Are you indulging in seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six hospitals or going to work conscientiously to approve the throne?
Are you really choosing? Don't think too much, as long as you are in the Forbidden City, don't think that you have a choice because you are the emperor. I really want you to travel back to the Qing Dynasty to be emperor, and your day is clearly arranged.
Although people at the top of the pyramid enjoy supreme power, is it really that easy to be an emperor?
Wake-up time-4 am
The eunuch and ladies-in-waiting outside hall of mental cultivation's back room were waiting when the drums of the Shenwumen Gate at the north gate of the Forbidden City rang. As long as there is movement in the room, it means that the emperor is going to get up, and the eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting on duty should cheer up and prepare to enter the room to serve the emperor.
Unexpectedly, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the highest authority in this country will be ready to get up. At this point, you may be brushing Tik Tok all night. Yawn together at 4 o'clock. You go to bed and the emperor gets out of bed.
The life and daily life of the Qing emperor continued the customs of Manchu before entering the customs, and there were quite regular work and rest arrangements, such as going to bed early and getting up early, doing things at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Here, the emperor still has the privilege, that is, before the emperor wakes up, if the alarm clock has not rung, no one is allowed to knock at the door, so as not to disturb the dragon body.
In case the alarm clock rings and the emperor hasn't woken up, he can't knock on the door to wake the emperor. Usually the emperor's personal eunuch coughs outside the door to remind the emperor to get up.
This not only gives the emperor enough leadership face, but also does not delay his own affairs.
When the emperor woke up, the maid waited on the emperor to freshen up. The personal eunuch of the palace put Huang Yunlong's satin bag on his head to pay tribute to the emperor, and then the maid dressed the emperor in a dragon robe.
When the emperor is dressed, he will drink a bowl of health soup. This soup is a bit special. This health soup must be at the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, because the emperor will ask the queen mother good morning after drinking it. If it is too hot, he will have to wait for it to cool down. If it is too cold, the emperor will have diarrhea. If this little thing is not done well, he will die.
Pay attention to safety and read early-5 am
Unlike in the drama of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi met with a smile and talked to the emperor. Jurchen nationality is a nation that pays great attention to etiquette and norms. In the Forbidden City, paying homage is an extremely serious matter. As the empress dowager, you need to sit still and be unsmiling.
When the emperor sees the Empress Dowager, he needs to make a "virtual gift", that is, throw his braid behind his back, let him kneel on one knee and put his right hand on the ground, but his knees don't touch the ground, so he kneels, and then greet the Empress Dowager as in the Qing Dynasty drama.
Please go back to the imperial study and start reading early after your peace. The content of early reading is generally hadith and records. The so-called "hadith" is the imperial edicts and quotations that the former emperors warned their officials; This record is the memorabilia and policy of governing the country during the reign of the emperor.
Listening to politics at the gate of the imperial city-6 am
After reading the morning class, the emperor will begin to work.
Emperors and ministers in the dramas of the Qing Dynasty often go to court in the Golden Palace, but this is actually wrong. The truth is that the emperor listens to politics.
Imperial Gate listened to politics, the Ming Dynasty began with Judy, the emperor shunzhi started with Taihe Gate, and Kangxi moved to Ganqing Gate. During the Yongzheng period, the northwest military affairs were complicated. In order to keep it secret, the military department was set up. The military department minister reported to the emperor every morning, but the location was not Ganqingmen, but hall of mental cultivation West Warm Pavilion.
When reporting, the emperor was sitting, and the minister was kneeling all the time. This is the rule of the Manchu Dynasty.
"The imperial gate listens to politics" is a case in which civil and military officials discuss the current affairs of the country, ranging from the diplomacy of the two countries to the issues raised by officials at the lowest level. During this period, officials from civil and military departments can discuss and express their views and opinions. In this way, for the emperor, he can more directly understand the national conditions at that time and the thoughts of ministers, and for ministers, he also has something to say. At the same time, it also prevented the imperial cabinet system from becoming closed, so that the emperor could not hear legal remarks.
After the memorials of the ministries and academies were processed, the emperor returned to the palace.
Breakfast-7 am
The Qing emperor only ate two meals a day, called breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is usually from 7: 00 to 9: 30 in the morning, and dinner is from noon 12 to 3: 00. After two main meals, add a snack each, and the time is not fixed.
The dining procedures of Qing emperors were divided into: passing meals, eating meals and having meals. Before the meal was delivered, the imperial dining room in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared meals for the emperors. The minister in charge of affairs needs to write down with pen and paper which servant washes dishes, which servant cuts vegetables, which chef cooks and which dish each dish is put on today. When the food is ready, the menu is given to the emperor. If the emperor doesn't want to eat it, he will use strokes to remove it.
When the emperor is eating, there is also a program of "typing", which, as the name implies, is to set the menu. When the emperor dines, there are special standards. The dining standard in Qing dynasty was 120 dishes per meal, and three tables were filled.
Before the emperor began to eat, a eunuch who specially tried vegetables tried poison with a silver needle in case someone in the palace wanted to harm the emperor. For the sake of double insurance, the eunuch who tried the food had to try it himself in addition to using a silver needle to test the poison, and only after eating it could he take it to the emperor.
After the eunuch tested the poison, the food was cooled by more than half. Although the emperor is the statue of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, he seldom eats hot dishes that have just come out of the oven. Even if he especially likes one dish, he can't eat more than three. After eating the third bite, the eunuch will withdraw the food and never see it again. This is a family rule handed down by our ancestors, so the emperor should be careful not to be insatiable and avoid poisoning.
The names of the meals used by the emperor every day are recorded in detail by the chef and assigned by the minister of the interior, and a copy is made every month, which is called "the bottom file of meals".
After breakfast, until nine o'clock, the emperor will start studying again. During this time, the emperor will listen to the scriptures. Speaking of learning, Emperor Kangxi is an emperor who loves learning. Emperor Kangxi changed the classic explanation from once every other day to once a day. Besides other activities, listening to books has almost become an essential lesson every day.
Handle government affairs-9: 00 a.m. 1 1
This point is when the emperor concentrates on dealing with government affairs. Generally, eunuchs will hand over the signature of the princes and ministers who ask to be summoned, which is called a "meal card". After dinner, the emperor decides who to summon.
In addition, during this period, the emperor also tried to play, and the Qing dynasty abolished the cabinet system. Coupled with the principle of confidentiality, the emperor must read the memorial carefully and understand the ins and outs of the matter before replying.
In the face of a mountain of memorials, it is often difficult for the emperor to speak. If all the memorials are work reports, there is nothing to say, but at least half of them are useless and the rest are nonsense.
Writing the memorial was a compulsory course for every official in ancient times. Due to the strict hierarchy, there are at least hundreds of words of praise in the memorial. If some officials are excellent in literary talent, they will make a long speech on the memorial, and it is difficult to stop without a few thousand words.
Enjoy lunch-from noon 1 1 to 12.
After noon 1 1, the emperor will invite some heroes or nobles to have dinner with him (the emperor himself will not eat). The emperor will personally deliver food to the courtiers to connect feelings and consolidate the relationship between the monarch and the courtiers.
Lunch break and dinner-12 noon to 3 pm
After dealing with so many affairs, the emperor is tired. At this time, he will take a lunch break. This lunch break depends on the emperor's fatigue, usually between 1 and 2 hours.
After lunch break, that is, around 2 o'clock, it is time for the emperor to eat. You heard me right. It's dinner.
The Qing dynasty has always maintained a system of two meals a day, only eating two meals a day, and the emperor is no exception.
The standard of dinner is the same as breakfast. Emperors usually have no concubines to accompany them when dining. There were too many dining rules in the Qing Dynasty, and concubines had a complicated set of etiquette to follow when serving the emperor. For fear of trouble, the emperor ate alone. Why does the emperor often say "alone" is because he is alone at a table every time he eats.
The process and rules of dinner are similar to breakfast, the only difference is the food.
Entertainment time-3 pm to 6 pm
After a busy day, it's finally time to watch TV and play games. It can be said that afternoon is basically the emperor's rest time. At this time, the emperor sometimes met officials to talk about state affairs, sometimes slept in cages, sometimes took his concubines out to travel, and sometimes practiced calligraphy, painting or writing poems.
Emperor Kangxi likes to inspect ministers and meet ministers during the rest time, while Yong Zhengdi is very boring. He likes to play the piano and study alone in his spare time, and Emperor Qianlong is the most hi. He likes to write poems and draw pictures in his spare time.
There are not many recreational activities that the emperor can choose in the courtyard of the deep palace. Occasionally, eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting competitions are organized to please the emperor, but more often, they go to the imperial garden to see flowers, birds, fish and insects, or to see the collected paintings and calligraphy.
Snack time-6 pm
At about 6 pm, if the emperor feels hungry, he can order the chef to prepare a snack. These snacks are all prepared in advance. As long as the emperor shouted "pass the rice", the eunuch in the imperial kitchen filled a table with snacks in a few minutes.
