Hoifa-Nara, the Step Empress

The date of the Step Empress's 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,[11] and at least one modern book stating that she was born on the 10th day of the 2nd month of the 57th year of Kangxi Emperor's reign.[lower-alpha 1][3] She was born to Narbu, a Niru ejen, or assistant captain. The family is of the Bordered Blue Banner.[11]

During the reign of Yongzheng Emperor, the Step Empress was arranged to marry Hongli, the future Qianlong Emperor as his ashan i fujin (Chinese: 側福晉), or secondary consort. She was 16 at the time.[12] The Step Empress was noted to have gained the future Qianlong Emperor's favour during this time.[3]

With the death of Yongzheng, Hongli succeeded Yongzheng as Qianlong Emperor, and Lady Nara was granted the title "Consort Xian" (Chinese: 嫻妃) via an edict issued on the 4th day of the 12th month of the 2nd year of Qianlong.[lower-alpha 2][9] On the 17th day of the 11th month of the 10th year of Qianlong, Consort Xian was made Noble Consort Xian (Chinese: 嫻貴妃).[lower-alpha 3][13]

Qianlong's first empress, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died on the 8th day of the 3rd month of the 13th year of Qianlong at the age of 37,[lower-alpha 4][14] on board a boat in Dezhou under circumstances that were not well documented by historical sources.[15]

Qianlong wanted to make Noble Consort Xian the next empress, but the court was still mourning Empress Xiaoxianchun's death. As a compromise, Qianlong first promoted Noble Consort Xian to the position of Imperial Noble Consort (Chinese: 皇貴妃) via an edict issued on the 5th day of the 4th month of the 13th year of Qianlong,[lower-alpha 5] and gave her administrative powers over the harem as an acting Empress.[16]

Two years later, an edict to appoint the Imperial Noble Consort Xian as Empress was issued on the 12th day of the 7th month of the 15th year of Qianlong.[lower-alpha 6][17] The decision was made following a mourning period for Empress Xiaoxianchun.[18]

In her role as the Step Empress, she accompanied Qianlong on many trips, ancestral worship ceremonies, and hunts.[19] From the 17th year of Qianlong to the 20th year,[lower-alpha 7] the Step Empress gave birth to three children: 12th prince, Yongji (永璂), an unnamed 5th daughter of Qianlong, and 13th prince, Yongjing (永璟), respectively.[19]

According to the Draft History of Qing, in 1765, during the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, the Step Empress accompanied the emperor on a tour to Southern China. As the group arrived at Hangzhou, the Step Empress cut her hair, and was ordered by the emperor to return to the capital.[20] The Emperor ordered Fulong'an (福隆安), the husband of Qianlong's fourth daughter, to escort the Step Empress to Beijing via waterways.[21]

Contemporary Qing customs held that a Manchurian (typically not held true for other ethnic groups) cannot shave the hair on the top of his or her head until a hundred days after a funeral, and that hair on a queue is cut as a sign of deep mourning.[22] The Step Empress's action was considered a grave faux pas,[23] as it was taken as a gesture to curse Qianlong and the Empress Dowager.[24]

Chinese author Li Shu, in her 2019 book on Qing imperial cuisine, made a claim on the exact moment the incident happened, using Qing Dynasty records of the portions of food an Emperor gave to his concubines and arguing that a granting of food portion represents an act of honor and love by the Emperor to its concubine. She postulated that the incident happened at some point following breakfast on the 18th day of the leap 2nd month of the 30th year of Qianlong,[lower-alpha 8] when the Step Empress received a portion of assorted meat, and before dinner that same day, when the Step Empress was not mentioned as having received any portion of food from the Emperor.[25] In addition, starting from that dinner and thereafter, the Step Empress's name was covered up with yellow paper on records of food portion grants.[19]

After the incident and following the Step Empress's return to the capital, she was still given 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.[26] On the 14th day of the 5th month of the 30th year of Qianlong,[lower-alpha 9] following the Emperor's return to Beijing, the Emperor ordered that the Step Empress' four written edicts that bestowed her various imperial titles, as well as the accompanying gifts, be confiscated.[21] In addition, the Step Empress' maid workforce was reduced to two, the same amount of maids that a Second-Class Female Attendant (答應) is allowed to have.[21] In addition, Qianlong conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort on Consort Ling, half a month after his return to the capital.[21] Under Qing Dynasty’s ranking of consorts, an Imperial Noble Consort is only a step below the Empress, meaning that while Consort Ling was not explicitly granted administrative powers over the harem, it definitely meant that the Step Empress has fallen out with the Emperor.[21]

The Step Empress died on the 7th month of the 31st year of Qianlong.[lower-alpha 10] However, the exact date of her death is a matter of debate. The Draft History of Qing, which has accuracy and reliability concerns, stated that she died on the Jiawu,[lower-alpha 11] while modern works have listed her death as having happened on the 14th day of the 7th month.[lower-alpha 12][27]

The Step Empress was already seriously ill on the 6th month of that same year,[lower-alpha 13] but Qianlong did not otherwise delay a trip to the summer residence in Chengde.[28]

At the time of the Step Empress's death, Qianlong was on an annual hunting excursion at the Mulan Hunting Grounds (木蘭圍場, in the present-day Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County).[29] He did not end his excursion immediately and head back to the Forbidden City. Instead, he ordered his 12th son, Yongji, to return to the palace to handle the funerary affairs.[28]

By the Qianlong Emperor's order, The Step Empress's funeral was treated as that of an Imperial Noble Consort.[29] but in reality, the ceremony was a much more scaled down affair, with the cancellation of imperial cabinet meetings for five days not carried out, and the cancellation of requirements for princesses, nobles, and high-ranking court officials to attend the mourning sessions.[28] In addition, the casket used for the Step Empress is of a much lower quality.[28] For her burial, the Step Empress was laid to rest in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs, next to Imperial Noble Consort Chunhui, instead of being laid to rest next to the Emperor's future resting place.[30]