Jirgalang
Encyclopedia
Jirgalang or Jirhalang (Manchu
: ; ) (1599–June 11, 1655), the sixth son of Nurhaci
's younger brother Šurhaci
(舒爾哈齊/舒尔哈齐) of the Aisin Gioro
clan, was a Manchu
noble
and an important military and political leader in the early years of the Qing dynasty
. From 1638 to 1643, he took part in many military campaigns that helped bring down the fall of the Ming dynasty
. After the death of emperor Hung Taiji in September 1643, Jirgalang became one of child-emperor Fulin
's two co-regents, but he soon yielded most political power to co-regent Dorgon
in October 1644. Dorgon eventually purged him of his regent title in 1647. After Dorgon died in 1650, Jirgalang led an effort to clean the government of Dorgon's supporters. He himself died of illness in 1655. Jirgalang was one of ten "Princes of the blood" (Manchu
: hošoi cin wang; Chinese: héshuò qīnwáng 和碩親王) whose descendants were made "Iron Cap Princes" (铁帽子王) who had the right to transmit their title perpetually.
under the command of his older brother Amin
. In 1630, when Amin was stripped of his titles for having failed to fight a Ming
army, Hung Taiji gave Jirgalang control of the Bordered Blue Banner
, which had been under Amin's command. As one of "four senior beile" (the other three were Daišan
, Manggūltai, and Hung Taiji himself), Jirgalang participated in many military campaigns against the Ming and the Chahar Mongols. In 1636 he was granted the title of Hošoi Ujen Cin Wang, or Prince Zheng (和碩鄭親王), with rights or perpetual inheritance. In 1642, Jirgalang led the siege of Jinzhou
, an important Ming city in Liaodong that surrendered to the Qing in April of that year after more than one year of resistance.
, a fortified Ming position that guarded access to the plain around Beijing
. In January or February of 1644, Jirgalang requested that his name be placed after Dorgon's in all official communications. On February 17, 1644, Jirgalang, who was a capable military leader but looked uninterested in managing state affairs, willingly yielded control of all official matters to Dorgon. He was not present when the Qing forces entered Beijing in early June 1644. In 1647 he was removed from his post of regent and replaced by Dorgon's brother Dodo
. Despite his removal, Jirgalang continued to serve as a military leader. In March 1648, Dorgon ordered the arrest of Jirgalang on various charges and had Jirgalang degraded from the first to the second rank of princes of the blood. Later in the same year, however, Jirgalang was sent to southern China to fight troops loyal to the Southern Ming. In early 1649, after one of his military victories, he ordered a six-day massacre of the inhabitants of the city of Xiangtan
in modern-day Hunan
. He returned victorious to Beijing in 1650 after having defeated the forces of the Prince of Gui, the sovereign of the Southern Ming.
has called the "Jirgalang faction" was composed of Manchu princes and nobles who had opposed Dorgon
and who returned to power after the latter died on December 31, 1650. Concerned that Dorgon's brother Ajige
may try to succeed Dorgon, Jirgalang and his group arrested Ajige in early 1651. Jirgalang remained a powerful figure at court until his death in 1655. The four future regents of the Kangxi emperor - Oboi
, Ebilun
, Soni
, and Suksaha
- were among his supporters.
praised Jirgalang for his role in the Qing defeat of the Ming and granted Jirgalang a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Jirgalang's second son Jidu and Jidu's second son Labu participated in military campaigns in the second half of the Shunzhi reign
and the early Kangxi reign
, notably against Koxinga
and Wu Sangui
.
Jirgalang's thirteenth-generation descendants Duanhua
(Prince Zheng) and Sushun
(Duanhua's younger brother) were politically active during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor
(r. 1851-1861). They were appointed as two of eight regents for the infant Tongzhi emperor
(r. 1862-1874), but were quickly overthrown in 1861 in a coup that brought Empress Dowager Cixi
and the young emperor's uncle Prince Gong to power.
Manchu language
Manchu is a Tungusic endangered language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus...
: ; ) (1599–June 11, 1655), the sixth son of Nurhaci
Nurhaci
Nurhaci was an important Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late sixteenth century in what is today Northeastern China...
's younger brother Šurhaci
Šurhaci
Šurhaci ; ) , was a Jurchen leader, a member of the Aisin Gioro clan, he was a younger brother of Nurhaci, the founder of the Later Jin Dynasty, of what would become the Qing Dynasty...
