Consort Ping

Concubine Ping, of Manchu banners of the Plain Yellow Banner, her family name Heshouli, died in 1696. Her clan affiliation was Heshouli, her paternal line from Gabulai, and her maternal origin is unknown. Her grandfather was Soni, one of the four grand assistants in governance, titled First-Wen Zonggong; her father was Gabulai, a First-Compliance Gong and chief imperial guard. Her younger sister was Empress Xiaochengren, which established kinship ties through marriage with several other imperial consorts. She became a consort of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty.

Her major life events are as follows: In October of the 19th year of Kangxi’s reign (1680), Heshouli and Niu Hulu entered the imperial palace simultaneously. On October 15th, the Imperial Household Department issued an edict regulating the treatment levels for the two ladies upon entering the palace; on the same day, the department reported that, according to the Empress Dowager’s decree, the two ladies entering the inner court were to do so through different main gates. The decree stated they should enter through the Longzong Gate and the Inner Right Gate. On October 19th, the two ladies entered the palace, with Niu Hulu residing in Yongshou Palace and Heshouli in Cuxiu Palace, both classified as Noble Ladies. Contemporary scholar Wang Miansen believes that, since Empress Xiaochengren and Empress Xiaozhao’ren, both sisters, entered the palace, this helped maintain the marriage alliances between the banners' old aristocratic families and the court, and may also serve as a legacy for the late empress.

On the 29th day of the first lunar month of the 23rd year of Kangxi (February 1685), archives record that the diet, annual silk rations, and other allowances for the lady of Cuxiu Palace were assigned according to the ranks of consorts. By imperial order, Imperial Household Department officer Tuo'erbibi was assigned to the lady of Cuxiu Palace. Due to the imperial harem system, each consort’s rank was assigned a specific internal supervisor, and since two ranks shared one supervisor, the lady of Cuxiu Palace should have been promoted from Noble Lady to Concubine.

At the hour of Chen (9–11 a.m.) on the 26th day of the first lunar month of the 30th year of Kangxi, she gave birth to Emperor Kangxi’s 24th son, Yinji. He died within the same hour on March 1st of that year, before formal naming.

On June 20th of the 35th year of Kangxi’s reign (1696), Heshouli died at Jingshan. Her body was transported outside Jingshan East Gate to be laid to rest within the courtyard outside Chaoyangmen. On June 27th, Kangxi ordered the Ministry of Rites: Heshouli, daughter of Gabulai, who had previously served as a chief imperial guard and was titled First-Gong, had entered the palace without formal seal and died of illness; she was posthumously honored as Concubine Ping. The character “Ping” (平) associated with her name in Manchu is written as necin, meaning “peaceful” or “calm.” In the same year, she was buried in the concubine garden of Qing Jingling (Qing Dynasty Ming Tombs).