The ranks of imperial consorts have varied over the course of Chinese history but remained important throughout owing to its prominence in the management of the inner court and in imperial succession, which ranked heirs according to the prominence of their mothers in addition to their birth order. Regardless of the age, however, it is common in English translation to simplify this hierarchy into the three ranks of empress, consorts, and concubines.[1] It is also common to use the term "harem", an Arabic loan word used in recent times to refer to imperial women's forbidden quarters in many countries. In later Chinese dynasties, these quarters were known as the inner palace (內宮; nèi gōng) or the rear palace (後宮; hòu gōng).[2] In Chinese, the system is called the "Rear Palace System" (後宮制度; hòu gōng zhì dù).[3]
No matter which dynasty, the Empress (皇后) was the highest rank, which makes her the only legitimate wife of the Emperor, chief of the Imperial Harem and the Mother of the Nation (国母; 國母). She was also known as the "Central Palace". In addition, the emperor would typically have several other imperial consorts and concubines (嫔妃; 嬪妃), ranked by importance into a harem, in which the Empress was supreme. The Empress could be over ruled by the Empress Dowager- the Emperor's Mother. Every dynasty had its set of rules regarding the numerical composition of the harem.
Early history
There existed a class of royal consorts called ying (媵; yìng) during early historical times in China. These were people who came along with brides as a form of dowry. It could be a female cousin or sister of the bride, or people from other countries (not necessarily from another race).
Worth noting is the fact that during the Shang dynasty, there were times when two queens existed at the same period.
The Rites of Zhou contains great details of a royal consort ranking system. However, as the Rites of Zhou is considered by modern scholars[who?] to be merely a fictitious constitution for a utopian society, the system listed in that work of literature cannot be taken word for word. Rather, it offers a rough glimpse into the inner palace during the time.
Ranking system for emperors
The Rites of Zhou states that for Emperors, they are entitled to the following:
1 Empress (王后; wáng hòu)
2 Consorts (妃; fēi)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén)
9 Royal Concubines (嬪; pín)
27 Hereditary Ladies (世婦; shì fù)
81 Royal Wives (御妻; yù qī)
It was suggested that a system (not necessarily resembling the one listed above) was set up to prevent the situation of having two queens/empresses.
Ranking system for others
According to the Rites of Zhou, under the feudalfengjian governance system, aristocratic feudal lords were entitled to nine consorts in total, and cannot marry again after having nine consorts, which makes for one wife and eight concubines. For other officers, they are entitled to one wife and one concubine. For normal citizens, only one wife is allowed.
Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú), created by Emperor Wu
Lady of Youthful Fairness (娙娥; xíng é), created by Emperor Wu
Lady of Splendid Countenance (容華; róng huá), created by Emperor Wu
Lady of Complete Deportment (充衣; chōng yī), created by Emperor Wu
Lady of Beauty (美人; měi rén)
Lady of Gentleness (良人; liáng rén)
Learned Lady (八子; bā zi)
Harmonious Lady (七子; qī zi)
Senior Waiting Lady (長使; zhǎng shǐ)
Junior Waiting Lady (少使; shǎo shǐ)
Courtier of Miscellaneous Uses (五官; wǔ guān)
Lady of Complaisant Constancy (順常; shùn cháng)
Lady Without Impurity (舞涓; wǔ juān), Lady of Reverent Gentleness (共和; gòng hé), Lady Who Pleases the Spirit (娛靈; yú líng), Lady Who Safeguard Multitude (保林; bǎo lín), Gentle Waiting Lady (良使; liáng shǐ), Lady of Night Attendance (夜者; yè zhě)
The principal wife of the crown prince was called consort (妃; fēi). There also exists a sub-ranking system for concubines; they were called bride of excellence (良娣; liáng dì) and dear lady (孺人; rú rén). For grandchildren of the emperor, their principal wives were called madame (夫人; fū rén). Concubines for these people have no titles, and were simple called people of the house (家人子; jiā rén zǐ).
No limits were set for these consorts. This later created situations when more than 20,000 women were living in the palace during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling.
