Wen - Black Tanuki
With the popularity of Qing Palace dramas, many harem concubines are well known to everyone. For example, the four concubines of Huiyi Derong in the Kangxi Dynasty, the Concubine Qi of the Yongzheng Dynasty, and the concubine Jiafei Chun of the Qianlong Dynasty. So what were the criteria for the three emperors of Kangxi Yongzheng and Qianlong to promote their concubines to four concubines?
The answer that comes to mind by many people is white skin and beautiful long legs!
The black beaver is here to tell everyone that these do not exist. Don't believe you!
Part I: Kangxi's Criteria for Sealing the Four Concubines.
First of all, to have a noble origin.
The two granddaughters of the founding general Eyidu, Empress Xiaozhaoren of the Niu Cobalt Lu clan and the Wen Concubine Concubine Niu Hulu, were ranked as four concubines as soon as they entered the palace; the two daughters of Kangxi's uncle, Empress Xiaoyiren and the Concubine of the Huihui Emperor, also enjoyed the treatment of four concubines when they entered the palace. These four people's birth concubines are already considered standard treatment. Princess Hesheri was the sister of Empress Xiaochengren and enjoyed the treatment of four concubines after entering the palace for 4 years. Princess Xuan was a distant cousin of the Kangxi Emperor, and when she entered the palace, she enjoyed the treatment of a concubine, and 10 years later enjoyed the treatment of a fourth concubine. Princess Hui's relationship with Kangxi was even weaker than that of Xuanfei and Kangxi, and Kangxi was posthumously honored as a concubine in the ninth year.
Second, there must be good moral character.
What should I do if I am not born well? Don't be afraid to lose at the starting line, you must have good moral character. Princess Wuya was born in a coat, Princess Hui's father was a Wupinguan, Rongfei Majia's father was a Wupin minor official, and Yifei Guoluoluo's father was Zhengsi Pinzuo. The main reason why these four people were able to be crowned concubines was because the four of them had good personalities, did not cause trouble, and were favored by the emperor at the same time, they could also assist the empress to handle the large and small affairs of the harem fairly and peacefully, so they were treated with courtesy by the emperor.
Finally, be sure to have children of your own.
Princess De gave birth to 3 sons and 3 daughters, Concubine Wen gave birth to 1 son and 1 daughter, Concubine Min gave birth to 1 son and 2 daughters, Concubine Guarjia gave birth to Qianlong, Shunyi Secret Concubine Wang gave birth to 3 sons, Chunyu Qinfei Chen gave birth to King Guojun, Concubine Hui gave birth to two sons, Concubine Rong gave birth to 5 sons and 1 daughter, Concubine Ping gave birth to 1 son, Concubine Yi gave birth to 3 sons, Concubine Dai Jia gave birth to 1 son, Concubine Wanliuha gave birth to 1 son, and Concubine Wei gave birth to 1 son. Why do you have to have a son? Because with a son, there is dependence, whether you are favored or not, when the son is married, when he has offspring, the birth mother is still alive, he will be rewarded. With the accumulation of these awards, it is easy to realize the dream of ranking the fourth concubine.
Part II: The Yongzheng Emperor's Criteria for Canonizing the Four Concubines
The yongzheng Emperor's concubines were four concubines, namely NianFei, Qi Concubine, Xi Concubine, Yu Concubine, Ning Concubine, and Qian Concubine.
Nian Fei was crowned a concubine because when she was in the submerged residence, she was a side Fujin, and behind her was the powerful Nian family, and she was cautious and gave birth to 3 sons and 1 daughter.
Princess Qi was crowned a concubine because she gave birth to 3 sons and 1 daughter, and was promoted to the side Fujin, which gave her the opportunity to be a concubine.
Concubine Xi's origin is quite low, otherwise with the big surname of the Niu Cobalt Lu clan, she would not have given birth to a son or Gege all the time. She gave birth to Hongli, and Kangxi was afraid that she would not raise a son, and gave Hongli to concubine Guarjia to raise. She was made a concubine because she gave birth to a healthy son. After all, Yongzheng's sons are not many.
YuFei was a concubine, that was because she could drink, and her relationship with Yongzheng was like a drinking friend, and the two of them also had a son.
Concubine Ning was made purely to appease the hearts of the Han people. Princess Wu of Ning was from a Ming dynasty family, and her father was only a Zhizhou.
Concubine Qian was knighted because she gave birth to a son.
