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The Empresses of Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Daoguang
· 2024
Empress Niohuru of the Jiaqing Emperor and the second Empress Niohuru of the Daoguang Emperor were both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and aunt and…
The Mystery of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang Marrying Down
· 2024
The term xiajia ("marrying down") is mostly used for noblewomen who marry into a family of lower or far lower status and means. An emperor's daughter …
The Mystery of Shunzhi Becoming a Monk
· 2024
Monarch and monk stand at two opposite extremes of human existence—one intensely engaged with the world, the other utterly detached from it. For an or…
The Mystery of Great Consort Abahai's Sacrificial Burial
· 2024
The palace mysteries of the Qing dynasty were in fact already proliferating when the dynasty, still beyond the passes, called itself the Later Jin. Th…
Niohuru, Mother of Qianlong
· 2024
Who gave birth to Emperor Qianlong? Official histories all record that he was born to Niohuru, a concubine of Yongzheng, while the latter was still a …
The Yehe Nara Clan
· 2024
Ever since Yehenara entered the palace, the empress had been deeply displeased by her words and conduct in attracting the emperor's attention, and oft…
Empress Xiaozhuangwen
· 2024
Consort Zhuang, born Bumbutai, was the youngest daughter of Jaisang, a beile of the Horchin Mongols. She was a woman, yet even in an age that esteemed…