69 replies to this topic

[thirdgumi]

Kang Xi has some 30 something sons alone, not counting daughters.

So he did his job well.

[Daniel]

So he did his job well.

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Or the concubines did their job well. Their part of the job being a bit tougher than his.

[snowybeagle]

Or she did her job well.  Her part of the job being a bit tougher than his. 

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Not she, they.

Given the number of children and number of concubines, it doesn't make him out to be a lusty person.

Imagine - no contraceptive everytime, and when one concubine is pregnant, others can still conceive. A normal guy could achieve that without too much effort. The difference is a normal guy doesn't have that many concubines, nor could he afford to support such a big family.

Sometime ago, a newspaper article ran a story of a Muslim guy in Indonesia with several wives and a comparable number of children to KangXi - IIRC, he runs a restaurant for a living. This guy admit he was lusty 'cos he can't stop himself. Every time he happen to employ a pretty staff ... Anyway, the family just get by on the bare necessities.

[Daniel]

You are right, of course, snowybeagle. Even as you wrote that, I was editing my statement to reflect the truth.

[Moose]

That is because the Qing dynasty requires all the emperor's concubines be Manchus, and since Manchus have been inbreeding to keep their bloodlines "pure" the ugliness can thus be explained. 

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Inbreeding?I think the reason could be those ugly ones were chosen for political purposes than for bedside purposes.Anyway,if the emperor has so many concubines,nothing could stop him from having an orgy every day so that he can go through all his concubines in less than a few years.

[Liang Jieming]

I read somewhere that the Emperor needed his concubines. He was the ultimate Yang essence in China and only the Empress had sufficient Yin to match his Yang. However, he couldn't sleep with the Empress all the time so whenever he wasn't with the Empress, he needed 7 (or 9? I forget) women in his bed to "match" his Yang energy.



I just think it's the ultimate reason to get more women into your bed. I don't think many emperors complained or argued against this viewpoint.

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Ok, another thread talking about women with NO pictures of women.

Sigh.

Looks like I need to dip into my dwindling pool of pictures again.

Here's proof that not every concubine is ugly! Empress Wanrong and concubine


Here's how he choose them. Young it seems. Disgusting!


Jieming

[General_Zhaoyun]

However, he couldn't sleep with the Empress all the time so whenever he wasn't with the Empress, he needed 7 (or 9? I forget) women in his bed to "match" his Yang energy.

7 women in his bed? That is too much!!

[Yun]

Actually, it was nine... but this is based on the Zhou Li 《周礼》 (Rites of Zhou) which applied to the Zhou dynasty, and the later dynasties mostly did not follow it. The relevant passage of the Zhou Li:

"The lower-ranking women come first, the higher-ranking come last. The assistant concubines, 81 in number, share the imperial couch 9 nights in groups of 9. The concubines, 27 in number, are allotted 3 nights in groups of 9. The 9 spouses and the 3 consorts are allotted one night to each group, and the empress also alone one night. On the 15th day of every month the sequence is complete, after which it repeats in the reverse order."

The rationale is explained in Robert Temple's "The Genius of China":

The emperor, known as the Son of Heaven, was full of a powerful yang force, which was the essence of masculinity. But he needed to be fed with a matching yin force, the essence of feminity. At the time of the full moon, when the yin force was at its peak, the empress would sleep with the Son of Heaven, feeding him with her powerful yin. This would be the most propitious time for a conception to take place. The lesser women, during the time of the Moon's waning, had to sleep with the emperor in groups in order to pool their respective yin forces to overcome the lack of the Moon's strength. For most of the nights of his life, therefore, the emperor slept with nine women at a time.

[My problem with Temple's analysis is that there is no proof that this part of the Zhou Li was followed even in the Qin dynasty, and the Zhou Sons of Heaven were not 'emperors' but more feudal 'kings'.]

[TMPikachu]

The bodies of women serve him as concubines just as the bodies of men serve him as soldiers. I can see a sort of justification, 'cause in the end, every soldier is a war prostitute.

[Yun]

Reminds me of that proverb (is it from Confucius?) that says: "A warrior dies for the ruler who appreciates his talents, and a woman puts on make-up for the man who loves her face."

[Sephodwyrm]

No wonder some emperors had short lives...

[Borjigin Ayurbarwada]

"That is because the Qing dynasty requires all the emperor's concubines be Manchus, and since Manchus have been inbreeding to keep their bloodlines "pure" the ugliness can thus be explained. "

No, concubines doesn't have to be Manchu, only the Empress, the emperors have plenty of concubines thats why there are theories that Kang Xi's mother is actually a Han.

[MC420]

Hi Folks:

I've read a few literatures, which indicated few kings/emperors in China and other vasal states at times they could have 3,000 concubines or more ....!

I'm just wandering, logistically how they could house, feed, clothes, entertain, and ... of all these ladies (who supposed to be untouchable by anyone else)? Do they have to amass an army of 10,000 emuchs, maids, etc. to handle these mundane tasks, etc.?

Are there any references, books, records available to show how them courts able to manage these ladies for those Chinese kings/emperors?

[CARDINAL009]

Hi Folks:

I've read a few literatures, which indicated few kings/emperors in China and other vasal states at times they could have 3,000 concubines or more ....!

I'm just wandering, logistically how they could house, feed, clothes, entertain, and ... of all these ladies (who supposed to be untouchable by anyone else)? Do they have to amass an army of 10,000 emuchs, maids, etc. to handle these mundane tasks, etc.?

Are there any references, books, records available to show how them courts able to manage these ladies for those Chinese kings/emperors?

How many concubines do military advisors get?

[Kediren]

it was more political as love marry.. all this ladies do garanty him a lojality their families and teritorries..