Empress Xiaozhaoren

Empress Xiaozhaoren
Empress Consort of the Qing dynasty
Tenure	18 September 1677 – 18 March 1678
Born	1653
Died	18 March 1678 (aged 24–25)
Burial	25 April 1681 Jingling Mausoleum, Eastern Qing tombs, China
Spouse	Kangxi Emperor
Issue	none
Posthumous name Empress Xiaozhao Jingshu Minghui Zhenghe Anyu Duanmu Qintian Shunsheng Ren (孝昭靜淑明惠正和安裕端穆欽天順聖仁皇后)
House	Niohuru (by birth) Aisin Gioro (by marriage)
Father	Ebilun

Empress Xiaozhaoren (Manchu: Hiyoošungga Genggiyen Gosin Hūwanghu; 1653 – 18 March 1678) was the second Empress Consort of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.

Life

Empress Xiaozhaoren was born in the Manchu Niohuru clan, which was under the Bordered Yellow Banner. Her personal name is unknown. She was the daughter of Ebilun, who was one of four regents co-ruling with the Kangxi Emperor when the emperor was still underage. She had a younger sister, who also became a consort of the Kangxi Emperor and was posthumously honoured as "Noble Consort Wenxi" in 1694.

It is not known when Lady Niohuru first entered the Forbidden City and became a concubine of the Kangxi Emperor. However, historians believe that she made her entry around the same time as the Kangxi Emperor's first empress consort, Empress Xiaochengren, because the emperor had to choose his primary consort from the daughters of the four regents. Lady Niohuru did not receive any rank or title initially.

In 1674, after Empress Xiaochengren died, the Kangxi Emperor did not promote any of his consorts to the position of Empress to replace her. In 1677, Lady Niohuru was first mentioned in official histories when the Kangxi Emperor instated her as his new empress consort. As Empress, Lady Niohuru was in charge of the emperor's harem. She died six months later and was interred in the Jingling Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs alongside Empress Xiaochengren.

See also

• Ranks of imperial consorts in China#Qing
• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

References

• Niuhulu jiapu 鈕祜祿家譜 [Genealogy of the Niohuru Clan] (in Chinese). 
• Qinggong dang'an 清宮檔案 [Archives of the Qing Palace] (in Chinese). 
• Qing huangshi sipu 清皇室四譜 [Four Genealogies of the Qing Imperial Clan] (in Chinese). 
• Du, Jiaji. "清代《玉牒》中的滿族史資料及其價值 [Materials on Manchu History in the Qing Dynasty's "Imperial Genealogy" and Their Value]". Liu Chaishao de boke 刘柴烧的博客 [Liu Chaishao's Blog] (in Chinese). Chinese Social History Research Centre, School of History, Nankai University. Retrieved 8 August 2016. 
• Wan, Yi; Shuqing, Wang; Yanzhen, Lu; Scott, Rosemary E. (1988). Daily Life in the Forbidden City: The Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912 (Illustrated ed.). Viking. ISBN 0670811645. 
• Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao) (in Chinese).