The palace fighting drama of the Qing Dynasty has always aroused heated discussions and is deeply loved by everyone. In the harem of the Qing Dynasty, there was always a difference in rank between the concubines, and there was a very strict control. The Qing Dynasty had strict requirements for the selection, canonization, promotion and daily life of concubines, and the Qing Dynasty concubine system was a relevant system that they had to follow. For the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty, the concubine system was also a means of governance, which could stabilize the government through means such as the promotion of concubines.
The concubine system of the Qing Dynasty gradually improved over time, and there was a relatively long process of evolution.
There are more detailed records about the rank of concubines and the selection of concubines in the Qing Historical Manuscript: The Biography of the Concubines. During the reign of Houjin Nurhachi, the concubine system had not yet been established, and the wives and concubines at that time were called Fujin. During the Taiji period of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty, the concubine system was gradually improved. In the early days of the reign of Huang Taiji, five palaces were established, and the system of "one queen and four concubines" was established, in addition to the middle palace Qingning Palace, the East Palace Guanju Palace, the West Palace Lintoe Palace, the East Palace Yanqing Palace and the West Palace Yongfu Palace were also established. After entering the customs, Emperor Shunzhi decided to establish a ceremonial palace, and the name of the concubine became more. But this system was not really enforced, and the titles Fujin and Gege still existed.
Until the Kangxi period, the concubine system was truly perfected, and the titles of concubines such as Fujin and Gege completely disappeared. According to the "Qing Historical Manuscript: The Biography of the Concubine", starting from Kangxi, the concubines in the harem of the Qing Dynasty were divided into eight ranks, from bottom to top, they were promised, Changzai, nobleman, concubine, concubine, concubine, imperial concubine and queen. In addition to rank, there are also restrictions on the number of people. At the same time, the queen and the imperial concubine can only set up one person, two concubines, four concubines, and six concubines, and there is no limit to the number of people in the three ranks of nobles, permanent presence and promise. The status of the queen is the highest, and the imperial concubine is a concubine, while the nobleman, Chang Zai and the promise are only through the room, the status is low, and there is no official title.
The status of the concubine also corresponds to the pattern in the Forbidden City. Among the concubines, the queen has the highest status, living in the middle palace Kunning Palace, and the other concubines live in the "East and West Twelve Palaces", which are clustered on both sides of the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace. The six palaces in the east are: Jingren Palace, Chengqian Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace, Jingyang Palace; The six palaces in the west are: Yongshou Palace, Yikun Palace, Chuxiu Palace, Qixiang Palace, Changchun Palace, and Xianfu Palace. Each palace had palace maids for the concubines, and their food, housing, expenses and even clothes were strictly hierarchical.
After the death of Emperor Jiaqing, Emperor Daoguang promoted his father's widow to the throne, and the concubine was promoted to the imperial concubine, and Chang Zaijin was promoted to the imperial concubine. The act of ascending to the throne gradually became a common practice after ascending the throne and continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty.