The Manchus and the Qing Dynasty 16451911

1
The Manchus and the Qing Dynasty (1645-1911)

• Barfield, Thomas, The Perilous Frontier, Ch. 7,
  "Steppe Wolves and Forest Tigers," pp.  250-294
  OR
• Holmgren, Jennifer, Marriage, Kinship and Power
  in Northern China Holmgren, Jennifer.
  Observations on Marriage and Inheritance
  Practices in Early Mongol and Yuan Society, with
  particular reference to the Levirate. pp127-192.
  OR
• Pamela Crossley, Thinking about Ethnicity in
  Early Modern China, Late Imperial China 11.1
  (1990)
• Rawski, Evelyn S., Imperial Women in The Last
  Emperors, pp. 127-159 OR
• Lee, Lily Xiao and Stefanowska, A.D.,
  Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women The
  Qing Period, 1644-1911.

2
The Manchus and the Qing Dynasty (1645-1911)

• Introduction
• The Rise of the Manchus
• End of the Ming Dynasty
• The Qing Dynasty
• Succession
• Marriage Patterns
• Manchu Women
• Imperial Women
• The End of the Qing
• References Imperial consorts

3
Introduction

• The Ming tried to control the Mongols and the
  Jurchen by giving them honorary titles and trade
  agreements but refused to give in to all of their
  demands.
• The Ming was especially nervous about the Mongols
  whom they feared might return to China and so
  would rather fight them than compromise.
• This led to constant warfare weakening both the
  Ming and the Mongols.
• In the meantime, the Jurchen/Manchu tribes began
  to unite and form a frontier state.
• The Ming dynastys policy was to keep the
  Jurchens divided by supporting different tribes.
• As the Ming and the Mongols weakened the Jurchen
  became stronger.

4
Introduction (2)

• The Jurchen lived in Helongjiang and Jilin.
• They had ruled Northern China under the dynastic
  name of Jin ? Gold (1122-1234 ).
• After their defeat by the Mongols they had
  returned to their homeland.
• The Jurchen began known as the Manchu as Nurhaci,
  founder of the Manchu state, formally adopted the
  name Manchu for his people (1635) -- the use of
  Manchu might date back to 1605.
• Nurhacis son and successor, Huang Taiji ???
  (r.1626-1643) , forbade the use of Jurchen.

5
The rise of the Manchus

• Nurhaci ???? (1559-1626), founder of the Manchu
  state, was the son of a noble family in
  present-day North Korea.
• He had been a hostage in the household of the
  Ming general in charge of peace and relations
  with the Jurchen and was educated in the
  Confucian classics.
• When young, he traveled to Beijing to pay homage
  to the Ming rulers, to trade, and to receive
  honorary titles in return for helping them
  against the Japanese in Korea.

6
The Rise of Manchus (2)

• Nurhaci father was killed in one of the many wars
  between the Jurchen tribes.
• In 1558, he vowed to avenge his fathers death
  and succeeded in killing the Chinese-supported
  tribal chief who had led in the killing of his
  father.
• Early Manchu history, under Nurhaci, can be
  divided into
• Tribal phase, until 1619 when he tried to control
  and unite the tribes using traditional methods
  such as marriage alliances and the Chinese
  tributary system.
• Border conquest phase until his death (1626) when
  he was continuing to unite the tribes and, at the
  same time, incorporating Chinese territory.

7
The Rise of the Manchus (3)

• Nurhaci broke off from the Ming and declared
  himself Emperor of the Later Jin (1609) saying
  that the Ming had attacked and humiliated members
  of his family and had tried to wreck his economic
  base.
• During the next 10 years, he increased his power
  by dominating neighboring Jurchen and Mongol
  tribes or by allying with them through marriage.
• He established a dual system of government
• The Jurchens treated the Chinese as servants.
• Chinese and Mongols were forbidden to bear arms
  but Jurchens were obliged to do so.
• Separate quarters for Jurchens were set up in
  towns.
• In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself the ruler of a
  second Jin (Gold) dynasty.

8
The Rise of the Manchu (4)

• Nurhaci had organized his troops and their
  families into 8 banners -- large civil-military
  units that replaced the small hunting groups and
  became administrative units for registration,
  conscription, and taxation.
• By 1642, Huang Taiji had added 8 Mongol and 8
  Chinese banners (for those who came over to the
  Manchus, in, or before 1644).
• The conquest of China was achieved by these 24
  banner forces (less than 16 of the soldiers
  (1648) were of Manchu origin).
• Qing Flag 1862-1890
• Qing Flag 1890-1911/12

9
The Rise of the Manchus (5)

• Huang Taiji, who succeeded Nurhaci, continued the
  expansion of Manchuria, pushing deeper into
  Mongolia and raiding Korea and Ming China.
• As emperor of the Manchu state, Huang Taiji
  consolidated the empire and laid the groundwork
  for the conquest of the Ming.
• In 1639, Huang Taiji declared a Qing dynasty.
• He did not live to see the conquest of China.
• The Manchus entered Beijing (1644) and conquered
  all of China (1660).

