Empress Xiaoliewu (1590 – 1 October 1626), 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 ...

Plain White Banner The Plain White Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. It was one of the three "upper" banners (Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Yellow Banner, and Plain White Banner) d ...

Ula

Nara clan The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, personal name Abahai, was a consort of

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gi ...

. She was 31 years his junior. Abahai was erroneously identified with

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

, Nurhaci's eighth son and successor, in earlier sources.

Life

Family background

* Father: Mantai (; d. 1596), held the title of a third rank prince () ** Paternal grandfather: Bugan (), held the title of a third rank prince () ** Paternal uncle:

Bujantai Bujantai (Manchu language, Manchu: ; ) (1575 – 1618) was a Jurchen people, Jurchen ''beile'' (chieftain) of the Nara (clan), Ula tribal confederation. Life Bujantai was descended from Nacibulu (納奇卜祿), the ancestor of the Nara lineage ...

(1575–1618), held the title of a third rank prince ()

Wanli era

In November or December 1601, Lady Ula Nara married Nurhaci, becoming one of his multiple wives. Following the death of Empress Xiaocigao on 31 October 1603, Lady Ula Nara was elevated to Nurhaci's primary consort. She gave birth on 28 August 1605 to Nurhaci's 12th son, Ajige, on 17 November 1612 to his 14th son,

Dorgon Dorgon (17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650) was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, which was the predecessor of the Qi ...

, and on 2 April 1614 to his 15th son,

Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...

. In early 1620, Lady Abahai was regularly spotted visiting

Daišan Daišan (Manchu: ; 19 August 1583 – 25 November 1648) was an influential Manchu prince and statesman of the Qing dynasty. Family background Daišan was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Nurhaci, the founder of the ...

, the Emperor's eldest son's chambers. She also prepared dishes for him. A lady-in-waiting reported those incidents to Nurhaci, who was outraged. However, wanting to protect the royal family's reputation, Nurhaci berated her for another matter, stealing gold and jewels. Lady Abahai was banished from the palace by Nurhaci, who then deposed her.

Tianqi era

After Lady Abahai's banishment, the Emperor started to miss her. By 1622, he was considering bringing her back. Around late 1622 to early 1623, Nurhaci brought back Lady Abahai to the palace, as she was restored to her titles as Empress and returned to her royal duties.

Tiancong era

When Nurhaci died on 30 September 1626, Lady Ula Nara was forced to commit suicide by her stepson,

. According to legend, Lady Ula Nara was forced to be buried alive beside Nurhaci to prove her love for him. Other sources claim that she was strangled by Hong Taiji's servants as she stood as a threat to his ascension. Either way, Lady Ula Nara committed suicide on 1 October 1626, the day after Nurhaci's death, on the order of Hong Taiji. She was 36.

Shunzhi era

During the early 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 ...

, Dorgon served as Prince-Regent for the underage emperor. In 1650, Lady Ula Nara was posthumously elevated to "Empress Xiaoliewu". In 1653, the Shunzhi Emperor revoked Lady Ula Nara's posthumous title.

Titles

* During the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

(r. 1572–1620): ** Lady Ula Nara (from 1590) ** Secondary consort (; from November/December 1601萬曆二十九年十一月) ** Primary consort (; from 1603) * During the reign of the

(r. 1643–1661): ** ''Empress Xiaoliewu'' (; from 1650 to 1653)

Issue

* As primary consort: ** Ajige (; 28 August 1605 – 28 November 1651), Nurhaci's 12th son, granted the title Prince Wuying of the Second Rank in 1636, elevated to Prince Ying of the First Rank in 1644 **

(; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), Nurhaci's 14th son, granted the title Prince Rui of the First Rank in 1636, posthumously honoured as Prince Ruizhong of the First Rank **

(; 2 April 1614 – 29 April 1649), Nurhaci's 15th son, granted the title Prince Yu of the First Rank in 1636, posthumously honoured as Prince Yutong of the First Rank

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Eva Lai 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 ...

'' (1987) * Portrayed by

Siqin Gaowa Siqin Gaowa (Mongolian Cyrillic ''Цэцэнгуа'', born 19 January 1950), born Duan Anlin, is a Chinese-born Swiss actress. She was born in Guangzhou to a Han Chinese father and a Mongols in China, Mongol Chinese mother. Her father died when s ...

in '' Xiaozhuang Mishi'' (2003) * Portrayed by Cheng Lisha in '' Taizu Mishi'' (2005) * Portrayed by Tao Huimin in ''

Da Qing Fengyun ''Da Qing Fengyun'', alternatively known as ''Qing Gong Fengyun'', is a 2006 Chinese television series directed by Chen Jialin, starring Zhang Fengyi, Xu Qing and Jiang Wen. Set in the early Qing dynasty, the story focuses on the romance between D ...

'' (2006) * Portrayed by

Kara Hui Kara Wai Ying-hung BBS (; born 3 February 1960) is a Hong Kong actress best known internationally for her roles in wuxia films produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in the 1970s and 1980s. Wai has since portrayed a wide range of roles on screen ...

in ''The Legend of Xiaozhuang'' (2015) * Portrayed by Chen Xinyu in '' Rule the World'' (2017)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abahai, Lady 1590 births 1626 deaths Qing dynasty posthumous empresses Manchu people Suicides in China 17th-century Chinese women 17th-century Chinese people 17th-century suicides Forced suicides of Chinese people Ulanara clan Jurchens in the Ming dynasty People from Jilin City