THE QING DYNASTY HAREM SYSTEM - IMPERIAL CONCUBINES DOCUMENTARY

In this short History of China documentary, I explain how the Qing dynasty's harem system was set up, functionned, and came to an end. Using historical examples, I expose the differents ranks of the imperial concubines.
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= MUSIC =
Joy and Peace (Guzheng)
Chinese Traditional Bamboo Flute Music
Civilization V - Wu Zetian Peace Theme
The Han Palace under the Autumn Moon (Erhu)
= VIDEO CREDITS =
The Legend of Zhen Huan (2011)
Choosing a Chinese Emperor’s Bride Required Intense Scrutiny (Smithsonian Channel)
The Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)
The Burning of Imperial Palace (1983)
The Last Emperor (1987)
= MAIN SOURCES =
Empresses of China’s Forbidden City, 1644-1912, Daisy Yiyou Wang & Jan Stuart, (2018)
Life inside the Forbidden City: how women were selected for service, Marcelo Duhalde, (2018)
= TAGS =
qing dynasty concubines
qing dynasty harem
chinese imperial harem system
chinese harem system
china harem documentary
imperial concubines documentary
Introduction: (0:00)
History: (00:55)
Selection process: (02:07)
Ranks: (04:20)
Promotion: (09:35)
Daily life: (10:35)
Emperor's death: (11:28)
End of the system: (12:06)

[@History_of_China]

Correction : at 09:24, Emperor Kangxi's grandmother's name was not Xiaokangzhang (who was Kangxi's mother), but Xiaozhuang. The picture used is however correct. Apologies.

[@Aseandonjuan]

It should be concubine. Harem is muslim ottoman term. K?

[@electroandcake6658]

@@Aseandonjuan I dont know why is it called harem because you are right its an Arabic world. But women in a "muslim" harem are also called concubines.

[@tweewin]

Concubines = the emperor's women in the system who serve him in bed, under the Queen as the top leader. The system itself is called "harem". In China, it's called "The Rear Palace System". You can see it's a mouthful, so the word "harem" is borrowed to describe these types of systems in other non-Arabic cultures. In Chinese characters, it is "後宮制度" or Vietnamese translation is "Hậu Cung". You can also see which one is easier to use as an easy descriptive word for the system.

[@cherrybello]

Um, Empress Xiaoyichun was never a Lady in Waiting, she entered the palace as Noble Lady. Supposedly she attended to Empress Xiaoxian for a period of time to learn proper palace rules and manners before being allowed to serve the Emperor.

[@sean7891233]

Thanks HOC for being on the ball 😊👍

[@shaunnazari1961]

500 years and 20 kings in forbidden city from Ming dynasty to Qing dynasty!!! imagine if those walls could to talk, what great and sad stories we could hear from all those ladys in there!!!!

[@noreenkhan6915]

Wow

[@yellowlemon8765]

Sad? I'd rather have the lives of those women. Your husband is doing the actual work. Maybe not so much on the attendants since they have to follow another person all day but to those who are ranked at least #6 (noblewomen), all you need to do is just make your man happy then once that is checked you can look for entertainment. Play boardgames all day? Watch pets? Find entertainment? I don't see how that's sad at all.

[@shaunnazari1961]

@@yellowlemon8765 Good luck with that until you find yourself in rivalry, jealousy, scheming and many other things in the closed community!!!! one lady in many could have power and others must be under someones else's wing otherwise they could lose everything and many of them lost their life because of that.!!! and your husband is not only yours!!! and not only that, he is your master and one small mistake could cost your life but as i said in the beginning good luck with that.

[@IGUniverse]

The sad thing is that they where mayoritie But their lives we're not considerate important and we're not propertly recorded in their history

[@IGUniverse]

I would love to heard about the life of servants they do such a hard work and lived lolenly and always head down that can't be a good life...

[@fakyu9346]

Imagine born in a Noble family only to be servant in the Forbidden City

[@AlohaKavebear]

Usually the servants were lesser banner families not really a noble family like the European sense. Manchu banner system included all Manchu clans and families and included Mongols and also some Han Chinese families. The families of upper banner men were married off to princes or other noble families

[@ktttttt]

It was considered a great honour because you would be helping your family, both financially and in society, especially if you won the emperor's favour. It was, however an extremely lonely life.

[@peterwindhorst5775]

It also happened at Versailles under Louis the Sun King - a Duke could be reduced to nothing more than "the guy that puts the king's coat on."

[@magical11]

If I remember correctly, most royals, including European, had ladies-in-waiting from noble families. They weren't servants per say, but attendants/companions.

[@aislingyngaio]

@@magical11 Names of the position aside, it's pretty much meant to serve the same role - to preserve the hierarchy of power.

[@Life-oo2tr]

I'm watching Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace at the moment. The scheming to gain Emperor Qianlong's favor or to get their son to be crown prince is never ending. Although the women come from noble families, it is a sad life they live.

[@andia968]

Where can i watch ruyi , what app or website.thx!

