In December of the 26th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, that is, in January 1688, Empress Xiaozhuangwen, a famous empress dowager in the early Qing Dynasty, died of illness at the age of 75. She was an outstanding female politician in the early Qing Dynasty, and when her husband Emperor Taiji died suddenly and the Qing Dynasty was facing civil unrest, she stabilized the situation with her courage and perseverance, and at the same time assisted the two kings of the early Qing Dynasty, laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of Kangqian.
But what is surprising is that Empress Xiaozhuang died for 37 years and has not been buried, which has also caused the outside world to question the filial piety of the Kangxi Emperor. Why have you been moratorium for so many years? Did the Kangxi Emperor really have any unspeakable grievances?
It was also true that the death of Empress Xiaozhuang was a major event that shocked the government and the public at that time, especially the Kangxi Emperor was even more sad about the death of his grandmother. You must know that Kangxi succeeded to the throne at an early age, if it were not for the support of Empress Xiaozhuang in the back, how could the young Kangxi be able to fight with a powerful minister like Aobai with a heavy army.
Therefore, when Xiaozhuang died, he would be buried in the scenery no matter what. However, according to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", Empress Xiaozhuang had clear instructions about her own posthumous affairs, that is, to bury her on the spot and not to go to Shengjing. It turned out that she, as the side fujin of The Emperor Taiji, was supposed to carry the coffin back to Shengjing after her death and bury it with the Emperor Taiji.
But at that time, from Beijing to Shengjing, the road was far away, Xiaozhuang did not want to let herself suffer and lose money after her death, in addition, she did not want to stay away from her children and grandchildren, and she also wanted to be with her children and grandchildren forever. After this last wish, Kangxi had no choice but to follow his grandmother's last wish and find a place for her to be buried in Beijing.
However, according to the relevant regulations of the Qing Dynasty, for a while it was really not known where Xiaozhuang should be buried. Kangxi had no choice but to take a flexible approach, demolishing the five halls of the Cining Palace where his grandmother lived before her death, and then changing places to the same place, and choosing the location outside the red wall of the Shunzhi Mausoleum. It means that Xiaozhuang always looks at his children, and as a grandchild, Kangxi goes to the Cining Palace, which is rebuilt every year.
This delay was exactly 37 years, of which the Kangxi Emperor also thought about finding a place for his grandmother again, but it was always delayed because of various things. Until his death, Xiaozhuang had not been buried, and it was the Yongzheng Emperor who really handled this matter satisfactorily. He saw that the time had been so long, and simply changed the new Cining Palace, which had parked the corpse for 37 years, into a mausoleum, so that he could not only successfully fulfill the wishes of Empress Xiaozhuang, but also did not violate the ancestral system.
That's why we see the Qing Zhao Xi Mausoleum now, which is the second empress mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty and the highest level of empress mausoleum.
As for the folk saying that filial piety is because of the marriage of Dorgon, resulting in a vague identity and cannot be buried, it is untenable. Because history says that the place where they became relatives was Cining Palace, but the time when Xiaozhuang entered Cining Palace was 1653 AD, that is, the tenth year of Shunzhi.
Dorgon, on the other hand, died three years ago, so there is no such thing as a marriage. The real situation, as mentioned above, is Xiaozhuang's own will, since ancient times the dead are great, not to mention that Xiaozhuang is a big person with high moral integrity and respect. Although Kangxi was emperor, he could not act against his grandmother's wishes, so he could only stay in a long-term morgue until he came up with a better way to deal with it. Unfortunately, this method was not thought of until his death.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, etc