The Shunzhi Emperor married four aunts and nephews, two of whom became empresses, but none of them were able to have children
In the past, the concept of marriage was relatively open, and the disadvantages of consanguineous unions were not understood, so the royal family was very fond of the phenomenon of marriage between cousins or cousins. There was even a case of a pair of sisters entering the palace together to serve the same emperor. In the early Qing Dynasty, a special combination appeared in the harem of the Shunzhi Emperor, and the four concubines were all aunts and nephews, all of them were born in the Borzigit clan, and were the maiden family of Empress Xiaozhuang, and two of them later became empresses. Let's take a look at how these four "strange" queens spent their harem lives.
First of all, speaking of Meng Guqing, she is the deposed empress of the Shunzhi Emperor and the sister-in-law of Xiaozhuang. According to the Shunzhi Emperor's description of her, Meng Guqing was a person who was "extravagant, jealous, and accumulated", which means that her extravagant and wasteful attitude to life and jealousy were very heavy, and even often clashed with the emperor Shunzhi. Although the princes and ministers did not approve of the Shunzhi Emperor's statement, the Shunzhi Emperor abolished her status as empress and demoted her to a concubine. However, some wild histories record that after the abolition, Meng Guqing returned to his mother's family and was pregnant with the flesh and blood of the Shunzhi Emperor, and later gave birth to a son alone in the Mongolian steppe and raised this son alone, but these are only records of wild history, and the official history does not record these things in detail.
After Meng Guqing was sent away after the abolition, Xiaozhuang immediately sent another woman to the Shunzhi Emperor, who was the concubine. Concubine Mourning was also a member of the Borzigit clan and a cousin of the Shunzhi Emperor. However, when she entered the palace, Concubine Mo was still a very young child bride, she was very young and not yet mature. However, it is a pity that the concubine died early soon, and she did not even enjoy a formal Jin seal.
The second empress of the Shunzhi Emperor was Empress Xiaohuizhang, also a woman of the Borzigit clan of Xiaozhuang's maiden family, and she was Meng Guqing's niece. Empress Xiaohuizhang was almost deposed, but fortunately this time Xiaozhuang blocked it, and she did not become the second deposed empress. Empress Xiaohuizhang lived a long life, and later received good treatment for taking care of Kangxi for a period of time, and Kangxi regarded her as a reborn parent, and every time her birthday Kangxi held a grand celebration for her. However, after the death of Empress Xiaohuizhang, Kangxi lamented that "at this time, there are no people who respect filial piety, and there are no people who love and compassion."
When Empress Xiaohuizhang entered the palace, she brought a young sister, Concubine Shuhui, with her. Concubine Shuhui is also the niece of Meng Guqing and Concubine Mo, and Xiaozhuang hopes to find more favored candidates among the Borzigit women. However, Concubine Shuhui did not receive any titles after becoming a concubine, and did not receive any titles until her death.
Among these four aunts and nephews, if anyone can give birth to the next Qing emperor for the Shunzhi Emperor, then the Borzigit clan will always prosper. This is also Xiaozhuang's intention. However, things often don't go as they should. The Shunzhi Emperor lost interest in other concubines after falling in love with Concubine Dong, and the women of the Borzigit clan became his foils. Isn't that sad?
Although none of these four aunts and nephews could bear an heir for the Shunzhi Emperor, this was also due to the historical background at that time. Now it seems that we should reflect on the concept of the past, pay attention to the scientific concept of marriage and reproduction, and avoid similar problems from happening again. History always teaches us a vivid lesson, and we should learn from it.
Resources:
"The Biography of the Concubine of the Qing Dynasty", "Qing Shi Record", "The Lee Dynasty of Joseon"