[@kingstontahau2302]

The concubine jia is the one of korean heritage

[@bonniemcminn1710]

Love ALL the Chinese historical fiction series!! Ruyi is one of my favorites

[@kelilahqetsiyah6925]

@@Life-oo2tr I have been watching many good Chinese series on Netflix. I have learned a lot about the historical Chinese Empires, the life styles of the regal & "commoners" as they call them, and I have found these series to have really good story lines. I also enjoy the clothing of that time, i.e. 1100 B.C. on down. I found the woman's garments & head dresses to be extremely beautiful. What was impressive was that their regal livelihoods were universal throughout China. It's been a good experience watching these series.

[@Jigzzzy90]

Its also on youtube as well

[@tenkenryujin295]

I honestly never found those supposed romantic story to be romantic. Their life are sad no matter how the tv sugarcoating it. It’s still pretty sad. Living life just waiting for a person attention. The main wife must suffer a lot. Imagine picking your husband mistress...

[@zaakirahriley4504]

Yeah almost like handmaidens where your wife must sit in on the actual event

[@cestalia]

Lmao, it's also ended up being political. Basically if you don't have someone backing you up, you better stay low or you're as good as dead

[@electroandcake6658]

my thoughts exactly even some middling woman with arranged marriage must have had a better life than this . altho even middle class men could have multiple wifes at the time ....one of my favourite morevus is Raise the Red Lantern 🏮....kind of similar situation for women...even if its only 4...

[@jenaz199124]

I’m not sure why you would consider those dramas to be romantic in nature and sugarcoating life. Those dramas are presenting the sad lives of women who live as members of the royal family. Most of them die by the end of the dramas.

[@electroandcake6658]

@@jenaz199124 they are not romantic per say (altho some are ) but they do place romance in the centre of the story....relationships between women and men and their fight for love with someone. So in a way they are romantic .... But I agree with you that it only highlights the misery of those women ...

[@sunbrosolaire3952]

This is the best series on Qing history ever, from the precise pronunciation of Chinese to the visuals and overall precision! As a student who is writing his bachelor's degree in Sino Russian relations, I would love an episode on the Noard of Rites, the Li-Fan Yuan and the two border treaties of Nerčinsk and Kiakhta

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for your comment, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I've talked about the treaty of Nerčinsk in my Kangxi video, and maybe will do a video about the Three Departments and Six Ministries, and about how the Qing dynasty oversaw the integrity of the Empire (including borders)

[@markf5931]

I thought the pronunciation is that of 1st language mandarin speaker. Is that correct?

[@josephjoebrown11]

@@markf5931 hard to say from just names. It's certainly comprehensible and there are so many accents that its as good as

[@alexabood2516]

I did not realize bachelor degree history students were able to special to precisely. Are you perhaps a graduate student?

[@Bethi4WFH]

Very interesting…..thank you for a very informative video. Regards from England.

[@Gorlok_the_destoryer]

I would love to see you cover some other dynasties too, like Ming, Tang or Han

[@History_of_China]

I will do. I'm hestitating on either going back a couple of dynasties and start at Yuan or even Tang, or really going back to the origins and starting with the Xia

[@deanzaZZR]

@@History_of_China Let's compromise and start with the Sui! Short-lived but incredibly important setting up the rise of the Li Family and the Tang.

[@timngim583]

@@deanzaZZR They are too old. Harder source

[@juliie007]

I’ve watched prince of Lan Ling(2006), queen dugu and the legend of dugu both focusing mostly on Northern Zhuo under the Yu wen family that united the 2 northern kingdoms and the Yang family that came to unite all of China. As for the Tang Dynasty other than Fan Bing Bing in empress of China and the movie Yang Gui Fei there isn’t much more development on Tang imperial harem. I hope they come up with a series focusing on the fall of Sui and rise of Tang Dynasty with its first emperor Gaozu and the fight for the succession among his 3 sons. The Han dynasty does have a few series focusing on the Harem my favorites are Beauty’s rival in palace focusing on Empress Dou and The Virtuous Queen of Han Wei zifu consort of Emperor Wu. As for Ming and the earlier Yuan dynasty, I haven’t watched a series focusing on the Harem system maybe Empress Ki of Yuan. I hope they also come up with series’ focusing on the Song Dynasty Harem that united the 5 kingdoms after the fall of Tang.

[@ZhuGeLiang6969]

no need for han... way to famous and all people knew it already..

[@deborahmerkerson1145]

Thank you for explaining the harem system. YT sent me a suggested 10 minute video from Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace from Episode 71. Having watched it, I was immediately hooked. I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of people from the past. I have become relatively knowledgeable about British and European history by watching documentaries and historical movies. I have read a lot of Chinese history and watched many Chinese historical movies but have never seen a series like this. It is spectacularly beautiful. My biggest issue is reading the translated subtitles quickly enough. It takes a lot of replay to figure out who is who and what is happening. I first watch a few minutes reading the translation then rewind so I can observe the acting. I can’t do both for many scenes! After several episodes I’ve become attached to certain characters and will be sad to have to say goodbye. I especially like the Empress. All of the acting is superb.

[@laurab5750]

I got hooked on it too in much the same way. The acting is superb, though the woman playing Ruyi surpasses everyone.

[@Bruno-ec8ft]

One thing I'd be really interested at some point is to hear about the public administration in the Chinese empire and the intensity of their exams, because it seemed like it drove a lot of people mad and into rebellion. So I'd be really interested to understand the value and idea that shaped this system that lasted for a millenium.

