1. When the emperor rode in a sedan chair, it was carried by 8 or 16 people. It was a means of transportation for the emperor to travel around the palace.
The emperor is called Long Chaan, the queen is called Feng Chaan, and the princess and prince are called Chaan. The dragon chariot is driven by six horses in front. The body is inlaid with gold, silver, jade, gems and pearls; the body is also engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns, showing the noble and luxurious style of the royal family.
Only the emperor and the queen can ride the dragon chariot, which is also a symbol of the supremacy of imperial power. Records related to dragon chariots first appeared in "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin", in which there is a record of "riding six horses"; in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Yufu Zhi", there is also a record of "the emperor rode six horses, and the others rode four". These descriptions They are all prototypes of dragon chariots.
The palanquins used by the concubines include the Dayi Yu, which is supported by sixteen people, and the Qing Yu, also known as Zhai Yu, which is supported by eight people. Eight people attacked the light carriage that the imperial concubine was riding. The imperial concubine and others rode in chariots, and four people attacked him. In addition to sedan chairs, there are also royal chariots, each with its own name: the queen's chariots include Feng chariot and ceremonial chariot; the concubine's chariots include Zhai chariot and Qugai chariot.
2. Senior officials travel in sedan chairs carried by 4 to 8 people. The so-called "eight-carry sedan" in the Qing Dynasty came from here.
All Beijing officials of third rank or above are carried by "four people" in the capital and "eight people" when leaving the capital; governors from other provinces are carried by "eight people", and the governor's subordinates are carried by "four people"; Imperial envoys of the third rank or above are carried by "eight people" and so on.
The fourth rank is below the censor of Qiandu. He only rides on two people shoulder to shoulder, and he does not drink alone. At that time, Zhengyang Gate only allowed people to enter, but cars were not allowed, so there were no officials in the capital to ride. Later, donkey carts and mule carts gradually appeared.
After the 24th year of Qianlong's reign (1759), there were more and more mule carts and fewer donkey carts. During the Jiadao period, no official in the capital rode a donkey cart. After Xian Tong, only the ministers and above in the imperial capital rode in four-man carriages, the ministers rode in green cloth chariots, and the third rank rode in blue cloth chariots, with windows open on the side. Below the fourth rank, the car is the same as that of ordinary courtiers.
In the fifteenth year of Qianlong's reign, there was an edict that only princes and ministers of the first rank of Manchuria were allowed to ride in sedan chairs as usual, while the Manchu governor and ministers and ministers of the second rank and below were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs. However, Han officials are not prohibited from doing so, so some of the second-rank Han officials also ride in sedan chairs.
It was also difficult to get on the horse. Later, the minister who had rewarded the horse still gave him the favor to ride on a chair with a short log tied to the side because he was sick and had difficulty walking. '"
"Manuscripts of the History of the Qing Dynasty" records: "For Han officials above the third rank, the heads of the capital halls are made of silver and the curtains are covered with soap. There are four husbands in the capital and eight out of the capital. For civil servants below the fourth rank, there are two husbands and the heads are made of tin. There are eight governors, governors, and four charioteers, with ministers and above. The carriages are made of black oil, flat roof, and made of the same car. . Those who use cloud heads are prohibited."
Officials must follow the rules, and ordinary people must not exceed the rules if they have money. In today's society, there are also restrictions on riding cars, but they are only imposed by officials and not by the people.
Extended information:
The origin of the sedan chair
The sedan chair has a history of more than 4,000 years in our country. According to historical records, the original prototype of the sedan came into being in the early Xia Dynasty in the 21st century BC. There is a sentence in "Shangshu Yiji": "I have been riding for four years, and I have planted trees along the mountains." This is what Dayu said when he recounted his flood control experience.
Later generations explained that these four years are: "Walk by boat, land by car, mud trip by sled, mountain trip by Sheng." ("Historical Records·Xia Benji") This "Sheng" ( Lei) is the most primitive sedan chair.
Some ancient documents say: "Mountains are bridges" ("Historical Records: River Canal Book"). This is because Sheng is used to cross mountains and is carried on the shoulders of two people, one in front and one behind, looking into the distance. In the past, it "shaped like a bridge that was hollow and lifted off the ground" ("Gui Ji Lei Manuscript: An Explanation of the Name of the Sedan"). Therefore, in ancient times, the two words "sedan and bridge" were interlinked. Its specific shape is currently unknown.
In 1978, a three-carriage wooden shoulder cart was unearthed from an ancient tomb from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in Gudui, Gushihou, Henan. There were two types of wooden shoulders, roof type and umbrella top type. One of them can still see its original appearance after restoration: it consists of a base, a frame, a column, a railing, a top car pole and a lift bar.
The base is rectangular, and the top cover is like a roof with slopes on all sides. The car body should originally be surrounded by curtains; there is a small door in front of the car for passengers to enter and exit; the car poles are tied to the bottom frame. It is different from the later system where the car pole is fixed in the middle of the car body.
This is the earliest actual sedan that has been discovered so far. It can be inferred from this that the theory that the sedan chair originated in the early Xia Dynasty is relatively credible.
It is generally believed that sedan chairs evolved from ancient cars. The Chinese nation has a much earlier history of making cars. The book "Huainanzi·Shuo Shan" states: "When you see a flying fluffy wheel, you know it is a car."
Ancient people got inspiration from the rolling of natural objects: round objects move on a plane better than other shapes Objects move much faster. Ancient people learned to move things by placing logs under heavy objects, as evidenced by early Neolithic sites in Henan and other places.
By the late Yangshao Culture, people had already used wheel-making technology to make pottery. The great invention of vehicles enabled the Chinese nation to achieve success in overcoming transportation obstacles in plain areas.
Led by the great invention of the car, our country’s ancient ancestors successively invented a variety of means of transportation suitable for different natural environments. Dayu took "four years" to "open the nine states, connect the nine roads, pass the nine rivers, and cross the nine mountains" ("Historical Records·Xia Benji"). He used various means of transportation, and the sedan chair was one of them.
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