the emperor's life, according to the distinction between food, clothing, housing and transportation, I introduce Puyi's self-report; This is the most reliable first-hand information-of course, his food, clothing, housing and transportation are more or less different from his ancestors.
The eunuch who was in charge of the emperor's clothes was called "four deacons", which were crown, robe, belt and shoe. It's called "Four Deacons' Library", and it is actually the end-setting hall of the East Corridor of the Qing Palace, which means "end-crown setting".
According to Puyi, he "has been making clothes all year round, and I don't know what he has done. Anyway, he always wears new clothes". Quoting another data, it is counted that in the middle of October of a certain year, eleven fur coats, six fur robes, two leather tights, cotton trousers and thirty tights were made. In this way, cotton-padded clothes and tights can be worn new every day. He added, "For a single gown, 28 kinds should be replaced according to the list every year, from the blue-and-white inlaid gown on the 19th day of the first month to the mink gown on the 1st day of November."
according to: twenty-eight kinds of gowns and gowns, which specify the convention, are certainly good, but they are not static and must be changed when the time comes. Puyi is a person who can't help himself; The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the internal prison can only be satisfied if they spend money, so there are so many cases of preparing clothes. Before this, it was not entirely true, and Xuanzong was particularly frugal.
There is no need to ask for the materials used on the cloth. Before Hongyang, Jiangning, Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving yamen were responsible for using the materials for the four seasons. Others, such as Pi Tongzi, paid tribute from the northwest provinces of the frontier. Need to buy from the market, but "welt, pocket cloth, button and thread these little bits and pieces." However, according to Puyi's records, just making the aforementioned cotton-padded clothes, these "small bits and pieces" cost more than 2,111 silver dollars.
in terms of clothes, I must point out a wrong popular concept: as shown in TV series, when an emperor appears, he must wear a dragon robe or a bright yellow robe, which is actually a big fallacy. In addition to the ritual code, it must be made or served, and the emperor will live in the palace and even meet the minister, and also wear casual clothes; However, casual clothes at that time were now Chinese dresses, including robes, the "Wolong bag" now called mandarin jackets, and melon caps.
On food, Puyi has a vivid description:
There is another set of terms about the emperor's eating, which is absolutely not allowed to be wrong. Meal is not called meal, but called "meal", eating is called "entering meal", eating is called "passing meal" and the kitchen is called "imperial dining room". It's time to eat-there is no fixed time, it's entirely up to the emperor (Press: Puyi lives in hall of mental cultivation, and no one controls her, so she can do whatever she wants. Before Puyi, I have talked about the time of passing meals in the palace. The rules in the palace are very strict and can't be destroyed casually. Puyi's situation is special and unconventional. )-I ordered a "pass the meal", and the little eunuch in front of me said the same thing to the eunuch who was guarding the Ming Temple in hall of mental cultivation: "Pass the meal!" The eunuch in the temple passed this on to the eunuch standing outside Yangxin Gate, and he passed it on to the eunuch waiting in the imperial kitchen in West Strip ... So it has been passed into the imperial kitchen. (Press: Inside the Ganqing Gate, there is a door for things, which is called "Rijing" in the east and "Yuehua" in the west. In Yuehua Gate, it starts from Shufangzhai in the north, passes through Palace of Gathered Elegance, Yikun Palace, Yongshou Palace and hall of mental cultivation to the east, and reaches the right gate inside, which is called "Xiyi Long Street". Puyi's "West Long Street" refers to this. As soon as you enter the inner right door, the western head is the imperial kitchen, which is far from hall of mental cultivation. Outside the south wall of the Imperial Kitchen, there is military department. ) Before the echo disappears, a procession like a dowry has walked out of the imperial kitchen. This is a team composed of dozens of well-dressed eunuchs, carrying seven dining tables, holding dozens of red lacquer boxes painted with golden dragons, and heading straight for hall of mental cultivation. When he entered the Ming Temple, he was taken over by the little eunuch with white sleeves and set up in the East NuanGe. There are two tables of dishes on weekdays and one hot pot in winter. In addition, there are three tables of snacks, rice meals and porridge, and a small table of pickles. The box is bright yellow porcelain painted with dragon patterns and written with the words "long life without borders"; In winter, it is silverware, supported by porcelain pots filled with hot water.
