Since ancient times, women in China have been treated as “little better than ghosts.” Fun of Chinese Emperors

Assimilation of Chinese Models A new form of art, of course, does not appear out of nowhere simply because a social environment suitable for its emergence arises. As in politics - or in religion, or in the intellectual sphere, for that matter - at the origins

We have all heard about harems, but Chinese harems and the life of concubines have their own amazing features. Many concubines, a special way of life and several examples of the amazing ascension of mistresses to the Imperial throne.

The imperial family should correspond to a service where several cups belong to one teapot. The Chinese harem was distinguished by a clear distribution of roles, the absolute influence of traditions and submission to the strictest instructions stemming from natural philosophical erotological theories and boiling down to maintaining a balance of yang (male) and yin (female) energies in the partner’s body.

It was believed that the predominance of yin over yang led to early aging of potency, and also influenced the weather, bringing with it torrential rains, earthquakes and other disasters.

The Empress had the highest energy, but the Emperor could have sexual intercourse with her no more than once a month in order to produce the strongest offspring. The main one among the women in the palace was the empress, or the main wife of the Son of Heaven (huan hou), followed by four additional “wives” (fu ren) - each of them had a special title: precious (guifei), virtuous (shufei), moral (defei). ) and a talented (xianfei) concubine.

The emperor could have three lady favorites who occupied the first highest level, nine “senior concubines” or “concubines” (jiu bin) who occupied the second level; 27 “junior concubines” (shifu), which, in turn, were divided into: nine jie yu (maids of honor), nine mei ren (beauties) and nine cai ren (talents), occupying the third, fourth and fifth level, another 81 so called the “harem girl” (yu qi). They were also divided into three categories: 27 Bao Lin (precious wood) girls, 27 Yu Nü (imperial women) and 27 Sai Nü (women pickers), making up the sixth, seventh and eighth stages.

During the last Qing dynasty, the emperor's concubines were divided as follows: huangguifei - concubine of the first rank, gui-fei - second rank, fei - third, bin - fourth, gui-ren - fifth, dain - senior maid of honor, changzai - junior maid of honor, and finally, servants - shine.

The number of imperial wives in the Xia Dynasty was supposed to be 12 (three taken four times). During the Shang-Yin dynasties, the sovereign was given 27 more (that is, three times nine) concubines, so that the emperor now had 39 wives and concubines. This number was also explained by the consideration that a woman’s age ends at forty. During the Zhou Dynasty, the number of female inhabitants of the imperial harem increased to 120. Each of them was required to be provided with their own house on the territory of the Imperial Palace. Each was assigned maids and eunuchs.

Their number varied from dynasty to dynasty - the maximum number of maids provided to the Empress was 12, then concubines of the first category - 8, second category 6, third category - 4, ordinary concubines - 2.

They all lived together and therefore the number of women in the harems reached 40 thousand people!

The ruler was entitled to four concubines of the 1st rank. They were called: precious venerable friend (guifei), kind venerable friend (huifei), beautiful venerable friend (lifei) and graceful venerable friend (huafei). Concubines of lower rank were called “exemplars” (yi), and there were six of them: an exemplary purity (shuyi), an exemplary virtue (deyi), an exemplary virtue (xianyi), an exemplary meekness (shunyi), an exemplary beauty (wanyi), and an exemplary fragrance (fangyi).

A concubine was chosen for the night like this - the Emperor had a huge vessel with jade tablets with the names and numbers of the concubines, as well as albums with drawings of the concubines. Numbers were assigned to all concubines, and the higher the number, the more shameful the concubine’s life was. There is a saying in China - she is the daughter of the fifteenth concubine, which roughly means our saying - the seventh water on jelly. By the way, intrigues in the harem were present in full force and some concubines could persuade the artist to paint the most beautiful concubines as ugly so that the Emperor would never choose them. Being in a harem and being a virgin was considered a mortal disgrace.

The Emperor took out a tablet, beat the gong and silently gave the tablet to the eunuch, who noted in a special journal who the Emperor had chosen, the concubine was sent for, she was stripped naked (in order to avoid the presence of any weapons), washed, a cloak made of heron fluff was put on her and carried on their backs to the Emperor's chambers.

