Dynasties of ChinaQing dynastyQing dynasty lineage
Tiancong · Chongde · Reign 1626—1643
The name of the tribe was changed to Manchuria and the name of the country was changed to Qing Dynasty. A central government system was established imitating the Ming Dynasty. It united with Mongolia and recruited Han people, paving the way for the Qing army to enter the customs.
Hong Taiji is the eighth son of Nurhaci, and his biological mother is Yehenarashi Menggu. He fought with his father in his early years and was one of the four Baylors. After Nurhaci died in 1626, he was elected by Zhubeile to succeed the Khan throne, and he was changed to Yuan Tiancong the following year. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he sat in the court with the three great bele Dai Shan, Amin, and Mang Gurtai, and his power was greatly restricted.
He gradually reduced the power of the three major Baylors. In 1632, he abolished the system of sitting side by side and realized the "independent sitting in the south". He also established the Wenguan, Liubu, Duchayuan and Lifanyuan, reused Han civil servants such as Fan Wencheng, and established the Eight Mongolian Banners and the Eight Han Army Banners. They sent troops to North Korea twice, forcing it to sever its vassal relationship with Ming Dynasty; conquered Chahar, and Monan Mongolian tribes surrendered; they also detoured to Mongolia many times and entered the hinterland of Ming Dynasty. In 1635, the family name was changed to Manchuria. In 1636, he proclaimed himself emperor in Shengjing and changed the country's name to Qing Dynasty.
Beginning in 1640, he besieged and defeated the main force of the Ming army in the Battle of Songjin, captured Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, and Ming Dynasty's defense line outside the pass collapsed. In August 1643, Hong Taiji died suddenly in Qingning Palace in Shengjing. He did not designate an heir during his lifetime, and various kings competed for the throne. Finally, his ninth son Fulin, who was only six years old, succeeded him.
Hong Taiji is the real founder of the Qing dynasty state system. He weakened the Eight Banners Baylor co-governance, established a central government office imitating the Ming Dynasty, organized the Mongolian and Han armies into the Eight Banners, united the Mongols, recruited the Han people, and transformed a tribal regime into a multi-ethnic dynasty. However, he repeatedly entered the fortress and plundered, bringing serious disasters to the people of North China; the inheritance system was unclear after his death, which almost led to civil strife.
PoliticsInherit the throne
After Nurhaci died of illness, Dai Shan and his son took the lead in recommending Hong Taiji, and Zhu Beile unanimously supported him. He became the Khan in September and changed to Yuan Tiancong the following year. After he ascended the throne, he sat in charge of the government together with the three great Beile. The three great Beile took turns handling government affairs on a monthly basis, and the Khan's power was still restricted.
MilitaryConquest of Korea and the Battle of Ningjin
In the first month of the first month, he sent Amin to send troops to North Korea, forcing North Korea and Hou Jin to form a "brotherly country", which is known as the Battle of Dingmao in history. In May, he personally led the army to attack Ningyuan and Jinzhou, but was repelled by Yuan Chonghuan. The Hou Jin army suffered heavy losses.
CultureEstablish a library
He set up a literary library, ordered Da Hai and others to translate Chinese classics such as "Ming Huidian", and ordered Kuertang and others to record the political affairs of the dynasty. The Wen Guan later expanded into the Third Inner Academy and became the central secretarial agency in the early Qing Dynasty.
MilitaryChanges in Ji Si
In October, he personally led the army to bypass Mongolia, break through the Great Wall from the Zunhua area, and march to the gates of Beijing. Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Ming Ji Liao who rushed to the rescue, was imprisoned by Emperor Chongzhen for collaborating with the enemy and executed the next year. It is said that he fell into Hong Taiji's counterintuitive plan.
Science & technologyForged into a red cannon
Learning from the two failures of Ningyuan and Ningjin, he ordered Tong Yangxing to lead the Han craftsmen to imitate the Western red cannon. After it was cast, it was named "General Tianyou Energizing General" and an artillery unit was formed to be manned by the Han army.
