A Day in The Life of an Imperial Concubine

Hey everyone, welcome to the Double Chen Show. I'm Dan. I'm Yif. We're coming at you with another ancient Chinese video, so here we go. I think you guys will really enjoy this because it's a subject that you guys requested and something I've always been interested in. We're talking about the imperial concubines of ancient China. A while back we actually made a video about the daily life of Chinese emperors and you guys really liked that, so you requested to know more about the imperial concubines of ancient China. There have been countless dramas and movies made about China's imperial harem, and it's a really fascinating subject that not a lot of people know about. I mean, it's like all the most beautiful ladies in China all living together. Who wouldn't be interested? Especially since the lives of the emperor's wives and concubines were often kept secret behind closed doors, what do they do all day? Do they just wait around for the emperor to visit them? Maybe play an ancient game of Mahjong? I mean, did they just walk around the ancient palace catching Pokemons all day? How do they entertain themselves? How much freedom do they really get? We're also curious, so we did some research and luckily a lot more information is now available because of the internet. Since the most accessible information was about the most recent dynasties, we're going to tell you guys a little bit about the lives of imperial consorts living during the Great Qing Dynasty. But before we get into all of that, here's a quick bit of history about China's imperial consort system. China's imperial consort system was first established in the Western Zhou period, which was around 1046 to 771 BC. This is China's third dynasty, so as you can see, this system was in place very early on. At that time, there was already the idea of the emperor and the empress representing the two parts of the universe, the heaven and the earth, as well as yin and yang. The man represented the heaven and yang, the woman represented the earth and yin. The role of the emperor was to rule and the role of his empress was to obey his commands. Remember, this is ancient China. Since the emperor is all-powerful and considered to be the father figure to his people, his wife, the empress, must be a mother figure and role model to all women across the country. Therefore, her conduct is strictly regulated so that she may remain a respectable figure. How well the emperor's family is managed is a direct reflection of how well his country is managed as a result. The rankings and regulations are heavily enforced in the imperial harem and amongst all consorts. They are also required to be morally outstanding, have a righteous heart, be kind, respectful, nurturing, and graceful. They must also embody the virtues of filial piety, frugality, and refrain from indulging in luxury. Oh, and on top of that, they should be talented and well-versed in poetry, dance, music, literature, instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting. What is this ancient Miss Middle Kingdom? Of course, it also helps if they're very good-looking, but mostly the other stuff. Only the best for the emperor and the best genes for his children. According to ancient Chinese texts, the emperor was to always have an abundance of wives and concubines surrounding him. In fact, the various consorts of the emperor were considered to be similar to his court officials. They were to have clear rankings and each must play her role well. The imperial consort system was far from complete when it was first put in place during the Zhou Dynasty, but it gradually became more formalized with each passing dynasty. When the Qin Dynasty gained control over China, it established an imperial harem and the number of consorts increased greatly compared to previous dynasties. By the last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, China's imperial consort system was extremely well-defined. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi from 1661 to 1722, there were eight official classes within the imperial harem, each with a specified headcount. I don't know what's up with these titles because they kind of sound like titles given to flight attendants. Because there was a good deal of flexibility afforded to the Qing emperor on how many consorts he could take, the difference between each emperor was huge. For example, Emperor Kangxi was said to have approximately 50 to 60 consorts, whereas Emperor Guangxu was known to have only two consorts apart from his empress. So back to our topic for today, what's it like to live as a Qing emperor's consort? Well, it depends because the experience does vary according to ranking. Obviously better if you're ranked higher because you are afforded your own living quarters with personal ladies and waiting. The higher your rank, the more people you get to take care of you. You also get better food and get to accompany the emperor on more occasions. You also get a better allowance, better clothes, jewelry, tableware. Basically, you're living the life. The bad thing is it can be a very lonely life and get to be quite boring. But the good thing is you're surrounded by luxuries and fun little activities to brighten your day. Entertainment. Let's start with entertainment. During their time off, which is when they're not accompanying the emperor at some sort of formal function, these ladies played a lot of games. Many of them enjoyed a nice game of Xiangqi or Chinese chess. They also like to play Zhipai or Chinese playing cards. Another unique game is Touhu, a game