Jerjer, of the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, was the consort of Hong Taiji. She was seven years his junior. Jerjer was empress consort of Qing from 1636 until her husband's death in 1643, after which she was known as Empress dowager. She was posthumously honoured with the title Empress Xiaoduanwen.

Hong Taiji, also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin dynasty and the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty. He was responsible for consolidating the empire that his father Nurhaci had founded and laid the groundwork for the conquest of the Ming dynasty, although he died before this was accomplished. He was also responsible for changing the name of the Jurchens to "Manchu" in 1635, and changing the name of his dynasty from "Great Jin" to "Great Qing" in 1636. Hong Taiji could have been a Manchu of Mongolian origin, being the son of Yehe Nara Monggo Jerjer, or genetically related to the Mongols as a member of the Aisin-Gioro clan.