Jiaqing Emperor
Jiaqing Emperor | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Emperor of the Qing dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
Reign | 9 February 1796 – 2 September 1820 | ||||||||||||||||
Predecessor | Qianlong Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
Successor | Daoguang Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
Regent | Qianlong Emperor (1796–1799) | ||||||||||||||||
Prince Jia of the First Rank | |||||||||||||||||
Tenure | 1789 – 9 February 1796 | ||||||||||||||||
Born | ( Imperial Gardens, Beijing | 13 November 1760||||||||||||||||
Died | 2 September 1820 ( Mountain Estate, Jehol | (aged 59)||||||||||||||||
Burial | Chang Mausoleum, Western Qing tombs | ||||||||||||||||
Consorts | |||||||||||||||||
Issue |
| ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
House | Aisin-Gioro | ||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Qing | ||||||||||||||||
Father | Qianlong Emperor | ||||||||||||||||
Mother | Empress Xiaoyichun | ||||||||||||||||
Seal[a] | ![]() |
Jiaqing Emperor | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||
|
The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor. During his reign, he prosecuted Heshen, the corrupt favorite of his father and attempted to restore order within the empire while curbing the smuggling of opium into China. Assessments of his reign are mixed, either seen as the "beginning of the end" of the Qing dynasty, or as a period of moderate reform that presaged the intellectual movements of the 1860s.[1]
Early years
[edit]Yongyan was born in the Old Summer Palace, 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the walls of Beijing. His personal name, "Yongyan" (
Yongyan was the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor. His mother was Noble Consort Ling, the daughter of Wei Qingtai (
The Qianlong Emperor originally had two other sons in mind for succeeding him, but both of them died early from diseases, hence in December 1773 he secretly chose Yongyan as his successor. In 1789, the Qianlong Emperor instated Yongyan as "Prince Jia of the First Rank" (
Accession to the throne
[edit]In October 1795, the 60th year of his reign, the Qianlong Emperor announced his intention to abdicate in favour of Prince Jia. He made this decision because he felt that it was disrespectful for him to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who was on the throne for 61 years. Prince Jia ascended the throne and adopted the era name "Jiaqing" in February 1796, hence he is historically known as the Jiaqing Emperor. For the next three years, however, the Jiaqing Emperor was emperor in name and rite only because decisions were still made by his father, who became a Taishang Huang (emperor emeritus) after his abdication.
After the death of the Qianlong Emperor in the beginning of February 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor took control of the government and prosecuted Heshen, a favourite official of his father. Heshen was charged with corruption and abuse of power, stripped of his titles, had his property confiscated, and ordered to commit suicide. Heshen's daughter-in-law, Princess Hexiao, a half-sister of the Jiaqing Emperor, was spared from punishment and given a few properties from Heshen's estates. The Jiaqing Emperor commuted the death sentence of the scholar Hong Liangji who had criticised the policies of the Qianlong Emperor and Heshen, instead exiling him to a remote part of northern China and pardoning him altogether in 1800.[2]
Heshen was described as the 'primary evil' effecting the Empire, and after his removal the Emperor pursued a series of reforms of the court, civil service and treasury.[3] He was a traditionalist in terms of his role as an ethnic Manchu leader, taking parts in imperial hunts, inspection tours, and upholding strict court protocol.[4] As part of this traditionalist approach, the Jiaqing Emperor promoted ministers on the basis of their commitment to a 'purist' approach to Confucian rule.[5]
The impact of the Jiaqing Emperor's reforms are questionable, with the Emperor described by Jonathan Spence as having 'relied on rhetoric more than specific policies to cleanse his empire', with Heshen's clique soon replaced by other bureaucratic factions.[6]
At the time, the Qing Empire faced internal disorder, most importantly the large-scale White Lotus (1796–1804) and Miao (1795–1806) rebellions, as well as an empty imperial treasury. The Jiaqing Emperor engaged in the pacification of the empire and the quelling of rebellions, although this came at a steep fiscal cost.[7] He endeavored to bring China back to its 18th-century prosperity and power.
In 1813, the Jiaqing Emperor also faced the threat of the Eight Trigrams uprising, led by a millenarian Buddhist sect that launched a failed attack on the Forbidden City, with the intention of assassinating the Emperor upon his return from a hunting trip. The Jiaqing Emperor was intrigued by the leader of the rising, Lin Qing, and summoned him to a private interrogation.[8] Lin was later executed by slicing.[9]
Foreign relations
[edit]In 1816, William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst was sent as ambassador extraordinary to the court, intending to establish more satisfactory commercial relations between China and Great Britain. The Amherst Embassy proved a failure as a result of Amherst's refusal to perform a kowtow to the Emperor, but would prove to have a significant impact on British views of China and the Qing dynasty.[10]
The Jiaqing Emperor refused the Vietnamese ruler Gia Long's request to change his country's name to Nam Việt. He changed the name instead to Việt Nam.[11] Gia Long's Đại Nam thực lục contains the diplomatic correspondence over the naming.[12]
Opposition to Christianity
[edit]The Great Qing Legal Code includes one statute titled "Prohibitions Concerning Sorcerers and Sorceresses" (
Chinese nobility
[edit]The Jiaqing Emperor granted the title Wujing Boshi (
Personal life and interests
[edit]The Jiaqing Emperor commissioned printed compendia of courtly collections, which are an important source for our present understanding of Qing court art.[18] He was a keen scholar of the Confucian classics (to which he devoted much of his time in the early years of his reign when the Qianlong Emperor remained de facto ruler), with 15,267 poems attributed to him.[19]
Death and burial
[edit]On 2 September 1820, the Jiaqing Emperor died at the Rehe (Jehol) Traveling Palace (
The Jiaqing Emperor was interred amidst the Western Qing Tombs, 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Beijing, in the Chang (
Family
[edit]Empress
- Empress Xiaoshurui (
孝 淑 睿皇后 ) of the Hitara clan (喜 塔 臘氏; 2 October 1760 – 5 March 1797)- Second daughter (2 June 1780 – 6 September 1783)
- Minning (
旻 寧 ), the Daoguang Emperor (道 光 帝 ; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), second son - Princess Zhuangjing of the First Rank (
莊 靜 固 倫 公主 ; 20 October 1784 – 27 June 1811), fourth daughter- Married Manibadala (瑪尼
巴 達 喇; ? – 1832) of the Mongol Tumed Borjigin clan in November/December 1802
- Married Manibadala (瑪尼
- Miscarriage at three months (18 August 1785)
- Empress Xiaoherui (
孝和 睿皇后 ) of the Niohuru clan (鈕 祜祿氏 ; 20 November 1776 – 23 January 1850)- Seventh daughter (2 August 1793 – 16 July 1795)
- Miankai (
綿 愷), Prince Dunke of the First Rank (惇 恪 親王 ; 6 August 1795 – 18 January 1838), third son - Mianxin (
綿 忻), Prince Ruihuai of the First Rank (瑞 懷 親王 ; 9 March 1805 – 27 September 1828), fourth son
Imperial Noble Consort
- Imperial Noble Consort Heyu (
和裕 皇 貴 妃 ) of the Liugiya clan (劉 佳 氏 ; 9 January 1761 – 27 April 1834)- Prince Mu of the Second Rank (
穆 郡 王 ; 4 February 1780 – 10 June 1780), first son - Princess Zhuangjing of the Second Rank (
莊 敬和 碩 公主 ; 30 January 1782 – 4 April 1811), third daughter- Married Sodnamdorji (
索 特 納 木多 布 濟 ; ? – 1825) of the Mongol Khorchin Borjigin clan on 24 December 1801 and had issue (one daughter)
- Married Sodnamdorji (
- Prince Mu of the Second Rank (
- Imperial Noble Consort Gongshun (
恭順 皇 貴 妃 ) of the Niohuru clan (鈕 祜祿氏 ; 28 May 1787 – 23 April 1860)- Eighth daughter (8 March 1805 – 14 January 1806)
- Princess Huimin of the First Rank (
慧 愍固倫 公主 ; 18 February 1811 – 28 June 1815), ninth daughter - Mianyu (
綿 愉), Prince Huiduan of the First Rank (惠 端 親王 ; 8 March 1814 – 9 January 1865), fifth son
Consort
- Consort Shu (
恕 妃 ) of the Wanyan clan (完 顏 氏 ; ? – 1792) - Consort Hua (
華 妃 ) of the Hougiya clan (侯 佳 氏 ; ? – 3 August 1808), personal name Liuniu (六 妞)- Sixth daughter (2 August 1789 – June/July 1790)
- Consort Zhuang (
莊 妃 ) of the Wanggiya clan (王 佳 氏 ; ? – 9 March 1811) - Consort Xin (
信 妃 ) of the Liugiya clan (劉 佳 氏 ; 26 April 1783 – 26 November 1822)
Concubine
- Concubine Jian (簡嬪) of the Guangiya clan (
關 佳 氏 ; ? – 14 May 1780)- First daughter (14 May 1780 – 24 November 1783)
- Concubine Xun (
遜 嬪) of the Shen clan (沈氏; ? – 31 December 1786)- Princess Hui'an of the Second Rank (
