On the west side of the Main Tomb of The QingXi Mausoleum in YiXian County, Hebei Province, sits the mausoleum of The Fifth Emperor Jiaqing after the Entry of the Qing Dynasty - Changling. In the southwest of Changling, there is a garden bed that has never been opened, which is the burial place of Jiaqing Concubines. Here are buried seventeen concubines of Jiaqing, the first row of concubines is the treasure roof of Emperor Heyu and Emperor Gongshun, the second row has five treasures, the identity of the owner of the easternmost baoding tomb is still a mystery, the remaining four treasures are the four concubines of Jiaqing Harem, namely Shufei, Huafei, Zhuangfei and Xinfei, Shufei, Huafei, Zhuangfei We have already talked about it before, today we will look at the remaining Concubine Xin.
1. Daughter of the Eight Banners of Mongolia
Concubine Liu Jiashi, a Mongolian white flag bearer, was born in the forty-eighth year of Qianlong, 23 years younger than Jiaqing, and her father was a third-class light vehicle lieutenant and a general of Jiangning.
Judging from the surname of the concubine, I believe that the reader must think that the concubine must have been surnamed Liu at the beginning, and may be a Han Chinese, which is wrong, this concubine is a Mongolian woman. How to say it?
According to Princess Xin's family, Princess Xin was originally a Mongol, but because she was an official in the Ming Dynasty, she changed her han surname to Liu. The ancestor of concubine Xin into the banner was named Liu Lintu, Liu Lintu had served as a deputy general at Shanhaiguan in the Ming Dynasty, and it is estimated that he was originally mixed with Wu Sangui, and in the first year of Shunzhi, Liu Lintu returned to Shun Daqing, was incorporated into the Han army with a white flag, and became a deputy general of Yizhou, and was later awarded the title of third-class male for his military merits.
After Liu Lintu, his descendants wrote to the Qing court, saying that their family was originally Mongol, because they were officials in the Ming Dynasty, they changed their Han surnames, but Liu Lintu's descendants no longer adopted the Han surname, but named after the Manchu and Mongolian regulations, so the Qing court approved the Liu family to change from the white flag of the Han army to the white flag of Mongolia.
Princess Xin's grandfather was named Dechang, and Dechang had three sons, namely Benzhi, Benzhong, and Benshu, and the eldest son, Benzhi, was The father of Concubine Xin. Ben Zhi inherited his father's hereditary position as a third-class light vehicle lieutenant, and served in the Jiaqing Dynasty as a military officer in the Li Fan Yuan, a general of Jiangning, and was later recalled to the capital of the Capital Division, and died of illness in the first year of Daoguang, at the age of 70.
That is to say: Princess Xin was born into a Mongolian family of Eight Banners soldiers, and she was likely to have grown up in the Jiangnan region (Jiangning).
2. The Mongolian flag girl who was elected to the palace
As we said earlier, before Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, there were only four women around him, namely the Xi Tara clan of The Concubine Fujin, the Lateral Fu Jin NiuHulu Clan, the Official Woman Liu Clan and the Official Woman Hou Clan.
However, when Jiaqing was about to succeed to the throne, he favored two palace women, who were given the titles of Rong Chang Zai and Chun Chang Zai in the first year of Jiaqing. Because Rong Changzai and Chun Chang were favored, Jiaqing had not yet succeeded to the throne, so they were barely considered to be women during the Jiaqing Qiandi period.
In the second year of Jiaqing, Jiaqing ordered the first Eight Flags Draft since succeeding to the throne, in which six newcomers were selected to the court.
Two of them were dedicated by Jiaqing to the Taishang Emperor Qianlong, that is, the Concubines of the Qianlong Harem and the ShouGuiren. The remaining four entered the palace in two batches, jiaqing entered the palace at the end of the second year by the jade nobles and chun nobles, and Jiaqing entered the palace at the beginning of the third year by the letter nobles and An Changzai.
At this time, the nobleman Liu Shi was only 16 years old, and according to the "Hongzhi Universal", "letter" means "trustworthy" and "reliable". This title feels very special, like an unconventional title, perhaps in Jiaqing's view, Liu Shi is a well-behaved, unskilled, trustworthy woman.
However, then again, according to the data, the concubines of the Jiaqing harem were almost not demoted, which may have a lot to do with the benevolence of the Jiaqing Emperor himself, of course, the imperial merits of Empress Xiaoherui were also very good. If this is going to reach the Daoguang Dynasty, it will be different, it seems that no concubine can believe it, so they are unlucky, either today you are demoted, or tomorrow she is demoted.
Although this Liu clan came from a good background, there were very few records after entering the palace, perhaps this is also a confirmation of her lack of favor, but a very critical canonization has left her figure.
