The word “concubine” has several definitions and many connotations. The easiest way to define the Chinese type of concubinage, at least among the very rich and the Imperial family was that they were mistresses.

Concubinage in China differed in many ways from that of other nations, though it did have similarities as well. At the very top, in the Imperial Household, there was sisterhood, rivalry, palace intrigue, and much more. This likely took place at the home of rich men too. In the Imperial China which lasted until the Communist Revolution of 1949, a man could have only one wife, but as many concubines as he could afford to house, clothe and feed. Frequently, in Chinese history (and that of other nations), a man's wealth and power were partly judged by the number of concubines he kept and how they lived.

Likely the most famous system of concubinage existed within the Chinese imperial family, likely going back at least two thousand years to the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 25AD- to 220AD. The law then, and going forward to 1949 was that the higher the rank of the man, the more concubines he was able to have. Since Han times and likely before, a concubine could be bought, at a slave market in the earliest times, or from a family with an attractive daughter who needed money to survive – these are just two examples. In many cases, a wife would have to approve of this “transaction”. History is full of tales of Chinese wives mistreating their husband's concubine or concubines, sometimes addressed as “little sister”, with a number attached in case of multiple women. That was a common occurrence, but likely as common was a good relationship – especially in a bad marriage: a concubine/mistress could take the attention and pressure off a wife and allow her her own time – even more so in a household with multiple concubines.