Imperial Noble Consort Chunque

Yongzheng Emperor

(m. 1704; died 1735)

IssueHongzhou, Prince HeHouseGeng (耿; by birth)
Aisin Gioro (by marriage)

Traditional Chinese

純愨皇貴妃

Simplified Chinese

纯悫皇贵妃

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Chúnquè huángguìfēi

Imperial Noble Consort Chunque (simplified Chinese: 纯悫皇贵妃; traditional Chinese: 純愨皇貴妃; pinyin: Chúnquè huángguìfēi; December 1689 or January 1690 – 27 January 1785), from the Han Chinese Geng clan, was a consort of Yongzheng Emperor.

Life

Family background

Imperial Noble Consort Chunque came from Han Chinese Geng clan (耿氏). Her personal name is unknown.

Father: Dejin (德金), served as an official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (内管领).^[1]

Kangxi era

Lady Geng was born in twelfth lunar month of twenty eighth year of Kangxi Emperor, which translates to December 1689 in the Gregorian calendar. In 1704, she became a mistress of Kangxi Emperor's fourth son. On 5 January 1712, she gave birth to Yinzhen's fifth son, Hongzhou.

Yongzheng era

The Kangxi Emperor died on 20 December 1722 and was succeeded by Yinzhen, who was enthroned as the Yongzheng Emperor. In 1723, Lady Geng was given a title of "Concubine Yu" (裕嫔; "yu" meaning "prosperous").^[2] In 1730, she was promoted to "Consort Yu" (裕妃).^[3]

Qianlong era

The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. The same year she was elevated to "Dowager Noble Consort Yu" (裕贵太妃).^[4] After the death of Empress Dowager Chongqing in 1778, Dowager Noble Consort Yu was promoted to "Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Yu" (裕皇貴太妃). She died of illness on 27 January 1785 at the age of ninety six. She was posthumously granted the title "Imperial Noble Consort Chunque" (纯悫皇贵妃, "chunque" meaning "pure and honest").^[5] She was interred in the Tai Mausoleum in Western Qing tombs. She is the longest surviving consort of Yongzheng Emperor.

Titles

During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722):
- Lady Geng (耿氏; from December 1689)
- Mistress (格格; from 1704)
During the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735):
- Concubine Yu (裕嬪; from 1722), fifth rank consort
- Consort Yu (裕妃; from 1730), fourth rank consort
During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796):
- Dowager Noble Consort Yu (裕贵太妃; from 1735/1736), third rank consort
- Dowager Imperial Noble Consort Yu (裕皇貴太妃), second rank consort
- Imperial Noble Consort Chunque (纯悫皇贵妃; from 28 January 1785)