Shanqi, Prince Su
善耆
Prince Su of the First Rank
Tenure1898–1922
PredecessorLongqin
SuccessorXianzhang
BornAisin-Gioro Shanqi
5 October 1866 (1866-10-05)
Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing, Qing Empire
Died29 March 1922 (1922-03-30) (aged 55)
Lüshunkou District, Kwantung Leased Territory, Republic of China
Burial
Prince Su Cemetery, Beijing, Republic of China
SpousesLady Hešeri
Lady Cenggiya
Lady Tunggiya
Lady Janggiya
Lady Zhanggiya
IssueXianzhang
Jin Bidong
Yoshiko Kawashima
Jin Moyu
HouseAisin-Gioro
DynastyQing
FatherLongqin
MotherLady Ligiya

Shanqi (Chinese: 善耆; 5 October 1866 – 29 March 1922), courtesy name Aitang (艾堂), formally Prince Su of the First Rank, was a prince of the Aisin-Gioro clan, the ruling clan of the Qing dynasty, as well as a minister in the late Qing. He was from the Bordered White Banner.

History

Residence of Prince Su (Suwang Fu)

Shanqi was born on 5 October 1866 (27 August on the Chinese Lunar Calendar) in Beijing. He was the tenth-generation Prince Su and a descendant of Hooge.[1] Hooge was the eldest son of Hong Taiji, and was supported by the Yellow Banners in his bid to become emperor after his death. However, after a decision by an assembly of Manchu nobles and authorities, Fulin, the ninth brother, was chosen as emperor (becoming the Shunzhi Emperor, while Hooge kept his position of Prince Su.[2]

Shanqi served as the tax supervisor of Chongwenmen, as a commander in the Army, as a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and as an early leader within the Beijing gendarmerie and Qing police system.[3] During the late Qing dynasty, there was a movement for a constitution. With the later years of the Guangxu Emperor, Shanqi was known to be sympathetic to revolutionaries. During the early days of the Xuantong Emperor (Puyi), when plans to assassinate the regent, Zaifeng, by Wang Zhaoming were revealed, Shanqi was questioned by Zaifeng.[4]

In 1908, Shanqi joined a group supervising the Admiralty (haijun yamen). He was an acquaintance of the Manchu Jinliang. He served terms at the Ministry of the Interior, when he developed the gendarmerie, and the Ministry of Dependencies. These terms overlapped.[5] He held the position of Bujun tongling (Head of the Gendarmerie).[3] In early 1909, Shanqi, as the head of civilian affairs, drew up a plan to cut down administrative spending and focus more on police personnel as a way to reduce police spending as a whole. This led to the removal and replacement of the positions of Guichang and Qiyuan within the police force.[6]

After the Xinhai Revolution, Shanqi formed the backbone of the Royalist Party, proclaiming his "official duty to the lord" (junchen dayi).[7] Shanqi refused to accept the abdication of Xuantong and was smuggled to the Japanese concession of Port Arthur in the Kwantung Leased Territory.[8] In 1912, Shanqi gained Japanese support to create an independent Manchu state under Puyi along with his 14th daughter, Jin Bihui, whom he had allowed to be adopted by Kawashima Naniwa (Jin Bihui changed her name to Yoshiko Kawashima to reflect this).[9][10] However, this plan failed when the Japanese withdrew their support in favor of working with Yuan Shikai.[9]

Before and after the Manchu Restoration by Zhang Xun in 1917, two Manchu-Mongol independence movements were launched, both of which ended in failure.[8] Shanqi was involved in the first one. The 1916 Manchu-Mongol Independence Movement, supported by businessman Okura Kihachiro, involved a one million yen investment to the Royalist Party, who held an army in Manchuria, composed of restorationists and Mongolian bandits. These funds were used to buy and transport arms. General Tanaka Giichi was to assist him in capturing Mukden and setting up a Manchurian state North of the Great Wall, eventually striking Beijing. This uprising was to be started on 15 April 1916, and timed to be at the same time as the National Protection War. However, as Tanaka was unable to receive arms in time, he suspended the operations on 4 April.[11] After Yuan Shikai's death, the Japanese decided that if the new President of China, Li Yuanhong, was responsive to the Japanese, Japan would give their support to the Chinese government. The Japanese Foreign Ministry, who wanted to dismantle the Manchu-Mongol Independence Movement, reached an agreement with Kawashima Naniwa. Shanqi's men were to be disbanded in 16 days from the agreement. The loans given to him were to be continued, but the 215,000 yen used by Kawashima would be deducted. On 7 September, the movement was officially disbanded.[8]

