| Imperial Noble Consort Huixian | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | 1711 (康熙五十年) | ||||
| Died | 25 February 1745 (aged 33–34) (乾隆十年 正月 二十五日) Forbidden City | ||||
| Burial | Yu Mausoleum, Eastern Qing tombs | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| |||||
| House | Gao, later Gaogiya (高佳; by birth) Aisin Gioro (by marriage) | ||||
| Imperial Noble Consort Huixian | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 慧賢皇貴妃 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 慧贤皇贵妃 | ||||||
| |||||||
Imperial Noble Consort Huixian (1711 – 25 February 1745), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Gaogiya clan, was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor.
Imperial Noble Consort Huixian's personal name was not recorded in history. She was a Han Chinese by birth. The Gao family were originally Han baoyi of the Imperial Household Department's Bordered Yellow Banner. It was Qing court protocol to put any non-Manchu consort and her close male relatives like brothers and cousins into a Manchu banner if they were a Han bannermen. Imperial Noble Consort Huixian and her brothers and cousins were put into the Manchu Yellow Bordered Banner effectively changing their ethnicity from Han to Manchu in the eyes of the Qing court. Their surname was Manchurized from Gao to Gaojia (高佳).
It is not known when Lady Gao become a lady-in-waiting, and then mistress, of Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor. On 4 April 1734, she was elevated to his secondary consort. She was a beautiful and well educated woman with a great personality and many capabilities. Lady Gao also had a wonderful relationship with Lady Fuca, Hongli's Primary Consort, and during the Qianlong era she would directly assist Lady Fuca, now Empress, in managing the palace at large and caring for Empress Dowager Chongqing. She was greatly favored by her husband all her life.
The Yongzheng Emperor died on 8 October 1735 and was succeeded by Hongli, who was enthroned as the Qianlong Emperor. Around the time, Gao Bin wrote a memorial to the Yongzheng Emperor, thanking him for a bunch of lychees, but it was too late as the emperor had already died when the memorial reached the palace, so the Qianlong Emperor replied in place of his father:
My father recognised your talent and promoted you to a high position. You should do your utmost to repay his grace. Even though your daughter is waiting on me, you should not be harbouring any ill intentions. This will not be tolerated by national law. If you serve the nation well with sincerity and integrity, I will not refrain from giving rewards to avoid being criticised for showing favouritism.[2]
On 23 January 1738, Lady Gao was granted the title "Noble Consort". As she was the only woman in the imperial harem holding the rank of Noble Consort at the time, she did not receive any special title to distinguish her from the emperor's other consorts.
On 23 February 1745, when Lady Gao became critically ill, she was elevated to "Imperial Noble Consort" by the Qianlong Emperor. However, she never managed to attend the promotion ceremony because she died two days after the emperor announced his decision. In 1752, she was interred in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs.