Friends who have watched "The Legend of Zhen Huan" must still remember the various life scenes of the people in the harem. The concubines in it have a rich and diverse life.
In their spare time, concubines can walk around the palaces and imperial gardens of the harem at will, and come and go freely; , the favorite concubine can sarcastically mock the queen in public, and leave directly without asking for peace; The food and drink are not the same, the place of residence is gorgeous, and the emperor can stay in a concubine's residence all night, singing all night......
("The Legend of Zhen Huan")
But is the real harem life really so exciting?
1. Please do not sleep lazily every day, and do not go out of the house for lack of entertainment
Influenced by film and television dramas, we may think that as long as the show girl is selected to become a concubine in the palace, even if her rank is low, she will be able to eat, drink and enjoy herself. This is not the case, and the Qing Dynasty has stricter requirements for the management of the harem.
The life of the concubine is arranged, as big as asking for peace and serving the emperor; As small as eating and sleeping, even if you want to go out for a walk, there are many rules and regulations.
It is not uncommon for modern people to sleep until three poles in the sun on their rest days. But if the concubines of the Qing Dynasty wanted to sleep lazy, it was absolutely impossible. They have an important task every day, which is to say hello to the Queen Mother and the Empress.
(The scene of the Qing palace drama asking the Queen Mother for peace)
Regardless of spring, summer, autumn or winter, they will be woken up by the palace maid at 5 o'clock in the morning, and they will finish freshening up at 6 o'clock to greet the queen and the queen mother. Some people may be worried, what should I do if I can't get up in the morning? In fact, the bedtime is also prescribed, go to bed at 10 p.m., plus there is a lunch break, and the basic sleep needs can be guaranteed.
In "The Legend of Zhen Huan", it is a very interesting thing to greet the queen in the morning, and the harem concubines will intrigue at this time, mocking each other. In canonical history, this is also impossible.
("The Legend of Zhen Huan" Please Ann Scene)
After everyone in the harem meets, only polite greetings, or listening to the queen's lectures, chatting and fighting with each other are not in accordance with the rules, the Qing Dynasty attaches great importance to respect and order, and it is unlikely that the queen will affectionately hold the hand of the concubine and greet such a scene. After returning to the palace, the concubines can have breakfast.
So in addition to greeting, eating, and sleeping, what do the concubines in the harem rely on to pass the time in their leisure time?
In film and television dramas, it is common to go to various palaces to visit the door, or go to the imperial garden for a walk to pass the time. But it's not easy to get out of your palace. If you want to go to the concubines who live in other palaces to chat, you need to ask for instructions and report in advance, and palace maids and eunuchs are no exception.
(Imperial Garden)
The palace maids and eunuchs need to report to the chief, the eunuch and their masters when they go out, while the concubines need to report to the queen.
Since the rules of the Qing Dynasty required the concubines to be steady, their only exercise was to take a walk. The Imperial Garden is not something you can just visit. The concubines need a large number of palace maids and eunuchs to accompany them when they go out, and they must also dress neatly and dress exquisitely, and they are not allowed to go to the imperial garden alone. In addition, it is to be a female celebrity, keep pets and watch dramas to pass the time.
(Bichi Lotus Picking from Chen Mei's "Moon Man Qingyu Map")
It can be seen that the life of the concubines in the harem is not free, and it is even a little boring.
2. Strict regulations on food and clothing, and rewards are needed to improve one's life
The concubines of the harem basically have no worries about food and clothing, but the supply of food and daily necessities has strict regulations due to their position. Taking meat as an example, the queen mother has the highest status, and will provide a pig every day, a sheep, a chicken, and a duck, while the queen has 16 catties of pork, 1 plate of mutton, and 1 chicken and duck.
When I arrived at the concubine, there were no chickens, ducks and sheep, only nine catties and eight taels of pork. The next ones are reduced in turn. When it came to promise, there was only one pound of pork. The position below the concubine does not even have eggs.
(Princess Kiyocho)
The queen mother naturally can't eat so much food, and the dishes cooked by the chef are only put on the table for show, which also includes the diet of the palace people. Those who can't finish eating will also be rewarded to other concubines or palace people.
The others at least had white sugar, white flour, sesame oil, tofu and other foods, and the promised days were the worst, except for Chen Japonica rice, two catties of fresh vegetables, and pork, there was nothing. If you want to improve your diet, you have to buy it with your own monthly silver.
As for the brightly dressed and charming scenes in the harem, it is even more impossible. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that only concubines and above had the right to wear bright solid colors such as red and green. Bright yellow clothes can only be worn by people above the rank of imperial concubine at the national ceremony, and nobles and Chang Zai can only wear stone blue.
(Princess)
Although bright clothing is not allowed, the requirements for appearance are very strict. Concubines must wear makeup whenever and wherever they are, and even when they are sick, they must dress up and not be unkempt.
In this place where they are constrained everywhere, the concubines can only improve their lives according to their degree of favor and the status of their mother's family. Some people's mother's family is rich and powerful, so they can send some subsidies, and sometimes, the emperor is happy or celebrates the New Year, and he will also reward some things.
But the unfavored concubine was not so lucky, according to historical records, Qianlong's concubine Wan Concubine was forty thousand years old, and the emperor did not give any reward.
Sometimes when the emperor goes out of the palace for spring hunting or summer vacation, the favored concubines can also be gifted and allowed to go with them to breathe the free air outside the palace. Historically, the Old Summer Palace and the Chengde Summer Resort were the favorite places of the Qing Dynasty emperors, but the unfavored concubines could only sit in the palace day after day to pass the time.
(Chengde Summer Resort)
Third, eating and sleeping are not free, and the emperor also has unspeakable secrets
Therefore, if the women in the harem want to live smoothly on their own, they must be able to please the emperor. The main comparison is who has been summoned more times, and which palace the emperor often goes to eat.
In Qing court dramas, many concubines will specially prepare the emperor's favorite dishes to please the emperor. But in fact, it's not possible either. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that the emperor could not eat with the concubines of the harem.
("The Legend of Zhen Huan" Concubine Hua prepares lunch)
The emperor is also not free, and he can only move three chopsticks for a meal. If the emperor violates the rules, the dish will not appear for 10 days and half a month. This is to prevent people with ulterior motives from finding out the emperor's preferences and using them to poison and threaten the emperor's personal safety. Even if it is a banquet for the New Year's holidays, it is one table for the emperor and another table for the concubines.
(The emperor of the film and television drama eats a meal)
Even the most important thing for concubines, the bed, has many rules and regulations. Only the empress can spend the whole night with the emperor, and major festivals can only stay with the empress. When determining the concubine who was going to bed, the emperor turned over the brand, and he still needed to ask the queen to approve it before the other party could prepare the concubine.
(Anling Yong Sleep)
The concubine could only be in a room not far from the bed, naked and wrapped in a quilt by the eunuch, carried out and carried to the bed, and the chief steward and eunuch of the worship room had to stand outside the window. When the time comes, it is also necessary to remind the emperor loudly, because the Qing Dynasty has a rule that concubines cannot stay in the emperor's residence overnight, and the concubines are wrapped up and sent out.
It can be seen that the concubines in the harem are not as intrigued every day as we think, on the contrary, their lives are boring and restricted everywhere. The women sent to the palace can only die alone in the palace, if the emperor dies, these people will be forced to be widowed, and from then on, the green lantern ancient Buddha will spend the rest of his life, and some people will not be able to see the sky outside the palace for life.
("The Legend of Zhen Huan" Queen Mother)
The oppression of women by the hierarchical feudal system of etiquette and religion was vividly demonstrated in the harem concubines of the Qing Dynasty.