China has been in a patriarchal society for a long time. In most cases, it is only for men to be officials. But there is a special group-" female officials ". This female official said that she was an official and not all officials. She was called an official because of her character, rank, and management responsibilities. It is not an official because it basically does not participate in the affairs of the national economy and the people's livelihood, and only serves the inner court. However, they are different from concubines. Most of them do not have the names of husbands and wives with the emperor.
Picture above _ a good woman, a good surname (ancient sound (zǐ), the same child surname)
pre-Qin: the birth of a female official _spanspan1 span1 strong Participated extensively in state affairs. Judging from the unearthed cultural relics, the women of the Shang Dynasty had power in all fields of military, political, and religious sacrifices. Rufuhao is a female general who can lead tens of thousands of troops on an expedition. These people are true female officials, which is different from the female officials of the harem.
By the Zhou Dynasty, the legacy of the matriarchal society of ancient times faded away, male power was further strengthened, and the status of women further declined. The legend of Zhougong system "Zhou Li" illustrates the strengthening of the patriarchal system. The scope of public posts that women can hold has been greatly reduced, and their responsibilities are also limited to serving the private life of the emperor and participating in management ceremonies and religious activities. The beginning of later female officials can be seen in "Zhou Li".
Above picture_ "Zhou Li" is a Confucian classic, one of the thirteen classics
There are six types of official system in "Zhou Li",According to the world spring, summer, autumn and winter, female officials are divided into Tianguan system and Chunguan system .
Tianguan "should command his subordinates, and Zhang Bangzhi, Yizuo kings all states" . There are 63 kinds of official positions, including 7 kinds of female officials. According to the level from top to bottom, they are , world women, female princes, female confession, female history, internal service, and meeting people. The nine female princes have no prince, and the female wish is no prince.
The nine concubines are in charge of the "law of learning from women", in charge of the laws and regulations of the harem, and arranging for the concubine to sleep with the king. It is also responsible for assisting and assisting the queen when offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple, banquet princes, and funeral events.
"Rituals" in the palm of the world, in the ceremony, manage the maids to clean the sacrificial vessels and select offerings. Before the emperor, queen, and nine concubines arrived, they were responsible for supervising the preparation of the sacrificial vessels. After the death of Doctor Qing, he was responsible for expressing condolences on behalf of the royal family.
The female imperial under the world, assists the nine concubines in arranging the concubine's bed, and is responsible for turning over the female red completed by the concubine every autumn. Assist in the management of court ladies during the sacrifice. The female prince also has a duty to take care of bathing and changing clothes to cleanse the remains when the queen and queen mother die. When the worldly woman goes to the doctor's house to attend the memorial service, the female prince must also accompany it.
women's celebration, "the sacrificial offerings within the queen of the palm, and all prayers within the queen", referring to women in the family of Zhuguan. The inner sacrifice is the sacrifice inside the palace, mainly for the door god, the kitchen god, and the household god in the palace.There are also daily necessities for good and bad things.
above picture _ ancient sacrificial portrait
female history, "to the well-known women of the good family", ": "span 3·Quiet girl" The group of concubines used courtesy to impere the emperor, and the female history book their sun and moon". It is equivalent to the Tai Shi Ling of the Harem. However, Taishi wrote about national events, and female history wrote about the secrets of the harem. Female history is also responsible for "inverse inner palace, book inner order". "Book Nei Ling" is easy to understand, and the so-called "inverse Nei Gong" refers to the financial affairs of the internal palace.
There are also internal service and meeting people, then "hands the clothes in the palace together." Daily clothing and ceremonial costumes are managed by Qi He Eun Temple (eunuch).
Chunguan "is the Chunguan Zongbo, the envoy and his subordinates are in charge of state rituals." belongs to the system of "rituals". Although the Tianguan system is also responsible for many ceremonies, it is a royal ceremony, and the ceremony of Chunguan is a "state ceremony", which belongs to a national ceremony. There are four classes of female officials in the Chunguan system, the world woman (different from the celestial official world woman, some scholars call it the maiden maiden), the inner sect, the outer sect, and the witch. They mainly play the role of master of ceremonies, priest . Aristocratic women, such as the wives of scholar-officials and clan women, were mainly in charge.
above
female officials in the Qin and Han Dynasties _strong20 strong p0 in the Qin and the Six Kingdoms _span p0To dominate the world, the unified feudal dynasty was created, and the bureaucratic system of three gongs and nine qing was established. The harem also established a set of hierarchical concubine system from the queen, the lady to the ambassador, and the minor ambassador. However, the situation of the female officials in the harem who are exclusively in charge of internal duties is still unclear.
The harem of the Han Dynasty is huge, and the "Old Ceremony of the Han Palace" contains: "beauties are more than waiting for the emperor, countless, the emperor Yuan and the emperor are a thousand people." Responsible for management. However, the system of female officials in the Han Dynasty did not see special records in historical books, only sporadic information between the lines:
Nushangshu. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Chen Fan Biography": "Zheng Sa and Mrs. Zhao and other female Shangshu messed up the world." The specific authority is unknown, it may be the Shangshu of the inner palace, in charge of the Queen's edict.
