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The lives of both Shen Fu and Qianlong included women with great qualities. Even though these two Chinese men had many differences, at the same time there were very similar things. It is often said that a man and a woman are one unit and when the two function as one, the ties and the relationship are made much stronger.
Shen Fu was a writer, born in Changzhou, in 1763. His wife was his cousin, her name was Chen Yun. They were together since childhood and had a very strong friendship. At 13 years old they were engaged and later got married. Chen Yun was Shen Fu’s best friend and they had a very unique relationship. In 1807 Shen Fu completed an autobiographical work called “Six Records of a Floating Life.” The first chapter is devoted to Chen Yun and is called “The Joys of the Wedding Chamber.” She is described to be a woman of great taste and ability to make beauty out of simple things. As they were sometimes struggling financially, Shen Fu would draw paintings or get involved in trading or other business. Chen Yun supported her husband in every way and it is possible to see that their relationship was very passionate. In fact, Chen Yun had Shen Fu get a concubine, Han-yuan, because she had feelings for her also. But this in no way affected the strength and unity between herself and her husband. They had very much in common and poetry was one of their main interests. Chen Yun was very skilled in making beautiful flower arrangements and would often make Shen Fu feel at home with such decorations. The fact that Shen Fu wrote about his relationship and described his love for his wife, shows how dear she was to him. Another example of their special life together is the fact that Chen Yun would disguise herself as a man and Shen Fu would take her out to the public places. In those times, women were not allowed to go outside and so had very limited interaction with the outside environment but love gave them a way to be happy (Shen Fu, 1983).
Qianlong was born on September 25th, 1711. He was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and also he was the Qing emperor of China proper. His first wife was Empress Xiaoxianchun and had an aristocratic family. Here, it is possible to see how different their status in the society was when compared to Chen Yun and Shen Fu. But their relationships are very much alike, filled with love and endless devotion. Empress Xiaoxianchun handled her role as an Empress very well and was respected by her husband and the people. Just like Chen Yun she was fond of flowers and often wore a wildflower in her heart in place of any jewelry. Confucian rituals were important to her and so she was very serious in her beliefs. She was a leader among the women in the palace and made them involved in sericulture. Qianlong loved his wife very much and was heartbroken when she died in 1748. Ulanara, born March 11th, 1718 was the second Empress. Qianlong had waited for the mourning process to end and only then he promoted Lady Ulanara to Imperial Noble Consort Xian. This act placed her in charge of the other concubines. After this, she officially became the Empress. She would join the Emperor on his trips around China, visiting tombs of previous emperors and southern cities. In 1765, Qianlong was taking his fifth tour to southern China and on that trip there was a major change in his relationship with Ulanara (Elliott, 2009). She was sent to Beijing and this was a clear sign of the Emperor being very displeased with her. There is no definitive proof as to what has caused such change. Ulanara would later lose her maids and eventually, their number decreased to two, which was a display of a low ranking for a concubine. Qianlong also recalled the four monuments that were being planned for Lady Ulanara’s promotion ceremonies. She died in 1766; a year after their relationship took a major turn for the worst. The funeral was very lowered in its status and was undeserving of an Empress. She also did not have her own mausoleum or a gravestone but instead, was buried in the Yuling Mausoleum. This shows that Qianlong’s relationship with Lady Ulanara was very different from his previous wife and lacked the unity displayed through love and devotion. And the third Empress was Xiaoyu Chun. She was born on October 23rd, 1727 and became Qianlong’s concubine in 1745. This was accompanied by the rank of Noble Lady Wei and later, the title of Imperial Concubine Ling. In 1749 she became Consort Ling and in 1760 Noble Consort Ling. This was happening at the time of Empress Ulanara but everything changed since year 1765. Empress Xiaoyichun was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Ling and this title was one below lady Ulanara. When Empress Ulanara died 1766, Qianlong did not transfer over any empress’ duties to Xiaoyichun. Qianlong ‘s head of concubines was Lady Weigiya and so, she became the one in charge of the imperial harem. She was not officially given the title of an empress but she had the same duties. Her son, Jiaqing became Emperor after Qianlong left the throne and granted her the title of Empress Xiaoyichun (Rowe, 2009).
Shen Fu and Qianlong both had women who they really cared about. The relationships based on love and support prove to be the strongest ones. Shen Fu dedicated his life to his wife and had a chance to experience the great emotions and fascination with Chen Yun. Qianlong also had an opportunity to experience the connection and love to his first wife. His relationships were never quite the same, after and would lack the closeness that he had with Empress Xiaoxianchun. It would be possible to assume that women who were supportive and caring gained strength and value from love. The relationships based on mutual understanding and emotional closeness have qualities, which are unique and cannot be compared to the ones without love and passion. Shen Fu’s life was very much defined by his feelings towards his wife. He would see everything he needed in Chen Yun and this filled his life with moral richness and fulfillment. Qianlong was a powerful Emperor who saw great love but at the same time found out what it means to be in a relationship without one. His social status gave him many opportunities to meet women but none of the relationships that followed were similar to the one he had with his first wife. In the end, every man needs the affection of a woman, who can support him and provide care and love.
References
Elliott, M. (2009). Emperor Qianlong: Son of heaven, man of the world. Harlow, England: Longman.
Rowe, W. (2009). China’s last empire: The great Qing. Cambridge, United States: Harvard University Press.
Shen Fu. (1983). Six records of a floating life. London, United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited.
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