Empress Xiaoyiren

Empress Xiaoyiren
Empress Consort of the Qing Dynasty
Tenure	23 August 1689 – 24 August 1689 (1 day)
Spouse	Kangxi Emperor
Issue	Unnamed daughter
Posthumous name Empress Xiaoyi Wencheng Duanren Xianmu Heke Cihui Fengtian Zuosheng Ren (孝懿溫誠端仁憲穆和恪慈惠奉天佐聖仁皇后)
House	House of Aisin Gioro (by marriage)
Father	Tong Guowei
Mother	Lady Hešeri
Died	24 August 1689
Burial	November 1689 Jingling Mausoleum, Eastern Qing Tombs, Zunhua

Empress Xiaoyiren (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Fujurangga Gosin Hūwanghu; died 24 August 1689) was a Chinese empress and the third Empress Consort of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Biography

Empress Xiaoyiren was born in the Manchu Tunggiya clan. Her personal name is HeXian(赫弦). She was the daughter of Tong Guowei (佟國維), a duke and Minister of Internal Defence (領侍衛內大臣), and his wife, who was of the Manchu Hešeri clan. Lady Tunggiya was also a niece of Empress Xiaokangzhang, mother of the Kangxi Emperor, therefore she was a maternal cousin of Kangxi. Lady Tunggiya had a younger sister, who became the Kangxi Emperor's Imperial Noble Consort Quehui (愨惠皇貴妃; September 1668 - 24 April 1743). She is the elder sister of Longkodo.

It is unknown when Lady Tunggiya entered the Forbidden City. She was first mentioned in 1677 when the Kangxi Emperor bestowed titles upon his concubines. Lady Tunggiya received the rank of a Noble Consort (貴妃). As she was the only concubine who held that rank, she did not have any additions to her title to distinguish her from the other concubines. When Empress Xiaozhaoren died in 1678, Lady Tunggiya was placed in charge of Kangxi's concubines in the inner palace. In the same year, another of the Kangxi Emperor's concubines, known historically as Empress Xiaogongren, gave birth to a son, Yinzhen, who would become the future Yongzheng Emperor. By tradition concubines did not raise their own children so Lady Tunggiya was tasked with the upbringing of Yinzhen.

In early 1681 Lady Tunggiya was elevated to the status of Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃). On 13 July 1683 she gave birth to the Kangxi Emperor's eighth daughter, who died prematurely at the age of one month.

In 1689 Lady Tunggiya became seriously ill and the Kangxi Emperor instated her as Empress. She died on 24 August that year and was interred in the Jingling Mausoleum in the Eastern Qing Tombs in Hebei. She was granted the posthumous title of "Empress Xiaoyiren".

Posthumous title

Empress Xiaoyiren's full posthumous title is:

• Empress Xiaoyiwenchengduanrenxianmuhekecihuifengtianzuoshengren
  (孝懿溫誠端仁憲穆和恪慈惠奉天佐聖仁皇后)
  Roughly translates to: The Filial, Esteemed, Lukewarm, Truthful, Beginning, Benevolent, Lawful, Reverent, Kind, Respectful, Charitable, Compassionate, Serving Heaven, Helpful, Sacred, and Humane Empress

See also

• Ranks of Imperial Consorts in China#Qing
• Qing Dynasty nobility

Sources

• Daily Life in the Forbidden City, Wan Yi, Wang Shuqing, Lu Yanzhen ISBN 0-670-81164-5
• Draft history of the Qing dynasty《清史稿》卷二百十四．列傳一．后妃傳．聖祖孝懿仁皇后.
• Jonathan D. Spence. Emperor of China: Self Portrait of K'ang-Hsi. Pimlico, London, 1992.

Succession