Know all about the secrets of the harem

Chapter 2 How deep is the secluded harem (1)
Hierarchy system of harem concubines
Among the different dynasties in the long Chinese feudal society, there is a gradually mature feudal officialdom hierarchy that has been operating.Similarly, in different emperors and empress officials, a hierarchical system of harem women with the same clear hierarchy is also quietly operating.

Before Xia Yin, the concubine system in China was relatively simple, and the written descriptions were also very vague. The spouses of the emperor were collectively referred to as concubines.For example, the Yellow Emperor had four concubines, and Emperor Ku had four concubines.The main concubine is called Yuanfei, and the others are called secondary concubines.

After the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty began to stand, the rightful son was called the queen. "Zhou Ritual" stipulates: the emperor establishes a queen, three wives (the first rank), nine concubines (the second rank), 27 wives (the third to the fifth rank), 81 royal wives (the sixth to the eighth rank), a total of 121 people The five are related to each other to determine the superiority and inferiority.Corresponding to the six officials of the foreign dynasty, the Sangong, the Jiuqing, the 27 doctors, and the 81 yuan scholars. The "six palaces" are the first palace and the last five senses. "Host Five Palaces" refers to the queen one official, the third wife and one official, the nine concubines and one palace, the 27th concubine and one palace, and the 81 imperial wives and one palace.The queen is in the palace, and she is the same as the king of heaven; the wife sits and discusses the etiquette of women (doesn't do anything, just accompany the king); the nine concubines teach the four virtues (responsible for handling palace affairs); and entertain the noble ladies who entered the official pilgrimage); the imperial order Wang Yan's bedroom (responsible for arranging the concubines to accompany the king to spend the night in turn).

In the Qin Dynasty in the 3rd century BC, the pattern was refurbished: the super is "queen", the first level is "madame", the second level is "beauty", the third level is "good man", and the fourth level is "eight sons". , the fifth level is "Seven Sons", the sixth level is "Long Envoy", and the seventh level is "Minor Envoy", but there is no record of their duties in the history books.

The concubine system of the Han Empire inherited the Qin system, and it was clearly stipulated that the emperor's grandmother was called the empress dowager, and the mother was called the empress dowager. The title of the empress mother in the Chinese concubine system was determined from this, and it has been passed down through generations.In the 2s BC, Liu Che, the seventh emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, reorganized it again.As a result, a large number of beautiful words filled the paper, and he divided the beauties in the palace into ten levels-the super is "queen", compared to the emperor, and the jue is compared to the emperor; the first level is "Jieyu", compared to the prime minister, Juebi Prince; the second rank is "娌'e", which ranks higher than Shangqing, and Juebi Liehou; the third rank is "Juhua", which ranks higher than the middle two thousand stones (deputy prime minister), and ranks higher than Guanzhong Hou; the fourth rank The first grade is "Chongyi", which is two thousand stones higher than the real one (minister), and the highest rank is higher than Dashangzao (the highest civil official, first rank); the fifth grade is "beauty", which is two thousand stones higher than the governor (governor), and less than the highest rank. Shangzao (the second rank of civil officials, second rank); the sixth rank is "beautiful man", whose rank is higher than that of Qianshi (governor rank), and the rank of nobles is higher than that of Zhonggeng (third rank of civil servants, third rank); the seventh rank is "Eight Sons", The position is more than Qianshi (governor level), the noble is Zuogeng (the fourth level of civil officials, the fourth grade); the eighth level is "Seven Sons", the position is more than Babaishi (deputy governor), and the rank is more than You Shuchang (the fifth level of civil officials) , fifth grade); the ninth rank is "Changshi", the rank is higher than Babaishi (deputy-governor level), and the rank is higher than Zuo Shuchang (civilian sixth rank, sixth rank); the tenth rank is "Minor Envoy", rank Bi Liubaishi (county magistrate), Jue Bi Wu Dafu (civilian seventh level, seventh grade).

