Misplaced Pages

Empress Xiaoshengxian: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 20:41, 16 January 2007 editNiohe (talk | contribs)3,372 edits Made image smaller, as per WP:IUP. Deleted unnecessary portraits, Image:孝圣宪.jpg does not look genuine. The other images can be put on a gallery at Commons.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 01:51, 29 October 2024 edit undo98.55.20.5 (talk) →Family background 
(360 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Qing dynasty consort to the Yongzheng Emperor}}
{{Infobox_Monarch | name =Empress Xiao Sheng Xian
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
| title =Niuhuru, the Chong Qing Imperial Dowager Empress
{{Infobox royalty
| image =]|}}
| embed =
| name = Empress Xiaoshengxian
| title = Empress Dowager Chongqing
| titletext =
| more =
| type =
| image = Portrait of the Xiaosheng Empress Dowager.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| alt =
| caption =
| succession = ]
| moretext =
| reign = 8 October 1735 – 2 March 1777
| reign-type = Tenure
| coronation =
| cor-type =
| predecessor = ]
| pre-type =
| successor = ]
| suc-type =
| regent =
| reg-type =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1692|1|12|df=y}}<br>(康熙三十年 十一月 二十五日)
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1777|3|2|1692|1|12|df=y}}<br>(乾隆四十二年 正月 二十三日)
| death_place = Changchun Xianguan, ]
| burial_place = Tai Mausoleum, ]
| spouse = {{Marriage|]|1705|1735|end=d}}
| consort =
| issue = ]
| issue-link =
| issue-pipe =
| issue-type =
| full name =
| era name =
| era dates =
| regnal name =
| posthumous name = '''Empress Xiaosheng''' Cixuan Kanghui Dunhe Chenghui Renmu Jingtian Guangsheng '''Xian''' ('''孝聖'''慈宣康惠敦和誠徽仁穆敬天光聖'''憲皇后''')
| temple name =
| house = ] (鈕祜祿)
| house-type =
| father = Lingzhu
| mother = Lady Peng
| religion =
| occupation =
| signature_type =
| signature =
| module =
}}


{{Infobox Chinese|t=孝聖憲皇后|s=孝圣宪皇后|p=Xiàoshèngxiàn Huánghòu}}
'''Empress Xiao Sheng Xian''' (]: 孝圣宪皇后钮祜禄氏; ]: Hiyoošungga Enduringge Temgetulehe Hūwanghu), ] - ], was a daughter of Ling Chu, the First Prince Liang Rong of the Manchu yellow banner corps, and granddaughter of Prince Eidu of the ] Clan.


'''Empress Xiaoshengxian''' (12 January 1692 – 2 March 1777), of the ] ] Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the consort of ] and mother of ]. She was honoured as '''Empress Dowager Chongqing''' during the reign of her son and posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank of empress consort during her lifetime.
==Biography==


When the empress seat was vacant after ] of the Ulanara clan's death, she was placed in charge of the imperial harem as the highest ranked concubine in that time. The Qianlong Emperor held her in high regard and often consulted her for advice. She died in 1777 and outlived many of her son's consorts.
Lady Niuhuru entered the ]'s household in ]. In ] she gave birth to Prince Hongli, the future ]. Niuhuru was granted the title of the ''"Consort Xi"'' (]: 熹妃) in ]. One year later she was granted the title of the ''"Noble Consort Xi"'' (]: 熹贵妃). And after the death of her husband in ], her son Hongli became the new Emperor. She was thus granted the title of the ''"Empress Dowager Chong Qing"'' (]: 崇庆皇太后).


==Life==
The ] often visited his mother. Niuhuru always joined the Emperor on his trips to the North and the South. By all accounts the Dowager Empress was widely respected. When she became too old for travelling, the Emperor stopped and travelled again after her death. The Emperor had great respect for his mother and would often seek her advice. Her sixtieth birthday was lavishly celebrated, ] read in her honour and sacrifices made to the gods by the Emperor and the entire court. He even made a concubine of the ] clan his Empress only because she was in favour with the Dowager Empress.
===Family background===
Empress Xiaoshengxian's personal name was unknown and not recorded in history. She was born to the upper class Niohuru clan in Beijing.


