Imperial Chinese harem system
The ranks of imperial consorts have varied over the course of Chinese history but remained important throughout owing to its importance in management of the inner court and in imperial succession, which ranked heirs according to the prominence of their mothers in addition to their strict birth order. Regardless of the age, however, it is common in English translation to simplify these hierarchy into the three ranks of Empress, consorts, and concubines. It is also common to use the term "harem", an Arabic loan word used in recent times to refer to imperial women's forbidden  quarters in many countries. In later Chinese dynasties, these quarters were known as the back palace (後宮; "hòugōng"). In Chinese, the system is called the Rear Palace System (後宮制度; "hòugōng zhìdù"). Early history. There exists a class of consorts called Ying (媵; "yìng") during early historical times in China. These were people who came along with brides as a form of dowry. It could be the female cousin or sister of the bride, or people from other countries (not necessarily from another race). Worth noting is the fact that during the Shang Dynasty, there were times where two Empresses reigned  at the same period. The Rites of Zhou contains great details of an imperial consort ranking system. However, as the "Rites of Zhou" is considered by modern scholars to be merely a fictitious constitution for a utopian society, the system listed in that work of literature cannot be taken word for word. Rather, it offers a rough glimpse into the inner harem during the time. Ranking system for Emperors. The "Rites of Zhou" states that for Emperors, they are entitled to the following: It was suggested that a system (not necessarily resembling the one listed above) was set up  to prevent the situation of having two Empresses. Ranking system for others. According to the "Rites of Zhou", Feudal Lords are entitled to 9 consorts in total, and cannot marry again after having 9 consorts, which makes for 1 wife and 8 consorts. For other officers, they are entitled to 1 wife and 1 consort. For normal citizens, only 1 wife is allowed. Qin dynasty|Qin. From the reign of King Huiwen: Han. Western Han. During the reign of Gaozu: Later: From the reign of Emperor Yuan: The principal wife of the Crown Prince was called (妃; "fēi"). There also  exists a sub-ranking system for concubines; they were called Ladies of Excellence (良娣; "liáng dì") and (孺人; "rú rén"). For grandchildren of the Emperor, their principal wives were called Madame (夫人; "fū rén"). Concubines for these people have no titles, and were simple called (家人子; " jiā rén zǐ"). Eastern Han. No limits were set for these consorts. This later created situations when more than 20,000 women were living in the palace during the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling. Three Kingdoms. Cao Wei. During the reign of Cao Cao (who was not an emperor but a king): During  the reign of Emperor Wen: During the reign of Emperor Ming: Northern and Southern dynasties. Liu Song. From 456, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu: From the reign of Emperor Ming: Southern Qi. In 479, at the ascension of Emperor Gao, the Minister for Ceremonies (禮司) successfully petitioned the Emperor to establish the following system: In 481, for the Crown Prince: In 483, when Emperor Wu ascended to the throne, the Minister for Ceremonies (禮司) successfully petitioned the Emperor to expand the system. This involved elevating the position of Noble Consort (貴妃; "guì fēi") to a category all unto itself , with the following ranks: The new category was just underneath the Empress. In 489, the position of Lady of Bright Countenance (昭容; "zhāo róng") was created to fill the gap created when Pure Consort (淑妃; "shū fēi") was elevated to an independent category. Liang. During the reign of Emperor Wu: For the Crown Prince: Chen. Initially, during the reign of Gaozu, no specific ranking system for consorts were devised, due to the Emperor's desire to live a simple life. It was only until Emperor Wen's reign did a ranking system came into being: Northern Wei. During the reign  of Emperor Daowu, the consort ranking system was very simple, and only contained the rank of Madame (夫人; "fū rén"). However, there existed an unwritten, subjective system of prestige rankings in between. It was during the reign of Emperor Taiwu that the system of rankings listed below came into force: During the sinification of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen reformed the consort ranking system to the system below: Northern Qi. In the beginning, there were only three ranks for consorts: Madame (夫人; "fū rén"), Imperial Concubine (嬪; "pín"), and Imperial Ladies (禦; "yù"). However, as Emperor Wucheng ascended to  the throne, a system of rankings more sophisticated than any devised before was promulgated: Northern Zhou. During the reign of Emperor Xuan, five Empresses were created (unprecedented by Chinese standards): In addition, there were an innumerable number of consorts in the harem. Sui. In the beginning, there existed a simple system of rankings for imperial consorts: There also existed a system of Women Palace Officials (女官; "nǚ guān") to manage ceremonial affairs in the harem. The system was based on similar systems in the past. After the death of Empress Dugu, Emperor Wen expanded the ranks of the consorts to  the following: During the reign of Emperor Yang, the ranking system was expanded yet again, based on systems in the past, to the following: Tang. Imperial consorts of Tang China are organized in eight or nine ranks, in addition to the empress. They are also called the "inner officials" (內官), as opposed to "palace officials" (宮官), the bureaucracy. During the reign of Gaozong: In 662, the titles were temporarily changed to be devoid of feminine and superficial quality. This seemingly feminist change was reverted in the twelfth month of 670. The rationales were not explained in official records in both  instances. However, some scholars have speculated it to be the suggestion of Empress Wu to her husband. During the reign of Xuanzong: The principal wife of the Crown Prince is called Crown Princess (太子妃; "tài zǐ fēi"), which is held by only one person at any given time. There are 5 other ranks of consorts: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. During these times, governments were replaced frequently, and as a result, it is difficult for modern scholars to derive any solid information on ranking systems during these times. However, it is known that the Later Tang used the following system : Whether there were any limits to the holders of these titles are unknown. Yuan. The ranking system was at its simplest, and only consists of Empress, Consort, and Concubine. No limits were set on the number of people who could enjoy the title, but only one empress can exist. Although the number of ranks were few, there existed a subsystem of ranking by prestige inside the Yuan harem. The "tent" (Chinese: 宮帳, translated term from Mongolian: 斡兒垜) that a consort lives in often determines their status. These tents often contain multiple Empresses, Consorts, and Concubines. In the many tents that  existed, the first Empress of the first tent is considered to be the most prestigious consort. As with all parts of the Mongol Empire, Goryeo provided palace women to the Yuan dynasty. Korean concubines were procured by the Khan. One of them was Empress Gi, who, through her political command and incorporation of Korean females and eunuchs in the court, spread Korean clothing, food, and lifestyle in the capital. Empress Gi intervened in Goryeo and her family contended with the Goryeo royal family; her family was purged by Gongmin of Goryeo, and Gi retaliated with a failed Yuan invasion of  Korea in 1364. The entry of Korean women into the Yuan court was reciprocated by the entry of Yuan princesses into the Goryeo court, beginning with the marriage of Chungnyeol of Goryeo and a daughter of Kublai Khan; in total, 9 princesses of the Yuan imperial court married into the Goryeo royal family. Imperial marriages between the imperial clan of the Yuan existed between certain states and tribes. These included the Onggirat tribe, Idug-qut's Uighur tribe, the Oirat tribe, and the Goryeo royal family. The Emperor Gong of Song surrendered to the Yuan dynasty in 1276 and was  married off to a Yuan princess of the imperial Borjigin family. Zhao Xian had one son with the Yuan princess, Zhao Wanpu. Zhao Xian's son Zhao Wanpu was kept alive by the Yuan court because of his mother's imperial Borjigin ancestry even after the Emperor Gong of Song was ordered to be killed by Gegeen Khan. Zhao Wanpu was only moved and exiled. The outbreak of the Song loyalist Red Turban Rebellion in Henan led to a recommendation that Zhao Wanpu should be transferred somewhere else by an Imperial Censor in 1352. The Yuan did not want the  Chinese rebels to get their hands on Zhao Wanpu so no one was permitted to see him and Zhao Wanpu's family and himself were exiled to Shazhou near the border by the Yuan Emperor. Paul Pelliot and John Andrew Boyle commented on Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's chapter "The Successors of Genghis Khan" in his work Jami' al-tawarikh, identified references