Three Kingdoms
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei used the following system:
In 479, at the ascension of Emperor Gao, the Minister for Rites (禮司) successfully petitioned the emperor to establish the following system:
1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén)
Noble Concubine (貴嬪; guì pín)
Madame (夫人; fū rén)
Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)
9 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín)
Lady of Splendid Cultivation (修華; xiū huá)
Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiū yí)
Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng)
Virtuous Consort (淑妃; shū fēi)
Lady of Virtuous Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn)
Lady of Virtuous Deportment (淑儀; shū yí)
Lady Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)
Lady of Flowering Countenance (容華; róng huá)
Lady of Sufficient Splendidness (充華; chōng huá)
Lady of Beauty (美人; měi rén)
Lady of Mediocre Talent (中才人; zhōng cái rén)
Lady of Talent (才人; cái rén)
In 481, for the crown prince:
Bride of Excellence (良娣; liáng dì)
Lady Who Can Safeguard A Multitude (保林; bǎo lín)
Lady of Talent (才人; cái rén)
In 483, when Emperor Wu ascended to the throne, the minister of rites (禮司) successfully petitioned the emperor to expand the system. This involved elevating the position of noble consort (貴妃; guì fēi) to a category all unto itself, with the following ranks:
Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi)
Virtuous Consort (淑妃; shū fēi)
The new category was just underneath the empress. In 489, the position of lady of luminous countenance (昭容; zhāo róng) was created to fill the gap created when virtuous consort (淑妃; shū fēi) was elevated to an independent category.
Initially, during the reign of Gaozu, no specific ranking system for consorts were devised, due to the emperor's desire to live a simple life. It was only until Emperor Wen's reign did a ranking system came into being:
1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén)
Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi)
Noble Concubine (貴嬪; guì pín)
Noble Beauty (貴姬; guì jī)
9 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín)
Lady of Virtuous Beauty (淑媛; shū yuàn)
Lady of Virtuous Deportment (淑儀; shū yí)
Lady of Virtuous Countenance (淑容; shū róng)
Lady of Flowering Luminance (昭華; zhāo huá)
Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; zhāo róng)
Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)
Lady of Cultivated Splendidness (修華; xiū huá)
Lady of Cultivated Deportment (修儀; xiū yí)
Lady of Cultivated Countenance (修容; xiū róng)
5 Post Holders (職; zhí)
Lady of Handsome Fairness (婕妤; jié yú)
Lady of Flowering Countenance (容華; róng huá)
Lady of Sufficient Splendidness (充華; chōng huá)
Lady of Inherit Glory (承徽; chéng huī)
Lady of Propitious Honour (列榮; liè róng)
Lady of Beauty (美人; měi rén)
Lady of Talent (才人; cái rén)
Lady of Gentleness (良人; liáng rén)
Northern Wei
During the reign of Emperor Daowu, the ranking system was very simple, and only contained the rank of madame (夫人; fū rén). However, there existed an unwritten, subjective system of prestige rankings in between. It was during the reign of Emperor Taiwu that the system of rankings listed below came into force:
Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
Lady of the Left Luminous Deportment (左昭儀; zuǒ zhāo yí), Lady of the Right Luminous Deportment (右昭儀; yòu zhāo yí)
Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)
Imperial Attendant, Lady of the Pepper Chamber (椒房; jiāo fáng)
Passing Attendant (中式; zhōng shì)
During the sinification of the Northern Wei dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen reformed the consort ranking system to the system below:
1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
Lady of the Left Luminous Deportment (左昭儀; zuǒ zhāo yí), Lady of the Right Luminous Deportment (右昭儀; yòu zhāo yí)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén)
Third Concubine (三嬪; sān pín)
Sixth Concubine (六嬪; (liù pín)
Hereditary Lady (世婦; shì fù)
Imperial Wife (御妻; yù qī)
Northern Qi
In the beginning, there were only three ranks: madame (夫人; fū rén), imperial concubine (嬪; pín), and imperial lady (禦; yù). However, as Emperor Wucheng ascended to the throne, a system of rankings more sophisticated than any devised before was promulgated:
1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
1 Lady of Left Beautiful Blooming (左娥英; zuǒ é yīng), 1 Lady of Right Beautiful Blooming (右娥英; yòu é yīng)
1 Pure Consort (淑妃; shū fēi)
