Imperial Noble Consort Keshun (27 February 1876 – 15 August 1900), of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

Bordered Red Banner Tatara clan, was a consort of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, w ...

. She was five years his junior. She was known to foreigners as the Pearl Concubine. Legend has it that she was drowned in a well on the orders of

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

Life

Family background

Imperial Noble Consort Keshun's personal name was not recorded in history. * Father: Changxu (), served as the Right Vice Minister of Revenue ** Paternal grandfather: Yutai (), served as the Viceroy of Shaan-Gan in 1851 ** Paternal grandmother: Lady

Gūwalgiya Gūwalgiya (Manchu Chinese: ; ) was one of the most powerful Manchu clans. It is often listed by historians as the first of the eight prominent Manchu clans of the Qing dynasty. After the demise of the dynasty, some of its descendants sinicize ...

* Mother: Lady Zhao * Three brothers * Four elder sisters ** Fourth elder sister:

Imperial Noble Consort Wenjing Imperial Noble Consort Wenjing, also known as Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Duankang (6 October 1873 – 24 September 1924), of the Manchu Bordered Red Banner Tatara clan, was a consort of the Guangxu Emperor. Life Family background Imperial ...

(1873–1924)

Guangxu era

The future Imperial Noble Consort Keshun was born on the third day of the second lunar month in the second year of the reign of the

, which translates to 27 February 1876 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...

. On 26 February 1889, Lady Tatara entered the Forbidden City and was granted the title "Concubine Zhen". Her older sister, the future

, entered the Forbidden City at the same time and was granted the title "Concubine Jin". On 6 February 1894, Lady Tatara was elevated to "Consort Zhen". Initially,

appreciated Consort Zhen's talents, and she hired top artisans to teach her to paint and play musical instruments. However, Consort Zhen urged the Guangxu Emperor to be "strong and independent", and encouraged his attempts to introduce political reforms and the teaching of foreign languages. It was also said that Consort Zhen liked

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

, and she invited foreigners into the Forbidden City to teach her about photography. This explains the large number of extant photographs of Consort Zhen, an unusual occurrence for a consort. Her association with foreign customs, in addition to her peculiar habit of dressing in men's clothes, inspired disdain from Empress Dowager Cixi. Once, in response to her arrogant attitude, Cixi teased Consort Zhen by calling her "Grandmother Zhen". Apparently, Consort Zhen also antagonised Empress Dowager Cixi when it was discovered that she had abused her influence over the Guangxu Emperor by interfering in regular procedures for civil appointments. The transactions became public in November 1894, during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

, resulting in a series of embarrassing public scandals for the imperial court. In retaliation, on 26 November 1894, Cixi ordered Consort Zhen and Consort Jin to be demoted, and ordered the execution of a palace

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2n ...

who collaborated with Consort Zhen. Zhirui, a cousin of the two consorts who served as an official, was banished from Beijing. Consorts Zhen and Jin were eventually restored to their positions on 29 May 1895, but it seems that Consort Zhen was excluded from court functions by the middle of 1896. In 1898 she was placed under house arrest.

Death

During the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing co ...

of the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove f ...

in 1900, the imperial court fled from the Forbidden City to

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

. Around this time, Consort Zhen is believed to have drowned in a well in the Forbidden City. Because many historical texts belonging to the Qing Court are missing or censored, the exact circumstances of Consort Zhen's death are unclear. One particularly famous version of the events was described in the 'Jianshan Diary' (a text that was allegedly written by a retired official). According to this account, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Consort Zhen to be released from house arrest and brought in front of her. The empress dowager allegedly said, "I originally planned to bring you along with us. But you are young and pretty, and are likely to be raped by the foreign soldiers on the way. I trust you know what you should do." Realising that Empress Dowager Cixi meant to order her to commit suicide, Consort Zhen begged the empress dowager to allow the Guangxu Emperor to stay in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and negotiate with the foreign powers. Infuriated with her, Empress Dowager Cixi finally ordered Consort Zhen to be thrown into a well behind Ningxia Palace in the northeastern part of the Forbidden City. Sir

Reginald Johnston Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston, ( zh, s=庄士敦爵士, p=Zhuāngshìdūn juéshì, "Sir Johnston"; 13 October 1874 – 6 March 1938) was a British diplomat who served as the tutor and advisor to Puyi, the last Emperor of China. He was also the ...

, tutor to the "last emperor"

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, was told a similar tale by palace

s. According to

Sterling Seagrave Sterling Seagrave (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2017) was an American historian. He was the author of numerous books which address unofficial and clandestine aspects of the 20th-century political history of countries in the Far East. Personal life Bo ...

, this dramatic story was invented by writer Edmund Backhouse, who was responsible for many of the myths about Empress Dowager Cixi and that Cixi had left Beijing before 14 August. Seagrave says Consort Zhen's fate is unknown, but it is possible that she "was done in by the eunuchs on their own initiative, or flung herself down the well."

Titles

* During the reign of the

(r. 1875–1908): ** Lady Tatara (from 27 February 1876) ** Concubine Zhen (; from 26 February 1889), fifth rank consort ** Consort Zhen (; from 6 February 1894), fourth rank consort ** Noble Lady Zhen (; from 26 November 1894), sixth rank consort ** Consort Zhen (; from 29 May 1895光緒二十一年五月六日), fourth rank consort * During the years of the

Republic of China (1912–1949) The Republic of China (ROC), between 1912 and 1949, was a sovereign state recognised as the official designation of China when it was based on Mainland China, prior to the relocation of its central government to Taiwan as a result of the C ...

: ** ''Imperial Noble Consort Keshun'' (; from 24 April 1921), second rank consort

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by

Zhou Xuan Zhou Xuan (; born Su Pu (); August 1, 1920 – September 22, 1957), also romanized as Chow Hsuan, was an iconic Chinese singer and film actress. By the 1940s, she had become one of China's Seven Great Singing Stars. She was the best known ...

in '' Sorrows of the Forbidden City'' (1948) * Portrayed by Siu Yiu in ''

The Empress Dowager ''The Empress Dowager'' is a 1975 Hong Kong historical film directed by Li Han-hsiang and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi. Plot Although the Empress Dowager Tzu-hsi of the Ching Dynasty had pr ...

'' (1975) and ''

The Last Tempest ''The Last Tempest'' (, translit. Ying tai qi xue) is a 1976 Hong Kong drama film directed by Li Han-hsiang. The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 49th Academy Awards, but was not accepted ...

'' (1976) * Portrayed by Xu Fan in '' Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch'' (1991) * Portrayed by Jaime Chik in ''

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'' (1992) * Portrayed by Asiru in '' Towards the Republic'' (2003) * Portrayed by Zhou Muyin in '' Happy Mother-in-Law, Pretty Daughter-in-Law'' (2010) * Portrayed by

Lemon Zhang Zhang Meng (, born on 29 December 1988 in Zhengzhou), also known as Lemon Zhang, is a Chinese actress, singer and model. She graduated from Beijing Film Academy. Career Zhang first gained attention for her role as Biyao in the music video of th ...

in '' The Firmament of The Pleiades'' (2010) * Portrayed by Xiaochen Wang in '' Legend of the Great Doctor: Xi Laile'' (2013) * Portrayed by Rebecca Zhu in ''

The Last Healer in Forbidden City ''The Last Healer in Forbidden City'' (; literally "The Last Imperial Physician") is a 2016 Hong Kong historical fiction television drama produced by TVB, starring Roger Kwok and Tavia Yeung as the main leads, produced by Nelson Cheung. It ...