It’s disappointing that so many C-dramas choose to portray the imperial harem badly by falsely suggesting children were dying due to the women poisoning them. That just feeds into the misogynist belief that women are untrustworthy or jealous or too emotional etc.
dramas are for fun history is serious if you combine both you have a series don't hate. when you watch the dramas go then read the facts after..... I just wrote a 508-page novel on Wei Zifu and w/o the drama and romance it would have been boring.
It likely was more common in other dynasties and certinly in other cultures were the top son was a ticket to power. She actually explained this in another video about why the Qing didn't have so-called "Harem Wars" That said who needs posion when you can simply starve them to death or have a bunch of "yes men" unwilling to do anything for fear of punishment. That said Cixi likely killed Guangxu, and may have been responsible for her son and wifes deaths as well as well as the consort of Guangxu, the pearl consort. So though it likely wasn't as common, it likely still occured. Of course when an emperor can rewrite history, and execute whole families the truth may never be known. The 1st emperor was said to have sealed anyone involved in his tomb with him so noone could find its location, as an example. Also its NOT Sexist/Misogynistic, its just a PLOT Device, which many women LIKE, hence the J & K Dramas,etc Also of course some real stories were such things did happen and get recorded.
Well that makes sense. If they were under fed and forced to study at unreasonable rates, no wonder a fever could kill them. And even if a consort managed to kill a kid, the chances of her getting away with it would be slim. Especially if records of how much Qianlong loved Yongqi are to be believed. I'm sure the Emperor would have rained fire on the harem if a child's death turned out to be suspicious and pointed toward a consort. Thank you for backing up some of my own suspicions.
Ohh interesting. I used to think imperial women were killing each other’s kids but your reasons make a lot of sense. Too bad kids didn’t get enough food and were often born from related parents. That will affect health and growth.
@Karen Robbins, yes you are quite right regarding the parents being related and over time the bloodline gets weaker and weaker. Two great dynasties that I know off the top of my head that got weaker & weaker with every inbred birth was the 18th Egyptian dynasty, ie: King Tuts ancestors. He was the last true Pharaoh of that dynasty until he died at a young age. Probably around 22-23 yrs old. And we know he had serious birth defects which affected his two daughters in the womb and they were stillborn, Tut was married to his blood half sister so yea that's a problem which is why the 18th dynasty died out after Tut. Same thing with the European Royalty. Have you ever heard of the "Hapsburg chin?", well you should look it up, there is a great TH-cam page re:it. Basically cos they were all inbred and related, their descendants all had this weird, protruding chin and they couldn't speak correctly. And hemophilia was also in their blood. I could be wrong but I believe Queen Victoria had hemophilia and the current Queen of England, Elizabeth's paternal uncle, Prince John (who died as a teenager) also had hemophilia. So did the last Tsar of Russia, Tsar Nicholas, his son, Tsaravich Alexi had it also. All inherited from their fathers side, Queen Victoria, cos their ancestors are Hapsburgs. Just an interesting little tidbit. Sorry so long 😊😁
You covered the reason male children had a high mortality rate... but the girls were even higher, and it sounds like it wasn't due to over education and under feeding. Will you cover that in a different episode?
I love learning about the history behind the dramas I have watched. It is so interesting and so much easier to follow when I can relate them to characters. Thank you so much!
Another great and very informative video! But I want to say that I think that no matter how much they were brainwashed women could not accept the other wives and they suffered in silence. After all their surviving was dependent upon their husbands and thus they wanted to be obedient in order to survive.
They were NOT "brainwashed"! In their culture it was common to have multiple wives. Do you think Mormon women were "brainwashed" to accept plural marriages? European Kings had mistresses, were the King's wives "brainwashed" to accept their husbands would have sex outside marriage or did the wife accept it as she had her own lovers?