(舒爾哈齊/舒尔哈齐) of the Aisin Gioro
Aisin Gioro
Aisin Gioro was the family name of the Manchu emperors of the Qing Dynasty. The House of Aisin Gioro ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which established a republican government in its place. The word aisin means gold in the Manchu language, and "gioro" is the name of the place in...
clan, was a Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
noble
Qing Dynasty nobility
The Qing Dynasty of China developed a complicated peerage system for ranking nobility. All titles were to be inherited by a noble's eldest son, but always one grade lower. There were instances, however, where an emperor approved of a title being hereditary . This was regarded as an honour by the...
and an important military and political leader in the early years of the Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. From 1638 to 1643, he took part in many military campaigns that helped bring down the fall of the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. After the death of emperor Hung Taiji in September 1643, Jirgalang became one of child-emperor Fulin
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor was the third emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China, which he did from 1644 to 1661. "Shunzhi" was the name of his reign period...
's two co-regents, but he soon yielded most political power to co-regent Dorgon
Dorgon
Dorgon , also known as Hošoi Mergen Cin Wang, the Prince Rui , was one of the most influential Manchu princes in the early Qing Dynasty. He laid the groundwork for the Manchu rule of China.-Early life:Dorgon was born in Yenden, Manchuria , China...
in October 1644. Dorgon eventually purged him of his regent title in 1647. After Dorgon died in 1650, Jirgalang led an effort to clean the government of Dorgon's supporters. He himself died of illness in 1655. Jirgalang was one of ten "Princes of the blood" (Manchu
Manchu language
Manchu is a Tungusic endangered language spoken in Northeast China; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 70 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus...
: hošoi cin wang; Chinese: héshuò qīnwáng 和碩親王) whose descendants were made "Iron Cap Princes" (铁帽子王) who had the right to transmit their title perpetually.
Career before 1643
In 1627, Jirgalang took part in the first Manchu campaign against KoreaFirst Manchu invasion of Korea
The First Manchu invasion of Korea occurred in 1627, when Hong Taiji led the Manchu army against Korea's Joseon dynasty. It was followed by the Second Manchu invasion of Korea.-Background:...
under the command of his older brother Amin
Amin (Qing Dynasty)
Amin was a Manchu noble and an important military and political leader in the early years of the Qing dynasty.-Family background:He was the second son of Nurhaci's younger brother Šurhaci of the Aisin Gioro clan....
. In 1630, when Amin was stripped of his titles for having failed to fight a Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
army, Hung Taiji gave Jirgalang control of the Bordered Blue Banner
Eight Banners
The Eight Banners were administrative divisions into which all Manchu families were placed. They provided the basic framework for the Manchu military organization...
, which had been under Amin's command. As one of "four senior beile" (the other three were Daišan
Daišan
Daišan was an influential Manchu statesman and an imperial prince of the Qing Dynasty.-Family Background:He the second son of Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty...
, Manggūltai, and Hung Taiji himself), Jirgalang participated in many military campaigns against the Ming and the Chahar Mongols. In 1636 he was granted the title of Hošoi Ujen Cin Wang, or Prince Zheng (和碩鄭親王), with rights or perpetual inheritance. In 1642, Jirgalang led the siege of Jinzhou
Jinzhou
Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects land transportation between North China and Northeast China. Jinzhou is China's northernmost seaport and the coastal economic center of West...
, an important Ming city in Liaodong that surrendered to the Qing in April of that year after more than one year of resistance.
Co-regency (1643-1647) and disgrace (1647-1650)
While Dorgon was staying in Mukden, in November or December 1643 Jirgalang was sent to attack Shanhai PassShanhai Pass
Shanhai Pass , or Shanhaiguan, along with Jiayu Pass and Juyong Pass, is one of the major passes of the Great Wall of China It is located in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao, Hebei. In 1961, Shanhaiguan became a site of China First Class National Cultural Site.It is a popular tourist destination,...
, a fortified Ming position that guarded access to the plain around Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. In January or February of 1644, Jirgalang requested that his name be placed after Dorgon's in all official communications. On February 17, 1644, Jirgalang, who was a capable military leader but looked uninterested in managing state affairs, willingly yielded control of all official matters to Dorgon. He was not present when the Qing forces entered Beijing in early June 1644. In 1647 he was removed from his post of regent and replaced by Dorgon's brother Dodo
Dodo (prince)
Dodo was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing Dynasty. His title was "Prince Yu of the First Rank" .-Family background:...
