Allergic to humans not animals Mulan wasn’t about to become the emperors concubine. The emperor did hit on her after finding out she was a woman, and she didn’t hijack out of there like you say, because she committed suicide.
Empress Lü is definitely the cruelest Empress. Read what she did to her rival. "After he died, she turned against his concubines. One of them was Qizi, who was very much loved by the Emperor. Qizi had born the Emperor a son, Ru Yi, who was the new heir of the household; something the Empress was displeased with. She had the young boy poisoned to death, and later turned against his mother. She mutilated Qizi by chopping off her hands and feet, scooping out her eyes, making her deaf and dumb with toxins, and abandoning her in a pigsty."
Oh and I forgot! She brought everyone by to laugh at her and call her 'piggy' and they all had to go along with it because she was in charge. Also the empress's son, the emperor (who was officially in charge) was so horrified by what his mother did that he fell into a deep depression and spent all his time drinking, and left her to rule.
I think life in the Chinese harem fostered this. There is one man and up to 3000 women. I've described it as the bachelor, but it's for life and with 3000 contestants and also there's access to poison and also you don't get kicked out you get executed. It's not a natural way for people to live, and leads to some toxic elements, including extreme cruelty.
Corrupt people in powerful positions are always bad news no matter what culture. I've yet to hear of a culture anywhere in the world that didn't have cruelty in some way, shape, or form.
Being a concubine means you get room and board, immense wealth and fortune (which is good in supporting your parents outside the palace), a few visitations from the Emperor (since you're not really required to bear children, you're really just there mostly for show of the Emperor's prowess), and no other men will ever touch you because you'd be hanging out mostly in the concubines quarters (so you'll never be raped), and after you've gotten too old you can retire back to your family with a pension, live a normal life and marry again.
Of course, there are pros and cons to these. The palace is your safe haven and prison. You're not allowed to go out before you retire, and no one can visit you. And there's a chance that you can be traded off to a foreign ruler as a gift.
Oh, one other thing that's good about being in the palace is that it houses the biggest collection of scrolls and books, especially the rare and foreign ones. I don't know if concubines would have access to them, but if I were one, I'd take whatever chance I'd get to get my hands on them. Not many women at that time would have that kind of an opportunity.
pureforest77 stop living in a dream, you are not a princess. You are a concubine!! If you can't give an heir to the emperor then you are nothing, if you can't win the love of the emperor you are nothing. Living like nothing inside a cage is just a miserable life.
@@ShiningAndStarstruck I too heard that essentially "Purple is Power" but I suppose it's mostly a European thing, as Purple in those parts of the world was hard to come by. By the looks of it, seems the Chinese may or may not have had a good amount of it, so maybe it was a symbol of status/power, but not as much as yellow, as Purple wasn't such a rarity as it was in other parts of the world.
As someone who studies history, I recommend you all to cast aside modern ideas about what's right before you judge. Obviously from a modern perspective this is awful and backward. But in the context of their time, it was an honour to be concubine, think of it like getting a really good job. And then the higher their concubine rank rises, the higher your job promotion. Those who are more interested in the fun side can go watch the infinite amount of Chinese drama out there. 'Legend of Zhen huan' (not the shit Netflix version) is the best I've seen about the struggles of harem life.
Samone Stanley oh gotcha and I don't think it's sexist nor disgusting, i don't like this part of their culture but i don't hate it i love all culture especially asian culture. (Hope this last part didn't sound racist but if it does I'm sorry)😊
Samone Stanley I mean.... just because something is history and culture doesn't mean it's not disgusting or wrong. People did horrible things past and present.
Man, I'd be an imperial concubine any day of the week compared to a soldier or a corvée worker. Compared to most citizens,their lives were very privileged. Keep in mind it was the dowager empress's honour to oversee the court. This sexism crap is just ignorance based off ignorance. People of the west judge history to how they want to see it, without knowing or even caring about the context or the meaning. Very ignorant and disrespectful outlook.
These candidates to be the empress came from noble families. Usually from the most favoured clans. These women were raised by their family to be an empress. In reality, their family gave them lavish upbringing. Trained by the best teachers and probably their maids were from lesser nobles. It is considered a family's honour just to be chosen, even as a concubine. The aim was to be closer to the emperor. The rivalry in the harem is a different story though. Just stay away from the dramas to be safe. You see, it's the survival of the fittest. Next thing you know all the other concubines including the empress are dead, then you become the empress.
You may not like what you see in this video as it's against your feminism beliefs or something like that but that was hundreds of years ago and please respect other cultures .
The consorts were not always chosen for beauty but also because of their families. The beauty contest was not only for Emperor to choose his wife, but also serve as political.bargaining chip. Also to keep the nobles and clans power in check and balance Eg Emperor wants to gain support of this powerful clan, he will take their daughter. The emperor wants to make sure his son doesnt get too powerful or overshadow his chosen heir, the Crown Prince, he may chose a girl from a minor clan for his son.
Margareta Pranoto Well technically the imperials allowed to wear Gold* which is not plain yellow is the Emperor, Empress Dowager(Empress Mother), Empress and the Huangguifei, which is one rank above a Noble Consort and is directly below the Empress. Yellow plainly can be worn by any concubine.
I don't think Jeanine Tai mean it like that. I took the comment as poking fun in good fun, not out of judgement or hate towards you. It's hard to tell without smiley faces to indicate. He should've used a :P at the end to show good fun, rather than being rude.
The emperor never shared his throne with anyone, despite it size the emperor always sat on the throne alone, even if he was only a child. The empress's throne was in the Hall of Earthly Tranquility and she would also sit on it alone.
Well the concubine ended up gaining the emperors favors however the empress maimed, poisoned, and killed the concubine after the emperor died. So I don't know. Who do you think won?
That's a different empress. The empress you're telling about is most likely Empress Lü, who lived in the Han dynasty. This is about empress CI'an and Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived around 1900 in the Qing dynasty. No chopping off limbs, thats a diffeent person.
Wu Zetian was Empress Regnant. I know it is just semantics but Empress Consort is just wife of the Emperor. Wu Zetian ruled in her own right. She did what even many men in her position did not do and dispensed with the pretense, taking the throne for herself.
+Alex Cudwin There is on average one a year in China! Two good ones I like are Secret History of Princess Taiping and Women of the Tang Dynasty. They take liberties and their main focus is not her but she does steal the show in both.
