Liang Primer

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/7534060.

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Fandom: 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV)
Additional Tags: Liang primer, Ancient History, Meta, Worldbuilding, Ancient China,
Chinese Language
Collections: Fanfiction Reference Works
Stats: Published: 2016-07-20 Updated: 2016-09-06 Chapters: 5/6 Words:
7664

Liang Primer
by ofsevenseas

Summary

Mini-guide on history and culture within the context of the Lang Ya Bang/Nirvana in Fire
universe.

Disclaimer: I'm not a historian or anything close to an expert on any of these subjects, this
is just a hobby - if anything in this general overview sparks your interest, I definitely
recommend doing more research on your own!

Notes

Reposting here in case tumblr goes down like Yahoo's stock value.

See the end of the work for more notes

 Historical Background

The Fall of the Jin Dynasty and subsequent fragmentation

The Three Kingdoms era (220-280 AD) came about after the fracturing of the Han dynasty that
eventually led to a tripartite standoff between Cao Cao’s Wei, Liu Bei’s Shu, and Sun Quan’s Wu -
due to numerous circumstances, Wei ended up uniting these three countries into one, but suffered
an internal coup by the Sima family, a clan of potentates who had previously served the Cao
family in military and government positions. The Sima family founded the Jin Dynasty (265-420
AD), which, like the Han dynasty, was divided into two periods - Western Jin (capital Luoyang)
and Eastern Jin (capital Jiankang). The Jin dynasty largely continued the trend of fragmentation, as
the emperor was under significant pressure from the wealthy nobility and had very loose control
over the empire, especially toward the end of the dynasty. Numerous uprisings and administrative
failures led to the fall of the Jin Dynasty in 420 AD, as it ceded power to the Liu Song dynasty.

Northern and Southern Dynasties

The Liu Song dynasty controlled the southern territories of what is now modern China, comprising
of lands centered roughly around the Yangtze River and expanding down to the South China Sea.
The Liu Song dynasty was short lived, as were its successors, the Southern Qi, the Southern Liang
(yes, that Liang), and the Chen dynasty. The Northern Dynasties were led by the Wei (… and
eventually others too), who were of Xianbei ethnic ancestry, who eventually adopted Han Chinese
customs. (Fun fact: The Ballad of Hua Mulan is based on a Xianbei girl who joined the army on
her father’s behalf.)

Liang Dynasty & Xiao family

The imperial house of the Southern Qi dynasty and the Southern Liang dynasty both hailed from
Langling, Shandong. Toward the end of the Southern Qi dynasty, a series of rapid revolts from
various members of Southern Qi’s ruling house weakened their rule until a distant cousin was able
to take over and form the Liang dynasty. Liang itself did not last a very long time (502-587 AD),
with the founding emperor’s reign lasting the longest. Most people agree that Jingyan and his
father are both meant to echo said founding emperor, Emperor Wu of Liang (the Wu is the one for
martial valour and bravery), while Jingyan’s older brother Qi echoes back to an earlier, tragic
crown prince in the Han dynasty.

As ruler, Emperor Wu of Liang (real name Xiao Yan, courtesy name Shuda) brought forth a period
of stability and growth to the region, and grew stronger than their northern neighbours in military
strength, among other things. He also established a proper chain of promotion so that men could
enroll in universities and apply for government posts through civil examinations more easily than
previously. Emperor Wu of Liang was diligent and frugal, following in the example set by Han
dynasty emperor Wen, and a devout Buddhist. The seeds of his later downfall were sown through
the way he allowed various relatives and ministers to continue in their corrupt and oftentimes
damaging conduct.

Prince Qi & his historical analogue

Prince Qi (Xiao Jingyu), from a storytelling point of view, casts a very large shadow over the
entirety of LYB, even if he only appears in other characters’ (conflicting) points of view. We never
find out who he is, just what Lin Shu/MCS and Jingyan choose to tell us, as well as what little Xia
Jiang is willing to disclose. None of these are impartial sources. For someone so lightly drawn, his
reach over the story is impressive: without Prince Qi as a catalyst, the Chiyan case would almost
certainly have never happened.

His story very closely echoes the eldest son of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Ju. Before he ascended the
throne, Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che), his sister (Princess Pingyang), and his mother (Empress
Wang) were largely neglected as his father preferred another consort. However, Emperor Wu
proved to be a better choice for successor, and ascended the throne with the help of his mother-in-
law (and paternal aunt). His first empress, Chen Jiao, was unfortunately infertile, and after years of
trying for children, Emperor Wu of Han decided to look elsewhere. His sister, by then married to
the Marquis of Pingyang, introduced Wei Zifu to Emperor Wu, who very quickly brought Wei Zifu
back to the palace and installed her as a concubine-consort and then empress when she gave birth to
Liu Ju.