. Despite his removal, Jirgalang continued to serve as a military leader. In March 1648, Dorgon ordered the arrest of Jirgalang on various charges and had Jirgalang degraded from the first to the second rank of princes of the blood. Later in the same year, however, Jirgalang was sent to southern China to fight troops loyal to the Southern Ming. In early 1649, after one of his military victories, he ordered a six-day massacre of the inhabitants of the city of Xiangtan
Xiangtan
Xiangtan is a city in China's Hunan Province that is located on the lower reaches of Xiang river. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Peng Dehuai are in the Xiangtan Municipal District, as well as the hometowns of Qing...
in modern-day Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
. He returned victorious to Beijing in 1650 after having defeated the forces of the Prince of Gui, the sovereign of the Southern Ming.
The "Jirgalang faction" (1651-1655)
The group led by Jirgalang that historian Robert OxnamRobert Oxnam
Robert Bromley Oxnam is a China scholar and former president of the Asia Society. He ran the society for more than a decade, and led financial-cultural tours of China for Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. He also spent time on the Board of the Rockefeller...
has called the "Jirgalang faction" was composed of Manchu princes and nobles who had opposed Dorgon
Dorgon
Dorgon , also known as Hošoi Mergen Cin Wang, the Prince Rui , was one of the most influential Manchu princes in the early Qing Dynasty. He laid the groundwork for the Manchu rule of China.-Early life:Dorgon was born in Yenden, Manchuria , China...
and who returned to power after the latter died on December 31, 1650. Concerned that Dorgon's brother Ajige
Ajige
Ajige was a prince and general of the Qing Dynasty. He was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the 12th son of Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin Dynasty ....
may try to succeed Dorgon, Jirgalang and his group arrested Ajige in early 1651. Jirgalang remained a powerful figure at court until his death in 1655. The four future regents of the Kangxi emperor - Oboi
Oboi
Oboi was a highly decorated Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive Emperors of the early Qing Dynasty. He was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the Kangxi Emperor's...
, Ebilun
Ebilun
Ebilun was one of the Four Regents and an assistant minister appointed by the Shunzhi Emperor for his successor, Kangxi during the Qing Dynasty. Ebilun worked with Oboi to defeat Suksaha.His mother was the Aisin Gioro princess.-See also:**...
, Soni
Sonin
Sonin, also known as Soni, and rarely Sony , was a senior regent of the Four Regents during Chinese Kangxi Emperor's minority in the Qing Dynasty. Sonin was from the Heseri clan, belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner....
, and Suksaha
Suksaha
Suksaha was a one of the Four Regents during the early reign of the Chinese Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty.Like his father Suna, he was from the Nara clan, but the family fought under the White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners instead. During the Manchurian conquest of China, he was rewarded...
- were among his supporters.
Death and posterity
Soon after Jirgalang died of illness on June 11, 1655, his second son Jidu inherited his princely title, but the name of the princehood was changed from "Zheng" 鄭 to "Jian" 簡. The title "Prince Zheng" was re-established in 1778 when the Qianlong EmperorQianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...
praised Jirgalang for his role in the Qing defeat of the Ming and granted Jirgalang a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Jirgalang's second son Jidu and Jidu's second son Labu participated in military campaigns in the second half of the Shunzhi reign
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor was the third emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China, which he did from 1644 to 1661. "Shunzhi" was the name of his reign period...
and the early Kangxi reign
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
, notably against Koxinga
Koxinga
Koxinga is the customary Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong , a military leader who was born in 1624 in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Chinese merchant/pirate, and his Japanese wife and died in 1662 on the island of Formosa .A Ming loyalist and the arch commander of...
and Wu Sangui
Wu Sangui
Wu Sangui was a Ming Chinese general who was instrumental in the succession of rule to the Qing Dynasty in 1644...
.
Jirgalang's thirteenth-generation descendants Duanhua
Duanhua
Duanhua was a Manchu noble of the Bordered Blue Banner from the Aisin-Gioro clan. Until several days before his death he held the title of Prince Zheng, inherited as one of the eight "iron-cap" princes....
(Prince Zheng) and Sushun
Sushun
Sushun ; Styled: Yuting was born in the Manchu Aisin-Gioro Clan as the sixth son of Ulgungga , the Prince Zheng....
(Duanhua's younger brother) were politically active during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor
Xianfeng Emperor
The Xianfeng Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.-Family and his early years:...
(r. 1851-1861). They were appointed as two of eight regents for the infant Tongzhi emperor
Tongzhi Emperor
The Tongzhi Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro Dzai Šun, was the tenth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1861 to 1875. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, the Empress...
(r. 1862-1874), but were quickly overthrown in 1861 in a coup that brought Empress Dowager Cixi
Cixi
Cixi may refer to:*Empress Dowager Cixi , empress of the Qing Dynasty*Cixi City, in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China...
and the young emperor's uncle Prince Gong to power.