In the Qing Dong Mausoleum of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, on the left side of the treasure roof of the first row of The Concubines of the Qianlong Yu Mausoleum, under the treasure roof is buried a special concubine of the Qianlong Emperor, who is the only noble concubine of Qianlong's personal title: Ying Guifei. She was only a small permanent presence at first, although in the years to come, she did not give birth to an imperial heir, but she always inherited the favor of Qianlong, and 44 years later, she finally became the lord of the six palaces of the Qing Dynasty.
1. Daughter of the Eight Banners of Mongolia
Saying that Ying Guifei was the only noble concubine that Qianlong personally sealed may not quite agree with it, but this is indeed the case.
In the list of Qianlong empresses, there were five concubines who were finally divided into concubines, namely Xin Guifei, Yue Guifei, Xun Guifei, Wan Guifei and Ying Guifei.
Of these five noble concubines, Concubine Xin only achieved the concubine position before she died, and even went before she could accept the concubine title ceremony, but Qianlong ordered that the funeral be treated with the noble concubine ceremony system, which was equivalent to posthumously being crowned as a noble concubine.
Princess Yu guifei was an old person of Qianlong's hidden residence, and although she stayed on the concubine throne for 47 years, she was also posthumously honored as a noble concubine by Qianlong.
Xun Guifei was a newcomer to the palace in Qianlong's later years, and it was rare to be able to sit on the concubine seat, and after her death, Qianlong ordered her to be buried with a noble concubine ceremony, which was equivalent to posthumously being crowned as a noble concubine.
Princess Wan Guifei was also an old person of Qianlong's hidden residence, and throughout her life, she did not get qianlong's favor, but she survived with her longevity, and after Jiaqing pro-government, she was honored as a princess of Grace.
These four people were either posthumously honored by Qianlong or honored by Jiaqing, and only Ying Guifei was canonized by Qianlong himself, and he accepted the canonization ceremony of guifei before his death.
Regarding Ying Guifei's family lineage, the official record is very simple, but it is also very clear.
Princess Ying, a native of the Mongolian Red Banner, was born on the 29th day of the first month of the ninth year of The Yongzheng Dynasty, and was the daughter of Du Tong and the daughter of the Light Vehicle Du Wei Na.
It is clear here that The Barins were a Mongolian woman, but she was different from the average Mongolian concubine. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the daughters of many princes of the Mongol alliance were sent to the imperial palace and became the concubines of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but the Balin clan was different from them, the Balin clan belonged to the Mongolian Eight Banners and was a flag person, so between her and Qianlong, it belonged to the intermarriage within the banner.
Those concubines from the Mongol confederations did not enter the palace through the draft, but were directly sent to the palace, which was equivalent to parachuting. Since Ying Guifei belongs to the Mongolian Eight Flags, then she must have entered the palace through the Eight Flags draft.
Ying Guifei's father's position was Du Tong, and Du Tong was the highest military and political commander of the Eight Banners, one person per banner, a total of twenty-four people, belonging to Zheng Yipin. Moreover, Na Qin's head also bears the hereditary position of a light car lieutenant, that is to say, Ying Guifei is from a high-ranking bureaucratic family, and her family lineage is very unusual.
2. The Nine Emperors of The Nine Emperors
The first time the Balin clan appeared in historical records was in the thirteenth year of Qianlong, and on April 12 of that year, the 18-year-old Balin clan was named a nobleman together with the Lu clan (The Noble Concubine of the Qinggong Emperor) and called that nobleman.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that Cha Dewan's concubine was a nobleman who was promoted to the title of nobleman on May 12, 2002 in Qianlong, and that Qing Concubine and Concubine Ying were promoted to nobleman on April 12, 1313 in Qianlong." ("To the General Administration of Internal Affairs for the Repair of The Jade Concubine and the Consultation of Concubine Wan and other banners and the surname and title of Concubine Shu's father")
According to this historical data, the Baring clan was always there before, that is, it was always there.