by Rashid al-Din to Zhao Xian in his book where he mentions a Chinese ruler who was an "emir" and son-in-law to the Qan (Khan) after being removed from his throne by the Mongols and  he is also called "Monarch of Song", or Suju (宋主 Songzhu) in the book. Ming. The system was simple with five commonly used titles: Other known titles including: For the Crown Prince: Human tribute, including servants, eunuchs, and virgin girls came from: China's various ethnic tribes, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Central Asia, Siam, Champa, and Okinawa. Joseon sent a total of 114 women to the Ming dynasty, consisting of 16 virgin girls (accompanied by 48 female servants), 42 cooks (執饌女), and 8 musical performers (歌舞女). The women were sent to the Yongle and Xuande emperors in a total of  7 missions between 1408 and 1433. Xuande was the last Ming emperor to receive human tribute from Korea; with his death in 1435, 53 Korean women were repatriated. There was much speculation that the Yongle Emperor's real mother was a Korean or Mongolian concubine. Relations between Ming China and Joseon Korea improved dramatically and became much more amicable and mutually profitable during Yongle's reign. Yongle and Xuande were said to have a penchant for Korean cuisine and women. Central Asian women were provided to the Zhengde Emperor by a Muslim guard and Sayyid Hussein from Hami. The guard  was Yu Yung and the women were Uighur. It is unknown who really was behind the anti-pig slaughter edict. The speculation of him becoming a Muslim is remembered alongside his excessive and debauched behavior along with his concubines of foreign origin. Muslim Central Asian girls were favored by Zhengde like how Korean girls were favored by Xuande. A Uighur concubine was kept by Zhengde. Foreign origin Uighur and Mongol women were favored by the Zhengde emperor. Qing. The system was one of the simplest systems in Chinese history. Officially, there were eight classes: There were limits placed on how  many consorts could hold the ranks of Imperial Concubine (嬪; "pín"), and above. An Emperor could have up to 1 Empress, 1 Imperial Noble Consort, 2 Noble Consorts, 4 Consorts and 6 Imperial Concubines at a time. Consorts that attained the rank of Imperial Concubine (嬪) and above would be honoured with a residence in the main section of a palace in the Forbidden City. Consorts that attained the rank of Imperial Concubine and above, when being addressed by lower ranked concubines and servants, would have to be addressed as Your Highness (娘娘; "níangniang"). All people were expected to use  deprecating self-titles when addressing higher ranks, and concubines were no different. For an Empress who lived well into the reigns of at least two subsequent Emperors, she would be referred to as Empress Dowager (皇太后; "huáng tài hòu") if her husband's son was the Emperor, or Grand Empress Dowager (太皇太后; "tài huáng tài hòu") if her husband's grandson was the Emperor. If a consort was never an Empress during her husband's reign but her son became the next Emperor, she would be referred to as Empress Dowager (皇太后; "huáng tài hòu") and be posthumously honoured as  an Empress, same as the Empress of her husband. The system was solid, but the number of consorts an emperor actually had during the Qing dynasty was subject to wild variations. The Kangxi Emperor holds the record for having the most consorts with 79, while the Guangxu Emperor holds the record for having the fewest consorts, with one empress and two consorts – a total of just three consorts. The tradition of ranking concubines ended when the Qing dynasty was overthrown. However, the practice of giving rank to people who "unofficially" (lives with, but never marry) have more than one wife  is still widespread. In addition, the term (夫人; "fū rén") is still used, albeit rarely and only in very formal settings, as an honorific title towards another person's wife in China. After the Second Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon kingdom was forced to give several of their royal princesses as concubines to the Qing prince-regent Dorgon. In 1650, Dorgon married the Korean Princess Uisun, a distant relative of the king, who was adopted and given the royal princess title so she can be married off to Dorgon. Joseon court revoked Princess Uisun's title and royal privileges  after Dorgon died. Dorgon married two Korean princesses at Lianshan. However, there is no evidence of Dorgon marrying any other Joseon princess besides Princess Uisun in Joseon records and it is extremely unlikely as Dorgon died in December 1650, only few months after his marriage to Princess Uisun.