People in Zongwu: Starting with the Yin Gui Sect

Chapter 329

How strict was the imperial concubine selection system in the Ming Dynasty?

Let’s put it this way. The strictness of the imperial concubine selection system in the Ming Dynasty was well-known in history, and many of the women who were selected were women from the people. This was mainly to avoid the risk of the imperial harem interfering in politics.

After all, if the daughter of an official family, more or less, would also explore the emperor’s mind, so that his family could thrive in the former dynasty.

If it were a woman from the people, there would be no need to worry about the existence of relatives, so the selection of women from the people became the first choice of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

But even if women from the people were selected, in order to avoid selecting some women who were not poetic, the selection of imperial concubines in the Ming Dynasty still needed to go through layers of selection, which was divided into several steps.

The first step was a nationwide audition. The eunuchs would first select about 5,000 women reported from various places, and the age of the women was between 13 and 16 years old.

Therefore, before the selection of concubines, girls aged 13-16 must stop getting married. The emperor and the prince will choose first. After the eunuchs' selection, these 5,000 people have only passed the preliminary audition. The eunuchs will then conduct another assessment and selection.

Among them, those who are too fat, too thin, too tall, and too short will be eliminated. After this step, only 4,000 people will be left. After the selection of height, shortness, fatness, and thinness, the third step is to assess the appearance.

The assessment content involved in this assessment is very strict. First of all, the facial features must be coordinated and look very pleasing to the eye. Secondly, the skin should not be too white, but also not too dark. The whitest skin is the best.

After that, the hair will be observed to see if the hair is falling or not, whether it is dense, etc. If the hair is less, it will also be eliminated.

Then there is pronunciation. Because they are selected from all over the country, there are also requirements for speaking pronunciation. Otherwise, once the emperor asks questions, it is not advisable to open your mouth and speak not gently or the emperor cannot understand. By this round, about 2,000 people will be eliminated.

The next step is the assessment of manners. The measurements of women, their posture when walking, and their etiquette when talking to others are all within the scope of the assessment. The most stringent is that even the size of their hands and feet will be recorded. In this round, another 1,000 people will be eliminated, and only 1,000 people will be left in the end.

However, these 1,000 people can be kept for use, and the worst will be a palace maid.

The next step is the physical examination, which is similar to the physical examination for employment in later generations, to ensure that there are no physical problems. However, in addition to the physical examination, after all, they have to serve the king and the crown prince, and they cannot be made to feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, after the examination, 70% will be eliminated as palace maids according to the situation, and the remaining 30% will be kept for observation again. This time, the main inspection is whether the women snore, whether they fart elegantly, whether they grind their teeth, and whether their feet are smelly. In addition, those who smack their lips when eating will also be eliminated, and only 50 people will be left in the end.

The last step is the finals, 50 to 3, such a difference in the number of people can also make everyone scramble for it, but the last step is almost based on rapport and luck.

This step is personally selected by the concubine or the empress dowager, and the three winners are selected. The emperor will finally designate who will be the queen and who will be the noble concubine, and the rest will be decided by the empress dowager.

There are 12 levels in the harem of the Ming Dynasty, namely the queen, the master of the central palace, followed by the imperial concubine, the noble concubine, and then the concubine, the concubine, the talented person, the concubine, the imperial concubine, the imperial concubine, the beauty, the imperial concubine, the selected concubine, and the lady.

There is only one queen, which is unified in the world, no matter which dynasty, and the imperial concubine and the noble concubine usually have 1-2 people, mainly depending on the emperor's mind.

The other levels and positions are initially drafted by the empress dowager or the queen, and whether they can be promoted depends on their own ability.

The titles for different levels are different. The queen and the imperial concubine are generally called by their positions directly, but the queen will also be called the main palace or the central palace. If you call the queen or the imperial concubine by their names, you will be beheaded.

The titles of concubines in the Ming Dynasty were usually selected from Shu, Zhuang, Jing, Hui, Ning, Gong, Chen, Xian, etc. If they could be given a title personally by the emperor, it would be the highest honor in the harem.

There were not so many requirements for the titles below Cairen. Generally, they were called according to their surnames, such as Li Cairen, Li Zhaoyi, Li Xianshi, etc. if their surnames were Li.

In a word, the concubine selection system of the Ming Dynasty was stricter than that of all dynasties in history. In addition, many emperors of the Ming Dynasty were famous for their loyalty. Therefore, except for the main queens, concubines and imperial concubines, it was extremely difficult for others to get the emperor's favor.

Among them, Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youxuan was the only good emperor and husband who loved only one woman in his life.

Let's get back to the point,After nearly two months of selection, this vigorous talent show is finally coming to an end, so Wu Yu was pulled into the harem by Concubine Liu early in the morning to choose his queen and concubine or imperial concubine from the three outstanding girls.

But when Wu Yu saw the concubines selected by Concubine Liu, he was stunned.

"No, what's going on!"

Wu Yu didn't expect that two of the three girls selected by Concubine Liu were people he would never have thought of - Yaoyue and Lianxing.

Isn't it said that the selected concubines are generally not over sixteen years old? If he remembered correctly, both Yaoyue and Lianxing are over thirty years old.

However, he was relieved when he saw the other party's appearance. Although Yaoyue and Lianxing are older, they look no more than sixteen or seventeen years old because of the skills they practiced.

Especially Yaoyue, who is petite and delicate. It is estimated that people will believe that she is only fifteen years old.

In other words, the concubine who was responsible for the final check was deceived by their appearance.

Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is why the two of them are among the concubines.

"Brother Jian, you are here. Come and see how the three concubines I have chosen for you are!"

Liu Taifei, who has not yet realized the seriousness of the problem, is obviously still complacent about choosing three celestial beauties for the emperor.

Wu Yu just pursed his lips when he saw this, but since he had come here, there was naturally no reason to retreat. Thinking of this, Wu Yu went directly to the two women.

"You must think it over carefully. This Forbidden City is not like your Yihua Palace. Some things are beyond your control."

Originally, Wu Yu said this to make them retreat, but he didn't expect Lianxing to nod directly.

Although Yaoyue did not move, she also expressed her intention by not speaking.

"Okay, in this case, you can stay. If you feel tired of staying in the Forbidden City one day, I can let you leave at any time!"