Consort Dun

Who was Consort Dun?

Consort Dun was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

Consort Dun was born of the Manchu Wang clan. Her personal name is unknown. Her father was Sige, a commander of the Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners. Lady Wang entered the Forbidden City in 1762 during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. She was chosen to join the imperial harem and was given the rank of First Class Female Attendant Yong. In 1770 she was promoted to the position of Imperial Concubine Dun.

In 1775 Lady Wang gave birth to the Qianlong Emperor's tenth daughter Gurun Princess Hexiao. The Qianlong Emperor was very fond of the princess and he started showing favour towards Lady Wang. A year later in 1776, Lady Wang was elevated to the status of Consort Dun.

In 1778 Lady Wang had a palace maid severely beaten for making a minor mistake and the maid died from her injuries. Homicide was a grave offence under the laws of the Qing Dynasty and Lady Wang ought to be harshly punished. However, in consideration of how Gurun Princess Hexiao would be affected if her mother was heavily penalised, the Qianlong Emperor eventually decided to demote Lady Wang to the rank of Imperial Concubine Dun.