Empress Xiaozheyi

Empress Xiaozheyi (25 July 1854 – 27 March 1875), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Arute clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Zaichun, the Tongzhi Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1872 until her husband's death in 1875, after which she was honoured as Empress Jiashun.

Empress Xiaozheyi
Empress consort of the Qing dynasty
Tenure15 October 1872 – 12 January 1875
Born(1854-07-25)25 July 1854
(咸豐四年 七月 一日)
Beijing
Died27 March 1875(1875-03-27) (aged 20)
(光緒元年 二月 二十日)
Chuxiu Palace, Forbidden City
Burial
Hui Mausoleum, Eastern Qing tombs
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1872; died 1875)​
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaozhe Jiashun Shushen Xianming Gongduan Xiantian Zhangsheng Yi
(孝哲嘉順淑慎賢明恭端憲天彰聖毅皇后
孝哲嘉顺淑慎贤明恭端宪天彰圣毅皇后)
HouseArute (阿魯特)
FatherChongqi
MotherLady Aisin Gioro
Empress Xiaozheyi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese孝哲毅皇后
Simplified Chinese孝哲毅皇后
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᡥᡳᠶᠣᠣᡧᡠᠩᡤᠠ
ᠰᡠᠯᡨᡠᠩᡤᠠ
ᡶᡳᠯᡳᠩᡤᠠ
ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡥᡝᠣ
Romanizationhiyoošungga sultungga filingga hūwangheo

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaozheyi's personal name was not recorded in history. Her family originally belonged to the Mongol Plain Blue Banner.

Xianfeng era

The future Empress Xiaozheyi was born on the first day of the seventh lunar month in the fourth year of the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, which translates to 25 July 1854 in the Gregorian calendar.

Lady Arute was tutored by her father since young and she demonstrated high potential and intelligence as a child. She also showed interest and talent in poetry, literature, music and art. Under the tutelage of her father, she learned to write with both hands. She was famous among the Manchu aristocracy for her talent, moral character and looks.

Tongzhi era

In 1872, Lady Arute was chosen to be empress consort by the Tongzhi Emperor. She was specially chosen to help in the reconciliation of rivals in the Qing imperial court. Lady Arute's maternal grandfather, Duanhua, was a former political rival of the emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi. It was said that there was an argument between the Empresses Dowager Cixi and Ci'an over the choice of empress. Ci'an, who favored Lady Arute, claimed that the empress should possess high moral standards, while Cixi felt that the empress should be wise and shrewd. The conflict was resolved by the Tongzhi Emperor when he eventually chose Lady Arute to be his empress. Cixi was displeased with her son's decision. Another four candidates chosen became the emperor's concubines. One of them was Lady Arute's aunt, Concubine Xun.

Empress Dowager Cixi once complained about Lady Arute:

"We made a mistake in selecting a wife for him. How could we tell that her beauty was false? She was very beautiful, but she hated us."[1]

On the night of 15 October 1872, at around 11:30 pm (an auspicious hour recommended by imperial astrologers), Lady Arute left her family residence for the Forbidden City. Her furniture – a bed, a mirror, two wardrobes, chairs and eight marriage chests – had symbolically preceded her.[2] After their marriage, the Tongzhi Emperor evidently preferred his empress over his four other consorts, spending almost every night with her, while the four consorts waited in vain for the Emperor to summon them. Empress Dowager Cixi was unhappy about the unfair treatment of the emperor's other consorts and she turned hostile towards the Empress. She warned the Empress that, as primary wife, she should allow the emperor to spend time equally among his consorts, and to not seize him for herself. Cixi also reminded the Empress that since both she and the Tongzhi Emperor were still young, they should spend more time learning how to govern the country. When she saw no signs of change in her son's attitude, Cixi eventually ordered the Emperor and Empress to be separated, so that they could focus more on learning how to become ruling sovereigns.

The Tongzhi Emperor could not cope well with loneliness so he grew more ill-tempered over time. Once, a eunuch secretly suggested to the Emperor to sneak out of the Forbidden City and visit brothels. As a result, it was assumed that the Emperor contracted syphilis. Empress Dowager Cixi regarded this incident as a humiliating scandal, so she warned the imperial physicians to remain silent about it. The physicians lied that the Emperor was ill with smallpox and prescribed medicine and treatment for smallpox.