Liu Ju proved to be a very capable, albeit lowkey figure in the Han court. His maternal uncle,
General Wei, was at the time a favoured and often victorious commander of Han troops. As time
went on, Liu Ju began to assume governing responsibilities as Crown Prince regent. He differed
significantly in matters of policy from his father, believing in a lenient approach while Emperor
Wu favoured harsher punishments. After the deaths of General Wei and Gongsun He, his major
military and political allies, Liu Ju was subject to a plot by Consort Zhao and her son Liu Fuling,
who sought to take the position of Crown Prince away from him. When Liu Ju was out of the
imperial capital, a case for treason against him was brought before the emperor. When it was
falsely reported that Liu Ju was plotting a coup against his father, the emperor brought the armies
of the empire to bear upon him. Liu Ju chose to hang himself when it became clear he had no
chance of escaping, and his mother Empress Wei killed herself when her husband moved to depose
her.

Emperor Wu eventually realized, after another attempted coup and similar accusations, that his
eldest son had most likely been innocent, and ordered the chief instigators in the case to be killed
and their families executed. However, he allowed his grandson by Liu Ju, Liu Bingyi (and eventual
emperor, after Liu Fuling), to remain in prison for many years.
 Cultural Concepts

Heavenly mandate (天命)

The heavenly mandate or the mandate of heaven is the belief in ancient imperial China that
emperors were chosen by the heavens for their ability to rule. It is similar to the divine right of
kings, but without the component of Christianity. The emperor is customarily referred to as the
‘Son of Heaven’, and the title only applies if he is deemed to be suitable for the role. If the emperor
fails to act in a virtuous and just manner, he is sometimes considered to have lost the mandate of
heaven. In this way, rulers who achieve the position of emperor after rebellions are justified
because their predecessors had lost the mandate of heaven by way of losing the war. This also
meant that large scale natural disasters or certain astrological configurations were seen as omens
that the ruler was no longer favoured by the heavens.

Confucianism (儒教)

Confucianism is too broad a topic to cover in full, so this will be a short precis of how it relates to
governance in ancient imperial China. The foundations of Confucian learning is generally
contained in the five classics, which Lin Shu and all the other imperial princes would have
certainly studied. Confucianism as a central tenet stresses the unity of heavens and self, and the
constant need for self-cultivation. There are five ethical principles and four virtues that are stressed
in Confucianism, which influence every aspect of life and governance. The emperor was required
to embody the peak of Confucian ideals in every interaction and deed.

Some of the ones touched upon in the drama include ren (仁) - kindness or compassion; rites (礼) -
mores and customs; zhong (忠) - loyalty; xiao (孝) - filial piety.

In the actual historical era, Confucianism was not the official doctrine of imperial Liang, as Daoism
and legalism were both more accepted at the time. Confucianism gained more traction toward the
later half of the Han dynasty, but the peak of its adoption as part of the civil service exams
occurred much later in the Tang and Song eras. However, it was still massively influential to all
contemporary customs and thinking of the time.

Daoism (道教)

Again, Daoism is also a complex and detailed area of study and this will only go over the very
basics in the broadest strokes possible. Marquis Yan is perhaps the most visible practitioner of
Daoism in the drama, and through induction, the official state religion/doctrine of Da Liang should
be Daoism, as the ones responsible for the end of year rites are in fact Daoist priests. The various
horoscopes and omens are also interpreted according to Daoist rules.

Daoism emphasizes ‘the way’, or the ‘dao’ in the name Daoism. The path, or the way, is the flow
of the universe and all things follow alongside it. When enacting that flow, people are said to have
to embody the second component of Daoism, de (德), in such a way that the individual cultivates
the ‘dao’. Ethics in Daoism are represented by the concept of wuwei (无为), in which an individual
acts without acting, and does not disrupt the natural fabric of what should happen. Comparatively,
Daoism has a heavier focus on the natural world than Confucianism, which is inward-gazing and
exerts control of the inner lives of the individual.

There are three major texts in Daoism (the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, and the I Ching), which would
have been taught to most scholars as well, in part or in full.
Legalism (法家)

Along with Confucianism and Daoism, Legalism is one of the six major houses of thought in early
imperial China. It focuses on a more realistic bent than either of the others, with clear codification
and impartial implementation of said laws as the central philosophy. It emphasized the importance
of setting up legislation and its fairness to all citizens when applied.

Han Feizi is commonly recognized as the most significant contributor to Legalism, and wrote a text
of the same name that summarized the contemporary ideology of Legalism (though many of the
other foundational texts are now lost to time). He advocated that a wise ruler would bow to reason
if his ministers were correct in matters of importance, and that at the same time, the ruler would
exert himself to control these same officials through a system of favours and punishments in order
to prevent them from becoming too complacent or entrenched.

Ancient Chinese governments often had two facets, the outer being that of the ceremonial, and the
inner being that of governance. The ceremonial aspect would change, from dynasty to dynasty (i.e.
Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism), however, the core of advisors to the emperor and the policies
they set out would often be guided by Legalism.

