Speaking of the Qing Dynasty's "Zongren Mansion", in fact, it was not a department established by the Qing Dynasty itself, but was first established by our Han people in the Ming Dynasty. However, don't misunderstand the Zongren Mansion, it is not a department for punishment, this is only one of its functions, and this function is exaggerated in the Qing court drama.
Zongrenfu was established in the Ming Dynasty Hongwu three years, at the beginning it was called the main courtyard of the Great Sect, and when it was Hongwu 22 years, it was renamed "Zongrenfu", and after Zhu Di ascended the throne, this Zongrenfu basically existed in name only, because its functions were carried out by the Ministry of Rites, and it itself had no real power.
When this clan was finally established, it was established for the purpose of managing, serving, and restraining the imperial family. The meaning of the existence of the Zongren Mansion is, generally speaking, the logistics management department of the imperial clan.
The marriage, funeral and other matters of the royal family must be handled by the Zongren Mansion; The royal family's rewards, punishments and other matters must be carried out by the Zongren Mansion; The genealogical records and memorabilia of the royal family should be written, and the Zongren Mansion should write it; The succession of the royal family's titles, how much is the amount of money, and the Zongren Mansion is still the main responsible object. These things are all the responsibilities of the Zongren Mansion.
After the Manchus entered the Central Plains, after all, they fought very well, but their ability to govern the country was not very experienced, and they had no better way to rule such a superpower, so they finally chose to inherit many systems of the Ming Dynasty, and the Zongren Mansion was also continued.
The difference between the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty in the Zongren Mansion is relatively large, because the Zongren Mansion existed in name only during the Ming Dynasty, but it was reused in the Qing Dynasty; Another major difference is that the Ming Dynasty had a large number of royal families, but the original royal family of the Qing Dynasty was basically Nurhachi's family.
Why mention this? Because this point still has a great impact on the work of the Zongren Mansion, after all, the function of the Zongren Mansion is one thing, but the sophistication of the people is another.
The management function of the Zongren Mansion over the imperial family has given the Zongren Mansion huge powers, and it is necessary to be extremely rigorous and careful when calculating the number of salaries, title succession, weddings and funerals, etc., after all, it is difficult for these big people to serve, and if there is a mistake, the number of rewards and punishments will be miscalculated, and the consequences will be unimaginable.
At the same time, the Zongren Mansion also has a certain penal function, mainly for the royal family. This kind of errand is also an errand that tests eyesight and experience. After all, the emperor's family affairs are state affairs, and although most of the affairs handled by the Zongren Mansion are internal affairs, there are also certain "risks".
The status of the emperor is the pinnacle of feudal society, and his moodiness is said to accompany the king like a tiger. In Qing court dramas, we can often see that there are some vicious concubines who play tricks or concubines who are designed by people to anger the emperor, and the emperor will sometimes be angry with the crown and send him to the Zongren Mansion for punishment. But the concubine and the emperor are husband and wife after all, if the concubine who was blamed reconciles with the emperor one day, or the concubine has the power behind her to help her atone for her sins, those who have cleaned up her Zongren Mansion personnel, life will not be easy, of course, the head of the Zongren Mansion is covered by the emperor, and in order to maintain the duties of the Zongren Mansion, there will be no retaliation, but the small staff who are executed below are afraid that they will suffer, and one day they will be cleaned up, and they will not even have the opportunity to shout grievances, and for such a small matter, the emperor will not personally ask.
In the Qing court drama, we will see such a scene, the emperor roared angrily, "Confining her in the Zongren Mansion". As soon as the concubines heard this, they would collapse to the ground, or their faces would change drastically, and they would show a look of fear at this time, and then beg for mercy. How terrifying is this people's palace confinement? Let the emperor's concubines talk about it like this.
In the Zongren Mansion, there is a place called the Empty House of the Zongren Mansion, and the Empty Room of the Zongren Mansion has a guilty clan, which is the place responsible for the confinement of the criminals of the royal family. This place is nothing special, it is a small courtyard or a small house, according to different levels, the treatment is also different, there is no cruel punishment here, there is no work in charge of food and housing.
Of course, there is no one here, no happiness, and no slaves, which fully embodies the name "empty house", eating, drinking, sleeping and eating every day is the main life item of the captivity. This kind of life is more difficult to accept for the pampered concubines than any punishment, their rich life has since ended, and their peerless faces have never seen the light of day again, only to end up in a lonely and self-appreciative ending, and when they are old and decrepit, they are even worse than dead when they are out of captivity. This kind of torture is better than death, which is also the main reason why many concubines who are imprisoned hang themselves.
Zongrenfu's treatment of concubines tends to be cold and violent as we say today, imagine the days when you are not allowed to go out for a few days, and you are not allowed to play with your mobile phone, you may be able to experience that kind of pain.