Lady Abahai

Not to be confused with Abatai or Empress Xiaolie.
Abahai
阿巴亥
Empress of the Qing dynasty
(posthumously)
Portrait of Empress Xiaoliewu in court dress, by anonymous painter
Born1590 (1590)
Ula City, Manchuria (in present-day Jilin City)
Died1 October 1626(1626-10-01) (aged 35–36)
Mukden Palace (in present-day Shenyang)
Burial
Fu Mausoleum
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1601; died 1626)​
Issue
Posthumous name
Empress Xiaolie Gongmin Xianzhe Renhe Zantian Lisheng Wu (孝烈恭敏獻哲仁和贊天儷聖武皇后) (1650–1653)
ClanUla-Nara (烏拉那拉; by birth)
Aisin-Gioro (by marriage)
FatherMantai

Empress Xiaoliewu (1590 – 1 October 1626), of the Ula-Nara clan, personal name Abahai, was a wife of Nurhaci.[1][2] She was 31 years his junior.

Abahai was erroneously identified with Hong Taiji, Nurhaci's eighth son and successor, in earlier sources.

Life

Family background

  • Father: Mantai (滿泰; d. 1596); held the title of beile (貝勒)[2]
    • Grandfather: Bugan (布幹); held the title of beile (貝勒)
    • Uncle: Bujantai (1575–1618); held the title of beile (貝勒)

Wanli era

In November or December 1601, Abahai married Nurhaci, becoming one of his many wives.[3][2] At an unspecified time following Monggo Jerjer's death in 1603, she was elevated to great consort. She gave birth on 28 August 1605 to Nurhaci's 12th son, Ajige, on 17 November 1612 to his 14th son, Dorgon, and on 2 April 1614 to his 15th son, Dodo.

In early 1620, Abahai was regularly spotted visiting the chambers of Daišan, Nurhaci's eldest son. She also prepared dishes for him. A lady-in-waiting reported those incidents to Nurhaci, who was outraged. However, wanting to protect the family's reputation, Nurhaci berated Abahai for another matter, that of stealing gold and jewels. She was banished following this event.[4]

Tianqi era

Soon after Abahai's banishment, Nurhaci started to miss her. By 1622, he was considering bringing her back. Around late 1622 to early 1623, Abahai returned and her status was restored.

Tiancong era

When Nurhaci died on 30 September 1626, Abahai was forced to commit suicide by her stepson, Hong Taiji. According to legend, she was forced to accept being buried alive beside Nurhaci to prove her love for him. Other sources claim that she was strangled by Hong Taiji's servants as she stood as a threat to his ascension. Either way, Abahai committed suicide on 1 October 1626, the day after Nurhaci's death, on the order of Hong Taiji. She was 36 years old.

Shunzhi era

During the early reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, while Dorgon served as regent for the underage emperor, Abahai was posthumously honored as "Empress Xiaoliewu", but the title was revoked in 1653.

Titles

  • During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
    • Lady Ula-Nara (烏拉那拉氏)
    • Consort (福晉; from November/December 1601)[a]
    • Great Consort (大福晉; from unknown date)
  • During the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (r. 1643–1661):
    • Empress Xiaoliewu (孝烈武皇后; from 1650 to 1653)

Issue

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

  1. ^ 刘楠; Nan, L. I. U. (2020-09-15). "清入关前对八旗基层组织的控制——以乌苏氏季思哈、吉普喀达为例". 清史研究 (in Chinese) (5): 81. ISSN 1002-8587.
  2. ^ a b c _博、任吉_. 大清盛世 (in Chinese). 飛翔時代.
  3. ^ 上官雲飛 (2006-09-01). 大清后妃傳奇 (in Chinese). 大都會文化. ISBN 978-957-8219-56-4.
  4. ^ 兰泊宁著 (2015-01-01). 大清十三钗 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. ISBN 978-7-5034-5603-9.
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