Compared with Qianlong, Jiaqing is a little overstretched in the number of concubines, according to statistics, the Jiaqing harem has only 16 concubines, two-thirds less than the Qianlong harem. Among these 16 concubines, there is a woman who has a very unusual relationship with Jiaqing, she is Concubine Zhuang, why would she say this? Let's take a look.
1. The daughter of a man of letters
Princess Zhuang, also known as Wang Jia, was born in the forty-sixth year of Qianlong, 21 years younger than Jiaqing, and her father was Iribu, a Wenju person.
Regarding the origin of the Wang clan, the historical records do not record, but judging from the fact that she had served the emperor before Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, the Wang clan should be a Bao Yi from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and it was a person with the surname of Bao Yi Han. As for whether it is a Xinzhiku person, it is debatable.
So, when did the Wang family come to Jiaqing?
According to the court archives in December of the 60th year of Qianlong, there were only four women around the crown prince Yongyan (Jiaqing) at this time
Crown Princess Xi Tara (eight women under the family), The Side Fu Jin Niu Hu Lu clan (two women under the family), the official woman Liu Shi (one woman under the family), and the official woman Hou Shi (one woman under the family).
These four women were later prominent figures in the Jiaqing harem, for example, the crown princess Xi Tara was the later Empress Xiaoshurui, the later Empress Xiaoshurui was the later Empress Xiaoherui, the official woman Liu shi was the birth mother of the eldest son of the emperor and the concubine of The Yu Emperor, and the official woman Hou shi was the birth mother of the sixth daughter of the emperor.
On the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of Jiaqing, according to the palace archives, the concubines around Jiaqing were:
Empress Xi Tara, Concubine Niuhulu, Concubine Liu, Concubine Hou, Rong Chang in Liang, chun Chang in Wang.
The last Chun Chang in the Wang clan is what we are talking about as Concubine Zhuang.
Because the archives do not show that Qianlong rewarded the crown prince Yongyan in December of the sixtieth year of Qianlong.
Therefore, it can be speculated that Princess Zhuang is most likely one of the twelve concubines of Yongyan in December of the sixtieth year of Qianlong. At that time, there were two women under the family of the Side Fu Jin Niu Hu Lu Clan, and the Wang Clan may be one of them
。
Why? We'll talk about that later.
That is to say, Wang's concubine (or ChangZai) by Jiaqingna was on a certain day in the middle of December of the sixtieth year of Qianlong, and her initial identity was that of Yongyan's wife and concubine.
2, open and hanging life
Sometimes, once people have luck, it is easy to open and hang, and the Wang clan belongs to this kind, and in the three collective canonizations in the early Jiaqing period, the Wang clan did not fall down every time.
For example, in the first month of the first year of Jiaqing, the Wang clan has become a spring constant, although it ranks last among the concubines of Jiaqing, but at that time, the Jiaqing harem was full of only six main positions, and it was rare to become one of them.
In the second year of Jiaqing, the court held the Eight Flags Draft, and at the end of this year, Jiaqing xin admitted two Eight Flags women, one was a Chun guiren and the other was a jade nobleman. This jade nobleman was not very favored, Chun Gui was relatively favored, and later was promoted to Chun concubine, she was the first woman among the newcomers who succeeded Jiaqing to the palace to be named a concubine.
In the third year of Jiaqing, Jiaqing added two new women, they are the xingui who entered the palace in March and An Changzai.
At the same time, Chun Chang was promoted in the Wang clan and was promoted to chun guiren, and the Wang clan at this time was only 18 years old, which was the time of the good old age.
In the first month of the sixth year of Jiaqing, Jiaqing determined the time when the imperial concubine Niu Hulu (Empress Xiaoherui) was officially appointed as empress.
At the same time, three more concubines were promoted, namely Ying Concubine, Chun Guiren, and Chun Guiren, who were promoted to Jing Concubine, Chun Concubine, and He Concubine, respectively.
However, what is puzzling is that in the official canonization of Ying Concubine and Chun Gui, the titles have changed, changed to Hua Concubine and Ji Concubine.
(Note: Frequently changing the title of concubine is a habit of Jiaqing)
Wang Ji Concubine Book:
"The throne is heavenly. It is advisable to increase the brightness of the stars. Teach women's studies. Yun Bangyuan's Yu Si Qi Guan sublimated. Silky Words Xiqing. Shu'er NobleMan Wang Clan and Zi Ting Zhide. Tong Shi resigned. The first good deeds are contained in harmony. Early Stream Asked. Gather the order with longevity. Yi Hefang name. It is the use of Jin Feng'er as a concubine. Tin Book of Destiny. Erchi is full of purity. No worries about the yi of Ming Yu Dun. Sangqu Xiangqin. The Classic of The Kezanv Yuan. Thanks. ”
On April 21, 13007, the Jiaqing Emperor was very happy, and on this day, he was pleased with the emperor's eldest grandson Yiwei, and because next year was his fiftieth birthday, he sealed the sixth palace.
This time, Jiaqing promoted three more concubines, namely Concubine Qi, Concubine Ji, and Concubine Xin.