during feast, which the winner was decided by the number of arrows thrown into a distant pot. The consorts also really enjoyed using the swing. Yes, just the regular swing. And felt that swinging in the air was a semi-heavenly activity because they were flying in the air. Sort of. Similar to a Western court, the ladies of the Qing palace frequently watched musical performances. The famous Empress Dowager Cixi in particular was a big fan of the musical theater. Other activities included fishing, sightseeing, flower gazing, and raising puppies? Dogs were so popular at the Qing court that there was a special quarter in the harem to house the pets. There were also people specifically tasked to take care of them. At times, the palace housed more than 100 dogs. Emperor Dowager Cixi was also known to bring 10 of her favorite pets on her outings. Also, apparently, the Qing dynasty Manchurians were big fans of snow. During the winter, the emperor would even go play in the snow with his consorts, dressed in warm silks and furs. So, emperors can have fun. I know you probably think, I can do all these activities in one day. Now, keep in mind, this was a time where there was no TV or social media. There were no forms of electronic entertainment, and people lived generally at a slower pace. If you ask me, it was probably a good thing since many of the imperial Qing consorts lived to be over 90 years old. Now moving on to health and beauty. Speaking of longevity, Qing dynasty imperial consorts lived really long lives. And it's not by coincidence, these women understood that you need more than a pretty face and a nice personality to win over the emperor. You gotta outlive everyone, or at least accompany the emperor until his death. On top of regular meals, the consorts also ate things like bird's nest soup, honey, walnuts, pine nuts, wolfberries, sesame, and jujube. All these foods are known to reduce aging. They also ingested flour-based dishes such as rose, lotus, osmanthus, chrysanthemum, acacia flowers, magnolia. These ingredients help the consorts look better and feel more energetic. It's also pretty obvious that since pretty much every consort is talented, well-nourished, and naturally attractive, one had to pay extra attention to look nice in order to gain the emperor's favor. The consorts relied on natural remedies to enhance their beauty. For example, Qing dynasty consorts were very particular about hair care. They washed their hair using a blend of Chinese medicinal herbs such as chrysanthemum powder, and they also took Chinese medicine that improved hair quality. The Empress Dowager Cixi would even use different combs for different parts of her hair and scalp to properly distribute oil along the hair, maintain cleanliness, and improve blood circulation. As a result, she had a head of shiny black hair until her 70s! By the way, Cixi was famous for her beauty. She was selected amongst many young women as a teenager to enter the palace, and she was soon elevated to the title of Imperial Concubine. She bore Emperor Xianfeng's only son, and eventually became one of the most powerful women in the Qing dynasty court. Now let's talk about food. But of course, the Chinese put a lot of emphasis on achieving health and proper nourishment through food. The Qing dynasty courts were big foodies and tea drinkers, woohoo! They were meticulous about eating healthy food that also tasted good, and with the proper table setting and tableware. There were strict regulations in the court kitchens on the nutritional value and quality of the raw ingredients, what condiments to be used, the cooking temperature, and the table setting. Now is probably a good time to tell you guys that not all consorts got served the same food. Yes, the court kitchen is highly skilled, so any dish served probably tastes amazing, but the higher your title, the better your food, and more of it is served to you. For example, the Qing dynasty empress is served approximately 21 pounds of premium meat, 13 pounds of regular meat, 1 chicken, 1 duck, 4 liters of grain, 12 pounds of flour and sugar, 2 pounds of honey, 1 pound of dried fruits, 3 pounds of oil, 33 pounds of fresh vegetables, 66 pounds of milk, and 10 bags of tea per day! Not month, day. These were converted calculations from Chinese measurements, of course. And from there, each lower ranking gets slightly less. For example, an imperial noble consort will get less amounts than the empress, but still the same variety. However, a first class female attendant will only get around 5 pounds of premium meat and 2 pounds of regular meat every day, and 5 chickens per month. Still, nowhere near starvation. All the raw ingredients served in the imperial harem must be of highest quality, and are imported to the capital from all over the country. The militaries in each locale must offer the court a large quantity of a local delicacy. Depending on the locale, this could be deer, wild boar, bear, pheasant, tiger bone, pigs, salted fish, swan, raccoon, bear's paw, sturgeon, etc. In addition, the Qing dynasty royalty were big tea drinkers. The main drink within the palace was tea. At the time, the Zhejiang province produced the most tea, so the best kind would be offered to the imperial court and enjoyed by the consorts. The famous dragon well, Xihu Longjing tea, and Biluochun were enjoyed in the summer, whereas pu'er and other black teas were served in the wintertime. The rule of thumb is, the more yellow the china, the higher ranking of the consort. The empress and the empress dowager used all yellow china, whereas the imperial consort's dishes