight Flags disciples at that time. The father was so embarrassed that he wrote several times to request a re-examination, but they were all rejected. This also became a hidden worry for many Eight Flags women at that time, for fear that their natural physique would become the reason for the failure to be selected.
6. Changing the Law and Renewing the Law: Subtle Changes in the Selection of Concubines in the Guangxu Period
Time flies, history changes. By the Guangxu period, the criteria for selecting concubines had quietly changed. The Guangxu Emperor was deeply influenced by the idea of restoration, and advocated emulating the Meiji Restoration in Japan and learning advanced Western technology. Such thinking also permeated the choice of harem concubines. At that time, the empress of the main palace was Dongfang Jing, she met the traditional standards, was born in the Baqi of Manchuria, and was the niece of Empress Dowager Ci'an.
And the most favored Concubine Zhen was born in the Han military banner and was not a Manchurian Eight Banners, but her family was prominent, and her father was the governor Cangba. With her outstanding talent and knowledge, she was favored by the Guangxu Emperor and became an important force behind the scenes to promote the reform of the Restoration.
From this subtle change, it can be seen that with the enlightenment of the times, the selection criteria for concubines are also quietly loosening. Lineage is still important, but in the face of the pressure of restoration, the royal family also needs the help of Han scholars and bureaucrats. This provided new possibilities for the selection of some concubines.
In the court, where conservatives dominated, Emperor Guangxu needed talented women like Concubine Zhen who dared to speak out to help him. Although Dongfang Jing is the queen of the main palace, she is only a puppet, and the one who is really favored is Concubine Zhen. This also became one of the words of the conservatives in the court to attack the reform of the restoration.
Unlike his ancestors, who only focused on the blood and nobility of concubines, Emperor Guangxu paid more attention to her knowledge and opinions when choosing Concubine Zhen. Perhaps, this is the beginning of the emperor's choice of harem in Chinese history, which placed the first emphasis on intelligence rather than just the door. This also indicates that under the trend of restoration and law change, the feudal hierarchy is gradually loosening, and the imperial power is inevitably declining in this wave of change.
Epilogue:
From Kangxi to Guangxu, in the past two centuries, the source and selection criteria of harem concubines basically continued the pattern formed in the early Qing Dynasty, but also with some subtle changes, reflecting the needs of different eras.
Most of these women may be tragic characters in history, but there are also those who play an active role in the new wave of change. As victims of imperial power, they also have the vivid color of life as individuals. Behind the story of every harem woman, there is a microcosm of an era.