The concubine had the right to be in the chambers only for a certain time. If time ran out, the eunuchs sitting outside the doors shouted that time was up. Not a single concubine was allowed to stay until the morning; this was a privilege only for the wife. The concubine quietly slipped under the blanket to the Emperor, and at the end of the pleasures, the eunuch asked permission to leave the seed. If the Emperor allowed, then the date of intercourse was recorded in a special journal, and if not, then a specially trained person pressed the concubine’s stomach in a special way so that the sperm flowed out.

All the Emperor’s visits to his wife, the only woman to whom he could go himself and stay with her overnight, were still recorded in a special journal. After the Emperor left the bedroom, he was always asked whether intercourse had taken place or not. If not, then the column in the journal remained empty, but if yes, then the column was filled in - on such and such a date, such and such a month, such and such a year, intercourse took place.

Even the number of sexual acts was regulated. Once every five days the Emperor was obliged to call a concubine. Only the death of the parents freed him from this duty for three months.

The cruelest etiquette and conventions determined even this side of life.

The large number of concubines required increasing efforts to keep track of them. So, concubines who visited the Emperor’s bed were given a special seal on their palm, rubbed with cinnamon, and it was preserved forever. Without this seal, remaining in the harem was considered a disgrace for a long time.

Pregnancy was the highest good and for this purpose any intrigues, bribes, even murders and secret abortions of already pregnant concubines were used.

Girls for harems were selected separately by specially trained people from among the daughters of governors and princes. At the age of 12-14, they passed the examination, which was arranged by the Emperor’s mother, and if successful, they entered the harem. However, knowing the terrible morals going on in harems, many parents deliberately mutilated their daughters or gave their daughters to maids instead.

In addition to intrigue, masturbation in the absence of the Emperor's caresses and walks in the garden, the concubines took care of their toilet and jewelry every day - the concubine should always be ready to be called by the Emperor. High hairstyles - hair to hair were put in every day and pinned with a huge number of hairpins. No wonder the hairpin in China is considered a symbol of a woman.

Wu Zetian is the first and only woman in China to rule the Empire for 15 years. On the left - this is how she was in life, on the right - this is how modern Chinese cinema sees her.

As a concubine of Emperor Taizong, she showed too strong a nature and was exiled to a Buddhist monastery, but managed to become the mistress of the Emperor’s son, who later became the Emperor, Gaozong. She removed all competitors from her path, including the Emperor's main wife, and became his only woman. According to legend, Wu Tzetian strangled her own newborn daughter with her own hands, but pointed to the Emperor’s wife, for which the latter, who was never able to give birth, was punished and expelled. She also got rid of all competitors among her relatives by drowning them in wine and executing them in other ways. She expelled the Emperor's son and for many years ruled with a firm hand a country for which a woman on the throne was an unprecedented case.

Another concubine who reached the top of the board is also known - Cixi. She was unusually beautiful, and although the Emperor did not pay attention to her for a long time, she nevertheless dragged the aging ruler into her bed and charmed him so much with singing and dancing that he stayed with her for several days, thereby unimaginably raising her status. She gave birth to her only son, Tongzhi (and even then, according to legend, it was the son of one of the concubines, who was killed immediately after giving birth), and after the death of the Emperor, having eliminated all competitors, she herself ascended the throne.

Cixi was famous for her cruelty. One day she ordered cannon fire on a Catholic cathedral in which there were women and children. She brutally dealt with everyone who was against her rule. During the Boxer Rebellion, Cixi ordered the extermination of foreigners whom she considered a threat to ancient Chinese traditions. Foreign powers sent troops to save their citizens. The Empress fled. She lost money and power. Chaos began in the country. In her old age, Cixi became addicted to drugs.

Flute players in the bedroom

You, sir, are surrounded.

A lot in the harem

Beautiful concubines and wives.

