Empress Xiaoyiren (died 24 August 1689), of the Manchu

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies under the direct command of the emperor ...

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 () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

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 (1640 – 20 March 1663), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Tunggiya clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the consort of Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor, and mother of Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor. She was honoured as Emp ...

(1638–1663), the mother of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

(1654–1722) * Mother: Lady

Hešeri Hešeri ( Chinese: 赫舍里; Pinyin: Hesheli; Manchu: ''Hešeri''), is a clan of Manchu nobility with Jianzhou Jurchens roots, originally hailing from the area which is now the modern Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning. It was once one of ...

* Six brothers ** First younger brother: Yekeshu (), father of Shun'anyan ** Second younger brother: Dekesi (), served as third class imperial guard ** Third younger brother:

Longkodo Longkodo (; died 1728) was a Manchu court official who lived in the Qing dynasty. He was from the Tunggiya clan, which was under the Bordered Yellow Banner. His period of fame lasted from the late Kangxi era to the early Yongzheng era, perhap ...

(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 The Viceroy of Liangjiang or Viceroy of the Two Jiangs, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Two Yangtze Provinces and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs, Provisions and Funds, Manager of Waterways, Director of ...

, Viceroy of Yunnan,

Viceroy of Liangguang The Viceroy of Liangguang or Viceroy of the Two Guangs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The two ''Guang'' referred to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. The areas under the Viceroy's jurisdiction included pre ...

in 1741, a Grand Secretary of Wenhua hall (文华殿大学士) * Younger sister:

Imperial Noble Consort Quehui Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Quehui (1668 – 24 April 1743), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Tunggiya clan, was a consort of the Kangxi Emperor. She was 14 years his junior. Life Family background Imperial Noble Consort Quehui's person ...

(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 Empress Xiaozhaoren (1653 – 18 March 1678), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second empress consort of Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor. She was Empress consort of China during the Q ...

, 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 (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, born Yinzhen, was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from ...

(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 ''The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty'' 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 May 1992.Yesasia.com.Yesasia.co ...

'' (1987) * Portrayed by Zhang Xin in '' Palace'' (2011) * Portrayed by

Elaine Yiu Elaine Yiu (born 21 November, 1980 in British Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong actress and television host contracted to TVB. Career Elaine Yiu entered the entertainment industry after winning the TVB8 Presentator Contest in 2002, subsequently signing ...

in ''

The Life and Times of a Sentinel ''The Life and Times of a Sentinel'' (Traditional Chinese: 紫禁驚雷) is a 2011 Hong Kong historical-fiction television drama produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), starring Steven Ma and Kenneth Ma as the main leads, with Leung Cho ...

'' (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