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Daoguang Emperor
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The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 25 February 1850) was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1820 to 1850.
as born in the Forbidden City, Beijing, and was given the name Mianning, changed into Minning when he became emperor: the first character of his private name was changed from Mian to Min so as to avoid the relatively common Mian character.
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The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 25 February 1850) was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1820 to 1850.
Early years
He was born in the Forbidden City, Beijing, and was given the name Mianning, changed into Minning when he became emperor: the first character of his private name was changed from Mian to Min so as to avoid the relatively common Mian character. This novelty was introduced by his grandfather the Qianlong Emperor who thought it not proper to use a common character in the emperor's private name due to the long-standing practice of naming taboo.
He was the second son of Yongyan, who became the Jiaqing Emperor in 1796. His mother, the principal wife of Yongyan, was Lady Hitara of the (Manchu) Hitara clan, who became empress when Jiaqing ascended the throne in 1796. She is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoshu Rui.
Mianning was well liked by his grandfather the Qianlong Emperor and would frequently accompanied the elderly emperor on hunting trips. One such trip at the age of nine yielded a successful hunt of a deer which greatly amused Qianlong. In 1813, while a prince, Mianning also played a vital role in repelling and killing White Lotus invaders that stormed the Forbidden City which earned Mianning important merits in securing his claim for the throne.
Reign as emperor and the opium trade
In September 1820, the age of 38, Mianning inherited the throne after his father the Jiaqing Emperor suddenly died of unknown causes. Now known as the Daoguang Emperor, he inherited a declining empire with Western imperialism encroaching upon the doorsteps of China. During his reign, China experienced major problems with opium, which was imported into China by British merchants. Opium had started to trickle into China during the reign of his great grandfather Emperor Yongzheng but was limited to approximately 200 boxes annually. By Emperor Qianlong's reign, the amount had increased to 1000 boxes, 4000 boxes by Jiaqing's era and more than 30,000 boxes during Daoguang's reign. He made many edicts against opium in the 1820s and 1830s, which were carried out by the famous Lin Zexu. Lin Zexu's effort to halt the spread of opium in China was quite successful, but, with the development of the First Opium War, Lin quickly fell out of favour and the Daoguang emperor suddenly removed Lin's authority and banished him to Xinjiang. Daoguang's decision was a blow to China's effort to halt the influx of opium and deepened the Europeans' resolution to enter the vast Chinese market which eventually led to the First Opium War against Britain. Technologically and militarily inferior to the European powers and hobbled by the incompetence of the Qing government, China lost this war and was forced to surrender Hong Kong at the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842. Henceforth, Daoguang became the first emperor of the Qing dynasty to have lost a portion of its sovereign territories.
Family
- Father: Emperor Jiaqing.
- Mother: Empress Xiao Shu Rui.
Consorts
- Empress Xiao Mu Cheng (?–1808) of the Niuhuru clan.
- Empress Xiao Shen Cheng (?–1833) of the Tunggiya clan.
- Empress Xiao Quan Cheng (1808–1840) of the Niuhuru clan.
- Empress Xiao Jing Cheng (1812–1855) of the Borjigit clan.
- Imperial Noble Consort Zhuang Shun (?–1866) of the Wuya clan, she was the natural birth mother of the First Prince Chun.
- Noble Consort Tun (?–1877) of the Shumulu clan.
- Consort He (?–1836) of the Nala clan.
- Consort Xiang (?–1861) of the Niuhuru clan.
- Noble Consort Jia (?–1890) of the Gogiya clan.
- Noble Consort Cheng (?–1888) of the Niuhuru clan.
- Consort Chang (?–1860) of the Heseri clan.
Children
Sons
- First son: Prince Yiwei (16 May 1808 – 23 May 1831), son of He Fei of the Nala clan.
- Second son: Yikang (22 November 1826 – 5 March 1827), son of Empress Xiaojing Cheng
- Third son: Yichi (2 December 1829 – 22 January 1830), son of Empress Xiaojing Cheng
- Fourth son: Yichu (1831–1861), son of Empress Xiao Quan Cheng, Emperor Xianfeng
- Fifth son: Yicong (23 July 1831 – 18 February 1889), the second Prince Tun, great-grandfather of Prince Yuyan and son of Imperial Consort Xiang of the Niuhuru clan.
- Sixth son: Yixin (11 January 1833 – 29 May 1898), the Prince Gong. Son of Empress Xiao Jing Cheng.
- Seventh son: Yixuan, the First (16 October 1840 – 1 January 1891) Prince Chun. Father of Zaitian the Guangxu Emperor.
- Eight son: Yiho (21 February 1844 – 17 December 1868), son of the Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun.
- Ninth son: Yihui(??) (1845–1877) son of the Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun.
Daughters
- First daughter: Duanmin (1813–1819), daughter of empress Xiaozhen Cheng.
- Second daughter: (1825), daughter of Xiang Fei.
- Third daughter: Duanshun (1825–1835), daughter of empress Xiaoquan Cheng.
- Fourth daughter: Shou-An (1826–1860), daughter of empress Xiaoquan Cheng.
- Fifth daughter: Shou-Xian (1829–1856), daughter of Xiang Fei.
- Sixth daughter: Shou-Yen (1830–1859), daughter of empress Xiaojing Cheng.
- Seventh daughter: (1840–1844), daughter of Tun Kuai Fei.
- Eight daughter: Shou-Xi (1841–1866), daughter of Tun Kuai Fei.
- Ninth daughter: Shou-Zhuang (1842–1884), daughter of Zhuangshun Huang Kuai Fei.
- Tenth daughter: (1844–1845), daughter of Tun Kuai Fei.
Death and legacy
Daoguang died on 25 February 1850, at the Old Summer Palace, 8 km/5 miles northwest of the walls of Beijing. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son. Daoguang failed to understand the resolution of the Europeans and although the Europeans were outnumbered, outgunned and were thousands of miles away from home, Daoguang did not take advantage of these factors. He had a poor understanding of the British and the industrial revolution that Britain had undergone, preferring to turn a blind eye to the rest of the world. It was said that Daoguang did not even know where Britain was located in the world. His thirty-year reign introduced the initial onslaught by western imperialism and foreign invasions that would plague China, in one form or another, for the next one hundred years.
He was interred in the Muling (?? - meaning "Tomb of longing", or "Tomb of admiration") mausoleum, which is part of the Western Qing Tombs, 120 kilometers/75 miles southwest of Beijing.
See also
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