Every dish or bowl has a silver medal, which is designed to guard against poisoning, and for the same reason, before the food is delivered, it must be tasted by a eunuch, which is called "tasting food". After these things were set, before I sat down, a little eunuch called out "hit the bowl cover", and the other four or five little eunuchs began to take off the silver cover on each dish and put it in a big box. So I started eating.
The so-called "abbot before eating" and the so-called "jade eats ten thousand squares", in the imagination of ordinary people, the heavenly chef's precious offerings, even if they are not the dragon's liver and phoenix marrow in folklore, must be mixed in materials. In cooking, frying and cooking are various. Actually, it's a big mistake.
Let's talk about the materials first. They are bland, mainly pork, mutton, chicken and duck, with little seafood and rare fresh fish. Vegetarian ingredients, but also mushrooms, cabbage, spinach, yam, kelp, radish, tofu, bean sprouts and so on. Not only is it not comparable to the diet of river workers and salt merchants, but it is also more exquisite than the jade food above.
when it comes to cooking methods, it is even more crude. Most of them are stewed in advance, placed in a yellow sand bowl, placed on an iron plate, burned with charcoal, covered with iron plate, and rekindled with charcoal, so the yellow sand bowl always keeps boiling. With a cry of "Pass the Meal", the caterers quickly removed the iron plate, overturned the dishes in the yellow sand bowl in the imperial porcelain, and buckled the silver cover to serve them.
is this dish delicious? Of course it's not delicious; Actually, I don't eat at all. So what to eat? Puyi said:
I actually eat dishes sent by the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager's death, four toffee ladies will send them, because the Empress Dowager or the toffee ladies have their own dining rooms, and they all use senior chefs to cook delicious dishes. There are always twenty kinds of dishes for each meal. This is the dish in front of me, and everything in the imperial kitchen is far away, just for show.
since the Kangxi era, the small kitchen system has prevailed. After Cixi listened to politics, it intensified, and the imperial dining room has become a wart, but no one dared to abolish it. The mentality handed down by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is: there is no example that cannot be promoted, and there is an example that cannot be destroyed. What's more, the imperial dining room is a proper system, and the imperial dining room is a major official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
when it comes to living, the empresses and concubines have their own owners. Theoretically speaking, the emperor lived in Ganqing Palace, the empress lived in Kunning Palace, the empress dowager lived in Cining Palace to the west of hall of mental cultivation, the emperor's father lived in Ningshou Palace to the east of the "East Six Palaces", and the concubines lived in the "East Six Palaces" around Kunning Palace, which is called "Yi Ting". But this is not necessarily the case.
let's talk about the emperor first. The reason why Kunning Palace can't live in people is as mentioned above; Since Sejong's reign, except for Mu Zong, who stayed here alone because of his anger, the other emperors only collapsed and moved their bodies to this "right bed", so they didn't stay here much before their death. So where do you live? Living in hall of mental cultivation.
hall of mental cultivation is in the right front of Ganqing Palace. Since the early years of Yongzheng, it has become the emperor's living room and the place where he manages affairs. Jiaqing was renovated in seven years. In addition to the East-West NuanGe, there are two houses in the back of hall of mental cultivation. The famous "Sanxi Hall" is connected with the West NuanGe. In addition, there are Xuan pavilions such as Sui 'an Room, Wuxun Zhai, Meiwu Room, Seeing Room and Youyu Zhai. The queen lives in Sui 'an Room, which is opposite to the emperor's bedroom in the east.
There are six palaces in the east and west, where concubines live, which is what people who like to read palace stories call the place. Generally, Dongliugong Bao kept the legacy of the Ming Dynasty, with little change. The West Sixth Palace is quite a bit more. Let's talk about the East Sixth Palace first.
Dongliu Palace is divided into two rows, each with three seats: the first row is Jingren Palace, Chenggan Palace and Zhongcui Palace from south to north, and the east of these three palaces is Yanxi Palace, Yonghe Palace and Jingyang Palace from south to north. One of the most famous is Yonghe Palace, which was occupied by Tian Guifei at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Wu Meicun's Poems of Yonghe Palace, which is full of feelings of rise and fall, is full of sadness and stubbornness. Coincidentally, Longyu, the last empress of the Qing Dynasty, also lived in Yonghe Palace. After the collapse of Longyu, Princess Duankang entered Yonghe Palace, and Duankang was Princess Guangxu.