10
The Rise of the Manchus (6)

• As emperor of the Manchus, Huang Taiji, reduced
  the power of the other four banner leaders
• one was disgraced and imprisoned and another was
  posthumously denounced for treason.
• He centralized power to create a true imperial
  government in which the tribes were subordinate
  to the dynasty by
• Removing the other senior leaders of the banners
• Reducing banner autonomy
• Creating additional banners and attached three
  Mongolian banners and a Chinese one directly to
  the imperial government.
• Increasing the number and authority of the
  Chinese bureaucracy

11
The End of the Ming

• The Ming dynasty faced increasingly difficulties
  on the frontier and had to collect higher taxes
  to finance government operation.
• There were peasant rebellions that they could
  not control.
• Li Zicheng ??? , the leader of the most powerful
  rebel armies entered Beijing and declared a new
  dynasty (1644).
• He led an army of 60,000 to confront Wu Sangui
  ??? the general guarding Shanhaiguan (???).
• Wu, caught between Li and the Manchus, decided to
  ally with the Dorgon, regent to the six-year old
  emperor Wu later revolted against the Qing and
  tried to establish his own dynasty but died the
  same year.
• The last Ming loyalists battled for another
  seventeen years.
• The Ming Dynasty officially came to an end when
  the last Ming emperor hung himself.

12
Qing Dynasty

• The Qing Dynasty is considered the most
  successful of all conquest dynasties its
  boundaries are those of todays China.
• The conquest of the Ming was accomplished by a
  multi-ethnic force so it was important for the
  Qing to bind them to the central government.
• Early Qing rulers claimed both Manchu and Mongol
  descent by intermarriage with the Mongols --
  especially with the descendants of Genghis Khan.
• They organized the tribes in southern Mongolia
  and incorporating them into the banner system.
• The old tribes became the new banners and
  established Mongol leaders received positions of
  rank in the Qing administration leading their own
  people.
• They appeared as protectors of the Mongol princes
  against those who might eliminate them.

13
Qing Dynasty (2)

• Qing rulers focused on preserving their lineage
  and culture.
• As rulers of multiple peoples they promoted the
  cultures of their subjects.
• Most Qing rulers were multilingual they studied
  Mongolian, Manchu and Chinese. Some even learned
  Tibetan and Uighur.
• Like all non-Han rulers, they incorporated
  Han-type bureaucracies but at the same time they
  changed the Chinese model to suit their own
  circumstances.
• They concentrated on controlling an empire with
  different races across Inner and East Asia.
• Different laws applied to different peoples and
  officials were recruited from different groups.
• All resisted Sinicization and developed their own
  written languages.

14
Qing Dynasty (3)

• As a non-Han dynasty, Qing adopted ideas of
  ruler-ship from the cultures of their subject
  peoples.
• The Qing emperor was also referred to as the
  Great Khan.
• He was identified as the ruler of five peoples
  Manchus, Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs and Chinese.
• These five languages were accepted as the
  official languages.
• Qing gave special privileges to the banner nobles
  and imperial kinsmen who formed boards that were
  above the Han Chinese bureaucracy.
• The eunuchs were supervised by bond servants from
  the banner companies.
• Qings success, in empire building, is due to
  both its sinicization and its ability to
  understand the different cultures and peoples
  under its empire and to administer them
  appropriately.

15
Qing Dynasty (3)

• The Qing tried to change Han society by requiring
  the people to adopt a Manchu hairstyle.
• They passed a law forbidding the footbinding of
  women but it was not effective and the law had to
  be repealed three years alter.
• At the same time, the Qing presented the picture
  of a Chinese Confucian rulership.
• The Confucian classics were used in civil service
  examinations.
• The rulers patronized Chinese art and literature.
• Manchu marriage practices were changed from
  levirate to serial monogamy with concubinage.
• Funeral practices were changed from cremation to
  burial.
• Filial piety was raised to new heights.

16
Succession

• The tribal custom of the Manchus used to be rule
  by council.
• Family and tribal leadership were determined by
  merit.
• Brothers as well as sons were permitted to
  succeed as ruler.
• They shifted to one-man rule and father-son
  succession during the late 17th and early 18th
  centuries.
• Competition over the succession was fierce in the
  17th century.
• Of the 11 Manchu emperors who ruled from 1644 to
  1911 only one (the Daoguang ?? emperor, son of
  Jiaqing ?? emperor) was actually the son of an
  empress. (They did not adopt the customs of the
  Ming with the empresss first son as heir while
  he was still a child).
• The birth mothers of Yongzheng ?? , Qianlong ?? ,
  Jiaqing ?? emperors came from lowly servant
  backgrounds.

