Royalty 101: Harems & Palace Women

[Music] royalty 101 the palace women and harems of asia the royal and imperial courts of asia had complex systems of female hierarchy the rulers wives and female relatives were at the top and a great many other ladies were there to serve them similar to the ladies in waiting of european royal courts these women cared for the rooms and wardrobes of higher ranking women assisted them in hygiene and grooming and entertained them kept them company acted as their secretaries and passed on all the latest gossip crucial to palace intrigue in islamic empires these women were collectively known as the harem anglophonic historians also use the term harem or palace women to refer to ladies of the imperial courts of east asia in christian europe kings were supposed to be faithful to their queens but they still got up to plenty of hanky-panky with the court ladies but in asia where polygamy was common practice all court ladies were available to the monarch for sexual services and if they took the emperor's fancy even the lowest born woman could be promoted to concubine consort or even empress let's take a look at the evolution duties ranks and lives of the harem and palace women of the imperial courts of china japan and the ottoman empire china the emperors of the han dynasty in ancient china had harems of thousands these women came from backgrounds both humble and high born they had intricate systems of rank and importance a palace woman's status was directly tied to how favored she was by the emperor how often she spent the night with him and if she had given birth to one of his children especially a son the rights of joe written in the second century bce on the organization of the imperial court says that emperors are entitled to the following spouses one empress three consorts nine imperial concubines 27 shifus and 81 imperial wives there was also a large pool of palace maids who served the wives these ranks were added to over the years and the number of women in each rank was different under each emperor he had the run of all of china when selecting women for the palace any healthy unmarried woman was eligible to be drafted into his harem and the emperor had the right to promote even the lowliest of women in his palace if he took a liking to her in 637 during the tang dynasty the 13 year old daughter of a province governor was offered a coveted position as one of the nine imperial concubines to emperor tai song he wasn't interested in young woo but she became a court secretary she did have a passionate affair with the emperor's son when wu was 25 the old emperor died and all of his widows were sent to a monastery where their heads were shaved and they were expected to live the rest of their lives as nuns but her former lover now emperor gao invited her back to his court she became his favorite and was made the highest of the nine concubines she gave birth to a son and a daughter empress wang who didn't have any children grew jealous when wu's daughter was found dead in her cradle she accused the empress of using witchcraft to murder her baby the empress was arrested had her hands and feet cut off and was drowned in a vat of wine wu took her place as empress and became the emperor's most important advisor at first she hid behind a pearl screen during council meetings but as her husband became ill more and more often she held the council meetings herself for 23 years she was the real power behind the throne she was ruthless even against her own relatives her niece became pregnant by the emperor so wu had her poisoned two of her own sons spoke against her and she had one poisoned and the other banished and ordered her daughter-in-law to be starved to death when her husband died her youngest son was made a puppet emperor but within a few years wu gave up the pretense and declared herself the first and only female emperor in china's history despite the bloodshed she was a favorable ruler she allowed commoners to serve in the government including appointing women to powerful positions unheard of before or after ended years of famine by building granaries and defended china against invasion when empress wu was 79 two of her sons murdered her guard lovers and deposed her she died the following year if you'd like to know more about empress wu zetian check out my video on her which i will link in the description a century later emperor sho song fell in lust with a beautiful young palace woman named yang gui faye the only problem was that she was already married to his son so he arranged for her to become a nun for a few days so that he could take her as his own concubine without causing scandal the emperor adored her he ordered 700 servants to sew her glamorous wardrobe and he ordered soldiers to ride hundreds of miles back and forth from southern china to deliver her favorite fruit lychee consort yong's family came into conflict with an imperial general who rebelled against the emperor soldiers blamed consort young's family for the dispute and massacred them they surrounded the emperor's pavilion and demanded that he put yang to death at first he refused but eventually he was persuaded that his favorite consort's death was the only way to end the conflict he ordered his advisor to take her to a buddhist shrine and strangle her when her corpse was shown to the soldiers they dispersed consort yang was buried wrapped in purple blankets with masses of costly fragrance in the 14th century the ming dynasty divided the pool of female court staff into six bureaus the bureau of general affairs bureau of handicrafts bureau of ceremonies bureau of apartments bureau of apparel and bureau of foodstuffs among these were secretaries midwives female physicians and other educated women as well as wet nurses maids entertainers tutors and sedan chair bearers the men of the court began to resent these women who had gained power and influence their pay was drastically reduced and their living and working conditions became intolerable many palace women couldn't afford to buy food and had to support themselves by selling embroidery at the market outside the palace adding to the misery emperor zhaoxiang was particularly cruel he allowed his young virgin maids to eat nothing but mulberry leaves and rainwater he forced them to collect their menstrual blood which he drank believing it was an elixir for long life maids who became ill from this poor diet were beaten or even executed in 1542 a group of palace women led by a maid named yang ji ying conspired to assassinate the emperor they snuck into his bed chamber in the dead of night with the intention of strangling him with a curtain cord but the women were discovered and put to death they were executed by a method called ling chi also known as death by a thousand cuts after that eunuchs began taking over the more prominent court positions while women were relegated to cleaning