Palace maidens were not married during the Qing dynasty, why?

During the Qing Dynasty, not all palace maidens were favored. Therefore, there were a few poor palace ladies all their lives, from blue hair to gray hair, who did not meet the emperor once.

In ancient China, Emperor Zhisun himself had Jiangshan, and the 3000-stage harem was enjoyed by the emperor alone. Women in the palace did not all have the good fortune to be graced by the emperor. Therefore, there were a few poor palace ladies all their lives, from blue hair to gray hair, who did not meet the emperor once.

To avoid such a situation, later emperors annually allowed palace ladies of a certain age to marry. However, even if these palace girls are released, they will eventually have to live a lonely life until old age. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, many people did not want to marry palace maidens who were released from the palace, why was that?

It was a glorious thing to enter the palace, if they were lucky enough to be graced by the emperor, then they could become the emperor's concubines. That whole family will be able to become princes of the kingdom. For the whole clan, this is a great blessing. This is a glorious and proud affair for the whole clan, so recruiting is a very strict affair.

By the Qing Dynasty, as long as the daughters of the Eight Qi Dynasty were of the right age, they were allowed to marry. As long as a daughter has not been recruited, she is not allowed to marry on her own. The selected maidens, in addition to those with outstanding appearances, could be made concubines of the emperor, the rest would all become palace maidens. Their main job was to be in charge of serving the emperor and the masters in the harem.

Once the maidens were recruited into the palace, in addition to those who caught the eye of the emperor to become concubines, the other maidens were all sent as palace maidens. Servants in the palace for a long time, before the Qing Dynasty, in other dynasties, unless they were fortunate enough to meet the emperor who was favored, otherwise, even if they did not meet the emperor all their lives, they would have to stay in the palace as palace maidens.

It was not until the years of King Shunji of the Qing Dynasty that palace girls up to a certain age would be released for marriage. During Kangxi's years in office, 30-year-old palace girls would be allowed to be discharged, while in the Yongzheng period, 25-year-old palace women would be allowed to be discharged. Meanwhile, in ancient times, girls before the age of 15 had to be married, usually around 12-14. Wait until these palace girls are released, it's already 30.

These palace ladies served in the palace for many years, they had seen enough of the royal wealth, had also met many princes and princes, seen the seriousness of the attendants, and were accustomed to the brocade of jade rice in the palace. After being released from the pulse, how can anyone catch their eye anymore?

But those noble princes who could catch their eye, there was no one who didn't belong to the dragon phoenix line. If you want to be married to these people, it is not the turn of these 30-year-old palace girls? Moreover, there is no one over 30 years old who is not married. Therefore, these palace girls are tall and short, so it is even more difficult to marry.

The harem is where women gather, where there are many women, there are many towns. They want to stand firmly in the palace must also always raise their vigilance. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will not be able to endure the torment of dying and resurrecting here. Every day, in addition to having to work hard, they also have to devote themselves to serving their master, if their master is not happy, he will scold them, and he will lose his life.

Not only that, but they also have to watch the night. Living in such an environment for a long time, they can survive is very lucky, even if they can live to be released from the palace, then most of their health has weakened, carrying many diseases. Already an "old girl with a husband", having lost the absolute advantage of age, now added to bad health, so who would want to marry such a person? In ancient times, not to mention that they had not yet been ordained, moreover, even if they were married, as long as their bodies were sick, the husband's family would still use that as a reason to leave their wives.

In ancient times, due to the relatively low human life expectancy, women in their 30s, wanting to give birth was also a difficult problem. Moreover, they have to live in psychological stress, work hard for a long time, the body has suffered from many diseases, and childbirth is even more difficult. Everyone knows that in ancient China, people attached great importance to children, it can be said that children are the hope and continuation of the whole clan. So no matter which house they marry, if they can't have children, they will be evicted.

It is often said: "Entering the palace is as deep as the sea" but these palace maidens after leaving the palace, the future is even "deeper than the sea". They lived alone in the middle of life. Even if you escape the harem, you still have to live miserably all your life. Perhaps, this was their fate, the moment they entered the threshold of the palace, their fate was already determined. This was also the pity of the daughter in her time.

A series of rare color photos from the late Qing Dynasty: Revealing the beauty of palace maids, a big surprise Thiên Di17:20:32 27/12/2023Rare photos reveal many interesting stories about the Qing Dynasty. With very realistic colors and images, the set of photos captures all types of people and different professions in the late Qing Dynasty.