Shunzhi Emperor
) begin_reign=Oct. 30,
1644¹ | end_reign=Feb. 5,
1661| dynasty=
Qing (清)
Cing| given_name=Fulin (福臨)
Fulin| temple_name=Shizu (世祖)
Šidzu| era_name=Shunzhi (順治)
Ijishūn Dasan| notes=
General note: Names given in Chinese, then in Manchu (full posthumous name is in Chinese only).
"""
Dates given here are in the Gregorian calendar.
"""
1. Was emperor of Manchuria between Oct. 8, 1643-Oct. 30, 1644. Officially proclaimed emperor of China on Oct. 30, 1644.The
Shunzhi Emperor (
March 15,
1638–
February 5,
1661?) was the second
emperor of the
Manchu Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over
China proper from
1644 to
1661.
He ascended to the throne aged five (six according to
traditional Chinese age reckoning) in
1643 upon the death of his father,
Huang Taiji, but actual power during the early part of his reign lay in the hands of the appointed regents, Princes
Dorgon and Jirgalang. With the Qing pacification of the former Ming provinces almost complete, he died still a young man, although in circumstances that have lent themselves to rumour and speculation.
In the midst of much upheaval, the Manchus seized control of Beijing in June
1644, and in October of the same year the Shunzhi emperor's uncle, the chief regent Prince, proclaimed the Qing dynasty to be the legitimate successor to the
Ming Dynasty. Therefore, although the Shunzhi emperor was not the founder of the Qing dynasty, he was the first Qing emperor of China.
His mother was the
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang who was an excellent politician during the period. The young emperor disliked his uncle, the chief regent Prince
Dorgon, and after Dorgon's death in
1650 the emperor stripped both him and Dorgon's brother,
Dodo, of their titles, although he was only 12 years old at the time.
During his short reign, the Shunzhi emperor encouraged the
Han Chinese to participate in government activities. He was a scholar and employed Han Chinese to teach his children. He was also an open minded emperor and relied on the advice of
Johann Adam Schall von Bell 湯若望, a Jesuit from
Germany, for guidance ranging from
astronomy, technologies, to tips for governing an empire. Shunzhi also elevated Schall to his personal mentor and was given free access to the palace.
The emperor married his mother's niece, but demoted the empress several years later. In 1661, Shunzhi's favourite concubine Dong suddenly died as a result of grief over the loss of a child. Overwhelmed with grief himself, Shunzhi contracted
smallpox and died shortly thereafter. He was only 24. Before he died, he appointed four regents govern for his child son,
Hiowan Yei -
Oboi,
Sonin,
Suksaha, and
Ebilun.
According to official sources, the Shunzhi Emperor died in
1661 of
smallpox. It was also believed by some that the young emperor did not pass away but left the palace to become a monk. He was interred in the
Eastern Qing Tombs (清東陵), 125 kilometers/75 miles east of Beijing, in the Xiaoling (孝陵) mausoleum complex (known in
Manchu as the Hiyoošungga Munggan).
Huang Taiji had changed the name of the dynasty from Later Jin to Qing in 1636 because of the fraternal struggles and skirmishes between brothers and half brothers for the throne. According to Taoist philosophy,the name Jin has the meaning of metal and fire in its constituent,thereby igniting the tempers of the brothers of the Manchu Royal household into open conflicts and wars.Huangtaiji therefore adopted the new name of Qing 清, the chinese character of which has the water symbol [ 3 strokes ] on its left hand side. The name, which means clear and transparent, with its water symbol was hoped to put out the feud among the brothers of the Manchu Royal household.
*Father:
Huang Taiji, emperor of Manchuria (of whom
Fulin was the 9th son)
*Mother: concubine Zhuang, who later became the
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (
Manchu: Hiyoošungga Ambalinggū Genggiyenšu Hūwanghu), the daughter of a
Mongol prince of the
Borjigit clan (the descendants of
Chinggis Khan's brother
Jöchi Khasar)
*Grandmother: Empress Monggu, from the
Yehenara clan.
*Grandfather:
Nurhaci, founder of the
Later Jinn dynasty (
Qing)
*Consorts:#The Demoted Empress (廢后), from the
Borjigit clan, niece of
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, demoted in
1653#
Empress Xiaohui Zhang (;
Manchu: Hiyoošungga Fulehun Eldembuhe Hūwanghu) (d.
1718) from the Borjigit clan, made empress in
1654#Concubine from the
Tunggiya clan (1640-1663). Her family was of Jurchen origin but lived among Chinese for generations. It had Chinese family name Tong (佟) but switched to the Manchu clan name Tunggiya. She was made
Empress Dowager Cihe (慈和皇太后) in
1661 when Kangxi became emperor. She is known posthumously as
Empress Xiaokang Zhang (;
Manchu: Hiyoošungga Nesuken Eldembuhe Hūwanghu).#
Wanru, Concubine from the
Donggo clan (d.
1660), the concubine with whom Shunzhi was madly in love, posthumously raised to
Empress Xiaoxian Duanjing (孝獻端敬皇后).
*Famous Concubine:The famous concubine, nee Wanru from the Donggo clan, was the person that all the other concubines and the empress were the most jealous of. She was not a pure blooded Manchu or Mongol and was older than the emperor by seven years, but she was the one that the emperor loved the most. Her son died after a month of birth because the empress/another concubine gave him items from a prince who was sick with small pox, to prevent "tainting of the blood line". Then the young cocubine later died of over exhaustion and extreme depression over her lost son. A short while after she died, the emperor died of small pox. But it is rumored that he became a monk.
*Children:# (牛鈕)#
Fuquan(福全)#
Xuanye(玄燁) # noname, but created Prince Rong, died young#
Changning(常寧)# (奇綬)# (隆禧)# (永干)
**6 daughters (5 died young)
