Kang Jingzhuang And Consort Hui

Consort Hui (1395–1424), whose original name is unknown, was a Korean woman and a concubine of Ming Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty in China. She was the daughter of Cui Defei, a vice director of the imperial escort. In the sixth year of the Yongle era (1408), in November, eunuch Huang Yan and others selected tribute girls in Korea; the following year (1409), multiple selections were held, ultimately choosing five women—Cui, Gwon, Ren, Li, and Lü—to be sent to the Ming imperial harem. At that time, Cui was fifteen years old. In the seventh year of Yongle (1409), in February, Ming Chengzu bestowed upon her the title of Meiren (beauty). Her father Cui Defei rose to the position of Honglu Shaoqing (a fifth-rank official). During the chaos of the Yoh Lü rebellion in the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421), Consort Hui survived by remaining in the Forbidden City in Nanjing due to illness and did not accompany Ming Chengzu to Beijing. On July 18, the twenty-second year of Yongle (1424), Ming Chengzu passed away. More than thirty people, including Cui and Empress Hanli, were buried with him. Consort Hui was posthumously honored as Hui Fei and given the posthumous title "Kangjing Zhuang He" (Resilient, Peaceful, Noble, Harmonious). On October 17 of the same year, Emperor Sejong of Korea held a banquet in the palace pavilion, comforted by members of the royal family, including her father Cui Defei, and learned that Cui had been buried with the emperor.