+Quelle You are kind of right but I was speaking in english and usually it is translated as Empress Regnant. Emperor/Huandi in chinese is right. However, you could also say that even during her time it was considered that the emperor would be presumed to be male. For he was the son of heaven and even chinese may refer to her as "nu" (female) huangdi which shows un-usual the situation was as the institution was built around males.
Yin isn't exactly a nourishing, preserving force. Yang is considered aligned with the sun, with power and light. Yin, as its opposite, is considered a destructive, dark and cold force. Yin is also associated with the earth - but mainly because Yin is considered representative of the feminine.
Destructive is not quiet right here. If it’s associated with the earth it’s then fertile , life giving and infinite . Actually the yin is the creative one because it creates life .
Not defending Empress Lu's actions but Concubine QiZi really brought it upon herself, she tried to persuade the Emperor to change his heir to her son and encouraged her son to rebel even after Empress Lu's son assumed the throne. The person to blame was really the Emperor, who was blatantly biased towards his concubines and showed no respect towards Empress Lu. Even abandoning her for death when she was captured by General XiangYU.
I love all these historical harem drama. Ok i watched Legend of Zhen huan twice. Now im onto Ruyi 传 According to what ive learnt, the harem can have 1 x 皇后 empress (legal wife) 1 x 皇贵妃 Imperial Noble Consort 2 x 贵妃 Noble Consort 4 x 妃 Consort 6 x 嫔 Concubine 贵人 Noble Lady 常在 First Attendant 答应 Second Attendant 官女 palace woman/servant Usually if you are of concubine level, the emperor will bestow you a "palace" for you to live and be the head(住). if you are below concubine level, you will have to have to live at the side palace of any of the higher ups unless the emperor really favours you. Idk? Hahaha. I really do enjoy these series. Would love to hear if yall have anymore facts about the historical harem. Maybe im not aware.
there are so many mistakes in this vid, i will point out just a couple. only the designated empress to be is bestowed the 'ruyi' / sceptre. only the emperor can sit on the throne
There are so many things wrong with this video, it doesn't represent either Han or Manchu culture. Nor does it properly show what a bridal ceremony should have looked like. This video is set in the mid 19th century yet the ladies are wearing 18th century clothing. The women are most likely Manchu so they should have been wearing 3 earrings on each ear instead of 1. 3 earring means the girl is of marrying age and 1 earring is for children. This video is very disrespectful. You do not name a Manchu person with their clan's name. She should have been called Cixi not YeheNara. The emperor would have picked his own bride since the Manchu emperors were much more self sufficient and had more autonomy compared to previous Han emperors.
Creamy Nico The way this video shown does not depict what marriage looked like in China at all. It does not cost anything to call someone what they are named nor does it cost to pronounce a name correctly.
Antonia Alana actually it does take money to research it properly since it’s take money away from everything else like maybe the visuals. If you think it costs nothing to do research or higher professionals you go do it for free. Does it spread misinformation? Yes. But I don’t really see the point in doing anything about a dumb documentary it’s not like anyone who is actually really invested into Chinese culture is gonna watch this shabby lookin series
Creamy Nico I'm sure any Manchu historian will gladly give this information out for free. You have no idea how hard they are trying to show awareness of their culture
You know, you're right. People shouldn't do shitty things because it's convenient. I get why you'd be mad about this. I just thought that things like these were usually made for commercial reasons, but it doesn't make it right to not go all the way if you're making a documentary
„The rouling principle is to keep perfect harmony between the two forces“ Um yea 1 guy and a dozen wives, consorts, concubines and what not. Seems quite ballanced LOL But interesting nevertheless
Korea also...Thailand...ancient Asia practices those stuff...even some tribes in Africa...middle east...harem it seems is the norm of the ancient world...
Honestly I’d think it’d be awesome to be a concubine - even a low rank one. I get taken care of without working. No threat of rape because all men except the emperor are castrated. Lots of girlfriends to hang out with and if the emperor didn’t favor me too much he’d sleep with me once every 5 years or even less for 5 mins. Some delicate flowers would think that’s horrible because you don’t “love” him but stop drinking the coolaid. You sleep with 1 man your whole life. It’s certainly less disgusting than being ran through by 5+ guys that thought they loved you but changed their minds later and now “love” someone else 🙄
To be completely fair, there were probably very obvious signs that those 5+ guys only "loved" you for the s*x. Unless you were r*ped or threatened (in which case my heart goes out to you), you had all the power in the world to say no thank you, now go away. History has shown time and time again that having s*x with a guy will NOT make him love you, much less stay faithful to you for any period of time.
Does anyone know where I may buy/download these 45 minute episodes of 'the reign of the concubine' and 'the center of the world' from the Smithsonian Channel? Both are from the 'China's Forbidden City' series. I seen this series on Netflix and want to buy them.
Shadowuser Fighter Love is a free and constant decision, as well as a devotion to someone else. Many marriages fall apart when love is not mutual or not present. Not even compatability is a defining trait, although getting along with someone does help. There is not much in terms of love when there is one bride...with a bunch of other women sharing the same man.
kai's honey how can there be love. love is loyal, devotion not this kind of disgusted thing where husband have multiple wives. only marry one or loyal to her can be love and live peaceful
A marriage has nothing to do with love. It has to do with propagation and politics. The mother chose the healthiest girl with the most powerful background for her son so the powerful family would be with them and not against them and the offspring would be healthy and abundant. Throw away the marriage is for love bullshit. Marriage is an institution and it was never meant to be associated with love. If you love someone you can love them without a marriage. Marriage and love are two completely separate entities. The sooner people realize this the better off they will be. They’ll know why they got married and hopefully their partner will too so that when they go through low periods in thier relationship they won’t divorce as easily
They would’ve had affairs with the eunuchs. I’d be sexually frustrated as all hell if I only did it a couple of times in my life with some average looking emperor.
From Kenya Love is basically a western/ Caucasian concept....Most Asian/ African languages do not even have a word to describe "love"...!if a young couple told their grandparents that they are in love,the grandparents would not understand what "sickness" has overcome the couple .....yet ,surprisingly most of these marriages are very stable with few divorces if any.......!!
As chinese I know 99% chinese people dislike Qing dynasty's all thing including emperor, Empress, costume, ceremony，it like Zombie,we hate this period history of China as it is ugly not like Tang dynasty and Han dynasty and dynasty,there is beautiful woman and man and clothes.