The emperor in "Empresses in the Palace" was far from stupid actually. I believe he was documented in history as being a agreed person and tireless workaholic
Thank you so much for this video! I was always wondering why they all died so young. It seems it was better to not be a noble or Imperial family member
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel Wow! Omg can't wait! But if it's anything like how they treat their wives/consorts/concubines then it's probably not good! 😊 Oh also, is that the reason the children were not given names until they were past 3-5 yrs old? Did they think the children would not make it past a certain age so they waited to actually give them a name? I am pretty sure you addressed this once already, but I will go back and take another look
It´s a high different if a Child has time to Play and to be a Child and get enough Food to have a happy Belly. Or a Child he was like in a Army of long Studie with few food and no Time to be a child. The little one had a to hard and short Life :( Thier was born in a Goldencage and living like in a Bootcamp. But the but auf the blood relationship was not Good, too. The best example is the Romanovs. The little Tsarevich was bleeding. Since his parents had almost the same ancestors. Thanks for this Video.
Be honestly, I think in ancient time, born is royal family wasn’t a lucky thing. I will make a video about the emperor’s brothers. Then you will know more.😀🥰
I knew the shows I watched are dramas. All the scheming in the harem was for the story. I wanted to understand your culture and history. You are doing a good job. I believe we need to understand each other without judgement. I saw Qianlong as a bully and sleazy husband. I now respect his sacrifices and care for the people.
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel absolutely true. I keep reminding myself that it was different times and circumstances. Better to learn from it than judge it, eh?😏
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel Qianlong was better leader during his younger days rule but unfortunately as he grew older he becomes more egotistical, and proud of his past past glories that he trusted corrupt officials like He Shen.
When you talked about doctors it occured to me that there were scenes when they took pulse and then could tell from it all kinds off stuff. Mostly pregnancy and even how long they are pregnant. I found it silly and funny but do you know how accurate it was?
I guess it depends on the doctor. Today, people still argue whether traditional Chinese medical treatment do work. I do met few doctors like magician.😀
I do recall reading that modern thought as to the cause of Empress Wu Zetian's daughter's death is possible carbon monoxide poisoning from being in a closed-up room with charcoal fires and incense going.
The proper term for the royal offspring in this context would be “children or child”. The use of “kids or kid” grates on the ear because it is too informal.
You should be thankful we even get English videos in such good quality! It's not even incorrect to use "kids", just because it annoys you, or is informal - doesn't mean it's wrong.
Thank you. Chinese is my mother language. So when I make videos about Ancient Chinese culture, how to chose the proper words in English and how to explain clearly so people can understand always challenge me. 😀
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel You do a good translation. Translating any language into English is challenging. The English language Grammer is backwards to most other languages. I have a high respect for anyone who can speak two or more languages, especially if one is English.
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel I didn’t say this to be petty but because your videos are so well done. That one small change (kids to children) could make a big difference in how you are perceived and, if no one will tell you, how will you know? English is a maddening language to learn as I’m sure you know. I didn’t make this comment to hurt you or insinuate you are not capable or highly knowledgeable in your field. Obviously you are. I’m sorry if it came across otherwise.
It’s disappointing that so many C-dramas choose to portray the imperial harem badly by falsely suggesting children were dying due to the women poisoning them. That just feeds into the misogynist belief that women are untrustworthy or jealous or too emotional etc.
dramas are for fun history is serious if you combine both you have a series don't hate. when you watch the dramas go then read the facts after..... I just wrote a 508-page novel on Wei Zifu and w/o the drama and romance it would have been boring.
It likely was more common in other dynasties and certinly in other cultures were the top son was a ticket to power.
She actually explained this in another video about why the Qing didn't have so-called "Harem Wars"
That said who needs posion when you can simply starve them to death or have a bunch of "yes men" unwilling to do anything for fear of punishment. That said Cixi likely killed Guangxu, and may have been responsible for her son and wifes deaths as well as well as the consort of Guangxu, the pearl consort. So though it likely wasn't as common, it likely still occured.