[@History_of_China]

Definitely will cover the Imperial Examinations system :)

[@Bruno-ec8ft]

@@History_of_China Nice! Looking forward to it. It's always the part of Chinese history that felt so real for me today.

[@buddhidev7877]

Before Qianlong, there was only 1 noble consort (Guifei). He expanded the number to 2 when he bestowed Xian and Chun at the same time after Gao died and bestowed imperial noble consort posthumously.

[@MrDemonWorm]

I always wondered why the Forbidden City really was as big as an actual city.

[@musAKulture]

it is 72 hectares and houses 10,000 people. enough to be a small city in some parts of the world.

[@700gsteak]

It was basically closed off city for the emperor to live in and run the country.

[@stefanschleps8758]

You do credit to the history of the Qing Empire you've related to us. Your research is thorough, and I am want to believe, accurate. The accompanying animation, or still shot montages, work well in furthering our edification. Wishing you continued success. Thank you.

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for your comment! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@sirjubilee_]

I’ve always wanted to learn more about the harem system in the Qing Dynasty since I read and watch a lot of dramas revolving around this time, so this was very informative! Thank you!

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed !

[@needsabettername3165]

Watching Empresses in the Palace brought me here. Was happy to see clips from the show

[@didy142]

it's scary to think how much inbreeding the concubine system allows, when each succeeding emperor could have his closely-to-distantly related cousins from a number of noble families as his concubines.

[@700gsteak]

That was only really a problem during the Qing Dynasty when the manchus only mixed with manchus. In prior dynasties the genebase was a lot bigger because there were more noble families and more distant relatives.

[@cbcluckyii4042]

Any of the concubines if alive today would do well on big brother with their scheming. They would just have to adapt their scheming to not kill their targets.

[@never4ever386]

Lol

[@wannaberedneckprepper7030]

Chinese women...

[@markf5931]

Adapt to avoid infanticide

[@JuicedUpLemon]

Believe it or not, there wasn't as much scheming as Chines Dramas would let us believe. They knew who they were and who they were to be subservient to from the day of puberty.

[@never4ever386]

@@JuicedUpLemon Movie/series are clearly over dramatised for entertainment value. Many schemes are clearly far fetched.

[@thunguyen-sn2vb]

A monarch of my country, Gia Long (1762-1820) of the Nguyen dynasty discussed this harem problem with his trusted French officer Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau frankly. He described his harem as a nest full of demonesses, always scheming, slandering and beating each other, and he much preferred his political life (where he could discuss meaningful things with notable men) than returning to that place everyday. Chaigneau asked why he did not marry a smaller number of consorts and release the others. Gia Long said he could not, because their fathers (his own powerful ministers) would not allow that. This monarch even made harem punishments a public matter (making them part of National Laws - very unusual, because normally no matter how bad the harem situation was, nobody would make it public), which included beating (on the buttocks with rattan canes. The smaller cane was called roi and the bigger one was called trượng) 50-100 times for mistakes like letting the emperor hear the sounds of quarrelling - this applied to both sides of the quarrel, regardless of who was in the wrong first. The mother of Bảo Đại, the last emperor, was beaten like that while pregnant too, because the two dowagers doubted that the child belonged to the previous emperor (they dug a hole on the ground for her punishment - that was how pregnant women, especially girls who got pregnant out of wedlock, were usually punished "humanely" in the old days: the woman put her belly there when her buttocks were whipped. In those days, people believed that this would prevent the child from being harmed. If they were in an inhumane mood, they had different methods for both the mother and her fetus, like having them tied to a raft and set adrift on a river). The empress Ngọc Hân of the previous dynasty Tây Sơn was once ordered to be whipped twenty times by her husband too, for helping officials loyal to her father's dynasty. I suppose they were not whipped publicly on the bare buttocks like Consort Zhen under the order of Empress Dowager Cixi though. But "imperial"/"royal" beatings in those days were not as "lenient" as the way an average modern child spanking (or a "kinky" spanking for couples who like that) are. They tore the flesh, caused severe bleeding and possibly even death. While I imagine that such high profile cases of corporal punishments were relatively rare (we really don't know. Thai King Mongkut's 24th consort Chow Chom Manda told her granddaughter that "whippings were not too unusual in those days"), the reality was that the women were slaves. So yes from the little we know, a harem was not like a heaven filled with contented, emotionally secure people. Even the monarches had to pay high emotional prices for their political power - few people actually loved them the way a human would love a human. Actually, few in the society had a second wife, even the wealthy. Maybe just 2%. While these rules were often not enforced strictly, rulers actually understood that the ratio of men and women was not 1:10, and men were encouraged to take a second wife only if the main wife was childless. For example, the Ming laws said "a man who reached the age of 40 and had no sons by his main wife could get a concubine." The mistresses of European kings were actually better off. Sure, the chance of having your child becoming the next monarch was almost zero (the descendants could still climb the ranks slowly) but even when abandoned by the kings, they were pretty safe (while in the East, the highest price was high but it was a lottery with very, very few winners, while the losers might suffer terrible fate en masse). Even the fierce widow Catherine de Medici did not harm Diane de Poitiers. When the king did not love you anymore, he tended to give you a margraviate/marry you off to a nobleman. Many had the freedom to do artistic projects/business with the notable people of their times, men and women. The European queen consort, loved by her husband or not, certainly was in a much better condition in comparison with the East Asian queen/empress (the only thing an empress of China would have an advantage would be the level of luxury, but even that was not ensured). Although actually in Europe it was the beloved queens who died sooner, due to too many pregnancies. The Nguyen diplomats who visited Europe in the 19th century said that the women were better off, and they wondered why so much respect and leniency were given to such a(n inferior) class. I suppose they knew what they were talking about.