17
Succession (2)

• The succession issue was first raised in 1622
  when Nurhacis sons asked their father whom he
  had chosen to succeed him.
• Nurhaci said that naming a successor would give
  that person added power which he might abuse.
• He suggested that the eight banner lords select
  from amongst their group the one with the most
  talent and the greatest ability to lead and make
  him khan.
• Authority would be shared by the four senior
  banner leaders, three of his sons and his nephew.
  
• When Nurhaci died in 1626, the immediate danger
  was the prospect of a division of the territory
  so that each banner leader could become an
  independent ruler.

18
Succession (3)

• Nurhacis will provided that each of his three
  sons by Abaha his third empress Dorgon, Dodo,
  and Aige receive a banner.
• There were also rumors that Nurhaci had named
  Dodo as heir.
• The senior sons were afraid that the three sons
  of the empress, together with the mother, would
  dominate the government.
• They forced the empress to commit suicide by
  being buried with Nurhaci and gave banners only
  to Dorgon and Dodo.
• The youngest son, Aige, was denied a banner
  because of his youth.
• During the struggles over succession, the eighth
  son, Huang Taiji seized authority.
• Huang Taiji took the extra banner for himself
  then asked the eldest and most powerful of
  Nurhacis son to lead the banner leaders in
  electing him.

19
Succession (4)

• Huang Taijis death started another succession
  crisis.
• Banner nobles and officials met to elect his
  successor.
• The large number of Nurhacis sons made lateral
  succession a possibility.
• Huang Taijis eldest son, Hoage, was a major
  contender.
• Hoage was supported by Chinese officials who
  recognized only lineal succession.
• The struggle was along banner lines but both
  candidates had equal numbers of banners.
• Rival claims of lateral and lineal succession
  split the Manchu elite.

20
Succession (5)

• A compromise was worked out in which the 5-year
  old son of Huang Taiji, Fulin (Emperor Shunzi ??
  1643-1661), was named emperor with Dorgon
  (1612-50) as a co-regent.
• Dorgon was Nurhacis 14th son, he had a forceful
  personality and was a great military leader.
• Dorgon consolidated his personal power and
  removed his co-regent in 1647 on charges of
  usurping imperial prerogatives.
• Dorgon ruled as regent from 1644 until his death
  on a hunting trip in 1650.
• He received the posthumous rank of Emperor.
• Shenzhi had disliked Dorgon so when he was 12 he
  stripped him of his titles.
• Dorgon was rehabilitated during the reigns of
  Kangxi and Qianlong.

21
Succession (6)

• Shunzhi died of smallpox in his twenties but had
  designated as heir, a younger son, Kangxi ??,
  (r.1661-1722), as the young boy already had
  smallpox.
• Shunzhis designation of an heir had broken with
  the tradition of election.
• Shunzhi had selected four regents as Kangxi was
  not yet 7, so the power was in the hands of the
  Grand Empress Dowager and the four regents.
• None of the regents were members of the imperial
  lineage one of the regents died soon after his
  granddaughter was made empress and the other two
  fought with each other.

22
Succession (7)

• The fourth regent, Oboi, soon took over and
  became as powerful as Dorgon used to be.
• Instead of centralizing power under the emperor,
  Oboi tried to preserve and increase the powers of
  the Manchu banner elite under the pretense of
  returning to traditional Manchu customs.
• In 1669, with the help of his grandmother, the
  Grand Empress Dowager, Kangxi was able to arrest
  Oboi, and take control of the country.
• Kangxi is known as one of the greatest emperors
  in Chinese history.
• His reign of 61 years makes him the
  longest-reigning Emperor of China.

23
Succession (8)

• The Kangxi emperor installed his first son by the
  empress as heir but found him unfit for office
  and demoted him.
• A fierce power struggle began among the other
  sons for the position as heir-apparent and Kangxi
  said, at my deathbed some of you will fight each
  other for the throne, swinging your swords over
  my corpse!
• The fourth son announced that he was his fathers
  dying choice and declared himself emperor,
  Yongzheng.
• He then arrested those brothers whom he
  suspected.
• As emperor, he announced that he had put the name
  of his successor in a sealed box to be opened
  upon his death.

24
Succession (9)

• The rejection of the eldest-son succession
  principle, and the secret naming of the heir
  resulted in succession struggles.
• This was made worse by the fact that the heir
  would only be named at the death of the emperor
  death or afterwards.
• The contest for succession divided brother from
  brother, with the victor exterminating his
  rivals.
• Although the emperor could only have one empress
  at a time, there could be a number of empress
  dowagers as the first act of an emperor was to
  name his birth mother as empress dowager.

