Consort Bai Xian

Consort Baixian, whose personal name has not been recorded and whose birth and death dates are unknown, was born before 1459. Based on calculations from her sister, the Grand Lady Bai, who married Yuan Binzi Yuan Xi, it can be inferred that she was born before the years of the Year of Ji Mao (1459) during the Tian Shun era. She entered the palace in the seventh month of the eighth year of Tian Shun (1464), becoming a concubine of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianzhen of Ming. The exact time she was promoted to concubine cannot be determined. In the second year of Chenghua (1466), she was officially titled Xianfei (Virtuous Consort). In the fourth month of Chenghua 5 (1469), she gave birth to her eldest son, Zhu Youji. Later, in the eleventh month of Chenghua 7 (1471), her son was established as Crown Prince. In the first month of Chenghua 8 (1472), Zhu Youji passed away prematurely, reportedly poisoned by Consort Wan. Her tombstone refers to her as Noble Consort (Gui Fei), but her sister's tombstone still refers to her as Xianfei. In the sixth year of Jiajing (1527), Consort Baixian died at about eighty years of age, with the posthumous title "Duan Shun" (Respectful and Obedient). The "Taichang Xu Kao" records that Consort Baixian and twelve other consorts were buried together at Jinshan Kou, in a single tomb. Archaeological excavations in 1963 at the Xinghongqi camp revealed that seven of Emperor Xianzong’s concubines’ tombs had been looted; their bones were scattered, and only three—known as Wang Shun Fei—remain identified. The identities of the others are unknown, and it is uncertain whether Consort Baixian was among these. Her sister, the Grand Lady Bai, married Yuan Binzi Yuan Xi.