Empress Xiaoyiren (died 24 August 1689), 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 a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and third empress consort of Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing in 1689.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaoyiren'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. * Father: Guowei (; d. 1719), served as a leader of imperial guards (), and held the title of a first class duke () ** Paternal grandfather: Tulai (; 1606–1658), served as a first rank military official (), and held the title of a first class duke () ** Paternal grandmother: Lady Gioro ** Paternal aunt:

Empress Xiaokangzhang Empress Xiaokangzhang (1638 – 20 March 1663), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Tunggiya clan, was the concubine of the Shunzhi Emperor and mother of the Kangxi Emperor during the Qing dynasty. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Cihe dur ...

(1638–1663), the 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 ...

(1654–1722) * Mother: Lady Hešeri * Six brothers ** First younger brother: Yekeshu (), father of Shun'anyan ** Second younger brother: Dekesi (), served as third class imperial guard ** Third younger brother: Longkodo (d. 1728) ** Fourth younger brother: Hongshan (洪善) ** Fifth younger brother: Qingyuan (庆元) ** Sixth younger brother: Qingfu (庆復; d. 1747), served as first rank military official (, pinyin: dutong) from 1727 to 1733, Viceroy of Liangjiang, Viceroy of Yunnan, Viceroy of Liangguang in 1741, a Grand Secretary of Wenhua hall (文华殿大学士) * Younger sister: Imperial Noble Consort Quehui (1668–1743)

Kangxi era

Lady Tong first entered the Forbidden City in 1676 and became a mistress of the

and was treated as a consort, but was not officially entitled. She was first mentioned in official histories on 18 September 1677 when the Kangxi Emperor granted ranks and titles to his consorts. She was granted the title "Noble Consort". As she was the only one among the emperor's consorts to hold that rank, she did not receive an honorary name to distinguish her from the other consorts. On 18 March 1678, the Kangxi Emperor's second empress consort, Empress Xiaozhaoren, died so there was no one to take charge of the emperor's harem. The Noble Consort was put in charge and became the ''de facto'' chief of imperial harem. On 13 December 1678, another concubine of the Kangxi Emperor gave birth to a son, Yinzhen. Traditionally, the Empress was tasked with overseeing the upbringing of all the Emperor's children, regardless of whether or not she was their birth mother. Since the Noble Consort was the most senior among all the Kangxi Emperor's consorts at the time, she was tasked with raising Yinzhen. On 28 January 1682, the Noble Consort was elevated to "Imperial Noble Consort". On 13 July 1683, she gave birth to the emperor's eighth daughter, who would die prematurely on 6 August 1683. On 23 August 1689, when the Imperial Noble Consort was critically ill, the Kangxi Emperor officially instated her as empress. She died the next day and was interred in the Jing Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs. She was granted the posthumous title "Empress Xiaoyiren".

Titles

* During the reign 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 ...

(r. 1643–1661) or the

(r. 1661–1722): ** Lady Tong * During the reign of the

(r. 1661–1722): ** Noble Consort (; from 18 September 1677), third rank consort ** Imperial Noble Consort (; from 28 January 1682), second rank consort ** Empress (; from 23 August 1689) ** ''Empress Xiaoyi'' (; from 3 November 1689) * During 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 ...

(r. 1722–1735): ** ''Empress Xiaoyiren'' (; from July 1723雍正元年六月)

Issue

* As Imperial Noble Consort: ** The Kangxi Emperor's eighth daughter (13 July 1683 – 6 August 1683) ** Miscarriage (August 1689)

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Ha Chi-chan in '' The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty'' (1987) * Portrayed by Zhang Xin in ''

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'' (2011) * Portrayed by Elaine Yiu in '' The Life and Times of a Sentinel'' (2011)

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaoyiren, Empress 17th-century births 1689 deaths Xiaoyiren, Empress Han Chinese Plain Blue Bannermen 17th-century Chinese women 17th-century Chinese people Consorts of the Kangxi Emperor Deaths in childbirth