25
Marriage Patterns

• Manchu marriages with Mongol nobles increased as
  the Qing armies expanded into central Asia in the
  late 17C and early 18C.
• 25 of empresses, 16 of princes wives, and 55
  of princesses spouses were Mongol.
• The favored marriage partners among the Manchu
  clans were those who had allied themselves with
  Nurhacis lineage.
• Empresses and principal wives of princes and
  husbands of princesses came from a small number
  of favored houses.
• Of the 641 Manchu clans, only 31 were favored
  with marriage.
• The number of empresses and concubines, important
  enough to have biographies, ranged from Kangxi
  with 40 to Guangxu with only 3.

26
Marriage Patterns (2)

• For political purposes, the early Manchurian
  emperors took wives descended from the Mongol
  Great Khans, so that their descendants would also
  be seen as legitimate heirs of the Mongolian Yuan
  dynasty.
• The imperial family only married with banner
  families.
• All Manchus, not only the imperial family, were
  forbidden to marry Han Chinese who were not in
  the Eight Banners anyone who disobeyed would be
  punished and any offsprings expelled from the
  lineage.
• Han Chinese, not in the banners, were taken as
  concubines.
• As the heir was not designated until after the
  emperors death, it weakened the position of the
  empress and reduced differences between the wife
  and the concubines.

27
Marriage Patterns (3)

• The recruitment of women into the palace was done
  every three years through drafting of daughters
  of officials in the banners.
• With the exception of specific individuals, every
  eligible girl had to appear in Beijing for the
  recruitment before her marriage, beginning from
  the age of 13 to 14 sui.
• After 1653 young girls between 13-14 had to be
  presented to the palace in Peking before they
  could be betrothed.
• Some were immediately chosen to be wives or
  consorts for the princes or the emperor others
  served in the palace for a five-year term.
• Those who caught the emperors eye would be
  promoted into the harem.
• Women selected through a separate draft for
  palace maids might be promoted into the harem.
• 16 of imperial consorts were originally palace
  maids.

28
Manchu Women

• Manchu women had greater freedom and authority.
• They were forbidden to bind their feet and walked
  in public places, rode horses, practiced archery
  and participated in hunts.
• Women were occasionally active on the
  battlefield a few were even named banner
  lieutenant during the conquest.
• They held key roles in religious performances at
  court.
• Princess Hexiaoyoungest daughter of Qianlong
  dressed in mans clothing, practiced archery and
  accompanied her father on hunts killing a deer
  on at least one occasion.
• The proud emperor was recorded as saying that if
  she had been a boy he would have made her heir.
• Manchu and Mongol nobles of both sexes had the
  right to divorce.

29
Imperial Women

• Palace regulations made it almost impossible for
  an imperial consort to remain close to her natal
  kin.
• Visits home were rare and demanded that her
  parents and grandparents kneel before her.
• Imperial permission was needed for meetings with
  parents when a woman was pregnant or when her
  parents were elderly.
• Special permission was needed for them to send
  servants to their family homes.
• They were forbidden to give or receive anything
  from family members.
• Their families could not give gifts to other
  palace women.
• Motherhood usually brought promotion but the
  title of empress was usually conferred on her by
  the son after he becomes emperor.

30
Imperial Women (2)

• The influence of imperial women was feared by the
  Manchus.
• In the struggle for power, Nurhacis senior
  widow, Abahai, may have been forced to commit
  suicide and be buried with her husband because
  they feared she might exert influence in favor of
  her sons, Dorgon and Dodo who were candidates for
  the khanate.
• Huang Taijis mother was dead by the time he
  became the leader of the Manchus and there was no
  strong maternal influence during his rule.
• The mother of Yongzhen emperor was separated from
  her son, soon after his birth, so Yongzhen was
  raised by another imperial woman (d.1689) who was
  of noble ancestry and whose only daughter had
  died.
• Yongzhen was very close to his foster mother.

31
Imperial Women (3)

• The women who survived the power struggles became
  very influential
• After the death of Huang Taiji (1643), the mother
  of the infant (Fulin), Bumbutai, who was
  descended from Genghis khan became very
  important.
• Bumbutai, as ED, worked closely with the regent,
  Dorgon, her brother-in-law some speculate that
  she actually married him.
• She brought up her grandson, the future Kangxi
  emperor, and helped him get rid of the regent,
  Oboi, and rule in his own right.
• She allied herself with prominent Manchu nobles
  who were not imperial kinsmen but had been active
  in the conquest.
• Her political role during her sons infancy and
  the regency of her grandson could be compared
  with that of Empress Dowager Cixi who dominated
  the last 50 years of the dynasty.

32
Imperial Women (4)

• Two regents, Cian (1837-1881) and Cixi
  (1835-1908), dominated the final years of the
  Qing.
• Cian was the daughter of a Duke and was the
  empress of Xianfeng emperor (r.1850-1861).
• She was named empress at the age of 16 but she
  had no sons and the 6 year-old son of a concubine
  (Cixi) succeeded to the throne as Emperor Tongzhi
  (1856-1875).
• Both Cian and Cixi were named EDs and ruled as
  regents together with Xianfengs half-brothers
  Prince Gong and Chun.
• As ED, Cixi was de facto ruler during the last
  years of the Qing dynasty.