Aside from learning from these three main philosophies, Lin Shu and Jingyan would most likely
have also been required to have a thorough knowledge of calligraphy (书), the appropriate rites
(礼), music (乐), archery (射), horsemanship (御), and math (数). These six categories comprise
the six gentlemanly arts and were considered necessary in order for someone to be considered a
well-bred, educated man. In compiling the Langya List every year, Lin Chen would almost
certainly be taking all six into consideration before ranking the candidates.

To overgeneralise, Da Liang can be described as culturally Confucian, religiously Daoist, and

legislatively Legalist.
 Government & Nobility

Six ministries, three departments

The so-called ‘Three Departments & Six Ministries’ system was first used in the Han dynasty as
the model for central government in Ancient China. It slowly developed from the ‘Three Lords and
Nine Ministers’ model used in Qin and early Han, to its complete form in the Sui dynasty (the one
right before Tang). It had three branches, the most complex of which was the department of State
Affairs, as it contained all six ministries.

The three departments were:

1. The Central Secretariat (中书省) - this was where Jing’s future wife’s grandfather worked (what
a mouthful). As the head of the Central Secretariat, Minister Liu occupied a strategic role in the
cogs of government. The secretariat was responsible for drafting and enacting the emperor’s
dictates, thereby becoming de facto go-betweens for the emperor and other parts of his
government.

2. The Chancellery (门下省) - this was arguably the least useful or important department (sorry
guys), as they were in charge of reviewing the emperor’s edicts and advising the emperor.

3. The Department of State Affairs (尚书省) - almost all the other ministers we saw were from this
department. MCS’s little wooden tablets comprised all six ministries of this department, as well as
a few military potentates. This was where all the daily work of running the kingdom took place.
Arguably the most powerful and populous branch of government.

The six ministries of the department of state affairs were, in no particular order:

1. Ministry of Personnel (li bu/吏部) - who gets promoted, appointed, honorary titles, etc. This
department was controlled by Prince Yu at the beginning.

2. Ministry of Revenue (hu bu/户部) - tax revenue, treasury, census (yay stats), minting currency.
This department was controlled by the Crown Prince at the beginning. Home to Shen Zhui, the
dedicated bumblebee of Jingyan’s court, and the guy who stops Cai Quan from throwing himself
headfirst off his many barricades.

3. Ministry of Rites (li bu/礼部) - rites, ceremonies, registry of Buddhist/Daoist practioners,

diplomacy when necessary. This department was subverted by Xie Yu for the Crown Prince’s
purposes.

4. Ministry of Defense (bing bu/兵部) - armies, logistics, equipment, couriers, strategy advisory in
times of war. This department was controlled by the Crown Prince in the beginning.

5. Ministry of Justice (xing bu/刑部) - judicial and penitentiary. This department was controlled by
Prince Yu in the beginning. Also the forever home of Cai Quan, long may he yell about injustice
and the privileged 1%.

6. Ministry of Works (gong bu/工部) - construction, roads, metric standardization, etc. This
department was controlled by the Crown Prince at the beginning.

Each minister (shang shu/尚书) was assisted by two vice ministers (shi lang/侍郎). ETA: for some
reason I thought it was dai… it is not. Thanks @poleicha for letting me know!
Note: The Ministry of Justice, while possessing judicial and penal powers, did not have the power
to overrule the Grand Court of Revision (da li si/大理寺), which was the main investigative branch
of the government and formed its own separate institution.

The Censorate (御史台)

The Censorate, called yu shi tai in Chinese, were basically professional tattle-tales. Their job was
to censure and provide feedback to the emperor regarding ministers or other government officials.
At times their scope also included members of the royal family and (if particularly brave) the
emperor himself. This system meant that many of them would take bribes to accuse the innocent or
to avoid accusing the guilty, though in theory they should provide a complete picture of the outside
world for the emperor.

The Crown Prince

The crown prince was also called taizi/太子, and had to be nominated by the emperor (unlike in
western tradition, where the eldest son inherits). Usually the act of nominating a taizi was called
‘li/立’ or literally ‘to stand’. Criteria for taizi were twofold, and either one may supercede the other
if circumstances permitted - 1) zhang/长: the eldest and/or 2) di/嫡: the legitimate (issue of the
empress). In cases where neither was available, usually the emperor would look for the most
capable of his sons instead (as is the case with Jingyan, though the emperor, who was the WORST
DAD, also had no suitable sons of age left at the end of the show).

The taizi had special status by being the official heir, and would take on more roles than ordinary
princes in the court, but these special powers had to be granted by the emperor. If they were not
granted, the taizi was guilty of overreaching his authority and this was viewed with grave
disapproval and usually, more fatal to the crown prince, suspicion.

Like all other royal princes, once the crown prince reached a certain age (this differs with each
emperor and indeed, sometimes with each prince), they were no longer allowed to reside in the
inner palace with the emperor and must leave to establish their own households.

Princes & grand dukes

In the drama they are divided into grand dukes (郡王) and princes (亲王). Princes are higher in
status than grand dukes and have special privileges, i.e. being able to enter the palace at will.
Grand dukes of the imperial house may be elevated to princehood through seniority or through
contribution to the empire. Jingyan is actually very unusual for a grand duke, as he has saved Liang
from invasion at least twice and gone on a diplomatic mission as well, but he was in disfavour and
thus not elevated. At the age of thirty, it would have been very unusual for a politically or militarily
active son of the emperor to remain a grand duke.

