In the long history of the Qing Dynasty, the fate of the queens varied. Some are powerful, some are neglected, some die early, and some die right. But among these queens, Empress Xiao Shurui is undoubtedly the most unique. She is not only the wife of Emperor Jiaqing, but also the only original queen in the Qing Dynasty who gave birth to her eldest son and eventually inherited the throne. This is unprecedented in the history of the Qing Dynasty. However, her life was not all smooth sailing, full of many twists and turns and bizarre experiences. She was not from a prominent background, but she was personally assigned to the crown prince by Emperor Qianlong; She is deeply favored by her husband, but she is disliked by her mother-in-law; She gave birth to her eldest son, but she never witnessed the moment when her son ascended the throne and became emperor. So, what kind of fate did this Empress Xiao Shurui, who enjoys the reputation of "Concubine Ling's daughter-in-law" and "Jiaqing White Moonlight", experience? What kind of bizarre story does her legendary life contain?
1. Low-key and ordinary background
The Manchus were the founders and rulers of the Qing Dynasty, and the most influential and status of them were the three upper three flags, namely the Yellow Flag, the White Flag and the Yellow Flag. Among these three flags, the yellow flag is the most prominent, and the ancestors of emperors such as Nurhachi and Huang Taiji were born here. In comparison, the status of the Zhengbai flag is slightly inferior, but it still belongs to the top three flags, and it is also considered a prestigious family among the Manchus.
Empress Xiao Shurui was born in the Hitara family with a white flag. This family can be traced back to the ancestors of the Manchus, when it was just an inconspicuous small surname with a small status. But in the generation before Nurhachi was born, an important figure was born in the Hitara family - Dulijin, who was the elder brother of Nurhachi's great-grandfather mother, so the Dulijin family was particularly valued when Nurhachi was young.
Du Lijin gave birth to a total of seven sons, the fifth of which was the 11th Zusabitu of Empress Xiao Shurui. It can be said that it is precisely with the illustrious elder of Du Lijin that the Hitara clan has been able to gradually move from an obscure small surname to glory.
During the period of Nurhachi and Huang Taiji, the Hitara clan did have a high status and was ordered to guard the imperial tomb. However, during Emperor Shunzhi's southern expedition, the Xitara clan did not follow Dolgon and others into the pass, but stayed outside the pass, and gradually lost the opportunity to further improve their status.
Fortunately, the Hitara clan was not willing to stop there, and worked hard to fill the flag in the Kangxi Dynasty, and finally in the Qianlong Dynasty, the whole family was promoted from the Zhengbai Flag to the Manchuria White Flag, and the family's status was re-promoted. It was during this period, that is, in the sixth year of Qianlong, that Empress Xiao Shurui was born in a family that could be regarded as a prestigious family with white flags in Manchuria.
Although his background is not extremely prominent, after all, he is far better than ordinary people's families. This may be the reason why Qianlong chose Empress Xiao Shurui as his heir for the enthroned crown prince Jiaqing. First, you can use the influence of the Hitara family in Shangsanqi, and secondly, the background is not too low, and the family is right, which can be called the middle and upper choice.
For Jiaqing, who is still in the position of the crown prince, marrying a concubine Fujin from a family of Shangsanqi is undoubtedly the best candidate. For Empress Xiao Shurui personally, being able to be appointed by Qianlong as the crown prince Fujin is like a high climb and a high priority, which is destined for her future life to embark on a different path of destiny.
2. The hardships of life in the deep palace
Although Empress Xiao Shurui was born in the Three Banners family, it was still difficult to enter the harem. Her mother-in-law was Emperor Qianlong's favorite concubine Concubine Wei Jiashi, and the contradictions between the two were surging from the beginning.
Although Wei Jiashi came from a humble background, he finally won the favor of Emperor Qianlong with his beauty and talent and became Concubine Ling. She gave birth to Emperor Jiaqing, the crown prince, and her status is naturally unmatched. As a favorite concubine, Wei Jia's family naturally took precautions against his son Emperor Jiaqing's concubine, Empress Jin Xiaoshurui.
First, out of maternal love to protect her son, Wei Jiashi was worried that Empress Xiao Shurui would monopolize Emperor Jiaqing's favor as a queen in the future; Second, out of selfishness, as a favorite concubine, she naturally hopes that her son can pamper herself more. Therefore, Wei Jiashi is always wary of Empress Xiao Shurui and is in trouble everywhere.
It is said that once Empress Xiao Shurui encountered dystocia when she was pregnant and in labor, Wei Jiashi deliberately did not let the imperial physician in the palace entrada, so that Empress Xiao Shurui suffered severe pain alone without anyone to take care of her. Later, Emperor Jiaqing was furious when he learned the truth, and he was very dissatisfied with his mother's behavior.
