Empress Xiaozhenxian (12 August 1837 – 8 April 1881) was the empress consort of the Xianfeng Emperor of China's Qing dynasty from 1852 until her husband's death in 1861, after which she was honored as Empress Dowager Ci'an.
As empress dowager and one of the most senior members of the imperial family, she and Empress Dowager Cixi became co-regents during the reign of two young emperors: the Tongzhi Emperor and later the Guangxu Emperor. Although in principle, she had precedence over Cixi, Ci'an was in fact a self-effacing person and seldom intervened in politics, but she was the decision-maker in most family affairs. Instead, Empress Dowager Cixi was the decision-maker in most state affairs.
A popular view of Empress Dowager Ci'an is that she was a highly respectable person, always quiet, never hot-tempered, and that she treated everybody very well and was highly respected by the Xianfeng Emperor. However, some historians have painted a very different reality, mainly that of a self-indulgent and idle Empress Dowager Ci'an, who did not care as much for government and hard work as she cared for the pleasures and sweet life inside the Forbidden City.
Contents
Life
Family background
Empress Xiaozhenxian's personal name was not recorded in history.
Father: Muyang'a (穆揚阿), served as an official in Guangxi, and held the title of a third class duke (三等公)
Paternal grandfather: Fukejing'a (福克京阿)
Paternal grandmother: Lady Aisin Gioro
Paternal aunt: Lady Niohuru, Duanhua's primary consort, the maternal grandmother of Empress Xiaozheyi (1854–1875)
Mother: Lady Giyanggiya
One brother: Guangke
One sister: Lady Niohuru, primary consort of Prince Zhuanghou of the first rank, Yiren
Xiaozhenxian was a descendant of Eidu, one of the top five generals who served under Nurhaci (the founder of the Qing dynasty), through Eidu's third son, Celge (車爾格).
The future empress's great-grandfather, Fukejing'a (福克精阿), served as a management official in Xining and held the title of a baron. Her grandfather, Cebutan (策布坦), served as a second-rank commander in Shanxi Province and also held the title of a baron. Her father, Muyang'a, served as an official in Guangxi Province and held the title of a third class cheng'en duke. Muyang'a's primary consort was the granddaughter of Qingheng (慶恆; d. 1779), a great-grandson of Nurhaci, but it was Lady Jiang (姜氏), a concubine of Muyang'a, who was Xiaozhenxian's birth mother. Her brother, Guangke (廣科; d. 1880), served as a general in Hangzhou. Her aunt married Duanhua (Prince Zheng), a prominent noble and close adviser of the Xianfeng Emperor.
Daoguang era
The future Empress Xiaozhenxian was born on the 12th day of the seventh lunar month in the 17th year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, which translates to 12 August 1837 in the Gregorian calendar.
Xianfeng era
When the Daoguang Emperor died on 15 February 1850, his fourth son, Yizhu, succeeded him and was enthroned as the Xianfeng Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor's primary consort had died a month before the emperor's coronation and was posthumously honoured as "Empress Xiaodexian". The process of selecting a new primary consort to be the Xianfeng Emperor's empress consort, however, was delayed due to the mourning period for the Daoguang Emperor.
The auditions for the Xianfeng Emperor's consorts took place in 1851 in the Forbidden City. Lady Niohuru was among the candidates shortlisted by Dowager Consort Kangci, the highest ranked living consort of the Daoguang Emperor at the time. However, some sources claimed that Lady Niohuru entered the Forbidden City in the late 1840s and became a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor, who was still known as the Fourth Prince then.
Lady Niohuru's status within the palace rose rapidly. On 14 June 1852, she was granted the title "Concubine Zhen" ("Zhen" meaning "upright", "chaste", "virtuous", or "faithful to the memory of one's husband", i.e., by remaining chaste after his death and not remarrying). In late June or early July 1852, she was elevated to "Noble Consort Zhen". On 24 July 1852, she was officially designated as the Empress. As Empress, she was put in charge of the emperor's harem. Some sources claim that Lady Niohuru was already designated as the Xianfeng Emperor's primary spouse after the death of her predecessor, Empress Xiaodexian.
