In the ancient imperial society, the emperor's concubines were related to the rise and fall of the country, so there was a corresponding system from the selection of beds to the bed, and there was even a special department in the palace. In addition, the ancients attached great importance to ethics and morality, especially in the palace, where concubines were passed down from generation to generation"Rites"It's even more important.
Before the Qing Dynasty, the emperor could do whatever he wanted in the dormitory, but in the Qing Dynasty, the emperor was the first to deal cards.
In the old era, most emperors' harems were extremely large, even thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, such a huge harem, except for a few emperors, it was extremely difficult to choose concubines, unlike the Qing Dynasty's ** system, there were many emperors who had new names.
1.Rotation position. This is a relatively fair lying position system, according to the circle of the moon, according to the level of the first half of the moon from low to high, the second half of the month from high to low lying position, the highest rank of the queen can be.
Ten. 5. 16 days on the self-lying position. However, despite the seeming fairness of this practice, few emperors followed it because the restrictions were too strict.
2. The sheep team travels. This is the method invented by Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, that is, he drove a sheep cart to wander aimlessly on the road of the harem, and whoever stopped at the door of the sheep cart would be served. This method was widely used during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and was also used by Emperor Wen of the Southern Song Dynasty.
3.Look for matches in the corner of the stands. Tang Xuanzong invented a way to get the concubines together every day, and then let them roll the dice, and the one who threw the best won and could sleep all night. What is special about it is that the eunuchs will use this way of rolling the dice, called"Standing Corner Matchmaker"。
4. The auspicious method of butterflies. In spring and autumn, Tang Xuanzong would let the harem women plant flowers outside the door, and Xuanzong himself would chase butterflies, whose butterflies fell outside whose door, whose concubines would spend a good night with whom. However, since Yang Guifei entered the palace, the harem has favored Yang Guifei and no longer uses the above two methods.
5. Merry arrows. This is the method invented by Tang Jingzong, which is a bamboo bow, with paper as an arrow, and the paper ** densely stores the dragon musk deer, and is oriented into the incense. The concubines gathered, Tang Jingzong shot arrows, the arrows not only did not hurt people, but also touched the body, and the concubines hit the bed.
6.Hanging lights. In the Ming Dynasty, concubines had the custom of hanging two red lanterns outside the gate of the palace where they lived at dusk. When the emperor chooses a place to live, the two lights on the palace gate will be lowered, indicating that the emperor has chosen the bed of the concubine. At this time, the eunuch in charge of the night patrol will be ordered to enter the palace, put down the lamp, and prepare for bed.
7.Flop. This was the practice of the Qing Dynasty, and each concubine in the harem had a green head card with the name of the concubine written on the card. The eunuch who prepares the meal will also first list ten or more green cards on a large silver platter called a meal plate. After the emperor finished eating, the eunuch knelt in front of the emperor and raised the plate. If the emperor is not interested, he said"Go away"。If the emperor is interested, he picks a card, fixes it, and walks away.
Generally speaking, before the Qing Dynasty, most emperors did as they pleased, and as a result, many concubines were not favored in the palace for many years, and even the emperor forgot about her existence. In the Qing Dynasty, this situation could be avoided by the ministers who first selected a certain range of concubines according to the records of the bed.
Bed-making process:"Rituals"Priority, restrictions are usually stricter.
The bedtime process of the Qing Dynasty was very unique. Before the Qing Dynasty, the emperor usually spent the night with his concubines, but in the Qing Dynasty, concubines were carried to the emperor's bedroom by eunuchs. In addition, there are many restrictions in the palace, even for couples.
1.Before going to bed, incense is placed in the palace. The emperor first arranged rooms in the palace where the concubines lived. This meant that the room had to be arranged by the eunuchs, and the eunuchs who slept the concubines had to be well-dressed. This is actually the same as arranging a new house (stove) for a civil marriage, because the concubines may not like the ceremonies of the civil marriage, but the necessary procedures still have to be performed. Burning incense refers to the emperor burning incense in the palace to make the aroma in the room hit people (this was forbidden during the Chongzhen period).
2.There are many rules for the bedchamber. In the old days, husband and wife sat in bed, called"Weekly Rites", which mainly focused on court etiquette, was particularly explicit in this set of systems. For example, the dragon bed must be perforated, the concubine must crawl out from under the emperor's feet, cannot lift the quilt like ordinary people, and must lie at the foot of the bed with her head down when she gets out of bed. Another example is the sleeping position, according to the ancient rules, a woman must sleep outside, on the one hand, to prevent her husband from falling out of bed, and on the other hand, to facilitate the woman to get out of bed and serve her husband. Another example is the relationship between heaven and earth, the emperor must be above, the concubines must be below, and must not touch the emperor's body, silence, time limit (Qing Dynasty), etc.
3.Necessary measures after sleep. As mentioned earlier, the issue of heirs is a matter of national survival, so there is a special department in the old palace that is responsible for managing this matter. After falling asleep, there is usually a special person who is responsible for recording information such as attendants and times, so that concubines can check when they are pregnant. If the emperor has no intention of impregnating his concubines, there will also be special personnel to carry out birth control measures to ensure that the emperor does not release dragon essences at will. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that concubines were not allowed to sleep in the emperor's bedroom after returning to the palace.
In short, in the ancient imperial society, as the heirs of the blood of the concubines of the harem have extremely strict regulations, most of the emperors before the Qing Dynasty can do whatever they want, the Qing Dynasty restrictions are particularly strict, and this is one of the important reasons why the Qing Dynasty emperors rarely prefer women.