The Mu family’s status has not been explained in the drama, but from their military role in Yunnan
and Nihuang’s status as a Grand Duchess, there are two possibilities. First, that the Mu family are
descended from fan wang/藩王, kings who retained ruling titles after conquest by a larger country
(much like Dorne in Game of Thrones). The second possibility is that somewhere farther up the
family tree, a daughter of the imperial Xiao house married into the Mu family, and that her
husband accomplished a great feat (i.e. keeping the southern border safe) and was awarded the title
of grand duke as a result. Nihuang calling Grand Dowager Empress ‘great-grandmother’ is
misleading, as it could be from courtesy or from an actual blood relationship.

At the beginning of the drama, Mu Qing has come of age and succeeded to the title of Grand Duke
Mu.
Wives of grand dukes are grand duchesses (addressed as your imperial grace), and wives of princes
are princesses (addressed as your imperial highness).

Princesses, Grand Princesses, Grand Duchesses

LYB the show skips over Jingyan’s sister, the eighth child of the emperor, Princess Jingning. She
is an imperial highness in her own right, and her husband would be the prince consort/fu ma (驸
马). Jingning uses her given name as she does not have a title like her aunts Liyang and Jinyang
(real name Xiao Zhenying/萧溱潆). Princesses are generally given titles when they come of age or
marry, though exceptions are made if the emperor shows special favour to some princesses, or if
they are the daughters of the empress.

Grand Princess is a way to signify that the princess is of the emperor’s generation, and along with
it the higher status that her age confers. Her husband is still a prince consort (驸马), and
theoretically prince consorts kept a low political profile and did not involve themselves in matters
of succession. Obviously this was not the case with Xie Yu, and we’ll never know about Papa Lin,
but given that he had major armies at his call and his nephew was the oldest son of the emperor, he
probably couldn’t stay out of politics even if he tried. In Xie Yu’s case, because his title of Marquis
of Ning conferred actual, military power, it was used as his habitual title even though he is also a
prince consort. It’s probably safe to assume that Papa Lin, as the major general for the northern
armies, used his title as Chief Commander of the Chiyan Army more often than that of prince
consort.

As Nihuang is a grand duchess, her husband would be a grand duke consort (this sounds better in
Chinese - jun ma/郡马).

Nobility are largely broken down as follows:

Dukes (公): Qingguo Gong, Prince Yu’s ally who is taken down for the land case at the very
beginning

Marquis (侯): Yujin’s father, Marquis Yan; Grand Princess Liyang’s husband, Marquis Xie

Earl (伯): Wenyuan Bo, the father to one of the two men killed in the brothel case

First son of nobility (世子): these can be the eldest sons of nobility, the eldest sons of grand dukes,
or the eldest sons of princes; despite being the second son of the family, Xie Bi is the shi-zi of Xie
manor because the circumstances of Jingrui’s birth makes Jingrui ineligible to inherit the title.
ETA: because I am dumb at 1 in the morning, the proper word for this is ‘heirs’. Yes, I know.
*covers face* Thanks @leilyue for pointing this out!

Generally titles and lands are inherited from father to son, and sometimes if the mother is of
imperial birth, her sons may be elevated to the nobility as well. In the case of government ministers
or military officers who make significant contributions to the empire, such as Xie Yu or Yan Que,
the emperor may also choose to bestow titles and lands.
 Inner Palace

Marriage customs and rank

This is probably the least comprehensible concept to a western audience, because afaik medieval
and historical kings in the west indulged in mistresses but didn’t have a legitimate system that
ranked the consorts and concubines. (Look, the Confucians were into people having and staying in
their assigned societal positions.) I’ll start this by explaining marriage customs in general and then
focus on the imperial family.

Ordinary menfolk (not peasants, and not slave servants) were allowed one official wife (嫡妻 -
diqi), two side wives (平妻 - pingqi), and four concubines (妾 - qie). With the nobility and wealthy
households it was customary to have more women, who were called bedwarmers (通房 -
tongfang). (Normal dudes could do it too, but this tended to get expensive.)

Now, legally speaking, these four groups of women received very different treatments. The official
wife was, of course, given the greatest honours and most power in the household, and had nominal
control over the remaining women as she was in charge of managing the household. If her mother
in law or grandmother in law were alive, they may have been the ones in charge instead, but the
side wives and concubines were supposed to defer to the main wife. Her daughters (嫡女 dinü)
would receive the largest portions of any dowry set aside, and her sons (嫡子 dizi) would have the
right to inherit their father’s lands/position/titles first of any of the other sons (庶子 shuzi). The
main wife was also the only one allowed to return to her maiden home for visits, to receive guests
on her husband’s behalf, and the only one allowed to be buried next to her husband in the family
plot.

In families with strict upbringings, it was frowned upon to make a side wife or a concubine into an
official wife and considered a sign of moral weakness.

