The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), also known by his

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

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 ...

, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over

China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...

. During his reign, the Qing dynasty experienced several wars and rebellions including the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

, the

Nian Rebellion The Nian Rebellion () was an insurrection against the Qing dynasty in northern China from 1851 to 1868, contemporaneously with the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) in southern China. The rebellion was suppressed, but the population and economic ...

, and the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

. He was the last Chinese emperor to exercise sole power. The fourth son of the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

, he assumed the throne in 1850 and inherited an empire in crisis. A few months after his ascension, the Taiping Rebellion broke out in southern China and rapidly spread, culminating in the fall of Nanjing in 1853. Contemporaneously, the Nian Rebellion began in the north, followed by ethnic uprisings (the Miao Rebellion and the

Panthay Rebellion The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (Muslim as well as non-Muslim) ethnic groups against the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in southwe ...

) in the south. The revolts ravaged large parts of the country, caused millions of deaths and would not be quelled until well into the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor's successor. Qing defeat during the first phase of the Second Opium War led to the

Treaty of Tientsin The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several Unequal treaty, unequal treaties signed at Tianjin (then Postal Map Romanization, romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing Empire, Qing dynasty, ...

and the

Treaty of Aigun The Treaty of Aigun was an 1858 treaty between the Russian Empire and Yishan, official of the Qing dynasty of China. It established much of the modern border between the Russian Far East and China by ceding much of Manchuria (the ancestral h ...

, the latter of which resulted in the cession of much of

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 ...

to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Negotiations broke down and hostilities resumed soon after, and in 1860 Anglo-French forces entered Beijing and burned the

Old Summer Palace The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. I ...

. The Xianfeng Emperor was forced to flee for the imperial estate at Jehol, and the

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct unequal treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. Background On 18 October ...

was negotiated in his absence. His health was already in rapid decline in the face of mounting Qing losses. He died in 1861 in Jehol at the age of 30 and was succeeded by his six-year-old son, who assumed the throne as the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, w ...

. On his deathbed, the Xianfeng Emperor appointed eight men to a regency council to assist his young successor. A few months later,

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

and

Empress Dowager Ci'an Empress Xiaozhenxian (12 August 1837 – 8 April 1881), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor. She was empress consort of Qing from ...

along with

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 ...

instigated the

Xinyou Coup Xinyou Coup (), also known as the Qixiang Coup (祺祥政變 or 祺祥之變) and Beijing Coup (北京政變), was a Chinese palace coup that occurred in November 1861 during the Qing dynasty. It was instigated by Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'a ...

and ousted the regents. Cixi ultimately rose to sole power and consolidated control over the Qing government.

Family and early life

Yizhu was born in 1831 at the

, eight kilometres northwest of

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. He was from the Manchu

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro is a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chie ...

clan, and was the fourth son of the

. His mother was the Noble Consort Quan, of the Manchu

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, who was made Empress in 1834, and is known posthumously as

Empress Xiaoquancheng Empress Xiaoquancheng (24 March 1808 – 13 February 1840), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed on the wife and second empress consort of Mianning, the Daoguang Emperor. She was empress consort of ...

. Yizhu was reputed to have an ability in literature and administration which surpassed most of his brothers, which impressed his father, who therefore decided to make him his successor.

Early reign

Yizhu succeeded the throne in 1850, at age 19, and was a relatively young emperor. He inherited a dynasty that faced not only internal but also foreign challenges. Yizhu's reign title, "Xianfeng", which means "universal prosperity", did not reflect the situation. In 1850, the first of a series of popular rebellions began that would nearly destroy the Qing dynasty. The

began in December 1850, when

Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary and religious leader who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly K ...

, a

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

leader of a syncretic Christian sect, defeated local forces sent to disperse his followers. Hong then proclaimed the establishment of the

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy which sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The Heavenly Kingdom, or Heavenly Dynasty, was led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka man from Guan ...

and the rebellion spread to several provinces with amazing speed. The following year, the

started in

North China North China () is a list of regions of China, geographical region of the People's Republic of China, consisting of five province-level divisions of China, provincial-level administrative divisions, namely the direct-administered municipalities ...

. Unlike the Christian-influenced Taiping rebels, the Nian movement lacked a clear political program, but they became a serious threat to the Qing capital,

, with the mobility of their cavalry-based armies. The Qing imperial forces suffered repeated defeats at the hands of both rebel movements.

Rebellions and wars

In 1853, the Taiping rebels captured Nanjing and for a while it seemed that Beijing would fall next; but the Taiping northern expedition was defeated and the situation stabilized. The Xianfeng Emperor dispatched several prominent

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

s, such as

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan (), was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

and the Mongol general

Sengge Rinchen Sengge Rinchen (1811 – 18 May 1865) or Senggelinqin () was a Mongols, Mongol nobleman and general who served under the Qing dynasty during the reigns of the Daoguang Emperor, Daoguang, Xianfeng Emperor, Xianfeng and Tongzhi Emperor, Tongzhi emper ...

, to crush the rebellions, but they only obtained limited success. The biggest

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

of the

Miao people Miao is a word that the Chinese use to designate some ethnic minority groups living in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia. Miao is thus officially recognized by the Chinese government as one of the largest ethnic minority groups that h ...

against Chinese rule in history started in 1854, and ravaged the region until finally put down in 1873. In 1856, an attempt to regain Nanjing was defeated and the

broke out in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

. Meanwhile, an initially minor incident on the coasts triggered the

. The British and French, after engaging in a number of minor military confrontations on the coast near

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, attempted to start negotiations with the Qing government. The Xianfeng Emperor believed in Chinese superiority and would not agree to any demands from the European powers. He delegated

for several negotiations but relations broke down completely when a British diplomat, Sir Harry Parkes, was taken hostage by Chinese forces during negotiations on 18 September. Anglo-French forces clashed with Sengge Rinchen's Mongol cavalry on 18 September near Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward the outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in

Tongzhou District, Beijing Tongzhou is a district of Beijing. It is located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the nation's capital. Downtown Tongzhou itself lies around east of central Beijing, at the northern end of the Grand Canal (China), G ...

. On 21 September, at the Battle of Palikao, Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops, including his elite Mongol cavalrymen, were completely annihilated after several doomed frontal charges against the concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces, which entered Beijing on 6 October. On 18 October 1860, British and French forces sacked and burnt

. Upon learning about this news, the Xianfeng Emperor's health quickly deteriorated. During the Xianfeng Emperor's reign, China lost part of

to the

. In 1858, according to the

, the territory between the

Stanovoy Range The Stanovoy Range (, ''Stanovoy khrebet''; ) is a mountain range located in the Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast, Far Eastern Federal District. It is also known as Sükebayatur and Sükhbaatar in Mongolian language, Mongolian, or the Stanovoy M ...

and the

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

River was ceded to Russia, and in 1860, according to the

Treaty of Beijing A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...

, the same thing happened also to the area east of the

Ussuri The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and formi ...

River. After that treaty, the Russians founded the city of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

in the area they had annexed. While negotiations with British, French and Russian officials were being held, the Xianfeng Emperor and his imperial entourage fled to Jehol province in the name of conducting the annual imperial hunting expedition. As his health worsened, the emperor's ability to govern also deteriorated, and competing ideologies in court led to the formation of two distinct factions — one led by the senior official Sushun and the princes Zaiyuan and

Duanhua Duanhua (Manchu: ''Duwanhūwa''; 1807 – 1861) was a Manchu prince and regent of the Qing dynasty. Life Duanhua was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the third son of Ulgungga (烏爾恭阿), a descendant of Jirgalang, a nephew of Nu ...

, and the other led by Noble Consort Yi, who was supported by the general

Ronglu Ronglu (6 April 1836 – 11 April 1903), courtesy name Zhonghua, was a Manchu political and military leader of the late Qing dynasty. He was born in the Guwalgiya clan, which was under the Plain White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners. D ...

and the

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, ...

of the

Yehe Nara clan The Yehe Nara clan (, ) is one of the main branches of the Nara clan of Manchu people, Manchu origin. It is the family surname of the (chieftains) of the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens. The clan's progenitor was a Mongols, Mongol named Singgen ...

Death

The Xianfeng Emperor died on 22 August 1861, from a short life of overindulgence, at the

Chengde Mountain Resort Chengde Mountain Resort (; Manchu: ''Halhūn be jailara gurung'') is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the Shuangqiao District of Chengde in northeastern Hebei province, northern China, about northeast of China's capi ...

, 230 kilometres northeast of

. His successor was his surviving five-year-old son,

Zaichun The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, whi ...

. A day before his death, the Xianfeng Emperor had summoned Sushun and his supporters to his bedside and gave them an imperial edict that dictated the power structure during his son's minority. The edict appointed eight men – Zaiyuan,

, Jingshou, Sushun, Muyin, Kuang Yuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying – as an eight-member regency council to aid Zaichun, who was later enthroned as the

. Xianfeng gave the eight men the power of regency, but their edicts would have to be endorsed by Noble Consort Yi and Empress Consort Zhen. By tradition, after the death of an emperor, the emperor's body was to be accompanied to the capital by the regents. Noble Consort Yi and Empress Consort Zhen, who were now known as Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an travelled ahead to

and planned a coup with

that ousted the eight regents. Empress Dowager Cixi then effectively ruled China over the subsequent 47 years as a regent. The Xianfeng Emperor was interred in the

Eastern Qing Tombs The Eastern Qing tombs (; ) are an imperial mausoleum complex of the Qing dynasty located in Zunhua, northeast of Beijing. They are the largest, most complete, and best preserved extant mausoleum complex in China. Altogether, five emperors ( Sh ...

