Empress Gi

Empress Gi or Empress Ki (Hangul: 기황후, Hanja: 奇皇后; 1315–1370(?)), also known as Empress Qi or Öljei Khutuk (Mongolian: Өлзийхутаг; ), was a Goryeo-born empress consort of the Yuan dynasty. She was one of the primary empresses of Toghon Temür (Emperor Huizong), and the mother of Biligtü Khan (Emperor Zhaozong), who would become an emperor of the Northern Yuan dynasty. Gi was originally from an aristocratic family of the Goryeo dynasty, and first served as concubine of Toghon Temür. During the last years of the Yuan dynasty, she became one of its most powerful women and political figures, controlling the country economically and politically, and ruling with de facto imperial powers. Biography Empress Gi was born in Haengju (행주, 幸州; modern Goyang), Goryeo to a lower-ranked aristocratic family of bureaucrats. Her father was Gi Ja-oh. In 1333, the teenage Lady Gi was among the concubines sent to Yuan by the Goryeo king, who had to provide a certain number of beautiful teenage girls to serve as concubines of the Yuan emperor once every three years. It was considered prestigious to marry Goryeo women. Extremely beautiful and skilled at dancing, conversation, singing, poetry, and calligraphy, Lady Gi quickly became the favorite concubine of Toghon Temür. He fell in love with her, and it was soon noted that he was spending far more time in her company than he was with the first empress Danashiri. The primary empress Danashiri was executed on 22 July 1335 in a purge because of the rebellion of her brother Tangqishi. When Toghon Temür tried to promote Lady Gi to secondary wife, which was contrary to the standard practice of only taking secondary wives from the Mongol clans, it created such opposition at court to this unheard of promotion for a Goryeo woman that he was forced to back down. Bayan, who held the real power in Yuan, opposed the promotion of Lady Gi as did the Empress Dowager, who considered Lady Gi to be cunning. In 1339, when Lady Gi gave birth to a son, Ayushiridara, whom Toghon Temür decided would be his successor, he was finally able to have Lady Gi named as his secondary wife (in 1340). As the favorite wife of the emperor, Lady Gi was a very powerful woman in Yuan. When Bayan was purged, Lady Gi became the secondary empress in 1340 (the primary empress was Bayan Khutugh of the Khongirad). Toghon Temür increasingly lost interest in governing as his reign continued.