People are always curious about the lives of ancient concubines, how did the women in the deep palace spend their daily lives?In fact, the daily life of ancient concubines is far more busy and interesting than you think.
First of all, we have to understand the work and rest time of the concubines. In ancient times, the imperial palace had strict rules, early in the morning, with the arrival of morning light, the concubines had to get up within the specified time, dress up, and then go to the designated palace to participate in the morning dynasty.
The makeup and clothing of the concubines were very important, and they were usually groomed and powdered by professional court maids, combed their hair in a bun, and beautified themselves with various spices. In addition to makeup, the costumes of the ancient concubines were also very gorgeous, and they wore a variety of gorgeous clothes and accessories, such as phoenix crowns, gold and silver jewelry, etc., which were finely made and used exquisite materials to show their status and dignity.
In the morning, they would return to their palace rooms, enjoy the breakfast prepared by the palace ladies, and then begin to deal with various palace affairs. These affairs may include managing court ladies, arranging court banquets, sewing clothes for the emperor, and so on.
In the process of handling official duties, they also need to carry out various social activities with other concubines, hold cultural activities such as tea tasting parties and flower viewing parties, invite other concubines and princesses to chat with tea, enjoy flowers and listen to **, play various musical instruments, and enjoy the dances and other cultural programs performed by the palace ladies.
The lives of ancient concubines were not all serious and solemn, and they also had their own leisure and entertainment side. Among them, raising pets and playing games is one of their common forms of entertainment, and the concubines will keep a variety of pets, such as cats, dogs, birds, etc., to add interest to the life of the deep palace, and will also participate in various game activities, such as playing cards, playing chess, guessing riddles, etc.
At the same time, they will also learn a variety of handicrafts and talents, such as embroidery, weaving, painting, dancing, playing the piano, etc., in order to increase their charm and talent, communicate and learn from each other in the learning process, learn new knowledge and find the meaning of life.
In the afternoon, the concubines would take a walk in the garden or do some physical exercise, or take a nap indoors to prepare for the evening's activities.
Evenings are the busiest time for the concubines. They would participate in various banquets, balls, opera performances and other activities, showing off their talents and beauty to win the favor of the emperor, and at the same time making various friends and sharing interesting stories about each other's lives.
Secondly, in addition to the daily palace affairs and dinners, the ancient concubines would be arranged to participate in various celebrations and festivals, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc., during these festivals, they would wear gorgeous costumes, participate in dragon and lion dance performances, fireworks viewing and other activities.
Finally, if we divide them according to the four seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, the way they pass the time will also be different:
Spring flower appreciation, flower making, spring banquet and singing and dancing. Spring is the season of flowers, and the concubines can enjoy the blooming of various flowers, or go on a tour to appreciate the beauty of nature, and can also learn to make flower wreaths, flower baskets and other floral works, and decorate their palaces with flowers or give them to others. In addition, a spring banquet is held in the palace, where concubines can participate in the banquet and enjoy wonderful singing and dancing performances.
Summer recreation, chilled food, swimming and splashing. In the hot summer, the concubines will escape the heat in a cool place, such as going to the garden of the harem, the pavilion and other places to rest and enjoy the coolness, taste a variety of chilled fruits, cold drinks and other delicacies, enjoy the coolness of summer, in the harem with a pool, the concubines can swim or play in the water, and enjoy the fun of summer.
In autumn, you can enjoy the moon and autumn leaves, make swings, and collect autumn fruits. Autumn is the season when the moon is the brightest and the autumn leaves are the most beautiful, and the concubines can enjoy the bright moon and beautiful autumn leaves, collect various autumn fruits such as persimmons and chestnuts, make jams, sweets and other delicacies, and use the swings to kill time and exercise.
In winter, warm wine and tea, handicrafts, reading and learning, listening to music and operas, building snowmen and having snowball fights. Winter is a good time for tea and drinking, and concubines will taste warm wine and tea, learn to weave, embroidery, painting and other crafts, and make knick-knacks to decorate their palaces or give them to others. For those concubines who love to learn, winter is a good time to read books and learn knowledge, and there are usually special musicians and opera troupes in the palace to perform ** and opera for the concubines. If it snows, the concubines can also build snowmen, have snowball fights, etc., and enjoy outdoor activities in winter.
In short, the life of the ancient concubines was not as boring as we imagined, their lives were very full and interesting, and they could have different activities to pass the time, which not only kept them physically alive and spiritually satisfied, but also found their own value in the deep palace.