It's weird if try to applying 21st century common sense to their time, and judge them wrong. We should be grateful instead we exist in this era, and respect them with their progress becoming knowledgeable human. And It's not like you won't be judged by future generation 100 years later from now, probably our nowadays common senses are completely different than theirs.
+@@kevinj4663 : So by your logic? People can call themselves Native Americans. If they are citizens of either Canada or the United States. Regardless? Of their national origins. But? Since the United States is mostly a White nation. Does that also mean non Whites. Can call themselves White too. Base on your logic! I guess? White people can call themselves Black. If they were? Born and raised in Africa right.
@@Clee-os6pv You make no sense, how can comparing two ASIAN RACED "ethnicities" be anywhere similar to comparing two completely different races? Are you blind or dull? Both Manchurians and Han chinese are CHINESE, AND BOTH ARE ASIAN. HOW TF DOES THAT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HAVING WHITE = BLACK?
@@kevinj4663 Manchurian are tungustic people ( a folk like the Mongols), where invaded and forced the Han Chinese to give up Han culture . actually Japanese,Korean and Vietnamnese are more Chinese than Manchu because theyr ancestors and culture originated/roots from Han Chinese dynasty's
Can anyone explain to me the ranking system in the concubine world? And if the wife will give birth to the heir of the throne what function do concubines serve?
Terminal Love The ranking system is rather hard to explain in the comments, so just search it up on Wikipedia. The wife which in this case the Empress would give birth to the official child of the Emperor, children birthed from concubines are usually seen as lesser which is western standards could be even seen as bastard children. But they all have a legitimate right to the throne, the Emperor would choose to appoint a Crown Prince(not decided by birth) or he would leave a will stating who would succeed the throne.
Also, the purpose of the concubines are to serve at the pleasure of the Emperor, they are to ensure that the Emperor has an heir and that the Imperial bloodline isn’t cut short.
Can somebody help me? I gotta new phone for Christmasand I pinned something I liked on TH-cam and it say to unpin press and hold the Recents keys. What does that mean??
No foul breath... makes perfect sense... women with tight-fitting teeth and smooth, healthy tonsils never have bad breath. The way that bad breath develops is when food gets stuck inbetween teeth, or collects in ghastly tonsilloliths... a woman with no bad breath is likely genetically superior... or is not old enough to develop bad breath...
KHAIRUL AZHAR KHOURUDIN, quite correct. But I've seen better. Some drama like "Empresses On The Palace", "Firmament of Pleaides", "Story of Yanxi Palace", and "Ruyi's Royal Love in The Palace" will give you a better example of clothing for women in Qing Dynasty.
I have read a lot of Impirial china at this time and my conlushion is that , for Concubines who were ambitouse and sought the emporerrs favore and Empty titals , privlidges and wanted love were ushually the most miserable in the Forbidden city. Concubines who excepted there Place and privlidges and did not seek the empoerers favore and lerned to live in solatud were ushually more happy in the long run. they were able to form true friendships with there peers and had hobbys to keep them buisy. they had plenty of food leftovers from the emporeror emporesses table and had by our standurds of today a small Aprtment Ushually 2 or 3 rooms that were soley theres. the only problem was Enics could be dificult they ushually treated such concubines who resighned to live there lives away from the emporer with contempt and insolence but others were happy to serve them. and even the lowest concubines had at least 1 personal maid to attend to them and clean there rooms, So it seems life in the forbidden city was what one made of it . it was definatly a place of sharp contrasts . The concubines in the Forbidden city def. had it WAYYYYYYYY better than the Concubines of the Sultan of stamble. now those women had it REALLY rough.
Xianfeng Emperor, son of Daoguang Emperor, grandson of Jiaqing Emperor, great grandson of Qianlong Emperor, great great grandson of Yongzheng Emperor, great great great grandson of Kangxi Emperor, great great great great grandson of Shunzhi Emperor.
From what I am told it either goes to the Emperor or most senior concubine of the previous Emperor because if the Empress Dowager dies during the beginning of the Emperor's reign, the most senior concubine gets promoted to Empress Dowager.
I love their cultural dresses. I best believe it was the Tang Dynasty....... 💖 not so sure either it can be the Hans Dynasty,.... because only the Emperor can wear "Yellow"
Imagine if an emperor's newest concubine later lost interest in him after marrying. Instead, what would happen if she falls deeprr in love with one of the emperor's most favored concubines?
JupiterLantern Well then rip her, losing the Emperor’s interest is already enough for the Palace staff to treat you poorly and your living standards to drop drastically, but if you voluntarily lose interest in the Emperor, life is going to be a living hell.
This is a Qing harem, isn't it? If you count from the Empress (being the first rank), the fifth rank would be Pin, which is definitely NOT the lowest rank. It's actually pretty high. High enough, you could say. Even if you count from Huang Gui Fei, the fifth rank would be Guiren, not the lowest rank either.
Lily Porter That is a small portion of the nobles, and the practice would eventually be banned. Having a woman who can’t even walk by themselves is not worthy to serve the Emperor.
Right in the qing dynasty manchu barbarian rule china and destroyed chinese real culture the han culture the ming was the last true (han) dynastie yuan,qing is mongol and manchu not china , qin han tang ...... are true chinese dynastie
+@@iamnoone348 : There is only one Chinese! They are called? The Han named after the Han Dynasty. But? Of course the Han are not the original. The original Chinese are called the "Hmong". Since? They gave the Han the knowledge of rice growing/farming and many other things. Han Chinese language and their many dialect. Evolved and origins is from the Hmong language of old. Hmong means? The first of the descendants of the first seeds.
Have you seen the old photos of the Emperor's concubines? Most of them are just normal, some even ugly, only two or three look quite nice. These women are chosen not because of their beauty, but mainly because of their status.
There were hundreds of millions of people in China. The Emperor was taking wifes and concubines from the highest ranks to make alliances and to try to have children with talents and intelligence.
Bored Stranger The Emperor, the Empress Dowager is only making the decisions because she is alive, otherwise it would be up to the Emperor himself or the Empress may even choose a few herself to present to the Emperor.
Kev The Man If I'm remembering my history classes correctly, foot binding was actually more popular for the upper/nobble classes then the middle classes, since upper class women did not have a pressing need to work and could afford servants to help them around. It was a status symbol, and not every family did it. It was not always a thing that happened, however. I can't really remember when foot binding started, but I do remember it persisted a few hundred years until modern times before it was outlawed and the practice faded out.
