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Yuntang

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House
  
House of Aisin-Gioro

Mother
  
Consort Yi

Siblings
  
Yongzheng Emperor

Name
  
Yuntang Yuntang

Father
  
Kangxi Emperor

Parents
  
Kangxi Emperor

Yuntang httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu
Born
  
17 October 1683 (
1683-10-17
)

Spouse
  
Primary spouse: Lady Donggo Concubines: Lady Liu Lady Lang Lady Zhou Lady Zhu Lady Tong Lady Joogiya Lady Wanyan Lady Chen

Issue
  
Eldest daughter Second daughter Third daughter Fourth daughter Fifth daughter Hongzheng Hongzhang Sixth daughter Hongxiang Hongkuang Hongding Dongxi Sibao

Died
  
September 22, 1726, Baoding, China

Children
  
Hongzheng, Hongkuang, Dongxi, Hongding, Hongxiang

Cousins
  
Haishan, Baoshou, Baoyong, Manduhu, Zhansheng, Baotai

Similar People
  
Yunsi, Yongzheng Emperor, Kangxi Emperor, Yinxiang, Yunreng

Yuntang (Manchu: ᠶᡡᠨ ᡨᠠᠩ, Chinese: 允禟, 17 October 1683 – 22 September 1726), born Yintang, was a Manchu prince of the Qing Dynasty. The ninth son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yuntang was a lifelong political ally of Yunsi, the eighth prince, who was the main political rival to the Yongzheng Emperor. He was imprisoned shortly after Yongzheng ascended the throne, banished from the imperial clan, and died under mysterious circumstances. He was rehabilitated posthumously under the Qianlong Emperor.

Contents

Early life

Yuntang was born Yintang (Manchu: ᠶᡳᠨ ᡨᠠᠩ, Chinese: 胤禟), and was Kangxi Emperor's ninth son. His mother was Consort Yi (宜妃 nee Gorolo).

Yintang was not considered to be one of Kangxi's favorite son, but did manage to amass substantial wealth.

Battle for the Throne

Kangxi had established his second son, Yinreng, as Crown Prince, but he was later stripped of that title twice, due to arrogance and violent behavior. In both times, Yintang supported his brother, Yinsi, in his quest to become the Crown Prince. In both instances, Yinsi did not become the Crown Prince. In fact, Yinreng became the last Crown Prince in Imperial Chinese history.

Yongzheng Emperor's Reign

When Kangxi died, his fourth son, Yinzheng, became Emperor, taking the regnal title Yongzheng. After Yongzheng's coronation, Yintang, along with all other surviving sons of Kangxi, changed his name to "Yuntang" to avoid naming taboo because the Chinese character for "Yin" (胤) in "Yintang" is the same as the one in the Yongzheng Emperor's personal name "Yinzhen" (胤禛).

In the same year that Yongzheng was enthroned, Yuntang was sent to the military garrison at Xining, and placed under the supervision of military general Nian Gengyao. Yuntang was later stripped of his royal titles, banished from the imperial household, and forced to take the name "Seshe" (Manchu: ᠰᡝᠰᡥᡝ, Chinese: 塞思黑)

Yuntang reportedly pleaded for Yongzheng to send him to a monastery, and live out his life as a monk. That plea was rejected by the Emperor.

Yuntang was later imprisoned in Baoding, and died from an unspecified "abdominal illness". However, there are speculations that Yuntang died from poisoning.

Yuntang was posthumously readmitted to the Imperial Household, with the name "Yuntang" instead of "Seshe", during Qianlong Emperor's reign.

Meaning of "Seshe"

"Seshe" is a Manchu language term that has traditionally been translated to "Dog" in Chinese. However, there is some dispute as to whether that is an accurate translation. Some scholars suggest "Seshe" actually means "Shameless" or "Annoying Fellow".

Achievement

Yuntang has been viewed as a pioneer in the romanization of the Manchu Language. Yuntang is known to have ties with Portuguese missionary Joannes Mourao (Chinese: 穆景遠). It is believed that Mourao provided Yuntang with literatures written in the Latin Alphabet, which allowed Yuntang to, around the year 1723, establish a basic Manchu language romanization system, allegedly as a secret code for communication between Yuntang and other supporters of Yunsi.

While Paul Georg von Mollendorff's Mollendorff System is often seen as the first Manchu transliteration system, Yuntang's system predates Mollendorff's by over 150 years.

Family

  • Father: Kangxi Emperor
  • Mother: Consort Yi (宜妃; d. 1733), from the Gorolo (郭絡羅) clan, daughter of Zuoling (佐領; a type of military commander) Sanguanbao (三官保).
  • Spouses:
  • Primary spouse: Lady Donggo (棟鄂氏), daughter of Qishi (七十).
  • Concubines:
  • Lady Liu (劉氏), daughter of Liu Da (劉大).
  • Lady Lang (郎氏), daughter of Lang Tu (郎圖).
  • Lady Zhou (周氏), daughter of Zhou Da (周大).
  • Lady Zhu (朱氏), daughter of Zhu Da (朱大).
  • Lady Tong (佟氏), daughter of Tong Da (佟大).
  • Lady Joogiya (兆佳氏), daughter of Manaha (瑪納哈).
  • Lady Wanyan (完顏氏), daughter of Wangda (王達).
  • Lady Chen (陳氏), daughter of Chen Da (陳大).
  • Daughters

    The personal names of Yuntang's daughters are unknown.

    References

    Yuntang Wikipedia