It is said that the concubines of the harem are a group of poor women, but I want to say: "You can't imagine their happiness." ”
It is rumored in the world that the concubines in the harem are a group of poor women, how to understand it? If this is really the case, then why do you still want to enter the palace, be a concubine, and compete for the queen?
The reason for saying that the concubine is pitiful is nothing more than what Du Mu wrote in "A Fang Gong Fu":
One muscle and one countenance, the state is extremely beautiful, and the man stands far and far-sighted, and looks at the fortunate, and there are those who cannot be seen, thirty-six years.
The harem concubines are carefully dressing themselves every day and showing their beauty to the fullest.
Looking forward to it, the emperor's favor, those poor women, they didn't look forward to the emperor's love for decades or even their lives, and they were depressed in the harem for life.
Saying that the concubine is pitiful is nothing more than this reason. This is a typical conclusion based on the behavior of the ancients from the perspective of modern people.
China's ancient society was an agrarian society, and male farmers and women weaving were the most basic ways to match a family. In addition to being filial to their in-laws, taking care of their husbands, and raising children, girls from ordinary families also have to undertake heavy weaving tasks.
Parenting was not like we have now, the first child or the second child ended, and there was no concept of contraception at that time, as long as it could be born, it would always be born.
Therefore, the woman will always give birth and raise all the time, and in the process, she will always be filial to her in-laws, take time to weave cloth in the morning and evening, and then serve her husband to rest and cook for the family.
If one is not careful, he will be returned to his parents' home. If you are not filial to your in-laws, you can't have children, and you can't even give birth to a son, you will suffer from unjustified disasters. Going to school, literacy? That's basically non-existent.
What about the slightly wealthier families? Girls will grow up in a better environment and be able to read and write, but when they grow up, they still have to get married. As for who to marry? I'm sorry, she really doesn't count.
For the glory of the family, find a man who is the right person to marry, as for whether this man is handsome, old, rich or not, it really doesn't matter, the old man has a crush on his daughter and wants to marry.
After getting married, whether you will be bullied or not, whether you will be returned or not, it's really hard to say. In "Peacock Flying Southeast", Liu Lanzhi can be regarded as a beautiful and kind woman, but her mother-in-law does not want to see her, and her husband Jiao Zhongqing is a mother-in-law man, which eventually led to the tragedy of the death of 2 people.
The tragedy of Liu Lanzhi and Jiao Zhongqing is not a pair of people, but a group of people, the "epitome" of that era. What's more, in Mo Yan's literary work "Rich Breasts and Fat Buttocks", Shangguan Lu did not hesitate to use others to have children in order to have a son and live a life.
can't give birth to children, is disgusted by her husband and mother-in-law, can't give birth to a son and is still disliked by her mother-in-law.
After giving birth to 7 daughters in succession, during the last delivery, her mother-in-law threw her a roll of white cloth and a pair of scissors, and she was busy delivering the black donkey with her husband Shangguan Shouxi.
All of the above women in literary works are all over the different dynasties in the past few thousand years of feudal history, but no matter which dynasty they are in, the lives of ordinary women are hard and full of bitterness, and bad luck will end in tragedy.
The concubines in the palace, in addition to dressing up beautifully every day and waiting for the emperor to turn over the brand, only have two "serious things" every day, that is, "morning and dusk province".
The Manchu Qing also paid attention to the order of the young and the old, and the division of ranks was relatively clear and clear.
In the harem, the queen mother and the queen are the key people who are invited by the concubines. Feudal society attaches great importance to the distinction between rank and inferiority, like in film and television works, the queen holds the hand of the concubine, the sister is long, and the plot of the sister is short, basically does not exist.
The concubines generally get up at 4-5 o'clock in the morning, referring to the emperor's life and rest, the emperor has gotten up to do business, and it is definitely not appropriate for the concubines to sleep in nests.
Moreover, the ancients paid attention to the time of the morning, so the concubines generally started their day's activities early.
The concubines got up at about 5 o'clock, and the palace ladies began to serve them to wash and change their clothes.
Dressed beautifully, I want to go to the Queen Mother and the Queen to say goodbye. Because there are too many concubines in the harem, the queen and the queen mother are generally not easy to recognize.
The palace is full of dignity and humility, which is reflected in every detail of life. The red clothes can only be worn by the queen, jujube red, pink, and then down, below the concubine, and then at the level of the promised and talented people, basically they can only wear plain clothes.
The jewelry decoration on the head can only be worn by the queen and the concubine, and even the nail cover brought by the harem concubines of the Qing Dynasty is particular about how long they are worn.
After washing, dressing neatly, and wearing jewelry that meets the rules, at about six o'clock, under the leadership of the queen, formed a team to greet the queen mother.
The Queen Mother swept it down at a glance, looked at the clothes and looked at the quantity, and knew a rough idea. Of course, if you can't go occasionally, you can also ask for a leave, who must have a headache and brain fever, but if you often ask for leave, you have to sum it up.
Hello is over, around seven o'clock, it's time for a pleasant breakfast. Although the time of breakfast is the same, the quality of the food is not the same. Lower-ranking talents eat pork, aged rice, and fresh vegetables.
