Empress Gi

Posthumous name
	Empress Puxian Shusheng ( phổ hiển thục thánh hoàng hậu )

Empress Gi
Empress Gi
Empress consortof theYuan dynasty
Primary EmpressofYuan
Tenure	1365-10 September 1368
EmpressofNorthern Yuan
Tenure	1368–1369
Secondary EmpressofYuan
Tenure	1340–1365
Born	1315; Goyang,Gyeonggi Province,Goryeo
Died	1369 (aged 53–54)
Spouse	Toghon Temür
Issue	Biligtü Khan
Posthumous name
Posthumous name
	Empress Puxian Shusheng ( phổ hiển thục thánh hoàng hậu )
House	Haengju Ki clan
Father	Ki Cha-o
Mother	Lady Yi of the Iksan Yi clan
Religion	Mahayana

Empress GiorEmpress Ki(Korean:기황후;Hanja:Kỳ hoàng hậu;1315–1369(?)), also known asEmpress Qi(Chinese:Kỳ hoàng hậu) orÖljei Khutuk(Mongolian:Өлзийхутаг;Chinese:Hoàn giả hốt đô), was aGoryeo-bornempress consortof theYuan dynasty.She was one of theprimary empressesofToghon Temür(Emperor Huizong), and the mother ofBiligtü Khan(Emperor Zhaozong), who would become an emperor of theNorthern Yuan dynasty.Gi was originally from an aristocratic family of the Goryeo dynasty, and first served as aconcubineof Toghon Temür. During the last years of the Yuan dynasty, she became one of its most powerful women and political figures, controlling the country economically and politically, and ruling withde factoimperial powers.

Biography

Empress Gi was born in Haengju (행주, hạnh châu; modernGoyang),Goryeoto a lower-ranked aristocratic family of bureaucrats.^[1]Her father wasGi Ja-oh.Lady Gi's maternal great-grandmother was Princess Consort Im of theJangheung Im clan,one of the prominent clans in Goryeo Kingdom. In 1333, the teenaged Lady Gi was among the concubines sent to Yuan by the Goryeo king, who had to provide a certain number of beautiful teenage girls to serve as concubines of the Yuan emperor every three years.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]It was considered prestigious to marry Goryeo women.^[8]Extremely beautiful and skilled at dancing, conversation, singing, poetry, and calligraphy, Lady Gi quickly became the favorite concubine ofToghon Temür.^[1]He fell in love with her, and it was soon noted that he was spending far more time in her company than he was with the first empressDanashiri.^[1]

The primary empressDanashiriwas executed on 22 July 1335 in a purge because of the rebellion of her brotherTangqishi.^[9]When Toghon Temür tried to promote Lady Gi to secondary wife, which was contrary to the standard practice of only taking secondary wives from the Mongol clans, it created such opposition at court to this unheard of promotion for a Goryeo woman that he was forced to back down.^[1]Bayan,who held the real power in Yuan, opposed the promotion of Lady Gi as did the Empress Dowager, who considered Lady Gi to be cunning. In 1339, when Lady Gi gave birth to a son,Ayushiridara,whom Toghon Temür decided would be his successor, he was finally able to have Lady Gi named as his secondary wife (in 1340).^[1]As the favorite wife of the emperor, Lady Gi was a very powerful woman in Yuan. When Bayan was purged, Lady Gi became the secondary empress in 1340 (the primary empress wasBayan Khutughof theKhongirad).

Toghon Temür increasingly lost interest in governing as his reign continued. During this time power was increasingly exercised by a politically and economically talented Lady Gi. Lady Gi's older brotherKi Ch'ŏlwas appointed the commander of the Mongol Eastern Field Headquarters—making him in effect the real ruler of Goryeo—owing to her influence, and she closely monitored Goryeo affairs.^[1]Her son was designated Crown Prince in 1353. Using her eunuchPark Bul-hwa(박불화;Phác bất hoa) as her agent, she began a campaign to force the emperor to pass the imperial throne to her son. However, her intentions became known to the emperor and he grew apart from her.

Depending on Lady Gi's position in the imperial capital, her elder brother Ki Ch'ŏl came to threaten the position of the king of Goryeo, which was aclient stateof the Yuan dynasty. KingGongmin of Goryeoexterminated the Gi family in a coup in 1356 and became independent of the Yuan. Lady Gi responded by selectingTash Temüras the new king of Goryeo and dispatched troops to Goryeo. However, the Yuan troops were defeated by the army of Goryeo while attempting to cross theYalu River.

Within the Yuan capital an internal strife was fought between supporters and opponents of the Crown Prince. An opposition leader, Bolud Temür, finally occupied the capital in 1364. Her son fled toKöke Temürwho supported him, but Lady Gi was imprisoned by Bolud Temür. Bolud Temür was overthrown by Köke Temür the next year. Once again, she tried to install her son as Khagan, this time with the support of Köke Temür, but in vain. After Bayan Khutugh died, Lady Gi was elevated to the primary empress in December 1365.^[10]

The collapse of Yuan dynasty in 1368 forced her to flee toYingchang's city (nowInner Mongolia). She was shortly captured and died a year before her husband in 1369.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Father
- Ki Cha-o(1266–1328)
Mother
- Lady Yi of the Iksan Yi clan (익산 이씨;Ích sơn lý thị)
Siblings
- Older brother: Ki Sik (기식;Kỳ thức); died prematurely
- Older brother:Ki Ch'ŏl(? – 1356)
- Older brother: Ki Won (기원;Kỳ viên)
- Older brother: Ki Chu (기주;Kỳ chu)
- Older brother: Ki Yun (기윤;Kỳ luân)
Husband
- Toghon Temür(25 May 1320 – 23 May 1370)
Issue
- Son:Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara( tất lí khắc đồ hãn; 23 January 1340 – 28 April/26 May 1378)
  - Daughter-in-law - Empress Gwon of the Andong Gwon clan (권황후;Quyền hoàng hậu;?– 1378/22 May 1410); daughter of Gwon Gyeom (권겸;Quyền khiêm;?– 1356)
    - Prince Maidilibala(26 March 1363 – 16 May 1375)
    - Princess Ariun (공주;Công chủ;14 September 1377 – 15 February 1423)
      - Grandson-in-law:Jorightu Khan Yesüder( trác lí khắc đồ hãn; 1358–1392)

In popular culture

Portrayed byKim Hye-riin 2005MBCTV seriesShin Don.
Portrayed byHyun Seung-minandHa Ji-wonin 2013–2014MBCTV seriesEmpress Ki.

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gHwang, Kyung Moon (2021).A history of Korea: an episodic narrative(3rd ed.). London. pp.47–48.ISBN 978-1-352-01302-3.OCLC 1268134476.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Katharine Hyung-Sun Moon (January 1997).Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations.Columbia University Press. pp. 40–.ISBN 978-0-231-10642-9.
^Boudewijn Walraven; Remco E. Breuker (2007).Korea in the Middle: Korean Studies and Area Studies: Essays in Honour of Boudewijn Walraven.Amsterdam University Press. pp. 57–.ISBN 978-90-5789-153-3.
^Gwyn Campbell; Suzanne Miers; Joseph C. Miller (8 September 2009).Children in Slavery through the Ages.Ohio University Press. pp. 136–.ISBN 978-0-8214-4339-2.
^Jinwung Kim (2012).A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict.Indiana University Press. pp. 172–.ISBN 978-0-253-00024-8.
^Ki-baek Yi (1984).A New History of Korea.Harvard University Press. pp. 157–.ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2.
^Simon Winchester (27 October 2009).Korea.HarperCollins. pp. 225–.ISBN 978-0-06-075044-2.
^Lorge, Peter (2010)."Review of Empire's Twilight: Northeast Asia under the Mongols. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series".China Review International.17(3):377–379.ISSN 1069-5834.
^Association for Asian Studies. Ming Biographical History Project Committee; Luther Carrington Goodrich (15 October 1976).Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644.Columbia University Press. p. 1291.ISBN 9780231038010.
^"4 Reasons Why Hurrem Sultan and Empress Ki were similar (Part 1)".Hyped For History.2022-09-13.Retrieved2022-09-19.

Bibliography

Чулууны Далай; Нямбуугийн Ишжамц; Найдангийн Дангаасүрэн (1992).Монголын түүх.Улаанбаатар: Эрдэм.

Preceded by Bayan Khutugh	Consort ofToghon Temür 1365–1370	Succeeded by None
	Khatun of the Mongols 1365–1370	Succeeded by Empress Gwon
	Empress of China 1365–1368	Succeeded by Empress Ma(Ming dynasty)

[ref001-1] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^gHwang, Kyung Moon (2021).A history of Korea: an episodic narrative(3rd ed.). London. pp.47–48.ISBN 978-1-352-01302-3.OCLC 1268134476.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[Moon1997-2] Katharine Hyung-Sun Moon (January 1997).Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations.Columbia University Press. pp. 40–.ISBN 978-0-231-10642-9.

[WalravenBreuker2007-3] Boudewijn Walraven; Remco E. Breuker (2007).Korea in the Middle: Korean Studies and Area Studies: Essays in Honour of Boudewijn Walraven.Amsterdam University Press. pp. 57–.ISBN 978-90-5789-153-3.

[CampbellMiers2009-4] Gwyn Campbell; Suzanne Miers; Joseph C. Miller (8 September 2009).Children in Slavery through the Ages.Ohio University Press. pp. 136–.ISBN 978-0-8214-4339-2.

[Kim2012-5] Jinwung Kim (2012).A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict.Indiana University Press. pp. 172–.ISBN 978-0-253-00024-8.

[Yi1984-6] Ki-baek Yi (1984).A New History of Korea.Harvard University Press. pp. 157–.ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2.

[Winchester2009-7] Simon Winchester (27 October 2009).Korea.HarperCollins. pp. 225–.ISBN 978-0-06-075044-2.

[8] Lorge, Peter (2010)."Review of Empire's Twilight: Northeast Asia under the Mongols. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series".China Review International.17(3):377–379.ISSN 1069-5834.

[CommitteeGoodrich1976-9] Association for Asian Studies. Ming Biographical History Project Committee; Luther Carrington Goodrich (15 October 1976).Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644.Columbia University Press. p. 1291.ISBN 9780231038010.

[10] "4 Reasons Why Hurrem Sultan and Empress Ki were similar (Part 1)".Hyped For History.2022-09-13.Retrieved2022-09-19.

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