Youlan (1884 – 30 September 1921), of the

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 ...

Plain White Banner Gūwalgiya clan, was a consort of Zaifeng and the mother of

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

(Xuantong Emperor), the last emperor of China's

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 ...

Life

Family background

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

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1895 to 1898, the

Viceroy of Zhili The Viceroy of Zhili, officially in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Directly Subordinate Province and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages, Management of Rivers and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regional ...

in 1898 and a

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat, or the Cabinet (), 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 office of Ch ...

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 is 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 chie ...

** 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 language, Manchu: ; ''hošoi doronggo cin wang''), or simply Prince Li, was the title of a Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Rule of inheritance, princely peerage of the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dy ...

Chenghou

Guangxu era

Lady Gūwalgiya's father was a staunch supporter of

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

. In return, the Empress Dowager arranged for Lady Gūwalgiya to marry Zaifeng, a younger half-brother of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

. Zaifeng was the son of Yixuan, Prince Chun and Liugiya Cuiyan. 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.

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 (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

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 ** Pujie (; 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 Chinese emperors Royalty who died by suicide