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⚫ The '''Fragrant Concubine''' ({{lang-zh|c=香妃|w=Hsiang Fei|p=Xiāng Fēi}}; {{langx|ug|ئىپارخان}} / {{lang|ug-Latn|Iparxan}} / {{lang|ug-Cyrl|Ипархан}}) is a figure in Chinese legend who was taken as a consort by the ] of the ] in the 18th century. Although the stories about her are believed to be mythical, they may have been based on an actual concubine from western China who entered the imperial ] in 1760 and received the title "]" ({{lang-zh|c=容妃|p=Róng Fēi|labels=no}}). Qing Dynasty and ] tellings of the legend of the Fragrant Concubine diverge greatly and her experience represents a powerful symbol for both cultures. The story became very popular during the early 20th century and has since been adapted into several plays, films and books.
] (Láng Shìníng).]]


==Qing legend==
⚫ The '''Fragrant Concubine''' ({{zh-cp|c=<big>香妃</big> |p=Xiāngfēi}}; ]: <big>{{lang|ug-Arab|ئىپارخان}}</big> / {{lang|ug-Latn|Iparhan}} / {{lang|ug-Cyrl|Ипархан}}) is a figure in ] who was taken as a ] by the ] during the ]. Although the stories about her are believed to be ], they may have been based on an actual concubine from western China who entered the ] of the emperor in 1760 and who carried the court title of ]. Some people insist, however, that Rong Fei (whose original name may have been Maimur Azum) and Xiang Fei were different women. ] and Uyghur tellings of the legend of the Fragrant Concubine diverge greatly, and her experience represents a powerful symbol for both peoples. The story became greatly popular during the early ] and has since been adopted into several plays, films, and books.
]


⚫ Although accounts vary as to some details, the basic story among ] recounts the discovery by the ] of a Kashgarian Muslim woman named Iparhan ("Musky Woman"), the granddaughter of ], a local chieftain in the ] city of ]. Even more remarkable than her beauty was the scent her body naturally produced; captivated, the emperor sought her as an Imperial Consort for his ]. She was given as a gift to the emperor and carefully escorted all the way to the imperial palace in ], washing every day along the road in camel's milk to preserve her mysterious fragrance.
== The Legend of Xiang Fei ==


⚫ Upon her arrival at the imperial palace, the Fragrant Concubine was given a garden and a luxurious room as a sign of the Qianlong Emperor's devotion. Homesick and distraught, she remained disconsolate as the emperor made ever-increasing efforts to recreate her distant village, building her a ], miniature oasis and ] outside her windows in an effort to bring her happiness. Finally she relented and came to love him when he sent messengers to Kashgar to return with a ] tree bearing golden fruit and the Fragrant Concubine became the emperor's cherished consort until her death. An enduring symbol of national unity and reconciliation, her body was brought back to her home of Kashgar, where she is now entombed, in a procession of 120 bearers in a journey that took over three years.
⚫ Although accounts vary as to some details, the basic story amongst ] recounts the discovery by the ] of an ] girl named Iparhan, grand-daughter of ], a local leader in the ] city of ]. Even more remarkable than her beauty was the ] her body naturally produced; captivated, the Emperor sought her as a consort for his ]. She was given as a gift to the Emperor and carefully escorted all the way to ], washing every day along the road in ]'s milk to preserve her mysterious fragrance.


==Kashgarian legend==
⚫ Upon her arrival to the imperial palace, Xiang Fei, the Fragrant Concubine, was gifted with a garden and a luxurious room of her own as a sign of the Emperor's devotion. Homesick and distraught, she remained disconsolate as the Emperor made ever-increasing efforts to recreate her distant village, building her a ], miniature oasis, and ] outside her windows in an effort to bring her happiness. Finally she relented and came to love him when he sent messengers to Kashgar to return with an ] tree bearing golden fruit, and Xiang Fei became the emperor's cherished consort until her death. An enduring symbol of national unity and reconciliation, her body was borne back to her home of Kashgar, where she is now en]ed, in a procession of 120 bearers in a journey that took over three years.
]
{{See also|Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas}}
Contemporary Kashgarian renditions of the legend are considerably less romantic. She was the daughter or consort of {{Ill|Khwāja Jihān|zh|霍集占}}, and her name was Nur Ela Nurhan.<ref name="WeiWei1998">{{cite book|last1=Wei|first1=Cuiyi|last2=Luckert|first2=Karl W.|title=Uighur stories from along the Silk Road|date=May 1998|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-1137-4}}</ref><ref name="ercilasun2017">{{cite book | last1=Ercilasun | first1=G.K. | last2=Ercilasun | first2=K. | title=The Uyghur Community: Diaspora, Identity and Geopolitics | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | series=Politics and History in Central Asia | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-137-52297-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLg8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 | access-date=2022-03-13 | page=117| quote= According to most versions, Xiang Fei was the consort (or daughter) of Khoja Jihan, the "younger Khoja" who with his elder brother, Burhan ud-Din, resisted the Qing conquest of Altishahr (southern Xinjiang).}}</ref> Taken away to the imperial palace in ] by the ], Iparhan arms herself with daggers up her sleeves, on guard against the hated advances of the emperor, until finally she is poisoned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holdstock|first=Nick|title=China's Forgotten People: Xinjiang, Terror and the Chinese State|date=30 May 2015|publisher=I. B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-78453-140-9|page=169}}</ref>


