Empress Xiaoyichun (23 October 1727 – 28 February 1775) 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 ...

Weigiya clan was an imperial consort of 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 the favored concubine of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

, with whom she conceived seven children.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaoyichun's personal name was not recorded in history. She was a

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 ...

Booi Aha of the Bordered Yellow Banner by birth. * Father: Wei Qingtai (), who served as a fifth rank literary official () in the

Imperial Household Department The Imperial Household Department ( zh, t=內務府, s=内务府, p=Nèiwùfǔ, first=t; mnc, , v=dorgi baita be uheri kadalara yamun) was an institution of the Qing dynasty of China. Its primary purpose was to manage the internal affairs of the ...

and held the title of a third class duke () ** Paternal grandfather: Wei Jiuling () * Mother: Lady Yanggiya () * One elder sister

Yongzheng era

Lady Wei was born on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month in the 5th year of the reign of the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

, which translates to 23 October 1727 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

Qianlong era

It is not known when Lady Wei entered the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

. In 1745, she was granted the title "Noble Lady". On 9 December 1745, she was elevated to "Concubine Ling", with "Ling" () meaning "clever and pleasant". On 20 May 1749, she was promoted to "Consort Ling", and although at this point she still had no children with the Qianlong Emperor, he doted on her and described her as "gentle and beautiful". On 10 August 1756, when she was almost 29 years old, she gave birth to his 7th daughter, Princess Hejing. Consort Ling later gave birth to his 14th son, Aisin-Gioro Yonglu, on 31 August 1757 (though he would die prematurely on 3 May 1760) and to his 9th daughter,

Princess Heke Princess Heke of the Second Rank (和碩和恪公主; 17 August 1758 – 14 December 1780) was a Chinese princess of the second of the Qing dynasty,and the 9th daughter and 22nd child of Qianlong Emperor and the 2nd daughter and 3rd child of her ...

, on 17 August 1758. On 3 February 1760, she was elevated to "Noble Consort". On 13 November 1760, she gave birth to his 15th son, Aisin-Gioro Yongyan. On 13 January 1763, Noble Consort Ling gave birth to Qianlong's 16th son, who died prematurely on 6 May 1765. That same year, while on a tour to

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, Empress Nara fell out of favor and was sent back to the Forbidden City to be confined. The real reason behind her downfall remains the subject of debate. Whatever happened, when the imperial entourage returned to the Forbidden City, Qianlong stripped Empress Nara of her power and, on 28 July, promoted Noble Consort Ling to "Imperial Noble Consort". On 17 June 1766, she gave birth to Qianlong's 17th son, Aisin-Gioro Yonglin. On 19 August 1766, Empress Nara died of illness, but a new empress was not designated. However, Imperial Noble Consort Ling, who held the highest rank among all of the consorts, was placed in charge of the palace and served her role well. Her duties as the de facto empress were guiding rites at the ancestral altar, evaluating the personnel, approving budgets, supervising the education of the princes, and planning all imperial marriages. She also regularly met with

eunuchs 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 2 ...

, female attendants, the emperor's other consorts, imperial princesses (including her two daughters), and her husband, whom she accompanied on his excursions to

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

, Jehol and the areas south of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

. In 1773, Qianlong decided to secretly select the crown prince. Seven of his sons were living at the time, but he decided to choose Yongyan, who was not outstanding, but was very hardworking and humble. Despite these excellent circumstances for her, Imperial Noble Consort Ling became increasingly ill as the years passed. On 9 February 1775, Princess Hejing died and the tragic news worsened Imperial Noble Consort Ling's condition.

Death and burial

Imperial Noble Consort Ling died at the age of 47 on 28 February of 1775, less than a month after her eldest daughter's death. On 12 March of that same year, she was posthumously granted the title "Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi". On 19 November, her corpse was interred in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs after a grand funeral far more regal than that of an Imperial Noble Consort. On 9 February 1796, Qianlong posthumously elevated Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi to "Empress Xiaoyi", announced Yongyan as the

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was ...

