Issue Yongshen Father Yongzheng Emperor Died September 20, 1727 Siblings Qianlong Emperor Name Hongshi Hongshi | House House of Aisin-Gioro Mother Consort Qi Children Yongshen | |
Born March 18, 1704 ( 1704-03-18 ) Spouse Lady Donggo, Lady Tian, Lady Zhong Parents Yongzheng Emperor, Consort Qi Similar People Yongzheng Emperor, Qianlong Emperor, Yunsi, Yunreng, Yinxiang | ||
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Hongshi (Manchu: Hungsi; 18 March 1704 – 20 September 1727) was a Manchu prince of the Qing Dynasty. The third surviving son of the Yongzheng Emperor, Hongshi was banished from the imperial clan in 1725, ostensibly for his support of his uncle Yunsi, who was a political rival to his father. He died in disgrace in 1727. He was posthumously restored to the imperial clan.
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Early life
Hongshi was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the third son of Yinzhen (the later Yongzheng Emperor), who in turn was one of the many sons of the Kangxi Emperor. Hongshi's mother was a Han Chinese woman surnamed Li (the later Consort Qi) who was a secondary consort to Yinzhen.
Yinzhen ascended the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor in December 1722. In his father's early reign, Hongshi is not recorded as having played any major role at court. Unlike his younger brother Hongli, who was awarded the title of Prince, Hongshi never received a noble title. Between 1722 and 1726, Hongshi became associated with his uncle Yunsi, who was also the biggest political rival to his father. Shortly after Yunsi was accused of crimes by Yongzheng in 1725, Hongshi was banished from the imperial palace. Yongzheng also wrote that Hongshi should "go be Yunsi's son if he wishes to," suggesting that Hongshi had an especially close relationship with Yunsi, and that this Yongzheng was deeply troubled by their closeness.
While Hongshi was forbidden to enter the Forbidden City compound, unlike his disgraced uncle Yunsi, he was not jailed. He was instead placed under the supervision of his uncle Yuntao, the 12th son of the Kangxi Emperor. After his banishment, Hongshi did not show any remorse. In April 1726, Yongzheng, deeply angered, ordered Hongshi's name removed from the imperial family records (玉蝶), marking Hongshi's expulsion from the imperial Aisin Gioro clan, and, by extension, the renunciation their father-son relationship.
Death and rehabilitation
In September 1727, Yongzheng was said to have forced Hongshi, then 23, to commit suicide by hanging himself, although there are no definitive historical records on the circumstances of Hongshi's death. A popular theory was that Hongshi was forced to death by the Yongzheng Emperor due to the latter's own prolonged struggle against his brothers for the throne and their attempts at sabotaging his policies after he became emperor. However, in contrast to Yongzheng's brothers, Hongshi was never well established politically in his own right, he did not take part in any military campaigns nor was he tasked with any significant assignments at court.
Some historians remain deeply skeptical of Yongzheng's motive to kill Hongshi, reasoning that he could have also simply placed him under house arrest or exiled him and achieved the same ends. Moreover, Yunsi and his associates had been largely rounded up and neutralized by the time of Hongshi's death; even if Hongshi were 'set free', he would not have nearly enough political clout to achieve a coup d'etat on his own. Nevertheless, Hongshi's death would make Hongli the presumed heir for the remainder of Yongzheng's reign (their younger brother, Hongzhou, did not seem to be interested in fighting for the throne).
Shortly after the death of Yongzheng in 1735, the Kangxi Emperor's 16th son Yunlu (允禄) wrote a memorial to the newly enthroned Qianlong Emperor (i.e., Hongli) asking Hongshi to be rehabilitated and restored to the imperial clan. The Qianlong emperor restored Hongshi into the Aisin Gioro family records shortly thereafter, remarking that Hongshi was "young and reckless" but that "many years have passed since his demise" and as such harsh treatment was no longer necessary. Qianlong also said that he still felt "brotherly love" towards Hongshi. Apart from some generic comments and a reference to Hongshi's association with Yunsi, neither Yinlu nor the Qianlong Emperor referred to any specific crimes committed by Hongshi; it is therefore still somewhat of a mystery under what circumstances the Yongzheng emperor decided to disown and banish him.
In popular culture
In the Eryue He novel Yongzheng Emperor, later adapted to the critically acclaimed television series Yongzheng Dynasty, Hongshi was shown to have plotted against his younger brother Hongli (the future Qianlong Emperor) for succession to the throne, at the instigation of Yunsi. The novel and the TV series also suggest that Yongzheng himself ordered Hongshi to commit suicide.