Empress Xiaoxian

Also known as Dong Efei

Empress Xiaoxian, of the Donggo clan, was the daughter of the palace minister Eshuo. She entered the Shunzhi emperor's household at eighteen and soon outshone all his other women; in the eighth month of 1656 she was made Consort Xian and in the twelfth month raised to imperial noble consort with a formal investiture and an amnesty. In 1657 she bore the emperor's fourth son, who died at three months and was later styled Prince Rong. She died in the eighth month of 1660; the emperor suspended court for five days, gave her the posthumous title of empress, wrote an account of her life several thousand characters long and had the grand secretary Jin Zhijun write her biography. When he died half a year later, his testamentary edict listed the excessive rites for her funeral among his faults, and in 1663 she was buried with him in the Xiao tomb. A later legend identified her with the courtesan Dong Xiaowan, which Meng Sen showed to be impossible.