There is an unreasonable point here, it is reasonable to say that a flag girl like The Balin clan from the Eight Flags, after being drafted into the palace by the Eight Flags, the first seal is at least a noble person, and will not be permanent. So why did the Balin clan have a permanent position before being promoted to nobility? There is only one possibility: Barring has been demoted before.
However, since Qianlong was promoted to a nobleman in the thirteenth year, the Balin clan can be said to be smooth sailing in the harem, and its position has been steadily improving.
In the first month of the sixteenth year of Qianlong, the Balin clan was crowned as a concubine together with the Lu clan, and in the eighth month of June, he accepted the concubine's canonization ceremony and was given the title of Ying Concubine. According to the description of the "early attendant in the middle of the book", it seems that the time when the Balin clan entered the palace was relatively early. "Ying" means "perfect" and "intelligent", presumably, in Qianlong's view, Balinshi is a perfect and intelligent woman.
Ying Concubine Book:
"Congratulations on pepper painting." The quality of The Promise of Rouge. Chengliu Yao Hall. Yi Zhao favored the glory of Tin. Dragon Chapter. Use the Light Code. Ergui Balin clan. Early waiter in the middle of the min. Ke Xiang Nei is. Diligent and dedicated. Tu Shi Jing. Li Shu is cautious and persevering. Honing. I hereby honor the Empress Dowager's edict. With Jin Jinfeng'er as ying concubine. Erqi is dressed in elephant clothes. Miaki's gentleness. Pi Ho Hung Shi. Yi Mao is gentle and respectful. Thanks. ”
Qianlong reigned in the court within 16 years: Empress, Pure Concubine, Jia Guifei, Yu Concubine, Ling Concubine, Shu Concubine, Yi Concubine, Wan Concubine, Qing Concubine, Ying Concubine.
The twenty-fourth year of Qianlong was another crucial year for the Balin clan, and in this year, she and the Lu clan were once again crowned at the same time and were crowned as Concubine Ying.
Yingfei Album Text:
"The Only Pepper Court praises. Shōjo is obedient to Tong Min. Xuan Dian Cheng'en. Guangbo Jubilee in Ziye. The Code of Commandments. Type sowing thermolun. Erying concubine Ofbarin. Dreaming of Fang Zhen. Jiuxiang Neizhi. ZanYu is in the middle. Shu Shu Qi. He was buried in the deep palace. Jogaviz. Hereby look up to the will of the Empress Dowager. He was enthroned as a concubine. Shang Qi Rong Qiong Pei. With the Xiang Kunde's Seal. Left and right golden roots. The purity of Kamisuke Haruka. Thanks. ”
Qianlong reigned for twenty-four years: Empress, Pure Concubine, Ling Guifei, Shu Concubine, Concubine Yu, Concubine Qing, Concubine Ying, Concubine Wan, Concubine Xin, Concubine Yu.
It can be seen that compared with the ranking of Qianlong in the sixteenth year, the Ling Concubine who was promoted to a noble concubine has already sat in the third place, and although the Balin clan is at the end of the concubine position, she has ranked seventh in the harem, which is already very difficult, after all, the harem is like a battlefield, and the competition is still relatively fierce.
Since the fall of the Nala clan after the return of the Southern Tour in the thirtieth year of Qianlong, the harem of the Qing Dynasty began to enter the era of Lingfei (then the imperial concubine), and the Balin clan gradually played an important role in the harem.
For example, in the thirty-second year of Qianlong, Princess Heshuo and Jia were seriously ill, and the imperial concubines (Ling concubines) of Chuxiu Palace came to visit the princess mansion together with the concubines of Jingren Palace, and after the princess died of illness, the Balin clan also attended the funeral with the imperial concubines.
In addition, in May of the eleventh year of Qianlong, Emperor Guifei gave birth to the seventeenth son of the Emperor, Yongxuan, and because he often accompanied Qianlong on patrols, coupled with the busy affairs of the harem, Qianlong handed Yongxuan over to the Balin clan to raise. This confirms that the personal relationship between the Balin clan and Ling Concubine should be very good, and the Balin clan and the Ling Concubine and the Qing Concubine Lu Clan (Yong Yan's adoptive mother) should be a faction in the Qianlong harem, which can be said to be the best trio in the Qianlong harem.
