On the seventh day of the first month of December in the sixth year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1741), Qianlong Zheng and Liu Tongxun, the capital of ZuoDu, were deliberating at the Qianqing Palace, when suddenly the internal attendant came to report that Princess Gulun Chunxi had died of illness. After Qianlong listened, he was distraught, and immediately took Liu Tongxun out of the palace and went straight to the Princess Mansion.
In the Qing Dynasty, it was not uncommon for the emperor to attend the funerals of the ministers, but that was after the funeral was ready to stop, the emperor went to pay tribute. But like Qianlong, it is indeed rare for a princess to run to the princess house just after her death.
Who is this Gulun Chunxi Princess who deserves qianlong's attention? The answer was that this person was the eldest daughter of Kangxi, and qianlong had to call her "Great Aunt". What is even more peculiar is that this princess is not actually Kangxi's biological daughter, but Kangxi's niece, but she was raised to the palace from an early age and was therefore favored.
In this article, the author will share with you the legendary princess of the Qing Dynasty.
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Princess Gulun Chunxi, Kangxi's adopted daughter, "Grand Princess", before talking about this legendary princess, I need to say something about his biological father Ai Xinjue Luo Changning, that is, Shunzhi's fifth son, Kangxi's brother.
In the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty died, and before his death, he summoned Wang Xi, a scholar in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and Ma Leji, a cabinet scholar, into the palace to write a testament, and decided to pass it on to the three brothers Xuan ye, that is, the later Kangxi Emperor.
During his lifetime, the Shunzhi Emperor had been hesitant to choose a crown prince. Shunzhi had always hoped that his favorite concubine Dong Efei would give birth to a prince for him, and then finally his dream came true, but unexpectedly, the fourth prince died just after birth, which made Shunzhi sad. Before Shunzhi died, he even suggested that a cousin should be chosen from among the clan relatives to inherit the throne, but unfortunately he was rejected by Empress Xiaozhuang.
Why did Shunzhi struggle so much in choosing an heir? Because the range he had to choose from was too small.
Before the Shunzhi Emperor died at the age of 24, although he had 8 sons, he had 3 heirs to choose before his death. At that time, the grand prince and the fourth prince were dead and had lost their opportunity. The sixth prince, the seventh prince, and the eighth prince were not yet 1 year old, and they could not see their nature in their infancy, and they were basically excluded from the candidates by Shunzhi.
Therefore, shunzhi can choose between the 9-year-old second prince Fuquan, the 8-year-old third prince Xuan Ye, and the 4-year-old fifth prince ChangNing.
The Qing Dynasty came from the Guanwai ethnic group, and there was no tradition of "standing up for a long time", so the opportunities of the three princes were actually equal, so why did Shunzhi choose Xuan Ye?
According to Tang Ruowang's memoirs, due to the smallpox in the Qing Palace at that time, the mortality rate of smallpox was high, and the third prince Xuan Ye suffered from smallpox and was cured, forming an immunity on his own. Shunzhi decided to choose Xuan Ye as his heir in order to be the future emperor of the Qing Dynasty. In this way, Fuquan and Changning had no connection with the throne.
It should be noted that Kangxi and Yongzheng were in different environments, although Kangxi inherited the throne, but when he succeeded to the throne, his brother Fuquan and younger brother Chang Ning were both children at that time, and there was no dispute between them, so in the process of Kangxi's growth, he had a very good relationship with several brothers.
Kangxi ascended the throne, the four auxiliary ministers were regents, and Ao bai was rising day by day. In order to fight against Aobai, Kangxi had to co-opt his own brothers. For example, in the sixth year of Kangxi, Kangxi's second brother Fuquan had just turned 14 years old, and Kangxi immediately promoted him to the title of Prince of Yu. In the eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, after the removal of Aobai, at kangxi's suggestion, Fuquan and Changning jointly tried Aobai. At that time, although Chang Ning was only a prince, he knew how to safeguard the interests of Kangxi and the Aixin Jueluo family, which made Kangxi very satisfied.
Prince of the Qing Dynasty, generally knighted at the age of 14. When Kangxi was ten years old and ChangNing was 14 years old, Kangxi immediately made Changning the Prince of Heshuogong, which shows that Kangxi had no ill will toward his younger brother.
In the history of the Qing Dynasty, there were two Princes Gong, the one at the end of the Qing Dynasty who was famous, but this one in the early Qing Dynasty was not an incompetent person. Because he was the younger brother of the Kangxi Emperor, he was a person whom Kangxi relied on.
Kangxi was very kind to his younger brother Chang Ning, and this year, Chang Ning's first child was born, a girl, Kangxi was very happy, insisted on taking this niece into the palace for upbringing, and was named Gege, the "Grand Princess".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" > second, born as a daughter, happy to enter the palace</h1>
On October 28 of the tenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Prince Gong of Changning's side Fu Jin clan gave birth to a daughter, and Changning was overjoyed, and when he entered the palace, he still looked happy in front of Kangxi. After Hearing this, Kangxi personally entered Prince Gong's mansion on the day of the full moon to celebrate. Seeing this niece pink makeup is very cute and especially likes it. The next day, Kangxi summoned Chang Ning to the palace, consulted with his brother, and wanted to take his niece into the palace to raise her.
