Because nails grow slowly, and when they grow, they become brittle and easy to break. The women in the harem came up with a way to protect their nails, that is, wearing finger covers. And make these nails very delicate and beautiful, wear them on your hands and become an ornament.
In Qing dynasty, handcuff became a status symbol. Although they are all women of the emperor, each concubine wears different finger covers. Those who haven't waited for bed are different from those who have waited for bed, and those who are favored and those who are not.
On TV, we see that concubines usually wear little fingers and ring fingers, but in fact, they can wear all four fingers except their thumbs. According to concubines' own habits and needs, there are no hard and fast rules.
If you look closely, the techniques of these finger covers are exquisite and there will be many decorations on them. The more common ones are gold or silver, and the advanced ones will embed some jade and jewelry on their finger covers.
As can be seen from the portrait of Cixi, most of the finger covers she wears are made of jade and gold. The design and fingers of the finger covers are natural, and the radian and style can make the concubines look more elegant and dignified.
Therefore, empresses and concubines like to grow long nails, which can reflect their noble status. Long nails can make your hands look longer, and then wearing finger covers is more attractive.