A court official, Yun Yuting, wrote in his memoirs that the Empress visited the Tongzhi Emperor on his sickbed while he complained about his mother's interfering and domineering ways. She was looking forward to the day the Emperor recovered and they could live and rule together. Empress Dowager Cixi, tipped off by eunuchs, entered the room in stockinged feet, and hearing the Empress's criticisms, flew into a rage and rampaged through the room, seized the Empress by the hair and hit her, shouting that by making love to the Emperor she would cause him to be ill again. She ordered the eunuchs to take her away and slap her on the face.[3]

Guangxu era

The Tongzhi Emperor died on 12 January 1875. Some sources claim that the Empress was pregnant at the time.[4] The Tongzhi Emperor had not chosen a successor before his death, so it was up to Empress Dowager Cixi to decide who would be the new emperor. Cixi chose her nephew Zaitian, who was enthroned as the Guangxu Emperor.

The Empress was not mentioned in the crisis over the succession. Neither was she granted the title of Empress Dowager, which was customary after the death of an emperor. She received the title "Empress Jiashun" instead. Within 100 days of the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi pushed the blame of the emperor's death on Empress Jiashun. She ordered Empress Jiashun's food rations to be reduced. Empress Jiashun wrote a letter to her father asking for help, but his reply was simply, "Your Highness knows what to do." It was said that the empress committed suicide but official court records state that she died after a long and serious illness. Empress Dowager Cixi granted her the posthumous title "Empress Xiaozheyi".

In 1876, a censor to the throne wrote that Empress Xiaozheyi should be posthumously honored for being a virtuous wife who had committed suicide after her husband's death. Empress Dowager Cixi rebuked him curtly for writing a memorial for suggesting an unnatural death.[5]

In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi asked Empress Xiaozheyi's father, Chongqi, to remain behind and take charge of state affairs. Chongqi and his family committed suicide after the capital fell to the foreigners.[6]

Titles
  • During the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861):
    • Lady Arute (from 25 July 1854)
  • During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875):
    • Empress (皇后; from 15 October 1872[7])
  • During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908):
    • Empress Jiashun (嘉順皇后; from 12 January 1875[8])
    • Empress Xiaozheyi (孝哲毅皇后; from June/July 1875[9])

See also

Notes
  1. Derling, Imperial insence, 1934, p. 161.
  2. Maria Warner", "The Dragon Empress": Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835–1908, Empress of China", p. 121.
  3. Maria Warner", "The Dragon Empress": Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835–1908, Empress of China", p. 125.
  4. Maria Warner", "The Dragon Empress": Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835–1908, Empress of China", p. 126.
  5. Hummel, Arthur William, ed. Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (1644–1912), p. 731.
  6. Draft history of the Qing dynasty, part 255.《清史稿·列传二百五十五
  7. 同治十一年 九月 十四日
  8. 同治十三年 十二月 五日
  9. 光緒元年 五月

References
  • Draft history of the Qing dynasty. 《清史稿》卷二百十四．列傳一．后妃傳．
  • Royal archives of the Qing dynasty (清宫档案).
  • Qing imperial genealogy(清皇室四谱).
  • Biographies of the Qing dynasty consorts (清历朝后妃列传).
  • Sterling Seagraves, "Dragon Lady" ISBN 0-679-73369-8.
  • Maria Warner", "The Dragon Empres": Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835–1908, Empress of China". ISBN 0-689-70714-2.
  • Daily life in the Forbidden City, Wan Yi, Wang Shuqing, Lu Yanzhen. ISBN 0-670-81164-5.
  • Hummel, Arthur William, ed. Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (1644–1912). 2 vols. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943.
Empress Xiaozheyi
Chinese royalty
Preceded by
Empress Xiaozhenxian
of the Niohuru clan		 Empress consort of China
15 October 1872 – 12 January 1875		 Succeeded by
Jingfen, Empress Xiaodingjing
of the Yehe-Nara clan
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