Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

Niohuru The Niohuru (Manchu: ; in Manchu) were a prominent Manchu clan during the Qing dynasty. The clan had inhabited the Changbai Mountains since as early as the Liao dynasty. The clan was well known during the Qing dynasty for producing a variety ...

clan, was an official of the

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 ...

. Favored by the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

, he was described as the most

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

official in Chinese history, having acquired an estimated 1.1 billion

taels Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was ...

confiscated Heshen's wealth and forced him to commit suicide. Heshen is remembered as one of the richest men in history. Born Shanbao (Shan-pao; ), his name was later changed to Heshen. His

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 ...

was Zhizhai (Chih-chai; ). He was a member of the

Plain Red Banner The Plain Red Banner () was one of the Eight Banners (lower five banners) of Manchu military and society organization during the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China. Famous members included: * Daišan * Wenxiang * Heshen, from the Niohuru c ...

Ascendance

Heshen was the son of a

military officer and studied at a school for Manchu aristocratic boys. He lost his mother when he was young and it was said he and his younger brother had a hard life under his stepmother. However, Heshen was an excellent student, knowing Middle Mandarin,

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

and Tibetan. In 1772, he began work in the Imperial Palace, assigned as an imperial

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

stationed at the gates to the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

. Within a year of his initial employment, Heshen was promoted to vice-president of the Ministry of Revenue. Two months later, he was made a

Grand Councilor The grand chancellor (, among other titles), also translated as counselor-in-chief, chancellor, chief councillor, chief minister, imperial chancellor, lieutenant chancellor and prime minister, was the highest-ranking executive official in the i ...

. Within three months, he was promoted even further to the Minister of the

Imperial Household Department The Imperial Household Department ( zh, t=內務府, s=内务府, p=Nèiwùfǔ, first=t; mnc, , v=dorgi baita be uheri kadalara yamun) was an institution of the Qing dynasty of China. Its primary purpose was to manage the internal affairs of the ...

, a post usually filled with the most meritorious officials. In 1777, at the age of 27, Heshen was given the privilege of riding a horse within the

, a prestigious privilege given only to high-ranking officials of elderly age. It was not long before Heshen was given control of both the Ministry of Revenue and the Civil Council, allowing him to control the revenue of the entire empire and appoint his own henchmen to important posts within the officials. The Salar Jahriyya Sufi revolt was put down by

Fuk'anggan Fuk'anggan (Manchu:, Möllendorff: fuk'anggan; ; 1748–1796), courtesy name Yaolin (), was a Manchu noble and general of the Qing Dynasty. He was from the Fuca clan () and the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners. Fuk'anggan's father, ...

along with

Agui Agui (; ; September 7, 1717 – October 10, 1797) was a Manchu noble general for the Qing dynasty. As the only son of Akdun, he was a scion of a noble family who led a number of important Manchu military operations, including several of the " ...

and

Li Shiyao Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

Gansu in 1784, but Heshen was recalled for his failure during the revolt. Heshen's hold on the Qianlong Emperor was further strengthened when in 1790, his own son was married to the emperor's tenth and favorite daughter, Hexiao. Once secure of the Qianlong Emperor's favor and approbation, Heshen enjoyed great freedom of action. He became openly corrupt and practiced

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

on a grand scale. His supporters within the imperial system followed his lead, and his military associates prolonged campaigns in order to continue the benefits of additional funds. He arrogated powers and official posts, including that of Grand Councilor, and regularly stole

public funds Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...

and

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

revenue. Taxes were raised again and again, and this led to the suffering of the people. Unfortunately, their suffering was compounded by severe floods of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

- an indirect result of the corruption where officials pocketed funds that were meant for the upkeep of

canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

and

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

. Rising prices of rice led to many that simply starved to death. This widespread corruption and

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

was the start of a century that led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty. In 1793, Heshen was responsible for hosting the

Macartney Embassy The Macartney Embassy ( zh, t=馬加爾尼使團), also called the Macartney Mission, was the first British diplomatic mission to China, which took place in 1793. It is named for its leader, George Macartney, Great Britain's first envoy to Ch ...

to the imperial court.

