Hong Taiji

For the title used by the Mongols, see Khong Tayiji. In this Manchu name, the given name should be used alone or with titles, but not with the clan name.

Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), sometimes written as Huang Taiji and sometimes called Abahai in Western books, was also known by his temple name, Emperor Taizong of Qing. He was the second khan of the Later Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Qing dynasty.

He helped make the empire that his father Nurhaci had started stronger. He also prepared the way for the conquest of the Ming dynasty, but he died before it was finished.

He took control of Inner Mongolia and the rest of Manchuria. He also led an army into Korea, which then became a Qing tributary state. In 1635, he changed the name of the Jurchens to "Manchu." In 1636, he changed the name of his dynasty from "Great Jin" to "Great Qing."

Names and titles

It is unclear whether "Hong Taiji" was a title or a personal name. The word came into Manchu from the Mongolian title khong tayiji. That title was based on the Chinese huang taizi (皇太子; "crown prince"). Historian Pamela Crossley says it was a title "of Mongolian inspiration." Historian Mark Elliott thinks it was a personal name. Early Chinese and Korean sources wrote it as "Hong Taiji" (洪台極). The modern "Huang Taiji" (皇太極) is misleading. It suggests he was once heir to the throne, but his father Nurhaci never named a successor.

Manchu sources rarely used the name, because they avoided using the personal names of emperors. In some records he was called the "Fourth Beile." This means he ranked fourth among the eight princes that Nurhaci had chosen from his sons. He was also one of the Four Senior Beiles (Daišan, Amin, Manggūltai, Hong Taiji). These four took turns leading the government after the first crown prince, Cuyen, was removed. During his lifetime, his Mongol subjects knew him as Bogda Khan. After his death, he was given the temple name Taizong.

Consolidation of power

Hong Taiji was the eighth son of Nurhaci. He followed his father as the second ruler of the Later Jin dynasty in 1626. When Nurhaci died, Hong Taiji had the lowest rank among the Four Senior Beiles, but many people felt he was the best choice to rule. Other leaders, including Daisan, came to support him. He promised to respect his brothers and cousins. At his coronation, he bowed to several relatives to show honor, so that no one would question how he had been chosen.

At first, Hong Taiji controlled the two White Banners. After Lady Abahai died, he traded them with Dorgon and Dodo, who held the two Yellow Banners that had been passed down from Nurhaci. In the end, he controlled the two strongest banners, the Plain Yellow Banner and Bordered Yellow Banners. Later, he received the Plain Blue Banner from his fifth brother, Manggūltai. These three banners became known as the Upper Three Banners. The Khan and later the Qing emperors directly controlled them. The Plain Blue Banner was later traded for Dorgon's Plain White Banner, when Dorgon served as prince regent for Fulin.

Ethnic policies

During his rule, Hong Taiji began hiring Han Chinese officials. After a revolt in 1623, Nurhaci began to distrust his Nikan followers. (Nikan is a Manchu word meaning "Han people.") So Hong Taiji started bringing them into the country and its government.

In 1632, Prince Yoto and Hong Taiji arranged for 1,000 couples to marry. Han Chinese officers and officials married Manchu women. The goal was to help the two groups get along better. In 1636, Hong Taiji gained control over the Mongols. He set up the Mongol Yamen to help govern Inner Mongolia from a distance. In 1638, it was renamed Lifanyuan.

Expansion

Hong Taiji continued to grow the Later Jin dynasty in Manchuria. He moved deeper into the Mongolian Plateau and raided the Joseon dynasty and the Ming dynasty. He was known as a skilled military leader. He also created a system of military and civil organization called the Eight Banners, or the Banner system. This system helped bring together different peoples, mainly Han and Mongols. Some joined the Later Jin state by agreement, and others joined after being defeated in war.

In public, Hong Taiji supported Tibetan Buddhism. In private, he did not think much of the Mongols' Buddhist beliefs. He is said to have remarked that "The Mongolian princes are abandoning the Mongolian language; their names are all in imitation of the lamas." He still supported Buddhism because it helped him gain the trust of the Tibetans and Mongols.

Hong Taiji began his conquests by defeating Korea, a strong ally of the Ming. In February 1627, his forces crossed the Yalu River, which had frozen over. In 1628 he tried to invade the Ming dynasty, but he was defeated by Yuan Chonghuan, who used cannons. Over the next five years, Hong Taiji built his own cannons, called the Red Cannons. The Ming still had more cannons, but now his cannons were just as strong, and he had Asia's strongest cavalry.

In 1636 he invaded Joseon Korea. Korea had not accepted that he had become emperor, and it refused to help him fight the Ming. Korea surrendered in 1637. It cut ties with the Ming and became a tributary state of the Qing dynasty. During this time, he also took control of Inner Mongolia after three successful campaigns. In 1632 and 1634, he raided Shanxi. From 1636 to 1644, he sent four major expeditions into the Amur region. In 1640 he finished bringing the Evenks under his control by defeating their leader, Bombogor, and capturing him. By 1644, the whole region was under his rule.

At first, Hong Taiji hoped to reach an agreement with the Ming. However, Ming officials remembered an earlier agreement from the time of the Song dynasty's wars with the Jin Empire, and they refused. Hong Taiji had not wanted to conquer the Ming, but their refusal led him to attack. His Han advisors, Fan Wencheng, Ma Guozhu, and Ning Wanwo, had encouraged the invasion.

Government

When Hong Taiji came into power, his army was made up only of Mongol and Manchu companies. By 1636, he had created the first of many Chinese companies. Before the Ming dynasty was conquered, he and his successor had organized 278 Manchu, 120 Mongol, and 165 Han companies. By the time Hong Taiji died, there were more Han people than Manchus. He knew he needed to keep control while also winning the support of the Han majority. He brought Han people into both the army and the government.

