| Empress Xiaokangzhang | |
| Empress Dowager Cihe | |
| Succession: | Empress dowager of the Qing dynasty |
| Reign: | 5 February 1661 – 20 March 1663 |
| Reign-Type: | Tenure |
| Predecessor: | Empress Dowager Zhaosheng |
| Successor: | Empress Dowager Renxian (as the sole empress dowager) |
| Birth Date: | (崇德五年) |
| Death Date: | (康熙二年 二月 十一日) |
| Death Place: | Forbidden City, Beijing |
| Burial Place: | Xiao Mausoleum, Eastern Qing tombs |
| Consort: | yes |
| Issue: | Kangxi Emperor |
| Posthumous Name: | Empress Xiaokang Cihe Zhuangyi Gonghui Wenmu Duanjing Chongtian Yusheng Zhang (孝康慈和莊懿恭惠溫穆端靖崇天育聖章皇后) |
| House: | Tong (佟氏), later Tunggiya (佟佳氏; by birth) Aisin-Gioro (by marriage) |
| Father: | Tulai |
| Mother: | Lady Gioro |
Empress Xiaokangzhang (1638 – 20 March 1663), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Tunggiya clan, was the concubine of the Shunzhi Emperor and mother of the Kangxi Emperor during the Qing dynasty. She was honoured as Empress Dowager Cihe during the reign of her son and was posthumously honoured as empress, although she never held the rank during her lifetime.
Empress Xiaokangzhang's personal name was not recorded in history. Her family originally belonged to the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner.
The Han Chinese Tong (佟) clan of Fushun in Liaoning falsely claimed to be related to the Manchu Tunggiya (佟佳) clan of Jilin, using this false claim to get themselves transferred to a Manchu banner in the reign of the Kangxi Emperor.[1]
In 1653, Lady Tong entered the Forbidden City and became a concubine of the Shunzhi Emperor. She never received any title or rank during his reign. On 4 May 1654, she gave birth to the emperor's third son, Xuanye.
When the Shunzhi Emperor died on 5 February 1661, Xuanye was chosen to be the new emperor and was enthroned as the Kangxi Emperor. As the biological mother of the reigning emperor, Lady Tong was honoured as "Holy Mother, Empress Dowager Cihe".
Lady Tong died on 20 March 1663. Her death was reportedly due to an unknown illness but the circumstances surrounding her death were suspicious.[2] Although she had never been empress during the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, she was granted the posthumous title "Empress Xiaokangzhang". She was interred in the Xiao Mausoleum alongside the Shunzhi Emperor and Consort Donggo.