Princess Hexiao of the First Rank (2 February 1775 – 13 October 1823) was a

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 ...

princess 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 tenth and youngest daughter 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 ...

. Her mother was Consort Dun.

Birth and childhood

The future Princess Hexiao was born in 1775 when the

was already 63 years old. At the time of her birth, nearly all of the Qianlong's other daughters had either died or married and left the palace. Qianlong was thus overjoyed when he heard news of the birth of another daughter. The Princess was deeply favoured by her father from birth. Throughout her childhood, ministers and courtiers remarked that the Tenth Princess—as she was commonly referred to—resembled her father in appearance. She was said to be resolute in character, and frequently accompanied the Qianlong Emperor on hunting excursions. Going against tradition, the Qianlong Emperor elevated his tenth daughter from the status of a "Princess of the Second Rank" (usually accorded to a daughter born to an imperial consort) to a "Princess of the First Rank" (usually accorded to a daughter born to the empress). Therefore, the Tenth Princess became known as "Princess Hexiao of the First Rank".

Marriage

On 12 January 1790, she married Fengšeninde (豐紳殷德; 1775–1810) of the Niohuru clan, a prominent Manchu clan. Fengšeninde was the eldest son of

Heshen Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the Manchu Niohuru clan, was an official of the Qing dynasty. Favored by the Qianlong Emperor, he was described as the most corrupt official in Chinese history, having acquired an estimated 1.1 ...

, an official highly favoured by the Qianlong Emperor. Princess Hexiao's dowry of 300,000 silver

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, was arrested on charges of corruption and political incompetence. Found guilty, Heshen was initially sentenced to death by

slow slicing ''Lingchi'' ( IPA: , ), usually translated "slow slicing" or "death by a thousand cuts", was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 until it was banned in 1905. It was also used in Vietnam and Korea. In this form of ex ...

. However, 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 ...

, who succeeded the Qianlong Emperor, permitted Heshen to commit suicide in his own residence out of respect for his tenth sister. Heshen's immense wealth, amassed over a long career of corrupt activities, were confiscated. The Jiaqing Emperor granted amnesty to Princess Hexiao and even granted her part of Heshen's confiscated property. Fengšeninde, on the other hand, was stripped of his privileges and titles but remained similarly unharmed.

Later life

In 1806, the Jiaqing Emperor sent Fengšeninde to Uliastai to serve as a military official. Fengšeninde fell ill after serving there for some time. Princess Hexiao begged the Jiaqing Emperor to allow them to return to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. The Emperor agreed. Fengšeninde returned to Beijing in February 1810 and was enfeoffed as the "Duke of Jin" (晋公). He died three months later in May, leaving Princess Hexiao widowed. After Fengšeninde's death, Princess Hexiao raised her two daughters (both born to his concubine), who were eleven and five years old respectively when their father died. She was financially stable; the Jiaqing Emperor made 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 ...

ensure that she was well taken care of. Princess Hexiao died on 13 October 1823 during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor's successor, the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

. The cost of her funeral, paid for by the Imperial Household Department, amounted to about 5,000 silver

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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 Stephanie Ho in '' Succession War'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hexiao, Gurun Princess 1775 births 1823 deaths Qing dynasty princesses Qianlong Emperor 18th-century Chinese women 18th-century Chinese people 19th-century Chinese women 19th-century Chinese people Daughters of emperors