Youlan (1884 – 30 September 1921), of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

Plain White Banner The Plain White Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu people, Manchu military and society during the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. It was one of the three "upper" banners (Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Yel ...

Gūwalgiya clan, was a consort of

Zaifeng Zaifeng (12 February 1883 – 3 February 1951), also known as Tsai Feng, Prince of Ch'ün, formally known by his title Prince Chun, was a Manchu prince and regent of the late Qing dynasty. He was a son of Yixuan, the seventh son of the Da ...

and the mother of China's last emperor

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

Life

Family background

* Father:

Ronglu Ronglu (6 April 1836 – 11 April 1903), courtesy name Zhonghua, was a Manchu political and military leader of the late Qing dynasty. He was born in the Guwalgiya clan, which was under the Plain White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners. De ...

(1836–1903), served as the Minister of Works from 1878 to 1879, the

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 1895 to 1898, the

Viceroy of Zhili The Viceroy of Zhili, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of Zhili and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs and Food Production, Manager of Waterways, Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during ...

in 1898 and a

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

in the Wenhua Hall () from 1898 to 1902 and the Wenyuan Library from 1902 to 1903, and held the title of a first class baron () ** Paternal grandfather: Changshou (; d. 1852) ** Paternal grandmother: Lady Uja * Mother: Lady

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro was a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as c ...

** Maternal grandfather: Linggui (; 1815–1885), served as a

in the Tiren Library () from 1881 to 1884 and the Wuying Hall () from 1884 to 1885, Changning's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson ** Maternal grandmother: Lady Sun * One sister: wife of

Prince Li (禮) Prince Li of the First Rank (Manchu: ; ''hošoi doronggo cin wang''), or simply Prince Li, was the title of a princely peerage of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. It was also one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely peerages in the Qing dynasty, w ...

Chenghou

Guangxu era

Lady Gūwalgiya's father was a staunch supporter of

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 ...

. In return, the Empress Dowager arranged for Lady Gūwalgiya to marry

, a younger half-brother of the

Guangxu Emperor 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 ...

. Zaifeng was the son of

Yixuan, Prince Chun Yixuan (16 October 1840 – 1 January 1891), formally known as Prince Chun, was an imperial prince of the House of Aisin-Gioro and a statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was the father of the Guangxu Emperor (his second son), ...

and

Liugiya Cuiyan Cuiyan (1866–1925), of the Manchu Bordered White Banner Liugiya clan, was a consort of Yixuan. She was 26 years his junior. Life Family background Lady Liu was a Han Chinese Booi Aha by birth. * Father: Deqing (), served as a fifth rank of ...

. The marriage, which took place in October 1902, turned out to be an unhappy one, partly because Zaifeng disliked Ronglu due to his support for the Empress Dowager. Lady Gūwalgiya gave birth on 7 February 1906 to Zaifeng's first son,

, and on 16 April 1907 to his second son,

Pujie Pujie (; 16 April 1907 – 28 February 1994) was a Qing dynasty Aisin Gioro, imperial prince of the Aisin-Gioro. Pujie was the younger brother of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. After the fall of the Qing dynasty, Pujie went to Japan, where he ...

Xuantong era

Following the Guangxu Emperor's death on 14 November 1908, Lady Gūwalgiya was separated from Puyi after he was "adopted" into the imperial lineage to succeed the Guangxu Emperor. This meant that Puyi was no longer legally her son. She was only allowed to see Puyi on rare occasions, and his upbringing was entrusted to palace eunuchs and maids. Lady Gūwalgiya gave birth in 1909 to Zaifeng's first daughter, Yunying, in 1911 to his second daughter, Yunhe, and in 1913 to his third daughter, Yunying.

Republican era

Lady Gūwalgiya committed suicide on 30 September 1921 by swallowing

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

after being publicly reprimanded by Dowager Consort Duankang for Puyi's misconduct. Her age at that time is not exactly known (given the inaccuracies of her place and date of birth), but it is estimated between 36 and 37 years old.

Titles

* During the reign of the

(r. 1875–1908): ** Lady Gūwalgiya (from 1884) ** Princess Consort Chun of the First Rank (醇亲王福晋; from October 1902光緒二十八年九月) *During the Republic of China (r. 1912–1949): **''Imperial Princess Consort Chun'' (醇亲王妃; from 30 September 1921)

Issue

* As primary consort: **

(; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), Zaifeng's first son, enthroned on 2 December 1908 as the Xuantong Emperor **

(; 16 April 1907 – 28 February 1994), Zaifeng's second son ** Zaifeng's first daughter (1909–1925), personal name Yunying () *** Married Runliang (; 1904–1925) of the Daur Gobulo () clan ** Zaifeng's second daughter (1911–2001), personal name Yunhe () *** Married Zheng Guangyuan () ** Zaifeng's third daughter (1913–1992), personal name Yunying () *** Married Runqi (; 1912–2007) of the Daur Gobulo () clan in 1931

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Youlan (noble) 1884 births 1921 suicides 1921 deaths Qing dynasty princesses Manchu nobility Drug-related suicides in China Qing dynasty princesses consorts Mothers of monarchs