In the Qing Dynasty, it was a great gift for a daughter to grow up in the palace. Therefore, although Chang Ning did not give up, he still promised Kangxi, chose the auspicious day of the zodiac, and personally sent his daughter to the palace.
As we all know, the Kangxi Emperor had many sons and many blessings, he had 35 sons and 20 daughters in his lifetime, so why should he adopt his niece? In fact, there are deep reasons for this, mainly in three aspects:
First, in the tenth year of Kangxi, although Kangxi was already 18 years old, his heirs did not prosper.
From the historical point of view, as of October 28 of the tenth year of Kangxi (1671), Kangxi had a total of 3 sons and 2 daughters, of which the eldest son Chengrui Kangxi was born in the sixth year and died in the eighth year of Kangxi;
The second son, Chenghu, was the concubine of Empress Hesheri, born in the eighth year of Kangxi and died in the eleventh year of Kangxi;
The third son, Chengqing Kangxi, was born in the ninth year, and died in early October of the tenth year of Kangxi;
Kangxi's eldest daughter was born in the seventh year of Kangxi, and Kangxi died in the spring of the tenth year;
The second daughter was born in April of the 10th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, and died in the 12th year of the Kangxi Dynasty.
That is to say, before this little niece entered the palace, although Kangxi already had 5 children, only the second son of the emperor and the second daughter of the emperor were still alive. It was precisely because Kangxi was not prosperous at that time that he had to adopt his niece into the palace.
Two years later, Kangxi's second son and daughter also died. The adopted niece became the only one of Kangxi's early children who were still alive.
Later, when Kangxi reordered his children, he designated his niece as the "Grand Princess" and became kangxi's righteous eldest daughter, not niece. Therefore, although Kangxi had only 20 daughters in his lifetime, it was actually equivalent to having 21.
Second, although Kangxi was already pro-government, he still co-opted Chang Ning and consolidated the feelings of the royal brothers.
A few years after Kangxi got rid of Aobai, Kangxi began to cultivate his own strength, and the situation in the imperial court was instantly renewed. For example, it was at this time that the Pearl of Naran rose to prominence. Similarly, Kangxi also had a lot of intentions for his two elder brothers. Kangxi made his second brother Fuquan a chancellor, and Chang Ning, because he was still young, decided to bring his brothers closer by holding up his children.
Third, Kangxi adopted the "Grand Princess" for another purpose, that is, to prepare for future marriages.
The marriage between the Qing Dynasty and the Mongol tribes began in the Nurhaci era, and the emperor Taiji had 9 daughters married to Mongolia, so the emperor's daughter was the best political resource. Kangxi's heirs were not prosperous, and after the death of his eldest daughter, although he had a second daughter by his side, he decided to adopt a daughter into the palace for the sake of safety.
To sum up, Kangxi's adoption of the "Grand Princess" is actually considered in many ways. However, since Kangxi took the grand princess into the palace, he treated her as his own daughter and did not use the grand princess as a "tool". The Grand Princess was loved by Kangxi and the concubines of the harem in the palace.
After The Grand Princess ascended the throne, the Grand Princess wrote to Yongzheng:
"Beloved by the Holy Lord, I have been made a princess, and I have become extremely noble."
This means that the Kangxi Emperor loved me very much and made me a princess, and I was already very honorable.
The four words "the dignitaries have been extremely important" confirm the treatment of the grand princess in the palace.
In the early years of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Grand Princess was in a transcendent position in the imperial palace, and was highly respected because he was the oldest of Kangxi's many surviving children. Including the crown prince Yinrong, and later the fourth brother Yinchen (Yongzheng Emperor), they were all taken care of many times by the eldest sister, and their impression of the eldest sister was very good.
Most of the princesses of the Qing Dynasty married at the age of 14-16, but because Kangxi loved the grand princess, the grand princess did not leave the palace until she was 20 years old, and before marrying, Kangxi crowned the grand princess as Princess Heshuo Chunxi and gave him a rich dowry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="75" > third and third generations, respected by two generations</h1>
The grand princess's horse was the Mongolian Korqin tribe Taiji, named Borjigit Bundi, who was the mother of Empress Xiaozhuang. Bandi was the grandson of the Mongol King, and was appointed minister of the interior and governor of the capital. This man was a pony chosen by Kangxi.
In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, shortly after the eldest princess was newly married, Kangxi personally enlisted Gardan, so he handpicked Ban Di to accompany the army, at that time, Kangxi presided over the Chinese army, the left road marshal was Kangxi's brother Fuquan, the right road marshal was Kangxi's brother Chang Ning, Kangxi deliberately put Ban Di on the right road, on the one hand, for the purpose of inspecting Ban Di, on the other hand, it was also considered to let him be under Chang Ning's command, so as to facilitate the military merits.
