Empress Consort Longyu

empress longyu

Longyu (1868-1913) was the wife and empress consort of the Guangxu Emperor. Born to the Manchu Yehenara clan, Longyu was the niece of Cixi and the first cousin of her future husband. When the Guangxu Emperor took the throne in 1889 she was selected as his wife, despite being in her 30s, three years older than the emperor and, according to one writer, “severely buck-toothed”. Neither Longyu or the emperor accepted the union; after the ceremony they refused to see each other or to consummate the marriage. They remained husband and wife for almost 20 years, until the emperor’s death. Their marriage produced no children. Longyu is best known for her service as regent to the infant emperor Puyi. It was Longyu who signed the instrument of abdication that ended Qing rule in China (February 1st 1912). After the abdication she remained with Puyi in the Forbidden City, before passing away in February 1913, aged 46.


Information and resources on this page are © Alpha History 2018-23.
Content on this page may not be copied, republished or redistributed without the express permission of Alpha History. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use.
This website uses pinyin romanisations of Chinese words and names. Please refer to this page for more information.