There are two main versions of the legend of the Fragrant Princess in folklore:
- First, the Xiangfei comedy said: Xiangfei is born beautiful, has a different fragrance, and is absolutely beautiful. Her family lived in Yeerqiang (present-day Shache) in southern Xinjiang, and her brother moved to Ili because of his dissatisfaction with Huoji's abuse of the government. His brother, in the rebellion against Huo Jizhan, set his heart on the Qing Dynasty and made meritorious contributions. They were summoned to Beijing and later lived in Beijing. Concubine Xiang entered the palace, was loved by the empress dowager and favored by the Qianlong Emperor, and lived a very happy life. After Xiangfei's death, Qianlong heard the news and was grieved, and Enzun transported Xiangfei's bones back to Kashgar, Xinjiang, for burial.
- The second is the tragedy of Xiangfei: Xiangfei was taken captive into the imperial palace during the Qianlong period when the Rebellion of Huibu and Zhuomu was quelled. Because of her beauty and unusual fragrance, Qianlong was crowned as a concubine and was greatly favored by her. However, Princess Xiang was determined to keep the festival, carrying a blade with her, and prepared to kill the emperor to avenge. When the empress dowager heard the news, she summoned the concubine into the palace, gave her death, and was buried in the Qing Tombs.
Princess Xiang in the TV series
Some scholars believe that Xiangfei is Rongfei.
Both historical documents and archaeological excavations have historical facts about RongFei. The "Qing History Manuscript and Biography of The Later Concubines" records: "Concubine Rong, and Zhuo Shi, Huibu Taiji and ZhaoLain. Entering the palace for the first time, the number of nobles. Progressive as a concubine. swarming. According to scholars, Rong Fei (1734-1788), huo zhuoshi, also known as he zhuoshi, was born on September 15, the twelfth year of Yongzheng (1734), 23 years younger than Qianlong. The time when Concubine Rong entered the palace is different: one is that she entered the palace in the spring of the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong (1760), at the age of 27. Originally a nobleman, Qianlong was crowned as a concubine in the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong (1762) at the age of 29. 300 taels of silver per year (equivalent to five times that of Zhi County). In the thirty-third year of Qianlong (1768), she was crowned as Concubine Rong.
The Qianlong Emperor also built the Baoyue Tower for Concubine Rong. Before the Qianlong Dynasty, there was no precedent for Hui concubines. Concubine Rong took the Huibu woman to the Qing Dynasty, and Qianlong did not place her in the harem, but specially built the Baoyue Building in the Western Garden as a place for the Golden House to hide the jiao.
Baoyue Building
At that time, all the people except the Eight Banners lived in the outer city. Only the Huizi camp was close at hand, relying on the nine weights. This is Qianlong Love House and Wu.
The reasons why Qianlong built the Baoyue Tower for Concubine Rong were:
First, the culture of speech is different.
Concubine Rong spoke Uyghur, and it was inconvenient for her to live with her concubines, especially in the southernmost part of the South China Sea, which was far from the outer wall. It is both connected and divided from the royal palace, and the environment is elegant and the lake ripples. Qianlong spoke Uyghur and could converse directly with Concubine Rong in Uighur.
Second, eating habits are different.
The Empress's main palace, Kunning Palace, doubled as a place for shamanic sacrifices. Kunning Palace eats two pigs every day, slaughters pigs on the god's case, cooks pork in a large pot, and worships the gods. On New Year's Day, the emperor and empress perform ceremonies; the spring and autumn festivals, the empress also arrives, and the concubines themselves serve as attendants. The most embarrassing one is the queen concubine zuò, a kind of pork rice, which Muslims can never tolerate. Placing Concubine Rong alone in another living area is very convenient for life.
Fragrant concubines
Third, the customs of life are different.
The clothes and decorations of the Uyghur people are the same as those of the harem and palace women of the imperial palace. The Palace has no place to visit except the Royal Garden. Qianlong Zhu Baoyue Tower is in the south of Yingtai, you can drive the West Garden at any time, instead of having to be like the Yuanmingyuan, the road is far away and annoying to drive. Here, Concubine Rong can avoid the trouble of other concubines competing for favors.
Fourth, religious beliefs are different.
The Manchu religion was shamanism, and Qianlong revered lamaism. The Uyghurs believe in Islam and pray. The place where Concubine Rong lived, across Chang'an Avenue and opposite the Huizi camp, built an Islamic chapel and a private house, and made the attached Muslims live, and the houses followed the Hui style. Standing upstairs, Concubine Rong could see the "Huizi Camp" opposite, and looked at the ceremony from afar to relieve her longing.
On April 19, the fifty-third year of Qianlong (1788), Concubine Rong died of illness at the age of 55 and was buried in the Tang Tombs. As for the name "Fragrant Concubine", I don't know when it arose. There is a coffin of a concubine in kashgar, Xinjiang, and the local legend is that it was transported back from Beijing. Concubine Rong should be the fragrant concubine of folklore. Whether Xiangfei and Concubine Rong are one or two, the academic community has not yet agreed.
Xiangfei Relic Museum
In recent years, there have been many works on Xiangfei. The title of a book is "Xiangfei", and the authors Yu Shanpu and Dong Naiqiang are cultural relics experts in the Qing Dynasty.
They said in the book that in October 1979, by chance, two concubine tombs collapsed due to rain leakage in the concubine garden of the Qianlong Yuling Tomb of the Qing Dynasty. When the cultural relics workers cleaned the tomb, they found many precious objects, thus unveiling the mystery of the fragrant concubine. After checking the historical materials and the qing palace archives, there was a new understanding of the only Uyghur woman among the 41 concubines of Qianlong. The author believes that this is The Concubine Rong, that is, the legendary Concubine Xiang.
Text reference "Secrets of the Chinese Emperor".