As the most powerful man in the country, the emperor of China had thousands of women at his disposal in the forbidden city. Most women in the Forbidden City were employed as maids and servants, however there was also a select group of concubines whose task was to bear children for the emperor as many as he could father, and to satisfy his sexual needs.

These women were chosen from all over the country, and only a few of those who made it through the rigorous process would be noticed by the emperor and win his favour. Most would spend their lives in bitter loneliness, and unsurprisingly, politics and jealousy was rife among concubines. Beauty was more of a curse than a blessing in China during this period of history.