On April 21, 13013, the Jiaqing Emperor was pleased with the emperor's eldest grandson (Yi Wei), Long Yan Dayue, and he added a title to the harem concubines:
"Look up to Meng Hao Cang Hongyou, Liesheng Ci'en, on this day the emperor's eldest grandson, Yun Rong Zhaoqing, YiYe Yanli." The next year coincides with the 50th birthday of the Yuan, the longevity is still frequent, and the xun is an auspicious and happy event, and it is allowed to add a hui gong and use Zhao Fu Rui. Concubine Jia Enjin was crowned concubine, Ji Concubine was crowned Concubine Zhuang by Jia Enjin, and Jia Enjin was crowned as Concubine Zhuang by Xingui. The official woman of the second brother, the Narra clan, was crowned as a side room Fujin, and all the canonization ceremonies were handled as usual. ”
At this time, the main thrones of the Jiaqing harem were: Empress (Empress Xiaoherui), Concubine (Heyu Emperor's Concubine), Chun Concubine, Ji Concubine (Zhuang Concubine), Ru Concubine (Gongshun Imperial Concubine), Xin Guiren (Xin Concubine) and An Chang Zai (An Concubine).
However, only Concubines, Ji Concubines and Xin Gui were promoted to Concubines, Zhuang Concubines and Xin Concubines, respectively, of these three, only the Xin Gui was a newcomer to the palace after Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, and those who were not promoted (except for the empress) were also new people who entered the palace in the Jiaqing Dynasty, but why were only the Xin Gui people promoted? Is it because she's spoiled? Since he was favored, why is there little record, and the jiaqing dynasty only rose to the concubine position? We don't know.
It is worth mentioning that in this canonization, Jiaqing also enfeoffed the daughter-in-law who bore the eldest grandson of the emperor for himself, that is, the official woman Nala clan who was the official woman next to the second brother Mianning, who was the concubine of the Daoguang harem.
3. Early death of red face
On November 11, 13013 in Jiaqing, Liu Shi was officially canonized as a concubine:
"She teaches women's studies. Tuien praised Zhai Zhihua. Rui Qi Sun Mou. Tin life du yun zhi zhi. Pepper coat Puqing. Ju Cai Zengrong. Liu Jiashi and Rou Ze held it. Ling Yi wrote early. Divide the cocoon. Xiang Silkworm affair in the Middle Palace. Gu Shi Chentu. The general idea of chicken chirping. It is to use Jin Feng'er as a concubine. Tin Book of Destiny. Erqisi is nominal and shunde. The Rin Xi Sutra is written in the letter. Show merit to answer the badge. The transformation of The Sound of Sasaki Yaji. Thanks. ”
Through this book, it can be seen that Liu Shi is not only an embroidery master (offering cocoons), but also has a certain cultural accomplishment (Gu Shi Chentu), perhaps at this time she is being favored by Jiaqing, but in the middle and late period of Jiaqing, Liu Shi fell out of favor.
Since Liu Shi was promoted to concubine in the thirteenth year of Jiaqing, he has not been promoted since then, and even the relevant records are rare.
In August of the 25th year of Jiaqing, the newly succeeded Daoguang Emperor honored Liu Shi and honored him as Imperial Concubine Kaoxin:
"Emblem passed on the luan tuck. Yao Zhangbiao Tongguan rules. Li Chonghong said. The color of the treasure seal huan dan lun. Dragon Medal Ornament. Elephant service increases glory. Emperor Kaoxin's concubine Liu Jiashi. Wen Hui Nei zhao. Rou Jia wai. Chen Tu Gu Shi. Qing Fen was sown in gongmin earlier. Etiquette and poetry. Let Fan Know the Rope Moment. Zai Ji Yi Mei. It is advisable to show praise. I would like to honor her as the Imperial Concubine. Yu drama. Ceremonial ascension. Style of pepper garden of the bow. Virtue goes well. The aromatic type of the long-weeping orchid. Sincerely. ”
However, the long-term lack of favor made Liu Clan depressed and in poor health, and finally died on October 13, 2012 in Daoguang, at the age of 40, which was considered to be a woman with a red face and a short life. A year later, on February 26, Concubine Liu was buried in the Changling Concubine Garden in Jiaqing.
Zichen said:
Among the four concubines of Jiaqing (庶妃, Huafei, Zhuangfei, and Xinfei), although Shufei died before Jiaqing succeeded to the throne, she was after all a side Fujin that Qianlong had given to Jiaqing, and her status was relatively high. Concubine Hua and Concubine Zhuang can be said to be the real favorite concubines of Jiaqing, although these two people did not give birth to a prince, but they both survived to the concubine position before they died, and they can also be regarded as successful people among the concubines.
On the contrary, it was Concubine Xin, although she was born well, but her sense of existence was low, and she was not able to give birth to a man and a half woman for Jiaqing, and finally relied on the new emperor Daoguang to get a concubine. However, it is not bad to be able to survive to the concubine position in the Jiaqing harem, after all, the number of concubines in Jiaqing is small, and there are only four concubines who can survive to the concubine position, and the concubine is one of them.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Records of Emperor Renzong of the Qing Dynasty, Eight Banners