Due to the Qing Dynasty's concubine selection system, it was often the case in the court that the concubines were from the same family or relatives. Today I would like to introduce you to several pairs of sister flowers in the harem of the Qing Dynasty. The sister flowers in this article are limited to half-siblings, and cousins and cousins are not among them. The second pair of sister flowers: Empress Xiaohuizhang and Concubine Shuhui of the Qing Dynasty.
Stills from "Young Heavenly Son", Empress Xiaohuizhang
Empress Xiaohuizhang of the Borjigit clan, known as AlatanQiqige, was the second empress of the Shunzhi Emperor, the daughter of the Duke of Horqin, the niece of Empress Xiaozhuangwen, and the niece of the Qing Dynasty's deposed Houtang, who was known as "Empress Xiaohui Renxian Duan Yi Ci Shu Gong An Chun De Shun Tianyi Shengzhang Empress".
Shunzhi's first empress was his cousin, empress Xiaozhuangwen's niece. Probably because of the discord, probably because the marriage was decided by the regent Dorgon, in short, Shunzhi did not like the cousin empress and decided to depose her. Although the ministers vigorously opposed it, in the tenth year of Shunzhi, Shunzhi issued an edict to demote the empress to a concubine and live in the side palace. However, the Newly Entered Manchu Qing Dynasty still needed the support of the Mongol nobles, and the Horqin Ministry was an important ally, so a Mongol empress was deposed, and Shunzhi could only marry another Mongol empress. In the eleventh year of Shunzhi, she hired the duke of Horqin Town, Erji, as a concubine, and in the same year she was made empress, which was Empress Xiaohui, and her own sister was also known as Shunzhi's concubine, that is, Shuhui Concubine. After remarrying the daughter of the Horqin tribe, it is obvious that Shunzhi had to succumb to political needs, not to mention that in the thirteenth year of Shunzhi, Shunzhi's true love, the famous Concubine Dong E, entered the palace, and Shunzhi once wanted to depose the empress, although in the end, it can also be seen from it that Shunzhi has no feelings for Xiaohui, the cousin empress. The husband did not love, and there were no biological children, and there was a more honorable mother-in-law in the harem, Empress Xiaozhuang, and the empress Xiaohui could be said to have done a very humiliating job.
In the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, the imperial concubine Dong Eshi died and was posthumously honored as Empress Xiaoxian, and the Shunzhi Emperor died in the eighteenth year of Shunzhi. Before the age of 20, Hyo-hye lost her husband and became one of the many widows in the Forbidden City. The newly succeeded Kangxi Emperor honored his grandmother Empress Zhaosheng as Empress Dowager Zhaosheng and was called Empress Dowager Zhaosheng. His mother was empress dowager, empress dowager, empress dowager. In the Forbidden City, there appeared two palaces and empresses, and there was a special scene of the empress dowager. Perhaps for Xiao Hui, there is no difference between being an empress and being an empress, both living a life of gold and jade, both without love and children, and both are symbols of family glory.
In the twenty-sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Empress Dowager Zhaosheng (Empress Xiaozhuangwen) died. For Kangxi, who lost his father at the age of eight and lost his mother at the age of ten, Xiaozhuang was the closest female elder who loved him the most. For Xiao Hui, Xiao Zhuang is his mother-in-law and aunt, who has been sheltering his existence in the harem. According to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", "In the first month of the fifteenth year, the empress dowager did not hesitate, and after the superior responsibility, the etiquette was neglected, and the order should be stopped and entered the central palace note table, and the kings, baylors, and ministers discussed the action." In March, according to the will of the empress dowager, as in the old system" to enter", that is, without the obstruction of Xiaozhuang, Xiaohui would follow in the footsteps of his cousin and become a deposed queen. Xiaozhuang's death was a big blow to Kangxi and Xiaohui. "The empress dowager's mother and son mourned, Empress Renxian wept and could not get up, and Kangxi also cut her braids and mourned to show filial piety." Probably because they also lost the same close relative, because of the same desire for affection, Kangxi and Xiaohui, the titular mother and son, gradually became closer.
