Although Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty was the second emperor outside the Manchu Pass, he was after all a generation of emperors of the Qing Dynasty and still enjoyed the treatment of three palaces and six courtyards. The most famous of his harems were the five concubines, including Empress Xiaoduan and later Empress Xiaozhuangwen, all of whom were gorgeous and brilliant and beautiful, and although the Emperor Taiji did not dislike any of them, the most favored one was The Concubine Hailanzhu.
Concubine Chen was the daughter of the Mongolian Horqin Belle Zhaisang, surnamed Borjigit, and given the name Hailanzhu. She was the niece of Empress Xiaoduan, who was also the sister of the later Empress Xiaozhuangwen. Hai Lanzhu was born in 1609, the thirty-seventh year of the Ming Dynasty, four years older than Concubine Zhuang. In 1634, that is, in the eighth year of Tiancong, his brother Wu Keshan personally sent Hai lanzhu to Shengjing to marry Huang Taiji, who was twenty-six years old at the time, although he had passed the age of Miao, but he was more plump and mature, beautiful and moving, so he was much favored by Huang Taiji. The status of Concubine Chen ranked second in the five palaces. Second only to her aunt Empress Xiaoduan.
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In the second year of Chongde, Concubine Chen gave birth to the eighth son of the Emperor, and the Emperor Taiji was ecstatic, and soon decided to make this baby the heir to the throne, feast on the courtiers, and pardon the world. Unfortunately, this son's life was short, and he came to the world for only half a year, and he died before he had time to name it. The death of Aizi dealt a heavy spiritual blow to Emperor Taiji and Concubine Chen. Concubine Chen was hit particularly hard, depressed all day, and finally became depressed. When Concubine Chenfei was dying, Emperor Taiji was directing the battle on the battlefield of Songshan, and when he heard the news that Concubine Chenfei was critically ill, he immediately rushed back to Shengjing day and night. When he arrived in Shengjing, which is today's Shenyang, and strode into the Guan Sui Palace, Concubine Chen had already returned to Yaochi, and finally Chinese New Year's Eve three years old, which was the year of prosperity. Huang Taiji was overwhelmed with grief, sleeping and eating, and even passed out, and after emergency rescue, he gradually woke up. In order to express his mourning for Concubine Ai, Emperor Taiji held a solemn funeral ceremony for Concubine Chen, giving her the titles of Min Huigong and Yuan Concubine, which was the largest number of words among concubines in the Qing Dynasty. Half a year after Concubine Chen's death, Emperor Taiji was also destined to return to Jiuquan. Emperor Taiji's sincere devotion to Concubine Chen was rare among the emperors of all dynasties.
After Concubine Chen's death, she was cremated and temporarily installed in the cemetery five miles outside the gate of Shengjingdi. After the Emperor Taiji was buried in the Zhaoling Tomb, Concubine Chen was also moved to the Zhaoling Concubine Garden. In the two generations of Nurhaci and Emperor Taiji, they and their family's descendants married as many as fifty-three Mongolian women, accounting for more than 87 percent of the total number of women married; In the twenty-seven years from 1617, the second year of the Later Jin Mandate, to 1643, the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty, the female relatives of their families, including sisters, daughters, nieces, etc., married a total of forty-three people from various Mongolian ministries.
Among them, the most women were married and married to the Horqin tribe, twenty-four were married, and fifteen were married, including all the tribes of Horqin and the chiefs of almost all the important tribes of Mongolia. These twenty-seven years were the twenty-seven years in which the Later Jin Khanate launched a fierce war against the Ming Dynasty, and it was also the twenty-seven years that the Qing Dynasty completed all the preparations for entering the Central Plains and finally entered the Central Plains a year later.
This unquestionable political marriage helped Nurhaci and Huang Taiji to basically remove the threat from the north and northwest. This was an important reason why they dared to fight the Ming Dynasty, and it was also the extremely successful operation of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji in establishing the broadest possible united front. Open the atlas to see at a glance. They used this marriage to build a long and vast security barrier for themselves. In the famous Chongde Five Palaces of Emperor Taiji, he lived with five of his most important concubines, all of whom were from the Borjigit clan of Horqin Mongolia. In the middle palace were Empress Zhezhe, and the second concubine Of Guan Ju Palace, Hai Lanzhu, and the fifth concubine of Yongfu Palace, were two siblings, and both were the nieces of Empress Zhezhe.
Concubine Zhuang of Yongfu Palace was the later Empress Xiaozhuang. Her Mongolian name in her mother's home is Bumubutai. At present, there is controversy about the exact meaning of the name. Some believe that it is related to the teachings of Lamaism and contains the meaning of "born man"; There is also a way to think that Bumubutai was a large pocket used by the Mongols to hold things at that time, and it was a very important daily necessity, woven with coarse wool. Judging from the customs of the nomadic fishing and hunting peoples at that time, the latter seems to be more likely, and it is doubtful.
