Discover the life of concubines in the Tang Dynasty's 'harem'

No matter how they are treated, the concubines in the harem will mostly live in loneliness.

The Tang Dynasty in feudal China was a dynasty that practiced humanization, which was clearly demonstrated in the treatment of women. If women felt dissatisfied with their marriage, they had the right to divorce, and could even negotiate a divorce. In terms of clothing, they could also wear men's clothes, and more specifically, they could wear sexy clothes that showed off their attractive curves.

How to treat your concubines

Typically, during the Tang Dynasty, the emperor's concubines could build their own residences, if they needed money, they would have money, if they needed servants, they would have servants, they did not have to stay in the palace all day to serve the emperor. The most noteworthy thing was the system of sleeping with the emperor that was regulated in the Tang Dynasty palace. Although the time still had to be arranged, the person still had to be chosen and followed the rules, it was still considered a typical example of humanization in ancient feudal society.

Concubines and beauties in the harem.

In order to manage such a large "army of concubines" , the leader had to implement a hierarchy system, dividing concubines and palace maids into 8 levels and managed similarly to officials. The Queen was considered the national mother, second only to the Emperor, and was in charge of managing the harem. Next, the concubines were divided into the following levels:

• The first rank is the wife, including: Noble Consort, Thuc Consort, Duc Consort, Hien Consort.
• The second rank includes nine concubines: Chieu Nghi, Chieu Dung, Chieu Ai, Tu Nghi, Tu Dung, Tu Ai, Sung Nghi, Sung Dung, Sung Ai.
• The three main categories include the Jieyu.
• The four main products include Beauty.
• The Five Ranks have three levels of Talents, each level consists of nine people, forming a unified group called the Twenty-Seven Worldly Parents.
• The sixth grade includes Bao Lam.
• The seventh rank is the Imperial Lady.
• The eighth rank is the Royal Lady, consisting of three levels, each level has 27 people combined, called the Eighty-One Royal Wife.

The arrangement is usually decided before the 15th of each month, when the moon is getting fuller and brighter. Therefore, from the 1st to the 15th, the arrangement will be from the lowest position, the royal wife, to the highest position, the queen, and from the 16th onwards, it will be reversed, starting from the highest position to the lowest.

Life of palace maids in the Tang Dynasty

Although the hierarchy of the harem had changed a lot by the end of the Tang Dynasty, the basic content remained the same. The work of the palace maids was divided very clearly and in detail. The female officials with high ranks made up a very small number of the palace maids in the harem. The rest were ordinary palace maids who had to do very hard manual labor, rarely had the opportunity to interact with high-ranking concubines, and even less had the chance to meet the emperor. Even after these palace maids died, there were no tombstones, so no one knew about their lives.

The way the maids entered the palace would determine their status in the harem. Most of the maids were from the mortal world. Those who were recruited into the palace from decent families and had good moral qualities would have the opportunity to be promoted to female officials in the palace. The rest were captured into the palace because they or their family members committed crimes. Their status was the lowest, and they often had to do things like embroidery, sewing, washing, cooking, etc.

Hundreds of thousands of women serve only one man.

In addition, there were a small number of palace maids who were presented to the palace by vassal states, local officials or princesses. These people would naturally have special talents, easily receiving the emperor's attention and were often promoted to be concubines, but they were also often spies by the emperor's side for those who presented them.

The daily work of the palace maids was very hard, from early morning to late at night. The important task of the palace maids was to serve the king and the concubines. In order to satisfy the needs of a comfortable and luxurious life for the masters, the scope of their work included taking care of food, accommodation, clothing, and transportation.

Although it was hard, in the Tang Dynasty, the emperor placed great importance on the training of palace maids, so there was a school in the harem specifically for palace maids to read books. They were also regularly educated and nurtured in knowledge of culture, music, art and skills, so the qualities of the palace maids of the Tang Dynasty were relatively high. Among them was the historically famous Shangguan Wan'er, a powerful right-hand man who assisted Wu Zetian.