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In the thousands of years of Chinese imperial history, there are too many examples of emperors who loved their country more than their beauties.

But Emperor Shunzhi was a bit different. His love with Consort Dong E can be described as a rare true love story in history.

Before Emperor Shunzhi met Consort Dong E, his life could be said to be one of sex without love.

Although he was an emperor, his heart was always empty, lonely and cold.

It was not until the appearance of Consort Dong E that Emperor Shunzhi truly experienced the power of love.

The wheel of history rolls forward, taking away many once vibrant lives.

Dong Efei, the true love of Emperor Shunzhi.

Although her name is unknown in the long river of history, her story has left endless sighs and laments for future generations.

Her life is like an elegant portrait.

Although beautiful and charming, it is ultimately shrouded in an irremovable melancholy and sadness.

Perhaps, in that era when imperial power was supreme, Dong Efei's fate was already determined.

No matter how virtuous she was, or how much she was favored by Emperor Shunzhi, she could not escape the fate of being a beauty with a tragic fate.

The love between Emperor Shunzhi and Consort Dong E can only turn into a faint sorrow in the long river of history and remain forever in the memory of future generations.

"Dong E was from the Manchu Plain White Banner, and her father, E Shuo, was an officer of the Plain White Banner."

"After the second year of Shunzhi, E Shuo followed the army to the south."

"For the next five or six years, we were stationed in Suzhou and Hangzhou."

"This has allowed his children to be influenced and nurtured by the Jiangnan Han culture since childhood, which has played a decisive role in their lives."

"Dong E is intelligent, loves to read history books, and has a kind of considerate and quiet temperament."

"Dong E's talent was rare among the girls from Manchu noble families at the time when the country first entered the Pass."

"In the thirteenth year of Shunzhi's reign, Dong E was canonized as the virtuous concubine."

"Just over a month later, Shunzhi promoted her to Imperial Noble Consort on the grounds of her intelligence."

"Such a speed of promotion is very rare in the history of the Qing Dynasty."

"Emperor Shunzhi also held a grand ceremony to enthrone Dong E and issued an imperial edict to grant her amnesty."

"In the nearly 300 years of Qing history, this was the only time a general amnesty was granted because of the enthronement of an empress or concubines."

"According to convention, the emperor would only issue an edict to announce it to the world during the grand ceremony of enthroning the empress."

"The fact that Dong E enjoyed such special treatment showed that she was unusually favored by Shunzhi."

"In 1657, Concubine Dong E gave birth to the fourth prince."

"Shunzhi was extremely happy, and he offered sacrifices to heaven and earth and accepted congratulations from his ministers."

"A grand ceremony was held to announce the birth of the emperor's first son. The child was treated as if he were a legitimate child, and a general amnesty was issued afterwards."

"However, the child died only a few months after birth, and Shunzhi ordered that he be posthumously named Prince Heshuo Rong."

"This is beyond the ancestral system. The funeral specifications are beyond the rules. A large-scale mausoleum was built for him."

"As a lady from a prominent family of the Eight Banners, Dong E was influenced by her family education."

"According to historical records, she was extremely intelligent since childhood and had a special talent: she could remember everything she read in history books."

"Dong E was kind by nature, knowledgeable, and sensible. Her actions seemed to be explainable only by Buddhist beliefs."

"Every time Shunzhi read the memorials, he would glance over the important contents and then throw them aside."

"Dong Efei reminded him that he should look carefully and not ignore it."

"Whenever Shunzhi wanted to review memorials with her, she would quickly thank him and explain that the harem should not interfere in government affairs."

"Whenever Shunzhi came back from court, she would personally arrange his meals, pour him wine and ask about his health."

"Whenever Shunzhi reviewed memorials until midnight, she would always grind them for him and serve him tea without exception."

Cao Xueqin: Concubine Dong E was the most beloved concubine of Emperor Shunzhi throughout his life.

Putting aside the fact that Dong Efei was promoted from concubine to imperial concubine in just over a month, and putting aside the fact that Emperor Shunzhi had an almost obsessive favor for Dong Efei.

The various extraordinary behaviors displayed by Emperor Shunzhi after Dong E's death are enough to show how deeply he loved Dong E.

The reason why Concubine Dong E was favored by Emperor Shunzhi was because she had three advantages that no man could resist.

First, as a daughter-in-law, she is very filial to her mother.

The Qing Dynasty ruling class, which ruled the country with filial piety, had always used filial piety as the basic basis for measuring the virtues of concubines.

Emperor Shunzhi praised Concubine Dong E for her filial piety towards her mother.

Emperor Shunzhi's evaluation of Consort Dong E's filial piety was not false, and there are two specific examples to illustrate this clearly.

In the winter of the 14th year of Shunzhi's reign, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, who was living in Nanyuan, fell ill.

Despite her own frail health, Dong Efei served him day and night, forgetting to eat and sleep, and even went to the Temple of Heaven and Earth to pray for him in person.

When Consort Dong E was seriously ill, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang visited her several times in person and expressed her deep sorrow after her death.

You know, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang did not like this daughter-in-law who was the exclusive favorite of Emperor Shunzhi.

If I wasn't moved by his filial piety, how could I express my true feelings?

Dong Efei, who was the only one favored by the emperor, was not arrogant and domineering. Instead, she was filial and served the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

How could she not win the heart of Emperor Shunzhi and how could she not make all men in the world admire her?

Second, as a virtuous wife, Dong Efei was impeccable.

Although Dong E was not named empress during her lifetime, she held the high position of Imperial Noble Consort and was favored by Emperor Shunzhi.

Yu's real power in the harem has always coexisted with that of Empress Xiaohuizhang, and even far exceeded that of Empress Xiaohuizhang.

However, despite having such favor and power, Dong Efei did not become arrogant or domineering.

Emperor Shunzhi also specifically cited two examples of how Dong Efei treated Empress Xiaohuizhang to illustrate the impeccable performance of this virtuous wife in the harem.

In the 14th year of Shunzhi, when Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was ill, Empress Xiaohuizhang remained indifferent.

This made Emperor Shunzhi very angry, and he planned to depose him on the grounds of lack of filial piety.

The biggest beneficiary of the empress's dethronement was naturally Consort Dong E, the then Imperial Noble Consort.

But he did not add insult to injury, but pleaded for the queen several times.

In the 15th year of Shunzhi's reign, Empress Xiaohuizhang fell seriously ill, and Concubine Dong E was the one who served her.

She was favored by the emperor and always behaved in a humble and respectful manner.

She treated the empress, concubines, and even palace maids and servants with great kindness.

A peaceful and harmonious harem environment was created for Emperor Shunzhi, who was busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty.

How could such a virtuous wife not be favored by Emperor Shunzhi and be the envy of all men in the world?

Third, as a wife, Dong Efei regarded Emperor Shunzhi as her only one.

The real reason why Emperor Shunzhi loved Dong Efei so deeply was because of the way Dong Efei treated him.

That is, as a wife, Concubine Dong E regarded Emperor Shunzhi as her only one and absolutely irreplaceable.

In daily life, Concubine Dong E took great care of Emperor Shunzhi.

On countless nights when he was reviewing memorials, Dong Efei silently accompanied him.

Dong Efei was extremely beautiful, but she did not bring disaster to the country.

Instead, he often advised Shunzhi in a gentle and kind manner to be diligent in government affairs, to cherish his subjects, and to be especially cautious in handling criminal cases.

When her father passed away, Concubine Dong E was afraid that Emperor Shunzhi would worry, so she did not dare to be overly sad.

After her brother passed away, Dong Efei was glad that he had not caused any major disaster and brought trouble to Emperor Shunzhi.

Even when she was dying, Concubine Dong E still advised Emperor Shunzhi not to be sad.

In Dong Efei's heart, Emperor Shunzhi was her only one and everything in her life.

From this point of view, it is understandable that Emperor Shunzhi was completely desperate after his death.

"Every time Shunzhi finished listening to the lectures given by the officials of the Hanlin Academy and returned to the palace, she would always ask about the content of the lectures."