In addition to suffering from Wei Jia's troubles, Empress Xiao Shurui deeply experienced the hardships of giving birth to children in the palace. She gave birth to two princesses and a crown prince Mianning, and the production process was devastated. Especially in the year of Huai Mianning, Empress Xiao Shurui's body had suffered serious losses, and it was almost difficult to recover later.
After the death of her biological mother, Empress Xiao Shurui also shouldered a special role of "adoptive mother" in the palace. She often had to serve the elderly Emperor Qianlong and take good care of the elderly. This undoubtedly increased her burden, and at the same time made her more respected and trusted by Qianlong Lafayette.
Later, Qianlong Lafayette appreciated the filial piety and virtue of Empress Xiao Shurui, and specially carried out special health care and recuperation for Empress Xiao Shurui under the advice of the imperial doctor. The imperial physician believes that Empress Xiao Shurui's lack of blood and qi is caused by multiple births, and it may be difficult to save her life if she becomes pregnant again. So Qianlong ordered a quiet room to be prepared in the palace for Empress Xiao Shurui, and regularly used high-grade ginseng to nourish and condition her every month.
Although this arrangement made Empress Xiao Shurui's health better, it also brought unexpected changes to her in the second half of her life. Because of such special care, she gradually became estranged from her husband Emperor Jiaqing, and her status in the harem began to decline. However, Empress Xiao Shurui did not complain about this, and still served Qianlong Lafayette and her husband wholeheartedly, and treated people with humility and courtesy. This noble character of hers also left a profound impact on the future.
3. Qianlong's special arrangements for guilt
For the sake of Empress Xiao Shurui's health, the imperial doctor suggested that Qianlong Lafayette recuperate for her. So Qianlong ordered a quiet room to be prepared in the palace for Empress Xiao Shurui, and regularly used high-quality ginseng to nourish her every month.
This arrangement seems to be well-intentioned, but in fact there is something else to it. In fact, the reason why Qianlong Lafayette was so sympathetic to Empress Xiao Shurui was because of a past incident that made him feel guilty about her.
It turned out that in Qianlong's later years, he gradually began to believe in Buddhism, and gradually developed a sense of alienation from his son Emperor Jiaqing. In particular, Emperor Jiaqing's various styles such as rejoicing in his later years, hoarding wealth, and spending extravagantly made Qianlong Lafayette very dissatisfied.
One day, Qianlong suddenly announced a major decision to his ministers: he wanted to depose Emperor Jiaqing as the crown prince and replace his grandson Yongxuan as the prince. This decision undoubtedly gave Emperor Jiaqing a blow to the head and shocked him.
Empress Hyo Sook-rui also played a key role in this decision. It is said that one of the most important reasons why Qianlong Lafayette wanted to abolish Jiaqing was that he suspected that Mianning, the eldest son born to Empress Xiao Shurui, was not the flesh and blood of Emperor Jiaqing.
This is obviously a major slander, but Empress Hyo Shurui is difficult to justify. She herself was in a difficult situation, how could she dare to speak in front of Qianlong? There is only suspicion and slander.
Later, on the eve of Qianlong's death, he finally realized that his slander against Empress Xiao Shurui was really nonsense. In order to make up for his mistakes back then, he had to order Empress Xiao Shurui to recuperate her body as a special concern.
Although this arrangement made Empress Xiao Shurui's health better, it also brought her unexpected changes. Due to the monthly recuperation, she gradually became estranged from her husband Emperor Jiaqing, and her status in the harem began to decline. However, Empress Xiao Shurui did not complain about this, and still served Qianlong and Jiaqing obediently.
It wasn't until Qianlong's death that the situation took a turn for the better. After Jiaqing ascended the throne, he realized that Qianlong's decision was really confused, and he doubted his own son. So he treated Empress Xiao Shurui again with courtesy, regarded it as a pearl in his palm, and cherished and loved it all the time.
Under the special care of Emperor Jiaqing, Empress Xiaoshurui's status has also risen all the way. She became the favorite queen of Emperor Jiaqing, and later generations even called her "Jiaqing White Moonlight". However, the cold reception and grievances she suffered back then have also become a lingering shadow in her life.
Unusual attitudes that followed
Although Empress Xiao Shurui suffered a lot in her life, her virtuous character won the praise of later generations. As the queen of the main palace favored by Emperor Jiaqing, she was not arrogant because of this, but showed a particularly humble and polite side.