PoliticsEstablish six departments
Modeled on the Ming dynasty system, six departments were established: official, household, ritual, military, criminal, and industrial. Each department was headed by a Baylor general manager, with Manchu, Han, and Mongolian administration under it. The ruling institutions of the Later Jin Dynasty began to move from the Eight Banners to the central bureaucracy.
MilitaryBattle of Daling River
After a long siege of the newly built Daling River City by the Ming army, the city ran out of food and the guard general Zu Dashou surrendered. Zu Dashou then fled back to Jinzhou in the name of false surrender, but Hou Jin used this battle to test the power of the newly cast artillery.
PoliticsSitting alone in the south
Previously, Amin had been imprisoned and Mang Gurtai had been removed from the title of Great Beile. Dai Shan also asked for concessions, so he abolished the old system of sitting together with the three great Beile and replaced him with Hong Taiji, who "sits alone in the south". The power of the Khan was greatly strengthened.
CultureDa Hai improved Manchu
Da Hai was ordered to improve the old Manchu script by adding circles around the letters to distinguish the originally difficult-to-distinguish pronunciations, and adding special letters for spelling Chinese borrowed words, which was historically known as "dotted Manchu script" or "new Manchu script".
Lasting legacyThe Manchu script that has been in use for nearly three hundred years since then has been this new Manchu script. The Manchu and Chinese plaques in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Forbidden City in Shenyang are written in this style.
PeopleKong Youde and Geng Zhongming came to surrender
Former Ming Dynasty Dengzhou rebel generals Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led their troops to surrender from the sea, bringing warships, Western artillery and gunnery techniques. The following year Shang Kexi also led his troops to surrender, and the three later became an important force in the Qing army's march south.
PoliticsNamed Shengjing
Shenyang was renamed Shengjing and Hetuala was renamed Xingjing. During the Tiancong period, palaces such as Chongzheng Hall, Phoenix Tower, and Qingning Palace were built one after another, which together with the Dazheng Hall in the Nurhaci period formed a complete palace complex.
Lasting legacyThe Shenyang Forbidden City was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 2004 as an expansion project of the "Ming & Qing Palace". Together with the Forbidden City in Beijing, it is the two largest existing palace complexes in China.
MilitaryConquer Chahar
After sending troops to Chahar many times, Lin Dan Khan fled westward and died of illness in Qinghai in 1634. The following year, his son Ezhe led his troops to surrender and presented the "treasure of imperial edicts" said to be Yuan Dynasty's national jade seal. From then on, all Monan Mongolian tribes surrendered to Hou Jin.
Lasting legacyThe Qing government subsequently implemented the alliance flag system in Monan Mongolia. Today, Inner Mongolia still uses "flag" as its county-level administrative division, such as Horqin Right Front Banner, Otok Banner, etc.
PoliticsChanged clan name to Manchurian
In October, an order was issued to use "Manchu" as the clan name and no longer to call it Zhushen, in order to unify the identity of the old and new tribes. In the same year, the surrendered Mongols were organized into the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and the Eight Banners of the Han Army were gradually organized in the following years.
Lasting legacyToday's Manchu people got their name from this. According to the seventh national census in 2020, the Manchu population is approximately 10.42 million, ranking among the highest among ethnic minorities in China.
PoliticsProclaimed emperor and changed the name of the country to Qing Dynasty
In April, he accepted the title of emperor from the Manchu, Mongolian and Han officials in Shengjing. He changed the country's name to Qing Dynasty and Yuan Chongde. In the same year, the Metropolitan Procuratorate was established, and in 1638, the Mongolian Yamen was changed to the Lifan Yuan, which was responsible for the affairs of Mongolia and other frontiers.
MilitaryBattle of Bingzi
Because North Korea refused to surrender, he personally led an army to cross the Yalu River and besieged the King of North Korea in Namhan Mountain Fortress. In the first month of the following year, King Injo of Joseon went out of the city to surrender, severed the vassal relationship with Ming Dynasty, changed his name to Qing Dynasty Zhengshuo, and sent the prince as a hostage.