Of course when an emperor can rewrite history, and execute whole families the truth may never be known. The 1st emperor was said to have sealed anyone involved in his tomb with him so noone could find its location, as an example.
Also its NOT Sexist/Misogynistic, its just a PLOT Device, which many women LIKE, hence the J & K Dramas,etc
Also of course some real stories were such things did happen and get recorded.
Well that makes sense. If they were under fed and forced to study at unreasonable rates, no wonder a fever could kill them. And even if a consort managed to kill a kid, the chances of her getting away with it would be slim. Especially if records of how much Qianlong loved Yongqi are to be believed. I'm sure the Emperor would have rained fire on the harem if a child's death turned out to be suspicious and pointed toward a consort.
Thank you for backing up some of my own suspicions.
👍😀🥰
Ohh interesting. I used to think imperial women were killing each other’s kids but your reasons make a lot of sense. Too bad kids didn’t get enough food and were often born from related parents. That will affect health and growth.
😀🥰
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel can you do story about the zhao feiyan and zhao hede. They killed all made sure nobody had the emperors children.
@Karen Robbins, yes you are quite right regarding the parents being related and over time the bloodline gets weaker and weaker. Two great dynasties that I know off the top of my head that got weaker & weaker with every inbred birth was the 18th Egyptian dynasty, ie: King Tuts ancestors. He was the last true Pharaoh of that dynasty until he died at a young age. Probably around 22-23 yrs old. And we know he had serious birth defects which affected his two daughters in the womb and they were stillborn, Tut was married to his blood half sister so yea that's a problem which is why the 18th dynasty died out after Tut. Same thing with the European Royalty. Have you ever heard of the "Hapsburg chin?", well you should look it up, there is a great TH-cam page re:it. Basically cos they were all inbred and related, their descendants all had this weird, protruding chin and they couldn't speak correctly. And hemophilia was also in their blood. I could be wrong but I believe Queen Victoria had hemophilia and the current Queen of England, Elizabeth's paternal uncle, Prince John (who died as a teenager) also had hemophilia. So did the last Tsar of Russia, Tsar Nicholas, his son, Tsaravich Alexi had it also. All inherited from their fathers side, Queen Victoria, cos their ancestors are Hapsburgs. Just an interesting little tidbit. Sorry so long 😊😁
You covered the reason male children had a high mortality rate... but the girls were even higher, and it sounds like it wasn't due to over education and under feeding. Will you cover that in a different episode?
I love learning about the history behind the dramas I have watched. It is so interesting and so much easier to follow when I can relate them to characters. Thank you so much!
😀Glad you like them!
Another great and very informative video! But I want to say that I think that no matter how much they were brainwashed women could not accept the other wives and they suffered in silence. After all their surviving was dependent upon their husbands and thus they wanted to be obedient in order to survive.
👍
They were NOT "brainwashed"! In their culture it was common to have multiple wives. Do you think Mormon women were "brainwashed" to accept plural marriages?
European Kings had mistresses, were the King's wives "brainwashed" to accept their husbands would have sex outside marriage or did the wife accept it as she had her own lovers?
I really love learning about other cultures, so your channel was an amazing find 😊 Keep up the good work!
😀Thank you! Will do!
"The emperor wasn't stupid"
In TV they seem are
😀😅
The emperor in "Empresses in the Palace" was far from stupid actually. I believe he was documented in history as being a agreed person and tireless workaholic
Thank you so much for this video! I was always wondering why they all died so young. It seems it was better to not be a noble or Imperial family member
After I tell you how the emperors treat their brothers, you will find your idea is 200% correct.😀🥰
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel Wow! Omg can't wait! But if it's anything like how they treat their wives/consorts/concubines then it's probably not good! 😊 Oh also, is that the reason the children were not given names until they were past 3-5 yrs old? Did they think the children would not make it past a certain age so they waited to actually give them a name? I am pretty sure you addressed this once already, but I will go back and take another look
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel it seems like the only person in the Imperial Family who wasn't threatened or disowned was the Empress Dowger 🤔😊
@@martinemariemc Yes for real. To me, the empress dowager seemed to wield the most power. Even the emperor would physically bow down to her.
