Empress Xiaoshengxian


Empress Xiaoshengxian, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a consort of the Yongzheng Emperor. She was 14 years his junior.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaoshengxian's personal name was unknown and not been recorded in history. She was born to the upper class Niuhuru clan in Beijing.
The future Empress Xiaoshengxian was born on the 25th day of the 11th lunar month in the 30th year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, which translates to 12 January 1692 in the Gregorian calendar.
In 1704, Lady Niohuru became a secondary concubine of Yinzhen, the fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor. On 25 September 1711, she gave birth to his fourth son, Hongli.

Yongzheng era

The Kangxi Emperor died on 20 December 1722 and was succeeded by Yinzhen, who was enthroned as the Yongzheng Emperor. On 28 March 1723, Lady Niohuru was granted the title "Consort Xi". In 1730, she was elevated to "Noble Consort Xi". When the Yongzheng Emperor's empress consort, Empress Xiaojingxian, died on 29 October 1731, Lady Niohuru was placed in charge of the emperor's harem, making her a de facto Empress.

Qianlong era

The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. As the birth mother of the reigning emperor, Lady Niohuru was honoured as "Divine Mother Empress Dowager Chongqing".
The Qianlong Emperor held his mother in high regard and often consulted her for advice. Some believe that she may have been behind the emperor's ill-fated selection of Lady Hoifa Nara to be his second empress consort. The Qianlong Emperor often visited his mother. Lady Niohuru also always accompanied her son on his excursions to Shenyang and the Yangtze River Delta. In her old age, when Lady Niohuru was no longer fit to travel, the Qianlong Emperor stopped all his trips and only resumed them after her death.
Lady Niohuru's 60th birthday was lavishly celebrated. The Qianlong Emperor ordered the roads decorated from Beijing to the Summer Palace, Chinese poems were read in her honour and sacrifices were made to the gods by the emperor and the entire imperial court. In her honour, the emperor also ordered the dredging of a lake at the Garden of Clear Ripples, which he named Kunming Lake, as well as renovated buildings on the lake shore.
Lady Niohuru died on 2 March 1777. She was interred in a separate tomb in the Tai Mausoleum of the Western Qing tombs.

Titles

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