While the children of side wives would also be regarded as legitimate offspring (dizi/dinü), they
would not have the same material advantages unless specifically set aside by the father, which
would have been frowned upon. While the children of side wives would also inherit whatever
dowries from their mothers, side wives were usually from less powerful maternal houses and thus
unlikely to rival the main wife in this as well. Children of concubines (shuzi/shunü) would be
treated according to how much the father valued them, which was sometimes very little.

Now, for royalty, because they rank higher as a rule, even children of concubines were often held
in high regard, but only with those of lesser ranks (i.e. nobility, scholars). Amongst themselves,
those who were of legitimate issue from either the main wife (the empress or wangfei) would
outrank the children of the side wives (the four madams/consorts or the ce wangfei) and the former
two would outrank the children of any concubines (qie or lower). This, as you can imagine, led to a
lot of infighting. Throughout history, many emperors were not sons of official empresses, though
some, like Yongzheng of Qing, were raised in the empress’s name.

Inner palace rankings (just the wives, not the admin staff)

**Caveat: this is using the Tang dynasty rankings (one wife - four madams), not the Zhou (one
wife - three madams), because while the actual Southern Liang dynasty used something similar to
the Zhou system, the names in the show are indicative of the Tang system. I know. *squints*

Empress (official wife, highest in status unless there are dowager empresses living, but officially
given control over the inner palace)
Imperial consorts (four places, primary first rank)

Consorts (nine places, primary second rank)

Imperial Concubines (twenty seven places)

- Upper nine: primary third rank
- Middle nine: primary fourth rank
- Lower nine: primary fifth rank

Concubines (eighty one places)

- Upper twenty seven: primary sixth rank
- Middle twenty seven: primary seventh rank
- Lower twenty seven: primary eight rank

The primary and vice ranks form 18 total (9 each), and were used to evaluate rankings of
ministerial positions as well as inner court ones. Therefore (though this is rare), an imperial consort
would outrank a vice minister/shi-lang, for example, and could claim seniority in disputes.

I’m pasting the text post on forms of address here so we’d have all the information in one place.

The ladies in the inner palace who can be called 娘娘 in LYB are organized as:

- Grand dowager empress, addressed directly as ‘your imperial highness’.

- Dowager empress (deceased), also addressed directly as ‘your imperial highness’.

- Empress, also ‘your imperial highness’ (*the emperor is the only majesty because that’s how the
ranks worked back then, you can see it more clearly from the way emperors are 万岁 and all the
grand dowagers/dowagers/empresses are 千岁).

- Imperial consorts (夫人), comprising of 贵妃 (guifei/noble consort), 淑妃 (shufei/’ladylike’

consort), 德妃 (defei/’moral’ consort), 贤妃 (xianfei/’virtuous’ consort). I recommend
transliterating these titles wholesale because using the meanings can get confusing. These consorts
are of the first rank. They would be addressed as ‘my lady’.

- Consorts (嫔), comprising of a list of nine nightmarish titles that I’m not even going to attempt to
translate: 淑媛, 淑仪, 淑容, 昭华, 昭仪, 昭容, 修华, 修仪, 修容. These are of the second rank. If
you watch a lot of historical kdramas these titles are quite similar to the ones their imperial court
has, because cultural osmosis [needs citation :P]. You can probably arbitrarily choose ‘madam’ as
the form of address for these women from those who are of a higher rank, or ‘my lady’ from those
who are a lower rank. (The inner palace is like a never ending game of Mean Girls: The
Reckoning, so the higher ranked peeps like having a way to verbally demonstrate their status.
Yeah.)

- In passing, if you want to talk about the crown prince’s wives, aside from the taizifei (your
imperial highness), there’s 良娣 (liangdi, literally ‘fine sister’, look I don’t make this stuff up
okay), equivalent to the first rank of consorts, and 保林 (baolin, literally ‘protect the forest’, …
idek) equivalent to the second rank of consorts.

Aaaand now, the inner palace bed service protocols, or as @rageprufrock affectionately calls them:
fuck rules. (Thank you so much, btw, for being a fount of knowledge on this subject and for
pointing me in the right direction. *salute*)

**Still using Tang dynasty rules.

The order of service was scheduled according to the lunar calendar (which also helped the
administrative department to keep track of menstruation - yes the emperor had a special department
to schedule his wives for him), the first fifteen days were in ascending order of ranks of
concubines, and the next half in descending order. Therefore, the emperor’s schedule looks a little
like this:

Day 1-9: Service by the concubines (81), nine per night

Day 10-12: Imperial concubines (27), nine per night
Day 13: Consorts (9), all at once
Day 14: Imperial consorts (4), yes all four at once
Day 15 & 16: Empress, just the one, thankfully
Day 17: Imperial consorts
Day 18: Consorts
Day 19-21: Imperial concubines
Day 22-30: Concubines

Look, if you have that many wives, your life is just that much more difficult. /shrug emoji

If you’re wondering how the emperor dealt with having four or nine women per night - according
to Daoist principles, the emperor had an excess of yang energy which needed to be balanced by the
yin energy, specifically the yin energy from female orgasm. So he would be obligated to bring all
his concubines etc to orgasm through extensive foreplay (you think I’m joking), use intercourse
only as a way to have children (ugh), and control his ejaculation so as not to impregnate concubines
ranked lower than consorts (seriously not joking).