Wang Li(1032-1059)

May night 1688 covered the Purple Forbidden City. Life also calmed down in the Yansindian Palace - the personal chambers of Emperor Xuanye. The eunuchs dressed the Bogdokhan for bed, opened the wide bed, parted the curtains and dimmed the light in the large hexagonal floor lantern. Having bowed to the ruler at the waist and backing away, they disappeared through the door. The monarch was left alone, but sleep did not come to him. Something was in the way. Something else had stuck in his brain earlier, but Xuanye couldn’t remember what. All day today he either dictated, then ruled, or discussed with the dignitaries the order for the ambassadors. They went to negotiate with the Russians on the Amur - the Black Dragon River. Since 1652, military operations took place here intermittently. I remembered! In the afternoon, on the embassy list, he came across the name of the Manchu official Ayushi! Familiar surname! But where did he meet her? Xuanye automatically turned his head towards the small table in the corner of the bedroom. There, in a large “dragon” casket, divided into sections, there were rows of jade tokens-tablets with the names and surnames of his concubines. Surely! It is here, on one of the plates, that the name Ayushi is engraved! This is the daughter of that official from the Chamber of Tributary Countries (Lifanyuan). Bogdokhan found her badge. Here she is, Ayushi! Originally from the Blue Banner. “Precious person” (guiren), i.e. has the fifth, lowest rank of concubine. Xuanye did not “make her happy”; he never even saw her after the “palace viewing”. I wonder what she's like on a love bed? Bogdokhan struck the table gong and silently handed the tablet to the eunuch who entered. He disappeared out the door with a bow. So, this concubine will be here soon! Xuanye grinned: he knew down to the last detail what was about to happen outside the walls of his bedroom. Here his “close” eunuch hands over the “precious tag” to the chief manager of the Chamber of Important Affairs, and he passes it on to his subordinate - the strong eunuch.

Then everything went according to a strictly routine order. The guarantor found the right woman and showed her a sign with the words: “Order to such and such a concubine!” She knelt down and with a bow accepted the sign of royal favor. The maids took her to the bedroom, stripped her naked and anointed her with incense. She remained standing undressed so that she would not be able to take a dagger or knife with her: they tried to kill one of the emperors with the hands of a concubine. Then the eunuch messenger was invited into the bedroom. He wrapped the beauty in a special blanket made of heron fluff - a bird that knew how to catch snakes and therefore symbolized protection from all treachery. After which the hefty eunuch put the concubine on his shoulders and carried her to the palace, where the Son of Heaven was already waiting for her in his bedchamber. The eunuch took off the woman’s cloak and left, and she immediately slipped under the blanket to the August Master. While this couple indulged in pleasure, the chief manager of the Chamber of Important Affairs and the eunuch were in the next room.

According to the rules of the Qing court, the Son of Heaven could not keep a concubine for a long time, much less until the morning. When the deadline expired, the chief manager loudly said: “The time has come!” If the Bogdokhan did not respond, the reminder was repeated a second time, and a little later a third time. Then the monarch certainly had to respond. The two people who were waiting entered the bedroom. The chief manager, with a special registration book in his hands, knelt down and most respectfully asked the Son of Heaven: “Should I leave it or not?” It was about the precious “dragon seed”. Having heard the command “Leave,” the official made an entry in the registration book: “In such and such a month, on such and such a date, at such and such an hour, the emperor made such and such a concubine happy.” This record served as justification in the event of her pregnancy, proof of the highest origin of the child. If the Son of Heaven was unhappy or was in a bad mood, the order followed: “Do not leave!” After which the odalisque’s stomach was pressed in a special way, and all the “dragon seed” came out. These rules were extremely strictly observed in the winter palaces of the Forbidden City. As for the summer residences, the Bogdokhan there could afford to violate the regulations established at the dawn of the Qing dynasty.

If concubines were brought to the emperor’s bedroom, then he came to his wife himself and for a time that was not limited by anything. nevertheless, each such visit was recorded in a special accounting book. After the Bogdokhan left the bedchamber, the kneeling eunuch official respectfully waited for an answer as to whether intercourse had taken place or not. If not, then the Most August gentleman would casually say: “Go away!”, and the corresponding column in the book remained empty. In case of an affirmative answer or a nod from the Son of Heaven, an entry appeared here: “On such and such a date, such and such a month, such and such a year at such and such an hour, the sovereign made the empress happy.” If the Bogdokhan passed silently, the chief manager, on his knees, humbly inquired what he should write down.

