The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history. It is undeniable that the Qing Dynasty was a failed dynasty. But throughout history, the Qing Dynasty was a very special dynasty, it was a standard classical empire, and it was the best of the Chinese dynasties. So, what kind of life did the Qing Dynasty people who lived during this period live? Much more exciting and real than the TV series!
If the text is not intuitive enough, we will use the following set of old photos (later colored and restored sharpness) to see the real life moments of people of all classes during the Qing Dynasty. It feels different from the Qing Dynasty in the film and television dramas we watch. Through these photos, you will definitely have a new understanding of the Qing Dynasty. Photo collection is not easy, they are precious moments, worth collecting!
Maybe it's watching too many Qing palace dramas, you must think that this is a still. In fact, this is a real photo, taken at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Several court ladies were dressed in gorgeous clothes, all of them were as beautiful as flowers and dignified in demeanor.
In the general impression of people, the costumes of the Qing Dynasty were ugly, and the people were dull and stereotyped. Just looking at this photo may change your perception. The times are different, Manchu culture and Chinese culture are different after all, and each has its own aesthetic standards.
The Manchu woman was thin and strange-looking. Judging from the cheongsam she was wearing, she was naturally a woman from an ordinary family outside the palace. At this time, she was playing outside the capital with her children. Both were holding some twigs and weeds in their hands.
As the saying goes, "once you enter the palace gate is as deep as the sea", she and the women in the photo above, although born in the same era, have different lives.
These are two professional executioners from the Qing Dynasty, standing barefoot on the side of the road, showing people how fast their knives are. At the time, it was a special profession that required super psychological endurance. Those who can become executioners are not ordinary people.
Most of them do this business for a living, and they are well paid. However, they seem to be beautiful on the surface, and once they leave this industry, many people are not doing well.
Looking at the above, there are people who have jobs, and there are also poor people living under the subsistence line. In the photo, the mother and son stand in front of the earthen house. The cotton clothes they wore were tattered and tattered, and they couldn't keep out the cold at all.
The woman wrapped her little feet, and her daughter also wrapped a pair of small feet. It can be seen how serious the restraint of feudal society on women is. Facing the camera, the three looked a little nervous, with unnatural expressions on their faces.
During the Qing Dynasty, when women from some large families got married, they would bring their personal maids with them to continue to take care of the master's living life. Such maids are called "housemaids", and their relationship with the owner is very close, and their status is higher than that of ordinary maids.
The little girl in the photo is 10 years old. She was wearing coarse cloth. And her master stood in front of a square table. The helpless expression on his childish face made people feel pity.
During the Qing Dynasty, a bandit was executed throughout the entire process. Several executioners tied him to a wooden shelf, and at the last moments of his life, the bandit behaved calmly. Under the pavilion in the distance, some people sat watching the liveliness.
In fact, in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government had already abolished Ling Chi, the beheading, etc., and changed the execution. This photo became the last moment in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, in the countryside of the Bashu region, the family lived in a very simple kitchen to cook. The house is made of adobe barriers, there is no furniture in the house, and the house is surrounded by four walls. At the door are several pots and jars of common daily necessities.
At that time, in some rural areas in remote areas, many poor families did not even have a place to stand. In the corner stood a woman dressed in a patched coarse cloth garment with a cigarette bag pot in her mouth.
This photograph was also taken in the Bashu area, where a man rushed to the street with dozens of strings of copper coins hanging from his shoulders. You must think he's a rich man. In fact, otherwise, don't see that he has so much copper money, in fact, he can't buy much.
At that time, one or two pieces of silver could be exchanged for a hanging of money or one and a half dollars. Coupled with soaring prices, it is far beyond the reach of ordinary people. This man carried a lot of money, and it was only a dozen taels in exchange for silver, and his face was full of helplessness.
In the face of a difficult life, some people are not discouraged, do not lie flat, they use their unique skills to go to the rivers and lakes to sell art to earn money to support themselves and their families, it is not easy.
The man in the photo is a burly man who is taking his apprentice and performing acrobatics on the street. The wonderful performance attracted a large crowd of onlookers. This child endured a lot of hardships to develop such skills.
Coinciding with the drought, some ordinary people chose to flee the famine. In the photo, the mother is carrying two baskets on a flat stretcher, and a child sits in each basket. Watching the two children grow up, a smile appeared on her face.
They fled the desert, begged all the way, and did not know where to settle in the future. It can be said that in order to make her two children grow up, this mother gave a lot.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were poor families, of course, there were rich and noble families. The man in the photo has a solid family, and he marvels that he has married seven wives. The age of the women. The appearance varied, the man's face was red, and he was satisfied that he had such a family.
In the past, only wealthy families had "three wives and four concubines". In fact, there is only one wife, and the others are concubines. The status of the right wife cannot be shaken, and the status of the concubine is the lowest. Even the children they gave birth to were to be passed on to their wives, and after death, they could not enter the man's family tree.