, 125 kilometres/75 miles east of

, in the Ding (定; lit. "Quietude")

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

complex.

Legacy

The Qing dynasty continued to decline during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor. Rebellions in the country, which began the first year of his reign, would not be quelled until well into the reign of the

and resulted in millions of deaths. The Xianfeng Emperor also had to deal with the British and French and their ever-growing appetite to expand trade further into China. The Xianfeng Emperor, like his father, the

, understood very little about Europeans and their mindset. He viewed non-Chinese as inferior and regarded the repeated requests by the Europeans for the establishment of diplomatic relations as an offence. When the Europeans introduced the long-held concept of an exchanged consular relationship, the Xianfeng Emperor quickly rebuffed the idea. At the time of his death, he had not met with any foreign dignitary. Despite his tumultuous decade of reign, the Xianfeng Emperor was commonly seen as the last Qing emperor to have held paramount authority, ruling in his own right. The reigns of his son and subsequent successors were overseen by regents, a trend present until the fall of the Qing dynasty.

Family

Empress * Empress Xiaodexian (孝德顯皇后) of the Sakda clan (薩克達氏; 12 April 1831 – 24 January 1850) * Empress Xiaozhenxian (孝貞顯皇后) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 12 August 1837 – 8 April 1881) * Empress Xiaoqinxian (孝欽顯皇后) of the Yehe-Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), personal name Xingzhen (杏貞) ** Zaichun (載淳), the

(同治帝; 27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), first son Imperial Noble Consort * Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangjing (莊靜皇貴妃) of the Tatara clan (他他拉氏; 2 April 1837 – 26 December 1890) ** Princess Rong'an of the First Rank (榮安固倫公主; 20 June 1855 – 5 February 1875), first daughter *** Married Fuzhen (符珍; ? – 1909) of the Manchu Gūwalgiya clan in September/October 1873 * Imperial Noble Consort Duanke (端恪皇貴妃) of the Tunggiya clan (佟佳氏; 3 December 1844 – 7 May 1910) Noble Consort * Noble Consort Wen (玟貴妃) of the Xu clan (徐氏; 1835 – 20 December 1890) ** Prince Min of the Second Rank (憫郡王; 8 January 1859 – ?), second son * Noble Consort Wan (婉貴妃) of the Socoro clan (索綽絡氏; 17 November 1835 – 20 June 1894) Consort * Consort Lu (璷妃) of the Yehe-Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏; 2 March 1841 – 15 May 1895) * Consort Ji (吉妃) of the Wang clan (王氏; 1846 – 12 November 1905) * Consort Xi (禧妃) of the Cahala clan (察哈喇氏; 4 October 1842 – 26 June 1877) * Consort Qing (慶妃) of the Zhang clan (張氏; 25 October 1840 – 15 June 1885) Concubine * Concubine Yun (雲嬪) of the Wugiya clan (武佳氏; ? – 11 January 1856), personal name Qiyun (绮云) *

Concubine Rong Concubine Rong, of the Irgen Gioro clan (容嬪 / 容嫔, 伊爾根覺羅氏 / 伊尔根觉罗氏; 6 July 1837 – 21 June 1869) was a consort of the Xianfeng Emperor. Life Family background Concubine Rong was a booi hehe of Bordered Yellow B ...

(容嬪) of the Irgen-Gioro clan (伊爾根覺羅氏; 6 July 1837 – 21 June 1869) * Concubine Shu (璹嬪) of the Yehe-Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏; 27 March 1840 – 9 May 1874) * Concubine Yu (玉嬪) of the Yehe-Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏; 14 August 1843 – 26 December 1863) First Class Attendant * First Class Attendant Chun (瑃常在) of the Ming'an clan (暝谙氏; 1835–1859) * First Class Attendant Xin (鑫常在) of the Daigiya clan (戴佳氏; ? – 27 May 1859) * First Class Attendant Ping (玶常在) of the Irgen-Gioro clan (伊尔根觉罗氏; ? – 1856)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * ; Books about

* Sterling Seagraves "Dragon Lady" * Maria Warners "The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'u-Hsi, 1835 – 1908, Empress of China". * Anchee Min "Empress Orchid"

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Xianfeng 1831 births 1861 deaths Emperors of the Qing dynasty 19th-century Chinese monarchs 1850s in China 1860s in China Daoguang Emperor's sons

Family and early life

Early reign

Rebellions and wars

Death

Legacy

Family

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links