Sumalagu (; originally Sumal, in Manchu ; 1615 – 24 October 1705) was a palace attendant of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. She was a close confidante of

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang Bumbutai ( mn, Бумбутай; mnc, m= ; zh, 布木布泰; 28 March 1613 – 27 January 1688), of the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, was the consort of Hong Taiji. She was 21 years his junior. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Zhaosheng ...

during the reign of the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...

. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang called her " Gege", a title reserved for only imperial princesses. She acted as the messenger between prince Shizu and his mother during the reign of Dorgon. Upon the wish of the empress dowager, she escorted empress Borjigit incognito to receive medical treatment by the Jesuit

Adam Schall von Bell Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...

. Sumalagu taught the young

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 1 ...

the

Manchu language Manchu (Manchu:, ) is a critically endangered East Asian Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was one of the official languages of the Qing dyn ...

while he was under her care. She was a supporter of the Kangxi Emperor when he asserted his power against the power base of Oboi in 1667–69.Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Sue Wiles:
Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911
' In 1687, she was given the responsibility of looking after

Yuntao Aisin Gioro Yuntao (; 18 January 1686 - 1 September 1763) was a Qing dynasty imperial prince and the 12th son of the Kangxi Emperor. Yuntao was rather a crony of the Yongzheng Emperor and his adoptive brother, which helped him persist in the succ ...

, one of Kangxi's sons.

References

1615 births 1705 deaths Qing dynasty people Chinese educators Manchu people Chinese ladies-in-waiting {{China-bio-stub