慧 安和 碩 公主 ; 31 December 1786 – June/July 1795), fifth daughter
- Princess Hui'an of the Second Rank (
- Concubine Chun (
淳 嬪) of the Donggiya clan (董 佳 氏 ; ? – 30 November 1819) - Concubine En (
恩 嬪) of the Uya clan (烏 雅 氏 ) - Concubine Rong (
榮 嬪) of the Liang clan (梁 氏 ) - Concubine An (
安 嬪) of the Gūwalgiya clan (瓜 爾 佳 氏 ; 1 March 1785 – 29 July 1837)
Noble Lady
- Noble Lady Yun (
芸 贵人) - Noble Lady Yu (
玉 贵人)
First Class Attendant
- First Class Attendant Hui (
慧 常 在 )
Ancestry
[edit]Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722) | |||||||||||||||
Yongzheng Emperor (1678–1735) | |||||||||||||||
Empress Xiaogongren (1660–1723) | |||||||||||||||
Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) | |||||||||||||||
Lingzhu (1664–1754) | |||||||||||||||
Empress Xiaoshengxian (1692–1777) | |||||||||||||||
Lady Peng | |||||||||||||||
Jiaqing Emperor (1760–1820) | |||||||||||||||
Jiuling | |||||||||||||||
Qingtai | |||||||||||||||
Empress Xiaoyichun (1727–1775) | |||||||||||||||
Lady Yanggiya | |||||||||||||||
In fiction and popular culture
[edit]- Portrayed by Yu Yang in War and Beauty (2004)
- Portrayed by Xin Baiqing Legend of Jiaqing (2005)
- Portrayed by Shaun Tam in Succession War (2018)
- Portrayed by Tang Jiatong in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)
- Portrayed in Throne of Jade (2006), a historical fantasy novel by Naomi Novik.
- Lord Jiaqing's Journey to Taiwan (Chinese:
嘉 慶 君 遊 臺灣 ), a Taiwanese folklore[20]- Portrayed in Lord Jiaqing's Journey to Taiwan (1980)[21]
- Portrayed by Chen Ya Lan (Tân A-lân) in Lord Jiaqing and The Journey to Taiwan (2022)
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Jonathan Spence. The Search for Modern China (Norton, 1990), pp143-144
- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Jonathan Spence. The Search for Modern China (Norton, 1990), p166
- ^ Jonathan Spence. The Search for Modern China (Norton, 1990), p166
- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Jonathan Spence. The Search for Modern China (Norton, 1990), p168
- ^ Jonathan Spence. The Search for Modern China (Norton, 1990), p168
- ^ Gao Hao. “The Amherst Embassy and British Discoveries in China.” History, vol. 99, no. 4 (337), 2014, pp. 568–87, here p.568
- ^ Woodside 1971, p. 120.
- ^ Jeff Kyong-McClain; Yongtao Du (2013). Chinese History in Geographical Perspective. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 67–. ISBN 978-0-7391-7230-8.
- ^ Robert Samuel Maclay (1861). Life among the Chinese: with characteristic sketches and incidents of missionary operations and prospects in China. Carlton & Porter. p. 336. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
mohammedan slaves to beys.
- ^ Qin ding da Qing hui dian (Jiaqing chao). 1818. p. 1084.
- ^
王 士 禎 [Wang Shizhen] (3 September 2014).池 北 偶談 [Chi Bei Ou Tan].朔 雪 寒 [Shuo Xue Han]. GGKEY:ESB6TEXXDCT. - ^
徐 錫 麟 [Xu, Xilin];錢 泳 [Qian, Yong] (10 September 2014). 熙朝新語 [Xi Chao Xin Yu].朔 雪 寒 [Shuo Xue Han]. GGKEY:J62ZFNAA1NF. - ^ Brunnert, H. S.; Hagelstrom, V. V. (15 April 2013). Present Day Political Organization of China. Routledge. pp. 493–94. ISBN 978-1-135-79795-9.
- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Ricarda Brosch, "The Jiaqing Emperor" in Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell (eds) Creators of Modern China: 100 Lives from Empire to Republic 1796–1912 (Thames & Hudson, 2023) pp14 -16
- ^ Lai, Shu Chuan (2005).
嘉 慶 君 遊 臺灣 故事 之 研究 . Taipei: Taipei Municipal University of Education. Retrieved 1 September 2023. - ^ "
臺 語 文學 發展 年表 (1980-1989)".臺灣 文學 館 線上 資料 平臺 . National Museum of Taiwan Literature. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
Sources
[edit]This article incorporates text from China in the light of history, by Ernst Faber, a publication from 1897, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from The Chinese recorder, Volume 27, a publication from 1896, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from Life among the Chinese: with characteristic sketches and incidents of missionary operations and prospects in China, by Robert Samuel Maclay, a publication from 1861, now in the public domain in the United States.
Further reading
[edit]- Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
External links
[edit]Media related to Jiaqing Emperor at Wikimedia Commons