They view themselves as models for the poorer lower ranking folks of the given society. It's still stupid, I know, but eh... it's how people were and still are.
How is it stupid? They are top of society weaving enormous power, they need to make a example. The way you dress, talk, act, and address yourself speak a lot about you. The people will know that.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 91 | คู่เอก "คมอาวุธ vs อเล็กเซย์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0RkEfYFsgM/mqdefault.jpg)
Now I know why Mulan hijacked outta there to become a boy
Yep
Mulan became a boy so that her dad didn’t have to fight also she’s not in this Dynasty she was in the Han Dynasty
Allergic to humans not animals Mulan wasn’t about to become the emperors concubine. The emperor did hit on her after finding out she was a woman, and she didn’t hijack out of there like you say, because she committed suicide.
,
@@gpodjoe9179 it's a joke
No blemishes, no body odor. Sooooo, not really human?
No their faces were actually quite average some were even ugly. So very human appearance
spiralrose lol
carmen capa How do you know that?
man where do you live? most asians rarely have body odor nor blemishes their skin heals quickly (atleast most of them) :v
TheChickenRiceBowl look for Chinese royal concubines and you’ll see old pics of normal looking even ugly women
Empress Lü is definitely the cruelest Empress. Read what she did to her rival.
"After he died, she turned against his concubines. One of them was Qizi, who was very much loved by the Emperor. Qizi had born the Emperor a son, Ru Yi, who was the new heir of the household; something the Empress was displeased with. She had the young boy poisoned to death, and later turned against his mother. She mutilated Qizi by chopping off her hands and feet, scooping out her eyes, making her deaf and dumb with toxins, and abandoning her in a pigsty."
indiciaobscure Dang someone should have recorded my facial expressions while I read this lol
Oh and I forgot! She brought everyone by to laugh at her and call her 'piggy' and they all had to go along with it because she was in charge. Also the empress's son, the emperor (who was officially in charge) was so horrified by what his mother did that he fell into a deep depression and spent all his time drinking, and left her to rule.
I think life in the Chinese harem fostered this. There is one man and up to 3000 women. I've described it as the bachelor, but it's for life and with 3000 contestants and also there's access to poison and also you don't get kicked out you get executed. It's not a natural way for people to live, and leads to some toxic elements, including extreme cruelty.
Corrupt people in powerful positions are always bad news no matter what culture. I've yet to hear of a culture anywhere in the world that didn't have cruelty in some way, shape, or form.
Quite correct, luckdragongirl. With absolute power comes, often, absolute cruelty.
I rather be free and average than be a concubine, what a miserable life.
In that case you would probably have to worry about food, shelter, medicine and other basics.
Being a concubine means you get room and board, immense wealth and fortune (which is good in supporting your parents outside the palace), a few visitations from the Emperor (since you're not really required to bear children, you're really just there mostly for show of the Emperor's prowess), and no other men will ever touch you because you'd be hanging out mostly in the concubines quarters (so you'll never be raped), and after you've gotten too old you can retire back to your family with a pension, live a normal life and marry again.
Of course, there are pros and cons to these. The palace is your safe haven and prison. You're not allowed to go out before you retire, and no one can visit you. And there's a chance that you can be traded off to a foreign ruler as a gift.
Oh, one other thing that's good about being in the palace is that it houses the biggest collection of scrolls and books, especially the rare and foreign ones. I don't know if concubines would have access to them, but if I were one, I'd take whatever chance I'd get to get my hands on them. Not many women at that time would have that kind of an opportunity.
pureforest77 stop living in a dream, you are not a princess. You are a concubine!! If you can't give an heir to the emperor then you are nothing, if you can't win the love of the emperor you are nothing. Living like nothing inside a cage is just a miserable life.
you got my attention -- now i want to watch the whole episode
Jenny Pill where can you watch it?
Jenny Pill You need to know that What happened in the Forbidden City can be more brutal than Game of Thrones
Jenny Pill does anyone know where we can watch this??
Jenny Pill l
Cindy Cheong last I checked it was on Netflix!
a fifth level concubine would NOT wear as much yellow as they showed here.
Ericat yesss yellow is only for highest ranks royals!
Yellow is for the Huang Gui Fei, a rank under the Empress.
i thought purple was high ranked royalty? or was that only for island nations like great Britain?
@@ShiningAndStarstruck
I too heard that essentially "Purple is Power" but I suppose it's mostly a European thing, as Purple in those parts of the world was hard to come by.
By the looks of it, seems the Chinese may or may not have had a good amount of it, so maybe it was a symbol of status/power, but not as much as yellow, as Purple wasn't such a rarity as it was in other parts of the world.
@@notapplicable1282
Lol! Bruh, come on now! 😂
As someone who studies history, I recommend you all to cast aside modern ideas about what's right before you judge. Obviously from a modern perspective this is awful and backward. But in the context of their time, it was an honour to be concubine, think of it like getting a really good job. And then the higher their concubine rank rises, the higher your job promotion. Those who are more interested in the fun side can go watch the infinite amount of Chinese drama out there. 'Legend of Zhen huan' (not the shit Netflix version) is the best I've seen about the struggles of harem life.
sailormoonserenity99 where ru from bro
Legend of Zhen Huan is pure gold, from the wardrobe and sets, props, etc. to the plot and the actors.
Moon Jar that’s why industrialization is important for all of us lol
It is a really good job, until the emperor dies and you don't have a child because then you are sacrificed.
It probably sucked then too. They still have brothels where women fight to be the top and it still sucks.
So many ignorant comments from people who don't care to look at this in historical context.
I know. So sad.
Flying Trilobite what to you mean?
Samone Stanley oh gotcha and I don't think it's sexist nor disgusting, i don't like this part of their culture but i don't hate it i love all culture especially asian culture. (Hope this last part didn't sound racist but if it does I'm sorry)😊
Samone Stanley I mean.... just because something is history and culture doesn't mean it's not disgusting or wrong. People did horrible things past and present.
Man, I'd be an imperial concubine any day of the week compared to a soldier or a corvée worker. Compared to most citizens,their lives were very privileged. Keep in mind it was the dowager empress's honour to oversee the court. This sexism crap is just ignorance based off ignorance. People of the west judge history to how they want to see it, without knowing or even caring about the context or the meaning. Very ignorant and disrespectful outlook.
