At first, maids were taken care of by slaves, such as women captured by enemy countries or wives and children of criminals. However, the quality of this kind of maid-in-waiting is often not high, because many people don't know how to serve others, and the number of maid-in-waiting is gradually increasing, so this way is gradually eliminated.
It was not until the Qin and Han dynasties that the royal family began to recruit maids from all over the country to meet the needs of daily life in the palace. The recruitment of maids is very strict, and there must be no disease or crime at home. Only the beautiful daughters of ordinary families can be selected, and few can be selected.
Maids-in-waiting usually need to shave their hair and take a bath after entering the palace, and then older maids begin to train them in etiquette. Maids also have a division of labor. For example, the maid in charge of clothes is called Fu Shang, the maid in charge of etiquette is called Shangyi, and the maid in charge of food is called Shangshi.
In the training stage, the older maids are very strict with the newcomers and scold them at every turn, but if they are smart girls, they can be employed in about half a year and get paid every month.
For example, in the Ming Dynasty, ladies-in-waiting who had been in the palace for 1-5 years could get a salary of 3 taels per month, ladies-in-waiting who had been in the palace for 5- 10 years were considered as old employees, and those who had been in the palace for more than 10 years were considered as old employees, with a salary of 7 taels per month. By the age of 25 to 30, they can leave the palace with their own accumulation!
In the Qing Dynasty, the lowest concubines were called "concubines", with seven grades, but their annual salary was only 30 taels of silver. A slightly advanced "Changchang" earns only 50 taels of silver a year. According to historical records, the servant girl's annual salary is only six taels of silver. Many people have no idea. According to the calculation in the code of Qing Dynasty, one liter in Qing Dynasty is equivalent to 1.5 liter today.
According to the rice price in the Kangxi period, the price of a kilo of rice was more than 10 (1 silver equals 1 0,000), which means we bought 150 kilos of rice at one stroke. At present, our rice price is around 3 yuan, so if you count one or two pieces of silver, it is almost around 450 yuan today, so 62 is about 2,700 yuan. Less than a month's salary of ordinary people. Of course, the ladies-in-waiting have other rewards, such as Yunyun and Gong? , spinning and so on.
So for a poor maid-in-waiting, it is enough to support a family. And if you do well, you will get extra rewards if you get the appreciation of your master. So in the eyes of those poor families, being a maid-in-waiting is really a good choice.
Maids-in-waiting not only get paid every month, but more importantly, all meals are covered, even cosmetics are covered. In the Qing dynasty, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was responsible for all the expenses of maids, not only paying monthly salaries, but also distributing daily necessities such as cosmetics. Therefore, maid-in-waiting is a profession that pays for food, shelter and cosmetics, which is much better than ordinary occupations.
However, maid-in-waiting is also a high-risk occupation. After all, they have to face members of the royal family. If the service is not good, they may be punished by corporal punishment or capital punishment. Moreover, in the palace, everyone is basically intrigued and profit-driven.
So if you offend others, you basically live in fear every day. However, this generous welfare has attracted many girls to join the ranks of ladies-in-waiting, which is also a high-risk and high-reward career.