Background introduction
The Qing Palace Table is an official document used in the Qing Dynasty court to record the births of the emperor\’s many concubines. It records the births of all the children of the emperor\’s concubines from the Kangxi to Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty. According to statistics, 114 children were born during the Kangxi period, 52 children were born during the Yongzheng period, and 37 children were born during the Qianlong period. However, people often pay attention to the number of daughters, especially the large number of daughters born during the Qianlong period.
Cultural background
First of all, we must understand why there were so many daughters in the Qing palace. The Qing Dynasty is the representative of Confucian culture, and the value of male superiority and female inferiority is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Therefore, the importance of male heirs in the palace was given a very high status, while daughters were considered to be worthless because they could not carry on the family line. Therefore, in order to give birth to more male heirs, concubines must make great efforts. However, due to the poor medical standards and health care conditions in this era, fertility and reproductive health have been greatly restricted. As a result, many couples have no choice but to have daughters.
Palace political background
In addition to cultural factors, the phenomenon of many daughters in the palace of the Qing Dynasty is also inextricably linked to palace politics. During the Qianlong period, after Yongzheng\’s grandson Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he continued to promote the concept of \”harmony, mutual support, self-restraint and restoration of propriety\” in politics. In order to gain the emperor\’s favor and the qualifications to enter the palace, the concubines followed suit and tried to show their elegant demeanor. Girls were also considered to be more quiet, dignified, gentle and pleasant at the time. This personality trait was in line with the cultural aesthetics and requirements of women at that time, so the number of daughters born increased a lot.
Folklore
There are also some folk legends that believe that the reason why there were so many daughters in the palace of the Qing Dynasty was because Queen Li took a medicine called \”Birth Girl Ying\” to increase the probability of giving birth to a daughter. But from a medical perspective, this statement is not supported by any evidence. This statement may be more because the Queen Li at that time had given birth to daughters many times, and Li and her family had many women, so this legend appeared.
Summary
Recently, the phenomenon of many daughters in the Qing palace has once again become a hot topic, and the cultural, political, historical factors and social values behind this topic have also aroused people\’s deep thinking. This phenomenon is not only a piece of history of the Qing court, but also closely related to contemporary gender equality and female education. We need to conduct a more comprehensive and in-depth exploration of this phenomenon, strengthen education on gender equality and scientific upbringing, eliminate gender discrimination, and build a better society.
