Why did Qing Dynasty concubines always wear armor?

The fingernails are fake nails with precious stones, made from gold, silver, or metal. They are often worn in the royal court by concubines and concubines on their ring and little fingers. These fingernails are considered as their jewelry. So do these sets of fingernails have any special meaning?

According to historical documents, armor appeared during the Warring States period. The ancient Chinese believed that hair and nails were part of the body given to us by our parents. Therefore, we should not cut them to show respect. However, if nails are too long, they will break easily and become difficult to move, so people created armor to protect the nails.

However, wearing armor also caused inconveniences that made many people uncomfortable. Therefore, later, only women of noble birth and nobility had long nails and wore armor. They were always surrounded by servants, they did not need to work, so "growing" long nails was easier than women of the common class.

In addition, the ancients believed that the longer the fingernails, the greater the fortune. Therefore, concubines all grew their fingernails very long. As time passed, they began to think of decorating their armor to beautify themselves as well as show their status.

During the Qing Dynasty, the armors were elevated and became an indispensable item for concubines. Even the decoration and materials used to make the armors were made according to their status and rank. Accordingly, the queen, imperial concubines, or noble concubines would use armors made of gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, etc. Meanwhile, concubines of lower ranks could only use armors made of bronze, porcelain, etc. The motifs of the armors were also carved extremely delicately, not only with animal figures, but also with words on them.

Why did Qing Dynasty concubines always wear armor? - 2 — During the Qing Dynasty, the armor became an indispensable item for concubines in the palace. (Photo: Sohu)

Not only used as jewelry, the armor of the concubines also had another function that few people thought of. That was to attract the attention of the emperor. The concubines believed that the emperor's attention was not only on their appearance but also on their armor. Therefore, the concubines spared no expense in decorating their armor to make it as eye-catching as possible.

Another advantage of the armor is that it can help concubines hide their fingernails. It is a fact that the nails of concubines in the palace are not as white and beautiful as in the movies. Because they do nothing for a long time, their nails will turn yellow or black. Therefore, wearing armor also helps them hide the ugliness of their fingernails.

Why did Qing Dynasty concubines always wear armor? - 3 — Empress Dowager Cixi also used armor as a weapon for self-defense. (Photo: Sohu)

The final use of armor was as a weapon. The person who came up with the idea of using armor as a weapon was Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi had made many enemies, so she was always afraid of being assassinated. Later, Cixi came up with the idea of hiding poison in her armor to kill her enemies.

Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)

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