Why can concubines hit but absolutely cannot scold palace maids?

If you have ever watched Chinese historical dramas about the harem of dynasties, you must have seen scenes of concubines scolding palace maids. Historians say that this is just a fictional plot, in reality, there are specific and clear rules for punishment in the palace. Concubines cannot scold palace maids for the following reasons.

Influence of Confucianism

The ancients believed that using harsh words to scold the palace maids was the same as defaming one's own dignity. In feudal times, concubines were also influenced by Confucianism.

Confucianism says: “A dignified and simple appearance shows the value of one’s temperament. If one’s clothing is too extravagant, it will reveal vulgarity.” Therefore, they attach great importance to etiquette, conduct, and speech. Those who come from noble families place even greater importance on this.

Concubines, influenced by Confucianism, had to pay attention to their words and could not arbitrarily scold the palace maids. (Photo: Sohu)

The ancient kings highly valued the virtues of their concubines. Therefore, concubines always had to pay attention to standards and speech. If the queen or concubines used harsh words to scold the palace maids, others would think that they were terrible women with no manners, which would not only affect their reputation but also harm their family.

Fear of gossip

There were thousands of people in the palace, so any incident would spread quickly. Therefore, sometimes, the concubines' scolding of the palace maids could be blown out of proportion.

If the emperor were to be careless, the matter would reach his ears and he would find that person mean and spiteful and hateful. Many concubines were even disfavored because of this matter and banished to the cold palace.

Palace maids are also the ones who keep the secrets of the concubines, so the master will not scold them at will. (Photo: Sohu)

Fear of secrets being revealed

The palace maids were close people, working with their masters almost 24 hours a day. Therefore, they knew everything about the concubines. For example, who the concubine was in league with, who she was harming, were all secrets that the palace maids knew. Therefore, if they were beaten and scolded by their masters, in their anger, they could reveal these secrets. The fact that the matter was exposed was also something that the concubines feared.

In history, Concubine Uong was a concubine who married into the palace at the age of 17. She gave birth to a princess not long after entering the palace, so her position became increasingly stable. However, because she was favored by the emperor, Concubine Uong became even more arrogant.

One time, the concubine beat a palace maid to death for a small mistake. The story was spread by many rumors and reached the emperor's ears. As a result, the emperor was furious and ordered the punishment of Concubine Uong Thi. At the same time, he forbade this concubine from going near the princess.

Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)

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