What is puzzling is that this time, when the official canonization, Jiaqing changed the title of the Wang clan, from Jifei to Zhuang Concubine, which is the third time that the Wang clan has changed the title. (Concubine Zhuang was the only concubine in the Qing Dynasty who changed her title three times))
Princess Zhuang's book:
"George the Rising Pepper." Su Yongxiang Nine Imperial Diligence. Yan Tui En. The celebration of the six houses of Shipu. It is worth the blessing of the clouds. Ben Lun Silk to chin up. Concubine Wang Jia of The Erji, Endowed with Golden Photographs. Pure heart. Jogaviz. Ring of eternal leaves. Shu Shu Qi. Dedication to Cocoon Keshuv's internal duties. It was the use of Jin Feng'er as Concubine Zhuang. The Book of Shin. Erqi is a great compliance. Complement the brilliance of Zhai Zhai. The formula is complex. Glory praises suilin's transformation. Thanks. ”
At this time, in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, the Wang clan had become the third lord, second only to empress dowager Niu Hulu (Empress Xiaoherui) and the concubine Liu Shi, who had died in the ninth year of Jiaqing. Ranked after the Wang clan were Ru Concubine (Gongshun Imperial Concubine) who entered the palace in the sixth year of Jiaqing and the concubine who was enthroned in the thirteenth year of Jiaqing.
At this time, Princess Zhuang had become the only concubine in the harem.
It should be noted that the Wang clan, who has already been promoted to concubine Zhuang, has not yet had a birth record. In the absence of a birth record, you can be promoted from a maid to a concubine, how much she is favored, you can make up for it yourself.
3. The emperor gives the funeral and the empress sends the funeral
In just a dozen years, it has changed from a small lady to the third lord of the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and the Wang clan can be said to be infinite in spring, and the situation is very good. But life is always imperfect, and there is a little regret, that is, Wang's health is not very good, perhaps this is an important reason why she has been favored for a long time and has not seen childbirth.
On February 25, 1606, Princess Zhuang died of illness in the Yuanmingyuan, and was temporarily placed in the West Garden on the west side of Changchun Garden. What is shocking is that during this period, the Jiaqing Emperor actually came to the scene twice in person to pay tribute to the Wang clan, what does this mean? Wang's status in Jiaqing's heart was quite high.
For example, in the ninth year of Jiaqing, Jiaqing's favorite concubine, Concubine Huafei, died, and Jiaqing only personally paid tribute once. For the Wang family, Jiaqing actually made two personal tributes, and the second memorial was the day when the Wang family was moved from the West Garden to the Tamura Funeral Palace, and it was obvious that Jiaqing had come to send the Wang family on the last journey.
What is even more shocking is that in the subsequent process of the Zhuang Concubine Wang clan moving from the Tamura Funeral Palace to the Xiling Concubine Garden for burial, Empress Xiaoherui of the Middle Palace actually went there, and personally watched The burial of Concubine Zhuang. The empress of the Tangtang Zhonggong sent a concubine to the funeral, there is a Qing dynasty, only this one example.
At noon on March 19, the sixteenth leap year of Jiaqing, Concubine Zhuang was buried in the Changling Concubine Garden, and the Empress NiuHulu of the Middle Palace personally visited the Concubine Garden to see Concubine Zhuang buried.
We all know that Jiaqing is a very strict emperor who abides by the ancestral system and etiquette, and generally does not overstep it. Therefore, Empress Xiaoherui's participation in the funeral of Concubine Zhuang was by no means a private act of the empress, but an instruction from Jiaqing, so why did Jiaqing, who had always been decent, let the empress attend the funeral of a concubine?
There are two possible reasons:
First, Concubine Zhuang was Jiaqing's favorite concubine and held a very high status in Jiaqing's heart.
If it was an ordinary concubine, as usual, promised something, Jiaqing would never allow the empress to do so. Only the emperor's favorite concubine is worthy of Jiaqing to make such an arrangement, which is beyond doubt.
Second, Princess Zhuang was most likely a concubine by Empress Xiaoherui's side.
In the first chapter above, we mentioned the origin of Princess Zhuang's wang clan, saying that she may have been one of the four concubines of Jiaqing in December of the sixtieth year of Qianlong, and that it is most likely one of the two family women who were beside the side of the Side Fu Jin Niu HuLu clan (Empress Xiaoherui), and this is the best explanation.
These two reasons can exist at the same time, that is, Concubine Zhuang is both Jiaqing's favorite concubine and the former Empress Xiaoherui's side. In this way, the queen herself attended her funeral, which made sense.
Zichen said:
Princess Zhuang can be said to be the most mysterious concubine of Jiaqing Harem, originally, she was just a small concubine beside Fujin, but she was fortunate to be favored by Jiaqing, in just thirteen years, she completed the transformation from Concubine Zhuang to become the third lord of the Harem of the Qing Dynasty, she is Jiaqing's favorite concubine, which is undoubted.
Moreover, Princess Zhuang changed her title three times in her life, which is also unprecedented in the history of the Qing Dynasty, and what is imperfect is that her health is not very good, so that she died in the good years of thirty years old, perhaps life is like this: the moon has yin and sun, people have sorrows and joys, this matter is difficult to complete.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Records of Emperor Renzong of the Qing Dynasty, Records of the Shang Dynasty