Lady Yanzha, secondary consort, of the Yanja clan (; 1845–1882), was a consort of Yixuan, Prince Chunxian of the First Rank and the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

's seventh son. Her personal name was Yujuan (玉娟, literally: graceful like jade).

Life

Her clan was registered under the

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

, one of the upper 3 banners. Most of the clansmen of Yehe kin were high-ranking officials and governors of strategically important provinces, e.g.

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. Actually, her lineage was inferior to the previous one Father: Laifu (来福)

Tongzhi era

It is not known, when was Lady Yanzha taken as a servant into a residence of Yixuan. It was said that an arrival of Yujuan would create a disturbance in the manor, only because of the threat of seduction by the maid. On 11 April 1861, she gave birth to the first daughter. However, official records claim that primary princess consort Chun,

Wanzhen Wanzhen (13 September 1841 – 17 June 1896), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan, was a consort of Yixuan. She was one year his junior and the younger sister of Empress Cixi and the mother of Emperor Guangxu. Life Family backgro ...

, was the biological mother of a princess. The first daughter died on 24 November 1866.

Guangxu

On 12 January 1875,

Zaitian The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

, lady Yehe Nara's son was adopted into the palace, because

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1 ...

had no male heir. Lady Yanzha died in 1881 at the age of 37 and was posthumously honoured as secondary consort by

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

Tomb

Lady Yanzha was buried together with another consorts of Yixuan in the mausoleum located 35 km northwest of Beijing. Lady Yanzha's place of burial is indicated by the marble stella with carvings in small seal script . The back side of the stella reads:

“流芳遗挂都无迹，丹棘青棠莫慰情。戚戚鸡牕悲繐帐，煌煌鸾诰降瑶京。梵文妙谛千华藏，鲜馔奇珍七宝羹。没受殊恩生拜赐，旁妻几见此哀荣”。光绪辛巳仲冬下浣并书"。 “Trace of the flowing fragrance is lost, daylilies and blue begonias don't dispel the sorrow. Anxious rooster apprehensively looks out from cage, shining luan lands onto famed land. Pleasant sanskrit words mean more than the most precious treasures and fresh food. If you haven't had a grace to expand the family, my wife wouldn't share the honour of mourning." Written in the midwinter of Guangxu Xinsi year 881 - editor's note/blockquote>Her kurgan was renovated after 1996. The kurhan with the whole mausoleum appeared in
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
's 2004 film '' Kill Bill: Volume 2'' as the home and training grounds of the legendary Shaolin monk Bai Mei.

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanzha, Lady Qing dynasty princesses consorts 1845 births 1882 deaths