* Father: Lingzhu ({{lang|zh|凌柱}}; 1664–1754), served as a fourth rank military official ({{lang|zh|四品典儀}}), and held the title of a first class duke ({{lang|zh|一等公}})
Niuhuru died in 1777 with, for its time, a ripe old age of 85 years.
** Paternal grandfather: Wulu ({{lang|zh|吳祿}}), ]'s cousin once removed
** Paternal grandmother: Lady Qiao
* Mother: Lady Peng
** Maternal grandfather: Peng Wugong ({{lang|zh|彭武功}})
* Four brothers


==Succession== ===Kangxi era===
The future Empress Xiaoshengxian was born on the 25th day of the 11th ] month in the 30th year of the reign of the ], which translates to 12 January 1692 in the ]. She was born to the prominent ] clan


In 1705, aged thirteen, when she went to the capital, just at the time, it so happened, that the ladies of the nobility were there awaiting selection to the palace. She followed them to watch the excitement, and the door guards let her in, thinking she was one of the candidates. It was only when the selection began, and the leading officials found that she was not on the list. They told ], the fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor, who asked them to include her in the last group. She was then selected because of her regular features and tall figure. She was then sent to the prince's resident and received the title of "Gege".{{sfn|Lee|Lau|Stefanowska|2015|p=352}}
{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=Empress of China|before=] (]: 孝敬宪皇后乌喇纳拉氏)|after=] (]: 孝贤纯皇后富察氏)|years=] - ]}}
{{end box}}


She was, however, not in the prince's good graces. He apart from his ], favoured his concubines ], ], and ]. In the summer of 1710, he developed a disease that made his attendants unwilling to be too close to him. She nevertheless looked after him day and night, and he recovered from the illness after two months. He was grateful to her for her loyalty,{{sfn|Lee|Lau|Stefanowska|2015|p=352}} and the following year on 25 September 1711, she gave birth to his fourth son, ].<ref>{{cite book | author1 = Zhang Hongxing | author2 = Hongxing Zhang | date = 2002 | title = The Qianlong Emperor: Treasures from the Forbidden City | publisher = NMS | isbn = 978-1-901663-77-8 | page = 181}}</ref> Soon after the birth, she fell out of favor again.

In 1722, Prince Yinzhen, who was made Prince Yong, invited the Kangxi Emperor to his residence, Yuanmingyuan, where he met his grandson, eleven year-old Prince Hongli, and took him to his own palace to rear him, and the two lived together for six months. The Kangxi Emperor's love for Hongli was sufficient to raise her status, whom the emperor had once given an audition and praised as "a person with good fortune".{{sfn|Lee|Lau|Stefanowska|2015|pp=352–53}}

===Yongzheng era===
The Kangxi Emperor died on 20 December 1722 and was succeeded by Yinzhen, who was enthroned as the Yongzheng Emperor. On 28 March 1723, Lady Niohuru was granted the title "Consort Xi".{{sfn|Lee|Lau|Stefanowska|2015|p=353}} In 1730, she was elevated to "Noble Consort Xi".{{sfn|Lee|Lau|Stefanowska|2015|p=353}} When the Yongzheng Emperor's empress consort, ], died on 29 October 1731, Noble Consort Xi was placed in charge of the emperor's harem because she was the highest rank consort in that time.

===Qianlong era===
The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. As the birth mother of the reigning emperor, Noble Consort Xi was honoured as (the) "Divine Mother Empress Dowager Chongqing".

The Qianlong Emperor held his mother in high regard and often consulted her for advice. Some believe that she may have been behind the emperor's ill-fated selection of ] to be his second empress consort.<ref>Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 168.</ref> The Qianlong Emperor often visited his mother. The Empress Dowager also always accompanied her son on his excursions to ] and the ].<ref>Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 168.</ref> In her old age, when the Empress Dowager was no longer fit to travel, the Qianlong Emperor stopped all his trips and only resumed them after her death.

