Empress Xiaozhuangwen was born in the 41st year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1613). She was born into a Mongolian noble family with the surname Borjigit. She was originally Huang Taiji's favorite concubine and was titled Zhuang Concubine. In September of the eighth year of Chongde (1643), Huang Taiji died suddenly of cerebral hemorrhage in the Qingning Palace in Shengjing (now Shenyang). After her six-year-old biological son Fulin became the emperor (Shunzhi), Zhuang Concubine was revered as the empress dowager. After that, she experienced the Shunzhi and Kangxi dynasties. For more than 40 years, she displayed her outstanding political talents and assisted the immature monarch in handling government affairs. She made irreplaceable special contributions to the early stability of the Qing Dynasty and the development of its heyday.
