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Empress Gi

Type Figure Region China Time c. 1315–1369 Also known as Lady Gi、Empress Gi (Goryeo)

Empress Gi (c. 1315–1369), from Heungju in Goryeo, entered the Yuan court as a tribute woman around 1331, became a favored consort of Shun Emperor by…

Timeline

  1. 1331–1333Dadu · DaduAround 1331, sixteen-year-old Lady Gi entered Dadu with a group of Goryeo tribute women, initially serving as a tea-room maid. Her beauty and intelligence won Shun Emperor's favor, and by around 1333, around his accession, she had risen to the rank of consort, known as Lady Gi.
  2. 1333–1338Dadu · DaduShun Emperor wished to make Lady Gi secondary empress, but Yuan regulations required the secondary empress to come from a Mongol noble lineage; Grand Chancellor Bayan and Dowager Empress Budashiri strongly opposed. In 1335 Boroghul was enthroned as principal empress, while Lady Gi remained a consort, gradually accumulating harem influence through her closeness to the emperor.
  3. 1339Dadu · DaduIn 1339 Lady Gi bore Toghon Temür's eldest son Ayushiridara (later Crown Prince, posthumously Emperor Zhao of Northern Yuan). The prince's birth gave the emperor the crucial basis to overcome court objections and, in 1340, enthroned Lady Gi as secondary empress (Öljei Khutuk).

Sources