As we see, the Lord of the Celestial Empire and the ruler of the Qing Empire, before whom everyone was in awe, himself turned out to be a prisoner of strict etiquette. All sorts of conditions determined the sphere of amorous entertainment of the Son of Heaven. At the very beginning of the Manchu dynasty, the khans Nurhatsi and Abahai established rules for “limiting debauchery” for future rulers. Moreover, the Chamber of Important Affairs, whose staff was recruited exclusively from eunuchs of the highest category, was called upon to “regulate” the pleasures of the Son of Heaven. That is why they had free access to the harem, to the battalion commanders adjacent to the bedroom of the Son of Heaven, and to the chambers next to the empress’s bedchamber.

If in Europe the monarch had only one wife (queen, queen, empress), then in China there could be two or three - one “main” and two “secondary”. Apartments in the “middle” part of the Forbidden City were considered the most prestigious. Therefore, the main one lived in the “center” of the palace complex and was called the “Empress of the Middle Palace” (Zhonggong) and the “Mother of the State” (Gomu). In the “eastern quarter” lived the second wife of the Bogdokhan - the “empress of the Eastern palace” (Dungun). And finally, the third consort, or “empress of the Western Palace” (Sigong), kept the chambers in the western, least important part of the Forbidden City. Together with the Dowager Empress, at times there were four empresses at once in the palace quarter of Beijing. Sometimes the mother of Bogdokhan lived outside the Forbidden City - in one of the summer country residences. Special palaces were erected for the bride of the Son of Heaven, where she and her entire family awaited the wedding ceremony.

According to the regulations of the Qing dynasty, the young empress had to present an heir to the throne within five years. If she appeared childless, the Son of Heaven got himself a second wife. The new empress was chosen from concubines of the first or second rank, which was often given to those who had already given birth to a son to the emperor. Nevertheless, the second wife had to yield in everything to the first, who remained the main wife of the Bogdokhan. After the death of the Ten Thousand Year Old Lord, his wives had no right to remarry or return to their family. Since in Qing China the color yellow meant that a person or thing belonged to the family or palace of the Bogdokhan, the empresses wore light yellow, and the concubines wore dark yellow robes.

How was the harem of Bogdokhan created? The young Son of Heaven could recruit concubines for himself only upon reaching adulthood, i.e. at seventeen or eighteen years old, and only after the end of the prescribed period of mourning for the deceased emperor. Moreover, he had no right to use his late father’s harem.

But the formalities were completed, and the “palace show” was announced, where all “beautiful girls from noble Manchu families” were supposed to arrive. And this is where the difficulties began. Firstly, Manchu girls were not distinguished by the charm of their features, slenderness and education, losing in all these respects to Chinese girls, especially to the “southern fairies” - beauties from Suzhou and Hangzhou. And secondly, the Manchus were reluctant to give their daughters to the imperial harem.

The conquerors of China generally treated their women with extreme care - the basis of the gene pool of the small nation. Unlike Chinese women, they were forbidden to mutilate themselves by bandaging their feet. Girls were allowed to sit in the presence of their elders and even take a place of honor among them. In Manchu families, the Chinese rule prohibiting boys and girls over seven years of age from dating did not apply. Fathers and grandfathers loved their daughters and granddaughters very much, and therefore often spoiled them. Life was hard for the prisoners of the palace. For many of them, brought up in happy and caring families, being in the imperial harem became real torture. And since concubines did not always share the sovereign’s bed, they were often threatened with the fate of old maids. So why ruin their youth and future by imprisoning them in a beautiful but joyless cage? That's why some parents tried to avoid registering their daughters in "watch registers", while others tried to make them unsightly. Such girls were brought to the palace unwashed, unkempt, and in dirty clothes. They also resorted to all sorts of other tricks - they feigned illness, stuttering and lameness. If only they didn’t include your beloved child on the list! If only they left him alone! However, the officials of the Palace Administration had experience in this regard, and it was difficult to deceive them. It happened that girls were hidden from eunuchs prowling around the city or were hastily married off.

