Today, the History Encyclopedia editor brings you the story of the Ming Dynasty. Interested readers can follow the editor to take a look together.
The late Ming Dynasty coincided with the Little Ice Age, and after Emperor Chongzhen came to power, he executed Wei Zhongxian, who exploited the real estate class and civil servant group, instead of supporting a new eunuch. This ultimately led to Chongzhen’s downfall due to insufficient war funds when he fought against Li Zicheng. It seems that the Ming Dynasty was quite ‘poor’.
But according to the “History of the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty”, the expenses of the imperial harem were enormous. “During the Ming Dynasty, the cost of cosmetics ranged from 400000 taels per year to 400000 taels per year, and the use of firewood and charcoal was used for internal decoration. The fame and fortune were cleverly established, and the expenses were even more extravagant. It is not difficult to find from here that during the Ming Dynasty, the Guanghou Palace spent 400000 taels of silver a year on cosmetics. No wonder it died so quickly.
Since ancient times, the harem has been a dream place for most women in the country. Many people spend their whole lives hoping to have the opportunity to enter the palace, have a romantic relationship with the highest authority – the emperor, and strive for glory for themselves and their families.
Since ancient times, it has been the norm for men to be affectionate, and as the ruler of a country, the emperor cannot avoid the word “color” as the head. Therefore, many women crowded into the harem. These women all hope to receive the emperor’s attention, and dressing up is a top priority. Therefore, it is probably true that the Ming Dynasty’s Guanghou Palace requires 400000 taels of silver per year for its cosmetics.
However, this is only the makeup money for the harem, plus the cost of meals and the salaries and meals of the palace maids and eunuchs who serve each concubine. It is not difficult to find that the expenses of the harem must be far more than 400000 taels of silver. At the same time, the royal family, who are accustomed to extravagance and luxury, naturally developed their ability to spend money from a young age. If the harem is huge, it is also possible to deplete the national treasury.
So, many emperors of different dynasties tried their best to save on palace expenses or expand national treasury revenue in order to solve the problem of harem.
The Qing Dynasty royal family established a strict system for the use of funds in the imperial harem, based on the principle of “I, the Holy Ancestor, have learned from the rules and regulations of the past, prohibit floating and returning to simplicity, and regard it as a warning, with clear family laws”, hoping to control the expenses of the harem.
As the most prosperous dynasty in China, the Tang Dynasty naturally faced significant pressure in terms of harem expenses. According to the “Food and Goods Chronicles” (Volume 48) of the Old Book of Tang, “During the Kaiyuan period, there was an imperial censor named Yuwen Rong who offered advice and collected surplus fields outside the book. That is to say, in order to support his huge harem, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty used the methods of concealing land and checking taxes other than checking the registered residence to expand the revenue of the national treasury for the expenditure of the harem.
The eunuch regime established during the Ming Dynasty was, in a certain sense, aimed at using violent means to seize the assets of the real estate class and civil servant groups, in order to maintain the operation of the country and use them for palace expenses. But after all, the means are violent. Novice emperors like Chongzhen only saw their subjects being exploited by eunuchs, causing chaos in the court, but did not see Wei Zhongxian’s contribution to them. In the end, they could not afford to support the harem and the country, leading to the downfall of the country.