Bumubutai married Emperor Taiji on the second day of February in 1625, the fifth year of the Great Ming Dynasty, and the tenth year of the Later Jin Mandate of Heaven. At the time, she was thirteen years old. Her husband, Huang Taiji, was twenty-one years older than her, and Chinese New Year's Eve four years old, or thirty-three years old according to the number of years old. At this time, Huang Taiji already had a lady, that is, Bumubutai's aunt Zhezhe, in addition, he also had three side ladies, and Bumubutai at this time was the fourth side lady. Emperor Taiji had twenty-five children in his lifetime, including eleven sons and fourteen daughters. Exactly how many concubines he had, no one has been able to give a precise answer. Fifteen have been recorded for having children for him. Bumubutai bore emperor Taiji three daughters, one son, and was the concubine who bore him the most children.
From this point of view, it should be said that the two of them have certain feelings. However, there is no evidence that Huang Taiji has given special care and attention to her and her children. Emperor Taiji was too busy, there were too many military and national affairs that he needed to take care of, and there were too many women and their children who needed his care, which may be part of the reason why he did not pay too much attention to Bumubutai. Bumubutai's sister, Hai Lan Zhu, may be part of the reason. In the history books, including the official history books of the Qing Dynasty, it is recorded in detail that the Emperor Taiji had a deep affection for this Hailan Zhu, which is rare among the emperors of our country.
The situation in Hailan Zhu was strange. Bumubutai was thirteen years old when she married Emperor Taiji, and according to custom, this was the ordinary age when ordinary girls were married at that time. Nine years later, Bumubutai's sister Hai Lanzhu married Huang Taiji as a virgin at the age of twenty-six. At that time, it was a very awkward age, and there was no doubt that it belonged to the old girl or the older young woman at that time. The history books do not record the reason, which is also a small mystery. Many texts often use the words "Xianshu", "Wenjing", and so on when talking about this Hailan Zhu. This may be the reason why she quickly became prominently loved by Emperor Taiji after entering the ranks of Imperial Taiji concubines.
After Hai Lanzhu married Hou Jin a little more than a year ago, Emperor Taiji changed Hou Jin to Daqing and officially ascended the throne as the emperor of the Qing Empire. He enthroned Hai Lanzhu as the second most important concubine of the Eastern Palace after the Empress of the Middle Palace, and used the first Chinese love poem "Guan Guan Ju Dove, in the River Continent." The poetry of "Lady, Gentleman is Good", naming the East Palace where Concubine Chen lived as "Guanju Palace". If there is not enough emotion, this is a difficult thing to imagine. A year later, in July of the second year of Chongde, Hai Lanzhu gave birth to a son, and Emperor Taiji took a measure rare in the history of our country: to order a general amnesty for the world. Judging from the historical records, Huang Taiji is a standard workaholic, who is extremely serious about state affairs, and strives for excellence in small things, never sloppy. It is said that this was the first amnesty after the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and even when Emperor Taiji ascended the throne, he may not have had it. It is difficult to see this move as a whim.
Six months later, Concubine Chen, the little prince, actually died prematurely. This is the eighth son of Emperor Taiji. Soon, Concubine Zhuang of Yongfu Palace gave birth to her ninth son, Fu Lin, and later, the other concubines of Emperor Taiji gave birth to the tenth and eleventh sons, and Emperor Taiji did not show any indication. In 1641, in September of the sixth year of the Chongde dynasty, Emperor Taiji presided over the last decisive battle between the Manchu Qing and Daming in Jinzhou and Songshan, that is, the Battle of Songjin. On August 14, in order to reverse the critical situation on the front line, Huang Taiji arrived at the front line with a severe epistaxis disease and nosebleeds, and traveled six hundred miles for six days and nights. A month later, the war situation was completely reversed, and the news of Hai Lanzhu's serious illness came from Shenyang. Therefore, on September 13, this amorous heavenly son once again traveled six hundred miles for six days and nights and returned to Shenyang to visit the sick. In six days, Emperor Taiji exhausted six horses. When he arrived outside Shenyang, he received the news that Concubine Chen had died of illness.
According to historical records, Emperor Taiji was extremely mournful, did not eat or drink for six consecutive days and six nights, and was once unconscious in weeping. During the great funeral, some ministers sang a church meeting at home to entertain their colleagues, and were almost executed by the Emperor Taiji. Emperor Taiji's younger brother Azig and a group of others were also convicted of "dancing and singing on strings". In this year, Emperor Taiji was already fifty years old, and soon after, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty died suddenly in the Dongnuan Pavilion of Qingning Palace. "There is no disease on the top, and it collapses while sitting upright." This is the official history book of the Qing Dynasty on the imperial taiji coffin conclusion. It is not difficult to see from this that the tyranny of the Emperor Taiji is not unrelated to the melancholy and sadness, and that an emperor who has pursued a unified world all his life is so affectionate and persistent for a concubine, which is indeed an anomaly in Chinese history.