Thank you Bing..❤️❤️ I hope you will continue doing these kinds of explanation about Ancient Chinese History.. I love it so much.. ❤️❤️💐💐
😀Thank you, I will
It´s a high different if a Child has time to Play and to be a Child and get enough Food to have a happy Belly.
Or a Child he was like in a Army of long Studie with few food and no Time to be a child. The little one had a to hard and short Life :(
Thier was born in a Goldencage and living like in a Bootcamp.
But the but auf the blood relationship was not Good, too. The best example is the Romanovs. The little Tsarevich was bleeding. Since his parents had almost the same ancestors.
Thanks for this Video.
Be honestly, I think in ancient time, born is royal family wasn’t a lucky thing. I will make a video about the emperor’s brothers. Then you will know more.😀🥰
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel Thank You!
What's with all the wierd random capitalizations?
I knew the shows I watched are dramas. All the scheming in the harem was for the story. I wanted to understand your culture and history. You are doing a good job. I believe we need to understand each other without judgement. I saw Qianlong as a bully and sleazy husband. I now respect his sacrifices and care for the people.
Qianlong is a person that if you know him well, you hardly like him.😤
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel absolutely true. I keep reminding myself that it was different times and circumstances. Better to learn from it than judge it, eh?😏
@@MandaLynn8 👍😀
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel Qianlong was better leader during his younger days rule but unfortunately as he grew older he becomes more egotistical, and proud of his past past glories that he trusted corrupt officials like He Shen.
Yes. Like his grandpa Kangxi @@wongkengmun1103
When you talked about doctors it occured to me that there were scenes when they took pulse and then could tell from it all kinds off stuff. Mostly pregnancy and even how long they are pregnant. I found it silly and funny but do you know how accurate it was?
I guess it depends on the doctor. Today, people still argue whether traditional Chinese medical treatment do work. I do met few doctors like magician.😀
By the looks of it, all those charcoal Fires indoors, and all that incense?
🤔 maybe👍
I do recall reading that modern thought as to the cause of Empress Wu Zetian's daughter's death is possible carbon monoxide poisoning from being in a closed-up room with charcoal fires and incense going.
You do an excellent job covering this subject, thank you.
So looking forward to this!! I've always been curious ever since seeing the genealogical records
😀
I totally agree with your analysis and opinions.
👍🥰
Thank you soo much pkease emprir pholen his life and children and his wife💕
TB!!!!, common cold, flu, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery and small pox's, plague. but tb and small pox's really seem to be prevalent
Really interesting video! Well done!
😀Thank you very much!
Please can put sub Arabic 💕💕💕thank you
I will try.😀
The proper term for the royal offspring in this context would be “children or child”. The use of “kids or kid” grates on the ear because it is too informal.
You should be thankful we even get English videos in such good quality! It's not even incorrect to use "kids", just because it annoys you, or is informal - doesn't mean it's wrong.
Have you ever thought that maybe english is not her first langauge?
Thank you. Chinese is my mother language. So when I make videos about Ancient Chinese culture, how to chose the proper words in English and how to explain clearly so people can understand always challenge me. 😀
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel You do a good translation. Translating any language into English is challenging. The English language Grammer is backwards to most other languages. I have a high respect for anyone who can speak two or more languages, especially if one is English.
@@ancientchinesehistorychannel I didn’t say this to be petty but because your videos are so well done. That one small change (kids to children) could make a big difference in how you are perceived and, if no one will tell you, how will you know? English is a maddening language to learn as I’m sure you know. I didn’t make this comment to hurt you or insinuate you are not capable or highly knowledgeable in your field. Obviously you are. I’m sorry if it came across otherwise.