Empress Dowager Longyu

Yehe Nara Jingfen was born on 28 January 1868, during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. She was a member of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Yehe Nara clan. Her father was Guixiang (1849–1913), a first rank military official who held the title of a third class duke. Her paternal grandfather was Huizheng (1805–1853), also a third class duke, and her paternal grandmother was Lady Fuca. She had two brothers and two sisters: an elder sister, Jingrong (1866–1933), and a younger sister, Jingfang. Her mother was Lady Aisin Gioro.

During the Tongzhi era, Jingfen was born in what was then the Qing Empire. She later became part of the imperial family through marriage.

In 1889, Cixi, the regent of the Guangxu Emperor, chose Jingfen to marry the emperor to strengthen the influence of the Yehe Nara clan within the imperial family. The marriage took place on 26 February 1889. The wedding was elaborate; however, an incident occurred prior to the ceremony when the Gate of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City burned down, which was considered an ill omen. A temporary tent resembling the gate was constructed for the wedding procession.

Following her marriage, Jingfen became empress consort of the Qing dynasty. She was initially unpopular with the Guangxu Emperor, who favored Consort Zhen of the Tatara clan. Her relationship with the emperor was characterized by her opposition to the Hundred Days’ Reform in 1898, which led to the emperor's house arrest in the Summer Palace. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, she fled with Cixi and Guangxu to Xi'an.

Her father, Guixiang, died in 1913. After the death of the Guangxu Emperor on 14 November 1908, Jingfen was elevated to the status of Empress Dowager with the honorary title Longyu. She adopted Puyi, the emperor's nephew, as her son since she did not have biological children with the Guangxu Emperor. Her regency lasted from 1908 to 1912, during which she was the de facto leader of the Qing court. Alongside Prince Chun and Yuan Shikai, she participated in the abdication of Puyi in 1912, ending over two millennia of imperial rule in China.

Following the abdication, the Qing dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China in 1912. Yehe Nara Jingfen died on 22 February 1913 in Beijing at the age of 45. Her remains were transported by train to her tomb in the Chong Mausoleum of the Western Qing tombs. Her funeral was notable for being the only Chinese empress coffin transported from the Forbidden City by train. At her funeral, Li Yuanhong, Vice President of the Republic of China, praised her as "most excellent among women." She was posthumously titled Empress Xiaodingjing.

Throughout her life, Jingfen held several titles: she was known as Lady Yehe Nara during Tongzhi's reign, Empress from 1889, Empress Dowager Longyu from 1908, and Empress Xiaodingjing from 1913 during the Republic era. Her legacy has been examined through various portrayals in fiction and popular culture, depicting her in numerous films, television series, and books.