Although Empress Xiao Shurui was not illustrious, she was cautious and dignified by nature, and was deeply respected by Qianlong Lafayette. Even when her status plummeted, she never complained to others and always maintained her virtuous nature. This may be the reason why Emperor Jiaqing has a soft spot for her.
After Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne, he re-established the orthodox status of Empress Xiao Shurui. Not only that, but he also deliberately added the word "filial piety" of Empress Xiao Shurui, intending to commend her for her filial piety to Qianlong Lafayette all her life. Since then, her nickname has been set as "Empress Xiao Shurui".
As the wife of Emperor Jiaqing, Empress Xiaoshurui naturally loves the prince Mianning. The reason why she was able to give birth to Mianning back then, she can be said to have risked her life and paid a great price. Therefore, in the mind of Empress Xiao Shurui, Mianning naturally became her most precious relatives.
During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing, Empress Xiaoshurui did her best to escort Prince Mianning. Once, Prince Mianning was removed from his position for disobeying military orders. At this critical juncture, Empress Xiao Shurui resolutely stood up and tried her best to protect Prince Mianning's qualification as the crown prince. She personally explained to Emperor Jiaqing, and finally made Prince Mianning keep his position.
If it weren't for Empress Xiao Shurui's protection, I believe that Prince Mianning's future would probably die. It was with the vigorous escort of Empress Xiao Shurui that Prince Mianning was able to finally inherit the throne of Emperor Jiaqing and become the ninth emperor of the Qing Dynasty.
However, it is a pity that Empress Xiao Shurui did not witness the moment when her son ascended the throne and became emperor. She died on July 25, 1820, at the age of 53. Before she died, she made a "Deathbed Will", which included the instructions "Do not treat the funeral for the rest and cover up the funeral frugally", which shows her humble character.
Although she died at a young age, Queen Xiao Shurui has gone through a bumpy road of fate in her life. She was treated coldly and suspiciously by others in the harem, but in the end she still won the favor of the emperor with her virtuous virtues. As the original queen of the only emperor in the history of the Qing Dynasty, her life can be described as unprecedented.
5. The great achievements of Empress Xiao Shurui
As the only queen in the history of the Qing Dynasty who gave birth to her eldest son and eventually inherited the throne, Empress Xiao Shurui will naturally be remembered by future generations. But she is not only remembered for this, but also for her virtuous character and great contribution to her family.
Under the favor of Emperor Jiaqing, Empress Xiao Shurui naturally received extremely high courtesy and status. She personally presided over many major court ceremonies, such as on the occasion of Qianlong's 60th birthday, she personally presided over a series of important ceremonial activities of the longevity ceremony.
In addition to presiding over major court ceremonies, Empress Xiao Shurui also actively participated in some social welfare undertakings. She has donated huge sums of money to repair roads and dredge rivers and canals many times to solve problems for the people. These public welfare deeds have made her quite popular among the people, and have won the respect and praise of the general public.
Especially in the fifteenth year of Jiaqing (1810), Empress Xiao Shurui donated money to rebuild one of Beijing's main roads, Xiejie. The street has a long history of construction, but it has fallen into disrepair and it is time for renovation. Empress Xiao Shurui generously donated and allocated a huge amount of money to not only renovate Xiejie, but also planted a large number of flowers and trees on both sides of the street, making this already bustling street more pleasant.
In order to commemorate this achievement, the descendants deliberately set up a striking stone tablet in the center of the street of Xiejie, and the inscription is engraved with several big characters of "Empress Xiaoshurui Shi Hui Jinmen". This stele has been standing to this day, witnessing Empress Xiao Shurui's love for the suffering of the people.
In addition to the Xiejie, Empress Xiao Shurui also funded the construction of a large-scale palace in Beijing's Qizhai Hutong, named "Shangshujing Pavilion". This palace occupies a very large area, and the architecture is exquisite and elegant. It is said that it took three years to complete the construction at the time of a huge amount of money.
Shangshujing Pavilion has always been the place where the mother and son of Empress Xiao Shurui lived. Later, Emperor Jiaqing died, and after Emperor Mianning succeeded to the throne, he often went to Shangshujing Pavilion to remember the teachings of his mother. Until the upper Shujing Pavilion was demolished, it has a history of more than 100 years.
During her lifetime, Empress Xiao Shurui was generous and virtuous, virtuous and courteous, and had an excellent reputation among the people. Even in the harem, she values harmony everywhere and never competes too much with other concubines. She was good at using her virtuous talents and talents, won the favor of Emperor Jiaqing, and finally gave birth to the crown prince Mianning, opening a new page for the Manchu dynasty.