It was actually frowned upon to skip any of these nights and an emperor who didn’t have many
children would be encouraged to visit his concubines etc as much as possible. From a cultural
perspective, monogamy was frowned up and thought of as wilful indulgence on the part of the
emperor. (Yang guifei being the most prominent example.) I’m not excusing this institution at all,
but that was the framework they were working with back then, and it had its own rules.

Random anecdote time!

Supposedly in the Western Jin era, instead of using actual rules, Emperor Wu of Jin had so many
concubines that he decided to drive a goat cart around the inner palace and stop wherever the goats
stopped. Noble Consort Hu was smart enough to brush salt water on the bamboo leaves outside her
palace door, so that the goats kept going to her residence and thus her position as the imperial
favourite was established. Yes, you read that right. Goats.

And now, because y'all are ultra thirsty bitches, Q&A from the reblogs

@brisdete: I’d always thought keeping a palace full of bickering women was a headache but omg,
not on this scale DX (you have to pleasure up to 9 women every single night!? and you can’t even
get off?!)!

And now I’m equally disturbed & amused by the thought of Jingyan having to go through this
(how does this work in the Empress Mei AUs??)….

A: Well, you can go the Emperor Wen of Han route and send ‘em all home (he was praised for
being frugal and humble) but that rules out like, a 男宠, so MCS would HAVE to be empress in
that case.

And he can totally get off, he just can’t be inside a concubine when he does. Timing is crucial.
Also someone asked about how tiring it gets and the emperor is allowed to retire from his duties at
60; he gets to pick it up again at 70 though.

@brisdete: Ok and another thought: getting a woman off is no easy job, let alone NINE of them, so
do most concubines fake it? But I suppose that would be super frowned upon since now the poor
Emperor has too much yang… So are there imperial orgasm classes? Ancient scrolls read by old
eunuchs? Hands-on training?? (obvsly I really need to know how JY prepared for the throne ok?)

A: 1) Oral sex: super highly emphasised as a thing. JY is probably an expert at eating people out.
Also he is a highly embarrassed tomato if he gets asked about it.

2) Foreplay: again, there’s an emphasis on breast stimulation and nipple sucking.

3) The concubines mostly sit back and make the appropriate encouraging noises. Physically
harming the emperor was grounds for treason so they’d be super well-trained to not touch Jingyan
without permission or scratch him etc.

@brisdete: but what about manual stimulation (am a perv, question solely related to Wang Kai)??
And if the concubines aren’t allowed to touch the Emperor, does that mean JY would have to ask
explicitely for a handjob/blowjob/whatever?

@rageprufrock: How dare you just skip out on mentioning that a) there are DEFINITELY ancient
fuck scrolls and that b) for reasons that pertain to PERVERT BOUND FOOT ANAL FUCKING
(NOT KIDDING) it also became a thing to embroider dirty sex primers onto the tiny golden lotus
shoes HELL YEAH CHINA.

@brisdete: a) are the super hardcore ones also half-covered with stamps ???

b) WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WHAT?!?! HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK???? I hate to ask
but you have to elaborate here (also, isn’t that a different era? Is there bound foot during the Liang
dynasty?)

A: Oh my goddd the 春宫图 scrolls!! I apologize for forgetting them! In my defense by the time I
replied to @brisedete the painkillers had kicked in. /0\

Foot binding started in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and became popular during
Song dynasty so mercifully no?

The lotus symbolism came from an emperor who said that when one of his favourite concubines
danced, golden lotuses would grow under her feet and ever since then the ideal bound foot shape
would be called ‘the Golden Lotus’.

Concubines are allowed to touch! They just have to be extra careful to not harm their emperor? I
mean MCS/LS would probably go ahead and scratch his back bloody anyway, but not very many
people would dare. As for oral or handjobs - when performed by a woman on a man, it was
considered something only prostitutes or lowly concubines would do; asking an imperial consort to
do it would be a degradation of her status and possibly of the emperor himself. Again, MCS/LS
would give zero fucks.

@gixininja: what would happen if the emperor were to accidentally impregnate a concubine? Also
could you please, please pretty please do someone on how the rules of inheritance worked for
princes?

A: I think I covered the rules of inheritance in the last one, but emperors get two rules: the eldest or
the empress’ son (best if it’s both, really). Sometimes these are totally unsatisfactory - it’s how
Kangxi’s nine million sons started competing and it’s how Li Shimin ended up nominating his
most spineless kid for the position (he tried to go with the ‘born from the empress’ rule and it …
did not work out very well).

