The "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" once said: "Qi Xiangye, the birth of a child will build a great cause." "In the early Qing Dynasty, although Shunzhi had a short lifespan, its political contribution should not be underestimated. His son Xuan Ye made meritorious contributions and helped the Qing Dynasty rule to its peak.
When it comes to the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, I think many people first think of Kangxi, Qianlong and others. As two long-lived emperors, during the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong, they created the prosperous era of Kangqian and helped the Qing Dynasty's rule to successfully reach the peak, which also made posterity generally have a high evaluation of both of them.
In the eyes of many people, the Aixin Jueluo family has the gene of longevity, but in fact, the Kangxi Emperor's father, the Shunzhi Emperor, only has a life expectancy of twenty-four years. For modern people, many people may have just graduated at the age of twenty-four, but the Shunzhi Emperor at that time had fourteen heirs. Why did the Shunzhi Emperor have so many heirs at such a young age? Who gave birth to these heirs?
Through the understanding of the customs and habits of ancient society, it will be found that unlike modern people, in ancient society, people's marriage age is relatively early, which also makes many people in their early teens have been arranged by the family to marry relatives. Based on this age of marriage, many ancients were likely to have had multiple children before they reached the age of twenty, and for the emperor who sat in the harem of three thousand beautiful women, the number of children they could have would far exceed that of ordinary people.
In ancient society, all the sons of rich and noble families would have some housewives around them, and for Shunzhi, who had already ascended to the throne at a young age, there was no shortage of sexual enlighteners around him. This doomed Shunzhi to be able to take the lead in the affairs of men and women, and thus leave more heirs for himself.
According to historical records, the Shunzhi Emperor had already ascended to the throne at the age of six. Although at the beginning of his reign, he was not yet fertile, but as the supreme leader of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, he had an important task to open up branches and leaves for the royal family, which also made Shunzhi's mother choose a concubine for him early.
When the Shunzhi Emperor reached the age of being able to have children, these empresses and concubines would give birth to as many children as possible for the Shunzhi Emperor to ensure the continuation of the imperial bloodline. In the harem of the Shunzhi Emperor, there were many concubines of childbearing age, and the Shunzhi Emperor was able to leave more heirs for himself by spoiling different concubines.
From the understanding of the birth year table of the heirs during Shunzhi's reign, it can be seen that after the Shunzhi Emperor officially had sex with his concubines, his crown princes and empresses were born one after another.
As early as the Shunzhi Emperor's formal marriage, he already had the experience of men and women, which also made the Shunzhi Emperor have a relatively rich experience in passing on the bloodline.
In the ten years from the appointment of the Shunzhi Emperor as empress to the death of his wife due to illness, his concubines gave birth to a total of fourteen children, which shows that the fertility of the Shunzhi Emperor also has certain advantages. Although the Shunzhi Emperor grew up, he had a special affection for Concubine Dong, and even deposed the empress dowager for Concubine Dong, and became estranged from Empress Xiaozhuang.
However, in the process of passing on the bloodline, the Shunzhi Emperor did not make a move not to have sex with other concubines because of his love for Concubine Dong. After all, in the harem at that time, if the Shunzhi Emperor only had sex with Concubine Dong, it would also affect the number of his heirs.
From this practice of the Shunzhi Emperor, it can be seen that he is not a person of confusion and wisdom, although in his heart, he has a preference for Concubine Dong, but he can still recognize his responsibility as an emperor. It was precisely on the basis of the Shunzhi Emperor's sober attitude that he was able to help him leave fourteen heirs in his short life of twenty-four years.
Although the Shunzhi Emperor did not have an advantage in the number of heirs left behind compared to other emperors during the Qing Dynasty, among his fourteen children, Kangxi had outstanding talents. When the Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne, he relied on his own efforts to push the social development of the Qing Dynasty to the peak. It can be seen that the number of heirs is not the key to the victory of the dynasty, and only the emergence of truly excellent rulers can the road of national development be on the right track.
By understanding the story of Shunzhi's reign, it will be found that in ancient society, people attached great importance to the matter of having children, which also made many emperors and concubines begin to work hard to pass on the bloodline at a young age.
From the experience of the Shunzhi Emperor, we can feel that the life of the ancient emperor is not as free as we think, although many people envy the emperor to have three palaces and six courtyards, three thousand beautiful women, but in the process of the emperor's favor of the harem, it is also necessary to take into account the inheritance of the royal bloodline, and it is not possible to make a special favor, regardless of the heavy responsibility of inheriting the royal heirs.
Nowadays, our society has long since shaken off the feudal and backward system of the past, and the succession of generations is no longer a necessary responsibility for married men and women. In the context of modern society, people's lives will also be more free.
Reference: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty