A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court. The Meaning of The Fragant Concubine

A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragant Concubine
Author(s): James A. Millward

Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 53, No. 2 (May, 1994), pp. 427-458
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2059841
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A UyghurMuslim in
Qianlong's Court:
The Meaningsof the Fragrant
Concubine
JAMES A. MILLWARD
IN TOKYO'S FASHIONABLE ROPPONGI CROSSING, just down the streetfromthe Al-

mond Cafe where urbanitesconvergeto meet theirdates, a sign over a Chinese
restaurantbearstwo Chinesecharacters: menu
Ko Hi (Xiang Fei). The establishment's
and businesscards displaya portraitof a beautifulEast Asian woman in Manchu
dress;her expressionis enigmatic.The restaurant's advertisingdescribesa Chinese
emperor'sconsortrenowned forhermiraculous fragrance,and promisesequallyaromatic
culinarydelights.
The Roppongi Restaurantis but one recentexpressionof a long traditionthat
featuresthe FragrantConcubinein courtrecords,paintings,novels,operas,plays,
and evenon a cigarettepack. Since the eighteenthcentury,Chineseand othershave
drawnupon this woman's rich associationsforartistic,literary,commercial,and,
in particular,politicaleffect.
Althoughless well known than the preeminentChinese beauties Xi Shi and
Yang Gui Fei, Xiang Fei enjoys name recognitionin East Asia at least on a par
with that of anotherhapless Qing imperialconcubine,Zhen Fei (whose devotion
to the Guangxuemperorearnedheran untimelydemisein a palace well). In China,
the legend of the FragrantConcubinegained its greatestcirculationin the 1910s,
1920s, and 1930s as a staple of unofficialhistories,romances,and Beijing opera,
but remainscurrenttodaythroughassociationswithseveralarchitectural landmarks
in Beijing, Chengde,and Kashgar. She has acquiredEuropeandevoteesas well. In
JamesA. Millwardis Assistant ofHistoryat theUniversity
Professor ofArizona.
An earlyversionofthispaperwas presented
in 1989 at theInter-University
Program
forJapaneseLanguageStudyin Yokohamaand a moredevelopedversionin 1992 at the
AnnualMeetingof theAssociation forAsianStudiesin Washington, D.C. I am grateful
forcomments fromKaharBarat,LindaBenson,Li Yong,Jonathan
and assistance Lipman,
ChrisMurphy, EvelynRawski,IsenbikeTogan,and two
SenzilNawid,BarbaraPillsbury,
anonymous The following
referees. grantssupportedvariousstagesofresearchandwriting:
Stanford
UniversityDepartment ofHistory Fellowship,
University a stipendfromtheInter-
UniversityProgram,ForeignLanguageand Area StudiesFellowship,CSCPRC National
Program Fellowship,DOE Fulbright-HaysGrant,Josephine De KarmineFellowship, and
ChinaTimesYoungScholars'Fellowship.
TheJournalofAsianStudies
53, no. 2 (May 1994):427-458.
C) 1994 by theAssociation
forAsianStudies,Inc.
427
428 JAMES A. MILLWARD
his book on Rehe, the Qing imperialretreatat Chengde, Sven Hedin devotesan
entirechapterto Xiang Fei (Hedin 1933:215-35). The Frenchpoet and exoticist,
VictorSegalen, probablyborrowedfromthe Xiang Fei traditionwhen he wroteof
an unspecifiedemperor'slonging fora foreignconsort(/'Etrangere) in the play Le
Combatpourle Sol (Segalen 1974; Hsieh 1988:225-39). Xiang Fei's storyappears
as an addendumto the biographyof Zhao-huiin Eminent ChineseoftheCh'ingPeriod
(Hummel 1970:75). Most recently, HarrisonSalisburybeginshis revelationofgoings-
on in the Maoist palace with an anecdoteabout the FragrantConcubine(Salisbury
1992:3, followingArlington and Lewisohn1991:94-95). Untilthestudentmovement
of 1989 broughtWuer Kaixi's name into Westernnews reportsand his "wanted"
posteronto Chinese television,Xiang Fei was withoutdoubt the all-time best-
knownUyghur'outsideof CentralAsia.
The Xiang Fei legend is one of the most colorfuland enduringtales of the
Qianlongreign.Accordingto mostversions,Xiang Fei was the consort(or daughter)
of Khoja Jihan,the "youngerKhoja" who with his elder brother,Burhanad-Din,
resistedthe Qing conquestof Altishahr(southern Xinjiang)afterAmursana'srebellion
in the mid-eighteenth century.The Qianlong emperorhad heard tales of Khoja
Jihan'sbeautifulconsort,whosebodywas said to emita mysterious fragrance without
recourseto perfumesor powders.The Manchu monarchorderedhis general,Zhao-
hui, to findthe famedbeautyand bringher back safelyto Beijing. Zhao-hui did
so-arranging daily butterrubdownsand camel's milk bathsforher on the way-
and the woman,Xiang Fei (FragrantConcubine),was installedwithinthe imperial
harem.Qianlong was enraptured,but the steadfastMuslim womanwas determined
to remainchaste; she greetedthe importunateemperorwith defiantsilence, and
informedher maids that she intendedto seek revengefor her lost countryand
husband. For this purpose,she carriedtinydaggersin the sleevesof her Muslim
robes. Qianlong attemptedto win her overslowly,withgiftsof Hami melonsand
narrow-leaved oleaster(shazaoshu)saplings-a Xinjiang treewith flowersof which
Xiang Fei was fond.He builthera hall againstthesouthwestern wall of the imperial
cityand establishedan encampmentof Muslimsjust outsidethe wall at thatpoint,
on WesternChang An Avenue. From the second floorof this hall, the Bao Yue
Lou (PreciousMoon Hall), whichwas outfitted witha mirrorthelengthand breadth
ofone wall, Xiang Fei could look upon herco-religionists
goingabout theirbusiness
in the new mosque and bazaar acrossthe streetand thus, Qianlong hoped, relieve
her feelingsof homesickness.The emperoralso constructeda special bath-house,
the Yu De Tang, whereXiang Fei could take her wontedsteam baths.2When at
'It is somewhatanachronisticto speak of the sedentary,Turkic-speakingpopulationof
theTarimoasesin theeighteenth centuryas "Uyghur,"sincethisgroupadoptedtheethnonym
only in the twentiethcentury.Nevertheless,forthe sake of convenienceand because it is
thusemployedby Chinesehistorians today,I use it herefor"Altishahri,"
"EasternTurkestani,"
"Turki," and so forth.For romanizationof modernUyghur,I followthe systemused by
ReinhardHahn in his Spoken Uyghur (Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,1991), essentially
thatin commonuse among WesternTurcologists.However,the word "Uyghur"(technically
"Uygur") is here spelled in a more readilyreadable form.(There is no consensuson the
English spellingof this term;I preferthe form"Uyghur,"which best reflectsthe spelling
in the modifiedArabic script,over the older form"Uighur" and the inaccurateP.R.C.
spelling "Uygur.") FollowingJoseph Fletcherand Saguchi Toru, personal names of the
khojas and otherTurkestanishave been given in Arabicforms.For Manchu names, I follow
the usage of Hummel (1970): wheretheoriginalManchuformis unavailable,the romanized
Chinese charactersare given, linked by hyphens.
2The Yu De Tang, near the Wu Ying Dian and the FirstHistoricalArchivesof China
in the westernpart of the ForbiddenCity, was not built forXiang Fei. It was probablya
A UYGHUR MUSLIM IN QIANLONG'S COURT 429
the imperialsuburbanretreat,theYuan Ming Yuan, withits baroqueannexinspired

by Versailles,Xiang Fei residedin the Palace of the ImmenseOcean (Yuan Ying
Guan) northof the waterworksand, while the emperorwaited for her outside,
prayedin the Belvedere(Fang Wai Guan) (Yao 1985:197; illustration1). People
in Rehe say that the An Yuan Si (Temple forSettlingthose fromAfar),modeled
aftera templein Yili, was likewisebuilt by imperialdecreeas a giftto Xiang Fei
(Rong 1986:147-52). The JesuitmissionaryGiuseppe Castiglione(1688-1766),
moreover, supposedlypaintedXiang Fei's portraitin oils (see captionfacingillustration
2).
Unmovedby theseblandishments, however,Xiang Fei remainedsteadfastand
the EmpressDowager Niuhuru soon grew anxious forher son's safety.One day,
whenthe emperorhad leftthe palace on ceremonialduties, the dowagerconfronted
Xiang Fei and demandedthatshe behaveas a properconcubineshould. When the
Muslim woman remaineddefiant,Niuhuru "grantedher the favorof death." The
emperorgot word of this turnof eventsand hastenedback to the palace, only to
findthathis motherhad lockedhim out while Xiang Fei was strangled.When the
Dowager finallyallowed the emperorin to embracethe lovelycorpse,Xiang Fei's
breathwas gone-only the mysterious scent remained,hoveringover the body.
In one versionof the story,Qianlong is said to havehad Xiang Fei buriedwith
fullhonorsin the Qing EasternMausoleum(Qing Dong Ling), 125 kilometerseast
of Beijing, wherethe Shunzhi,Kangxi, Qianlong, Xianfengand Tongzhi emperors
and theirconsortsare interred(Yu 1984).3
A minor traditionentombsXiang Fei in southernBeijing in a rough grave
beneathan inscribedstonenearTao Ran Ting. This site is associatedwithCao Dafa
(Yang Ziwei), a famousartisanand architect who withhis sonsand grandsons worked
on Qing construction projects,includingthe Yuan Ming Yuan and Yi He Yuan.
Earlyin the twentiethcentury,Cao's impoverished descendantssold materialsthey
claimedwererecordsof buildingplans,includingthe "Xiang Fei Ling Gong Tushuo"
[Illustratedaccount of the constructionof the Xiang Fei Tomb], blueprintsof a
tombto be situatedin southernBeijing, nearTao Ran Ting. The construction work
had supposedlyonly just begun when it was suspendedindefinitely by orderof the
Dowager Empress(Wei 1985:176). Until at least the 1930s, a small mound with
a stonemarked"xiangzhong"(fragrant tomb) could be foundnearTao Ran Ting.
On theoppositefaceofthe stonean enigmaticversewas inscribed(Tian 1914: 17b-
18b; Yu and Dong 1985:235-36; cf. Hedin 1933:216). This burial site was also
said to be thatofa famousMing-period courtesan, Xiang Niang (Takanaka1988:244).
Accordingto a thirdversionof the Xiang Fei legend, popular in Xinjiang,
Xiang Fei's remainsweretransported in a special catafalqueacrossnorthChina and
the Taklamakandesertto Kashgar,wheretheywere enshrinedin the Khoja Afaq
Mazar, the familytomb of the MakhdiumzidaKhoja clan. The catafalquemay be
Yuan Dynastyconstruction, reflectingthe influenceof CentralAsian Muslimsin theMongol
capital. Outside the domed structureis a well-houseto providewater,which, afterbeing
drawn,floweddown marbleguttersinto a small chamberbehindthe bathhouse.There the
waterwas boiled and steaminjectedinto the bathhousevia a small hole in the wall. Inside,
drainsin thecornersof the tiledwalls allowed condensedwaterto escape. But thisingenious
sauna was probablynot used as such duringthe Qing; palace recordsstate that the Yu De
Tang was used to collate materialsfromthe massivepublishingprojectsundertakenin the
Wu Ying Dian next door (Dan Shiyuan 1985:46-47).
3TheQing EasternMausoleumis locatedabout 125 kilometers east of Beijing at Malanyu
in Zunhua county,Hebei. The Shunzhi,Kangxi, Qianlong, Xianfengand Tongzhiemperors
and theirconsorts,a totalof 157 people, wereburiedin the EasternMausoleum(Yu 1984).
.'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Illustration1 ChangChun Yuan Tu (In the Gardenof Eternal