The female prince. It is equivalent to the female prince in "Zhou Li".
Above picture_ Feng Xun, birth and death year unknown, famous Western Han politician, diplomat
female history. There is also a female history in Han Palace , Ban Jieyu " self-mourning poem ": "A poem to ask a woman in history".
History of waitresses. "Hanguan Jiuyi": "For both Shangshu and Langbo, and two female servants in the history, choose the correct one from the straight." "Han Yi": "Yong Ping seven years, the fall of the queen mother...The history of female servants is all three hundred people Prime,Participate in Bai Su, lead the coffin to elegy"
female rider. A female officer of honor on horseback. "The Book of Hundred Officials Four": "In the Palace, six female riders"
nobles of all gardens. Responsible for management Emperor’s Mausoleum. "Book of the Later Han·An Di Ji": "Give nobles to the gardens". Note: "The palace has no children to guard the cemetery."
Above_ "Hanshu", also known as " Pre-Hanshu", is China's first chronological history
after the Han Taishu. ": "Shangguan empress dowager is rarely talented." Maybe the empress dowager's professional musician.
Yongxiang Ling. In charge of the harem prison. Originally a female post, after the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was changed to an eunuch.
Han Palace The female officials also included palace chiefs, court forest tables, female doctors, witches, etc. Some responsibilities are no longer available.
after the Han Dynasty in the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the system of female officials is constantly improved. Northern Wei filial piety _strong20 Wendi , changed the internal officer, set up women's positions. In order to classify internal affairs. There are internal divisions, chiefs, eunuchs, maidservants, nvshangshu, scholars, middle envoys, etc., and set from second to fifth The official salary of the product is equivalent to that of the foreign officials of the same level.
Above picture_ Sui Dynasty Three provinces and six provinces system
1 Tangspan strong mature female span_strong span_span_strong1720span1spa n The Sui Dynasty was a period when Chinese feudal society became mature.Wai Chao has implemented a system of three provinces and six ministries with a clear division of labor. There are also various functional agencies regulated in the corresponding inner court. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had six shang, six divisions, and six codes; Emperor Yang of the Sui was changed to six shang twenty-four divisions, "the government of the palace with the palm of the hand". The Tang Dynasty generally inherited the Sui Dynasty system and supplemented it. The female official system in the Sui and Tang dynasties has a complete organization, clear responsibilities, full performance of their duties, and integrity, and has become a model for later generations of female official systems.
The Tang Dynasty divided the high-ranking Houguan Jiali into two parts. Internal officials and palace officials. The internal official is the concubine, and the palace official is the real full-time female official.
internal official. The queen commander of the harem, the mother ceremonial world, is superior to a hundred officials. Those under the queen are granted ranks according to their dignity and inferiority. The most senior are the three concubines, namely Hui Fei, Li Fei, Hua Fei , which are the first-grade positive ones, equivalent to the prime minister's three males. There are six instruments such as Shuyi, Deyi, and Xianyi, which are the second grade. The next one is the beauty, the third grade. Next is the talented person, the fourth grade. Wu Zetian is a talented person when he enters the palace.
Above picture_ Wu Zetian (624-December 16, 705)
Palace official, female official in charge of the concubine. Most of them belong to the six departments, namely Shanggong Bureau, Shangyi Bureau, Shangfu Bureau, Shangshi Bureau, Shangxing Bureau, and Shanggong Bureau.
Shanggong Bureau, "Guide Zhonggong", "Six Shanggong teller books, all printed belong to it". Assist the queen, master the documents,Give orders. The chief official Shanggong two people, the fifth grade. There are Siji, Siyan, Sibu, Siwei and other officials.
Shangyi Bureau, "Palm Etiquette Living". The chief official Shangyi is the fifth grade. There are Siji, Si Le, Si Bin, Si Zan and other officials.
is still serving the bureau, "the technique of taking chapters in the palm". Regarding the emperor’s harem, the chief official still served two people, the fifth grade, Sibao, Siyi, Sishi, and Sizheng.
Shangshi Bureau, "the art of eating and eating with palms". In charge of eating, the chief official still eats two people, with five grades, and there are four divisions of Sishan, Sijian, Siyao, and Sixi.
Picture above_ "Tangren Palace Music Picture" depicts a scene of the feasting life of the royal ladies in the Tang Dynasty. In charge of the banquet and "sleeping" of the emperor and the concubines, the chief official is still in bed, and it is also the fifth grade. There are four divisions of Si Shi, Si Yu, Si Yuan, and Si Deng.
Shang Gongju, "The Course of Handling Women Workers". The female red in the harem. The chief official is still meritorious, and he is still a five-rank, with four divisions under the division system, division system, division division, division division, division division, division division, division division.
