The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history and has been portrayed extensively in historical films. After watching these films, many young people dream of “time traveling” back to ancient times to take on roles as princes, princesses, concubines, or royal sons-in-law, enjoying wealth and glory. However, according to historical records, becoming a royal son-in-law was not an easy feat.
The emperor, when looking for a son-in-law, could not afford to be careless. Typically, candidates were chosen personally by the Empress or the Emperor himself. The key criteria included family background, appearance, education, talent, and finally, age.
Choosing a royal son-in-law is not a simple matter. (Illustrative image).
Particularly during the Qing Dynasty, known for its bizarre and strict palace rules, the selection of a royal son-in-law was even more complicated.
The Qing emperors placed great emphasis on their noble and pure bloodlines, always mindful of the health of their descendants. Therefore, when princesses chose a royal son-in-law, they had to meet not only the aforementioned criteria but also fulfill requirements regarding physical and sexual health.
While physical health is easy to assess, sexual health is more challenging to evaluate. At this point, a “test kiss” by a palace maid was employed as a method of assessment. Specifically, historical records indicate that to evaluate the potential husband’s “capabilities,” the princesses would allow their trusted palace maids to spend time with the royal son-in-law candidates for about ten days, with a maximum duration of one month.
During this task, the royal son-in-law and the palace maid were required to be “intimate” with each other, but it was strictly a physical relationship without emotional attachment.
Once completed, the “test kiss” maid would report in detail about the “masculine capabilities” and sexual health of the future royal son-in-law to determine if he met the standards to be the husband of the princess.
If the results were favorable, the marriage would proceed to the next step. If the palace maid reported an unsatisfactory experience, the marriage would be postponed for further analysis and evaluation of the situation.
After 2 to 3 months, if the “test kiss” maid became pregnant, it indicated that the royal son-in-law had no issues, and the marriage would continue. Conversely, if she did not become pregnant, the marriage would be canceled.
To ensure accuracy and reliability, princesses often designated 2 to 3 palace maids for this task. The most frightening aspect was that once the “test kiss” maids became pregnant, they would never be able to bear children. Upon confirmation of pregnancy, they would have to take abortifacients, which was truly cruel.
Another party adversely affected was the royal son-in-law candidates. If the princess was dissatisfied and the marriage could not proceed, they would be neglected and treated as if they did not exist.
Additionally, despite being a royal son-in-law, unless they had special merits, it was difficult for them to gain promotions or advancements during the Qing Dynasty.
In general, the Qing royal family implemented all these strict and even bizarre rules as a meticulous step to ensure that they would have a healthy and superior generation of descendants.
- The Qing Emperor spent “mountains of gold” on imperial cuisine, with 120 dishes cooked only with this precious water
- 450-year-old mummy clutches an old, tattered letter, the contents of which leave future generations in sorrow
- Palace maids had to hold water in their mouths while attending Empress Dowager Cixi in the bathroom: When the reason is revealed, everyone is dismayed!
