Empress Xiaocigao (Qing dynasty)

Summary

Empress Xiaocigao (1575 – 31 October 1603), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, personal name Monggo Jerjer, was a consort of Nurhaci. She was 16 years his junior.

Empress Xiaocigao
Khatun of Great Jin (posthumously)
Wax figure of Empress Xiaocigao
BornYehe Nara Monggo Jerjer
(葉赫那拉·孟古哲哲)
1575 (1575)
(萬曆三年)
Died31 October 1603(1603-10-31) (aged 27–28)
(萬曆三十一年 九月 二十七日)
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1588⁠–⁠1603)
IssueHong Taiji
Names
Yehe Nara Monggo Jerjer (葉赫那拉 孟古哲哲; ᠮᠣᠩᡤᠣᠵᡝᠵᡝ)
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaoci Zhaoxian Jingshun Renhui Yide Qingxian Chengtian Fusheng Gao (孝慈昭憲敬順仁徽懿德慶顯承天輔聖高皇后)
HouseYehe Nara (葉赫那拉; by birth)
Aisin Gioro (by marriage)
FatherYangginu
Empress Xiaocigao
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese孝慈高皇后
Simplified Chinese孝慈高皇后
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᡥᡳᠶᠣᠣᡧᡠᠩᡤᠠ
ᡤᠣᠰᡳᠨ
ᡩᡝᡵᡤᡳ
ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡥᡝᠣ
Romanizationhiyoošungga gosin dergi hūwangheo

Life edit

Family background edit

  • Father: Yangginu (楊吉努; d. 1584), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
    • Paternal grandfather: Taicu (台杵), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
    • Paternal uncle: Cinggiyanu (清佳砮; d. 1584), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒), the father of Bujai (d. 1593)
  • Two elder brothers
    • First elder brother: Narimbulu (納林布祿; d. 1609), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
    • Second elder brother: Gintaisi (d. 1619), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)

Wanli era edit

In October or November 1588, Lady Yehe Nara married Nurhaci, becoming one of his multiple wives. On 28 November 1592, she gave birth to Nurhaci's eighth son, Hong Taiji. Lady Yehe Nara died on 31 October 1603.

Chongde era edit

On 16 May 1636, after Hong Taiji proclaimed the Qing dynasty, Lady Yehe Nara was posthumously elevated to "Empress Xiaociwu".

Kangxi era edit

In 1662, Lady Yehe Nara's posthumous title was changed from "Empress Xiaociwu" to "Empress Xiaocigao", reflecting her status as a consort of Nurhaci (Emperor Gao).

Titles edit

  • During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
    • Lady Yehe Nara (from 1575)
    • Secondary consort (側福晉; from October/November 1588[1])
    • Primary consort (大福晉)
  • During the reign of Hong Taiji (r. 1626–1643):
    • Empress Xiaociwu (孝慈武皇后; from 16 May 1636[2])
  • During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
    • Empress Xiaocigao (孝慈高皇后; from 1662)

Issue edit

  • As secondary consort:
    • Hong Taiji (皇太極; 28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), Nurhaci's eighth son, enthroned on 20 October 1626

In fiction and popular culture edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ 萬曆十六年 九月
  2. ^ 崇德元年 四月 十二日

References edit

  • Veritable Records of Manchuria (滿洲實錄) (in Chinese).
  • Rawski, Evelyn S. (1998). The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions (Reprint ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 052092679X.
  • Wan, Yi; Shuqing, Wang; Yanzhen, Lu; Scott, Rosemary E. (1988). Daily Life in the Forbidden City: The Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912 (Illustrated ed.). Viking. ISBN 0670811645.
  • Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao) (in Chinese). Vol. 214.
Preceded by Empress of the Qing dynasty
(granted the title of empress posthumously in 1636)
Succeeded by