33
The End of the Qing

• The two Opium wars with the West (1839-1842)
  (1856-1860), the internal rebellions such as the
  Taiping ?? Rebellion (1851-1864) and the Boxer
  Uprising from (1899-1901) made the Qing weak
  politically and economically.
• By 1908, both Cixi and Emperor Guangxu both died
  leaving a powerless and unstable central
  authority.
• Puyi was named emperor at the age of two the day
  before the deaths of Cixi and Guangxu.
• His father was regent and ruled together with an
  "Imperial Family Cabinet a ruling council of
  the Imperial Government almost entirely
  consisting of relatives of Puyis lineage.

34
The End of the Qing (2)

• With permission from Empress Dowager Longyu (wife
  of Emperor Gungxu and niece of ED Cixi),
  negotiations were held with the rebels led by Sun
  Yatsen.
• Empress Dowager Longyu issued the edict
  abdicating the child emperor Puyi.
• In 1931, the Japanese created a puppet state
  named Manchuguo with Puyi as emperor.
• By this time Manchuria was overwhelmingly Han
  Chinese, and even among the Manchus, this project
  failed to generate much genuine interest.
• Manchuguo was abolished at the end of World War
  II and the land was given back to China.

35
The End of the Qing (3)

• The reasons for the decline and fall of the Qing
  were different from those that brought down the
  earlier dynasties.
• Externally, Qing China was drawn into modern
  world politics by the West whose culture was in
  many ways equal to hers and whose technology was
  superior.
• Internally, the population explosion created a
  new set of social and economic problems which the
  Qing was unable to cope.
• The feeling of nationalism and the development of
  a Han identity by the majority population,
  influenced by western thought made it impossible
  to accept a foreign conquest dynasty Manchu --
  to rule China.

36
Ethnicity and Women in Alien dynasties

• Holcombe, Charles, The Genesis of East Asia,
  221BC-907AD, The Sinicization of China, pp
  18-173 OR
• Ebrey, Women and the Family in Chinese History,
  pp 165-176
• Rawski, Evelyn S., Reenvisioning the Qing,
  Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 55, No. 4, Nov.,
  1996, 829-850 OR
• Ho, Ping-ti, In Defense of Sinicization,
  Journal of Asian Studies, 57.1, 1998, pp.
  123-155 OR
• Imperial marriage in the Native Chinese and
  non-Han State, Han to Ming in Holmgren,
  Jennifer, Marriage, Kinship and Power in Northern
  China OR
• Same Chapter in Watson, Rubie S. Ebrey,
  Patricia Buckley, ed., Marriage and Inequality in
  Chinese Societies, pp 58-90.

37
Nurhacis Consorts Jifei (d.1620) of the Fuca
Clan

• Jifei (d.1620) was the second consort but since
  Nurhacis first wife had died, Jifei was his
  principal wife.
• She had been married once before and already had
  a son.
• She gave Nurhaci 2 sons and 1 daughter.
• She was sentenced to commit suicide in 1620 for
  having stolen money but Nurhaci delayed the
  sentence as he could not bear to have his
  children lose their mother.
• However, her own son executed her and was later
  accused by his father for being so ruthless as to
  kill his own mother.
• This son was eventually executed by his half
  brother, Huang Taiji, after he and his brother
  were accused of planning a coup.
• Huang Taiji destroyed their graves, confiscated
  their properties and removed their names from the
  imperial registers.
• Huang Taijis grandson, Emperor Kangxi ??,
  restored their descendants to the imperial
  registries but ordered that they wear only red
  sashes while other imperial lineages wore yellow.

38
Dafei of the Nara Clan

• Dafei Abahai (1590-1629) was given to Nurhaci by
  her uncle at the age of 11 as concubine.
• She was Nurhacis third empress after the death
  his two previous empresses.
• She had 3 sons Ajige, Dorgon, and Dodo.
• When Nurhacis 8th son, Huang Taiji, became the
  ruler, Dafei was reduced to the rank of
  concubine.
• Dafei may have been forced to commit suicide by
  being buried alive with Nurhaci after his death
  so that she could not help her sons gain more
  power.
• Huang Taiji gave his mother the posthumous title
  of ED.

39
Empress Xiao Cigao of the Nara Clan

• She was Nurhacis concubine and the mother of
  Huang Taiji who succeeded his father in 1626.
• Her father used her to form a marriage alliance
  with Nurhaci who was rising as a young leader.
• By the time she reached the marriageable age of
  14, her father had been killed and she was taken
  to Nurhaci by her brother.
• Nurhaci took this alliance very seriously and met
  her together with his sons, younger brothers and
  followers.
• She died in 1603 and Nurhaci ordered 4 maids to
  be buried alive with her and killed 100 cows and
  horses in sacrifice.
• He fasted for over 100 days in mourning.
• When her son became emperor, he moved his
  mothers coffin to be buried it with his fathers
  and gave her the title of Empress Dowager and
  downgraded the previous empress to concubine
  status.