The Empress dowager's 60th birthday was lavishly celebrated. The Qianlong Emperor ordered the roads decorated from ] to the ],<ref>Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 169.</ref> Chinese poems were read in her honour and sacrifices were made to the gods by the emperor and the entire imperial court. In her honour, the emperor also ordered the dredging of a lake at the Garden of Clear Ripples, which he named ], as well as renovated buildings on the lake shore.<ref>Rawski (1998), pp. 23–24.</ref>

Empress Dowager Chongqing died on 2 March 1777. She was interred in a separate tomb in the Tai Mausoleum of the ].

==Titles==
* During the reign of the ] (r. 1661–1722):
** Lady ] (钮祜禄氏; from 12 January 1692)
** Mistress (格格; from 1705), second rank lord consort
* During the reign of the ] (r. 1722–1735):
** Consort Xi ({{lang|zh|熹妃}}; from 28 March 1723<ref>雍正元年 二月 二十二日</ref>), fourth rank consort
** Noble Consort Xi ({{lang|zh|熹貴妃}}; from 1730 to 1734), third rank consort
* During the reign of the ] (r. 1735–1796):
** Empress Dowager Chongqing ({{lang|zh|崇慶皇太后}}; from 8 October 1735<ref>雍正十三年 八月 二十三日</ref>)
** ''Empress Xiaoshengxian'' ({{lang|zh|孝聖憲皇后}}; from 1777)

==Issue==
* As Mistress :
** Hongli ({{lang|zh|弘曆}}; 25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799), the Yongzheng Emperor's fifth (fourth) son, enthroned on 18 October 1735 as the ]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Qianlong-Palast.jpg|Empress Xiaoshengxian during a banquet
File:The Portrait of Empress XiaoSheng.JPG|Empress Xiaoshengxian at the age of 60
</gallery>

==In fiction and popular culture==
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (1985)
* Portrayed by Chan Choiyin in '']'' (1988)
* Portrayed by Zhao Minfen in '']'' (1998) and '']'' (2003)
* Portrayed by Zhao Minfen, Yan Minqiu and Wang Liyuan in '']'' (2002)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2002)
* Portrayed by Li Li in '']'' (2002)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2003)
* Portrayed by Shi Xiaoqun in '']'' (2004)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2009)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2011)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2011)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2012)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2018)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2018)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2018)
* Portrayed by Han Jiunuo in ''Love story of court enemies'' (2020)

==See also==
* ]
* ]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|author1=Ho, Chuimei|author2=Bronson, Bennet|title=Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong|date=2004|publisher=Merrell|isbn=1858942039|edition=Illustrated}}
* {{cite book|last=Rawski|first=Evelyn S.|author-link=Evelyn Rawski|title=The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions|url=https://archive.org/details/lastemperorssoc00raws|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=University of California Press|edition=Reprint|isbn=052092679X}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rawski|first1=Evelyn S.|author-link1=Evelyn Rawski|last2=Rawson|first2=Jessica|author-link2=Jessica Rawson|title=China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795|year=2006|publisher=Harry N. Abrams|isbn=1903973694}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wan|first1=Yi|last2=Shuqing|first2=Wang|last3=Yanzhen|first3=Lu|last4=Scott|first4=Rosemary E.|title=Daily Life in the Forbidden City: The Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912|year=1988|publisher=Viking|edition=Illustrated|isbn=0670811645}}
* {{cite book|last=Zhao|first=Erxun|author-link=Zhao Erxun|title=] (Qing Shi Gao)|year=1928|language=zh}}
*{{cite book|first1=Lily Xiao Hong |last1=Lee |first2=Clara |last2=Lau |first3=A.D. |last3=Stefanowska|title=Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911|date=17 July 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-47588-0}}