Depending on the circumstances - if the emperor impregnated the concubine during a period of
national mourning (his dad, his mom, his grandmother) he would be severely rebuked and the
concubine probably forced to go to the cold palace or leave altogether as punishment. The emperor
may or may not choose to abort the child (and the kid, if he chooses to let them live, will always
have that hanging over them) depending on how many he has.

If it’s just an oops, my bad situation, he’d get a slap on the wrist and the concubine would probably
give birth and give the child up to be fostered by a higher ranked and childless consort/imperial
consort. She would not be promoted, because the emperor made a mistake and the punishment
lands more or less in her lap because one can’t exactly send the emperor to the doghouse.

In these situations, a lot of concubines mysterious die or disappear afterward, because someone
who rocks the boat this way usually won’t be tolerated by the other consorts or even the empress.
However, if this concubine is smart and keeps herself alive, and if the emperor remembers her
down the line she may be promoted and gain the right to bear children.
 Marriage custom
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Luckily for me, while researching the traditional marriage ceremony, all my sources seemed to
dovetail more or less on the same procedures and steps, since there haven’t been any major
changes since the steps were consolidated in late Zhou and Han.

That said, modern marriage ceremonies are much less complicated and often a mishmash of
western and traditional - people pick and choose what they want now.

Overall the marriage process is called the ‘three letters and six etiquettes’. It’s not obligatory to
perform all six steps, though only one with all six completed is considered a proper marriage (大婚
da hun) - and is a must for the main wife of important families.

The ceremony itself has multiple steps, but first we’ll talk about the lead up. There are five steps
before the actual marriage: 纳采 (na cai), 问名 (wen ming), 纳吉 (na ji), 纳征 (na zheng), 请期
(qing qi).

1) Na cai: the formal proposal

When the groom party decides that he would like to marry a certain girl, he sends a gift of live
geese to that family as a sign of his proposal. At this stage, a matchmaker is appointed to negotiate
for both families.

Notes of interest: during negotiations, no tea is consumed, as tea is considered to have a diluting
effect on the passion of a marriage. Instead, a special kind of alcohol, sometimes brewed from
flowers, will be used instead.

2) Wen ming: giving the bride’s birth date and name to the groom

The bride’s family gives her name and birth-date to the groom’s family, (birth date is represented
by the eight letters written at her birth).

Notes of interest: Live geese are given at every stage of negotiations, including this one. The birth
date is written on a piece of paper and placed in a red lacquered wood box to be delivered to the in
laws. This is for form but also to protect the bride from misfortune, as red is believed to be a shield
from malicious spirits and bad luck.

3) Na ji: placing the birth dates before the altars of the ancestors to confirm the match

The groom’s family will give the bride’s eight letters to a fortune teller or temple sage to see if it is
a good match.

Notes of interest: this usually takes place concurrently with wen ming.

4) Na zheng: sending of gifts to bride’s family and the return gifts

If the bride’s party is willing to accept the betrothal and all the birth dates match up auspiciously,
the groom’s party will then send a series of betrothal gifts for the bride’s family with the
matchmaker. The bride’s family then receives a separate bride price for their daughter in the
traditional red envelopes (sometimes costly items are sent as part of the bride price too). In return,
the bride’s family sends gifts back, and also determines a dowry for their daughter. The gifts are
often paired, and for the rich and nobility, often comprised principally of gold, jade, pearls, silks,
precious woods and other materials.

Common gift items include: food, tea, ceremonial instruments. Friends of the families may choose
to give peanuts, red jujubes, longan, lotus seed, as these are associated with giving birth to sons in
Chinese culture.

Common dowry items include: clothing, linens, furniture sets (made from precious woods), baby
things/clothing, fine ceremonial tea sets, and jewelry.

5) Qingqi: date selection

The groom’s family decides on a date, usually after consulting a fortune teller. Then they contact
the bride’s family to see if the date is suitable.

Notes of interest: Even numbered months & dates are preferred (because it’s two people coming
together as a couple), the seventh month of the lunar calendar is avoided because it has a ghost
festival, and it’s usually said that a girl should not marry in her 19th year due to bad luck.

Qin ying (亲迎): the wedding (!!!)

I had a minor coronary reading about all the different things involved, so I’m just going to list them
here as I encountered them - if you’re writing anything, feel free to pick and choose. After all,
describing all the details would probably end up being really boring?

Assume these all take place in sequential order.

1 - Wedding procession

According to tradition, the groom himself goes to the bride’s house on the day of the wedding, to
take her to his house, where the wedding will take place. The procession is usually led by the
groom, then a traditional band, followed by the bride’s carriage, then a carriage (or carriages)
containing all the non-monetary items in the bride’s dowry. If the bride has brothers living, they
will accompany her on horse or on foot. Firecrackers will follow the procession from the moment
of departure, as a way to chase away bad spirits and also to signal something festive.

Sometimes the bride will be taken around the city three times, for luck. This depends on the
families.

Some points of interest: the bride is veiled by her mother, and is usually carried into her bridal
carriage by her brother. Only main wives wear bright red (正红), all consorts and concubines are
married in shades lighter than cardinal red. The dowry is traditionally a time for the bride’s family
to show off their wealth, so families really go all out.

