Empress Xiaocigao (Qing dynasty)

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

Empress Xiaocigao
Khatun of Great Jin (posthumously)
Wax figure of Empress Xiaocigao
Born	Yehe Nara Monggo Jerjer (葉赫那拉·孟古哲哲) 1575 (1575) (萬曆三年)
Died	31 October 1603(1603-10-31) (aged 27–28) (萬曆三十一年 九月 二十七日)
Burial	Fu Mausoleum
Spouse	Nurhaci ​ (m. 1588⁠–⁠1603)​
Issue	Hong Taiji
Names Yehe Nara Monggo Jerjer (葉赫那拉 孟古哲哲; ᠮᠣᠩᡤᠣᠵᡝᠵᡝ) 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)
House	Yehe Nara (葉赫那拉; by birth) Aisin Gioro (by marriage)
Father	Yangginu

Empress Xiaocigao
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	孝慈高皇后
Simplified Chinese	孝慈高皇后
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiàocígāo Huánghòu
Manchu name
Manchu script	ᡥᡳᠶᠣᠣᡧᡠᠩᡤᠠ ᡤᠣᠰᡳᠨ ᡩᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡥᡝᠣ
Romanization	hiyoošungga gosin dergi hūwangheo

Life

Family background

• Father: Yangginu (楊吉努; d. 1584), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
  • Paternal grandfather: Taicu (台杵), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
  • Paternal uncle: Cinggiyanu (清佳砮; d. 1584), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒), the father of Bujai (d. 1593)
• Two elder brothers
  • First elder brother: Narimbulu (納林布祿; d. 1609), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
  • Second elder brother: Gintaisi (d. 1619), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)

Wanli era

In October or November 1588, Lady Yehe Nara married Nurhaci, becoming one of his multiple wives. On 28 November 1592, she gave birth to Nurhaci's eighth son, Hong Taiji. Lady Yehe Nara died on 31 October 1603.

Chongde era

On 16 May 1636, after Hong Taiji proclaimed the Qing dynasty, Lady Yehe Nara was posthumously elevated to "Empress Xiaociwu".

Kangxi era

In 1662, Lady Yehe Nara's posthumous title was changed from "Empress Xiaociwu" to "Empress Xiaocigao", reflecting her status as a consort of Nurhaci (Emperor Gao).

Titles

• During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
  • Lady Yehe Nara (from 1575)
  • Secondary consort (側福晉; from October/November 1588)
  • Primary consort (大福晉)
• During the reign of Hong Taiji (r. 1626–1643):
  • Empress Xiaociwu (孝慈武皇后; from 16 May 1636)
• During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
  • Empress Xiaocigao (孝慈高皇后; from 1662)

Issue

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

In fiction and popular culture

• Portrayed by Mak Tsui-han in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1987)
• Portrayed by Shi Xiaoqun in Taizu Mishi (2005)

See also

• Ranks of imperial consorts in China § Qing
• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty
• Yehe Nara clan

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.