The concubines, though favored by the king, had no children: An autopsy revealed the truth!

According to historical records, the number of ancient Chinese concubines who had children was not much. Did they really have to fight fiercely like in palace dramas?

In ancient times, women often did not hold power, suffered many social injustices and relied on men to advance. Therefore, the dream of many young women in the past was to enter the palace to become the emperor's concubines.

Many concubines became immortals thanks to having children. (Illustration: Sohu)

The ancient Chinese had a saying , 'mother's wealth and honor depend on her children' , which originated from the story of concubines relying on their children to support them. Many people even raised their status thanks to their children. If the child was chosen to succeed the throne, the biological mother would enjoy more glory and honor.

In fact, the number of concubines who could not have children was very large. Therefore, to clarify this concern, scientists examined the bodies of ancient concubines. The results they obtained surprised them greatly.

Due to excessive use of medicinal herbs

Many concubines chose to use medicinal herbs to keep their bodies young and beautiful. For example, during the Han Dynasty, Trieu Phi Yen wanted to have smooth, fragrant skin so she inserted a pill called ' huong co hoan' into her navel.

The main ingredients of this medicinal herb are deer antler, Korean ginseng and musk. Although it has beautifying effects, long-term use will affect a woman's fertility. In the end, because she could not have children, Trieu Phi Yen spent all day plotting to harm her pregnant concubines.

Trieu Phi Yen is willing to use toxic aphrodisiacs to stay young and beautiful. (Illustration: Sohu)

Like Trieu Phi Yen, many concubines were willing to use any means to harm pregnant women. Due to repeated miscarriages, along with the backwardness of medicine at that time, many concubines could not recover their health or fertility. Therefore, it was common for concubines to have difficulty conceiving children in these times.

By the emperor's favor

Although the harem had thousands of beauties, not all of them were favored by the king. Many had to endure loneliness for many years because they were not allowed to sleep with the emperor. In addition, even if they were lucky enough to be chosen, whether or not a concubine could become pregnant depended on the emperor's decision.

If the emperor did not want the concubines who had just entered the palace to become pregnant, he would have a way. The reason they did this was to avoid competition in the harem. Besides, many concubines were brought into the palace as a result of marriage alliances. Therefore, to avoid putting the country in danger, the emperor forced these marriage alliance concubines to absolutely not become pregnant.

Whether a concubine can become pregnant depends on the emperor's decision. (Illustration: Sohu)

By the concubine herself

This was often because the concubine herself was unable to conceive. Many concubines, despite living in luxury, had poor reproductive health, making it difficult for them to conceive despite being favored by the emperor.

Another reason is that even if he was able to sleep with his wife, if it was not the time when it was easy to get pregnant, the chance would be even harder. Furthermore, the emperor had more than 3,000 beauties, with such a large number, the chance of a concubine getting to sleep with her at the right time was even rarer.

Thus, the fact that concubines in ancient times, despite being favored, had no children was not entirely caused by the struggle between them. Through this, we also see the injustice towards women in ancient times when they could not seek happiness for themselves.