If you want to add a tea egg to your breakfast, then I'm sorry, you have to mix it at least to the level of a concubine. But so what, can't the lowest-level concubines also eat meat, most of the people can't eat meat during the New Year.
This day is many times better than the average person.
The time that is freed up in the middle is free time. You can go back to your own palace, look at the flowers, raise a dog, and feed the fish. If you like to read and write poems, you can also go to the study to read and cultivate your self-cultivation.
After noon, mix up another lunch, and then it's time for the lunch break. The ancients paid great attention to health preservation, so in order to maintain it, most of the concubines chose to sleep beautifully at noon.
It is foolish to think that in addition to this reason, there is another reason: to sleep beautifully, to ensure that you are energetic, so that the emperor can summon the servants to sleep at night, and you can play your best.
From 2 to 5 p.m., it is also free time. The concubines who have a good relationship with the queen mother or queen can accompany them to watch plays and listen to tunes.
If you are not invited, you can continue to sleep in the palace, and you can just say hello after 5 o'clock without delay.
Program reference morning, although it looks troublesome, but it is also a way for the queen mother and queen to seek a sense of existence, otherwise, the old lady will feel that she has not received the attention she deserves, of course, to a certain extent, it is just to make the old lady happy.
Please finish your peace and wait quietly for the emperor to turn over the cards. Once you are lucky and the sign is turned over, there will be a eunuch who will come to pass the word. At this time, the rumored concubine has to arrange for washing again, and after washing, she will put on beautiful makeup.
Of course, there is no need to wear ornaments or new clothes at this time.
The eunuchs who served the concubines would wrap them in bedding and carry them directly to the emperor, and then serve the emperor. This process is usually controlled within 2 hours. Except for the queen, the concubines are not qualified to spend the night here.
Then the eunuch would ask the emperor if he would stay, and if he stayed, he would be registered, and if he didn't, he would be disposed of. After that, the concubine will be sent back to the dormitory, where she will take a bath and sleep.
By ten o'clock in the evening, she had gone back to her bed and was ready for bed.
This is the day of the concubine.
Even if a concubine is pregnant and gives birth, she doesn't have to be busy breastfeeding, washing diapers, and playing with her child every day after giving birth. All she has to do is to make herself beautiful and prepare for the next emperor's call.
The little prince will have a nurse to help take care of the breastfeeding, and during this time the little prince can live with his mother, and after weaning, they will be arranged to live with his adoptive mother.
The Qing Dynasty has always implemented this system, on the one hand, it is worried that the relationship between the concubines and the prince will be too close, and then alienate the emperor.
On the other hand, it is also so that the concubines can serve the emperor wholeheartedly, after all, a person's energy is limited. The biological mother and the prince can only meet on a specific big day. Therefore, these concubines are only responsible for childbirth, and there are special people responsible for upbringing and education.
Professional talents can do professional things well. Therefore, the concubines can have enough time, or continue to give birth, or do what they like.
Looking at the lives of the concubines, I am envious. In feudal society, who can live so nourishingly? Have an independent residence, have a servant to serve, do not have to work every day, only need to dress up beautifully, and put all their energy into maintaining themselves and attracting their husbands.
The in-laws don't have to serve themselves, they just need to go and say hello in the morning and evening. Usually the time is my own, or reading or writing, so arranged.
As for the child, he was born with professional servants, and he did not have to get up in the middle of the night to breastfeed, nor did he have to be woken up by the crying of the child in the middle of the night.
When the child is older, he doesn't have to pick up and drop off himself when he goes to kindergarten, and he has the best teacher in the world to tutor him.
On weekdays, the emperor regularly gives living expenses, although the palace cannot be unscrupulous 857, but there is no shortage of beautiful clothes and cosmetics. The emperor was happy, called to serve at night, and the two-hour period was basically over, and then he went back to his room to sleep beautifully.
Otherwise, if two people sleep together, they are tired and can't sleep well, if you say something in your dream and are heard by the emperor, it is easy to have an accident. It's better to go back to your room and get a good night's sleep.
If you put it in an ordinary family, a person is tired and tired to take care of his in-laws and children, and he has no free time at all. I finally stayed up until I went to sleep, but the child finally fell asleep, and just wanted to sleep, I found that my husband was still smiling at you.
I can't help it, I have to endure it, and I have to correct the homework given by my husband again.
After finishing the work, it was midnight. Just about to go to bed, the child woke up hungry again, and the husband slept like a pig on the side, and he fed the child with black circles under his eyes. Day after day, the money in hand is not sufficient, and while repaying the loan, I am calculating what to eat for the next meal, which is really heart-wrenching.
In such a comparison, the life of the concubines in the harem is simply great. The husband and the children are not entangled, the in-laws don't have to provide for themselves, they are full of free time, as for the palace fight?
It can be seen that the lives of the concubines do not look as bad as imagined, and even more so for those with a good mentality. As for the emperor's death, going to guard the tomb or other encounters, that's the worst thing.
After all, in the circle of concubines, luck and strength, the upper limit is still quite high, referring to Wu Meiniang, Empress Xiao, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and Empress Dowager Cixi. For the sake of dreams, it is worth fighting.