{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|]}}
{{s-roy|cn}}
{{S-bef|before=]<br />{{small|of the Uya clan}}}}
{{S-ttl|title=]|years=8 October 1735 – 2 March 1777}}
{{S-aft|after=]<br />{{small|of the Niohuru clan}}}}
{{S-end}}

{{Qing empresses|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaoshengxian, Empress}}
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 01:51, 29 October 2024

Qing dynasty consort to the Yongzheng Emperor
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Empress Xiaoshengxian" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Empress Xiaoshengxian
Empress Dowager Chongqing
Empress dowager of the Qing dynasty
Tenure8 October 1735 – 2 March 1777
PredecessorEmpress Dowager Renshou
SuccessorEmpress Dowager Gongci
Born(1692-01-12)12 January 1692
(康熙三十年 十一月 二十五日)
Died2 March 1777(1777-03-02) (aged 85)
(乾隆四十二年 正月 二十三日)
Changchun Xianguan, Old Summer Palace
BurialTai Mausoleum, Western Qing tombs
Spouse Yongzheng Emperor ​ ​(m. 1705; died 1735)​
IssueQianlong Emperor
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaosheng Cixuan Kanghui Dunhe Chenghui Renmu Jingtian Guangsheng Xian (孝聖慈宣康惠敦和誠徽仁穆敬天光聖憲皇后)
HouseNiohuru (鈕祜祿)
FatherLingzhu
MotherLady Peng
Empress Xiaoshengxian
Traditional Chinese孝聖憲皇后
Simplified Chinese孝圣宪皇后
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiàoshèngxiàn Huánghòu

Empress Xiaoshengxian (12 January 1692 – 2 March 1777), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the consort of Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor and mother of Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Chongqing during the reign of her son and posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank of empress consort during her lifetime.

When the empress seat was vacant after Empress Xiaojingxian of the Ulanara clan's death, she was placed in charge of the imperial harem as the highest ranked concubine in that time. The Qianlong Emperor held her in high regard and often consulted her for advice. She died in 1777 and outlived many of her son's consorts.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaoshengxian's personal name was unknown and not recorded in history. She was born to the upper class Niohuru clan in Beijing.

  • Father: Lingzhu (凌柱; 1664–1754), served as a fourth rank military official (四品典儀), and held the title of a first class duke (一等公)
    • Paternal grandfather: Wulu (吳祿), Eidu's cousin once removed
    • Paternal grandmother: Lady Qiao
  • Mother: Lady Peng
    • Maternal grandfather: Peng Wugong (彭武功)
  • Four brothers

Kangxi era

The future Empress Xiaoshengxian was born on the 25th day of the 11th lunar month in the 30th year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, which translates to 12 January 1692 in the Gregorian calendar. She was born to the prominent Niohuru clan

In 1705, aged thirteen, when she went to the capital, just at the time, it so happened, that the ladies of the nobility were there awaiting selection to the palace. She followed them to watch the excitement, and the door guards let her in, thinking she was one of the candidates. It was only when the selection began, and the leading officials found that she was not on the list. They told Yinzhen, the fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor, who asked them to include her in the last group. She was then selected because of her regular features and tall figure. She was then sent to the prince's resident and received the title of "Gege".

She was, however, not in the prince's good graces. He apart from his official wife, favoured his concubines Li, Geng, and Nian. In the summer of 1710, he developed a disease that made his attendants unwilling to be too close to him. She nevertheless looked after him day and night, and he recovered from the illness after two months. He was grateful to her for her loyalty, and the following year on 25 September 1711, she gave birth to his fourth son, Prince Hongli. Soon after the birth, she fell out of favor again.

In 1722, Prince Yinzhen, who was made Prince Yong, invited the Kangxi Emperor to his residence, Yuanmingyuan, where he met his grandson, eleven year-old Prince Hongli, and took him to his own palace to rear him, and the two lived together for six months. The Kangxi Emperor's love for Hongli was sufficient to raise her status, whom the emperor had once given an audition and praised as "a person with good fortune".