"Shunzhi would also tell her the story again, and she would be very happy every time he told her the story."

"Their genuine affection is not that of an ordinary young couple, but rather lies in the rational mutual promotion."

"What's even more rare is that she often advised Shunzhi to win the hearts of the people when handling government affairs and to be cautious in judging cases."

"Even when palace maids and eunuchs made mistakes, Concubine Dong E would often intercede for them."

"Dong Efei never believed in Buddhism, so Shunzhi sometimes used some Zen scriptures to teach her and explained the deep meaning of the Heart Sutra to her."

"Therefore, he became her most respected treasure, and she devoted herself to the study of Zen."

"Since the Queen's death, domestic affairs have piled up, all waiting for the Emperor to deal with."

"Every time I do something, I miss the Queen even more, and I can't help feeling sad."

"I also lamented that the emperor and her were destined to be together, but they could not live their lives together, and only Emperor Shunzhi could look back on the past."

"Although Emperor Shunzhi could not express his sorrow, he was often overwhelmed by it."

"The palace affairs were previously handled by Imperial Noble Consort Dong E, who carefully checked and reviewed them, and there was nothing inappropriate."

"Although Consort Dong E was below the empress, she fulfilled the responsibilities of the empress."

"Secondly, because of Empress Xiaohuizhang, Dong E was not able to achieve the title of Empress."

"Dong Efei herself strictly abided by the rules, enthusiastically assisted in the internal affairs, and worked very diligently in all matters."

"Dong Efei was ill for about three years. Although she was weak, she still encouraged and comforted Shunzhi from time to time."

"There was no slackness in etiquette, and Concubine Dong E was always consistent."

"She served Empress Xiaohuizhang with greater diligence and humility, treating her like a mother, and Empress Xiaohuizhang treated her like a sister." "In the winter of the 14th year of Shunzhi's reign, Emperor Shunzhi went to Nanyuan, and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was unwell."

"Dong Efei served her day and night, forgetting to eat and sleep, and prayed for Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang at the Tiandi Altar."

"Empress Xiaohuizhang did not ask a single question, nor did she send anyone to greet her."

"In the first month of the fifteenth year of Shunzhi's reign, Emperor Shunzhi asked his ministers to depose Empress Xiaohuizhang because she violated filial piety and to appoint Dong E as empress instead."

"Dong Efei didn't know that Emperor Shunzhi wanted to depose Empress Xiaohuizhang. After she found out, she knelt in front of Emperor Shunzhi for a long time, kowtowed and asked to resign the position of empress, begging Emperor Shunzhi not to depose Empress Xiaohuizhang. However, due to Empress Xiaozhuang's obstruction and Dong E's dissuasion, the dethronement was not accomplished."

Sai Jinhua: Shunzhi was only 23 years old when he died. He was deeply in love with Dong Efei all his life, but he left behind 14 children.

Emperor Shunzhi doted on Consort Dong E only throughout his life. Consort Dong E was very intelligent and had similar interests to Shunzhi.

Shunzhi once issued a general amnesty for Dong Efei, and soon after she entered the palace, she was conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort.

The degree of favor that Emperor Shunzhi showed to Consort Dong E was unprecedented, and his love for her was deep and lasting until his death.

Emperor Shunzhi doted on Concubine Dong E so much that after her death he also contracted smallpox and died at the age of 23.

However, Shunzhi's devotion to Dong Efei did not prevent him from having children with other concubines.

This is normal for Shunzhi, who comes from an imperial family.

First, the royal family is most concerned about expanding its branches and leaves.

For Shunzhi, who was born into a royal family, the idea that he had always been instilled in him was to expand the royal family.

Only in this way can it be beneficial to the stability of the country and avoid the lack of successors.

Even though he favored Dong Efei alone, he couldn't help but have children with other women.

After all, he is not an ordinary person, and as an emperor this is his duty and responsibility.

Second, early marriage and early childbearing.

Although Shunzhi died young, he got married at the age of 13 and had a queen, and many concubines entered the palace.