In the twenty-eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Ningshou Palace was completed, and the Kangxi Emperor led the kings and ministers to invite the empress dowager to live. In the thirty-fifth year, Kangxi toured the north and sent people to send dried fruits and local specialties to Empress Xiaohui to taste; in the thirty-seventh year, Kangxi personally served the emperor and empress dowager Xiaohui out of the patrol, and Xiaohui returned to the Horqin grassland where he was born, and then went to Shengjing to worship his ancestors; in the thirty-eighth year, on the southern tour, Kangxi Fengrenxian was accompanied by Empress Dowager Renxian. On the seventieth birthday of Filial Piety, Kangxi danced the Manchu python dance in front of the throne of the empress dowager with the beat of music, which is rare in the history of Thousands of years of feudal emperors in China as an emperor dancing for his mother-in-law. In addition, Kangxi also entrusted the fifth son of the emperor, Yin Qi, to be raised by Xiao Hui.
In the fifty-sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Xiao Hui was seriously ill. It was the age, the spring and autumn sixty four, Fang had a disease, dizzy and swollen feet, smelled the empress dowager's illness, and held the empress dowager's hand: "Mother Queen, the subject is here!" "The empress dowager opened her eyes, feared the light, and even wrapped her feet in pa, multiplied by her hands, looked up, held her hands, and could no longer speak. Shangli disease, in the Cangzhen Gate to support the residence. Cheng, Empress Dowager, seventy-seven years old. Congratulations on the top. (Draft history of the Qing Dynasty). When Xiao Hui died, Kangxi was very sad and lamented, "At this time, there are only those who honor and respect each other, and there are no people who love and sympathize with those who have fallen." In the fifty-seventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty, according to the custom, it was necessary to elevate the tablet of Empress Xiaohuizhang to the Taimiao Temple. Officials of the Ministry of Rites placed the tablet of Empress Xiaohuizhang behind Empress Xiaokangzhang (Kangxi's biological mother). Unexpectedly, when Kangxi saw it, he was furious and immediately asked the officials of the Ministry of Ceremonies to correct it, placing the tablet of Empress Xiaohuizhang in front of her birth mother, Empress Xiaokangzhang. Kangxi's move can be said to be that as an emperor, he wanted to maintain the etiquette of feudal society and the difference between concubines, but it cannot be denied that Kangxi truly respected Xiaohui's mother. It can be said that Xiaohui and Kangxi are the models of feudal dynasties, emperors and concubines.
The treasure of Empress Xiaohuizhang
Jade Filial Piety Zhang's Treasure Seal Face
Princess Shuhui (淑惠妃), of the Borjigit clan, was a concubine of the Qing Dynasty and the younger sister of Empress Xiaohuizhang. In the eleventh year of Shunzhi, he entered the palace with his sister Empress Xiaohuizhang as Fujin. Because the harem system in the early qing dynasty at that time was not complete, the harem of Shunzhi was often hou, concubine, and Fu Jin with various titles, which was somewhat chaotic. Not long after, her sister was crowned empress, and as a younger sister, she was all Fujin in the Shunzhi dynasty. Like her sister Empress Xiaohuizhang, Princess Shuhui was not welcomed by her husband Shunzhi and had no biological children. The sister was at least still an empress, and was later honored as the empress dowager, leaving many records in the history books. As a sister who entered the palace together, Shuhuifei was not honored by Kangxi until the twelfth year of Kangxi, "Imperial Examination Shuhui Concubine", the ceremony is the same as the eighteenth year of Shunzhi to honor the Qing Taizu Concubine, and in the history books, what is the name of Shuhuifei, there is no exact record, to know that in the later Jin and early years of the Qing Dynasty, important concubines, such as Xiaozhuang and others are clearly recorded in the history books. I don't know if Princess Shuhui ever lamented the injustice of fate when she was alive. However, it is gratifying that Kangxi entrusted his seventeenth son, Yin Li, to Be raised by Concubine Shuhui. The relationship between the two grandsons was very good, according to the Yunli poems recorded in the "Jingyuan Zhai Poetry Collection", Yin Li, the Prince of Heshuo Guoyi, recalled that every Mid-Yuan Festival, he was ordered to sacrifice xiao Dongling, and had to worship in front of the tomb of Concubine Shuhui to make up for the hatred that had not been raised in the past. Although he was young and widowed, he was accompanied by his sister in the palace, living a carefree life of food and clothing, and had the grandson of Yin Li, who was lucky compared to many women of the same era.