Khwāja Jihān with his brother {{ill|Burhān ud-Dīn|zh|3=波羅尼都}} were the ] during the ]. Previously during the late-1600s, ] ] ], the Dzungars appointed Khojas as rulers of Kashgaria ({{aka}} ] or southern Xinjiang). In the 1750s, the Khoja brothers supported ] in northern Xinjiang. They sought independence for Altishahr (southern Xinjiang). However, the Qing ] in the years that followed.
== The Legend of Iparhan ==


⚫ ==Apak Khoja and Fragrant Concubine Tomb==
Contemporary Uyghur renditions of the legend are considerably less ]. Stolen from her husband, a Muslim leader who had resisted the army of the ], and spirited away to ], Iparhan arms herself with daggers up her sleeves, on guard against the hated advances of the Emperor. Some accounts cast her even more explicitly as a nationalist resistance figure, suggesting that in addition to maintaining her purity Iparhan planned to kill the Emperor in revenge for his conquest of her homeland of ]. The Emperor, besotted, cannot resist the allure of her beauty, and in the end his mother the ] arranges for her murder at the hands of loyal palace ] in the face of Iparhan's unyielding resistance and the threat posed to her son.
]]]


⚫ The ] (''mazar'') located outside Kashgar was built in 1640 and, in addition to encompassing a larger complex that includes a functioning ] and ], houses the coffins of five generations of the Afak ] family, including what is purported to be the body of the Fragrant Concubine. In fact, the ] died of illness on 24 May 1788 and was buried at the ]; the legend of the Fragrant Concubine first became closely associated with the Kashgar tomb in the late 19th century, and the connection has since been officially established and endorsed through a proliferation of signs and guided tours.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}
⚫ == Apak Khoja and Xiang Fei Tomb ==
⚫ The ] tomb (''mazar'') located outside Kashgar was built in ] and, in addition to encompassing a larger complex that includes a functioning ] and ]ic school, houses the coffins of five generations of the Khoja family, including what is purported to be the body of the Fragrant Concubine. In fact, the real ] died of illness in ] and was buried in a royal tomb in ]; the legend of the Fragrant Concubine first became closely associated with the Kashgar tomb in the late 19th century, and the connection has since been officially established and endorsed through a proliferation of signs and guided tours. Critical Western academic observers have noted that the superimposition of the Fragrant Concubine myth on the preexisting tomb has effectively ] and trivialized what was once a major functioning ] shrine through the influx of ].


==Bibliography== ==In fiction==
===In literature===
* Fragrant Concubine is the title character of ]'s 1930 novella ''Hsiang Fei: A Love Story of the Emperor Ch’ien Lung''.
* The character ] in ]'s ] novel '']'' is loosely based on the Fragrant Concubine narrative.
* The concubine also appeared as the character Han Xiang in the television series '']'', based on the novel with the same title authored by ].


===On television===
⚫ * Fuller, Graham E. and Jonathan N. Lipman. "Islam in Xinjiang" in ''Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland.'' Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe Inc., c2004. (ISBN 0-7656-1318-2).
* Portrayed by Liu Dan in '']'' (1998)
⚫ *Millward, James A. "A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragant Concubine." ''The Journal of Asian Studies'' 53, no. 2 (1994): 427-58.
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2011)
⚫ * Tyler, Christian. ''Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang''. London: John Murray, c2003. (ISBN 0-8135-3533-6)
* ] (2015)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2018)
* Portrayed by ] in '']'' (2018)


== External links == ===In other media===
* Princess Xiang Fei ({{lang|zh|香妃傳}} ''Xiāng Fēi Zhuàn''; ''Kō Hi Den''), Op. 34, is a three-act dance work by Taiwanese composer ] (Chiang Wen-yeh).
*
* A discussion topic on Princess Fragrant in China History Forum
*


==See also== ==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References==
]
⚫ * {{cite book|last1=Fuller|first1=Graham E.|last2=Lipman|first2=Jonathan N.|editor=S. Frederick Starr|title=Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland|chapter=Islam in Xinjiang|location=Armonk, New York|publisher=M.E. Sharpe Inc.|year=2004|isbn=0-7656-1318-2}}
⚫ ]
⚫ * {{cite journal|last=Millward|first=James A.|title=A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragrant Concubine|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=53|issue=2|year=1994|pages=427–58|doi=10.2307/2059841|jstor=2059841|s2cid=154062771 }}
⚫ ]
⚫ * {{cite book|last=Tyler|first=Christian|title=Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang|location=London|publisher=John Murray|year=2003|isbn=0-8135-3533-6}}


{{Authority control}}
]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fragrant Concubine}}
]
⚫ ]
⚫ ]

Latest revision as of 04:03, 1 November 2024

The Fragrant Concubine (Chinese: 香妃; pinyin: Xiāng Fēi; Wade–Giles: Hsiang Fei; Uyghur: ئىپارخان / Iparxan / Ипархан) is a figure in Chinese legend who was taken as a consort by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century. Although the stories about her are believed to be mythical, they may have been based on an actual concubine from western China who entered the imperial harem in 1760 and received the title "Imperial Consort Rong" (容妃; Róng Fēi). Qing Dynasty and Uyghur tellings of the legend of the Fragrant Concubine diverge greatly and her experience represents a powerful symbol for both cultures. The story became very popular during the early 20th century and has since been adapted into several plays, films and books.