Worship time-7 pm
For dessert after dinner, usually around 7 o'clock, the emperor will offer sacrifices to the gods. The custom of offering sacrifices to God was made by the emperor shunzhi. In order to facilitate the emperor to offer sacrifices to the gods at night, the Qing court set up more than 40 places to offer sacrifices to the gods in the Forbidden City, which were distributed everywhere to prevent the emperor from running back and forth in the palace.
Next is the emperor's free time. Emperors usually deal with mourning affairs. If you don't handle the day's memorial service during the day, you have to work overtime at night. Kangxi handled at least 50 memorials a day, more than 80 in Yongzheng and more than 60 in Qianlong.
It takes nearly 5-6 minutes to read and revise a memorial, so at least 50 pieces need three hours. Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong never asked others to read the paper for them, so they often read the paper until late at night. Yong Zhengdi loves to watch the memorials, and every memorial should be carefully instructed and replied, including some "junk memorials" that have no practical significance. Sometimes the texts reviewed are vast, even exceeding the memorial itself.
Bedtime-after 8 pm
First failure
At bedtime, the eunuch in charge of the worship room will take out a big silver plate and kneel before the emperor. There are dozens of green signs in the silver plate, which record the names of the concubines. The emperor only looks at signs, not people. Whoever he chooses, turn the sign over.
Actually, it's all made up by TV series. The ancestors of the Qing dynasty had complete control over the outside world, but the harem was decided by the queen, including the emperor's flop. If the emperor wants to turn over the brand of any concubine, he must have the phoenix seal exclusive to the queen. If not, then this concubine will not be officially recorded, that is, the name is not justified. Besides, the emperor can't spend the night, so he can only stay in the Queen's Palace. If the emperor goes his own way and does not listen to dissuasion, the queen has the right to ask for family instructions and blame the empresses.
The second waitress
After turning over the sign, it is the sleeping session. According to the system of Qing dynasty, the red light should be hung upside down in front of the sleeping emperor's palace, and the selected concubines should take a shower first. This is the necessary preparation. The emperor sleeps first, and the eunuch will cover the quilt to the ankle joint of the emperor, and the dragon's feet will be exposed. At this time, the lucky princess has stripped off her clothes and waited outside in a cloak. The eunuch in charge of carrying the princess was sent to the dragon bed and pulled off his cloak. The princess climbed into the quilt from the exposed dragon feet, and then the emperor began to do things.
Why do concubines have to be wrapped in a quilt naked? In fact, it started from the former Jiajing Emperor, which is the famous Renyin Palace Change. To put it bluntly, I am afraid of the assassination of the emperor. Therefore, the Qing emperor put forward a "chicken roll" sleeping method, in which all the bodies were naked, beads and hairpins were removed, and no weapon could be carried on them, so that the emperor could enjoy this gentle and beautiful land with peace of mind.
The third reminder clock
The emperor of the Qing Dynasty was very diligent, from eating only a few mouthfuls of a dish to sleeping for several hours at a time, he paid attention to everything. The Qing emperor wanted to warn himself not to lust after beauty. After the sign is turned over, a special eunuch will remind the emperor to get up for no more than half an hour. Even when the emperor was in a bad mood, the eunuch who burned buns reminded him of the clock, because they stayed outside the window all the time, not because they had a hobby of eavesdropping and calling the bed, but because it was their duty. One is afraid that the emperor will be too excited and have an accident, and the other is to remind him of the clock. How long will this "point" last? I don't know. I don't think it will be long. Why? Have you ever waited for a train? You will be impatient in ten minutes. Most eunuchs in charge will be impatient and sing "It's time" first. If the emperor plays dumb, he will shout again. It was only three times, and the emperor had to ignore it, because there was a sword hanging high above his head. Its scientific name is "Li", and the emperor wants to send the beauty away again.
The fourth one helped.
Concubines need to climb out of the emperor's heel. Generally speaking, concubines will be wrapped up and carried out, but in order to spend more time with the emperor, they will think of various ways, in fact, in order to let the emperor keep the dragon species. Concubines need to show that the emperor is very powerful. They are exhausted and can only walk with the help of others. In this way, the emperor not only felt good about himself, but also probably let her stay for the sake of loving his concubine.
The fifth record
The concubines favored by the Qing emperors should be recorded.
The eunuch in charge carries a small notebook with him. When the emperor dotes on a concubine at a certain time, he should record and file it in detail, which is more detailed than the "dining bottom file" of the emperor's dining.
For the Qing emperor, the harem life is absolutely private, which is not just a matter of one person, but a question of whether the orthodox blood of the whole country and the royal family can continue.
This is a complete day for the Qing emperor. As an emperor, it is like this every day, day after day, year after year.
If you travel back to the past, become an emperor and be an emperor for one day according to the emperor's schedule, will you adapt?