Before Longyu, Empress Dowager Ci 'an, the first mother of Mu Zong, lived in Zhongcui Palace, which is the origin of being called "Empress Dowager Dong".
The regulations of the West Sixth Palace are the same as those of the East Sixth Palace, but they have been changed repeatedly since the Ming Dynasty. The first row is Yongshou Palace, Yikun Palace and Palace of Gathered Elegance, and the second row is Qixiang Palace, Changchun Palace Palace and Xianfu Palace. Yongshou Palace and Xianfu Palace remain the same, while Yikun and Chu Xiu, Qixiang and Changchun both merged, and their names were also changed.
yikun palace was the residence of empress dowager cixi when she was crowned princess, and Mu Zong was born here. When merged with Palace of Gathered Elegance, the Chuxiu Gate was demolished and the original site was converted into a sports hall; Palace of Gathered Elegance was behind the house, and later lived by Qiu Hong, queen of Xuantong. Before and after the two palaces, there are wings, among which the back wing in the east of Yikun Palace is called Pingkang Room. I don't know which emperor asked, but it is also strange that the word "Pingkang" should be called a spade a spade.
After the second row of Qixiang Palace merged with Changchun Palace, Qixiang Palace was renamed Taiji Hall; The Changchun Gate was demolished and the Tiyuan Hall was rebuilt. The real name of Qixiang Palace is Weiyang Palace, where the Ming Shizong's biological father Xing Xian Wang was born, so it was renamed Qixiang Palace. In the late Qing Dynasty, it was the residence of Princess Mu Zongyu.
Changchun Palace lived after the return of Cixi, and later Xuantong's concubine Wen Xiu lived here. Changchun Palace is characterized by a "Dream of Red Mansions" painted around the corridor, and the West Chamber is named Chengxi Hall, which is equipped with a shrine for the most holy teacher and is a place for reading literary embroidery.
Wenxiu wrote a short article called "Deer in Jingyuan", saying that "wild animals don't stay at home", and Yuanlu lost its freedom, "prisoners in Jewish prisons can't leave unless they are forgiven". The conclusion is: "Zhuang Ziyun: It's better for him to be born and drag his tail in the mud, no matter whether his death is bone or expensive." In the twentieth year of the Republic of China, when Puyi was still in Tianjin, Wenxiu asked for a divorce, which became a sensational social news and got her wish. And she has a brother who published an open letter to Wenxiu in Tianjin Business Daily, saying: "Emperor Manyunxun has not abused you; Even if it is abused, you should endure death. " He added, "I was a little strict with you in Zongzhong Palace, and refused to pretend to be a prostitute. However, it is my duty to hold on to you." These wonderful essays have also been told for a while.
Zhong Hua Palace behind Changchun Palace has been an important place in the emperor's life since Qianlong. When Yongzheng was in power, the prince did not divide the government, and the emperor sealed the treasure, and lived in Huagong after marriage; After the Emperor ascended the throne, Zhong Hua Palace became a "hidden mansion" and was greatly decorated. There is a hall of reverence, the forehead of which is titled "Leshan Hall"; A collection of poems printed by Emperor Gaozong when he was a prince is called Le Shan Tang Ji. There are two stories about Zhong Hua Palace. The History of the Palace of the Dynasty:
On the first day of December every year, the eunuch Chen Long, the leader of Maoqin Hall, waited in Zhong Hua Palace with a pen, a large pen and ink. With the pen of "blessing the whole life", there are more than ten words of blessing in the book, which are hung in various palaces. Of course, the general governor sent a letter and gave it a seal. On the 15th and 6th days, the imperial ministers and guards were called to Zhong Hua Palace; On the 26th and 7th, Wang Dachen, Imperial Palace Hanlin, etc. were called to Ganqing Palace for blessing.