In 1922, Shanqi died in Lüshun. His body was transported to the Prince Su Cemetery in Beijing. During his lifetime, Shanqi never reconciled with the Republic of China. Due to his loyalty (zhong) to Puyi, he was posthumously named Prince Su Zhong (肅忠親王, Su Zhong Qinwang).[12]

Family

Shanqi was married to Lady Hešeri (the Princess Consort), and had four other concubines. He had 21 sons, the most notable being his eldest son, Xianzhang, and 7th son, Jin Bidong. He also had 17 daughters, the most notable being his 14th daughter, Jin Bihui, and his 17th daughter, Jin Moyu.[13]

Father: Longqin, Prince Sulian of the First Rank (肃良亲王 隆勤)

Mother: Lady Ligiya (李佳氏), secondary consort

Consorts and issue:

References

  1. ^ Zhao, Erxun. Qingshigao - Juan 219 - Liezhuan 6 [(清史稿-卷二百十九-列传六): 华丰，袭，历内大臣、宗令。以火器营设碓制药，占用王府地，华丰力拒之，诏责不知大体，罢宗令、内大臣。八年，薨，谥曰恪。].
  2. ^ Rawski, Evelyn S. (1998), The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-22837-5. pp. 98-9.
  3. ^ a b Dray Novey, Allison J. (2007). "The Twilight of the Beijing Gendarmerie, 1900-1924". Modern China. Sage Publications. 33 (3): 363. JSTOR 20062675.
  4. ^ Liu, Xiaomeng (1997). Full Book of the Aisin-Gioro Clan - Full Family History. Jilin People's Press.
  5. ^ Crossley, Pamela Kyle (1990). Orphan Warriors: Three Manchu Generations and the End of the Qing World. Princeton University Press. p. 194. ISBN 0691008779.
  6. ^ Gabbiani, Luca (2003). "'The Redemption of the Rascals': The Xinzheng Reforms and the Transformation of the Status of Lower-Level Central Administration Personnel". Modern Asian Studies. 37 (4): 799–829. doi:10.1017/S0026749X03004037. JSTOR 3876527. S2CID 145448740.
  7. ^ Esherick, Joseph W.; George, C.X. (2019). China: How the Empire Fell. Routledge. p. 291. ISBN 9781134612222.
  8. ^ a b c Valliant, Robert B. (1972). "Japanese Involvement in Mongol Independence Movements, 1912-1919". The Mongolia Society Bulletin. 11 (2): 1–32. JSTOR 43192993.
  9. ^ a b Edward J. M., Rhoads (2000). Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928. Seattle, Londo: University of Washington Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780295997483.
  10. ^ Yang, Xuechen; Zhou, Yuanlian (1990). Qingdai Baqi Wanggong (in Chinese). pp. 412–20.
  11. ^ Altman, Albert A.; Schiffrin, Harold Z. (1972). "Sun Yat-sen and the Japanese: 1914-16". Modern Asian Studies. 6 (4): 385–400. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00004273. JSTOR 311539. S2CID 144549205.
  12. ^ Wanbao, Liaoning. Qingchao Zuihou Yiren Su Qinwang - Shanqi. The Last Hereditary Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty - Shanqi
  13. ^ Liu, Xiaomeng (1997). Aisin-GIoro Jiazu Quanshu - Jiazu Quanshi (Aisin-Gioro Clan Full Book - Full Clan History. Jilin People's Press.}
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