[ **up: [[Marriage]] | [[Non-monogamous relationships]]** ] --- # Concubinage ## Concubinage – China > The standard Chinese term translated as “concubine” was qiè 妾, a term that has been used since ancient times. Concubinage resembled marriage in that concubines were recognized sexual partners of a man and were expected to bear children for him. [^1] > Unofficial concubines (Chinese: 婢妾; pinyin: bì qiè) were of lower status, and their children were considered illegitimate. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese refer to as pínfēi (Chinese: 嬪妃), or “consorts of emperors”, an official position often carrying a very high rank.[^2] --- ### History > In China, successful men often had concubines until the practice was outlawed when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949.[^3] [[2025-0318. 'From ancient times, wealthy men in China could supplement their regular wives with concubines purchased as an addition to the household.'|'From ancient times, wealthy men in China could supplement their regular wives with concubines purchased as an addition to the household.’]][^4] [[2025-0318. 'From ancient times, wealthy men in China could supplement their regular wives with concubines purchased as an addition to the household.'|’Because these women were often bought from their families, such procurement in face resembled the purchase of slaves. Yet a concubine differed from a slave in that by gaining her master’s sexual attentions she also gained a special social and legal status.']][^5] ----- > 女子十年不出，姆教婉娩聽從，執麻枲，治絲繭，織紝組紃，學女事以共衣服，觀於祭祀，納酒漿、籩豆、菹醢，禮相助奠。 > > *English translation:* > A girl at the age of ten ceased to go out (from the women’s apartments). Her governess taught her (the arts of pleasing speech and manners, to be docile and obedient, to handle the hempen fibres, to deal with the cocoons, to weave silks and form fillets, to learn (all) woman’s work, how to furnish garments, to watch the sacrifices, to supply the liquors and sauces, to fill the various stands and dishes with pickles and brine, and to assist in setting forth the appurtenances for the ceremonies.[^6] > 十有五年而笄，二十而嫁；有故，二十三年而嫁。聘則為妻，奔則為妾。凡女拜尚右手。 > > *English translation:* > At fifteen, she assumed the hair-pin; at twenty, she was married, or, if there were occasion (for the delay), at twenty-three. If there were the betrothal rites, she became a wife; and if she went without these, a concubine. In all salutations of females, the upper place was given to the right hand.[^7] --- ## Imperial concubines ### Selection process > Some *hsiu-nü* were immediately selected as wives or concubines for princes, or for the emperor himself. The empresses of the K’ang-hsi, T’ung-chih, and Kuang-hsu emperors were selected from the *hsiu-nü* draft (*CTKTSH* illus. 225, 226, p. 165; Sun 1985:52). Empress Dowager Tz’u-hsi was chosen in the *hsiu-nü* draft of March 28, 1852, designated a sixth-rank concubine, and introduced into the palace on June 26, 1852 (Yü 1985a:130). > > *Hsiu-nü* who did not enter the imperial or princely harems probably became ladies-in-waiting, serving for a five-year term and provided with stipends according to their rank. At the end of five years they were permitted to leave with a grant of twenty taels of silver. These *hsiu-nü* who caught the emperor’s eye could still be promoted into the harem. This seems to have been the way Te fei, one of K’ang-hsi’s favorite concubines, entered the palace. Te fei, who produced six children, was “originally a lady-in-waiting from the Uya clan” whose father was an officer in the banners (S. Wu 1979:36).[^8] --- ## External resources - [Life inside the Forbidden City: how women were selected for service](https://multimedia.scmp.com/culture/article/2154046/forbidden-city/life/chapter_01.html) [^1]: ‘Concubinage’, *Wikipedia*, updated 3 December 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concubinage. [^2]: ‘Concubinage’, *Wikipedia*, updated 3 December 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concubinage. [^3]: ‘Concubinage’, *Wikipedia*, updated 3 December 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concubinage. [^4]: Bret Hinsch, *[[Hinsch. 'Passions of the Cut Sleeve', 1992.|Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China]]* (Berkley: University of California Press, 1992), p. 51. [^5]: Bret Hinsch, *[[Hinsch. 'Passions of the Cut Sleeve', 1992.|Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China]]* (Berkley: University of California Press, 1992), p. 51. [^6]: James Legge (trans.), *NeiZe (or: ‘The pattern of the family’)*, Passage 81, retrieved 3 December 2022, https://ctext.org/liji/nei-ze#n9963. [^7]: James Legge (trans.), *NeiZe (or: ‘The pattern of the family’)*, Passage 82, retrieved 3 December 2022, https://ctext.org/liji/nei-ze#n9963. [^8]: Rubie S. Watson & Patricia Buckley Ebrey (eds.), *Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society* (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), pp. 183–184.