The Council of Deliberative Officials was set up as the highest group for making policy and was made up only of Manchus. However, Hong Taiji borrowed some ideas from the Ming, such as the Six Ministries and the Censorate. Each of these lower ministries was led by a Manchu prince but had four presidents: two Manchus, one Mongol, and one Han. This basic setup stayed in place for some time, although its details changed over the years.

Renaming the dynasty

In 1635, Hong Taiji changed the name of his people from Jurchen to Manchu, or manju in the Manchu language. The meaning of Manju is not known. Two common ideas are that it sounded like the Manchu word for "brave," and that it may be connected to Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Nurhaci had said he was an incarnation of Manjusri.

The name Later Jin reminded people of the Jin dynasty. The Jurchen people founded that dynasty and ruled northern China from 1115 to 1234. This name could upset Han people, who saw the Song dynasty as the true rulers of China. Hong Taiji wanted to conquer China proper and overthrow the Ming dynasty. To do this, he recruited Ming officials and was willing to change the name. In April 1636, Mongolian nobility, Manchu nobles, and Han bureaucrats met at a Kurultai in Shenyang. They voted to support Hong Taiji as emperor. He then announced the Qing dynasty and changed his era name to Chóngdé. The reasons for choosing the name Qing are unclear. One idea is that water, which is linked to Qing, would overcome fire, which is linked to Ming, according to the wuxing theory. Another idea is that the name would help end fights between brothers over the throne, since Qing means "clear and transparent."

The banners status

Before Hong Taiji became emperor, he controlled the two White Banners. When Nurhaci died, Hong Taiji quickly swapped his two White Banners for Nurhaci's two Yellow Banners. These should have been given to Dorgon and his two brothers, Ajige and Dodo. As emperor, he held three of the eight banners. He controlled the Upper Three Banners, also called the Elite Banners. At that time, these were the Plain and Bordered Yellow Banners and the Plain Blue Banner. The Plain Blue Banner was formed from Manggūltai. Later, Dorgon changed the Plain Blue Banner to the Plain White Banner, which became the third Elite Banner. At the end of his reign, Hong Taiji gave the two Yellow Banners to his eldest son, Hooge.

Daisan, who was the second son of Nurhaci, and his son Yoto controlled the two Red Banners. Dorgon and his two brothers controlled the two White Banners. Šurhaci's son Jirgalang controlled the remaining Bordered Blue Banner.

Death and succession

Hong Taiji died on 21 September 1643, just as the Qing were preparing to attack Shanhai Pass, the last Ming fortification guarding the way into the north China plains. He died without naming an heir, so the Qing state faced a succession problem. The Deliberative Council of Princes and Ministers discussed who should become the next ruler. Some wanted the throne to go to Hong Taiji's half-brother Dorgon, a respected military leader. Others wanted Hong Taiji's eldest son Hooge. As a compromise, Hong Taiji's five-year-old ninth son Fulin was chosen. Dorgon, along with Nurhaci's nephew Jirgalang, was given the title of "prince regent."

Fulin was officially crowned emperor of the Qing dynasty on 8 October 1643. His era name was "Shunzhi." A few months later, Qing armies led by Dorgon took Beijing. The young Shunzhi Emperor became the first Qing emperor to rule from that new capital. The Qing state's later success in ruling China and building a strong government was due in large part to the ideas and policies of Hong Taiji. He was buried at Zhaoling, in northern Shenyang.

Legacy

He is often seen as having abilities similar to the best emperors, such as Yongle and Emperor Taizong of Tang. This is because he ruled well, used talented people, and was skilled in war. According to writer Jin Yong, Hong Taiji had the wide and wise views of Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizu of Song, Kublai Khan, the Hongwu Emperor, and the Yongle Emperor.

His skill in politics was matched only by Genghis Khan, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and Emperor Guangwu of Han. For this reason, some historians think of Hong Taiji as the true first emperor of the Qing dynasty. Some historians also believe that he was not given enough credit as a great emperor because he was a Manchu.

Family

Hong Taiji had several wives from different families. His most important wives were Empress Xiaoduanwen and Empress Xiaozhuangwen. Both belonged to the Khorchin Borjigin clan. His first son was Hooge, who was given the title Prince Suwu of the First Rank. His ninth son, Fulin, later became known as the Shunzhi Emperor.

Hong Taiji's children married into many noble families, including the Aohan, Chahar, and Khalkha Borjigin clans. One of his daughters married Ejei of the Chahar Borjigin clan. Another son was Šose. He was the son of a secondary wife named Wuyunzhu, and he was given the title Prince Chengzeyu of the First Rank.

In popular culture

Hong Taiji has appeared in many films and TV series. In 1981, Kim Yoon-hyung played him in the KBS1 series Daemyeong. In 2003, Tang Guoqiang appeared in The Affaire in the Swing Age. Liu Dekai also played him in Xiaozhuang Mishi. In 2006, Jiang Wen played him in Da Qing Fengyun. In 2012, Hawick Lau took the role in In Love With Power. In 2013, Nam Kyung-eub played him in the JTBC series Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers. In 2014, Byun Joo-hyun played him in the tvN series The Three Musketeers.

In 2015, Jung Sung-woon played him in the MBC series Hwajung. That same year, Nie Yuan played him in The Legend of Xiaozhuang. In 2017, Raymond Lam played him in Rule the World. Kim Beob-rae also played him in the film The Fortress. In 2023, Kim Jun-won played him in the MBC series My Dearest.