Empress Xiaocigao (Qing dynasty)

Empress Xiaocigao
孝慈高皇后
Empress of the Qing dynasty
(posthumously)
Wax figure of Empress Xiaocigao
Born1575 (1575)
Died31 October 1603(1603-10-31) (aged 27–28)
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1588)
IssueHong Taiji
Names
Monggo Jerjer (孟古哲哲)
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)
ClanYehe-Nara (葉赫那拉; by birth)
Aisin-Gioro (by marriage)
FatherYangginu
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese孝慈高皇后
Simplified Chinese孝慈高皇后
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiàocígāo Huánghòu
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᡥᡳᠶᠣᠣᡧᡠᠩᡤᠠ
ᡤᠣᠰᡳᠨ
ᡩᡝᡵᡤᡳ
ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡥᡝᠣ
Romanizationhiyoošungga gosin dergi hūwangheo

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

Life

Family background

  • Father: Yangginu (楊吉努; d. 1583); held the title of beile (貝勒)
    • Grandfather: Taicu (台杵); held the title of beile (貝勒)
    • Uncle: Cinggiyanu (清佳砮; d. 1583); held the title of beile (貝勒)
  • Two elder brothers
    • First elder brother: Narimbulu (納林布祿; d. 1609); held the title of beile (貝勒)
    • Second elder brother: Gintaisi (d. 1619); held the title of beile (貝勒)

Wanli era

In October or November 1588, Monggo Jerjer married Nurhaci, becoming one of his many wives. On 28 November 1592, she gave birth to Nurhaci's eighth son, Hong Taiji. She died on 31 October 1603.

Chongde era

After Hong Taiji proclaimed the Qing dynasty in 1636, he posthumously honored his mother as "Empress Xiaociwu".

Kangxi era

In 1662, Monggo Jerjer's posthumous name was changed from "Empress Xiaociwu" to "Empress Xiaocigao", reflecting her status as a wife of Nurhaci (Emperor Gao).

Titles

  • During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
    • Lady Yehe-Nara (葉赫那拉氏)
    • Consort (福晉; from October/November 1588)[a]
    • Great Consort of the Central Chamber (中室大福晉; from unknown date)
  • During the reign of Hong Taiji (r. 1626–1643):
    • Empress Xiaociwu (孝慈武皇后; from 1636)
  • During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
    • Empress Xiaocigao (孝慈高皇后; from 1662)

Issue

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

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Jurchens had multiple wives with very little distinction between them, all being addressed by this general term. This was also the case for Nurhaci's wives. It was in later compilations of documents that the women were attributed new titles to differentiate them.

References

  • 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.