Downfall and suicide

After the

abdicated in February 1796, the range and damage of Heshen's corruption was now clear. However, Qianlong continued to rule China behind the scenes under the grand title of ''Taishang Huang'' (

Retired Emperor A Retired Emperor may refer to: *Taishang Huang of China *Daijō Tennō of Japan *Taesangwang T'aesangwang () and the related title T'aesanghwang () are titles used at various points in History of Korea, Korean history for retired king or emper ...

). It was not until Qianlong's death on 7February 1799 that his successor, the

, was able to prosecute Heshen. Just five days later, Heshen was arrested along with Minister Du Daozhao. Declared guilty by an imperial edict, he was condemned to

slow slicing ''Lingchi'' ( IPA: , ), usually translated "slow slicing" or "death by a thousand cuts", was a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 until it was banned in 1905. It was also used in Vietnam and Korea. In this form of ex ...

. Out of respect for his sister,

Gurun Princess Hexiao Princess Hexiao of the First Rank (2 February 1775 – 13 October 1823) was a Manchu princess of the Qing dynasty. She was the tenth and youngest daughter of the Qianlong Emperor. Her mother was Consort Dun. Birth and childhood The future ...

, the Jiaqing Emperor spared Heshen this dishonorable death, instead ordering him to commit suicide by hanging. He carried out the sentence with a rope of golden silk in his home on 22 February. In the 24 years that Heshen enjoyed the Emperor's attention and favor he amassed a fortune. In the Jiaqing Emperor's confiscation of Heshen's property, his estate included: 2,790 rooms in his estates and mansions, of land, 10 bank branches, 10 pawnbroker branches, 58,000 taels of pure gold, 100 large ingots of pure gold, (1,000 taels each), 56,600 medium silver ingots, (100 taels each), 5,830,000 small silver ingots, (10 taels each), 58,000 foreign silver dollars, 1,500,000 copper coins, 300 kilograms of top-quality Jilin

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

, 1,200 jade charms, 230 pearl bracelets, 10 large pearls, 10 large rubies, and dozens of place settings in solid gold or silver. He also had 14,300 bolts of fine silk, 20,000 sheets of fine sheep-fur wool, 550 fox hides, 850 raccoon dog hides, 56,000 sheep and cattle hides of varying thickness, 7,000 sets of fine clothing (for all four seasons), 361,000 bronze and tin vases and vessels, 100,000 porcelain vessels made by famous masters, 24 highly decorative solid-gold beds (each with eight different types of inlaid gemstones), and 460 high quality European clocks. His total property was ultimately estimated at 1,100 million taels of silver, reputed to be equivalent to the imperial revenue of the Qing government for 15 years. Treasures discovered in his chief butler Liu Quan's quarter included 240,000 silver taels. The Jiaqing Emperor charged Heshen with 20 crimes, including various abuses of power, disrespecting imperial prerogatives, and hoarding wealth. Heshen exemplified the widespread corruption of the civil bureaucracy and military under the Qing dynasty.

Bannermen Bannerman is a name of Scottish origin (see Clan Bannerman) and may refer to: Places ;Canada * Bannerman, Edmonton, a neighbourhood in Edmonton, Canada ;United Kingdom * Bannermans, a rock and whisky bar in Edinburgh ;United States * Bannerman, ...

developed habits that made them useless as a military force. The Chinese

Green Standard Army The Green Standard Army (; ) was the name of a category of military units under the control of Qing dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol- Han Eight Banner armies. In are ...

was beset with irregular practice and had lost much of its fighting spirit shown in the early Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor's

Ten Great Campaigns The Ten Great Campaigns () were a series of military campaigns launched by the Qing dynasty of China in the mid–late 18th century during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796). They included three to enlarge the area of Qing contr ...

were completed at the cost of 120 million taels against an annual revenue of some 40 million taels, depressed by embezzling from officials such as Heshen. These massive government spendings contributed to financial instability during the later part of the Qing dynasty.

