Empress Xiaoyichun's personal name was not recorded in history. She was a Han ChineseBooi Aha of the Bordered Yellow Banner by birth.
Father: Wei Qingtai (魏清泰), who served as a fifth rank literary official (內管領) in the Imperial Household Department and held the title of a third class duke (三等公)
Paternal grandfather: Wei Jiuling (魏九齡)
Mother: Lady Yanggiya (楊佳氏)
One elder sister
Yongzheng era
Lady Wei was born on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month in the 5th year of the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, which translates to 23 October 1727 in the Gregorian calendar.
Qianlong era
It is not known when Lady Wei entered the Forbidden City. In 1745, she was granted the title "Noble Lady". On 9 December 1745, she was elevated to "Concubine Ling", with "Ling" (令) meaning "clever and pleasant". On 20 May 1749, she was promoted to "Consort Ling", and although at this point she still had no children with the Qianlong Emperor, he doted on her and described her as "gentle and beautiful". On 10 August 1756, when she was almost 29 years old, she gave birth to his 7th daughter, Princess Hejing. Consort Ling later gave birth to his 14th son, Aisin-Gioro Yonglu, on 31 August 1757 (though he would die prematurely on 3 May 1760) and to his 9th daughter, Princess Heke, on 17 August 1758. On 3 February 1760, she was elevated to "Noble Consort". On 13 November 1760, she gave birth to his 15th son, Aisin-Gioro Yongyan.
On 13 January 1763, Noble Consort Ling gave birth to Qianlong's 16th son, who died prematurely on 6 May 1765. That same year, while on a tour to Hangzhou, Empress Nara fell out of favor and was sent back to the Forbidden City to be confined. The real reason behind her downfall remains the subject of debate. Whatever happened, when the imperial entourage returned to the Forbidden City, Qianlong stripped Empress Nara of her power and, on 28 July, promoted Noble Consort Ling to "Imperial Noble Consort". On 17 June 1766, she gave birth to Qianlong's 17th son, Aisin-Gioro Yonglin.
On 19 August 1766, Empress Nara died of illness, but a new empress was not designated. However, Imperial Noble Consort Ling, who held the highest rank among all of the consorts, was placed in charge of the palace and served her role well. Her duties as the de facto empress were guiding rites at the ancestral altar, evaluating the personnel, approving budgets, supervising the education of the princes, and planning all imperial marriages. She also regularly met with eunuchs, female attendants, the emperor's other consorts, imperial princesses (including her two daughters), and her husband, whom she accompanied on his excursions to Mount Tai, Jehol and the areas south of the Yangtze River.
In 1773, Qianlong decided to secretly select the crown prince. Seven of his sons were living at the time, but he decided to choose Yongyan, who was not outstanding, but was very hardworking and humble. Despite these excellent circumstances for her, Imperial Noble Consort Ling became increasingly ill as the years passed. On 9 February 1775, Princess Hejing died and the tragic news worsened Imperial Noble Consort Ling's condition.
Death and burial
Imperial Noble Consort Ling died at the age of 47 on 28 February of 1775, less than a month after her eldest daughter's death. On 12 March of that same year, she was posthumously granted the title "Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi". On 19 November, her corpse was interred in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs after a grand funeral far more regal than that of an Imperial Noble Consort.
On 9 February 1796, Qianlong posthumously elevated Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi to "Empress Xiaoyi", announced Yongyan as the Jiaqing Emperor, and became a retired emperor. After Qianlong's death on 7 February 1799, Jiaqing honoured his mother with the posthumous title "Empress Xiaoyichun" and had her reburied at the right side of Qianlong's burial place, while his first principal wife, Empress Xiaoxianchun, was buried on his left side.
After the Yu Mausoleum's grave robbery occurred in 1928, it was revealed that Xiaoyichun's remains were well-preserved during inspection.
Married Jalantai (札蘭泰; ? – 1788), of the Manchu Uya clan in August/September 1772
Miscarriage at eight months (13 November 1759)
As Noble Consort Ling:
Yongyan (顒琰), Emperor Renzong of Qing (清仁宗; 13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), the Qianlong Emperor's 15th son; enthroned on 9 February 1796 as the Jiaqing Emperor (嘉慶帝)
Unnamed son (13 January 1763 – 6 May 1765), the Qianlong Emperor's 16th son
In daily dress, with the young Jiaqing Emperor. Debates about the identity of the lady are still ongoing and it has been suggested that she might be Imperial Noble Consort Qinggong, one of the Qianlong Emperor's childless concubines who raised Yongyan.
Wan, Yi; Shuqing, Wang; Yanzhen, Lu; Scott, Rosemary E. (1988). Daily Life in the Forbidden City: The Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912 (Illustrated ed.). Viking. ISBN0670811645.