The selection of concubines for the imperial harem took place in several stages and was a complex procedure. All daughters of the first four Manchu officials became candidates, i.e. highest ranks out of nine. Only girls from fourteen to twenty years old were taken into account. The palace administration compiled the most complete lists, and the Manchu princes and dignitaries made a strict selection based on them. The new lists included only those girls whose eight hieroglyphs indicating their date of birth promised a favorable future. These “lucky ones” came under the care of the Palace Administration. Here they were taught the necessary ceremonies and manners, and six months later they appeared at the “palace viewing”: girls from rich families - in their own formal clothes, those in need - in expensive dresses given to them.

On the morning of the appointed day, the beauties gathered in the Forbidden City, at the gates of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, where the “bride” took place in one of the halls. In some cases, the sovereign actively participated in this procedure, in others, he left everything to the discretion of his mother, remaining only a silent witness to what was happening. It all looked like this: the “competitors” slowly moved past the Bogdokhan and the Dowager Empress, who were seated on the thrones, in the established order. At the end of the procession, they lined up, and the rulers, after consulting, pronounced their verdict. The winners were given curved jade wands with a head resembling a tree mushroom or a cloud through eunuchs. The first rod was presented to the one who was designated as the wife of the Bogdokhan. She was named empress. The remaining owners of the wands became concubines of the Son of Heaven. They were divided into five categories, according to which they were awarded one of five harem ranks. The “lucky ones” performed “three genuflections and nine prostrations” in front of the thrones. Those who were unlucky were given silk robes in the name of the Empress Dowager.

After the ceremony, the selected beauties were sent home for two months. They had to say a final goodbye to their relatives, and at the same time acquire clothes worthy of imperial concubines. At the end of the period, the porters delivered a yellow palanquin to the gate of the house, which was accompanied by officials of the Palace Administration, eunuchs, courtiers, maids and a platoon of horse guards of the “Yellow Banner”. And then came a difficult test: separation from family. Here the tears, hugs, and pleas began. The eunuchs seated the “darling of fortune” in a palanquin, and the cortege solemnly proceeded to the Forbidden City. More often than not, the beauty ended up there forever.

This is how the first batch of odalisques - sometimes up to thirty people - entered the Bogdokhan's harem. Three years later - another one, then another... Time passed, and the seraglio grew to the maximum “permissible” size, i.e. up to 280 slaves. At first, girls from rich or wealthy families suffered cruelly in the palace. Delicious food and expensive clothes were familiar to them since childhood, but after cheerful and joyful days spent in the circle of numerous brothers and sisters, court life seemed incredibly dreary. Some cried from morning to evening. For those who are poorer, beautiful outfits, rich chambers, delicious dishes, sweets, fruits, flowers, decorations and the services of “their own servants” at first drowned out the longing for their home.

The sovereign's odalisques were divided into five ranks. Above all stood the “imperial precious concubines” (huang guifei). Then came “precious concubines” (guifei), simple concubines (fei) and kon-kubins (bin). The fifth, lowest rank was called “precious person” (guiren). Below the concubines were the ladies-in-waiting (dain, changzai), and the base of the harem pyramid was made up of numerous servants - shinyu. The Chinese woman could not rise above the level of a servant.

Knowing the habits of the inhabitants of the harem, emperors have long settled their spouses and concubines separately from each other. Each empress, as already mentioned, had her own palace in the Forbidden City. It was a separate quarter with pavilions, living quarters, gardens, grottoes, gazebos, flower beds and ponds. They tried to provide all the concubines with a “miniature palace”. Each of these “little worlds” was surrounded by a wall with a gate, and it itself bore a special poetic name - “It’s always spring here”, “Shadow of plane trees”, “Park of joy and light”, etc.