40
Huang Taijis Consorts Empress Xiao Duanwen of
the Borjigit Clan

• The Borjigit clan were the descendants of the
  Yuan royal family.
• The first marriage alliance between the clan and
  Nurhacis royal family was when her aunt, Jere,
  married Nurhaci.
• Two years later, at the age of 15, Empress Xiao
  Duanwen was married to Nurhacis 8th son, Huang
  Taiji.
• She gave birth to 3 daughters and died at the age
  of 51 (1649).
• Later, both she and her niece became Huang
  Taijis empresses.
• Another 3 of his concubines were from her clan.
• During the Qing, there were at least 86 marriages
  between the Manchu and Mongolian noble families.
• 16 empresses and concubines of the Manchu royal
  family were Mongols.

41
Empress Xiao Zhuangwen of theBorjigit Clan

• Bumbutai was the mother of Fulin (who succeeded
  Huang Taiji as Shunzhi) she was descended from
  Genghis khan.
• Her elder sister, Hailanju (d.1641), was also
  married to Huang Taiji, at the age of 26.
• Her sister gave birth to Huang Taijis 8th son
  who died at the age of 2 the sister died
  suddenly in 1641 and was given the posthumous
  title of Yuanfei.
• Bumbutai was given to Huang Taiji in 1625 when
  she was about 12 years old she gave Huang Taiji
  three daughters and his ninth son.
• She was never made empress while her aunt Jere
  (d.1649) became empress she became ED after her
  son, Fulin, became emperor Shunzhi.
• She brought up her grandson, the future Kangxi
  emperor, and helped him get rid of the regent and
  rule in his own right.

42
Empress Xiao Zhuangwen of theBorjigit Clan (2)

• Bumbutai, as ED, worked closely with the regent,
  Dorgon, her brother-in-law some speculate that
  she actually married him.
• She may have had little influence on her son
  after 1651 as he got rid of his first two
  empresses, both related to her.
• She returned to power again as regent for her
  grandson, Kangxi.
• She took charge of his upbringing after his
  mother died in 1663 and influenced him until her
  death in 1688.
• She allied herself with prominent Manchu nobles
  who were not imperial kinsmen but had been active
  in the conquest.
• Her political role during her sons infancy and
  the regency of her grandson could be compared
  with that of Empress Dowager Cixi who dominated
  the last 50 years of the dynasty.

43
Shunzhis Consorts Jingfei (The Abandoned
Empress) of the Borjigit Clan

• Jingfei was the niece of the mother of Fulin
  (Shunzhi).
• She was named empress in 1651.
• She was said to have been very jealous and would
  put to death other beautiful palace women the
  emperor got annoyed and stayed away.
• Two years later, the emperor asked about the
  procedure of deposing empresses in previous
  dynasties.
• Despite persuasions from his officials, he wrote
  that the empress was incompetent and should be
  discarded.
• In the edict he wrote that The marriage was made
  out of kinship rather than by careful selection.
  She is not suitable to be the mother of my
  offspring and I thus informed the empress dowager
  on 15 October that I have demoted the empress to
  Jingfei and sent her to live in the side
  chamber.
• Her niece was chosen to succeed her as empress
  but the emperor did not like her either.

44
Empress Xiao Xian of the Donggo Clan

• She was from a noble Manchu family and was
  married to the brother of the emperor.
• Shunzhi, did not like the two empresses chosen by
  his mother and had an affair with his
  sister-in-law.
• When she was widowed Shunzhi made her a guifei
  and later banished his second empress.
• His mother tried to acquire a new woman for him
  and have him retain two empresses but not his
  sister-in-law. He refused.
• In order to maintain the Manchu-Mongol alliance,
  the ED decided to kill her.
• When the young woman had just given birth to a
  son the ED feigned illness and asked that she
  wait on her.
• Weak from recovering from childbirth, the young
  woman died (1660) at the age of 22 and her son
  also died soon after.
• She was named empress posthumously and the
  emperor died 4 months later.

45
Empress Xiao Kang Zhang of theTonggiya Clan

• She was Shunzhis concubine and the mother of
  Kangxi.
• Her clan had served the Han troops at the
  beginning of the Qing.
• When she was pregnant the Empress Dowager said
  that she saw a ring of light in the shape of a
  dragon around the young womans skirt.
• When Shunzhi was dying he named Kangxi his heir
  as he had survived smallpox.
• She was named ED after her son became emperor.
• She died two years later (1663) at the age of 24
  when her son was only 9.

