Empress Nara

In the Draft History of Qing, the future Step Empress is noted as being a member of the Ula-Nara clan.[4] However, the Draft History of Qing is noted to be riddled with errors, due to a hasty publication that precluded an editing process.[5]

Empress's father, Narbu, is noted in the book Genealogy of the Manchu Clans (Chinese: 八旗滿洲氏族通譜) as being a descendant of Wangginu (Chinese: 王機砮), a leader of the Hoifa clan, and the family's ancestors are listed under the section "People with the surname Nara in the Hoifa area" (Chinese: 輝發地方納喇氏) as having lived in the Hoifa area for generations.[6] Therefore, some modern publications have stated the Step Empress is a member of the Hoifa-Nara tribe.[7] But due to the fact that the Ula-Nara clan is the most ancient Nara clan, the Step Empress's ancestors might have changed their last name to Ula-Nara to make their name more noble.

However, at least one author has noted that with members of the Nara clan, the name that comes before Nara merely denotes the geographical area in which the family resided in, and that all members of the clan share the same last name, regardless of their area of residence.[8] In the Factual Record of Qing (Chinese: 清實錄), when the Step Empress, at the time the secondary consort of Qianlong, was elevated to Consort Xian, she was referred to as being of the Nara clan, rather than as a member of the Ula-Nara or Hoifa-Nara tribe.[9]

The debate over the Empress's maiden name has manifested itself in two 2018 media portrayals of the Empress's life.

• In the Story of Yanxi Palace, the character based on the Step Empress was named Hoifa-Nara Shushen.
• In Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, the character based on the Step Empress was named Ula-Nara Ruyi/Qingying.[10]

The date of the Step Empress's birth is a matter of debate, with the book Four Genealogies of the Qing Royal House stating that she was born some time in the second lunar month of an unknown year,[11] and at least one modern book stating that she was born on the 10th day of the 2nd month of the 57th year of Kangxi Emperor's reign.[lower-alpha 1][3] She was born to Narbu, a Niru ejen, or assistant captain. The family is of the Bordered Blue Banner.[11]

Before Hongli's enthronement in 1735, his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, appointed Lady Nara as his secondary consort.[12] Lady Nara was noted to have gained Hongli's favour during this time.[3] After the death of Yongzheng, Hongli succeeded him as the Qianlong Emperor, and Lady Nara was granted the title "Consort Xian" (Chinese: 嫻妃) on 23 January 1738.[lower-alpha 2][9] Her pleasant character also won the favour of Qianlong's mother, the Empress Dowager Chongqing,[12] and on 9 December 1745, she was promoted to "Noble Consort Xian" (Chinese: 嫻貴妃).[13]

Qianlong's first empress, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died on the 8th day of the 3rd month of the 13th year of Qianlong at the age of 37,[lower-alpha 3][14] on board a boat in Dezhou under circumstances that were not well documented by historical sources.[15]

The emperor's mother, posthumously known as Empress Xiaoshengxian, selected Lady Nara to administer the affairs of the six palaces. The emperor duly objected because he was still grieving the loss of his first beloved empress and was thus reluctant to appoint a second empress so quickly. But he was also hard-pressed to disobey his mother's wishes. As a compromise, he promoted Lady Nara to the position of "Imperial Noble Consort"[16][12] (Chinese: 皇貴妃) via an edict issued on the 5th day of the 4th month of the 13th year of his reign,[lower-alpha 4], giving her administrative powers over the harem as acting Empress.[17]

Two years later, an edict to appoint the Imperial Noble Consort as the new empress was issued on the 12th day of the 7th month of the 15th year of Qianlong.[lower-alpha 5][18] The decision was made following the mourning period for Empress Xiaoxianchun.[19] From then on, Empress Nara accompanied Qianlong on many trips, ancestral worship ceremonies, and hunts.[20] Between the 17th year of Qianlong to the 20th year,[lower-alpha 6] the Step Empress gave birth to three children: 12th prince, Yongji (永璂), an unnamed 5th daughter and the 13th prince, Yongjing (永璟), respectively.[20]

The Step Empress died on the 7th month of the 31st year of Qianlong.[lower-alpha 9] However, the exact date of her death is a matter of debate. The Draft History of Qing, which has accuracy and reliability concerns, stated that she died on the Jiawu,[lower-alpha 10] while modern works have listed her death as having happened on the 14th day of the 7th month.[lower-alpha 11][27]

The Step Empress was already seriously ill on the 6th month of that same year,[lower-alpha 12] but Qianlong did not otherwise delay a trip to the summer residence in Chengde.[28]

At the time of the Step Empress's death, the Qianlong Emperor was on an annual hunting excursion at the Mulan Hunting Grounds (木蘭圍場, in the present-day Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County).[29] He did not end his excursion immediately and head back to the Forbidden City. Instead, he ordered his 12th son, Yongji (the Step Empress's biological son)[28] to return to the palace to handle the funerary affairs.