Qing legend

The Fragrant Concubine in Western dress

Although accounts vary as to some details, the basic story among Qing recounts the discovery by the Qianlong Emperor of a Kashgarian Muslim woman named Iparhan ("Musky Woman"), the granddaughter of Afaq Khoja, a local chieftain in the oasis city of Kashgar. Even more remarkable than her beauty was the scent her body naturally produced; captivated, the emperor sought her as an Imperial Consort for his harem. She was given as a gift to the emperor and carefully escorted all the way to the imperial palace in Beijing, washing every day along the road in camel's milk to preserve her mysterious fragrance.

Upon her arrival at the imperial palace, the Fragrant Concubine was given a garden and a luxurious room as a sign of the Qianlong Emperor's devotion. Homesick and distraught, she remained disconsolate as the emperor made ever-increasing efforts to recreate her distant village, building her a mosque, miniature oasis and bazaar outside her windows in an effort to bring her happiness. Finally she relented and came to love him when he sent messengers to Kashgar to return with a jujube tree bearing golden fruit and the Fragrant Concubine became the emperor's cherished consort until her death. An enduring symbol of national unity and reconciliation, her body was brought back to her home of Kashgar, where she is now entombed, in a procession of 120 bearers in a journey that took over three years.

Kashgarian legend

Iparhan in armour
See also: Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas

Contemporary Kashgarian renditions of the legend are considerably less romantic. She was the daughter or consort of Khwāja Jihān [zh], and her name was Nur Ela Nurhan. Taken away to the imperial palace in Beijing by the Qianlong Emperor, Iparhan arms herself with daggers up her sleeves, on guard against the hated advances of the emperor, until finally she is poisoned.

Khwāja Jihān with his brother Burhān ud-Dīn [zh] were the khojas during the Qing conquest of Xinjiang. Previously during the late-1600s, Dzungar Khanate conquered Yarkent Khanate, the Dzungars appointed Khojas as rulers of Kashgaria (a.k.a. Altishahr or southern Xinjiang). In the 1750s, the Khoja brothers supported Qing conquest of their Dzungar rulers in northern Xinjiang. They sought independence for Altishahr (southern Xinjiang). However, the Qing conquered them as well in the years that followed.

Apak Khoja and Fragrant Concubine Tomb

Imperial Consort Rong's tomb in the Eastern Qing tombs

The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum (mazar) located outside Kashgar was built in 1640 and, in addition to encompassing a larger complex that includes a functioning mosque and madrasa, houses the coffins of five generations of the Afak Khoja family, including what is purported to be the body of the Fragrant Concubine. In fact, the real Imperial Consort Rong died of illness on 24 May 1788 and was buried at the Eastern Qing Tombs; the legend of the Fragrant Concubine first became closely associated with the Kashgar tomb in the late 19th century, and the connection has since been officially established and endorsed through a proliferation of signs and guided tours.

In fiction

In literature

On television

In other media

  • Princess Xiang Fei (香妃傳 Xiāng Fēi Zhuàn; Kō Hi Den), Op. 34, is a three-act dance work by Taiwanese composer Koh Bunya (Chiang Wen-yeh).

Notes

  1. Wei, Cuiyi; Luckert, Karl W. (May 1998). Uighur stories from along the Silk Road. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-1137-4.
  2. Ercilasun, G.K.; Ercilasun, K. (2017). The Uyghur Community: Diaspora, Identity and Geopolitics. Politics and History in Central Asia. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-137-52297-9. Retrieved 2022-03-13. According to most versions, Xiang Fei was the consort (or daughter) of Khoja Jihan, the "younger Khoja" who with his elder brother, Burhan ud-Din, resisted the Qing conquest of Altishahr (southern Xinjiang).
  3. Holdstock, Nick (30 May 2015). China's Forgotten People: Xinjiang, Terror and the Chinese State. I. B. Tauris. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-78453-140-9.

References

  • Fuller, Graham E.; Lipman, Jonathan N. (2004). "Islam in Xinjiang". In S. Frederick Starr (ed.). Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe Inc. ISBN 0-7656-1318-2.
  • Millward, James A. (1994). "A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragrant Concubine". The Journal of Asian Studies. 53 (2): 427–58. doi:10.2307/2059841. JSTOR 2059841. S2CID 154062771.
  • Tyler, Christian (2003). Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-8135-3533-6.
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