Either sitting in the golden palace to accept three knocks and nine worships, or hanging out with concubines all day, the emperor handled more things in the harem than in state affairs.
So many people think that the emperor's occupation is very casual, but in fact, the emperor has a strict schedule every day, which is very closely arranged.
So, how did the emperor spend his day? Let's take a look at the days of the Qing emperor.
The period of the day from 5 am to 7 am.
5:00——7:00
Get up, wash and dress, greet, and read early.
Emperors in the Qing Dynasty usually get up at 5 am. After grooming, the first task is to greet the elders.
According to the empress dowager system in Qing Dynasty, the emperor's grandmother was the empress dowager and his mother was the empress dowager. The Qing Dynasty paid special attention to filial piety. Every morning, after the emperor is dressed neatly, he will "greet" them one by one to show his respect for his elders.
During the Yongzheng period, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty basically used hall of mental cultivation as their living quarters, and set out for the Cining Palace in the morning to pay their respects.
After greeting, it is morning reading. In the Qing dynasty, people rode horses all over the world, and they bowed their heads and practiced swords every morning before reading. After that, I went to Hongde Temple to do morning reading, and the hot and cold summer never stopped.
They began to read two books, The Sage and Records. The sage is the experience of some emperors in past dynasties, and the record is the record of some national events in past dynasties.
The period of the day from 7 am to 9 am.
7:00——9:00
breakfast
The royal family of the Qing Dynasty originated from Manchuria in Northeast China, so it followed the eating habits of Manchuria in Northeast China, and only ate two main meals a day, called breakfast and dinner.
Breakfast is usually from 7: 00 am to 9: 00 am, dinner is from12:00 pm to 2: 00 pm, one hour earlier in summer and autumn.
After two main meals, add a snack at a fixed time. If the emperor wants to eat temporarily, he can always give it to future generations.
The chef is responsible for the emperor's daily meals, while the queen's meals are arranged by the chef.
The emperor has a rule that "no more than three spoonfuls of dishes". Even if the emperor loves to eat one dish again, he can't eat three.
Therefore, if you eat a dish twice, it will be removed by the eunuch. There will be no more food for ten and a half months.
This is because outsiders can never know the emperor's likes and dislikes. I'm afraid someone will try their best to poison the emperor. Secondly, I don't want to get the news that someone in the palace cheated in the name of imperial grain.
When the emperor eats breakfast, the eunuch will give the emperor the sign of the princes and ministers who asked to be summoned. This sign is called "meal card". It is up to the emperor to decide who to call after dinner.
The time of day from 9 am to 1 1.
9:00—— 1 1:00
Go to the court to do administrative and daily office work.
9 am to 1 1 is the time for the emperor to go to court to handle government affairs and official duties. The main offices in the palace are Gan Qing Gate, Gan Qing Palace and hall of mental cultivation.
The emperor's handling of government affairs is generally divided into two types: routine and special.
In the palace, the throne is inspected every day, officials are summoned and foreign envoys are met. The emperor summoned, asked about all aspects and existing problems, and then issued a decree, which belongs to daily government affairs;
The enthronement ceremony, the Grand Dynasty, the emperor's birthday, the emperor's wedding and other important ceremonies are all special government affairs.
In novels and TV series, the most famous way of participating in politics is "Early Dynasty":
The eunuch rang the bell and whipped, and the civil and military officials filed in from the waiting room and shouted "Long live". The emperor kowtowed to the officials in the Golden Palace, announcing that "there are books to play early, but no books to retire from the DPRK", and then made judgments on the political affairs played by the ministers one by one.
This description is pure fiction. In fact, the litigation scenes in film and television dramas are rare in reality, and it is difficult to appear once a year.
The most recent system in history was "obeying the government at the royal gate" in the early Qing Dynasty, but it was located in Gamen.
14:30—— 17:00
Poetry, painting, drama entertainment.
After half past two in the afternoon, it is the emperor's leisure time, usually accompanied by concubines.
Entertainment activities in the Qing Palace include playing chess and calligraphy, flowers, birds, insects and fish, appreciating cultural relics and antiques, flying kites and so on. Because every emperor's hobbies are different, the entertainment content is also different.
By the Qing Dynasty, the palace culture was full of innocence. Although some Manchu national characteristics are preserved, they are more influenced by Chinese culture and tend to be sinicized. In the early Qing Dynasty, several emperors studied China culture, loved historical relics and were good at poetry and calligraphy.
However, the most popular court entertainment is going to the theater. It lasted for a long time from the Qing Dynasty's impromptu watching drama in the harem to its climax in the Qianlong period.
In the palace, performances are held on the first and fifteenth days of each month. During the New Year holidays in China, as well as the birthdays of emperors and queens, they usually last for more than ten days. The emperor wants to go to the theatre on weekdays and can call a play at any time.
In the Qing palace, the Shengping Department was specially set up to manage the troupe, and a number of large and small stages were also specially built. Emperor Tommy Tam was keen on drama, adding many costumes and props to the palace, and drawing the contents of the drama into picture books, which he could read at any time.
Unitary time and time
17:00——2 1:00
Or eat, do Buddhism, or sleep.
In the unitary time, the emperor's entertainment basically ended, followed by snacks for dinner. When you run out, it's time to worship Buddha.
There are Buddhist temples, Taoist temples and shaman sacrificial places in the Qing Palace. The emperor offered sacrifices every day and often held large-scale sacrifices.
The worship of gods in Kunning Palace, which originated from Manchu tradition, was an important daily ritual activity of the Qing emperor, who went to Kunning Palace almost every day.
The emperor went to bed early at 20 o'clock. According to the regulations of the Qing dynasty, only after the young emperor got married, the emperor and his wife could live together in the bridal chamber of the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace for three days, and they had to live in their own bedroom at other times.
Usually, the emperor cannot spend the night in his concubines' palace. If he wanted any concubines to accompany him to bed, the emperor would flip the cards and call them to the emperor's bedroom. Because the top of the "card" is painted green, it is called "green head card".
The concubines, known as the lucky ones, didn't go back to their bedrooms that night, but they couldn't sleep with the emperor all night, so they had to stay in the enclosure next to the bedroom. When the emperor really fell asleep, only the squire eunuch could accompany him.
It is a symbol of the supreme power of ancient emperors. If it were you, would you choose a rich but restrained life or an ordinary and free life?