It’s considered good form for the groom to pray at the ancestral temple for good luck at 5am
before setting out for his bride’s home, but not necessary.

Specifically to LYB: Jingyan, as a general and a prince, would doubtlessly have an honour guard
made up of his soldiers.

2 - Welcoming the bride

The procession reaches the groom’s house, where the family greets the bride and welcomes her off
the carriage. Firecrackers will usually be set off at her arrival. At the door, a specially appointed
girl from the groom’s family, no more than five or six years of age, will come to the carriage and
reach into the bridal carriage to tug at her sleeve three times. Then the bride comes out and steps
over a specially painted (red lacquer, usually) and carved wooden threshold. The bride, still veiled,
is taken to the ceremonial hall by a specially appointed woman (kind of like a bridesmaid). Usually
there will be a raised dais and two cushions, so that the bride and groom are clearly visible.

The dowry etc will be placed in a main hall for display (the bride gifts will also be displayed in the
bride’s home).

Notes of interest: Decorations (banners, ribbons, lanterns, etc) at the groom’s house will all be in
red. Usually the double joy (双喜) will be plastered at least in the place of honour. Fancier places
will do red edged in gold paint.

3 - The ceremony

There are formulaic words for the actual ceremony itself, and a master of ceremonies who cries out
the various greetings and commands. Aside from the ‘dearly beloved, we are all gathered here to…
etc’, they officiate the three kneels, nine kowtows, and six greetings of the wedding.

The order roughly goes as follows:

The three yields: the husband and wife each yield to each other three times before stepping forward
on the dais, to symbolise their respect and care for each other.

Sharing of food: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, to symbolise that the couple will share all the different
aspects of life together.

Three cups of wine, drunk together

1st kneel, offer incense for the ancestors three times, kowtow every time incense is offered

2nd kneel, to show respect for the parents, kowtow three times, and the smaller greeting bow in
between

3rd kneel, facing each other, kowtow three times, bow in greeting, each three times

After this they escape to the marriage chamber. The bride takes off her veil, and the groom
refreshes himself.

4 - The banquet

The groom and the bride briefly greet and drink with the guests. Usually they don’t stay long, and
don’t eat from the banquet table itself. Friends may attempt to storm the marriage chamber (吵房
chao fang) but are supposed to leave them alone after the first try. (They may have to be dissuaded
with red envelopes, however.)

The banquet is a huge party for the friends of the families and relatives, and will serve everything
under the sun, but the dishes will be paired, to give the new couple good luck. Chinese dishes are
named, so dishes with mandarin duck (yuan yang), dragon and phoenix (long feng) will be most
common, again for symbolism and luck. Also platters with peanuts, longan, jujubes, lotus seeds,
and other things symbolising fertility and giving birth to sons will be spread at tables in the
banquet. The goal for the guests is to eat lots and drink even more, since they’ve already given red
envelope money or gifts at the door.

5 - The bedding (look don’t pretend y’all weren’t curious about this part)
 Preparations for the bed itself: first, a married woman with a healthy son (usually chosen among
the groom’s relatives) will tie 24 strands of red silk together in a Chinese knot, for luck, and place
it on the bed. Then, one to three days before the wedding takes place, a boy with both parents still
living is chosen to sleep in the bridal bed, and is given an array of foods (buns, peanuts, and eggs,
all to symbolise fertility and sons) to eat every night.

After escaping the banquet hall, the groom and bride get settled. It’s customary to drink cross-cup
wine, which is normal rice wine but the bride and groom link arms and drink out of their own cups
that way. The bride is then given a small plate of raw dumplings and has to take a bite of one, and
say that it’s raw - this is because in Chinese, raw is a homophone for give birth. The bedding
should be made of red fabric (silk if possible), and embroidery should be of mandarin ducks, on the
pillowcases or on the duvet cover. On top of the bedding, there’s a layer of peanuts, longan,
jujubes, lotus seeds, and other things symbolising fertility - usually thrown there by family
members and well wishers during chao fang (above).

There are special red wax candles used for weddings, and they are not supposed to go out for the
entire night.

Bonus:

During the Ming dynasty, in the south of China, in what is now Fujian, there was also a flourishing
tradition of homosexual marriage. Like the age-structured pederasty system in Ancient Greece, in
Fujian, an older man with an established household could take a younger man as a spouse. Ten or
twenty years down the road, when that man needed to form his own family in conformance with
the Confucian ideals, the prices associated with his marriage would be paid by his husband.

Chapter End Notes

Video of a traditional marriage, with modifications

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/0bR4wyp9cKM
Part 2 - https://youtu.be/PFKJjrJNb9g
Part 3 - https://youtu.be/691Z-cty5IQ

Hanfu for marriage from different dynasties

Part 1 - http://ziseviolet.tumblr.com/post/148616400212
Part 2 - http://ziseviolet.tumblr.com/post/144428379015

End Notes

If you guys spot any errors, please give me a shout!

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!