46
Empress Xiao Gongren (1660-1723) of the Uya Clan

• She entered the palace through a beauty selection
  to serve Kangxi (d.1722).
• She was the mother of Yongzhen (d.1735) and was
  given the title posthumously as she died 5 months
  after her son became emperor.
• She was separated from Yongzhen at birth and he
  was given into the care of another imperial wife
  (d.1689) who was of noble ancestry and whose only
  daughter had died Yongzhen was very close to his
  foster mother.
• She gave birth to two more of Kangxis over 30
  sons.
• She had three more daughters and only one
  survived to maturity.
• There are conflicting accounts of her death
• One says that she died from anxiety about her
  sons fighting over the throne.
• Another says that she was angered by her sons
  lack of respect for her and died from banging her
  head against an iron pillar.

47
Yongzhens Consorts Empress Xiao Jing Xian
(1675-1731) of the Nara Clan

• She was selected at the age of 13 to serve the
  future Yongzhen and was named his official wife
  by Yongzhens father, Kangxi.
• She became the official empress when Yongzhen
  became emperor.
• She had one son who died soon after birth.
• She was said to have been well liked by her
  parents-in-law.
• When she died, the emperor had just recovered
  from illness and did not attend her funeral.
• He suspended court for 5 days and ordered a
  mourning period of 27 days for all princes and
  nobles in the capital, all civil and military
  officials, princesses, royal concubines and noble
  women to the second rank.

48
Empress Xiao Shen Xian (1692-1777) of the
Niohuru Clan

• She was Yongzhens Noble Consort (guifei) and
  mother of Qianlong (d.1799).
• Her family was poor and she had to shop at the
  markets when she was 6 or 7 she was selected to
  serve the future Yongzhen when she was 13 but she
  was not favored.
• In 1710, Yongzhen was ill and she took care of
  him he was grateful to her and she gave birth to
  a son the following year.
• When her son was 11, Kangxi liked him and took
  him to his palace to live and this raised the
  status of the mother.
• When Yongzhen became emperor, she was made
  imperial consort and lived well for about 40
  years.
• When her son became emperor, she accompanied him
  on tours and received many honors.
• She died at the age of 86.

49
Qianlongs Consorts Empress Xiao Xian Chun
(1712-1748) of the Fuca Clan

• When Qianlong was the 4th prince, his father,
  Yongzhen, named the 16-year old girl as his
  official wife.
• When her husband became emperor, she was named
  empress at the age of 26.
• She gave birth to a daughter and two sons but
  they all died young her two sons might have been
  named heir-apparent if they had lived.
• In 1748, she toured with Qianlong but died on the
  way back to Beijing at the age of 37.
• She was said to have been depressed about the
  birth of her son, caught a cold, fell into the
  water and drowned in the sea.

50
Empress Ula Nara (2728-1766)

• She was given to Qianlongs as a concubine by
  Yongzhen and was made an imperial consort when
  her husband became emperor.
• After the death of the empress, the ED appointed
  her to be the administrator of the inner palaces
  and she was named empress two years later in
  1750.
• She accompanied Qianlong on his 4th tour but he
  suddenly sent her back to Beijing and on his
  return announced that he wanted to depose her.
• She was not deposed due to opposition from his
  ministers but she was empress only in name.
• When she died the following year, Qianlong
  ordered that she be buried as an imperial consort
  and not as the empress.
• When an official protested, he was arrested and
  exiled.
• She had given birth to a son and a daughter both
  of whom died young.

51
Rongfei (1735-1788) of the Hojo Clan

• She was a concubine of Qianlong (d.1799) and was
  the only Uigur Muslim in his harem.
• She was summoned to enter the palace (1760) at
  the age of 26 after her brother was honored for
  putting down a rebellion.
• She was given imperial consort status in 1762.
• She was favored by Qianlong but died at 55.
• Her belongings were divided between her
  daughters, cousins, family members, eunuchs and
  maids of her palace.
• Her grave was opened in 1979 and 1983 excavated
  were pearls, precious stones, her corpse, hair
  braid and clothing.
• Her coffin was inscribed with a quote from the
  Koran in Arabic.

52
Xianfengs Consorts Empress Xiao
Zhenxian/Empress Dowager Cian (1837-1881) of the
Niohuru Clan

• She is best known as ED Cian and was the daughter
  of a Duke.
• She was named empress at the age of 16 when her
  husband became emperor.
• Her husbands reign was a time of crisis
• Britain had defeated China in the Opium Wars of
  1839-42
• There was the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64).
• Her husband died when the allied forces advanced
  to Beijing and they were fleeing to Jehol.
• She had no sons and the 6 year-old son of a
  concubine (Cixi) succeeded to the throne as
  Tongzhi (1856-1875) both the empress and the
  birth mother were named EDs and became his
  regents.
• When Tongzhi died, his half-brother (son of
  Cixis sister), succeeded with the two women
  remaining regents the two women worked closely
  with their spouses half-brothers, Prince Gong
  and Chun, during the Tongzhi and Guangxu
  regencies.

