Ancient Emperors’ Secret Technique of Selecting Concubines 4: Selecting Concubines with a Sheep Cart

Selecting a Concubine by a Sheep Cartand"Sheep Carriage Hope for Good FortuneSimilar, but more like a "selection of concubines" than a "favoritism." Legend has it that Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty improved upon the method of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, arranging the women to be selected in the palace, and having a sheep-drawn carriage pass in front of them. The woman whose carriage stopped was chosen to enter the palace.

According to historical recordsSima YanThe sheep-drawn carriages were not only used to determine the emperor's consorts but also occasionally to select new concubines or palace maids. In some cases, the carriages would tour the palace, and carefully selected women would be drawn to the area where the carriage stopped; those women might be brought into the harem or receive special attention from the emperor. The main difference between this method and "sheep-drawn carriage selection" is that the former focuses more on routine selections, while "sheep-drawn carriage selection" might involve a more formal selection ceremony. To attract the carriages, concubines would often create alluring scenes in front of the palace gates, such as placing grass or bamboo leaves, demonstrating the fierce competition within the harem and the concubines' resourcefulness. This method also reflects the casual and playful attitude of ancient emperors in managing the harem.

The characteristics of this method are:

• Visual dominanceThe young women needed to dress up carefully to attract the attention of the sheep.
• Symbolic meaningIn ancient Chinese culture, sheep represent good fortune, and their selection was considered "divine will".
• Political marriage toolThe emperor could use this to balance the power in the harem and prevent the maternal relatives from seizing power.

However, this method is still subject to manipulation, such as training sheep to be accustomed to specific scents, which makes the selection process unfair.

Further reading:

• Ancient Emperors' Secret Techniques for Selecting Concubines and Their Sexual Intercourse 1
• Ancient Emperors' Secret Techniques for Selecting Concubines and Their Sexual Intercourse 2
• Ancient Emperors' Secret Techniques for Selecting Concubines and Their Sexual Intercourse (Part 3)
• Ancient Emperors' Secret Techniques for Selecting Concubines and Their Sexual Intercourse (Part 4)
• Ancient Emperors' Secret Techniques for Selecting Concubines and Their Sexual Intercourse (5)