and reproduction there was one job vital to the harem that a eunuch couldn't do wet nurse breastfeeding was considered below the dignity of imperial consorts so whenever a baby was due 40 lactating women were selected for three-month commissions these women and their husbands and babies were given medical examinations and if deemed healthy they would be given an allowance for clothing rice and five ounces of meat a day imperial suns were fed by women who had given birth to daughters and imperial daughters by women who had sons this way the baby's yin and yang could be balanced and imperial babies couldn't be swapped or kidnapped some imperial children bonded with their wet nurses emperor gaoway so loved his wet nurse luling shin that when he came to the throne he elevated her above his own mother confucianism teaches that good wives should have no thoughts of jealousy but in practice that was rarely the case in the 1480s emperor che hua's favorite consort huang had trouble conceiving and when she finally became pregnant her baby was stillborn if she learned that another concubine was pregnant she would force them to undergo an abortion one minor concubine lady xi managed to keep her pregnancy a secret a eunuch helped her sneak her son out of the palace and raised him when the emperor who was far more interested in pornography and sex than in the aftermath realized that all of his efforts hadn't resulted in any living heirs he was devastated but a eunuch informed him that he did have one living child hong si and the emperor named him his heir furious consort wan had his mother lady xi murdered hong si was heartbroken in his eyes the palace system of competing concubines spelled misery and death when he became emperor he refused to select any concubines and took only one wife empress xiao chong ching and is said to have loved her sincerely he was the first and last chinese emperor to be monogamous in 1621 ming emperor tiong ti sent eunuchs across the country to select 5 000 beautiful girls aged 13 to 16 from whom he would select new wives during the first round of competition the women stood in lines of 100 according to age one thousand were eliminated for being too tall short fat or thin on the second day the eunuchs examined the women's bodies and evaluated their voices and manners sending another 2000 home the third day it was spent examining their feet hands grace and movement another thousand were eliminated the one thousand semi-finalists had to undergo a gynecological examination another 700 were dismissed the 300 finalists remained at the palace for a month during which they underwent a series of tests for intelligence merit temperament and moral character the top three candidates were made imperial concubines concubines were forbidden to have sex with any man other than the emperor and they were closely guarded by eunuchs men who had been castrated if they were chosen to spend a night with the emperor they must first bathe and be examined by a doctor with hundreds and sometimes thousands of women at the emperor's and call many of these ladies would spend their entire lives in the palace and never spend a night with the emperor concubines had their own rooms and would spend their days practicing various arts and crafts and socializing with each other the emperor's virility was considered crucial for the survival of the empire therefore his sexual schedule was carefully monitored by palace secretaries and astronomers it was believed that women were most likely to conceive during the full moon as that was the time when their yin or female energy was most powerful and could match the male yang therefore the empress and top-tier consorts were scheduled for nights with the emperor during the full moon the rest of the month his schedule was filled up with lesser concubines as their yin was thought to nourish the emperor's yang during the qing dynasty 1644-1912 the imperial harem was organized with the empress and the empress dowager the emperor's mother at the top followed by imperial consorts from noble families next consorts imperial concubines and finally concubines palace maids were selected every three to five years from the eight banner or noble families of china these girls were recruited at 13 and served for a term of 10 years they were not allowed to leave their mistress's side day or night or have any contact with the outside world including their families imperial women were assigned a number of maids based on their own rank the empress dowager had 12 maids the empress 10 imperial consorts 8 consorts 6 imperial concubines for and concubines two the royal courts of cambodia siam modern-day thailand and joyson modern-day korea took influence from the chinese system when setting up their own harems as did the imperial court of japan among the emperor's wives was one empress two consorts three madames and four beauties these women were drawn from the highest ranks of society there were also a number of court ladies who might be the daughters of ministers or minor aristocrats also of reverence was the dowager empress the emperor's mother and other widows of previous emperors but in contrast to the chinese system these women were highly educated they ran the imperial harem themselves rather than being guarded by eunuchs and they could hold high court offices in the emperor's personal household they were employed by the imperial bureau of palace attendance and were required to have sufficient education in classics to be accepted the highest ranking of these women oversaw imperial ceremonies and communication between the emperor and court officials other posts included overseeing the imperial treasures literary tools and books medicine the arsenal opening and closing the palace gates cleaning the palace and managing fuel water food liquor and clothing all of these women lived in the curl q section of the imperial palace male officials of the court often visited them for advice company or romance palace women contributed significantly to society particularly in the area of literature the pillow book a collection of poems and court recollections was written by lady say shonagon around the year 1002 and the tale of xinji the world's first novel was written by lady marashiki shikibu around 10 21 during the sengoku period 1467-1603 the highest ranking lady at court was the female assistant to the major council who ran the affairs of the daily life of the imperial household the second rank female palace attendant acted as intermediary between the emperor and those seeking an audience and issued his wishes in writing ladies in waiting acted as imperial secretaries and recorded everything that occurred any of these palace women could have been selected by the emperor or heir to the throne as a concubine but the practice of taking imperial concubines was abolished in 1924 emperor meiji who reigned from 1867 to 1912 was