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for your input, very interesting!

[@noahpeng1689]

The eunuchs recorded the time of each sexual intercourse of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, with which woman, when, where, and whether to leave children. If it takes too long, it will be criticized by civil officials for "excessive indulgence", and if it refuses to have sexual intercourse, it will also be criticized for not leaving an heir, which is irresponsible to the empire.

[@nikobitan7294]

"So yes from the little we know, a harem was not like a heaven filled with contented, emotionally secure people." Whaaat, you mean a system where women are removed from their families, enslaved and kept in a confined space as breeding stock resulted in horrid emotional damage to said women? How awful...I mean, awful for the dude who had to deal with their bickering, am I right, fellas? Brofist! This is a common belief I see in men who think women in the past were happy with constant male cheating, abuse and control, just because men enforced a system where the alternative for women was to be killed, beaten or starve. These are the same men who will advocate that women go back to being housewives with no independence, while also complaining about how exploited men are because of "gold-diggers".

[@Alcoholmixture]

@@nikobitan7294 The Ottoman system was even more terrible (it depends on your definition - in China, during some dynasties, they would kill or bury the childless concubines alive when the emperor died, so that they could serve him in the next life. That could apply to palace maids too. Some ladies who had children with the emperors were forced to kill themselves by their rivals too). When a prince became the new Sultan, he would kill all his brothers/half-brothers. Later, the system changed. The other princes would be imprisoned in Kafes, or "Golden" Cages. Many went insane. But oh no, when the Sultanas and harem ladies tried to kill their rivals and their sons, it was because they were so evil and jealous. And if found out, horrible punishments would fall on them, and they totally deserved that!?! But the modern media/entertainment bosses and mahages who are sexual predators and their supporters are much worse than the emperors and kings of the past. The concubinage system was something designed to consolidate dynasties and countries and it was forced on the princes, who were given wives and concubines since they were children whether they liked it or not. Those who committed extra brutality on those women were detestable though. In our modern society, many young girls are abused by media executives, who will also take away the lion share of the money generated by their labour when they become stars. Years later, when these women name their abusers, many men will tell you that they are worse than whores, because the bosses gave them a career in exchange for "sexual service".

[@Alcoholmixture]

@@noahpeng1689 Yes, and there were eras when the rules were laxers, but a harem was never a free personal brothel the way many modern people imagine.

[@higurashiXrikaXhana]

i would love to see a history of how the imperial harems outfit style changes through the dynasties~

[@nefosworld]

@13:21 I’ve literally watched every single one of those, Ruyi and Yanxi are both based on Qianlong’s reign, was interesting to see the differences in each drama in depicting his reign

[@akong331]

Try legend of zhen huan. That’s based on quanlong dad. Youngchen

[@nefosworld]

@@akong331 I think I’ve watched that already! It’s based on the life and concubines of the Yongzhang emperor right?

[@caoduynguyenvuong3016]

Legend of Zhenhuan (or Empresses in the Palace) has the same writer with Ruyi's Royal Love. In the original novel, the setting was a fictional Qing-inspired dynasty, but the drama has the setting of Emperor Yuancheng - the reign that predated Emperor Qianlong.

[@carollo488]

@@akong331 Yes, the legend of zhen huan is very interesting. Consort Xi, the future Empress Dowager Chongqing and mother of the future Emperor Qian Long is very intelligent! I could watch the drama over and over again!

[@k-potato3593]

Its yongzheng

[@MrBoliao98]

I wouldn't say they romanticise, a lot of times they scare me how horrendous of a system it was and how fortunate this is now minimised.

[@BygoneChina]

It's worth noting that whilst the concubines were forced to remain inside the Forbidden City for the majority of their life, at the time is was actually custom for all woman to be kept indoors their family or husband, and would rarely leave the house (save for festivals and other important events).

[@morganalabeille5004]

I really doubt this was the case for working class women. When there are fields to plow there's not much sense in having half the population stuck indoors

[@musAKulture]

@@morganalabeille5004 the working class/peasants had less distinction between roles of men and women.

[@hiyukelavie2396]

Don't be stupid A farmer with 3 or 4 daughters wouldn't be able to afford keeping them all at home, he would expect all of them to help out with the labor No idea how someone could get this type of dumb notion where all women in ancient China were forbidden to leave the house

[@hiyukelavie2396]

@@musAKulture And the working class/peasants represents like the bulk of the population I always feel it so dumb when people try to fetishize Chinese culture by zooming in on the peculiarities of 1% of the population and then extrapolating it to cover the entire people

[@yujiuyu8817]

你说的是有权有钱人家的女子，这是被羡慕的，她们不需要工作，被几十个几百个人服务，她们有巨大的花园，美味的食物，美丽的衣服。她们出门不需要走路，被人抬着。而农民的女人，需要干活需要耕地

[@sg_hokkien_opera]

Explains why the Emperor had little energy for state affairs.