The above-mentioned ten-level organization lasted for 70 years. In the 5s of the 50th century BC, Emperor No.11 Liu Shi was in power. He felt that the ten-level organization was not enough, so he expanded it to fifteen levels. Inside, it is further divided into several levels-the super is "queen", which is the same as the ancestors in the ancestors' time, compared to the emperor, and the jue is compared to the emperor; the first level is "Zhaoyi", which is compared to the prime minister, and the jue is compared to the prince (the new highest Title, the original "Mrs." canceled); the second level is "Jiehao", which is higher than Shangqing, Jubilee Marquis (originally the first level, but in the new establishment, it is reduced to the second level); the third level The rank is "娙'e", the rank is more than two thousand stones in the middle, and the rank is better than that of Guanneihou (originally the second rank, but in the new system, it is downgraded to the third rank); Qianshi, Juebi Dashangzao (originally the third level, in the new system, downgraded to the fourth level); the fifth level is "Chongyi", with a rank ratio of 2000 million, and Juebi is less than Shangzao (originally the fourth level) In the new system, it is downgraded to the fifth level); the sixth level is "beauty", which is better than a thousand stones, and more powerful than the middle (the original is the fifth level, but in the new system, it is reduced to the sixth level); the sixth level is "beauty". The seventh level is "beloved", with a rank of ten million, and the rank of Zuo Geng (originally the sixth level, but in the new system, it is reduced to the seventh level); the eighth level is "eight sons", with a rank of eight hundred stones, Jue is longer than Youshu (originally the seventh level, but in the new system, it is downgraded to eighth level); the ninth level is "Seven Sons", with a rank of eight hundred stones, and Jue is longer than Zuo Shu (originally the eighth level, In the new organization, it is downgraded to the ninth level); the tenth level is "Changshi", with a rank of six hundred stones, and a Jue than the fifth doctor (the original is the ninth level, but it is reduced to the tenth level in the new system); No .11th rank is "Small Envoy", with a rank ratio of four hundred stones, and a jubilee ratio of a public carrier (it was originally the tenth rank, but in the new system, it is reduced to No.11. "Public Cheng", the last rank in the civil service system) ;No.12 is "Five Senses", with a ratio of 13 shi ("Five Senses", the highest level in the employee class, with an annual salary of only 14 shi, which is insignificant. Below the [-]th level, it was newly invented by Liu Shuang, but it is only counted as the employee class. There is no title to compare with. It seems that below the second lieutenant, you can’t be regarded as an officer, you can only be regarded as a non-commissioned officer.); No. [-] is "Gu Chang", and the rank is two hundred stones (the second level of the employee class, which is even more insignificant); No. There are quite a lot of tricks at level [-], and there are six levels within the level:
"Wujuan", "Gonghe", "Yuling", "Baolin", "Liang Di" and "Ye Zhe" are more than a hundred stones; No.15 also has two classes: "Shangjiazi" and "Zhongjiazi", which are more than a hundred stones. Doushi (this is the lowest level of concubine wives, but it is slightly different from ordinary court ladies. For example, Miss Ping'er in "Dream of Red Mansions", you can say that she is a girl, but she has the title of concubine, and there are girls to serve her. Take care of the girl; say she is a formal little wife, but she is a girl, and she gets the same money as a girl).

During the Cao Wei Dynasty, due to the romance of literature and the preference for elegant titles, the concubines were divided into twelve classes: noble concubine, wife, concubine Shu, Shuyuan, Zhaoyi, Zhaohua, Xiurong, Xiuyi, Jieyu, Suhua , beauty, beloved.

Wei Taizu founded the country, and the queens were divided into five classes of concubines: Madam, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, Suhua, and Beauty; Wei Wendi added five classes: Guifei, Shuyuan, Xiurong, Shuncheng, and Liangren; Wei Mingdi added Concubine Shu , Zhaohua, Xiuyi, etc., shaved off Shuncheng.During the time of Taihe, Emperor Ming of Wei ordered the restoration of the system of concubines, who were above the concubine Shu, and below the concubine, there were twelve ranks: the concubine, the wife was second to the queen, and the nobility ignored it; the concubine Shu was in the same state, and the nobility was better than the princes ; Two thousand stones; a beauty is regarded as a salary of two thousand stones; a good man is regarded as a salary of a thousand stones.

