To Ma Lat - Palace maidens never bathed, but when they died, they were mourned by Emperor Kangxi

Despite having a fairly mediocre background, To Ma Lat was the most special palace lady of the Manchu Dynasty when she was respected by Emperor Kangxi as her biological mother.

To Ma Lat was born into a poor family in the great grassland of Khor Tham. Her real name is To Mat Nhi or To Mat Er, which in Mongolian means "bag made of fur". At the end of the Thuan Tri period, at the beginning of the Khang Hy period, she changed to the Man Thanh name To Ma Lat which means "medium pocket". Originally just a palace maid serving the Empress Dowager, the whole Qing dynasty, including the emperor, empress, prince and princess... all respectfully called her To Ma Lat.

Despite coming from a poor background, To Ma Lat is very beautiful and smart. Therefore, the confused housekeeper of Bat Er Te Cat Tec Bo chose her as a maidservant in the manner of Moc Bo Thai - who later became the famous Empress Dowager Hieu Trang in the history of the Qing Dynasty. To Ma Lat himself, after entering the palace, also made a strong impression because of his studiousness. It took only a few months for her to become fluent in Manchu and Chinese. Not only that, To Ma Lat is also famous for his ability to write Manchu script as beautiful as a template. Because of this advantage, Empress Dowager Hieu Trang chose To Ma Lat as the first Manchu teacher for her grandson Khang Hy. Emperor Kangxi himself also repeatedly admitted that he wrote such beautiful handwriting thanks to the merit of To Ma Lat's teaching.

Her portrait of To Malat (Photo: Internet)

Not only smart, To Ma Lat is also very skillful, especially in sewing. Any clothes that passed through her hands made everyone admire. The later precious vestments of the Qing royal family were made based on the original model and design of To Ma Lat.

Although To Ma Lat was a palace maid from a poor background, Empress Dowager Hieu Trang always considered her as her own sister. For 60 years, the two have never left each other half a step. Especially after Hoang Tai Chi - the founding king of the Qing Dynasty - died. At that time, Empress Dowager Hieu Trang was only 31 years old. To Ma Lat, because he loved the Empress, had to be widowed when he was too young, so he decided not to marry for the rest of his life, staying in the palace to follow his master.

To Ma Lat's position in the royal family was so special that Empress Dowager Hieu Trang called her a way - a title for high-status girls in the royal family, Emperor Thuan Tri always kept etiquette when talking to Su. Lama and Khang Hy Emperor called her "Ngoc Niang" (the way to call her mother in Manchu), the princes and princesses of Khang Hy called To Ma Lat "grandmother". What makes people respect To Ma Lat most of all is that although she is respected by the whole royal family, she has never shown any pride, greed for power or publicity.

Portrait of the Empress Dowager Hieu Trang (Photo: Internet)

Khang Hy ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Hieu Trang became Empress Dowager Queen and expressed her wish to upgrade To Ma Lat's rank. However, To Malat refused because she just wanted to be a palace maid serving the royal family. To Ma Lat followed Queen Mother Hieu Trang until her master's death in the 26th year of Kangxi (1687). At that time, To Ma Lat was more than 70 years old.

Hieu Trang's death made To Ma Lat so sad that he fell ill and could not eat or drink by himself. Because of her concern for To Ma Lat, Khang Hy decided to entrust the twelfth brother of Dan Dao - Dinh Phi's son, then only 3 years old - to To Ma Lat to raise. Although according to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, only those with the rank of Qin and above could raise a prince. Thanks to Khang Hy's heart, To Ma Lat has more motivation to live and devote to the royal family. She devoted all her efforts to taking care of Prince Yintao.

Thanks to the careful upbringing of To Ma Lat, Prince Yin Dao is healthier and more liberal than many of his brothers. Growing up, he became one of the princes most respected by Emperor Kangxi because of his intelligence and broad vision. While the other princes were all caught up in the battle for the throne, Yin Tao stood in a neutral position. That's why after Ung Chinh ascended the throne, not only was Yin Dao not shunned, but he was also crowned the Duke and then the Prince. Among the 35 princes of Kangxi, Yin Tao is also the oldest living to 79 years old.

However, history records that To Ma Lat has two strange habits that make people most curious. One is that she is fond of Buddhism, and is often vegetarian in her old age. In the last years of her life, she did not bathe, except on the day of the death, she bathed and drank the bath water herself, which was considered a form of repentance.

Second, her whole life she never took medicine, even when she was seriously ill, she refused to take it. No one understood why To Ma Lat kept this habit for decades even though she had the privilege of enjoying the luxury of the forbidden palace. Just know that To Ma Lat has always lived a healthy life to more than 90 years old.

In the 44th year of Khang Hy (1705), To Ma Lat fell seriously ill and died. Khang Hy was on patrol at that time, and when he heard the news, he wrote a letter to tell the princes not to enter the burial so that he could see To Ma Lat for the last time.

This is also the first time in Chinese history, the king has mourned a court lady. Khang Hy took care of To Ma Lat's funeral by himself. Throughout the palace, everyone was saddened to see her passing.

To Ma Lat's coffin is also specially placed near the coffin of Queen Mother Hieu Trang Thai. After Ung Chinh ascended the throne, in addition to building a mausoleum for Empress Dowager Hieu Trang, he also built To Ma Lat's tomb nearby, which took nearly 5 months to complete.

After the alliance of eight countries attacked Beijing, her tomb was also affected. However, part of her tomb still exists and is a place that attracts many tourists. Because anyone who has ever heard the story of To Ma Lat's life wishes to visit and remember the most special palace lady in Chinese history.

Empress Dowager Cixi forced the palace lady to hold water in her mouth when she went to the toilet, a peculiar hobby or some other reason? Minh Lợi18:29:25 09/09/2023Going to the toilet was a relatively private thing in everyone's eyes, but Empress Dowager Xu Xi brought the palace lady with her. Not only that, this Empress Dowager also asked the palace lady to hold water in her mouth with the purpose of being extremely surprised.