Why were concubines brought to the Chinese emperor wrapped in a blanket? (6 photos)

The Chinese emperor who lived in the Forbidden City was not allowed to visit his concubines at will. If the emperor wanted to be with one of his several thousand concubines, he had to observe palace etiquette. For this, jingshifang was needed. A special body in charge of all the piquant affairs of the emperor and his concubines in the palace under the leadership of the chief eunuch.





Every time the emperor asked to bring him a concubine, she could get into the emperor’s chambers (exclusively) wrapped in a blanket.



The Jingshifang eunuch was to personally bring it to the emperor and then write down the year, month, day and time for future pregnancy checks.

But why were concubines wrapped in a blanket to get to the emperor?

Now we will tell you in more detail in our new article:

A brief excursion into history





In the Forbidden City, all procedures for the interaction of the emperor with his concubines were (relatively) complex due to the huge number of traditional rules of etiquette.

Every day after dinner, the chief eunuch brought to the emperor's table a small box containing ten records, on each of which was written the name of a concubine. The emperor had to choose the name he liked and turn the plate over. The eunuch remembered the name of the chosen concubine, and passed it on to his subordinate, the eunuch, who was responsible for transferring the concubine to the emperor. If the emperor did not want to choose anyone, then he simply said “go away” and the chief eunuch walked away.

After the emperor turned over the plate, the eunuch hurried to Jiao Fang, a separate palace in the Forbidden City where several thousand of the emperor's concubines lived. The selected concubine received information that today she had been chosen to spend the night with the emperor.



She had to take off all her jewelry and take a bath. Afterwards, the maids wrapped the concubine in a luxurious blanket, and the eunuchs from Jingshifang lifted her into their arms and carried her (directly) to the emperor himself.

But why was everything so difficult?

Couldn't she have walked there on her own?

The Renyin palace conspiracy is to blame



The Renyin Conspiracy was a turning point in Chinese history, as it showed that even the most powerful rulers were not immune to possible conspiracy by those closest to them.

Before this conspiracy, the emperor's visits to his concubines were not regulated in any way. Therefore, the emperor often visited several concubines at once at his own request.

In 1521, Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, beginning his reign with severe repression. He gave out assignments to his relatives that were unimaginable at that time, thereby offending a huge number of officials. Due to this, many officials refused to accept Jiajing's imperial appointment, arguing that his mother was not a queen, so he was not eligible to become emperor. However, the emperor was able to very quickly and mercilessly deal with all those who disagreed.

Throughout his reign, Emperor Jiajing was actively interested in alchemy, mystical teachings and the search for the elixir of immortality. Some historians note that because of his belief in the other world and desire to live forever, the emperor was quite cruel to his concubines. He often bathed in the blood of virgins, whom he killed, believing that this would help him become immortal. Before this, these poor women were fed leaves and starved.

Of course, such an attitude could not help but frighten a huge number of his concubines, who were afraid of the emperor. This is where the famous Renyin conspiracy began, which happened in 1542. Several dozen concubines of the imperial harem took part in it, who decided to deal with the emperor when they found themselves alone with him.



Once, during one of the opgies with 16 concubines at once, the women waited a moment, took out sharp pins, which they carried in their clothes, and attacked the emperor. Some of them began to hold his arms and legs, and one of the women tried to strangle him with her silk scarf. But she failed.

The emperor was seriously wounded, the guards were able to provide him with first aid and he survived, but spent several days unconscious. At this time, his wife (the queen) ordered the execution of all the conspirators, including their relatives. The queen ordered the emperor's favorite concubine named Duan, who did not take any part in the conspiracy, to be punished in a similar manner. Historians are sure that the queen took this step to remove her main rival. By the way, in the future the emperor will prohibit saving his queen during a fire, in retaliation for the fact that she deprived him of his beloved.

After this conspiracy, the rules of interaction between the emperor and his concubines, which had existed for several centuries, were changed. Concubines were allowed to visit the emperor only one at a time, and only in the nude. Of course, in this state, she could not walk all the way through the palace without embarrassment, so they began to wrap her in a silk blanket and bring her to the emperor in her arms. This eliminated the risk that a woman could carry a weapon or a sharp object (like a pin) in her clothes if she planned to harm the emperor in any way.