Empress Xiaoxianchun (28 March 1712 – 8 April 1748) 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 ...

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow 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. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies u ...

Fuca clan was an imperial consort of the

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 ...

. She was the first wife of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaoxianchun's personal name was not recorded in history. * Father: Lirongbao (; 1674–1723), served as a third rank military official () of Chahar and held the title of a first class duke () ** Paternal Grandfather: Mishan (; 1633–1675), served as the Minister of revenue. ** Paternal Uncle: Maci (马齐; 1652–1739), a court official who served in the Ministry of War from 1691 to 1694 and in the Ministry of Revenue from 1692 to 1701, as well as in the Grand Secretariat during the reign of

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

. * Mother: Lady Gioro () * Seven elder brothers and two younger brothers: ** Ninth younger brother: Fuheng (傅恒; 1720–1770), a senior minister who served as the

's grand councilor. * One younger sister: The wife of Salashan.

Kangxi era

Lady Fuca was born on the 22nd day of the 2nd lunar month in the 51st year of the reign of the

, which translates to 28 March 1712 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

Yongzheng era

On 3 September 1727, Lady Fuca married Aisin-Gioro Hongli, the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

's fourth son, as his primary consort and moved into the Palace of Eternal Spring in the western part of the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

. She gave birth on 3 November 1728 to her husband's first daughter, who died prematurely on 14 February 1730. On 9 August 1730, she gave to his second son, Aisin-Gioro Yonglian, who died due to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

on 23 November 1738. On 31 July 1731, she gave birth to Hongli's third daughter, Princess Hejing of the First Rank. Over time, Lady Fuca developed a wonderful relationship with Lady Gao, her husband's secondary consort since 4 April 1734.

Qianlong era

The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. On 23 January 1738, Lady Fuca, as the new emperor's primary consort, was instated as empress. She was assisted by the now Noble Consort Gao in managing the palace at large and caring for Empress Dowager Chongqing. In the ''

Draft History of Qing The ''Draft History of Qing'' () is a draft of the official history of the Qing dynasty compiled and written by a team of over 100 historians led by Zhao Erxun who were hired by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China. The draft was publ ...

'', Empress Fuca is described as a respected and virtuous person who looked after the people in the palace, serving her role well. She was praised and favoured by her husband. It is also said that she did not like spending money for her own aggrandizement and wore artificial flowers in her hair instead of expensive jewelry. The Qianlong Emperor once told her that their Manchu ancestors were too poor to make their own pouches from cloth and had to settle for simple deer hide instead, so she immediately made one for him. He was touched by the gift. Empress Fuca took her duties seriously when it came to

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

rituals. As head of the imperial harem, she supervised the other palace women when performing rituals. One of these was a rite concerning sericulture that was presided over by the empress. This rite, which had been practised since the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

, was gradually restored during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. For the purpose of the rite, a sericulture altar was completed in 1744, largely at her urging. That year, she became the first empress consort of Qing to personally lead these rituals, making offerings of mulberry. In 1751, the whole rite was painted on four scrolls in her memory. On 27 May 1746, Empress Fuca gave birth to the Qianlong Emperor's seventh son, Aisin-Gioro Yongcong. Her husband had high hopes for their son and named him crown prince shortly after his birth. However, Yongcong too died prematurely on 29 January 1748 due to smallpox, similar to Yonglian.

Death

In 1748, during one of the Qianlong Emperor's southern tours, Empress Fuca became seriously ill with a malarial fever and eventually died on 8 April, three months after Yongcong's death. Her funeral was lavishly done. Her husband was deeply affected and did not take her death well. When he found out that two of his sons, Aisin-Gioro Yonghuang and Yongzhang, had not mourned for Empress Fuca as much as was expected, he issued a decree removing both of them from his list of potential successors to the throne. In addition, those court officials who shaved their hair, which was considered disrespectful as it was forbidden to do so throughout the mourning period, were either heavily punished or executed. The bereaved Emperor wrote the poem ''Expressing My Grief'' after her death:

Titles

* During the reign of the

(r. 1661–1722): ** Lady Fuca (; from 28 March 1712) * During the reign of the

(r. 1722–1735): ** Primary consort (; from 3 September 1727) * During the reign of the

(r. 1735–1796): ** Empress (; from 23 January 1738) ** ''Empress Xiaoxian'' (; from 16 June 1748乾隆十三年五月二十一日) * During the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1802): ** ''Empress Xiaoxianchun'' (; from 1799)

Issue

* As primary consort: ** ''Unnamed daughter'' (3 November 1728 – 14 February 1730), the Qianlong Emperor's first daughter ** Yonglian (), Crown Prince Duanhui (; 9 August 1730 – 23 November 1738), the Qianlong Emperor's second son ** Princess Hejing of the First Rank (; 31 July 1731 – 30 September 1792), the Qianlong Emperor's third daughter *** Married Septeng Baljur (; ? – 1775) of the Mongol Khorchin Borjigin clan in April/May 1747 * As empress: ** Yongcong (), Prince Zhe of First Rank (; 27 May 1746 – 29 January 1748), the Qianlong Emperor's seventh son

Gallery

File:Portrait of an empress, possibly Xiaoxianchun, wife of Emperor Qianlong.jpg, Another portrait of Empress Xiaoxianchun File:《万国来朝图》之乾隆后妃.jpg, The Qianlong Emperor's consorts with children and two court ladies in 1747 by Giuseppe Castiglione File:孝贤纯皇后亲蚕图.jpg, Empress Xiaoxianchun fondling silkworms

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Shally Tsang in '' Take Care, Your Highness!'' (1985) * Portrayed by Chan Fuk-sang in '' The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty'' (1988) * Portrayed by Chen Yi in '' Jiangshan Weizhong'' (2002) * Portrayed by Joyce Tang in '' The Prince's Shadow'' (2005) * Portrayed by Yuan Yi in '' Empresses in the Palace'' (2011) * Portrayed by Qin Lan in ''

Story of Yanxi Palace ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. It was created by Yu Zheng, with original screenplay written by Zhou Mo, and later developed into a ...

'' (2018) * Portrayed by Dong Jie in ''

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace ''Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel ''Inner Palace: The Legend of Ruyi'' by Liu Lianzi. Starring Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo, it chronicles the marital relationship between the Qianlong Emp ...

'' (2018)

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiaoxianchun, Empress 1712 births 1748 deaths Qing dynasty empresses Manchu nobility 18th-century Chinese women 18th-century Chinese people Consorts of the Qianlong Emperor