These candidates to be the empress came from noble families. Usually from the most favoured clans. These women were raised by their family to be an empress. In reality, their family gave them lavish upbringing. Trained by the best teachers and probably their maids were from lesser nobles. It is considered a family's honour just to be chosen, even as a concubine. The aim was to be closer to the emperor. The rivalry in the harem is a different story though. Just stay away from the dramas to be safe. You see, it's the survival of the fittest. Next thing you know all the other concubines including the empress are dead, then you become the empress.
You may not like what you see in this video as it's against your feminism beliefs or something like that but that was hundreds of years ago and please respect other cultures .
Why have respect for a system that would automatically have no respect for 50% of people?
to be fair that's literally every culture, past and present
Violet Wong I agree.
Ima Dork because it's past, duh?
It’s part of history, you need not respect it. Nor do you need to hate it.
Guiren (5th rank) is not the lowest.. It is actually a pretty decent rank for entering the back palace.
And she got a title (Lan)
Agree, there are other lower rank such as daying, changzai etc
A concubine of an emperor is always higher than a legal wife of some nobles or official.
Mette Marie Nielsen gui ren.. Fifth rank lady is quite a low rank.. Sm ladies enter with 3rd or 4th rank
GUI Ren is a common rank in the imperial herem. This rank is unlimited. So it's still consider a common Low rank. Unless it's 嫔 or 妃
The consorts were not always chosen for beauty but also because of their families.
The beauty contest was not only for Emperor to choose his wife, but also serve as political.bargaining chip. Also to keep the nobles and clans power in check and balance
Eg Emperor wants to gain support of this powerful clan, he will take their daughter.
The emperor wants to make sure his son doesnt get too powerful or overshadow his chosen heir, the Crown Prince, he may chose a girl from a minor clan for his son.
only the emperor and empress can wear yellow, she was obviously not yet in rank to wear it.
Margareta Pranoto Well technically the imperials allowed to wear Gold* which is not plain yellow is the Emperor, Empress Dowager(Empress Mother), Empress and the Huangguifei, which is one rank above a Noble Consort and is directly below the Empress. Yellow plainly can be worn by any concubine.
How do you know? Are you a level 100 concubine or something?
Also the Imperial Noble consort can wear yellow like empress and emperor
Can you imagine being examined for blemishes, bad breath, body odor, and pure virginity before becoming an emperor's bride or concubine?
Then don't become a bride?
Rana Nashi and? Can you imagine that 2 queen's in British had their head sliced off?
Courtney Earnhart Nasty
Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsey in the judges' panel.
I don't think Jeanine Tai mean it like that. I took the comment as poking fun in good fun, not out of judgement or hate towards you. It's hard to tell without smiley faces to indicate. He should've used a :P at the end to show good fun, rather than being rude.
The music they are playing sounds like the first few notes of X-Files lol
Sophia Barba oh shit ur right
Sophia Barba hahahahha omg yesss Chinese version
Nooo 😂 I can't unhear it now.
The tudors theme
The emperor never shared his throne with anyone, despite it size the emperor always sat on the throne alone, even if he was only a child. The empress's throne was in the Hall of Earthly Tranquility and she would also sit on it alone.
I'm expecting a behind the scenes, juicy drama, to occur. A reality show for Chinese brides in the past. Who won?!
Nu Youkai there are actually LOADS of tv series for this
Check out legend of zhen huan and empress of china
Well the concubine ended up gaining the emperors favors however the empress maimed, poisoned, and killed the concubine after the emperor died. So I don't know. Who do you think won?
That's a different empress. The empress you're telling about is most likely Empress Lü, who lived in the Han dynasty. This is about empress CI'an and Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived around 1900 in the Qing dynasty.
No chopping off limbs, thats a diffeent person.
woordenhechtster oh really? My mistake I thought this was about empress lu
The music hits that iconic X-Files sting at 1:41 😂😂😂
Ima Dork I looked for this comment.
omg it does
Lol nice catch.
Ima Dork damn why I am laughing my ass off 😅
Now I cannot unhear it.
Not a trace of body odour? WELP if I was there I'd be kicked out within like two seconds
Lady Yehenara who got to be one of the most powerful women in Chinese history. Empress Dowagwr Cixi baby!
Wu Zetian was Empress Regnant. I know it is just semantics but Empress Consort is just wife of the Emperor. Wu Zetian ruled in her own right. She did what even many men in her position did not do and dispensed with the pretense, taking the throne for herself.
+Alex Cudwin
There is on average one a year in China! Two good ones I like are Secret History of Princess Taiping and Women of the Tang Dynasty. They take liberties and their main focus is not her but she does steal the show in both.
+Quelle You are kind of right but I was speaking in english and usually it is translated as Empress Regnant. Emperor/Huandi in chinese is right. However, you could also say that even during her time it was considered that the emperor would be presumed to be male. For he was the son of heaven and even chinese may refer to her as "nu" (female) huangdi which shows un-usual the situation was as the institution was built around males.
Wu Zetian wasn't an empress because she crowned herself as China's first and last female emperor.
Meiji she was an empress first and then became emperor. Plus being empress dowger in between
Yin isn't exactly a nourishing, preserving force. Yang is considered aligned with the sun, with power and light. Yin, as its opposite, is considered a destructive, dark and cold force. Yin is also associated with the earth - but mainly because Yin is considered representative of the feminine.
whatever
You'd think the positive force would be feminine considering life literally comes out of us.
bschlem yes and what element fed the Chinese people???? Earth.
Mud.
The Chinese are so sexist wow. At least in Europe the worst women were labeled was ‘temptress’
Destructive is not quiet right here. If it’s associated with the earth it’s then fertile , life giving and infinite . Actually the yin is the creative one because it creates life .
Not defending Empress Lu's actions but Concubine QiZi really brought it upon herself, she tried to persuade the Emperor to change his heir to her son and encouraged her son to rebel even after Empress Lu's son assumed the throne. The person to blame was really the Emperor, who was blatantly biased towards his concubines and showed no respect towards Empress Lu. Even abandoning her for death when she was captured by General XiangYU.
