For the revenue budget of the Qing Dynasty treasury at that time, the amount of money allocated to the princes and dukes was not insignificant.
If converted to today’s Chinese currency, the compensation for the royal family of the Qing Dynasty corresponds to an income of approximately 6 million yuan.
Using the exchange rate of 1 yuan being roughly equal to 3,300 Vietnamese dong, we can arrive at a specific figure regarding the “salary” of the Qing princes, which is about… nearly 20 billion dong per year.
This level of benefits for those of a lower rank than the princes, such as dukes, also reached 3 million yuan.
Enjoying such a “sky-high” level of compensation, the lives of the royal family were always filled with indulgence and hedonism. Even when the dynasty faced turmoil, the nobility could not abandon their extravagant and wasteful lifestyles.
The wasteful lifestyle became a habit, consuming billions from the Qing royalty.
Every dish served to this class was prepared from rare and expensive ingredients. Even everyday household items like bowls, chopsticks, and spoons had to be made of gold, inlaid with silver, or crafted from precious jade.
To support their lavish lifestyles, many princes and dukes were willing to spend huge sums of money to create ice rooms within their residences or special ice carts to transport drinks and fruits, just to have cold beverages in the summer.
Not stopping there, this elite class also did not hesitate to spend mountains of gold and silver to indulge in daily entertainment such as fishing, hunting, or cricket fighting.
Moreover, most princes and dukes of that time owned luxurious gardens and parks worth billions at home, aimed at inviting friends to enjoy drinks and have fun.
It is perhaps this luxurious lifestyle that led to some princes falling into financial ruin by the end of the Qing Dynasty, unable to manage their enormous expenses.
However, during that feudal period, being born with royal blood made them individuals born at the finish line, living lives that many commoners would not dare to dream of…