1 Lady of Left Bright Deportment (左昭儀; zuǒ zhāo yí), 1 Lady of Right Bright Deportment (右昭儀; yòu zhāo yí)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén)
Madame of Great Moral (弘德; hóng dé)
Madame of Just Moral (正德; zhèng dé)
Madame of High Moral (崇德; chóng dé)
Upper Concubines (上嬪; shàng pín)
Upper Concubine of Great Honor (隆徽; lóng huī)
Upper Concubine of Light Plan (光猷; guāng yóu)
Upper Concubine of Bright Instruction (昭訓; zhāo xùn)
Lower Concubines (下嬪; xià pín)
Lower Concubine of Proclaimed Honor (宣徽; xuān huī)
Lower Concubine of Proclaimed Brightness (宣明; xuān míng)
Lower Concubine of Congealed Brightness (凝暉; níng huī)
Lower Concubine of Congealed Splendidness (凝華; níng huá)
Lower Concubine of Conducive Splendidness (順華; shùn huá)
Lower Concubine of Light Instruction (光訓; guāng xùn)
27 Hereditary Ladies (世婦; shì fù)
Lady of Talent (才人; cái rén)
Selected Lady (採女; cǎi nǚ)
Northern Zhou
1 Empress (皇后; Huáng hòu)
3 Madames (夫人; fū rén), later 3 Consorts (妃; fēi)
Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi)
Great Noble Consort (長貴妃; zhǎng guì fēi)
Virtuous Consort (德妃; dé fēi)
3 Lady Officials (㚤; yì)
6 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín)
Lady of Bright Splendidness (昭化; zhāo huà)
Imperial Beauties (禦媛; yù yuàn)
Lady of Upper Beauty (上媛; shàng yuàn)
Lady of Middle Beauty (中媛; zhōng yuàn)
Lady of Lower Beauty (下媛; xià yuàn)
Lady of Imperial Gracefulness (禦婉; yù wǎn)
Lady of Upper Gracefulness (上婉; shàng wǎn)
Lady of Middle Gracefulness (中婉; zhōng wǎn)
Lady of Lower Gracefulness (下婉; xià wǎn)
During the reign of Emperor Xuan, five empresses were created (unprecedented by Chinese standards):
Yang Lihua, First Great Heavenly Empress (天元大皇后 楊麗華)
Chen Yueyi, Great Central Heavenly Empress (天中大皇后 陳月儀)
Yuchi Chifan, Great Left Heavenly Empress (天左大皇后 尉遲熾繁)
Yuan Leshang, Great Right Heavenly Empress (天右大皇后 元樂尚)
In addition, there was an innumerable number of women in the harem.
Sui
In the beginning of the Sui dynasty, there existed a simple system of ranking:
1 Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
4 Imperial Concubines (嬪; pín)
9 Hereditary Ladies (世婦; shì fù)
38 Ladies of His Majesty (禦女; yù nǚ)
There also existed a system of female palace officers (女官; nǚ guān) to manage ceremonial affairs in the harem. The system was based on similar systems in the past.
Imperial consorts of the Tang dynasty were organized in eight or nine ranks, in addition to the empress. They were also called the "inner officials" (內官), as opposed to "palace officials" (宮官), the bureaucracy.
In 662, the titles were temporarily changed to be devoid of feminine and superficial quality. This seemingly feminist change was reverted in the twelfth month of 670. The rationales were not explained in official records in both instances. However, some scholars have speculated it to be the suggestion of Empress Wu to her husband.[4]
The wife of the crown prince was called crown princess consort (太子妃; tài zǐ fēi). There were five other ranks of concubines:
2 Ladies of Excellence (良娣; liáng dì)
6 Ladies of Filial Excellence (良嬡; liáng ài)
10 Ladies of Inherent Excellence (承徽; chéng huī)
16 Ladies of Clear Instruction (昭訓; zhāo xùn)
24 Ladies of Decorous Service (奉儀; fèng yí)
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, governments were replaced frequently, and as a result, it is difficult for modern scholars to derive any solid information on ranking systems during these times.
However, it is known that the Later Tang used the following system:
Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; zhāo róng)
Lady of Bright Deportment (昭儀; zhāo yí)
Lady of Bright Beauty (昭媛; zhāo yuàn)
(出使; chū shǐ)
(禦正; yù zhèng)
True Servant (侍眞; shì zhēn)
Lady of Honorable Talent (懿才; yì cái)
(咸一; xián yī)
Precious Flower (瑤芳; yáo fāng)
Lady of Honorable Moral (懿德; yì dé)
(宣一; xuān yī)
Whether there were any limits to the holders of these titles are unknown.
The Yuan dynasty ranking system was at its simplest, and only consisted of empress, consort, and concubine. No limits were set on the number of people who could enjoy the title, except that only one empress could exist at a time.
Although the number of ranks were few, there existed a sub-system of ranking by prestige inside the Yuan harem. The tent (Chinese: 宮帳, translated term from Mongolian: 斡兒垜) that a consort lived in often determined her status. These tents often contained multiple imperial consorts. In the many tents that existed, the first empress of the first tent was considered to be the most prestigious woman.
