1. Overview of ancient Chinese court etiquette
Palace etiquette generally refers to the etiquette system that ancient emperors and their family members must follow and the customary habits and rules that occurred in the palace. It is permeated with the strict feudal hierarchy concept of the superiority of monarch and ministers.
The etiquette of the royal palace is much more complex and strict than the etiquette of the folk, but it is also an indirect reflection of the civil etiquette of society. Some court rituals were attended by the emperor himself, some by his concubines, and in some by the emperor's princes, daughters and other officials.
2. A breakdown of palace etiquette
1. Royal sacrifice
Including sacrifices to the earth, heaven and ancestors, they are important ceremonial activities in the palace. Presided over by the Imperial Court Etiquette Department.
(1) Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony
Sacrifice to Heaven, also known as Sacrifice to Heaven, Jiao Sacrifice, and Nanjiao, is a grand ceremony for emperors to sacrifice to gods. It is also the most solemn and solemn sacrificial ceremony among emperors in the past dynasties. Activity.
Fasting: It is divided into three types: casual fasting, fasting and pure fasting. During the fast, the emperor and all other civil and military courtiers participating in the ceremony must bathe and change clothes, abstain from sexual desires, refrain from drinking alcohol, eating meat, and not be close to women to show their piety to heaven.
Furnishings: The requirements for furnishings when offering sacrifices to heaven are more stringent, mainly including the order of things to be done, the position of things to be done, the position outside the door, the position of the sacrificial utensils, and the position of the god. Strictly follow the rules, which has a profound impact on our lives today. For example, fish and other dishes are usually placed in the middle. Animal-saving utensils: Place various ritual utensils in various prescribed locations, and then clean and sweep them.
④Lay jade and silk: play "The Song of Suhe".
(2) Ancestral Temple Sacrifice
The so-called ancestral temple, according to "Shi Ming" records: "Zong means respect; temple means appearance, where the appearance of the ancestors is." Ancient Chinese believed that The ancestral temple is where the spirits of the ancestors reside. If the ancestral temple's sacrificial vessels are moved away, it means that a country will perish.
(3) Zen Ceremony
An irregular ceremony held by ancient emperors to worship heaven and earth.
2. Imperial Ceremony
The enthronement ceremony, the prince canonization ceremony, and the emperor's wedding ceremony (six rites: accepting gifts, asking for names, accepting gifts, accepting invitations, asking for dates, and welcoming in person) , Emperor's birthday celebrations, title and emblem ceremonies, royal holiday ceremonies.
Attachment: Royal etiquette nouns
Festival, feather fan, whisk, cover, music
3. Palace political etiquette
(1) Etiquette of court meetings
There were two main types of court meetings held by ancient Chinese emperors:
Dachao: The emperor gathered civil and military officials, sometimes including foreign envoys. It is a very solemn ceremony.
Changchao: It is one of the important activities of the emperor in handling state affairs. Chao Rituals are the relevant etiquette regulations for emperors and cultural relic officials to handle government affairs in the court hall.
The court rituals of the Song Dynasty clearly stipulated the order for civil and military officials to enter the court according to the size of their official positions and their positions: Taishi, Taifu, Taibao, Taiwei, Situ, Sikong, Prince Taishi, Prince Taifu, Prince Taibao, County King, Prince Shaobao, Dadu Wei, Dadu Hu, Yushi Dafu, Liubu Shangshu, Minister, Minister of Dali Temple, etc.
(2) Yan Jian Guojun 10
The scholar-officials met the monarch privately after the monarch retired from the court. The literature called it "Yan Jian".
The position of the monarch and his ministers at the time of Yan Jian is also based on the position of the monarch facing south. If the monarch is not standing facing south, he should take the direction due east or west of the monarch and salute. When the monarch is in the hall, there are no strict regulations on which steps the ministers should take. They will enter the hall from whichever step the monarch is near.
4. Etiquette of palace life
The etiquette of palace life is mainly aimed at women, including queens, concubines, and attendants... The etiquette culture in the three palaces and six courtyards is extremely complicated , but it is the favorite of costume film and television dramas. Let’s take the court etiquette of the Qing Dynasty as an example to illustrate.
(1) Clothing
Clothing is not only to protect oneself from the wind and cold, but also to hide one’s privacy. In feudal society, it was an indicator of feudal rank and a symbol of identity and status. In the palace and royal family, dressing up should be done according to status, status and rank.
For example, the royal family all use bright yellow, which is the imperial uniform color.