In popular culture

For more than two hundred years Heshen has been a stock villain role, and continues to appear in theatrical, film and television productions. Chinese actors Wang Gang and Chen Rui have portrayed Heshen on screen: the former gave the character of Heshen a comical touch with his plump figure; the latter, who played Heshen in the 2003 television series ''

Qianlong Dynasty ''Qianlong Dynasty'' is a Chinese television series based on the novel ''Qianlong Huangdi'' (乾隆皇帝; ''The Qianlong Emperor'') by Eryue He. The series was preceded by ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' in 1997 and '' Kangxi Dynasty'' in 2001, both of whi ...

'', was said to resemble the historical Heshen more closely as compared to Wang Gang. Hong Kong actor

Ruco Chan Chan Chin-pang (; born 14 January 1977), better known as Ruco Chan, is a Hong Kong actor and singer. Chan is the first TVB actor to win My Favourite TVB Actor at the StarHub TVB Awards for three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016), and is als ...

played Heshen in the 2018

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...

series '' Succession War'', a fictional depiction of the final 28 days of his life. In the 1988 TVB drama ''The Formidable Lady from Shaolin'',

Lau Kong Lau Kong () is a Hong Kong actor known for his roles in TVB dramas. He left the network in 2020, after starring in over 300 dramas in his 38 years with TVB. Biography Little is known of Lau's private life, but he has been acting since 1976, when ...

portrayed Heshen as a corrupt, blood thirsty official who was ultimately executed.

Alternative views

It could be argued that Heshen's wealth was largely from gifts of the Qianlong Emperor, not from corrupt actions. The view of Heshen as a corrupt official originated after his death and from documents in Qing dynasty historical archives. Only the emperor had the authority to determine what content was to be kept in those archives, which raises the possibility of bias against Heshen. Heshen, as a powerful official, threatened the authority of the Jiaqing Emperor. Officials during the Qianlong Emperor's reign may have feared or been jealous of his power. The Jiaqing Emperor could have used legal pretexts to legitimize these feelings and condemn Heshen to a death sentence.

Former residence

Several decades after Heshen's death, his former residence was given to

Prince Gong Yixin (11January 1833– 29May 1898), better known in English as PrinceGong or Kung, was an imperial prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and an important statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was a regent of the empire from 1861 to 18 ...

as his official residence. The estate, known as the

Prince Gong Mansion Prince Gong's Mansion, also known as the Prince Kung Mansion, is a museum and tourist attraction located in Xicheng District, Beijing, just north of the Shichahai Lake. It consists of large siheyuan-style mansions and gardens. Originally c ...

, is now preserved as a museum and a tourist attraction. It is located at 17 Qianhai Road West in Beijing.

Family

*Maternal great-grandfather **Alana (阿喇納), Deputy General, Count of the Third Rank (副將軍三等伯) *Maternal grandfather **Umitai (伍彌泰) (1713–1786), a

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

of the

Plain Yellow Banner The Plain Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Plain Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies under the direct command of the emperor himself ...

*Maternal grandmother **Lady Liugiya (劉佳氏) *Father **Changbao (常保), Banner vice-commander of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

(福建副都統) *Mother **Lady Umi (伍彌氏) *Younger brother **Helin (和琳) (26 August 1753 – 28 September 1796), father of Fengšenimiyan and two daughters *Younger sister-in-law **Lady Tatara (他他拉氏), daughter of Suringga (蘇凌阿), mother of Fengšenimiyan *Nephew **Fengšenimiyan (豐紳宜綿) (1775–1813) *Nieces **Two daughters of Helin *Wife **Feng Jiwen (馮霽雯), granddaughter of Feng Yinglian (馮英廉); mother of Fengšenyende, Heshen's second son, and Heshen's three daughters *Concubine **Lady Chang (長氏) *Sons **Fengšenyende (豐紳殷德) (18 February 1775 – May 1810), married

(固倫和孝公主) **second son (1794–?) *Daughters **Three daughters, including Primary consort of Yongyun (

Prince Chun (淳) Prince Chun of the First Rank, or simply Prince Chun, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Chun peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successiv ...

peerage)

Genealogic tree

References

External links

''The Qing Dynasty''
at All Empires * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heshen 1750 births 1799 deaths Forced suicides of Chinese people Grand Councillors of the Qing dynasty Grand secretaries of the Qing dynasty Assistant grand secretaries Manchu Plain Red Bannermen Manchu politicians Niohuru clan