Consort Donggo

Empress Xiaoxian (1639 – 23 September 1660), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Donggo clan, was a consort of the Shunzhi Emperor. She was one year his junior.

Family background

Empress Xiaoxian's personal name was not recorded in history. Her ancestral home was in Liaoning.

• Father: Eshuo (鄂碩; d. 1657), served as a first rank military official (內大臣)
  • Paternal grandfather: Xihan (席漢)
• One younger brother

Shunzhi era

In the summer of 1656, Lady Donggo entered the Forbidden City and was deeply loved and favoured by the Shunzhi Emperor. On 12 October 1656, she was granted the title "Consort Xian". On 19 January 1657, she was elevated to "Imperial Noble Consort". The Shunzhi Emperor held a grand ceremony for the promotion of Lady Donggo and proclaimed an amnesty.

On 12 November 1657, Lady Donggo gave birth to the emperor's fourth son. The premature death of their son on 25 February 1658 had a great impact on Lady Donggo and the Shunzhi Emperor. Lady Donggo fell ill and died on 23 September 1660. The Shunzhi Emperor was so overwhelmed with grief that he stopped attending daily court meetings for five days to mourn Lady Donggo. It was also said that the Shunzhi Emperor was so depressed that he wanted to commit suicide, and his subjects had to watch over him every day for fear of his safety. Two days after her death, Lady Donggo was posthumously granted the title of Empress, an uncommon gesture.She was interred in the Xiao Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs.

• During the reign of Hong Taiji (r. 1626–1643):
  • Lady Donggo (from 1639)
• During the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (r. 1643–1661):
  • Consort Xian (賢妃; from 12 October 1656), fourth rank consort
  • Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; from 19 January 1657), second rank consort
  • Empress Xiaoxian (孝獻皇后; from 25 September 1660)

• As Imperial Noble Consort:
  • The Shunzhi Emperor's fourth son (12 November 1657 – 25 February 1658)

• Portrayed by Ko Miusze in The Duke of Mount Deer (1984)
• Portrayed by Ng Ning in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1987)
• Portrayed by Bo Hong in Kangxi Dynasty (2001)
• Portrayed by Shu Chang in Xiaozhuang Mishi (2003)
• Portrayed by Océane Zhu in The Life and Times of a Sentinel (2011)
• Portrayed by Zhang Xueying in In Love with Power (2012).