What was the wedding of the ancient emperor like?

There are two kinds of premarital ceremonies in the wedding of Qing emperors: the bride price and the ceremony. The queen's choice is in the form of a draft girl, unlike a civil engagement procedure. The royal ceremony of the bride price is only a sign of respect for ancient ceremonies. In the past dynasties, men should pay a small gift to women. Since the Han Dynasty, the number of gifts has gradually increased, and began to have a certain symbolic significance. The wedding gifts of Emperor Guangxu mainly include four horses (one with saddle bridles and one without saddle bridles is called idle horse), 10 pair of saddle bridles, 10 pair of armor, 100 satin, 200 pieces of cloth and gold and silver tea cones. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty were keen on riding, shooting and martial arts, so they included horses, saddles and armour in their gifts, while there were no instruments in the Central Plains to show women's obedience and obedience to Yin and Yang, which should be the difference between Manchu and Han nationalities. Na Caili thus opened the grand wedding ceremony. Folk weddings should choose auspicious days on the ecliptic, and emperor weddings are national gifts, paying more attention to the choice of auspicious days. Qin is in charge of the astronomical calendar and is responsible for choosing auspicious days or even auspicious times for weddings. They think it is most auspicious to receive gifts at noon on the second day of November in the 14th year of Guangxu (1888) (1: 00 to1:00 in the afternoon), so from that day on, the prelude of Guangxu wedding finally sounded. First of all, please ask the envoy to salute on behalf of the emperor. Before noon, Emperor Guangxu's officials and deputy envoys respectfully came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, listened to the imperial edict that the emperor ordered him to "receive gifts with gifts", then knelt down three times and knocked nine times to accept the Golden Festival presented by the university students, and then led the ceremonial team to accept gifts out of Donghuamen to the Queen's House. The Queen's family carefully prepared and knelt down to welcome the ambassador. The Queen's father was listening. After the ceremony, the gifts for the queen's family can be left, but the gifts for the queen should still be brought back to the palace. That evening, the Queen's family decorated with lanterns and held a grand banquet, which was not hosted by the Queen's father. Instead, officials under the Eight Banners of Emperor Guangxu's special internal affairs office and above Manchu received the father of the Empress Dowager. At the same time, they also rewarded the Queen's family with 20 cake tables, 20 banquets, 20 sheep and 20 bottles of wine. At the end of the banquet, headed by the queen's father, all the officials bowed three times and nine times in the direction of the palace, thanking the emperor for the food. In the traditional wedding ceremony, it is called "receiving gifts" or "taking money", which means that the marriage between the man and the woman has been completed and the man needs to give her a lot of property as economic compensation. As the head of a country, the emperor's gift is of course quite rich and expensive. Gifts are much more than collections in quantity and variety. There are not only gold and silver teapots, silver basins, silks and satins, horses and other physical objects, but also huge amounts of gold and silver. According to Qin Tian's prediction, in the 14th year of Guangxu (1888), the four major signs in early December were auspicious. In order to deliver the gifts to the queen's residence, it is also necessary for the emperor to order the ambassadors and deputy envoys to lead the personnel of relevant institutions to complete the tasks. The ceremony was the same as that in Naccari, but the choice of envoys changed. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs divide the gifts of Da Zheng into two categories, one is the gift for the queen, which is placed in the Chen Fang Yu Dan Pavilion in 74 Longting, and the other is the gift, which is placed in the 58 Pavilion of Chen Fang Yu Dan. After the mission, under the guidance of Imperial War, the mighty troops marched through Donghuamen to the Queen's home. When I arrived at the Queen's house, I respectfully put the Golden Festival on the festival table in the center of the hall, and the ceremony of receiving gifts was the same as that of receiving gifts. Similarly, gifts for the queen should be brought back to the palace with the dowry, and the gifts can be left behind. The wedding ceremony in this section is divided into conferring ceremony, wedding ceremony, wedding ceremony and offering sacrifices to the gods. The ceremony that the emperor personally awarded the title was a ceremony to award golden books and treasures symbolizing the status of the queen. In Qing dynasty, the golden book was engraved in Manchu, and Jinbao was also a seal script in Manchu, which was the same as the imperial treasure. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), on the 26th day of the first month, the emperor first sent officials to worship heaven and earth, ancestral temple and Fengxian Hall, and then went to Cining Palace to salute Empress Dowager Cixi and told him to marry the bride. At the same time, the ceremony arrangement in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is also in full swing. After paying tribute to Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, read the golden books and treasures, and ordered envoys to greet the Empress with the Golden Festival. After the envoys accepted the Golden Festival, Emperor Guangxu returned to the palace to wait for the arrival of the queen. The grand ceremony of Emperor Guangxu's visit was naturally quite grand. Hall of Supreme Harmony: There is a festival case in the south of the hall, a golden book case in the west and a golden treasure case in the east. In front of the temple, there is a book of the emperor's driving halogen, and there are moderate and less music under the eaves. The exhibition horses are displayed around Danyong Middle Road. Taihe Gate: Located under the east and west eaves of the single radar gate, the exhibition steps are outside Taihe Gate. The queen is under the Taihe Gate, and the queen Yi is under the Taihe Gate until the noon gate. Meridian Gate: Show five shuttles outside the meridian gate and train elephants in the south of the five shuttles. All the staff are ready, just waiting for the arrival of Emperor Guangxu. Officials and deputy envoys conferring the title of Queen Guan Feng led the ceremony team out of the Taihe Gate, followed by Long Ting, who was holding the golden book and treasure. Under the care of 16 people, the queen phoenix stood behind the massage parlour, and went out of the meridian gate, out of the Qing gate, and arrived at the queen's mansion. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have made preparations in advance at the Queen's residence, and are asking them to read it to the Queen's father first, and then put the gold book and treasure on the record book. The famous prostitute led the new queen to worship, the famous prostitute read books and treasures to the queen, and the queen took the golden books and treasures. Finally, the queen knelt three times and worshipped three times, and the ceremony was completed. When Qin Tian was in charge of the newspaper (the early morning of the 27th), it was auspicious time. The queen, dressed in a robe of dragons and phoenixes, officially sat on the phoenix and headed for the palace. A welcoming ceremony will be held immediately after the ceremony. The captain of Luanyi Health School carried Yu Feng into the center of the inner hall. Different from ordinary people's happy sedan chair, the Phoenix Palace of Emperor Guangxu was written by Cixi. The queen is wearing a dragon and phoenix robe, a double bun and rich velvet flowers. Fujin used Tibetan incense to smoke the phoenix and veil to exorcise evil spirits, and then asked the queen to take an apple in her hand, ask for a golden double happiness (meaning peace and happiness), put on the red veil and get on the sedan chair. Is to hold a festival with the deputy envoy, riding a horse first. The queen's mother led the women to the wind, and the queen's father led the children to kneel outside the door. A captain Luan Yiwei lifted Feng Yu up, and the furnace-lifting guards showed him the way with phoenix heads. The eunuchs helped him around, and the bodyguard of the minister rode behind him to protect him and walked to the palace. As it was already late at night, many entourage held palace lanterns and hung a large number of lanterns along the way. At the beginning of entering the customs, the concept of China culture in Qing Dynasty was still in a rather vague stage. Which door the queen entered the palace on the wedding day had no direct relationship with her identity. The first queen of the emperor shunzhi probably lived in Donghuamen at that time, so she entered the palace from Concord Gate. With the deepening of the sinicization of the Manchu Dynasty, according to feudal etiquette, it is necessary to walk through the main entrance of the palace gate to marry the queen, which is enough to express her equal respect for the emperor and conforms to the concepts of "neutrality" and "righteousness". The route to the palace is as follows: the middle gate of the Qing Dynasty-the water bridge of the Golden Queen's cosmetic box outside Tiananmen Square (officials and deputy ambassadors dismounted and walked in)-the middle gate of Tiananmen Square-the middle gate of the end gate-the middle gate of the noon gate (bells and drums ringing)-the middle gate of Taihe-the left middle gate-the left back gate-the middle gate of Gan Qing (officials and deputy ambassadors completed their mission here, and When Yu Feng arrived at Gan Qing Gate, Emperor Guangxu was already waiting in the West Nuange of Gan Qing Palace in a dragon robe, and then his ministers tied the knot for Emperor Guangxu in the main hall of Gan Qing Palace, and then went to Kunning Palace from Houfan to wait in the bridal chamber. In Yin Shi (3: 00 am to 5: 00 am), the Queen's Yu Feng was greeted on the steps of Gan Qing Palace, and the Queen walked out of the wind under the leadership of Gong Shi Mingmu. At this time, Gong Shi McDull took the apples and Jin Ruyi from the Queen, and at the same time handed the Queen a vase containing pearls, coins and other treasures. When the queen enters Gan Qing Palace