Spring). The Qianlong emperorand a woman said to be the Fragrant
Concubineseated in frontof the Fang Wai Guan (Belvedere)in the
Yuan Ming Yuan. (Tokyo kokuritsuhakubutsukan1964: plate 122.)
seen at this tomb site to this day; what is said to be her grave is markedwith a
crude sign in Chinese and Uyghur. The Russian travelerValikhanovvisited the
Khoja Afaq Mazar in 1857, and was told that the previousyearthe remainsof a
Uyghurnoble had been returnedto Kashgar forburial. Ji Dachun suggeststhat
the catafalquemight have been used to transportthis corpseand only later came
to be associatedwith Xiang Fei (Valikhanov1962; Ji 1985a:29).
THIS ARTICLE WILL EXAMINE THE HISTORICAL AND LITERARY RECORD regardingthe
UyghurwomanfromAltishahrwho enteredthe Qing imperialharemin 1760 and
livedas one of theQianlongemperor'sconsortsuntilherdeathin 1788. The several
versionsof her storyimpartto her a varietyof meaningsbut share a common
denominator: as a Uyghurwomanwhosemarriageto theManchuemperorcoincided
with the Qing conquest of Xinjiang, she appears as a symbol of Xinjiang; her
inductioninto the palace servesas an allegoryforthe incorporation of Xinjiang
withinthe Qing empire,and, later, the Chinese nation. Conversely,her defiance
mirrorsthe perennialresistanceof Altishahrto rule fromBeijing. The different
representations of Xiang Fei in varioustreatments of the storyreflectthe authors'
attitudestowardthe positionof the Uyghursand Xinjiang in the Qing empire(or,
later,in China). DocumentsproducedunderManchuauspicesdepicta Muslimwoman
fromYarkand broughtinto the palace in a maritalalliance with a branchof the
Makhdiumzada Khojas, religiousand secularrulersof Altishahr.This woman,who
came to be knownas Rong Fei, was a key link in an affinalrelationshipdesigned
to consolidatepoliticallyand reiteratesymbolicallyQing rule in Altishahr.The
privatehistoriographies and historicalromanceswrittenprimarilyby Han at a later
date (although recordingan earlieroral tradition)give a verydifferent picture:
"orientalist"in nature,theydescribean exoticfemme fatale,theFragrantConcubine,
as uneasyin the haremas was Xinjiang in the empire. It is throughthesestories
thatXiang Fei gainedhergreatestculturalcurrency. Morerecently, however,scholars
in thePeople'sRepublicof Chinaand Uyghurnationalists haveeach adoptedelements
of the Rong Fei/Xiang Fei traditionthatcontesthersignificancejust as Xinjiang's
and the Uyghurs'membershipin the PRC is itselfcontested.
FromKhoja to Concubine
A key elementin the Xiang Fei tale as told in privatehistoriesis whetheror

not the Muslim consortwas relatedto Khoja Jihanand Burhanad-Din: the legend
of her defiancedependson the beliefthat she was broughtcaptiveto Beijing, her
husband(or father) killedand hercountryconqueredby theQing. However,according
to data in a varietyof historicalsources,includingthe archivesof the Imperial
HouseholdAgency(Neiwufu), Qianlong'sUyghurconcubinewas not a close relation
of Khoja Jihanand Burhanad-Din.
From the sixteenthcentury,a Central Asian NaqshbandI Sufi brotherhood
descendedfromMakhd-um-i Aczam(whencetheirepithetMakhd-umzada) had enjoyed
greatinfluencein Altishahr'sreligiousaffairsand, increasingly,in secularmatters
as well. Until the middle of the seventeenthcentury,the Ishaqiyya(also knownas
"BlackHat" or "BlackMountain") branch
of thislineageremainedsupreme;thereafter,
however,a rival brancharose under the leadershipof Khoja Afaq, who in 1679
enlistedthehelpoftheZungharKhan GaldanagainsttheIshaqikhojas.This Afaqiyya
-42 ..........
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Illustration2. Portraitof "Xiang Fei in EuropeanArmor"(Xiang Fei

rongzhuang xiang; Beurdeley197 1: plate 84; Guoli gugong bowuyuan
1983: plate 64, publishedherewith permissionof the National Palace
Museum, Republic of China), is one of severalclaimantsto be the
Giuseppe Castiglioneportraitof Xiang Fei. This workwas displayed
in the Yu De Tang bathhousein 1914. A second candidate(Chu lie tu
or Qianlongdi yu Xiang Fei Yuyuanxinglietu; Yu and Dong 1985:vi)
depictsa woman wearingwhat appearsto be the same armor,riding
with the emperor.This workbearscolophonicpoems by Grand
SecretaryLiu Tongxun (1700-73) and Shen Deqian (1673-1769)
(Wei Zidan 1985:176). Both of thesepaintingsare said to have been
discoveredin Rehe afterthe fall of the Qing Dynasty(Beurdeley
1971; Guoli gugong bowuyuan1983; and Gugongbowuyuan yuankan
1988). "In the Gardenof EternalSpring"(illustration1) could also
reasonablybe a Castiglionepaintingof the Uyghurconcubine.
The othercandidatesare both less probablyimages of Qianlong's
Uyghurconcubineand less likelyto be the workof Castiglione.The
Xiang Fei qizhuangxiang(said to be in the possessionof Soong
Meiling [Mme. Chiang Kai-shek],althougha similarworkis in a
Hong Kong museum[Tan Bi'an 19921) is a portraitof a young
woman in Manchu bannerdress,seated informally; as with most of
the otherportraits,to this viewerher featuresseem Han or Manchu,
with no hint of Turkestani.It is probablyonly because the painting,
a realisticportraitin oils of a palace woman, is itselfexotic in both
genreand mediumthat it has been popularlyassociatedwith "Xiang
Fei" (Beurdeley197 1: plate 83). The same is trueof the decidedly
inferiorpaintingsaid to be of Xiang Fei as a Europeanshepherdess
(Xiang Fei yangzhuang xiang; Beurdeley1971: plate 85) of whichat
least two versionsexist. In a verydifferent style,a mirrorpaintingin
the collectionof LennartLarssondepicts"the Turkestaniprincess
Xiangfei"with a small daggerand a falcon(Larsson 1989:28, plate
20); this is not attributedto Castiglione,but has been dated to the
eighteenthcentury(Larsson1993). In 1980, the Ricci Institutefor
Chinese-Western CulturalHistoryat the Universityof San Francisco
receivedas a bequest a portraitof "PrincessHsiang Fei with Escorts."
This paintingon silk of threeEuropeanwomenridingin a forested
scene with a castle in the backgroundhas chinoiserieelements,and
seems to have been paintedby a Europeanhand. It bearsCastiglione's
signature(as Lang Shining,in the kaishucharactershe used in signing
his work)and a whippetin the foreground is in the styleof one of
Castiglione'spaintingsof dogs, but in arrangement and modelingof
the figuresthis paintingis farinferiorto his knownoeuvre(but cf.
Tan 1985).
("White Hat" or "White Mountain")branchthereafter establisheditselfin Kashgar

and ruled Altishahras Zungharclients. Khoja Jihanand Burhanad-Din belonged
to the Afaqi line; the Zungharshad capturedthe two brothersand theirfather
followinga rebellionin Altishahrand held themprisonerin Yili. In 1755 the Qing
took Yili and releasedthem, with the expectationthat theywould rule Yarkand
and Kashgaras Qing tributaries. But whentheQing's former Zungharally,Amursana,
rebelledin thenorth,Khoja Jihanand Burhanad-Din followedsuit. This precipitated
the massiveQing invasionthatby 1759 drovethe Khoja brothersout of Altishahr
and leftthe oasis cities of the Tarim underfull Qing control(on the Khojas, see
Fletcher1978, and Fletcherforthcoming).
The Uyghurconcubinebelongedto a line of the Makhd-umzada Khoja clan that
tracedits descentfromMakhd-um-i Aczam not throughKhoja Afaq but through
Khoja Afaq's brother,clnayatKirametQinacat. Althoughnot of the Ishiaqiline,
Kiramet'sdescendantsmay have resentedAfaqi predominancein Altishahr.In any
case, in 1755 theyopposed Khoja Jihan'sand Burhan ad-Din's resistanceto the
Qing. Rong Fei's uncle,Khoja ErkeHusein, refusedto followJihanand fledXinjiang
accompaniedby his own youngerbrother,Parsa, and his nephews, Turdi and
Mahmiud.TheyspentthenextthreeyearsamongtheQirghizand in severalFerghana
cities. In the autumn of 1758, Khoja Jihan trappedQing GeneralZhao-hui and
the main Qing forceat Qara Usu, outside Yarkand; Burhanad-Din leftKashgar
to strengthenthe siege. But when Erke Husein and Turdi led a forceof Qirghiz
to attack Kashgar and Yengi Hissar, Burhanad-Din was forcedto withdrawhis
men fromQara Usu, relievingthepressureon Zhao-hui.Intervention by the Kiramet
Khojas at this criticaljuncturethus greatlyspeeded and may even have clinched
the Qing victoryin Altishahr(QindingwaifanMengguHuibu wanggong biao zhuan
117:3a-6b; Saguchi 1963:81-84, 729).
The Qianlong emperorsummonedErke Husein, Turdi, Mahmiudand othersof
the Kirametline to Beijing, wheretheyreceivedranksin the imperialclan. Special
housinghad beenconstructed forthem,and earlyin 1760 BulwarkDuke (fuguogong)
Husein and the princes(taiji) Turdi and Mahmiudwere establishedin residences
just outsidethe southernpalace walls on West Chang An Avenue.4
Documentsdiscoveredin the Number One HistoricalArchivesin Beijing and
reprintedby Chinesescholarsenable us to reconstruct the outlinesofTurdi's sister's
lifeaftertheKirametswereestablished in thecapital.This youngwomanwas inducted
into Qianlong's haremin the second lunar monthof 1760 under the name "He"
(forHe-zhuo,Khoja) and withthe titleguiren,fourth-ranked concubine.She received
giftsof jewelry,silk, furs,200 taels of silverand 15 of gold. One monthlater,
Turdi receiveda new 22-roomresidencein today'sDongsi neighborhood,presents
of clothing,saddlery,furnishings, and cash, as well as an increasein his annual
stipend from 100 to 240 silver taels. (1Huseinand the othersremainedin their
previousresidencesat theirpreviousemolumentlevels.) Around this time, too,
Turdi was givena Manchuwife,Ba-lang (Yu 1985a:123-24, 162; Xiao 1985:41-
42).
Within the palace, He Guiren enjoyed the opulent lifestylecommon to all
imperialconsorts.While still only a guiren,she receivedextraportionsof Hami
melons when tributegiftsof these fruitswere distributedamong palace women.
Moreover,becauseof her Islamic dietaryrestrictions, she ate special foodsprepared
by her own cook, Nurmat: these included "lzulunai"(rice pilaf) and "difeiyaze"
4From a Manchu-language
memorialby Fu-heng(GrandCouncilorconcurrently
supervising
the LifanYuan and Neiwu fu), cited in Xiao 1985:41-42.
(vegetablesfriedwithonions). She apparentlycontinuedto wearherown Turkestani

styleof dressduringher firstfiveyearsas a concubine,fora documentcomposed
on the occasionof her promotionto the rankoffeiin 1765 noted thatshe had no
Manchu court attire and orderedthat suitable garmentsbe manufactured(Yu
1985a:127; Xiao 1985:43).
In 1762 He Guirenwas promotedto pin(third-ranked concubine)and renamed
Rong; she appearsforthe nextthreeyearsin documentsof the ImperialHousehold
as Rong Pin. In thissame year,Turdi was raisedfromprinceto bulwarkduke (Da
Qinglichaoshilu[Qianlong reignl:661:5, QL27.5 jiayou; He-ning 1966: "Tu-er-du
liezhuan"). It was standardpracticein the Qing imperialclan to promoteconsorts
withinthe palace concurrently withtheirmale relativesoutside.This policygenerally
applied to Mongol or Manchu nobles and theirdaughtersin the harem(Rawski
1991), but in this case extendedto a Uyghurprinceand his sister.
We may guess that Rong Pin was fond of sweets, for on her birthdaythe
followingyearthreeextraplates of sweetsgraced each banquet table, along with
fourcattiesof mutton.She accompaniedthe courtwhenit debouchedforRehe and
the Mulan huntinggroundsand she participatedin Qianlong's 1765 southerntour.
Her diet (like that of her brotherand otherMuslim nobles in the entourage)on
the tourincludedwild duck, venison,chicken,and mutton,but no pork. In 1771
she joined the EasternTour to Taishan and Qufu; on this occasion, when other
palace ladies dined on five-spicepig stomachand pork rinds,she partookof a dish
called "muttontatash"(Yu 1985a: 126-32).
Her promotiontofti (second-ranked concubine)came by edictfromthe Dowager
Empress,as was standard,in 1768. Her full name thereafter became Rong Fei
Khoja (Da Qing lichaoshilu[Qianlong reign]juan 812, p. lib, QL33.6 xinyou;
juan 820, p. 12, QL33. 10 kengshen).Afterthe death of his second empressin
1766, the Qianlong emperortook no moreempresses,and Rong Fei was thus one
of the highest-ranking palace women. Only the huang guifeiand guifei
wereranked
higher,althoughtherewerethreeotherftibesidesRong. At an early1779 banquet
at the Yuan Ming Yuan, Rong Fei took the head of the western(hence secondary)
table. By the end of the year,she had advancedto secondpositionat the (primary)
easterntable (Yu 1985a:135; cf. Yu 1985b:110).
Thereis littleindicationin thisdocumentary recordof haremprotocolthatthe
Qianlong emperorwas morethanusuallyfondof Rong Fei. However,one Chinese
scholarhas arguedfromothersourcesthatQianlong'srelationshipwithhis Uyghur
concubinewas special.In his lasthistorical
work,writtenin Japanese-occupied Beijing
just beforehis death, the historianMeng Sen analyzedseveralof Qianlong'spoems
forreferences to Rong Fei. The emperorwrotethesepoems on the subject of the
Bao Yue Lou, a hall constructed in 1758 on the site now occupiedby the Xin Hua
Men. Fromthisyearon, theemperoroftenversified aboutthisstructure,and although
he neverreferred to
directly Rong Fei, it is clear that the building, one among
hundredsin the palace, held special resonancesforhim. In particular,the poems
confirmthe presenceof the Muslim quarterjust outsidethe walls, southwestof the
palacecompound;Mengarguesthatbecauseprivatesettlement was generallyprohibited
so close to the ForbiddenCity,thisMuslimneighborhood almostcertainlydeveloped
in thatspot by imperialdecree.Moreover,theBao Yue Lou and the "Muslimcamp"
came intoexistenceat about the same time; the emperorconsistently associatedthe
two, as in the followingselectionfrom1763:
Winter'sice looksoverthepondto thenorth;

abuts
The Springhall protrudesinto the southerncity. (Imperialnote:thehall closely
wall.)
theimperialcity'ssouthern
A formerrecordof the Precious Moon (mypast description of theBao Yue Lou is
adheredto thewall)-
Youthfulyearsgreetingme today.
tellsofnewvigorand prosperity,
A screeninscription
The mirror greatpromise.
reflects
Hard-byresidethe Muslim people (outsidethewall, on WestChangAnjie, thehouses
of theMuslimswhohavecometo residein China properlookuponeachother.People
call this[area] the"MuslimCamp"; thenewly-builtmosqueis just opposite
the[Bao
Yue} Lou),
distantsentiments.
The pacifiedWestlinkedthrough
(Meng 1960:357)
Most tellingis Meng's comparisonofan imperialBao Yue Lou ode writtenin 1787,
when Rong Fei was still alive, with one from1791, threeyearsafterher death.
The former,like all earlierpoems on this subject, is optimistic,describingthe
happysceneon ChangAn Jiebelow.The latteroffering (Meng 1960:542) is gloomy-
the emperormarkedit with charactersmeaning"self-caution"(zijing):
On thisBeijinglake'ssouthern bank,resenting its remoteness,

I havebuilta storiedhall abuttingthethoroughfare.
Dawn and duskalike,forthirty years,theportrait [hashungthere],
My New Year'slitanyis thesamenowas it was in thepast.
Gazingdownat a myriaddwellings, I see theyarecertainly
prosperous.
Lookingbackon myeightyyearsI feartheywerebuta seriesoftrifles.
My abdication is nowfiveyearsaway,ifonlyI mayreceiveHeaven'sfavor.
Althoughthe references are opaque, the sense of melancholyis clearlya departure

fromearlierBao Yue Lou poems. Could the death of Rong Fei have transformed
the buildingfroma pleasantretreatinto a reminderof Qianlong's own mortality?
The emperor'sallusion to a portraitis intriguingin light of the storiescirculating
persistentlytodaythatseveraloil paintingsin the Palace collectionsare portraitsof
theMuslimconcubine.Almostexactlythirty yearshad elapsedsinceRong Fei entered
the palace, and it is not impossiblethat a Jesuithad painted her likenessat that
time.
With the archivalmaterialsreportingRong Fei's last years,death, and burial,
we returnto solid, if moreprosaic,ground. In 1786 she orderedalmost400 taels
worthoftextilesfromtheImperialSilk Factoryin Suzhou.In 1787 she was prescribed
"peace pills" (ping'an wan) fromthepalace apothecary,but seemsto have continued
to participatenormallyin banquets and othereventsin the palace. In the third
lunar monthof 1788 she receiveda giftof milk cakes fromthe emperor;on the
fourteenth of the fourthmonthQianlong sent her ten springtangerines.She died
fivedays later(Yu 1985a:138-41).
The dispensationofherproperty to herfamily,eunuchs,maids,Muslimsoldiers
and theirwives is recordedin a minutelydetaileddocument.Everything fromfurs
and jewelryto desk lamps and wash basinswas carefullydistributedto the various
beneficiaries accordingto rank; thereis no recordof personalbequests to hint at
the natureof Rong Fei's relationshipwith the recipients.We do learn that Rong
Fei had a daughter:goods (includingjewelryand clothing)were set aside foran
unnamedprincess'sdowry.Rong Fei was buried in the Qing EasternMausoleum
complexin the ninthmonthof 1788, the ceremonyfollowingthe ritualprecedents

set by the deathsof Qianlong's and otherQing emperor'sfei (Yu 1985a: 141-42,
150).
Consolidatingthe Khoja Alliance:

The Meaningof Rong Fei
The romanticstoriesof Xiang Fei are not completelygroundless.A Uyghur

Muslim concubineexisted,mayhave lived in the Bao Yue Lou, and mayevenhave
had her portraitpaintedby one of the Jesuitcourtartists.There is some evidence
thatthe emperorwas speciallycharmedby her. But Rong Fei's lifealso differed in
severalrespectsfromthe Xiang Fei storiesit generated.The Muslim concubine
fulfilledherexpectedsexualroleand did producea daughter.She was not strangled
or forcedto commitsuicide by the Dowager Empress(whom Rong Fei outlivedby
elevenyears)but died a naturaldeath.
Nevertheless,althoughattestedin archivaldocuments(and, if we acceptMeng
Sen's argument,Qianlong'spoems) and not historicalromances,Rong Fei is no less
a symbolicrepresentation than Xiang Fei. We know her only throughImperial
Household recordsof her diet, place at table, giftsreceived,promotionsin the
haremhierarchy, funeralceremonial, thedispensationofherproperty afterherdeath-
all highlyritualizedactivitiesdesignedto recordinstancesofimperiallargess,define
her positionin the palace hierarchy,and therebyaffirmthe relationshipbetween
the Aisin Gioro and Makhd-umzada Khoja clans. In the Qing, wheremaritalties
paralleledthe conferral of rankas a techniqueto facilitatethe formationof political
alliancesand ultimatelycontrolof the empire,a giftof fruitor a seatingplan took
on geo-politicalsignificance.Even the emperor'sodes on the Bao Yue Lou tell us
nothingabout Rong Fei qua woman. If we are indeed justifiedin seeing in these
poems allusionsto the Uyghurconcubine,she appearsonly in the shadowscast by
the Beijing monumentsto Qianlong's successfulcampaignsin Altishahr:the Bao
Yue Lou, the Muslim camp, the Beijing mosque. The Qing court representation
of the Uyghurconcubineproclaimsthe conclusionof a strategicalliance and the
successfulconquestand incorporation of Xinjiang withinthe empire.
Despiteherorigins,then,Rong Fei was notat all uniqueamongQing concubines:
she fitsinto the patternof Qing maritalalliancesthatEvelynRawskihas described
as "political endogamy." Rawski has shown that the Qing, like other non-Han
dynasties beforeit, choseconsortsforemperors and princesfroma pool of strategically
importantpeoples:
The stablecircleofmarriage
partnersfortheCh'ingrulingfamilywasconfinedto
theconquesteliteand theirpeersin thesteppesociety.The multiethnic
makeup
ofthevictorious
bannerforces
andtheimperativeneedtomaintainmilitary
supremacy
shapedthe policyallowingManchusto marryManchu,Mongol,or Chinese
bannermen, but notChinesein thecivilianpopulation.
(Rawski1991:171)
To this list we must now add one Uyghur,or, more precisely,a woman of the
MakhdiumzadaKhoja clan. That the Qing imperialfamilyshould consolidateits
alliancewith Erke Husein, Turdi, and the otherKirametKhojas not only through
the conferralof titles but also throughintermarriage
should not surpriseus: the
Qing took an identicalapproachin its relationswith importantManchu, Mongol,

and Hanjun (Chinese bannermen)families,groups who togetherwith the Aisin
Gioro clan composedthe Qing "conquestelite." The KirametKhojas, in returnfor
theirassistancein the conquestof Altishahr,werelikewisebroughtinto thiselite.5
Rong Fei's marriageto the Qianlong emperorforcesus to recognizean obvious
but oftenneglectedpoint: the guiding principlesand techniquesof Qing rule in
InnerAsia differedfundamentally fromthose of its governmentin China proper.
In thiscase, theQing employedthetime-honored tradition
steppe-political ofstrategic
marriageto consolidatean alliance with the Khoja clan. The dynastyused this
techniqueand the conferralof imperialclan titles to establishkinshipties with
peoples of criticalimportanceto Qing hegemonyin InnerAsia. Such a practiceis
reminiscentof the horizontallinkages formedbetween groups within nomadic
confederations. It is therefore
significantthat Han civilians (as opposed to Han
bannermen and bondservants)wereexcludedfromthe imperialbedchamber-indeed,
"after1655 Manchuswereforbiddento marryHan Chinesewho werenot enrolled
in the Eight Banners"(Rawski 1991:175, cf. 179-82). In China proper,where
such institutionsas the examination
system,bureaucracy, and Confucianritualserved
as themeansto co-optlocalelitesintodoingtheworkofgovernance forthenumerically
insignificant Manchus, and a cosmologically-not genealogically-based ideology
legitimizedimperialrule, the Qing did not need to engage in politicalmatrimony.
The Han and the "New Dominion":

Developmentof the Xiang Fei Legend
Given that the romanticizedXiang Fei differsin essentialrespectsfromRong

Fei as portrayedin courtmaterials,it is instructiveto surveyhow, and at whose
hands, the Xiang Fei legend developed.
The storyprobablybegan as an oral traditionin China proper,or Xinjiang.
The firstwrittenrecordthathas been identifiedappearsin a poem and commentary
by Xiao Xiong, an adviserin the serviceof General Zuo Zongtang during the
latter's reconquestof Xinjiang between 1877 and 1878. (On Zuo Zongtang's
reconquestof Xinjiang, see Chu 1966 and Liu 1980.) During the campaign,Xiao
visitedKashgarand otheroases of the Tarim Basin. It was onlyin 1892, however,
5As faras we know, Rong Fei was the only Uyghurto becomean imperialconsort.Her
daughterand the childrenof the other Khojas establishedin Beijing may have married
among Manchu and Mongol princesand princesses,although this subject has not been
thoroughly researched.The Kiramets'ranksand stipendswerereducedwitheach generation.
Because the Khojas in Beijing carriedprogressivelyless political weight and no further
imperialmarriageswereconcluded,theypresumably droppedback, eventually,to commoner
status.SaguchiT6ru (1963:85, 702) has tracedthreeBeijing-born generationsof the Kiramet
Khojas: the latest recordwe have concernsTurdi's cousin, Babak, who lived until 1842.
In 1903 the ImperialHousehold Agencywas involvedin the case of six Khojas "returning
to theirnativeplace" (huiji) in Kashgarand suing forcontrolof waqf(religiousendowment)
lands there.In 1917 Xinjiang GovernorYang Zengxin (1921) describeda case in whicha
man namedYusuf fileda claim forownershipof the waqflands that supportedthe upkeep
of the Khoja Afaq Mazar and its caretakers.The genealogyhe presentedto supporthis suit
againstQasim, theshaykhcurrently in chargeof the tomblands,seemsto have beenspurious.
Qasim's own putativelineage, in whichXiang Fei and her brotherare said to be descended
directlyfromtheAfaq Khoja, is likewiseirreconcilable withgenealogiesestablishedby Qing
sources.
whileon an extendedand tediousstayin a Hunan inn, thatXiao wrotehis Xijiang

zashushi [Miscellaneousrecordof theWesternTerritory] (Xiao 1935:3131:2:36 and
3132:4:129; cf.Yu and Dong 1985:231 andJi Dachun 1985a:27-28).6 Xiao mentions
two tombs,one five1i east of Kashgar,called the Khoja Tomb (He-zhuoMu) and
anotherfive1ito thenorth,whichhe names"LadyFragrant Temple"(XiangNiangniang
Miao). The firstshrine,judging fromXiao's description,is clearlythe Khoja Afaq
Mazar, at Yaghdu, northeastof the old cityof Kashgar. As forthe second shrine,
one historianhas argued that it, too, must be the Khoja Afaq Mazar, and that a
trickofmemoryled Xiao to describetwosites(Ji 1985a:27-28). But LadyMacartney,
in hermemoirof lifein late nineteenth and earlytwentieth-century Kashgar,describes
a "verypopularshrinejust oppositeChini-Bagh[the Britishconsulate,northof old
Kashgarcity],wherewe could hearthe womenwailingfromearlymorning."This
shrinewas the tombof the femalesaintAnna Bibi, and was one ofmanyfrequented
by Turki women "when theywant a child or a husband,or when theyare in any
troubleor difficulty. . . [Such women]kneltbeforethe tomb,puttingtheirhands
.
into two holes while theycried and wailed by the hour" (Macartney1987:131).
It seemslikelythatthis-or anothershrinededicatedto a femalesaint-is the
tombXiao refersto as "Xiang NiangniangMiao." Xiao, who was in Kashgaronly
twelveyearsbeforeGeorgeMacartneyand twentyyearsbeforeCatherineMacartney's
arrival,writesthat the "Lady FragrantTemple" lot was the site of a bazaar for
women only, and that women hoping to bear sons, or seekingaid with marital
decisionsor similardifficulties,would supplicateat the "temple" doors, some of
themtakingawaya bit ofdust frombeside the templeto mix withwaterand drink
as a charm. Xiao's confusion-or perhapsit is embellishment-lies in crediting
theshrine'sspiritualcharismato theFragrant Concubine.He describes"LadyFragrant"
as a Kashgarlikof exceptionalbeauty,a naturalfragrance, and a pure and fervent
naturewho lived duringQianlong times. Because of her love forher mother,she
was returnedforburialto Kashgar. Xiao mentionsneitherherconcubinagenorher
mannerof death (Ji 1985a:27-28).
LadyMacartney does notallude to theXiang Fei mythanywhere in hernarrative.
Althoughshe is in manywaysa flawedobserver, blinkeredby Edwardiansensibilities
and her ignoranceof local languages,she lived in Kashgar seventeenyearswith a
husbandwho enjoyednativefluencyin Chineseand spoke Persianand Uyghuras
well. Had she heardof the Xiang Fei myth(and it seemslikelyherhusbandwould
have broughtsuch a storyto her attentionhad he knownof it), it is preciselythe
kind of storyshe would have relatedin her memoir.That she does not suggests
that the storywas not currentin KashgarduringGeorge Macartney'stenurethere
(1890-1918).
AfterXiao's poem receivedwide circulationthroughreprintingin collectanea,
subsequentHan travelersto the site adopted the name "Xiang NiangniangMiao"
or "Xiang Fei Mu" to refernot to Anna Bibi's, but to the Khoja Afaq Tomb.
by KashgariMuslimsof the sitewitha Uyghurconcubineof a Manchu
Identification
emperor seems to have begun somewhatlater:an akhung(imam) responsibleforthe
tomb in 1920 could not identifyXiang Fei's graveamong the manyin the tomb,
but by 1945 this grave was clearlymarked(Xie Bin 1923:209; Yu and Dong
1985:209- 10; Xu Lingfeng, Xinjiangneimu, citedinJi 1985a:28). The tombcontinues
to be known as "Xiang Fei's Tomb" in popular Chinese,Japanese,and English
6The poem was widely circulatedin severalcollectanea,includingLingjian'gecongshu,
Guanzhong congshu, jichengchubian.The wartimeJapanesegovernment,
and Congshu interested
in China's borderlands,produceda translation(Xiao 1944).
materialsto thisday, and somevisitorsare told thatlocal womenstillprayto Xiang

Fei by adheringvotivestripsto the wall surroundingthe tomb site.7
The misnamingof a famousKashgarlandmarksacredto Afaq Sufisof Kashgar
coincidedwith anotherprocess:the "Hanization"of Qing rule in Xinjiang. Before
Zuo Zongtang, no Han officialshad servedin the highestpositionsin Xinjiang
betweentheconquestoftheterritory in 1759 and its lossduringtheMuslimrebellions
of 1862-64. Zuo himselfhad beenforcedby thispolicyto relinquish overallcommand
ofhis northwestern pacificationcampaignduringtheplanningstageof theXinjiang
reconquest.BecauseJing-lianandJin-shun, theManchubannermen selectedto replace
Zuo, wereunable to solve the logisticalproblemsof a Xinjiang campaign,in 1875
Grand Secretary Wen-xiangrestoredZuo to the positionof ImperialCommissioner
in ChargeofXinjiangMilitaryAffairs, and it was in thiscapacitythattheHunanese
generalreestablishedQing controlin the New Territory.8
Zuo proposedestablishingChinese-style provincialadministration in Xinjiang
in a letterto Liu Jintangin 1878 and in a memorialof 1880. Xinjiang received
provincialstatusin 1884, at which time Liu Jintang(who had succeededZuo as
Commissioner) becamethe firstgovernor (xunfu)of the new province.All subsequent
Qing governorsof Xinjiang, except one, were likewiseHan (Chu 1966:193-94;
Qian 1980:IV:xunfu).
Although the originsof the name "Xiang Fei's Tomb" and the firstbroad
disseminationof the Xiang Fei legend in a literarysourcewere not directresults
of the implementation of ethnicHan administration in Xinjiang, the coincidence
of these eventsis suggestive.The Qing understoodthat the Yaghdu mausoleum
borereligiousand politicalsignificance as a shrineto a familyof formerrulerswith
genealogicaltiesto Muhammad(throughFatima,theprophet'sdaughter);thedynasty
may also have been aware of the Afaq1affinallink to Chinggis Qan. Because of
this, soon afterthe conquest in 1759, the Qianlong courtextendedits policy of
supportforXinjiang'sIslamic shrinesto includethe Afaqi tombs,allowingtax-free
statusto the waqf propertiesthat supportedthe shrineand appointingcaretakers
(Fletcher1978:75; cf. Yang 1921).
In one sectionof his commentary, Xiao describesthe Yaghdu tombsmuch as
earlierQing sourceshad, accuratelyidentifying thesiteas a mazeirwheretheremains
of Burhanad-Din's ancestors,startingwith MuammadYiusuf(fatherof the Khoja
Afaq), were buried. In this section,Xiao also gives a capsule descriptionof Islam
and discussesthe importanceof such tombs in local religiouslife. But it was his
descriptionelsewhereof the "Lady FragrantTemple" that caught the imagination
ofliterateHan in Chinaproper;thetermdisplaced"Khoja Tomb," and theassociation
withXiang Fei dominatedfutureaccountsof the site. Parallelingthepoliticalprocess
7See, forexample,Xie Bin's account(1923) and thoseof Lin Zhi (1948) and Ma Ming
(1950) in Yu and Dong 1985:209-17. In 1987 an NBC news team produceda seriesof
reportsfromXinjiang, includingone in which correspondent John Hart told the storyof
"the FragrantConcubine"while standingin frontof the Khoja Afaq Mazar. Episode 12 of
the JapanesetelevisionnetworkNHK's multipartdocumentary,The Silk Road, relatesthe
storyof Xiang Fei, while also explainingthe tomb's relationshipto the Afaqi khojas.
I am indebted to Linda Benson and StanleyToops for bringingthe reportsof the
continuationof this mannerof worshipto my attention.
8Chu 1966:178-91. On the Manchu/Mongoldominanceof high officein Xinjiangbefore
Zuo, see the table on pp. 179-80. Some importantHan figures(forexample,Ji Yun, Hong
Liangji, and Lin Zexu) servedin unofficialcapacitiesduringtheirexile in Xinjiang. For the
most part, however,theywere given clericalor researchwork, and enjoyedno significant
decision-makingauthority.Militaryrule remainedthe prerogativeof Manchu and Mongol
civil and militaryofficials(Waley-Cohen 1991:138-62).
ofHanizationin Xinjiang, then,a culturalprocesswas also underway.Han Chinese

were developingparadigmsby which to comprehendthe New Dominion, now a
full-fledged province,and to understandthe foreignpeople and thingsthat were
now part of an increasingly Chinese-and not merelyQing-empire. The Xiang
Fei legend was part of this process:fifteenyearsafterXiao's poem was released,
travelwritings, notebookjottings,unofficial
histories, romances,and Beijing
historical
opera began to elevatethe FragrantConsortto stardom.
From literaryand historicalmaterialswe may trace the developmentof the
Xiang Fei storyfromthe late Qing and Republicanperiods throughthe 1980s.
AfterXiao Xiong's Xijiang zashushi, the earliestsourceis a privatehistory(yeshi)
by Wang Kaiyun, published in 1907. Althoughfactuallyunreliable,such works
are nonethelessrevealingas fiction:theyprovidea glimpse into literateopinion,
attitudes,and images. They probablyalso reflecta popularoral traditionthat the
writtenworksboth recordedand stimulated.
Wang's accountdescribesa virtuouswoman(lienu)referred to bothas a "Zunghar
woman" and "Muslim concubine,"who despitereceivingspecial imperialfavorin
the Qing haremis bent on avengingher parents,husband,and lost country.That
she is called a Zungharwomanrevealsa poor understanding of the historybehind
the conquestof Xinjiang (Wang 1970:5: "muyi" [motherlyconduct];cf. Yu and
Dong 1985:234).
A versionin the historicalromanceManqingwaishi(Tian 1914:17b-18b) does
notdiffer substantiallyfromWang's account,althoughit does recordthealternative
traditionthat Xiang Fei was buried near Tao Ran Ting in the "FragrantTomb"
(Xiang Zhong),and quotes the verseriddle inscribedon the stone. A longerearly
versionof the legend appears in Xu Ke's voluminousnotebooks,Qingbaileichao.
Here separatereferences conveyall themain elementsthatwould characterize future
versionsof the Xiang Fei story,includingher magical fragrance,hidden daggers,
desireforvengeance,and associations withthe oil paintings,Castiglione,and several
Beijing architectural landmarks(Xu Ke 1920:2: bai 5 [gongyuanlei]: 14-15; 25:
bai 60 [yibinglei]:34; 3: bai 12 [yuwei leil: 17).
An extremelyinfluentialevent in the popularizationand codificationof the
Xiang Fei storywas a 1914 exhibitof imperialantiquitiesfromShengjing(Mukden)
and tenoil portraitsof "beauties"(all purportedly theworkofGiuseppeCastiglione)
on loan fromRehe (Chengde). Because the showwas held withinpartof the former
imperialpalace itself,it provedverypopular,attractingthousandsof visitors.The
portraitsaid to be orXiang Fei in armor(illustration2), on displayin thebathhouse
itself,was a particularcrowd-pleaser.Concerningthis exhibit, Meng Sen wrote
later, "in the Yu De Dian [i.e., Yu De Tang] a portraitof Xiang Fei was put on
displayto allow people to imagine her appearancewhile bathing. How indecent!
This is theimagein themindsofall thosewho discussXiang Fei" (Meng 1960:543).
The text accompanyingthe bathhouseexhibitborrowedfromearlierwritten
accounts,and in turnwas quotedin laterfictional and evenhistoricalsources,including
Xiao Yishan's Qingdaitongshi(Xiao 1986:107 [2:1:2:10 appendix)). The general
outline of the Xiang Fei storywas, therefore, fixed,if not beforethe bathhouse
exhibit then certainlyby the exhibit'swritten caption itself.Subsequentversions
throughthe 1920s varyonlyin detail-of whicha fewinteresting ones are added.
For example, in Cai Dongfan's 1916 Qingshitongsu yanyi(Cai 1925:243-44), He
Shen appearsas go-betweenand confidantin the emperor'squest to acquire and
win overXiang Fei. (He Shen would have been no more than ten or elevenyears
old at the time, but such anachronismis permittedin the genre.) In two historical
romanceswrittenin the 1920s, the treatmentof Xiang Fei remainsas in earlier

versions,but a secondMuslim concubineis introduced:in theseplots both of the
Khojas fightingthe Qing in Xinjiang had a consort,and afterXiang Fei's death
the bereavedemperorhas the otherbrother'swoman broughtout of prison. The
second, Hui Fei, while perhapsless fragrant, turnsout to be morecompliant(Xu
1985; Xu 1925:3:78-104).
The Xiang Fei charactermusthaveseemedbothfamiliarand foreignto an early
Republican-period readership.She appearsas an archetypical"virtuouswoman" or
"chastewidow," but withan aggressive,foreigntwist(on the virtuouswomancult
in the late Qing, see Mann 1987). Whereas suicide or lifelongabstinencewould
have been a normativeresponsein Qing cultureforthe widow whose chastitywas
undersiege, Xiang Fei holds out forrevenge,acceptingdeath gladlyonly when it
is forcedupon her. The bathhousetext describesher proud mien in martialget-
up, hand on the hilt of her sword,concludingthat "at a glance one can tell she is
a fiercelychastewoman"(Meng 1960:545). Perhapsbecausehe could findno female
precedents,when searchingforhistoricalallusionsone authorin the Qingchao yeshi
daguanmade reference to a famousfailedassassin(but successfulmartyr) frombefore
theQin unificationofChina:"Alas!Who wouldhavesaid thatamongdistantbarbarian
womankindof the lands beyondtherewould be a Jing Ke to gladlygive her own
life?"(Xiaoheng Xiangshi zhuren1915:1:61-64).9
Despite Xiang Fei's unique attributes,however,theversionsthroughthe 1920s
are typicalin formand contentof the typeof palace gossip reportedin unofficial
histories.One way of lookingat theseaccountsof scandalsin the ImperialCity is
as veiled anti-Manchuism,as a later, written,record of Qing-period folkloric
expressions ofdissent(Kahn 1971:57). But thereis also sympathy and identification
withtheQing monarchshere.Significantly, no Han appearin thesestories-Xiang
Fei, a representativeof "distantbarbarianwomankind,"is the foreigner put among
well-knownManchu charactersin the relativelymore familiarsurroundings of the
palace. The main protagonistsare the Qianlong emperor,besottedand paralyzed,
and his mother,duty-boundto kill the girl to protectoffspring and empire.Xiang
Fei servesprimarilyas a foilforthecharacters of Qianlongand the DowagerEmpress,
whose dilemmawould have been readilyappreciatedaccordingto the culturaland
moralconventionsof late-Qingand RepublicanChina proper.
Nevertheless,Xiang Fei's positionin the trianglecould not be filledby just
anyconcubine.The story'sperennialinterestreliesupon Xiang Fei's exoticorigins,
appearance,religion,and customs,and it hingesdramaticallyupon her combined
physicalappeal and threatto the emperor.Her loyaltieslie witha defeatedcountry
and scattered family(guowang jiapo). Her resistance
to Qianlongmirrors thecontinuing
resistancefacedby Manchu and then Han rulersto theirrule in Altishahr.Xiang
Fei remainedan "other"in the palace, just as to Han minds, Xinjiang was in the
empirebut not yet of it.
In laterversions,foundin dramaticworksof the 1930s, the focusof the story
shiftsfromthe Manchus to Xiang Fei herself.The Beijing opera Xiang Fei Hen
(1933) begins in Kashgar, on the eve of battle betweenthe forcesof Xiang Fei's
husband,Burhanad-Din, and theQing general,Zhao-hui.The audienceis encouraged
to sympathizewith Burhan ad-Din, who fightsfairlyand well but, shot in the
9JingKe was an envoyfromthe state of Yan who in 227 B.C. traveledto Qin with a
map of Yan as a tokenof submission.During his audience with the futurefirstemperor,
Jing Ke drew out a dagger he had concealedin the map and attemptedto assassinatethe
Qin monarch.
back, is forcedto fleewithhis brotherto Badakhshan.Therethe rulerof Badakhshan

cuts offthe Khojas' heads to presentto the Qing (an incidentattestedin Qing
historicalsources).Xiang Fei's capture,then,comesabout as theresultofaggression
and treacheryon the part of the Manchus and theirBadakhshanially. As Zhao-
hui's men lead her out of Kashgar en route to Beijing, Xiang Fei deliversan
impassionedspeechto her people, who cling to the slowlymovingcart.
Formerly, whileBurhanwas healthy and thecountryintact,althoughtherewere

manybattles,as longas thepeoplekeptfaithandlovedthecountry liketheirown
family, had no desireformoneyand military
as longas civilofficials did
officers
notfeardeath,as longas thoseinsideand outsidethecourtworkedtogether as
one, thenno matterhowstrongtheQing army,we wouldstillachievevictory.
She thenberatesherarmyforcowardiceand herofficialdom foravarice,self-interest,

and factionalism.As soldierspush the weepingMuslims out of the way and lead
Xiang Fei off, she looks back and cries, "Motherland,oh motherland(zuguo)!
Compatriots,oh compatriots (tongbao)! AfterI leave today,I'll neversee you again!"
Later,in the Qing palace, when the Dowager Empressordersher strangledwith a
rope, Xiang Fei resistsand must be subdued and killed by a crowdof eager maids
and guards(Anon. 1985:277-310).
In Gu Qinghai's 1934 play, Xiang Fei, the Xiang Fei legendservesas a vehicle
fora sentimental storywithnodstowardMay Fourth-era feminism and clearresonances
of Ibsen's A Doll's House.Xiang Fei's beautybringsruin upon Burhanad-Din and
the "desertkingdom." In Beijing, everyoneloves the gentle, sad woman; but she
complainsshe is a caged birdand begs the lovesickemperorto set herfreeto return
to the desert.She cannotgive herselfto Qianlong, who has killed her firstlove,
but pitiesthe lovelornmonarchand in herdyingwordsbequeathesto him herlittle
knifeas a memento(zuojinian). Castiglionefiguresprominently as a sympathetic,
avuncularfigureengagingXiang Fei in a discourse on the nature of love; theEmpress
Dowager adopts Xiang Fei as a daughter and commiserates with her in the final
act ("Ai, child, men are all the same") before having a servant hand the girl the
hemlock(Gu 1985:311-43; cf. the similar plot of Dan 1934).
In thesedramaticworks,Xiang Fei as leadingladyembodiestheauthors'principal
messages.In Xiang Fei Hen this messageis a patrioticone; with the Manchuscast
as the enemy,Han audiencesare to sympathizewith the valiant Xiang Fei, who
speaks a nationalisticlanguage familiarto them. An exhortationfor unity and
selflessnessin the faceof foreignaggression,the opera was probablyintendedas a
commentary on China's dilatoryresistanceto Japaneseencroachment. Gu Qinghai's
play involves star-crossed
love, with Xiang Fei herselfthe central character.Although
bothscripts contain references to in
Xinjiang, and, performance, costumes and sets
would presumably have emphasized the exotic, Xiang Fei's identity as an "other"
is subsumed here to her role as vehicle for themes unrelated to Altishahr (as also
in Sang 1954). Indeed, in Gu's play, she comesfromand pines fora genericdesert,
representing freedom,ratherthanfromany specifiedplace. The processof adapting
Xiang Fei forthepurposesofa modernlovestoryor patrioticparablehas domesticated
her. At the same time, the Manchusare shiftedoffcenterstage.
This adoption of the Xiang Fei legend for other thematicpurposesdid not
displace the earliertradition.It is the versionof the bathhousetext and earlier
privatehistoriesthat was enshrinedin historicalsourcescompiled in the 1940s,
includingthe Zhongguorenming da cidian(Zang 1984:727), TOJyJrekishi dai jiten
(1937-39:3:28), and Eminent ChineseoftheCh'ingPeriod(Hummel 1970:74). The

Qingshigao, on the otherhand, containsa briefitemon Rong Fei but eschewsthe
anecdotesof her morepopularavatar(Zhao 1977:liezhuan1, "houfei").
By the 1950s, however,the shifttowardidentification with Xiang Fei at the
expenseof her Manchu captorsis takena step further.The Beijing opera Yi-pa-er-
han, performed by the FourthBeijing Opera Troupe between1952 and 1954, is a
love storyabout Iparhan(Xiang Fei's Uyghurname) and Khoja Jihan,set against
the backdropof the Qing repressionof the Khojas' "rebellion."Significantly,the
"everyman"charactersthroughwhich the audience is introducedto the storyare
Uyghuryouths. Iparhanand Khoja Jihan meet while picking mushroomsin the
thirdscene,are marriedin the fourth,and are separatedsoon afterwards
duringthe
battlewith Qing forces.Qianlong, a sympathetic figurein the bathhousetextand
otherearlyversions,a patheticone in theplayand operaofthe 1930s, herebecomes
quite nasty:
Qianlong: (Witha smile)I hearKhojaJihanmarried a beautiful

woman,named. . .
Zhao-hui: Yi-pa-er-han.
QL: I've heardthatthiswomanis cleverandlovely,and
is fatedfrombirthto be empress.Whenthewaris
over,youmustbringherback.
ZH: I'll remember.
QL: I wantheralive,notdead!You understand?
ZH: I understand.
QL: Do youreallyunderstand? Ha-ha-ha-ha!
ZH: (Afterthinking it over,unableto restrain
himself)
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
[Others]: Ha-ha-ha-ha!
QL: (Sensinghe haslostdignity)
Humph!(Startled,Zhao-
hui and theotherskneel)
Qianlong leads Iparhanto believe her husband is still alive. When the Dowager
Empressdisillusionsher, she commitssuicide, calling to Khoja Jihanthatshe will
soon join him (Beijing FourthBeijing Opera Troupe 1985:344-87).
Xiang Fei reappearedmorerecently as PrincessFragrant(Xiang Xiang Gongzhu)
in Jin Yong's firstnovel, Shujian jiang shan (also titledShujian si chou/u), first
publishedin 1955, but continuouslyin printsince then(Jin 1984). In this book,
the famouspopular novelistadapts and blends the Xiang Fei storywith another
enduringlegend fromthe Qianlong era: the storythat the Qianlong emperorwas
himselfnot Manchu but a Han changeling,borninto the Chen familyof Haining,
Zhejiang (Xiaoheng Xiangshi zhuren 1915:1:76-77). Chen a.k.a. Qianlong came
to be emperorafterhe was switchedat birthwith a baby girl born at the same
time to Yongzheng'sempress.In Jin Yong's romance,the emperor'sreal brother,
Chen Jialuo, is a nationalisticrebel bent on overthrowing the Manchu dynasty.
Toward this aim, he attemptsto convincehis older brotherthat his (Qianlong's)
loyaltiesproperlylie with his naturalrace, the Han. Chen Jialuo and comrades
travelto "the land of Wei" (Altishahr)to enlisthelp fromthe Uyghurwho were
then resistingQianlong's armies of conquest. On the way Jialuo meets the
preternaturallybeautifulPrincessFragrant(she is bathingnaked in a lake when he
ridesby and catchesher scent)and the two fall in love. Jialuopromisesthatwhen
he and his brotheroverthrow the Manchustheywill makepeace withthe Muslims.
In themeantime,however,QianlongconquersWei and capturesthelovelyprincess.

BecauseJialuohas reacheda secretagreementwiththe emperor,forthe sake of the
rebellionhe renounceshis love forFragrantand leavesherto brotherQianlong with
his blessings.Fragrantlearnsthat Qianlong plans to betrayJialuo and the Han,
however,and afterscratching"Don't trustthe emperor!"on the floorof the Beijing
mosque, risksdamnation(Islam prohibitssuicide) by fallingon her dagger as a
signal to Chen Jialuo.
Althoughthe familiarprops and motifsof the privatehistoriographical Xiang
Fei (daggers,fragrance, theBao Yue Lou, bathing)all appearin theJinYong novel,
thesymbolicimplications of the storyhavebeen turnedon theirhead. That Qianlong
shouldbe raciallyHan is an attractivedevice: the martialgloriesof the high Qing,
includingthe conquest of Xinjiang, can thus be attributedto Han genius. But
Qianlong remainsloyal to the Manchus; in this versionof the Xiang Fei legend,
racialparameters replacefamilialones: thetriangleofrelationships
is heredelineated
notby son, mother,and "other"woman,but by Han, Manchu,and Uyghur.Xiang
Xiang gives her heartto the Han, Chen Jialuo, even compromisingher Islamic
faithby committingsuicideforhis sake, and thisamorousconquestparallelsChen/
Qianlong's militaryconquest of Xinjiang, thus reinforcing the message of Han
involvementin bringingXinjiang and the Uyghurinto the empire.
In Shujian jiang shan, Xiang Fei is caughtup in a strugglebetweenManchu
and Han forcontrolof the empire.This new, racialelementof the Xiang Fei story
is a projectionof the post-1911 discourseconcerningHan inheritance of the former
Qing colonial territories.
Miss Minzu Tuanjie:

Xiang Fei's "GreatDeed"
The Manchus based theirrule in China properand InnerAsia on a varietyof

models and principles:the heavenlymandate,Confucianuniversalculturism,the
conceptof Buddhistmonarchor chakravartin, the bhikshu-dcnapati
or priest-patron
relationshipwith Tibetan and Mongol lamas (Suzuki 1968), patronageof Islamic
and genealogical links to the Chinggisid line and other
religiousinstitutions,10
significantInnerAsian pedigrees.The Han Chinesewho assumednominalcontrol
of the formerQing empireafter1911 enjoyednone of thesesourcesof legitimacy,
and sought,instead,to justifymaintenanceof the formerQing borderson the basis
of Westernprinciplesof nationalism,as theyunderstoodand adapted them. The
transitionfromQing empireto Han republicwas not easy; the Nationalistsfaced
politicaland militarychallengesin virtuallyall theperipherallands wherenon-Han
culturepredominated.Centralpolitical controlover theseterritories in most cases
remainednonexistentor severelyattenuateduntil at least 1950. Xinjiang, under
Yang Zengxin and Sheng Shicai, although nominally in allegiance to the
Guomingdang,was virtuallyautonomousundergovernorYang and fellunderSoviet
influenceduringSheng's tenure.
AlthoughtheGuomindanggovernment postponedtacklingthemilitary challenges
to Chineserulein the borderlands, theydid addressthe ideologicalproblemsposed
'0For example, the Qing sponsoredin part the maintenanceof the Khoja Afaq tomb
outside Kashgar. The Emin Khoja Mosque, in Turfan,was built with a grant fromthe
Qianlong emperor.
by theirinheritanceof the multiethnicQing empireearlyin theirrule. A particular

problemwas how a Han nationalism,definedto a great degree in racist,anti-
Manchu terms,could justifyretainingthe formerimperialholdings in non-Han
areasand includingthe non-Hanoccupantsof theseformerterritories withina Han-
dominatedstate.
Sun Yat-sen approachedthis contradictionin his firstSanminzhuyilecture,
"Race and Population." He argued that China was unique among nationsin that
raceand nation-statewerecoterminous:unliketheBritishEmpire,whichwas made
up of "the white race as the principalpeople, and the black people, the brown
people and others"so that "the statement. . . that the nationalityis the nation-
group cannot be applied to Great Britain," China (the nation state) consistedof
(minzu).Althoughhe acknowledged
"one nationality" thattherewereoverten million
"non-Chinese" in China, includingMongols,Manchus,Tibetans,and Tatars(Turkic
Muslims), Sun claimed that they were numericallyinsignificant.Elsewherehe
elaboratedon this idea: "We must facilitatethe dyingout[emphasisin originallof
all the namesof individualpeoples inhabitingChina, i.e., Manchus,Tibetans,etc.
. . .we must satisfythe demandsof all racesand unite them in a single cultural
and politicalwhole" (Sun 1933:165, 168; 1953:180). Therefore, while recognizing
theexistenceof the same five"races"as had theManchus(Han, Man, Meng, Zang,
and Hui), Sun arguedforthe assimilationof the fourminoritygroupsinto the vast
Han majorityin the nameof nationalsurvival.UnderCominterninfluence, however,
he laterproposed"selfdetermination and selfgovernment" for"the weak and small
racial groups within its nationalboundaries,"and neverreconciledthis with his
earlierviews (Dreyer1976:15-17).
Chiang Kai-shekobviatedthe need forminorityself-determination by defining
away the minorities.Aftersummarizingwith a chain of exampleswhat he claimed
was the historyof Chineseabsorptionand civilizingby peacefulmeans of peoples
bordering on China,and thecreationof "a commonhistorical destiny,"he concluded,
That thereare fivepeoples designatedin China . . . is not due to difference

in
race or blood, but to religionand geographical environment. In short,the
amongChina'sfivepeoplesis due to regionaland religious
differentiation factors,
andnotto raceorblood.Thisfactmustbe thoroughly understoodbyall ourfellow
countrymen.
(Chiang1947:40,cf. 29-43)
Chiang explained that Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner and Outer Mongolia, the Four
Northeastern Provinces,as well as Taiwan and the PescadoresIslands (all territories
broughtundersingle imperialaegis by the Qing), are integralpartsof the Chinese
nation due to factorsof geography,economicstructure,requirementsof national
defense,and common historicaldestiny"and not merelythe resultsof political
necessity."Centralto this argumentis the assertionthatwhile "the domainof the
statehas expanded"due to populationgrowth,"at no timehas [the Chinesenation}
forceto expand."Xinjiangis Chinesenotas theresultofQing conquest,
used military
Chiang claimed, but due to 2,000 yearsof "assimilation"thatbegan with the first
contactsbetweenChina and westerntribesduringthe Qin and Han, over 2,000
yearsago (1947:29).
After1949, theCommunistgovernment in China adoptedSovietadministrative
methods(primarilythe systemof"autonomousregions,"although,unlikein Soviet
nationalrepublics,China's autonomousregionsare not constitutionally grantedthe

