The daily life of the Qing emperors has been a topic of conversation for many. Their daily life, diet, work and rest all arouse people's curiosity. However, what you may not know is that the Qing emperors had a unique morning Xi known as "Chonglonggou". This Xi is not only related to the emperor's oral hygiene, but also closely related to the fate and interests of the palace ladies. So, what exactly does "Chonglonggou" mean?
Chonglonggou actually refers to the emperor's Xi of rinsing his mouth with tea after waking up, a tradition that originated in the Ming Dynasty and continued into the Qing Dynasty. Why tea?Because tea has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, eliminating bad breath, and preventing tooth decay. As the lord of the world, the emperor must always maintain his majesty and dignity, and must not allow bad breath or defective teeth to exist.
Therefore, every morning, the emperor would delicately rinse his mouth and wash away impurities and bacteria in his mouth with hot tea, which is the origin and meaning of "Chonglonggou".
For the emperor, "Chonglonggou" was a necessary measure to maintain oral cleanliness and health. However, for the ladies of the court, it was a special service.
How so?Because the palace maid who gave the emperor "Chonglonggou" not only had the opportunity to get close to the emperor, but also could get the emperor's reward, and could even use the tea after the emperor's gargle to make a second realization.
This became a coveted benefit for the palace ladies. They rushed to sign up, eager to "rush the dragon ditch" for the emperor. There are three main reasons: first, it is an opportunity to get close to the emperor and change his fate.
As women elected to the palace from the people, they have a low status and have no freedom, dignity and happiness. Their only way out was to get the emperor's attention and become the emperor's concubine or nobleman. However, the emperor had many concubines and nobles, and they could not take care of each of them, so the palace ladies could only seize every opportunity to get close to the emperor, hoping to arouse the emperor's favor.
Giving the emperor "Chonglonggou" is such an excellent opportunity. At this time, the emperor had just woken up, undisturbed, in a relaxed mood, and more easily moved. The ladies of the palace respectfully presented tea and let the emperor rinse his mouth, which may win the emperor's admiration, and even be summoned to the palace to spend the night of pleasure. This made the palace ladies full of hope for a change in fate. In fact, many palace maids won the favor of the emperor because of "rushing the dragon ditch" for the emperor and became concubines or nobles, such as Emperor Qianlong's concubine Fucha, who was favored by the emperor for this reason.
Secondly, the court maid could receive the emperor's rewards, such as gold and silver jewelry, clothing and jewelry, delicacies, etc. The life of the ladies of the court was quite hard, their salaries were meager, all aspects of life were severely restricted, they did not have any personal property, and they could not enjoy entertainment.
Their only pleasure is to be rewarded by the emperor and improve their lives a little. "Rushing the dragon ditch" to the emperor became a perfect opportunity for them to obtain these rewards. For at this time, the emperor was in a good mood and generous, and might express his gratitude or approval, and give him some gold and silver treasures, clothing and jewelry, or delicacies.
Finally, the palace maids could use the tea after the emperor's gargling for secondary use, such as selling it to outside merchants or eating it themselves. Because the tea used by the emperor was a high-class tribute, it had a high value. Therefore, giving the emperor "Chonglonggou" can bring unexpected economic benefits to the palace maids.
In general, although "Chonglonggou" seems ordinary, it played a very special service in the Qing court.
It is not only related to the emperor's oral hygiene, but also directly affects the fate and interests of the palace ladies. In order to "rush the dragon ditch" for the emperor, the palace ladies did not hesitate to give everything, some got glory and wealth, some earned gold and silver treasures, but some were plagued by tragic ends.