Hoifa-Nara, the Step Empress


Nara, the Step Empress was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor during Qing Dynasty. She was seven years his junior.

Debate over maiden name

In the Draft History of Qing, the Step Empress is noted as being a member of the Ulanara clan. However, the Draft History of Qing is noted to be riddled with errors, due to a hasty publication that precluded an editing process.
The Step Empress's father, Narbu, is noted in the book Genealogy of the Manchu Clans as being a descendant of Wangginu, a leader of the Hoifa clan, and the family's ancestors are listed under the section "People with the surname Nala in the Hoifa area" as having lived in the Hoifa area for generations. Therefore, some modern publications have stated the Step Empress is a member of the Hoifa-Nara tribe. 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 Clan Nara, the name that comes before Nara merely denotes the geographical area in which the family resided in, and that all members of the Clan Nara share the same last name, regardless of their area of residence. In the "Factual Record of Qing", 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 Ulanara or Hoifa-nara tribe.
The debate over the Step Empress's maiden name has manifested itself in two 2018 media portrayals on the Empress's life. In the Story of Yanxi Palace, the character based on the Step Empress was named Hoifa-Nara Shushen, while in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, the character based on the Step Empress was named Ulanara Ruyi/Ulanara Qingying.

Life

Early life

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, 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. She was born to Narbu, a Niru ejen, or assistant captain. The family is of the Bordered Blue Banner.
During the reign of Yongzheng Emperor, the Step Empress was arranged to marry Hongli, the future Qianlong Emperor as his ashan i fujin, or secondary consort. She was 16 at the time. The Step Empress was noted to have gained the future Qianlong Emperor's favour during this time.

Life as a concubine

With the death of Yongzheng, Hongli succeeded Yongzheng as Qianlong Emperor, and Lady Nara was granted the title "Consort Xian" via an edict issued on the 4th day of the 12th month of the 2nd year of Qianlong. On the 17th day of the 11th month of the 10th year of Qianlong, Consort Xian was made Noble Consort Xian.

Promotion to empress

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, on board a boat in Dezhou under circumstances that were not well documented by historical sources.
Qianlong wanted to make Noble Consort Xian the next empress, but the court was still mourning Empress Xiaoxianchun's death. As a compromise, Qianlong first promoted Noble Consort Xian to the position of Imperial Noble Consort via an edict issued on the 5th day of the 4th month of the 13th year of Qianlong, and gave her administrative powers over the harem as an acting Empress.
Two years later, an edict to appoint the Imperial Noble Consort Xian as Empress was issued on the 12th day of the 7th month of the 15th year of Qianlong. The decision was made following a mourning period for Empress Xiaoxianchun.
In her role as the Step Empress, she accompanied Qianlong on many trips, ancestral worship ceremonies, and hunts. From the 17th year of Qianlong to the 20th year, the Step Empress gave birth to three children: 12th prince, Yongji, an unnamed 5th daughter of Qianlong, and 13th prince, Yongjing, respectively.

Downfall

According to the Draft History of Qing, in 1765, during the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, the Step Empress accompanied the emperor on a tour to Southern China. As the group arrived at Hangzhou, the Step Empress cut her hair, and was ordered by the emperor to return to the capital. The Emperor ordered Fulong'an, the husband of Qianlong's fourth daughter, to escort the Step Empress to Beijing via waterways.
Contemporary Qing customs held that a Manchurian cannot shave the hair on the top of his or her head until a hundred days after a funeral, and that hair on a queue is cut as a sign of deep mourning. The Step Empress's action was considered a grave faux pas, as it was taken as a gesture to curse Qianlong and the Empress Dowager.
Chinese author Li Shu, in her 2019 book on Qing imperial cuisine, made a claim on the exact moment the incident happened, using Qing Dynasty records of the portions of food an Emperor gave to his concubines and arguing that a granting of food portion represents an act of honor and love by the Emperor to its concubine. She postulated that the incident happened at some point following breakfast on the 18th day of the leap 2nd month of the 30th year of Qianlong, when the Step Empress received a portion of assorted meat, and before dinner that same day, when the Step Empress was not mentioned as having received any portion of food from the Emperor. In addition, starting from that dinner and thereafter, the Step Empress's name was covered up with yellow paper on records of food portion grants.
After the incident and following the Step Empress's return to the capital, she was still given the same amount of daily food and charcoal rations as would be accorded to an Empress, and she was given five eunuchs and two cooks. On the 14th day of the 5th month of the 30th year of Qianlong, following the Emperor's return to Beijing, the Emperor ordered that the Step Empress' four written edicts that bestowed her various imperial titles, as well as the accompanying gifts, be confiscated. In addition, the Step Empress' maid workforce was reduced to two, the same amount of maids that a Second-Class Female Attendant is allowed to have. In addition, Qianlong conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort on Consort Ling, half a month after his return to the capital. Under Qing Dynasty’s ranking of consorts, an Imperial Noble Consort is only a step below the Empress, meaning that while Consort Ling was not explicitly granted administrative powers over the harem, it definitely meant that the Step Empress has fallen out with the Emperor.

Death

The Step Empress died on the 7th month of the 31st year of Qianlong. 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, while modern works have listed her death as having happened on the 14th day of the 7th month.
The Step Empress was already seriously ill on the 6th month of that same year, but Qianlong did not otherwise delay a trip to the summer residence in Chengde.
At the time of the Step Empress's death, Qianlong was on an annual hunting excursion at the Mulan Hunting Grounds. He did not end his excursion immediately and head back to the Forbidden City. Instead, he ordered his 12th son, Yongji, 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. 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. In addition, the casket used for the Step Empress is of a much lower quality. 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 laid to rest next to the Emperor's future resting place. She is also the only Qing Empress to not have received a posthumous name, for example Empress XiaoXianChun. Such posthumous names were given to honor the dead, since she did not receive a posthumous name it showed clearly that she fell out of favor with the Qianlong Emperor.

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