Getting Rich from Legend of Zhen Huan

Emperor Yongzheng told his ministers, "Since the Empress was a child (about 12 years old), she was ordered by Emperor Shengzu Ren to marry me. Since the marriage, she has served my grandparents, Empress Dowager Renxian, Emperor Shengzu Ren, and Empress Dowager Renshou, in Changchun Garden for her entire life. She has been filial and respectful for more than 20 years and has been deeply loved by the three elders. She has always been diligent and frugal. I originally wanted to attend all the state ceremonies to pay tribute to the Empress in person to express my grief. However, since last year, my health has been unwell (I am nearly 36 years old). If I were to attend the funeral in person, not only would I be physically exhausted from going back and forth between the funeral ceremonies, but the sight of the scene would also make me more sad and upset. Moreover, military affairs are urgent and all arrangements require much planning." [38] [40] [-]

In October of the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign (1731 AD), in accordance with the etiquette system, the coffin of the late empress was moved and temporarily placed in the Tiancailu Palace. All the kings, civil and military officials gathered together to kneel and pay their respects in mourning.

Emperor Yongzheng specially ordered a ceremony to hold a memorial ceremony for the late Empress, and the three sons of the Heshuo Princes performed the ceremony: He ordered Duolo Chunjun Prince Hongliang (the sixth son of Prince Yunyou) to perform the memorial ceremony for the Empress. For the first memorial ceremony for the Empress, Heshuo Li Prince Hongxi (the second son of the former Crown Prince Yunreng) was sent to perform the memorial ceremony for the late Empress. For the third memorial ceremony for the late Empress, Heshuo Yu Prince Guanglu (the third son of Prince Baoshou) was sent to perform the memorial ceremony for the Empress [41-42].

In November of the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign (1731), Emperor Yongzheng took the initiative to send an official to inform the King of Korea of ​​the death of the late Queen in advance. [43-45]

In December, Emperor Yongzheng ordered Prince Li Hongxi and Prince Xian Yanhuang (Prince Danzhen's sixth son) to hold the imperial seal and confer the posthumous title of "Empress Xiaojing" on the late empress.[19]

In the first month of the tenth year of Yongzheng’s reign (1732), the ceremony of conferring a posthumous title on Empress Xiaojing was completed. The Ministry of Rites requested that the king of Korea be informed of the imperial decree as usual. Yongzheng replied: “I had informed the king of the death in November of last year. Now that the ceremony of conferring a posthumous title is completed, I have sent officials to go. I am afraid that the foreign vassal state will be burdened with the task of welcoming and sending off the king and providing him with supplies. Therefore, I will not send officials this time. I only need to issue the format of the document and inform the king of my decree.” [44]

On September 1732, the 5th year of Yongzheng’s reign (), the anniversary of the empress’s death, officials were ordered to offer sacrifices in accordance with the custom of the Qing dynasty’s ancestors. []

In October of the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign (1732), the Joseon King Yi Sun sent his attendant Yi Yixian and others to present a memorial to congratulate the Empress Xiaojing on her consecration ceremony and to thank her for the granting of the manuscript of the Joseon biography and to reward her as usual. [5]

In the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth years of Yongzheng's reign, on every New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival, Emperor Yongzheng would send officials to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and honor the empress. October 30th was Emperor Yongzheng's birthday: according to past practice, court celebrations and banquets were suspended, and officials were sent to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and honor the empress.

Qianlong and Jiaqing periods

In August of the 1735th year of Yongzheng's reign (46), Emperor Yongzheng was seriously ill. His fourth son Hongli and fifth son Hongzhou served him day and night in Yuanmingyuan. Emperor Yongzheng appointed his fourth son Hongli as the crown prince before passing away on his sickbed. [47-]

In November of the 1735th year of Yongzheng's reign (), Hongli ascended the throne. Emperor Qianlong performed memorial ceremonies in front of the coffin of Empress Xiaojing, posthumously conferred the title of Prince Duan on Honghui, the deceased son of his biological mother, and moved Honghui's tomb to be buried there.

In March of the second year of Qianlong's reign (1737), Emperor Qianlong ordered the coffins of Emperor Yongzheng and Empress Xiaojingxian to be buried together in the Qingtai Mausoleum, and Noble Consort Dunsu was buried with them.