rightof succession)and theoriesof nationalityunder socialismand communism.
The culturaldifferences of the nationalminoritieswere to be permittedand even
encouragedduringwhatwas seen as an interimstageof democraticrevolution.The
expectationwas, however,thatnationalitycharacteristics would fadeawaywith the
erosionof class differencesand a uniformproletarianculture(implicitlyexpectedto
resembleHan, notminority, culture)wouldemerge.Avoidingtheterm"assimilation"
(tonghua), taintedby Guomindanguse, partypropagandaspokeof "fusion"(ronghe).
During the CulturalRevolution,however,tolerantpoliciesgave way in manyareas
to radical,evenviolentattackson ethnicand religiousdifferences, oftenspearheaded
by Red Guards(Dreyer1976). The somewhatmoretolerantapproachreturnedafter
1971, and more active encouragement of minorityculturefollowedin the 1980s
and 1990s underthe rubricof "nationalityunity"(minzutuanjie).In recentyears
governmentauthoritieshave wielded the conceptof "nationalityunity"as a two-
edged sword, both to criticizeethnicallyinsensitivebehavioron the part of Han
and to crackdown on nationalseparatist movements ("splitism")in Tibet, Xinjiang,
and Mongolia(Gladney1991:2-7, 138-39; AmnestyInternational 1992; Asia Watch
1991).
excavatedRong Fei's tombin theEasternQing Mausoleum.
In 1979 archaeologists
The tumulushad been floodedand robbedofmostofits gravegoods, but thecoffin,
with its Arabicinscriptionfromthe Qur'an confirmed what had long been asserted
in local lore:thatthetombcontainedtheremainsoftheQianlongemperor'sMuslim
concubine.Anthropologists even undertookextensiveanalysisof Rong Fei's skull,
concludingthat it representedthe skull of an "individualof minoritynationality
. . .over fiftyyearsold" (Shi 1985:96-102).
Around the same time, severalChinese scholarspublished articlesthat drew
upon archivaland publishedQing sourcesin the spiritof "seekingtruthfromfacts"
and "evidentialscholarship"(kaozheng) to revisethe popular notionof Xiang Fei.
These scholars,followingMeng Sen (who had in 1937 proposedthe identityof the
legendary Xiang Fei withthedocumentedRong Fei), laid out Rong Fei's genealogical
ties to the Kirametbranchof the Khojas. They describedher comfortable life in
the Qianlong courtand refutedmythsabout her defianceof the emperor,murder
by the Dowager Empress,and burialin Kashgar. Rong Fei's tombwas restoredand
opened to the public (the only such tumulusof a consortbelow the rankof guifei
to be openedfortourists).And in 1985 Yu Shanpu'sand Dong Naiqiang'scollection
ofhistoricalmaterials,scholarlyarticles,and literary
sourceson Xiang Fei and Rong
Fei was published in Beijing in an astoundingprint run of 90,500 copies."
The reasonfor this flurryof activityconcerningXiang Fei in the early eighties
can be foundin the conclusionsof severalof the articlesand in the prefaceto the
collection:
XiangFei andherwholefamily madea definitecontribution

byopposingseparatism
andprotecting harmony
nationality and national
unity.XiangFei'slifewaswithout
doubta greatdeed(jiahua) in thehistoryof nationality
harmony.
(Yu 1985c:82)
"Historybooks in China are generallypublishedin runsof no morethana fewthousand,
commonlyonly a few hundred. Feng Erkang's acclaimed and popular biographyof the
Yongzhengemperorreachedonly 40,000 copies in its firsttwo printings(Yongzhengzhuan
[Beijing: Renmin chubanshe,19851).
And,
. . .throughout no onewho[likeRongFeil hasmadesomecontribution
history,
to forwardingnationality divisions
unity[minzutuanjieland opposingnationality
will be forgotten.
(Qiu 1985:2)
That Rong Fei did not belong to the Afaq! line was a significantdiscovery.As
a symbolof Muslim resistance,Xiang Fei had remainedthreatening long afterher
death. But now the popularstorycould be given a new moralof ethnicharmony,
and Xiang Fei takes on yet anothersymbolicmeaning-one evoking nationality
unity.This is an ambitiousshiftfromthe moreconcreteunifyingpurposeto which
the Manchushad put Rong Fei. No longermerelylinkingtwo families,Xiang Fei
mustnow represent the happymarriageof non-Hanminorities to the Han-dominated
12
socialiststate.
The UyghurPerspective
Jparhan:
So farI have examinedthe Xiang Fei traditiononly as relayedthroughtexts

producedbyManchuand Han writers. Therewas a Uyghurtradition as well. Although
only scant evidencehas come to light regardingits originsand transmission, this
traditiondoes hint at a Uyghurperspectiveon Xiang Fei.
The late nineteenth-century Tdrfkh-i IHamFdf by Mulla MiusaSairamicontains
a passage about an unnamedmaiden, "a preciousjewel of peerlessbeautyshining
like the sun," whom officialstook fromher home in Altishahrto presentto the
Chineseemperor(fffiurcini). One day the emperorenteredherapartmentsto find
the girl weeping,and asked herwhy. At a loss forwords,she repliedonlythatshe
misseda kind of fruittreethatgrewin herhometownthathad fruitofgold, leaves
of silver,and sap like perfume.The emperor(xan) issued an edict to his ministers
in thecityofUsh Turfanto findthistreeand shipsaplingsto thecapitalimmediately
for planting in the imperial garden. The Ush Turfan officialsthen told the
Hakim Rahmitulla(Rahmat Allah) Bek that he would earn imperialfavorif he
achieved this feat. Unable to refusethe order, Rahmitulla impressedforced-
laborersto carrysaplingsof narrow-leaved oleaster(Elaeagenusangustifolia;Chinese:
sha zao shu; Uyghur:jigdjl3), causingthe portersgreathardship.The men rebelled
afterthe fourthstage,however,and withRahmitullaBek's supportused the saplings
as clubs to kill theirChinese(Xitaylar)escort.Returningto Ush Turfan,theykilled
the khan,amban,officers, and soldiers,and enthroned Rahmitullaas an independent
hakim. He ruled fornine months(Sayrami1986:204-6).
This storyhas become part of the Iparhan oral traditionamong Uyghurin
Xinjiang; two Xinjiang Uyghurinformants relatedit to me whenasked what they
12It is interestingthat none of the legends or even contemporary secondarysourceson
Xiang Fei/RongFei mentionthe prohibition in Islamiclaw againstMuslimwomenmarrying
non-Muslimmen. Xiang Fei's defiantchastityin these storiesarises fromloyaltyto her
husband,not her faith.However,her resistanceto marryingan infidelmay be an implicit
reasonbehind the Uyghurglorification of Iparhan,discussedbelow.
13The jigda "had olive greenleaves,silveryunderneath, and bunchesofyellowbell flowers
that gave out a verystrongalmond scent in spring. The fruitwas red and edible, shaped
like a small date, witha date-likestone,and verydry,sweetflesh.In the eveningsof spring
and earlysummer,the air was heavywith the perfumeof theJigda" (Macartney1987:119).
knewabout Xiang Fei. It also intersects intriguinglywiththeprintedQing historical

record.Accountsof the Ush TurfanRebellionof 1765 in the QingShiluand Huijiang
Tongzhirecordthat the flashpointforthis firstrebellionagainstQing authorityin
Altishahrwas a corveerequisitionof 240 laborersto transportwooden plantersof
oleastersaplings.The porterswerenot told theirdestination or the reasonforcarrying
the trees,and theirriotculminatedin the deathof local begs and Manchu officials
(Da Qinglichaoshilu[Qianlong reignl:730:12a- 13a, QL30 intercalary 2 yimao;He-
ning 1966: 12:4b-5a). Ji Dachun, who firstnotedthisconnection,has pointedout
thestrangeness of thisone-timerequestforan itemwithno clearmilitary or economic
value. The narrow-leaved oleasteris commonin Xinjiang, thus shippingit within
the regionseemsnonsensical(Ji 1985a:23-24). (Some Chinese-language versionsof
the Xiang Fei tale associateher with this tree,and in one sourcewe learnthatshe
loved to eat oleasterblossoms-they werethe sourceof hermarvelousscent. In the
Beijing opera Xiang Fei Hen, Xiang Fei has the character"sha" of shazaoshu,fora
surname.This may also be a referenceto her desertorigins[the characteralone
means"sand"Ior simplyan exotic-sounding detail[Anon. 19851. In a relatedUyghur
story,clearlyallegorical,the Khoja Afaq is said to have traveledto Beijing in 1663
witha narrow-leaved oleaster,thenunknownin Beijing. He exchangedthe treefor
bricktea, silk, china and otherproductsto bringback to Kashgar [Ai 1982:84-
851).
Anotherold Uyghurstoryabout Xiang Fei is that her remainswere brought
back to Kashgarin a funeralcortegeof thirty-two wagonsand 120 people, led by
her sister-in-law,the Manchu woman Su-de-xiang.With moneyfromQianlong,
Su-de-xiangrepairedthe Khoja Afaq mausoleumbeforeinterringXiang Fei there
(Ai 1982:84-85). If not to buryXiang Fei, the story-teller asks, what else was a
Manchu woman doing in Kashgar?
Many Uyghursin Kashgar now adamantlymaintainthat Iparhanwas indeed
buriedthere,not in Beijing. But as noted above, the Iparhantraditionseems not
to have been currentamongKashgarlikseven by theseconddecade of the twentieth
century.It is not clearexactlywhenUyghursbegan makingtheassociationbetween
the Khoja Afaq tomb and the Uyghurconcubineof a Qing emperor;however,the
name "Iparhan,"probablya loan translation of "Xiang Fei" (in Uyghur,iparmeans
"musk"; -hanis a commonfinalelementin women'snames), was not coined until
the mid-twentieth century.It seems likelythat the Uyghurstoriesof Iparhanare
rootedboth in the anonymousgirl of the Thrikh-iHamidi and the Han versions.
The martialimageryofthebathhousepicturemayhavebeenparticularly influential.
In anycase, overthepast fewdecades,heightenedUyghurethnicconsciousnessand
resentment of Han rule in Xinjiang has made Iparhana sortof mascotforUyghurs
seekingEasternTurkestaniindependence,at least thoseoutsideof China. In 1969
the Kazakh writerSabit Mukhanovpublished a poem in Alma Ata in which he
thankedUyghurfriendsfortheirhospitalityby invokingan unnamedUyghurgirl:
Thisgirlis nothearsay,arisingfroma dream,
norsomemagicfablebelievedin byfools.
This maidenis historical
and respected,
thewholeUyghurpeoplehavingseizedhernameas a flag.
The incidentwhichoccurredis realtruth,
I too bowmyheadin respect.
and certainly
Thismaiden,belovedand patriotic,
causingthepen to cometo me.14
lendsinspiration,
14The poem was published in the Uyghur newspaperKommunizm
Tugi [Banner of
In China, Iparhanbecamemorepoliticallychargedin the mid-1980s as a result

of a controversy over the filmversionof Jin Yong's novel, directedby the Hong
Kong directorXu Anhua in an expensivejoint production.The film tones down
the lake scene: Xiang Xiang, fullyclothed,is not bathingbut washingherhairby
the bank when Chen comes to waterhis horse.But the woman makeseyesat him
and singsa teasingsong, and the romancesoon begins. When thisfilmfirstopened
in centralChina, Uyghurstudentsin Xi'an protestedthat this and otherscenes
containedinaccurate and insultingportrayals ofUyghurwomen.Particularly upsetting
was Xiang Xiang's forwardness, her and her sister'sromancewith a Han, Chen
Jialuo, and Xiang Xiang's ablutionaryhabits-Uyghurs do not wash theirhair in
lakes.15 Chineseauthoritieswithdrewthe filmfromcirculation;it was nevershown
in Xinjiang.
Anotheremigrerepresentation of Iparhanmay reflectthe preferred Uyghurgloss
on the legend.SiirqiTurkestan awazi (Voice of EasternTurkestan),a separatistjournal
producedby the Uyghurcommunityin Istanbul,printedan illustrationof Iparhan
in its October 1989 issue (illustration3). The pictureis an adaptationof thefamous
bathhouseportrait,Xiang Fei in Armor,with a subtledifference: the facialfeatures
of the woman have been altered to removeany trace of Mongoloid appearance.
Whereasthe originalmodel could have been Manchu or Han, no such ambiguity
is possible about the Iparhandepictedhere, who looks out fromlarge roundeyes
underfirmlydrawnbrowslike a TurkicJoanof Arc. The captionbelow the picture
reinforces the image: "Ipar Han (Dilsad Hatun): the heroicTurkic womanwho in
the year 1760 struggledagainstthe Manchu-Chineseinvaders."
Xiang Fei Unveiled
The textsgeneratedin the Manchu courtportraynone of this defiance.Like