I love all these historical harem drama. Ok i watched Legend of Zhen huan twice. Now im onto Ruyi 传
According to what ive learnt, the harem can have
1 x 皇后 empress (legal wife)
1 x 皇贵妃 Imperial Noble Consort
2 x 贵妃 Noble Consort
4 x 妃 Consort
6 x 嫔 Concubine
贵人 Noble Lady
常在 First Attendant
答应 Second Attendant
官女 palace woman/servant
Usually if you are of concubine level, the emperor will bestow you a "palace" for you to live and be the head(住). if you are below concubine level, you will have to have to live at the side palace of any of the higher ups unless the emperor really favours you. Idk? Hahaha.
I really do enjoy these series. Would love to hear if yall have anymore facts about the historical harem. Maybe im not aware.
Why does the emperor look good?
Because why not?... is the Emperor supposed to look ugly?
Meiji Most Emperors in history aren't good looking.
@@iamnoone348 they never looked good based on history texts they look good in dramas lmao
IKR
Lol the Chinese bachelor
S. Young Yes, but Manchu can be considered Chinese because they're native to China just like Han Chinese people are.
The Qing Dynasty was a foreign dynasty. In fact, the Chinese were enslaved. They forced the Chinese to change their costumes and shave our hair.
yes but with poisoning, mutilation, torture, and execution instead of being kicked off.
+Christopher Hyncik:
Buddy they are Manchurians
there are so many mistakes in this vid, i will point out just a couple. only the designated empress to be is bestowed the 'ruyi' / sceptre. only the emperor can sit on the throne
No blemishes? My butt wouldn't have even been considered 😂😂
I would have burnt myself rather than let this fried rice maker even touch me....😑
Historian fan as I'm, this is really interesting!!
interesting for observing it like a zoo visitor but no fun for being a part of it
wtf is with this thing ☝️
KiraTheUsagii's Workshop nerd
There are so many things wrong with this video, it doesn't represent either Han or Manchu culture. Nor does it properly show what a bridal ceremony should have looked like.
This video is set in the mid 19th century yet the ladies are wearing 18th century clothing.
The women are most likely Manchu so they should have been wearing 3 earrings on each ear instead of 1. 3 earring means the girl is of marrying age and 1 earring is for children.
This video is very disrespectful. You do not name a Manchu person with their clan's name. She should have been called Cixi not YeheNara.
The emperor would have picked his own bride since the Manchu emperors were much more self sufficient and had more autonomy compared to previous Han emperors.
It’s low budget... I wouldn’t call it disrespectful they probably just didn’t have money
Creamy Nico
The way this video shown does not depict what marriage looked like in China at all.
It does not cost anything to call someone what they are named nor does it cost to pronounce a name correctly.
Antonia Alana actually it does take money to research it properly since it’s take money away from everything else like maybe the visuals. If you think it costs nothing to do research or higher professionals you go do it for free. Does it spread misinformation? Yes. But I don’t really see the point in doing anything about a dumb documentary it’s not like anyone who is actually really invested into Chinese culture is gonna watch this shabby lookin series
Creamy Nico
I'm sure any Manchu historian will gladly give this information out for free. You have no idea how hard they are trying to show awareness of their culture
You know, you're right. People shouldn't do shitty things because it's convenient. I get why you'd be mad about this. I just thought that things like these were usually made for commercial reasons, but it doesn't make it right to not go all the way if you're making a documentary
„The rouling principle is to keep perfect harmony between the two forces“ Um yea 1 guy and a dozen wives, consorts, concubines and what not. Seems quite ballanced LOL
But interesting nevertheless
How'd I get here?
Wow,Turkish palace life Chinese palace life looks really similar.Concubines,eunichs even mom's choose of brides.
well these are manchus, not han chinese
Blank Blank han Chinese did the same
Blank Blank indeed, the palace concubines in Ming dynasty were having a tougher life than manchu regime
Korea also...Thailand...ancient Asia practices those stuff...even some tribes in Africa...middle east...harem it seems is the norm of the ancient world...
@@danilosrcalapan5751 KOREA copies everything from china
Honestly I’d think it’d be awesome to be a concubine - even a low rank one. I get taken care of without working. No threat of rape because all men except the emperor are castrated. Lots of girlfriends to hang out with and if the emperor didn’t favor me too much he’d sleep with me once every 5 years or even less for 5 mins. Some delicate flowers would think that’s horrible because you don’t “love” him but stop drinking the coolaid. You sleep with 1 man your whole life. It’s certainly less disgusting than being ran through by 5+ guys that thought they loved you but changed their minds later and now “love” someone else 🙄
To be completely fair, there were probably very obvious signs that those 5+ guys only "loved" you for the s*x. Unless you were r*ped or threatened (in which case my heart goes out to you), you had all the power in the world to say no thank you, now go away. History has shown time and time again that having s*x with a guy will NOT make him love you, much less stay faithful to you for any period of time.
1:45 IM SORRY BUT THIS PART HAD ME LAUGHING SO MUCH I DON’T KNOW WHY AND I HOPE IM NOT BEING DISRESPECTFUL LMAO
omg the empress looks like xi jinping 1:55
LMFAOOOOO
你真笨！
Empress Dowager not Empress.
How fascinating! I’d love to watch the rest.
That's during the Qing era. Doesn't represent the Han Chinese. They're Manchu.
The Manchus were rulling all of China during Qing Dynasty. Get over with it.
Please! May we see more? Maybe the whole episode?
This needs to be turned into a Chinese movie or Chinese drama because I really need to watch this whole entire situation go down
Sone & Snsd I recommend The Pearl Princess drama as it was very popular all over Asia in my childhood. It was adapted from a series of novels.
It would have been a better honor not to be chosen. No scrutiny and you can be human.
That's crazy and scary. But also so interesting to learn about history like this, these times are so foreign to us now
Has anyone found this full documentary on TH-cam? It used to be on Netflix but is no longer.
So this was like an ancient Chinese version of the bachelor reality tv show?
Does anyone know where I may buy/download these 45 minute episodes of 'the reign of the concubine' and 'the center of the world' from the Smithsonian Channel?
Both are from the 'China's Forbidden City' series. I seen this series on Netflix and want to buy them.
there is no love here xD
Shadowuser Fighter Love is a free and constant decision, as well as a devotion to someone else.
Many marriages fall apart when love is not mutual or not present.
Not even compatability is a defining trait, although getting along with someone does help.