[@sg_hokkien_opera]

@China Boss in that case, I’ll stay in the bedroom 24x7 😀

[@dabo5078]

It was quite the opposite in fact, most Emperors (especially in the Qing) woke up at 6AM daily and worked till around 9PM, in they have to greet their mother, hold court, process daily documentation, and all that BS. If they chose not to work, the prime minister can usurp their power turning the emperor into a puppet (happened to quite a few who weren't interested in state affairs), or factions within the court will overthrow him for being weak and lazy. The court will not allow the emperor to relax very much.

[@700gsteak]

@@dabo5078 Unless the court was corrupt and wanted the emperor out of the way, like Cixi did with her puppet emperors.

[@BSPBuilder]

Qing Dynasty has very strict rules about how long an Emperor can have sex with the concubine (about 45 min max, no joke.)

[@mistergeopolitics4456]

Excellent content as always. Better than some shows on the History Channel.

[@jagvillani338]

Great content on a topic without much coverage. I remember walking around the Forbidden City many years ago wondering about how the quarters and palaces were used.

[@kinagioro9671]

This harem systems is a heritage from our tribal systems. We Manchus don't have last name, we only have tribal names. Our tribal name can be seperate into 2 parts: mukvn (clan name) + hala (tribe name). For example, yehenara means yehe (Yehe River) + nara (sun in Mongolian), which means Nara tribe that lives near Yehe River, other Nara can be Ulanara (Nara tribe living bear Ula River), etc. In the past, only the tribe princess was able to marry leader from another tribe, if one tribe conquers another, then the leader of the winner trive will marry to the most honored female from the loser tribe, she could be either the wife of the tribe leader or the daughter of the tribe leader. The reason we Manchus are called Manchus is because the Manchu tribe conquered all the other tribes, so all losers became members of the winner tribe, Manchu. After our Abkai Dulingga Khan (Khan of heaven-life), Nurgaci Aisingioro, conquer all other tribes, the Jurchen people finally united as one big tribe, the Manchu/ Manchurian finally came to history. In this way, the emperor of Qing Dynasty is the highest tribal leader of all Manchus and Mongols, he should marry to noble female from different tribes to unite the people as one. All his sons (no matter where his mother comes from or with higher or lower positions) has equal opportunity to become the crown princess. Basically, this harem systems is quite fit our culture considering men with great power are able to have a lot wives and treat them equally. The fact that most ordinary Manchus in the past only have one wife without concubine, only mighty has a lot wives and concubines.

[@kilikilo6432]

Thanks for the explanations !!!!

[@ninerks6303]

This is very informative. I've always been curious about the rankings in the harem system and it was explained well in this video.

[@sweetbuns4537]

*Engrossed in all 3 shows you mention here* *Even more intrigued by the actual history behind them*

[@CANDYZANE69]

My favorite Chinese drama's are all about the Harem. I have learned so much just from these shows.

[@knockoutlove1]

Can you recommend any shows? I haven’t seen any but I’d love to

[@atran6306]

@@knockoutlove1 you can start with Ruyi love in the palace

[@ivyignacio775]

I'm here because of Story of Yanxi Palace... 😂❤️

[@tomescuandreea]

You're not the only one! :D

[@daifuku6454]

I cried when I saw Empress Rong Yin :((

[@tyunik]

I came here midway through Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 😆

[@ivyignacio775]

@@daifuku6454 ikrr I'm rewatching it again. I cannot not xD

[@ivyignacio775]

@@tyunik is it a good one too??

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

I study China for the "plot".

[@arantzawen2481]

lol

[@liyanxu]

good choice

[@musAKulture]

the best video on this topic. enough information, sufficient examples, and concise as well.

[@boots1256]

I'm here because of Ruyi's Royal love 💘 in the Palace!

[@andia968]

Where can i watch ruyi , what app or website.thx!

[@boots1256]

@@andia968 on KZbin, subscribe to Drama Forever. Go to the play lists. You will find Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace there. They have highlighted clips.

[@erinchambers9]

@@andia968 it’s on Hulu now!

[@monicad.2269]

More like Ruyi's Royal Pain in the Palace T_T

[@scottishhistorian8866]

It's amazing that this tradition lasted as long as it did, I mean who would have thought that putting a bunch of women of noble birth together and then have them all compete for one mans attention. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out that it was a lot...

[@gohanssj48]

Comparing with European (officially) monogamic Christian monarchies, especially most of England history, I still think it was a success. At least it always produced successors and gave dynastical stability not seem in many countries. But China was a complicated place to keep Power anyway.

[@scottishhistorian8866]

@@gohanssj48 you could be right there in terms of prducing heirs, but a lot of potential heirs were also often miscarried due to plotting between the different concubines if one got pregnant... also, the young heirs were constantly in a state of competition with others, which often boiled down to civil wars

[@hiyukelavie2396]

@@scottishhistorian8866 At least they didn't practice inbreeding, so that's one advantage of having a large harem

[@scottishhistorian8866]

@@hiyukelavie2396 That is very true 😂😂

[@thunguyen-sn2vb]

@@hiyukelavie2396 They did, not to the level of the Habsburgs, but many married maternal cousins. As for stability, I think the price was that the princes were either over tamed milksops or focused on scheming like their mothers instead of learning how to lead. The father, having too many sons, usually could not focus properly on training a true heir either. The emperors became less qualified after a while. Actually the Ottoman fratricide system produced competent leaders, but at a great price (sometimes the dynasty almost died out), and they too could not continue like that forever. In Europe, it was not uncommon for a son to become a stronger leader than their father. That said, if you want centralized rule in a country like China, there would be no other choice. The harem was an instution that reprepresented the sharing of powers and privileges among great families, not just a breeding machine that served the emperor, and definitely not a private brothel.

