Empress Xiaoquancheng

Empress Xiaoquancheng
Empress Consort of the Qing Dynasty
Tenure 18 November 1834 – 13 February 1840
Born (1808-03-24)24 March 1808
Suzhou, China
Died 13 February 1840(1840-02-13) (aged 31)
Palace of Gathering Essence, Forbidden City, Beijing, China
Burial 20 November 1840
Muling Mausoleum, Western Qing Tombs, China
Spouse Daoguang Emperor
Issue Kurun Princess Duanshun
Kurun Princess Shou'an
Yizhu
Father Niuhuru Yiling
Empress Xiaoquancheng
Chinese name
Chinese 孝全成皇后
Lady Niuhuru
Traditional Chinese 鈕祜祿氏
Simplified Chinese 钮祜禄氏
Manchu name
Manchu script ᡥᡳᠶᠣᠣᡧᡠᠩᡤᠠ ᡤᡝᠮᡠᠩᡤᡝ ᡧᠠᠩᡤᠠᠨ ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡥᡝᠣ
Romanization hiyoošungga gemungge šangga hūwangheo

Empress Xiaoquancheng (24 March 1808 – 13 February 1840) was the third official spouse and second Empress Consort[1] of the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. She was the birth mother of Daoguang's successor, the Xianfeng Emperor.

Biography

Birth and family background

Empress Xiaoquancheng was born in the Manchu Niuhuru clan on the 28th day of the second lunar month in the 13th year of the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor. Her personal name is unknown. Her family was originally under the Plain Red Banner of the Eight Banners but was later moved to the Bordered Yellow Banner. Her father was Yiling (頤齡), a general in Suzhou and a Duke of the Third Class (see the Family section below for his full titles).

As the Daoguang Emperor's concubine

Lady Niuhuru spent her youth in Suzhou. In 1820 the Jiaqing Emperor died and was succeeded by his son, who became the Daoguang Emperor. A year later, during the selections for Daoguang's concubines, Lady Niuhuru was chosen as a potential candidate. At the age of 13, she entered the Forbidden City and was given the rank of Noble Lady Quan. She was promoted to Imperial Concubine Quan (全嬪) a year later. On 24 March 1823 Lady Niuhuru was further promoted to the status of Consort Quan (全妃).

Two years later, on 8 April 1825, Lady Niuhuru gave birth to the Daoguang Emperor's third daughter. Daoguang was delighted and about a month later, on 30 May, Lady Niuhuru was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Quan (全貴妃).

In the following summer, Lady Niuhuru became pregnant a second time, and on 12 May 1826 she gave birth to the Daoguang Emperor's fourth daughter (Kurun Princess Shou'an).

On 17 July 1831 Lady Niuhuru gave birth to the Daoguang Emperor's fourth (but oldest surviving) son Yizhu, who would later become the Xianfeng Emperor.

On 16 June 1833, the Daoguang Emperor's second empress, Empress Xiaoshencheng, died, and Lady Niuhuru was placed in charge of the emperor's other concubines, performing the duty of an empress. On 28 September 1833, during the Mid Autumn Festival, Lady Niuhuru was elevated to the status of Imperial Noble Consort Quan (全皇貴妃), making the most senior of all the Daoguang Emperor's concubines.

As Empress

On 18 November 1834, at the age of 26, Lady Niuhuru was instated as Empress. She was the Daoguang Emperor's third official spouse and his second Empress Consort.

On 27 December 1835 Lady Niuhuru's eldest daughter, Kurun Princess Duanshen, died at the age of 10.

Death

Lady Niuhuru died on 13 February 1840 in the Palace of Gathering Essence in the Forbidden City. Her exact cause of death was not recorded in official historical records. Six days after her death, on 19 February 1840, she was granted the posthumous title Empress Xiaoquan (孝全皇后). Nine months later, on 20 November 1840, she was interred in the Muling Mausoleum at the Western Qing Tombs.

Portraits

Family

Reports on her pregnancy in 1831 suggest that the bulk of the medical attention she received was during the last five weeks, when a physician and a midwife were in constant attendance to await the onset of labour.

Posthumous title

Empress Xiaoquancheng's full posthumous title is:

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Empress Xiao Quan Cheng.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Daoguang Emperor had four empresses in total. His first official spouse died long before his enthronement and was posthumously granted the title of Empress Xiaomucheng. Daoguang's second official spouse, Empress Xiaoshencheng, was instated as his first empress when Daoguang ascended to the throne in 1821. Empress Xiaoquancheng was Daoguang's third official spouse and she became Empress after Empress Xiaoshencheng died in 1833. After Empress Xiaoquancheng's death Daoguang did not promote any of his other concubines to the status of empress. Instead he appointed one of his concubines to be in charge of the others. This concubine was posthumously granted the title of an empress after Daoguang's death.

References

Succession

Chinese royalty
Preceded by
Empress Xiaoshencheng		 Empress of China
1833–1840 		Succeeded by
Empress Xiaodexian
after=Empress Xiaojingcheng
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.