As with all parts of the Mongol Empire, Goryeo provided palace women to the Yuan dynasty.[6] Korean concubines were procured for the Khan.[7] One of them was Empress Gi, who, through her political command and incorporation of Korean females and eunuchs in the court, spread Korean clothing, food, and lifestyle in the capital.[8] Empress Gi intervened in Goryeo and her family contended with the Goryeo royal family; her family was purged by King Gongmin, and the Empress retaliated with a failed Yuan invasion of Korea in 1364.[9][10] The entry of Korean women into the Yuan court was reciprocated by the entry of Yuan princesses into the Goryeo court, beginning with the marriage of King Chungnyeol and a daughter of Kublai Khan; in total, nine princesses of the Yuan imperial court married into the Goryeo royal family.[11]
Imperial marriages between the imperial clan of the Yuan and other states or tribes existed. These included the Onggirat tribe, Idug-qut's Uighur tribe, the Oirat tribe, as well as the Goryeo royal family that was mentioned above.[12][13]
Zhao Xian, Emperor Gong of Song surrendered to the Yuan dynasty in 1276 and was married off to a Yuan princess of the Borjigin clan; they had one son, Zhao Wanpu, who was only exiled after Emperor Gong's death due to his mother's ancestry. Paul Pelliot and John Andrew Boyle identified references to Zhao Xian in The Successors of Genghis Khan chapter of Rashid al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh; he mentions a Chinese ruler who was an "emir" and son-in-law to the Qan (Khan) after being removed from his throne by the Mongols and he is also called "Monarch of Song", or "Suju" (宋主; sòngzhŭ) in the book.[14]
Human tribute, including servants, eunuchs, and virgin girls came from China's various ethnic tribes, as well as Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam,[15][16] Cambodia, Central Asia, Siam, Champa, and Okinawa.[17]
Joseon sent a total of 114 women to the Ming dynasty, consisting of 16 virgin girls (accompanied by 48 female servants), 42 cooks (執饌女), and 8 performers (歌舞女).[18][19] The women were sent to the Yongle and Xuande emperors in a total of seven missions between 1408 and 1433.[19] Xuande was the last Ming emperor to receive human tribute from Korea;[20] with his death in 1435, 53 Korean women were repatriated.[21] There was much speculation that the Yongle Emperor's real mother was a Korean[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] or Mongolian[31] concubine.[32][33][34] Relations between Ming China and Joseon Korea improved dramatically and became much more amicable and mutually profitable during Yongle's reign.[26] Both Yongle and Xuande are said to have had a penchant for Korean cuisine and women.[26][35][36]
Central Asian concubines, mostly of Uighur and Mongol origin, were provided to the Zhengde Emperor by a Muslim guard and Sayyid Hussein from Hami.[37][38][39] The speculation about Zhengde becoming a Muslim is remembered alongside his excessive and debauched behavior with his concubines of foreign origin.[40] Muslim Central Asian women were favored by Zhengde like how Korean women were favored by Yongle and Xuande.[41][42][43]
The Qing dynasty system was one of the simplest systems in Chinese history. Officially, there were eight ranks:
Empress (皇后; huáng hòu)
Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; huáng guì fēi)
Noble Consort (貴妃; guì fēi)
Consort (妃; fēi)
Concubine (嬪; pín)
Noble Lady (貴人; guì rén)
First Class Attendant (常在; cháng zài)
Second Class Attendant (答應; dā yìng)
There was no fixed number of holders for the three lowest ranks. Lady-in-waiting (官女子; guān nǘ zǐ) was typically used to refer to all the women working in the palace. It was not part of the official ranking.
The system was solid, but the number of imperial consorts an emperor actually had during the Qing dynasty is subject to wild variations. The Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) holds the record for having the most imperial consorts with 79, while the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908) holds the record for having the fewest, with one empress and two consorts—a total of just three imperial consorts.
There were limits placed on how many imperial consorts could hold the ranks of concubine, and above. An emperor could have 1 empress, 1 imperial noble consort, 2 noble consorts, 4 consorts and 6 concubines at a time. The ranks of noble lady, first class attendant and second class attendant were unlimited.
A woman who had attained the rank of concubine and above would be given a residence in the main section of a palace in the Forbidden City, and when being addressed by lower ranked imperial consorts and servants, she would have to be called your imperial highness (娘娘; níang níang). Rankings of concubine and higher were considered to be influential and noble rankings in the harem. All people were expected to use deprecating self-titles when addressing higher ranked people and imperial consorts were no different.
