Biography
Consort Donggo was born of the Manchu Donggo (董鄂) clan, which was under the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners. Her father was E'shuo (鄂碩), who served as an Interior Minister in the Qing imperial court, while her mother was a Han Chinese. Her ancestral home was in Liaoning.
Consort Donggo entered the Forbidden City at the age of 18 and was deeply loved and favoured by the Shunzhi Emperor. She was granted the rank of Consort Xian (賢妃) in August 1656. She was further elevated to the status of Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃) in January 1657. The Shunzhi Emperor held a grand ceremony for the promotion of Consort Donggo and proclaimed an amnesty.
Consort Donggo gave birth to a son in 1657 but he died before reaching one year of age. The premature death of their son had a great impact on Consort Donggo and the Shunzhi Emperor. Consort Donggo fell ill and died in 1660 at the age of 21. The Shunzhi Emperor was so overwhelmed with grief that he stopped attending daily court meetings for five days to mourn Consort Donggo. It was also said that Shunzhi was so depressed that he wanted to commit suicide, and his subjects had to watch over him every day for fear of his safety. Consort Donggo was posthumously granted the title of an Empress, even though this was against traditional customs. She was interred in the Eastern Qing Tombs.
Read more about this topic: Xiao Xian Zhuang
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