Qiánlóng Xiū Qī 乾隆休妻
The Qianlong Emperor Divorces His Wife by 陳蓮痕 (撰)
About the work
Qiánlóng Xiū Qī 乾隆休妻 is a Republican-era historical romantic novel in 26 numbered sections by 陳蓮痕 (Chén Liánhén). The work dramatizes the legendary story of the Qiánlóng Emperor’s 乾隆帝 (r. 1735–1796) repudiation of his first Empress (Huángòu 皇后), Empress Fǔchá 富察皇后. The narrative moves from the opening critique of the traditional Chinese custom of divorce (the “seven outs,” qīchū 七出) through the introduction of imperial court rivalries, the Qiánlóng Emperor’s passion for a favored imperial consort (yùfēi 玉妃), the jealousy and factional intrigues this sparks among the palace women, the Empress’s heroic attempts to remonstrate with the Emperor, and her final repudiation, tonsure, and death. The chapter titles trace a dramatic arc of virtue vs. sycophancy within the Qīng inner court.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The legendary “divorce” (repudiation, xiū 休) of Empress Fǔchá 富察皇后 by the Qiánlóng Emperor is a subject of considerable popular lore, though the historical facts are different from the legend. The actual Empress Fǔchá (1712–1748) was Qiánlóng’s beloved first empress, who died at age 37 during a tour of the east; far from divorcing her, the Emperor mourned her deeply and composed numerous poems in her memory. The Empress Nára 輝發那拉 (the Emperor’s second consort, elevated to empress consort in 1750) was the one repudiated in 1765 after a public act of hair-cutting during the Emperor’s fourth southern tour — an act interpreted as a grave breach of imperial decorum. Republican-era popular tradition conflated these stories into the dramatic narrative of the “divorce of the Empress.”
Qiánlóng Xiū Qī belongs to the gōngwéi yànshǐ 宮闈豔史 subgenre of fictional accounts of Qīng palace life. 陳蓮痕 was a prolific author of such tales; other works in the Kanripo corpus include KR4k0317 Shùnzhì Chūjiā 順治出家 (The Shùnzhì Emperor enters the monkhood) and KR4k0323 Tóngzhì Piāoyuàn 同治嫖院 (The Tóngzhì Emperor visits the brothels). The three form a loosely connected series of fictionalized imperial scandals across the Qīng.
The opening chapter frames the narrative with a feminist critique of the qīchū 七出 (seven grounds for divorce) as an unjust custom oppressive to women — a framing that was common in May Fourth and Republican-era popular fiction concerned with gender equality.
Translations and research
- Waley-Cohen, Joanna. 2006. The Culture of War in China: Empire and the Military Under the Qing Dynasty. I.B. Tauris. (Contextual background on Qiánlóng’s reign.)
- Rawski, Evelyn S. 1998. The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions. University of California Press. Discusses Qīng imperial family structures and consort hierarchies.