Shunzhi This article is excerpted from "The Twelve Concubines of the Qing Dynasty" Author: Xu Guangyuan Published by: Zhonghua Book Company In the early Qing Dynasty, there were many mysterious cases, which have long been a hot topic not only for historians, but also for the literary and art circles Among the important themes to focus on and interpret, whether Emperor Shunzhi became a monk or not is one of them. In this issue, Concubine Dong E, who was favored by Emperor Shunzhi, naturally became one of the focuses of people's attention. In many movies, TV dramas and novels, it is said that Emperor Shunzhi was disheartened because of the death of Concubine Dong E, and insisted on becoming a monk, which caused a huge shock to the political situation of the Qing Dynasty at that time. It can be said that Concubine Dong E had no intention of being interested in politics, but her every move, especially her death, had a huge impact on the political situation in the early Qing Dynasty. And the legend about her makes her even more mysterious. The mystery of life experience is said by Dong Xiaowan, a famous prostitute in Qinhuai. Novels such as "Romance of the Qing Palace" and "Thirteen Dynasties of the Qing Palace" all described Empress Xiaoxian Dong E as the famous Qinhuai prostitute Dong Xiaowan. The brief plot is: Hong Chengchou, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, was originally a lustful person. He had long heard the name of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" (Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Liu Rushi, Dong Xiaowan, Gu Meisheng, Kou Baimen, Chen Yuanyuan), and especially admired Dong Xiaowan. When Hong conquered the south of the Yangtze River, he captured Dong Xiaowan alive and hid in his mansion, trying to occupy him, but Xiaowan refused to obey. Hong had no choice but to present Xiaowan to the palace in the second year of Shunzhi (1645), and she became the favorite concubine of the Shunzhi Emperor. It is also said that Xiaowan was captured by Prince Duduo of Yu and sent to the palace. There is indeed a person named Dong Xiaowan, named Bai and courtesy name Qinglian. He was born in the fourth year of Tianqi in the Ming Dynasty (1624) and was a famous prostitute in Qinhuai. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), 19-year-old Dong Xiaowan became a concubine and married Maoxiang, one of the famous "Four Young Masters" (Fang Yizhi, Chen Zhenhui, Hou Fangyu, and Maoxiang) who was 14 years older than her. The two have a sincere relationship and respect each other as guests. During the war, the couple was displaced and dependent on each other for nine years. Dong Xiaowan finally died of illness on the second day of the first lunar month in the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651) due to overwork. He was 28 years old and was buried in Yingmei Temple of the Chang family in Rugao. Why are the unrelated Dong Xiaowan and Concubine Dong E brought together? Maybe it's because both of them have the word "Dong" in their surnames, and both of them are stunningly beautiful women who have conquered the country. When some literati were writing unofficial histories, in order to make the plot bizarre and attractive, or to deliberately slander the Qing emperor, they used the technique of grafting on past stories and describing Dong Xiaowan as Concubine Dong E. In fact, "Dong" in Concubine Dong'e is a Manchu transliteration, and "Dong'e" is also translated as "Dong'e", "Donggu", "Donggu" and "Dongguo". Prince Xiang Fujin said. Nowadays, there are many writings and movies and TV dramas that believe that Concubine Dong E was originally Prince Xiang's Fu Jin, and was later brought into the palace by Emperor Shunzhi and became his favorite concubine. Prince Xiang, Bomu Boguoer, was the eleventh son of Huang Taiji, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty. He was born on December 20, Shenshi, in the sixth year of Chongde (1641). His biological mother was the concubine of Linzhi Palace in the fifth palace built by Huang Taiji. Borjigit was conferred the title of Prince Heshuoxiang on February 21, the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), and died on July 3 of the following year at the age of 16. Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne at a young age, and his mother, Queen Xiaozhuangwen, was extremely strict with him. In addition, the power of the court had been long-term in charge of his uncle Dorgon, which formed a violent and jealous character. Empress Xiaozhuangwen, out of consideration for the political edict of Emperor Shunzhi appointing Queen Borzigit, made her niece, the daughter of Wu Keshan, Prince Zhuoliketu of the Horqin Tribe of Mongolia, the queen. The little queen had been spoiled since she was a child, was sarcastic, and could not understand the difficulties of Emperor Shunzhi. She often had quarrels with Emperor Shunzhi, and the couple's relationship was not harmonious. Therefore, Emperor Shunzhi felt that everything was not going as he wished, and he was very depressed. In the early Qing Dynasty, there was a system where married women took turns to serve the concubines. Dong E often served in the harem, which provided opportunities for Emperor Shunzhi and Dong E to meet and fall in love. Dong E's beauty and talent deeply attracted the heart of the passionate young emperor. Dong E's husband, who had been away at war all year round and lonely in his boudoir, also developed a liking for Emperor Shunzhi. The two congenial people quickly fell in love. There is a memory of Tang Ruowang in "The Biography of Tang Ruowang": Emperor Shunzhi fell in love with the wife of a Manchu soldier. When the soldier reprimanded his wife for this, he was slapped in a very strange way by the emperor himself, who was aware of his rebuke. The soldier then died of resentment, perhaps by suicide. The emperor then brought the soldier's widow into the palace and made him a noble concubine. This noble concubine gave birth to a son in 1660, and the emperor wanted to designate him as the future crown prince. But a few weeks later, the prince died, and his mother died shortly thereafter. The emperor was so saddened by the portrait of Empress Xiao Kangzhang (Kangxi's biological mother) that he sought death and survival at all costs. Who is this prince, and who is his biological mother? Tang Ruowang didn't say anything clearly. Fulin Emperor had 8 princes. Except for Xuanye, among the 7 princes, 5 of them, including the second son Fuquan, the fifth son Chang Ning, the sixth son Qishao, the seventh son Longxi, and the eighth son Yongqian, all died in Kangxi. North Korea, don’t think about it. This left only the emperor's eldest son Niuniu and the emperor's fourth son. Niu Niu was born on the first day of November in the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651) and died on the 30th day of the first month of the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652). He only lived for 89 days. His biological mother was the concubine Ba Shi. Although this son also died early, he did not die in the later years of Shunzhi. Moreover, his biological mother was the concubine Ba Shi and was never named a noble concubine. Therefore, Niuniu and Ba Shi could not be the prince and the noble concubine mentioned by Tang Ruowang. Now only the fourth prince is left.
The son was born on the 7th of October in the 14th year of Shunzhi (1657) and died on the 24th of the first lunar month in the 15th year of Shunzhi (1658). His biological mother was the imperial concubine Dong E, who later became Queen Xiaoxian. Dong E died on August 19, the seventeenth year of Shunzhi (1660). From this point of view, Tang Ruowang can only be talking about the fourth son of the emperor and the imperial concubine Dong E. But there are two discrepancies here. One is that the fourth son of the emperor was born in 1657 AD, while Tang Ruowang said it was 1660. The other is that the biological mother of the fourth son of the emperor was the imperial concubine, not the imperial concubine. Regardless of legends or conjectures, the final consensus is that this Dong E family had unparalleled beauty and outstanding talent. He won the exclusive love of Emperor Shunzhi in the harem of three thousand beauties and would remain loyal to him until his death. So, who is this Dong E family, and what kind of charm does she have that can win the love of Emperor Shunzhi? Fulin's various comforts and cares on the "Respect the Buddha" stele (rubbing) written in Shunzhi's handwriting did not alleviate Concubine Dong E's mental pain caused by the loss of her beloved son. Her already very weak and sick body made it worse. On August 19, the 17th year of Shunzhi (1660), Concubine Dong E, a famous concubine and peerless beauty, died of illness in Chengqian Palace, one of the six eastern palaces. She was only 22 years old. According to Fulin, when he died, Dong E's "speech and movement were calm, he sat upright and called the Buddha's name, and he exhaled before dying. A few days after the collapse, his appearance was as stable as usual." The successive deaths of his beloved son and beloved concubine made Fulin's spirit almost collapse. He was completely disillusioned and saw through the world of mortals. He abandoned the country and the country like worn-out shoes. He insisted on becoming a monk and asked the monk Xisen to shave his hair. Later, Xisen's master Yulin threatened to burn Xisen to death, which forced Fulin to give up the idea of ??becoming a monk. Fulin was so distraught that he expressed his condolences to his beloved concubine with an extraordinary funeral ceremony. On the third day after Dong E's death, that is, August 21, Fulin ordered the Ministry of Rites: "The imperial concubine Dong E passed away on August 19. According to the decree of the Queen Mother, the imperial concubine has assisted in internal affairs for many years. , Shu Dezhang heard that the palace was transformed into a royal palace. I was deeply saddened by my passing away, so I should posthumously be named queen to show my respect. 