The secret of ancient harem: how do maids refuse to be lucky when they come to the moon?

Unofficial history said that during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the emperor asked harem women to wear "open-backed pants" in a unified way. Although there is no relevant data to support this statement, it proves the emperor's absolute possession of harem women from one side: he can bless them anytime and anywhere without taking care of them. Because of this, the problem arises. What should I do if the maid-in-waiting has her period? Don't let the emperor "run a red light" at will?

No, of course, a woman can refuse the emperor's good luck during her menstrual period, but she can't refuse it explicitly, otherwise it will offend the dragon's face and lead to her death. Wang Jian, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem from 0755 to 79000: "The Yuchi is beautiful in spring, and the white canal is diverted everywhere. Tell you that you know the moon and ask someone to wash your clothes. " Among them, "entering the moon" refers to the ladies-in-waiting menstruating. They tactfully informed the emperor in the form of "secret code": I have come to a good thing, please find someone else to solve it.

There are many ways to play the dark moon in ancient ladies-in-waiting, but in the final analysis, there is only one way, that is, staring at people.

"Gong Ci" has a clear record of the situation of palace ladies in the Han Dynasty: "The emperor will take concubines, second only to the imperial concubine, and he can't stop in the middle of the month, let alone know his face, so that female history can see it." In the vernacular, regardless of the size of the emperor, the princes, concubines and husbands should be "arranged" in order. If a woman has her period, she won't take part in rotation. On the contrary, she can't say it directly. Instead, make a mark on the face in red to make the director's "female history" visible. This does not mean that the emperor directly saw a woman with a red mark on her face and canceled her fortune-telling plan. Instead, he was "secretly played" by the supervisor.

During menstruation, in addition to "showing your face with Dan", there is also the practice of wearing a ring, which is also a sign. According to records, concubines and maids in the Han Dynasty often wear a gold ring on their hands during menstruation or pregnancy to remind the emperor not to share the same room during this period. Therefore, the gold ring is also called "menstruation", which means that abstinence during menstruation is a warning signal. Whether the present wedding ring has the same function remains to be further studied.

There is another saying about wearing a gold ring or a silver ring, or a left hand or a right hand. It is said that the harem women in the Han Dynasty wore a silver ring on their left hand whether they were menstruating or pregnant. With luck, the emperor will give them a gold ring to wear on their right hands, and women's history books will record the time when they slept with the emperor, so that they can know when they were pregnant later. If there is any basis for this statement, then the emperor himself should be aware of these marks.

Historical records, such as Historical Records, record that the harem beauties must register and sort out the history of women before they become emperors. Women's history gives each maid-in-waiting two kinds of small rings, one is gold and the other is silver. If any maid-in-waiting is pregnant or can't have sex during menstruation, it goes without saying that wearing a gold ring on her left hand will do. As a signal of "prohibition of alcohol", the female teacher will not arrange for her to wait on her. Usually, a maid wears a silver ring on her right hand.

In the Five Dynasties, because there were many small courthouses in various places, each family had its own rules, and maids made various marks during menstruation. Some have red ropes tied to their arms, some have red ribbons tied to their waists, and ladies-in-waiting with status hang lanterns of different colors outside the bedroom door to remind the emperor not to run red lights.

In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it seems that ladies-in-waiting no longer need to mark menstruation. Instead, you can directly notify the responsible female official to file a case, and the gold ring becomes a pure decoration. This change is directly related to the improvement of the harem management system and the restriction of imperial power. for