Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe

Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe (2 July 1856 – 5 February 1932) was a consort of the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.^[1]

Life

Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe was born in the Manchu Hešeri clan (赫舍里氏), which was under the Bordered Blue Banner. Her father, Chongling (崇齡), was a prefecture governor. Lady Hešeri was gifted with beautiful looks and literary skills. In 1872, she entered the Forbidden City after being shortlisted as a candidate to be a consort of the Tongzhi Emperor. She was given the rank of Imperial Concubine under the title "Imperial Concubine Yu" (瑜嬪). She was also deeply favoured by the emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1874, when the Tongzhi Emperor became critically ill, she prayed for his health but the emperor still died anyway. In the same year, the Guangxu Emperor, who succeeded the Tongzhi Emperor, promoted Lady Hešeri to "Consort Yu" (瑜妃).

In 1894, when Empress Dowager Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday, Lady Hešeri was further promoted to "Noble Consort Yu" (瑜貴妃). In 1900, when the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled from Beijing and left Lady Hešeri and other consorts behind. As Imperial Noble Consort Dunyi Rongqing, the most senior among the Tongzhi Emperor's surviving consorts, was in poor health, Lady Hešeri covered her duties for her and took charge of the imperial palace in the Guangxu Emperor's absence.

On 18 November 1908, four days after the Guangxu Emperor died, the new emperor Puyi honoured Lady Hešeri with the title "Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Yu" (皇考瑜皇貴妃). After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, Puyi and members of the imperial clan were allowed to retain their noble titles and continue living in the Forbidden City. On 12 March 1913, Puyi honoured Lady Hešeri with the title "Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Jingyi" (皇考敬懿皇貴妃).

Lady Hešeri was known for her assertive character and fiery temperament, and did not get along well with the Guangxu Emperor's empress consort, Empress Dowager Longyu. After Empress Dowager Longyu's death, she raised Puyi, who was still a child then, and attempted to take the position of Empress Dowager on the grounds that she was now Puyi's legal mother. However, she was denied permission by Yuan Shikai. After Puyi was forced to leave the Forbidden City, Lady Hešeri also followed suit.

Lady Hešeri died of illness on 5 February 1932. A grand funeral was held for her on 23 February, with thousands of people attending. The Beiyang government even had to send police and security forces to maintain order and crowd control. Puyi granted her the posthumous title "Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe". On 14 March 1935, she was interred in the Huiling Mausoleum in the Eastern Qing tombs alongside Imperial Noble Consort Ronghui.

See also

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

References

• Holdsworth, May; Courtauld, Caroline (2008). Forbidden City: The Great Within (Illustrated, reprint ed.). Odyssey. ISBN 9622177921. 
• Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao) (in Chinese). Volume 214.