After The death of Kangxi, Yongzheng ascended the throne and decreed that the Grand Princess should be crowned Princess Gulun Chunxi, and when he heard that the eldest sister was not in good health, Yongzheng sent someone to send her medicine several times.
It should be known that in the Qing Dynasty, the empress's concubines deserved to have the title of "Gulun", and the daughters of other concubines could only be crowned "Heshuo" at most. Yongzheng insisted on making the eldest sister Princess Gulun Chunxi, which shows that he is grateful and respectful to this elder sister.
In the fourth year of Yongzheng, the donkey Who had been with the Grand Princess for 35 years died, and the Eldest Princess's son died of illness in the army soon after. The eldest princess was old and sick, and had no one to rely on, so she wrote to Yongzheng, hoping to move to the capital with her daughter-in-law and treat her illness by the way. After Yongzheng heard about it, he immediately sent someone to the Horqin Grassland to pick up the eldest sister and return. This year, the Grand Princess was 55 years old.
Before returning to Beijing, the eldest princess gave Yongzheng a song and said:
And after I fell ill, I was repeatedly healed by grace and grace, and now I am getting better... I am also old, but the daughter-in-law of my beloved son has no rank, and I respectfully ask the Lord to give grace to my daughter-in-law. For that reason.
This means that after I fell ill, I thanked the imperial court for repeatedly giving me medicine and medicine, and now my health is much better. I am now nearly a year old, a life of glory and favor, I have no desires and no demands, the only regret is that my daughter-in-law has served me for many years, she has not been half sealed, and I implore Your Majesty to give my daughter-in-law a title of "Gege", and it is not worthwhile for her to accompany me for so many years.
Yongzheng was already grateful to this big sister, and after seeing the recital, he immediately waved a big stroke:
Since the princess played please, the reward was Gushan Gege, and the ministry knew.
This means that since the eldest sister has opened your mouth, I will immediately appoint your daughter-in-law as Gushan Gege and let the ceremonial department handle it as soon as possible.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were four kinds of Gege, the first was the daughter of the prince, called "Heshuo Gege"; the second was the daughter of the king of the county, called "Dorogge", the third was the daughter of Belle and Beizi, called "Gushan Brother", and the last was the daughter of other clans, which was called "Gege". Yongzheng sealed the daughter-in-law of the eldest princess as "Gushan Gege", in fact, it still depends on the face of the eldest princess.
The eldest princess lived in the capital for 15 years, and every Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Yongzheng did not forget the Long Princess Mansion when rewarding the clan room. Although the eldest princess lived in a shallow place, she had a high prestige among the female relatives of the clan.
After Qianlong ascended the throne, if according to the etiquette of the former Ming Dynasty, the grand princess should be called "the eldest princess". Because the eldest princess was the eldest daughter of Kangxi, she was old and had a good generation, and Qianlong admired the Kangxi Emperor very much, so Qianlong had more respect for this great aunt and sent people to reward her many times. Every year at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Qianlong will invite the Grand Princess to attend, but the Grand Princess is a widow, unwilling to attend such an occasion, Qianlong is not embarrassed.
In December of the sixth year of Qianlong, Qianlong heard that the grand princess had died, and was very sad, and took Liu Tongxun to the princess mansion. Considering that the princess family was weak, Qianlong immediately ordered Liu Tongxun to stay and help with the funeral.
Princess Gulun Chunxi was born in the tenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty and died in the sixth year of Qianlong at the age of 71, she was one of the few long-lived princesses of the Qing Dynasty. Although she was not kangxi's biological daughter, she was favored by the three generations of kang yongqian emperors, an opportunity unique to the Qing Dynasty.
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Du Fu once had a poem: "Life does not meet, and movement is like participating in business." ”
Although Princess Gulun Chunxi was not Kangxi's biological daughter, his father Chang Ning and Kangxi did not have a dispute over concubines, so Kangxi raised her into the palace and loved her like a treasure, which was her first luck. Yongzheng treated him like the eldest sister and allowed him to enter the capital when she was lonely, which was her second luck. After Qianlong ascended the throne, he regarded her as an elder, which was her third luck. Throughout his life, kangxi's "grand princesses" were extremely lucky people.
However, the author believes that Princess Gulun Chunxi was fortunate not only because she was raised by Kangxi since she was a child, but also because she was born in an era of relative peace and national strength. In China's two-thousand-year feudal society, there are so many "princesses" in the harem, some of them are short-lived princesses, and there are also princesses of the fallen country. But one thing is certain, all the court women who can enjoy an era are mostly stained with the light of the environment.
The author has never advocated feudal ideas, but we can stand on the long river of history and look back. Taking history as a mirror, have we not encountered a new era of peace and rejuvenation today? Then, as a new woman in the new era, we need to cherish the opportunities given to us by the times, work hard, live up to Shaohua, and bloom the style of women in the new era with enthusiasm and passion.
The harder we work, the luckier we are, so we will find that each of us is the "grand princess" of today's society, and each of us is a lucky person.