Queen's harem costumes in the Qing Dynasty:
Queen
The queen's crown clothing can be divided into formal dress and auspicious dress. She wears formal dress during grand ceremonies and usually wears auspicious dress. The dress has three layers of decoration on the top of the crown, embroidered with three small golden phoenixes, decorated with pearls, and a big eastern pearl at the top; there are seven small golden phoenixes around the red hat tassel, and there is a "jinzhai" behind it, which is decorated with precious Cat's eye, pearls; Zhaiwei is made of five strings of pearls, totaling 301 beads. The court robe is bright yellow, with a golden dragon embroidered on the front and back, interspersed with five-color clouds, and sea water patterns underneath. The court skirt has pleats, and the court gown is shaped like a waistcoat. Jifu patterns are relatively simple, but the weaving and embroidery are gorgeous and the workmanship is extremely fine.
The queen has many accessories, including personal accessories made of gold, coral, pearls, jade, etc., such as court beads, earrings, walking sticks, etc. Generally speaking, the queen wears court clothes and hangs three strings of court beads, one string of east beads and two strings of coral beads; when wearing ordinary clothes, she wears a crown, a harem, and a jade belt to match them.
Concubines
Concubines in the harem of the Qing Dynasty did not need to bind their feet and could wear high heels. The traditional Manchu high-heeled shoes have a heel about three to five inches high. In the middle of the sole, they resemble "stilts" and are called "flowerpot shoes". They have to wear cheongsam, comb their hair with "two hairs", and wear step-wags and other accessories.
(2) Daily etiquette
First of all, let’s talk about the hierarchy of the harem in the Qing Dynasty
The order from high to low is:
Queen ( One person), followed by the imperial concubine (one person), followed by the imperial concubine (two people), followed by concubines (four people), followed by concubines (six people), followed by nobles (unspecified number), followed by Changzai (unspecified number) , followed by consent (the number of people is uncertain), and finally maids.
Salute
There were two types of kneeling on one knee in Qing Dynasty etiquette: one was called "Da Qian", which was a common ceremony for slaves to meet their masters and for subordinates to meet their superiors. During the movement, lower your right hand, bend your left knee, and lean your upper body slightly forward. The other is to "please salute". The man's action is to bend his right knee and half kneel; the woman's action is to press her left knee with both hands, bend her right knee slightly, and squat down.
The etiquette of daily life in the palace is roughly divided into four types: kneeling and kowtowing, kneeling down, saying Wanfu, and nodding.
Kneel down and prostrate," which can be divided into one kneeling, one kneeling, three kowtows, and six sums, three kneeling, nine kowtows.
The so-called "su" means standing upright and upright.
The so-called "kneeling" means kneeling down with the right leg first, and then the left leg
The so-called "kowtow" means kowtow
"Wish you blessings", say Wanfu is a kind of Manchu etiquette. When a woman greets her elders or superiors, she performs this salute with her left leg in front and her right leg behind, with the legs intersecting, the right hand facing up, the left hand facing down, and the fingers of both hands touching each other. Hold it, place it on the left side of the body, and squat down at the same time, no more than 50 degrees.
"Nod" and nod
The basic principle of saluting is to do it to people who are higher than you. For high-level etiquette, those who are lower than themselves should practice the etiquette of a lower level.
Title
Qing Dynasty civil and military officials should all kneel down when summoned by the emperor or the empress dowager, as did Han ministers. You must call yourself "Your Majesty X X The concubine calls the emperor "emperor".
To the concubines, the eunuch calls them "master". It is preceded by a title, and the written text is called "the main position". As for the title of the prince, it is not like "brother" in movies and TV series nowadays. In the Qing Dynasty, there were differences in how princes were called according to their status. "Age" was the title given to the prince by the ministers. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and eunuchs all called him "Master X" according to the prince's ranking. In writing, he is called "Emperor X's Son" according to his ranking. The emperor's daughter is always called "Gege" before she is granted the title of princess.
3. Appendix - Other Commonly Used Items
Section 1.: Objects used as evidence by the emperor, "as if I were here in person".
2. Feather fan: A large fan made of peacock feathers and other bird feathers, with a long wooden handle, used to enhance the appearance and expand the momentum.
3. Whisk: Made of yak tail or horse tail, eunuchs and ceremonial guards hold it for ritual needs.
4. Gai: Also known as Huagai and Huanggai. Some people call it the "umbrella cover"
5. Music: Unless there are special circumstances, music needs to be played when holding a royal court. Court music is mainly divided into two categories: ceremonial and entertainment.