the last japanese emperor to practice polygamy he had one empress shulkin and five concubines the current emperor of japan nirohito has only one wife empress masako on the western side of asia the rulers of various islamic empires also had harems which is an arabic word the ottoman empire as the sultan was considered outside and above the rest of society if he married a muslim woman or a foreign princess then the royal family would be tied by blood to another family thus complicating the politics of the empire to maintain their elevated separation sultans reproduced via their harem harems consisted of hundreds of enslaved women as the quran forbids the enslavement of muslims most of these women were taken from christian parts of eastern europe russia greece and north africa the physical building of the harem or forbidden palace housed the sultan's concubines as well as his female relatives his sons until they reached the age of 12 and hundreds of servants to care for them all this gilded cage was set in the center of the royal court and only accessed by a secret entrance inside the women lived in the lap of opulent luxury it was called the abode of felicity because other than their liberty these women wanted for nothing the harem was a tranquil stunningly beautiful and luxurious building tiled in green blue and gold the women could lounge on sumptuous rugs and furniture and bathe in the placid pools in the middle of the complex they were given the finest food and drink and musicians performed for their enjoyment the women of the harem were highly educated and had access to an impressive library of books and scrolls many of which contained drawings of the human form frowned upon by strict muslims they spent their days doing embroidery practicing skills of dancing singing and playing instruments and being educated by older women in the harem the outside world of poverty and hunger was completely shut off from them and they could only catch an occasional glimpse of the sea contrary to western fantasies of orgies and the sultan throwing a handkerchief at the woman he wanted that night the emperor's bedmates were selected by his mother she was the queen bee of the harem and she had the power to make or break the women in it the potential mothers of future sultans were chosen not only for their beauty and health but also for their intelligence as they would be the ones to advise their royal progeny in the future those that the current mother deemed worthy would be instructed to bathe in a pool below her son's apartment then he would have the opportunity to observe them and make his selection once chosen the woman was taken to the bathhouse and given face and beauty treatments every single body hair was removed with arsenic paste and scraped off with a muscle shell her hands and belly were painted with hinna once cleansed the older women of the harem congratulated the lucky concubine and gave her tips for pleasing the sultan while dressing her in fine clothes and jewelry the women and musicians would lead her to the door of the sultan's chamber a eunuch announced her arrival and once the sultan commanded her to enter she bowed before him and crawled from the foot of the bed to reach him while he was with her the musicians continued to play outside the door during the reign of sultan murad iii the harem reached its height with 600 concubines not all of these women were sleeping with the sultan while the most beautiful were selected for reproductive duties many of the women were part of a large administrative hierarchy there were many jobs to be done to keep the luxurious harem running roles included mistress of dressmaking mistress of jewels mistress of coffee mistress of sherbert mistress of laundry and mistress of housekeeping and each had her own staff few outsiders ever entered at the gilded cage of the harem the exceptions were midwives who were allowed in to deliver babies they advised the women on other matters of health and on contraception we know that midwives prepared pessaries made of wool and coated in oil herbs and honey for various women in the harem but a concubine was not likely to try and prevent a pregnancy that might bring her honor and status if she was lucky enough to be selected for night with the sultan therefore these contraceptives were most likely prepared for use with the only other men allowed in the harem eunuchs in order to ensure that only the sultan was fathering children with his concubines the harem was guarded by eunuchs men who had been castrated some of these men were clean shaven meaning that all of their reproductive organs were cut off they carried silver quills in their turbines which they used to urinate but in many cases their testes were twisted and crushed rather than removed over time they might regain sexual function and there are multiple accounts of eunuchs having secret relationships with women of the harem to ensure that the sultan would not be cuckleded all of the eunuchs were dark-skinned africans so it would be clear if a concubine gave birth to the child of a eunuch in 1533 one concubine harim sultan so captivated sultan soleman the magnificent with her flaming red hair and love of poetry that he married her and made her his empress and chief advisor an unprecedented promotion hurim was by his side for the rest of his life and she ushered in a century of powerful concubines and mothers known as the sultanate of women i will link my series on these women who were the real power in the ottoman empire in the description a number of other islamic empires had harem systems very similar to that of the ottomans these included the umayyad and abbasid caliphates which took their turns controlling most of the middle east and north africa from 661 to 1517. the mughal empire which controlled the indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1857. jahan chief consort of jahangir was far more decisive and proactive than her royal spouse and she became the real power behind the throne for 15 years her niece mumtaz mahal was equally adored by her spouse shah jahan and when she died in childbirth he built the taj mahal as her mausoleum mule ismail sultan of morocco had over 500 concubines and achieved his 700th son in 1721. if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 1,346,324

Keywords: history, documentary, royalty, queens of the world, womens history, women in history, Royal history, Lindsay Holiday, Lindsay Holliday, History tea time, History tea time with Lindsay Holiday, harem, ottoman harem, chinese harem, emperor's harem, concubines, chinese concubine, japanese concubine, Forbidden city, imperial japan, courtesan, history of japan, history of china, imperial china, ladies in waiting, empress of china, empress of japan, sultanate of women, asian history

Id: QVMOfQqgm2M

Length: 25min 26sec (1526 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 22 2022