[@maygriffin8705]

Another great content👍. Keep up the great work. Thanks

[@MrGanbat84]

Nice history. I think Chinese history is the most deep and flourished history in the world.

[@aquariusmedia9307]

I am particularly impressed by your narration. Thank you!

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Katharina-rp7iq]

You forgot to mention that the emperor didn't always show up to the selection at all. Instead he occasionally chose by family clan in advance without ever seeing them in advance and left it up to the high ranking ladies to choose new girls on their own.

[@Soso_moi]

Thank you for making these videos. I enjoy them very much. I came here after finishing Ruyi Love in royal palace. I went into that drama wanting to know more about the emperor but got myself into the drama.

[@History_of_China]

Glad you like them ! Thanks for following

[@cconyap]

" 'films' romantisizing the harsh reality" is the exact phrases i thought about the word 'concubine' since started watching deep historical series. I was always irritated that they display the women as shallow as murderers simply for romance's sake.

[@peacheillo2641]

ikr, a lot of them were normal women, and they had no say in becoming a concubine or not :[

[@AmericanMeiling]

Simply love the Drama you used in the background 💝 Story of Yanxi Palace 🥰 and thanks for the in depth breakdown !

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@Lisamisamoo]

loving this series! thank you so much for the informative videos!

[@philliphamilton3591]

Incredibly interesting. I wish I had known all of this before I visited the Forbidden City several years ago. Wonderful.

[@juanrobles4814]

I am so glad I came across your channel. You make the subject matter very interesting. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

[@History_of_China]

Thank you so much!

[@SaveSoilSaveSoil]

很好的视频！可以看得出来非常用心。你的汉语发音也很好！加油！

[@nalzazlan]

Currently watching Ruyi Royal Love.. and I imagine if the setting was in the forbidden city there's no way the emperor would walk angrily to his concubine living quarters and still be angry when gets there lol. The place is huge.

[@coleytoons]

I recently started watching Ruyi's Royal....(honestly I can't remember the rest of the title sorry) I really like it. Granted I have to read the subtitles but I don't mind. I was kinda confused about a lot of the positions of the harem but not so much now thanks to your video.

[@BeveC21E]

I truly enjoy your vids, immensely, the thoroughness with which you cover them. Look forward to viewing each of them. Thank you for providing them and in the manner that you do, as well!

[@Fahad-xe2zv]

Love your videos!!!! ❤️

[@nefosworld]

YAY I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN YOU USED A PIC FROM RUYI ZHUAN AT 0:22 , have you watched it?

[@History_of_China]

I can't say I have seen all of it, only a few episodes

[@nefosworld]

@@History_of_China oh you replied yayyyy, if you’re not busy you should watch, it was an absolutely stunning depiction of the lives of the women in Qianlong’s harem, moved me to tears in some scenes

[@deborahmerkerson1145]

@@History_of_China I would love to know what Chinese historians think of the series. I have only seen the last 15 episodes but will watch the entire series from beginning to end. I know very little about Chinese history but have always wanted to know more. I find it difficult because I don't speak the language and I stumble over names. I find it difficult to keep track of the people for that reason. I like watching historical dramas because I can recognize the characters even if I can't say their names.

[@Ravensonng]

Excellent video, very informative description of the Qing harem system. Would love to see other dynasties included ie. Ming, Tang, etc.

[@History_of_China]

I'm glad you enjoyed ! Channel focus will soon shift to earlier dynasties :)

[@1wor1d]

It sounds like an episode of "The Batchelor"!!

[@Dominicn123]

always amazing work man! keep it up. i'd love to see a video on historical chinese-vietnamese/ chinese - korean relations,

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for your comment ! I'll keep that idea in mind

[@mudekangethe3517]

After watching story of Yanxi Palace I thought the writers might have overstepped on the reality in the Qin dynasty but didn’t expect the show actually depicts what could have happened. The harem seems like a sad place to be especially if not favored by the emperor, what’s the need for prestige if you can’t have freedom to be one self. Atleast the palace maids made it out. Really amazed at how young the emperors and every member in the forbidden city were.

[@o19g78e]

Love the video. I´m looking forward to Empress Cixi.

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed ! I'm working on it :)

[@andreaskallstrom9031]

Wonderful video, and excellent pronunciation! What more could one ask for? Kudos!

[@History_of_China]

Thank you !

[@exposingproxystalkingorgan4164]

This video explanation is very well done. I will save it to my KZbin channel playlists for others to watch.

[@History_of_China]

Thanks!

