Imperial Noble Consort Shushen (24 December 1859 – 13 April 1904), 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 ...

Fuca clan, was a consort of the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, w ...

Life

Family background

Imperial Noble Consort Shushen's personal name was not recorded in history. * Father: Fengxiu (), served as a fifth rank literary official (), Maci's great great great grandson ** Paternal grandfather: Huiji (惠吉) * Mother: Lady Jiang (蒋氏)

Xianfeng era

The future Imperial Noble Consort Shushen was born on the first day of the 12th

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

month in the ninth year of the reign of the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper. During his re ...

, which translates to 24 December 1859 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 ...

Tongzhi era

In 1872, during the auditions for the

's consorts, Lady Fuca and

Lady Arute Empress Xiaozheyi (25 July 1854 – 27 March 1875), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Alut clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Zaichun, the Tongzhi Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing from 1872 unt ...

were both shortlisted as candidates to be the empress.

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

favoured Lady Fuca while

Empress Dowager Ci'an Empress Xiaozhenxian (12 August 1837 – 8 April 1881), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing from ...

preferred Lady Arute. The Tongzhi Emperor eventually chose Lady Arute to be his empress consort. On 15 October 1872, Lady Fuca entered the Forbidden City and was granted the title "Consort Hui" by the Tongzhi Emperor. However, by Empress Dowager Cixi's order, she received the preferential treatment of a noble consort. On 23 December 1874, Lady Fuca was elevated to "Imperial Noble Consort".

Guangxu era

The Tongzhi Emperor died on 12 January 1875 and was succeeded by his cousin Zaitian, who was enthroned as the Guangxu Emperor. In January 1875, Empress Dowager Cixi granted Lady Fuca the title "Imperial Noble Consort Dunyi". In 1894, just before Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday celebrations, Lady Fuca was honoured with the title "Imperial Noble Consort Dunyi Rongqing". She was the only imperial noble consort in the history of the Qing dynasty to receive a title containing four characters ("Dunyi Rongqing"); imperial noble consorts normally had only two characters in their title. Lady Fuca died on 13 April 1904 and was granted the posthumous title "Imperial Noble Consort Shushen". In 1905, she was interred in the Hui Mausoleum of the

Eastern Qing tombs The Eastern Qing tombs (; ) are an imperial mausoleum complex of the Qing dynasty located in Zunhua, northeast of Beijing. They are the largest, most complete, and best preserved extant mausoleum complex in China. Altogether, five emperors ( Sh ...

Republican era

On 29 March 1928, Lady Fuca's tomb was desecrated by grave robbers.

Titles

* During the reign of the

(r. 1850–1861): ** Lady Fuca (from 24 December 1859) * During the reign of the

(r. 1861–1875): ** Consort Hui (; from 15 October 1872), fourth rank consort ** Imperial Noble Consort (; from 23 December 1874), second rank consort * During the reign of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

(r. 1875–1908): ** Imperial Noble Consort Dunyi (; from January 1875同治十三年十二月) **Imperial Noble Consort Dunyi Rongqing (敦宜荣庆皇贵妃; from 1895) ** ''Imperial Noble Consort Shushen'' (; from 1904)

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Chan Pui-san 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 ...

'' (1990) * Portrayed by Cilla Kung in '' The Confidant'' (2012) * Portrayed by Janice Shum in '' The Last Healer in Forbidden City'' (2016)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shushen, Imperial Noble Consort 1859 births 1904 deaths Qing dynasty imperial consorts Manchu people Consorts of the Tongzhi Emperor