The real-life status of Ham Huong - Concubine was greatly favored by the Qianlong King

Ham Huong, also known as Huong Fei, is a beautiful concubine who emits an attractive scent, is greatly favored by King Qing Cao Tong Qianlong and is his rare unrequited love.

In the film Hoan Chau Cach Way, Princess Ham Huong of Huigang is deeply in love with the warrior Mong Dan but is not accepted by her father. In order to live together, the lovers ran away 7 times but were arrested each time because they were "denounced" by the strange scent emanating from her body.

After dividing the kingdom, the king of Huigang offered his daughter to the Qianlong Emperor to increase relations. Forced to become a Qing concubine, Ham Xiang, although favored by the Qianlong King, was always melancholy because he could not forget his love affair with Mongdan.

Touched by Ham Xiang's turbulent love story, Xiao Yanzi and Xia Ziyu risked a death that "turned into a butterfly" to help her reunite with the warrior Mongolian.

Unlike the character in the movie Hoan Chau Cach Way, the real-life Ham Huong has many different stories and details. According to historian Zhong Lin, Xiang Fei, whose real name was Yi Maharhan, was born around 1745, into a poor family of Hui, Uighur people in Thirsty, Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

The story goes that in 1759, Qianlong sent a large army to conquer the Hui tribe in Xinjiang, hearing that the Hui leader had a concubine, the beautiful and talented Xiang Fei, so he sent his deputy Zhao Hui to bring her back to Jing.

On the way back to the capital to enter the palace, Imashan was carefully escorted. He even bathed daily with camel milk, so as not to lose his mysterious fragrance.

After arriving at the Forbidden City, she immediately launched Qianlong. And not unexpectedly, her scent plus beauty immediately made this Heavenly Prince fall in love. Yi Khan was immediately made Xiang Fei and almost became a charismatic concubine in the Qing Harem at that time.

But she was in Beijing day and night remembering her hometown, she still remembered her husband Huo Xi Chen back home, so she was unhappy every day, she was like a steppe bird besieged in the forbidden palace.

She didn't bother to eat or drink, didn't bother to communicate with anyone, even when she met Qianlong, she didn't bother to officiate. Qianlong saw this, but also loved her more, looking for ways to please the beauty. He immediately made her Xiang Fei and went to live in Xianyuan.

At first, Qianlong thought she was sad because she missed her homeland, so she ordered the servants to serve Huong Fei in the traditional Hui style, from food to costumes, and even built a Muslim altar in Western Yuan. However, Xiang Fei, because he missed Huo Xichen, insisted on rejecting Qianlong.

The matter reached the Empress Dowager's ears, and she was worried about the emperor when she saw that Xiang Fei was still so rebuffed. The Empress Dowager thought that Xiang Fei could no longer be present in the palace without submission, so she advised the king to send her back to her hometown or grant her a satisfactory death. On one occasion when the king went on an offense, she sent someone to give the silk strip to Huong Fei.

When he returned, Qianlong was pained to see that Xiang Fei had become a celestial man. From then until the end of his life, although he favored many other concubines, he always suffered in the heart of this love. Legend has it that on the outskirts of Beijing today there is still a tomb believed to be of Xiang Fei, on which is engraved a poem of grief.

Chinese archaeologists have proven that the image of Ham Xiang was modeled after Dung Fei, one of the concubines of the Qianlong King. This is a real figure in Chinese history. History records that King Qianlong had more than 40 concubines, including one ethnic Hui, Dung Fei.

However, Dung Fei actually did not exude a strange incense like the legend of the world. Because Dung Fei is from Xinjiang, she especially likes to use aromatherapy. In addition, Dung Fei likes apple blossoms, which he carries with him every day. This flower has a special and rare fragrance of Zhongyuan, so it is misunderstood by the harem as the aunt who gives off the fragrance.

There is also a story that when Dung Fei entered the palace, the Southern lychee tree planted in the palace that year suddenly sent more than 200 fruits. This was considered a good omen, so she was already favored by the Qianlong King and was now even more respected.

She was so loved that on the way to Beijing, Xiang Fei made 3 conditions with the Qianlong King. First, Muslim-style architecture must be built for her residence. Secondly, she wanted to take her brother Ji Yigong together to stay in Beijing. Third, after death, it is requested to return to the homeland for burial. The Qianlong Emperor accepted it all.

Dung Fei gave birth to two sons, who were very loved by the Qianlong King. At the age of 37, Dung Fei died leaving Qianlong and his two sons deeply distressed. The Qianlong King kept his promise, personally and 120 soldiers brought her to be buried in his hometown and buried in the family mausoleum - Apak Khoja Mausoleum (now in Tuanhua, Hebei province, China).

Until now, the truth about the life of the concubine Ham Huong who was deeply favored by the Qianlong King has always been a mystery of history. No one can be sure if she had a body that emitted a scent, who she was before entering the palace and whether the tombs believed to be her burial place somewhere around China were real or just erected by the latter to fit the legend.

Ham Huong tomb was excavated after 100 years and the mystery of the heavenly scent was answered for the first time Uyển Đình16:39:52 21/12/2023When Chinese archaeologists excavated the tomb, it emitted a fragrant scent, raising suspicions that this was the burial place of Princess Ham Huong. However, the conclusions about famous women in Chinese history surprised everyone.