In ancient times, there was no market in the palace, so where did the concubines spend their monthly money?

There was no market in the palace to buy and sell, but the concubines of the Qing Dynasty spent a lot of money every month. Where did they spend it?

The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history. This dynasty lasted nearly 300 years and culminated in the " Kang-Qian prosperous period " with the reign of three talented emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong . In fact, many historical dramas were made about this dynasty.

The Qing emperors had many concubines in their harem. During this dynasty, the hierarchy in the harem was also clearly established. The number of empresses, concubines, noble ladies, etc. were all specifically regulated.

Accordingly, in the Qing Dynasty's harem, there was only allowed to be one empress, one imperial concubine, two imperial concubines, four concubines, and six concubines. When these concubines died or made mistakes or were demoted, others could be promoted to replace them. In addition, lower ranks such as nobles, concubines, and eunuchs often had no specific limit on the number.

The Qing Dynasty harem had a rule that there could only be one empress.

During the Qing Dynasty, concubines in the harem were divided into different ranks. Therefore, the dynasty also had regulations on the standards for promotion in the palace. If a concubine gave birth to a prince, this could be an important "achievement" for the emperor to promote them. In addition, the status of the family also determined the standards for concubines to be promoted in the harem.

The beauties in the Qing emperor's harem were mostly selected from the descendants of the Manchu Eight Banners between the ages of 13 and 17. In addition, there were also Han and Mongolian girls who were selected to enter the palace. Being selected to enter the palace was not easy, but being promoted in a place full of beauties with great family backgrounds was even more difficult.

The concubines in the palace were all carefully selected. They were all beautiful and most came from families of high status.

The different levels of concubines in the Qing Dynasty's harem also determined each person's income level, food standards, number of servants, living environment, etc. were different.

For example, in terms of basic income, the empress receives about 1,000 taels of silver per year , and the imperial concubine receives 800 taels of silver. In addition, each imperial concubine receives 600 taels of silver, the concubines receive 300 taels, and the concubines receive 200 taels of silver. The remaining nobles are granted 100 taels of silver, those in ordinary positions receive 50 taels of silver, and finally those who meet the requirements receive 30 taels of silver per year.

Of course, this is just the basic income of the concubines. Because their income is not fixed. If on a big holiday, a concubine's birthday or when a prince is born, the emperor will give these beauties an additional bonus. The amount of the bonus depends on the emperor's mood.

With the above amount of money, along with bonuses and benefits, the income of the concubines in the palace seems to be not small, but they have to spend a lot. In fact, there is no market in the palace. So, if the concubines are not allowed to leave the palace, where do they spend their money every month?

Where do the concubines in the palace spend money?

According to historical records, the emperor's salary and money were all used by the concubines to pay for their daily needs.

First, invest in dressing up and beautifying yourself.

Investing in clothing was also a way for concubines to impress the emperor.

The most important thing for the concubines every day was to wait for the emperor's favor. Of course, to attract the emperor's attention, these beauties always had to dress beautifully and pay attention to their beauty.

In reality, although they were provided with costumes and jewelry according to their rank, not all concubines were satisfied with these items. To impress the emperor, concubines would choose or tailor for themselves extravagant, outstanding costumes.

At that time, although there were not many big fashion or cosmetic brands, there were still some high-end products. Concubines could spend money to have their clothes made from high-quality fabrics given by the emperor. In addition, they could also spend money on hiring their own jewelry makers, or on ordering cosmetics made from rare materials. Obviously, both buying the materials and sending people to make them required money.

Second, spend money on eunuchs and maids to listen for information.

The struggle for power in the harem was not easy. Therefore, concubines often had to spend a lot of money to bribe servants and listen to information.

In addition to investing in beauty and gorgeous clothes, concubines in the Qing Dynasty's harem also had to spend a lot of money bribing servants, including palace maids and eunuchs.

Accordingly, these beauties often sent eunuchs or palace maids to inquire about the emperor's news in order to find a way to approach him. In particular, they also had to "spend" a lot of money to bribe the emperor's close eunuchs to increase their chances of being favored. These eunuchs might say a few good things about that concubine in front of the emperor when the occasion was right.

The concubines also tried to spend a large amount of money to attract high-ranking mandarins in the court to create a solid foundation in the power struggle in the harem and help the family consolidate its position.

Third, spend money on buying things that are not in the supply.

Concubines giving people non-traditional items to buy was also a way to attract the emperor's attention.

Some concubines in the harem also spent money every month on eunuchs and maids to buy items that were not available in the palace for entertainment purposes. Although palace items were periodically distributed to concubines according to their ranks, not everything was available.

Life in the palace was also quite boring with many rules, so some beauties also had the need to find new objects outside of the common people to relieve stress. At the same time, these could also be items that attracted the emperor's attention.

Finally, spend a lot of money to reward eunuchs and palace maids.

The life of concubines in the Qing Dynasty's harem was not as simple and easy as what people often see in movies. In fact, the monthly expenses they had to pay were very high.

For example, rewarding eunuchs and maids during holidays and Tet is very expensive. If concubines are rewarded with too little money, they will be considered stingy by the servants, and as a result, these people will not work with dedication and loyalty. On the contrary, if they are rewarded with too much money, the beauties will not be able to manage because life in the palace requires a lot of spending.

Furthermore, on holidays, Tet, or the birthdays of the leading figures in the harem such as the queen mother, the queen, especially the king, the concubines also had to spend a lot of money to prepare luxurious gifts to increase their chances of promotion.