Chronicles of the Emperor's Harem Life

Author: Xiang Si
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: This book comprehensively showcases the entertainment life, life stories, and anecdotes that occurred in the palaces of various dynasties. With detailed historical records and vivid writing, it narrates the daily lives, intimate relationships, favorite customs, eunuch systems, palace entertainment, concubine systems, and other little-known domestic secrets of emperors and imperial courts throughout Chinese history. It tells real stories and presents a strange world. Chapters in the World – Emperors Who Grew Up in the Deep Palace
Part 1: The Empress Dowager – A Special Role in the Deep Palace
Chinese emperors, driven by the need for pleasure and the desire to expand the imperial lineage, established large harems with countless beautiful concubines. The imperial palaces were their homes, and all women in the palace, except the empress dowager, could be favored by the emperor, forming a broad sense of their wives. The women in the palace could be summoned by lustful emperors at any time, and they could become pregnant and give birth at any moment. With many people and complicated affairs, there was no fixed routine, so the palace had to be prepared for various matters at all times, such as selecting wet nurses, preparing midwives, and medical attendants. During the Ming Dynasty, the palace had established a system where the government would send people to the suburbs every year to select good wet nurses, midwives, and medical attendants. The Chinese imperial court had strict regulations for wet nurses, midwives, and medical attendants, and the selection process was also complex.