Imperial customs required that the emperor spend one day a month with the empress. The Empress remained childless. On 27 April 1856, another of the Xianfeng Emperor's consorts, Concubine Yi (the future Empress Dowager Cixi), gave birth to the emperor's first son, Zaichun. Some biographers mentioned that the Empress gave birth to the Xianfeng Emperor's only daughter, Princess Rong'an of the First Rank, who was actually born to Concubine Li. However, as Empress, Lady Niohuru was nominally the mother of all the Xianfeng Emperor's children, regardless of whether or not she was their birth mother. Consequently, it was the Empress who raised the Xianfeng Emperor's children and decided their punishment when they did not obey her. Concubine Yi had little to say in her son's upbringing. She once recalled, "I had... quite a lot of trouble with (the Empress) and found it very difficult to keep on good terms with her."
Tongzhi era
On 22 August 1861, in the wake of the Second Opium War, the Xianfeng Emperor died at the Rehe Traveling Palace (熱河行宮), 230 km (140 mi) northeast of Beijing, where he and his imperial court had fled to when the Anglo-French forces closed in on the Forbidden City. He was succeeded by his sole surviving son, Zaichun, who was only five years old then; Zaichun was enthroned as the Tongzhi Emperor. A power struggle broke out between two factions over the issue of who should assume the regency until Zaichun was old enough to rule on his own. On his deathbed, the Xianfeng Emperor had appointed his close adviser Sushun and seven others to be the regents. However, Noble Consort Yi, the Tongzhi Emperor's birth mother, also wanted to assume the regency. The Empress initially agreed to cooperate with Sushun and his seven co-regents, but changed her mind after being persuaded by Noble Consort Yi. In November 1861, with aid from Yixin, Prince Gong, the Xianfeng Emperor's sixth brother, and, Yixuan, Prince Chun, the Xianfeng's seventh brother, and husband of Noble Consort Yi's younger sister, Yehenara Wanzhen, the Empress and Noble Consort Yi staged a coup – historically known as the Xinyou Coup – against the eight regents and ousted them from power, thereby securing control of the regency.
Noble Consort Yi was elevated to the status of Empress Dowager and honoured as "Holy Mother, Empress Dowager" (聖母皇太后), since she was not the Xianfeng Emperor's primary wife and became Empress Dowager only as the biological mother of the reigning Tongzhi Emperor. She was given the honorific name "Cixi". The Empress, on the other hand, as the former Emperor's primary wife and the reigning Emperor's nominal mother, was also elevated to Empress Dowager and honoured as "Mother Empress, Empress Dowager" (母后皇太后) – a title which gave her precedence over Empress Dowager Cixi – and was given the honorific name "Ci'an". Because her living quarters were in the eastern part of the Forbidden City, Empress Dowager Ci'an was informally referred to as the "East Empress Dowager"; Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived in the western part, was also informally known as the "West Empress Dowager". Empress Dowager Ci'an spent most of her life in the Palace of Gathering Essence. On several occasions after 1861, Ci'an was given additional honorific names (two Chinese characters at a time), as was customary for emperors and empresses, until by the end of her life her name was a long even string of characters beginning with Ci'an.
Imperial records did not explain why there was a difference of 24 hours between the times when the Empress Niohuru and Noble Consort Yi were elevated from their original statuses to the same position of empress dowager. According to Tony Teng, Noble Consort Yi and Sushun had a quarrel over the granting of honours after the Xianfeng Emperor's death. It is believed that the Empress, as the primary wife of the recently deceased emperor, had supported Noble Consort Yi, thus forcing Sushun to yield.
Guangxu era
During the late 1870s, Empress Dowager Cixi became ill from liver problems, so Empress Dowager Ci'an had to rule on her own. During this time, she had to deal with the war with the Russian Empire over Ili Prefecture. In 1871, the Dungan Revolt broke out in Xinjiang. The Qing Empire soon lost power and the Russians occupied the Ili basin region. The Qing government regained control over Xinjiang in 1877. In 1879, the Russians suggested that they maintain a strong presence in the region but the Qing government did not agree. The conflict ended with the signing of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg in February 1881.
Although Ci'an rarely left the Forbidden City, she did visit the imperial tombs to pay respect to her husband and ancestors. In 1880, while at the Eastern Qing tombs, Ci'an, probably encouraged by Prince Kung to assert herself and her rights, took precedence in all the ceremonies. While at the Xianfeng Emperor's tomb, a commotion happened between Ci'an and Cixi. Ci'an, as the primary wife of the deceased emperor, took the central position. She told Cixi to stand on the right and reminded her that she was only a concubine while the Xianfeng Emperor was still living. The vacant spot on the left was symbolically reserved for the Xianfeng Emperor's first consort, Empress Xiaodexian. It is not known how Cixi reacted to this incident.
On 8 April 1881, while attending an imperial court session, Empress Dowager Ci'an became ill and was escorted to her private quarters, where she died within a few hours. Her sudden death was a shock to many people. Although she was in good health, Ci'an had fallen seriously ill at least three times according to Weng Tonghe, who tutored the Guangxu Emperor. She had a history of what appeared to be strokes. In his diary, Weng Tonghe recorded the first stroke in March 1863, when Ci'an suddenly fainted and lost her ability to speak for nearly a month. Her reputation for 'speaking slowly and with difficulty' during audiences may have been a consequence of her stroke. A second stroke was recorded in January 1870. The official cause of her death between 21:00 and 23:00 hours was a sudden stroke. Physicians who studied her medical records are almost certain that she died of a massive brain haemorrhage.
Thirty years after her death, rumours started spreading that she had been poisoned by Empress Dowager Cixi. However, such claims have never been substantiated and new evidence has not appeared in the many years since. Furthermore, Cixi herself had been ill to the point of being unable to serve her functions at court, making her involvement in Ci'an's death highly unlikely.
Appraisal
Ci'an is popularly viewed in China as quiet, never hot-tempered, kind, and highly respected by the Xianfeng Emperor. Both the Tongzhi and Guangxu Emperors preferred Ci'an above Cixi. Her good-hearted personality was no match for Cixi, who managed to sideline the naive and candid Ci'an.
However, some historians have painted a very different reality, mainly that of a self-indulgent and idle Empress Dowager Ci'an, who did not care as much for government and hard work as she cared for the pleasures and sweet life inside the Forbidden City. Empress Dowager Cixi, on the other hand, was a shrewd and intelligent woman who was ready to make sacrifices and work hard in order to obtain supreme power, and who faced the complex problems that were besetting China at the time. As often, the reality may lie in between these two extremes and some even claim that Ci'an is said to have exhibited temper and willpower. The popular view of Ci'an being a nice simple girl was exaggerated by the reformer Kang Youwei and biographers John Bland and Edmund Backhouse, to build up the contrast between her and Cixi. There are no documented meetings between any foreigner and Ci'an, unlike Cixi, who met many foreigners after 1900.
Katherine Carl, who spent nine months with Empress Dowager Cixi in 1903, described Ci'an, even though she never met her, as follows: Ci'an was known as the "Literary Empress". While Cixi handled all state affairs, Ci'an gave herself up to literary pursuits and led the life of a student. She was a woman of such fine literary ability that she herself sometimes examined the essays of the aspirants for the highest literary honours at the University of Beijing. She was also a writer of distinction. Ci'an and Cixi lived amicably together, appreciated each other's qualities, and are said to have had a sincere affection for each other, which never weakened during the whole of their long association. Their amicable relation ended with the death of Ci'an in 1881.
Another view of Ci'an was written by Lim Boon Keng. The beautiful Yehenara, like the Jew Hagar, was the handmaid who was to bear a son for her master. Ci'an appears to have been like Sarah, who in her anxiety to make up for her own sterility, encouraged her husband to show his favour to his maid. Perhaps the Xianfeng Emperor did not need encouragement, but Ci'an took great interest in the concubine as the prospective mother of the emperor's son and heir. Cixi was quick-tempered and probably jealous of the empress. Just before the birth of the Tongzhi Emperor, Cixi was nearly demoted in rank for her bad temper and insolence. Ci'an intervened on her behalf. In contrast to Hagar, Cixi did not openly despise her mistress. She was as tame as a lamb, and for many years they lived on terms of friendship.
Titles
During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (r. 1820–1850):
Lady Niohuru (from 12 August 1837)
During the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861):
Imperial Concubine Zhen (貞嬪; from 14 June 1852), fifth rank consort
Noble Consort Zhen (貞貴妃; from June/July 1852), third rank consort
Empress (皇后; from November/December 1852)
During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875):
Empress Dowager Ci'an (慈安皇太后; from 22 August 1861)
During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875–1908):
Empress Xiaozhenxian (孝貞顯皇后; from May/June 1881)
In fiction and popular culture
Portrayed by Chan Wah in The Burning of Imperial Palace (1983) and Reign Behind a Curtain (1983)
Portrayed by Sam-sam in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1990)
Portrayed by Song Jia in Sigh of His Highness (2006)
Portrayed by Rachel Kan in Land of Wealth (2006)
Portrayed by Maggie Shiu in The Confidant (2012)