The concubine’s lot, naturally, was to await a call to the Son of Heaven. And before him, or in the intervals between “dates,” the prisoners of the harem could enjoy idleness, clothes, entertainment, food, reading, exercises in calligraphy and poetry. In a word, they lived in an atmosphere of complete abundance. Nevertheless, the Palace Administration gave each of them a certain amount monthly, the amount of which depended on the rank of the beauty and the favor of the August Master towards her. Thus, a second-rank concubine (guifei) was paid annually about 150 liang (about 400 American dollars) - a very significant amount at that time. It was believed that this silver was given to odalisques to satisfy their whims, eccentricities and caprices. In fact, the money was spent mainly on paying for the most valuable goods in a harem environment, namely secret information and secret services.

The fact is that not only the harem, but the entire palace complex was an arena for all kinds of intrigues, denunciations and rumors. It was a world of intrigues, slander, gossip, provocations and mutual prying. Base passions were in full swing here. Envy, vanity, revenge, resentment and anger ruled the roost here. Empresses and concubines saw their companions primarily as rivals, each of whom considered the other at least a “were-fox”, and in our opinion, a witch. To combat them, appropriate information was required. But that’s what was missing! News and gossip were supplied by those who could move freely between all these “Parks of Joy and Light”, i.e. eunuchs, maids and ladies-in-waiting. They were the ones who were able to carry out the delicate, or even simply “criminal”, instructions of their mistress. But each concubine had a whole staff of maids and eunuchs, the number of which increased sharply if she found herself in a particularly privileged position. And for all the “special” services, the beauty paid not only with government silver and gifts, but also with patronage, indulgences and promotions for her minions. Under the Manchus, concubines were strictly forbidden to interfere in state affairs. They were not allowed to provide patronage to dignitaries and officials by bothering the emperor with requests of this kind. Everything was done to prevent the harem from becoming an arena of political intrigue.

So, Bogdokhan was literally surrounded by a sea of ​​young and pretty girls. But if the Manchu-odalisques were not particularly attractive, then it was difficult to take your eyes off the beautiful, slender, graceful and charming Chinese women. As he wrote in the 2nd century. BC. Sima Xiangru:

Oh, incomparable beauty

exquisite maidens of the palace!..

There is charm in them, sweetness in them!

I like the powder and antimony -

black eyebrows...

Slender, and stately, and slim, -

So pretty facial features

grace is so simple!

(Translation by A. Adalis)

It happened like this. Summer. The Emperor is carried in a palanquin or sedan chair By park. He sees a beautiful maid of honor or maid and wants to “make her happy.” At this sign, the porters and eunuchs silently leave so as not to disturb the Most August Master. He retires for a while with his chosen one and, having received her love, again calls his retinue and continues his walk. If the girl was liked, she could be taken to the sovereign's bedroom. It happened that such calls were repeated. Under these conditions, the Bogdokhan simply did not have time to “make happy” all his odalisques, but even in this case they were obliged to maintain their virginity.

Different fates awaited the imperial concubines. Some remained prisoners of the Forbidden City until their death. Others were expelled from the palace - for childlessness, for obstinate disposition, for loss of youth and beauty. Another odalisque, never worthy of a call to the bedroom of the Son of Heaven, forgotten by everyone, quietly lived out her life in one of the remote corners of the Forbidden City. For some, being in the imperial harem became unbearable, and they committed suicide. But if the empress or concubine decided to take poison, according to Qing laws, the death penalty awaited her entire relatives. Knowing this, the unfortunate woman could only starve herself to death. Sometimes the Bogdokhan or his wives dealt with undesirables in this way: rebels or quiet victims of intrigue were “granted” the right to throw themselves into a well or swallow a thin golden plate sent “from above” that blocked their breathing.

Sometimes the fate of the palace servants, mostly young and lovely Chinese women, who were specially sent from Suzhou and Hangzhou, which had long been famous for their beauties - slender, bright and alluring, was not easy. Nevertheless, a certain number of old maids remained in the palace - experienced, reliable and devoted to their mistresses. In total, the emperor's harem consisted of about two thousand servants, ready to fulfill any desire of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Master. Some became maids, chambermaids, messengers of the empress and concubines. Others did various jobs: raising silkworms, dyeing silk, sewing clothes, shoes and hats, making perfumes and various cosmetics, cleaning living quarters and beating the two-hour watch by beating the gong.

