Fragrant Concubine
| Khoja Iparhan/Fatimah binti Ali Khojam 和卓．伊帕爾罕 | |
|---|---|
 The Fragrant Concubine by Giuseppe Castiglione | |
| Born | 1734 |
| Died | 1788 (aged 53–54) |
| Spouse | Qianlong Emperor |
The Fragrant Concubine (Chinese: 香妃; pinyin: Xiāngfēi; Uyghur: ئىپارخان / Iparxan / Ипархан) is a figure in Chinese legend who was taken as a consort by the Qianlong Emperor during the 18th century. Although the stories about her are believed to be mythical, they may have been based on an actual concubine from western China who entered the harem of the emperor in 1760 and who carried the court title of Rong Fei. Some people insist, however, that Imperial Consort Rong (whose original name may have been Maimur Azum) and Imperial Consort Xiang were different women. Han Chinese and Uyghur tellings of the legend of the Fragrant Concubine diverge greatly, and her experience represents a powerful symbol for both peoples. The story became greatly popular during the early 20th century and has since been adapted into several plays, films, and books.
The Legend of the Fragrant Concubine (Chinese)
Although accounts vary as to some details, the basic story amongst Han Chinese recounts the discovery by the Qianlong Emperor of a Uyghur girl named Iparhan ("Musky Woman"), granddaughter of Afaq Khoja, a local leader in the oasis city of Kashgar. Even more remarkable than her beauty was the scent her body naturally produced; captivated, the Emperor sought her as an Imperial Consort for his harem. She was given as a gift to the Emperor and carefully escorted all the way to Beijing, washing every day along the road in camel's milk to preserve her mysterious fragrance.
Upon her arrival to the imperial palace, the Fragrant Concubine, was gifted with a garden and a luxurious room of her own as a sign of the Emperor's devotion. Homesick and distraught, she remained disconsolate as the Emperor made ever-increasing efforts to recreate her distant village, building her a mosque, miniature oasis, and bazaar outside her windows in an effort to bring her happiness. Finally she relented and came to love him when he sent messengers to Kashgar to return with an jujube tree bearing golden fruit, and the Fragrant Concubine became the emperor's cherished consort until her death. An enduring symbol of national unity and reconciliation, her body was brought back to her home of Kashgar, where she is now entombed, in a procession of 120 bearers in a journey that took over three years.
The Legend of Iparhan (Uyghur)
Contemporary Uyghur renditions of the legend are considerably less romantic. She was the child of the ruler of the Yarkent Khanate and her name was Nur Ela Nurhan.[1] Taken away to Beijing by the Emperor, Iparhan arms herself with daggers up her sleeves, on guard against the hated advances of the Emperor, until finally she was poisoned.[2]
Apak Khoja and Xiang Fei Tomb
The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum (mazar) located outside Kashgar was built in 1640 and, in addition to encompassing a larger complex that includes a functioning mosque and madrasa, houses the coffins of five generations of the Afak Khoja family, including what is purported to be the body of the Fragrant Concubine. In fact, the real Rong Fei died of illness in 1788 and was buried in a royal tomb in Beijing; the legend of the Fragrant Concubine first became closely associated with the Kashgar tomb in the late 19th century, and the connection has since been officially established and endorsed through a proliferation of signs and guided tours.
In fiction
- The character Princess Fragrance in Louis Cha's wuxia novel, The Book and the Sword, is loosely based on the Fragrant Concubine narrative.
- The concubine also appeared as the character Han Xiang in the TV series My Fair Princess, based on the novel with the same title authored by Chiung Yao.
- The 2015 series Princess Fragrant is based on the legend.[3]
See also
Bibliography
- Fuller, Graham E. and Jonathan N. Lipman. "Islam in Xinjiang" in Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe Inc., c2004. (ISBN 0-7656-1318-2).
- Millward, James A. "A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragant Concubine." The Journal of Asian Studies 53, no. 2 (1994): 427-58.
- Tyler, Christian. Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang. London: John Murray, c2003. (ISBN 0-8135-3533-6)
References
- ↑ Wei, Cuiyi; Luckert, Karl W. (May 1998). Uighur stories from along the Silk Road. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-1137-4.
- ↑ Holdstock, Nick (30 May 2015). China's Forgotten People: Xinjiang, Terror and the Chinese State. I.B.Tauris. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-78453-140-9.
- ↑ Liang, Chen. "Xinjiang fights an ideology war through cartoon production" (Archive). Global Times. August 24, 2014. Retrieved on August 27, 2014.