Empress Xiaokangzhang


Empress Xiaokangzhang, of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Tunggiya clan, was a consort of the Shunzhi Emperor.

Life

Family background

Empress Xiaokangzhang's personal name was not recorded in history. Her family originally belonged to the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner. Although her family was of Jurchen descent, they had lived among Han Chinese for many generations and had been assimilated into Han Chinese society in Fushun, Liaoning, during the Ming dynasty, hence they were regarded as nikan by the Manchus and placed under a Han banner instead of a Manchu banner.
The Han Chinese Banner Tong 佟 clan of Fushun in Liaoning falsely claimed to be related to the Jurchen Manchu Tunggiya 佟佳 clan of Jilin, using this false claim to get themselves transferred to a Manchu banner in the reign of the Kangxi emperor.

Shunzhi era

In 1653, Lady Tong entered the Forbidden City and became a concubine of the Shunzhi Emperor. She never received any title or rank during his reign. On 4 May 1654, she gave birth to the emperor's third son, Xuanye.

Kangxi era

When the Shunzhi Emperor died on 5 February 1661, Xuanye was chosen to be the new emperor and was enthroned as the Kangxi Emperor. As the birth mother of the reigning emperor, Lady Tong was honoured as "Holy Mother, Empress Dowager Cihe".
Lady Tong died on 20 March 1663. Her death was reportedly due to an unknown illness but the circumstances surrounding her death were suspicious.Although she had never been Empress during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, she was granted the posthumous title "Empress Xiaokangzhang" by the Kangxi Emperor. She was interred in the Xiao Mausoleum alongside the Shunzhi Emperor and Consort Donggo.

Titles