Moderator: 1 revision

2026-05-16T20:09:29Z

1 revision

Me, Myself, and I are Here: /* See also */ template sectionlink

2017-04-14T20:09:00Z

‎See also: template sectionlink

New page

{{Infobox royalty
|name=Khoja Iparhan/Fatimah binti Ali Khojam<br>和卓．伊帕爾罕
|image=Consort Rong dressed in Manchu Clothes.JPG
|caption=Portrait of the Fragrant Concubine by [[Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit)|Giuseppe Castiglione]]
|birth_date=1734
|death_date={{death year and age|1788|1734}}
|spouse=[[Qianlong Emperor]]
}}
The '''Fragrant Concubine''' ({{zh|c=香妃|p=Xiāng Fēi}}; [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]]: {{lang|ug-Arab|ئىپارخان}} / {{lang|ug-Latn|Iparxan}} / {{lang|ug-Cyrl|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" ({{zh|c=容妃|p=Róng Fēi|labels=no}}). Some people{{Who|date=April 2009}} insist, however, that Imperial Consort Rong (whose original name may have been Maimur Azum) and Imperial Consort Xiang were different women. [[Han Chinese]] and [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] tellings of the legend of the Fragrant Concubine diverge greatly, and her experience represents a powerful symbol for both figures. The story became greatly popular during the early 20th century and has since been adapted into several plays, films, and books.

== Chinese legend ==
[[Image:Consort Rong.JPG|thumb|The Fragrant Concubine in Western dress]]

Although accounts vary as to some details, the basic story among [[Han Chinese]] recounts the discovery by the [[Qianlong Emperor]] of a Uyghur woman named Iparhan ("Musky Woman"), the granddaughter of [[Afaq Khoja]], a local leader 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 an [[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.

== Uyghur legend ==
[[File:Iparhan.jpg|thumbnail|Iparhan in armour]]

Contemporary Uyghur renditions of the legend are considerably less romantic. She was the child of the ruler of the [[Yarkent Khanate]] 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> 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 was 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>

== Apak Khoja and Fragrant Concubine Tomb ==
[[File:Rong Fei tomb.jpg|thumb|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 (Turkestan)|Khoja]] family, including what is purported to be the body of the Fragrant Concubine. In fact, the real Imperial Consort Rong died of illness in 1788 and was buried in an imperial tomb in [[Beijing]]; 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}}

==In fiction==
* The character [[List of The Book and the Sword characters#Main characters|Princess Fragrance]] in [[Jin Yong|Louis Cha]]'s [[wuxia]] novel ''[[The Book and the Sword]]'' is loosely based on the Fragrant Concubine narrative.
*The concubine also appeared as the character Han Xiang in the television series ''[[My Fair Princess]]'', based on the novel with the same title authored by [[Chiung Yao]].
*The 2015 television series ''[[Princess Fragrant]]'' is based on the legend.<ref name=LiangChenglobal>{{cite web|last=Liang |first=Chen |title=Xinjiang fights an ideology war through cartoon production |url=http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/877879.shtml |website=Global Times |date=24 August 2014 |accessdate=27 August 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6S8Lk4bQb?url=http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/877879.shtml |archivedate=27 August 2014 |df= }}</ref>

==See also==
* {{sectionlink|Ranks of imperial consorts in China|Qing}}
* [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{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}}
* {{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}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fragrant Concubine}}
[[Category:Qing dynasty imperial consorts]]
[[Category:Uyghurs]]
[[Category:1788 deaths]]
[[Category:Concubines]]
[[Category:1734 births]]
[[Category:Women in 18th-century warfare]]
[[Category:Women in war in China]]

[[tr:İparhan]]
[[zh:香妃]]

← Older revision	Revision as of 20:09, 16 May 2026
(No difference)

Fragrant Concubine - Revision history

Moderator: 1 revision

Me, Myself, and I are Here: /* See also */ template sectionlink