With the popularity of costume film and television dramas in recent years, people's yearning for ancient court life has become increasingly high, and those beauties who have been favored by the emperor have become the objects of envy in people's hearts.
In TV series or **, the cold palace is a common scene. The place is often portrayed as eerie, eerie, and eerie, as if it were a creepy hell.
Once a woman is imprisoned here, within a few years, they will become withered, neither human nor ghostly. As frightening as the cold palace is, it has sparked the curiosity of many.
Even people who visit the Forbidden City will go out of their way to find this mysterious place and want to have a look.
Is the cold palace in history really as depicted in film and television works, full of the unjust souls of countless concubines? The earliest record of the cold palace appeared in the "Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", in order to pamper the beauty, King You of Zhou did not hesitate to send his wife Empress Shen into the cold palace.
Later, Empress Shen's father, Shen Hou, united with the Dog Rong people to invade the palace and kill King Zhou You, only to rescue Empress Shen from the cold palace.
From then on, when the concubines or queens of the harem made a mistake and were abandoned by the emperor, they were sent to a place known as the "cold palace". For many, the cold palace is often a dilapidated palace, isolated in a majestic palace, where concubines are transferred from their chambers if they make a mistake.
However, this is actually a kind of misleading film and television works, according to historical records, there was no specific palace called "Cold Palace" in all dynasties, and there was no similar place in the Forbidden City.
So, how will the concubines who make mistakes in the harem be dealt with?
The "cold palace" in the Forbidden City is not a concrete building, but a means of punishment, similar to modern house arrest. From the Ming Dynasty onwards, if the concubines of the harem violated the palace rules or angered the nobles, they would be transferred to some remote palaces, guarded day and night, and could not go out casually.
For example, although Concubine Wang Gong gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, she was not favored by the Wanli Emperor and was imprisoned in the remote Jingyang Palace for fifteen years, during which time she was unable to meet her son.
During the Apocalypse, the power of Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka clan reached its peak. Wei Zhongxian turned the clouds and rain in the previous dynasty, while the Hakka clan was rampant and domineering in the harem. Anyone who disobeyed her, whether a concubine or a court maid, was locked up in a secret room and not allowed to eat for days or even weeks.
Poor Concubine Li Cheng and others were forced to live in Qianxi, near the Imperial Garden, where the pregnant Concubine Zhang Yu eventually starved to death due to lack of food. In the Qing Dynasty, concubines who made mistakes were not exiled, but were confined locally.
Emperor Guangxu's concubine Zhen angered the Empress Dowager Cixi because of her bold actions, and as a result, she was locked up in her palace for many years.
1.The existence of the cold palace is not only to punish the palace people, the cold palace in history has also been used to deal with female political enemies. For example, Jia Nanfeng, the empress of the Western Jin Dynasty, after filling the political enemy Yang family**, also imprisoned the empress dowager Yang Zhi in the palace of Kim Yong Cheng, and finally the empress dowager of the Yang family starved to death in the cold palace.
These examples reveal the cruelty of the cold palace and the relentless oppression of women. 2.The harem woman who broke into the cold palace not only lost the emperor's favor, but also lost her own value.
Their lives were full of despair, food could only be passed through small windows, and they were even reprimanded by special eunuchs during the New Year's holidays. This kind of life takes a great toll on their bodies and minds, and eventually makes them look sluggish, like walking corpses.
3.The cruel treatment of the cold palace is not only a punishment for the palace people who have entered it, but also a denial of their status and value. Even if she was the wife of the emperor, once she was beaten into the cold palace, she would lose everything.
In the cold palace, they are deprived of their right to live, their living conditions are poor, and they are greatly tortured physically and psychologically. Such a cold palace is a cruel trampling on human nature and a ruthless deprivation of women's rights and interests.
In the court, the lives of the concubines who were imprisoned were often difficult and painful. Not only did they lose the treatment of concubines, but they also had to endure the bullying of slaves and eunuchs. Although the status of the abolished concubine in the cold palace is not as good as before, the years of concubine life have also accumulated a certain amount of wealth for them.
In order to live well in the cold palace, they must bribe the slaves who work as errands in the cold palace. Therefore, although the cold palace is not a good place, there are huge financial interests hidden in it.
In addition, the concubine who was confined in the cold palace also had a certain circle of friends, and these friends naturally would not sit idly by when they saw their old friends suffering. In their daily lives, they often received gifts, and these gifts also provided opportunities for the eunuchs in the cold palace to make a profit.
For example, after Empress Wanrong was beaten into the cold palace by Pu Yi, Li Yuqin, a blessed nobleman, often sent some food to Wanrong, and almost all of these foods were taken by the people around Wanrong.
Wanrong's mental state has fallen into madness, and even if she doesn't receive food, she can't change the situation. In addition, the eunuchs could also get some spiritual comfort from these deposed concubines.
Since the Ming Dynasty, the trend of "food" between eunuchs and palace maids has been very popular. Although these eunuchs were unable to live as husband and wife because they were castrated since childhood, they had a deeper longing for their family during their many years of court life, so they would also marry women in private to accompany each other and comfort their souls.
The concubines in the cold palace, because they were abandoned by the emperor for a long time, lived in an environment accompanied only by eunuchs, and over time, they developed a deep relationship with the eunuchs and formed a system of food.
Most of these concubines are well-educated, know etiquette, and have a dignified and beautiful appearance, so many eunuchs even rush to the cold palace to work as errands in order to be able to marry these waste concubines.
During the Qing Dynasty, the phenomenon of "opposing food" in the palace was strictly forbidden, mainly for two reasons. On the one hand, the life of the concubines in the cold palace is subject to many restrictions, and they can't even meet with the palace people who serve them, which also restricts the phenomenon of "eating together".
On the other hand, in order to avoid intermarriage between the banner people and the Han people, the Qing Dynasty court strictly prohibited the phenomenon of "eating against each other" in the palace. In this era, whether it is a lady or a common person, it is often difficult for women to control their own destiny, even if they are concubines, their honor, disgrace and life and death are completely controlled by the emperor.
Therefore, the epilogue "Life is not a woman's body, and a hundred years of bitterness and happiness are left to others." It is a true portrayal of the living conditions of women in feudal society.
In the past, they were dressed in brocade clothes, tasted jade food, and served by thousands of people, seemingly rich and noble, but in fact they were only imprisoned in the deep palace compound, and a word or action could cause dissatisfaction with the power and fall into endless darkness.
On the other hand, in our modern society, everyone has the opportunity to live like a real "person", have their own career, future, and move forward fearlessly towards their dreams.