Press: When the courtiers are summoned to give blessings to their faces, there is a ceremony: the emperor faces south, and the calligraphy is blessed; The giver kneels to the north, and when the imperial pen begins to descend, he begins to kowtow. When finished, the two eunuchs moved the word "blessing" from the recipient and put it on the ground to wait for the ink to dry, which was called "a blessing all over".
Miscellaneous Records of Xiao Ting:
On the third day after New Year's Day in Qianlong, Wang Dachen's talented poets were invited to give a song banquet in Zhong Hua Palace, and tea was given in a play, imitating the Bailiang system, and all of them were ordered to write a sentence to celebrate their prosperity. Regard the seat as the imperial seal and order the ministers to make peace with it. After that, I thought it was a regular gift.
The stage of Zhong Hua Palace is in the east, and there are five open halls in front of it, named Shu Fangzhai. After Xin You's coup, the two palaces hung curtains, taking Shu Fangzhai as the "office", and after retiring from the DPRK, they took care of things and ate here; There is a play every month. At that time, the two palaces were harmonious, leaning on the king outside and caring for the young emperor inside. Although they were orphans and widows, they were prosperous. The so-called "rejuvenation with the same light" is really just a few years when the two palaces were in Shu Fangzhai.
In addition, the East of the Sixth East Palace is Ningshou Palace, which was originally occupied by the Empress Dowager, and was rebuilt in the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong to prepare for the retirement home after returning to politics. In the sixty years of Qianlong, Yongding was a resting place for the emperor's father. Cixi also lived in Ningshou Palace in her later years. The main reason is that Ningshou Palace has a three-story stage called Changyin Pavilion, which is convenient for Cixi to "spread the drama".
Relative to Ningshou Palace are Cining Palace to the west of the Sixth Western Palace, Shoukang Palace to the west of Cining Palace, and Shouan Palace after Shoukang Palace. History of the Palace of the State Dynasty:
The emperor honored the holy grandmother as the Empress Dowager and the Virgin as the Empress Dowager, and lived in the palaces of Cining, Shou Kang, Ningshou, etc., where the imperial concubine and the imperial concubine lived equally.
Shou Kang, Shou 'an and other palaces were occupied by the concubines of the previous dynasties and the imperial concubines who had the titles of "Always" and "Promise". In the palace, these people belong to a forgotten group, so it is not far from the truth to call Shou Kang and Shou 'an cold palace.
when it comes to travel, emperors go out to the police and enter the coffin. They all sit in sedan chairs, ranging from the "jade chariot" carried by 64 people to the soft sedan chairs carried by two eunuchs in the palace. After all, there are not many opportunities for the emperor to leave the palace, so there is no need to elaborate; The situation of "walking" in the palace is quite a talk. As Pu Yi recorded, it is a regulation that has always been consistent; Wherever the emperor went, there were dozens of people crowding around:
At the front was a eunuch in a respectful room, who played the role of a car horn and sounded "eat-eat-"from time to time, warning people to avoid early. Twenty or thirty paces behind him were two eunuchs in charge, marching in goose steps on both sides of the road; About ten steps later, that is, the center of the line (me or the queen mother). If you are riding in a sedan chair, there is a little eunuch on each side holding the sedan chair pole to accompany you, so as to take care of it at any time; If it is on foot, they will help you. Behind this, there is also a eunuch holding a big umbrella. A few steps behind the umbrella, there are a large group of eunuchs holding all kinds of objects and bare hands: some hold Mazar for rest at any time, some hold clothes for changing at any time, and some hold umbrellas and umbrellas.
Behind these imperial eunuchs, there are eunuchs in the Imperial Tea Room, holding a number of boxes containing various snacks and teas. Of course, there are hot kettles, tea sets, etc., followed by eunuchs in the imperial pharmacy, who carry the burden and contain all kinds of standing small medicines and first-aid medicines. The essential ones are Dengxin water, chrysanthemum water, reed root water, bamboo leaf water and bamboo shavings water. In summer, there must be Huoxiang Zhengqi Pill, Liuhe Dingzhong Pill, Jinyi Qushu Dan, Wanying Ingot, Anyi and Piwen Powder, regardless of the four seasons.
At the back, there is a eunuch with a urinal. If you don't take the sedan chair, the sedan chair will follow at the end. Sedan chairs can be divided into warm sedan chairs and cool sedan chairs according to seasons.