In addition to the six sangs, there is also a Gongzheng who has five grades, masters the discipline of the harem, and is the deputy of Sizheng Sidian. There is also Tongshi , "remembering the merits and demerits". There are also female historians who have no quota, that is, clerical clerks.
The most famous Tang female official is Shangguan Wan'er , who has won the trust of Wu Zetian, and she has to do more with her edict, and she is called the "female prime minister."
Above image_ The artistic image of Shangguan Wan'er in the Tang Dynasty
Ming and Qing Dynasties: the decline of the system of female officials _span20 strongp _p7 Ming Dynasty,There are no major changes. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang attaches great importance to the construction of female officials. There are a set of strict regulations regarding the appointment and performance of female officials. He believes that a strong group of female officials can suppress the power of concubines and prevent eunuchs from monopolizing power. But since became the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Di, the emperor gradually began to reuse eunuchs. By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the harem administration was mostly controlled by eunuchs, and the power of women officials existed in name only.
During the Qing Shunzhi period, the plan was to continue to use the six system. However, it was not implemented because of the consideration of streamlining the team and saving financial expenditure. The second is that it does not conform to the old Manchurian system and is hindered by conservative forces.
In the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the House of Internal Affairs was established, and the royal affairs were managed by the House of Internal Affairs, and there was no need to establish a female official system. Therefore, there were no full-time female officials in the Qing Dynasty. However, in the Qing Dynasty, women who served in the palace such as the Eight Banners’ concubines and favored concubines who could manage affairs in the palace were called female officials. For example, Empress Dowager Cixi has eight former female officials such as , Empress Longyu, and Fei Jin. Among them are sisters De Ling and Rong Ling. They are the daughters of diplomats Yugeng. They were educated in the West since they were young, and will be secretly informed by the Qing palace. Written in English, it is quite influential overseas.
Above image_ Yu Deling (1886～1944), under the pen name Deling Princess
_span3p _span3p 1span3p The fate of female officials is not the same span7_strong ,There are aristocratic women who directly enter the palace to serve, and they are also selected from the people like draft women. The female officials of the Ming Dynasty Firstly, selected from the folks, good-looking, well-knowledgeable, and talented women without husbands; the second is to select shrewd and capable women from the court ladies. After the female officials selected from the private enter the palace, they are under strict control like the maids. You have to go to the department." "If a female official has a fault, it will be a court lady."
The female officials of the Ming Dynasty served in the palace. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's system, "the service is more or five years and six years, and it belongs to the parents and the marriage, the woman who is the senior in the marriage, please return to the fate of the woman, who is willing to stay hear". After five or six years, he can voluntarily choose to stay. But in the Yongle years, the rule was changed to ten years of service or more than fifty years of age. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the young officials were not released until they were “begging to return” at the age of 60 or 70, and some of them were too old to return to their hometowns.
Such as Zhejiang Wucheng female Shen Qionglian, she was elected to Ye Ting at the age of thirteen. Once composing "Shougonglun" was appreciated by the emperor, he became an official and then went to Shangyi, known as Nvge Lao. Talented, "People thought that Jie Yu had insufficient stamens." Serves Tianshun , Chenghua , Hongji Three emperors of the three dynasties, never married, and finally died in the deep palace.
above picture_ " a lady wielding a fan " Zhou Fang a work describing the lives of court women in the Tang Dynasty p_1span3 p0Although the female official was not originally the emperor's concubine, but when the emperor saw it as a lucky concubine, she would naturally become a favored concubine, and even Qingyun became a queen. There were many empresses in the Tang Dynasty who were court officials.
such as Tang Suzong 's Queen Wu, Queen Xiao of Mu Zong, Queen Wei. Ming Dynasty Ming Xiaozong Emperor's biological mother Ji clan, who was also a female official, was born the prince by the Xianzong . In order to avoid the persecution of his beloved consort Wan Guifei, the prince hid until he was 6 years old and was discovered by the emperor. Because of the birth of the dragon seed, Ji himself was promoted to concubine Shu, but suddenly died suddenly, no one dared to ask. It was not until his son became the emperor twelve years later that he was named Empress Xiaomu's empress dowager. But this world's highest honor and wealth, she herself has not been able to enjoy.
Author: Big Lion Correction/Edit: Lilith
References: _p7span strong 17strong in ancient China Journal of the University 1996.3
[2] The discussion of female officials in "Zhou Li" Dong Yunxiang Cultural Journal 2008.2
[3] "Examination for Female Officials in Han Dynasty" Wu Congxiang Shandong Women's College Journal 2015.8 _Tang1span [span3span] Characteristics of Female Officials" Liu Xiaoyun Journal of Capital Normal University (Social Science Edition) 2006.S2
[5] "Research on Female Officials in Ming Dynasty" Pan Yue Central University for Nationalities 2012
[6] "Research on Palace Affairs Management of Ming and Qing Dynasties" Yao’an Central University for Nationalities 2005
The text was created by the History University Hall team,The picture comes from the network and the copyright belongs to the original author
.