There is not much in terms of love when there is one bride...with a bunch of other women sharing the same man.
kai's honey how can there be love. love is loyal, devotion not this kind of disgusted thing where husband have multiple wives. only marry one or loyal to her can be love and live peaceful
A marriage has nothing to do with love. It has to do with propagation and politics. The mother chose the healthiest girl with the most powerful background for her son so the powerful family would be with them and not against them and the offspring would be healthy and abundant. Throw away the marriage is for love bullshit. Marriage is an institution and it was never meant to be associated with love. If you love someone you can love them without a marriage. Marriage and love are two completely separate entities. The sooner people realize this the better off they will be. They’ll know why they got married and hopefully their partner will too so that when they go through low periods in thier relationship they won’t divorce as easily
They would’ve had affairs with the eunuchs. I’d be sexually frustrated as all hell if I only did it a couple of times in my life with some average looking emperor.
From Kenya
Love is basically a western/ Caucasian concept....Most Asian/ African languages do not even have a word to describe "love"...!if a young couple told their grandparents that they are in love,the grandparents would not understand what "sickness" has overcome the couple .....yet ,surprisingly most of these marriages are very stable with few divorces if any.......!!
it would be nice to put the clip credits because I would love to know what drama the first clip is from
As chinese I know 99% chinese people dislike Qing dynasty's all thing including emperor, Empress, costume, ceremony，it like Zombie,we hate this period history of China as it is ugly not like Tang dynasty and Han dynasty and dynasty,there is beautiful woman and man and clothes.
We all know why you hate it :D
Thank you for the interesting video.
I always wonder if our version of history, especially other cultures are accurate. Can this be verified by any Chinese historians?
Where can I watch full movie
1:30 X Files theme song lol
where can i watch the full documentary please
It's weird if try to applying 21st century common sense to their time, and judge them wrong. We should be grateful instead we exist in this era, and respect them with their progress becoming knowledgeable human.
And It's not like you won't be judged by future generation 100 years later from now, probably our nowadays common senses are completely different than theirs.
Very true. Thank you for your good judgement.
If only most people were as smart as this comment.
Perfect 👏👏👏
Where can I watch the full episode?
These are Manchurians not Han.
Clee4000 Both are Chinese, Han and Manchurians are what you could call “semi-ethnicities” just like how Chinese has various dialects.
+@@kevinj4663 :
So by your logic?
People can call themselves Native Americans. If they are citizens of either Canada or the United States. Regardless? Of their national origins. But? Since the United States is mostly a White nation. Does that also mean non Whites. Can call themselves White too. Base on your logic!
I guess? White people can call themselves Black. If they were? Born and raised in Africa right.
@@Clee-os6pv You make no sense, how can comparing two ASIAN RACED "ethnicities" be anywhere similar to comparing two completely different races? Are you blind or dull? Both Manchurians and Han chinese are CHINESE, AND BOTH ARE ASIAN. HOW TF DOES THAT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HAVING WHITE = BLACK?
@@kevinj4663 Manchurian are tungustic people ( a folk like the Mongols), where invaded and forced the Han Chinese to give up Han culture . actually Japanese,Korean and Vietnamnese are more Chinese than Manchu because theyr ancestors and culture originated/roots from Han Chinese dynasty's
What is the name of this Chinese drama if it is one? Please?
I wonder if they checked the man too if he is "PERFECT" 🙄🙄
That's why he's emperor :)
He *is the* Emperor. The boss music plays and only for him.
Can anyone explain to me the ranking system in the concubine world?
And if the wife will give birth to the heir of the throne what function do concubines serve?
Terminal Love The ranking system is rather hard to explain in the comments, so just search it up on Wikipedia. The wife which in this case the Empress would give birth to the official child of the Emperor, children birthed from concubines are usually seen as lesser which is western standards could be even seen as bastard children. But they all have a legitimate right to the throne, the Emperor would choose to appoint a Crown Prince(not decided by birth) or he would leave a will stating who would succeed the throne.
Also, the purpose of the concubines are to serve at the pleasure of the Emperor, they are to ensure that the Emperor has an heir and that the Imperial bloodline isn’t cut short.
I wish the whole season was available to stream somewhere today :-/
Can somebody help me?
I gotta new phone for Christmasand I pinned something I liked on TH-cam and it say to unpin press and hold the Recents keys. What does that mean??
How does it feel to be marrying someone whom you don't love? ..😂😂 I remember Chinese series having an Emperor say "one woman is enough" so sweet!!
This looks really interesting. is there a place where I can watch the whole episode?
No foul breath... makes perfect sense... women with tight-fitting teeth and smooth, healthy tonsils never have bad breath. The way that bad breath develops is when food gets stuck inbetween teeth, or collects in ghastly tonsilloliths... a woman with no bad breath is likely genetically superior... or is not old enough to develop bad breath...
She's went from lv5 crook to lv100 Mafia boss in just a few days
Omg I see that ad everywhere XD
I love history! But I'm curious, who's the guy that played the emperor? He's handsome!
Qing dynasty women did not only wear the cheongsam, they also used to wear a 2 piece with pants or a pleated skirt.
These emperors aren't chinese, they're manchurian.
Han Chinese dynasty follow almost the same concubine tradition.
Is the clothing style correct for the mentioned dynasty?
KHAIRUL AZHAR KHOURUDIN, quite correct. But I've seen better. Some drama like "Empresses On The Palace", "Firmament of Pleaides", "Story of Yanxi Palace", and "Ruyi's Royal Love in The Palace" will give you a better example of clothing for women in Qing Dynasty.
Quite accurate, only that the Han women had one earring on each side whereas the Manchurian women had 3 ear holes on each side.
This was set in the 19th century but the outfits are from the 18th century
What his mum chooses his wife dang.. I was thinking of the bachelor when i watched this.
Is Foot binding not yet implemented here?
Qing dynasty was manchu dynasty also no foot binding
I have read a lot of Impirial china at this time and my conlushion is that , for Concubines who were ambitouse and sought the emporerrs favore and Empty titals , privlidges and wanted love were ushually the most miserable in the Forbidden city. Concubines who excepted there Place and privlidges and did not seek the empoerers favore and lerned to live in solatud were ushually more happy in the long run. they were able to form true friendships with there peers and had hobbys to keep them buisy. they had plenty of food leftovers from the emporeror emporesses table and had by our standurds of today a small Aprtment Ushually 2 or 3 rooms that were soley theres. the only problem was Enics could be dificult they ushually treated such concubines who resighned to live there lives away from the emporer with contempt and insolence but others were happy to serve them. and even the lowest concubines had at least 1 personal maid to attend to them and clean there rooms, So it seems life in the forbidden city was what one made of it . it was definatly a place of sharp contrasts . The concubines in the Forbidden city def. had it WAYYYYYYYY better than the Concubines of the Sultan of stamble. now those women had it REALLY rough.
