Imperial Chinese harem system
Regardless of the age, however, it is common in English translation to simplify this hierarchy into the three ranks of empress, consorts, and concubines.
[1] 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.
There existed a class of royal consorts called ying (媵; yìng) during early historical times in China.
The Rites of Zhou states that kings 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 queens/empresses.
In 489, the position of lady of bright countenance (昭容; zhāoróng) was added to fill the gap created upon the elevation of pure consort (淑妃; shūfēi).
The crown prince: During the reign of Emperor Wu: The crown prince: Initially, during the reign of Emperor Wu, no specific ranking system for imperial consorts were devised, due to his desire to live a simple life.
[5] From the reign of Emperor Xuanzong: The crown prince: During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, 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.
An imperial consort's tent (Chinese: 宮帳; gōngzhàng; translated from the Mongolian term for yurts: 斡兒垜; wòérkàng) determined her status; multiple women often lived in the same one.
Paul Pelliot and John Andrew Boyle identified references to Zhao Xian in The Successors of Genghis Khan chapter of Rashid al-Din Hamadani's Jami' al-tawarikh; 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" (宋主; sòngzhŭ) in the book.
[13] The Ming dynasty system was simple with five commonly used ranks: Other known titles:[6] For the crown prince: Human tribute, including servants, eunuchs, and virgin girls came from China's various ethnic tribes, as well as Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam,[14][15] Cambodia, Central Asia, Siam, Champa, and Okinawa.
[16] Joseon sent a total of 114 women to the Ming dynasty, consisting of 16 virgin girls (accompanied by 48 female servants), 42 cooks, and 8 performers.
[18] Xuande was the last Ming emperor to receive human tribute from Korea;[19] with his death in 1435, 53 Korean women were repatriated.
[31][32][33] Relations between Ming China and Joseon Korea improved dramatically and became much more amicable and mutually profitable during Yongle's reign.
[25][34][35] Central Asian concubines, mostly of Uighur and Mongol origin, were provided to the Zhengde Emperor by a Muslim guard and Sayyid Hussein from Hami.
[36][37][38] The speculation about Zhengde becoming a Muslim is remembered alongside his excessive and debauched behavior with his concubines of foreign origin.
Lady-in-waiting (官女子; guānnǘzǐ) was typically used to refer the palace maids whose been liked by the emperor and keep them at his side attending to him but, without a formal/proper title.
[43] The system was solid, but the number of imperial consorts an emperor actually had during the Qing dynasty is subject to wild variations.
The empress' children was called legitimate heir (嫡子, dízǐ), on which the princes that was bore by the empress have the higher chance of inheriting the throne; while the children of the other imperial consorts were called imperial concubine child (庶子, shùzǐ).
As such, the promotions mostly happened when an imperial consort (usually a noble consort) was hopelessly ill and the emperor wanted to console her (it was believed that a promotion was a blessing and could aid in dispelling the sickness), when the empress needed someone to assist her in managing the inner court or when the empress was dead and someone else was needed to manage the inner court.