The empress was the only legal wife of the emperor, while his other women were considered imperial concubines. When the crown prince ascended to the throne, he was allowed to posthumously promote his father's late wives in the ranks. A primary consort could be honored as empress, while secondary consorts and mistresses could be elevated to any of the seven other ranks (from second class attendant to imperial noble consort).
An emperor would be careful when promoting an imperial consort to the rank of imperial noble consort because this rank was considered a deputy empress (副后; fù hòu). As such, the promotions mostly happened when an imperial consort (usually a noble consort) was hopelessly ill and the emperor wanted to console her (it was believed that a promotion in ranking was a blessing and could aid in dispelling the sickness), when the empress needed someone to assist her in managing the inner court or when the empress was dead and someone else was needed to manage the inner court.
An empress who lived well into the reigns of two emperors would become empress dowager (皇太后; huáng tài hòu); would be also known as imperial mother, empress dowager (母后皇太后; mŭ hòu huáng tài hòu). In the cases when the emperor's birth mother was an imperial consort who never served as empress during her husband's reign, she would also become an empress dowager and would be known as sage mother, empress dowager (聖母皇太后; shèng mŭ huáng tài hòu), as well as being posthumously honored as empress. An empress dowager who lived through the reigns of at least three subsequent emperors would be called grand empress dowager (太皇太后; tài huáng tài hòu).
The other imperial consorts of the former emperor would be addressed as dowager (太; tài) according to their rank. For example, a concubine would be called concubine dowager (太嬪; tài pín), a consort would be called consort dowager (太妃; tài fēi), a noble consort would be called noble consort dowager (貴太妃; guì tài fēi) and an imperial noble consort would be called imperial noble consort dowager (皇貴太妃; 'huáng guì tài fēi). The empress and imperial consorts were expected to pay respect to the elders who held the position above.
However, the former emperor's low-ranked imperial concubines would simply be referred to as palace woman of the late emperor (先帝宮女; xiān dì gōng nü). If a dowager lived through the reigns of three consecutive emperors, she would be honoured as grand dowager. For example, a concubine dowager would be called grand concubine dowager (太嬪太; tài pín tài), a consort dowager would be called grand consort dowager (太妃太; tài fēi tài), a noble consort dowager would be called grand noble consort dowager (太貴太妃; tài guì tài fēi) and an imperial noble consort dowager would be called grand imperial noble consort dowager (太皇貴太妃; tài huáng guì tài fēi).
The tradition of ranking imperial women ended when the Qing dynasty was overthrown, but the practice of giving rank to people who "unofficially" (lives with, but never marry) have more than one wife is still widespread. In addition, the term madame (夫人; fū rén) is still used, albeit rarely and only in very formal settings, as an honorific title towards another person's wife in China.
After the Second Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon Kingdom was forced to give several women as concubines to the Qing's Prince Regent Dorgon.[44][45][46][47] In 1650, Dorgon married the Korean Princess Uisun, a distant relative of the king, who was adopted and given the title of royal princess (公主; gōng zhŭ). The Joseon court revoked Princess Uisun's title and royal privileges after Dorgon died.[48][49] It is said that Dorgon married two Korean princesses at Lianshan,[50] however, there is no evidence of him marrying anyone besides Princess Uisun in Joseon records. It is extremely unlikely, as Dorgon died in December 1650,[51] only few months after this marriage.[citation needed]
^"Empresses and Consorts: Selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States with Pei Songzhi's Commentary". China Review International, Vol. 8, No. 2, Fall 2001, pp. 358–363.
^The table is after Wu Jo-shui's "Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in T'ang China," in Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China. Seattle: University of Washington press, pp. 77-116.
^He, Li; Knight, Michael; Vinograd, Richard Ellis; Bartholomew, Terese Tse; Chan, Dany; Culture, Asian Art Museum--Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and; Art, Indianapolis Museum of; Museum, St Louis Art (2008). Power and glory: court arts of China's Ming dynasty. Asian Art Museum--Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture. p. 153. ISBN9780939117420. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
^Thackeray, Frank W.; Findling, John E. (2012). Events that formed the modern world: from the European Renaissance through the War on Terror. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 200. ISBN978-1598849011.
^Wakeman, Frederic Jr. (1985). The great enterprise: the Manchu reconstruction of imperial order in seventeenth-century China. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 892. ISBN9780520048041.
^Dawson, Raymond Stanley (1976). Imperial China (illustrated ed.). Penguin. p. 306.
^梨大史学会(Korea) (1968). 梨大史苑, Volume 7. 梨大史学会. p. 105.
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