Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu

Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu (20 September 1857 – 14 April 1921) was a consort of the Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing dynasty. She was an aunt of Empress Xiaozheyi, the Tongzhi Emperor's empress consort.

Life

Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu was born in the Mongol Alute clan (阿魯特氏), which was under the Mongol Bordered Blue Banner. Her father was Saišangga (賽尚阿; 1794–1875), a Mongol scholar who served as Secretary of the Ministry of Works between 1841 and 1845. Her mother was a concubine of Saišangga.

In 1872, Lady Alute and her niece entered the Forbidden City after being shortlisted as candidates to be the Tongzhi Emperor's consorts. Her niece, who was three years older than her, became the Tongzhi Emperor's empress consort. Lady Alute, on the other hand, was given the rank of Imperial Concubine under the title "Imperial Concubine Xun" (珣嬪), putting her four ranks below the Empress. In 1874, after the Tongzhi Emperor's death, she was promoted to "Consort Xun" (珣妃) by the Guangxu Emperor, who succeeded the Tongzhi Emperor.

In 1894, the Guangxu Emperor further promoted Lady Alute to "Noble Consort Xun" (珣貴妃). On 18 November 1908, four days after the Guangxu Emperor, Lady Alute was honoured with the title "Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Xun" (皇考珣皇貴妃) by the Guangxu Emperor's successor, Puyi. She moved to Chuxiu Palace (儲秀宮) in the Forbidden City, where her niece lived before.

After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, Puyi and the imperial clan were allowed to retain their noble titles and continue living in the Forbidden City. In early 1913, Puyi honoured Lady Alute with a new title, "Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Zhuanghe" (皇考莊和皇貴妃). Lady Alute died of illness in 1921 and was posthumously honoured as "Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu". She was interred in the Huiling Mausoleum in the Eastern Qing tombs alongside the Tongzhi Emperor's other consorts.