'I am grateful to the emperor for the posthumous title, and add the posthumous title.' "Xiao Xianzhuang and Zhi Dexuanren are gentle and respectful to the queen." The ceremony should be carried out, and the ministry will carefully review it and quickly discuss the posthumous title. , stop at the cross, I still apologize for not having the words "Heaven" and "Saint"." Why did Fulin apologize for not having the words "heaven" and "sage"? Because of the posthumous title law of the Qing Dynasty, the last four characters of the queen's posthumous title are "×天×圣", "Tian" represents the first emperor, and "Sheng" represents the subsequent emperor, indicating the relationship between the queen and the former emperor and the subsequent emperor. For example, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, Empress Xiaozhuangwen "supported internal affairs, and the older she became," she later assisted Emperors Shun and Kang. Therefore, the last four characters of her posthumous title are "Yitian Qisheng". The last four characters of Dong E's posthumous title were "Wen Hui Duan Jing", which was obviously one level lower than the queen with the characters "Heaven" and "Sheng", so Fulin felt guilty. (Source of this article: NetEase Author: Xu Guangyuan) Emperor Shunzhi ordered everyone from princes to fourth-rank officials, princesses and concubines to gather in tears, and those who did not mourn discussed the matter. Fortunately, the empress dowager "struggled to resolve it". Shunzhi wanted to consign 30 eunuchs and maids to death "so that the imperial concubine would not lack servants in other worlds", but was later dissuaded. On August 27, the 17th year of Shunzhi (1660), Concubine Dong E's Zi Palace was moved from the imperial palace to the Guande Hall in Jingshan for temporary resting. Those who carried the Zi Palace were all second- and third-rank ministers of the Eight Banners of Manchuria. In the Qing Dynasty, this was not only unique among the funerals of imperial concubines, but also never seen in the funerals of emperors and empresses. After Dong E's Zi Palace moved to Jingshan, Fulin held a large-scale water and land ashram for her, with 108 monks chanting sutras. All day long there was a loud noise of cymbals, paper was burned, cigarettes were burning, paper ashes were flying, and the sound of sutras continued. On the "March 7th" day (the twenty-first day), Concubine Dong E's body was cremated together with Zi Gong, and Xisen held a torch to hold the fire. After cremation, the ashes are put into the "treasure palace" (urn). Made in the Qing Dynasty: The emperor usually used a red pen when approving memorials. In case of national mourning, he used a blue pen. After 27 days, he used a red pen again. As for the funeral of Concubine Dong E, Fulin used blue pen to review the memorial, which lasted for four months from August to December. The soul of the confidante who doted on the harem passed away to the west, leaving endless sorrow and memories for Fulin, the infatuated emperor who did not love the country but loved the beauty. In order to highlight Dong E's virtues, good words and good deeds, Fulin ordered university scholar Jin Zhijun to write a biography of Dong E, and also ordered cabinet bachelors Hu Zhaolong and Wang Xi to compile Dong E's quotations. Fulin personally wrote "The Deeds of Empress Xiaoxian" with great affection, using specific examples of "Imperial Mourning Book" and "Imperial Deeds" written in memory of Concubine Dong E by Dashunzhi to demonstrate Dong E's kind words and commendations. The book contains four thousand words of words about conduct and virtue, and is very rich in content. Honor your mother. "When you are the Queen Mother, you take care of her. She looks like a child, and she walks around like a female attendant." "Since Fei Hou (the Hou in "Xing Zhi" is Dong E's family) is on the side, I am not happy." "Whenever we go in or out, we will be together." Caring for your husband. "I am like my father in my work", "I live in the morning and evening, pay attention to food and drink, and pay no attention to the music." "I seal things in every province until midnight, and I will always be by my side." She politely advised Fulin to be diligent in government affairs, love his subjects, and be especially cautious about prison sentences.