Empress Nara

Empress Nara (11 March 1718 Informally known as the Step-Empress (繼皇后), she is one of the most controversial female figures in Chinese history.

She was elevated to empress rank after Empress Xiaoxianchun's death, and in her role as empress, accompanied the Qianlong Emperor on many leisure and hunting trips, as well as ancestral worship ceremonies.

Historical records give little information about her life or even her physical appearance. Because of this lack of documentation, there has been intense speculation among Chinese academicians regarding her historicity and character. It is widely suspected that the Qianlong Emperor destroyed all her records and portraits.

Although never officially deposed, she lost her authority as chief of the imperial harem in 1765, reputedly because she cut her hair, an act that was considered a grave offense according to Manchu custom. Consequently, the Qianlong Emperor ordered that her four titular imperial edicts, accompanying gifts, and imperial seal be confiscated. After her death, she was not given an imperial funeral or a posthumous name, nor was she buried with the Qianlong Emperor.

Debate over historical maiden name In the Draft History of Qing, the future Step-Empress is noted as being a member of the Ula Nara clan. However, the Draft History of Qing is noted to be riddled with errors, due to a hasty publication that precluded an editing process.

Her father is listed as Narbu, found in the Genealogy of the Manchu clans as being a descendant of Wangginu , a leader of the Hoifa Nara clan, and the family's ancestors are listed under the section "People with the surname Nara in the Hoifa area" as having lived in the Hoifa area for generations. Therefore, some modern publications have stated the Step-Empress was a member of the Hoifa Nara clan.

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. In the Factual Record of Qing , when the Step-Empress, at the time the secondary consort of the new Qianlong Emperor, 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.

The debate over the Step-Empress' maiden clan has manifested itself in two 2018 media portrayals of the Step-Empress's life:

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

Life Family background The date of the Step-Empress' 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 the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

Qianlong's first wife, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died in 1748, but the circumstances were not well documented by historical sources. Some say she died on a boat in Dezhou, but most believe that she made it back to the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The Emperor later elevated Lady Nara to the position of imperial noble consort via an edict issued on 20 May 1749, giving her administrative powers over the harem as acting empress.

Two years later, an edict to appoint the Imperial Noble Consort as the new empress was issued on 13 August 1750. The decision was made following the end of the mourning period for Empress Xiaoxianchun. From then on, the Step-Empress accompanied Qianlong on many trips, ancestral worship ceremonies, and hunts.

Between the 17th year of Qianlong to the 20th year, the Step-Empress gave birth to three children: the 12th prince, Yongji , an unnamed daughter, and the 13th prince, Yongjing , respectively. Contemporary Qing customs held that Manchu people could cut their hair only as a sign of deep mourning. The Step-Empress' action was considered a grave offense, as it was taken as a gesture meant to curse the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. She was commanded to return to the capital; Fulong'an , Empress Xiaoxianchun's nephew and the husband of Qianlong's fourth daughter, escorted her via the waterways.

In 2019, Chinese author Li Shu, in her book on Qing imperial cuisine, asserted to have discovered the exact moment the incident occurred, using Qing dynasty records of the portions of food the Emperor gave to his consorts. She argued that the granting of a food portion represents an act of honor and love by the Emperor to his consort, whereas withholding such a grant indicates displeasure. She postulated that the incident happened at some point following breakfast on 7 April 1765, when the Step-Empress received a portion of assorted meats, and before dinner that same day, when the she was not mentioned as having received any portion of food from the Emperor. In addition, starting from that dinner and thereafter, the Step-Empress' name was covered up with yellow paper on records of food portion grants.

After the incident and following the Step-Empress' return to the capital, she was still granted 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. But on 1 July 1765, following the Qianlong Emperor's return to Beijing, he ordered that the Step-Empress' four written edicts that bestowed her ranks, as well as the accompanying gifts, be confiscated.

The Step-Empress was already seriously ill by the 6th month of that same year, but despite her illness, Qianlong did not delay his trip to the summer residence in Chengde.

At the time of the Step-Empress' death, the Qianlong Emperor was on his annual hunting excursion at the Mulan Hunting Grounds (木蘭圍場; in present-day Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County). Instead of ending his excursion immediately to head back to the Forbidden City, he ordered his 12th son, Yongji (the Step-Empress' biological son),

Titles

During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722): Lady Nara (那拉氏) During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735): Secondary Consort (; from 2 December 1734) During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796): Consort Xian (; from 23 January 1738), fourth rank imperial consort Noble Consort Xian (; from 9 December 1745), third rank imperial consort Imperial Noble Consort (; from 20 May 1749), second rank imperial consort Empress (; from 2 September 1750)

Issue As empress: Yongji , Prince of the Third Rank (; 7 June 1752 – 17 March 1776), the Qianlong Emperor's 12th son Unnamed daughter (23 July 1753 – 1 June 1755), the Qianlong Emperor's fifth daughter 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) Portrayed as Empress Ula Nara by Fan Bingbing in The Lady in the Portrait (2017) Portrayed as Hoifa Nara Shushen by Charmaine Sheh in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018) Portrayed as Ula Nara Qingying/Ruyi by Zhou Xun in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)