Among them, Kangxi’s biological mother, Tong Jia, entered the palace as a concubine in the second year after Shunzhi’s wedding, and gave birth to Shunzhi’s third son, Xuanye, the following year.

Before Xuanye was born, the then concubine gave birth to the eldest son, and another concubine, Dong E, gave birth to the second son.

It can be seen that Shunzhi already had three sons when he was 15 years old, and Dong Efei had not yet entered the palace at that time.

Dong Efei entered the palace in 1656, which is three years later than Kangxi's biological mother, Tong Jia.

Before Dong Efei entered the palace, Shunzhi had not yet met his true love.

However, Shunzhi was a teenager at the time, full of energy, and was quite fond of the beauties in the harem.

In a harem filled with beauties, Shunzhi flipped through the names of other beauties every day, so it was normal for children to be born one after another.

Third, Dong Efei was virtuous and generous.

Dong Efei was a kind-hearted, virtuous and generous concubine.

Although she gave birth to a child with Emperor Shunzhi, the child died prematurely and she was unable to give birth again.

Even though Dong Efei knew that Shunzhi favored her alone, she was also very aware that her health was not good, so she would not seek favor and monopolize the emperor.

Concubine Dong E often advised Emperor Shunzhi to treat everyone equally, which reflected her virtue and generosity. Of course, it was also because as a woman in the harem, she had to know her limits.

Because if she monopolized Shunzhi's favor and only favored her, it would not only cause dissatisfaction among the concubines, but Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang would also come forward to reprimand her.

Since ancient times, mothers in the harem have been honored by their children, and the concubines in the harem also want to keep their children for their own glory and wealth.

Therefore, even if Shunzhi occasionally went to the harem, in the five years from the time Dong Efei entered the palace to the death of Shunzhi, Emperor Shunzhi still completed the task of continuing his offspring.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Emperor Shunzhi had 14 children, which was very normal in the royal family.

For Emperor Shunzhi, love was a luxury to him, and he had a greater sense of mission and responsibility to expand the royal family.

"In the fifteenth year of Shunzhi's reign, Empress Xiaohuizhang fell seriously ill due to the incident of stopping the use of imperial edicts."

"Empress Xiaoxian took care of her personally, sometimes reading history books to her or chatting about family matters to relieve her boredom."

"Emperor Shunzhi successively appointed two empresses, one of whom was his mother's niece, Borjigit, who was later demoted to a concubine."

"The other one is Empress Xiaohuizhang, Borjigit."

"Although the emperor had numerous beauties in his harem, the one Shunzhi truly regarded as his confidante was Consort Dong E."

"Emperor Shunzhi fell in love with Concubine Dong E at first sight and remained loyal to her until his death."

"Dong E was originally weak and sickly, and the fourth prince died a hundred days later. This blow made her sick and bedridden."

"In the 17th year of Shunzhi, the beautiful lady Dong E passed away. She died of illness in Chengqian Palace, one of the six eastern palaces."

"Shunzhi was extremely sad, and he expressed his condolences to Dong Efei by giving her a empress's funeral."

"Shunzhi wanted to execute all 30 eunuchs and palace maids to prevent Concubine Dong E from lacking servants in the other world, but was dissuaded."

"After Consort Dong E died, Shunzhi stopped attending court for four months."

"According to etiquette, the court will only be closed for five days after the death of the Imperial Concubine."

"The length of time that the court was suspended because of Consort Dong E's death cannot be surpassed in the entire history of the Qing Dynasty."

"In the 17th year of Shunzhi's reign, the people who carried the coffin for Empress Xiaoxian Dong'e were all ministers of the second and third ranks of the Eight Banners of Manchuria."

"During the Qing dynasty, this was not only unique in the funeral of an imperial concubine, but also in the funeral of an empress."

"After the coffin of Empress Xiaoxian Dong'e was moved to Jingshan, Shunzhi held a large-scale water and land ceremony for her, inviting 108 monks to chant sutras and pray for the salvation of her soul."

"In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor usually used red ink to review memorials. When an emperor or empress dowager passed away, he would use a blue pen. After 27 days, he would use a red pen again."