53
Empress Xiao Qinxian/Empress Dowager Cixi
(1835-1908) of the Yehe Nara Clan

• She is best known as Cixi and was a concubine of
  the Xianfeng emperor (r.1850-1861).
• As ED, she was de facto ruler during the last
  years of the Qing dynasty and was one of only
  three women who exercised supreme power, Lü, Wu,
  and Cixi.
• Her father was a member of minor military
  official in a minor banner.
• She was selected to enter as a beauty in 1851 at
  the age of 17 and was made an imperial consort in
  1854.
• She was able, at the age of 27, to persuade her
  husband before he died to name her son the
  successor.

54
Empress Xiao Qinxian/Empress Dowager Cixi
(1835-1908) of the Yehe Nara Clan (2)

• As the birth mother of the infant emperor Cixi
  was a co-regent for 11 years until her son came
  of age.
• When her son died, she was named her sisters
  son, aged 4, as successor, and she and ED Cian
  remained co-regents until Cians death.
• In 1881, she insisted that her nephew, Guangxu,
  take her niece as empress she then retired until
  Guangxu began his reforms.
• She returned to power, arrested his supporters
  and placed him under house arrest and ruled in
  his place.
• Before her death, she named her 3-year old
  grandnephew, Puyi (1906-12), as heir.
• Guangxu died the next day and Cixi died the
  following day.

55
Guangxus Consorts Empress Xiao Xingjing/Empress
Dowager Longyu (1868-1913) of the Yehe Nara Clan

• She was the niece of Cixi and first cousin to
  Guangxu and was named his official empress by the
  ED Cixi.
• She was selected as a beauty although she was
  said to have been buck-toothed, plain, and thin
  she was also overage at 21 and yet she came first
  in the selection.
• When Guangxu died, she became ED to Puyi and
  became co-regent with Puyis father
• In 1912 she signed the decree announcing the
  abdication of Puyi under the condition that she
  and the young boy would be allowed to live in the
  palace.
• She died a year later at the age of 46 and was
  buried with the Guangxu emperor.

56
Jinfei (1874-1924) and Zhenfei (1876-1900) of
the Tatala Clan

• The two sisters were selected in 1888 as beauties
  for the palace and were named imperial consorts
  for Guangxu (d.1908) by Empress Dowager Cixi.
• The two sisters were once demoted by the ED then
  restored to their former status.
• Zhenfei was supportive of Guangxus reforms and
  was much loved by him.
• During the Boxer Rebellion, the court escaped to
  Xian leaving Zhenfei behind in the palace.
• She was said to have been thrown into the well by
  the eunuchs on the order of ED Cixi or she might
  have committed suicide.

57
Puyis Consorts Wanrong (1906-1946) of the
Gobole Clan

• In Dec 1922, Wanrong (1907-1946) was married to
  Puyi (Xuantong, d.1967 r.1909-12) after his
  abdication.
• Her English name was Elizabeth and she was chosen
  by the ED Longyu in 1921 as Puyis official wife
  but Puyi preferred another and left her alone on
  her wedding night it was said that he never
  stayed overnight with her.
• The Japanese created the kingdom of Manchuguo in
  Manchuria and made Puyi their puppet king.
• She went secretly to Manchuria with Puyi.
• Since Puyi did not want her, she had affairs with
  two of Puyis trusted aides and Puyi was furious
  when he found out that she was pregnant.
• He burned the baby burned after its birth and
  Wanrong became crazy.
• She was kept locked up and fed opium until her
  death at the age of 44.

58
Puyis Other Consorts

• When Wanrong (was made Puyis empress, another
  woman, Wenxiu, was made his imperial consort
  both were Manchu nobility.
• Wenxiu was very unhappy and tried to commit
  suicide several times and finally got a divorce
  in 1931 the first imperial consort ever to do
  so.
• She used her alimony to open a primary school and
  ran it herself as its principal.
• After the Japanese made Puyi emperor of
  Manchuguo, he took another imperial consort who
  died five years later.
• The Japanese made him take another one and he
  chose Li Yuqin (b.1928), a girl of 15, who lived
  in the palace from 1943-45.

59
Puyis Other Consorts (2)

• Li was very unhappy as she felt confined in the
  palace, living among suspicion and mistrust.
• Puyi was not a husband to her in the physical
  sense but seemed to have had some feelings for
  her.
• Pu Yi was captured by Soviet troops at the end of
  WWII and so Li became the wife of a war criminal.
• Her parents advised her to wait for his release
  but she had no money and alternated between
  living with her parents and with Pu Yis
  relatives.
• Pu Yi agreed to her divorce in 1957 and a year
  later she married and had a son.
• Pu Yi was released from prison in 1959 and
  married a young nurse named Li Shuxian in 1962 in
  Beijing he died 5 years later.