with the Aquarius in her arms, she must first cross the brazier, then go out the back door of Gan Qing Palace, sit in a peacock-topped sedan chair, and go from Jiaotai Hall to the Dongnuange bridal chamber of Kunning Palace in the Queen's Palace. There is also a saddle on the threshold of Kunning Palace. Two apples are pressed under the saddle, which means peace. The queen must pass through it to enter the bridal chamber. At this point, the etiquette of welcoming the queen is over. In modern times, the ceremony of tying the knot and offering sacrifices to god (estimated to be private, so there is no picture) is to drink a glass of wine, which means that husband and wife drink * * * rice together and become one. The original meaning of "meow" is divided into two spoonfuls, that is, the newlyweds each take a spoonful to drink. This procedure is the most critical etiquette and the climax of the wedding. After entering the bridal chamber, it was almost dawn. First of all, the emperor and the queen should sit on the bed where the dragon and the phoenix are auspicious, facing the south, and perform the ceremony of sitting on the bed, which is also called sitting on the bed. Its original intention was to let the bride who came from far away have a rest, and later it meant to pray for more children. Then, the emperor took off the queen's veil, with the emperor on the left and the queen on the right, sitting on the bed, eating a half-baked "Xiaoerbao" (that is, jiaozi) together, symbolizing that many children and grandchildren will be handed down from generation to generation. Then the queen took off her robes of dragons and phoenixes, dressed up again, and put on her royal robes-bright yellow robes, eight dragon robes of stone blue, beads around her neck, and went to the appointment, dressed up as two hairstyles of married women with a flat comb. Everything was ready, and at Youshi (5-7 pm), the queen began to sit face to face with the emperor on the wedding table under the bed of Longfengxi in Kunning Palace. The royal tea restaurant has prepared the wedding banquet. The food is placed under the eaves outside the Kunning Palace, covered with yellow curtains, and can be eaten while walking. At the same time, the married bodyguard couple sang "Song of Congratulations" in Manchu outside the bridal chamber to express all kinds of auspicious and beautiful wishes. That night, the queen mother ate longevity noodles on the dragon and phoenix bed, in order to grow old together, and live a long life. Early the next morning, Fujin's wife and others dressed the queen and prepared to sacrifice to God. At this time, the queen should wear auspicious clothes-wearing a rockhopper, pearls around her neck, bright yellow robes and eight robes. The queen walked out of the bridal chamber, picked up a bundle of firewood prepared in advance, and gave it to the Jaffa Shaman for storage for use during the sacrifice. The queen's holding firewood is called holding firewood ceremony, which symbolizes the meaning of the woman's cooking for three days. Because "firewood" and "wealth" are homophonic, it also means that financial resources are rolling. At this time, two big double happiness round tables have been set up in the hall of Kunning Palace-the God of Heaven and Earth table and XiShen table, with immortals, ruyi, apples, golden cakes and incense barrels on the tables. The heavens and the earth face north, and the western gods face west and the gods are due south. The emperor and the queen went to the table to burn incense and kowtow three times in turn, and then went back to the bridal chamber to rest. Then he went to the Kunning Palace (a place where shaman gods are worshipped all the year round) to kowtow three times in the Western and Northern cases. After the worship, the emperor and queen ate a reunion dinner prepared by the teahouse on the bed of Longfeng Xi, symbolizing harmony and happiness. Editor's Note: The ceremony after marriage is divided into temple fairs, court meetings, celebrations, imperial edicts and banquets. After the ceremony, the queen must go to the royal ancestral temple with the emperor to offer sacrifices, which is called the "temple fair" to gain the recognition of her ancestors. The emperor and the queen first went to the Shouhuang Temple (now the Youth Cultural Palace at the north foot of Jingshan Park) where ancestors (portraits) were worshipped, and then returned to the palace, where they went to worship their ancestors in turn, and made three and nine obeisances. What appeared in court was the ceremony for the Queen to visit Empress Dowager Cixi in Cining Palace on auspicious days. After the folk wedding, the bride met her in-laws (called her aunt in ancient times) the next day and lit a cigarette, poured wine and tea for her. In the royal family, only when the old emperor dies (except Emperor Qianlong) can the new emperor ascend to the throne, so the wedding queen has never had an "uncle" to worship, only an "aunt", that is, the empress dowager. When Emperor Guangxu got married, Qin divined auspicious days and held a meeting ceremony on the second day of February (from 7: 00 to 9: 00) in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889). Empresses and concubines first gave their wishes to Empress Dowager Cixi, taking their most auspicious