This is a touching photo, three little girls, all of the same age, but with different lives. Sitting on the stool, the little girl is the eldest lady of a rich family. Wear beautiful costumes and nice headdresses.
The two girls standing behind her, one was her friend, a Manchu girl, holding a folding fan. The other was her servant, naked and dressed in coarse cloth.
During the Qing Dynasty, Fujian. Dozens of children stood on the grass, boys and girls. They are children who have been trafficked by traffickers and recovered by the authorities. Most of them are still two or three years old, and they don't know if they will be able to return to their mothers.
This is an oil portrait of Wakan. Is this very different from the Wakan you imagined? This photo is the Hokan Buddha-figure. He was not only beautiful, but also very talented and powerful.
Some people also commented on Hejun, saying that he was neither a loyal or a traitor, and that he could be called a courtier. In any case, the true appearance of Hekan is not small different from the image of Hekan in the TV series.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, events were being held on the Forbidden City Square, which was very lively. A landlady rests on a stone lion pedestal. She wears green satin clothing, glasses and a cigarette roll in her mouth. Eyes slanted straight ahead. This expression portrays the trickery of the landlord's wife vividly. Beside her, stood everywhere she went. Stove in hand.
In order to live, some girls had to fall into the green building. They live by selling their youth. The fourteen-and-fifteen-year-old girl in the photo sits on the shoulders of a man and goes to a green building.
During the Qing Dynasty, men who practiced this profession were called turtle slaves, who were specifically responsible for sending girls to designated places. On the street, people are not surprised by this phenomenon. Girls and men work in different occupations, and life is not easy.
In a family in the countryside, a mother is brushing her son's hair and catching lice inside, while the man's father helps out. A happy smile appeared on the man's face. The man's child lay on the table and watched as his grandmother caught lice for his father.
During the Qing Dynasty, people had long hair braids and it was not easy to wash their hair. If you don't wash your hair often, you will get lice in your hair. Two people catching lice with each other, which was common at the time.
At that time, farmers were engaged in family farming in addition to farming. In the photo, two men are carrying two pigs with wooden sticks to the market to sell, perhaps too far away, and the two walk very hard. These two black pigs are the result of a year of their rearing, and if they sell them, they can exchange them for money to support the family.
During the Qing Dynasty, people can often see some new things. The children in the photo are standing at a table on the side of the street. In front of them, two gramophones were placed. They shoved the earpiece into their ears and the beautiful music started.
This is a gramophone brought by a foreigner and shown to people on the street. The children heard the beautiful melody and had surprised expressions on their faces. During the Qing Dynasty, ports were opened for trade, and many Western gadgets began to flow into China.
A woman from a large family, dressed in a Chinese dress, sat in front of the house. Her daughter stood next to her, and the two looked alike. The daughter held a cigarette bag pot in her hand, and her eyes revealed displeasure.
The woman holds a folding fan and wears a pointed finger cover. The daughter is a teenager and wears beautiful earrings with rings and finger covers on her hands. Very reluctantly stood beside his mother.
It's also a family, but it's a very poor family. The child was hungry and emaciated, and his mother's face was swollen from malnutrition. The husband, who stood behind them, was also in rags.
Their houses are simple thatched houses, just enough to shelter from the wind and rain. During the Qing Dynasty, there were not only Yangchun and white snow, but also Xialiba people. The contrast between rich and poor is so real.
In addition to the nobles, large families, and poor people above, take a look at the merchants of the Qing Dynasty. In the photo, several businessmen are eating. There were delicacies on the table, and a few people were talking about business while eating. One side merchant also took off a shoe, which was really smelly.
And in front of the table, on the ground, sat a man, who was an attendant of one of the merchants. With a bowl of tea in his hand, he couldn't sit at the table and eat.
During the Qing Dynasty, a woman rode a donkey back to her mother's house. She was holding a child in her arms, and behind her was a child sitting on the back of a donkey. The woman's husband followed behind them.
At that time, donkeys were the main means of transportation and transportation. The donkey is not tall and has a heavy load. Donkeys have a gentle personality and are safe to drive, and women with small feet cannot walk far, and riding a donkey has become a common phenomenon.
During the Qing Dynasty, a man stands on the side of the street. He wore a worn-out cotton coat and carried a bamboo basket behind him. Surprisingly, his feet were shackled. It can be seen that he is a prisoner.
Seeing someone taking pictures of him, the prisoner had a curious expression on his face. Behind him, there were many people watching.
This is a group photo of the family of an official. The man, a military attaché, sat at a table in civilian clothes. Sitting next to him were his three sons. On the other side of the table were his wife and daughter. At that time, those who could take photos of the whole family were not ordinary people.
Written at the end: Although I looked at these photos, they do not reflect the whole of the Qing Dynasty. When we evaluate a dynasty, we should be more horizontal than vertical. Looking back on history, it's a lot to feel. As the saying goes, take the ancient as a lesson to know the rise and fall; Using history as a mirror, you can make sense. If you were to return to the Qing Dynasty, would you be willing to live such a life?