In the Jin Dynasty, under the queen, there were three wives: noble concubine, madam, and nobleman, who were more in rank than the third prince; Nine concubines are ranked higher than Jiuqing; under the nine concubines, there are beauties, talents, and middle-level talents, and officials with titles below Qianshi.

The Northern Dynasties inherited the Wei and Jin systems, with slight increases or decreases. "Daowu chased and honored his ancestors and concubines, and they all followed the emperor's posthumous posthumous title as queen. He was appointed as a middle-ranking official.

Yu Jie may be called Mrs., how many are infinite, but all have grades.Taiwu slightly increased left and right Zhaoyi, nobles, Shufang and so on.There are more and more backyards.There is also a story in Wei, when a queen is about to be established, she must order the person who made the gold, and it is auspicious for the successful one, but it will not be ancient."

Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty changed the appointment of internal officials: the left and right Zhaoyi regarded the great Sima, the three wives regarded the three princes, the third concubine regarded the three ministers, the sixth concubine regarded the six ministers, the women of the world regarded the senior officials, and the imperial daughters regarded the Yuan scholars.Later, female positions were set up to standardize internal affairs: Nei Si regards Shang Shu Ling and servant; Zuo Si, eunuch, and maids in the third palace regard second grade; The five palaces of women and young scholars are regarded as the third grade; the middle-talented person, the servant, the middle-class envoy, the female talented person, and the respectful envoy are regarded as the fourth-rank; .In the Southern Dynasties and Song Dynasties, there were additions and deletions in the Jin system, and it was stipulated by Emperor Ming of the Song Dynasty: the three wives were the noble concubines, noble concubines, and noble concubines; Shuyuan, Shuyi, Shurong, Zhaohua, Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Xiuhua, and Xiu Yi and Xiurong are the nine concubines; Jieyu, Suhua, Chonghua, Chengwei, and Lierong are the five posts; there are also casual servants including beauties, talents, and beauties.

In the first year of Emperor Qi Gao of the Southern Dynasties, in the first year of Jianyuan, he set up noble concubines, wives, and nobles as three wives, Xiuhua, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Shufei, Shuyuan, Shuyi, Jieyu, Yuhua, and Chonghua as nine concubines, beauties, Talented people and talented people are scattered.In the third year of Jianyuan, the crown prince and concubines were divided into three classes: Liangdi, Baolin, and Cairen.The uterus is assigned an internal post, Liang Di is compared to Kaiguohou;

In the Southern Dynasties, Liang and Chen took concubines, concubines, and concubines as the third wives; Shuyuan, Shuyi, Shurong, Zhaohua, Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Xiuhua, Xiuyi, and Xiurong were the nine concubines; Hua, Chonghua, Chengwei, and Lierong are the five positions; beauty, talent, and good man are the three positions.

Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty called himself Emperor Tianyuan, and the Empress Dowager was honored as Empress Dowager Tianyuan. There were also Zhengyang Palace Empress, Empress Dowager Tianhuang, Empress Tian, ​​Empress Tianyou, and Empress Tianzuo. The harem system was completely chaotic.In February of the second year of the elephant, the imperial edict was changed to Tianzhi, and the imperial edict was changed to Tianchi.Song Order: Respect Empress Tianyuan as Empress Dowager Tianwu, Empress Dowager Li as Empress Dowager Tianyuan, Empress Yang as Empress Tianyuan, Empress Zhu as Empress Tianyuan, Empress Tianyou Yuan as Empress Tianyou , Tianzuo Queen Chen is called Tianzuo Great Queen, and Zhengyang Official Queen is called Queen.

After Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian won the world, in view of the accumulated disadvantages of the previous dynasty, he reformed them one by one.In the harem, the old system was also changed, and only the queen was set up in the palace.In the second year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign, he was ordered to write the internal officials' procedures according to "Zhou Li", to reduce the number of people in the harem, and stipulated that 3 concubines should be in charge of teaching the four virtues, and they should be regarded as the third grade; There are 9 people in charge of the female worker's silk table, and they are regarded as the seventh grade.

During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, concubines and concubines did not have full-time jobs, "they only had dignified and beautiful decorations to accompany Yan You".Emperor Yangdi was obsessed with this matter, and made his own name, with the noble concubine, concubine Shu, and concubine De as the three wives, the first in rank; There are nine concubines of Chonghua, the second rank; 12 Jieyu, the third rank; 15 beauties and talents, the fourth rank; 27 wives, 24 of Baolin, the fifth rank; 24 imperial daughters, the sixth rank ; There are 37 female adopters, the seventh in rank, and they are imperial wives.A total of 120 people.There are also Chengyi Daomen, etc., "all tend to wait on the left and right, there is no number of members, and they are regarded as below the sixth rank."

Below the queens of the Tang Dynasty, there are four wives: Guifei, Shufei, Defei, and Xianfei; nine concubines: Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiumei, Chongyi, Chongrong, and Chongyuan; 26 world wives: 9 each of Jiehao, Meiren, and Cairen; 81 royal wives: 26 each of Baolin, Yunv, and Cainv.

In the early Tang Dynasty court: first-level Concubine Hui, second-level Concubine Shu, third-level Concubine Virtue, fourth-level Concubine Xian, Prince Weibi; fifth-level Zhaoyi, sixth-level Zhaorong, seventh-level Zhaoyuan , the eighth level of repairing instrument, the ninth level of repairing appearance, the tenth level of repairing beauty, No.11 level of filling instrument, No.12 level of filling capacity, No.13 level of filling beauty, better than the prime minister; No.14 level of Jie is better No.15 beauty, Weibi governor; No.16 talent, Weibi director; No.17 Baolin, Weibi county chief (prefect, magistrate); No.19 female picker, Bit than the county magistrate.

During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, it was inconsistent with the old system to set up four concubines under the empress.

During the reign of Tang Minghuang Li Longji, the first-level noble concubine was compared to the prince, the second-level concubine Hui, the third-level concubine Li, the fourth-level concubine Hua, and was compared to the prime minister; the fifth-level Fangyi, the sixth-level Fenyi, and the seventh-level concubine Level Weiyi, eighth level Zhaoyi, ninth level Xiuyi, tenth level Chongyi, Weibi minister; No.11 beauty, Weibi governor; No.12 talent, Weibi director; No. .12-level Shangguan, No.13 Shangyi, No.14 Shangfu, and the county chief (prefect, magistrate).

There is no standard for the names of concubines in the two Song Dynasties, and they are rather messy.Roughly speaking, when first entering an official position, women's titles are: Shiyu, Hongxiapei; further, Fengjun, Fengmao.In the Southern Song Dynasty, the king was changed to a wife, and the number of kings and wives was not fixed in terms of number and county names.After the madam, they will be talented people, beauties, and Jiehao, and then they will be Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Xiuyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Chongyuan, Wanrong, Wanyi, Shunrong, Guiyi, etc.; The first level of concubine: Guifei, Xianfei, Defei, Shufei, and Chenfei.The distinguishing feature of Song Houguan is that there is no positioning, starting from the primary level, growing with the favor, and constantly advancing.

Under the queens of the Liao Dynasty, there were concubines Yuan, Concubine De, Concubine Wen, and Concubine Hui, and there was no difference in rank among the concubines.In the Yuan Dynasty, apart from the two titles of empress and concubines, there were no other titles in the harem.The Jin Dynasty was more complicated and perfect.