Yongzheng era

The Kangxi Emperor died on 20 December 1722 and was succeeded by Yinzhen, who was enthroned as the Yongzheng Emperor. On 28 March 1723, Lady Niohuru was granted the title "Consort Xi". In 1730, she was elevated to "Noble Consort Xi". When the Yongzheng Emperor's empress consort, Empress Xiaojingxian, died on 29 October 1731, Noble Consort Xi was placed in charge of the emperor's harem because she was the highest rank consort in that time.

Qianlong era

The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. As the birth mother of the reigning emperor, Noble Consort Xi was honoured as (the) "Divine Mother Empress Dowager Chongqing".

The Qianlong Emperor held his mother in high regard and often consulted her for advice. Some believe that she may have been behind the emperor's ill-fated selection of Lady Nara to be his second empress consort. The Qianlong Emperor often visited his mother. The Empress Dowager also always accompanied her son on his excursions to Shenyang and the Yangtze River Delta. In her old age, when the Empress Dowager was no longer fit to travel, the Qianlong Emperor stopped all his trips and only resumed them after her death.

The Empress dowager's 60th birthday was lavishly celebrated. The Qianlong Emperor ordered the roads decorated from Beijing to the Summer Palace, Chinese poems were read in her honour and sacrifices were made to the gods by the emperor and the entire imperial court. In her honour, the emperor also ordered the dredging of a lake at the Garden of Clear Ripples, which he named Kunming Lake, as well as renovated buildings on the lake shore.

Empress Dowager Chongqing died on 2 March 1777. She was interred in a separate tomb in the Tai Mausoleum of the Western Qing tombs.

Titles

  • During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
    • Lady Niohuru (钮祜禄氏; from 12 January 1692)
    • Mistress (格格; from 1705), second rank lord consort
  • During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735):
    • Consort Xi (熹妃; from 28 March 1723), fourth rank consort
    • Noble Consort Xi (熹貴妃; from 1730 to 1734), third rank consort
  • During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796):
    • Empress Dowager Chongqing (崇慶皇太后; from 8 October 1735)
    • Empress Xiaoshengxian (孝聖憲皇后; from 1777)

Issue

  • As Mistress :
    • Hongli (弘曆; 25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799), the Yongzheng Emperor's fifth (fourth) son, enthroned on 18 October 1735 as the Qianlong Emperor

Gallery

  • Empress Xiaoshengxian during a banquet Empress Xiaoshengxian during a banquet
  • Empress Xiaoshengxian at the age of 60 Empress Xiaoshengxian at the age of 60

In fiction and popular culture

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lee, Lau & Stefanowska 2015, p. 352.
  2. Zhang Hongxing; Hongxing Zhang (2002). The Qianlong Emperor: Treasures from the Forbidden City. NMS. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-901663-77-8.
  3. Lee, Lau & Stefanowska 2015, pp. 352–53.
  4. ^ Lee, Lau & Stefanowska 2015, p. 353.
  5. Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 168.
  6. Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 168.
  7. Ho & Bronson (2004), p. 169.
  8. Rawski (1998), pp. 23–24.
  9. 雍正元年 二月 二十二日
  10. 雍正十三年 八月 二十三日

References

Empress Xiaoshengxian Niohuru Clan
Chinese royalty
Preceded byEmpress Dowager Renshou (Xiaogongren)
of the Uya clan 		Empress dowager of China
8 October 1735 – 2 March 1777 		Succeeded byEmpress Dowager Gongci (Xiaoherui)
of the Niohuru clan
Empresses of the Qing dynasty
Empresses consort
Empresses dowager
Grand empresses dowager
Posthumous empresses
Xia → Shang → Zhou → Qin → Han → 3 Kingdoms → Jìn / 16 Kingdoms → S. Dynasties / N. Dynasties → Sui → Tang → 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms → Liao / Song / W. Xia / Jīn → Yuan → Ming → Qing
Categories: