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Kong Sizhen (孔四貞; 1641 – after 1681),[1] was a Chinese military commander and princess.[2]
Biography
editKong Sizhen was the daughter of Kong Youde (died 1652), a Chinese military commander awarded with the title of prince for his service to the Qing dynasty.[2][1]
At age 11, she was one of the only survivors of an attack by Southern Ming general Li Dingguo, in which the rest of her family was killed.[1][3] To honour her father, who had died (possibly committing suicide), she was given honours, including being appointed princess.[1] Additionally, as she was her father's only surviving heir, she was given nominal command over her father's remaining troops in Guangxi.[4]
In 1660 she married Sun Yanling, who was subsequently appointed (filling her nominal role) as military governor in Guangxi.[4][1] His father had been one of her father Kong Youde's lieutenants. Due to her high status, her husband's status was also raised. His position as military governor was actually a case of him filling a position that belonged to her. Though he was a military commander, he seemed to not be very skilled, or to have a tendency to overextend his own authority, resulting in several imperial reprimands.[4][1]
Her spouse joined the rebellion of Wu Sangui, which caused him to be deposed of by his army.[1][citation needed] Kong Sizhen, who remained loyal to the crown, became her husband's successor by 1677, which was confirmed by the Emperor in 1676, a very unusual position for a woman in Qing dynasty China.[2] She kept her position until the end of the rebellion.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Lau, Clara; Stefanowska, A. D. (2015-07-17). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-47588-0.
- ^ a b c Cosmo, Nicola Di (2006-07-20). The Diary of a Manchu Soldier in Seventeenth-Century China: "My Service in the Army", by Dzengseo. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203966495. ISBN 978-0-203-96649-5.
- ^ 高陽 (1990). 清朝的皇帝 (in Chinese). 風雲時代出版公司.
- ^ a b c Jr, Frederic Wakeman (2023-07-28). The Great Enterprise, Volume 2: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-34075-6.
- Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644–1911