What did palace maids in ancient times do when they had their periods?

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What did palace maids do when they menstruated in ancient times?
Wang Jian's poem "Palace Poems," number 46, describes it: "The imperial pond's waters are beautiful in spring, with white jade channels flowing everywhere. They secretly inform the emperor that they've menstruated, and call for companions to wash their skirts."

During the Tang Dynasty, the Longshou Canal, Yong'an Canal, and Qingming Canal channeled water into the city. "White jade channels" refers to canals built of white marble. "Menstruation" meant informing the emperor discreetly to avoid "breaking the rules." If palace maids accidentally soiled their skirts during their periods, they would invite their female companions to wash them by the water.

In Volume 19 of *Tang Yin Gui Qian*, Hu Zhenheng points out two inaccuracies in this poem: one is the line "Why would the emperor wash his own clothes?" While concubines might not have done much manual labor, it's not unusual for ordinary palace maids to wash their own clothes, given their daily chores. The other is the line "Secretly reporting, they are completely unfamiliar with the story of cinnabar." The practice of marking one's face with cinnabar is as follows:

*Records of the Grand Historian* states, "Cheng Ji avoided certain things and did not wish to advance." The commentary explains, "The emperor's and feudal lords' concubines served their husbands in turn. If a woman was menstruating, she would not serve them, without verbally stating it, but instead marking her face with cinnabar, clearly visible, and having the female historians observe it." Whether emperor's or feudal lord's wives, they all served their husbands in order, and if a woman was menstruating, she would not participate in the shift, not by directly stating it, but by marking her face with red. The text doesn't state that the emperor directly canceled his plans to have sex with a woman upon seeing a red mark on her face; instead, it mentions that the supervising female historian would witness it. Therefore, it's reasonable for the supervising official to "secretly report" the event.

Besides applying rouge to their faces during menstruation, palace women also wore rings. Regarding whether they wore gold or silver rings, and on their left or right hand, I've seen many different accounts, but they are generally considered to be practices common in the Han Dynasty imperial harem.

According to *Sanyu Zhuibi*, Han Dynasty concubines and palace women often wore a gold ring on their hand when menstruating or pregnant to remind the emperor that they should not have sex during this period. Therefore, the gold ring was also called a "menstrual ring," indicating abstaining from sexual activity during menstruation—a warning sign.

Another account states that Han Dynasty palace women wore a silver ring on their left hand when menstruating or pregnant. If they were favored by the emperor, they would be given a gold ring to wear on their right hand, and a female historian would record the date of their encounter for verification later when pregnancy was confirmed.

Consider this account: Before a concubine could "enter the emperor's bedchamber," she was registered and assigned by a female historian. The historian distributed two types of small rings to each concubine: one gold and one silver. If a concubine was pregnant or menstruating and could not have intercourse, she didn't need to explicitly state it; she simply wore the gold ring on her left hand (if the exact finger was specified, countless interpretations would arise). This served as a signal of "abstinence," and the historian would not arrange for her to serve the emperor. Normally, the concubines wore the silver ring on their right hand.

Regardless of whether it was gold or silver, or which hand it was worn, the ring signified abstinence during menstruation.

Since we're discussing menstruation, let's talk about the related elixir, "red lead."

"Red lead is Tian Gui water." What is Tian Gui? The *Huangdi Neijing* states, "Menstruation occurs regularly, which is called Tian Gui." In fact, "red lead" is not ordinary menstruation, but rather the first menstruation of a virgin. "The color of menstrual blood changes immediately upon leaving the vulva, but the color of the first menstrual flow remains unchanged, because it preserves the balance of Yin and Yang. For men, Yang is external and Yin is internal; for women, Yin is external and Yang is internal. The first menstrual flow is the Yang within the Kan trigram. Is it beneficial to supplement the Yin within the Li trigram with the Yang within the Kan trigram? Supplementing only men is beneficial, while supplementing women is harmful. Supplementing men is Yang nourishing Yin; supplementing women is Yang strengthening Yang." "Kan" and "Li" are trigrams mentioned in the *I Ching*, representing the balance of Yin and Yang, water and fire. The first menstrual flow has the most Yang energy; it remains fresh and doesn't immediately change color after flowing from a woman's vulva, making it highly beneficial for men.

Emperor Zhu Houcong of the Ming Dynasty was a devout follower of Taoism. In his early years, he focused on longevity, and later on, he "studied" sexual techniques. In Taoist theory, sexual techniques were a form of health preservation; by mastering certain skills, taking secret elixirs, and having frequent intercourse with virgins, one could achieve the effect of replenishing Yang through Yin and prolonging life. During the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, concocting aphrodisiacs for the emperor became a primary task for Daoist priests, among which small pills made from "red lead" (also called "innate cinnabar lead") were the most famous.

To prepare these pills, the relevant departments extensively recruited young girls of thirteen or fourteen years old from the common people to enter the palace. This served two purposes: providing raw materials for the red lead pills and also acting as a tool for the emperor to satisfy his lust.

The red lead pills contained not only "first menstrual blood" but also various Chinese herbs, minerals, and "autumn stone." Autumn stone is said to be the urine of young boys, or possibly both. Joseph Needham, a British scholar of the history of Chinese science and technology, stated that the "autumn stone" concocted by Daoist priests in the Ming Dynasty was actually a sex hormone preparation extracted from large quantities of human urine. In other words, the addition of autumn stone enhanced the aphrodisiac effects of the red lead pills. Taking the red lead pills made the emperor more energetic, allowing him to engage in "sexual intercourse" with more young girls.

Furthermore, Emperor Jiajing ordered palace maids to collect "sweet dew" for him in the imperial garden before dawn every day, causing many maids to collapse from exhaustion and illness. Some accounts suggest that in order to obtain raw materials for red lead, young palace maids were given large doses of menstrual-inducing drugs, causing immense physical and mental harm and even leading to their deaths. Consequently, on the night of October 20, 1542, a palace coup occurred in which palace maids attempted to strangle Emperor Jiajing. As a result, more than ten palace maids, including Yang Jinying and Xing Cuilian, along with Consort Cao, were executed by slow slicing and their entire families were exterminated.

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