To sum up, the Yongzheng Emperor's criteria for sealing the four concubines were roughly as follows: noble birth, birth of an imperial heir, appeasement of Han Chinese and talent.
Part III: The Criteria for the Qianlong Dynasty to Crown the Four Concubines
The four concubines of the Qianlong Dynasty were like wholesale, and 18 concubines were listed before and after, including Concubine Xian, Concubine Zhe, Pure Concubine, Jia Concubine, Concubine Yu, Concubine Shu, Concubine Ling, Concubine Qing, Concubine Ying, Concubine Xin, Concubine Yu, Concubine Rong, Concubine Huan, Concubine Shun, Concubine Xun, Concubine Wan, Concubine Fang, and Concubine Jin. Not as high as the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties. What were the criteria for Qianlong to be canonized as the fourth concubine? Let's first take everyone to see the reasons for their concubines!
Concubine Nala was married to Qianlong by Yongzheng as a side Fujin, and she was born into a noble family, but there was no power in the family. After Qianlong ascended the throne, he started from a concubine and slowly became an empress.
Princess Fucha gave birth to the emperor's eldest son.
Pure Concubine Su also gave birth to a prince because of her.
Princess Jia gave birth to the first son of the Emperor after he ascended the throne.
Princess Yu was born to the Sixth House of the Great Seal, and she gave birth to a son.
Princess Shu of the Yehenara clan and Concubine Ling were enthroned as four concubines in the same month. Princess Shu was born noble, was a descendant of Emperor Taiji's biological mother, and had been favored for many years, so she was replaced as a concubine.
Concubines Lu and Yingfei Balin were added to the throne in the same year.
Concubine Dai Jia and Concubine Borzigit were added to the throne in the same year. Concubine Xin's father was a former courtier, and she gave birth to two daughters for the emperor, and entering the palace for 10 years was considered a standard speed; Concubine Yu was a woman married by a foreign tribe, and it was reasonable to enter the palace for 6 years as a concubine.
Concubine Rong and Zhuo entered the palace for 8 years from nobleman to Concubine Rong, which was enough to see the emperor's grace on her, and because she was a tool for marriage, she would give her priority when she had the opportunity to be promoted.
Concubine Wang was a concubine for 11 years, during which time she was punished by demotion many times because she often stepped on the old emperor's minefield. He was not punished too heavily, which was enough to see that the old emperor was still quite fond of this little master.
Princess Shun's maternal grandmother was Empress Xiaozhaoren and The Sisters of Princess Wen. Her origins are quite noble. Only during the Qianlong Dynasty, the influence of the former dynasty on the harem became weaker and weaker, so it was expected that Concubine Shun would enter the palace for 10 years. It's just a pity that she was quite miserable, because she offended the emperor and was demoted to a nobleman.
Concubine Ilgenjue Luo and Concubine Chen were crowned concubines in the same year. Concubine Xun was born noble, and as soon as she entered the palace, she was a concubine, and she was only crowned a concubine after 18 years. Princess Wan was able to be made a concubine purely because she lived a long time, after all, she had been serving the emperor for more than 60 years at that time.
Concubine Chen was also punished by demotion. She entered the palace for 32 years before she was crowned a concubine. It can be seen that she is also a concubine because of her longevity.
The aunt of Princess Fucha of jin was Empress Xiaoxian. She entered the palace for 23 years and was a widow, and she was widowed as soon as she entered the palace, and she was able to be crowned a concubine purely because of her family lineage.
In summary, it is not difficult for us to find that the criteria for the Qianlong Emperor to be a concubine are roughly as follows:
1- The one who was married by the first emperor: Concubine
2- Those who gave birth to the crown prince: Zhe Concubine, Pure Concubine, Jia Concubine, And Yu Concubine
3- The four concubines are more than one concubine: Shu Concubine, Ling Concubine, Qing Concubine, Ying Concubine, Xin Concubine, Yu Concubine, Rong Concubine, Xun Concubine, And Wan Concubine
4- Noble born: Concubine Xian, Concubine Shu, Concubine Xin, Concubine Shun, Concubine Jin
5- Foreign concubines: Concubine Yu and Concubine Rong
6- Concubines of longevity: Concubines, Concubines
7- Deeply favored: Concubine
In fact, the Qianlong Emperor was still quite free to appoint the four concubines, as long as he did not make any major mistakes and waited for a long time, he had the opportunity to rank among the four concubines.