Ulanara, the Step Empress

Infobox_Monarch | name =Empress Ulanara
title =Empress of China


date of birth =1718
date of death =1767 (aged 48)
father =General Narbu
spouse =The Qianlong Emperor|

Empress Ulanara ( _zh. 烏喇那拉皇后) a.k.a. The Step Empress, ( _zh. 繼皇后) 1718 ~ 1766, was the second Empress Consort of the Qing dynasty Qianlong Emperor of China. She was the daughter of General Narbu of the Manchu yellow banner.

Becoming Empress

During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, Ulanara was given by the Emperor to Prince Hongli (the future Qianlong Emperor) as a concubine. When Prince Hongli ascended the throne, Ulanara was given the title "Noble Consort Xian" ( _zh. 嫻貴妃). During the thirteenth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, the former Empress Consort, Empress Xiaoxian, died. The Empress Dowager Chongqing regarded the Noble Consort Xian as someone capable of being an Empress Consort, and urged the Qianlong Emperor to elevate her to an Empress. However, the Qianlong Emperor believed that it was an insult to the former Empress Consort to create a new Empress during her mourning period. Therefore, he firstly elevated Noble Consort Xian to "Imperial Noble Consort Xian" ( _zh. 嫻皇貴妃), and made her in charge of all the court ladies, just like an Empress Consort. When the mourning period of the former Empress was over, Ulanara was elevated to "Empress Consort". Half a month after her elevation ceremony, Empress Ulanara accompanied the Emperor to visit many important places, such as the tombs of the earlier emperors, Mount Wutai, and the southern cities. During the seventeenth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, Empress Ulanara gave birth to the twelfth prince, Yongji. The following year, she gave birth to the fifth princess.

Losing Favour

During the thirtieth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, Empress Ulanara accompanied the Emperor to tour the South for the fourth time. It became a turning point of Empress Ulanara's life.

In the beginning, everything went by normally. Qianlong even celebrated Empress Ulanara's forty-eighth birthday. On February 28, Qianlong awarded Empress Ulanara with numerous foods. However, on the evening, only three Imperial Consorts accompanied Qianlong for dinner, and Empress Ulanara disappeared from the public after that evening.

It was known later that on February 28, Qianlong ordered Ulanara to be sent back to Beijing via waterways, and ended his tour to the South. When Qianlong arrived in Beijing, he ordered the four monuments that he grant Ulanara at her four elevation ceremonies to be collected back. Meanwhile, he also reduced the servants working for Ulanara.

By July, Empress Ulanara only had two maids left, which was the number of servants which lowly ranked concubines possess. On July 14 the following year, Ulanara died, aged 49.

Reasons as to Losing Favour

It remains a mystery as to the reasons Ulanara lost favour in such a rapid manner. According to pseudohistorical records of the time, the reason as to Ulanara's loss of favour was that Ulanara cut her hair. In Manchu customs, cutting one's hair is only to be done in the death of a senior member of the family- in Ulanara's case, the death of either Qianlong or his mother. As both were alive and well at the time, Ulanara committed a grave faux pas that can be considered as unforgivable, if what was described as having happened were true.

However, because Ulanara lived in the Palace for years, and is a Manchu herself, the reason as to why she cut her hair is a mystery to many historians. Some historians believe that Ulanara cut her hair to protest Qianlong's reason for travelling to the South. It is believed Qianlong went to the South for the beautiful women that the South is famous for at the time.

Funeral

When Qianlong learned of Ulanara's death, he was on a hunting expedition at the Mulan Hunting Grounds (木蘭圍場). He did not end his expedition upon learning the news, and only sent Ulanara's son, 12th Prince Yongji (永璂) back to the Palace.

Ulanara's funeral was officially scaled down to that of an Imperial Noble Consort. When a Royal Historian pleaded with Qianlong to organize an Empress's funeral for Ulanara, the historian was sent to Ili. Years later, when a scholar once again pleaded with Qianlong to reconsider the entire affair, Qianlong replied angrily and sent the scholar to death. After that, no one mentioned Ulanara ever again.

As mentioned earlier, Qianlong scaled down Ulanara's funeral ceremony to that of an Imperial Noble Consort, but in reality, the scale of the ceremony was much worse than that of an Imperial Noble Consort. In a funeral for an Imperial Noble Consort, Imperial Court gentries, along with Princesses and other nobles are supposed to gather for mourning processions. That was not held for Ulanara's funeral.

For consorts and concubines of her class, Ulanara would be expected to have her own Mausoleum, or at the very least, have a gravestone. Instead, Ulanara was buried next to the Imperial Noble Consort Chun Hui, in a way similar to how a servant was buried next to her master. Also, her death was not recorded in official records. In reality, Ulanara's funeral was even worse than that of a commoner.

Titles Held from Birth to Death

* 1718-????: Lady Ulanara (烏喇那拉氏)
* 1735-1745: Ulanara, the Consort Xian (嫻妃烏喇那拉氏)
* 1745-1748: Ulanara, the Noble Consort Xian (嫻貴妃烏喇那拉氏)
* 1748-1750: Ulanara, the Imperial Noble Consort Xian (嫻皇貴妃烏喇那拉氏)
* 1750-1766: Ulanara, the Step Empress (繼皇后烏喇那拉氏)

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