meanings, and then presented them to Empress Dowager Cixi as a token of their dedication. Then the queen bowed three times to Cixi, knocked three times, Cixi raised her glass, the queen bowed again, and then raised her glass impromptu. When the internal reference leaves the seat, the queen will go to the worship seat and kneel and knock. After the ceremony, the queen returned to Kunning Palace. The main content of the celebration ceremony is to read out the congratulatory table. The emperor's wedding is an important celebration of the country, and the celebration ceremony in the court belongs to the national ceremony. All princes and ministers should bow and congratulate under the auspices of a single pen. Qin Tian monitored the auspicious time, and in the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), a celebration ceremony was held on the fourth day of February (7:00-9:00). Since Empress Dowager Cixi listened to politics, Emperor Guangxu was only a minister, so Emperor Guangxu had to lead the princes and ministers to the Cining Palace to celebrate, and then he could be accepted in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is a special case. The separation of the throne and the imperial power forced Guangxu Emperor to pay tribute to Empress Dowager Cixi, which went beyond the scope of family ceremonies and turned to the state and ministers. Emperor Guangxu led a group of ministers to salute Cining Palace, and then went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The ministers went to the table to celebrate, and the emperor issued a letter to announce the world. The biggest difference between the royal wedding and the folk wedding is that the ceremony of "country" is added to the ceremony of "home". The emperor's wedding is a grand ceremony of the country, and the etiquette must be arranged from the height of the country. The most important embodiment is that after marriage, the imperial edict should be distributed to the people of the whole country and let the whole world know. This is a ceremony. After the celebration ceremony of the outer court, the imperial edict ceremony began immediately. He held the imperial edict officer, put the imperial edict on the yellow case at Tiananmen Gate, and then announced that the imperial edict officer had boarded the gate and read the imperial edict in Manchu and Chinese. Civil and military officials lined up in the south of Jinshui Bridge, and elderly people led the other team to the north, kneeling three times and knocking nine times. After reading out, the imperial edict was put into golden auspicious clouds with the imperial edict officer, hung with colored ropes, held in Jinfeng's mouth, and put down the tower. Officials of the Ministry of Rites knelt down to receive the imperial edict, and then sent it to the Ministry of Rites to set up a incense table for offering, which was announced and promulgated to the world. Banquet The banquet of Emperor Guangxu was arranged in the center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The banquet tables of the queen's father and princes are located on the east and west sides of the emperor's throne. Outside the temple gate, officials of Ducha Academy sit under the west eaves, officials of Lifan Academy sit under the east eaves, while Spyker and officials of guards above the second grade sit on a single pen, and officials below the third grade are arranged on the left and right sides. The foreign ambassador sat at the end of the West District. Banquet seats are arranged in strict accordance with the hierarchy. The father of the Empress Dowager led his family to Ciningmen, bowed three times and nine times to Empress Dowager Cixi, and then stood on the east and west sides of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Emperor Guangxu came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to reign. At noon, bells and drums chimed, Zhonghe Shaole played "Chapter of Peace", funeral instrument Wei Ming flogged three times, the father of the Empress Dowager and his relatives bowed three times, and played "Chapter of Peace" in a single stroke. After the ceremony, the Queen's father led his family to sit down in turn, and the feast began. The tea official first offered milk tea to Emperor Guangxu, and everyone kowtowed to the Emperor. Then the emperor ordered the guards to distribute milk tea to the banquet officials. After the tea party, we will hold a banquet, and the ministers who ascended the throne will propose a toast to Emperor Guangxu, the father of the Empress Dowager, the clan and the ministers who attended the banquet. After satiated with food and drink, he performed the Qinglong Dance, which is famous for its "martial arts". The actors dressed in animal skins and masks recalled the difficulties of our ancestors in starting a business in Baishan Heishui. The banquet minister danced in the hall, and couples danced to the emperor in turn. Finally, Mongolian music, Korean somersault, Huizi music and rough Burmese music were performed. After the dance, the queen's father led his family to kneel down and kowtow to thank them, and the officials of the Ministry of Ritual told the emperor about the banquet. When the whip sounded three times and the emperor returned to the palace, the curtain of the wedding ceremony finally fell.