Empress Xuan

Empress Xuān, from the 16th century until 1569, was of the Aungoduli Bayan Xitala clan, and her Manchu name was Emuqi (Manchu: ᡝᠮᡝᠴᡳ, transcribed by Mullind as Emeci). She was the principal wife of Emperor Xuān, the legitimate wife of Takshi, and the mother of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Background

Empress Xuān was the granddaughter of Duli Jindudu, the eldest son of Aungoduli Bayan, and the great-granddaughter of Duli Gudu. She was the eldest daughter of Agudu. Before the conquest, her family received special respect from both Taizu and Taizong, being entrusted with the duty of guarding Yongling and exempted from some taxes. In terms of marriage, her sister was the primary wife of the direct descendant of Fumang, Bai Ta, and the daughter of Agudu, Qitalashi; this makes her her sister as well. Her sister-in-law was Qitalashi (daughter of Feiyang Gudu), wife of Bai Ta’s second wife, and thus her maternal cousin.

Life

Emuqi was the principal wife of Takshi. According to selected historical materials from before the Qing conquest, she was the eldest daughter of Agudu, with the surname Xi Talah, named Emuci. She bore three sons: the eldest, Nuerhachi, styled Shule Beile, born in 1559 (the 38th year of Ming Jiajing); the second son, Shul'erhachi, styled Dalahan Batulu, born in 1564 (the 43rd year of Ming Jiajing); and the third son, Yārhachi, whose style is not specified. She also bore at least one daughter, Ajige Fuchen. Emuqi died of illness when Nuerhachi was ten years old. Her second husband, the Hada Guohan’s adopted daughter Nengjie, did not treat her well, and she left her family at the age of nineteen.

Later Affairs

In the 5th year of Shunzhi (1648), the Qing court posthumously honored Takshi as Emperor Xianxuān and Emuqi as Empress Xuān. On the eighth day of the first lunar month of the 6th year of Shunzhi, Emperor Shunzhi dispatched the duke of support, Ekezim, to the rear hall to honor the ancestral spirits, including Empress Xuān, with sacrifices such as the Spring Festival offerings of silk, wine, and other items; Manchu officials of rank Niulü Zhangjing and Baita Thulubule Hapan, as well as Han civil and military officials of third rank or above, fasted at their respective homes two days beforehand, slaughtered cattle, sheep, pigs, deer, and rabbits, cooked the entire meat on the day of sacrifice, and presented various fruits and offerings at the spirit tablets with reverence.