Shunzhi
Shùnzhì ( Chinese 順治 , * March 15, 1638 ; † February 5, 1661 , emperor since October 30, 1644 ) was the son of the Manchurian prince Huang Taiji (Abahai) and became after the conquest of China by the Manchus at the age of six first emperor of the newly established Qing Dynasty .
Life
Until the age of twelve, the reign was exercised by his uncles Dorgon and Dsirgalang.
The Manchurian leadership left the education of the underage emperor to the palace eunuchs from the fallen Ming dynasty , who made him familiar with the Chinese language and culture. Shunzhi was even to develop into a lover of Chinese novels and dramas.
Nonetheless, Shunzhi left no doubt about the Manchu people's claim to superiority and discriminated against the indigenous Chinese population in a variety of ways. For example, the Manchu were given preference in the allocation of offices, mixed marriages were forbidden and the Chinese were forced to wear the pigtail , which was perceived as degrading and which was long considered a characteristic of the Han people in the West, when threatened with the death penalty . The remaining supporters of the Ming dynasty, who had withdrawn to the south-western provinces of the empire and who had made a counter-emperor there until 1661, were also vigorously opposed.
Shunzhi, however, was open to the European missionaries to China : For example, he had an almost friendly relationship with the German Jesuit Adam Schall von Bell . He not only commissioned him with the continuation of his astronomical work and the surveying of the territory of the empire, but even appointed him as imperial advisor and prince tutor . In addition, he allowed the establishment of a Catholic church in Beijing and even tolerated the conversion of the Empress and the Crown Prince to Christianity .
The emperor himself remained loyal to Buddhism . The last years of his life were marked by the strengthening of the eunuch cliques and - especially after the death of his young concubine - an increased preoccupation with religious matters. Shunzhi went to the monastery. There he became a monk and probably died of smallpox at the age of 23 .
See also
literature
- Wolfram Eberhard , Alide Eberhard: History of China. From the beginnings to the present (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 413). Kröner, Stuttgart 1971, DNB 456503854 .
- Jacques Gernet : The Chinese World . Frankfurt 1997, ISBN 3-518-38005-2 .
- Gisela Gottschalk : China's great emperor . Herrsching 1985, ISBN 3-88199-229-4 .
- Jonathan D. Spence : China's Path to Modernity . Munich 2001, ISBN 3-446-16284-4 .
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Taiji |
Emperor of the Manchu 1643 - 1644 |
- |
| Chongzhen |
Emperor of China 1644 - 1661 |
Kangxi |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Shunzhi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fulin; Zhangdi; Shizu |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Emperor of China |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 15, 1638 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 5, 1661 |