Isn't Yin the force of creation and Yang of destruction?
Or is the other way around?
Imagine being the emperor
Which emperor is this? I'm afraid I didn't hear it correctly Shen Fen?
Xianfeng Emperor, son of Daoguang Emperor, grandson of Jiaqing Emperor, great grandson of Qianlong Emperor, great great grandson of Yongzheng Emperor, great great great grandson of Kangxi Emperor, great great great great grandson of Shunzhi Emperor.
She may not have blemishes lol well I would’ve never been considered
What happens if the mother died before it was time to select a bride? Then who chooses?
Either the emperor or senior concubines. I think...
From what I am told it either goes to the Emperor or most senior concubine of the previous Emperor because if the Empress Dowager dies during the beginning of the Emperor's reign, the most senior concubine gets promoted to Empress Dowager.
Wow. I’m from Asian culture and it just blows my mind. How times have changed and yet in some ways it hasn’t. Thank you for sharing 😇
When that guy said “YA *something in chinese*”, I thought it was the beginning of a rap song lol
I love their cultural dresses. I best believe it was the Tang Dynasty....... 💖 not so sure either it can be the Hans Dynasty,.... because only the Emperor can wear "Yellow"
Fancy Butterfly it's Manchu
Jovan Lee Yeah the Manchuria of the Qing Dynasty
Tang Dynasty would be my favorite with the Hanfu. ^_^
where can I watch this?
they treat animals in cages way better
szorohov85 lmao okay but no they don’t
hahah no
Imagine if an emperor's newest concubine later lost interest in him after marrying. Instead, what would happen if she falls deeprr in love with one of the emperor's most favored concubines?
JupiterLantern Well then rip her, losing the Emperor’s interest is already enough for the Palace staff to treat you poorly and your living standards to drop drastically, but if you voluntarily lose interest in the Emperor, life is going to be a living hell.
This is a Qing harem, isn't it? If you count from the Empress (being the first rank), the fifth rank would be Pin, which is definitely NOT the lowest rank. It's actually pretty high. High enough, you could say. Even if you count from Huang Gui Fei, the fifth rank would be Guiren, not the lowest rank either.
Why do is there the Xfiles music?
Wouldn't they have bound feet?
Lily Porter That is a small portion of the nobles, and the practice would eventually be banned. Having a woman who can’t even walk by themselves is not worthy to serve the Emperor.
No because it is the QING MANCHU FOREIGNER'S BARBARIAN DYNASTY .
In this era the woman have high shoes than bound feet
Yes they would. My wife is Chinese, and her grandmother had bound feet. It was the fashion.
anybody have the full movie link with english sub?thanks
They were ruler of the chinese. But they were not chinese.
Right in the qing dynasty manchu barbarian rule china and destroyed chinese real culture the han culture the ming was the last true (han) dynastie yuan,qing is mongol and manchu not china , qin han tang ...... are true chinese dynastie
@@mr.cebuano2843 Wait you are not supposed to be in here. Your government will be angry.
@@chemkatungalag6834 We can't afford to control by Communist Party and even Xi Jin Ping. Only Emperor of Divine Heaven can halt us.
if you want to watch the full episode you can watch it on Netflix but it will be taken off July 1st.
I love Chinese culture and history
+Deja Keith:
These people are Manchurians.
@@Clee-os6pv There are several ethnic groups in China... and all are considered "Chinese".
+@@iamnoone348 :
There is only one Chinese! They are called? The Han named after the Han Dynasty. But? Of course the Han are not the original. The original Chinese are called the "Hmong". Since? They gave the Han the knowledge of rice growing/farming and many other things. Han Chinese language and their many dialect. Evolved and origins is from the Hmong language of old. Hmong means? The first of the descendants of the first seeds.
So wheres the rest if this documentary?
Me *with acne:
*FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMM!!!*
What is the name of this TV show?
It appears the Emperor have the monopoly of all the beautiful women in China, leaving the common citizenry with the left overs.
Have you seen the old photos of the Emperor's concubines? Most of them are just normal, some even ugly, only two or three look quite nice. These women are chosen not because of their beauty, but mainly because of their status.
There were hundreds of millions of people in China. The Emperor was taking wifes and concubines from the highest ranks to make alliances and to try to have children with talents and intelligence.
What if the emperor's mother was no longer alive? Who would have made the decision?
Bored Stranger The Emperor, the Empress Dowager is only making the decisions because she is alive, otherwise it would be up to the Emperor himself or the Empress may even choose a few herself to present to the Emperor.
omlord! he is soooooo damn fine.
Those shoes look like a broken ankle waiting to happen.
Surely all these women would have had bound feet...
although feet binding only lasted couple centuries, this practice successfully become an unalienable part of chinese sterotype
I believe foot binding was most prominent in the middle class
Kev The Man If I'm remembering my history classes correctly, foot binding was actually more popular for the upper/nobble classes then the middle classes, since upper class women did not have a pressing need to work and could afford servants to help them around. It was a status symbol, and not every family did it.
It was not always a thing that happened, however. I can't really remember when foot binding started, but I do remember it persisted a few hundred years until modern times before it was outlawed and the practice faded out.
Sophie J.E. Really? That seems odd, but it's been a long time since I've researched the topic.
Sue Harvey They were Manchu so they didn't bind their feet. The Han population had women with bound feet
Wow, so much pressure put on them both, how do they deal with it?
They have male concubines too
if the emperor is cut sleeve
Ah~ the best type of love is bl .
Black AngelXx6800 omg cringe to the 1st degree right here
Black AngelXx6800 LMAO disgusting fujoshi spotted
Are you shovering a 'banana' inside your mouth?
why is it that those at the top of society seems to impose upon themselves the most restrictions?
They view themselves as models for the poorer lower ranking folks of the given society. It's still stupid, I know, but eh... it's how people were and still are.
How is it stupid? They are top of society weaving enormous power, they need to make a example. The way you dress, talk, act, and address yourself speak a lot about you. The people will know that.