Lasting legacyNorth Korea was forced to erect the "Monument of Merit and Virtue of the Qing Emperor" at Samtiandu, the place where they surrendered. This monument now exists in Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea.
Militarymultiple penetrations
He successively sent Azig, Duo Ergun, Abatai and others to lead their armies to break through the Great Wall via Mongolia, penetrate deeply into Gyeonggi and Shandong, and conquered Jinan in 1639. The Qing army often plundered hundreds of thousands of people and livestock each time, and the northern part of Ming Dynasty was severely damaged.
MilitaryConquer the tribe of Sauron
He sent troops to the middle and upper reaches of Heilongjiang, defeated and captured Bomubogor, the leader of the Sauron tribe, and brought the local Ewenki, Daur and other tribes under his rule. Qing Dynasty's control over the Heilongjiang basin was greatly strengthened.
MilitaryBattle of Songjin
The Qing army besieged Jinzhou, and Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty, led eight general soldiers and an army of 130,000 to come to the rescue. Hong Taiji personally went to the front line and cut off its food routes, and the Ming army was defeated. After Hong Chengchou was captured in Songshan, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Jinzhou guard Zu Dashou surrendered again.
PoliticsSudden death in Qingning Palace
He died suddenly in the Qingning Palace in Shengjing on the night of the ninth day of August. He was fifty-two years old and no heir was designated during his lifetime. The eldest son Haoge competed with the emperor's younger brother Duo Ergun for the throne, and finally it was agreed that Fulin, who was six years old, would be assisted by Duo Ergun and Ji Erhalang.
Lasting legacyHong Taiji was buried in Zhaoling, Shenyang, where Beiling Park is today. In 2004, it was listed as a World Cultural Heritage together with Fuling and Yongling as an extension of the "Ming & Qing Royal Mausoleum".
The fourteenth son of Nurhaci, the younger brother of Hong Taiji. He once led the army to conquer Chahar and obtained the "treasure of imperial edicts". In 1636, he was granted the title of Prince Rui and took charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He led the troops into the fortress and participated in the Battle of Songjin, with outstanding military exploits. After Hong Taiji died, he competed with Hao Ge for the throne and eventually supported Fulin.
A native of Shenyang, it is said that he is a descendant of Fan Zhongyan, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty. He defected to Hou Jin in 1618. Hong Taiji was involved in secret affairs, drafted edicts, and planned strategies. He was the head of the Han civil servants in the early Qing Dynasty, and later urged Duo Ergun to enter the pass.
Juercha was proficient in Manchu and Chinese. He presided over the translation of Chinese classics in the library. He was also ordered to improve Manchu and create punctuated Manchu. He died of illness in 1632 at the age of thirty-eight, with many unfinished translations of classics.
That is, Empress Xiaozhuangwen, of the Borjijit family in Horqin Mongolia, married Hong Taiji in 1625. During the Chongde period, she was granted the title of Concubine Zhuang of Yongfu Palace and gave birth to the emperor's nine sons, Fulin. After Hong Taiji's death, she preserved her son's succession in the struggle for the throne among the kings, and thereafter assisted the Shunzhi and Kangxi dynasties.
Bu Mubutai's sister married Hong Taiji in 1634. She was deeply loved and lived in Guanju Palace, ranking first among the four concubines. When Hong Taiji died of illness in 1641, he was on the front line of Songjin. He rushed back after hearing the news and was deeply saddened.
A native of Nan'an, Fujian, Ming dynasty was the governor of Jiliao. He was defeated in the Battle of Songjin and captured. After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, he was treated politely. After entering the customs, he recruited Jiangnan and led the southwest, and contributed a lot to the Qing dynasty's unification of the south.
A native of Liaodong, he was originally the general of Ming Dynasty in Dengzhou. After the Wuqiao mutiny, he led his tribe to surrender to Houjin. In the first year of Chongde, he was granted the title of King Gongshun. After entering the customs, he marched south to Huguang and Guangxi. In 1652, he was besieged by Li Dingguo in Guilin. He was defeated and burned himself.