Jin is the dynasty established by the Jurchens.The Jin Dynasty clearly stipulated that after the election, it would not be taken from the common people.At the beginning of the founding of the Jin Dynasty, the concubines of later officials had no titles.By the time of Emperor Xizong of Jin Dynasty, there were names of noble concubine, virtuous concubine, and virtuous concubine.When King Hailing was in power, there were many sleeping quarters in the harem, and there were 12 favorite concubines: Concubine Yuan, Concubine Shu, Concubine Hui, Concubine Gui, Concubine Xian, Concubine Chen, Concubine Li, Concubine Shu, Concubine De, Concubine Zhao, Concubine Wen, Concubine Rou .During the Tianding period of Emperor Shizong of Jin Dynasty, Jian Shao was the post-official.During Jin Zhangzong's Mingchang period, the harem was well-regulated.

The harem of the Jin Dynasty imitated the Han Dynasty and formulated a set of concubine imperial system, which was clearly determined: the queen had three concubines, the noble concubine, the virtuous concubine, and the German concubine. Rong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chongyuan, the second rank, the nine concubines of the same Han Dynasty; 9 Jieyu, the third rank; 9 beauties, the fourth rank; 9 talents, the fifth rank; the 27th generation of the same Han Dynasty There are 27 women in Baolin, the sixth rank; 27 imperial women, the seventh rank; 27 Cai women, the eighth rank, and 81 imperial wives in the same Han Dynasty.In addition, Shanggong, Shangyi, Shangfu, Shangshi, Shangfu, Shanggong are not allowed to be post-officials and internal officials.

The Yuan Dynasty was a dynasty established by the Mongols. In addition to the main empress, the Yuan Empress Palace did not care about the second empress or the third empress. As long as the emperor was happy, there could be as many empresses as he wanted.

There were many empress officials and court ladies in the Ming Dynasty.After the palace maid was favored by the emperor, she was given the title of concubine and entered the ranks of the emperor's concubines.However, in addition to the title of empress, the post-officials of the Ming Dynasty only had the rank of concubine and no concubine.The concubines include noble concubine, Shu concubine, Ning concubine, Xian concubine, Gong concubine, Chen concubine, Kang concubine, Zhuang concubine, and Yu concubine, among which the noble concubine has the highest status in the concubine class.

When Emperor Taizu of the Qing Dynasty first started, there was no official title, and the concubine was commonly called "Fujin".After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, Xuanye, the second emperor of Kangxi in Beijing, determined the order of post-official titles: the grandmother of the respected emperor was the Empress Dowager; the mother was the Empress Dowager; The concubine and concubine live with her; the queen sits in the middle of the town and presides over the affairs of the harem: the queen has one imperial concubine, two concubines, four concubines, and six concubines, who live in the east and west twelve officials; , Promise, there is no fixed number, and the imperial concubine will live in the east and west palaces.The harem system of the Qing Dynasty stipulated that before the emperor got married, eight court ladies who were older than the emperor were selected for the emperor to enter the imperial court, that is, to dedicate themselves to the emperor.Each of the eight court ladies has a title and is awarded the titles of the four female officials in the palace: Accountant, Bedroom, Master of Ceremonies, and Gatekeeper.

How many concubines are there in Sangong Sixth Court?

The emperor is a special class with supreme power. Not only does the polygamous marriage system take place as a matter of course, but he can also choose the palace of beautiful women from all over the world to serve him alone.It is difficult to confirm when the system of emperors and concubines began, and the number, titles, and hierarchy of emperors and concubines vary from generation to generation.The so-called "72 concubines of the Three Officials and Six Courts" is just a general folk saying, which does not conform to the actual post-official system.

"Historical Records: The Benji of the Five Emperors" and "Biography of Martyrs" and other classics record that Emperor Yao married his two daughters, Ehuang and Nvying, to Emperor Shun, and the sisters worked together as a husband. This is probably the earliest king seen in the literature. "polygamy".According to Zheng Xuan's "Notes Tan Gong", Emperor Ku and Emperor Yao are both four concubines, and Emperor Shun has three wives.

