Fan Wencheng (,

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

: Xiandou 憲斗, 1597–1666) was a

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

grand secretary The Grand Secretariat, or the Cabinet (), was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the office of Ch ...

(''Daxue Shi''). His official career went through four generation of

emperors through

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gi ...

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

, Shunzhi, and Kangxi. Many rules and regulations in the early days of the Qing dynasty were drafted by him.

Early life

Nurhaci's appreciation

He was born in an official family in

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, claiming himself to be a descendant of Fan Zhongyan (989–1052), a famous statesman in the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

. However, the Fan family had exiled and migrated to

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

by early 17th century. (The specific position is in

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

city in China.) Fan Wencheng's great-grandfather was the president of the Board of War during the Ming dynasty who surrendered to Manchu army (led by

Nurhachi Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen-led Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gioro, Nurhaci reorganized and united var ...

) when it conquered the North Pass (

Fushun Fushun ( zh, s=, t=, p=Fǔshùn, historically Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun River ("muddy river"), it is one o ...

) in 1618. Fan Wencheng loved reading when he was a young. He was very intelligent and decisive and became a scholar () of Shenyang city. In 1618, When Nurhaci overcame Fushun from the Ming dynasty, Fan Wencheng was brought to Nurhaci's headquarters. Nurhaci was respected and recognized Fan's wisdom and knowledge after speaking with him. Nurhaci also learned of Fan's ancestral connections to the

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

official Fan Zhongyan, with whose story Nurhaci is depicted as being casually familiar. The

khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

was delighted and said to the gathered nobles, out of Fan's hearing, evidently, "This is the descendant of a famous minister, and you are to greet him most cordially." Soon, Fan was promoted from a flunky to a statesman by Nurhaci, because Fan's idea of defeating the Ming cajoled the Jin khans into pursuing this "great enterprise."

Defeating the Ming dynasty

Fan Wencheng was familiar with the political and military situations in the Ming dynasty and the

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

area. Hence, he was chosen by Nurhaci as a counselor for a war. After Nurhaci died, his son

became the emperor. Hong Taiji called Fan Wencheng to help him deal with the affairs of the court. Fan's courage and wisdom, and his tactics and wisdom on the battlefield helped the Qing to defeat the Ming many times. *Battle of

Zunhua Zunhua () is a county-level city in the northeast of Hebei province, China, bordering Tianjin to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Tangshan. Historic sites include the Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dongling). Ad ...

– In 1629, Fan was deployed to

to prevent the Qing troops by

. The

army attack, the Qing army struggling. Fan led the soldiers of the

to break through. Because of his illustrious military exploits, Fan was awarded an official position called "Youji Shizhi" () *Battle of Da'ankou () – In 1629, the army of the Ming dynasty besieged the army of the Qing at Da'ankou in

Liaoyang Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is hom ...

city. Fan Wencheng's army used firearms to counter the army of the Ming and successfully led the troops of the Qing to break through. *

Battle of Dalinghe The Battle of Dalinghe () was a battle between the Later Jin dynasty and the Ming dynasty that took place between September and November 1631. Later Jin forces besieged and captured the fortified northern Ming city of Dalinghe (大凌河; presen ...

– In 1631, The emperor

led about seventy thousand to attack Dalinghe city, Fan listened to the instructions of the emperor and sent him to persuade the Ming army to surrender. However, the Ming army would rather die than surrender. Therefore, Fan let the troops wait outside the city, and he went to the city to persuade Ming army to surrender. In the end, he succeeded in persuading the Ming dynasty to surrender and also captured a lot of resources.

Helping Qing rule

When the Qing dynasty was just established, Fang Wencheng emphasized the importance of respecting the traditional Han culture to the new Manchu emperors, and consequently the Han Chinese during the early Qing dynasty were ironically somewhat grateful to him After Hong Taiji died, his son Shunzhi became the emperor of Qing dynasty. Shunzhi emperor called Fan family attached to the

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu people, Manchu military and society during the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies u ...

. When

Dorgon Dorgon (17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650) was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, which was the predecessor of the Qi ...

was in command of the Qing army to crusade against the Ming dynasty, Fan submitted a written statement to Shunzhi claimed that now people are destitute, before, Qing dynasty used massacres to suppress the insurgency, so the people were suspicious of the purpose of the Qing dynasty. Therefore, this expedition requires that soldiers strictly abide by the discipline. The Qing army should respect the Han people and do not infringe on the wealth of the Han people. Therefore, People will know the intention of the Qing dynasty. According to the ''

Draft History of Qing The ''Draft History of Qing'' () is a draft of the official history of the Qing dynasty compiled and written by a team of over 100 historians led by Zhao Erxun who were hired by the Beiyang government of the Republic of China. The draft was publ ...

'', Fan suggested that the official in the

can continue to be an official to help people to get rid of poverty, and the Qing should widely recruit capable and talented people to join the Qing dynasty.

Retirement

After Fan Wencheng retired, Emperor Shunzhi also pursued him as Grand Tutor () and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent (). These positions are the first grade of the Qing government office, symbolizing the highest honor of the entire empire. The Grand Tutor is the emperor's teacher, and the Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent protects the security of the crown prince. Fan Wencheng died aged 70 after Kangxi became emperor in 1666.

Contribution

As a Han Chinese, Fan Wencheng was placed in a high position in the court by the Manchu ruler in a long time of period. Fan Wencheng was responsible for many of the important enterprises of the Qing court during its first 30 years. Fan Wencheng himself was prime minister to Emperor Shunzhi for almost 10 years. It is undeniable that his intelligence and strategy greatly helped the Qing emperors to rule

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Fan drafted the document in which the regent Dorgon announced the new regime's intent to assume the throne in Beijing.

Bibliography

*History of China () the tenth volume, the Qing dynasty, chapter 8 "Fan Wenchen
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"Fan Wencheng zhuang" () *Qing Governors and Their Provinces: The Evolution of Territorial Administration in China, 1644–1796 by R. Kent Gu
[2
/nowiki>] *Between Noble and Humble: Cao Xueqin and the Dream of the Red Chamber by Ruchang Zho

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Wencheng Han Chinese Bordered Yellow Bannermen Grand secretaries of the Qing dynasty 1597 births 1666 deaths Politicians from Shenyang Ming dynasty people Deliberative Princes and Ministers Taizi taishi