Of the nearly 10,000 rooms in the lavish palace of the Chinese emperor, the concubines feared the most was the Leng Palace, a place for the defeated after the battle and they knew they would die there.
The Forbidden City is the ancient palace of the Ming and Qing feudal dynasties and is more than 560 years old. This great building is located in the center of Beijing, with an area of about 720,000m2 , it is said that there are 9,999.5 rooms (that is, half of the space is missing to complete 10,000 rooms). However, the staff of the Chinese Palace Museum confirmed that the Forbidden City has just over 8,600 rooms.
Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
The building was built in 1406, through 24 emperors. This is the place to concentrate power, summon the courtiers, the place to conduct great ceremonies, and also the living place of the emperor and his concubines. The wall surrounding the complex is more than 3,000m long and nearly 10m high. A river full of crocodiles and 6m deep surrounds the wall, supposedly for security, no one can enter or escape from the forbidden palace without permission.
Among the nearly 10,000 rooms, many visitors are curious about the harem area, because they want to know if there are “three palaces and 72 concubines” . In particular, when a concubine is disgraced and confined to the “court” , what kind of living conditions will she experience, be it like in a prison or not.
According to Ifeng, scholars believe that there is no fixed room for the palace, but the places where the concubines and princes are kept are called “the palace”. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, some rooms were used as palaces.
During the Guangxu Dynasty of Qing Dynasty, the beloved Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned by Empress Dowager Cixi in the northern room of the Canh Ky, and then the imperial consort was forced to jump into the well and die.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Qianxi Palace to the west of Ngu Hoa Vien was used as the imperial palace. Khach Thi was the nanny of Emperor Minh Hy Tong – Chu Du Hieu. Khach Thi colluded with the eunuch Wei Trung Hien and held a lot of power in the palace. All those who did not like Khac Thi were harmed.
As Truong Du Phi had a conversation with Khach Thi, she held hatred in her heart and put a bad word in front of Emperor Hy Tong, saying that the child that Truong Du Phi carried in her was not the emperor’s flesh and blood. After listening to this, Hy Tong sent Truong Du Phi to the imperial palace in the position of Ngu Hoa Vien of the Qing Dynasty. Guest Thi also did not allow people to bring enough food, causing Truong Du Phi to starve to death in the palace.
Thanh Phi, another concubine of Hy Tong, was kind enough to tell the emperor Truong Du Phi’s tragic story. Khach Thi learned that she also faked the emperor’s edict and imprisoned Thanh Phi in the palace west of Ngu Hoa Vien. Thanh Phi foresaw this scene and hid food, so he escaped from starvation. After that, some concubines were also detained here.
The concubines often starved or died of loneliness in the palace. (Artwork: Qulishi).
During the reign of Emperor Minh Hien Tong, Empress Ly Muc Ky was also imprisoned in the palace. The special thing is that a future emperor was born here. At that time, Van Quy Phi was favored by Emperor Hien Tong and did not like others to approach him. Those who gave birth to the emperor’s children and the pregnant Empress Ly Muc Te were also brought into the palace.
The empress gave birth to Chu Huu Duong and later became Emperor Minh Hieu Tong. With the help of many eunuchs and court ladies, Chu Huu Duong lived in the palace until the age of 6, when he was allowed to enter the palace to receive his father.
In addition, a researcher once mentioned “An Lac Duong” , also a leader. Women who are guilty or old and sick are brought here.
The palace, the tragic resting place of the disgraced concubines. (Artwork: Baidu).
Many women and concubines were locked in the palace and had to die here, making the world assume that the palace is only for women. Therefore, not many people know, in the history of feudal China, the palace was also used to imprison men and their end was as tragic as that of women.
This palace is beautifully named Cung Tieu Dieu , which means happiness and is associated with the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chu Nguyen Chuong. This emperor used to have a difficult childhood, so he hates lazy people. He prescribed for his subjects and the people to have only three days off a year for the New Year, the winter solstice and his birthday. All those who gamble or leisurely walk their dogs or take a bird cage for a walk must be imprisoned in Lau Tieu Dieu, turning a happy place into a place where lazy people have to starve to death.
Lau Tieu Dieu was originally in the old capital of the Ming Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, the Xiaoyao Palace was built. This palace later no longer held ordinary people but became a place to keep prisoners and eunuchs. They were starved to death. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, this “tradition” of Cung Tieu Dieu was also inherited.
Solve the mystery of the palace in the Forbidden City