According to the "Tong Dian", "the emperor marrying twelve daughters is the summer system." "The people of Yin added Sanjiu 27 to 39".In other words, there were 12 concubines of King Xia, and 39 concubines of King Yin and Shang.The concubine system really started in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was clear that there were 121 concubines for the emperor. "Book of Rites · Hunyi" says: "In ancient times, the emperor established six officials, three wives, nine concubines, 27 wives, and 81 royal wives." In the harem, the queen is the head of the six palaces, and the status of concubines is said to be the same as that of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The official rank of the official rank is corresponding. The "three wives" are the same as the three princes and princes, the "nine concubines" are like the nine ministers, the "worldly wives" are like doctors, and the "royal wives" are like scholars.Although many scholars believe that these records are not without attachments or idealistic colors, the records in "Zhou Li" and "Book of Rites" did have a profound impact on the concubine system of later generations.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the number of concubines of princes reached hundreds. "Mencius with all one's heart": "There are hundreds of concubines and concubines in the front of the food, and I have nothing to do."

"Guanzi·Xiao Kuang" states that Qi Xianggong "only women are Chong, with nine concubines and six concubines, and thousands of concubines".These thousands of people probably included court ladies and court ladies.

Qin merged the six kingdoms, unified the world, and established the first unified centralized feudal dynasty in Chinese history.After Qin Shihuang proclaimed himself emperor, he established a concubine system in the harem consisting of empress dowager, empress, wife, lover, eight sons, seven sons, long envoys, and young envoys.There is no detailed record in history books about the scale of Qin Shihuang's officialdom.However, Qin Shihuang built more than 270 palaces successively in Xianyang, which stretched for more than 400 miles from east to west along the banks of the Jing and Wei rivers.Du Mu, a literati in the Tang Dynasty, described the concubines of the first empress and concubines of Qin Shi from a literary point of view. Runny and bloated, discarding fat and water."In addition, "there are 36 years of invisible people".Qin Shihuang reigned for 36 years, and some palace officials never got to see the emperor. "Historical Records: The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang", "Justice" quoted "Sanfu Old Things": "... there are one hundred and forty-five temples in the middle and outer palaces, and more than ten thousand women in the post-official ranks..."

It seems that the number of Qin Shihuang's post-officials has risen from thousands in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to more than [-].

After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, not only the "selection" system was gradually formed, but also the concubine hierarchy was gradually established.According to Volume 97 of "Hanshu", "Preface to the Biography of Foreign Relatives" and Yan Shigu's annotations, in the early Han Dynasty, "the concubine was called the queen, and the concubine was called the wife".Inheriting the Qin system, there are the titles of beauty, good man, eight sons, seven sons, chief envoy, and young envoy. During Emperor Wu's time, Jieyu, 娌'e, Xihua, and Chongyi were set up. Below the queen, the concubines are divided into 14 grades: Zhaoyi, Jieyu, Yu'e, Suhua, Beauty, Eighth Son, Chongyi, Seventh Son, Beloved, Chief Envoy, and Young Envoy. These II ranks have titles , and is linked to the royal title, official position, and salary of the imperial court; No.12 grade is "five senses", No.13 grade is "shunchang", neither has a title, and the salary is three hundred stones and two hundred stones respectively: No.14 grade is also There is no title, salary is only a hundred stones, and names include Wujuan, Gonghe, Yuling, Baolin, Liangshi, Yezhe, etc.In addition, there are ordinary court ladies who fail to enter the above-mentioned ranks in the selection of officials every year. They have no titles, are also called "fighting food" and "ranked", and there are a large number of them.

Although Wang Mang's new dynasty was short-lived, there were a lot of people in the harem during that period. "Book of the Later Han" Volume 41 "Biography of Liu Xuan":
"Wang Mang was defeated, only the Weiyang Palace was burned, and the rest of the government buildings were not destroyed. Thousands of palace ladies were prepared for the back court."

(End of this chapter)