are yellow with green dragon print. The imperial concubine dishes are blue with yellow dragon print. Noble ladies get green dishes with purple dragon print. How do you keep track of all these colors? Fashion. Ah, this is my forte. Speaking of color indicators, it seems like status can often be seen in colors in the Qing imperial court. Same strict regulation and meticulousness that's seen in every part of the imperial Qing court, of course, applies to dress as well. At a formal ceremony, the emperor, the empress, and all imperial consorts must be appropriately dressed according to written rules. On these very formal occasions, the emperor and empress wear bright yellow, consorts wear golden yellow, and concubines wear champagne. This is so that everyone knows everyone's place immediately by looking at their clothes. The Qing emperor's consorts had four main types of robes for four different occasions. There's the formal or ceremonial lifu, which is worn when accompanying the emperor to worship the gods or ancestors, morning meetings, or large-scale ceremonies. There's the semi-formal jifu, which is worn for seasonal festivities, auspicious occasions such as feasts and the emperor's birthday. Then there's the ordinary changfu, which is worn to smaller worshiping ceremonies or to pay respect. And finally, there's the casual bianfu, which is worn when the consort is living in her own quarters during her free time. The Qing dynasty was ruled by Manchurians who were a fashionable bunch. During this era, the imperial clothing was colorful and adorned with intricate embroidery done by hand. Of course, the imperial consorts had many precious jewels for accessories, which they wore from head to toe, starting with headdresses, hairpins, earrings, necklaces, bangles, bracelets, rings, nail covers, yes, that's a thing, on their perfume bags, and so on. So there you have it, guys, a little peek into the lives of Qing dynasty imperial consorts. It does seem like they were materially satisfied, but as you can imagine, it can't be easy buying for the attention of the emperor amongst dozens, if not hundreds, of other women, and then trying to be the first one to have a son. Talk about pressure. I know, right? And also, if the emperor passes away, his consorts are pretty much sent to this area designated for widows, and that place isn't any fun at all. No more playing with puppies. You basically become a semi-monk because you make offerings to the gods every day and reflect about life after becoming a widow. Okay, if you can't play with puppies anymore, I mean, that's it. Like, I'll just move out. Well, not only puppies, they actually can't have any sort of fun because it's considered kind of like, wow, your husband died. Like, you're not supposed to be like, you know, like playing around every day. That's unfortunate because they can't get married to the next emperor because he's going to have his own set of imperial consorts. Exactly. So basically, the rest of their lives are like designated for mourning almost. That's only if the emperor dies early. Yes. Well, we try to find more precise schedules of the imperial consorts, but it's really hard to find a good source on that. I know. I've been looking in Chinese, but there's a lot of information about the emperor's schedule because it's well-documented, but really not that many people know that much about the specific schedule of imperial consorts. So let me ask you, Yi. Would you have liked to be an imperial consort? I'm going to say probably not because I feel like when I was very little, it's kind of like the Disney princess thing. You want to be a princess when you're a little, but when you grow up, you realize that actually most royals, they have so like they have a very strict schedule. They usually, especially for consorts, they don't really see their family and everything is, I mean, it's not super fun. Yeah, it seems like they have all the things they ever wanted materially, but I just feel like they're kind of bored maybe sitting around and all that boredom maybe leads to like some infighting because I hear a lot like each concubine wants their child to be the next emperor. Yes, and you see so many TV shows and movies made about it and I don't know how much that's exaggerated, but I can imagine like imagine hundreds and hundreds of women living in one spot and they're all vying for one man's attention and then after they have sons, right? And the ones who have sons are the ones who are very, they're promoted sort of because you know, that's the next, potentially the next emperor and then you have to decide which of those sons becomes the next emperor and then all of a sudden that's another thing and it's just it sounds like a lot of work. But it sure makes for good drama, right guys? Anyways, let us know what you think about this video and what you'd like to see more in terms of historical, cultural and educational videos about ancient China and check out some other videos that we made about traditional Chinese culture here. And also guys, we have a brand new channel where Mike, Yi and I play with awesome cool children's toys. Awesome. Yeah, check that channel out and we always really like making these historical and cultural videos for you guys and we try to get very accurate sources. So for this video, I actually did all of the calculations myself for the numbers and I'm not super good at math. So there might be some discrepancies. Please forgive us. We do try hard to make these as accurate as possible. That's right. Anyways guys, thanks so much for watching this episode. See you later. Bye.