Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - Qing palace photography queen

Qing palace photography queen

In the long history, the character Chunfei is very famous, so do you know her story? Next, let me explain it to you.

In March of the 13th year of Qianlong, Pei Yuan and Fu Cha endured the loss of their children, forced a smile to wait on the emperor and the empress dowager, and finally died on the way. A few days after her death, Qianlong and his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing, agreed to make Xianguifei the queen of succession. After the 100-day mourning period of the filial piety queen, Emperor Qianlong officially declared Xian Gui as the prospective queen candidate, but Qianlong didn't want to bear the reputation of disloyalty, so he creatively created the title of "taking the imperial concubine of six palaces". Xian Gui was promoted to the imperial concubine of the Sixth Palace and officially exercised the power of the queen. The filial piety queen was canonized one year later and officially canonized after the third anniversary.

At that time, in the harem of Qianlong, Xian Guifei was distinguished, but at this time, the Lingwei family was the most favored by the emperor, and another concubine, Su Shi, was not only equal to Xian Guifei, but also gave birth to three children. But why did Qianlong choose an unpopular queen who had no children? Qianlong and the Empress Dowager decided on their successors in the official documents of the Qing Dynasty immediately after Fu Cha's death. In July of the 13th year of Qianlong, after the death of Empress Xiaoxian 100, Xianguifei was elected as the empress by the emperor. However, according to the analysis of the internal archives of the Qing Palace, Qianlong actually decided the heir within a few days after Fu Cha's death.

First, according to the Qing palace system stipulated in the Palace History of the Qianlong Dynasty, there were 10 ladies-in-waiting below the queen and 8 ladies-in-waiting below the imperial concubine, and then they were slightly increased or decreased according to the actual situation. In the archives recording the catering bills of maids in the Qing Dynasty, in March of the 13th year of Qianlong, the number of maids below Xianguifei increased from seven to nine, which was close to the queen's standard. Secondly, Empress Xiaoxian died in Texas on March 12, and Gan Long returned to Beijing on March 17. On March 22nd, the day after the death of Empress Xiaoxian 10, Emperor Qianlong moved the decoration of the west wing of hall of mental cultivation to the east wing. The east wing of hall of mental cultivation is the residence of the queen, the west wing is the residence of the imperial concubine, and the west wing is the residence of the concubines.

In other words, on 22nd at the latest, Qianlong had already decided on a successor. Third, on April 14th, 13th year of Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong made a decree to promote Neisu Ken, the nephew of Xian Guifei, to be a third-class bodyguard and walk at Gan Qing Gate. Ganlong suddenly promoted Xian Guifei's nephew during the mourning period of Empress Xiaoxian. Obviously, Xian Guifei was favored by Emperor Qianlong. Therefore, according to all the details revealed in these court files, it is obvious that the skeleton of Empress Hyo-hyun is not cold. Just a few days after her death, Qianlong and the empress dowager decided to make the imperial concubine the queen of succession first. When Empress Xiaoxian died, Emperor Qianlong was in the heyday of the Spring and Autumn Period, only 38 years old, in the prime of life, and his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing, was in good health.

In the prime of the emperor, there was a queen mother who needed a daughter-in-law to serve and six concubines to be in charge. Therefore, both Qianlong and Empress Dowager really feel that the palace needs a queen housewife, so there is no difference between the emperor and Empress Dowager in conferring titles. If the emperor chooses an heir, there are only two ways, either to choose a new person through the Eight Banners draft or to promote one from the concubines of the Sixth Palace. The Eight Banners Draft is the main source of fixed empresses of the Qing royal family. During the reign of Shunzhi, it was stipulated that girls from the Eight Banners family in Manchu Dynasty 13 to 16 years old had to go through a three-year royal draft, and the show girls that the emperor liked were either chosen as concubines in the harem or charged with marrying in the imperial clan, so the royal family could choose the remaining show girls to marry.