Those who were not among the confidantes, favorites, intimates and confidants of their mistresses found themselves, in fact, under the power of eunuchs. Other eunuchs did not lose their attraction to women, which often took on painful, perverted forms. Such castrati chased girls, threw them to the ground, rubbed against them, bit and scratched them. And sometimes, taking out their resentment for their physical inferiority on defenseless victims, they beat them, wounded them with knives, and whipped them. The scars left on the body after this caused special bitterness in the unfortunate people - it was a stamp of shame. When such maids lost their youth and freshness, they were fired and sent home. But here, “in the wild,” they poked their fingers at the scars, and potential suitors turned away from the girls. Who would take a “plucked flower” as his wife, especially one with a scar? The fate of these ill-fated creatures shaded the other, unsightly side of court life, its underside. Behind the front facade were hidden tears and melancholy, insults and beatings, tyranny and violence, human tragedies and suicides invisible to the world. However, the subjects of the Qing Empire and the ambassadors of the “tributary” countries were supposed to see only the power and luxury, greatness and high morality of the Most August Lord - the ruler of the Celestial Empire and the supreme ruler of the whole world:

Hairstyles, and elegant dresses,

And precious stones in the braid,

And golden patterns on silks,

And a competition in brilliance and beauty.

Li Qingzhao (1081-1145)

(Translation by M. Basmanov)

We have all heard about harems, but Chinese harems and the life of concubines have their own amazing features. Many concubines, a special way of life and several examples of the amazing ascension of mistresses to the Imperial throne.

The imperial family should correspond to a service where several cups belong to one teapot. The Chinese harem was distinguished by a clear distribution of roles, the absolute influence of traditions and submission to the strictest instructions stemming from natural philosophical erotological theories and boiling down to maintaining a balance of yang (male) and yin (female) energies in the partner’s body.

It was believed that the predominance of yin over yang led to early aging of potency, and also influenced the weather, bringing with it torrential rains, earthquakes and other disasters. The Empress had the highest energy, but the Emperor could have sexual intercourse with her no more than once a month in order to produce the strongest offspring. The main one among the women in the palace was the empress, or the main wife of the Son of Heaven (huan hou), followed by four additional “wives” (fu ren) - each of them had a special title: precious (guifei), virtuous (shufei), moral (defei). ) and a talented (xianfei) concubine.

The emperor could have three lady favorites who occupied the first highest level, nine “senior concubines” or “concubines” (jiu bin) who occupied the second level; 27 “junior concubines” (shifu), which, in turn, were divided into: nine jie yu (maids of honor), nine mei ren (beauties) and nine cai ren (talents), occupying the third, fourth and fifth level, another 81 so called the “harem girl” (yu qi). They were also divided into three categories: 27 Bao Lin (precious wood) girls, 27 Yu Nü (imperial women) and 27 Sai Nü (women pickers), making up the sixth, seventh and eighth stages. During the last Qing dynasty, the emperor's concubines were divided as follows: huangguifei - concubine of the first rank, gui-fei - second rank, fei - third, bin - fourth, gui-ren - fifth, dain - senior maid of honor, changzai - junior maid of honor, and finally, servants - shine.

The number of imperial wives in the Xia Dynasty was supposed to be 12 (three taken four times). During the Shang-Yin dynasties, the sovereign was given 27 more (that is, three times nine) concubines, so that the emperor now had 39 wives and concubines. This number was also explained by the consideration that a woman’s age ends at forty. During the Zhou Dynasty, the number of female inhabitants of the imperial harem had already increased to 120. Each of them was required to be provided with her own home on the territory of the Imperial Palace. Each was assigned maids and eunuchs. Their number varied from dynasty to dynasty - the maximum number of maids provided to the Empress was 12, then concubines of the first category - 8, second category 6, third category - 4, ordinary concubines - 2. All of them lived together and therefore the number of women in the harems reached 40 thousand Human!

