Empress Xiaozheyi

Empress Xiaozheyi's personal name was not recorded in history. Her family originally belonged to the Mongol Plain Blue Banner.

• Father: Chongqi (崇綺; 1829–1900), the top candidate in the 1865 imperial examination, served as a fourth rank literary official (侍講) in the Hanlin Academy, the Minister of Revenue from 1884–1886 and in 1900 and the Minister of Personnel in 1886, and held the title of a third class duke (三等公)
  • Paternal grandfather: Saišangga (賽尚阿; 1794–1875), served as the Minister of Works from 1841–1845
  • Paternal aunt: Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu (1857–1921)
• Mother: Lady Aisin Gioro
  • Maternal grandfather: Duanhua (1807–1861), held the title Prince Zheng of the First Rank from 1846–1861
  • Maternal grandmother: Lady Niohuru, Empress Xiaozhenxian's aunt
  • Maternal great aunt: Lady Aisin Gioro, the mother of Empress Xiaodexian (1831–1850)
• One brother

The future Empress Xiaozheyi was born on the first day of the seventh lunar month in the fourth year of the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, which translates to 25 July 1854 in the Gregorian calendar.

Lady Arute was tutored by her father since young and she demonstrated high potential and intelligence as a child. She also showed interest and talent in poetry, literature, music and art. Under the influence of her father, she learnt to write with both hands aptly. She was famous among the Manchu aristocracy for her talent, moral character and looks.

In 1872, Lady Arute was chosen to be Empress by the Tongzhi Emperor. She was specially chosen to help in the reconciliation of rivals in the Qing imperial court. Lady Arute's maternal grandfather, Duanhua, was a former political rival of the emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Cixi. It was said that there was an argument between the Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an over the choice of empress. Ci'an, who favoured Lady Arute, claimed that the empress should possess high moral standards, while Cixi felt that the empress should be wise and shrewd. The conflict was resolved by the Tongzhi Emperor when he eventually chose Lady Arute to be his Empress. Cixi was displeased with her son's decision. Another four candidates chosen became the emperor's concubines. One of them was Lady Arute's aunt, the future Imperial Noble Consort Gongsu.

Empress Dowager Cixi once complained about Lady Arute:

"We made a mistake in selecting a wife for him. How could we tell that her beauty was false? She was very beautiful, but she hated us."[1]

On the night of 15 October 1872, at around 11:30 pm (an auspicious hour recommended by imperial astrologers), Lady Arute left her family residence for the Forbidden City. Her furniture – a bed, a mirror, two wardrobes, chairs and eight marriage chests – had symbolically preceded her.[2] After their marriage, the Tongzhi Emperor evidently favoured his empress over his four other consorts. He spent almost every night with her, while the four consorts waited in vain for the emperor to summon them. Empress Dowager Cixi was unhappy about the unfair treatment of the emperor's other consorts and she turned hostile towards the empress. She warned the empress that, as empress, she should allow the emperor to share favour equally among his consorts and not seize him for herself. Cixi also reminded the empress that since both she and the Tongzhi Emperor were still young, they should spend more time learning how to govern the country. When she saw no signs of change in her son's attitude, Cixi eventually ordered the emperor and empress to be separated, so that they could focus more on learning how to become ruling sovereigns.

The Tongzhi Emperor could not cope well with loneliness so he grew more ill-tempered over time. Once, a eunuch secretly suggested to the emperor to sneak out of the Forbidden City and visit brothels. As a result, it was assumed that the emperor contracted syphilis. Empress Dowager Cixi regarded this incident as a humiliating scandal, so she warned the imperial physicians to remain silent about it. The physicians lied that the emperor was ill with smallpox and prescribed medicine and treatment for smallpox.

A court official, Yun Yuting, wrote in his memoirs that the empress visited the Tongzhi Emperor on his sickbed while he complained about his mother's interfering and domineering ways. She was looking forward to the day the emperor recovered and they could live and rule together. Empress Dowager Cixi, tipped off by eunuchs, entered the room in stockinged feet, and hearing the empress's criticisms, flew into a rage and rampaged through the room, seized the empress by the hair and hit her, shouting that by making love to the emperor she would cause him to be ill again. She ordered the eunuchs to take her away and slap her on the face.[3]

The Tongzhi Emperor died on 12 January 1875. Some sources claim that the empress was pregnant at the time.[4] The Tongzhi Emperor had not chosen a successor before his death, so it was up to Empress Dowager Cixi to decide who would be the new emperor. Cixi chose her nephew Zaitian, who was enthroned as the Guangxu Emperor.

The empress was not mentioned in the crisis over the succession. Neither was she granted the title of Empress Dowager, which was customary after the death of an emperor. She received the title "Empress Jiashun" instead. Within 100 days of the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi pushed the blame of the emperor's death on the empress. She ordered the empress's food rations to be reduced. The empress wrote a letter to her father asking for help, but his reply was simply, "Your Highness knows what to do." It was said that the empress committed suicide but official court records state that she died after a long and serious illness. Empress Dowager Cixi granted her the posthumous title "Empress Xiaozheyi".

In 1876, a censor to the throne wrote that the empress, as a wife who had committed suicide after her husband's death, should be posthumously honoured. Empress Dowager Cixi rebuked him curtly for writing a memorial based on rumours.[5]

In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi asked the Empress's father, Chongqi, to remain behind and take charge of state affairs. Chongqi and his family committed suicide after the capital fell to the foreigners.[6]