[@xiaozhou4610]

Actually lower rank concubine didn't live together in same quarter. They will live with higher rank Concubine (嫔）and above, and in the side hall (偏殿），while the higher rank 嫔，妃，贵妃，皇贵妃can live in the Palace main hall (正殿）。While 慈寧宫is actually the Palace for empress dowager, but after the death of Xiao Zhuang Empress Dowager, other empress dowager refuse to live that place, so QianLong Emperor built 寿康宫for his mother (Xiao Sheng Xian Empress Dowager). The Legend of Zhen Huan characters, Zhen Huan is the Qian Long mother, which is the first residents of 寿康宫。While other concubine will live in 寿康宫and 慈寧宫 side hall (偏殿），after their husband (emperor) death.

[@productions4452]

Usefull as always!

[@History_of_China]

Thanks ! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@alejandraparker6110]

🙏 BLESSINGS AND GREETINGS FROM THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS. ..DALLAS TEXAS USA. I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THESE CHINESE DRAMAS .. INTRIGUING AND INTERESTING LIVES THEY LED. ..SO MUCH SPLENDOR IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY WHILE THE REST OF IT'S CITIZENS STARVED AND PERISH.

[@terrybuchanan1]

Fascinating! 👀🙀📝

[@ILoveManCity.]

Love this video and the way you explain everything. I'm not chinese or asian but I consider myself almost an expert on this subject. Is nice to see when everything I've researched for years is finally made understandable for new people how are interested.

[@History_of_China]

Thank you!

[@hensonlaura]

Very well done, thank you!

[@jojoaugustus1383]

Of all three shows you showed at the end, Legend of Zhen Huan is the best !!!

[@ukeyaoitrash2618]

Ah yes, thanks for subtitling my Chinese drama series!

[@phoebetse8966]

主播做得很棒！希望在主播频道看到更多中国的历史皇朝故事，明朝的皇帝每一个都很有特色哦，另外最近我在研究元朝和宋朝的历史，有机会和主播再交流 ：）

[@carollo488]

Thanks so much! Just what i have been waiting for!🖒🖒🖒

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@marilynking5885]

Thanks for the history lesson very informative

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@RJ-lk6qn]

The headgear and clothes look extremely beautiful

[@xavierrodriguez1370]

I really loved this video but I would have liked it if you would have talked about the relationships between concubines. Like rivalries and such.

[@abd12459]

That's expected .. fighting for one dick

[@jojoc4572]

I love this video and very interesting i learned a lot thanks

[@History_of_China]

Glad you did !

[@elainesnyder8960]

ENJOYED THIS VERY MUCH

[@CALEBBYPRODUCTIONS]

Yay! Another wonderfully done up video! I was reading some books and watching some shows on Ottoman history and it seems place harem system always end up resulting in some power struggles within the harem. hah. Will be waiting for the next video!

[@joyicechase2418]

Thank you for explaining the difference between the women and the stats!!!

[@bloodbrothers1779]

Informative & correct. Good source.

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@patriciaa4451]

Thanks for this amazing video

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for watching :)

[@ltankk]

So I guess following this video, the next one will be about Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu and Puyi? As always, good content!

[@History_of_China]

Thanks ! Next video will be Cixi part 1, then I'll take a break from the Qing and make a video on another topic before doing Guangxu, then Cixi part 2, then Puyi.

[@vectors8841]

A place of nightmares.

[@dallymoo7816]

Most royal family's were..and are

[@linachristina4424]

Wow..thank you for sharing the video

[@History_of_China]

Glad you liked it!

[@dianebode6551]

Thank you for sharing this deglamorized presentation on life in a harem. Well done.

[@History_of_China]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

[@JerryExploresHistory]

There was a Ming Dynasty emperor who didn't have any concubines. He was one of the only documented Chinese monarchs who was monogamous.

[@tarua3076]

Isn't that much easier. It gets really complicated having hundreds of concubines who backstabs each other

[@lol4lol993]

In the end, it was the same everywhere -- for women. Whether you belonged to the harem of an Ottoman Sultan, or that of a Chinese emperor or elsewhere in different civilizations around the world, you had no choice but to submit to the will of a male ruler, and lived solely to satisfy the carnal, physical, moral and spiritual needs of him. History certainly has been unfair to women.

[@hiyukelavie2396]

And for men, you get conscripted to fight and die like insects in wars that you barely understood

[@lol4lol993]

@@hiyukelavie2396 Dude, I'm only talking within the marriage parameters. If we were to compare everything else, there will be endless debates. So, as I said - from marriage point view, consider the plight of an empress and an emperor. Could the empress keep a harem filled with handsome men so that if the emperor proved impotent, she could choose one out of many from her harem? No. In contrast, the emperor had what you evidently have seen. So, while a male royalty had the pleasure of choosing a mate, the opposite sex wasn't allowed an indulgence. That certainly was very unfair.

[@hiyukelavie2396]

@@lol4lol993 Actually no, you did not mention that you were talking in terms of marriage. If anything, you made it sound like you were talking about women in general But sure, let's pivot to marriage, specifically in the context of royalty You say history has been unfair to women Yet a commoner woman can achieve empress status by simply being married to the emperor There is no such opportunity for a commoner man For men, if you were born a commoner, the only way for you to achieve royalty status was to literally start a war, whereas women could improve their status simply by marrying So can we say that history has been unfair to men?