The ruler was entitled to four concubines of the 1st rank. They were called: precious venerable friend (guifei), kind venerable friend (x*yfei), beautiful venerable friend (lifei) and graceful venerable friend (huafei). Concubines of lower rank were called “exemplars” (yi), and there were six of them: an exemplary purity (shuyi), an exemplary virtue (deyi), an exemplary virtue (xianyi), an exemplary meekness (shunyi), an exemplary beauty (wanyi), and an exemplary fragrance (fangyi).

A concubine was chosen for the night like this - the Emperor had a huge vessel with jade tablets with the names and numbers of the concubines, as well as albums with drawings of the concubines. Numbers were assigned to all concubines, and the higher the number, the more shameful the concubine’s life was. There is a saying in China - she is the daughter of the fifteenth concubine, which roughly means our saying - the seventh water on jelly. By the way, intrigues in the harem were present in full force and some concubines could persuade the artist to paint the most beautiful concubines as ugly so that the Emperor would never choose them. Being in a harem and being a virgin was considered a mortal disgrace. The Emperor took out a tablet, beat the gong and silently gave the tablet to the eunuch, who noted in a special journal who the Emperor had chosen, the concubine was sent for, she was stripped naked (in order to avoid the presence of any weapons), washed, a cloak made of heron fluff was put on her and carried on their backs to the Emperor's chambers.

The concubine had the right to be in the chambers only for a certain time. If time ran out, the eunuchs sitting outside the doors shouted that time was up. Not a single concubine was allowed to stay until the morning; this was a privilege only for the wife.

All the Emperor's visits to his wife, the only woman to whom he could go himself and stay with her overnight, were recorded in a special journal.

The large number of concubines required increasing efforts to keep track of them. So, concubines who visited the Emperor’s bed were given a special seal on their palm, rubbed with cinnamon, and it was preserved forever. Without this seal, remaining in the harem was considered a disgrace for a long time. Pregnancy was the highest good and for this purpose any intrigues, bribes, even murders and secret abortions of already pregnant concubines were used.

Girls for harems were selected separately by specially trained people from among the daughters of governors and princes. At the age of 12-14, they passed the examination, which was arranged by the Emperor’s mother, and if successful, they entered the harem. However, knowing the terrible morals going on in harems, many parents deliberately mutilated their daughters or gave their daughters to maids instead. In addition to intrigue and walks in the garden, the concubines took care of their dressing and decoration every day - a concubine should always be ready to be called by the Emperor. High hairstyles - hair to hair were put in every day and pinned with a huge number of hairpins. No wonder the hairpin in China is considered a symbol of a woman. Wu Zetian is the first and only woman in China to rule the Empire for 15 years. On the left is how she was in life, on the right is how modern Chinese cinema sees her. As a concubine of Emperor Taizong, she showed too strong a nature and was exiled to a Buddhist monastery, but managed to become the mistress of the Emperor’s son, who later became the Emperor, Gaozong. She removed all competitors from her path, including the Emperor's main wife, and became his only woman. According to legend, Wu Tzetian strangled her own newborn daughter with her own hands, but pointed to the Emperor’s wife, for which the latter, who was never able to give birth, was punished and expelled. She also got rid of all competitors among her relatives by drowning them in wine and executing them in other ways. She expelled the Emperor's son and for many years ruled with a firm hand a country for which a woman on the throne was an unprecedented case.

Another concubine who reached the top of the board is also known - Cixi. She was unusually beautiful, and although the Emperor did not pay attention to her for a long time, she nevertheless dragged the aging ruler into her bed and charmed him so much with singing and dancing that he stayed with her for several days, thereby unimaginably raising her status. She gave birth to her only son, Tongzhi (and even then, according to legend, it was the son of one of the concubines, who was killed immediately after giving birth), and after the death of the Emperor, having eliminated all competitors, she herself ascended the throne.

Cixi was famous for her cruelty. One day she ordered cannon fire on a Catholic cathedral in which there were women and children. She brutally dealt with everyone who was against her rule. During the Boxer Rebellion, Cixi ordered the extermination of foreigners whom she considered a threat to ancient Chinese traditions. Foreign powers sent troops to save their citizens. The Empress fled. She lost money and power. Chaos began in the country. In her old age, Cixi became addicted to drugs. Topic views: 62, today: 62