According to convention, the posthumous title was added by later generations, and the full name is: Empress Xiaojinggongheyishunzhaohuizhuangsuankangzuotianyishengxian, abbreviated as: Empress Xiaojingxian.

Historical records

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1. "Draft History of Qing Dynasty·Volume ·Biography " records as follows:

Empress Xiaojingxian of Emperor Shizong, of the Ulanara clan, was the daughter of the Grand Secretary Fei Yanggu. When Emperor Shizong was a prince, Emperor Shengzu (Kangxi) canonized her as his legitimate wife. In the first year of the Yongzheng reign, she was canonized as the empress. In the ninth year of the ninth month, she died. At that time, the emperor had just recovered from illness and wanted to attend the funeral in person, but the ministers advised him not to. The emperor issued an edict saying, "Since the empress was a child, she was ordered by the emperor (Kangxi) to marry me. Since we got married, for more than forty years, she has been filial and respectful, and has always been consistent. I have been taking care of myself for many years and have finally recovered. If I attend the funeral in person, I will be more sad when I see the scene, which is not suitable for recuperation. However, although the state has prepared the ceremonies for the empress's funeral, I have not yet completed the etiquette. Weighing the importance of both emotion and words, please give me your opinions." The ministers discussed: "According to the Ming Huidian, there is no etiquette for the empress to attend the funeral in person, so the princes are allowed to pay tribute every morning and evening. When there is a sacrifice, they can send officials to stop paying tribute in person." The emperor agreed. She was posthumously named Empress Xiaojing. When Emperor Shizong died, she was buried together with him in Tailing Mausoleum. Emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing successively gave her posthumous titles, namely, Empress Xiaojing, Gonghe, Yishun, Zhaohui, Zhuangsu, Ankang, Zuotianyi, Shengxian. [48]

2. "Letters from Jesuits in China: Memoirs of China 3"

Letter from Jesuit missionary Father Gondensin to Jesuit Father Etienen Souciet (written in Guangzhou on December 1727, 12)

In December of the first year of Yongzheng's reign (1723), the entire court congratulated the empress on her enthronement:

1 Two years after the new emperor ascended the throne, he chose one of his concubines as the empress. The empress was a Manchu princess from a distinguished family who had made great contributions. The emperor issued an imperial edict to announce his choice to the whole country. In the imperial edict, Emperor Yongzheng praised his choice of empress. There should have been a grand celebration, but the emperor had not yet completed the three-year mourning period for his father (Kangxi), so it had to be different, so "there was no big celebration"...

2 The imperial report mentioned the report made by the Governor of Shandong to the Emperor on this work and his account to the Ministry of Relief. There were women over 3453 years old, women over years old, and women over years old. It is hard to believe in Europe that there are so many women of such advanced age in just one province, especially in Shandong Province. In addition, there are women from the families of officials who have served or are currently in office. They do not want to be included in the list, ashamed to leave their surnames and ashamed to receive this charity mainly for the poor. If these women are added to the friends, the number will be far more than this. But this number is not surprising to the missionaries who traveled around China. The missionaries themselves knew that China has a large population. Generally speaking, the consumption of Chinese people who are frugal is enough to feed Europeans for a long time. The number of elderly women is extremely large, so how can they imagine such a large amount of charity from the emperor? Taking Shandong Province as an example, each woman over years old received two écu, each woman over years old received three écu, and each woman over years old received four écu. This was the minimum number, because women over years old received the equivalent of four ounces of silver, about francs. In addition to this expenditure in Shandong Province, thirteen other provinces in China also had to spend the same amount. In Liaodong, you can see that this charity was indeed given by the court.

The above is about the gifts given by the new empress to older women. From the first year of his accession to the throne, the emperor stipulated similar rewards for the elderly in three age groups. In this regard, the emperor and the empress set an example of respecting the elderly (filial piety). This respect for the elderly in China is not limited to this. When a man or a woman lives to be a hundred years old, regardless of whether he is rich or poor, a memorial arch similar to a triumphal arch or a stone tablet will be erected in front of his house, with some words praising them engraved on it. The cost will be borne by the emperor. If a person deserves to be executed, he can be spared from death just because he has to support his elderly parents.