Tragic Facts About Wenxiu, The Last Consort Of China
The Last Consort Of China
When Wenxiu married Emperor Puyi of China and became his Imperial Consort, she likely imagined a life filled with luxury. Instead, she got tragedy.
1. She Was High Class, Low Money
When Wenxiu was born in 1909, it didn’t look like she would become the next Imperial Consort of China.
Although she was part of a fairly respectable Mongolian clan, her family lived in genteel poverty, and Wenxiu often helped them make an income by selling goods. But then everything changed.
When she was just 11 years old, the current Emperor of China, Puyi, began looking for a bride—and Wenxiu was about to meet her fate.
2. She Was In A Bride Search
Thanks to her family connections, Wenxiu was on a long list of suitable candidates to marry Puyi.
This, however, was an extremely undignified process: The dowagers of Puyi’s court controlled the search, showing him photographs of women he had never met and heavily advising on his choices. But that’s exactly when it got surprising.
3. She Was The Emperor’s Favorite
As it happened, Puyi’s eye landed right on Wenxiu’s photo—which, yes, is more than a little creepy when you consider that she was all but pre-pubescent and Puyi was a teenager at the time.
Nonetheless, he stumped for the young girl as his bride from the very beginning, even in a sea of other photographs. What he got back was a biting insult.
4. They Thought She Wasn’t Good Enough
With the Emperor of China making Wenxiu his first choice, it should have been smooth sailing for her to get to the throne. But then came the plot twist.
Some of the dowagers disapproved of Puyi’s choice, arguing that Wenxiu wasn’t from a good enough or rich enough family, despite being in the bridal pool anyway.
Instead, they wanted Puyi to pick a girl his own age, who was also from a better family: Wanrong.
Ouch. But if you think that hurts…read on.