[@lol4lol993]

@@hiyukelavie2396 Okay, I didn't specifically mention speaking in terms of marriage only, so what? It's not in like I'm making a presentation infront of some honorary and dignified fcking scholars. And also, by saying " history hasn't been fair to women" I wasn't trying to sound like a staunch feminist. I'm far from being one. I'm rather a person who believes in the two opposite sexes working together for the benefit and welfare of each other in whatever capacity they can. You go on drumming up your rhetorics.✌️

[@saltyrice821]

Marriage in those age are more political than anything

[@lisadawn8856]

Excellent video!

[@History_of_China]

Cheers!

[@bichonmomr]

The Last Emperor. One of my favorite movies.

[@ballsack6547]

Scotsman , sitting bored in London , I see harem , I see China , I click . I LIKE !!!

[@deanzaZZR]

Truly fascinating. So many rules. I'm a new subscriber. 👍

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for following ! Glad you enjoyed :)

[@Marguerite-wu3nw]

These girls had to learn how to survive within the FC walls. I can't even imagine how many of them were frightened. I feel lucky that in my life I have a choice, these girls didn't... Thank You! Your video was short but quite informative.

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for your comment! Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@cerebrumexcrement]

this is very informational. thanks.

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed !

[@dbuyandelger]

Fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed your videos. I've watched them all. I am a graduate student of Mongolian history. My focus area is the Qing era and Bogd Khanate (1912-1924). I was especially interested in the video about the First Opium War. Because after some discussion with my instructor I concluded that Mongols did not serve in the Opium Wars except some in the officer ranks like Sengge Rinchen. But in the video you mentioned that an army of Manchu and Mongol soldiers fought and were defeated by the English. Can you point out the sources you used for that video? Also can I request a video of this period?

[@History_of_China]

Thanks for following ! For mongols in the first opium war, Mark Elliot's Bannerman and Townsman: Ethnic Tension in Nineteenth-Century Jiangnan provides excellent descriptions of Mongol bannerman who fought in the conflict (it's available online : scholar.harvard.edu/files/elliott/files/elliott_bannerman_and_townsman.pdf) In the second opium war, Sengge Rinchen also led thousands of expert Mongol cavalry at the battle of Palikao. I'd like to talk about how the Bogd Khanate broke away from the Qing in the early 20th century, though I'll cover several videos before getting to it. You can always make requests, I try to make them fit my projects if possible :)

[@dbuyandelger]

@@History_of_China Very interesting read, thank you. Maybe you already have plans for this video, will you be doing a separate video on the Mukden Incident?

[@Aveeslots2]

Interesting, really love the explanation after I watched Ruyi’s Royal Love in Palace.

[@Liz_678]

Very interesting 🧐. Thanks!

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

excellent video. Thanks

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@Kirito14682]

any of these would be lucky to even see the king once in their lifetime

[@electroandcake6658]

yeah I cant imagine this miserable and lonely existence....never even allowed to leave or marry someone else. Even people in arranged or ....uh...even forced marriages ....sometimes often fall in love or at least some friendship connection.. ..here you are all alone amongst hundreds of other females. Maybe dying a virgin .I wonder if lesbianism was common.....or relationships with eunuchs. I dont even mean sex but just love and deep emotional attachments.

[@MeimeiLovesmusic]

ElectroAndCake yes the women had lots of relationships with the eunuchs. Empress Dowager had her closest and favorite eunuch. She favored him and allowed him to travel outside of the Forbidden City as a perk to him and he was killed due to breaking the laws of going outside. Even though Empress said she allowed it, government offices around her who disliked her and wanted to suppress her powers, ordered her favorite closest eunuch to be killed.

[@electroandcake6658]

@@MeimeiLovesmusic Wow..thats terrible for him and her....all thos royal life is actually a very cruel world. Never even allowed to leave....stuck in the golden cage forever. Only good things you always have food ans a nice dress ....but that's about it. A village girl would have much more freedom. sad.

[@gilbertjones9157]

For us occidentals the use of time lines gives us a framework that assists us comprehend the information as we do not grasp names quickly by themselves.

[@leyleyloh1286]

This is v informative! Thank u!

[@History_of_China]

Glad you enjoyed !

[@maryargueta5607]

Love it, Thank You very much.

[@History_of_China]

Glad to hear it !

[@mrobles1983]

I understand the need of heirs in a dynasty but the killings due to jealousy and power were overwhelming.

[@andihuang8638]

nah, it is normal.. imagine 100 woman fight for 1 man attention.. the women without attention end up living in good prison for the rest of their life.. better you get attention or go for reincarnation..

[@f89jgb7]

Good selection on an example scene in the part where you discussed that rapid promotion was frowned upon. For those who don't know, that clip was from The Story of Yanxi Palace, and in that particular scene, the main character Wei YingLuo was promoted from DaYing and then immediately to Noble Lady all in just less than a minute or two. Personally I found that scene quite funny, especially the reactions of the concubines and their servants at the back who were trying to stifle their evident displeasure 😂 Only the Empress Dowagerp, her personal handmaiden, and the Empress (though with underlying subtle, sinister motives) were outwardly showing happiness when YingLuo was promoted.

[@loszhor]

How interesting! Thanks for uploading!

[@denismutabazi]

Great work!

[@History_of_China]

Thanks!

[@funbagshosehound7947]

Would love to hear about the sung dynasty and Lord bao