Empress Erdeni Bumba – The only deposed Empress of the Qing Dynasty

Empress Erdeni Bumba is one of the most tragic and forgotten empresses in Chinese history. She was the only Empress of the Qing Dynasty to be deposed. Empress Erdeni Bumba had been engaged to the Shunzhi Emperor since childhood. However, once they married, they were deeply unhappy with each other. She was Empress for two years until Emperor Shunzhi decided to depose her. Since her deposition, her aftermath has been shrouded in mystery.

Empress Erdeni Bumba was born in 1638 C.E.^[1] Her father was Empress Xiaozhuangwen’s brother named Uskan. During her childhood, Dorgon (the Regent of China) personally chose her as a bride for Emperor Shunzhi.^[2] On 8 February 1651 C.E., Empress Xiaozhuangwen formally selected her to be Empress to her son, Emperor Shunzhi.^[3] Her father escorted her to the capital. Once she arrived at the palace, Erdeni Bumba was given the Empress crown, which consisted of thirteen pearls, a central palace, and golden robes that were made solely for the Empress.^[4] On 27 September 1651 C.E., Erdeni Bumba married Emperor Shunzhi and was crowned Empress of China. During her crowning ceremony, it was said that Empress Erdeni Bumba looked “pretty and bright.”^[5]

Since the beginning of their marriage, Empress Erdeni Bumba and Emperor Shunzhi did not get along. Empress Erdeni Bumba was the wife his mother had chosen for him, and she was not his choice of wife.^[6] Therefore, he was very unhappy with his Empress.^[7] On 14 October 1653 C.E., Emperor Shunzhi began to look through historical records of how past emperors deposed their empresses.^[8] This was a sign to his ministers that he meant to officially depose Empress Erdeni Bumba.^[9] The ministers begged him not to depose the Empress, but Emperor Shunzhi refused to listen. He issued an imperial edict that “the Empress was incompetent and should be discarded.”^[10]

Emperor Shunzhi gave two reasons for her deposition.^[11] The first reason he gave was that Empress Erdeni Bumbai loved extravagance and luxury.^[12] Emperor Shunzhi claimed that she always wore the Empress’s robes in his presence and was always decorated with jade and pearls.^[13] He also claimed that her dining utensils had to be made of gold.^[14] If her utensils were not made of gold, “she would lose her temper.”^[15] This was not a good reason to depose his Empress.^[16] Erdeni Bumba was Empress, and it was expected of her to live an extravagant lifestyle.^[17] Emperor Shunzhi’s Consort Donggo would live a more extravagant lifestyle than Empress Erdeni Bumba.^[18] However, the main difference would be that Emperor Shunzhi loved Consort Donggo but not Empress Erdeni Bumba.^[19] Emperor Shunzhi knew this reason for demoting the Empress was not good enough, so he created a second reason.^[20]

Emperor Shunzhi then claimed that Empress Erdeni Bumba was jealous and possessive.^[21]  He claimed that if she found a consort who was deemed pretty, she would torture her and try to kill her.^[22] This statement seemed to be false because Emperor Shunzhi already had children with his other consorts.^[23] This fact does not align with Emperor Shunzhi’s claim that the Empress was a jealous wife. She knew her position as Empress would require Emperor Shunzhi to have other consorts.^[24] The real reason why Emperor Shunzhi wanted to demote her was that she was his mother’s choice and not of his own choosing.^[25] This deposition of Empress Erdeni Bumba was a result of the tension between Emperor Shunzhi and his mother, Empress Xiaozhuangwen.^[26]

On 15 October 1653 C.E., Emperor Shunzhi officially deposed Empress Erdeni Bumba.^[27] He made her Consort Jing.^[28] She was Empress of China for two years. Therefore, the Empress position was vacant. After the Empress’s deposition, he notified his mother, who was deeply unhappy with the situation.^[29] On 17 October 1653 C.E., he issued an edict. It read:

“Through the ages, Emperors have carefully chosen their Empresses so they could assist in domestic affairs and set a good example to the people as a mother figure. This present Empress of mine, however, was assigned to me by Prince Rui (Dorgon, the former Regent of China) in my childhood. The marriage was therefore made out of kinship rather than by careful selection. She has not been on good terms with me since she was crowned two years ago. She is not good enough to serve me or my subordinates. She is not suitable to be the mother of my offspring, and I thus informed the Empress Dowager on 15 October that I have demoted the Empress to Jingfei and sent her to live in the side chamber.”^[30]

After the Empress’s deposition, the royal family gathered to discuss who will be the new Empress.^[31] They chose Empress Erdeni Bumba’s niece, Alatan Qiqige, to be the next Empress. Emperor Shunzhi had no choice except to marry her. He neglected Empress Alatan Qiqige and tried to depose her at one point. Ever since Empress Erdeni Bumba was deposed and was made Consort Jing, there has been no official record of what happened to her afterwards.^[32] There is not even a mention of her death or where she was buried.^[33]

One historical document titled The Records of the Li Dynasty claimed Empress Erdeni Bumba was pregnant with Emperor Shunzhi’s child during her deposition.^[34] Once she was deposed, Emperor Shunzhi allowed her to return to her homeland in Mongolia.^[35] As soon as she arrived in Mongolia, she gave birth to a son.^[36] However, many historians question the veracity of this information.^[37] If Empress Erdeni Bumba was pregnant, it would have been recorded in the Qing Dynasty’s official records.^[38] Instead, many historians believe that she was sent to the cold palace after her deposition and spent the rest of her life in that desolate place.^[39] They also believe that she was buried in the Qing Dynasty’s Eastern Mausoleum in Hebei Province.^[40]

Empress Erdeni Bumba was a tragic figure. She was the Empress of China for two years, but she never got along with her husband. We do not know how she was as Empress because all that is left are her husband’s accusations against her.^[41] She was deposed because the marriage was not of Emperor Shunzhi’s choice but was his mother’s.^[42] Therefore, Empress Erdeni Bumba’s deposition seems to be an act of retaliation against his mother for absolute power.^[43] Empress Erdeni Bumba was most likely an innocent pawn in the power struggle between mother and son.^[44] In the end, Empress Erdeni Bumba paid the price for Emperor Shunzhi’s ambitions. She died lonely and forgotten.^[45]

Sources:

Laitimes. (January 17, 2022). “The only deposed empress of the Qing Dynasty, who did not take the emperor seriously, was expelled from the palace with a child?” Retrieved on September 4, 2022 from https://www.laitimes.com/en/article/1vlao_23kg9.html.

McMahon, K. (2016). Celestial Women: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Song to Qing. NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Yu, S. & Wong, G. C. Y. trans. (2015). “The Abandoned Empress of the Borjigit Clan”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911 (1st ed.). (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; C. Lau, Ed.; A.D. Stefanowska,. Ed.; S. Wiles, Asst. Ed.) NY: Routledge. pp. 342-343.