Shunzhi Emperor
Qing · 3rd ruler
順治帝 Shùnzhì Dì愛新覺羅福臨 Àixīnjuéluó Fúlín
Wade–Giles: Shun-chih Emperor · Ai-hsin-chüeh-lo Fu-lin
Reigned 1643–1661 (17 years)
Reigned 17 years (1643–1661). Died at 24 (East Asian reckoning) of natural causes. 3rd ruler of Qing.
Facts
- Reign
- 8 October 1643 – 5 February 1661 (3rd ruler of Qing)
- Length of reign
- 17 years
- Born
- 15 March 1638
- Died
- 5 February 1661
- Age at accession
- 6
- Age at death
- 24
- Cause of death
- Natural causesNatural death or illness (including old age)
- Path to the throne
- Installed by othersSucceeded the previous ruler of the same regime, but the choice was made by officials, the army, eunuchs, consort kin, an empress dowager or the imperial clan
- Predecessor
- Hong Taiji
- Successor
- Kangxi Emperor
- Era names
- 順治 Shùnzhì (proclaimed 1643)
Ages are given in East Asian reckoning (sui): a person is one year old at birth and gains a year at each New Year, so the figure is one or two years higher than the Western age.
Life
In brief
He took the throne as a child, entered China proper under the regency of his uncle Dorgon and made Yanjing his capital, and after ruling in person he died young.
Road to the throne
He was the ninth son of Hong Taiji, and his mother was Empress Xiaozhuangwen. When Hong Taiji died in 1643 no heir had been fixed; Daishan, Prince Li, conferred with the princes and set up Fulin, with Jirgalang and Dorgon to assist in government. Soon afterward Adali and Shoto plotted to put Dorgon on the throne and were executed, and Fulin took the throne in the same year. The biography of Sonin in the Draft History of Qing writes that ministers of the two Yellow Banners pressed for a son of the late emperor to be enthroned, that Ajige and Dodo urged Dorgon to take the throne, that when Dorgon hesitated Dodo said he himself should be chosen, and that Dorgon replied that Hooge's name had also been put forward.
Reign and death
In 1644 Dorgon came in through the Shanhai Pass, which Wu Sangui had opened, and defeated Li Zicheng's army, and the Shunzhi Emperor took the throne again at the southern suburb and made Yanjing his capital. Hooge was sentenced to death in 1648, and the emperor, unable to bear it, had him confined instead, but Hooge's biography says he died in prison. According to Dorgon's biography, in 1648 Dorgon was honored as Imperial Father Regent, but this title does not appear in the annals. When Dorgon died in 1650 he was buried with the rites of an emperor and posthumously given the title of emperor. When the Shunzhi Emperor began to rule in person the following year, Dorgon's crimes were declared proven and his honorific titles were stripped. Hooge was cleared of the false charges and restored as Prince Su. In 1657 he made Lady Donggo imperial noble consort, and when she died in 1660 he suspended court for five days, posthumously made her empress, and himself wrote an account of her conduct running to several thousand characters. He fell ill in 1661 and died in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. His testamentary edict listed 14 faults of his own, including that the mourning rites for Lady Donggo had gone beyond propriety, and made Xuanye crown prince. The Draft History of Qing gives neither the name of his illness nor the story that he became a monk.
Translated from the Japanese text of this site, which is written from the official histories. Years are given in the Western calendar; months are omitted because the histories use the Chinese lunar calendar.
During the reign
Number of times each event is recorded in the official histories. How each item is counted
- Era name changes
- 1
- General amnesties
- 10
- Empresses installed
- 2
- Crown princes deposed
- 0
- Personal campaigns
- 0
- Rebellions suppressed
- 8
- Rebellions faced
- 8
- Capital relocations
- 1
Emperors of Qing
- 2ndHong Taiji清太宗 Qīng Tàizōng愛新覺羅皇太極 Àixīnjuéluó Huángtàijí1636–1643 · 7 years · Unknown, age 521636–16437 yearsUnknown, age 52
- 3rdShunzhi Emperor順治帝 Shùnzhì Dì愛新覺羅福臨 Àixīnjuéluó Fúlín1643–1661 · 17 years · Natural causes, age 241643–166117 yearsNatural causes, age 24
- 4thKangxi Emperor康熙帝 Kāngxī Dì愛新覺羅玄燁 Àixīnjuéluó Xuányè1661–1722 · 61 years · Natural causes, age 691661–172261 yearsNatural causes, age 69
- 5thYongzheng Emperor雍正帝 Yōngzhèng Dì愛新覺羅胤禛 Àixīnjuéluó Yìnzhēn1722–1735 · 12 years · Disputed, age 581722–173512 yearsDisputed, age 58
- 6thQianlong Emperor乾隆帝 Qiánlóng Dì愛新覺羅弘曆 Àixīnjuéluó Hónglì1735–1796 · 60 years · Natural causes, age 891735–179660 yearsNatural causes, age 89
- 7thJiaqing Emperor嘉慶帝 Jiāqìng Dì愛新覺羅顒琰 Àixīnjuéluó Yóngyǎn1796–1820 · 24 years · Natural causes, age 611796–182024 yearsNatural causes, age 61
- 8thDaoguang Emperor道光帝 Dàoguāng Dì愛新覺羅旻寧 Àixīnjuéluó Mínníng1820–1850 · 29 years · Natural causes, age 691820–185029 yearsNatural causes, age 69
- 9thXianfeng Emperor咸豐帝 Xiánfēng Dì愛新覺羅奕詝 Àixīnjuéluó Yìzhǔ1850–1861 · 11 years · Natural causes, age 311850–186111 yearsNatural causes, age 31
- 10thTongzhi Emperor同治帝 Tóngzhì Dì愛新覺羅載淳 Àixīnjuéluó Zàichún1861–1875 · 13 years · Natural causes, age 191861–187513 yearsNatural causes, age 19
- 11thGuangxu Emperor光緒帝 Guāngxù Dì愛新覺羅載湉 Àixīnjuéluó Zàitián1875–1908 · 33 years · Assassinated, age 381875–190833 yearsAssassinated, age 38
- 12th, 13th, 14thPuyi宣統帝 Xuāntǒng Dì愛新覺羅溥儀 Àixīnjuéluó Pǔyí1908–1912; restored 1917; restored 1934–1945 · 14 years · Natural causes, age 621908–1912; restored 1917; restored 1934–194514 yearsNatural causes, age 62