Lady Abahai

Lady Abahai
Lady Abahai
Traditional Chinese	孝烈武皇后
Simplified Chinese	孝烈武皇后
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Xiàolièwǔ Huánghòu

Names
	Ula Nara Abahai (烏拉那拉阿巴亥)
Posthumous name
	Empress Xiaolie Gongmin Xianzhe Renhe Zantian Lisheng Wu (孝烈恭敏獻哲仁和讚天儷聖武皇后) (revoked in 1653)

Abahai
Abahai
Khatun of Great Jin
Khatun of the Later Jin dynasty
1st tenure	17 February 1616 – 1620
Predecessor	Empress Xiaoduanxian (in Ming); Empress Xiaocigao (posthumously)
Successor	herself
2nd tenure	Late 1622/early 1623 – 30 September 1626
Predecessor	herself
Successor	Empress Xiaoduanwen (in Qing)
Empress Dowager of the Later Jin dynasty
Tenure	30 September 1626- 1 October 1626
Predecessor	Empress Dowager Rensheng (in Ming)
Successor	Empress Dowager Xiaoduanwen (in Qing)
Born	Ula Nara Abahai; (烏拉那拉·阿巴亥); 1590; (萬曆十八年); Jilin City
Died	1 October 1626 (aged 35–36); (天命十一年八月十二日); Mukden Palace
Burial	Fu Mausoleum
Spouse	Nurhaci (m. 1601; died 1626)
Issue	Ajige, Prince Ying of the First Rank; Dorgon, Prince Ruizhong of the First Rank; Dodo, Prince Yutong of the First Rank
Names
Names
	Ula Nara Abahai (烏拉那拉阿巴亥)
Posthumous name
	Empress Xiaolie Gongmin Xianzhe Renhe Zantian Lisheng Wu (孝烈恭敏獻哲仁和讚天儷聖武皇后) (revoked in 1653)
House	Ula Nara (烏拉那拉; by birth); Aisin Gioro (by marriage)
Father	Mantai

Empress Xiaoliewu (1590 – 1 October 1626), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Ula Nara clan, personal name Abahai, was a consort of Nurhaci.^[1]^[2] She was 31 years his junior.

Abahai was erroneously identified with Hong Taiji, Nurhaci's eighth son and successor, in earlier sources.

Life

Family background

Father: Mantai (滿泰; d. 1596), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)^[2]
- Paternal grandfather: Bugan (布干), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)
- Paternal uncle: Bujantai (1575–1618), held the title of a third rank prince (貝勒)

Wanli era

In November or December 1601, Lady Ula Nara married Nurhaci, becoming one of his multiple wives.^[3]^[2] Following the death of Empress Xiaocigao on 31 October 1603, Lady Ula Nara was elevated to Nurhaci's primary consort. She gave birth on 28 August 1605 to Nurhaci's 12th son, Ajige, on 17 November 1612 to his 14th son, Dorgon, and on 2 April 1614 to his 15th son, Dodo.

In early 1620, Lady Abahai was regularly spotted visiting Daišan, the Emperor's eldest son's chambers. She also prepared dishes for him. A lady-in-waiting reported those incidents to Nurhaci, who was outraged. However, wanting to protect the royal family's reputation, Nurhaci berated her for another matter, stealing gold and jewels. Lady Abahai was banished from the palace by Nurhaci, who then deposed her.^[4]

Tianqi era

After Lady Abahai's banishment, the Emperor started to miss her. By 1622, he was considering bringing her back. Around late 1622 to early 1623, Nurhaci brought back Lady Abahai to the palace, as she was restored to her titles as Empress and returned to her royal duties.

Tiancong era

When Nurhaci died on 30 September 1626, Lady Ula Nara was forced to commit suicide by her stepson, Hong Taiji. According to legend, Lady Ula Nara was forced to be buried alive beside Nurhaci to prove her love for him. Other sources claim that she was strangled by Hong Taiji's servants as she stood as a threat to his ascension. Either way, Lady Ula Nara committed suicide on 1 October 1626, the day after Nurhaci's death, on the order of Hong Taiji. She was 36.

Shunzhi era

During the early reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, Dorgon served as Prince-Regent for the underage emperor. In 1650, Lady Ula Nara was posthumously elevated to "Empress Xiaoliewu". In 1653, the Shunzhi Emperor revoked Lady Ula Nara's posthumous title.

Titles

During the reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620):
- Lady Ula Nara (from 1590)
- Secondary consort (側福晉; from November/December 1601^[5])
- Primary consort (大福晉; from 1603)
During the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor (r. 1643–1661):
- Empress Xiaoliewu (孝烈武皇后; from 1650 to 1653)

Issue

As primary consort:
- Ajige (阿濟格; 28 August 1605 – 28 November 1651), Nurhaci's 12th son, granted the title Prince Wuying of the Second Rank in 1636, elevated to Prince Ying of the First Rank in 1644
- Dorgon (多爾袞; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), Nurhaci's 14th son, granted the title Prince Rui of the First Rank in 1636, posthumously honoured as Prince Ruizhong of the First Rank
- Dodo (多鐸; 2 April 1614 – 29 April 1649), Nurhaci's 15th son, granted the title Prince Yu of the First Rank in 1636, posthumously honoured as Prince Yutong of the First Rank

In fiction and popular culture

Portrayed by Eva Lai in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1987)
Portrayed by Siqin Gaowa in Xiaozhuang Mishi (2003)
Portrayed by Cheng Lisha in Taizu Mishi (2005)
Portrayed by Tao Huimin in Da Qing Fengyun (2006)
Portrayed by Kara Hui in The Legend of Xiaozhuang (2015)
Portrayed by Chen Xinyu in Rule the World (2017)

Notes

^ 刘楠; Nan, L. I. U. (2020-09-15). "清入关前对八旗基层组织的控制——以乌苏氏季思哈、吉普喀达为例". 清史研究 (in Chinese) (5): 81. ISSN 1002-8587.
^ ^a ^b ^c _博、任吉_. 大清盛世 (in Chinese). 飛翔時代.
^ 上官雲飛 (2006-09-01). 大清后妃傳奇 (in Chinese). 大都會文化. ISBN 978-957-8219-56-4.
^ 兰泊宁著 (2015-01-01). 大清十三钗 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. ISBN 978-7-5034-5603-9.
^ 萬曆二十九年十一月

References

Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). "Hsiao-lieh Wu Huang-hou" . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao) (in Chinese). Vol. 214.

Preceded by Dynasty created	Empress of the Qing dynasty (granted posthumously in 1626)	Succeeded by Empress Xiaocigao

[1] 刘楠; Nan, L. I. U. (2020-09-15). "清入关前对八旗基层组织的控制——以乌苏氏季思哈、吉普喀达为例". 清史研究 (in Chinese) (5): 81. ISSN 1002-8587.

[:0-2] _博、任吉_. 大清盛世 (in Chinese). 飛翔時代.

[3] 上官雲飛 (2006-09-01). 大清后妃傳奇 (in Chinese). 大都會文化. ISBN 978-957-8219-56-4.

[4] 兰泊宁著 (2015-01-01). 大清十三钗 (in Chinese). Beijing Book Co. Inc. ISBN 978-7-5034-5603-9.

[5] 萬曆二十九年十一月

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]