Niuhuru, Empress Sheng Xian

Infobox_Monarch
name = Empress Xiao Sheng Xian
title = Empress of China


date of birth = 1692
date of death = 1777
consort = The Yongzheng Emperor
royal house = House of Aisin Gioro of the Qing Dynasty
issue = Aisin-Gioro Hongli, Emperor Qianlong |

Empress Xiao Sheng Xian ( _zh. 孝聖憲皇后鈕祜祿氏; Manchu: Hiyoošungga Enduringge Temgetulehe Hūwanghu) 1692 - 1777, was a daughter of Ling Chu, the First Prince Liang Rong of the Manchu yellow banner corps, and granddaughter of Prince Eidu of the Niuhuru Clan.

Biography

Lady Niuhuru entered the Yongzheng Emperor's household in 1705. In 1711 she gave birth to Prince Hongli, the future Qianlong Emperor. Niuhuru was granted the title of the "Consort Xi" ( _zh. 熹妃) in 1723. One year later she was granted the title of the "Noble Consort Xi" ( _zh. 熹貴妃). And after the death of her husband in 1735, her son Hongli became the new Emperor. She was thus granted the title of the "Imperial Dowager Empress Chong Qing" ( _zh. 崇慶皇太后).

The Qianlong Emperor often visited his mother. Niuhuru always joined the Emperor on his trips to the North and the South. By all accounts the Dowager Empress was widely respected. When she became too old for travelling, the Emperor stopped and travelled again after her death. The Emperor had great respect for his mother and would often seek her advice. Her sixtieth birthday was lavishly celebrated, poems read in her honour and sacrifices made to the gods by the Emperor and the entire court. He even made a concubine of the Wuya clan his Empress only because she was in favour with the Dowager Empress.

Niuhuru died in 1777 at the age of 85 years.

Titles Held from Birth to Death

*1692-1705: Niuhuru (鈕祜祿氏)
*1711-1723: Princess Niuhuru (格格鈕祜祿氏)
*1723-1724: Niuhuru, Consort Xi (熹妃鈕祜祿氏)
*1724-1735: Niuhuru, Noble Consort Xi (熹貴妃鈕祜祿氏)
*1735-1777: Niuhuru, Chong Qing Imperial Dowager Empress (崇慶皇太后鈕祜祿氏)

Titles Granted Retroactively

*Niuhuru, Empress Xiao Sheng Xian (孝聖憲皇后鈕祜祿氏)

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