Preface
We can often see in some film and television dramas that a woman, as the emperor's concubine, is quite good in terms of clothing, housing, or food.
However, with such good conditions, they always give people the feeling that they are not in good health, what is going on?
The daily life of the concubine
What we think is that the daily life of the concubine is that she has nothing to do every day, thinking about how to please the emperor? If some concubines have no intention of competing for favor, they may have a more nourishing life.
Chat with the little sisters, watch the play, if you have any specialties, just exercise, and then the happy day will pass, but is the real concubine life really so moisturizing?
Take the concubines of the Qing Dynasty as an example, their daily life is actually very boring, and almost every day is repeated.
Every morning at four or five o'clock, they need to get up and dress up, some people may not understand, why do the emperor's women still need to get up early?
This is mainly because the hierarchy of concubines during the Qing Dynasty was also very strict, so the concubines got up early to ask for peace for the queen mother, queen and others.
When dressing up, they also need to pay great attention, because even the clothes they wear are also regulated, and the colors of the clothes they wear are different depending on the rank of different concubines.
That is to say, the lower the rank, the more plain they dress, and when they are cleaned up, they will greet the queen, and when these are completed, it will be almost eight or nine o'clock.
At this time, they can have breakfast, and after breakfast, they can get some freedom, but these freedoms are not completely free, because those concubines will always follow a eunuch.
There is another important reason why this eunuch follows these reasons, that is, to restrain some of the behaviors of these concubines, after all, she is the emperor's woman, and it is nothing if she does something out of the ordinary.
So those concubines are only within the scope of what they can do, find their own way of entertainment, and when it comes to about 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the concubines can choose to have dinner or take a lunch break.
As for why they eat dinner at noon, it is because they maintain the habit before entering the customs, and after doing this, it is the afternoon, and the afternoon time is also relatively free.
In the evening, they need to continue to go to the queen and the queen mother to check in, and then those concubines can go back and wait to see if the emperor will summon them to bed.
If the emperor summons the attendant, then the concubine will be picked up and sent to the emperor's bed, if the concubine is not summoned, the concubine will pack up and sleep, and then welcome the next day's life.
It's hard to be a concubine
However, the emperor has too many women, so sometimes, even the emperor himself doesn't know how many women he has, and those concubines have to resort to some means in order to attract the emperor's attention.
Of course, they also pay great attention to their own maintenance, after all, in the harem, it is easier to be remembered if they have a better appearance.
But not every woman can be favored by the emperor, there are some women who may have been favored several times in their lives, and even worse, they may not be favored once.
And their daily life is also relatively the same, at the beginning of the natural will feel relatively fresh, but if it is a long time, it will definitely feel boring.
Another point is that their freedom is very restricted, and although the emperor's women sound good, it also means that they have to abide by a lot of rules.
The place where they operated, that is, those places, at the same time, they were not allowed to leave the palace, unless they had the approval of their superiors, they could not go out of the palace.
Resources
But when they go out, they must go back, and as for the time to return, they can't make the decision, so it is very difficult for them to see their families.
If their status is lower, they need several people to live together, and the living conditions can be imagined, and more importantly, they need to always pay attention to whether they are doing decently.
When they meet nobles, they also need to be vigilant all the time, because they are afraid that they will make those nobles unhappy and be punished.
In such a high-pressure environment, those concubines are very easy to worry about becoming ill, so they look sick, and they will continue to climb up in order to live a better life.
Why climb up?
There are many people who wonder that those concubines are in the harem and climb up so hard, but for women in the palace, climbing up is the norm.
After all, no matter where it is, it is divided into three, six, nine and so on, and the higher the level, the more things you get will naturally be, which can be seen from all aspects.
The queen's daily meal is very rich, and the concubine's words are not bad, but as their status decreases, the treatment they enjoy also begins to decrease.
Those concubines, although they receive a certain share of silver every month, but this is also based on their position to determine how much she will eventually receive.
Resources
The queen received the most silver, so she could definitely cover her daily expenses, but if she was a concubine with a low status, it would be more difficult.
Don't look at them in the palace, but they need to spend a lot of money, not only do they need to communicate with each other, but if their original family is not rich, they may also send some money to their own family.
Therefore, in their daily life, there are indeed some people who are short of money, and if they are favored by the emperor, or the blue eyes of nobles, their current situation will be much better.
After all, the emperor and those nobles are generally not short of money, even if they are short of money, they will not lack their money, of course, it is best to be able to climb up, after all, it is a long-term income.
And there is another very important reason for them to climb up, that is, their lives can be improved a lot, and the place where they live will become better.
After those concubines are promoted to a certain position, they can have their own palaces, and at that time, the concubines with high status do not have to squeeze together with those concubines with low ranks, and they can also openly say that they are "this palace......
Resources:
[1] CNKI - "How much money can the ancient harem concubines earn every month? "Liang Ruji.
[2] Hot news - "Ancient concubines lived a rich life, ate and drank well, why were many concubines sick?" 》2024.3.1。