otherconsorts,Rong Fei is definedby ritual. There is no hint of conflictin the
recordof her life, and almost nothingto betrayany difference betweenher and
otherconcubines.Rong Fei's experience,as hererepresented,fitssmoothlyinto the
paradigmsthat definedthe Qing relationshipwith allied InnerAsian peoples.
The originalunofficial of Qianlong'sUyghurconsort,by contrast,
representations
are examplesof Chinese "orientalism,"and one need not accept all the arguments
of Edward Said's work to recognizeparallels betweenthe Xiang Fei legend and
nineteenthand twentieth-century Europeanculturalrepresentations of the Middle
Easternor Islamic woman. Xiang Fei sharescharacteristics with Salome (in one
story,Xiang Fei also danced fora monarch[Hedin 19331), Flaubert'sEgyptian
courtesan,Kuchuk Hanem ("the scentof her skin . . . drippingwith sandalwood"
[Said 1979:1871),Puccini'sTurandot,and, indeed,witha richtraditionof depictions
ofTurkishharemwomen,suchas theodalisquesofJeanLeonGerome,HenriMatisse,
Communism],in Alma Ata, July 1, 1969. ErkinAleptekin,an activeproponentof Uyghur

inde5pendence,providedme withthe reference; he assertsthatthe girl referred
to is Iparhan.
"Long-hairedwomen bathing outdoorshave become a stereotypicalimage in Chinese
portrayals thoseofDai (Thai) womenin the southwest.
ofminoritynationalities,particularly
The most famousexampleis Yuan Yunsheng'smural, WaterFestival,SongofLife,displayed
in the Beijing Capital Airportfrom1979 to 1980 (Cohen 1987:39-40).
... .... I
.......
...
..W
...... .
fD
*.,J t.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
. . ............
Illustration3. "lparhan,"coverof the emigre'Uyghurpublication,

awazi [Voice of EasternTurkestan)(1989, Vol. 6,
SadrqiTurkestan
No 3).
and others(Croutier1989). Titillatingdetailsin the Xiang Fei myth-her strange

beauty,marvelous odor,and exoticbathingcustoms-demonstrate thatthe"association
betweenthe Orient and sex" is not unique to Westernattitudes,but can appear
in East Asian attitudestowardthe "Orient"-wherever it is-as well.
In one regard,however,the Xiang Fei of the bathhousetext and otherearly
accountsdiffersfrommost of her cousins in European literature:although "the
Orientseemsstill to suggest[to Europeans]not onlyfecunditybut sexual promise
(and threat),untiringsensuality,unlimiteddesire,deep generativeenergies"(Said
1979:188), Xiang Fei, whilesexuallyalluringand dangerous,remainsunattainable,
hermarriageto Qianlong unconsummated and withoutissue. Her threatis not that
of unbridled,animal femininity to the enrapturedmale; rather,it is directand
violent-if the emperorcomes too close, she will stab him to death. If we adopt
Said's (and others')idea that Orientalismas a colonialistdiscourseoftenemploys
overtor latent sexual metaphorsto describethe conquest of the Orient and the
relationshipof rulingto subject peoples, Xiang Fei as a symbolof Xinjiang thus
portraysa conquest manque: her resistancemirrorsthat of her compatriotswho,
underthe leadershipof her Khoja relatives,rose regularlyagainstQing rule after
1826. The broad currencyenjoyedby the Xiang Fei mythamong the primarily
Han writersand readersof unofficialhistories,romances,notebooks,and the like,
reflectsnot onlya willingnessto depict the unfamiliarUyghursas exotic"others,"
but also an uncertainty about the place of this rebelliousand culturallynon-Han
territory in the empireand the nation.
In latermaterialsof the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, althoughXiang Fei is still
portrayedas an exotic, she is no longerquite so foreign.These narrativesimpart
to heremotionsof patriotismand love withwhichHan audiencessympathize.This
moreinclusiveapproachto the Uyghurconcubineparallelsideologicaljustifications
ofGuomindangand Communistregimesaimedat includingXinjiangand theUyghur
in the new Chinesestate. At the same time, a coolerattitudetowardthe Manchu
charactersin the Xiang Fei tale is in keepingwith the demonizationof Manchus
in Chinese nationalistdiscoursefrombefore1911 until veryrecently.
In Jin Yong's novel, the influenceof nationalistideologyreshapesthe Xiang
Fei storystill further.Jin adds racial dimensionsnot presentin earlierdepictions
of Xiang Fei's life, for the firsttime giving the Han a role in the conquest of
Xinjiang and courtshipof Xiang Fei, while paintingthe Manchus in dark colors.
Since the late 1970s, scholarsin China have revisedthe storyof Qianlong's
Uyghur concubine more radically, ironically echoing the original Manchu
representation of Rong Fei as a passiverecipientof imperialgiftsand promotions.
By eliminatingher tie to the "splitist"Afaqi Khojas and demystifying herperson,
scholarshave turnedher into a paragon of ethnicamity. Uyghurs,on the other
hand, haveresistedthismakeover,maintainingIparhan'sassociationwiththe Khoja
Afaq Mazar and by implicationher link to the Afaqi line. By borrowingthe Han
orientalistimage of Xiang Fei as warriorto reinforcethe legend of her resistance
to the Qing, theyhaveevenshiftedthevenueof thatresistance fromthe bedchamber
to the battlefield.
The implicationsof the Qing expansionof the physicaland ethnicboundaries
of China have not yet been fullyresolved.Han, initiallyleftout of the processof
expansion,have since 1911 been developingnew, inclusiveterritorial and national
definitionsof Chinaand theChineseto encompassterritories and nationalities
brought
together byManchusemploying verydifferent ofrule.Yet nationalidentities
principles
among peoples in what were until recentlynon-Chineseareas remaincontested,as
witnessedby the sporadicethnicand separatistprotestsin theseregionscontinuing

into the 1980s and 1990s. The currentcompetitionover the significanceof the
Uyghurconcubineis a reflection of this dispute.
Glossary
Amursana Jl l1,N Neiwufu 3
AnYuansi g
Parsa lti
Ba-lang pin _
Bandi 3HM wan 'I

ping'an L
Bao Yue Lou
Qianlongdi yuXiangFeiYuyuanxinglie
Burhan
ad-Din i
tu t 9-ViI
4*{t
ChangChunYuantu E Qingdongling Mpg
*
Chulietu 1? IJ
RongFei t4d
difeiyazeAj$h Pq ronghe r
FangWaiGuan } 4I shazaoshu i* t
fei 4d Sheng Shicai l t
~
fuguogongaip Su-de-xiang :
guifei 4d taiji '
guiren A Tao RanTing
gulunqi ;64C tatash 1t1ti?
guowangjiapo C tongbao PM1
he
tonghua rmJ
IL
fII
Turdi MN 9 (A)
huangguifei @Iad
HuiFei P1Id xiangzhongt:t
huiji PIL XiangFei t4d2
XiangFeirongzhuang
xiang
jiahua {?E
Jin-shun!!~J1N Ad
XiangFei Rf
qizhuang
xiang
Jing-lianAN XiangFeiyangzhuangxiang
kaishu e:
kaozheng IE Miao :
XiangNiangniang
'
KhojaAfaqMazar XiaoXiong
M or
F5JEAffl*MvfL XinHua Men ft ri
Khoja ErkeHuseinM*ffl* xunfu L((IA
KhojaJihan JR YangZengxin It i
Kiramet 0 !J W,V yeshi X t
Ko Hi ;:4d Yu De Tang i@&V
lienu 3,tiC Yuan Ying Guan i
LiuJintang J Zhao-hui # g
Mahmud 3f* zijing SV
minzu zuguo 3
minzutuanjie ; zuojinian Z
Zuo Zongtang tE
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A Uyghur Muslim in Qianlong's Court: The Meaning of the Fragant Concubine

Author(s): James A. Millward

IN TOKYO'S FASHIONABLE ROPPONGI CROSSING, just down the streetfromthe Al-

the imperialsuburbanretreat,theYuan Ming Yuan, withits baroqueannexinspired

Illustration1 ChangChun Yuan Tu (In the Gardenof Eternal

A key elementin the Xiang Fei tale as told in privatehistoriesis whetheror

Illustration2. Portraitof "Xiang Fei in EuropeanArmor"(Xiang Fei

("White Hat" or "White Mountain")branchthereafter establisheditselfin Kashgar

(vegetablesfriedwithonions). She apparentlycontinuedto wearherown Turkestani

Winter'sice looksoverthepondto thenorth;

On thisBeijinglake'ssouthern bank,resenting its remoteness,

Althoughthe references are opaque, the sense of melancholyis clearlya departure

complexin the ninthmonthof 1788, the ceremonyfollowingthe ritualprecedents

Consolidatingthe Khoja Alliance:

The romanticstoriesof Xiang Fei are not completelygroundless.A Uyghur

Qing took an identicalapproachin its relationswith importantManchu, Mongol,

The Han and the "New Dominion":

Given that the romanticizedXiang Fei differsin essentialrespectsfromRong

whileon an extendedand tediousstayin a Hunan inn, thatXiao wrotehis Xijiang

materialsto thisday, and somevisitorsare told thatlocal womenstillprayto Xiang

ofHanizationin Xinjiang, then,a culturalprocesswas also underway.Han Chinese

romanceswrittenin the 1920s, the treatmentof Xiang Fei remainsas in earlier

back, is forcedto fleewithhis brotherto Badakhshan.Therethe rulerof Badakhshan

Formerly, whileBurhanwas healthy and thecountryintact,althoughtherewere

She thenberatesherarmyforcowardiceand herofficialdom foravarice,self-interest,

(1937-39:3:28), and Eminent ChineseoftheCh'ingPeriod(Hummel 1970:74). The

Qianlong: (Witha smile)I hearKhojaJihanmarried a beautiful

In themeantime,however,QianlongconquersWei and capturesthelovelyprincess.

Miss Minzu Tuanjie:

The Manchus based theirrule in China properand InnerAsia on a varietyof

by theirinheritanceof the multiethnicQing empireearlyin theirrule. A particular

That thereare fivepeoples designatedin China . . . is not due to difference

nationalrepublics,China's autonomousregionsare not constitutionally grantedthe

XiangFei andherwholefamily madea definitecontribution

So farI have examinedthe Xiang Fei traditiononly as relayedthroughtexts

knewabout Xiang Fei. It also intersects intriguinglywiththeprintedQing historical

In China, Iparhanbecamemorepoliticallychargedin the mid-1980s as a result

Xiang Fei Unveiled

The textsgeneratedin the Manchu courtportraynone of this defiance.Like

Communism],in Alma Ata, July 1, 1969. ErkinAleptekin,an activeproponentof Uyghur

Illustration3. "lparhan,"coverof the emigre'Uyghurpublication,

and others(Croutier1989). Titillatingdetailsin the Xiang Fei myth-her strange

witnessedby the sporadicethnicand separatistprotestsin theseregionscontinuing

Bandi 3HM wan 'I

GLADNEY, DRU. 1991. MuslimChinese:EthnicNationalism in thePeople'sRepublic.

Liu, KWANG-CHING. 1980. "The MilitaryChallenge: The Northwestand the

Sdrqi Turkestan awazi [Voice of EasternTurkestan}. 1989. Vol. 6, No. 23.

YANG ZENGXIN. 192 1. "Zhiling guwenyuanYusufubingzhengXiang Fei Mazha

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