Records show that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the inner court housed more than 200 imperially conferred concubines; non-conferred court ladies in the respective western and eastern capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang amounted to 40,000—more than
the total officialdom of the Tang Dynasty. The court ladies of Chang'an and Luoyang were the emperor's nominal concubines. They received no imperial title until they had won the emperors favor by virtue of their feminine charms and sexual prowess. It is said that when Xuanzong's son succeeded him as emperor, his stream lining of the inner court entailed the dismissal of 3,000 court ladies. Emperor Xuanzong unquestionably had more mistresses at his disposal than any other Chinese emperor.
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