, and became a retired emperor. After Qianlong's death on 7 February 1799, Jiaqing honoured his mother with the posthumous title "Empress Xiaoyichun" and had her reburied at the right side of Qianlong's burial place, while his first principal wife,

Empress Xiaoxianchun Empress Xiaoxianchun (28 March 1712 – 8 April 1748) of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Fuca clan was an imperial consort of the Qing dynasty. She was the first wife of the Qianlong Emperor. Life Family background Empress Xiaoxianchun's p ...

, was buried on his left side. After the Yu Mausoleum's grave robbery occurred in 1928, it was revealed that Xiaoyichun's remains were well-preserved during inspection.

Titles

* During the reign of the

(r. 1722–1735): ** Lady Wei () * During the reign of the

(r. 1735–1796): ** Noble Lady (; from 1745), sixth rank imperial consort ** Concubine Ling (; from 9 December 1745), fifth rank imperial consort ** Consort Ling (; from 20 May 1749), fourth rank imperial consort ** Noble Consort Ling (; from 3 February 1760), third rank imperial consort ** Imperial Noble Consort (; from 28 July 1765), second rank imperial consort ** ''Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi'' (; from 12 March 1775)乾隆四十年二月十一日 **''Empress Xiaoyi'' (; from 1796) * During the reign of the

(r. 1796–1820): ** ''Empress Xiaoyichun'' (; from 1799)

Issue

* As Consort Ling: ** Princess Hejing of the First Rank (; 10 August 1756 – 9 February 1775), the Qianlong Emperor's seventh daughter *** Married Lhawang Dorji (; 1754–1816), of the Mongol

Khalkha The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In cont ...

Borjigin clan in August/September 1770 ** Yonglu (; 31 August 1757 – 3 May 1760), the Qianlong Emperor's 14th son ** Princess Heke of the Second Rank (; 17 August 1758 – 14 December 1780), the Qianlong Emperor's ninth daughter *** Married Jalantai (; ? – 1788), of the Manchu Uya clan in August/September 1772 ** ''Miscarriage at eight months'' (13 November 1759) * As Noble Consort Ling: ** Yongyan (), Emperor Renzong of Qing (清仁宗; 13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), the Qianlong Emperor's 15th son; enthroned on 9 February 1796 as the

(嘉慶帝) ** ''Unnamed son'' (13 January 1763 – 6 May 1765), the Qianlong Emperor's 16th son * As Imperial Noble Consort: ** Yonglin (), Prince Qingxi of the First Rank (; 17 June 1766 – 25 April 1820), the Qianlong Emperor's 17th son

Gallery

File:令妃.jpg, In ceremonial dress File:孝仪纯皇后吉服像.jpg, In ceremonial dress File:Empress XiaoYi.PNG, In court dress File:清佚名《清高宗乾隆孝仪纯皇后朝服像》.jpg, In court dress File:弘历妃及童年顒琰像.jpg, In daily dress, with the young Jiaqing Emperor. Debates about the identity of the lady are still ongoing and it has been suggested that she might be Imperial Noble Consort Qinggong, one of the Qianlong Emperor's childless concubines who raised Yongyan.

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Chan Tik-wah in ''

The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty ''The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty'' ( Chinese: 滿清十三皇朝) is a long-running four part television series about the history of the Qing dynasty. The series was produced by Hong Kong's ATV and was aired on ATV Home from September 1987 to ...

'' (1988) * Portrayed by Zhao Lijuan in '' My Fair Princess'' (1998) * Portrayed by Chen Li in '' My Fair Princess III'' (2003) * Portrayed by Sharon Chan in '' Word Twisters' Adventures'' (2007) * Portrayed by Liu Xiaoye in '' New My Fair Princess'' (2011) * Portrayed by Wu Jinyan in ''

Story of Yanxi Palace ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. It was created by Yu Zheng, with original screenplay written by Zhou Mo, and later developed into a ...

'' (2018) and ''Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures'' (2019) * Portrayed by Li Chun in ''

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace ''Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel ''Inner Palace: The Legend of Ruyi'' by Liu Lianzi. Starring Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo, it chronicles the marital relationship between the Qianlong Emp ...

'' (2018)

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaoyichun, Empress 1727 births 1775 deaths Qing dynasty posthumous empresses 18th-century Chinese women 18th-century Chinese people Consorts of the Qianlong Emperor Mothers of Chinese emperors