In the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong, the highest ranking concubine in the harem died, at that time, there were no empresses, imperial concubines, and noble concubines in the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and it was the Balin clan that ranked first among the concubines, which can also be glimpsed in the noble concubines of the Balin clan, for example, there is a sentence in the book that is "the ninth emperor of the throne." Long-term dedication".
Qianlong reigned for fifty-nine years: YingFei, Concubine Huan, Concubine Wan, Concubine Xun, Concubine Fang, concubine Gong.
That is to say, after the death of Concubine Yue, it was the Ying Concubine Balin clan who ruled the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and the Balin clan naturally became the last head of the Qianlong harem.
3. The Qianlong noble concubine who died of fright
In the sixty years of Qianlong, Qianlong, who was about to ascend the throne, moved the Balin clan from Jingren Palace to Yongshou Palace, and gave the Jingren Palace to the crown princess Xi Tara (Empress Xiaoshurui) to live.
On April 15 of the third year of Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong of the Taishang Emperor decreed that the Balin clan be made a noble concubine, that is, a concubine of Ying:
"Concubine Ying reigned for a long time, and she was seventy years old, and she was made a noble concubine by Garn."
Ying Guifei Album:
"Grace and grace. Fang Zhen was dreaming of Tong Lu. Syfl kangqiang. It is advisable to add purple tuo to the order. Decree the Phoenix. With the Book of The Dragon. Erying Concubines of the Balin Clan and Shu Shen Yu Zhang. Rou Jia Yun Xie. The Nine Emperors of the Throne. Long-term congratulations. He was nearly seventy years old. Should be progressed by macro order. Zit was promoted to noble concubine. The Treasure of tin. Erqi knows grace and respect. Changfu Ji Yu An zhen. Deid Maoxiu. Double introduction and Yu Yongmu. Thanks. ”
After the Jiaqing Emperor took power, the Balin clan moved to shoukang Palace to live, and together with Princess Wangui, life was also comfortable, but unexpectedly, because of the adoption of his adopted son YongXuan, the Balin clan actually lost his life.
The twenty-ninth day of the first month of the fifth year of Jiaqing is the seventieth birthday of the Balin clan, which was originally a happy event, who knows, the adopted son of the Balin clan, Yong Xuan, without the permission of the imperial brother Jiaqing Emperor, privately brought the birthday gift to the harem and gave it to the Balin clan, which was obviously a violation of the palace rules.
After the matter was known to the Jiaqing Emperor, Jiaqing was furious and not only reprimanded the younger brother who did not know the number of etiquette, but also removed Yong Xuan from his post and ordered him to withdraw from the Qianqing Gate and stay in the inner court.
After the Bahrain clan learned of this matter, they were also very worried, because they had a birthday, and they were tired of their adopted son Yong Xuan, what people did not expect was that on February 19, the Balin clan, whose birthday was only twenty days later, actually died of this, at the age of 70, obviously frightened.
On February 13, 196, Jiaqing, The Noble Concubine Ofing was buried in the Qianlong Yu Mausoleum.
Zichen said:
Although Ying Guifei Balin did not have a very high status in the Qianlong harem, she was after all a figure who had commanded the harem of the Qing Dynasty, and her harem career could be said to be smooth sailing, and she did not experience major setbacks, and she also raised seventeen brothers yongxuan for Qianlong. The only imperfect thing is that throughout her life, she did not give birth to her own children, and she was able to be favored for a long time, but she did not give birth to an imperial heir, which is somewhat similar to the situation of The Qinggong Emperor's noble concubine, of course, it may also be a physical reason, so that she could not give birth to her own children.
References: "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", "Records of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty", "For the Repair of The Jade Concubines consulted wan concubines and other banners and Shu Concubine's father's family name and name to the General Administration of Internal Affairs"