By the Qianlong Emperor's order, the Step Empress's funeral was treated as that of an Imperial Noble Consort,[29] but in reality, the ceremony was a much more scaled down affair, with the cancellation of imperial cabinet meetings for five days not carried out, and the cancellation of requirements for princesses, nobles, and high-ranking court officials to attend the mourning sessions.[28] In addition, the casket used for the Step Empress was of a much lower quality.[28] For her burial, the Step Empress was laid to rest in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs, next to Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui, instead of being entombed next to the Emperor's future resting place.[30]

• During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
  • Lady Nara (from 11 March 1718)
• During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735):
  • Secondary consort (側福晉; from 2 December 1734)
• During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796):
  • Consort Xian (嫻妃; from 23 January 1738), fourth rank consort
  • Noble Consort Xian (嫻貴妃; from 9 December 1745), third rank consort
  • Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; from 20 May 1749), second rank consort
  • Empress (皇后; from 2 September 1750)

• As Empress:
  • Yongji (永璂; 25th day of the 4th month of the 17th year of Qianlong;[20] 7 June 1752–17 March 1776)[lower-alpha 13] the Qianlong Emperor's 12th son.[31]
  • Fifth daughter (23rd day of the 6th month of the 18th year of Qianlong;[20] 23 July 1753–1 June 1755)
  • Yongjing (永璟; born 21st day of the 12th month of the 20th year of Qianlong;[lower-alpha 14] 22 January 1756–7 September 1757), the Qianlong Emperor's 13th son.[20]

• Portrayed as Consort Lan by Tsui Si-fei in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1988).
• Portrayed as the Empress by Dai Chunrong in My Fair Princess (1998).[32]
• Portrayed by Li Yun in Qianlong Dynasty (2003).
• Portrayed by Jiang Lili in My Fair Princess III (2003).
• Portrayed by Xu Xiaodan in The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan (2004).
• Portrayed by Sheren Tang in New My Fair Princess (2011).
• Portrayed as Ula-Nara Qingying by Zhang Yan in Empresses in the Palace (2011).[33]
• Portrayed as Empress Ula-Nara by Fan Bingbing in The Lady in the Portrait (2017).[34]
• Portrayed as Hoifa-Nara Shushen by Charmaine Sheh in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018).[35]
• Portrayed as Ula-Nara Qingying/Ula-Nara Ruyi by Zhou Xun in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018).

• Imperial Chinese harem system
• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

Many historical materials on the Step Empress utilize the ancient Chinese lunisolar calendar, coupled with the Chinese era name system. The following Gregorian calendar dates were derived, using a date converter developed by the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

• Zhang, Caitian; Wu, Changshou (1928). "列傳一" [Biography 1]. 清史稿 (The Draft History of Qing) (in Traditional Chinese). 214. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
• Chung, Yik (28 August 2018). "乾隆繼后那拉氏" [Qianlong's Step Empress of the Clan Nara]. Ta Kung Pao (in Traditional Chinese).
• Xu, Guangyuan (2013). You, Qihui (ed.). 大清后妃寫真 [An Accurate Description of Great Qing's Empresses and Concubines] (in Traditional Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan: Yuan-Liou Publishing Co Ltd. ISBN 978-957-32-7139-0.
• Chen, Jiexian (May 2018). Jiang, Jiawei (ed.). 以史為鑑―漫談明清史事 [Taking History as a Guide: A detailed discussion of Ming and Qing Historical Events] (in Traditional Chinese) (初版第一刷 (Early Edition, First Printing) ed.). Taipei: San Min Book. ISBN 978-957-14-6398-8.
• Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Lau, Clara; Stefanowska, A.D. (17 July 2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-47588-0.
• Chang, Michael G (23 March 2020). A Court on Horseback: Imperial Touring & the Construction of Qing Rule, 1680–1785. BRILL. ISBN 978-1-68417-456-0.