Therefore, if Emperor Qianlong wants to choose a queen through the draft, the biggest problem is that "the old man has fewer wives". Qianlong will soon turn 40, and if the queen is only 15 or 16 years old, not only does the age of husband and wife seem to be mismatched, but also the young queen who lacks experience in court life may not meet the requirements of "fighting with me" and "serving the queen mother and leading the Sixth Hospital" expected by Qianlong, so Qianlong will definitely not choose an heir by this means, and can only choose one from the old harem. Gan Long and Empress Dowager Cixi decided that Xianguifei was the successor in the shortest time, which shows that all the conditions of Xianguifei must fully meet the expected requirements of Gan Long.

First of all, Xian Guifei was born well. Although the Qing emperor didn't mind sealing a coat or even a Han woman as a concubine, she still had to consider her family background when sealing a queen, who usually came from Manchu. Xian Guifei belongs to Huifa Nora's family. She is a descendant of Baylor Ji Wang Ping of Huifa Department and belongs to Blue Flag. There are three princes in the family, so she is from the Manchu Eight Banners. At that time, the pure imperial concubine Su, who was made a noble concubine with Xian Guifei, gave birth to two sons and a daughter, but she was born to a Chinese woman, and she was completely defeated by Xian Guifei in family background, so there was no possibility of becoming a queen.

Second, Xian Guifei was a gift from Yong Zhengdi to Gan Long. In addition to Di Fujin, the prince of the Qing Dynasty could also have companions such as Side Fujin, Maid and Gege, among which Side Fujin's position was the most unusual. Generally speaking, the emperor married in person, and the Ministry of Rites conferred the title, with formal dowry, marriage and crown service. In the 12th year of Yongzheng's draft, Huifa Nala was chosen, proposed marriage in person, and gave Prince Bao as a side Fujin. Because of the "imperial examination", Xian Guifei surpassed many concubines who gave birth to children, ranking first among all concubines in the harem for a long time (second only to the queen and another one who died before, and Xian Guifei became the first among all concubines). For example, when Qianlong sealed the harem for the first time in the first year, Fang Fujin gave Nora the title of princess, while Qianlong, who was born in the Han Dynasty and gave birth to a prince, preferred Su's concubine. Although Sue later gave birth to a son and a daughter, and because of the love of Qianlong, she was tied for the imperial concubine with the virtuous princess, but the ranking was always behind the virtuous princess. After that, the princess who spoiled the crown harem was just a concubine and had no children.

Therefore, Xian Guifei was undoubtedly a perfect successor, so after Fu Cha's death, Qianlong and the Empress Dowager immediately recognized her as the new queen. However, less than 100 days after Yuan Pei's death, Emperor Qianlong's book was created, which can be described as fickle and disloyal. Therefore, in order to avoid affecting his reputation, the hypocritical emperor Qianlong created the "six-palace concubine photo system". First, he explicitly acknowledged the status of Xianguifei as a quasi-queen, and then showed that the filial piety queen had just died and could not bear to stand up quickly, but she was afraid that the queen mother felt uncomfortable being served by the queen. So, according to the example of Li and others, the imperial concubine was first conferred as the imperial concubine of the Sixth Palace and exercised the power of the queen. One year later, the imperial concubine was conferred, and the filial piety queen died in July, and then the ceremony of the queen was performed.

However, it is somewhat debatable for Qianlong to take Li as an example to defend himself. It is true that Zhu Yuanzhang set up a concubine to manage the harem after Ma Huanghou's death, but he did not intend to be a second wife. Secondly, it happened after Ma Huanghou's three-year mourning period, which is really different from the rapid succession of Qianlong after the death of Empress Hyo-hyun a few days ago. According to historical data, Emperor Qianlong established it voluntarily and willingly after he ascended the throne. It's not that he made excuses to render it online under the pressure of Empress Dowager Cixi. The audience should know. As for the break between Qianlong and the next day, that is another story.