Secret: What do the ancient three palaces and six hospitals mean respectively?

In the feudal dynasty, we all know that the palaces of emperors and princes have courtyards where concubines live together. It used to be called three palaces and six hospitals. Which palace and six hospitals respectively refer to? What are some of them? What kind of status level does Sangong Sixth Hospital imply? If you want to know, then come with me and see the relevant introduction!

The source of three palaces and six courtyards

The term "three palaces and six courtyards" comes from the architecture of the Forbidden City. The "three palaces and six courtyards" are all in the palace of the Forbidden City. The "Three Palaces", also known as the "Last Three Palaces", refers to the Gan Qing Palace where the emperor lived, the Kunning Palace where the queen lived, and the Jiaotai Hall between Gan Qing Palace and Kunning Palace (the name of the hall is taken from the Book of Changes, which means "harmony between heaven and earth, health and happiness"). The iron sign "Inner Palace does not interfere in government affairs" stands on this hall. ) The Sixth Hospital is actually the Twelfth Hospital. There are six palaces in the "Three Palaces", namely Ren Jing Palace, Chenggan Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Jingyang Palace, Yonghe Palace and Yan Xi Palace. The "Six Palaces on West Road" are Yongshou Palace, Yikun Palace, Palace of Gathered Elegance, Xianfu Palace, Changchun Palace and Taiji Palace (Qixiang Palace). Because all palaces are quadrangular buildings, they are called "East Sixth Courtyard" and "West Sixth Courtyard".

The Forbidden City is the imperial palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Judging from the architectural layout, it is in accordance with the ancient regulations of "front facing and rear sleeping", and the outer facing is "the big interior is the official residence" and the inner moving is the so-called "three palaces and six courtyards". The queen is in the center (Kunning Palace). There are six palaces in the east and six palaces in the west (the buildings in the palace are mostly organized in units of nine, so six instead of nine is used here, which obviously conforms to the saying that "six palaces are built in the back").

Interpret the meaning of ancient three palaces and six hospitals respectively.

The term "three palaces and six courtyards" comes from the architecture of the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is bounded by the Gan Qing Gate, with the outer court in the south and the inner court in the north. This is where the emperor and his queen lived. These three palaces are Gan Qing Palace, Jiaotai Palace and Kunning Palace, which are also called "the last three palaces". The Sixth Courtyard refers to six palaces on the East Road: Zhai Palace, Ren Jing Palace, Chenggan Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Jingyang Palace and Yonghe Palace. Six palaces on West Road: Palace of Gathered Elegance, Yikun Palace, Yongshou Palace, Changchun Palace, Xianfu Palace and Zhonghua Palace. Because all palaces are quadrangle buildings, they are called "Six Courtyards". This is what people often call "three palaces and six hospitals".

Does seventy-two concubines mean concubines? When it comes to the harem fornication of feudal emperors, it can generally be summarized in one sentence, that is, "seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six courtyards." However, I found in reading that this statement is actually not accurate.

First of all, it is the "three palaces" and "six courtyards". The Book of Rites says: "The queen has six palaces, and the princes' wives have three palaces." In other words, the palace where the Empress of Zhou Dynasty lived was called "Six Palaces" and the Empress of Governors was called "Three Palaces". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan commented on Zhou Guan and said, "The queen is Li Liugong, the first palace is for sleeping, and the fifth palace is for sleeping." It is said that the "first room" is the place where the emperor lived, and the "Yan bedroom" is the place where the royal family lived. According to the book Examination of Palace Rooms in Zhou Dynasty, "formal sleeping, Yan sleeping" actually refers to the palace gate. The Sixth Hospital is similar to the Sixth Palace, which was difficult to verify in ancient times. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, they were roughly interpreted as: royal courtyards, talent courtyards, scholar courtyards, royal courtyards, women's courtyards and so on.

Generally speaking, "three palaces" and "six courtyards" refer to the residences of emperors and queens.

So, who are the staff of the Sixth Hospital? "Book of Rites": "In ancient times, the emperor set up six palaces, three wives, nine wives, twenty-seven wives and eighty-one royal wives, in order to listen to the rule of the world, and the women of Ming Dynasty were obedient, so the family in the world was harmonious." The third lady, the ninth lady, the twenty-seventh lady and the eighty-first royal lady are office workers in the sixth house, who are mainly responsible for the management of family affairs in the world. In order to clearly recognize the filial piety of women, the families in the world can be managed smoothly. The Sixth Palace is under the jurisdiction of the Queen, whose duties are described in the Internal Rules of Zhou Li Tianguan. (fortune telling)

From the historical analysis, the early "three wives, nine concubines, twenty-seven concubines and eighty-one emperors" should be an official position in the palace. Correspondingly, the emperor's "six palaces, three palaces, nine ladies, two husbands and eighty-one men" is mainly responsible for managing state affairs. If the "three ladies, nine ladies, twenty-seven ladies and eighty-one imperial concubines" are understood as the concubines of the emperor, then "three ladies, nine ladies, two ladies and eighty-one gentlemen" are not the attendants of the queen?

How did the female officials in the palace evolve into concubines? Look it up in the dictionary and you will find clues: female officials in ancient palaces, concubines and attendants of emperors. It shows that concubines and attendants evolved from female officials. In the middle and late Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Xuanwang was fatuous in his later years, and was killed for violating the etiquette. According to Sui Shu Biography of the First Emperor, Zhou Xuansi was in office, but he did not lead the laws and regulations, so he was called the Imperial Palace. Below madam, there is no definite number. Zhou Xuanwang broke the rules of his ancestors. So far, the Zhou emperor exists in name only, the Zhou system and etiquette have been abandoned, and the rites and music have collapsed. "Guan Zi Xiao Kuang" tells the story of Qi Xianggong having an affair with his younger sisters Wen Jiang and * * *, and killing Lu Huangong after drinking, resulting in his death. Qi Huangong said, "The first gentleman is a husband. He has a high platform and a wide pool. He likes drinking and hunting, and he doesn't listen to national politics. Humiliate the people, only women worship, nine concubines and six concubines, and thousands of Chen concubines. There must be meat in food, embroidery in clothes, and Rong's family treats Chen Yu. Dwarfs who advocate Excellence rank first, and talented doctors rank last. So the country neither grows nor grows. Dare to ask what to do? " It seems that the harem system of the Zhou Dynasty changed greatly after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the harem system gradually evolved into a hierarchical empresses system. Even according to the weekly system, there are only about 120 people in the harem. By the time of Emperor Gaozu, there were more than 3,000 concubines in the harem. On the basis of "seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six hospitals", concubines are set to fourteen grades, such as Zhao Yi and Jieyu, and their functions are also transformed into desires.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Yu Wenyun, the emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, indulged in debauchery, extensively built palaces, enriched the harem with beautiful women from all over the world, and stipulated that all daughters of nobles and officials had to be selected by him before they could get married. There are as many as five queens officially canonized in the harem, and as many as seven have queen seals. How can such a court last?

In the second year of Emperor Sui's reign, the Queen Wen, with jealousy, strengthened the management of the inner palace and wrote the style of the inner official, just like Zhou Li, eliminating its number. The position of the concubine is empty, and there is no third concubine to prevent being forced. Set up three members to be responsible for the teaching of four virtues. Nine women in the world are in charge of the guest sacrifice. Thirty-eight female royalty are in charge of the silk pestle of female workers. These are all official positions in the palace, but they don't last long. After the death of literature, the number of harem increased greatly, including three nobles, nine concubines, twenty-seven ladies and eighty-one concubines. Yang Di even developed the concubines system to the extreme, and the number of concubines reached 10,000.

Looking at the harem system, although it originated in the Zhou Dynasty, it has been difficult to summarize it with "seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six hospitals". "All over the world, is the land of kings, the land of kings, the land of kings?" Some fatuous and dissolute emperors were not bound by the harem system at all. Although there are 3,000 harem beauties, they still go to the kiln for whoring incognito, and some concubines have never been "cared for" by the emperor despite their wealth. In addition to sitting alone, they are all ladies-in-waiting.

The role of three palaces and six hospitals

Why does the son of heaven have three palaces and six courtyards?

In ancient China, the system of direct inheritance did reduce the country's turmoil and people's suffering. The security of this system lies in that there should be enough "candidates for the emperor" in the imperial clan. Therefore, in order to ensure that the emperor has enough sons, the emperor must have enough wives and concubines in the ceremony.

Are the emperor's wives and concubines to satisfy their desires? In fact, this may not be the case, because the emperor used to be in charge of empresses. Of course, we don't know much about ancient history, but at least the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties had restrictions in this respect. According to legend, Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty even set up a "respect pavilion" for this purpose, so that eunuchs could record the records of the emperor's concubines when they were lucky. On the one hand, they ensured that the concubines were pregnant with the emperor's children, on the other hand, they also bound the emperor.

And the whole harem has a clear and strict reward and punishment system. For example, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were 6 bureaus and 24 departments were female officials (including Shanggong Bureau, Shangyi Bureau, Fu Shang Bureau, Shangshi Bureau, Shangshi Bureau and Shanggong Bureau). ), they were awarded higher salaries and ranks than foreign officials. Of course, in some chaotic dynasties in China, the emperor may * * *, but in many cases, the harem system is still very strict. So, if you want to use the past emperor as an excuse to explain that men should have three wives and four concubines, maybe you should think about it!