Empress Xiaokangzhang (1638 – 20 March 1663), of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu people, Manchu military and society during the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies u ...

Tunggiya clan, was the concubine of the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizu of Qing, personal name Fulin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China pro ...

and mother of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Cihe during the reign of her son and was posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank during her lifetime.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaokangzhang's personal name was not recorded in history. Her family originally belonged to the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

Plain Blue Banner from Fushun in Liaoning, but managed to reclassify themselves as Manchu. * Father: Tulai (; 1606–1658), served as a first rank military official (), and held the title of a first class duke () ** Paternal grandfather: Yangzhen (; ? – 1621) * Mother: Lady Gioro (覺羅氏) * Three brothers ** First younger brother: Guoji () ** Second younger brother: Guogang (; ? – 1690), served as a first rank military official (都统), and held the title of first class duke (一等公) ** Third younger brother: Guowei (; ? – 1719), served as leader of the Imperial Guards (), and held the title of a first class duke (); the father of Empress Xiaoyiren (? – 1689) and Imperial Noble Consort Quehui (1668–1743) The Han Chinese Tong (佟) clan of Fushun in

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, from whom Kangxi's mother descends, falsely claimed to be related to the Manchu Tunggiya (佟佳) clan of

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

, using this false claim to get themselves transferred to a Manchu banner in the reign of the

. However the private genealogical records of the Fushun Tong clan actually demonstrate Han ancestry from the Central Plains, contrary to their later claims of Manchu ancestry, later reclassification as Manchu bannerman, and the official Qing records.

Shunzhi era

In 1653, Lady Tong entered the Forbidden City and became a concubine of the

. She never received any title or rank during his reign. On 4 May 1654, she gave birth to the emperor's third son, Xuanye.

Kangxi era

When the Shunzhi Emperor died on 5 February 1661, Xuanye was chosen to be the new emperor and was enthroned as the Kangxi Emperor. As the biological mother of the reigning emperor, Lady Tong was honoured as "Holy Mother, Empress Dowager Cihe". Lady Tong died on 20 March 1663. Her death was reportedly due to an unknown illness but the circumstances surrounding her death were suspicious. Although she had never been empress during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, she was granted the posthumous title "Empress Xiaokangzhang". She was interred in the Xiao Mausoleum alongside the Shunzhi Emperor and Consort Donggo.

Titles

* During the reign of Hong Taiji (r. 1626–1643): ** Lady Tong (佟氏) * During the reign of the

(r. 1661–1722): ** Empress Dowager Cihe (; from 5 February 1661) ** ''Empress Xiaokang'' (; from June/July 1663) ** ''Empress Xiaokangzhang'' (; from June/July 1670)康熙九年五月

Issue

* As concubine: ** Xuanye (; 4 May 1654 – 20 December 1722), the Shunzhi Emperor's third son; enthroned on 5 February 1661 as the

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Chen Farong in '' The Duke of Mount Deer'' (2000) * Portrayed by Zhu Yan in '' Kangxi Dynasty'' (2001) * Portrayed by Jia Yumeng in '' Xiaozhuang Mishi'' (2003)

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaokangzhang, Empress 1638 births 1663 deaths Qing dynasty empresses Qing dynasty empresses dowager 17th-century Chinese women 17th-century Chinese people Kangxi Emperor Mothers of Chinese emperors