"During the funeral of Empress Xiaoxian Dong'e, Emperor Shunzhi used a blue pen to review memorials for four months."

"In order to highlight the virtue of Empress Xiaoxian Dong'e, Shunzhi ordered the Grand Secretary to write the Biography of Empress Xiaoxian."

"Shunzhi knew that the grand funeral for Dong E was against her wishes, but he could not control himself. It seemed that this was the only way to express his deep regret and nostalgia for Dong E's failure to become empress during her lifetime."

"Only half a year after Empress Xiaoxian Dong'e passed away, Emperor Shunzhi contracted smallpox, which was incurable at the time."

"It was New Year's Day, and both the palace and the people were decorating their houses to celebrate the New Year."

"Just then the news that the emperor was seriously ill came from the palace, and the court issued an amnesty order, but unfortunately it had no effect."

Yuan Shikai: Compared to Shunzhi becoming a monk, the biggest cause of death was smallpox.

Emperor Shunzhi died at the age of 24, but Qing history glossed over the death, especially avoiding the cause of his death.

There are currently two theories about the cause of Shunzhi's death.

First, because his beloved concubine Dong Efei died of illness, Shunzhi became a monk.

After Dong Efei's death, the young and infatuated Shunzhi suffered a great blow and never recovered.

In the end, Shunzhi chose to give up his country, become a monk, and secretly left the Forbidden City.

Shunzhi ascended the throne at the age of 5 and took power at the age of 12.

After taking control of state power, Shunzhi became interested in Buddhism and interacted with many eminent monks.

Shunzhi said on many occasions that he would consider becoming a monk in the future.

Shunzhi's favor for Dong Efei reached an exaggerated level after Dong Efei's death.

It seems understandable that Shunzhi, who was originally devoted to Buddhism, became disheartened and chose to leave the palace and become a monk.

However, this is impossible to do.

Under the imperial palace system at that time, no matter where the emperor went, he was followed by a large number of eunuchs, palace maids, and guards.

There is no possibility that the emperor could act alone.

In addition, although Shunzhi was in love with Dong Efei, it does not mean that he was really a lovesick person.

Shunzhi had many women, including at least 32 concubines.

Shunzhi had so many women and had so many children with them.

It is obviously impossible to say how devoted he was to Dong Efei.

Second, Shunzhi died of smallpox, which is the most likely cause of death.

The climate in Northeast China, where the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty previously lived, was cold and the virus was less active.

In addition, since the contact with people within the customs is not close, there are relatively few infectious diseases.

After the Eight Banners Army entered the Pass, their biggest headache compared to the motley Southern Ming army was various infectious diseases.

The Eight Banners soldiers had never suffered from these infectious diseases before and had no antibodies in their bodies, so it would be extremely dangerous if they were infected.

Take smallpox as an example. The mortality rate of Han children inside the Great Wall after being infected was between 30 and 40 percent, and the mortality rate among children under one year old was even higher.

Because the smallpox virus was everywhere in the interior, most Han people had been infected when they were children or even teenagers.

The children who did not resist died, while the children who resisted survived and became immune to the smallpox virus from then on.

Therefore, adult Han people, both men and women, are basically not afraid of the smallpox virus because they have already experienced it when they were young.

The situation was different for the Eight Banners soldiers. Even the Eight Banners men in their fifties and sixties had never been infected with the smallpox virus, but once infected, serious mortality would occur.

Although adults have stronger resistance and the mortality rate is not as high as that of children, it is still very alarming.

The three sons of Nurhaci's eldest son Daishan all died of smallpox.

There was no good treatment at the time, and the only effective thing was isolation.

If the epidemic was not extremely serious, the emperor would try to reduce contact with the outside world as much as possible, not even seeing his own children, let alone his wife.

If the epidemic in the capital city became serious, the emperor would go to the summer resort in Chengde for isolation.

The vast area near the Summer Resort is not open to civilians to live in or enter, making it more suitable for quarantine.

Even so, this isolation is not reliable.

The Qing Dynasty’s isolation method could only reduce the probability of infection.

Shunzhi contracted smallpox, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he eventually died. (End of this chapter)